S for Sophie

Public Service Announcment

2012-01-30T04:46:00.000-08:00

Older church ladies of the world...do not, under any circumstances, ask a younger church lady, "When are you due?" unless you are 100% certain she is actually pregnant. How can you be 100% certain said younger church lady is pregnant, you ask? When you hear the words from her own lips, "I am 100% certain I am pregnant." In no other circumstance should you speculate and therefore ask the younger church lady outloud, "When are you due?"

Yes. This happened to me today. I was the younger church lady.

I had this happen a few years back as well. My response a few years back was to laugh nervously and say that I was still carrying baby weight and I was wearing an empire waste shirt, so it was easy to make that mistake (I never wore that shirt again, by the way!).

This time, I maintained my dignity, composure and eye contact, and when asked, "When are you due?" said calmly, "I...am not." The older church lady said, "Oh...well..." and slunk off. Which is as it should be.

Oddly enough, I had just read an article in an etiquette section of a magazine regarding this very issue. The author encouraged the non-pregnant "younger church lady," when asked this horrifying question, to maintain eye contact, tell the offender she is not pregnant, and let all the awkwardness hang there without making excuses for yourself to make the other person feel better. That way "the older church lady" bears the load of the awkwardness, hopefully being shamed into contrition and learning to never ask that dreaded question to anyone not in a hospital gown and pushing again.

So, to my fellow younger church ladies....you are welcome. I may have saved you from one older church lady today.

Sophie's Rapunzel Party

2012-01-28T19:19:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Sophie's 7th birthday today with a friend party. It was a Rapunzel theme. Thank goodness for my friend Laura who had done this for Lydia's birthday this past summer. She lent us a bunch of stuff that made the party look cool.

This braid, for instance. It trailed from the entryway back to the bedrooms. We spent a 100 degree August day crafting it in her backyard last summer. Good memories.

Another Laura addition. Cute, huh?

Sophie dressed as Rapunzel to greet her guests.

She even had a Rapunzel braid in her hair.

Another element borrowed from Laura...a pin the pan on Flynn Rider game.

These were the little frying pans they had to hit him on the nose with. Cute!

In Tangled, Rapunzel visits a pub called the Snuggly Duckling where she meets a lot of ruffians.

Our ruffians ate blue jello (lakes) with orange sailboats floating on top...

...and cinnamon/sugar braided breadsticks, hotdogs, Doritoes and fruit.

When the girls arrived, they got to "paint the walls" like Rapunzel does in her tower.

They took turns getting their hair braided and flowered by Laura--again, she was so helpful! Couldn't have done it without her!

The girls got to decorate their own floating lanterns. This project did not go as well as I had planned--there was some frustration with keeping them open and un-crunched.

Then we played the pin the pan on Flynn Rider game. Poor Flynn.

Lunchtime! One little guest told Greg, "I don't DO hotdogs," shortly after telling me, "Your house is small." Thank you for sharing! (don't worry anyone who actually reads this blog...it wasn't your kid!).

Sophie received sweet notes from friends...

...lovely gifts...

...and even hand-decorated giftbags!

Then, for a non-traditional birthday dessert we had rootbeer floats. Fun!

And as we waited for moms and dads to collect kids, we danced and sang to a little bit of music from the Tangled movie.

It was a great time!

Mawy Twismas

2012-01-03T17:14:00.000-08:00

We travelled to my parent's house for Christmas. They actually had some snow there! All the kids and Greg went sledding down the road to the lake on our 30-year old sleds.

Aunt Cassie lead cookie baking and decorating in an orderly fashion.

We had an in-house Christmas Eve service. The kids' contribution was a choreographed dance to a Justin Bieber Christmas song...at least it was Little Drummer Boy. Which lead to the quote of the weekend by my mom..."Just think of how good you could have been if you'd had more time to practice!"

Most memorable event of the weekend...my dad fighting a muskrat (almost) to the death and coming out the victor. I'll probably have to tell this story in a separate post.

Owen, Jozie, Adeline, Sophie, Aubrey

The 5:30 a.m. calm before the present-opening-storm

More sledding. Uncle Gerrit got in on the fun this time.

Addie's first sledding experience.

The traditional family pics by the Christmas tree...
Cassie, Courtney & Me

Cassie, Adeline & Gerrit

Me, Owen, Sophie & Greg

Paul, Jozie, Courtney & Aubrey

This year's group gift...union suits in all sizes!

The adults all got these as well, but most were unwilling to even put a leg into theirs let alone get their picture taken in one. All except for Greg. That picture is on his phone, though.

It's a Christmas Miracle

2011-12-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

I'm blogging! And you can thank your lucky stars that my cream cheese and butter are still softening to room temperature downstairs or I'd be down there baking right now instead. Please enjoy a catch up on our lives the past few months...

Owen turned 4 in July. We celebrated with family.

He got his first bike...and a warrior helmet.

He also had a friend party at the park by our house.

Sophie tried out soccer for the first time. She was better than the coaches.

Greg and I got to see U2 in concert. I got offered weed for the first time in my life. It was awesome...the concert, I mean.

Owen played t-ball.

I went to Germany. You know, the one in Europe.

Sophie started 1st grade. (sniff)

She rode the bus to school for the first time. (sob)

We went to an apple orchard on the hottest day of the fall...90 degrees.

We babysat little Adeline and we all loved every minute of it.

We took a fall camping trip in our tent and made it through a 30 degree night by sleeping in a nest of blankets.

Other than cold, it was a lovely time to go camping.

Owen and I visited a pumpkin place down the road while Greg and Sophie were at work and school respectively.

I went to Vegas with my parents and their friends. Long story.

It was awesome.

This is a very famous bull rider, and I have no idea who he is. My mom and her friend did though.

We had our annual Halloween party. Greg was a ninja. I was Mary Catherine Gallagher.

We went trick or treating in our neighborhood, and we took Addie and Cassie and Gerrit along for the fun.

That about sums it up. You may now carry on with your life! Good to see ya!

Indiana

2011-07-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

We left the second school got out for the summer and headed to Indiana to visit Greg's sister Janelle's family there for the first time.

We made a rest-stop in Wisconsin Dells for supper and a little play time on the way. We found a (FREE) Pirate's Cove playground. It was wonderful!

We got to stay on Grandpa Dan & Grandma Kim's farm (they're Janelle's in-laws). I think it was the highlight of our children's lives! We needn't do Disney ever again...the farm will do.

Sophie and Rowan, her new best friend, and visa versa. Evidently no one has really cared much for Rowan because he was cranky to a more-beloved cat. Sophie didn't know about any of that though. She was always outside looking for Rowan. Even after a few days when we discovered her runny nose and extremely itchy/stinging eyes were likely due to cat allergies (we'd never been around cats so much in our lives!)

Sophie, Owen & Cousin Logan, getting ready to set up for the parade that the other cousin, Jared, was marching in.

There he is!

We even spent some time at the carney. We got an elephant ear (it was my birthday, after all). Why have I never had an elephant ear before this?! Amazing.

After the cousin bath. Jared was not included.

We had multiple campfires at the farm. So good!

There's Rowan again. Sophie was trying to coax him onto her lap.

There you can see the amazing camper that Dan & Kim let our family stay in. We had our own space...beds, bathroom, fridge. It was quite wonderful, actually.

Milking a real cow! Grandpa Dan did a wonderful job of explaining and then showing our kids where milk comes from.

They all gave it a go. I just couldn't do it, myself. Been there, done that, if you know what I mean. It felt a little too personal.

Grandma Kim led us around to see the calves and other cows as well. The kids wouldn't let this little guy suck their fingers.

But they let these gigantic ones lick their hands. Go figure!

We spent a day at a touristy Amish town. Lots of fun seeing the sights...and the Amish. Our kids loved seeing buggies on the highways as we drove (me too!). And they loved pointing out Amish people, as if they were a rare animal sighting..."I see an Amish!" We took a carriage ride to make a fun, touristy memory.

And then we ate Hawaiian food for lunch. Really. We were too cheap for sit-down Amish food, so this was the other option. Weird. But really tasty.

On our way back home, we brought Jared with us. We stopped over night in Wisconsin Dells this time, and we toured around town a bit. We all decided we need to come back and do a bunch of fun stuff next time. This time we were just passing through.

We had such a good time to, in, and from Indiana! The road trip was enjoyable, the kids did great, and it was fun to have Jared along on the way home. Our visit with the Indiana family was awesomer than super-awesome. We just really had the best time. Like I said, who needs Disney?

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-07-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

We spent Memorial Day Weekend with my family. The weather was a little iffy, so we spent some time at a nearby indoor waterpark.

The bad news is, upon returning again that evening, we got kicked out due to lightning (indoor/outdoor pools connect)...the good news is they let us come back the next day! Two days of swimming for the price of one!

