First Day of School

The kids saw a Mickey Mouse video advertised in a magazine and they have been waiting FOR WEEKS for this thing to be on! Do you know what it's like when a kid, not to mention two kids, want something for weeks? It means that every single day you get asked if today is the day for Mickey. Today mom? Nope sorry. How about today? Nope sorry! So finally today was the day, yippee!!!

Check out the tatoo he's sporting while watching Mickey...you've gotta love the tough guy look
My whole little world wrapped up on a little couch, getting ready for the Mickey Mouse special

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Today was Emma's first day of preschool! I love how excited Cal gets for Emma. See?

He's giving thumbs up...well, kind of. :)

This is Daddy giving thumbs up

And Emma's okay with going too...see? thumbs up here too. :)

Love the goofy grins I get from the back seat...these make me know that all of my dreams have come true

Emma and I getting in the car

Here's our big girl :)

Cal giving Em kisses before we leave

Here's our big four year old :)

LOVE this girl. I can't believe she is my little baby girl

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Yesterday we had a big family work day outside and inside. Before that though I made Monkey bread, per the request of Emma and Daddy. It was a really fun day with lots of playing. We finished the day with strawberry shakes. It was a great way to end our summer

Cal praying over his monkey bread. I LOVE watching our children pray.

Monkey bread. Yum-o

I have to show this to you which really has nothing to do with anything but Calvin used his table upside down as a little boat/house thing. See? He even has a little flag on one of the legs...so cute

Sleepy Heads

I love the sleepy faces and mused hair that these little ones bless me with every morning. There are no other faces I would rather see. As you can see, Emma is almost always bleary eyed and trying to figure out who got her out of bed (herself!) and Cal almost always just hangs out in bed until someone gets him and then I am greeted with a cheesy smile. I love these two so much. I hope you are enjoying your weekend and Sunday. We (read Mommy!) overslept this morning and therefore bypassed church so we are relaxing together and watching "Jungle Book". I figure this is a great opportunity to savor our snuggling time as this next week we are bombarded with preschool, hockey practice, dance lessons, story times, and toddler times. Yikes, we are going to be busy! Happy Labor Day!

The Fire Department!

Here's the tour group minus myself and Aunt Mare...so cute :)

Love his look with the fire hat :)

Cal with his cousin Madison and my cousin, Chief Brett

Brett showing Cal how to use the hose

On cloud 9!

This past week we had the opportunity to go to the Fire Station in a neighboring city where my cousin Brett is the Fire Chief. We had SUCH a great time! Emma was so scared and shy that she clung to Kelsey the entire time. We went with my Aunt Mare and her granddaugter Madison, who was not shy like Emma.

Madison and Calvin sat in all of the fire trucks, ran the lights, toured the ambulance, and then got to watch Brett slide down the pole. Afterwards he took us to meet firedog Maggie, showed us where he sleeps, trains people, and the kitchen and all of the nooks and crannies. So much fun!

Cal now has made everything a hose. Brett gave him a new firehat, so we are wearing that everywhere too. I think we have a new hero :)

When we were done we went back to my Aunt Mare's for lunch...she had packed the kids their own lunches in individual lunchboxes. It was raining that day so she set a tent up in her living room...such a good idea! They had such a wonderful time!

The Frog Boots

This morning I came downstairs and the trusty galoshes were in the middle of the foyer floor. Yes it is the middle of the summer. With no rain. We just like to wear rubbers around apparently :)

I know other people get upset about clutter, but not me. Emma must have left these here because she had other adventures to get to, other places to chase her brother. Maybe a popsicle was calling her name from the kitchen and she just couldn't resist. I know I should teach her to pick up her things and put them in the proper place (the boot tray in the closet, perhaps???) and I do, promise. She's really good at putting her toys and things away. And I love how she's normally very willing to help me tidy up the house or go and put things away.

So when I see the boots lying there I am reminded that one day these boots will be just a flash in my memory and galoshes will be no more. She will have taken her own, adult wellies to her own home and I will remember that one day, long, long ago, a pair with green frogs on them once decorated our foyer floor.

