A glimpse into our lives...

If You Haven't Heard…

…well then let me share our news with you. We are expecting baby #4 in the end of November. We are excited for this addition to our family. Lorelei has strong hopes for a sister. We will be finding out the gender of the baby this time around (never did for the previous 3). I will keep you all updated when we find out.

I wanted to also share this picture that Lorelei drew for me the day I announced our pregnancy to my family. My sister and I were having a two-day garage sale at my parents house. I had told Lorelei during our drive to the garage sale that I was pregnant. She asked over and over again, "Are you joking me Mom?" Lorelei was very excited, but I told her it was our secret and that only Aunt Angela knew (and Steve, of course). I went home after our day 1 of the garage sale, but Lorelei stayed the night at Grandma's house with Aunt Angela, Elizabeth and Caleb. The next morning at breakfast the conversation somehow steered towards Lorelei bringing up something about when I stay at the hospital. Grandpa immediately asked her if I was pregnant. Lorelei left the table and went running upstairs in a panic and told Angela that she hadn't told Grandpa, that he had guessed. Angela's response was that Grandpa can be a very good guesser.

So our announcement that evening was not a surprise to Grandpa, but Grandma was surprised. For some reason she thought I was selling all my baby clothes, but really only Angela was selling her clothes.

The picture Lorelei drew is of me in the garage during the garage sale. See the small, thin chimney on the top? She drew it to exactly match what I was wearing. I had on a black zip up coat and brown capri pants with black shoes. I was wearing earrings and sunglasses. Along the top she wrote Mom with a crown next to the word. It is such a fantastic picture I wanted to share its beauty with everyone.

The same day we put a Big Brother shirt on Charlie. It took some of Steve's family a few minutes before they caught on, but Grandma George knew what it meant right away.

Happy Mother's Day

 

See these two gleaming faces? They greeted me with Mother's Day gifts at preschool pick-up yesterday.

Allan's said, "This is for you mom." Then he went on his merry way jumping down the hallway. The teacher said he was supposed to tell me "Happy Mother's Day" when he handed it to me. I wasn't too concerned. Later in the car his real loving moment came when I was driving and he said from his seat behind me, "I picked the striped flower for you mom. It was your favorite color." That meant more to me than the words Happy Mother's Day. It was thoughtful and he had considered what I liked and choose something special just for me. (He had also decorated the pot with glitter and paint. It is hard to see in the photo.)

Lorelei has been making me special cards and pictures all week. She has been whispering Mother's Day ideas for me in Steve's ear every night when he gets home from work. She loves a good holiday. Her flower was packaged in a bag that she had decorated. She too choose a purple flower for me because it is my favorite color.

We are hoping to plant the flowers outside in my flower boxes as soon as this rain stops. Until them I am enjoying their beauty on my kitchen counter.

Spring Chicks

I wanted to share a project I made with the kids last week. We used the containers that come from the gumball type machines in stores to make a home for some cute, fluffy chicks.

To create your own use the following:

• domed container
• Easter grass
• paper flowers
• chenille chicks (ours were from Michaels at Easter time)
• tacky glue
• glue dots

We used glue dots to glue down a patch of Easter grass to the bottom of the container. Next we put glue dots on the bottom of the chicks feet and attached them to the grass. Then we picked out our flowers and used tacky glue to add them to the grass and Lorelei put some flowers on her chicks heads. We let them dry and then added the tops. A cute  and cozy home for a mommy and her baby chick.

Uncle Glenn's Funeral Speech

When I moved to Juneau I started hearing  a weekly feature on public radio by an agricultural extension agent. An agricultural extension service in Juneau?  We have no agriculture!  But we do have landscaping and a lot of small gardens. The feature starts with a song that reminds me of Dad.

Inch by inch and a row by row.

We’re gonna make this garden grow.

All it takes is a rake and a hoe

and a piece of fertile ground.

 

Morning frost still comes I know,

but blessing keep these seeds I sow.

Let them linger safe below

until warm rains come tumbling down.

 

The song is more than just a reminder of Dad’s giant garden in Lansing. It’s a metaphor for his hopeful diligent way of living. Ham Miller is not in a happier place. He was happy when he lived here with us. Sure, he got impatient and worked up from time to time. But he could lift the mood of twenty people in a room any time he wanted. He thrived on lifting our spirits.

Dad didn’t need wealth and expensive things to be happy. He worked gently to create happiness. I remember when he went to Isle Royal National Park with us on a backpacking trip. One night it rained hard for a long time. We were in the middle of nowhere. A bone numbing 40° temperature greeted us at dawn. We were a dozen high school boys in a foul mood, lying in our wet sleeping bags shivering and complaining. That morning would have been the most miserable event on the trip. Dad turned it into the best morning of the trip.

“Everybody up” he said with a grin. “We have work to do. Run, don’t walk. Get moving.” It worked. He turned our misery into a competition with half-dressed kids trying to fetch the close-by wood for a bonfire. We started laughing at the absurdity as we sprinted farther out in the forest looking for scraps of wood to burn. We tried to outdo each other by bringing in the biggest logs we could carry. Dad lit the fire and we gathered around to warm up. He didn’t let us stay long.

“Go down to the lake” he said. “Catch some perch for breakfast.” So away we went with our fishing poles. When we got back with the perch we were so hungry and impatient that we didn’t wait until they were fully cooked. I remember eating raw perch and thinking that it tasted better than shrimp.

When we shouldered our packs and walked away later that morning through forests devoid of firewood, Dad said “next winter a wolf will trot across that fire site and jump in surprise when he steps on the hot rocks.”

My brother Chuck mentioned last night that Dad had some flaws. For example, once while pheasant hunting a deer stood up in the tall grass near Dad. It was not deer season at the time but he couldn’t resist. We had birdshot in our venison that year.

