Hailey Gets Earrings

Eager Anticipation!


Getting it Done! (Notice favorite aunt Michelle holding her hands)


Hailey turned the big "7" on March 22nd. She has been anxiously awaiting this event for quite some time. I have always told her that to have her ears pierced she had to be seven. So, having the memory that she has, she has been eagerly anticipating this day since she was about four. In thinking of how I could make this as memorable as possible for her, I thought I would take her to Minnesota, the Mall of America and to see her favorite Aunt Michelle.
Hailey and Jackson both had spring break for the week before her birthday. I asked my dad to take Jackson so I would only have three kids to cart up there. Jackson ended up getting sick that morning which we just shrugged off as something that he ate. (Wrong!) My dad wasn't bothered by it, so we left about 8:30 to head up there. Hailey and the rest of the kids had no idea where we were going. Total surprise! I even got their bags packed and a cooler in the car without her questioning it. (Although on the way there, Hailey said "Mom, why do you have bread?" I told her in case we get hungry, she dropped and never said anything else)
We are about thirty minutes from the mall, I was chatting with Michelle to see where we would meet and Annaliese, who had slept most of the way, woke up and said she wanted me to hold her. I explained I couldn't do that and drive at the same time. At which point she threw up - everywhere! In the car, in the carseat, on herself, everything! I am by myself with three kids and not very well equiped to clean up vomit. So, I pulled over and spent the next hour cleaning her up, going to the carwash to clean the car seat etc. NOT FUN!!! In the process I had to explain to Hailey what we were doing in Minnesota. So, the surprise was a little ruined. But, I only told her we were going to see Michelle - "for lunch".
We finally made it to the mall and had lunch with Michelle. She took the rest of the day off and then we headed to Libby Lu. I thought if we were going to do it, might as well make it special. Of course, Hailey picked the most expensive earrings, but she has good taste.
She went through the whole process very well and didn't even cry. She held Michelle's hands while Annaliese, Anderson and I looked on.


Anderson watching but not entirely thrilled with being in the stroller.


She was so proud of herself and kept saying the whole day that she didn't cry and her friends would be so excited to see her new earrings. The rest of the day she kept touching them and commenting over and over. It was really quite cute and now she is a big girl with pink star earrings.

The Dogs

A few weeks ago when the wind was really bad and the temp was really low outside, I felt bad for the dogs and let them into the house (from the garage). The dogs have never been inside dogs, and they can't handle being inside for long because it is so hot for them. But, it was kind of fun and the kids got a kick out of it.

Buz and Molly

Buz

Annaliese and Molly

Annaliese loves Molly! Molly is still kind of leary around the kids. She likes them for the most part but you can tell that she is just like "what ever". For some reason though, Annaliese really takes to Molly and wants to pet her and be near her. Now Buz loves all the kids and totally takes it all in, all the attention and is very enthusiastic about them. Overall, it was a fun evening to have them in the house. I have no idea what we would do if it was a permanent thing, our house is small enough without another 25o pounds of dog!

Cow Girl!

Brad was working on Steve and Alicia's car and we were hanging out in the living room. The kids were all playing upstairs with Andrew (their little boy). All of a sudden, Annaliese appears at the top of the stairs in this cowboy/girl getup. It was hilarious! Just look at her grin!

I tried to get a picture of all the kids together and none of them really turned out that great - too much grandstanding. But, I got a good picture of Jackson and Andrew.

Ski Trip

Brad and I took a little ski trip to Galena last weekend. We went with our friends, Mark and Jenna. Brad's parents watched the kids all weekend. We left on Saturday morning and stayed at the Stoney Creek Inn. We couldn't check in right away, so we headed to Chestnut Mountain. It has been at least nine years since we last skied, so we were a little out of practice, very slow going to start.
Of course, we picked one of the coldest weekends to go. The morning wasn't bad but after lunch - not so great. The winds picked up and the temperature dropped. I think by 4:00 it was already in the teens. So, after lunch, I only did another three runs or so and left the skiing to them. I wish that we would have gotten more pictures of our hotel and going out that evening, but I wasn't thinking about that. Needless to say, it was a very expensive day for how little we skied, but at least we did it.
Our hotel was fabulous, if you don't count the church group kids that were running through the halls, banging on doors, until after midnight. We weren't the only ones annoyed with it - at check out the next morning, everyone was complaining. Brad talked to the manager Monday and they sent us a free voucher to stay there again. We plan on taking the kids sometime this spring. They have rooms that have bunk beds in it, which will be perfect.

What I am reading...

So, it's been a while since I last posted. I thought I was on a roll... Oh, well. I have been trying to get into reading again - in spite of everything else that I have going on. I have been going back and forth from non-fiction to fiction and looking for writers that keep me interested. What I find particularly interesting are the writer's personal websites. Knowing more about the writer's history and what they are motivated by gives me inspiration to dig a little deeper into myself and what it is that I have to say, to contribute.