Splash Pad

Emma has got so daring this summer that she will get her head wet in these things...so proud of her!
Looks like he's having fun, right? Yeah, this thing wasn't spraying water...he is so cautious about getting wet, its weird

I LOVE this picture...doesn't it look like she's praising God???

And here we have Cal...standing on the edge, ready to go home...

This summer we have started going to the Splash Pads a little more often. Emma LOVES them and Cal kind of likes them. They are just so cute when they play together. Splash pads were put in our area because they can install one for the same amount that they pay insurance on a public pool, about 100k...isn't that INSANE????

Plus I am a little uneasy about public pools. I remember working at one and when someone would have an "accident" in the pool we would dump BARREL'S of chlorine in the pool to get the PH levels back to the right place. Then everyone back in the pool. Ick.

Some pools I am okay with. I know the pool at a waterpark is okay because it has to actually be filtered through a system. You'll also notice that they are wearing shoes simply because I don't like weird foor fungus' in my house...ewww.

Anyway, there's my bit on water. The children are enjoying the summer and I think that they are just too, too cute. There was a button to turn the water on so it doesn't run all blasted day but it was too high up for the kids to reach. Whenever the water would go off they would run over to the drinking fountain and push the button on that...they thought that was the on/off switch...how precious!

Dominoes

Thank you Pumpkin Patch!

Last night I went to play Dominoe's at my Aunt Mare's house with the girls. It was so much fun and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I love spending time with my cousins and getting to listen to the older ladies in our family talk...they are all just so cute! I can't wait for next time and am hoping Donna makes some of her yummy homemade wine next time! :)

While there my Aunt introduced me to her neighbor who also is homeschooling so it was lovely to meet a new friend and chat with someone like minded! :) I think that is getting less and less in my immediate circle so I am looking for volunteers to form a new circle :)

Anyway I had only played dominoes a few times down at our cabin and wasn't super familiar with it but it was a lot, a lot of fun!

Hope you are all having a lovely day! I have been getting lots done around our home and celebrating the love that Christ has shared with our family! :)

Things I Love

This blog is being written after an incredibly difficult two day stretch of potty training gone completely wrong. Yesterday was one of the worst days. In an effort to potty train Calvin we only wore underwear yesterday...no diapers, no pullups, just underwear. Fail is all I can say. We went through about 14 pairs of underwear. He peed on everything we own. He discovered what sheer joy peeing on hardwood and then splashing in your own urine can be. Ugh.

This morning we woke up and I got him to pee on the potty twice. He was excited, I was excited and I felt hope. While potty training may have been okay he was reeking havoc on the rest of our day by being completely defiant and just outright ignoring me. It has been an awful stretch. I am getting ready for bed and can honestly tell you I have no idea if we will be potty training or not tomorrow. I guess I will pray it away when I lay my head on that pillow and how I feel waking up will decide the potty training decision. I pray for strength and patience.

Anywho with today being a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I decided to take pictures of things that make me happy. Ah. I've posted them here for you and I think I might do this every so often. Probably when you see this pictures you can know its been a doozy of a day and I needed to put on my rose colored glasses to get me through the day. Here are some of the things that make my heart light:

Tomatoes on our windowsill...from our very own garden :)
These nifty glasses Nick found at a resale store...he started a collection of vintage Hawaiian items when we were over on the Island getting married and he has quite a collection

Scentsy...its a little ray of sunshine in my kitchen when I am feeling glum

Amish eggs...just look at the size of the farm fresh one compared to the store bought

Yummy smelling dish detergent...its the little things I know

I am trying to make it a point to be grateful and/or thankful for everything, even the small things.

Our week :)

So we have been home from vacation for 5 days! And I am happy to report that the excitement of being home has not dwindled. When we were gone I started missing the children, our home, and even the simple mundane things around here, like laundry and cleaning. So this week has been a week of making sure the house is maintained and that I am getting my chores done. Laundry is done every week, I entered about 90 items into a children's resale, I washed windows, launder curtains, clipped coupons, cleaned our tree lawn, wrote a blog/article, did worksheets with Emma's, had craft time, and had Calvin's therapy time.

This weekend Nick unfortunately works but I am looking forward to the time that it will give us at home that we will be able to get some things done around here.

