Mia's Mamma minus the "Mamma"

If anyone comments to Mia about the headbands she like to tell them how she helped me make them. So she is now making her own headbands and yes they are reversible.




Here she is modeling it.
I was really impressed with her work and the fact that it's the right size. She had repeatedly put it on and taken it off and it's still in one piece. She says the rainbow side is good because it has all the colors and matches everything.

What the ....?

Mike had to get up and leave for Plymouth at 4:30 this morning and for some reason I was awake. He kissed me goodbye and headed down the hall to look in on the kids..... he turns back, "Uh, Christie, this is a huge mess!" I get up and go look. Both kids are asleep up on Mia's bunkbed, totally naked and COVERED with marker(s). Apparently, Mia tried to make Mason a skeleton and herself a kitty. She even colored inside their ears!

The pictures don't do it justice. It was all over their backs and legs not to mention other areas. I put them in the bathtub when they woke up and their is still faint markings visible. Especially on their faces. Makes going out in public that much more fun. I did try to run a lot of errands today and it mostly went well but Mason lost a shoe in Meijer. This is the same Meijer that threw away his mitten this past winter so I'm afraid to call ahead and ask if they found it. If they take it out and hold it for me..... that's how the mitten got tossed. Can you tell I'm still a little ticked about that?

More stuff to make

I haven't updated my supposed online shop forever but here's what I've been making lately.

Bows, barrette snap clips, pony-o's, bow holders, burp cloth, stuffed toy and paci clip. I need to catch up with lots of projects. Mostly making the stuff up of what I have on hand and then scrapbooking. Finishing the kid's baby books and maybe even getting Disney done. I need lots of time and the only way I see it happening is working in the basement when I can't sleep.

I (heart) my family

I was reading another blog today that mentioned a bunch of other blogs but this particular one caught my eye. This blog is about a guy who is raising his baby and grieving his wife. I went back to March and started reading some of the entries. I noticed this blog went back to 2007 but I didn't go back that far. Him and his wife were at the hospital having the baby. The first post was getting ready to have the baby and there was the excitement and joy when the baby was born. There was even a picture of the mom smiling at her new baby. The next day's post was the mom's obit. That stuff just tears me up. I did read in the paper a few months ago of a "local" (west Michigan) man whose wife died during childbirth to triplets. I can't even grasp how you handle every day life with 3 new babies to love and care for with no time to grieve. I pray he has lots of help.

I had ladies night out tonight and we went to the new CityVu Bistro. The atmosphere was nice and the view was great but I wasn't impressed with the food. As always though it was nice to be out with the girls and have a dinner out where Mac & Cheese or chicken nuggets was ordered.

I (heart) Ikea

So Mike is away this week doing some training across the state. I had decided before the kids and I would join him and I could go shopping as Holland had nothing, go to Ikea, visit with a friend and let the kids use the pool at the hotel. Monday started out great. I got my errands done before I left, drop the dog off, stop at my SIL's in Lansing to deliver some Pampered Chef .... all is going smoothly. I'm thinking I'm going to arrive early so maybe I can hit some stores that I'd like to go to. Then the kids fall asleep so the store idea is out then I hit stand-still traffic. I think my exit is only a couple of miles so it shouldn't be bad. Well my exit was closed. The detour exit was actually the road that the hotel was on so it's not so bad. I'll just take the road north right to the hotel. After a couple of miles the road is COMPLETELY closed for construction. I have to drive a couple miles back to find a gas station and figure out how to get to the hotel which was basically doing a big clockwise rectangle. I arrive at the hotel more than an hour after I had passed the closed exit on the highway. I was done. I now remember what traffic is like on that side of the state and I can't handle it. That's probably nothing for those people that live in LA but that's almost death for me. The rest of the visit went great and I went to Ikea this morning. I could easily spend a couple grand in that store but kept myself under $100. Maybe next visit.

