hazards

of potty training....

this came wandering out of the bathroom yesterday


i guess sometimes you just can't get it all

a LONG car ride

it takes a lot of work to get this family ready for a nearly 24 hour drive to florida...starting with lots of snacks...

so here's what i prepped today...just for the kids...

18 packages of fruit snacks
12 granola bars
7 bags of trail mix
10 bags of goldfish crackers
10 bags of animal crackers
3 bags of cheez-its (box was running low...)
10 bags of raisins

and i'm sure tomorrow i'll throw in some string cheese and apples, possibly even some go-gurts.

here's hoping this stash lasts us all the way there.

project 365 - part three

march's selections

our pre-spring break shopping spree for new clothes and a new quiet toy for the car and condo...

st. patrick's day art project...who needs corned beef when you can have ham?

showing off school carnival prizes

you've seen this one before, but it's worth seeing again

how cute is this...porter tucked in his 'babies' when he went to school

marching on...

the month of march has been a busy one...

what with taking on the babysitting job...

and getting into the real swing of things and crunch time with the mega meet (registration now open!)...

that alone is plenty to fill my plate - but I've been slowly but surely working on designing some scrapbook classes to teach in the area...and i've got four designed and a full schedule to teach them on two different Saturdays at The Scrapbook Zone in Farmington Hills...i'll probably do some of them on a few week nights around here, too...so if you're in my area, check it out...or catch me at the Zone!

Happiness is....Wall Hanging

Complete this unique transparent wall hanging featuring product from My Minds Eye new Bloom and Grow line. Project includes all product to complete your piece – all you need to add is your pictures – which because of this project’s design, you can easily change out as your mood suits!

Summer Fun Paper Garland

Ribbon, Flowers, Buttons and Bling Banner – this adorable paper banner would be perfect on a fireplace mantel, on a doorway or window, or just hanging on the wall! Actual project will vary from the image, will have a “Summer Fun!” theme and will, of course, include lots of ribbon, flowers, buttons and bling! Please bring scissors, trimmers, adhesive, including lots of small glue dots, and your favorite decorative scissors (yes, we’re going to use those!).

Bucket of Flowers

Want a flower centerpiece, but not one that has to be thrown away after a week? Make a cute paper one featuring some of the latest product on the market that will brighten up your table all spring and summer long!

Fun in the Sun altered tin and mini-album

Highlight your spring break or summer memories in a mini-album that can be tucked away into a cute, altered tin. This album has a place for up to a dozen pictures!

All classes are at the bargain price of just $20 each and last from 1 to 2 hours.

indy 500

it's not quite 500 miles to indianapolis from here (though driving with 4 kids it can seem like it is!) but we packed into the car for a road-trip weekend to visit my aunt and uncle. it had been a few years since we'd spent some time there, and the kids had a four-day weekend (conferences), so it seemed like a good time to skip town...and man oh man, did we have fun!

our first adventure was the children's museum...holy smokes, you could spend DAYS in there...lots of great things to do and see...


the dinosphere...full of dino bone replicas...and the sphere has 'storms', which molly will be quick to tell you about...and an excavating area...really cool.

and the lego exhibit - we spent a great deal of time in here, too...great lego castles and games to play...and, of course, building with legos!

how did she know to sit there?

the comic book display was also really impressive...lilly is flying through the sky.

other rooms with water tables and learning to juggle and race cars and stilts and miniature rooms and a really cool water clock...and well...it was cool.

if you find yourself in indy, you should get yourself to the museum. even without kids.

our remaining adventures were confined to my aunt and uncle's property....lots of movies (i bought twilight the day it came out) and kicking the soccer ball or throwing the frisbee...


'tractor rides' - i think porter might ask santa for a tractor for christmas...of course, most of the fun came when uncle doug decided he would switch from forward to reverse without porter knowing!

or making 'erasers' - they're not really going to fulfill their erasing duties very well, but they sure are cute!

and well....we were all pretty tired by the end of it all!

out of the house!

the jalandoni family joined us for another fun filled weekend! we actually went out...like out of the house...with just grown ups....to a restaurant...and a casino...it was great!

we did some family outings, too...like to the butterfly gardens...

some kids were ready and willing to have a butterfly interaction...

others were not...

then we took everyone to the leisure pool to wear them out before we left them in the capable teenage hands of the jalandoni children...

that's when the grown ups headed to the dueling piano bar and then to the casino. it had been MANY years since i was at a piano bar...and it just so happened that a friend of the jalandoni's was one of the performers...and when we got there, the table RIGHT in front of the pianos was available...and so we planted ourselves there and enjoyed our time away. dinner out was great, and the side trip at the casino didn't result in job-ending wealth, but was fun nonetheless. i did get a bonus several times on Mr. Lucky, and that alone is worth the trip!

the next day brought a trip to the mall food court for lunch...which for some reason is a favorite of the jalandoni's when they visit...not that they don't live in the land of the mall food court, but for some reason, ours is 'special'.

