Think About It...

Kate on soapbox.

Do you ever think about all the trash your family makes? I do all the time and it freaks me out. Every time I go by a "dump" - I can't help but think of all the garbage just in there. What decomposes, what doesn't? What are we going to do when all the dumps fill up? We can only have so many ski resorts. Where will all the garbage go? Will it be sent to outer space? While it doesn't keep me up at night, I worry about what kind of earth we are leaving for our kids.

We do very well at recycling what we can. I am often freaked out when I see recyclables in the trash and have been known to fish out something to put in the bin. I grew up in a family that recycled before it was "cool", so this is probably part of my problem...since it has been ingrained. Our little city offers curbside recycling and it doesn't cost you any extra. Yet I am amazed on trash day how many people don't use their little bin - yet they have several trash cans filled to the rim. Doesn't everyone think like me? I guess not...they are perfectly happy to toss their detergent bottles and papers in the garbage instead of putting them in the little bin. It's not hard.

Maybe I am feeling a little guilty about all the diapers my kiddos have used over the last 3 1/2 years. That totally grosses me out. Would it fill our entire garage? Probably...that is nasty...but its grosser to use cloth diapers. Don't know how you did it Mom.

Kurt would probably tell me that I am nuts, but he gladly goes along with whatever I ask when it comes to being earth friendly. Even when I told him this week that we are now recycling cardboard food boxes, although I will probably have to take it to my parents' to take to their recycling center, since ours does not accept it. It's the little things that make me happy and I am glad that my husband realizes this.

Off my soap box.

Friday School anyone?

So, today in our little community, they have music in the park for the kids, so we packed a picnic lunch, took some musical instruments and headed over to the park. I think we are the only people that walk anywhere these days. I see a few people on bikes, but not that many moms and kids walking...everyone drives. Come on, save the earth and a buck on gas and walk your butt to the park. One of the things i like best about our walks are the very random conversations that I have with Julia. The stroller that I have she faces me and Jimmy faces out. Jimmy ohs and ahs about all the big trucks (his favorites are semis, delivery trucks and anything yellow).

Today's random discussion was about church. Kurt and i have not been the best church goers in the past year. There is no real valid excuse, because I have lots of friends that manage to go every week. We were good about going up until Jimmy got bigger and the napping issue sort of got in the way. I suppose we could go solo, but I like to go to church as a family and Julia likes to go. In the fall, Julia will be able to attend Sunday School during the 10am Mass. We are signing her up and putting Jimmy in the nursery, so we can actually go to Church on a regular basis. Here is our conversation:

Kate: Do you want to go to Sunday School next year at our church?
Julia: Yes, but will I still be able to go to Big Kid Pre-school?
Kate: Sure, you'll go to Big Kid Pre-school and Sunday School.
Julia: Will I be going to Friday School too?

Visiting Our Old Neighbors!!

The people that used to live right behind us relocated to the other side of the state this past winter. It was all pretty sad over here when Steve, Kelly & Ethan left, but we promised to visit and after a failed attempt in the winter, we finally made it. We road tripped with our other neighbors, Tim, Ellen, Clay & Kyle. The kids all get along so well, because they have basically grown up together. The kids picked up where they left off and had a ball. Jimmy was happy to see a house full of only boy toys like big trucks. Julia played pirates and other boy games. She kind of forgets she is the only girl until the boys remind her, then she gets mad.


The weather looked like it wasn't going to cooperate, but towards the end of the afternoon it did and we made a run for the beach. It is probably my favorite beach on Lake Michigan. The weather was great and Lake Michigan was a chilly 66 degrees. It did not stop the little people from swimming and playing. They had so much fun.




Sunday morning, after our giant breakfast, the kids were treated to a tractor ride around their property (they actually have acreage, something not too common in our area). The kids loved it!

The only minor freak out incident was when Jimmy decided he was big enough to operate the electric quad and he was standing on the "gas" which in turn sent him barrelling towards the house. He narrowly escaped a collision and was saved by Tim & Kelly. Ellen and I watched the scene unfold in horror with the slow motion "Noooooooo........." Thank God they were close enough and grabbed him in time. I am afraid our perfect weekend would have been spent in some ER. Our little Jimmy is going to definitely earn his nickname of "Danger Boy."

The New Swingset

When we moved into our home 4 years ago, the previous owners left their swing set. We knew then that the swing set needed to be replaced, but it wasn't a high priority. Well, now that the kids are bigger and more of them are playing on it and the fact that bolts started just coming off of the thing, we figured we should replace it.

