We're Evergreen

I heard a friend of mine say this before I was married and didn't believe it.  Even though you are married and live together, you still rarely talk to you husband.  Life gets in the way.  Thing come up.  There are little annoyances everywhere.  You look for stolen moments here and there to remember why you married your husband and why you love him.  Bedtime or the middle of the night is when we have our best conversations. 

We went to a Christmas party last week and I took this selfie.  This may be my new favorite picture of us.  I think it captures our silliness.  It captures "us".  We make me smile.  This picture is the moment I reminds me of "us".   (Sorry for lack of picture.  Blogger is not cooperating!)

I'm currently hooked on "Thinking of us" by Ed Sheeren and have listened to about a gazillion times over and over.  It's about loving each other forever, even when we are old.  That's Charlie and me.  We're evergreen. 

I will take Real-Life pictures anyday...

I know that posed photos at the park are so popular right now.  I love looking at the pictures people post on facebook of their newborn smushed up in a basket.  Or their family frolicking at the park blowing bubbles.  They are adorable.  All of their outfits match and are coordinated.  It's a beautiful sunshiny day.  Great pictures.

I tried it once.  I have done it twice - once with just the kids and once with all of us.  They were okay.  I am completely uncapable of coordinating outfits.  We just all had regular clothes on.  They were nice pictures.  

 

Here is my attempt at "pictures in the park". 
Their outfits are almost coordinated.  There is a background.
We're at a park on traintracks.  :)

But the pictures I really love of my family are real life pictures.  The selfies we take while sitting on the couch.  The ones were we ask a stranger to hold our camera.  We are in real clothes doing real things.  I love the candid shots of us.  When I think back to my favorite memories, it's not posed at the park.  It's real life.  We're sweaty.  We're dirty.  We're tired.  We're silly.  We're family.  I just looked through my old pictures and those are my memories.  I will take these pictures of my family over the professional ones anyday.  They are not for me.  But I will oohing and ahhing and loving everyone elses.

 

My current favorite picture of us. 
We're at the track.  We don't match each other or ourselves.
We have hats and are dirty.  We're smiling.
We're busy living!

Another oldie but goody - busy living and reading. :)

 

These are our stories...

I recently read a note written by a friend of mine about the "Snowstorm of 2014" and extra days of Christmas break with everyone stuck inside.  It's tough.  As mothers we want to create the "perfect" family memories.  We know that it is the simple, little things that matter.  But those memories are hard to plan and do.  We're mostly just trying to get by.  I read the comments and read facebook through the last two days and it is amazing how we all have our own stories.  We all found our own way to get by... good or bad.  The people with grown kids watched movies and cleaned their houses.  The mothers struggled to entertain their kids.  I worked at my dining room table for 2 days hoping to get almost 2 days of work in.  We had a family game of Hullaballu and that was our "special moment".  I felt bad like I should be "bonding" with my kids and doing fun things but then remembered that for every hour I didn't have to take vacation was another hour / day I could spend on spring break with them.  My birthday (May 30) is my last day of vacation day and it should be a day off for Laci.  I want my Girls Day, dog gone it!  

Someone commented that in time, this will be our story.  It reminded me of the Blizzard of 78.  I obviously don't remember any of it.  But Charlie and his mom still talk about that time.  I have recently read several articles about how kids who know their family history are more self confidence.  I love my family history and maybe that helps with my confidence.  It's the little things that matter - how our parents met, when they were married, what was their first date like, where their grandparents lived, etc.  I have always done it but recently made more of an effort to share our family stories with the kids.  Not at a formal "story time" but just little comments here and there, where it fits.  Years ago, I made a memory book about my parents with their childhood pictures and their stories.  I loved making it and sharing it with the kids from time to time.  It's amazing how times have changed regarding pictures.  My parents were able to each give me about 10 pictures from their childhood.  My children have hundreds of pictures from their childhood.  

