Our Broken Record

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-19T11:36:00.002-05:00

Our neighbor bought some ducklings to raise. They are adorable.

We had an Easter egg hunt with our nieghbors down at the pond in back of our house.

We keep trying to get a good picture of everyone. It's a little tricky! I think we are getting closer!

The Finished Eggs

2010-04-19T11:34:00.000-05:00

Decorating Eggs

2010-04-19T11:20:00.002-05:00

Watching the dye pellets fizz, so exciting! Decorating Easter Eggs is a highly anticipated event at our house. Our neighbor friend joined us for the fun.

A relatively low number of eggs were broken this year because mom finally got smart and used plastic cups! Why did it take me so long to think of that! Still a few were dropped from such a height that they would have broken no matter what kind of cup the dye was in. Ahh, the fun of decorating eggs. It's no fun if you don't break a couple.

Jonah's Birthday

2010-04-19T11:13:00.002-05:00

Jonah's birthday was in March. He loves Indiana Jones so I made him an Indiana Jones (lego) cake. This was my first time working with fondant. It turned out ok, but cake decorating is not my favorite. Jonah liked it and Sam had fun helping me decorate.

Bowling

2010-04-19T11:04:00.003-05:00

There goes Bekah, she's awesome!

Cousin Sophie went bowling with us. It was her first time! A few times that ball was going so slowly that it stopped in the middle of the alley and a worker had to come and get it out! It was just too funny! There was also a fair amount of lofting from everyone.

Jonah wanted to do it himself, but Grandpa was standing by just in case!

Sam's first time bowling also. He also wanted to do it himself and did a pretty good job!

Bekah's Birthday

2010-01-14T16:57:00.003-06:00

We got a new computer and I can't figure out how to do some things on it, like load pictures! So needless to say, no picture with this post. I just wanted to say happy birthday to my little girl who isn't so little anymore! She is an awesome person, good at music and art and has a very creative mind. She is sweet to her brothers and really helps me out around the house. I am so thankful for her!

Bekah

2010-01-14T16:57:00.000-06:00

Froggin'

2009-10-12T13:31:00.002-05:00

Sam has been into froggin' lately. We spent almost a whole day down by the pond last week. It was a gorgeous day. Sam caught frogs and I was drawing. It was so relaxing. He caught 18 frogs that day! He has the net with him, but he really catches them by hand! A skill he learned from Bekah who is great at catching frogs.

Bekah's Concert

2009-10-12T13:23:00.002-05:00

Here is Bekah at the end of the Orchestra concert that she had last week. It was a combined orchestra with other middle schools in the area. They got to perform at the new perfoming arts center, which is really nice! They did some really fun songs including "Rosin eating Zombies from Outer Space", which included some screaming from orchestra students throughout. It was a really fun concert. Jonah had his hands over his ears after the screaming and he kept whispering to me, "Are they going to scream again?". The first thing Sam asked when he sat down to wait for the concert was, "Can we have popcorn?". Anyway, Bekah did a really good job and loves to play the cello!!

The Bunny

2009-09-23T06:44:00.002-05:00

"Our" outside kitty brought us a little present! A live bunny! Is this not ADORABLE!!!!

Sam had to hold it too!

Bekah did not want to let him go! He was so sweet. A little shaken up (understandably!) She has brought us dead baby bunnies before (and birdies and mice in abundance). One bunny ended up as two front legs, a colon and a tail left laying on our front doormat! That cat's a butcher!

A Very Rainy Day

2009-09-23T06:37:00.002-05:00

Monday it rained HARD from 3p.m. until evening. This is what our street looked like! You could not see the street! Those garbage bags are floating down the street! A little later they broke open and trash was everywhere!

Here it is creeping up on the lawn. The good thing is that the pond in back is now full again. It had gone pretty dry this summer so we did need the rain, just maybe not all in one afternoon!

My Latest Project

2009-09-23T06:30:00.002-05:00

I got this chair at a garage sale for $4.25! It was labeled a sewing chair. The seat lifts up and there is a place for thread. I have never seen a chair like this, but I love it. I had so much fun recovering it!

Da boiz

2009-09-17T21:57:00.003-05:00

Since Rachel posted about recent boys' antics, I thought I'd post this picture that we took on Sunday when they were both dressed up after the annual primary program (when all the kids under 12 have little speaking parts and sing children's hymns for the entire main service).

Here they are in their normal mode, cruising in Sam's "big" birthday present. They've been honing their skills on the neighbor's John Deere tractor, and Rachel found this killer deal on Craigslist for $90. They bumped it that low because the battery was shot, but we got one shipped to us from ebay for $35! (and4-yr olds just don't care as long as it works!)

My Boys

2009-09-14T11:42:00.002-05:00

Two stories, one about Sam, one about Jonah.

Sam-
Today was a normal day. I was getting bills paid and organized and he was watching tv. I put the bills, all ready to be mailed out, by the door (like I always do). I told Sam I was going up to take a shower. After my shower I heard him yell up to me "Mom, I opened all the mail!". Yeah, he opened all the bills, and NOT carefully! Ripped open! At least, by some miracle, he didn't rip any checks.

Jonah-
I got a letter from school on Friday that Jonah was out of money in his lunch account. How could this be I wondered since I budget out 2 meals a week from school and he brings his lunch the other days. I checked online to see the meal history, what he had bought with the money (which I didn't know about before this incident). He has been buying breakfast at school, 10 days of breakfast were on there! And yes, he does eat breakfast at home before he goes to school!

Happy Birthday Sam!

2009-09-08T11:26:00.002-05:00

Some things Sam likes;

Spider-man-loves to wear his spider man shirt (sometimes two Spider-man shirts at the same time)
corn dogs (he says "hot dog corn")
riding bikes
juice, any kind, he has a two cup a day limit that he fights every day
digging and crashing cars and trains (in the winter we fill a tray with cornmeal and he crashes things in that)
Scooby Doo (and Shaggy too!)
trying new foods, he always has to try what I'm having even if he finds out he doesn't like it, not a bad quality
playing outside with Jonah and our neighbor friends
Watching a movie with Bekah, and eating popcorn
Playing with boats in the kitchen sink, this never gets old
Loves to help make cookies (and then wants to crash things in the flour and sugar)
Did I mentions he likes to crash things?!

Our New Cats

2009-08-31T16:27:00.008-05:00

Kittens actually. Four months old. Brother and sister. We noticed that when they get ready to pounce on something, they both shake their little booties so cute so we decided to name the boy Tango (the one with stripes) and the girl ChaCha (the black one).

I've never had cats before since I was allergic all my life. I've just realized that I'm not anymore. Bekah really wanted kittens so they are kind of mostly for her. The cats have been really sweet so far. Not quite as destructive as puppies! Still getting used to the litter box thing though, not a huge fan of that!

Sam's Cast

2009-08-12T07:54:00.002-05:00

Sam broke his arm three weeks ago. Now it is time to get the cast off. We went to the Doctor yesterday to get it removed. Sam was not too thrilled with the saw that they used. It was pretty scary! After they got it off, they took another x-ray and it is healing well. He has to wear a wrist brace for 2 weeks and then they will x-ray it again.

Branson Vacation

2009-08-09T21:44:00.007-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we went on a little family vacation to Branson, MO. We kind of took some back roads since it was the most direct route our GPS guided us to the Talking Rocks Cavern on the west side of Branson. We happened across a happy accident in southwest Missouri on a bathroom stop in part of the Mark Twain national forest.

