This week

Nothing too important is going on, just lots of little things with Christmas approaching with remarkable speed. But I feel like I need to capture some little things, like:

• Having all three nieces (the ones who have been born, anyway!) overnight last weekend. Fun was had by all, especially when I took the four older ones to the Woldumar Christmas party and they danced their little hearts out.
• Nellie and Annie performed in the church Christmas show.
• We had the annual Wacyk Christmas brunch at Christie's Bistro - this time with Emily's future in-laws!
• Nellie sang and spoke Spanish in the school Christmas show last night, and was an angel in the live nativity today.
• DJ learned "so big!" and finds new ways to make us laugh every day. He pretends to lay down and sleep, or puts things over his face and makes us find him. He copies our sounds and intonation, and plays the "uh oh" game in which he throws his bottle or cup on the floor repeatedly. And he is beginning to stand on his own...I think walking is just around the corner. 
• The semester is winding down, although it seems like the workload actually picked up. I'm looking forward to a break at Christmas, though there's lots of baking and shopping and wrapping to do before then!

Other stuff

Here are a few other silly pictures to show what we've been up to.

Our "thankful tree." It was fun, and we missed it, so now we have the "thankful snowman." Pictures to come. :)

Grandparents Day at LCS. Maybe my favorite picture ever!

Annie's picture of Kevin 

Annie's funny face

Kev brought out the original Nintendo, so the girls are having fun with Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt

Moms

Moms are good at making Thanksgiving dinners, and taking their kids down a notch (in a good way, of course).

After reading my last post, my mom's response was, "really, Jamie? Eighty-seven percent? You haven't even gotten to the teenage years yet."

So let me clarify--I have 87% figured out how to keep Nellie alive and not crying. In terms of actually raising her...maybe 24%? And when it comes to DJ, the numbers drop rapidly. If that kid lives to see his first birthday, it will be a miracle. Yesterday I found him sucking on something. Turns out it was an outlet plug. You know, the ones I ran to Meijer to buy last week because he keeps sticking his fingers in outlets. It seems he knows how to get them out.

Growing up

Someone asked me recently when I knew I was truly grown up. There are, in fact, a few moments burned into my memory.

1) Kevin and I left for a cross-country trip during the summer of 2005. We'd been married for a year and a half and were planning to make some babies soon (it would take a couple of years, but we didn't know that yet) so we decided the time was right. Kevin took a leave of absence from work at Men's Wearhouse and we took a month driving through Colorado, to Oregon, then Montana, and back through the U.P. The first night of our trip, we'd been driving for 19 hours and had made it to Estes Park. But the Coleman national campground guide misled us and the campground we'd planned to stay at was nowhere to be found. As I recall, the name had changed or something. Anyway, as we drove, and drove, and drove through the darkness, seeing deer and elk at the side of the road, I remember thinking, "there is no one here to help us. Mom and Dad are not figuring this out while I sleep in the backseat. We are it. We have to find something. This is the new vacation." We eventually found a campsite, and the rest is history.

2) The first day we came home from the hospital with Nellie, someone muttered those words I'd heard hundreds of times before from a person holding a crying baby: "I think she needs her mommy." They passed her over to me and of course, I took her and tried to appear competent. But really, I was thinking, "nononononono you don't get it. I do not know what to do for this baby. I don't even know this baby. Wet? Hungry? Uncomfortable? In pain? I have absolutely no idea. They should not have let me leave the hospital with this child. But - I guess the buck stops here. No one else is going to mother her. I have to do it." And, of course, I figured it out eventually. I'd say I've 87% figured it out.

3) This year, I hosted Thanksgiving--really hosted, as in, I made the turkey and some other stuff--for the first time. Last year I hosted but it was a potluck and my dad made all the hard stuff. This year was technically a Wacyk year, but my parents went to visit Laurel and Dave and everyone else went to their in-laws (or almost-in-laws), so we got to have dinner with Kevin's family. And since John's in the U.P. and Lisa doesn't cook turkey, plus we're nicely centrally located and, you know, living in John's house, we offered to host. I was alternately excited and terrified, because I'd never made turkey, stuffing, gravy, or mashed potatoes (I know, it's weird), all of which I was now responsible for, plus the cranberry sauce and cornbread. I felt like a grown-up buying the turkey, but that was the easy part.

