Sunday, February 12, 2012
Day Two Continued.....Tuesday afternoon.
John and I were beat after we got back to the hotel Tuesday afternoon, but the kids seemed to have this bottomless source of energy because they wanted to go mini-golfing. We had found this place that has alligators that you can feed after you golf on something resembling a pirate ship. We all got changed and headed to check it out. It was pretty cool - you used these long poles to dangle little bits of dried meat in front of the baby alligators (still about 4 feet long) and they would chop at it.
After golfing, we drove up to Longboat Key and Lido Beach - which is an area just a bit north of Sarasota. We walked on the beach for a bit here where the sand was softer and whiter than Caspersen.....but still not as soft and white as Siesta Key that we'd see later.
Day Two......Tuesday
The kids woke up early....apparently the time change made no difference to them because they seemed to start stirring as soon as they saw the clock hit 7, even though it was an hour earlier in MN. In fact, they did that every morning.
On the agenda for today - hit the beach. We had read about Caspersen Beach which is the southernmost beach in Venice, FL. Here, they say, you can find a collection of great shells, along with shark teeth. So we headed off with high hopes. It's not quite as easy as they say....but we did find a few. The shells were also quite large and very unique looking.
When we first started out from the hotel....it was a little cloudy and felt comfortable (temperature wise)...when got to the beach, it was hot! I was wishing that I had thrown in John's and my swimsuit, but was thankful that I had the kids' along. Oh well, whatever we got wet would dry out eventually.
On the agenda for today - hit the beach. We had read about Caspersen Beach which is the southernmost beach in Venice, FL. Here, they say, you can find a collection of great shells, along with shark teeth. So we headed off with high hopes. It's not quite as easy as they say....but we did find a few. The shells were also quite large and very unique looking.
When we first started out from the hotel....it was a little cloudy and felt comfortable (temperature wise)...when got to the beach, it was hot! I was wishing that I had thrown in John's and my swimsuit, but was thankful that I had the kids' along. Oh well, whatever we got wet would dry out eventually.
Katie and her shells.
Will's favorite shell-find.
The beach here was pretty rough - lots of rocks, and the sand was quite dark and black in spots. They say this is from the erosion of the rocks, shells and teeth that collect there from the Gulf currents.
Caspersen Beach
We left the beach and drove into Venice to find a place to eat lunch. It quickly became apparent that this little town was FULL of retirees that had nowhere to be at 1:30 pm on a Tuesday because traffic was HORRIBLE and there wasn't a parking place to be found. Finally we found a place on the outskirts of downtown called Pineapples Island Grill where we had a nice lunch outside before we headed back to Sarasota.
Day One.....Monday
We left early Monday morning for the airport. Our plane was leaving at 9:05 am, and we wanted to be heading for the airport around 6:30 am. So I got up and started the coffee about 5:30 am, and started waking the kids up at 5:45 am. I had clothes laid out for each of them so that there was no time spent deciding what to wear. We were all packed - done mostly the night before and all we had to do was eat breakfast.
We were on the road around 6:30, and had parked the car in a lot and were being shuttled over to the terminal with about 2 hours before take-off. Security was the next hurdle - the kids had to take their shoes off, and the three of us were escorted through the metal detector while John got "body scanned." It went very smoothly and quite quickly, so we had plenty of time to get to our gate, grab a snack and hit the bathrooms.
We were on the road around 6:30, and had parked the car in a lot and were being shuttled over to the terminal with about 2 hours before take-off. Security was the next hurdle - the kids had to take their shoes off, and the three of us were escorted through the metal detector while John got "body scanned." It went very smoothly and quite quickly, so we had plenty of time to get to our gate, grab a snack and hit the bathrooms.
Katie and our plane.
We first flew to Atlanta, GA. We had about an hour and a half before the second flight which was just enough time to hit the bathrooms, grab a bite to eat and allow Will to spill lemonade all over his pants. :) Luckily, I had thrown in an extra pair at the last minute before we left - it was just a bit to cold to change into shorts just yet.
We got to Sarasota around 4:00 pm. John won the contest of "Guess the Color of the Rental Car" with gray (Cheve Impala), put the car seats in (which we feel were grossly overcharged at almost $20 a day...but, what are you gonna do?) Then headed off to find our hotel that we'd be staying at for the next 2 nights. Once we got unloaded we drove off to buy Katie a pair of swim goggles because we couldn't find hers before we left MN. We found a swim shop still open and grabbed some goggles along with some sand toys, sun block and a frisbee.
Will and John outside the swim shop.
Katie wanted her own picture.
Last stop was supper at Trader Vic's.....a cool little dive right next to our hotel. Supper was topped off with a perfect slice of Key Lime pie - which John and I split because the kids each got ice cream with their supper.
Our room had 2 queen beds, which initially had Katie and Will sharing a bed. About 2 hours in though, Katie had had enough of Will and she and I switched places. I don't blame her....by 7 am I had had enough too! Will was a kicking, bed hog of a worm. :)
Florida Vacation....
Good grief - where do I start? We got home last night after spending 6 days in sunny Florida....well, partly cloudy Florida. The weather was funny - it literally would change every 10 minutes. It would go from sunny clear skies to partly cloudy, to fully cloudy, and back to clear again within an hour it seemed. Overall I think we had great weather. It rained when we got down there Monday afternoon - in fact, the airplane couldn't land at first because of the wind, so we had to go back up and circle around again.
So, I've been thinking about how I should cover our trip on here, and I think I'm going to take Katie's idea and do a post per Florida day....with an extra post here and there if I have too many pictures. If nothing else, it will be a reminder for us about what we did each day.
And though I can remember WHERE we ate....can't remember WHAT we ate at each place so here's a summary.....the kids survived on a menu of hot dogs, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets and pizza. John and I ate some yummy seafood over the week which included crab, grouper, mahi mahi, raw oysters, tuna, shrimp, and some others that I'm forgetting. It's a good thing I didn't take my fish oil vitamins along because I obviously didn't need them!
So, I've been thinking about how I should cover our trip on here, and I think I'm going to take Katie's idea and do a post per Florida day....with an extra post here and there if I have too many pictures. If nothing else, it will be a reminder for us about what we did each day.
And though I can remember WHERE we ate....can't remember WHAT we ate at each place so here's a summary.....the kids survived on a menu of hot dogs, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets and pizza. John and I ate some yummy seafood over the week which included crab, grouper, mahi mahi, raw oysters, tuna, shrimp, and some others that I'm forgetting. It's a good thing I didn't take my fish oil vitamins along because I obviously didn't need them!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Silly Saturday
This just makes me laugh.....pay attention to the title of each position in the upper left hand corner. Sorry it's so small!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Nap time....
Ahhh, it's nap time right now for the little one that I watch. My oldest is at school and my son is having some computer time. I am supposed to be working out, but have chosen The People's Court and a can of pop over that....for now.
Even though the weather has been very cooperative, I haven't gotten outside to run 3+ miles since around New Years. I have gotten back into the treadmill, but only 2-3 miles at a time. It's all I can muster to do in the basement. I feel good about the upcoming running season though and my races that I want to do.
So far on my "want to do" list is.....
- a 5k in May for "Get Your Rear in Gear" - a colon cancer coalition event.
"We are sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers and friends who have been affected by colon cancer and want to do something. Some of us are colon cancer survivors while others are those who work to honor those lost to this disease. We are a coalition that has formed 5K's and other events in cities across the country, working together with health care providers, corporations and the media, to encourage people to "Get Your Rear in Gear" and talk about colon cancer with their doctor, their loved ones and everyone they know. Together, we will positively impact this disease." A bunch of us are running in honor of a friend who passed away from this last year.
- a 10k the day BEFORE the above race. :) It'll just be a moving kind of weekend.
- possible a 5k in May for a fundraiser I did last year....they had a good t-shirt last year.
- the 5 mile race in July for Hopkins Raspberry Festival....IF the temperature is below 100 degrees....ok 90.....ok 85.
- a YWCA sprint triathlon......swimming/biking/running. Which one of those is the MOST dangerous? :) For me anyway.... But I can do it.
- and probably the Ragnar Relay. WHAT is that, you ask???
From their website......
"JOIN THE RAGNAR NATION: A 2 day party in a van with a side of running.
Ragnar Great River is a unique team event that combines running with a traveling party, scenic views, smelly vans, and lasting memories. Ragnar Great River is for everyone, from the novice runner to the 10x marathoner.
Starting in the beautiful river town of Winona, runners will encounter challenging terrain and beautiful scenery as they run ‘up river’ along the Mississippi, ending in Minneapolis with a finish line party worthy of 200 miles of stamina, courage and teamwork."