I have my list of "favorite" stories from my parents / grandparents past.  The one where my dad got lost going to his new school in kindergarten.  Or how my grandma's mother sent her 3 year old little boy on a horse to get help when they were living out of their own in South Dakota and my great grandmother was about to have my grandma.  How my parents met at a church dance and my dad pulled my mom's shoe out of a pile to have the next dance.  How my dad said I am just like my grandma - fiesty, inpatient, independent and in a hurry.  My mom lived in such a small town growing up that when they trick or treated, they would stop and eat ice cream or other treat before going to the next house.  Someday I will start telling my kids things about my childhood like how their uncle could always get their aunt to spit up her milk at dinner time.  Or how Grandma was the reigning burping champ of our house.  I am learning Charlie's families stories and often tell them to Laci too.  

I don't know what part of our families life will make the family lore but I love making these memories, even if it is just playing Hullaballu after working on a snow day. 

Puzzle Day 2014 Complete!

The finished product.  We finished last night at 10:30.  Whew...  And Calvin was invited back into the puzzle room.  He played with his trucks and worked on his own puzzle.  I did laugh when I was helping him with his puzzle and he said "Mom, you are doing a great job on this puzzle but not very good at your puzzle."  :)

 

 

This is his "cheese" smile face.  Why do kids do that?  :)
He is working on his 63 piece I SPY puzzle.

The Finished Product! 

The other great thing I remembered about Puzzle Day is how therapeutic puzzles can be.  Charlie and I were goofy, sang songs and talked.  We talked about lots of things... everything and anything.  Important things.  Not important things.  Last year a good friend of mine lost her daughter.  She said that for a few weeks, she just sat at the dinning room table and did 1000 piece puzzles.  I understand why.  It would be therapeutic to be distracted and calm to get through that.

 

Our kids can be given our attention again... until 2015 Puzzle Day.

Puzzle Day 2014!!!

I started a tradition back in college / high school of doing a large puzzle on New Years Day.  This year we started on New Year's Eve.  We never get it done in one day.  Our child care still lacks on Puzzle Day.  We were gone for awhile on Wednesday dropping off Laci and when we got back, Calvin was clearly done with puzzle day and kept asking "Is the puzzle done yet?!?"  He was banned from puzzle day on Tuesday when he started to take it apart.  He keeps thinking we are "playing puzzle".  Fortunately, the kids are getting a little older and can entertain themselves a little bit.  Laci even tried to help with the puzzle too.  But I still found myself just setting out crackers, peanut butter, grapes and cheese on the table and calling Calvin over for dinner instead of actually making a good dinner.  In my defense, he was playing "puppy" and kept referring to himself as "Puppy Calvin" so setting out food like a dog wasn't too far fetched. 

At the end of Wednesday, we were over half done with puzzle hopefully tonight or Saturday we can finish it up.  And pay a little more attention to our children.  :) 

Almost a New Year!

Almost a new year.  And a new year will bring new stories and new adventures from my hearts.  We've add a lot of fun.  I'll write more in the new year!

Here is a little bit of my little Santa man.

A perfect Fall Sunday Dinner...

I had one of those perfect Sunday dinners yesterday.  It gets dark early now and was a beautiful fall day.  It was already almost dark when the kids and I were making dinner.  We made a simple Sunday night dinner.  Pancakes and scrambled eggs.  For extra fun, we made an apple crisp for dessert.  I even got out the apple corer / peeler machine.  Laci loves using that.  The kids had a lazy Sunday afternoon playing and watching TV.  By 5, they were ready for a break and we were all in the kitchen.  They normally don't help me but Charlie was taking a walk so I told them this was a special dinner for Daddy.  That made it extra special too.  We made hot chocolate to go with dinner - that was something my family did growing up often on Sunday nights.  

