Memorial Day

The kids at the parade. Henry thinks I am about to ask for his smoothie...which was actually my smoothie. I had about two drinks of it before the kids took over ;) Irene really enjoyed the bands that played and they both liked the motorcycles.

Playing at Grandma's house during our cook out. Sidewalk chalk was a big hit! The kids came home covered in it. Irene rolled around in it a bit.

We picked up daddy in Grand Rapids on Friday night. We got there just before 9pm. The ride down was easy, hardly any cars going that way. The road heading north was full of cars though. By the time we headed back home the crowd had thinned a bit but it was still busier then usual.

Saturday we bought an air conditioner for the bedroom. The past week I had been baking in the house. We now have a fan in each child's bedroom plus a fan in the hallway drawing cold air from the kitchen through the house. It actually works fairly well and the house has been pretty comfortable.

Sunday night at quarter to ten there was a knock at our door. A girl was there and behind her a guy with a guitar. The girl said they were baking cookies and needed tinfoil. Yeah...tinfoil. Mark said we didn't have any and closed the door. I was mad because the dogs were barking and the kids were in bed. Besides...doubt the tinfoil was going to be used for cookies. Later that night around 1:45 am there was a man screaming outside. He screamed quite a few times and had all the neighborhood dogs barking. I went downstairs but did not see anyone outside. Mark went down later and said he saw the cops the next street over with some people. Could it have been the "cookie" people?

Now we are waiting for Mark to get a load out of Grand Rapids. As soon as that comes in we'll be heading down to drop him off. It's raining and rainy days always make me so tired.

John Ball Zoo

Yesterday the kids and I picked up Mark in Grand Rapids. He came home two days before we expected him but it was a very happy drive to get him. We had lunch and since the sun was shining we decided to make a trip to the zoo. The zoo still had it's winter rates (an some exhibits are still closed) so it was only $10 for the four of us to go. The zoo closes at 4pm (during winter hours) but we had over an hour to walk through. I love this zoo! It's small but just the right size for my 3 1/2 year old to walk through. Well worth the time and money! The Camel ride was open this time so of course we had to go. Henry loves to ride the camel and is an old pro! This was Irene's first time on a camel. She handled it well :-)Bald EaglesBears

Irene and Henry riding the camel!

Pet Peeve at Church

When we go to church the children and I sit in the "cry room". It is a room that is in the back of the church with windows in it and a speaker so we can see and hear what is going on in church. This way we can actually go to church and our children can learn what church is but we are not disturbing others with crying or talking or playing. This room has been there since before I was born and it even says Cry Room on the door so there should be no question about what the room is for. However almost every week there will be people in there sitting for no reason...no children, babies, etc.

Today when we arrived there was an old woman sitting in a row by herself. Behind her was an old couple. In the front row was a husband and wife with their son (probably a little younger then Roo). We were left with the back row and only two seats. I had to drag a chair from the other row just we would have enough seats. Why would you take an entire row for yourself?! Come on People!!! Anyway my kids and the little boy started playing and talking and checking out each other's toys and books. The old woman got mad and turned up the speaker saying she couldn't hear. About two minutes later she got up again and turned the speaker even louder. The children were NOT being loud. Plus the speaker in the cry room has either been broken or barely working for months now. All you can really hear is the priest. When they are doing readings you can't hear them at all. Finally the old woman got up in a huff and went in to the church to sit. Thank you God! Why sit in the CRY ROOM???? The church is huge! Lots of room! And you have working speakers in there! Why sit in the clearly marked children's room? I don't understand these people. About ten minutes after that the old woman in front of me starting making comments to the old man. I could not hear them but you could tell she was cranky about the kids. And truly the kids were not bad. I don't let them get crazy at church even if we are in the cry room. Finally the old woman turns to me and says that the kids are too noisy and she can't hear what is going on in church. I immediately replied that she should go sit in church since this is the cry room, that it is for the CHILDREN!!!!!! She turned around. That was it. Did she think I would drop on the floor and beg forgiveness? I was glad that my husband was not there. He would have given it to her in much harsher words...course...I kinda wish he was there.

At communion time the old lady said to her husband they weren't coming back the room that they would stand outside. I said good...hope she heard me ;) They made a point of standing in front of the windows so we couldn't see out. Why not sit down? What is wrong with these people?

In our town and church the old people have always hated the children and young people of the church. It has been like this since I was young and probably before. But who do they think is going to keep this church going? Who do they think puts money in the collection each week? Where are the new priests going to come from? We are suffering from a priest shortage and they want to close down two of the three churches in our town (which the oldies are screaming about). We are given a small room that they can barely keep clean and running for us to be able to come to church with our children. How are our children going to learn what church is all about when they are not even wanted? You have a huge church to sit in...for God's sake use it and leave the poor kids alone to learn about church and God from people that are acting in God's love!!!

