| You Are 60% Weird |
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How Weird Are You?
Thursday, August 31, 2006
I knew it
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
MySpace is Dumb
I do not intend on offending anyone, but I am sure I will. MySpace sucks. I am sorry, I know you all love it, but . . . why!?!?! I joined last week, because everyone keeps asking "Are you on MySpace?" So I thought I would check out all the hub bub. There are so many people accessing that site that it runs slower than molasses. I posted to my blog and it just dissapeared. I have had to relog in, becuause it forgot I was there while I was trying to upload photos. I am just SO not impressed.
Katie's First Day of School
Today was Katie's first day of preschool. We were very proud of her and also a little nervous about how she would do on the potty. She did great, no accidents all morning long!
She was very excited in the morning, but when we got there she was being clingy at first and didn't want to sit and play play doh with the other kids, but once she started playing in the kitchen we told her bye and she was fine. TJ looked very worried about leaving his sister though. He was very excited when we went to get her and ran into the building yelling "Katie, Katie"
When we cam to pick her up they we're playing an egg game where each kid picked a egg an did what a paper inside said. Her's was count to 10. So, we heard 8,9,10 Good job Katie. It was great.
Then after school we went to Cici's with her god-father and TJ's god mother to celebrate.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Eliches
We took my sisters to 6 Flags Sunday. It was a little cool, but not too bad. I think they had a lot of fun. We were lucky that Janie was just tall enough for all the rides. This was our first water ride "Shipwreck Falls"Friday, August 25, 2006
Summer in a puke bag
My super great friend from high school had a very busy summer, just as we have had here. She recently posted on her blog a sumary of her summer that I found quite funny and sounded like verbal puke. So her goes our summer in a puke bag.
100 kids and 2 churches come together for a week of VBS
Moab 100 degree weather camping in a tent
Finishing basement, have storage room and most of office
$600 down toilet, because jet ski sucked up rock
Ken and Cheryl get married
Swimming lessons, Katie failed
Jesse and Katie get married
Justin and Jane get married
We discovered Culver's
Carla can't water ski
Gramma creams Carla at Scrable . . . twice
Iowa is hot
Krystle is walking!
Katie 60% potty trained
Carla joins The Body Shop
TJ suddenly talks
Camping in Glendo, WY, Diamond makes new door in tent, we go home early
Wonderful romantic anniversary weekend in Glenwood Springs
Camping Jackson, new tent, water crazy low, carry jet ski in 50 yards
Not getting email, had to change address
Missed Joyce Meyer :-(
Killed both jet skiis at the same time, had to flag down boat to tow us in (during lighting storm)
And that brings us to the current moment. Looks like the jet skiis will easily take another $600 to fix, my money is on closer to $1000. They are fun though. I will try to update more in the fall!
100 kids and 2 churches come together for a week of VBS
Moab 100 degree weather camping in a tent
Finishing basement, have storage room and most of office
$600 down toilet, because jet ski sucked up rock
Ken and Cheryl get married
Swimming lessons, Katie failed
Jesse and Katie get married
Justin and Jane get married
We discovered Culver's
Carla can't water ski
Gramma creams Carla at Scrable . . . twice
Iowa is hot
Krystle is walking!
Katie 60% potty trained
Carla joins The Body Shop
TJ suddenly talks
Camping in Glendo, WY, Diamond makes new door in tent, we go home early
Wonderful romantic anniversary weekend in Glenwood Springs
Camping Jackson, new tent, water crazy low, carry jet ski in 50 yards
Not getting email, had to change address
Missed Joyce Meyer :-(
Killed both jet skiis at the same time, had to flag down boat to tow us in (during lighting storm)
And that brings us to the current moment. Looks like the jet skiis will easily take another $600 to fix, my money is on closer to $1000. They are fun though. I will try to update more in the fall!
