Chocolate dipped?

Okay, so perhaps the phrases "Throwing yourself into your work" and "Jumping in with both feet" have a new meaning when it comes to Christmas baking with Grace. Subconsciously she took these literally and dipped herself in the chocolate along with the pretzel rods. Regardless, we dipped and rolled three dozen rods that afternoon and had fun doing so. We had a cookie decorating party with a neighbor the following day (a snow-day from school) and my black kitchen floor had more sprinkles than all of the cookies combined. I would think she would get tired of making things, but as I type I'm being hounded. "Can we make something. We need to make you a cake." No rest for the weary, even when they are 4 and awake at 5am. If you need a Christmas cookie, you know where to find it! Making Christmas cookies is one of my favorite memories of my childhood. My dad would roll about 500, only a slight exaggeration, and fill a few roasting pans. Frosting them took hours and we all did it, including Granny. One year all of the ginger-bread men were G.B. Packers. Another year I recall having chicken-pox, what I was wearing, and that my hair was in braids. I was in 2nd grade. I'm hoping these 2 will have as detailed of memories when they grow-up and share them with their kids as well.

Let it Snow!

Does any child not like snow? Grace was determined to go out and shovel this past Saturday, so we bundled her as much as possible and hoped she could still use her arms! She was out for about 40 minutes, shoveling the backyard with visions of creating a giant hill for sledding. Last year Bryan made a huge hill at the end of our driveway by piling all of the snow there each time he cleared it. She had so much fun on that mini-hill and would glide across the front yard on her belly each night after dinner. Although her attempts are slightly premature- I think we need a few more snowfalls- she was proud of herself. Maybe this year the big sledding hill at the park will get more than one use from her and Bryan and maybe I'll even get a chance! Fortunately, Bryan doesn't mind the cold, whereas I tend to sleep under 5 blankets (and a quilt...in fleece pj's) and bundle up in long-underwear all winter long. I am however looking forward to Miles growing and all of us doing winter activities in the coming years. I can remember sledding on snow (and ice) covered hills in Belleville with my family and going to Elver with friends, so I like the idea of creating those memories for my kids as well. Grace came in for her thousandth viewing of "The Little Mermaid" and warmed up with a cup of warm milk. The only thing remotely chilled on her were her nose and cheeks. I guess we did a good job in "bundling" department!

Parenting Project

Once a month Grace and I hit Super Wal-Mart in Freeport. No Daddy and no Miles. So, of course when I asked her if she wanted to get a Gingerbread House or Tree to put together and decorate, her response was "Yes, me and Daddy can do it." = P Shows where Mommy rates! They had a great time, and they even let me make the frosting. Grace was so proud and loves to do special projects and take little trips with her Daddy. Regardless of the differing parenting styles, views on discipline, etc, you work through them and results are children that love the things that make Mommy different from Daddy and vice-versa. Bryan plays pretend so much better than I do, because I'm always distracted. (No big surprises there!) Personally I think I stay on task a bit better. Bedtime is done and over within 10 minutes for me, but Daddy tends to read, voices included, a bit more enthusiastically and animated at the end of the day. An extra book or two never hurt anyone, right! So, whether you see Bryan playing princesses or me guiding someone through getting ready for school, these kids are so much fun...and work. We try our best to take in all of the moments that could be taken for granted and stick them in our memory, and in as many cases as possible a picture file!

