At least someone is the mom in this house!

So yesterday evening, as I was cleaning up from dinner, I heard Christina and Kallie playing in the basement. We have a little schoolroom set up down there. I could hear Christina talking to Kallie.

"Kallie, what is THIS color? Good!"

"Kallie, what is THIS color? Kallie, what is the color of your princess dress? Kallie, look at your dress, do you know the color? It is BLUE Kallie."

"OK Kallie, now what is THIS color?"

This went on for a while. I went downstairs to do some laundry and got to witness the scene firsthand. Christina is holding up colored paper and quizzing Kallie on her colors. Kallie is dancing around, sort of paying attention, occasionally answering either a color, or "I don't know!".

And I just thought to myself, holy cow, what has happened here? I used to be the one talking to my kids and teaching them numbers, letter, colors etc. Now my 6 yo daughter has taken over the duty? Granted, she is smart, she loves being a teacher, but she is SIX!

I think it is so interesting how different things are from when you have one child, to when you have multiple children. We used to spend a LOT of time with Christina working on all kinds of stuff. Not that we sat down and "taught" her, but we just seemed work on more things throughout the regular day.

For instance, Christina had an abc puzzle that she loved to play with when she was about 18 months old. When she was about 20 months old, she actually knew most of her abc's. Part of the reason was that when she used to work the puzzle, she hold up each piece and say "What's this?". Soon, she was holding up the pieces telling US what each letter was.

We also used to read SO much with Christina. Bedtime story hour was just that - an HOUR long. Hey, with only one kid, it was easy. Poor Kallie is lucky to get 15 minutes of story time.

But, Kallie is so lucky in so many other ways. I remember reading or hearing somewhere that the best gift you can give your kids, is siblings. SO true! Kallie has had a big sister and a best friend since day one. There is no one she loves more than Christina. They have so much fun playing together. And Kallie has so much more "stuff" to play with thanks to 2 other sisters. She happily bounces around the house, entertaining herself all day long. And while she doesn't seem to learn as much from me as Christina used to, she definitely is getting a wonderful education, incredible experiences while learning just a few "bad" habits from her crazy big sister.

Sometimes, it makes me want to give them more "gifts"......sometimes....

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Yeah!!! An award and a meme down memory lane

First of all, Oh Mommy was so kind to give this award to a few people, and I was actually one of them! Wow, what an honor. If you know her, if you visited her site, you know why. She is definitely one of the nicest, classiest bloggers around. THANK YOU!!!!!!

So now I get to pass it around too!

Well, first I will award it to Joan. She is one of the first blogs I found and she is also a very sweet, very classy lady. I have really enjoyed getting to know her, her family and her cute little granddaughter, and I am excited to meet her new additions to the family this year!

I will also award it to Renee. With four little kids and a husband serving overseas in Afghanistan (for 14 more months) and a rash of stomach flu going around, she has a lot of on her plate right now. I wish I could give her a little more than just a blog award!!

Lastly, I will award this to Michelle. She lives in paradise, well, actually British Columbia, but it looks like paradise to me! She takes absolutely breathtaking photos.

There are so many other bloggers that deserve this award as well, but I spend way too much blogging and I need to finish this post!

Ok, so on to the meme down memory lane. This meme came from my sister. Actually, I think this is supposed to be a High 5 meme.

I know that when I find a new blog that I want to visit again, I rarely have enough time to go back and read everything from the beginning (although sometimes I do!). I want to get to know that person, but it's hard to commit to reading all of the posts from the last 2 years! This meme is designed to make some of those old posts readily available to those who may be new to your blog, or even those who are regulars, just not from the start."

Here are the rules:

Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written. But there is a catch:Link 1 must be about family.Link 2 must be about friends.Link 3 must be about yourself.Link 4 must be about something you love.Link 5 can be anything you choose.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better. Readers - don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

1. Family: Well, I write a LOT about my family, but this post about a very cranky 2 yo was one of my favorites.

2. Friends: This post was written at Christmas time and it references one my oldest friends. She had just started reading my blog. She is someone who is like family. I have known her forever, but we didn't keep in touch nearly as much as we should have after I moved to rural USA and had 3 kids. My blog has been a great way for her to keep updated on what is going on in my neck of the woods...maybe she should start her own blog so I can do the same!??

3. Yourself: How about my very first post!? Where I introduce myself, to pretty much no one. I started this blog, not sure what I was doing, why I was doing it or whether I would soon be hitting the delete blog button. And I didn't tell anyone about my blog for a while. But I love writing, I found friends, I found a great community and I was hooked!

4. Something I love: Well, heck, other than my kids, that is photography. However, these pictures weren't taken by me, they were taken by husband's trail camera which is located in the woods, right outside of our property line. Some of the critters he got pictures of are common, but when we saw a huge bear, and a coyote!? Anyway, I love photography, I love being outside, I love wildlife, so this post covers all bases.

5. Anything I choose: Well this post is collection of humorous anecdotes regarding my family during Christmas vacation.

Sorry, no tagging. As I said above, I need to get this post done and get some stuff done!!

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Do you have a gwocg? I can't find ours!!

Over the last 6 months or so, Kallie's crib has slowly been accumulating "stuff". You know, the "stuff" that a 2 yo seems to think is absolutely VITAL to getting a good nights' sleep?

Like 75 books for her reading pleasure - no exaggeration (well, maybe just a little).

