Loose Ends

Just some loose ends to share with you.

Pooser has been getting a lot of love and attention around here lately.  She actually seems to like Clara, though, and will jump up onto her lap, much to Clara’s delight.  She holds her arms out and says “hold Pooser.”

Clara has also become very interested in going to school with her brother.  When we’re getting ready to take Adam to school, Clara starts saying “School too,” “Backpack too.”  She doesn’t have a backpack, so she uses the Mickey lunch carrier that came with Adam’s backpack.  She insists on wearing it like a backpack, though, so this is what it ends up looking like.

I’m going to school!

So far, we’ve only had minor tantrums when we arrive at school and she figures out that she isn’t actually going inside with Adam.  One day I did let her get out of the car and walk to the door with Adam.  She lined up with all the other kids and started saying hi to everyone.  I had to yank her out of the line when she started filing inside with everyone else.  The only thing that saved me was that she got to go to the store with Mama, so that satisfied her.

Adam teaching Clara how to play Angry Birds.

Dinner out on the deck!

Happy Birthday to MAMA!

Tuesday was my birthday, and it was the best birthday I’ve had in a long time!  The only yucky part was that Phil was out of town, so I was missing him.
However, these two totally picked up the slack and made my day so wonderful.

Adam had been anticipating my birthday and moving my marker closer and closer to the Big Day on our birthday countdown.  On Tuesday morning, he woke up and gave me his usual smile and “Good morning, Mama.”  Then he stopped in his tracks and looked up at me with elation on his face and said, “Happy Birthday, Mama!!!”  So sweet to see the light go on as he remembered.

Adam then decided that he was going to make me a cake for my birthday since Daddy was not home.  So, we left early and stopped by the grocery store to buy the ingredients.  In the car, Adam said we should buy eggs, butter, milk, chocolate chips, and brown sugar…not too far off.

When we got to the store, we went to the baking aisle and Adam looked at all the cake mixes for a while.  He ended up choosing yellow cake and chocolate frosting.  Then he stood in front of the sprinkles for about 5 mins. and chose some red, white, and blue sprinkles.  Clara wanted to choose her own as well, and she chose pastel star sprinkles.  Adam told other shoppers that he was making a cake for Mama’s birthday – they all thought the kids were absolutely adorable (Mama Pride kicks in).  Adam scanned the groceries himself (Clara scanned her sprinkles), and he bagged it all, too.  He was totally invested in this cake!  It was great, too, since he was telling everyone it was my birthday.  Lots of birthday wishes all day!

Adam and Clara mixed the cake and put it in the oven to bake and then cool while Adam was at school.  He came home and then the real fun began.  Adam tried to write “Mama,” but got distracted after M-A and then tried to draw a heart, so it ended up being a “sort of” M-A and then a giant blob of red.  It was outstanding.

I spoke briefly on the phone with my brother during the decorating and he asked me what the theme of the cake was.  I told him the theme was pretty much “pile of sprinkles.”

This pretty much sums it up.  Adam is totally proud of his work and Clara just can’t figure out why we’re not eating it yet.  Although, you can tell from their mouths that there was a bit of frosting eating going on during the decorating.

So happy that he made his mama a cake!  (You can still see Clara off on the right trying to grab the cake.)

A close-up of the masterpiece.  I wasn’t joking.  Pile of sprinkles.

More blessings of the day:  Flowers from my wonderful husband!!!  Can’t wait till he’s home on Friday.

We took the cake over to our dear friends The Smiths, who had us over for dinner on my birthday.  We had such a fun time and it was a blessing to be with good friends – they were so thoughtful to make it special for me and the kids had a good time playing and singing happy birthday to me.

Thank you everyone for all the Facebook, email, text, and phone birthday wishes, and thank you children for blessing me beyond belief on my birthday!

Spring is Finally Springing!

We have finally broken through the wall of winter and have had some warmer temps the past few days.  The kids went straight from wearing winter coats to shorts and sandals – craziness!  It’s been fun, though, and so good to get outside and have new activities to keep us busy.

I wanted to include this.  I say to Adam, “Draw a person,” and this is the result – pretty good!  The things that seem to be stacked on the guy’s arms are his fingers, Adam explained to me.

Hanging out outside after dinner.

Doing “moose antlers” just like Daddy taught her.

The kids LOVE doing water balloons, and we’ve been playing with them a lot after Adam comes home from school in the afternoons
Adam getting silly with the balloons.

Looking cute in her spring colors.

We’ve been playing hide-and-seek and chase a lot lately.  Apparently, Clara thinks that when she assumes this position, she is hiding and we cannot see or get her.  She has always done this and it cracks me up.  Many times, when I am trying to get her into the car, she runs into the other room and does this to hide from me.  She laughs while she is doing it.

We made brownies the other day and these two thought licking the bowl at the end was the best part.  Adam was kind enough to climb down and get his sister her own little spoon.

What?  Me?  I didn’t eat any brownie mix?

The Garden – 2013

We planted the garden last weekend.  We planted more this year than we have in the past.  Lettuce, carrots, snap peas, and beans are in the ground, and cilantro, basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and parsley are in a planter that we keep on the deck.  This year was really fun since the kids were interested and able to be involved.  It will be fun when stuff starts to grow (knock on wood) and they can see the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor.
The fam…diggin’ in the dirt.

