It's Miller Time

My sweet boy

2011-09-30T12:36:00.001-07:00

Calvin complimented Ike the other day, "You are good at that Ike!" I said, "That's so nice, Calvin." He responded, "There are some kids at school who tell Barry* he isn't good at anything. So whenever I'm working on a project with Barry or am playing with him, I always tell him, "You are really good at that!"

I about died when Cal told me this. Isn't this the sweetest thing? I am so proud of my thoughtful, empathetic, caring boy. What a good friend.

*Some names were changed to protect the privacy of the person(s) involved.

Ike again

2011-09-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

I was hanging out in the toy aisle with Ike and Rose. Ike said, "Look over here to see what I want, mom." And then he made a big sweeping motion with his arm and said, "Behold!"

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Ike calls Rose "Chubby Pants" in a very endearing way. Today, a little girl four months older than Rose came over. Ike said, "The big baby pushed the little baby down." I asked, "Who is the little baby?" He said, "Rose." I asked, "Who is the big baby?" He pointed and said, "Her." I asked, "What's her name?" He said with a smirk, "Chubby Pants?"

First day of school 2011

2011-09-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

This picture is the right way on the computer. I don't know why it is flipped. :(

The boys and their toys

2011-08-21T07:03:00.001-07:00

My kids no longer play with most of our toys. Here is what they play with:

Cal- legos, balloons, costumes, spy stuff, magic kit

Ike- legos, hot wheels, making forts

We have some very amazing toys that are being unused. What should I do with them? Some can be saved for Rose- like Mr. Potato Head, fake food and cash register, and puppets . But what about all the guns, geo trax, Thomas the Train, trucks, stuffed animals? These are all quality toys from thoughtful people. I will probably save a few things, lend out some things, and pass on the rest.

Crazy Ike

2011-07-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

Ike to me: You told me that I should do unto others what he does to me. So I hit him back.

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Ike to me when he was mad: Then I'm going to stink up the house! (Steps on foot pedal to garbage can and holds his nose- very angry face)

5.2011

2011-06-06T11:31:00.001-07:00

Camping as a family for the first time!

2011-04-14T08:04:00.001-07:00

I am reposting this from July 29th, 2009, because some sickos are commenting on my blog and I wanted to erase their comments and the pic they are commenting on. We went camping this weekend about 25 miles away on the St. Croix river (borders WI and MN). It took us three stops and many hours to get there. It wasn't car camping. We actually had to hike in almost a mile. Downhill and uphill. We had to make multiple trips because we just couldn't carry it all. It was... tiring. Eric was the main mule, though, and I'm thankful for his strong, sexy muscles. We brought Tootie and that was my main regret of the trip. She loved it and had a blast, but she was pretty annoying. She was anxious a lot of the time and if we let her off the 30 foot leash, she ran out of our site. So, if we do this again, it will be sans dog. Cal was exhausted when we left this evening and fell asleep in the car at 6:15pm, even though he knew we were stopping at Jamba Juice. Ike took a nap today, though, and I'm pretty sure he's still awake from all the excitement (9 o'clock). Turkey. These pictures are out of order because of stupid blogger. The more I use facebook, the more I hate blogger. Anyone else? Eric making lunch for us.

When there's nothing to do, this is what you do- organize the chairs.

Dirty, dirty child. Click on it to get a close, personal look.

Cal playing with a saw.

Cal playing with a saw and Ike playing with an ax. Again, when there's nothing to do....

Climbing up a stinking steep hill.

Crazy kids.

Cal is dancing here.

Cal took this picture of his hot mom.

Cal is afraid of climbing any higher. He's getting wussier as he ages.

And then there's Ike- he did this all by himself and was proud and not fearful. Our camp. The boys slept in the far tent and we had to switch it up in the middle of the night b/c they kept having issues (lost blankie, messed up sleeping bag, etc).

breakfast.

The Toots.

We went to Sonic on the way there. Here's Ike playing with the trash with a corndog stuffed in his mouth.

3.2011

2011-03-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

2/2011

2011-03-30T12:26:00.001-07:00

Winter Carnival and fun with the Millers

2011-02-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

Little Rose is starting to sit up by herself. Grandpa and Grandma got Rose these sunglasses.

At the Winter Carnival in St. Paul. A bear

A dog

The Millers with the kids

Gross.

Me and Cal

More quotes

2011-01-16T16:45:00.000-08:00

Ike: Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Mom?
Me: What are you thinking?
Ike: I'm thinking what you are thinking.

<><><><><><<><><<><><><><><><<><><><><><>

Cal: If I'm ever in the army, I do not want to fight. I will work on the computers.
Ike: I will fight in the army! I will knock down the big kids!! (said while twisting waist and punching fists in the air)

Overheard...

2011-01-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

Ike: You are bigger than me, Calvin, so I need to eat as much as I can so that I will grow tall like you.
Cal: [laughing] That won't make you taller than me! That will make you fatter than me!

Rose

2011-01-02T16:38:00.000-08:00

Some Xmas photos for the Millers!

2011-01-02T16:31:00.000-08:00

Crazy Rose in the Bathtub

2010-12-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

Warning: Naked Baby Ahead

By Calvin

2010-10-31T19:12:00.000-07:00

Halloween

2010-10-31T19:10:00.000-07:00

If it weren't for Grandpa Steve and Grandma Barb, our kids would be wearing costumes that we already own. Thanks to our amazingly generous grandparents!!

Ike's Fourth Birthday Party

2010-10-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had a party for Ike that was superhero themed. We made pizzas, decorated masks, went on a superhero adventure and broke a pinata.

Eric told the kids he was Super Eyebrow Man and that his mask was the best.

Atticus being bribed to eat his pizza.