Dad didn’t mind getting teased about his eccentricity. During spring cleaning he would wash the walls and ceiling with a floor mop. He tried anti-itch cream as a mustard stain remover. Once, somebody noticed him smearing preparation H in his nostrils. Maybe that’s what did him in.

And there was the trip to Chippewa Lake, with the car full of kids, where Dad stopped in Ionia to get ice cream cones. He asked everybody what flavor they wanted. Some wanted chocolate, some strawberry, others the chocolate-vanilla swirl combination. Also, there were requests for the ice cream dipped in chocolate. Dad went into the store and when he returned he was carrying a box with eight vanilla ice cream cones. After that one of us took the ice cream order.

Leaving church on Sundays at Saint Therese Church Dad would often procrastinate in the parking lot. He would say “we are going to be the last ones out of the lot” this morning. And that is exactly what he did. 

When we got home he would often make garbage for breakfast. He’d take a dozen eggs and crack them into the skillet. Then he would go to the refrigerator and start chopping up everything that was left over from other meals. There would be hot dogs, potatoes, carrots, peas… you get the picture.

More recently, Mom says Ham got inspired by cooking shows. She had to tell him to stop putting vinegar in everything she was cooking. One morning Lucie Salyer was watching Dad move around the kitchen. He put rhubarb cake in a bowl. He added milk, orange juice, red wine to the rhubarb cake and sprinkled on some grated cheddar cheese. Then it was warmed up in the microwave and he ate it for breakfast.

When there was an important sporting event Dad would get uptight. I am ashamed to say he sometimes bet against the Spartans!  I would bet 25¢ on the Tigers if he wanted to bet on Boston. That way we could both feel good whatever the outcome.

One time in the late 60’s Linda’s friends left a pack of cigarettes in the car.  When Dad found them he called all the kids over and said “let’s have a smoke”. We started smoking and coughing and turning green. He told us that we could smoke anytime we wanted as long as we smoked with him. He would give us the cigarettes and he would light them for us. My sister Kay missed that lesson. Other than her, none of us ever smoked cigarettes or used tobacco products.

As we were growing up the haircut styles were changing. Dad was our barber. At first he just buzzed our hair, but then we talked him into putting his hand on top of our heads and cutting everything that stuck up between his fingers. We had a neighbor, Mr. Alexander, who taught art classes at MSU. His son Stewart had long beautiful hair. One time after we got our round of haircuts Dad called Stewart over to see what would happen. Stewart sat down so he got the same buzz cut as the Miller boys.

Dad always wanted to show us interesting things. If there were baby animals on his construction site he would bring them home. Once a wild rabbit fell into a hole. It couldn’t get out. Did put it in a box, brought it home and released it in the basement. Weeks afterward we were still looking for that rabbit. One night we found it when it kicked over a jar of canned tomatoes way up on the top shelf where it had been hiding in a quiet corner.

Another time there were bats at a job site. It’s not often you get to handle bats so Ham put on leather gloves and stuffed a couple into a paper bag. He was driving home on the freeway when one of the bats chewed its way to freedom. Imagine the scene! Dad is driving down the road through traffic with five bats circling his head in the car. He said he opened the window and kept going

I’ll tell you one of his favorite stories: I was driving down a country road last night and ran over a cat. I stopped to see if there was anything I could do but the cat was dead. I walked up to a nearby farmhouse. A lady came out because she saw the car stopped in the road. I told her that I may have killed her cat. She asked me what does the cat look like? (Make gestures like a smashed dead cat with eyes closed and tongue sticking out). She said no, what did the cat look like before you hit it? (Make extremely panicked face with extended claws and buggy eyes.)

Every morning in recent years Dad did the word jumble. Perhaps you’ve seen the word jumble in the morning paper. His day couldn’t start until the word jumble was complete so we would pitch in. Mom sometimes complained but she usually helped too.

Ham had an instant connection with little kids. His interactions were often mini-lessons on how to live and how to have fun. My uncle Bernie told us last night about meeting Dad when Mom and Dad were dating. He described Ham as instant intense fun.

When we were in school Dad would frequently ask at dinner time what we had learned that day. Dad’s little quiz made us keep score on what we had learned.

Some of dad’s favorite sayings:

- I try to be right at least half the time.

- Do something even if it’s wrong.

- Stay single and raise your kids the same way too.

Dad was a WWII Navy veteran. He played tennis, bocce, shuffle board and softball after he retired. Earlier in life he was a top high school athlete and then a professional baseball player. He was a “natural” at every sport.

My uncle Frank mentioned last night that they taught themselves how to ice skate. My dad was an ice skating fiend. He introduced us to a great ice skating game called “I got it”. He would shout “I got it”. Then, everybody would chase him. Whoever touched him would say I got it, and then everybody would chase that person. Dad “had it” most of the time. He was pretty much uncatchable even for the big kids. Later, when I was in college I came home and needed some ice skates.  I borrowed Dad’s old skates. They really sucked. I can’t believe he could skate that well with terrible skates.

I’m going to sit down now but before ago I want some audience participation. Rowdy please. You can stop when Father Charlie waves his arms to make you stop. But keep on going for a while, even then. Ham used to have late night parties with little kids starting with a 60s style demonstration. Here’s how it went:

Quietly: “raisins and prunes”

Louder:  “raisins and prunes”

Shouting: “raisins and prunes”

Waiving arms marching and chanting: “raisins and prunes! raisins and prunes”!

Grandpa Hamburger

 

My Grandfather passed away last week. It was and is a reminder to cherish every moment we have with friends and family. Although he was 83, his death was unexpected, at least to me. He was a tall, thin man who played sports his entire life. He died of a stroke and was surrounded by his children and grandchildren at the hospital as we all said our last goodbyes.

