Playing Catch-up

I know, I know... I really suck at keeping you updated. I think I say something to that effect when I post after it's been a while. So much has happened since June, so I guess I'll just try to give you a quick recap...
We were able to see my dad over the July 4th weekend. He and his wife (Cora) and their dog Kika met us at my sisters house, which was great because we hadn't seen the Meyer Clan since January or so. When we pulled up, the girls ran to him and gave him a hug like they've known him all their lives. It was so sweet! We had a wonderful visit and have some beautiful memories and pictures. Rather than fight with blogger and try to post them, it's just easier to refer you to Kerrie's blog...www.tableforfour.blogspot.com. She has some great pictures posted of both families. It was a great visit. Although I was very sad to see it come to a close I'm also thankful we all had the opportunity to go.
August brought the Lake Bemidji Dragon Boat races on the waterfront (www.bemidjidragonboat.com). It was really fun. I volunteered early in the summer to be a rower in the Dragon Boat...something I had never done before. I've rowed a canoe, but it's a little bit different than that. It wasn't just a casual "stroll" up and down the shoreline, it's an all out race...about 2 minutes of continuous rowing! Ufda! Anyway, it was fun and I'm glad I did it. The girls came with me to the festival and seemed to have a good time. It was also Crazy Days downtown, so we went and checked it out. They got their faces painted, and played a game where they had to toss zucchini into a bucket (which they thought was pretty cool)

Here's a picture of them as we led our team in the Parade of Teams

Ok, so they're a little farther back in the picture than I thought, but you get the general idea.
Here they are getting their faces painted.


Evie wanted to be a kitty


...and Iz said she just wanted Red Flowers.

They thought it was fun and they both sat amazingly still while it was being done!

There's more to report (like the first day of school!!), but I'm running out of time. I'll try and get to it soon!

Dinner Table Conversation

Last night, I made a small ham that I had picked up along with mashed potatoes and corn. Thinking that this would be a sure hit, since it's one of the few meals where my kids will eat everything that is offered to them.

We sat down and got everyone's plate dished up, said the prayer and away we went. After a few minutes, I noticed that Evie hadn't eaten any of her potatoes. Hmm... I wonder what's wrong, she LOVES mashed potatoes? Here's how the conversation went.

Me: What's wrong Ev? You're not eating your potatoes.

Evie: Yeah, they're just not good.

Me: Oh, they're not good. Sorry.

Evie: Con - NOT - gratulations to you Mommy!

Me: Con - NOT - gratulations to me?

Evie: Yes. Not congratulations, con-not-gratulations is when something is bad.

Ok then.

Stuff

I don't have anything in particular to write about, so I'll just ramble about what's been going on since last time. :)

Hmmm... I guess not too much is happening. I think they've finally found a spot for me here at the radio station. The PD told me this morning that he's waiting for final confirmation on Monday morning, so hopefully I'll have more to report on that next week. Until then, I just do what I can to look busy. Actually, I've kind of become the "back up" copy writer which means that I help write commercials and distribute them for production, so that's something I guess.

At home things have been interesting... well, actually one night in particular was interesting, hee-hee. For some reason I stayed up way later than I normally do, watching TV I'm sure. Anyway, as I was getting out of the chair to go to bed, Jim got up for a snack and was going to watch some TV for a bit. So, I went to bed... and let me mention that I was BEYOND tired. About 30-45 minutes later, Jim yells at me from the living room to come in there. I was in that "not awake, but not asleep" stage of rest, so rather than jump right up, I asked him what he wanted. He told me he thought we had a mouse as he had seen a "brown streak" run across the doorway that goes from the living room to the kitchen. Fabulous. Grogggily, I told him "ok" and rolled over. Long story short, he decided to run to Wal-Mart for some mouse traps. Oh, and did I mention yet that he was behaving like such a girl :-)? He has a thing with mice the same way some people have a thing with snakes or spiders, he just doesn't like them. Anyway, he came back from the store, baited the traps and came back to bed. I should mention that he said he saw this thing run behind the stove, and after hearing the little scratch of little feet we confirmed that was indeed where it was. The stove is also just outside of our bedroom, which has no door. Obviously, that's also where he set the traps... yes trapS, just in case. At about 4 something, I heard one of the traps SNAP. "Yay, that didn't take too long, problem resolved".... until about 4:30 when I heard the other trap SNAP then rattle around. "Oh shit, there is a mouse dragging a stupid trap all over the kitchen". So, I made Jim get up and check it out. Sure enough, one mouse had met his demise, but the other sneaky bastard was caught by his front right paw. Once again, Jim shuddered like a girl and wondered how to dispose of the little critters, because heaven forbid he TOUCH the trap :) He used the tongs. I found it pretty amusing... big tough man letting little mice give him the heebie-jeebies.

