Weekend overview

This weekend's recap:

Friday was a special day for Ella because she was awarded "Student of the Month" for responsibility at a school assembly.  We are very proud of her-she is definitely our sweet-heart and she was SO SURE she was getting this award last month when she didn't get it.  She perservered and was so happy!

On Saturday Ella attended two birthday parties back-to-back.  It was a rainy day, so there wasn't much for Keeton to do while Ella got to have all the fun.  Not that he was interested in the princess-themed party, but he was green with envy over the pool party.  We spent some time making Lincoln Log forts and then I suggested that we could go to McDonald's for lunch and some play time in the indoor gym.  So, I rushed upstairs to put my contacts in.  Just so you know how this next piece transpired:  I ran out of lens solution two nights ago and I am totally cheap and like to wear my contacts for about a month.  So, that night I soaked the pair I took out in water just to keep them from drying out and put a brand new pair in the next day.  That night Jeff ran to the store and I asked him to pick up some solution.  He came home with Clean Care, which I never used before.  I quickly looked at the directions which said not to put into eyes and not to rinse lenses with the solution.  It also said to use the "special" case enclosed and to let contacts sit for at least 6 hours before wearing.  So, I did exactly that and wore my contacts the next day, no problem.  The next night I took out my contacts and put them in the special case in the special solution.  I also replaced the water in my old contact case with the Clean Care since I wanted to use these lenses again.  Back to preparing for Micky Ds...I put in my contacts and one felt weird so I took it out and tried putting it back in.  It felt like it needed rinsed off, but I knew I couldn't use the Clean Care and I didn't have any saline solution, so I replaced it in the special holder and moved on to my old pair in the old case, which had soaked for way more than 6 hours in the Clean Care solution.  The second I popped that contact in my eye I felt like clawing my own eye out of my socket.  I have NEVER felt that kind of pain! Truly, child birth was much better.  After scaring the bejeezus out of Jeff and Keeton by screaming and saying a few choice words, I managed to yank the offending eye-searer out and shove my head under the cold water faucet.  So, what is the active ingredient in that solution?  Hydrogen peroxide!  Yep, I just put hydrogen peroxide in my eye!  I read the directions, I know it said to use the fancy case, but it didn't say the fancy case neutralizes the hydrogen peroxide or that if I didn't use it I would rather put a hot poker through my eyeball!

Well, I look like a swamp monster with one red, blood-shot eye, but overall I am better.  Day two now wearing glasses, and hope to be able to wear my contacts tomorrow to work.  AND...we made it to McDonald's, so all was well there!

The night wrapped up with a little light-saber action, compliments of the 2nd birthday party (these got tossed for obvious reasons, about 2 hours after this picture was taken):

Notre Dame Game

Last weekend Jeff and I went to South Bend with two of our couple-buddies to see the Notre Dame vs. Western Michigan game.  Our friends have been to a game before and were both excited to initiate us into all the pomp & circumstance a football game at Notre Dame has to offer.  Having planned this trip over six months ago, we were all looking forward to having a day away from home and enjoying, what turned out to be, a fabulous day to watch a football game.

We had a tight schedule to follow--scripted, really.  A co-worker who happens to be a former ND centinenial basketball player and former president of the Monogram Club got us great seats (right on the 50 yard line) and very specific details of when to be at what point on campus--and what a beautiful campus it is. We started the morning by fighting the LARGEST crowd in the LARGEST college bookstore I have ever seen in order to buy sweatshirts and several "the shirts". 

 Next, we walked around looking for the porkchop sandwiches that were a "must eat" on our supplied agenda.  Amy and I opted to instead try a fraternity grilled hotdog (it was only 10:30 in the morning IL time!).  We quickly ate our foil wrapped lunches on the steps of a dorm (also an instruction, as this is where our co-worker lived) and moved along to get in line to see the football players leave church.  This was actually pretty neat--even for someone like me who has NO IDEA who those guys were.  As an amature fashion critic I had fun just looking at the suits these guys had on--some were very interesting! Anyway, this is obviously a huge part of "doing" a Notre Dame football game--hundreds of fans made a pathway for the players to walk through and to catch a glimpse (or even a high five) from their favorite players.

