Queen of the rails!

One of our annual tradition during Matt's folks' visit is to play a round of the game EuroRails. It's a very involved game and usually takes us 4-5 evenings to complete. We love it though!

This year Matt convinced us all to increase the number of allowed moves per turn so that the game would move quicker. This time we finished it in only 3 nights!

And I'm happy to report that this year's champion is yours truly! I'm now the reigning Queen of the Rails. Matt's mom has won the past two summers and I've dethroned her. Female railway domination continues. :)

The funny thing about our EuroRails games is that we all end up helping Matt's mom because there are so many details to keep straight in order to play. I was her personal adviser this year and helped her with almost every move and strategy. She did much better this year and said she was tired of always winning. :)

We make such good memories together from these game nights. My side of the family does the same with Scrabble and Cribbage. What family games do you play together?

A full day at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens

Much thanks to all of you for your well wishes and advice! I'm finally on the mend and feeling much better. Matt's also feeling more energetic and recovering quickly.

Now that we've got more energy (and the sun has started shining into our previously rainy area), we are jam packing these last few days with Matt's folks. Today we visited the national historic landmark, the Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens, built by Goodyear founder F.A. Sieberling. It's a 1917 mansion built in the Tudor style with expansive gardens, fountains and conservatory.

Since this is the 50th anniversary of the museum, a special treehouse exhibit including 12 different structures was built. As you'll see from the photos below, the treehouses vary greatly in design. The coolest part was that each treehouse was totally sturdy and kid-friendly so Chloe could get out and play.

We had a wonderful wonderful time! The Lord gave us a beautiful sunny day and He helped Chloe to behave well despite a much-delayed naptime. And God protected all those expensive antiques in the mansion from Chloe's curiosity. :)

In good hands

For the last 4-5 days I've been a coughing, sneezing, nose-runny, weary pregnant lady. After taking some useless Tylenol Cold medicine, I decided to tough it out and let the cold run its course. I walk around the house with a constant tissue in my hands to capture my cough and sneeze germs in a desperate attempt to keep the rest of the household cold-free. Pretty picture, eh?

Since I've become the germ-leper of the house, I've been banished from cooking and doing dishes. My gracious mom-in-law has stepped in like a trooper! And besides doing all the cooking, she's also endeavored other household projects. She reupholstered our living room chair (it looks AWESOME!), hemmed some of Matt's pants, and sewed a nightgown for Chloe. This lady is fire of productivity!

My hubby has taken charge of getting up with Chloe in the mornings (since I've not been getting much rest at night), bathing her, and keeping her distracted and away from her sick mommy. He even grilled us a lovely supper two nights ago! And he didn't break any dishes - bonus! :) Besides that, Matt has graciously slept downstairs the last two nights so I could have the entire bed to get comfortable. Did I mention he's battling a sinus infection through all this?

My dad-in-law has been just as helpful. After each meal he pops up from the table and washes all the dishes with the speed and efficiency of a busy bumblebee (don't ask me where that metaphor came from). He's an incredibly hard worker also. Though we've had rain off and on all week, he's taken it upon himself to paint our front porch (a project we've been wanting to do all summer). He takes our portable cd player and listens to an Agatha Christie mystery while he paints. Yesterday he had the back-aching job of painting the bottom trellis part of the porch white. It looks fabulous (I promise to post pictures in a future post).

Last but not least, my Chloe-pie has been a very good girl while I've been down and out. Yesterday though, I could tell she's been missing me. After her nap we sat on the couch and read books for 45 minutes! That's a long time to read, folks. Though I had to keep taking breaks to cough and refill my hot-lemon-water-with-honey mug I enjoyed that special time with her. We'd finish a book and she'd say, "Another book" and hop off the couch happily to fetch one. Then she'd hop back on the couch and snuggle up to me as close as possible, holding my arm around her. After supper we watched a Bugs Bunny video together and during Elmer Fudd's war with the ants, I had a coughing spell which reduced me to tears. I tried to get up for some water and a cough drop, but Chloe protested, "No, no, mommy stay!" and she cuddled up closer on my lap throwing her arms around me. (Matt rescued me with the water and cough drop).

Today I got to stay home and sleep in a bit while the crew went to church. Since I'm feeling a tad better (hurray!) I walked over to the drug store to get them some thank you treats. I'm so thankful for such a caring loving family to care for me while I'm sick!

Hope you all are well and enjoying the blessings of your family today!

Chloe's first ear infection

This morning while Chloe practically choked on her phlegm, we made an appointment to see her doctor. This cold was just hanging on too long and looking severe.

After a very quick perusal by Dr. Kline (the world's fastest pediatrician), he informed us that Chloe had fluid behind her left ear. Antibiotics were prescribed and now Chloe is a happy camper again! I'm AMAZED at how quickly those buggers work! What a miracle drug!

