Big ambitions

Yesterday Luke had "career day" at preschool, where they ask the kids to either dress or bring props related to what they would like to be when they grow up. Luke decided fireman in the morning (such an improvement over his previous answer of "stay at homer"!), but by the end of the day, decided he really didn't want to do that. Maybe it's the danger associated with the job. Earlier in the day, he mentioned, "Mom, there are free (of course the "f" is a stand-in for "th" on all "th" words) things we have to be careful of that might kill you; floods, lightning, and tokens". Hmm. Well, I guess that would make sense. If anyone has ever spent a day at the Kid's Casino, you might agree that by the end of the day tokens might drive you to your death. Very introspective.

Anyway, on the topic of firemen, Jack's Scout troop got to visit the local volunteer fire department last night. Is it wrong that I lined up along with the kids to climb in to the trucks and asked possibly more questions than they did? Fascinating stuff I think.

Trying on the air pack

And the whole uniform

Afterwards, I asked Jack what he wanted to be when he grew up (because you know this one always changes). Apparently I have made the occupation of stay-at-home-mom so glamourous, that this is what he wants to do when he grows up. He's decided he will stay at home with the kids while his wife works. I would not recommend he advertise those ambitions whilst shopping for future wife. Just a word to the wise, kid.
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Jack is VERY excited about his upcoming birthday. He has spent the last several nights getting the basement set up for his party, which is over a month away. I love this enthusiasm. He asked me yesterday if I'd like him to show me around and see what he has planned so far.

This large piece of wrapping paper is the stage where you can play music in a band

This is like a cakewalk where you play music and if you are standing on the winning number when it stops, you win a prize

These are his own toys you can "win" with the right number of tickets.

If only our own birthdays were still this exciting and dripping with anticipation.

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Luke spent the morning with his "sharebag" from preschool. They send a new one home each week, with a game or activity they can play while learning. Really fun and a great idea but finding those pieces to return each week is beastly. Anyway, this week's bag dealt with which items float and which items sink. Anytime it involves water, it's a good time. Well, it was a good time but of course like a fool I left him alone which turned into the sink stopper not working any more, so he moved the party upstairs, and then started screaming at me that he couldn't get the water to stop (always when I'm leaving a message at a doctor's office or something), so by the time I got there, indeed the sink was full, and the faucet would not shut off. Luckily, this stopper still worked, so I opened that up to let out the water before it overflowed, but could not turn the faucet off, leading me to call my male neighbor who I knew was home for the day and could quickly direct me on what to do (turn off the water under the sink with a knob-genius!) Whew, sometimes these simple things are not too easy.

Editor's note:

In Rob's anticipated defense, he would also have known what to do to stop that water--said editor was just sure she could not reach Rob at work quickly enough so deferred to other source instead.

Celebrating Easter

So sorry I have been M.I.A. for so long! I know I always get disappointed when I log on to the blogs I read and keep seeing the last post I read. (Of course, I am taking liberties here assuming hordes of people are all gung ho about seeing what good ol' R. Miller and clan are up to and that is a stretch, I know...)

Anyway, we traveled 1100 miles in the last week to visit family for Easter. I am so thankful that my kids are such great travelers since we do it so frequently! I hope to instill the same sense of adventure and wonderment of all the places to go and things to see in our great country that Rob and I feel.

We had a great time visiting with my sister and family, as well as my Mom and my Dad and his wife Donna. This is Grandpa after being bamboozled into putting together the very gift he'd just given.

The kids played lots of Wii, and my nephew celebrated his 5th birthday while we were there.

Then we were off to Grandma and Pappy's for more Easter fun with the other side of the family. The Easter Bunny was good enough to stop by there for the boys:

I made the yummy Peeps cake that my friend Liz told me about, and below, you will see the evidence of that with Aunt Amber:

Aunt Amber and Uncle Brian like to ask Luke if he's sweet or sassy. He usually says sweet for most, but almost always replies sassy for Uncle Brian. When Grandma asked him what she would be, he said, "Well, that's a tricky question." This boy knows where his bread is buttered when he's at Grandma and Pappy's, don't let him fool you.

Rob and I were able to attend not one, but TWO church services kid-less, which was wonderful, although once we got to the Easter Vigil, I felt that maybe we should have taken Jack to appreciate the more magical side of church.

Finally, it was very nice to come home and see that all of my daffodil bulbs had bloomed while we were away. That's one of the fun things when you move to a new place, discovering what is planted where and watching it all take shape. Spring is finally here! 

 

Behold the crumbs

Yep, that's what it's come down to. Crumbs.

For years, Rob was in a holding pattern of faint hope, denial, and then gradually, slow acceptance of the fact that well, he just wasn't gonna hold on to that hair. He used to meticulously groom each individual curl and place it just so. For those of you who didn't know the Rob of yesteryear, he had very tight curls, which helps explain the boys' curly hair. If I was looking towards the top of his head, he'd say, "What are you looking at? Are you looking at my hair?" Those days are now long gone, although I must say, I only recently talked him out of using both shampoo and conditioner. He does still use gel. But don't tell him I told you. He said it's just part of his routine.

Anyway, where I'm going with this, is that I cut all the boys' hair in this house, and I recently gave Rob a cut. Which, nowadays, means no guard on the clippers, so it's a very short cut. Rob asked Luke if he wanted Mommy to cut his hair like Daddy's, and Luke replied, "No Daddy, you just have crumbs". So, the life cycle of tight, tiny curls, to crumbs has been completed.