Being in my early 30's I have always cherished the fact that I had both grandparents on my mother's side. They attended the baptisms of all three of my children and we have great photos of them with my children during those events and during other moments while we visited them at Pentwater.

As the oldest grandchild I am sure my memories are quite different from those of the other grandchildren. I remember visiting my grandparents house at Lafayette Ave. in Lansing. My Grandpa was always willing to play catch in the yard with us or other silly games. In the basement he had woodworking tools, as that was his profession. I have a random memory of him giving Angela and I Tic-Tacs, the white mint flavored kind, as a special candy treat. Grandpa was full of stories and jokes, as a child I was never sure if he was telling me a true story or something he heard. He was very convincing that way. I did not inherit his storytelling skills, but I do like to attribute my creative side to him. He had many a painting, even if they were only paint by number, that displayed his talent in this area. He was the first to show Angela and I how to draw a dimensional drawing, at the early age of say 7, we were in awe.

Later, when I was in high school and then college I saw my Grandpa, but not as often. In those teen and twenty-something years I lost sight of how important it is to have a good visit with your grandparents. When I started to have children I once again realized how lucky I was to have great-grandparents for my children. What a true blessing. We tried to embrace every worthy picture taking moment. Great-grandpa took us and our little tots out on pontoon rides on Pentwater Lake and then into Lake Michigan, where Angela and I would clutch our tiny beings with all our might and try to convince Grandpa that there was no need to drive in these wavy waters. Grandpa also loved to keep a smoky fire burning all day in the fire pit. Grandpa's hobbies kept him busy building stools and plant stands for anyone who wanted one. Part of his last day was spent building a bench for the end of the dock, it was to be a place for him and Grandma to rest after their walks.

During this past summer Lorelei and Allan shared some great moments with Great-Grandpa at Pentwater. One such moment began when Grandma, who had just baked homemade cookies, offered both of them one to eat. Grandpa tried to convince them that his brittle, ginger cookies tasted better than any cookie Grandma baked. Lorelei had an unsure look on her face, could he be serious? They had a taste off, they were able to eat one of each cookie, a true delight for Lorelei and Allan. When asked which cookie was the winner Lorelei just sat there with a timid look on her face. Finally after some coercing on my part she answered, "Grandpa's cookies are the silliest." The next morning we wandered over to their house to find Great-Grandma and Grandpa enjoying a morning coffee from McDonald's. Grandpa was of course enjoying a ginger cookie with his coffee. He offered them both one of his cookies and they all ate them together on the deck. From the look on Allan's face, in the picture above, it tells me that Grandpa was probably telling them some story or joke.

The saddest part for me is that Lorelei is probably the only one of my children that will have memories of Great-Grandpa. She was able to attend the funeral with us and say goodbye to Grandpa for the last time. On the day that he died I dropped her and the boys off at my mother-in-law's house so I could go to the hospital before he passed. Before I left her she said to me, "Mom, I am sorry you are having such a sad day." Later that night she told me that she was sad because she had wanted to see Grandpa Miller before he went to heaven. After a minute I realized that her idea was that at the moment he died, he (his body) had gracefully floated up into heaven to be with Jesus. What a beautiful thought.

Grandpa, you and your stories will be greatly missed. We love you.

In Memoriam

 

Herman A. "Ham" Miller, formerly of Lansing, died on April 20, 2010 at the age of 83. He was born in Fowler, MI to Edith (Feldpausch) and Fred Miller. After high school, he joined the U.S. Navy serving from 1945 to 1946. He played pitcher for the Duluth Dukes and the Winston-Salem Cardinals minor league baseball teams from 1947 to 1949. He married Kathleen Platte in 1949 and raised nine children in Lansing, MI. He worked as a carpenter on many projects for general contractors in Lansing and then worked for Michigan State University, retiring in 1992 . Ham moved from Lansing to Pentwater, MI and enjoyed his summers there and winters at Ocean Resorts in Ft. Pierce, FL. Mr. Miller was preceded in death by his son Fred H. Miller. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Kathleen, sons Charles (Kay) Miller, Thomas Miller, Glenn (Joan) Miller, Keith (Julie) Miller, daughters Linda (Donald) Chaffee, Edith (Allan) Smith, Janet (Charles) Strahan, Kay (Dan) Salyer and 25 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sisters Gertrude Schueller and Theresa (George) Fox, and his brother Edmund (Eveline) Miller. If Herman Miller would have earned a dollar for every person he made laugh, he would have been the richest man in the world. The Mass of the Resurrection for Mr. Miller will be offered Friday, April 23 2010 at 11:00 a.m. from St. Joseph Catholic Church, 2380 W. Jackson Rd., Hart, MI. Visitation will be Thursday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at the Tate-King Funeral Home, 2370 N. 72nd Ave., Hart, MI. Memorial contributions may be given to the Pentwater VFW Post 6017 or the American Cancer Society . To share a memory with the family, visit www.tatekingfuneralhome.com

Published in Lansing State Journal on April 22, 2010

Charlie's Top Ten List

I realized I never did Charlie's Top Ten List for his 1st Birthday. So here it is little chubbs, ten things you like to do at 1 year old:

1. Put everything in your mouth. (Last week you ate a huge part of a fat red crayon, wrapper and all. I saw it come out the other end the next morning.)

2. Climb onto things; including stairs, small chairs, the step-stool etc.

3. Nod your head for "yes" or "no" when I ask you a question.

4. Eat chocolate and frozen blueberries, not necessarily together.

5. Push cars or the Fisher Price bus around on the floor while making motor noises.

6. Play with Allan's dinosaurs.

7. Crawl as fast as you can and chase the kids around the kitchen.

8. Whine, whine and oh, did I say whine, while hanging on my legs.

9. Stand yourself up in the middle of the floor and take a few steps on your own. (Just started doing this the past few days.)

