The Family Bean

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Neighborhood Heat

I hate to be the cop on patrol but when Veda picked up a piece of horse size poop in the yard the other day I lost my mind. A new family has moved in down the way with a German Shepard. Every morning the boy (probably about 12) walks the dog. I haven't been able to witness the crime but I'm getting close. This morning after dropping Veda at daycare I pulled in and he had just left for his walk. I threw Adele in the stroller and took off after them... I was hauling... poor Adele had a slight look of fear. Somehow he evaded me. I caught up with him just as he was returning home so I went off to scour the hood for a smoking turd. I figured that would be evidence enough to approach his parents. I came home empty handed and defeated. Tomorrow I may wear my heat sensor glasses.

Yikes!

Has it really been a week since my last post? I'm overwhelmed to say the least. It's been a month since I've had to take care of both of the girls by myself - thanks to all my wonderful helpers - I forgot how hard it is. Trying to get back to our routine, unpack and keep the kids in order has been exhausting. Todd went to sleep a half hour ago and it's only 9:45!! Here are some pics from our last days in Iowa.

Annual Shrimp Boil

Yum - Thanks for breakfast Dad

I think I got a big one with my super cool Barbie pole

Mom - This is why you have to strap me in... I'm an escape artist

Joe Heather and the kiddos stopped on their way to Okoboji

Family pic with the kids wearing their Clear Lake gear

Veda at Adele's baptism. I wish I could get away with putting bows in her hair all the time... usually she pulls them right out though.

Veda and Ryan jumping on the bed at 10pm... good luck getting them to sleep. At least we got to sleep in the next morning... since I consider 7:30 sleeping in;)

This is a keeper. The main house doesn't have a bath tub so we are still using the utility sink in the laundry room for baths. I thought Veda was growing out of it but we were even able to fit her little buddy in there with her. I think she has another year or two before she needs to get over her fear of the shower.

Nemo on the deck by the lake and eating sweet corn... Heaven.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Silly Stuff

Last night Kel and I were home alone with the girls for a bit. Veda found one of Kel's old Build-a-Bears in the closet and demanded that we derobe it and put the baseball outfit on her. Kel and Veda are singing songs from Sesamestreet.com in the pic. Then Veda wanted to wear the Bjorn and walked around the rest of the night hauling her doll. She is so dramatic these days.

More Lake Fun

More fun for Veda and crew. It was over 100 yesterday for the RAGBRAI fun... Veda took a dip in the lake and Adele had to make her debut in her swimsuit. Then the crew (minus moms and kids) headed uptown by boat to watch the thousands of bikers. We made a short trip to the Tike Bar and watched one of the bike teams take part in a wedding... everyone in the wedding party was wearing a dress - men too - typical RAGBRAI mayhem. Today we walked to the market for ice cream and stopped to pick tomatoes on the way home. Veda helped with the corn. Sweet Corn is one of her new favorite foods... and words.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Life at the Lake

We all arrived Saturday and Veda got her long awaited boat ride. Then we had the baptism on Sunday and the arrival of Kel, "Uncle Tis", and "Baby Ownen". Monday we got to play in the lake shoveling sand and then the Ice Cream truck made an appearance and Veda got to pick out a Spiderman Pop. We woke up this morning to a scalding hot day so Veda helped me cook and then jumped in the pool afterwards. Her job was to hand me a marshmellow as I wrapped them in cresent rolls and apparently I was going too slow. As you can see there was a little marshmellow log jam. She kept saying. "Veda and Mama Cooking. I make. I have fun."

More to come... RAGBRAI is stopping through town tonight so we will be vacationing with about 20,000 of our closest friends. Ha ha. I'm sure a tiki bar stop will be in order after the kids hit the hay.

Adele's Baptism

Friday, July 23, 2010

Too much of a good thing?

One of Veda's most used phrases is "Where are we Mama"? I'm sure we will hear it often tomorrow as we load up the car and head to Clear Lake for the reunion with Todd, Adele's baptism, and a week with the Laabs and Ehlers clan. It's been a whirlwind tour the past few weeks and I am just whipped. I'm not the only one. Nana and Bull have admittidly had enough. They didn't know what they were getting into when they agreed to the long-term babysitting. The nights without sleep and the days of non-stop action are catching up with them. As my Mom would say... they aren't spring chickens anymore. I am more grateful than they know for all their help and more importantly I'm grateful that the girls got the bonding time with them. I'm sad for them that they won't get to see each other for another couple of months but I'm sure that Nana and Bull will wecome the rest.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Girls Weekend

What a treat to get to spend some quality time with my girls in Chicago. Love you. Miss you.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The Other Baby Holder

I'm relieved that Adele is finally in her Exersaucer. She loves it and I'm dragging this thing to Clear Lake next week for sure!

Baby Holders

I have enjoyed all the freedom I've been given the past few weeks. Mom and Dad have been super and I have gotten sleep and even taken a shower every day;) I'm still overwhelmed with all the travel I've been doing... I really don't know how I could keep my job if I didn't have their help!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

"Rosie Rosie Fall Down"

The twins next door have been over for daily playdates with Veda. They asked if V could come out to meet their friend yesterday. Veda took Jessie's hand and said "Jessie - where we going?" She then commanded that the group hold hands so they could play Ring Around the Rosie. Veda forgot to fall down.