tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10926733858470796402024-02-18T21:45:46.274-08:00the happenings of mike, sarah, greta, calla & samuel johnsonMichael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-57824446059908499452011-12-04T21:31:00.000-08:002011-12-04T22:41:59.132-08:00it is time.it's time to get this thing going again. why now? well, i need a place to track all the funny stories about our kids and i don't want to start forgetting them. so, if anyone out there is still checking this blog- can't imagine anyone is, but you never know- you are in luck. today i'm sharing one of my new favorite kid stories.<br /><br />we were in chicago for 10 days over thanksgiving. a wonderful time was had by all. lots of time with family, and mainly a lot of cousin time for the kids. it was a great time with everyone. we always feel very thankful for how much we enjoy being with our families, and this trip was no exception.<br /><br />on to the story....<br /><br />greta & maja were playing one day, and all of a sudden the conversation turned to...<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">maja- "greta, only baby boys have penises"</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">greta- "maja, no. big boys have penises too"</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">maja- "no, greta. only baby boys have penises"</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">greta- "no, maja. it's not just baby boys, grown up boys have penises too"</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">maja- "no, greta. just baby boys have penises"</span><br />they proceed to run upstairs, where greta runs to find mike.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">greta- "dad. you need to come to the bathroom with me & maja right now so you can PROVE to maja that big boys have penises too."</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">mike- "that is not happening."</span><br /><br />yes, folks. there you have it. an amazing anatomy lesson from one 7 year old to another.Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-58051344209424039992010-05-04T21:48:00.000-07:002010-05-04T21:55:00.564-07:00praying for our bodies...yes, it's another blog entry about praying, but this is too good to not share.<br /><br />tonight mike was praying with the girls while he put them to bed and calla starting praying for their bodies.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">thank you, Jesus for my body.<br />thank you for mom's body.<br />thank you for greta's body.<br />thank you for daddy's body.<br />thank you for dad's long tail.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></span></span>i don't think you need me to explain what the "tail" is.<br /><br />****************************************************************************************<br /><br />while i'm sharing callaisms, i don't want to forget these two:<br />1) <span style="font-style: italic;">you bird-ed</span> (her version of "you burped")<br />2) while singing "grand ole flag" (yes, we are very patriotic around here these days), instead of singing "it's a high flying flag" she sings, "it's a highhhh-ing flag".<br /><br />i know these pale in comparison to praying for a "tail" but i don't want to forget them.Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-28922389190085281152010-05-04T21:30:00.000-07:002010-05-04T21:47:34.022-07:00and then there were five!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTzfDPO-NOJ47D_DFeXkZc3iqGBL1pjA6CiP3OheQfo0PxKNJAzOKi4glBB8H3p7WDMObETldKKshHPcFmLsIpiMv_WPka0LAOFnDHU_uiPupBRnoSDTBAwRuilJyXD70F_syCuP6exf-/s1600/IMG_1597.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTzfDPO-NOJ47D_DFeXkZc3iqGBL1pjA6CiP3OheQfo0PxKNJAzOKi4glBB8H3p7WDMObETldKKshHPcFmLsIpiMv_WPka0LAOFnDHU_uiPupBRnoSDTBAwRuilJyXD70F_syCuP6exf-/s320/IMG_1597.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467642908415042498" border="0" /></a><br />i can't imagine there is anyone who reads this blog who doesn't know the big news yet...BUT...just in case...we've had ourselves a BOY!<br /><br />Samuel Michael Johnson was born April 18, 2010 at 4:09pm. 6 lbs, 6 oz, 20 inches long and every single part of him is perfect! we are loving having a boy. i'm not going to lie, it's been a bit of a hard transition (think lots of high fevers, sickies, jaundice, emotions flying all over the place, etc), yet with all the chaos going on we are trying to soak up every minute of our new baby boy. and he could not be more perfect. we are so thankful to have a healthy, happy (we are getting lots of those newborn baby "smiles") baby- it's going to be fun watching him grow up with his two older sisters. it definitely feels like our family is complete with Samuel.Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-56161318788552973832010-03-18T20:50:00.000-07:002010-03-18T20:54:59.668-07:00but MoM!a few days ago greta came to me wimpering about a scratch on her face. i looked at her check and saw a line that was welting up and blood was showing. i asked greta what happened and she said, "calla scratched me." when i asked calla about it, she responded with, "but mom- i didn't scratch greta, i was just trying to pull her hair!" once again, at least they're honest!Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-28820783343413696312010-03-13T22:11:00.000-08:002010-03-14T21:12:22.881-07:00fierce determinationgreta is a girl who sets her mind to something and doesn't stop until she accomplishes her goal. case in point- about a week ago she decided she wanted to learn to snap her fingers. she started with "snapping" her thumb and pointer finger. we showed her the right way to do it and she practiced...and practiced, and practiced, and practiced...and after a week of practicing she did it! seeing the satisfaction on her face was priceless, she was so proud of herself. after reaching this goal we were driving to school while she practiced her new-found skill of snapping, making sure she had it just right to show her friends. now we have the - "it's fun to share these things with your friends, but be sure you're not bragging..." talk. i have a sneaking suspicion that while at school there might have been some bragging going on!Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-47046075398051636672010-03-04T08:53:00.000-08:002010-03-04T08:57:01.949-08:00yellow tooththe girls have developed this habit of waking up together and climbing in bed with us in the morning. it's their "wake up" call to mom & dad (usually by 7am every morning). a few days ago we were in this morning routine and greta suddenly said, "mom- you have a yellow tooth. dad, look, mom has a yellow tooth!" she proceeded to point to my canine and said, "see, it's yellow." looks like all my coffee drinking is catching up with me. time to break out the crest white strips. nothing like a 5 year old to tell it how it is!Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-73765091851165058462010-03-01T20:20:00.000-08:002010-03-01T20:33:25.372-08:00moving, the willamette, and marywe have had a whirlwind several months, which all culminated this past weekend with our move from corvallis to portland. mike got a job in portland and we are staying with my folks until we figure out a house. we spent the past weekend moving all of our things to a storage unit & then cleaning up our cute little bungalow- oh, how we loved that little house on 7th street. even though we were busy moving & cleaning, we had a wonderful time with friends- we are SO thankful for our corvallis community & will MISS it (we're glad it's driving distance!!!). so that is the story of moving (a brief version- there were lots of tears shed, frustrating moments of "what the frick are we doing!?!?!", and of course the task of packing- i so hope our next move is into a house which we will live for a long, long time!)...now come the funny stories.<div><br /></div><div>as we were pulling out of corvallis last night greta started yelling, "GOOD BYE CORVALLIS!" "we will miss you corvallis!" "we will come visit soon corvallis!" then as we were crossing the bridge over the river she said, "Good bye Willamette River" then quickly, "wait a minute, i don't need to say good bye to the willamette river, it travels all the way to portland!" hello smarty pants!</div><div><br /></div><div>today's story is one of my all-time favorites though. calla and i were at tj maxx buying some gifts and as we were checking out in line calla says (keep in mind, she has no indoor voice), "mom, look, it's mary." i look back in line and there is a woman with a blue head covering, her whole face showing, who did look just like a 3 year old version of mary from the bible. the woman clearly could hear us so i said, "yes calla- she is beautiful." and calla responded, "mom, she looks like mary. she looks beautiful." i was pleased to look back, smile at the lady and see that she had a huge grin on her face- no offense taken. whew. much better than last week when calla saw a woman with rather long, big, puffy gray hair walking down our street and said (again, loudly), "mom- look- she has CRAZY hair." and then she proceeded to laugh hysterically. that- not so sweet, today- very sweet, both totally innocent. i am daily reminded how much i love this age, both the good & the "bad."</div>Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-64517618400475398632010-02-07T22:44:00.000-08:002010-02-07T22:51:38.258-08:00cutie piesomewhere along the way mike started calling greta his "angel girl" and calla his "cutie pie". and somewhere along the way calla took the cutie pie to heart, to the point that she prays that God makes her a cutie pie (regularly) and announces it loud & clear to all who will listen. tonight we were watching the game with neighbors, when she declared- "i'm a cutie pie and can talk all day!" oh boy, we'll have to make sure she doesn't get too big of a head on those cute little shoulders! :)Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-31696311325810533842010-01-03T12:09:00.000-08:002010-01-03T12:13:09.335-08:00they are only little once.I found this today and love it...words to live by with young kids.<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>as we potty train calla & teach greta to read i need to enjoy every moment of it. even the poop in the underwear accident & the "please, can we read right now?" (while i'm in the middle of making dinner). we love these girls & butter baby (as the girls refer to the bun-in-the-oven).<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />"On Being Mom" by Anna Quindlen</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">If not for the photographs, I might have a hard time believing they ever existed. The pensive infant with the swipe of dark bangs and the black-button eyes of a Raggedy Andy doll. The placid baby with the yellow ringletsand the high piping voice. The sturdy toddler with the lower lip that curled into an apostrophe above her chin. All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who so</span><span style="font-style: italic;">metimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past. Everything in all the books I once pored over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach, T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early childhood education, all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I susp</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations -- what they taught me was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One boy is toilet trained at 3, his brother at 2. When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed onhis bellyso that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome. To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is te</span><span style="font-style: italic;">rrifying, and then soothing.Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month-old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China. Next year he goes to college. He can ta</span><span style="font-style: italic;">lk just fine. He can walk, too.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the Remember-When-Mom-Did Hall of Fame. The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, What did you get wrong? (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons...What was I thinking?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Even today I'm not sure w</span><span style="font-style: italic;">hat worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The book</span><span style="font-style: italic;">s said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.<br /></span>Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-85243043658731894432010-01-03T09:42:00.001-08:002010-01-03T09:46:21.516-08:00calla's prayersfor whatever reason it seems we have a lot of posting about prayers, which must mean our children are very holy- right? :) whatever the reason, last night i was listening to calla for about 30 minutes as she rambled prayers in her room (it was way past her bedtime, but i enjoyed listening to her so much i let her keep going...).<br /><br />just to give you an idea of her ramblings...<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"dear god, please pray for my daddy, and for my grandma get better, and pray that i go to bed and stay in bed, and for going poops and pees on the potty. amen."<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span>the girl kills me!Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-40936645431931423072009-12-09T14:25:00.000-08:002010-01-21T20:54:42.903-08:00m&m'stoday after lunch calla was the lucky recipient of some m&ms. she was counting them & talking to mike about them, when she picked up a red one & said, "<span style="font-style: italic;">dad, it doesn't have a 3 on it!</span>" sure enough, it was a blank!Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-5959045018441559752009-11-08T14:47:00.000-08:002009-11-08T14:52:04.916-08:00claiming her rootsyesterday the girls & i had a starbucks date...we were also trying to let dad sleep in. i had my first gingerbread latte of the season (it was worth the year long wait!) and the girls had hot chocolates.<br /><br />calla was being crazy, making all sorts of faces & noises, when i said- "where in the world did you come from?!?!?!" greta's answer was priceless...<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">mom- we came from sweden!</span>Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-55567741886466177362009-11-05T13:30:00.001-08:002009-11-05T14:36:59.028-08:00we're expanding...coming sometime around may 6th!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YzUdz4kvMlyUmJ0VaiXu7p1S5aoOwChloZl40hE55gX1jQGCD9DdlWoDv9KDvxrokHkE1s2qJmPkEKmh4CLER_zqYLVo9clzkQMGzNGKknXjvL1A4N45iSBCsC_xvrBO_QR3YXzBXXU6/s1600-h/DSC04484.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YzUdz4kvMlyUmJ0VaiXu7p1S5aoOwChloZl40hE55gX1jQGCD9DdlWoDv9KDvxrokHkE1s2qJmPkEKmh4CLER_zqYLVo9clzkQMGzNGKknXjvL1A4N45iSBCsC_xvrBO_QR3YXzBXXU6/s320/DSC04484.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400751387298453346" border="0" /></a><br />we just told the girls, so now it's time to share the big news- johnson baby #3 is arriving sometime this spring (due date may 6th, which really means sometime in april for me!). the girls can't wait for "our new family" (calla) and to "help with changing diapers, pushing the stroller & holding the baby" (greta). we are so excited & can't wait to welcome this little one. the big debate now is to find out the sex or not!?!?! we have not done it before, but it's so tempting now!Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-4311848992012703112009-11-01T20:28:00.000-08:002009-11-01T20:49:48.281-08:00for the love of the gamewe have quite a bit of sports talk around our house lately. greta discovered baseball this summer & loved spending many an afternoon/evening playing with dad in the backyard...and with mom & calla...but it was really about greta & dad. it also helps that she has a yankee loving, world series watching dad so she is fully engaged in watching sports on tv now, too. this love is not only for baseball, it's for football, or really any sport that she can watch. the best part for me (the non-sports lover) are the things the girls say. <br /><br />here are my favorites:<br /><br />greta- <span style="font-style: italic;">dad, which team are you yanking for?</span> (yes- yanking. not rooting, but yanking- i think this proves her dad is a true yankee lover)<br /><br />calla- <span style="font-style: italic;">dad, do you want to watch some golfball with me?</span> a better example of this is me telling calla it's time for bed & her replying with- <span style="font-style: italic;">um, i need to</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">watch a little golfball with my daddy.</span><br /><br />they base the teams they are rooting, excuse me, i mean <span style="font-style: italic;">yanking</span> for, based on the name. for example- greta was yanking for the angels over the yankees because she liked the name better. now she is yanking for the yankees because the phillies does not sound very good. and yesterday in football is was the ducks over the trojans because- <span style="font-style: italic;">the trojans is a crazy name!