Happy Halloween!

We hope your Halloween was pleasant and safe! :-) Our little princesses charmed the neighborhood with their costumes--and antics. Liesl's dress was given to me a few years ago by a friend who has scads of little girls' clothes. It was either an Easter dress or a flower girl dress. Either way, it was free! Same with Ava's--a friend of mine gave it to me out of a box of old dance costumes that her kids use for dress-up. The girls really do like girly-girl clothes and dressing up. (I don't know where they got this...certainly not from me.)

As well as the standard trick-or-treating this evening (or, as Tom and I put it, "Go out and collect candy for Mommy and Daddy,") I took the girls to visit a local retirement home on Tuesday for a small Halloween celebration. This facility has a relationship with the Farmington Area Mom's Club--we visit as a group on holidays to give the kids and seniors a chance to interact. It's a nice way for the kids to give back to the community--simply by being cute. (And loud.)

Happy Halloween!

Trick-or-treating at the retirement home on Tuesday

The Princess is PISSED

Hanging out with their goodies

My friend's daughter J., age 6 months.

Princess partaking in post-trick-or-treating pecking

Listening to a Halloween story afterwards

"Oooooooooooo!"

After the retirement home, we dropped by our violin teacher's house to visit and show off the girls' costumes. She was in the middle of a quartet rehearsal, so we sat and listened quietly for 10 minutes. And had lollipops.

The lollipops may have had something to do with the "sitting quietly for 10 minutes" part.

Carving pumpkins

Tom/Liesl's pumpkin on the left

Becky/Ava's pumpkin on the right.

Tom's way more creative than I am.

Trick-or-treating at Mr. and Mrs. L's house

Examining the loot

We also received trick-or-treaters at our house when we were through. Liesl was in charge of answering the door and handing out candy, a task she took very seriously.

The older kids (teenagers) loved this. They adored her, and she basked in the adoration.

I've got a performer on my hands, sure as shootin'.

Life Goes On

In spite of challenges we've been facing, there have been many good things happening in our household and lives these last few weeks.

Liesl's 10th Violin Recital: Although our family is dealing with the pressure and uncertainty of Tom's unexpected layoff--not to mention a broken bone--Liesl actually did quite well at her violin recital last Sunday. She played the next Suzuki piece, "Lightly Row," and at this point, only played half of it, without piano accompaniment. Not bad, considering the stress that has gone on in our household. I considered not having her in this recital due to lots of stress and uncertainty in our lives, but we quickly dismissed that idea for two reasons--Life has to continue with some semblance of normalcy for the sake of everyone's sanity, and Liesl performs so well at recitals--I think the pressure of an audience brings out the best in her playing. (She gets that from me--my performances in theatre are always kicked up a few major notches when opening day arrives and there is a real, honest-to-goodness audience in those seats.)

Oktoberfest at our church: Once a year, we Germans gather to celebrate our nuttiness heritage with food, music, games, and dancing. (And beer.) This year's event was the 2nd annual Oktoberfest. The food was amazing, the company terrific. Nothin' like hanging out with your pastor and his family while forcing our poor, unsuspecting children to partake in the ultimate humiliation that IS the Chicken Dance.

Games and activities

Ava was the duck pond's best customer. You could get prizes for selecting a duck with a black spot on the bottom...but she didn't know, or care. Seriously, a puddle of water indoors with brightly-colored plastic water fowl floating in it? That's a prize in itself for a toddler.

The game attendant knew her by name. Told us that MSU has a pretty good ornithology department. We told him thanks, but we're opting for marine biology.

Sausage, authentic German dumplings, and apple strudel = baby bait.

(See how she's trying to sucker Daddy out of his dumplings with that cute little face? She was wildly successful.)

Liesl and Sarah, who is also my Mother's Helper on occasion. Sarah's family and our family are good church/homeschooling buddies.

Coloring: If Sissy does it, Ava has to do it.

The Chicken Dance: Humiliating ourselves is half the fun.

One of our pastors (right) and his 2 year-old son agree

There's other dances to humiliate yourselves with

See? (We love this German Oompah band. They did our gig last year as well.)

Too much beer German food.

Schooling Continues: Our homeschooling adventures were momentarily halted, but have restarted with gusto, this time with Daddy playing a much more major role. Last week we hosted a verimcomposting workshop at our homeschool co-op, with help from my friend Kelly—who is not a homeschooler, but is a master composter and vermicomposter. She is the one who got me started with worm bins (all of my worms are decadents of hers, so I guess you can say we’re in-laws in some weird sick circles.) She is always willing to share her expertise and experience.

Our homeschool co-op learning about worms...

...and then making their own small worm bins.

(Isn't it too bad that homeschooled kids don't socialize?)

FAMC Halloween Party: Again, I have to fawn over the amazingness (is that a word?) of the Farmington Area Mom's Club. We are a really diverse, fun, resourceful group of ladies. We had our Halloween party yesterday--in the freezing cold, no less--and had such an amazing time.

The girls do have costumes planned, but it was too cold yesterday to wear them to the outdoor party. So we improvised. Here, we see Ava portraying a very convincing grape.

Liesl masquerading as a repressed nudist. (Ok, she's not really masquerading. That kid would be in the buff 24/7 if I let her, freezing cold or not.)