We then spent some time walking around campus.  We saw the Grotto and walked along a pond, where we had a few picture ops--see the guys in the tree?  Next on our list was to see the marching band warm up and then it was on to see the trumpets play under the Golden Dome.  This was, in my opinion, one of the coolest parts of the ND campus tour/pre-game festivities.  I wasn't sure about it at first...you have to stake a claim in this little space and stand there for at least half an hour.  I am not patient and I don't like being touched, especially by random people, so this was a little questionable for me.  I was not disappointed though--it was so worth the wait.  All the trumpet players line two of the three balconies above the dome and then play  "Notre Dame Our Mother" and the "Notre Dame Victory March".  It really was neat--even though I was ticked at the people who splayed themselves across the floor to "save a space", it was worth it. You can see a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZkO0WVXhUQ  (I recorded it, but alas...can't figure out how to download it."

After this we headed to the game.  I am not going to pretend that I know much about football (how is this possible when I spend at least five nights of my life each year at a game??), but the vibe at ND's stadium is very awesome.  Maybe it's because you are intimately close to those sitting next to you/in back of you/in front of you or because the fan section is so "fan-like", but whatever the reason, I actually enjoyed it.  Granted, I was about ready to fall asleep by this point, but that's okay. We sat in back of "super fans" whose life long goal was to be in the marching band and who insisted there were only 2,000 undergrads at ND.  No worries--the super football fan next to them set them straight!

Wrapping up the day, we went over to the athletic center to see our co-workers awards (and because the boys HAD to go there).  After losing the boys, we discovered they had been playing on the basketball court--they were like five year olds at Chukee Cheese!  Pictures are below.

All in all, it was a great trip and one I think we all look forward to doing again.  These pictures were taken by Chris--enjoy!

Overlooking the campus.

 

Jeff and me on the lake.

   Jeff having fun at the athletic complex.

Jeff and Brian on the floor of ND's basketball court.

ND vs. Western Michigan                                                     

The Highlanders.

Group Shot.

 Golden Dome.

 Grotto

 Football players leaving chapel.

The Boys.

Flashback Post: Getting it All

I posted this in March 2008 when I was feeling a bit nostalgic and a little sad by how quickly life passes by.  More than two years has flown by equally fast and I still feel like I've never caught my breath.  Being a working mom who tries, and often fails, to strike a fair balance between my career and my family is tough.  Sometimes I feel like I don't do justice to either one and by the time I get home I am cranky from being nice to others all day.  As I did two years ago, I needed to remind myself of just how fleeting being a "mommy" is.  Hope you enjoy this flashback post:

I was going through my junk mail box today and as I deleted multiple offers and solicitations for everything from clothing to various miracle weight loss pills, I came across a forward that I had long since forgotten. The e-mail is written by Anna Quindlen, a Newsweek columnist and author. I don’t know what made me re-read this e-mail today; sometimes I think the Lord works in funny ways, because the message in this forward was so relevant and timely…as if it had been hanging out in the junk mail folder waiting to be re-discovered at just the right moment.


Quindlen begins her essay describing her three, now self-sufficient young-adults and comparing their metamorphosis from childhood to present to “the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.” I love that image—the idea that the “baby” is still there, yet just faintly visible is a comforting thought to me, as a parent who is beginning to struggle with the concept of my children leaving the baby phase.

The essay continues on, summarizing a mother’s drive to read every parenting book and article, the need to feel as though we’ve done everything in our power to consume all possible advice on child-rearing. Memories of my all too frantic and frequent worries come to mind—the fear one of the children would choke during the night, the fear that they would injure themselves while learning to walk (which happens, it is just a matter of when), the fear that something would be wrong with them, the fear that Ella’s tooth would turn black, the fear that Keeton would never talk…all of these fears…how much time have I wasted worrying about what might be rather than concentrating on what definitely will be—that my children won’t be children forever and that I should enjoy each stage and moment.