Luckily, I had help. Pam came Wednesday to help clean and play with the kids, and John was home by 9:00. Sarah and Lisa brought lots of delicious vegetable dishes. There were relatively few mishaps. I did try to pull a leg off the turkey thinking it was the neck, and the turkey was still a little frozen Wednesday night even though I had put it in the fridge on Sunday. It took hours to make the gravy, and seriously I ended up with buckets of the stuff. DJ was up all night Wednesday night, plus I had to get up at 5:30 to get everything ready and into the roaster by 6:30. BUT--in the end, it went well! And I found out that when your mom's around, it's easy to revert to a child-like state, but when she's out of the state and it's all on you, you really can cook a Thanksgiving dinner.

20 minutes in the life of DJ, as captured by Annie

Here's a taste of what life is like with DJ (read: busy!) Annie took all these photos on Thanksgiving - probably while I was cleaning!

Getting into the beer

Hi Annie!

To the baby highchair

"DJ, With Foot"

On the move

Down the hallway

Hop on the bus

Oh, yup. Here's me tucking in Bitty Baby

Grabbing him to keep him from crawling under the table

Gotcha!

A Year of Thanksgiving

I discovered the "activity log" feature on Facebook, which let me look back on some of the highlights from the past year. It also helped me remember how very much I have to be thankful for, even though overall it seemed like a pretty hard year. I actually remember pulling on to our street on the way home from the hospital with DJ, thinking, "how am I going to do this?" But somehow or another, we did it. We're here, we're happy, though a little disheveled.

Here are some things to remember:

• DJ arrived late, but safe and sound. I sent the following message to our families on December 27th at 10:00 p.m.: "Here's the scoop - for those of you still awake tonight! We are scheduled to start induction at 9:00 am tomorrow. I will call at 6:45 to confirm whether or not there is actually space in labor and delivery. I'm feeling really nervous about it (maybe an understatement), and my doctor is willing to try some non-drug methods first so it could be a long day. At this point, there is also still hope that I could go into labor naturally before then - please pray for that!! But if I know you are praying through the whole night and day (not constantly - sleep!) then I will be more peaceful..."  They didn't know that immediately before I sent the message, I basically had an emotional meltdown. Anyway, I went into labor at 10:30. 
• In the days, weeks, and months since, we've been showered with love and help from friends and family. For example, we enjoyed weeks of delicious meals from church friends. My dad painted the extra bedroom this fall so that we could (finally) give DJ his own room and enjoy a little more sleep and privacy. Kevin's parents babysit so I can go to class or we can go on an occasional date. And the list goes on.
• We survived a Very Sick Winter, including a long weekend when both Kevin and I both had some flu or strep that had us near death. It's one of my biggest fears--both parents being sick--but we made it. Again, we depended on the help of family. My dad even left work in Flint early on Friday to drive us to the doctor, since we were both too sick to drive. Okay, I have to stop thinking about that. I think I had managed to block it out.
• After a thankfully brief hiatus, DJ started taking a bottle again this spring.
• We took two family vacations to John's, one over the 4th of July and one in October. I'm thankful because we have family in a very lovely and interesting place to visit, and because both trips were very nice relaxing oases in the middle of otherwise busy and relatively stressful times in our lives.
• Lots of good things happened for family members, like Laurel's successful surgery, Dave graduating from grad school and getting a teaching job, and Emily graduating from college. Also, TWO new nieces to be welcomed this spring and a new brother-in-law to be welcomed...sometime TBD.
• Annie made it through a scary concussion from falling from the counter to the ceramic tile floor. Some of the worst hours of my life we spent waking her up through the night praying she'd be okay in the morning...and she was.
• After 8 solid months of studying, I took, survived, and passed my comprehensive exams!
• There were other good work-related things...we presented at two different conferences this year, I got to travel to Philadelphia and Berkeley and it worked out to take DJ and Kevin/Mom, and our proposal to AERA was accepted so I get to go back to San Francisco in April!
• Nellie got two scholarships, which sealed the deal in sending her to LCS. We don't have anything against Grand Ledge, but we do love Lansing Christian and her teacher, Mrs. Herwaldt.  

