Thanksgiving Feast or Famine

Michaela, Andrea and Steen "pose" for the Thanksgiving feast. Really, it was just a pose. Michaela couldn't even hold her head up because she was so sick. She took the picture and went back to laying down. Here are all the "sickies" laying down in their living room cots. Michaela had been sick for days, Steven was getting over being sick and Andrea was just beginning her turn. Michaela was too sick to even eat a popsicle. Her fever was 105 at one point.
We were supposed to have dinner with the family, but with our sickness...we we're banished! ;-) We decided to attempt our own thanksgiving feast and I(Alison) made my very first turkey. Of course, Steven made his rolls.

This is how much food we had before the feast....and after. None of us could eat very much!

After a couple of hours of sponge baths to try and keep Michaela's temperature down the medicine finally kicked in. Her fever temporarily subsided and she got up around 8:30pm for her Thanksgiving famine...a few bites of jello salad and a roll were all she felt up to. It will definitely be a memorable Thanksgiving.

I've been tagged

1)Include these game rules at the beginning of your blog post

2)Each player lists six facts/habits about themselves

3)At the end of the post, tag four more people by posting their names, and leaving a comment on their blogs that they have been tagged and to look at your blog for the rules.

1. My favorite color is red and my house is decorated with lots of it.

2. I love to shop for clothes for my kids, but not for myself...probably because I'm much better at choosing cute outfits for them. My favorite places are Macy's, Gap and gymboree.

3. If I could do anything in my spare time, it would be playing the piano. I have been working on my certification to be a Suzuki piano teacher. I just finished my audition tape and books 1 and 2 and am working on the Sonatinas in Book 3. When I'm done with book 7, I would LOVE to pursue a degree in music...in my spare time of course.

4.I love my kids and want to always be involved with their lives...I volunteer in Michaela's classroom, and attend her music lessons. I teach Andrea's prepiano music class. I help both Michaela and Andrea practice everyday and we usually try and make games out of it. I use lots of bribbery or "incentives" but it pays off as I think they are amazing!

5.I love to eat, although it doesn't show. I love that my husband loves to cook and come up with new creations, especially ways to cook all our garden veggies. He makes the best rolls and pizza and tonight he tried a new butternut squash soup. I also enjoy cooking...I like to make different types of breads and cookies. ..my favorites are pumpkin chocolate chip or just plain chocolate chip.

6. I used to think of myself as very social, but now I'm content just being with one of my babies: Steven, Michaela, Andrea, Steen or my baby grand piano. When I do get together with friends, I love to play games. My favorites are Aquire, Settlers (Cities & Knights), Spades and Farkle.

I tag Ruth, Tresa, Lori and Erin (guess you'll have to start a blog now) .

Halloween in Neverland

myspace glitter

I hope my kids never grow up!!!! They had a blast trick or treating as Tinkerbell, Peter Pan & Wendy.
Grandma sewed Michaela's costume...so cute!
Tinkerbell asked to eat candy after stopping at each house....by the end of the night she was all sugared up and plum tired out...good thing she's so sweet!

Steen had fun knawing through a kit kat wrapper and eating chocolate!

Carving Pumpkins

The girls had a blast carving pumpkins for family night. Steen tried to help too! He mostly just enjoyed being able to climb up on top of the counter.

Steen's First Birthday

We had a Thomas the Train themed party with family.






















I made the cake...




Steen demolished it!












Other activities included decorating train crackers or whatever creation desired.














We played musical chairs and stopped when the train whistle sounded.

Steen had a "grand station" time!

Playing for Thousands!

Michaela played her violin last weekend at the conference center for thousands of people! It was amazing! Of course she was playing with almost 3,000 other Suzuki students. She performed in 3 different numbers and had a great time!

Fall Foilage

School Jogathon

Michaela ran 6 laps in her school jogathon. Andrea joined in for most of the laps. Since Michaela doesn't own a pair of tennis shoes, she had to wear her soccer cleats!

I suspect Colonel Steen did it in the Kitchen With the Knife

Steen's new trick is climbing up onto EVERYTHING! He can get up onto the counter in 2 seconds flat...and this is what happens when it goes unnoticed! He found the butter and a cup of big sister's milk to play in.