Now the only issue is my health. I've been coughing hard, sneezing, and blowing my nose constantly today. I feel lousy. I'll be forced to call my doc tomorrow if things get worse (I'm anti-doctors for things like this but with the pregnancy I want to be sure all is ok for baby #2).

I think Matt must have felt left out because he came down with the beginnings of sinus infection yesterday. So, we made an appointment for him and he's on some strong meds to get him well again. He's feeling better already - yay!

A trio of sickies we are. Now we're all praying we can refrain from infecting Matt's visiting folks!

Sharing colds

Achoo! Poor Chloe has been suffering from a horrible cold these last few days. She's been on cold medicine for two days and if things don't look better today, we'll be visiting the doctor.

In the last week our weather has turned from summery sunshiney 80 degrees to a cold wet rainy murky muck. I'm sure the drastic change in temperature has caused this icky bug. Any of you midwesterners experiencing the same thing?

I've come down with the cough and sore throat too. Boo-hoo! I'm certainly not going to take any medicine due to the pregnancy and I'm so very thankful to have my mom-in-law here to give me her "home remedies". Right now my throat is enjoying some hot lemon water. Ahhhhhhhh.

Needless to say, we've not been getting out of the house much with all our spreadable cold germs. My mom-in-law ventured out to a yard sale with Chloe yesterday (at which we accidentally shoplifted two little stuffed animals that Chloe had put into the diaper bag!) and that was nearly disastrous. Chloe started crying for no apparent reason and I had to carry her massive 32 lbs. for most of the sale shopping. It was worth it though; we got some great deals.

Stay well and take your vitamin C all of you!

Sheer joy

Matt's folks arrived Friday for a visit and we are loving every moment of it! We only get to see them in the summer time so we relish our time together.

Chloe is all smiles and giggles now that her buelita and gramps are here. You can see the pure joy written on her face. Buelita sings to her and plays with her. Gramps reads and tickles. No wonder she's having such a good time!

Yesterday we had an outing to our favorite cupcake-selling town, Hudson. We also toured the farmer's market and ate a pleasant picnic lunch. In the evening we ransacked our local Joann's Fabric store which is going out of business so everything's on sale. I snagged some fun patterns and material at great prices.

Today was church and that occupied most of our day. Chloe looked darling in a homemade buelita dress and received many compliments on her cuteness.

Tonight we watched another awesome Horatio Hornblower dvd. We are addicted to this series! Ioan Gruffold is the perfect Mr. Hornblower. Has anyone else out there seen these?

Tomorrow's agenda includes the legendary 50 cent sale at the Village Discount Outlet. Woo-hoo! Bring on the deals!

I most likely won't do much blogging this week; hope you all have a marvelous week enjoying the last bits of July!

Company Coming!

We've been in frenzied cleaning and preparing mode the last few days as we have two different sets of company coming in beginning today. I finally feel like everything is ready. I have a lasagna in the fridge, french bread rising, and everything that can possibly be cleaned has been cleaned.

This afternoon my old high-school pal Jackie will be arriving with her daughter (3 yr. old Madeline) and another friend. They're on a road trip to Niagara Falls (who knew we were only 4 hours away from them?!?) and our place will make a good stopping point.

Then tomorrow afternoon, Matt's folks are coming in for a longer visit. We've only seem them a tiny little bit this summer so we're pumped about having them all to ourselves for a few weeks.

All that to say, blogging won't be a high priority for me in the coming weeks. I'll try to post photos of our visits and adventures! Enjoy your last weeks of July!

Do any of you have family visiting this summer? Or any vacations planned to enjoy the last bits of summer?

A baby blessing to cheer me

After feeling flabby and sorry for myself this morning, God gave me an exciting blessing this afternoon. I felt our baby kick!

I was just waking from a nap and laying there comfortably. I turned over to twist my sore back and put my hand on my tummy. Then the baby started swimming and kicking gently!

The baby did much more kicking and poking but it was all fairly faint. By the time I raced downstairs to tell Matt, I couldn't feel the movement anymore. I can't wait until the kicking is strong enough for Chloe to see and feel. What fun that will be!

When did you first feel your bambino move? Do you remember where you were and the emotions you felt?

Resigned

As I looked through my closet this morning (in which I've already hung all my old maternity tops), I realized that I had no choice but to wear one today. I can no longer hide this belly (calling this a bump is only cute the first time around) under regular large-sized shirts. So, with a sigh I chose a white knit maternity shirt to wear today.

I must admit, it is comfortable. I'm feeling that it's too soon to pull these shirts out but my body isn't giving me a choice anymore.

I must be carrying twins.

Two reasons why I love my library

There are scads of reasons why I love our local library, but the biggest two this summer have been the summer reading program and summer story times.

You're probably thinking to yourself, this Alicia is wacky; how can Chloe participate in a summer reading program? Welllll, for every 15 minutes that I read to Chloe, we mark off a box in her reading booklet. After 12 boxes are checked, Chloe gets a prize for the week. (If you're doing the math in your head right now, I'll help you - that comes out as 3 hours of reading a week.) So far the prizes have been mostly coupons to dairy queen or mcdonald's. It's been nice to have those little treats during the summer and we make it a family outing to use a coupon. Also, the investment of reading to Chloe so much this summer is invaluable!

