Pictures of Fall

As promised almost a week ago - picture of Fall! Yup, I have tons of them!

Here we are picking pumpkins at Nana & Papa's:




And... the beloved combine ride! You can almost see all of us stuffed in there!

And.. Evan's tractor ride! Which, personally, I think he enjoyed more than the combine. Can you see his little seat there? It even has a little seat belt in there for him! Love it! I wish the tractors had these amenities when I was little :-)

Collecting leaves and doing other fall things. This first one here is the nature hike in the coulee.

The group of kids in the coulee. Most were getting pretty sick of pictures at this point.

The visit to the "cabin" in the woods. I think the kids enjoyed riding the golf cart and playing the creek more.

And - the ride to the coulee in the back of the 1 ton farm truck. Evan just plopped right down in the middle and waited for the ride.


Evan's trip up the bluff.


And - playing in the leaves the next day!




I thought this picture was cute as he was mad I took the rake away from him for a moment. Poor, dejected little boy! I am the worst Mom in the world - I know!

And- climbing the small tree in our front yard. I have to say, not to toot my own horn (or my sister's as she took some of these pictures as well) but, for what Tim and I paid to get some professional pictures taken last year, I like some of these just as well. If only I knew where to get them professionally printed - or on better paper than Target or Shutterfly.

Yes, of course, Sage was playing with us as well outside. She liked jumping the leaves too and would make Emma mad when she would mess up the piles.

The impromptu group shot of the family.

Evan in the tree again. He really loved climbing the tree!

And, so did Emma! Of course, whatever one does, the other needs to as well.



And Evan, all tired from the raking.

That's all! This weekend has been good so far. Tim was gone today so the kids and I did some fall cleaning and fall playing! We took some ears of corn that we brought home from the farm, shucked the corn, and put little piles of corn all around our yard for the birds and little critters to store for the winter. We made a tent in our house and mopped the floor, I did about 5 loads of laundry and am still going strong, made a yummy supper, Evan got a big goose egg on his head from jumping on his mattress, and carved pumpkins! They are so excited for Halloween! It should be a great night tomorrow.

Not a good thing!

As witnessed by me this morning:

Evan wanted his Nuk. Well, we only let him have his Nuk's when he is in his crib (mostly!). So, he comes to me with his pitiful, blue eyes. . . "Nuk? Nuk, Mama?" "No Evan - You know the rule. Only in your crib." So, he drops his head, droops his shoulders, and walks to his room. Then, I see him climb up the side of his crib and drop/fall into his crib. He joyfully gets his Nuk and pops it into his mouth. Then (and I have never seen him to do this) he puts his arms up on the top of his crib, hoists one leg over, struggles at the top, then hoists the other over and hangs there. He is moving his little feet back and forth to find something stable, finds the lower bar with his foot, braces it and then drops to the ground. He gets up on his feet, runs to me while smiling the whole way, "Nuk MAMA!" I just shake my head (hide my smile/laugh) and know that this is NOT a good thing.

We have truly been enjoying the beautiful weather (well of last week). The kids and I have been outside as much as possible taking it all in, as we know that soon, we will not have the warm/sunny days. Last weekend we went to the farm for 2 days & 1 night so we can experience fall on the farm. Evan and Emma were very excited to ride in the combine, so that is one of the first things we did. They easily climbed up the ladder and got in. Emma thought it was so awesome (yes, her words) that there was a little seat in there just for her. It was a tight fit with 3 of us on the seat, but we made it work! Both loved it - we rode with Dad for probably 2 hours in the combine; talking, listening to the radio and to Evan say excitedly "Tractor!! Tractor!" as the tractor would drive alongside of the combine so he could unload the corn. Evan got very excited about the tractors and eventually Papa took him on a tractor ride also.

After the combine was the pumpkin patch! Mom and Dad planted a little pumpkin and gourd patch and the kids loved picking pumpkins. Emma was a huge helper here, skipping from one to another and putting them in the wagon. Luckily, they had plenty to go around as the Kellogg's joined us later on Friday afternoon for the autumn festivities. We tried a few times to get some pictures of the everyone, but we really only got this.


