Proved My Point

Life definitely is everchanging and you can never know what to expect. Saturday definitely ended differently than I had planned...

Picture day is tomorrow. So yesterday I took Annika to get a haircut. I am obviously not getting the point across to these women, because it is again even shorter than I would like. Now I have to admit it is super cute and totally fits her. But I have been struggling with the boy comments and issues this summer.

This particular occasion sort of pushed me over the edge. Chalk it up to all the other stuff going on and I am somewhat emotionally unstable at this point. More than I even realized I think. So anyway Annika and I ended up having it out. I finally got out of her that she is afraid to be a girl because of my c-sections and doesn't want to have to be cut open. Which led to a very long talk about birth and menstruation, complete with illustrations via the internet. I did manage to skirt the fertilization issue. By then Mommy was somewhat drained.

But we still have the issue of making Annika look at least slightly more girly so people will let her in bathrooms and so she looks female in the class picture. So I struck up a deal. Both girls could get their ears pierced and Annika has to let me put goop in her hair and style it. Done. Everyone headed for the mall, including Daddy for moral support.

The girls were awesome! They weren't afraid and niether one cried! Phoebe chose pink sparkly crowns and Annika has in golden dolphins circling a rhinestone. We also checked out all the cool offerings at Claire's and they can't wait to get earrings that look like candy and animals. Super cute. Super brave. A little girly. Mommy is a little happier. Hopefully my plan works. But at least they like them and look fabulous!

Life Everchanging

I don't think it is possible for change not to occur. There is always the ebb and flow of the everyday. Sometimes the currents are stronger than others.
So changes during September:
1. Babysitting has come to an end. Like most endings it has been stressful. One child was my decision, and the other was the parents. Either way, it is over. I am not ready to watch another family's child for awhile. It will be interesting to see how Tanner and I do all by ourselves. It has been a long time since I only had one child at home!
2. School is in full swing. The girls are both doing well and enjoying it. Right now it is pretty easy for both of them, hopefully it will get more challenging. Dance and gymnastics are going very well.
3. Jeff's company slowed down for a couple weeks, but is picking up again. He knows that the two middle weeks of the month are going to have less jobs (another very natural ebb and flow). But he is not used to being at home that much without a huge pile of work in front of him. He is starting to realize why being a stay at home dad or early retirement may not be as wonderful as he would think. LOL!
4. Tanner is now to the pretending stage. He loves Diego and hears animals in trouble and sees them on our shoulders all the time. It is a lot of fun.

Some things never change. Tanner still spends most of his time digging in the dirt. Jeff is engrossed in football and baseball (Twins clinching was a big celebration in our house). The girls have had lots of playdates (although we are getting a bit overwhelmed with those). And me. I have been reading. The Hunger Games series has had me riveted. Excellent, well written books and lots to think about. My scrapping mojo is back--been getting kind of artsy on my pages.

Who knows what October may bring?

Firsts and Last

We have seen the last of diapers!!!!!!! Tan truly IS the man in his Lightning McQueen undies. He has very few accidents and is staying dry and clean even at night. I'm not sure who is most excited: Tan milking us for rewards and loving his adoring audiences, Mommy because it went so well and fast, or Daddy who is finally free of diaper bills. And we had the first day of school. Annika is officially a kindergartener. And loves it. It was more of a struggle to get her back home than anything! Check out her flaming Converse!

And Phoebe already adores second grade. Her favorite thing from today? Her teacher writes the schedule for the day on the board so she knows exactly what is happening. And she has her outfits for the next week already picked out. Yes, I must claim this girl. Sorry about the pic. Not sure why it didn't flip.

Important Times

**Quick note on the playlist: I have added and moved around. I tend to pick songs that I like to sing to or that move me emotionally. I also turn it on whenever I am scrapping. So if you don't prefer a song, you can use the buttons on the playlist box to turn it off or change the song, or just click a song. (Dad, Over the Rainbow just got moved down a little.)