I will try to figure out how to put this in a separate spot on this blog, but I haven't gotten that far yet. So, a short synopsis of where I am at now:

An Inconvenient Book - Glenn Beck


~Still haven't finished it. Brad read it start to finish and I think that is the first book that he has read cover to cover. That says a lot, regardless of what you think about him! (Glenn Beck, not Brad) It is a very funny book and he makes humorous ventures into the political correctness of being a liberal. I am anxious to finish it.

I Am America and So Can You! - Stephen Colbert


~I thought that if Brad finished the Beck book, then he would really like this one too. I am not sure if he has read it all or not. I started it too, but can't seem to get past the first chapter. Not that it's not funny, it is. But almost like he is trying too hard to be funny. This is on my list of things that I want to finish, but not terribly pressing.

Love and Other Impossible Pursuits - Ayelet Waldman


~I checked this out at the library when I was looking for another book by Jennifer Weiner. (W's are together!) She had several titles there and apparently writes a series called the Mommy Tracks, more on that in a bit. So, I read this whole thing and about 90% of it in one sitting. Great book! I can't remember a time when I have read a book in which the protagonist isn't exactly too likeable. You grow to like her, but it's not instant. Actually, I was quite frustrated with her in the beginning. As the story unfolds, you can see how realistic her character is and what an awesome writer Waldman is.
Part of the trouble that I have when reading is that I am always thinking about the author and HOW they have written the story - character, plot, dialogue, etc.
Roughly one-third of a way into the book, I forgot about that stuff and got into the book. Another mark of a great writer, that she made me forget.

Oh, so I didn't even say what the book is about. The majority of the book is about Emilia's relationship with her five year old stepson. He is a real number. The other factors are her new marriage and the death of her daughter by SIDS. How all of this comes together is what makes the story. A very intriguing read.

Death Gets a Time-Out - Ayelet Waldman


~This is one of the books in the Mommy Track series. I liked the title, so I checked it out. It's about a stay-at-home mom that starts to investigate murders and do a little PI work. I am a few chapters into this one and I do like it. I will post more after I finish it.

So, that's where I am at right now. I checked out Waldman's website and found out that her husband is a Pulitzer Prize winning author, Michael Chabon. I may try to read some of his work as well. If you have any great books that you think I should check out, let me know! Because I do have all this free time on my hands! Hee, Hee, Hee!

Kids are sick

Anderson
Annaliese

So... The kids aren't feeling well. It started with Annaliese on Saturday night, thought she was better on Sunday and then Sunday night she got sick again. Anderson hasn't been sleeping well either. Then yesterday, Jackson got sick and now I am hoping the rest of us don't get it. Hailey is feeling fine so far. I am so run down with lack of sleep at this point, I don't think I could handle getting sick. Of course, maybe if I did, Brad could stay home and take care of me ~ wouldn't that be nice?! These pics I took of Annaliese and Anderson when they were finally sleeping for a nap yesterday. They are always so sweet when they are asleep.

End Result...

Okay - He's up now and here is the end result of our haircut adventure. He wouldn't sit long enough for me to take a pic of him by himself, so I had to let him play on the computer so I could get the shot. He loves anything electronic that he isn't supposed to be playing with.

Haircut for the Little Man

So everyone has been giving me a hard time about Anderson's hair, that it's too long in back. Does anyone offer to take him to get it cut? NO!!! They make me do it and get embarassed at the salon. He SCREAMED the entire time! Just like his first haircut. I had all the kids with me and they tried to help as much as three kids can when the fourth is screaming his head off. Anderson is sleeping now so I will get a picture of him when he wakes up with his new "do". It's not the best cut because he was moving around so much, but it's better than it was. Truthfully, it sounded like he was at the doctor getting shots. I am not kidding - just ask the kids. I vote for Brad to take him next time. He does look like a Little Man now - and still really cute! His isn't as hard to cut as Jackson's was. Jackson had all those curls and they never grew back. Anderson's is just straight as can be. (Oh - I forgot to mention the gal cutting his hair cut her finger because he was squirming so much. I consider that an "occupational hazard") I'm just sayin'....

Michelle

Michelle wasn't able to make it up for Jackson's birthday but she usually comes a couple of times a month from Minneapolis to visit. She was back at Thanksgiving and helped us go to get our Christmas tree. We go to the Kris Kringle Christmas tree farm off HWY 218. This pic of her and Hailey was really good. I wanted to get up a picture of her too, so this is the one that I chose. Her and Hailey are two peas in a pod. I have her to thank for Hailey's fashion sense and love of shopping.

Grandma Hazel and Grandpa Ron

I didn't have time yesterday to get these photos up with my parents and the kids. These were also taken at Jackson's birthday party. My dad has his Retired Army hat on. I think the "Nitro" hat finally got too worn out! He is usually the one that has the smarties for the kids.