When I read the news today that Prince William and Kate Middleton have finally gotten engaged, my first thought, and I'm sure the thoughts of all of Britain if not the entire world, was "Well, it's about time."

I would love to be more excited for them, I really would. And after watching their interview, it's obvious that they're both very well ( Read more... )

The kids were so sad that we had to miss Artisan Church's Cider Days for the first time this year. Even before we moved, they begged to be allowed to go back to Rochester for Cider Days. Which happened to be today.

So, we decided to make our own Cider Days here in CT.

We had a great afternoon at Lyman Orchards, which is oh-my-gosh-HUGE. We picked ( Read more... )

We're experimenting with low-carb cookies these days as the cooler fall days make us want hearty desserts after dinner. (But if you know us, you know that we don't really need an excuse to eat desserts.)

Bryn has "felt like doing more around here lately" (her words). She's spontaneously cleaned up her toys, helped clear the table after dinner, and ( Read more... )

When Bryn was much younger, she often used to get very frustrated and proclaim, "I hate this day!"

That's how I felt today.

• I got up later than I'd like, so we didn't start school until 11:45am.
• Before 11:45am, I spent an hour making breakfast, then making another one when Bryn didn't want the first one, then bugging her to take her vitamins, then ( Read more... )

So, I picked up a "new" reading workbook for Bryn this year that a friend of mine was giving away. It's from 1978.

Today she was given a list of specific items and had to figure out what the general topic was.

• bullet
• lightning bolt
• "bat out of hell"

*snort*

. . . .

Bryn: Can we please start school next Monday?
Me: No.
Bryn: Why?
Me: Because we're going to be gone all weekend and I haven't set up the stuff yet. Probably Tuesday.
Bryn: But can't you set up the stuff on Monday and we can start on Monday?
Me: No.
Bryn: PLEASE?!
Me: *Sigh.* Fine. You can start school on Monday.
Bryn: Yay!

****************************

Well, ( Read more... )

Bryn: Today is my last day of being a 1-digit number!

Happy Birthday Big Girl!

Bryn 3 months, Jaron 2 1/2

( Read more... )

I know that our household is abnormal in many ways. But my kids are currently singing a song they made up using Dungeons & Dragons lyrics set to the tune of "Keep on the Sunny Side of Life". Surely, that has to be a special kind of abnormal ( Read more... )

Last weekend my parents took us to see the Harry Potter Exhibition in Toronto. It was awesome! Props, costumes, and sets from the movies. Ahh, I could have stayed there all day. The detail that went into everything was astounding.

My favorite was Hagrid's Hut. If you were very quiet, you could hear a soundtrack they were playing of cricket sounds. ( Read more... )

Jason and I just got back from St. Paul, MN where we attended the ECC Annual Meeting and Jason became an Ordained Minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). He's worked long and hard for this. Congratulations, honey!

I made a very short video of the ceremony. The quality is pretty bad, but you can at least get a feel for how the ceremony ( Read more... )