Lost in translation....

Remember the Chinese house in the backyard that we were *hoping* to buy and then looked at several weeks ago? After seeing it, I wasn't too keen on the idea of moving in the backyard - the kitchen is WAY smaller than mine (and I love to cook), the master bedroom isn't as roomy as I'd hoped, the basement is unfinishable without significant work (the mechanicals are right in front of the egress window, so we'd have to move them), the carpet needs to be replaced, and NO landscaping or any other improvements whatsoever have been done. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed, and we decided to stay in our house.

All along, Matt wondered what we could buy it for though... He knows how much I seriously LOVE our neighborhood, and how many friends the kids have here, and ultimately, you can't put a price on that... With all that being said...

Sharon (the homeowner) called me last night. She had consulted with a realtor with the understanding that he'd appraise the house, and she could try to sell it on her own for two months and if it didn't sell, she'd list with him. Anyway, when she told me the price, I nearly choked. Literally I had to repeat it three times to make sure I got the translation right. It's at least 40-50K more than we were thinking it should be, and we weren't interested in that price range.... Needless to say, Matt was laughing in the background, and I immediately had to tell several of our neighbors who also about swallowed their teeth.

So now I have the unfortunate task of telling her that we aren't interested... Numerous people think I should tell her the truth (that the house is WAY over priced and that houses haven't appreciated 50K in 3 years), but I really don't want to have that conversation.... It's just not my style...

Finally!!!!

After *WEEKS* of waiting, my Dyson animal has arrived!! Woo-hoo!! I'm sooo excited about it! Literally, I know how sad and quite honestly disturbing this is, but I literally couldn't wait to get that bad boy out of the box and give it a whirl around the house. As luck would have it, while I was at gymnastics, Matt beat me to it!

While I've been waiting for my Dyson to arrive, Danyel has been nice enough to let me borrow hers, and I must confess, after using it my house has never felt cleaner. The thing grabs up dirt and junk I never knew existed, and I feel like I'm living in a new house again! Yes, I'm fully aware how pathetic this sounds!!! LOL! I must be getting old to be this excited about a new vacuum.

We're back!!

Since Matt was able to leave work early on Friday, we decided to head back to LeMars to visit his parents. We had such a nice and relaxing weekend, and it was good to get out of town for a few days.

Saturday morning we went to a park close to their house, and the kids had so much fun. We brought a picnic lunch and the kids were able to run around and blow off some of their endless energy.

I find it remarkable how easily kids are able to make new friends and adapt to a new environment. As soon as we got there, Katherine went up to a couple of girls and instantly made new friends. It's comforting knowing how well she can get along with others with Kindergarten right around the corner. And my little Caleb... he went up to a little boy around his age and said, "Hi. My name's Caleb. What's your name?" He sounded so cute and grown up! Thankfully, Katherine always includes him so he's never left out and forced to fend for himself.

The kiddos playing at the park --

It was so cute... when Caleb was on this tight rope thing and saw me grab the camera, he instantly started yelling, "CHEESE", but then quickly said, "Mommy, just wait... you can take all the pictures you want as soon as I get across!" Too funny!

Katherine doing the monkey bars. She's been trying to do these forever, and just got the hang of it....

Picnic time!


With Matt's dad back at home...

Matt's mom bought the kids bomb pops (red, white and blue popsicles) which they LOVED. Matt took them outside and had them wear makeshift bibs! Somehow, Katherine still managed to drip blue goo all over her white shirt. Go figure! LOL.

The kids were begging to swim all weekend long, so today I took them to the pool. We ended up going with one of neighbors and then came home and played outside for a while. The kiddos were so exhausted that Katherine slept for 2.5 hours and little man was out for well over three hours. AAAAHHHH, how sweet it is!

This girl has BIG dreams...

Now that Katherine has started the competitive gymnastics program, she can only wear certain types of leotards -- specifically they can't have any type of shorts or legs built in. Evidently, they aren't professional...

Danyel found this fabulous on-line store in which the lady hand makes the all leotards out of a 4 way stretch fabric. So, since Katherine is now going three times a week (twice for regular class and once for her private lesson) I ordered a few leotards for her -- eight of them to be exact.

Anyway... they came in the mail today, and Miss Katherine was just giddy when I opened the box. She was jumping around, laughing, clapping, typical Katherine "I'm so excited, and I can't hide it" moves. She instantly pulled out her favorite leotard and wanted to try it on. Of course her favorite is my LEAST favorite, but isn't that the way it always turns out??? LOL!! It's a stars and stripes one, and she couldn't wait to get it on... As soon as she did, we had this conversation --

Katherine -- I love this Mommy!!

