Thirty-Five

Bode's big on big numbers.  His favorite is 1089.  It is the pinnacle of perfection.  The largest of numbers.

When telling you how much he loves you, he'll say, "I love you a thousand eighty-nine!"  The utmost compliment in his book.

Recently he was trying to think of other large numbers to express his affection.

"Mom, how old is Dad?"

"Thirty-five."

"I love you 35!"

Sorry, Steve.  I guess that is very old.

My Favorite Body Part

Last night I had my first appointment with my kids' chiropractor in order to alleviate some knee pain during exercise. Talk about a good adjustment!

Anyways, Maggie came along for some girl time.
We planned to be back for her dance class afterwards, but the chiropractor was running behind and it's a 20 minutes drive back to Stewie. So instead, we had a much needed girls night, eating pizza at CiCi's and shopping at Old Navy. Both her choices. Matching workout pants? Check.

Before you feel bad for the boys, we left them chicken in the crock pot, though they opted for pb&j sandwiches. AND we brought them Dairy Queen. 

I did learn something new about Maggie during our time together.

"Mom, you wanna know what my favorite body part is? My legs, my feet, and my eyebrows."

"I like those, too, Mags. Why are they your favorite?"

"Well, my legs are soft and I like soft things. And my eyebrows are soft and smooth."

Haha. Love the logic.  Here's to positive body image!

2015 Christmases

And Now We Are Six

Now We Are Six

By A.A. Milne

When I was one,

I had just begun.

When I was two,

I was nearly new.

When I was three,

I was hardly me.

When I was four,

I was not much more.

When I was five,

I was just alive.

But now I am six,

I'm as clever as clever.

So I think I'll be six

now and forever.

It's been six years since our beautiful spitfire made herself known in the world.  And our lives haven't been the same since!  We've come full circle as she was born on a Wednesday morning in 2009 and now this year had her first birthday since on a Wednesday.

She loooves birthdays (who doesn't?), so in preparation for today she made a checklist for us:

Wensday Plan:  Poptarts, Mom off (Mom does school drop off), Make cake, Watr (water?), Pant nils (Paint nails)

 So this morning after a breakfast of generic Pop-Tarts (her choice!), a quick shower and a change back into pajamas for the Homecoming week dress-up day, she requested that I do the drop off instead of riding the bus.

After Bode finished preschool, we joined Maggie at school for lunch.  Such fun to see part of her new normal day.

Birthday crown and cape.

She requested a sports-themed birthday party this year, which will take place on Saturday.  But she surprised us a bit when out of all the princess cupcakes available at Target Bakery, she chose these birthday treats to bring to school.

This afternoon, she and I got manicures before coming home to presents, spaghetti and meatballs, and cupcakes.  Then off to AWANA for crazy hair night.

A very full day!

As she opened her first present today, a gift certificate to get a manicure, she queried as to whether the nail salon was in Rochester or Stewartville.  "Stewartville," I replied.  To which she tried to clarify, "Pure Pleasure?"  Ahh!  Pure Pleasure is the adult novelty store located on the edge of Stewartville.  It's flashing billboard has quietly existed along our route to Rochester with no questions from our reading daughter, until today.  Thankfully the questions went no further this time. 

And here are her yearly birthday questions:

I am... 6 years old.
The best show on TV is... Alvin and the Chipmunks
My favorite thing about school is... library.
The thing I'm best at is... reading.
If I could change my name, it would be... Violet.
My favorite colors are... maroon and gold...and violet.
My favorite toy is...my new nail salon set.
When I grow up, I want to work... as a librarian at school.
I like to take these things to bed with me at night: my blankie.
My favorite book is...Frozen Fever
My favorite movie is... Alvin and the Chipmunks.
My favorite season of the year is... fall.
A food I really like is... pizza.
My favorite animals are... cats.
My favorite sport is... soccer.
My best friends are... Ava and Josie.
My favorite holiday is... Halloween and Christmas.
My favorite thing I did while I was 5 was... going to California and Disneyland and when Brooks was born.

West Coast Adventures

Are you sick of the videos yet?  This one is a little delayed in coming, but back in May we flew with all three littles to California to join the rest of my family in celebrating my brother Andrew's graduation from medical school.

It was Bode's and Brooks' first airplane rides, and everyone did great!  We flew into Palm Springs and spent lots of time at the pool and just hanging out.

