Random stuff (now with pics)

Lin on the left unleashing a furious kick!

Lin is now an orange belt in Tae Kwon Do! Her test was Friday night and she was most nervous about the board-breaking part of the evening. Now that she's moving up in the ranks the board-breaking gets trickier. She kept saying "What if I can't do it?" and I kept answering "You can't say that. You have to say 'I WILL do it!'" And then she would say "I know, but what if I CAN'T?!" Poor girl! Needless to say she did it, but it did take her 3 tries to get her kick to break the board.

The girls playing one of many pianos which randomly appeared around town to promote the Gilmore Keyboard Festival!

Another Lin story, she was locked out of the house yesterday! Oh, I felt so AWFUL!! She's supposed to carry a key in her backpack, just in the off-chance I'm not home when she gets off the bus. Well, guess who left her key sitting on the dresser in her bedroom on the very day I decided to join Ruby's preschool class on a field trip?!? So Lin was stuck sitting in the garage for about an hour, in the cold and rain, with no idea where I was or when I would be home. She was very close to tears when I pulled in the driveway, and the look on her face told me she was really PO'd, but fortunately she didn't stay mad for long. I apologized to her repeatedly but she finally said "It's not your fault -- I should have my key!" which is technically right, but I still felt just awful.

It did make me think a bit about how far we've come in the last 22 months, though. I really think the Lin of 2010 would have wholeheartedly blamed me for being locked out of the house. Today's Lin, nearly two years in a family, had the maturity to know it was just a mistake, no harm done.

Ruby watching her pizza garden grow!

Wanna hear a ridiculously cute Ruby story? I know you do! Well, Ruby went to a birthday party on Saturday and, while I wasn't paying close attention while her friend was opening presents, Ruby says her friend received an MP3 player and headphones. So on the way home Ruby told me that she also wanted an MP3 player, and could we go get one right now? I told her that that's an awfully nice gift, more suitable for Christmas or birthday and not just any old day. So Ruby told me she wanted to write a letter to Santa. No problem.

So we got home and she got out her paper and asked me how to spell MP3, iP*d, and headphones (she also wants an iP*d because Lin has one). Being the always attentive mom I am, I told her how to spell everything while also puttering around the house doing other things. So I really wasn't paying close attention to Ruby's letter to Santa project.

Well, Dave comes home from work on Monday carrying the mail. He says "Look what I found in the mailbox." And there was Ruby's letter to Santa! She had taken a second piece of paper and wrapped it around the "letter," taped it shut, and wrote Ruby on the outside. And then, at some point between Saturday evening and Monday morning, she went outside and put her letter in the mailbox. How sweet is that?!? I could literally almost cry when I think of how absolutely adorable and sweet that is. Of course, said letter is now safe in my collection of homemade mother's day cards, birthday cards and other cute notes from my girls. (And I think Santa is going to write a letter back and maybe, just maybe, he'll have to send her a little gift, too!)

Heading out to clean some cabins at Camp Newaygo!

Relaxing by the lake at Camp Newaygo after a day of cleaning.

Ruby in pink on the left has also started Chinese dance class.

 Stay tuned... plenty more coming as the school year winds down and another frantic Summer approaches!

Happy Belated Easter - A Caption-Free Picture Post

Spring Break Getaway!

No, we did not go someplace tropical for Spring Break, but we did take an in-state getaway for a couple days. It was so nice! The weather was absolutely perfect and we all had a great time, despite 75% of the family having a cold (that Lin... she has an amazing immune system!).

Both Dave and I grew up in Michigan, as did our parents and grandparents before us. My parents have always thought that there's no better place on Earth to vacation than right here in Michigan, and I must say, now that I've reached adulthood and become a parent myself, I totally get it!

Early on in Dave's and my relationship, we were headed off to the little town of Frankenmuth to meet up with my family for the day (Dave and I live in west Michigan, but my family lives on the east side of the "mitten"). Dave had never been there, and I was a little nervous about what he would think about this rather cheesy, touristy little town. Well lo and behold, he loved it. And that's when I knew that he and I were meant to be together!

And so, when we were planning what to do for a quick and budget-friendly family getaway for Spring Break, our thoughts immediately turned to Frankenmuth, Michigan's Little Bavaria!

Enjoy the pictures...

Vacation begins!

The girls needed their picture taken at EVERY ONE of these cutouts we came across!

Shopping Diva

Outside the Cheese Haus

Breakfast at Tony's, or should I say, Bacon at Tony's (one side-order of bacon fed all four of us!)

Mmmmm, fudge

In addition to the face cutouts, Ruby also felt the need to ride each of these little penny-arcade rides. She declared them all "boring," but still kept riding them.

More goofy cutouts. What you can't see is me, uncomfortably crouched behind Ruby holding her up.

The ride home. And so, our vacation ends.

What Did You Do Today?

The vast majority of the time, I live in a world of self-doubt. I'm not a good enough mother. I'm not a good enough wife. Oh, sure, there are many many days where I feel great about the state of the world, but it seems that there's always something I can point to and say "I could have done more."

I blame my husband.

He does everything, with a smile on his face the whole time. He cooks (we've had this conversation before, I believe). He cleans. He helps Lin with 98% of her homework. He gets the girls up and out the door every single morning, with lunches packed and breakfast in their bellies. He is Superdad.

