Dinnertime Funnies

Phoebe says, "I know what I want for my birthday dinner next time...baked mac and cheese, bacon, and lima beans." That is the only kid requesting that I think.

Tanner then says, "Some people scratch their armpits and some people don't." Out of the blue. Completely deadpan. That kid has good delivery. We all looked at him and cracked up.

Christmas Card Teaser

So remember that flamingo costume? I traded work time for photo time. Kerri is one of my very good friends and she did an awesome job. I have had a hard time not sharing all fall! We went in early October to Lockport Landing in our downtown area. The colors were just turning and we were able to get some really good photos. These are two that actually did not make the cut. So I can share those. :) It is so nice to have a decent photo of all 5 of us (very difficult to get most of the time) and that actually reflects where we are right now. And yes, I ordered early from Shutterfly, so real cards are coming this year, and they are coming soon because I want to get it done! :) I love love love these smiles on these kids!

Excited for Once

Annika is difficult to please and to come through for on her birthday. But this year we succeeded. Maybe even exceeded, because she was pretty excited. She turns 7 this year. On Sunday we will have a party for her with some friends. We are going to make a huge mess and do experiments. I am pretty confident she will love it as well. Happy Birthday kiddo! These are a couple of her faves. Grandma, Papa, and Granny all made her very happy this year. I'm not sure Santa is going to keep up! The new gyropter--it actually flies really well.

Derek Rose jersey. She got a superman shirt too.

And a peppermint pie. I love that look of expectation and happiness on her face.

Sew Many Costumes

We had the cutest costumes on the block if I do say so myself. But I can, because I made all of them this year, plus two. It was actually fun to make them, and this is the kind of project that I don't worry about making them 4-H perfect. And best, and most of important of all, the kids loved them. They got to be the special things they wanted to be. Tanner was a pig-a-let (that is how he says it--the cutest thing).

Annika was Kick Buttowski, suburban daredevil (she kept with her obscure Disney cartoon character theme--he is sort of a 10 year old skateboard Evil Knievel). I am trying to talk her into bedazzling the suit and wearing it as Elvis next year. :) This was the hardest costume, it did help when I threw away the white pleather and started over.

Miss Phoebe was a beautiful peacock and she made the main part of her tail herself. The body is sequins--she loved that glitz.

Phoebe got her idea from a catalog (although the birds looked more Vegas showgirl) and then her friends wanted costumes from there too. I made a flamingo and a Statue of Liberty dress.

We forgot to make our jack-o-lanterns until the night of Halloween. But our city trick or treats from 3-6 (and we made it most of that time--that was a lot of candy) so it worked out perfectly to sit and eat candy as dessert, Daddy carved, and Mommy cleaned up from the foray and dinner.

We went simple with the time crunch, but I loved the scary, happy, and surprised looks they came up with.

Corgi House Tour

This is the Nelson home in its current state. :) This post is primarily for the purpose of showing our home and yard to Corgi rescue groups. Yes, we are ready to add to the family! I tried making a video, but could not get it to download. Hopefully these photos will show well.

So we live in a split level home in a suburban development neighborhood. When you first come in our front door you come directly into the living area otherwise known as Mommy's oasis. Or you can go down six steps to our tv/toys/play/excercise room. We spend a lot of time down here. This would be my toy free zone/oasis/welcoming living room. Soon to be on the frapping corgi track.

If you go straight back, behind the living room, you are in the kitchen and it connects to a dining area. Those patio doors lead to the back yard.

And here is the backyard from one corner. (Rescue groups: this is the house behind us that has two large German Shepherds who often bark.)

And this is the view from the other far corner of our yard. A nice big area for a doggie and a good strong, high fence to keep it in and others out.

So that is the short tour of the main living areas in our home.

Farm Fun

We went to Konow's Farm recently. We never did make it to the pumpkin patch or hayride we had so much fun on everything else. Good thing pumpkins are so cheap and easy at Aldi! And we were there for two hours. Jeff and I loved all the memories it brought back from our childhoods. Climbing on the hay stacks in the big barn and going through the tunnels.

This was cool: a huge three foot deep pit filled with corn. They got a huge kick out of this!

There was room, so even Mommy and Daddy rode this one. A tractor took us out in a field and did figure eights and swerved all over. Very bumpy and lots of fun!

Racing on the circle track. They have been practicing this one at Grandma's house.

And the coolest jumpy ever! The pillow: it was huge, it was crazy, and yes that is Mommy jumping with them. Daddy got on after the picture.

Good memories from the past and new ones made for sure!

Mythbusters

This is what happens at our house when Mythbusters is on the tv and then everyone is busy. Annika was apparently busy, with Tanner's help, building this flying contraption to help her get lift. She went so far as to find the caution tape left over from VBS and cordoned off the tv room, found a box fan in the basement she positioned appropriately, and then geared up her outfit. Then she let us know she was no longer "coloring in the basement toy room" when she screamed take off and jumped off the couch arm toward the fan. Luckily for her it ended well, no owies. But also no flight to her dismay. She assured us she would work on other options tonight in her sleep.

