Merry Christmas!

We are getting ready to drive up to Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Mike's, but I wanted to quickly post a Merry Christmas.

Here is a picture of the kids last night in their Christmas pajamas in our bed getting ready to watch Prep and Landing before going retiring for the night.  They were incredibly tired kids as they had not napped and had had a very busy day with our Perrysburg family celebrating Christmas.

I am Such a Proud Mom

I think that I am about the proudest mom in the world tonight.  Despite the fact that Isaac is fighting going to bed right now by telling Daddy that he has to go potty and then not leaving the bathroom.

This morning while I was driving the kids to daycare Mackenzie told me that she wanted to get her cousins Christmas presents.  I told her that I had already gotten her cousins presents from her and Isaac.  She then told me that she wanted to go to the store and use her credit card to buy presents for her cousins.  My Grandma Conklin sent both kids a $5 Target giftcard, which they call their credit cards.  My Grandma Krotzer also sent a $10 check.  Isaac opened that card and was very excited about the check and would not give it up.  So I told him that I would cash the check and that he and Mackenzie could spend the money with their credit cards.  So by the time we got to daycare the two of them had decided that they were going to buy gifts for all 7 of their cousins with their money and credit cards and I told them that I would take them to the store after school.

I figured that I would take them to Target where they could shop at the dollar section right inside the door.  Honestly, I expected that once we got there they would want to buy something for themselves.  But I was pleasantly surprised when we got there that they went right to work picking out presents for their cousins.  They even picked out something for all of their grandparents as well.  I was extremely proud that they stuck to their original intention and that they chose to use their presents to buy presents for their cousins.

 Merry Christmas to everyone!

Oh Bother

So, it was evidently a good idea for us not to go to Grandma and Grandpa's last weekend.  Not because of the kids' germs, but because of mine.  I was pretty sick last night.  I am not sure if it was the flu or food poisoning yet, but I am guessing within a couple of days I will know.  If no one else gets sick poisoning, yay!

Currently the kids are watching our annual Christmas showing of "The Easter Bunny is Coming to Town".  I need to separate the holiday movies out of our movie case and pack them up with the holiday decorations.  For anyone who doesn't remember "The Eater Bunny is Coming to Town" good for you.  The song "What Came First, the Chicken or the Egg" is terrible and it gets stuck in your head for the rest of the day.  I asked Mackenzie if this meant we could put our Christmas decorations away and she said, "No, I like Christmas and Easter."  I asked her if she knew what Christmas was about and she said, "Yes, baby Jesus."  I then asked her if she knew what Easter was about and she said, "Yes, eggs."  I guess we have a few months to work on that one.

I think Brian and I may watch "Christmas in Connecticut" if the kids go to bed on time tonight.  Much more seasonal.

Christmas is Almost Here

Our three months of Christmas is speeding by lately.  We went to see Santa last Monday.   The kids had a blast.  We went to Bass Pro Shop and they had a pretty nice setup so that the kids were occupied while we waited in line.  The baby in line in front of us had a classic "Get me off this stranger's lap!" pose, but Mackenzie and Isaac loved it.  Mackenzie asked Santa for Xia Xia Crabs and Isaac asked Santa for Lightning and Mater.  I have a feeling that Santa will deliver.

The kids and I were not feeling well all week as we had a really terrible cold.  Then on Friday Mackenzie's teacher warned me that the flu that had been going through the preschool class had hit Mackenzie's class pretty hard and that two children were out Friday.  I won't mention the gory details here, but it sounded terrible.  So Brian and I decided we shouldn't share our definite and possible nasty germs with my parents.  The kids were super depressed that they didn't get to go see Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Mike, so I decided to try and have lots of fun things for them to do this weekend.

Yesterday we made a gingerbread house.  I made the dough in the morning as it had to chill for at least 2 hours.  I cut out the house pieces while the kids were doing their quiet time and then Mackenzie came down and made cookies while Isaac slept.  She rolled the dough out and cut out all of the small stars and gingerbread boys on her own, and then used the spatula to move them to the side so that I could put them on the cookie sheets after the house pieces finished cooking.  I was extremely impressed with how well she did.

Finally, once Isaac woke up we decorated the house.  The kids decided that each of them would have a side and Mackenzie decided that she would use the red candies and Isaac would use the green.  They each got a "boy", Isaac is under the double peppermints and Mackenzie is under the wreath.

Again, I was extremely impressed with my children's talents.

We were going to go to the mall today and I was going to let the kids pick out some Christmas gifts for their grandparents and godparents.  Isaac has never been to a mall.  However, we checked when we got up and most of the malls here don't open until 11 or noon.  We do most of our activities in the morning since Isaac still naps and since we get up at six am.  So that made a trip to the mall pretty unlikely.  Instead we did some online shopping, decorated the star cookies and played outside, which the kids loved.  Meanwhile I got some presents wrapped and Mackenzie put them under the tree for me while Isaac napped.  Bring on Christmas!

Them Bones, Them Bones

So we had an awesome Thanksgiving.  We got to spend Thursday with Brian's side of the family and then headed up to my parents' on Friday night.  We got to spend a lot of time with my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, which was really great.  The kids enjoyed hanging out with all of their family and they even got some bonus time on Sunday. 

Sunday morning I officially became an old lady when I fell on the stairs to my parents' basement.  Me falling isn't totally unusual, I have been a klutz for a long time, but my ankle and foot really hurt at the bottom where I laid on the basement floor and called for help (which no one heard) and then limped upstairs.  I iced my foot down, but figured it was just sprained and bruised.  When we got back to Perrysburg that afternoon and my foot still really hurt I decided I should go see a doctor.  Brian took me to an urgent care facility where they confirmed that "Yes, Denise, you are an old lady".  I had broken a bone falling on the stairs.  If only I had had a Medical Alert to truly solidify it.

Anyway, here is a picture of the x-ray confirming my fifth metatarsal is broken in my left foot.

The Lessons of Fairy Tales

So I read the kids a lot of the old-fashioned fairy tales.  All in all I figure many generations have been told these stories and most of us ended up alright.  However, as I have been reading many of them I think they are quite violent and scary a lot of the time and I often worry about them causing nightmares.  So as we were driving to Ohio Northern University to go to the Holiday Spectacular I was talking to the kids about godparents.  I was explaining to Mackenzie that my Aunt Bonnie is my godmother like Aunt Shannon is her godmother and Aunt Tina is Isaac's godmother.  Mackenzie then asked me, "So who is my stepmother?"  I then explained to her what a stepmother is and under what circumstances she may have a stepmother.  To which she replied, "And then I would get chores?"  I paused as I thought about that comment for a second so, to clarify, she added: "like Cinderella?"  Then I had to explain that not all stepmothers are mean like Cinderella's and Hansel and Gretel's.

