THE MOST DELICIOUS DRINK EVER!! - Ignore the calorie info...

Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate This delicious sweet and salty combination brings together our rich, indulgent Signature Hot Chocolate and the flavors of buttery caramel and smoked sea salt. It is topped with whipped cream, a swirl of caramel and a sprinkle of our sea salt topping - a combination of artisan sea salt and Turbinado sugar from Hawaii.

		Serving Size 12 fl. oz. Amt Per Serving Calories 460 Fat Calories 190 Total Fat (g) 22 Saturated Fat (g) 13 Trans Fat (g) 0 Cholesterol (mg) 40 Sodium (mg) 230 Total Carbohydrates (g) 62 Fiber (g) 5 Sugars (g) 53 Protein (g) 12 Vitamin A 15% Vitamin C 2% Calcium 35% Iron 25% Caffeine (mg) 15 * Nutritional information is calculated based on Starbucks standardized recipes. Because beverages are handcrafted and may be customized, exact information may vary. Data is calculated using ESHA Research's Genesis® R&D software, and rounded to meet FDA regulations. Data for vitamins and minerals refers to percentage of U.S. recommended daily intake values. For additional information, please contact a customer care representative at 1-800-23LATTE (1-800-235-2883). * Caffeine information is approximate and is based on limited analytical data. These values reflect Starbucks standard brewing methods. Values can vary greatly based on the variety of the coffee and the brewing equipment used. The handcrafted nature of our beverages may result in a variation from the reported values. For more information about a balanced diet visit: www.mypyramid.gov www.americanheart.org www.nationaldairycouncil.org

Whatta man!

Last night I made a homemade chicken pot pie. I followed this new recipe - it was good, but a little bland. So as we were eating it, I asked Patrick if he could use some salt and pepper. At that exact moment, the song on our digital music station changed to..."Whatta man" by Salt-N-Pepa. Irony? You decide.

Sorry for the lack of updates

This week has been a pretty amazing/stressful/busy one! Tuesday was the big 1st Annual Linking Up For DOctorS golf fundraiser that I was in charge of. Overall, it went better than I could have imagined! The weather was delivered from God himself and a perfect mid-70's, light breeze, sunny afternoon. That was the icing on the cake. We had all but 4 people show up (call schedules) and we had 4 people show up we didn't know about...so our numbers were exactly on target. One of the other key people helping in the event got a GI bug the night before so we were a little short handed - but all the ladies there helping really stepped it up and helped! The feedback so far has all been marvelous!! I am pretty proud of all of us for pulling it together within 3 months! No one won any of the big prizes - but the competition was great and the camaraderie was even better. We had the President of Medical Education come, the President of the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, the VP of the OhioHealth Foundation, many CEOs and many fabulous physicians from the area too. Overall- it was a high profile event that should get talked about and become even better next year! We already have follow up meetings and talks to plan again!!!!

Wednesday I had the kids 2 & 4 yr appointments at the doctors. They each got lots of shots - and Gavin got really sick from them later that night. Massive puke fest and diarrhea. YUCK! Poor guy. Evie got a nasty local site reaction - but was otherwise ok. I also had a state Advocates meeting and a PTO meeting that day - so it was also quite busy!
This weekend has been great since Patrick is home all weekend. I got to go to a jewelry party, we all went to Homestead Harvest and Penn State kicked butt!!! It has been a great way to wind down after a crazy week!

Bend it like....

BECKHAM!!!!







Tonight I got the chance to see David Beckham play soccer against the Columbus Crew. Our good friend, Matt Napoleon, used to play for the Crew and has season tickets. He was not using his tickets for tonight's game and asked if we wanted to use them. Patrick was working - but I still really wanted to go. So I asked my girlfriend Angie and we had a girls' night out!!! We ate junkie stadium food, sat on cold bleachers and got to see one of the best soccer players from great seats! They had these cool skydivers, the CrewCat came and chilled out right near us, and when we left - the Crew were winning!!! Thanks Matt and Amy - and Angie - for a great night! Also thanks to Mason for watching the kids for me last minute!!! It was fun to go see a professional sporting event again. I haven't been since the NovaCare days...

Happy Birthday Gavin!

From the first time that I held you, I wondered what you would be.
My precious gift from Heaven, God chose especially for me.
You are a gift that keeps on giving, my entire life through.
One endless supply of love is what I have in you.
My heart has been filled so many times with love and with joy.
Because of you, my precious Gavin, my little baby boy.
And now, your tiny hand that I love to hold so tight;
I realize is getting bigger, each and every night.
With the determination and confidence that you boldly bring,
You are mastering with skill all sorts of cool new things.
Your newfound independence makes me long for days gone by.
When I hushed you to sleep with song, a sweet ole' lullaby.
Watching you with your sister, sometimes gentle, sometimes not,
I see how good we have it, how lucky we all got!
How I love our storytime and playing cars on the floor.
And that smile that you give me when I walk through the door.
The years go by so fast, and they quickly start to compile.
And sometimes I just reminisce and stare at you for awhile.
And now I watch you take these steps to becoming a little man.
Sadly realizing, my baby boy, that it has always been the plan.
But, for now and forever, I will always love you my son.
Because your mother's heart, you have surely won!
So as you celebrate your 4th birthday with us here today,
Remember we love you, Gavin, in our own individual ways!

"Mom - I cleaned Evelyn's room for you"!

Normally, any mom would be thrilled to have her oldest son help his little sister in cleaning her room. But when they take EVERYTHING and put it in her crib and think it is "cleaner that way" - not so thrilling. Literally - everything was taken out of drawers, storage bins, storage bench... everything!

