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Pipe Dreams

1 Jan

A few months ago, there was a conversation between the boys on what they wanted to be when they grew up. M wanted to be a policeman and help people. B wanted to be Batman. Hopefully they would make a good team.

Tonite on the drive home they had a similar conversation except M said he wanted to work for the city and paint all the houses in town so they would look nice. B followed up by saying that when he grew up, he wanted to be a snowman.

20120101-220126.jpg

This is my first blog post published entirely from my iPhone!

Christmas Concerts and Joyful Voices

20 Dec

One of my favorite parts of Christmas (since having kids) is the pre-Christmas concerts and programs that involve the kids.  They are a little magical, very sweet, and always fun. This year was the first year that B was in a preschool Christmas program. I was happy to see B being such an active participant in the concert of 3-4 year olds and follow the teacher’s directions so well.

Here is his Jingle Bell song: (notice the  bow at the end)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2MWJbEMRFo

And here is the “Reindeer Hokey Pokey”:
(notice the “hoofs”)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRyXHixOKDY

M also had an amazing Christmas program at St. M’s last week.  My favorite part was the “march” in.  All the kids marched in, and M put everything he had into a very deliberate, wide stride, and stiff arm march.  Then the K & 1 sang 2 songs (one being Away in a Manger) with actions which made it cute. There was lots of playfulness in the concert with the K boys also being “naughty sheep” for a part, running down the church aisle away from the shepherd.

I don’t know  a lot of lullabies (nor am I good singer), but this time of year (actually anytime of year), I like to sing Silent Night to CJ when I rock her before bed (sometimes she tries to sing it with me).  It was funny to see how attentive she was when the kids sang Silent Night at the Church Christmas Concert. She really liked the music.  Several times during the concert, she was also imitating the director and was moving her arms with the music.

Some moments feel so magical. There were times during both M’s and B’s concerts where I started to tear up (proud – and moved my music – even the “Reindeer Pokey” apparently). These little things are what life is all about.

My Sound of Music

20 Nov

For my entire life, I have been surrounded by music (we had 3 different live bands play at our wedding!).  As a kid, I fondly remember Christmas’s on my Dad’s side where everyone sang songs for what seemed like hours.  Anyone who knows my Dad well knows his musical history – Bands like Bandicoot, Rebel,  Mark’s Bros, and Fast Forward….  Stories of opening for the Monkee’s at the Gibbon Ballroom before the Monkee’s were famous ( I hear this story all the time, but still don’t know if it is REALLY true), long travels in the Mark Bros. van, and pyro-technics gone bad.  I met lots of my Dad’s musician friends who came to the studio to record – many who I remember fondly to this day. Back then I saw a lot of my Dad’s brothers, who also have music in their blood, and dearly miss, Uncle Dan, (who mostly played bass guitar) the guy who was so shy in person but not on stage.

And I have no musical talent, or at least never gave it enough time as a kid to develop it.  I remember taking piano lessons and just hating to “practice”.   My Dad bought me the most beautiful red electric guitar for my 10th birthday, and I never really learned how to play it.  I just did not have the passion for it, that my brother Joe developed in High School and still has to this day. I wish I did, I wish I would have focused on it more.  To me, there are few things that are  cooler then girls that can really rock a guitar. Yeah being in an all chic rock band would have fit me just fine.

So here we are today.  I am watching my kids play and sing music and hoping to see the talent develop into something awesome.  CJ likes to sing while Grandpa plays piano.  B just bangs on the drums and keyboard.  We have a room basement that used to be the “train room” but is now more of the “music room” with drums, keyboard, my old (like new) guitar, etc.  The kids like to jam out in here, in a very random, “just make all the noise you can” fashion.  M has shown a lot of interest in my guitar lately, we have been hooking it up to the amp and he has asked to take it to friends’ houses…. we are not quite to that point yet.

I went to  Thursday mass at St.  M’s since the Kindergartner’s had a role.  They walked up with Father with food shelf items since it was the Thanksgiving mass and then got to sing a song.  I patiently waited to the very end of the mass to hear the song that the Kindergartner’s sang.  I had never heard it before, although Grandma H. had, who came with me.  It was the song “Edelweiss” from the movie Sound of Music, a movie I have never seen.  Seeing the 5 and 6 year old’s sing it and do the actions was adorable.  It seemed like the sweetest church song a little kid could sing. I have since done some research on the song…. It is known as “May the Lord, Mighty Lord” when the lyrics were modified for Church use.

The Church Lyrics for “May the Lord” go like this:

“May the Lord, mighty God, Bless and keep you forever.

