Picky Eater

When Isaiah started kindergarten last fall one of the many concerns I had as a first time mom sending her boy to school was his tummy. I wanted to make sure he wasn't hungry during school and that he would be able to concentrate. You always see those public service announcements stating how children concentrate better if they're not focused on a hungry tummy. Anyhoo, I make a homemade hot breakfast pretty much everyday, it makes me feel better. Very rarely do I send him on the bus with just cheerios, if I do then he'll have eaten peanut butter toast, juice and fruit along with it. This all sounds ideal and wonderful, right? Wrong!!

My children beg for cold cereal and a plain old cup of apple juice for a treat breakfast, isn't that mixed up? Also, Matthew and I have been racking our brains over why Isaiah is so darn picky about every stinkin' thing he eats. Meals are always a battle.

Yesterday I surprised Isaiah at school and ate lunch with him. The only items he ate for lunch was chocolate milk, one bite of a peach, four bites of a hamburger and one hash brown. Grrrr! That's not enough! Then at supper his 21mo. old sister ate more then he did. Matthew and I are going crazy with this current eating situation.

This morning I had an epiphany as I placed cinnamon rolls, sausage, eggs and juice on the table. My breakfasts are TOO BIG and the poor kid can't fit in any more food the rest of the day. Next week the breakfast menu will be one piece of toast and one cup of OJ. The End!

It's Spring! pt.2

I've got crocuses people! Woo-hoo! The weeding season is almost upon us.

Quarantined!

Shouldn't the 24hr. stomach flu last only 24hrs.? Anna threw-up last Monday and first got back to normal yesterday. That's a week! What is that all about? Nobody else got the bug because we've gotten pretty good at quarantining the sick people around here. Isaiah had strep 4 times this fall/winter and the rest of us stayed strep-free. I figure Anna is good for at least three years considering the duration of this particular bug. Now it's on to the mounds and mounds of laundry as I've been holding a baby non-stop for a week. I was wondering how I was going to make up for lost time at the YMCA and then realized I've been doing weight-lifting for a week straight! Heck...I can take time off from the Y now, right?

It's Spring!

We have heard our favorite "songbird" the Red-Winged Blackbird. They're ba-ack! I realize they aren't the most sought-after bird in Wisconsin to see but my fam. likes them. They sound a lot prettier then they look and it means the promise of spring is here. Come on Bluebirds and start fighting for the birdhouses...we're waiting!

Yeah Sparks!

What a privilege it was to see two more of my Sparkies earn their 1st Book Award last night. They were so excited and proud of their accomplishments. Their little faces were just gleaming. How sweet! Way to go Jacob, Eric and Isaiah! Keep up the good work, Jesus loves you!

Blame Game

If this isn't proof of original sin, I don't know what is. Anna was playing with a tape dispenser and pulled out all of the tape. It was rolled up in a sticky ball which was still attached to the dispenser. I watched her do this because sometimes it's fun just to see what they'll do. Anyways, I said in mock disbelief/surprise, "Anna, what happened?" She said "No no, Papa." and shook her finger at the ball of tape. I probably shouldn't have let her get away with that because yesterday I asked her who had the poopy pants while I was changing her and she said it was Isaiah, who's six and was at kindergarten at the time. How do kids learn this stuff? Maybe I should just stop asking questions.

Sugar and Spice.....

Anna is quite the girl. She was full of love yesterday and had no problem dishing it out. Anna managed to say "I love you" and blow kisses to just about everything she saw in her little world yesterday. These are some of the objects of her affection. I'll translate what I can as she's only 20mos. and still uses her own language, some of her "words" are just sounds that I don't know how to write.
Ya yoo, Mama. *mmmwah* / Love you, Mama. (kiss)
Ya yoo, Eee-ah. *mmmwah* / Isaiah
Ya yoo, tee-tees *mmmwah*/ kitties

That's all the typical stuff, right? Here are three of the weirdest:
Ya yoo, Needee Dees *mmwah*/ Canadian Geese - I'm not kidding either
Ya yoo, (water) *mmwah* / her bathtub filled with water
Ya yoo, Eee-ah's owee *mmwah* / Isaiah's band-aid

Why I'm a Mom

Isaiah wrote this letter to me and got me a bunch of flowers when he went to the grocery store with Matthew.
The note says I'm beautiful actually I was still in my pj's and I was scrubbing bathrooms.

Oh Really???

