Heard on the Street...

Background: Kate has learned how to use her potty chair and is really proud of it. She is very protective of said chair and doesn't want her brother even in the same zip code with the chair.

Setting: Steve was tucking Kate in for bed tonight when the following conversation took place...

As per the usual routine, Daddy read Kate a Bible story. Kate was asking about who Jesus loved and Steve was answering her.

Daddy: "Kate who else does Jesus love?" He then points to her.
Kate: "Kate"...

(pause follows)

Kate: "I no share my potty with Jesus" in a whiney voice.

Daddy: "I don't think Jesus needs to share your potty with you."

Frosty Morning...

Christmas Festivities

This Christmas was very special at our home. This is the first year that Kate really began to understand what Christmas is all about. It is also the year that Sam discovered the lights. He squeals in delight every morning when the lights are plugged in.

Kate was very excited about the Christmas story and loved playing "Mary" in front of the tree. We recruited several stuffed animals for the stable (including Ee-yore, Snoopy and her Build-a-Bear "Toffee".) Please note the wise man in the background!


One of our favorite Christmas traditions is to open our stockings and one present on Christmas Eve. Kate's stocking was heavy on "Hello Kitty" items and she proudly modeled them. (Please note the "wise man" is still lurking in the background.)


On Christmas morning we made homemade cinnamon rolls and opened our gifts. It was so fun to see the each child's reaction to their gifts. Kate was overjoyed with her Asian Bitty Baby and Sam loved his truck.



We then headed to Grandma's for Christmas with family. Kate & Sam had a ball with their cousins and were delighted with even more gifts! Kate loved the bows she found and Sam was fascinated with his new toys.



Our wonderful day had to come to an end, but not before Kate broke out her new karaoke microphone and belted out a few tunes. While she loves her new Bitty Baby, this microphone has been firmly in her grip since she got it.

Out of the Mouth of Babes...

Kate's vocabulary and language skills are continuing to develop at a rapid rate. Here are a few of the latest conversations heard around the house...

Setting: Christmas Eve--The family is sitting in the living room and playing.

Kate is muttering under her breath and gradually is speaking louder and louder.

K: "Doo-fus"
Daddy: "What did you say?"

K: "Doo-fus"
D: "Kate, we don't use that word...it's not appropriate."

K: "Doo-fus!"
D: "Kate, if you say that again, you're going to your room."

K: "YOU are a DOO-FUS."
D: Kate removed from the scene of the crime and placed in her room for 3 minutes in the penalty box.

Setting: Christmas Eve--Kate carrying baby doll dressed in pink sleeper around the living room.

Momma: "Kate, what are you doing?"
K: "I'm taking Baby Jesus."

M: "Where are you going with Baby Jesus?"
K: "I'm taking Baby Jesus to see Santa to sit on his lap."

Setting: Today in the living room. Kate has new play microphone in hand and is mumbling into it as it plays several songs.

M: "Kate what are you doing?"
K: "I singing in the microphone like the ladies at "Big girl Church". They do it like me do!"

(Kate got to go with us to the Christmas service at Church on Sunday. She loved the singing and music.)

Fashion Statements...

Kate got a hold of a hair brush and decided to style her own hair...she was very proud of the results...



Sam couldn't possibly be left out, so he had to make a statement of his own.



Pascal often tires of the activity and he often finds a safe retreat...he's one of his very spots.

You know you're in Wisconsin when...

You have had 22 1/2 inches of snow in December and your neighbors are outside watching the Packers win again! They haul their TV outside, pull out the lawn chairs, grab a Miller Light and cheer on "Da Packers" and Brett Favre.

We hear them cheering every Sunday...

A Dose of Self Help

I've recently subscribed to a few magazines that I would normally not have paid money for. I had some frequent flier miles that were due to expire, so I exchanged them for free subscriptions. I got a few of them in the mail yesterday and I am now set with my New Year's Resolution Plans...

On the cover of the magazine the following articles were advertised:

"In a Hurry? Tone up in 23 minutes!"

"Be a Diet Success! Slimming Secrets that Really Work"

"Happy at Last! Stop Worrying and Start Living"

"Look Amazing Without Makeup"

"Make ANY Meal Healthier!"

"The SCARY Disorder Doctors Don't Detect"

and to top it off...

"176 Tips to Simplify Your Life!"

How am I going to have time to simplify my life? I'm spending 23 minutes toning, trying to stop worrying (Steve would love that!), trying to look amazing without makeup, trying to make sure that my doctor detects scary disorders, trying to be a diet success and making my meals healthier. Do you really think I have time to read 176 ways to make my life simpler?

Winter Wonderland...

We have had quite a bit of snow in December, so we decided to take the kids outside to play. Steve picked up a few shovels and sleds, so after we bundled everybody up, we headed outside.

I thought they would love the sled, but the look on Sam's face suggests otherwise...




Kate had a great time shoveling, jumping and dragging the sled around the yard.





Sam on the other hand was not too impressed with the snow. He got frustrated trying to walk on the icy sidewalk and his mittens kept him from holding on to the shovel very well.