Just yesterday Jeff pulled two photos out of our diaper bag that our babysitter had found. In them, a one year old Ella poses for a moment, staring at the photographer as if to say, “I’m busy, take the picture, already.” I said to Jeff, “I can’t believe she was ever that small,” and Jeff said, “I remember that shirt.” What we were really saying was, “three years has passed us by so quickly and we hope we “got it” all.”

It is easy to get tangled in the “have to dos” and the “want to dos” of day to day life and in turn-- rush through the seemingly monotonous activities of each day. There are many nights where I look at our house, neglected in upkeep over the course of a busy week, and want so much to skip the bedtime story to in turn pick up the kitchen and go to bed. Quindlen says of rushing through her own evening routines, “I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.” Herein lays my biggest mom guilt. This is the message I need to be continuously reminded of. I look at Ella, now four and Keeton, almost two, with amazement, bewilderment, pride, and yes, sadness. I wonder when the last time was that I held each of them “cradle” style…there must have been a last time, but I don’t remember it. Keeton’s baby book is woefully empty and we have hardly any video of him over the last two years. Ella is a little girl…when did she get so big?

I needed to read Quindlen’s article today. I needed to be reminded that worry is a time-drainer, that the kitchen can wait for the bedtime story, and that my children will turn into amazing young adults in spite of whether I miss an article in Parent’s magazine. Tonight I am going to spend more quality time with my kids and I’m going to "get it all" , at least for a day.

Down on the Farm

If it weren't for winter being right around the corner, I could honestly say I love Fall (though it is still in the high 70s-80s here).  We did our prerequisite tour of the apple farms this weekend to get pumpkins, apples, and pet the stinky goats.
Saturday we went to Ackerman Farms to beat the pumpkin rush.  We quickly decided on what we wanted and were out of there within half an hour.  Only problem was that Keeton insisted on pulling his own wagon, but refused to put anything in it because then it was too heavy.  By the end, he was riding in the wagon:

Sunday we planned to meet my sister, her husband, baby Rhett, and my mom at Tanner's.  I was feeling ahead of the game with my previously purchased pumpkins.  This is what we encountered when we pulled in to the parking lot:

It's hard to tell, but the line wrapped all the way around the shed to the parking lot.  We drove right on through and out.  So, we then decided to go to Apple Blossom Farm.  In my opinion, Apple Blossom is a bit over-rated, but I didn't need pumpkins, so I figured all was good.  Plus, Keeton had been begging to go on the monster-truck ride which was broken the last time we were there.  So, we got in line for the ride and Keeton...he went wimpy on us:

Yep, that's him crying (actually screaming) and completely freaking out.  I was pretty sure the monster truck ride lady was going to tell us not to take him on.  As you can see, Ella was completely okay--she was already heading up the ladder with Jeff carrying Keeton behind her.  There was no way I was not getting him on that darn thing--I've been hearing about it for months.

Jeff got him on and I tried to avoid the looks from others on the truck who probably thought I was mom of the year for forcing a 4 year old on a monster truck who was obviously traumatized.  As I figured, he was fine once the truck got moving.  He is actually doing that "I'm not going to let you see my smile" face in this picture.  He loved it--all one minute, two turns, and $5 a piece of it.

On to the goats we went. One goat decided Keeton's shirt looked pretty tasty.  His face was priceless as he realized he was being the goat's snack.  I wish I could have captured that moment!  We wrapped up the day by discovering there were no apples to be picked and no pumpkins to purchase...nice...great feature for APPLE Blossom Farm!  While it was a bit of a bust, how many kids can claim a monster truck ride and a run in with a shirt eating goat all in the same day?!