Anyway...after mass had ended the husband of the couple with the small boy came over to me. He apologized to me for those people! He didn't do it! We chatted about how the children were actually rather tame this week and talked about pretty much everything mentioned above.

The other church was having a pancake breakfast today. We love those! So Henry, Irene and I went. They were very good and ate very well. After we went for a ride. I got the kids juice boxes and we drove through the cemetery. When we got to Grandpa Bill's spot we said hi and Henry offered Grandpa Bill a drink of his juice. It was such a sweet moment. What a sweet, loving child. That reminds me of Friday at the doctor's office. There were a lot of kids there and Henry kept introducing me to the kids and adults. He would say "that's my mommy" to them all. He was so proud and I was so proud of him. What a charmer!!!

Roo is actually saying cheese in this picture.

Feeling Like A Bad Mother

Today the kids and I spent a lot of time outside. We used their toy rakes and tried raking the leaves away from the front of the house where some pretty flowers have sprung up. I have no idea what is weed and what is flower but I am pretty sure there are some weeds in there. It's better than what it was although not perfect. After that we went to the dollar store just to see what outside doo-daas we could find for the yard. We picked out a little wind chime, windsock, and metal flower that sticks into the ground. Henry found a plastic watering can in the shape of an elephant.
After nap time we went outside again and finally for a walk. A long block from our house there was a group of kids Henry's age and older playing outside while a guy (assuming the dad?) cleaned his car. Henry went right up and made friends. He didn't want to leave. The dad (?) never said a word to us and I felt bad since the cleaning of the car seemed more important then the children playing. I have a hard time just going up to people and introducing myself especially when they are kinda making it clear that they are very involved with their whatever and not me or my kids. Yes...I should have made the effort...but it is very hard for me. And then my shyness comes off as aloofness or snobbery. It's not the case!
Henry did not want to leave these kids and kept asking me to go back. It just drove home the fact that we really don't know that many families with kids. The families we do know are great but the all seem to have their own friends, families, routines set and I don't know how to get us involved. What do I do? My heart breaks for my kids. Let's face it...daddy is home let's say approximately 8 days of the month. They love him so much but don't get a lot of time with him. We go to Kindermusik once a week but the rest of the time it's me. And after this last Kindermusik where Henry latched onto another child's grandpa it really drove the point home. Sadly our town does not offer a lot in the way of young kid activities. I just don't know what to do and I am feeling very discouraged tonight and like the worst mother ever.
I am thinking of possibly moving. I haven't looked into it yet and there is another reason we couldn't move anytime very soon but I have been thinking about moving closer to my older brother and my dad. The kids would have more male figures in their immediate lives plus we would be an hour closer to where we pick up and drop off Mark. Of course I don't necessarily want to leave. What I want is more interaction with others for my kids. I worry about my mom (even though she still is not talking to me. over 2 weeks now). And I have picked out a preschool for Henry for the fall. Plus I really like our doctors in Traverse City which lets face it I am not going to drive four hours to get to (although I did drive three hours from Grand Rapids to Traverse City just to seem my doctor when I was pregnant with Irene...but that is another story).
So I guess this post is about my mommy guilt. I am looking for ideas, suggestions, anything from moms and non-moms, from people living in our town and not, religious or non-religious, crafts, or not. Anything.

How can I make it better for my kids?

Kindermusik and Other Stories

The kids and I made it to Kindermusik Tuesday night. It was a fun, rambunctious time and we loved it. Ms. Melinda gave the kids t-shirts. My kiddies love them! We had a really good time and Henry gave Ms. Melinda a dollar to pay for the book he ripped the last time we were there. One of my favorite mothers could not make it but her dad brought her kids...Henry thought he was the greatest man and played with him a lot during the class. The gent was very kind to Henry and I think Henry would very gladly have him as a grandpa ;-)

Unhappily my basement has become a super scary place to go. And I go there a lot to do laundry. We have had a lot of rain and suddenly the basement floor and walls have bugs on them. I keep calling them slugs but I don't think that is what they are. They kinda grey colored and smallish...I am getting the creepy crawlies just thinking of them! Plus there are webs galore down there and hanging over the stairs is the biggest daddy long legs I have ever seen...I think it has eaten a cat it's that big! Of course I can't reach the darn thing and I am terrified to go down now. Also the rest of the house has become full of cobwebs and an occasional spider. How did this happen? I clean them one day and two days later it is covered again. I realize this house is OLD but I can't keep up and I freak when I think of any of this touching the children. I keep telling my husband I want to move. I can't handle creepy crawlies. Any ideas? I need ideas!!!

And in other news...My mother is still not talking to me. It will be two weeks tomorrow since she has spoken to me. I have NO IDEA why either. Two weeks ago she was going out for dinner with people from work. She said she'd come over at seven and bring dinner for me. I had the doors unlocked for her since six thirty (which I hate having unlocked!). At ten after eight the dogs barked and barked and Henry said she was here but she never came in. I later found my dinner hanging off the doorknob in a plastic bag. She never came in, never called, and she has not spoken to me since. Perhaps she thinks she is punishing me for something but the kids and I have been enjoying our time alone and have been getting out of the house a lot more. My life is stressful enough, I do not need any extra.