</span>Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-81904591501337456262009-10-22T11:39:00.000-07:002009-10-22T11:45:07.463-07:00being a big sister is tough work!today greta walked into the kitchen and declared- "mom, sometimes it's awful having a little sister!" when i asked why she said, "well, sometimes she gets in the way and hits & pinches. and when i was coloring my snow white picture she pushed my head down to the table." (sidenote- calla is a bit of a bully- she just hasn't figured out how to channel her frustrations- she's well- meaning, for the most part!). i then asked greta if she enjoyed laughing, playing house & dress up, snuggling up in bed together, etc with calla. she hesitated and nodded her head yes, but in the end left the room saying, "still...sometimes it's awful having a little sister." being a 4 1/2 year old is tough sometimes!Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-13655595329812785392009-09-27T21:38:00.001-07:002009-09-27T21:43:28.512-07:00things i don't want to forgetthat calla calls her big sister "det-ta" and granola bars are "mereal bars".<br /><br />that greta asks every day - "am i going to school today?" it's nice to know she loves the place that much (and we hope this love for education lasts forever!).<br /><br />and that tonight we watched "the sound of music" for the first time together and my heart was happy the whole time. what a fun memory, probably more for me then them (especially since calla decided to "go to work" in the middle of the movie), but still, i love sharing those moments with our girls.Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-28822991320605381712009-08-06T10:00:00.000-07:002009-08-06T10:06:09.969-07:00it happened.calla climbed out of her crib yesterday. she was supposed to be taking a nap, when suddenly she walked into the bathroom to see me. she is trouble with a capital T!<br /><br />***just in case you were wondering- there were no injuries of any sort- she is perfectly fine. we are the ones who now need to figure out if it's time to transition to the big girl bed. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">i've</span> been telling her once she learns to go potty on the big girl potty she can get a big girl bed- maybe calla will be so motivated she'll potty train herself overnight! :)Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-1990669884640980462009-07-30T10:25:00.001-07:002009-07-30T10:34:58.999-07:00she's getting there...greta has been asking me to teach her how to read. while i really look forward to doing this, we have some steps to take before getting there- like knowing lower case letters! in the process she is doing a lot of writing out words. she will ask me, "mom- how do you spell (fill in the blank)?" and then she will go on to write out all the letters. she knows to write her letters from left to write, in a fairly straight line, to form a word. <br /><br />yesterday she was making a birthday card for her friend. she asked me how to spell LOVE, then wrote it out. next she asked me how to spell ARI- this is her friend. she wrote A-R-I and then paused to say, "but mom- that doesn't make sense- shouldn't there be an E on the end of her name?" someone is getting it!!! the hard part was me explaining the sounds...we might need a workbook of some sort to help us along the way, but it's amazing, exciting & fun watching her learn. she is such a sponge (calla, too) that i want to take advantage of this time...which is a large part of the reason why i quit my job. time to stay home and be with these girls - teach them more, play with them more, love on them more...doesn't get better than that!Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-41982899714994377542009-06-30T21:35:00.001-07:002009-06-30T21:42:02.304-07:00rash, pneumonia, and ear infection- oh my!yes, it's true- we were sick again. this time it started with pink eye over a week ago, which we nipped in the bud immediately (poor calla- she did NOT like those eye drops!). there was some coughing going on, but it seemed we were on the upswing, until...greta woke up saturday with a rash covering her body, we took her to urgent care and they listened to her coughing, took x-rays & concluded it was a form of pneumonia that involves a rash. off to get anti-biotics and greta is on the mend. sunday had us back in urgent care for mike- with, what he believes (we need to verify with his mom), was his first ear infection. another set of anti-biotics and hopefully this is it.<br /><br />so now we are working to de-stress and change our diet. my cousin's husband is doctor, focusing on whole body wellness. he is going to analyze our diet (keeping a food diary) and then give us suggestions. at this point we are going to try everything possible to get healthy...which might involve many more things- to be discussed later...Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-22158072173510282152009-06-15T10:56:00.000-07:002009-06-15T10:59:46.667-07:00who's the boss?a few days ago i overheard greta telling calla- "<span style="font-style: italic;">calla, the big kids are the boss of you." </span>i quickly jumped in and said-<span style="font-style: italic;">"greta, moms & dads are the boss- you are not the boss of your sister."</span><br /><br />greta's response- <span style="font-style: italic;">"Mom, Jesus is really the boss of all of us."<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></span></span>WOW! i got trumped by a 4 year old!