Me: Me too. It looks great on you.

K: Do you know who I look like? (I was expecting her to say Shawn Johnson or one of her current coaches)....

Me: Nope. Who do you look like sweetie?

K: Mary Lou Retton!! I can't wait until I can go to the Olympics too. I'm going to be there someday Mommy...

OMG! I about fell over. Part of me was laughing, and part of me was in shock at how serious she was. How in the world does she know who Mary Lou is, and not only that, but how does she remember that she wore the stars and stripes leotard? And... the Olympics? She certainly is setting the bar pretty high... I'm all about setting goals (like making the team), but the Olympics? Dream big, baby girl, dream big...

Great find...

Since both of our hubbies are out of town on business this week, one of my neighbors and I took the kiddos to Applebee's tonight for dinner. Carolyn mentioned that they had 99 cent kids meals, and since Katherine is all about shakes, we were all over it.

When we got there, we got the nicest surprise. They have a guy come in every Wednesday night and he makes the kids all sorts of different balloons.... everything from princess wings that they can wear on their backs, to a bazillion different hats, all sorts of cool animals, etc.. The kids were in awe. Katherine ended up getting a purple flower headband and Caleb got a super cool hat. It had a fishing pole attached to it and *luckily* a fish was attached. He's in LOVE with it! It was a TOTAL HIT!

Anyway, if you want to check him out, here's his website. Carolyn and I thought it'd be great to have him at the neighborhood picnic at the end of this month!

Rain, rain go away....

This is getting ridiculous... It's been raining here for days -- weeks actually.... and it's not just the rain, it's the bad weather that's been coming with it. By bad weather I'm talking about devastating tornadoes and flooding. If you've been watching the national news at all, you've surely heard about the tornado that hit Parkersburg Iowa in late May. It was estimated to be an F-5 -- about a mile wide and left over half the town homeless. It was terrible. Since then, it's been raining non-stop, and the tornado watches and warnings are endless. In fact, another tornado hit Iowa earlier tonight. Right now, much of Iowa is flooded out... people are losing their homes, their cars, their belongings... The lake a few miles directly north of our house recently let open the flood gates, causing major flooding in the city. The bridges downtown have been closed and many of the roads are under water. In Johnston (where we live) flooding is everywhere. Roads are underwater, fields have long been swallowed up, and public buildings have been closed.

Oh, and the best part... we're going to get hit AGAIN tonight. Severe weather -- possibly a tornado, but at the very least, several inches of rain and strong winds. We can't handle the water we've gotten over the past several weeks, and now more. YIKES! Amidst reports of the water to Polk county residents being shut down, I've filled up pitchers, bottles, and large bowls just to be safe. With two little kids and being pregnant (and Matt gone all week) I've decided that I'm just not in the risk taking mood.

Anyway... according to all reports, this is one of the worst floods in Iowa history... followed the by the infamous flood of 1993, which I didn't witness first hand. I was just a young pup, living in northwestern Iowa and vacationing in California. I remember being in LA watching Phantom of the Opera, and listening to people behind us talking about it. Talk about small world!

Only my son....

So I go into Caleb's room to get him from his "no nap day", and find him with FOUR shirts around his neck. He pulled them out of his hamper and tried to dress himself with dirty clothes.

As I opened the door, he looked at me, smiled, and said, "Don't I YYYOOOOKE handsome, Mommy. It's my birthday today. YEEEAAA! September 14th. My favit (favorite) day!"

He's on fire, and somehow, after yelling about being hungry for the past 20 minutes, he's full and "doesn't need to eat". Great. Gymnastics should be super fun tonight! LOL!!

No nap....

So, I'm not sure what's up with my little man, but he's decided that he's not taking a nap today. He's been in his bed for almost an hour -- he's been hungry, lost a stuffed animal and had to go to the bathroom. Typically, I wouldn't care if he napped or not but....

We've been at Adventureland all morning and afternoon. He went on tons of rides, ran around for hours, had lunch, and played with Ben and Tessa. He should be tired! I sooo wish he'd sleep as Katherine has gymnastics tonight at 5 and then we're going over to my parents house for a BBQ and to hang out.... It's going to be a late night, and the last thing I want to deal with is a meltdown at gymnastics in the middle of a big crowd. It won't be fun for anyone!!

Anyway... since he's yelling "I'm hungry Mommy" at the top of his little lungs, I guess I'll go and get him. If there's anything worse than NOT taking a nap, it's being woken up after 20 minutes.... Wish me luck, and keep your fingers crossed that he doesn't have a meltdown!

