Thursday, July 31, 2008

"...and to drink ...Peru!"

Thought I would expose my children to some classic films today. Better off Dead is one of my 80's favorites. And John Cusack is one of my fav 8o's actors...who moved on to other fantastic films...such as One Crazy Summer, Garden of Good and Evil, Being John Malkavich and High Fidelity. As I watch it, I realize there is a person missing from this movie...his sister Joan. She appears in nearly everything he is in....Gross Pointe Blank, High Fidelity, Must love Dogs....

Dancing hamburgers, cooking strange legged beasties, armadillo-lined coats and trying to "go that way, really fast, and if something gets in your way, turn". These are the things I hope the kids get from this movie. That and an appreciation of good humor. If you haven't seen it...it is a movie about a hapless highschool guy trying to win the girl back and having crazy things happen to him in the process of falling in love with the right girl. Everyone needs a good laugh..and what better thing to bestow on a child than cultivating their ability to laugh at life and not let it drag them down. The attitude we have about life is half the battle.

"...gee Rickie, sorry your mom blew up...."

Monday, July 28, 2008

So, I have added some pictures...all my babies and a dragonfly. Yes, that insect is real. I caught him while I was hanging up laundry this weekend. I could not believe I caught him. We all oogled at him for a couple minutes and then set him free again. Something as simple as that ...a dragonfly...is the reason I try to do things for the environment. Hang laundry (love the smell of clean clothes) to reduce energy used, reuseable bags at Meijer, reuseable water jugs vs plastic waterbottles etc. But what is more important is what we impress upon our our kids. Turn off the lights, finish your food, shut the fridge, eat your carrots....when I utter these things, I am sure I am channeling mothers since the dawn of ....birth, I guess. A mothers natural instinct: create a world that encourages children to grow but without the extra stress of the current day. I was really active with the Tibetan movement and concerned about the environment when I was in highschool and college. I think that tripled when I had my first child. The world really does look different after that small event occurs. The need to protect and allow one to flurish is an internal wrestling match.
and now for something completely different....
Off to dig the glass out of my husband's foot and ensure all three boys are in bed before dawn..

Sunday, July 27, 2008

and then there was a minivan....

First I have to say thank you to my hubbie for a great logo. It symbolizes our three children, silver, purple and green- their birthstones.  Well, silver is close to diamond...  It looks great,Mark, you are very talented.

Second..how cool is this!  We are now blogging!  No myspace or facebook...too much of a risk for catching nasty viruses.  

So, what has been going on...well, had our third baby in April, the 12th to be exact.  Isaac has gained nearly 10 pounds since he was born.  3# a month, 2oz a day.  Mandy expects he will be walking by ..what, 7 months? ;-)  He holds his head independently, yep, 7 months is probably about right.  He is way mellow and we love it.

William loves his new baby brother.  I will find him in the baby's room doing puppet shows for a captive audience.  Once in a while he feels the need to rearrange or remove toys from the crib but they all return in good time.  He is NOT excited to return to school in September.  What 2nd grader is?  What he is excited about though, is Batman.  I have not seen it and daddy says it will be years before any of the boys see the latest installment, but he is all about the cartoons and the lego sets.  Thus, we are in the midst of planning a Chi Town trip to visit the lego store.  He will be 8 in August.

I can tell you one grade schooler that is excited for school...that would be our middle child Z.  He and daddy found Dr. Who lunch boxes and Cybermen backpacks so he is all about the goods.  Probably could care less about the whole learning thing....that is secondary to the right look.  Boy if they had Tardis school apparel....it would be all over.  We are just a'waiting the final episode of season four.  Doctor Donna?  hmmmm..

Skinny bob is doing well.  For those that did not know...Lokie took his exit about the time Isaac arrived. I guess he had enough of the household, decided to strike out on his own.  He had been running out every time the side door opened.  One time too many, I guess...He is missed.  Mark and I have had him since we were in college. Yipe, that has only been 10 years.  

Markus is doing well.  Very excited, near Nirvana, about Batman.  We have a date set up for next Saturday night (thanks Sam!). I try to encourage his creativeness....create create create!  Too many good movies out there to see, Iron Man, Hell Boy II, Batman...and everything set to come out in the next year, Transformers II, New version of Tron.  We took the boys to Binder Park Zoo last weekend, it was great. Haven't been there?  If you like giraffes, you would love this zoo.  Next time, though, no stroller! and we'll pick a cooler day!

Ok, I think this has droned on long enough.  So now ya know what has been happening ...next stop, random thoughts!



First post

So, here it is our first post!