<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></span></span>Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-79501710517396902532009-06-08T15:48:00.001-07:002009-06-08T15:59:34.752-07:00too many ideas, not enough timelately my craftiness is starting to get the best of me. as in- all i want to do is craft projects. i just finished an apron for a friend & now i have a laundry list of other things all vying for my attention! where to begin? i need to finish mike's father's day gift & i'm working on fixing up the girl's upstairs table & chairs. i think the fact the table top gave greta a giant splinter under her fingernail (ouch!) was a pretty good indicator that the table is not okay in it's current form. (i'll take some before & after shots).<br /><br />but here is the problem- i also want to do <a href="http://purlbee.squarespace.com/oilcloth-grocery-tote/">this</a>, and <a href="http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/5842">this</a>, and i'd love to try to recreate anything from <a href="http://katiedid.squarespace.com/">here</a>, and i have several ideas (and fabric to use) for skirts for the girls. mike has 4, yes you read that right- FOUR - days left of school and then it's summer break! well, not really since i still have to work and he will be working, but it's going to feel so leisurely in comparison to life with him in school (just picture me with the girls 24/7 and that is basically life with mike in school). and i <span style="font-style: italic;">hope</span> that during this break he finds a full time job that wants to hire him when he's done in december. and i also <span style="font-style: italic;">hope </span>that i can use my free time to enjoy some summer cocktails & crafty nights. the fact that there will be an extra set of hands with the girls (and with chores- oh how i look forward to not doing every single load of laundry for the summer!) already has me relaxed and revving to go...craft/organization/beautification projects- i'm coming!Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-2864373645961144212009-06-04T09:32:00.001-07:002009-06-04T23:24:55.958-07:00since they are gonethe girls went to my parent's house yesterday and stayed the night. they have done this before, but usually it's b/c we have something going on, we are sick, etc. yesterday it was really for no reason. mike is studying for finals (he's done in 8 days, not that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">i'm</span> counting!) and i had no plans for the evening. a full night with NO plans!?!?! i can't remember the last time i had a night like that. at first i didn't know what to do with myself, but the night quickly filled up- hair (it keeps getting shorter), gym, dinner with mike and the rest of the evening was devoted to gutting through the mounds of girl's clothing we have acquired over the past four years. garage sale- here we come.<br /><br />back to the reason for this post- last night mike got out the video camera and since we couldn't tuck the girls in to bed, we watched some video from dinner a few nights ago. it was another night of laughing hysteria & another night we didn't want to end. (i need to figure out how to post video!). then we were laying in bed talking about the girls & their funnies, so before i forget - and because we miss them - here are the current favorites:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">calla- "green hair!" </span>(we have our first official family inside joke)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">greta</span>- </span>basing her decision to go to grandma & papa's house<span style="font-style: italic;">- "well, you know, they do have a really good <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">mcdonald's</span> in their town. it's probably even better then the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">mcdonald's</span> in our town, so we should probably go to their house." </span>(apparently <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">mcdonald's</span> play structures are a big determining factor!)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">calla</span>- when we ask her "what color are your eyes?" she rolls her eyes up to the top of her head & tries to "see" what color they are- this last for about 5 minutes b/c we are all rolling with laughter & she knows she is putting on a good show. it's her new party trick.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">greta</span>- "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">mazagine</span></span>", in reference to magazines and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">"pale nolish"</span> for nail polish.<br /><br />the other new dinner time entertainment is cheering each other on when we're finishing up dinner. when the girls decide they are done, but still need to eat a few more bites, we chant, "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">greta</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">greta</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">greta</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">greta</span>..." until she takes a big bite & then we cheer. same goes for calla (and mom & dad)- it's a great way for them to finish eating a few bites and we are all happy & laughing. much better then the old - "girls, please finish your food!" (in a harsh tone). it's amazing how we get creative with things as time goes on and learn through trial & error. parenting- it's a learning process! :) what we don't have to learn is that we love our girls & miss them when they are gone.Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-3695768142189861672009-05-29T22:23:00.000-07:002009-05-29T22:39:28.454-07:00what dat noise?calla has been using this phrase for the past few months. anything & everything she hears she asks, "what <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">dat</span> noise?" sometimes it's the train coming, a siren, honking...but sometimes we don't even know what she is hearing because whatever it is, it seems it's audible only to her. a toddler's <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">curiosity</span> is such an amazing thing.