The kids enjoyed the Holiday Spectacular very much.  Isaac sat incredibly well through the show despite having to crane his neck quite a bit to be able to see, even when he was on my lap.  Throughout the show Mackenzie asked me if many of the characters were real, such as the cow, the polar bear and the Frosty the Snowman.  I answered her honestly that they were costumes, dreading when Santa came out and wondering what I would tell her.  Luckily she didn't ask about Santa at all.

Okay Then

So I decided to start working out again this week.  We have a very nice gym at work with approximately 9 treadmills, 8 elliptical machines and numerous other pieces of equipment that are not important to this story.  I got to the gym at lunch time today and was the first person there.  There are 3 TVs in the gym.  One TV had a Housewives show on it, the middle TV had CNN on it, and the last TV had ESPN on it.  So I got on the treadmill that was in front of the TV with CNN on.  After being on the treadmill for about 6 minutes a man came into the gym and of all of the equipment in the gym decided to get on the elliptical machine directly in front of me so that I could no longer see the TV with CNN on it.  So rather than watching the Penn State pedophile station I started watching the Housewives show.  I watched that for about 3 minutes when another man came into the gym, turned the Housewives TV to ESPN and got on the treadmill directly between me and the TV, and THEN started listening to music on his iPhone.  I didn't really want to watch ESPN or the Housewives show, but I couldn't help but think, seriously of all of the dozens of machines in the room these two men chose the two machines directly in front of me and between me and the TVs.  The only three machines in the entire gym in use were within a few feet of each other.  I spent the rest of my workout watching the time on my treadmill which I think makes a workout seem at least 3 times as long as it really is.  But I made it through, so yay.

On a lighter note, Brian attempted to remove the leaves from our yard last weekend.  He got through maybe a quarter of the yard.  The kids had a ball playing in the leaves, so I thought I would post a picture or two:

Oh, and the reason for the title.  As I was attempting to have a conversation about why Mackenzie should spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa's so that Brian and I could go out to a game watch last Saturday night she asked me whether I was going to sleep at Grandma and Grandpa's after we went out.  I started my answer with "No, but . . ." to which Mackenzie responded, "Okay then, I am not going."  It doesn't seem nearly as hilarious when I am typing it, but she seriously sounded so serious and adult that Brian and I both couldn't help but crack up. 

Tonight when I picked up the kids at daycare Isaac was upset and didn't want to go home.  So on the way to McDonald's he decided to tell me that he wanted Santa to pick him up at daycare and bring him presents.  That was funny enough and then Mackenzie chimes in with "Santa can't pick us up at daycare, you aren't allowed to see him."  I added that she was right and Santa could only come and bring their presents if they are sleeping in their beds at their house.  To which Mackenzie added, "Yeah, and he can only bring you ONE present."  Isaac got very quiet to think that one through.  Okay then.

Happy Halloween!

I am too exhausted to type (as I eat the full size Baby Ruth that I stole out of Isaac's candy bag).  Mackenzie and Isaac had a fabulous Halloween!  Isaac was a pirate all day and had a fabulous time saying "Arrrr".  Mackenzie went to school as a fairy and changed into her mermaid costume from last year as soon as we got home.  After dinner, she asked Manu if she wanted to wear the fairy costume trick or treating.  Manu's dad, Sunil, works with me and it was their first Halloween.  Manu caught onto trick or treating pretty fast, as I assume any 5 year old would, and they all finished off the night with a lot of candy.

The Kids First Trip to ONU

The Freed Center, the performing arts center at Ohio Northern University, where Brian is now the Technical Director, hosted ImaginOcean today.  It is essentially a play whose characters are fish puppets that tells the story of 3 fish friends going on an adventure together to find treasure.  The fish are neon and the whole show is performed under black lights.  Well at least that is the best description this non-theatre person can come up with for the show.  This was the first show that we have gone to as a family and we had a lot of fun.  The show was well timed for the short attention spans of our 2 and 5 year-old kids and, since we know an in-sider, we got to see the fish after the show and get our picture taken with them.  Well, Brian and Isaac and I did, Mackenzie wasn't too keen on actually getting close to the fish and their pupeteers.  So she watched from a distance.

You may have noticed that Isaac has a cool hockey shirt on.  I got it for him because I thinkit looks a lot like the Chicago Wolves (only a little less scary), and Isaac is quite fond of it.  Brian and I went out with another couple last night to go watch the Notre Dame hockey team beat the Bowling Green hockey team at BGSU and we had a lot of fun.  I haven't been to a hockey game in a long time, but I am thinking I may have to pick up that habit again.  I think we may even have to get the kids some skating lessons.  Mackenzie has already asked Grandpa Mike if she can go ice skating at his lake house.

All is Good

I have spent the last two weeks of work in Requirements Gathering and Fit/Gap Analysis meetings for my next project, an implementation of PeopleSoft's Enterprise Learning Management module.  I am really excited about this project as I think we have a great team, but two weeks of meetings is really difficult for this intravert.  I am thinking about booking conference rooms next week so I can hide out and relax, just me and my computer.  I know, super sad.

We are heading to Michigan for a quick trip this weekend.  I just found out that my Aunt and Uncle are in Michigan from Texas, so I am excited for them to possibly get to see the kids.  I don't think that Isaac has gotten to meet my Aunt Candi.  Isaac and Mackenzie have been telling me how much they miss their Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Mike and for some reason Mackenzie really wants to see Grandma Kathy's Halloween decorations.  Perhaps it is because our house has been decorated for Christmas for over  month and Halloween isn't even here yet.

The kids and I went and got new fish today.  Yes, I am a fish killer.  Evidently even thought I bought a fish tank kit, I needed to buy a heater and thermometer as well, or at least a heater.  I bought both though and the fish tank has stayed at 77 degrees for a few days, so we went and got new fish tonight.  We also looked at cats at PetSmart.  I think my mommy instinct is kicking in again, and since we have decided we aren't going to have any more kids, I actually thought about getting a pet (other than fish).  It only lasted a very brief second though and then I came back to reality and we paid for the fish and left.