That night we decided to go to Club 10 for supper. After a lot of greasy food and one tasty beer :-) we decided to take the kids bowling for the first time. Up came the bumpers and out came a bowling ball ramp (which is pure genius for the under 6 year olds) and with 8 stocking feet, we had a recipe for awesomeness! Evan was first and he could not have been more excited! He picked out a ball, then we found him a lighter ball, and up it went on the ramp. (Keep in mind that he was exclaiming "Ball!" every 5 seconds) Papa was in charge of the ramp aim, so all the littles had to do was push. Evan marched up there, gave the ball a push and everyone clapped! Then, he was off like a shot down the lanes to try and retrieve his ball! "No Evan! Come back!" we all yelled as I went to go and get the little guy. Obviously, no one told him that he couldn't run after it; thankfully we were the only ones in the alleys. After Evan, all the little ones proceeded through and had a great time! This was the first time for Emma as well and she had a lot of fun picking out other balls to use (no matter what the weight) because some were more pretty and sparkly! Many of the kids got strikes, more got spares, but in the end, Evan was the big winner!! All of the kids had a blast and I am hoping we do it again soon.

The next day we picked more pumpkins, decorated Halloween cookies and roasted hotdogs and made smores outside. I again stress that the weather could not have been more beautiful! The kids loved playing outside and I wanted to be out there as well. After a much needed nap by everyone, we toured a neighbor's "cabin" in the woods, played in a creek, and went on a nature hike. The nature hike was a great time. We gave each of the little kids a plastic bag and drove to the coulee in Dad's big farm pick-up so the kids could ride in the back. (yes, adventure at every turn!) Emma was good at scouting out acorns and pretty leaves. She marched along the path like a trouper. Evan did okay. He easily tripped over sticks and was a bit behind, but every once in awhile he would bend over and stuff leaves and sticks in his bag. The big adventure was climbing the bluff - or the partial bluff. We shortened it a bit due to age and leg length. The girls actually ran up most of it - Emma and Kaylee taking turns at who was in the lead. Evan did okay for a little while. I carried him up for some and Dad did the other. We made it to the top and everyone liked the view. Emma was excited as she thought she could slide down to the bottom on the leaves on her butt, but we quickly changed her mind on that, so she ran down some of it.

After that was a quick supper and then the kids and I left the farm for home. Everyone had a great time and was exhausted when we got home. The combination of fresh air and exercise did us in.

Sunday we had Sunday School and Emma is really enjoying it this year. She doesn't want to miss a class and excitedly tells me about the projects they worked on and the stories they heard. Evan does not do well in church, even with the snack, coloring books, cars, and crayons/notebooks I try to be prepared with. I have found the best thing is when the children's center is open or (gulp) a Nuk. I know, I have to let my "Nuk only in crib" rule slide for church. I think God understands....

After that - leaves!! We had a lot of leaves in our front yard so we grabbed a rake and a snow shovel and started to make the piles. Emma really enjoys jumping in leaves and throwing them in the air. She will plop right in the middle of the pile and hurl them in the air. She will do somersaults in the pile and chase me around with her arms full of leaves, just waiting to throw them. Evan... not so much. He preferred to rake them in a pile.

After all the fall fun - the predictable work week:
Monday - kids at daycare, Tim and I work. I do homework most of the night.
Tuesday - kids at daycare, Tim and I work. I have school that night, kids have a "Daddy night"
Wednesday - kids at daycare, Tim and I work; Sage has puppy class, kids have swimming lessons. Unfortunately, there was a bit of drama at swimming lessons last week. There was, hmmm... let's say an accident at swimming lessons, so the pool was closed. Unfortunately, we found that out at the time of swimming lessons, after the kids and I had changed into bathing suits and showered. Emma understood why we couldn't swim and was enjoying sharing her newfound knowledge about the pool and their cleaning system. Evan, however, did not understand, and had to be carried away from the pool screaming "Swim! Swim!" and crying the whole way. No fun....
Thursday - kids at daycare, Tim and I work - we have a family night at home, usually dividing up cleaning duties and errands.
Friday - Mama day! (although now Evan will announce that he wants a "Daddy Day" too!"

This past weekend we were up at the cabin so Tim could finish the garage. Finally! It is mostly done. With the crappy weather (which Emma did tell me this weekend that the weather was crappy) we stayed in.

A few more short things:
--Yeah Packers!! We needed that win!
--Yeah kids! They both slept in until 7:30 this morning!! Love it! I got to take advantage of it as I had today off from work and Tim didn't set his alarm. Unfortunately, I work Friday - boo.
-- AND.... looking forward to Sunday!

Pictures!! I have TONS of pictures- but I am having difficulty loading them tonight. I will try soon!