Like 2 pillows - don't all 2 yo's need TWO pillows?

Like an mmmm - THE blanket, enough said.

Like a cup of water - for when you get thirsty after all that reading and occasional singing.

Like a dog - I guess in case you feel the need to take him for a walk around the crib.

Like the baby - in case she's crying of course!

And like a monkey - because, well, don't we all need a monkey in our bed!?

This accumulation has gradually grown to the point where I am starting to wonder how Kallie will fit any longer. However, I am NOT in any hurry to put her in a big girl bed. She loves her crib. She never tries to get out. It keeps her nice and safe and, shall we say, contained.

So last night after we put her to bed she started crying. Apparently there was one thing missing from her inventory of "stuff" (how she can realize this is way beyond me).

She wanted the "gwocg" book. What the HECK is the gwocg book?

I picked up every one of the 75 books already in her crib. Nope, she says. Nope. Nope. etc etc etc.

"It is under da crib!" she says.

I look. Nope, just a barbie, a horse and a jewelery box (not too bad, I cleaned recently).

"Kallie, it is NOT under the crib." I show her exactly what IS under the crib.

"Oh" she says, knowingly "It is downstairs!"

"The gwocg book is downstairs?"

"Yes!"

And she repeats "It is downstairs" about 35 times.

And I keep repeating "The gwocg?" I am still completely clueless as to what a gwocg is. I am just hoping, beyond hope, that instead of just repeating herself, she will actually start to describe said item in a way that will help me locate it. No luck.

At this point, we (Kallie and I) are starting to get giggly. I am laughing at the absurdity of this situation, she is just laughing.

So I go downstairs and ask my husband.

"She needs the gwocg book".

"Oh." He says.

"Eric, she needs the gwocg book."

"Are you asking me?"

"Yes! What the heck could it be?"

Of course, he looks at me like I have 2 heads. Husband's aren't that much help in this department.

So I start to look around hoping for SOME clue, and suddenly I see a book tucked in the book pile, and it hits me.

She wants the book that has a picture of a CLOCK in it! I rush upstairs and show her the book and she gives me a big smile and nods! She quickly turns to the correct page.

"See! A gwocg!"

Phew.

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I love Mondays!!!!!

I have decided that I LOVE Mondays! I love getting back to normal. I love being able to get the house back in order. For me, as a SAHM, Mondays are so much more relaxing.

Winter weekends, when everyone is home and everyone is inside, almost ALL DAY, gets just a little crazy. And, if you read my previous post, I had a little one who didn't sleep enough and had enough meltdowns this weekend to last the rest of the year. So it was really nice to send her off to school where she will have lots of friends, lots of activity and return home happily tired from her day.

Yesterday, was one of those days where I needed to get away. ALONE.

I originally was going to go shopping, but I decided that spending gas money and buying things I probably don't really need would only make me feel worse at the end of the day.

So I decided to get out with my camera. I took a long walk in the woods. I took some pictures by a natural spring. They didn't turn out that great, but I did a little Photoshop work and thought they looked a little more interesting.



And just as I was returning home, I found this guy keeping watch in the woods. Doesn't it look like a mean old man?


I also got over to the Y and had a great workout. Since it was Sunday, I was able to take my time and not worry about hurrying home to make dinner. It felt GREAT!

Well, have a great week!!!

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Mornings, kids, sleeping in?

Now I know there are many other parents who have it so much harder than I do. With the sleeping in thing, I mean. I hear about kids up at 5 or 6 every day and I wonder how the heck they manage! On the weekends, our house starts to wake at about 7ish, but a good night's sleep for the kiddos would be a wake up at about 8 (or later).

Ever since Christina, my oldest, has been out of a crib, she has always jumped out of bed as soon as she wakes. Even if it is too early, she will NOT go back to sleep. I have tried everything. Believe me.

Now granted, things are much better now than when she was a toddler. She does often sleep in to a reasonable hour, but the last couple days have been very reminiscent of the toddler days.

Because the last couple days she has been up about an hour before she probably should.

And this is how I know that.

My husband got up with her yesterday. By the time I came downstairs, maybe 1/2 hr later, she has already:

1. Had juice and breakfast.

2. Painted with her go-paints.

3. Cooked in her play kitchen.

4. Played a game of Sorry.

5. Played a game of checkers.

6. Got dressed.

When my kids wake too early, they seem to start the day running on high speed.

And then they start to crash and burn.

There is the crying. Christina had about 5 meltdowns by noon. She cried because the bow fell off her Cinderella glass slipper. She cried because she decided she wanted to refold ALL the clothes in her dresser and her 2 yo sister Kallie wouldn't help her (imagine that). And she cried about a bunch of other stuff that I don't even recall.

And then there is the complaining. By midday, she is telling me she is tired. At dinner she is telling me, with tears in her eyes, that she doesn't feel good.

And Christina will NOT nap. Don't worry, I have tried many. many. many. times.

On the other hand, when the kids get a good night's sleep, they wake up calm. They want something to drink and they want to snuggle on the couch to watch TV. They usually ask for breakfast an hour or so later.

And, of course, the crying and complaining is much less.

Today, again, Christina was up too early and is running on high. She has pretty much played with every toy and game she owns. She asked for breakfast, and waited about 3 seconds before she decided she would just get it herself. She was digging in the plates, while standing on a stool, when I came in a stopped her for fear of a pile of dishes crashing down around her.

