Our house

So these are the latest crazy things about our house. A week ago it was cold. Like really, really cold and windy. Normal people would stay inside and enjoy a nice movie and some hot chocolate. We wait to see what crazy thing our house will do. This time we got frost on the screws that hold on the wall plate of the light switch.

Oh yeah and the silly house thought about burning down too. We heard a pop that night. We were concerned and then thought maybe it was a little wind chime that blew down and broke outside. The next day I was home with the kids. This time I was in the kitchen and heard a big pop, followed by smoke and a burning smell. It was the overhead light in the kitchen. The breaker tripped and I called Joe. He came home, took the light off the ceiling and found this. That black stuff would be the char. So I laugh about it now and I'm happy to have a husband that can run to the hardware store and get a new light up and going in a few hours, but on a more serious note I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that hears and answers prayers. We thank him everyday for our home and pray that it will be a safe place for our family. This was an answer to that prayer. There have been a lot of home fires in this area this winter and I'm so grateful that our home was safe and no one was hurt. I feel so lucky to still have my family photos and special little things I've collect through my life, though they are only things they each have memories attached to them. Mostly I'm glad the kids, Joe, and I were protected. This house is an adventure!

Cora's First Food

Cora, despite what one might think, has reached this beautiful plump state receiving nourishment only from me. On December 19th, two days after she turned 6 months, that all changed. She ate Organic Oatmeal for her first 'real' meal. She downed it like a trooper. Since then she has decided that food is not nearly as exciting as that first time and she swishes it around and spits it out. She is still interested in what we eat and was willing to try some potato from my plate. With the other kids I may have been concerned, with her, she'll eat when she wants too. Obviously, she is well fed. In addition to the exciting food news, Cora, on December 17th, got her first tooth. The little imp. I told her that would make her a big girl and I want that little toothless grin for longer, but she, being the rebellious type, went and got a tooth anyway. It was followed by a second one today(both on the bottom in front) Soon there will be piercings and tattoos I just know it!

Catherine's Play

Catherine's class performed a play, it was more of a reading with some props. She was the mom and Charlie. They worked on it for several weeks. She was very excited about it and more so because Joe took off work and Syb and Dick came down to see her. Here she is meeting her fans before the performance. She did a great job of speaking clearly and she not only knew her part from memory, but she knew all the other parts too! After the play we took her out of school during her lunch and recess to go out to eat at Subway. Our tiny table barely held all of us and it looked like Christmas morning with all the wrappers everywhere. It was a great day for Catherine.

I seem to have misplaced several kids

Oh, the laundry has eaten them! Do you ever feel like this? No matter how much I wash and fold and put away, it gets dirty, unfolded, washed and put on my bed.

Lovin' the Strata Christmas

Our boss is always really generous at Christmas time and this year was no exception. We got to choose from among several items. One was a spa gift certificate. I was looking at the services when Aaron came in. He saw that they offered Hydrotherapy, which is basically a nice bath with jets and smell goods. So he decided he wanted a bath for Christmas. I said, "I can give you a bath." He replied quite animatedly, "Mommm, I want a professional bath, in a professional tub, by a professional person." I can just see him talking to his friends at school. "What did you get for Christmas?" "An xbox 360." "Cool, I got a day at the spa!" We all had a good laugh at his expense, but he was a good sport, when I told him I was going to blog it, he said he changed his mind...........he wanted a massage instead.

Fishing for Cora

I couldn't decide which picture to use. Cora is not a binki baby. She likes to give it a good bite and spit it out. So she had a lot of fun with this game. She would finally get to latch on, Joe would pop it out and they would do it all over again. She loves to be teased like that. She loves to be tickled and play peak-a-boo and do anything that is a little unexpected.

Cora's New Tricks

I can sit up. Or at least have gotten big enough to kind of balance here before I tip over!

I also turned over from my front to my back. I hate tummy time and Mom thought she would leave me on my tummy when tucking in Aaron. As soon as she turned her back I flipped over. Ha that will show her. No one saw me do it. I'm a nice girl though so I did it one time for the family after that. They were so excited and so was I.