The beans were the best.  Easier for the kids to work with.

Clara was standing by the whole time with her watering can, waiting for her services to be needed.

The big moment had arrived!

Easter at Home

Happy Easter!
We made it back home to celebrate our risen Lord with Daddy.  We had a great morning at church.  This year, Adam was able to tell me that Easter means that “Jesus came back alive and He loves us.”  Good stuff to know.
My babies in their Easter outfits after church.  Daddy was behind the camera.Clara was a little more willing for the camera than Adam, so here’s a photo of just Clara and Mama.  She kept calling her dress a princess dress.

Easter egg hunt at home.

Pretty happy about his life!

Mom, leave me alone so I can eat my treats and read my new book.

Front Door: The Easter Edition.

Spring Break in Albert Lea

During our whirlwind trip to MN, we got to spend a little bit of time visiting Grandpa Casey and Grandma Peg down in Albert Lea.  Grandpa waited to do the chores until Adam got there, so he got to feed all the animals and see the new chicks, too.  Clara continues to be very interested in the animals, but has second thoughts once she is actually in their presence.

The highlight of the visit was making hand and foot sugar cookies with Grandma – complete with nail polish!

Using the hand and foot cookie cutters.

Once the cookies came out of the oven, the kids got to paint the fingernails and the toenails!
The mani-pedis in progress.

Adam was actually quite skilled.

 Not sure how much I would pay for a manicure from this girl.

 Peg and Casey gave me my birthday gift early.  Those of you who do not watch Downton Abbey won’t get the full awesomeness of this gift.  I myself am a recent fan, but once I started watching, I was all in!

The Hunt

Dying Easter eggs with Grandma Ann.  It was Clara’s first time, but Adam was a professional.

Adam went straight for the red – his favorite color right now.

Clara went for the blue – her favorite.  As usual, she followed everything Adam did.  Every time he checked on his egg, she had to do the same.

 Two lovely ladies!  Clara spilled a little bit of dye when she tried to eat it, so she went topless for the remainder of the activity.  She’s a classy girl, I tell ya.

 Adam had been waiting to do this for weeks.

 Very proud of her eggs!  Complete with stickers.

Adam, again the more experienced veteran, knew what was inside the eggs and was very enthusiastic about the hunt.

Clara was, as usual, excited to be doing whatever Adam was doing.  You’ll notice the bunny ears were back on.

 Happy Easter, everyone!

She’s a Second Generation Bunny

My mom made these cute bunny ears for my first Halloween costume.  I think I was just a little bit younger than Clara in this photo.

My mom kept them all these years, and once she showed them to Clara, the girl wanted to wear them all the time.  You know how she is with accessories.

On the hunt for her eggs.

Boy’s Best Friend

I honestly think that Birdie gets excited when Adam comes to visit her.  She and Adam spend so much time playing with each other – it’s great times for both of them.  As soon as Adam finds out we’re going to visit Grandma and Grandpa, he starts talking about playing ball with Birdie.
So excited!

After Birdie catches the ball Adam waits and she rolls it back to him with her nose.  So cute.

Wait for it…

Go!

Spring Break Travels

I made a split decision to return to The Motherland (Minnesota) for Adam’s spring break.  Unfortunately, Phil couldn’t come with us, but the kids and I had a great time.  As always, short but sweet time with the fam.

Here is how Adam spent nearly the entire flight to MN.  He was a big boy and sat all by himself across the aisle from Clara and me.

Clara, on the other hand, was so excited for her first time riding in her own seat!  She was fascinated by everything including her seat belt and the button to recline her seat.  She also enjoyed playing with her busy bags, watching Mickey, and eating all the airplane snacks the flight attendant would give her.  The flight went so well, Mama was even able to enjoy a glass of wine!

Once we arrived, it all went too fast, as always.  We enjoyed short visits with Aunt Bethy, Shana, and Kitty and her girls.  We missed seeing all of these ladies at Christmas, so it was wonderful to see them this time around, even for just a short time.

Left to right: Clara, Adam, Eleanor, and Elise playing an intense game of Candy Land Bingo.  So fun for Kitty and I to have them all together!

Look at these two working together!

Clara fell in love with her Buh Pa during this trip.  (She calls Grandpa “Buh Pa” and Grandma “Ga Ga”).  Now that she is old enough to know her peeps, she is a big time lover.

Look at all the love.  So sweet to me.

The kids LOVE doing “Stinky Feet” with Ga Ga.  When we are back at home, they ask me to do it, but it’s not the same.  I can’t make them laugh nearly as hard as when Ga Ga does it.

Then there’s Unco Matty – an entirely different brand of fun.  He had both of the kids going pretty good.  They played chase for about a half an hour, I think.

He taught Clara about “down low…too slow!”  Ah, the anticipation!!!

Someone needed to borrow Birdie’s bed for a little rest.

The kids were really into the baby in Aunt Jessie’s belly.  Lots of pats and kisses for the baby.  Jessie is doing great and the nursery looks outstanding!!!  Baby is going to be one very blessed and loved little girl.

More posts coming from our Minnesota time!