Oh, the car.  They are fixing our Torrent and we are supposed to get it back next week.  So, luckily for us we didn't have to shop for a new car during the last couple busy weeks.  I haven't, however, had a chance to deal with my camera, so no new pictures.  Thanks to Shannon, I am going to post a couple of pictures of the kids with their pumpkins.

What a Weekend!

So we started out this weekend on a great note.  My parents came down to visit Friday night and stayed the weekend.  They watched Mackenzie and Isaac for us on Saturday while we took our nephews, Gavin and Nathan, to the Notre Dame game against Air Force.  We got some tailgating time in (which consisted of Root Beer, Capri Suns, Diet Coke, summer sausage, cheese and crackers, Funyuns and a couple of Kit Kats) and got to throw a football around and play the bean bag toss game.  We then headed towards campus.  We timed our shuttle drop-off perfectly so that we got to see Coach Kelly and the team walking towards the stadium.  Nathan got quite a few hand slaps from the players!  We then headed to Bond Hall and watched the band play before hiking to the stadium.  We had pretty good seats for the game, in Section 15, above the Air Force band.  Unfortunately my camera decided to stop working in the first quarter, so I can't download any pictures right now, I have to find my memory card reader first.

The weather was fantastic, the B2 Bomber fly by was excellent, and the game was pretty great too.  By half-time Nathan was losing steam, so we made it through the third quarter, at which time the score was 46 - 16 ND, I believe and headed out to get an Elephant Ear and hike back to the car.  Here is what happened somewhere between Howe and Angola:



This picture is from after the car was towed to the shop.  I didn't actually get to see the car until we got there.  As we were driving on the toll road, passing a semi truck, a deer jumped in front of the car out of the median.  The road was really dark and I never saw the deer at all (until it landed on the other side of the road, luckily clear of traffic in the right lane), Brian saw it, and slammed on the brakes, but at 70 MPH there was no way he was going to stop in time.  We were extremely lucky that other drivers were paying attention and no other cars hit us or were involved in the accident at all.  Brian was able to get the car into the median and we waited for the police and the tow truck.  The air bags deployed and everyone's seatbelt worked properly and we are also very fortunate that no one was hurt, although everyone was pretty shaken.

So now we are waiting for the insurance company to take over.  Brian, the guys at the shop and I are pretty confident that the car will be considered totalled, so we are probably going to have to look for a car here soon, but other than that, all is good.

Today we went to the apple orchard and pumpkin farm for some pickin' and some cider and donuts (rice krispy treats for Brian and Isaac, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa).  Everyone had a great time and after quiet time Shannon brought "the cousins" over and we made what appears to be a delicious apple pie while at Grandma and Grandpa's Carson helped them make applesauce.

So life is good and I am especially grateful for that today.

Hugs, Hugs, Hugs

So, when I got home tonight with the kids, Thom was in the driveway eating a sandwich in his car.  Thom is going to do the much-needed tuckpointing on our house.  The kids have seen him once before, when he came over to talk through what he was going to do with Brian.  So I pull up and get out of the car and Mackenzie has already unclicked herself from her seat and is opening her door.  I walk around to get Isaac out of his seat and by the time I have Isaac's door open, Mackenzie is hugging Thom.  Luckily, Thom has kids of his own and is super-friendly.  Isaac on the other hand, will not get out of our car.  I explain to Thom that Mackenzie is a hugger and Isaac is our shy child. 

I don't know whether to have a talk with Mackenzie that not everyone appreciates being hugged or just let her be her friendly self.  She doesn't run up an hug total strangers, but once we introduce you to her, watch out!  We have had plenty of talks about strangers and that she isn't to talk to them, etc.  So I am not concerned with that, and I am sure that she will eventually grow out of it, but I don't want her to make other people uncomfortable and I would hate for her to hug someone that might say something to her that would hurt her feelings, etc. So anyway, Brian and I will have to figure out whether to do something or not, but for now I am just going to enjoy the fact that I have an affectionate daughter.

Meanwhile, our 3 months of Christmas continued last weekend when we went to Midland to visit with my parents and my sister and her 2 boys that travelled from North Carolina, and with my brother and sister-in-law and niece, Lexie.  The kids loved having time with their cousins.  We went to Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth on Saturday where the kids enjoyed running around and seeing all of the Christmas ornaments and decorations. 



Bob is Nice, So is Jesus

So before I get to the details around the title of today's post, my upgrade project is live!  We went live Sunday evening after a couple of scary, this may not happen, moments.  We have had some issues this week, but as of right now we only have one open issue and it is not a critical issue.  So yay for us!

While the kids and Brian were home without me last weekend, Brian had to fill me in on the funny things the kids were doing.  We have the kids toy room pretty much filled to the brim with all of their toys now, so they spend a lot of time in there.  Evidently at one point Brian asked Isaac what he was doing and the answer was "I am reading my Jesus book, Dad." Isaac held his kids' bible up to make sure Brian knew what he was talking about.  A few minutes later Isaac says to Brian, "Bob is nice, so is Jesus."  We aren't sure if he meant Bob the Builder, Bob Cadwell or some other random Bob that we aren't aware of, but he is nice. 

Isaac is starting to think about things more, I think.  I think this because we will talk about something and then it could be hours later and he will bring the subject up again.  For example, yesterday Brian took the kids down to see the river (our neighborhood has a public access point on the Maumee River).  While they were there Mackenzie asked if they could go swimming and Brian told her no.  There is a very large drop from the land to the river, among many other reasons that we will never go swimming in the river.  Mackenzie, of course, thought the problem was just that they didn't have bathing suits.  So Brian had to explain the dangers to her to convince her that she isn't going swimming in the river.  Isaac chimed in at that point that he was not going to go swimming in the river.  Later when everyone was getting ready for bed, Isaac once again mentioned that he is not going to go swimming in the river.

On another subject, Thursday night Mackenzie, Isaac and I set up our new fish tank.  It is a very small (1.5 gallon) fish tank.  The kids are very excited about getting their fish this weekend.  According to Isaac, Mackenzie is going to get a pink fish and he is going to get a blue fish.  According to Mackenzie, she is leaning towards getting a catfish.  I have a feeling we are going to go home with a few 19 cent goldfish from Meijer.  We will see.  Hopefully I can post a picture of some fish (living) in the fish tank this weekend.

Happy 5th Birthday, Mackenzie!

