Interviews with Claire and Max

I try to interview the kids on video camera every six months. It is fun to capture their little voices and I also write down the answers in our family photo book.

Interview with Max

What is your name?         I don't know.  Max.
How old are you?            Two and a half   (I love that he added the half)
What is your favorite food?             Cereal
What kind?                      Kashi. Cinnamon cereal.
What is your favorite color?                Green
What is your favorite cartoon?               Elmo cartoon
What is your favorite snack?              I don't know. Cereal is my favorite.
Who are your friends?                Daddy and Mommy   (awwww....!)
What is your sister's name?                  Claire Elizabeth  (surprised me that he added her middle name!)
Who comes to your house for daycare?              Brody. Daddy and Mommy. Maverick. Bethanie and Uncle Barry.
Who does Auntie Heather bring?           Mara Ann-arie
What is your Mommy's name?               Winney
What is your Daddy's name?                  Josh
What is your favorite toy?                    I don't know. Elmo. No, Big Bird..... Yeah, Elmo. and Big Bird
What do you like to do at the cabin?            Play with car.
Which car?              The green car.

Interview with Claire

What is your name?         Claire Elizabeth
How old are you?            Four
Do you go to school?      No
Who are your friends?           Brody and Omi, Mara, Maverick
What is Mom's name?            Whitney
What is your Daddy's name?              Pink and purple are my favorite colors
Yes, but what is your Daddy's name:             Josh
What is Omi's name?              I want to pick my favorite colors.
What is Omi's name?             Omi
What is your favorite color:            Pink and purple
What is your favorite song?           (Max shouts "Away in Manger song!!")  Twinkle twinkle
What song does mommy sing when you go night night?        (Max shouts "Away in Manger song!!") What is your favorite thing to do at the cabin?          Sleep overnight
What is your favorite food?       Oatmeal
What don't you like to eat?        Spicy chicken
What is your favorite snack?        Kashi
What is your favorite movie?          Rapunzel (Tangled)
What is your favorite drink?           Juice, but I never get to drink it.
What is your favorite toy?              Why do you not let me drink juice?
What is your favorite holiday?        But why don't you let me?
Last question, what is your favorite holiday? Like Christmas, or Easter or your birthday?    I don't like my birthday. Easter. No, Christmas.
Why don't you like when it's your birthday? Because you sing so loud, like HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I just want them to sing quiet.

Memorial Weekend

Claire had been looking forward to returning to the cabin for MONTHS.  If I had been smart, I would have made one of those paper chain things where you take a link off each day to help her visualize how long we had until the big day. Instead, I daily broke it to her that it was not yet time.  One day, I said, "No, we're not going to the cabin today.  We're going in two weeks."  She wailed, "NOOOO!!! You said THREE weeks last time!!!!!!!!!!!!" We're still working on understanding time.

I think it was worth the wait for Claire. She was most certainly in her happy place. She behaved angelically the whole weekend and hardly wiped the smile from her face.

If you saw my pictures on Facebook, these are all new ones for your viewing pleasure.

The Farmers went home Sunday morning so Claire and Cambrie made the most of playing together on Saturday.




Ami is probably cringing looking at this picture.  We won't do this to Briggsy-boy!


I can't wait to eat snacks or lunch on this picnic table this summer. Love the view!


These next two photos are blurry but I like them anyways.


I love how I am snuggling and kissing Max (no doubt for the hundredth time that day) and you can see his little tongue with the indent in the middle.  Claire is in her happy place.





Putting in the dock, the tradition for all MN cabins on Memorial weekend.


The children spent a lot of time picking up little rocks and pebbles and putting them into this wagon.
Claire also discovered this weekend that she loves to eat sunflower seeds (from the shell).  She learned how to suck out the flavor, crack the shell open, remove the outside and eat the seed.  She kept asking "Big Brody" for more.  She'd stuff them in her sweatshirt pocket and pop them in her mouth while playing.  It was so cute.


We were so lucky with the weather.  Both days, and especially Sunday, were warmer than in the Twin Cities.  Somehow we always get nice weather at the cabin.

