How to become a famous blogger

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

How its going so far

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

How I feel about my scrapbook supplies right now:

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Girls Only Weekend Has Started

Girls only weekend has officially started! I'll be busy working on my scrapbooks all weekend, but I haven't forgot about you, my faithful readers (all 4 of you). I figured out how to create a post in advance but have it publish at a certain date and time. So check back throughout the weekend. There will be some fun new posts!

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

All I want for Christmas

Here's another bit of car conversation .

Kaylee: "I'd like a digital camera for Christmas"

Nate: "I'd like a lock on my door."

Kaylee: "No way. I asked for that last year- they won't do it."

Nate: "Why not?"

Kaylee: "We don't lock each other out, no matter how much we'd like to."

Some of you, who know don't know me well, might be wondering why we were having a conversation about Christmas presents at all. I'm a big planner. I buy presents all year long- usually as I find something on clearance. I've been doing a bit of clearance shopping lately so Kaylee is wise to get her request in now.

Two things about this conversation struck me. First, Nate is making this request way earlier than Kaylee did. Interesting. I wonder if its a boy thing or a birth order thing or what. I think Nate actually wants to lock Max out but not not completely sure. Second, I'm also glad Kaylee "gets" the lock thing. I don't have a problem giving the kids privacy. I think they have a right to expect it. But we don't lock each other out of our lives- no matter how much we'd like to.

Go Wings!!

Our good friends, Chris & Katie invited* us over for a Red Wings Party on Saturday. Katie & I met when we joined an online club on Baby Center when we were both thinking about having a second child. We were "online" friends for over a year before we met IRL ("in real life"). The first time, we met at a restaurant in a large mall for dinner. You know, in case one of us was an ax murderer, looking for victims in an online chat room talking about fertility issues. Anyway, during dinner we both noticed that the other person was watching the clock. It turns out we were both trying to figure out how to get out of dinner as quickly as possible so we could go watch the Red Wings in a playoff game. Chris & Katie invited us back to their place to watch the game. Since we felt fairly confident in our conclusion that they were not ax murderers, we accepted. We had a great time and a lasting friendship formed.

Here's a flash back- Nate & Madelyn watching their first Wings game together:


Nate & Madelyn now:


Here's a family picture of us all wearing our red wings gear:



Just kidding!



* As long as my Dad isn't reading this post, I can confess that, really, I invited us over for the party. I would have invited them here but with our kitchen torn up it just wouldn't work. Chris & Katie know us well enough not to be offended that we invited ourselves- in fact they seemed pretty happy that we thought of the idea. But my Dad would be shocked!

Kitchen update

Just in case anyone is losing sleep wondering about the state of my kitchen. Here's an update:





The floor & cabinets are in. They look great! The granite counter tops are on order and should be installed before Friday. Derek needs to borrow some muscle (I was too puny to help) and he can hook up the stove & dishwasher. The floor still needs a little more time to fully set so I'm not sure if we'll have a refrigerator n the kitchen before Friday but if not we'll be able to function. Looks like scrapbook weekend is most likely a go!

Jeepers!

Danger Boy Junior is still in training. Yesterday, he rode on a first roller coaster for the first time. Kaylee and Nate LOVE roller coasters and always have. So how did DBJ do?

We watched Nate ride it once before we got on.



Getting ready to ride. Max looks a litte apprehensive.



Here's the face he made after he got off.



For the record, I did ride with him. As soon as we started down the first hill, he grabbed my leg. He didn't cry or scream but he held on tight during the whole ride (three times around the track). When the ride came to a stop, he tried to get off immediately! But still didn't fuss or cry. Truthfully, and somewhat disappointedly, I must admit- he did not seem to enjoy the experience. But he did enjoy the nice safe train.



As we were getting ready to leave, Nate wanted one more ride on the roller coaster, so Max & I got in line with him. Max was willing to ride again and had the same reaction. So even though he didn't like it much this time, I'd say he could end up being a roller coaster kid somewhere down the road.

Countdown

I'm getting so excited! I'm hosting a scrapbook weekend at my house Friday May 30-June 1. Kaylee has a sleepover party that weekend and Derek & the boys are going camping with my parents. I picked up my photographs (over 850) from CVS last night. Tonight I'm going to start organizing them with the paper and embellishments I want to use. I'm hoping to get both of the Danger Boys scrapbooks up to date.

Only one small detail left- my kitchen is currently under construction!


