Safe

Ava appropriated these safety glasses that PJ brought home a while ago. While they have been forgotten in the recent past, James has changed all this with his apparent desire for safety. Cuteness ensues. None of us are safe from these two !

Germanfest

Yesterday, the kids and I went downtown to meet Dad for lunch. This weekend (Thursday thru Sunday) is Germanfest, and in this SuperLutheran town, you can imagine there are a fair amount of Germans! We braved 90 degree temperatures, and 30-40 mph winds, and ate hot dogs and potato salad containing vinegar! (actually the kids ate no potato salad, James ate a smidge of hot dog, and Ava ate her own AND James'!) There were quite a few people there for a Thursday afternoon, and a reasonable percentage of them were from the retirement crowd. A few of the older gentlemen had on their lederhosen. It was a sight! A few couples had on super german lederhosen outfits (dresses for the ladies of course) and were boogie-ing down with the polka band. Not to be outdone, Ava insisted on having a dance. When refused by Dad's friend Dave, Dad was called upon to get out on that dance floor and show them how it is done Thuringer style. Ava could have danced all night, but alas, naps were required. We'll have to retire the accordion till next year (with the exception of Saturday Night Myron Floren, of course!)

The large boy gets a haircut

not much commenting needed on this one...

Bikes

Mommy got a new pretty pink bike! Dad and Ava surprised me with it on when they returned from Ava's first soccer class on Wednesday. I took it for a spin and it is awesome. I even got a "cool bike" comment from a neighbor down the street! I took it out to get a couple of snaps of it and Ava rode her bike around the driveway. She is doing great on it, and although she is still very wary of the bumps on the sidwalk (even the super small ones) I am hoping that as she gets more comfy with the bigger bike she'll be more comfy with the bumps. The last time we went out (she on the bike and me pushing James in the jogger) she got off her bike to push it over ANY bump during the first half, and I practically had to pull her all the way during the second half. Pushing the stroller with my right hand and pulling Ava on her bike with my left hand. Steering was interesting! She also rides what we call the ride-along with Dad, also hoping this will give her some confidence. She does enjoy it, and her bike even has a basket for Baby Hop to ride along in!

How does your garden grow?

PJ planted the garden last weekend and it appears as though there's already some new growth! We have either 4 or 5 different tomatoes, some cucumber, zucchini, and broccoli. He planted right before a good rain, which I am sure helped, and we have had some nice weather temperaturewise, until yesterday when it got above 90. Today it's going to be 85, which isn't bad, but it's pretty humid. There's a nice breeze, which is from the storm front moving in. I hear on the radio this morning that it's pretty bad just northwest of us- there was baseball sized hail cancelling hundreds of flights out of O'Hare. We may be picking up PJ from work today!

Kitty Has Style

Ava (from our bedroom): "Mommy, Lionel is wearing my necklace!"

Me (from the kitchen): "Oh, Ava, I am not so sure he likes that very much..."

Ava: "But Mommy, he is soooo STYLISH!"

Chair

The high chair is in the attic, folks. The boy has moved on up to the booster seat!

Wednesday, or my son Tensing Norgay

So Wednesday was quite the day. All was pretty well till the afternoon when, probably due to Baby Hop's unfortunate disappearance, (she's since been found) Ava did not take a nap. She played somewhat quietly in her room for an hour or so, and I knew that there wasn't much I could do without a small gray rabbit to help me, so I let it be. Meanwhile, while James napped the afternoon away like a little angel, PJ called and said he was interested in going to the gym, and they had childwatch till 8:30, so maybe he could take Ava with him. I advised him on the nap situation, so we decided to watch her behavior and play it by ear.

With the exception of having to remind her every 2 minutes to eat her dinner, she was doing pretty well for not having napped so we agreed she could go with Dad to the gym and I would put James down for the night. Dad and Ava left, and James was roaming free while I cleaned up the dinner dishes. I received a phone call roughly 15 minutes later from PJ saying he had a sleeping chicken in the car (apparently when they got to the gym PJ woke her up and she startled and said "It's ok dad, I am awake. I was just takin' a power nap."). I laughed and said well see how she does, maybe I will see you back here sooner than later. We hang up, and by now I am done with the kitchen, so I call for James, as it is roughly 7:30 or so, and say "Come on James, let's go upstairs for bed. We'll brush your 4 teeth and put on dino jams and read a story to you and Steve... James? James...?" I round the corner from the dining room toward the front entry on my way into the living room calling his name. I don't see him, but I hear him! My heart skips a beat as I pause in the entry and look to my left and see MY SWEET BOY IS HALFWAY UP THE STAIRS LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY!!!!!!! I run up to get him and if I hadn't at that moment he would have fallen backwards. He was seriously halfway up! And being a total gigglepuss!

Yes folks, he is my little munki. You all know why. And now my world is changing yet again. Stairs! Aarrgh!

Happy Birthday to me!

So PJ bought me a wonderful early birthday present- an ihome! It goes in the kitchen, and you can listen to am, fm, a few tv channels, and the local noaa weather channel! But most importantly, you can listen to the ipod!! The sound in this house travels interestingly, so I can hear James from his room to the living room like he is right there, but cannot hear the stereo in the kitchen or dining room. The ihome solves all these woes.

