So What Are YOU Thankful For?
On Monday, when I picked Isaiah up from preschool, his teacher handed all the parents a large sheet of construction paper with instructions stapled to it. Each child was supposed to fill his sheet with things he/she was thankful for and then decorate it with whatever things might be lying around the house that preschoolers would like to glue to a piece of paper. That’s easy. Preschoolers would love to glue anything to a piece of paper… and I have many things lying around the house. The teacher is then going to collect each sheet and somehow fashion a turkey out of them. I never cease to be amazed at the ingenuity of people who are passionate about small children.
I took a few minutes with Isaiah and asked him to list things he was thankful for. I was thankful (that’s sort of the theme here) that the things he was grateful for slipped easily off his tongue and we quickly had a list far too long to include on the paper. I then wrote out the words so that Isaiah could copy them unto the paper. It turned out to be a good activity in familiarizing Isaiah with letters and letter sounds. Those sneaky preschool teachers. You give them an inch and before you know it they having you learning and all.
Isaiah did a nice job writing the words out and I was impressed with the way his writing skills have progressed in the last couple of months. They went from never wanting to write at all (because rockets are far more interesting) to fairly legible. He then artfully decorated the paper with a couple of feathers I had leftover from making his Robin Hood costume and some buttons from my sewing drawer.
I snapped a quick picture of him with his “Thankful” page before he turned it in at preschool this morning.
Some of the things that made the list were: My family, My backyard, Sunshine, Food and water, Jesus, My Church, and My friends.
Now that Isaiah has completed his Turkey Project, I want to know: What are you thankful for?
Ummm… this would be the time for comments people.
Weekend in the Rainy City, better known as the Windy City
This last weekend was Fall break for our school system which meant a three day weekend for Nate and Lydia, which turned out to be a four day weekend when school was cancelled on Thursday due to fog. We had been planning a trip to the Chicago area over Fall break to visit Nate’s best friend from high school, who was also the best man in our wedding, and his family. He and his wife moved to Chicago about a year ago from Florida when he took a job as a PGA golf instructor at an upscale golf club outside of Chicago.
We packed up and headed out west on Thursday afternoon for what we were hoping would be about a 3 hour drive. Unfortunately we ran smack dab into bumper to bumper traffic going around Chicago which delayed us from arriving at our destination when we had hoped. The kids did really well though, and it wasn’t too bad of a ride, except for the moments when I squeezed my eyes shut and gripped my seat preparing myself for impact into the car directly ahead of us. I am happy to say that moment never actually happened, but Nate scared me several times as he would weave in and out of traffic then slam on the brakes with only a few feet in between cars. The scariest moment by far though was when Isaiah, who usually is not prone to panic, started yelling and crying from the back seat that he had to go to the bathroom, NOW, NOW, NOW, Oooohhh, I can’t stop myself!!!!!!! I unbuckled myself and grabbed a cup still half full of water and whipped around to face Isaiah. I simultaneously struggled to get his pants down while holding the cup while telling him to wait, don’t wet your pants, its okay if you do, don’t panic. It all made perfect sense at the time. I managed to get his pants down and the cup strategically placed and then we waited about 10 seconds before he actually went to the bathroom. Because it was such an emergency. Then more panic ensued as I was fairly certain the cup was going to overflow into my hands. If you are thinking of the movie “Dumb and Dumber”, rest assured that so was I. Thankfully, the flow ended just near the brim of the cup and I resumed my fear of rear ending the car in front of us.
I still do not understand why he waited until the moment of no return to tell us he needed to go, but I have ceased trying to explain many moments that come with parenting.
Friday morning we slept in – even Micah who awoke early in the morning but played around in his crib for awhile and then fell back asleep. Miracles still happen. We didn’t have much of an agenda for the day except to go into the city and visit the American Girl store for Lydia’s birthday. We decided to do public transportation the whole day because we wouldn’t have to negotiate traffic and parking and the kids would think it was pretty cool. It doesn’t take much to amaze us country mice. We took a 45 minute train ride into the city. Micah, who loves small trains he can hold in his hand, absolutely panicked when we boarded the big, real train that was making a lot of noise. He was literally shaking as Nate held him in his lap, but fortunately relaxed after a few minutes into the ride.
