Surprise!!!

Jake has had a long and sordid past with birthdays. Many things have contributed to his reason for not wanting to have a big birthday party. One thing or another has always stood in the way of it being a truly enjoyable event for him. So this year I made it my personal mission to make his day special.

1. The Idea: Plan Jake a surprise birthday party that he will never forget.

2. Enlist the help of someone to help me pull it off.

3. Keep all the plans a complete secret.

4. Do it on a tiny budget. : )

#1 was easy, #2 was not hard either. I called up a buddy that Jake works with and asked him to handle half of the guest list (friends from work), and to keep Jake occupied the day of the party so I could get the house ready. I emailed friends and family and asked them to shower him with cards on the weekend before his birthday (that part didn't go so well), but Jake's dad replied and said he was planning on taking a bike ride that weekend and asked if we would mind him party crashing (we did not mind). Keeping all the plans a secret was hard. Try buying decorations and trying out cake recipes, and fielding phone calls with two little kids around. I was so proud of them for knowing for almost a week and not letting a single thing slip to their dad.

The day of the party Jake got up early and decided that he was going to spend the day at work since all of his friends has mysteriously cancelled their plans with him. When he left we kicked things into high gear at home prepping for the festivities. We hung decorations, placed framed photos of him at his birthdays or old school pictures throughout the house, and made appetizers and the cake. We decided to keep the fare simple and opted for brats and burgers with fresh fruit and potato salad. We mowed the lawn, finished up the last of the dishes and by 1 PM we were ready. Soooo, we called him and asked if he would like to meet us for lunch in Freeport. His buddy D. had called him and wanted to take him to Iron Man 3 for the afternoon so it worked out perfect. We grabbed some ice on the way home and got to our house 5 minutes before Grandpa Peepaw showed up. The next guest to arrive were our friend Katie and Skipppy, and then the  rest of Jake's buddies rolled in. The second to last guest arrived about 2 minute before D. and Jake pulled in. Jake's face was priceless when he walked around the corner and saw everyone. He was stunned. We had done it. He greeted everyone and then we went in to the house to eat. It was very relaxed and everyone seemed to have a good time. Katie and Skipppy and Grandpa spent the night so we had a big doughnut breakfast the next morning. Overall it was a good birthday and we seem to have broken the curse of the bad birthdays.

#4: Total budget $56.23 (this included all the drinks we had -an there were plenty left over)

p.s. I attempted my second atomic cake making and it turned out great. Grandpa even went so far as to say that the bakery in Chicago that we normally order it from had nothing on me. I still need to have a piece - I was to busy making sure everyone was doing ok to get some last night. : )

We Are Reading!

Thor has been learning to read this year in Kindergarten and he loves school. However, when it comes to sitting down and sounding out words he would much rather have someone else do it. He loves books and we read almost every day; however, he just does not like to take time when it comes to a topic that he loves. He has recently become re-excited by marine mammals and has brought home many a book on whales and dolphins.

But the real story here is our pre-school Baleigh. We have worked a little bit with sounds and the alphabet this year and I knew that she was aware of the sight words that Thor has had to practice. This morning I got up because I heard someone up and talking in the living room. There sat our 5 yr old who has never been to school, READING A BOOK! She had the kindle on her lap open to "The Little Red Hen" and was reading the story to herself. She was sounding out words and taking her time. She only had to skip a few words and was getting what some were using context clues (although she has no idea what those are). Her kindergarten teacher is either going to love or hate her. She knows so much and REALLY wants to share what she knows so I know she is going to be a handful.

I just wanted to share what amazingly intelligent kiddos we have. We are truly blessed.

