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.