As I was taking a moment to enjoy the moment, Calvin spilled his hot chocolate all over the counter, cupboard and floor.  Moment over.  :)  

Somehow Laci had it in her head that this was a special surprise dinner for Daddy even though he knew what I was making before he left.  So when he got home, she kept him away and then led him into the kitchen with his eyes closed.  So sweet and just perfect! 

Saying goodbye.

November 1 was the 20 year anniversary of my grandpa's death.  I remember so many details of that day.  Answering the phone when my aunt called (she never called).  Giving the phone to my grandma and realizing why my aunt was calling.  Driving to Iowa for the funeral (the one and only day I ever missed school for a personal reason).  I was 16 and my grandpa was the first person I was close to that died.  I remember looking at him so peaceful in the casket thinking that he would be cramped.  He would need to stretch, right? No.  He was dead.  He looked so different.  Fortunately, at that time, I journaled and wrote down every detail and feeling from that time.  I don't remember much about my grandma at that time and how she was.  It was my grief and I was missing my grandpa. 

Charlie's grandma died a few months ago.  She was 94 and had Alzheimer's.  She had been "gone" for a few years.  It was sad but it was time.  I met Charlie's grandparents a few months before our wedding in 2004.  A year after that, they moved back to Indiana.  They had lived in Arkansas the past 40 years.  Charlie's grandparents became my surrogate grandparents because I had lost mine.  They were important to me and I made sure we visited them a few times a year.  By the time they moved back here, his grandma's alheizmers had already started.  Several years ago, Charlie's grandpa pulled me aside and said "I wish you had known her when she was herself."  I wish I had too.  

At his grandma's funeral my focus wasn't on her.  It was a celebration of her life and I learned so much about her, her life, her past and who she was.  I learned so much about all my grandparents at their funerals.  These are the things I want to teach my kids about their grandparents while they are still alive.  At her funeral, my focus was on his grandpa.  They were married for 72 years.  They knew each other their entire lives.  They were never apart and were very dependent on each other.  These last few months, she needed a lot more care and they were separated for the first time ever.  He would wake up and spend his days sitting by her side.  I wasn't sure how he would do without her.  

 

Grandpa Fred gave Grandma Dorothy this in the 8th grade. 
And she kept it... for 80 years. 

 

 

We took the kids to visit Grandpa a few weeks ago.  It was a good visit.  He is doing well.  As well as he can be.  He did say that he still misses her and he often turns while watching TV to talk to her, forgetting that she not there.  The kids know Grandpa Fred and know what to expect when we visit.  I'm so glad that they have that relationship with him.  

 

  I love the map in the background.  There are pins for where all of his kids, grandkids and great grandkids live.

I have read a few articles lately talking about the importance of kids knowing where they came from and passing down those important family stories.  I don't know why but apparently kids that know their family history have more confidence.  I can believe that.  I love family stories.  I spend a lot of time talking to Laci about her grandmas, grandpas, their families and telling them those little stories - like when Grandpa got lost on his way to kindergarten or how Grandma used to have sleepovers with her friends and her favorite afterschool snack was vanilla and chocolate ice cream swirled together.  I show them pictures.  I tell them about their great aunts and great uncles.  I want them to know where they came from so that they know who they are and where they are going.  

A few extra minutes...

In an ideal day, the kids would sleep until I go to work.  Charlie gets up at 5:30 and runs while I get ready for work.  When he gets home at 6:25, I leave.  He wakes the kids up at 7:00 a.m., gets them dressed and throws them in the car.  It's a pretty easy and simple process.  The kids both eat breakfast at school.  But inevitably one kid is up before I leave.  

Some days it makes it hard to leave.  Calvin is really clingy lately and cries when I go to leave.  I have told Calvin that taking a shower is not a mother/son activity!  I don't need him to shut the shower door, hand me a towel or flash the lights on and off while I am in the shower or putting on makeup.  Try that someday!  Sometimes I lie and say that I am going downstairs to get something and will be right back.  Then I run downstairs and leave.  It doesn't take him long to figure out I have left.  He will then throw a fit.  Fortunately I am gone and it is Charlie's problem.  Sometimes he will run down to the garage door crying when he sees my car is gone.  Once he ran down naked and went all over the laundry room floor!

