Birthday "season" is over

Carson woke up yesterday asking if it was his birthday. No, sorry buddy, not for another year. What a let down! After all the build up of a party the weekend before and talking about what he wants to do on his special day and then it's just over. He had so much fun though! We had a normal play in the backyard morning, because that is what he asked for. After naps we went to Steak 'n' Shake where he devoured a cheeseburger and french fries (I did not order him cottage cheese as he is used to....only fries!!). Then we went to the mall so he could play in the playland as this was his original request for the morning, but he changed it after I had fixed my hair and put on make up - love boys - no concept of what we go through to go out in public - guess it starts young!! Then, we ate his birthday treat at the mall. He wanted brownies, but I didn't see the point of making a whole pan for the four of us, so we bought some huge brownies with thick icing at the mall and Delaney had hers gone in less than 10 minutes. Carson ate less than 1/2 of his at the mall and brought the rest home. Car really seemed to enjoy his gifts and went to bed a happy 2 year old!

The rest of our week was pretty exciting also. On Wednesday we went to the Children's Museum with some friends of ours. We got to see the trains, dinosaurs, and take a ride on the carousel. This was Carson's first trip on the carousel where he didn't freeze up and freak out on me. It was very fun!

On Monday and Wednesday we had swim lessons. We alternated the kids in and out of the water in 10/15 minute intervals since the doctor didn't like how Matt's hand was healing so he couldn't put it in nasty public pool water (his hand looks great now, so I'm glad he didn't risk it). The kids did a very good job of understanding that it was the other one's turn and they would have to sit with Daddy for a while till they got to get in again or until it was over. I was impressed with their maturity in this area. I expected there to be tears, screaming, and kicking involved, but it didn't happen.

Friday was full of adventure also. Kevin (Matt's dad) and Matt decided to do some modifications to our deck. I thought I'd escape with the kids, but they did such a good job when Kevin and Matt went outside that we decided to stick around. I was worried that they'd stand at the door and yell for them or knock on windows and distract them. That didn't happen until after they woke up from their naps, then they decided to be "annoying." So, we left and I dropped them off with Grammy (my mom) and took my dad with me to get dinner for everyone. We met back up at our house and enjoyed fish fry food and good company before Kevin and Matt went back out to tackle the deck. The hot tub hole has been made and the hot tub is in it. The new addition to the deck is framed and the wood is sitting on it. However, today it has decided to mist and sprinkle most of the day, so there hasn't been any progress. Hopefully by the end of the week I can send pictures of the completed project. I am going to have to keep the kids out of the backyard until it is done, so I hope it happens fast :-)

I will attach a few cute pictures from the week. Enjoy!

Gretchen

It's only fair that the birthday boy gets a picture sent out on his birthday too! He chose to stay home and swim in the backyard this morning. As of before his birthday nap we are going to Steak 'n' Shake and having brownies for a birthday treat. We'll see if that is still the plan when he wakes up.

Enjoy!
Gretchen

We had a party!!

Delaney and Carson threw a wild Backyardigans party on Saturday night! We had a nacho/taco bar and then they opened presents. They were thrilled with every single one and they have all been played with constantly since Saturday evening. New books have been read a few times, stuffed animals have been cuddled, trains have ran all over the living room floor! Carson has been a fireman and Delaney a train conductor. New outdoor toys have been played with inside (minus the water, of course) because it is just too hot to go out and enjoy them. Binoculars have been used (in the car and in Olive Garden) and puzzles have been done and undone (and done and undone again). All in all, they are both happy and we are excited that they have some new things to do.

The week leading up to the party was fairly uneventful. We had fill-ins for swimming lessons because Matt couldn't get his stitches wet, at least not in a public pool. Aunt Shannon went with us on Monday and Rachelle (a college age girl from church who loves our kids dearly) went with us on Wednesday. Hopefully today Matt can go again. He is supposed to get his stitches out this morning, but I still don't know that his wound should be exposed to the nasties of a public pool...we'll see what they say.

Enjoy the pictures!

Gretchen

Birthday girl!

I thought you would all enjoy a peek at Delaney on her big third birthday. She wanted to go to a new park this morning, so that's what we did!! She also talked about a birthday hat all weekend, so I made her the hat she's wearing last night. I bought the foam tiara at JoAnn, I just put her name and a 3 on it...she thinks she's the queen!!

We're getting old!