Extra KUDOS to PJ for a) getting the model in black (to match the appliances- I have also seen it in white and it probably would have really bugged me to not have matched- yes I know I need help) and b) putting it up pretty quickly and not making me wait and wait! I use it a lot, as I podcast some of the npr shows I cannot listen to when they are on due to children. Also it is good for dance party while making dinner (although we were listening to the '80s new wave music station on the tv recently and it is soooooo goooooood) and catching up on news while cleaning the kitchen or having lunch. It's awesome! Thanks Pijay!!

Ava's last day of 3's Preschool

So last thursday (the 24th) was Ava's last day of school. While she was in school, I packed a picnic lunch and went to pick up PJ who had taken a long lunch hour to be with us for the occasion. During class the kids all played games, and afterwards everyone met under the big oak tree and had a picnic lunch. Tons of families. The attached photo is of Ava and her teacher, Mrs. McEachern. She was a wonderful teacher for Ava! I didn't see Mrs. Busche, who was the teachers assistant, as there were so many people I am sure she was making the rounds. Ava had a blast and was keen to know that she will be returning next year with a class of 4 year olds! Now for summer break...

Flora and Fauna

Well we have been doing some exploring in the back yard, which is to say we have been weeding and finding new plants. There are a few things which we know, and quite a few that we do not. Thank goodness for Better Homes and Gardens New Gardening Book as my fave reference tool! We knew that we had a ton of bulbs and hosta. The hosta is too out of control now to divide- I'll have to do it next spring. There is a ton! There are quite a few daffodils and daylilies too. We knew that there were a couple of rose bushes, but this past weekend while trimming and weeding, I found another one. AND some Peonies!!! (The state flower of Indiana is the peony, and the state bird the cardinal. One of my favorite flowers and one of my favorite birds, well, I knew Indiana would maybe be okay! And bully for us that not only Indiana, but our own back yard, has both peonies and cardinals!) Also found some other flower that had been crowded by overgrown bushes and weeds, and while looking up some of the various things we have blooming, found out it was lily of the valley! It is quite beautiful and can be fragrant, and is trying to grow back there. I know now that it needs shade, so will trim those unruly bushes back there carefully.

The big bush back by the garage in the corner (which I believe is the same as the two under the living room window on the side) is viburnum. There is another bush growing behind the viburnum in the back, but I forgot about that till just now because the viburnum is that big. I will be trimming that shortly.

The little bed along side the garage is full. I am not sure of all what. There are 2 hostas flanking each end, and the middle is a mishmash of weeds, grass (the fountain grass- I think seeds from the one in the middle area blew over there) and an unknown flower. Wasn't sure if the flower was a flower at all, actually, so yesterday as I was trying to clean it up a bit tried to transplant some of the "flowers". Now I am really hoping that it takes because looking at the leaves I am pretty sure it's purple coneflower, aka echinacea. If I could have left well enough alone, I would have, but there was no way to get around them to get to the grasses, because I had to use the BIG shovel to get those out. And there is actually another one to go! I had to stop yesterday when the chickens woke up.

So now we also have under our bedroom window a bearded iris. It is purple and quite beautiful. I was looking for more, but right now it seems like only one. It is back there with all the Oregon Grapeholly. I don't mind the Grapeholly, it has yellow berries, the leaves are pretty in the autumn, and even flowers. But there is too much. I am working on trimming it back, but apparently the previous owners put the plants in their ideal growing conditions, because they are on fire. One I cut back quite a bit is showing substantial new growth. I will have to keep at it. So there will be some more trimming at Chez Thuringer and hopefully more discovery.

I was trimming the lilacs this past weekend and lamenting that they bloomed for such a short period of time. I had wanted to cut a flower and press it and send it to my mom for her birthday but by the time I sent out her package the blooms were long gone.

Attached are a few pictures of what we have growing here in the back yard. If you recognize anything, let me know. I know we will have to wait out the growing season to find out on more of this stuff as things bloom at different times. But what the heck is that tree out back? And what the heck is that mini tree in the back with the little flowers on it? I am off now back to the book!

Edited to add:

The picture of the peony is not actually mine. It is growing in our neighbors front yard, kinda on the side, and I can see it out our dining room window. There is a large group of them, and they are quite lovely. She is a self admitted non yard person, which tempts me to go out in the dark of the night and cut them and put them in a lovely vase to enjoy in the house before they decline. As I am not like that, I will be grateful that they are available for my viewing daily out the window.

Plus forgot to mention that one of the rosebushes has several blooms waiting to open! I am hoping to see some soon on the newly discovered rose bush in the back.

Smart Boy !!!

Okay so I just went in to get James up from his nap, and upon arriving saw that he had removed his socks (which he does at any given opportunity). So I say to him, rhetorically, "Where are your socks?" and he HANDS me one!!! I love the smarty pants boy!

Damage

Our James has 4 teeth. Seeing what you see here, and the pictures don't show how deep these seem to go, I should not be worrying about what to feed him. I love that this crib goes from crib to toddler bed to double bed. He will have these for a really long time!!!