I told Mia she really was a superhero today because she saved the day. I arrived at Ikea and was all set to put them into the play area and was told they couldn't come in because they didn't have socks. I didn't pack any socks. I knew Mason had a pair of socks as I found a dirty pair in my coat (yeah, that's my life) and put them in his suitcase but Mia had none. So we're walking back to the car and the kid's are crying that they didn't go play and I'm ticked off that I now have to go by socks somewhere. When the kids were crying "why", I tried explaining they didn't have socks and I had socks for Mason but not for Mia. Mia says, "but Mom I put my flower socks in the black box in the car." (This has to be a REALLY long time ago). I said, "show me". Sure enough she pulls out a pair of pink and green plaid socks. I'm ecstatic. Mia says, "I'm sorry I lied. I thought they were my flower socks but they're not". So I explained to her that didn't matter and she was the superhero that saved the day.

Toadfest

Not sure that's really a word but we are supporting a whole community of toad tadpoles. It all started a couple of years ago at my parents house. They have a beautiful Japanese garden for their front yard and in the ponds (small ones) are Koi, lilies and whatever else that is attracted to the location such as frogs, toads and snails. That year my dad gave Mia a tadpole (or polliwogs as he calls them... I don't know the difference). She brought it home and put it in her fish tank and really enjoyed watching it develop. It was a fairly big size one and it turned into a frog and we eventually let it go at the pond across the street from our house. Last year she brought home about 7 little tadpoles that turned into toads. Unfortunately as they lost their tail and really became developed we'd find them dead in the tank. They really struggled swimming at the top so for the last two I put them in a bowl and they survived. Who would have thought that they would drown since toads can swim. I guess it just tired them out to much. With that in mind I kept my eye out for those "frog habitats". Last summer I saw them at various stores for $29.99... are you kidding me? I watched the clearance at Target for them and they never dropped below $19.99. So I found one at Hobby Lobby and used the 40% off coupon. That I could do. We haven't made it out to my parent's house this spring yet but the pond across the street was teeming with them. So one day last week I sent Mike and the kids over to get some tadpoles. I see this when I get home. Is that mud at the bottom? Nope, just probably 50 tadpoles. I'll be surprised if they all survive, I was thinking they'd get 5.

The garage sale Friday was OK as I sold some bigger items but Saturday I sold a whopping $25. Later as I was cleaning up and went to take down my signs....I see they were already down. Either completely on the ground or twisted up so you can't read it. It did rain Friday and it poured Saturday right before I started. It cleared up and was a great day Saturday so it stinks that my signs were all ruined. I made a huge haul to Goodwill and will try Craigslist for some of the bigger stuff. It will be nice to have my garage back.

The makings of a great weekend

Getting ready for day 2 of the garage sale. Of course it rained yesterday and it's raining right now. Figures. I only had the garage sale for 4 hours yesterday and my friend Laura took the kids so that was a huge help. Mia started a fever last night, threw up this morning and at last read was about 103F. So it should be a fun weekend what with listing the bigger items that don't sell on Craigslist/Ebay, dumping stuff off at Goodwill, rainy weather, sick kid..... the fun just never stops.

Short post today as I need to most importantly make some coffee before I had out to the garage. I'm sure it will be slow with the rain so great fun.

I'm the b****

Well, it's not spoken but it's probably thought. We had decided to put the kids playhouse in the garage sale and our neighbors wanted to buy it. I told Mike I saw the house new on sale for $130 so I was thinking of asking $70-$75 for it but was going to research it. So he comes in the house saying they were buying the house and he told them $50. Now I'm pissed because I'm not working and $20 is something I could use. So we are fighting about it when I turn around and the neighbor is standing at the front door (yes we had the front door open so the screen door was closed) as he had come over to pay us for it. So now I feel like an A**!. He did give us $70 for the house and I did research it on Ebay (to make sure I didn't ask too much) and saw they sold on Ebay for $75-$80 so it all worked out except for the me being a b**** part.