Yes, I was a little annoyed.

And what did she say?

"Mom, we went through this yesterday (the yelling), let's not start this again."

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Snapshot Saturday

Just wanted to share a couple of pictures today.

I have been trying to get a good moon picture. This is the best so far, but is not great by any means.

I never realized how hard it is to take a picture of the moon. I like how this one looks in composition, but since the picture is through the trees, the trees are in focus and the moon is blurred. I think I will have more luck with these pictures when it is not 10 degrees outside. Summer moons will probably be a lot more fun to shoot.

I also was taking pictures of the sunset out my back door. Since we live in the woods, there isn't a great view, but I liked how I was able to capture the deep blue of the sky right before dark.


And lastly, this is just a cute picture of the girls. They love to pull their chairs right up to each other in front of the TV to watch their favorite DVD. I am sure you recognize the stepmother's cat in this classic movie!

Of course, Kallie is donning the Cinderella dress, which is now covered in food stains and starting to show many signs of wear and tear. Yes, it has become her daily attire.

And lastly, I just bought this book through Amazon. And I highly recommend it! It is written to appeal to almost anyone. You really do not need much knowledge about photography jargon, he just simply tells you how to take good pictures in a variety of situations. It is a short book, easy read, and actually quite funny. Pick it up at the library if you can!

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Blogging about blogging

I've been tagged by Latte Mommy for a meme to blog about blogging. This is a fairly easy one, and I have really enjoyed reading the ones done by other bloggers, and, since I feel very uncreative today, it seems like a great time to do it! So here goes:

How long have you been blogging

I started in September, so that makes about 4 months. Boy, it seems SO much longer! I actually had no idea what a blog was and never knew there was such a HUGE blog world until about a month prior to that. (I am SO out of the loop!)

I found Kristen's website through another website. She was referenced as being a minimalist so I was curious and I started reading. She is a very sweet, Catholic, homeschooling mom. I am neither Catholic nor homeschooling, but I found her blog very interesting. And I was amazed that there were people out there who actually keep these online diaries. From her blog, I found other blogs. And then I found that there are blogs out there about pretty much any subject matter you can imagine. The mom, family and the photography blogs were quickly my favorites.

I was hooked.

What inspired you to start blogging and who are your mentors?

I initially started my blog just for a fluke. I didn't even tell my husband I did it. He knew I read them, but didn't know I wrote in one. Of course, pretty much no one else read my blog either so it didn't matter. But then I started finding blogger friends, and I started getting comments, and then I really started to love it! I was actually writing something that a few people were reading! I was a little shocked!

It took me about a month or so to tell my husband about my blog. He looked at me strangely, made some comment about my "secrets", but never really was interested in reading it. He does occasionally read it, but not often. But, he also is a teacher so the school blocks many many websites. Blogger is one of them.

I told my sister and mom about blogging soon after that. This also coincided with my discovery that people actually make money blogging! Since my sister and I are SAHMs, we were initially very intrigued about this discovery. She started her blog but we didn't share blogs for about a month. Now she and my mom are daily readers. Now we all love it! Even though we talk and see each other all the time, we still seem to be actually getting to know each other better. It is a great way to keep in touch about all the little things that we may not mention during a conversation.

Oh, and I really don't have any mentors! I enjoy so many blogs for so many different reasons.

Are you trying to make money online or are you just doing it for fun?

Well, as I said above, I was VERY intrigued when I discovered that there are moms who make money blogging. I had NO idea this was possible. And some bloggers do fairly well. So I added google ads, and Blogher ads.

However, I haven't made one red cent so far. But I, honestly, I really don't care. I have decided that I am NOT blogging for money, I am blogging for fun. If I actually do make any money, that would be a great bonus, but I am not counting on it. For me, I think it would require way more time than I am willing to put in. And I would have to have much more of a focus for my blog. And maybe I just don't have the talent. Whatever the reason, I like blogging about whatever I want without any pressure to increase my "numbers".

What 3 things to do you love about being online

• 1. I love the friends I find! I live in a rural area. I have no SAHM neighbors. I pretty much meet no one in my quiet, secluded, daily life. And my family is an hour away. The blog world is such a great way to meet and talk to so many people! I love it!!!!!
  

• 2. I learn SO much! I have learned parenting tips, photography tips, cooking ideas, organizing ideas, etc etc etc. It is endless. What a wonderful resource.

• 3. I love having an outlet for sharing my crazy kid stories, or interesting observations. When my kids say or do something memorable, I just can just plop down and type it out, complete with photos if necessary! And, I love having a place to share my photos. I don't get out to take as many pictures as I would like, but when I do, I love knowing that when I get a good one, I have many more people to share it with than just my husband and my kids. It actually makes it so much more fun to take pictures and has really encouraged my photography hobby!

What 3 things do you hate about being online

• 1. Well, as many others mentioned, blogging is WAY too addicting. I like to blog in the morning, after my oldest gets on the bus. I am much more alert and creative and my house is usually quiet. Especially if my other 2 are still sleeping. HOWEVER, I have found myself still chained to the computer hours later realizing I need to shower, make beds, laundry, clean, feed kids (just kidding) etc etc etc and then I get really stressed. It is SO hard to walk away sometimes.

