Our household is filled with peaks and valleys when it comes to the attitude of my children. We've captured a rare moment here where they can be this close to each other without pinching or punching. I have to say, though, that they have been playing quite nicely together. Megan has been showing Jake how to play doggies. They gather up any dog stuffed animal and feed it, put it in it's cage, rock it and punish it for biting. They also gang up on me when we're in the store (or any public place) and feed off of each other's energy. They laugh hysterically when I reprimand them for running around and re-arranging displays. Too bad it would look weird to bring your kids into a store in a straight jacket.
Then, on the flip side, they sure can fight. One morning (just like many other mornings), Megan woke up crabby and told me, "I don't like you, you're mean". Jake decided to defend my honor by replying, "Mommy nice". This banter went back and forth about 5 times and eventually, it came to blows over whether I was mean or nice. It's interesting trying to get out the door in the morning. Not sure how we're gonna handle it when Megan has to be at school by 8am next year.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
A Series of Unfortunate Events
On Sept. 16, my Grandma Therese passed away. She was an unbelievabe woman and will be missed terribly.
This doesn't even compare to that, but on Friday of last week, I was taking Megan to school when I noticed that our garage had been broken into. The thieves decided to take my kids red wagon. What losers. I'm sure they took that so that they could carry my neighbor's power washer and bike. Again, what losers.
Then, on that same Friday (the 12th), it started raining in the evening and didn't stop until Sunday at 4pm. Our sump pump was running continuously and our backyard filled with water.
Then, it seeped into our crawlspace and we had to get out the Shop Vac and keep sucking up the water every 15 minutes for all of Saturday in order to keep it from spilling over into the finished basement area. We were very fortunate compared to many other homes in the city and suburbs....so it really doesn't even deserve a complaint -- but what the heck, it falls under my "unfortunate event" category.
I think things will be looking up from here.
This doesn't even compare to that, but on Friday of last week, I was taking Megan to school when I noticed that our garage had been broken into. The thieves decided to take my kids red wagon. What losers. I'm sure they took that so that they could carry my neighbor's power washer and bike. Again, what losers.
Then, on that same Friday (the 12th), it started raining in the evening and didn't stop until Sunday at 4pm. Our sump pump was running continuously and our backyard filled with water.
Then, it seeped into our crawlspace and we had to get out the Shop Vac and keep sucking up the water every 15 minutes for all of Saturday in order to keep it from spilling over into the finished basement area. We were very fortunate compared to many other homes in the city and suburbs....so it really doesn't even deserve a complaint -- but what the heck, it falls under my "unfortunate event" category.
I think things will be looking up from here.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
School Follow Up
Megan's first day of school was good. She said they went out to the playground and the girl with the ponytail and the striped shirt and blue pants and white shoes stayed on the horse for a long time and wouldn't let anyone else go on it. Other than that, her day was really fun and she knew the words to the "Days of the Week" song, but some of the other kids didn't. This morning she got up and asked if she could go to school again today.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
First Day of School
Today was Megan's first day of 4-year old Preschool. She'll be going on Monday, Wednesday and Friday this year. She picked out some new, fast shoes for her first day. Yesterday she told me, "I want Debbie to take me to school, not you". When I asked her why, she said, "Because I'm not shy with Debbie and I won't cry when she drops me off". It turns out she was fine and was all smiles walking in the door. She got a nice greeting from Miss Riley and was very proud in front of the "new" kids who were obviously nervous. I'm heading out soon to pick her up, so I'll update more later!
Labor Day Weekend
We had a busy, busy Labor Day weekend. It started out Saturday morning when Darin and his Dad golfed at Water's Edge and I went for a long run with my group. The kids were treated to a fancy breakfast with Uncle Jimmy while we were gone. That afternoon we headed up to Wisconsin where we had a nice campfire and smores before getting the kids to bed nice and late. The Cleavelands were there too, and once everyone got up on Sunday, we took a ride on the pontoon boat, where Darin introduced the kids to their "Secret Swim Spot" (pictured here). The boys were happy to throw rocks into the water, while Lili became quite the accomplished lake swimmer. After the boat ride, we all went to the beach for a while. While the boys napped, Darin, Will and I took the girls for a bike ride in the trailer. It was definitely a workout pulling those two on the hills near Kettle Moraine. We decided to head back to Chicago on Sunday evening.
