Quatro!

c'est finis

2008-05-20T17:04:00.004-04:00

please update!

visit our new blog home here. this is the last post for quatro. over and out.

a new home

2008-05-16T14:23:00.002-04:00

changes are coming soon to this blog. i am in the process of changing the url. please stay tuned.

play group

2008-05-15T12:51:00.005-04:00

emma and i headed over the park this morning to meet up for cross point's first organized play group. though it was quite chilly, there was plenty of sun to go around.

with her growing sense of independence, emma insisted that she do everything "self."

"can mommy help push you in the swing?"

"no. self." [wiggling frantically to get the swing to move]

then comes the "aargghhhh, uhhhh, grrrr" because she can't swing by herself yet. i then attempt to push her, on the sly, only to be caught (aww, nuts!).

"uhhh...nooooo....self!" [more wiggling]

"okay, self. you're doing it yourself." i resign to the fact that there's no helping her. but i do manage to get her going, secretly, without her noticing. and baby is happy once more.

new and improved

2008-05-13T14:35:00.006-04:00

the kids and youth section of the library is finally open!

tyler went there yesterday to do homework in the homework room. they also offer a free program called homework er for school age kids. he really enjoys going to the library, and he seems to like the independence from doing homework in a place that he picks out on his own.

then there is also an impressive learning space called the librainium, created by the burgeon group, for young kids to explore. so many things to touch, feel and do. emma loved it.

still more construction to be completed, but the finished "product" is just beyond the horizon.

mother's day

2008-05-11T18:09:00.003-04:00

today, we dedicated our daughter to god at church, promising to bring her up (and tyler too) according to his word. what a perfect start to mother's day. then, i received a wonderful and encouraging home-made card from tyler. his words helped me realize that the small things i do for him that i think are often taken for granted are in fact noticed and remembered. i also received a creative haiku card from my dear husband, who sometimes doesn't even need to use words to tell me how much he cares. amazing.

when i was younger, i remember asking my mom, "what do you want for mother's day?"

every year it was the same answer, "just your love and affection."

doesn't help me much does it? but now i understand. because on mother's day that's all i want from my children (and husband). not stuff to substitute for their love and affection. just their love and affection. that's enough for me.

to all the mamas i know: may you be showered with love and affection, today and everyday!

mini road trip

2008-05-10T22:44:00.006-04:00

after teaching this morning, my dear family picked me up from work and we jetted down to mamaw's house for a visit. ed and shannon were there with their 2 kiddies, geddy and sophia, who are just about 5 months older than emma. the weather was pleasant. we spent most of the afternoon outside eating home pizza and enjoying each other's company.

the three little cousins really hit it off, especially after emma shared her teddy grahams with the twins. how can you not make a friend when food is involved? sophia was especially fond of tyler and liked to follow him around. tyler did a great job keeping an eye on the little ones, and was always sure to rope them back in if they strayed too far. there was plenty of open space to roam and explore, and i think all the kids really enjoyed that.

there was so much room in fact that aaron and tyler decided to do this little number a couple of times.

and finally, proof that kids don't need anything fancy to keep them happy. just a land rover with leather seats, and plenty of opportunity to climb around.

bunches of flowers

2008-05-10T22:34:00.003-04:00

friday we went to the library's family weekend wonder program again, but this time ben and gram came along. the theme was body talk so they read a couple of books involving body parts and movement, and learned to sign the happy birthday song. i have to say, the craft this week was mostly my handy-work since it involved a lot of cutting and pasting. nonetheless, emma was still very proud of what she "made."

more sibling sillies

2008-05-09T13:48:00.003-04:00

when the sun begins to set, the sillies come out!

sometimes technology is not so good

2008-05-09T13:29:00.003-04:00

what's up with this? i briefly looked through the 60 page list of products, and there's a lot of antibacterial items that contain the nano-silver along with a couple of items from sharper image. when technology turns into risky business, potentially harming us and the environment, then i say scrap it.

one more blurb. this one is about whole foods. i think aaron will appreciate this one. now there's finally more reasons (aside from 1 rude employee and that they sell a lot of over-priced stuff) NOT to shop at whole foods.

seattle connection

2008-05-08T19:32:00.003-04:00

2 seattle connections in 1 week.

1. yesterday, a friend of mine set-up a meeting with another gal who she found was from the seattle area. like me, she has a 10 year old boy and an 18 mos. old daughter, and the family moved here for her husband's job. we hit it off, and enjoyed reminiscing about the emerald city. since living here, i haven't met anyone else who had relocated here from seattle so it's pretty neat to find someone with the same connection.

2. this saturday, studio 11 is offering a workshop with kt neihoff which i would love to take. neihoff is a fairly well-known choreographer in seattle, co-founded velocity dance center, and artistic director of lingo dance theater. i've only taken her class once, but have taken a number of classes at velocity while i was in seattle. i missed her company's performance at cpt, but hopefully they'll return again. it sounds like she has connections in the cleveland area.

monkey see, monkey do

2008-05-08T14:11:00.003-04:00

after watching mama vacuum, here is emma doing the same. not only is she enjoying herself "playing" vacuum, she is developing her hand-eye coordination and learning some essential life skills. plus, once she has mastered the art of vacuuming, i won't have to do it anymore.

love and laundry detergent

2008-05-06T13:11:00.002-04:00

i've known aaron for 7 years. we know each other like the back of our own hands. or so we thought...

i grew up using liquid laundry detergent, and it wasn't until i married aaron that i switched to powder. why? because he used powder. every time we ran out, i would go and buy more powder detergent because that's what i thought he preferred. you see, i was doing it out of love, even though i personally preferred liquid. years passed and i kept buying more powder detergent. until today. in my attempt to be a more frugal shopper, i decided to make the switch back to my beloved liquid detergent, because it was a dollar cheaper than using the powder. in my head, i had already planned an argument for the liquid detergent in case aaron disagreed with my decision. it turns out the argument was not necessary. today, we discovered that both of us preferred liquid. he had used powder only because it was what his roommate bought-LOL!. we never said anything to each other, because both of us thought the other preferred the powder. and to think that something so trivial as laundry detergent would be a symbol of our love for each other. how romantic.

indians baseball

2008-05-04T18:58:00.009-04:00

after a few days of rain, the weather was perfect for a day out to progressive field. the family, including aunt corrie, aunt jenna and uncle jon, took the train downtown and met up with other cross pointers to watch the indians battle it out against the kansas city royals. emma seemed fascinated with the train ride, enjoying the scenery go by. being her first baseball game, emma did better than we expected. of course, there were lots of things to look at, and plenty of people she knew who helped keep her occupied. i gave her a brief play-by-play to help her understand the game better, but i don't think it all quite sunk in. we took a 6th inning walk-break to find the play area so emma could burn off some energy. since it was kid's day today, tyler and emma both got free indians t-shirts. i'll help emma wear hers for now.

on other non-baseball related news, tyler shared one of his memory verses in front of everybody in church today. we are so very proud of him.