Alex wacking the pinata.

Candy, tattoos, pencils and sharpeners. The kids were surprisingly slow and collecting the candy. There wasn't enough competition.

We got a super deal at Party City and bought these costumes for each of the kids. Eric had them put them on so they could go on their adventure.

Eric taught them superhero poses.

Rose in her new garb

2010-10-30T19:06:00.000-07:00

I LOVE dressing up Rose. I take way too long in the morning picking out her clothes. It's a worse obsession than facebook. This

Barb and Steve got this "bunting" at a craft sale. It's amazing.

New York!

2010-10-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

Eric's parents flew him and the boys down to Chicago while I took Rose (and the camera) to New York to visit Laura and her family! I had such a great time being with her family and spending quality time with Rose. Thank you so much, Laura, for being so hospitable to my high-maintenance-ness! And you, too, Isaac- because I know you are an introvert but was nice to me anyway.

Mado and Max loved Rose. They were lovey and wanted to hold her a lot. Max brought her his special blankets many times and wanted to be in charge of where she sat.

Lots of pictures of the crazies

2010-10-13T08:06:00.000-07:00

Calvin, Isaac and Ru did this but I couldn't get them all in the same room for a picture.

Jess knit these pants for Rose. They are beautiful.

Ike took this because he said, "Aw, she looks so cute. Can I take a picture?"

Calvin being a weirdo.

Isaac trying to imitate Calvin. Hahaha.

It's October!
Smiling on the changing table.

The kids watching TV together.

Taking Tootie and Rose for a walk.

Ike and Uncle Jason

Rose with Uncle Jason

Melissa made these adorable shoes for Rose. Rose was happy and smiley but when I left to grab the camera she started screaming.

Aunt Lauren and Mr. Paul Visit!

2010-10-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

The Miller Grandparents Visit!

2010-10-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

Cal's 6th Birthday Party

2010-10-05T09:14:00.000-07:00

Some September Pics

2010-10-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

First day of kindergarten

2010-09-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Twins at Target Field

2010-09-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

Leann visits

2010-09-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

Busy Weekend

2010-08-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

Aunt Becky (my sister) came up on Thursday and stayed till Saturday morning. An hour after she left, Grandpa Steve and Grandma Barb (Eric's parents) came until Sunday morning. It was a busy but relaxing weekend! Can that be?

Again, these are all out of order.

Grandpa Steve and Grandma Barb came up with gobs of clothes for Rose, a ton of action figures for the boys and a desire to buy us as much food as possible (dinner, ice cream, donuts, cupcakes...).

Grandma also brought Dominoes and taught the boys the right way to play.

Cal took this picture of Grandpa. Haha.

Cal wanted Vanilla Bean ice cream.

Rose's first outing to get ice cream at Izzy's.

This was pretty close to when her belly button junk came off. It started stinking really really bad and I finally kinda pulled it off. It was seriously so nasty. She didn't cry or anything so I'm pretty sure it didn't hurt her.

Grandpa and Grandma with the kids.

Aunt Becky with the kids.

Aunt Becky and Rose

Some photos by Tami!

2010-08-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

Rose's Second Day

2010-08-08T17:44:00.001-07:00

All of these are out of order. Anne and Rose

Laura, Mado and Rose

Sweet boy Cal and his baby sister

Ike and Rose

Rose LOVES to suck.

haha.

Grandma Sally meets Rose

Rose's meet and greet

2010-08-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

The scale

Rose and her dad

2010-08-08T17:01:00.000-07:00

Rose in the tub!

2010-08-08T16:18:00.001-07:00

Our coming baby's room

2010-07-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

We are still working on the chair. I just threw an oatmeal colored scrap piece of material over it in the meantime.... But I made that pillow!... with Sarah Jo's help. Sarah painted these birds on the walls. Aren't they magnificent?

Above the birthing tub. I also made that triangle garland banner thingy. The squares on the wall were made by my girlfriends to encourage me during my labor.

And... tada! The tub where I will be birthing our little girl. It matches the walls. I'm pretty sure God planned it that way to make me smile.

Ike's crazy adventures

2010-07-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

If you have a queezy stomach, I'm sorry.

Ike bashed his head on a brick. He cried for a few minutes but then LOVED that he had a story to tell. He's insane and tries to do things that I think are dangerous.

We didn't really know how to cover it well....

VBS program

2010-07-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

Jesse and Ru

Ike and Atticus

Part of Liam, Calvin and Mado

Jane and Ike

Quotes by Qal

2010-07-24T14:51:00.001-07:00

"I don't need to learn how to spell the word 'dollar.' Do you know why? Because I can spell 'buck.' B-U-K."

"There are some decals on the wall at science camp. I know because I peeled them off a little bit. Then I stuck them back on. I was staring at them for a while. Then I looked around and realized everyone had left. They all went outside. So I ran to catch up with them."

Because I think these are funny....

2010-07-24T14:47:00.001-07:00

The boys- Differences and Similarities

2010-06-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

I've always said that my boys are as different as two boys can be. But in a lot of ways, they are alike. So I decided to make a list. Very exciting for you all.

Differences

-Cal has always spoke very clearly and annunciated since he could talk.
-Ike still has a speech problem but is working on it. He doesn't say his Rs correctly and has to slow down to get his Cs, and Gs.

-Cal is all about pretend play. He loves dress-up, superheroes, making forts and slides in the house, and making up his own rules to games.
-Ike loves concrete objects a ton (like trains, diggers and trucks) but has been catching on to Cal's imaginative play and will most always play anything Cal wants.

-Cal, on a regular basis, will drip in his pants still and just sit around in it until I yell at him to go change his disgusting pants.
-Ike very rarely has an accident (maybe two in the past year?) and changes himself.