There's a state park called Roaring River, there was a bathroom we could see from the road and there was a nice, big playground on the other side of the parking lot...perfect after 3 1/2 hours in the car. As we walked to the playground we noticed a guy walk down an embankment and we heard some distant noise of water. There was this pretty, little, spring-fed mountain river that was very shallow, totally clear and moving very slowly (in that part). This turned out to be our favorite part of the trip and made sure to stop there on the way home. We'll put up another post with some pictures from the other days.

The kids liked Talking Rocks Cavern. It's the first cave they've been in. There were some pretty formations. I've never heard of "cave bacon" before, but you can see why, and this cave is famous for it's bacon!

Yes, that fish was alive...though just barely. It was floating belly-up, but I could see it was still breathing. I think someone upstream must have had it on a stringer for a while and weeded it out before they headed home. The kids enjoyed touching and holding it (and it makes a pretty cool mountain man photo!).

The Terrible Horrible No Good, Very Bad Day

2009-07-20T21:10:00.000-05:00

Today;

Woke up with a headache

Alan's car wouldn't start, still is having trouble

I had to go to the dentist

Left the kids home alone for the first time with Bekah

Need fillings

Had a flat tire on the way home

The flat tire was brand new

Had to wait an hour for the insurance company guy to come fix my flat tire

Was worried about the kids

Left my phone at home and couldn't call anyone

Sam broke his arm falling at the park

Alan had to go to three urgent cares before finding one that accepted our insurance

The blessings;

My headache went away quickly

We are getting dental insurance soon

My neighbor rescued Bekah from babysitting her brothers and they all had a good time

I noticed the flat tire as I drove slowly through the bank and was able to stop there and take care of it safely

I was able to use the phone at the bank

Sam had a ton of fun on his new bike before he broke his arm on the playground

we just got our new health insurance cards in the mail Saturday

There was no line at the urgent care, they got right in

After the flat tire and the dentist I said to the kids, "All we need is for someone to break their arm today!" I'll never say that again!!

Pond Life

2009-06-14T21:42:00.000-05:00

We were walking around the pond in out in back of our house last Sunday and this is what we saw! Alan and I watched it finish off the frog, so amazing! Don't worry, this snake is not venemous.

Jonah being goofy at the pond. Ready to catch a frog though!

Now on to this week, We caught a big bullfrog for the first time. Alan had to wade into the pond, but he got one. Oh the excitement!! Too bad Sam was asleep (not feeling well poor little guy). This is our neighbor friend. At one point the frog got away and there was lots of screaming and laughing as they chased it down. We put him back in the pond shortly after.

Up close. Isn't he darling?!

We love our pond and all the wildlife out there, especially the frogs!

Funny

2009-05-15T13:57:00.000-05:00

My Brother and his wife just had a baby yesterday. They added a second little girl to their family. Her name is Ellia Naomi. She had a few problems at birth and is in the NICU for a couple of days, so I don't have a picture yet of her. Her big sister Sophie (2 1/2) is already protective of her little sister. It just reminded me of when Sam was born. This is the face we got when Jonah met his new brother. Really I think Jonah would have been ok to leave him at the hospital. It always makes me laugh!

Mother's Day Prep

2009-05-03T21:18:00.000-05:00

I asked Jonah what he was going to get for me for Mother's day. He thought about it for awhile and decided he would get me an Indiana Jones Lego set. I asked him if I could play with it all by myself. He thought about that too and thought maybe he would need to "help" me play with it. Isn't he sweet!

Piano Competition

2009-04-27T11:25:00.000-05:00

Bekah participated in a piano competition last week. She did really well! She scored a 1! She really worked hard practicing for this and I am proud of her. She had to have her piece memorized, play for a judge, and take a theory test. The judge has the music and writes down comments (mostly positive and encouraging ways to improve). She didn't even seem nervous!

Indulgent

2009-04-03T15:26:00.000-05:00

I hardly ever do something for myself that I would call indulgent. BUT today I did. I saw a commercial that Jerry Seinfeld is coming to town and I said I AM GOING! He was in Lincoln and I wanted to go so bad, I didn't buy tickets because we were poor students. I regretted it and made a promise to myself that next time I would go. I am so excited! I barely got tickets, they were almost sold out, But I DID get some. Can't wait!!

Yummier Than Squid Food

2009-03-29T18:58:00.000-05:00

Tonight for supper I made a Sandwich with pizza dough. You just put the meat and cheese in and fold it over and bake it. Tonight I put Turkey meat with pepperoni and chipotle cheddar cheese. I was a little iffy on the cheese not knowing if it would pass the "Jonah" test. He is so picky, he won't eat "mixed up" foods like casseroles or soups and refuses any chips with "grass" on them. He studied it for a while. Then he asked me;

"Mom, what do Squids eat?"

"Ahhhh-Fish?"

"This kind of sandwich is yummier than squid food!!!"

I'm taking it as a compliment.

Guess Who's Six?

2009-03-24T12:08:00.000-05:00

Can't believe it, Happy Birthday Jonah! He's a really great kid and a joy to have around. He keeps us laughing everyday.

Day at the Park

2009-03-11T19:04:00.000-05:00

Fun twirly thing. This was a real crowd pleaser, there were always tons of kids on this!

Sam on the rock wall.

Jonah and the whale. You may have noticed the reimergence of the Nemo hat. Jonah LOVES his Nemo hat. It is getting a little bit small, don't know what we will do when he outgrows it.

Bekah and the Gorilla. This park is near the zoo so there is a definite animal theme.

Jonah on the rock wall. They really had fun on this.

Goodbye Green, Hello Red!

2009-03-09T14:01:00.000-05:00

Well, it's over. The green van finally died. It has served us well and built up our faith. It went out in a blaze of white smoke on my way home one day two weeks ago. I thought it was on fire and was kind of scared. Sam and I got out fast and ran into the house. It wasn't on fire, but there were serious issues. Here's a few things that are wrong with this car:

Broken driver's sideview mirror.
Rearview mirror that has been glued back in place more times than I can count.
Tape player working only when it wants to.
No heat for about a year and a half. (The kids and I have good memories of driving to piano lessons in NE piling on blankets and wearing long johns with the promise of hot cocoa when we got home. It was SOOO COLD. We really didn't go out if we didn't have to!)
No defrost.
Having to lock side door by hand.
Back door being locked shut for about 3 weeks.
Always having to charge the battery.
cigarette charger not working for plugging in the all important DVD player.
The fun and excitement of not knowing if the car will start.
Not to mention the head gasket that finally did it in.

Enter the red van! What do I like about this car? EVERYTHING WORKS!!!

Sopa de Arroz

2009-03-04T08:30:00.000-06:00

I've been into cooking lately and trying new things. I get a lot of recipes from the kids cookbooks at the Library. Since I'm in the kids section all the time they are handy. They have a lot of international cookbooks so it's fun to learn about other cultures as well as get the recipes. The recipes are usually really easy since the cookbooks are geared towards kids. We have tried Thai and Mexican and I want to try some Japanese next. This recipe is one of my favorites. It's easy and the ingredients are cheap.

