Pictures

Pictures of our Easter!  I believe I relayed the Easter story a week or so ago, but here are the pictures.

Emma and Kit with her new Scooter and Puppy!

Evan happily finding eggs!



Emma and Kit, again.

Evan was using his dump truck to help load up the eggs at times.

The scavenger hunt at Aunt Jill's house! They had so much fun doing this. They each got to hunt for 5 eggs with their given clues.  "Walk down the steps, and take 5 steps to the right.  Stop and face the lake, then go 10 steps to the left, etc"

Evan finding his first egg.

Emma on the search with McKenzie.

My favorite egg hiding spot? The eggs in a plastic bag in the live well on the dock.

He found one!

Emma, excited after finding an egg, running down the driveway.  This hunt had the kids going all over!

Yup, they were even tromping through the woods.

Emma getting frustrated because she couldn't find one.

All done, sucking on a ring pop (his favorite!)

The family, minus one. 



And, picture out of order - their Easter baskets!

Conversations from the kids

Emma has started to show more of an interest in reading lately. Which is fabulous and fun to read with her., although at times a bit of a struggle as she doesn't try all that hard.  Anyway, today, before Evan's naptime, she insisted on reading him an alphabet book.  It went something like this:

Emma: "A is for Apple..."  "Evan - stop squirming!"
Evan: "okay Emma"
Emma: "B is for Bear"  "Evan, if you don't start paying attention, I am going to stop reading to you!" 
 ---- (do you think she has heard this before??)------

And Evan on Friday when I brought home a new summer dress and tried it on.  "Wow, Mama, you look beautiful. Then, he gives me a big hug."

Garage sale-ing for the kids

Many of you that know me, know that I have learned to value a good garage sale.  When the kids were young and their heads not filled with crazy things like opinions, I could buy lots and lots of play clothes for not much money.  Toys were easy to buy and exchange (and then throw-away) and the possibilities were endless.  Now, it is a bit harder as Emma, and yes Evan even, don't always where the $.50 - $1 clothes I buy. So, now I buy other stuff and still feel the satisfaction of a good buy.

Kristen and I resumed our Friday ritual of packing up the kids in the van, putting on a movie for them, and cruising around the neighborhood looking for neon signs.  It is exhilarating and fun and a good way to get out of the house, avoid cleaning, and try to score a great deal.  On the hunt today?  Bikes for Evan and Kyra.

Evan has been riding Emma's princess bike around since it started getting warm out and he decided that he was too big for a trike. The purple streamers, flowers, and princess stuff didn't seem to bother him at all, but, seriously, the little boy needed a boys bike.

I always try to do some Craig's List research before we head out, to land us in a general direction of the neon sign, and Kristen and I found the targeted one right away.  The ritual: slow down and do a drive-by.  If we see lots of pink and red plastic, it is normally a good sign that we should stop.  We stay away from those that have golf carts, random furniture, or sparse items on the driveway.  Then, I hop out first and do a quick walk through.  If it is a promising sale, I head back and help get out the troops. 

Anyway, the first sale was a good one.  Kristen found a game she used to play with kids at her previous employer, so that was a good score.  I found a few clothes for Emma I thought she would wear -AND - a bike for Evan!  It was a small little boys bike that was black and yellow. While, there were no training wheels, Tim said that we could take the ones off of Emma's old bike and put them on.  (which, now when I garage sale and call Tim for advice, he answers with "Now, what did you find?")  Evan also got a large free dinosaur because as the garage sale lady said "Oh, he is so cute!" (because I said no to his request for the large dinosaur)

He could not wait to ride it and prompted Tim to take the training wheels off of Emma's bike right away. Tim had to paint them first, because they were white with flowers on them, but then he was off!

The next garage sales were good too!  We found some cheap hosta plants and a scooter for the Kayle!  So much fun!  Evan and the babies did great and good fun was had by all.

And - from a garage sale last year:

Emma's new desk!  This was a $15 find and only required some sanding and painting.  Emma is so happy to have a desk in her room and can be found many times drawing, working on her math homework, or reading at her desk.

The Adoption

Evan has, shall I say, given up his parental duties or brotherly duties of Mater. We moved Mater into Emma's room a few weeks back for a sleepover. That night, Evan actually changed Mater into his little matching jammies and covered him up with a blanket. Well, since it has been a few weeks, I moved the little bed and Mater back into Evan's room this past week. The response: "What is HE doing back in here?" So, I explained that it was time to move him back and Evan kept shaking his head back-n-forth and finally dragged the bed and Mater back into Emma's room. "He can stay here. I don't want him in my room." So, I tried to do the "What? Why? Mater likes you! You are his brother, he is going to be sad!" Evan basically rolled his eyes and looked embarrassed said, "Mater is a doll!" and then he walked away.

So... I tried... and am now done. I don't want to force it and it really doesn't matter. Evan is such a little boy and really doesn't have a desire for Mater. And, that is fine.

So, I talked to Emma about Mater. She has decided to adopt Mater so Kit can have a little brother, just like she does. One happy family.... without Evan.

Emma's exciting weekend

Emma had a GREAT weekend this past week. It was the school carnival, she had a birthday party to attend, had a tea party (of sorts) with Kaylee, Kit, Evan, Mater, and the Bitty Twins, and (on Tuesday) got a desk in her bedroom.


The school carnival is the biggest fundraiser for the school and consists of games, food, raffles, and jumpy houses. Plus, the big thing for Emma - She got to see most of her friends there! We got there right away, bought a bunch of game/ride tickets, and the kids hit up the bouncy houses first. After 20 minutes of bouncing, inside to see the quasi dunk tank, eat cotton candy, see her kindergarten teacher, and go from room to room playing games and saying hi to classmates. We sat in the cafeteria with her friend Alaina and her family and got to see them excitedly chat about school and the days events. It is fun seeing Emma in her element and enjoying school.


After the carnival, we inviting Kaylee and Kyra (and their dolls) over for a tea party. Emma met Kaylee and her twins (the dolls, not Kate and Charley) at the door:

"So, Kaylee, how is it having twins?" As Emma is holding on to both Kit and Mater.

