Mama Tembo

Looong Overdue #2 - First Day 2009

2009-09-21T12:22:00.003-05:00

Yes, the first day has come and gone. However, I now can post photos of the wondrous first day of Third grade and PreK. I also have some shots of my kiddoes going to their Open Houses the day before the first day.

We went to Anna's Open House first. The PreK program is at the elementary school. She is very excited to be in Isaiah's old school

Then it was on to Isaiah's school to meet all of his new teachers. Third graders don't always appreciate "beginning of the year" photos. Not that I have experience with this phenomenon, it's sort of a guess.

The real first day! Isaiah had his hood up because the skeeters were bothersome that morning. Anna's wearing the sweater my Grandma knit for me when I was a little girl. Pretty neat.

My two little friends. One last hug before the bus arrived. Anna still cries and gets sad when Isaiah's bus pulls up. I don't mean only on the first day. I mean ev.er.y.day! She hates that he's leaving her for an entire day. You'd think she'd sort of get used to this but, alas, she does not.

Loooooong Overdue - Polk County Fair

2009-09-20T13:34:00.005-05:00

We had a card reader issue which has since been remedied. (thank you Matthew) Due to the long standing problem our picture sharing has been back-logged. I'll start this catch-up session with the Polk County Fair held WAY back in July. It sure is a great fair, we had lots of fun this year. Here are some highlights.

This is Isaiah's recipe poster he entered. This is an original recipe created by Isaiah. His recipe is entitled "Po-tacos". If you bake a potato and heap on taco meat and other toppings you'll have a Po-taco. It's very tasty.

Close up of poster detail. Isaiah wrote everything out and even took the photos of the individual toppings.

Another close-up. We even integrated the food pyramid and Isaiah color coded ingredients to match their category in the pyramid.

Explaining all about his poster to the judge. She asked a lot of neat questions.

Poster, certificate and ribbon on display.

Anna volunteered to assist Auggie the Clown. I really don't know what he would have done without her.

Our 4H club worked a shift at the 4H Food Booth. Isaiah's job was a general cleaner. He cleaned tables, cleared trash and kept the floor clean.

Anna participated in the pedal pull while Isaiah and Papa worked at the food booth. She came in 4th place for her age category. This is one place away from attending the state pedal pull competition. I had no idea there was such a thing. Anna is bound and determined to attend the state pull next year. Her new hobby is eating spinach, think Popeye power. She's in training.

Papa, Isaiah and Anna even snuck in some fun while at the fair. I wanted no part of this type of "fun". I just took the photo.

Fall Sports Fun

2009-09-20T05:23:00.004-05:00

School has started in full swing as have fall sports. We have two new items on the playlist this year folks. Flag Football and Soccer.

Isaiah is playing flag football, his first time. He has a really, really, really great coach so I'm positive they'll have a winning season. I mean REALLY great coach. He's cute too. Okay, okay enough of that. Isaiah is really enjoying flag football and of all the sports he's tried football may just be the ticket. As a mom I've had a blast watching him play. It's fun.

Anna is playing soccer for the first time too. She has wanted to play soccer since she could walk. Seriously. I'm not sure how this love for soccer came to be either. She was an infant the last time Isaiah played soccer so she certainly doesn't remember watching her big brother. Anna is prepared though, she's had her soccer ball, it's pink, since she was 18 months old. Anna received the ball for Christmas from either Isaiah or Matthew, can't remember now. The ball isn't quite as pink as it used to be but yesterday it got it's first trial as a real, honest to goodness soccer ball. It's sort of like the teddy-bear story about Corduroy.

Anna is the peanut in green socks. She's practicing the skill of stopping the ball. (notice her "pink" ball, yep, it looks white now)

One of the best things about soccer is the fact that your two best friends are on your team. Just ask Anna, she'll tell you the very same. From left to right is Emma, Anna and Ally. Emma and Ally are twins. Very convenient for Anna. We sort of consider the girls triplets. It's easier this way.

Here we have the triplets, I mean Ally, Anna and Emma, speaking with their coach.

Anna will conquer the sport of soccer, I have no doubt.

On to flag football. Isaiah is celebrating their 2nd victory. His team is 2-0. Guess who took this photo. Anna! I thought my mom took this shot. This is pure happiness caught on film. Actually it's a digital photo so I'm not really sure what it's caught on?

Isaiah's in there. Gray shirt, dark gray shorts and white socks. Not sure if this was while they were on offense or defense but they sure look intense don't they?

Getting ready for the play to start. His coach is the tall guy in the tan shirt and gray shorts. Looks surprisingly like my husband. These two sure are having fun.

Step Aside

2009-09-12T06:06:00.002-05:00

Anna will be getting registered for Soccer this morning. Initially I was planning to take both children along to registration. Matthew's plans have changed and he will now be at home this morning. Due to past experiences I decided I might get through the registration process a bit faster sans children. I mentioned this to Anna stating it won't take long and she can hang out with Papa until I return.

To which Anna replied, "Mama, you better take me to registration. They might hafta ask me questions about me. Well, they might need to ask you questions too, but you better just take me along."

Fiscal Geography

2009-08-06T12:00:00.002-05:00

Overheard conversation between Isaiah and Anna:

I: Anna, that coin is mine.

A: Ee-ah (what she still calls Isaiah, although she can pronounce his name just fine), I want dat one.

I: Anna, that one is mine. You can have this one.

A: What is it?

I: This one is quarter, it's for humans. The other one is just a Euro you can't spend it here anyways.

(I'm quite positive Isaiah meant no offense to all our friends that use a Euro as their currency)

Africa

2009-08-02T06:46:00.003-05:00

Conversation at the Rolli house this morning:

Isaiah: I'm going to grow up and build a house in Africa.
Me: You're leaving me and going to Africa?
Isaiah: Yeah, I want a pet giraffe and elephant.
Matthew: Go to Como Zoo.

Early Bathtime

2009-07-21T17:01:00.002-05:00

Lots of fun was had outside today. I find it ironic that this morning I assumed it would be too wet to play outside, due to the morning rain.

Sand is much more fun when it's wet.

This is what happens when I say, "Sure, I don't mind if you add water to the sand."

Sword of Light.... or not so much

2009-06-28T17:15:00.002-05:00

We had a very busy, fun-filled day today (more on that later). Last night we were all up late watching the fireworks in Osceola. Because of our busy day today and late night last night we're relaxing in the living room at the moment watching old cartoons on the Boomerang channel. At the moment Thundaar the Barbarian happens to be on the TV.

Apparently Thundaar's weapon of choice is the Sword of Light.

While watching Thundaar restore good to the world and defeat all those bad guys that go around causing destruction in their path Anna spilled some soda on the floor. No worries, our resident hero, Papa, took care of the spill.

Matthew said to Anna, "No problem! I have my OWN of Sword of Light."

Anna said, "Where?"

Matthew then clarified, "Well, actually, it's more like a Domestic Towel of Cleanliness!"

Somehow Sword of Light sounds a bit tougher. I will say, however, the Towel of Cleanliness did a nice job cleaning up the soda.

Art Camp

2009-06-26T07:10:00.004-05:00

Last week Isaiah went to Art Camp. He had a blast, as always. The theme was Wild,Wild West. Yee Haw! He not only practiced the visual arts but also the performing arts. Very fun! All week the excellent counselors at St.Croix Art Barn in Osceola plan neat projects for the kids to work on and they run around outside and play big group games that all campers play. On Friday, last day of camp, the children put on some sort of performance. Last year Isaiah was in a play and this year it was a cowboy fashion show (to show off all their projects) and a line dance. This is so out of Isaiah's comfort zone it's not even funny. He did it though. (even with all those people looking at him....gasp

Gramps and Grammy came to see the performance.

Getting ready for the big dance.

Walking very quickly off stage during the cowboy fashion show. Again, not Isaiah's element.

Isaiah you did great!

Dear Matilda,

2009-06-23T19:27:00.003-05:00

I know you enjoy our new home. You have found a perfect spot to relax while the two-legged dogs eat their meals. It is ingenious really.

You have never in the 18 months you have lived with us ever, ever begged for a handout. You are a super dog. You simply sit in advantageous locations where there is a slight possibility of a crumb or two falling. If, then, a small morsel happens to fall you simply snatch it up for the sole purpose of making my job of cleaning the floor easier. I understand and appreciate your efforts.

I must warn you, however, when the shortest two-legged dog named Anna is enjoying an ice cream cone you may want to relax a little further away from your normal spot. No real reason, just a precautionary measure.

Thank you.

love,

Katie

Rainbows and Football

2009-06-18T14:48:00.005-05:00

I was driving Isaiah to art camp today and he asked if we could ever drive to a rainbow. I said we could not and then explained, scientifically, all the reasons we could not actually get to a rainbow.

I continued driving and wasn't paying much attention to Isaiah and Anna's conversation (argument?). I believe it had something to do with talking rainbows and flowers.

Isaiah then felt the need to explain the unrealistic characteristic of speech among inanimate objects. Other than this I really wasn't paying much attention.

My ears perked up when I heard Isaiah say, "Anna, in real life flowers don't talk, rainbows don't sing, mountains don't have mouths, those star things aren't real and girls don't have football-shaped heads."

I said, "Are you talking about Dora?"

Bargain

2009-06-13T06:48:00.002-05:00

Isaiah just informed me he had a great idea for the day.

I: Mom, I think we should go to the zoo today.
M: Why?
I: I want to go to the zoo and bargain for the zebra or giraffe.
M: Bargain?
I: Yeah, I want to bargain for the the zebra or giraffe.
M: You mean, like buy?
I: Yeah, I think I could bargain for the zebra for about 50.
M: 50 ... dollars?
I: Yeah. (then he looked at me like you silly mama and said...) No, Mom 50 cents, ha.
M: hmm, yeah that'd be fun.

I'm going to vote to just stick with the original plan and go to Grammy and Gramps' house.

Dear Grammy,

2009-06-05T05:59:00.003-05:00

(and Gramps and Auntie Sally too)

Thank you for always attending the kids' functions at school and for their sporting events. We appreciate your driving and very often taking time off of work to support Isaiah and Anna. We feel very blessed and fortunate that you participate the way you do. Thank you!

Grammy, thank you for hanging out with Anna on Wednesday so I could have one last afternoon with Isaiah and his classmates during their Track and Field day. Also, thank you for pushing Anna for over 2 hours on the swing while I was gone. Not to mention the whole plumber thing that you had to be here for while I was gone. Thank you.

Love,
us

Ball

2009-06-04T09:47:00.003-05:00

Isaiah has started his second year of machine-pitch. We are off to a super start. Here are some highlights of the first game of the season.

It was team photo day. Here is the customary shot. Isaiah is in the standing row and is second from right.

Isaiah's first swing of the season. If you look very closely you'll see his eyes are shut. I'm going to just guess I got him while blinking. I don't "think" he shuts his eyes when he swings.

Do you see that blur of blue? Yep, that's Isaiah running from 2nd to 3rd base. That's speed, pure speed.

And here we have Isaiah about to hit home. It appears as though he didn't run a straight line and veered wide a bit. Actually, he's multi-tasking and will be picking up that bat between him and home. He had to veer out to grab it mid-stride. Amazing, I tell you.

Graduation!

2009-06-01T16:19:00.004-05:00

Anna has graduated from the preschool program at her school. She did such a great job.

During her Christmas program in December she did not even want to go on stage with her class and sing. Anna doesn't like any attention to be put on her so, even though other children were singing, she wanted no part of the performance. I was anticipating the same type of stage fright to occur during graduation. Yippee! It did not.

A tradition at her school, usually reserved for that year's graduating seniors, is the presentation of Character Awards. Character Awards are given by the child's teacher. The teacher painstakingly chooses a character that best describes that child and assigns a Bible verse to coincide with the character trait. The award presentation brought this mama to tears, for sure.

Here are some photos from the special evening.

The proud graduate complete with a wrist corsage from Gramps and Grammy.

Anna's teacher presenting Anna with the character trait of "content". Anna's verse is Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

.Checking out her award.

A family shot in which Anna is leaning in to give Isaiah a kiss right as Grammy was taking the photo.

Gramps and Grammy came to witness the special celebration. Auntie Sally was there as well although she posed for no photos. Also, I believe Isaiah is revisiting the thrill of his own preschool graduation.

FB App.

2009-05-28T13:00:00.004-05:00

Dear Facebook,

I have a new idea for an application users can utilize while enjoying your wonderful product.