Grant you peace, perfect peace, Courage in every endeavor.

Lift your eyes and see His face, And His grace forever.

May the Lord, mighty God, Bless and keep you forever.”

So here is the inspiration behind this blog post, M’s version of the song, not taken at the Church with his classmates, but at home a couple days later. Below is Take 2, (Take 1 had bad audio and a meddling brother), so I am glad that M willingly and enthuisastically performed it again for me.

Autumn Little Big Things…

8 Nov

Little things are big,  and what make life memorable.  Here are some of the little things about my kids that are memorable to me the past few months:

M.J.ready to sparr

  • M has been loving playing football.  It is pretty fun to see him catch a 20 yard pass and then see that look on his face. So proud and a little shocked (I caught it!)
  • M went to his first Tae Kwon Do tournament and got 4th place in forms and 3rd place in sparring. Both him and his Dad loved the experience overall.  I am looking forward to seeing the next one, which will be closer to home. (see short video of practicing form here, or longer video of tournament sparring here)
  • M got Student of the Month in October for being artistic/creative. Then he also got a sudden interest in playing electric guitar again.
  • Today Neil joined M for lunch at his school and it was a surprise. I am not sure who had more fun, M or his Dad.  When the kids talk you into staying for recess, you know it is good.
  • It is really fun to see him really learning how to read words and be so excited about school.
B.T.B on a hayride
  • I have been enjoying some time w/B in the mornings, on the laptop next to me, after M leaves for school and before CJ wakes up.  He likes to wake up early, then “rest in my office” with his blankie for a bit.  I like my  new office-mate.
  • I love first drawings.  B’s faces and family drawings are fun.  Big eyes, big smiles, lots of legs.
  • B has had mid-night wakings lately that result in “Daaaad” being yelled from upstairs.  Dad (or mom) goes upstairs and then he says”I just want you to lay by me.” or “I want you”. Sleepy parents usually abide, but in the meantime a bad habit has begun.  Sleeping by a cuddly kid who wants you to sleep by him, though, is not all that bad.
  • B knows how to talk the talk.  His says some pretty “big” things and his dad says “his negotiating skills have improved.” huh.
  • So he loves to Dance and Sing, he particularly likes Go Fish and a kids Halloween CD (yes all year round).  But if his mom dances or sings *too much* with him, he says “Stop Mom!” Yes he already thinks his mom is embarrassing.
  • Preschool is oozing out of this kid, he is learning so much and growing so smart.
C.J.kitty cat learns how to say trick or treat
  • She learned how to say “trick or treat” by the end of Halloween night.  She also protected her furry pink pumpkin candy holder all night until bedtime.  She then transferred all the candy to her purse, and then proceeded to try to hide her purse under her crib.
  • We are working on all of our words.  She says some words, but many others are a bit backwards or all sound like “daa” or “dis” or “joose”  or “uck” or “um”.  I have to remind her to practice all the time, “can you say [insert any random word here that CJ thinks is pronounced  "diiiis" or "aaaaaak"]?.  Maybe every word needs to have the excitement of “Trick or treat” with it for her to learn it faster.
  • We have been working on potty training, mostly when we see the look that a #2 is coming, we rush to the bathroom.  She knows the drill now because she will look at me smile, hold her hand out (grab it mom) then totally get into the mad rush to the bathroom. She is doing pretty good but we are not pushing it real hard.
  • Although she loves to try dressing herself (likes pulling up her own pants!), she likes to make it a challenge for me to get her dressed, usually escaping mid-way with giggles half naked.  The funny part, if I want to take the easy way out, I just pass the chore on to her Dad, which she will run to (instead of away) to get dressed.
Other fun stuff:
  • We went to Nelson Farm with Grandma Kathy and saw all kinds of farm animals, climbed haystacks, and went on all kinds of wagon rides.  Kids all fell asleep on the way home.
  • Halloween is one of our favorite holidays.  The kids get so excited about it that the decorations go out around Oct. 1.  The kids were Darth Vader, a Ninja, and a kitty.  The kids got a couple rounds of trick or treating in, as well as a full dose of handing out candy at our house and seeing all the other spooky and silly costumes.
  • Neil turned 36.  I had no idea that putting all those candles (an entire box) on a cake would make such a waxy, smoky mess.
  • I am a new Aunt!  Joe and Amanda had baby Nolan Hendrix! And the baby has some very proud cousins, especially when Darth Vader so little Yoda sleeping on Halloween.
halloween crew

Tae Kwon Do Kid and Copycats

24 Oct

So here is M demonstrating one of his “patterns” to me, on his first day of going to Tae Kwon Do with his white belt on.   He started Tae Kwon Do last month and so far loves it.  He knows how to count to ten in Korean and a few other “patterns”.  He said that he can earn his purple trim (this is the seventh belt) in two years. I hope he sticks with it.  His instructor “Master” is awesome and I can tell that he teaches the kids a lot of respect and discipline.

