Today we were lucky enough to get out and have our own little pick up game.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
March Madness
Basketball is exhausting and exciting in our household. We don't miss a game.
Today we were lucky enough to get out and have our own little pick up game.
Today we were lucky enough to get out and have our own little pick up game.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Remember when...
Do you remember when you were little and went on a car ride and you stared out the window? And I'm not talking about the short ride to church. I'm talking the 4-5 hour car ride to go on your family vacation, where you camped, in a tent and collected rocks? There was no tv to watch and your mom didn't hand back her phone for you to play Templerun. It was just you and a disc man, a book (or if you're lucky a Teen Beat magazine) and hopefully a piece of gum to chew.
Times are different now.
Before my Grandpa passed away my mom, my brother and I went to interview him. We asked about his childhood and my dad's childhood. He had a hard time jumping through the decades and couldn't give us as many details as we wanted. Don't get me wrong, the interview was incredibly special...but he did mention "picking stones" quite a few times...must have been the one thing that really stuck in his mind. I realize now that he wasn't keeping anything from us. It just gets hard to remember how the times were. Ever since I had kids myself, my memory has been shot. I used to be able to remember everything-all the new procedures and guidelines announced at every work meeting and every little piece of gossip I ever heard.
But now....I'm forgetting stuff. All the time. All over the place. And it's scary.
So I have to write it down. And some day I'd like to be able to pull up my blog and explain a few things to them about life before they were born. Just in case I can't remember....
-Can you believe I went to college without a cell phone? My parents had them, but only for emergencies. In college-I showed up when I said I would, didn't call to tell anyone I was running late or lost and used Mapquest before I left so I knew where to turn.
-I remember when our tv didn't have a remote control to change the channel. There was an icky brown colored box under our tv with a white strip of numbers on it and you moved the slider to the channel you wanted. We only had 1 tv for a long time and no video game console until at least middle/high school.
-growing up we didn't have the Internet.
-We did have a computer once we lived in Wisconsin. I don't think it had a mouse and we used discs. Internet came about in high school but I only used it to chat with random people I didn't even know and never even met.
-When I went to college I had to introduce my friends in the dorm to Hotmail.
-I used calling cards in college to make long distance phone calls to my boyfriend who lived 1/2 an hour away in a different area code.
-Before cordless phones we had the regular phone mounted to the wall with the long cord. If you were going to make a phone call-the whole house could hear to who and about what. We didn't even have an answering machine until probably high school. There was no caller-ID so picking up and saying Hello was quite chancy. Call waiting was the next big thing.
-In college I shared my answering machine with all my roommates. You had better hope they were responsible to write down phone messages and not delete anything on the answering machine. The longer you were out of the house, the higher your chances were that the "guy"in your life would call. Now with cell phones you can see how many missed calls you had and you can save your messages for as long as you want. You can also check how long that "guy" has been active on Facebook, which means he saw your status post/picture too and didn't comment on it.
-There was no social media when I was in high school. Thank goodness. Rumors traveled by mouth only. Much slower than updates posted to Facebook these days. Scares me.
- I don't think I would have survived high school. Girls dress "up" every single day. As an athlete when we dressed up for school I wore black pants with black shoes. That was as fancy as I got.
-Do you remember VHS? We used to tape tv shows if we were going to miss a show. We would actually program the VCR so as to not miss an episode. Then hit rewind and fast forward. And hope nobody tapes over it. Now you can watch almost anything online and most people have some type of technology (DVR) with the option to just watch back any show.
-Who remembers using a cassette tape to record the Top 9 and 9? Sit and listen to your radio and try to hit RECORD at just the moment your favorite song started. Sit by the radio so you can hit stop. Then rewind and play and listen again and again.
-No texting. If you go shopping with a friend and split up-set a meeting time and place. No option to just "text me" when you're all done.
-Grandma didn't get to see babies 1st haircut, first roll over, first meal, first word, first steps, first first first anything until she actually showed up at the door. No video messages, snap chat, instagram, tweet etc.
-Who remembers the library card catalog. If you want a book-you go to the library and look it up. If you want to reserve, you probably had to write something down and who even knows how they contacted you that it had arrived.