"Well, it is hawrd, it is really busy." And I can just sense Emma nodding sympathetically. "Sam is not a good helper.

Then - Emma chips in: "I know, Mater is not a good helper either. He sleeps a lot, in fact, he would sleep all day if he could."

It was priceless. They chatted for like 5 minutes about the woes of being parents to two kids.

Sunday, Emma had a birthday party at fire station. The little girl's Dad is a fire fighter in Woodbury, so he took the girls out for rides on the firetruck. They all loved it!

Random stuff:

Emma is in swimming lessons as well and is having a great time. She is learning many different strokes and cannot wait for summer at the cabin!

She is already thinking about her upcoming birthday party and what it will consist of. I am gearing up already for having the girls in her class over, so that should be interesting.

She had an "egg-drop" contest today at school where she had to come up with a design for a container to hold an egg that can be dropped from a roof without breaking. Tim had a design with that involved Styrofoam and such. Emma scrapped that idea and went for an ice-cream bucket and rags. Basically, the egg was encased in the rags. It worked though, her design worked and her egg survived the drop!

I bought a little desk for her at a garage sale last year for like $15. She has been asking non-stop about when that can go in her room so she can do her homework on it. Finally, Tim got around to painting it and sanding it. He moved it into her room on Tuesday night and she promptly got it all situated and decorated and works on it every night!

The latest edition to our swing set? Monkey bars! It is just another thing that makes everything right in Emma's world. She can be seen a lot outside going back-n-forth, forth-n-back, and doing flips on them. She would love to take gymnastics if we would let her so she can cartwheel and flip.

All-in-all, she is a very happy little girl!

Friday's with Evan

Evan loves Fridays. They are his Mommy and Daddy days now and he loves spending time with just the two of us. We play games, read books, clean (he is a big helper with cleaning) and go outside a lot. One of the things we do for Sage when outside is hit the softball for her, so she can run and get it. The kids LOVE playing this game as it turns into a small t-ball game as well. While Emma is not playing t-ball this summer, she does still enjoy hitting the ball and playing catch. Evan cannot wait until he is big enough to play t-ball.



Here are some pics of Evan:

Sage - anxiously awaiting the ball.

His latest thing is spiderman. He loves spiderman, mostly because his two older buddies at daycare love spiderman.

His conversation with me yesterday:

"Mama, have you met spiderman? He is really cool. He comes with a web."

And when I say, "No, I have not met spiderman. Have you?"

His response.... "Yeah, at daycare."

Hmmmm?? I guess there is a cartoon or movie that they watch.

Other stuff. . .

Evan is in swimming lessons again this session and does okay. He enjoys going and attempts to swim, but really just enjoys splashing and laughing with the other kids in the pool.

He doesn't enjoy riding his trikes as much lately and really likes riding Emma's bike. It doesn't seem to bother him at all that it is a princess bike, he just rides around and around at tries to go as fast as he can. Since we will be taking off the training wheels soon for Emma, he won't be able to ride it much longer, but thankfully it is garage sale season and I can find him a little one for cheap most likely.

He is really the big helper in the house. He is good with setting the table, clearing the table, and loves helping me cook. Emma, not as much. We have to ask her a few times before she comes over.

He is a little chatterbox. Constantly talking.

He has his kindergarten screening tomorrow - so we will see how he does :-) He, because of his birthday being Sept. 7, will most likely be either old for his class or young; but Tim and I are planning on him being older. We will most likely hold him back.

Tries to write his name and enjoys doing homework, especially when Emma does homework.

Overall, he is a happy, feisty little boy and enjoys fighting with his sister. But, she enjoys fighting back!

Avoidance

Sometimes, I get to the point of tasks where I am just done. I feel I have put enough effort in and I am just done and have absolutely no motivation to keep going.

I am there right now.....

My current class is financial accounting. I am not a fan of financial accounting. It has been a lot of work. The professor is a very smart guy that has trouble relating to students. He really truly believes that we are MBA students, we pay a lot for the classes, and he is going to give us every minute that we are paying for. Yeah, I get it... most of the times. But when it is 6 o'clock, after a full day of work, when I am not with my family, I don't always get it. He even teaches after tests!! He will give us 2 hours for tests, a 10 minute break, and then we come back so he can lecture more. Is there anything more depressing than that? Last week we took Exam #2 ( a hard one, like the first one) and he lectured for 5 minutes past 9, apologizing, of course, that he was keeping us late. By the end of the test, I was completely drained - drained enough that I was out of it for the lecture and didn't get much out of it. I know it doesn't sound like much, but sometimes it is hard to keep going that long after a full day of work.

Yes, I know, I am doing this to myself..... it was my choice to go back to school.....

Anyway, I have been working on a project for the class and I am to the point where I am just done. I have absolutely no desire to work anymore on it... I am totally avoiding it and blogging. Plus, I have one more cumulative, non-open book test to get through. Then... I am done. Three more weeks and I am done with no formal class for the summer.

I cannot wait.

Life

Sometimes life just gets in the way...

I have been meaning to post updates about our life, I really have! I have lots of pictures of the kids outside enjoying the unseasonable weather. I have pictures from the excitement of Easter and the thrill of finding eggs and Easter baskets. But then... life gets in the way. This class I am taking this semester (financial accounting) is taking up a lot of time. Couple that with Catechism, swimming lessons, holidays, and "life" I just haven't felt like it. So, shortened version of our days. . .

To Emma's chagrin, we went to the cabin for Easter. She was pretty concerned about the Easter bunny finding us "all the way up there". But lo and behold, the rabbit did. We went to my parents on Friday before Easter, as Emma had off, and rode in Papa's new tractor, played outside, saw my Grandparents, and took Sage for a long run while we rode in the gator. It was fun and the kids loved it. From there - it was up to the cabin.

We dyed eggs on Saturday - roughly 50 eggs in all. I know, I know, Tim thought that was too many as well. However, it is fun and cheap entertainment for a 5 and 3 year old. The whole event lasted over an hour and Evan even dyed some eggs multiple times. And - a whole week later - the eggs are gone. We love us some hard-boiled eggs in the Heuer House.