As I'm throwing all the things that can go in the garage.... I'm wondering how I'm going to price all this stuff. I know I'd get more money on Ebay but I just don't want to take the time (and the risk of getting ripped off) to list everything.

Not much of a Holiday weekend for us. We cleaned the house yesterday and I was able to catch up on a few things. I did try out sewing with the Serger my mom gave me. I need some more practice but it is pretty cool. I did a rolled hem and made Mia some long shorts out of a pair of gauchos she had put holes in after wearing them for 20 minutes.

This also starts the first week of no more school for us. I think I will need to use my babysitter exchange a lot to keep my sanity.

Shopping at Target

It had been so long since I'd been in Target with good reason. I go into the store with one thing in mind but I can never make it out of the store with just that one thing. I spotted the bubble wands in their dollar spot and the kid's love them. Mason can never seem to blow bubbles as he sticks the wand right up so it is touching his mouth. He gets lots of bubbles with these wands and I get to have a boy that's not sticky dripping at the chin.

I've been to Target twice in the last week. The second time I went with the kids just to get a card. As I get to the counter I hear a collective gasp and look at the end cap. Yes, they have packaged the Justice League as dive sticks. To be honest I may have gasped with them as I do think these are pretty cool. Even though they haven't been to a pool these have been played with EVERY day.

I did use Mason's gift card from his birthday for the dive sticks so don't think I'm that big of a sucker.

Teacher totes done

Lot's of trial and error here but there is a finished product. I did burn 2 of the initials in the process but I've already glued them to the bags so there's no going back. Here they are:

This is the kid's last week of school and there is still so much I need to get done. I'm starting to think I'll never get caught up.

I was planning on having a garage sale this weekend but gave up the idea Wednesday when the weather was forecast to be rainy both days. It was a great weekend. I'm feeling with the way my luck's been going when I do have the garage sale... it WILL rain.

Here's to another project done.

Why can't I calm down?

I stress a lot... I think that's part of the reason I'm an insomniac. I can't do one thing at a time, I'm constantly multi-tasking and thinking about what I need to get done. Monday I stayed up until 2am working on the kid's preschool book (I'll post that later). It's done! Thank God that's over. Tuesday morning I was invited to join the "preschool/elementary commission" at my church so I went to their Informational Brunch. Yes, I joined.... do I ever say "no" to anything? I'm a sucker! Then I drop the kids of at school and think I'm going to take a nap. I lay down but can't fall asleep. Figures. So I catch up on some e-mails, etc. Pick the kids up and hours later I'm back at the church because I volunteered to help out 5:30-9. I'm exhausted when I get home but can I fall asleep? No! I take some Advil PM and eventually fall asleep somewhere around midnight.
So now that I have a major project done and I can return to my other projects. I'm just hitting roadblocks.... There's no reason for me to be stressed but for some reason I'm just wound.
I need to do something relaxing but at the moment I can't think of what that would be.
Any ideas?

Happy Mother's Day

Well Mike and the kids had gotten me some rose bushes that I planted yesterday and today was off to a good start. Mike was up making us breakfast and Mason and I went downstairs to hang out. Mason had to go potty, missed the toilet and ended up peeing all over the floor. So I got to clean that up. Then Mia came down very whiny. I told her if she was that tired to go lay down on the couch so she went and lied down for a bit. Then she started complaining her stomach hurt. Mike and I thought she was just being whiny again until she walked over to the table and started throwing up all over. We ended up missing church since she's so sick so I feel a little guilty missing mass even though I have a good excuse.
She hasn't been able to keep anything down yet, not even water and I keep freaking out she has a concussion from being hit in the head yesterday. Mike assures me it's not that and to stop being so paranoid. I guess it's karma for being mad at her in the store yesterday. Just when I thought I reached my limit with her.... she goes missing..... then gets hurt.... now sick.

Here's to feeling like the worst mother in the world on Mother's Day.

