Whirlwind trip to Ames

We made our third annual trip to Ames, Iowa yesterday to watch KU play Iowa State. Usually the kids stay with Grandma and Grandpa Keith, but due to scheduling, they stayed with us this year and took in their first Jayhawk basketball game. I'm happy to report they made it through the whole game (though for the last 15 minutes or so Elise kept saying, "I want to go home!").

We left yesterday at 1:00 and were back in town by 11:30 this morning, so it was a quick trip and I'm tired! Sleeping in a hotel with my kids is never a restful experience and poor Elise spent a good portion of the night coughing. All in all, though, a very fun trip.

Chris and I ventured to Lutsen, MN last week while Grandma Kathi stayed here with the kiddos. We were greeted by a full moon and a lunar eclipse when we got there. It was quite a sight over Lake Superior. I took a downhill skiing lesson and for the first time in my life I'm able to do something besides snowplow on skis, so that's exciting. On Saturday I made my first attmept at cross country skiing. I had absolutely no idea that I needed to plan on spending so much time on my butt. Let's just say I haven't yet figured out how to stop. It also was a very fun trip.

No More Fiber, No More Liquids!!!

We are the house of excretion right now. My kids are both (for the most part) potty trained, but for some reason lately the mechanics are problematic. In the past week, Elise has had three night time accidents. Once she wet the bed, the other times she just didn't wake up early enough to get herself to the toilet, so she peed her pants. Additionally, there's been two occasions during the day where she just didn't quite make it in time and peed all over the bathroom floor.

Then there's Jerod. That's where the no more fiber part comes in. We do consume a lot of cheerios, fruits and vegetables in this house; and on two occasions last week he didn't make it to the toilet in time for number two. I have a high tolerance for gross, but ICK!!

None of these things are monumental. I know these things happen, but do they all have to happen in such a short time period??? I'm tired of cleaning up pee and poo!!

The picture is of Jerod wearing his wig that he made at school in honor of Presidents Day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Very random photos. The green doors are from the Sesame Street exhibit at the children's museum, Elise is taking a phone call from Elmo, the two of them are sitting with their favorite fast food mascot, naked Elise is doing pouty face with the bear hat on, and Jerod is showing off his new webkin who goes by the name of KC.

We have been trying to make the best of this Minnesota winter, but we are all a little on edge after so much indoor together time. I told a friend today that this is my eighth MN February, and I've yet to have a good one. I always seem to hit rock bottom and completely run out of tolerance for the weather. The kids follow my lead, which makes for a nasty combination!

But, of course, it's not ALL bad. We've had some fun scattered in. Last Saturday we went to the U of M to watch the women's gymnastics team. Definitely a first for all of us. Chris and I could've stayed and watched all night, but the kiddos were out of gas after a couple of rotations.

The above mentioned 'webkin' is a stuffed animal with a web component. You can go online and take care of it, as well as play games. Since we won't be getting a pet anytime soon (hopefully never if I have my way!), this is as close as Jerod will get to having an animal friend to love :)

We've got an interesting weekend ahead. Chris and I are running a Valentine's day 5K around Lake Harriet this Saturday. They say it will be a little warmer and they'd better be right. We're also taking a cooking class together on Friday evening. Saturday night is dinner here with three other couples. The men are cooking dinner. Let's just say there could be a lot to report next week!

Random Photos

Mom's first field trip

We survived our visit to the bakery, the big freezer, the back of a semi-truck, and our shopping venture. These three boys each had two dollars to spend to buy items to put in the food bank bin at the front of the store. Jerod's favorite part was getting to keep the change after he paid. It's so nice to have such a generous child!

Weekend Sledding

TGIF

Ahhhh... Friday evening, 8:40 p.m., the rugrats are in bed and Chris is out for the evening. I seldom experience such peace in my life!

Yesterday the kids and I went for the official conference following Elise's speech evaluation. Not a surprise after previous posts, but the news was good (which I was pretty much told after her last testing session). She and I are WAY TOO MUCH alike, which results in a lot of head-butting, so it was great to hear someone say such nice things about her :) They talked about how compliant she is, how easily she separated from me, how she just 'goes with the flow.' To which I had to respond, "how nice for you... could you move in with us???" As a girl, I am super glad that she has the traits she does (stubborness, strong will, power over every situation she comes into contact with). However, I'll be glad when we move away from the three year old manifestations of those traits! It is hard to believe that my two kids can come from the same womb, yet be so completely different. Both great and special in their own ways, just totally and completely different!

Everything is status quo for Jerod. It was solar system week at his school... right up his alley. Next week is 'count with me' week. I'm not sure what that means, but I do know that I'm going on a field trip with his class to the grocery store on Monday. Being that the whole time he's been in preschool I've had Elise, I've never gotten to venture on one of these field trips. Now that she's in school, however, I get my chance. Jerod said, "I hope I get to sit next to you on the bus." Gosh, could we just freeze age 5 forever so that he'd ALWAYS want to sit next to me on the bus??? I'm going to try to savor the moment, as I know it won't last!!!

Again, I don't have any good, new pictures to post, so here's one of Jerod from last summer... blissed out and enjoying a S'more while camping.