Thank You Notes

PD and I love this segment on Late Night.  Jimmy Fallon writes these thank you notes to people.  Some other bloggers do something similar and I think I might try it occasionally.


Dear Ohio Winters, Thank you for reminding me this week, how much I hate you.  You are getting bitter and so am I.  Please pass by quickly.

Dear Lotion Company,  Thank you for making a solid product.  I may have to buy stock in you.  I have to use you to rub down the daughters on a nightly basis to stave off raw winter skin.

Dear Kasich Policy Team, Thank you for getting together on the weekends to eat meals and discuss things. Apparently the term "work hours" means nothing to you.

Dear Supreme Court Justice Alito, Thank you for saying, "Not true" to the president during the state of the union address the other night.  He should not use the State of the Union address to chide the Supreme Court. You are darling and you are now my second favorite Justice after Antonin Scalia.

Dear Birthday, Thank you for being next week!  I plan to gain five pounds celebrating you.

Dear PK1, Thank you for giving me my dignity when I insisted that a thrall was a gazelle like animal and you said it was a Viking slave and we looked it up and you were right and you didn't throw it up in my face too much.

Dear PK2, Thank you for keeping me on my knees.  When I asked you if you wanted to show God's love to sister by letting her have her way, you shook your head no.

Tale of Woe

I have been contemplating whether to write about our little series of unfortunate events.  I don't want to be whiny or woe is me because who wants to hear that?  But I also don't want to only post about the good things and look back in 10-20 years and forget the hard times either.  It is almost comical how many bad things happened in a short times span so here goes nothing... cue violins:

It all started in December when PD and I decided to get a new mattress as our present to each other for Christmas.  We slept on an air mattress and realized it was more comfortable than our regular one, so we knew it was time. But then our car needed tires and a repair so we were not able to get the mattress. Not such a big deal, we can save up for a few months and try again later.

Then after Christmas, my camera broke.  OK, have to record the kids lives, we haven't bought a camera in seven years, mattress gets pushed furthur down the road and we start saving for a camera.  Maybe by my birthday I can get a camera.

Here is when it starts to get bad.  PD got in a car accident, he is fine thank goodness, but there was damage to both cars, our rates are going up and we have to pay the deductible.  Now the camera and mattress are just a fantasy.

Then on Saturday morning we awoke to a kitchen floor full of water.  The ice maker in our fridge had been spewing out water all night flooding the floor, down through the floor and into the basement. PD spends the day cleaning it up and trying, unsuccessfully to fix the ice maker.

Then last Monday PD got home really late from work. We were "discussing" the fact that he should have called, when PK2 comes in to tell me that PK1 is throwing up.  She threw up every 15 minutes all night and off and on for another day.

The second day of her illness, I felt like the house was a little cold, so I went to turn up the thermostat.  After awhile I realized it was getting colder not warmer.  The furnace was not working.  I waited a few hours for PD to be able to come home and take a look at it.  It was 54 degress in the house.  I would have gone over to my in-laws, but with one kid puking it seemed wiser to stay put. PD was not able to fix it and we had to call the repair man.  It was $130 for him to come out for a half an hour, but it did make me very very grateful for our heat.

As soon as PK1 was starting to get better, PK2 started throwing up.

Another night running back and forth to the bathroom with a daughter.  Then when she was starting to get better PD started throwing up.  But at least he can pretty much take care of himself and I got some sleep.

I was even going to work on being content this year.  I wasn't going to complain as much about PD working all the time or the cold Ohio winters.  I really struggle in the winter when my friends start to talk about their warm Florida vacations, knowing we are not, nor will we ever probably, be able to do that.

But when I get the kids tucked in bed, and the laundry is humming in the washer and I am eating Nutella with a spoon and talking to PD, I know I am blessed and this is the life God has for me.  We have been almost back to normal for a couple days and I think I am going to be ok. (Oh and Gram and Papa lent me their camera, so hopefully the next post will have some better pictures!)

Babies

I am contemplating a post where I tell you everything that has gone so wrong in the last ten days.  It is a real tale of woe people.  But you can't stay sad long when you find out you are going to have a new baby NIECE in May. And in honor of the baby news, I just found out about this documentary coming out in April 2010.  It looks AWESOME!  Suze you have to see it before you have your newest little Urban Baby.

Basketball

Last year, when we still belonged to our gym, the girls and I would go over and practice some basketball skills.  Then this fall they took a really great basketball clinic at our rec center.  To encourage this interest we decided to take them to a girls' basketball game at the school where PD went to high school.  I taught there for awhile and Gram and Papa still work there.  The team is in a rebuilding year, so the game was kind of tough, but it was still fun.  A girl from our church who has babysat for the girls was on the team and they liked watching for her.

Build a Bear

My sister and I decided to take the kids to Build a Bear together in lieu of cousin gifts this Christmas.  It was really fun and almost worth the money. Actually it really was worth the money to do once.  They make quite a little experience out of it and everyone enjoyed it a great deal.  Well our boy cousin decided he would rather have an army hat, but what ever makes you happy right?  Here we are at Build a Bear:

Untitled from Political family on Vimeo.

That Golden Week

That wonderful week between Christmas and New Years was extra long this year because of the 1st and 25th both being on a Friday and once again we spent those lovely days in Wichita with my side of the family. We drove halfway there and stopped at our favorite Embassy Suites to decompress after the busy holiday season:

We beat our cousins there by 36 hours so we got a little one-on-one time with GiGi, Grandad and College Sister:

The girls even got to do some baking with Gigi:

Then our Chicago Cousins arrived and the crazy good times of non-stop fun could begin.  Even breakfast is more fun with cousins your exact same age:

They got more of the finger lights:

We hit our favorite mexican restaraunt.  My dad is giving instructions that everyone should order whatever they want because he is paying and everyone should get drinks and appetizers.  HEY..where was this guy when I was ten!

It was really unusually cold and snowy in Wichita.  This was a bit of a disapointment to me because I expect to get a little bit of a break from the bitter cold when we are there, but the kids loved it because they got to go sledding.  I didn't go with, but I heard PK2 was the last one on the hill and had to be forced to leave:

We still did the zip line:

And a newer sport that I think is going to be entered in the 2010 Winter Olympics: Lawn Mower Sledding:

I am so glad we got a picture of the grandkids with my parents this time:

Although it will be outdated in five short months when our newest little cousin is born:

Christmas Pics..this and that

I had to throw in a few more pictures from the Christmas Season.  Here is Gram with the girls.  She gives them an ornament for their tree every year.  This year PK1 got a bird (she and Gram are both very interested in birds) and PK2 got a Winnie the Pooh.

We attended a Christmas party at the beautiful little red house in German Village with the 20 foot Christmas tree:

We celebrated PK1's 7th birthday with Gram and Papa:

Gram and Papa got her a stuffed animal polar bear which she loved!

And for my mom and sister, here is the cabinet I painted this November..all dressed up for Christmas:

I also painted the dining room and PD removed the dark wood chair rail that divided the walls.  I also replaced the heavy velvet curtains with lighter ones that let in a lot more light:

And here is the piano.  PD called this the Catholic Vintage Christmas because I used his mom's vintage ornaments and I have been really into those catholic candles with the saints on them.  I think they are cool looking for $1.99 a piece.  I also found a vintage plate at the thrift store with the Last Supper on it.  I love it: