Interview with Hannah

Answers given by Hannah, age 6.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
H - Clean up

2. What makes mom happy?
H - obeying her

3. What makes mom sad?
H - not obeying her

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
H - by tickling me!

5. What was your mom like as a child?
H - She had blue eyes?

6. How old is your mom?
H - 50?

7. How tall is your mom?
H - hmmm....uhhh..20 feet tall?

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
H - Sewing

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
H - I don't really know, cause I'm not around

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
H - hhhmmmm...famous painter? Or famous sewing-er?

11. What is your mom really good at?
H - sewing

12. What is your mom is not very good at?
H - doing hard puzzles

13. What does your mom do for a job?
H - being an animal doctor. That one was easy, Mom. Where are you getting all these questions!?

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
H - pancakes

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
H - helping me

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
H - Dave, from Dave and the Giant Pickle

17. What do you and your mom do together?
H - have Girls Only Days

18. How are you and your mom the same?
H - We both like kitties

19. How are you and your mom different?
H - We have different colored eyes.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
H - Because she hugs me

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
H - hhuuhhh. Sleeping with her? (that caused a guffaw!)

22.Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
H - to visit her mom

Conversations with Hannah

Mommy, what is "in love."

Well, it's when you love someone very much.

Do you marry them then?

Yes, usually, but you have to be a grown up.

Oh...I'm in love with Jacob, but he's going to marry a different Hannah. (Hannah Willis)

I'm sorry, does that make you feel sad?

No, I'll find someone else to be in love with.....Mommy, what if you want to meet a boy to fall in love with, but he pushes you?!

Hmm...that doesn't sound good. Does Daddy ever push Mommy?

No.

Let's find you someone else to be in love with then.

Okay, but not until I'm old like you.

Adventures in Harvest Festivals....

Hannah had her dress-up day at school on Tuesday. She had decided to leave the kitty costume of two years running and go as an "Animal Doctor...but only for kitties" this year. So the Christmas lab coat from Grandma and a scrub top sewn by Mommy, plus a kitty poking out of her pocket and a doctor's kit completed the look. Being the scatterbrained prego that I am...yes, sadly, there are no pictures. I'll have to beg/borrow/steal from some other, better parents! :)

On Thursday, it was Isaac's turn to dress up. He had refused the borrowed duck costume, balked at last year's bear costume, and only wanted to be Hannah's puppy. Knowing that I could spend money on a costume, only to have it refused day of, well...last year's face paints would have to work. (Have I mentioned I don't have much motivation or energy these days?) So face paint and dark clothing it was to be...until I discovered during breakfast that he had no clean pants...have I mentioned I'm absent minded lately? So a black hand-me down shirt, Hannah's kitty pants from last year, and face paints it was....he was thrilled! I was just glad he agreed not to go as Sleeping Beauty! :)



We walked the neighborhood with some friends on Saturday evening...this was the best shot I got of all three.



And Hannah bobbing for apples!!

Where we're at....

Chris - currently at work, yes, on a Saturday afternoon. He traded working his birthday morning off last week for meeting a client today. Yesterday, he called a sports auction and sold a $500K+ baseball bat...sorry, I don't remember who it belonged to!

Hannah - I think we've survived the cast...so far. We're hoping to get it off Monday morning, and you'd better believe she will have a freshly scrubbed arm when she arrives at school! It's starting to get stinky! School is going well and she's really enjoying herself. I love hearing about the cool things she's doing. We're so glad we decided to keep her at Red Apple for one more year. It's a nurturing environment with high expectations...just like me and Chris. ;)



Isaac - definitely using up his last few weeks as a "Terrible Two." We've had lots of melt downs, lots of whining, lots of pushing the boundries...But...lots of cuddling, lots of hugs, lots of "I love you's" too. So I guess we'll keep him. :)



Me and Baby Boy - we're still one and the same, although we're having a harder time sitting, fitting through small spaces, sleeping through the night...the end is in sight!!

From the "Run Faster Mommy" Blog

The topic at The Runner's Lounge "Take it and Run Thursday":

"You get to run the last six miles of your next marathon with 6 different people. They can be dead or alive; famous or not famous. Who are these people and why did you pick them? Furthermore, why did you pick them for the specific mile you did? Remember, you get an extra .2 miles with runner #6."

Since I've never run a marathon, much less a half marathon...well, it's a bit of a stretch, but I'm hoping to one day have a marathon under my belt.

Mile 20-21 - My brother, Michael. He's run two marathons now and I think could coach me through another mile....although we might just spend the whole time teasing each other...

Mile 21-22 - My friend Karah - she's one of the people who inspired me to take up running in the first place. She's a Boston Marathon qualifier on her second attempt and quite a whiz about all this running stuff. http://www.tiredmamarunning.blogspot.com/

Mile 22-23 - My mom - someone who has taught me about perserverence and grace under pressure...definitely someone I want pushing me.

Mile 23-24 - My sister Angie - one of the strongest women I know.

Mile 24-25 - Team Hoyt - if you've never heard of them you should watch this them...be fore warned, you'll probably cry...But I think for me the 2nd to last mile would be the hardest...totally inspiring to run alongside them.


Mile 25-26.2 - My kids - wouldn't that be awesome? Little kids have so much energy and wouldn't they just get a kick out of running through the cheering finale?

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!!!

Well, it has been raining since Saturday...or was it Friday...the days are all starting to run together into one big muddy mess.

Our back yard has horrible drainage due to clay soil and the entire development (from what I hear) has poor grading. This results in every few yards being the swamp. And we just happened to be one of the lucky ones. This is a picture of what our yard looks like when it rains...you may need to enlarge it to appreciate how far up the water comes...and it stays wet for at least 2-4 days depending on how much rain we've gotten.



Unfortunately, with an active little boy who loves his backyard, and an older sister who can't go to any indoor jump places due to her cast....well, we've seen this face around ALOT!

Long Overdue Catch-up post

How can our summer have gone by so fast!?

We've been go-go-go-go since the middle of May! Even before school was "officially" over!

My mom arrived on Wednesday May 20th and we left directly from the airport for Iowa. After two days of driving, we arrived...tired, messy, but oh so happy to see Aunt Angie and Cousin Noah. We spent two days in Pella before heading for Altoona and the Dykstra Clan. Aunt Maribeth was graduating from high school and we were to spend the weekend with them. Many spoilings, gifts, and graduation parties later, we were back in the car on our way to Illinois.

Although only 20 miles from our old home in Plano, we didn't make it back to see friends. :( We crashed at the hotel and got ready for my cousin Katie's beautiful wedding. It was a wonderful wedding with many happy tears and laughs as the bride and her father (battling lymphoma) took to the dance floor followed by my little footloose and fancyfree kids. :) From the reception we took off for Michigan and more family time.

We had a great visit and a number of memorable momments, including a priceless moment from Hannah. My uncle Jim had a stroke many years ago and has many aids around the house to help in daily living. Hannah headed for the bathroom the first evening, and as usual, with the door wide open. Soon we heard, "Hey guys! Check it out! There's an arm rest on this toilet! Come see!" We just about died laughing. I finally had to go in there, observe the wonderful thing and how it could be used. :) Quite the kiddo!
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Of course, Isaac had many memorable momments as well. Including when he was being restrained from running crazy around the nursing home and he started yelling, "Let my people go!!" Oh dear...what will they come up with next. :)