Sunday morning, the kids woke up bright and early (6:20) and immediately found some eggs at the cabin. I think Emma sighed a big sigh of relief that the bunny remembered and Evan was just chatting nonstop about the eggs and the candy. We told them they had to wait until 7am to do any more searching and we put on a cartoon and tried to get some more sleep. We didn't, but at least we could lounge a bit more. They found lots of eggs, their baskets, and ate too much candy. After that, it was to Tim's sister house for an Easter Scavenger Hunt, more candy, more eggs, and yummy food.

Lately, it has just been busy. I have been busy studying for a big test and doing a large financial analysis project. (yes, it is times like that that I wonder if it is worth it) Tim has been interviewing at a few different companies and we are so hoping that something happens soon.

I chaperoned a field trip with Emma's class last week to Orchestra Hall and will be taking Evan to his kindergarten pre-screening this upcoming Friday.

Most importantly, everyone is healthy and happy.

More to come soon--

April Fool's Day

It is difficult explaining April Fool's Day to a 5 (almost 6) year old and a 3 year old. Emma had heard about April Fool's day and was thinking hard this morning about how to prank us. Evan thought it was fun and decided to call it Joke Day. So, randomly throughout the day, we were the recipients of "Knock, Knock" jokes, which, no, were not the least bit funny.

"Knock - Knock Mama!"

"Who's There?"

"Fruity Tutti Moodie HE HA!" and then he dissolves in laughter and walks away. Yes, I just smile and shake my head.

Emma and I worked out the first prank this morning. My Aunt Linda was visiting us at the cabin this past weekend and we decided a good April Fool's joke would be to do:

"Linda! Guess What?! We saw a BEAR in our yard this morning!" "April Fools!"

Then, after Evan heard this little addition to joke day, he of course, had to repeat Emma.

After that - it was all over....

"Mama! I just saw a hummingbird fly across our lawn! April Fools!"

"Mama - did you see that squirrel? April Fools!"

"Knock- Knock! Fruity Tootie Mooshie Me MA!"

Then, throw in random door bells ringing and little ones hiding when I answer and other little "pranks"

It was an interesting "Joke" day.

Evan's evening prayer

Dear God,

Please let Daddy find a new job. And please, let the Easter Bunny come to my house on Easter (with a big smile)

Amen.

You take the good...

And since I just wrote a post on Evan being naughty - here are some fun things about him lately...

He was driving the gator the other day and was going up a hill in our backyard. He was whining that it wasn't going fast enough and was asking Tim to push it. Tim yells back "Evan - just give it some gas and you will be fine." (meaning to press down harder on the accelerator pedal)

So, he finally makes it up the hill and stops at the garage. Kristen (who was over and indulging in a beer and appetizer picnic) nudges to me and says, "Ummm.. look at Evan." I look over and see him dragging a gas can out of the garage and to the gator. It looks like he wants to open it when I say "No Evan! No gas in the gator!"

Evan: "But Daddy said I need to give it gas, Mama!" After a long explanation of the battery-vs- gas gator and a few giggles by me, Evan happily drives off and a near crisis was averted.



I mentioned in a previous post that Emma and I watched some reality TV about finding BigFoot. Well, Emma on Saturday morning ran in from outside exclaiming that she saw BigFoot in our backyard. Of course, Evan was right at her heels and heard this and became all concerned that BigFoot was living in our backyard and was going to get him. He refused to go outside by himself (because BigFoot was going to eat him) and didn't want to play by the swingset because he was scared. We tried to tell him that she was joking and that BigFoot was pretend, but he didn't get it. So - I was trying to think of a creative way to get out of this one. Well, I was at Wal-mart on Sunday browsing through the $5 movies and guess what I found?? Harry and the Hendersons! I LOVED that movie when I was a kid! (for anyone that doesn't know that movie, it is about a family that finds BigFoot in the woods and they bring him home and he lives with them. It is a classic!) So, I bought it, we had a movie night that evening, and I tried to show him that BigFoot (if he was real) was still a nice creature. So then the rest of the night it was, "Yea Mama. BigFoot is pretend, but he is nice! He likes puppies and will like Sage!" And, he seemed to be okay. He has watched it another time since then.



Everything Evan does now is preceeded with "Hey! Check this out!" and then he rolls his car around or jumps from our couch to the chair. Or "Hey Mama! Check this out!" and then he rolls his bike down the hill in our backyard. We even hear the "Hey Mama! Have you checked out Kristen's new van?" Even though they got it about a week ago. If I had a nickel for every time I heard "Hey! Check this out!" I would be a rich lady.



Emma was on Spring Break last week and she spent one day at daycare with her best friend Breezy, a few days with Tim, and then on Friday we had a fun little vacation and went to the Mall of America for SeaLife Adventures (or what used to be UnderWater World) and Nickelodeon World. Evan loves riding the BigRig ride, which is essentially Mini Semi's that the kids ride around on a track. Well, this particular instance, Evan was first in line and excitedly got the first Red BigRig in line. He was happily honking the horn and steering the wheel back-n-forth before the ride started when a little boy came up next to him and wanted to slide in on the seat next to him. Well, Evan happily ignored him and continued on steering and honking the BigRig. The little boy tried to wait patiently and crawl in along side of him, but Evan would have absolutely no part of it. So, the little boy walks around the BigRig and hops himself up through the back window and positions himself on the seat right next to Evan in the Red BigRig. Evan looks at the kid in disbelief, shakes his head, looks at Tim with eyes wide open and points his little thumb at the kid like "what in the hell is he doing?" and then was a grump the entire ride.


Whenever Evan sees an airplane, he thinks it is going to Disney and he is pretty sure that he is going to be an astronaut when he grows up so he can go to the moon. Although, the other day he did say he was going to be a Rock Star when he grows up.

You take the bad...

