What it means to be a kid...

Rick made a gigantic leaf pile today in our ongoing battle with the oak trees! You can't see from these pics, but the pile is in a low area in our yard where we are composting, so it is actually about 5 feet deep! I haven't seen Katie smile this much in a while. I think this is one of her favorite things to do each year. And yes, my kids were outside this morning in bathing suits! It was over 70 at 10:00 in the morning! That's what I call winter!

November Pics

Micah made himself a nest in Uncle Jim's landscaping!




Cousins!










My sweet baby boy with amazing blue eyes.

Going green - phase 2

So we recently started recycling and I'm loving it. I know the rest of the continent has been recycling for decades but we just got the bin from the trash people and the instructions about what goes in it a few months ago. I'm getting a real kick out of seeing how much I can get in there each week. And Katie has become the recycling police since they talked about it at girl scouts. She got onto Micah the other day for throwing out a raisin box!

So anyway, we are onto phase 2 which is composting the gillion leaves in the yard. I think this is going to be really great since it means we don't have to rake them! We have 5 enormous oak trees and an assortment of other maples, pines and unknowns, and that amounts to HOURS of raking which happens to be my least favorite chore. This year, though, we have created a composting "hole" and have been researching what we can do to expedite the decomposition process. Rick is currently blowing the first wave of leaves into our spot and then is headed to Lowes to buy some of the additives that will help them disappear faster and without getting smelly.

So that's about all the exciting news. By the way, this is not a political statement or a "whoa - the glaciers are melting and the end of the earth as we know it is upon us" kinda thing - just trying to live cheaper and with better decisions for the earth that our kids will inherit!

Off to the compost hill...

Conversations

Conversation I just had with Micah...


Me: Micah - don't bang on the piano. Riley is sleeping.
Micah: Mom - I NEED to play the piano.
Me: Not now. Riley is sleeping.
Micah: But mom, I NEED to play it. I'm a player!


Conversation I overheard between Katie and Micah this morning.

K: Let me tell you how to handle a horse, Micah. (referring to Gracie the bouncy horse)
M: Ok Gee Gee. (That's what he calls Katie, on a good day!)
K: First you give them a huckleberry. (?) Stick it in their mouth and tell them if they are a good horse then they can have another huckleberry. And if they are good then you stick another one in their mouth.

I wonder where she got that idea? I don't know about huckleberries but M and M's work great!

By the way, what are huckleberries?

Today's Photo Shoot

I had Riley's picture taken today - he is already 3 months old! Oh my!

Last night, our preacher said some really great things. I was impacted by them, as I too rarely am, being as I'm usually feeding one kid, holding at least one kid, trying to get the other 2 to sit, staving off bathroom requests, etc. You know the drill. Anyway, things he said permeated my immediate concerns. He said that it's time to let God start setting the agenda in our lives and in our communities, not the media. It's also time for God to tell us how we should feel about the state of things, not the media who would have us all in a state of panic. God should be the one telling us how to feel about who we let live in this country and how we feel about what language they speak.

It's a simple concept and one that most Christians would claim as their own, but I know that I am a victim of letting everyone but God influence how I feel about things and the state of peace or panic I feel about what's going on in the world. Just a thought...

Eenie, Meenie and Minee (and no Mo)

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I stole this idea from Todd W.! I love how different my kids look from each other!

Heck of a way to meet the neighbors

So last night we spotted a raccoon in the back yard. It was not at all afraid of us - not even of Micah and I'm even afraid of him. The neighbor said he'd thrown a clay pot at it earlier and the pot had smashed on it's head but it didn't bother the coon. So we concluded that it might have rabies. Rick called the DNR and they said, much to his delight, that he could shoot it! Ahhhhhh.... a good excuse to pull out his new pistol!

So, now Micah wants to play "shoot the coon" and Rick wanted me to take a picture for posterity!

Oh yeah. The meet-the-neighbor part - after the second shot, 6 different neighbors came running over. Now. If I hear gun shots, you can be sure that I won't be running TOWARD them! But that's just me.

Enjoy the picture, or whatever!

Katie's First Solo Diaper Change

Cool! She's finally good for something! :) I say that in jest but I think Rick was truly excited to have 2 sons which he hopes will grow into 2 highly skilled lawn mowers! Between them, we figure they can come up with a mowing/edging system!

Anyway, here is the play-by-play. I think everyone involved was happy with the outcome!

It's all guesswork

I have really come to the conclusion, after 7 years and 4 days of experience, that most parenting is just guesswork.

Are they really sick if they have a temperature of 100 degrees?

Is it a real problem if they had to "change their color" at school when there are 5 different colors to go through in a day?

Does Riley actually like sitting in the foamy seat or is he just being nice while getting a cramp in his neck?



Does Micah get it when he doesn't get a treat at the end of preschool because he had to go to time out, especially since he's only gotten a treat twice in the last month because he's such a pill?

Will she fit into these clothes you found on the clearance rack next summer?

Is he really ready to potty train or will it be a waste of time right now?

Will he be scarred for life if I let him play in his sisters bathing suit?



Maybe I just need to read more parenting books! I think all they could really do, though, is just make me a slightly better guesser!

