Travel Log

I'm sorry to have to tell all of you this but, I have the best husband ever! It has long been in the plans and has become an annual tradition that McCall and Landry spend most of June and July with my parents in California and their dad and other family in Utah. Last year Mike and I got married on june 18th so we spent our honeymoon in Italy while the children had a blast playing with Cookie and Poppie and their dad. It is a nice way to travel guilt-free knowing they are having so much fun. This year Mike and I had talked casually about taking an eastcoast driving trip which sounded nice. We were planning to fly into NYC spend a few days and rent a fun car and drive up the coast stopping in Boston and a few spots in Maine. Well, as plans sometimes do they changed when we started to cost our the trip and realize how much it was going to cost with gas prices and the cost of hotels in Manhattan. So when Mike said to me, " Jen this is going to cost so much to do this trip. Do we really want to do this?" my heart sank a little, but only for a moment because then he followed up that question with, " Why don't we just go to Hawaii instead?" Well, of course there was no hesitation on my part since I have a secret belief that I must have some South Pacific blood in me because of the way I love summer and the beach and especially Hawaii. It turned out that we had enough frequent flyer miles to get there for free and we found a good deal on a hotel package that just turned out to be a wonderful and very relaxing vacation for us. It is hard not to love Hawaii but this trip was a very welcome one especially for Mike as work has been so stressful for him and since it will be our last chance for this kind of a trip for awhile since we have a little one joining us this Fall. While we were there we were talking with a man about how much we loved to travel together and I realized that for us, travel has always been a vital part of our relationship and such a time for us to renew and revive our relationship away from the day to day stuff. I feel very blessed that we have the opportunity to do this. It couldn't be done without my wonderful parents and their love for my children and of course Mike's hard work that provides a comfortable lifestyle for us. I can't possible forget to thank another really important person in our lives, our Kerrie, whom I have grown very dependent on. Kerrie is our amazing "Mary Poppins" helping us maintian our fairly regular date nights by entertaining the boys and cares for our home and our beloved Jackson, whenever we are away. She is fabulous and we just love her! Before meeting up with Mike in Hawaii, I spent a week with the boys and my parents in California and we had a great time. We were able to celebrate my dad's birthday and Father's Day together which was really nice. My dad is going through some stressful changes with his chiropractic practice which is hard to watch, feeling useless to help, but I was glad to be there to offer my support if nothing else. Our family went in together to help buy him a new banjo-his new love. He has always been interested in music and plays acoustic and electric guitar. It is so fun to see him visibly relax when the music starts to flow. Can't wait to hear our banjo-playing Poppie! Here are a few picks from the trip but you can always see the full albums at my Sumgmug site. The rest of our summer will be full of swimming lessons and t-ball so we plan to be close to home. I will be updating more often (I know, I know, I have said that before!) and I should have exciting news about the gender of our mystery baby on July 24th! Can't wait to share the news and start taking suggestions for names!
Aloha!

Last Day of School...at last!

Last year we started the tradition with McCall and continued a long-standing tradition in my family of the daily lunch napkin note. Today was one of my favorite notes to write-the Last Day of School note. I think I look forward to the end of the school year as much as the kids. Our pool is open and Landry and I have already spent several days in the sun and chlorine. McCall has waited with envy for his day which will come tomorrow, barring some impending rain.

At our year end party today we made the second grade teacher, Miss Sperli into a "Queen for a Day". Now some of you may remember that I have not had the fondest regard for our second grade experience so this was one of those moments where I tried to be appreciative of the good things that happened this year and put aside my angst over the rotten things that went down. Of course I was asked at the last minute to co-host this party and come up with a wonderful class gift that was queenly in nature. I made a fun apron and embroidered "Queen Miss Sperli" on the front and had the kids sign it. It turned out really cute and the teacher was so touched by the gesture. I had to repent for my bad private attitude a bit (even though I have done my best to disguise it) especially when I opened McCall's year end portfolio. His teacher had compiled a wonderful collection of his work and photos of McCall at every big event and field trip throughout the year. Each child received a packet and I know Miss Sperli had gone to great lengths to prepare the packets for each child. I know that in spite of our differences in ideas for helping my son academically, she had a genuine care for his progress and his second grade experience. I am glad that I did make the effort to show her our appreciation. I also feel somewhat humbled.

