Auntie Kristen's Genes

This picture is proof that there is a bit of Kristen in Izzy.

Home Alone

My husband has been at the Fall Pastor's Conference the past few days. It has been what we call a "Girl Party" at our house from Monday morning until he arrived home late this afternoon. Claire has been in school, of course, but it's still me verses the two little girls all day. Then it's 3 to 1 in the evening. There were no major incidences (thankfully) but single parenting is really tough! I was very happy to welcome Chris home.

So Monday and Tuesday nights after I put the girls to bed I tackled some projects that have quite literally been piling up in the basement (mostly because I get spooked in this big house by myself--certainly not because of any sort of ambition). I did a gazillion loads of laundry and started stripping the antique buffet I purchased this summer at a rummage sale (for $20!!!!). I am very excited about the wood underneath the years of varnish and grime--only a carpenter's daughter gets excited about nice looking oak.

Happy Halloween

A bunch of people have asked me what I was for Halloween. I was a party pooper and didn't dress up. I enjoyed making the girls' costumes with them, but I didn't have time to make something for myself. Last year, however, I did make myself a Halloween costume and did not have a forum--like this blog--to show it off. So, here is a picture of my "pregnant skeleton" costume from last year. I was pretty proud of it (allowing my picture to be taken while pregnant is proof)!

Trick-or-Treat Pictures

Isabel the Drooly pirate. ARRRGHHHH!

Claire Kitten, Lily the Sparkly Fairy Princess, Christopher as "Cain", and Izzy

Passing out candy after we finished trick-or-treating.

Claire's kitty gloves (I wanted you to see my handywork).

Tired pirate.

Halloween in our small town is quite charming. The Lioness Club puts on a Halloween party with lots of games and treats for the kids. Trick-or-treating follows the party and the Volunteer Fire Department patrols the streets (in the firetrucks) putting handfuls of candy in the kids bags. Everyone is so cheerful and nice. Isabel even got 2 small jars of baby food! It is the last hurrah before our town clams up for the winter--we really won't see each other until spring.

The Youth Group from church hosted a Haunted Bible Hallway (inspired by Susan and her children's scary list of Bible characters). Considering that most of the congregation refer to the church basement as "the dungeon" it really is scary. My husband dressed up as Cain. The president of the congregation dressed up as Goliath, others were the Witch of Endor and the demon possessed man.

7 Things About Me

Susan tagged me...

I am supposed to tag 7 other people and post 7 things about myself. I don't know 7 other people who blog. It is "breaking the rules", but if the following 7 people blogged (hint, hint---I would read your blogs regularly!) I would tag: Kristen, Charles, Jeannette, Lauren, Jesse, Katy, and of course Christopher.

(1) I really love being from Wisconsin (despite Gov. Doyle and his idiotic politics). My heart swoons when I hear the UW marching band playing "On Wisconsin". I took secret pleasure in delivering Lillian on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River when we were living in Minnesota.

(2) One of my favorite current TV shows is "Grey's Anatomy". I have to watch it in secret because my husband hates it so much. It really is a bad show and a complete waste of my time--but I just can't stop.

(3) My nightmares consist of two scenarios, either something terrible happens to my family or I loose all of my teeth.

(4) I like to order chocolate milk when I go out for breakfast. When Chris and I were first dating and I ordered chocolate milk he thought I was completely weird--now he usually asks for a few sips.

(5) My favorite color is purple--and I really love my purple bath towels.

(6) My perfect day would be waking up (rested) to sunshine and happy children, then making pancakes for breakfast. We would go for a hike in the woods--no bugs of course, and the event would be whine-free, fight-free, and tear-free. Picnic lunch. Naps. Feed, read to, and put the kids to bed. Eat a gourmet dinner and drink great wine with my husband and other enjoyable adults.

(7) My favorite season is winter. I love breathing in the cold through my nose. I love the sparkly white, clean and still landscape. I love the feeling of being snowed in for a day or two, cozy and snug inside with my family. My mom read somewhere--and likes to point out--that liking winter best means that I will like the "winter of my life". I hope that I do like being old. That means the best is always yet to come!

