The joys of having children

Okay, so the title might be a bit sarcastic, but it was the best I could do. I am getting so frustrated with Anneke. She knows when she needs to go, she is just too lazy to actually do it. This next story is not for those with weak constitutions. If you can't handle it, skip to the next paragraph. I had a meeting at Marcus's school this week. Andy and I are both on the policy council. Anyway, during this meeting, I am told Anneke has had an accident. I was concerned because she had on a pull-up. I was compassionate at first until I realized that she had been basically playing in her poo! I washed her hands and took her home. We gave her a freezing cold bath (not by design. We still don't have hot or even warm water on demand.) Poor Anneke was shaking and I felt awful. Still, I hope she remembers that one and it doesn't happen again.

Marcus is the favorite around here. Any parent that has a hard time with their children asks what we did with Marcus. The thing is, I remember the tantrums and embarrassing moments when he was a toddler. It is hard for people to believe that he can lose control even now, but he does. I wish I knew what triggered his temper.

Valentine's Day was fun in my class, so I put in a picture of me from the party. (The shirt is the one from Andy.) The little girl behind me to the right is Makenna. She is so cute. I struggled with her for a long time, so I made an extra effort, and now we are good friends. I have never added a photo to my actual blog, so tell me if this works.

Today my class is going on a field trip to a map store. Andy was so excited, that he is joining us as a chaperone. I am not sure how it will go, but it will be fun to learn. We are making sushi next week and then watching a Cinderella movie the week after. We have a busy time ahead.

I am getting back into scrapbooking. I have not done anything for a LONG time. They have a scrapbooking club and I went. It put a fire under me and now I am putting pictures on pages again. Anneke has not reached 6 months old yet, but I am getting there. Slow and steady wins the race. Joanne's is a block away and they had a sale on paper and supply cases. I got a cute case and 2 huge stacks of paper. I am ready to go.

Peter PAn Peanut Butter

So, have you guys heard about Peter Pan Peanut Butter being infected with Salmonella? I found out about it this morning. The day was crazy, so I just checked and we have 3 jars that have been recalled. One jar that was opened, but only used once. Yikes! I also found it interesting that canteloupe and Nature's Best baby food was recalled. Hmmm... I know that my life is so exciting and you are all trying to contain your excitement.

Valentine's Day

It was a fun day. The party at school went well and we really enjoyed ourselves. I ended up wearing the new shirt Andy gave me instead of a nice dress. The shirt says "Cinderella Around the World" and then lists the names and countries of each Cinderella in the world. One of the boys in my class had me read each name to him. Luckily I am an expert at reading upside down.

Yesterday on my break I did a "Heart Attack" for Andy. For weeks I have been cutting out hearts and finding quotes and scriptures about love to write on them. I made a trail from outside our apartment to our bedroom. I scattered Hershey kisses and Reese's peanut butter cups all over our room. There was a card and some sparkling cider. It was fun. Then I realized that Marcus might be with Andy when he finds the trail, so I made a short one to his room with a few kisses and Reese's on his and Anneke's pillows. Andy was very surprised and Marcus just said "Where did all the hearts come from?" Still, it was cute.

We had an interesting night last night. There was so much snow it took Andy over an hour to get hom with Marcus. (His school is less than 3 miles away.) People are just stupid when it comes to driving in snow. I know I am not a good snow driver and hate doing it. There was a 7 car pile up on one road, so it was closed, a 12 car pile up on another road so it was closed...Anyway, Andy wanted to eat out. However several days ago I told someone I would watch her child so she could go out with her husband. SHe did not give me details until about two hours before we watched him. Andy was frustrated, making me frustrated. We ate leftovers. After the babysitting we went to Barnes and Noble and bought the kids each a book for Valentine's Day. Marcus asked yesterday morning where his Valentine from me was, and I realized I was so focused on making Andy's stuff that I forgot about my cute kids. OOPS!

Wedding Dress

This will be brief, because I need to go to the gym. I tried on my wedding dress and formals last night. I am so not feeling good about myself today. My advice is to never do it. I only did it because I needed something to wear for out Cinderella party today. After two children it is my rib cage that is the major problem. Hmmmm.....

Oxford

So, my husband is going to Oxford for a month this summer to study. He gets to study JRR Tolkien where he wrote Middle Earth and is very excited. It is quite expensive and a stress to put together. As of right now we are trying to save all our pennies to make it work. He will be there when the 7th Harry Potter comes out, so guess what one of his souviners is going to be. Andy will also be there for Anneke's 3rd birthday. It took a lot of prayer and fasting for me to get to the point where I am okay with it. It will be an amazing opportunity and when you are studying Middle English literature it is silly not to take advantage of it.

Anneke was so funny today. She was walking around outside bending over branches and trees and I thought she was licking them. I was grossed out and told her to stop. Andy watched her and said that she was kissing them. I felt bad for repremanding her and picked her up. She told me, "They sick. I make them better." So, she kissed a few more and then we went inside for lunch.

Yesterday we went to the Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch/early dinner. The kids ate my leftovers for dinner. Today I pulled out my Chocolate Coconut Cream Cheesecake to share. Anneke was the only one interested. So, I gave her a few bites. Then she said, "I don't want that it yuck. I want that." All she wanted was the whipped cream, none of the actual cake! It was nice for me.

Marcus and Andy raced inside the house today. Marcus beat Andy because Andy purposely took the long route. Andy looked at Marcus all out of breath and said "Did you know your Dad is an old man?" Marcus said, "That must be why you are so slow."

Marcus chose Superman Valentine's and tomorrow for Family Home Evening we are making cards for grandparents and cousins. Andy loves his motorcycle jacket, but I don't get any of my gifts until Wednesday. The kids are so excited to celebrate and eat a lot of sugar.

My children are awake so I should go. Oh, we think our next child will be a boy named Caspian Lester Bahlmann. How mean are we? I think Danielle should go with the name Owen.

Sick

I was sick yesterday and am amazed at how much better I feel today. The only thing i can think of is that I took an Air Borne when I started to get sick. I bought them for the plane trip in December and it has made things better with not getting sick as much. It may just be placebo, but it was created by a school teacher to stop getting sick so much. I think it works great.

So, our bed is so comfy. Anneke and Marcus can't get on it without help because it is so high. I have to kind of jump to get it. It makes kneeling for prayers by it a bit difficult, but you don't fall asleep doing so. Andy is still adjusting to the change. It could be the stress of classes and life.

We got the car windshield fixed finally and Andy got a motorcycle jacket yesterday. The windshield broke a few days before we moved here and it has been quite a problem. It is odd having ice on the inside of your car. I am excited to see the change, and feel it. The jacket is my Anniversary/Valentine's gift for him.

It's almost Valentine's Day. I am excited to get going. Anneke picked out Backyardigan's Valentines and we are going to get fruit snacks to go with them. Marcus will pick out his today. Andy and I are not going to do much. We don't usually do anything on the actual day, things are too crowded. I don't know when we will go to the Cheesecake factory, but that is what we will do. I also want to do a heart attack for him. You know, cut out hearts and write on them or not, then scatter them around the apartment. Marcus wants us to give him a projector book from Barnes and Noble.

I feel like I am boring people with all this "exciting" news, so I will close.