Since Chloe will be 2 next month, I've put her in the 2 yr. old summer story time to get her used to it for the fall. The teacher does lots of interactive singing and action rhymes with the large group of kids. She also reads a few stories and blows bubbles at the end. At home and in the car we sing the story time songs so Chloe is prepared to fully enjoy them at the library. Since she's younger than most of the other kids, I like her to feel confident about what to expect.

Do you participate in your library's summer programs? What kinds of activities are offered for your child's age group?

Here's a video I took of Chloe last week as we practiced her wheels on the bus song. Enjoy!


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Painting toenails and eating popcorn

On a whim I asked Chloe the other day if she'd like her toenails painted. She agreed so we got out my bin of nail polish. Don't ask me why I have 23 bottles of nail polish when I only paint my toes once every 4 months or so (don't quote me on that 23, just an estimate).

Chloe was delighted to be able to choose a polish color and she selected a silvery shiny blue. The wiggle worm of a girl sat unbelievably still as I painted her toes and kept saying "I see it! I see it!" in her primitive toddler-talking way.

Of course this is just one of many Chloe and mommy activities, but this was a special one to me. It reminds me that my little girl is growing up into a big girl too quickly for my liking. And that I need to grab on to these fun moments and enjoy them to the fullest.

Another blossoming tradition Chloe and I share is eating popcorn while watching a movie together (more like part of a movie - I don't like her to watch more than 30 minutes at a time). We only do this rarely, maybe once every two months, so it's become a special ritual for us. Chloe takes her designated popcorn bowl and we both cuddle up together on the chair. Tonight we viewed the beginning of Curious George (way cute flick!) and we laughed together at Georgie's antics. When I turned it off, Chloe kept saying "sit, sit" and she climbed up on my lap to snuggle even though no movie was playing. It was a a precious mommy moment.

What special activities do you share with just you and our little ones?

So far, so good

The transition from crib to big-girl bed was a smashing success! Thanks to all of you for your advice and support. We decided not to do away with the pacifier just yet. After all of your wonderful experiential comments, we thought forcing two transitions at once would be too difficult for Chloe to handle.

All day long yesterday we talked up the big-girl bed and its sheets, pillows, rails, etc. When the time came for bed, Chloe practically jumped in! Then I did all of her familiar bed-time rituals (story, lullaby, prayer, kisses) and tucked her in.

I thought it wise NOT to warn her about getting out of bed. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it; I'm not giving her any ideas. Instead I advised her when she woke up to call for mommy and I'd get her out of bed. It worked like a charm!

This transition was a piece of cake! Next month we'll deal with the passy and start riding the potty train. I have a feeling those transitions will be a big rougher. Get ready with more advice for me on those topics, moms out there!

Needing a new profile pic

I'm in dire need of a new profile picture! This one is from May and it's not my favorite, but it's better than the much outdated current photo.

I don't know about you, but we have a HORRIBLE time getting family photos taken. I'm not very good with the self-timer and Chloe's a super duper wiggle worm who doesn't smile on command (how is she my daughter?!?).

How do you do family photos?

I need some advice, quick!

The Lord provided a FREE (I heart freecycle) twin bed frame for Chloe last week! It's a simple bed but the huge blessing is the drawer space underneath the mattress. Our old home has virtually no closet/storage space.

Now we're in hurry up mode to get her ready for the transition to big girl bed. We bought a new mattress last night and I'm washing her sheets as I type. After we buy some bed rails and a mattress cover, we'll be ready to move her over.

Chloe uses a pacifier to sleep (it's part of her sleeping ritual) and I'm wondering if we should ditch that when we move her to the big girl bed. What do you think?

Any tips or suggestions from you moms who've done this before?

A sewing spree!

Tonight I finally completed my 3 transition shirts. Whew! It feels good to be done with them and I plan to take a much needed sewing break this week.

I made MANY mistakes on this first shirt the biggest error being size. I took my measurements hastily and over my clothes (very bad idea) so I ended up making this shirt an entire size too large. Adding to the sewing adventure were the darts (my first time ever), lining, and ruffly sleeve things. And of course I didn't realize until the shirt was done that I was swimming in it. Then came my not-so-ingenious alterations. All of that totals up to a lllllllllong time for Alicia to get this shirt sewed. I'm pretty happy with the results though. And it seems that I learn through making mistakes so hopefully I won't repeat my errors. I'm usually creative enough to make brand new mistakes with each project . . .



Here's shirt number two. It's amazing how much nicer a shirt fits when it's made in the correct size! I ditched the lining and ruffled straps and opted for Jenny Muth's amazing zipper shortcut. I highly recommend her zipper method; it's fast and painless. Thanks, Jenny! (If any of you sewers out there would like the zippery secret, email me at aliciahorn@hotmail.com) Paired with a new-to-me sweater and my yard sale black beads, this makes a cute outfit.