Well that concludes the news that I feel like giving today. I hope everyone has a good Thursday and a great weekend!

Easter!

For Easter this year my brother Matt invited us down to Lansing. Mark was going to be on the road and with Peter in Maryland it would have been just my mom and me (and kids) for Easter. We drove down Saturday morning with a stop in Grand Rapids for lunch. When we arrived at Matt's Eric was up and the three kids went right into play mode! They all got along amazingly well. Plus they made a mess of all of Eric's toys.After letting the kids play for a while we drove over to my dad's place for dinner. It wasn't ready when we got there so the kids had time to play at grandpa's...not a good idea. Think breakables, lots of breakables...and all in the reach of the children. Plus someone found jelly beans that were constantly being dropped on the floor and mushed into the rugs.Then an office chair was brought out. Sure it was fun to push around and give rides on...until it was pushed into a pedestal holding a glass flower thing. Crash!

Dinner was very nice and with three kids a lot ended up on the rug under the table. This place was not kid proofed! Back at Matt's Eric was getting a bath, pretty soon Henry was in there and then Irene. Once the kids were in bed the adults sat and talked. It was great to have adult conversation!Sunday morning Kaye made us breakfast and my dad joined us. Henry devoured all the strawberries he could reach. Then it was time to get on our party clothes! Everyone was dressed so nicely and even Irene was disguised as an angel ;-)

Eric and Marne

Best Friends

Best Buddies

Henry loves his Uncle Matt

Pretty Princess

Grandpa and Henry

Kaye's mom and one of her brothers and his family was joining us for lunch. Her brother has three girls, the youngest is about ten and Henry thought she was the greatest thing ever. Lunch was super yummy! Kaye's mom made ham...but it was the best ham ever. I usually don't care for ham that much but whatever she did to it made it taste...not like ham! It was terrific ;-) Henry and Irene ate really well, lots of polish sausage.

While we had been waiting for everyone to show up I had gotten sooooo tired. I could hardly speak coherently. I knew we had a long drive back and we would have to leave shortly after eating. I was disappointed that we couldn't stay longer and chat with everyone. But the kids were tired too and we needed to go. In the short distance between Matt's house and the corner Irene had fallen asleep and Henry was out soon after.

It was a fantastic weekend and I hope we'll get together soon. It's great to know the kids play well together.

Butter lambs...Matt cut up a red jelly bean to give it crazy eyes

A Great Family Weekend

Wednesday afternoon the kids and I drove down to Grand Rapids to pick up Mark. Originally he was suppose to come home Thursday morning but he ended up in Grand Rapids earlier. I was pleased since it meant one more day with Mark.

Thursday I went out for brunch with my lovely friend Shannon. We had been trying to get together for ages but we had a hard time getting our schedules to match. Plus I was getting out of the house ALONE!!! We had a great time and after brunch we went to a Mennonite store...I can't recall the name of it though. When I came home Mark already had the kids down for their naps. Had Grandma over for spaghetti dinner and then we annoyed Mark by watching Survivor. He moaned about having to watch it ;-)

Friday we went out of town again. We went to the mall and got pictures taken with the Easter bunny. Henry sat down with the bunny with no problem. Irene cried at first. I had Henry smiling for the picture but the woman taking the picture kept trying to get Irene to smile and confused Henry by constantly waving her arms in the air. He thought she wanted him to do that too.

The kids got bunny ears after having pictures taken. They don't look happy here but the darn ears were a major hit. Roo wore them non-stop.
After all that fun we took the van for an oil change. In the dealership's waiting area they serve popcorn. I let the kids have some...and the floor had some too...twice. The floor also had some juice...twice.

Sunday morning we went to church and to the pancake breakfast. At church the kids were rather crazy. Towards the end Mark had to take Irene out to the car. Grandma, Henry and I went to the bake sale the church was having for Noah Vasquez. Got a cute cake decorated for Easter and some brownies. Only paid five dollars...very inexpensive bake sale. At the pancake breakfast the kids chowed down. Henry had six or seven sausages and two pancakes! Irene gobbled up almost everything on her plate.

Roo getting ready for church. She looked so pretty and sweet in her dress. That didn't stop her from trying to climb the wall at church ;)

Since April 5th is also my brother Aaron's birthday we went for a ride through the cemetery. The weather was so cold and windy that we didn't put out any flowers or plants. The poor things wouldn't have survived.

Once we got home we put the kiddies down for nap time. I dosed on the couch with LuLu and Mark flipped between Top Gear and the Nascar race. After naps we did some shopping then had Grandma over for dinner.

Monday was the drive back to Grand Rapids. We loved having daddy home. The kids think he is the greatest thing ever ;-) We really did have a nice weekend. I can't wait for him to come home again!