Basically a team of 12 take turns running legs of a 200 mile race from Winona to Minneapolis....through the day and night. You catch some shut eye in the van while you can. :) We are trying to get together an all female team. In theory it sounds like fun. Thankfully we have marathoners on our team who are already assigned the longest legs.
So that's that. Oh, and quite soon I plan to run outside.....one a beach.....next to crystal blue water.....in 70+ degree weather........
Even though the weather has been very cooperative, I haven't gotten outside to run 3+ miles since around New Years. I have gotten back into the treadmill, but only 2-3 miles at a time. It's all I can muster to do in the basement. I feel good about the upcoming running season though and my races that I want to do.
So far on my "want to do" list is.....
- a 5k in May for "Get Your Rear in Gear" - a colon cancer coalition event.
"We are sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers and friends who have been affected by colon cancer and want to do something. Some of us are colon cancer survivors while others are those who work to honor those lost to this disease. We are a coalition that has formed 5K's and other events in cities across the country, working together with health care providers, corporations and the media, to encourage people to "Get Your Rear in Gear" and talk about colon cancer with their doctor, their loved ones and everyone they know. Together, we will positively impact this disease." A bunch of us are running in honor of a friend who passed away from this last year.
- a 10k the day BEFORE the above race. :) It'll just be a moving kind of weekend.
- possible a 5k in May for a fundraiser I did last year....they had a good t-shirt last year.
- the 5 mile race in July for Hopkins Raspberry Festival....IF the temperature is below 100 degrees....ok 90.....ok 85.
- a YWCA sprint triathlon......swimming/biking/running. Which one of those is the MOST dangerous? :) For me anyway.... But I can do it.
- and probably the Ragnar Relay. WHAT is that, you ask???
From their website......
"JOIN THE RAGNAR NATION: A 2 day party in a van with a side of running.
Ragnar Great River is a unique team event that combines running with a traveling party, scenic views, smelly vans, and lasting memories. Ragnar Great River is for everyone, from the novice runner to the 10x marathoner.
Starting in the beautiful river town of Winona, runners will encounter challenging terrain and beautiful scenery as they run ‘up river’ along the Mississippi, ending in Minneapolis with a finish line party worthy of 200 miles of stamina, courage and teamwork."
Basically a team of 12 take turns running legs of a 200 mile race from Winona to Minneapolis....through the day and night. You catch some shut eye in the van while you can. :) We are trying to get together an all female team. In theory it sounds like fun. Thankfully we have marathoners on our team who are already assigned the longest legs.
So that's that. Oh, and quite soon I plan to run outside.....one a beach.....next to crystal blue water.....in 70+ degree weather........
Friday, January 27, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
A house of patients....and patience
Last week as Katie was sick, one member of our family was missing. Molly spent the night at the vet's office Wednesday night recovering from surgery. She had gotten spayed on Wednesday morning, and they kept her overnight. We picked her up Thursday around noon. Luckily, Katie was up for a ride to go get her. The vet's office had given me pain medication for her and informed me that they were unable to administer any to her because "Molly hated them." She always immediately tried to scratch and bite them anytime they came near her. It made me feel quite good that she did nothing like that to us when we got her home and she let me give her her medicine every time we needed to.
They also sent her home with a "cone of shame", which the kids thought was funny at first. But when they realized what a struggle it was for her to function with it on they felt quite sorry for her. She is supposed to wear the cone for 2 weeks to prevent her licking and biting at her stitches. At first I thought that 2 weeks was way too long, but it's been a week today....and I guess I'd rather keep it on as long as we have to so that we don't have to deal with re-stitching anything right before we leave for Florida. I can't have Molly here at the house alone unless she's cone-free and back to her old self. I do take it off once a day so that she can groom herself - it drives her nuts that she can't lick her paws and clean her face. When she has it on, she pretty much just stays put in 1 or 2 places all day long and all night. It's a chore just to make sure that she's eating and drinking.
They also sent her home with a "cone of shame", which the kids thought was funny at first. But when they realized what a struggle it was for her to function with it on they felt quite sorry for her. She is supposed to wear the cone for 2 weeks to prevent her licking and biting at her stitches. At first I thought that 2 weeks was way too long, but it's been a week today....and I guess I'd rather keep it on as long as we have to so that we don't have to deal with re-stitching anything right before we leave for Florida. I can't have Molly here at the house alone unless she's cone-free and back to her old self. I do take it off once a day so that she can groom herself - it drives her nuts that she can't lick her paws and clean her face. When she has it on, she pretty much just stays put in 1 or 2 places all day long and all night. It's a chore just to make sure that she's eating and drinking.
The gang watching old Bug Bunny cartoons on You Tube.
Molly hung out in Katie's bed with her for most of the day on Thursday.
Katie is back to her old self, I would say. Will never really did get sick with anything. John had just a touch of it, but was more tired and wiped out than anything else. I'm glad that it seems to have gotten through us before our trip.
Oh our trip - it's coming up and I'm busy getting things straight in my head preparing for it. I think I have the packing some what organized out. Katie and Will should be able to share a carry-on for their clothes and things. My things should fit in the other carry-on and then we will check a bag with John's stuff and the kids' life jackets. Some things are already packed because I doubt we will need flip flops and shorts in Minnesota in January.
I've also got a few surprises for the kids for their bookbags that they'll take on the airplane filled with stuff to keep them busy. Ok, they won't be "filled"....afterall, I'm hoping to have room to bring things back with us. And traveling with a 4 year old and a 7 year old should be much easier than a 2 year old. Just looking out the window should be pretty exciting for the first 30 minutes, and there's always the ipad and ipod to keep them entertained. However - I have some surprise books and snacks that they haven't had before that I think will make the trip extra special. Oh, and I ordered some books for John and I too that I think will be good.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Nine Years Today....
Today marks mine and John's 9th Anniversary. The years keep ticking by, as they do for everyone. We had planned on going out to dinner Saturday night to celebrate. I had a sitter lined up and ready to go, a gift card to use that we had been given at Christmas time, nothing could stand in out way.
Except a stomach virus.
I came down with it Monday night around 8 pm. Just all of a sudden didn't feel good and it kept getting worse. John checked on me before calling it a night on the couch downstairs, and I couldn't think of anything I needed. I'll spare you the details, but I will say that I didn't get any sleep that night and was getting sick in the bathroom every 10-15 minutes like clockwork. About 5 hours into it, I was losing my grip. I was a whiny mess! I just didn't want to be alone anymore - let alone be sick anymore, so I went downstairs and woke up John. He asked what was wrong and I think I just muttered something about being sick.
And you know what he did? He didn't complain about being awoken in the middle of the night, or tell me to stop crying. He just rubbed my back.
And at that moment it was just what I needed. Then he went to go get me water, and came back and sat with me for over half an hour. Not once did he suggest I go back to bed, not once did he mention how tired he was himself. I think if I hadn't left to go back upstairs, he'd have sat there with me til the sun came up.
And THAT was the most meaningful gift I could have ever gotten for our anniversary.
By the way - I was on the 10-15 minute schedule for about 9 hours. It wiped me out. Then, 2 days later, Katie got the same thing. She was sick for 9 hours - every 10-15 minutes. And you know what? She never cried, she never complained (except about wanting to drink more water), and she even kept apologizing to me because I stayed up with her, and she felt bad because I didn't get to sleep. What a trooper. I tell you - she's tougher than me by a landslide.
Except a stomach virus.
I came down with it Monday night around 8 pm. Just all of a sudden didn't feel good and it kept getting worse. John checked on me before calling it a night on the couch downstairs, and I couldn't think of anything I needed. I'll spare you the details, but I will say that I didn't get any sleep that night and was getting sick in the bathroom every 10-15 minutes like clockwork. About 5 hours into it, I was losing my grip. I was a whiny mess! I just didn't want to be alone anymore - let alone be sick anymore, so I went downstairs and woke up John. He asked what was wrong and I think I just muttered something about being sick.
And you know what he did? He didn't complain about being awoken in the middle of the night, or tell me to stop crying. He just rubbed my back.
And at that moment it was just what I needed. Then he went to go get me water, and came back and sat with me for over half an hour. Not once did he suggest I go back to bed, not once did he mention how tired he was himself. I think if I hadn't left to go back upstairs, he'd have sat there with me til the sun came up.
And THAT was the most meaningful gift I could have ever gotten for our anniversary.
By the way - I was on the 10-15 minute schedule for about 9 hours. It wiped me out. Then, 2 days later, Katie got the same thing. She was sick for 9 hours - every 10-15 minutes. And you know what? She never cried, she never complained (except about wanting to drink more water), and she even kept apologizing to me because I stayed up with her, and she felt bad because I didn't get to sleep. What a trooper. I tell you - she's tougher than me by a landslide.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Resolutions Review
I didn't really make any "resolutions" this year - officially. I do have a "to-do" list for the year and I guess that's good enough. Most of it centers around races I would like to complete this summer. But I do remember that I made some LAST year and I thought it would be a good idea to take a look and see how I did on them.