It is hard for us to believe that on Monday our baby girl will be 3 years old. Something about that number makes her not seem like a baby anymore. A few of her hilarious stories from this week make us realize that she really isn't a baby. Thursday afternoon she was playing with Little People while I was cleaning up the lunch dishes and I heard her saying, "Your body tensed, your eyes grew wider, and your mind raced." As I peeked around the corner at her she turned her back to me and kept on playing. She was taking the phrase from a Sesame Street book that she loves to read about being afraid of the dark. Then, tonight we were getting ready to leave the house and I was trying to put her shoes on her. We were having a time of it and she was getting very frustrated with me. She slumped herself down on the floor and said, "Mom, this is ridiculous." I couldn't look up at her I was laughing sooooo hard! By the time I did look up it looked like I'd been crying! She's not a baby, is she?!?

Carson has had quite the week. We started swim lessons on Monday and he was ready to go all day long. He woke up from his nap and felt rather steamy, but I assumed it was just from snoozing so long, so we changed our clothes and headed off to lessons. As we were nearing the end of lessons he became very clingy and whimpery. By the time we got home, we knew something was wrong. He went from bad to worse throughout the next 3 hours...he had a fever of 103 and was unhappy about everything. By Tuesday morning when I called the doctor he seemed to be doing better, but I thought he should be checked out anyways. Luckily we went because he had strep throat...yuck! He was totally better by Wednesday morning.

They both did great at swim lessons on Wednesday...Delaney loves to jump in "alone" and swim "alone." She claims to be ready for the class that we don't have to get into the water with her. She may be ready, but we're not!! Carson is still timid at lessons, but he was a wild man in our plastic pool in the backyard. He was in and out and up and down. He fell over twice which resulted in a face full of water and he just came up spitting and laughing. Hope that helped loosen him up for lessons on Monday.

Matt has news - for the safety of everyone in our county, he won't be a fireman anytime in the near future. I say for the safety of everyone in our county because somehow, at his desk job today, he managed to try to cut his thumb off....anyone see an issue there?!? He came home before lunch with 10 stitches. On the downside though, he really did find out that he didn't get the job at our local fire dept. However, after much debating with himself, he did go sign the application to start the hiring process at the Indianapolis Fire Dept. It also looks to be a 6 month process, so don't look for any updates in the near future. He was placed on a list that the three townships he interviewed with will hire from. That list is good for 2 years, so, theoretically, he could get a call at anytime that he's next on the list.

I am off to rifle through the closet of gifts to see what Delaney will be getting Monday. I'd tell you all what we bought her tonight, but some of you can't keep a secret, so you'll have to wait to see the picture of her getting it Monday evening. Her birthday will be action packed with swim lessons and dinner out. She's requested Chinese :-) That's my girl!!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Gretchen

June, seriously?!?

Wow - June already! It doesn't seem right that this month we will have a 2 year old and a 3 year old. Time flies when you are having fun and we have had fun this week! It has been an action packed week full of family and fun. On Monday we went to Meemo's (Matt's grandma) house for "Meemorial" day. She lives on a lake so there was plenty of fishing, swimming, and a few canoe rides. Delaney liked the idea of fishing, she even held and kissed a fish. Carson's attention span isn't quite as long, but he thought it was pretty fun for the first 10 minutes or so. They both swam in the lake. Delaney turned into a fish!!! She loved splashing around with Grandpa Bub and even learned to swim a few feet away from him - wearing a life jacket, of course! The ride home was longer than expected, because we thought that the kids would crash fast from the water and the lack of normal naps (Carson did snuggle up with Chelsea for a shorter than usual nap mid afternoon). However, the trip home consisted of 45 minutes of quiet time while they watched a movie and then a lot of whining, screaming, kicking, etc.... while they, mostly Delaney, wanted out. With the promise of Taco Bell, they quieted down and we made it home without too much stress.

While we were at Meemo's house we talked about Chelsea (Matt's cousin) coming to stay with us for the rest of the week so that I could get my garage sale stuff ready. She agreed, so Matt's dad brought her up Wednesday. I was able to get so much done because she was here. We had a lot of fun together. Wednesday we went to Kohl's and Ritter's (ice cream!!). Then, Thursday night she watched my favorite Friends DVD and we sat and ate ice cream and Oreo's at 11 o'clock at night....very fun! It was nice to have someone else around to help keep an eye on the kids so I could feel productive. I think we are almost ready for the garage sale....still some sorting and pricing that needs to be done, that's where I'm headed next.