Sopa de Arroz

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup cooked rice
1 clove garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green chile (use two if you like it spicy)
2-3 tomatoes
4 cups beef or chicken stock
1 cup chopped chicken. cooked(opt.)
salt to taste

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add rice, garlic, onion, and chili pepper. Fry until brown, stirring often. Add tomatoes, chicken, stock, and salt. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add;

Tortilla chips
Cheese
Sour cream

Too Good!

2009-02-28T16:38:00.000-06:00

I just found this recipe for frosting and mixed it up, I haven't even frosted the cake yet and I know this frosting is a wining recipe. And it's easy too!

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
2 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS
1. Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy.

ENJOY!!!

Stitches

2009-02-21T09:59:00.000-06:00

Well it's happened, someone at our house needed stitches. Normal Saturday morning, boys watching tv, goofing off, a little rough play and then THE CRY. It's Sam. Bekah brings him upstairs with blood spilling out of his mouth. Alan and I are getting ready for the day. Alan has to go to work in 5 minutes. He will be late. I ask Alan if it needs stitches and he says yes and pulls out his med kit. Oh yeah, HE can do it. I was amazingly calm through the whole process. I was holding limbs and looking the other way, but I did sneak a peak and didn't feel like fainting. Sam was really good. I expected him to start screaming when Alan gave him the shot in his lip, but he just whimpered a little and stayed still. Two stitches in his lip. The sad thing is through the process of sewing him up I was thinking that I should get a picture for the blog. I will take a picture of the stitches some time today, after my hands stop shaking!

Winter Happenings

2009-02-05T11:46:00.000-06:00

I haven't blogged for a while so I thought it was about time to start up again. Here are a few things that have happened this month.

The back tire blew out on our way home after Christmas. It happened on the highway while Alan was driving. It really happened so fast that I didn't even realize what had happened until we were almost completely pulled over. I am so glad that Alan was there and that he was driving. I tried to entertain three kids and a dog on the side of the road for an hour. There was a big hill the kids enjoyed playing on and it was pretty far from the road. We played red light/green light, tag and Simon says. Needless to say we started off the year putting 4 new tires on our van.

I finished painting our master bathroom with the SECOND color choice. The first yellow we chose was way too bright on the walls, so we re-painted it. Much better! I even got a little valance sewed for the window and finished staining the cabinets. All I need now are some bathmats and I'm done. We stll want to change the light fixture and other hardware, but that will have to wait for a while.

Bekah turned 12! I turned 30 something! We went out to Red Robin to celebrate both birthdays. Alan's parents came down too to celebrate Bekah's b-day. We had her favorite dessert, marshmallow brownies.

The week of my birthday we had three "ice" days where the kids had no school. Great birthday present! They were actually ok, but I was happy to send them back to school on Friday!

On nice days, Sam and I take a walk. He rides in the stroller and has decided that he always wants to sleep on the walk. He brings his blanket, lays down, and before I know it he's asleep! I just wheel him in the house afterwords and he stays asleep! I wonder how long this will last?

We were excited to see that a Goodwill was being built near our house! It opened in January and I was there opening day with all the crazy people. It is now the closest retail store to us. I've been three times already.

Jonah asked if he could stay home the other day because he wanted to eat noodles(Ramen that is) for lunch. I told him I could send noodles with him to school, but he said he wanted to eat them at home. Nice try Jonah, very cute but didn't work. He did eat us out of Ramen the three days he was home though!

Alan and I are working our way through the DVDs of Scrubs, pretty funny show!

I just read a good book called Cassandra and Jane, by Jill Pitkeathley, about Jane Austen and her sister and their life together. It is fiction, but I thought it was really good, especially for Jane Austen fans. Even though I'm not a huge fan of her books I like the movies. I may try the books again after reading this book.

If I Only Had a Brain

2009-01-05T16:06:00.000-06:00

Jonah is still interested in the body and checked out some books about the body on our recent, infamous trip to the Library (see previous post). He was reading one and sitting by Sam, telling Sam all about it. I heard this,

"Yeah Sam, everyone has a brain, even yoooouuuuuuuuuuu".

Kicked Out

2009-01-05T15:46:00.001-06:00

Last week the kids were still home for Christmas break so we decided to go to the Library. We went and did the usual Library routine, hanging out in the kids section, playing a few games on the computer, jumping off the chairs a few times, MAYBE reading some books. Then we went over to check out the crafting books for Bekah and I. My usual approach to this is to sit Sam in the stroller and have him eat a snack. He was having none of that. Jonah sat down to read some stories he had chosen and Sam climbed and wriggled under a few chairs, they were somewhat under control I thought. A few times Sam ran to where I couldn't see him and I went to get him and put him in the stroller since running away is unacceptable. We were finishing up and getting ready to go. Sam was crying at this point because I put him in the stroller, hence the reason we were getting ready to leave. This is when the Librarian came over and asked me, "Were you getting ready to leave?". "Yes", I said. "Oh good, because we've had a few complaints", she said. I gave her a withering look as I finished getting Sam strapped in. "I know she said, I've been there". Ok, so I wasn't mad at her at all. BUT we were in that section for about 5-10 minutes and I know my limit and was leaving. I was flaming mad at those people who complained, obviously they have never had children. AND the kids weren't even being that bad. AND there were other kids behaving much worse. AND I feel that it is my right to be in the Library as much as anyone else. I have never had this happen in any Library I've ever been to, and my kids have really behaved much worse at times!

Jonah's Joke

2008-12-17T09:33:00.000-06:00

Here's a joke that Jonah picked up at school. I thought it was so cute, mainly because he cracks himself up!

Why did the chickens cross the playground?
To get to the other SLIDE!

Followed by a series of Chicken jokes that make no sense, gotta love this age!

Snippits of Life

2008-12-15T08:25:00.000-06:00

Here are a few random things going on right now;

I'm staining cabinets and painting walls in our master bath. Can't wait til it's done!
On colder mornings I ride the exercise bike inside. Sam loves to snuggle in a blanket and lay on the floor so he can feel the air on his face that comes from the bike.
The boys are getting into Star Wars and love to play with "life savors" and talk about "Dark Vader".
The kids are not in school today, we had a little ice last night. Good day to make treats maybe?
The neighborhood cat has been sleeping in our house the last few nights. It's just too pitiful to see her outside and cold. We are total softies! Our dog is so old he can't see or hear her. He can smell her though and knows she's there, he doesn't like it but she moves too fast for him to catch.
I went to see Twilight with some friends on Friday night after a really fun cookie exchange and ornament party.
Jonah has eaten toast with peanut butter on it for breakfast for the last month and a half.
I can't believe Christmas is next week. I'm excited to wrap presents and get everything ready!

Guess How Much!

2008-12-07T21:40:00.000-06:00

I found a new thrift store! They have lots of housewares and furniture which is what I need. The other thrift stores are heavy on the clothing and book side. Guess how much I paid for all of this. $7.84!!!! What a steal! I know exactly where the two big frames will go and what will go in them(some awesome pics Alan took). The leafy candle holder will go right above my bathtub. The smaller candle holder will be by the bathtub as well. The DVD is a stocking stuffer(don't tell the boys!). The oval frames I have no idea, but they were just cool! I hope it's not expensive to cut glass into ovals. I guess I'll find out. I love good deals!!!