Voicemail

I would not say that I have a phobia of answering machines, but I do not like leaving messages. My premeditated phone messages come out sloppy and weird. I stumble through--often repeating myself and generally sounding like a dingbat.

"Hi... this is Erin and I am calling for this reason. shhhh...Lily be quiet! Momma is on the phone...Oh, yes I am calling for this reason and give me a call back...my telephone number is ###-###-####. Talk to you later. Did I leave my number? This is Erin and my phone number is ###-###-####, call me back."

I hang up and laugh..."What did I just say? I sounded like an idiot!" Maybe some of you have been privileged to hear my voicemail buffoonery yourselves.

Yesterday, I think that I left my best voice message of all time. It was concise, I squeezed in a joke and left my phone number! I hung up surprised--I didn't know that I had it in me. I highly doubt that the recipient of the quality voicemail knows exactly what she received--a 1 in 100 non-idiot Erin voice message. Priceless!

More Baptism Pictures

Pumpkin Patch

Big Kid

I told the girls after lunch today that I was tired and wished that I could have a break. I don't get breaks during the day because I have curious children and a baby who is quickly becoming an efficient crawler--they do sleep at night--that's my break.

Claire very confidently responded that she would watch Lily and Isabel while I took a rest because she is five and "a big kid now".

Hah!

Growing Pains

I talked with another kindergarten mother yesterday who had just returned from volunteering in the classroom. She said that Claire is a typical girl student--the sit up straight, adore the teacher and raise the hand for every question type. It was good to hear that. I really didn't know how she was doing. I feel so disconnected from my daughter. She is away from me for hours everyday--and she can never remember what she did at school beside lunch or recess.

The transition to kindergarten has been difficult for us, really difficult, cry the eyeballs out difficult. Claire is not always excited to go to school and comes home very tired and SASSY. Lily desperately misses Claire during the day and has had to learn to play by herself. I bear a large portion of everyone's tantrums (some of my own too) and still wonder (even in mid-October) if we made the right decision sending her to school, especially with all of my homeschooling sympathies. Things are just starting to become routine, and consequently the children are better behaved. I am sure daylight savings will send us out of alignment. Sigh.

I do love where we chose to send Claire to school. It is everything that I would have wanted to do in a homeschool setting. They are teaching her to read with phonics and are doing Saxon math. She is learning about art and artists. She is learning to speak Spanish and about American history. Her teachers love being surrounded by children--and seem to thrive on the abundance of youthful energy (instead of going crazy like me).

I never seem to move gracefully through change, it happens so fast--I went cold turkey out of diapers, I have stretch marks to prove that adolescence happened much too quickly, and I went from high school senior to married and pregnant in less than 30 months. I wish that I could embrace and and enjoy these changes instead crying big tears. These changes are good things...not always easy, but good. I need to keep telling myself that.

Car Pictures

The ride home was especially long...but the girls were extraordinarily well behaved. Izzy was the "biggest baby".

Nebraska Trip

We traveled to Nebraska this past weekend to witness James being baptized on Sunday. It was great to see my family and all be together...even if it was only for a few hours.

The Lil-ster

A sugar-faced Lily, posing obstinately with a wand (or as Claire and Lily call them "Bippity-Boppity-Boo Sticks").

Cookies

Lily and I made Halloween cookies today. Who decorates cookies like this? I apparently have loads of time on my hands.

Heiress

I wore a new, cozy pink sweater yesterday. It is very soft--it reminds me of Claire's blankie. All 3 of the girls were touching me (aka: my sweater) affectionately yesterday.

As I was tucking her into bed last night, Claire endearingly asked if she could have the sweater when I die. I told her she could.

Carrot Soup

Kristen was asking me about carrot soup yesterday. This is my recipe. I love it--the fresh dill adds such a wonderful flavor.

1 big onion, chopped
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
2 pounds carrots, peeled, chopped
1 potato, peeled, chopped
4 c chicken stock
1/4 c fresh dill, chopped
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 c cream (or more if soup is too thick)

(1) Saute onion in oil and butter until tender. Add carrots and potato and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes or until some of the pieces begin to brown.