This is Owen's birthday present...the coon-skin cap.

We took a walk down to the lake to see if we could catch any critters.

The kids tried and tried...

...but I think they only caught some weeds.

Sophie, Aubrey, Owen, Jozie

Sophie, Jozie, Owen, Aubrey + Adeline! The newest addition to the family!!

Hello again

2011-07-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

I've been told by more than one family member to get my act together, so I'm trying to catch up with the parts of our life I haven't been posting about. Summer is busier than the school year, it seems! How is that possible, you ask? We went to Indiana the second school got out...literally. We've been to Greg's family's for the 4th in addition to multiple other busy days. Looking ahead...cousin camp, Germany and camping (fingers crossed!).

This is from May.

Sophie's gymnastics program to finish off the year.

Warming up...

Lining up...

Her events...

We were far away, so the flash didn't really help. Sorry.

The dismount...

Floor routine...

Receiving her medal...

There it is! Notice the missing tooth...

Some of her biggest fans...

Kitchen Renovations

2011-05-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

We are hoping, sometime in the next decade, to move to a new house. This house has been good to us. It's our first one, you know. But we're feeling the crunch of four people in a two-bedroom house. To prepare for the inevitable, we (meaning, mostly Greg) have gradually been doing projects to prepare for re-selling. The most recent project was the kitchen. This was a project I could finally help with. I'm the painter in this family. Greg does everything else (doors, floors, demo, installation...).

(I'm posting these for Janelle's benefit!)

Light fixture and drop ceiling, before

Appliances (I can't believe I had that much junk on my fridge!), and weirdly covered wall

More drop ceiling and really old light fixture

Greg had already removed the baseboards at this point, so that doesn't really add to the specialness of the floor. How did I live with that floor so long? I know. I was content. And happy to have shelter. And too frugal to spend money on a perfectly functional floor when there were other "needs" to attend to. It sure has been a treat to have a new floor, though. I kind of want to lie on it and do floor angels.

It always gets worse before it gets better. This was after taking down the drop ceiling. There was a strip of awesomely-bad wallpaper above it that needed an intervention. The rest of the splotchy stuff looked like spray paint. I didn't understand it.

Again, worse before better. Under two layers of weird wallpapers, Greg discovered this copper tile backsplash along the whole wall. He popped about 2 off...then decided we'd just cover it instead.

New appliances. Our realtor recommended stainless, so we obeyed. It would not have been my first choice, but we're really happy with them. There's quite a story to tell about the appliances. I did a lot of research and got us a really good deal. And got initiated on Craigslist with our old stove. There's the painted bead board backsplash. So much better!

New light fixture. So much prettier and brighter than the last one. And the ceiling! White and smooth!

And there's the floor. Greg laid the floor. I heart the floor.

And here we are...done! Light gray walls, new curtain, new chairs (the old ones would have scratched up the new floor).

Next project....the basement (I think). I hope painting isn't required.

Simple Woman's Daybook

2011-04-15T05:12:00.000-07:00

Outside my window...cloudy and dreary, and I think it's windy and cold.

I am thinking...about how I am going to provide food for my family when my kitchen contains neither a fridge or a stove right now. Or a floor.

I am thankful for...a husband who tries his best to be a do-it-yourselfer. It makes him crabby, but it saves us a lot of money!

From the kitchen...anything we can microwave. Or perhaps cereal night. The kids love that. Greg does too.

I am wearing...my purple pajamas and cherries robe. I got up with the chickens this morning because I couldn't sleep.

I am creating...a plan for breakfast this morning. Perhaps a picnic on the living room floor. Last night we dined in the kids' bedroom.

I am going...to Ikea to get new kitchen chairs today so that we don't wreck our new (coming soon!) kitchen floor with the old ones.

I am reading...just finished "A Tale of Two Cities" by Dickens last night. I often found it hard to follow, but by the end, I got really into it. It didn't help me that I could only read 10 minutes at a time. It often took me that long to figure out what was going on again.

I am hoping...to have a functional kitchen (floor, stove, new refrigerator!, usable chairs) ready to go by next weekend. We're hosting Easter here for the first time! Yikes!

I am hearing...some morning-commute traffic muffled in the distance. Sometimes I miss commuting. These days, I rarely drive anywhere alone. And I only get to listen to the radio for 5 minutes. Or the Imagination Movers.
Around the house...Since the kitchen (and therefore, the breezeway, living room, hallway and kids' room as well) are completely a shambles, I am determined to have a sparkling clean bathroom. And clean laundry. Now that our water is turned back on.

One of my favorite things...coffee. Really good coffee. Really good coffee that I don't have to make myself. For free. Ahhhhh....

A few plans for the rest of the week...overnight company (my parents!), a meeting at church, attend a baby shower for my sister Cassie, work in the 5's Sunday School room, read scripture in the service, provide a main dish and salad for a potluck gathering for visiting friends (With no stove. Can cereal be a main dish and fruit snacks a salad?). And that's just the next 3 days. Send help.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...Spring has arrived...at the conservatory!

The kids enjoyed the Koi pond.

Owen was uncooperative.

My Little Pony Birthday

2011-02-15T13:26:00.000-08:00

Please bear with my pictures. Our regular camera is broken, so I had to use our cheap, junky camera. The one that makes me as mad as a visit to Walmart does.

Sophie had very specific requests regarding her birthday cake this year. She wanted it to be rainbow, with chocolate chips and strawberries and ponies. I tried to encourage a little more classy taste by steering her away from every single element in one cake. So, we pretty much removed the strawberries and nothing else. But we did have chocolate-covered strawberries for lunch!

Those sprinkles are rainbow-candy-coated chocolate chips.

This was the first year the girls actually got excited about the cake that I slaved over. Rainbows are always a hit with 6 year old girls. I was told by one guest that next year I need to make it a chocolate swirl cake with chocolate sprinkles. I told her that when her mom hires me to cater her birthday, she can order whatever kind of cake she wants!! ha-ha!

We started the party out with some face-painting while all the girls were arriving. Some guests got REALLY into it.

Even Owen did.

I was anticipating hearts and flowers. This is what I got...

Noelle

Lily

Alexina

Lydia

Cora

Ella

Sophie

We played some games...Musical Chairs (with pony pictures), Pass the Pony (hot potato), and Pin the Tail on the Pony. I was the ringleader, so I only got one game picture after the fact. It was a total circus!

Sophie chose hotdogs and Doritoes for her birthday lunch.

There were lots of nice gifts from sweet friends.

There were also "unicorn hats" with curly manes.

Here they are! (We took this picture before Ella arrived, and I forgot to get another one before she left!). This is Sophie, Alexina, Noelle, Owen, Lily, Cora & Lydia.

It was a very fun, wild &crazy, girly time!

Kid Quotes

2011-02-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

I'm not even done posting Disney pictures yet, and Sophie's My Little Pony birthday party pictures will be forthcoming, but I wanted to get these out while it's fresh in my mind (and because I don't have time to load the pictures right now)...

I overheard these comments during the general conversation happening over Sophie's birthday party hotdog lunch:

Conversation A:
Girl #1: Christmas is Jesus favorite holiday because it's His birthday.

Girl#2: Yeah, and Easter. Because that one's all about Him too.

Conversation B:
Girl #3: Owen is so lucky. He gets to sit by the funny guy.
(This comment was made in regard to Owen as he sat at the little table, seperate from all the girls because there wasn't room for him at the big table. The "funny guy" was Greg.)

Disney: Part Three

2011-01-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

I am never going to get through this trip at the this rate!!

Day three was the first of the seriously cold days. We went to Hollywood Studios and started the day in stocking hats and mittens.

We rode the Toy Story ride first thing...along with everyone else and their brother.

We saw the Beauty and the Beast live show. Amazing!

Annie and Leo (??) from the show Little Einsteins. It's one of my favorite shows on Playhouse Disney, actually.

Handy Manny.

Waiting for the parade. Greg tried to postpone putting his hat on, but eventually he couldn't stand it either. It was super, crazy cold!

A really great "cast member" named George hooked us up with a great parade spot. As we were looking for a place to wait, he approached us and asked what characters our kids particularly liked. We told him Toy Story. He said, "Follow me." And he lead us to this spot where we were sure to get a good view of our favorites. They stopped right in front of our feet. Awesome!

Mike and Sully from Monters Inc.

We stopped to play in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids park.

Owen got to meet Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars.

We then had a really fun supper at Pizza Planet. When we got back outside, it was dark out, and this is what we saw...

The Osbourne Family Spectacle of Lights. The whole (fake) downtown area was covered in lights that were flashing to the beat of Christmas music. Our kids particularly got a kick out of the (fake) snow that was blowing off of the top of the buildings down onto all of us. It was tiny soap bubbles, but it certainly felt cold enough to be real snow!