The other day Isaiah was eating lunch and he dropped a piece of his peach, much to his delight. He explained how he couldn't eat it as it fell on the floor and it could be dirty. Well, yesterday he was eating one Girl Scout cookie and he dropped a very tiny piece. Isaiah was visibly shocked over the loss and dived under the table to retrieve his lost crumb. He said he didn't want to waste the cookie. I guess that shows his food priorities pretty clearly.

Ways to Encourage Your Children to Love School

During Spring Break:
1. Start the spring cleaning process with their help.
2. Tell children that massive stuffed animal collection must be relegated to one medium sized plastic tub. (be advised there will be agony, heartache and trauma with this one)
3. Donate/toss all toys that haven't been played with in six-months, not to mention those that haven't even been looked at since preschool.
4. Donate/toss clothes and pajamas that are too small. (Surprisingly this also causes heartache?)

After 4-5 days of doing this in various rooms throughout the house children should be very ready and excited about going back to school. An added bonus is that your house is now clean.

Good Answer

I was helping Isaiah learn some questions for a fundraiser at school and one of the questions was about the Pilgrims' boat. The question asked, "Which boat did the Pilgrims use to get to America?" Isaiah said, "Ahh, a wooden one?". In his defense he was sick during his Thanksgiving celebration at school.

Mama Tembo?

Weird name I know. I'll explain. At our house we are mandated to enjoy John Wayne movies, it's a requirement. It started with my husband, he grew up watching them. While we were dating and newly married we watched his huge John Wayne collection of movies. I eventually over time developed a few favorites. Then Isaiah came along and he watched the more appropriate ones for children. His favorite is Hatari! and for those of you not "cultured" in John Wayne, it's the African one where they collect animals for different zoos. One of the characters is adopted by three baby elephants and the Masai tribe calls her Mama Tembo (elephant). Matthew calls me that once in awhile. So there ya have it. For the record, I like McClintock and El Dorado the best.

There are quite a few cowboy songs in the John Wayne movies and it's sort of a family challenge to learn them and sing along. Last summer we were working on the El Dorado song and, no kidding, Anna would sing it in her baby talk while swinging in her swing. She was an official Rolli at that point.

Little House on the Prairie Wannabe

Remember that episode when Pa has to snowshoe to the barn via Mary and Laura's loft window? I went to sleep Thursday night hoping to wake up Friday with the same scenario. That wasn't the case, but I did get to shovel three foot drifts. Weirdly, I love to shovel snow. What a sense of accomplishment when there are huge mounds of snow piled up beside a neat little sidewalk. I peaked out the window a number of times yesterday just enjoying my shoveled sidewalk. Call me crazy.

Baby Connor Dykes

Here is some information on a friend of mine from middle school days, her name is Mindy (Spencer) Dykes and she's had a rough three years. Three years ago she lost her first son, Gabe, as he was stillborn at his full-term 40weeks and she had a daughter two years ago, JoJo, whom they almost lost in the fall from a blood disease. They had their third child, Connor, in December and found out in January that he has a very rare brain cancer. The couple live in Hammand and will probably need financial help and definitely need your prayers. Here are two websites to check out if you're interested in finding out more about their family and ways to help. I'm selling tickets for a St.Patrick's Day benefit at the Valley House in Hudson for the family and you can purchase them on Connor's website as well.

www.caringforconnor.com
www.caringbridge.org/visit/connordykes

What are you trying to say?

On Tuesday I went for a haircut, first one in about 10mos. It was time. My Isaiah was at kindergarten and Anna was hanging out with Auntie Sally so, off I went. I chose a style and was brought back to the chair to discuss the deal. I was about to enjoy the shampoo when the stylist said, "So, you have the day off?" to which I reply, "No, I stay home with my kiddos." To my surprise she said, "Oh, so you don't get to work." I just smiled and laughed in disbelief. Next, she asked, "Do you wax your eyebrows?". (keep in mind I lost my tweezers and purchased some the day before just hadn't the chance to use them yet) I knew why she asked but kinda wanted to see her squirm after the no work comment. I just said, "No". She said, "We offer that service for $5 with a haircut." I told her how I thought that was nice. The conversation slowed after that, much to my relief. Haircut was over and done with shortly. I paid and started preparing for my next haircut in another 10months.

Blog thinking

I've been reading blogs for a while now and have recently started taking bits of my everyday life and thinking how they'd be good for a blog. I figure that's a sign I should start my own blog. So, here goes.....