On a lighter topic...I live for summer. I don't mind Fall and Winter so much but I really do love the hot hot weather and the fun to be had in the sun. I like our lazy days and I love our summer trips. I love eating outside on the deck and grilling almost every night. I love giant Cherry Cokes with tons of ice and Lemon sorbet at Mitchell's. I love tan feet and my kids' hair turning toehead. I love the smell of sunblock and my favorite summer skin indulgence, Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter. I even love washing an entire load of swimming suits and pool towels nearly every day. There are endless more things I love about summer but most of all I love lazy mornings when the kids crawl into bed with us and we plan out our entertainment and even yes, our chores for the day.

What are your favorite things about the season de Sol?

Aloha Landry!

So the day that Landry had waited 6 months for finally arrived.
Landry's birthday is the day after Christmas when we are usually travelling and it is way too cold to try and have a birthday party for a dozen screaming 5 year olds. So we held off this year and celebrated in the sun (barely) Landry's Hawaiian beach party.

The days leading up to the party had been full of gray skies and rain. We all held our breath up until literally moments before children started arriving and alas the clouds open up and the sun shone and we had a beach party right in our sunny, albeit soggy backyard.

We all had a great time and we all agreed it was well worth the 6 month wait. I think we may just stick with this plan and do it again this way next year. We'll probably have to pick a new theme since almost all of his gifts were water toys! He loved it to say the least.

Viva Niagara!

Well, I find myself doing a catching up post once again but this will seem like so much new news for all of you that it should be fun. So over Memorial Day weekend we decided to take a driving trip to Ontario, Canada and see the Niagara Falls. It was definitely an amazing site but let me just say that for all the city could be it was that times way too much! It is basically Vegas with a really big waterfall. We did enjoy taking a boat ride down at the base of the Falls and we explored the botanical gardens and a butterfly conservatory which was pretty incredible. I think the kids liked the hotel swimming pool the best which always seems to be the case. All in all it was so nice to get away and have a few days of just enjoying our family away from the hectic pace of our lives of late.

Landry has finished up with preschool and has a big announcement: "NO MORE TRAINING WHEELS!" Mike helped him for a few hours and he took off! Now he is way too independent for my taste and he is travelling all around the cul de sac. Three of his neighborhood buddies have learned to ride sans training wheels as well and they are like the JR Hell's Angels. There is even a biker babe in the bunch. He is so proud of his new skill and daily suggests that he is ready to ride around the corner now. We still have limits!

McCall has 4 days left of school and he couldn't be more ready. Yesterday our Goldwood Games (school field day) got rained out halfway through and we had flash flooding in areas close to our town. Disappointing but at least the morning was beautiful.

McCall cracks me up with his sense of humor and all day I hear, "Mom, do you get it?" after his many jokes. Can any of you relate to this famous line? He has surprised me lately with how sensitive he is becoming as long as nobody notices. He prays for his brother's swimmer's ear to go away and he prays for Jackson, our Golden Retriever to calm down when he is upset by our many summer thunderstorms. He has stood outside the bathroom door lately asking, "Mom are you okay? " when all of my meals of the day seem to be reacting to my pregnant body. He can cause so much angst and strife in our family and then just as easily he brings tears to my eyes when I tuck him into bed. I know you all know what I mean.

Speaking of pregnant bodies-we got to hear Baby Vu's heartbeat at our last appointment. our doc says it sounds like a girl heartbeat. Of course we still don't know for sure but we keep thinking girl this time. It is hard for me to picture anything else in my mind and for Mike it is impossible so hopefully our ultrasound in July will be revealing. I already know what to do with boys so I would be totally fine either way but I also think Heavenly Father knows that this body probably won't be giving birth to any more children so maybe we'll get to have a little pink in our house-oh Kristi, the envy!

