One More Week!

Exactly one week until the event I've been waiting for... FINALLY, our IKEA opens! It is being built a stone's throw from my office, and as I gaze out onto that blue and yellow monstrosity, I just can not wait to go. But, alas, since I do have a job, I won't be able to camp out to try and be first in line for their 9am opening. My best hope is to try and go over lunch on the first day!

I used to live in Chicagoland and absolutely LOVED going to IKEA whenever I could. Moving to Florida, I have suffered great withdrawal as they just don't have one near us. Last time we went to Chicago, June 2006, we had to stop at their Bolingbrook location for a visit. I even took pictures:

Yes, that's Katie, 16 months old at the time, at her first IKEA. I was so proud!

Will I be so excited that I take pictures? How much will I buy on the first day? Will I eat a lot of meatballs? Get lost? Forget to go back to work? All this remains to be seen. You can bet I'll give the full update after my first visit!!!

So How's Natalie?

With all this talk about soccer and the dentist, I feel like I haven't talked about our other little sweetheart too much lately!

Natalie is doing just great. She is growing before our very eyes and learning more every day. I love listening to her learn new words, and she can now name all the main characters in our Dora books. Pretty fun. She loves to listen to stories and just won't take no for an answer when it's time to cut them off and get ready for bed.

Natalie has also started doing something that Katie used to do. When playing in her room, she lines up all her dolls and animals on the floor and puts them to bed. She covers them all up with either burp cloths or receiving blankets, and then pats each one on the back, saying, "Shhhh! Night night!" before moving on down the line to pat the next one. I say pat, but it's more like a smack since this girl doesn't know her own strength. It is very cute to watch and just remember how Katie did the same thing with her babies.

Natalie's still working on getting all those teeth, but we'll get there! You can tell it bothers her at bedtime, so I hope to see some more popping through soon to give her a little relief. When she had her 18-month check-up a couple weeks ago, she was right on track with all her measurements and development. Hooray!

Natalie also made a friend at Sunday School last week. There's a family we're friends with at church, and their daughter Amelia is nearly 2. Amelia has never liked going in the nursery, or now Sunday School, and has huge separation anxiety attacks every time. This boggles her mom, Stephanie's, mind, because she goes to daycare during the week and does just fine over there. But Amelia is not very patient to sit through church, either, and her parents are feeling stretched to keep her entertained and quiet. Now that Natalie attends Sunday School, Stephanie and her husband decided to try Amelia in there again. They set her down next to Natalie, who was happily playing with the toy kitchen, and made a run for it. After the service, Stephanie and I walked in to find Natalie and Amelia, still together, having fun. The teacher, Ms. Cindy, said that they stuck together the entire time and that Amelia didn't cry a bit. We were so happy to hear that! How nice that the girls got along so well. I know it came as a relief to Stephanie that hopefully Amelia will like attending Sunday School from now on. :)

Katie's First Dental Exam

Katie had her first ever visit to the dentist on Monday morning. I know, experts say you should take you kid to the dentist by the time they're 1, blah blah blah... With the pediatrician always giving Katie the A-OK and the fact that she couldn't actually sit still until she was at least 3, it wasn't a priority to me since her teeth look fine.


But back to the visit. We chose a pediatric dentist based on a recommendation from my dentist -- it's where he sends his own kids. I was immediately impressed at the waiting room and restroom and how kid-friendly they made them, with interesting decorations, toys to play with, books and magazines aimed at kids, and cartoons available to watch. They even had a pint-sized toilet and sink in the restroom. Once it was Katie's turn, we went into her exam room, decorated with airplanes. There was a TV in the ceiling so she could watch Dora while laying down in the chair. (TV in the ceiling! They sure don't have that at my dentist!) Katie did a great job and was very still while they hygienist took her x-rays (Digital x-rays! Another thing they don't have at my dentist.) and cleaned and polished her teeth. Then Katie felt she was done.


