Shirley Temple

I LOVE these pigtails.  They melt my heart. ;)

Easter 2011

I met Steve and the kids in Arpin for Easter weekend.  Friday night Darrell and Judy took us out to a wonderful fish fry where Braden discovered he LOVED fish.  He ate more than I did!!  Norah also loved it. :)  

Saturday Steve played in an alumni Basketball Tournament.  Then we played around the house with Uncle Marc and had a delicious Easter dinner.  We dyed Easter Eggs and then went to sleep dreaming of bunnies and chocolate!!

Easter morning we awoke to Braden whispering in our ears.  He couldn't wait to get started on his treasure hunt that the Easter Bunny left.  He and Olivia maneuvered through the house from one clue to the next, discovering surprises along the way.  The end of the hunt had them in the garage reaching for Easter baskets sitting on the hood of the car!  The rest of the morning was spent playing with their goodies, eating a ton of gum, and flying kites.

 It was such a great Easter.  Darrell and Judy were wonderful hosts as always - and the kids can't wait until we can go back. :)  

Rainy Day Projects

So in February of 2010 Olivia started a home improvement project for us.  If you were following our blog at that point you read a posting with the picture below.  She tore off some wallpaper from the bathroom on our first floor.  Thank you Olivia!  I had the best of intentions of doing something about it in either June, July or August of 2010 but you can all guess what happened.  LIFE!  It is now April - almost May of 2011 and we are finally getting to this project.

Yesterday Olivia and I ripped off the rest of the wallpaper - which came down quite easily I might add.

 Then I spent nap time yesterday and part of this morning taking the paste off with warm water and a scraper.  

We have lovely purple walls underneath! 

So the paste is for the most part down.  I now need to spend some time washing them because they still have a film on them.  I am going to use soapy water unless someone has a better suggestion. I have never done this before and I am super glad it is only a SMALL space!  

Now... to figure out flooring, paint colors and a new light and mirror......

Missing Meg

I was able to stop by and see Meg on my way out of town last week.  We had a wonderful visit reading books with the kids, eating yummy taco soup for lunch, and catching up.  It was far too short but we'll be up in the cities a few more times this summer so will be able to spend some more time together then.

Love you SMEGS!

I am always amazed that we can pick up like we were living on State Street in Eau Claire just last week. :)

Visiting Baby Lincoln

I had the privilege of spending a few days in Minnesota last week visiting baby Lincoln.  Sam and Emily graciously welcomed me into their home to witness his first few days of life.  It was such a special visit where I tried to be helpful when needed and step back when it seemed appropriate.

 Proud Nana!

 And a proud Papa!

 A beautiful baby boy!

 What a difference 32 years makes!

 Emily's Dad - and a beaming new family.

 Emily's Grandparents and her mom - Lincoln is the first Great Grandchild.  

 His eyes are the most beautiful gray color!

I just can't get enough shots of those cute wrinkly feet!

The time went way too fast and I was sad to leave knowing that the next time I see him, he'll be so much bigger.  Sam and Emily are wonderful parents - already!  They are confident, loving and patient.  Lincoln seems to have a very calm demeanor.  Hopefully he continues that as Sam ventures back to work. 

My heart feels warm and happy following my visit.  I can't thank Sam and Em enough for sharing their lives with me last week.  I will treasure it forever.

Welcome Lincoln John Snyder!!!

It's a BOY!  

Sam and Emily gave birth ... correction ... EMILY gave birth (with lots of support from SAM) to a beautiful baby BOY!  We are so excited to have another little boy in the family.  He was 8lbs and is nearly 20 inches long.  He is nursing well and is already very well loved I hear.  

Emily birthed him naturally - I am SOOOOO proud of her. I can't wait to hear all the details but it sounds like she was an amazingly strong woman who let her body do what it was created to do - birth a baby without intervention.  I have no judgement for those who choose to use intervention (honest to goodness truth) but I believe in the strength of a womans body and think there is nothing more powerful than laboring a baby.

I am headed to visit asap and cannot wait to give both Sam and Em a hug. It was really hard being so far away during this special time in their lives.  I wanted so badly to be there and be part of it.  I guess I'll have to settle for a few days late. ;)  

I also cannot wait to get some newborn baby time.  As I have moved further along in my mommy-hood I realize how fast it goes and I treasure it more and more.  In fact - I am a little bit of a baby freak!

Congrats Sam and Em!  He is perfect, and beautiful, and you will make the most incredible parents.  GREAT JOB EMILY!!!

Kitchen Fun & Missing Daddy

Steve has been gone again - it will be five days tomorrow.  The overnights are doable, the two to three night trips get a little long by the end and the five night trips (thankfully there aren't many of them) are hard on all of us.  We miss him being around. We miss his snuggles, miss his smile and energy.  We miss his help of course but most of all just miss his presence.