-I work in a hospital and when I walk through the waiting room everyone is looking down at their hand or their lap. They have their smartphones out, or their tablet out-reading, chatting, playing, learning, watching.....
-If you missed the big game (or even your local high school game) you waited until the next day to read in the newspaper how many rebounds your favorite player had.
Currently Andy and I are a little behind the times. When was the last time you left someone in your family a written note? "Went for a bike ride" "Went to the store quick". Who even has a pencil in their junk drawer anymore? (I know you do mom!! we do too!)
We do not have DVR. Or TV-O. We watch live or online. We have a very old, slow desk top. We have an aged lap top and an Ipad. We both have a cell phone but they are the cheap 1 cent phone that we can text, call and take pictures with. We cannot access the Internet and are one of the last ones we know in this spot. Even Grandma Barb and Grandma Roeder are ahead of us there. But we are not cavemen. We are able to check in with the babysitter at a moments notice and can let the other know we forgot garbage bags on the grocery list.
My kids still love books and puzzles.
But they know ALLLLL about ipads too.
So times have changed. And it's scary, but fun, and interesting and amazing. And it makes me wonder where things will be in another 10, 20 years. I can't imagine things getting better, faster, easier. But they will. And we will live in disbelief that we ever lived this way for so long. I pray for something that shuts cell phones off when you get in the car so that when my kids are driving I don't have to worry about texting and driving.
What do you think will happen in the future? What did you live without for so long that you don't now-can you believe it?
What do you hope happens? What will make your life better-faster-more efficient?
Times are different now.
Before my Grandpa passed away my mom, my brother and I went to interview him. We asked about his childhood and my dad's childhood. He had a hard time jumping through the decades and couldn't give us as many details as we wanted. Don't get me wrong, the interview was incredibly special...but he did mention "picking stones" quite a few times...must have been the one thing that really stuck in his mind. I realize now that he wasn't keeping anything from us. It just gets hard to remember how the times were. Ever since I had kids myself, my memory has been shot. I used to be able to remember everything-all the new procedures and guidelines announced at every work meeting and every little piece of gossip I ever heard.
But now....I'm forgetting stuff. All the time. All over the place. And it's scary.
So I have to write it down. And some day I'd like to be able to pull up my blog and explain a few things to them about life before they were born. Just in case I can't remember....
-Can you believe I went to college without a cell phone? My parents had them, but only for emergencies. In college-I showed up when I said I would, didn't call to tell anyone I was running late or lost and used Mapquest before I left so I knew where to turn.
-I remember when our tv didn't have a remote control to change the channel. There was an icky brown colored box under our tv with a white strip of numbers on it and you moved the slider to the channel you wanted. We only had 1 tv for a long time and no video game console until at least middle/high school.
-growing up we didn't have the Internet.
-We did have a computer once we lived in Wisconsin. I don't think it had a mouse and we used discs. Internet came about in high school but I only used it to chat with random people I didn't even know and never even met.
-When I went to college I had to introduce my friends in the dorm to Hotmail.
-I used calling cards in college to make long distance phone calls to my boyfriend who lived 1/2 an hour away in a different area code.
-Before cordless phones we had the regular phone mounted to the wall with the long cord. If you were going to make a phone call-the whole house could hear to who and about what. We didn't even have an answering machine until probably high school. There was no caller-ID so picking up and saying Hello was quite chancy. Call waiting was the next big thing.
-In college I shared my answering machine with all my roommates. You had better hope they were responsible to write down phone messages and not delete anything on the answering machine. The longer you were out of the house, the higher your chances were that the "guy"in your life would call. Now with cell phones you can see how many missed calls you had and you can save your messages for as long as you want. You can also check how long that "guy" has been active on Facebook, which means he saw your status post/picture too and didn't comment on it.
-There was no social media when I was in high school. Thank goodness. Rumors traveled by mouth only. Much slower than updates posted to Facebook these days. Scares me.
- I don't think I would have survived high school. Girls dress "up" every single day. As an athlete when we dressed up for school I wore black pants with black shoes. That was as fancy as I got.