First Day of School

Andrea started preschool and Michaela started kindergarten. If I blink, I'm sure they'll be graduating high school and off to college!

Dancing the Night Away

Andrea participated in her first dance recital. Her group performed to baby mine from Dumbo. However, she almost missed it completely. Her class got up on stage and I couldn't see her at all. I ran up to the front to tell the teacher, but by then they had already started. I ran back stage and she was off to the side coloring. Another dance teacher helped her on stage for the last few steps of the number. Fortunately, they redid the number and Andrea danced beautifully. Somewhere in the middle, half the 3year olds started doing their own thing all over the stage and Andrea got a little bit distracted in the middle by them and started watching them and not her teacher...however, the audience loved their dance and they were very endearing. What do you expect when they're 3?
Michaela danced to I believe in Fairies and did wonderfully. Her classes dance was uneventful for the most part.

Caught Wet Handed!

We have to leave bathroom doors closed from now on. Steen was splashing around in the toilet water when Michaela caught him "wet handed."

Some fun pics

Steen is now pulling himself up and standing while holding on to things.

Andrea, Michaela and Adam (friend) playing in the jacuzzi.

Preschool Graduation

Michaela graduated from preschool. Kindergarten here we come. Her favorite thing about preschool was freetime play.

Steen's Mobile at 7 months!

Steen is bound to be a swimmer. He already has down the freestyle stroke and the dive. His crawl goes something like this: He first rocks in the ready position, then lifts his right hand high in the air like the freestyle stroke and then dives forward. Go Steen!

Family Pics

Easter 2007

April 2007

Steen

Steen just turned 6 months! Who can believe how time flies. He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth trying to crawl...but probably not for another week or two. He can push himself backwards and end up on the opposite side of the room if you let him. His favorite foods so far are sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes. He's deinitely a meat and potatoes kind of kid.

Andrea

Andi is our curly girly. She just started dance and LOVES it! She is our little rooster because she gets up with the sun. She loves books, especially Curious George and If you Give a Mouse a Cookie.

We recently attended a family bridal shower. Andrea was a hit at the party as she spent nearly 40 minutes walking around attending to guests by offering nuts and chocolate. Actually, she put the jar of candies right in front of you and insisted you take some...who could refuse? Maybe she has her mom's waitressing blood in her. ;-)

Michaela

Michaela keeps busy for a 5 year old. She loves playing with her sister and drawing pictures and stamping cards for her friends. She could spend all day coming up with games and crafts to occupy her time. She has quite the imagination and will use chopsticks as a fairy wand, staple together pages to make a book or rearrange all her mattresses in her bedroom, put chairs on top, throw the sheets on the floor and completely turn the room topsy turvy to create a bridge with a king and queen's thrown. (I knew I should have taken a picture of that one!)
She recently performed in her violin recital a solo of Allegro as well as several group pieces. She has started piano lessons and continues with dance. Mom plays piano and violin CDs whenever possible to create a musical enviornment in the home and Michaela loves dancing with flowers to the tune of Vivaldi's Spring from Four Season's. Yes, she actually asks to listen to it...or Beethoven's Rage over the Lost Penny. All the listening helps because she is starting to sound out songs on the piano that she has been hearing...OK, not Vivaldi or Beethoven, but still in her parents eyes it's brillant!
Michaela also is great at helping out with the baby! Only 7 years until she is old enough to babysit ;-)

Alison

I went on my first "real" bike ride. Steven and I got a babysitter and went as a date. I had never tried riding with clip in biker shoes, so I practiced before we left clipping my shoes in and out. We were out on a major highway and came to a red light. I decided to clip out my right foot, but unfortunately my bike tilted left. KERPLOP! Fortunately, the only real injury was to my ego. The next time we stopped, I had learned it was better to unclip the left foot, but this time my bike tilted right and nearly did a domino effect right into Steven's bike. I would have quickly jumped up (especially since several cars were stopped at the stop sign to witness it), but I was laying on my right foot and hence, could not turn it in order to get my shoe unclipped. It took about a minute laying on the ground laughing embarrasedly, with cars stopping to offer help before I could get back in the saddle again. LESSON LEARNED...always unclip both feet because you never know which way you'll fall!

Steven

Steven has been busy planting fruit trees and working in the yard. Note the tulips he planted last fall.