Disney: Part 2

2011-01-06T14:16:00.000-08:00

Day two of Disney started out pleasant enough. Not too cold, and sunny! The kids always enjoyed the bus rides to and fro.

We had big plans to meet our friends the "M's" who moved to Florida from here not long ago. We were so excited to get our families together on their turf! While we waited for them to arrive, we took in some sights a the Magic Kingdom.

This is "The Evil Emperor Zerg" at the end of the Buzz Lightyear ride. Owen was in heaven!

This is a shot from inside an old classic. "It's a world of laughter, a world of tears, it's a world of hopes and a world of fears....It's a small world after all!" And now you'll be singing it all day! You're welcome!

Trying to get the sword out of the sword in the stone. I believe that Owen informed Greg that only Arthur could do it. And Greg asked, "Why do you know that?!"

Cinderella's Carousel. It was right about now that the flash on our camera started to make zapping sounds whenever I took a picture!! On day two of our DisneyWorld vacation!! Later that day, it was completely out of commission, but we could still take pictures where there was enough light.

Owen's first character...Peter Pan! And this is evidently what he interprets as "smile!" You'll see that it will be his go-to facial expression for the rest of the vacation.

There it is again!

The castle! Woohoo!

We got to see a show with all sorts of Disney favorites. Lots of dancing princesses too.

We climbed the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. Keep in mind that our friends the "M's" have still not arrived yet. We got through a lot of the park before they arrived. And we're down to short sleeves.

Then the "M's" arrived! And we finally got to have all four of us in one picture. What a treat! (To get in the picture together, but mostly to see their wonderful family!) Notice the storm clouds rolling in and the very wind-swept hair.

There they are!! The "M's!" It's hard to do Disney, keep track of 5 kids, and catch up on life with dear friends we haven't seen in ages, but we managed to do a pretty good job! And our kids loved, loved, loved, being with their kids.

And this is during the tropical storm that hit not long after the last picture. It rained and blew and dropped about 20 degrees or more. And everyone at Magic Kingdom was clamoring for shelter and warmth as well as a lunch spot. We huddled for warmth on the terrace at Cosmic Ray's and froze our northern patooties off while we had some lunch. At least we were missing the snowstorm of epic proportions and 20+ inches of snow at home!! Ha!

Owen loved hanging out with these older boys, Aaron & Trenton. And they were good sports about letting him tag along.

Riding Aladdin's magic carpets...Aaron, Sophie & Christine.

Owen & Greg. Due to the weather being less than delightful, we walked right up to most rides and got right on. So, we ultimately didn't mind the weather being kind of junky.

Owen & I on the jungle cruise.

Woody & Jessie!! We were so excited to get to meet them personally.

Again, because the "M's" were there, our whole family got to get in on a picture together.

And this is a (dim) view of the castle that night. Beautiful!

We had such a good time with the "M's" at Magic Kingdom! They introduced us to a few rides/experiences that we'd never even thought of trying out before, and despite the inclement weather, everything went really great. We called it "The M's Magic!"

Disney: Part 1

2011-01-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

We took a family vacation to DisneyWorld recently. We had saved up to do it for quite some time. Greg had a work year from "you know where" a while back, and our incentive to make it through that in one piece was that we would save up and treat ourselves to a special vacation.

As the time to leave approached, it seemed the entire world around us was falling to the stomach flu and other various illnesses. I was totally anxious about it, especially when we arrived at the airport on departure day to discover Sophie had a fever.

We had a near-puking incident en route, but we made it through without having to use the the bag so conveniently placed in the seat pocket before us. And then we all were fairly healthy throughout the rest of the trip. Whew!

We arrived!

The kids got new Disney shirts on our first day. I had purchased them at the Disney Store at home for a good deal a while back.

Animal Kingdom! And the only (sort of) warm day. We started in shorts, but the kids switched to pants later in the day. Greg and I toughed it out though--we were in Florida, for goodness sake!

Waiting for the Lion King show

We got to participate...our section was the Lions!

A favorite experience at Animal Kingdom was the "Fari Ride" (Safari, to the lay person; Fari, to Owen). We did this at least 3 times during our stay. The hippos were one of my favorites.

We had some super-awesome ribs for our first lunch. We were on the Disney meal plan (for free!! It was a promotion during the time of our vacation), and we had more food than we knew what to do with. Really. It made the trip extra-fun because we ate whatever we wanted, and we got stuff we never would have otherwise (because when we have to pay for it ourselves, we live on bread and water...pretty close, anyway).

This is Owen telling Greg about the scary bug show we had just been to. There were all kinds of warnings preceding the "It's Tough to Be a Bug" 3D show, that it could be scary for young kids. I said, "Nah! Our kids don't scare easily!" And they assured us that they wanted to go. So we went.

And this is Owen saying, "I qwied, and I qwied, until I needed a Tweenex." It's true. About 2 minutes into the show, Owen started crying and saying, "This is scawy!!" And I felt like a horrible mother. He still talks about the scary bug show. But not in any permanently scarred sort of way...just anecdotaly.

Proof that it was warm for about 30 minutes of our vacation.

We pushed through the day to make it just until the parade was over. It was near Christmas time, so this parade had a Christmas theme, and we wanted to see it.

This is how Owen experienced the parade. While we were riding the bus back to the hotel, he perked up and said, "What about the pawade?" He had missed the whole thing!

Still in the 30 minutes of warm weather window. All the parks were decorated for Christmas, with each park having a tree that was themed to the style of the park.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-28T12:55:00.000-08:00

I'm way behind. I know it. It's just that our upstairs is now much chillier than the rest of the house, and if I spend too much time up here my fingers become too stiff with the cold to type well. Sort of. It's true that my fingers get too cold to type, occasionally, but I've really just been terribly busy. So here are the Thanksgiving pics at last!

My grandma Rosalie (in the middle) was visiting this year. I don't think she's ever spent Thanksgiving with us, so it was a lot of fun to have her join us. Bill & Josephine are other regular, non-related attenders to our Thanksgiving feast.

The kids' table...or really, the girls' kids table. The boys are all the youngest, so they were not allowed to eat over the white carpet. Plus, they just couldn't fit. Sophie, my nieces, and the R girls (other regular, non-related attendees).

Craft time! I usually bring a craft or two to keep all these girlsies (and now the little boys, too) busy during the afternoon. Tiny little pieces that make a giant mess typically are a big hit.

We did Christmas with my family while we were all there. This is the usual "calm before the storm" picture of all the kids before present-opening can begin. Cassie's in there because "The Bean" is in there too (she's expecting their first--a girl!!).

We all got these crazy hats from my mom. Even Grandma got one.

There was some playing outside in the snow. Those crazy hats are crazy warm!

And we had our first-ever ugly sweater competition.

Here we are in all our ugly glory. I actually think I owned a sweater just like Jozie's when I was little (she's in the light blue). It has pink hearts and white geese on it. I'm trying not to be offended.

Greg, ultimately, was the champion of the ugly sweater competition. I think the awesomely-tight, polyester pants put him over the edge.

We all took a family walk/sled around the neighborhood.

And we got a few family pictures on the way.

Please Mommy Hot

2010-12-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

Owen and I were chatting in the car as we drove away from the library this morning. He was mumbling in the back, and I was having a hard time understanding him over the sound of the Christmas tunes playing on the radio in the background. So, I turned down the radio and asked him to speak up.

Owen: Pwease (please) mommy hot!

Me: Huh?

Owen: Pwease mommy hot!!

Me: (confused) Okay...

I then turned the radio back up and started singing along to "Feliz Navidad." Ah-ha!

Me: Owen, do you mean Feliz Navidad?

Owen: No! It's pwease mommy hot!

Please mommy hot... Feliz Navidad...and I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, from the bottom of my hea-a-a-art! (you're welcome)

Public Service Announcement

2010-11-22T13:41:00.000-08:00

#1) I did have strep. It's been confirmed. But I'm feeling fine now and I'm no longer contagious.

#2) Always read your prescription labels and compare what the label says to what is actually in the bottle.

After being told that I kind of, sort of, might, ever-so-slightly have strep last Friday, I came home and popped a pill as soon as I got in the door. Later that night, before taking my second pill, I decided to read the entire extraneous information included with the prescription. Because I'm a nerd like that. The pill bottle came with a little description page of what the pills inside the bottle should actually look like. Oblong. Check! Off white. Check! Scored. ??? GG 550 on one side. Nnnnnno? DV 90 on the other side (I don't remember the exact numbers & letters right now). Definitely no. Oh dear!!