Evan lately has been... uh... interesting. And, that is putting it mildly. Every night he doesn't want to go to bed. So, this results in him screaming "I don't WANT to go to bed" and then either Tim and I carrying him upstairs with him kicking and screaming and then him yelling "YOU A BAD MAMA! (or Daddy) " while he is in bed.

He has been having tantrums, which result in pretty much the same thing. He stomps his little feet, slams doors, hits, etc. Then, he yells "YOU A BAD MAMA!" as I put him in time out, put him in his room, or try other things to discipline him and teach him.

The hardest thing about all this? Yes, his kicking/hitting is tough. Us forcing him upstairs (with tears in my eyes) and putting him in his room is hard as he yells how bad we are. But, there are the times where he openly defies what we are telling him. We try to do the "you do that once more and -blank-" and he stares at us while he does it. He will smile in time out or -the last resort- when we spank him. This is when I refer to him as "little Tim" as I have heard many stories of Tim doing the same thing when he was a child.

We are trying to think of ways to break this behavior as many times, he is a sweet little boy. But, if he is over-tired or feels he was wronged -- watch out.

More summer talk --

Life is good. Other than Tim being unemployed and me constantly hoping that his future employer will be calling that day, life is good. Well, and other than the fact that I am fairly frustrated at work and contemplated a job switch, life is good.

The family has gone for walks every day to enjoy the weather, we have been playing outside every day and 'scootin' with the kids. I hope to buy seeds and little greenhouse domes soon to get ready for our garden. AND - most importantly, everyone is healthy and happy and looking forward to the warmer months!

So - Emma and I the other day were talking about kindergarten, daycare, Summer, and stuff like that. She had just seen her little friend Breezy and was reminiscing about her fun days at daycare. I mentioned to her that she would see Breezy again and that she would have fun, carefree days again this summer. She kind of looks up at me, confused and says, "huh?"

And I said, "Yes, you will be back at daycare this summer."

And Emma was confused again and said "Um, Mom. I have school. I am in kindergarten!" as if I didn't know this fact.

Now, I am confused because I say, "No, Emma. During the summer, you don't have school, so you will go back to Theresa's. School is out during the summer."

This is when Emma gets really excited and says, "What? I don't have school over the summer? I get a break?! That is so cool!" And then she chatters about seeing Breezy and relaxing and the fun stuff that little kids do during the summer months.

Now, who is the horrible Mom that didn't tell her kid that she doesn't have school during the summer? Apparently me. I would have swore I told her she doesn't go all year and I am sure that when she was starting school I told her about summer break. But, maybe not. . . Anyway, I definitely made her day when we had this conversation . . . Mom of the year for me this year? probably not in the cards.

100 days of Kindergarten

So, about a month ago (no judging here, right?!) Emma celebrated her 100th day of Kindergarten! They had snacks, brought in 100 pieces of different items (Emma brought in popcorn kernels), did crafts, and had a party!





Tim and I couldn't be happier with how she is doing in Kindergarten and with her teacher. She seems to be learning so much and has a lot of fun. She even told me this week, while on Spring Break, that she misses school! She has come a long way from those first few weeks.

A reminder from winter

Okay, while I love that it is warm and unseasonlike at the moment, I do/did miss winter. I enjoy the snow and playing outside with the kids! I wanted to get out on my cross country skis more and I never once made it snowmobiling. So, to remind me of what winter should be like, here are some older-ish pictures of the kids outside snowboarding. (So I may be playing catch up on blogspots.... I don't care. Still - cute pictures!)

Here is Emma showing off her snowboard. She did pretty well! She made it down the small (very small) hill a few times. She was getting pretty frustrated this particular day and wanted to give up pretty quickly. Then, I told her how I used to have a shirt when I was her age that said "Anything Boys Can Do, Girls Can Do Better" and how sometimes people think girls can't do the things boys can do. This got her kind of fired up that people may think she can't do something just because she is a girl, so then she practiced some more!

Evan --

Evan did okay. He gave up pretty easy and decided that sliding on top of the board was easier.

And then, he decided that sledding on a real sled was even easier.


And Sage...


Then, once the kids were done sledding, we got out Papa's gator and took it for a cruise around the lake.

A bed for Kit

So, after perusing through the expensive American Girl Doll stuff at the American Girl Doll store and telling Emma we will not be buying her a $150 bed for Kit or a $175 Armoire for Kit, Tim decided to do the next best thing -- make her one. There were some really cute bunk beds that she really liked and Tim decided that he could replicate one of those.

After a few long days of Emma constantly asking "When will it be done?" "Is it done yet?" "Dad, can I help you?" it was finally done. She was giddy. (and I was happy to have the constant line of questioning stopped.)

Here are a few picks of the corner in her room dedicated to her dolls. The little trundle bed that Santa got for her is now in the corner and serving as a couch. The little guitar she bought for Kit (at the AGD store) and Kit's little lunch box is on the top bunk and Kit's friend Vanessa is on the bottom bunk. (All the latest purchases are thanks to Christmas money!)



Doesn't she look happy?? And, I think Tim did a great job! He is now working on a little closet/armoire for Kit as well right now.




And since Tim was making a little bed for Emma, he made a little bed for Mater, Evan's doll too. Evan wasn't as thrilled.

So, for awhile Mater was constantly sleeping along one wall in Evan's room. Then, one day after I inspected Evan's room after I told him to clean it, I noticed that Mater wasn't around. After asking Evan where Mater was - he pointed under his bed. Sure he enough, he moved Mater and Mater's bed (or threw him there, not sure about that one) under his bed. I kind of laughed and then said, "Evan! Mater is going to be sad under there!" Evan just looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Mama! Mater is just a pretend DOLL. He won't be sad!" And... then he ran away.

Currently, Mater is sleeping in Evan's bed with him, but only because I put him there. Yes, maybe I am pushing the doll a little bit as he really doesn't show any interest. But, there are moments when I pretend Mater is talking or playing and Evan does smile at least.... and then looks at me like I am crazy.

Enjoying our warm weekend - 3/10 - 3/11

WOW!! Can you believe this weather? It has been amazing and we totally took advantage of it this weekend. We were outside a lot! It was a pretty low-key weekend, which was nice, and we relaxed.