Let's just say a mom puts some chicken breasts in the oven, for chicken salad and goes to her Facebook page to upload photos of her little girl's preschool graduation. Let's continue that train of thought and say she forgot to start the kitchen timer. Well, if that mom is having tremendous trouble with seasonal allergies and her sense of smell is shot she will not be able to smell the chicken breasts being fully cooked and ready to take out of the oven. I propose an application in which one can time certain things whether it be their use of Facebook or let's say the amount of time one has had chicken breasts baking in the oven. Maybe a random beep of the users choosing could sound every so often and remind the user that there IS life outside of Facebook. Much like a reminder string tied around one's wrist.

Now I have no real experience with this type of forgetfulness so I'm not sure on the effectiveness of this application, it's just a thought.

Sincerely,
Someone that will not be eating chicken salad tomorrow

PS Facebook is not in blogger's spellcheck dictionary, just something else you'd like to be made aware.

Anna's Last Day of Preschool

2009-05-27T14:21:00.002-05:00

Last Tuesday was Anna's last day of preschool. She made it. It was touch and go there for awhile. She started out very strong and after about two months the novelty wore off. What ended up happening is a very large lack of preschool enjoyment. She never wanted me to leave her at school and was never thrilled to be leaving home on preschool mornings. Drop-offs weren't fun.

Anna always enjoyed her time while at school even though she said she didn't. I frequently came to school early to observe her and make sure all was well. It was. Anna participated and interacted just fine. I believe she just wanted to let me know she was not happy with the situation and was not condoning this type of activity. Regardless, she finished her preschool year just fine. She even learned some things although, if you ask her, she did not. That's my Anna.

On her last day Mrs.K brought an ice cream maker and the class enjoyed homemade ice cream for snack. Also the Kindergarten/First Grade teacher at her school let the preschool class take a peak at her turtle. Very exciting.

Anna is the one with short blond hair wearing the light pink outfit. Can you see her smile?

This is Mrs.K, the best preschool teacher ever.

Tonight there will be a graduation ceremony for the preschool students. Anna will go to the Pre-K program through our school district next fall so she will say good-bye to a lot of her friends tonight. The school Anna was attending is a Christian school and she was one of only a few Osceola children attending that will be in the Pre-K program.

Congratulations Anna, I'm proud of you. This year wasn't easy for you but you did it. Way to go!!

Crumbs

2009-05-25T17:23:00.003-05:00

When Isaiah was a baby we camped frequently. Matthew and I had a nice system and it all worked very smoothly. For some reason once we started AdCraft the camping trips stopped. I'm not sure why other than Matthew was very, very busy and vacations were tricky to plan.

As a result of the camping stand-still, Anna's never camped. She has never slept in our tent, until last night. We weren't really roughing it or camping for real just spending the night in the tent. No pressure, no real planning. We just grabbed some blankets and pillows and all five of us (yes, Matilda slept in the tent too) tried it out. It went very well. I think we will become a camping family again very soon. The kids had tons of fun and we all fit, rather comfortably too.

Anna was tired so she fell asleep quickly. Isaiah and I were chatting as Matthew was arranging some items. Isaiah had smuggled a bag of Pringles into the tent and asked if I wanted some chips. I looked at him very seriously and said that we can't eat in the tent. He asked why and I just said it was against the rules. Isaiah looked very concerned and asked if I was serious.

"Yep.", I said.

"You mean like, with the government? It's against the law with the government?"

I giggled and just explained how we can't really get crumbs in the tent and that it was sort of a family rule but if we're careful we'd be okay. Thankfully the government isn't regulating any eating of Pringles in tents.

Although, I do think they have a problem with the eating of S'mores in tents.

Cultural Diversity

2009-05-14T12:56:00.002-05:00

I appreciate Dora, Diego and Kai Lan. Really, I do. I just feel my Anna may be getting confused over the different types of languages in our world and the different ways folks do certain things.

Last week Anna was getting dressed for the day and rather proudly said she knew how to put her pants on in Chinese.

(Go ahead and read that last sentence a couple times. I had to ask Anna to repeat herself a few times before I was confident I understood what she was saying.)

I said, "Really? How?"

Surprisingly, she put her pants on one leg at a time.... same as always. The twist came when, after getting her pants on, she karate chopped the box that was still in her room.

Mama Robin

2009-05-13T09:34:00.007-05:00

We weren't the only ones moving in last week to the new place. A mama Robin was making fast work of a little home for her babies. She is living on our patio under the overhang. We can see her sitting in her nest from our living room patio door. I'd post pictures but I'd have to find the camera and charger first. Stay tuned...

Unlike the Killdeer incident of last spring I have no worries of feral cats ruining our fun and Mrs.Robin's hard work. I think she's high enough and protected well. I thought for sure that little nest was going to blow away yesterday, it did not. Oh, me of little faith.

For now, we look out the patio window and see the very exciting act of Mrs.Robin sitting as still as a statue on her little clutch. Personally, I'm more excited to see hatchlings, this part isn't all that fun. Anna, however, is excited to see the Robin so close and unmoving. Maybe she's just more patient.

Current Events, Miss Rosa Parks and Miss Betsy Ross

2009-05-09T09:50:00.002-05:00

Matthew had many neat things in his AdCraft office. The items he wanted to keep have been brought home and we will find homes for everything at our house. Many of these items have to do with taxidermy. Some of the furry creatures are mine so it's all good.

One of the items he brought home is a very neat shadow box display. A couple years ago Matthew did a sign for MSG Trevor Lavergne. The sign was put on a hospital for injured soldiers in Tikrit. MSG Lavergne sent back a letter of thanks and some official paperwork stating the American flag he was bringing to Matthew was flown over the hospital in Iraq. I was explaining to Isaiah that the folded flag, pictures, letters and documents in the frame state that this flag was flown over the 325th Combat Support Hospital for Iraqi Freedom V.

Isaiah's eyes got really wide and he said, "You mean that's a REAL American Flag?"

I said that it was but wasn't sure why he was excited about the flag and not the location in which is was flown.

Isaiah asked again, "That's really a REAL American flag?"

"Yes, honey but, there are OTHER flags flying around the world. It's not the ONLY American flag."

Isaiah said, "Yeah but, that's a real one?"

"Yes," I said, "it's just folded up, behind the glass."

"Yeah but, it's a real one, like from Rosa Parks?"

Oh boy, we had a little discussion about Miss Parks and Miss Ross. I assured him Betsy Ross did not sew this particular flag. I'm quite certain.

If anyone knows about the "How it's Made" television show and when they may be airing an episode on how American flags are sewn I'd appreciate a head's up.

Getting Settled

2009-05-06T10:08:00.002-05:00

Thank you for all the kind words of encouragement and prayers. We are here, we're unpacking and Matilda even started eating again. Poor puppy dog was a bit upset over her new digs.

We still have a few minor trips to make back and forth getting storage boxes over here from the old place. We mostly have some Christmas boxes, books and baby storage items we need to find a home for. Anna's room is all put together and the decorations are on her wall. Isaiah's room is about 1/2 done at the moment and our room is about 3/4 done. We like this new place and think it'll work just fine. I am so very thankful we found a place in the country and in the same district.

Things about the new place I like better than the old:
1. Laundry room as soon as you walk in. Very easy to remember to just throw in a load here and there. Surprisingly, when the laundry room is in the basement it's easier to forget about the piles. You get behind really quickly.

2. We now have a dishwasher. At the other place, although it was built in '93, we never had a dishwasher. Well, let me tell you, it sure is easy to keep the kitchen clean with a dishwasher. I recommend them.

3. We only have two TVs so at the old place we had one in our living room and one downstairs in the family room. Here, we have one in the living room and one in our room. How nice to lay down after the kiddoes are asleep and watch American Idol in bed. Also something I recommend. Very nice.

4. Master Bathrooms are a good thing. I always sort of thought them a waste of space. Not anymore. Two thumbs up on this as well.

So, all in all, we're doing okay. Getting unpacked and becoming adjusted to the new place. I'm pretty bummed about having to let go of the sheep and chickens but am thankful they are going to friends parents' home not that far away. We can visit if we need too. I am VERY thankful this new place allows dogs. We would not have made it if Matilda could not have made the move with us.

I'll keep everyone posted on our progress and once we're all settled (and I find the camera) will put up photos.

Thank you again for all the support.

Moving

2009-04-30T04:46:00.004-05:00

I haven't been blogging in quite awhile. Life has been turned upside down and I haven't really felt like blogging. Also, what I'll fill you all in on has been best kept quiet, til now. I think it's pretty safe to explain. Since I blog, typically, about our everyday lives and events I thought it'd be easier to just come on out and fill you all in all at once.

About 8 1/2 years ago my husband (Matthew) and my parents started a sign company. Matthew has been making signs of some kind since he was 18 and he has a BFA degree from Stout. He had always wanted to own his own shop. My dad also had some skills in design work and my folks thought the sign gig would be a neat thing to try. So, long story short... they did. We all worked getting the business up and running. Initially we ran the shop from my folks' house. A few years later Matthew and I acquired the entire business and moved the shop to a few different spots over the years. Matthew made excellent signs and word spread quickly. At one point we even had two shops running full time in two different towns (Hudson/River Falls). The economy allowed for us to grow. There were times in that span where we'd grow and reduce, grow and reduce. Basically we'd adjust and it wasn't a big change.

We were allowed some neat opportunities from AdCraft too. Matthew was able to literally travel the world. He made signs for places in Puerto Rico, Scotland and Greece to name a few. Our shop was featured on the Discovery Channel and our family, all four of us, were able to travel to Scotland. It was because of a sign convention in Callander that I actually got on a plane FOR THE FIRST TIME and travelled rather recklessly with my two babies across an ocean. (No, I wasn't really reckless but it felt that way at the time) Anyways, those neat opportunities were once in a lifetime deals that were made possible because of Matthew's hard work with the shop.

(If you've never seen some of Matthew's work I think the www.adcraftsign.com is still up and running so you should see his talent)

We met lots of neat friends too from all around the world. Isaiah and Anna know folks very well that make their home in Germany and Scotland. It was a neat deal for the kids too.

What does that have to do with moving and packing? Well, you see my mom had always done the books for AdCraft. A couple years ago Matthew saw the potential for a very poor economy and sadly, we took all necessary steps to sell the company and get out while we could. We had one taker (apparently all other business owners/potential buyers saw the possibility of poor economics as well). The guy that came in said he'd take over books and do some light production work. This was great news as it freed up my mom, who already had a full-time job besides AdCraft, and Matthew as this new guy was going to take over some of Matt's responsibilities too. Without spilling the beans too much this guy didn't work out. Last fall the economy hit us pretty hard. We let the potential buyer go and I took over the books, in hopes of saving some money. We also cut our guys' hours down to three days a week.

While I was doing the books and calling my mom non-stop regarding questions on how to do certain things I started noticing problems. Another long story shortened, this guy did not pay our taxes, balance the register and a myriad of other LARGE problems that needed to be worked through in a short amount of time. Mom helped get that mess straightened out but it had a huge financial impact. Matthew pushed through some jobs that would have been saved for our slower time in winter.

I'm sure lots of you have noticed money seems tight all around. Well, in an effort to just get to the end of the story, it's hitting us pretty hard. We have closed AdCrafts's doors. If jobs don't come in we can't keep the ship afloat. We've put all our savings and personal funds into the company in hopes of being able to hang on a bit longer. No deal. We have had no income since February. I would do payroll and pay our guys but not Matthew. We couldn't. We are surrendering our homes, our cars, tractors, etc. We realize we can't continue and are just sucking it up and moving on.

We feel very blessed to have found a home in Osceola to rent. We can stay in the country, keep our dog and Isaiah does not have to switch schools. Three bedroom rental homes are a rarity in this little town. God just dropped it into our laps. We have to send the sheep and chickens to a buddy of Matt's. At this point Matt's looking for work. As you can imagine that's not an easy task at the moment. So, there's some mighty big changes coming down the pike. At the end of the day, however, we still have what's really important. All the other stuff is just fluff. Makes for nice opportunities and experiences but it's not what's important.

So that's about it. It's been a fun ride but, rides over.... everyone out.

Honestly, Matthew and I are excited to see what the next chapter holds for us. God is still God and he knows the deal.

J.E.

2009-04-10T11:53:00.003-05:00

And why, dear reader, have I waited 33 1/2 years to read Jane Eyre? This shall be my new favorite book.

New Blog

2009-03-23T16:31:00.002-05:00

Hey blog readers. Trina O. has a new blog. Check her out.

The Family Playbook

Welcome, Trina!