Nick comes home from work and reports about people and their comings and goings. One guy cheated on his wife and was SHOCKED when she threw him out, another guy had his wife cheating on him. I think all of these attrocities are just horrid but it is kind of nice for me. When Nick comes home he hugs me extra tight and tells me how thankful he is to have me and our marriage. He appreciates the cleaning, the cooking of dinner every night, the laundry being done, the lunches being packed. He is such a kind and thoughtful man when he makes sure I know how grateful he is.

As you can see this blog is pretty much about absolutely nothing. Sometimes during the day when I have no one to talk to these are just nice. Nice, nice, nice.

We are pretty sure that we are going to be homeschooling the children. The recent immunizations that are now required, the fact that they will be teaching children that marriage is between two people, and not a man and a wife, the fact that our children are AMAZINGLY smart, all reasons to convince us that homeschooling is looking better and better.

I've been researching homeschooling by looking at blogs and Iam holding my head in shame after looking at all of these things that moms do to teach their children! They do so much stuff, they have such great ideas! I am really going to have to get my fanny in gear. Thank the Good Lord that I have these blogs to refer to to get ideas on things to do!

Well I think that is it for now. We are having meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn for dinner so I'd better get cookin'!

Door County

Captain Nicholas-he guides our family with God at the helm :)

Here we are at the Tall Ships Festival

Nick carved our initials into a tree-how romantic is that?

We toured wineries...yep nothing like drinking at 10 in the morning ;)

Okay Nick hates getting up early but he did for me so we could watch the sunrise...isn't it just gorgeous?

Here we are on the coast...we are just so happy together

This is Door County, I L.O.V.E. this place, ahh

Nick did a lot of this over vacation, I am so happy he got to relax

Today is our anniversary and I am happy to announce that we are celebrating 7 blissful years of marriage :). We went to Door County, Wisconsin over this last week to celebrate early and had an amazing time. We went there last year with the children and had tons of fun but saw so many things to do that weren't exactly child-proof! So we went back to go to fancy restaurants, wineries, gift shops, and antique stores. Oh we had such a wonderful time just reconnecting and talking. I think lingering over meals was one of my best things.

I am so, so blessed that God partnered me with Nick. I could not have asked for a better marriage or a better husband. From that first kiss on the cheek he gave me in the fishbowl in college I have been smitten with him. I love him so much and I love our life together. Happy Anniversary honey, I love you so much! :)

Too Lazy to Find A Picture Tonight...

As you can see from the title I am sleepy. Tired. And yet my mind races...of course. My Aunt Jan left today to go back home and I miss her terribly! I hope to be like her when my kids are grown, I think she is my hero!

Tomorrow is our family reunion for Nick's family, which after 7 years of blissfullness I guess I should start calling them my family too... :) I am planning something called "outrageous brownies" in case any of you ladies are reading this.

I have an article due tomorrow night. Have I mentioned that I haven't STARTED that article yet? Guess when I will have time to write it? Yep, tomorrow night.

I miss my husband but I have good news...he only has to work nights 3 more times! I am so stinkin' excited about that! When we get home from vacation he will be on days and I will get to have my husband home for dinner every. single. night. Sigh. Hello meatloaf...

My house looks like toys had some type of fraternizing party last night...musical instruments everywhere, Elmo Live is lying on his back with his hands stretched towards the sky, I have a rock collection spilled over the foyer floor, there's a Big Bird on a submarine and somehow as I look at all of this I know exactly what my kids were up to with their imaginations. That either makes me a rockin' awesome Mom or someone who terribly needs the impending vacation.

Speaking of vacay-have I mentioned we are leaving Thursday. Dear Auntie Bean is watching our angels so I have made directions as she has never spent the night here. I love Auntie Bean...she gets me. But I don't know if Auntie Bean will get the remote so I have detailed instructions. :).