But lately, I have been enjoying those few extra minutes I get with each kid.  Yesterday, Calvin and I snuggled on my bed before I turned the TV on and just laid there and giggled with each other.  It was so sweet.  Today Laci was awake.  We laid there in my bed together for a few minutes before I turned the TV on and left.  It was only a few minutes but it is a great way to start the day.

Moms don't get sick... Do they?

Oh yes they do!  Last Sunday morning, I woke up feeling cruddy and sick as can be.  I got myself onto the couch when Calvin came in at 6 am.  By 9 am I was feeling a bit better and figured I could make it to church.  I was wrong.  Halfway through the service I was regretting having come.  But the sermon and the service was wonderful and really hit me so I knew I was supposed to have come.  By the time we got into the car, I was in pretty bad shape.  Very nauseous.  Charlie picked up lunch for him and the kids and we went home.  I immediately went to bed - or the floor.  When I don't feel well, I prefer laying on the floor then on a bed.  I am not sure why.  And that is where I spent the rest of the day - floors, beds, couches.  If I was laying down, I would feel a little bit better but 5 minutes after I would try to sit up or stand and I was ready to pass out again.  It's funny because the kids were running in and out of my room and I found myself watching Disney - whether they were with me or not!  :) But there is nothing else on Sunday afternoons.  

But Charlie was wonderful on Sunday.  I don't know how I would have gotten through the day without his help.  He fed the kids.  Laci fell off her chair at lunch and took a faceplant on the floor, chocolate milk going everywhere.  He cleaned it all up.  He even took the kids Trunk or Treating at church in the afternoon.  I was so sad that I couldn't take them but I was so glad he did.  He helped them with dinner and gave Calvin his bath.  That was quite a challenge because Calvin was having a giant tantrum at that point.  I am so thankful for his help Sunday.  By 8 pm, I was starting to feel a little bit better and was optimistic I could go to work on Monday.

Laci was so sweet too.  She spent a lot of the day laying in bed with me too.  Her face and neck still hurt from her fall.  She still has a bruise on her face.  She would come over and give me a kiss on the cheek and ask me how I felt.  I told her that I didn't feel good but I would be okay.  She said "That is how I felt when I had the lice."  Not exactly the same thing but she tried.  I told her that we made it through that and we will make it though this.  Monday afternoon when I picked her up from school, the first thing she asked was "How are you feeling Mom.  Was work okay today?"  She is growing up into the sweetest, loveliest little lady.  I'm so proud of her and my family for helping me and taking care of it when I needed it!

Sometimes you don't know how good you have it...

My neighbor has just gone back to work.  She has been a stay at home mom for almost 6 years.  She and her husband own a business and they are now both working there together.  I was asking her how that was going.  Being a working mom is all I know but I imagine there is a bit of transition in going back to work.  She is working three 12 hour shifts a week and her husband is staying home with the kids while she works and vice versa.  I think that doing that and having 4 full days home with the kids would be easier than having to jump into 5 days a week.  We were talking about housework and if Charlie helps or not.  I told her about our system.  As I told her about our system, I realized that it's not bad.  We clean the house on Sunday.  Charlie does the floors, toilets, trash and yardwork.  I do the kitchen, family room and laundry.  During the week, I cook dinner and he does the dishes.  Not much else cleaning wise happens.  Sunday afternoon the house looks great.  By Friday, it's a disaster pit.  This past Friday it was so bad that I couldn't even find a clean spot on the counter without crumbs to fill out a form.  But Sunday afternoon, it was clean again.  She seemed impressed - mostly that Charlie does the dishes every day.  I reminded her that this was an evolution and not a transition.  We have been doing the two working parent thing a long time.  It's all we know.  But it reminded me that we have a good system.  