Love to you all!!
Gretchen

Friday, May 25

Today is worthy of an update all by itself! We (as zoo members) got to preview the new waters building this afternoon/evening. It was very exciting for everyone involved. Carson said "scared, go away" many times! Although he warmed up to everything after we stood there for a minute or two. Delaney got to touch a shark - yes, a real one! She really didn't hesitate at all, which shocked me. I got to see the jelly fish. Not as beautifully displayed as the ones at the aquarium we went to on vacation, but still jelly fish. Matt got to touch the shark also and see the penguins. They added a new "window" in the floor that you can walk on and watch the penguins swim under you....very cool!! I highly recommend it to anyone in the area.

This week was also a week of Delaney the fairy princess. My mom and I go to garage sales on Saturday morning and last week we found this purple skirt made out of netting with flowers inside of it. She bought it for Delaney and she has worn it for a while every day. She wore it to my parents house on Sunday evening and then to Walmart on Monday. Even Carson has had a turn with it...although Matt has forbid me to include those pictures :-) I also bought her a Disney princess nightgown and she has had to pull out the plastic high heels from the dress up box to wear with it in the mornings.....she's so cute. She also picked out her new "big girl" bedding at Target this week, but it is a little pricey....maybe a birthday present. If you go to Target.com, you can look at it if you search for simply shabby chic fairytale quilt. At least I know she has good taste!!!!

I am headed off to a garage sale this morning...we're looking for more dress up clothes today, they were a big hit!

Happy Birthday to Clay and Shannon M. - I got one of yours on the actual day and the other one not - but I can't remember which is which.

Love,
Gretchen

What a week!! Delaney has decided that right before her third birthday, she should go back into the terrible twos. I think it is just to remind us how blessed we were for a while to have two children who behaved most of the time. This week has been pretty stressful. I've raised my voice some and even brought out the spanking stick....yikes!!

We have done some fun things this week though. Today we went to the Zoo. We took Grammy to see the butterflies, she'd never seen them before. They were beautiful, although I think just my mom and I thought so. The kids were ready for the dolphins after about 5 minutes of the butterflies. I did manage to get one into the elevator with us, but it escaped before the door closed - lucky us!! I can imagine that the kids would have freaked out being in such close proximity to it and not being able to escape from it.



Yesterday Aunt Shannon came over to visit and the kids showed off for her for a while. Delaney has a song and dance routine which Shannon found hilarious, so Delaney kept doing it. And Carson kept singing the Sesame Street theme song - over and over and over!! We finally started suggesting other songs hoping he'd get side tracked, but they all seemed to lead back to "Sunny days....."

On Wednesday morning I had a meeting at church, so Delaney and Carson got to play in the classroom that Delaney is in now. Carson will be moving into that room in June and Delaney will be moving out, so she took him around and showed him where the toys were and the sticker charts....I think he's ready now!!

I tried to get Matt to type his own news, but he wouldn't so I will tell you all that he got a call yesterday to go for a second interview on Tuesday (4 days from now) at 3:45. He didn't realize that a second interview was part of the process, so I think the stress level is a little higher this time - FUN for those of us living with him!!!

Have a wonderful weekend! I hope everyone's weather is as beautiful as ours!!!
Gretchen

Late, Again

Hello all!! I have no excuse for not sending this out on time, except that I decided to take the entire Mother's Day weekend as a holiday for myself. Friday evening I helped my mom with the Mother Daughter banquet at our church. Saturday we went to garage sales (great ones, sorry Jill) and to a nursery (flowers, no babies) in the morning and then to the mall in the evening. On Sunday, we went to church and then all of my family went out to dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory downtown. Very fun weekend!!!

Last week was a lazy get back into the swing of things kind of week. We did laundry all day Monday, we grocery shopped (with Grammy b/c I still can't do the big trips alone) on Tuesday, and on Wednesday we cleaned around here and made dinner for a friend of mine who had surgery. It was her son's 4th birthday, so we made him some yummy chocolate chip cookie treats. Delaney chose to ice them with purple (which we made) and then Carson chose the green sugar crystals to roll them in. I might have had to sample one just for quality assurance - yummy!!

By Thursday I decided we were all ready for some excitement, so when the kids asked to go to the Children's Museum, I jumped on the chance to be away from the house for a while. We toured the trains, dinosaurs, pretties (glass sculpture), and carousel (which Carson was petrified of this visit) before eating lunch and going home for naps. It was a very fun morning!

While we were at the nursery on Saturday morning, Delaney decided she wanted to grow tomatoes. The lady working was VERY helpful in getting us started. The plant has been named Goliath (it will actually yield Goliath tomatoes, or so they tell me). She is excited to be growing Bobs (Veggietales - www.bigidea.com). So, hopefully, we'll actually see a tomato or two before it's over. I think it has grown already :-) We also noticed today while we were playing outside that we had about 20 to 30 green strawberries. Very exciting b/c for the past 2 years they have been VERY neglected!!