• 2. I have some computer/photoshop knowledge, but not enough. I SO want a cool looking, unique blog, but I just can't do it. I keep changing it, liking it for a bit, then trying something new, usually messing it up completely and getting very frustrated.
  

• 3. I think there is a little bit of a popularity contest in blogging which often reminds me of high school. I read some blogs that get HUGE readership, and sometimes they are very good. But sometimes, I just don't get it. Some of the posts just seem so-so. And I wonder if the comments in the hundreds is really because people like this person and like their writing, or whether they just want to be part of the "in crowd". Maybe to increase their own readership? I read some of these blogs, but rarely comment because I doubt the writer really reads EVERY comment anyway.
  

Well that is definitely enough blogging about blogging. I am not tagging. Mostly because I have already spent way too much time writing this post and my kids are very restless. And my house needs some serious attention. And my kids need to be fed.

Take care!

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Birds and cats and a WILD story

As I said previously (happy Mom?), things seem to be on the mend and back to normal. So, of course, I am back to taking pictures, stalking birds, etc.

Just prior to the recent hospital visit, we were up north visiting family. They live just above a snow belt, we live just below. They are only about an hour north of us. If you are familiar with snow belts, you know the weather can get crazy. We left home with big, bright, sunny skies and a dusting of snow on the ground. About 30 minutes into our trip, it started snowing. About 10 minutes after that, we were in almost whiteout conditions. The entire time we were up north, it snowed. The temps were in the teens. With the wind, the wind chills were ridiculous. Their area got well over a foot of snow, some places much more.

Two days later, the snow stopped and we made our way back home. About 30 minutes into our trip we noticed a lot less snow on the ground. About 40 minutes into our trip home, there was only a dusting of snow on the ground. At home, it looked like it never even snowed. I don't think it did. We live so close, yet often it is a completely different world. Crazy.

So anyway, we got home. Nugget was happy to see us and eager to get out and check out the bird activity. She was daring, trying to get nice and close to the bird activity. And appearing to already be salivating at the thought of a nice juicy meal. Unfortunately for her, the birds, again, appeared to be smarter than she gave them credit for. They stayed far out of reach.



So on to my wild story. I am hijacking this story from my mom, but since she immediately called me to tell me it, I guess it is sort of my story as well.

So we just got back from visiting them. The kids were happy to be home, running wild, I was getting things back to order when the phone rings.

My Mom said "Irene, I just saw the strangest thing EVER."

OK, now my Mom is known to be just a little dramatic, so I didn't get too excited at first.

"Oh yeah?"

"YES! Your dad and I just got home from running some errands . When we walked in the house we heard a loud THUMP from the family room. I went in to see if the cats did something when I saw a red tail hawk, on the patio and literally pounding the sliding glass door trying to get the cat! The hawk was standing on the step and trying to get the cat INSIDE the house!"

I couldn't believe it really was a hawk when she first told me, but a quick description and my husband confirmed it.

How CRAZY wild is that!?? I know I would have been freaked! Those birds are HUGE!

So the question is, are their cats safe to even go outside (they are indoor/outdoor cats)?

Crazy!

Anyway....much less exciting...

We added some new seed to our feeder and now are getting blue jays coming in for a snack. I know they are common birds, but they look so much prettier up close than I thought. Their underside feathers look so soft, almost like fur.

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OK, we will now resume regular programming

First of all, thank you so much for all your kind words and thoughts. It really means so much!!!! It was so nice to read all the comments after a very long day.

We actually were able to avoid the hospital stay, but only due to my experienced persistence. I have been there, done that, many many many times with Caroline. I can usually tell when there is something really weird, or really wrong, and I also can usually tell, in my gut, that she will be fine. Luckily, this was one of the good gut feeling days.

She looked pretty bad when we got the ER. It was a fun ride even getting there as we got hit with a pretty good blast of snow. We live in a fairly mountainous area so getting around is very tricky. I inched my way up the hills to drop Kallie off at my husband's school (he took a 1/2 day), then I slid back down the hill (literally) and then inched my way back up a hill to get to the hospital.

So we got there, there was one person ahead of us at the ER. She looked pretty sick, but when they called her name, she insisted that we go first "Please take the baby first". We were so thankful. Those little things sometimes mean SO much.

Caroline's fever was high, her heart rate was very high and, of course, they were concerned. However, a tylenol suppository (what a wonderful invention), knocked out her 103 fever in less than an hour and she already looked a million times better. A quick check of her discovered infections in both ears. When I heard that, I just KNEW. That was it. Like I said, been there, done that. I just knew that the ears were the problem. She has been hit by severe ear infections before, and the symptoms were the same. It just made sense.

But of course, they checked everything else. Her lungs looked fine, her bloodwork was fine, her urinalysis was fine. She was severely dehydrated and had bilateral ear infections. They pumped her full of IV fluids and a big dose of antibiotics. She looked so much better after only a couple hours and was acting so much more normal. I just knew she was on the mend. She is a tough kid.

Everything in the ER took FOREVER due to the fact that all the snow was causing a lot of car accidents. I kept overhearing them bringing in more accident victims, and just knew that little Caroline was going to be bumped back quite a bit.