So, before taking another pill, I called the pharmacy where I had purchased them. The pharmacists said, "Don't take any more! I don't even know what you have, but it definitely isn't penicillin." Yikes! So, after calming my husband who was already angry with this particular establishment due to an earlier incident that day, I hopped in the car to go get my correct prescription. Again.

I received my correct prescription and an assurance that the potassium (which they figured out I'd been given and had taken one of by mistake) would not harm me [Though I later was told by someone else that a whole bottle-full might have!!]. They tried to refund my money (on top of giving me my new real medicine free), but that had some trouble with the card. So, I walked away with a free prescription and a $20 giftcard. I suppose it was the least they could do.

All this to say...be sure to read your prescription bottles. Every time. And always ask if something doesn't seem just right. I am just so glad that my near-death experience (not really) can benefit the entire cyber-world (the 5 people who read my blog) and prevent another such atrocity (having to go to the pharmacy twice in one day...once with wet hair and wearing sweatpants) from plaguing anyone else. Amen.

Ib sig (translation= I'm sick)

2010-11-19T13:01:00.000-08:00

I have strep. Sort of. I think so. It sure feels like it, but I'm still waiting to find out for sure. I'm taking penicillin anyway. The Target Minute Clinic doctor looked at my rapid-result throat swab test ...those are horrific, by the way! Have they stopped using tongue depressors? That would have helped me. And the nurse who administered the swab. I grabbed her hand to remove the swab from my throat. Twice. It was a completely knee-jerk reaction. I apologized. Twice. But I couldn't not do it....anyway...the doctor looked at my result and said there was a very faint line, so I might have strep and I might not. Is that like being a little bit pregnant?? In fact, I asked her if that meant that I was pregnant. I laughed really hard. She did not. She said I could wait for the long-term results and then get a prescription if it came back positive, or I could get on antibiotics now and if the results came back negative then I could stop the meds. I opted for meds now. As quickly as possible. Please and thank you.

So, today I don't feel like doing much at all. Except for drinking tea with honey in it, which has suddenly become my favorite (4 cups a day!) beverage of choice. It makes me glad that Thursdays are my cleaning day and that I've stuck to that regimen for several weeks now. Every piece of clothing in my house is clean, my floors are vacuumed and swiffered, my bathroom is sanitized, and my kitchen is orderly. That makes it so much easier for me to go and lay under the covers and watch a movie in the middle of day...right now. But first I have to brew another cup of tea. And take 3 ibuprofen.

Trick or Treat

2010-11-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Our kids got to choose what they wanted to be for Halloween this year. Owen chose Buzz Lightyear. Or, "Buzz Whiteyeaw," really. I felt like the cheapo store-bought costume needed a little something, so I made him some wings to go with it.

Sophie chose to be a swan. We had several conversations about this. I don't know why she wanted to be a swan, but she never deviated from that desire. I googled "swan costume" to get some ideas, but all I got were pictures of Bjork! So, we had to improvise on our own.

See how the tutu is longer in the back? It's the tail. She actually really liked the costume (except that the feathers were itchy sometimes) even though she looks annoyed in the picture. We were trying to move it along so we could get out of the house (in our 8 layers of clothes!) to go trick-or-treating.

First we stopped at the W's to compare costumes, drop off some bloody-finger treats and do a little trick-or-treating together.

Two Buzz Lightyears!! This year it was Drew's turn to not want his picture taken. Perhaps you remember last year? (Scroll down to the group picture)

There he is!

All the kids had a good time going house to house together.

Mostly these two just kept running around all over the place, and we had to constantly keep yelling, "Drew! Owen! No, this way! Stop there! Stay to the side! Wait for us!"

It was so exciting. Our kids' buckets were nearly full after just doing both sides of the W's block, and we still went home to visit our own neighbors houses!

When we got home and stripped off the multiple layers, the kids got to check out all their loot and pick out one thing to eat before getting ready for bed.

Woohoo!

13th Annual Halloween Party

2010-11-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

We had our Halloween party last weekend. Attendance was way up compared to recent years. We had 26 people in our teeny-tiny house! I made my customary "bloody fingers." My kids have been eating the leftover fingers for days now.

Lots of people came in costume this year...Kris (bee) and Pete (Bobby Flay from Food Network)

Jodie (a s'more!), Bryan (the Hamburglar...he was carrying a McD's happy meal earlier), and Caleb (Maverick from Top Gun)

Gerrit (I don't even know, but it was scary. He kept just standing in corners not talking to anyone. Creepy.) & Cassie (pregnant butterfly)

Ryan & Sarah (prom couple...that's her real prom dress from high school. And now I hate her.)

Greg (Darth Vader) and me (Amy Winehouse...the tattoos still have not washed off)

Bill (Rescued Chilean miner...he hopped in the door with this on and wore it for about 2 more minutes) & Kari (a girl scout)

Intense battles of Connect 4 were fought. Some down to the very last space.

See? There's Gerrit being creepy again.

It came down to me: 3rd place!!, Todd: 2nd place, and Greg: 1st place. Though I was in it for the fortune and glory, of course, I could have done without the spoils of my battle. I had actually purchased two extra boxes of cereal for our kids to enjoy, and now we get to enjoy four.

Prizes were awarded for the top two costumes. Caleb (Maverick) got 2nd place, and he enjoyed the crinkly wrappers on all the gourmet Halloween candy. Bill, the Chilean miner, received first prize, but he had taken off the costume (big surprise), so I didn't take his picture.

We had such a good time with friends, some of whom we haven't seen at a Halloween party for a few years. The snacks were tasty, the competition was fierce, and we got to play dress-up! It was a super-fun time!

Vision Walk

2010-10-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

Last month, our family joined Lydia's family and lots of other families to walk around Lake Harriet to raise money in a "Vision Walk." Vision Walk is the national signature fundraising event of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, and this walk around Lake Harriet raised over $120,000 to aid in research for fighting blindness.

It was a beautiful Fall day. Our group was called "Lydia's Princess Parade," and so we dressed the part.

Todd & Lydia

Lots of pink people (some of Lydia's family)

Laura with some of Lydia's vision teachers. They were good sports!

There were a lot of other groups there.

These two don't own pink clothing, but they wanted to be supportive anyway.

This is the start of the walk. We were toward the middle of the pack. That quickly changed to the end of the pack...to totally bringing up the rear. No big deal! It wasn't a race.

It was a family event, so people kind of took their time about meandering around the lake.

This was part of our view as we curved around the path on the lake. Beautiful!

Lydia's Grandma Cheryl and vision teacher "big Lydia."

Another beautiful view!

These little dudes, Drew & Owen, had a good time together.

Laura & Lydia

Our family really enjoyed the great outdoors on such a lovely day and for a lovely cause. We had a good time together and with the other folks who were walking with us.

We finally made it to the end, and everyone was still in good humor.

It probably helped that their Vision Walk was 80% stroller ride and 20 % actual walk!

Sophie's First Day of Kindergarten

2010-10-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

The first day of Kindergarten has come and gone. Sophie laid out her first-day-of-school clothes the night before, but she accessorized that morning (note the sparkly headband and purple beaded necklace).

Owen kind of thought he was going to the first day of school too.

After we all drove to school together and waved goodbye together and returned home from dropping Sophie off and we'd gotten back into the house, Owen said, "Where's Sophie?"

Sophie was very excited about school and did not seem nervous at all.

Sophie's school has a "kissing lane" where you just drop the kids at the door and they go inside on their own. You don't even have to get out of the car because they have helpers who open the doors for you!

Sophie's teacher told me that this is the preferred method of drop-off for kids who are driven to school, and I was mentally preparing to do so...(on the first day, for goodness sake?!)...because I am a rule-follower...and a former teacher...and I want everyone (especially the new teacher) to like me.

I consulted other parents, but that got me nowhere.

Some confirmed that they also use the kissing lane with no difficulty, and what about those bus kids that just have to walk in on their own?

Others felt my pain as they exclaimed, "Send her in...on the first day ever...all alone?! Well, I'd just walk her in anyway. They can't tell you not to!"

So we decided to leave it up to Sophie. It was HER first day, after all.

So, this little munchkin, when given the choice between going in on her own or having me walk her in...chose to have Daddy walk her in. Well, we knew that wouldn't work out so well...for either party...so, I took her in...because I am evidently more hard-hearted...and a now-confirmed rule-breaker.

We got final goodbyes in at the car, and then Sophie and I headed in to school. No one stopped me on the way in. No one looked at me like, "What are you doing in here?" And I even saw a few other moms walking in with other Kindergartners.

And then I saw the bus kids traipsing in together and looking as confident as if it were the last day of school, and I felt a little silly about worrying.