1. Get paid regularly for something. I wanted to try to make an effort to add a bit of money to the monthly budget so that I could help in our efforts to save. Well, I've been getting paid for "Pebbles" since March and I think we've been able to do some family activities throughout the year that we normally wouldn't have done. Well - maybe we would have done them anyway.... Mark this one DONE!
2. Keep running and exercising. This time last year I wasn't able to run a mile. I had hurt my foot and had to start at the beginning of a running program. I couldn't imagine being able to run 3 miles. I kept at it pretty regularly, and was able to finish a 5 mile race and a duathlon. The last 2 months of the year, I kinda fell off the wagon - but the weather stayed nice and I was able to run outside every 2 weeks or so. Now I'm making a new promise to visit the treadmill over the next 2 months and run at least 2 miles twice a week. And do other workouts in the meantime. Once the weather gets warmer outside, and the sun rises before 7:30, I'll start increasing that again. Mark this one DONE!
3. Get more organized. Should have been more specific. How am I supposed to measure this?
4. Drink more water. Nope, sorry - I've sucked at this one. I'm not drinking as much water as I should....
5. Keep the family that I have. Done.
6. Be more accepting of change. I THINK I am. I realized that I can adapt to anything as long as I have 6-8 months to do so.
1. Get paid regularly for something. I wanted to try to make an effort to add a bit of money to the monthly budget so that I could help in our efforts to save. Well, I've been getting paid for "Pebbles" since March and I think we've been able to do some family activities throughout the year that we normally wouldn't have done. Well - maybe we would have done them anyway.... Mark this one DONE!
2. Keep running and exercising. This time last year I wasn't able to run a mile. I had hurt my foot and had to start at the beginning of a running program. I couldn't imagine being able to run 3 miles. I kept at it pretty regularly, and was able to finish a 5 mile race and a duathlon. The last 2 months of the year, I kinda fell off the wagon - but the weather stayed nice and I was able to run outside every 2 weeks or so. Now I'm making a new promise to visit the treadmill over the next 2 months and run at least 2 miles twice a week. And do other workouts in the meantime. Once the weather gets warmer outside, and the sun rises before 7:30, I'll start increasing that again. Mark this one DONE!
3. Get more organized. Should have been more specific. How am I supposed to measure this?
4. Drink more water. Nope, sorry - I've sucked at this one. I'm not drinking as much water as I should....
5. Keep the family that I have. Done.
6. Be more accepting of change. I THINK I am. I realized that I can adapt to anything as long as I have 6-8 months to do so.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Upcoming vacation
We've made plans to go to Florida this winter and I've been searching for deals and coupons the last few weeks to use while we are there. I've been able to find a coupon for $4 to save us on admission to the science museum for kids, and one for $8 to save us on admission to the aquarium and boat tours. It's better than nothing. I'm hoping to find a few for food as well. It's certainly a nice perk the Internet gives.
When we were planning the trip we initially tried to limit the amount of school that the kids would miss. We thought we were being "good" parents by planning our trip around a week that there was already a day off from school, and only doing something like a Wed-Sun trip. Quickly though, the trip evolved into more days off from school, but I took comfort in knowing that there was already a day off that week so they weren't missing too much.
I just realized that I was looking at the wrong calendar - Will has a day off from school that week, but Katie doesn't. So she will miss a whole week. Oooops. And you know what? I don't really care. :)
When we were planning the trip we initially tried to limit the amount of school that the kids would miss. We thought we were being "good" parents by planning our trip around a week that there was already a day off from school, and only doing something like a Wed-Sun trip. Quickly though, the trip evolved into more days off from school, but I took comfort in knowing that there was already a day off that week so they weren't missing too much.
I just realized that I was looking at the wrong calendar - Will has a day off from school that week, but Katie doesn't. So she will miss a whole week. Oooops. And you know what? I don't really care. :)
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
My dream....before I forget
Geez, last night was a weird dream night. I'll share what I remember, and you tell me what the heck it means.
I was at a party at someone's house. No kids. In fact, I didn't even have kids of my own. There were lots of people there that I knew....from all areas of my life. Laurel was there from college, and we talked about her job at the hospital. John's work buddies were there haning out with John, etc. Oh, and John was there too - but he was dating someone (who appeared to be) 30-40 years his senior . It was like we had ended our relationship and he took up with this other person because there was still romantic tension between us. And it was clear that he was not happy about being involved with the "older" woman.
My friend Anne C. was there and she was fairly plastered. John kept asking me if I had given Anne's husband Mike a hug yet, and urging me to do so. Now, I really like Mike....but....not much of a "hugger". :)
(I had to mention this because I think it will make Anne laugh.)
My friend Vickie was there as well and she kept telling me to eat a piece of cake. When I did finally grab one, I spilled crumbs on the floor, which made the host of the party (the one person I did NOT know) angry that he had to clean it up. Seems everyone else could eat their cake without making a mess.
Finally the party seemed to be wrapping up - John was getting his coat on along with his "date's" (who couldn't get out of her chair) and I was so upset I ran out of the house and slept in a car, that I think was supposed to be mine.
There's always more that I forget, but that was the overall idea. Seems like there were so many little details this time.....and so many people involved. On another note - I'm really tired this morning.
I was at a party at someone's house. No kids. In fact, I didn't even have kids of my own. There were lots of people there that I knew....from all areas of my life. Laurel was there from college, and we talked about her job at the hospital. John's work buddies were there haning out with John, etc. Oh, and John was there too - but he was dating someone (who appeared to be) 30-40 years his senior . It was like we had ended our relationship and he took up with this other person because there was still romantic tension between us. And it was clear that he was not happy about being involved with the "older" woman.
My friend Anne C. was there and she was fairly plastered. John kept asking me if I had given Anne's husband Mike a hug yet, and urging me to do so. Now, I really like Mike....but....not much of a "hugger". :)
(I had to mention this because I think it will make Anne laugh.)
My friend Vickie was there as well and she kept telling me to eat a piece of cake. When I did finally grab one, I spilled crumbs on the floor, which made the host of the party (the one person I did NOT know) angry that he had to clean it up. Seems everyone else could eat their cake without making a mess.
Finally the party seemed to be wrapping up - John was getting his coat on along with his "date's" (who couldn't get out of her chair) and I was so upset I ran out of the house and slept in a car, that I think was supposed to be mine.
There's always more that I forget, but that was the overall idea. Seems like there were so many little details this time.....and so many people involved. On another note - I'm really tired this morning.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Friday Funny
We had to take Molly to the vet today for an exam and some shots. The vet said she is a very healthy, petite cat. She gets "fixed" in 2 weeks, and they wanted to run all these blood tests to make sure that she could handle the anesthesia. I refused all the tests and felt like a schmuck who doesn't love their cat. I actually said "There's always more where Molly came from." So in honor of cats everywhere.....
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Iowa Christmas
Katie got a ping pong set for Christmas, and so the kitchen table was set for
ping pong for most of the time we spent in IA. She really likes it and it works well on our table at home - even if it's a round table.
From about 1989 - 1996 my family ran "The Village Motel." We rocked so much that my parents ordered coats for each of us with our names on them....cool - I know.
We look like a retired gang back for one for one more hit.
Oddly enough, living at the "motel" was where I lived the longest while growing up. Those 6 years were spent learning how to do "motel corners" while making beds, folding towels, sheets, vacuuming and cleaning toilets. Actually, Dad was in charge of bathroom cleaning. He never trusted me to do it - he did trust my sister Janet a handful of times though.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Christmas summary
I realized I never shared any of our Christmas "doings" - so I'll do that now. Once New Year's is over, Christmas seems like a LONG time ago! I'm ready to take the decorations off the tree soon....it'll get picked up on the curb next week.
Will was excited about the peanut butter cups in his stocking....
Katie was more excited about the toothpaste.
Will's gift from Santa - the Toy Story Landfill playset. Yes.....landfill.
Katie and her awesome hypotrochoid art set. It really is a lot of fun.
Even more fun: looking at the graphing animation and formulas of these online. (really!)
Will (as Iron Man) and his entourage of Green Lanterns.
The aftermath....
More to come....Christmas in Iowa.
Monday, January 2, 2012
We're back!
Happy New Year everyone! The whirlwind of holiday activity is starting to settle down and a routine is looming ahead on the horizon again. We spent the New Year weekend at home and it was great. John had Friday through Monday off and we just hung out with the kids. He took them to the library, sledding (sort of....in 2 inches of snow), and today everyone went bowling.
I took a screen shot of my score because otherwise my mother and sister wouldn't have believed me.