No new news

Sorry for the dearth of blogging, folks, but really not much has been going on here. I have been a slave to the tv the last week or so watching the season finales of my favorite shows, and the weather has been good so we have been outside some. Other than that we have had relatively slow news days here.
I got myself another cold. The first day was tired and muggy and achy, as well as stuffy and coughing. I decided it wasn't allergies with the achy ant took some dayquil. Day 2 had the aches gone, and now I am still stuffy and coughing, mostly due to a persistent tickle in my throat. PJ was upset that I am sick (again) and I told him I overheard a mom at Ava's school talking about her kids having flu. I know that these little chickens can be "carriers" and I told him unfortunately when we take them out into the world, sometimes the sickness is a part of it. She brought home a nice cold from the Y a few months ago. Its just a part of building up all of our immune systems, and if I get it worse than the kids then WAHOO because as little fun as it is to not feel good, its super no fun for chickens. Now Mucinex is my new friend and hopefully he will treat me right.
Last Friday we went to the zoo with Ava's preschool- all the kids from the preschool were there. It was a zoo, literally and figuratively. One of the moms lost her little girl right before we left. I ran into her, she asked me if I had seen her (she was at the drinking fountain, turned around and the little one was gone) and I said no. We split up and looked in a couple of nearby places and I ran into Ava's teacher and asked her if she'd seen her. She said no and immediately went to the front office where the little girl was waiting. Apparently zoo personnel had seen her unattended, and took her to wait for her mom. DRAMA! How scary how fast this can happen. I was never and advocate for the child leash, but...
Pretty soon after that James started to melt down. He had been without his morning nap, after all. Unfortunately while I remembered juice and snacks and sunscreen, I forgot the camera so there are no pics to share of the zoo today. We saw quite a lot but missed the Africa exhibit, which I understand is big and amazing. The cool thing about that zoo is that you can go and do sections. You don't feel like you have to do the whole thing at once. You can go and see the rainforest, or Australia, or ride the carousel, or see Africa, or go look at the monkeys or the really big komodo dragon. Anything. And they have a fountain the chickens can run thru during the warm weather to cool them off, like Didi used to do with Ava at the Phx zoo.
Speaking of Ava, I told her this morning while she was getting dressed (for the 3rd time- more on that later) that I am going to start calling her Dot for all the bruises she has on her legs that look like polka dots. She wasn't sure what to make of that.
Ava is asserting her independence in a new way now which is getting dressed herself. She will walk downstairs in the morning in an outfit which may or may not be appropriate to the weather, so she may have to change. If not she will reappear throughout the day a couple more times in different outfits. PJ says I need to teach her to fold her clothes and put them away when she is done wearing them for an hour or so, or get her some clothes with buttons to slow her down! Both excellent suggestions. Right now the clothes either lay wadded on the floor or stuffed in her drawer or tossed into the laundry. We will have to work on this.
Other than all that all is well here. We have a fundraiser for Ava's school tonight, a fun carnival, so will go for a little while with the family.
The electricians are here right now working on the basement and also putting an outlet in outside in the front- there's one in the back but when PJ mows the front with the electric mower, we have to plug it in on the inside. That's okay for now, but when Xmas comes we will need somewhere to plug in the lights !!!
Okay I can't think of anything else. PJ's smart green house is done and now theres a bunch of demolition going on at Renaissance Pointe, tearing down the houses that need to come down. I told him if he knows of any specific times I will bring Ava down to see it in action. I think she'll like it.
James is doing well (see next post) and walking around the coffee table or couch (holding on) if there's something on the other end that he wants. He needs motivation. Otherwise he will drop down and crawl or now he holds his arms up for us to pick him up. He spends a lot of the day fussing at me to put him Down and most of the evening fussing at Daddy to pick him Up. Silly monkey!
Hope everyone is good and will try to spice things up here at Chez Thuringer and keep it from being over a week without a post.

Baby's First Shoes

James got his first pair of proper shoes yesterday. There is a shoe store about 2 miles away that was reccomended to me, and so we went while out and about. I actually went to get him another pair of Robeez but while there the lady said he would do better in the Stride Rites, and the sole on them while sturdier than the robeez was still quite pliable. Ava also needed sandals, and chose some pink Stride Rites that you will see another time. James is unsure what to think of these new shoes. As much as I hate to think of the tops scuffing from his crawling, I am trying to keep him in them to get used to them on his little feet when standing. I try to get him to walk, by standing in front of him and holding his little hands and going backwards and encouraging him to come to me, but he puts his left foot behind his right foot and drops down to the floor as quickly as he can. It seems as though PJ has a little more success in keeping him on his feet longer, but PJ did say as a wee lad he preferred to be carried about and so we are figuring, like father, like son. He's doing better, and occasionally taking a couple of steps here and there while standing up. Like in jail, to get around to the other side of a toy so he has more room when he drops to the ground. If there's a mantra about my son, I think it's "In his own time". It's true with eating, it was true with the crawling, and I am sure in his own time he will be walking!