The Thanksgiving Turkey

2008-12-07T21:33:00.000-06:00

Here is my Dad carving the Turkey. The boys were really paying attention to this activity this year, especially Jonah. Jonah has been fascinated by what is inside our bodies, or animals bodies. So here he is getting an anatomy lesson.
We had a really relaxing Thanksgiving this year.

REMINDER

2008-11-30T17:45:00.000-06:00

Silent Auction starts tomorrow Dec. 1-5. My two entries are listed below and there are a lot more on Sally's site. There are already some listings on her site and she's adding more tonight so go see what's there!

Remember, this is to benefit a family who has just lost their Husband and Father to cancer. This is a great chance to help a family.

Silent Auction-Scrapbook

2008-11-29T08:30:00.001-06:00

Here is my other auction item. This is an 8x8 inch scrapbook. There are nine 2-page layouts and two 1-page layouts. The cover is chocolate brown with hot pink highlights and detail stitching. I've used paper designed by AMY BUTLER for all of the pages. To see all pages click HERE.

Silent Auction-Handmade Cards

2008-11-29T08:30:00.000-06:00

Two of each design, all say Thank You. Includes white envelopes.

The inside of the card has a white piece of paper mounted on it to write your message.

They will come in a handy case that is very suitable for giving as a gift.

This silent auction is to raise money for a family at our church. They just recently lost their beloved Father/Husband to cancer. There are seven children in the family. To see complete list of auction items, please visit Sally's blog. The silent auction will run December 1-3.

I Shouldn't Have Even Thought It!

2008-11-25T16:59:00.000-06:00

While cleaning and packing before our Thanksgiving trip I just thought to myself, "I'm sure glad no one is sick right now for Thanksgiving". It seems like the stomach bug hits us a lot around this time of year. Well, after school today I was outside enjoying the beautiful day (Temp-71)with Jonah and Bekah comes out looking pale, "I just threw up". Better pack a bucket!

Coming Soon-Silent Auction

2008-11-25T07:32:00.000-06:00

In our church here, there is a special family that I barely know since we are so new to the area. They have seven kids and just lost their beloved Husband and Father to cancer. You can read their story on their blog. I have been so touched by this story and all the efforts here to help this wonderful family through this difficult time. There will be a silent auction to help them out. This will be December 1-3, and all the items will be listed on Sally's blog. I will have two items to be auctioned and they will be listed here on my blog starting Saturday. Please spread the word and come check out all the cool stuff being auctioned off!

Jonah's Drawings

2008-11-19T13:22:00.000-06:00

Jonah has been interested in skeletons and what is inside the body. We have a book that shows what's inside our bodies and he has been drawing skeletons ever since. The bottom one is about the first one he did. The blue one is more advanced showing the person doing the x-ray. I think they are really impressive for a 5 year old kid! But maybe that's just because I'm his Mom!

A Funny

2008-11-13T08:49:00.000-06:00

This morning. Sam eating applesause at the counter. Me making a salad for later. Sam looks up from his applesauce and asks me,

"Can I crash my trains in this?"

Me: "In your applesauce?"

Sam: "Yah"

Me pretending to think hard: "Um, No, but thanks for asking!"

Grandpa Paul

2008-11-09T09:49:00.001-06:00

My Grandpa (Grandpa Paul as Sophie calls him) passed away in October this year. He was 98. He was ready to go and it was much more of a celebration than a funeral. My Grandma passed away about 10 years ago and he really missed her. This is my dad's dad and the only grandparents I knew growing up since my mom's mom died way before I was born and her dad died when I was 6 months old. I do have a step grandma who we were close to as well, but my dad's parents lived in the same town and we were with them a lot. Here are a few memories I have of my Grandparents, Paul and Alice;

We would go over to their house for sleepovers and play in the basement. My Grandpa had set up a play store for us with a cash register and empty cereal boxes and cans so we could "shop" in the basement. He made forts and a stage for us to play on. I remember dressing up and putting on my Grandma's old jewelry for a fashion show. He was forever changing things around in the basement so we would always be excited to see how it would be the next time we visited.
My Grandpa would pretend to be a cab driver when we went somewhere and we would all sit in the back (including Grandma) and tell "James" where we would like to go.
Both of my grandparents are of Swedish decent and spoke Swedish in their homes. So when they didn't want us to know what they were saying, they spoke Swedish. My Grandma spoke Swedish better than my Grandpa and sometimes had to help him on certain words.
They took us to the zoo quite a lot. The best part was riding the train and when we went throught the tunnel, my Grandma would scream like a little kid!
We were always excited to see their big yellow car come up our street, it meant fun was on the way!

Pics of the Patch

2008-11-09T09:28:00.000-06:00

Evan (my brother), Stephanie and Sophie choosing a pumpkin.

Sam and Grandma, sorry about the messy face!

On the hay bale, the boy's favorite part!

Sophie and Sam playing in the bus. Sam is one year older than Sophie and they didn't always get along, in fact they fought quite a bit over the weekend. But they love each other and had a lot of fun at the patch together.

This was our fall break from school and we had planned to go home to visit family. We didn't expect that my Grandpa would die that week and we would be there for a funeral. The great thing was that we got to see my brother and his family and have a good time at the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, playing games and just hanging out together. I'm sure my Grandpa was happy for that!

Carving Pumpkins

2008-11-09T09:00:00.000-06:00

Here are the boys carving pumkins at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They got the pumpkins from the pumpkin patch the day before. Sam just had fun drawing on his, by the time I carved it he was long gone!

Here is Jonah's creation. He did actually carve his (or tried his best!). The paper clip necklace was made by Bekah and Jonah was very attached to it all weekend long. Bekah made one for everyone.

I Voted Today!

2008-11-04T06:31:00.000-06:00

Well, Friday actually. I voted by absentee ballot and it was great! I've never done that before, but decided to this time since last time I voted for the presidential election I had to stand in line with a squirmy Jonah (that feels like soooo long ago!). I didn't want to repeat that with Sam and I think the lines may be long. It feels so good to have had it out of the way! The only thing I didn't like about voting this way is that I don't get a sticker!

At the Zoo

2008-11-02T21:07:00.000-06:00

We went to the zoo on Saturday, we had beautiful weather this weekend!

On the train, Sam's favorite thing!

On the carousel. Jonah chose the giraffe, even though it doesn't go up and down.

Here is Sam on the zebra, he loved it. He hasn't wanted to go on a carousel, he seemed afraid of them before now. He had fun this time though!

Here is the entrance to the zoo, still decorated for Halloween. Jonah loved going through the Giant Pumpkin!

We went through the rainforest at the zoo and inside they had a "hut" with benches and a table inside of it. I went in with Jonah and asked him if he thought he would like to live in a "hut" like this. He said he wouldn't because it was a pizza "hut". "It's a pizza hut?", I said. And he said yeah, "there's a table for the pizza!". I guess his only association with the word "hut" is from Pizza Hut!

Halloween '08

2008-11-02T12:07:00.000-06:00

All ready to go out Trick 0r Treating. Our neighborhood was FULL of kids out having fun, it was great. I stayed home and handed out candy on our front porch, it was really beautiful weather! Our church had a Trunk of Treating/haunted house/carnival activities event on Wednesday and they had fun at that too! Oh yeah, Bekah is Cleopatra if you couldn't tell and Alan is Gandolf from The Lord of the Rings. I think Sam and Jonah are pretty much obvious!

Look at those muscles! Jonah was kind of hidden in the other picture so I thought I'd add this one too.