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Crazy Summer
This summer has been insane! We have been going none stop since VBS in th middle of June. We went to Moab, Wisconson, Iowa, Wyoming, Glenwood Springs, and this weekend we are camping at Jackson Resevior (aka mudpuddle). Hopefully we will be back at church the following Sunday, but nothing is set in stone yet. Katie starts school on the 30th. That is so exciting. Maybe then things will g=begin to go back to normal. Enjoy the rest of your summer.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
August Column
This is my article for August. I tried to upload more pictures, but something isn't working right, sorry.
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Is there really a kid out there that follows “the book?” You know, rolls over at 3 months, sits up at 6 months, crawls at 9 months, and walks at a year? No? Good, because my daughter doesn’t do anything by the book. She didn’t crawl until after she was one and didn’t walk until a month before her second birthday, but she has been babbling since birth. It is a good thing most kids don’t follow “the book” or I would think she was weirder than someone standing in a hailstorm covering their garden with cardboard.
We spent this last week in the Midwest visiting family when she defied the laws of “the book” again. All the potty training books say not to potty train if you are moving, expecting another child, or planning a big trip. Well, we brought the potty chair with us in hopes of not loosing any ground and with NO intention of actually gaining ground. Sure enough on the second day of our trip, while we were driving on the highway half way between two of our stops, and just past an exit, we heard “I have to go potty.” So, we pulled over, took the potty out of the topper and there she sat with the only privacy as the side of the truck and Daddy blocking the view of on coming traffic. Well, our one success a day was out of the way, right? Wrong! She stayed dry most of the two days we stayed at her great aunt and uncle’s house. I was sure it was a fluke; maybe she just really liked their Noah’s Ark themed bathroom.
We left Wisconsin and headed for Cedar Rapids. This is when we decided the potty chair had to go everywhere with us. She was really getting it! We had lunch in an Amish community one day where we spent most of lunch taking turns with Katie in the bathroom. On the twelve-hour drive home we had to pull over about every hour. This turned our twelve-hour drive into a fifteen-hour drive. We thought we had this potty training thing down, but the first day we were home she had no successes all day. I guess it is more fun to use the potty 1000 miles from home.
My son, 18-month-old TJ, is no stranger to being weird. We are cat sitting this week for his godmother. During my errand running this morning we stopped in to check on Gabby, the cat, and water the plants. I was coming in from watering the plants on the deck to find TJ walking around with Gabby’s water bowl. Did I mention it was empty? He poured the water into her food dish. This is new for him; he usually puts the food into the water dish. I refilled everything and was cleaning up the floor and TJ decided to help. He was putting the food that had fallen out on the floor . . . and was putting it in her water bowl. Gee, thanks big helper.
I don’t think he is alone in this strange behavior of putting cat or dog food into the water bowl. I have seen other kids partake in this activity as well, but you never see this in any of the books. Why is this? It seems to me this behavior is common enough and yet so unexpected we should be forewarned.
On top of the food and water phenomenon, he also has short-term stranger anxiety. During our week long tour of the Midwest, we made three stops to see three different sets of Great Grandparents. Every time he would wait until the day we were leaving to warm up to his great grandparents and let them hold him. It was almost more of a teaser. Who is this kid they write all the books about? A book about my kids would read more like a mystery novel than an advice book. I guess all kids do something that is a little weird. That is just part of what makes them special. My kids are very special.
Is there really a kid out there that follows “the book?” You know, rolls over at 3 months, sits up at 6 months, crawls at 9 months, and walks at a year? No? Good, because my daughter doesn’t do anything by the book. She didn’t crawl until after she was one and didn’t walk until a month before her second birthday, but she has been babbling since birth. It is a good thing most kids don’t follow “the book” or I would think she was weirder than someone standing in a hailstorm covering their garden with cardboard.