Jacob's Trip to the Dentist

This looked so much worse in real life. Jacob had his first cavity. He was super brave and thought it was so funny that the Dr. put a tiny pillow in his mouth. (the cotton) Then he got home and kept biting his lip. He couldn't feel it, so even though we told him not to, he kept biting it. Needless to say we stayed away from places that might have DCSF workers present. Catherine did the same thing several months earlier. I was so worried that she was having an allergic reaction that I called the dentist. He assured me that she would live.

BUMBO, BUMBO, BUMBO.......warning contains diaper talk, for those without kids you may find this graphic

Joe and I joke about Cora and the bumbo. She seems to have a gift for the BUMBO BLOW-OUT. You have to say that using the Sunday, Sunday, Sunday monster truck show voice. 'You can wear the whole diaper, but you'll only poop in the edge' Luckily for her she is cute and voices her discomfort so we can take care of things before they get too messy. Here she is pre-blow out, chewing on a toy. She looks like she is practicing for when she will get to eat corn on the cob. You will notice that a tornado called Jacob has been through the house and left her in the midst of the path of destruction. He was kind enough to leave her with a toy, often times he (without intending to) plays with her by taking away her toys so she will look and him and then he goes away, leaving her with nothing.

Crazy Mom

I've debated how I would write about this, so you are getting a diluted, but honest version. Last Mother's Day a friend gave a talk in church. Usually the Mother's Day talks are happy little 'isn't mom great' talks. She took a different approach and let everyone know that motherhood is the hardest, most wonderful thing in the world and some days she wanted to pull her hair out. Today it all came to a head and I had one of those days. I thought about Jesus saying to become like a little child and I had a child-like kicking screaming fit. It was very therapeutic and everyone should try it now and then. After my pity party I started thinking about a talk I heard about feelings and emotions. The nuts and bolts of it is there are things we feel, like worry, frustration, fear and the emotions we give off. Mine, like many people, tends to be anger. I decided that I was so frustrated because I've been spending time on everything for everyone and feel like I don't really exist as an individual. I'm not saying the world should revolve around me, but on days that I feel I can't go pee with out the world falling apart, something is wrong! So laundry be damned I'm going to sit and write for a while because it makes me happy. (ok so there is a load in the dryer!) I hope if any of the rest of you are feeling overwhelmed with all life has given you, you know you are not alone. Yes in calm, reflective moments I see the many blessings and joys.......and that is why I like to blog about the good times.

Baby got back!

I love this picture. That is a pinchable butt! I'm so glad Cora is a girl......I can get away with putting her in Jake's blue clothes, I might get some opposition from Joe if I dressed a boy in pink. Ahh the fourth child. She will never have anything of her own. Which reminds me of my Christmas ah-ha moment. I've been meaning to get out the baby toys for Cora, but that required going through them and washing up the ones I wanted to get out and I never found the time. So one day I told the kids you can each pick out a Christmas gift for Cora from your toys. Here is the bin. Just be sure they are nice and clean and have new batteries. The kids were surprisingly thrilled with this chance to give her Christmas gifts that they themselves provided. They spent an hour or so playing with the different toys cleaning them and picking just the right ones for her. Much better deal and less stress than shopping and I now have one more thing checked off my list. It is a win win Christmas experience.

Busy Busy

I got an email from a friend of mine who said he had checked my blog and I haven't updated it. Someone cares that I update it! That is so much fun. So here's all the stuff that has been keeping me too busy to write. 1. Work, I'm grateful for a paycheck and the flexibility I have, but wish money grew on trees so I could spend all my time with the kids, Joe and friends. 2. Sick kids. Jacob and Aaron are both getting over bronchitis (wow I got close enough that spell check was able to pick that one up!) Caf had a cold and now little Cora has a stuffy runny nose. She still is smiling though! In addition, to these little inconveniences............we woke up Sunday morning to a winter wonderland. It was beautiful. By Monday our driveway was slick and I couldn't get out. Joe of course got me up to the road and I was fine from there. I've gotten so spoiled as a wife. I would have never thought of asking someone to dig me out and put down salt for me, now I can't imagine doing it myself!

