Overheard at our house...

I'm in the kitchen making sandwiches for lunch. Michael walks in...

Michael: "Mom, can I had a cookie?"
Mom: "No, not right now. I'm making lunch."
Michael: "But mom, them are helty for me."
Mom: "No they're not. They have lots of sugar in them."
Michael: "I'm sure there is mom, but I still like em!" (said with MUCH attitude)

Man, this kid can always make me laugh. Which is not always a good thing. And no, even though he was adorable, he still did not get his cookie. Tough Love.


Then just an hour later, he was looking at a human anatomy book my brother got us for Christmas one year. It has great illustrations (mainly digital images) of every part of the body. On the cover there is a skeleton, and then a series of pictures of different pictures on the side. The top two are just pictures of a skull.

Michael: "Mom, and what is this Man's name?"
Mom: "I have no idea Michael"
Michael: "I know mom. His name is Bad. Silly."

So knowledgeable, that boy.

Recent happenings:

Well, I finally enrolled Chelsea in dance lessons. We got the tuition pro-rated since she will be starting 7 weeks into the class, but she still has 11 left to go. The class is an hour long, with the first 20 minutes in tap instruction and the remainder in ballet. Her friend from her church class is in the class with her, so that is extra fun. I get to sit in the hall with Michael and watch the class through big glass windows. Last week was her first week, and she was smiling the entire time. Michael and Chelsea's favorite activity is to turn the piano on to "demo" and dance to all the songs, so I think this class will be perfect for her. I'm going to have to get Michael into gymnastics or something, because I think he's a little sad he doesn't get to go to dance class.




As for me? I'm pregnant.

28 weeks now.

The baby is definitely gathering strength with each week and kicks pretty stinkin' hard. I try to focus on how amazing it is to have a life inside me, but sometimes (like at 2 AM) it's hard to be enjoying the constant stabs. :) Michael enjoys playing with my now-outy belly button. :)Lovely.



As for Dan, he feels he's in the twilight zone. Have you ever ran into a person, over and over, and wonder just how small the world could be? Well, that's what's happening to Dan.

When he first started working, he was anxious about running into patients outside of the office. We're both pretty quiet, shy people, who feel very awkward and pretty much every situation.

So far, he has only ran into ONE patient. But it's getting a little weird. Let me explain,


The patient is an 8 yr old boy whom Dan performed a root canal on. First of all, Dan doesn't like working on kids as much as adults, because he hates seeing the worry in their eyes as they sit in the chair. He hates being the "mean" guy.

The weird part, is that we seem to run into him, A LOT...and not just seeing him, but end up sitting RIGHT next to their family at busy places.
The first time he ran into him, was the very night after Dan had worked on him, at blockbuster. Poor kid was still a little swollen from the procedure, but seemed to be in good spirits.

The next time was a few weeks later, at McDonalds. There are MANY McDonald's around here, and we went to one farther away from our house. It was McTeacher's night (where the teachers at the elementary school come serve their students at McDonalds and a portion of the procedes go back to the school) So, it was PACKED. What table opens up for us? The one RIGHT next to theirs.

Another time was last weekend at the Monster truck rally. Dan took this picture of Michael and after he snapped it, realized the boy and his family were sitting in the background.

You can't see the boy in this picture, but you can see his Dad and sister in the upper left hand corner. One little event in for the entire tri-cities, and not only are they there, but are practically sitting right next to Dan!

The most recent time, was this past weekend. We had gone to Chuck E. Cheese to play with the kids, but can't stand their pizza, so we drove across the river, to Pasco, to go to Eatsa Pizza. It was fairly crowded, but there was an open booth next to the window for us. Just after we sat down, we looked out the window and Dan says "No way. NO WAY!" Sure enough...it's "The Boy" and his family. Where do they end up sitting? in the booth RIGHT next to ours.

Weird. Twilight Weird. It makes you wonder how many people you run into on a regular basis, but have no idea, because nothing about them stands out to make you remember them. It seems like this happens to Dan a lot, but it's not with several people, just one. One individual that seems to follow him everywhere. Talk about a small world...

Tricky Leprechaun

St. Patrick's Day is not usually a holiday kids get excited about. It's fun, but it's no comparrison to Halloween or Christmas, etc. But I think for Chelsea, it is the most magical/fun holiday. Let me explain...