-Cal loves for everything to have a place but that doesn't mean he will put it away.
-Ike doesn't care where things are.

-Cal, until very recently, was extremely attached to his blanket and wanted to bring it everywhere around the house.
-Ike will throw his blanky away from him when he's upset.

-When Cal is upset, he cries.
-When Ike is upset, he yells.

-Cal started reading small, easy words at this age- he knew all his letters and their sounds.
-Ike only knows the letter "I" and doesn't care about any others.

-Cal doesn't care about sports even though he loves to run around the yard and excercise.
-Ike is very coordinated and loves to hit, throw and kick balls. And Ike learned how to pump on a swing a couple weeks ago!

-Cal needs lots of sleep and always has.
-Ike has always needed less sleep and even now sleeps less than Cal by about a half hour a night.

-Cal is extremely helpful, compassionate and thoughtful.
-Ike loves justice (or his definition of justice!), has his own ideas on most things and perseveres.

-Cal is an extrovert.
-Ike is an introvert.

-Cal loves crafts.
-Ike loves glue.

-Cal will eat when prodded.
-Ike will eat anything.

-Cal wants to please.
-Ike wants to do what he wants to do.

-Cal asks me while we are in the car, "Where are we going again?" even after I tell him.
-Ike asks me as soon as we are dressed, "Where are we going today?!" and will remember and look forward to it until we leave.

Similarities

-Cal and Ike both love to make others laugh.

-They love to make eachother laugh.

-They love books, superheroes, bugs, tv shows, music, playing outside and play-dough.

-They were not cuddlers as babies and wanted to be put down to go to sleep.

-They love the water and are great swimmers for their ages.

-They love people and excitement.

-They love to wrestle eachother and Eric.

That's it for now. I may update this as I think of more.

Cal says to Ike

2010-05-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

"Look outside! There is rain falling from the sky. It's like Jesus is tipping over a glass of water into our world."

2010-05-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

Cal got out of bed last night and came into the office to find me. He walks really quietly at night when he knows he's not supposed to get out of bed. Every time he scares me. And every time, I yell at him not to be so sneaky. Last night was no different.

Me: Calvin! You can not be sneaky! If you need me, walk normal. You are more in trouble when you are sneaky!

Calvin: I just wanted to ask you something...

Me in a not-so-nice voice: WHAT?!

Calvin: Will you say the Lord's Prayer for me?

6 months and counting

2010-05-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

This doesn't really do my belly justice, does it? I'll have a better belly picture next month, maybe.

Bad words

2010-04-23T10:40:00.001-07:00

Calvin has never really picked up bad words from me. He's said "dangit" a couple times and sometimes says "stupid." But he's pretty good about being corrected. Today was the first day he said "crap."
To Ike, "Don't leave that in the car because then there will be too much crap in here." On one hand, I'm glad it took him 5 1/2 years to imitate my terrible vocabulary. But now I feel like I've said it for so long that it's meshed into his brain. Dangit.

Cal and Mado at MOA

2010-04-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

Mado had her 5th birthday this week. She had an all-girls tea party so the day of her party, Laura took Calvin and her to the Mall of America to ride rides. I'm pretty sure they both had a good time. Although Laura did tell me this story: Mado wanted to ride her favorite ride, the ferris wheel. Cal did not want to go on it because it was too high but Laura convinced him to at least stand in line. When it was time to go up, Cal froze and freaked out, so Mado was not able to go on it. She told Cal "My heart is broken." So there you go.

Ike

2010-03-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

Ike said to me, "I want three more peppers and then one more pepper."
Me: "How many is that altogether?"
Ike: "A Christmas tree."

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We lost Calvin's blanket on our vacation for a while.

Cal to Ike: I lost my blankie.
Ike: I made it disappear with my magic powers.
Cal: Well, can you make it reappear?
Ike: No. I can't because the magic is all in my belly.

They really do love eachother.

2010-03-09T12:19:00.000-08:00

Cal is a weirdo. And Ike loves being in his underoos. Cal dressed Ike up with these art backpacks on- one in front one in back. And then did that to himself. I have no idea why.Super Strong Superheroes.

Isaac Joslin, PhD (that means he's smarter than all of us)

2010-03-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

Isaac defended his disertation last week, and we got to celebrate with Laura and Isaac (Mado's parents). We went to Stella's Fish Cafe in Uptown. It's one of our favorites... Here's Isaac looking happy- I don't think that had anything to do with his awesome Mojito.

Isaac has as much problems taking nice pictures with his wife as Eric does.
Me and Laura after our 2 1/2 hour dinner. We separated here- Eric and I went home and crashed while they went to a comedy club and had some more fun. We just couldn't hack it.

Before dinner. Doofuses.

Story about our waitress: Our server definitely was at least half black and when she came to our table the first time, she just stared at me with this funny look. She finally pulled herself together and said, "I feel like I'm looking in the mirror!" Then she said, "When I wake up in the morni- I shouldn't say it like that... I mean, before I put my hair back for work, I look exactly like that!"

Awesome.

Hannah

2010-02-23T05:45:00.000-08:00

Calvin and I were talking about the prophecies of Jesus. I said, "Isn't that amazing! It would be like me saying all sorts of stuff about when you grow up and then all of it coming true! [I gave a bunch of specific examples like him marrying a girl named Hannah]." He said, "Well, we DO know that I will marry Hannah." I said, "We don't know that, but we can guess. Maybe Hannah won't want to get married when she's an adult." Cal responded with concern, "But who will take care of her when she's pregnant [see post below]? And who will take care of her when she's sick?"