Then there are these two comedians.  They fight. They play.  They scream. They laugh.  They are only one year and nine months apart so right now and for a few months yet they are age 2 and 3.  The older brother does a lot of teasing.  The little sister is learning a few bad habits.  B calls CJ  “Sweetie” all the time, and he tends to know what toys to pick up that will instantly set her off.  But as  you can in this video, they are two peas in a pod.  The cupcakes they are eating were a prize CJ won at the church cake walk.  We were just having fun eating cupcakes outside one afternoon and being silly.

Let’s rewind and see where we end up…

23 Sep

I have a million things to write about but a procrastinating gene (from who? not sure. maybe my own?)

Here is my rewind blog post to try to remember all that is worth remembering that I may have not typed into my keyboard this month:

  1. My lovable smarty pants middle child who loves bugs and movies started preschool this morning and had a blast. SO INDEPENDENT and man this kid is funny.
  2. My BABY girl turned 2 on Wednesday.  We were lucky enough to have special guests Bec and Andy at her party and I must say the giant red velvet cupcake I threw together wasn’t too bad.  Check out  video of her blowing out candles.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOV9oKSGNhY

  3. We finally got our couple-year-long landscaping project done, which involved humongous piles of dirt (8 yards), mulch (15 yards) plants, and replacing rotten boards. I can’t wait for spring to come to see how everything looks fresh.  The kids were major helpers in this progress often sporting, hard hats, tools, and shovels.
  4. My kids were dancing machine at my cousin Amanda’s wedding, and I got to see some Mark Bros/nephews jamming.  My uncle Tim is the most amazing drummer. Seriously. Insane.
  5. The annual Ryan golf outting was a blast with our 2 little golfers, and we were partnered up with my cousin’s family with 2 more little golfers. Just fun on the last HOT Saturday of September.
  6. I now have a martial arts student in the house.  M is learning Tae Kwon Do and I am extremely grateful to have this program and excellent teacher in this small community.  M also thinks standing on his head is pretty cool.
  7. My M started Kindergarten and he could not be more excited about it.  He loves it so far and talks frequently about his guardian angel (a program that gives kids in K an 8th grade mentor) and he is also a marathon fundraising machine.  He has also become a social butterfly and enjoys riding bike to visit all his friends in the neighborhood.
  8. So we went to Valley Fair on Labor Day.  The new Planet Snoopy is pretty much the bomb for little kids.  M is excited to be able to go on some of the bigger rides next year (2 more inches!)
  9. We went to Owatonna to visit Neil’s cousins family since as he was a proud Godfather of a beautiful baby girl. It was fun to hang out with family and let little cousins play. Oh and we can’t lose with a waterpark.
  10. My fBFF”s from high school and their families spent a day with us at the lake.  There was lots of jumping in to the lake and giggles….Our summer was full of endless fishing, swimming, and bike rides.

There you have it, about the last month or so.  Lot’s of transitions this year, with a new kindergartner, preschooler, and the two-ness of toddlerhood.  Loving it.

Bunnies & clams, 46/46, Queens don’t need car seats

12 Jul

We found a baby bunny nest on our property last week (just a hole, covered with fur and grass in the lawn).  When we first saw them, their eyes were not even open.  I was reluctant to show B because I knew from that point forward he would not leave them alone.  He adores them but makes me nervous when he holds them because he tries to be gentle but he’s not….He ended up sneaking one of the bunnies in his room.  This was cute for a little bit, but what if I wouldn’t have caught on?  Did I mention that earlier this week, he had a live clam in his swimming trunks? And last week he was playing with leeches and a piece of squirrel tale?  Yes this is my boy. all boy for sure.

M is figuring out how the world work around him and is asking some really intelligent questions. now 6, and 46″ tall and 46 lbs at his 6 year doc appt, he is excited to start kindergarten in Sept.  Probably most apprehensive about riding the bus, and finding his way around (he said he liked preschool better then summer rec because he knew where he had to go).  Always asking me lots of questions about my cousins, he is excited to have 2 new cousins of his own in the months to come. He bats left-handed and can smack that ball hard.  I can’t wait to watch him play baseball!  Him and his dad went to the diamonds to practice, and M wore his baseball pants. He came home so dusty because he was practicing his sliding!

