Friday, October 30, 2009

The Golden Touch

First let me say how great my husband is. If I butter him up then maybe he'll forget about the second part of this blog entry. No really, last night he took the kiddos for a few hours so I can have some uninterrupted cleaning time. I know that sounds weird, but it's honestly relaxing for me to clean in peace without someone dumping a puzzle out where I just cleaned. I steam cleaned the carpets, dusted, and organized. I feel at peace today with the house.

Today, he took Noah with him on his man-date. He's helping a friend remodel a bathroom, which is actually a lot of fun for him. So, Callie and I were left to our own devices. We had nothing better to do, so we headed for the mall. We got there right as things were starting to open and there was a long line for Old Navy. I asked a woman standing there what was going on and she said that you could stuff a bag for 50% off if you were the first 50 and had an Old Navy card. Well, gee, I knew that thing would come in handy. I figured, what the heck...I'll wait in line and see what I can find. Well, find I did. The kids now have their Christmas wear (I'd been eyeing a dress for Callie there for awhile), and each got 2 new pairs of jeans (so 4 jeans for a total of $20). I got a few shirts for me. Dave got a new dress shirt for $1.50. Sweet deals.

I figured I was done after that. However, I had been wanting a pair of shoes at Payless, so I thought I might stop in just to see if they were on sale. As I walked in the lady said they had some deal where you got 50% off your entire purchase today. Well, hot dog, it was a good day to come to the mall. So I got the shoes I had been eyeing for half-price, a scarf, and 3 pairs of earrings (for $2)...all for a ridiculously low price.

After that, I just walked out of the mall. I figured I would quit while I was ahead. I'm super excited about the kid's Christmas clothes and their jeans. They both had growth spurts recently and were growing out of their old stuff.

So, now I'm just relaxing. I'm planning on picking up my book and enjoying the quiet.

Monday, October 26, 2009

One for the books

Grandma and Grandpa gave the kids each $5 for Halloween. We were at Target today looking at possibilities. Callie was looking at baby dolls. Dave handed her one to look at. Typical Callie is that one baby is not enough. So the following dialogue occured:

Callie: Ugh...baby....baby.....baby!!!
Noah: Callie wants another baby
Callie: baby...Baby...BABY
(Dave handing her another baby)
Noah: No, Callie wants the "chocolate" one!

All we could do is laugh since we haven't really ever talked much about different races. Needless to say this was not a quiet statement but rather exclaimed in the middle of the toy department.

God bless him.

Lesson: Watch what you say

I'm sitting here with Noah as my nose is running non-stop. I'm feeling miserable...and so I dramatically proclaimed, "I'm dying, ugh." Noah lays his head on my chest and sadly says. "I don't want you to die. Your daddy's friend. You can't die." Oops. My reply, "Mommy's not dying. She just has a runny nose. I'm sorry for saying that." "Oh? You have a runny nose? You're not dying? That's good. I didn't want you to die." Lesson to self: Save the drama for your mamma so you don't scare your kid.

Friday, October 23, 2009

This week in pictures

It's been a busy, but great, week.

Monday: I had a meeting for an ASL playgroup. They need people who can sign with little kids while they meet with the parents. They have more volunteers than kids I think...but at least it's an "in" into the deaf community here, which is something that I have been looking for since we've moved here.

Tuesday: Flu shots. Jury duty. All four of us got our flu shots and Dave had jury duty in the morning. He wasn't picked (or even interviewed...he was 3rd to the last on the list) so he came home at lunch. My flu shot knocked me out so badly that I went to bed at 7:30 on Tuesday night. Yowsers.

Wednesday: After sleeping almost 11 and a half hours, I was feeling pretty good Wednesday morning. Because it was such a beautiful day, we went to the zoo with some friends. It was gorgeous weather! We had a great time.

We even took the train for the first time. It was fun for a one time deal.

When we got home, I decided to plant some bulbs. Meanwhile, Dave raked leaves...and the kids helped.


Thursday: Noah had a field trip to the library through preschool. Callie and I joined him. I'm learning it's a bit chaotic to try and do that with two kids, but we managed. I think he actually might have done better if I wasn't there. He was really shy and clingy. In the afternoon, it started raining, so we explored with some fingerpaints.