We took one day to surprise the kids with a jaunt to Disneyland, which ended up being extremely crowded due to 60th anniversary festivities.  Despite the crowds and therefore limited number of rides we spent the time waiting for, Maggie and Bode were thrilled with their first Disney experience.

The Dells Tradition - Vacation Number Two

As has become a yearly (and sometimes biyearly) tradition, our family took off for Wisconsin Dells for three nights this past week.  We spent most of our leisure time enjoying the waterparks at the Wilderness.  Maggie continues to love the water and even accompanied Steve on a dark tube waterslide called "Dueling Mammoths."  Both were quite relieved to see the light at the end of the waterslide tunnel.  And Bode surprised us by venturing down several waterslides that he had not previously attempted.  He needed some coaxing, but then kept requesting "one more time" as we tried to make our exit.

Besides enjoying dinners out at our favorite restuarants, Moose Jaw Pizza and Marley's, we also revisited the Wisconsin Deer Park after a one year hiatus.

Enjoy Steve's video!

Principal Conference...or Summer Vacation Number One

June traditionally brings the MASSP (Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals) conference at Breezy Point Resort.  The past two years, Steve has attended while Maggie, Bode, and I held down the fort at home.  After observing many other school principals with their families last year, Steve invited us to come along for this session.  While his days were filled with useful meetings (seriously!), the crew and I found activities to keep us busy as we enjoyed some good ol' Up North relaxation.

Steve volunteered his skills at making a slide show of our time, also including photos of a few hours at the superintendent's cabin on Ten Mile Lake, a brief tour for old time's sake at Camp Shamineau, and a day and a half with family in Princeton.

Jewels

I've been in survival mode recently.  Yes, it's been busy since I've been back to work after my maternity leave, what with the never-ending to do list, the baby that insists on being held almost every hour of the day, and the many activities we tote our family to and from throughout the week.  These past few weeks, however, the challenges have intensified even further with the onset of some major sleep disturbances in our four-month-old.

Brooks' six-hour nighttime stretch that I had previously become accustomed to, recently shortened to four hours and then shortly after he turned three months old, his first evening with a babysitter somehow set off a pattern of waking every hour or two.  Every night.  Exhausting.  Utterly and completely.

I've seen this poem here and there a few times during the last several months.  And I'm pretty sure it has made me tear up every time.

I remember the deep sense of loneliness in the weeks following the birth of my first baby; the feeling that the sleepless nights and constant crying would never end.

But they do and it does.

And with each tiny newborn baby, I have become more and more aware of the fleeting moments I have while they're young.

And so this morning, both fresh from the second consecutive night of only one night-time feeding, Brooks and I made our way downstairs before the other two got up.  Shortly thereafter, my sweet three-year-old shuffled into the dimly lit living room.  As we plopped onto the couch with Elmo on TV, I closed my eyes and relished his warm hug and cuddles for a few minutes, remembering the early mornings from a couple years ago when the quiet house would be ours.

I then tiptoed to the children's room and softly peeked inside.  My spunky daughter was just starting to stir.  I swiftly climbed onto the top bunk and curled around my still-sleepy first born as she giggled conspiratorially about our girl time.

I feel like I don't, or even can't, cherish these moments as much as I want to.  Life gets in the way.  Chores need to get done; work needs to be completed; each child vies for my attention in demanding and draining ways.  But on days such as today, armed with a good night's sleep (and coffee, of course), I am trying to treasure each special jewel of time that will be gone all too soon.

Fall Days

It's hard to believe how quickly September flew by.  Even though counting down the days to my due date sometimes makes it seem like time is just crawling by, the weeks do indeed go quickly.

As a family, we are definitely in a good routine and schedule now.  Even though we have some sort of activity almost every weekday evening, my lighter workload this year (just upped to .75 FTE) has made this fall seem a little less hectic than the past couple years, at least from my perspective.  Steve is adjusting to his new role as both Middle School and High School principal, but is thankful for two wonderfully capable assistants.  Here's a rough outline of our weekly schedule outside of work:

Sunday - Church and Sunday School

Monday - Maggie - preschool, Sara - Moms in Step, Steve - School Board

Tuesday - Our day off of extra activities!  This evening is often reserved for grocery shopping and other errands.

Wednesday - Maggie -preschool, Sara - Junior High youth group, Maggie - gymnastics (only a few more classes left), Maggie - Cubbies

Thursday - Bode, Maggie, Steve, and Sara - Parent Child ECFE class

Friday - Maggie - preschool, Steve - football game

Saturday - Maggie - dance

Here are some photos of our past couple weeks:

Our Homecoming Princess in the parade on a very cold Friday afternoon.

