The little jokester

This photo is completely unstaged, but it is so funny to me. We looked over and she was "reading" this "Dumb Jokes" book while sitting in the box. Lately, everywhere she goes, she has a marker and piece of paper in hand. It's the end of the world if we take it away. I'm sure it's only a matter of time until we pay for this hobby of hers (on the walls, etc.). Teyah has also become feisty with her sisters. She likes to weasel her way in front of them if they are sitting on our lap so she can take their place. She doesn't let them take things from them without putting up a HUGE fight. She may be tiny (her 15-month checkup said her weight was the 4th percentile), but she is mighty.

Children's Book Festival

I feel hesitant to post the following pictures because after my recent famous people posts, I don't want you to think I'm totally starstruck. It's just that we live in the best city that has the most amazing family-oriented activities. This weekend, it was the Target Children's Book Festival. If it weren't for the rain, this would have been the best, but we didn't melt and still had a great time. The kids got all kinds of free backpacks, jump ropes, animal bookmarks, etc. and participated in art activities and bounce houses. And, it was all free! One thing that is very important to me as a parent is to emphasize to my children how fun and exciting books are!


The highlight, for me, was watching Lisa Loeb perform. You may know her from her hit in the 90s "Stay" (I missed you). Now, she's performing children's music. I loved it -- very folky and soft and not annoying like so many children's records. So, I broke down and bought her CD and got her autograph.

I was so impressed by her. Mostly because the rain saturated the stage, so they had her perform in this tiny, makeshift tent with no microphone, and people just sort of gathered around it and listened. It was intimate, and I thought a bit demoralizing for a huge star. I was surprised that she still performed. She was great with the kids and even had a little 9-year-old come up and sing with her. It was refreshing to see a star be so real. Even when I got her autograph she seemed down to earth.


And, the kids were excited because they got to meet Linny, Tuck and Ming-Ming (The Wonder Pets). These three girls are the voices of the characters from one of their favorite Nick Jr. shows. It was fun to hear them say, "What does it take? Teamwork!"

Emotional Marathon Week over, hopefully

I let Aubrie ride the bus home, and it was so stressful and emotional for me. Everything went just fine, despite my anxiety. In the car, while Aubrie was at school, we were listening to the "Mamma Mia" soundtrack. There's an ABBA song on it that goes like this:

Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I'm losing her forever
And without really entering her world
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time ...

Well, as we were listening to it, Ellie said in a sad tone: "Mom, when I listen to this song, it makes me feel like my big sister is growing up too fast."

Holy cow! I burst into tears. How could my three-year-old come up with that one?! I was pondering that and my heart was warm. But then later in the day when I told Aubrie what Ellie had said, she laughed and responded:

"She said that because she just wants to be able to keep up!"

Where do these silly girls come from? I love them to pieces and hopefully they don't slip through my fingers.

Marathon Part III: Teyah's surgery

Today's adventure began at 5 a.m. when I took Teyah downtown for her ear tube surgery. Fortunately, this is the first surgery for any of my kids. I was totally dreading having to do this myself, but I realized it was probably best for Aubrie and Ellie so they didn't have to get hauled out of bed in the wee hours of the morning and taken to someone's house (not to mention the stress on whomever would have watched them). Dave got Aubrie and Ellie up and off to school OK (Aubrie did Ellie's hair -- I maybe should have had Dave take a picture of that one!)


We spent most of the time in the waiting room because the surgery is actually very short. I was most worried about being there when the anesthesia put her to sleep. But I think I was well prepared for that aspect, but the worst part for me was when she woke up in so much pain. It was hard to see her hurting. Finally, the Motrin kicked in, and we made it home for her to have a nice nap (and me too since the others were at school!). Yeah school!


I had to post this pic too because I'm so proud of Ellie. It was her first day of dance class and this is a LONG time coming. She attempted dance last year, but was too nervous so we stopped and joined a parent/child gymnastics class. Then, after 5 weeks of refusing to join her independent gymnastics class this summer, we gave that up. By the end of the summer, she wanted to do swimming. After that success, she was all business today! Hooray Ellie!

Emotional Marathon Part II: Aubrie's First Day of Kindergarten

I have been dreading/anticipating this day for a long time. You would have thought it was my first day of school because I did NOT sleep last night. I jumped out of bed an hour before my alarm clock after having nightmares. As most of you know, I am NOT a morning person so this is quite a big deal. When it was all said and done, I think it was pretty anti-climactic.

Part of this is due to the change of events we had last week. We have had Aubrie on a waiting list to go to a specialized public school that is run more like a private school. It draws from several school districts and has combined-grade classrooms and flexible grouping. Aubrie was still far down on the list two weeks before school was supposed to start so we prepared her for the neighborhood school. But then, the night before her first day (Thursday), we got a call inviting her to attend the specialized school. We jumped at the opportunity. So, her first day was not on Friday, but today. The rest of this school has actually been in session almost a week now. Because we missed all the meet-the-teacher activities, all the parents and their cameras, and there was no big yellow bus involved, it was all about business and less about drama. I think that was good for me.


What Kindergartner gets her own locker? Crazy!


Her teacher is Mrs. Comisar. Aubrie's especially excited to switch schools because her best friend happens to be in her class! Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the pair.


She's feeling giddy at the end of the day! She said her favorite part was "everything"!


We had to celebrate and go out to eat for lunch. She chose, of course, pizza. Daddy was able to join us which made it extra special.

Emotional Marathon Part I: Ellie's First Day of Preschool

We have lots of "first" things going on this week at our house that are all weighing heavy on my heart. The first is my doll Ellie and her first ever day of school. She turned 3 1/2 on this day, and she was VERY excited about both events. I'm happy to see her finally able to have some fun activities that are just hers. I feel like most her life she's sat around patiently waiting for Aubrie's activity to conclude.


I think she has the tilt head pose down.



The kids were ready for her arrival. (It's Joy School).

Labor Day

As you can see we definitely rested from our labors over the weekend! It turned out to be amazing! We had PERFECT weather, and planned a super fun trip. We explored Milwaukee where we toured the Jelly Belly Factory and went to a cool Science Museum on the pier. Our first day there, we did end up in the walk-in clinic with Teyah's 6th ear infection since March! Good thing her tubes are scheduled for next week.

The highlight of our weekend was definitely the Blue Harbors Resort in Sheboygan. This place is magical! Even though it's on the shores of Lake Michigan, it felt like the Caribbean. The weather was perfect and it smelled and sounded like the ocean. The resort had an indoor waterpark, games and activities for the kids, nightly bonfires with Smores, a killer view, and much more. Aubrie actually won the coloring contest and also the daily drawing of a free backpack with goodies! What a lucky girl! I am already planning our return trip. Anyone want to join us?!

Saying goodbye to Grandma Joines

Grandma Joines passed away last month. She had been ill, hurting, and ready to meet her Savior. She lived a wonderful, selfless life, and we will miss her but know she is happy. We traveled to Peterson, Iowa, for her memorial service a couple weeks ago. The crystal blue skies, the Spirit of the memorial service, the time my extended family was able to be together made it a perfect day that will stick with me forever.



This is the church my Grandma was baptized and also married in.


I also enjoyed seeing the places that I have heard so many family stories about. This is my Grandpa's farm that is right near the church and neighboring farm to my Grandma's. It was amazing to realize they were next door neighbors growing up!