The Blessing of Friends. :-)

My friend Stacie's 6 month-old daughter, R. I could eat her up with a spoon. Stacie might frown on that.

Kim and little Charlie. Charlie was going to dress as a vampire, but again, too cold for his costume. I called him Edward anyway.

One Down, One Still Going: Liesl is 100% potty-trained. She hasn’t worn a diaper in over a week. We just decided to cut them out cold-turkey. After just ONE nap accident, she has woken up dry from every single nap. Nighttimes are a different story…we’ve had about a 66% success rate, but the wettings are becoming less frequent as time passes. It’s exhausting—and a lotta laundry—but it is worth it. Only one kid in diapers! Haven’t had that for two years. Easy peasy.

Work, work, work, work: I have been so blessed to have been given so many job assignments in the last 3 weeks. I've had to turn many down due to Tom's outplacement seminars, job interviews, and other things, but my first paycheck from my referral agency arrived yesterday, and it was a whopper. I keep pretty meticulous records, so the number on the check wasn't a surprise to me...but still, to feel like I can help out the family in our time of

Interviews, already? Tom had a job interview yesterday. It was a good experience for him. It will not result in full-time employment, but he definitely learned a lot about what is out there for him, and he also has the possibility of part-time contract work with this company. Hey...extra cash and experience are nothing to be sneezed at. He has a phone interview scheduled for tomorrow.

All in all, we are doing ok. We will survive. Our budget has suddenly become a very focal point in our lives, but I am confident that we will make it work. We have each other, we have a decent backup career (mine) that is able to be--and was--picked up at a moment's notice, we have our health, we have the support and love of many friends and family, and we have our faith. We have a lot more than most people in our situation.

Changes and Challenges

For those that may not know already, my wonderful husband lost his job at General Motors a week ago Wednesday due to cuts and layoffs. We were totally blindsided by this turn of events...although we knew that cuts were coming, we thought that he would be the last one out the door because nobody else in the company knows how to use the software that he uses.

The first few days and mornings were terribly hard on him. Not that things are perfect now, but things are put into better perspective. Sometimes I have to remind him over and over that looking back on the past won't change anything, and sometimes I have to remind him that if we continue to place our lives into God's hands without fear, that we will be fine...the will of God will not lead us to where the Grace of God cannot protect us. He always brings himself back. We've had a few really, really rough days...but for the most part we have become closer and, I think, more focused.

Tom has a 6-month severance package, so we are safe as far as income and benefits for the next 6 months, but we have switched into major money-saving mode. We are making cuts and re-evaluating our priorities. Within an hour of getting this terrible news, I was on the phone with my agency, informing them that I would be available to work however many hours they would give me, and soon found myself thrown back into the world of full-time freelance interpreting. I've worked more hours in the last week than I have for the entire preceding year...for which I am very grateful. My skills are sharpened back up already, and I am grateful that I have them. I'm revving up to take the NIC screening in preparation for national certification...only 11 years after receiving my degree. (Way to put things off!)

To add a little bit more fun to our lives...Liesl was jumping on her bed on Sunday morning--forgetting, of course, the 9,274 times I have told her not to--and fell off, breaking her right collar bone. Two trips to two different doctors, 3 sets of x-rays, and a visit to the pediatric medical supply in Madison Heights later, and here we have Liesl and her new accessory. Our wonderful family physician muttered to me, "Isn't it great that you all have no stress in your lives right now?"

So there is. But I am so proud of Tom and how well he is handling this huge, sudden adjustment in our lives. He is rising to the challenge like a trooper. We keep reminding ourselves not to be negative, to place our lives into God's hands, and to work our butts off to rectify our situation in the interim. Homeschooling our children is still a huge priority. Many, many people have offered help in various ways--our psychian, my parents, our violin teacher, and many of my FAMC friends have already stepped up to the plate. It is in a time of difficulty when you see who your true friends are, and all we have to do is look around to see how very, very blessed we are.

How I Will Forever Remember This Morning

Work like it's up to you.

Pray like it's up to God.

I have every reason to believe in God, our Father, and Jesus, our Lord and Savior. I have every reason to believe that our family will be absolutely fine in this process, and we will emerge from this crisis even stronger. The trials we have faced in the past have proved this.

We trust in God. We place our lives in God's hands, gladly and with no fear and our whole hearts.

Unit Study: "The Story About Ping"

This week kicked off our first "true" homeschool adventure. While many people reminded me that I've already been homeschooling all of my children's lives, this is the first week we used a curriculum, lesson plan, and a flexible, kid-friendly schedule.

We chose a delightful, book-oriented curriculum called Five in a Row. It's funny...when I began researching homeschooling a year ago (has it really been that long?!?), I would never have considered this unit study method as a good way to learn. That's because I have been indoctrinated into thinking that learning happens ONE way: in a classroom, with a usually over-dry textbook that's organized into units and chapters, and occasional hands-on experiences that are...sort of relevant to what the textbook was talking about. In my opinion, this is not a natural way for very young children to learn, and it isn't prone to encourage a love of learning.

