My husband - the magician

Merry Christmas!

Dave, Becca, and Charlotte stayed with us for almost a week over Christmas and we were able to celebrate Christmas with them. Christmas morning the kids woke up to 114 gifts. Yes - 114. Maybe we went a little overboard. Or...maybe not. Next year let's add 831 more (as long as the tags say "Gina").  We played a game where each person would draw a number to see which gift would be opened next. Sarah had searched through all gifts until she found one that looked like the monster high build-a-monster kit she wanted. 

It was number 105. She fixated on number 105. She held number 105 and even said "I love you 105". Every time a different number was chosen she made a pouty face. Finally, Charlotte picked 105. After that, she and Charlotte were best buds.

Jenna and Sarah with 114 gifts

It turns out Erik is a magician with lots of tricks up his sleeve. He knew I really wanted this pan. When I opened it I was excited because obviously I love pans! Anyway on the front cover was a piece of paper saying I could be selected as a winner. Becca read the note and Erik said, sure you could win a vegetable peeler but some people win ipads or something like that. I opened the box and there was a brand new phone in it. The phone had a message saying "Congratulations you are a winner!"

I don't know about you, but when I see something that says "I could be a winner" to me that means "I am not a winner". However, fate seemed to smile in my direction and I won a phone!   Erik went along with it until he finally gave it away that he bought me a phone and tricked me. I know...magician.

Happy 6th birthday Sarah

 We celebrated Sarah's birthday on her actual birthday with another caramel cake. I think this will be my last attempt at making caramel frosting. The cake was delicious. The frosting looked weird and was way too sweet. Sorry Sarah - no more caramel frosting for you.

Jenna, Sarah, Charlotte, and Matthew

My new phone

 We loved having Dave, Becca, and Charlotte here. We played tons of games together and even had a hot chocolate taste test.
The hot chocolate ranked as follows:

1. Jenis
2. Panera
3. Starbucks
4. Mean Bean

Mean Bean is a local coffee shop. I made my hot chocolate for them and Becca actually voted it #2. That is high praise considering Jenis hot chocolate is $4.50 and mine is... cheaper.

The kids also played really well together and Charlotte seemed to want to potty train since Matthew has been doing a great job on the potty. On Christmas day he had no accidents. That is my Christmas present!

The four kids left our house in such a state of disarray that I'm hiring Carson. Like now.

Mrs. Shannon

Sarah's teacher made this cute sweatshirt using decorations from the dollar store. I thought it was cute and creative. The lights actually lit up!

The Church Christmas program

Tis the season of Christmas parties and holiday eating. It really is the best time of year. Our church had their annual Christmas smorgasboard and Kids program. The kids sang 4 songs: Hark the Herald Angels Sing, I'm getting nothing for Christmas, Do you hear what I hear, and Happy Birthday Jesus. They did a fantastic job - although I did a terrible job of taking pictures. Jenna is right below the label in the picture and Sarah is standing on the step below her. The girls really belted out the songs, especially Happy Birthday Jesus. They will sing that one on Christmas eve too. The older kids did a skit and a flash mob. I love our church!

Our annual Gingerbread house

The kids Christmas Program

The kids Christmas program from a different angle

We decorated our annual Gingerbread house. Matthew mostly ate the candy but Jenna and Sarah had fun decorating. It's probably why he looks distraught in the picture - he can't eat any more candy. Matthew is also doing well with potty training. I see the light at the end of the tunnel - no more diapers! Yipee!!

We are so excited that Dave, Becca, and Charlotte will be here for Christmas. The kids have gone bonkers with excitement at seeing their cousin. It will be fun to have them here and coerce them to play games with us and do cooking competitions.  My mother-in-law is healing well from her knee replacement although she has been very tired. We will all be at our house for a big party. Or something like that.

During Dave and Becca's visit we will not be doing our Focus T25 workout we have been doing the past month. I really like this workout, however, this break is actually a good thing since my ankle has been hurting quite a bit from twisting it on one of the exercises. The time off will allow me to heal. Injuries like this make me feel old. Wait, where did I leave my walker?