Bad day for the little Asian Dutch girl

Today I was in the beginnings of a panic attack. We went to Costco and Mia was "acting up". Mike and Mason had moved to another section and I turned and told Mia, "Let's go right now." I started to walk off, glanced back once (she was right behind me) then caught up to the boys. I said to Mike, "She's really ticking me off, I just want to smack her." Then I turn around to look at her and she's not there. So I go back to where we were (5 feet away) and she's gone. Then I go back to Mike and tell him I can't find her. He goes to look and can't find her either. We are searching the store, I'm literally screaming her name and starting to cry. Mike comes back again empty handed. That's when the panic starts in and all that's running in my head is how I said, "I just want to smack her." Then I see out of the corner of my eye Mia walking with on older woman toward the front of the store. I'm now hysterically screaming her name trying to pull the cart with Mason in it running down a parallel aisle until the woman see me and brings her to me. OMG! It took me a couple hours to calm down after that.

Later in the yard we were trying out our new "ladder golf" game that we made. Mia and Mason are having lots of fun whipping the golf balls around and I just knew someone was going to get hit. Mike was in the midst of throwing when Mia runs right in front of it and gets smacked with a golf ball in the forehead. She seemed to be fine minutes later but has a huge "goose egg" on her forehead.

On a nicer note here is Mia in her Dutch costume at the Kinderparade.

and here is Mia "Dutch Dancing".

Zumba

I've finally decided that I need to do something to lose some weight. I'm not seriously overweight but I need to lose about 15lbs. I have NO willpower and it used to be I ate whatever I wanted and would just run/workout a little more to make up for my eating habits. Well now that I don't have the time to work out anymore.... and I've had children..... and I'm *ahem* considered to be in my late thirties now..... I actually have to diet. My SILs & BILs have lost a lot of weight doing the Weight Watcher points system so Mike and I have been doing it for the past 3 weeks or so. While we didn't actually sign up with Weight Watchers we figured out enough on the internet to give it a try. Mike has lost like 8 lbs, me nothing. What's frustrating about it is that Mike doesn't need to lose any weight he's just "sympathy dieting" because he knows I have no willpower. Also, the fact that I feel like I've sacrificed a LOT and have lost nothing.

Anyway, two of my friends and I signed up for Zumba and had our first class last night. I think it's so much fun even though I can't get my body to move like the instructor's. I told my friends that Mike would LOVE it if I could move like that but alas.....it's like getting a robot to shake it's butt.

When I came home last night Mia runs to the door to give me a hug and says, "Momma you got fat!"
WHAT!
Then she says, "You better go downstairs and get on the treadmill."
Traitor!

The Snake Charmers

So we went to Kinderplaats last Saturday and let the kids have fun. There was a guy with a BIG snake there this year and he was letting people hold it. My kids INSISTED on holding it, they don't get that from me. The snake from what I was told weighed just as much as Mason. I don't know how he was able to hold it.

The kids don't have school today due to Tulip Time so I was planning on taking them to a parade but it looks as though it may be rained out. So now it looks like I just get them the whole day inside. Yea, pray for me.

I bought a corkboard the other day with the intention of making a memo board for Mia. Here is how it turned out.




I did buy one to do for Mason but haven't gotten around to it yet. Happy Tulip Time everyone.

It's Tulip Time again

It's Tulip Time again here in Holland. The fireworks were cancelled Friday and Saturday night due to rain so we're not sure if we'll have them this year or not. I especially like the fireworks since while everyone crowds downtown to see them.... we can see them from our front yard and we'll just get some chairs and sit in the driveway to watch.

Last year we did all 3 parades, Kinderplaats .... I think we did it all. This year I'm planning on at least 2 parades and we did do Kinderplaats last Saturday. I'll post pictures when I can. The tulips were definitely not as abundant as last year which is a shame because I LOVE tulips.

I stopped and got the kids their first elephant ear yesterday...Mia didn't really eat her part but Mason scarfed it down. He said, "elephant ears are too good". Fried dough with butter sugar and cinnamon, what's not to love?