Fun Day

2009-03-04T12:41:00.004-06:00

On Saturday the kids and I went to my mom and dad's house. Matthew was out-of-town so I loaded up Isaiah, Anna and Matilda and we hung out with Grammy, Gramps and Auntie Sally.

While Gramps, Auntie Sally, Isaiah and I played a game, Anna and Grammy made Brownies. Well, if you ask Anna she made them herself and Grammy just helped a little.

I can't tell if Isaiah won or if Sally's pointing at me because I won that hand. Not sure. It was funny though.

Anna's getting ready to further clean up the mixing bowl, spoon and spatula.

She took her job very seriously...

....and she even used soap and water.

Kids Say...

2009-03-02T15:27:00.005-06:00

Last night Isaiah took his turn reading to Anna and me. He read Puff the Magic Dragon. As he read the words he sang the tune as well. Here's his rendition:

Puff, the Magic Dragon, lived by the sea and froliped in the autumn mist in a land called Hona Lea.

(something tells me he may have been trying to remember the song rather than reading the actual words, it's just a guess)

Anna, during the month of January, discussed the creation story extensively at school. Some parts must really be sinking in as this morning she asked a very clever question.

She said, "Mama, did God make you by using Play-Doh?"

I figure clay....play-doh, same idea.

FYI: I did try to explain a bit on how God makes people nowadays. Pretty much it was just the first time around in which clay was used.

Ice Fishing

2009-02-27T12:16:00.007-06:00

We had a fun get-together with family, neighbors and college friends this past weekend. Here are some highlights:Here we have Marcus (my little cousin), Isaiah and my cousin Courtney's girls, Josie and Grace, chit-chatting around a fishing hole.

My Uncle Doug (Marcus' dad) came up from Milwaukee with Marcus and my Grandma.Matthew somehow convinced my grandma to get in the truck and actually go on the ice and fish. Grandma had never done this before. Matthew kept her toasty in the truck while she fished out the window. She caught one heck of a fish too but it hopped off the line just as Matthew was landing it for her. He was bummed as he would have gotten the fish mounted for her as a souvenir.Our buddy from Bavaria, Manfred, and my dad. Just discussing the ins and outs of ice fishing I'm sure.My sister, Sally, Manfred and my dad. I think something was very funny.We had some snow angels grace our presence while on the ice.This is an Anna-angel.Matthew's college buddy, Chris, took the kids for rides on the ice with his 4-wheeler.Anna went for a ride, too. Apparently Anna was ready to go and Chris was speaking with someone on the sidelines. I hope he was prepared to fly. That girl likes speed.There was even some inside fun. Anna had a blast playing her best friends. Ally and Emma are the twins across the road. I believe they were all the mommies and they were taking care of their babies.After a long morning on the lake we all had some lunch in the shop. Matthew's taking a break with my Uncle Doug and Marcus.Just some more folks eating lunch.
My cousin had never had a snowmobile ride before so Matthew took Marcus for a spin.

Manfred, from Germany, had a lifelong dream of riding a snowmobile. His dream was achieved and apparently Manfred spend the evening and much of the night playing on the snowmobile. Later, he walked into the shop and said he had had the best day of his life. Ha! Snowmobiles are only used by ski slope workers and rescuers in Germany. There is no way members of the general public can ride sleds.After lunch we toured around the animals. We are all saying hello to the sheep here.
We were watching the chickens in this photo.

It was a long and fun weekend. We had a great time hanging out with friends and family and thankful for the memories.

Field Trip

2009-02-27T12:02:00.003-06:00

Earlier this month my mom volunteered to attend a field trip with Isaiah's 2nd grade class. Mom had Isaiah and another boy and they walked around the center and learned all kinds of neat things from years gone by. Being that I wasn't there I can't explain the photos but I'll do my best.This is a photo of Isaiah demonstrating how one would card wool. I guess the museum worker asked if anyone knew what those paddles were and Isaiah piped up and said he knew. I was pretty proud of him for remembering that.

Not too sure what this photo is all about but I'm sure the boys are learning something very interesting.

Most likely ordering something from an old Sears & Roebuck catalog. Again, just a guess.

Here the boys are demonstrating their carpentry skills.

Isaiah is practicing for some sort CDL, I'm sure.

Isaiah was thrilled that Grammy could attend his field trip and I think Mom had a pretty good time too.

Redneck Decorations

2009-02-17T15:45:00.003-06:00

I just received this photo in an email from my good friend, Ursula.

Hey, Matthew should we do this next year? Right smack dab in the front yard, woo eee. I bet we'd get some traffic on our road for sure.

Just for the record, this is not Ursula's home. She was just forwarding an email. If Ursula were to hang a deer it would definitely be a real one.

Health and Nutrition

2009-02-14T07:46:00.004-06:00

I usually buy the economy sizes of the Malt-O-Meal brand cereals, you know the ones in a bag. I also typically purchase the non-sugary variations.

Matthew, on the other hand, occasionally gets the variety pack of the name brand cereals, as a treat. The kids were going wild with excitement over all the sugary cereals there were to choose.

Being the nice Papa that he is Matthew asked the kids which ones they didn't want to eat. Not surprisingly they were trying to persuade him on the greatness of plain jane Cheerios.

Matthew said, "Cheerios? You want me to eat Cheerios?"

Isaiah said, "They are good for your heart."

I looked at Isaiah like, really? Nice try.

Isaiah said, "What... I saw it on a commercial. They are good for the immune system too."

I said, "Immune system?"

Isaiah said, "Oh wait, no, that's Welch's."

Health teacher, politician, whatever...

Time

2009-02-11T05:00:00.005-06:00

It is much easier to blog on a regular basis when your littlest person takes naps. It's also easier to blog when you don't add on a part-time job being a bookkeeper for the best darn sign company in Hudson.

Whadya Gonna Do?

2009-01-21T14:03:00.003-06:00

When Matthew and I got married (over 9 years ago) we went through the whole wedding ceremony and dinner and dance afterwards. We had a great day. I surprised him by staying at a Bed&Breakfast that night. One of the perks the B&B did was have a little (think airplane size) bottle of wine in a basket of goodies. I did not like red wine at the time, still don't, and we never opened it. I did keep it though, as a memento.

When we got married we were living in an old farmhouse in Baldwin. We lived there for three years total. When Isaiah was 6-months old we moved to an apartment building in Hudson. We lived there for three years as well. Then, we were fortunate enough to buy our first home in Hudson and lived there for about 3 1/2 years. Last October we moved to our current home and have been here for over a year now. That little bottle of wine came with us to all our homes and made all the moves. I've had that bottle for over nine years. I was saving it, just because.

Last Sunday Matthew wanted to make a batch of beef vegetable soup. Before starting the broth he pre-cooked the beef. Matthew loves to throw things together and cooks with no recipes, just whatever he wants to throw in, he throws in. Matthew decided to sear the beef in onions and RED WINE.

Here's the quiz.... do you want to take a wild guess at what he pulled from the fridge, OPENED and poured in the pot?

I saw what he did after the fact. I stared at him with my mouth wide opened, in shock. I asked if he knew what he just did. He did not. I explained where that little bottle came from. He didn't believe me. I believe I became believable after my mouth hung open for a good 10 minutes. You know what he said?

"Well, how was I supposed to know?"

What I don't get is how that bottle lasted over 9 years and through four houses when the beautiful silverware set my sister gave us for our wedding had so many lost pieces that we used to use plastic whenever we were serving more that five.

Matthew also knocked a shelf off the wall a couple years ago that was holding our little wedding cake topper figurine. He did this while horsing around with Isaiah. The cake topper broke but I know how we aren't supposed to bring up past stuff so, I won't...... sigh

New Blog of Note

2009-01-16T08:28:00.004-06:00

I have a wonderful neighbor down the road, Ginny. Ginny's niece, Amy, is doing missionary work in India for three weeks. Amy is working with children suffering from HIV and sharing God's love. Please check out her blog, it's amazing what she's been doing.

Agape India '09

Amy also has been dealing with an ear infection that ruptured her eardrum. Please pray for a speedy recovery as well as for the children with whom she is helping.

Delicatessen

2009-01-16T07:50:00.003-06:00

Matthew introduced the idea of using mayo. on sandwiches to our kiddos. I don't put mayonnaise on my sandwiches, I like it, just don't use it. As a result, I don't put mayonnaise on the the kids' sandwiches either.

Papa does. So Isaiah and now Anna enjoy mayonnaise on their sandwiches as well.

The other day I gave Anna a couple choices for lunch and she chose a turkey sandwich with "ham-naise". Is it wrong that I asked her a total of four times what it was that she wanted? I couldn't help myself. When Papa came home I made Anna tell him, three times only, what she had for lunch.

To: Anna From: God

2008-12-30T07:22:00.001-06:00

When I was little there was a family that lived down our street that had a little boy. This little guy had huge brown eyes. I remember my mom asking him, "Where did you get such big brown eyes?" He replied, "Sears.".

This morning I told Anna I liked her toes. I said they were pretty cute toes, too. Then I asked her where she got such cute toes. Anna said, "From God."

Christmas Celebrations

2008-12-29T15:57:00.005-06:00

We had a super duper Christmas. Lots of fun, many memories and laughs. It started with Christmas Eve. We have a birthday party for Baby Jesus. What's a birthday party without cupcakes? We spent a few minutes in the afternoon decorating birthday cupcakes.

After supper Matthew read the Christmas story from the book of Luke and then a children's story about the first Christmas. Then Anna, being the youngest, got to hold the Baby Jesus from the manger scene as we all sang Happy Birthday.

After an evening of gifts around the Christmas tree...

we watched the Christmas Story, the one with Ralphie...Matthew had been waiting 9 years, since we found out Isaiah was going to be a little boy, to give his little boy a real Red Rider. Christmas Eve, during the movie his waiting ended...Christmas Day we opened stockings and then went to my mom and dad's for the day. We all had a fun time of gifts and food. My mom made the most amazing meal that day. Thanks, Grammy.

Opening hand painted ornaments that Grammy secretly did with the kids one day so they could give to us during Christmas.

My mom and grandma made a sock monkey for Anna.

Isaiah and Anna made recipe cards for Grammy. Anna did a recipe for blueberry pie and Isaiah did one of his own creations Po-tacos. It's where you get all the fixings for tacos and pile it on a baked potato. It's actually really good.

We gave my sister a toaster but how fun is that to open so we spiced it with a little mystery. First she opened blueberry jam. She was thankful but understandably a bit confused with a jar of jam. Later, when she opened gift #2 she was even more confused when she opened a wrapped package of Lender's bagels. She was a very gracious recipient. She laughed and said she was probably THE only person that received bagels for Christmas.

Isaiah had a keyboard unit in music class this fall and LOVED it. Auntie Sally thought he should continue the skill. She thinks he'll receive a Julliard scholarship one day. I personally feel she may be a bit biased but, we'll see...

Gramps and Papa putting the Nascar racetrack together. Gramps and Isaiah are the champion racers for sure.

We are so thankful for the fun of the last week and are the most thankful for God's gift of His most precious Son, Jesus. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Three's a Charm?

2008-12-22T12:41:00.002-06:00

I am bravely claiming Anna is now potty-trained for the third time. I do hope this is it.

Also, I have a bone to pick with all those folks out there who say girls are easier to train than boys.

You Think YOUR Job is Tough?

2008-12-17T08:25:00.004-06:00

My dad periodically sends me emails he receives from friends at work. This is the one he sent me this morning. All I can say is - give that brick toter a raise.

He'll need it for the chiropractor's bill that is sure to follow.

Ouch.

Afterthought

2008-12-15T16:06:00.002-06:00

Dear Self,

Just because you have a headache after Thanksgiving supper is no reason to forget to label the FoodSaver bags with their contents.

You see 2 1/2 weeks later you'll want to have some leftovers. You'll open the freezer door and think which one of these frozen, hard as rock bags has our Thanksgiving leftovers? You won't know. You won't be able to tell. Surprisingly, raw frozen chicken thighs look very, very similar to a frozen bag of turkey, potatoes, gravy and dressing. You never would have guessed this to be so. It's true.

Next time, suck it up and get the Sharpie.

Sincerely,
Self

December Fun at Gramps' and Grammy's

2008-12-14T09:03:00.003-06:00

We needed a break. Matthew and I have been working pretty long hours on stuff for the company and we needed a "downtime" day. Grammy has been working hard on the same stuff but that is a long, long story that probably won't get told. Suffice to say we wanted to hang out and do nothin'.

Grammy said we should come on over. Grammy had some secret stuff she needed to work on with Isaiah and Anna so Matthew and I went out for a couple hours and knocked off some items from our Christmas "to-do" list. Can I just say shopping is much easier when it only involves adults, in case you weren't aware.