Definitely

2010-02-23T05:44:00.000-08:00

While feeling sorry for myself and eating with the kids, I said, "Calvin, one day you are going to grow up and get married. And one day your wife will get pregnant. When she does, make sure you are nice to her. Take care of her. Serve her. Give her lots of love.
Calvin said, "I definitely won't love her more than God."
I responded, "That's good. You shouldn't love anyone more than God."
Then Ike said loudly, "I definitely will show her my magic tricks."

Another Blog!

2010-02-04T17:42:00.000-08:00

My vegan sister, Becky, is starting a blog about her adventures with shopping/cooking with "real food". My mom, Sally, and step-brother, Richard, are also involved. I included the link to the right labelled "Vegan Food" but you can also click here. I'm pretty excited about it because I really need help in trying new things and since they are so far away, I usually just get sad when they tell me all about their homemade bean burgers and tabouli.

I really only have one vegan recipe (that I got from Becky) and it rocks- even Eric likes it! I'll have to add it to the blog if Becky doesn't beat me to it.

Pirates

2010-02-02T10:13:00.001-08:00

We went to General Mills on Saturday for a winter carnival. They had some amazing face-painting going on so the kids picked these pirates.

Brian and Sarah visit

2010-02-02T09:53:00.001-08:00

My cousin, Sarah, and her husband, Brian, stopped by for breakfast a couple weeks ago.

Cal made Brian this hat. It was double-sided. One side was for the Bears. The other was for the Cubs.

Ike and the Attitude

2010-01-30T19:26:00.001-08:00

I have tons of pictures to put up. And I will someday. But Ike has been cracking me up lately and I need to share his hilarity with y'all. However, you probably won't even find it funny. But it may help to remember he has a German accent (he really does).

Reading a menu at a restaurant outloud he says loudly, "Daddy gets yucky food. Mommy gets yucky food. The kids get good food."

After I forgot to let him blow the wrapper off a straw, I said, "I ruined it, Ike." He responded very dramatically, "You ruined my life!"

I left for the store and asked Eric if it's fine to leave Ike since he may be bored watching Cal and Eric play Super Mario Bros. Ike looked up and said, "I don't mind."

At dinner this week, I picked a piece of egg off of his plate and popped it in my mouth. He grunted at me. Then when I got myself seconds (Cal and I were splitting another half of a half- but Ike didn't ask for more), I went to fill up my cup and Ike plopped himself in my seat and ate the whole thing. I said, "IKE! That was mine! Why did you eat my sandwich!" He said very matter-of-factly, "Cuz you ate my egg, so I ate your sandwich. So don't ever do that again."

Baby due 8.10.10

2010-01-19T12:51:00.000-08:00

FYI- that thing coming out of her face is her arm.

Living Baldly

2010-01-15T11:46:00.000-08:00

Update: Here's a picture of Kari that she had on her blog. Haha. I told you- she's hilarious.

My amazing, bold, clumsy, hilarious step-sister-in-law is starting a blog that will journey through the shaving of her gorgeous red curly locks. Check it out if you want:

http://www.livingbaldly.blogspot.com/

That's her in the middle. I'm sad to say I don't have a picture with her glorious hair down.

Obey First

2010-01-13T07:06:00.000-08:00

We don't have an established motto in our home, but we do have a couple sayings that we repeat all the time to our kids. A couple of these are:

*People are more important than things.
*Obey First

This second one is constantly repeated. We do let our kids contest what we have said but they do have to obey first (I'm pretty sure we got this from Shepherding a Child's Heart). Sometimes I feel like they will never get it since we have to remind them about 5x a day.

However, today was different! I was letting the kids watch Sid the Science Kid and when I heard the next show come on, I yelled from the next room "Cal, turn the TV off, please!" He came running into the room saying, "Mom, can I please watch Super Why? It's one that I've never seen before and I just love it!" I walked into the living room and guess what?! The TV was off! I was so proud that of course I said yes.

Hooray for repeating oneself over and over and over.

Loneliness and Neediness

2010-01-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

I don't want to put dates on here, but Eric has to go out of town for work pretty soon from a Sunday through a Wednesday. I'm pretty nervous but am grateful we live in a day and age where I can use the TV to help me get through the days.

Here's how you can help:

- Come visit if you live far away. Take off many days from work so that you can come up here and help me work. And then I can take a nap while you cook our family food and play with the kids.

- Invite me and the kids over for dinner. We are very happy eating leftovers, grilled cheese or frozen pizza. We just like the company. And keeping busy.

- Come to my house for dinner. I will cook something fabulous (probably not, actually).

If you are interested in dates, email me and I will let you know. Thank you, support group.

Awesome new tights

2010-01-08T20:42:00.000-08:00

I needed a new picture b/c I'm sick of looking at my belly. So here I am with my new funky tights Becky and Cheryl got me for xmas. I always want to dress crazy but never have the guts (plus Eric disuades me). Well, not today, people! I'm wearing what I want! (Um, the hat is on because I had hat-head.)

Why I've Been a Slacker Blogger

2010-01-05T19:24:00.000-08:00

8 Weeks Pregnant and already showing. It's either backed-up pooh (too much info, I know) or my belly really knows what to do OR there are two babies in there. I've been ridiculously sick and not taking pictures. But I've been having some good days and even getting to eat, so hopefully, I'll be a better blogger soon!

PS Yes, my belly button is always that weird.

Cal draws a present

2009-12-10T17:33:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend

2009-12-10T17:21:00.000-08:00

My mom, Tom and brother Jason came up for Thanksgiving. We decided to do our big dinner on Friday so that my mom could help prepare it and because I wasn't feeling well. So the group brought up Giordano's pizza from Chicago for dinner. Here it is coming out of the oven. (My mom made the pies on top of the oven while I was sleeping, bless her heart).