Vacation...do you know what I am looking forward to? Steamy sex? Long walks on the beach? Fancy dinners? Nope, probably none of those will happen (at least that I'm telling you pervy people about!)...I am looking forward to sleeping in with Nicholas. Ah. However sleeping in does often cause fights between us as sleeping in for me is say, oh, 9. Where with Nicholas, the man who has slept 27 hours at a time before, you just never really know when he is going to wake up. I might go this entire vacation with him asleep. Only future blog posts can tell :)


Well that is it for now. I am stressed about things to do tomorrow but am residing that I will not worry about it tonight. Tonight I am stepping over the rock collection to lock the front door, I will ignore the Dora toothpaste that is frosting the top of the sink as I brush my teeth, and I will go to bed...because this hot Mama needs some sleep :)

You Might Not Want to read this...

This post is uncharacteristic of me. So I'm sorry but I get to write the blog. The word for tonight is lonely. I am so, so terrible alone. Bitterly alone. I have my children with me every day, I walk the aisles of the supermarkets with tons of people by my side, I share my opinion on motherhood to thousands of readers, and yet I am alone. The man I love is working. Always, always working. I know that it is for the best and it is for me and the children and for all of us but it always leaves me alone. He says he'll always make time for me. Do you know how much I've talked to him today? 12 minutes and 54 seconds. Yep.

When I tell him about the kids or about I am stressed about something he just tells me to stop. Stop acting that way, stop worrying, stop. I know he is trying to help but I so bitterly want to cry out "who the hell do you think you are to tell me to stop? You hardly know me anymore, you are gone all of the time. You don't get to judge my feelings or to tell me how to react to something." Errr that frustrates me.

People all the time ask me where Nick is. I think they think I am lying and we are secretly not even together. Which then makes me think, are we together? I know we are, but what keeps two people together who never, ever see one another and occasionally get to talk for 12 minutes and 54 seconds?

Even when Nick and I are together there is a pit in my stomach. Its like when you are in an abusive relationship and then you meet someone really great. You don't get too close, you keep yourself guarded. That's how I am...never letting my guard down, never enjoying time too much because soon it will all be over and he'll be gone again. If I love him too much then it hurts too much when he has to leave.


As I calm down and the tears stop flowing please let me disclaim by saying that I love my husband passionately. I know he loves me. I am just frustrated. I know if he could he would be home with us and I love that about him. I love his drive. I love his ethic. I love that he's not like anyone else I've ever met. I love that he chews stupid people out about not wanting to breastfeed and can talk my pregnancy pains until he is blue in the face. I love that he was never one of those guys who had to carry around a man bag with their child...he proudly wore the pink bag because he was a Daddy. Point being that I know he is sensitive too. He is so intune to his kids needs that that is why he is making sure I am home with them. And he is sensitive so I know that being away from us kills him just as equally. I guess maybe he should get his own blog then...

;)

The Ring

Hey look! This is my engagement ring! Have you seen this sucker before? I bet you have although you may have never LOOKED looked at it. And I am going to bet that everyone outside of maybe 1 of you doesn't even know the story behind this symbolic piece of jewelry that I am lucky enough to have so here it goes...

Nick and I had been dating for oh, probably about a year and half and knew we wanted to get married. We weren't engaged yet but we talked about getting married and I guess I just assumed that we would. The problem being that we were broke college students. My mom had given me her ring set from her first marriage so that we could one day use the diamond or trade it in for another ring. I more than willingly gave it to Nick and he just thought that was absurd. There was no way I could just GIVE him a diamond. So he bought it from me...for $1.00. One of our dear friends Beth describes these stories Nick and I have as an "us" story because it is so like anyone else but it is so cute and funny.

So in telling the story I will tell you that life went on its merry way for a while longer and when we had been courting for about 22 months Nick popped the big question. Super exciting, and it is also a cute story so I am saving for another time and another place :).

The ring that you see above is the ring he gave me. He had been telling me he had "study groups" he had to go to when all the while he had been sneaking away to a local jeweler to design my ring. I was so surprised! It is a platinum ring and the diamond in the middle is actually the one from my mom's ring. The sides have channeled diamonds and sapphires. People actually ask me a lot of the time if I am missing diamonds because actually the sapphires are such beauties that they almost look black.

Here's what I really love and think about the ring:

The Design: I LOVE that this husband of mine made this ring. He had the design in his head and was able to make it a reality. I just really think that is something very, very special and it makes it feel even more of a gift from him to me.

