Tiny Talk Tuesday

I don't exactly have any cute sayings to share this week, but I do have a funny scenario that's worth sharing. Here's how it goes...

Last Friday we decided to go out to eat with some good friends of ours. This couple has 3 kids, and their little girl is close to Kyra's age. They were having a great time hammin it up at the table and being able to sit together. Well, one of them finally had to go to the "little lady's room." And of course if one has to go, you know the other one spontaneously has to go also. So we took them to the bathroom. Kyra's friend went first. When it came to Kyra's turn, the only stall left was the small one. And although I still usually go in with her (in case she can't reach the toilet paper), I figured she would be fine on her own (after all, her friend just did it). Not even moments after she locked the door, she began to scream with all her might. I frantically asked her what was wrong, but I couldn't understand through her sobs. My guess was that she had fallen into the toilet! Of course since she locked the door, I couldn't open it to help her. And I certainly didn't think I could crawl under the stall. Quickly, her friend volunteered her services and whipped under the stall and unlocked the door. All this time, Kyra is still frantic and crying. I finally run in the stall only to find everything looks....normal. I attempted to ask her one more time what the problem was. And under her distressed voice, she whimpered that there was a spider on the floor! A spider! All this panic was over a spider. I found the spider, stomped on it, and we were on our way. Of course it took Kyra a good 5 minutes to recover after the incident, and us adults had a good chuckle at the other end of the table. I guess her friend saved the day!

If you want to read more tiny talk, just visit Marys.

Christmas Lists

One of my favorite things to do as a child at Christmas time was to go through the S*ears or JC*Penny catalogue and find all the new and great toys of the year that I wanted to put on my Christmas list. My sister and I would scour through the catalogue trying to find the greatest and latest things. Then we would start numbering our papers. Of course my sister would always be the winner. I think one year she came up with 102 items on her list! Needless to say, I don't think she was ever a trouble to shop for. Perhaps it was one of my Mom's way to keep us occupied for awhile so we wouldn't say those dreaded words..."I'm bored Mom, what can I do?" In fact I'm sure that's one of the main reasons she had us write out our lists, because know I'm in the same spot she was in oh so many years ago.

So, when Kyra asked me what she could do the other day, I thought why not make a list? I know she isn't quite old enough to write everything down, but she could cut and paste. So I showed her what to do, and she was hooked. I thought she would make one list, but not her... she made six lists! Of course to her defense, two of them she made for "Katie's list," but I'm not sure she even consulted Katie on that one. I think she would have pasted the whole catalogue if she could have. Of course I think the true attraction was just cutting and pasting (a new favorite since pre-school). So if you come over to our house in the near future, you will see list galore on the fridge (let's just say the fridge is covered in a lot of pink!).

Zoo Adventures

Now that we have had snow flurries for the last 4 consecutive days, I thought it a good time to share some pics we took a couple weeks ago when we were having record 70 degree weather (here it is only two weeks into "winter" and I am already longing for the warmer temps...this is going to be a long winter). The first week of November was simply put a beautiful week. The fall colors were still vibrant and yet it was warm enough to go outside without a coat. My sister in-law and I decided to take advantage of the weather and take the kids to the zoo. I only wish I had planned ahead more, because when we arrived there, the trees were so colorful and mesmerizing, it would have been nice to have the kids in coordinating outfits so I could have taken their picture (for Christmas cards?). Oh well. It was truly lovely though watching the leaves slowly trickle down to the ground, as they lay to rest for the season.

What a great day to go to the zoo! Because it was off-peak season, we paid half price and the crowds were minimal. Even the animals seemed to be a little more active. Kyra's main goal was to see the lions. The whole trip, she kept asking when we were going to see the lions. I think she must have asked me at least 20 times. I didn't even know if the zoo had lions! Fortunately, she finally got her request. We reached the end of the zoo, climbed 3 flights of stairs, and saw 1 lion, and 2 lioness'. At first they did nothing but lay there and sleep, but just as we were about to leave, the 2 females got up and began to play. They even went as far as to splash in the little ravine that was in there home. After nearly 15 minutes of watching, I literally had to drag my girls away from the plexiglass. I'm not sure what the sudden fascination in those animals were, but both girls loved them. I only wish I got some pictures of their playful activity. I had left my camera at the bottom of the stairs and wasn't about to drag 2 little girls down and up again to retrieve it. Now, nearly two weeks later Kyra is still playing "lion" and running after Katie while roaring in her loudest roar. It was truly a nice outing.

Pizza Lovers

I thought I would join the bandwagon and add my picture to the 5 Minutes for Mom Fun with Food Photo Contest. This was a picture taken when Kyra was just over 2 years old. She has always loved helping her Dad and me in the kitchen. Here she had the opportunity of fixing a pizza with Grandma. She was so careful too, to do it just right (still is). What a great duo.

Here is another picture just for fun on a Friday (but not for the contest). As long as we're on the subject of food, I thought I would add a picture of Katie with taco salad. She was 1 1/2 in this picture. And sadly enough she's still about as messy as she was then! Oh well, makes life interesting.