But finally, all the tests were done. The ER doc stated that he preferred to keep her overnight for observation. But the ER doc doesn't know Caroline and, due to her special needs, he was a little cautious. However, he called her pediatrician, who has been there, done that with us many many times before. Her ped told the ER doctor to "listen to the mom" (I just love this doctor). If the ER doctor insisted on an overnight stay, that was fine, but if it was optional, and mom wanted to take her home, that would be fine. Of course, I wanted to (due to my good gut feeling), and of course, I did.

So we were home by dinner. She has a rx for more antibiotics. And we started giving her pedialyte in small doses last night. She did just fine. No vomiting at all. Just a very nasty cold now. She is looking and acting like our good ole sweet Caroline.

I think we missed the bullet...again. So now I will again, hopefully, get on with a "normal" day. I am so excited!!!!

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I'm here...for just a minute...

I was going to relax today, get caught up on housework, read blogs, write in my blog, but now it seems I won't be so lucky.

I was going to write a bit about our weekend, which we spent with family under about 2 feet of snow (crazy lake effect snow storm).

I was going to write about my great shopping deal!

I was going to just chat about nothingness.

But life always steps in the way and turns your nothingness into somethingness, when you least expect it.

It seems our middle one, Caroline, may have pneumonia. Or a pleural effusion (fluid build up in her chest cavity which she had 2 years ago). Either way, it seems we are heading to the doctor. Hopefully, it is neither. Hopefully we will avoid the dreaded hospital stay. But I am not hopeful.

Caroline is very special needs, but has been very lucky to avoid pneumonia (common in these kids) so far. She had a cold, but now is vomiting quite a bit and her breathing is quite rapid. She is also coughing every couple seconds. She has been sleeping a lot. But, her color is good. And when she is awake, she isn't completely miserable. And no real fever yet, which is very strange considering her other symptoms.

Anyway, I am getting my daughter off to school and then will go from there.

It is always something, isn't it?

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I've become a bird stalker

Since my somewhat new-found love of photography started, I have been really excited to get some good pictures of wildlife. But, it is so hard for me to actually get out and about in the woods, so much of my wildlife observations have been from my kitchen window.

We always keep a big bird feeder on our back deck. But we just added a suet feeder the other day. We were so excited to see how many more birds are already coming around. I think our next purchase is a heated birdbath. I have read that birds have a harder time finding water in the winter than food.

We often enjoy watching the birds and then grabbing our bird book to figure out which birds are visiting.

So here are some of our visitors from yesterday:

The black-capped chickadee

The white breasted nuthatch (they are often found hopping upside down on a tree)

The tufted titmouse

The downy woodpecker

The only problem with our bird feeding/watching project is this guy (our crazy cat Nugget sitting under the bird feeders):


Who has also been known to sit IN the bird feeder.


Does she really think birds are THAT dumb?

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I want "da boom boom boom"!!!!

What is the "da boom boom boom"? Well, if you live in our house, it something that is requested at least a few times a day.

Sounds strange, huh? Before giving the answer, let me explain a little about 2 year olds. I know many of you are very familiar with 2 year olds and other little ones, but I just wanted to re-state a known fact of them. Once you give a name to something, that name STICKS. And if if it isn't the actual name of the thing, you end up with a language often only understood by immediate family members.

For instance:

MMM: The blanket. Not just any blanket, this is THE blanket. My MIL crocheted blankets for each grandchild. When Christina was just a little one, she used to bury her face in this blanket and say "mmmmm". So, my husband and I began referring to this blanket as the mmm. And the name has stuck.

Christina, at 6, is still very attached to this blanket and still refers to it as her mmm. Kallie, as expected, also calls her blanket her mmm. We've gotten more than our fair share of odd looks when our kids show someone their "mmmm".

Scoops: Again, this came from Christina. We started mixing Carnation Instant Breakfast with her milk in the morning. She was a typical toddler, a very picky eater, so we just felt better that the drink would give her some extra vitamins and minerals. Since we "scooped" the mix into her milk, and she was only about 2, we called the drink "scoops" instead of the too lengthly correct name. And yes, to this day, CIB is scoops to everyone in this family. Others get confused when the girls ask for scoops, but we just tell them "chocolate milk is fine".

Wawa: This one came from Kallie. Christina, as you know, is a princess FAN-atic. So Kallie has been watching the princess movies and playing with princess toys and clothes from almost day 1. When Kallie started to talk, and wanted to watch Cinderella, she would ask for "wawa". Actually, she would ask for "wawa" when wanting ANY princess - Ariel, Aurora, etc. I think Christina was actually the first to understand what she wanted. And now we all just refer to all the princesses as "wawa". And when we were going to Disney on Ice, Christina told Kallie - We are going to see the REAL Wawa!!!

So now I get back to "da boom boom boom". That also originated, sort of, from Kallie. Although Christina really started it. Christina, one day, many many months ago, wanted to play a game with Kallie that involved hopping around the house. Like a rabbit. You know, like when hold your hands up to your chest and actually try to look like a rabbit?

But, in order to play this game, you must be in your underwear (why? I don't know). So Christina would take off Kallie's clothes so she could do her hopping in her onesie. The game then became known as "boom boom boom". Funny thing is, they really only played this little game a handful of times.

So, now, many many months later, Kallie STILL refers to being her onesie as "da boom boom boom". Every single time I take off her pjs, or her clothes, she say "I want da boom boom boom!".

And, again, we have a term that only a select few could ever understand. Why she wants "da boom boom boom" SO badly, when they never ever play this game, is beyond me. But hey, that's a 2 year old for you!