Humane Society Special

When we lived in Sheboygan from 2005 to 2006, the agreement was simple. If we moved 2 1/2 hours from home, I got to get a dog. That's all there was to it. So for a month I searched shelter sites, specifically petfinder.com, looking for a young to adult, small dog that was cat and kid friendly and somewhat low mantinance. I had never lived without a dog until I left my parents house, so a dog was not a huge life changing thought to me. A dog had always been a part of a family, and that part for me was missing. Well, enter "Snickers". On my first trip to the Sheboygan County Humane Society, I was interested in meeting a little female beagle. She was adopted. I kindly asked the lady working if she would keep us in mind for the previous stated qualities. Remember, I was thinking, and Bryan had been promised, a Chiuahua sized dog for our 2 bedroom condo. I could not have fallen in love quicker with a puppy than I did with this muddy, hairy, stinky, 70 pound mutt that came out to meet Grace and I. He and his mom had been there, turned over during a divorce, for 4 months. Dubbed our "70 pound Chiuahua" and renamed Foster, he has yet to meet a person who doesn't like him. Dog-haters like Foster. He doesn't leave the yard, generally doens't bark, has licked maybe 3 times, and is fantastic with all kids, cats and other dogs. The moral of my long love-story is simple. There are so many animals sitting in shelters, and this being something I have always been passionate about, consider adopting a dog or cat before EVER buying one. (Two of our three cats are/were adopted. The other was off a farm.) I am so far beyond annoyed by hearing about designer dogs and puppy-mill pet-stores. Granted, Foster is more of an exception than the rule. He did not come with a guarantee, but neither does a fancy little puppy. We adopted him with intentions of getting a dog that may have some training needs and we lucked out. People ask how I trained him, and I simply state that he came that way. He is our "Humane Society Special" and we know that he will never be replaced. Perhaps that is the hardest part of having adopted him at 3 years old. We missed a bit of his life, but that's what makes him Foster.

Self-Portrait

Now that is some serious artwork! We do a lot of crafts at our house. Anything from playdough sculptures to quite complicated little projects. Grace is an arts and crafts fanatic! She'll color for hours, put one hundred stickers on 2 (small) sheets of paper, string beads for jewelry, decorate cookies, and paint quite exquisite pieces for Daddy's office. The day that she was working on this portrait I actually managed to bake two loaves of bread and clean the kitchen. She keeps at it for quite some time! (Of course when Miles is napping no one tries to eat the paint.) I loved crafty projects growing up, although I have now knit twice in the last 4 years. I do attempt to do my own invites, thank-yous, cards, etc when time and children allow. When all else fails Bryan and I are master coloring champs in the Disney Princess division! Hopefully you all find time, in one way or another, to do the little things that life has pushed onto the sidelines!

Surprise!!!

Alright, so it's been awhile...but I've been busy! Between the drama that all holidays tend to bring and dealing with small children, I managed to completely blindside Bryan with a 30th birthday surprise party. Needless to say, on top of being in the throws of a bad cold, we all had a great time, and I was beyond glad to have pulled it off. Our kids were a bit tired too, as is apparent in the photo. (We were home by 8 though!) All in all we had a bunch of friends, family, fun, and food to make the night go round, so my thanks to any of you that pitched in or brought a dish. Now, bring on Christmas!!

Trouble in a Small Package

Alright, to anyone who's first child is a climber, runner, button pusher etc., Miles is pretty typical. To someone who's first child never climbed, jumped, or had a one-track mind for trouble, Miles is pretty busy. For example, Grace had a wooden table and 2 chairs in her room until about 18 months. It had a little tea set on it, and once and a while she would move a plate. We had that table in the living room here. Miles was on the chairs by nine months and it has been in the basement for about 3 or 4 months now, since he would not stay off the top of the table. Our computer was in the dining room when Grace was little and once in a while she touched the cords. Until we gated off the computer room, and even still if he's in there, Miles will pull the mouse off the desk to chew on, pull the keyboard down, and repeatedly open and close the CD drive as fast as he can until you get to him. Those are only a few examples of the differences between Miles and Grace, and perhaps a boy and a girl. The "scooter stool" is his latest invention. He gets frustrated very easily, which leads to many fits and meltdowns throughout the day. Grace just looked at you and signed for "help". Amazingly, children can be so ridiculously different, yet we see so many similarities in them. Somehow you love them both the same!!!

This is November?