5 strikes in a row, baby! 182....so close to breaking 200, which I have never done before!
Oh, and if you're keeping track of the frogs, we are down one. Three left. One of Katie's appears to have died of natural causes. She's taking it very well. It was floating and wouldn't move, despite my pencil poking. So I fished it out and threw it away....hoping to hell it doesn't hop back out of the garbage.
I took a screen shot of my score because otherwise my mother and sister wouldn't have believed me.
Oh, and if you're keeping track of the frogs, we are down one. Three left. One of Katie's appears to have died of natural causes. She's taking it very well. It was floating and wouldn't move, despite my pencil poking. So I fished it out and threw it away....hoping to hell it doesn't hop back out of the garbage.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Molly and the frogs
We had gotten the kids each two African Dwarf frogs for Christmas. Because they aren't sold during the colder months, I had to buy them just before Thanksgiving...and keep them hidden. It almost worked. But then Katie went looking for toilet paper and she found them in the closet. So we surprised Will, at least, with them on Tuesday night.
We had Will clsoe his eyes....then set the frog case in front of him....he opened his eyes and screamed as he ran away from the table.....
He came back pretty quickly, and then thought they were kinda cool. I was more worried about Molly and what she would do to the frogs. The first night I left them out on our dresser, she knocked one case over - spilling the frogs, water and rocks all over the floor. Luckily I scooped the frogs back into some water before they could hop to freedom, and it hasn't seemed to bother them. BUT I don't want to have to go through that again!
So I invested in some heavy duty Velcro and stuck both cases onto the bookshelves in the kid's rooms. They aren't going anywhere. :) And so far Molly has left them alone. But that first night she would not leave their side...first Will's room, then Katie's room, then back to Will's. I think she thought they were HER frogs.
Smile for the camera, Molly......what a ham!
We had Will clsoe his eyes....then set the frog case in front of him....he opened his eyes and screamed as he ran away from the table.....
He came back pretty quickly, and then thought they were kinda cool. I was more worried about Molly and what she would do to the frogs. The first night I left them out on our dresser, she knocked one case over - spilling the frogs, water and rocks all over the floor. Luckily I scooped the frogs back into some water before they could hop to freedom, and it hasn't seemed to bother them. BUT I don't want to have to go through that again!
So I invested in some heavy duty Velcro and stuck both cases onto the bookshelves in the kid's rooms. They aren't going anywhere. :) And so far Molly has left them alone. But that first night she would not leave their side...first Will's room, then Katie's room, then back to Will's. I think she thought they were HER frogs.
Smile for the camera, Molly......what a ham!
She really wanted to play with those wiggly things.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
I'm a glutton for punishment
Can I tell you how I spent last Saturday?? The LAST Saturday before Christmas weekend? I decided the kids and I should go to the Mall of America.
So we left for the mall about 11. I wanted to pick up a couple gifts at the Apple store, and I had promised the kids we'd go see Santa. The local malls have instituted a new "no personal camera" policy which means starting this year, you can't take your own picture....you have to buy theirs. And the cheapest photo package runs $22. No thanks.
Rumor had it that the Mall of America was still letting people use their own cameras, and since Katie is in school during the week and I have "Pebbles" til 5:30 every night - that leaves the weekends. Traffic was NOT bad at all - I got into the parking garage and drove around for 20 minutes on the same level looking for a spot. I had TWO stolen right from under me. Remember that scene in Fried Green Tomatoes where Kathy Bates is sitting in her car with her blinker on, waiting for a car to pull out - they wave to her acknowledging that she is going to take their spot after they leave and WHOOSH....in swoops a fast little sports car. Yeah. That same exact scenario happened TWICE! Luckily I didn't go "Towanda" on their ass.
So then we drove around an outside lot looking, but after 10 minutes I felt it was hopeless even getting inside the door. So - we decided to go to Ridgedale Mall instead. It has an Apple store, and a Santa - I just wouldn't be able to take pictures. Ok.
So we get to the mall (much easier parking) and head straight for Santa. A lady at the entrance says that the line is closed. Santa takes a break from 1-2. It is now 12:25, but we can start lining up at 1:00 to see him at 2. I decide to get to the Apple store, pick up our things and see where that puts us. It didn't take too long in the Apple store - 20 minutes and we were done. I decided I didn't want to wait over an hour for Santa - so we'd head out to pick up my niece at the U of MN (who was babysitting that night for us) and think about the Eden Prairie Mall.
So I pick up Sarah....and head to our THIRD mall of the day. We get to Santa and of course he's on break from 1-2, but it's about 1:45 now and there's only 5 people in line. We decide to wait, which was the BEST decision because the line quickly grew to 30+. It still took another 15 minutes once Santa got there...but we accomplished the mission of visiting Santa without losing too much holiday spirit.
Next year, though - we'll plan a bit better.
So we left for the mall about 11. I wanted to pick up a couple gifts at the Apple store, and I had promised the kids we'd go see Santa. The local malls have instituted a new "no personal camera" policy which means starting this year, you can't take your own picture....you have to buy theirs. And the cheapest photo package runs $22. No thanks.
Rumor had it that the Mall of America was still letting people use their own cameras, and since Katie is in school during the week and I have "Pebbles" til 5:30 every night - that leaves the weekends. Traffic was NOT bad at all - I got into the parking garage and drove around for 20 minutes on the same level looking for a spot. I had TWO stolen right from under me. Remember that scene in Fried Green Tomatoes where Kathy Bates is sitting in her car with her blinker on, waiting for a car to pull out - they wave to her acknowledging that she is going to take their spot after they leave and WHOOSH....in swoops a fast little sports car. Yeah. That same exact scenario happened TWICE! Luckily I didn't go "Towanda" on their ass.
So then we drove around an outside lot looking, but after 10 minutes I felt it was hopeless even getting inside the door. So - we decided to go to Ridgedale Mall instead. It has an Apple store, and a Santa - I just wouldn't be able to take pictures. Ok.
So we get to the mall (much easier parking) and head straight for Santa. A lady at the entrance says that the line is closed. Santa takes a break from 1-2. It is now 12:25, but we can start lining up at 1:00 to see him at 2. I decide to get to the Apple store, pick up our things and see where that puts us. It didn't take too long in the Apple store - 20 minutes and we were done. I decided I didn't want to wait over an hour for Santa - so we'd head out to pick up my niece at the U of MN (who was babysitting that night for us) and think about the Eden Prairie Mall.
So I pick up Sarah....and head to our THIRD mall of the day. We get to Santa and of course he's on break from 1-2, but it's about 1:45 now and there's only 5 people in line. We decide to wait, which was the BEST decision because the line quickly grew to 30+. It still took another 15 minutes once Santa got there...but we accomplished the mission of visiting Santa without losing too much holiday spirit.
Next year, though - we'll plan a bit better.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Friday Funny
....but first - we booked our tickets to Florida! I had been holding off because I was waiting for the rehearsal schedule for the play that Katie and I are in. Rehearsals start in January on Wednesdays and Sundays....but because they only work on 1-3 scenes, it may be scenes that we aren't in. So I was waiting to make sure that the dates didn't conflict.
I hadn't gotten the schedule yet, but this morning John and I just decided that we better book it, or we won't end up going. So I compromised and scheduled it so that we fly out on a Monday, back on a Saturday. That way, Katie won't miss any big Sunday practices....only a Wednesday night, maybe.
And the "funny" for you comes from Katie's part in "Annie". How do I explain to a 7 year old how to act "drunkenly"? :) This should be funny.....
I hadn't gotten the schedule yet, but this morning John and I just decided that we better book it, or we won't end up going. So I compromised and scheduled it so that we fly out on a Monday, back on a Saturday. That way, Katie won't miss any big Sunday practices....only a Wednesday night, maybe.
I swear....90 minutes after I book the tickets, I get the rehearsal schedule e-mailed to me. And of course, the one Wednesday night we're gone is the one Wednesday night I have practice - not Katie. Although, my part is small and we're practicing that scene 2 other dates as well....so I think I'll be ok, I just feel shitty about missing it. But I'll just have to let that go - and maybe the sunshine in Florida will bake away my guilt. :)
Also - John mentioned the other day that we should stay a couple days in a nicer resort - as opposed to all 5 nights in the cheap hotel. "Then you can get a massage."
I thought about it a second, and how nice that would be....and then realized that I would rather be able to sneak out for an hour and run along the beach. Isn't that just sick?And the "funny" for you comes from Katie's part in "Annie". How do I explain to a 7 year old how to act "drunkenly"? :) This should be funny.....
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Results are in....
Got a call from Katie's new pediatrician this morning. He had read the results of Katie's blood test and everything looked good. There were no alarming results. Her ASO is still elevated, but it's 885....down from 2200, so that was fine.