Friday night was girls night! I met my "book" club (book in quotes because we haven't read a book for awhile and now we just get together!) out for dinner at Brasa in St. Paul (YUM!) and had some fun girl time! Desserts at Cafe Latte completed the evening and then headed home to spend time with hubby.

Saturday was outside time. Sunday, was outside time as well. All was good in the world. The kids biked, scooted, played on the swingset, we went for walks, and both evenings we dined with friends.

Here are the kids scootin! Emma recently found a scooter in the basement that I bought for cheap after Christmas last year and was going to give her for her birthday. Oh well! She can enjoy it now. So, many times now she and Evan can be found outside scootin. (and me too! I love Emma's new scoot.) She is excited because there is a spot for her Barbie to scoot with her.

Another adventure of the weekend? Making birdhouses! Tim got all the pieces ready and the kids took the time to nail and glue them together. Easy and they loved it!

The playhouse was also a destination the kids had this weekend. Emma got the idea that she needed to "brand" the house with:

(Girl and Boy Club) which she wrote all by herself.

Evan was swinging....


Sage was just where everyone else was.


And - something completely random this weekend? Hunting for bigfoot! Sunday, I was lazy. It was naptime and Evan was napping, Emma was resting in her room, and hell, I wanted to nap too. So, I found something weird on TV (Hunting for Bigfoot or Sasquatch or some program on Animal Planet) because I normally can fall asleep when something weird is on TV. Unfortunately, the stupid show sucked me in and I didn't sleep. Then, Emma came down and she wanted to watch it too. Of course, they didn't find BigFoot, but they had all these "credible" witnesses to Sasquatch, a weird hunter named BoBo, and the "on the fence" scientist who was with them because she was in doubt and she maybe brought something credible to the show? Anyway, there was a marathon and I got sucked into watching more time than I want to admit. The season finale was Sunday evening and I may have to catch it to see what happened. (But I will completely deny it if ever asked in public) because I have serious doubts about the existence of Sasquatch.

Anyway, Emma and I were outside and I did the "Emma! Come here! Is this Sasquatch?"



She runs over, half excited and half nervous as the BigFoot show peaked her interest and curiosity and she asked many, many questions. Then, she sees what I was pointing at, rolls her eyes and does the "Duh Mom, that is a SAGE footprint. Not Bigfoot."

We ended our weekend with a nice supper with J & MJ, had a glass of wine, beef stew, and a fabulous pear tartlette.

Evan goes to school. . .

It was Emma's last day of school before Spring Break, so Evan and I decided to meet her for lunch. She was excited, Evan was excited and I was leary. Evan hasn't been too willing to leave the house lately. To say homebody doesn't do it justice... so, what is a word even more extreme than homebody? I am not sure, but I am working on it. Anyway, Emma got on the bus that morning with the promise that Evan and I would meet her at 11:45 outside her classroom.


So, around 11:00, Evan and I start packing the lunch. ( so far, so good) Of course, he has to help. He actually is a good help around the house, sometimes. He gets out 4 pieces of bread, jelly, peanut butter, a knife and spoon. Then, we sing the "Peanut, Peanut Butter... and Jelly" song. (we always have to sing this song when we make them :-) ) I actually think by the end of the sandwich making endeavor he gets more peanut butter on himself and the table than on the bread, but whatever. He is helping.


After the sandwiches, we add carrots & ranch, raspberries, a few chips, and homemade chocolate chip cookies to, not a lunch a bag, but a Lightning McQueen backpack he INSISTS on wearing to school. I suppose he figures Emma always wears a backpack, he needs to as well. He seems satisfied and somewhat excited to go.




Leaving the house always seems to be a struggle. Evan is never wearing socks and always seems surprised when I ask him where they are when we leave the house. So, while I thought we were leaving in plenty of time to meet Emma, we ended up rushing out the door (with Evan not wearing socks, but his Lightning McQueen boots instead) and hoping that Emma does not have to wait and worry about us.


The school parking lot is full, we park on the road, I try to convince Evan to hurry as he slowly makes his way up the sidewalk, I finally pick him up and rush him in, slap our "visitor" stickers on and sign in, and make our way to Emma's classroom as I see her nervously looking around for us. Just in time - of sorts. She had the nervous, biting her lip look about her. But, once she saw us, she was all smiles and ready to show off her little brother. Then, both were in their element. While Evan is normally shy at first - Emma was picking him up, her friends were picking him up, Jack (Emma's Jack - haha) was excited because Evan had the same backpack he did, so that made Evan excited and it was all good! We made our way to the lunchroom and started to eat.

The home lunch was a hit, Evan was a hit and Emma was so excited that we could make it to lunch and meet her. Just one of the perks of not working on Friday.

What happens in Nashville stays in Nashville

(except for a few stories for my faithful readers...)

This has been our mantra since Christmas "What happens in Nashville stays in Nashville ladies!" It was Christmas time on the farm when the two Bysong cousins and Kristen and I were joking about how fun it would be to meet Tessa in Nashville. We laughed about the imaginary cowboys, beers, and fun we would have if we took a small vacation down south. So, approximately a week later, I emailed the group and asked "So... about that Nashville trip?! It would be legen -wait for it - dary!" And that was it. A few months later we were coming from two major cities to meet little cousin Tessa in Nashville.

Kristen and I had our grand plans to not pack any clothes again, so we could concentrate on some good shopping (sans little kids in strollers, little kids pulling clothes off the rack, and two rushed Mom's vowing to "try them on later" and leave the store quickly with their purchased items.) And from then on, we called this our "what-not-to-wear-Nashville trip" and were incredible excited. So, last Thursday, March 1, we got our large carry-ons, packed them with only toiletries and various hair tools and were off.

Our flight was supposed to take off at 7:50 from the Minneapolis airport and arrive in Nashville at 10am. Perfect, right? A perfect day to go shopping while our cousins worked and met us at the hotel later that evening. Well, what we didn't take into account was electrical problems for the airplane and tornadoes. We boarded the plane, got situated, got the instructions from the pilot and were told we needed to be de-iced. Then, just like that, we were told there were electrical problems and we needed to de-plane. AH - deplane- deplane! GRRR! (the real kicker for me? The plane had been sitting there all night!! Couldn't they do those checks EARLIER so the flight could be on time? Apparently not....)

