Hello

Wow, it's been a long time since a post.  That seems to be the norm these days.  However, with these days turning dark so early, there seems to be more time for things like blogging.  So, why not.  Here's a little update on our happenings.

Pregnancy: So far it seems to be going well.  I've been feeling the baby kick for a few weeks now.  It is the best thing about pregnancy!!  My official due date is April 7.  I get an ultrasound this coming Tuesday and I think we're all looking forward to it, especially Sophie.  She keeps asking when it is, and I think it will be fun for her to see the baby on the screen.  She might be disappointed, or even scared when the image that she sees looks more like an alien than a baby.  I mean, even I have a hard time following the ultrasound tech.  I just nod and agree for lack of feeling dumb that I can't make out what exactly she is describing.

Regarding baby coming, I feel extremely at ease.  I was worked up for a while about organizing baby stuff and do we need to get a new stroller, should we find out the gender and on and on...but that by God's grace has all worked out.  Clothes are organized, room is ready (it's easy when everything was already there just being used by Claire), we're not going to find out the gender (my only exception to that is if I find out we're having twins!), and I'm keeping the same stroller.  Ahh, that was easy.

The girls: They started sharing a room (Sophie's room) Halloween weekend.  It's going pretty well.  We did realize that Claire is probably done napping for the most part because the days she napped she wasn't falling asleep until 10pm!  So, although it makes for a longer day, having her asleep 2 hours earlier is huge!!  Sad, that it seems to be in both of my kids' DNA to give up naps early.  Oh well.  :)  I do feel like we're in a new phase with 2 diaper less kids who don't nap - freedom!!  We can leave the house at any time of day!

Claire remains full of energy, and full of danger.  The girl finds so many ways to hurt herself, falling off of swings, stabbing herself in the nose with a pencil, those are just 2 I can think of off the top of my head. Sophie is still enjoying school, and learning so much!  She loves practicing writing her letters, and coloring(in the lines) has been of utmost interest lately.  I think it was about a year ago that I could not get her to color!  What a difference a year makes. She's also been taking gymnastics for the past several weeks and seems to like it.

Bill and I are doing well.  We seem to be getting into a good rhythm and schedule.  I have spent a lot less time following facebook statuses, blogs, all that stuff.  It's been good for me.  I've been able to focus on being home, kids, house and I really think it's made a difference.  I don't seem to be rushing around, feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, feeling like things aren't getting done.  Things are actually getting done in a consistent manner.  And my attitude with it for the most part has shifted as well, praise God!  Woohoo!  And at night, we have time to sit together, read books, drink tea, actually relax!  It's amazing.  Oh, the little things.  And I know this is probably the calm before the storm but I'm going to enjoy it to the fullest.  And of course things are far from perfect, but by God's grace we're making strides in the right direction.

And here are some pictures from the last month or so...

Modeling winter accessories

Sophie with her fuzzy stick vase creation

Another modeling opp

One strawberry and one ladybug for Halloween

Who can resist a little dress up?  I love having girls!

The girls at the American Girl store on our trip to Chicago in October

Excitement

Lots of exciting things are happening around here.

First, we celebrated Sophie's birthday.  She is 4!!  I say this every time she has a birthday, but seriously it is so fun to watch her grow into a little girl. We celebrated with a pink themed party.  Pink treats, pink drinks, and the girls had to wear something pink.  We had so much fun with her little party.

Then, we took a fun trip to Michigan.  The highlight of the trip was having a surprise birthday party for my Grandma who turned 80.  She is such a sweet and giving woman and for once it was so wonderful to give back a little, and celebrate her!  Along with that, we spent time with my aunt and uncle from Poland who we only get to see every other year or so.  We also did some other fun things, like the Detroit Zoo, Buddy's Pizza (which, if you know my love for Jets, well this is just a teency bit better).  Ahh, mouth watering already!  In the town that Bill and I went to high school,  there is also a great spot to get ice cream, except that it reeks of cow manure.  It's called Cooks Farm Dairy, and well, you guessed it - it is a dairy farm and it smells, but the ice cream is exceptional!  Why are my posts always about food???  But really, it was fun to take the girls there.  They loved seeing the cows and some pigs up close.  Claire liked it so much she had no problem trying to pet them, smelly or not.