Her knees are still swollen. At this point, it's an issue for a rheumatologist....if we decided to take it there, and we're not sure we want to do that. So, for now, we are just sitting tight. We'll keep our eye on them and as she grows over the next few months we'll see.
Her knees are still swollen. At this point, it's an issue for a rheumatologist....if we decided to take it there, and we're not sure we want to do that. So, for now, we are just sitting tight. We'll keep our eye on them and as she grows over the next few months we'll see.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
The tree is up!
Yesterday we took Katie to have a final blood draw and meet a new pediatrician who, hopefully, we'll be a lot happier with. We discussed her case with him, and he gave the "ok" to have the blood tests that the specialist recommended. He seemed to know of the specialists that we'd seen, and mentioned that Dr. Baker - the pediatric cardiac specialist who had read Katie's heart echo was rated as one of the best in the country. We're very fortunate to have such specialists within driving distance, but it's a shame that it ended up being a waste of time.
Back in September we discovered that Katie's diagnosis of an "infection" in her knee was wrong. Incorrect information was passed from the clinic to Children's Hospital and the specialist at Children's misdiagnosed her based on false symptoms. Long story short - we should have never done 6 months of penicillin, and should have never done the heart echo. Many, many hundreds of dollars later, here we are.
So we wanted to do one final blood draw to make sure that the infection rates that WERE showing up in March are no longer at the levels they were. She DID have a past strep infection, but seems to have nothing to do with her knees. Come to find out, there may not be ANY problem with her knee swelling.
So Katie had to have blood drawn....not fun. She was ok with getting if over with, but we were requesting a lot of tests, so they needed a lot of blood. They couldn't get it all from one arm...so they had to stick the other one too. Lots of screams and tears later - they still didn't have enough, and wanted us to come back in a few days to fill the last tube. Ummm, nope. No thanks. Whatever the test was for that last tube, we said forget it. If the results for the other stuff comes back weird, we'll deal with it then....but if everything comes back normal for the tests you CAN do - then we'll assume everything else is fine too. It was NOT worth seeing Katie in pain. And she does have bruising on both arms from it - it wasn't just put the needle in, get the blood out...they kept having to move the needle around to (I assume) avoid immediate clots. So now we wait til next week for those results.
In the meantime, we wanted to cheer Katie up. The nurse felt so bad that she gave Katie 5 sticks of gum. :) I told her about a new Christmas dress I had just found for her, but the clincher was that John said we'd go pick out our Christmas tree right away. We found a great tree at the Lion's Club tree lot...they loaded up the kids with candy canes, coloring books, and even took our picture with the tree and e-mailed it to us. Which, turned out to be a sweet little picture that ended up making it onto our Christmas card. :) (And that says a heck of a lot because John and I haven't ever put our own picture on the card!)
Katie and Will loved decorating the tree....as you can see....
It's always pretty exciting to go through the ornaments, open them up like they are secret treasures. We're getting quite a collection now and it's fun to remember where/when we got each of them. Some were made just last year....some were bought when we got married or had kids...and some have been passed down from older generations.
Molly approves....
Back in September we discovered that Katie's diagnosis of an "infection" in her knee was wrong. Incorrect information was passed from the clinic to Children's Hospital and the specialist at Children's misdiagnosed her based on false symptoms. Long story short - we should have never done 6 months of penicillin, and should have never done the heart echo. Many, many hundreds of dollars later, here we are.
So we wanted to do one final blood draw to make sure that the infection rates that WERE showing up in March are no longer at the levels they were. She DID have a past strep infection, but seems to have nothing to do with her knees. Come to find out, there may not be ANY problem with her knee swelling.
So Katie had to have blood drawn....not fun. She was ok with getting if over with, but we were requesting a lot of tests, so they needed a lot of blood. They couldn't get it all from one arm...so they had to stick the other one too. Lots of screams and tears later - they still didn't have enough, and wanted us to come back in a few days to fill the last tube. Ummm, nope. No thanks. Whatever the test was for that last tube, we said forget it. If the results for the other stuff comes back weird, we'll deal with it then....but if everything comes back normal for the tests you CAN do - then we'll assume everything else is fine too. It was NOT worth seeing Katie in pain. And she does have bruising on both arms from it - it wasn't just put the needle in, get the blood out...they kept having to move the needle around to (I assume) avoid immediate clots. So now we wait til next week for those results.
In the meantime, we wanted to cheer Katie up. The nurse felt so bad that she gave Katie 5 sticks of gum. :) I told her about a new Christmas dress I had just found for her, but the clincher was that John said we'd go pick out our Christmas tree right away. We found a great tree at the Lion's Club tree lot...they loaded up the kids with candy canes, coloring books, and even took our picture with the tree and e-mailed it to us. Which, turned out to be a sweet little picture that ended up making it onto our Christmas card. :) (And that says a heck of a lot because John and I haven't ever put our own picture on the card!)
Katie and Will loved decorating the tree....as you can see....
Molly approves....
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Saturday Silly
Instead of a Friday Funny...would you take a Saturday Silly?
This actually happened last night....
We were playing Pictionary on our big dry erase easel. Everyone was coming up with great ideas and the kids were having a blast. Will has just been a riot lately with the things that are coming out of his mouth, and what he was drawing. He'd draw a straight line down, with a circle at the bottom and a scribble in it.....and that was, of course, a man with a hurt leg.
It was Katie's turn and she seemed to be drawing a boat/bath tub...with water around it and a person standing on the water.
John shouts out "Jesus!" I start laughing because it came out of nowhere - it wasn't the answer - and at first I thought he was actually swearing instead of guessing.
So then John, Katie and I all laugh together and Will has a glare on his face. All of a sudden he stands up and shouts "DON'T LAUGH AT JESUS! IT'S NOT FUNNY!"
So of course that makes up laugh even harder.....
Will runs over to our little wooden nativity scene that's actually more of a Christmas playhouse set than a decoration, grabs the little Jesus, runs back and continues to shout angrily..."STOP LAUGHING AT JESUS! HE'S JUST A TINY LITTLE BABY!"
Yeah, we lost it after that.
This actually happened last night....
We were playing Pictionary on our big dry erase easel. Everyone was coming up with great ideas and the kids were having a blast. Will has just been a riot lately with the things that are coming out of his mouth, and what he was drawing. He'd draw a straight line down, with a circle at the bottom and a scribble in it.....and that was, of course, a man with a hurt leg.
It was Katie's turn and she seemed to be drawing a boat/bath tub...with water around it and a person standing on the water.
John shouts out "Jesus!" I start laughing because it came out of nowhere - it wasn't the answer - and at first I thought he was actually swearing instead of guessing.
So then John, Katie and I all laugh together and Will has a glare on his face. All of a sudden he stands up and shouts "DON'T LAUGH AT JESUS! IT'S NOT FUNNY!"
So of course that makes up laugh even harder.....
Will runs over to our little wooden nativity scene that's actually more of a Christmas playhouse set than a decoration, grabs the little Jesus, runs back and continues to shout angrily..."STOP LAUGHING AT JESUS! HE'S JUST A TINY LITTLE BABY!"
Yeah, we lost it after that.
Friday, December 2, 2011
The results are in!!
Last night just as I was getting into bed, I checked my e-mail one more time for the day....and there it was....the cast list for Annie.
They said that since they had so many wonderful kids try out, they doubled up the orphans with speaking parts. So since there are 4 performances, each cast of orphans will do 2 of them where they speak, but they will ALL be in ALL of the shows. Make sense?
So first I scrolled down to see my name....Mrs. Greer. I'm a house servant for Daddy Warbucks. Perfect, I think I can handle that. Maybe I can channel enough real life experience to pull THAT one off. :)
I think the line in the song is "Your bath is drawn by Mrs. Greer...." and then I pop on over and say "Soap.......no. Bubbles!"
Then I scrolled to find Katie's name....and there it was assigned to "Molly"......the exact part she was hoping for!! I really wanted to go wake her up and tell her, but I waited until this morning and she was pretty excited. I think she'll be more excited when I tell her she's got 23 lines and singing parts in 4 songs......
She is in the "Sunshine" cast - so Friday night and Saturday afternoon she will be "Molly"...Saturday night and Sunday afternoon she will be "orphan girl".
We start rehearsals the second week of January for performances the first weekend of March.
They said that since they had so many wonderful kids try out, they doubled up the orphans with speaking parts. So since there are 4 performances, each cast of orphans will do 2 of them where they speak, but they will ALL be in ALL of the shows. Make sense?
So first I scrolled down to see my name....Mrs. Greer. I'm a house servant for Daddy Warbucks. Perfect, I think I can handle that. Maybe I can channel enough real life experience to pull THAT one off. :)
I think the line in the song is "Your bath is drawn by Mrs. Greer...." and then I pop on over and say "Soap.......no. Bubbles!"