My favorite Christmas presents

Crafts at Sarah's party

On Wednesday we had Sarah's birthday party at our house. 11 kids all running around crazy. It was a great time. Last year and this year we did a game called the "fishing game". We set up a card table with a blue sheet over it. Then made a fishing pole using a clothespin to catch the fish. Erik folds himself up and squishes under the table with a bowl of candy. The kids fish over the side to see what they get. They LOVE this game! Of course, some of them always want to see where the candy comes from and walk to the other side. They see Erik under the table and say "There's someone under there!" 

The fishing game

Sarah and her cake

 We had our last ballet class of the year tonight. The girls have also just started gymnastics. Matthew will start soccer in January. I'm so happy I can be home in the evenings so the kids can do more activities. We were always hesitant to commit to too many things. Erik is still hesitant.  Matthew is currently taking We Joy Sing, and he really loves it. But in the winter time, he will enjoy running around at soccer (it is indoors).

Sarah at ballet, Matthew peeking in the doorway

Jenna's ballet dance

In other news:

1. Yesterday Matthew said "I love you Mommy." That was the best Christmas present (Erik would say having him potty trained would be the best). Last year at this time he said about 10-15 words. Thank you Lord!
2. I was very wrong when I said the Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley was not gripping. I can not put this book down. I love it! I'm almost finished. The book is told from the viewpoint of Morgaine (Morgan Le Fey in many Arthur stories) and shows the reasons behind her decisions. It is excellent and the characters are well developed.
3. I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to our new cat Twinkles. I've been taking claritin but I'm still stuffy. Hopefully over time I'll get used to her. 
4. If I were to order my favorite races in Warcraft 3 I would list: Orc, Human, Night Elf, Undead. I must not be sophisticated enough to play Undead.
5. Jenna went to her first concert The Story Tour on Monday. She loved it!! The concert had many famous Christian artists (including Natalie Grant my favorite!) and told the story of the Bible. 
6. Since going to France I have been making all of our bread and we have tried to cut out preservatives. We also have tried cutting out artificial color but that proves to be very difficult. Then last night we decorated cookies and we all ate a TON of artificial color. So we might lose that fight.
7. 71 points on Quiddler today

Count your blessings

I often listen to sermons when I mow the lawn, clean, and sometimes when I run. One sermon I was listening to talked about counting your blessings. The pastor said, "how often do you sit down and count your blessings. List out what you are thankful for." I did just that. It took 2 pages front and back and I still wasn't done. There are so many things to be thankful for. Thanksgiving reminds us of this, but it is a good attitude to have all year long.

A present under the tree

I'm thankful that my parents watched the kids on Friday so Erik and I could go to a fancy restaurant Vittoria and see Catching Fire. This movie just made me more excited to see the next movie. Although I'm hoping they deviate from the book since I wasn't a fan.

Another thing to be thankful for is my husband.  Lately he has been getting up with the kids in the morning. Since I go to bed much later than him every night - I'm thankful for this! This is not the only thing about Erik I'm thankful for but sometimes it's the small things that add up to big things. He is a very giving person who is always willing to make sacrifices for us.

I'm thankful for my kids. Lately they have been asking to do chores so much. Today I was a little annoyed that they kept asking to do chores. Seriously?? Who gets annoyed their kids want to do chores??

I'm thankful for my job. It's amazing I can work a full time job from home and love what I do.

There are so many things to be thankful for. This is my tiny list, but as I said I wrote a lot.

Count your blessings!

It must have been love, but it's over now....

Picture it....1990. A roller skating rink with colorful lights flashing on the floor. Unskinny bop is playing in the background as red-faced teenagers whiz around the rink. Fake strawberry smoke fills the air as the rink is packed wall to wall with teenagers. Yes. The good old days. 

Kids don't skate for fun now do they?

Yes they do. 

And apparently we do too. 

I thought it would be great fun to take all 3 kids to Friday night meltdown while Erik played poker this past weekend. This was a heinous lapse in judgement by me. As I walked into the rink every molecule in me told me to turn and walk away. It was packed with teenagers. 