Thanksgiving Day- Good-looking Eric
Brother Jason with The Toot. Jason kept petting Tootie so she didn't leave him alone the entire time he was here. He was Tooted out by the time he left.

Fresh asparagus.

Joe was wifeless for the day so he came to eat with us.

Ahhh. The pies.

Yeah, it's a bad picture. But it makes me laugh.

Ike showing off his gum.

Tom and Sally at the Global Market on Saturday. My mom and I split West African food (so good).

Uncle Jason bought these sugar pops for the kids. I wouldn't let them drink it all because I'm annoying.

My new necklace that I bought there for $5.50.

A Note From Cal

2009-11-16T09:25:00.000-08:00

When we got home from the Y, Calvin ran to write me a note before doing anything else. Here it is:

The outside And the inside

Well thanks, Cal. I'll get right on that.

Food Faces

2009-11-16T09:21:00.000-08:00

Sarah Jo got Calvin and Ike these plates for their birthdays. They are a HUGE hit. I love them, too, and get to be creative at every meal. This is their lunch- porkchops (sideburns- aren't they also called "chops?" Haha! I just realized that), ketchup for the nose, pb for the beard, apples for the afro hair and carrots for the eyebrows.

See, Sarah? Look how happy they are!

More Art

2009-11-14T16:10:00.000-08:00

Aunt Becky got Cal lots of art stuff for his birthday. Here they are using all the supplies- googly eyes (cal's fave), fuzzy balls, glitter glue and brand new markers (which are always needed because somehow, caps go missing and markers dry out).Cal's monster in progress.

Ike looking sweet (pshh). My chin looks like Jay Leno's here.
Ike's monster with "lotsa eyes."

And then there's Eric. This is what he does everytime something breaks: He takes the whole thing apart, eventually uses super glue on something, puts it back together and- walah! It works! (Sometimes he doesn't even fix it- he just cleans it. But it still ends up working). This time, it's a mini-blender from Aunt Lauren that won't work. And as I write this, I hear the mini-blender working. Eric is a genius.

Pump it Up

2009-11-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

This place, Pump it Up, is pretty insane. For $6/child, we can run around on bouncy things for an hour and a half. We don't go much because there are so many free things to do around here, but the kids absolutely love it. We've been twice and both times, I have gotten hurt. Both times have been on the slide.

Here's Ike. He looks terrified, but he totally held his own. Aunt Becky.

There I am right before I toppled to the side and skid my head and knuckle along the crease. I still have the dang rug burn. And it really does burn.

But my kids had fun. Cal's bruise is still there from 9 days ago. I guess I didn't post a picture of that, did I? I took a video but blogger wouldn't post it. I'll try again later.

Beck and the boys during the much-needed snack time. Since my kids are never not hungry. Except at dinner. When I work really hard to make them a nice meal.

A Little Glimpse of Heaven

2009-11-08T09:15:00.000-08:00

The house down the street is being lifted up to make the foundation even. There was an incredibly nice southern man driving the digger. He came over to talk to us and asked the boys if they wanted a ride.

Calvin got to stand on the side and watch the digger man pick up dirt and dump it on the pile. He swiveled around lots. Ike got to sit on the man's lap and actually control the digger. Becky and I were joking about his life-long goal being fulfilled. And now what will he do?

The Fort Flip

2009-11-04T08:16:00.000-08:00

Priorities at 9am

2009-11-04T08:15:00.001-08:00

The Y Story

2009-11-02T11:49:00.001-08:00

This was insane, but I'm pretty sure my writing will not do it justice.

A couple weeks ago, I took the kids to the pool at the Y. They LOVE it and are giddy with excitement the entire hour we play. They both jump in the pool from the outside, holding only a noodle to keep them afloat; they both want to be dragged around like a boat; they go down the kiddie slide. It's exhausting, but fun.

We went into the family locker room to get showered and dressed after our swim. I no longer am naked in front of Cal, but try not to make a big deal out of it, so that I don't increase his curiosity. While the boys were in the shower, I quickly scrubbed their naked selves up and then washed myself, while still wearing my bathing suit. They started marching around the shower, yelling "penis! penis! penis!" laughing hysterically. I only let them talk like that in the bathroom, and since we were in a bathroom, of sorts, I let it go and tried to hurry. Then I felt something warm on my leg. I looked down and saw Ike, legs spread, knees bent, hips thrust, peeing on me. I shouted, "ISAAC!" and moved out of the way. Since he didn't keep aiming at me, I didn't scold him, not knowing if the first time was an accident. Again, I just tried to hurry up.

I let the kids continue playing in the shower and I stepped out of it and closed the curtain so I could get changed. Of course, the second I was undressed, Cal peeked out and yelled, "I see her booty!" laughing hysterically, again. Ike looked out and they both started shouting "Booty! Booty! Booty!" I finally stuck my head inside the curtain and said, "If you can't learn to give me privacy, we will NOT come back!" They kept playing and left me alone while I quickly got dressed.

I was ready to get them out and moved the shower curtain back. I found Calvin pumping the foam soap dispenser into Ike's hair. It was completely covering Ike and they were both laughing. The foamy soap was on Ike's hair, all over his face, all over his shoulders and on the floor. He must have pressed it 100 times. I stuck Ike under the shower and demanded that he look up (lots of complaining from him about that) and pulled them both out and got them dressed.

I am taking them swimming again this week and will talk to them about what is acceptable behavior. No soap. No penis talk (only at home, I guess????). No laughing at mom's naked booty. We'll see how it goes.