November Giveaways

I just learned that the women at 5 Minutes for Mom is doing a MONTH of Christmas giveaways during November (thanks Jenni)! They will be having tons of giveaways over the next three weeks. I know I certainly love giveaways. They also have information about a great program called Under the Tree. So go on over and take a peek!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

I only captured one of my kid's captions for the week, but it was worth sharing. Here's what Kyra had to say:

While watching daddy try to get the combine unstuck from all the mud:
Me: Well, we've got to get going. I hope you and your brother can get it out.
Daddy: If you didn't have the girls with you, I'd ask you to just drive the tractor and you could try pulling me out.
Me: Unfortunately, I don't know HOW to drive a tractor, remember?
Daddy: Right.
Kyra: Mommy, in the morning when it's light outside I could show you how to drive a tractor. I know how. My daddy showed me how to drive the combine and the tractor. Don't worry, I'll teach ya!
(Love the confidence of that girl. Unfortuately she doesn't know Daddy just taught her how to steer....driving is well...a little different!)

If you'd like to read any other cute kid talk, just visit Mary's.

Halloween

This year we certainly got our use out of the Halloween costumes. Not wanting to buy new costumes (although I suppose I could have put something together from things around the house, which so many resourceful people seem to be doing these days), I borrowed the girls costumes this year. I asked Kyra what she wanted to be, and she answered "a princess." Of course, I should have known. Fortunately a friend of hers let her borrow one of her dress ups. Then another friend said she had a ladybug costume she thought would fit Katie (and another for Kyra just in case she changed her mind). Perfect! Everything was set. We picked up the two costumes and prepared for the special day.

Well, wouldn't you know, when we went to visit my parents in Chicago, Kyra changed her mind. She now wanted to be the Lion. That was fine, because at least I had the costume in tow. They looked cute together, and that was that. Then, came Kyra's Halloween party at school. I thought she wanted to be the Lion again, but she said this time she wanted to be something different. I got out the princess costume, but in the end she decided to be an M&M (which is what she was last year). She said it's perfect, "I was the lion last week, I'll be an M&M today, and for Halloween I'll be a princess!" This is what happens when you give a girl too many choices....they want to be it all. Oh well. I was just glad we had everything. She came back from her party that afternoon and couldn't chat enough over the party. She said all the kids were chasing her, yelling they were going to eat her because she looked so yummy! I thought that maybe it scared her, but in turn she liked it (and I think liked the attention too).

Finally, it came time to head to some good friend's house to go trick or treating. I told her to grab the Princess costume and let's go. "But I am an M&M today mom!" I know, but you said you wanted to wear the Princess costume for Halloween. "For another Halloween Mom, I can only be one thing a day" she said. What logic! Whatever girl, let's go.

So, we went trick or treating on one of the nicest evenings I've ever trick or treated on. The kids didn't have to wear jackets, and because of daylight saving time being so late this year, we were able to go while it was still light out. And the funny thing was that at every door Katie said "twick or tweating!" every time. We couldn't get her to just say trick or treat. Too cute. After finally seeming to get enough candy went home, sat down and traded their loot, while making fun little spider cracker treats after all the excitement. Yes, this Halloween was a lot better than last year!

October Highlights

As I wrote in my previous post (3 weeks ago!!), I haven't been in the writing mode. However, tomorrow is a new month and I plan on jumping into blogging again (of course that's just a goal not absolute).

We did have a wonderful month though filled with many outings and visits with friends and family. I won't go in total detail of everything we did (since I'm summing up our month in one blog entry), but for memory sake will include the synopsis.

In the beginning of the month we headed to Zeeland's Pumpkin Fest. We've gone for the past 4 years and loved it. They have a chili cook off, barn yard animals to pet, pie eating contest, and a bunch of games for the kids to play. The best part is that it's primarily free! Next we had my old college roomate and her family visit for the weekend. This was a true treat since we haven't seen each other in over 2 years. We had no problems catching up as if it were just yesterday. The weekend was complete with painting pumpkins, getting in a game of golf (for the guys), and having a bonfire. Their little girl, Ella, fit right in and seemed to become friends quickly with our girls. At times they played so nicely together, we didn't even remember we had children in the house! We tried sneaking my hubby's birthday in amidst the company too, unfortunately other than a cake it was sadly under celebrated.

Katie, painting her orange pumpkin....orange!

Kyra put the candy corn on herself!

The following weekend we had another college roomate and her family come to visit. We headed to the apple orchard and picked apples. Of course we went on one of the 80 degree days, so it didn't quite give us that fall festival type of feel. Of course at least we didn't have to worry about jackets either! And with those apples (along with many my father in-law has given us...he loves to give us seconds from a local farm), we have made apple pie, applesauce, apple dumplings, and apple compote for pancakes. I guess you could say we haven't exactly been shrinking by our consumption of desserts.