<br /><br />tonight over dinner she took her token "what <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">dat</span> noise" phrase and changed it up on us. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">greta</span> was telling me a story about gymnastics and how after class (mike took both the girls so i could finish getting dinner ready) she saw "a guy with green hair and no shirt on- so you could see his ovals." <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">apparently</span> this is her word for nipples, and when we all started laughing calla said her new "what <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">dat</span> noise" phrase - "what you talk-a-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">ing</span> about?" then we started laughing at her & it was all downhill (or uphill, depending on how you feel about uncontrollable laughter) from there. mike & calla started <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">imitating</span> each other, saying "what you talk-a-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">ing</span> about" over & over, and then <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">greta</span> asked, "why are you guys <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">argu</span>-u-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">ing</span>?" it was one of those nights where i wanted dinner to last forever. we frosted cupcakes after dinner for no reason other than sometimes you just need a cupcake with sprinkles and princess graham crackers on top. it was just one of those nights- love it!Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-15942386349562713112009-05-28T11:56:00.000-07:002009-05-28T12:26:17.884-07:00how could i forget my camera?this past weekend was full of all kinds of fun adventure- and since i failed to have my camera around for any of it- you will just need to use your imaginations (plus a few links here & there) to get an idea of what the weekend held.<br /><br />friday we headed to the gym in the morning, where the girls played with their church/school/gym friends. i then cut my hair (it seems i officially am a short hair girl. no matter what i do i can't seem to grow it out- so now the question remains- when will i officially have "mom" hair? or do i have it already?) while the girls played with more friends. then we headed to gymnastics that night and finished off the evening by going out to pizza with our gymnastics friends.<br /><br />saturday we hung out at home all day & then had our first family bike ride! greta rode by herself across the streets and was awesome! calla fell asleep in the trailer and i relearned how to ride a bike after all these years (i can't even remember the last time i rode, but now that i have one of <a href="http://bikespace.net/largeImages/821001579.jpg">these</a> i want to ride all the time!). it was awesome. rode to the <a href="http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i.pbase.com/g6/68/573568/2/86662956.wQRalgeT.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pbase.com/ellisinaz/image/86662956&usg=__XWW0AsCsDYNcHhBn4GWPJszX-bQ=&h=600&w=800&sz=104&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=bOgw1ImaA-HXVM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcorvallis%2Bfountain%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1">fountain</a> where we had a picnic and the girls played until they were soaked. well, calla was soaked, greta was not really into the fountain as much as riding the scooter we borrowed from our neighbor.<br /><br />sunday was church, followed by a day spent in mcminnville in the carlson's backyard. saw friends, celebrated jakob's 4th birthday and enjoyed every minute of it. after the party and dinner we headed to my parent's house, where the girls got their first <a href="http://www.target.com/Huffy-Princess-Scooter/dp/B0012NBMM4">scooter</a>, and greta received a lovely <a href="http://www.target.com/Girls-Princess-Gown-Pink/dp/B001N5CV5S/qid=1243537858/ref=br_1_11/180-8548070-7081735?ie=UTF8&node=681016011&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1">nightgown</a>, which she is trying to convince us is really clothing.<br /><br />monday we went out to a fabulous <a href="http://miloscitycafe.com/default.aspx">breakfast</a> in portland with my family and grandpa. i sometimes am a complete genius and this was one of those times. i brought bead necklaces the girls could work on while they were waiting for their food (gotta love the michaels dollar bins). so they sat and created some plastic bead beauties while we waited for our food. the funniest part about the meal is that greta ordered a <a href="http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsM2A-9DhsVEqVDUoEs3ZwvNdMWP4A3djSs4rN0E1rzA8iQ8AzwWIOswwcM09A2KVPczZSryvTp25i-vURYu1WwPp8K0XcnrsgEtZ8d6DW0GYpm842Jl0kqlHFTRzFOHAVFm7PUiwzV20/s400/MonteCristo-main_Full.jpg&imgrefurl=http://idahofergusonfamily.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html&usg=__szancuXdYSpvXCD-XtsIa1XDfRA=&h=300&w=400&sz=30&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=wKM84FjDkl033M:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmonte%2Bcristo%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1">monte cristo</a>- she cracks me up sometimes! we left there to head home & hit our local outdoor water park <a href="http://www.ci.corvallis.or.