Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
It's that time of year....
Zach had a lot of fun pulling all the goop out this year. You will notice that Hannah is in none of these pictures, that is because we did this while she was napping. Bad mom I know, I just didn't want to chase 4 sticky, stringy hands around my house. 2 was enough.
Every year when we do this, we ask ourselves "Why?". Why do we torture ourselves with this process. Who decided this was a good idea? Why can't we carve like a large squash or something. Something not so damn stringy. And I guess I didn't realize how acidic it is because it made my cuticals burn like mad.
Anyway, in the end, they always look great and that makes it all worth it.
The final product.... in the light:
And in the dark:
Every year when we do this, we ask ourselves "Why?". Why do we torture ourselves with this process. Who decided this was a good idea? Why can't we carve like a large squash or something. Something not so damn stringy. And I guess I didn't realize how acidic it is because it made my cuticals burn like mad.
Anyway, in the end, they always look great and that makes it all worth it.
The final product.... in the light:
And in the dark:
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Think, Think, Think....
At some point in my recent past, childrens songs have taken the place of normal thoughts. Why is it that when someone says a simple word or phrase, does a song pop in my head that just won't leave.
Earlier today, someone in my office said "Think" (I believe talking to themselves, but whatever, that isn't the point)... Now for the last 30+ minutes, all I can hear in my head is "Now's the time to think, think, think. If you have a problem think, think think.......".
In a staff meeting the other day, someone said "Brainstorm". The rest of the day it was "There's no bad idea, when your brainstorming"
The good thing about it, is that it makes me think of my kids. The bad part is, I officially know that kids songs and shows have taken over my life.
Please tell me I am not the only one............
Earlier today, someone in my office said "Think" (I believe talking to themselves, but whatever, that isn't the point)... Now for the last 30+ minutes, all I can hear in my head is "Now's the time to think, think, think. If you have a problem think, think think.......".
In a staff meeting the other day, someone said "Brainstorm". The rest of the day it was "There's no bad idea, when your brainstorming"
The good thing about it, is that it makes me think of my kids. The bad part is, I officially know that kids songs and shows have taken over my life.
Please tell me I am not the only one............
Friday, October 17, 2008
what's going on?
We have been busy! I haven't updated in what seems like so long.
Our latest project has been our new door. Our next door neighbor works for a local window and door company and he got us a great deal on a beautiful wood door. We'd seen some glass in a door that we really liked, so we got that glass put in it. Part of getting it for a good price, is that it was raw wood. I don't think Chris realized the magnitude of the project when he first started talking about wanting to do it. This is the first staining project he has done beginning to end. We both had an idea of the process. We worked together on a good portion of it, but Chris did the majority of the work. He did an amazing job. He is still scraping all the glue out of the edges and getting the little bits of stain off the glass.
While he was out working on this in the garage, and the van was parked in the driveway, I took the opportunity to clean out the garage. We had/have so much stuff. It is crazy. I am a self proclaimed pack rat and the last 3 places we have lived have steadily dropped in square footage as we moved. When we moved here, we had the thought that we would have this as our starter home and upgrade to something bigger in a couple years when we got established. Well, with the market in the toilet I realize we are not going anywhere for quite awhile, so I need to make the most of our space. I am finally in a purging mood so I have been getting rid of a lot. I should have listened to Chris when he wanted to do this 2 years ago (yes honey, I admit, you are right).
Needless to say, these were projects that had to be done at night when the kids were asleep. That is where we have been for the last 2 weeks after 8:30pm.
Here is a picture of Chris working on the door as I speak, err...type:
Now.. on to the King of our house...
Zach has been doing awesome in school. His speech has been amazing. We are making great progress with potty training. I see an end in sight! He is really enjoying soccer. The key was that his Daddy has to play with him. Chris runs with him and holds his hand. I think it gives Zach the confidence he needs to play with all those bigger kids. They are so cute to watch.
Here is a picture taken right after Zach kicked the ball:
Last week instead of practice, a local pumpkin patch shut down their slides for the team to use the slides for free without a bunch of other kids. Zach went a couple times, but they were really too big for him. He had a great time though. Here is a couple of pictures:
Close up of my crazy kids face at the top of that HUGE slide:
Now... on to our princess...
She had her 1 year appointment last month. She was 26 lbs 4 oz and 31 inches tall. Still off the charts. She is a walking, talking, running machine. She talks so much. It is such a weird concept to me how natural it comes to her. I have probably heard her say more than 75 words. And sentences. Some of them aren't words she necessarily understands or uses on her own, but she repeats everything. She has 10 teeth now and is working on 11 and 12. She has all 4 front teeth on the bottom and top and both of her bottom molars have broken through the last week after them really hurting her the last couple weeks. The top 2 molars are working their way down. She loves to color, although she ends up trying to eat the crayons so she doesn't get to do it as often as she'd like.