I knew a year ago that it was going to be a hard year, with extra studying, my first year of teaching, and a new baby. Looking back helped me remember some of the big and little ways we have been truly and greatly blessed. We are so thankful!  

Happenings

Maybe the title of this post is a little misleading, since nothing much is happening! Well, I shouldn't say that. Lots and lots of little things have happened, like:

• Kevin got a deer! Two thumbs up for a freezer stuffed with meat.
• I passed the written part of comps! I haven't really been announcing it, because I still have the oral exam on Thursday, but the papers were the biggest hurdle so I am super thrilled to be done. Still studying for three more days...
• DJ is pulling himself up, climbing stairs, and moving fast. Things have gotten infinitely more complicated around here.
• Nellie is practicing for the Christmas show at church, which means we're listening to Christmas music in the car all day, every day.
• We had the first kindergarten parent-teacher conferences. Nellie is on track, and has "a kind heart and a sweet smile," according to her teacher. Hopefully she'll bring out that smile at her picture retakes on Wednesday. :)
• Annie moved up to the intermediate gymnastics class, and is loving every minute of it. She got the "most courageous" award two sessions in a row, so we're proud of her, of course! She's very into cooking and taking care of her baby dolls right now.
• DJ spent a long day hunting with Kevin today for the first time! I hear he did great. I, on the other hand, am definitely going crazy. Without him here, all day long I've imagined I hear him talking or crying. This might be the first time ever that I've been home without him here.
• DJ continues to sleep better - he's slept through the night several times, and only gets up once most other nights. There was one rough night at Pam's when he didn't sleep more than 5 minutes at a time because he was so sick, but we're on the tail end of that. First round of colds for the season - check!

And an Annie story

Annie walked up to me holding a "blowy" dandelion (is there an official word for that?) and asked, "Mommy, do you want to wish for another baby in your tummy?" Then she looked at me expectantly, with this Annie-excitement that I wish I could bottle up. It involves this smile-giggle-wiggle combination that's pretty irresistible.

Me: "Well...sure." I took the dandelion, made the wish, and blew the seeds away.

Annie [very seriously, with a tiny hint of disdain]: A girl this time.

Some Nellie stories

Nellie was sick when we went to get her hearing checked for school, so she failed the test in one ear and we had to go back (she tested normally the second time around.) Lately, she's been trying to use that to get away with not listening. I'll say, "Nellie, I can tell you're not listening," and she'll matter-of-factly say, "well remember, I failed my hearing test." That girl. Then the other day, I complained about some sour milk I found in the car. She said, "I don't smell it...I'd better get my smelling checked!"

Playing 20 questions, Nellie's "thing" was God. Her clue: "It holds the whole universities!" 

Nellie asked who is running for president, and Kevin gave her a nice summary of the two leading candidates. She responded, "well I think Romney should be the president. Obama already got to be president, and it's nice to take turns."

Our family loves the Veggie Tales Hosanna album, against all common sense indicating that a whole CD of Veggie Tale music might actually kill you. We discovered a pitfall while we were actually in church, though. In a quiet moment after the chorus of "Everlasting God," Nellie exuberantly (and loudly) said, "look Phillippe, we're flying!" in a perfect French accent. Just like the peas.

DJ at 9 months

Head circumference: 18.5 inches
Weight: 20 lbs. 8 oz.
Length: 30.25 inches
Five teeth!

He's much more average in size, now! DJ started crawling on all fours October 14th at John's house in Sault Ste. Marie while we were on vacation - he was highly motivated by all the buttons in the entertainment center! He slept through the night for the first time a couple of nights ago, but we're not holding our breath for a repeat. It might have been due to the fact that he ate half an avocado, a jar of peas, and half a pint of chicken fried rice before bed.

Fun note: I was commenting to my niece, Leah, that if you put together all the cousins' first initials, you could spell the name Landra, then I could just call them all by one name. I listed everyone's name, and Leah interrupted to ask, "DJ's name is Donald Duck?"

