A Beautiful Day

Yesterday was gorgeous!! And by gorgeous I mean crisp and cool in the morning with no humidity and by afternoon, sunny and mildly cool. The kind of day that you want to spend outside. And so we did eventually.

In the morning we went to Home Depot for the kids workshop. I have long wanted to take the kids or at least Katie to these workshops they hold the first Saturday of each month, but it always seems that we have other things going on, or that by the time I remember it is already done. So yesterday morning we went around 9:30, in shorts and sweatshirts, and Katie made a castle, while Nicholas and I made him a toolbox. Thankfully, our project only required a dollop of glue and 8 nails being hammered. So I put it together and started all the nails, and Nicholas thoroughly enjoyed hammering them the rest of the way. They both also got their Home Depot Aprons, and a pin for their completed projects to go on their apron. Since then they have sported their aprons off and on and Nicholas has enjoyed loading his toolbox with Daddy's real tools, and toting them around.

We then ran a few errands and had lunch, and then Katie and I got ready to go see Swan Lake. Her ballet school has a company that puts on several productions a year, and a wonderful friend of ours had season tickets that she was unable to use. So for free we sat third row center and watched the beautiful ballet.

Tip for any other mother ever planning to take her child to the ballet: Make sure you read the story to your child before going, since the ballet doesn't resemble the Barbie version in the slightest even though you have the same basic storyline. And since Katie hasn't seen that video or heard the story in a long time, I had to keep explaining parts.

But in all it was gorgeous, and the woman who played Odette/Odile was positively birdlike. And I assume that is a compliment when you are trying to dance like a swan.

Then after coming home and watching the kids bounce off the walls, we decided to head to one of our favorite parks, Clear Lake Park. The kids ran like crazy, climbing, jumping, sliding, swinging. We tried to feed the ducks, but not wanting a horde of seagulls to come bother all the other people at the park, we walked down the pier to look for some friends to feed. We found no ducks out there, but we did find this intriguing sign, that I don't remember ever being there before.

We did eventually find a trio of ducks, but with the wind of the day, and the waves that were crashing in, we weren't able to really get the bread out to them very well, and they weren't willing to get too close.

What We Do To Keep Busy

Create these little cuties.

The story behind this project is that every year I manage to misplace one of the Christmas presents that I buy Katie. Last year it was a Christmas Barbie that turned up 3 months later. This year it was a How to Make Flower Fairies book that turned up on moving day behind a desk. So once we moved into our apartment and purchased some glue, we created this little friend. We have another one in progress that still needs hair. But they are absolutely adorable, and Katie loves picking out their petal "clothes".

Strawberry Picking

A friend of mine told me about a farm they had recently visited to go strawberry picking, and how the fields were full beyond belief of perfectly delicious strawberries. Having gotten used to paying up to $3 for a container of these berries that my children can devour in a single sitting, Mike and I opted to go one Friday afternoon to check it out.

And what fun we had!

The kids eagerly took their buckets and filled them with beautiful perfect strawberries.

Even Nicholas amazingly was able to distinguish between ripe ones and not so ripe ones or even overripe ones.

Katie was the careful picker. Choosing only those strawberries that met her perfect specifications.

We came away with 4 buckets full at only $1.25 a pound. Such a deal!! And we have every intention of going back again soon. Half of our strawberries were gone within the first few days, and tonight I thawed some from our freezer to use in this delicious relatively good for you dessert.

And for those of you curious to know what it is... I have named it "Living in an Apartment Strawberry Shortcake". The little cake circles at the bottom are angel food cake baked in a muffin tin, since my usual baking things are currently in storage in Cleveland. In case you are wondering, they come out perfect, just at about half the time or less.

Brilliance

At lunch a few afternoons ago, we were playing a game that Katie invented. The game was for each of us to pretend to be an animal and then the others would guess which animal was being acted out.

At one point, one of us pretended to be a person, to which Katie replied that isn't an animal.

Mike then explained to her that humans are animals and that just like the animals at the zoo we too are animals.

The response: "You mean all the world is a ZOO!"

Kind of.

Easter Sunday Texas Style

Easter Sunday we were awoken at 2AM and 4AM by a certain little girl who declared the Easter bunny had come. After sending her back to bed both times, we finally consented to let both kids get up to see what the Easter bunny left, and to their delight there were tons of Easter eggs and a basket for each of them.

