In like a Lion

Way back in July, at the U of I reunion, I mentioned to Amber that I would love to have her and Kaleigh come over some time since they both work 10 minutes away from us.... and yet we never get to hang out.  And then life happened, and then I was sick for so long, and more life happened.  I did finally get around to it and they spent a Thursday evening with us, which was so fun!  The girls thought that they were great.  And probably got to talk to them more than Bob and I did.  ha.  Cecily talked them into playing Mario with her... and Emmy had them both taking ballet lessons from her... which was hilarious.  Good times.

Bob and Nathan wanted to talk game design so they had us over that Saturday with Mom and Dad for supper.  And milkshakes.      

 Sometimes when you're tired of winter and tired of the same old, same old you just need to shake things up a little bit and have a picnic lunch on the kitchen floor.  They thought it was the best thing ever.

 Did you know they make Mr. Potato Head fabric??  And he needed a new storage bag.... Yes, I know I have a problem. 

 Cadence is fond of "To-wee" and likes to do "me piano lesson."  She was singing "quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter, half-note, half-note, whole-note-hold-it" in church the other Sunday.  

 Hopefully this video uploaded correctly:  Cadence, what makes you beautiful?

Bob is not impressed that her two favorite shirts are John Deere.... so he came home with CAT shirts for all the girls one afternoon.  (She still likes the tractor shirts best though... shhh)

 Cecily asked a "was Grandma alive when..." question and the answer turned into a brief history of the world starting at the Roman empire.  They were up to the Korean war at this point and Emmy was not super impressed.  hehe. 

 Then we got out the Timechart History of the World, which is one of the coolest books/timelines ever.

 We hosted potluck at our house that night, so the girls got to go eat supper at Grandma Beutel's house.  I cheated and made pre-seasoned cook-in-the-bag pork tenderloin and bought coffee at Eli's so I didn't feel like I did much besides setting the table.  It was nice.  
The next day it rained, and rained, and rained and we were anxiously watching puddles.  Our basement stayed dry, though! 

 The FFA sold strawberries and they just happened to be delivered the day we had potluck, so the next day I made a batch of strawberry jam.  And of course, I ran out of sugar about halfway through the strawberries so I ended up just freezing a bunch too.  Serendipitously, I had attempted to make bread bowls for soup the week before and they turned out super huge and I froze the extra to use as bread. There's nothing better than fresh strawberry jam on warm homemade bread on a rainy day....  

 After having been on my feet all day for practically three days straight I was tired and sore, but it was the soup supper, so we went to that.
Cadence is fond of sleeping with toys and stuffed animals.  I found her little Tupperware pitcher outside her door when I went to bed one night.  Why, we'll never know.    

 Sun and slightly warmer weather calls for riding bikes outside!  "Me blanky outside.  In me coat."  Whatever.  

 We knew he was brilliant... Bob's car was in the shop so he worked from home one day.  He's using the equivalent of 3 normal monitors at once.  I'm not sure I could keep track of all that.

 Lazy morning in our pj's watching videos of Gideon and herself over and over and over on my phone.

 It was windy.  So windy.  The poor playhouse blew over.  Sadly, when we tried to stand it up today it collapsed.  Alas, poor playhouse, I knew him, Horatio.  Or something like that.  

 The first graders were supposed to build a leprechaun trap to take to school... insert eye roll from me... so we made one.  Cecily drew up the design and it turned out pretty cute.  

 It was pi day so I made pie while the girls made a large paper and glue mess on the table.  This is a cheeseburger pie from the Farm Journal Complete Pie Cookbook.  It has a cheddar cheese pastry crust, and turned out pretty good.  Although more than one of my adorable childrens' "tongue doesn't like the taste."  

 And of course I ran out of regular flour because I'm terrible at planning ahead.  So the peach pie crust was made from mostly cake flour.  It was a little bit more finicky than normal... but... I kind of liked the end texture a bit better.  *gasp*  Is that heresy?  I may have to do more experimenting... 

 Our finished Leprechaun trap.  Not quite as pinterest-y as some of the others, but definitely original and executed by her. It's a little tent shaped house in the woods with a paper couch, chair and table inside... shamrocks and a pot of gold... homey and inviting for luring in a leprechaun, only for the door to slam shut on the poor guy!  

 Isn't that an adorable woodland scene?  They did not catch a leprechaun in class, but she remains convinced that they are real.  *sigh*  Seriously, first grade teachers?    