Sleep at night? Decidedly NOT good.  But I remain hopeful that this year will be the best year yet for sleep at the cabin.  Both kids came to the cabin with a slight cold (mostly congestion) and as I feared it might, it turned into a croupy cough for Max Saturday night. I was up with him pretty much every half an hour and they were both up for good by 5:30AM.  I was very thankful that I thought to bring Max's steroid medication for his croup because I thought there was a slight chance his cold could turn into something more.  We caught it early and didn't hear any more of the strider (the seal bark-sounding cough) after his steroid treatment.  When they are healthy, I think they will (finally!!) sleep well there.

We go back in just two weeks during my Grandpa and Aunt Marcia's visit.  Already can't wait!  Life is good on Cedar Lake!

(And two thumbs up for a three day work-week this week!)

Vehicle Day

We went to Lakeville's Vehicle Day today, for our second year.  The kids still thought it was pretty scary.  They were very concerned the vehicles would "beep".  The most frightening vehicles to them appeared to be the school bus, ambulance and firetruck.  On the flip side, they most enjoyed the tractors, snowplow, and frontloader.  And they were mesmerized by the garbage truck.

Last year's Vehicle Day was May 17th and it was hotter than all get out.  Today was chilly- overcast, windy, and about 55 degrees.  At least the rain held out until after we left.




Max loves him some tractor.


This is Max in a tractor on Vehicle Day last year.  Crazy how much they change in a year. What hasn't changed is his love for tractors.




This was my idea and it resulted in four filthy rear ends.


Claire was scared of the noises last year too.


Claire, Max and I sat together in the snowplow.  This kind man explained how the plow works.  I wouldn't have guessed it involved that many buttons.  It was actually quite interesting.





We have a busy weekend ahead of us.  Lake pick-up at Aunt Sue's house, two birthday parties, church, and a golf tournament for Josh.  Along with all of the weekend chores.  And Josh and I are newly obsessed with Downtown Abbey so we may just put the kids down a tad bit early tonight and get a few episodes in!

Have a good weekend!

My Mother's Day Resolution

My girl loves pink.  From her helmet to her shoes to her scooter.



Lately, Max loves to do eskimo kisses. He stays totally still and smiles as I rub my nose back and forth. It's the sweetest thing.


I'm being intentional about asking Josh to take pictures of me with the kids.


Convicted-- that's how I've been feeling lately.  I've been thinking about how I want my children to remember their childhood.  How I want them to remember their Mother.  Surely, through pictures and memories they will remember that I was (am) madly in love with them.  And also that I loved having fun and laughing.  They might remember how we do "body slams" and "one for the money" as well as piggy back rides, "boom-shaka-laka", "he hit the tree, Jim", funny faces, dancing and singing, and raspberries on tummies.

I fear they will equally remember a frequently stressed out Mom.  And that is what convicts me.

As a working mother, I (we) have too much to do on the weekends.  It's hard to do much during the week so the list becomes long on the weekend.

Make the meal plan
Grocery shop
Laundry
Clean the house (which gets extra dirty from having daycare here 3x/week)
Birthday parties
Family events
To-do list
Make freezer meals so dinner doesn't (only) include take-out during the week
Reconnect with my husband
And most importantly, spend precious time with my children

The result of fitting that list into two short days is a STRESSED OUT Mama.

Being stressed out can also mean being short-tempered, having anxiety, and being laser-focused on what I need to do.

I know that my children notice.  They are very aware of what's going on around them.  I'd be fooling myself to think that it doesn't affect them.  And I will be damned if that's a memory they hold onto from childhood.

So, I need to relax.  Loosen my expectations and standards.  Just be okay with (much) less than perfection.

My children won't remember the imperfections in our lives-- the nights we eat frozen pizza or the times they wear pants out of the dirty hamper because I didn't get to that load in time. But they will remember a mother who was filled with joy and laughter and made it a top priority to just BE with them, wrestling on the floor, reading books, teaching them how to ride a bike-- and ignoring the demands of the world behind her.  

That is my mother's day resolution.