I have yet to figure out what it is exactly that porter is doing with his beans from taco bell in this picture...

while we were there, i also obliged lilly's long standing request for a hair cut...and got a trim myself.

a busy, and yet, relaxing weekend with friends.

my new "job"

i have another baby....not my baby...but a baby...that is here now, every 'working day' during the week.

this picture pretty much sums up how the other kids feel about having a baby here everyday.

Now, before you ask...refer to this post - no, we are not going to have any more kids.

The kids are a big help. The baby is pretty laid back. In fact, some days I think I'm robbing his parents by accepting money from them...and then he spits up or poops, or worse, and i remember why they're paying me.

we're not sure how permanent or temporary this situation is...but for right now, this kid seems pretty happy to be in the chaos of our home.

superior intellect

can most 2 year olds do this??

KQOTD:

Maya: Mom, do you remember that I want my ears pierced for my birthday?

Mom: Yes, Maya...but you have to be 8 years old... (she'll only be 7 this year)

Molly: I want my ears pierced on MY birthday (holding hands to ears)

Dad: Okay, Molly....but you have to be 8. How old are you now?

Molly: SEVEN!

saving lives

in a process that started many, many months ago...by best friend, and pediatrician, lynn, has embarked on a year-long mission with Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

with just about one month's notice, she received her assignment that she would be sent to rural India for a year...lynn has traveled the globe sharing her medical expertice in haiti, australia, africa, and along the arizona/mexican border. and now she's packed up her life and just arrived to start saving lives in india...

we took the family for a great going-away gathering at her mom's house in mid-february...

here she is with her dog that will be cared for by her mother for the year she is gone...


through the beauty of the internet, it looks like we'll be able to communicate while she's gone...which is great, to say the least!

she has been updating her friends and family on her adventures via her facebook page, and after reading today, i thought i'd share a bit of her story - as it is so easy to forget what life is like in other parts of the world. and while our economy is struggling, which is no small matter, it is not what other countries and the citizens have to face.

we live in a world with clean water. grocery stores. health care.

and so throughout this year, as some of her stories strike me, i will include them here. i hope you enjoy...

Woah! Delhi is nuts. Don't get me wrong; I like it, but it's busy, crowded, dusty, and full of honking horns. People here have been fantastic. No sigh-seeing yet, maybe tomorrow. More briefings - and in a nutshell, my job is to help start an MSF hospital, including outpatient and inpatient pediatrics, and inpatient maternal health. No hospital building yet, but lots of plans. I'll keep you posted! We also do 5 mobile clinics a week, walking about 40km a week total, carrying 10kg of stuff (mmm..Plumpy Nut pre-fab kid food) and hacking through a jungle. Can't wait! :)

memories

i have very few memories of my great-grandma Reichard. in fact, in my mind, it's a few tidbits all associated with one visit with her, though i don't really know if they are all actually from the same visit.

i remember visiting her in her assisted living apartment. she had just gotten one of those recliner chairs that can lift you to help you get to a standing position.

we ordered pizza for dinner and she made a joke about how her doctor didn't want her to eat it, but because we were there, she was going to anyway.

she had a rosary on a table next to her TV watching chair. i remember asking her what it was and she explained it to me.

and...unfortunately...that's about all i remember.

but there is something i've never had of her...a picture.

i've only had the memories in my mind...and the visions of her from photos that other family members have displayed in their homes.

the most 'famous' of those is one that was a professional photo, taken with her and my great-grandfather...of whom i have no memory at all (i was extraordinarily young when he died).

and the other day, a most generous gift was bestowed upon me. i know the giver probably has no idea how much i appreciate her thinking of me as the new owner of this picture.

to have an actual photo now, to go with my memories...it's priceless to me.

