proof

I sent a picture to my friend Becky the other day,  a nice picture of the two of us from a recent get together.  Her response:  'Ooooh!  Proof that I exist!  I never have any pictures of myself.'  That statement kind of resonated within me.  I think it is perhaps all too true that as parents we may get caught up in photographically capturing the many things going on around us, and the hilights in our children's lives, but we are somehow absent in about 99.9% of them.  I know especially since I got (and then dropped!) my new camera, I am quite protective of it, and don't hand it off very often.  (I cut my kids off mid-sentence if they even hint about taking a picture with it.) 

Becky and me

So here is some proof that I do exist, and also some proof that I have friends.  Proof that I have a life beyond my kids.  (Even though they consume the other 99.9% of it.)

Asavari, Mandie and Me

Macie and me



summer happenings

Summer is just plugging away here.  I can hardly believe it is almost July!  And so far this summer has been just gorgeous.  The weather has been seasonably warm and except for the few unbearably humid days (which have confirmed in Andy's head that central air will be installed next summer...) I have thought about petitioning mother nature to let us have a few more months of summer than we typically do. 

Mom and Dad came up to visit us for a week and we kept ourselves busy with many fun activities like: playing and working out at the lake (you should see the new pavers my dad put in by the deck and my flower gardens- thanks ma!), Jack's baseball games, picnics and homemade peach pie (mmmmmmm!), sitting out and just chatting and relaxing, flea marketing (woo hoo!) and roasting hotdogs and marshmallows.

love the look on mom's face- surprised that Isaac is not a fan of her headband (made especially by Cassidy)

gotta love some of the outtakes!

Today Lucy headed to see Great Grandma with Abby and Owen, and Cassidy went to play with Hannah and Grace, so I had some very nice (but very scarce) time with just my boys.  We did have to run errands, but I managed to get a little spoiling in.  Jack is usually in school, and misses out on special little things like an impromptu taco lunch and little extras from the store, so today was his day.  He was on cloud nine holding his new lego set, munching on a lunch of nachos and a smoothie.  He still says some of the cutest things... like today.  We pulled out of the TB drive thru and I told him, well, I guess you sure got spoiled today:)  He smiled and said 'yep!' but was then quiet for a moment.  'Uh, Mom....since you spoiled me today, does that make me a spoiled brat?'  I got a good chuckle and explained how easy it would be to become a spoiled brat, but that he was indeed not one at the moment:)  Between that thought and asking after his last Little League game if he could run to the 'confession stand' to get a Powerade, he is still my favorite in the -ism department.

 A few summer pics:

How you know it is time to weed out the 2T swimsuits...

getting close!
Lu can't wait to lose her first tooth!

my toes are yummy

sass

A little sass makes life more interesting.  Our Little D (Cassidy) has enough sass for at least a dozen children.  Here are just a few of the many examples of little things Cass does to keep us laughing on our toes:

We were at Jack's little league game as usual.  Cass was flitting around the grass outside the bullpen, with one of the other little sisters who is always at the games.  Cass is climbing the chain link fence in her sandals and pretty pink summer dress. After she descends and runs around a little more, she and her friend pick a few flowers. I scan back to find Jack and lose myself in watching the game.  I look up to make sure to keep track of Cassidy for a second and do a double take.  There she is, in her pretty pink dress, doing a 'spider man' on the fence. She learned how to do a 'spiderman' or handstand against the wall, in her gymnastics class.  She likes to show off her skills but has no shame or awareness that if one wears a dress while doing said spider man, that one's dress will fall down around her waist and she will effectively flash her pretty pink and blue Tinkerbell undies to the entire bull pen of 7 and 8 year old boys standing directly down from her.

The kids were out at the lake property with Andy while he was working and Cass yells that she had to go pee.  Andy told her to go take her skirt and undies off to avoid an accident and go in the trees.  She yells back- 'alright'  and goes to do her business. Mind you this is the girl who when told she needs to change out of her swimsuit a few days earlier, just strips down in the middle of the kitchen.  Andy looks up to check on her a few minutes later and there she is skipping along still holding her skirt and undies.  She grabs a bucket and starts wading into the lake to get some water- still holding her clothes. She had no intentions of re-dressing, and no inhibitions whatsoever when it comes to nudity.

twelve

It is hard to believe, but twelve years ago today Andy and I were married. 

He is honestly the best thing that has ever happened to me. 

Here's to many, many more.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the special men in our lives!

And someday I will get them all to look at me.  Someday.

summertime

Summertime is upon us! 

 The kids had their last day of school June 7th, meaning we have already been off for 10 days.  Well, not totally off.  I have started a mini summer school to keep up on reading, writing, math, piano, letter recognition and writing (Cass) and whine reduction.  Yes.  There is too much whining up in here, so there is a whining component.  There is a reward chart involved and prizes like McDonald's cones, dollar store trips and a plain old dollar (for those still saving for a DS or Tablet if he so chooses).  All you have to do is earn enough stars. 

