A perfect day: Ikea, H&M, and the Tiger's

Last Saturday, we dropped the kids off at Nana and Pa's and headed towards Detroit with our good friend Katie and Ernie. We stopped at Ikea on the way (you can see how thrilled Matt and Ernie were about that). Katie and I had a grand old time shopping for the first couple of hours without the guys (they were watching the State game at a sports bar) and then the guys reappeared and things went a little downhill from there :). I ended up with some great stuff, but once I got home I realized I should have bought more! (Anyone want to plan an Ikea trip with me??)

After Ikea, we made a quick stop at the H&M in Dearborn and we all freshened up our wardrobes (yes, the boys too) and then we FINALLY made it to the game. We had great seats (thanks, Ernie's work) and the Tiger's won. We rolled back into Hudsonville around 1:30am wayyy past our bedtimes and picked the kids up in the morning.

we ♥ preschool

Dylan has settled down into the preschool routine and he's really enjoying it now. It's amazing to see how much new information he's learning each time he goes. He loves Zoophonics (curriculum for learning letters), he's making new friends (another little boy told his mom - "I'm really getting along well with that dark haired Dylan" - there are two Dylan's in his class :) ), and he's learning everything from how butterflies are hatched to how to take turns playing. We have his first field trip on Thursday to the apple orchard too.

Dylan is also learning a lot of new songs at preschool, and I thought I'd share a couple because they are affirming on such a basic level (my mom says it might help us if we sang them to ourselves every day too!)


Every day is a VICTORY! (fist pump :))
Every day is a VICTORY!
Every day is a VICTORY!
When you put it in the hands of the Lord.


You're a Great Big God,
A very busy God,
But you take time for me!

men.

Received this forward from my dear friend Amanda, and it's worth passing on...

Why Men Are Just Happier People.
Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental $100. People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck. You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache. You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

now what did we do with all that disposable income??

The other day I found Dylan up in his room lining up his toy cars (something he's done since he's two) only he was lining up ALL of his cars, not just a few like in the past. I was astounded by the display of die-cast-ness and also amazed at the sheer number (a couple of weeks ago a friend asked how many cars we thought we had around the house and I think I guessed 50...ummm...that was wrong...) In our consumer-ish defense, most of those cars were bribes :) or gifts...and Matchbox cars are only 97 cents at Target! Actually, I take full ownership in the fact that our child has so many of one thing, but he LOVES playing cars and they keep him occupied for hours (and they make for some really cool pictures).

beef bundle

Every now and then my parents will have a strange, yet brilliant idea (see also: "Let's buy three Kitchenaid blenders in three different colors because they look cool together," and also "Let's go to the MSU bowl game in Florida...next week." On Labor Day, they announced to us and my brother and sister-in-law that they wanted to get us beef bundles from Bob's Butcher Block to stock our freezers up for winter. Strange, yes, but absolutely brilliant. A week later, my mom pulled up with her Vibe stuffed full of beef - ground beef, roast, and steak. I am not exactly one of those meal planner people with the dinner charts and grocery shopping lists, so the fact that I can now count on always having beef in the house is amazing (I daresay life-changing) PLUS the meat tastes better and fresher than the grocery store stuff. Go ahead - go get yourself part of a cow and see what it does for you.

Mom and Dad - I'm thinking Memorial Day pork bundle next year??

bows, part III

I know I've blogged about bows before (here and here), but I went to an open house last night for my friend Kara's bows and she once again has some new, cute stuff out. I picked up some "everyday" bows along with an adorable Happy Birthday bow and a Christmas bow. Kara has expanded her line to include everything from tiny newborn bows to larger "big girl" bows. Who knew having a girl could be so much fun??

Kara's website
Etsy site

Orchard Day

Today my mom and I took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and headed down to Crane's in Fennville for lunch and a little apple picking. The kids enjoyed their cidersicles (I remember those from when I was a kid!) and then we picked a few honey crisp apples. Ella loved riding in the wagon, and Dylan was amazed to see where apples actually come from!

Weren't you watching them?!

Matt and I have this joke that whenever the kids do something crazy while one of us is (supposedly) watching them, the other one says "Weren't you watching them?!" It started out serious because Matt made the mistake of saying it to me one day after a long day with the kids and since then he has been one-on-two with them enough times to realize how much trouble they can get into in a matter of minutes. Last night I was taking a quick shower while Matt was "in charge." This photo is the result.
*Someday Dylan will be really embarassed that this photo was shared with the Terpblog readers, but I couldn't resist.

miracles

We have been watching one of God's little miracles up close the last couple of weeks. A few weeks ago we were given a milkweed leaf with a little white spot on the back of it - a caterpillar egg - which soon hatched. We kept it in a jar on our counter and every couple of days Matt and Dylan rode to the park to get new milkweed leaves, and we watched as our little caterpillar grew and grew. About two weeks ago we noticed it looked like it was ready to spin a cocoon and the next time we looked at it (only an hour or two later) it was completely incased. We have been waiting and waiting (I just looked it up and apparently it takes about two weeks) and today our butterfly finally emerged! We looked at it at breakfast today and we noticed the cocoon was getting darker and then Matt came home for lunch today and there he (she?) was! Dylan has enjoyed watching the process for the first time, and for Matt and me it's an amazing reminder of God's creativity and provision.

First Day of Preschool

Dylan made it through his first day of preschool and so did his mom and dad :). He seemed to have a good time, but he has one of my traits in him where he doesn't like to talk about things right away (I can remember being so bugged growing up when my mom asked me how something was right when I arrived home...I prefer to divulge details gradually...)

As a mom, I don't think I was prepared to be thrust into "school world" so quickly. Suddenly I have a backpack to pack, papers to return, show and tell items to send, fieldtrips to sign up for, birthday treats to think about...and this is just preschool! I'm also entering "mom world" now which means socializing with moms I don't really know. It's been years (think Freshman year of college) since I've had to actually go out and make friends and play nice. I've worked hard to surround myself with people that know my dirty secrets and love me anyway and now I have a new group of people to get to know (not just this group this year but also groups of moms in the years to come). When you send your first child to school, you feel like the new kid on the block because a lot of the other moms seem more experienced especially when they're sending their second or third or fourth out into the world.

There were no tears this morning, but I did pause when I came to pick Dylan up and all the kids were sitting in a circle with their little backpacks. They looked like these little people caught up in a big world. I loved school and think it's a great thing, but it still feels a little funny to send your child out into the giant system of school and the world in general. There's a feeling like there's no turning back now. And I guess there's really not :).

15 Cent Meijer Goldfish Fun