10. Hold Lorelei's hands and walk around the house with her.

Such a sweet little guy and we all love you so much. You never get to try any new skill by yourself, you always have the other two by your side as helpers. You are getting really close to walking and that makes me excited because Spring is just around the corner and there is lots outside for you to explore.

Hugs and kisses to you little Charlie buddy.

The Birthday Girl

On your birthday, it's okay to wake up early and squeal with delight also waking the entire family.

On your birthday, it's okay to eat cheesecake for breakfast.

On your birthday, it's okay to ask your Mom to sing you "Happy Birthday" every time there is a pause in the conversation.

On your birthday, it's okay to wear a small princess tiara in your hair.

On your birthday, it's okay to stand in front of the full-length mirror and admire your beauty while singing to yourself for 5 to 10 minutes.

****************************************************************************************************************

I remember the day she was born as if it were yesterday. Steve and I were totally smitten and in love with our new little bundle of beauty and cries. Five years later and we are of course still in love with her.

Lorelei woke up extra early the morning of her birthday and discovered that Tinkerbell had visited her during the night and left her shadow behind and a small present. That discovery provoked the squealing. Through the baby monitor I heard her gasp and get all excited, then she must have turned the light on and I heard Allan moaning and yelling, "too bright, too bright!" Next I hear Lorelei proclaiming, "It's just like Aunt Amanda's. Just rub your eyes, just rub your eyes and then you will be able to see (the latter directed at Allan)." Then I heard pitter-patter down the steps and into my bedroom. By then we were all awake, so we had to hurry upstairs to see Tinkerbell's shadow. Steve was just getting ready to leave for work so he came to look too. While we were upstairs in her bedroom we all sang her "Happy Birthday" with the music box.

Next she had cheesecake for breakfast and some cereal because it was a school morning. She choose to wear her new polka-dot dress and a princess tiara in her hair for her special day. While I took a shower she stood outside the bathroom door looking in the full-length mirror admiring herself and signing a made-up song. She got ready for school and we loaded into the car. It was her snack day so she was bringing rainbow-cupcakes baked in ice cream cones for her treat. They were celebrating Dr. Seuss that day, so we also brought eggs, cream cheese and bread for them to make green eggs and toast.

I wanted to do a previous post titled "Don't Call Me Betty Crocker". The cupcakes we made for her snack took 4 hours to prepare and bake. I found the recipe in Family Fun Magazine and her and I had previously decided to bake the cupcakes for her treat in ice cream cones. It wasn't the ice cream cones that made it hard, it was the spooning all the different colors of batter into the cones that just about killed me. If you don't like to bake (like me) and you have a 1 year old that likes to hang at your feet and whine (like me), then this recipe is NOT for you! The rainbow cupcakes were fun for her class  though, March is reading month and the theme in their room has something to do with rainbows. So it was appropriate.

She was excited when she got to school. Since it was reading month she brought along her photo album from our Florida vacation. (You can bring a book on your snack day.) It didn't actually require any reading, but Ms. Mary said it was okay. As soon as the other girls in the room saw the album they wanted to sit at the table with her and look at it together.

Her Dad picked her up from school and took her out for lunch. How exciting is that? Then we spent the afternoon at home all together. We took a walk to see the sheep in the late afternoon and then I made dinner. She had requested pizza and pop. Aunt Amanda visited us for dinner to help us celebrate. I have a great picture of Lorelei telling Amanda a string of made up jokes that made absolutely no sense, but Allan and Lorelei thought they were funny.

We had cheesecake for dessert, of course, and we sang "Happy Birthday" twice and then she blew out her candles. Then it was present time. She opened up Allan's drawings and cards first, then the big gifts. She got a Snow White doll and a Prince Charming doll. She was very excited. Before Aunt Amanda left we had her take a family snapshot of us on the couch. So cute!

Her last request for the day as I kissed and hugged her goodnight was for me to sing her "Happy Birthday" one last time.

Here is your Top Ten List for the year:

1. You love to sing songs and strum on your guitar.

2. You love to help Charlie walk by holding his hands and leading him around the house.

3. You love to give me compliments daily.

4. You love playing in your room with your princess and fairy dolls.

5. You still suck your thumb while holding your pink blanket.

6. You give the sweetest smoochy-lip kisses and you like to get them just right.

7. You like to play pretend with Allan, sometimes it involves princesses and sometimes dinosaurs.

8. You are very girly and like to wear nail polish and make-up, especially when Aunt Amanda puts it on you while she is getting ready to go out.

9. You are helpful and sometime clear your place at the table and rinse it in the sink. You also like to pour your own water and make your own snacks.

10. You like to keep your room VERY messy.

Family Vacation

We took a family vacation to Florida for 10 days in February. As many of you with children know, traveling with three young kids is no small task. Finding summer clothes for them and packing everything up took two weeks of my life. As I write this I still haven't finished unpacking. (I am hoping summer is almost here and I can leave their summer clothes in the suitcases until we need them. Should be any day now, right?)

On our flights down and back we were accompanied by Angela and Dennis and their two kids and Aunt Amanda. I am pretty sure I could hear the groans of some of the passengers as we walked on the plane with our 5 spirited children. Overall it went pretty well. None of them slept, but no one was screaming. The bribes of candy, magic coloring books and Leapsters kept them busy.

We were lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa George waiting to pick us up from the airport in their motor home bus. They drove us to the house were we would be staying for our vacation. Ang, Dennis and Amanda stayed there with us one night and then went to the Nickelodeon hotel. The kids got some swimming in that first day. It was one of those blue lip days, the weather was not warm and neither was the water. The adults were trying to stay out of the water until Lorelei freaked out as she drifted toward the deeper side of the pool and poor Aunt Amanda had to submerse herself in frigid water to guide Lorelei back to the shallow end.