However the girls were so excited to go ice skating. There was only one other family there and they didn't have a 3 year old. Imagine an ice rink packed with teenagers and me with my 3 kids. It was a Friday night meltdown (different meaning when you have a 3 year old). Matthew did not like skating and screamed when he got on the ice. So I took off his skates and he ran up and down the bleachers in a craze. The girls had fun, but it took Sarah awhile to feel comfortable on the ice. Jenna took off and had a great time. The Chiller was great and refunded mine and Matthew's tickets. 

While I was chasing 3 kids around an ice skating rink, my mother-in-law had her knee replaced. She is doing really well and is now at a rehab clinic for a week. Then she will be able to go home. She was in a lot of pain but is doing much better now. The doctor said it could take 3 months before she is back to normal. I hope not since her bedroom is on the 2nd floor. I assume she will be doing jumping jacks and running marathons in a few days. 

Walking with a walker

 The kids loved her walker and the bed that could be moved up and down. It was a fun ride for them!

The kids loved the hospital bed

Going to Paris has greatly expanded my waistline. When I go running in the winter I have to bring kleenex with me since my nose runs. This is undesirable. I wanted to find a shorter workout (25 minutes) that would still be tough like P90X. I like P90X but who wants to work out for an hour? We bought Focus T25 which is a shorter version of the Insanity workout by Shaun T. We are currently on day 3 and I like it better than any of the other shorter workouts we have (Jillian, Jackie, Advocare, etc). So we will see if I have washboard abs in 5 weeks.

Maybe then I'll go back to the skating rink and relive my teenage years.

A family of 7

We have a new family member. For the past several months we have been feeding Twinkles and she has lived on our front porch. Erik even made her a little house and we put a blanket in it. Well she came inside a few days ago and the kids are ecstatic! Twinkles is not a huge fan of Panda and hisses at him. So the girls always want them to be friends and lock them in rooms together so they will like each other. Even so, Twinkles seems to be happy here.

Twinkles and Sarah

 Sarah had her first daisy troop meeting last night. I have signed up to be a leader and am overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork and bureaucracy that exists within the Girl Scouts. They have taken the fun out of girl scouts and replaced it with TPS reports. And for every $4 box of cookies the girls sell they only get 60cents for the troop. Yikes.

Sarah's Daisy troop

Tomorrow my mother-in-law is getting her knee replaced. This is a major procedure and we are praying for a quick recovery. She has been so helpful with the kids as I've been really busy this semester. Soon one of my course redevelopments will be complete so I'll just have the courses I'm teaching and one redevelopment. I've also been selected to be on the editorial board for a scholarly journal we are starting. I feel very editor-like. I'm excited that some of the people from our church are bringing her meals. It will be hard for her to go up and down the stairs for a few months.

In other news:

1. I bought a Raspberry Pi and the book Raspberry Pi for dummies. This is something I've wanted for a long time so instead of waiting until Christmas I bought one. Now I can't wait to play with my new toy!
2. Our Coo* book club is reading The Once and Future King by T.H. White. It is a whimsical book (that's my best word to describe it) about King Arthur. I like it but it is not gripping.
3. I'm reading the Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. This is a well written story but like the Once and Future King, it is not gripping.
4. I'm also reading The Gripping Hand by Niven and Pournelle. Again, even though the title might promise otherwise, it is not gripping. 
5. So I like the books I'm reading and want to see what happens but I'm okay putting the books down. The next book I read had better be so exciting I can't put it down.  
6. Erik and I went running last weekend while the in-laws took the kids to chick-fil-a for lunch. Erik noticed that I clomp my feet when I run. I've known this for awhile and have wondered if my bad form will actually hurt me in the future.
7. I scored an abysmal 49 points in Quiddler today

A rainy Halloween

The weather on Oct. 31st was pretty bad. It was rainy and chilly, and I didn't think we would have many trick or treaters. I was wrong. Nothing stops kids from candy. Erik took 5 kids out Trick or Treating while I sat in my toasty house eating Take 5 candy bars. Seemed like a good arrangement.