Picture of OLD Swing set from May

Picture of NEW Swing set

We researched many different swing sets at different price ranges and we decided that this was the best for us. Kurt and our neighbor, Tim, put it together over the course of a weekend. It came with a box of hardware and they had to get all the lumber and cut it and do lots of measuring and double checking. It probably wouldn't have taken the whole weekend had Kurt not thrown his back out pretty much from the start.

Thanks to Papa & Grandma Cindy for the "housewarming gift" - they wanted to give us trees, but we really don't have anywhere to put them on our vast "property." The Swing set is made of wood though.

Julia loves to climb the ladder to her tree house

To our astonishment, Jimmy can also climb the ladder and go down the slide on his own.
Just a typical exchange between Julia & Jimmy

Now with this project almost finished (we have to stain it in a few weeks), we have to decide what project to undergo next...Kurt's got some time off coming up soon and I am sure he's got his list...

I am in love with my iPod!

Kurt got me an iPod a few years ago and it was loaded up with a bunch of songs already (we got it from a friend). At the time our computer was so old that we couldn't load iTunes on it, so we just enjoyed what was already on it. Well, a year ago we got a new computer and finally loaded our own music onto it. It has changed life....REALLY!

After loading some great music on it, I have really started to enjoy working out. I can spend an hour on the elliptical rocking out to Brittney, Madonna & Gwen, flipping through my magazines without even being bored. But my latest find on this iPod is loading it with audio books. OH MY GOD...how cool is it to be doing housework and listen to a great book? I actually want to unload the dishwasher. The time flies by and I get to actually read again. I am pretty busy and rarely find the time to just sit and read a book. Listening to the books is just as enjoyable as reading them.

I am the Newest Food Network TV Star!

In my dreams, I'm a combination of:

• Rachel Ray - without the silly catch phrases


• Paula Deen - because I like all that butter


• Sandra Lee - because I like her shortcuts and always up for a cocktail at the end


• Marth Stewart - because lets face it, I am a crafty person and love being a "homemaker"

The reality is that I am just me and my regular audience are 2 short people and a guy who will pretty much eat it if it is homemade. My sous chef is shown below. She thinks I am the best "cooker" and is oh so helpful in the kitchen.

The weather here today is sort of wacky. It's chilly and overcast and feels like it's fall. We went to a kids music in the park today with some friends from my church's moms group. While Panera was calling my name to come in and grab a cookie, I refrained and promised if Jimmy stayed sleeping that Julia and I would make cookies. We decided on frosted sugar cookies from my neighbor Ellen's recipe. But we couldn't stop there, we also made banana bread, because I had some nasty lookin bananas and I can throw it in the freezer for when I want a sweet treat. But wait, there is more. We also made Kurt's Italian Grandma's Sauce and Meatballs. It is so 1950s over here today. I am so glad that I am able to stay home and do this fun stuff with Julia. Thanks Kurt for shouldering the burden, so I can sleep until 9am, take our kids to fun stuff during the day and cook and bake. My cup runeth over!

Busy Saturday!

This past weekend in our little suburb, there was a big festival of sorts. There tons of things going on in the big park by our house (concerts, rides, bouncers, kiddie rides and carnival food). The whole weekend is topped off by some fireworks, which can be seen without obstruction from our back yard. It's a fun time, especially with kids.On Saturday, there is a big parade and I promised Julia we could go. Well, we all slept in until 8:30 and the parade starts at 9am. I got dressed quickly and woke Julia up, forced some breakfast into her and popped her on the back of my bike and off we went at 9:10. The parade starts kind of by our house, but in efforts to avoid the giant crowds at the start of the parade and catch the "beginning part of the parade" - we rode like Elmira Gulch down the sidewalk trying to beat the parade. We did it and found the perfect spot to watch that was not crowded with people. Julia loved it and loved getting all the candy. For some reason the parade was just politicians, cheerleaders and dance teams. There was a band or two and of course the Shriner's - but tons of little girls dancing their hearts out...of course this was Julia's favorite part. The part that un-nerved me was the group from the local competitive cheerleading "school." As a former cheerleader, i don't quite understand the point behind being a cheerleader that is not connected to a sports team. You just cheer because you cheer, but for what? I understand high schools having competitive cheer teams, but they are a high school and that makes sense. Cheerleading is now like this huge deal and there are little girls that are all stacked with their little muscles and short shorts yelling and hopping around like high school girls. Once I saw the 7 year old girl thrown up in a spiral toss on the pavement, I sort of had it. I guess this is how parents secure their daughter's spots on the cheer teams for high school, but I just think it's weird...tell me this in 6 years when Julia is at this school and I am one of the moms sporting my "school" spirit wear and my 10 passenger SUV (for my family of 4) has the decal on the back with her name on it. I will be the very person I can't stand now.So after the parade, we came home and loaded up bike #2 with Jimmy & Kurt and rode to the park to see a car show, let Julia ride some rides and eat some bad food. We were just about to come back home and a guy gives us 20 tickets for rides that his family wasn't going to use. So, Julia and I stayed back and she rode every ride she could. She's so fun at this age and really gets so excited about the cutest things. She also had her first snow cone and cotton candy. I have to admit that I was a little sad that she didn't love these as much as I do. I guess more for me.We got back home just in time to get both kids ready to take them to get their pictures taken at the studio with cousin Olivia. The kids couldn't have been better and the pictures couldn't have been more perfect.