While we waited for the rest of Steve's family to arrive we took a Thursday morning trip to Downtown Disney. We had a fun lunch at T-Rex Cafe. Allan was loving it all and Lorelei was a little petrified of all the noise and lighting changes taking place. While Steve was taking this picture of Allan and I, Allan was terrified of the T-Rex because he was moving and making noises. It was a lot to take in, but I recommend eating there if you have a boy that loves dinosaurs. We were seated in the ice cave and it was changing colors the entire time we were there. During the meteor storm (that was in the next seating area over) the lights in our area would go really crazy and there was thunder noises throughout the restaurant. Steve and I split a meal to save on cost, the meals are VERY large. The kids got dessert to eat because we had packed them a lunch which they had eaten beforehand. I knew that if they didn't eat before they got there we would end up throwing most of their food out. A restaurant like this keeps their attention and they are never focused on the food. After lunch we went through some more stores and we did some pin trading. I ordered some Disney Trading Pins off of eBay before we left so we could try trading with Cast Members. We had fun searching out cool pins for Lorelei and Allan. At the end of our Florida trip Lorelei had collected 4 princess hidden Mickey teacup pins.

Friday morning Steve's siblings and their kids finally made it to Florida. They drove our bus from Michigan and during the first night one of the brake lines rusted through. Not so good, it delayed them a day while they waited to get the bus fix. The rest of the trip went relatively smoothly. Steve and Andy had mounted a flat screen TV inside before the trip, the kids kept busy in their car seats watching Dora.

Saturday we took the bus filled with the entire George family to a park in downtown Orlando. We found a playground where our kids burned off some energy. I love this picture of Steve spinning Lorelei. The way she is laughing makes me smile (she was screaming too). Little chunk was enjoying his moment in the sunshine too. He loves looking around and seeing new things. Allan was busy during the entire walk to the playground. He was finding all sorts of treasures such as - feathers, sticks, and stones. He really wanted me to let him put a stick in the water. It was so great to get outside and enjoy some sunshine. Reports of heavy snow in Michigan were making me even more glad to be in FL.

Sunday was Charlie's first birthday. We ate brunch at Chef Mickey's at Disney World. The kids loved it and Lorelei and Lillian were all about the singing and swinging napkins with the characters. During one of the singing napkin sessions Charlie, Lorelei and Charlotte got cupcakes to celebrate their birthdays. Charlie made an absolute mess with his cupcake. The highlight was when Minnie Mouse came and sat down with all the kids on the floor. Lorelei was in love with her.  Charlie did a lot of trying to touch the character's faces. Charlotte gave Minnie Mouse all kinds of kisses (babies seem to love to touch and lick Minnie and Mickey's noses). We got all the characters signatures in our homemade signature books.

Sunday afternoon I baked a Mickey Mouse shaped chocolate cake and at dinner we celebrated Charlie's first birthday with everyone present. Charlie even tried to blow out the candle because I told him it was hot, he likes to help me blow on his hot food at meal time. He didn't eat any cake and was only interested in the Mickey figurine on top of the cake. He had lots of help opening his presents after dinner. Lorelei was a great big sister getting all the gifts started for him and then trying to let him rip them open himself. He isn't quite up to doing it all on his own yet. Lucky little boy will be having more parties now that we are back home. Grandma and Grandpa Smith want to celebrate with him too.

Monday was the big day, our trip to Walt Disney World. We got up early and tried to get all our kids ready so we could get into Magic Kingdom when it opened at 9am. As a true Type A personality I had done lots of research on how to tour the park efficiently and where to stand for parades and fireworks etc., so I was trying to keep everyone on schedule so we could follow the plan. We had a couple slow downs though, check-in at the hotel took awhile, then we had to redeem our volunteer vouchers to get our tickets (if you have to redeem yours it can only be done at the park at Will Call). All of this took some time and by the time we were walking in the park it was already 10am. We had to take the girls to get Ariel's signature first, then we went on rides with the kids. Allan's favorite was the Winnie the Pooh ride. We all rode the teacups before lunch and Steve tried to spin Charlie and I super fast until I got real mad and made him stop. The kids were wearing down so we headed back to the hotel for a rest, by that time it was already 3pm. While we were trying to make the little ones sleep it stormed and rained and I was glad we weren't in the park. We made it back into the park just before the start of the SpectroMagic parade and the Wishes fireworks afterward. The parade is so spectacular. The kids were mesmerized by the lights, Charlie loved it. The rain and storm had thinned the crowd out so we had a great view even though we raced into the park right before the start.

Aunt Amanda's room had a surprise waiting for the kids when we got back. Tinkerbell and Mickey and Minnie had left presents for the kids. Allan and Charlie got stuffed Mickey dolls and Lorelei got a pink rose and a wishing star bracelet. When we got back to our rooms we realized that the girls princess dresses had not been delivered to our rooms with the other luggage. That began a long search and lots of discussions with managers. By that time it was 10:30pm and I was soooo tired. I was worried about the girls not having any dresses at their Boutique appointment the next morning at 8am.

On Tuesday morning I was exhausted. Charlie's cold had taken a turn for the worse and he was up every 20-40 minutes throughout the night, allowing me very little sleep. I got Lorelei and I ready in a semi-dark room to avoid waking up the boys and her and I headed over to Aunt Amanda's room. We made it to the lobby to find out that they still had not located our missing dresses. The luggage guy said he knew exactly what we were looking for and had sent people out to the rooms above, below and next door to ours to try and find the misplaced dresses. We had to board the bus to the park sans dresses. Lorelei was tired and near tears because she loved the lost dress. I was super worked up and disappointed, this was supposed to be one of the highlights of the trip and I had spent so much time talking to managers and thinking about it all night that I was really stressing.

