5 Years Old.

Holy crap. I am the mother of a 5-year old. Today is Jospeh's birthday. 5 years (and about 12 hours) ago...I was in the hospital, pushing out 9 and a half pounds of a big baby boy. sigh. And now, he is a wonderful, smart, happy, curious, goofy and all-around awesome kid. wow.





Last Sunday, we went hiking in Hines Park, near Nankin Mills. AND...we went fishing in Newburgh Lake. Joseph LOVED fishing. As you see by the pictures below - he is quite the patient fisherman also. He caught 3 sunfish, and 1 smallmouth bass. Yeah!!! I think we started a lifelong interest in fishing!

springtime in Michigan.

Greenfield Village. Today was our first trip to the village, and Little Joe is still sleeping on the couch, after pooping out from all of the fun! poor kid. We rode the train (of course), and then walked around to see how the village looks in the springtime. We visited one of the slave quarter houses that has a great renactment of the slave family house. There are chickens there, and they also grow grapes for wine. Last summer, Joseph got to feed the grapes to the chickens. Well...this morning, he wanted to make sure that the chickens were still there...and that the grapes were still available. I tried to explain to him about the winter, and that the grapes haven't started growing yet...We did meet the rooster "Bubba", and found out that the chickens DO, in fact, lay eggs. And the eggs are used throughout the restuarants in the village. Very cool. Very sustainable. I also got a great picture of Joseph in the schoolhouse, pretending to be the teacher! Look at that cheeseball!! He informed me that he wanted his kindergarten class to be in that classroom.


We also ran into a family of turtles sunning themselves on a log nea the covered wooden bridge. We counted 15 of them on the log, and two more swimming in the water. Joseph wanted to get as close as possible, until some stupid Canada Geese started hissing and honking at us. stupid birds.

A sick preschool boy.

Once upon a time, there was a mom who was sick. And she got her son sick too. Yes, that would be me. and Joseph. For the past few days, he has had a temperature fluctuating between 99 and 103, depending on whether or not he takes some children's Tylenol. Coughing, sneezing, drippy, etc. yuck. At around 3Am on Monday morning, he woke up crying because he didn't well well - so I rushed into his room to comfort him...and he says to me "Mommy - you made me sick! I want Daddy!". Gee, thanks kid.

We stayed home from school/work yesterday and today. I went into the office this morning, then came home at lunch so Dad could go to the office for a Township Board Meeting. Little Joe had a 3.5 hour nap this afternoon, and woke up on the right side of the bed - happy and chipper. :) Which is a nice thing to have when you are dealing with a sick boy! So far, he has eaten a little bit, taken his temperature about 50 times (with the digital ear thermometer), and told me that he wants to learn how to hibernate. (huh?)

The other day, when we ventured outside for a moment - we saw an old friend...Our friendly American Toad! Last summer, he lived in the crook of our silver maple in the front yard. Every day, Joseph would check to see if he was still there, and say hello. Well, our friend started the year off right, and said Happy Spring! Isn't he cute?

sick.

I went home from work today, as I felt like crap. So, I spent most of the afternoon in bed with a heating pad around my neck and shoulders. ugh. so much for enjoying the beautiful day outside!

Little Joe is doing really well...we've been discussing appropriate behavior for school, and what he SHOULDN'T do at school. He had been doing really well, until yesterday and today, when I found out that yesterday he threw his lunch on the floor because he didn't want it, and today he and another boy decided to try to irrigate the entire bathroom while washing their hands. We had promised him that if he had 5 good days (a whole week) we would take him to ToysRUs and he could pick out a toy. Well, I guess I saved a few bucks, as we aren't taking him anywhere! best luck next time kid...

Here are some fun recent photos...starting seeds for our garden. About 3 weeks ago, we planted tomato seeds that I saved from an heirloom tomato last year,

some watermelon seeds from an organic watermelon from last year, then some store bought sunflowers and zinnias. Joseph was a tad overzealous about how many seeds we put in each little pot. but, he has always loved the garden, and I figured that maybe this will get him to try some vegetables the summer. (Yes, I can dream...) We'll have to update the pics of the plants as they grow...

Here is a pic that I just took today. Thank Goodness they are growing! Well, they are all growing except for the watermelon, which doesn't surprise me, nor does it depress me. Watermelon take up a lot of room in the garden! I'm a little bit excited about planning my garden, and getting the plants, and the composted manure (thank you to Kristi), and watering and eating fresh vegetables. Man, I can't wait. OK, even if I am feeling crappy and sick, I can still at least dream about my beautiful garden. sigh...

Running, Vacations and Power Steering

So. I had surgery for my hip on February 19th. Almost 7 weeks ago? more than 7 weeks ago? A while ago. I've been going to Physical Therapy for a month now, and I can walk without limping, I have little pain in my hip, however, I cannot rotate my hip very well. for example, try to sit in a chair, and cross your legs with your ankle on the top of your knee. Yeah, I can't do that very well. At least, I thought that I wasn't doing very well, until the therapist told me that what I was able to do before the surgery was UNNATURAL AND FREAKISH. Gee, thanks. So, apparently, I was a circus freak before I had surgery, and now, my hip is back to what normal people can do. nice.

Last night, I went running for the first time in about a Year. Since the doctor told me that I couldn't run. April of 2007. wow. Yes, my complacent butt had gotten a little too used to sitting around and not exercising. So, on the therapist's approval - I tried out my running legs...which didn't work very well after not being used for a year. I was stiff and slow. ow. And today...I hurt. ow.

