Messy Hospitality June 12th, 2014

No photos, because I am so not THERE yet, but I made a major step today in overcoming my fear of people seeing the inside of my house. Usually, you tell me you're coming, and I spend 3 days cleaning, and the night before running around like a maniac, bursting into tears because I'm overwhelmed, and being rescued by Mike because he loves me. Can't believe he's put up with my quirks this long, but God love him, he has.

So when people just casually ring the doorbell my heart stops. I try to decide if I HAVE to answer or if I should just hide. If I'm not expecting someone I hide. I'm not ashamed to admit it. First of all, who rings your doorbell in the middle of the day unannounced? Unless you have some Girl Scout cookies I'm not opening the door anyway. There was that one unfortunate incident where the lawn guy rang the doorbell, and I hid, because 1) I was not expecting him and 2) I was in my pjs. Then he rode the little tractory spreader thing in the yard and he could see me in the back windows, so I threw myself to the ground and army crawled to the basement steps and hid down there for a while. My pjs are my own business yo!

Annnyyywwaayyys...I have been praying about being more open. Being a better friend, trusting people to like me warts and all. Not hiding that I am a real person, and that means my house isn't always clean and my hair's not always brushed. I dropped Olivia at a friend's for a play date today, and my friend came by to drop her home. Normally IF I hadn't frantically cleaned, I would hold the door open a few inches with my foot behind it, conduct a quick convo, and get the door closed. This time I tried something different. I invited my friend inside. I was sweating, literally, taking this big step. Guess what? She didn't scream in terror or call CPS on me. In fact, we just carried on talking and enjoyed hanging out for a bit. Maybe 10 minutes, but that was 10 minutes of quality time I would have missed out on had I not opened the door all the way. 

I know it doesn't seem like much, but one baby step at a time and I will get to the finish line. And when I do I'll throw a party in my messy house!

I've heard of Christmas in July, but Frozen? June 11th, 2014

You never know where you might meet a star, and I ran into one today picking up Clara. Look who greeted me! Elsa!!! I know, right? Okay guys, calm down, it's just Clara doing a very realistic Elsa impression. It's like Clark Kent takes off his glasses and BLAM, Superman. Only here it's my super Clara. She's in the angsty part of the song, and she even popped a shoulder out (because she's way too classy for a dress slit up her thigh). 

We left the blue tulle at school, but we keep the memory forever. 

Eat Mor Chikin June 10th, 2014

Mike's off on travel, so the ladies are eating out :) Clara's pick, Chick Fil A. Just so happens that the cow was here, even though it's not family night. The girls got a kick out of getting their picture made with him/her.

The Zoo is for the Birds June 9th, 2014

Soooo.....there's this one section of the zoo I don't like. You walk around a corner and all of a sudden there are signs, warning you about the lions. And the warnings aren't about the lions eating you or anything semi "normal" that you might expect to fear from a lion. Oh, nooooo, nothing that mundane! The signs warn you that the lions like to "spray" (fancy zoo term for SQUIRT PEE ON YOU) and to watch how close you get to the cages. Most days the lions are chilling out on their one lion rock in our somewhat sad zoo, but there are days where they're pacing, and they do this growl thing, that I would never in 100 years guess was a lion (except now I'm totally in the know, so I WOULD get that question correct if they had a sound category on Jeopardy) and I can just see them waiting and watching and hoping my girls get close enough to get hit with some pee.

Due to my semi rational fear of getting a golden shower lion style, I rush my girls past this part of the zoo every time. It's not hard, since the giant carp pond is right past them. They have these little machines where you buy some pellets for a quarter, throw the pellets on the water, and watch the carp basically crowd surf to get your pellets. These are some hungry carp people.

There's a warning sign by the carp too, and I've read it but I've never paid much attention, since we JUST made it past the lion threat and the carp are so cute. Well, not cute precisely but cool in their own way. This sign says to watch out for the red wing black bird. I guess this is the area they like to nest, and  they don't like peeps up in their grill. I look at this sign and smile, because I love red wing black birds. 

You need a little back story. I moved to the cornfields from the desert. The desert people. Where the warmest jacket you'll ever need is a hooded U of A sweatshirt. Where we treat frost on windshields with awe and glee. Here in Michiana, we are at the bottom of a lake. A big lake. Some might say a "great lake." Get it? No, get it? Moving on. This lake, Lake Michigan, contains lots of water. The way the wind blows makes it go right over the lake and then comes down on us as "lake effect snow." It sounds all jolly and magical, until you live through it for 6 months, and then it starts to wear you down. Last winter we had a glorious 100 (that is not a typo) inches of snow. The irony is that it was too cold to build a snowman. (all that great snow with nothing to do). The moral of the story is, winter here wears you down. You get to a point where you think you may never feel the sun again. Or be able to go to the store without a full set of car emergency gear. You start looking for signs that spring may come. 

In lots of places robins = spring. Not here. Not sure why, but our robins seem to like the cold. You'll see a robin out in December and be like "dude?" and he'll be like "duddddeee," and you'll wonder where in the world he's getting worms this time of year. So the robin is unreliable, but the red wing blackbird is the man. Or the bird. When you see these guys, you know spring is on it's way. So I've always looked at these birds with a little glint of love in my eyes. 