 We have tried to stay busy this time and last night we made homemade, stuffed pizza rolls.  Olivia and I made homemade dough, let it rise and then we rolled it out for the rolls.  We filled them with cheese and some pepperoni, then rolled them up.  The last step before the oven was brushing them with olive oil and sprinkling spices and parmesan on top.  They were delicious dipped in pizza sauce!  

 Norah was sleeping through a lot of it which was helpful - otherwise she walked around and fed Magnus.  That is one of her favorite things to do. :)  

Norah and I were walking down the stairs after her nap and she pointed to a picture on the wall and said, "Daddy."  I told her that daddy would be home soon and she pointed to the picture again.  She continued to point to pictures of him saying, "Daddy," each time all the way down.  She will be so excited when he walks in the door tomorrow. 

After making the rolls I put all the dishes in the sink and both kids "washed" them.  They spent almost an hour playing in the water.  It was a great way to pass the time. :)  

So one more day and our daddy comes home!!!  We miss you Steve and can't wait to see you tomorrow.  

Sisters

I always wanted a sister.  Not because I didn't love or want my brother but because I wanted a sister to giggle with, to share my love stories with, my clothes, shoes and jewelry.  Somehow I don't think Sam was interested in sharing shoes. :)

I am so happy that Olivia and Norah will have each other to grow up with.  They have their moments as all siblings do but there is a special love already present that I have the honor of watching grow on a daily basis.  

Norah adores Olivia and most of the time Olivia is open to that love. Olivia loves to help Norah and guide her as an older sister.  She likes to help when Norah is sad and read to Norah when she sits long enough to listen. As Norah learns how to play I have no doubt there will be hours of princesses, make believe and lots of talking!  

This little girl not only has the pleasure of being loved by her sister but by her brother as well. She is one lucky girl and I know she won't fully grasp that until she is older and perhaps has children of her own.  

Being the oldest (which I am) has it's benefits of course, but there is something unique about being the youngest.  The parenting is seasoned (if that is possible), healthy routines are already in place, and you are completely surrounded by people who adore you.  Could anyone ask for more in life?

Family Rules

We started up family meetings again and established these four rules over the course of four weeks.  

Sorry again for the dark pictures... still learning about my camera!  They have been wonderful.  I love having a plan and the kids know them by heart. I don't love the word obedience but we couldn't find another one that fit so perfectly.  

Our next family meeting topic... allowance! 

Three Things That Made Me Happy Today!

Steve came home with a case... yes a case of wine last week!  It was a work gift which contained three bottles each of four different types.  We've only opened one bottle so far but it was fantastic.  I love that our wine rack is full - overflowing in fact.  It makes me oddly happy when I walk past and see all of the bottles just waiting for some fun, relaxing times ahead.

I found a way to get fruit into Norah!  We made smoothies and she LOVED them. I can't believe I haven't done this sooner.  Oh well - better late than never.  Today she had banana, raspberries, blueberries, mango, pineapple, and peaches along with vanilla yogurt.  All without her knowing!!  Maybe I should figure out a way to put some veggies in as well. I heard spinach is good to add to smoothies.

Magnus looks a little spooky here but he is such a good doggie!  You can see his tail wiggle really fast at the top of the picture.  My friend Sarah asked about him because I haven't mentioned anything in quite a while and she's right.  Poor Magnus often takes the backseat to one of the other, more demanding children in the house.  He is a VERY good boy and we are truly lucky to have him.  His biggest downfall is jumping up when new people visit but other than that he stays in the yard if the fence is left open, he comes when I call him, he is very gentle with the kids, he has never so much as looked meanly at anyone, he barks when he has to go outside and is happy with whatever attention and exercise I can give him.  We love Mr. Magnus.

Those are just three of things that have made me happy today!!

Fun Land

While on spring break the kids and I traveled up to Appleton.  We spent one afternoon at Fun Land enjoying the carousel, bumper cars, and the many arcade games.  Norah, as you can see in the video below, loved this rocking animal. She was crazy on it!   

The other part of fun land is a HUGE play structure that the kids can climb up and through.  It was kind of like a McDonalds play-land on steroids. ;)  My mom had fun climbing with the kiddos and going down the huge slide. :) What a great sport she is.  

Risky Business

Dance party in the kitchen sometimes brings out the sillies. :)

Resident Artist

Braden had a piece of art displayed at the library (along with about 400 other children but that's besides the point)!  We were so proud of him and his "Organic Shape" picture. 

 With a little guidance from his Art Teacher we found his piece atop a bookshelf and since there weren't many people there right when it started we stole it down for a few quick pictures.