Sorry Daddy.

My project

As a "tribute" to my grandparents, I am going to try a big garden this year. My grandparents were amazing human beings and I miss them dearly. They grew unbelievably huge, prosperous gardens year after year. To walk in that sandy warm soil barefoot each summer when we visited was pure heaven, and harvesting with Grandma was the best. I was always amazed at her ability to bend over at the waist, blood rushing to her head, and pick things for what seemed like hours on end. After we'd collect the beans, or peas, or whatever we were picking that day, we'd bring the ice cream pails back to Grandpa, who'd be sitting under the covered porch in that old metal chair, and he'd work on shelling the peas or snapping the beans. Grandma was an incredible cook, gardener, and quilter among other things, and never forgot to notice the beauty of her surroundings each day. Grandpa was truly larger than life. His presence filled a room more fully than anyone I've ever known. Almost three years later, I still can't believe he's gone—anytime I hear the Brewers playing on the radio, I am sure he is sitting outside in his Cadillac on a warm day listening to the game. People came from far and wide to visit and hear him tell his stories, or sit and play a game of cards or cribbage with him. I miss their smell, the feel of Grandma's soft face and the cadence of Grandpa's wooden leg as he walked across the floor, their voices, but most of all their presence. Grandparents can be a powerful influence on their grandchilden—don't ever underestimate the legacy you may leave for others without even knowing it. I loved them fiercely. If only they were still here to give me the gardening advice I so need now that I have a home that has room and sunshine for a garden.

So, though I asked many questions then and thought I'd hang on to all that knowledge until I finally had the "right place" to grow my own garden, I still feel like I know nothing and this will be a huge learning curve. I have grown tomatoes and a few herbs before, but nothing like the full blown garden I am going to attempt this year. And, between abundant wildlife and limited knowledge, much may fail, but I will still enjoy trying. So, I have started the first steps, which are googling like mad, and trying to start some things from seed. Below, you'll see cantaloupe, two kinds of tomatoes, and bell peppers, or at least that's what I see in my overblown imagination.

I have ten pots in my hopes for seedlings. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

I love

I love:

The first flowers of spring. I think we moved in too late in the season last year to know these little gems were hiding out in the back:

I love:

Kids singing in the shower. Something about hearing kids sing or talk out loud while they play alone makes them sound so happy and content.

I love:
Spreadsheets and comparison analysis. Yup, I'm a bona fide nerd. Things like Consumer Reports, where they constantly compare products side by side for price, taste, quality, etc. are right up my alley. I keep a spreadsheet on everything. I have a spreadsheet for Christmas shopping/budget, when everyone last had which medical appointment, books and movies I want to read/see, money we've invested in the house and when the project was done, you name it. So, to fulfill my urges, I recently did a Wal Mart vs. Target comparison. I don't know about you, but Wal Mart has a way of making you feel like it's cheaper. However, while shopping at Wal Mart, you might also feel like you'd rather be anywhere but in a Wal Mart. Am I right?

Well, rest assured ladies and gents, you can feel good shopping at Target, while your pocketbook feels good as well. My most recent analysis of a $100 trip to each store, buying 20+ items I regularly buy, such as dishsoap, bread, deodorant, butter, shampoo, etc., reveals that it was over 2% cheaper to buy all of those items at Target. Yahoo!

This actually has nothing to do with the fact that my husband works for Target. (Well, that's a bonus, but that's not why I did it). I was just genuinely curious and I like to save money. And, I must say, I was happy with the results.

Happy shopping! Go Target!

Friday fun

We went to our school's fundraiser last night, which consisted of things like bounce houses, cake walks, and raffles, all in the hopes of being the biggest breadwinner of the year for the school.

Here's a picture of Luke on the giant slide. If you could only see the joy on his face going down this, it is priceless:

And Jack loved all of it, including waving to all of his friends. Come to think of it, I don't remember ever attending an event like this and knowing so many people. It was great. It was easy to forget we've only lived here 9 months when we were stopping to socialize every 10 feet. The joys of a small town!

I was signed up for clean up crew afterwards, and Jack stayed with me to help. I was so proud of him. Lot of kids would have laid their head on the table and claimed they were toooooo tiredddddd, but Jack is really such a helper and loved to help me sweep all of the floors. He was glowing afterwards and couldn't stop exclaiming about how much fun he'd had. And honestly, the raving reviews were more about helping with the cleanup I think than with the event. He really is a pleaser at heart and I love to see him in his element.

And now, back home, to find Rob, in his element. Aah, March Madness. This man looooovvvvveessss his March Madness.

Perspectives of 4 year olds

We had Luke's friend, and our neighbor, Abry over to play for a while this morning. This was one of their conversations while they ate their crackers and peanut butter:

L: Sigh. "I love you Abry."

A: "He always says that. Sometimes he says he wants to marry me. But he can't marry me."

Me: "Why not?"

A: "Because I'm trying to get someone else to marry me!"

Me: "Oh, you are! Like who?"

A: "Like Brooks or Logan!"

Me: "Well, that won't work, because those are your brothers."

A: Sigh.

But seriously, am I the only one who thinks these two make the cutest darn couple around?