The girls are well. They slept through the mice experience, but learned of it when we told them that mouse traps aren't to play with. (I had visions of Isabelle with multiple broken fingers.) They're glad that summer has finally come the the NorthWoods and they can play outside in their swimsuits at daycare.

Jim is in Aberdeen this weekend, so the girls and I are having a fun girl weekend. I'm not sure what we'll do, but part of it includes cleaning the house. I'm sure that will be fun...

We're also waiting to hear from my dad what his schedule is looking like. He's doing some work in WY and will have a chance to go to SD for a visit. Whenever he does that, we'll all head down to Kerrie's and meet him there. I am beyond excited. I haven't seen him since Nathan was born (he's 6 now) and my kids have never met him. They're so sweet though. I've told them that we might get to see "Papa Wood" and Evie keeps saying that she misses him so much. (I may have said that in an earlier post now that I think of it)

Other than that, we're just hangin' out. I'm hoping to get back to Aberdeen sometime in July... kind of a Mommy get-a-way, but we'll have to see what's going on I guess. Not much more to report right now, so I guess I'll get back to work :)

**sigh**

When I got into radio seven years ago, I wouldn't have believed anyone that told me they didn't have anything to do. It seemed there was always something for me to do. Here in Bemidji... um, not so much.

I don't have a "set" air shift yet. I'm on right now from 9am-10am (which is better than nothing, I guess). The Program Director says he doesn't want to put me in a time slot that he can 't commit to for at least 90 days. Who am I to argue? Even though I've been in the business for seven years, this is only the second radio group I've worked for. I guess I don't know the "norm" for most PD's and General Managers because things in Aberdeen were done so differently than they are here. I'm not saying one way is better than the other, just different. So, anyway... here I sit everyday with essentially nothing to do. Occasionally a piece of production will float my way, or someone will give me an odd job that needs to be done. Other than that I just walk around aimlessly looking for something to do, 'cause let's face it... there are only so many things I want to look at on-line :) It bothers me though. Most days I feel like I'm in the way. This group is not as busy as Aberdeen as far as sales goes. Bemidji is about half the size of Aberdeen, so I suppose that's a contributing reason. Let me clarify... I'm not unhappy here. The people are really nice and I'm thankful they are giving me the opportunity to stay in the business. It's just a frustrating time. Hopefully they'll find a permanent spot for me soon.

Beprensing, EVIE!!!

Yes, you read it right. I have a cousin that used to "present" herself that way ("Beprensing KATIE!!") and Evelyn said the same thing when she was younger. I figured that since I dedicated yesterday to Izzie, today should be about Ev. Wow, where do I start..?

It didn't take long after Evelyn was born before we realized that she was going to be alot like me. She has many of the same mannerisms that I have, and my mother tells people that if she had lighter hair she would be a "mini-Shannon". Now don't get me wrong, she was a typical young toddler just like Izzie is turning out to be, but Evie seemed to be a little more mellow and sensitive (and is still that way). She loves just about everyone she meets... especially boys. Now... I remember being very boy crazy when I was younger, but I don't remember it starting when I was 5 1/2!! She had a crush, I guess that's what you would call it, on a little boy in her pre-school class. His name is Nicolas. Every day after school there was always a story about Nicolas, and I think the feeling was mutual. They played together everyday. The next year of pre-school there was Ashton (after all, Nicolas had moved on to Kindergarten). I don't know how much Evie "loved" Ashton, but it was very evident that he "LOVED" her. When we got to school, Ashton was always the first to literally RUN up to her and give her the biggest, squishiest hug ever! It was so sweet.