The Diamond: My diamond is not ginormous and it actually has a flaw in it. Nick said he had to have it appraised by about 3 different jewelers who said they've never seen a diamond like that but yes it is in fact a diamond. I know I think too much into things, blah, blah, but that is one of the reasons I love the diamond. We aren't perfect but we are definitely unique and love each other just the same. I also love the story behind me selling him the diamond. I love that I got my ring when we were just poor college students...looking at the diamond reminds me of where we've come from. When all of my friends were getting engaged I used to feel jealous about how big of a diamond they would get and personally I think that that sometimes shows the immaturity of a relationship. I never would have wanted Nick to think that he had to get me some huge rock, and obviously he knew that he didn't have to...there were no expectations to uphold or anything to prove. He gave me a ring because he couldn't stand for me to not be his anymore and that is what I love about the ring. Going back to the jealousy thing, I no longer feel jealousy. And sometimes, based on the person, I feel sorrow or pity that they center their lives around size and trying to keep up with others. So basically my ring is a good reminder of the maturity in my own life and way of thinking toward material possessions. *My disclaimer here is that I have several friends with gigantic diamonds who are not shallow...I am not talking about everyone here...duh!

The Sapphires: I LOVE sapphires and wanted them in my ring. Nick did not. But as you can see he designed them with sapphires because it is my ring after all, and he loves me (read this to say "I Won! I Won!" Just kidding). This is a good reminder for me of compromise and the enduring love that comes with our marriage. Sometimes we agree to things we may not necessarily want but we do it because we love the other person so, so very much.

The platinum: one of the strongest metals but also one of the most easily to be scratched. This ring is gouged to the hilt. Sometimes I get upset with myself that I've treated it so poorly, but I have the hands of a wife and mother and my ring represents that. My ring has been worn while I've kneaded bread dough, held seizing baby's, changed countless diapers, and my husband's hand in a hospital bed and from a hospital bed. It never left me through the birth of our two greatest accomplishments and it never, ever leaves me.

So that is the story behind the ring. Nick hopes to one day upgrade me and me, being the sentimental one, really have my qualms about it. If we do "upgrade" it will be with a sapphire. I HATE what diamonds represent and the sacrifices made to obtain them and until about the 1920's sapphires and other gems were what were on wedding rings. I would be fine with my ring but I know it bugs Nick that he never actually bought me a rock, so I "guess" I will let him buy one, which again will be a compromise...like the sapphires I have represent... :)

Yes this is the Man of my Dreams

I thought this was just the funniest picture and I don't know what makes me giggle more...the weird snear he has going on, the plastic boot cup that is proportionally WAY too small for him or the Snoopy shirt that the kids got for him because they claim he looks just like Snoopy. For whatever reason I love this picture. If Nicholas does ever run for Mayor (like me and the rest of the world have been telling him to do) I am just going to hope against hope that no one tries to google pictures of the poor gent. I know I have posted some real doozy's over the years!


This picture was taken at my Grandma's house as we were celebrating his 32nd birthday! I cannot believe he is 32! I met Nick 10 years ago when he was 22 and I was only 19. For this short stretch of time every year he is 4 years older than me and I just love that. I always tease him about robbing the cradle and the like. :)


Seriously though here are some words to describe Nick:
Funny
Brilliant
Wise
Kind
Sexy
A Bad communicator of feelings
My best friend
Hilarious
Handsome
Kind
Gentlemanly
A great fried chicken maker
Swimmer
Golfer
Horsey back ride giver
Story time reader
Healer
Supervisor
Brownfield's Expert
Hater of stuffed peppers
AICP certified
LEED certified (you know in case you were looking :) )
Jack Johnson Fan
Rabid Cubs Fan
Great Bears Fan
Mediocre Colts Fan
Tickler
Lover
My Best Friend
Christian
Former Boy Scout
Tennis Pro
Bat killer
Roscoe's best buddy
Labor Coach
Mouse catcher
Teaser extraordinaire of Lindsay
Tall
Sexy...did I mention that???
Provider
Husband
Daddy
Son
Grandson
Nephew
Brother
Sexy
Cousin
Good Driver
Fantastic Parallel Parker
Great Judge of Character
Helper


I think that about sums it up for now. I could go on and on about what a fantastic man my hottie-head hubby is. I am just so proud of him. See when I met him as I said before he was 22 and yes I know that he was a man then but he was just so young! We both were and it feels almost as if we have grown up together. We fell in love, married, endured that brutal first year of marriage, had children together, purchased our home together: we've just matured and grown together.