We've been talking about remodeling for awhile, so we decided to put the Economic Stimulus Check to good use and go ahead with the remodel. Last week Derek & his friend John, stripped the walls, tore out all the cabinets and ripped up the floor. Then they fixed the dry wall, and changed the plumbing to relocate the appliances. This week the new floor & cabinets went in. Derek is currently putting the polyurethane on the floors. The granite counter tops are on order. The new appliances are sitting in their boxes in the garage. The kitchen table is in the living room along with 7 rubber mate totes full of kitchen stuff. The living room furniture is in the family room.

So the big question- will my house be ready for a girls only weekend?

Stay tuned to find out.

Criminal Intent

I'm not a criminal lawyer, but I do remember learning in law school that some crimes require specific intent . Basically, that means the person accused must have had a criminal motivation, not just that the person meant to do the actual action that got them in trouble.

For example, if a 6 year old boy has convinced his mother to take him around the block to visit a new friend, and that 6 year old boy rides his bike way faster than his Mom can push a stroller, and that 6 year old boy arrives at the friend's house several minutes before his Mom and, finds the garage door open and the motorized scooter just sitting there, and that same 6 year old boy hops off his bike and on to the scooter with the intent of a joy ride down the sidewalk, but fully intends to return the motorized scooter to the garage at the conclusion of the joy ride, its not Grand Theft Auto. It's also not Grand Theft Auto when the friend's father (who the Mom has never met before) catches the 6 year old in the garage just as the exhausted and, now, horrified Mom arrives in the friend's driveway. What it is- is extremely embarrassing for the Mom.*

*names omitted to protect the innocent until proven guilty

Mommy's Portrait

I took Max to the park on Friday to try to get a better portrait than Derek's spinning ones. I'll admit trying to get a portrait of an active 18 month old isn't the easiest thing in the world. How'd I do?



And the only thing harder than getting a good portrait of one 18 month old is getting a portrait of him with his best buddy.


Max- 18 months & Carson- 21 months

DBJ wants a bike

DBJ wants a bike. Not just any bike. His brother's bike.

Spinning

Ever wonder what kind of portraits you'd get if you put the Dad in charge? Before I left town, I reminded Derek that Tuesday was Max's 18 month milestone and asked him to take pictures for the scrapbook. Here's a sample of what I got:



Notice the rope on the swing. You see where this is going, right?









Max also had his 18 month well-child check up. Here are the stats:
Weight: 24 lbs 7 oz. (25-50th Percentile)
Height: 33 inches (75th Percentile)

18 Months Old!

Max is 18 months old today!

The year and a half has just flown by. Speaking of flying- I'm on my way to the airport. I have a 7am flight to Cincinnati for business. I know what you are doing right now. You are checking the time stamp on this entry. Wow- look at that, what a dedicated Mommy blogger, she is!! Not really, I drafted this entry on Monday afternoon and just logged in long enough to post it. My brain doesn't function well enough to blog at 4am.

Happy 1/2 Birthday Max! I love you Baby. See you tomorrow.

Welcome to Dance

I'm one of those. You know those crazy ladies. Dance Moms. Yep.

I've put make-up on my 3 year old. A lot of make up. Blue eye shadow, red lipstick, mascara, heavy blush. STAGE make-up. Now she's old enough to do it herself. Yeah! And I've been known to say- "Kaylee, honey, you need more lipstick. No, it needs to be darker, redder."

Today I did the quintessential dance mom thing. I stood in line to buy recital tickets. Well, sort of. Actually, my chair stood in line.

Ticket sales started at 9am. I arrived at 8am. There were four cars in the parking lot and four chairs in line by the door. So I added my chair to the line and went back to sit in my nice warm car and read. My chair didn't seem too unhappy there in the drizzling rain- I didn't even take it out of its bag- just leaned it against the wall like the four chairs before it.

The next hour was an interesting experience in human behavior. Everytime a new car would pull into the parking lot, everyone would look up from their books and watch to see if the occupant would get out a chair. If a chair joined the line everyone would go back to their books. The 14th person created a little bit of a stir around 8:40. She didn't have a chair. (Collective gasp!) But she quickly improvised by placing a large stick against the wall at the end of the line. Number 15 borrowed an umbrella about 5 minutes later and that too joined the line.

Then at 8:55am a newbie arrived. She walked up to the door and turned the handle. What was she thinking? Everyone jumped from their cars and took their respective places next to their chairs. She looked at me with a question on her face.

