Monday, January 18, 2010

Train Crazy Kids


Vic at our Lego table turned train table.



Jack manning the controls.



Bailey!  How did you get stuck in the Thomas train box?  That red bridge support can't be comfortable to sit on.


Ha!  Caught Vic red handed, or rather pink handed with train track smudges.  I *thought* someone had messed with my camera.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Bathtime & Ikea


When Bob or I announce "Bath Time!", The Littles come laughing & screaming down the hallway.  We parents also enjoy this short reprieve from The Toddler Whack (tm).  Aside from the occasional pouring of water over Sissy's head by Vic, or outright bath toy thievery from Bailey, The Littles get along while bathing.




Bailey waits her turn to get in the tub.  I'm loving how her hair curls in the back!

 
Bailey & Vic laughing at silly ol' Dad.


Vic on Mom-n-Dad's bed.  He's fast & will take off before I dress him if I turn my back. 

 I made an Ikea run today and had a blast walking the aisles with a great friend.  Jack and two buddies whooped it up in the Kinder Paradeis while my friend and I got to shop & talk.  The Littles were supposed to be napping at home for Daddy, but I found out later they gave him a run for his money.  Poor Bob.

I'm trying to think ahead for what I'll want once we're living in Poland (Poland!) so arrived with a long list in hand.  Once we move to Bydgoszcz, the nearest Ikea will be in Warsaw, which is a 2 hr drive away I think.  As Ikea is so close to us now, we're trying to project out our wants & needs.

At the top of the list were Bob & the boy's train related items: a long/wide table top or counter from the As-Is section for their train layout, an under-bed storage bin to be hacked into a train storage/curio, and under shelf lighting for my china hutch.

Although she won't need it for another year, I bought Bailey a duvet to put in the darling duvet cover & pillowcase I picked up for a steal last year ($2.00,Thrift Shop).

I've been daydreaming about what I want to give Bailey for her 2nd birthday, which isn't until October.  I normally don't think this far out, but again, we'll be in northern Poland and it's so.. well.. foreign to me right now.  I'm afraid everything will be incredibly hard for a few months.

Anyhoo...  I planned on building Bailey a girl-sized kitchen by hacking a few Ikea pieces.  Before I even got to price different items, my bestie Angela spotted a finished play kitchen.

 
 Done!  Thanks, Ikea, you think of everything.

It's a little more than I would have paid, but it's a much better finished product than I could think of.  This beauty has a microwave, oven, sink, and a two burner range that lights up as if it's in use.  I may make a fridge for her once we're in Poland depending on how much space I'll have.

I'm keeping the kitchen and the pots/pans/utensils in their original packages so they'll remain undamaged when the movers do their stuff.  Not fun.  I *really* want to put it together and play with her, but it's best to wait.  I'd like to paint and add finishing touches to it like this one I found on another int'l mom's blog.

Maybe I'll pick up some supplies to make felt food for her kitchen?  In my spare time? Ha!  Here's a yummy example:

 http://www.blogmamma.it/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/felt-food-torta-fragole.jpg

Too fun! 

Now I just need to figure out what to get the boys for their birthdays.  I'm thinking anyting train related for Vic's 3rd birthday in May and am still mulling over Jack's 8th birthday in October. 

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Snacks & Snow

Cranberry muffins, Yum! Bailey tries to help herself as Jack serves up an after school snack.

I've been using a new cookbook I picked up over Christmas called Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely. You can see it waiting for me on top of the bread box. This book is exactly what I need right now... healthy, tasty, yet kid-friendly menus, shopping lists, and recipes all in one spot. Each meal is scaled for 6 servings, which is just enough to feed our family of 5 and have lunch left over.


Jack and I had fun making paper snowflakes to cheer up our view outside. With the scraps he made a sweet bookmark for me while I cooked dinner.

The Littles watching a tractor plow our parking lot. They spent about 20 mins watching this guy work. Fabulous fun!

Bailey "cooking" dinner. Can you see the little bites out of her apple?


Oh, those eyelashes are so scrumptious! Vic taking a rare bite of an apple.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Sims Family 2010

Oh my word, it's been about 6 months since my last blog post. Life is passing by so fast, and it seems I'm in in the same spot I was 6 months ago. A year ago. It's hard to see the differences in-between diaper changes, washing dishes (which are still waiting on me) and the never ending laundry.

My goal for this year is to write on the blog or post pictures every day. Well.. at least until I let myself off the hook. Here are the rules: the house does not have to be perfect, my kids should be in all their glory, and I don't have to sport a perfect Tx 'do.