Halloween Part 2

2009-11-02T06:15:00.000-08:00

We went to a church where they had Trunk or Treating outside (a bunch of cars with candy in their trunks) and games inside. Here Cal and Sammy competed to see who could eat the donut on the string first- without their hands. I'm proud to say Cal won. And then he asked what his prize was.

Then Ike and Freddie competed. They both had trouble not using their hands. But had fun trying.

Cal is dancing around, being goofy.

Grandpa and Ike

Halloween Part 1

2009-11-02T06:09:00.000-08:00

We went to Minnehaha Falls for part 1 of Trick or Treating. Earlier this year, there was no falls because of the lack of rain. Here it is now!

This is one of the coolest costumes I've ever seen. There are two people in here. The bear would growl at people, sniff their heads, etc. Cal thought it was real at first and I saw many kids jumping away from it. I wish I took a side view picture, too.

Barb is mad here. She wouldn't smile because she was too cold.

Ike on the right.

I think Cal looks funny here. So serious in his banana costume.

Ike got a bunch of new small diggers from the Millers. He wanted to bring one everywhere.

Barb taking a picture of Cal peeing outside (not really in public. Eric and him were hiding).

More presents?

2009-11-02T06:06:00.000-08:00

The Millers came this weekend and brought Ike's birthday gifts. Here is the beloved tent.

Oooooooh. Aaaaaaaaaah. A remote-controlled digger.

Dorky, but oh so cute.

New hat.

This was his first present. He was sooooo excited and could barely contain himself. When he opened it and saw that it was clothes, he threw the box aside and ran to get a new one.

Ike

2009-11-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

Cuteness courtesy of the Millers. If not for Eric's family, our kids would be naked, cold and ugly.

Balloons

2009-10-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Calvin picked up two balloons and put them to his chest. He started stomping around the house yelling, "I have big BOOBS! I have big BOOBS!" Then he asked Ike, "Do you want a boob?" After Ike took one and left Cal with only one, Cal looked down and started chanting, "I have a uniboob! I have a uniboob!"

For the record, No. I did not teach Cal the word "uniboob." I think he created it because he knows what a unibrow is.

Ike's Birthday: A Day of Fun

2009-10-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

The 27th was Ike's 3rd birthday. It was a day of craziness.

Part 1: Mado and family came over for waffles in the morning. We had cool whip to top them off. We also made smoothies, so by the time the waffles were ready, the kids didn't eat much. But I did!

Part 2: The Mall of America had a small trick-or-treat thing with a costume contest. So that's where we are headed.

The Mall. Here's Isaiah, the chicken.

We thought it was funny that Alex was a monkey and Cal a banana.

There's the birthday boy. Whenever people said, "Happy Birthday, Ike!" he responded, "Take you. Happy Biwthday to you," with a smile.

Here's Ru. She's a rocker. Her mom couldn't do her hair all crazy b/c she had school pictures right after this.

Sara entered Kate in the contest. She is Plankton from Spongebob (second on the right). She was very sweet and looked awesome. The winner was the egg and bacon, but we also really like Velma (right next to Kate with Scooby-doo).

Part 3- Lego land. We come here often. The kids love it.

Blurry Max.

Kate without her costume.

The banana playing with legos.

Mado is Belle.

The Log ride. Eric and Cal got pretty wet.

After the log ride.

Age

2009-10-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

I was telling Calvin that although I'm not going to get any taller, I eat healthy so that I can live a long time "to be 100 years old!!"

He said, "hey. How old is Grandma Sally?
I replied, "57."
Cal said, "Is that older than a million?"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Full Moon

2009-10-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

We are working on modesty in our home. Tonight, our friend, Ru, spent the night. I asked her to get into her pjs and a moment later, I found Isaac pointing and laughing at her naked booty (she was completely nude). I apologized to Ru and told her that in our house, we think booties are funny. I helped her get in her pjs quickly while thinking "Oh, crap. I hope Rachel's not mad at me." Then I hear from Cal, "Look Ike." I turn around and see him with his pants and underwear down just enough to show his bare ass. I said, "Calvin. I've told you before. When you are an adult, you can decide if you want to moon people. But while you are a kid, you may not moon people." He replied, "But Uncle Jason did it."

Back story note: My brother mooned a tourist boat full of people on vacation. With Calvin and Isaac present.

Grandma Sally Visits

2009-10-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

There are no pictures of Grandma Sally. Except for at the birthday party (see next post). I think this is the first time my mom didn't make me take a picture of her with the boys. I think she forgot.

Eric got them pirate hats to wear at the party. But they decided to wear them while they watched TV.

My mom and Tom got them scooters. They loved them and it was great weather this weekend.

Seriously. He's pretty cute, right? (I can say that, can't I?)

Birthday Party

2009-10-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

We decided to have one big last party before small drop-off parties next year. We combined their party since they are only a month apart and both boys were very excited about that.

Here are the highlights:

My mom was here! Eric and I seriously could not have done this without her. We ran errands on Friday for four hours while she watched the kids. And she helped me prep all the food and ice the cake on Saturday morning. Plus all the clean-up. Thank you, Sally!

The pinata. I know I look super dorky, but this is the only picture I have of the pinata. The kids used an old banister rail that Eric cut up. There's Freddie standing too close to the Danger Zone. Sorry, Jess. I didn't see that.

We brought our jump-o-lene. The kids seemed to love it.

Jess made Cal this super cool fish hat. It looks like the fish is eating Cal's head. Can you see it? Hahahaha. I love it. She is an amazing knitter.

The presents. We asked people not to spend more than $5/kid and that we welcome recycled gifts. The Thompsons gave the boys this amazing Superman costume that Luke outgrew. Ike has been wearing it non-stop.

The cake- Even though the theme of the party was pirates, the boys really wanted a lego cake. This was the best I could do.