Angelina Ballerina pre-ballet class.

We don't normally get to sit in, but this day was a parent observation day.

This late afternoon/evening was spent at Sekapp Orchard in Rochester.

I tried to discourage this, but Steve ENcouraged it.  At least I brought along some of Shaklee's Basic H2 to clean them off first.

Time to select their pumpkins.

Bode wanted one with a blueish tint.

Maggie wanted a white one.

And we were sure to get one for baby brother, too.

Gymnastics.

Five, Family, and Fun

After a breakfast of Pop Tarts (her choice since we never have them) and measuring her current height on the growth chart, I sat down with my sweet girl for a birthday interview:

I am... 5 years old.
The best show on TV is... Sophia the First.
My favorite thing about school is... snack and station time.
The thing I'm best at is... running and doing a somersault.
If I could change my name, it would be... my doll's name, Molly.
My favorite colors are... pink, blue, purple, and red.
My favorite toy is..."I'm thinking on that one..." Molly.
When I grow up, I want to work... at the bank.
I like to take these things to bed with me at night: blankie.
My favorite book is..."I read lots of books, but my favorite book is Cinderella...in my princess book."
My favorite movie is... The Little Mermaid.
My favorite season of the year is... summer.
A food I really like is... Pop-Tarts (her birthday breakfast of choice this morning).
My favorite animals are... bobcats and cats and cute little puppies and cute little kitties.
My favorite sports are... football and basketball and soccer.
My best friends are... all of them - Olivia, Claire, and Josie and Betsy and Abbie and Ari.
My favorite holiday is... Valentine's Day and Thanksgiving and Christmas.
My favorite thing I did while I was 4 was... going to Wisconsin Dells.

The rest of the day consisted of some time with their nanny, a nap, a visit from Grandma and Grandpa complete with ice cream cake, Chuck E Cheese, and presents! 

Maggie's exclamations that it was "the best day ever!" certainly made it special for the rest of us, too.

Breakfast of champions with her Molly doll.

Five!

Grandma and Grandpa brought the fun!

Grammy and Bapa were here the weekend before helping make bunk beds!

DQ princess cake from Grandma and Grandpa.

Thanks, Bode!

Birthday celebration at school on the 22nd.  Maggie got to be calendar helper.  Bode joined right in when we got to Maggie's school, "Hi, everybody!" and was an eager participant (red shirt).

He was starting to get tired and unsure.

Puerto Rico and Kids with Grandparents

With our 10 year anniversary coming up in August (what - 10 years???), Steve and I had planned for awhile to travel someplace new for a short time this summer.  We had booked a trip to Puerto Rico before Baby #3 took up residence in my belly, but I guess now this vacation doubled as a babymoon, too.

We spent lots of time by the beach and pool, ate delicious food, had a couples massage, hiked in the rainforest, and toured old forts in San Juan.

We did lots of this.  Beach and pool time.

El Yunque Rainforest.

Observation tower in the rainforest.

Old San Juan.

Castillo de San Cristobal in San Juan.

And while we were in the Caribbean, Maggie and Bode had a great time with both sets of grandparents.  They even completed several items on their summer list:

• Visit Grammy and Bapa (my parents).  They also visited Grandma and Grandpa (Steve's parents), but we already checked this off our summer list from an earlier summer trip.
• Bonfire with s'mores.

• Tea party.

• Made homemade pizza.
• Put on a play - "Cinderella."  We saw the video - it was amazing. :)
• Root beer floats.
• Blow bubbles.

We all had a wonderful time in our respective locations, but were extremely pleased to be reunited in time for the Fourth of July.

Stewie Pool, Stewie Pool, Checkin Off the List with the Stewie Pool!

This was the chant the kids adopted last week as we continued with the summer list.  Here's what we did:

• Stewartville Pool

A couple chilly days, but they were ready!

• Pom Pom activities

I bought a bunch of pom poms awhile ago to use for crafts.  Bode started our pom pom days by dropping them through a paper towel roll.

Maggie was making a butterfly, so Bode decided he should make a puppy.

Maggie's pom pom butterfly.

• Nature Walk

She brought her camera along to take photos of the things we saw.

Our checklist for the walk.

• Fly a kite

• Read books outside

• Diet Coke and Mentos demonstration

• Gummy bear popsicles

• Obstacle Course