finally

winter is almost done (hopefully!) and we can finally go outside and play.
we have both snow AND non-arctic temps! the perfect combination for fun :)

my theory

kids will sleep for an indefinite amount of time.

if you want to wake them up, just do any of the following things...

• pour milk into a bowl of cereal
• make hot water for tea
• turn on a non-kid tv show
• turn the shower on

so tomorrow morning i'm going to get up and just sit on the couch doing nothing.
i bet the kids will sleep till noon :)

squirrels, crows and a credit card

before bed i was reading olivia a story from her highlights magazine. does that bring back memories of the doctor's office or what? anyhow the story was about a squirrel and a crow. the squirrel does all the work planting the field and harvesting the crops. the crow was supposed to help but he was always too busy. after the squirrel makes her money from selling the grain, the crow is not busy anymore and is ready for his cut of the money since they owned the field together.

there are so many obvious question from that story like, 'what do squirrels and crows do with the money they earn?' or 'how exactly does a squirrel work a field?'

but olivia was more curious as to why the squirrel got money for her work in the field. so we talked about how someday she'll have jobs to do around the house and then she can earn some money. of course, i added that if she is too busy to do her jobs (like the crow) she won't get the money.

now olivia always has an answer for everything. she doesn't even pause to think about it. the answer is always there. so her answer to me was "well mom, i'll just have a credit card. then i can just go to the store and they'll scan it."

to the man she someday marries... i'm sorry and good luck.

pass this on...

i came across this story on baby noah's blog (see my links). i want to pass it along to as many people as possible and blogs are an easy way to reach people.

the short version of the story goes like this...josh buck is a pastor at a new church plant in east grand rapids. in august 2005, on the day they officially planted the church his 3m old daughter was killed. as she lay sleeping in her crib a 10lb. window fan fell on her. josh and his wife shelly have 2 other children and are now expecting another.

in january they were on a vacation in mexico. josh had a swimming accident and broke a vertebrae in his neck, causing paralysis from the neck down and a temporary inability to breathe on his own. he's now at mary free bed in grand rapids.

the family obviously needs lots of prayer, but they also need help...tangible things like a handicap accesible car and renovations to their house...and the obvious...money for medical expenses. when you hear a story like this it's hard to know exactly how you can help. so i challenge all of you to keep them in your prayers but also do something...like make a donation on the website below. skip starbucks for a week and send josh and his family the money.

www.greenhouseministries.org

things i love

thanks for the idea sarah...here are the things i love. no order, just as i think of them...

• smell of spring
• clean house
• folded laundry
• all spring flowers
  
• new car smell
• tivo
• my ipod
• running
• the finish line of a big race
• twin cities marathon
• chicago marathon
• new running shoes
• green tea
• macaroni grill warm bread
• macaroni grill chocolate cake
• my kids playing quietly, even if this means garrett is playing with barbies
• hot shower
• new pair of jeans
• smell of cut grass
• my family
• god
• email, internet & blogs
• kids rosy cheeks after playing outside in the snow
• baby giggles
• baby smell
  
• ryan's silent open mouth laugh
  
• clean kitchen
• empty dishwasher
• dyson vacuum (so worth the money, especially if you have a dog!)
  
• bike rides
• fall
• apple orchards, apple cider and donuts
• painting olivia's nails (always pink)
• when olivia says 'i love you sixty-five hundred million. how much do you love me?'
• cold powerade
• baby gap
  
• pottery barn & pbk
• ann taylor
• nike running clothes
• u2
• lake michigan beaches
• michigan football on saturdays
  

well this is just a start...i'm sure there are tons of things that i've forgotten. make your own list, it's fun to see what comes to mind :)

dancing queen

the past few weeks olivia has been going to a dance clinic put on by the high school dance team. they split the girls up into 3 categories with olivia being in the youngest group: preschool-2nd. last night was the big performance at a jv basketball game.

the whole experience made me feel a little old. it wasn't because my little baby girl was out there dancing... it was because one of my old babysitting kids had a daughter in the group. she was 2 years older than olivia. boy, did i feel old!!!

practicing before the game

gotta stretch!

the performance...

happy valentine's day

happy valentine's day to all our friends :) our holiday this year has turned out very cold & snowy so we have stayed put in the house. so far the kids have had heart toast for breakfast and lunch was heart bread & heart meat (but not together because that would just make be too much for their little brains to handle).

it is also day 2 of 'no naps for garrett'. and believe me, it is quite painful...but necessary. he has been taking great naps in the afternoon (getting up around 4 or 5), but then he is wide, WIDE awake at bedtime. it usually ends up with garrett laying in bed with us talking about diego or dora at midnight. so for the sake of our evening sanity, he is staying up in the afternoons.

my favorite valentine's picture

olivia, garrett, ryan & matilyn

friends & fashion

sunday night olivia & i were writing up her valentines. when we got to her classmate jayden, olivia wrote jayden's name really messy. i asked her why and she told me this long story about how jayden was not a nice girl. the story involved olivia sitting down by jayden and then jayden got up. well it didn't sound too mean to me, but olivia was pretty set that jayden was not a nice person.

today i went to school with olivia for her valentine's day party. i figured i'd check out jayden a little more closely. it was hilarious...she and olivia were pretty much dressed as twins. nothing like having your "arch enemy" dress as your twin! i put the girls together and took their picture (in case you can't tell, it's the same exact shirt). then olivia says (super loud), "well mom, maybe she is a nice girl."

i totally love visiting olivia's class...but there is no way i'd ever be a preschool teacher...mass chaos!! no thanks, i have enough of that at home :) thankfully her teachers are all of about 22 so they have plenty of energy.

look at those legs!!

this is a picture of garrett from this morning...he spent 5 minutes playing in olivia's bedroom. this was the result. thanks, olivia!! i'll be sure to file this one away for those embarrassing slide shows later in his life...













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one more thing

you know that feeling when you see your house full of stuff...by stuff i mean toys everywhere. then you say 'we are not buying the kids one more thing!!' and you totally mean it. well that's been our feeling lately.

but today i realized we do need just one more thing...we need a costume for garrett.

garrett was playing upstairs with another little boy today. perfect boy time, i thought. he doesn't get much of that since olivia is all girl, all the time. next thing i know garrett is coming down the stairs in olivia's princess dress. he has been asking to wear this dress forever and i always say no. but i guess he found his opportunity and took it.

so i am going to do some online shopping this afternoon. hopefully somewhere there will be a really cheap buzz lightyear costume!

p.s. look at ryan's face in the background. he's thinking "this is my brother??"