I remember spending the night with my grandparents as a child and have wonderful memories of those times. I want our kids to have those same kinds of special memories, and thankfully all of their grandparents are more than willing to oblige.
The girls went back to Iowa for a week for what they all called, "Granny Camp." They went on Sunday and then I showed up Thursday night and stayed the weekend. They did all sorts of crafts: decorated pillows, dug for fossils, painted little frames, and played and played.
Granny got a new parakeet while we were there, Dexter.

They went swimming almost every day with cousins at the Nevada pool. I think they have nearly perfected handstands and somersaults.

Tanner loved getting in on the action for the last few days.

And then on Saturday Granny kept Tanner for some one on one tractor time and I took the girls to the State Fair. Another of my fave summer memories I wanted to share with them.

The first of our many foods we shared: a footlong freshly dipped and fried corndog. The only way to eat them.
With the biggest pumpkin. We also saw the other veggies, flowers, the butter cow, watched them judge brownies, and the cakes.

Of course we had to stop and make spin art and get homemade ice cream cones. We hit the midway for one ride, went down the giant slide, saw the Bill Riley talent show, a hypnotist, ALL the animals (including the birth of four different kinds--interesting), all of the arts and crafts in the culture building, saw my cousins at their booth, got tattoos in the Varied Industries building, and MORE!

More food! Grater taters, a giant cup of melon, fresh lemonade, a funnel cake, a pork tenderloin, and a caramel apple. Good thing we shared it all! The girls loved it all!

The week before the girls spent the week at my parents. They rode bikes, went school shopping, and more swimming and helping in the garden. They also made the cutest stuffed animals (that I need to post). The girls made drawings and then they cut them out of felt and sewed them. Super cute.
This is our favorite bistro patio in the summer. :)

Mom and Dad with happy grandkids.

It was evening, and I need to do this pic with sun, but this is one of my fave views looking from the swing down over the patio, to the pool and garden beyond.

Phoebe took some pretty amazing pictures of flowers and veggies. Again, kind of dark, but super composition.

School starts this week. Can't believe summer is already gone! We accomplished most of the stuff I wanted to this year. Maybe next year we'll do even more.

Recently

Recently we have:
1. Our good friends the Vasey's visited from Iowa. They drug us to the Bears Family Fun Night. No, not really, I am just kidding. We loved it and had a great time. Jeff did wear his Minnesota shirt to at least show a little of his true allegiance (he was smart enough not to wear Vikings gear). It will be interested to see what teams the kids choose to follow. Hear we are outside getting ready to go in Soldier Field.

Tanner was quite impressed with the big bear and the fireworks.

We had FABULOUS tickets. Third row off the 45 yard line.

Jeff of course had to work, so he just took Justin with him. They enjoyed it being the two of them like old times working and joking around together. I did not put their silly pictures on here. Not family appropriate. Just like old times. :)

And then we scored super cheap tickets to the Camp Rock/Jonas Brothers concert on the lawn. The kids LOOOVED it! I wish you could have seen them dancing. They out shone the Disney dancers for sure.

It was a great weekend. We had a good time hanging out and catching up.

2. I also realized that we have lived here for TWO whole years! Can you believe it? And we are staying! You might actually be able to write our names in your address books in pencil instead of just a post it note now. Hee hee. But really, we like it here and are glad we have a great home and some roots.

And OH So Much More

Man have we been busy so far this summer! Be prepared. This is the June and July post. It is huge! I took the girls the other day to a trail and we FINALLY have perfected riding bikes!!!! Now the girls are obsessed. Sweaty, stinky bike riding fools. Up and down the street, around and around. It is so awesome to see the sense of freedom in their faces.

Other than that, this week was fairly easy going. Last week was vacation Bible school. I was the co-director and that went fairly well, in the end it was all worth it to see 140 happy little kids.
My sister Sarah came to visit the second week of July. We took the train downtown and had a blast! We walked the kids to Buckingham Fountain, spent the afternoon at Shedd Aquarium, took the bus around the loop, played at Millenium Park, and ate at a sidewalk bistro. It was a late night getting home and every minute was worth it.

Tanner still talks about how, "Dolphins jump out water. People carry penguins. Penguins hop, seal climb rock, me LOVE it!"