The internal conflicts of my little man

Evan is growing up so fast. As much as I can see it and am excited (or sometimes sad) he wishes he were so much older.... like Emma's age :-)

He is constantly demanding to do things on this own now. I am always hearing now: "NO! ME!" Or "EVAN!" or my favorite "I DO IT!" when I try to help. Which is great, but frustrating. He thinks he can put on his own clothes now, but, sorry little man, you can't. He puts shirt sleeves on his legs, tries to stuff his head into pants legs or puts on roughly 3 of his treasured "Cars" socks on each foot, backwards and wonky. I have seen him wearing pants (that I put on him) and he is wearing 2 pairs or shorts somewhat over them on his legs. He always thinks he can zip up his own coat. He will angrily step back from me when I try to help and proclaim "NO! DO IT" then, he will try to make it happen for what seems like eternity before he helplessly says "HELP!". Ahhh.. the push and pull of having a stubborn two year old.

It is all really happening too fast for my liking. Yes, it is great to be out of the bottles, out of the 3 times a night feedings, and out of the total dependence. But the independence is hard. I KNOW it is my job to make him independent; to make him a functional, responsible, and giving member of society. But, I don't see that happening at two years old.

It really hit me last week at his water babies swim class, which he loved, thankfully. He was in the class with babies that were 8 months old and it honestly hit me like like a smack in the chest -or heart- that my little man is no longer a baby. While he still depends on me to kiss his owies, give him hugs before bed, and of course the basic necessities of life, he is pulling away slowly. He doesn't want me to help him get things off of shelves any more, he would rather build his own unsafe ladder or climb up dresser drawers to reach things. He doesn't want me to show him how to do things, he fully expects that he can do things on his own by watching his idol, Emma. I guess I am not as prepared as I thought I would be when my baby grows up. . . or grows to be a toddler. While I am fine with not having any more babies, I really am, it is still hard to see them go from stage to stage sometimes.

So, when my tears drop whenI don't expect them too or when the heart strings are pulled at the "NO! ME DO IT" I have to remember that this is expected, this is how life is supposed to be with children.

But even with knowing that fact and knowing what my role is, it doesn't make it any easier for me.... I love what my little man is growing into and each age brings new joys and fun, but I miss him all the same.

pictures and words

Me to Emma tonight: "Emma - you have to go to the bathroom before bed."

Emma: "Mama, the real word is restroom. But, yes, I have to use the restroom before bed."

And.. something Tim was dreading:

The scene: Tim and I are cooking in the kitchen and in walks Evan, clothesless but with a diaper on. He is happily sucking on a Nuk and carrying his beloved B (his blanket). Now, mind you, before this, he was fully clothed and playing with Emma. So, Tim and I exchanged looks and then Tim finally asks "Evan, where are your clothes?" "Emma! Emma!" says Evan, ratting her out. Hmmm... so, Tim goes to investigate. He finds Emma in their room: "Emma - what happened to Evan's clothes?" And of course, the answer:

"Daddy, I had to take them off because I wanted to put a skirt on him!"

We were up at the cabin this past weeked for Friday and Saturday and had fun. It was nice to have some good family time. We fished a lot and the kids were happy that we were catching a lot. We went out in the boat fishing Friday morning, which the kids LOVED! Not so much for the fishing really, but for the fish that Tim and I were catching and throwing in the live well in the boat. The live well was positioned so that the kids could play with the fish, net them, try to pick them up, whatever. We had Sage with us on the boat also and she enjoyed this part as well because a few times she stuck her paws in the live well. She also had fun trying to catch the fish that the kids dropped :-) At times I thought Sage was going to jump out of the boat as well because she liked the bobbers and when we were casting. Overall, the fishing trip was a success.

And now - pictures:

The race last weekend:

Here is Evan getting antsy before the start:

And - Emma with her friends:

And - the whole group of kids.

Finally, at home: resting.

And - Tim on his birthday.

And one more quote from Emma:

I was getting ready for school the other day, packing up my books/laptop/etc. Emma asked me why I was getting ready for school:

"Mama - why do Mama's need to go to school? Mama's know everything all ready!"

Words to go by

What a busy past few days. Sorry it has been so long! Now, I know that you, my loyal readers, are not expecting stories a few times a week. However, I did tell myself that I need to do this for my children. This is their life story - their cute sayings - their outings & trips - and their memoir of sorts. I need to keep remembering to find the time to update this so they remember how darn cute they were when they are older. Plus, it will give me something to remind ME that they were darn cute when they are teenagers and difficult!