Eric's ideas- balloon swords, hooks and eye patches. Molly and Alex (siblings) are on the plank that Eric made the kids walk.
The boys were insanely happy. And sugared up.

Blogger is being the b-word to navigate. More pics on facebook.

Equality

2009-10-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

I was playing with Legos with the boys. I had a female driver for my bulldozer.
I asked the boys, "Can ladies drive bulldozers and diggers?"
Ike shouted, "No!"
I asked Cal, what do you think. He answered, "Yes" in a bored voice.
I told them, "Girls can do anything boys can do. And boys can do anything girls can do."
Testing them again, I asked Ike, "Who do you think is stronger? My girl in her bulldozer or your boy in your digger? Who has more power?" (I didn't really know how I was going to answer this one since I think guys are stronger at their maximum than girls are.)
Ike paused and yelled loudly, "GOD!"

Art

2009-10-12T17:40:00.003-07:00

Calvin loves to draw, write, make maps, make charts, etc. But Ike wants nothing to do with art unless it involves glue or paint.

Ike Singing. Loud.

2009-10-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

Lyrics:

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty. There's nothing my God cannot do.

(Watch out you're in picture)

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty. There's nothing my God cannot do.

The mountains are his, the stars are his, tooooo.

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty. There's nothing my God cannot do.

Calvin's writing skillz

2009-10-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Calvin stayed at home with Eric and Ike today while I went to church (b/c he had H1N1 this week). Here's what he did.

These are all words that begin with the letter "c." See below for answers.
Cal; Cat; cardboard; and he couldn't remember what the last word was and got very upset about it.

This next list is words he's not allowed to say. He did ask Eric how to spell "butt" but Eric

didn't know what he was doing. butt; poop; fart; toot

Note: He is allowed to say toot. The other words are allowed to be said in the bathroom. Anyone who has boys knows why. Kids have no idea what moderation is.

Crazy on the Stairs

2009-10-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

2009-09-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

Eric's parents, Grandma Barb and Grandpa Steve, came up for the weekend for Cal's birthday. We got very spoiled when they were here.

Eric thought it would be fun to dye the kids' hair. They loved it.

Here, Cal made this little car into a clown. When he turned the head (which was the steering wheel), the feet moved.

And Ike with green hair.

Steve and Barb took us out to eat at Chevy's. The kids meals came with cones.

Eric and his dad.

We ran a bunch of errands on Saturday morning. The boys did great. I'm sure it had to do with the fact that we went to a halloween store, toys r us, and a bagel shop.

Here's the Halloween shop. It was heaven for Calvin (not pictured b/c he ran around the whole time picking up things, dropping them and running to the next thing).

The coin-powered car outside of toys r us.

Thanks for coming Grandma and Grandpa! We are looking forward to your Halloween visit!

Calvin's 5th Birthday

2009-09-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Cal! There are lots of things I love about you- your kindness, your sense of humor, your hospitality "Welcome to our home! Would you like something to drink?", your silliness, your amazing artistic skillz, your compassion and heart for the needy, your particularness (since he was a little dude, he lined up all of his toys in a row), your curiosity (even though sometimes it drives me nuts) and your honesty. Thanks for making it easy, Cal. I love you!

I got a lot of great pictures of birthday fun with friends and family. But here are some of the highlights...

Our friends, the McCowen's, who moved to India came over the day before Cal's birthday. It was a great treat for us all. But short. Hannah and Cal picked right up where they left off. It was so great to see them all again. But I was reminded of how much I miss them.

Cal pointed to a picture of a cake on a card he received. It was chocolate with pink frosting. It wasn't exactly the same, but he was still very excited and didn't give me a hard time (good thing, too, because I would have thrown them right out the window).

We planned on going apple picking with our friends this morning, but it was raining. So we met at McDonald's Playplace. It was hot, sticky, dirty, snotty, but loads o' fun. Here they all are- right at the entrance.

The Rods got Cal this crazy flavored plastic mustache.

Presents: A batman costume (terrible picture, I know)

A rollerskating set- complete with helmet and pads/guards. He is terrible, but super excited.

A lightsaber (but Cal calls it a "lifesaver" because it saves lives when the bad guys come)

And Grandma Barb and Grandpa Steve came in time for Grandpa and Eric to take Cal to see a movie while Ike napped. Then we ate Cal's favorite dinner, went for ice cream, and stopped by Choo Choo Bob's, a local favorite train store.

Rough and Tough

2009-09-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

We aren't completely sure how this happened. Isaac said a ball hit him (it was a plastic ball). I'm thinking he tripped on a bat he was holding and got confused. Either way, it looks pretty nasty. He's a tough kid, though, and only cried for a few minutes.

Siblings

2009-09-12T05:32:00.000-07:00

Calvin to Ike- "Ike, I have a job for you to do! Why don't you leave me alone while I rest."

Football

2009-09-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

Eric is getting extremely excited about football and likes to talk about it lately.

He was sitting next to Ike watching the pre-game (Black-eyed peas) and asked, "Do you like football?" Ike said, "yeah." Eric asked, "Why?" Ike responded, "Idunno. It's awesome." And then a couple seconds later, he shouted out, "They knock themselves down!!!"

Birthday Fun

2009-09-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

2009-09-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

It's Leah's birthday today! She's loving, patient (with us), sweet, fun, honest, serving, creative, active, funny, and really good at Skip-Bo. What's not to celebrate? We love you, Leah.