Unlike the girls, DJ never stops moving. He only wants to crawl around. That's it. Which makes changing him, dressing him, bathing him, getting him into the car, and feeding him very difficult. And just...sweaty. I seriously feel like we spend our days in one long wrestling match.

A lovely fall weekend

Here are some of the great things about this weekend:

1) Lots of delicious food - meaning, lots of bad-for-you food. Chinese food Friday, birthday party pizza/cookies/cake/ice cream Saturday, and one last cookout with Richland Meat Market brats (the best) today. Also, donuts and cider from the farm.

2) Introducing the girls to Pigmania/Pass-the-Pigs - my favorite childhood game - and we had a fun family game night with Aunt Emmy.

3) Movie night on the couch bed - the girls' favorite thing to do, ever. Also, snuggling and giggling with Nellie and Annie late into the night because they took long car naps.

4) Celebrating Leah's and Pam's birthdays.

5) Having one last blissful weekend of not knowing the results from my comprehensive exams.

6) Sunny weather, finally.

7) And I can't believe I almost forgot this one - DJ slept through the night Friday night! What's that, you say? Isn't he almost 10 months old? Why, yes, yes he is. But we keep him 'cause he's cute!

Just chilling with Connie in her bed 

Scary scene in Pound Puppies 

Cousins!

Chance of getting five kids to smile and look at the camera at once - 0%

Pam's birthday pumpkin. You can't really tell from the picture, but it's huge.

It's been a hard couple of weeks

Don't get me wrong, overall we've been good...but life hasn't been easy. I haven't posted in awhile, so here are some updates.

1) The worst thing by far was Annie's concussion last Wednesday. She was helping me pour syrup into a pitcher and fell backward off the counter, landing on her head. It was, in a word, terrible. After being barely responsive for about an hour, she started throwing up and then showed a little improvement. We made two calls to the emergency doctor line and in the end decided to wait until morning to take her in, since they couldn't really do much. It was a loooong night, especially since she still wasn't talking much before she fell asleep and it was difficult to wake her throughout the night. We had lots of people praying--and when she woke up Thursday morning, she was pretty much 100% better! Kevin and I are pretty convinced we witnessed a miracle.

Also, we have a new family rule about sitting on counters.

2) I took the first part of my comps exam, and it went pretty well. Here is what my workspace looked like after two 8-hour days of writing:

There are a few things I enjoy about this picture. One is the NCTM book on the chair, which was a Christmas present from my dear grad school friend Jerilynn. Such a great and funny gift (and very helpful for comps.) Another is the article (Randy Philipp's review of beliefs and affect research) on the ottoman that has Nellie's scribbling all over it--I think that was two years ago. The large piece of paper on the bed has a single note from Nellie to wish me luck: "I love Jamie." The screen has been removed from the window in case the woodpecker comes back and Kevin has to shoot it. :) Now, I'm on to the paper part of the test. Pretty much every spare moment has been spent on it. ONE. MORE. WEEK.

3) We're getting into the swing of things with Nellie going to kindergarten. After being late for the first two weeks (like, really late), we're getting better. In general. My friend Katie (whose son is in Nellie's class) says Nellie gets the award for "best adjusted." And really, it has been a pretty smooth transition. She's finally talking to me after school! Last week was the book fair, which was a BIG HIT. She came home with books for herself, Annie, and DJ.

4) There are lots of DJ updates...he was teething last week, and he now has four teeth! He can also army-crawl very efficiently as of last week, and get himself into a sitting position. He'll pull himself up onto his knees on toys and furniture. He's babbling more, and saying bababa, dadada, and something squealy that means "hi." He's bigger than ever, wigglier than ever, and starting to look like a kid.

DJ's also in his own room, as of three weeks ago or so. Within a week, he went from waking up every 60-90 minutes to waking up "only" 3 or 4 times a night. Progress... His room is awfully cute; we're going for a "beach baby cabin" feel. I'll put up pictures when the Internet isn't acting so funny!

Of course, there's been lots of good stuff, too. Kevin's found time to go hunting (ahem) so he's been a happy camper (literally! ha! pun not intended, at first.) Yesterday was the fall festival at Woldumar, which meant hayrides, mums, and other fall fun. I started going to MOPS so I'll get to spend time with new and old mom-friends. I really do hope, though, that life takes on a slightly slower pace very soon.