Hannah being silly one night: please don't mind the messy house in the back
All clean after bath:
Hannah is such a blankie baby. If she is tired or hurt or there is a blankie in sight, she must have it. Luckily she isn't insistent one one particular blanket, as long as it is an afghan. I have a couple that GG made that are small so she can carry them around the house and not trip on them. Here she is asleep one night with a blankie my mom made for me when she was pregnant with me:
Anyhow, I think that is enough updating for one night. If you made it this far, Thanks for reading and I hope you are doing well!
Our latest project has been our new door. Our next door neighbor works for a local window and door company and he got us a great deal on a beautiful wood door. We'd seen some glass in a door that we really liked, so we got that glass put in it. Part of getting it for a good price, is that it was raw wood. I don't think Chris realized the magnitude of the project when he first started talking about wanting to do it. This is the first staining project he has done beginning to end. We both had an idea of the process. We worked together on a good portion of it, but Chris did the majority of the work. He did an amazing job. He is still scraping all the glue out of the edges and getting the little bits of stain off the glass.
While he was out working on this in the garage, and the van was parked in the driveway, I took the opportunity to clean out the garage. We had/have so much stuff. It is crazy. I am a self proclaimed pack rat and the last 3 places we have lived have steadily dropped in square footage as we moved. When we moved here, we had the thought that we would have this as our starter home and upgrade to something bigger in a couple years when we got established. Well, with the market in the toilet I realize we are not going anywhere for quite awhile, so I need to make the most of our space. I am finally in a purging mood so I have been getting rid of a lot. I should have listened to Chris when he wanted to do this 2 years ago (yes honey, I admit, you are right).
Needless to say, these were projects that had to be done at night when the kids were asleep. That is where we have been for the last 2 weeks after 8:30pm.
Here is a picture of Chris working on the door as I speak, err...type:
Now.. on to the King of our house...
Zach has been doing awesome in school. His speech has been amazing. We are making great progress with potty training. I see an end in sight! He is really enjoying soccer. The key was that his Daddy has to play with him. Chris runs with him and holds his hand. I think it gives Zach the confidence he needs to play with all those bigger kids. They are so cute to watch.
Here is a picture taken right after Zach kicked the ball:
Last week instead of practice, a local pumpkin patch shut down their slides for the team to use the slides for free without a bunch of other kids. Zach went a couple times, but they were really too big for him. He had a great time though. Here is a couple of pictures:
Close up of my crazy kids face at the top of that HUGE slide:
Now... on to our princess...
She had her 1 year appointment last month. She was 26 lbs 4 oz and 31 inches tall. Still off the charts. She is a walking, talking, running machine. She talks so much. It is such a weird concept to me how natural it comes to her. I have probably heard her say more than 75 words. And sentences. Some of them aren't words she necessarily understands or uses on her own, but she repeats everything. She has 10 teeth now and is working on 11 and 12. She has all 4 front teeth on the bottom and top and both of her bottom molars have broken through the last week after them really hurting her the last couple weeks. The top 2 molars are working their way down. She loves to color, although she ends up trying to eat the crayons so she doesn't get to do it as often as she'd like.
Hannah being silly one night: please don't mind the messy house in the back
All clean after bath:
Hannah is such a blankie baby. If she is tired or hurt or there is a blankie in sight, she must have it. Luckily she isn't insistent one one particular blanket, as long as it is an afghan. I have a couple that GG made that are small so she can carry them around the house and not trip on them. Here she is asleep one night with a blankie my mom made for me when she was pregnant with me:
Anyhow, I think that is enough updating for one night. If you made it this far, Thanks for reading and I hope you are doing well!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Field Trip
Zach went on a field trip to a pumpkin patch with his class. They also have a small petting zoo and hay rides and all that good stuff.
After picking him up, I was asking him about his field trip. Here is how the conversation went....
Me: Zach, tell me about your field trip
Z: Mole's
Me: Huh?
Z: Mole's
Me: OH, you saw animals?
Zach nods yes, very excited that I figured out what he said
Me: What kind of animals did you see?
Z: SHEEP!
Me: Oh ya? Was there any cows there?
Z: Ya! MOOOOOOOOOOO
Me: Did Jen ride on the bus with you? Zach nods yes Who else rode on the bus with you?
Z: KAY!
Me: Did you have fun? Do you want to go back there again some time?
Z: Yes! With baby. Mom, stay home, me and baby go
Me: I can't go?
Z: No
Me: How are you going to get there?
Z: PAM!!!!!!!
I guess I have been outranked by his favorite bus driver Pam. At least he wants Hannah to go with him.
After picking him up, I was asking him about his field trip. Here is how the conversation went....
Me: Zach, tell me about your field trip
Z: Mole's
Me: Huh?
Z: Mole's
Me: OH, you saw animals?
Zach nods yes, very excited that I figured out what he said
Me: What kind of animals did you see?
Z: SHEEP!
Me: Oh ya? Was there any cows there?
Z: Ya! MOOOOOOOOOOO
Me: Did Jen ride on the bus with you? Zach nods yes Who else rode on the bus with you?
Z: KAY!
Me: Did you have fun? Do you want to go back there again some time?
Z: Yes! With baby. Mom, stay home, me and baby go
Me: I can't go?
Z: No
Me: How are you going to get there?
Z: PAM!!!!!!!