But after I tearfully hugged Sophie goodbye and she entered her classroom without looking back, leaving me to cry my whole way back to the car (oh yes, I did!), I decided that she won't always want me to walk her in to school so I'm going to do it as long as she asks me to and I don't care what anyone thinks. Around day 8, she quit asking... *sigh*

Simple Woman's Daybook

2010-10-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

Outside my window...sunny and it's supposed to be 70. I think it feels like 55 in the house. My fingers feel stiff from the cold.
I am thinking...about prepping for the monthly grocery run. It is not for the faint-hearted.
I am thankful for...an awesome women's retreat at Camp Shamineau with four girlfriends!
From the kitchen...pumpkin soup and homemade bread for supper.
I am wearing...Gap trouser jeans ($5), Gap outlet purple sweater ($6), turquoise necklace (free--I made it at camp this weekend!)
I am creating...a to-do list for my to-do list
I am going...to get my flu shot soon.
I am reading..."The House of Seven Gables" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. But I haven't made it past the intro yet.
I am hoping...to finish my Bible study lesson before ten o'clock the night before Bible study this week.
I am hearing...Sophie whisper-singing to herself as she colors at a desk near me. Naps are a thing of the past evidently.
Around the house...I am trying to set aside Thursdays as my power-cleaning day...laundry, vacuuming, and cleaning the bathroom and kitchen. So far so good. It's only been two weeks.
One of my favorite things...trouser jeans...I now own 3 pairs in different lengths and slightly different washes.
A few plans for the rest of the week...Free pie night at Baker's Square on Wednesday night, anyone? Anyone???!! (I've tried to do this the past two Wednesdays, and I've had no takers)

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Brenda, Me, Leah, Tara & Lisa at camp

These ladies went shopping with me, bunked with me, crafted with me, workshopped with me, ate tremendous amounts of food with me, zipped down a zip-line with me, and watched in shock and awe as I cried about every 5 minutes (it was an emotional weekend, but in a good way!). I had a super-awesome time with them at camp, and I'm so glad to call each one of them a good friend!

Final Camping post

2010-09-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

Our family plus Black Grandpa took a hike on a scenic overlook trail while Grandma stayed behind to enjoy some peace and quiet. Lucky Grandma.

Grandma usually helps Grandpa on the steps, so Sophie took it upon herself to be sure he got down safely in Grandma's absence.

This was the view at the end of the path. Wow!

Camping was awesome! And now I can finally get to the first day of Kindergarten pictures. Stay tuned!

More camping

2010-09-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

This is the view from the "troll bridge" as we hiked near sunset one evening.

My mom and dad, Yellow Grandma & Grandpa. They joined us for part of the weekend. The kids slept in Black Grandma & Grandpa's camper, and these two slept in ours. The kids may have gotten the better deal...there was air conditioning in the other camper!

We had marshmallows as big as your head for making s'mores.

We hiked down to an overlook near the river so we could watch some crazy kayakers traverse the wild waters.

We were in the midst of potty training Owen that week, and since we were at our maximum time between potty stops and nowhere near a toilet, Greg took Owen for his first trip to go "wet in the woods." I have another cuter picture to commemorate the event, but it involves partially bared little buns, so I didn't want to post it here.

Finally, the kayakers made their way down the river...the crazies!

We had fun watching them put themselves in harms way for our entertainment.

On the way back to the campground, we also checked out a pioneer cemetery. Pioneers did not generally live terribly long lives.

Later that day, college friends of ours who live nearby brought their clown car full of children by to visit and have a campfire. Our kids enjoyed their kids.

And everyone enjoyed cooking over the fire.

Michelle...and a few of her kids.

More of her kids.

Mike and Greg were roommates one year...I think sophomore year.

They still get along really well.

We enjoy spending time with Mike and Michelle whenever we get a chance, so it was fun to have them visit us while we were camping.

There are still more camping pictures to come. I hope you can stand it!

Catching up...August Camping

2010-09-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

At the end of August, our family went camping with Black Grandma & Grandpa. Yellow Grandma & Grandpa joined us a few days later...they'll be in a later post.

We went to Jay Cooke State Park, and it was magnificent! We loved hiking near the river. This was the "troll bride," as the kids called it. Which was fitting because they traipsed along the bumpy hiking trails like little mountain goats. The river water looked like "root beard."

The kids (and grandpa) found a dead snake on our walk. We had to look for it each time we passed this spot throughout the week.

Cute little campers!

One of the highlights of this camping trip (for the kids...and grandpa) were whoopie cushions. One of our favorite quotes from Owen: "I want to whoopie you!" The kids weren't very subtle in their whoopie cushion placement, but they sure got a kick out of the various fart noises!

Grandma and especially Sophie spent a lot of time reading through this book. By the end of this week, they'd read every story in the collection!

We spent a day in nearby Duluth. We rented a surrey with a fringe on top (I don't know if that's the real name, but it beats "6-person bicycle-thingy").

Grandma and Grandpa rode in the back so Greg and I could handle the brakes and steering. Except that my steering wheel was merely for show...but that didn't keep me from desperately trying to steer us out of danger anyway! I think we determined that the heavy effort of the pedaling must have come from the back of the bike, as Grandma & Grandpa were huffing & puffing the whole way and constantly asking to stop for breaks.

These little slackers just enjoyed the ride on the basket on the front.

After our delightful bike ride (we laughed until we cried...or at least I did!), we had a lovely picnic. Part shade, part sun, to please everyone.

Then we went down to the water to climb on the rocks. The kids used this one as a slide.

Christmas picture??!!

Mammogram-Schmammogram

2010-08-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer a while back. Perhaps you remember. A routine mammogram caught her tumor. She had a lumpectomy and radiation and is cancer-free with a good prognosis! Yeah! However, having a mom with breast cancer ups my own risk of breast cancer. So my own lovely, pro-active doctor suggested this year that I get on the mammogram bandwagon earlier than I would typically (I'm only 35) because there's now a "family history." Thanks mom.

Today was my big day, and I'd like to tell you about it. Because, why not? I didn't take any pictures to post, or anything.

I wasn't allowed to wear deodorant, lotions or powders as they might interfere with the machine. It's 90 degrees and humid here. Seriously, they don't want me to wear deodorant?? Okay. Next year, I'll schedule the appointment in February.

The tech called me into "the room" and explained the procedure and the machine to me. I appreciated that. I like to know all the details. She showed me how the "plates" (my word) would come together and how she could operate that movement with her foot so she'd have both hands free...I'm sure you can imagine for what. Then she tilted the "plates" and explained that there would be a picture taken at an angle as well. Two pictures for each side, basically. She explained that the machine would release as soon as the picture was taken so I wouldn't have to be held there any longer than necessary. Whew! Good to know. She also told me that it shouldn't hurt at all but might be a bit uncomfortable. (Yeah, right, I thought) And she said to let me know right away if it did hurt so she could adjust things. (No problem!)

I changed into a gown, only for my top half; I was even able to leave my necklace on as it wouldn't get in the way. Then we got down to business. The tech said that much of the discomfort people experience comes from the just plain awkwardness of having someone do what she was doing to me. Nothing painful physically; just extremely socially awkward. I explained that I've had two babies and several birth-inducing techniques tried on me...offending my modesty is not an issue.

And 1, 2, 3, 4 moderate squeezes later, we were finished! No pain. Not even mild discomfort. I was expecting to gasp or hold my breath. Nothing. She said, "That's it!" I said, "Really?!" I had walked in at 9:00, and with all the changing into and out of a robe, directions, and squeezes, I walked out at 9:13.

I don't know if it's the technology or the technician, but my mammogram was a breeze, and I'd recommend that everyone give it a try! In fact, it was a so very not alarming, painful ordeal, that here is a list of things that I would rather have a mammogram than do.

I would rather have a mammogram than...
1. eat a box of raisins
2. get my teeth cleaned at the dentist
3. have my yearly pelvic exam
4. clean my laundry room
5. eat a blueberry or cherrie pie
6. touch a kid's loose tooth
7. sing in front of an audience
8. run a 5k
9. go to Walmart
10. have breast cancer!

I did it ladies, and you can too! Many of you who read this are perhaps to young to think about this yet, but someday you won't be. And some of you are old enough. Do it! I'll even give you the name and number of the clinic where I did mine. Just get it done.

2010-08-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

Our good buddy Lydia, whom you've seen here a lot because we spend nearly every waking moment with her and her family, was diagnosed earlier this year with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). RP is a degenerative eye disease that can lead to blindness, and there is currently no cure for it. Our dear little Lydia has lost much of her sight already, and she and her family have been prepping a lot this summer for life (and Kindergarten!) with vision impairment.

With this prepping for day-to-day challenges comes the need for equipment. Expensive equipment. So, some lovely friends from Laura's hometown hosted a benefit in Lydia's honor to raise funds for some much-needed tools to assist Lydia and her family. And the kids and I were so excited to get to be there!