Anyway - they worked on a few things... got us a new plane... boarded... deiced.. and we were in the air two hours later. However, these two hours would prove to be VERY important later on.

The flight was uneventful... bumpy... with peanuts, homemade chocolate chip cookies, crossword puzzles, and the grocery store magazines I never buy when I am at home. So - fun! We land, get our rental car, stop at Chick-fil-a (Never tried before and YUM!) and then were off to an outlet mall - or, our retail heaven. We didn't even enter our first store when were were told "Um - they are closing because of the storm." Looking around, yes, it is windy, but sunny. So, what storm? Kristen and I look confused, shrug and enter Gap. There, we are informed that they are closing soon due to a storm. We, being the tourist idiots, say "What storm?" Storelady looks at us like we are crazy and says, "The tornadoes?!" Right away, Kristen and I know that this does not bode well with our extremely light luggage and wardrobe.

So, we call our husbands to check in, have them check on the weather and confirm the severe thunderstorms and tornado watches in the area and Kristen and I search for a new mall with ramp parking.

Found one! But after a half-an-hour of shopping, lo and behold - this new mall closes due to Tornado warnings and we are being ushered to a storm hallway. The only thing now that Kristen and I can think of is that we have absolutely no clothes. We are meeting our cousins in about two hours to party it up cowboy style in Nashville and we have no clothes other than what we are wearing.. AND... it has been a long day in these clothes. We sit for about 20-30 minutes while waiting out the tornadoes (we find out later that one touches down about 5 miles away) and then we try to shop.

(Here is Kristen and I patiently waiting in the damp, dark, smelly hallway)

The stores in that mall basically all stay closed and we are defeated. Then.. the Cheesecake factory beckons us with thoughts of beer and greasy fried apps and yummy dessert. Then - all are happy again! After a few crazy texts to Tessa, promises to meet the girls at the Nashville airport to gather the last inbound cousin, we finish up our cocktails, guacamole and chips and DASH out of the Cheesecake factory to run to Target & Old Navy to do the hurried "Mom grab-n-go without trying on clothes" to meet the ladies at the airport.

--- sigh --- it was a long day -- AND, if our plane would have been on time, we wouldn't have had this shopping trouble! (see how that comes full circle?)

We pick up Lori and head to our hotel to freshen up and get ready for our honky-tonk night. Luckily for Kristen and I, we were the recipients of a gracious offer by the Sheraton staff to try and redeem themselves in Tessa's eyes and were offered the PRESIDENTIAL SUITE at the normal nightly rate. (they really thought Tessa would be staying there - long story, not worth sharing) BUT - ... hell yea! Up on the 25th floor we were, with our sitting room, two boardrooms, two bedrooms, 3 beds, 3 baths, rainfall shower and LUXURY! It was heaven! The Sheraton brought up two beers for us to share and there we planned our night - in the same room that Faith Hill and Tim McGraw may have stayed in, Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks - who knows? I can only dream. But, it was fun thinking about what when on there back in the day.

(-- Kristen, relaxing in our sitting room in the PRESIDENTIAL SUITE!!--- )



After that, we head downtown to find someplace to eat. We walk, window-shop, laugh about our day and decide to stop at The Melting Pot. No, not known for their divine southern cuisine, but, it is comfort food at its best. That is what we were all looking for! it was so fun catching up, dipping various foods foods in cheese, broths, and chocolate. All I can say, is it was fabulous! We retired early, around midnight, to get ready for the next day.

Saturday was a great day!( who am I kidding? all days were great!) After dining at the Sheraton with our free complimentary breakfast buffet, (and very nice one at that with grits, bacon, scones, cappuccino, and many other things) Kristen, Lori, and I head out to the outlet mall again to do some shopping. This trip was much more successful! We found many things we needed (like clothes) and many things we didn't but bought anyway ... (Fergilicious boots for one) and then we head back to the hotel to pick up Tessa and to get some real southern food. Monnell's is a restaurant in Nashville that is real-southern, family style food. The menu for that day? All we could eat: biscuits & gravy, cornbread, pickles, coleslaw, yummy peach preserves, meatloaf, ribs, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese, turnip greens, and a piece of chocolate/pecan cake. It was heavenly. We sat at long tables with other patrons and drank sweet tea and lemonade and ate to our hearts content. (unfortunately knowing that we had another yummy dinner to look forward to later.)

Pictures!

(Tessa and me)

(Kristen and Lori)

After that, it was to the Belle Meade plantation to hear the stories of their historic plantation, long horse-race history, and to tour the plantation and grounds. It was so neat to walk around the grounds and hear the stories of the descendants, sad to read about the slaves that worked there, and interesting to hear how many of the great race horses in history trace their lineage back to the horses from Belle Meade. Of course it is not a functional farm anymore, and even with 2 drinks and like $60 on the table, I could not get Tessa to ask the guides "So, when do we ride the horses?"

Pictures:

(yes, I know I look serious. No one smiled in the old time pictures. Kristen obviously didn't get that! (HAHA))

(Self-portrait with plantation in the background)

(Belle Meade plantation. The columns have bullet marks from the civil war)

(and Grr to the lady who I asked to take our picture, but obviously didn't realize there was a zoom function)

After the plantation, it was back to the hotel to get ready for the night - our big night in Nashville: a nice dinner, singer/songwriter cafe, and party at the honky-tonks! Dinner = fabulous!! Tin Angel with caprese salad, cheesy orbs, lobster/shrimp risotto and many drinks! (also, a waiter that enjoyed dishing on the country singers that frequent there: Keith Urban and John Rich to name a few) Next, the Bluebird cafe to hear four successful country women singers/songwriters. The Bluebird cafe is a well-known songwriter stage, where it is told that Garth Brooks first heard the lyrics to "The Dance" and the story is history after that. After that - the Honky-Tonks! We partied like country stars downtown, dancing, drinking, and glaring at the crazy guys at the bars. After about 2:30am and a stop at a hotdog vendor on the way back to the presidential suite, we were fast asleep.... dreaming of my last day of freedom while on vacation.