Lets move on to other news, Sophie started preschool last week.  She loves it!  When she came home the first day, she didn't seem overly thrilled.  When asked, what was your favorite part?  Her reply: leaving.  Great, I thought.  However, since then she has really really come to like it.  Today she asked why she couldn't go every day and for full days?  I guess being home with Claire and I is a lot less exciting than preschool!

  And there is one last bit of excitement to share, one that involves some tiredness, waves of nausea, a popping belly...that's right, the blessing of pregnancy.  We are excited and thankful for the opportunity to bring another life into the world,  Lord willing, at the end of March 2012.  If you think of us, please pray for the growing life and the growing family.

Summer

Ahh, summer...I love it.  I am already thinking about how much I am not looking forward to cold weather.  I should stop that and just focus on the here and now.

It really has been wonderful.  We started our summer out with a tour of the East Coast...a little stop in Hershey, PA, a weekend in NYC, family in CT, more family in Boston, a wedding weekend in Maine (right on the harbor!), more time in Boston, a day trip to Cape Cod, and a final stop to Niagara Falls on the way home.

But the fun didn't stop there, folks.  It just keeps on coming.  :)  I think the best part of our summer has been hanging out with our neighbors, staying up late, playing hide and seek outside, getting Kona Ice on monday nights, fireworks, chalk all over the driveway and on the kids' clothes, summery treats like frozen yogurt tubes or homemade keifer popsicles, oh and swimming of course!  We are sooooo thankful that the ban on swim diaper children has been lifted.  We've enjoyed the pool ever since and our girls are loving it.

I've totally let go of the fact that the kids won't be in bed by 8:30, that there might be a tantrum the next day because we stayed up late and had too much sugar the night before.  It's cool.  We go to bed later and sometimes even Sophie takes a nap during the day.  Like today.  A trip to the pool in the afternoon means a nap first, and so she goes, willingly.

Oh and did I mention a special anniversary getaway for us 2?  No kids.  We went to a bed and breakfast in Versailles, KY.  The pronunciation of the town here in the midwest just kills me, but we still managed to have a lovely time.  Picture a long back porch and patio,  vines and branches growing into the awning, twinkling lights overlooking a perfectly landscaped garden with lightening bugs fluttering by (never mind the mosquitos that attacked my body and cut our time short on this lovely patio).  But besides for that minor mosquito incident, it was quite charming, relaxing and picturesque!  And we slept in till 8:15!!!  That may have been one of the highlights of the trip, that and a visit to the mall in Lexington where I bought a few things, and went to different stores all in like 45 minutes.  It's amazing what can be accomplished when you don't have to take potty breaks, feed little ones lunch, walk through the build-a-bear store, etc., at the mall.

And summer has also brought a fresh inspiration to do some cooking.  Don't get me wrong, I usually like cooking but sometimes it seems so monotonous/boring/same old, same old.  Of course it's not so boring when you can get your food from a farm, or a farmer's market, or even dare I say the grocery store when it provides something fresh and new!  We have stocked up on some grass fed pork (I didn't even know that pork came grass fed, still need to look into that) but nonetheless it has been delicious as pulled pork in the crock pot.  A couple of recipes worth sharing: chicken kebabs with the perfect salsa accompaniment, and a carrot soup recipe that is refreshing every time I make it!  Thanks Jane, for that last one!

That's it for now, happy summer to you!

Hi Blog

Truly, this has become a once a month event for me, but thats ok.  Once a month is fun too.  We went on vacation for 2 weeks and have been home for almost 2 weeks now and I am still trying to get my ducks in a row, or my kids in order.  It seems like lately I have had a spiritual/child rearing amnesia.  I seem to forget God's goodness, His control over my days, His presence and strength with me.  And on the child side,  I feel like I've forgotten how to do anything!  I have so many good resources for help yet I feel like I've done nothing but get frustrated lately!!  Part of it may be God stripping me of a feeling of reliance on those resources (because when things are going well and the resources are working,  I can find in myself a self righteous pride) and part of it is just being on vacation for 2 weeks and...I think that explains everything!  Resources are good, a right view of God is good.  God is merciful and gracious, because even our best efforts are filthy rags.  