Kallie, in her "boom boom boom" while sitting on her mmmm.

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Just when you think you are fairly "in shape"....

You get a reminder that you are not as young as you used to be!

I have been running and weight lifting for years. Lately I have been getting very bored with my weight routine. I do pretty much the same exercises every time, I just increase the weights as I get stronger.

So, due to my boredom, I asked my hubby, aka coach, about some ideas of different exercises to do to work the same muscle groups. For example, I do leg presses for a full leg workout, and then I do leg extensions and hamstrings. He suggested I try lunges while holding about 20 pounds in each hand. He also gave me some ideas for different upper body exercises. And I did inclined abs instead of sit-ups on a therapy ball.

Let me just say - HOLY COW! I am so incredibly sore, I can't believe it! It hurts to walk up and down the stairs! It hurts to get up off a chair! I woke up numerous times last night because my abs and butt hurt every time I tried to roll over!

I am approaching 41 years of age, and I am going fight aging as much as possible. But, I must admit, this just shows that I am not going to be able to fight it completely.

And this did prove to me a very big lesson - it is SO important to mix your workout up! Because every exercise is working different muscles in different ways. Your body really does get used to the same ole, same ole.

I also wanted to share my favorite motivator! My iPod! I used to never ever use music while running or working out, but last year I got an iPod shuffle. Since I don't really listen to music like I did before kids, I didn't want to spend a ton of money, and the shuffle is so small and does just fine with me! I have grown to absolutely LOVE it!!!! I still like to sometimes just run and think in quiet, but many days I take my iPod along.

When I am feeling unmotivated about getting out for a run, or going to the Y, I often get onto iTunes and download a new song or two! I actually don't do it that often, but it is fairly cheap and so simple, and really works for me. Just the other day I downloaded this little gem (dumb video, but great song):



My sister may remember this from the good ole Metropol days! I replayed it a few times during my run and had the best time! Even at the Y, when it played, I had a hard time fighting the urge to do a little dancing!

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Princess, "Pincess" everywhere!!!

Yesterday my MIL took us all to see the Disney on Ice Princess Classics show. It was the first time we have seen one of these productions, and it was wonderful! Especially if you know and love the classic princess stories as much as we do. They had Jasmine, Ariel, Aurora, Snow White, Mulan, Belle and, of course, Cinderella.

To say Christina has been a Disney princess fan over the last few years, is a HUGE understatement. She is a princess FAN-atic. At 3, she got some Disney princess dress up clothes and spent the next year wearing them....all. the. time. Until they were literally in shreds. She has watched almost every princess movie - many many times. And we have contributed quite a bit to Disney's profits by purchasing many of the princess products - from toothpaste to tissues.

Kallie, at 2, is just getting into the "pincess" craziness, partly due to her older sister's influence. I think she will also be a huge FAN-atic. She loves her tutus, her princess dresses and, of course, her magic wand.

We luckily got really good seats for the show, second row. The girls sat as still as could be the entire time. It is sometimes hard to be exactly sure what they are thinking at the time. During the show, we asked Christina if she was having fun. She just said "yes". But, once we started making our way home, it was quite apparent just HOW much Christina loved this show.


The entire ride home -

"Mom, guess what my favorite princess was."

"Mom, guess what my 2 favorite parts of the show were."

"Mom, guess what my favorite part of Cinderella was."

Then we get home.

She pulled out every Disney princess DVD we own. She scoured the house for every princess book she has. Today, she is pulled out all her old costumes.

And she already had her first ice skating injury. She was "skating" in our family room when she wiped out and scraped up her arm against the wall.

But her biggest concern is - "When are we going again!!!". She obviously doesn't understand that this is a one time performance and we may never see them again. If it was up to her, I think we would become Disney groupies and follow them around the country.

The funniest part of the show? The prices of the princess "stuff".

They were selling cotton candy, with a crown - for TEN bucks!

They were selling snow cones, in a plastic princess cup - for TEN bucks!

Luckily, I forewarned Christina that we probably would NOT be buying any "stuff". Her cousin was there, and he quite unhappy that he would not be getting a ten dollar bag of cotton candy. Hilarious.

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Great news!!!!

Did you see this article! A Danish study has found that people who are moderate drinkers (1 to 2 drinks a day) and are physically active, have a lower risk of dying from ANY cause! This is compared to non-drinkers, heavy drinkers, and sedentary people.

Bring on the wine, after I get back from my run!

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Getting a good picture of a 2 year old...

Is so hard! My MIL has been after me to get her a new picture of my youngest. She has a "wall of grandbabies" that she regularly updates with new photos of all her kids. Kallie's picture is when she was a year, so we have about a 1 1/2 years of growing since then!

I am not one to take my kids to a photographer. My parents took us once, and I can't even remember why. I was a dorky pre-teen at the time, and looked like a dorky pre-teen.

I have taken my kids a few times for professional pictures. I got their pictures taken as each one turned one year. Those pictures are so expensive, and sometimes not that great anyway. What do you do with all those portrait pictures anyway? I only have so many walls in my house! So, I just stick with my own personal photos.

So, back to my MIL.....she wants a picture. I have been having a hard time getting a "wall worthy" picture of my youngest. First of all, she spends most of her days running around in a onesie and a tutu. Second of all, she usually has food stuck all over her face. Third of all, she is so tired of me taking so many pictures that she won't sit still for long.