We'll keep you all posted on the tomatoes, hopefully they'll grow faster than I get that kitchen makeover completed!! Summer project, Jill?!?

Gretchen

We're Home

Meemo gave me great advice before we set out on this adventure - "The most important thing to take is patience and a good sense of humor." She sure does know what she is talking about!! I journaled on Matt's laptop while we were gone. I will just cut and paste some of it - all of it would be far too long for anyone with a life to sit and read!!

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Monday, April 30, 2007
We left at our decided time - the crack of dawn. The kids both woke up when we tried to put them in the car. They both stayed awake until 2pm - AHH!!! We stopped to change them into their clothes, then stopped for breakfast, and again at a rest area to potty and play. Later in the morning we saw a billboard for a McD with a new playland, so we decided to check it out…only 17 miles down the road. We stopped there – it was Hickville USA. Matt said it was like being in Cheers, everyone greeted everyone else as they came in. The playland was nice though. We then took off with the hopes of making it to the hotel while they slept - HA - they both slept for a little over an hour and we had 3 hours to go! We finally made it to the hotel, checked in, Matt unloaded the car, and we walked over to Taco Bell for some dinner. After dinner we took a splash in the pool – kind of gross, but it was water nonetheless. Delaney was a fish! She was jumping off the steps and wanting to swim around…impressive considering it had been since last fall that she’d seen a pool. Carson was timid at first, but loosened up and enjoyed LOTS of games of Ring Around the Rosey.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007
We arrived at Grandpa Dick's in less than 2 hours – that was a nice short trip compared to yesterday. Matt unloaded the car and then we had some lunch. We walked to a really nice park and let the kids play for a while. After dinner, we enjoyed a quiet evening of Good Eats and Wheel of Fortune. Then, after baths with Daddy, we were all off to bed. The kids slept like a charm – I was very impressed.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007
We went to the Philadelphia Zoo. We had so much fun. The zoo is much larger than ours and has lots of neat exhibits. Some of the favorites were the snakes and amphibians, the Children’s Zoo where we got to pet goats, and, of course, the ice cream shop. Matt got to eat one of Nathan’s famous hot dogs (from the hot dog eating contest) – he was so excited.

Thursday, May 03, 2007
This morning we awoke to “Carson?.....Carson?” “What Naney, what?” Adorable, but not before 7am. We went to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Patrice’s house. We made it there and took a tour of the house and the grounds. Carson scared me to death by the pond, so we tried to steer clear of it. We ate lunch on their porch and then we took a tour of the barn that houses old firetrucks. Carson made the siren go and he was in awe, and scared to death, of the noise. Delaney did it too, but it didn’t seem to phase her as much. We left there with a totally worn out boy and a happy girl with a dandelion in both hands.

We went to the mall in the evening and ate at Ruby’s Diner. It had a train going around the top and Harleys on display…fun! The food was very dinery delicious. Then, Grandpa and Anna Marie took the kids to ride on the car, bus, truck, horse, etc…. Matt and I took up residence on a bench and observed. It was a nice 15 minute break for us.

Friday, May 04, 2007
After breakfast we took off to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. Wow – it was awesome and I’m an adult. We got to see lots of water creatures up close, including walking through a shark tunnel. We watched them feed penguins and saw 2 divers in the water with stingrays, huge sea turtles, sharks, and other littler fish.

For dinner we went to a Japanese Seafood buffet - kind of gross considering our morning :-) However, they had a row of sushi that was probably 25 feet long - Matt loved it!!! Delaney became an EXCELLENT chopstick user (way better than her mommy!!). She used them for her entire meal. The kids got balloons on the way out of the restaurant and they had a blast with them the whole way back to the house.

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The story ends with a long drive home packed full of patience and a good sense of humor!! We are here now and I am playing laundry catch up. The kids are enjoying having all of their toys and being able to run free.

Love you all!!
Gretchen

slacker, slacker

Okay, for any of you who have prepared to spend more than 10 hours in the car with your kids, you can totally understand why this is a day late. I have been hitting dollar stores and libraries for new and exciting things to see and do. With that said, I apologize for the delay. We are gearing up for a trip to Pennsylvania to visit the "Great Grandparents Grossman." We are almost ready - yeah right!! Anyone who knows me well knows that I perform best under pressure, so, I packed the kids clothes this afternoon and haven't touched a thing of my own yet. As for snacks, they are all bought, and toys, they are divided out in my head, but none of them are packed either. That is for tonight after the kids finally crash (they are taking a bath right now). We will be leaving bright and early (hopefully by 5am) on Monday morning, but tomorrow is full with church, lunch, and then I have new mom's Bible study from 5 to 8pm. Stressed?!? Maybe a little. Excited?!? Very much so.