i am a robot

2008-05-02T14:24:00.003-04:00

this morning we went to the library to try out their *free* weekend wonders program. the program seems geared toward a wide age range though it seems mostly appropriate for younger children 2 years through maybe 2nd grade. what's nice is that if you're a parent with more than one child, this program is something the whole family can enjoy. our teacher, mr. T, engaged the kids for a full hour of stories, songs, crafts and educational activities. emma lasted only about 30 minutes or so before she was ready for a change of scenery. but that's okay. she seemed to enjoy mr. T's story-telling style and definitely enjoyed putting together this super-reflective, out of this world, space robot.

making the grade

2008-05-02T14:14:00.003-04:00

dioramas. remeber those? i used to love making dioramas. this diorama was created by tyler for his book report on frindle. the best part about this project was not the super A grade he received from his teacher. in fact, the best part was that he put this project together by himself. alone. with no help from me. none. not even a little. he came up with everything himself. and he looked like he had fun doing it. too bad school doesn't use hands-on projects as their primary way of teaching. then maybe tyler would think school is fun all the time.

a different way of learning

2008-05-01T22:18:00.003-04:00

the state of ohio offers the option for you to enroll your children in a k-12 virtual school (like this one for example), at no charge. kind of like college distance learning but for school kids. the school even supplies you with a computer for the student to use, and all the necessary teaching resources for the school year. i'm very intrigued, because i like the idea of homeschooling but not sure if i can do it alone. it seems that a virtual school would allow you to homeschool in some sense, but with guidance(?). has anyone in ohio (or another state) tried the eSchool approach?

under the weather

2008-05-01T22:00:00.005-04:00

washed out. lethargic. colorless lips. emma did not start out too well this morning. phlegm from her stuffy nose had settled into her lungs, and now that it was finally starting to unsettle it decided to make its escape up her esophagus and out her mouth. not all at once (is that a good thing?). but intermittently, warned beforehand by painful grunting and screaming. she was in super snuggle mode with us all morning. being that she's not really a snuggly kind of gal, we knew something was wrong. then she decided the floor was much more comfortable to lay on than us. the next thing we knew she was passed out. on the floor. for almost an hour. like so....

then, like magic, she was perfectly fine after she woke. rosy cheeks, pink lips, and plenty to talk about.

yeah for food!

2008-04-30T21:23:00.005-04:00

yeah! i just discovered this! i'm so excited about it. for you folks in my hood, check it out and consider supporting them. whether it be your time, your money, or participating in their initiatives. i'm especially excited that we have even more local food accessible in our area. i think i'm going to sign us up for a community supported agriculture (CSA) pgm. a CSA pgm. works similarly to pioneer organics (what we used to do in seattle) without the online shopping and home-delivery. and now that the pick up location is even more convenient, i don't see why we shouldn't give it a go. i'm sure i'll still be running to west-side market or the grocery store to fill in the gaps, but, hey, we're supporting our local community. for those not in my hood, check out this website and they can get you set up if you're interested in participating in a CSA pgm. oh, and let me know if you decided to try it out.

why buy local? check this out.

but then i came across this. buying food is so complicated, isn't it? aah...the true challenges of life.

new stuff

2008-04-29T14:32:00.005-04:00

i just finished this onesie for one of tyler's teachers at school. they're throwing a surprise baby shower for him (no, he's not pregnant, but his wife is) and asked if any of the parents were interested in donating some items.

other new things...tyler's all new plastic bag holder for dog walkers who pick up their pet's poop. there's a miniature carabiner that can hook on your belt loop or, as shown in the photo below, to a purse. he decided to give his original to his gram, because they have 2 dogs and something like that would definitely come in handy.

a weekend of dining

2008-04-27T19:35:00.003-04:00

we have had a weekend full of wonderful food. friday night, gram and pap invited us to dinner at diana's diner where we met their friend mary who was visiting for the weekend. may i just say that their kid's meatloaf is the PERFECT sized adult serving. i can't imagine how many slices i would get if i ordered the regular meatloaf. then saturday night, we had some tasty home-made spaghetti and meat sauce at alan and lindsey's, followed by super fudgy brownie and triple vanilla ice cream for dessert. we ate so much that we all went for a walk to help digest all that food. oren shared his new radio flyer wagon with emma and they looked adorable together (sorry no photo...but just imagine two cute tots sitting across each other cuddled under a blanket in a big red wagon). sunday, daniel and jessica invited us over for some burgers, hot dogs and ribs. it was the perfect day for a cook-out (again, sorry no photos). there were lots of kids there, so tyler had a good time running around. there were also a couple of uniquely named lawn games that were quite popular with the adults (and kids): hillbilly golf and cornhole. how can you resist playing with names like that? we had a great weekend, and are so thankful for the generous hospitality of our family and friends.

look what i found

2008-04-24T13:11:00.004-04:00

messin' around on the net last night, and look what i found. i can't believe it's still up after all these years. isn't there an expiration? brings back memories of our gymnastics and synchronized swimming days (LOL...joke!).

on a side note, we had lunch with some friends today. i just can't wait until the weather really warms up and we can do weekly picnics at the park or weekly trips to the beach, barbeques, or something where we all can hang out and be outside. it's the end of hibernation season and time to see everyone again. did i mention i LOVE warm weather??

follow-up

2008-04-23T14:20:00.002-04:00

i had my follow-up appt. with my midwife today. things look normal, and we have the green light to go in probably about a week. then we stopped by trader joe's on the east side for coffee and such. emma got to push her own cart. she pushes with such determination that a few times it looked as if she was ready to plow people down (this trader joe's has much narrower aisles...almost like the trader joe's in queen anne). she really liked being able to put things in her own cart. she even started loading it up with 3 tubs of some sort of cheese spread. too bad she couldn't pay for the stuff in her cart. now that would have been nice.

back to the park

2008-04-22T19:48:00.004-04:00

the weather was lovely today. it just doesn't feel right to stay indoors when it's warm and sunny out, so of course we planned an outing. nothing big. sometimes we can just be outside in the backyard or the front yard. it doesn't matter. as long as we're outside (plus i have to get my tan on for bathing suit season...ha, ha). today we went to the park to play and have lunch with our friends melissa and layla. emma and layla did a lot of sliding, and both did great at getting to the top of as the slide on their own. then, we saw more friends arriving (some we have not seen in a long while). it turned out to be a big partay at the park. quite a pleasant surprise. i'm look forward to more days like today.

the joys of parenthood (and siblinghood??)

2008-04-21T19:21:00.003-04:00

how long have we waited to hear her say this?

it just melts my heart, because it's too cute. we're also trying to teach her the sign for it, but she has a bit of trouble negotiating her fingers. the cutest is when she says good night to ty and says "i yuv yoo" back to him.

another year older...