But last night as I was finally going to bed, a little voice in my head told me to look back on all the things I did with my day:

I woke up at 3:00am and went to work at my full-time job.

I washed, dried, folded and put away a load of laundry.

I walked Ruby to preschool.

I ran 2.75 miles (yay, me!).

I was there to greet Lin when she got home from school.

I picked up Ruby from preschool.

I stopped at the grocery store to pick up stuff for dinner, plus some odds-and-ends.

I cooked dinner.

I cleaned up the kitchen after dinner.

I visited my elderly neighbor.

I gave Ruby a bath and trimmed her fingernails.

I put Ruby to bed (multiple times, because she kept getting up).

I helped Lin with her homework.

And I collapsed into bed at 9:45pm.

Now, to be absolutely fair, I do NOT have this kind of day everyday. But I'll bet I have more of these kinds of days than I'm giving myself credit for.

I think I'll take a nap this afternoon...

Great Story... No Pics

Very unfortunately, I have not a single picture to go along with the story I'm about to tell. I have to remember to take my camera along, even when I think we're having just a normal Saturday night...

If you recall, we went roller skating for Ruby's birthday back in January. It was the first time for both girls, and the first time in 25-or-so years for Dave and I, and we all had fun. So we've gone back 4 or 5 times since, often enough that we are familiar with some of the games they play at our preferred rink -- the 4-corners game, the Ghostbusters game... and the Limbo!

The limbo is held on the smaller practice rink, and is super fun to watch. The kids that participate are amazing! And this past Saturday night they had a new participant -- my Ruby!! It was a riot! We had been skating on the big rink and I happened to be right next to Ruby when they announced that it was time for the limbo. Ruby threw her hands up in the air, shouted "Yeah!!!" and zipped off toward the practice rink. I assumed she merely wanted to watch, and her reaction would have been funny enough. But oh no! By the time I got there, she was on the practice rink and lined up with the other kids! Dave and I were both laughing so hard and saying "What is she doing?!?"

In lieu of video, I'll try to describe how Ruby skates. In a word, she's loud. Dave has taken to calling her "Stompy" when she's wearing skates. Picture this 5-year-old child with arms flailing wildly, stomping her feet rather than gliding/rolling, going way too fast and always on the verge of being out of control. It is hilarious!

So there she was, ready to take her mad skating skills to the limbo line! She passed under the line 3 times, before bumping it on the fourth try. After the first couple rounds nearly everyone watching had their eyes on Ruby, and a huge "Awwwwwwww" went up when she knocked the limbo pole down. In fact, the reaction from the crowd was so loud that I was afraid Ruby would be spooked and start crying. But she didn't! She was still smiling as she skated off the rink.

I promise to take pictures and video next time!

Getting Ready for Kindergarten

Ruby got to visit the elementary school she'll be attending in the fall when she starts Kindergarten! It's Kindergarten Orientation time for our public school system, and we are very fortunate to live near the best elementary school in our district. So close, in fact, that we all rode our bikes to the school. Ruby is sorely disappointed that she lives too close to ride the school bus. Actually, she's in denial about it, thinking that if she just begs us hard enough she'll get to ride the bus. Sorry, kiddo, I can't force the bus to pick you up for a half-mile trip!

Ruby on her first school bus ride

This orientation event was all Ruby could talk about for the last day or two. Plus some of the kids from her preschool will also be attending the same elementary school, so Ruby's been pretty confident about herself and who her friends will be when she hits the door in the fall. When we got to the school, Ruby hopped off her bike and was marching into the building ahead of us, until we called her back!

At the Arts and Crafts table at Kindergarten Orientation

Yep, confident. Ruby can be pretty... sure of herself. Sometimes I'd call it bossy, but really it's more of a supreme confidence that she carries herself with. I remember the first Thanksgiving she was home, when she was not quite 2 years old. We were at my mother-in-law's house and it was after dinner when everyone was sitting around the living room. Ruby had just started going to gymnastics classes, and she decided that everyone needed to watch her do a sommersault. So she proceeded to take us all by the hand, one-by-one, and direct us where to stand. It took several minutes for her to arrange us all to her liking, having us switch places, making sure no one sat back down. And when we were all set, she began the show, doing sommersault after sommersault as we all applauded.

Making jewelry with Dad's help

Hmmm... as I write that story I hear a little voice in my head, chuckling at me. Is it really that Ruby is bossy, or is it that we've always allowed ourselves to be bossed by her? Realization is rapidly dawning on me...

Two Wheels!

Ruby's on two wheels!

I am amazed at how quickly she got the hang of it! We had tried taking Ruby's training wheels off her bike for just a bit at the end of last summer, but we didn't put a whole lot of effort into it. She was interested in riding on two wheels, but she wasn't really pushing us to teach her.

So then when the weather was nice this week she said she wanted to try riding on two wheels again. Seriously, it took maybe 30 minutes! And just a little more time for her to get the hang of starting on her own from a level stand-still. Un.Real.

Tonight she was pedaling standing up just a little bit, and even jumped a curb! (...although, that was more of an accident, but hey, she stayed upright!...)

Look out... There's no stopping her now!