Snowman

Biter

Isabel likes to unload the dishwasher.

Claire: "Mom, I really love Izzy, but sometimes I just want to bite her."

As funny as it sounds, I can completely sympathize with Claire. I feel like biting Isabel sometimes too. Her pudgy thighs look so scrumptious!

All Aboard

The Wrong McCain

Still undecided as to which canidate I will vote for in the primary election, I asked my husband who he was voting for.

He confidently replied "Paul McCain."

"It's John McCain, Chris. Paul runs CPH."

It was a good laugh that only an LCMS pastor and his wife could share.

Radio Junkie

I always have the radio on. I listen to conservative talk radio during the weekdays, my favorite programs being Charlie Sykes and Mark Belling, but I listen to Rush and Clark Howard too. It drives my husband crazy...he prefers it quiet, but likes that I have something to talk about besides peanut butter sandwiches and princess stories when he gets home.

When I am driving in the car with children we listen to bluegrass music or their catechism music. When I am driving by myself I listen to pop music--my brother made me a mixed CD of rap music for Christmas which he titled: I Got It From My Momma. It is not appropriate for little ears (or big ears for that matter, but I listen anyway).

On the weekends I listen to NPR. I absolutely LOVE Saturday morning radio on NPR--which I consider the adult equivalent of Saturday morning cartoons: pure entertainment (albeit with a helping of Bush slander and anti-war songs, but somehow I am able to ignore those comments). So my morning chores are accompanied by Zorba Pastor on Your Health, the Car Talk guys, and my favorite program Whad'ya Know with Michael Feldman. My husband got me tickets to his show in Madison for Christmas and we went this past Saturday. It was really a fun time (though it was strange to sit next to a woman wearing an Obama 2008 button). We went for sushi afterwards--raw fish is a rare treat in my house.

Greek Snow

After 9/11, being young and naive, my husband and I marveled at the plethora of cheap airline tickets. We snapped up two tickets from JFK to Athens for $250 each. We got on a plane January 2, 2002 (the same day I was officially confirmed pregnant with Claire) headed towards a snowy Athens. To young and naive midwesterners, snow is no big deal. To Grecian natives--snow stops life--they think of snow like "White Death". I have since seen headlines about the "Blizzard of 2002", funny considering it was maybe a 8 or 9 inches.

Chris and I have memories of workers scrambling to clear the snow covered marble steps to the Parthenon not with shovels--but garden hoses! Icy marble is very slippery! The museums were closed. The buses stopped. Tours were canceled. Restaurants closed. We played battleship in our hotel room in Athens--there was no place to go.

Overall, it was not the most pleasant trip. I had "morning sickness" during most days (the marble bathrooms were quite nice to be sick in). The currency had changed from the Dracma to the Euro on January 1st of that year--which made paying (at locations which were actually open) very interesting. My husband enjoyed many gyros and we saw some great icons, but it is not a place we for which we are longing to return. I am sure the Greek snow we experienced has something to do with that. My advice is to visit Greece in the summer--like most normal people do.

Apparently, they have gotten more unseasonable precipitation within the past few weeks. I saw this article. It made me smile.

Babies

James was visiting yesterday (with his mom and grandma). I found myself surrounded by babies. And speaking of babies--congratulations to Russ and Jenny! Benjamin Russel was born on Tuesday weighing 9 lbs 10 oz!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

My family celebrated my grandmother's 86th birthday last night. Fried fish and ice cream cake--very yummy!

I Love This Ad

This ad is so funny....but maybe it's only funny to Diet Coke addicts.

Sillies

Gingerbread Cake

I made this Chocolate Swirl Gingerbread Cake on Friday. It is sooooo good--though I have to admit--I have a weakness for both chocolate and gingerbread. This might be my new favorite cake! The chocolate is a nice touch and looks awfully pretty, but definitely not a necessity, the cake would still be great without it!

No Blue or Green?

We were doing "cave paintings" yesterday, mimicking prehistoric cave art in Lascaux (above) and Altamira. No matter how many times I explained it, Claire and Lily were utterly frustrated at the thought of no blue or green paint. Also very frustrating to them was the subject of the composition: hunters and animals. They were insistent on painting rainbows or flowers. They settled on painting horses. Go figure.

All Packed Up

I was overcome with emotion as I packed away Claire's school jumpers and peter pan blouses into a box the other day. The reality of our decision finally hit me--that box (a Luv's diaper box) was a coffin for our family's school days. I felt very sad and grateful all at once, and there I was shedding tears over uniforms.