More things they say

We had pizza delivered tonight since Emily, Mike, Mom, and Dad were all coming over at the same time. The delivery man clearly had some sort of nerve or muscle problem. Nellie, always the encourager, earnestly told him, "wow, you are a really good dancer!"

Turns out he has Parkinsons, and we talked at length about how he's waiting to get disability. I was half embarrassed by the "kids say the darndest things" moment, and half relieved because it definitely wasn't the worst thing Nellie could have said. Honestly, I thought it was a little sweet that she didn't see anything "wrong" with him, and thought it was totally normal for someone to dance their way through life.

Nellie goes to kindergarten

The first day!

Nellie woke up and came down the stairs, saying, "why does my alarm clock want me to get up at this time? It's so early."

 Princess lunchbox, princess backpack. Also note the shorts and t-shirt. Nellie has not worn shorts and a t-shirt in...maybe two years? She picked out her own clothes, though, and when I asked her about it she told me she was going to play on the playground and she needed to be able to move around without her dress coming off. Go figure.

Everything went well this morning. No tears, just excitement. The fact that she's only going every other day makes it easier; it's pretty much like preschool but all day. She did get a little nervous once we got to the classroom, so I slipped out in a hurry. From the sounds of it, she was fine. Though I can't really get her to tell me what she did at school today...I think she was exhausted! I've never seen her so sleepy at bed time. Also, someone took her princess towel at nap time.

When we went to visit Kevin at work, he went to find a camera and didn't come back for a few minutes. At one point, Nellie climbed up on a huge rock and announced, "according to my calculations, he'll be back real soon."

I figure she's a genius already, and she's only been in school for a day!

Things they say

1) You really have to see this one...Nellie walked up to me like this and asked, "um, has anyone seen my new toothpaste?"

2) Annie: [In bed.] We're scared.

Me: What do you possibly have to be scared of?

A: Monsters and goblins.

Me: There are no monsters or goblins. And even if there were, there's this thing with moms and dads where if we see a bad guy we get super strength and super speed so we can protect our kids.

A: Yeah! And God will get the goblins and they'll die! They'll die on the cross! [Hmm. We have some straightening out to do.]

3) DJ: Mama! [As of August 20.]

:)

Wishes

This story is courtesy of our wonderful babysitter, Steph. She took the kids to the mall to throw coins in the fountain yesterday--first of all, kudos to her for being brave enough to load and unload three kids in the car twice just to let the kids to something fun for a few minutes. Anyway, she gave Nellie four pennies and told her she could make a wish for each one. Here are her wishes:

1) that she could breathe fire,

2) for hands that can sprinkle magic (specifically so that when mom and dad say she can't have something, she can get it anyway),

3) that Dora would come and play with her, and

4) a toy for DJ.

Oh, Nellie

The first time we went blueberry picking, the whole family went and we had a great time. We left very hungry, so we stopped at the Charlotte McDonalds. They have a nice new Playplace, so we decided to go in. Now, eating at Mickey Ds is rare; going inside is more rare. So when we told the girls we were going to eat inside so they could play, Nellie said, "this is the best. day. EVER!" Then, very seriously, "actually, the best day ever will be when Jesus comes back."

Seriously, Nellie never ceases to make us laugh OR drive us crazy. The same girl, when we went back to do more berry picking the next weekend, refused to pick a single blueberry. Because she didn't feel like it. Never have I met a child more simultaneously lovable and aggravating. She's predictably unpredictable! And there's no way she got that from me...

Catchin' some Zs

Yes, that's a pirate eye patch.

Enjoying the tastes of the season

 Against all odds (meaning a very shady backyard), we've managed to grow and harvest some vegetables this year. We miss our large and fertile garden at the Holly Way house! But we've been enjoying BLTs and salads made with garden lettuce and tomatoes. And we went blueberry picking twice, because the first time was so fun and the bucket of berries lasted such a short time!

While Kevin was on his backpacking trip, I taught the girls how to make their own brownie-in-a-mug. When the cat's away, the mice can eat brownies for lunch dessert.