Mackenzie officially turns 5 years old today at 3:21 pm!  Her Christmas birthday party on Sunday was a huge success.  Thank you to all of the grandparents and aunts and uncles that made sure she was surrounded by her family!  This is the first time that she had all of her cousins with her and she revelled in it.  She loved her presents and is wearing a dress that her cousin Lauren gave her to school today.  We have watched the Mickey Christmas movies that her grandparents gave her numerous times and have done some crafts with presents from her cousins.  Many of the toys have been played with by her and Isaac.  I am very proud of how well she has been sharing her new toys.  I would like to think that 5 years is the beginning of the "easy" parenting, but I am trying not to fool myself.

Mackenzie chose to take marshmallows as her treat to school today (mostly because I totally forgot to bake something).  She really was excited about it though, so I am going to let the mama guilt go. 

Isaac is a typical 2 year old.  He will climb on anything he thinks he can and then jump off of it, he loves to run around and scream, and he wants to do everything himself.  He is starting to dress himself and to use the potty (big yay!).  He also has started telling people he loves them, which I find very enduring. 

A few weeks ago when we were still at Grandma and Grandpa's, Isaac was laying in his crib and Mackenzie was laying in one twin bed while I laid in the other, for bedtime.  My rule was that I would stay in the room with them as long as they laid down and were quiet.  Isaac told me he loved me, and I told him that I loved him. Then he said "Kenzie, I love you."  I like to tell myself that Mackenzie did not respong because she was following my rule.  Isaac said it 5 more times and I finally told Mackenzie that she should respond.  She then told Isaac she loved him too.  It was dark in the room, but if they could have seen me, the kids would have seen the biggest smile my face could produce.

Moving is Almost Over

Fingers crossed and a couple of quick prayers and we will close on our house tomorrow afternoon.  Mackenzie is very excited to get her toys back and has been counting down the days this week.  Isaac is going to think he won some magical prize because I don't think he remembers most of his toys at this point.

Our garden in Grandpa's back yard has been doing quite well and we have gotten quite a few green beans, black beans, and tomatos.  Not so many cucumbers and green peppers yet.  We did get two partial ears of corn though and so far one big pumpkin.  Sadly the pumpkin fell off the vines that had grown up the tomato stakes.  I took a couple of pictures of the kids with the pumpkin.  Mackenzie was very sad that it fell of the vine and was going to die.  Grandma graciously let her put it in the porch and I may be crazy, but I think it is getting oranger.  We will see what happens.  There is another little pumpkin on the vine and I am hoping now that the big pumpkin is detatched maybe the little one will grow and we will get another big pumpkin. 

Drinking Salsa and Bringing Back Abraham Lincoln

So we went to a Mexican restaurant, El Vaquero, for dinner tonight with Linda & Butch, Shannon & Doug and the Rogers kids.  Isaac has decided that he really likes salsa.  At El Vaquero the salsa is the runnier kind of red salsa that is not chunky.  They put it on the table in vessels and then you pour it into little bowls.  Well, the 12 of us were obviously very hungry, because the chips were gone awfully fast.  Isaac decided that it was then time to drink the salsa out of the little bowl.  He is definitely our more adventurous eater.

Tonight I read Mackenzie Bartholomew and the Oobleck at bedtime.  It is her favorite book lately and when we were finished she asked me if there were any kings left and if they were in charge of us.  I explained to her that there are still a few countries left with kings and queens, but that our country has a president named Barack Obama.  She said, "Because someone shot Abraham Lincoln?"  I told her that Abraham Lincoln was shot a long time ago and there have been many presidents since him.  I then had to explain why someone would shoot Abraham Lincoln (I think I went into way too much detail for Mackenzie and should have stuck with "Because John Wilkes Booth was a very bad man."  Mackenzie then said that she knew someone who was going to bring Abraham Lincoln back to life.  I asked her who was going to do that and she responded, "God."  I decided not to get into a discussion about that and just gave her a hug and kiss and told her that I thought that would be nice.

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid

I am growing very tired of hearing words like "idiot", "stupid", "poopy", etc. from Mackenzie.  It has gotten so constant that Isaac will now reprimand her and say, "We don't talk like that, right Mom" whenever she uses any of the laundry list of bad words.

I have started taking the iPad away from her as punishment.  Right now that is the worst punishment she can fathom, yet she still has 2 days to go currently.  I am sure that this is normal for a nearly 5 year-old little girl, but it bothers me immensely.  I am also sure that the reason she continues to do it is because it bothers me immensely, which bothers me even more . . .

On a lighter note, Mackenzie has decided that she wants a Christmas themed birthday party for her fifth birthday.  I am loving this, since it makes party planning easy.  I don't even have to buy any decorations.  We are going to have another small family party, like we did for Isaac in April, since we still do not have our own house.  We are working on it though.  We are under contract for what we think is a fabulous 1958 home in a great neighborhood that needs a little TLC.  As of now we are scheduled to close on August 31, but we are trying to move that up at least a week in hopes of moving in before Labor Day weekend.  Here is a picture of the house (hopefully I am not jinxing us by putting it up prior to us actually owning it).

Patting versus Rubbing

I am not sure what we did differently between Mackenzie and Isaac, but Mackenzie prefers to have her back rubbed while Isaac prefers to have his back patted.  In fact Isaac hates to have his back rubbed and he whines if I rub his back accidently.  Mackenzie doesn't whine if I pat her back accidentally instead of rubbing, but she informs me that she wants me to pat her back, not rub.

Isaac got his first close encounter with a tractor last weekend, thanks to the Cadwell/Keller family.  We were getting ready to go in the water at Grandma Kathy's cabin when he saw Kevin on the big John Deere pulling his boat down the road to put in the lake.  He quickly forgot about going in the water and wanted to go see the tractor.  We walked down to the Cadwell cabin and Bob was on the lawn tractor.  By this time Mackenzie was running down the road with Brian.  Isaac was too shy to get on the lawn mower with Bob, but after Kevin got off the John Deere he climbed up on the seat to check in out.  In the meantime Mackenzie road on Bob's lap on the lawn tractor.  By the time Mackenzie was done Isaac decided he was brave enough for a ride as well.  Bob instantly becomes Isaac's new best friend.  From then on Isaac wanted to know where Bob was.  The next day we walked down and Kevin took both of the kids for a ride on the big John Deere.  When he dropped off Isaac he said that if he had ridden a few more minutes he was sure Isaac would have fallen asleep (with no patting needed).  We left the lake from there to head back to look at a house in Perrysburg, so we will find out during the next trip to the cabin if Kevin has usurped Bob as Isaac's best friend.