Shirt number three is a recent 25 cent yard sale find. The neck line was a bit too plunging for my liking so I sewed in a quick modesty panel this evening. Not quite straight but it'll do.




I feel like I have a new wardrobe! I can't wait to wear these shirts out and about this week.

What sewing projects are you tackling this summer?

Transition

Now that I'm in the 13th week of pregnancy, I'm in a self-proclaimed transition. For the last 3-4 weeks I've felt that my size medium shirts were getting too tight around the belly area. After purchasing some large shirts from my local thrift store, I thought I'd be all set until month 5 or so. Well, I'm finding that while the large sizes fit my burgeoning belly better (check out that alliteration!) they don't fit well on top. Sigh. Is there no hope for a transitioning woman?

Reluctantly, I lugged out my old bin of maternity clothes thinking I'd have to bite the bullet and start advertising my pregnancy. I was getting to the point where I really didn't care, I just wanted to be comfortable. After pulling out shirt after shirt and I realized that I'm still too small for actual maternity wear. Another sigh.

So, I had a light bulb moment. What if I sew myself a few shirts that will give my belly more room and fit me on top? One wally world trip and $6 later, I was in business! I just finished my first shirt and am almost done with my second. I'll post modeling pictures (and my sewing adventure story) when they're both completely done.

This got me thinking, why isn't there a line of clothing out there for the woman in transition? The woman who's too small for maternity clothes but too big to look good in her regular wardrobe? If any of you have money to invest in my idea, let me know! We could create a whole line of clothing called "transitions". I can envision it on the racks at Target now . . . .

I've experienced a HUGE attitudinal difference in this second pregnancy. During my pregnancy with Chloe, I was ansy with anticipation at being able to don my first maternity clothes. I was proud of my belly and felt aglow with the privilege of carrying a new life. This pregnancy is a completely different story. Don't get me wrong, I'm still very excited about harboring life, but I'm not feeling the glowing beauty I felt with the first pregnancy. I feel like hiding rather than proclaiming my belly protrusion.

Do any of you feel this way too? What secrets to you have to share for this transition phase?

A fun-filled fourth

No fireworks for us this year (or last year for that matter) but we still managed to have a fun-filled fourth.

Chloe and I headed out early for a local parade. It was a long ordeal (ever notice how much down time there is in parades?) but Chloe got excited about the bands, clowns, and a fellow dressed in a leaf suit. :) And of course there was candy thrown so it was well worth the two hours of watching.

After a long walk to the car while I balanced Chloe's plastic chair (which does not fold up and she only sat on once - that's a lesson learned for next year!) on her stroller and toted the diaper bag, I was thoroughly beat and ready to get home. Chloe and I both crashed for some well-deserved naps this afternoon.

This evening we're off to my pal Melinda's house for a cookout. Even though they only live 6 houses away, we haven't seen them much lately! It should be a nice visit and Chloe always is thrilled to play with and laugh with Melinda's kids. I attempted to make the infamous kraft wave your flag cake. Didn't turn out exactly like the picture but it tasted good!

What did you and yours do for the fourth? And here's a fireworks question for you moms out there: at what age is it appropriate to take your child to see the fireworks? Chloe's bedtime is between 8-8:30 and I doubt she'd last until the traditional 10 p.m. fireworks time. Plus I think she'd be afraid of all the loud noises.





















The best self-taken shot I could get of me and Chloe at the parade this morning.
















My flaggy cake.

This short little video depicts Chloe's excitement about trombones.


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Some yummy recipes

Since our recipe swappers blog has died, I thought I'd share some yummy recipes I've tried in the last few weeks.

The first is an absolutely delicious glaze for bbq chicken which we've used twice now and we've been very pleased with the result!

The second recipe is for some nutritious whole-wheat peanut butter waffles. These are yummy with honey and fresh fruit on top. It makes a huge batch so we ate some and then froze the rest. It's so convenient to pull out a few and pop them in the toaster for a quick healthy breakfast.

Enjoy!

So Easy BBQ-Glazed Chicken

1/2 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing, divided

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)

1/4 cup KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce

2 Tbsp. orange marmalade

PREHEAT grill to medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of the dressing over chicken in shallow dish or resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate 10 min. or up to 24 hours to marinate.

MIX remaining 1/4 cup dressing, the barbecue sauce and marmalade; set aside.

PLACE chicken on grill; cover. Grill 12 to 15 min. or until cooked through (170°F), turning occasionally and brushing with sauce mixture during last few minutes of cooking. Let stand, covered with foil, for a few minutes before serving.