Speaking of Joe. He thinks Cora wants solid food. I don't know what makes him think that! I'm holding out until she is 6 months old, but I might not be able to stop her and dad from getting a midnight snack.

Aaron has started wrestling again. And yes we are taking a collection for his braces! Why did he get Joe's love (or lack there of) for school and my teeth, poor guy. We like wrestling because it gets out a lot of aggression and tires him out!

Catherine has been working on a super secret sewing project for Christmas. My friend Donna is helping us. Cora absolutely loved her husband Willie. I think it was the cheeks that they have in common. She just smiled and laughed at him as he made funny faces.

Joe built the kids a fort in the basement, using 3 60 inch plasma boxes. The middle has a courtyard where they hide the ammo to attack any innocent passerby that might look like they need to be beamed by a stuffed animal, ball, or random hard plastic toy.

Well lots more to post, but Aaron needs to be picked up from wrestling and then Joe has to go to the bank, I'll try to get him to take some pics so we can see what he is up to. Then it is the full time job (mom) until the kids go down and then part time job for me. Thanks for the kick in the pants Ryan! I will post more soon.

Heh, heh, heh

OK, so I finally came off my work bender. Well, for a little while anyway. I was home by 5:00 today and I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself. Fortunately, I found something. Bob (my partner) ordered some steaks from Allen Brothers and they came packed in dry ice. Well, it just so happened there was also a two liter bottle and some water conveniently located for my entertainment....

Aaron, Catherine, Jacob, Elizabeth, Cora, Bob, and the neighbor girl, Lexi were in attendance. Everybody stood waiting with bated breath. It's been awhile since I've done this and I was unsure about the ratio of ingredients, so I was hoping it would pop. Well, I wasn't disappointed in the least. It was SO LOUD! Convinced we were under attack, the neighbors came out of the house looking for the impact crater. We were standing about 40ft away and still felt a pretty powerful concussion. It was cool. The kids were dancing around the driveway like maniacs demanding another one. I told them we should should wait to see if the police drove by...

It was just like old times with, uh, well, um some friends. I don't know what the statute of limitations is, so I won't name names, but you know who you are. :)

Political Stuff....don't like it, don't read it

OK so my friend mentioned FOCA and I didn't really know too much about it. My voting choices have been based, this time around, on economic and global political concerns, which the rest of the country seems oblivious to. So I was saddened when I read about this. Anyone who has read this blog knows how enraptured we are with our little one. So here is the FOCA thing.

"Barack Obama has said that his first act as President would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would enshrine abortion on demand into federal law and would require tax funding of abortion. This bill would legalize partial birth abortion again.
Barack Obama even voted against saving the lives of babies who survive late term abortion."

I'm so proud that America elected a black man, it is time. However, this particular man was a very poor choice. I think it is time that we as a people get over racial BS that so divides our country. I would have missed out on some of my best friends and greatest learning experiences if I didn't include all people equally in my life. But I think this was a decision that was based on race and the energy of the speaker with little attention paid to the words that were spoken. We as a country will reap the rewards of our choice for years to come.

In talking with a friend I mentioned that I wanted to just be a mom and take care of my kids with in the walls of my home and leave politics to others to deal with. And although I vote every election, that is not enough. I'm realizing that protecting my kids requires that I try my hardest to make a society that they will be able to live in when they need to leave our home.

Mug Cake

There is a five minute cake that you can make in the microwave. You just mix the ingredients in a mug and nuke it for 3 minutes. It isn't the best tasting in the world, but it is tons of fun for the kids. They were sure it would go everywhere. You can kind of see how high it is rising out of the mug.

Jacob was very excited!