We travelled way up north (it felt like the end of the earth...really) to stay at Lydia's grandma's house for a few nights so we could be at the benefit with them.

Our kids were as excited as if they were going to one of their own grandma's houses! We were counting down the days. When we got there, the kids made themselves right at home, as if it really was their own grandma's. And the kids had fun playing together as usual, but in an unusual place.

We got to go to church, hang out with Lydia's extended family, and then we all got to go to the benefit together.

Lydia was the princess of the day.

There was a silent auction and root beer floats! Sophie really liked the "root beard floats" (that's not a typo!).

And we all played lots and lots of BINGO. That's Lydia's grandpa helping her out.

Even the little guys (Drew) got in on it, with a little help.

But the favorite feature (for the kids) was the fan in the corner and the air-conditioned hallway. It was hotter than super-hot in that gym!

After the kids had all the fun (and rootbeard and suckers) they could stand, I walked them back home to chill out for a while...literally.

We put on a movie and basked in the air conditioning, and these two little peeps promptly fell asleep. It had been a tiring day.

The kids and I were so glad to be a part of the special benefit for Lydia. We had fun hanging out with all of Lydia's family and getting to make new friends. And we were so overjoyed to hear, when all was said and done, that the benefit helped to raise abundantly more than was needed to purchase the special equipment for Lydia!!

God is good...all the time.

Vacation Bible School

2010-08-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

Last week, our church put on a Vacation Bible School (VBS) program that was cowboy-themed. I was a registration table worker, but in my off time, I was the hand-sanitizer lady...for when the kids were finished visiting the horses out back (I know, how appropriate, huh? I didn't even ask for that job!). So, when Sophie's class came out for their turn, I was ready with my camera.

Each kid got to sit on a horse and have their picture taken.

Then there were other "horsey" stations.

Sophie and her good buddy Lily

Here, the kiddos were listening to facts about horses.

They got to try out different types of saddles,

and check out some other equipment used for caring for horse.

Then they moved onto the horse food station to learn about what horses eat. They listened like this to this dear kid's scripted speech for about 8.5 seconds. Then, their attention was diverted by the anticipation of this next station...

the carriage ride!

Everybody got a turn

to take a spin

around the church parking lot.

Cowboy VBS was awesome! Yee-haw!

A Few of our Favorite People

2010-07-28T14:16:00.000-07:00

We love Todd and Christine and their family. They are some very dear friends of ours who moved away last summer to go somewhere really far away and a lot hotter than it is here. It's rare to find a couple that Greg and I are individually great friends with as well as couple-friends with (does that make sense?? I'm friends with Christine/Greg is friends with Todd, but we all like hanging out together). We have missed them! And their kids.

While they were back in the area recently, our families got together for the day to have a picnic and see the zoo. It was awesome in the shade.

These monkeys were checking out the flamingos. Amanda, Trenton, Aaron, Owen & Sophie.

Waiting for the seal show--it was starting to feel warm.

Grabbing a drink after the new polar bear exhibit. Sophie complained that it was "super boring hot" that day. And it was.

This picture with the giraffes is a family tradition.

That is Sophie's "super boring hot" face.

They must have been cooler by now.

Way cooler.

We visited the butterfly house. It is Sophie's dream to have a butterfly land on her. But you aren't allowed to grab them. They can, however, land on you of their own accord. She walked around with her finger out (to land on, of course!) the whole time. And look...

...what...

...happened! It was very exciting for all of us.

Owen wanted a piece of the action, but that butterfly would have none of it.

We finished up with ice cream at DQ to make up for the "super boring hot" and crazy-crowded zoo experience (on a Saturday... in July...what were we thinking??!!).

It was great to spend the day with you guys! We love you!

Owen's Kid Party

2010-07-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

We had a kid birthday party for Owen on his actual birthday. The weather was beautiful, which is a good thing because the party was at our park! I did not have a suitable back-up plan. But things worked out.

Owen is still practicing "three."

Sophie and Owen helped fill up our water table while waiting for the kids to arrive. They ran back and forth to the water fountain to fill up the buckets to fill up the table. Owen's shorts were dripping before the first family go there.

Owen and Drew. We had some playtime.

McKenzie--one of my very favorite babies. She and I are working towards becoming friends. I'm slowly wearing her down.

Sophie and Keira.

Caden, Owen, Lydia and Drew. A huge semi came and unloaded a giant mountain of fresh woodchips while the kids looked on. It was a boy's happy birthday wish come true! The kids were so fascinated!

Then, when the coast was clear, they got to play on the mountain. They were in kid heaven! And covered head to toe in woodchip-debri. But it was so worth it!

The party theme was Woody and Buzz from the Toy Story movie. Inside, the cupcakes were blue (Owen specifically requested that).

Owen and Drew. Singing "Happy Birthday."

And blowing out the candle.

Anna, Lauren, Owen, Drew & Sophie.

Matthew, Keira, Caden, Jack & Lydia.

The water table was fun!

Our neighbor "Mary with the Dogs" (that's what my kids call her because there's another neighbor Mary) even innocently got into the action while walking her dogs. This is the first time in our several years as neighbors that I've ever seen those dogs be more frightened than the kids!

Present-opening was kind of (totally) chaos. Owen got a lot of nice gifts--very boy-type gifts--that he is LOVING!

It was a super fun party on a beautiful day. We had a great time playing with our friends and celebrating Owen's third birthday. And then, to stay within the theme, we came home and made this for lunch...

What a perfect day!

4th of July

2010-07-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

This year, we spent the 4th with my family. While we were there, we celebrated July birthdays...my mom and Owen! Owen has been requesting a Spiderman cake since Sophie's birthday (in February!), so I did my best to oblige.

We had a picnic outside, finished off with presents and cake.

He liked it!

It was blue inside.

Lots of Woody and Buzz stuff for this birthday.

Gerrit posed for his senior pictures.

Cassie gave Sophie a festive manicure--flag themed.

And the boys played with all of Owen's new cool stuff.

The kids and I, spur-of-the-moment, decided to stick around a little longer, so Cassie and Gerrit took Greg home. On one of our extra days, we went to a nearby children's museum. It was cool! Sophie dressed up in multiple outfits.

There was a hospital area.

Sophie made sure Owen was healthy.

Then she changed outfits.

And Owen roasted (pretend) marshmallows over a (pretend) campfire.

Wardrobe change. Love the shoes!

This place had it all.

Even fishing! This was Owen's favorite. They were catching (fake) real-looking fish wth magnetic fishing lures.

Another day, we headed back to the beach where we constructed a pretty fabulous sand castle, if I do say so myself. We were the envy of the other toddlers.

June Camping

2010-07-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

The kids shared a bed on one side of the camper again. They loved it and settled in to sleeping next to each other better than on our first trip out.

On our very first day, we biked 5 1/2 miles to the beach to have a picnic. Owen fell asleep on the way.

Sophie spent a lot of time collecting goose feathers.

Owen helped.

We played in the river/lake. Mostly they did. It was too cold for me.

The drinking fountain was super entertaining.

Owen could even get a drink all by himself.

Another day, we climbed to the top of the firetower.

Both kids did great on the way up and the way down. There were a lot of stairs.

I think we ate s'mores every night it wasn't raining.

Some neighboring kids ate them with us...every night it wasn't raining.

We went on a cool hike in the woods. I believe we applied bug spray at least 20 times.

There we are in all our camping glory.

It was "Bird Bonanza" weekend at the campground. So we went to a special presentation about birds. I thought it was interesting. Owen lasted 10 minutes.

We got treats from the camp store. The kids chose the biggest freezies I've ever seen (only 50 cents!).

They ate about 2 inches each, and then they were done.

On our last night, we went for a longish bike ride, hoping for some wildlife sightings. We'd heard of a lot of people spotting bears throughout the week we were there. Greg was hoping for a bear sighting. I was not. We did see some sandhill cranes and a few deer. We were especially excited about this mama and baby. We got to watch them for a few minutes.

Sophie's Dance Recital

2010-07-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

The whole gang

Aunt Cassie

Lots of flowers!

Daddy

Great Grandma C & Black Grandma & Grandpa

Yellow Grandma

Gerrit & Cassie

Mommy

Daddy & Mommy

PreSchool Graduation

2010-07-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

Sophie's last day of PreSchool

Sophie's first day of PreSchool

Sophie's last day of PreSchool

Sophie's first day of PreSchool

Receiving her diploma from Miss Emily

Our graduate!

Special school friend Alexina

Awesome teacher Miss Emily

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness my mom invested in this giant tube. It provides entertainment for our kids in every season.

Little brothers are so pesky.

Some family members of a more athletic persuasion played a little softball.