Landry's long awaited summer birthday party is happening on Saturday. He turned 5 in December but since Cleveland is the Ice Planet Hoth in December we decided to wait for some warm weather this year to celebrate. It is a hawaiian beach party theme and we are having a blast getting ready for it. We are set for games and decor and music but if any of you have any great ideas for hawaiian themed kids food for lunch I would love it. So far we are doing fruit kabobs and punch in plastic coconut cups and we are making the sandcastle cake tomorrow night. I think we are just going to do a sub sandwich cut up in kids size slices for the lunch but if you have any great suggestions feel free to send them our way. I'll post photos after the big event!

That should catch you all up to date on our latest. I hope to be more current once school is out. The boys will be spending some time with Cookie and Poppie in California and then with their dad in Salt Lake City so they will be gone for almost 4 weeks! I miss them so much when they do this each summer but it is also nice to have some time away so I really appreciate having them home. Mike and I will work on the nursery and take an East Coast driving trip which should be wonderful.

By the way-I received my first issue of the new Martha Stewart publication, Blueprint. Love it-tons of cool ideas and product reviews. Definitely check it out. Also-we had our first haircut at a new kids hair salon that opened in our area called Snip-Its. It is a really fun franchise type hair salon that caters just to kids and has comupter games and cartoons to keep the kids busy while they get their hair cut. At the end of the cut they get to stick their "Adventure Pass" and a snip of their hair into a prize machine and out pops a little prize. Landry loved it and since he got his summer buzz cut it was only $9.95 which is a great deal in our area. We give it a thumbs up!

Catching Up!

At last, we are all systems go on our computer so now I have to catch you all up on what has been happening in my life. So the highlights:

Backing way up to nearly a full month ago, McCall was baptized by his "Poppie" on April 15th in Logan, Utah. Many of our family members live in Utah and grandparents flew in from California and New Mexico to be there. It was a really great day for McCall and our family.

We spent spring break in Utah and enjoyed seeing friends (loved seeing Michelle and Jill!) and family. Mike wasn't able to come with us because of the recent primary election (now past, thankfully) so in spite of the fun of our trip, I was anxious to get home to him. However, I did find once home that we weren't going to be seeing much of Mike anyway. He was working crazy hours and sadly still seems to be.

The conversion to electronic voting has been a challenge for Ohio to say the least. Have any of you voted with new electronic voting equipment yet? Here is what our machines look like. It is very cool and we hear that people love using them. The challenge is in the technical responsibilities of operating and troubleshooting the machines-which is typically managed by volunteer poll workers with a wide range of technical skill. So Mike is dealing with big changes and ruthless fault-finding media and politicos. He needs a vacation!

Baby news is good. The pukey feeling is subsiding-yeah! Not completely gone but food is seeming a little more interesting to me at points throughout the day which is a good thing. It is such a huge blessing that my boys are fairly independent and can do a lot for themselves because I have been very slow-moving. I feel for any of you that have had pregnancies with small children. I have respect! I definitely feel like I am rounding the first trimester corner though so this is good. I'll keep you posted as things move on but for now the only real news is that nothing fits! I didn't even need stretchy waitbands when I was pregnant with McCall until I was almost 6 months along. This body is not quite the same one it was back then!

Drechsler family news is about missionaries. Emily is now in Erfort, Germany and has gotten off to a great start. She spoke in her ward, in German, on her first Sunday in the country. The town is small-more like a village and is picture perfect Europe. I understand that it is amazing at Christmas. I'm sure anywhere in Germany is wonderful at Christmas but apparently this village goes all out. Can't wait to see photos. Here is a stranger's photo I found on the web-sorry I can't credit the photographer. Looks wonderful. Reminds me of our Italy trip. My parents will hear from Em on Sunday for Mother's Day and we can't wait for the real time update!