Nicholas literally shook with excitement as he found the treats inside the Easter eggs. It is so wonderful to experience the joy of Easter through their eyes.And after an Easter dinner of hot dogs and leftover soup, we brought Easter dinner to the ducks that live at the lake outside our apartment. And the kids got to ride their scooters for a while, too.

Easter Egg Decorating

Decorating Easter eggs was an event this year. We were in the apartment, which meant that our kitchen table is in the tiny dining area that is CARPETED!! This meant that normally disastrously messy Nicholas had to be carefully monitored so as not to dye the carpet underneath. And the mission was successful.

While Katie worked diligently and carefully, choosing colors and decorating, Nicholas went full speed ahead, dyed all his eggs and then redyed them all several times more. I think each egg got dipped no less than 3 times. But the results were still beautiful.

Katie's works of art

Nick's works of art

Goodbye House

Even though the house is technically still ours, here is a goodbye in pictures.

Master Bedroom

Katie's room

Nick's room recently repainted to a neutral blue.

Our guest room

Basement, very huge when empty.

SNOW DAY!

Only this little person was nuts enough to go out in the snow as it was still coming down on Saturday.

Building her own snowman on Sunday, when it was 45 and sunny!!

Sitting on a hill of snow.

Nick working on his snowman.In the midst of a snowball fight.

Ducking for cover.

Today

It looks like this, with more to come.

Two Days Ago

It looked like this.

A Rare Sight

The Serenity of Sleep

The Ultimate In 3 Year Old Fashion

The current trend we have seen on the Paris runways this year has been the sporting of the pockets of all pants pulled inside out. While it makes the pants a little less functional, it does make it easier to grab a piece of the one you love.

Also notice, the unzipped fly. This is a newer trend. Only begun in the last month.

Watch for this fashion trend in your neighborhood. It is all the rage!

Happy Birthday to Me

While I am spending my birthday husbandless, I have the promise of seeing him tomorrow for a good vacation, and he managed to leave quite a trail of presents over the last few days.

First was a Hershey gram that is absolutely huge, and made of nothing but dark chocolate. My favorite!!!

Second was a teddy bear that I managed to find a few days ago while I was putting away school things in binders for a house showing.

And lastly, my very favorite gift, was the soundtrack to Grey's Anatomy. Nothing like some good music to make the house a happier place and make life a little more enjoyable.

Thanks to everyone who made birthday phone calls too. It has been a busy day of phone calls from movers, packers, friends, family, and other assorted people. And unfortunately many people have gotten our answering machine since I ran some errands today, and have had a few times I have been home and not heard the phone.

So thank you to all!

AGAIN!?!?!

When the weather outside looks like this....

The inside looks like this.

A Morning Surprise

Kid Projects

As a child, I remember my mother teaching me various skills/ hobbies, which to this day I still do occasionally. She taught me to do needlepoint, and then I branched out and learned to cross-stitch on my own. She taught me to crochet, which I never was very good at, and to knit, which every so often I make a dishcloth. I remember her offering to show me how to sew, but I was a big chicken, and scared of the LOUD sewing machine. It just seemed like a dangerous thing. But since then, as an adult, I have taught myself to sew and quilt. And I love it.

Now I am starting to teach my daughter to do some of the things that I love to do in my leisure time. A few weeks ago, we sewed a small shirt for her webkinz. Not well made, and definately not a work of art, but a start. And yesterday we began this project. It will take us several days to complete, but she is enjoying the idea of sewing, especially with a PLASTIC needle.

And since you can't start a project with one child and not have the other child doing something, Nicholas got some of the Model Magic Fusion, and did his own creating.

Taxes

Does it mean anything that I completed and filed our federal income taxes on Valentine's Day??

Half Price Book Finds

I have long loved the DK Eye Wonder series of books. I found a few of them, super cheap at our local half price books over a year ago. They are the absolute perfect science books for young children.

Now I have stumbled upon another DK series that I absolutely love just as much. They are DK Watch Me Grow books. Today at Half Price I got the Bear, Butterfly, and Duckling books. Since we are following the classical curriculum for science, I thought we could do a unit on life cycles with these books. Now if only I can find the Frog book.