These two puddin' heads were the outfielders.

Spectating from box seats.

My family! (Denna, Gordon, Carey, Cassie & Courtney)

Cassie & Gerrit (aren't they cute?? They dressed the same on purpose)

They surprised me and celebrated my birthday. This is me thanking Courtney's family for the cute card, which I soon found out was also signed by Cassie & Gerrit...because Cassie was the one who actually bought the card and graciously let Court's fam sign it too since they forgot a card. I was embarrassed.

We spent a morning playing at the beach in the middle of town. It's the one we wouldn't have been caught dead at when we grew up there (all those dang tourists!), but now that we're tourists ourselves we totally love it!

Greg and Owen spent a lot of time on the dock.

Owen wanted to jump off, but Greg had to show him how it was done first. Good form!

A little pep talk...

Lift off...

Nice spash...

They stuck the landing!

Camping

2010-06-10T06:02:00.000-07:00

So sorry for the major delay, everyone. My father-in-law tells me (every time I see him) that he's memorized the Simple Woman's Daybook, so I'd better post something new. Here it is, Russ!

We went camping in May--the maiden voyage for summer 2010. We started quite cool and rainy, but it turned out to be a beautiful weekend.

Checking out the fishing spots.

We hiked a pond trail and looked for frogs and turtles. We didn't find any of those, but I did find a tick on my jeans. I felt crawly the whole rest of the trip.

We did not catch one fish, though we tried more than once.

We did have some good food, though.

Black Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit for the day.

We checked out the nature center, and there we were able to spot tons of turtles sunning themselves on logs in the pond. Maybe 20??

Sophie and Owen had fun playing with kids from the neighboring campsite.

We hiked to the top of Mt. Tom. "Mount" being a relative term considering we live in the Midwestern plains.

There we are in all our camping glory, at the top of Mt. Tom!

Simple Woman's Daybook

2010-04-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

Outside my window...sunny and about 60, slightly breezy. Perfect!
I am thinking...about what I want to eat for a snack....yogurt with granola.
I am thankful for...my sweet kiddos.
From the kitchen...cranberry chicken on rice (it's in the crockpot right now!)
I am wearing...jeans, green t-shirt, torquoise long sleeve t-shirt.
I am creating...CD labels for CDs I need to copy at church tomorrow.
I am going...to the hospital (I hope!) to visit a friend who is a first-time mom.
I am reading..."Mary Barton" by Elizabeth Gaskell.
I am hoping...Cassie and Gerrit aren't sick tomorrow (they're bringing the pizza!)
I am hearing...birds outside the window.
Around the house...our (brand new) vacuum cleaner just broke (my fault), so if you stop over to visit, keep your shoes on!
One of my favorite things...Coke, cake, chocolate, bread, noodles (everything I'm trying not to eat right now)A few plans for the rest of the week...Cassie and Gerrit are coming over for lunch tomorrow.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...

J's Baby Shower

2010-03-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

I hosted a baby shower/ladies retreat at my house this past weekend for my dear college girlfriends, J being the guest of honor. Her husband is an engineer (do I have that right??), and as this first baby of theirs is a boy, I went with a construction theme.

(Sorry for the dark picture!)

The caution tape made more than one person nervous as they approached the house last weekend. A neighbor was quite uncertain about knocking at the door or not, so I finally had to take it down.

Construction wrapping paper, courtesy of Target! Perfect!

Some of the "Warning" signs I found online. I especially liked the "open hole" one.

There was no shortage of treats!

L & V (they spent the night --we were up until 1:30 am...I'm still paying for that)

L & L (they couldn't sleep over, but they stayed plenty late!)

L & J (the pregnant lady...isn't she cute?...the non-swollen ankles part, anyway)

L brought this book to share with us. It was given to her grandmother when she was pregnant with L's mom. The copyright is from the 1930's, I think. The advice was a bit, um, outdated...and totally hilarious! It's a wonder we have all lived to be mothers ourselves!

For instance, one bit of advice was on making milk for a baby (for non-breastfeeders). If I have it right, it was 15 oz cow's milk/17 oz water/8 tsp sugar. We were all stunned about how obsessive we get about buying the right baby formula now! Amazing!

More good treats. Friends who were unable to make it may appreciate knowing that the "brotherhood" made an appearance!

And this was all AFTER we had Vietnamese take-out! We ate ourselves silly.

V orchestrated a madlib for the occassion. It was super funny!

Those of us who attended, and some who were unable to, got together to get J a Bjorn carrier.

We also each wrote little encouraging notes/ quotes/ scripture/ prayers that we clothespinned to the Bjorn. That way, when J wears the Bjorn with the baby in it someday, she'll also be wearing our encouragement (though she will have removed all the little notes by then!).

J also got other baby gifts.

We can't wait to meet the little baby that will be getting to use all that fun stuff!

We love you, J!

And K, K & L, we missed you guys!

Cousins Camp

2010-03-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Greg and I tried to go to Chicago in December 2008 to celebrate our 10-year anniversary, but we all got sick...the kids, the babysitters, and eventually us. So, we didn't go. This year (in February) we thought we'd give it a go again and do it for our 11-year anniversary. And a few days before our departure, our babysitters got super sick.

After much plan B, C & D discussions (including just taking a hit and giving up our hotel reservations), my parents said, "If you can get your kids here, we can watch them." You see, they had already agreed to watch my sister's kids for the same weekend. God bless them! So, I spent all day (literally--4 hours there/4 hours back) driving my kids to their house so Greg and I could leave our own house at 6 am the next morning to head for Chicago.

Greg and I had a great time in Chicago! We were major tourists and did very touristy things. I'll share some pictures of that some time. While we were enjoying the windy city, our kids were enjoying "Cousins Camp," as my dad enthusiastically dubbed it after finding out they'd have every grandchild they own parent-free for several days. Again, God bless them!

My parents took pictures of their fun weekend and sent the CD home with us so I could have documented proof that they fed my kids only junk food, and that they did have them change their clothes occassionally.

Art projects in the living room...Owen, Aubrey, Sophie.

While my mom was driving several hours to pick up yet another grandkid (God bless them!), my dad took the first three arrivals out on the lake near their house.

I think Owen may have been pelting Aubrey with a snowball here. Good supervision, Grandpa!

Junk food evidence #1 & #2. Look at that "milk" in Owen's cup!!

The whole gang...Owen, Jozie, Aubrey & Sophie

More outdoor fun

No idea what happened here, but it doesn't surprise me.

I believe there was snow-licking occurring here based on other pictures in this sequence. I'm hoping it wasn't yellow.

Junk food evidence #4

and #5.

Our kids had such a wonderful time at "Cousins Camp!" Sophie got to sleep with Aubrey in a big bed with a TV in their room, Owen got to sleep with Grandpa, and both kids refused to speak to us on the phone every time we called (at least once a day!). They didn't want to leave, but when I finally pealed them away, Sophie was already talking about "the next time" and "couldn't just us two big girls [Sophie & Aubrey] go alone sometime without the little kids or moms and dads?"

I guess my parents had a good time too. My dad even made certificates for all the kids to commemorate the occassion. If you zoom in really close, you can see it says "First Annual Cousin's Camp."

God bless them!

Thanks so much, Mom & Dad!

The State Capitol

2010-03-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

We took our kids to see the State Capitol this weekend. We parked fairly far away in FREE parking, and then Greg and I had to schlep the kids up the hill. But we made it! See them?

There they are!

Sophie thought this building looked like a castle (which is why we took her!)

Checking out the big star in the middle of the floor

And the beautiful domed ceiling waaaaaay up above

We paid $2 for a scavenger-hunt flier that contains pictures of 12 items you can find by walking around in the building (statues, carvings, etc). When you find one, you put a gold star sticker next to it (provided). At the end, when you've found all 12, you can return it to the front desk for a special "seal" and "signature" authorizing you as a junior historian. And if you're really lucky, the drama-major information desk worker will likely sing out "We have another junior historian" very loudly for you as well.

Checking out the special scavenger-hunt flier

The kids took turns putting the stickers by each item. Sophie was pretty good at finding the artifacts. Owen mostly just liked putting the stickers on the paper. For a while.

This was one of the statues we were looking for. I can't remember his name, but he was important when he was alive. Something to do with the Civil War.

Even though our kids are young, I think they enjoyed the building. It was a lot of walking around, but we had a good time exploring.

I liked this mural on the wall. Interesting...food for thought. Talk amongst yourselves...

We were looking for these griffins everywhere! They were right by the door where we entered.

The last artifact...the angel on the outside of the building. Sophie spotted her first!

When we exited the capitol, here is what we saw on the front lawn. Freedom of speech in action! My favorite sign said, "Be nice to me. I'm on your death panel."