NO MORE. Oh my gosh, these birds are psychos!!! PSYCHOS....Luckily I was with a group and a friend warned me, but anyone not warned who happened to walk too close to the birds got attacked. There was no concern for age or ability. Old men, children, everyone, everyone got a big up close of red wing blackbird in their face. The birds attacked people's hair, pulling it out and making some people bleed. Blood...eww. They came back second and third times, and they were mean. Can you tell I have PTSD over this. My friend the red winged black bird is a cold hearted killer. Or at least a cold hearted scratcher. So next time you're at the zoo make sure it's not nesting season, or just avoid the lion/carp area entirely. Your choice

The kiddos

Obligatory turtle picture. Some day this will get old for them, but for now they still fight over who sits in front.

Crazy Weekend, Day 2! June 8th, 2014

Today was the culmination of our crazy weekend. Mike and Olivia returned from camping around 6am, they had gotten rained out and slept in the car until sunrise.

I got Olivia up and ready for church, but poor Mike needed the sleep, and I think he deserved it! The girls and I went to church, which was pretty cool since the message was presented as a drama. I don't know how people memorize all those lines. Seriously, we tried to do a skit once at our old church and it was Bad. Yes, with a capital B.

After church we hit the AT&T store to try to fix my phone. It is still broken but receiveing texts and calls again, so a step in the right direction. I'll be making a trip to the Apple store Tuesday, when Clara is otherwise occupied.

We went home, changed, and went down the block for a graduation party. A lovely young lady who the girls adore graduated, and we got to spend some time checking out her cool time line photos, talking to neighbors, and eating some tasty food. Then we rushed home so Mike could get to the airport for his flight. I guess we needn't have rushed, as the plane never landed in South Bend and he was eventually bused to Chicago for another flight. Sounds fun, right? Sometimes I wish I traveled for work, but most of the time it seems like a major pain.

The girls and I had a nice dinner, and after baths and stories everyone is in bed. I have absolutely zero photos to share today, I was too busy living my life to document it, but I think those are some of the best days. Tomorrow we have a trip planned to the zoo :)

Another Busy Weekend Saturday June 7, 2014th

We over committed this weekend. I am the first to admit it. But we committed to the the things that were more optional before the musts came across the schedule, so what can you do?

Yesterday was fun and busy, making the cake and dinner out. It lead to a pretty late night though, and then we were up in the morning to get to an awesome Frozen bday party. I practically ran to the fridge to check on the cake. Everything looked GREAT. Well, except Sven. For some reason he only has 3 feet on the ground, so he's pretty unstable. I returned him to his spot with a little more frosting and we headed to the party.

The party was so much fun. It was really cute with the themeing, and the kids had a great time. The cake suffered some damage on the car ride, and then some MORE damage s it sat outside, but I think there were photos before the inevitable happened. 

Olivia's cute Olaf

Clara refuses to get her photo made. Why, only she knows

This is the best we could do. Squinty McSquinterstein and me eating my hair. But, eh, it's a picture.

After the party we headed home for a little break. I made a brownie trifle, and we headed out to Olivia's Brownie picnic. After the picnic Mike and Olivia stayed to camp out, while Clara and I had a girl's night in. On to more craziness tomorrow!

Summer Break, Here We Come! June 6, 2014

Today was the last day of sccchhooolll.....I'm singing!!! I am so ready for summer. Clara and I had a nice day together, we got our playdough on and made this fabulous dragon. Or, something. We're not exactly artists!

When Olivia got home we celebrated for about half an hour and then she had a massive meltdown. I think she was overtired and needed a break. She went to her room and slept for a while, when she woke up she was feeling much better.

Mike and I got the chance to go to dinner with some old friends. Not that the friends are old. Well, we're all getting a little older, we need to face it head on. But these were friends that we've known over a decade, but haven't had the chance to spend time with them as much these past few years. We had a nice dinner and sat at the table talking until the restaurant closed. 

When we got home I put the finishing touches on the Frozen cake. Hopefully the figures and rock candy are still standing in the morning. Next year, royal icing!

Christmas in June? June 5,2014

It's the most, wonderful time, of the year! Where you trip over boxes and people lose sock-es cause Mommy's not here . It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I'm going to sing that to myself anytime someone complains about the resale stuff EVERYWHERE. Well, not everywhere. I do have some standards people. There is absolutely no resale stuff in the bathrooms, that's a hard and fast rule ;) But the house is getting slightly crazy as more people drop off and eBay boxes arrive. I am super organized though and I know that my system is solid so I don't fear the resale stuff. I know soon it will be converted into cold, hard, cash, and not a single complaint will be heard then!  

No photos. Come on, do you really think I'd share a photo of this? Love you but keep dreaming.

June 4th, 2014

Oh these girls....

That's all <3

June 3rd, 2014

So this month of 7 is possessions. This is a month we are all participating in, because we all have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF. Yes, I said it. The goal is to give away 7 things a day, and to direct the giving to the people that really need it. None of this dumping a bin off at Goodwill, it's more than that. It's connecting in our giving. 