2008-04-20T20:34:00.003-04:00

beef ribs (aaron went to 3 places to find them), an ice cream cake and a brownie cake for my birthday...yum. plus, i got to share the day with todd who also had a birthday today! happy birthday to us.

welcoming spring

2008-04-17T21:56:00.007-04:00

the weather has improved tremendously this past week, with plenty of sunshine and warmer temps. sunday, we all went for a quick trip to the lake erie nature & science center...just so we can all get out of the house, hang out together, and clear our minds (for a little while) of the recent event. emma & i discovered that there were tortoises there, which we had never noticed before. monday morning, while aaron and i were at the hospital, emma spent every chance she got outside. she managed to convince gram and aunt corrie to bust out her bike and push her around. tuesday (though rather chilly) and wednesday morning were spent at the playground. we even ran into a few friends there on wednesday. the afternoons were spent in the backyard drawing with chalk, toddling around the grass, and playing in the house. today was even warmer than yesterday, and i decided to have lunch outside on the deck. emma was rather amused by the idea, and especially liked being able to eat and go. the rain is in the near future, but hopefully it won't turn everything too soggy.

a light in the darkness...

2008-04-16T14:39:00.006-04:00

the lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and i am helped; my heart exults and with my song i give thanks to him. psalm 28:7 (esv)

we'd like to thank our dear family and friends for their prayers, love, kind words and support this past week. it has been rather surreal for us to experience the loss of our wee baby bean. we are thankful that we can depend on our loved ones for comfort. thank you everyone. we love you all!

lots more photos from mom's visit

2008-04-08T13:42:00.007-04:00

these were from ibu's camera. check out my baby flab, uh i mean, baby bump in the 3 generations photo...it's a good one.

finally some sunshine!

2008-04-07T16:46:00.007-04:00

saturday and sunday were full of sunshine, and we spent most of both days outside working on the yard (finally...it needed it). aaron loaded up 510 gallons worth of those lawn bags filled with leaves, weeds, branches and all sorts of other dead stuff. emma kept busy playing in her house and with her bike, while tyler played with some friends and accompanied emma on her bike ride. the nice thing about a fenced backyard is that we can let the kids out to play and not have to worry that they'll run off. it's pretty cool, and emma seems content to be left outside playing. i don't know how long this sunshine will last, but we're surely taking advantage of it.

making music

2008-04-04T23:23:00.004-04:00

emma really enjoys singing, especially while playing a musical instrument. the second video is a special musical duet with her cousin ben.

spring is here...

2008-04-03T20:26:00.002-04:00

...at least i hope so. the past few days have been lovely (though cool), and we were able to get out and take a morning and an afternoon walk. it's soooo nice to be outside again when it's not freezing cold. i wish the weather would stay temperate all year round...i think that would be my ideal place to live. i feel so cooped up during the winter. today after emma's nap, we went to take an afternoon walk and then did some yard work. emma was great at helping. she pulled out all the brown leaves and stems from the garden beds and added it to our yard waste pile. the rain is supposed to come tonight so i don't know if there'll be much outside activity tomorrow. BUT, we are taking ibu to the westside market tomorrow. yay!

fedex fun

2008-03-31T20:42:00.003-04:00

we spent saturday afternoon at aaron's station for a benefit's fair/family day. tyler and aaron went early to set-up, then ibu, emma and i met up with them later. there was lots of stuff for the kids to do and plenty of giveaways for them and for the employess. tyler wore himself out running around and managed to come home with a lot of stuff.

later that evening aaron and i had a date night at the theatre (woohoo). we went to see the opening night of the crucible put on by the great lakes theatre with aaron's parents. then we stopped by the reception afterwards to meet up with corrie and have some munchies. since ibu was home with the kids, we figured we'd make a night of it and stop by the rush inn for more drinks (don't worry i had a virgin cranberry and vodka) and munchies after the reception-it was only 12:30. talk about a late night, but it was worth it!

you'll shoot your eye out!

2008-03-29T14:51:00.005-04:00

michelle's last day here was yesterday, and we made it a memorable one by going to visit the a christmas story house. it was pretty neat to see where they filmed some of the scenes, and the tour guide was sweet enough to allow us to touch and feel everything. i think we picked the perfect time to go, because it was just us and 3 other people taking the tour. apparently, over christmas time it gets pretty crazy and there's barely any room to move around. they've already had over 60,000 visitors since the opening in 2005, and i'm sure there will be plenty more in the future.

afterwards, we wandered around close to downtown and came across a newly opened asian supermarket, park to shop supermarket. it's kind of like uwajimaya or the ranch 99 store in seattle. there's hardly any indonesian items (i saw one), but plenty of stuff i can work with. if you can't tell, i'm VERY excited about this opening, because it's been so hard to find all the right ingredients to some of my cooking or fulfill some of my "asian" cravings (e.g. dried seaweed, furikake, miso). plus they have rice in very large amounts for cheap...perfect. this last photo is of emma in her sunglasses-she looks so cool. she's finally able to understand its purpose so she's pretty good about keeping it on her face. this photo was on our way home from visiting our 3rd (yes, that's right, our 3rd) H&M this week...just for michelle.

fish, snakes and more

2008-03-25T19:52:00.003-04:00

yesterday emma and i took ibu and aunty michelle to the lake erie nature and science center. we like going there, because there's just enough for emma to see and it's free admission. we saw the snakes and the fish indoors, but also ventured outdoors to see the deer, owls, rabbits, fox, eagle, and such. while outside, we came across a duck pond, and emma was absolutely overcome by them...like she couldn't believe what she's seeing.

company

2008-03-24T20:23:00.007-04:00

my dear mother and sister, michelle, arrived last thursday for a visit. since then, we've been busy going here and there, doing this and that, so there hasn't been much blogging lately. here's a recap of the weekend....

after letting emma stay up WAY past her bedtime thurs. night, we mostly chilled at the house fri. we dropped by the library, then had dinner at sakura japanese restaurant. emma couldn't get enough of the miso soup and sushi ginger, and i couldn't get enough of the tempura. yum!

saturday, we took michelle to h&m then had some thai hut for dinner (another one of emma's favorites). easter sunday was pretty busy. emma started her day dancing with her aunty in her esater dress.

we didn't do an easter basket for emma or anything since she's still a bit too young to quite understand the whole concept. plus, we didn't want to detract from what easter is really about. i think next year we'll put a little something together for her since she'll be old enough to comprehend the basics of the easter story. she did however score some easter eggs from church and couldn't get over those plastic eggs.

we then drove down to gram and paps for a fabulous lunch and family time. with 3 dogs and 2 toddlers running around, the house was a happening place. emma loved the piano and showed off her vocal skills while playing. who knew? ben and emma also shared some piano time and did a great job of singing together...i heard some lovely harmonies.

by the end of the day, everyone was pooped. just check out these sleeping beauties on the ride home.

it's magic

2008-03-19T22:10:00.003-04:00

tuesday night, the kids and i went to see jonathan curtis who performed a some very impressive illusions (though i don't think emma really cared too much). tyler even got to be a participant in one of his tricks. i would have taken a photo, but i wasn't sure if i was supposed to or not since it was a performance. i did, however, take a few photos of the kids running around before the show started. emma really holds her own among all those boys.