Zoo day!

Happy Monday! With Matt gone all week, the kids and I plan to keep plenty busy! Not that that's not always the plan, but this week is going to be jammed packed full of fun stuff!

Today we went to the zoo with Clyde, Morgan and Hannah. There are two new elephants at the zoo, and they put on the most adorable little show ... blowing water at the audience, playing instruments, dancing, etc... Very cute! The kids instantly fell in love with JT, the baby elephant!

The "highlight" of the day was watching the boa constrictor. Usually when we pass by, it's just laying around not really doing anything. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case today. NOOOO, for some odd reason, the zoo decided to feed the thing rats right during lunch time, and low and behold Katherine wanted to watch. I literally felt weak in the knees -- it was disgusting! And as with EVERYTHING else, Katherine had a MILLION questions... It was just horrible!

OK -- since it's late, and I'm exhausted, I won't bore you with any more commentary and get right to the real highlights -- the pictures! Isn't that why you read in the first place??? LOL!!


Katherine is in the pink polka dotted shirt with the sun glasses on her head. This is her "mommy" look! Too funny!



The kids scored the coveted back seat on the train...





After the kiddos woke up from their naps, we took off to a local farmers market and then grabbed a late dinner with my parents. When we got home, Katherine saw a few of the neighbor kids, so we stayed outside playing until around 9:30. So... at this point, I'm ready for bed! We've had busy GREAT day!

Randoms...

Just a few random thoughts from the week --

1. We've had a blast this week. It's our official first week of summer break with no real obligations except to play, explore, and have a blast. Monday we went to the Science Center, Tuesday we went to the zoo, Wednesday we went to Adventureland, and today we went to the pool. Swimming turned out to be especially fun today! We ended up meeting up with so many friends -- the Burkles (Ben, Michelle and Tessa), the Laundervilles (Michelle, Nicholas and Caden) and the Harris' (Danyel, Walker and Ryan). The water was freezing, but man, they had a blast! In fact, they had so much fun, we just may go back again tomorrow. What a charmed life Katherine and Caleb lead! LOL!

2. After talking to Danyel (and watching practice again tonight), I am much more comfortable with the competitive gymnastics thing. Tonight there were 7 girls in the class, and one more that I know of -- she's a little girl from Katherine's last class who is on vacation this week. Katherine is all about hard core gymnastics training versus the "fun" recreational side. She's fine with strength training, the endless drills, the form of it all... To her, getting better is fun, not doing random tricks that look horrible. From what I know, at least half the class (2 that I knew previously, and the other 2 from moms that I was talking to tonight) is going into first grade in the fall, so they're a whole year older that Katherine. Danyel has convinced me that age is irrelevant from now on, so I'm trying to put it out of my mind.

3. A tornado warning sent us to the basement about 45 minutes ago, and we just returned. Thankfully, we managed to move both kids and not wake them up! I'm sure they were so tuckered out from swimming, running a few errands, and two full hours of gymnastics that NOTHING would have woken them!

4. Katherine has an amazing memory. Sometimes, she'll say something from ages ago (2+ years) and remember it in great detail, as if it happened last week. Matt and I just look at each other in amazement. Anyway, since she can belt out the Greek alphabet like a little sorority girl, I decided to teach her something useful -- the state song. Everyone remember this from grade school? It's the catchy little tune that goes through all 50 states in alphabetical order. She had it memorized in less than a day, and now belts it out loud and proud.

Why is this noteworthy you ask??? Guess who else is now singing the song? Nope, not Matt... LOL!! Caleb. He can get through most of it by himself -- all of it with help. I was shocked! He's never heard the names of most of the states, but low and behold, put them to a cute little tune and he can sing them all! For a 2.5 year old -- that's pretty good!

5. Matt is leaving Sunday for a conference in Houston. He'll be gone until Thursday night, so next week it's just the kiddos and I. So I'm trying to think of something especially fun that we can do. If anyone has ideas, PLEASE let me know!

I'm off to bed! We're in the middle of a thunderstorm, and there's nothing more relaxing and cozy than listening to the rain... Gotta love it!

AAAWWWW...

Matt is sick -- he's running a fever, is really achy, and has a stomach ache like no other. Since I don't want to be sick, he's sleeping in the basement, which means.... Katherine is sleeping with me. BIG SURPRISE THERE!! LOL!