After speaking with several families who are using/have used Five in a Row (or FIAR)--and speaking to their very intelligent, thoughtful, and fun-loving children--my perception of unit studies completely changed. It just makes so much more sense to tie the subjects together to a common theme, because this is more of the way real life works. And the really cool part? These kids remember what the learned. They retained it, and they ENJOYED learning about it all. Well, that was the kicker for me.

So we began our first unit study this week, which was, happily, a book that I remember fondly from my childhood--the curriculum has quite a few books in it that I read and enjoyed as a child. The stories are all of good-quality children's literature, not fluff books like Sandra Boynton or picture books (not that those kinds of books aren't valuable--we have ALL of Sandra Boynton's books and love them. But the FIAR series uses books that have a lot more "meat" to them.)

Unit Study Title: "The Story About Ping"
Author: Marjorie Flack
Illustrator: Kurt Wiese
Copyright: 1933
Category: Classic

Monday: Social Studies
Geography, Culture
- Located China on the world map, placed our "Ping" story disk on China
- Discussed cultural differences between Chinese and Americans: Food, family living, traditional dress, etc.
- Visited the library and checked out children's fact books and picture books of China, the Yangtze River, and ducks

Tuesday: Language Arts, Music
Literature, Fiction, Literary Devices: Repetition
- Discussed how the author uses repetition to make parts of the story stick out
- Discussed quotation marks and why they are used in books and stories
- Violin lesson

Wednesday: Applied Math
Counting, classification, introduction to multiples
- Using homemade cards, counted all of the ducks in Pings family (including Ping himself!) that live on the "wise-eyed boat on the Yangtze river." (There are 68 ducks.)
- Classified all the family members into groups
- Set up Ping's 42 cousins on a graph to show multiples of 10 (with a remainder of 2)

Thursday: Art, Music, Co-op Preschool
Medium, drawing water
- Discussed the medium that the illustrator chose
- Talked about how illustrator showed different expressions on the animals' and peoples' faces by changing the lines ever so slightly
- Drew our own renditions of Ping and his family
- Returned to our beloved Music Together class for the first week of the fall semester. Bonus: This semester's Music Together CD theme is Fiddles! :-) We like fiddles in our family.
- Attended our first class at our homeschool co-op, geared especially towards preschoolers! The class is called "All of God's Creatures." Today we discussed how to classify mammals. Then we talked about how bears are mammals. Made a craft--bear paper bag puppets--had a teddy bear parade (the girls were excited because their teddy bears were "starting school" as well), and did a finger play with Eric Carle's "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See."

Friday: Science, Social Studies
Animal Kingdom
- Visited the Franklin Cider Mill* to observe ducks. Discussed the 3 kind of ways ducks can get around: Walking, swimming, and flying. (Most animals cannot do all three!) Fed the ducks and observed how they "stretch" by standing upright and flapping their wings. Discussed how to tell the difference between a male and female Mallard duck.
- Serendipity lesson! Got to watch the cider press in use. Stayed there to watch for a solid 20 minutes at Liesl's request.
- Visited a Chinese restaurant to talk to the hostess for a few minutes--learned to say "thank you" in Chinese ("xie xie ni".) Ate cashew chicken and rice for lunch (at home: Mommy wasn't quite brave enough for the restaurant.) Everybody used chopsticks. I ate my entire meal with chopsticks, and, watching me, Ava made a very studious and whole-hearted attempt at them. She was successful in her own way.

* Ok, I'd be lying by omission if I didn't fess up to buying cider and donuts. But to my surprise, the girls weren't overly focused on that and stayed with the ducks for a solid 30 minutes before we went and bought our cider and donuts. Really. I was surprised. (Because *I* wanted the #$*&@ donuts.)

All in all, the first week showed me that my plans and my preconceived notions about how my kids learn will need tweaking. But snuggling up to read the story together each day, and then moving on to a loosely-structured lesson that connected to the story--I can see why this method and curriculum are so popular.

First day of school picture! 9-14-09

Math: Sorting Ping's family into classes before counting them

Done! This lesson actually lasted a solid 45 minutes...at Liesl's request. Ava had her own set of counting cards, slightly larger, with her name on them instead of family classifications.

First day of homeschool co-op preschool class

Ava really dug being a "real" student--she's registered--and sitting at the tables to work with the "big kids."
(Hi, Daniel.)

Teddy bear puppet craft

Lining up for the Teddy Bear Parade (which was performed to a nice, rousing march)

Feeding the ducks! Even Ava, my non animal-lover, really dug this activity

Ava had her eye on one particular duck, and when he disappeared under the bridge, she was quite upset

Snacktime
Half-eaten donut on the left is mine.

Those ducks are really stupid brave

Chopped apples being prepared for the press

Cider press in motion. It was NEAT! It was loud and fun to watch, and it smelled darn nice, too.

Giving me the "you gotta be kidding, Mommy" look...

...but she gave it a really good try, regardless

Humoring Mommy (and then Mommy caved and gave her a fork and spoon.)

Liesl's 9th Violin Recital

Liesl's "Twinkle" Graduation!
No more Twinkle for this Suzuki Mom!
(At least until Ava is ready to start lessons. Oh, dear.)

Art is a Process. So is Cleaning.