Getting his ticket punched on the train
Once in Chicago we took a bus to Michigan avenue. Unfortunately we got off of the bus several blocks before our intended destination and had to walk in the pouring rain. And when I say pouring, I am not exaggerating one little bit as I may be prone to do. It was like a monsoon. An optimist would say, at least it wasn’t cold. I would just say, I have never been wetter in my life. Our kids were real troopers because they were soaking wet as well. Micah was sitting in his stroller and his legs and feet were drenched. We figured out he would actually stay dryer if we carried him under the umbrella. I know – we’re pretty quick ones.
We finally made it to the Water Tower mall after a stop at the Disney Store in a feeble attempt to dry out a little before braving the apocalyptic downpour again. After a quick lunch we went to the American Girl Store. Now that is some place. Whoever came up with that idea is a sheer genius, and a pretty rich one too. People were spending money hand over fist in there – a comforting sign that the economy has apparently left the doll industry unscathed.
Lydia is actually not that interested in dolls. I have never ever been able to figure that out. She is feminine, she loves babies, she is good with children, but she has never played with dolls for any measurable length of time. She loves stuffed animals and treats them as pampered pets, complete with food and bed as her doll lays half-clothed with matted hair in the corner of her room. But she is an avid reader and devours books faster than I can keep up. One set of books she has really enjoyed is the American Girl books. She has read many of the series and likes the characters. This apathy toward dolls and love for books played in our favor in the store, because it was the books she was interested in leaving with, not a doll that was selling for a week’s worth of groceries. The store is actually pretty neat and even if you don’t intend to buy anything it is a fun place to go. Even Isaiah enjoyed it. The lower level is set up with displays for each of the dolls complete with what their homes would have looked like in the era they came from.
I appreciate that the American Girl Company has not capitalized on the trend in our culture for little girls to act like teenagers. So many books, movies, and toys aimed towards girls Lydia’s age I feel are inappropriate and encourage girls to grow up too quickly. Not to mention the underlying disrespect that many modern characters have towards adults and authority figures. The American Girl brand seems to value childhood and encourages little girls to use their imagination while learning at the same time.
Lydia and I browsed the store for quite awhile before she decided on the Kirsten book series as her birthday present. American Girl is discontinuing that doll this year. Kirsten has aged remarkably well considering she was the first doll they presented when I was a little girl. I wanted her oh so ever badly, and now some 20 years later I have come to terms with the fact that I will never have her. But at least we have her books.
We ended the day at the Lego store where we decided we would let the kids play around instead of making the trek in the deluge to a museum. You can tell we really value education and culture. Actually we just really value staying dry. What I don’t really value is that it seemed to me that out of a city of almost 3 million people, I was the only one that looked like a drowned rat. I think that is a requirement for living in a big city – you must be able to look good at all times even when using public transportation and the rain is falling at 1/2 inch per hour. I didn’t make the cut.
We left Chicago on Saturday but not before our children donned their incredibly cute and original Halloween costumes one more time for a fall party at the library in our friend’s community. They were able to participate in fall games, go through a straw maze, and score many cheapo prizes that I will be trying to sneak into the trash when they are not looking.
Friar Tuck was a little disappointed in the straw maze
Saturday was sunny and dry, but cold and windy. I asked the kids what they preferred – wet but not cold, or cold and dry. Isaiah preferred wet, Lydia preferred cold. I preferred warm slippers, a cashmere blanket, a roaring fire, and a steaming cup of Chai.
It is under those circumstances in which I look my very best.
Our wonderful host and hostess – thanks for such a great time!
A Little Birthday Celebration for a Big Girl
Nate wrote a post below that describes his lunch date with Lydia for her birthday. He is a great dad who takes special interest in each one of his children. I am sure these birthday dates will be special memories for Lydia throughout her life.
Lydia spent her birthday at school wearing an outfit she planned and picked out especially for the occasion and anticipating the moment she would hear her name read on the announcements. These are all big details for a girl turning 9 and I have to admit if I didn’t spend my birthdays at home with small children who aren’t sure what day of the week it is, I would probably have done the same thing. It doesn’t matter how many birthdays you have, you never grow tired of hearing your name announced.