Anyway, out of the blue, she just turned to me and said,

"You are the best Mommy in the whole world. I love you so much". Talk about melting my heart. A few minutes later she says, "Can you please turn off the computer so we can cuddle"?

Yep, my dear. I sure can. Have a good night. I'm off to cuddle with my little princess!

And so it begins...

... the start Katherine's competitive gymnastics career. I'm not sure how long it will last, or how long she'll love it as much as she does today, but for as long as she wants to pursue it, I'm behind her all the way.

I was a little unsure about the whole thing when we got there. Three coaches, two girls. I guess there will be 4 girls, maybe 5 in the class next week (when some of them return from vacation) but even then, those ratios (student/teacher) seem really high. It seems crazy to me that they'd have three coaches for 4 or 5 girls.... Right????

Another thing I was skeptical about was the other little girl in her class. Her name is Hannah, and I swear, she looks at least two years older than Katherine. She looks taller, stronger, and just well... older. Here's my dilemma -- Katherine LOVES gymnastics and wants to be in the gym every second she can be, and that's great... BUT, the thought of her being compared to other girls, and seeing how she'll really measure up to her peers is frightening to me. I guess it's the momma bear coming out in me, wanting to protect my little girl (when maybe she doesn't need my protection) but really I'm beginning to wonder if she's too young for all this pressure.

Thankfully, I think Tarry prepared her really well. As I was watching, Katherine was every bit as good as this other girl, if not better, but the thought of her being watched, pushed, and compared to others, quite frankly freaks me out. If I put her in a room of average five year olds, she'd be a stand out, but compared to the competitive world of gymnastics, I'm not so sure. Only time will tell, I guess. For now, I'll just hold my breath and say tons of prayers that she can hold her own.... that disappointment won't fall on her young shoulders... that she'll hold her head up high when she falls, and learn to pick herself back up with a smile on her face and the same determination in her eyes that she has today.... that she meets success with grace and accepts criticism dignity.... that she learns to cheer on her teammates and finds joy in their triumphs..... that she keeps a good head on her shoulders and always follows her heart... that she remains true to herself... and that she always remembers that she has a mom who loves her more than life itself and will always support whatever she decides to do.

Back to Normal...

Life is back to normal, and although it was nice to have a break, I wouldn't trade my chaotic, crazy, spirited life for all the peace and quiet in the world. In fact, I found out, I'm not even that fond of peace and quiet. LOL!

Matt took the kids back to LeMars for the weekend. I was sooo looking forward to some time by myself -- going out to eat with girlfriends, watching movies, shopping, and scrapbooking -- pretty much all the "fun" stuff that's almost impossible to do with two kids in tow.

On Friday night I met Kelly out for dinner at PF Changs and we did a little shopping. I'm trying to find the perfect accessories for my newly "chocolate"painted bathroom. Dinner was great... shopping was not. So I came home with a full tummy and empty hands. Oh, but I did make an Archiver's run (scrapbooking store) so all was not lost. I was able to find plenty of goodies there!

I will say this... as much as I was looking forward to the time alone, I HATED walking into a dark, quiet house. Quite honestly, it freaked me out. I'm so used to walking into a loud house, that it felt very unsettling. So after picking up the phone and chatting for almost an hour, I called my mom and dragged her to the DQ with me. What is it about ice cream at bedtime. There's nothing better!!

Saturday morning my sister came over, and while she studied, I scrapbooked. We had yummy Olive Garden for lunch and then she took off to go shopping and I went back to scrapbooking. I got so much done and it was good to get back in the groove again. Which reminds me... I'm thinking of starting another blog -- nothing super exciting, just a place to post all of my finished layouts and pics of the kiddos.

Saturday night was a movie with Kelly and more take out. Yep, I didn't cook at all this weekend. The most I did was make myself a glass of ice water. Pretty ambitious aren't I??? LOL!

Matt and the kids finally got home around 6 on Sunday, and I was soooo glad to see them. As much as I was happy to get some girl time and scrapbooking in, I was so happy to see them. It's good to have them back and the craziness return to daily life!

We had planned on going to the zoo today, but the rain derailed our plans, so we took off to the Science Center with the Laundervilles. They have a new dinosaur exhibit, which I was sure the kids would LOVE. WRONG!! Katherine was absolutely uninterested in the ginormous dinosaur standing in the middle of room, and took off inside the tent they had set up so that she could play house. She walked around with the canteen (aka purse) around her neck, and started calling to all her "kids". We don't own a tent (as I'm sooo not the camping type) but after today, I'm thinking of asking my dad to put up his in the back yard and having him (not me) sleep outside with them. They'd love it!