Jeff has bottled the pear wine from last year finally and has another batch of cherry wine brewing. I am enjoying a glass every evening. Especially now that Jeff is back home to enjoy it with me!

We crashed my parents house with some friends for the 4th. We had a lovely picnic, fireworks, and swimming. We also spent four days there in mid-July (Mommy needed the down time that visit). Each girl spent two days and nights individually in June. And we are trying to set up another trip for the girls.

I took the kids to the Naperville children's museum. Jaxson (that I babysit) threatened to ruin it all with a tantrum, which made me appreciate how well behaved in public my kids really are. My kids loved it. Lots of super science stuff, right up their alley. This is them making a giant bubble around the three of them.

In June the girls took two weeks of swim lessons. Annika passed to the next level, and now that the pressure is off Phoebe is actually swimming better than her. We have made numerous visits to the Plymesser bed and breakfast pool, and some best friends in Lockport have a little patio 3 foot deep pool that the girls practice in. They have both learned to dive to the bottom, somersault, American crawl, front float, and are diving in off the side! If you know Phoebe (and know that until this summer she was deathly afraid to get her face wet) you realize how HUGE this is! I love letting them just GO and watching them love every minute!

Jeff is home and is working his very own business Full Time now! He loves every minute of it. Makes us wonder what he was thinking being a banker in a cubicle for 12 years. Silly. Central Crating is the perfect thing for him...the tools, the truck, working with new people constantly, and then using all of his management and finance skills running everything himself. He is the happiest I have ever seen him. And the business is flourishing.

This was the serious photo on father's day. Seriously.

I discovered a fishing hole in a subdivision nearby. We went the first time Father's day, and have gone twice more since. Perfect place to fish with kids: no weeds, no bugs, and zillions of little hungry fish. The family loves it!

Took the kids strawberry picking. YUM YUM YUM! i know we ate more than we took home.

Annika finished her softball season with two catches! We were so proud. Quite the little slugger too.

The kids and I hit a Joliet Jackhammer game. I have no idea how it went for the kids. Luckily we had friends there, I spent 45 minutes in line to find out they were out of hot dogs, so I missed a majority of the night. I think the kids had a good time.

I let the kids go out and play in one of our many many rain storms. Phoebe collected a whole family of worms.

The Carsrud cousins came in for the recital and the kids had a blast in the yard and riding scooters. We introduced them to Bandz bracelets, IKEA, and drive up Dunkin' Donuts. Lots of good city stuff. :)

The amazingly talented and gorgeous dancer! Phoebe is quite the little entertainer on stage and did a wonderful job in her tap, ballet, and jazz dances. It was a long recital (almost 3 hours), but we all enjoyed it. Especially me. Brought back all sorts of memories from when I was little and dancing. I am so glad that Phoebe loves it so much.

The Tan man LOVED touch a truck day at the park. He climbed in and on dump, garbage, snow, UPS, fire, and digger trucks, a bus, a crane, and so much more. He was in HEAVEN to say the least.

I never would have survived Jeff being gone for 2 and half months without our trusty babysitters Carmen and Hannah. We will miss them greatly next year when they go to college! I also relied heavily on my parents and several of our friends. Thank you anyone who let me have an hour or two to myself every once in awhile!!!!!!

One of the weekends that Jeff was not home at all we conducted super craft day. We baked, made stepping stones, wall hooks, super balls, gummy martians, lip gloss, and I can't remember what else. We cleaned out the craft closet it was awesome.

And I don't have pictures of some of my big accomplishments. One: I am the tannest in my life ever thanks to all of these activities with the kids. I painted a bathroom and our master bedroom (the first time out of 9 houses). Both are shades of green, and I love them both. AND I read the entire Twilight series. I am still on the fence about how well I liked the style of writing, but the action and story line sucked me in. Enough that I read four 500 page or more books in four weeks in addition to everything else going on. Ok. I guess I liked them. But only Jacob, not Bella.

Whew! I think I need a nap from typing all of that! I can't wait to scrap it all and remember even more of the fun ness of this summer.