Katie's Room

For Katie's birthday tomorrow, we redecorated her room as a surprise! She has no clue! As I type, she is spending the night with a friend. I CANNOT WAIT to see her reaction when she sees her new room. It is pretty cute. Thank goodness for a couple of my friends, Becky and Trish, and their inspiration and assistance! Here are some of my favorite parts...

From the door... I made the valances. Go me.


I made the 4 pictures on the wall. Fun and cheap! My mother-in-law made the pillows - she's the queen of throw pillows!


My friend Becky painted this K - the flower is exactly like one on the quilt. She's amazing.


These inspired by Trish.


Call me Martha - I decopaged (no clue how to spell that but think 1970's craftiness) this tray (with artistic guidance from Becky) to hold a new tea set I bought her that has butterflies on it. Thanks mom for the cliff-notes on decopaging, or however you spell that!


Those are the highlights! I have more work to do on the shelves and one wall but I think I'll get a good reaction from Katie-bug! Happy birthday, sweet girl!

The Party

Having Katie and Micah's birthdays so close has been nice. I didn't think I'd get to do another "together" party this year but Katie was cool with it if they got to do something exciting. So we went to a new kid play place and they each took a few friends. It was a lot of fun. My kids both have a need for speed! And I didn't have to clean up! And Rick got to play video games! So it was great for everyone!





One of our friends kid, Matt, is in 3rd grade and he is Micah's hero! Micah refused to ride anything until Matt came to ride with him! We love Matt!





They each got their own cake, mostly because we all love a good excuse for cake!



Yeah! Boy dress-up clothes! Now he can be Captain Hook instead of Tinkerbell!



It's funny - Micah took his gifts off into a corner to open them, like a squirrel. Katie took hers right smack into the middle of everyone. It is characteristic of their little personalities!



Frankly, I'm just glad it's over. I can't tell you why, but birthday parties stress me out - not the execution, just mostly the planning and deciding and hoping everyone is happy with it all.

One more year down! How many more to go???

Micah's 3rd Birthday

Well, maybe we've crossed a threshold. At least, that's what I am banking on! Maybe we have left the terrible 2's behind and we have some smoother sailing ahead. One can only hope...

We did enjoy Micah's birthday, though. 3 is a fun birthday, where they can really enjoy everything but have no expectations and therefore are surprised and thrilled with everything!

We had been telling Micah that his birthday was on Sunday and that he would be three then. So when he woke up on Sunday morning and I said happy birthday, he was thrilled to show me three fingers.



Since Rick was already gone to church, I just let Micah open some birthday cards at breakfast. You'd have thought I'd set him loose in a candy store! 5 birthday cards were amazing and he's been carrying them around ever since.

We had life group at the lake so I took his cake out there. Blowing candles out and having everyone sing happy birthday WITH him (he couldn't sit idly by and miss a song) was amazing, again. When I pulled the gifts out, I thought he was going to have the big one! He had no clue there would be presents.



In all, a lovely day! I know kids are outrageously expensive but there is no more fun of a way to spend money than buying a kiddo his favorite things! It was a gift for me.

Speaking of gifts, Riley continues to surprise and delight! I was nervous about having #3 but look what I would have missed....

Much better...

New camera requires new pictures. I guess it is funny that I take pictures of my kids crying but that is part of their little personalities and quite honestly, we have gotten more than a few laughs out of their pitiful little faces when they were fussing!

This is a sweet little boy, despite the sad face. I am continually amazed at how pleasant he is and how willing to roll with the punches. And the smacks to the head. And the fingers to the eyes. Etc. Birth order has to have a lot to do with it!

I like the picture of Riley and Micah together. It's hard to imagine that they will ever be equally matched on the wrestling floor. Rick might have to work with Riley on learning to be a scrapper in order to survive playing with Micah! I need to get on video Micah loving on Riley, though. It is so sweet - Micah tells him "We are going to be best buddies." I sure hope so!

Love the kid, hate the camera

We have been trying to capture Riley's goofy smile but the camera isn't cooperating. The good news is that we bought a new camera this afternoon, but he's asleep now so we haven't tried it out. But here are some fuzzy shots from this morning. I guess to get a good look, you'll just have to come see him in person!

Micah's First Day of Preschool

I do love preschool! I'd love to say I send him because it's best for him but honestly, I send him because it's best for me. He loves it, and it is good for him, fortunately!

Random thought - I realized at the parent meeting that this is our 5th year to have kids at this preschool and I have 5 more years to go. By the time Riley graduates from preschool, we will have paid LBC over $10,000! Wow! But worth every penny! I am paying dearly for peace and quiet and not regretting that at all!

I almost caught him smiling...

First Day of First Grade

Well, she's a bona fide first grader! This year should be interesting! Her teacher is determined that the kids will be very independent. That has never been a word to describe Katie, especially as it pertains to taking care of her own business! So we will see how all that goes. Her teacher this year is younger than me (like her new pediatrician - I'm starting to see a pattern here!) and doesn't have any kids of her own, which makes a big difference, I think. And I say that without judgment because I figured out after I had Katie that I will be a very different, and better, teacher if I go back, now that I have my own kids. But anyway, I am trying to remain optimistic about the year! It's just hard to have no control over who she spends the day with (short of taking her out and homeschooling, which the whole family agrees would be a bad idea!) I hope her teacher recognizes the treasure that each of her students are to their parents.