Well, we enjoyed it to the end! This was on Monday, when we spent over two hours at the park with friends. I think it hit 74 and was beautiful! Miles is finally at the stage where the park is fun again. All summer long it was tedious since all he did was eat wood chips if you put him on the ground, so he was carried the entire time. Thank goodness for the Hotsling! We were there again yesterday afternoon, enjoying the likely end of nice weather. We walked there as usual and savored the short sleeved shirts! Today, however, is full of rain, wind, coats and hats. Winter here we come. At least there are playgroups, the library, and friends houses for entertainment. Cabin fever comes early when you stay home with little critters!

Beauty and the Skunk??

While Grace had many choices, and many mind changes at that, she settled on her Belle "Winter" dress for Halloween this year. Miles, however, had no choice in the matter. I had bought his skunk costume on clearance last year when he was about 5 weeks old. It suits him quite well! He is a little stinker. Halloween was really hard to wait for. I have been listening to "First it is Miles' birthday, then it is my birthday and then it is Halloween" since about June from Grace. She was ready to trick-or-treat on Monday, and had been counting down the days all week long. With the beautiful weather, 70 degrees when some years it snows, the evening was great. We joined some friends from the neighborhood and some from the country to go around a few blocks. A bad cold has been making its way through our house, so Miles and a chicken named Eli rode in the wagon, while Belle, Snow White, and Tigger ran off ahead. Miles made it through, but was ready for bed by the end. He has the lovely cough tonight. This was only the second year that we didn't go to Belleville and trick-or-treat with the boys. There was a sadness to not going, since we missed them all in costume and the family pictures, but the convenience factor played in this year. Tacking on an hour of driving, tired kids and parents, made staying in Monroe worth while. There are pictures after all and maybe we'll do the every other year thing! It was fun either way, and the kids were out by 8!

First Friends

We recently spent an afternoon with our friends Jen, Gavin, and Addy (who was sleeping in the stroller) playing in the leaves. It was one of the nicer days last week, and we decided to take advantage of the massive amount of leaves they have at their house. After running around, playing on the playset and having a snack or two, they all made their way to the leaf pile. The pumpkin yard bags were a big hit, and I believe Jen said they were from when she was little! Gavin and Grace have been buddies since she was barely 2 and Gavin about 18 months. Now they are in preschool together and have grown up so much!!! Miles and Addy are nearly the exact age apart and hopefully within the year will be on a similar page. Right now, Miles is a bit of a brut and just wants to poke at her. I think that the friends you make when you are little are the ones that you either discover, with time, are not all they are cracked up to be, or they are the ones you should have stayed with when you found yourself wandering. Hopefully these guys will be part of the latter group. I know several of my best friends now are the ones I had when I was young, drifted apart from, and as adults we realized we were what defined "true" friends and are now closer than ever. I'm blessed to have stayed in, or rekindled relationships with the people who I truly meant something to throughout the years. AndI have realized they have always meant something to me.

The Boys...and Grace

L to R: Grace 4, Ryan 4.5, Casey 2, Trevor 8.5, Connor 3.5, Drew 6, Sean 6.5 Miles 1.

Here is something that had not yet occurred: all 8 grandkids in one picture and no one is crying. Usually, we try to do this and at least one of them refuses to cooperate. Obviously, Grace is out numbered. Each of my sisters has 3 boys and we have Miles... and Grace. Although they used to fight a bit more, they have grown to get along quite nicely. There are the occasional melt downs, tantrums, and wrestling. There have also been entire evenings of one girl playing princess, with her magic wand, chasing all of the boys and hoping to catch herself a prince. We learned one thing: don't hold Ryan down and let her kiss on him. He gets awfully upset. They are only 6 months apart and have always been at odds. They play wonderfully for the most part now, but if you mention that you only have princess plates for him to eat off of, that's the end of that!

Sleeping Beauty has Arrived!