When the secret items were accomplished Grammy made some cookies with Isaiah and Anna.

I'm assuming that Gramps and Auntie Sally played with Isaiah and Anna while Grammy was most likely cleaning up the frosting, sprinkles, cookie crumb and M&Ms explosion that quite possibly occurred in the kitchen. This is just a guess of course.

Thanks Mom, Dad and Sal for a very fun day. You have no idea what a nice break it was. We really enjoyed our day with you guys and feel blessed to have been able to hang out and laugh.

Not What I Meant

2008-12-12T16:15:00.003-06:00

The steps going downstairs are wood. If one is wearing socks it can be slippery. This is the reason I like Anna to hang on to the railing if she is going up or down.

The other day Anna had her hands full with items she wanted to bring downstairs. She had a lightsaber (not a real one), a plastic plate, toy truck and one other thing I can't remember. This meant her hands were full and she couldn't grab the railing.

As we were about to walk down the steps I said, "Anna, you will have to hang on to something when you go down the steps."

Anna said, "Mama, I am hanging on to sumpin'."

ps "lightsaber" is not in the spellcheck, I think we should let Mr.Lucas know

Refreshing

2008-12-12T15:58:00.003-06:00

Isaiah goes to a public school. Nothing private about it. Yesterday was his concert at school. This was the title of the concert, "A Christmas Celebration". Can you believe it? They actually referenced Christmas!

There are only three grades at his school kindergarten, first and second. Each grade sang four songs. Each grade sang at least one song that actually mentioned the REAL reason for the season. It was absolutely wonderful. The kindergartners sang a song entitled Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine. The first graders sang, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and the second graders sang In a Manger. Nobody was pretending that Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus' birth. I was amazed and impressed and very thankful.

Thanks a Bunch....... of grapes

2008-11-26T13:05:00.003-06:00

Dear Matthew,

I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you, a whole bunch.

Because......

Even though the hair lady yesterday asked if I wanted "red" highlights, I said sure only to discover she was putting red throughout my hair which made my hair and previous highlights a lovely purple/fuchsia color...

(This then made me cry on the way to Anna's preschool to pick her up and explain to all the other mamas at school that I in fact did NOT ask for purple hair and that I was not considering joining a punk rock band...)

Even though I called your cell and and the shop crying and trying not to sound like someone was in a car accident...

Even though I have to waste two and half hours of our Saturday morning while the hair lady fixes the purple/fuchsia mistake....

Even though I've been wearing my winter hat so nobody sees the horrible purple-ness of my hair and trying not to cry every time I walk into the bathroom....

You, Matthew, still said, "It's okay, I still think you're beautiful and you know what? I heard the popular color for fall this year is purple."

Thank you!
Love,
me

Colonial Dinner

2008-11-26T10:57:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Isaiah's school concluded the big 2nd grade social studies unit on Colonial times. They've been learning all kinds of neat things about the Pilgrims in particular. His school has an annual celebration that grandparents attend. The 2nd graders are allowed to invite two grandparents to the Colonial Dinner. My mom and dad were scheduled to go but at the last minute my grandma was able to come from Milwaukee to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. This means my mom and grandma were the lucky ducks ate a traditional turkey dinner with Isaiah at lunchtime yesterday.
Great-Grammy and Isaiah. Notice the neat Pilgrim hat Isaiah made.

Great-Grammy, Grammy and Isaiah, awaiting the Thanksgiving feast that the amazing lunch ladies put together.

Isaiah with the best 2nd grade teacher ever, Mrs.F.

After the dinner an elderly lady, 80 years old, got up to speak of the earlier times in America. I believe she was speaking more of the early 20th century America versus Pilgrim times. This lady was apparently a teacher in a one-room school and was speaking on the importance of women's aprons, at the time. Isaiah knows that my grandma is 87 years old and he did the math. Isaiah figured that Great-Grammy was 7 years old when the speaker was born. In his 2nd grade mind I believe he thought the speaker to be telling of her personal experience with Colonial times. This lead to the question he asked my grandma.

"Great-Grammy, does this mean YOU were a Pilgrim, too?"

I am very thankful Grandma has a wonderful sense of humor as she was laughing when she told me what Isaiah said.

Special Gift

2008-11-25T13:48:00.002-06:00

The kids had their Christmas photos taken on Saturday. Anna gets to wear one of her special necklaces and bracelets when there's a big photo shoot day. She chose one of her cross necklaces to wear. Anna knows that this jewelry is all gifts from family members for being born or to remember her dedication day.

When she saw this particular cross necklace she said, "OOOH, is that one from God?"

Early Christmas Fun

2008-11-19T15:43:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Hummingbird Nest

2008-11-19T07:23:00.006-06:00

My dad forwarded me an email with information about a mama hummingbird and her two little eggs. Apparently the photographer captured some early moments in a hummingbird's life; from egg, hatching, growth and the leaving of the nest. Here is the website from where the photos originated and it has all the information about the photographer and the dates the photos were taken. Also there are a few more photos on the website than what I posted here. Very neat.

Diligent

2008-11-17T18:32:00.002-06:00

We've had our little goldfish now since July.

Isaiah asked me tonight, for the first time, if I've fed Fred the Fish. I'm thinking he may not be ready for me to hand over the fish caretaking reins quite yet.

She's Innocent...

2008-11-14T09:40:00.002-06:00

Isaiah used some of his birthday money to buy a toy car he's had his eye on for awhile. He took it to school which means it needed to endure a backpack transport on the bus. Very dangerous.

Yesterday I noticed the car on the coffee table. Both side view mirrors have been broken/snapped/ripped off, the front bumper is missing a piece from the left side and the spoiler is cracked. I'm very certain that the majority of the dings and dents happened while traveling to and from school. Isaiah was warned this was a possibility, however, he took the chance.

I also happen to know that one of the side view mirrors had actually survived. I was a little surprised to see that now both were gone. I asked Isaiah if he took the car to school a second time and he said he had not. I then asked where the other mirror went. He was as shocked as I to discover both mirrors gone. Anna has a tendency to "play" with Isaiah's toys when nobody is looking. We both looked to Anna for some answers.

Mama: Anna, did you play with Isaiah's car?

Anna: (shocked I would ask such a thing) No, Mama. Well, hmmm, I don't think I did.

Mama: Well, have you noticed the two missing mirrors on Isaiah's car?

Anna: (still shocked) No?!?

Mama: It looks like both mirrors are gone now. How do suppose this could have happened?

Anna: (posing in Winnie-the-Pooh's think, think, think pose) Hmmm. I know! Maybe someone just grabbed the car and well, maybe someone accidentally threw it up?

Mama: Do you know who would have done that?

Anna: (shocked would be an understatement at this point) No! It wasn't me... maybe it was... (looked at the dog as if it was Matilda's fault, then realized it wasn't very credible)... Isaiah?

Isaiah: mmhmm, yeah, sure Anna.

Meanwhile, Matthew was busting a gut on the recliner trying not to let Anna see or hear him laughing hysterically. I'm sure she's innocent.

Chiquita

2008-11-13T17:55:00.002-06:00

I received the following information regarding bananas in an email sent to me by my mom.

BANANAS - very interesting A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression 'going bananas' is from the effects of bananas on the brain. Read on:

This is interesting.After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a 'cooling' fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, 'A banana a day keeps the doctor away!'PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS

PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time!

I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit !!!

This is what I read while eating our dessert this evening. Know what we had for dessert? The banana cream pie I made yesterday afternoon. Also, I made two loaves of banana bread today. Weird.

...if it wasn't screwed on...

2008-11-12T18:56:00.003-06:00

After lunch today Anna and I ran to Wal-Mart. I had to get snowpants for Isaiah and cool-whip. What a list. I decided to wear a winter stocking cap on our ventures since I didn't do my hair today and it was pretty cold. I would say we left the house at about 12:30.

It's now 6:58pm. I am about to tuck in my babies for bed. I just realized the stocking cap is STILL. ON. MY. HEAD. What in the world?

The Freedom of Choice Act

2008-11-12T07:38:00.002-06:00

Jen at one life...One God wrote a post much better than I could attempt. Please take the time to read what Jen wrote and watch the video below. I think it's about 30 seconds in length. There is a Fight the FOCA button on the left in which you can use to sign the petition against this act. Thank you.

Isaiah's Party

2008-11-12T06:16:00.004-06:00

We had a fun, jam-packed weekend celebrating Isaiah. Here are some photos.

We know a sign guy, so this is what the kids woke up to on Friday.

Can't forget Yoda.

They were pretty shocked to find Star Wars "people" in their living room.

Don't let the pose fool you, Isaiah was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Matthew did eventually share with Isaiah. It took a few minutes, but he did it. Nice job, Papa.

Isaiah had some friends over for lunch and fun. No place to hang the pinata so, Matthew just held it. Good thing he's tall and it was a "pull-string" not a "whack 'er open" type of pinata.

Later on Gramps, Grammy and Auntie Sally came over to help continue the fun.

Anna was excited that Auntie Sally's card played a Star Wars song. She's about to flash a thumbs up. Isaiah was thrilled.

Trying out the new shtuff.

Happy 8th Birthday, Isaiah!

2008-11-06T14:40:00.004-06:00

Tuesday November 7th, 2000, I became a mama for the first time. My best little boy was born on election day during a very, yucky, snow storm. First storm of the season. I was up at 4am ready to head to the hospital. I was scheduled for a c-section. Long story. Matthew and I could hardly stand it, we were so excited.

We knew we were having a boy. Matthew was going to pick our baby's name. We had it narrowed down to two; Issac Alexander or Isaiah Matthew. Matthew told me on the way to the hospital he chose Isaiah Matthew.

I still remember the drive to the hospital. As we passed the little building where folks in that township vote, we both realized that in our excitement to have our baby we forgot to vote. We should have cast absentee ballots but weren't thinking. The polling locations weren't open at the time we needed to go to the hospital so we just hoped we didn't mess up the election. We didn't, in case you were wondering.

Isaiah has been such a fun boy to have. We love him so very much. Isaiah is the best big brother in the whole world. Anna even says so. He is kind, compassionate, tender, funny and loves the outdoors. He tries very hard at school and enjoys reading and being read to. I enjoy my special talks with him and he doesn't mind if I sing to him when it's my turn to tuck him in at night. Matthew and I are very proud of our buddy.

Isaiah, we hope you have a very excellent birthday celebration day. You only get to turn 8 once, so have lots of fun. I am so glad you are choosing tacos and apple pie for your special supper tomorrow and Subway for your supper tonight. You have wonderful taste. I love you!

my baby boy at 21mos.

Isaiah, 3yrs. old

a big 2nd grader

Trick or Treat

2008-11-05T10:32:00.002-06:00

Our trick-or-treat day adventures are as followed. Anna and I went to her school for her teacher's conference. It's nice to know she saves ALL her "pistol-ness" for home. Mrs.K. was completely shocked over the antics my favorite, little Anna pulls at home. I suppose this is a good thing.

After Isaiah got off the bus we went down to my mom and dad's house to meet up with Matthew and the Germans. We had some pizza for supper and the Germans got to have their cream soda. They love cream soda!

(Manfred and Marcus)

Marcus and my dad.

(note: the American, my dad, is the one with the beer, not the German)

Then we got the kiddos into their costumes. Isaiah was going as a pirate and Anna, Spiderman. Only my three-year-old girl would choose to be Spiderman. The costume Anna wore was actually Matthew's when he was a little guy.

My cousin and her family stopped over as we were getting ready. Pirates must have been a big thing. Her oldest chose to be a pirate as well. We didn't even know.

(Grace-pirate, Josie-yellow M&M, Isaiah-pirate and Anna-Spiderman)

Anna with her face painted up "sort of like" Spiderman.

Manfred and my dad. My dad had more fun with Marcus and Manfred...

After we walked around Mom and Dad's neighborhood Isaiah and Anna were able to have a sleepover at Gramps and Grammy's. The next morning, the kids were up and painting like there was no tomorrow. Although Isaiah's pirate goatee was washed off during his shower the night before, it somehow reappeared during the painting activity.

I have no idea where the fascination comes from...

The Germans

2008-11-05T08:23:00.005-06:00

We had some wonderful visitors with us last week. Marcus and Manfred are two very talented sign makers from Bavaria. Matthew met them while attending various international sign conventions over the years. They are two of the nicest folks I've gotten to know in a long time.

The Germans, as we lovingly referred to Marcus and Manfred, had been on vacation since the end of September. They flew back to Germany November 1st. We were able to host them their last week of vacation as they were in Canada and other locations during the previous weeks.We packed in more fun in 10 days than we do in months usually.