When I got home, I told Charlie about the conversation.  He was pretty proud of himself because it made him look good.  I was proud of him... and us too.  

Cowgirl Day

Isn't she cute?  It's Cowgirl day at school today.  :)

Calvin and his jammies

Sunday, we got home from church and lunch at noon.  As we pulled into the driveway, Calvin yelled out "Yeah, time for jammies!" 

Calvin loves his jammies.  He would wear his jammies all day if we let him.  He loves when we are all in our jammies together.  I think he just loves being home and being in his jammies, especially all of us together.  Jammies mean staying at home to him.  Every morning, if he wakes up early and I am still home, the first thing he asks is "Mommy in jammies?"  If I want him to go back to sleep, I will try to say "Yes, I am in my jammies" even if I am fully dressed.  He has caught on to that though.  He knows that if I am in my jammies, it is a stay at home day.  If I am dressed before he gets up, I am going to work.  :(  It makes me a little sad to have to tell him that I am dressed and leaving soon.  He is goign through a stage where he doesn't want me to go to work in the morning and cries for me everyday when he wakes up. 

We also laugh because for babies, there really isn't much difference between clothes and pajamas.  Now that Calvin is a little older, his clothes are more real clothes although he still mostly just wears sweats / athletic pants and t-shirts.  They are much more comfortable and easier to pull on and off than jeans and pants. 

The other night, Laci and I were out at her first girl scouts meeting.  Calvin and Charlie had a boys night.  Charlie later told me that Calvin wanted to put his pajamas on early and he thought it was because he was tired.  I reminded him that he wasn't tired, he just loves his jammies. 

Mother Daughter Nit Picking

I am currently in the middle of every parents worst nightmare - That dreaded four letter word - LICE!!!

 

The fear started a couple of days after Laci's birthday party.  The school nurse called and said that one of the girl's from Laci's birthday party had lice.  I am cursing my mom for giving me the cute craft kits for visors to do at Laci's party!  Really, hats fro 6 year olds.  Urg.  I talked to the nurse for awhile in the most inconvenient of times (Charlie and I were driving to the cemetery at his grandma's funeral) and the conclusion is that there was nothing I could do but wait.

 

Wait...  And check Laci's head.

Wait..  And check Laci's head.

Remember, I have no idea what lice look like or what I am looking for.  Every night as I look at Laci's head, I remind her that if I see anything, I will scream.  But I don't see anything.  Two weekends after Laci's party, I see a lot of head scratching.  But I don't see anything in her head.

Monday at lunch, the school nurse calls again.  It's the lice.  So I go to pick Laci up.  The main reason is to spend the afternoon going through her hair - a very time consuming process.  When I get to the school nurses office, it is a party in there.  There are 3 girls from Laci's class having a great time together.  The nurse shows me the lice and what to look for.  As predicated, I jumped and screamed a little.  Ugg. 

 

Laci and I head off to the store for nit picking supplies and spend the afternoon working on her hair.  We shampoo her head and wash all the pillow cases in the house along with Calvin's blankie and Dogs and her sleeping bag and blanket.  And then the real work starts.  I meticulously go through every strand of Laci's hair, picking up, killing and throwing out the lice and as many eggs as I see.  It was gross.  Laci sat on the floor watching spongebob.  I hate spongebob.  There weren't too many lice but that is relative.  I don't know how many a lot is.  I feel confident that I get all the lice but my confidence level is low when it comes to the eggs.  The directions are to wash the hair again in the shampoo 7 days later to get the eggs that have become lice.   

 

As soon as I am done, I shampoo and shower myself.  I just feel dirty.  I try to put my children's needs and fears first but I have long hair - my terror level over my own hair is pretty high.  Calvin also gets a shampoo Monday night.  I know he doesn't have the patience for nit picking so if I find lice in his hair, the clippers are coming out.  

 

We finished at about 4:00.  So we headed off to Barnes & Nobles to use the birthday coupon for a cookie. After that afternoon, we deserved a few minutes of downtime.