east meets west

2008-03-18T12:12:00.002-04:00

emma's lunch menu for today:
peanut butter and jelly sandwich
california rolls
sushi ginger (she kept asking for "more ginger" even after she finished ALL of it, leaving me only a few nibbles)

college cook-out

2008-03-17T21:15:00.005-04:00

we decided to host a sunday cook-out this past sunday for some fabulous collegiate guys and gals from arkansas who are up in our neck of the woods over their spring break. it was a lot of fun having everyone over to hang out and eat some burgers and dogs prepared by master chef, aaron.

on this same sunday, emma also received her easter gift from gram and pap: a hello kitty purse complete with a comb, brush, compact mirror, and hair clips. what more can a girl ask for? she loves the zipper and enjoys taking this out and putting things in. currently, she has her brush, comb, compact mirror, lip gloss (sealed of course), and mobile. everything a girl on the go would need, i guess. i showed her how to "put on" her lip gloss, and now she'll take it out of her purse, pucker her lips and "smear" her face with the gloss. too cute.

it came full force

2008-03-14T21:46:00.002-04:00

the nausea. it came in its full glory this past week. i thought i was in the clear for this pregnancy. especially since i told my midwife last week that i had only experienced very minimal nausea. ha, ha, ha. the past 2 days, i've been eating just as much as emma for dinner. i really am much hungrier than a 4 oz. portion sized dinner, but nothing sounds good. i've been force-feeding myself some saltines and bread, but i can't quite figure out what else i can stomach yet. this and this have helped relieve some of the nausea. regular ginger ale, on the other hand, like this one has not helped at all. i think i need a much stronger dose of ginger. ooh, fruit smoothies sound good...no gag reflex thinking about that one.

reeeeaaaad?

2008-03-11T13:55:00.005-04:00

emma's daily request is to read, read, read. and of course she *has* to prolong the word and enunciate the "d" at the end. just in case she didn't get her point across the first time. i don't ever mind reading to her (except when i'm trying to get dinner together). i'm SO glad she LOVES books! we can read the same story 2-3 times in a day, or sometimes we read different books up to 5 times a day. did i mention i can recite most of "one fish, two fish...," "go dog go," and "where the wild things are" (to name a few) from memory? this has to be a valuable skill for when i return to the workforce full-time. i know employers are all scrambling to find someone who has a library of children's books memorized in her head.

sledding sunday

2008-03-10T21:54:00.006-04:00

after the storm cleared out saturday night, we decided to go on a sledding adventure sunday afternoon. the walk to the hill was VERY, VERY long, but we made it. emma was a bit hot and cold about the whole situation. sometimes she was really into the snow and the sled, other times she just wanted to be held. she did manage to go down a wee hill with aaron. both tyler and aaron managed to get a few runs down the hill, though the trek back to the top was definitely tiresome. by the end of the day, we were all worn out and ready to settle in our jammies for the evening.

as always, more photos of our adventures on flickr.

drink up buttercup

2008-03-09T14:49:00.003-04:00

emma's 2nd attempt at drinking out of (non-sippy)cup. this time, there weren't as many spills, and she kept asking for more refills. maybe if she drinks enough then she'll feel compelled to use her potty, which has pretty much been forgotten now.

going somewhere?

2008-03-09T14:39:00.002-04:00

sillies

2008-03-08T21:07:00.002-05:00

emma and tyler taken over by the sillies tonight before her bedtime.

when will it end??

2008-03-08T20:30:00.005-05:00

since yesterday afternoon, we have been hit with snow, snow, snow. according to the news yesterday, the whole STATE of ohio has been issued a winter storm warning through sunday. it has been snowing non-stop, with plenty of wind to top it off. i think we've gotten at least 2 feet of snow so far. good thing i'm not traveling anywhere this time around, eh? we did venture out in the afternoon for oren's 1 year birthday party, though we did not linger too long. during our brief adventure in the snowy terrain, we saw a number of cars stuck in the snow. it's times like these where i'm thankful we have a 4-wheel drivin' suv.

speaking of oren, here's the second t-shirt i embroidered for him. notice the last photo below almost looks like the first EXCEPT that the horseshoes are upside down. that was the first one i embroidered until aaron kindly pointed out my mistake. hey, i don't know these things. i'm not originally from this country...english wasn't even my first language...so i would say it was an honest mistake.

visit number one

2008-03-07T13:10:00.003-05:00

had my first pre-natal visit w/ the midwife today. since this is my second time around everything was quick and straight to the point. just the way i like it. the only downside this time is that there are now 8 midwives @ the hospital instead of 3...yikes. that means that my chances of getting my usual midwife for delivery will decrease, because i'll be getting whoever is on call. but it's still better than the 30 some OBGYNs that are there (and there's no way i'll be able to meet that many during my whole pregnancy). at least whoever delivers the baby won't be a complete stranger. we did talk briefly about waterbirths. depending on the midwife i can either labor and deliver in the tub or just labor in the tub...interesting. i'm sure soaking in warm water would help w/ the labor pains...maybe if my labor is long enough this time around i'll try it.

saturday snow day

2008-03-03T14:08:00.005-05:00

building snowmen (well...a snow family), sledding down steps, and some snowball fighting. all in a day's work.

embroidery t-shirt

2008-03-03T13:54:00.006-05:00

this is one out of two toddler t-shirts i'm embroidering for a toddler birthday present. i didn't have time to order a pre-made design so i did this one myself.

it's potty time

2008-02-26T13:53:00.002-05:00

we are slowly introducing emma to the potty. she's sat on it a few times, after stating "pee, pee...potty...pee,pee?" and pointing to the bathroom. did she go? no. of course not. however, she did do a very lovely interpretative potty dance for me. i'll be sharing that video via e-mail to family, but will not be posting it on the blog. a diaperless toddler dancing around...probably not the best to post to the public (who knows what weirdos are out there!). however, shoot me an e-mail and i would be happy to share the footage with you.

birthday weekend

2008-02-24T15:29:00.004-05:00

aaron's birthday weekend.

FRIDAY-picked up newly purchased pre-owned vehicle. followed by birthday dinner celebration at jon and jenna's house. on the menu: coconut shrimp, chicken noodle soup, homemade rolls, roasted red potatoes, DQ ice cream cake (oh yeah).

SATURDAY-birthday tattoo courtesy of dave at voodoo monkey. followed by an evening of games, munchies and more cake.