Sarah's Kindergarten Class

Jenna's Third Grade Class

 The kids had parties in their classes. You will notice the kindergartners sitting so nicely and calmly while the third graders are acting crazy. Not a surprise.  I am the room Mom for Jenna's class and am just a Mom for Sarah's class. For a treat I brought peeled clementine oranges with a tiny cucumber slice in the center to look like pumpkins. They were a big hit!

They are so cute when they sleep

 Last week I went to wake up Matthew from his nap and saw him sleeping so soundly in his big boy bed. He has been talking so much lately and has peed in the potty twice. What a big boy!

Jenna (poodle skirt girl), Grace (evil scientist), Sarah (princess), and Matthew (train)

Grace, Jenna and Abigail's candy loot

 After all 5 kids came back from Trick or Treating the older girls dumped their candy on the dining room table and sorted it all. Then they took what they want and left the rest in a pile. We ended up with a LOT of candy. I'm not sure what we are going to do with all this candy. Right now I'm dipping reeses cups in extra peanut butter but that's just me.

Matthew's preschool class + another class

Brownies

 Today we went to Olentangy caverns with Jenna's friend Paige. The caverns were fun and it wasn't very crowded. The kids had a good time even though Sarah screamed a few times (ie slippery steps, seeing the Indian burial grounds, and various other non-important times). Then they did gem mining which is one of Jenna's favorite activities. Paige came back to sleepover at our house so Jenna declared today to be the best day!

Olentangy caverns 

Gem Mining

78 points on Quiddler today

Peanut butter bread - yum!

Erik took the kids to Trunk-or-Treat last night. The kids can walk around to different decorated car trunks and get candy. It's really all about candy this time of year.

Trunk or Treat

Since we returned from our French adventure, I've decided we need to eat less preservatives. One place we can easily cut out is bread. I've been making our sandwich bread. Homemade bread tastes better and has no preservatives.

Over the past few weeks I've made honey wheat bread (multiple times), brioche, croissants, pumpkin bread, banana bread, chocolate bread, and peanut butter sandwich bread.

The peanut butter bread was a great find on pinterest. It is AMAZING! I love sandwich bread and peanut butter - how much better can you get than peanut butter in your bread. So I made a peanut butter and nutella sandwich using peanut butter bread. Yup. That's heaven right there.

Here is the recipe I used:

1 1/4 cups water 

3 cups bread flour 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup peanut butter 

1 tblsp active dry yeast

It is from: http://dukesandduchesses.com/2013/09/peanut-butter-bread-for-the-bread-machine

Unfortunately Erik didn't like it that much so I have a decision to make. Keep him or keep the bread. I'm not sure which I'll choose.

46 points on Quiddler today.

Travel

Our trip was really the trip of a lifetime. We saw so much and really could have spent another week (month?) in Paris. I loved it so much. I've listed my top 20 favorite sites.

Versailles

Notre Dame at night

The Eiffel tower in the rain

On the Arc de Triomphe

1. Eiffel Tower - more beautiful than I thought it would be
2. Bike tour - riding bikes at night through the streets of Paris was wonderful
3. Notre Dame - Beautiful yet creepy (ie gargoyles)
4. Saint Chappelle - 1100 stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Bible
5. Rue Cler Market - fresh fruit, baked goods, cheese, whatever you want!
6. Versailles - ornate! The Hall of Mirrors is beautiful
7. Boulangeries / Patisseries - Yum
8. Creperies - Yum squared
9. Boat ride on the Seine river - It rained and I still thought it was picturesque
10. St. Sulpice - gorgeous church and even though the mass was in French, I knew what was going on
11. Sacre Coeur - 300 steps to the top and the view was worth it
12. Luxembourg Gardens - Lots of flowers and fountains 
13. Louvre - The sculptures were the best part of the Louvre
14. Arc de Triomphe - A nice view from the top, and you can see all the roads leading out from the Arc
15. Orsay Museum - Impressive Impressionist art
16. Champs Elysees walk - Lots of cutting edge stores and delicous food
17. Shakespeare and Book Company - a fun little book shop
18. Invalides - Napolean's tomb. Much bigger than I thought it would be
19. Latin Quarter - Shops, souvenir places, creperies, and fun cafes
20. Deportation Memorial - for the French victims of the holocaust

After our trip to France I wasted no time coming up with lists of other places I want to go. 