Bike Riding

Ava got a new bike a couple of weeks ago. It is quite bigger than her old bike, so she is higher off the ground. She has a hard time riding on our sidewalks though, as they are quite old and bumpy. She gets unsure of herself, and slows down, which causes her to tip on the big bumps. Also there are places that are eaten up and kind of gravelly, and she is uneasy with them as well. So when we go 'round the block, there are quite a few places where I am pushing James in the stroller (the jogger, it has bigger tires to handle the bumpiness) and pulling Ava on her bike by the handlebars. I've been trying to be patient and hopeful that she will gain some confidence, but Daddy took ACTION! He found a thing, a bike, or half a bike really, that attaches to HIS bike, and therefore they ride together. We got if for quite a deal on Ebay (of course) and he was really excited. He put it on Saturday and they went for a spin. It was a hit! I think he really likes that they can go places together- like up to the Scotts, or down to the library, anywhere really, since he does the pedalling. She helps with that occasionally, tho. Last night PJ was going to go to the gym right after work since I have yoga tonight, but called at the last minute and said he was coming home to get Ava and the bike and they could ride down to the park together. It was awesome. She really is getting some confidence, and perhaps this afternoon I'll get out the stroller and her new bike (with a basket so Baby Hop can ride along) and see how she does with the bumps. We'll see how she does!

Soon to be 4 br 2 1/2 ba w/ finished basement

Last Thursday and Friday, PJ and his friend from work, Paul, took off work and framed in the family room in the basement. Previous posts somewhere show what it looked like before- Wood paneling, and original linoleum tiles. Since then, PJ took down the paneling, we put in some can lights (or rather the electrician did) and had it waterproofed. The waterproofing consists of taking a jackhammer (yes, jackhammer IN the basement) and digging into the floor around the perimeter of the room. Then they put in what they call a tile, or what I have heard referred to as a french tile, which is basically a pipe to allow any water coming in through the ground to be fed out. Then they re-cement the floors, and install a plastic sheeting on the walls, so again, if any water comes in thru the walls, it goes behind the plastic sheeting, into the ground under the new cement, and out thru the tiles. We only had the family room portion waterproofed as it appeared the previous owner had some of the utility room water proofed and a sump pump installed (for those in the sw a sump pump takes any water OUT that has come into the basement). Next we had new basement windows installed, and last Tuesday the gentlemen from Home Depot delivered a bunch of wood on their flatbed (along with soil and mulch for the yard). Ava got to see the men unloading the pallette with the soil and mulch on it with a forklift, and was mighty excited to know that Papa drives one for his work. Wednesday PJ went and rented a power nailer, and then Thursday they got to work. That day the boys made a bunch of progress. Out of the 3 walls that they needed to do, they got one of the short ones and the long one done. On Friday, it was a slower start because we were trying to figure out what to do with the old cleanout and the old gas pipe (we think that's where the stove used to be which is now where the fridge is). We decided the easiest thing would be to hide it all in a closet, which is good because we can put shelves in there and it can be good usable storage. So then they had to figure out how to frame it in. Also we wanted to re-use the closet doors from our bedroom as the closet will eventually be rebuilt in there, so they had to have the measurements just right. They got it done a little after lunch on Friday, and it looks great. As soon as the car sells, I will find a drywaller to get some walls up. Then, we'll save some pennies and get some carpet and move some furniture! They worked hard, and also had a great time. PJ really enjoys Paul's company, so I think the days went by fast even tho they were really working. Here are some pictures. It's hard to get good photos down there, so bear with me!

Somebody Feed My Son, Please!

I do not know how he does this but manages almost always to get a piece of macaroni on his nose or perhaps ear, always in his pants and mostly down his shirt. It's one of his hidden talents I suppose.

After a question about a meshugena, I changed the last post title to Oy Vey, which is one of the myriad things I say to the boy when we are attempting to eat. Attempting being the operative word. (I typed work in instead of word just now- slip of the finger or slip of the Freud???)

His latest thing is that he wants to eat what I am eating (seemingly at breakfast and lunch only). Even if what he has is something that is always successful. Like this morning he had O's, his cup of milk, and a large banana. Ava likes to occasionally have that all together in a bowl, but due to size and messiness, James has it compartmentalized. I sat down with a bowl of oatmeal, and that boy hollered until tears were streaming out of his eyes and I gave him a bite of my oatmeal. Now for those of you who say, "This is a good thing, it will be easier for you to make meals for the kids when he wants to eat what you are eating!" I say in return that yes, that makes complete sense in theory. But remember I am already making an alternative meal for the picky little birdie, and there's the on James' time factor to consider. I.e., I gave him unlimited oatmeal, and he seemed happy. I began to daydream about meals eaten all together (with a wee girl complaining about what she had to eat of course), and prepared to give him another bite since his mouth was less full and he was hollering and reaching for it. But wait! The spoon goes up to hollering boys mouth, and instead of hollering abating, it grows louder AND the push/rub move comes out! Now, I haven't seen that move in quite a while. It's the one where he pushes the spoon away then rubs his eyes to have his hands in his face lest you come back with the spoon for a second try. So I back off, the hollering quiets, and a mere moment later it begins again with the reaching. He wants another bite. Now, for those of you who say, "This is a blessing! Give him some in a bowl with a spoon and let him feed himself!" I say to you, yes, this is a good idea in theory. But with the boy any bowl, plate or utensil of any kind given to him will land on the floor (with any food on or in said bowl or plate) quicker than Dale Gordon Jr.can get himself around the track. It is insurance that he is keeping me on my toes, and also helps bring me back to reality when I get all wistful about having a tiny baby in the house again. Seriously !!!???!!!