In other news, this evening we made an offer on the house we headed back from the lake to look at.  A few prayers may be in order, so if you read this, please say a quick prayer for us that this works out the way it is meant to be.  Thanks in advance for the help.

The Things They Say

So the other night I was reading Mackenzie a book called "Love You Forever".  Grandma Linda gave this book to either Brian or Mackenzie for Mackenzie's first Christmas.  It is a book about a Mom raising her son and then in the end the Mom dies and the son has his own daughter.  I am not describing it well, it is a very touching book.  Anyway, as I am reading the book to Mackenzie she was asking me about her birth.  One question that I really had a hard time not laughing about was "How did the doctor get me out of your belly?  Did he give me a rope?"  Another was "When I was in my tummy and you ate food, did it hit me?"  I was trying really hard not to crack up at her questions because she was really serious and I could tell that she was thinking really hard and trying to process all of this information.  What a wonderful gift for me to get to observe as she grows and figures all of this stuff out.

Isaac has definitely entered his "Why" phase as well and the questions are never ending on his part either.  Right now I am busy answering the same question over and over and over again.  I try not to crack up at Isaac either with some of his questions and mannerisms.  He has an incredibly cute way of wrinkling up his nose when he doesn't like an answer.  He also has started throwing himself on the ground and kicking the floor, true 2 year old tantrum style, when he is told "No".  Right now it is still kind of cute, but I am sure that will get old fast.

We Love Orlando

It has been a long time!  I have been busy planning for and taking a trip to Orlando.  I went to an Oracle HR User Group conference there last week, which was great for any Oracle HR users.  I flew out Sunday morning and Brian, the kids, and my parents flew out on Tuesday and met up with me. 

It was a great trip.  The kids loved the huge pool area at the hotel where my conference was being held.  They spent most of Tuesday afternoon, and evening and pretty much all of Wednesday in the pool.  That night we headed over closer to Disney and had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe by Animal Kingdom.  We ate dinner there when we took Mackenzie to Disney 3 years ago and Mackenzie spent most of the time crying.  I don't know why I thought Isaac would be different, but I did.  This time Mackenzie had a ball and was clapping everytime the animals came to life.  Isaac on the other hand was very disturbed by it and at one point actually crossed his arms on the table and laid his head on them.  He was a trooper though and made it through dinner. 

We spent the next two days at Magic Kingdom.  Mackenzie is big enough to go on most of the rides there (except Space Mountain, which we learned about after waiting around for our Fast Passes to be good).  She loved Splash Mountain.  It rained both evenings we were there.  These were not little showers, they were big storms with lightening (all outside rides get shut down when there is lightning within 6 miles).  Fortunately for us they came at dinner time each evening and the rest of the day was nice (hot, but nice).  So it compelled us to leave and eat dinner out of the park each night and stick pretty close to our bedtime schedule.  We didn't get to check out the pool at our hotel there though, or Downtown Disney.

Mackenzie and Isaac came home with a Jessie and a Woody doll.  Isaac fell asleep while we were waiting to meet Woody and Jessie and woke up when Woody looked in at him sleeping in his stroller.  I am sure when he woke up to see that giant head looking at him he thought it was part of some really crazy dream.  But it was nice that he got to meet Woody, and Mackenzie loved meeting Jessie.

There were lots of other highlights, like eating lunch with all of the Winnie the Pooh characters, riding Dumbo and the Magic Carpets, and meeting some of the princesses and Mickey and Minnie, but I think Woodie and Jessie were really the tops for both of them.  So even though it was pushing 100 degrees every day, I think we can declare that the Phillips family loved Orlando.

For anyone planning a trip to Disney, particularly with a little girl, there is a barber shop on Main Street, just as you enter the park.  If you call beforehand you can make an appointment.  The women there are licenced and can cut the kids hair, and they will also put the girls hair up and put paint and pixie dust (confetti with Mickey Mouse shapes included) in their hair.  We walked in on Friday morning and they cut Mackenzie's bangs, put her hair in pigtails and put pixie dust in her hair, and they gave Isaac a full hair cut.  Both kids also got a ton of stickers from them.  Another little boy was getting his first haircut and he got a pair of Mickey ears when he was done.  It was really very cute and I hadn't read anything about this on-line or in the book I bought.

We got back to Ohio yesterday.  Someone signed a lease to rent our house in Chicago (big yay) starting July 1, so Brian is back in Chicago with the movers today emptying it out.  His dad is there with him as well.  Linda, the kids and I went to the 577 Foundation for a picnic today, which was lovely.  We even ran into one of Mackenzie's classmates, Lexie, there.  On the way home Isaac was complaining about something, I honestly don't remember what, and Mackenzie says to him, "Life is hard, Isaac.  It is really hard."  I was cracking up and also wondering if perhaps we say that too Mackenzie a bit too much.  But at least they got a couple a vacation from their tough lives.

Sibling Love

I know that Mackenzie and Isaac love each other very much, maybe too much.  Yes they sometimes hit each other, pull each other's hair, take toys from one another.  Mackenzie will ask Isaac, "Do you want this toy?" and then follow that up with "because I am never going to give it to you."  Yet at the same time, they give each other hugs and kisses, if Mackenzie goes somewhere without Isaac he constantly asks where she is and when she gets back they are both so excited to see each other, they do share, and help each other (to the best of their abilities).

The other day we were all in the basement having "TV time" and Mackenzie was laying on a pillow.  Isaac walked over and laid down right next to his big sister.  Mackenzie rolled over, gave him a huge hug and pulled him up into a sitting position with her and said "I am going to love you right off this pillow" with gritted teeth.  She then proceeded to grab the back hemline of his shirt hockey style and tried to pull it over his head.  Awwww, sisterly love.

Last night they wanted to take a bath together.  Since it was a "play" night, which means I don't wash them and their hair, I consented.  I folded some towels in my bedroom next to the bathroom while they were in the bath and when I walked back into the bathroom Mackenzie was laying against the back of the tub with her knees out of the water and Isaac was washing her knees and then rinsing them off with a fish pot they play with in the bath.  A few minutes later Isaac decides to wash Mackenzie's hair with the bar soap, which caused Mackenzie to become upset (not really about the soap but about having to have the soap rinsed out).