Like a Fine Wine

I am starting to think of our life as a fine wine. It just keeps getting better with time. This last week we had some fun developments. AWANA is over for the summer but on the last day one of the mom's who I socialize with there and at a few other community events asked if I would like to keep up a Wednesday meeting. This week I cooked dinner for both of our families and next week it will be at her house. We had an absolute blast hanging out and the kids spent three hours of playing with .... drum roll please. No fighting, tears, tattling, or owies. Before they left they all went back to the kids' rooms and helped my kids pick up the toys that they had all gotten out. HOLY MOLY I LOVE THIS MOM! Seriously. I always tell my kids that it is polite to help your friends pick up before you leave and I have NEVER had another child over who helped my kids before. Usually we are doing it after everyone leaves.

While they were here Angie and I  popped next door to do some dumpster diving. They are selling the house and had loaded up an industrial sized dumpster with fun stuff over the course of the day. I am now the proud owner of a dresser! This may not sound awesome to everyone but in the 8 years that Jake and I have been together I have not had a dresser. Jake and I share one dresser and it is not easy to fit everything for two adults in one - in case you were wondering. I also acquired several end tables, a lamp that has real potential and a HUGE roll of insulation. I was just telling Jake the other day that I wanted to insulate and finish the garage this summer and now I have the start of it for FREE!

I love having a new friend who is frugal, and funny, and shares my views on raising children to be respectful and kind, without being a crazy straight laced nut job. The best part is that they live just a few minutes away and I see lots more play dates in our future.

This weekend I am throwing Jake a surprise birthday party and I am hoping that I can pull it off. I enlisted the help of a work friend who is taking Jake out to the movies and then to the driving range for the day so we can get the whole house set up and finish the food.

Wedding!

Last weekend we got up early on Saturday morning and drove down to southern Illinois for my little cousin's wedding. They had a beautiful outdoor ceremony (because the weather cooperated for them), in a nature preserve and then a reception at a local banquet hall. This was the first wedding that I have not had to help out in any capacity for in quite some time. It was actually enjoyable to sit and just watch everything unfold. Thor snatched my camera and took a few photos for us during the reception as you will see.

Waiting for it all to begin

Our beautiful kids

My little sister Hannah

Sister of the Bride

Sister of the bride (Matron of Honor)

Bride and her dad

I love this one of my cousin Jess - She looks so beautiful

Little brother Chad and his son Ryan

What a handsome chap

Jake and I (Photo courtesy of Thor)

My mom and niece Leah

Nephew Gage

Niece Emma

Niece Emma (Don't let the dimples fool you she is a HANDFUL)

Nephew Ryan ( This kid was a dancing fool that night)

Ryan and I cuttin' it up on the dance floor.

Awards Night and a Concert

I was super disappointed that my camera ended up being dead when we got to AWANA this past week.

The kids have been attending AWANA for the past 29 weeks. They go to our church every Wednesday night from 5:30 - 7 PM and learn about the bible. They memorize verses, and play games and have a generally good time. Each week the kids have lessons in their books to work on and sometimes that involves projects. To name a few, Baleigh and I baked cookies for an elderly neighbor and made valentine's cards for the residents of the local nursing home.

This week was the Awards Night and the kids were really excited to attend. Thor was super happy that I was there (Jake had to work late and missed it) to see him carry the American flag and post the colors. It is very military like in the ceremony and made me so proud of him. He stood so still and tall and took it very seriously. Both of the kids finished their books this year and learned so many bible verses. Each of them receive a certificate of recognition and Thor earned a ribbon and new jewel for his badge. Baleigh got a new pin and earned her last badge. Next year she will move up from the Cubbies group to the Sparks group. She is very excited to get a red vest and be a "big kid".

Last week we had Thor's Spring Concert and Art Fair. We went to the school and watched him perform in a cute musical ensemble. Thor got to shine in two separate songs. The first was when he got to hold up a sign during "But I Can't Spell Hippopotamus"  and he played the finger cymbals during "Alice The Camel Had 10 Humps" - It was a joy to see him goofing around with his friends and being a little man.