The Circus Comes To Town

He was quite excited and pleased to discover that Mommy was taking him to see the circus set up. Unfortunately she had not planned well enough in advance and we had other things going that afternoon for the show. But we made it so see the tigers, elephants and ponies. He was enthralled with the tigers, especially since they were very restless and ready to play with each other. It was fun to see them wrestling and to hear the roars.

He liked even more that it was just the two of us. :) Although we are enjoying our days together, it is quite obvious that I don't have the attention span to pretend all day and keep up with his endless chatter, as much as I really do delight in it. He keeps me laughing. But he prefers his sisters and friends to alone play while I get things done. Mommy is discovering that I am more ready to be back in teaching also. So we will see where the rest of the fall takes us.

Third and First

It could be like calling a baseball game stats. But it is the beginning of school. I have two all day kids this year. They are beyond excited about it. Now that we are half way into the first quarter, they are still happy. Both girls like their teachers. Both have friends in class. Both are ready to be learning and doing in the classroom setting again.

Phoebe had me make her bag this year, but she helped design, sew the linings, and she made the flowers that line the front. I might have to do a post with a pic later on this. I am a bit "into" sewing lately. Among many other craftings. Phoebe has decided she likes showering before school and making full blown outfits with matching accessories this year. But by Fridays she is usually back in her fave sweats. :)

Annika will not even let me walk her down or acknowledge her at the school. BUT, if I drop her off I get a yelled, "I LOVE YOU MOM!" and blown kisses. Go figure. She is slowly but surely adjusting to her all day schedule. She loves that she has lunch, recess, and gym everyday. :)

The Other One

This photo says so much about the other one. I realized as I started these profiles I didn't have a cute close up of Tanner, so I proceeded to pose him today. Of course the only one that he actually smiled for...the creepy one where he is hugging the leg of Butterscotch the horse. So telling. Tanner is persistent. He has no concept of backing down until he gets exactly what he wants. He is dramatic. He is a little cunning. A lot ornery. Loud. Physical. All of those put together mean that he will employ a variety of tactics in his relentless fashion until he gets what he wants. And his favorite, and first choice, is how cute he is. He uses those baby blues and grin. Kisses. And how much he loves. Until it doesn't work and then he kicks it up a notch. He loves with the same relentless passion. He ADORES those he favors. Ignores those he doesn't. And has a horrible temper and pout, that at the same time is usually incredibly funny.

Tanner is clever. He can recognize letters, shapes, colors, Caterpillar backhoe loaders and John Deere articulated dump trucks. But he refuses to learn how to count to five. He can dress himself, but puts everything on backwards so he still gets Mommy to do it. He can sleep through the night, if Mommy is with him. He can jump in the pool and swim in his floaties, if Mommy is watching. But at other times he likes to go off and pretend by himself, build with legos, look at books, cut, draw, and play dress up in his fireman or doggie costume. His giggle, especially when tickled, is impossible not to be addicted to. He runs awfully fast on those short legs (which have sadly lost their rolls) and can throw a mean punch. I am amazed at how far he throws.

Oh, the other one. There is no middle ground here. But my love for him will always be high.

That One

That one. The middle one. The one who melts my heart and then pushes me to the brink. Annika challenges me in so many ways. She is so cool, so smart, so adorable that she challenges me to keep up with her. But for those same reasons, she knows my buttons, and she has the personality that doesn't stop pushing, sometimes to our disadvantage. She makes you love her more and more every day. Those gorgeous brown eyes, impish face and grin, and her giggle help her get her way. She is growing too. I can't keep up feeding her. She loves fruit and yogurt, this one will be my health nut and my cook. She is constantly MOVING. Breakdancing in the tv room, riding her bike at breakneck speed, running, wrestling, throwing and catching, working (this one is an awesome helper), climbing, just rolling around on the floor or wandering the house with restless energy. She loves a good riddle, puzzle, and game. She does like her tv, and I have to watch her because she'll sneak stuff she isn't supposed to watch. Legos, always building. Drawing, goofy cartoons. Annika has a great sense of humor. Science. She can't get enough of how everything works, reacts, the hows and whys. Constantly questioning. Reading story books. Learning multiplication--and she'll be in first grade.

She demands our attention. She is always on the move, at least until she drops from complete exhaustion. She has no patience. But her capacity to love and be maternal with younger children has no bounds. Her exuberance for learning and life is catching, and she has me completely infected with love I am showing all signs of never recuperating.

This One

It's time for some individual posts to celebrate what cool kids we have. Because all 3 of them really are awesome.
First there is Phoebe. She is growing up, and I mean literally. This one keeps sprouting up, and her hair just keeps getting longer. Her front teeth are growing in, and she has a couple more loose ones. More and more I can see myself in her. More and more she is becoming her own personality. Highlights about Phoebe: she is reading chapter books by the dozen, crafting and drawing constantly, playing and pretending with Barbies and American Girl dolls more than ever, putting together outfits with full blown accessories, but still prefers her jammies, demands to stay home all day and never go shopping or on errands. She loves popcorn so much she eats the old maids and craves ice cream. Her imagination is unending. Not a super active child usually, but has calloused her hands with hours on the monkey bars and swims like a mermaid. I still have not figured out how she goes so fast underwater. She is extremely good with her siblings, but when they make her mad, her voice takes on a shrill whininess you would not expect from that sweet face.