Every preschool art project comes with the reminder that art is a process. The act of doing a project and experimenting with the materials and imagination is far more important than the final outcome for most tiny artists. Mine are no exception.

Cleanup is always a bit of a process, too.

An interesting craft idea that I read about.

Pour salt into a small bowl, stir with colored chalk until salt reaches desired tint of color.

(We mixed blue and red to get purple salt,

a trick Liesl remembered from Ellen Stole Walsh's wonderful book, "Mouse Paint.")

Apply glue to paper, dribble colored salt onto glue.

Artists at work, learning/creating

She really dug this activity

They also played together very nicely.
Score! Double bonus.

Loads and loads of sensory experiences. :-)
(There may have been a "tasting" sensory experience when my back was turned for an instant. Fortunately, sidewalk chalk is non-toxic.)

Dump the excess salt into your lap back into the bowl

Ava is like her Daddy...when she concentrates, her tongue just sticks right out of her mouth--and stays out.

DON'T turn your back on toddlers with watercolors.
Actually, this face painting is mild compared to what I've found in the past.

I admit to cleaning off her face before I snapped this shot.
She had a full-on watercolor "beard." She was delighted with herself.


Reading stories for Sissy. Liesl is actually reading entire books to Ava these days.

I'm not trying to duplicate a classroom at home--that would be silly--but a teacher friend gave me this ABC wall boarder, so I couldn't resist putting it up in my kitchen. The vowels are in red, so Liesl now knows all of her vowels.

I also have a preschool/kindergarten-type calendar set up in our front hallway. It has a weekly calendar, a monthly calendar, and a weather/season chart that we change every day. Liesl enjoys "Doing Calendar" every day before morning violin practice.

T-minus 14 years...*

Another great FAMC outing. This time we went to the Selfridge Military Air Museum with 40 of our other FAMC moms, kids, and a few dads. Tom took the morning off of work to accompany us, which was wonderful, because Tom is an Air Force buff. It's also fun to share these kinds of outings with him, so he can see what really goes on during all of these great--but exhausting--outings that we do through FAMC.

The museum is only open on weekends and select holidays from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m., but can be opened at other times for groups by appointment. So our group had the entire museum and airfield to ourselves...which was amazing. No strangers to worry about, and friends to share with--simply amazing.

Liesl and Ava had a great time in the outdoor display. The indoor museum paled in comparison--for them, anyway, Tom and I loved it. (We would have loved more time to take everything in. In a few years, perhaps.) But there were still really neat things to see, do and watch in the museum. I can't wait to go back next year--it's highly worth the trip!

* Why the countdown? That's how long before Liesl can enlist with the Air Force. I've been hearing for a week now that she's going to become an astronaut. She seriously didn't know we were going on this field trip--I find it's best for my sanity to inform her of such outings right before they happen--otherwise, I hear about it night and day until it does happen. It was a BIG surprise for her to see space shuttle exhibits today. She plans to take me up in her space rocket someday. I'm sure NASA will allow her to take her mommy on a pleasure cruise in space. The taxpayers will LOVE that.

Inside the cabin of the C-130A Hercules, the only plane we were allowed to enter.

Family photo inside the C-130A Hercules.

I'm so glad Tom could join us for the morning.

C-130A Hercules. It's a big plane!

This is a replica of a SPAD XIII, a World War I fighter airplane, one of the first fighter planes ever built.
This is just a replica, but it's actually flyable (is that even word?)

Side view of the SPAD XIII

I really enjoyed seeing this plane. Tom and I have recently seen the movie "Flyboys," a movie inspired by a true story of WWI fighter pilots. The movie was great, and seeing this plane really drives home how much aviation has changed in the last 100 years.

Liesl next to an unmanned tank. The C-130A Hercules is in the background.

F-16A

Flown between 1990 and 1994, it was one of the newest planes on the airfield. Most of them were 30-50 years old.

Bell UH-1H

Flown from the 1970's to the 1990's

And Liesl signing "Helicopter"

F-4C Phantom II

Flown from 1978-1986

And Liesl signing "Airplane"

Ava freaking LOVES helicopters. She goes nuts when she hears them fly over the house, which is often because we are so close to several major traffic intersections.
Seeing the helicopters up close--she LOVED it. She had to be torn away. Loudly.

Screw the airplanes. Show me more helicopters!

(Beech C-45B flowninthe1900'sbutwhocaresgottagoseethehelicopters)

Liesl inside a cockpit of an F-16 trainer. She really liked that.

A small but meaningful airspace display.

Liesl spent a very, very long time here with the photos and models.

I see a family vacation/school field trip to NASA in our future.

Model of a NASA 747 Piggyback.

I had no idea that space shuttles were transported this way. Makes sense, though--rocket fuel is expensive.

I thought this was really neat, so I came home and looked it up on NASA's website:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/126ferry_flight.html

I'll show this website to Liesl when she wakes up from her nap.

Tribute to the crew of the Challenger.
I still remember hearing about this in school, and everyone crying without really knowing what was going on.

Afterwards, we were allowed to eat our picnic lunch in the airfield, under the planes, since there was no other shade available.
Seriously...the coolest picnic we've ever done. When else can you eat in the shadow of a wing of a 40 year-old aircraft?

Loot!