She doesn't always limit herself to concrete loves. When she became interested in TV and what was on, we watched alot (and still do) of Nickelodeon.... Spongebob Squarepants, The Fairly OddParents, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, and Danny Phantom. At the same time, she was developing a vivid imagination. Like most kids, her playtime was based on what she knew... and what she knew was Danny Phantom. So, he became her boyfriend. She would try to re-enact different episodes, or just play house but her partner no matter what she was doing was Danny. One day (recently, actually) she was getting ready to get in the shower and advised me that Danny would need to shower too. Um... no, Danny can wait. Lord help us!!

Evie is also very emotional. I remember when I was right around her age, I watched "Snoopy Come Home" on TV. In case you haven't seen it, or you don't remember, Snoopy leaves Charlie Brown to go visit his former owner and decides he needs to stay with her. Anyway, I remember it vividly because it was so sad... I bawled my eyes out! Evelyn is the same way. She cried when she thought The Beast died in "Beauty and the Beast", she even cried when Spiderman's friend Harry died in Spiderman 3 (sorry for the spoiler if you haven't seen it yet). She cries of course when she doesn't get her way, when it's time to go (usually because she "hasn't had fun yet"... you can't leave if it wasn't fun), and when she's in trouble. Sometimes her tender heart is endearing but she also knows how to use it to her advantage.

She's a good girl, they both are, and like every little boy and girl she has her good and bad side. I guess when you have kids you just learn to accept the good with the bad... unconditionaly.

Saaaaatan????

Sometimes Jim and I often wonder if Isabelle is really ours, or some demon seed planted in my womb by the devil himself!!  Of course I'm kidding, but as Jim says, to say she's challenging is an understatement.  She's not always naughty of course, so I guess it's safe to say that overall, she's a good girl, but Lord does she have her moments.  She's not very good at taking no for an answer.  This may be a wonderful trait for her later as she's trying to move up the ladder of life, but while she's three... well, it's just exhausting.  I know it's typical of all (most) three year olds, but she's been perfecting this art since she was about 20 months or so.  Since she could talk, her favorite word to say has been no.  "Isabelle, put that book away." ..... "NO!".... "Izzie, can you share that with sissie?" .... "NO!", etc.  On the other side of that coin, Kerrie's husband once said that when she grows up, Izzie will think her name is "Izzie-no-no".  PRECOCIOUS!!!  That's the perfect word for her.  

Now, every coin has a flip side.  She says the funniest things, like most 3 year olds.  If she needs you to listen to her and ONLY her, she'll tell you she "need to tell you someping", she "yoves" everything and most people, and if it's funny she'll squeak out the sweetest, fake laugh at a pitch level that makes dogs howl.  Lately, she has alot of "gwate ideas!".

Yes, she's really no different than most brand new three year olds and as trying as it is somedays, we wouldn't trade our Izzie-Bizzie for the world. 

What is going on?

Well, I've been trying for three, count 'em THREE days to try and get this new layout and background to work... every time I try, I get posts that overlap and my "about me" stuff shows up at the bottom of the page.  It's absolutely infuriating!!!  If you know how to fix that please tell me before I wreck all the computers in the building :)  

OK, now that's out of my system.  **sigh**  So much has happened since I posted last.  The New Year, Valentine's Day, Easter, and we finally got moved to Bemidji.  For those of you that didn't know, we found out that Jim was being transfered here back in November.  We finally got packed up and moved on March 1.  

We found a nice little rental at the end of 10th St.  There is an empty lot next to us that we keep mowed, so there's tons of room for the kids to play.  There's also critters that come along with living in the Northwoods.  We have a family of deer that visit us often.  Jim got pictures of them while they were only yards from the window.  We also have some rabbits that hang around and beautiful birds (which Izzie continuously wants to pet).   It's tons of fun.  