Matthew had them canoeing the St. Croix River, traveling up to Duluth to tour an outdoor supply company's facilities, going to the Mall of America, trick or treating and watching how Matthew does what he does at work all day. I believe their favorite activity was going shining at night with Matthew in the truck, however. Surprisingly, Marcus and Manfred have a company truck for their shop - it's a Dodge. Seriously. These two guys from Bavaria drive a Dodge. I didn't even know Europe had pick-up trucks over there. They assured me they have a large enough light and will be bringing the redneck, evening pastime of shining to Bavaria. (they listen to country music too, by the way - crazy)

We also spent some time with my folks and sister while Marcus and Manfred were here. We all went on a train ride from Osceola to Dresser, WI and walked around an old train depot. We had cookouts with real American food - steak and twice baked potatoes. We also enjoyed some lamburgers, cheeseburgers and apple pie. Had to let them try all that good U.S. of A. food.

Isaiah and Anna loved having Marcus and Manfred with us as well. Anna got to swing for a good 45 minutes straight one day while Manfred just pushed and listened to her sing. Isaiah enjoyed his bike ride with Manfred and playing a video game with the Germans as well. Isaiah and Anna have become proficient in saying "guten tag" and "guten nacht".

We're hoping the Germans are able to come back in January or February to ice fish and go snomobiling. They are very excited about being able to do and were amazed at the ice shanty choices available to us. Marcus kept laughing at the ridiculousness of the ammenities available. I'm hoping too my sister emails Manfred...... ooooohhh I'm in so much trouble for blogging about that. Sorry Sal, had to be said. ooohh that's gonna hurt.

Double Take

2008-10-29T13:29:00.004-05:00

As I was opening my bottle of beer this morning.... ha, I was making beer bread, justsoyaknow, I had to look twice at the bottle cap.

The beer was one of the New Glarus (WI) Brewing Company beers. On the top of the cap is a picture of Wisconsin and in bold letters encircling the state I read what I thought said, "Drink Responsibly". You know, don't drink and drive and all that jazz. Well, as I looked at the cap again I realized it said, "Drink Indigenous". I thought that was clever.

Okay, that's it. Go about your blog reading.

Dear Carla,

2008-10-20T11:48:00.002-05:00

Here is a link to a wonderful page that will explain the process of egg laying and where the egg comes from.

I was going to post the information on the blog but thought it may be just too much information for some. I was going to explain it myself but then, again, thought it may be too much information. The page does a much better job explaining than I ever could anyhow.

www.afn.org/~poultry/egghen.htm

I saw Henrietta lay that big double yolker. It was really neat. I never saw the actual laying of an egg before. Very cool.

Work From Home Days...

2008-10-20T11:21:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago Matthew decided he'd work from home once in awhile. We put together a nice desk for him downstairs, got a cordless phone and he hooked up some gizmo to the computer upstairs so he can use the internet downstairs. It's nice to have him home sometimes.

This is what I walked into on one of his "work from home" days... watching Dora, no doubt.

Update #2

2008-10-17T18:03:00.003-05:00

I thought I'd update you all on my mom. Once in awhile somebody asks me about Mom so....here we go.

As you can see she has no problem gallivanting up north for week and fishing for hours on end in the boat with Dad. This is good.

Mom did have a check-up recently to go over the residual affects of the Bell's Palsy. Her good eye is actually the one causing a bit of concern. If I understood correctly the good eye was over working and, as a result, started to get a little droopy. This happens sometimes. The doctor said as long as it doesn't get worse and interfere with her vision, there is nothing that needs to be done. If, however, it does start to droop into her line of sight then my mom gets to go in for reconstructive surgery. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd say that about my mom. Ha!

Thank you all for your prayers. We appreciate them. Mom is doing great and one can't even tell she ever had that goofy virus in the first place. She healed very, very fast. Yeah!

Impressed

2008-10-17T15:16:00.003-05:00

Henrietta, although we sincerely appreciate your efforts, for your sake, slow it down. We now fully understand why we had to wait 3 whole days between eggs, yikes. I apologize for being impatient, apparently you were just trying to impress us. It worked. You shall not ever become chicken noodle soup, I promise.

(Henrietta's very first egg compared to large grocery store egg)

(Henrietta's egg from yesterday compared to large grocery store egg)

note: this means the white egg in both pictures are the same size. Henrietta layed a whopper yesterday.

Anna's Prayer

2008-10-15T09:52:00.002-05:00

Dee-oh God,

Sank You fo' my spoon and sank You fo' my Gammy. Sank You fo' my fam-oh-yee too.

Amen.

Overheard Conversation

2008-10-14T15:31:00.002-05:00

Time: Yesterday 4:30pm

Overheard Speakers: Isaiah and Anna

Location: Isaiah (bathroom)
Anna (outside bathroom door)

Conversation:
Anna- Isaiah? Isaiah, where are you?
Isaiah- Anna, I'm in here. I'll be out in a minute.
Anna- Isaiah?
Isaiah- Yes?
Anna- I love you.
Isaiah- I love you too, Anna.

Nine Years

2008-10-09T13:07:00.002-05:00

Who would have thought nine years ago that on our 9th anniversary we'd have woken up in a queen sized bed with two children who couldn't sleep the night before sandwiched in between? In the words of the youngest blanket-stealer, "Amazin'!" I love you!

Nine Years Ago Today...

2008-10-08T08:29:00.003-05:00

October 8, 1999.

I worked 1/2 of a day and went out to lunch with our good friend from college, Dave Clark. I had been friends with Dave since we were freshman. Later, Dave got to know Matthew and that is how Matt and I got to know each other. Anyways, Dave came up from Florida to be one of Matthew's groomsman. We had lunch at Applebees, in Hudson, and then ran to Target. We then went back to Baldwin, where Matthew and I were living, and Dave, Matthew and I got ready for the wedding rehearsal and dinner.

I don't remember what time everything started but, I do remember scrambling to find something dressy enough to wear. Planning the wedding and all that it entails wasn't really my thing. Apparently what I was going to wear to the rehearsal never crossed my mind until a couple hours beforehand. I know we made it on time, however.

Pastor Larry did a great job making everyone feel comfortable. I remember too that Matthew and I had been to a wedding either earlier in the year or the year before and noticed the wedding party getting sloshed before the wedding. I did NOT want that repeated at our wedding so Larry made a comment about how important the next day was to Matthew and I and how we didn't want that to happen. We thought the "rules" would be taken more seriously if Larry said them, not us. Yep, Larry did the dirty work for us.

Matthew and I did want to be walked down the aisle by both of our parents. Matthew's folks walked him down the aisle at the beginning of the service, first thing. Then, after all the attendants were up front my mom and dad walked me down.

We went through the whole ceremony, vows and all. I was an absolute wreck. I couldn't get through anything. I cried the whole time, then laughed because I was crying, then cried some more. Oddly, I didn't cry at all during our actual wedding. I must have gotten it all out of my system. Matthew, I think, just thought I was a nut.

After we walked through it all a couple times we went to the rehearsal dinner. We had decided we didn't want to have the dinner at a restaurant where you only talk with the person next to you. We wanted to do something more casual where everyone is together. We opted to have the dinner at my folks' home. We had take-out pizza and subs. It was lots of fun. More relaxing, too. Then, Matthew went back to our house with his buddies and I spent the night at my mom and dad's. I don't think I slept very well. I do know I hopped in bed and after I tried to fall asleep for a little bit hopped right back out and ran to the bathroom. I had completely forgotten to pluck my eyebrows!!!!

Bayfield and Madeline

2008-10-07T09:40:00.006-05:00

Matthew and I will celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary on Thursday, October Ninth. Matthew has been insisting that this will be our Golden Anniversary. I keep saying although it feels like 50 years sometimes it doesn't really work like Golden Birthdays. Semantics, I suppose. At any rate, last weekend, we did something we've never done, ever. We had my mom and dad watch Isaiah and Anna for the entire weekend and we actually went out-of-town. Three and a half hours away! This was a major accomplishment for me. I did a lot of praying last week that God would grant me strength and trust. Believe me you, this was an anxiety attack waiting to happen. I did it though. My mom helped a lot, she followed my requests on everything to perfection. Thank you, mom!

As the title suggest, we went up to the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior. We spent the day Friday in Bayfield, WI and took in all that is Apple Fest. Apparently Apple Fest is one of the biggest festivals in the entire universe, or something like that. Due to the fact that it was Apple Fest there was no room at the inn for Matthew and I. We ended up staying on Madeline Island, one of the Apostle Islands. There is no bridge, one takes a ferry over to the island, it's about a 20-25 minute ferry ride. I believe the distance is 2 miles, or 2 1/2 miles.

Well, Friday we left our house at about 8:30 and drove up to Bayfield. We ate lunch at the Rittenhouse Inn, it's a bed & breakfast that is open to the public for breakfast and lunch. It was very yummy. I'm happy we made it in time. They have a small window of time in which they serve lunch. It was well worth the early departure time.

(outside the Rittenhouse Inn)

After we ate lunch we walked down to the Apple Fest shindig. There were tons of neat craft vendors, apples galore, music and people watching. I was still very full from lunch but Matthew couldn't resist an apple brat. Had to have one. I tasted some of the apple mustard he put on the brat and it was pretty darn good. We found some goodies for the kids and ended up getting some pottery for ourselves. We always admire the pottery while at craft fairs and never get any, not this time. We found a beautiful serving plate with a bowl for dip and a little dip spreader, knife type of thing. Later, my mom told me that pottery is the traditional 9th wedding anniversary gift. I think I knew that subconsciously but thought it pretty neat that we broke down and bought the pottery.

(near the marina in Bayfield, enjoying Apple Fest)

When we had finished wandering the streets of Bayfield it was time to hop on the ferry and travel over to Madeline Island. The ferry service has a bunch of ferries and the the boats leave, for the most part, every 1/2 hour. It's very convenient and easy to plan when you will come and go.

(this is the ferry that was going to Bayfield as we were traveling to the island)

We checked into our little rental house that we would be staying at and were delighted to find out we'd be on the other side of the island. Matthew and I both thought we'd be in town, La Pointe, but found out we needed to drive about 9 miles to the other side of island and would be staying right on Big Bay. Although it was cold at night, in the 30's, we kept the windows open a bit to hear the powerful waves crashing right outside our door. I'm used to the gentle little lapping sound of little lakes or rivers. Not on the shores of Superior, man oh man, were they loud. Lovely.

Saturday we stayed on Madeline and enjoyed hanging out at Big Bay town park. It is a beautiful park.

(this little foot bridge spans an inlet of water from Superior into the park)

(standing on the bridge looking inland)

(standing on the bridge looking out to Superior)

(hee hee, our initials in the sand)

(Matthew took this footage on the beach. My little kick at the end was me saying don't film me.)

Sunday we were up at 6am to catch the 7am ferry back to Bayfield. We had a super time but were in a major hurry to get home to our babies. God had a beautiful display for us on the boat ride over. The steam was rising up off the lake and it made for an amazing sunrise.

Happy Anniversary, Matthew! I love ya a ton.

Generation Gap

2008-09-30T06:45:00.003-05:00

One of Isaiah's spelling words this week is "stop". Isaiah was pretending to give Anna a spelling test and the way he was saying "stop" reminded me of a Mr. MC Hammer. After he repeated this word a few times this is how the conversation went:

I: (said to Anna) STOP
M: ....hammer time
I: (said while gaving me a very, very blank stare) Huh?
M: Oh, nevermind.

Now, I fully believe that had Matthew been done taking a shower at the time and heard the conversation he'd have laughed. Oh well.

Henrietta

2008-09-28T09:53:00.006-05:00

Well, it's happened Henrietta has provided the first of many eggs. Amazing. The photo shows Hen's "Easter Egg" egg compared to a standard grocery store large egg. Typically chickens start out laying eggs that are a bit smaller than their eventual sized-egg. I do not know how our chicken's eggs will size up compared to a grocery store egg, only time will tell.

Also, the eggs our particular chickens lay are blue-green in color. The eggs are referred to as Easter Eggs. The shade will range from a pale blue-green to a deeper shade. I would consider the egg in the photo on the pale side.