So what are some of these frustrations??  Well there is a little potty training happening which means lots of time spent in the bathroom, a lot of bribery, a lot of talk about pee pee.  We even have an app for that.  Ha! Patty the potty calls and says "it's time to go potty!"  I love it :)  Too bad Claire has totally figured out how to check the box for "I went pee pee in the potty" and press continue which leads her to a celebration - whether she actually went or not.  So as I mentioned we spend a lot of time in the bathroom and this really has me rethinking the color on the walls, I think it might be time for a fresh look!  In the meantime I hope I can grow in my patience during this potty process and not worry if we can't go swimming this summer because of my diaper - laden child.  And then there's an almost 4 year old who is scared to wash her hands by herself because the water is too loud, or "can you get me something else to eat because this peanut butter and jelly is gross (even though she ate 2/3 of it all ready).  She didn't verbalize that last part though.  Or a random tantrum for whatever reason,...ahhhh.  But even as I write this I think, man, they are so worth it and all of small trials (light and momentary they REALLY are, even if it doesn't feel like it) are truly part of God's grace in our lives!!

There have been some joys too, which would be wrong not too mention because after all this is like my digital scrapbook.  This is where I write down funny, cute and random things so don't mind me when you read it and think "guess you had to be there" because that is probably the case.  But if I don't write it here I won't write it anywhere sadly!  Claire has made quite an attachment to her yellow zebra blankie.  She calls it her blank-blank.  She has a lot of words she can't say correctly, so she takes the beginning and repeats it.  Like flower is flow-flow, napkins are nap-nap, and yogurt is yope-yope.  And yope-yope doubles for sour cream because the taste is quite similar...?  Anyway the blank blank goes with her everywhere, including when she sits at the table for meals.  She needs it behind her or wrapped around her.  So needless to say last night she went to bed with a blank-blank that may have doubled as a nap-nap, some taco sauce, yope-yope, the nail polish she spilled...I'll wash it today!  She also loves to say "she's so cute" about other kids.  Regardless of age, gender, real cuteness or anything.  

Sophie has been super interested in the human body.  I think this stemmed from a visit with a friend who had a book about the human body, and now Sophie is hooked.  She knows all about the lungs, the small intestines, taste buds on your tongue, etc.  Today we are going to read about the heart.  She went from wanting to be an animal trainer a year ago to a doctor now.  I just love how she has such a desire to learn, and how she soaks up so much information, and how her interests change.  I can't wait to tell her one day what she wanted to be at certain ages/what she loved to do.  I will obviously need the help of the blog, lets pray I have it saved and printed somewhere because otherwise I will not remember.  

And that is it for now.  I leave you with a video of Claire playing the xylophone with a steak at a children's museum in NYC.  

She's 2!

I am still having a hard time believing that my baby is 2, I think I had the same problem when she turned 1 last year.  I can't continue to be in denial every year, right?  They're just so precious at each stage, I want to savor it - except for the less than precious moments, those I want to erase...mostly because I end up seeing my ugliness and sinful self in it!

But I press on, to celebrate Claire!  She's 2 years old,  27lbs, and I can't quite remember her height but her pediatrician thinks she'll be anywhere from 5'4" to 5'6."  Apparently, you can figure out how tall a person is going to be by doubling their height at age 2, plus or minus an inch.  Didn't think you'd learn something here on my blog, did you?  :)  Or am I the only one who didn't already know that?  Don't answer that.

She's a fun loving little lady.  She continues her umbrella obsession.  She got one for her birthday and don't you dare pick it up, or there will be a scream of "miiiiiiiiine" coming from those sweet little lungs.  :)  She is a little obsessive and possessive with her umbrella, clearly an idol of hers.  She loves to dance, and will dance around the room saying "dance pawty, dance pawty"...it's kinda hilarious.  She is a girl on the go go go.  Really, she has a lot of energy.   She can also be really sweet and tender hearted at moments but mostly she's just running around all the time!  Can you see my yawns through your computer as I write?  It's hard keeping up with an energetic 2 year old!!  :)

Easter & Raindrops

I know it was over a week ago, but I didn't want to forget the nice Easter we had!  And since I don't blog often enough, I have to couple posts together :)

Amidst all the rain, we enjoyed quality time with Bill's parents who flew in to see us.  As I mentioned there was a lot of rain, and accompanying  the countless raindrops was a lot of chocolate.  Man, we ate a lot of chocolate.  Overall, it was a nicely paced weekend - we really enjoyed it all.