And if this video uploaded...  big sisters think it's fun to teach her all kinds of things.  Brethren, pray for us, the two and a half year old knows how to "shake me booty."  

Blessings.

February

Cadence found a picture of a cardinal, "Pock! Pock!"  Translation: Peck! Peck!  He's still hanging out in our yard.... we'll see if he attacks our windows again in the spring.

 The older girls happily worked on making Valentines.  Somehow they used up all of the stickers on the first two....

 The day before V-day we delivered some Valentine's in person to Grandma and Pearl.  And played with the creepy little red riding hood/grandma/wolf doll. 

 Cadence was not too sure about some of the toys, but Grandma gave her fruit snacks so...

 Then they ate probably half a bag of M and M's at Pearl's.  So spoiled.
I haven't taken the girls swimming at all this winter; mostly because mornings are hard and if we go to the kids swim times, Cecily misses out.  So our next stop was the pool for an hour or so of open swim.  They were not happy to be leaving... but it was time to get home for supper.

 We were invited to Jenni and Summer's house for lunch on Valentine's day.  Emmy chose this outfit specifically for Valentine's day.  Hehe.  I did not teach her how to pose.

 After school we delivered some more Valentine's and ate spaghetti, strawberries, pink applesauce, and pink lemonade for supper.  
The school Valentine party was on Friday.  They decorated these cute bags and she brought home lots of cards (and candy!  Kids these days... we were lucky to get maybe one sucker from the only child with overachieving parents... this year practically everyone except us sent candy!).   

 So since I'm due like a week after our ten year anniversary... same as our five year... we will not be taking any anniversary trips.  Boo.  And of course I didn't really think about that until it was too late to plan anything earlier (not that I would have been feeling well enough anyway).  Instead, we took a short trip to Champaign on a whim because it was close and there might be something to do there... but then I had a terrible cold so that ruled out any musical events (Don't want to be the disruptive person blowing their nose in the middle of the U of I symphony orchestra), and Bob wasn't feeling all that well... *sigh*  So we chilled at the iHotel, ate steak at the Ribeye, went to the Krannert art museum, shopped a little and mostly just enjoyed the quiet.   It was too cold to want to wander around campus (and Bob said we look too old to blend in with the students... mur...) but it's always good to be back at U of I.  
The girls stayed at the farm Sunday night.  They must have had fun because when we walked in to pick them up the next day, Emmy saw us and said "No!" and ran off.  Ha.  They informed us before we left that we needed to bring them home a present.  So they got these fun pens that I remember from my childhood with multiple ink color options.  They were pleased.  

 Last Tuesday was a big day.  I had a doctor appointment in the morning, then we went to Chik-fil-a, got groceries, and in the evening I got to eat out with the W-ton girls.  Good times.  
Oh Emmy.  This is her favorite catalog and she can do all the poses.  Hehe.    

We went to the grade school open house.  Woot.  It was nice, but man, it takes a lot of work to get there and I'm not really sure it was worth it.  I guess we got to see Cecily's room again and talk to her teacher briefly, but... yeah.  I'm a terrible parent.  
This weekend there were testimonies and baptisms but otherwise it was pretty quiet, which I love.
Blessings. 

Cold, and it's getting colder...

Yay winter.  I really would rather look at snow than grey bleakness, but I can do without the snowy/icy roads... 

We headed back to the dentist in the middle of some nasty weather.  I dropped Cadence off at the farm so we got to enjoy all kinds of country road conditions.  Lots of slush and snow and dropping temperatures. But we made it and her teeth are fixed!  Woot woot!  She got to watch part of "How to Train your Dragon" which is now her favorite movie (she says).  We were back at the farm before lunch so we stayed for a little bit.

 We're going to move Cadence in with the big girls, at least for a little while, so she needed a dresser.  I ordered a small, cheap one that will hopefully not take up too much space in the room.  Little miss "Me Help!" insisted on supervising. 

 I let her help pound the nails to attach the back.  She was pretty pleased; with the hammer and with her face in the camera.  Then a few days ago I regretted letting her 'help' when I caught her heading into the living room with the same hammer.... this is why we can't have nice things.

 Emmy got to pound some nails in too. (No Emmy turn, Me turn!)