Here's a list of things the boys said they like about their Mom:

She is fun
She plays with us
she takes us to Luke and Ella's house
She takes us to Molly's house
She pretends she's a monster
She reads stories to us and does the voices
She makes funny faces sometimes
[insert breath between every word when reading this] - She takes takes me to the big tractor and I go inside and I ride in it (Ike)
[insert breath between every word when reading this] - I I I like presents and pictures and candles (Ike while looking around the dining room)
Sometimes she sings and dances around goofy
She plays Mr Potatos Heads with us
She makes us good food.

This list is good and all, but what would you put on your Leah list?

Cal and Ike in Lincoln Square

2009-08-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

My mom lives in Lincoln Square where they have bands play weekly. On Thursday night, there was a sultry Mexican band. Calvin's moves amaze me. Ike is playing the fake piano near the stage.

Upset on Chesapeake Bay

2009-08-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

We are at my aunt and uncle's today. Calvin and Isaac are having so much fun playing with their cousins (my cousins' kids). This morning, they were running around the house playing hide-and-seek, playing outside in the pool and we even got to eat cake for dessert after lunch.

After the cake, the kids ran off again. I realized I hadn't seen Isaac in a while and started calling for him. Nobody had seen him. I ran outside first to check in the pool- no Isaac. Basement? No Isaac. Bedrooms? No Isaac. Finally cousin Kasey looked out the side window and yelled, "I see him. There he is!"

I ran outside and the neighbor lady asked, "Is this your little boy?" I still didn't see him, but responded, "yes." She said, "I almost called the cops because I've never seen him before." I was, of course, embarrassed, but asked, "Umm... where is he?" She looked around and said, "He was just here." I finally heard a little voice and asked, "Did he go in your house?" She walked up her deck and inside her house and gave a little laugh, "Yes, here he is."

He came outside, naked, holding his swim shorts. With snot all over his face. I said, "I'm very sorry" to her. Isaac said, "I peed" to me. After a series of questions, I found out he peed in her yard (not in her house, thankfully).

The End.

Cal's best friend, Sammy, said....

2009-08-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

"Please hurry up. You go your way, I'll go mine. We've all got our own plans." Sammy to another kid, trying to hurry out to make the start of Sonic's 2pm Happy Hour. Overheard by his father.

I stole this off of Sammy's blog because I think it's the most hilarious thing ever and it is SOOOO Sammy.

So different

2009-08-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a conversation we had in the car today. This is a great example of the differences my kids have.

I was on the phone with my friend, Bekah, and she told me she quit smoking. I asked her if she cheated yet. When I got off the phone...

Cal: Why did you ask her if she cheated?

Me: Well, Bekah just quit smoking and it is very, very hard to quit smoking because her body wants another cigarette so bad. So when I asked her if she cheated, what I was asking was if she smoked a cigarette.

Cal: Why does your body want more cigarettes?

Me: Because there is a drug in cigarettes that makes you want more and more. It's called an addiction. Your body doesn't feel happy without it. So when people start smoking, it is very hard to quit smoking.

Cal: That's why I will never smoke.

Me: Someday, Calvin, you may try smoking because you will think that it looks cool. But it will make your breath stinky and your insides sick.

Cal: No, I won't. I will never smoke cigarettes.

Ike: [loudly] I smoke sometimes, Mommy!

If I had a picture of Ike smoking, it would go here.

Just for fun

2009-08-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

School

2009-08-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you that are wondering...

I have decided to pull Cal and Ike out of preschool this year. Here's why-
* Our property taxes went up $300/month. We found out this is only temporary because of some assessements that were added in. The assessements were stupid things that happened when Ike was first born and we couldn't catch up with life (icey sidewalk and dirt in the driveway. blah!).
* We would have to pay $3,200 for the year for stinking preschool. I'm having a hard time justifying that amount of money for something the kids don't REALLY need. I mean, c'mon. It's preschool.
* I'm seriously contemplating homeschooling and since Calvin is academically ready (but not mature enough), I'm going to give an attempt at a sort-of pseudo, very-relaxed kindergarten this year. That's why I'm not just pulling Ike out and leaving Calvin in. I want to give this a chance.

Notes on homeschooling:
* We haven't decided for sure that this is what we are doing. I am very excited about it and am loving what I'm reading on homeschooling. Eric is much more skeptical but is eager for me to start this year to see how it goes (since Calvin would not really start kindergarten until next year).
* I still don't know what style of curriculum I'm going to use so we are probably going to get a late start. I'm leaning toward the Charlotte Mason method, but would love to incorporate the classical approach as well. I know plenty of women who mix these two methods and love it. However, it seems that kindergarten would be much more relaxed and I may not need to buy very much material.

Notes on other stuff:
* I'm ecstatic that I'm joining the YWCA next month. I'm planning on going 3x a week. I'm going to start the kids on swimming lessons and I'm hoping to become so strong that you will be afraid of me.
* I'm also enrolling Calvin in an art class every Monday. He will be dropped off with his friend, Sammy.

So although I was REALLY looking forward to having some time to myself this fall (2 days a week for 4 hours each), I am excited about this new plan. Please pray for us during this endeavor. For unity between Eric and me as we make this decision, for the boys to acclimate well to the Y and not being in school, for a peaceful home for us despite the business and lack of a break for me.

If you are still reading this, you are my best friend.

Sneak Preview

2009-08-08T05:50:00.000-07:00

We have been on vacation with my whole family this week. We met in Winneconne, WI (near Oshkosh) and rented a house on the lake. Highlights have been boating, fishing, golfing, reading, sitting by the fire and eating.

Eating a chocolate frozen banana that Aunt Cheryl made for him.

Cal was driving and I was a little nervous.

Uncle Scott.

I thought Jas and I looked like real golfers. Surprisingly, we did not play like real golfers.

The dock off of our house. The kids ran around on this the whole week.

Part of what I did today...

2009-07-30T15:09:00.000-07:00