Scotty is in Germantown, Tennessee (coincidentally!). He is working hard and has a great new companion that he really likes. It turns out that this guy is the grandson of some of my parents' old friends from southern CA so they were excited to make the connection. Scotty will also call our family this weekend so we are all looking forward to hearing his voice. My boys really miss him. He is such a great example for them. They bless our missionaries in every single prayer!

Spring news is the best! We couldn't be happier for the beautiful Spring that has sprung at last! The yard is coming alive and I have to really drive slow down the driveway to the garage so that I don't squish any of the wildlife. Here are a few shots of our signs of spring-even though it shows up a bit later in Ohio. I am definitely in my prime in the springtime. I am a much happier person when I have dirt under my fingernails.

I haven't been abducted by aliens!

Hi everyone!
My absence is not a result of an abduction or any serious tragedy but may continue for a bit so I wanted to send a temporary update. So we went to Utah for Spring Break which was a great time. McCall was baptized and I got to catch up with Michelle and Jill as well as a lot of family and other Utah friends. I checked up on my renters and found everything in good order as well as the fact that property values have skyrocketed over the last year and house in my little Sugarhouse neighborhood are selling for over $300K--amazing! My mom decided to have emergency gallbladder surgery in the middle of our visit so that was sad for her but I was glad we were there to help her a little. She is home safe and tucked into her own bed and recovering much better now. But...the best news that I was able to share with friends and family in person is that we are expecting a Turkey Baby! We can't wait to find out the gender but I have been a lot sicker with this baby than McCall and Landry so I'm crossing my fingers that that might mean a girl and not just the fact that I am getting old! Of course we will keep you posted.

The bummer I came home to was a computer that was completely taken apart and has yet to be reassembled by my very busy husband. I'm hoping to catch up with some photos and recaps of our adventures over the last few weeks as soon as Primaries are over and counted this week. I miss you guys!

Love you all-Jen

It's a zoo!

Last week we went to the zoo with friends on a day that turned out to be really drizzly and wet but we had such a great time. The zoo was pretty empty so we spent all the time we wanted at our favorite spots. This photo is of one of our favorite things to do-feed nectar to the rainforest birds. Landry used to be afraid of this so it is fun to watch him eager to do it this season. He is growing up so fast.

This is one of those great email reminders of the joy of being everything to our little ones. Thought it was worthy of posting for my fellow moms.

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Any thoughts on what you couldn't imagine about being a mom before you became one?

Aren't we handy?

Home Depot is the best! While I philosophically object to its big box operating style and its declining quality of customer service, I have to admire the marketing genius who decided a workshop for kids to build stuff like birdfeeders (as we did) would be a great way to get their parents into the store. This was our first experience with the kids workshops and we had a really great time. To be truthful the project was a little beyond this bunch and the moms ended up doing most of the assembly but they sure had a great time donning safety glasses and applying way too much wood glue.

By the way, as a note to Home Depot, they really should have called this the "squirrel feeder" project as that seems to be what we are attracting most. I don't know about the rest of you but Ohio has way too many squirrels and I basically view them as more hairy and germy rats that come a lot closer to my children but that's a paranoia post for another day...

Oh Girls!

We were invited to celebrate our neighbor Grace's 5th birthday this weekend. We had a lot of fun at the party but I think I had the most fun making her gift. I embroidered this cute little kid-sized apron for her to wear when she helps her mom in the kitchen. The whole time of course I was wondering what fun it must be to have a little girl in the house. Don't get me wrong...my rough and tumble, dirt covered, boys are amazing and heart-warming, but a girl! It would just be so fun. Of course, I have heard the tales of drama queens and grudge holding princesses but I feel like I was one of those women born to be a mother of at least one girl. For now, one can only hope and enjoy other sweet girls in the neighborhood.

Acting...Brilliant!

"Mr. Popper's Penguins" was a huge success at our local primary school. Mr. Popper, played by McCall, was a loveable and funny hero in the story about a surprising delivery to of tuxedoed friends from the Antarctic to the Popper home. Emma, the Penguin, impressed the audience with her complicated lines, "Gork, gork" and Jake, in the roll of the refridgerator repairman gives Desperate Housewives, Handyman Mike, a run for his money!