as a scrapbooker, i record my memories through photos...and it is the hope that the photos and written memories together bring out that prism of our lives - once presented to me by the ever-impressive Stacy Julian - our memories alone are white light...but combine those memories with photos and meaningful words about them...and it becomes a prism. the true beauty that is our lives...whether you're scrapbooking a new baby, or just the contents of your refrigerator...or the limited memories of a great-grandmother that might otherwise go unrecorded...without the image that goes with it.

thank you, aunt elyce, for passing along this picture to me.
it means more to me that you will ever know.

project 365 - part two

february's selection of project 365 pictures

the smattering of shoes and boots at the back door...it doesn't look like this every day, but close...

at hi-way pizza in state college, pa with family after aunt gloria's funeral

at my aunt & uncle's...gathering with family for uncle jim's funeral

girls weekend in grand haven

molly at the mcdonald's playplace

catching up

with two deaths in the family, mega meet work picking up, and just life in general, i haven't had the time, energy or thought process to put into this blog...here's hoping that that changes soon!

though next week i'm starting 'day care' here - and by that, i only mean i'm adding one kid to my bunch - the 6 week old baby of Jason's co-working pharmacist...i agreed to take him on when they were having some issues finding a day care they liked, so i'm giving a trial run until school is out...molly is BEYOND thrilled that 'baby peanut' will be here to 'bite her toys'...we'll see what she thinks after the first week!

so for today's blog entertainment, enjoy this KQOTD:

while watching Backyardigans this morning...

me: what are they doing?

porter: they are taking the pizza to tyrone, but he's going to get angry cause it's not what he wants.

me: oh, so you've seen this one before?

porter: yes, a really, really, really, really, really long time ago....

....like last week.

one word

Type only one word answers

Where is your cell phone? Desk
Your hair? ponytail
Your father? courageous
Your favorite thing? hugs
Your dream last night? morning
Your favorite drink? chocolate
Your dream goal? impact
The room you are in? office
Your fear? future
Where do you want to be in 6 years? content
Muffins? please
One wish list item? peace
Where did you grow up? home
The last thing you did? facebook
What you are wearing? comfy
Your pets? several
Your computer? addiction
Your life? extraordinary
Your mood? contemplative
Missing someone? always
Your car? posh
Favorite store? ikea
Your favorite color? greenish
When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
Three people who email you? kate, tara, amy
Three of my favorite foods? sushi, ice cream, cookies
Three places I would rather be right now? bed, london, hawaii

first born

here's another facebook Q & A - of course, all my facebook friends are now getting a double dose, too...because these blog posts all go to my facebook page ....good grief. ah well.

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
no

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
yes - for 8 months

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
terrified

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
no

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
23

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
home pregnancy test, followed by a test at the health center

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
jason - duh

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
no

9. DUE DATE?
first it was the first week of november, then changed to nov. 29 i believe.

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS
tons - for four months

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE
whoppers and most things from taco bell

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
'bad' foods and throwing up every day

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX?
female

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
no

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
almost none - too much throwing up - i think it was less than 10 lbs...and after she was born, i weighed almost 15 lbs lighter than when i started my pregnancy

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
yes - my mom hosted one at my house

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
i knew

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
not really - other than doc was worried about my lack of weight gain, but the baby kept growing, so he wasn't that concerned!

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Mecosta County General Hospital (now called Mecosta County Medical Center)

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
I think my water broke around 11:30pm and she was born before 3AM

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
jason - had to stop a couple times in the parking lot because of contractions - it was awful

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
jason and my doc and a nurse - but because it was Thanksgiving weekend, we had a ton of visitors the next day, including my brother and his wife, both sets of grandparents, my aunt and bff

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Natural

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
too fast of a labor for an epidural that i desperately wanted - i think i got a shot of something - and tylenol after - whoopee.

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
hmm - i think 7 lbs. 15 oz..i'd have to check (is that bad??)

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN
Nov. 28 - 2:49AM (the saturday of Thanksgiving weekend)

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Lillian Marie

31. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
9 years

random things

well, if you're not on facebook, you probably haven't heard of the random things...

but i posted mine back in december (back when the list was only suppose to have 16 things on it, but now it's up to 25...)

and i thought today, hey, there's lots of people who read my blog that aren't on facebook...so why not read my random things here??

and i'll probably post some of the other 'notes' here, too...those of you in 'both places' - sorry you're getting a double dose.

so here's my 16 random things:

1. I love cottage cheese - but basically only the Meijer brand - small curd.

2. I used to be addicted to Diet Coke...but I'm not sure I actually feel better now that I gave it up (for the most part).