She is a girly girl, but she will put her own worm on, loves bugs, and gets a kick out of gross stuff. Loves animals and is begging for a pet. Begging. Wants snuggles and fun time together, yet NEEDS time by herself in complete quiet. Helpful, independent, a touch slow to move. Loving, easygoing, giggly happy.

So that is this one.

In No Particular Order

I forgot this photo at first, but having it at the beginning actually makes sense. This summer has been a gamble in a lot of ways! This particular one happened when Annika found the poker chips in the church garage sale pile and decided it was time to learn black jack and poker. I guess they got some good addition practice. And Daddy time is always at a premium.

Because this summer has been crazy. And I mean nuts. There has been so much going on, we have barely kept up.

Jeff's business took off--he billed in one day this week what he billed last September as a month. Which is awesome and exactly what we hoped for. But, there are also all of those pains of growing that quickly. Jeff has not had a full day off since May and is putting in 12-15 hours most days. He does love the work still and has remained excited about this opportunity despite his growing exhaustion.

I attempted to do a few unpacking jobs for his company and mom was awesome enough to watch the kids. This ended up being really hard to schedule and I didn't do as many as I would have maybe liked. The money is good, the work is actually kind of fun, but the logistics is nuts.

We have had lots of visitors. Few of them stayed in our nest, but we spent lots of time with them. Jeff's sister and family came in June and I took them downtown with the kids to Shedd aquarium and Navy Pier. Sarah, my sister, and kids came and were here for two weeks. Then my sister in law Naomi, and nephew, came to visit too. It has been a lot of fun to see everyone.

We have spent a lot of time at my parents. Between going to spend time with family, the jobs, we went for Mom's VBS/my downtime, individual time for Phoebe and Annika, and other random trips we have been in Elgin at least 3 days out of every week. My parents have been great about hosting us. We have loved swimming (the girls are getting quite good, enough that I can sit on the side and watch when I get tired), swinging, gardening, and watching movies.

One big event I focused on was our church's VBS July 18-22. I wrote the curriculum, Connected to Creation, and was the director. We had 170 kids and forty volunteers. It was a huge success, much to my delight. I added in a science session that the kids got a huge kick out of. Mom came and helped decorate, this is the amazing waterfall she created in the corner. We got Jeff away for an afternoon/couple hours of fishing. Always a good time. Annika caught a bass!

Mom came and babysat during a job one day and the girls had some friends over. They created this very cool giraffe costume and then took it to a whole other level and created costumes for everyone and decorated the tv room. Then they made up a play and acted for us. Super fun.

In Elgin they like riding the big wheels. We had recently gone to the dollar theater to see "Rio" and it has a Mardi Gras parade in it. So they recreated it. They tied the bikes together with jump ropes with the wagon in the middle and then filled everything with stuffed animals.

I picked a few cherries. Not a banner year, but I still enjoy doing it. I like harvesting. Often wondered if I would enjoy being a migrant worker. ;)

I opened my etsy shop, nicplynel. It will be fun to have an outlet for my stash of cards. Hopefully some sell, I have fun making them.
And we still have August to go! The kids don't start school until the 24th, but I have most of their supplies already. I can't believe Annika will be gone all day. They are going to Granny camp next week in Iowa. I am hoping to visit several people. So look for another super post!

Carnivale!

Phoebe is soooo creative, I love it. I love that she would rather stay home and come up with her own ideas of how to do things instead of going out. And then Annika takes it to another level.
This particular time it was her own "fair" games. So we had...
our own prize center

fishing

the bean bag toss game and a homemade corn hole next to it

milk the cow (this one was Annika's idea)



bowling over the cups

knock down the tower

and pop the water balloon with homemade arrows (Annika made them from pencils and paper)

It was actually quite fun to play at this fair!

Days of Happiness

We have had a crazy crazy summer so far. But for the most part it has been filled with days of happiness. Jeff's business has EXPLODED to the point that we are somewhat struggling to keep up. But he has hired two more people, I found more people to help with unpacking jobs, and the crating is rolling in. It's a good thing! The kids are being great about no schedule and being schlepped around, mostly because they go to Grandma and Papa's house, which they love. Annika even spent a whole week there.
This is Tanner's touch a truck event in our tv room. Most of the trucks he owns (minus the construction site out in the hole) are here. Lined up. Categorized. We were not to touch it. Phoebe had her recital and did a beautiful job as usual. She has some good toes this one.

And this would be from the real Touch a Truck Day by the park district. He loves this event. Obviously from the previous photo.

And Annika graduated from kindergarten. There was a lovely ceremony. She was quite disappointed to leave school and Mrs. Preboy. But she is enjoying summer immensely.