The past few days have flown by. Between my school, puppy class, homework, playing, fun play dates, time just flies. Let's see.... last weekend Emma and I were at home as Tim was building a garage at the cabin. Fun times.... ! My mother came up to stay and help with the kids as I had a very fun wedding to attend! A dear friend and co-worker had a beautiful ceremony at a State Park and then had a very fun wedding reception in an outside shed that was beautifully decorated with white Christmas lights, candles in mason jars and beautiful wild flowers everywhere. Emma and I attended and danced with some friends and had a great time. It was fun to watch Emma on the dance floor getting down with the other little people out there. She didn't know many of them and at times, none of them, but she was still out there laughing, dancing and having a great time. All of my friends there commented on how weddings just aren't as much fun with children and are hoping to do a book club goes clubbing sometime soon - haha!

This past weekend was another swirl of activity! The kids ran in a "fun-run" at the State Capital with some friends. It is something like a 500 foot run and at the end all kids receive a medal and a t-shirt. Emma had some nervousness surrounding her race this year as last year she had an incident and ran into someone, fell down, and instantly started crying. This year she proudly proclaimed "Mama, If I fall down this time, I am going to get up and keep running!" Words to live by. It was suggested to me that I print that out, put it on a frame or something for Emma to have as she gets older. Not a bad idea! Evan had a great time as well. While he got a little antsy waiting to "Run Mama! Down Mama!"as the run was at 11:30 (I know, seriously? Right at nap time?) he had fun doing it. Emma and her friends did awesome! Emma sprinted to the finish line, no falling down this time! and excitedly jumped up and down with her friends when they received their medals "We got a medal! We didn't win but we still got a medal!" It was fun and I am glad we did it. I did not do any running this year (except along side the children) and was okay with that. Maybe another time when life slows down a bit.

After the run, some much needed girl time! Tim stayed home with the kids so I could go out to the Olive Garden. Ahh - how relaxing! It is so nice to have time away to breathe, relax, and think of other things than playing cars or putting clothes on Barbies. The nice thing is that the ladies in attendance thought the same thing! We have a wonderful support group, we laugh, cry, bounce ideas off each other and just have a great time together.

Emma had her first day of Sunday School this past weekend. She was so excited to go and had a fun time. I was a little nervous as last year I was always there with her as I was the teacher, but I should realize by now that Emma can hold her own! She excitedly ran to her table with her Baby Doll (as it was bring a stuffed animal or doll day) and started coloring her bible story picture. The nice thing is that they follow the same format, so I think there was comfort in that. Evan, however, didn't do so well. He doesn't really sit well in church and tries to do the running man in my arms when I am carrying him. He lasted about halfway through with various snacks, books, and other diversion tactics and then I gave in and checked him in to the children's play room. It is staffed by parent volunteers and filled with toys, a small slide/jungle gym, and lots of cars :-) He loved it and I may have to use and volunteer in that room again.

The apple orchard was Sunday early evening with some friends. More little people running around, laughing, and enjoying the beautiful fall weather. Man, I love fall! On Sunday morning, we woke up to frost covering our yard. Emma was excited for what she thought was snow, but when I told her it was only frost she got a bit disappointed. She wanted to go outside, investigate it, and pick some raspberries. However, I told her the raspberries may be hurt because of the frost. Her response? "But Mama - you love raspberries in your yogurt! These darn seasons! They keep changing, changing, and changing! First summer, then fall, then winter, then spring. Argh!' So cute - so funny!

Other things....??? We went to a local bowling alley/chuckee cheese sort of place this week. The kids had a great time playing the games, eating the candy and best of all? Laser Tag! This is all Emma could talk about. She very seriously told me all about it before we got to the bowling alley. "Now Mama, we are on the red team. Breezy and Theresa are on the blue team. We try to get them with the Laser gun, but don't worry, it doesn't hurt. It is just pretend." We actually played 2 games of laser tag. Tim and Evan joined us for the second one and they both loved it. Evan insisted on wearing the large laser tag vest and diligently carried the laser gun around and tried to "get" people. He had fun looking for Daddy and Emma.

Evan is starting to put together small sentences. Two or three words maybe? He is still constantly climbing and bouncing. When I pick him up from daycare, he grabs my hands and starts jumping on my legs. Then he bounces on my lap and gets up and drags me somewhere. It is exhausting! Such a difference between boys and girls. He had two exciting moments yesterday and today with the potty! Both times he did what he needed to do and there was much clapping and celebration around this. He was happy to get a treat and I hope it is slowly sinking in what he needs to do.

That's about it for now. I do have pictures from all the events (plus, Tim's birthday!) but those have to wait until another day.

Now - words to go by: "If I fall down, I am going to get up and keep running!"

My Daddy, the hero

Oh, the innocence of children. It is a wonderful, beautiful thing. Especially when my daughter looks up at her daddy with her big blue adoring eyes and thinks that he can do no wrong. But then Tim looks at me with his guilty eyes and it is all over...