Mmmm, frozen peas. This is his "silly boy" trick, where he eats with no hands. :)

Vacation, vacation, vacation

A post I started on August 12, 2012 and never finished (posted 1/2/2019)! I think it's telling that the only highlight recorded was about eating.

Since 4th of July was on a Wednesday this year, there was no camp at Woldumar and Kevin got a whole week off. As a summer camp employee, I'm not sure that's happened in a few years! So we got to take a real summer vacation and headed up to the U.P. to visit John and enjoy Michigan and each other. Everything about it was lovely...the weather, the location, being together, not working. I tried not to be sad about coming home (and we were ready to come home when the time came,) but it really was a nice time.

For my future self planning a vacation, we left at Saturday around 5:30 a.m., left Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday morning, stopped to visit my family at Elk Lake for the day, and left for home around 9:00 p.m. The ride back was far worse, so leaving early in the morning is the way to go.

We've only been back a little over a week, but trying to catch up on work and all the 5-year-old birthday festivities have kept us going nonstop. Annie fell asleep at 5:30 last night and slept until morning! I think the best way to capture the vacation memories is to run through some of the highlights.

• We ate, and ate. And ate. Lots of whitefish, steaks, ice cream (three times), fudge. Picnic in the park, potluck for the 4th with John's neighbors,

My sensitive husband

Kevin: So...you want to watch a movie or something? Or we could just listen to the rest of the Tigers game. Or we could talk about our feelings. I had one today.

Jamie: Oh yeah, what's that?

Kevin: Hungry.

Touché

The girls are scared to go upstairs alone when it's convenient for them. Today, I asked Nellie to go up with Annie to get the piggy bank.

N: No, I'm scared.

Me: You're not scared. You go up there all the time. DJ even goes upstairs alone, and he's a baby. He's not scared.

N: Whenever DJ is upstairs alone he's sleeping or crying. [True.]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Annie: Can I have another cookie?

Me: No, you just had one.

A: You just had one, too.

Me: No, I gave mine to you.

A: But you had three before that. [True.]

Fake fall

Kevin got back from backpacking late last night and doesn't have to work today. It's 55 degrees, rainy, and windy, so we built a fire, made s'mores, and ate tomato soup with grilled cheese for lunch. I feel like we should be watching football and going to the pumpkin patch!

Fake fall in summer is almost as much fun as fake spring in the winter. Almost. I will be happy to welcome summer back for another month!

This is what Annie looks like when you catch her playing with the fire poker.

A day in the life

Kevin's backpacking on South Manitou Island for camp, and I didn't work today, so today was the first day in awhile that the kids and I were home ("alone") together all day. I thought it might be fun to track what we did today on what was a very typical day.

5:00ish a.m.: Nellie climbed into bed with me, which she's done every night for the last few nights claiming "scary dreams" but I think she just likes our bed. I also have photo evidence that Annie sleeps with her foot on Nellie's face, so I'm sympathetic.

6:30: DJ wakes up and against all odds I get him to go back to sleep.

7:17: Annie is crying on the steps looking for me. For such a happy kid, it's surprising she wakes up every day crying. DJ wakes up.

Through 9:15: Get milk for both girls, make toaster waffles for everyone (except DJ, who got baby oatmeal with some kind of baby fruit and veggie blend mixed in). Watch one Dora episode (Annie's choice) and Sesame Street (my choice) on the Roku. Clean up breakfast. Take everyone upstairs to sort through laundry, take the sheets off the bed, put clean clothes away, and get DJ and Annie dressed.

9:15: Put DJ to bed. Nellie throws a fit about getting dressed (there is nothing to wear!) and pulls out every item of clothing out of the drawer.

9:20: Lots of threats about throwing all the clothes in the garbage or giving them all to her cousins. (Not my finest moment.) Fold and put away all the clothes, minus a few that really will go to cousins or in the closet to wait for Annie to wear them.

9:25: Nellie gets dressed in a very cute dress Steph got her, which she never complained about the rest of the day.

Through 10:45: Play outside - catch, swings, soccer. Putter around the garden, picking herbs, lettuce, and a lot of green tomatoes (Annie.) Read Bible verses. Annie gets hurt three times, but only one requires ice. Girls eat cherries and goldfish crackers and I try to drink a cup of hot coffee. Let the dogs out and give them water and attempt to get Connie to take her pills. Work on laundry. Fold towels.