Noah was much cleaner than Callie who dug into it with abandon. It was fun.

Our friend Sarah came over last night. The kids went gaga over her. They wouldn't leave her alone and peppered her with books and entertainment. Noah considers her one of his best friends and Callie yells out, "Sharah!"


After the kids went to bed, Dave, Sarah, and I played Uno Attack. Sarah won twice, Dave won once, and well...I was just there to make people feel good about themselves. :-)

It's been a good week.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

A caught moment



These pics come just off of time out for fighting. They had to hug and make up afterwards...and then it became this game where they just kept hugging each other, dancing, and playing well together. Time out works.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Romantic Getaway

OK...so this blog is basically going to be a brag on my wonderful husband...be warned. :-)

Dave and I haven't been on a getaway weekend since I was pregnant with Callie, so we were due for one. We finally got it scheduled for this weekend. Dave set it all up as a birthday surprise for me. It was incredible! It started off with him dropping me of at a massage place. I got an hour long massage (wonderful!)...Meanwhile, he was checking into our hotel room and getting things set up. When we got the hotel, there were a dozen red roses that greeted me. Along with them, was a card, chocolate, and champagne...sitting on our jacuzzi tub. It was so amazing and wonderful.

For dinner, we headed to Dave and Busters. We've never been there before last night. For those of you who are not familiar, it's essentially a grown up Chuck E Cheese. We had a lovely dinner and then played games for a few hours. It was a lot of fun (and kind of nice not chasing kids around). We took our time and supported one another...when we weren't competing with one another (basketball and skiball) :-)

This morning, I was awake at...no joke: 6:45am. Wide awake. What?! Dave apparently slept horribly through the night. So we got up, ate our breakfast and then sat in the hot tub for a little bit.

Afterwards, we went shopping, which was a lot of fun. We went and explored the Castleton mall. In the afternoon, we caught a movie: Couples Retreat. Honestly, I didn't expect much out of it, but it was pleasantly surprising...for a Vince Vaughn movie.

We then drove home and had Monicals with the rest of the family.

It was such an amazing weekend. Dave and I talked a lot and held hands, and really just enjoyed each other's company. It was nice to be able to focus on us for a little while, without all the distractions.

So, thank you my love for providing the BEST get away. You're wonderful.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

So, I'm sitting here on the couch, using Dave's laptop, my monkey's by my side watching cartoons. They slept in today until 6:57...an improvement. Heaven help me when daylight savings hits and they want to get up in the 5 o'clock hour. Ugh. Of course, the day they "sleep in", I slept terribly. Oh well, I guess.

Our washer broke over the weekend. It's some sort of electrical error...thank goodness it's covered under warranty. There should be someone to fix it today, meanwhile, there are partially damp clothes that need to dealt with...they'll just get a really good washing this afternoon. They are scheduled sometime between 12-4...so my afternoon will consist of waiting.

Noah was pretty funny last night. Dave had to go to a meeting and then place an order at the clinic, so he didn't get home right away. Noah wanted to stay up and say goodnight. I let him read in his room for a little bit. However, he kept bouncing out of bed asking if Dave was home yet. I finally decided that he needed to think about sleeping...so I told him it was time for bed, but that I promised that when Daddy came home...even if he was already asleep...that he would come in and give him a hug and a kiss. He replied, "Do you wanna hear my idea?" I'm trying not to laugh when I say, "Um, ok, what's your idea?" He said, "I wait up until Daddy comes home and then I run out and give him a hug and a kiss." As it turned out, Noah stayed in bed, but Dave did go in to tell him goodnight and he was still awake.

In other news, my dad came yesterday and took me out for a belated birthday lunch. It was really nice. He is getting around so much better.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Rainy day

It's been raining the better part of this week...at least steadily the last two days. A good day to make chicken and noodles and curl up in some comfy clothes and watch...Caillou. OK, everything but the last sounds delightful. However, the last is what is giving me peace and quiet currently, so I can't complain. Hopefully there will be a good movie or something on tonight.

Gotta finish making dinner...so this has to be short.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

TDeZwaan Studio

So my friend Tiffany (actually the one who led me to Christ back in 8th grade) is starting off a new business. She has been handmaking bags (and other fun stuff) and now has a website set up. I have been wanting something personalized for Callie for awhile now and decided to have Tif design a bag for her. Here is the finished product.