The Cat

2008-10-23T18:51:00.000-05:00

This is the neighborhood cat who seems to spend all of her leisure time on our front porch or in the garage in incliment weather. She is definitely a mouser, but also successfully hunts small birds. This week has been a very successful week for her. Two mice in the backyard, one in the front, and a baby mouse dropped on the front porch right outside the door (Bekah found that one and it was still wiggling in the cat's mouth!). She has killed mice before and brought them over, but never this many in one week. I don't mind her doing this, it rids the neighborhood of pests, but we have to watch where we step! Sometimes she brings them over alive and plays with them. I came home from a walk one morning with Sam and we found her on the front porch eating a little sparrow that she just caught. I've never spent a lot of time around cats, being allergic and all. Do all cats do this?

The State Fair

2008-10-06T20:05:00.000-05:00

This "big guy" was just outside the fair entrance. I think the boys would have been happy playing on the "big" guy's shoes all day.
There was a cake decorating section at the fair. There were some demonstrations and some awesome cakes there on display that had been entered in the fair. Some serious cake decorating! They had people helping kids to decorate rice krispy bars and the kids loved that! You did have to pay $1 to do it, but that's about the cheapest snack at the fair! And that frosting was to die for! I think I may have to give cake decorating a second chance. I took a class when I was in High School, but never worked with fondant, that was so fun! So Colleen, I may have to ask you where you took your classes and learned how to do this!
That's Bekah waving from the Ferris wheel. This was Jonah's first ride on the Ferris wheel, he's just too short so you can't see him in this picture. My parents were here for the weekend and My dad is up there with them, in case you were worried! Jonah loved it! I was afraid he would get up there and freak out, but he didn't.
Of course you have to visit all the animals at the fair! They had mother pigs waiting there to give birth as people watched and student vets worked. Kinda reminded me of when I had Bekah and they kept asking if more residents and student nurses could come in and watch! I had quite a crowd in there watching me almost bleed to death! Anyway, They also had a booth set up so you could watch them perform surgery on animals, so Alan was entertained for a while.

I got to have my cheese on a stick for the year. We didn't know where all the good food was like we do at our "old" state fair, but we will learn! I like that they have it later in the year, it's not so stinkin' hot!

Alan entered four pictures and won a third place ribbon on one of them! They even had hadmade cards and scrapbook pages entered so I may have to do that nex year.

Golf

2008-09-17T06:53:00.000-05:00

Bekah started golf lessons last week. She is so tall that she can use shorter mens or womens clubs!
She is a lefty, but found that it felt more natural to swing like a right handed person. Alan is so proud that someone in our family is learning how to golf. He's tried to teach me, I've been to the driving range, but that's about it for me!

Sam's Birthday

2008-09-17T06:47:00.000-05:00

Here is Sam celebrating his birthday. He wanted Thomas on his cake. He was so excited that he blew out his candles before we sang happy birthday and we had to re-light them. After he got a piece of cake with some "tracks" on it he drove Thomas all over his cake!

Playing with Thomas the Train

2008-09-10T09:26:00.000-05:00

We posted Sam's picture to the Thomas the Train website (just click on Thomas the Train here). Sam and I go to this website almost everyday to play games and look at the pictures. I accidentally posted it twice, since it took so long to appear on the site, I thought I messed it up. So if you want to post a picture, just know that it takes about a week to appear there!

Happy Birthday Sam!

2008-09-08T08:59:00.001-05:00

We celebrated Sam's birthday last night while Alan's parents were here visiting. We were around the table and I asked Jonah how old Sam would be tomorrow. He looked over at Sam who was sitting right next to him, studied him for a second and said, "looks like Sam's going to be three". Then Sam said, "I'm not Three, I'm a NUT!!!" We'll give him that, he keeps life interesting!

Crafting

2008-09-07T11:01:00.000-05:00

I haven't crafted since we moved to our new place (or for several months before). I have been getting my craft stuff organized and am planning to start again this week (hopefully!). I just posted some cards that I made last year here, partsandpieces. Enjoy!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

2008-08-25T21:15:00.000-05:00

Since we moved, we now have cable and with that the Disney channel. So, Jonah has a new favorite show that he watches every morning and is fascinated with. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He has recreated the clubhouse out of legos and acts out various parts of the show.
Pretty good with no help from anyone. He also builds Wall-e, Mr. Incredible, and Sponge Bob.

Bekah's Room

2008-08-25T21:03:00.000-05:00

BEFORE.......
AFTER.....

THE BIG REVEAL......
This was a lot of fun, Bekah chose the color. We have added some details not in the picture that I'll have to add later. We want different curtains, these were quick curtains we hung because there was nothing on the windows. Now I'm working on the Boys' room which I will post later.

Jonah's First Day of Kindergarten

2008-08-25T20:55:00.000-05:00

Jonah started school on August 15. He started later that Bekah because they had to do a kindergarten assessment. It was ok, I don't think I would have made it having to worry about both of them going to new schools on the same day. Jonah also gets to ride the bus.
The new lunch box, very exciting!
Sam had to hold his lunch box too and pretend he was going to school. All day he asked, "where's Jonah?". I guess they do like each other after all!

Bekah's First Day of School

2008-08-25T20:26:00.000-05:00

Bekah started school on August 13! She is in Middle School now and is bussed to school, lucky me!

Zoo Train

2008-08-19T12:36:00.000-05:00

Sam is sitting with me at the computer and wanted to see the zoo train again. He LOVES trains! Here at our new zoo they have this train. We've ridden it twice now. He calls it James from Thomas and Friends. Oh yeah and he's still wearing his Thomas the train shirt (going on 3 weeks now) it's looking a little worn. I'll have to go shopping for some new ones!

Cousins

2008-08-16T22:29:00.000-05:00

Cousin Emily came to visit with her new baby sister, Kaitlin. We had a short, but good visit from their family.
Just try to get that baby away from Bekah!
We went to the zoo together and had a great time. The weather was perfect!
Here is Sam, making sure we know where that baby's nose is!

More Aquarium Friends

2008-08-16T22:18:00.000-05:00

We watched them feed the beavers, what healthy eaters they are! In the same room they also were feeding the otters goldfish. They were hilarious as they played with their food! These racoons were so energetic!
And of course the Nemo cast of characters that my kids love, Bubbles,
Dory,
and of course Nemo.

The Aquarium

2008-08-16T21:56:00.000-05:00

They have a really cool aquarium here that we visited when my parents were here. There was so much to see, but the favorite thing was the ray tank. Everyone was fascinated with these creatures. You could feed the rays shrimp on a plastic stick. As soon as Jonah saw that, he had to try it. He laughed so hard when the rays would pop up and bite off the shrimp!
I guess these rays just eat all day, because there were tons of people feeding them the whole time we were there. What a life!

What a Mother Wants to Hear!!

2008-08-13T16:55:00.000-05:00

Bekah had her first day of Middle School today. She got off the bus and ran up to the house (getting a hug from Jonah on the way), and said with a huge smile, "That was Awesome!". I was so relieved that she had a good day!

No More Diapers!!!

2008-08-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

Sam's got it! He is pretty much potty trained, I'm so excited! It has taken just two weeks. He now tells me when he has to go #1 or #2. A very exciting accomplishment. He was my easiest child to train. We didn't even read those horrible potty books we have, now they are trash for sure (especially the one that flushes!).

