Monthly event re-cap ...

It's time to finally update my blog! So much has happened in the last month, and I'm excited to share everything with you!

 

1. We went to the Corn Maze in Fennville:

 

Jon & Blake at the start of the maze
 

Making our way through.
 

My sweet cutie-pie!


2. We celebrated Halloween at Uncle Chuck's house:
 

Blake wore his wrestling mask that he got in Cozumel and Chuck dressed up as "Dr. Chuck". Surprisingly, we only had a handful of trick-or-treaters come to the door. Blake was bummed because he loves to hand out candy. It appears that there are less people going door-to-door and more attending the church-sponsored Treats-n-Trunks events. We tried that for a few years, but none of us enjoyed standing out in the freezing cold. Some churches have moved it indoors, but that doesn't really appeal to me as going from table to table to get candy is not "Trick or Treating". So we'll have to figure out what we're going to do for next year.
 

3. We took part in the 2012 Presidential Election. Since our voting place didn't have any "I voted!" stickers, I made my own and wore it all day. Yes, I'm a dork and proud of it! :-)

4. One of our neon tetras died, so there are only two left. He was one of our starter fish, who lived much longer than predicted.

In a semi-related note, in the last few weeks, we've had two Mollie fish births. The first batch produced 4 babies, and the second birth (from a baby born earlier this summer) produced at least 9. There are a lot of little babies in our tank right now, and our Mollie Mommy appears to be expecting again. I am predicting another donation to Petco very soon.
 

5. Blake is doing amazingly well in school. He got all A's on his report card, started working through the 5th grade Math book, and is learning cursive. His cursive is so much nicer than his printing, and I wanted to show you an example of it with the birthday card that he sent to Aunt Kitty.

 



6. And my final (best!) news of all ... I started taking Tae Kwon Do! A month or so ago, I came up with the idea ... Blake & I could do martial arts together! Unfortunately, Blake was not on board with my idea and decided he didn't want to have anything to do with it. I had been looking for a new hobby since playing the piano flopped. The problem I discovered with piano playing is that you have to think outside the box and experiment playing different keys and chords. This frustrated the heck out of me as I am a rule-follower, and I need someone to tell me exactly what to do. After working with two separate piano teachers, I realized that this hobby wasn't for me, as much as I wanted it to be.

The cool thing about martial arts is that I have to tie my belt exactly the way they teach me. I have to kick with my toes pointed an exact way so I don't hurt myself. Everything about this activity is very precise and rule-following, something that I thrive on. Plus, it's a great workout and a wonderful stress-reliever!

To start, I had two mini-sessions to see if I would even like it. I did, then took a physical "test" to see if I could punch & kick like they showed me. I passed, and achieved my white belt (pictured above with my orientation instructor, Mr. Sidney). I'm currently at the end of my three orientation classes, in which I'll advance into my regular twice-a-week classes. I signed a year-long contract, but when February rolls around and I achieve my yellow belt, I can decide whether to continue on or drop out of my contract without any penalties. So that gives me 90 days to see if this will be a good fit for me.

I know this is thinking way ahead, but if I do enjoy this activity, and continue with it twice a week (they recommend no more than this to prevent burning out), then in 5 years I'll be a 1st degree Black Belt. It feels rather lofty to think that I could potentially become one, and I'm sure there are some friends and family who think in their minds "Yeah right", but it sure would be cool to reach that achievement.

For now, I'll just file that in the back of my mind and take it one day at a time.

Life is good. :-)

 



A lot to catch up on ...

It has been a long time since I last posted on my blog. So much has happened, so this post is rather lengthy. These photos are in no particular order:

 

 

Mom, Kim, and I went to the Double JJ Ranch for a day of horseback riding as a belated birthday gift for Mom. It was so much fun, although it took us a few days and lots of ibuprofen to walk normal again. Cantoring through the forest was an awesome experience!

Mom and her horse
 

This was my yummy "new" recipe that I was going to try out. I put it together the morning of the Double JJ adventure ... I seared the roast in butter and seasoning, cut up potatoes and carrots, and put it into a crockpot. It smelled heavenly, and I couldn't wait to get home and taste the savory meal. Unfortunately, the circuit breaker had popped sometime while we were gone. When we arrived back home after being gone all day, I opened up the lid and discovered that the food was definitely not warm. Due to the risk of food poisoning, my beautiful roast went into the trash. That was a bummer. As a result, there is no new recipe on this posting.
 

In the last month, we lost one of our Rio Tetras. He was one of our starter fishes, so since mid-May when we started our aquarium, we've now lost 3 starter fishes. Considering that we still have some starter fishes left, I'd say we're doing pretty good!
 

In the last month, Blake lost another tooth!
 