$41.25

+

Farmington Area Mom's Club Mom 2 Mom sale

+

Extra time to shop before and after my volunteer shift at the front door

=

Wednesday

One of the moms in our violin teacher's studio posted a YouTube video of her daughter, Kelly, rehearsing the solo in a very difficult chamber music piece. I showed it to Liesl and Ava. They were enthralled. Look at how they're not pushing each other off the chair. You just don't see that in our house very often. (It doesn't hurt that Kelly is only 7, flippin' brilliant on the violin, and that Liesl looks up to her.)

Whole-wheat pita bread baking in the oven

We had a tea party. My girls actually drank--and enjoyed--tea. I was impressed. I wouldn't touch the stuff until I was 34.

I think they were more enthralled with the novelty than the actual tea, but we had a very enjoyable tea party nonetheless.
(We ate the fresh pita bread with our tea.)

Aren't they gorgeous?
(The flowers are pretty too.)

Fresh corn on the cob from our garden.

My grandmother, a farmer's daughter who became a farmer's wife--always said that corn on the cob was best if you boiled the water and THEN went out and picked the corn, just moments before you planned to eat it. That's usually what we do.

At our homeschool co-op's pool party.
The pre-teen girls just love, love, LOVE babies, and Ava is a willing subject to their attention.

Liesl and Daddy in the big pool at the pool party

I set up a preschool-type bulletin board calendar that a teacher friend gave me. It's posted in our hallway now. This was a really fun "schooling" activity for the day.

Liesl found her birthday month with absolutely no help from me.

(Liesl picked out her clothes on this day. Notice the colors of her outfit, Aunt Karen. Thanks a LOT.)

At the Farmington Hills Annual Marshmallow Fly 'n Fry.

Ava and I sadly missed it because we weren't feeling well.

Liesl did not seem to miss us.

It's Fun to Stay at the....

Deep Summer

First corn on the cob from our garden

A tad immature, it still needs a few days to ripen, but the kids didn't complain, and neither did we

Nummy

Our piano tuner came. Liesl loves him. Fortunately, he's a very patient, grandfatherly type.

He brought the girls coloring books and juggled for them.

Picnic and free concert at Pavillion Park in downtown Farmington on Wednesday evening
All of our husbands were either out of town or working late, so we hung out here for the evening. Kids could run and yell, and dance to the live music.

Folk music band, we all loved it. We gotta hear "Dualing Banjos" at least once per summer.
Liesl and Ava loved being out in the evening, hearing the live music, dancing, and running around like maniacs with their pals.
They slept pretty darn well last night....

Patio play

Forget toys. Throw out a couple of tubs of water, a few yogurt containers, and life is grand.

I added a couple of paintbrushes to the mix, and Liesl and Ava happily "painted" the house, patio, step stones, lawn furniture, flower pots...and my legs. Ewwwwwww.

Today's Adventure

I honestly don't know what I would do without the Farmington Area Mom's Club. When I first joined 3 years ago, I thought the club was just about playgroups and going over to other people's houses so that my kid (I only had one at the time) could play with other kids, their toys, and get some social interaction. Since my friends were scattered across several counties, I wanted to get the opportunity to meet with new people closer to my home. So we went to some playgroups during Liesl's first year in the Mom's club. That was ok for a start, but now we delve more into the "meatier" gatherings--and they are plentiful.

One of them is the yearly summer jaunt to the University of Michigan Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center. With advance reservations and a minimum number of participants, they run an outstanding pond study for children of all ages, given by U of M students. It is a short hike through the woods lead by student naturalists to Clara Ford's former rose garden, which has been turned into an area for pond study and research. There, the kids were introduced to pond study in it's most basic form: Grab a net full of "stuff" out of the pond, pour it into a bin of water, and find specimens of all kinds to examine, identify, and then turn loose. This hands-on approach kept the kids rapt and, amazingly enough, fairly well-behaved. (Unfortunately for those of us with toddlers and older babies, it kind of turned into a waterplay fest for the younger sect, which is something we all do at home--however, not with bacteria-laden pond slop. Oh, well. Live and learn.) The whole thing lasted for a solid hour and a half, and a few families opted to stay after and do a little more learning on their own.

Afterwards, most of us went to lunch at the Yasmeen Bakery in Dearborn. It is a place that my good friend Colleen frequents with her 3 children about once a week, and since she is married to a Lebanese man and embraces his culture, religion, and food, we weren't walking into this place blind. This was very fortunate for us, because the variety of food available was staggering. After a fair amount of deliberation (and having to bodily remove my children from the refrigerated cases containing beverages and dairy products), we decided on some Lebanese-style meat sandwiches and some cold salads with lentils, chickpeas, cracked wheat, and tomatoes. I could have eaten that stuff all day long.

The social and learning opportunities just keep coming at us. Our only real problem is reining in our desire to attend every one of these tremendous events. After each one that we attend, I walk away thinking two things: 1) I don't know what I would do without my FAMC friends, and 2) that these events are 49% for the children, and 51% for the moms. The kids remain obvious to this fact. We let them.

Pausing at one of the larger ponds on the way to Clara Ford's rose garden

"Look, boys and girls! A slug!"

(No, it doesn't talk, and these U of M students have never heard of Monty Python. Dunno what kind of education they're getting....)