Oy Vey!

I can only hope that is good. The boy loves his bagels and cream cheese. Next time we should try lox!

The Chicken and the Egg

Ava always enjoyed her eggs. From when she was tiny and we prepared eggs for her, scrambled, then fried. Now she really likes hard boiled (she calls them "peeling") eggs. But James is another story altogether. I have tried under numerous circumstances to get him to eat eggs. From scrambled to fried to hard boiled whites only, the boy protests LOUDLY when he even sees it much less tastes it. Which leads us to my head scratching this afternoon: He ate an egg !!!
I prepared something that Lynn tought me about 24 years ago, where you brown a tortilla in a frying pan, mix an egg or 2 with a chopped green onion, and cook the egg with the tortilla. It's like an omelette stuck to a tortilla. It's super yummy and I like it with salsa. James was minding his own business fussing about the separate lunch I prepared for him (leftover mac and cheese, some diced peaches, and a banana of which he only ate the peaches and banana) and was insisting on something more. So I started with just the tortilla. He chowed it down FAST. Then I only had tortilla/egg, so I tossed a piece on the tray. He gobbled it down. Surely, I thought, he was not feeling well and hadn't noticed the egg bit and will protest momentarily when I put down another piece. NO !!! He ate it and was reaching out for more. So I laid down a bunch and he ate it till he had enough, and just so I would notice he was done, he threw his milk cup onto the floor for a big finish. Wahoo! So maybe there are some eggs in the chickens future after all!
On a totally unrelated note, I met 5th District Councilman Tim Pape at my new favorite unbelievable grocery store (we're in Fort Wayne people with no Trader Joe's, Whole Foods or Wild Oats so allow me to be a little enthusiastic about this). He was a really nice guy. I told him I saw the council meeting for the vote on Harrison Square, and that I appreciated his vote and his comments on Abe. I think this is a huge step forward for the development of Fort Wayne as a whole, not just downtown, and that the people who were against it had little vision. I had heard a lot about how nobody wanted it, and if this were true, most of the public speaking at the meeting at the vote were super confused, and the councilmen who voted for it would be sorely lacking in votes. I think he's a good guy from what I have viewed on City TV, and I hope his courage (along with that of the others who voted yes) gets him more votes from those who see the vision. From those who don't complain about the library and the Grand Wayne Center, and see that when the ballpark is built there will be restaurants and little shops (we do not need another mall like Jefferson Pointe or Glenbrook, Don) and people will want to live there, because with all of that, it can really thrive. Let's see what we can be, folks, not just sit and complain about what we are not. Give the mayor and his team some credit for all the great stuff they have implimented during their tenure, don't just criticize them so that you make yourself look better and smarter. This is a good town, but can be even better. Don't be scared to make it so.

Another unwell chicken

Last night, or should I say this morning at 3 a.m., Ava came in and announced that she had thrown up in her bed. Dad stripped the bed and grabbed Baby Hop, who was unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time, and tossed it all into the washer. Ava climbed into bed on my side so if she needed to get up and take care of any more, she would be close. The poor girl got up about every half hour till 5:30, then only one more time did she lose it. I am trying to get her to drink water, but not too quickly. I made her some orange jello I found in the pantry, and tried to get her to eat the bagel she has been begging me for for the last 24 hours. Nothing. She's had some O's, and has kept everything down since about 8 this morning. She says she has no abdominal pain, and she has no fever, so I am watching her and hopefully it was just a 24 hour bug of some sort that (Please God) James won't get. Her spirits are up and we have stayed on the couch or playing low key kitchen stuff in her room with James. She wants to go to school tomorrow, and I told her we would see. I think she will be fine. Please keep fingers crossed for a smooth night for her tonight!

The Throwing of the Steves

So James will become fussy at about naptime, which in the a.m. is between 9 and 9:30, and in the afternoon between 1 and 2 p.m. I will take him upstairs, change his pants, and tell him he is going down for his nap. Lately, as tired as he usually is, he manages the energy for a protest. Fussing, crying, gnashing of teeth, thrashing about. I gently place him in his crib and reassure him of my love for him and the time limit on naps, and take my leave. Fast. In protest to that, he at some point throws out any Steves he has in bed with him. When he is really cross, he'll throw the whole lot out. Saturday p.m. was one of these days. After the usual, he vocally protested for a long while. I debated going in to check status of pants and Steves, as usually someone going in exacerbates the situation. So I stayed clear. At 5 o'clock, I went to get him up. I was not quiet on my way upstairs, and was not quiet opening his stuck door. He was sleeping super hard, so I figured, if I am going to wake him up anyway, why not capture the moment for posterity? Went into the other room, got camera, set it on the total wrong setting and took like 3 or 4 pics like that, realized I am a dork and fixed the camera settings, and took a few more. There was not a stir. He was sleeping so peacefully, it really was a beautiful sight. Here is the evidence that our little monster can be an angel too!