Grace also recently celebrated her birthday. She turned 4 on October 8th, and we ended her birthday "week" with a family party. Luckily the weather cooperated, for mid-October, and we hit about 78 degrees. The entire party was outside, minus the food, and the kids were able to play football and be on the playset. Grace had requested a "princess" cake, I assume like the one's at the grocery store. This mommy, who has yet to buy the cake, took up the project of the Sleeping Beauty cake. Thankfully, she loved it! That made my day and it made her's as well. Now, the fancy dress was off by the time of the party, but what a nice picture! Getting Grace into pants is usually a fight. She was thrilled with her gifts and pooped out at the end of the evening. Bryan and I enjoyed making her whole day special. For school she wore a crown she had decorated, and she provided ice-cream cups for a treat. We went up to Belleville for the afternoon, due to a birthday girl request, had pizza for dinner, and topped the night off at the deli on the square. They have her favorite ice-cream and she wowed them all with her fancy Sleeping Beauty attire! Do you all hold memories like this from birthdays? We hope to keep this tradition for our kids and make their birthday a day for them to remember. They were for us!

Birthday Boy!

Miles celebrated his 1st birthday on September 20th. Since we had a wedding to be at on his actual big day, we had a "family" party the prior weekend. The weather was not all that appealing, humid and rainy, and we we're stuck in the house most of the evening. The kids had a great time, as usual, and there was more than enough food to go around. Miles' cupcakes were a hit with the little ones; mint brownies (fat-free nonetheless!) and angel food for the big people. By the end of the evening a few neighbor friends had joined in on the fun, and the guys played cards in the garage. Luckily the rain had subsided and the kids were free to be wild and crazy, and not crammed in our house! It's amazing how 7 little boys and 1 little girl can have such fun stuffing themselves into a play tunnel! This family has grown so much in the past 9 years with Miles, being the last grandchild on my side, already turning one. They've all grown so fast! For only the second time in 8 years, neither of my sisters or I is having a baby. The only other year a baby wasn't born, Bryan and I got married. Suddenly, none of the kids are babies anymore... bittersweet.

Preschool Princess

September brought a new and exciting concept to Grace's life - school. She absolutley loves it! Ding-a-Dong Preschool here in Monroe is only a few blocks away. Most days, until it got cold, started with a happy little girl running out of her room, fully clothed, by 6:30a. Now, however, the chill in the air keeps her wrapped up until after breakfast. School is Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings from 8:30a- 11a. Personally I enjoy the "break" since Miles is always napping by 9:15a, and has to be woken on many days for pick-up. Her teacher, Mrs. Albrecht, says that Grace is not shy at all. Apparently having 6 boy cousins and a little brother prepared her for the 6:3 boy/girl ratio! Hopefully her love of school and learning continues and her little mind is always open to new things!

Animal Action

There was one day toward the end of summer that Bryan was able to take a vacation day for a trip to the zoo. Grace was so excited, and Miles was nice enough to nap on the way. After all of the animals, they enjoyed the carousel and a picnic at the park. ( The rain didn't start until after we ate. ) Luckily, a few photo ops popped up as we walked through. It's been suggested that I be photo-shopped into the grizzly bear and we use this as our Christmas card. Aren't these always the little trips you remember as you get older? They always have been for me.

Summer Days

Stepping back in time a bit, most of our summer was spent outdoors. The kids were so much more content. Whether it was in the sandbox, the pool, taking around 4 walks a day, or swinging as high as we could, summer inevitably went way to quickly. Most mornings, while Miles napped, Grace and I would sit out back and color at the patio table. Our walks led to a few neighbors wondering "Is that all you do?", and the answer of "It's better than sitting on the couch." Regardless of the heat, the pool called our names, a lot, and the "ducky slide" in the wading pool had to have gotten a sore back! Hopefully your summers were as enjoyable as ours was and we'll head into this coming winter with the coming summer on our minds.