Thor has a little friend at school who started in January. Marrisa's parent's recently adopted her from the Philippines and  she was having a hard time at her old school. They moved to Lena to get her in a better district and she and Thor have become fast friends. It has been especially fun for me to have him develop this relationship because Marissa's younger sister Maddy is in Baleigh's story time class and their mom and I have become really good friends. I love that we are developing our own relationships and friendships and they seem to blend so well. Marissa may have a little crush on Thor - last night Angela (Marissa's mom sent me a picture via text - it was of a page in Marissa's notebook that read "Marissa (picture of a heart) Thor". I just about died laughing. Little kids love is so adorable.

Easter 2013

This time last year we were "enjoying" a warm Texas summer (the only season in Texas). This year we were praying for some spring-like weather to celebrate Easter. Jake's mom Diane came up on Good Friday and we went out for a delicious fish fry at a local eatery. It was the best fish we have had in a long time.

Saturday dawned bright and early and I was up making cake, pies, frosting, bread, and prepping everything to host easter dinner the following day. We took the kids to the Lena Evangelical Free Church for their annual easter egg hunt. It was a fun time and the kids both got quite a few eggs and goodies. We went back inside and listened to the easter story broken down for little people. Later that evening Grandma D sent Jake and I out on a date to see a movie. We jumped at a chance to go on a date and took in the latest Tina Faye movie, Admissions. It was cute and serious and funny all in one.

Sunday we were up early setting tables, and getting ready to go to church. We made it to church with 2 minutes to spare. After we got home, the kids watched a movie while I put the finishing touches on dinner, baked ham, potato rolls and all the desserts. Everyone showed up between 12 and 12:30 and we had a big family lunch. The last guest left about 5 PM and we were all cleaned up and relaxing by 5:30. I love organization and the feeling that our life is. We had a great easter egg hunt for the little people and the food was great. The kids looked adorable in their easter finery and it was fun to get all of my kid's cousin's in one place to enjoy each others company. I love living close to our family again.

saying prayers after church

Prayers after Church

Coloring easter eggs with Grandma Diane

A field of easter eggs!!!

Our little Easter bunnies

Baleigh could have cared less about the candy in the eggs - this pinwheel was her favorite!

Who knew the easter bunny made angry bird eggs? Mom.

Beautiful girl in a beautiful dress

from left to right. Baleigh Olivia, Baleigh, Kylie (holding) Baby Kenzie, Emma, Leah

Thor, Kylie, Kenzie, Cole, Olivia, Baleigh, Emma, Leah, Gage

Caleb, Rachel and Tracie

Holly, Olivia, and Justin

How Much Is Too Much?

Lately Baleigh has been asking lots of questions that I am not exactly sure if I am answering properly. She has been very interested in where babies come from and how exactly babies start from eggs but are still mammals.

We have had talks about how babies start as an egg and then it is fertilized. We looked at chicken eggs and she understands that babies start out as eggs but not how they are born alive and not "hatch" from the eggs. I never realized how difficult it is to describe the whole gestation process.

She loves hearing the story of the day that she was born and one day last week she asked me how she got out of my tummy. I hesitated for a moment and then told her how she emerged. She was a little grossed out but I figured I would rather give her the real info now and then we won't have to have an even more awkward conversation years from now. I also told her that some babies are born via c-section to keep babies safe. She was very interested in that process but the next day she told me that she would not want a doctor to cut her tummy to get a baby out so she wanted her babies to be born like she was. Obviously it is something that she thinks about a lot.

I guess the question is, how early is too early to reveal certain realities, and how much information is too much information? I never felt as though my parents were forthcoming with information on sex and babies and topics that tend to be uncomfortable to talk about with kids. I want to make sure that my kids feel comfortable coming to me and talking about these things. I don't want topics to see taboo. I have always felt that eduction and communication go hand in hand. We can't expect our kids to be educated on things if we won't/can't talk to them about them. I only worry that I may be sharing the information too early and it scares me that I am doing it wrong. Thoughts?