 Braden was beaming ... as was daddy!

 Mommy and the crew.  Norah loves the camera as you can tell. :)  It was fun for us to focus on and celebrate something Braden did as a family.

When we were done Norah took a book off of a shelf, went to a chair and paged through it... she has some great role models at home!!

I think Braden's favorite part was meeting up with about a quarter of his class and walking all around admiring each other's work.  I love seeing him in his element, interacting with his peers.  We are so proud of him.

Afterwards Braden was bound and determined to go to Family Math night at school.  I'm not quite sure why they occurred on the same night.  We went over, trying to support his interest in anything school related, and had a nice time. We walked around, played a few games, and mingled with other kids and parents before heading home for the night.

WOW - Busy night but such fun!  Way to go buddy.

Welcome Baby Sabrina!

Sabrina Petitt finally joined us on Jackson Park Blvd.!  After putting her mommy through some tough last weeks of pregnancy she arrived and is perfect. :)  

 This is Sabrina's big sister Rory.  Rory LOVES her sister and sings, snuggles and holds her often.  

Olivia got a chance to hold her as well.  Olivia and Rory are good buddies.  They have fun playing coffee shop, baby and running up and down the front sidewalks.  Katie and I think we'll have our hands full with the two of them as they get older!  

Katie has become a very good friend of mine. I adore her.  She is kind, loving, helpful, funny and real.  I am so lucky to have her next door.  It's a treat having her on maternity leave. :)

Congratulations Katie, Kris, and Rory!  

Sabrina is a very lucky little girl to have such a wonderful family. :)

Rose Cake

I know I said I wasn't going to bake anymore but I saw this tutorial from the blog, I am Baker, and I just had to try it.  Braden is having his art displayed at the Public Library tonight (more on that later) so I am using that as the excuse!  

I didn't attempt the vertical layers yet - I thought I'd tackle one thing at a time.  We made a chocolate cake last night, let it sit out and then made the buttercream frosting after lunch.  My frosting doesn't look as smooth as hers so maybe next time I try it I will use my big stand mixer and see if that makes a difference.  I also may try to thin it out a bit.

 This was the first layer I did on the outside of the cake.  So far so good!

 And here you go!  WOW - that was so fun. :) This is not a cake for someone who doesn't like frosting!!

Braden was sad that it was going to be all white but hopefully after tasting it he'll change his mind.  Olivia said it is, "beautiful mommy." Norah enjoyed licking the beaters and I am pleased as punch. :)  

Like I said, there are a few things I may try to do differently next time but overall I am pleased with the finished product.  I have it cooling in the refrigerator (I prefer chilled buttercream frosting) downstairs so we can bring it up after our library outing tonight and celebrate.

Clothes

My dear friend Sara lends us all of the clothes that her daughter grows out of.  Sometimes items come piece by piece and other times they come in a large bag which is what happened today.

Anyone who knows Olivia knows that she LOVES clothes.  She loves them so much that she often finds reason to wear multiple outfits in one day.  Her philosophy is the more color and pattern involved the better!  This is why she can often be found with brightly colored and patterned tops with contrasting brightly colored and patterned bottoms.

Sara and Ava brought us a bag this morning and not a moment after Olivia returned from school today she had gone through the entire bag and tried a few things on.  

Sara has great taste and we are very lucky to borrow Ava's clothes.  Thank you Sara for continuing to shower Olivia with her favorite things. :)

Passing the time...

We were without daddy for 5 days this week.  The first two were spent up in Appleton visiting my parents while Braden and Olivia were on spring break.  The second three were back here but Steve was gone on a work trip.  Since becoming a stay at home mom, his travels have been easier on us but this stretch was particularly taxing on me.  

Norah has been sick all week and has been VERY into mommy.  I love it and constantly remind myself it won't last forever but there are moments I want to tear my hair out and would just love for Daddy to be here for some of the snuggles.  Because of this and the dreary weather we weren't able to go anywhere the last couple of days which added to the restlessness.  Lastly I have been training for a half marathon and due to all of the above I missed many of my workouts this weekend - in the grand scheme of life it's no biggie but I felt frustrated.

So... trying to drink in the moments, keep my cool, and help move us through the day I pulled out our learning bin. I haven't had it out in a while and it was welcomed with smiles and excitement.  Braden and Olivia are at their best when they are truly engaged. :)

 Olivia started with number matching.

Braden chose to start with his number book.

"Learning is FUN!"

Norah woke from her nap halfway through and wanted to do something as well so she colored. :)

I obviously have a love of learning and I am so happy that my children seem to be developing this as well.  Some of them more than others but hopefully if we continue to make it fun and an important focus at our house they will end up appreciating it if nothing else. :)