-Do you remember VHS? We used to tape tv shows if we were going to miss a show. We would actually program the VCR so as to not miss an episode. Then hit rewind and fast forward. And hope nobody tapes over it. Now you can watch almost anything online and most people have some type of technology (DVR) with the option to just watch back any show.
-Who remembers using a cassette tape to record the Top 9 and 9? Sit and listen to your radio and try to hit RECORD at just the moment your favorite song started. Sit by the radio so you can hit stop. Then rewind and play and listen again and again.
-No texting. If you go shopping with a friend and split up-set a meeting time and place. No option to just "text me" when you're all done.
-Grandma didn't get to see babies 1st haircut, first roll over, first meal, first word, first steps, first first first anything until she actually showed up at the door. No video messages, snap chat, instagram, tweet etc.
-Who remembers the library card catalog. If you want a book-you go to the library and look it up. If you want to reserve, you probably had to write something down and who even knows how they contacted you that it had arrived.
-I work in a hospital and when I walk through the waiting room everyone is looking down at their hand or their lap. They have their smartphones out, or their tablet out-reading, chatting, playing, learning, watching.....
-If you missed the big game (or even your local high school game) you waited until the next day to read in the newspaper how many rebounds your favorite player had.
Currently Andy and I are a little behind the times. When was the last time you left someone in your family a written note? "Went for a bike ride" "Went to the store quick". Who even has a pencil in their junk drawer anymore? (I know you do mom!! we do too!)
We do not have DVR. Or TV-O. We watch live or online. We have a very old, slow desk top. We have an aged lap top and an Ipad. We both have a cell phone but they are the cheap 1 cent phone that we can text, call and take pictures with. We cannot access the Internet and are one of the last ones we know in this spot. Even Grandma Barb and Grandma Roeder are ahead of us there. But we are not cavemen. We are able to check in with the babysitter at a moments notice and can let the other know we forgot garbage bags on the grocery list.
My kids still love books and puzzles.
But they know ALLLLL about ipads too.
So times have changed. And it's scary, but fun, and interesting and amazing. And it makes me wonder where things will be in another 10, 20 years. I can't imagine things getting better, faster, easier. But they will. And we will live in disbelief that we ever lived this way for so long. I pray for something that shuts cell phones off when you get in the car so that when my kids are driving I don't have to worry about texting and driving.
What do you think will happen in the future? What did you live without for so long that you don't now-can you believe it?
What do you hope happens? What will make your life better-faster-more efficient?
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Lego
This was one of the first adventures I went on with just Eli since Hugh was born.
It was incredibly special for me (and I'm pretty sure for him too!) and I was so glad we hadn't pushed to have Hugh there too--it was too busy to chase him around.
Have you been to Legoland?
He's already asking to go back....
It was incredibly special for me (and I'm pretty sure for him too!) and I was so glad we hadn't pushed to have Hugh there too--it was too busy to chase him around.
Have you been to Legoland?
 |
| Do you think Grandma Barb has a crush on Darth? |
 |
| Eli took this shot! |
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| And then they built...and Eli was quiet and serious. |
He's already asking to go back....
Thursday, March 20, 2014
I do it
Hugh is in that age.
It's perfect for tantrums. If you don't let him do it-there is nothing anybody can do. He will be stiff as a board and loud as heck....letting you know that HE. WILL. DO. IT.
I buckle it.
I step down.
I zip it.
I eat it.
The only thing he likes to ask for help is with his boots. He wants Eeeee-yi to help him take his boots off.
His newest goal is to go down the stairs without the help of anyone.
He made it!!!
It's perfect for tantrums. If you don't let him do it-there is nothing anybody can do. He will be stiff as a board and loud as heck....letting you know that HE. WILL. DO. IT.
I buckle it.
I step down.
I zip it.
I eat it.
His newest goal is to go down the stairs without the help of anyone.
He made it!!!
Friday, March 7, 2014
What's been happening....
It's been a long time since I posted a ramble. So here goes.
Hugh turned 2 and he is amazing. He enjoyed brownies and ice cream, brownies and presents-a classic birthday celebration. I loved that he sang along every time we sang Happy Birthday. Just melted my heart that his eyes were big while he stared at the candle and the yummy dessert.