Here is a list of places I would like to take the kids to:

1. Washington DC
2. Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia
3. Sacramento and Los Angeles, CA
4. Maine (esp Acadia National Park)
5. Colorado
6. Yellowstone National Park
7. New York City
8. Mammoth Cave, KY
9. Redwood National Park, CA
10. Niagara Falls
11. Biltmore Estate
12. Mackinac Island
13. Grand Canyon
14. Cape Cod
15. Blue Ridge Mountains, TN

Is there any place I'm missing? Should I take my kids somewhere else (besides Minnesota but we've already been there)

Places I want to visit that I have not been to (not including 48 states)

1. Germany
2. Greece
3. New Zealand
4. Hawaii
5. Israel
6. Alaska
7. Spain
8. Austria
9. Sweden
10. Scotland
11. Australia
12. Iceland
13. Newfoundland/Quebec
14. Denmark
15. Russia
16. Great wall of China and Hong Kong
17. Egypt
18. Morocco
19. Poland
20. Netherlands

This is my bucket list. Someday I'd like to visit all of these places!

I love Paris

Our trip to Paris was tres bien (very good) since I don't know how to say awesome in French.

I posted many of our pictures on facebook, but here is a rundown on what we did.

Oct. 1: Our plane left at 1pm for Paris. We went with Duane and Joy, with whom we also went to Rome. Joy is 21 weeks pregnant and was a trooper with all the walking we did!
Oct. 2: We arrived in Paris at 9:40am. We rented an apartment from Slim (who was excellent!!) and he met us outside of the apartment at noon. We were on the second floor of a windy staircase. The apartment was cozy and we were living alongside real Parisians. That was amazing. Our apartment was next to an open air market on Rue Cler. Here you can find anything you need (cheese, bread, fish, vegetables, fruit). We went to the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champs Elysees the first evening.
Oct. 3: Notre Dame and Saint Chappelle. Saint Chappelle has 1100 stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Bible - beautiful. That evening we went on a night bike ride through Paris that included a cruise on the River Seine. The bike ride was the highlight. I loved it! I'm looking at all the cities that Fat Tire Bike tours offers bike rides to pick my next vacation.
Oct 4: Sacre Coeur and Montmartre. This area seemed less safe since there were several thieves and pickpockets but the church was beautiful. Next was the Louvre and the Orsay Museum. 
Oct. 5: Happy Birthday Duane. We celebrated by going to Versailles. We packed a picnic and Duane packed a bottle of wine. While we were eating crepes a buckeye fell on Duane's head. We were sitting under a buckeye tree at Versailles!! So we got someone to take a picture of the four of us doing OHIO. This evening was Nuit Blanche in Paris. That meant parties until 7am. We walked around and saw people dancing and art displays then we got home around 1:30am. No all night parties for us!
Oct. 6: Mass at St. Sulpice then we took a stroll around Luxembourg gardens. We ate some macarons, went to a book store and just had a relaxing time. At 5pm we rode the Eiffel tower to the top for spectacular views. Then we went to the Latin Quarter for dinner. This was a lively place with lots of shops, creperies, and good French food.
Oct. 7: Au Revoir Pairs!

My thoughts on Paris, France.

I love this city. I could live here. Erik and I talked about renting an apartment for a month and just living here with the kids. I wish the kids could have experienced this culture too. We actually felt pretty safe except for the Sacre Coeur/ Montmartre area. I loved walking around and seeing the city and the people. Paris is clean, easy to navigate (the metro system was straightforward), and so much delicious food!

My thoughts on the people.

They were much nicer than their reputation. We tried (terribly) to speak French but so many people spoke English. Everyone was friendly.

My thoughts on the food. 

We had a lot of picnics (or take away food) since it is easy and we can go wherever we want to eat. We also ate at several outdoor cafes. These are all over in Paris and I loved them. We could sit at one for hours. I think the locals do this!