Well, the other day I think I got a pretty good one. Yes, she is in a onesie, yes she is just sitting in my kitchen so there is no beautiful backdrop, but, with a little bit of Photoshop help, I think the picture is very pretty! Maybe wall-worthy?

I sent it to my MIL....still waiting for the final verdict.

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It was a Merry Russian Christmas!

We had another great Christmas. Although it felt more like Easter at 62 degrees and sunny skies! Actually last Easter we had snow (in late April!), so things are definitely a little off kilter recently!

Anyway, as I have mentioned before, we celebrate our Christmas on January 7th because we follow the Julian calendar. It was a great day. Everyone gathers at Baba's (grandmother) for a big party and feast filled with Russian foods - like my fav, cabbage soup - typical Christmas foods - turkey, ham, sausage, and wonderful deserts - coconut cream pie, pumpkin rolls.

The cousins had so much fun together, the littler ones ran wild through the house while the big ones gathered in the living room to talk, laugh and enjoy video games. These three munchkins consist of 2 sisters and one cousin, although it may be hard to tell who are the sisters and who is the cousin!


The biggest one and littlest one are my munchkins, even though the two bigger ones REALLY look like they should be sisters! We didn't even plan to have them all dressed in red, it was completely by chance, but SO cute!!!

Our middle "special" little girl stayed home with a nurse yesterday. It is so crazy at my mom's that sometimes it is nicer for her AND us if she stays home. She often doesn't like all the noise and commotion so staying in a nice quiet home with lots of attention is probably better for her.

One of the funniest tidbits from the day came from husband. He told me that night "That nurse is NUTS!". She is so nice and very good with Caroline, so I asked what he was talking about. "She let our cat out last night (who is an inside/outside cat), and turned on all the outside lights for her! The flood lights, the patio lights! She is nuts!". For anyone that knows cats, that is SO funny.

So the holidays are finally officially over in our little world. I took down our outside Christmas lights and will be working on the tree over the next day or so. It feels good to get back to normal.

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A walk in the woods

So the whole family got out today for a little walk through the woods. It was really nice. It was about 43 degrees, still a little snow on the ground, but not too cold and very quiet and peaceful.

I took a bunch of pictures, while the kids and hubby looked at animal tracks and discovered groundhog holes and got a good dose of fresh air. What a great way to spend a Sunday!

Here are some of my pictures.


Do you see the reflection through the drop? I didn't even notice it when I was taking the picture, only after I got home. I thought it was SO cool!!!

Kerri at A Little Piece of Me was talking recently about how to find color to photograph in the winter. She got a lot of great replies which inspired me to search out color in the woods today. At first glance, everything seems brown, white and gray. But, if you start to look closely, you can really see a lot more color!

Like this red dried flower:


Or the moss on the trees:


I had such a great time. Have a great Sunday!!!

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My daughter's first night away, I'm on my own...with a serenading two year old

So it is Friday night and Christina, my oldest at 6, is spending her first night away from home, with Mimi and Papa (grandparents). She has stayed at her other grandparents (out of town), but we have also been with her. This is her first time alone. Strange, I know, that this is the first time to stay at her grandparents alone, but for some reason, it just never happened. She used to spend a lot of time there when she was a baby and I was still working part time, but since then, she hasn't.

She initially was so excited to spend the night with her grandparents, and made big plans about what she would do and what she would bring.

But last night, after I tucked her into bed, she started thinking about the fact that being at Mimi's house for the night also meant being away from Mommy and Daddy for a night. And she started crying like crazy. Like CRAZY. And would NOT go to sleep.

"I don't want to be away from you!" she said with tears streaming down her face.

I hugged her and told her she does NOT have to go. I told her to decide tomorrow, if she wants to go, great, if not, she can stay home and go some other time if she wants.

I remember being VERY homesick when I was little, I was such a wimp. Yes, I went to a few sleepovers where I would end up calling my parents late at night, crying. They always would come and rescue me. I never liked sleeping away from home! Funny, as homesick as I got as a child, I grew up and had no problem whatsoever moving away to live on my own. In fact, I LOVED it. (Contrary to probably some people's predictions.)

Well, Christina's tears kept flowing, and she kept saying "I want both!" (meaning Mommy AND Mimi). She was very stressed about this issue.

So what happened? Well, she is with Mimi and Papa tonight, but she brought her security blanket - Daddy is staying with her.

So it is just me and my other 2 girls tonight. Caroline is happily talking and watching the Christmas tree.

And Kallie, my 2 yo, has been literally singing and dancing for an hour straight. And I am NOT kidding. Most of this "song" she has been singing is gibberish, but once in a while she throws in a word or phrase that makes sense, like:

"Tina is gone bye-byes."

"I got the magic wand."

"I stepped on the wawa, I stepped on the wawa, I stepped on the wawa" (repeat about 100 times). Which, for those of you don't know - and who would - wawa is Cinderella and stepping on 'wawa' means dancing on the dance mat which has pictures of Cinderella.

I should get up off this computer and start running the camcorder, as this rather lengthy song and dance routine is quite humorous, but I know as soon as I do, she will stop.

So, other than my singing 2 year old, it is quite quiet here. We have an uneventful weekend planned before our Christmas festivities on Monday.

Have a great weekend!!!!!