Our days have been full of things like parks and swings and slides and friends, swimming and sand pails and cousins and more friends at the lake, bikes and sidewalk chalk, house work and yard work and cottage work and much appreciated help from friends and family, library runs, skinned knees and bruises, dirty, dirty feet and tick checks, baths, baths and more baths!, sleep overs in Jack and Cassidy's room (cuz waking up early is no longer a necessity!) and will hopefully be full of a lot more of these types of things.  Oh and hopefully a few flea markets too. To keep the mama happy, ya know. And sane.

7 months came and went and I didn't even realize it.  Shame! *Note to self: I still have to get the 7 month photo to add to the progression!  Isaac is eating food like it is going out of style and loves feeding himself graham crackers.  He is getting bigger all the time and is about 17 pounds.  He looks like a big kid laying in that crib now, I tell you.  Just in the last 2 days he is experimenting with scooting backwards, pushing up onto his knees, and a little bit of rocking.  Just a side note- I am not ready for crawling. Those darn teeth are still hiding out, oh, and the pterodactyl screech you may have heard... yeah.  The food isn't coming fast enough.

And the summer has just begun!

Quote of the day

It was time to get ready for the day because my zumba class is in about a half hour.  I told the kids to go get dressed.  Lucy asks "WHY do we have to go to the Y? Why do you have to do zumba AGAIN?"  (in that grating, whiny voice.) Before I can answer her Cassidy chimes in "Because Mom is fat, fat, FAT!"  Now I really feel like I need to go to zumba.

Keeping life interesting

Andy likes to keep life interesting. 

WAY TOO INTERESTING. 

 In fact I have had enough excitement for the rest of the year between his neck injury and yesterday.

 Let me fill you in. Yesterday was going to be a working/play day at the lake with the kids.  Andy and Jack headed out earlier and the girls, Isaac and I were about an hour behind them.  I was finising up at home when the phone rang.  Hiedi.  'Hmmm', I thought 'she's out at the lake, wonder if they need something?'  I answered.  THEY DID.  'Um, Andy hurt himself with the hedge trimmers- cut his hand and it is bleeding pretty bad so Chris is going to bring him into the ER.  He is kinda passing out so Chris really needs to get him there fast- maybe you should call the ER to tell them and give them his info'.  FREAK OUT.  'Which hand?'  I yell into the phone ask.  Then the one word that I so badly didn't want to hear came right back at me: 'RIGHT'.  Yes, right. As in the hand that fills cavities, and does root canals and extractions.  The hand that our livelihood relies upon.  AGAIN?!? 

I am so shook up I can't even find the hospital in the phone book.  My hands are literally shaking.  I finally get the number off the Internet, fill the ER in and go to work finding someone to watch my kids.  Luckily my neighbors pulled in to their driveway as I was ready to go and happily took them. 

I got to the hospital and found Andy and Chris meeting with a nurse who was giving a preliminary exam.  I pretty much blurted out 'Are any tendons involved?' Her reply again was not what I wanted to hear.  "looks like a sheath, and perhaps part of a tendon, but it is pretty dirty so hard to tell".  At this point, I excuse myself and head to the van, to retrieve my phone, and also to calm myself down.  I say a little prayer, feel a little better and head back inside.  Andy has been transferred to another room and the doctor does an exam.  She determines that there aren't any injured tendons or neurovascular involvement.  We all breathe a little easier. The mood is then much lighter and Andy is joking with the doctor- his usual witty self that I love so much.  Chris eggs the doctor on telling her 'Yeah, I think it's good for all dentists to be poked themselves every once in awhile..." Thank goodness for those two... I was honestly a mess inside.  Andy is then numbed up, and the doctor irrigates, removes debris and sutures the flap of primarily skin, and a little muscle, back in place.  It took 16 stitches to close up the  8.5 cm long wound, which almost looked like an ear. (Gross.  I inadvertently let an 'oh my gosh' slip once when I first saw it. Andy didn't appreciate it. Whoops.)  He was very lucky that there were not any tendons involved, and that the wound wasn't a bit more medial- or he could have really been in trouble.  He can move all his fingers and has appropriate range in his wrist; his strength and sensation are good.  The stitches need to come out in 10 days, which leads us to believe that this should heal pretty quickly.  His hand throbs if he does anything nearing strenuous but tonight the pain is a little better than it was this morning. 

So what really happened?  A fluke.  He was working at removing some brush and bushes with the hedge trimmer (the kind that are about 2 feet long... think Edward Scissorhands).  He set them down on the grass... leaving them open with the sharp side exposed.  He was tugging at a bush, his hand happened to slip off of the bush, hitting the trimmers which skimmed a thick chunk of skin and muscle on the ulnar (pinky finger) side of his hand between where the palm and the wrist meet.

Be warned, this picture is not for the faint...

While we realize this isn't a great situation to be in, we are so thankful that it wasn't worse.  Now we pray for quick healing and a reduction in pain.  We are hopeful that he will be able to see patients next week- he got the ok at the ER, but at this point, pain will be the major issue.  He hasn't been using it for much of anything which will hopefully lend itself to quicker healing.