Pizza Hut Field Trip

We dropped Ava off at school this very cold and rainy morning looking forward to her big adventure! I didn't stay to take a picture of her getting on the bus as it was super windy and cold and rainy, and I did not want the little munki to be out in it. We are relying on Ava's testimony here today to tell us how things went, and so far it's been sketchy. I've asked a bunch of questions, and she is avoiding them and telling me she'll never tell. But here's what I have so far:

The kids broke up into smaller groups (there were 31 kids in all) led by volunteer moms. Ava was in Cooper's mom's group, and from what I understand, it was just Ava and Cooper. She said they got onto the bus in single file, and Cooper sat by the window on the way there, and Ava sat by the window on the way back to school. Gavin was not in their group, however he sat between Ava and Cooper on the way to and from. When they got to Pizza Hut, they began making pizzas right away. The crusts were already made, and Ava made hers with no sauce, cheese ("52 gallons"), and pineapple. (Cooper made his with sauce cheese and pepperoni). There were cups with soda pre-poured, and Ava had "light soda" with her pizza. After the pizzas were consumed, the kids piled back onto the school bus and headed back to school. Once back at the school, the kids played in the classroom, and Ava played airport till I came and got her. We took a quick snapshot of the schoolbus on our way out of the parking lot. (I am trying to get more details but I am getting an impatient "Come on, Mom. That's it! That's all that happened! That's the whole field trip!")

Also, last night was "Silly Safari" where "they" (people of undetermined origin) brought animals for a kind of show and tell for the kids. PJ took Ava, and she saw an owl, a python, a tarantula, and a bunch of bugs. Ava touched the snake and reports that it felt wiggly and squishy.

I am no longer able to report, folks, as my source has just informed me, "Mommy, I don't like talking this much." Huh?????

Not sure what's next for our metriculating chicken, but could it beat the last couple of days? Probably not for a while.

See y'all soon.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Ava rides the SCHOOL BUS to Pizza Hut for her very first field trip. She has a new St. Peters Preschool t-shirt for the occasion, and is as anxious as can be. Tonight they have a "Silly Safari" going on down at the school, and Daddy will attend with said excited child. So will post an update on what exactly the Silly Safari is, and details on the school bus as soon as they come from Ava. It may not make sense as she is pretty excited and tends to give me pieces of information, but we'll do our best to get you the real story.
Today when James and I were on our way out the door to go pick up Ava from school, we grabbed the bread heels and told Ava that we were going to have a surprise. We went down to Lakeside Park and fed the geese and ducks. We played at the playground for about 20 minutes or so after that, so we had a late lunch. On the way home I happened to drive down Florida and saw a realtor sign. I couldn't believe my eyes: it was the for sale by owner one we had gone back and forth on for all that while at the beginning. She had wanted 155k for it, and we really liked it but there wasn't the space for guests, even in the basement. And the kitchen really needed to be done. And we thought it was overpriced. We tried to get her to come down, and she refused to budge. She even said she would raise the price to accomodate paying our realtor. Yikes! We decided we couldn't do it, were afraid about buying a house at the top of the price range for the area, esp in this market (well, everywhere now esp after todays news) and really thought she wasn't that motivated to sell. Well after seeing the sign today of COURSE I sped home and looked it up on the internet to see what they wanted for it. Yes, it's brick. Yes, it's got a nice yard. Yes, it's like 4 or 5 houses down from the park. Yes, it has 3 full baths. Yes, the basement was waterproofed.
$169,900. What do we know?
I want to call our agent. She will have a heart attack when she sees this. We had looked in this area mostly the whole time, and would find houses listed at the 155 and higher. She did not understand how these people thought they were going to get these numbers! Heck, the house 2 doors down from us was listed at 174k (it went for 162k).
Regardless of the other house, I truly like this one. PJ has plans to get the basement framed in with his friend Paul the first week of May. Then he said after the basement is finished, his next project will be the half bath on the first floor. That would mean that we would be another step closer to having a master suite. So by the time we are done, we will have a 4 br 2 1/2 bath, with a finished basement and a remodeled kitchen. Wowsers. We'll see what the market holds for us!

Time to make a choice

Saturday the weather was lovely so we decided a good steak on the grill and some mexican beer was in order. PJ went to the local market and got a nice steak, and to the local liquor store and got some Negro Modelo and lime. We were all set. We even called PJ's friend Dave and with the addition of the salad we were ready to go. We all sat down for what promised to be a delicious meal with good company (perfect evening?) when suddenly there was an EXPLOSION. PJ had been removing the outer protective plastic ring from the salad dressing and when it was off he began to shake. Salad dressing was EVERYWHERE. And we aren't talking a nice light ranch, or italian. We are are talking balsamic viniagrette!!! On the walls, on his hat, on all of our clothes, on Ava's measuring tape, on PJ's face, and in my hair. It was at this point I new I had to make a choice. Let it ruin our nice dinner, or just laugh at the ridiculousness of it. What happened to the girl I used to be I don't know (she would totally have let it ruin her night) but I burst out laughing. I think the room was waiting for someone to either laugh or say something. I was the first to make the choice. And thankfully everyone else followed my choice. In the end, it was a pain, as I had to clean the floors again, wash the walls, immediately do some laundry (if there was any hope of getting the balsamic out of the white parts of our clothes and the table cloth). But with my kickin' washing machine, all turned out well in the end. Just be sure you tighten those lids people.