Then I scrolled to find Katie's name....and there it was assigned to "Molly"......the exact part she was hoping for!! I really wanted to go wake her up and tell her, but I waited until this morning and she was pretty excited. I think she'll be more excited when I tell her she's got 23 lines and singing parts in 4 songs......
She is in the "Sunshine" cast - so Friday night and Saturday afternoon she will be "Molly"...Saturday night and Sunday afternoon she will be "orphan girl".
We start rehearsals the second week of January for performances the first weekend of March.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
A reunion
I forgot to mention that while we were back in IA over the holiday weekend, I attended my 15 year class reunion. It was....well....it was 15 years. Long enough to find it pleasant to talk with many people you've lost track of, not quite long enough for some.
I made John go with me....I wasn't sure what I'd be walking into and it's always better to face awkward situations with someone who is removed from it. He didn't know anyone there really, but said it was ok because he wasn't expected to know anyone's name or remember it, for that matter.
Oh, and the beer was $2.
I hunkered down with a good friend from high school and we basically just let people come to us. I later scoffed at the people that didn't talk to me, but then again...I didn't approach them either. But c'mon - it has to be their fault, right? It was really fun to talk with a few people who I wasn't that close to in school....or at all....and we find out now how much we have in common as we get older and have kids. Three of us have 4 year old boys who we're pretty certain would be best friends if they ever got together. They seem to be interested in exactly the same things.
I was unrecognizable to 2 people....1 of whom was a good friend years ago. I had to say my name for the light bulb to go off....I wore glasses in high school....now I have contacts....hair is lighter, etc. But I went to the last 2 reunions and saw them.....so I found it a bit funny.
I made John go with me....I wasn't sure what I'd be walking into and it's always better to face awkward situations with someone who is removed from it. He didn't know anyone there really, but said it was ok because he wasn't expected to know anyone's name or remember it, for that matter.
Oh, and the beer was $2.
I hunkered down with a good friend from high school and we basically just let people come to us. I later scoffed at the people that didn't talk to me, but then again...I didn't approach them either. But c'mon - it has to be their fault, right? It was really fun to talk with a few people who I wasn't that close to in school....or at all....and we find out now how much we have in common as we get older and have kids. Three of us have 4 year old boys who we're pretty certain would be best friends if they ever got together. They seem to be interested in exactly the same things.
I was unrecognizable to 2 people....1 of whom was a good friend years ago. I had to say my name for the light bulb to go off....I wore glasses in high school....now I have contacts....hair is lighter, etc. But I went to the last 2 reunions and saw them.....so I found it a bit funny.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Update
I got an e-mail about the musical and casting for parts....the e-mail basically said you'd have to wait a little bit longer. So there you go. Look for an update on casting parts early December....maybe this weekend???
The e-mail did say that everyone who auditioned will be in at least 2 scenes, and have to learn at least 3 songs with choreography. I'll let you get a mental picture of me dancing up on stage. (Not THAT kind of dancing you readers with dirty minds! It's a church play for pete's sake.) So I think Katie will be tickled knowing that....
This past weekend was Thanksgiving and the weather was really quite nice, so it made a nice trip down to IA to visit family. John and I were talking though and we thought it might be nice to think about doing Thanksgiving at our own house next year - you know, do all the baking and cooking that goes along with the holiday. We haven't done that with the kids yet and I think we'd like to start. Neither side of our family has a big get together, and with Christmas just a few weeks after....it seems like a good one to have on our own.
Well I'm beat.....I was up to have "Pebbles" here this morning at a little past 5 am....and I'm NOT used to that. I fell asleep and missed the ending of the Grinch cartoon....I'm assuming his heart grew, presents were returned, yadda yadda yadda. So I'm off to bed after my bowl of cereal that sometimes gets yearned for at bedtime instead of in the morning.
The e-mail did say that everyone who auditioned will be in at least 2 scenes, and have to learn at least 3 songs with choreography. I'll let you get a mental picture of me dancing up on stage. (Not THAT kind of dancing you readers with dirty minds! It's a church play for pete's sake.) So I think Katie will be tickled knowing that....
This past weekend was Thanksgiving and the weather was really quite nice, so it made a nice trip down to IA to visit family. John and I were talking though and we thought it might be nice to think about doing Thanksgiving at our own house next year - you know, do all the baking and cooking that goes along with the holiday. We haven't done that with the kids yet and I think we'd like to start. Neither side of our family has a big get together, and with Christmas just a few weeks after....it seems like a good one to have on our own.
Well I'm beat.....I was up to have "Pebbles" here this morning at a little past 5 am....and I'm NOT used to that. I fell asleep and missed the ending of the Grinch cartoon....I'm assuming his heart grew, presents were returned, yadda yadda yadda. So I'm off to bed after my bowl of cereal that sometimes gets yearned for at bedtime instead of in the morning.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Still waiting...
No word yet on the musical parts. Still waiting for an e-mail announcing the cast list. Supposed to come sometime this week. I would think it would get sent out before Thursday. In high school it as always very dramatic when the lists were posted on the door of the music room. The lists were posted on a Friday and the choir director then proceeded to leave town for the whole weekend so that he wouldn't be bothered by people calling to complain about how unhappy they were with the part they were given. I guess he expected them to get it out of their system in 2 days.
I met my sister and her husband for supper this weekend. They traveled to my neck of the woods as part of a tour bus shopping trip that they've taken the last 2 years. One of the 2-3 times I visit the Mall of America all year.
On Sunday I went with friend, Shelley, and my niece, Sarah, to see the new Twilight movie - Breaking Dawn. As hoped, it was very satisfying. I don't read to many of the critic's reviews of those movies. I know they aren't up to par with what's out there already....and I don't try to defend most of the acting in it - sometimes it's quite laughable.....but it's still a fun movie to go to.
Hope you all have a good Thanksgiving.....when I get word on the musical parts, I'll share. :)
I met my sister and her husband for supper this weekend. They traveled to my neck of the woods as part of a tour bus shopping trip that they've taken the last 2 years. One of the 2-3 times I visit the Mall of America all year.
On Sunday I went with friend, Shelley, and my niece, Sarah, to see the new Twilight movie - Breaking Dawn. As hoped, it was very satisfying. I don't read to many of the critic's reviews of those movies. I know they aren't up to par with what's out there already....and I don't try to defend most of the acting in it - sometimes it's quite laughable.....but it's still a fun movie to go to.
Hope you all have a good Thanksgiving.....when I get word on the musical parts, I'll share. :)
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Tradition.....
I can't really call this 3 generations of tradition, because they're all in the same generation. BUT it's still really cute. In 2004 Katie was a cat for Halloween, then in 2007 Will had the honor of being the cat. NOW in 2011, my great-niece Breqlynn was the same kitty. :)
I honestly don't remember where I bought this....I don't believe it was new. I'm 90% sure it came in a box of clothes that I had gotten off eBay since that seems to be where I got most of our clothes the first 2 years. Katie liked being a kitty. (Born June that year.)
The date on this picture is September 24, 2007. We put this on Will 5 weeks early because we were certain that he wouldn't fit into it later. (Fat cat.....born July that year.)
And here's Breqlynn the youngest of the 3 while wearing the costume. She was born in August this year.
I think she still likes being a kitty.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Auditions
This past Sunday Katie and I auditioned for our church's musical, Annie. Katie is excited to get back into the musical routine of Sunday and Wednesday night rehearsals. Last year we had 7 weeks worth of practices and Katie had to be at every one. She was the only actor required to be at every one because she was in every scene, except one. This year should be a bit of a lighter load.
The parts get assigned next week, so I'll let you know then, but Katie kicked some serious ass. She was in the first group of little girls trying out and they had to go up to the piano and sing warm-ups to have their ranges measured. Katie's range was crazy good.
Then, the woman running the auditions suggested that the girls all sing something together for their audition. (We were all supposed to have a little song prepared for the audition.) Katie spoke right up and said that she would rather sing by herself.
"Oh, that's wonderful, honey. Where would you like to stand to sing?"
Katie struts (yes, struts) over to the middle of the alter stage and says "Right here." She continues to belt out her tune and ends to a chorus of applause. :) I knew she must have been a little nervous, but she just beamed. She really enjoys herself up on stage.
Then it came turn for her to read her scene. The group she was in didn't get much of a chance to read through it because there were 1-2 girls in the group who didn't have the first clue about what was going on. The second group got to read it twice....so I hope she was still able to make an impression. It was also a little unfair at times because they let SOME kids practice their pieces before they videotaped them. (They videotaped all auditions so that they could go back over them later.) No big deal really - because this is intended to be a fun charity project to raise money...not a theater company looking to cultivate talent.