And I am just so proud of him.

He's one of those men that I have never doubted. He's always supported me, always taken care of me, and has always provided for us. Nick has a silent faith about him. He has an unshakeable faith in God that is so rare to find. He knows with everything within him that he can count on God. When I am upset about a situation he can just tell me to relax or to stop worrying and you know what? I do! Because he has such a resounding faith in our Creator and knows that He will work everything out that when he just speaks the words "don't worry about it" it reminds me of the verses and the promises God makes to provide and take care of his flock. We serve a poewerful God and its a powerful thing when breathing simple words can put your wife's heart at ease.


So Happy Birthday Wit. I am so proud of you. I love you more than I will ever be able to clarify in speech or actions. Just know that I am an inperfect person with a perfect love in my heart for you that God has supplied. He did after all create us for one another. Happy Birthday, you deserve it :)

We were at my Grandma's house yesterday where she got a new sink. Emma went in to use the bathroom and I was teasing her, whispering to her "make sure you say something about her sink." So she went in and still had the door open and in this big voice slowly says "IMPRESSIVE!" I just thought that was the funniest thing ever.


I've got to tell you that sometimes being a mother is rough. And those sometimes seem to be coming and me more and more frequently. A few weeks ago I had an all out meltdown with Nick as he's been sick, the children have been sick, heck, the dog is sick. You work and work and work with no breaks, no stops in the clutter piling up. Good grief its like the 7th year of Viet Nam when it just got ridiculous. So I am really looking forward to our vacation coming up. I can't wait to sit on a beach with the love of my life and talk about our wedding 7 years ago.


Calvin has been sick. Sick, sick, sick. Emma had been sick and here's how Emma does sick: she developed a fever of 102. She laid in bed, complacent with looking at books all day in bed, fever broke 24 hours later, the next day had a little cough but was ready to get up and go. Here's how Cal does sick: Cal gets sick with a 102 temp...24 hours later he still has it only now things that looked like mosquito bites are becoming silver dollar sized welts all over his body. He's lethargic...like non responsive lethargic. Temp is unmoving. Wakes up screaming and clawing at his skin. 2 days later renderings of the welts still linger even after the fever breaks and now we have a red, sandpaperish rash all over our face. And even though we haven't seen a seizure, mom still holds her breath. Bad cough, we lose our voice. A week later we are still barking like a seal and can barely talk. Ugh. My poor little man. And I don't know if he can't hear (before you exude advice he is negative for strep and we did have his ears looked at which were fine) but I can't understand a word this guy is saying. Its like we went back 3 months over night. I pray he starts talking normally because I am frustrated and he is frustrated which means that he is back to being violent with me: hitting, biting, pinching, grabbing, smacking...which again means mom is frustrated.


Did I mention my Aunt Jan is back in town? This makes me so, so happy. I think she's my mom...shhhh, I really do. Some deep family secret or something. A kindred spirit is what I consider my Aunt Jan. Anyway we are having oodles of fun gabbing and catching up and eating in Shipshie. Which by the way if you call it that Emma will then say "wana" as if you are a dumb stupid person who cannot say anything right to save your life.


I am writing again which makes my soul soar and my heart palpatate like it is going into arrest. I've had to have my deadline extended before I even got started...yikes I hope this one isn't a doozy. I'm thinking of branching out into maybe a larger group of magazines or maybe some promotional writing for products. I guess I can always fall back on resume writing as I am freaking awesome, fo sho, fo sho. Ha! But really, do I have time? Yes I know that sounds lame but unless you are a mother you don't get it so don't judge me. Also if you are not a writer than you definitely don't get it. If there is one thing I've learned its that it is much, much harder than it looks.


Anyway I think that is it for now. Now you know a teeny bit about my life and that's all you're getting right now, so :P