Repulicans are hilarious! :)

The Little Zoo

2010-03-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

The kids and I took our first trip of the year to the little zoo. It was drizzly and foggy out, so we wore our rain boots and rain coats, took our umbrellas, and we stepped in every puddle we could reach. I think Owen liked the monkeys the best.

The baby orangutan

Snack break! (Owen put his own boots on)

Headed to the conservatory

Throwing coins into the naked-lady fountain--I was discrete and only photographed her ankles.

The sunken garden. My favorite! Spring was in there!

Sophie liked the pink flowers the best. And the purple...and the red.

Taking a little break

She's five now! Doesn't she look it?!

Last stop (before lunch) was the new-ish kids play room.

We lingered over the water a long time!

Quote of the Day

2010-02-22T16:05:00.000-08:00

Sophie: Mom, how would you feel if someone held you in the crotch?

Me: WHAT??!!

Sophie: (calmly repeating it as if I simply hadn't heard her the first time) How would you feel if someone held you in the crotch?

Me: Sophie (slight panic in my quivering voice), why would somebody hold me in the crotch??

Sophie: That's what the boys do when they are skating on the ice and holding the girls up!

Oh my word.

Barbie Musketeer Party

2010-02-06T15:33:00.000-08:00

Sophie has been talking about what kind of birthday party she has wanted since the day after last year's party...a Barbie one. She got really into the Barbie Musketeer movie not long ago, so we narrowed the party theme down to that. Sophie had a few basic requirements--a Barbie cake, masks, capes, and ribbon wands, just like on the movie. We had her pick just a few friends to have over, and she chose a few church friends, a neighborhood friend, and a school friend.

I made each of the girls a cape of very pink, very sparkly material. They were super simple (and inexpensive!), as the material didn't fray or need hemming. I just sewed one loop to string the ribbon through for tying them around the girls' necks.

This is Alexina modelling the masks.
The girls got gem stickers to decorate their masks with (Noelle).

Ella

They also played dress-up. There were many costume changes and nary a wardrobe malfunction (Lydia).

Some finished masks.

The girls were very meticulous in their designs and really took their time to make them special. Oh, what a difference a year makes! (Cora, sporting her pink cape)

Sophie

One of the other requests was "ribbon wands" like one of the Barbie Musketeer movie characters fights with. I don't know how ribbon wands can be a weapon, but I'm not going to argue with it. The girls loved them! These were just wooden dowels (that I had Greg cut and sand) with satin ribbons taped to the end. We put on some music from the movie and let the girls dance around.
Some were very into it.

And others preferred to watch from a safe distance (and then flap her ribbon quietly to the side).

It was a crazy free for all, and even Owen got in on it (big surprise!).

Lunch time!

Edible ribbon wands (my favorite Musketeer party brainstorm): pretzel rods with fruit-by-the-foot wrapped around the end (or as Lydia called them, fruit-by-the-rollup!)

Barbie cake #2. Sophie requested blue this time. I don't remember if I mentioned it last time...this is a dollar store Barbie (so I could rip her legs off!). It worked great!

A little present-opening

Sophie got a lot of very nice gifts

All the girls loved helping Sophie to open the gift they'd brought (Lily).

This was my favorite dress-up moment of the day...Alexina as Ariel, mullet wig and all!

We took a few moments to watch the Barbie Musketeer music videos included on the DVD. We had a few spectators...

...and several "dance-fighters."

It was a super fun party, and I had a super fun nap later that afternoon!

Pre-School Birthday Celebration

2010-02-06T15:16:00.000-08:00

Sophie got to be at school on her actual birthday. They really do it up right at her school! Owen and I were invited to stay for the opening activities as Sophie's class celebrated her special day.

Sophie started out with a little hand-print painting with Miss Jen, the student teacher.

I think they were making a banner.

Owen got to join in on circle time. That's Lily on the left, by the way.

Owen loves school!

Sophie got to sit in the special chair, and look who got to join her! (The paint didn't really wash off all that well)

Sophie got to blow out (real) candles on a (fake) birthday cake. One of my highlights of the morning was listening in as Miss Jen lead the kids in singing a "We don't play with matches" song while lighting the candles. Hilarious! And very pre-school appropriate...make every moment a teachable moment, I guess.

Sophie got to help lift the flaps on the birthday book.

Again, Owen joined her. Here, Miss Jen is showing the class the birthday cake that Sophie made for the class book.

They finished the time by showing the paper that Sophie (I) filled out to tell the class about herself. Little factoids like...her favorite colors are pink and purple.

It was a very special time, and I'm so glad Owen and I got to stay to see it all!

Family Birthday Party

2010-02-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

After Sophie's recital, all the family headed back to our house to celebrate her birthday. To prepare for the upcoming kid birthday party, I did a practice run of the Barbie cake that Sophie requested I make for this birthday (the day after last year's party). I think it turned out pretty good! The "real" one will probably be a total flop now!

A Barbie Musketeer outfit! This is the kind of birthday party Sophie requested.

Recital Pictures

2010-02-03T12:49:00.000-08:00

Ballerina Sophie, posing before her dress rehearsal

Watching the other dancers while she waits for her turn on the stage

Recital day! This is the starting position in her routine.

Waiting in the dressing room with her friends.

I thought some of you might appreciate seeing her fancy hair. Foam rollers are awesome!

We didn't get any good pictures of the actual performance--no flash allowed. This is hugging Daddy after the show.

She got flowers! A bouquet from the general family and roses from Aunt Janelle.

Are those for me?

These flowers are stinky! (They really were!)

But she held her breath and posed for a nice picture.

Yellow Grandma & Grandpa

Black Grandma & Grandpa

Gerrit & Cassie

Family birthday party pictures coming soon!

Sophie's First Dance Recital

2010-02-01T17:10:00.000-08:00

Pictures will be coming soon!

Christmas: Round 2

2010-01-22T08:47:00.000-08:00

We had a ton of snow while we were visiting, so we took a morning to play outside in it.

Owen did not love it or like it or even tolerate it. He's been crying in this picuture, and we had just left the driveway. His cousin Jozie is posing with him.

Sophie and Aubrey loved it.

One of our Christmas card picture attempts--it was a contender.

Gerrit & Cassie

Courtney, Paul, Aubrey & Jozie

We did a little tubing down the road to the lake

This may have been just prior to the incident where Aubrey slipped into the middle of the tube just as Courtney was jumping on top of it. Aubrey cried like every bone in her body had been crushed underneath her mother's body. It was pretty funny to those of us watching (only because Aubrey turned out to be okay!).

Did it snow this much where you were on Christmas?

Christmas: Round 1

2010-01-22T08:38:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas with my family.

The kids got to open Grandma & Grandpa's gifts right away so they'd have fun stuff to do during our stay.

The cereal was a big hit.

And the pajamas.

But especially the cereal.

Preschool Christmas Program

2010-01-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

Sophie performed in her first Christmas program ever. We waited with much anticipation for the show to begin.

That's Sophie's good buddy Lily standing next to her.

She's actually singing!

And doing the actions!

Performing for 20 minutes is such hard work!

Notice where the majority of kids are looking. Then notice my kid and her good buddy. We could be in for some trouble.

Thanksgiving

2010-01-22T08:04:00.000-08:00

Playing with the Slinky on Gma E's steps

Christmas Chaos

Owen got a shotgun for Christmas

And Daddy and Grandpa wanted to play with it

Owen eventually got a turn
And so did Great Grandma!

She loved it!

The annual family photos

Four Generations of E's

Sophie got new makeup for Christmas...and the rest of us got makeovers.

When would you like to schedule your appointment?

A little Black Friday shopping

The kids and Grandpa and Daddy went for a hike in the woods. Owen brought the protection.

November Miscellaneous

2010-01-22T05:59:00.000-08:00

Hunting for deer out the window.

Sophie and I went to see a Cinderella ballet. This is Cinderella.

Our buddy Drew.

Halloween for the kids

2010-01-22T05:47:00.000-08:00

It was a super cold Halloween.

The annual family picture at the neighbor's house. He always offers. We always accept.

We dropped by to see the W's, but by this point, the fun was over for somebody. I'm not naming any names.

Moving on...Halloween Party

2010-01-22T05:36:00.000-08:00

My sister Cassie dressed up as me for Halloween this year....me in junior high (note the picture on her shoulder). Hilarious!

One male guest asked what I was dressed up as. "Dirt," I replied. "Oh," he said, "I'm not familiar with that character." I was just plain old dirt. It was a Martha Stewart idea that I'd saved up from last year. Should have kept saving...

Connect 4 winners...I got third place! Woohoo!

Costume contest winners...Chuck Norris and Carey (a la 8th grade).

Finishing Duluth

2010-01-22T05:23:00.000-08:00