 At the salon we picked out dresses and went with the top of the line package and comped it to our room. The hotel manager had told me they would pay, so in the end it all worked out. The girls were a little unsure of the whole Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique experience at first. Lorelei choose a new Belle dress and some Cinderalla glass slipper shoes. Elizabeth changed it up and went with an Ariel dress instead of Princess Aurora, and she picked rainbow gem shoes. The girls put their dresses on in the dressing room and Lorelei insisted on wearing her pink t-shirt underneath because the dress was to itchy. Then they met their fairy Godmothers in training and the beautifying began. It was quite a site to watch them get all prettied up. I recorded the whole thing with my new Flip and right before they were to turn Lorelei around to look in the mirror it flashed low battery and turned off. Oh, I was super bummed, but I got lots of digital pictures of her. After the Boutique we had breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. The girls were in heaven seeing all the princesses and getting their autographs. Belle told Lorelei that she loved that she was wearing Cinderella's shoes and that she was going to ask Cinderella if she could borrow a pair too. That conversation made Lorelei's day. Once you are a princess everyone working in the park seems to call you a princess, so Lorelei was loving all the attention and even developed a little princess wave she would do for them. Steve came into the park around noon with the boys and we headed for some more rides. Charlie was glad to see me and after I picked him up I wasn't able to put him down again. He fell asleep in my arms and he rode a couple rides with me while he was sleeping. I pretty much held all 22 lbs. of him for most of the day. He was a miserable wreck and snot was everywhere. I felt bad that we had to drag him through the park in that condition. After lunch we took the kids on Goofy's Barnstormer. That was a failure, they came off scared to death of rollercoasters. Allan was crying and Lorelei was not happy about the ride at all. Aunt Amanda was such a big help, she was Allan's buddy the whole time at DW, giving him some much needed 1 on 1 attention from his Godmother. She cheered him up after the ride with some candy from the ToonTown store. It was getting late in the afternoon and we decided we should probably make our way back to the bus and head to the rental house. There were lots of things we didn't get to do at Magic Kingdom that I had on the itinerary. It is hard to travel with so many little kids. I was exhausted and sad as we exited the Magic Kingdom. So much planning and it was already over. (I think I was living my own childhood through Lorelei while at MK.) The last picture in front of the castle was taken as we were on our way out of the park.

On our bus ride back to the house Lorelei arranged Charlie's Mickey in one of the car seats. She had a great day at DW and was still going strong. Allan on the other hand had fallen asleep on the bus back to the hotel and was super tired that night.

On Wednesday we rested up. The kids were on serious happy hangover. It poured rain most of the day. The nicest weather of the whole trip had been during our two days at Disney. I packed up all our stuff that afternoon so we could fly out the next day.

Thursday Steve picked up Angela, Dennis, Amanda and the kids and brought them back to the house, then we all drove in the bus to the airport and headed home. By the time we reached Detroit and made it to our car the kids we at the point of tears they were so tired. Allan had caught the cold and was snotty and worn out. Amanda was so helpful. She sat next to Allan during the plane ride and all the way back to our house in the van. (THANK YOU, Thank You, thank you!!)

We made it back home to our snowy home safe and sound. What a great family trip, lots of memories to cherish (and pictures too).

Cheese Face Charlie

Little Charlie is quickly approaching his first birthday. He has reached that age where he loves to be at my feet constantly and wants to stand up and hang on my legs while I try to make dinner. He has become a huge momma's boy.

He shows us his smarts everyday. Signing what he wants is something he loves to do. His new signs are motorcycle, frog and bird.

Recently he has learned to ham it up for the camera. I pull the camera out and tell him, "Say cheese!" and he actually says cheese and looks right at the camera. Usually he makes smiles and a series of scrunchy smiles for me. It just makes me chuckle. What a darling looking little boy, if I do say so myself. (I know you want to reach through your monitor and give his cheeks a little squeeze. Yes, they are as soft and squishy as they look.) I am loving his curly hair and hoping it doesn't grow to fast. I don't want to cut those beautiful blond curls off just yet.

He also loves to walk while holding someone's hands. Grandma E taught him to say "Go, go, go." He says that to me now, although it sounds more like "Do, do, do.", as we chase Allan or Lorelei around the kitchen. He also loves to scream and squeal with delight when he gets excited.

The older kids love him and they have all started playing together. It is fun to sit back and watch them all interact together. They have so much love for each other. Lorelei is always patting Charlie's head and giving him and Allan kisses and hugs. Allan's favorite way to show love is to say, "I want to tell you something, (pause) I like you." followed by the sweetest bashful grin. Charlie just gives them both wet, sloppy, open mouth kisses. It is all too sweet and you probably think I am exaggerating, but they really are that sticky-sweet to each other.

It is a great time in our lives. We are so lucky for all we have!

One Last Party

The day after Christmas we awoke at Grandma Edith's house, had a breakfast of waffles with fruit and tried to coax the kids to get their clothes on while we waited for everyone else to arrive. (See above, Allan is still wearing his pajama shirt.) When everyone was there it was time for presents. You can see from the pic of the kids that the tree was hard to see because of the enormous pile of gifts. Most of the pile was from Aunt Amanda, she had fun handing out all her presents to the kids.

Allan's favorite gift was a plush rock full of dinosaurs, he is still in love with it yet today. Lorelei loved her princess dress and her Leapster 2, she is playing it as I type. Charlie slept through some of the gift opening and then joined in and was having more fun with the paper and boxes. Allan was gracious enough to share his dinosaurs with Charlie too.