Cora's Carrot and other happenings

Cora loves to chew. She will chew on your finger all day if given a chance. Sunday, Joe gave her a carrot stick, which of course she couldn't bite. Jacob was very upset. He knew that Cora only drinks milk and he gave Joe quite a talking too.

A friend lent me her Bumbo. Cora has become the center piece at most of our meals.

The Bumbo is so funny because she shouldn't be sitting up yet and it looks strange to see her like that.

Catherine asked if she could do make-up the other day. I thought she meant some blush and maybe lipstick. When I went in the bathroom, this is what I found. At least she wore her art smock!

Playing in Leaves

The wonders of fall. Last week, the kids made a huge leaf pile and had lots of fun playing in it. A neighbor walked by and commented on what a good job they did raking the leaves......... my kids?! No Aaron got out the huge leaf blower. When they were done the blew the leaves into big garbage cans and took them to the burn pile.

Can you see Aaron under Jacob? He would lay in the pile and disappear, then scare the kids when he burst out.

Wielding a leaf blower that is almost as big as you can tire a guy out!

Fall

In addition to Halloween, it is fall and a great time to play in leaves and take family walks.

Some fall colors! Joe was home for 16 hours straight before leaving us again tonight, it was fun to have him and Aaron thanked him for being home because it meant I cooked a real meal.

Cora loves being outside.

I like the bear in this tree. He makes me smile and reminds me of the calmer days when I would take Aaron for long walks Aaron was so good in the stroller and I would walk for miles, we would often pass our friend the bear.

Some elderly ladies were feeding the fish and gave the kids crackers to throw in. Some of the fish were huge!

Here we are. All of us.........and that is a lot. Why do other people not seem to have a big family when they have 4 kids, maybe because I'm not doing their laundry! Monica, I included this goofy family shot for you, so there you go, stop bugging me for family pictures!

The Halloween Season

I don't know when Halloween went from being a night to a season, but it really has. We started with the Trunk or Treat at church. We had a new family move in next door and Jacob has become good friends with their daughter Lexi. The family came with us and did a great job of trunk decorating, I gave them Cora and my candy and chased the younger kids. Here is Lexi as a pirate.


Next on to the parade and school parties. After running in a bag of candy to Catherine's class, yep sent the other candy in the wrong backpack!, Cora and I walked down Main Street towards Jacob's school. The nice thing about our little town is the schools are close. I have kids in three buildings which makes for interesting party days! On the way there I saw a friend and we started talking. I decided to wait with her for the parade, several other friends gathered at the same spot and it was nice to visit. The Village shuts down Main Street and Pre-K through 5th grade go walking by. It is a lot of fun to see all the costumes.

Jacob had to break ranks to love his bumble bee.

Other then when being loved, she slept through the day, which was so nice!





I don't know why it brought me great pleasure to dress her in bee colors under her bee costume, but I laughed every time I removed it and she was still those colors!




Next on to the BIG night!

These were taken just before trick or treating. We had a Bee, Cat, Cheerleader, and Greaser. Yes, those are Nerds rolled up in his sleeve, and no, I didn't let him do that at school. This year, I decided to let the kids have a little more freedom. I'm working on my control issues, slowly. We walked off our street (That is big time on Halloween) to the subdivision just across from us. I told Catherine and Aaron they had to stay together and could go up and down one street (It was a block long) and then do the same thing at the cul-de-sac over a street. They took off. Jacob and I followed, pushing Cora in the stroller. It was almost dark and I could see these streaks of white darting in and out as they ran full speed from house to house. They had a blast! Jacob meanwhile was having a great time himself. Even the chronically dissatisfied have to love free candy. He had nothing but nice things to say about the decorations, the candy, landscaping, he would say, "I'm going to that one, I love that house!" "They have pretty flowers, I love that house." He was very brave and would leave Cora and I on the sidewalk as he went and said Trick or Treat, followed by thank you. On one occasion he got confused and tried to trick or treat to a Dad that was waiting on the sidewalk for his own child. The guy didn't know what to do because he had no candy and this little cat was looking at him in anticipation. He said, "I don't have candy, I've got a quarter in my pocket."