I need to remind myself of that because I really find myself getting emotional about this whole process. (Not in front of Katie, of course.) I tell Katie that whatever part she gets, she'll be wonderful, and will have SUCH a fun time - all true. And she WILL get a part, everyone does. I just REALLY want her to get the main little girl's part. Really really really bad. I've really become a closet stage mom because I will confess to you here, that she was BY FAR the best one there that day. And although there was one other day of auditions, I'm sure she would have been the best that day too. (I would never say that to anyone.....) But then it should come as no surprise....isn't that the opinion a mother SHOULD have? But I feel bad thinking that way because it's a church production and I don't know how people don't get competitive with this whole thing. Because I really don't see competition among the cast....it's really about having fun.
Oh yeah, and I did ok too - for me it was really more about DOING the audition. I've never sung in front of a group of people before! It was a rush, glad to do it, glad to be done with it. And it really will be fun doing this together.
The parts get assigned next week, so I'll let you know then, but Katie kicked some serious ass. She was in the first group of little girls trying out and they had to go up to the piano and sing warm-ups to have their ranges measured. Katie's range was crazy good.
Then, the woman running the auditions suggested that the girls all sing something together for their audition. (We were all supposed to have a little song prepared for the audition.) Katie spoke right up and said that she would rather sing by herself.
"Oh, that's wonderful, honey. Where would you like to stand to sing?"
Katie struts (yes, struts) over to the middle of the alter stage and says "Right here." She continues to belt out her tune and ends to a chorus of applause. :) I knew she must have been a little nervous, but she just beamed. She really enjoys herself up on stage.
Then it came turn for her to read her scene. The group she was in didn't get much of a chance to read through it because there were 1-2 girls in the group who didn't have the first clue about what was going on. The second group got to read it twice....so I hope she was still able to make an impression. It was also a little unfair at times because they let SOME kids practice their pieces before they videotaped them. (They videotaped all auditions so that they could go back over them later.) No big deal really - because this is intended to be a fun charity project to raise money...not a theater company looking to cultivate talent.
I need to remind myself of that because I really find myself getting emotional about this whole process. (Not in front of Katie, of course.) I tell Katie that whatever part she gets, she'll be wonderful, and will have SUCH a fun time - all true. And she WILL get a part, everyone does. I just REALLY want her to get the main little girl's part. Really really really bad. I've really become a closet stage mom because I will confess to you here, that she was BY FAR the best one there that day. And although there was one other day of auditions, I'm sure she would have been the best that day too. (I would never say that to anyone.....) But then it should come as no surprise....isn't that the opinion a mother SHOULD have? But I feel bad thinking that way because it's a church production and I don't know how people don't get competitive with this whole thing. Because I really don't see competition among the cast....it's really about having fun.
Oh yeah, and I did ok too - for me it was really more about DOING the audition. I've never sung in front of a group of people before! It was a rush, glad to do it, glad to be done with it. And it really will be fun doing this together.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
A trip down memory lane
So, since today is my birthday I thought I would be a little self-indulgent and post pictures of my much younger self.
(Ok, let's be honest....when is this blog NOT self indulgent?)
Anyway....
(Ok, let's be honest....when is this blog NOT self indulgent?)
Anyway....
Here's me about.....oh, 7 I spose. Note the rockin' Smurf shirt.
My Grandma Hanson and I. I don't remember her because she passed away when I was 2.
I'm mainly posting this because you can see the light-up picture of Jesus on the wall behind us....see the cord running down??
And REALLY....who DOESN'T need a light-up picture of Jesus?
Here's me and my brother and sisters.
I'm only posting this because I look so darn cute....and my brother is in a powder blue suit....
One of my favorite pictures....I've probably posted this before.
My dog, Muskie and my cat, Gizmo.
The cat tormented that poor dog every day they were alive. :)
Ahhh, my favorite spot.
My parents still live in this house - but I can no longer sleep in the linen closet.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
One for the bucket list
I don't really have a bucket list of things I'd like to do before I die, or before I turn a certain age. Honestly, the thought scares me because if I say it's on my "list" - that means I have to try to do it, right? Or I at least have to make some sort of effort towards getting it done. Like running a marathon - would that make it onto my bucket list? Maybe....but the that would mean I have to commit a handful of months into getting it done. And I don't know if I'm that passionate about it.
But here's one for the list, and it's something I've always wanted to do.
Audition for a part in a musical.
I was active in the theater department in high school - but shied away from parts in the musical, choosing only to act in the non-musical plays. I did, however, play in the pit band my sophomore year. I had wonderful trumpet solos throughout the play, between scenes and at intermission. It was the only production my Aunt Carol was able to attend and one of two shows my dad came to. (The other was MASH. :) ) So that production held a special memory for me, and I remember it very vividly. The play was Annie.
Every year our church does a musical to raise money for their mission efforts. Remember Katie as Toto?? Well this year, they're doing Annie. Katie is auditioning for the part of "Molly" - the littlest orphan who has some REALLY cute parts of the play, as well as some solo singing. She has to have a script prepared as well as sing a song by herself. She's been working quite hard the past 2 weeks and (I think) is beyond talented and will most certainly get the part if the panel of judges has any intelligence at all.
But that could be the "mom" in me talking.
I got to thinking about how I always wondered what it would be like to audition for a part in a musical. I'm not much of a singer - meaning I've never sung by myself in front of other people. Not that I can't - I just don't know if I can. I know I can memorize lines and deliver them believably; I don't have stage fright. But what about singing.....
I kind of felt like this was my chance. It's a show that I know very well. It will be with a group of people that I've worked with on a musical before. I'm pretty sure they won't laugh at my attempts. After all, it's a church production and I think God tries to discourage behavior like that....even for us Lutherans. So why not? What's the WORST that could happen?
So next Sunday Katie and I will audition together, and I'm sure she'll get a bigger part than I will...but that's ok.
But here's one for the list, and it's something I've always wanted to do.
Audition for a part in a musical.
I was active in the theater department in high school - but shied away from parts in the musical, choosing only to act in the non-musical plays. I did, however, play in the pit band my sophomore year. I had wonderful trumpet solos throughout the play, between scenes and at intermission. It was the only production my Aunt Carol was able to attend and one of two shows my dad came to. (The other was MASH. :) ) So that production held a special memory for me, and I remember it very vividly. The play was Annie.
Every year our church does a musical to raise money for their mission efforts. Remember Katie as Toto?? Well this year, they're doing Annie. Katie is auditioning for the part of "Molly" - the littlest orphan who has some REALLY cute parts of the play, as well as some solo singing. She has to have a script prepared as well as sing a song by herself. She's been working quite hard the past 2 weeks and (I think) is beyond talented and will most certainly get the part if the panel of judges has any intelligence at all.
But that could be the "mom" in me talking.
I got to thinking about how I always wondered what it would be like to audition for a part in a musical. I'm not much of a singer - meaning I've never sung by myself in front of other people. Not that I can't - I just don't know if I can. I know I can memorize lines and deliver them believably; I don't have stage fright. But what about singing.....
I kind of felt like this was my chance. It's a show that I know very well. It will be with a group of people that I've worked with on a musical before. I'm pretty sure they won't laugh at my attempts. After all, it's a church production and I think God tries to discourage behavior like that....even for us Lutherans. So why not? What's the WORST that could happen?
So next Sunday Katie and I will audition together, and I'm sure she'll get a bigger part than I will...but that's ok.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Happy Birthday Big Brother!
Happy Birthday today to my big brother, Jeff. We're both November babies...his is first. So...if I want him to remember mine, I have to remember his first. :)
Question for you folks....
Is it ok to say I hate a 5th grade girl? Ok - so "hate" isn't the right word. Let's see...I am STRONGLY annoyed with a 5th grade girl. She shares the bus stop with Katie and ugh....I can't wait til that relationship is over.
Last year when I saw that there was another girl waiting for the bus with Katie I was relieved. There's safety in numbers, right? (Even though I still wait with Katie every morning.) Immediately she came off so stuck up and snotty, I was shocked! She was very tall, so I assumed she was in 5th grade. (I mean, she's taller than I am and her voice is deeper than John's) Nope - she was in 4th grade last year, 5th grade this year. About 2 months in last year, Katie and I were standing there and this girl walks right over to Katie and shoves her down. I kind of lost it, and yelled at this girl that she's not allowed to treat other people like that. Since then, there hasn't been another incident, and oddly enough - she became almost friendly when I started showing up with "Pebbles" in the morning, but she totally lacks overall friendly social skills. She's an only child - and her mother only seems to communicate by screaming across the yard to her. (Mom doesn't come out to bus stop...in fact, I've never seen her.) I have met her father, and he seems really pleasant. Very social, nice neighbor.