 We had a quiet weekend that week.  Cecily had a stomach bug very briefly and no one else caught it, thankfully.  Then on Monday I got to go to both the Doctor and the Dentist.  Huzzah.  I got to do the glucose test again... and passed... again.  It was raining/sleeting when I left for Peoria and while I was at the doctor's office the temperature dropped and everything was super icy.  I was being extra careful, but I still ended up sitting down hard rather abruptly in the parking lot after eating lunch.  Woe is me.
I cheered myself up by going sewing machine shopping.  My old beloved mechanical Singer workhorse has been with me since my parents gave it to me for college graduation.  We've been through a lot together and sewn a lot of things.  The more I learn and branch out in sewing, the more I've pushed the boundaries of its capabilities.  Soooo... I used Christmas money (Thanks G & G Wyss and G & G Beutel!!) to upgrade to a Brother.  It has lots more stitch options, including several button holes, that I'm excited about.  It also has the ability to do free motion quilting!  Woot woot.  I'm a little afraid to push it like I do my Singer.... I'm afraid I'll break it.  Emmy wanted to try ALL the stitches... hehe.    

 Then the polar vortex came to town and we didn't leave the house for two days.  School was cancelled and Cecily got to do her snow-day packet (which she loved).  I had all kinds of ideas of fun things we could do while she was home and we were housebound... and then they all three got up waaay early both mornings and were grouchy and fought all. day. long.  So I spent my time refereeing and we really didn't do anything exciting.  I was inspired to finish the last t-shirt quilt that has been sitting in my unfinished pile for several years.  Since I needed to try out the new machine, you know.  My lack of helpers is why projects take so long.... ha.

 When it's cold and you woke up too early and you finished your hot dog and you want more ketchup and mom won't give you any more because you still have some on your plate and you don't even have anything to dip in it.  #itshardbeingtwo  

 We love after school because Cecily has to read for 20 minutes a day and we love story time!

 I've learned that with three girls who have been able to wear each other's hand-me-downs that it is more cost effective to buy new (on sale) than second hand.  Because second hand has already been through several kids and they wear out pretty fast and I end up replacing more often... these were garage sale pants we got this spring that all developed holes in the knees.  We're going to see if these cute patches help us limp through to the end of the season... Mom reminded me I'm putting new cloth in an old garment... haha... but, 50 cent patches are better than replacing them when they're almost outgrown.

 I've been working down in our workshop lately, painting Cadence's dresser and doing some organizing.  Thankfully, because I'm not down there often and I don't know when we would have realized that the sewer line was clogged and that it was starting to back up into the basement.  At first we thought it was all the snow melting along the side of the house seeping up along the foundation.  Then we started seeing toilet paper around the floor drain.  Ick.  Soooo... our favorite local plumber doesn't unclog sewer lines- he recommended a guy that was able to come out on Saturday.  He used his equipment to try and clear the line from outside, while we were supposed to run water from the inside.  So much fun... watching basement drains and hoping they don't start backing up....  we made the girls quick pick up the toys in the basement just in case and they were panicking because they thought it would flood and they would be trapped or something.  
Bob loooooves sewer and plumbing issues.  Not.  Haha.  

 At least I have fun U of I rain boots for such a time as this.    

So Dave got the line clear and said there was a geyser out at the check valve when he finally broke through.  It took him quite a bit of line... yikes...  his theory is that newer low flush toilets don't create enough water pressure to both open the check valve (necessary to protect us from back flow from our lovely little village's aging sewer system for which we also have to pay a 'debt service fee' for the next 20 years so they can upgrade it. yay.), and wash waste through.  I'm not convinced that it's from our new toilet though, we replaced an older low flush toilet with a new low flush toilet and you don't fill a sewer line that fast. There's also a pretty good chance the line isn't sloped enough... considering its age and some of the other interesting plumbing in the house (It was the 60's. Enough said.)... and he did find roots in the check valve so it's probably a combination of all of the things. 
This week we are getting ready for Valentine's day.  And staying inside because it's alternately cold and slushy, sloppy wet.
Blessings.

10 Years Ago

Don't mind me while I get all nostalgic.... but somehow a decade as "us" seems momentous.

In some ways getting engaged seems like it was ages ago, and at the same time it's gone so fast it seems like it was not 10 years already.  

Awww... look at us....  

 I've been indulging my sentimental side and reading through old emails from friends and Bob from way back then.  (Don't worry, I won't share any.   hehe.  Twenty-four year old me is embarrassing sometimes... but, I guess that means I've hopefully matured at least a little bit?)  I'm never sure how much is appropriate to share about my experiences with the whole faith marriage/proposal system pre-Bob... my "boy-issues" as one dear friend called it (hehe. *cough* Gab *cough).  I guess if you're super curious ask me in person sometime.  But it's pretty safe to say that I was fast becoming pretty jaded and cynical and borderline bitter.  But God was faithful. And He has been faithful.  And here we are 10 years later.   

