So...I guess I got it out of my system with that last pity blog. Now I'll catch up a little bit...
Starting a week and a half ago....Pete went to Berlin for work, so Mom and Joyce came in town to visit and help out a bit. Here's Henry and Franklin playing train.
Mom decided to take some pictures while I made blueberry muffins. It might have been more helpful if she had just taken the baby...
Clara has started to enjoy Henry's piano. She is very musical.
Rob, Carrie and Eleanor came to visit for a bit. Henry convinced them to play Box.
Then I worked for several days. Then Pete came home. Meanwhile the RNC happened and gave me a stomach ache. Friday the kids and I went to the library to meet up with our new friends from across the street . Helena and I chatted quite a bit and the kids played until they got too rowdy for the library. Then we took them to the park. Clara likes swinging much more than Henry ever has!
That night we ate up some of our fresh tomatoes on BLTs.
Saturday night Liz stopped over to show us her shiny new ring and tell us the story of her engagement. Hooray! We're fans of Van.
Liz also asked Henry if he would like to be her ring bearer. He's SO excited. She also left him her rose corsage- (she had just finished singing at a wedding).
Here's a picture of Henry and Clara, enjoying each other's company.
Saturday night Henry and I baked a cake and Sunday morning we decorated it for Grandma Mary. It was her birthday on Sunday and she was coming over to spend the day with the kids while Pete and I went off to a wedding. Henry chose the colors and the decorations....I think he did a lovely job!
The wedding was on an organic farm and the food was awesome! Here is a simple, but delicious salad that was served as a second course.
Here are Pete and I- happy to be out with grown-ups and grown-up drinks.
And here I am with Shannon, a high-school friend of Pete's and a former Wiggleworms teacher of Henry's. We wish she and the family didn't live all the way out in Oak Park.
And finally....here is a "before" picture of our dining/living room. This is last night, as we had just started to pick up the living room to prepare for the flooring people coming this morning.
Here is Clara, all dressed for her day...We were pretty pleased with her cute little outfit- a second-hand corduroy dress and matching shirt, with her leg-warmers from Ellen and her knit sweater from Samantha. The rock and roll shoes don't exactly match, but she didn't seem to care. She was busy playing with her second-favorite toy.
Here's the living/dining room earlier this morning, with the surprise tiles. We should have known they would find something unexpected....it just wouldn't be our house otherwise.
And here it is again, just a little bit ago, with the fake wood floor partially installed. It's getting exciting!!!
And when I get home I am plum pooped. So after cooking dinner and getting the kids to bed I pretty much cash out myself.
Clara is queen of the measuring spoons.
Last Friday I took the kids and went to Iowa. New Dad Will was in town just for the game. We went to Pagliai's- just Carrie, Rob, Will and I. We tried hard not to talk too much about politics. We missed Sandy and Pete, but we had a great time. The next morning we went to the Hamburg, pre-game. It was pouring and packed.
And they were out of chocolate chips for our pancakes! WTF? We enjoyed our breakfast none-the-less. Except for Rob who had to take a tired and cranky Eleanor home to nap.
Henry got to experience his first visit to Kinnick with Grammie. Pete and I were a little jealous, as we haven't even been able to go to a game yet this season....but we were happy for Henry. And he and his Grammie had a blast. Here they are pre-game.
Here's a shot Rob took after the game. The Hawks beat the Cyclones. Yay.
And even after a rainy game, during which Henry reportedly napped for an hour on her lap, Mom was still all smiles.
The next morning Joyce came up to celebrate her birthday. We just hung around Rob and Carrie's house and ate bagels. Russell was in town for the game too, so he came over for a bit. He's studying architecture (right?) at Iowa State and has a lot of drawing and design type classes right now. He drew Henry a picture of a robot, which I was pretty impressed by.
By 2:00 the kids and I finally hit the road back to Illinois. Henry really wanted to not be tired. He wanted to see the Mississippi again, and kept asking when we would cross it. As soon as we were across I looked back and saw this:
Sorry for the odd photo- I was taking the picture backwards while trying to keep my eyes on the road and my hands upon the wheel.
Mom decided to take some pictures while I made blueberry muffins. It might have been more helpful if she had just taken the baby...
Clara has started to enjoy Henry's piano. She is very musical.
Rob, Carrie and Eleanor came to visit for a bit. Henry convinced them to play Box.
Then I worked for several days. Then Pete came home. Meanwhile the RNC happened and gave me a stomach ache. Friday the kids and I went to the library to meet up with our new friends from across the street . Helena and I chatted quite a bit and the kids played until they got too rowdy for the library. Then we took them to the park. Clara likes swinging much more than Henry ever has!
That night we ate up some of our fresh tomatoes on BLTs.
Saturday night Liz stopped over to show us her shiny new ring and tell us the story of her engagement. Hooray! We're fans of Van.
Liz also asked Henry if he would like to be her ring bearer. He's SO excited. She also left him her rose corsage- (she had just finished singing at a wedding).
Here's a picture of Henry and Clara, enjoying each other's company.
Saturday night Henry and I baked a cake and Sunday morning we decorated it for Grandma Mary. It was her birthday on Sunday and she was coming over to spend the day with the kids while Pete and I went off to a wedding. Henry chose the colors and the decorations....I think he did a lovely job!
The wedding was on an organic farm and the food was awesome! Here is a simple, but delicious salad that was served as a second course.
Here are Pete and I- happy to be out with grown-ups and grown-up drinks.
And here I am with Shannon, a high-school friend of Pete's and a former Wiggleworms teacher of Henry's. We wish she and the family didn't live all the way out in Oak Park.
And finally....here is a "before" picture of our dining/living room. This is last night, as we had just started to pick up the living room to prepare for the flooring people coming this morning.
Here is Clara, all dressed for her day...We were pretty pleased with her cute little outfit- a second-hand corduroy dress and matching shirt, with her leg-warmers from Ellen and her knit sweater from Samantha. The rock and roll shoes don't exactly match, but she didn't seem to care. She was busy playing with her second-favorite toy.
Here's the living/dining room earlier this morning, with the surprise tiles. We should have known they would find something unexpected....it just wouldn't be our house otherwise.
And here it is again, just a little bit ago, with the fake wood floor partially installed. It's getting exciting!!!