Now, an update on our flock. It's been a rough go of it. You may remember earlier this spring Matthew and Anna brought home six little hens. Custard, being one of them. Well, after the five remaining hens were large enough to be outside, it was still rather chilly out at this point, we had them in a rabbit hutch of sorts. Perfect for the amount of chickens we had and their size at the time. Unfortunately there were a couple feral cats that depleted our flock. How did we know they were feral? Because tame, outside cats would not have gone to the trouble of actually pulling the young birds out of the hutch. Too much work when you aren't all that hungry. So, after we were thoroughly upset at the Rolli household Matthew trapped and dispatched the two cats. This happened on an individual basis. The 2nd cat was caught about a week after the first. The only remaining chicken that survived was, Henrietta the Brave.

A few weeks later we just bit the bullet and purchased a whole flock of 0ne-day old "Easter Egg" chickens. Hens and roosters. We got those little peepers going and once they were large enough to hold their own with Henrietta we had 21 chickens in a wonderful run and coop put together by Matthew and the kids.

Being that Henrietta is the oldest by at least 4-6 weeks we knew she'd start laying first. Sure enough, doing chores last night, I looked again in all the little spots that are good for laying an egg and voila, an egg. Can I just say there was a lot of hootin' and hollerin' going on last night. We are very excited. Tonight we're going to hard-boil the egg and split it so we each can have a little bite of our first egg.

Parade

2008-09-10T16:58:00.004-05:00

On Sunday the kids and I walked in our town's parade. We were walking with our 4H club, handing out 4H information and candy. It was great fun. My folks and sister came up to watch the parade and assist with the transportation problem of starting the parade at one end of town with our vehicle and ending the parade at the complete opposite end of town without our vehicle. Mom and I finally figured out a plan that did not require us to walk all the way back to the beginning of the parade. Matthew is still out of town so it's nice to have their help in matters such as these. Also, it's always fun to be able to look for people you know while walking in the parade. Very fun. Here are some shots of the day.

Here we are walking up to Mom, Dad and Sally during the parade. Notice our lovely 4H shirts.

Apparently one of the parade units ahead of us was handing out flowers. This is what my dad decided to do with the flower. Nice.

After Isaiah and I finished our route we headed back to Mom, Dad, Sally and Anna and finished watching the parade.

I love this. I was taking the picture and Isaiah was watching this set of antique cars driving by, the cars were zig-zagging in the street back and forth. Well, I guess it appeared as though one of the cars was going to bump into me. I love how Isaiah is half worried and half laughing at the same time. Anna's sort of thinking , "Yikes".

This is just plain classic. Here we have Sally, Isaiah and Dad showing us their "eating very chewy candy" faces. Anna is very intent on the next parade unit. That's my mom. You can hardly even see the evidence of Bell's Palsy. Thanks again for all the prayers.

All in all it was a very fun day.

Elk Hunting

2008-09-08T07:26:00.001-05:00

Dear Mr. Elk,

Be afraid, be very afraid.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Rolli

Flower Friend

2008-09-07T11:31:00.005-05:00

As I was dead-heading the Chrysanthemum on our front steps, I found a friend. This little guy must like 'mums as well. He was all tucked up in amongst the flowers and leaves. I thought he was pretty cute.

I took a couple photos and noticed that he maybe doesn't like to have his picture taken. He hopped out of the flower pot in disgust and landed on the cement. No worries, I picked him up and tucked him back into the flowers. He looked rather annoyed with me so I left him alone after that. Sorry to disturb you little friend.

Art Barn

2008-09-07T09:22:00.008-05:00

On Saturday Isaiah, Anna and myself, along with my mom and sister, Sally, went to the Art Barn. The Art Barn was having their annual Art Extravaganza in which you pay 5$ and have a whole slough of art projects to have fun making. We went last year while we were scoping out the area we wanted to move to. We had fun then and, now that we're locals, wanted to partake in the fun again.

My favorite station is the Raku pottery. The pottery is already made and fired and all we do is choose what we want to glaze, paint on the glaze and then the pottery professionals fire it again. Isaiah chose a stagecoach, Anna a turtle, Mom and Sally bowls and I chose a pencil holder. I love seeing what they look like after they come out of the wheelbarrow filled with sawdust. I think in traditional Raku the 2nd phase of the firing process is done in the ground.

We also did some dyeing of T-shirts. The dye was in spray bottles so it wasn't officially tie-dying, I thought it was more fun actually. Before the kids sprayed we added masking tape and foam shapes to act as a resist to the dye. After the shirts dried we took off the tape and foam and voila - a masterpiece.

After the shirt dying and pottery Isaiah and Anna made puppets, duct tape hats, got their faces painted, painted rocks and decorated bookmarks with golf balls rolled in paint. As the name of the day implies it IS an Art Extravaganza. It was lots of fun.

...Meanwhile Back at the Ranch

2008-09-07T06:50:00.005-05:00

Dear Matthew,

I realize you have only been gone hunting since Tuesday. I'm fully aware you are not returning from New Mexico for at least another week, however, we've a slight security breech that requires your attention.

I'm fully aware you told me the chickens would be fine, until you returned, and would not require netting over their run. I know you thought they were young enough and happy enough to stay put. I'm sure this had nothing to do with your excitement over going hunting for two weeks nor did this have anything to do with your lack of time/interest/motivation for anything related to chickens.

I shall refrain from mentioning that when you offered to pick up chicken feed to last me the weeks you'd be gone and I said please get Starter/Grower, you "accidentally" only got Starter feed. I just won't sink to that level and mention that error on national public blogdom. I won't do it.

Anyhow, back to the breech in security. The "young" enough chickens have decided that when I open their run door in the morning and they fly hard enough they just make it over the fence. It is at this point they get stuck and cannot get back in the run. Thankfully they really want to get back in the run and I can corner them against the fence, grab them and boost them up and over the fence. Again, this is the same fence you said would not need any additional enclosing til you returned. (in case you forgot to which fence I referred)

Keep in mind that while wrangling these "too young too fly over the fence" chickens I'm also restraining a very willing Lab/Collie mix, named Matilda, who would just love to sink her teeth into this project and help.

After the commotion of boosting at least five chickens (I stopped counting after five) I decided I was so fed up with these foul that I said to heck with the fresh water you've enough to last the day. I'll do it tonight. I then finished feeding the chickens, I did grace them with food, although it's just Starter feed NOT Starter/Grower, but I said I wouldn't mention that. I then proceeded to shut up all the other doors and checked on the sheep one more time. Know what I saw? One lone hen helping the sheep grab up the oats they were missing themselves.

I have no idea when this particular hen escaped. I have no idea if she did this yesterday or this morning during the mass confusion. She may have been out there all night sleeping with the sheep in the lean-to for all I know. I stood there with my mouth wide open knowing full well I was not chasing a hen all around the pasture, especially a hen that appeared to want to be there. That hen will now and forever live in the pasture. I will let you handle her misconduct upon your return.

In closing, we are ready for you to return. The chickens have gotten completely out of control. It's mass chaos. I do not need to remind you what I did with the troublesome rooster in 2000. I have a .410 and I'm not afraid to use it.

I love you, have fun, shoot something big, be safe.

Love, me

ps I felt this incident worthy of a blog email rather then a personal email. I know you're able to read both. Just wanted to share the love a bit.

pps I know you appreciate the fact that I never mentioned how you bought Starter feed and not Starter/Grower feed. You can thank me when you get home.

2nd Grade

2008-09-04T10:29:00.002-05:00

My boy started 2nd grade this week. He looked old to me. Isaiah was a bit apprehensive. I think he thought the first day would be like his first day at this school last year. He started the year in Hudson and then got plopped into the new school in November. Not always the easiest thing from what I've heard. He ended up doing just fine last year but I'm sure the anxiety was still fresh in his mind.

This year, however, he was starting the first day of school right along with all of the other children in school. He'd know the ropes and some of the folks and all would be well. It was. He even started Spanish this year. Three times a week the elementary school Spanish teacher comes in and instructs on the Spanish language. I thought for sure Isaiah would be all over that one. I couldn't figure out why he'd be nervous and not excited. I found out at the end of the day, when he came home with relief and pride showing all over his face because he knew lots of the words that, Isaiah possibly thought Spanish class meant; all Spanish all the time. Poor kid. I didn't even think he'd feel that way. Missed the boat on that one. He survived though and was eager to hop on the bus yesterday and today.

While waiting for the bus we had to say our good-byes to Papa as well. Matthew is gone for awhile hunting in New Mexico so we're holding down the fort. I got a few shots of Matthew hanging out with the kiddos before we saw Isaiah get on the bus.

Also, my mom always took photos of my sister and I facing away from her with our backpacks on. She did this all through elementary school, on our first days. I have no idea why she did this so I thought, better be safe rather than sorry. I took a backpack shot of the kids. I suppose someday we'll look at those photos and say, "How cute, the backpack is bigger than you." I really don't know that there would be any other reason. Anyhow, I did it. They sort of look like walking backpacks from this viewpoint. Ha!

Next Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

2008-08-29T11:01:00.002-05:00

On a recent shopping trip with the bestest neighbor ever, Michelle I was encouraged to make a purchase that I will forever and ever be thankful about. Michelle encouraged me to get this salad spinner. I love it!

My only complaint I have would be that I did not think to get one of these earlier this summer. We grew loose leaf lettuce in our garden and, in case you were unaware, it does not come out of the garden clean. Each and every little leaf needs to be washed by hand. This, then, leads to the next problem, drying the lettuce leaves. I figured wringing the leaves out like a washcloth would not be a good idea. I, therefore, layed out towels and proceeded to dry each and every little leaf by hand. Needless to say, we did not eat much of the lettuce.

Next year this shall not be the case. With this handy-dandy washer/spinner contraption. You dunk and rinse and spin and voila, clean and dry lettuce. Also, clean and dry lettuce can then be stored in the same little deal in the fridge. Amazing concept.

I can not tell you how excited I am about this. I am fully aware that I may be the last person in America that did not have a salad spinner. You may all think I'm crazy for even mentioning this, that's okay. I figure the longer I wait to get something the more I appreciate it in the end, right?

ps Michelle, you can come and borrow this little deal anytime. Not that that was your original intention or anything....

My Mom

2008-08-29T08:00:00.002-05:00

I thought I'd share how my mom is doing with her Bell's Palsy. Thank you Jessica, for asking.

The doctor had said the nerves in her eye were pretty damaged. She, for awhile, was needing to tape her eye shut at night time. It wouldn't close on it's own. Mom needed to use drops as well so her cornea wouldn't dry out.

She's had a few appointments to check on the progress and her eye is doing just fine and the cornea itself is not harmed.

Mom is improving and we all can tell the nerves are getting better. It's a slow process but when I only see her once or twice a week I can tell the difference. She no longer needs tape at night and she can close her eye about halfway, her other eye is squinting really hard at the same time so I can tell she is really having to try to get that left eye shut. It's much better though, than it was in the beginning. Also, her mouth and speech are noticeably improved.

I've heard of people having Bells' for a week and some a year. I guess Nancy, from the PBS show Sewing with Nancy has Bell's. Apparently she had it as a child and the nerves never improved. I'm very thankful mom's is really improving. Mom's had her Bell's Palsy for about 5 weeks now. I'm hoping there's complete recovery and so far it's looking good.

For those that prayed and have been praying, thank you. We appreciate your prayers.

Tag

2008-08-27T10:29:00.003-05:00

Addendum: I've been tagged again by Kelli so instead of reposting this I'll still play along and list some more bloggy friends to tag:

Amanda @ I am Mommy
Kris @ Adventures at Acorn Academy

Ok, so Cara tagged me on her blog so I will do my best. I've never done this before and I don't know if I'm understanding what to do...here goes.

TEN YEARS AGO
1998, I was engaged to Matthew and living in an old, old, old farmhouse. If memory serves correctly I was teaching 2-year olds at a daycare in River Falls. We had a dog, Jacob, and were raising some chickens in the old milkhouse. I think that about sums it up.

MY TO-DO LIST TODAY
1. feed dog, sheep, fish and chickens (children too but, that's not really ON the list)
2. bake banana bread, apple bread and chocolate zucchini bread
3. put laundry away and keep washing the dirty stuff
4. vacuum
5. clean bathrooms
6. wash up kitchen after all the baking
7. figure out what we're having for supper and make it

SNACK THAT I ENJOY
buttered popcorn popped on the stove in a pot (never microwaved)

THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A MILLIONAIRE
1. give 1/2 to the feds; cause I'm generous like that
2. decide with Matthew a charity of our choice to donate to
3. pay off our debt and the company's debts
4. set the kids up for school and stuff
5. set us up for retirement
(I blew through all that real quick)

PLACES I'VE LIVED
(in order)
Sioux City, IA
Mounds View, MN
River Falls, WI
Hudson, WI
Menomonie, WI (school)
Baldwin, WI
Hudson, WI
Osceola, WI

TAG, YOU'RE IT!
Jessica (Adjusting to the World)
Birdie (Crooked Maple)
Laura (the Heart of Hospitality)
Kara Jo (P is not for Perfect)

Cara, thanks that was fun!