10 years ago I posted the lyrics to a Caedmon's Call song:

Looking back at the road so far
The journey's left its share of scars
Mostly from leaving the narrow and straight

Looking back it is clear to me that
A man is more than the sum of his deeds
And how You've made good of this mess I've made
Is a profound mystery

Looking back You know You had to bring me through
All that I was (all that I was)
So afraid of (so afraid of)
Though I questioned the sky, now I see why
Had to walk the rocks to see the mountain view
Looking back I see the lead of love

Looking back I can finally see (I'd rather have wisdom)
How failures bring humility (than be)
Brings me to my knees (a comfortable fool)
Helps me see my need for Thee

Looking back You know You had to bring me through
All that I was (all that I was)
So afraid of (so afraid of)
Though I questioned the sky, now I see why
Had to walk the rocks to see the mountain view
Looking back I see the lead of love.

It's still true.

Blessings.

Snow and Cold

It's been both quiet and busy around here. Woot woot.  I prefer the quiet, hole up the nice warm house days to the busy days...

Little miss "me see!!" insisted on watching whatever was in the oven... from a laundry basket.  

My goal for Christmas break was to finally finish patching and painting the moldy drywall in the bathroom.... I had gotten it all patched and sanded before the morning sickness descended but it still needed to be painted and the baseboard replaced.  I didn't get it done by the end of break, but I did finish it not long after.  Woot woot!  It looks pretty good if I do say so myself.  hehe. 

I only discovered it in October of 2017..... not so very long ago. (The blog archives are why I blog.  I would have had no idea when I started this project...) 

The previous owner kept a house-diary of sorts along with all of the owners manuals for appliances and things like shower surrounds. This was put in in 1988.  Which makes me want to take it out and start over.  But I won't.  Because there is nothing functionally wrong with it, even if it is showing its age.
Pretty sure the easy-bake oven was one of our best gifts ever.  Emmy wanted to make our afternoon snack, and Cadence, "Me Help!" was more than willing to join in.

It snowed!  A lot!  Hooray!  I'm not usually fond of waking up earlier than I need to, but somehow I don't mind waking up to the sound of the snowplow.  Brings back memories of hearing the snowplow go past and hoping it meant a snow day.  And if you woke up to the sound of the road grader, it almost guaranteed it was a snow day... either was preferable to the hog truck showing up at 6 am or some other unearthly hour.  Not only was the semi loud, idling out on the road outside my window, when they brought the hogs to be loaded I got to listen to squealing pigs for what seemed like ages.  Woe is me- the trials of growing up on a farm.  Anyway. 
The girls enjoyed the large pile of snow the snowplow left at the end of the street.

Cadence loves to stick her face in it and eat it. 

I got a miniature greenhouse kit for Christmas.  It's pretty intense.  But I love miniatures so I will just keep plugging away.  I don't know what I'll do with it when I'm done, but it's fun!

I usually don't mind going out in the snow if I can dress appropriately and bundle up.  However, my snow pants are uncomfortable right now, even unzipped, so I just don't really want to go out this year.  Brave little Emmy was willing to go out by herself for a little bit one day...

January usually has me going through toys and reorganizing closets and things.  And searching pinterest for storage ideas.  I used a gift card to buy a roll of vinyl and I had fun playing with it and making see-through bags to help keep toys contained.  It also helps the picking up process if everything has a place to go... sort of.  It doesn't really help with the constant complaining about picking up though.

We ventured out one warmer afternoon.  Cadence just doesn't seem to get cold and would probably stay out for hours.

They happily played library one evening.  They used their cash register to scan the books just like the real librarians.  Cadence- "book ready!"

The girls went to Gideon's house on Friday while Bob and I went to potluck.  They had a great time.  And hopefully didn't get Gideon too wound up.  haha.  We had a good time at potluck and thankfully the snow they predicted didn't really start until after we were home.
Saturday was really windy- although since it was out of the north we could hardly tell.  Grace and Eden came for the evening.  Michelle's been working on compiling Grandma and Pearl's recipes and I was proofreading and couldn't tell if she meant to frost then bake, or bake then frost her honey cookies.... so I tried both ways.  I was a little impatient taking them off the pan.... also, I think frost then bake is correct.  Gives them a nice crackly finish.