What Cute Cousins...Julia, Jimmy & Olivia

The fireworks were quite a show, lasting for about 45 minutes! The kids were all wide awake and running around like they hadn't been hopped up on sugar and were way past their bedtime.

Part of the Neighborhood Gang - Clay (of the country band ClayKyle), Julia & Will
Travis, Olivia, Lib & JimmyWhat a weekend and I have finally recovered...Julia is already looking forward to next year.

Baseball

Jimmy loves to throw balls. Actually he throws anything that isn't nailed down. Anyway, Kurt often holds catching and batting drills in our foyer (a huge wasted space). Monday afternoon before Kurt got home, Jimmy was starting practice early. Apparently he's got bunting down.

The end of May we took the kids to a Tiger Game with Grammie and Poppi. The kids had a great time as always and were really well behaved. They love baseball. I am sure that it is in their blood, as Kurt and Jeff (Jimmy's Godfather) are die hard Tigers fans. They have had season tickets for about 10 years now and have stuck with the team when they lost more games than they won. I am sure going to the Tiger game will be just a part of life for the kids and I think that is cool.

Julia upon entering Comerica Park

Jimmy growling - "Who's Your Tiger?"

I Love Paws!

I do not love Paws! Disney is going to be fun in the fall!

View from our seats, which in my opinion is the best view to get into the game, you really see the pitches come in and get to see the players up close.

Heaven

So, today as Julia and I are having breakfast, I tell her that it is my Grandma J's birthday, who is Grammie's Mom. Here is the rest of our conversation:
Julia: "I don't know her"
Mom: "She lives in Heaven with Tiko & Grandpa."
Julia: "Oh, the angels took her?"
Mom: "Yeah, they took her to live with God."
Julia: "I think they should come back. Next time we are in an airplane we should go get them."

Ahh - if it was that simple my little girl. She really has been asking lots of questions about our old dog (who has been gone for 2 years now) and really is gunning for him to come back or to get another dog (who we should also name Tiko). I don't want to scare her about death, so far she seems to be okay with the Heaven part. Although, I wish I could see the world through her eyes and really think that our loved ones could come back. So much has changed in my life since my Grandparents and Kurt's dad have passed. I'd love to just see their faces when they are looking down at us, seeing how our lives have turned out, how we have these 2 beautiful kids and a pretty great life. I miss them. I wonder how things would be if they were still around. My kids have so many wonderful people in their life that love them, that they don't even know what they are missing by not knowing these fantastic people...but I do.

Girls and Boys are so Different!

Julia and Jimmy have been raised pretty much the the same. Granted Julia got more of my undivided and new parent excitement attention, but nevertheless - these kids are raised the same. I never quite grasped the whole boys and girls are different until I experienced it myself. At the same age, Julia was clearly saying so many more words than Jimmy and played so sweetly. Jimmy on the other hand says about 30 random words, but only when he choses. He prefers to grunt and point or just say "Mine" to just about anything. This could mean his cup, his blankey, his hat, my cell phone - the list goes on. He plays so much rougher than she did. Everything becomes airborne and he never walks anywhere. He knows how to get to his sister and take her polly pockets or whatever fun thing she is playing with. He plays with cars and makes the sounds. I didn't teach him that. Boys just have these inate qualities to be boyish. Girls somehow know how to play like a lady and be civilized. I remember when Julia was little, my friends with boys would ask me where she was developmentally and she'd usually be ahead of where the boys were. I read at the time that this was normal...well I hope it is, because this is the way it is at my house these days.