The entire cast gave a smashing performance and reviewers give the production two thumbs up!

Pump it Up!

Okay-if you have a "Pump it Up!" franchise in your area you have got to take your kids there right away! This place is madness but the kids had a blast. It is basically a warehouse full of inflatable slides and bounce houses with music blaring and a million kids. We were there today for a birthday party and after 1 hour the kids were sweaty and completely wiped out. Naps were looking pretty likely for those still inclined and the rest of us who wish we had the time.

This blurry photo is Landry whooshing down a 20 foot slide screaming. What I wish I would have captured was the head over heels flip/crash that took place at the bottom of the slide and terrified me but apparently was hilarious to Landry as he jumped up howling with laughter.

McCall is invited to a party at the same place with friends in his age group (7-9 ish) and I think it will be interesting to see the different levels of bouncing interaction. He can't wait of course.

I really think they could probably come up with some crazy exercise class on this equipment because it is quite a workout for those of us over the age of 5.

This is definitely a must try for your kidlets!

 

Our Pet

This is funny! Mike had a "cutest pet photo" contest at work so this is the photo he entered! While we do have an actual pet-Jackson, a very furry 10 year old Golden Retriever, Mike favors this pet. When Landry is shy he growls rather than speaks. He is not shy very often but this response seems to make him feel much larger than his tiny 5-year-old self. I think its a pretty sensible response myself. As far as pets go this one is pretty smart and yes, adorable!

Bombay Dreams!

Happy Birthday Mike! Yesterday was Mike's birthday and we had the best day! The morning started early for Mike as he left for his Saturday 7:00 AM run with his buddies. His first gift of the day was a Mountain Hardwear running jacket that he has been eyeing for some time. I placed it by the back door so he would find it on his way to run. He called me to say how much he loved it and of course he wore it all day! I had to do some convincing to get him to change to go out that evening. We went to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's, "Bombay Dreams", and it was so amazing. (This might explain Mike's goofy pose for his jacket photo.) The choreography and music was spectacular-I am definitely downloading the soundtrack. Afterward we went for a late dinner at Vivo in downtown Cleveland. It is a very swanky Italian place that had an amazing menu and made us wax nostalgic for our perfect honeymoon in Italy.

Mike's other gifts during the day included the famous Brooks Brothers "No Iron Shirt" and a new filing cabinet for our office. He couldn't have been happier! He said that it was the best birthday he has ever had and I was so happy to have made that happen for him. Mike works so hard and takes such good care of our family that he really does deserve to be celebrated. He's not a big celebrater of anything so I am trying to slowly convert him to my love of the "extravaganza"!

So-we definitely recommend the show if you have the chance and if you are ever in Cleveland we'll be happy to take you to Vivo. It was a great day.

Shakalaka Baby!

A few of my favorite things

So, one of the things I have discovered that I enjoy most about reading my friends' blogs is the wealth of sharing of even the tiniest details of each others interests, ideas, families and plain ole cool stuff. So I thought I might take a minute to introduce you to a few of my favorite things of late. So here goes:


1) this great new magazine for multi-tasking, gadget loving, and creative moms called, "Cookie"



2) Aveda's great new product line, "elements", namely the Smoothing Fluid. My hair has become more curly each year and the 80% and above humidity levels of our lovely Lake Erie climate seem to create a frizz that until now has never survived in live captivity. Alas, upon my latest perusal of the intoxicatingly anice scented Aveda store I was given the best piece of hair advice I have ever received, "don't leave your bathroom without this and a flattening iron!"



3) A new home for my digital babies-Picasa --and no, I'm not pitching for Google. I just happened upon this new gem when i started my blog as some of you may have and I have been so impressed with it's interface and simple functionality-to sound not a little geeky! It is a really nice way to organize your millions of photos and it works well for creating unusual collages-especially for blog display (see my posting about creating stationery).

So there area few to mention for today so check them out.

Keep posting your favorite things because I personally get a lot of enjoyment out of it!