Morning Glory

2008-08-27T06:36:00.003-05:00

Dear God,
Wow, that was beautiful.
And the rainbow? Amazing.
Magnificent, only You could create something like this.

Thank you!

Saturday Night Fun

2008-08-24T08:06:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I went out with my wonderful neighbor, Michelle. We both have birthdays in August and wanted to have a fun day together. We gallivanted all over Hudson and then headed over to Stillwater. It was lots of fun.

Matthew had a blast with Isaiah and Anna while I was gone. They did all sorts of fun things. Matthew took the kids to Fawn-doe-rosa up in Saint Croix Falls. It's a huge petting zoo with deer that roam freely throughout the facility and are tame. Apparently Anna gave a buck a huge hug around his neck and Matthew said he got a little concerned over her no-fear attitude when it came to animals with ANTLERS! They also were able to pick out a treat at their all-time favorite store, Horse Creek. Think modern day mercantile. Anything you could ever need way out in the country...

When I got home from the birthday adventure we all sat outside and talked about our day. Then we did chores and that lead into something I have never, ever, in a million years ever thought I would be doing on a Saturday night....for fun.

I don't know who came up with the idea but, somehow, the four us started hunting for grasshoppers and giving them to the chickens. Really it was fun. (I know, not for the grasshoppers but PETA members were probably offended by this blog a long time ago) We had a ball watching the chickens do their chicken thing.

About 20 minutes into the deal I looked at Matthew and said, "Wow, is this what folks do in the country for fun, on a Saturday night?"

He said, "Yep, pretty much."

Anna's First Day

2008-08-21T18:41:00.004-05:00

Anna started preschool today. I think it was a good day. She went back and forth over wanting to go, wanting to stay home, wanting to go and having me stay with her, etc.

She started her day just fine and I was able to leave without her being sad. She found a toy that interested her and busied herself drawing with the toy. I told her I'd be back and that I loved her.

I did not receive any calls from school during her day so I assumed she did okay.

Leaving, however, was a different story entirely. You see Anna needed to bring supplies to school in a little pink pencil box. She did not feel her box should stay at school. She wanted to bring her supplies home in the worst way. Such a hard thing to understand. Sadly, we left her poor, poor supplies in their spot at school. They will be there on her next day but, we miss them.

At supper tonight Anna was completely happy about her day when Matthew asked her about her first day. She did not mention her poor, pink pencil box at all. Either she has gotten over this fact of school or she forgot. Either way it's good.

She is officially a big girl now, just ask her.

(she gets her very own locker)

Oldie

2008-08-21T18:34:00.002-05:00

While the kids and I were playing on the swing set the other day I asked Isaiah if I should try to jump off the swing.

He said, "Sure.".

I started swinging and when I reached the designated height I flew off. Nothing broke. Nobody got hurt. It was fun.

Isaiah said, "Man... Mama, you still got it in ya."

Take a Worm Fishing

2008-08-08T05:06:00.004-05:00

Anna is the type of girl that enjoys chasing and picking up critters. All kinds of critters. Yesterday evening we were outside and she asked to remove a rock from around the tree and dig. She was looking for worms. Anna loves to look for worms.

Later, while getting a bath Anna was sad about not finding any worms. I explained that maybe because it was so dry out that the worms were very deep in the ground. I told her when it rains again the worms will be easier to find. She then said the worms would be her friend and that they would just belong to her. I said that would be great. I then asked Anna if she'd take her worms fishing.

Anna said, "They not have poles."

I'm Ba-ack

2008-08-08T04:51:00.002-05:00

I have needed to take a break from blogging for a bit. It's been a little crazy here after the fair festivities.

First, let me say that if you neglect your garden for 2 1/2 weeks in the middle of July the weeds WILL be taller than yourself. I'm not a tall person, but still. Also, this garden that we inherited from the previous owners is huge. It is not the typical sized garden, it's a biggun. I don't know the exact measurements but I'm thinking I don't really want to know the specifics either.

It is fun though to find an intended plant, not a weed, while you are out bushwhacking the jungle that is your garden. Our tomatoes, pole beans, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers and Yukon Golds are doing splendidly. So are the sunflowers actually.

Another project I've been tasked with is cooking. I don't mean the typical breakfast, lunch and dinner. Matthew will be in New Mexico for a couple weeks hunting Elk, Bear, Mule Deer and whatever else walks in front of him. Matthew, his dad, his brother and their friend Eric will all be out there and Matthew thought it would be good if he took a turn and providing the one big meal they have a day. In secret husband/wife code this means I will actually be the one cooking the meals. I don't mind at all though. It's fun. I make the meal and get to use the coolest little kitchen contraption ever. A Foodsaver. Don, Matthew's dad, has this food vacuum/bag sealer deal for when they butcher their venison. Well, I am getting to use it seal and freeze the New Mexico meals. It's so much fun. The down side to this is that while I've been making a 2-3 meals a day by the time supper rolls around I don't feel much like cooking yet again so we've been eating PB&Js and chicken nuggets.

New Blog

2008-07-29T19:50:00.002-05:00

Some of you FCCers may remember Larry and Patty Longard. They are now living in the cities and have a beautiful little girl, Maya. Larry has a wealth of information about books, children's books in particular. For all you moms, and dads, out there that love to read to their kiddos check out Larry's blog.

Apparently Larry's blog was featured in the St.Paul Pioneer Press. This is big time people.

One Year of Children's Books

Lots of good reviews.

Fair Wrap-Up

2008-07-29T16:46:00.004-05:00

The Polk County Fair is over for another year. I was actually pretty sad Sunday evening when we were driving home for the last time. We all had so very much fun and learned so many new things that only made us more excited for the upcoming years.

Here are some photos to help explain some of our adventures.

Isaiah posing proudly by his terrarium and treasure chest. He earned a Cloverbud ribbon and certificate.

Mama, Isaiah, Anna and Papa at the Cloverbud/Explorer building enjoying Isaiah's achievements.

Isaiah and Lamby at the Little Britches Rodeo. Isaiah was walking a somewhat stubborn Lamby around the arena. Afterwards, a judge asked Isaiah some pertinent questions regarding the care of his sheep and what was done to prepare Lamby for the show. Isaiah did a super job answering the questions.

Finally, my mom took a photo of me sitting next to the blue/green/cream-colored washcloth I made. It's in the cabinet behind me next to the crocheted gnome. I have never seen one of those before, amazing.

We learned a lot and are anticipating next year's fair already. I think we are all still making up for lost sleep but the fun was worth it.

Apple Bread

2008-07-26T06:34:00.004-05:00

The results are in ...... my washcloth received a 2nd place ribbon and the apple bread I entered at the fair received a 1st place ribbon. I am pretty excited.

Isaiah had his conference judging on his two Cloverbud projects on Thursday and he did very well. He earned himself a certificate and a Cloverbud ribbon. He really enjoyed the process and having his entries on display.

Today Matthew and I are going to the Quality Meat Auction this evening and tomorrow Isaiah shows Lamby at the Little Britches Rodeo. We'll be busy the rest of the weekend but I'm hoping I'll have some photos on Monday about all our fun experiences.

In the meantime, here's the recipe I received from my neighbor, Michelle, that got me a blue ribbon.

Apple Bread

batter-
1/2 C. butter
2 eggs
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C. flour
2 C. chopped apples (I used Granny Smith)

topping-
2 Tbs. soft butter
3 Tbs. flour
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. cinnamon

Blend butter, eggs and sugar. Add soda, salt and vanilla; beat. Mix in flour. Add apples; mix. Place in greased bread pan. Mix topping together until crumbly and sprinkle on top of bread.

Bake @ 325 for 55-65 minutes.

There you have it, super simple but really tasty.

More on the fair and Isaiah's entries coming soon.

My Life

2008-07-25T10:31:00.005-05:00

This buck has been our dinner (and breakfast and lunch) companion for the last week. He has not found a home on our walls as of yet. Am I the only wife in the world that has a deer head on her dining room table? Is this an odd thing? If this is a bit out of the ordinary feel free to keep your comments to yourself..... sigh

Fair Project #2

2008-07-23T19:05:00.004-05:00

Isaiah finished up his terrarium the other day and these are the results.

He wanted to do a dinosaur's environment. Pretty clever of him, I thought. We used a clear 2-liter soda bottle and I cut the bottom off for him. He added layers to his terrarium. First rocks, then sand, next moss and finally the soil. He added a little jade plant and a palm. To make the habitat authentic looking Isaiah added a little Triceratops.

We had some brown book binding tape that looked very nice with the ensemble.

Anna wanted to get in on the action and boy did she dig in. She was a major mess but I believe she enjoyed herself so, it's all good. Anna is very proud of her terrarium in a sand bucket. I will not be correcting her on the technicalities of what a terrarium really is.

(click on the photo to see a close up of the Triceratops)

Papa assisting Anna with her "project".

Anna is very proud of herself. Please, click on the photo to really get a feel for the dirt that was ground into her arms, clothes and fingernails. It was a two bath night.

Not the Point

2008-07-23T17:02:00.002-05:00

I'm entering some projects at the fair as well. My grandma taught me to crochet earlier this spring so, I'm making a washcloth to enter in the knit/crochet category. I'm not too nervous about this.

For some reason, however, I'm having a little panic attack over my other entry. I'm entering my version of Apple Bread into the quick breads category. I just stuck it into the oven and am sweating and having a hard time breathing. I've had enough panic attacks to know what this is. Seriously, what's the deal? I've made this bread tons of times and everyone who's ever tasted it has loved it. I know this is not the point of entering things at the fair. I know this, really I do. I'm just doing this for fun and to cross another item off of my life's to-do list. I have always wanted to enter things at my local county fair. This year is the year. I was excited now all of sudden I'm having a little meltdown.

Kristi, Kelli, do you ladies know the food judges? If you do, just tell me that they are nice. I really don't care if I get a ribbon. I'm just so stinking nervous. I don't even know why.

We drop our entries off tomorrow morning at that point it's out of our hands, literally. I'm really going to feel better at that point.

I shall try to refrain from throwing my bread at the fair entry takers and saying, "Here, you can have it. I can't take this anymore!" I don't think that would make a very good impression.

Thisisfun, thisisfun, thisisfun, thisisfun.

Is it Sunday yet?

Prayer Request

2008-07-23T07:01:00.004-05:00

I have a prayer request I'd like to let you all know about. My mom was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy this past weekend. If I understand correctly, Bell's is a viral thing that needs to run it's course and this may last from 3-6 months.

She's on a few medications to help this clear up quicker. Mom has said nothing hurts her and she doesn't "feel" sick in anyway. Mostly, her eye is bothersome as she's unable to close her left eyelid. She has salve to keep her eye hydrated and she's to tape it closed at bedtime. Also, eating or drinking is challenging due to the paralysis on that side. I believe it's much like having Novocaine at the dentist. She doesn't taste anything on that side of her mouth either.

My mom's name is Barbara and if you've a chance I would appreciate prayer that the virus could run it's course quickly. Mom seems to be in great spirits over the whole thing and, as I mentioned, she doesn't feel sick nor is she uncomfortable. I think this is just a bothersome thing that probably makes her family more upset than it does herself.

Thank you, blog friends.

Oakridge

2008-07-22T17:11:00.004-05:00

We went down to Matthew's folks' farm last weekend. The big boys (Matthew, his dad, his brother and their friend Eric) needed to plan out their New Mexico elk hunt they are going on in September. I think it was just a fun excuse to go down to Oakridge Farm. Eric couldn't make it down due to the fact that he volunteers to fight fires all over the country and is out in California putting out some flames. His nickname is Sparky. Our good friend Chris came down, however, to help out building two huge sliding doors Opa needed on his machine "shed".

We did a bunch of fun stuff, we always do.

On Saturday Isaiah, Anna, Matt's sister-in-law Becca, Oma and I went into town to visit Nana. (Matt's grandma) Oma treated us all to a McDonald's lunch and then we went swimming back at Opa and Oma's in the wading pool.

Sunday was spent finishing up the two massive doors and of course a visit with Tony-the-Pony, Eeyore (the donkey) and the other horses and sheep. Anna, Opa, Matilda and I sat in the front of the truck on the way down to the pasture. Tony-the-Pony just about kissed Papa on the nose. Isaiah sat on Tony and got to know the Angus cows, he also helped feed some. Anna also had some fun sitting on Tony.