SUNDAY-birthday dinner number two coming up this evening, consisting of some delicious pad thai from thai toms...oops! i mean, thai hut.

i hope i get a birthday weekend. i think everybody should get a birthday weekend. not just a birthday. but instead a WHOLE weekend of continuous celebration (please note the slight touch of sarcasm here).

another chef in the making

2008-02-20T17:17:00.005-05:00

emma helps her dad make dinner. like a true chef...there's always a taste test required.

a $40 day in cleveland

2008-02-19T14:18:00.007-05:00

a trip to the great lakes science center with the whole family...

can't get enough of our science center experience? there's always more on flickr!

testing, testing...one, two, three

2008-02-18T15:34:00.002-05:00

one more thing to add before i forget...

this means my stomach will look like this in about 8 months...

food, glorious food

2008-02-18T14:55:00.003-05:00

we had a fabulous day of eating yesterday. in celebration of our church's 1 year anniversary there was plenty pizza, chips and of yummy desserts to be shared by all after the service. as if that wasn't enough eating, we got to take the leftover pizza home (there probably about 10 slices left). and to top off our sunday, we finished the day with an evening of fondue delight. there was hot oil fondue where chicken, steak, and mushrooms could be fried to perfection. then of course, the beer-cheese fondue served with your choice of italian or asiago cheese bread. lastly, corrie brought her chocolate fountain where an assortment of fruits and sweets could be drenched to your heart's desire in chocolaty goodness.

fun with snow

2008-02-13T13:32:00.004-05:00

we've had some snow come our way the past few days (i'll be glad when winter is officially done), and monday tyler's school was closed due to the wind chill factor. of course, that didn't stop tyler from playing outside. he spent the majority of monday outside doing this...

action photos have also been posted on flickr.

what do you think...

2008-02-10T22:13:00.000-05:00

...of aaron's next tattoo?

more embroidery

2008-02-10T13:28:00.000-05:00

i finally finished the pillowcases for mamaw's christmas present (i know, it's beyond late). they're bleeding hearts-papaw's favorite. currently working on another late present (i think i see a trend here).

self-fascination

2008-02-07T14:48:00.000-05:00

i hooked up the camera to the tv the other day and turned it on. i filmed emma as she watched her own image being displayed on the tube.

let's make music

2008-02-05T23:54:00.000-05:00

another video of some talented musicians...

it's the little things that make me happy...

2008-02-04T23:47:00.000-05:00

since moving here, i've always wondered why the city only accepted plastics with a "neck" (i.e. soda/water bottles) and not any other types. i had been so used to recycling all sorts of plastics from bottles to yogurt cups, that i was slightly frustrated upon moving here that plastic recycling was so limited. why can't they recycle other plastics when it's possible to do so? well...i just received notice that the city is now taking all plastics for recycling from #1-7. hooray! finally, i can recycle all those yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, and salsa tubs i've accumulated in the cupboards.

ka-feee...mmmmmm

2008-02-04T13:25:00.000-05:00

oot and aboot...

2008-01-30T20:32:00.000-05:00

emma and i made our first journey to the lake erie nature and science center today with some of our friends (and cousin ben too). talk about a neat little place...and it was free! the indoor building contains various classrooms, a planetarium, water creatures (i.e. fish), reptiles, arachnids and lots of stuffed (formerly living) animals. though it was too cold to venture outside, there was also an outdoor exhibit. according to a report from our little friend tate, there were deer, turkeys, owls and such out there.

.this photo courtesy of aunt jenna.

despite being a bit under the weather, emma had a blast being able to explore, touch and play. we even saw nature at work...the piranhas in the tank were having themselves a little snack consisting of another one of its own.

we made ourselves comfortable in one area of the building where we had lunch and let the wee babies crawl and sprawl. .

it was great fun. i even ran into cousins of 2 of my students from the Y. that's the first time someone recognized me before i recognized the other person

what is a cleveland accent?

2008-01-29T21:39:00.000-05:00

while strolling through not martha, i came across this blog. what a great name. it has also helped confirm my suspicions that a cleveland accent does exist.

doggy dog visitor and other reflections

2008-01-29T13:40:00.000-05:00

we had a visit from meg last week while gram and pap went w/ corrie and mamaw to washington d.c. i have to admit, it is nice to have a dog around again. i think we'll get another dog eventually, but we need to save up some money for it. there are some great sites for orphaned dogs and i think we'll probably find a pup from one of the rescue sites.

emma enjoyed having meg around, and brought out books to "read" to her. it was too funny. she did get rather upset when meg ate her cereal bar. of course, emma put the darn thing right infront of her nose.

our little girl is growing so quickly. it's hard to imagine the time when all she did was gurgle and coo at you. now she talks all the time. we're trying to work on forming 2-word phrases with her, but she hasn't quite mastered that except for thank you. she is fairly independent, so we've had to quickly start forming boundaries and rules in order to keep her safe. once they're set, she does pretty well adhering to them...it's defining them that's hard.

tyler just finished learning a little bit about the holocaust and hitler at school. they're focusing on historical fiction books at school right now, and he's currently reading one based on the french-indian war (or maybe it was the revolutionary war? one of those.). he's participating in a boy's club at school which meets every tues. during lunch and recess. it was strange that he wanted to do it, because the counselor's intention on forming the club was to teach the particularly aggressive/difficult boys how to practice self-control, anger management and working together. but i think he was drawn to the idea of being a part of an all boys club.

this summer, aaron and i will have been together for 7 years. i am amazed at how much life changes during that time, and how fast the kids grow (don't i just sound like my parents?). looking back, most of it was like a blur, but all of it was awesome. thinking forward another 7 years, tyler will be in his last year of high school...ack! i don't want to think about it anymore.

embroidery

2008-01-28T20:10:00.000-05:00

i finally finished the second tea towel for grandma this past weekend.

we also went to a birthday party sat. night and i did a last minute tea towel embroidery. we wanted to use the tea towel to wrap up the actual gift, which was a bottle of wine. but wrapping it up in a plain white piece of cloth is not very exciting, so i decided to do some quick embellishing.

i'm currently working on some pillowcases for yet another VERY late christmas present for mamaw. i'll post photos once they're finished.

for all you bacon lovers...

2008-01-22T21:49:00.001-05:00

not only is there bacon salt (which happens to be kosher & vegan...hmmm...), but now you can make your very own bacon vodka! doesn't that sound like bacon heaven?

rock hall on MLK day

2008-01-21T14:19:00.000-05:00

out the door with the kids by 10 a.m. (only a half-hour behind planned departure time), we headed to the rock and roll hall of fame. they are offering free admission today in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. along with various events held through out the day.

i'm thankful we got there earlier than later. the museum really started to fill up around noon. they had a special exhibit on the doors and the beatles up on the very top floor, but i think the lower level has to be the best part of the museum with a vast display of music through the ages. while emma was primarily fascinated with the holes in the metal benches, aaron was drooling over all the vintage gibson guitars. there was plenty to see...from madonna's cone-shaped corset to janis joplin's hippie-fied porsche. we also ran into our friends todd and debbie who took a quick look around with their wee ones, but left shortly after they arrived because of the growing crowd in the museum. compared to emp in seattle, i think the rock hall offers a lot more for visitors (though emp may have changed since i went 5 yrs. ago), especially since both places charge about $20 for admission. however, i would not pay $20 to go to a museum. needless to say, the only times we've ever been to both locations were when they were offering free admission.

a little martin luther king trivia for you...

martin luther king day was not a nationally observed holiday until 1986, almost 18 years after his assassination.
as of 2003, there were more than 730 streets in u.s. cities and towns named after dr. king.