Student naturalist, Mary, describing pond life.

I kept telling this delightful young lady that she has a very bright future with children. She was incredible to our kids. I wanted to bring her home with us.

Clara Ford's gazebo is in the background.

Inside Clara Ford's gazebo

When people talk about the lack of socializing opportunities for homeschooled kids, I just laugh

My buddy Mattias. Already 5 months old. Wow.

A very small sample of pond sludge...but it yielded a very large variety of tiny critters and creatures.

What I wouldn't have given to have a microscope out there.

(Oh, wait. This event was for the kids.)

Examining the critters

Collecting samples

More collecting by the older kids in our group

Someone caught a very small crayfish, and Liesl was very proud to have a turn holding it...

...but she didn't know she was allowed to TOUCH it. Cool!


Mary explaining to Liesl how crawfish taste their food--and Liesl joining in on the fun.

I told you Mary was amazing.

At the bakery for lunch, Mattias was quite an attraction. They kept kissing his feet.

Can you guess where my kids are? (Hint: Look for the naughtiest ones.)

Two of mine and one of Christine's.

They just kind of blend together sometimes.

I never know if the blonde, blue-eyed kid that I'm yelling at is actually *mine.*

*S*U*R*P*R*I*S*E*!*

HAHA! I pulled it off! (With a lot of help from family and friends!) I threw a surprise party for Tom's 40th birthday party on August 8. Unbeknownst to Tom (that is, after all, the point of a surprise party), his parents arrived from Cincinnati and his brother and sister-in-law arrived from Illinois--a very long drive for everyone. It was without a doubt the most fun I have ever had planning a party. And I even stooped low enough to thought Tom was special enough to rent a sign to let the entire neighborhood know exactly what we were celebrating.

I had a lot of help from several of Tom's friends. His best buddy John was in on the whole thing and was responsible for practically dragging a recalcitrant and slightly grumpy Tom out of the house on Saturday morning for a day of go-karting. Then he kept me updated on the timing of their arrival with continuous text messages throughout the day. Tom’s friend and co-worker Dave was responsible for getting me the email addresses of numerous GM coworkers of Tom, loaning me some tables, chairs and a tent for the party, helping to set up…and storing 7 huge cases of beer in his garage the night before the party. (I would have had a hard time hiding THAT from the birthday boy.) And last but definitely not least, Tom's brother Robert and his wife Karen, visiting on the sly from Illinois, came over to our home as soon as Tom left and helped by taking care of the kids while I went out and picked up cakes, ice, and balloons. They also helped with decorations and storing umpteen thousand beers into coolers of ice. Couldn't have done it without you, guys. I owe you BIG TIME.

Although I assembled the brave and fun-loving guests on the soaking lawn for the surprise portion of the party, I had no idea of the "entrance" that was planned by Tom's friend, Mike. I should've known. (Mike is a race car driver. Don't try this at home, folks.) I am glad that a) there were no cops on our street for that entrance, and b) the cop that DOES live down the street has a sense of humor.

Many, many, many thanks to all of you for helping to pull this off. Tom was deeply touched by everyone who showed up to celebrate with us, especially his parents, brother and sister-in-law who all drove to Michigan and stayed the weekend for some family time.

Happy 40th Birthday to my wonderful husband, the love of my life, my red-hot stack of man waffles. Like a fine wine (or a stinky cheese), you just get better with age. You're the best husband a girl could want, and an incredible father. You're the most amazing, sweet, sexy, smart, fun-loving 40 year-old I know. I love you.

The much-talked-about burnout entrance.

Please ignore the woman behind the camera with the horselaugh and the tremendously bad singing voice.

She hadn't had a drink yet at the time of this video. I swear.

Tom's brother Robert, our friend Dave (co-conspirator in the party), and my Dad putting up the tent in the pouring rain outside

Some of the guests waiting on the front lawn for the birthday boy to arrive

After the burnout entrance

Tom's always told me he's not crazy about surprise parties. I had a feeling that he wouldn't mind this particular party, and this particular crowd. Thank heavens I was right!

The birthday boy and his precious little girls

This is the last shot anyone got of Ava with a clean face for the rest of the evening.
You'll see what I mean....

The bouncer I rented to keep the kids happy and occupied. It worked! Adults actually got to hold adult conversations. (A few choice adults with no pride tested the bouncer as well. I have no idea who those people would be. None. Really....)

Liesl teaching Oma and Opa how to use Uncle Robert's iPhone.

Uncle Robert and Liesl
(I decided not to post the choice picture I have of Ava with Aunt Karen.
You're welcome, Karen.)

Guests on the patio (and Ava eating cake)

Sweet little Amalie, just turned 2
(I can't believe she's already 2!!!!!!)


Guests in the family room. Some of these people are Tom's old family friends that we have not seen in years.


More guests. From left to right: Mike, driver of the "entry" car; Julie, his wife and Ava's godmother...and lookin' damn skinny; Tyler, age 2, Julie & Mike's son, who has a future in racing if he knows what's good for him; Mark, mutual friend of Tom's and mine; Sherelyn, Mark's wife, and one of my dearest friends from high school.
Mark and Sherelyn introduced Tom and I. Our first date was Mark and Sherelyn's wedding.

Ava eating cake...

More guests..mostly Tom's work buddies

Still more guests in the bouncer

Ava eating cake...
(And Liesl on Uncle Robert's iPhone)

Joyce G., a friend of Tom's family from way back
Janet and Carl, my inlaws, who drove up from Cincinnati to surprise Tom
My mother, Rosalyn

Tots on the swingset

Ava eating cake...no, wait. That's a chicken leg. How did THAT happen???

Sunday morning, after the party, we had some nice quiet (sort of) visiting time with Tom's family.
Here, Aunt Karen and Uncle Robert are teaching the girls how to play Sorry.
Notice how everyone's shirts match their game tokens

Ava gave up after 1.394 turns.
(Liesl stuck with it...thanks to, no doubt, the perseverance of her aunt and uncle)

Liesl with her Uncle Robert and Aunt Karen...two of her most favorite people in the world

Sunday night...Liesl was allowed to stay up late and cuddle and read with her grandparents, whom she loves but doesn't get to see very often.
These are special times.

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

These are the Morning Glories that I lovingly plant from seed every year in memory of my beloved Grandma Bauerle. I purchase the seeds, start the seedlings indoors, tend to the new plants, harden them off, choose specific soil conditions to fit their needs, and transplant them carefully into the planter with a trellis.

Number of blooms to date: 0

These are the Morning Glories that somehow survive the weekly, savage ripping of weeds around my zucchini plants, get absolutely no care or tending, and have no climbing apparatus available to them--except, of course, my zucchini plants.

Number of blooms to date: 4,239

I give up.

Torch Lake 2009

We took the girls up to see Grammie and Papa at their cottage. It was a fun weekend, filled with all of the traditional things we like to do when we go up north: Friday night fish fry at the Torch Riviera, visit Coy Mountain, hang out on the beach, go to Alden for ice cream at Higgins and eat it in the town's flower gardens, play a game of 99 with my parents (and totally kick their butts), and last but definitely not least: Date night, sans kids, for Tom and Becky. We ate Cajun at my favorite restaurant, Pearl's New Orleans Kitchen. Afterwards it is our habit to visit a favorite beach spot on Wilcox-Palmer-Shah Nature Preserve, located on the beautiful east coast of Grand Traverse Bay.

The weekend was not without it's challenges: Liesl came down with the worst case of swimmer's itch any of us have ever seen (she aptly told us she had a polka-dot butt), and Ava decided that going to bed just wasn't going to be on her agenda for a while. (The walls of the cottage are, unfortunately, not sound-proof.) However, we truly enjoyed our time with Grammie and Papa and are very thankful that we had an opportunity to visit with them...and without them.

The forest in Coy Mountain

Coy Mountain

Ava's first hike in Coy Mountain--last year she rode in the Mai Tai carrier on my back

Ferns at Coy Mountain

Maple seedlings making a lovely carpet a Coy Mountain

"I've got a slug."

"Does it talk?"

"Not really."
"Well, it's scarcely a replacement, then, is it?"

Enjoying a treat of hot chocolate on Sunday morning

Cuddling with Daddy after a long, exciting day

My favorite time of the day on Torch Lake, at about 2:00 p.m., when the sun hits the water just right. My photos will never do justice to these gorgeous shades of blue and blue-green.

Osprey nest on the left. There is one bird in the nest, and one bird on the telephone pole to the right.

Hiking at Grass River Natural Area

On the boardwalk through the swamps of Grass River Nature Area. Lots of neat plants and animals on this walk--we saw tons of dragonflies, Jack in the Pulpits, and some really cool bugs. (Really!)

Watching the eddies on Grass River

This plaque is a memorial to my uncles, Tim and Joe, who died together tragically almost 10 years ago. They loved it here so much that our families had memorial contributions made to GRNA at the time of their deaths.

The view off of the beach at Wilcox-Palmer-Shah Nature Preserve. Not the best photo, but I wanted to remember how I felt when I looked out on the bay.

This is a better shot of the beach. It's lovely, peaceful. Not many people come here...which is why we love it.

A very rare shot of Ava sleeping.

Playing on Grammie and Papa's beach. We'd have done this more than one day if it weren't for that darned swimmer's itch. Ugh!

Just hanging out after dinner

Pretty.

Getting ready to pick cherries with Grammie and Papa

The reason why we all heard Ava saying, "See coooooooooooooooooows" all weekend long.

"See cooooooooooows."

"See piggies, see piggies, piggies piggies piggies; oink oink oink."

Enjoying the fruits of their labor. Literally.

Liesl and Daddy coming in from a swim in the deep water

"Yo yo, homey, don't you be dissin' my chocolate."

Just not a vacation if we don't all embarrass ourselves

Alden has an annual unusual flower display competition. This year, however, the competition extended to constructing an unusual outhouse.

Some people really do have too much free time and money.

Boat ride

Captain of the ship. Do NOT try to take the wheel from her if you value your life.