Whole-Wheat Peanut Butter Waffles
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. salt
cooking spray or melted butter

1. In a bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients
2. Preheat the waffle iron. When it's hot, spray its surface lightly with the cooking spray or brush it with the butter.
3. Fill a medium-size ladle with batter and pour it onto the waffle iron. Cook until the waffle is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot with honey or butter and fresh berries.

Chloe sure is trendy

Yes, we've given in to the crocs trend. But unlike those folks who are able to spend $25 a pair, we opted for the $5 Sav-A-Lot generic version for Chloe. They look exactly the same but they just don't have the little smiling white crocodile.

When Chloe and I got home from our Wisconsin trip a few weeks ago, a package was waiting for us. Jibbitz for Chloe's genero-crocs! My mom bought them online and had them shipped to us. What fun! Chloe has a big green flower, a penguin, a lamb, a ladybug, the letter C, and a turtle. (Check out the jibbitz website; you'll be amazed at all the fun embellishments.)

These shoes are so convenient for the summer time! As Chloe's not even 2 yet, she can't put most shoes on by herself. But these genero-crocs she can do totally alone!

I'm curious, how many of you have crocs or generic-crocs for your kids? Do you have jibbitz on them or are they plain?

Dancing Queen

Chloe and I love to watch videos you all post of your little ones. In fact, that's what Chloe thinks the computer's main purpose is. She'll see me on the computer and say "babies! babies!" (indicating her desire to see some babies in action in your videos).

So, to provide you and your little ones with some video fun, here's a cute one I recorded of Chloe dancing to her new favorite cd. The cd is great because it's all in spanish so it's an excellent learning tool. BUT, after 5 times hearing it in one day, I find myself singing these songs in my brain and becoming annoyed anytime I heard the familiar first song (Matt taught Chloe how to work the cd player so she can start it by herself if I leave the cd in the player). So, we're mixing things up and putting the spanish cd away for awhile.

Do your kids have any cds they like to hear over and over and over and over again?

Enjoy our dancing queen!


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The bee that got away

Many thanks to all of you for your positive comments on my spelling chances at our library bee last night. I feel as though I've let you down. I hate to break this to you all, but I didn't win the bee last night. But I could have won the bee, unfortunately, to state it in my hubby's words, I was totally shafted. All because of the picture at left. Let me explain . . .

This year's library bee had only 11 participants and I thought my odds of winning were pretty good. Here's where the shafting comes in. The library guy who organizes the bee is an odd character named Rex. He's an older guy who has an unassuming and awkward way about him. In order to make the bee "more fun" he announced that he wasn't going to just use regular words in this year's bee. He thought it would be interesting to use proper names of musicians, movies, celebrities, countries, and cities in the bee.

Boy, did my heart sink when I heard that he was going to ask us to spell musicians' names. We don't watch TV (with the exception of an occasional Elmo's World or PGA tournament) so I'd be a total loss in that category.

So, the musician category came to my turn and I was given the name Rudy Vallee to spell. Looks like an easy enough name to spell, but I had never ever seen this guy's name in print. Sure, I've heard of Rudy Vallee and had the vague idea he was a crooner a long time ago but I was clueless as to how to spell his name. I guessed and guessed wrong. I spelled his name V-a-l-l-i-e and was eliminated.

The funny thing was that I knew how to spell every single word given at the bee! Grrrr. Another fishy thing was that the older gentleman who won the bee actually misspelled two different words on his first tries. But Rex wasn't paying very close attention and he asked him to repeat his spelling and the gent spelled the words correctly on his second attempts.

Oh well, Matt says next year's my year to take it all. And I'm truly glad this older fellow won, he was so pleased and proud looking when we all clapped for him. I felt much better about my spelling loss after Matt treated me to a Marx brother's movie night (A Night in Casablanca - hilarious!) along with some yummy buttery popcorn.

A memorable experience

[Warning: this is a long story, but I promise it will be worth the reading!]
Last week when my mom treated me to a day in Chicago, we also attended a newish musical, "Spelling Bee". It's about six very different, very oddball kids competing in their county spelling bee.

So, we arrived at the theater lobby a bit early and were admiring the decorations which made me feel as though I had walked into a middle school hallway. Amidst posters and pictures, there were two desks with a sign above reading "Think you can spell? Sign up here!". I assumed this was a part of the lobby ambiance. But we soon discovered it was for real. So, my mom and I headed over to the table and I filled out a questionnaire with a worker. According to the theater worker who questioned me, they would choose 4 different audience members to go on stage for the performance to spell with the actors! 20 minutes before curtain time, they announced the 4 specially chosen folks - and my name was not called. Bummer. But, the last fellow whose name was called didn't show so they called the next name on their list - ME!

After some private prepping (in which we were told we HAD to ask for a definition and use in a sentence for each word we were given - regardless of whether we knew the word or not), I returned to my seat next to my mom all a flutter with nervous excitement. About 5 minutes into the show, the female teacher who was moderating the bee asked for the four spellers who hadn't yet signed in to come to the front (that was our cue). We received official numbers and pins and then we took our seats amongst the actors on the onstage bleachers.

