Congratulations on the store opening! Best of luck with the new endeavor. :)

Happy anniversary, and here's to many more! Love the pics - esp the tractor one. :)

You're under a lot of stress, and with the added responsibility of getting your store running, there is absolutely no surprise that it's making you feel frayed at the edges! Remember to take a few minutes every day where it's just about you - whether it's indulging in that little pink donut, or it's finding 15 minutes for a quick soak in the tub before bed, or just five minutes to breathe a little and empty your brain out, or a quick walk around the block. I know it's hard to find that time in a crazy schedule, but it's important. As for the ASG break: getting away at least for a couple days sounds like a great idea, whether it's going somewhere locally for a day or two for a spa treatment, or spending the day at the movies, or going with a couple girlfriends somewhere fun for a weekend. You definitely need to take time for yourself. Hope the store opening is coming along on schedule for you. Hang in there. :)

What a beautiful home you have! Happy holidays to you and your family. :)

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Sounds like it's been a great vaca so far.

Carrieann2424 - I snapped a picture of Brent saluting somebody with a "Sgt. Sopel - patrolling the blue line" sign at one of the playoff games vs NSH last spring. Maybe that was you? Anyway, the pic is on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/hockeybroad/4527077563/ - permissions are set so you should be able to see larger sizes and download it if you so please. :-) Kelly - thanks for answering all the questions! Sounds like you have come up with a positive alternative to OpHF that will make an impact on a lot of families this holiday season. I'd second the suggestion for Toys For Tots. I've been running a T4T drive at my work for 11 years now. (The two Marines who came to pick up the first year's collection were shocked to find a whole room full of toys waiting!) My dad used to be a Marine, and in the years before he passed, it was a great joy to him to work with the local branch of the retired USMC group on the annual T4T effort. An alternative for other times of year might be helping out at a local pet shelter. (The PAWS Chicago page lists a lot of local shelters.)

Will you and Brent be hosting "Operation Homefront" again this year, and if so, will you be doing it Chicago, Atlanta, or both?

Agree with Cassie -- some form of headphones/earplugs can often do the trick. I've used that in airports or on buses before; then people have to be consciously aware that they are interrupting you. If they're plugged into your phone/Blackberry, you can always point to them and say "I'm listening in on a conference call at the moment, I'm sorry I can't talk."

It could be he just doesn't realize the health issues to Hammy - and to himself - by not cleaning the cage. Kids may honestly not mind the smell even if you do; and may not realize that not cleaning the cage is the equivalent of forcing a cat to eat, sleep and live in its litter box. Maybe put a little humor spin on his perspective about cleaning the cage, and ask him if he'd want to live his entire life in the bathroom and being denied to be able to use the shower or flush the loo, while eating out of the sink! Good luck with Hammy. :)

The cutouts are really clever - what a thoughtful and fun way to be able to "be there" every day. :)

The girls look so cute! Have a great Halloween weekend. :)

Finances are something that should never be a game in a relationship! Trust is so tough to earn and so easily broken. Your point for "wants" vs "needs" is always a tough lesson for kids to learn, especially when these days when most monetary transactions are plastic so there really is no perception of money actually changing hands. It's hard to relate the labor done to the money to the final product, when ta-da, in the click of a button you get what you want and two days later, it shows up at your door; or with the swipe of a card you get to go home with what you want. As a kid, the concept of "need" is too tightly wound into "want" ("but Mooooommm I'm gonna diiiiiiiie without this." "No, you won't, trust me."). Absolutely never too young to learn what a budget is, and how to handle money and set goals and save up for them!

Love the blog, and the frank bluntness is great. :)

Having fans submit their favorite picture of Brent that they personally have taken. :D

It's been enjoyable watching the ATL games. Hope that Ondrej Pavelec recovers quickly, that was really scary. Was also great to see you guys beat the Caps!

Both of my parents went through cancer; know what you are going through! I don't know about Brent, but I know that for my mom, even though she's across the country, it helps both of us to know it's a "doctor day", so we both know what's going on. Glad to hear you're 5 yrs and counting! :) (ps. how about those awesome hospital gowns?)

When I got to meet your husband @ Casey Moran's after the parade, I could see parts of his tattoos so I asked him about them, and he said they were for you, which I thought was so sweet! :)

Welcome to the blogosphere! Loved your husband in Chicago and definitely keeping an eye on the Thrashers to watch him play. :)

Can you please clarify if that is a $10-20 fee for the item(s), or is it $10-20 per signature that you want? (ie. if I wanted sigs from Dineen, Quenneville, Francis, would I be paying just $10 if I wanted them to all sign the same shirt, or would I be paying $30 total?) Thanks.

Seriously doubt that Niemi would get $4M in arbitration. His situation is pretty unique, but the current closest goalie he could be compared to is Halak - and the Blues probably paid Halak more than they needed to. Halak, despite not having the Cup, also has a lot more experience than Niemi, and that's probably going to count more heavily than winning the Cup, especially when you look at the quality of the team that Niemi backed up. I'm guessing arbitration will award somewhere between $2.75-$3.5M, but the Blackhawks right now probably can't manage to offer any higher than $2.5M. So if he doesn't agree to a 1-yr deal to lift himself past the salary cap issues, the Hawks will likely go to arb simply to see what he gets awarded. That being said, it would actually be in Niemi's favor to give a 1-yr, hometown discount this year. It would do the club a favor and if he has a great 2010-11 season, simply puts him in a much better position next year to ask for more money, vs. this year.

That's Brent Seabrook. :)