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=559&Itemid=501">otter beach</a>. i was not sure if the girls would love or hate it, but hours later i was pretty sure it was a hit! we met up with some friends there and it was a fabulous day, especially since mike joined us (we aren't going to see much of him these next few weeks as he finishes up school). after hours playing we went out for ice cream cones at mcdonalds (and enjoyed the play structure too), then we were off to friends from church for a bbq...a perfect end to a pretty perfect weekend.<br /><br />now i really am kicking myself for forgetting my camera! but at least we can remember all the fun things we did for the weekend & we have a few visual aids to help out.Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1092673385847079640.post-17648448402840584782009-05-18T12:51:00.000-07:002009-05-18T14:25:44.391-07:00Spring sing, Belle & Callanow that i've committed to keeping up the blog, it's time for some photos!<br /><br />last thursday greta had her spring sing at school. it was about 15 minutes of the kids singing various songs & it was probably one of the tamest programs i've seen. no one did anything crazy and it was structured- kind of a big surprise and i have to admit, sort of disappointing! i totally look forward to the chaos that comes with a kid's program, so i was waiting & waiting for some sort of disaster and while it was still really nice, i wanted to see a meltdown or one kid singing & dancing out of control. at the same time, it was SO fun watching greta up there. she was so excited to see us & very diligent about making sure she followed the moves and that she sang loud & clear.<br /><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/johnssar/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpg" alt="" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec7709cbc9a8700000030O08CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 550px; height: 400px;" src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec7709cbc9a8700000030O08CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec77047c45b3a00000030O28CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D2/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 550px; height: 400px;" src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec77047c45b3a00000030O28CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D2/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec771e0b0baf900000020O28CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D2/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 550px; height: 400px;" src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec771e0b0baf900000020O28CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D2/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />i also took greta to her first play. we went to see beauty & the beast. her friend scarlet (who is 12, but greta refers to her as her friend) was in the play and greta loved it. took a little getting over the scary beast, but she turned to me during the play and said, "mom, this is a really, really good movie!" everyone near us got a good chuckle out of that one.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec7705c091b6200000020O38CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D3/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 550px; height: 400px;" src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec7705c091b6200000020O38CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D3/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />then there is calla. it seems like poor calla gets neglected on this blog when it comes to story telling. and it's not because we lack stories about calla, i think it's more that she can't talk much. she's getting there, but her stories involve more physical activity and i don't know if she wants us to mention all the bullying she does on here! :) i will say my absolute favorite thing about calla is that she laughs- all the time, about everything. if she falls down - she laughs. if she is talking to greta - she laughs. if she is being a monster - she laughs. if we say it's time for...(fill in the blank- dinner, bedtime, getting dressed) - she laughs. everything she does- she does it with a laugh. life doesn't get much better than that!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec77191377bee00000020O38CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D3/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 550px; height: 400px;" src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec77191377bee00000020O38CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D3/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec770a2001b1400000020O28CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D2/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 550px; height: 400px;" src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec770a2001b1400000020O28CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D2/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec7707387da5300000020O28CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D2/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 550px; height: 400px;" src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec7707387da5300000020O28CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D2/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec771bac1baa500000020O28CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D2/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 550px; height: 400px;" src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db39b3127ccec771bac1baa500000020O28CYsWLRw3cA9vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D2/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/" alt="" border="0" /></a>Michael-Sarah-Greta-Calla-Samuelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06342675133796920926noreply@blogger.com1