Friday, March 18, 2011

Heading South for Spring Break








Some people head to beaches for spring break, but if you live in Fargo/Moorhead (or Siberiasted as it translates into a little-known ancient dialect of Norwegian) then spending the week in Iowa during March is just like being somewhere tropical. We have enjoyed 70* temps, four different parks in three days, and some St. Patrick's Day fun with friends. And in F/M, our yard still lies beneath 5 feet of snow. We (or me, Joel) may not be returning...potential homebuyers are welcome to present offers for our Moorhead estate. Included in the contract will be the Permasnow, something nobody told me about prior to relocating. Apparently it is "normal" to have snow on the ground for 9 months out of the year...


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

parent-teacher conferences

Noah's self portrait Yesterday we were told by both boys' teachers that in 20 some years of teaching each age group, they had never had a child like ours. Hmm.....
Noah: struggles socially, but he does seek out other (quiet) children to play with. He is a good listener and a nice friend. However, he pretty much refuses to talk to the teachers, and he doesn't like to be noticed. He knows all of the shapes, colors, numbers, letters and letter sounds. After bribing him with pop a couple of weeks ago, I also found out what I suspected; he knows A LOT of sight words. Unfortunately, as his teachers have noticed, he can be quite stubborn if he doesn't want to do something, and so far, that is his approach to reading. We have a meeting with the school's Early Intervention Service next week to see if there is something more to his behavior or if it really is just a social thing. We were pleased to hear that he has made some progress over the year!
Eli: has used his year in first grade becoming more social which was the main goal. He is the only kid in his class who got 100% on the latest reading/comprehension test. He is currently reading 181 words per minute at the highest first grade tested level while the next closest child is at 122 wpm. His teacher is amazed by his writing: capitalizing the right words, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure. She was also surprised to hear that he had no previous knowledge of how to count money. As we were leaving the school, the music teacher invited us into her room. Eli played the 4 songs that Grandma Connie taught him on the keyboard and one on the xylophone. New goal: working on athleticism.
We are VERY proud of our boys!!!

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Newt-ritious Snack

Noah LOVES his monthly "Your Big Backyard" magazine. He's been waiting for a week to make this snack (sorry the picture is sideways. I'm to lazy to fix it). He ate the whole entire thing too.
Yep, Dad's gone for a few days and we have pop with our pizza!!!! Don't worry Joel, Eli still loves you the most. I know this because I overheard a bath conversation between my children last night.
E: Noah, who do I love more, mom or dad?
N: Dad
E: you're right
Me: (laughing) hey, I can hear you. That doesn't make me feel very good.
E: I don't know what to tell you about that.
Me: I have two kids and I love you both the same.
E: I love Dad as much as all the dots of gas on the sun, and I love you as much as the Universe.


Monday, February 28, 2011

last day of basketball


Thanks Grandma, Grandpa, Craig, Katelynn and Austin for cheering me on!

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Living Room Overhaul Courtesy of Target




It was time to finally take the leap into the HD digital age for our upstairs as well. I felt bad that Heidi was still watching standard television on a 35" behemoth of a tube tv. It was also time to rid ourselves of the unsightly huge and imposing eyesore of an ugly entertainment center and semi-matching deathtrap that was the high center of gravity, tall corner shelf, which somehow it unbelievably never ended up toppling on Noah. The furniture (sans couch and chair) was courtesy of Target's fine home collection. Who knew in addition to paper towels and shampoo, such treasures awaited us at the bull's eye emporium...

Saturday, January 29, 2011

yesterday

Just about the time I was ready to head in for hot chocolate, the boys suggested we make a fort (they may have overheard Erin say we had a great place to dig a tunnel).
1.5 HOURS LATER...





Friday, January 28, 2011

I found a cure

for the common "30 minutes before school stomach ache". HOME REMEDY
Put the sick child in his/her bed with a book and some homework. Explain that there will be zero playing with siblings/friends or video games of any kind for the entire day. He or she will be in school by 10:00 am.

Thursday, January 06, 2011

ringing in 2011

2nd Annual New Year's Eve Game Night at Grandma Cathy's.

11:45 pm: Eli- "It's almost midnight, and I'm not even tired"
12:03 am:


While we were enjoying beautiful weather in Iowa (there was no snow in Cathy's yard when we left) my brother and our neighbor were busy looking after our house during a blizzard. Thanks to them, our driveway was clear when we got home.




more Christmas

We spent Christmas night at my parents and left for Iowa the next morning.

Christmas

Christmas Eve: a quiet evening of church, dinner at Perkins, and tracking Santa.
Christmas Day: After opening Santa gifts and loading the car, we went to my parents for the day/evening.

looking for Rudolph



bedtime snack: fun dip and orange pop



Monday, December 20, 2010

weekend happenings

We spent the night at Krista and Brent's on Friday. My mom and I went to visit Krista in the hospital as she was recovering after having a defibrillator inserted. Saturday it was off to my Grandparents' for Truax Christmas. My Grandma made Vikings and Twins hat, mitten, and scarf sets for all the great-grandchildren. I'm not sure how she finds time after working and doing MANY other projects. She is an amazing woman. My mom has decided that must be where Krista gets it as she walked out of the hospital and came to the gathering. We are so thankful that her surgery went well.


Sunday was Katelynn's 6th birthday.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

winter wonderland

If every winter day consisted of a little fluffy snow, 20 degrees, and no wind, maybe I wouldn't mind having it 6 months out of the year!


Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Thank you Nephew!

It's time for someone else to have this song stuck in their head!!
I started singing Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" while I was making supper for the kids tonight.

"I throw my hands up in the air sometimes

saying ayo

gotta let go"

So the boys taught me cousin Matt's version.

"I throw my sandwich in the air sometimes

saying ayo

where's my mayo"

Which turned into all kinds of fun!!

"I throw my bathroom in the air sometimes

saying ayo

where'd my toilet go"



sink-soap

car-steering wheel

bowl-cereal

house-kids



and it went on and on and on
and it went on and on and on...

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Eli finally lost a tooth

His two bottom ones with the teeth growing in behind are not very loose. However, he had a tooth on the top that was ready. Because Joel and I are both grossed out by loose teeth, we called in a professional. Less than 5 minutes after Aunt Jennifer (mom of 4) arrived today, the tooth was out.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Too much Harry Potter??

The Harry Potter movies were on TV last weekend, so Joel recorded them for the boys. They are now half way into the 3rd one and loving every minute of it. Yesterday I made split pea soup, and I gave a little to the boys for supper. Noah took one look at his bowl and said, "I'm not eating that potion".

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

this and that

Our cautious, careful first-born hit his head on a pole during recess last week.

Noah drew a family picture at preschool today: Dad, Noah, Eli, Mom, and the little person next to Mom is Ella. He scribbled out the first two Ella drawings because "she had too much hair".

The boys were playing "Batman" in the doll house today. They had to play "rock, paper, scissors" to see who got the blue crib and who had to use the pink one.



Sunday, October 31, 2010

Halloween Fun

Jen threw a great party for the kids yesterday!!




We went back over there tonight for pumpkin shaped pizza and trick or treating.