Escargot - Much yummier than I thought. Duane is always daring (he ordered foie gras while we were there). He ordered snails which horrified Erik and Joy. I actually thought they were delicious! Erik and Joy did try them reluctantly.

Fromage - I thought the cheese would be amazing but it was all stinky. Even muenster which I really like was stinky. I was disappointed in the stinky cheese

Pain au chocolat - Chocolate croissants. They were buttery and perfect. This is normal breakfast for Parisians. A croissant and a hot drink like coffee, tea, or chocolate.

Crepes - My favorite! I loved the nutella crepes and would stuff myself with them after I was already full. Yes they were that good.

Macarons - light yet somehow rich. They came in a variety of flavors and were so beautiful.

Chocolat Viennoise - This makes starbucks look like gas station hot chocolate. I have no idea how they made this hot chocolate but it was unbelievable.

We had an amazing trip and I'm ready to go back. I love Paris every moment. Every moment of the year!

How time flies!

I went to my High School Reunion last weekend. It was wonderful to see people I haven't seen in years. How many years? One of my friends asked if I was going to my 10 year or 20 year reunion. Wow - thanks :).

Angela, Me, Taneia, and Heather

 Seeing some of my friends from high school was amazing. When Susan, Norman and I got together it was like no time had passed at all. The three of us were such good friends in school.

Susan, Me, and Norman

I also got to see my friends who played saxophone with me in band. I don't know if it's like this with all instruments (because all other instruments are inferior), but our saxophone group was pretty tightly knit.

Now that I've switched to online my workload has increased tenfold. I thought on my session off I'd get a break. Apparently no. I'm a subject matter expert for several classes and am doing a ton of modification on courses with tight deadlines. It's been pretty crazy. I feel like I have a real job. Bummer.




Matthew really loves hats. He has been carrying hats on his hands and calling them "hand hats" for awhile. I even bought him a hat at goodwill for him to carry around. Erik didn't want him playing with his "good" hats.

Matthew <3 hats

Speaking of how time flies - my friend Jen was planning on getting rid of her blue chair. Prior to that, we snapped a picture of Jenna and Nicholas sitting in the chair. We had several pictures of them together when they were babies.We had to get a picture now that they are older.

Jenna and Nicholas (1 year old and 8 years old)

I also had this picture of when Jenna was only a month and a half old and Nicholas is about 5 months old. You can see the size difference between the two kids. Although the size difference is much smaller now, they are still good friends.

Jenna and Nicholas in March 2005

WITO

This weekend me and four friends embarked on an outdoor adventure. I attend the Women in the Outdoors event hosted by the NWTF which I believe stands for the National Wild Turkey Federation but I'm not sure. There was a lot of turkey talk over the weekend.

Beautiful Camp Muskingum

The camp was picturesque. It is an FFA camp with 370 acres of beautiful trees and a lake. We had no cell coverage either which is a good or bad thing depending on your opinion. The women in the outdoors event is a 3 day event similar to Becoming an Ohio Outdoor woman. Last year Michelle and Susan came to the BOW event with me. This year Nicole and Virginia joined the three of us. I think they loved it. Since I brought 4 other people with me (apparently that was a lot) I won a $25 gift card to cabelas (that's going to my bow and arrow - shhhh don't tell Erik).

Nicole, Virginia, Me, Michelle, and Susan

 I chose 5 different sessions:

1. Fishing - Nicole, Virginia, Michelle, and I all took this class together. Michelle caught 2 fish but I came up empty handed.
2. Zipline and climbing wall - Fun! Fun! Fun! The zipline is part of their high ropes course so to get up to the zip line, I needed to climb a ladder until I could put my feet on these tiny metal rings sticking out of the trees. That was a climbing wall in itself. At the top, of the tree was the zipline. I loved the zipline! The first time I scooted off the platform (since I was a beginner). The second time I leapt off! The climbing wall was a lot of fun too. I would love to do this more.
3. Archery - My favorite. All I want is a bow now. After an introduction our instructor let us shoot arrows at the targets. After warming up, he put balloons on the targets near the bulls eye. I popped two balloons before anyone else did. I ended up with a total of 5 balloons popped! More than anyone else in our group. I was so excited!!
4. Fish fillet - Our instructor had three bags of fish he wanted us to fillet. I basically spent this class cutting and gutting fish. Then he breaded the fish and fried it up for us to eat. It was yummy. My hands smelled like fish the rest of the night.
5. Tree rodeo - We took a hike through the woods and identified trees. There are so many trees - it made me realize how little I know. I didn't even realize poison ivy could climb trees and has berries. Yikes!