Isaiah and I baked a cake in preparation for our little birthday party that evening. While mixing the cake I remembered I didn’t have my trusty 9×11 cake pan because I had made a cake for someone and not received the pan back yet. I decided to try baking it in the bundt pan I have since I really had no other option, other than eat all the batter with a spoon which I have to say I have been tempted to do at times. The cake turned out really nicely, but I learned that bundt cakes aren’t really meant to be frosted with all the curves and indentations. The cake looked a little short and squatty with dark spots showing themselves through the icing. But hey, I’m a little short and squatty and people seem to like me even without icing, so we forged ahead.
I included this picture because 1. the candles are lit 2. I don’t look as short and squatty as I normally do,and 3. the various expressions on the faces in this photo make me laugh.
My parents who just returned from a trip to Africa on Tuesday came up for dinner as well as my sister Maria and her family. We enjoyed a quiet (that is a relative term considering there were two toddlers among us) little party for our nine year old girl. She received a cute shirt from my mom, new earrings from my sister, and a bracelet my mom brought back from Africa, all of which she is wearing today. Our gift to her was a trip to the American Girl Store in Chicago last weekend and the purchase of a book set there so she wasn’t expecting anything more from us. She had seen a little stuffed 101 Dalmation puppy at the Disney Store in Chicago that she really wanted. She has a thing for stuffed animals while never really developing a likeness for dolls. I asked her about this and she told me, “I’ll grow out of liking dolls, but I’ll never grow out of loving animals.” Can’t really argue with that kind of logic. While she was occupied with something else I snuck back to the Disney Store and bought it for her. She was surprised and excited to pull that little dog out of the gift bag. The puppy went to school with her in her backpack today.
We finished the day with reading a chapter of Anne of Green Gables before bed – one of her favorite activities. After reading I tucked her in bed, kissed her, then held her face in my hands. I love this girl and I love the 9 years I have been her mom. I told her how much I am thankful for her and how special she is to me. She got some tears in her eyes, simply because she has inherited my ability to cry instantly in various situations – happy or sad. She is mine. I can’t deny that. And it makes my heart happy every single day.
A 9-Year-Old?
Anne and I looked at each other after the kids were in bed tonight and asked, “How can we have a 9-year-old?” Sometimes I can’t even remember our life before Lydia came along, but most of the time it seems to have flown by. Really old friends of ours (50+) whose kids are raised, tell me that it only speeds up from here on out. Wow.
I started something a few years ago that I hope to continue until Lydia is married (30+). I take her out for lunch on her birthday to the restaurant of her choice. I tell her she can choose any restaurant in the Continental United States, but so far (thankfully) she has chosen fast-food joints in Ligonier. The first 3-4 trips were to Dairy Queen for a hot dog, fries, and small carmel sundae. This year, she chose the local Burger King for a change of pace. She ordered a cheeseburger, apple-fries with carmel (she shares this carmel obsession with her mom), and a Barqs Root Beer. Not exactly the choice you’d expect of a sophisticated gal like Lydia, but a step up from tube steak anyway. She normally does not like pop, and told me the root beer was “spicey.” Also, I forgot that she likes her cheeseburger plain, so I spent the first few minutes of our meal together scraping the pickles, ketchup, mustard, and onions off the soggy, cheesy bun. I can’t believe onions and pickles are even an option for a kids meal.
While we eat, I ask the same series of questions each year. This is the real reason I take her out. I want to recap the year behind, and anticipate the year ahead. I want to hear what is going on in that head of hers. I think she is on to me, because when I started in this year, she said, “I knew this question was coming!” She talked about the trips we had taken this year, from most recent to earliest. Fresh in her mind was our trip to Chicago last weekend to visit Jonathan Sutera, my friend from high school, and his family. Then she talked about her special trip with Anne and Aunt Maria to see Emily and the new baby in Arkansas. Before that was Family Camp at Taylor University (where she promised to attend some day), and the trip to Holden Beach North Carolina. She also spent Spring Break in Ohio with my parents while we went to New York. I asked which trip was her favorite, and why? She said Family Camp was her favorite trip because she “gets to spend time with her friends and her family is all there and you don’t have to cook lunch.” I think that was mommy’s favorite trip too! 