"Um, how does this work? This is our first year."

My response, a little sheepishly: "Well, everyone puts their chairs in line and then in a few minutes they'll start selling tickets."

She headed toward the back of the line, so I charitably added:

"Welcome to Dance."

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all you Mothers out there in the blogosphere had a great day! My day was really nice. Before church the kids gave me presents. Kaylee gave me a picture frame. Nate gave me a hanging flower basket. Max gave me a CD.

After church, we met my Parents for lunch. My Dad's sister and the Timm family also joined us. It was a bit crazy at the restaurant but only in the typical ways. Nate poured about half a bottle of syrup on his pancakes and put four pats of butter on one cracker- he did use his knife to form the butter into a heart to show me- after all it is Mother's Day. Max also got into the action, eating several packages of jelly. Definitely a DBJ today- that's one of Nate's old tricks.

After lunch, we headed back over to the Timms for some games. All in all it was a nice, rather normal Sunday afternoon. I enjoyed just being with family. (Yes, the Timms are "family" too.)

But I was a little melancholy all day.

One of the first things I did this morning was send an e-card to my friend Amy who is celebrating her first Mother's Day with her twins. After a long wait, their adoption was finalized last fall. I'm thrilled for her.

One of the second things I did was think of another friend, Dawn. Dawn is coping with her first Mother's Day without her daughter Makinley. Makinley had Krabbe Disease and went home to heaven just before Christmas. Makinley was two months older than Max. I can't even imagine the pain Dawn is experiencing today. But I do know that she has an incredible faith and that God is holding her in one hand and Makinley in the other.

So while I spent a relatively normal Mother's Day my thoughts were drifting back and forth between my two friends, both incredible ladies, who are experiencing very different days. I've learned a lot from both these ladies, who have been through trials that I can't even fathom. One of the most important things, is to be thankful for my family, for each "ordinary" moment, for each crazy one, for each extraordinary one.

Dawn's favorite song is "Praise you in this Storm" By Casting Crowns. It just happened to be the fourth song on the CD Max gave me this morning. I've listened to it several times today. I hope it touches you like it touches me.

Praise You in This Storm
words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

It all starts with one

I have this beautiful Friday off of work, so of course, its time to go garage sale-ing! Hooray!! All the kids wanted to go, too. I love riding in the car with my kids- its the best place for conversation- something about them being strapped down, I guess.

Here's a little bit of our conversation:

Nate: "Hey Mama, guess what?"

Me: "What?"

Nate: "I've got a hair on my chin"

Me: (looking in the rear view mirror, expecting to see a sticky face) "Really?"

Nate: "Yeah, just one. But you know- it all starts with one."

Art Fair

The kids attend "Destiny Academy" a homeschool co-op on Thursdays. Two weeks ago the co-op held its annual Art Fair, which is one of Kaylee's favorite things about DA. This year 3 professional artists judged the competition. Kaylee entered 3 pieces.



She won "Grand Champion" (i.e. best in category) for "Midnight in Paris"

We were thrilled for the obvious reason, but also a not so obvious one. You see the horse pictures were drawn quite some time ago and Kaylee didn't want to work on improving them. We've been trying to tell her that "real" artists do lots of sketches before they have their final version but it seems to fall on deaf ears. So we decided to "lay down the law." She could only enter the competition if she had at least 1 new piece and she had to do at least 3 drafts of it. So she worked on "Midnight in Paris" several times. When she was finally happy with the Eiffle Tower, Derek suggested more work on the background. Kaylee didn't really appreciate all the parental interference but hopefully she learned something from the experience.

The funny thing about it is- I think the horse pictures are better. It could be that that competition was stronger in the "animals" category but I don't think so. I think God was giving us some parental support. Hopefully we learned something from the experience.

6 words

I haven't posted much about myself yet, rather intentionally. It's nice being the one in charge of the keyboard. I feel the same way about the camera. I take the pictures so I don't have to be in them. (You'll notice the picture next to my profile is a coffee cup instead of a picture of me!)

But a couple of my blogger friends have started a game and I'll play along. Here are the rules:

1. Write your own Six-Word Memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post *
4. Tag at least five more blogs with links.
5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Here's mine-

Christian Mom, trying hard, thankfully forgiven

*Kirk Haven (also in my list of favorite blogs)

DH

Rounding out the cast of characters- I'd like you to meet the Stay-At-Home-Dad ("SAHD") a.k.a. "DH" (Dear Husband- in the online world).