The musical proceeded and the acting and singing went on all around us! In the midst of all of this, spellers were called up to the microphone at the front of the stage to spell words - audience members right in the mix with the actors. The first audience member (a very nice older lady) was knocked out on the word pakapu and as she left the stage, she was comforted by the "comfort counselor" (a big black man who gave out juice boxes and hugs to disqualified spellers).

The next two audience members had reasonable words (jihad and Mexicans) so I wasn't sure what to expect when my name was called. I got the word cow. Yes, that's right COW! Needless-to-say, I felt like a complete dolt (especially when asking for a definition and sentence!). The moment went something like this . . . .

Vice-principal: "Miss Horn"
Teacher: "Miss Horn would like to thank her Aunt Lena and Uncle French for their support."
Vice-principal: "Miss Horn, your word is cow."
Me: "Cow? Could I have a definition please?"
Vice-principal: (exasperated) "The definition is a COW."
Me: "Would you use that in a sentence please?"
Vice-principal: (even more exasperated) "Please spell cow."

The audience laughed hysterically and I spelled cow correctly!

After more words, songs, and dances in which the actors moved us along (like cows) and whispered to us what to do, it was my turn to spell again. My next word was gremial. I spelled it correctly though I hadn't ever heard of it before. It means a cloth placed on a bishop's lap while he gives mass.

More singing and dancing takes place. By this time the other two audience members have both been eliminated.

I get called up again, this time my word is katerjoons (meaning unknown but coming from the old english). I spelled katerjoons right by merely guessing based on its origin. I was pumped! I go back to sit in my spot on the bleachers when the vice-principal calls me up again. Ok, I'm thinking, that's weird because they never call the same person twice in a row. Something fishy is going on here . . .

My next word was xerophilous (meaning growing in or adapting to dry, hot regions). You probably won't believe me, but I really did spell that crazy word correctly too! I was on a spelling roll! I walked back to my seat grinning widely and with spelling adrenaline coursing through me.

Imagine my surprise when the vp called me up yet again! Three words in a row?!? C'mon, now! Then it hit me: they need to get me off stage so they can go on with the show. They're TRYING to eliminate me! But I wasn't going down without a fight.

The next word the vp hit me with was the ridiculous word lysergicaciddiethylamide. That's when my spelling adrenaline disappeared. I was completely floored so I stuttered, "Um, l-i (ding)" That little ding (signifying my misspelling) was such a relief!

I collected my juice box, a hug, and a song from the intimidating-looking comfort counselor and walked back to my seat. As I left the stage, I heard the actors singing "goodbye, goodbye!" to me. They seemed a bit loud. I turned around and saw they were following me offstage and to my seat! They came right up to my chair and surrounded me (one actress sat on my mom's lap) and serenaded me with goodbyes.

Whew! As the show continued, I felt very glad to be in my seat where NO ONE was looking at me. We laughed all the way home retelling the words and funny instances of the show. The cutest part was when we were leaving the show, a few little girls came up to me and told me what a good job I did. That was the cutest!

Thanks for enduring this uber-long post for my silly story. I thought it would be appropriate to post now as tomorrow evening I'm enrolled in our library's adult spelling bee. Hopefully my spelling adrenaline will come to my aid!

A huge accomplishment!

Today I returned the book Bleak House to our local library because (drumroll please) . . . . .

I FINISHED READING IT!

I first checked it out about 8 months ago and have been chipping away at its 836 pages ever since. I felt elated and melancholy as I finished the last few chapters last night. Indeed, I was thoroughly caught up in the story (Esther being a most endearing character) and I voraciously read the lines, weeping (Dickens is the only poetic fellow to make me cry over his words!) and laughing as it concluded.

At the library this morning, I said goodbye to my constant friend of the last 8 months. The friend that I've checked out and renewed countless times. The friend that I got lost in during a bath or stayed up too late reading. Sigh.

What books are you reading right now?

Health updates

I have GREAT news to report on both my sis-in-law, Beth, and my friend's baby girl, Charis. Much thanks to all of you that prayed for them! God has answered the prayers of many and has healed in truly miraculous ways.

As for Beth, she's gone through one round of chemotherapy and her body is responding well to the treatment. She's had a few bad days where she needs to take it easy and rest, but overall she's very upbeat and energetic. During our family trip to the zoo, she was so incredibly positive and sociable it astounded me! She still has 4 more rounds of chemo (the next will be on Wednesday) so keep on praying that God will grant her strength of body and spirit.




Baby Charis' story a truly remarkable one. I won't go into all the details of her surgeries and ordeals in the hospital but it's a genuine miracle to see how God protected this sweet little girl. The heart transplant went extremely well and though the heart she received was bigger than anticipated (it came from an 18 lb. baby), that turned out to be a very good thing. Charis' new heart is incredibly strong and beats quickly. In fact, it began beating on its own as it was sewn into her body! Charis is home now after only 4 weeks in the hospital. As you can see from the picture at left, she's a healthy looking gal! She looks like any other regular little 1 month old. Charis has to be given 15 meds a day and her family has to be extraordinarily careful about germs and illness as she'll be taking immuno-suppressants for her entire life.