Isaac tends to be the first one up in the morning and the other morning he was in my room with me when Mackenzie woke up.  Isaac likes to go in the room with me when Mackenzie wakes up and he goes in at full speed.  He got to her bed much quicker then me and I heard Mackenzie ask "Isaac, do you want to get in bed with me and cuddle?"  Which got a resonding "Yes".  Mackenzie helped pull him into bed and they laid down together nicely for about 20 seconds.  Then they started fighting over a doll.  It was cute while it lasted.

Fun in the Sun

Last weekend we took the kids to the 577 Foundation in Perrysburg.  It is a historic (very large) home that was donated by a (very weathly) woman.  The kids absolutely loved it.  Mom and Dad liked it too.  We went Saturday morning and figured we would spend an hour or so there.  They have organic gardens, a little house for the kids with a table and chairs, a climbing area, a musical area, a slab that the kids painted on with water, an outdoor pond with fish and tadpoles and lily pads, a geodesic dome with an indoor pond and huge fish that the kids could feed and lots of plants, bee hives and a little building that explains bees, a pottery building, and a library.  The kids did not want to leave, so we told them we would come back another time.  The next morning Mackenzie was asking to go back, so we did, with Grandma and Grandpa this time.  Most of the activities are outside and it was a beautiful weekend to spend outside.  Mackenzie's favorite part was the Fairyland.  They have a small space where they have fairy houses and fairy statues, etc.  So on Sunday we went to Lowe's for some fencing to keep the rabbits out of our garden and we got some stuff so that Mackenzie could build her own Fairyland.  So Grandma and Grandpa now have a fairy yard in their backyard.  Also, the rabbits will have to find another buffet because our garden is now heavily fortified. 

For Memorial Day weekend we are headed to "Gradma Kaffy" and "Papa Mike's" (as Isaac says) house and cabin to hopefully enjoy some more sunshine and play in the water.

Too Affectionate

So at home we are having some trouble with Mackenzie hitting and having a potty mouth.  Both have pushed me over the edge the last few weeks.  So when the teacher approached me after school today the alarms in my head were going off that it was becoming an issue at school as well. So when the teacher informed me, "We are having a problem with Mackenzie . . ." I was trying to determine which would be worse that she was hitting or that she was calling people "Poopy" and then whatever word came into her head, or telling the other kids that she hates them.  I was not expecting "she is hugging and kissing the other kids too much."  The teacher then went on to tell me that it was okay for her to hug and kiss her teachers but that I needed to work with her to get her to stop hugging and kissing the other kids.  So, in my head, I gave a great sigh and to the teacher I told her I would talk to Mackenzie.  Personally, I felt like this is something the teachers should be able to work with Mackenzie with on their own, but oh well.  Mackenzie heard the whole conversation between the teacher and I.  So when we got in the car and I mentioned to her that the other kids may not like hugs and kisses and maybe she should save them for her family she said, "I know Mom.  I will just hug and kiss my teachers at school."  Problem solved. 

Now if only I could find such a simple solution to the language problem at home.  She actually voluntarily put soap on her toothbrush tonight and washed her mouth out with soap.  Later she said a naughty word and informed me that she must not have washed all of the bad words out of her mouth.  Evidently washing her mouth out with soap is not the answer.

On a happier side of the fence, this morning was the first morning when Isaac said "Good bye, Mom" and let me walk out of this daycare not feeling like the worse mom in the world.  He actually opened the door for me, gave me a hug and kiss, said "Good bye, Mom" and closed the door.  Yippee!  Now I can concentrate on feeling like the worse mom in the world when Mackenzie hits me.

Ladies Man

For those of you that know Isaac, you know that this is not a typical expression for him.  He is usually a pretty smiley kid.  We went to get photos taken at Portrait Innovations, which we usually love.  However, it seems they were a bit overbooked Saturday morning when we went.  In the past when we have gotten photos taken there we had a photographer and a helper.  This time we had only a photographer and unfortunately the photographer was a man.  I think he was also fairly new, but I don't know that for certain.  Anyway, we have always had female photographers before and Isaac has always been full of charm.  This time Isaac looked at the man very suspiciously the entire time and we had a terrible time trying to get him to crack a smile.  Mackenzie on the other hand had a ball posing for pictures.

Isaac has been trying to use the potty for a while now.  He actually started before we left Chicago then stopped for a while and now has gained some interest again.  He seems to be most interested in it when we are in public places though.  Tonight we met Grandma for dinner at Frickers (the kids like getting hot dogs there) and the first thing Isaac did was run into the bathroom (he remembered where it was from the last visit) to sit on the toilet.  Oh the joys and the germs of motherhood.

Happy Birthday, Thomas and Nicholas

Happy third birthday, Thomas and Nicholas!  We wish that we could be there to celebrate with you. 

Ever since our visit in March Mackenzie and Isaac have been asking when we are going back to see you again, so we will have to plan a visit soon.  Hopefully soon we will have a new house for you to visit as well.

Until then, a long distance wish that today is a great day for you and that you enjoy the beads that are on the way!

Love,
Aunt Denise

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!  Grandma Linda and I took the kids to Bass Pro Shop tonight to get their picture taken with the Easter Bunny.  Mackenzie is wearing quite the outfit because at daycare today they went outside and she jumped in a huge puddle and got her shoes, socks and pants soaked, so they put on the extras that I provided for her.  Of course, the extras that I provide are whatever I can find quickly in my hassle to get out the door in the morning, so they never coordinate and they don't always fit.

This was Isaac's first time visiting the Easter Bunny.  Last Easter was the weekend of Brian and Isaac's birthdays, so in the craziness of getting ready for a first birthday party and getting ready for guests for the party, we never got around to visiting the Easter bunny.  The year before that, Easter was on Isaac's 9th day in the world, and I definitely wasn't ready to search out an Easter bunny that year. 

So, when the Easter bunny came out (we had to wait in line to see him) everyone made a big todo about "he's coming".  Isaac took one look at the huge bunny and started saying "rabbit go home, rabbit go home".  He was definitely not sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap, and he was not really interested in sitting next to him on his sister's lap.  In the end, Mackenzie sat next to the Easter Bunny, I sat next to her, and Isaac sat on my lap.  He still wasn't super happy.  He did give the Easter Bunny a high-five after he gave him some jelly beans though.