Oh CJ. With the mind of her own. I have to remind myself she is almost two and not really a baby anymore.  She is going thru this awful phase where she fights her car seat.  Screams and cries and twists and turns.  So it is nearly impossible for me to talk her thru it or physically make her do it.  She is that strong and insistent.  There have been several times in the past couple weeks, where a two minute buckle was instead a 20 minute delay.  As B would say, “Not Cool, Not Cool.” So I am hoping this phase passes very quickly, as I dread taking her anywhere right now.

I am loving my new job at Vivid Image and the freedom and control it has given me. More time with my kids, better management of my time during the entire day. Plus I just really enjoy being on the cutting edge of what is going on with the web, and giving myself permission to play with new tools since it is my job, instead of feeling guilty like I should be doing something else. Plus the early AM wake up to hot coffee in my own office is awesome, at least for now during the summer.

Off to bed.

Summer at Last!

6 Jun

With a dreadfully long and rainy spring, we, like most everyone else, are happy that summer has arrived!  Tonite the kids did some “slip and sliding” and stayed cool with water balloons and garden hose sprayings.

Today was the first day of Summer Rec.  B went for the first time, since he is now 3.  Neil  brought the kids and it went suprisingly well! M has a very full schedule, with today including flag football and swimming lessons.  Although I could tell he was tired, he was so excited and talkative, and happy to have a new routine and meet new friends.  Tomorrow he is excited to be in a couple non-sport classes, like computer lab and kids in the kitchen.

We had so much fun at the lake this weekend. First of all, I am totally impressed by my boys fishing skills.  M got several bass off the dock, proudly stating that one was 8 inches and the other was 10 inches.  We cooked them up for breakfast the next morning.  B isn’t fishing for real yet, but he knows how to cast like a pro! And he is not one bit afraid of the bait.  He would carry it around all day if I let him. Check out the photo above of the homemade grill handle designed by Neil  and my cousin Mike. All you need is a small log and a couple bolts and the grill is back in action.  Speaking of cool engineering…

So, I never would have believed it if I did not see it with my own eyes, but Neil maneuvered to put a boat lift if with just him- one person.  He engineered these skids ( I call them skateboards) to go under each foot of the lift and wheeled it from the driveway to the rocks, then he lowered it down the steep rocks.  Finally, he bought 4 humongous beach balls, and strategically floated it over to where it needed to be parked.  I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical, but it worked! So the boys have gotten some time in “driving the boat” now that it has a parking spot on the lake.

The water was ICE COLD on Saturday.  I could feel my skin starting to freeze.  By Sunday it was noticeably warmer.  This makes me happy because I was beginning to feel like the long spring and high lake level was going to make it cold all summer.

I made this rhubarb slush recipe and am excited to have a new lake drink!

A popular place for relaxing is the hammock.  Although we made a rule after too many injuries last year of no wrestling on the hammock.  Yes, this is something we have to do in our house.  Here B gets snug as a bug in a rug.

We visited Gma and Gpa at Diamond this weekend.  Here we learned that Gpa is always right when it comes to where to park the boat and the sea legs (Sorry Gma) and  we saw a garter snake that was way to large to be a garter snake – like it ate 10 normal-sized snakes for breakfast.

I had the first breakdown of my Expedition, when my alternator went out and we had some extra time charging my battery before leaving the lake.  This was interesting and tested all of our patience a bit.  All better now.

Popsicles- lots of popsicles outside, dripping down faces and arms off elbows.  CJ was even two-fisting it at one point when B gave up an already opened orange popsicle for the highly popular root beer popsicle. My favorite use of the freez-e or popsicle is too lure tired dirty kids into the bath…  Kind of in a Hansel & Gretel kind of way, but not really.

So wow! Busy summer and it is not even summer yet! Can’t wait to see what the rest of this season bring us! I plan on going thru lots of sun block,  smores, and popsicles for the kids (probably lots of  fireworks viewing for the boys), a little rhubarb slush for mom.  How about you?

The Vegetable Chart

22 May

How do you get your kids to eat your vegetables?  Although the canned veggies seems to go over the best with our kids, since they are softer, we eat a mix of frozen and fresh too.  We make them mostly with melted cheese like parmesan, cheddar or mozzarella.  We have had our ups and downs with food here, but for the most part my kids eat like champs.  I think the hardest part is when they get around other kids, and hear how something is gross or icky, and they sometimes follow suit.