Sam and Thomas?

2008-08-08T15:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a cute picture of the boys catching frogs. Sam is wearing a Thomas the Train shirt here, his very favorite. He has been wearing it now everyday for the past week and a half. He asks for it first thing in the morning and has to put it on right away. He is totally obsessed with his Thomas shirt, it has all his favorite engines on it. I have to do my laundry at night so I can get it washed between wearings!

Sam is also potty training. I really don't like to talk about potty training, but he is doing really well. Everytime he goes he gets a tootsie roll (and he won't let you forget it either!). The other kids have all helped him to learn. It's so cute to watch Jonah teaching Sam what to do! Sam will tell me now when he has to go, usually in an emergency state! We are still working on #2, but I feel optimistic that he will get it soon! We went to Target yesterday for school supplies and he got to pick out some new underpants for doing so well. Of course he chose the Thomas the Train ones!

Rain

2008-08-02T21:46:00.000-05:00

It downpoured two days our first week here which I guess is pretty unusual for this time of year here. There was sooo much water. This is the drainage ditch a couple of houses down. The kids had fun playing in the water though! I wish it would rain some more now, the grass could use it!

Froggin'

2008-08-02T21:21:00.000-05:00

This is the pond behind our house. We LOVE seeing this pond from our Family room. There is also a field of grass that they mowed down two weeks after we got here. The boys loved watching the tractor as it cut, raked, and baled the hay. The farmer would wave at the boys as he passed by on the tractor!
Here we are hard at work, catching those slippery little baby frogs. Bekah is the best frogger and can catch them with her bare hands! The rest of us use nets. There are so many baby frogs. We are on a strictly catch and release program here. We have also caught a few tadpoles, but I made them release them too. I need to do some more research so we can find out how to take care of them so we can catch one and watch it grow.
It took Jonah a lot of practice to catch one on his own, but he is a determined boy and finally did it!
Here is one of the big ones. There are several different kinds including bullfrogs. These boys make a lot of noise at night! Jonah loves to scare these and watch as they let out a sqeal, jump into the water, and swim away, he laughs sooo hard!

The Big Five

2008-07-31T08:23:00.000-05:00

Tagged again
Rules-Each player answers the questions themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers.

The FiveTen years ago…

Bekah was 18 months old
I worked at the fabric store at night and on Saturdays. I learned how to quilt during this time, being inspired by what I saw at the store.
Alan worked at Office Max (and hated every minute of it!)
We got a yellow lab puppy (that we later got rid of). She was a sweet dog though. She got to go live on a farm with some wonderful people.
I was attempting my first scrapbooks, I look back at them and can't believe how bad they are! oh well, I was just learning.

Five things on today’s “to do” list…

Change Car insurance, cancel old policy
unpack more boxes
clean kitchen floor
continue potty training with Sam
organize bills/files

Five snacks I enjoy

Dove dark chocolate dipped in peanut butter and milk to drink
crackers and cheese and a soda
chips with guacamole and homemade salsa (which I just learned to make!)
Trail mix
Cookies and milk

Five things I would do if I was a millionaire…

pay off house
donate
invest
travel (England, Italy, Greece, New York, Jamaica, and lots more!)
add a sunroom and hot tub to the house

Five places I have lived…

Nebraska
Minnesota (for 6 months)
Nebraska (again!)
Oklahoma
That's about it!

I am tagging Colleen, Elizabeth, Kori, Shannon and Wendy.

Jury Duty

2008-07-21T18:14:00.000-05:00

We've only been in our new town for 2 weeks and Alan just got called to jury duty.......in NEBRASKA!!!! The jokes on them!

Settling In

2008-07-15T08:38:00.000-05:00

I still can't get to my pictures, but we are getting settled in the new house. It has been an adventure that's for sure. We are a little bit farther away from shopping and it feels a little like we are out in the country. Right behind our house is a pond with frogs and turtles and fish. The kids love this! We went and bought nets and "bug" houses at the dollar store and they have been catching baby frogs like crazy! Our house even came with a cat! A gray cat showed up on the first day and we fed it (all we had was dog food). The cat was so skinny that I'm sure it would have eaten most anything we gave it! We bought some cat food and a bowl and now we have a cat! Bekah named it Kit Kat. Our dog is pretty jealous!
Alan started work yesterday and I decided to get the kids all registered for school. We went down to the office and were getting everything copied. Then we got to the immunization records. It turned out the kids needed a Hepatitis A vaccination here. The lady told me I could get free shots at this one clinic so off we went to wait an hour to get these shots! My kids were so not happy with having to get more shots. Then it turned out that Bekah needed two additional shots (tetanus and another chicken pox shot)! It took so long to do all this that I ended up taking the kids out to Sonic as a treat. Anyway, everyone is now registered and ready for school.
Hopefully I will be posting pictures soon!

Moving

2008-07-02T20:31:00.001-05:00

What fun moving is, especially after 12 years in the same place! Jonah is just getting the fact that we are moving to a new house. Here are some questions he has asked me:

Are we moving?
Are we going to Locohoma today?(every time I say to get his shoes on he thinks we are moving NOW)
Will our new house have a bathroom?
Are we pulling the van with the big truck? (no, pulling the car)
Who will ride in the BIG truck?

It's got to be a little confusing when you are 5. We asked Jonah if he had his toys all packed and ready to go and he just said casually, "No, not yet".

New Look!

2008-06-24T21:02:00.000-05:00

Like my new look? It took me a day and a half to decide and figure out how to do this. Thanks to Kori for telling me where to go! Check out my new background on my crafts blog too, I love it!

Our New Home

2008-06-22T20:28:00.000-05:00

This is our house in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (a suburb of Tulsa). We are excited first time home buyers! It needs a coat of paint on the exterior and a fence in the back, but other than that it is in great shape. Bekah wants a green room and has tons of paint samples she is choosing from. Jonah wants a blue room with clouds on it, like Andy in Toy Story. There are four bedrooms and the boys will share, so we'll have a guest bedroom for family and friends to come and visit. For more pictures of the house go here.

PA-C!!!!

2008-06-12T09:11:00.000-05:00

Alan is officially a PA!! He just found out that he passed the test. He had to drive to Iowa to take the 6 hour long test. Thanks to our friends in Iowa for letting Alan stay the night! We are so relieved. Now the work begins, and back to "normal" life- maybe not so much studying!

Locohoma!

2008-06-08T21:47:00.000-05:00

We went to Tulsa Oklahoma this week. Jonah called it Locohoma. We looked at houses and drove around the areas where we could live. We found some nice houses and two in particular that we are waiting for more info on before we decide. The kids were pretty good while we were house shopping. We bribed them to be good by promising a good swim session at the hotel afterwards.
We even had a bonifided tornado warning while down there, the sirens went off at 11:30 one night. We got up, turned on the TV and got ready to evacuate the building since we were on the 2nd floor. We are totally used to tornadoes and heavy thunderstorms, but it was a little scary being on the second floor and not knowing where to go for shelter (the hotel main office attendant had no clue!). Luckily, the storm went to the south of us and we didn't have to go anywhere. The lightning was pretty awesome though!

Alan has to take his board test on Monday. So, on this trip I quizzed him for almost the whole trip down and back (7 hrs.) I was reading questions out of his test prep book. We had a few laughs as I tried to pronounce some of the crazy medical terms he has to know. See how you do!