Why can't we get 1 picture where everyone is looking in the same direction??

And speaking of raindrops, Claire is currently obsessed with the song "if all the raindrops." And along with the song obsession, she likes to carry this little umbrella around, and when she is watching the raindrops video (it's a terribly made silly songs video) she puts the umbrella over her head.  Isn't it a funny coincidence that she loves this song while we are enjoying so. much. rain?

Looking at the rain filled river from Eden Park

She calls her umbrella "my wain-dops"

The Junklesons & Our Little Latina

You may remember me blogging about Sophie's imaginary brother, Andy.  Well meet the next door neighbors, the Junklesons.  I can't help but chuckle at this.  Sophie made it up all by herself and she named them the Junklesons!  I hope that's how you spell it :)  Jasmine Junkleson is her friend, she's 9.  Her brother, Aladdin is 2.  He's just a baby she says, a baby who can't watch Veggie Tales or The Incredibles yet, only Baby Einstein.  Wonder where she got the names...?

Anyway, I love her imagination.  We are constantly playing something or being some characters from a show or story.  I'm never just Mommy during the day, but rather a mouse, a princess, an evil step mother or an evil sea witch.  What a fun age.  I love the experiences with a first child...you really don't know what stage is coming next but it's such a joy to go through it with them for the first time.

Of course there is no less joy or surprise with the second child, either.  Claire is becoming more and more of a little person.  She is in a very "me, my, mine" stage.   A little on the selfish side at the moment...What cracks me up is her line-up of sentences.  The 3 basic sentences she has are: "I need...", "I want..." and "I like..." whatever the item is.  The best part is when she doesn't actually like something instead of saying I don't like, she still says "I like" while shaking her head no.  

She has a couple of words that she says backwards, and this is where the Latina part comes in.  She can't say Yes, and instead says "si."  It sounds like saying yes in Spanish.  She is constantly saying "si mama."  It's so a part of her vocabulary right now, we just laugh.

And I leave you with some pictures from our super sunny sunday!

We tried to have a picnic lunch in the backyard.

This picture just cracks me up.  Clearly, she is re-fueling during our visit to the playground which she calls  play-town. 

Enjoying the playground, and no the Junklesons weren't at the neighborhood playground this time.

Non stop fun

Visitors, Visitors, Visitors!

Since March 15th, we've had several sets of visitors - all that we thoroughly enjoyed being with!


We began with a visitor from Texas - the manager that Bill worked for while in TX was in town for a meeting so he graciously accepted our offer to have dinner with us.  The girls charmed him with their sweetness,  and it made him reminisce of the time when his kids were younger.  We were glad to have a little Texas reunion!


Later that same evening, we were anxiously waiting for Nana (Bill's mom) to arrive.  She got here right before the girls' bedtime and they were thrilled to see her!  We're thankful for Skype, but other than Skype we had not seen Nana in person since way back in August!  We had a lot of fun.  She brought clothes, games, St. Patty's "decor" and more.  We took our first zoo trip of the season.  We shopped a little, Sophie and Nana did puzzles, and we all played outside because the weather was amazing!  As usual, we had a great visit and are already waiting for Nana to come back!  

Sophie and Nana - don't they look pretty?

Here we are, all decked out in St. Patty's attire courtesy of the Christmas Tree Shops and Nana :)

Sophie modeling one of her new outfits

Claire and her "cheese" face - she looks more constipated than like she's smiling for  the camera though

And Claire getting use out of our new accessories

 In between visits we were able to visit a family here in Kentucky we had not seen since way before we moved to TX.  I met Yukie (from Japan) at a library story time when both of our girls were 1.  We realized that our husbands work together and have gotten together several times.  Well it had been quite a while since our last visit, and it just so happened that Bill and her husband were on the same business trip so it was a perfect opportunity for the rest of us to get together.  I introduced them to Jet's Pizza...only the best for my friends. :)  Yes, this is a plug for Jets.  We LOVE it.  But more than the pizza, we loved spending time with Yukie and her kids.  Her daughter and Sophie really enjoyed each other.  We look forward to more playdates with our sweet Japanese friends!

