kid hijinks

At the zoo this past weekend:
And Zach napping, with...2 Lego Stormtrooper heads on his fingers.Also, I forgot to blog a Nicky funny from a few weeks ago. After one of Michael's trombone lessons, he asked "Can we go home and have popsicles? Because it feels sweltering out here to me." It was a proud mom moment for me. Of course, he was exaggerating a little. Don't know where in the world he gets that from...*cough.* Anyway, my pre-kindergarten 5 year old used a fancy word in the right context. Such things almost make up for the kids' constant bickering and violent guttural belches.

blockbuster season

So, I guess the new TF sequel is out. Sounds like the reviews aren't too great. When I saw the first one in the theater 2 years ago, I was bored silly. But, I think that was due in large part to being 7 months preggo with Zach and darned uncomfy. When it came out on DVD and I could watch it in our own home without a bowling ball in my stomach, it improved on me.

Nate sent me a CNN article in which one reviewer's quote is it's "Like watching paint dry while getting hit over the head with a frying pan." Reading between the lines, I suspect he didn't care for it, and I'll go in with low expectations. see article here

Nate's naughty Indian

At work, Nate has a couple Indians under his wing. They are outsourced "offshore partner" employees. One of them called at bloody 3:30 in the morning today to get an access code or some such thing from Nate that he needed before a deadline. The guy (Cuchichakee? Chelaka?) was apologetic and this hasn't happened before, thank goodness. When the phone rings overnight your heart stops in anticipation of finding out which friend or family member just died. Eesh, the hazards of working with people on the other side of the planet.

It's a good thing Nate & I had a restful getaway this past weekend to Grand Casino Mille Lacs while Nana & Papa babysat. We're not big gamblers (well, me - not at all, and Nate's a wanna-be dabbler) but we got a good deal in a silent auction on an overnite stay + 2 buffet coupons (score!) at our church gala in April. On the way up, we stopped at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park and hiked a bit. We climbed the 100 ft "observation/fire tower" which turned out to be a rickety thing held together with chicken wire.













We survived the tower only to expose ourselves to massive amounts of second-hand smoke. Besides the Marlboro man and his posse, casinos sure seem to attract a lot of elderly types, as well as ladies with bad early 90's perms & big bangs. The buffet - yum. The waitress kept calling me honey so I tipped her 5 bucks (of the $10 the casino gave us for signing up for their rewards card).

Otherwise, we've been settling into a summer pattern. The kids are starting to figure out how to sleep past 6:30 a.m. Michael starts a Lego camp next week, and Adrienne has an art camp the week after.

small kid, big instrument

Michael has had 2 trombone lessons so far. During practice at home, he usually creates noises that resemble a certain bodily function (which I'm sure I needn't specify), though in the last few days he has produced sounds that mimic the mournful bellow of a dying cow. Baby steps, right?




Summer = popsicles!

Blue Fauxhawk

Thanks for the subject line, Chris. I didn't know there was an official name for a pseudo mohawk. Thursday was the kids' last day of school, so Michael celebrated with some blue hair gel to go with the tie-dye shirts his class wore to the MN Zoo. I chaperoned the field trip, but this is the only photo I've got of it. You can't see the color or spike very well. Later, Michael stuck his head in one of the big fountains at the zoo which pretty much killed the 'do.
In other exciting news of this past week, we put back together the park bench I just refurbished. Perhaps because my projects usually end up unseemlier than I planned, I didn't think to get a 'before' picture. But I'll post an 'after' shot, because the bench actually turned out pretty good.
The metal was originally painted gray but had rusted, and most of the stain had worn off the wood. We took it apart, I spray painted the frame, and power sanded before staining and varnishing the wood. Ta-da. All without electrocuting or impaling myself.

Memorial Day tradition

Growing up we'd visit my maternal grandparents' graves at Fort Snelling National Cemetery on Memorial Day. I thought it'd be nice to do that yesterday, since I hadn't been out there in several years.Grandpa Haugh (who I never got to meet) was a Marine who fought in the Pacific during World War II. Grandma died when I was 5.

my closet exploded, and more

Last week I thought some hard core home organizing would be the perfect way to follow up our recent barf extravaganza. You know how every once in a while you feel motivated to attack a certain project, and you just have to go with it because a decade could pass before you feel that way again? It started with sorting all our old greeting cards (why'd we keep the ones from the realtor?) and turned into organizing every shelf, every nook & cranny, and the overstuffed filing cabinet. Nate & I realized we've lived in this house longer than any other residence since we got married, so maybe that's why the cleaning bug bit. I took this pic after Zachary destroyed my piles of junk:

On to the DWTS finale last night. I was pleasantly surprised to see Shawn take the trophy, although I guess I would've liked to see Melissa pull off the upset. I was sure Gilles the immodest Frenchie would win it, what with his legions of silly drooling female admirers. And male ones too, I suppose. Bleah.

And what's with the wacky weather? Apparently highs in the low 70's are the average right now, but you wouldn't know it. We had to turn the heat back on briefly this past weekend when I couldn't feel my fingers. Then, yesterday was 97. 93 forecasted for today. Weird. Really getting tired of all the wind lately, too.

We're counting down to the kids' last day of school, next week on the 28th. Yay for a 3 month break from homework!

'Cuz it's still the Easter season...

kids puke too much

That about says it all, doesn't it? Except that I'll go one further and say that Zachary was sick last week and today the older 3 decided it was their turn. It's May for pity's sake. This stuff should not be going around anymore. Parenting sure requires a masochistic trait. We purposely surrounded ourselves with 4 slobbering germ infested little people.
So, switching gears slightly, happy belated Mother's Day to you mom-types. Heh. When I was a kid, I thought it was truly unjust that there wasn't a "Children's Day," and my mom's explanation that "every day is kid's day" never satisfied me. Boy, was I a dolt. Okay, okay...done with that rant. I got some nice chocolate for Mother's Day, and some chocolate cupcakes, and the 'Kissing the Face of God' print that I've posted here before, and my kids are (mostly) healthy and happy and I can't really ask for more.

"The source and summit of Christian life"

Adrienne had her first holy communion this past Sunday, May 3.