The only problem was, the hygienist asked us to wait a minute while she got the dentist, and Katie didn't want to wait. She thought they hygienist WAS the dentist and got antsy that we had to sit around for another person to examine her. When the dentist came in, Katie immediately froze up. He's a guy. Katie automatically distrusts almost all men when she first meets them. I'm not sure why, because as long as I'm there with her, she knows she's safe. Nevertheless, she wanted nothing to do with her dentist, and it took a great effort to get her to lay back down and hold my hands (so that she'd keep them away from her face) while Dr. Sanjuan counted her teeth. He identified one area where we should concentrate while flossing, otherwise, PERFECT! I was so happy to hear that they were as healthy as I'd hoped. Katie was happy to get up and get out of there with her goody bag of toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, stickers, and a bracelet. We talked about it later and she admitted it really wasn't that bad and even said she will try harder to like Dr. Sanjuan next time. :) I'm just glad it was a relatively uneventful visit. We'll see Dr. Sanjuan again in 6 months!

Super Saturday

Saturday was a very busy morning for us!

We started off bright and early, getting everyone to the soccer field for team picture day. The Ninja Turtles were one of the first teams to get their photos taken. Again, showing much more maturity than last season, Katie not only enjoyed the photo time, but also volunteered to be first on her team for the individual shots. She did a great job!

Next up was the week's game. Coach Cherie talked Katie into trying goalie. She did a great job in practice and warmups and stopped everything that came her way. Katie started the game in goal and about halfway through the first half, one snuck past her. Katie was heartbroken, even though it was called back because the opponent was in the box when he took the shot. As much as Natalie and I tried to convince her that it was fine and it didn't count, Katie asked Coach Cherie if she could trade out and play in the field instead. That worked out really well. Goalie is a little too lonely for Katie, who likes to be in the middle of the action at all times.

We went home after the game for a wardrobe change and a quick snack before heading back to the park for our neighborhood's annual Family Fun Fest. It begins with a parade from the local high school down to the park. Katie and Natalie both LOVED watching the parade, especially the marching band and the dance teams. (We love band!) Once the parade had gone through, we walked through the booths set up by local vendors, and Katie spent some time playing on the inflatable bounce houses. There wasn't nearly as much free food as in years past, but still some good stuff. Natalie and Katie feasted on apple slices and fresh hot pancakes from J. Christopher's, while Colin and I enjoyed sampler bowls from Boston Market. We got to chat with a few of our neighbors and enjoy performances by local kids' dance classes, so it was a pretty fun way to spend that part of our day. After we were starting to feel overwhelmed by the crowd, we loaded everyone in the stroller and walked back home. Natalie was sound asleep by the time we got to the house, so it worked out well to get everyone transitioned to naptime.

A busy morning followed by a relatively relaxing afternoon. We ran a few errands, but overall, just took it easy. What a nice Saturday!

Chivalry Isn't Dead

This morning, my co-worker Cindy and I were cruising in the work truck, checking out my storage tank project. We stayed in the truck due to yucky-looking weather on the horizon, and then stopped to talk for a bit with the contractor's project manager, Matt. As we ended our conversation and were ready to drive away, he noticed that our tire was flat. It's a big, muddy, vehicle, and it had begun to pour down rain. Cindy and I froze, then quickly chattered about the various possibilities to get us back to the office, none of which we wanted to do because they involved calling Fleet. Matt immediately offered to change it for us. As I got out the jack and lug wrench for him, Matt's co-worker Will and our engineer, Jason, also came up and assisted.

I must say, it warmed the heart to see these three, who have acted like sworn enemies for the majority of the project, working together on a simple task to save a couple of damsals in distress. Imagine how warm and fuzzy I'd feel about my tank project if only they'd shown this spirit of cooperation since November! It sure was nice of them to help Cindy and I out, and I was really, really thankful that they did all the dirty work in the nasty weather. What a bunch of gentlemen. :) Our spare is doing just fine, and now we only have to decide when to take the bum tire in to Fleet for a patch.

Happy Easter, Part 2

Now, the surprises that came along with our Easter Sunday:

1. Natalie discovered that Hershey's Kisses don't taste the same with the foil wrapping still on. Luckily, I was able to catch this before she swallowed anything.


2. Rev. Richard hid Rev. Mac's sermon notes between services and announced at the beginning of the second service that Mac would have to go on an Easter Egg Hunt for his own notes! Rev. Mac found them, thankfully, but I think he was surprised that our prankster pastor would pull something on Easter Sunday. I certainly was!