Derek is a faithful Christian. He's a loving father. He's an amazing husband. He's incredibly intelligent, and sort of goofy. (Most people don't get his incredibly dry sense of humor- but it cracks me up!)



Stay-at-home Dad doesn't really describe him because they rarely stay home. He prefers "recovering engineer." When Nate was born, Derek & I started feeling the pressure of having two careers and two kids. Because of the age span, they needed different child care- so I'd take Kaylee to school and pick her up and he'd take Nate to day care and pick him up, then we'd meet back at the house around 6:45pm and decide where to go out to dinner because we were both too tired to cook. It got old fast. Real fast. Like a month into the deal Derek said "This is crazy! One of us should stay home and raise these kids." And I said "Be my guest."

He took the challenge and in his usual way has gone beyond anyone's expectations. A year and a half into being home, we decided to start homeschooling. Then if that wasn't enough to keep him busy, he convinced me to have another baby!

I'm so thankful for Derek. Not many guys could do what Derek does and I'm incredibly blessed to have him as my husband and partner.

Danger Boy Junior

Maximus Daniel Charles, age 1, a.k.a. "Max" "DBJ"
Birthday: November 13, 2006


The most recent addition to the cast of characters is Max. If I started this blog two weeks ago, I'd have said he's a sweet, shy baby. Definitely Mama's boy and probably not deserving of the nickname "DBJ" (Danger Boy Junior). Sure he'd learned to walk early, sure he'd learned to climb on the table, and push a chair to the counter to get what he wanted, yes, he was able to leap the baby gate in a single bound but he wasn't showing the tendancy of being a wild and crazy boy. He was my little clinger. The baby who loved to be held and didn't really want to adventure off on his own that much.

You'll notice I said "IF" I had started this blog two weeks ago. Something happened last week. My baby learned the word "NO!" He's started using it incessantly. He doesn't want any help with any thing. And that baby gate? Don't even think about putting it up.


Learned to walk two days before turning 10 months old



Climbing on the table at 13 months old



going down the slide 15 months old

Danger Boy

Nathaniel Grant Torrey, age 6, a.k.a "Nate", "Danger Boy"
Birthday: November 22, 2001

Some good friends of ours, with two very sweet, quiet girls, gave Nate the nickname "Danger Boy" the first time they met him. He was not quite a year old at the time. We were visiting their lovely home in Grand Haven on Lake Michigan. Nate had already climbed over their baby gate twice(although why they had one, I'll never know) and was sporting an ice pack to try to reduce the swelling from the latest trip down the stairs.

The name stuck.

I'll let you decide if he's earned it.

Jumping off the diving board at age 3


making his own roller coaster out of a loft bed and a ride on tractor at age 3


riding a two wheeler with no training wheels age 3


golfing on the roof of our playhouse at age 4

Living with a Danger Boy is exhilarating and exhausting! Nate is lots of fun, but he's also very loving. He's most likely to share with his siblings and the quickest to give hugs and kisses.

The Ballerina

Kaylee Alexandria, age 12
Birthday: February 3, 1996


Kaylee started dancing when she was three years old.
In some ways she's all girl. She's always loved to dress up, always been a little prone to drama. She was a precocious toddler, now she's a sassy tween. Kaylee loves dancing, singing, drawing, acting and writing. A true sanguine- all the world is her stage.

Kaylee is also very loving and giving. She's donated her hair to locks of love twice- both times it was completely her idea! In fact, the practical mom that I am groaned at the thought of trying to put short hair in a bun!

Okay, here we go!

Alrighty, everybody hang on! I'm jumping into the blogging world and taking you with me.

I think deep down everyone wants to be a writer. Maybe the next great novel, or at least to record our thoughts, feelings and ideas. But most of us are pretty darn scared to share those thoughts, feelings and ideas with the rest of humanity. I'm no different. I hope I can share some little glimpses of my life without sounding stupid, or worse, crazy!

I've been reading several blogs for a couple years now and, frankly, they intimidate me. I have a couple of brilliant, funny friends. But I'm going to jump in anyway. I probably won't be brilliant, maybe not even funny, but hopefully I'll record some of my thoughts, feelings and ideas. And maybe someday my children will enjoy reading them- or maybe their spouses and children will enjoy reading them. And that could be downright funny!

So welcome to Chronicles of a Ballerina and two Danger Boys, I hope you enjoy the journey.