On Monday, we met Darin's parents at their boat in Hammond. It was a perfect day for it. The kids kept wanting to go back and forth between the back and front of the boat. We had a small window where they were both up front and got a photo:
We hung out at the beach for a little while since we were there. The kids loved that. And, then we headed to Judy's Labor Day BBQ for a short visit. Everyone was wiped out by then. Luckily, we didn't catch any traffic coming home from Indiana. Unbelievable!
On Monday, we met Darin's parents at their boat in Hammond. It was a perfect day for it. The kids kept wanting to go back and forth between the back and front of the boat. We had a small window where they were both up front and got a photo:
We hung out at the beach for a little while since we were there. The kids loved that. And, then we headed to Judy's Labor Day BBQ for a short visit. Everyone was wiped out by then. Luckily, we didn't catch any traffic coming home from Indiana. Unbelievable!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Trip Wrap Up
We all had a fabulous time in Myrtle Beach. It was a week's worth of good food, swimming in the pool, playing at the beach, golf for the fellas and not quite enough sleep for any of the kids!
This is a photo of the house that we stayed in (from the back). On the last day, Megan really didn't want to go home. I told her that we had to leave because another family was going to be using the house. She said, "Well, we can just ask them 'what are your names' and then we can stay here with them". Hmmm, if only that would work!
On one of the overcast days, we visited the botanic gardens. They had a ton of beautiful sculpures and a low-country zoo. Jake was especially fond of the alligators....or as he says "chomps".
Megan definitely had the most fun swimming in the pool. She spent as much time as she could in that water.
On the way to the airport, we stopped to have lunch with my friend Tara in Charleston. Although it was a short visit, it was really nice to see her. Jake didn't have much of an opportunity to nap, so he was quite a handful on the plane. He was back and forth between me and Darin. He wanted to watch Pee Wee on the DVD player, he wanted to open and close the DVD player. He was super restless. Jimmy picked us up from the airport and as we were driving out of O'Hare, we said, "Hey Jake, look at the plane" (it was really close to the road). And he said, "Yuck, plane". I felt exactly the same.
This is a photo of the house that we stayed in (from the back). On the last day, Megan really didn't want to go home. I told her that we had to leave because another family was going to be using the house. She said, "Well, we can just ask them 'what are your names' and then we can stay here with them". Hmmm, if only that would work!
On one of the overcast days, we visited the botanic gardens. They had a ton of beautiful sculpures and a low-country zoo. Jake was especially fond of the alligators....or as he says "chomps".
Megan definitely had the most fun swimming in the pool. She spent as much time as she could in that water.
On the way to the airport, we stopped to have lunch with my friend Tara in Charleston. Although it was a short visit, it was really nice to see her. Jake didn't have much of an opportunity to nap, so he was quite a handful on the plane. He was back and forth between me and Darin. He wanted to watch Pee Wee on the DVD player, he wanted to open and close the DVD player. He was super restless. Jimmy picked us up from the airport and as we were driving out of O'Hare, we said, "Hey Jake, look at the plane" (it was really close to the road). And he said, "Yuck, plane". I felt exactly the same.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Organized Chaos
We're in sunny Myrtle Beach on our annual family vacation and this was the best family photo we could get today! The kids are having a blast swimming in the pool and playing at the beach. As a matter of fact, Megan went to get dressed this morning and unbeknownst to me, got her swimsuit on and headed for the pool before I even made it downstairs. She was in the water by 8:30 this morning. We're keeping our fingers crossed for good weather for the rest of the week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)