See, I can do this! I just threw a no make-up photo of myself & my darling son on the blog. *This* is exactly what I want to remember. Vic is post-bath, sleepy, and sweetly petting the back of my head. I think I may sneak into his room & give him another kiss as he sleeps.

Here's a few pictures of our first snow day of the year. We've had a lot more since, but this is the only day of pictures. Thanks to my great friend Angela for taking these shots!

The boys had a lot of fun running around and generally going nuts. I think Bailey enjoyed herself. Hard to tell. She stood planted and mostly concentrated on what the other kids were doing.












Saturday, June 6, 2009

Quick Update

My favorite German word...
Geflügel = Poultry
'That which once flew'... but is now on my plate.

The following is some text from Bob's email to family with a few additions/name deletions from me...

Jack had his big "Accelerated Reader Sleepover" last night at the school gym. This was a big night as we had a talent show and picnic beforehand. At the talent show, Jack and his buddy teamed up -- the friend read Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade (!) while Jack played a soft guitar "accompaniment" in front of 100+ parents and other kids. It's really amazing what kids come up with on their own. We were very proud of Jack, especially that he was so insistent on performing, with no fear, and considering that one of the other acts consisted of a young man arm-farting "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".

Bob left Jack in his sleeping bag very tired at about 9PM. However, he apparently got out of bed later to participate in flashlight tag, students vs. teachers. Needless to say, he was a very tired little boy today.



I participated in an instructor-led Persian cooking class today at a neighbor's place with some girlfriends. None of us had ever tasted Persian (Iranian) food, so weren't sure what to expect. Oh goodness, I had a hard time keeping myself from licking the plate clean.







As thanks for Bob staying home with the kids and enjoying his 'co-parenting opportunity', I brought him a delicious plate of the results.

Bon Appetit! Or in Farsi... Befarma'id!
















Bailey is 7 months old now and not fully crawling yet, but she low crawls (pulling w/arms, pushing w/feet + knees) all over the living room now, normally to chase Vic. The budding rivalry between those two continues to grow.


I'll have to catch one of their spats on video, they're quite funny - Vic pitches a fit if she comes near one of his toys, grabs it, then screams & runs away with Bailey laughing/low crawling in hot pursuit. The more she laughs, the more angry he gets; the more he stomps & yells, the more Bailey guffaws. It's hysterical, but I'm not supposed to let them see me laugh.. I think that's in the rulebook somewhere.

Vic is a hoot & a half and keeps me on the run. My youngest son is so passionate about whatever it is he's doing, or thinking of, and we have a hard time hiding our laughs when he's having a tantrum. There's a good reason his nickname is "Tank". Though, while he's all rough, strong, and brave on the outside, he still loves to cuddle and snuggle with mom & dad. I'm such a lucky mommy.

More photos to follow.. Bailey's baptism and Vic's 2nd birthday.

Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Echoes

As I sit here, the future is playing and giggling in the living room while the past echoes in my head. I found a lump in my chest and am trying to stay calm and positive. I'm breezy.

This morning I made an appointment with my primary physician who will take a 2 second look, then refer me out to a specialist. I have to wait until the 16th of April before that happens. So. I'm trying not to obsess about it.

..but, the past echoes in my head. My father died in 2001 after about a 6 month battle with cancer. In 2007, my father-in-law died of the *same* type of cancer after a fierce 2 month battle. Most of me believes there's nothing to worry about, but then I remember that neither of these fathers in my life expected this either.

So. I looked at my three children and my husband with new eyes this morning. If nothing else, this whisper of fear has reminded me of what is important in my life. They are a wise-cracking, giggly, goofy, rough & tumble, trains-for-brains, beautiful, crazy-haired (or no haired) lot, and I cherish them.

From 2009 Patch Barracks

Jack dressed as a Polizei at his Scouts Career Day.

From 2009 Patch Barracks

Vic Trains-For-Brains Sims

From 2009 Patch Barracks

Bailey rolls over for the first time.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Lazy snow days...

We had a good weekend, although 3 out of 5 of us were down with a cold. Bob is back home from his stateside trip, Yaayy!! We miss him very much when he's gone, and I have to fight my jealousy about him eating dinner at real restaurants every day. This was his 4th trip in about 6 months to the States. Sigh. He did bring me back 4 boxes of No Pudge Fudge so that makes him a Rock Star in my book!

Here are some photos of what we've been up to...

From 2009 Patch Barracks

Bailey & Mom snapping photos before bathtime.

From 2009 Patch Barracks
Bailey's skin is the perfect color of pink!

From 2009 Patch Barracks
My little sunshine and the evidence of his nose-dive on a gravel parking lot.


Jack's Lego themed car at the Boy Scout derby races. His car is in track #3, the furthest from the camera.

That's all we have time for now! More to come later.