Then we talked about what might happen in her 10th year of life. She figured she would probably learn division, since that is next in her math class. After that she kind of got stuck, so I helped her out. We talked about the WGM 100th Anniversary Celebration next summer. She doesn’t remember her last WGM Celebration 4 years ago. I think she gets it confused with camp. We talked about her starting 4th grade, her last year of elementary school. After that, I steered the discussion to something a little less emotional for me. Like, should we get dessert with the $5.00 I had left, or go over to Alco and see if they had something she might like to buy? She chose to go to Alco and see what they had. If they didn’t have anything she liked, maybe she could get dessert if she was hungry, or just save it for later. Now Lydia is the only person in our family who could ever make a decision like that. I can’t imagine Isaiah (or his mom) looking at a picture of an Ice-cream Sundae Shake with sprinkles on top and deciding to wait and check out all of the other options. There are no other options in life, man. You could get hit crossing the parking lot and never taste that shake.
After 10 minutes in the Alco Toy Department, Lydia walked over to the Stationary/Pens/Crayons/Stickers Department and picked out a 36 pack of Crayola colored pencils. My shake would have been long gone by now.
I’m proud of our little girl. She is so special to me. Thank you Lord for trusting us with her for 9 whole years. I pray we can have her for many, many more.
–nate
Trunk and Treat
This year our church tried something new – a Trunk and Treat event. I found it to be super convenient to dress up the kids and do one-stop shopping for various types of teeth rotting goodies. It also worked out well for our family because we were planning on being out of town on Halloween and would not be able to take our children Trick-or-Treating.
Disclaimer on this photo – this is not the front of my house, but the house of a neighbor family who totally gets into Halloween. She loves little children and we love candy, so its really a win/win situation.
This year our children’s costumes centered around the bow and arrow Isaiah bought at the Stone’s Trace Festival back in September. Nate suggested to Isaiah that he could be Robin Hood for Halloween now that he had a bow and arrow. With a few clicks of my mouse I found some simple instructions for a homemade Robin Hood costume. Lydia already had a princess dress and with the addition of a tall hat she was Maid Marian. Micah joined the troupe as Friar Tuck in a brown sweatshirt and a cross medallion. Without the cross he sort of looked like a potato, which I am pretty sure does not really play a big role in the Robin Hood story.
I have to say, humbly of course, that Isaiah was the cutest Robin Hood ever. He wore a couple oversized shirts over brown leggings and his cowboy boots. We didn’t really have any other shoes that would work so we sort of had a Wild West Robin Hood. I made him a hat out of green felt and he really looked great. Lydia was beautiful in her princess dress that her Grandma Lowe made her last year. Micah was pretty cute too, but of course, Micah is just pretty cute most of the time.
I don’t know if it was the awesome costumes or the new Halloween venue, but this year was a giant success in the candy department. We have enough candy to sink a ship, or add 10 pounds to my total weight. And since we don’t have any ships around our neck of the woods, it will probably be the 10 pounds.
I think all the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and boxes of Nerds are totally worth it.
Harvest Happenings
Welcome to installment one of the “Great Blog Catch Up”. As I was looking back through our pictures I realized maybe we hadn’t done as much these last couple of weeks as I had thought. I was possibly just imagining that our life is exciting and full of numerous interesting activities. The upside of that is it is not going to take me as long to catch up on this blog as I was anticipating. Which gives me much more time to rummage through the kid’s Halloween candy when they are not looking.
Last weekend was a busy one, but a good one for our family. It started off with a visit from Nate’s parents. The kids love when Grandpa and Grandma come to visit. The timing of their visit was perfect because I needed some help planning a fall party for the children at our church. I had made the monumental mistake of telling our Sunday School director that the High School class (that I teach) would organize and put on the children’s fall party. I found out that really meant that I would organize the party while the high school kids engaged in whatever various activities that high school kids engage in that get them out of fall parties. I optimistically believed the teenagers would come through for me, so I didn’t do much planning until the day before the party.