Some weekend pictures

Here are the pictures I promised from the weekend. Just a few that really captured the essence of the days. But here is a link to see all of them:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kellybull/BirthdayPartyAndBuddyWalk#

What a weekend?!?!?!!!

This weekend was pretty fabulous. I will post pictures when I can!

Saturday - we had the kids' party for their birthdays. We had about 70 people show up to Homestead Park to help us in the festivities! Once them majority of the people were there, we started our fun and games. First, I handed out their goody bags, only to find that Swiper had stolen all of their treats! He left a note behind, explaining they would have to go to the Chocolate tree, Dora's bridge and then the party house to find them all. The kids were so excited! I repeated the places we had to go and made them repeat it also. Chocolate tree, Dora's bridge, party house! So off to the chocolate tree. I put a ton of Hershey kisses (one of the few candy's Gavin can eat) around the base of a tree. I also mixed in their goody bag treats too. I told them we needed a special instrument to find all of the goodies around the chocolate and make them look bigger. So I reached into Backpack and pulled out some lollipops, maracas, and telescopes. I asked them which one would work and they all shouted "telescope". So each kid got a little telescope to find the treasures in the chocolate (and keep the chocolate of course). Next, I asked where we needed to go - and they shouted "Dora's bridge"! So we went to where I had a foam puzzle broken into pieces with more goody treats and some fake reptiles all over them. They had to charm the reptiles (snakes, frogs and lizards) with music in order to get their goodies and put the puzzle bridge together. Again I pulled out backpack and we used the maracas to charm the reptiles and get the treats to put together the bridge! In the meantime, Swiper (aka Patrick) snuck up and tried to steal a piece of the puzzle so they wouldn't be able to build the bridge. All the kids yelled "Swiper NO swiping"! "Oh mannnnnnn", Patrick jolted! Then we were heading off to the party house when our big suprise came! DORA herself! I invited Dora to come to the party and celebrate with all of us. She got pictures with all the kids (that wanted one) led the hokey pokey, played red light, green light and let the kids reach into her special backpack and pick a toy prize. Some kids were a little frightened (Evie included) but others could not stop staring and trying to talk to Dora (Gavin included). It was great! The parents all participted and we had fun! We all ate pizza and ice cream and cake (in reverse order) and I had hired a photographer to help capture the fun memories! I will post her pics when they are available!

Sunday, we had the great fortune of being able to participate in the Buddy Walk for the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio. We were part of "For Love of Leah" team and couldn't be more proud! Mary and Eric did an outstanding job in leading the team and we were in the top 10 teams so there were extra pictures of Leah around Crew Stadium! The team was almost 100 strong walking...from Grandparents to infants. I had one of the moments where I was overwhelmed with the feeling of love and joy such a special person can bring to my life. We were in the midst of walking, and Leah was being held in the front of the pack, facing back so she could see everyone. Being the little ham she is...she started clapping and raising her arms - as if to say "Come on people - cheer with me"! And they did. People started clapping, and cheering and she would just do it more - as if to make it louder!!! She giggled and squealed with delight as friends and family all walked together in her honor. It made me proud to part of her life and for her to be part of mine. She (and Mary, Eric and Greg) have brought something so special and irreplacable to my heart. Celebrating milestones for Leah fills my chest with happiness. Of course, tears came to my eyes (happy ones) and I was so glad to see others around me wiping their tears away as well (yes, Lisa, I am talking about you). The amount of love and compassion in that stadium was palpable. It was everywhere. On every smiling Down Syndrome face, on every proud parent, and on every person, lucky enough to be able to enjoy this event. Music filled the air and unimaginable love filled my heart. I knew in that moment why God allowed Mary and I to be friends. Not that she isn't an amazing friend in a bazillion other ways, but I truly feel like God placed Mary and Leah in my life to simply fill it up to another level. Than you Mary for letting us participate and succomb to the beauty that today was!

COSI Fun

I swear these kids have been spoiled rotten lately. Within a week, they have had a family party, will have a huge friends party, went to Pump It Up, went to the zoo, spent time with the grandparents, went to a carnival, played outside every afternoon with friends, AND went to COSI for playgroup. COSI was named the #1 Children's Science Center in the country by Parents magazine, but we love it even more because it has a GREAT kids play area. The picture is of Gavin and our neighbors/friends McKenna and Camille playing dress up like Doctors! How cute!

Evie's birthday weekend - Nationwide Children's Hospital Day

We said farewell to MomMom and PopPop (much to Gavin's dismay) and went to the Nationwide Children's Hospital Employee day. Patrick did not want to join us (he doesn't like going to work when he doesn't have to) and had lots of studying to do, so he stayed home. G&E had a blast! They had huge slides (much like Pump It Up) and face painting, ice cream, kite making, the Turtle Lady, the Bug Man, and much more! It was a beautiful day and Gavin loved ALL of it! Evie mostly stayed in her stroller, eating lollipops and ice cream...rough life, huh? (PS - Don't tell our dentist!)

Evie's birthday weekend - zoo with mommom and poppop

It was such a gorgeous day and we wanted to have fun with MomMom and PopPop Bull so we decided to go to the zoo. We heard rumors that Dora was there - but then I saw the line wrapped around out the gates, and decided we would just wait for her personal appearance at our party next weekend. We did see some crazy monkey action and get to have fun in the playground. Gavin, Mommy and PopPop also got to go on the big pirate ship ride. I think sitting in the back seat was a BAD idea since Gavin was scared out of his mind and Mommy and PopPop both have VERY weak stomachs. I guess we know better next time. Poor Gavin was 2 inches too short for the log flume - so it sort of ended on a bad note. But then we got home, had a great BBQ and went for some yummy Handel's Ice Cream! Overall, a great day!!!