There was some more algae growing in my tank, and it appeared that it was more than my shrimp and flying fox could keep up with. So I purchased a Plecco from PetSmart in Grandville.

He appeared to be a very lazy fish, as I never saw him work on the algae. I read online that pleccos are nocturnal, so I chalked it up that he was sleeping or relaxing during the day.

Unfortunately, three weeks later, he died. I was devastated. All this time I called him lazy, and we're thinking that he may have been internally sick without us knowing it. It was my first fish that died that wasn't a starter fish, and I cried my eyes out. I don't know why I was so emotional with him, as he's only a fish. But his death hit me hard.

My hubby was very encouraging during this time. He said this was a "Make a Wish Fish", in that he was sick but nobody knew it. The fish's last wish was to go to a good home with friendly fish to die. And that's what he did. That story made me feel much better.

Also in the last month, Mom and I went to Artprize to see Uncle Stan's art exhibit, "Meadow Winds". He didn't win, but was able to sell his exhibit to a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum for a nice sum. In the picture is Uncle Stan, Aunt Sandy, my Mom, and Aunt Corine. They are my Mom's siblings and it was nice to see them all together.
 

My pictures are a little out of order, but here are 11 Mollies that we donated to Petco before the death of our Plecco. Our Mom & Dad Mollie fish keep reproducing (as a matter of fact, a day before we donated these fish, she just had another baby who was rather excited to go with his other siblings on this field trip!) Now we currently have 5 Mollies in our tank, along with 4 shrimp, 3 neon tetras, 4 cory catfish, one rio tetra, and a flying fox.
 

In the beginning of October, Holland hosted their annual fire truck parade. It was a cold and rainy morning, but luckily we found a parking spot right on 8th St so we could watch the parade from our car!

At the fire station, they had all kinds of fun games and activities for kids and adults. Here is Blake playing a fishing game.
 

He got a big tootsie roll!!

Blake checking out an ambulance with his friend Jacob.

The Park Township firefighters did a car extraction, showing everyone how they use the Jaws of Life for car accidents. They tore off the windshield, the roof, and the two side doors. It was pretty cool to watch!
 

Blake & Jon enjoying the view
 

My two favorite boys!

Exciting news about our Math Wiz Kid ...

We received some exciting news in the form of an email yesterday! It's from Vanderbilt's 4th-8th grade Dean. Her email is in bold (keep in mind that she doesn't yet know that Blake goes by his middle name):

Good morning,

I just wanted to pass along some GREAT news to you :-) I just finished testing Jon's third grade class and he scored the best in class!!!!  He was very excited about Math and did amazing :-) We test all 3-5 grade students to see who could benefit from math RTI (small group pull-out math), and he surpassed my expectations! Go Jon!!!!

Mrs. R.
4-8 Dean
Vanderbilt Charter Academy

After receiving this exciting email, I emailed her back and asked what happens now after receiving these test results (and also alerted her to the name change). Here is her response:

As far as what happens with scoring so well on this test ... this is one piece to the puzzle. The kids are currently taking the NWEA test (this week and next) and once we combine the data, we use it to form enrichment groups. The kids who scored amazing (like your son did), will be given work that is at his level and challenges him, rather than receive the typical 3rd grade work that we know he can do easily. We don't ever want him to be bored with the work.  Our motto here at the school is "Challenging Each Child to Achieve".

Sometimes a 3rd grade teacher will have kids at a 1st grade level and a 5th grade level all in one year, so we use our paraprofessionals to help co-teach. Blake will most likely be given math that is beyond 3rd grade. He is truly talented :-)

There's nothing like receiving an amazing email like this to brighten up a parent's whole week! Way to go, Blake! We're so proud of you!!

CMU/MSU football game ...

This weekend, Jon & I headed to Mt Pleasant for a much-needed weekend getaway. We were given free tickets by CMU to see the "big" football game, Michigan State vs. Central Michigan (Jon's alma mater). Not only were the seats in a great spot, but we were also invited to the Presidential Tent before and after the game for food and drinks! 

 

(Before I tell our story, I want to give a big "THANK-YOU!!" to my Mom & Dad for taking care of Blake while we were gone!)

 

Row 2, seats 29 & 30. Aisle seats right behind the 42-yard line!


They had many activities before the game, including this rock climbing wall. I love activities which involve heights so I was pretty excited!

Getting strapped up
 

Up we go!
 

Made it to the top!
 

I convinced Jon to take a turn as well.
 

He climbed it much quicker than I did.

Made it to the top!
 

The Outdoor Discovery Center (from Holland!) was there with some of their animals.
 

They always say to conquer your fears head on. I am terrified of snakes. With my heart pounding, I decided that I would hold a snake.  Even though I'm smiling, I'm completely petrified.