10:45: DJ up. Change his diaper and play downstairs until lunch - noodles with sauce, ham, and garden basil. Mashed peas for DJ.

11:30: Make "brownie in a mug," which I promised the girls they could do while Kevin was gone. Added homemade whipped cream. Delicious.

12:00 p.m.: Take a walk. Annie pushes her baby in the pram, I push DJ in the stroller. Nellie just runs "to get her energy out." It's hot; we stop in the shade and sit on the sidewalk for awhile.

12:45: Home, pick weeds and grass in the driveway and sweep up dirt for fun. Girls move the sweeping fun to the backyard while I put DJ to bed.

1:15: Girls start rest time; we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and My Grandpa and Me.

1:30: I sit down to work on slides for the upcoming advisory board meetings for work.

2:00: DJ starts waking up, but by some miracle goes back to sleep.

2:30: Nellie's up, watches an episode of Wonder Pets.

3:00: Wake Annie up, girls play while I answer emails.

4:00: DJ wakes up after his super-long nap. After he's changed and fed, head out to Meijer. Buy groceries to last us through the weekend, including a blueberry french toast dish that I want to recreate from the amazing breakfast mom and I had in South Haven last weekend. Grocery shopping goes remarkably well, except for needing to carry DJ through the store WHILE pushing the enormous bench-cart because he's not sitting well enough to really sit in the seat.

5:15: Home. Put groceries away, feed the dogs, make dinner (mac and cheese - yes, pasta again - chicken nuggets, frozen veggies, and salad. Well, the salad actually had to wait until after the kids were in bed.)

6:15: Put clean sheets back on the bed. Baths and showers for all. DJ to bed by 7:00.

7:15: Everyone in bed, I run down to clean the kitchen while the girls read. Okay, they watched My Little Ponies in bed on the portable DVD player.

7:45: Read from Nellie's chapter book she picked out at the church library. It's admittedly a little beyond the girls, but it puts Annie to sleep!

8:03: Lay on the girls' floor and read my book about math ed reform in California and listen to the lullaby station on Pandora. Girls read until they're sleepy so they read, and read, and read...

8:45: Nellie starts to get silly, so she goes to sleep in on the futon in the playroom.

9:11: Everyone is sleeping!! I go downstairs and listen to the end of the Tigers game while typing notes on math ed reform in California (getting ready for comps).

10:45: DJ is back up. Feed him, he goes back to sleep. Switch laundry, eat cereal, watch Drop Dead Diva.

12:00 a.m.: Bed.

Annie goes to work

Annie has been begging me (every time I leave) to go to work with me, since Nellie had to come to campus a few weeks ago after I picked her up from camp. So today was the day; I had a quiet day until my meetings started so Steph dropped her off after VBS (which the director is graciously letting her go to even though she just turned three.)  She was just going to come for lunch, but I decided she'd probably be fine to go to my meetings since - unlike others in the family - I knew if I told her she needed to be quiet, she'd be quiet.

Well Annie was very serious about the whole thing. She carried her Leapfrog laptop, Merida doll, Rainbow Dash pony, and blankie into the building saying, "I am so late. I have so much work to do today." We shared a chicken pesto sandwich, apple, lemonade, and a cookie, worked on our computers for awhile, then headed into three hours of meetings. Annie played with her dolls and read books for about 45 minutes, then climbed into my lap with her blanket and slept for the next two hours. On our way out, she sighed, "I worked a long time. I am so tired."

I could get used to working like this. :)

Donald has teeth!

Well, a tooth, which I discovered when I was feeding him tiny pieces of Cheerios today. I'm relieved--hopefully this explains why he's not sleeping more than a couple of hours at a time and is grumpier than usual. No one is more excited than Nellie! I would post a picture, but you really can't see it even with his big smile. You'll just have to believe me.

Number Slumber Party

It was Nellie's idea, honestly!

Like the good Wernets that we are, we commemorated the day with a pinata

Cake! I feel like I should say that Alli was there, too, just not in these pictures!

Second breakfast - cereal picnic

Watching their "growers" grow