Last year at preschool, on St. patty's day, the kids went to the gym to play, like they did everyday. When they came back, they found their classroom in a complete mess, with books on the floor, chairs turned upside down, paper scattered everywhere, and even their teacher's hair completely messed up. All this was the result of a mischievous Leprechaun that ran away before the kids came back.

This year, all the kindergartner's were assigned a special project. To build a Leprechaun trap. As soon as I saw the paper, I gave it to Dan. This is not my area of expertise.

First, they got a Family-size cereal box, laid it on its back, and cut a large square on the top. They placed a toy-bowl inside with a cold coin (Chuck E. Cheese token) in the bowl, then covered up the hole with syran wrap.


The gold coin was glued to a fish line, with the ends coming out of the box. Dan tied a tube around the end so the fishing line wouldnt' get lost in the box.

On the side of the box, they made a door. The edge of the door is lined with pennies, and the inside wall of the box is lined with magnets.

The idea is that the Leprechaun is lured into the trap to get the gold coin. But when he starts to walk off with the coin, it pulls the fishing line, causing the stick that is propping open the door to fall and stick to the magnets, trapping the Leprechaun.

Next, Chelsea made some decorations for the outside of the trap.

Next it was time to decorate the box. Chelsea was in charge of getting the tape ready.


And wahlah! It's finished

Here is Chelsea's explanation on how her trap works:
(okay...I'm having issues uploading the movie...so hopefully Dan can help after work)

On Monday the kids took their traps to school and explained to their classmates how it works. Before they left school, they all set their traps to see if they could catch a leprechaun. Chelsea was very excited about this and couldn't wait to go back to school to see her trapped leprechaun.

St. Patrick's day morning, Chelsea runs into my room and says
"MOM! I think a Leprechaun has been in my room!"
"Why do you think that?"
"because there's a hanger on the floor. And I KNOW there wasn't a hanger there when I went to bed!"

So, on the ride home from school she tells me that NONE of the traps caught a leprechaun, but there WAS one in the classroom, because he spilled glitter and paint all over the floor and left a note that said "Better luck next year!"

She sat there quiet for a few minutes, then in an amazed voice says "I can't believe a Leprechaun is smarter than my DAD!"

Well we can't have a child's faith in her dad's intellect crushed, so we had her set up the trap one last time to see if the leprechaun would come back.

This is what Chelsea found this morning:



The trap was sprung, and there was a tear in the syran wrap. A note laid on top that says "Nice try! You almost caught me! But my friend was too big to escape. Good luck next year!" Inside the trap was this orange lion with bunny ears.

chelsea couldn't believe that a leprechaun would leave his friend behind, just because he was "too big" and that surely he would return for his friend. We had to convince her that because it was no longer St. Patrick's day, the Leprechaun couldn't come back.

She was so excited to go to school and tell her friends how close she was to catching a leprechaun. She even took the carrot-shaped bag of jelly beans that came with the "lion friend" to share with her classmates. She is truly entranced by this holiday, and I think it might just become a favorite tradition with our family!

And that brings the count to...

FIFTEEN! FIFTEEN PUPPIES!

okay, not puppies, but nephews. But they're similar, right? :) Except my nephews are much cuter!

My brother, Nathan, and his wife Molly, welcomed their 2nd son, Noah Layne Hadfield yesterday.
A St. Patty's baby, just like my Grandpa Spong!

He is 8 lbs 8 oz, 21" long.

We are SO glad he's finally here, and so is his brother Canon, because now they "can go camping!"

I forgot to mention my adorable nieces I have too! The count for the girls is 4, 5 if you include Chelsea. Yeah, we need some work in the girl department! :)

Now, I can mark Noah off the list of babies that have to arrive before mine gets here!

Next on the list:
Erin's boy
Kimberly's girl
Jeni's girl
Alicia's girl
Katie's girl
Emilee's girl
MY girl! :)

(check out all those girls! Gotta get some spouses out there for all my nephews! :)

Time for Boys!

On Saturday, Michael and Dan went to "hang out" (I'm not supposed to say that they went on a date..."


So, just in case you are wondering what it takes to have a hang out, here you go:

First, you have to get ready.
Jacket? check.
baseball cap? check.
"Camer" a.k.a. camera? Check.
Cute boy and Dad? Check and Check.

Next you have to have somewhere to go.

Michael and Dan's destination? A Monster Truck Rally!


This was by far Michael's favorite part. A Dinosoaur that ATE cars! too cool.