The next day, my family - mom, dad, and 2 grandmas came in to town.  Another great time.  The kids definitely entertained everyone, they really loved playing with Dziadek (pronounced ja - dek, Polish for Grandpa).  My grandmas especially were amazed at their energy level... :)  As usual, we did a little shopping and took time to celebrate my mom's birthday, a couple days early. After they left, Bill came back from Mexico - perfect timing!  

That is my mom playing dress up with the girls (you're probably thinking that she looks too young to be my mom, she gets that all the time, a problem I would like to have one day!)

Fast forward one week, and our last set of visitors.  Our friends, Josh and Jessica, and their sweet baby Caroline came in a for a visit.  It was our first time to meet Caroline.  She was perfect and sweet, and the girls adored her, at times a little too much :)  but Caroline was a good sport.  We got out to the Levee,  walked on the purple people bridge (though Sophie was not convinced that it was purple), had some Jet's for dinner (can you tell we like it?) watched basketball, and chatted about their jobs as Apple salesmen...hehe...we really had a great time!

Here are the girls with Caroline, Sophie had made a "bed" for her 

We're thankful for family and friends to spend time with!!  Who wants to come next??  

Busy Times

Last time I blogged we were sick.  And a month later, we're just recovering from being sick, again.  It has not been a pleasant winter for us in terms of health.  Spring can't come fast enough!!  But... I was so graciously reminded this morning what light and momentary troubles these are, and what more there is to live for!  Let me share the scripture that has encouraged and refreshed me this morning:


Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:1-6

Besides for being sick, we have been busy and will continue to be.  The girls and I took a trip to Michigan a couple of weeks ago.  It was great to spend time with family and see some old friends.  And a major highlight was reconnecting with my hair stylist from high school.  She did my hair all the time...snowcoming dances to prom to my wedding!  It was so great to see her, and I'm so glad she is still in the area.  I am convinced she is the ONLY person on this side of heaven who knows how to cut  my hair.  :)  Another major highlight was that my Babcia (grandma in Polish) made paczki while I was there.  You might want to see this post to understand the full significance there.  


As far as the girls go, we have signed Sophie up for pre-school.  I'm still feeling bitter sweet about that.  Excited for her, yet can't believe she's already there. She is really interested in the sounds of letters right now.  She is always sounding out letters and trying to figure out what letters are in what words.  She is NOT interested any longer in writing letters.  She gets frustrated and gives up quickly.  So I am trying not to push that too much.  


Claire is saying more and more, in her own way of course.  I'm sure the average person would have NO clue what she is saying most of the time, but we get her :)  She continues to woo us with her sweetness, yet at times exhibits quite the little temper.  


The funniest thing around here lately has been role playing.  Sophie loves to pretend play books or movies.  She also picks who gets to be who.  Here is a little list of what characters she has picked for Claire:
- When we play beauty and the beast, Claire has gotten to be beast
- When we've played fancy nancy, Claire got to be Robert
- The incredibles, Claire got to be Buddy.
- Blue's clues - well she actually got a good part that time - she got to be Joe and I got to be side table drawer :)


You get the picture, Claire is usually the bad guy or the boy!  Guess who gets to be the star???  


That is about it from here.  In march we are looking forward to lots of activities that should keep us quite busy, but they are all good things and Lord willing we will be able to stay focused on what is most important during all of the business. 

You know you're sick...

 Us logozzo girls are sick.  Have been sick.  Continue to be sick.  We are going on week 4 of sicknesses.  If it's not one of us, it's all of us!  Currently, it's all of us.  And it has been sneaky - this virus/infection/cold -whatever it is.  It brings you down for a couple of days, you think you feel better, then BAM!  It hits you again.  Boo, to all of it.  So here's my little list of "you know you've been sick for too long when"...

-  It's special movie time, again.  And again.

- You choose tea in the morning over your beloved cup of coffee.

- A chai tea latte was a NEED today.  No ifs or buts about it.

- There are medicine droppers and cups constantly in your sink.

- Your method for disciplining the kids goes no further than "a look."