Bumming a Lesson

Liesl had a wonderful opportunity to be part of a beginner's violin class held by our teacher through our city's enrichment and community education programs. Instead of being a student, though, she showed up a few times during the session as a teacher's assistant. It was a great experience for everybody--Liesl got to show off her violin skills to a group of students ages 4-12, and she was also able to be in a social/educational environment that was fun and focused on music. She also got to practice and re-focus on basic skills. But I think the best part was the huge boost to her self-confidence--hey, you may be only 3, but just look what you can DO. It was a role she enjoyed tremendously, and I wouldn't be a human mom if I didn't admit that I was extremely proud of her. And when Miss Sharon asked if anyone would like to demonstrate a particular skill, guess whose little 1/16 bow shot up in the air first?

After the 12-session class ended, all of Miss Sharon's beginning students had an opportunity to perform in last Sunday's recital (and enjoy the dessert reception afterwards!) It was a really fun and educational experiance for the kids, and, I hope, their parents as well.

Waiting with another private student while they watch Kayla, left, perform and demonstrate a piece for the class. Kayla took this beginner's class two years ago and has been taking private lessons ever since. She is now a very talented and dedicated violinist--and a very nice young lady to boot.

Participating in the class...and showing how it's done.

Practicing game cards with the other students. She could have sat up with the other T.A.'s, but she chose to sit with the students so she had an opportunity to shout out the names with all of the kids.

Never mind that she's scratching her behind.

Liesl's 7th Violin Recital (and the Cupcakes it Inspired)

"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" Theme
and
Variation D of "Twinkle" (16th notes)

I've said before that our violin teacher goes above and beyond the norm in many ways; one of them is that she has recitals every month instead of just once or twice a year. The recital classes are a bit more relaxed than most recitals I have attended, they are a safe place to practice performing in front of a crowd. And there is always a reception afterwards with treats and goodies, so that the kids have a chance to relax, socialize, and catch up with each other. (It's a nice time for us violin moms and dads to catch up and exchange ideas as well.)

Liesl had a bit of a rough patch as far as practicing goes for the last month. She was balking, acting like she didn't know basic musical terms (when in fact she would recite these things to herself when she thought we couldn't hear her), and generally not having the best of practice sessions. I was concerned, and, if I was being honest, worried...I am so used to her being such a good student with very few bumps in the road, even for a 3 year-old. I shouldn't have worried. After about 4 solid weeks of lousy practices, recalcitrant attitudes during lessons, whining, stomping, and that reverberating "Nnnnnnnn..NO!!!!!!" that is so common with preschoolers; Liesl got up on stage today and decided to just wow the pants off of everybody. We had a new pianist at today's recital, whom we really enjoyed meeting and working with--she is the pre-K music teacher at a prestigious private school in our area.

And afterwards? The potluck reception! Violin, schmiolin...the real reason I love these monthly recitals is that it gives me an excuse to bake.

I got the idea for monarch butterfly cupcakes from a book I borrowed from the library, "Hello, Cupcake!" It had some amazingly cute animal ideas in it, but the idea that grabbed me was a swarm of these adorable and beautiful butterflies. I had to try them.

Above is my test cupcake. The body didn't come out as well for this cupcake as the final products did. Other than that, I was not disappointed in the final outcome.

Finished cupcakes on the stand. I had to tote the cupcakes, stand, wings, M&M's, a pastry bag full of chocolate frosting (for piping the butterflies' bodies), and the antennae in separate containers, and assemble everything on the site. The butterflies needed to be assembled with the cakes on the stand so that I could make sure the wings wouldn't bonk into each other when I set them up.

Another closeup. I assembled everything on the stand except the top cupcake, and moved the stand with all of the assembled cupcakes from my work surface over to the serving table. It was frickin' nerve-wracking, I was so afraid I was going to drop the whole thing. Some of the cakes have two small butterflies instead of one large one. The kids fought over these.

On the top cupcake, you can see the peanut M&M's I used to support each wing.

These were a HUGE hit at the reception following the recital. I had so much fun making them, but they were a LOT of work. I will probably not make these again for a long time, until my kids are old enough to either help or at least respect the process.

It's Never Too Early...

...to start practicing your piano scales.

Not Your Run-of-the-Mill Birthday Party

Today we celebrated my dear friend Colleen's 40th birthday in a new kind of style: She hosted a run/walk/bike 5k at her home. We ran through the streets of Farmington on a pre-designed course that ended at her house.

Tom joined us and biked the route with our girls in tow, so they have technically participated in their first race. (The fact that they were both screaming throughout most of it will be politely ignored.) Afterwards we got to hang out with Colleen and her friends and family, as well as her assertive and fun-loving children, where we had a continental breakfast and, ironically, cake. (Healthy lifestyle or not, what's a birthday party without cake?!?)

Truly one of the neatest birthday parties I have been to! Happy Birthday to Colleen, who is truly "40 and Sporty!"

Liesl was so proud to get her own race bib.

Some of my FAMC peeps showed up as well:

Maria (on the bike), Kristen (in green), and Roxana (in blue)

And that tiny little helmet-clad blue thing on the right...that's Ava.

The girls ready for the starting line. And Tom, who was pretty much along for the ride.

Yuk, yuk, yuk.

The birthday girl (in green) describing the route, which she also marked on the sidewalk in chalk.

I feel pretty. Oh so pretty.

My family enjoying the party and having breakfast. (And cake.)