So, we had a new pet introduced to our family over the weekend - a pheasant that Emma decided to name Lucy. How we got this pheasant and why is an interesting story. On the way up to the cabin this past weekend, Tim saw a pheasant that flew up and hit a car on the road. The car drove off and Tim decided to stop and look at the pheasant. The pheasant had a broken wing, so Tim decided to put the pheasant in the back of the truck and take it to the cabin. Now, one would say that was very nice and noble of Tim. Others could say he had ulterior motives because Tim was worried that Sage was not going to be a hunting dog and wanted to give him, let's say some practice.

So, the kids see the pheasant on Friday when Tim arrives at the cabin with Sage and pheasant in tow. I shoot him a dirty look and the kids are instantly excited at the bird. Sage LOVES the bird and constantly is barking and chasing after it. I feel bad for the bird, am slightly irritated at Tim, but love how Emma looks up at Tim and says "Wow Daddy - you saved Lucy because she had a broken wing!" with her adoring big, blue eyes. After getting a dog kennel to put Lucy in, Emma feeds her worms, and puts a bowl of water in the kennel for her, and she is settled. Tim and I have the discussion of how it is probably NOT a good idea for Emma to get to attached to the bird as her prognosis is not good. So, Emma and I have the discussion of how Lucy is sick and she may not make it. Alas, she didn't. Lucy unfortunately passed away on Sunday. Emma was sad, but I don't think it affected her too badly. We seem to have a few pets come and go in our house, so she is used it.

We had a great weekend up at the cabin. Tim went golfing on Saturday morning, so my Mom and I took the kids to Grantsburg, WI for Grantoberfest. Basically, a fall celebration with jumpy houses (which were the kids favorite) food, small petting zoo, hay rides, clowns, etc. Sure, there were a few kid meltdowns, but overall, everyone had a great time. They also had some local art students do some face painting. Here is Emma as a green cat and Evan with a car on his face.

The kids are great - really great. Emma is doing many preschool workbooks and enjoys spending time doing her homework. Sometimes I let her stay up a bit later than Evan at night so her and I can do a few worksheets to let her practice writing her letters. She is constantly singing songs from Mama Mia and while it is cute, gets somewhat old. She told me tonight as she was banging on the piano and singing Mama Mia that she wants to learn how to play piano. So, maybe we will look into that in a few months.

Evan is good as well - he is still trying to string together words and constantly repeats the last words that people say. I am trying to teach him colors, but to him everything is blue. He loves his choo choos and Cars of course.

As for me, the second night of class went well. There is a lot of homework to do and so far we are studying a lot of philosophy, which I cannot say I enjoy. I have never had a philosophical mind.

A rebirth

Good news for everyone that has been concerned about our departed Megans (the caterpillars). They did NOT die - they have formed cocoons! Or, so we think. Tim and I have differing opinions on this. I think they are resting in their cocoons and are soon to be presenting themselves as magnificent, colorful butterflies. Tim, however, thinks they have died are, well, molding. I am hoping that my glass-half-full mentality will prove victorious and in a few weeks we will have a butterfly.. or moth.

I have had a great birthday week so far; for the most part. The kids are at my parents for a few days, as daycare is closed, and they are having a fabulous time... but I miss them dearly. I know that them being gone is harder on me than them and that is great. Emma was so excited and could not stop talking about the farm. She and Evan instantly started playing when they arrived at the farm and barely noticed that we left. I usually call them twice a day to check and make sure they are doing well (and listening to Nana & Papa!) and Emma says to me "Mama, why do you keep calling all the time? We are fine!" Very reassuring, so that is great.

Last night was the start of a very long 4 to 5 years of grad school. It went great - really great. I am taking statistics and originally was dreading it. However, my professor seems awesome and is using this class as more of a quantitative decision making class versus a stats class. The first few words that came out of his mouth were wonderful. "I know you that most of you work full time and have families. So, your priorities are such. #1 - Family. #2 - Work. If you can fit me in for #3, that is great." Whew! Wonderful! Then, he proceeded to say this, which is equally as great. "I know you are not number crunchers. We have a wonderful thing called a calculator for that. My job is to teach you how to analyze numbers that are presented to you and to shoot holes in data that is given to you at work in an intellectual way." Perfect. I can easily buy into this class. Wish me luck, but so far my first class sounds awesome.

