Turkey Trot

Returned home last night from Utah. Kinda sounds crazy but one of the high points of our trip was trotting around at 8 am Thanksgiving morning in 24 degree weather for 4 miles. Loved it! Reminded me of cross country days . So great to see Mandy.

One good reason

One good reason not to have your road bike in your family room is bike chain grease is very hard to get off you baby's hands and face.

Thankful for our blessings

Months ago, I bought 3 airlines tickets for the kids and me to fly out to be with our families for Thanksgiving. The idea was that we would buy a ticket for Mike when he knew exactly what days he had off. When the time came, Mike had to get his ticket on a different airline on a flight that arrived 2 hours ahead of us. Since the baby was flying free as a lap child, we made a last minute decision to send her on ahead with Mike. I can't believe how much easier the flight was for me -- I only had to care for two high energy boys. But I did worry about my 10 month old nursing baby being away from me for seven hours with a layover in Denver. Can you imagine the stares Mike got -- a man flying alone with an infant in a sling? Fortunately, Ariel got along very well and Mike earned great admiration and appreciation.

Laundry Basket

I was on the phone and sorting clothes. When I got off the phone I saw Lucas pushing Ariel around the house giving her a ride. Sometimes she was standing and I think she was flipped over a few times. I think these laundry baskets are the best investment we have made. My kids never tire of them. They have literally been used for almost everything. Laura Ann, do you remember basket foot?

Apple Turkey

Tonight's FHE was a big success. We had Rock soup for dinner. It was really butternut squash soup and I discreetly added a good size rock to everyone's bowl. During dinner I read the story Rock Soup out of this months Friend. Isaac especially loved finding a rock in his soup. For our activity we made Turkey apples. It became quite the serious project. Isaac prides himself on being different and tries very hard to be innovative and not have his look like anyone else. Lucas gets distressed when he sees his apple turkey is looking too different than the rest of ours. Everyone was so involved in their own turkey that Ariel was left to her own, roaming the table eating up all the spare candy.

the weekend

After Katie's cute post of the pictures us as a kids in the tub it made me realize I have yet to put my three kids in the tub together. I did yesterday right before church and it was not a Kodak moment, but I did manage a few pictures. Lucas was upset that he was not sitting next to Ariel. He has to ALWAYS be the one sitting next her. Ariel was in the tub first, then Isaac got in, and Lucas was last. Isaac tried to move Ariel closer to Lucas, but Ariel wasn't having it. Tired of all the commotion she decided to try and climb out.

Yesterday during church Ariel's ear drum perforated. She has been pretty good and I had no idea she had an infection. We threw a party last night at our house that turned out to be quite a dud. Here the kids wait patiently for guests to show up to party.

Ariel's first playdate

Yesterday we invited several moms and their children over for lunch. I initially did it for Lucas. He has preschool twice a week and music class once a week. That leaves two days with not much going on, which drives him crazy. There were several kids that came yesterday in the one year old age range. Ariel was LOVING it. I thought she was too young to get much out of a playdate.

Tired

I am dying. Daylight sayings is killing me. Instead of sleeping in an extra hour my kids have decided to wake up an hour earlier. This morning was 5am. It is insane. Not only are we up way too early, but the grouchiness by noon can be unbearable. It is now 8am and Ariel is down for her first nap. Lucas is ready for a nap too, although he will never take one. To look at the bright side of things, I was able to get the kids fed and the house cleaned by 7 this morning. Here's to making it through the day.

It's all Greek to me...

Yesterday while I was in the Target restroom, (I very rarely go to Target with my kids without having to make a visit to the restroom) I had an interesting conversation. Lucas was in the stall and Ariel and I were pacing in front of the bathroom sinks waiting and waiting. Many people came in and out of the restroom. "What is taking forever?" I peeked through the centimeter gap in the stall and saw Lucas' underwear, pants, and shoes on the floor. "Lucas, pick up your pants and put them back on. Why are your shoes off?" I continued talking and instructing him so we could get the heck out of the bathroom. At this point, a lady walked out of one of the stalls and asked, "What language is that you are speaking?" Was she serious?

"English," I said.

"Oh, I know part was English, but what else?"

"Just English," I repeated.

"I was sure you were speaking something else to your son. It sounded beautiful (this is how I chose to remember it when she might have in fact said interesting). I was thinking it was Greek."

We exchanged smiles and she left.

As long as I can remember, I have been told I speak extremely fast, but Greek? Come on!

Baltimore

I used to attend international hair shows or conferences several years ago while I worked in a salon. Attendees would be selected as models by cutting edge stylists to demonstrate their latest ideas. I would inevitably come home sporting a new hairstyle so drastically different than my previous one that I was sometimes unrecognizable. When I told my parents we were in Baltimore for a plastic surgery conference, my mom asked if I was going to be a model for a new technique. My dad got a little worried that I would be unrecognizable when I returned home this time. Unfortunately, nothing changed other than the five pounds I gained from all the good food.

I must share this experience at my husband's expense. When we (Mike, Ariel and myself) got off the plane in Baltimore, I asked Mike where the conference had booked us to stay. He replied he was not sure but thought it was the Inner Harbour Sheraton. I asked if there was a shuttle to the hotel. He had no idea about shuttles, taxis or trains. I was frustrated. After a little research, we found it was probably best to pay the $40 and take a taxi to the hotel. We hauled all our baggage over to the taxi curb, into then out of the taxi, then proceeded to check into the hotel. There was no reservation for Marion in their system. They have no Internet connection in their lobby and Mike was confused, embarrassed, frustrated, and avoiding eye contact with his wife at any cost. Luckily, the hotel manager allowed Mike to go into the back room and use their computer to see if he could find his confirmation code for our reservation. Oops! Wrong hotel. We then gathered our two carry-ons allowed by airline regulations, plus our luggage and our baby in her Bjorn and went outside to walk the "few" blocks to find our hotel. This is what I wish I had a picture of -- us sloshing through the rain with our arms full of bags and baby, dragging our luggage through puddles and walking in circles to ask directions. The best kodak moment was the look of disbelief on the faces of people looking out of their office windows. Priceless.

A Week in Baltimore

Megan Barnhurst and her kids came down from Philadelphia to hang out with us and we had a great visit with them.

Sonic

Isaac teaching Ariel how tp play his DS.

Ariel getting some game time when no one is around.

Isaac and Ariel disagreeing who's turn it is.

Ariel excited after mastering the third level.