 

The more people I talk to, I have realized that nearly everyone has gone through this.  I am not alone.  As I was leaving work Monday, my coworker gave me a peptalk .  She had done it several times with her daughter when she was growing up.  

 

We are not done with this nightmare yet.  I picked a few more eggs from her head last night.  I think I will have her do an extra preventive shampoo tonight as well as Monday night and maybe next Friday.... But the one thing I will remember is that when it was done, Laci told me that she had a good afternoon with me and she was glad we got to be together.  I won't say that nitpicking is now my favorite mother/daughter activity but these days I will take what I can get and I will always have that special afternoon with my daughter in the middle of this nightmare.

Mama's Bible - Mel McDaniel

I don't know where I have been for the last 30 years but I just discovered Mel McDaniel yesterday.  I downloaded his greatest hits and found this gem.  If you aren't a fan of country music from the 80s (which apparently I am!) The lyrics are below.  This is the message I want my children to learn from me.  This is the greatest gift I can give them.  
Mama's Bible

Verse: 1 
I use to be afraid of dying when I’d think about having to go, 
now I know I’m gonna live forever mama’s bible tells me so, 
it said that just believing is the key to it all, 
and that I’m forgiven every time I fall. 

Chorus: 
Hallelujah, hallelujah, mama’s bible tells me so. 

Verse: 2 
When it rains I know he’s crying for the love of all mankind, 
and he hurts inside just like us when he’s left behind, 
but I know he is my shepherd and he’ll never walk away, 
because he gave us Jesus for a friend on judgment day. 

Verse: 3 
All I’d loved are cared for had either changed or gone, 
I reached for mama’s bible for strength to carry on, 
like my heart it gathered dust like it’s pages I was worn, 
and as to life for both of us oh Gabriel blow your horn. 

Ending: 
And I’ll trust in mama’s bible till it’s time for me to go, 
hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

Daddy Daughter Date Night

Saturday night was a Daddy Daughter Date night at our local Chick Fil A.  I had heard about these events and quickly signed up Laci and Charlie.  Their date almost didn't happen when Charlie was unexpectedly given two tickets to the Purdue / Notre Dame game.  He spent the day debating between going to the game or going up there to sell the tickets.  

Chick Fil A does a great job of setting up these nights.  Part of the restaurant is blocked off for the event.  The tables are set with flowers and tableclothes.  The whole purpose is to promote fathers and daughters spending time and talking together.  So the placemat is filled with discussion prompting questions and they are giving a booklet to take home to "continue the conversation" full of more discussion questions.  The dads and daughters talked about the day the girls were born and what things they enjoy doing with their dads the most.  There was a band and a balloonists.  There was even limo rides around the parking lot.  All and all it was a very sweet dinner for the two of them and I am glad they got to spend that hour together.

Calvin and I did not have that special mother / son night.  Calvin had fallen asleep after the party and I woke him up at 6:30 so he would go to bed that night.  He is a complete disaster grump when he is woken up. I made a frozen pizza and since it was such a nice night, I thought we could enjoy it outside.  I was wrong.  I finally got him calmed down enough just to take a stroller ride around the block.  This was our attempt at a special dinner.  The look on his face pretty much sums it up.  Maybe our special Chick Fil A Mother / Son Knight in the spring will go better.  

 

 

Our Annual Family Picture - Year 9

If you don't know our family story, Charlie and I both went to Purdue.  But not together.  I joke that he didn't wait for me.  He had graduated before I started.  But Purdue has still always been a very special place for us.  We have gone to many basketball and football games through the years.  We even got engaged there at the Engineering Fountain on Valentine's Day 2004.  

I have a large family scrapbook with one page for every year.  I love that it chronicles our family and is an easy way to watch us grow in one spot.  So every September near our anniversary, we take a family picture.  Since we often go to Purdue football games, we have started a tradition of taking our family picture at the Engineer Fountain - the place where our family started years ago.  I love having that picture to watch our family grow and change. 