We surprised my Dad by giving him his old soap box derby car from when he was 13. He was the winner of a local area competition back in 1962 (I think) and then advanced onto the competition in Akron, Ohio. General Motors was the sponsor and therefore the local dealership in St. Johns got his car. My brother was able to get the car out of their storage and bring it back to my dad for Christmas. I can honestly say he had no idea what surprise was coming his way. He had some great stories about building the car, racing, and going to the camp in Akron the week of the national competition. He even got to shake hands with some of the stars from the show Bonanza!

My most exciting gift to give was the screen printed blazer I made my brother Nick. Hopefully he likes it, I was really worried it wouldn't fit right and all that work would be for nothing. I think it will go well with his alligator shoes!

We ate lunch and started preparing food for dinner time when the Cusack family would join us for another party. Charlie took a really short nap and the other kids watched some movies for a sort of quiet time.

 The entire Cusack gang was able to make it this year. Cortney travels all the way from Seattle, and the other girls drive in from Chicago. We took some great group shots. My favorite is the silly face one!

As it neared 8pm we decided to load up in the car and head home. All the kids were exhausted and eventually fell asleep in the car giving Steve and I some much needed silence.

Christmas Day

On Christmas morning we were in a hurry to get everyone ready and get in the car for the hour long drive to Grandma and Grandpa George's house. It's always hard to convince the kids that they have to leave most of their new presents at home. We were able to make into the car without too much yelling and crying. Of course 20 minutes into the drive Charlie was just falling asleep and Lorelei was already asking if we were there yet.

Grandma and Grandpa's house wasn't too busy yet. Those who went to church that morning weren't back yet, so I was able to settle in and start feeding Charlie some lunch and Steve finished making our dish-to-pass. By the time everyone arrived the house was buzzing with noise and the kids were hungry. In the end they hardly ate anything except the Christmas desserts Grandma had made, but that was to be expected.

After lunch was cleaned up the family gathered in the living room to open presents. Grandma and Grandpa gave out their gifts first. It is a big commotion of unwrapping with so many kids in one small room. I couldn't keep track of what everyone else got, but Lorelei and Allan both got slumber loungers from Grandma and Grandpa. They loved them and were already excited to sleep on them that night at their other Grandma's house. I think the gift-giving and unwrapping stretched on for well over an hour as we made it to the part where the adults exchange their gifts. The kids were content to check out each others gifts and eat more cookies and candy.

By late evening we were ready to head to the Smith house to put the kids to bed. Charlie made it through the whole day without any afternoon nap, he wasn't even fussy, but later I would discover he was so over-tired he would have a hard time sleeping. He fell asleep in the car before we made it around the corner, poor guy could hardly hold his head up. As we got the other two ready for bed, Aunt Amanda pulled up with her sleigh full of toys and we all had to help unload.

I was exhausted and glad when Grandma Edith made us all popcorn to eat before bedtime.

Christmas Eve

We are counting our blessings this year. We are lucky to be able to give our children lots of gifts for Christmas. On Christmas Eve morning Santa had arrived with a floor full of packages, accompanied by  more gifts from Steve and myself. Hearing Lorelei and Allan in the baby monitor that morning was comical. Lorelei must have gotten close to her clock and hence the baby monitor to make sure it was late enough that she could come down. I heard her telling Allan that she thought the clock was the right number so they could go downstairs. (I had told her the night before not to come down unless the first number was a 7). When they reached the bottom of the steps they saw the presents and came running into our room to wake us up. I was already awake and had taken a shower, knowing that the morning would be busy with opening presents and then undoing twist ties to get the toys out of the toy vaults called packaging.

Allan's favorite was his Spike Jr. Dinosaur. I think Lorelei's was her guitar and Tinkerbell fairy doll. Charlie was content to take it all in, then take a nap. We had a relaxing morning playing and trying to pick up wrapping paper.

That afternoon we were able to get all 3 to take a nap at the same time. I took a nap too, trying to save up some energy for the next 2 days. That evening Lorelei and I went to the children's mass and Steve had to go to the Christmas Vigil mass on his own at 10pm. While he was gone I started packing our things for the next couple days.

It was unbelievable how fast the day went and how fast the kids can undo 5 days of wrapping!

Nite Lights and Reindeer Food

On Wednesday we opened gifts again. Charlie got a bead roller coaster. He loved it, so did the other kids. Later in the day they pretended they were making almonds using the roller coaster. I am not sure why the beads remind them of nuts, but at one point Allan said, "Dad let's play Uncle Andy." Lorelei decided she could be Grandma George and they could pretend to make German Roasted Almonds, just like Andy and Grandma do in the mall at the holidays.

Lorelei and Allan opened their gifts from us and both got a Sansa SanDisk Shaker MP3 player. It is really neat and has a speaker on the top so they don't need to have ear buds in their ears. We loaded some Christmas and Disney songs on the players for each of them. Lorelei has been toting hers around all over the house. She sits it next to her at the little table and colors away.

Later in the evening we took the kids to see the Nite Lights in Jackson. Allan fell asleep on the way and missed the first-half of the lights, which included the dinosaur with an elf on his back. The kids loved the lights and Charlie was doing his sign for lights and staring out his window.

That night Lorelei and Allan put out the reindeer food in hopes that Santa would leave us our presents early. We go to Grandma George's house on Christmas day, so we like to get our presents on Christmas Eve morning so we have a whole day together as a family to enjoy our gifts and hang out in our p.j.'s.

More Presents and a Little Bit of Work

 
Lorelei and Allan opened presents from Charlie on Tuesday. They got Zhu Zhu Pet beds and blankets. They put them to sleep using their gifts at their nap times and bed time that night. We also opened a family gift that day. We all got the game Hungry Hungry Hippos. We played it a couple times that day. It was a great game for all skill levels, even Charlie got a huge kick out of the commotion. He was clapping and making noises, he must have been cheering us on!