Other than that, I know nothing. I have a lot of homework and reading to do the next few days, but I am also going to squeeze in some final celebrating and shopping with a dear friend of mine to round out my birthday week. I think it is funny that many times when I go out shopping now, I buy for the kids. Kristen and I went out shopping last Saturday, on my actual birthday!, and what did I buy? A Halloween costume for Evan and stretchy leggings for Emma. Hopefully this Sunday I will treat myself also :-)

The birthday weekend

Lucky Evan. He was able to celebrate his birthday twice :-) Once last weekend with his Daddy's sisters and once this weekend along with my birthday! We had a nice joint birthday party. I did have everything Cars themed again, but we split ideas for a cake. I ordered a Cars decorated Cold Stone Creamery Cake. All I can say is YUM! It was great!

It is the official start of my birthday week (which yes, I ripped from my cousin Jess, but seriously?! Who doesn't want a whole birthday week!) First: party! which was a Mexican fiesta and much fun. Second: presents.. an iPod touch, which I can tell, I love! Third - adult fun - aka.. time without kiddo conversation (get your mind out of the gutter!) Tim and I had a date night and went to Wicked and the Rock Bottom Brewery. It was awesome and fun. For the upcoming week? My first night of class, the kids at my parents since daycare is closed (which is sad, but good too. I have homework to do!) and Tim and I will enjoy another date night. Then, hopefully some shopping for me for a birthday present for myself!

Today we all had a great day. I started it out with some exercise and great conversation with a great friend. Then, we were outside... a lot! Tim was cleaning one garage, the kids and I were cleaning another. Let me tell you - they were great helpers! Evan was driving his little Lightning McQueen car all around, watering flowers, and Emma was helping me sweep. It is nice when they can contribute a bit to what is going on. This afternoon was the Packer game, which ended well!, and helping Tim wrap trees. That is a favorite yearly ritual that is enjoyed by all.

Let's see - back to the party. Here are some pictures of the weekend:

First, the party:

Evan after eating his cake. He loved it. It had a Lightning car and a Mater car on top that he could play with. He was in heaven.. and very, very messy.

One of his presents?? A Thomas the Train set that is an add-on set to the one Tim and I got him. He loved it and was carrying it around until someone would open it. He received more track from the Kelloggs also.



So, I ask you... how many people does it take to put together a train set?

The final product which Tim finished yesterday during the kids nap time:

Now, the problem is that it is sitting in my living room and basically takes up the whole space.

And some lovely flowers I received from my new group at work! How nice and what a great surprise! I have never had flowers delivered to me before.

I had a fun conversation with Emma yesterday morning about my birthday. We were sitting at the dinner table eating breakfast and she says out of the blue:

"You know, Mom, it isn't fair that you don't have presents to open because it is your birthday today." So, I tell her that I got to open up my presents the night before so it was okay. However, if she thinks it isn't fair, she should tell Daddy. (yes, maybe thinking I could get another present!) she responds "Well Mom, I did, but he said that you got to open them yesterday so you were fine." So, I ask her what she would buy me if she could pick out a present for me. "Mom, I would buy you a Barbie. A mermaid barbie!" Of course! I am not surprised at all that she would pick that out for me!

Here are some pics from today in the yard:

Tim and the kids on the lawnmower in our backyard.

A fun picture of Emma:

And Evan closely guarding the tool he uses to trim the trees. It was lost for a few weeks and he definitely missed it. Now he proclaims "Found it! Found it! Daddy!" as Tim found it in a bucket today when we were cleaning.

And Emma and Evan helping out...

And Emma annoying her brother and giving him a hug. She tends to love him too much. She likes to put her arms around Evan, hug him, or give him a kiss and he always shrugs her off or pushes her away. Actually, she may just do it to annoy him.

And Sage was there too.

Here is another adventure from the past weekend: Megans.

On our parsley plants in the herb garden, we have these unusual looking caterpillars. The kids love the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" so they are constantly looking at the caterpillars, picking them up, moving them, talking to them, whatever. We have tons of them on there - probably about 10 in total. So, we decided to put two of them in a jar and take care of them to see if we could see them turn into a butterfly or moth... whatever they are. The kids were so excited at their new pets and Emma was constantly carrying them around. Evan is always saying "Megum!! Megum!!" and wanting to carry them around also. All was good for 2 days. Then, yesterday it turned deadly.... We brought both Megans outside to feed them and forgot about them. They were exposed in their jar for about 20 hours and they subsequently died due to exposure (or so I think). Emma was very sad, but what can you do? Our fault for not being good caterpillar owners.





A close up of the two Megans. Look closely one above her hand and one below.