Feeling the snake slither through my hands gave me the heebie jeebies. I'm NEVER holding one again. EVER!
 

We acquired a lot of free stuff!

 

After taking part in the fun activities, it was time to find our seats and get ready for the game.
 

This is Jon's "I'm excited to watch a football game" face!
 

Amazing seats, right behind the Michigan State team!
 

There were 35,000+ fans there, as evident when we looked to our left ...
 

... and looked to our right. LOTS of people!

A huge State fan!

The lights look like flames!

 

CMU's marching band
 

Michigan State's marching band

For more info about the game, here's a link from WoodTV:

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/sports/ncaa_football/no-11-msu-smacks-down-macs-cmu-41-7

Blake's first week of school ...

Blake started third grade last week and so far, everything is going wonderfully well. We keep the same morning routine year-round, so it wasn't a big adjustment for us that school has started. Blake really likes his class and his teacher a lot!

 

I asked Blake to take a "first day of school" picture for mommy. At that moment, he decided he wanted to fly and laugh hysterically.
 

Mommy's "nice" picture
 

A few days after school started, a letter came home saying that he was getting bumped up to 4th grade spelling, based on his scores from last year. NWEA testing starts next week which will determine where he'll be placing for Math.

Honor Roll starts this year, so I'll have to start thinking of fun prizes for when he makes the list.

It's going to be a great year!

New recipe of the week ...

I've decided to try something new with my blog.

 

I'm adding recipes!

 

Over the past 10 years, I've accumulated so many recipes to "make later". "Later" has arrived, in the form of one new recipe per week (hopefully). I watched the movie "Julie & Julia" a few days ago and was inspired to try out new recipes more often, as long as our schedule allows.

 

The first recipe I'm sharing with you is this yummy, fruity, jello salad. I made it for my Mom's cookout on Saturday and it went over really well.

 

Festive Pineapple-Cranberry Salad
(creator unknown - discovered on a torn page from a magazine)

1 can (20oz) crushed pineapple, undrained
2 pkg (4-serving size each) raspberry gelatin
1 can (16 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce
1 apple, chopped
2/3 c. chopped walnuts

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Add enough cold water to juice to measure 3 cups; pour into saucepan. Bring to boil; remove from heat. Add dry gelatin mixes; stir 2 min. Stir in cranberry sauce. Pour into large bowl. Refrigerate 2 hours or until slightly thickened. Stir in pineapple, apple, and walnuts. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Makes 14 servings, 1/2 cup each.

(I think the next time I make this, I might add some pomegranate seeds. Yum!)

Eyes, Chickens, and Chess ...

Blake had his eye doctor appointment yesterday and I'm happy to report that everything went well! The Dr said his right eye is having a difficult time seeing far away, so his left eye is working harder to make up for it. The Dr said that Blake would be fine without glasses for this year, but would definitely need them before 4th grade next year. He said there's no harm in waiting to get them, so we scheduled an appt in June 2013 to get the glasses prescription.

 

One of the tests Blake had to do was to wear colored glasses and read a few sentences. He almost looks like John Lennon!
 

The Dr examining Blake's eyes.
 

Blake had to get his eyes dilated, so he got to wear these "cool" sunglasses at Treehouse for three hours.

On a different note ...

Notice anything different?

It's empty.

We got rid of our chickens on Saturday. For the last couple of months, it's been challenging getting the hens to produce some eggs. For our 5 chickens, we were originally getting 4-5 eggs daily. Then it dwindled down to 2-3. Then I was getting 1 egg. Sometimes I would get an egg, only to have it fall apart in my hand (gross). Or there was poop on it. Or it was cracked. Or it was completely broken apart with egg goo all over. My family goes through anywhere between 3-5 eggs a day for breakfast, and I was buying both chicken feed and eggs at the store. I decided I wasn't going to do that anymore, and my neighbor had a friend who would "take care of them".

It's so weird not having them here. We've been chicken owners pretty much since we moved to our new house. I've gotten in the routine to come home from work, check the mail, check the chickens, check the fish, make dinner, etc. I was used to feeding them our table scraps, or peanut shells, or clearance produce, or bananas, or grass, or weeds, things they loved. I made Blake buttered noodles for dinner, and typically I would give the leftovers to the chickens (this was another one of their favorites!). Then I have to remind myself that there are no more chickens. It's a weird feeling. But their time was done.

Now that I have a little bit of extra time in the evenings without having to do chicken chores, Blake and I have been having a blast playing chess.
 

We played three games last night and I was completely surprised that he stomped me on one of the games. He's getting pretty good and I'm really hoping that this will be a new hobby for him. He seems to really enjoy the challenge of playing it!