I guess I have been outranked by his favorite bus driver Pam. At least he wants Hannah to go with him.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Creepy Encounters...
We live in a fairly small community. We see a lot of the same people around town. Sometimes it is nice, other times, not so much. There is this lady. We see her at Farmers Market, and most recently Target. The first time we saw her was probably close to 2 years ago.
Every time we see her, she asks if Zach likes horses. Then she asks "Does he have Down syndrome? I can tell because I am a doctor. He would love my horses." Then she will talk to him and ask if he likes horses. She says that she has 7 or 8 Clydesdale horses and that he would just love them. She always says over and over that she is a doctor. She always swoons over Zach, yet never remembers us or his name, even though she always asks his name.
The first time we met her, we actually were kicking ourselves for not getting her card, and that horse therapy might be a good thing. But every time after that, she got creepier and creepier. The 2nd or 3rd time we saw her, she told us she wanted to open up a $100K trust fund for him and if I remember right, she said something about adopting him. One morning at Farmers they were also having a art/wine thing so we were wandering. She would not leave us alone. The kicker was... she asked me "Was he born with it?" (referring to Down syndrome)... I felt like saying "No, he caught it from another kid", I mean come on, if she was really a doctor, she would know what Down syndrome is and that of course he was born with it!
Anyway, today we run into her at Target. She saw my kids (but didnt really see Zach's face yet) and says "Do they like horses" and then she started talking to Zach. That is when she said "Does he have Down syndrome? I can tell because I am a doctor" ... then she starts asking him if he likes horses and home made chocolate chip cookies. He totally shut down and would not talk at her. Hardly made eye contact with her. Which is not at all like Zach.
Whenever we try to walk away from her, she will follow us and just keep going on and on.
Today it just really got to me. I am not the kind of person to just be rude to her, but I don't know how to get her to leave us alone. She really annoyed me today. On so many levels. I have never hid Zach or anything like that, but for her to make such a big deal about him having DS bugged me. Everyone in the aisle totally turned and looked at him.
If only I could be mean and just tell her to go away. The hard part is, I don't know that she would remember the next time we saw her.
Every time we see her, she asks if Zach likes horses. Then she asks "Does he have Down syndrome? I can tell because I am a doctor. He would love my horses." Then she will talk to him and ask if he likes horses. She says that she has 7 or 8 Clydesdale horses and that he would just love them. She always says over and over that she is a doctor. She always swoons over Zach, yet never remembers us or his name, even though she always asks his name.
The first time we met her, we actually were kicking ourselves for not getting her card, and that horse therapy might be a good thing. But every time after that, she got creepier and creepier. The 2nd or 3rd time we saw her, she told us she wanted to open up a $100K trust fund for him and if I remember right, she said something about adopting him. One morning at Farmers they were also having a art/wine thing so we were wandering. She would not leave us alone. The kicker was... she asked me "Was he born with it?" (referring to Down syndrome)... I felt like saying "No, he caught it from another kid", I mean come on, if she was really a doctor, she would know what Down syndrome is and that of course he was born with it!
Anyway, today we run into her at Target. She saw my kids (but didnt really see Zach's face yet) and says "Do they like horses" and then she started talking to Zach. That is when she said "Does he have Down syndrome? I can tell because I am a doctor" ... then she starts asking him if he likes horses and home made chocolate chip cookies. He totally shut down and would not talk at her. Hardly made eye contact with her. Which is not at all like Zach.
Whenever we try to walk away from her, she will follow us and just keep going on and on.
Today it just really got to me. I am not the kind of person to just be rude to her, but I don't know how to get her to leave us alone. She really annoyed me today. On so many levels. I have never hid Zach or anything like that, but for her to make such a big deal about him having DS bugged me. Everyone in the aisle totally turned and looked at him.
If only I could be mean and just tell her to go away. The hard part is, I don't know that she would remember the next time we saw her.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Photo Shoot
This past weekend Hannah participated in a photo shoot. We had so much fun and I am glad we were able to be a part of it.
Lauren of Freeze Frame Studios was the photographer, so I knew I had to sign up. She does fabulous work and has done all of our family portraits since we met. Aside from being a great friend of ours, she is so easy to work with.
The photo shoot was for the products sold at Little Fortune Cookie. She sells beautiful handmade products that looked great on Hannah, if I say so myself.
Here are some of my favorites of Hannah.
Lauren of Freeze Frame Studios was the photographer, so I knew I had to sign up. She does fabulous work and has done all of our family portraits since we met. Aside from being a great friend of ours, she is so easy to work with.
The photo shoot was for the products sold at Little Fortune Cookie. She sells beautiful handmade products that looked great on Hannah, if I say so myself.
Here are some of my favorites of Hannah.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Cousins!!
I adore this picture.
This is Zachary with his cousin Luke. Chris had taken them out to a bigger field at the birthday party, to kick the soccer ball around, and this was them walking back. They were actually quite a good distance from where I was taking the picture. I am so happy with how it came out and love that I captured this moment between them.
I wonder what they were talking about?
Here they are even further across the park walking back:
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