The climbing wall and me at the top

Yes - I'm really climbing it

The climb up the tree to the zipline

Michelle and her fish and lots of sunlight

Nicole ready for fishing or walking the plank

We really had a blast this weekend at this event. This event had several raffles. I entered to win two guns but didn't win them. I thought it would be great to come back with a gun. Erik would send me every year :). Even so - I'd rather have a bow. I did win some hair care products though. Not quite a gun but it is something. 

I can't wait until next year! I guess I need to be a women in the indoors until then.....

Erik's feats of strength

My session off has been spectacular thus far. Every time I have a session off I wonder how I do everything and work too. I've been able to catch up on lots of projects that I've put off (ie cleaning).

We went to the Renaissance Festival on Labor Day and it was a perfect day to go. The weather was nice (a little warm) and it was kids get in free weekend. The rides at the Ren Fest are all human powered. The kids love them! We bought tons of bottled water, cherry and lemon ice, and other drinks to cool us down. Erik participated in feats of strength to see how strong he is. He almost made it to the top! I did not participate - I didn't want to show everyone up.

Ride at the Ren fest

Erik = manly

 We moved Matthew back into the crib. I didn't really want to do this. I am very much in denial about his delays and diagnosis. This is very hard for me. I also blame myself since the cord was wrapped around his neck. Not something I could have done or changed but somehow it seems my fault. Lots of tears shed about this.

Matthew was not sleeping in the big boy bed. Since he could get out and turn on the lights, he was not sleeping - even until 11:30 or midnight! He really loves lights. Since he was not sleeping well, he also stopped eating. That's not good so we had to put him back in the crib.

Books I'm reading:

1. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. This is a King Arthur story and I'm enjoying it. However it is very pro-Druid and anti-Christian. 
2. The Crystal Shard by R.A. Salvatore. We are reading this for our book club. I read it a long time ago. It's a fun read.
3. The Gripping Hand by Niven and Pournelle. This is a good book - just not as good as the first one.
4. Basic French - I need to learn some French before we go!

The book is always better than the movie

I'm free! I just turned in my grades and am all done teaching for 8 weeks! This 8 weeks is going to fly by but I'm going to make the most of it by packing in tons of fun. 

We've had a rough start to the school year but I'm sure it will get better. Getting back into the groove of school after the relaxing summer can be difficult. Sarah is not a fan of lunch and recess at kindergarten. There are many people there and it is overwhelming. Really, she can read and do math better than some adults. What else is there to learn in kindergarten? 

Jenna just read the Secret Garden and loved it. Then she watched the movie with Grandma. After watching the movie, she said, "Mommy, I liked the movie but the book had so much more in it. I liked the book better." Jenna has discovered an important universal truth. Books are always better. 

Grace, Jenna, and Abigail on a ride at the St. Joan of Arc festival

 On Saturday we went to the OSU-Buffalo game. Seeing the script Ohio, walking through campus and eating Tommy's subs always bring back memories. I loved playing euchre all night long and eating pizza in the middle of the night and going to the games.

Go Bucks!

 Erik finished my new standing desk. He bought some maple plywood and cut and stained it for my desk. Then he wanted to build a platform to raise it above my regular desk but we just stacked books on top (very high tech). So my standing desk top is teetering on some books. I think it works though.

I've also been jealous of his dual monitors so he bought me a new monitor and now I have two dual monitors. Yipee!! I love it already.

My new desk

 On Thursday we moved Matthew to a big boy bed. He has Thomas the train sheets and a Thomas comforter. I'm not sure he really likes it but I'm hoping he will get used to it. He has stayed up late playing at night not sleeping. The next step is potty training!

68 points on Quiddler today.