I also found a beautiful Margaret Wise Brown book: Bunny's Noisy Book. It was a third of the original price in perfect hardcover condition. It is such a sweet story with beautiful pictures.

Windstorms

Who knew that Cincinnati is quite the windy city??

I mean seriously people, rarely does a day go by that it isn't rather blustery. During the summer, it's great! The temperature can be really hot, but you still have a nice breeze to sit outside.

Now during the winter, it becomes rather scary! Last night we had our third or fourth really good windstorm. The kind where the house seems like it might collapse. It creaks, and the windows sound like they are going to break. It is so loud that I can never go to sleep.

I woke this morning to see that the realtor's sign broke from the wind. The top half broke right off. I guess this is better than the first storm of the season, when the sign flew into the neighbor's yard, a good 75 feet or so away.

Nicholas Update

Sinus infection with conjunctivitis. No ear infections. YIPPEE!

And since he has both the eye infection and the sinus infection, I don't have to try to squeeze drops into a squirmy child who is very strong. Just a lovely white goo that he actually likes to swallow for an antibiotic.

You Know It Has Been Cold While You Were Gone When...

You get in your car at the airport and find a can of Diet Coke contorted in weird shapes.

You get in the same car 3 days later and while waiting in traffic look at the ceiling and notice the can of Diet Coke not only contorted in weird shapes when it froze, it also shot little droplets of brown all over the ceiling of your car.

The good part... it wasn't you, but your beloved spouse who brought the can in the car and left it there.

You Know It's Cold Outside When...

You bring a can of Diet Coke inside from the garage (your current secondary refrigerator), and the drink is slushy inside.

And now your garage is functioning as a freezer and the drinks are in the laundry room instead.

Wonderful Friends

We just got back from 5 days spent in the Houston area. And it was a busy, but very fun time.

Thank you to all our wonderful friends that watched the kids for us, invited us over for dinner, came out to dinner or lunch with us, and generally made us feel like we were home.

Katie didn't want to leave, and keeps asking when we are going back. This from the child who didn't want to come at all. Of course, once she realizes that when you live there, you don't see a different friend every day of the week, she may change her tune. But hopefully, we will be able to keep up the time spent with friends even when we live there.

Great friends are invaluable!!!!

Texas Bound...Eventually

God wants us to live in Texas.

How do I know?

Hmmm...let me see. We got to the airport in Houston very early, since our car rental had to be returned. We found that our flight was delayed until 8:30 from an original departure of 7:45. Nicholas was running a fever, probably around 102 if I had to guess. I was feeling rotten and had no voice. We finally got on the plane, and arrived in Dayton shortly after midnight. Once the bus took us to our car, we discovered a flat tire. Once Mike located the tire and jack, and changed the tire it was after 1 AM. We got back to our house after 2 AM.

I think we should have all just stayed in bed.

And that bed was where????

TEXAS!

Is My Family Crazy?

I am beginning to think we have all gone a little nutty.

The kids are riding their scooters around the house. Yes, we have allowed them to ride indoors due to the rainy and cold weather we have had until today. Today was 70 and sunny. On January 7th. Unimaginable!!

My son thinks he is a Wiggle. And my daughter dances to any music at any time. They put on a 15 minute Wiggles variety show, all caught on video, the other night. She seemed to take a director's role, while he was very comfortable performing.

The Christmas tree is still up. I don't have the heart to take it down. And I am feeling awfully tired anyway. Instead I have been busy watching Grey's Anatomy seasons 2 and 3 whenever possible. I am obsessed. Plus trying to keep a house in "showing" condition with 2 little untidy children, is quite time consuming.

Then we have the husband with his stacks of books that he carts around the house, since you never know what you might be in the mood to read. Who watches endless episodes of Cosmos, and the science channel. And is currently in football watching season - bowl games and playoffs.

Things are definitely stranger than normal.

A Wiggly Christmas

After returning from our trip to Chicago, we found that a last minute present for Nicholas had arrived while we were gone.

My darling son, loves, and I mean LOVES, the Wiggles. He sings, reads, watches, plays, and lives them. He has declared that when he grows up he wants to be a Wiggle. Jeff and Anthony.