We spent this last week in the Midwest visiting family when she defied the laws of “the book” again. All the potty training books say not to potty train if you are moving, expecting another child, or planning a big trip. Well, we brought the potty chair with us in hopes of not loosing any ground and with NO intention of actually gaining ground. Sure enough on the second day of our trip, while we were driving on the highway half way between two of our stops, and just past an exit, we heard “I have to go potty.” So, we pulled over, took the potty out of the topper and there she sat with the only privacy as the side of the truck and Daddy blocking the view of on coming traffic. Well, our one success a day was out of the way, right? Wrong! She stayed dry most of the two days we stayed at her great aunt and uncle’s house. I was sure it was a fluke; maybe she just really liked their Noah’s Ark themed bathroom.
We left Wisconsin and headed for Cedar Rapids. This is when we decided the potty chair had to go everywhere with us. She was really getting it! We had lunch in an Amish community one day where we spent most of lunch taking turns with Katie in the bathroom. On the twelve-hour drive home we had to pull over about every hour. This turned our twelve-hour drive into a fifteen-hour drive. We thought we had this potty training thing down, but the first day we were home she had no successes all day. I guess it is more fun to use the potty 1000 miles from home.
My son, 18-month-old TJ, is no stranger to being weird. We are cat sitting this week for his godmother. During my errand running this morning we stopped in to check on Gabby, the cat, and water the plants. I was coming in from watering the plants on the deck to find TJ walking around with Gabby’s water bowl. Did I mention it was empty? He poured the water into her food dish. This is new for him; he usually puts the food into the water dish. I refilled everything and was cleaning up the floor and TJ decided to help. He was putting the food that had fallen out on the floor . . . and was putting it in her water bowl. Gee, thanks big helper.
I don’t think he is alone in this strange behavior of putting cat or dog food into the water bowl. I have seen other kids partake in this activity as well, but you never see this in any of the books. Why is this? It seems to me this behavior is common enough and yet so unexpected we should be forewarned.
On top of the food and water phenomenon, he also has short-term stranger anxiety. During our week long tour of the Midwest, we made three stops to see three different sets of Great Grandparents. Every time he would wait until the day we were leaving to warm up to his great grandparents and let them hold him. It was almost more of a teaser. Who is this kid they write all the books about? A book about my kids would read more like a mystery novel than an advice book. I guess all kids do something that is a little weird. That is just part of what makes them special. My kids are very special.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Oops!
I some how lost the folder with all the blog addresses of all my friends, so I just had to send them all an email to ask them to send me those addresses. I hope I didn't forget anyone! Some friend I am! Keep on blogging friends, I love to read them!
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Travel with Tots
Here is my most current coumn entry. I was going to write on freebee places to take kids this summer, but I never got my research done on that one so I improvised with our Moab trip. I have posted more photos at yourhub.com Columbine area.
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Well, summer is here, time to go on vacation. Traveling with toddlers is always an adventure. My family and I just spent 5 days camping in Moab and visiting National Parks. Sound impossible with a potty training 3 year old and a wandering 17 month old? Well, it is certainly not easy. The first step to success: realize you are not going to get to do everything you want to do, the kids will be crankier than normal while off their schedule and finally, things won’t always go as planned.
Lesson one: thoroughly research your accommodations. Searching on the internet I found a campground with a playground and a pool, perfect for the kids, I thought. When we got to the campground I made reservations for, the covered tent sites were too small to accommodate our tent and the playground consisted of 4 swings (no baby seats) and monkey bars. After 5 ½ hours in the car the children were not happy to have to go hunt for a new place to stay instead of getting out and running around. Not the best way to start a vacation. In the end it paid off; our new camp site was 4 times as big as the first one, had a nicer pool, cleaner bathrooms and an age appropriate playground. I learned from this experience to call and get all the information you can before making a reservation. Remember businesses use their internet site to make themselves look appealing to potential customers. It’s not that they are lying, just that you may need more information to make a wise decision. Had I called and asked about the size of their tent sites or their playground equipment, I wouldn’t have lost the $30 cancellation fee.