This week Delaney amazed us with her "growing up" skills. After dinner one night Matt was washing the dishes and I was cleaning off the table. They were both playing in their rooms and it got oddly quiet. I went back to Car's room to check on them and Delaney was "changing" his poopy pants. Only issue was she couldn't reach the wipes or the diapers, so, she had just taken the poopy pants off and then was "talking" him through the process. Cute?!? There wasn't poop all over his room, so it was cute. Had they both been covered, it would have been a different story.

While we were at the store this week getting vacation essentials, Delaney picked out new "big girl" toothpaste for herself. She picked it out by saying "That toothpaste has princesses on it. I am a princess. We should get that for me." Well, okay :-)

Hopefully next week I'll steal some time at the computer and get this out on time - but don't hold your breath.

Gretchen

Matt's Life

Some cool things are happening in my life right now also. As most of my family has been stressing over why I would need my birth certificate, I have just been sitting back basking in knowing something that they didn't. Needless to say nobody actually figured it out and now that I've told Bub in person I feel that I can let everyone else know...

I'm going through the process of what could be a major career change. I'm pretty far into the hiring process of some local fire departments (Wayne & Franklin Townships, and Speedway). Nothing to get excited about yet, but hey maybe more people knowing and pushing for me will be a good thing.

Day Late, Dollar Short

Seems to be the motto of my life this week - always behind!!! This week I was a "working girl" again. Wow, what a different world it is! I substitute taught at the school I left after I had Carson for the K4 class. It was so much fun, but it has put me FAR behind on my weekly "to do" list. The kids got to spend a day with Daddy, a day with Grandpa Bub (Matt's dad) and a day with Grammy (my mom). It was a fun week for them, though a little confusing. I was the recipient of lots of cuddles in the evenings. Then, I babysat a boy from our church on Friday - that resulted in me having to call my mom in for backup because Delaney was none too thrilled that on the day I had finally stayed home with her, I was giving all of my attention to this "other child." Luckily, once mom came, things seemed to calm down a bit and the afternoon returned to normal pace.

I am glad that I didn't force myself to write this update last night, because I have the cutest and funniest story from this morning. We went to the library on Thursday evening and we got a Curious George book about him making pancakes. So, when we read it yesterday I said maybe we could have pancakes for breakfast on Saturday. Delaney woke up a little after 7 o'clock and did her usual screaming for me routine. I went in (in my jammies) and ask her what she needed. She said, "Is it time to get up yet?" So, I told her no (of course I'd love some more sleep!!). She rolled over and said okay. I went back to bed for a few minutes but couldn't go back to sleep so I decided I'd get up and get some things done before the whole house was awake. When I came out of the bathroom she was in bed with Matt. I went in and asked what she was doing in there and she just smiled. So I said, "I was getting up to come get you out of bed and snuggle with you." She sat up and said, "I'll go back in there then." So I laid down in our bed and we snuggled for a while. Then I asked her if she'd like to help me make the pancakes so they'd be ready when Car woke up. So, we went out to the kitchen and she dumped all the ingredients into the bowl and helped me mix up the batter. Then she directed the chocolate chip placement (so we could add smiley faces like they did in the book - of course, in the book they used blueberries - close enough!!). She must have done a good job making them because she ate more for breakfast then I've ever seen her eat before. She had 2 and a half pancakes and almost 2 pieces of sausage - piggy wiggy!!!!

All in all, it was a wonderful waking up and breakfast experience!! Then, the kids were GREAT for us and played in the garage while we did some serious spring cleaning. For those of you who have seen our garage before - it now looks like a one and a half car garage (in Matt's words) because we cleaned out that much junk!!

Have a great rest of your weekend!
Gretchen

Friday the 13th

We had a busy, but wonderful Easter weekend!! The kids had an Easter egg hunt at church on Saturday morning and then we hit McDonald's on our way to Seth's first birthday party My children were total party crashers - tried to open up every present he had - luckily he won't remember it - oh yes he will - I took a zillion pictures of it all. Those bratty cousins of his!!!

Sunday, the kids woke up to find Easter baskets full of books, magnetic letters, and yogos (yogurt covered fruit snacks). FUN!! Then, we got them dressed for church and they posed like little models for pictures (see attachment). We had a relaxing lunch and afternoon naps and then went to my parent's house for dinner.