Stamina, or The Strong Willed Child Pt. 2

Ok, so part of James' eating deal is that he will refuse regular foods and in order to get something in his tummy I will feed him O's, Ritz crackers, or some other snacky thing. The Dr. said he is a smart fella and has started eschewing the regular food in order to get the fun stuff and I need to put a stop to it toot sweet if I want him to ever eat real food. (maybe a slight exaggeration...) So this afternoon I put food he has traditionally done well with on his tray along with some peaches for sweetness (my boy has his mom's sweet tooth) and his response to me was unequivicable wailing and shrieking. Then he kept looking at the O's box on the table, and I told him that if he ate the small amount on his tray I would give him some o's. Nothing. So I removed the box from the table and put it into the kitchen where he could not see it. The wailing and shrieking (his version of shock and awe) became even louder. He turned it up to 11! So I told him I was going to hold my ground. He quickly grabbed as much as his little fist would hold and tried to throw it down to the waiting, lurking canines, but I redirected it to his mouth (which was open due to said wailing and shrieking). After about 15 minutes of this we got through the amount I told him we had to, and then I followed through with the O's. Give me strength because we have Strong Willed Child No. 2 on our hands. Why couldn't he be Bend to Mom's Will Child No. 1 ?

On another note, the Sickness has infected Chez Thuringer. Ava and James both have it. Ava's doing better with it than James. I am wanting to keep her as well as humanly possible as she has a field trip to Pizza Hut with her school next Wednesday and the world would truly seriously end a little bit if she missed that. Because she gets to ride a schoolbus!!!!! The dr's office said that during their exam both kids had clear ears and lungs, so to treat it with the usual, vicks on the chest, bulb aspirator, and humidifiers. And watch for fevers, which if they exist are super low grade. Ava does not have to deal with the sucker any more as she is a super big girl and blows her nose all on her own. But James is another story. And that is why I thought he understood me and would be reasonable with the whole lunch thing: we had reached and understanding regarding the sucker! I would tell him prior to using it what I was going to do, and I was not overly exuberant in my use of it. If the first suck or two yielded no results, I told him so and moved on to the next nostril. Yesterday he was quiet while we did this, and this morning too! And lest you say that perhaps he was weak with the Sickness, be informed that said child was crawling like a maniac prior to both instances and has not lost any for screaming. Oh, the joys!

In the disappointing part, the weather is super beautiful here, and I must keep kids indoors. But hopefully the Wellness will come to our house soon. PJ is taking advantage of the beautiful weather and GOLFING! He planned this day last week and the lucky dog got perfect golfing weather. He deserves it. He's been working really hard.

Finally, we have commited to becoming members of St. Peters Lutheran Church, where Ava goes to preschool. Even tho I still have to go thru Confirmation, the Pastor agreed we should be welcomed during the New Member Ceremony part of this Sunday's service. I wonder, will we get a jacket? haha.

That's all for now. Wish us good health, and we'll be back next week.

Love to all.

Number 4

We have tooth number 4, people. The upper right tooth broke through sometime in the night. Now I will find it a little more acceptable when he looks at me and screams. I know he is dealing with tooth issues. (Just for reference, folks, I am not talking about screaming/crying. I am talking he opens his mouth, looks directly at me and shrieks. A blood curdling scream that one might hear in a horror film. Only it lasts a loooot longer. A defenite protest.
On the health front, I went to Urgent Care last night, and it turns out Dr. PJ was right and I do have a sinus infection. The nurse that did the intake was from Hungary, and pronounced our name correctly (even we don't do that!) and was very nice. As was the dr., or nurse practitioner, not sure which. Either way I left with a somewhat non legible prescription for antibiotics and a coupon for Mucinex. I thanked PJ for harrassing me to go as it has been over 2 weeks and I was starting to get miserable. Last night was hard, so I know if I didn't have the meds I would be struggling. She said it would have eventually gone away by itself, but I would have had scarring in my sinuses. And no girl wants that!
We have laundry mania scheduled today at Chez Thuringer. Ava is having fresh organic strawberries (they look beautiful and were a great price too!) that I found at my new favorite grocery store. It's on the total other side of town, but worth it. It will defenitely tide us over from having to go to Indy for Trader Joes, and they have ORANGINA!!! I felt like I won the lottery when I saw that as it is PJ's absolute favorite. No more for now. Am I a bad mommy when I know he is fine and I put in some earplugs to help assuage the protest screaming? You'd think the kid would get tired, but really he seems to enjoy this form of communication. Oy!!!!!

Global Freezing

April 14, 2007. Snow, snow and more snow. Seriously coming DOWN in huge flakes when Ava and I were out and about. I fear for the flowers and shrubs in our "garden". When I was out front taking a picture, I saw one of the bunnies that frequents our yard. Here's the weather update for Fort Wayne Indiana.