The girls gave away their first item tonight. Our amazing sitter brought a Goldiblox set over for the girls to do together, and she gave it to Olivia. It was sent to her by USC (smooth move, dirty Trojans, smooth move) and the note said to share with a young girl to help them become interested in math/science, but I think our sitter was a little sad to see it go. I mean, Goldiblox are super fun. And if you don't own any, you should immediately order one on Amazon Prime for your daughters. Or your sons. Or yourself. You know, we don't judge. 

Anyways, back on topic. Olivia had been gifted Goldiblox and the Spinning Machine from her Auntie, and since she'd used it and enjoyed it she felt good passing it along. When our sitter came she insisted both girls sign the box so that she could remember it was from them always. Also, let's face it, one of my kids is going to be be either famous or infamous, with those clever little minds, so this is actually an investment in her future, when she can sell the box on eBay to the highest bidder. 

Here's the box in question.

Mike & I headed out to workout at the Y, and while we were there we got in a little social time with the Williams. Yep, we're on fire today!

Clara June 2nd, 2014

Love this girl, love this dress. Our last Monday together alone as Olivia's summer starts at the end of the week!

Month of Mike June 1st, 2014

This is the month of Michael. Just in case you didn't have it on your calendar. Go ahead and write it in, I'll wait ;) Of course Mike would never declare his own month, which is why he pretty much deserves it. It's his birthday AND Father's Day both this month. Last year Father's Day was on his birthday (true story). It should have been an extra special Mike day (sleeping in, donuts, total remote control domination). Instead I was in North Dakota with my family and he was here with two princesses. Basically you can see I have a lot of making up to do.

The month of Mike started on a Sunday, so we all went to church. There's a big ol' celebration going on at Clay Church for the next month or so, and we don't want to miss it (maybe they heard about Mike?). It was extra special today because friends joined us for the first time. These are special friends who we have loved for years, and it was pretty awesome to be in worship together again. If you're reading this and thinking you'd like to come worship at the party, or maybe you're just feeling that tug of the spirit, curiosity, whatever, please, please join us. Clay has 2 services but we long ago gave up being ready for anything on a weekend that starts before 10. The second service is 10:45 and it's contemporary. So if you like traditional worship best get your buns out of bed and hit the 9:30 service instead.

After church I worked on a representation of the Frozen cake I'm making for a friend next weekend. There is no picture included because it was so far from RIGHT that it was veering into wrong. Buuuttt....I wanted to try some things and I didn't have time to do everything 100%, so it was a rough draft. I brought the cake to small group to find out what the birthday girl thought, changes to make, etc. I think we are definitely on the right path. After small group I forced a half a cake on every family. I love cake and it loves me back. So much so that it will hang out on my body for a long time after I eat it.

Incidentally, we wrapped up month 2 of 7 and started month 3. Month 3 is possessions. I'll tell you more about month 2's lessons and what month 3 entails sometime soon. For now, I'm off to iron some of Mike's shirts. 

Racing the Day Away! May 31th, 2014

If you read my blog, you know I like to run. You might even know that I set a goal of running 14 races in 2014. Most of these have been 5Ks, with the exception of one half marathon. Due to a side effect of a medication I'm taking, I can't run long distances without extreme pain. So yes, I'm running short races, but I still jumped at the chance to run a 10K with my running friend Maggi. 

We chose to run the Sunburst 10K. I think it's safe to say the Sunburst is the largest race run in the South Bend area, and it brings people from all over to qualify for some of the big races (Boston, etc). We got up way too early and drove downtown, then found our starting line and pace. Why they can't hold these races at night, is anyone's guess. My guess is they like to weed out as many people as possible, so starting the run at the butt crack of dawn gives them a reasonable starting pack of 10,000, versus my night time beer run, which would bring participants in the millions ;) When you steal my idea, at least give me credit.

Our goal was to finish in under an hour. This was Maggi's first 10K and I've run at least one other, maybe two. 10Ks just aren't that much fun. It's not cool to drop into conversations, I ran a 10K today like it is if you ran, say, a half marathon (some people would prefer you drop neither in the conversation, because they honestly could care less, but these people have no consideration for the training and effort a person goes through to run a race. To them I say, "good day!"  It's long enough though that halfway through you're wishing you ran the 5K, because you know you could be eating a banana and waiting for the times to come in, instead of having HALF A RACE TO RUN. I do have to give props to the Sunburst though, it was a fun race. People come outside of their houses to watch as the race winds through city streets and blocks of residences. Some people had their sprinklers on for us to run through for a cooling off, although it was pretty cool already for a summer morning, so we didn't avail ourselves of them. Maybe it was just fun because I was running with Maggi, and that made the time feel quicker?

We battled our way through the course. At times each of us got tired and weighed down by the demands of the race. Let me just say there's a hill, then you turn the corner and there's another hill. What the heck, city planners, don't you take these things into consideration? Not cool, not cool at all. Luckily we had each other, and we were determined, so we finished. We even sprinted at the end. That was more to show off than anything else though ;) 

Here we are, two tired ladies!