**update as of 11:08 p.m.**
per 19 action news, angela bassett was at the rock hall today as part of the MLK celebration. i guess that's why the lobby was crammed with people.

on "mean moms"

2008-01-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

to all parents and parents-to-be: here is an encouraging post i just read about parenting and discipline (jon and jenna, i thought of you after what happened tonight). it's no always easy. it takes a lot of time and a lot of effort. but your children are worth it...more than any other tangible thing in this world :).

food notes

2008-01-18T13:54:00.001-05:00

we (actually just emma and i) love our soy products. we had shared some tofu w/ soy sauce for a snack today, and then for lunch emma had soy nuggets drizzled w/ honey and some frozen peas. these soy nuggets are rather tasty...really. also, if you're looking for a low in fat meat alternative, these are great to snack on (4 nuggets has 2 g. fat and 120 calories). the frozen peas are a hit w/ her too. it's a fun, portable, and healthy snack that's easy to pop in her mouth. what's funny is that she actually prefers frozen peas over defrosted ones.

other food notes-we made tomato quiche the other day using the recipe from the superbaby food book. i used a rice and cheese mix for the crust, which i also got from the book.

the meal was a hit with everyone, and it was super easy to make. the quiche takes 30-45 minutes to bake, so while we waited for it to set we went outside to walk and play in the snow.

after expending a bit of our energy outside, we were ready to dig into our warm, oven-baked dinner. yum!

back in time

2008-01-17T13:53:00.000-05:00

per blogher, library of congress and flickr have teamed up to start a pilot project: "the commons." impressive photos. i hope this project sticks. talk about going back in time.

bothersome boy

2008-01-16T13:07:00.000-05:00

so maia wrote about an issue w/ playground etiquette yesterday, and we had a similar experience w/ emma today.

indoor play areas at the mall are a popular destination for cold and snowy days, and that's where we headed today. we went in the morning to avoid the mall moms that come in masses around lunch time, but there were still a few kids running around once we got there. emma had climbed into this pretend car, and before she knew it she had found herself being climbed and trampled on by this boy who was trying to get into the car too. aaron then proceeded to grab him off her, sternly reprimanding him for his behavior, and rescued the crying emma out of the car. instead of correcting this boy's behavior, his mother (who was busy writing before the "incident" happened) merely tells him to get into the car from the other side (apparently where emma wasn't sitting at?). i mean, this boy looked old enough to know better-she should at least take a more "disciplinarian" tone with him. later on, emma gave him the "if you mess with me i'll sick my brother on you" look. i think that scared him off.

crazy hair day

2008-01-15T23:39:00.000-05:00

school spirit week began monday at tyler's school. today was crazy hair day. after many, many globs of elmer's glue, much pulling, some tugging, and hours and hours (well...maybe more like a half hour) of blow drying...

...BEHOLD, measuring 5 inches in height, the finished product.

eating clones

2008-01-15T23:17:00.000-05:00

i'm watching the news right now and they just talked about the FDA's approval for consuming cloned animals. companies will be able to market cow, pig and goat products without having to label them as cloned. kind of creepy of you ask me (and not at all natural). fortunately, it's still much too costly to "make" those animal clones so it will be a long while before we will unknowingly consume "man-made" meat. phew.

let's bowl!

2008-01-13T22:32:00.000-05:00

what's the best way to spend a cold, dreary sunday afternoon? bowling! we met up with family and friends at put-in-bay for a few games of bowling, and i guess everyone else had the same idea. we started with one lane, but fortunately we didn't have to wait long for a few more to open up. at first, emma was a little fearful of all the pins knocking together, but by the end she was happily cheering everybody on (even when they got gutter balls!). i was the BIGGEST looser, coming in last for both of the games i bowled (boohoo). so sad.

first recital

2008-01-13T21:46:00.000-05:00

here are a few photos from the recital (i didn't post these ones on flickr). don't the little girls just look too cute in their tutus? there was a lot of positive feedback from the parents about the recital, which was good to hear. i also received some great feedback from the aquatics director, who was there helping me out w/ setting up & breaking down chairs. apparently, i impressed him w/ my organizational skills (has he seen my house? ha, ha). it has definitely been a great learning experience putting on this recital, and now it's time to start planning for spring!

success!

2008-01-12T21:35:00.000-05:00

the fall recital was a success. i anticipated around 30-40 people showing up, and about 75 came. needless to say, the aerobics studio was pretty packed (and stuffy). i think the spring recital will need to be held in a space with a stage. the girls did fabulous despite a month without practice, and those little ones looked ADORABLE in their little tutus. tyler was a LIFE-SAVER for coming in with me to help set-up and run the music. not only were the parents impressed with their child's performance, they were also impressed with how mature and helpful tyler was as he was assisting me. anyway, more details and photos later. right now, i just want to SIT and veg.

monkey, monkey

2008-01-11T22:31:00.000-05:00

a special surprise awaited emma tonight when we headed over to jon & jenna's for dinner. two little sock monkeys sat in a chair, each with its own little monkey cup waiting for their owners to notice them. gram had made two sock monkeys, one for ben and one for emma, and they are absolutely adorable!

i haven't been sleeping very well lately, so my brain isn't really churning out anything coherent at the moment. there's a lot on my mind (mostly trivial-things i need to get done).

my fall recital is tomorrow afternoon. it was supposed to be in december, but we were hit w/ a huge snowstorm the day of the show so i had to cancel it. it's hard when you're mentally prepared for something and it doesn't happen. almost like the adrenaline doesn't have anywhere to go. now it feels rather awkward to me to have it so late, but i know the kids were really excited to perform. they worked hard on learning the material.

kids in action

2008-01-09T21:53:00.000-05:00

the last few days, though VERY breezy at times, has been warm (i believe it was 60 degrees on monday). so warm in fact, that all the snow from last week is gone. though cooler weather has returned, we managed to play outside today. emma, who had forgotten about her big wheel, rediscovered the joys of riding it again (sorry, no photo). then tyler joined us after he finished his homework, and we continued the fun in the backyard.

great product

2008-01-09T20:02:00.001-05:00

a gal @ the Y gave me this for christmas and i'm in love with it. first, i like the fact that it's in spray bottle. convenient. no mess-especially when you're trying to sanitize little hands. second, i like how it leaves my hands feeling soft and smooth afterwards. i also think it smells great, and even tyler likes the aroma. just thought i'd share.

dinner conversation

2008-01-09T11:14:00.000-05:00

"so in science class..."

"uh-huh.."

"...marshayla kept copying me. i was doing this [picking nose with finger] and then she would do it. and then i would do..."

"wait, did you say in science class?"

"yyeaahh...."

"was this during free time or was this when the teacher was talking?"

[pause] "umm...while the teacher was talking."

"what are you supposed to be doing when the teacher is talking?"

"listening."