When it came time to take Sam in, Kate begged to stay outside with Daddy. So, Sam "helped" me make supper and Kate learned how to slide down a little hill in her saucer. She is our outdoor girl!

I Love the Christmas Season...

You know it's Christmas when...

...You see Santa Claus driving a county transit bus on the route near your home...


...You see a cute, elderly man dancing to the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" playing over the loudspeaker at the grocery store...

Christmas Preparations...

Saturday was really the beginning of our Christmas preparations. We started the day at Cricket Academy for Chinese class. As you can see, Kate made a Duck Hat and felt very fashion forward while wearing it. (Yazi is the word for duck in Chinese--Yah zah). When we got ready to make some Christmas candy, she decided to use her hat as a chef's toque. She helped place the chocolate in a checkerboard pattern and repeatedly asked to "taste" the chocolate...she'd say "just one."




Our next adventure was out to a local Christmas tree farm to pick out our tree. We decided not to cut our own tree down since it was pretty snowy, so we chose from the fresh cut trees. Kate loved playing in the snow, but Sam was reluctant to go too far at first.



Kate found a branch and begged to carry it around as we looked for our tree. She took it home, but it was forgotten once we got the tree up. They were both amazed to wake up from their naps and find the tree in the living room.



We finished the day taking walk through a local neighborhood known as "Candy Cane Lane." The residents decorate their homes and yards with lights and it's quite a production. It's become a fundraiser for the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer and is really fun. We went with my brother and his family. Kate had a ball bounding the through the snow with her cousins. It was all fun & games until we saw the dreaded...scary...hideous...annoying Santa Clause. Kate loudly announced, "I NO like Santa" and demanded to be carried. Even after we had left him blocks behind us, she was giving us a litany of reasons why Santa was bad.

I don't think there will be any "Ho-Ho-Ho-Sit-on-Santa's-Lap-Photos" this year...

Newest Calvin Klein Model

Abs of steel.

You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up...

Sam is recovering from his first case of the stomach flu, so he's being laying low over the past 24 hours. Kate, however, is in rare form. It started when I got home from work today and she put on the black down coat I had been wearing. She then announced to me that she was a "dorilla" (gorrilla). The next thing I knew she reappeared wearing the flamingo hat that she had just gotten from Aunt Regina. She's ready to tackle the 3-5 inches of snow we're expecting tonight.




After supper we headed upstairs to take a bath. Since she's really into dressing up, I turned around and found her wearing my sports bra like a really bad thong-style swimming suit. She was so proud.

We finished our bath, combed our hair and spend some time playing before going to bed. When we asked her to go up the stairs she exploded into tears with droplets shooting out of her eyes. It took awhile, but we got her calmed down enough to tell us what was wrong. She said, "I need Daddy to carry me." When we finally got her to tell us why she said, "Because my leg is broken!"

A Brief Rant...

I'm a news junkie. I can't help myself. Steve makes fun of me because I enjoy reading newspapers, checking news out on the web and watching the news. It's like a hobby.

So, last night I was watching the local Fox station and became mildly annoyed by one of the stories. They were reporting on the move in Congress to pass legislation to regulate junk food in schools. This would include limiting vending machines, removing some food from menus and reducing the amount of transfats in the food. While I think Congress certainly has bigger fish to fry (or broil in this case), that wasn't my main frustration.

The reporter interviewed an expert who made the following statement. "One out of every three babies born in America today will contract obesity." What? Since when has obesity become a communicable disease? One can contract Tb, hepatitis C and even the common cold, but one does not contract obesity. It's not like if you sit next to a person with a BMI over 30 on an airplane your risk for gaining weight increases. If one happens to be a room surrounded by 15,000 calories of cookies, they're not going to morph into adipose if you get too close. There are no antibiotics to cure it or vaccinations to prevent it.

I think this points to the medicalization of certain problems in society, including obesity. It's not that there isn't a medical or genetic component to weight, but it's not as though we are all powerless victims of this sweeping epidemic with no way to prevent it or cure it. If we believe that, then we can abdicate personal responsibility and look for another way to treat our problems...maybe we can look for a pill or something. (Preferably a generic that our insurance will cover without a co-pay.)
In reality, we're not tied down in front of our T.V.'s and video games, force fed processed foods and locked out of the local fitness club. We live in a society that allows for freedom of choice...and some choices are better than others. Some choices taste better than others. Some choices are easier than others. But we have choices and we they are our responsibility to make.

I made some poor ones today...a few too many cookies and M&M's. I won't do that again tomorrow and I'll put a little extra into my spin class tomorrow to pay for it. However, if I've contracted obesity...why bother? Why not just sit down, flip on the news and eat another bowl of ice cream.

Architect in the Making...

Kate was beside herself when I brought out the gingerbread house this morning. We waited until brother went down for his nap and then brought out the house and bowls of candy.



Kate picked out the colors for the windows and loved helping make the M&M pathway to the door. (Of course she had to sample the M&M's for quality!)



When we finally exhausted our supply of frosting, we had to call it good. Kate proudly stood beside her work and announced to her brother, "I made this!!!"