3. To fill time as Rev. Mac searched for his notes, Rev. Richard decided that the orchestra and choir were NOT done after the offertory as planned and instead kept us all up front to lead the congregation in an extra hymn that wasn't on the list for today. Surprise! You should've seen our organist, Kathy, flipping through her music as fast as possible to be able to pull it off. Luckily it was a familiar one, but us choir and orchestra folks were stuck up front without the aid of a hymnal, so we had to fake parts of it. Oh, thankfully, orchestra was just expected to sing along and not play. That would've been really bad.


4. Katie wolfed down the gluten-free carrot cake that Colin's parents' made for our dessert. Since Katie often seems afraid of vegetables, Colin and I had just told her we were having cake and didn't specify the type. About halfway through her piece, Katie declared that the carrot cake sure was delicious! Colin asked how she knew what type it was. Apparently Grandma blew our cover on that one. Katie then went on to joke how she didn't know eating vegetables could be so tasty. :)

Hopefully any surprises on your holiday were just as manageable. Happy Easter Again!!!

Happy Easter, Part 1

Happy Easter from our family! The morning started off searching for eggs and Easter baskets in our dining room. Natalie's so proud of her find!





Katie's getting warmer, but still, no one seems interested in the baskets!

After breakfast, the girls changed into their dresses, compliments of Colin's mom. They're sewn from the same pattern and made of the same fabric, only different colors. As you can see from Katie modeling the entire ensemble, there were also jackets and hats, only Natalie refused to wear those.

Jacket or not, hat or not, they both looked absolutely gorgeous as we headed off to Sunday School and church!

It was a great day. Our church service was fantastic and included the best music of the year, in my opinion. How can you not belt out the Easter hymns with a big smile on your face? This is what it's all about!

Later in the day, we relaxed at home before going to Colin's parents' for supper. I'm really happy everything went so well for the holiday.

Happy Easter to YOU!!!

Palm Sunday

I forgot to write about it earlier this week, so excited about the Brag On Your Kids idea...


On Palm Sunday, in the evening, I was part of a choir and orchestra group that performed The Seven Last Words of Christ by DuBois at our church. It is such a beautiful, emotional composition. Each movement is based on one of the last phrases Christ spoke during the crucifixion. We had a pair of fabulous male soloists in Charles and Jeff that really brought the music to life. My favorite, playing and listening, is the Second Word, "Today you will be with me in paradise" from Luke 23:43. It has a beautiful clarinet and oboe introduction, and a wonderful duet by the two soloists. I've been singing it for the last 2 weeks!


It was a lot of effort to prepare that music, so in one respect, I'm glad it's over. However, it was just so much fun to play that I almost wish we could do it again! If you ever have a chance to attend The Seven Last Words of Christ, I think you will be glad you did.

Brag on Your Kids!

There are my sweethearts, Katie and Natalie, relaxing on Katie's birthday.

Today's theme is Brag on Your Kids, inspired by the blog carnival at "It's Almost Naptime". So, here I go!

Princess Katie, recently turned 4, has been wanting desperately to move into the next classroom at her daycare/pre-school. This is normally something that wouldn't happen until over the summer, because as they get closer to school age, they try to keep the kids together on a school year calendar. This has not sat well with Katie. Since she is already 4, as she points out, she should be moving.

Last week I got a phone call from the director asking permission to move Katie up after Easter. Of course I agreed! They had an opening suddenly become available and wanted to try to advance one of their current students before accepting someone from the outside wait list. Although there are a few kids older than Katie in her current class, her teacher recommended Katie to move up ahead of them. Her teacher said Katie is most academically ready, possessed the most maturity, and will really do well with the challenges that come with being placed in a group of older kids. We were so proud to hear that! Of course we think Katie is a very smart girl, but we don't know if it's just our bias as parents. No, she really is smart. Other people think so, too! I'm really excited for Katie to have this opportunity. I know she'll do fantastically!!! Our little genius, little engineer, ready to move on up to new challenges.