Papanicolaou smear
Homonymous hemianopia
Subsphenoidal
Transesophageal ecocardiogram
Nephrolithiasis
Cholelithiasis
Staphyloccus aureus
Serratia marcescens
Paroxysysmal supraventricular tachycardia
Camphylobacter
Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism

Drugs:

Methotrexate
Hydroxychloroquine
Xanthelasma
Hydrochlorthiazide
Trimethroprim/sulfamethoxazole

How'd you do? It took me so long to read some of these! I have a new appreciation for the determination it took him to go through school and learn not only to pronounce these things, but to know what they are!

The Big Day

2008-05-29T22:05:00.000-05:00

He was so happy because he got to watch cartoons for a while in his bed. Then he got to ride in a wagon to where they did the surgery. They put him to sleep with gas and then put the IV in, I think that is so smart! The surgery went really well.
They brought him back in his bed, he was pretty groggy but awake. He was looking at me like he couldn't believe I'd put him through this. I did feel guilty, he looked so sad. I know it's going to save him from a lot of sore throats in the end though. He slept for a little more than an hour. I was so glad he didn't get sick like Bekah did! He woke up a few times and asked for water.
Here is his reward for going through all of that. I got this toy for about 75 percent off at Target a few weeks ago. It was a perfect toy for him while he gets better, with lots of activities to do. He's really been doing well, feeling good. He was up and around today, pretty much like normal.

The Curse!

2008-05-27T15:23:00.000-05:00

I have cursed at least two of my children with big tonsils. I had to have mine out in 2001. Bekah had to have hers out in 2005. Now it's Jonah's turn. Tomorrow he will have his tonsils taken out (along with the adenoids), he also gets to have tubes put in his ears. I am so dreading the recovery time, it's tough! We went to the Library today to stock up on new videos and books for him to watch while he's down. He always talks to kids his age when we are out and he told a little girl there that he was getting his tonsils out today! I don't think she really knew what he was talking about, she just gave him a funny look. He is also excited that he gets to eat "popstickles" after he gets his tonsils out. I also bought tons of juice boxes to keep him hydrated. Hopefully things will go smoothly and he will recover quickly!

Graduation

2008-05-09T22:28:00.000-05:00

It's graduation weekend for us, YEAH!!! I am really excited. Tonight was the hooding ceremony for the Physician's Assistant students. It was a really nice ceremony, a little emotional for us. We are so grateful to have had this experience. Alan is the class president and so got to make a speech. He did such a great job! It was emotional and spiritual and inspiring. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry also spoke. Graduation is Sunday morning, can you think of a better Mother's Day present? It is amazing that we are through with school and ready to move on. Alan has accepted a job in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is with a clinic that works with lower income clients and he will definitly be able to use his Spanish! We are really excited about this opportunity and excited for the adventure to come!

The Mayor's Run

2008-05-09T22:06:00.000-05:00

Bekah ran in the Mayor's run. It is an elementary/middle school run, one mile around the Capital. There are always a lot of kids participating. This year it was really cold, but that didn't stop the kids. She is also doing a running club at school, they run twice a week to get ready for the all-school marathon in two weeks. She is inspiring me to go running with her to help her train for the school marathon.

Cookies!

2008-04-30T20:52:00.000-05:00

Sam saw me mixing something in the mixer and had to come and check it out. Nothing attracts my kids like the mixer! (It usually means MOM needs cookie dough!) He was a great helper though, you always need someone to lick off that beater.

Husband Survey

2008-04-28T17:13:00.000-05:00

OK, Kori tagged me to tell a few things about my husband:

What is your husbands name? Alan

How long have you been married? Almost 13, wow I had to stop and think about that!

Who eats more sweets? Me

Who said I love you first? He did

How old is he? 35

Who is taller? him

Who is smarter? We are both smart in different areas, he's more of science, math and medical, and I'm better with history and the arts although we are both creative

Who can sing better?-Most definitely HIM, he's a very good singer

Who pays the bills? I do

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do

Who mows the lawn? Usually him, but this last year I did it more since he was gone and busy with rotations for school, I enjoy yard work more than he does

Who cooks dinner? Me

Who drives? He does

Who kissed who first? It was mutual!

Who asked who out? H asked me out

Who has more siblings? He has 4, I have 1

Who wears the pants? Both

What is his "Love Language"? Words of Affirmation (love language 30 second test)

Now I tag Brenda, Minh, and Audra, have fun!

Thrift Store Shopping

2008-04-23T15:11:00.000-05:00

If you know me at all, you know I love a good deal. I love thrift stores and garage sales. My boys needed some t-shirts for summer and so we went to Salvation Army today. Wednesday is half-price on clothing day. Here is what we got for 25.oo;

11 boys t-shirts
6 boys pants
boys vest sweater and white shirt
boys windbreaker jacket
1 skirt
1 pair capris
1 pair of New Balance shoes for Bekah
1 really nice Woody doll, complete with hat and drawstring

Pretty good haul for 25 bucks! Last week I went to Goodwill and found some adidas running shoes (3.99) and beaded flip flops (2.99) which I was so excited about. Finding size 11 shoes is sometimes a challenge and I hate paying a lot for clothing and shoes.

Kindergarten, Here I Come!

2008-04-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

Jonah had his kindergarten screening this month. He got his height, weight, ears and eyes checked and learned how to go through the lunch line with the Principal. They have all day kindergarten here now, which I have mixed feelings about. Sometimes I'm ready to send him off to school, and sometimes I don't want to. I know he is ready though and will have a great time.

Spring Break

2008-04-17T11:09:00.000-05:00

We went to Indianapolis over spring break this year to Visit my brother and his family. They have this nice little park right by their house and the kids had so much fun playing on it.
Sammy is loving the climbing wall.
Here is cute little Sofie, she is 17 months old. Her favorite word while we were there was "NO!"
Here is Bekah helping Sofie on the slide. Sofie laughed so hard when she got to the bottom and did a little "happy" dance.
We also went to the Children's museum there, it is the biggest one in the world. The kids had a lot of fun. There are 4 levels of fun there. Some highlights were the Curious George exhibit, the Carousel, the Dinousaur exhibit and the full size trains. We maybe saw half of what they had there, it was huge.
We also had an Easter egg hunt one day, inside because it was cold and rainy the whole time we were there.

Happpy Birthday Jonah!

2008-04-02T08:54:00.000-05:00

Jonah's birthday was last week (March 24th). We were out of town so I didn't have a chance to blog about it. Jonah turned 5 and has really been changing and growing. Here are some things about Jonah right now;

Jonah has really discovered reading. Just in the last week he has wanted me to help him with words while we are reading together. We follow the words with our fingers and he is starting to recognize a lot of them! I love watching him discover how to read and realize he can do it. He is so proud of himself too!

He has been drawing and writing like crazy, no paper in our house is safe! He has been writing his name and words like sheep, frog, bug, pie, bear (hey Word World has an influence here!). He will also ask me how to spell words too, like the other day he asked me, "What are the letters in skateboard?".

He's really into "fake falling". This is just running into a wall and falling down on purpose. It's a boy thing. He also does a fair amount of "real falling" too!

He loves the Backyardigans right now. He loves to play the Backyardigan games on Nick Jr.'s website. He draws them a lot too.