So, we have started planning our summer family vacation. We are going to take a week and drive to the UP, go camping, head to MN to Thief River Falls to see family, spend a few days there, then drive to Excelsior, just outside of the Cities, to see more family, then head back to the UP to camp near Escanaba, then head home. I am really looking forward to this trip! I don't get to see my family very often, so when I do, it makes me very happy! More to come about that...

And finally, I have yet another trip to the car dealer. Yes. I was just there last Friday, to get some minor concerns about my transmission taken care of. And...on the wya home tonight, I tried to turn into my subdivision....AND THE WHEEL WOULDN'T TURN! I almost endd up going through a sign and over a curb. The frickin' power steering went out on my car. WTF?? Darn it all...now I have to drive the car BACK to the dealer, which is about 35 miles away (by my office) tomorrow morning, without power steering. I plan on pulling into their garage, and turning the wheel so they too can hear the screeching squealing noise that I heard tonight.

Grrr...I'm glad that it is the end of today. I need it to be tomorrow. See ya.

Coffee, Culture and Fishing

Oh. My. Gosh. I think I am in love. With a new coffee, that is. For those of you that know me – you also know that I am a coffee snob. I like my coffee dark, strong and smooth. No bitter crap for me. I tend to favor Caribou, because their Obsidian Roast is awesome – and I usually drink coffee with just a little bit of half and half. However, this morning, I was craving coffee, and Joseph was thirsty. (I had allowed him to bring a bowl of Golden Grahams Cereal in the car, with no milk.) so – we stopped at McD’s. And, commercial advertising got the best of me. They had this beautiful picture of a creamy latte something-or-other…so, I caved. I ordered a small non-fat sugar-free vanilla latte. I wasn’t expecting anything great – just a caffeine beverage. I got a chocolate milk for Joseph, because I’m such a great mom.

I let the coffee cool a bit – as I didn’t want to scald my mouth – and took a sip about 20 minutes later. And fell in love. It’s almost a dessert coffee – not dark or anything, but very sweet. Certainly not like my typical taste in coffee. I would have liked a plain scone to go with it. It’s much better than gas station coffee, but I still don’t consider it real “coffee”. But, as a standby, or an emergency, I could drink it. It might also be good for a accompaniment to a long nighttime drive. Or maybe a treat instead of a cookie. So many possibilities.

So – here in Detroit, they have this program called “Museum Adventure Pass”. You can check out passes to many local cultural resources (museums, art houses, etc.) for free from the Library. And you have a week to go there. How cool is that? I’m hoping to check out all of them – the variety of what they have is amazing! And little Joe will have the experiences of so many different things. I imagine he won’t like some of them – but at least I’ll have shown him the different culture, and whatnot. Yeah me. Points for being a culturally-cool mom. :) Go check it out if you are in the area.

This weekend, the boys decided to try their hand at fishing in the Rouge River, which has a tributary at the end of our street, at the downstream end of the country club golf course. So – they disappeared for a few hours on Sunday – and…nothing. Not even a bite!! I’m hoping that it is because it is still chilly outside, and the fish just aren’t hungry! We’ve been fishing there before, and we have caught a few crappy fish, no trout or anything…but whatever. I think that the boy is certainly an outdoorsman!

All for now – I’ll have to let you know about the kitchen contest. No word yet!

Day three. I hate my kitchen.

What do I want to write about? Me? The boy? The family? Work? All of the above?

I often wonder who will read this.
My friends? They know the day-to-day stuff…they see us often enough..
My family? They’ll want to see pictures, and hear about the stuff we are doing, but do they really care about the small stuff?
Strangers? Who cares what they think. They don’t know me!

Oh well.

So, we are entering our kitchen into the KSI kitchen makeover contest. If we win, we get a brand new kitchen. Oh, what I wouldn’t do for a new kitchen. Seriously…have you seen our kitchen? Here are some pictures…gotta love yellow! And here is the letter that we are submitting to KSI. Man, I really hope we win! Here are some pics...see...I told you so! It's so ugly!








The countertop is yellow. pale yellow, trimmed by BLACK tiles. Shiny black.









This is me in the kitchen. Frustrated. And you can see Dax begging for food. :)







This is where the fridge is supposed to go....






This is where the refridgerator lives. In ANOTHER ROOM!!














Welcome to the 1970s. The linoleum tile has GOT TO GO!!

Day Two. Excitement.

No, not really. Not much excitement here, but I figured that the title of this post would get your attention.

This weather is wonderful here in MI. It got up to about 50 today, with a little wind. Perfect weather for working out in the garden, taking a walk, going for a jog, whatever. BUT...I think it is way too early to work in the garden.

And, of course, the Phys. Therapist said no running. She said I could jog a mile this weekend, so we'll see how it goes. I also have a 20-mile bike ride planned with a friend of mine for this weekend too. I'm actually really looking forward to that.

No pictures today - nothing exciting to see!

Day One.

So. I've started a blog. a journal. a diary. whatever.

i'm hoping that this will be an easy way to keep our family and friends updated and informed about what goes on with our lives. I suppose there will be pictures, and stories...maybe some juicy gossip. But seriously, not much gossip in our lives.


I'll leave you with a few recent pictures...and more to come for the future of this blog...




Joseph....being Joseph. He is such a ham, and certainly not camera-shy!!