One thing that I have noticed lately with my boys, is that B tends to be the herbivore, and M tends to be the carnivore.  One will have all the meat left on their plate, and the other all their vegetables.  Although we always urge them to at least try everything, there has been times where one has asked for seconds and we have ultimately just had them switches plates… as long as everyone was healthy.

But one way we try to encourage the greens and veggies is with our  “vegetable charts”.  Now it is not a big deal for B, since he really loves the veggies, but he wanted to make a chart too, so  we went with it.  Basically we just drew some pics of vegetables (this was fun) and then boxes to put X’s or stickers for when the vegetables for an evening dinner were gone.  When a row of 4 was full, they get a treat, whether this is playing Wii, or picking out of the “treasure chest” which is my collection of things that kids think are cool.

It worked great tonite, as M said he doesn’t like brusel sprouts, then I talked him into trying one, then he surprised me by eating them all.

Making it thru the winter by staying busy…

12 Mar

Although this winter has been long and dreary, I cannot say I have been bored.  My kids give me plenty to do, clean up, and write about:

-CJ knows how to shake her head side-to-side (no) but she does this when she also means to say yes.  We can usually tell when it is a “yes” shake when she does it with a smile.  It started off as a bobblehead combination of the two.

-M has been on an early wake-up kick lately. His alarm goes off at 6:30 on weekdays, but he jokes that he wants to wake up earlier.

-The boys share a room now.  This adjustment has been going good lately, our biggest issues were getting B to take bedtime serious and the loss of M’s privacy in regard’s to his toys and his playtime, etc.  We get less one-on-one time with reading stories, which is probably what I miss the most.

Something around here feels creepy...-We are still helping B learn his morning routine.  Now that he rooms with M, M’s alarm also usually wakes up B.  Overall, this is a good thing, as B will soon have to have the same routine and be ready early for preschool, etc. next year.  But B wakes up like a Bear. Usually stands at the top of the steps and cries “mama, I want you”.  Neil insists there is a 10-minute rule where you cannot talk to B unless he talks to you. Breakfast is a sensitive subject, because he usually does not want it right away.  He tells us he wants it, but then the choice of WHAT he wants is another story. Slow waker.

-For my birthday in January, we took a trip to the cities  (I love doing fun things with the kids for my birthday, makes me feel like a kid).  We stayed at the Venetian Water Park in Maple Grove, played tons of video games at Dave and Busters, and then went to Edinborough Park in Edina the next day to wear off that last bit of energy.  These were all firsts for all of us so it was a blast.

-CJ loves shoes.  It is so cute to see what shoes she picks out when you tell her to go get some, and then she sits down and tries to put them on.  After 2 boys, it is fun to see the little differences between little girls and boys.  She loves to play cars and dinosaurs like the boys, but babies, shoes, and pretties (clothes, hair things, jewelery) are her favorites.

Learning the ice..

-A couple weeks ago, we went to the Redwood Community Center with the boys and did some ice skating.   This is also the first time in maybe 15+ years that I have been ice skating. Funny part for me, is that my parents bought me ice skates when I was a kid, and I think they purposely bought them too big so I would “grow into them” (parent logic).  So as a kid I would wear extra big socks and stuff Kleenex’s in the toes.  Well I got the blade sharpened and now they fit me perfectly.

-Neil and the boys are working building a virtual pinball machine… which involves gutting an old pinball machine and placing 2 TV’s and a computer in it to emulate a real pinball. More on this later…

-We are taking the kids to  swimming lessons.  The 2 younger ones are in “mom/dad n me” and love it.  B was so timid in the water last year and always acted like he was so COLD.  This was CJ’s first year and she is also loving the water. Little water bugs.  This is M’s “Preschool Swim” so he are actually working on swimming stuff.  He is so tired afterwards and really just wants to jump in the water and just wants to have fun.  I remember not being too fond of swimming lessons either when I was a kid.

G'ma Judy with CJ at Vern's party

-Great Grandpa Vern turned 89 and we helped him celebrate with a birthday party! The kids enjoyed playing pool, running in the hallways, and using the exercise room, and g’pa’s new pad.

-One topic that has come up many times the past couple months is the missing Mario Kart Wii Game. The house has been searched from top to bottom.  At one time B had said he “thru it in the garbage” and then that a “bad man took it”.  He has since changed his story and said he just doesn’t know where it is.  So the mystery continues. But it could also be that brother B was jealous of brother A and decided to remove what he knew was near and dear to him.

-CJ loves to color and scribble on paper and in the bath with water crayons.  It is so cute when she gets marker on her hands because she will keep pointing it out and “talking” about it until someone washes it off.

Is it spring yet? Yearning for green grass and warm breezes…

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