As background to this present you should know the story...

Nicholas has been playing Wiggles with a Little Pet Shop house, and 4 matchbox cars: a blue one, a red one, a yellow one, and another blue one. He asked that Santa bring him a purple car to be Jeff since he didn't have one.

Instead Mom and Dad bought him a group of Wiggle playsets on ebay. They didn't come cheap, but the woman selling them was very nice and very generous. She emailed me saying she was in the Christmas spirit and asked what other Wiggle toys we had and who my son's favorite characters were. When the package arrived there were a ton of extra toys: a microphone that plays music and you can sing in, a big red car with the 4 guys in it, 2 finger puppets, and a big Murray doll that sings and talks. He loves them and plays with them every day. So a Wiggly after Christmas it has been.

And here is the beloved Samantha and Katie in their matching jammies.

Trip to Chicago

We were supposed to go to Chicago to visit my parents, brother, friends, and family prior to Christmas, but I got a stomach bug that ended that plan, and also ended any plan we could have made for our 9th anniversary on the 19th.

So instead we revised our plan to go a week later, right before New Years. My brother would be out of town, but we could see everyone else. Plus we had planned to go visit the Indianapolis Children's Museum, which is supposed to be the largest Children's museum, after Christmas, and it is only another 3 hours to my parents from there. So off we went.

We got to the museum an hour later than planned. Partly because we got stuck sitting in stopped traffic while some construction was being done on the highway, and partly because we didn't leave as early as we had planned. The museum was packed!!! So busy that we really couldn't enjoy ourselves with 2 small kids. We went to the dinosaurs first, which was really a great display, but a little dark for Katie's taste, and very busy. The kids did have some fun playing the computer question games that were set up along the walls though.

They also got to see several other parts of the museum, and take a ride on the Yule Sled, a good sized slide from the second floor to the first. I went with Nick, and Katie went by herself right next to me, but had to hold my hand at first. Too bad we had to wait 15 minutes just to ride or I think they would have done it several times.

I highly advise going on a less crowded day. The museum is not set up well for parents with young kids. There are many exhibits that your child can go one way, and you have to run around to try to find where they came out at. And with all the people, it could take you 10 minutes to find them again. It also seemed geared to older kids in my opinion.

Oh and did I mention we lost Nicholas while standing in line waiting for our tickets. Only for a few minutes though.

Then Saturday, after being at my parents house for several days, I took Katie up to the American Girl store with Grandma and Grandpa. She had been saving her money since before her birthday, and had some to spend. Then she got money from her grandparents, which gave her enough to buy the one thing she wanted from Santa that she didn't get. A new American Girl doll.

But before purchasing anything, we were able to get into the brunch at the cafe there. I had tried getting a reservation but they were booked. We were third on the wait list and luckily managed to secure what looked like one of the last tables there. Yippee! Katie stared around in amazement as the waiter sat both her and her doll at the table.

Then we went out to finish our shopping.

And Katie picked out Samantha, one of the historic dolls. She is beautiful! And as of right now she dresses her for the day, and for bed, and caters to her like a real person.

Christmas 2007

This years winning Christmas photo.

The dress was one Katie got from Grandma E. last year, and while a little snug, it was gorgeous on her.

Also, that adorable looking, handsome, smiling boy in the picture...5 seconds before this shot had been writhing around on the floor complaining he couldn't stand up. That is until Daddy got on the phone with Santa. Amazing what a little phone torture will do.

Making Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve after going to mass in the gym.

Yes I said gym. The gym was supposed to be for the overflow of the church and have a large screen telecast. The gym was also filled to capacity with people standing. Luckily for us, the children were ideally well behaved. Katie wore the gorgeous dress that Grandma E. gave her last year in addition to the one in the above picture. This one was a little more practical for the weather of the day with long sleeves. Nicholas on the other hand, had to wear an old shirt and pants, since he had gotten his Christmas clothes dirty previously, and they weren't dry in time for mass.

Two happy children on Christmas morning. 5:45 to be precise!!Nick with one of his favorites from Santa, and mine too. A Shake and Go Racecar set.

Katie, Bitty Baby, and the American Girl who is just referred to as my American Girl (once upon a time Princess Christmas and Princess Springtime) all in matching jammies and hats from Santa.