That day I also made some scrapbook pages for Hampton Arts upcoming catalog. The pages turned out good, it is always a bit tricky to make pages using pre-production samples because they aren't actually clear like the final stamps will be.

Advent Activities: Gingerbread House or Not

In the morning we let the kids all open another present from us. We let Charlie open his first, everyone had to gather round and help him with the unwrapping. He thought it was interesting, then went on his way and played and hung on my leg begging to be picked up. Lorelei and Allan were happy to have another chance to open a present.

I admit I bought into the Zhu Zhu Pet craze. The Saturday before Thanksgiving I was at Toys R' Us at 6 am waiting in line to be one of the first 50 people so I could get a pet. The joke was on me, Jackson must not be all that hyped up about the pets because only about 6 people showed up. The nice part was they were running a good sale and the store was empty, so I got a lot of toy shopping done!

Their present on Monday was a Hamster City, complete with one pet apiece. They LOVE their pets, but the city got divided later in the day because they didn't want to share. Lorelei named her pet Daisy because of the flower on her back. Allan named his pet Mouse-Mouse because it is a mouse of sorts. They are the funniest toy, they run all over and if they bump in to something they back themselves up. I would recommend the pets, but you really don't need the accessories (they are over-priced anyway).

The present a day idea worked beautifully that day as well. They were happy and played with their new toy and really enjoyed it. It made our day as parents WAY easier too!

That night we attempted to make a Gingerbread Barn from a kit I had bought at Tractor Supply. I should have known not to buy a craft/cooking type of project at a tractor store. Lorelei and Allan sat patiently as I frosted and tried to attach the sides and roof together. The one other time I bought a kit, the walls had prongs that stuck out and went into slots in the sides. This kit had none of that and the gingerbread pieces had rounded corners and weren't completely flat. So I tried to frost the heck out of the edges and stick the 4 pieces together to form the walls. Then I had to add 4 separate pieces to make the roof, in the end the whole thing collapsed on itself while I was trying to frost the outside. I laughed, but Lorelei was less than amused. I still let them decorate it in it's collapsed state. It was funny, really...

A Baby Named Truffle

Have I told you about our baby we have renamed Truffle? Remember the truffles we made earlier in the week? Little Charlie has grown addicted to them. If everyone eats their dinner, then afterward we let them have a truffle or other small treat. The other night Lorelei gets the truffle container out of the fridge and brings it over to Steve to open. Steve is feeding Charlie and when Charlie sees what is in the container he goes crazy. He starts clapping his hands (signing more), then flailing his arms, then pointing and yelling and moving all around in his chair leaning toward the container of truffles. He has a crazed look in his eye and he is pumped up! Steve and I were laughing at him. Here is a picture of him after he ate the truffle, not all in one bite mind you, but if he could have he would have. That night when I tried to put him to bed it took at least 45 minutes. It may have had something to do with the chocolate caffeine high was on.

On Sunday we also visited with our dear friends the Nik and Joy. They drove out to Steve's brother's house to drop off an early Christmas present for Andy. We spent the day reminiscing and visiting. Both Joy and Kara are expecting in April 2010. It was a fun laid back day for all of us. Lorelei got a little bored, it must be her age, and decided to clean Andy and Kara's entry way for them. Hmmm, why doesn't she do that at home?

Advent Activities: Bear Ornaments

These ornaments were from a craft store. Just a simple ornament made from foam. It did have a lot of pieces so Allan needed my help to glue it all together. Lorelei did most of it on her own, she is an independent crafter and does not need Mom's help.

Steve is off from work until Tues. the 29th. The kids kept asking when Christmas was, so Steve and I started a new family tradition this year. We decided to let them open a present a day until Christmas. So on Saturday they exchanged presents from each other. They were so excited to be able to open a present. Allan could hardly wait and ripped the paper off as fast as he could go. Lorelei had picked out a cowboy hat and some small dinosaurs for him. He was in love with them both. In the past they have played cowboy and he was hat-less. Problem solved.

Lorelei had a pretty good idea about what Allan had picked out for her. A couple weeks ago I took Allan shopping with me so he could choose a present for her. On the way home we talked about how it was a secret and we couldn't tell Lorelei. As soon as he walked in the door he said, "Lorelei I got you some fairies." I tried to play it off as the word "berries". I told her he was teasing her and saying berries. Lorelei likes to trick people and tell them they are getting a turkey for a present, so I thought maybe she would fall for it. For the most part she tried to play along as if she didn't know. So when she opened her gift she knew it was fairies, but she was surprised to see the ones she got. We found Terrence and Vidia for her. She hugged Allan at least 10 times that day and told him thank you.

For the rest of the day both were content and then they took long naps. That was a relief for Steve and I because we were able to get some wrapping done.

Advent Activities: Paint-It Ornaments

On Friday we painted ornaments for our activity. I am sure they can be found at a craft store, but I got  mine straight from Colorbok. The kids did a good job painting, although Lorelei got a little over zealous and had to do some touch-ups to a couple spots she didn't like. I was a little nervous about the paint and made Allan wear a smock. I'm not sure if ceramic/pottery paint washes out. It kept them busy for awhile. Lorelei's newest complaint is that she is bored and we need a project. She would love it if life was one big craft project.

We have also started wrapping presents. The kids want to help with it all. Their favorite part is picking out the bow and tag to add to the present. I should have taken pictures of what they do with my leftover paper. They draw pictures and wrap anything they can find. Then they put their "presents" under the tree and in our stockings. Allan made me a hat out of an empty toilet paper roll, it is now wrapped and in my stocking. They are so excited for Christmas to arrive.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all safe travels and happy holidays! I will be updating our last week of advent activities soon...