Jim's job is coming along well.  They're making strides in the community and surrounding area.  I didn't work for the first two months we were here.  Unfortunately, radio is not a profession you can just walk into and say, "Hey, here I am... hire me!!"  Around the middle of April, I was hired full time at a restaurant (Green Mill) that is similar to the restaurant I worked at in Aberdeen.  The second week in May, I was offered a full time position at RP Broadcasting.  They have four stations (3 FM's and 1 AM)  Anyway, I'm doing some of the same things I was doing in Aberdeen for just a little less pay (a little more than $160/month less), but Jim's pay raise makes up for it.  I'm enjoying it more each day and the people are really nice.  I will also keep minimal part time hours at the restaurant for a little extra income.

The girls seem to be adjusting well... as well as can be expected.  Evelyn will start Kindergarten in the fall and Isabelle will go to pre-school.  They are both very excited.  I debated on wether or not to send Izzie to school in the fall.  She sometimes has a problem playing nice with other kids and following instructions.. to say that she is headstrong is a little of an understatement,  but I think she'll be fine by the time September rolls around.  She seems to be changing daily!  They go to daycare at "Jennifer's House" and they love it.  Jen and her husband have four girls, two of them are the same age as Ev and Iz, so they enjoy being around all the new kids.  Jennifer has mentioned that she thinks Evie is having a hard time adjusting.  She says she mentions that she misses her old school and her old friends alot.  I guess I don't doubt that she does miss those things.  I'm hoping that once school starts it will help to take her mind off of it.

Isabelle turned 3 on May 27.  It was quite an event.  Jim's parents came up for the weekend after Memorial Day to celebrate, and brought Jacob (our nephew who lives in Alexandria), and Mom and Roger were able to make it as well.  My mom and Roger had never been to this part of the country, so it was exciting for them to be able to drive around.  The next time they come we will hopefully be able to do the "tourist" thing.  Iz was so excited to open the presents and very good at saying "tane-tyu" to everyone that was there.  I made her cake and decorated it myself.  Now, understand that I think I am much more crafty than I actually am, so I bought a cake decorating kit to try.  I called my step-mother to get her frosting recipe and took off.  It didn't turn out too bad.  As soon as I figure out how to post pics on this 'puter (it's a Mac), then I'll try and get some on.

I guess that's all I have to say right now.  I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but I'll include that at a later date.  OH!!!  How could I forget this.... My dad will be in Wyoming for work, so we might have a chance to see him.  He will have some downtime while the engine (he is a project supervisor for a company that repairs and rebuilds oil rig engines) is being repaired in TX so he will travel to my sisters house and we'll meet there!!  I'm very excited, especially since my kids have never been able to meet him.  I'll be sure to keep you posted on that as well.

THAT'S all there is for now, I'm sure.  Have a great weekend and we'll talk again soon.

Holy Moly...Twice in one week

Brace yourselves. I should have warned you that I was gonna post twice this week, sorry for any health complications this may have caused, hee, hee. How was your Christmas? Ours was wonderful...fast, but fun. We went to Jim's parents on Sunday and came home on Christmas Day. His grandfather was able to make the trip to Fergus Falls, as did his sister and her family. It was great fun to see them all again. Grandpa Bob turned 90 this summer and unfortunately we were not able to make it to his party, so it was especially special that he was able to join us. The girls reconnected with their cousin Tyler and as always had fun with Jacob. Tyler is only 4, so we don't get to see him as much as we see Jake (Jake sometimes comes to Aberdeen with Nana and Grandpa). It was fun to watch them play. Evie and Izzie were once again spoiled by the Christmas gift giving. Evie was so excited, she was opening gifts left and right regardless if they were hers or not. Isabelle was not feeling well, unfortunately. She started running a fever on Christmas Eve and was pretty much out of it most of the day on Christmas Day. Oh, don't worry, she was herself long enough to open presents Christmas morning, but wiped out about noon and was down for the count until about 8pm. Jim took her to the doctor yesterday and thankfully, she doesn't have strep...just a case of the crud that's going around. He gave her an Rx for an antibiotic and a cough suppressant so hopefully she'll be on the mend soon. Not much else to report here. We'll be heading back to Bemidji the weekend of the 18th, so hopefully there will be more to talk about after that. I'm gonna try to get some pictures on here from the weekend, but that will have to be later. Keep checkin' back!