My Theme song

They say your life's theme song is whatever was #1 on the charts the day you were born. So I looked mine up and it was something called "It’s Too Late - Carole King". Not sure what that's supposed to tell me. They say it could also be the song when you turned 18 which is- "Toy Soldiers - Martika". That's not much better. I did have a little better luck with my wedding date though- "Fallin'- Alicia Keys". I thought for sure something like "Smack my b**** up-Prodigy" would come up. Guess my marriage has a better theme than my life.

Find your theme song here.

The Burg Backin' The Rack

Yesterday the kids and I went to Lansing to walk with two of my SIL's and some friends for the Breast Cancer walk. Down in front is Mary (one of SIL's best friends and really part of our family) wearing the pink survivor T-shirt. She had her last treatment Thursday and walked the race in pain and on Darvocet. She is one tough lady! A group of Mary and Colleen's friends from Laingsburg formed a team to do the walk to support Mary and raise money, hence "The burg Backin' the Rack".

There were about 6500 people there and it was crowded! The kids fell asleep about half way through the walk which was great because the fighting stopped. They're much cuter when their quiet too even if Mia sleeps with her mouth open. The weather turned out to be just right for the walk and it was a great day. Afterwards Colleen had a party back at her house and in true Colleen fashion went all out. She made riboon chocolates, had pink riboon hats (see photo above on left), pink cupcakes, pink ribbon balloons and even pink ribbon koozies for your drinks. I think if Colleen ever gives up her eye practice she should become a party planner.

Anyway great cause. Don't forget to click here to get women their free mammograms.

Funny and not so funny

A couple of conversations with my kids that have stuck in my mind:

Funny- In the car on the way home from school the other day Mia was asking me something.....

Me- I don't know, honey.
Mia- What! What do you mean you don't know?
Me- Sorry, I don't know. Am I supposed to know everything?
Mia- Yes, you're a mom! Just like Grandma's know everything too.
Mason- But not Grandpas.
Me- What Grandpas don't know everything?
Mason- Grandpas are boys right?
Me- Yes
Mason- Grandpas don't know because they are boys.

Not so Funny-

Mia- Do you know why I call Mason "poo poo head" sometimes?
Me- No, why? (Like I should have asked)
Mia- Because he reminds me of something that comes out of my butt sometimes.

Nice.

The Dolphin Show

So I already stated that the pool was the kids favorite part of vacation. Mia would perform the "dolphin show" everyday. There would be lots of singing and different tricks into and out of the water. The last day Mike helped her and would push her out of the water like the dolphins and whales did to the performers at Sea World. She is very confident in the water and now and will even do cannonballs into the deep end.

Mason got a little more confident everyday and was starting to hang on to the side of the hot tub (he likes the hot tub vs the pool) and kick. He'd only do it on the step for pictures though.

My cousin Karen, her daughter Emily and my Aunt Betty came and spent a pool day with us Saturday. I hadn't seen my cousin since her wedding in 1994 and it was the first time I had met Emily who is now 10. Wow! It was great seeing her but somehow I didn't have my camera with me then and I didn't get one picture of them. Her husband, Bruce, and son, Zach, came up later Saturday afternoon. When we decided we had enough the pool and was starting to gather our things my left side of my face started to feel warm. Of course, I sunburned half of my face. I had the raccoon eyes going from my sunglasses but one side if my head was definitely darker (red) then the other side. I felt like one of those villain cartoon characters where one side of their face is normal and the other evil.

Later that night Aunt Betty babysat all the kids and let us go out and have a nice dinner with Karen and Bruce. It was nice catching up and getting some good food. We went for Sushi but it was really hard deciding on something as Orlando had every restaurant imaginable and we're used to Holland where there isn't that many good places to eat.

Well, I think this will end the vacation wrap-up as I'm sure everyone doesn't want to hear every little detail of our lives. Just the highlights right? and hopefully not to much griping.