Lesson two: if there is a visitor’s center at the place you’re visiting, use it. This one simple tip could have saved us half a morning driving around trying to find a place my husband had read about that was great for kids. He was very excited to take the kids to an area of Arches National Park that he had read was sandy and covered in low rocks for the kids to climb. Since he was sure he could remember the name looking on a map, we didn’t stop to ask. The first day we didn’t find it, but we thought we knew where it was. The second day we drove back, but of course we could not find the spot we were looking for. We ended up driving half way into the park and back out to the visitor’s center. After talking to one of the rangers for less than 10 minutes we figured out where we wanted to go and were back in the park again. Third time is a charm! We had learned our lesson in Arches and on the third day of our trip when we went to Canyonlands National Park, the visitor’s center was our first stop.
Lesson three: don’t plan everything. Now, I didn’t over book us by any means. We had a few things we wanted to do, but our schedule was very open, which left room for fun side trips. For example, on our first day we left Arches National Park by way of a four wheel drive road, and after a tip from a ranger at Canyonlands we went on an Indian Rock Art scavenger hunt. Both were fun excursions we didn’t plan on, but were glad we did. Then my favorite part of the whole trip was on our way to get ice cream on the last day. On our way, my husband drove me by the Slickrock bike trail he had ridden that morning, but the kids fell asleep so we kept driving and watched a beautiful sunset in some canyon we found down the road.
Traveling with kids can be great fun if you go with the right attitude. Our kids didn’t much care for the spectacular views in the National Parks, but they loved swimming in the pool every afternoon and going to get ice cream in the evenings. A great family trip has something for everyone. So, I guess it is possible to have a great trip with young kids!
Lesson one: thoroughly research your accommodations. Searching on the internet I found a campground with a playground and a pool, perfect for the kids, I thought. When we got to the campground I made reservations for, the covered tent sites were too small to accommodate our tent and the playground consisted of 4 swings (no baby seats) and monkey bars. After 5 ½ hours in the car the children were not happy to have to go hunt for a new place to stay instead of getting out and running around. Not the best way to start a vacation. In the end it paid off; our new camp site was 4 times as big as the first one, had a nicer pool, cleaner bathrooms and an age appropriate playground. I learned from this experience to call and get all the information you can before making a reservation. Remember businesses use their internet site to make themselves look appealing to potential customers. It’s not that they are lying, just that you may need more information to make a wise decision. Had I called and asked about the size of their tent sites or their playground equipment, I wouldn’t have lost the $30 cancellation fee.
Lesson two: if there is a visitor’s center at the place you’re visiting, use it. This one simple tip could have saved us half a morning driving around trying to find a place my husband had read about that was great for kids. He was very excited to take the kids to an area of Arches National Park that he had read was sandy and covered in low rocks for the kids to climb. Since he was sure he could remember the name looking on a map, we didn’t stop to ask. The first day we didn’t find it, but we thought we knew where it was. The second day we drove back, but of course we could not find the spot we were looking for. We ended up driving half way into the park and back out to the visitor’s center. After talking to one of the rangers for less than 10 minutes we figured out where we wanted to go and were back in the park again. Third time is a charm! We had learned our lesson in Arches and on the third day of our trip when we went to Canyonlands National Park, the visitor’s center was our first stop.
Lesson three: don’t plan everything. Now, I didn’t over book us by any means. We had a few things we wanted to do, but our schedule was very open, which left room for fun side trips. For example, on our first day we left Arches National Park by way of a four wheel drive road, and after a tip from a ranger at Canyonlands we went on an Indian Rock Art scavenger hunt. Both were fun excursions we didn’t plan on, but were glad we did. Then my favorite part of the whole trip was on our way to get ice cream on the last day. On our way, my husband drove me by the Slickrock bike trail he had ridden that morning, but the kids fell asleep so we kept driving and watched a beautiful sunset in some canyon we found down the road.
Traveling with kids can be great fun if you go with the right attitude. Our kids didn’t much care for the spectacular views in the National Parks, but they loved swimming in the pool every afternoon and going to get ice cream in the evenings. A great family trip has something for everyone. So, I guess it is possible to have a great trip with young kids!
