Victory!

Step #1: Convince your child that he or she needs help getting that wiggly tooth out.

Step #2: Get the dental floss.

Step #3: Tie a lasso around the snaggletooth.

Step #4: Give it a yank.

Step #5: Have a piece of paper towel close by for the blood.

Step #6 (most important step): Don't forget to play tooth fairy or there will be tears. :)

Our little Soloist and our little Snaggletooth

Paige had a short solo during her third grade musical this week and she once again amazed us with her voice, confidence, and presence in front of an audience. The music teacher actually switched her to a different solo the day before the concert and when I asked her if she was o.k. with the new one she said matter-of-fact, "Yeah, it's fine." She also reported that she didn't have any "butterflies" this year. Look for her on American Idol in about 10 years. :)
(This girl has skills too!)

And Zoey has several loose teeth right now just waiting to either fall out or get the dental-floss-lasso-yank out by Mom. I tried to get her to let me pull it by enticing her with the fact that the Tooth Fairy brings you a $2 bill when you lose your first, big front tooth. When that didn't work, I told her it might fall out while she is sleeping and she may swallow it. (nice scare tactic huh?) She answered me quickly back with, "I sleep with my mouth open so I won't swallow it." Ah ... yes you mouth breather. You do have the kickin' morning breath that proves this is true! :)

An Ode to my Boobs

You girls have always been there for me

Filling a dress or feeding a kid;

But now that I've lost some fatty,

You don't fill out a bathing suit as you once did.

___________________________________

This ode was inspired by our recent trip to the waterpark at the Great Wolf Lodge. While wearing a bathing suit I bought two months ago, I realized that another one of the downsides to losing weight (besides the constant calorie counting and exercise) is that I have sadly ... lost my boobs.

R.I.P. girls.

And don't worry, we might meet again ...

after several pounds of sour gummy bears! :)

Thanks Great Wolf - It was fun!

Happy Birthday Paige

To our first baby ...

next year, double digits!

Love you Paige Elizabeth.

Guikema Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Guikema Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family pictures - Geneology

Guikema Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family history - Pedigree chart

Blog on Mommy!

The Wall Street Journal highlighted these blogs written by moms. The first blog is written by a mom of one. (Just one? Come on now! I should have three times the material!) Her hubby quit his job to manage all of the advertisers who want to post on her blog. Since one of her posts got over 500 comments, I'm not surprised he now works from home. Hmmmm ... I don't think I've ever even had double digits! Keep your day job honey. :)

For your reading pleasure?! I just picked a few and the determining factor was if I liked the name or not. Very scientific research, I know.
http://dooce.com/
http://5minutesformom.com/
http://designmom.com/
http://notesfromthetrenches.com/
http://fussy.org/

What I'm Reading

"These two visiting teachers were the gold and silver sun-splash in the great muddy river of school days ... If all the teachers had been like (these two), Francie would have known plain what heaven was. But it was just as well. There had to be the dark and muddy waters so that the sun could have something to background its flashing glory."

To all you teachers and moms (who are teaching all the time), be the sun. Leave the "muddy background" to someone or something else.

Who needs Florida?

65 and sunny ... man I love Michigan!

Who needs to go away for spring break?

Highlights of the week so far: The girls getting their ears pierced for the first time, going to see 'Enchanted', (how can Patrick Dempsey be endearing to girls of all ages?), and having a picnic at the John Ball Zoo with good friends. Life is good. (I should create a line of clothing with that tag line huh?) :) Spring is good too ... the Tigers record however, is not.

Do You Remember When ...?

• You wore your hair in a short-poodle permed bob? (My sisters and I are all rockin' it!)


• You would re-do your hair if it didn't turn out just right? I literally would stick my head under the tub's faucet, re-wet, and re-style. Now I just go with my bad hair days.
  
• You could kiss your future hubby for hours? Seriously. I still marvel on the hours we wasted, ummmm, I meant spent just smooching. Now if he leans over to kiss me at night I ask, "what are you after?" ;)
  
• You wore a turquoise green turtle neck dress with a purple scarf tied at your waist? Love my outfit don't ya? I like my oldest sister's pink, roman numeral sweater even better! HA!

What did you used to do that now seems ridiculous & laughable?

I'm all blogged out ...

I don't know if it's because winter won't let go of her icy grip here in Michigan, or my everyday routine has provided few blog-worthy moments, or I'm just truly all blogged out. With this in mind, I'll just give you a few highlights from my last week.

• Hosted book club and realized we talked more about our sex lives than the book.
• Weighed in and realized I've lost 9 lbs. in a month. FYI: Diet and exercise combined do work --- darn it, now I've got to keep it up!
• Joined a gym. (See above to know why.) :)
• Played nurse to all three of my kids who thought they'd keep things interesting by each having a different virus. (double ear-infection, the flu, and a cold with a fever.)