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My collection of humorous holiday tidbits

Since Christmas vacation is a time where the whole family is spending a lot of time together, I thought I would share some of the more humorous/interesting tidbits from this year's holiday season.

The husband
One day during vacation, I took my 6 yo up to visit her cousins/grandparents while I did some after Christmas shopping. Since we live in nowhereland, shopping is very limited so I always have to get into the "big" mall while I am away. I just love it. My husband stayed home with my 2 yo and our special 4 yo.

My husband and I were planning on going out to dinner that night, so I told him to please make sure the other 2 kids are all ready to go to the other grandparents as soon as I got home.

I get home and see that my 2 yo has napped and is happily ready to go.

But then I see my 4 yo. She is still wearing her pajamas (at 5 p.m). She has her AFO (braces) on the wrong feet (!!!???). She has two different socks on - not just different styles, but one belongs to her younger sister and one belongs to her older sister. Her hair is knotted, and messy and pretty much standing up all over her head. I guess I shouldn't be too upset, she was fed and fairly happy, just not even close to being "ready to go".

Husbands....can't live with them, can't....well, you know.

The 6 going on 16 year old
So we get back from our trip to visit cousins/grandparents and Christina witnesses me being slightly annoyed that my husband took such "good" care of our 4 yo.

Later on that night, Christina says out of the blue "Dad, I am very disappointed in how you took care of Caroline. You didn't put her braces on the right feet, you didn't put the right socks on her, you didn't get her dressed, you.." and Eric turns and shoots me that "look".

Is this MY fault? She is just being observant, right?


Then last night, I am talking to Christina about how she comes back downstairs about 4 times after we put her to bed. I asked her why does she need to do that every night?

Her very serious response? "Mom, I have a lot of problems". Really. Do tell.

The crazy 2 year old
Two year olds are so goofy and funny. I just LOVE this age.

One of her favorite toys now is a wooden puzzle of the USA. She LOVES this puzzle, I was amazed at how quickly she figured out where each and every state goes. She will do it many many times a day. So far, we have only lost one piece, Wisconsin. I am sure it is in the couch somewhere.



So, for Christmas, we got her also 2 yo cousin the same puzzle. Her cousin unwrapped her gift and immediately wanted to play with it. Kallie stood by watching intently. As the puzzle was unwrapped, what was the first thing Kallie did? Well, she swiped Wisconsin of course! We need that piece!

Kallie is also going through a phase where she thinks it is funny to call everyone "cookie".

At dinner: "Mommy is a cookie!", followed by uncontrollable giggling by her and her older sister.

As Christina is going to bed: "Good night cookie!", again, followed by uncontrollable giggling by both.

Why is that funny? And why do I laugh too?

Well, I enjoyed my first day of "vacation" yesterday. Tomorrow is even MORE of a vacation as the grandparents are going to take the other 2 kids for the morning. I am beside myself with excitement. I have an appointment to get my hair cut and highlighted, I will do some shopping, I may just come home and sit in my house and bask in the kidlessness for a bit!

Until I can't stand it and want my kiddies back!!!

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I am doing a little happy dance!

OK, maybe some of you may think I am a terrible mom, but I can't help but do a little happy dance (just a little one) now that Christmas vacation is over. It was a great time, I loved it and I really looked forward to it. But now I am glad things are back to normal.

Prior to my oldest starting Kindergarten, I would get so sad thinking of her being gone all day. I got so choked up during her orientation, thinking of her being in that room every single day and not with me. All day. I like being a stay at home mom. I love my kids. I am in no hurry for them to grow up.

But you know what, I have to admit this ... I like having a child in school. No, I love it. My day is so much calmer. I still have my 2 yo and my special little 4 yo, but there is no fighting, no running and screaming, no yelling. And, since my husband teaches, he is also home the entire vacation. And THAT is not always conducive to a productive day. So it is nice when I can ship him off to work in the morning.

Also, for me, vacation for them usually means a lot more work for me. I don't get to sleep in on vacation (everyone is still up at 7), I have more food to make, more dishes to clean, more toys and games to pick up. And it is hard to get motivated and follow any daily routines! (Why is that?!)

So today, I am getting lots of things done. I am looking forward to nap time. I am glad things are back to normal.

You know, when my sister and I were kids I remember my mom (who also stayed at home) being so happy summer vacation was over. I used to think that was terrible. But, I am starting to understand how she feels.

And it helps that my oldest loves school. She picked out her outfit for today yesterday morning! And she danced her way onto the bus. I know there will be a time when she will not be so happy about school, or I won't be so happy about her school, but for now, I will enjoy this time and enjoy my "vacation".

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Will it be a "happy" new year??

Happy 2008!!!! We had a quiet New Years' Eve. Our little town has fireworks at 7 p.m. and midnight so we took the girls to the early show. I, of course, grabbed my camera and new tripod and got some very cool pictures! My first pictures were great, until I realized that the electrical wire was in the middle of my shots!

I will try to Photoshop them out. It seems like hard thing to do, but I will try my best. I then moved and got a few more pictures, sans the wire.

The new year is always a little melancholy for me. Am I the only one?

I always think to myself - what will THIS year bring? It scares the heck out of me to think what could happen, how different my life can be next year at this time. It could be different in a wonderful way, or in a very sad way. I guess all I hope for is another uneventful year.

Hope you all have an uneventful 2008!

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