I can't thank you all enough for praying with us! I'll keep you posted on both of these precious ladies.

Too much to report

Hello, all! It seems like ages since I've blogged. Forgive me for taking a few much-needed recuperation days since we arrived home. Our trip to Wisconsin last week totally wiped me out. Seems like I've been sleeping non-stop since Monday.

We had a splendiferous time in Wisconsin visiting all sorts of family and friends! I won't bore you with all the details, but will post a slideshow for your easy-peasy viewing pleasure. I always find a vacation is easier to explain with photos.

Here's a brief run-down of all we did (you'll see why I was so tired after reading this!) . . .

• Tuesday: arrived, spent the day with nana, out to eat with gramma and played at a park
• Wednesday: out to breakfast with friends from concordia university (my part-time employer), visited concordia campus, went to chicago with my mom for shopping and an evening show (just WAIT 'til you hear the funny story about my onstage performance!)
  
• Thursday: spent morning with Trinity Hindman and boys, out to dinner with my mom, scrabble game with my mom
  
• Friday: visited friends in west bend, out to dinner with my mom
  
• Saturday: Milwaukee ZOO! with my mom, met up with Beth & family, webcammed with my sister
  
• Sunday: enjoyed Lake Michigan, lunched at whole foods market, visited & supped with nana, flew home to Ohio

Ok, I guess that wasn't horribly much but for an 11 week prego, it was rough. Chloe didn't always think she needed a nap even though I was always ready to! :) Thankfully, my mom often did Chloe duty so I could get some extra winks.

Enjoy the slideshow! More reports to come . . .

Home again

Today Chloe and I flew to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (the home city of both of our births) for a 6 day visit to see gramma and nana. Thankfully, the flight was uneventful and Chloe was angelic until the last 15 minutes or so. Then she got the wiggles. But, we survived and God brought us "home" safely to Wisconsin.

We had a long but fun-filled day (and a nap-less day may I add) with Chloe and her doting gramma and nana. Tomorrow will be packed but I'm really looking forward to it - after a rejuvenating night's rest of course.

That said, I'm off to hit the futon! Night-night, everyone.

The pros and cons of cloth swim diapers

Since we are cloth diaper advocates, you'd be right in assuming we use a cloth swim diaper for Chloe.

I LOVE Chloe's swim diaper! It's so easy to use and saves us scads of money since we don't have to buy the overpriced disposable swim diapers.

Here's how it works, she wears a cloth swim diaper for her bathing suit bottom and when she's done, I throw it in the washing machine. I found the diaper pictured here at a thrift store but I've also found them at yard sales. You can buy them new at any online cloth diaper store (cotton babies, diaperaps, punkinbutt, even target sold them last year). I bought her a matching top at a children's store outlet for a mere 99 cents. All in all this suit cost us $1.50.

Don't get me wrong though, there are some cons to using cloth. But I think the pros far outweigh the cons. Judge for yourself . . .




Pros

1. HUGE cost savings! Disposable swim diapers cost anywhere from $7-12 bucks a pop and have you noticed how small the packages are?
   
2. Easy to use. Just rinse them and throw them in the washing machine.
3. Do you see how cute Chloe looks in one? :) Sorry, I'm biased.
4. You're saving the environment from more unneeded un-biodegradable material in our landfills.
5. Chloe is unhindered and un-bulky (forgive me if that's not a word) in her cloth diaper. She can swim around easily and without a huge diapery bottom to weigh her down.
   

Cons

1. If you are not swimming at home, you'll have to take the used cloth diaper home in a plastic bag. Rinsing a poopy diaper away from home is never fun either.
2. I've been able to find at least 3 pairs of cloth swim diapers cheaply but you may not be able to. If you pay retail for them you'll pay at least $10.
3. Cloth swim diapers don't last for unlimited hours as most disposable diapers do. Disposables pull the liquid away from your baby's bum so that she can wear them for a long time before feeling wet. Not so with cloth diapeys!
4. Some public swimming pools have strict rules about what babies/toddlers must wear in the pool. Some mandate disposable diapers.

Cost is a huge factor for us so it outweighs everything else. Please don't think I'm one-sided in this debate either; I realize that every family and home have very different factors to consider.

So, there you have it. Let the debate rage! What do you use for your child?

Strawberry Ice, Ice Baby

One of our cool treats in the summer time is homemade fruit ice. I got this super easy recipe from a parent's mag last summer and it's a keeper! You don't have to use strawberries (though that's my favorite); use anything you have handy. The only trick is the fruit MUST be frozen. You can just use bagged frozen fruit or cut up your own fruit and then freeze it yourself.

We've only done the strawberry and watermelon ice. If you try any of the other fruit flavors, let me know how they turn out.