Wow, I Really Do Suck at This!!

Ok, so I finally have time to post...it's only December 23 and my last post was in August, but whose counting? So, when we left off, I was getting ready to start my new job at Minerva's...the restaurant. I've been there since the end of August, and I LOVE IT!! I love the work and the people that I work with, which makes it fun. Although it sounds sad to say, I enjoy going to work at the restaurant...not just for the money I make, but it's kind of like MY time away from home and the family. Every mommy needs "mommy time", and this is mine. So.....

Evie started her second year of preschool this fall. I'm really glad she has a late birthday. Her birthday is in October, so she missed the age cutoff for Kindergarten this fall, and I'm very thankful. She's a smart little girl, don't get me wrong, but she's retaining so much more this year in preschool than she did last year. She'll come home and tell me what letter they learned that day, or singing a new song. It's amazing how sponge-like children really are.

Isabelle is still hell on wheels, but more mobile and more vocal. Her vocabulary increases daily and so does the clearness of her speech. Some of the vocabulary, however, isn't desireable for a two year old :o) Her favorite phrases these days are, "You dwiv-ah me nuts!", and "Whatev-oh". Nice...

Other news...Apparently, it isn't cold enough for us in Northeastern South Dakota, so we're moving to North Central Minnesota. Jim got a transfer/promotion with his company that is taking us to Bemidji, MN this spring. We're very excited to go to a new place. It's beautiful country and is a huge tourist attraction in the summer (The Mississippi River starts there and flows south to New Orleans). It will be hard to leave our friends, and move farther away from family, but we're up to the challenge and anxious for a new start.

I'm sure I have more to say, but at this time, none of it comes to mind...please keep your comments about "feeble minds" to yourselves ;). Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but there have been some changes at work, and I'm not able to "play" on the computer as often as I used to. I'll try to be back soon. Until then....

A whole lot of nothing..

I was just looking back at my previous posts and noticed the Flixter Movie Compatability Test. If you haven't done it and you have some free time, take a look. It's fun and you can see what movies your friends are in to. The funny thing about that test is this...out of my friends that has responded, the one that that I have the least in common with is the one I used to watch the most movies with. I guess it shows how people change.


Speaking of people changing...have you ever made a decision that you thought was definately the right one, then question it later only to find that it's too late to reverse that decision without extreme consequences? Of course you have..everyone has, to a certain extent. Lately I find myself questioning alot of things. Some of them major, most of them minor, but still doubting myself. I hate that feeling. It makes me feel so...helpless. Don't worry, everything is fine, I just can't stand feeling that way so I thought I would vent to you..Lucky!


Through the magic of the internet and MySpace, I've recently been able to reconnect with friends that I have lost contact with over the years. I know MySpace gets a bad rap, and it's too bad because I think it's wonderful. It's a great..FREE way to find old friends. I've found people from High School, college and even some friends from my past that I thought I would never be able to communicate with again. I keep tabs on family and even "spy" on people that I know, but don't want them to know that I know how to contact them. Is that bad? Oh well, it's my little addiction. I've spent literally hours searching MySpace and everytime I do, it seems I find someone else I know. Sometimes I find them through the search engines that are available, but most I've found on a fluke...looking at someone's profile, then looking through their "friends". It's how I found my good friend Justin. FUN!!


What else do I know...not much. We went to Evie's school last night for registration and ran into her favorite friend from last year and his mother....who asked me if I was expecting... I guess that's a subtle sign from the gods that I need to go on a diet. AND, just when I've decided to NOT eat like a pig, I get free food at work...free FAST-FOOD.

Well, I guess that's all the ranting I have for now...'till next time.

Here I am!!!