Saturday, July 01, 2006
New Subscription emails
If you have not been getting email up dates never fear! I have changed to a different company and you should be receiving them again shortly. If you are not on the email update list, just add your email in the box on the upper left corner and click join. You will receive an email once a day if there is any new content on this bolg.
More Moab Pics
Our home for five days.
Daddy, TJ, and Katie enjoying some shade under Double Arch. Arches National Park.
Out on our Scavenger Hunt to find Indian Rock Art. Even with the sign it took us some time to see the pictures.
The desert was like a giant sand box for the kids.
TJ can find was to get into trouble, even on vaccation.
Katie chilling in her Princess camp chair after one of her afternoon swims.Moab trip
We had a great time in Moab. Here are some pictures I took. Enjoy!
TJ leading Daddy back to the car by the bite valve. Canyonlands National Park.
Katie and Daddy checking out a lizard on a rock wall walking back to the truck from Sand Dune Arch. Arches National Park.
Mommy, Katie, & TJ almost to Mesa Arch. Canyonlands National Park.
Katie and TJ's favorite part of the whole trip was swimming in the pool at the camp ground in the afternoon.
Four wheeling on our way to Gemini Bridges.
Katie mastering this hiking thing on the last day. Canyonlands National Park.
Taking a break from riding in the car. Glenwood Springs, CO.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
I dumped it!
We took the jet skiis out today and I am proud to report . . . I dumped it. I really wasn't going that fast. I said to Scott "Hey, look what I can do!" then I did a power turn, but couldn't keep it under control. Phill says I am turning into one of the guys. It was very choppy today, but otherwise we had a lot of fun until they ran out of gas. I am very proud of dumping it, the guys do it every time they go out!
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Walmart & Playhouses
So, we went to Walmart yesterday to look at playhouses for the kids. I had looked at a couple at Super Walmart the day before and wanted to show Scott what they had. I couldn't find any, so I asked a worker. Keep in mind this is June, he said "We don't have those this time of year." I wasn't asking for a snow blower!! So, I am not sure what time of year one buys playhouses, but apparently it is not in the summer.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Little Project
We ordered 15 tons of river rock and split it with our neighbor to even out our parking area. Ended up we ordered a little more than we needed so, this is a little progect that we made up to use up rock, but it ended up really nice. Nothing can grow under the cotton wood and we have gravel coming under the fence from the neighbor's yard behind us. This picture was taken about 3 wheelbarrows before we were finished, but we love it. We put the rock back there really thick so when we are ready to take out the sand box there is enough rock there to fill in the hole.
New Additions
These are two of our new additions. This is the second year we have had baby birds in our lilacs. I like having the birds buzzing around. Tomorrow we will hopefully be getting the jet skiis out for the first time this summer. I can hardly wait!
Katie turned 3
I am trying to post a picture of Katie from her birthday, but I think blogger is changing it's picture uploading format as we speak. I will add the pictures as soon as I can. Her birthday went off great though. 3 of her friends were able to come. They enjoyed playing in the sand box and jumping on the trampoline with Ben and Scott. She was very excited about her birthday and she finally tells people she is 3 when they ask.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Poll results
Well, awhile back I asked who you are. I was suprised to find that 60% of you are family! Apparently I only have 2 current friends, 1 high school friend and no college friends. One of you are my best friend's mom, but I already knew there was only one of you! One of my kid's god parent's, if I had to guess. . . my daughter's god father. And finally as we all know, there is only one of me.
Why Mommies Need a Timeout
This is my second column for the local paper. The photo was taken before the cave tour, they are my friends, and god mothers of my children, Mel & Becca. Enjoy!
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Recently, I was able to go on a girls only weekend with two of my good friends. Let me tell you this is exactly what a mommy needs.