On Monday the kids stayed with Aunt Jess (and Uncle Darrell until our cats ran him out of the house - he's allergic) while we took our mom's through "the house." We spent the rest of the evening getting them back down from a "time with a non-parent high."

Delaney had her modeling debut on Wednesday afternoon. She is going to be modeling hair bows for my friend's company. So, we got to go to her first "photo shoot." She was a star model. I have to brag on her because I thought it was very neat to see her in a different element and to see how she reacted. We arrived at the studio and the three other girls were already there getting into their first outfits. She stood still while I changed her clothes (all 7 times) and then watched the other girls get their pictures taken while she waited patiently for her turn. The other moms were shoving candy at their girls to get them to behave and then wondering why they weren't - hello, sugar high?!? One of the other mom's had brought suckers for all of the girls and as I put Delaney's into her bag, explaining that she could have it after dinner, she didn't utter a whine (very unlike her recently, and no, she isn't sick!). When we were finished, we needed to stop at Walmart to get milk for Carson, so I told her we could walk through the toy section for a reward (not a bribe) because she behaved because she was told to and I was so proud. She picked out an 88 cent ball - how cute is that!! She also wound up with plastic lunch trays - two, of course, because that wouldn't have been fair to Carson. And, to top it all off, a tshirt that says "Daddy's Little Sweetie" with a picture of a cupcake. I had held up the one that said "Little Hollywood" in glitter - appropriate for the reason why she was getting it, but she opted for the cupcake one instead.

All in all, we had a great week - until tonight (fitting that it is Friday the 13th). Carson is sick, he has a fever of 103.7 under his arm. However, right now he is sleeping tight in his bed - we'll see how long that lasts :-(

Until next week,
Gretchen

Mid-week Update

I feel bad keeping you all in suspense, so I thought I'd send out a midweek update. We are no longer "house hunting." We took some contractors and our mothers through it on Monday and it appears to be in much worse shape than we originally thought. I guess as we went into it the first time, we had no idea what we were getting into, so we didn't see all the little things, we just saw the major problems. After walking through it on Monday and seeing the dollar signs attached to each room, we rethought the idea. The bathrooms (remember, there were 3 and 1/2 of them) would be about $7000 each. The kitchen - $15000. It also needs heating and air conditioning, new windows, carpet, fresh paint - with some drywall repair in 4 rooms, a new front door and trim, new lighting fixtures in most rooms, major landscaping help, a fence, and the list goes on. I am sure our mothers could list even more than we could :-) So, we have decided to be happy in the close quarters we've been blessed with and to make some improvements here. Thanks to you all for your emails of encouragement. I am glad that the decision became very obvious (at least to me) after going through it again - I am sure that was a product of prayer!

Love to you all,
Gretchen

Happy Easter

On Sunday evening I kicked my family out, again. This time they packed up and went to Aunt Shannon and Uncle Aaron's house for the evening. I have heard all about it, from the kid friendly menu of chicken nuggets and fruit cocktail to the movie - The Lion King. There were no scary dreams about this movie (although I think it is much more frightening than Lady and the Tramp). Carson is very excited because his nighttime diapers have characters from The Lion King on them and he never really knew who they were, just a lion, etc... So, now he gets all excited because he can name them.

The rest of our week has been fairly uneventful due to the drastic change in weather. We spent Monday outside enjoying the warmth as we were sure it would change fast. Tuesday we ran errands all morning and then had a picnic in the backyard. However, by Tuesday afternoon, the rain and cold weather had moved in. The rain has ceased, but the air is still brisk. We had to break out the winter coats again yesterday - brrrrr!!!!

We had the opportunity to spend some time with my friend, Jennifer, Thursday morning before her and her husband leave for Kyiv (he is in the Foreign Service). They don't have children and I think she was in awe of what my life is like on a daily basis. It is simply routine to me, but I imagine being thrown into a room with an almost 2 and almost 3 year old is a slight bit frightening.

Funny stories on them both:
Delaney cracked us up this evening as we were getting ready to go out to dinner with my parents. I had told her she needed to hurry or we weren't going to be able to go and she said, "I'm just going to be moody when we get there." She is a woman already!!