Isn't it darling?? I love it. It's perfect as a small diaper bag...and will be really nice in kids church or at the gym childcare to let people know who's bag it is. Too cute!!! Click here if you want to check out her website. If you can't connect through the link, the address is: http://www.tdezwaanstudio.webs.com/

Thanks Tif!!

Birthday Fun

Monday was my birthday...and it was a pretty great day...Thanks in a large part to Dave and my friends and family who showered me with cards and gifts. I really felt loved. Dave let me sleep in and that was really nice since Noah had gotten up 5 times for Dave, once for me, and Callie had gotten up once. I woke up to him making chocolate chip pancakes. Yum. :-) He let me do whatever I wanted during the day. The only thing that I really wanted to do, not involving kids, was hit a particular clothing store that would take me a long time to browse. So, I hopped over there. When I came back the kids were fed and asleep for their naps. Dave watched a chick flick with me and then we took Callie to her 18 month appointment. She is a little under for weight (21 lbs). Noah was this way too around this age. The doctor wants us to fatten her up with butter, whipped cream, and carnation good start. Other than that, she is doing well.

Afterwards, our friends Jesse and Kristin came over, brought me a cool scarf for my birthday, and hung out for a little bit. They had to leave because Kristin had to go coach a soccer game. We had Monicals for dinner (big shocker) and my other friends Emi and Sarah came over in the evening. We just talked and chatted about life...and watched a movie.

It was a very nice birthday. I also got showered with a lot of nice cards and birthday wishes via facebook.

Thanks to everyone for making my birthday so special!!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Heather Smith Photography

So, as part of a birthday present to myself, I wanted family pictures done. There is a girl at our church who takes photos as a side job. (She's really talented.)Heather had some really neat ideas. Noah was a little uncooperative (His M.O. it seems), but we still got some good pics. I'm really pleased. :-)






Friday, October 2, 2009

Noah/Callie 18 months old at the Pumpkin Patch (almost 2 years to the date)


A great day

Wednesday was a wonderful day. We decided to take the kids to Curtis Orchard (a pumpkin patch back in Chamapaign). We started the day by stopping by my old work place. I had an audiologist friend of mine peek in Callie's ears. She still has a lot of fluid in her right ear, but it is not infected anymore. The fact that the fluid is still lingering is not great, but I guess only time will tell what will happen.

Afterwards, we headed to the pumpkin patch. They have these adorable barn kittens that the kids were enamored with. They were pretty frisky and friendly. Callie kept yelling, "TAT!!"


We saw the goats, some ducks, and even a random field mouse. It was a great vocabulary experience for Callie who is really picking up a lot right now.



Noah stands around 3 feet tall. I'm curious what he'll be next year...


After a quick lunch, we headed out to the pumpkin patch. The kids were so well behaved through the whole day. It was truly a miracle and gift from God.





After the pumpkin patch, we took a quick trip to the Tuscola outlet malls to kill some time before we met up with my friend Melinda. Mel is my friend from college whom I love, but haven't seen in FOREVER (January to be exact). It was SO wonderful seeing her again, even if only for an hour (while my kids played at a playground). We ate Papa Dels pizza (YUM!) and then headed for home. Dave and I talked on the way home about what a really perfect day it was. The kids had behaved remarkably well. It was nice to see friends and it was a great connecting time for Dave and I. No joke, about 5 minutes before we get home...I look up into the sky and see a falling star. I haven't seen one of those in YEARS (mainly because I am never out at night anymore because I have two small children). It felt like such a cool gift from God. Icing on the cake. It was incredible to watch. It happened so fast, but I'm so glad I was able to see it.

Thanks God for an incredible day with my family.

Callie

Dave asked the kids if they wanted icecream. Callie pointed to her eyes. Get it eyes-cream? Gotta love her trying to figure out her world.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Family

I failed to mention our great weekend to visit family. Mike and Laura were going to be at Dave's parent's house for the weekend...so we decided to make the hour drive (as opposed to 3-4) to visit them. It was fun. The boys played with a styrofoam airplane that grandpa had found. I enjoyed my time with Laura. It was a quick trip (we were just down for the morning), but really nice.