Whose birthday is it today?

Wishing Charlie a Happy 34th Birthday!

CP in 1991

Fine motor skills

I love pictures of the kiddos reading and being read to, doing art work, and writing. Here they all are this month, in various locations, being creative.

 Hannah and Vivi, doing artes (thanks for the photo, ESPD):

Owen and Ethan, coloring and writing: 

Miles and Westy, home-schooling themselves (photos stolen from Annie's blog):

 

Slip 'n slide (or, All the king's men)

My friend Teresa says guided imagery doesn't work for her as a relaxation technique. Teresa, have Regis read this to you while you lie down and shut your eyes. It may not help you relax, but it could provide some comic relief!

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About 15 minutes ago, I went out to the mailbox to get the mail (now there's a redundant statement). It's winter, so of course I chose to go out in cropped sweatpants, a tee-shirt, no socks, and rubbery slip-on open-toed garden scuffs. I'm a Minnesotan.

We had freezing rain and snow here yesterday, so I had a layer of ice to contend with on the driveway and in the street. All went well on the driveway, but not as well on the street. As I turned around to head back to the house after closing the mailbox, I did one of those infamous slow motion falls, landing on my wrist and my ass. Pieces of mail flew in all directions. 

Oh, did I mention that the guy who was driving by in his pick-up truck took it all in with a slo-mo "Oh, no!" look of shock on his face? The truck screeched to a halt (not exactly, but it seemed that way at the time) and the kindly man mouthed, “Are you all right?” Even if I’d broken my wrist and an ankle and had a skull fracture, I was too embarrassed to do anything but wave him on and mouth back, “I’m fine.”  

I sat there, waiting for him to move along so I could pull myself together and get back up on my feet. He drove a few yards, then decided to stop. He got out of his truck and offered to help me get to the house. I declined, noticing he was having trouble on the icy street, too, because he had on what looked like those old-fashioned rubber slip-on things my dad used to wear over his good shoes in the winter. I figured any guy wearing 1950's gripless footwear would be more of a hazard than a help. After he got back in his truck and drove off, I slid over to the mailbox, grabbed on, and stood up. I’m writing this on my computer, so it’s obvious that I made it back into the house and didn’t break or fracture anything. I’m guessing there will be bruises. 

If only the dang boots I ordered a few weeks ago would get here,  I’ll be better equipped for the next dangerous trip to the mailbox. Or maybe I should ask the city to put up a sign.

Mid-January report

It's mid-January already. Time for an update. Last week flew by, in part due to spending time with little and big relatives. Miles was sick early in the week, so I went to Otown on Tuesday to be with him. I expected a sleepy, cranky, sick boy, but his fever had subsided significantly since the day before, so Miles was happy to read, snuggle, and play quiet games. We met his mommy at the dr.'s office early in the afternoon. The verdict was strep throat, which Westy apparently had shared with him. Here's Miles, in his pj's.

On Wednesday, Larry/Dad/Gpa and I met Don and Janet at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to see the Chinese Terracotta Warrior exhibit. A fascinating look at an aspect of early Chinese history. We rented audio guides to learn about the warriors, horses, and other pieces in the exhibit. Lots of great information is shared on the audio guides, like the fact that each type of warrior in the emperor's army (archers, officers, charioteers, etc.) had a different type of hairstyle, and all of them had their hair done before going into battle. Just like going to the prom. Whew knew?!

After enjoying the exhibit, we honored the Chinese warriors by going to Christos  restaurant. Wait--we made a mistake---Christos serves Greek food, not Chinese, but it was delicious anyway.

Moving along to Thursday .... I picked up Owen and Ethan at their daycare and brought them home to play while Charlie finished up at work and Angie got a haircut in Mankato. The kiddos and their parents stayed for a Jimmy John's supper, provided by Angie. Thanks, Angie!

While we were waiting for the arrival of Jimmy John's sandwiches, Ethan kept busy with his own sandwich shop. His latest creation? Doughnut and pickle sandwiches on wheat bread. It's a sandwich and and breakfast all in one!

 

Owen was focused on his art project, 

drawing and coloring a blue and gray horse.

 

 

On Friday afternoon, I went back to Otown to pick up Miles and Westy for an overnight adventure at our house. We sent a few pictures back and forth with Annie and Tanner by text. This one was in response to Annie and Tanner sending a similar silly-face picture of themselves, which I inadvertently deleted. Sorry, Annie and Tanner. It was charming!

The boys all got together for doughnuts, juice, playtime, and some more serious art production on Saturday morning. Here they are using crayons, markers, and pens to create their pictures.

We wrapped up the weekend with a Sunday afternoon Skype session and conversation with Elisabeth, Hannah, and Vivian. Evan was away at a meeting in Florida. Here's a picture of the pajama chicas from earlier in the week. I love their sleepy looks! Oops, I almost forgot Ira!

Great to see everyone either in person or on my computer this past week. 

Love you all!

Time out

Time for a break. Don't forget to look at the pictures of all the sweet cousins in the last few entries. That's what I'm going to do for a while...