And finally, three pictures from tonight. My sister and I shared babysitting this weekend so Tim and I could go out for my birthday and she could enjoy a night out with her hubby. All the kids were at our house playing outside and were having a ball. It was so much fun to watch and listen. They were climbing up and down the slides, running into each other, doing slide trains with each other and having a great time. It is moments like this that I love. No, my kids don't have the life I did when I was young. My Mom stayed home as did my aunts and we played together with the cousins all the time. I was not in daycare, but my kids are. However, when I see them play and laugh and have a great relationship with their cousins, I realize that they are still okay. They are fine and developing normally and have a great life. They don't have the idyllic farm life that I had, but they still have it very good. Not quite Norman Rockwell, but pretty damn close in my mind. So, when I think that we should move closer to my job as it would make things easier at times, it is nights like this when I know I never could.

A Toddler

Happy Birthday Evan! Ahh - I now have a terrible two year old! But, unfortunately, I saw it coming. We were at the cabin for a long weekend and had a wonderful time. We had a birthday party for Evan up there - Lightning McQueen of course - and he had a great time. He helped me pick out the decorations and was very excited for people to come over and open presents. We even let him open up a few early so he had some to play with while the adults snacked on some appetizers and visited.

Here are some pics:

The Lightning McQueen Cake that I tried to make. He did awesome with the cake/singing/candle bit. He had the candles blown out by the time the first Happy Birthday words were sung. It took maybe 5 seconds.


He did seem a bit concerned that the car Doc was on the cake. He kept trying to take him off. Then, he decided it was kind of cool and tried to drive it on the chocolate shavings road.
Licking off the frosting on the plate he decided should sit on the cake.

The balloons! He loved the balloons! He did have a large Lightning McQueen balloon, but in the 5 minutes he and Emma had it in the house, it had a hole and was slowly losing helium.

A Thomas the Train glow-in-the-dark train set that Tim and I got him for his birthday! He loved that! He was constantly carrying around the big box until Tim or I would put it together. He also received some Cars Shake-n-Go cars (Doc & Ramone), a remote control Caterpillar truck thing, a fishing pole, Toy Story toys and movie.

Today I stayed home with him and we had an Evan/Mommy day. We played trains, cars, had 2 year pictures taken and met Tim for lunch. He wasn't all the excited to have his picture taken and was more interested in playing or watching the movie that was playing in the waiting room. However, we did get a few nice pics. Now he is napping and I have a bit of time to clean up, update blog, and maybe squeeze in some homework. Here are a few more pics of the weekend.

Evan and Mama
Fishing with Papa. Evan still loves fishing and gets so excited when there is a fish on his line. His breathing changes and he goes "Ooh.. Ooh.. Ooh!" until he reels it in. He is not afraid to touch the fish now or throws them back. No matter what the size of the fish they are "BIG! BIG! ISH! ISH!" (just like a fisherman, exaggerating the size of the fish!)

And, my little man now and then.... Happy Birthday Evan!

The diary of a Two Year Old

Ahhh... what a great night's sleep. I Love morning! I love laying in my crib and sucking on my Nuk. My Mom keeps saying that a two year old doesn't need a Nuk, but I am not sure what that means. I LOVE it and as far as I am concerned, it isn't going anywhere. Hey, what a minute... where are my cars?? I better stand up and start yelling for Mom so she can find my cars.

"MAMA!" "MAMA!" "Cars!"

Hmmm... where is my Mama? Why isn't she coming the second I call for her? I better yell louder.

"MAMA!" Cars!"

Perfect... here she comes. Shoot.. she is laying me back down. NO! It is not night-night time again. I just woke up! Seriously - find my cars. I better start whining a bit.... that always works to get my way.

Ha! It worked. Here are my cars - nice! AND, she is bringing me back to her bed so I can watch some TV! I got it good - yes-siree- I do.

We lay down for a bit so I can watch Mickey Mouse Club House (that Mickey is so funny!) and then we head downstairs. I always wake up hungry, but Mommy does not understand that. Can you believe it? I have to hunt down my own food. It is a good thing that I can climb up the shelves in the snack closet to find my goodies. Let's see... crackers? Nope! Goldfish?? Nope! Where did she hide the suckers?? I better climb higher so I can find them.

Crap - here she comes to get me down! I better kick my feet back and forth as fast as I can to see if that will stop her. Nope. Darn. Oh well... at least she is getting me some cereal.

Now, I get to play while I snack on cereal, harrass the dog (ha! he is locked up and I love tormenting her), and while Mommy gets my breakfast. Emma is awake and her and I love fighting over toys and wrestling with each other. I cannot wait until I am bigger than her and I can really fight back!