Later tonight, after I got Isaac to bed, Mackenzie was laying down on the couch by Grandma because she was tired.  As I was carrying her upstairs for some cuddle time she asked me, "When is Grandma Kathy going to die?"  I told her that we all hoped that was a long, long way away and asked what made her think about that.  This isn't our first conversation about death, so I wasn't totally shocked by the question, but usually there is a reason why she is thinking about it.  She told me that at school they talked about how people nailed Jesus to the cross and he died and that she didn't want anyone to nail Grandma Kathy to the cross.  I told her that people don't do that anymore.  She asked, "They learned their lesson?"  I told her that "Yes, they learned their lesson."

I hope everyone has a joyous Easter!

Metallica Anyone?

When I was in high school and college I liked listening to "heavy metal".  I started listening to it because my boyfriend at the time was listening to it.  It wasn't a terribly difficult transition from Guns N Roses and Skid Row, which I was already listening to.  I found it freeing to be able to stop being the nerdy, good girl I had always been and to start listening to loud music about things that I would never do.  I tended to stick to bands that seemed to have lyrics that meant something, but it was still a little bit of a revolt.  Anyway, I haven't listened to much of that lately.  The DJ did play Eminem at my wedding (not heavy metal, but still not good girl music) and Brian and I still listen to Eminem in the car when we get to go out alone.  I guess now we are revolting against being responsible parents.  But my point is, now that I am in Ohio, I hear Metallica on the radio almost every day.  I didn't realize that I missed my little rebellious self until now.  Our CDs are all packed up right now but I have decided that once we unpack I am going to get my Megadeath CDs out and put them on my iPod.  Who knows, I may even listed to it at work . . .

Okay, so I had to update this post.  I get emails everyday that have a section at the end describing events that happened on that day in the past.  Here is an item that was on the list today: "In 2000, Metallica filed suit against Napster, the University of Southern California, Yale University, and Indiana University for copyright infringement, unlawful use of a digital audio interface device, and violations of the Racketeering Influenced & Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)."  I have to chuckle at the coincidental timing.

Happy Second Birthday, Isaac!

Isaac turned two today.  I can't believe that it has been two years since that crazy morning. 

We had his party yesterday.  My parents drove down and brought Lexie with them, and the Rogers family joined us, along with Grandma Linda and Grandpa Butch, who graciously allowed us to take over their house.  We had a couple come over who do face painting and balloon animals for the kids.  The kids kept them busy for the whole time they were here and even a few of the adults got some painting done.  Here are a few pictures:

You can see a little bit of one of our Dum-Dum balls in the picture above.  Basically, along with being one of Isaac's favorite treats, I thought it would keep Mackenzie busy the morning of the party to have her stick Dum-Dum suckers into styrofome (I originally wanted a cone, but Meijer's only had balls, so I got a package of 3).  She had a ball doing it and I had to let her start the night before and then I had to go get more Dum-Dums the next day.  Isaac even helped some.  Anyway, they were a hit and the kids have way too many Dum-Dums now. 

Mackenzie got to go home with Grandma Kathy, Grandpa Mike and Lexie (thank you Grandma and Grandpa).  She was super excited, but it has been a while since she went to a sleep over, so she needed to take something of Mom's, something of Dad's and something of Isaac's "to remember us by".  Isaac was not so happy that Grandpa Mike left with Mackenzie and not him.  Maybe next year he'll get his chance.
Later that evening we were in Papa's van on the way to dinner and Isaac asked for a Dum-Dum. Evidently Grandpa keeps some in the van for the kids. Grandpa told Isaac that he couldn't have Dum-Dums in the car when Grandma was in the car. Isaac's solution to that problem was to respond, "Grandma, out!" Perhaps we should limit Isaac's Dum-Dum intake.

Bring on the Birthdays

For anyone that doesn't know, Isaac's birthday is this Sunday, April 3 and Brian's birthday is Monday, April 4.  So this is going to be a busy weekend for me.  I just hired a woman to come out and do face painting and balloon art for the party.  I am trying to keep things simple so I am going to go with a carnival (kind-of) theme and we will have hot dogs (with Chicago style fixings), popcorn, and cake and ice cream.  If anyone can think of a carnival themed vegetable, let me know.  If it were warmer I would do corn on the cob on the grill, but since spring doesn't seem to be on the way yet, I am thinking indoor food would be better.  I already have the cake pan, so Cookie Monster will be crashing our party.

As far as the move goes, there isn't much new to report.  Isaac isn't yet loving his new day care, but he is at least trying to be brave.  He will now walk into his classroom and hang up his coat on his own and then we sit down and get his breakfast out and he keeps a brave face until I tell him I have to go to work.  Then he loses it.  They say he is doing better during the week and it seems like he may be getting attached to Miss Brittany.  Maybe next week . . .

I knew that I would miss Granny's Corner and I knew during the 4 years I had children there that I was lucky to find such a wonderful place for my kids.  There were so many things that Granny did that made life easy for parents that other places don't seem to do.  For example, they cooked meals there, including breakfast.  Although Isaac has pretty much always eaten two breakfasts every morning, it was so nice to take the kids there and have them sit down to breakfast together.  I knew they were getting a hot breakfast to start the day, even if I was running too late to get breakfast myself.  Wednesday was always pancake day, which made getting Mackenzie out the door on the toughest day of the week a breeze, and Friday was always cereal and TV day, which made the last moring of the week a breeze as well.  Now I have to make breakfast for both of them, package it up and haul it with us every day.  I am sure I will get used to it, but I miss my "carefree" mornings.  Speaking of hauling stuff, Granny supplied diapers and wipes.  I know this was difficult for her to do with the cost, but for a mom, what an amazing convenience. 

Also, the ladies at Granny's Corner used to watch for the parents and usually by the time I got inside one or both of my kids was bundled up and ready to head to the car.  During a midwest winter that is such a blessing and it means getting home and getting dinner ready that much earlier.  It is amazing to me how long it takes me to pick up my kids now and it isn't the dead of winter.  Who knows when I will make it home when I have to contend with hats, scarfs and mittens once again. 

Finally, Granny had sleep-overs once a month during the school year.  There was an added cost, but it was wonderful.  Mackenzie started going at 3 (she had to be able to go to bed on her own and be potty trained to attend) and I think she went to nearly every sleepover that year.  It was a fantastic way to learn that she was ready for sleepovers and it also allowed us to learn how she would act away from home.  Granny always told us that she was a little helper at the sleepovers and that she wanted to help get the food ready and clean up, etc.  Who knew?  Mackenzie loved the sleepovers because they gave her a chance to be grown up and Isaac loved being a single kid every once in a while. 