And I could understand a child who doesn't talk to strangers, or neighbors they don't know well, a child who only stares at the ground when talking, a child who only mumbles, etc. I get all those traits, and would expect them. But a girl who tells me I "don't know anything" and a girl who tells me I "don't know what I'm talking about" in such a snooty tone, and rolls her eyes at me - and only looks up at the sky when talking to me (like she's upset we have to share the same air).....yeah, I don't have patience for her.
Hell, it's gonna be a long year. I dread crossing the street to wait with her, so I make Katie and Pebbles wait in the garage on our side until we see the bus and it's the last minute to cross. And I've defended her behavior in my head - explained it away as much I can....only child, maybe not many friends, parental issues, hormones, whatever. I don't care right now - I still have to deal with her. So that's my politically incorrect stand for today.
Question for you folks....
Is it ok to say I hate a 5th grade girl? Ok - so "hate" isn't the right word. Let's see...I am STRONGLY annoyed with a 5th grade girl. She shares the bus stop with Katie and ugh....I can't wait til that relationship is over.
Last year when I saw that there was another girl waiting for the bus with Katie I was relieved. There's safety in numbers, right? (Even though I still wait with Katie every morning.) Immediately she came off so stuck up and snotty, I was shocked! She was very tall, so I assumed she was in 5th grade. (I mean, she's taller than I am and her voice is deeper than John's) Nope - she was in 4th grade last year, 5th grade this year. About 2 months in last year, Katie and I were standing there and this girl walks right over to Katie and shoves her down. I kind of lost it, and yelled at this girl that she's not allowed to treat other people like that. Since then, there hasn't been another incident, and oddly enough - she became almost friendly when I started showing up with "Pebbles" in the morning, but she totally lacks overall friendly social skills. She's an only child - and her mother only seems to communicate by screaming across the yard to her. (Mom doesn't come out to bus stop...in fact, I've never seen her.) I have met her father, and he seems really pleasant. Very social, nice neighbor.
And I could understand a child who doesn't talk to strangers, or neighbors they don't know well, a child who only stares at the ground when talking, a child who only mumbles, etc. I get all those traits, and would expect them. But a girl who tells me I "don't know anything" and a girl who tells me I "don't know what I'm talking about" in such a snooty tone, and rolls her eyes at me - and only looks up at the sky when talking to me (like she's upset we have to share the same air).....yeah, I don't have patience for her.
Hell, it's gonna be a long year. I dread crossing the street to wait with her, so I make Katie and Pebbles wait in the garage on our side until we see the bus and it's the last minute to cross. And I've defended her behavior in my head - explained it away as much I can....only child, maybe not many friends, parental issues, hormones, whatever. I don't care right now - I still have to deal with her. So that's my politically incorrect stand for today.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
I gotta tell someone
I feel the need to share my great deal idea...but if Katie reads this it;s going to spoil the surprise. So, I guess I'll just say I went to the "after Halloween" sale at Target and got a bunch of great deals on something we're giving to Katie and Will for Christmas. Doesn't quite fill my need to share, but it will have to do.
I also have a wonderful idea for another present for Katie and Will that I'm on a waiting list for - but have to clear it with John first.
And thanks to a super great one day sale at the cool toy store in town 2 weeks ago - I have another present for each of them set aside. I think Santa is the only one left that has to go shopping yet. :)
I also have a wonderful idea for another present for Katie and Will that I'm on a waiting list for - but have to clear it with John first.
And thanks to a super great one day sale at the cool toy store in town 2 weeks ago - I have another present for each of them set aside. I think Santa is the only one left that has to go shopping yet. :)
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
City Planners Meeting
Last night I attended my first meeting at City Hall. The city planning commissioners were having a hearing about the possibility of WalMart building a new store in our town. When this news broke about a month ago, a group of people got together to work on making sure that didn't happen. And although I haven't volunteered with the group, I agree with their position - so I went to the hearing.
Basically the panel from Walmart (their architect, engineer, real estate agent, and 2 others) put forth a proposal to build in a site zoned for a much smaller commercial business. In order to get approval to start building the area would have to be re-zoned, and that's why they had to have approval from the city planning commissioners.
The site in question is currently zoned for a 60,000 square foot commercial building. WalMart wants to build a 120,000 square foot building. (A bit of an increase, don't you think?) Not only is this too much for the area...it's 3 blocks from our house. I am NONE too happy with the prospect of having a 24/7 WalMart that close to an area where I run, we all ride our bikes and take walks.
As the city staff discussed the proposal with the WalMart panel it was clear that the proposal fell WAY short of what the city required in order to re-zone the area. WalMart's building was not up to their code, it was (admittedly) endangering neighboring wetlands, and according to MNDOT (Minnesota Department of Transportation) the adjoining roads would have to be completely re-done before construction takes place - a cost that WalMart was NOT going to shoulder. At one point, one of the city commissioners questioned WalMart as to why they even brought this proposal forward? "If I was WalMart, I'd bring my "A" game...this isn't it. It seems you are doing nothing but wasting our time and yours." (Thunderous applause)
And then the public hearing opened and anyone who wanted to go on the record could step forward, address the council and speak their mind about why or why not our town should have a WalMart. And boy, was there a lot of public interested in the issue. Not only was the entire council room packed, 2 overflow rooms were full as well. I was in one of these rooms and we watched the proceedings on a giant video screen. Everyone that stood up to speak spoke about why they didn't want WalMart at that location or in our town at all. (All but 1....there WAS 1 guy who wanted WalMart....because he was the current leaseholder for their new optical store if this location got built.) A sweet moment came when an older gentleman approached the podium and everyone started clapping immediately in our room before he even spoke. He was the owner of ACE Hardware and had been in business in our town for 29 years. His dad had started the business 50 years ago, and he had plans in place for his son to take over next year...but wanted to be sure that he wouldn't be put out of business by a big box store.
The public statements were amazing. So emotional, so many different reasons for NOT wanting this to be built, etc. I was totally expecting to see Kevin Bacon walk to the podium, read from the Bible and explain why he just wanted to dance.
After 90 minutes of public pleas, the council voted unanimously to deny WalMart's claim for re-zoning. BUT it's not over....they also have a proposal with the city council at the end of November. And then, I guess they can keep submitting proposals forever if they choose to do so.
Basically the panel from Walmart (their architect, engineer, real estate agent, and 2 others) put forth a proposal to build in a site zoned for a much smaller commercial business. In order to get approval to start building the area would have to be re-zoned, and that's why they had to have approval from the city planning commissioners.
The site in question is currently zoned for a 60,000 square foot commercial building. WalMart wants to build a 120,000 square foot building. (A bit of an increase, don't you think?) Not only is this too much for the area...it's 3 blocks from our house. I am NONE too happy with the prospect of having a 24/7 WalMart that close to an area where I run, we all ride our bikes and take walks.
As the city staff discussed the proposal with the WalMart panel it was clear that the proposal fell WAY short of what the city required in order to re-zone the area. WalMart's building was not up to their code, it was (admittedly) endangering neighboring wetlands, and according to MNDOT (Minnesota Department of Transportation) the adjoining roads would have to be completely re-done before construction takes place - a cost that WalMart was NOT going to shoulder. At one point, one of the city commissioners questioned WalMart as to why they even brought this proposal forward? "If I was WalMart, I'd bring my "A" game...this isn't it. It seems you are doing nothing but wasting our time and yours." (Thunderous applause)
And then the public hearing opened and anyone who wanted to go on the record could step forward, address the council and speak their mind about why or why not our town should have a WalMart. And boy, was there a lot of public interested in the issue. Not only was the entire council room packed, 2 overflow rooms were full as well. I was in one of these rooms and we watched the proceedings on a giant video screen. Everyone that stood up to speak spoke about why they didn't want WalMart at that location or in our town at all. (All but 1....there WAS 1 guy who wanted WalMart....because he was the current leaseholder for their new optical store if this location got built.) A sweet moment came when an older gentleman approached the podium and everyone started clapping immediately in our room before he even spoke. He was the owner of ACE Hardware and had been in business in our town for 29 years. His dad had started the business 50 years ago, and he had plans in place for his son to take over next year...but wanted to be sure that he wouldn't be put out of business by a big box store.
The public statements were amazing. So emotional, so many different reasons for NOT wanting this to be built, etc. I was totally expecting to see Kevin Bacon walk to the podium, read from the Bible and explain why he just wanted to dance.
After 90 minutes of public pleas, the council voted unanimously to deny WalMart's claim for re-zoning. BUT it's not over....they also have a proposal with the city council at the end of November. And then, I guess they can keep submitting proposals forever if they choose to do so.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Halloween 2011
Dorothy
...and of course Molly wanted in on the action.
Batman!!
Don't worry....it's Will!
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