 

I think I need a new Purdue shirt - I am wearing the same one almost every year.  :)

 

 

I love that they get to play in the fountain that we used to run through at Purdue.  Of course, when we were there, the metal barrier was not in the middle and we could run straight through.

As we walk around Purdue, we always tell Laci about our time there - what buildings we had classes in, what dorms we lived in, why it is special to us.  When we asked her this year why the fountain was special she said "I know, I know... it's where you got married."  She is completely unimpressed already!  :)

Blue Team. Move It Out...

One of Charlie and my favorite movies is Ocean's 11... followed by the entire Ocean's 12 and 13 franchise.  It has become of those movies for us that we quote constantly and can find a quote from it for almost any occasion.

There is a scene at the end where Brad Pitt and company are the make believe squad team.  As they leave the casino, he says "Blue Team.  Move it out."  For some reason, Charlie has latched onto that phrase.  For years, as we leave the house, he says "Blue Team. Move it out."  Laci, of course thought it was based on the clothes we were wearing and would say "Dad, you can be the blue team.  I'll be the pink team.  Mom is the green team."  

This has caught on even to Calvin.  The other day, we were getting ready to go to the Purdue football game.  It was a very trying morning and Calvin had gotten up at 5:30.  Calvin and I were ready to go by 9:45.  He picked up a princess back pack and filled it full of random things - books, a baseball glove, some cars and fruit snacks.  As he was walking around the house wearing this back pack, he was saying "blue team. blue team. blue team. time to go!"  It was pretty funny.

After Dinner Walks

We started a new routine this summer.  Charlie's schedule has been modified slightly and we started eating at home on Saturday nights.  On the nights that all four of us eat at home, we have started taking an after dinner walk.  It has been really nice.  On Friday nights we still do Taco Bell and after dinner usually go out for ice cream or to a park to play for some family time also.

On our dinner at home nights, during dinner we talk about what we want to do.  Last summer we played tennis several times but we haven't played tennis at all this summer.  There is a small pond full of blue gill and a few big cat fish that we sometimes walk to to feed the fish.  Our favorite walk this summer has been over the bridge to the adjoining neighborhood.  They built the path and bridge about 3 summers ago and we love it.  Once you get past the neighborhood, you had hidden back behind trees and a creek.  You forget you are so close to home.  The neighborhood has a park and basketball court also.  We usually walk the mile to the other park and sometimes a little further to their pond to feed the fish.  Laci takes her bike and Calvin gets pushed in his tricycle.  We usually play at the park for about half an hour (or until Laci has to go to the bathroom) and then turn around and walk home.  On the bridge we stop and look for animals.  We have seen turtles, deer and a heron.  Calvin even saw a kangaroo once!  :)  By the time we get home, it is time for bath, bedtime shows and bed.  We are all worn out.

I am looking forward to the fall walks with the leaves changing color and the crinkle of the leaves as you walk over them.  I am not sure what we will do in the winter when we won't be able to take as many family walks.  Laci loves card games.  Maybe we can teach Calvin a few games.  I hope we can continue the tradition of family time after family dinner.  

My Elbow...

I never think about my elbow.  But my elbow fascinates Laci.  That little flap of skin that appears when I straighten my arm.  When we lay in bed and watch TV at night, she plays with that little flap.  It's like when people twirl their hair.  She plays with my elbow.  I have a scar on one elbow from when I was 4 years old and fell backwards off a picnic table onto a patio.  My elbow has history.  I feel like there should be a deep metaphor about the example I need to set because my daughter sees all of me, not just the parts I think about or know.  She sees all of me - my good parts and my faults.  My face that I show the world and my elbow that is never seen or looked at by anyone but her.  Maybe there is a deep metaphor and lesson in there.  Or maybe she just likes to play with that little flap of skin on my elbow.