Birthday Balloons for Christopher

As I was bouncing on the trampoline with Noelle yesterday afternoon, I thought happily of the peaceful evening at home I had ahead of me. Nowhere to go, lots of time to read Augustine's City of God, and work on my Great Books essay refuting idol worship.

Then, driving home, I remembered Chris's birthday was the next day. And that he works all night at a 24/7 gym downtown. And that balloons are really fun.

When I told my siblings my idea of surprising Chris with a bundle of balloons and a chorus of "happy birthdays" at midnight (so that it would officially be the 29th, his birthday), they were super excited with the idea. So, instead of dutifully studying, I...

Did henna with Tori and Julia.
This is Tori's tat before she took the mud off (it has to set for 12 hours).

Then I went to Publix to buy balloons. This is Caroline rocking out on the way there.

You can tell they're in the store "where shopping is a pleasure." ;)

This is Mike, the nice guy who blew up a balloon of every color for us.

And posed in a picture with us.
(Notice my stellar outfit. Yes, I had already changed into my "comfy clothes" for that quiet evening at home.)

When Macy suggested we dress up in exercise clothes, we jumped at the idea. While Tori was changing, she morphed into this beautiful creature: Eugenie, exerciser extraordinaire.

Around 11:00pm, Drew got home and put on his work-out outfit.

At 11:45, we were rolling out of the driveway--hardcore style.

Hardcore.

Hardcore.

Hardcore....or not.

We were definitely parked when this was taken. Yep.

Now Macy, just because your sister is really funny-looking doesn't mean you should call her a loser. Tsk tsk.

Shoulder angel and devil.
Which one's the angel and which one's the devil ?

And finally, after a car-ride filled with lots of photos, music, and one-way roads, we arrived at the Metro 24/7 Gym! Retro is more like it....

When we walked into the gym, Chris was standing behind the front desk. At first he didn't recognize who we were. Once we started saying "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!", though, I think he figured it out.

Happy Birthday, Christopher! I'm so glad you're part of our family. :)

Three In One

Picture's are up! Finally.

This semester I am only taking one class (Great Books II) so that I will have time to work almost full-time. The Lord has been so good in providing me with several part-time nanny jobs, and lots of here and there babysitting. Each dollar I make is slipped away into the I-think-I'm-going-to-Idaho fund, as I pray about God's plan for my college career.

Anyway, this past Tuesday I had three babysitting jobs in one day. At 8:45am, I was knocking at the P's door. After playing around their house for awhile, Logan, Austin, and I walked/rode-in-the-wagon/tricycled over to my house.

Aren't they the cutest? (Despite the two year age difference between them, they're almost exactly the same size.)

When I tried to feed Austin at his house, he wouldn't eat. But check out the longing expression on his face as he gazes into my pantry! (Odd, since they have all kinds of goodies and we don't have a whole lot on the shelves [thank you, Dave Ramsey])

Logan was particularly excited about playing Wii (and so was Caroline, since it gave her a good excuse to get out of school for a while). According to Caro, Logan was really good at Wii Sports. Four-year-olds are really quite impressive.

Austin is pretty safety-conscious. He insisted on wearing his helmet in the wagon. Or maybe he just didn't trust my pulling skills....

At 1:00pm, I rapped on the N's front door and was greeted by the wild barking of Sal, Huckleberry, and Charlie, the crazy (but very cute) Shelties who live within. Soon the door opened, and sweet little baby Hunter was in my arms!

After a big lunch, he laughed and smiled for me as I bounced him on my lap (at risk of being spit up all over. Since he started eating solids, his spit-up has been multicolored. Fun.)

Looking in the mirror usually makes Hunter giggle. This time he looks a little worried. Maybe my new, I-bought-them-because-they-were-really-really-cheap sunglasses were freakin' him out a bit?

Look at that face! He is just so cute. His mommy calls me his girlfriend, and I must admit I really don't mind. Who wouldn't want to be taken by such a handsome young man?

While we were out strolling, baby fell asleep.

That, of course, didn't last for long. He woke up hungry and ready for his afternoon snack. With sweet potatoes all over his face, he looked just like Baby Messy.

Baby Messy is the doll/pillow I have slept with every night since I was born. Despite what others might think, she's actually very clean. ;)

At 6:00pm, I let myself in at the G's. Noelle immediately ushered me upstairs to do ballet and play school. Since we didn't have much time before bed-time, she wasn't wasting minutes on lengthy greetings!

I felt like I should feel like such a working woman, working from 8:45am till 10:00pm. But being with my kiddos is more fun than it is work. :)

Tori and Julia are hollering for me to come to the kitchen so they can tat me up with henna, so I must go. Adiue!

Technology Frustration!

Who knew getting pictures from the camera onto the computer would be a feat too great for me to accomplish?! I have lots of cute pictures of my adorable kiddos to post here. But I guess they'll just have to wait until Drew gets home with his Mac. =/

The Sun Also Rises

Here I go again, spewing posts. As I just finished a book, though, I feel like critiquing it.

Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises was not a pleasant read. While reading it, I often felt like chucking it across the room, yet something kept me holding it, reading it, drawn into the aimless lives of Jake Barnes, Lady Ashley, and their comrades. Set in the early 1920s, the book explores the purposelessness many people experienced after World War 1. All that really happens in the story is that the characters travel from France to Spain, eat a lot, drink a lot more, sleep around, and have meaningless conversations. Yet under the nothing of the plot-line pulse deep motifs and symbolism. It is the type of book that begs to be read in a class setting, or at least with a friend, because without discussion it rings hollow in one's mind.

I guess that's why I just blogged about it. This is kind of like discussing the book, even if it is only with myself.

Stuffed Cabbage and Sweet Potato Perogies

I made the stuffed cabbage, after all. I also made sweet potato perogies, herb rolls, and broccoli. Since I didn't have any plans for the evening (other than spending a quiet evening cooking [for three hours]), I never bothered to change out of my work-out clothes, or do my hair, put on make-up, etc. Well, when I was all nice and hot and sweaty in the kitchen, Renata arrived. I set her and Tori to work forming the rolls (which they did beautifully) and shaping the perogies. A little while later, Chris showed up. Next David R. came over. Then Drew and Kelsi strolled in. So much for a quiet evening in the kitchen!

Everyone teased me a lot about the food, but they ate it. Honestly, it was quite good. In fact, my parents loved the stuffed cabbage. The perogies were delcious. The rolls were heavenly. And it was all very inexpensive. Dave Ramsey would be proud. ;)

A Cookbook for Tali

Veggies are so cute. I'd totally be a vegetarian if I didn't love (good) hamburgers so much.

Speaking of veggies, I bought a head of cabbage and a package of mushrooms the other day, so this afternoon I am searching Google for some scrumptious recipe that will combine the two. At this point I'm thinking: stuffed cabbage. But when I recollect the groans of horror Jessie and I used to utter when her Mom served stuffed peppers, I feel like I'm betraying my inner child. Besides, Caroline, who still IS her inner child, won't be very pleased. I'll probably make them anyway...

All this recipe-researching has finally inspired me to make a binder for the plethora of recipes I print out. I'm designing a "title page" for each type of food, which is how I came across the above picture. It's going to be super nice to have a spot to keep the various recipes I find in. Up to this point I have been stuffing them in drawers, or crumpling them into the cookbook drawer, or just tossing them out. No more!

Bicyclists

Yesterday I saw a man riding a bike that looked like this, but not so pretty--it was clearly homemade.
Once I saw a man pedaling along with a pig in his bike's basket.

When I was in Colorado, I saw an old man in a suit biking along with a guitar strapped to his back.

I like having eyes.