The girls at the apple orchard

Finally, the girls and I went for a visit to Chicago to visit my family. Unfortunately they didn't get a whole lot of time to visit their cousins since our family seemed to get stuck with some kind of diahrrea bug, but we still had a good time. The girls dressed up early in their Halloween costumes and were able to take part in the town's Batfest parade. They enjoyed playing more games, watching all the other kids galavant in their costumes, and listen to Halloween stories at the library.

Yes, it was a good month, full of family activities. And as the upcoming holidays approach quickly, I'm sure there will be many more fun times. The quickly descending chill in the air and husband fervantly working to harvest the corn before the frost sets in, tells me that I need to be starting on my Christmas lists, cookies baking ideas, and cards. November, here we come!

Bloggy Woes

I have definitely been writing less and less the past few months. And I'd like to say that I've been so busy and haven't had time to blog, or that I am putting my time into new projects or spending more time with family. But, unfortunately that's not it. There have been so many thoughts stirring in my head that I could write down and share, but I haven't felt like sharing. Part of me is reserved, thinking those thoughts are too deep to share with the world or that I want to keep those memories of certain things we've done selfishly to myself. Part of me is lazy, thinking I would rather sit on the couch and watch L*aw and Order. And yet another part of me is stumped, simply thinking I don't know how to describe the thoughts and events that have been occurring these last few months.

And yet another part of me feels guilty for not writing. Not because I haven't been keeping my few readers updated on my life, but because I had set out to keep a record of the joyous things that happen on a daily routine. I want my children to look back at some of the the entries I have written and laughed at the things they said or bloopers that I did, or places we visited. I also want an outlet or a time set aside so that I can reflect on the tiny blessings that occur on a daily basis. God has given me so many things to be thankful for, and yet there are so many days that I get down in the dumps wondering why He gave me life. What is my purpose here on Earth (okay, don't answer that...because I know every Christian's purpose is to serve God and be a light unto others so that we may lead others to Christ....but I was thinking beyond that)? Anyway, I am getting way off course here. My point is, God has set so many great things in my life (even if it is a small thing in my daily routine, like the fact that I didn't forget all the items on my grocery list...which sadly, seems to happen a lot), and I need to focus on those things. After all hasn't it been said that how your day goes depends on 90% of your attitude? I hope I haven't created a grim picture either. I haven't been depressed or had a poor attitude for all of 3 months, but I have gotten away from focusing on the reason I began this blog in the first place. And that was to embrace the person God made me to be, to focus on the small blessings in my daily life, and to make small positive changes in my life that makes me a better person. After all, that's why I am a rose in the making.

Wordless Wednesday

Just a few pics of some cutie pies to brighten this gray day!

This is the first time I've ever curled Kyra's hair (it was picture day today).

Hammin it up for the cam.

It took about 10 tries to get her to sit this still!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Not much to add for the week. Either my kids aren't that funny anymore or I'm forgetting the funny things they say (pretty sure it's the latter). I had to chuckle at this one conversation though that demonstrates a difference in the girls' personalities.

In the car going down the highway:
Kyra: Are we going fast?
Mom: Yes, we're going faster, but you can go faster on the highway.
Kyra: Are you being careful not to hit the other drivers?
Mom: Yes Kyra, I'm being careful (that's my cautious girl for ya).
Kyra: You also have to be careful not to hit the bigger puddles. You know that right?
Mom: Yes Kyra, I know.
Katie: GO Mommy, GO.....GO Mommy, GO!
(I guess I know which one to be worried about during drivers training)

If you want to read more Tiny Talk just visit Mary's.

Look, Smell, Taste

This weekend we had the kick off to our Bible Study group. We were new to the group last year and only had a couple of meetings before the year ended, so I was anticipating spending an afternoon with the group to get to know them better. When asked if I had the weekend free, I said sure! Then there was a pause in the conversation. What are we going to do to kick off the year I asked. She said, "ahh, what do you think about going on a wine tour? Would you be offended?" Offended? Oh, goodness. Is that what the lull in the conversation was for? Now I knew I was in the right group. What a fun way to kick off the year! And before any of you who don't know me well get the wrong picture, I am in no way a lush, but do enjoy the occasional evening of relaxing with a glass of wine.

Anyway, we had simply a wonderful day. The weather was sunny and warm, the leaves were starting to fall, and the group was full of laughs. We went to a place called Fenn Valley Winery. I was surprised to find out that the tour was free. We took a wagon ride out into the vineyard, tasted several types of grapes they use to make various wine. I have to say though, there was so much information, I didn't retain a lot of what the guide discussed (or was that just the wine?) I'll just say, making wine is quite the process. The sulfides, oxidization, what it takes to get the acidity out...the list goes on. It was very interesting though and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

After we left the winery, we went to Crane Orchards for some of their homemade food. They have delicious food. I had the chili and apple butter bread. Hmmmm...tastes of fall. Then we bought a pie to go and ate it at one of the couple's home. We got to know the people in our group quite a bit better (I think the wine helped!), so I was very glad for the opportunity to spend the afternoon with them. I think we are going to enjoy the year becoming closer to couples in our church. And of course it's nice to know that we have some common interests (shiraz anyone)!