Fair Project

2008-07-21T09:28:00.003-05:00

The Polk County Fair starts this week, Thursday. We are busy finishing up the projects we've chosen to take to the fair.

Isaiah stained his woodworking project last week and will be adding the paint details today. He chose a wood project kit at a craft store, a treasure chest.

All the wood pieces and hardware came in the kit. He just had to follow the directions and nail all the pieces in place. He sanded the project and stained the inside and outside. Isaiah said he felt pretty grown-up being able to work with all the tools and stain the wood himself.

Isaiah is also entering a terrarium and will be showing Lamby in the Little Britches Rodeo on Sunday. Should prove to be a fun and exciting time for all.

Dust Eating

2008-07-21T09:18:00.002-05:00

Photographic proof that there was some eating of dust done on the go-carts.

Going,

going,

gone!

Matilda the Brave...... or not

2008-07-16T11:23:00.002-05:00

My dear ol' puppy dog Matilda can be a very, very brave and ferocious canine. There is a little "family" of bees that fly around our front stoop and have made a home somewhere under the threshold of our front door. They haven't bothered anyone yet and Matthew regularly sprays to keep them away.

Matilda did NOT authorize their location of residence and is not going to stand for this utter lack of regard for her opinion. She often asks to go outside only to stand guard of the pesky intruders. Matilda will fearlessly wait quietly for just the right moment and then....SNAP..... kills the pesky bees in one foul swoop of her ferocious jaws. I have seen her do this on many occasions. I do not have photo documentation of this, however, as I do not want to be close enough to the receiving end of an accidental miss. I can't imagine the bees enjoy being stalked, caught and bit by Matilda and so if she does happen to let an angry bee go I want to be far away. Please know that I am entirely truthful on this matter and am very thankful Matilda is doing what she can to control the bee population attempting to invade our home.

On the complete opposite side of this dear doggy's personality she is a major wimp. Usually this only occurs while it rains. It could be misting or full force tornado warnings and she reacts the same. I've heard of dogs that are afraid of thunder and strong winds, but mist? She will not go outside if it's raining, misting or the shingles are being blown off the roof. She doesn't even lay down in her favorite spots. Nope, not Matilda. She has special precipitation hiding spots. I now know of four. They include:

1. behind the entertainment system
2. on the landing of the stairs
3. under the utility sink in the laundry room

and today's new spot......

4. the bathroom, as far under the toilet as she could fit

I'm really impressed actually. Being that we've only had our dear Matilda for about 7.5 months we do not know her history and where she came from or who took care of her. Somebody did a remarkable job teaching her the all the safe locations during a storm. I do not know why she feels it necessary to hide in the bathroom while it's merely sprinkling outside though. There's no thunder or lightning at this time.

I guess it's better to be safe than sorry though so, I allow her to hide. We used to try to comfort and reassure her when we first noticed this behavior. No use. Matilda will not come out and only peeks out from under wherever she's hiding when all forms of precipitation have stopped.

Conover, WI

2008-07-15T17:19:00.006-05:00

Last Saturday my sister, Sally, and I went on a little road trip. Matthew was going to be doing some farm work and house projects that would not go very smoothly with two kiddos "helping" so off we went up north.

My mom and dad are spending the week up north in Conover, WI and we went up to visit for a couple nights. We left Saturday morning and came home Monday. We had a great little mini-vacation and, although we wished Matthew was with us, had a fun time.

We spent lots of time fishing, playing checkers and going for bike and boat rides. On Sunday we went down to Eagle River and walked around town a bit and went go-carting. I don't have the photos of the the go-carting adventure as those photos are all on my mom's camera and my folks aren't home yet. You can just imagine everyone eating my dust.

Around the lake and down the road is a bar called Bauer's Dam. (it's right by the dam, clever huh?) Isaiah and I biked there on Sunday night and I got him a Kiddie Cocktail and he played a couple video games. As a souvenir he got a fishing cap. We had a great time.

I played my first full game of checkers and smoked Sally. Isaiah and Anna took turns on the paddle boat with me too.

Sunday night while on the pier Dad, Isaiah and I had a little visitor eyeing us. A muskrat swam past the pier while Isaiah was fishing and the little critter kept peeking up out of the water. He was pretty cute.

Isaiah spent nearly every waking moment fishing with either Gramps or Grammy. Anna too loves to fish. Anna seems to enjoy playing with the fish after they are out of the water, however. We "rescued" a few and threw them back in.

A Fish Remembered

2008-07-09T13:56:00.002-05:00

Isaiah experienced another of life's difficulties.

He needed to say goodbye to one of his fish, Cutie. He took it very well. I'm proud of him really.

Following is the story of Cutie:

Last weekend Matthew, my mom, my sister and I took the kids to the carnival at Hudson's Booster Days. At the carnival was the Toss a Ping Pong Win a Goldfish booth. Matthew showed Isaiah a surefire way to never get the little ball in the miniature fishbowl. We were doing good with only three balls left in Isaiah's turn when Auntie Sally stepped in and showed Isaiah a sure fire way to get a ball in the bowl. (thank you Auntie Sally....)

Sure enough with his last three balls Isaiah ended up getting two of those ping pongs into a fish bowl. You know what that means...yep....we brought home two goldfish.

(note: we had no fish housing, food, fake aquatic plants or aerators, while you do win a fish you do not win any accessories for said fish)

In an effort to ease the fish into their new life in the lap of luxury (they had previously been living in a Ziplock) Auntie Sally and I ran to Walmart and purchased the new fish set up.

We drove the fish and their gear back to our house later in the day and set them up. They both seemed to be doing fine and enjoying their new digs.

To prepare Isaiah for the inevitable Matthew talked with him about the timeline of a fish's life. Basically, Matthew said you're doing good if your fish stick around for two days.

After the conversation regarding the life and death of goldfish Isaiah pondered the time specified by Matthew. Isaiah then asked if today (Friday) counted as the first day. You see Isaiah was trying to figure out if the fish were going to be dead on Saturday or Sunday. We assured him "Day 1" would be Saturday. Friday was just going to be a bonus day since that's the day the fish were won.'

Are you following this?

Anyhow, both fish (Cutie and Fred) have been doing splendidly all week.

Until this morning.

Cutie was looking a tad green around the gills, literally.

Well, at 1:15pm today (Wednesday) Cutie passed away.

With a few tears in Isaiah's eyes he went out and dug a little hole for his fish friend.

I told him to come back to the house when he was ready and I would bring out Cutie and attend the services he had planned.

Isaiah came in and said he was ready. He grabbed a baseball cap (he NEVER wears caps, not even while playing baseball) and we went to the little hole in the hill Isaiah had prepared for Cutie.

I had the honor of placing the fish in his final resting spot. Isaiah assured me he was going to cover him up, by hand thankyouverymuch.

I assumed we were done and was greatly taken aback when Isaiah said, "We'll say some words now."

"Of course."

At this point Isaiah whipped off his hat (which happened to be his Hudson Booster hat, very appropriate) and placed it over his heart. I was unsure what to do so I improvised and just put my hand on my heart.

Isaiah said, "We are gathered here today to say goodbye to Cutie. He is the fish what I won at the carnival. He was a good fish and I'm glad I won him. Lord I ask that he have a nice journey to your place. Amen."

I think I said Amen as well although I'm unsure as I was really trying to keep a straight face. It is widely known that grief can sometimes cause inappropriate behaviour like laughing at a funeral. I don't think Isaiah would have understood so I did my best.

At this point Isaiah replaced his hat back on his head. I told him it was a nice service and that I enjoyed having Cutie as part of our family.

(note: I had previously told Isaiah to wear some nice clothes today since it's Matthew's birthday and we were going to celebrate at my parent's house later in the day)

I thought I'd tell Isaiah I thought he looked nice.

Knowing I thought he was dressed up for Matthew's birthday Isaiah said, "I wore this for the funeral."

"Of course. You still look nice."

I offered a time to play a video game in hopes of cheering him up. It did. He's playing his new Indiana Jones Lego game. I think we'll get through this.

Goodbye Cutie, it's been a swell 5 days.

Dessert Dilemma

2008-07-09T12:30:00.005-05:00

When asked what dessert Matthew wanted for his birthday he did not have a typical answer and list a few of his favorites. No.

My dear Matthew said something more along the lines of this, "How about something like a strudel, with cream, chocolate, raspberries...maybe some almonds."

Okay? I don't have anything like that in my dessert repertoire so I thought maybe I could find a recipe online.

I found an Almond Chocolate Strudel recipe and showed Matthew the great find. Nope. There was no cream or raspberries.

After much thought I decided I'd just have to invent something. Matthew also likes plain ol' yellow cake with milk chocolate frosting so here's what I did: I mixed up some yellow butter cake batter and made cupcakes.

These are not just any ordinary yellow cake with chocolate frosting cupcakes mind you. These are for my dear husband's birthday. So, after mixing up the batter I put about a tablespoon of batter in each cupcake liner. I then plopped in two raspberries a piece. I baked the cupcakes for however long the box indicated.

After the little guys cooled I made little holes in the top and piped in some whipped cream.

To top it off I piped chocolate frosting on top and more whipped cream along the edge of the cupcake. In the middles, on the chocolate part I put a raspberry.

I know it's not a strudel and there are no nuts but I almost got all the requested ingredients in there. I tasted one and they are pretty good.

Love ya Matthew, hope you like 'em.

ps. If you don't happen to like them, maybe don't mention that particular piece of information today.... I'm just saying.

Happy Birthday Matthew!!

2008-07-09T07:34:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Matthew, I love you!

I know Isaiah wasn't up yet while we ate breakfast with Anna so I thought you'd enjoy seeing a photo of you and your boy.

Have a great day, after all you only turn 33 once.

Love ya,
me

Milltown to Luck

2008-07-07T07:05:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we needed something to do. We needed to explore something or discover something. We decided to go for a little ride on the Gandy Dancer Trail. This trail runs along an old train bed that went up to Superior. The trail isn't that long now but it goes through our county and Burnett county to the north of us.

A person over the age of 16 needs to purchase a trail pass, either a daily pass or an annual pass. Matthew nor I had a pass so we went to the trail head in St. Croix Falls at the Polk County Information Center and got all legal. We knew Isaiah wouldn't be able to make a really long trip, this being his first. Knowing this we decided to pick two towns with very minimal miles between them. We decided upon the section of the trail between Milltown and Luck. I believe they state the mileage between the two towns as 3.7, it came out a little more than that in actuality.

What we did was drive up to Milltown and park near a section of the trail that was accessible from the road. We unloaded all of our gear and started up the trail. Being that it was an old railway bed there were some nice trees along both sides of the trail, this helped with the shade.

This section of the trail crossed over a few roads, mostly little used country roads but at one point we had to cross over Hwy.46 where it splits from Hwy.35. I make Isaiah get off his bike and walk when we cross roads, we all do that. Matthew was the road crossing instructor and would tell Isaiah and I when to cross. It really wasn't bad but we were just being careful.

We initially had a lunch packed in a cooler that Matthew strapped to a little rack on the back of his bike. Had it just been us we'd have just munched our lunch and continued on our way. Being that the kids were hot we decided to take a little break at the Wren Cafe in Luck. They had really yummy food, organic and all natural. This cafe cost a bit more than we wanted to spend, since we had a FREE lunch in the cooler, but we were making use of the air conditioning for the kids. Oh well. There's also a restaurant in Luck called the Main Dish that has pretty good hometown food. We ate there for breakfast once and will probably go back there next time. It's cheaper.

We will also try other stretches of the trail occasionally, I know there is a nice looking park in Centuria that is also along the trail. That would be a nice town to stop in with a picnic lunch, next time.

The last photo of Anna shows her sans helmet and front flap of trailer. She normally wears a helmet in the trailer but since we weren't riding on a road and it was hot I thought she'd catch more breeze on the way home without the helmet. She seemed more comfortable this way.

I'm sure we'll be doing more summer rides on the trail and exploring different sections. Matthew and I are both looking forward to the fall rides, however. We are thinking the kids may enjoy it a bit more when it's not 83 degrees. All in all it was lots of fun and we are all looking forward to doing this again.

As a bonus when we were about 20 yards away from our truck at the end of our ride two fawns walked out onto the trail in front of us. The camera was behind Anna in the trailer so I wasn't able to shoot a picture without spooking them so I'll let you imagine the sight. We all stopped on our bikes and just watched the fawns try to decide it they should cross the trail or turn around and go back from where they came. After much deliberation they stomped at us a few times and then turned around from whence they came. It was a fun little treat to see the babies up close.