Enjoy!


Fruit Ices

1/2 cup each, sugar and water
2 Tbs. lemon juice
Fruit of your choice (see options below)

1. If you're not using bagged frozen fruit, freeze chopped fresh fruit on a plastic cutting board or a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. (I like to use a piece of waxed paper on the baking sheet and spray that with cooking spray - makes for easier clean up).
2. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil, then boil until sugar is dissolved. Let cool; stir in lemon juice. Place frozen fruit in food processor and puree while slowly adding sugar syrup.
3. Transfer to container or ice-pop molds and freeze, or eat soft. (You don't have to use popsicle molds, we just use a tupperware container and it works fine).

Fruit:
5 cups strawberries (or one 20 oz. bag of frozen berries)
3 cups sliced peaches (or one 10 oz. bag of frozen slices)
2 cups blueberries (or one 16 oz. bag frozen berries), plus 1 large banana
4 cups diced watermelon
1 cored fresh pineapple (in the container, core removed)
4 cups seedless green grapes
4 cups diced cantaloupe
4 cups diced honeydew

Just like daddy

Lately Chloe's been a daddy-copycat. She wants to paint like daddy, water the flowers, and assemble things. Don't worry though, Matt's paintings look much better than Chloe's . . .



























Check me out, four brushes at once! Am I a pro or what? (Btw, empty an egg carton makes for a PERFECT paint container).






















As Matt assembled a new fan for Chloe's room, Chloe watched closely and assembled her own creation . . .

















Let's see if I put this on top of the water bottle and then add the cheese grater . . . yes, I think that will do it!

Chloe and her new kitchen

Well, it's happened. My husband has banned me from shopping at yard sales for the rest of the month. Waaaaaahhh! Before you think he's a tyrant, let me explain my latest yard sale escapade this past Saturday which turned out to be very expensive . . . . .

Matt gave me $10 to blow on yard sales on Saturday. I was pumped! After all, ten bucks can go a long way at well-priced sales. We blew most of the ten bucks at little sales picking things up here and there (including a very nice pair of summer sandals for Chloe and a doll baby stroller).

Then we hit the jackpot. We found a huge neighborhood sale in Silver Lake Village. It's a well-to-do area and seems like everyone was selling kids' stuff! Among other things, I found a kitchen set in great shape as well as a practically new winter gymboree coat for Chloe (let's just hope she doesn't grow out of it by the time winter arrives).

The kitchen is so perfect for our little play space and Chloe loves it. It has lots of shelves and doors to open as well as a little knob for the stove that makes noise as though the teapot were boiling. It also has a little baby seat for her baby and a Chloe-size chair. I think Chloe's favorite part about the set is the teapot. She's constantly putting it under her faucet to fill it, boiling it on the stove and pouring it out. So adorable!

What good deals have you found at yard sales lately?
















Making tea for baby.

















Microwaving food and serving her beloved panda.

Pregnancy aversions

So far I'm not complaining about the first trimester with baby #2. It's been great though I've been extraordinarily tired and hungry. Thankfully though, I have the luxury of taking an afternoon nap with Chloe most days. Yeehaw for being a stay-at-home mommy!

Lately I've noticed my first real nausea-creating aversions. Yesterday I made a huge pot of 15 bean and ham soup and I was really excited about eating such a protein-packed entree for dinner. Well, I sit the soup mug down in front of me and I just about got sick. The smell, color, and look of the soup was making me nauseated. Instead I ate lots of fresh veggies and a few rolls for supper.

Aversion #2 is a smelling one. We hang our used towels up in our bathroom when we finish showering. Not a big deal, I'm sure most of you do that. That way our towels air dry and we can use them a few times before we wash them. Yesterday I pulled one of these "used" towels over to dry myself and the aroma of wet towel turned my tummy and started me to gagging! I noticed the same thing this morning as I went to wipe off the kitchen counter with a dishrag. The wetness smell lingering on the dishrag sent me into gagging fits.

Here's a fun question for the pregos out there: What smells or foods are turning your tummies these days? Or if you aren't pregnant now, what strange aversions did you have in the first trimester of a past pregnancy?

Hot days in Ohio

Yesterday the temperature reached 91 degrees here in northeast Ohio! The humidity was high also so it was a perfect day to cool off in the fountains downtown. We met Chloe's library friend Kylea (she's the one pushing the wagon in the photo at left) and the girls had a ball getting wet and playing "together". They're both so funny together. They each get very excited about seeing each other - Chloe said Kylea's name repeatedly yesterday morning in anticipation - but when they're actually together they kind of ignore one another! Classic parallel play as talked about in child development books.




















Chloe was content to let the girls push and pull her in the wagon. She looks like a queen in her carriage!

















Chloe looks goofy in this photo because she's in the middle of talking. Last night we had to stay inside because of some thunderous thunderstorms so we played school with all her animal friends. She got quite a kick out of it!