"are you able to pay attention to her if you're busy trying to get marshayla to pick her nose too?"

"no."

"no more doing that when the teacher is talking."

"okay."

"now, what else did you try to get marshayla to do?"

monday, monday...

2008-01-07T13:21:00.000-05:00

everything is pretty much back in full swing for 2008. tyler returned safely to us on sat. and started school today much to his dismay (at least he's honest about how he feels). emma started a story-time/baby and me program today, which will be going on every monday for 1/2 hour (i think it ends some time in feb.). we went this morning and she wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first. the nice thing was that there was a lot of reading involved and she LOVES to read. they also did rhymes which were posted on the wall...too bad i couldn't read them very well...and i think it will be good for her to learn to interact with other babes. aaron came along as well, though i think it will be the only time he makes an appearance-there were only other mommies there...no daddies. i do recall seeing some dad's during the evening story time session, but i guess if you sign up during the day most dad's are off at work. right now, the program is held at the small branch on madison ave., but once they finish all construction at the main branch it will be moved there. it will be much nicer once it's back over to the main branch because there'll be more space and it will be walking distance from our house!

the weekend was pretty low-key. we did take down our christmas tree though. i must admit, having a faux tree makes clean up much easier, and how convenient it is to just throw the parts back in the box. tonight, ohio state will be playing for the BCS national championship (again). hopefully, they can finish the season with a bang...go buckeyes!

check-it...

2008-01-03T19:52:00.000-05:00

winter session has begun at the Y so i'm back to teaching. my jazz/hip-hop class started today, and all the little ballerinas start this saturday. i'm still amazed how school teachers do it, day-in and day-out. they are absolutely amazing people. so this time around, i put together a brochure w/ class descriptions, program policies and my bio, which i should have done for fall session (oh well). this way, all parents will know what to expect from the class and there will be no surprises (had some "issues" w/ that last session). anyway, time for me to bust a move so i can figure out what else to teach for my hip-hop class (since i am so very well-versed in that particular area of dance). oh, on a side note, every time i work out a sequence when emma is around, she gets so excited and starts doing her own little dance moves. it makes me laugh, and i am so glad that she likes to dance too. she can kick and tap her foot on the floor, and she'll also lift her leg up to the side and bring it around to the front (sometimes pointing her foot). i've also started teaching her the difference between pointing and flexing her toes...she mostly just laughs when i help her do it. i can't wait until she's old enough to be in a dance class. hopefully, it will be something she wants to do.

new year's kiss

2008-01-02T21:39:00.000-05:00

ummmwah! a new year's kiss from me to you!
love,
emma

gab, gab, gab

2007-12-31T13:49:00.000-05:00

a preview of the teen years...

emma really likes to talk on the phone. in fact, she "talked" for a good 15 minutes to ibu (my mother). i can't imagine what it will be like when she gets older. actually, she's talking right now when she's supposed to be napping. i thought she was sleeping (since she's been in her room for an hour), but no...talk, talk, talk, sing, sing, sing. will she ever fall asleep now? doubt it. oh well. it's been nice, now that she's a wee bit older, to not have to be so overly zealous about her nap schedule. as long as we stick w/ a normal routine most of the week, she does great when we stray every once in a while. usually what ends up happening is we put her down for bedtime earlier than normal and it works out pretty good. i'm thankful that i was so strict w/ her nap schedule earlier on that now she's become a great sleeper. i wonder if it will be the same when we have another baby? probably not...but hopefully so. nothing much else going on. i've had a very NICE 2 weeks off of teaching, but will be starting a new session after the new year. tyler left to visit his mom on the 26th, and won't be returning until the 5th of jan. so w/out beau or tyler around it's been rather quiet at night. well...enjoy new year's eve!

elmooowww!

2007-12-30T20:15:00.000-05:00

we found a ginormous elmo doll in this stuffed animal bin while we were out bumming around and emma was pretty excited about it. she hugged him, kissed him and then tried to take him around with her. it was too cute. thankfully, aaron was able to distract her with something else while i shoved elmo to the bottom of the bin. it's strange how just from reading a couple of elmo books over, and over, and over, again has already familiarized her with the character. i guess that's a good sign though...at least she understands what we read to her.

aside from elmo, my dear and sweet family gave me a new camera for christmas. actually, the gift was right on time, because on christmas day, the old camera was pretty much done for. so i've been taking a mass amount of photos to familiarize myself w/ the features. i've deleted most of them because they're pretty random, but i LOVE the new camera...canon A560. it's not a super new model, but it's PERFECT for what i'm looking for. our old one was a fuji finepix A345 (or something like that) and after only 2 years it was already starting to die. plus the two cameras were about the same price, but the canon features far exceeds the finepix. i'm hoping this one will last a lot longer. here's a sample from the new camera (emma's new ornament for this year).

90 years!

2007-12-30T19:12:00.000-05:00

last sunday we celebrated grandma purdum's 90th (yes that's the big 9-0) birthday. actually, she turned 90 in november, but around christmas time was the best to get everyone together. the big bash was at gram & pap's house and talk about a FULL house...1st cousins, 2nd cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents...it was awesome.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-26T07:34:00.001-05:00

it's cookie day!

2007-12-18T22:46:00.001-05:00

yesterday (monday) was cookie day at the purdum household (not ours but gram and pap's in ravenna). emma and i drove down monday morning as fast as the roads would allow. as usual, there was a lot of flour, a lot of butter, a lot of frosting, a lot of dirty dishes, and a lot of laughs. in attendance this year were gram, corrie, jenna, jon (he was on kid duty), ben and emma (these 2 along with jon were on the tasting comittee). we made white-chocolate chip cookies (they were the festive red & green chips), almond bark, these jelly-filled cream cheese cookies, sugar cookies (of course!), and peanut butter cookies. we also took home some OH-SO DEEELICIOUS clothespin cookies....but those were made ahead of time by gram. why is it that your most favorite treats are often the ones that take the longest to prepare? i think emma really enjoyed being on the tasting comittee. in fact, she enjoyed it so much that she learned a new word: cookie.

catching up again....

2007-12-18T14:20:00.000-05:00

as christmas approaches it seems that we've been getting busier and busier. needless to say, i'm behind on some blogging. i'll start with last thursday. tyler had his winter concert at school that evening, though he only performed with his class and not his band group. i guess that part will be for the spring concert. they did a great job, and their performance closed with a fabulous dance number. i didn't have time to embellish the video clip, so you'll be watching the "raw" version!

saturday, i had to work on the finishing touches for the dance recital sunday afternoon. meanwhile, tyler was off at his buddy stephen's birthday party (this silly photo of them is actually from the concert).

then that evening was our elf movie night party which was super fun. unfortunately, i forgot to take pictures, but a friend did take a photo of tyler dressed up in TIGHTS! i'll post his "elf" outfit when we get a copy. then, wouldn't you know, sunday rolls around and with it a nasty snow storm (think treacherous streets and white out conditions), so i had to cancel the dance recital (thank you aaron for helping make the phone calls!). all the parents were relieved, but i'm sure the kids were pretty bummed out. and all those darn tutus i made will just have to wait to be worn!