So for anyone out there that is thinking about running a daycare, those would be my suggestions for making it a great one.  It also helps if you can find women as wonderful as Miss Terry, Miss Carmen, Miss Ileana, Miss Natasha, Miss Gloria, Miss Maria and Miss Olivia to help care for the kids.  Hopefully I didn't miss any of the wonderful ladies that took care of Isaac and Mackenzie over the last 4 years.  You are all missed!

OH Boy

So this picture doesn't really belong to this post, but it is just so darn cute.  This is a shot of the kids sleeping in Aunt Tina's truck with their cousins Nicholas and Thomas.  This was on the way to Aunt Tina's house after we exhausted the kids at Buffalo Wild Wings (does anyone else remember these being called BW3s?).

I don't have a new picture to post, because I haven't downloaded any photos, but we did make it to Ohio.  Brian stayed for a long weekend and is now back in Chicago (we miss you Dad!).  The trip was uneventful and the kids, bless their souls, have adjusted to living at Grandma and Grandpa's very well.  Thanks much to Grandma and Grandpa for all of the help.  Mackenzie and Isaac are actually sleeping in the same room and are really doing very well not waking each other up and, for Mackenzie, going to bed quietly. 

I am enjoying my new job.  It looks like my first project will be a PeopleTools upgrade and an upgrade for PeopleSoft's learning management tool.  I know that I am a total geek, but yay PeopleSoft.  I feel like I am back in my comfort zone.  I find it funny that at the same time other members of my team are working on an ADP upgrade and a Kronos upgrade which we had been (finally) planning to do at Alberto before I left.  Everyone at First Solar has been extremely friendly and positive.

Mackenzie loves her new school.  I think that she was really ready for a change.  However, we all miss Granny's Corner and the wonderful women who worked there.  I get misty-eyed thinking about what a fantastic job they did caring for Mackenzie and Isaac for such a long time and how they knew my kids personalities better than anyone.  Isaac isn't adjusting to the new day care as well as Mackenzie, which was to be expected since he isn't quite two yet.  I am hoping that by next week he will be used to the new environment and he will be the energetic handful he normally is.  Today on his report card they marked that he was emotional, which broke my heart. 

I think that is it for tonight.  I am exhausted so I am going to go sit in front of the TV for a while with my father-in-law before calling it a day.  To everyone in Chicago, I miss you and think about you often.  Hopefully I will get you see you soon.

Rolling In It

Isaac's favorite past time lately is rolling in, well anything. If he can find a collection of anything he will dump it on the ground and roll in it. He has done this with change, cards, puzzle pieces, magnetic letters, etc. It is quite entertaining. He isn't as fond of the cleanup portion of the game, but he usually participates happily to some degree. I wish I had a video of cleaning up the magnetic letters at the children's museum in Winston Salem, North Carolina because when I told him it was time for cleaning them up he threw himself on top of the pile belly first and started swiping as many letters as possible under his belly. It was hilarious (at least to me). What wasn't hilarious was that a few minutes later he ran away from me in the lobby and fell on the hard floor and had quite a bloody nose. He now has a bruise on the bridge of his nose.

We got back from our vacation to North Carolina yesterday. Thanks to Aunt Tina, Thomas, and Nicholas for being such great hosts to Mackenzie, Isaac and I for the first few days while Uncle Zak and Daddy were at USITT. Thanks to Aunt Tina, Uncle Zak, Thomas, Nicholas, Clay, English and Gillian for having so much fun with us at the water park in Charlotte. We had a blast in North Carolina and it was a great way for me to spend my first week of unemployment.

Now we are back home for 3 days before the kids and I head off to Ohio. Brian will be making a number of weekend trips for the next few months as he finishes up at the Goodman and hopefully our house sells. Here is a link to the listing if you know anyone looking for a 4 (possibly 5) bedroom house in Chicago.

Here We Go . . .

This is my first post to my blog.  I recently read that blogging is out of fashion and that only old people blog now.  Supposedly everyone else is on Facebook instead.  I guess I am old, because I prefer to write more than a sentence or two at a time and I don't feel like friending and unfriending or taking quizes or playing games on Facebook.  I will admit, if my husband leaves his Facebook page up on the computer I am drawn to it and I feel the need to read everyone's posts, even if I don't know the person posting.  Because of this I am extremely afraid to join.  I am afraid that I will get addicted and spend far too much time on Facebook.  I am happy the way things are now.  I read my friends' blogs and I love them.  I try to keep up with emailing or calling my friends that don't have blogs.  One day I will move on and join Facebook, I am sure, but for now I am going to be an old lady and start a blog instead.

The reason that I decided that I need a blog is because we have decided to move.  Our small family of four is going to move from Chicago, IL to Perrysburg, OH.  I have very mixed feelings about the decision (which my husband and I made together over the course of probably a year) but I know that ultimately it is the best choice for our children.  Right now I am going through what I am sure is the usual concerns, such as "Is this the best choice for our kids?", "Is this the best choice for my career?", "Is this the best choice for my marriage?", "Am I insane?", etc.  But when I hear my daughter, Mackenzie, tell her buddies that she is moving closer to Grandma and Papa and that she will be able to go to Grandma's cabin and fish, I feel like all is right with the world and that this move will be the best thing I've ever done.  So we trudge on.  Our house is on the market and it looks better than it ever has before (which makes me even more sad to leave it).  I have 2 days left at my present job and I desperately need to clean out my cube.  I have to contact doctors to get medical records, cancel appointments we have made, and make sure all of my bills are paid.  The list goes on and on, but one day summer will be here and I will get to watch my kids play with their cousins more than they have gotten to during their lives and I will be able to sit back and smile and know that it was worth it.

So to all of you that are saying prayers for us right now, thank you.  For all of you that have listened to me rationalize this over and over again, thank you.  And for all of you that are being patient with me as I am forgetful, weepy and short, thank you.

Oh, as far as the title of the blog goes, the moving part is obvious.  The shaking part is in honor of our children.  Mackenzie likes to "shake her booty", which my husband and I try to discourage.  Not so much the dancing part, but the singing of "shaking my booty, shaking my booty" while she sticks her bottom out and shakes it, generally buck naked after her bath.  Well, much to our chagrin our almost 2 year old son has decided this is a fantastic thing to copy and he has started doing it with Mackenzie.  So whether we like it or not, we are moving  and  shaking.