Lawrence Welk

The Big Saturday Night at Chez Thuringer is to gather round the television and partake of the Lawrence Welk show. It is something we found accidentally that Ava really enjoys, and it turns out Dad and Mom enjoy it quite a bit too, as we both grew up watching it with our grandparents. We have watched over the last year or so, marvelling at the talent of the singers and dancers, and especially the outfits, hair and makeup, and Dad and I play a game called "What year is it?" (Not unlike other fun games we used to play like "Man or Woman?"). The greatest chance at success is to look at the clothes, figure what year they would be popular, and add 2 years. For instance, I was going for '78 last night, (but lost as it was '77) since the styles really suggested 1976.

Anyhow, the very best part is the singing and dancing. Not on the show, but by our resident entertainer, Ava P. She will go on and on, alternately trying to get Mom and /or Dad to dance with her. She is a blast. Here's some stills of some of her sweet moves. (ps in reference to the coffee shop in above post, Ava did entertain the staff and patrons of the Coliseum Starbucks with her sweet moves).

Mary Jones is an awesome doctor.

Friday was the big checkup day for the chickens, and we went in at 11:00 (left at 1:00, even tho the kids were soooo awesome.Ava even got special treats AFTER being awesome- not being bribed beforehand!!!!)
Both kids look good. Ava weighs 35 1/2 lbs and is 40 inches tall, putting her in the 50th percentile on both. She is doing the things she is supposed to be doing, (counting to 5? Our girl can go waaaay farther than that!) with the exception of buttoning, zipping etc. I take responsibility for that in that most times it is faster and easier to do it myself. But yesterday she and I went out for some girl time which included the coffee shop for a pastry and vanilla (balilla) milk, then a trip to the toy store where we found a doll that had buckes, ties, snaps, buttons, zippers and velcro on her outfit. Ava named her Olivia, and with the constant reminder that practice makes perfect, she and Olivia are becoming close.
As for James, he is 20 lbs 3 oz, and is 32 1/2 inches long. This puts him in the 10th (!!!) percentile for weight, and 95th (!!!!!!!) for height. Dr. Jones wasn't worried about his weight, but they did prick his finger to check for anemia, and as his iron was a bit low reccomended a vitamin for him with extra iron. She said his eating is pretty normal for a chicken his age, and she thought he was fine. He did get poked pretty good tho after the exam with 2 vaccines- one in the arm and one in the leg. He was a total champ tho. Much like all the others, he doesn't react much to the first (finger prick), fusses a smidge at the second (arm) and screams bloody hell for the third (leg). He quieted down pretty quickly tho.
(just for reference, the last visit for James was Jan 22 and he was 19 lbs and 29 3/4 inches long).
So we have some healthy chickens, and are due back in June for his 15 month exam. Hopefully we will see some better eating habits by then.
Also will verrrry soon have a tooth update as I swear the thing is poking out already.

...And she was still hungry.

Ava's lunch:
1 hot dog (of course)
1 stick of cheese (about a quarter taken off for the boy)
1 fruit snack (again, of course)
1 egg (minus the yolk, she's 4 after all)
1/2 cup of applesauce (james decided he was done)
1/4 of a turkey sandwich (even the crust!!!)
1 jellybean
Then she tells me she is still hungry. I am convinced it's a ploy to get more candy, so I placate her with offers of fruits and vegetables. She is considering it. We may wake up tomorrow with a full grown chicken!

Easter Cuteness

Easter morning we went to Early church, and got out the door with zero stress which was amazing. When Didi and Papa were here, we shopped for Easter clothes for the kids. While there was a plethora of dresses to choose from, the boys stuff was all the same and looked like the nice outfit we have for him already. So there was no Easter Outfit for the boy. The girl however, was a different story.

We also found that while we were gone, (while Mommy changed Ava out of her Easter dress) the Easter Bunny had hidden her eggs. As it was about 30 degrees out yesterday, we were relieved to find he had hidden the eggs in the house. There was also candy, but we don't want to get into the sugar overload!

Good to get back into the new week. We have Ava back in school this week, and both the kids' have their doctors well check on Friday. I believe they will both experience some shots. Will try to soothe with the sugar.

The Boy Operates Fast

Okay if any of you out there have spent a meal Chez Thuringer, you will know the machinations of the boy and his fondness for physics. In other words, he will occasionally take pieces of food, and drop them off the side of his high chair tray. Usually one or more dogs are there waiting for the yummy goodness (Fred will even eat some fruits and vegetables) but even if that is not the case, James will drop to see how fast the various foods hit the floor. And I am sure also to see my reaction and laugh as I pick the food up off the floor I had Just. Cleaned. You know, the same floor I am incessently complaining about never. being. clean.

Watch him, though, he is a fast operator!

Springing

We were getting so excited. Days with outside play. Walking the dogs in jacketless bliss. Opening all the windows to air out the house. Anxiously awaiting all the green that was popping up in the yard. We have lots of bulbs- about 4 different varieties from what I can tell by looking at the leaves. We know that the bushes along the back fence are lilacs (heaven! I imagine heaven smelling like lilacs, or orange blossoms, but in a way that does nothing to the allergies!) and the bigger of the 2 small trees is covered in pretty white blossoms.

So why was there about a half inch of snow on the ground this morning when we got up??? Why is it only going to get to 35 degrees today? With no possibility of reprieve till the beginning of next week? When we can anticipate more rain ?!?!?! Now I am beginning to understand the reverence that midwesterners have for the weather and why it is such a major topic of conversation.