Sunday, we lounged in our sitting area and watched Love Actually... let's just say we needed a little time to get ready for the day. Then, some shopping at a different suburb of Nashville, eclectic little cafe eating, and a little more resting time and Kristen and I were heading back to the airport. The vacation went by way too fast! Another plane delay got us in two hours late again and I was back at home by 11:30pm. I stopped in their rooms to kiss my kiddo's goodnight and that was it.

I had a wonderful, wonderful time. It is so nice to have a break from Mom responsibilities every once in awhile. I don't see the Bysong cousins that often and it was great to catch up with them and just laugh and be carefree. I warned the both of them that when their lives are filled with husbands, children and other responsibilities, that we were still doing this!

And next year - maybe Austin, TX? I didn't buy my cowboy boots (HUGE disappointment for me) so I have to go someplace where cowyboys are next year.

Bloggette on vacation

Hey Ya'll! Or is that Howdy?! I heard them both while ON VACATION in Nashville! Good times with some good friends - for sure :-) The great thing while on vacation? Sleeping in... eating yummy food... laughing and laughing and laughing... forgetting about Mommy duties.... work... homework... Sunday school teaching... forgetting all of that stuff and just living in the moment. BUT - more on that later!

The past few weeks have been busy, but, aren't they all? Emma has been learning about wood and paper in school and had fun celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday. Evan has been incredibly feisty and usually proclaims a few times a week "You are a MEAN Mommy!" -or- "You are a MEAN Daddy!" when we try to discipline him. Tim is still doing his things and looking for jobs ( please - soon!) and I have been going crazy! I love having something planned on my calendar. A fun happy hour or dinner with my friends - or a fun vacation! - or a nice date night with my husband. Now, I have a few fun events on my calendar coming yup, but nothing like Nashville!

While I was in Nashville, Tim had fun spending time with the kids. Emma had a sleepover with her friend Breezy Friday night and they all went to the cabin on Saturday. He and the kids were lucky as they had two weeks in a row at the cabin, which is saying a lot as we haven't had a lot of time up there lately due to schedules. The nice thing is that up there they had 15 inches of snow! That meant snowmobiling (finally!) for the kids who kept asking throughout the winter to get them out.

Emma had a random day off last week on Thursday, 3/1 and we took her into the eye doctor for a quick checkup. I had to remind her to be honest with the doctor when he was asking questions, as she recently has a fascination with eye glasses and wants to wear an old pair of mine with the lenses popped out. Fortunately her eyes are good - or within normal range anyway. She does have a touch of far-sightedness, but it is within the "normal range" and the doctor told us she could grow out of it.

Then, Evan wanted to go to the "pizza store" so we took him and Emma to Davanni's for a little treat. Unfortunately, Evan chose this spot to have a small tantrum about plate color. Now, what was that, you may say? Yes... Evan had a tantrum about having a green plate instead of an orange plate. (sigh) it would have been easy to get him an orange plate, I realize that. But, he tantrummed right away and threw a fit right away and I just didn't want to give in. So... it was roughly 15 minutes of him crying - hollering at times - "you a mean Mommy!" and fun stuff like that.

Later that night, Emma's elementary school was celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday so we went there for cake & ice cream, a book fair, a music event for the kids, and other crafts. Emma loved going and seeing her teacher and some of her kindergarten friends. Evan had fun as well and plopped down right by Emma and Kaylee to listen to the singer and joined in singing where he could.

After that --- Nashville! But - more about that later!

Our weekend (Feb. 18 - 20)

We had a special vacation planned for the kiddo's this past weekend and excitement was in the air! Lately as a Christmas gift to all, my parents have been giving us and my sisters a small vacation with the whole family to Wisconsin Dells. It just so happened that with Presidents day the kids had off school, it worked out for this weekend for all AND we got an extra day out of the trip! This year, we went to Great Wolf and had a nice large condominium room (with kitchen) to accommodate the whole clan.

We had been talking about the trip for roughly a week or so and come Friday, the kids were so excited they could barely stand it. Friday was a busy day with laundry being done, bags being packed, and groceries being bought. Emma also had a treat on Friday as she got picked up in the carpool lane. She has been begging me for about week to come to school and pick her up in the carpool lane instead of her riding the bus home. Why it was so important to her, I have no idea, but she had been asking sweetly and since I was out running errands on Friday anyway, it was easy to comply to her request. It was fun to watch her so proudly march out to the carpool area where the mini-van packed packing lot was full of people waiting. (and me in my little Corolla)

While I was out running errands, Tim and Evan went to bring Sage to Tim sister's house as they were dog sitting for us. Apparently for Evan, this was the signal in his head that we were going to the Dells, as when he got home, he ran up to his room to pack his bag. And when I say "pack" I say this loosely as he basically threw his swimming trucks in his blue "Evan" suitcase and ran downstairs with it clunking behind him chattering about getting ready to go to the Dells. Tim and I thought this was just hilarious as Evan was only one and a half the last time we were there (so he doesn't remember it), but he was excited! Talk about feeding off of other's energy :-)

(This was taken Friday. He had his suitcase by him constantly after it was packed (with his swimming trunks) )

So, Friday night was filled with packing clothes and PIZZA! We had the neighbors over (J & MJ) over for a Pizza dinner party and the kids made their own personal pizza's for the party. They ate a few bites, watched a movie, and then came back to sing "Happy Birthday" to Jim and eat a piece of cake :-) From there, it was a night filled with dreams of water, slides, and playing with family!

Saturday morning we finished packing (and actually got Evan to put clothes in his suitcase too) and got on the road! The drive down was easy and filled with excited talk. Emma was so excited as she did remember the Dells and was talking the whole time about all the rides she was going to go on. She talks a big story and I was so excited and hopeful that she would try out a few more of the slides. We got some dinner on the road, the kids watched Cars 2 and I tried to take a nap as I knew that when you get the cousins together in one "lodge" and all 4 Heuers in one room, it can be a sleeping disaster.