3. I can obsess like nobody's business. About just about anything. I probably should be medicated.

4. I never thought I'd be a stay-at-home-mom.

5. I've been to Disney World more times that I can count and I still get verclempt walking down Main Street USA.

6. Someday I will design and make a really killer gingerbread creation.

7. I have a very large collection of JFK memorabilia.

8. I never thought I liked to read until I found Harry Potter, Edward Cullen and any book by Phillipa Gregory.

9. I have very few 'real' friends. (you know who you are!)

10. I have a very strong desire to adopt internationally. I've had the desire for as long as I can remember (for a long time I was going to adopt a 2 year old Korean boy named Peter...he didn't really exist, that's just what I wanted...).

11. I think I spent the better part of my college career battling depression - I just didn't know it.

12. I could not live without my laptop. I wish I could...but I can't.

13. I wonder and worry about what it will be like to be the parent of a teenager (let alone 4 teenagers at one time!)

14. I think Ben and Jerry are some of the smartest men on the planet. As is Jon Lasseter.

15. I was disappointed when i couldn't find any Cap'n Crunch Christmas Crunch in the store today...there's still more than a week until Christmas - so help me, I better be able to eat my Christmas Crunch!

16. All four of my grandparents were still living when I was 30 years old.

neglect

despite the fact that my facebook status gets an overabundance of updating, my poor blog here has been neglected as of late...i do have great stories and pictures to share...hopefully i'll get back into the swing of being over here more often now that we're really back into the swing of things, and all signs of the holiday season are distant memories...

i have a little gem to share today - a KQOTD:

Mommie : you know what?

Molly: what?

Mommie: I love you.

Molly: I love you more.

Mommie: You love me more??

Molly: Yeah....(pause)....it's on TV.

Project 365

so i started a new scrapbooking project this year, along with a couple of my friends...project 365...a picture a day for a year. i have been doing quite well with it (remembering to take them almost everyday!), and thought that at the end of every month, i'd share a few pictures that i took.

here's my selection for january

the back end of my van after a typical trip to the grocery store...

making breakfast for maya and her friend on the morning after their first sleepover

my first pot roast


porter at dance class


lilly and molly doing what they do best - being together and watching tv

teddy bear

several years ago, for christmas, my grandparents decided to buy everyone in the family (that's their seven kids, spouses, grandkids and spouses....) fleece items from old navy. some were pull overs, some were zip ups.

i still wear mine.

as does jason.

one time grandmoth mentioned that she loved seeing jason wear his because he looked like a big huggable teddy bear.

grandmoth hugged jason the first time she met him. at the grand rapids brewing company for my dad's birthday dinner.

he remarked later that it was a very memorable experience for him, not coming from a big family of huggers like i do.

later he remarked that it clearly wasn't as special for grandmoth as it was for him, because he discovered that she was just a 'hugging whore'...

ah...those hugs...that almost squeezed the life out of you in the best way.

it's been two years that she's been gone. jason wore his fleece today. i hugged that teddy bear for her.

sweet dreams

Show all

getting something right

You know you're doing something right as a parent, when your child discovers this nice letter (complete with homemade snowflakes) tucked into her backpack. It's not signed, but she has a pretty good idea of who it's from.

Dear Lilly,

You really are a great friend. You are my best friend ever! If I could have any one as a best friend I would pick you!

kqotd

so, it's been awhile since i've posted a kqotd...not because there haven't been any, but sometimes, unfortunately, i simply forget them before i get a chance to post them.

today, however, i have two gems to share, both from molly...

on wed, dec. 31st as we were opening gifts with my parents. molly opens a set of puzzles that have babies on them. the one on top is a baby's face. she turns it over to see the one on the back:

"oh, it has a chocolate one..."

tonight, jason takes molly to get her pjs on...and we're, of course, encouraging potty training...

j: "hey hon, can you come upstairs for a minute" in a very animated voice...
i enter the bathroom...molly is turning around to try to look into the potty

m:"my butt not working"

(since she'd already finished 'tinkling' in the toilet and couldn't show me anymore!)

it's her first time going in the potty! wahoo!

happy new year

i vacuumed again to today to attempt to drag confetti and streamers into every other room, instead of every room, for the next week.