Everyone knows you need a vacation. There is nothing that would ever replace family vacations, but they are not very relaxing. There is still fighting between siblings, diaper changes, bath times, bedtime struggles, when does the R&R come into play? Family vacations are all the work of home, without the routine or comfort of home. Even so we are still taking our kids to Wisconsin for a wedding and Arches National Park on vacation this summer, but I don't expect to relax much on these trips.
The solution? The way I see it you have two options. Escape on a romantic getaway with the help of grandparents or a girls weekend with the help of an amazing daddy. I am lucky enough to have both helpful grandparents and an amazing daddy. This weekend was daddy's turn.
Neither of the friends I went with have children, but they both knew how hard it was for me to leave them. Truth be told, it wasn't that hard. We didn't go far, just to Glenwood Springs, but it was far enough to get away from it all. We had a great time, shopping, going on a tour of the Fairy Caves, getting herbal wraps at a cute local spa, having delicious meals at local restaurants, and of course going to the hot springs. Everything we did was fun, but best of all we didn't HAVE to do anything. No one was depending on us for anything for a whole 48 hours. We did things you just cannot do with small children. We went swimming without holding a little bobbing head above the water. We spent a couple hours at Splendor Mountian Day Spa, the best money I spent on the whole trip, but I couldn't have done it with the kids there. Just getting to eat out. With my son in the throwing-food phase, we are only welcome at McDonald's. Just being able to walk around town without a stroller, sure I didn't burn as many calories that way, but I was on vacation.
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Recently, I was able to go on a girls only weekend with two of my good friends. Let me tell you this is exactly what a mommy needs.Everyone knows you need a vacation. There is nothing that would ever replace family vacations, but they are not very relaxing. There is still fighting between siblings, diaper changes, bath times, bedtime struggles, when does the R&R come into play? Family vacations are all the work of home, without the routine or comfort of home. Even so we are still taking our kids to Wisconsin for a wedding and Arches National Park on vacation this summer, but I don't expect to relax much on these trips.
The solution? The way I see it you have two options. Escape on a romantic getaway with the help of grandparents or a girls weekend with the help of an amazing daddy. I am lucky enough to have both helpful grandparents and an amazing daddy. This weekend was daddy's turn.
Neither of the friends I went with have children, but they both knew how hard it was for me to leave them. Truth be told, it wasn't that hard. We didn't go far, just to Glenwood Springs, but it was far enough to get away from it all. We had a great time, shopping, going on a tour of the Fairy Caves, getting herbal wraps at a cute local spa, having delicious meals at local restaurants, and of course going to the hot springs. Everything we did was fun, but best of all we didn't HAVE to do anything. No one was depending on us for anything for a whole 48 hours. We did things you just cannot do with small children. We went swimming without holding a little bobbing head above the water. We spent a couple hours at Splendor Mountian Day Spa, the best money I spent on the whole trip, but I couldn't have done it with the kids there. Just getting to eat out. With my son in the throwing-food phase, we are only welcome at McDonald's. Just being able to walk around town without a stroller, sure I didn't burn as many calories that way, but I was on vacation.
When I returned home Sunday I felt reenergized. I even had the house to myself when I got there, because my husband took the kids to a birthday party. This part may be hard to believe, but the house was spotless, cleaner than I had left it. The laundry was almost all done, the kitchen didn't look like it had ever been used, and I didn't trip on a single toy walking through the house. Of course, nothing is perfect, my poor bird had no food or water. My guess is he talked back to my husband and my husband muttered something about stupid bird and drumsticks.
Coming home, I realized a break was exactly what I needed. I could tolerate the whinning and crying without breaking into tears myself. I even started sleeping better, and my daughter's potty training has improved. After going on this weekend away, I am sure I will be doing it again. I don't know why I waited three years to take my first one. It will not be another three years before my next one.
Coming home, I realized a break was exactly what I needed. I could tolerate the whinning and crying without breaking into tears myself. I even started sleeping better, and my daughter's potty training has improved. After going on this weekend away, I am sure I will be doing it again. I don't know why I waited three years to take my first one. It will not be another three years before my next one.
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