(2) Add stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes.

(3) Remove from heat and puree. (I use an immersion blender--which works great.)

(4) Stir in dill, salt, pepper and cream. Warm soup through before serving.

A Little More Off The Top

Claire gave Lily a haircut before she left for school this morning. Considering the fact that they have exactly 10 minutes to play in the morning, those two must have worked out the plan (how to get the scissors, smuggle them into the playroom, give the trim, and hide the evidence) before they went to sleep last night.

This is NOT Lily's first haircut at our home--there have been many others, some self-styled. One worth mentioning is when (about a year ago) she cut the ponytail off the top of her head. She looked like an 80's rocker--the feathering was really quite good.

Feeling very angry...but too tired to get riled up.

Birthday Party

Claire went to a swimming birthday party at the YMCA this past Saturday. It was her first party and I was completely overwhelmed by it all. She came home with a goodie-bag that must have cost the parents at least $10. She talked excitedly about the cupcakes, juice boxes, and all the wonderful Hanna Montana birthday decorations (why does Claire know about Hanna Montana?). And all of this birthday pomp is on top of the pool rental fee and party room fee.

I can understand that parties are fun, but why the YMCA? Why Hanna Montana? Why 12 new toys (TWELVE NEW TOYS!!! What parent wants to pick up 12 more toys?) for the birthday girl? Why designer goodie-bags which included personalized beaded necklaces? Claire and her kindergarten friends would be just as impressed with a modest picnic in the park or at home.

Claire asked me if she could have a birthday party when she turns six. Yikes.

Red Hot

When I met my husband he was a Tabasco addict. He put that stuff on everything--eggs, chips, meatloaf, pizza. I basically told him in so many words that he had to stop. If I made a good meal, I didn't want it ruined by hot sauce. I still buy Tabasco however. It is perfectly acceptable to top chili or other spicy foods with more spice. I bought Frank's Red Hot instead of Tabasco a while ago. It is sooo good and I think that I need an intervention now. It tastes like buffalo chicken wings without the chicken. I have actually gone to the refrigerator and dashed some on a teaspoon--just to taste.

I am so yucky.

Too Funny

Check out this mom singing to the William Tell Overture...

Yippee!

My two-toothed Isabel (that sounds like some fierce mythical creature) slept through the night! Twelve hours straight---yippee! Pureed meats were added to her diet this past week, and it is the only explanation. Nothing like meatloaf smoothie to fill the belly.
I, however, did not sleep through the night without interruption (of course). Lily was dreamily convinced that worms were infesting her blankie. It was alright--I was in need of a 2:00 AM snuggle too.

Six Months

Favorite Children's Books

Here is a list of children's books that I can read again and again (usually because the text or the pictures are particularly amazing):

Ehlert, Lois

-Waiting for Wings

-Leaf Man

-Feathers for Lunch

-Growing Vegetable Soup

-Planting a Rainbow

Ray, Jane

-Twelve Dancing Princesses

-Story of Christmas

Yolen, Jane

-Off We Go

-Owl Moon

Zion, Gene

-Harry the Dirty Dog (series)

Zelinsky, Paul

-Rapunzel

-Rumpelstiltskin

LaMarche, Jim

-The Elves and the Shoemaker

Crews, Donald

-Freight Train

Hall, Donald

-Ox Cart Man

Ward, Helen

-Rooster and the Fox

-Tortoise and the Hare

Rylant, Cynthia

-Lighthouse Family (series)

Cousins, Lucy

-Maisy (series)

-Noah's Ark

-Little Dog Laughed

Keats, Ezra Jack

-Snowy Day

Sendak, Maurice

-Where the Wild Things Are

-Nutshell Library

Numeroff, Laura

-If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

-If You Give a Pig a Pancake

-If You Give a Moose a Muffin

Falconer, Ian

-Olivia (series)

Cronin, Doreen

-Click, Clack, Moo