Carson has had a silly phrase all week (that I don't even think my sister and brother-in-law have had a chance to hear) - he keeps saying, "Baby Seth, don't tell him." Because I told them they couldn't tell Seth (our nephew) what we bought him for his birthday. However, we watched Seth on Thursday evening and as soon as he walked in the door, what do you think Carson said - "Elmo on it." Sure enough, the present does have Elmo on it!! He doesn't quite get the secret concept yet - so you should all learn an important lesson here - don't tell him what you are getting me for my birthday :-)

Matt and I are no longer boring:
This might classify as the longest update I've sent, but I want you all to be thinking about us and praying for us during the next few weeks. There are a lot of decisions to be made, doors to be open and closed, patience to be tested, and faith to be put into practice - We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. I've painted a very bleak picture, but I think that is just Matt coming out in me as I am definitely the optimistic one of the family. We, very unexpectantly, found the house of our dreams. It is gorgeous (although my description is certainly not going to sound like it). It sits on 1.5 acres (so far, so good) and it was built in 1900. The following link will show you the outside of it (http://www.talktotucker.com/2718204). We decided that we just couldn't let this one pass us by, so we set up an appointment to see the inside. Wow, were we amazed, both good and bad. The house is in "short sale" state, meaning that the people are about to be foreclosed on, so the bank gets to decide if we've offered enough to cover all that is owed. It looked as if the people had not cared about the house in a while and had decided to take anything that really mattered to them and leave the rest behind. There are rooms with bags, boxes, and piles of their belongings (books, magazines, craft supplies, cat food, toys, etc....). But, the house (with a lot of TLC) is perfect for us. It has 3 bedrooms upstairs and one on the main level (we'd have a guest bedroom!!!). It has a living room, family room, dining room, office, and sunroom. We are in love with it and are trying very hard to figure out how we can make this all work. We are going to walk through it again on Monday with the contractor who added the room to our house so he can give us prices on redoing all three of the full baths, one half bath, and the kitchen. Then we will be putting our house up for sale on Monday evening (provided that all of the numbers check out okay during the day). Then, we begin the waiting game. We are trying to remain very level headed and realize that if this is truly the house for us, then it will still be sitting there when our house sells, but it is hard to wait!! We don't think we could afford both of them, so we are hesitant to make an offer on the dream house until this one sells - okay, I've never been this long winded about anything before in an update. I will let that speak for itself.

You've seen pictures of them "playing winter" - here they are "playing summer."


Have a wonderful week and, hopefully, we'll have more news next week!
Gretchen

What A Week!

Someone very wise once told me that "Behind each cloud is a silver lining." We found our silver lining this week!! Delaney was her true self again by Tuesday and Carson learned a very important lesson last week - how to stand up for himself. I think he was frustrated with the constant whining and the lack of attention he was getting because of her demanding so much of us. So, he learned to be more assertive (good and bad altogether). With his new found attitude has come some new found discipline that he, like all of us, is not too fond of. He looks at you with this horrible "I can't believe you just said that to me, and in that tone" look and then says "Tuddle" while throwing himself into your lap. I think that is his way of apologizing. There is no way to capture his adorable way of speaking, email doesn't do it justice.

Wednesday morning at breakfast there was the most beautiful cardinal on our deck and Carson looked out the door and said "wooster." I told him it was a red bird, but now, if we talk about it, he still calls it a "wooster" and Delaney corrects him and says, "It was a red bird." We wish you could hear her saying it in her "correcting him" tone.

Thursday evening was the highlight of the whole week. We surprised the kids when they woke up from their nap by changing their clothes into their Elmo shirts and loading them into the van. We took them to Steak N Shake - a big treat. Then, we drove downtown to the Murat to see Sesame Street Live!!! It was so much fun to see the excitement in their eyes as the characters came onto the stage and began singing. It was better than watching them open presents!!! I will attach pictures of our evening so you can get a glimpse of the joy - we have about 30 pictures, but I thought you all would be angry if I attached that many - some of you would never be able to open another email.

Today they talked about Big Bird and Grover a lot. Carson also talked about going to Pampy's house and watching "Baby Eintein" - that happened over a month ago!!! We can't figure out what has made him obsess about this, but it is adorable. He tells strangers about it :-)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!
Love,
Gretchen, etc....

March 23

This week's update isn't very exciting, as we haven't had a very exciting week. Delaney started getting sick Monday. She had a fever Monday evening and didn't sleep well that night, so we made a trip to the doctor on Tuesday. The doctor did a thorough exam (including a strep test) and told us it was viral and we'd just have to wait for it to run it's course. Tuesday night wasn't any better in the sleep department. By Wednesday afternoon I thought she was on the upswing, so we made plans to leave the house on Thursday. She slept great Wednesday night, so we went to the mall on Thursday. By the time we'd been there for an hour, I knew I'd made a bad choice. She went from whimpering to whining to full blown fit. We left soon after and came home where she quickly fell asleep. Our morning was pretty rough, but she was home with Matt tonight and he said she was an angel - we'll see if it lasts!

