Gigi and Grandad Get the Tour

Gigi and Grandad came for a visit and we took them on some sight seeing expeditions. Here we are feeding the ducks at Schiller Park. 

They really liked The Book Loft.

And our favorite Jeni's Ice Cream.

They wanted to see where PD works so we went down town to the Statehouse.

We also just hung out at home a bit.  What a fun visit!  Come back soon guys!

Reasons I Currently Loathe Myself

1. I never stay current with my blog. I make myself feel better by back dating posts and reminding myself that only 8 people read my blog.

2. I am cleaning out my basement and have decided that I am a hoarder.  It is like sorting though a sea of regret.

3. In cleaning out the basement I found an old video camera in a grocery sack with 3 tapes in it.  That is the sum total of the video I have of my children.

4. At any given time there is a half of a bagel in a plastic bag in my purse.  I pack it to eat at church and usually only have time to eat half of it.  There is often also a half a bagel in the "ash tray" of my mini van. PD calls it the "toast hole."  I think because I used to eat toast, not bagels.  But always with peanut butter.

5. My hand hurt really bad and I couldn't figure out why.  I realized it was because I found a new blog I really like and I read 5 years of the archives in one night while simultaneously playing Words with Friends with PD.

6. I always stay up until midnight and then I always don't want to get up in the morning.  This is mostly PD's fault.  (see #5 ie Words with Friends)

Let Them Eat Cake...yet again

I had to include a few more pictures from the our Valentine's Celebration. Very similar to the previous years, but the girls are bigger!

Caught in the act...

That's better:

Funny faces...PK2 makes that face so PD was copying it.

Pretty girls:

To see our past family Valentine's Day celebrations put "cake' into the search at the top of the blog.

This stuff happened in February...

PD took me away for the weekend for my birthday.  Last time we went out of town overnight without the kids was five years ago.  We went to the romance capital of the world: Cleveland!  PD insisted that we eat at Lola, even though I said it was too expensive.  I ate pork belly and it was just insane.  I am my father's daughter...I absolutely loved looking out at the view of Lake Erie from our hotel room. It was like a bath for the eyes. Now that I think of it, my dad would love the pork belly too.

I have been married for 13 birthdays and many of them have been marked by vomiting, car trouble, and dangerous ice storms, so imagine my surprise when nothing went terribly wrong this time..unless you count my panic attacks about leaving the girls.  I guess that proves I am also my mother's daughter!  We also went to Westside Market.  All the food vendors looked so good, but there is a limit to how much a girl can eat in one weekend.  I had to forgo the crepe vendor, but then I promptly went home and made crepes with the girls the next week. Isn't the market super vintagy?

We got back from our weekend away and there was so much still to look forward too.  We had our family Valentine's date at Mozart's.

The girls made really cute valentines for their GEMS valentine exchange:

GEMS also went roller skating in February. Both girls are really good skaters now.

I scored this awesome heart pizza at Papa Murphys.  Then my Papa Murphy's closed...  RIP... sniff.

Gram made my FAVORITE cabbage rolls for my birthday...as if she hadn't done enough already watching my offspring for the weekend.

And the kids had to dress up as a carreer for Awana. PK1 was an animal rescuer.....youthful dreams die hard. And PK2 was a doctor because we had the costume.  When I was checking them in we noticed a few little boys in a Darth Vader costume.  PK2 says, "But mommy, that isn't really something you can be."  The force is not strong in that one.

January Wrap Up

Can you believe it?  This is the most snow we had this year!  The girls grabbed their sleds and ran around outside with the neighborhood kids and pretended it was two feet.

The GEMS got a tour of the Governor's residence.  All the moms were holding their breath that no one would break anything.

We went on a really wet day to a REALLY good zoo school!

Of course there was the family trip to the water park.

PK1's best friend had a penguin birthday party.  We all dressed in black and white.

There was an igloo...

And everything was penguin!

Can't believe these girls are nine.

Whoooooo went to Zoo School?

We went to zoo school in the sleety snow:

We met the world's smallest owl, Peanut:

And a really big owl too...I took video of him flying across the classroom, but it is just a blur.

Then the girls got to dissect an owl pellet.  If you don't know, this is the gross wad an owl pukes up after he eats a bird or squirrel or mouse.

Of course, it brought a great deal of joy to PK1.

They give you a paper with pictures of the "things" (beak, talon, bones) you might find.  Then you carefully dissect aforementioned "wad."

Oooooo a talon!

Best buddies:

Everyone is very proud of me that I let the kids touch owl pellets and that I let the owl fly around over my head without being on a leash or anything.  I also, am pretty proud of myself.

So grown up...PK1 Turns Nine!

Can't believe my first born is NINE.  Her party didn't have a theme, but I surprised her with this banner of some of our favorite pictures of her.  She actually had two birthday parties this year. The first party was just a quickie after school party with friends on her birthday.  Best friend arrives first.

Then daddy gets home from work.

Favorite gift from a favorite friend.

Cupcakes instead of cake.

The girls.  Actually, a couple girls had left already, I forgot to do a good job taking pictures and snapped this at the end.

Then we had a family party with Cincinnati Cousin and everyone after the holidays in January.  She wanted to go to the indoor water park.

I don't blame her.  It is so fun to go here in the winter and look out the big windows and see the snow.

Cincinnati Cousin was so cute! He and PK2 are buddies.  I am SO MAD that I didn't get pictures of the best part though.  I was not able to run and get my camera out of the pool bag when GRAM went down the big slide!  She is such a fun-loving and brave lady! She takes after her mother who used to take PD on roller coasters.

Cousins!

Pizza and cake for the hungry swimmers! 

and presents. 

We are so blessed to have PK1 and to have so many wonderful people in our lives to help us celebrate her!

This year PK1 taught herself, with great difficulty, to ride a bike and roller skate. Those kinds of things do not come easy for her, but she really challenged herself.  When she sees someone get hurt, she says, "oh no..are you ok?" She wants to be baptized.  She is learning to speak Spanish, loves music and her piano playing is actually starting sound enjoyable. She loves reading and listening to books on tape. She really understands human nature,watches the world news and asks me about politics.   She goes with us into adult church most Sundays now.  One Sunday recently when PD and I had nursery duty, she asked if she could sit with her friend Dylan and his family in church.  I said sure, and watched her walk over to the cafe, pour herself some hot water, add a tea bag to it and walk into church wearing skinny jeans.  WHAT is happening here?!?