- Your kids have a favorite room at the doctor's office.

- You walk out of the doctor's office disappointed that it's just a virus that has to work itself out because   you really wanted antibiotics for them.

- Your daughter (who hasn't napped regularly since last spring) has been faithfully taking naps, sometimes even twice a day.

- Laundry day is always on Monday.  On this Monday, I hope to get through one load.  I'll count that as success.

The upside of it all is extra snuggles, time at home, and a really cute/clever 3 year old who will say things like "I think a movie will really cheer up my heart."  And though we tell her happiness is NOT what we're after, I think it might be special movie time, again.  :)

Oh. Deer.

The buck stopped [slammed] here.  Nice, eh?  

As I was driving to the grocery store last night a deer ran into my car.  It was dark, and a little freaky.  It was so fast, and made quite the impact/sound as it happened... but thankfully I stayed on the road and just kept on to the store.  What's a girl to do?

I guess it was bound to happen living around these parts.  I'm just thankful it wasn't worse and that it was just me in the car.  

It's the second time in my life I've had an accident that left the passenger door un-open-able.  Hopefully the last :)  

It's Only Thursday??

It's been the shortest of weeks, it's been the longest of weeks.  Time seems to be draaaaaging, but at the same time I feel like it's been a really full week.
Let's see, we started the week out getting ready for Bill's birthday which was on Tuesday.  Running errands, looking for presents, baking bread, baking cheesecake - which seemed like the most amazing dessert at the time, with homemade whipped cream.  We had some kiddos over for a playdate, more cooking, celebrating Bill's birthday, eating the cheesecake, opening presents.  Throw in another playdate, and then not feeling quite right.  Got home, yep - felt kind of like someone had beat me up.  Also, was waiting for my mom to get into town as she had been planning on coming in for a few days.  Thank the Lord, that she came, because I was out of commission with a stomach bug/flu thing...not sure exactly what it was.  All I know is that same amazing cheesecake -- I don't want to touch it with a 10 foot pole.  Today I am recovering, not feeling awesome but feeling better.  It's snowing a lot, it feels really chilly, and time is just slowly crawling along.  Definitely thankful for family, blankets, and laughs even in the midst of less than desirable circumstances.

At Last

It's been a looong time since my last blog entry.  I finally have a minute or 30, that I can guiltlessly spend on blogging.  I can't explain what I have been doing, why I have been so busy....but this has just not been a top priority, until now and these nice free minutes.  

We had a wonderful time celebrating all of the festivities of Christmas.  We spent our time in Michigan visiting both friends and family.  The kids got totally off schedule and ate too much candy - I guess that would be true for their parents too!  Seriously, what is it about Christmas time that entitles us to eat cookie after cookie, throw in some fudge, Christmas candy, gingerbread this, gingerbread that...?  I miss it.  I'll be honest.   My body certainly doesn't!  Thankfully Jillian and I have reconnected for some much needed exercise time.

Bill was off of work for a total of 7 weeks since moving back from Texas.  His first day back at work was last Monday and although we miss him we needed the routine and schedule of normal life again!

In his time off, he built these beautiful bookcases in our study!

We continue to delight in our sweet little children, and at other times stand speechless at how sinful the same cute little creatures can really be... clingy, crying, whining, screaming, flailing, outright defiant.  Perfect for our sanctification, God working in us and our hearts.  Those times of their sin tend to really expose so much of mine!!  So humbling, and thankful that God is not speechless and surprised at my sin, only through the blood of Christ.  Thank you Lord!

Lets go back to the sweet part:  Claire is just a sweet little thing.  Obsessed with Elmo.  Her favorite phrases are:  "I want that", "oh no",  and "low-lu" (love you).   Sophie is just growing up right along.  She is learning how to write some letters.  That is fun, I love watching her learn!!  She also has a brother, ahem, a 16 year old imaginary brother.  His name is Andy, thank you Toy Story 3.  Andy sits between Claire and Sophie in the car (thankfully we haven't had to get a van since his addition to our family), he goes on playdates with them.  He does NOT like Elmo, Sophie has made that clear.  I hate to break it to her, but I am not old enough to have a 16 year old son!

And that is it for now!  I'm hoping to make this blogging thing a little more regular again.