I also procrastinated because I spent Thursday before the party racing around the greater Northeast Indiana area in an attempt to get all three of my children inoculated with the H1N1 vaccination. I did not anticipate that every other family in our region would have the same idea and Nate and I spent hours in two different lines so our children could be vaccinated. He was less than thrilled. Of course he had Micah, and Micah only had one shoe because he lost the other one while in the care of my sister who was helping get him to the vaccination clinic. I, on the other hand, was with a good friend and enjoyed 2 seconds of fame when a local news station captured my backside standing in the longest line ever. Such a proud moment.
Anyhow – back to the fall party that was not being planned.
Once I realized on Friday afternoon that my teenage students were not really going to come through on the party planning, I put my love for children and creativity to work. That last sentence should give you some idea how great (or not great) this party was. Lets just say I am not in the running for any fall party awards. What I did discover is when you combine cheap trinket toys and hot dogs, kids don’t really care how lame the games are. I actually heard a couple of times from Isaiah how much he enjoyed the party. I’ll count that as success.
After the party was over we progressed onto another harvest activity – applesauce making. Actually, in all honesty, Walt and Linda progressed onto applesauce making while I stood around and watched. That’s the thing about my in-laws. All I have to do is suggest an activity I would like to see accomplished and they go to it. Whether it is making an Easter dress for Lydia or turning apples into sauce – they go for it. And they keep coming back to visit us in spite of my tendencies to put them to work.
They brought their handy-dandy applesauce maker which made the whole process fun… to watch.
Isaiah enjoyed cranking the apples through the machine and since the kids had a hand in making the applesauce, they have also enjoyed eating it. Thanks to Walt and Linda, my freezer is filled with homemade applesauce for our family to enjoy this winter.
Somewhere in the middle of applesaucing, we had an early celebration in honor of Nate and Lydia’s upcoming birthdays. A couple of months ago Lydia told me that she would like a scooter for her birthday and I passed this info on to her grandparents who were able to find a fantastic deal on one at the end of the season. They presented it to her along with some books. They also brought a present from Nate’s sister and her husband. It was a purple and pink basketball that Micah immediately claimed as his own, assuming that any ball in his line of vision would of course belong to him.
As if helping with a poorly planned fall party and making applesauce was not enough, Walt and Linda also babysat our children for us on Saturday night so Nate and I could go on a date. We were able to get some shopping done for the kids and enjoy some time alone. We ate dinner at Chipotle. I offered to split a burrito with Nate, but he wanted his own, so I was forced to eat a whole Chipotle burrito by myself. The sacrifices I make for that man. While under the influence of a burrito induced stomach ache, I self-medicated myself with the purchase of a fantastic pair of boots. Now I just need to figure out how I can wear these boots over my jeans without succumbing to the skinny jean fashion takeover. And speaking of jeans – should a woman really have to endure trying on 30 pairs and still not find one that fits correctly? Where is the justice?
On our way home from our night out Nate and I stopped at DeBrand’s Chocolate. We had never been there before and thought we would try something new. I decided to try their Hot Caramel drink. Hello. Was I ever really living before? It was basically like a hot Dulce de Leche, which was basically like a dream come true for me. I am still thinking of how good it tasted and planning my next trip into Fort Wayne so I can have another one. It is probably a good thing the nearest DeBrands is 45 minutes away or the Hot Caramel could cause a serious strain on our budget and on my jeans that don’t really fit properly in the first place.
Runaway Blog
Help! Help! My blog has gotten away from me and I can’t catch up!
We have had a couple of weeks full of things I really should have been recording for posterity’s sake, but haven’t.
Hopefully tomorrow I will finally catch this runaway blog.
You may wait with breath held.
Road Warriors
1500 miles.
84 hours away from home.
26 of those hours in the car.
5 tanks of gas.
One perfectly adorable baby.
Totally worth the trip.
Last weekend my sister Maria, Lydia, and I packed up our little Ford Taurus and hit the road for Arkansas. We planned to spend 3 days with my sister Emily, her husband Adriel and their new little baby Eliana. Although we had to cut our visit short by one day because Isaiah became ill and needed his mommy home, we had a truly wonderful time together.
Eliana is the sweetest little baby. Emily and Adriel have successfully produced a baby unlike any I have ever seen before. She is perfectly calm, alert and happy when held or sitting in the Boppy. She doesn’t even fuss much when she is tired or hungry. Truly unbelievable and she apparently did not inherit any of my genes or the genes passed on to my babies.