18 months!

2007-12-13T21:12:00.000-05:00

emma turned 18 months on wednesday. this month last year she wasn't even crawling, and looking at her now it's hard to imagine that she wasn't mobile last year. it's weird how you change so fast when you're little, but as you get older you begin to change more slowly. i guess that's a good thing for us adults, eh? in just the past few months emma has been more verbal, and has a hefty list of words she uses under her belt. lately she's been saying "rea, rea" (rea=read) with book in hand, insisting that you drop everything you're doing so that she can be read to. she hasn't added any new signs lately, but that's partly my fault-i've been lazy about teaching her any more now that she can communicate her needs verbally. she still loves to dance, and has learned to kick her leg out. i'm trying to teach her how to point and tap her toes, but she hasn't quite grasped that yet. she has great taste in music, making her daddy proud by bopping her head to artists such as the adicts, the ramones, and the clash. there are also times when she'll point to aaron's "taw" (guitar) indicating that it's time for dad to play a song for her. too funny. she's really coming into her own, and DEFINITELY has a stubborn streak in her. can't blame the girl for having stubborn parents, i guess. tomorrow she goes in for her 18 mos. check-up...ugh, i'm dreading the shots!

2006

2007

2006

2007

here's to happier times...

2007-12-07T12:58:00.000-05:00

today we said good-bye for the last time to our faithful companion, beau. he had been diagnosed with a tumor in his leg 2 weeks ago, after we took him to the vet for a limp. although we'll miss him dearly, remembering all the fun and silly stuff we shared will always brighten our day.

this photo is for my aunty michelle

2007-12-06T13:47:00.000-05:00

dearest aunty michelle,
thanks for the hat! i know you gave it to me last year, but i can finally fit into it now. how does it look? does it go w/ my outfit...and my purse? i even put it on myself!
love,
emma

oh christmas tree...

2007-12-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

we got our christmas tree this past sunday. we had been debating between a real tree and an artificial one for the past week and couldn't quite make up our mind. getting an artificial one would be much safer with a toddler around, but then again we could always teach her to be careful around the tree. we decided to purchase a real tree and headed to home depot to take a look. it was a REALLY cold and wet day, and by the time we made it inside the store, looking around for a tree in their outdoor nursery section just didn't sound too appealing. then we saw it...a fake white pre-lit christmas tree. should we wait until after christmas to buy it at a discount to use for next year? NAH...who wants to go out in the cold rain to look for a real tree (with a 1.5 year old) when you can just buy one in a box? perfect. (unfortunately, the beer can christmas tree has not made it out of the basement yet)

oh, and this past friday, the kids and i went and checked out light up lakewood-it's where they light up the huge christmas tree in front of the hospital and then watch santa on his rocket ride to the library. it was super windy, and soooo very cold that i can't believe we still went out. tyler ran into one of his buddies, daniel so they hung out together while we were out and about. it was not as impressive as i thought it would be-i think you have to be out there by 6 p.m. on the dot to see everything. regardless, i don't think we'll do it again next year, especially if the weather is bad again.

thanksgiving

2007-11-27T13:47:00.000-05:00

we had a fabulous thanksgiving holiday, though i apologize it has taken me almost a week to post on it. astrid came to visit us for the weekend, and it was so NICE to have her here!

we drove down to gram and pap's for our thanksgiving meal where mamaw, lorrie, scott, kristin and corrie also were also in attendance. we filled ourselves with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and desserts. emma didn't eat much of her meal, though she made it clear to us that she was more than willing to eat more dessert...especially that heaven!

later that night, astrid and i went out for a few drinks at the merry arts to celebrate her birthday (which happened to fall on thanksgiving this year!) and have a little girl's night out for the 2 of us. we tried our best to stay away from the popular shopping areas on "black friday", though it was somewhat unavoidable when we had to pick up some grocery items at trader joe's. there were plenty of people out and about ready to spend, along with a few protesters holding up anti-consumerism signs (tell me again how standing around holding up big signs changes things?). we also picked up astrid's totally cute and eco-friendly birthday present started by a gal in the NE ohio area...check out cosmic bobbins.

we had an enjoyable visit from astrid. emma had lots of fun hanging out with her auntie...giggling, dancing and chatting together...as if she's known her forever. we hope she comes back soon!

"snow bunny"

2007-11-21T13:51:00.000-05:00

the top and slippers are new from last weekend...we thought the outfit made her look like a little snow bunny. she loves the slippers, especially since it gets so cold here. the 2nd photo is her on her little rocker trying to figure out why it was vibrating (i turned on the vibrating mechanism).

busy week

2007-11-20T21:32:00.000-05:00

sorry there hasn't been a post in a while. we've had a lot going on this past week. i have a little dance recital next month, and i'm trying to get stuff organized. i think i have most everything done except for costumes...and to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!

my niece came for a visit last thursday. she also had an interview at the podiatry school here and she was accepted! hooray! we worked very hard over the weekend to try and sell her on cleveland. we took her to malley's twice (who can resist their delicious sundae topped with whipped cream out of their whip cream machine?) and down the new Steelyard shopping center. the kids scored on some new clothes thanks to ibu. it would be pretty cool to have her in the area.

then on sunday, we had a great "thanksgiving" meal after church. since we the service is held out of the high school cafeteria, we set up the meal there and just pulled a few lunch tables together. aaron and i were in charge of decor and entertainment/games so we had been busy putting stuff together for the celebration. who knew that pin the tail on the turkey would be so much fun for adults?

astrid is coming in today to visit over the thanksgiving holiday. i'm very excited to see her. it's so great to have visitors, because we enjoy hosting!

field trip tuesday

2007-11-14T12:48:00.000-05:00

yesterday, the 4 and 5th graders took a field trip to severance hall to watch the cleveland orchestra perform. he wore his suit...

the crossing guard girls giggled when they saw him. "he did it! he wore his suit...teehee, teehee."

a girl in his grade checked out his suit in the hallway. "you look niiice."

his buddy alex didn't want to wear a suit because all the girls would be looking at him. tyler's response: "dude, that's why you wear a suit...for the girls!"

good-bye...

2007-11-13T14:17:00.001-05:00

my uncle dave passed away last night. it sucks because it happened so suddenly, and you never really got to mentally prepare yourself for the "final" good-bye. he'll be missed...

4 vinje brothers (uncle dave is 2nd from left and my dad is 4th from left)

uncle dave's family (aunt kathy, his 2 sons with their wives, 2 grandkids and one on the way)

tis the season....

2007-11-12T14:23:00.000-05:00

...to get presents (kidding). here are this year's links for christmas gift ideas:

tyler (of course, any lego present you give him he'll surely be happy with..doesn't have to be what's on the list)

emma

aaron & prasti (another gift idea for aaron...a tattoo-big surprise, huh?)

these will also be listed under links to your right.