The Luck o' the Irish

The Leprechauns visited our house last night! Landry and McCall carefully prepared their leprechaun traps last night with coins and all matter of sticky substances but somehow the sneaky leprechauns escaped. We could tell that they got into the house through the mail slot because they left a trail of gold coins and goodies behind while they were trying to check every door and window to get out. It was sheer madness at 7:30 AM (the earliest my children ever wake up on their own!) and we had so much fun! Of course we had shamrock cookies with our breakfast and McCall's lunch box was full of shamrock paper punches and stickers stuck to the ziplocs. Later tonght we are going to a St. Patrick's Day and birthday celebration at our friends' Neil and Lisa's. Neil is turning 40 so we can't wait to give him a hard time. Cleveland is basically Little Ireland so everything shuts down for the big parade and citywide celebration. It is fun to get swept up in the excitement!

Don't forget to wear your green today!

The Family Jewels

You have to love little boys! This lovely jewel was a gift from my little Landry Jack (5). He made this bracelet especially for me. I had a hard time keeping the sticky note tab on the newspaper rubberband but when I picked him up from preschool and he saw that I was still wearing it, he couldn't have been happier. This kid is such a honey. He fills my well daily.

I love you, Landry Jack! 

My Mantra

After my earlier post this morning I have realized I need to redirect my passion today! Here is my latest mantra combined with a favorite playtime activity of mine, designing stationery. I designed this one especially for my sister Emily that is in the MTC right now getting ready to leave for Berlin in April.

I'm not generally one to quote scripture but this is poetry and couldn't fit my life better right now so I'm certain there must be divine intervention in there somewhere. Here is the quote since the photo is a bit fuzzy:

"I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill, but time and chance happeneth to them all."

Ecclesiastes 9:11

"I can't grade this."

Okay-today my post is a rant about teachers. My second-grade son McCall is making his way through the academic year in a way that can only be described as "slogging". Everything has been a monumental effort on his partas well as his parents' part. I consider myself a very involved parent and do my best to stay in touch with the teacher as well as volunteer in his classroom weekly to both help and be visible to him and his teacher. His teacher is let's say not the most positive person in the world yet, she is generally concerned about McCall and his needs. She must have "days" though like we all do and several times this has come through in revealing notes home on school work or adressed to me personally. I think I received one last week though that was the final straw for me.

On a weekly spelling test (which by the way is one area where McCall excels and is very proud of his success) McCall has clearly rushed to complete the sentences that included challenging words such as "Iditarod", "Anchorage", and "veterinarian", because his handwriting left much to be desired. Well, as his mother I was able to read through the sentences without too much effort and noticed that all of the test words were correct but he missed a letter in a basic word in one of the sentences. However, one would not have any idea of the fact that the purpose of the test had been fulfilled because across the top of the paper in red ink (of course) it read, "McCall, you have to write neater. I can't grade this."

Where is the supportive and caring teacher in that comment? And where are the assignments sent home to help him work on his handwriting and fine motor skills? McCall is not academically deficient in any way but anything related to writing is avoided, even dreaded. I am just so frustrated that this teacher is missing out on the opportunity to help by blotting out his efforts completely. Am I neurotic about this? Well, probably but I guess that is the mother's prerogative. I just hope I don't have to go to college with this kid to get him to write legibly. Maybe I should encourage Medical School! In the mean time I am getting really good at borrowing from the tens place.

My new toy!

Thanks to Kristi C. my children have a new Brother-no, Kristi was not a surrogate and we don't have a new baby but I do have a new sewing/embroidery machine that is so much fun. Here is a picture of my first project (after much practice). It is a pistachio green microfleece blanket backed with chocolate velour. It feels so yummy and this baby's mom is begging for one in her size. The baby is another "Max" (our McCall is often called "Max" too) so we have a real love for this little one! He seems to be happy with his new snuggle and I was so happy to document his birth details for Tara and Ben. It's not perfect but not too bad for my first go and a fun start to this new hobby.