With the terrible flu season making its way across the country we were very cautious to clean our hands before we held Eliana. Emily had an industrial size bottle of hand sanitizer on the entryway table and we diligently used it frequently throughout the day. Lydia was particularly good about this and I was surprised that she did not show signs of inebriation from all the alcohol that surely seeped through her skin over the course of 2 1/2 days. The whole time we were there I was worried about Lydia coming down with something and transmitting it to Eliana. As it turned out, it was Isaiah’s illness that cut our trip short. But at least he was 12 hours away (or 13 1/2 for two women driving in the middle of the night and not paying attention to road signs) and unable to infect anybody.
Maria and I attempted to make ourselves useful while we there and were able to put 10 meals in the freezer for Emily and Adriel to use over the next couple of weeks.
Whose freezer is that organized? Not mine I’ll tell you.
Another special aspect of the trip, besides being with my sister and brand new niece, was spending time with Lydia. She enjoyed being one of the girls and was such a great little traveller; not once complaining about the long hours on the road. She was a big helper too. The first morning we were there I told her to organize her clothes from the suitcase a little while I was in the shower. When I was finished I walked into our room and saw a perfectly made bed, her clothes laid out neatly on the desk and mine folded neatly inside the suitcase. She had done that all by herself without being asked. She was a pro when it came to holding Eliana. She also spent a lot of time with Emily’s dog who was feeling a little neglected because of the new baby. Often times it is easy to pass over Lydia at home while trying to keep up with a busy toddler. This trip gave me time to see her for who she is and focus on her. She is a special girl and I am proud of the way she is growing up.
With Maria and Lydia’s birthday coming up we also had a little celebration Sunday night. I baked a wonderful cake in a bundt pan and a large chunk of it decided to stay in the pan. Fortunately it tasted much better than it looked. Actually, Maria’s birthday is today – so a little shout out to my sister who is as of today no longer in her 20’s. I am trying to rub that in as much as possible since I have already been in the third decade for several years and now have a comrade to navigate the “too old to be hip but too young to be old” years. At least we are not just “too old”, though our many gray hairs are pushing us in that direction.
It was a quick trip, but each moment was one I will bank in my memory. I love my sisters and we have always been a close family. It is hard that Emily lives far away from us, even harder now that she is a mother with a beautiful little girl that we will not be able to see for 3 more months. I guess that makes our time together even more special.
The Rest of the Story
Nate recorded a short video this evening of Micah throwing a ball. Micah has thoroughly succumbed to whatever amount of testosterone is running through his veins and has started throwing… everything. Usually the object that comes flying out of his hand has been approved for that purpose, but not always. Micah has a pretty good throw – for an 18 month old – he might actually be better than me, which isn’t saying a whole lot. The funny thing is how he prepares to launch whatever he is intending to throw. He bends way down, takes a couple practice swings, then lets it fly with a loud grunt. It’s like he learned how to throw from an olympic shot putter. You can get a little idea how it goes by watching the video, but usually he is much more into his throwing.
Now for the rest of the story. We recorded this video while we were preparing supper in the kitchen. A few minutes after we had put the camera away I saw Nate lunge for the stove and noticed orange flames leaping up around the pot. I thought our pot of noodles was boiling over and Nate was trying to turn the stove off quickly. Actually he was trying to protect our home from a flaming ball of fire. Micah had thrown the ball up onto the stove and it had immediately lit on fire. Our hero, Nate, grabbed the ball and threw it outside. Fortunately the only lingering effect was the putrid smell of burnt plastic and rubber.
Too bad we didn’t get that on video.
A Big Welcome to Eliana
We are so excited that two days ago on September 29, my sister Emily delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Little Eliana Ester was born Tuesday afternoon and weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces. It is about more than I can take that I can’t hold her and touch her little head and hear her little baby sighs, but right now all I get is pictures and video. Hopefully next week we will be able to take a little road trip to meet the newest member of our family.
If you would like to see baby Eliana for yourself and stay updated on her growth and Adriel and Emily’s education in the study of parenting, check out their blog.