Sunday afternoon was cold but clear and calm, thankfully!  Because; we had been looking forward to going to the family matinee at the symphony with Mom and Dad and Lena!  They were playing Emmy's most requested piece- "Peter and the Wolf."  (Seriously, every time I change the CD in the van: "I want Peter and the Wolf!")
Cecily was excited to get popcorn... haha. Which they didn't end up having, but they did get snacks. 

And they got to meet some princesses at intermission. 

Emmy did not want to get her picture taken with them.  Hehe. Oh, dear little Emmy.

They both enjoyed it, and told Bob and Cadence all about it when we got home. 
Monday morning, Emmy and I went to the 'kid dentist' to get 2/4 cavities filled.  She did really well, and calmly watched the movie on the ceiling while they did their thing.  I like that they let me stay in the room- the whole process is fascinating.  We get to go back later this week to do the last two. 
They called off school today because there was still a lot of drifting out in the country.  (Perhaps they need a road grader like good old W-ton township?)  It felt a little weird since we could make it to the grocery store, no problem, on main roads... oh well.  Although, the prospect of having a newborn and trying to get a kid to school until practically June is unappealing...   
Blessings.

The best laid plans

Instead of staying healthy and getting to go to all of our Christmases we spent Monday on the couch watching cartoons with buckets nearby...  Emmy woke us up first at about 2:30 in the morning... I'm not completely convinced Cecily had the same bug- she tends to get so worried about the possibility of getting sick that she makes herself sick... We didn't want to risk driving over to Gridley since this plague has been making the rounds and is fairly sudden onset.  The girls were disappointed that they didn't get to go to Nina's house.  Hooray for way too much screen time and so.many.loads of laundry. We also didn't do any thing for NYE.  I don't think they even realized it until a few days later.

They were feeling better enough to go to the farm for Christmas the next day.  Bob, unfortunately, was not.  Hooray for presents!

Emmy took her time.  And savored every moment...

Cadence would have opened everything in the room, just for the fun of it. 

Hehe.  Gideon was quietly helping himself to oreos in the kitchen.

Reading "Come Visit the Circus" my "Come Visit the Farm" parody photo book that we gave to Grandma.

We sang some Messiah and attempted Salmo 150... such a fun song, but so fast...  it's not even that hard- it was in fairly regular rotation for EHS chorus.  We did not sound like this though! 

When it was time to go home we couldn't find Cadence's blankie anywhere.  We looked and looked and finally had to go home without it.  Grandma came up with some substitute fleece scraps but... it's a good thing she was so tired because she was a sad little girl. It turned up stuffed inside a pillow sham, the obvious place to put a dearly beloved blanket.  

The rest of the week was quiet.  Cecily got a fleece blanket kit that she worked on over a couple of days.  

Friday was in the 50's... perfect weather for taking down the outside Christmas decorations!  The girls were pretty disappointed that half of the lights on our porch garland didn't work (so I didn't even bother plugging it in this year); I replaced the lights while they played hide-and-go-seek.  Without coats!  

We got all the decorations put away and the tree came down.  Sad day.  Emmy insisted on sweeping up all the needles and I didn't argue.  I love how cozy Christmas decorations makes the house feel.... and I love how open it feels when they come down again.  

Grandma B. has been sewing doll clothes... she invited us over Saturday afternoon.  Rebecca is wearing her beautiful new dress and the girls are getting the best afternoon snack of their lives- ice cream, cookies, and fruit snacks.  

They played with bears until it was time to go home for naps...

So our last week of break wasn't too bad... no one else got sick.  Unless you count me trying to stop taking anti-nausea meds for the 3rd or 4th time and making it 3 whole days before puking my guts out again.  *sigh* You'd think at 24 weeks it would be gone... Morning all day sickness, how I loathe thee.  I suppose I should just resign myself to taking it for the duration.  woot.  I am thankful that I mostly feel fine as long as I'm taking them.  They make me sleepy though... mur.  So a few months ago before I started meds and I was miserable and wondering how in the world pioneer women ever survived such misery I googled it.  (What did you all do before google?)  Apparently 1/3 of women never experience any nausea at all (so jealous).  And then there is the small percentage that have severe hyperemesis gravidarum and end up hospitalized.  Or dying, like Charlotte Bronte.  Think of the books she might have written!  And the moral of that story is don't have kids....  
I'm not ready for school to start again.  I don't think I'll ever be a morning person, so I don't see myself ever enjoying having to wake up to an alarm...
Blessings.