The weather is warming up. Almost all the snow is melted off the deck. I didn't need mittens or the heat on in the car today. But a few weeks ago we played in the snow and the kids had a blast. Eli figured out how to jump in the snow and I tried to capture him but he moves a lot so it is hard.
Pulling out the paints is a big deal in our house. I'm not an artist but I fully believe in letting the littles get creative. It takes a lot of planning-where they should sit, how many brushes and cups of color to use, a cup of water or paper towel to wipe off the brush? I got all ready and just jumped in. Andy couldn't handle it, even after deep breaths-he had to leave the room. But Hugh....he had the right idea.
Or does he?
(Worry about bailee, love both of those girls in the picture)
Did you know Andy has this fun brother who knows how to photo bomb?
And go out and dance with him on the dance floor when he is totally sober. Love it.
I'm still in disbelief when I realize Hugh is blonde. When I see this family shot I can't believe how much his hair sticks out.
Hugh turned 2 and he is amazing. He enjoyed brownies and ice cream, brownies and presents-a classic birthday celebration. I loved that he sang along every time we sang Happy Birthday. Just melted my heart that his eyes were big while he stared at the candle and the yummy dessert.
The weather is warming up. Almost all the snow is melted off the deck. I didn't need mittens or the heat on in the car today. But a few weeks ago we played in the snow and the kids had a blast. Eli figured out how to jump in the snow and I tried to capture him but he moves a lot so it is hard.
Pulling out the paints is a big deal in our house. I'm not an artist but I fully believe in letting the littles get creative. It takes a lot of planning-where they should sit, how many brushes and cups of color to use, a cup of water or paper towel to wipe off the brush? I got all ready and just jumped in. Andy couldn't handle it, even after deep breaths-he had to leave the room. But Hugh....he had the right idea.
Or does he?
I guess all the hand print and footprint paintings he has done at Miss Brenda's house has him thinking painting means painting your body.
Life is throwing curve balls to each and every one of us. All around the world. I try to stay calm with the hard stuff in my life. I try to remember to focus on what I can control and what I need to let go of. It truly is hard.
I worry about this girl and love her to the ends of the earth....
Did you know Andy has this fun brother who knows how to photo bomb?
And go out and dance with him on the dance floor when he is totally sober. Love it.
I'm still in disbelief when I realize Hugh is blonde. When I see this family shot I can't believe how much his hair sticks out.
Hughie is starting speech therapy. I'm good with it. Really I think the speech therapist is here to rehab me so that I can help him. It's amazing because they come into the house and work with him in his natural atmosphere. I'm real hopeful that it will decrease tantrums, increase understanding and eliminate getting in and out of car seat troubles.
I desperately need a new black belt. I wonder every day how many patients or co-workers think that too.
Eli is taking swim lessons and it is a great source of anxiety for me. Hugh requires 17 snacks for his half hour session. He doesn't like the stroller anymore.
A friend read my previous blog and sent me this:
Another friend who knows me well sent me this:
We are headed to Grandma Barb's house tomorrow for a day of play, games and an early St. Patrick's day celebration. Even Bailee is coming along.
We watched the Oscar's. What did you think? I hadn't seen any of the movies. It's on my to-do-list (yeah right). I love the song Bette Middler sang, but I wasn't a fan of the actual performance where she waved her arms like wings. I'm not sure how old she is but she definitely looked well younger than her age. It sets the standards high for us....celebrity gossip and fashion is all interesting, but it can shed an unhealthy pressure on us women.
Eli asks every single day to do his science kit. Love this kid, but he must ask me 20 times a day to do his science kit. He is a cute chemist.
This week I have a loooong time friend coming over one night to catch up. I'm very excited.
Andy and I are craving (in big way) a date night. We are trying to get our babysitter to commit to a Friday night in the coming weeks. We have 2 big weddings in the next few months as well. It will be awesome to get out.
I think I forgot to post Eli's annual Christmas letter. Here it is.
A new item for my bucket list:
1. Gluten free onion rings: thanks mom! I think we will accomplish this tomorrow
2. James Morrison concert-doesn't look like he's touring right now thought.
I hope to get blogging a little more aggressively.
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