They keep saying something about it being my birthday, so that is cool. The last time they talked about that I got fun boxes wrapped up in paper. Plus (get this!) they had toys inside!! I see my new Cars that shake, go, and make lots of noise. I better go play with those while Mommy makes me food. Hmmm.. my cereal is all gone, so I better climb back up again to find more things to eat. Will write more later.... Evan

My scheduled night to post

With the addition of school coming on, plus new responsibilities with job, I have decided that I need a nightly routine. So, Tuesday nights (and hopefully Thursday nights) will be my blogging nights along with various other things to get done. Homework will be Monday when kids go to bed, an hour on Wednesday (after Tim and the kids help me clean), during nap time on Friday and Sunday nap time and evening also. Saturday is open for now, but I am sure will quickly be filled with errands, cleaning, homework and misc. crap I have to do :-) Everthing is subject to change and I am sure, will change :-) I am sure I will be fine.. however with new job duties comes nervousness and with one statistics class comes nervousness. I have recently been told that I may have a potential Europe trip coming up for work in October and can be assured that more travel will come also. So, wish me luck!

I just got back from my St. Thomas orientation for the MBA evening program. Yes, I am excited for class to start, but that just brought on the whole uneasiness of my new schedule. Anyway, the cool thing about the orientation was that I ran into a person from Durand that works at St. Thomas! We talked for awhile, swapped business cards and plan to meet up again soon.

The kids are doing okay through all of this change. Emma has been a tad on the whiny side, but I am still wondering if daycare is the culprit of that as I feel she is somewhat bored there. I am in a bit of a quandary about daycare as of late as I would really like to get Emma in more of a preschool atmosphere but really think Evan is good in a more nurturing environment. All of the preschools in Stillwater are 3 days per week, so that won't work either. Our current daycare provider really loves the kids and does a great job, but I am wondering how the next week year will go as Emma's best friend Breezy will be in kindergarten. Emma is the oldest child there, then Evan, that a 1 year old girl and a 3 month old boy. We were told that Emma will start a preschool like program once school starts there, so I am hoping so! I am sure I will have more to post on this one later.

We were at the cabin this past weekend and were delighted to have some friends up! My friend Heidi, her husband Scot, and her children came up for the day. We didn't tell Emma until the day they were arriving as to avoid the "Mom! When will they be here?" questions. But, she was SO VERY excited when she heard her friend Ava was coming to play. And.. play they did! Right when the family arrived, the girls rushed to Emma's room to play Barbies, then rushed to the basement to play Weebles, then rushed to get suits on and go outside. It was great! They both played well together and pushed each other to do more things in the water, which was good for Emma! She was jumping in deeper water than normal and getting her face wet!

Heidi and Scot have another daughter Reese who is a few months younger than Evan. Evan adores Reese! He was sharing his food with her, sharing (sometimes too forcefully) his toys with her and even leaned over to her and gave her a little kiss on the cheek when the evening was done. It was so sweet! He wasn't shy at all, just leaned in and planted one on her! All the adults saw it and of course Tim was all "That's my boy!" and I just laughed and thought he was a bit too young for his first kiss!

We are getting ready here to celebrate a few birthdays! My sweet little boy turns 2 in a week and I took the day off from work to spend it with him. My birthday is coming up soon also - yea! Maybe Tim will let me sleep in a bit :-) Here's hoping! We are having a Car's themed birthday party for Evan, as we loves his cars... any cars really. I went to a garage sale this past week and they had a whole bucket of matchbox cars for sale, 5 for $1. So, we picked out 5 and Evan was in heaven! So much so, that when we went to Culvers later that day, he didn't know where he was going to put his cars. He had one in each hand and was trying to juggle 3 on his arms pressed to his chest. However, they kept falling out. So, Evan tried to have 2 in each hand and have one pressed to his side. But, alas, they kept falling also. The solution?? He decided that 2 in each hand was manageable and stuck the other in his mouth and wanted to carry his last precious car that way. Hilarious! He doesn't want to give them to anyone to help out, but he sure is a problem solver trying to figure it out!

Good news to post also!! I just got my car back! That's right, it only took 9 weeks after the accident to straighten out the insurance and get it done. I have to admit, it took a LOT of phone calls on my end, some not-so-kind words on my end and the filing of a claim with the State of Minnesota Commerce Department against that insurance company to get it done. I have no good things to say about the insurance company of the car that hit me, they lied to me, were rude to me, and were a huge pain in the ass to deal with! But, finally - they paid and I now have my car. It is like I have a new car again! I forgot how to drive it I feel like- but the kids and I were very happy to see it. (also, side note on the way to get the car, Evan started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - so cute!)

That's all for now. I hope everyone has great plans for Labor Day Weekend!