When we read stories, I change some of the words to see if he notices. He always corrects me and thinks it is pretty funny.
Jonah was the Ringbearer at Alan's brothers wedding in March. He did a great job walking down the isle and looked so good in his little tuxedo!

He loves to snack and everyday asks, "Can I have a snack of pretzels?".

He loves to build and has been playing non-stop with legos, especially the new Diego legos he got for his birthday.

Happy Birthday Jonah!!

My Favorite Word

2008-03-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

We have all had a turn being sick this week, Alan first, then me, then Sam, today, Jonah. He woke up with a temp and promptly threw up. The boys have just been laying on the hide-a-bed downstairs watching tv and I have been sleeping upstairs on the couch. The house is strangely quiet today. I went down to check on the boys and Jonah says;

Mom, do you know what my favorite word is?
What is your favorite word?
Don't throw up.

Hopefully he won't anymore today!

The Science Fair

2008-03-09T15:46:00.000-05:00

Here is Bekah's Science Fair project. Her subject was gravity and we worked really hard on this display. Gravity is a little hard to understand for us non-sciency folks. I really think she did a good job on her board and especially the planets look nice. We cut foam balls in half (I had plenty of those laying around!) for the planets. Jonah watched us cut these balls in half with a pained look on his face and I couldn't let Sam watch at all or he would have been MAD! We painted the balls and glued them on. We put paper rings around Saturn and wire rings around some of the others. Bekah really loved studying the Solar system and so was the expert, I just helped with some ideas. We did not include Pluto since it is officially not a planet, and we ran out of balls. Fifth graders were required to do the science fair this year and be judged. Bekah got a second place blue ribbon for her efforts. Good job, Bekah!

Caterpillars

2008-03-03T16:15:00.000-06:00

My kids are like little caterpillars, always eating! Here is a conversation Jonah and I had today.

I had just showered and was getting dressed and ready for the day when Jonah comes into the bathroom.

Jonah: Can I have some more pretzels?
Me: Just a minute.
Jonah: Can I have some chocolate milk?
Me: Just a minute.

Jonah goes away and I think maybe he will wait for me to get ready. Then he comes back with a hard-boiled egg in his hand.

Jonah: Can I have an egg?
Me: Just a minute!

He goes away again and comes back a few minutes later.

Jonah: Mom, there's three ingredients waiting for you!

I go out to the kitchen and find three things lined up on the counter. An egg, a package of turkey meat, and american cheese. What a kid!

Highlights of February

2008-03-03T15:51:00.000-06:00

So I haven't blogged for a while, February seemed so long and we were busy. Here are some things that happened;

Bekah got her ears pierced. She has wanted to get them pierced for a while and this was kind of a belated birthday present.
Alan and I flew to Lubbock Texas to see about some job opportunities there. My mom watched the kids (thanks, Mom!). It was so nice to have a weekend away from everything and Lubbock was a nice place. It was warmer anyway!
Sam has developed the habbit of making a nest before he goes to sleep. Unfotunately, he uses all the clothes from the dresser to do this! I just wasn't willing to fold clothes every day so I pushed the little table in their room against the dresser.
My boys just haven't been getting worn out enough during the day being inside so much, and have been staying up way too late so they have been a bit grumpy some days.
Bekah has been working on a science fair project this month. It's been sort of frustrating for us since they didn't really let them choose something that they were interested in. Gravity is her subject. Yes, gravity is important and all, but it makes for some dry reading! Why do I feel like I'm entering the science fair?
Alan did his ENT rotation and is back in Family Practice now. He only has three rotations left before he graduates in May!

Fun Stuff

2008-02-07T14:08:00.000-06:00

These are the kinds of things the boys find to do during the day. This was a couple of weeks ago, but I just thought it was too funny to not post. The boys decided to unload the diapers and cotton balls and extra clothes from the antique sewing machine cabinet (Alan's grandma's old sewing machine) that I store them in. They really had fun "swimming" around in the pile. I did make them help me pick it all up afterwords!

Pink Eye

2008-02-01T21:10:00.000-06:00

Jonah got pink eye on Wednesday, he also had an ear infection so they gave him an antibiotic for both. He has looked a little scary the past two days! Last night Sam threw up at about 1a.m. He was so tired he just sat on the little potty chair in the bathroom by the toilet while I cleaned him and his bed. I never like getting up in the night, but I feel like I'm in total "mom" mode when it happens. I tucked Sam back into bed, gave him a bucket, and hoped for the best. He did throw up a little more on his bed, but just moved himself and his blanket to a pillow on the floor for the rest of the night (right in front of the door so I couldn't open it in the morning). In the morning, he seemed pretty good, a little warm. Then I noticed his left eye. No doubt about it, pink eye. Another trip to the doctor's office and a perscription for eye drops. I've seen way too much of the pharmacy this week! Hopefully Bekah will stay well this round, she already had strep throat, so she's had her sick time, right?

Thank You Remy!

2008-01-31T17:05:00.000-06:00

Jonah is our picky eater. He doesn't like veggies, or anything mixed together such as casseroles, soups, enchiladas, stir-fry etc. Although he has made progress in the veggie area (eating ONE carrot or piece of brocoli), he has not wanted to even touch a casserole. He eats plain noodles or rice, and chicken on the side. BUT, thanks to Remy the rat in Ratatouille, he is venturing into the world of mixed foods. The last couple of days he has been experimenting, combining a chicken nugget and a piece of cheese and saying how good they are together (kind of like Remy in the movie)! He talks about how Remy put so many things in the soup that he made and that it tasted GOOD together. We have totally been praising him for trying foods together, we may be on the brink of something here! I don't think Jonah will ever be a chef, but we are making progress! Thank you Remy!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-01-28T08:55:00.000-06:00

Today is my birthday. I wasn't going to really do a birthday blog entry, but I just got the greatest present! I folded some laundry this morning and Jonah voluntarily, all on his own, put it away. Maybe not in the right place, but I'm lovin this!

New Cards

2008-01-27T21:43:00.000-06:00

Check out some of my latest card creations at parts and pieces.

A Crafty Month

2008-01-25T08:57:00.000-06:00

Here is our new family home evening chart. I wanted to make a new one to add a place for Sam. We are pretty informal about family home evening, but it helps to have everyone have a job.
The names are stamped on thin wood pieces, painted and sanded. The hardware are drawer handles turned upside down. I used rub-on letters for the "family home evening". I used a label maker to mark the assignments under the drawer handles. The best part is, I had all this stuff on hand. These are just wooden blocks, painted and sanded. Then I used these rub-ons that I got at the dollar store. The "Love is patient, Love is kind" saying was all in one package, with the swirls and flowers. A pretty inexpensive little craft. I do want to tie a black and white check ribbon around them to finish it off, but I need to go shopping for that. I thought they turned out nice.

The Music in Me

2008-01-23T10:43:00.000-06:00

This is Sam, curled up on the couch, listening to me play the piano. I looked over and was so surprised to see him all snuggled up under his blanket. I really thought he must be coming down with something! I was playing the music (or trying to!) from Pride and Prejudice, the one with Kiera Knightly. The music is so beautiful and I got the music book for Chirstmas and have been practicing it whenever I get a few minutes. Then Alan told me he had been playing the Pride and Prejudice music the other day on his computer, while reading, and Sam had come to sit with him for about 10 minutes while the music played. I guess Sam does have a soft side after all!