I Love My Neighbors!

It's a funny story how we bought this house 4 years ago. Long story short, we almost bought a house in the sub across the street, but it failed inspection (call us crazy, but replacing siding on a 10 year old house that had an attic that was infested with rodents didn't sound like home sweet home). Dejected, because we had already sold our condo and moved out, I was 3 months pregnant and we lived in my mother in law's basement. We were having a hard time finding the house that we could afford, had a floor plan we liked and had the 3 car garage (for Kurt) and a separate dining room (for me). Frustrated, Kurt told me to just "find a house" - but he found this home. That was a Sunday, we saw it on a Monday and we put an offer in that night. This is of course the peak of real estate in the Metro Detroit area when homes didn't stay on the market for years. Anyway, I just knew that I loved this house and it was perfect (with the exception of my oakey kitchen) - little did we know that we'd have the perfect neighborhood too.

We have a almost monthly Bunko, we have a block party, but best of all I know that I can count on my neighbors for just about anything. Dawn & her family have lived here since the sub was built. Ellen & family moved in just after we did, we experienced being new together. All of our kids play together great. What is even better is that Dawn and Ellen stay home too, so I have 2 ladies in close proximity who understand the tough job it is to stay home with your kids. I can leave my kids with them, I can get an egg, we trade magazines, coupons and pass off free cosmetics that aren't working for us. It was fantastic.

But it gets better - we swap childcare so that one day a week, all the kids go to one of our houses for 2 hours so the other 2 moms can go run errands or do whatever without 2 little helpers. That is fantastic....but it gets better. We also make meals for each other. Each week, one of us makes 2 extra meals and takes it to the other 2. It's not that hard to make 3 times as much food one night, but it is so great to have a meal where you didn't have to cook or dirty up a dish. Tonight Ellen made some meatballs and pasta with olive oil and Parmesan cheese. It was fantastic.

In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that I'd have these types of neighbors, but I THANK GOD for them everyday.

A Glimpse of Our Lives BK (Before Kids)

This past weekend, the kids went to spend time with my Mom and Earle. They take them about once a month for the WHOLE weekend and it is seriously the best thing for all of us. The kids get to play with Grammie and Poppi and they spoil them to death. We are still yelling at mom for letting Julia run on the couch, which she started at home and got the neighbor kids to do too (we got yelled at for flopping on the couch - guess the grandkids are loved more). They also get to play with cousin Olivia and Julia especially loves that. We always miss the kids a little, because they are such a source of entertainment for us (and we kind of like them) - but somehow we manage to get on with our lives for a few days.

Our long weekends are always a glimpse of what it was like for us before we had kids and the responsibility that entails. Although we still have the same worries, not having to think about what time it is and who ate what when is great. We took in a Tiger Game Friday night (they lost), went out afterwards for a few hours. We finished the swing set, cleaned up the house, hung some shelving, went to dinner at 7:30pm, took a stroll and our favorite part....we got to hang out at Borders for 2 hours! Before we had kids, we loved to go to the bookstore and read magazines and books while drinking coffee. We don't get to do that with little kids running around. We go to the library now, where it is okay to be a little louder (in the kids section), but it doesn't have the same feel as the bookstore. Last night Kurt said to me "This was such a great day!" Really, it was - we love our kids, but I think we need these weekends alone more than even we realize!

Why Blog Now?

I have resisted starting a Blog forever. I always thought that it was sort of silly. But I always love to read my friend's and family's blogs, so why not us too? I mean, our life is fun and interesting. I am sure that everyone wants to read what we are up to.

The main reason why I am starting this blog is that it will function as my public journal for the kids. As many of you know, I am a big scrapbooker. Unfortunately, I don't have tons of time these days to work on my favorite hobby therefore I am closing in on being about 2 years behind. By the time I scrapbook the pictures, i totally forget what was going on in our lives and what the kids were doing. I have a calendar, but that doesn't really tell me what happened and who said what.

My other reason for blogging is that I have really been bad about keeping my favorite people up to date on what is happening in our lives. So, this will be my attempt at it and hopefully will help me be more efficient in retelling the same story a million times.

So, read the blog if you want. I promise that I will try to be witty and funny and draw you back. But most of all I promise that I will share my lovely family with all of you which is the source of my zest for life.