At least he'll have on heck of a scar and a good story one day.

Great Grandma's Lake

Great Grandma's lake is a favorite place for the kids to splash and play.  Since this has been such a warm spring and beginning to summer we have been there a few times already.  I remember taking some pictures of Cassidy sans clothing ... just as cute as Isaac's dimpled buns.  I am curious to see if he is still in the 10th percentile.  He has really been filling out lately and the rolls on his legs and full little buns are evidence of that.

 Ohhh and I love those little hands and toes... so sweet:)

The Sabbath

'Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy' Exodus 20:8

We are trying to raise our children in a gospel-minded way so that as they mature and start making their own decisions, they will have a strong foundation of knowledge to reference.  From the beginning we have tried to shape and mold them both by our examples, through instruction at church, by our daily choices, and lessons at family home evening every Monday.  It can be very difficult sometimes, thinking that all that has been attempted is lost.  It seems that usually someone is off in lala land, or that asking for simple reverence at a prayer seems to be too difficult for them. Every now and then we receive glimpses that what we are teaching is not simply entering one ear and exiting the other but is actually sinking in.

As Jack nears 8 years of age, which in our church is the age of accountability and the age children can choose to be baptized, we are trying to let him reason through choices more independently so he assumes responsibility and is not thrust into accountability abruptly.  This is not to say that we will not continue to love, nurture and guide him, it is simply a recognition that he is reaching the point in life where he needs to make some more choices for himself.  I have to admit, that as a mother this is both frightening and exciting all at the same time.  I tend to be more of a 'hoverer' than I probably should and I realize that I need to let him fail more often than I do, and that I need to give him more chances to learn and make choices for himself.  This also means in doing so, that we will see if the teaching that Andy and I have been doing has been adequate or if we need to step things up in some areas.

As I mentioned, there are glimpses every now and then, that reaffirm that our efforts are not in vain.  Take the other day.  We are with some family who are not of the same faith as us.  Everyone makes their own choices on what is best for their family, and I realize that perhaps our family's choices are different from the majority.  We choose to keep the sabbath day holy meaning we try to avoid activities that include working, and making others work, and overall that we try to keep Sunday a day of rest, including activities that center around Christ, family and reverence.  On this particular day we were with family and the kids were not being very cooperative.  After numerous requests to be more agreeable and cooperative, the kids were told by a family member that they would be able to go get ice cream if they chose to follow directions.   Of course they remembered this and were soon asking about ice cream.  I brought my kids aside, and explained that it was Sunday and asked them if they wanted to break the sabbath to get ice cream.  I was cringing inside as I did this, fearing that ice cream would take precedence over reverence.  To my delight, Jack and Lucy replied with a firm "No!" instantly, and Cassidy echoed in their reply.  I was so proud I almost cried.  THEY ARE LEARNING!   Jack has also recently been showing more concern for what other activities are 'sunday appropriate'.  It just makes me so proud to see him using prayer, and genuinely trying to determine what he should and shouldn't be doing on this sacred day.  Pride, I tell you, pride. I am so thankful to have the gospel to lead and guide me as a parent, and to lead and guide my growing and maturing children. 

Girls, Lakes, Bugs....

Yesterday I took the girls, Isaac and a friend out to the lake to get a little work done.  Little did I know that when I asked Teagan to come along, that she would be the answer to being able to getting everything done I had wanted.  I never heard from one of them the entire time about being bored... and never heard ANY whining. That in itself is almost unheard of around our house! 

They were so creative! They spent a long time hunting for bugs, worms, spiders, grubs- anything creepy and crawly they were into it.  After that they noticed the chippy that kept checking them out and decided they were going to catch it (and eat it for dinner!?!).  They spent probably 2 hours digging a hole, baiting it, covering it and making sure it would be the perfect spot to lure a little critter. 

They also spent a little time helping me weed one (of three) flower gardens.  I suspect this is because they were looking for bugs.  Just a hunch:)

After they ate lunch we headed to the beach.  They splashed a little, hunted tad poles and dragonfly larvae, and then created special mud pies- infused with pixie dust. 

And have I mentioned before what a perfect, content, sweet little baby I have? Isaac took a nice nap and then proceeded to sit in his exersaucer and play while I worked.  L.U.C.K.Y.

Trimborn Farms

I like to take pictures.  And no one knows this better than my own children.  While I take a lot of pics, I tend to get hung up on the digital aspect and haven't printed many out in a long time.  When we were in Milwaukee I decided to do a mini photo shoot at this awesome historic farm in the hopes of getting some nice ones to print out.  Haven't decided if I am set on a few of these or not... Guess we'll see if life slows down a bit so I can get Lucy and Cassidy back out for another shoot. 

So when I told my kids they were the lucky winners of a mini-photo shoot, they pretty much all felt like this:

And acted like this:

But once I looked through the lot, I did find a few that I liked.

Decent shot, however lacking sharpness.  This is what I really wanted and was pretty disappointed none of all four really turned out.  Then Andy reminded me 'we do own them Katie, You can take them out again.'  Oh yeah.  I guess I can...