Then home for the candy trade. Well, Jacob had it down. He would gather up some candy he didn't want walk over to Aaron's pile announce the trade, ignore Aaron's protest, toss the unwanted candy at him and take off with the goods. I had to assure Aaron that I would make it all right after bedtime. We filled a big plastic pumpkin full of the good stuff for Dad, because he was at work and we missed him.

This time I let them eat a ton of candy. I was trying to let go and not be the grumpy granola girl. Well come Saturday night Aaron had a headache and Jacob was coughing, so I told them it was the candy. I offered them $2.00 a pound. It was the best $15 I've ever spent. They gladly gave it up and I am back to a candy free home! (ok so it is all out in Joe's office, for those stressful moments that I wish I could have a drink, but substitute chocolate instead!)

The Perfect Day at Sugar Grove Nature Center.....Warning long post with lots of Pics!

I've been so busy with my part-time job at Strata and my full-time job as a single mother...........wait I've still got a wedding ring around here somewhere, I've just misplaced my husband! Anyway, I haven't taken the time to write in a while and I didn't want to miss the chance to write about this wonderful day. On October 18th, we went to the Fall Festival at the Sugar Grove Nature Center. (title has a link) It was the perfect weather, the perfect amount of people, the perfect amount of those nasty, no see-um (minute pirate) bugs, and one of my favorite places in the world. I feel so at home there. We did miss you Joe.

The day started well, I got the kids in the van and off we went. There were no major melt-downs on the ride there, which meant I could enjoy the beautiful fields that were being harvested. I think most of you have been to or live in Central Illinois. Some people can't see the beauty here, but it is so amazing to see the black fields in the spring and watch as the corn and beans seem to shoot up over night. The fields go on and on with farm houses and silos dotting the landscape. The potential in those fields to feed a nation is remarkable. (Or if you are a realist, to feed several hundred thousand beef cattle, but who doesn't like a good burger now and then) My point being, I find the whole growing season awe inspiring and the culmination in the fall with the combines in the fields and the crisp autumn air is comforting and exciting all at the same time.

We took the tractor pulled tram through the tall prairie grass to the Nature Center. The kids loved it. When we got there Grandma Sybil and Grandpa Dick were waiting, listening to Celtic music. It was a great band that created a wonderful backdrop to the day.




Catherine and Jacob enjoyed the bubble table while Aaron exchanged verbal jabs with his Grandpa. Jacob went from blowing bubbles to popping them. He found the bubble wands useful weapons. With the help of the two extra adults, I was able to check out the Observatory. They even had cool binoculars that let you look at the Sun.

There were vendors, woodcarvers, blacksmiths, reenactment tents, and not a single bug. I have to wonder if the Nature Center didn't get a little chemical on us and spray the whole place the day before.

The weather was great. One of the best experiences was sitting on a rocking chair with Cora and watching people go by. There were a lot of dads and my favorite was a cool 25 year oldish guy with the buff body and nice sunglasses. On his shoulders, a little girl dressed in a black shirt and black and orange striped leggings. Hanging out of the back pocket of his jeans, a pink bunny.

After listening to music an eating our picnic lunches, we went to the imagination grove. Jacob crossed the creek on his own.


He was very proud.

Cora was an angel the whole day! Here she is with Grandpa.


















The tree was a favorite with all the kids.
















Aaron was a little more confident than Catherine. This is his favorite place to be when we are at the nature center.


After some pumpkin bowling and crazy carnival food, we each got a beautiful top that a man was making on a lathe in one of the demonstration areas. We have had lots of fun playing with them and they remind us of the day.

It was then time to say good bye to Funks Grove.............

On the way home we saw 8 hot air balloons! One landed about 100 yards from the highway. These pictures were taken on the fly, but they helped us remember our day! It was such a fun day.