If you don't see her on the gymnastics floor in 2016, she may show up on HGTV's New Design Star!

Splashin' Around

Kate and Sam love their "aqua therapy"!

Weekend Plans...

One of my favorite speakers has a quote that often comes to my mind, "Expectations minus reality equals disappointment." Well that describes our weekend pretty well. I woke up Saturday morning looking forward to having a "girl's day" with Kate. We were going to Chinese class in the morning (which is great fun), followed by a trip to an alpaca farm and an afternoon spent building our gingerbread house. We were both so excited about the day.

Chinese class was a great time. We sang, learned more vocabulary (we're doing a unit on farm animals) and made craft project. Kate beamed with pride as she showed her brightly colored cow to her Daddy.

...Our day then began to unravel. It started with swirling snow and slippery road conditions. This brought an end to our trek out to the alpaca farm in the country. (Even with 4-wheel drive we were slipping around.) So, we headed home and Kate went down for her nap.

While she slept, I put the gingerbread house together and got ready for the Kodak moments. ...at least I could salvage part of the day by decorating our house with brightly colored candy.

...She got up from her nap and cuddled into my lap for a few minutes. (I love this part of being a Momma!.) She looked up at me with those wonderful brown eyes and threw up all over me...poor girl.

Disappointment.

We have rescheduled our gingerbread decorating for tomorrow.

Thankfully, she's doing much better and is back to her cheery self.

Scenes from our Roadtrip

We had a wonderful trip to Cincinnati to see family over Thanksgiving. The parental units were somewhat concerned about their children's response to being confined in their carseats, but it went very well. Kate and Sam were intermittently amusing themselves or sleeping.

Steve's brother and sister-in-law were so gracious and we loved seeing them. I came home inspired by their beautiful home and talents...now if I could only find the time...







We only wish we lived closer so we could share laughs, good food and time together.

Making Honey...

We are in the prolonged process of potty training Kate. She's a very bright, enthusiastic little kid, so we thought this would be a breeze. After all, everyone says boys are harder than girls. Lies all lies. Kate is not interested. She is enthusiastically not interested. In fact, Kate is opposed to the idea. She is so opposed that she would rather hold it, and hold it, and hold it. Her records are 9 hours of holding pee and 3 days for holding her poop.

Unfortunately, her parents are medically inclined and not against using phamacotherapy to get things moving.

Tonight we were talking about her lack of bowel action when Steve asked her if she knew what bowels were.

She replied, "Ahhh, yeah. They make honey..."

She just doesn't get it...arghhh.

It's cccold outside...

We had enough snow fall to accumulate on the car today...I'm not quite ready yet. I think our cat, Pascal, has the right idea!

Sam's Goatee

When Steve was in grad school immersing himself in philosophy he grew and groomed a goatee. He was quite fond of it and he would stroke it thoughtfully as he studied the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche.

Sam also is sporting a goatee...he just doesn't have the same intellectual look yet.

A Weekend Away...

To celebrate our wedding anniversary, Steve planned a wonderful weekend away for us this past weekend. He planned weeks in advance finding a lovely hotel and a fabulous place for dinner. This was the first time we had spent a night away from our kids since Kate joined our family in December of 2005 and it was such a treat!

So we left Saturday morning and the first surprise was lunch. We went to one of the top Chicago hot dog spots! Yup, you read correctly. Superdawg has been featured on the Food Network and it was such fun. We shared a Chicago dog, a thick malt and a few good laughs!



Next came the hotel. He had booked a room at the Hotel Sofitel in downtown Chicago with a lovely view of the city from the 24th floor. The thick down comforters and chocolate covered strawberries were wonderful!





We then walked and shopped and had a lovely time. Steve was very patient as I frantically jumped from store to store trying to cram in as much shopping as I could. He also patiently endured waiting for me to try on countless pairs of workout pants at Niketown...he didn't even flinch as he heard me say, "Do these make me look fat?" 1000 times.

Dinner was surprise number 3. I have been a fan of Chef Rick Bayless for years, so he took me to Frontera Grill for a feast. The food was excellent from appetizer to dessert. We got to see Rick Bayless and I was so touched that Steve remembered that I wanted to eat at his restaurant!

Our evening finished with a stroll along Michigan Avenue admiring the city lights...




It was a fantastic time away and I loved reconnecting with my husband. I am so blessed to have such a thoughtful husband and I appreciate him more than ever.

Girls' Night Out...

Monday nights are popular with Kate. She gets to go to gymnastics and then out for a treat with Daddy. Tonight Daddy thought it would be fun if Kate would get to go with me, so we packed up and headed over to the gym.




She was born in the year of the monkey...imagine that...





When she was given some free choice time, she headed to the beam to work on her routine and dismount...





After a hard workout, it's off to the "doughnut place" for a treat and a chance to see doughnuts being made.





I had to include this photo because the man in the background on the right is the "Doughnut King". Daddy nicknamed him and Kate loves it. When we walked in Kate shouted, "Look Mama! Doughnut King!"