Princess Natalie, almost 18 months, is one sharp cookie as well. She is very good at climbing, knows exactly how to get into the pantry to find herself a snack (even when she's not supposed to be in there), instructs me through pointing and grunting at how I am supposed to buckle her into her car seat, loves to read stories, enjoys coloring, and my new personal favorite, has learned how to unbuckle certain types of belts. We found this out at Target over the weekend. We were using one of those jumbo size shopping carts that has the molded plastic seating for 2 kids attached to the cart. At one point we stopped and unbuckled Katie to have her get out and debate the pros and cons of a certain toy storage item with us. Then I noticed Natalie walking away. Walking away!?!?! She had been buckled in! How did she...??? None of us really know how she did it since we didn't actually see it happen. Needless to say, she was not keen on getting back on the seat after tasting that newfound freedom of walking in Target. :)

Natalie's vocabulary is also growing rapidly. Of all the things she says, I think my favorite is when she says, "More, more please!", which sounds like, "Mo-mo peeeeeeease!" and is usually accompanied with a big smile and the sign language for "please". It is just the cutest ever! How can you say no to someone who asks in such a sweet way???

Go ahead, brag on your kids today, too... either on your own page, or in my comment box!

Farewell ER

After 15 seasons, my favorite show, ER, said good-bye on Thursday. I will miss my weekly episode because it had come to feel like hanging out with old friends.


ER started my senior year in high school and my mom and I were immediate fans. I will admit I didn't watch every single week at first, partially due to poor reception in the dorm room when I went to college, but starting with Season 4 or 5, I don't think I missed a single one. I know a lot of people stopped watching after Dr. Greene passed away, and even more stopped after Dr. Romano's death. Even my mom, #1 Fan, almost quit watching last year after Luka and Abby had marital troubles -- she was so disappointed in the writers for that storyline after the two had come so far in their relationship!


Not me. I stuck around until the very end, crying my eyes out when Dr. Pratt died at the beginning of this season, wishing Abby and Luka well as they reconciled and moved out of town for a fresh start together, waiting for Tony and Sam to reunite, wondering if Dr. Morris would ever settle down... The finale was pretty good and showed that at a hospital, the action never really ends, and they're always there to help the patients.


If you were an ER fan, feel free to share your favorite episode, moment, male/female character, or just any other ER information in the comment box. Here are some of mine:


Favorite Episode: That's hard to say. I will always remember the one where Luka poured his heart out to the bishop about how he lost his family during the war in Croatia. So emotional. It was heartbreaking when Dr. Carter's son was stillborn. I was so happy for Abby and Luka when their son was born healthy after she went into labor during a trauma situation. I was even happier when Luka threw Abby a surprise wedding! I cried when Dr. Gallant was killed in combat, too close to home as that was the same time my brother was serving in Iraq (fortunately, my brother is safe).


Favorite Moments: Abby and Luka's first dance at their wedding to a Stevie Wonder song. Dr. Greene and Elizabeth's wedding as he was battling cancer. Abby's bipolar mother (played by Sally Field) as the advocate for Abby's son when he had health problems shortly after birth. Carol and Doug getting back together after he'd moved out of town the season before. Seeing Dr. Greene's daugher Rachel as a prospective med student... Many others, I'm sure!


Favorite Male Characters: Luka and Dr. Pratt. Both of them had troubled histories and were able to turn themselves around, especially Pratt. That's why it hurt so bad when he died. I felt he'd come so far!


Favorite Female Characters: Abby, Sam, and Dr. Weaver. They all fit into that same category of overcoming obstacles in their past. Abby and Sam both had troubled home lives and came a long way in growing as professionals and as parents during the course of the show. Dr. Weaver had a disability and also came out of the closet, a bold move on the show, but something that really gave her character a lot of depth.

That's my wrap on ER. I know I'll miss my friends at County General Hospital!!!

April Fool's

I haven't tried to pull any pranks in a while, but here's one I fell for:

Squeez Bacon

Colin forwarded me the link and I just couldn't believe it! Sounded gross, but otherwise believable. Colin fell even harder than I did and actually tried to order it, which is what takes you to the "April Fool's!" screen.

Follow this link for all of ThinkGeek's prank products for 2009.