Next, you have to protect your ears...if it's too loud...and if it's a going to be a man's hang out...it will probably be VERY loud. :)

There has to be LOTS of junk-food. Pizza, pop, popcorn, and cotton candy will do the trick.

A souvenir to show everyone about your fun "hang out" is always an added bonus.
Michael got this cool flag. He wanted a pink one...but a Dad has to put his foot down somewhere.


But most important, you HAVE to have a great time together!...and a picture for mom of course. :)

And what do the girls do while the boys are away? Well, I told Chelsea we could do WHATEVER SHE WANTED TO DO.


I was worried that she would be sad about not going, but she surprised me with the sweetest mom-daughter DATE ever. She planned out EVERYTHING. She spent the morning laying out all the activities and things we would need.

First, we started out making "party necklaces" which were made from pony beads and string. Then, we finger painted drawings that she had made that morning. Next, we made cookies. (well, we put pre-made cookies on a cookie-sheet and tossed them in the oven). While the cookies were cooking, we read stories together on the couch. She had the books pre-selected for us and waiting on the couch. When the cookies were done, and the stories read, we popped popcorn and snuggled together with blankets and pillows on the couch for a movie...Kit Kittridge (The American Girl movie..) When the movie finished, we just had to get up and dance while the credit's rolled. When they were over, we still weren't done dancing, so we put on some music from the digital piano. Mom got worn out after a half hour, so we pulled out some games to play. First we played a round of Memory (which she is stinkin' awesome at...but I still won. :)) Then we played SEVERAL rounds of Uno. She is so fun to play with and never is a bad sport. It seemed too soon that the boys were home. I really wish I had pictures to post to show you the thought this little girl put into our date. She had the beads in a bowl, the paint squirted on separate plates, the pillows ready, EVERYTHING was thought out. I LOVE this little girl and will cherish this day forever.

(I took a few pictures with my new cell phone (WAHOO!!!) but I have no clue how to get them to the computer.)

Weekend getaway

We love our little tri-cities, but there's just not a whole ton to do, so we decided to hop in the car for a weekend in Spokane, a two hour drive North. We didn't get to our hotel until 9:30, but the kids didn't care. Michael insisted on carrying our suitcase.
After we had our complimentary cookies and milk from the hotel, we got in our swimsuits and headed for the pool. My kids LOVE to swim. Love, LOVE, L.O.V.E. to swim, and with no public pools here in tri-cities (how many times have I mentioned that on this blog?), finding a hotel with a pool, was a must. Since it was so late, we had the whole pool to ourselves. We had to keep a close eye on Michael, since he would just run and jump into the pool, not carrying if someone was there to catch him or not. He's a human-born fish. I've got to get this kid in swim lessons, as we might have Michael Phelps clone on our hands. They had a huge hot tub that even the kids were allowed to get in. Beautiful.


Besides swimming, the kids highlight of the week was the hot, complimentary breakfast. Chelsea was in love with the sausages, waffles, and fruit cocktail and Michael was happy eating his cereal and muffins. YUM!


After breakfast, we packed up the car (Michael carrying the suitcase again) and headed for the Children's museum. It was very small, but the kids had fun. Chelsea's favorite station was the art area...


Michael wanted to spend the entire time with the "dirt"...go figure...



but both had fun trying on all the dress up clothes. Chels looks pretty sharp as a cop, don't ya think?
The kids museum was located in the basement of the mall, which is about 4 or 5 five stories high, so of course we had to go up and down the escalators a few times. We took in an I-Max movie of Madagascar II (which I'm pleased to announce that I didn't get too nauseous in. I have issues with I-max films). Then we rode on a carousel, then it was time to head home. It was a nice getaway, but the highlight was definitely the pool and breakfast!

Sunday tradition

I don't feel like our family has a lot of traditions, and we're certainly not very consistent with the ones we do have...does that still make them a tradition?

I remember when I was little, usually having popcorn and bottled fruit on Sunday evenings. I'm not sure if it's something carried over from my Dad's childhood or not, but I remember sometimes having the same thing at my Grandma Hadfield's house.


Usually we have a big meal after church (in the late afternoon) and that was it. I never cook two meals on sundays, so we have to a snack in the evening. We don't do this every Sunday, but if we have a snack, it's usually popcorn and fruit.



One problem though...I'm running out of peaches. I'll have to double my batch this year.