Carson learned a new phrase this week. Unfortunately he uses it a lot - "Mommy, stop talking." He has even learned to take a hold of my chin and turn my head so I am looking at him - do you think he has that done to him too often??? He also has mastered the sly "I'm not looking at you" look....he's so cute when he does it!

That's our excitement for the week - I hope next week is full of good stories for us!!

Gretchen

Weekly Update, March 16

We took advantage of the beautiful weather on Tuesday and headed to the zoo. It was so nice outside and the kids were so excited to not be in the house anymore (I was too). They played outside Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. Now, however, it is cold again - LOVE Indiana weather!

Carson has learned a new phrase, "Super Duper Hot." Something on his plate was too hot to eat the other night, so all through dinner everything was "Super Duper Hot." He also learned a lesson about gravity. He was helping Delaney clean up puzzles in her room and when he was finished he was so proud of himself that he lifted it up over his head (saying "Yeah") to show us he had finished. As it went up over his head, all of the pieces rained down on him. He looked thoroughly annoyed and said "Ooops." Then, he sat back down and did it again, without complaining - he definitely is the laid back on of the group.

Delaney and I started "school" this week. Every afternoon when Carson lays down for his nap we spend 15 to 20 minutes "doing school" at the kitchen table. I bought a Pre Kindergarten workbook at a book fair we attended at the Children's Museum. She is having a blast with it! We have done one workbook page every day (see attachment) and we have read a Level 1 reading book. She has learned how to spell her name. She can't write it, but she can tell me what order the letters go in. She can also type it on the computer. On Thursday we were stopped at a stoplight and she said, "Mommy, what does S-P-E-E-D-W-A-Y spell?" I thought that was pretty adorable.

Matt enjoyed a day with his dad, Shannon, and Meemo on Thursday. Today he had an inservice on deescalation techniques - something he'll probably never use (at least not on the job, but possibly with our kids), but they were sure he needed to know it, so he had a rather short "sitting at his desk" work week!

I went to a jewelry open house at my friend's in Franklin. I bought a really pretty silver heart necklace and won a bracelet - YEAH!! Today I signed up for a cake decorating class. I am sooo excited to start it (April 3). Hopefully I'll learn enough to do the kids birthday cakes - we'll see.

Have a great weekend - and keep warm!!
Gretchen

Discovery, March 9

lazing in the "hammock"	cheesing it up

Matt and I designated tonight "Movie Night" at our house. We bathed the kids early and we all snuggled up under the orange blankies to watch Lady and the Tramp - Delaney's choice. Carson slept through the last 15 minutes on Matt's lap (who was also sleeping). Delaney and I stayed awake for the whole movie. She seemed to really enjoy it and only got inquisitive once (why are those doggies still outside?). However, now she is fighting going to sleep because she says the movie was scary. She made a deal with Matt that if she will dream only about the happy parts, then he has to dream about the bad parts....we'll see if that works :-)

Earlier in the week I took the kids to GCA (the school I taught at before Carson arrived). My old co-workers were so amazed at how big the kids are and, of course, how cute they are also! The principal asked Delaney if she was ready to go to preschool. She, very shyly, looked away. That answered the question - not yet. We are thinking about putting her in dance or gymnastics next fall so she will get used to a "classroom" setting. We had contemplated preschool, but it is very costly and I'm not sure she is ready for an actual school setting 2 days a week for 3 hours at a time. I think we'll tackle 45 minutes one time a week to begin with. Sometimes it is hard to get her to go to Sunday School, so I don't need that stress two more times a week.

Matt is gearing up for the start of softball - one month to go. I am not so fired up. If the games are early, I have two choices - go to the game, take the kids, and chase them around the ball park OR stay home with them and have them question why we can't go 500 times. I don't like him being gone at bedtime and into the night, but it does make for an easier explanation - we can't go because you have to go to bed now.

I guess I am the boring one this week. I took the kids to the mall on our way to GCA - Delaney wanted some new pink panties while we were there - anyone who knows me, knows that I canNOT pass up buying panties, so she is the PROUD owner of 2 new pairs of pink panties. She dropped her pants the second we walked into my parents house today to show them off!! I also managed to escape last night to have dinner with 3 of my friends from high school. That was so much fun!! I hadn't seen one of them for a few years. It was so fun to reminisce about our past.

I no longer hear Delaney tossing and turning, so I will assume she has crashed. I think I'll do the same.