We got to the Dells arond 1:15 and luckily, our room was ready to go. After all the food & bags were unloaded, the whole Brunner clan headed to the water park. 7 adults, 5 of the older cousins, and 2 twins trudging their way to the waterpark. And then - FUN! The kids were running around, trying this ride, going to that ride, and the adults were stuck in the middle constantly counting heads and making sure everyone was safe and together. It was a really a nice time. It works out so well to be able to stay at the water park as people can go back and forth depending on nap times. We bring enough food for a week so we are ready for snacks & meals at any time.

Evan loved the slides and went down all that he was able too. Tim was the one who stuck with Evan ( because remember, they are good ole' buddies now) and per Tim, he was going as much and as fast as his little legs could carry him. Over and over and over again at this one section in the waterpark made for little kiddo's.

Emma was still a little hesitant and while she was excited on the drive down, she stayed with some old favorites and was in the wave pool a lot! Hopefully as she gets older, she will feel more comfortable and will try a few more. She was still by all her cousins and they all splashed together and had a great time.

Unfortunately, the first night we were down there, we didn't get a lot of sleep. We were in a room with two double beds, so Tim and I each took one bed and one kid. That was a recipe for disaster. I think the kids were over-tired with the excitement of the trip and no nap... meaning, they had a sound sleep, but a restless sleep. They were CONSTANTLY tossing and turning and making it very difficult for Tim and I to sleep. At some points, the kids heads were at our feet, Emma kept whacking me in the head with her hands, and Evan was talking and shifting every 5 minutes. No good. It was funny as Tim and I were discussing it the next morning, we had both contemplated sleeping on the floor the prior night - yes, it was that bad. The next night, we got a bit smarter and made Evan a comfy floor bed. It was much, much better and - he loved his little bed. For about an hour prior to bed time, he was constantly running from the living room, to our room, and jumping "Cowbunga" into his bed.

Overall - a great, great trip! It is something everyone looks forward to every year and as the kids get older, I am sure they will enjoy it even more! The cousins don't all get together that often other than holidays and it is fun to watch them all play.

I took a few pictures, but honestly, not that many. I didn't really feel like bringing my camera into the water park and, I don't know, just didn't feel like taking pictures!

Here is a picture of the kids with some belated Christmas presents. A fun surprise for all of them!

And finally, a picture with Nana and Papa and the kids saying "THANK YOU!" and ... can we do it again next year?

Hanging upside down in a tree

Imagine this. . . you are sitting at work in your little spreadsheet world, in your little cubicle when your cell phone rings. Odd, right? as usually no one calls your cell phone when you are at work, they call your work phone, right? Easy enough? Continue following along.... the rambling stories do come together at the end....

Anyway - my cell phone rings - and it is Kristen. (which apparently no one, but me, had to work today - grr)

"Guess what I just saw as I was on my way to Target?"

"Hmmm... I don't know? And - do I really care?" (but of course I care. She called my cell phone when I was at work, so it must be good.)

" I saw your husband driving your lawnmower down the road with Evan, taking Sage for a run."

" Ummm - what?"

"I know - right? Weird!"

After this some witty banter is exchanged, professing the strangeness of this sight, making me giggle as I picture this sight and think, "Gee - my husband can't take our dog for a walk now? He has to ride the lawn-mower instead?"

Anyway - let's just say that Tim and Evan are engaging in many fun events during the day with Tim's extended time at home, which I get to hear about and be wistful about when I arrive at home after a long grueling day at work. (And, for those that may not know, Tim unfortunately is unemployed at the moment - with a generous severance - thank goodness- and some hopeful/uncertain prospects for future employment. Needless to say, it has been somewhat stressful at home with the uncertainty for what our future holds.) Anyway, Tim and Evan are now good buddies and I got to hear some fun stories today about their day at home.

So, I arrive home and start kidding with Tim about the new means of taking Sage for a walk. ("Hey - Evan loved it!" was his reply) Then, I get the "Evan - tell Mommy what we did today!" Evan rambles off the lawnmower ride, his peanut butter & jelly sandwich for lunch and then runs off to go and wrestle with Emma. Tim starts a new story with...

"Well, Evan was outside climbing trees today. . . "

Me Cautiously: "okay, how high did he get?"

"well, pretty high"

Me: "okay - then what" just knowing that there is something I am not going to want to hear

"Well, his foot got caught and he was hanging there."

Me:"Umm.. what???"

"Yeah, his foot got caught, and he was hanging upside down, but then I got him down."

Me: "And where were you exactly when our 3 year old son was climbing trees?"

"I was in the garage getting the lawnmower ready." (of course - their other adventure had to be entwined somehow with this one.)

Me: "And you think it is okay for Evan to be climbing tree's on his own?" Thinking - seriously Tim?? Thankfully, he caught on to my sarcasm.

"Well, he wasn't climbing trees when I first went into the garage." --as in duh Kelly!-- "He was driving his gator. He started climbing trees later. " (because this makes it okay, I guess)

Me: "So, he was just HANGING THERE! As in upside down?"

"Yeah, his ankle got caught in a Y of the tree, so his leg was twisted and he was hanging upside down. His head was actually on the ground I think." and he says this like it is not a big deal!

Me: "Hmmm... you mean to tell me, that my son was climbing trees, he falls, ankle gets caught and he is hanging from a tree? Was he upset?"

"Yea, he was crying" once again - no real emotion from this one.

Me: "How long was he hanging there!"

"Not long - he was fine. I untwisted his ankle and he was fine."

Well - good then. apparently that makes it okay. there were no inspections for bumps or bruises even though his head was on the ground, and the little pair just hopped on the lawnmower and took Sage for a run.

Then, later, as Evan is getting ready for bed, Tim grabs a hold of his ankle and hangs him upside down. "Evan - you are in the tree again. HAHA!" And they both laugh.


Maybe, it is a good thing I am not home with them during the day....