That's it. Happy weekend, happy spring ... and all that crap. ;)

Happy Birthday Zachary Eli

Every child is a miracle.

This child's birth and life just reminds us all of that fact.

Happy Birthday Zach. We love you!

Few Questions for Ya

1. Why do my kids have to wear green on St. Patrick's Day when we're Dutch?
2. Why does the Pope have to issue a statement about when Catholics should party? (Since St. Patty's is during Holy Week this year, he recommends that if you must party, you should have already celebrated last Saturday.)
3. What's a girl have to do to get a pap smear? (After scheduling my "yearly" three times and having my appt. cancelled after I waited for an hour in the waiting room yesterday, I've decided it's time to stop seeing a high risk specialist doc just for my routine exam!)

Wanted Woman

Alright, alright. Enough already ladies. I will play along with your tags! My blogger buddies Dana & Amy have both tagged me. One was to write seven unusual or interesting things about myself ---hmmmm ---- I've done this one before. So, I'm choosing the tag to write the 4 things. Hope that's o.k. Fabes! :)

1. Four Jobs I have had in my life:
Big Boy Waitress
Cashier at a Mission Thrift Store
Camp Director
Varsity Volleyball Coach

2. Four Movies I could have or have watched over and over (I'm not exactly proud of this list, but it's truthful):
Sixteen Candles
Serendipity
Never Been Kissed
Karate Kid (#1)

3. Four Places I have lived:
Mt. Pleasant, MI
Traverse City, MI
Big Rapids, MI
Olympia, WA

4. Four t.v. shows that I watch:
American Idol
Pushing Daisies
Friday Night Lights
The Office

5. Four places I have visited:
Bahamas
Santa Fe, NM
Scottsdale, AZ
Moscow, Russia

6. Four people who email me regularly:
Patti
Jeannine
Stephanie
Julie

7. Four of my favorite foods:
Guacamole
Sour gummy bears
Almonds
Flank steak

8. Four places I would like to be right now:
Now that spring has sprung, I'm good!

9. Four things I'm looking forward to this year:
Watching Paige sing two solos at church and school
Joining a gym and toning this bod
Going camping for two weeks in July
Discerning God's voice in my everyday life

10. Four people who should post four things:
Patti
Julie
Brenda
Bradi

That's a whole lot of Jelly Bellys

Seen at Meijers yesterday (all you folks that no longer live in the midwest can now do a collective sigh and say Meijers in an affectionate and longing tone of voice.)

Subject? Young boy, 6-7 years old, weighing a bag full of Jelly Bellys with no mom or dad in sight.

Weight? 4 lbs.

Price per pound? $7.00

Total? 28 bucks. (In case you're slow at math, I multiplied it for you.)

Boy, would I have loved to see that mom's reaction. :)

Wife of the Year?

Jeff is on the far left. Man in orange.

Hubby just returned from a 4 day vacation in Park City, Utah to celebrate one of his old college buddy's bachelor weekend. This is how the conversation went a few months ago when he called from work:

Husband: What would you think if I went to Park City for Nick's bachelor weekend?

Wife: Sounds like fun. You should go.

Husband: WHAT? Who are you? I love you.

Wife: Yeah babe, I know.

DUDE

This post is dedicated to my lovable almost four year old son.

How I truly know that I'm not 4 but 34. Wait, darn it. I'm 35!

1. I no longer jump in puddles in my good shoes. Dude, get out of the puddles when you're wearing Merrells.


2. I no longer stuff my face with so much food that I literally can't swallow. Dude, puking chicken pot pie is so not cool.
   
3. I no longer announce in public when I've just farted. While talking with a teacher at school yesterday, Zach kept interrupting me to tell me that he just "fawted". Nice. Dude, milk this one for as long as you can ...

Here's the Thing

Sometimes Christians are some of the most unhappy people I've ever met. They carry around with them the prayer requests of so many people and are burdened with the heaviness of living a life filled with brokenness and all the evidence of sin in the world. I sometimes fear that unless we are facing difficult circumstances, wrestling with a problem, or have a friend with _______ (fill in the blank) we don't think we are truly living the "Christian life".

Well, this is what I think. The Christian life is one of JOY. It is a life that recognizes our blessings and thanks God for them. It is spreading our joy to others and not letting the details of this broken, sinful world stomp on our spirits. It's about laughing with your kids, singing at the top of your lungs in the house, being silly with your husband (define silly however you choose), and just having plain ole' fun. I used to think that I approached life a little too simplistically and that I should "think deeper" and wrestle with more worldly injustices and personal character flaws. Maybe I will later. Right now, I'm having too much fun.

Walk for Babies

Zach then ...

I promise this will be the only post that I ever ask for money ... maybe! :) We are once again walking for the March of Dimes to sponsor their fight against premature births. This is our 5th (and final) year walking and we would love to go out with a bang. If you would like to sponsor us please go to our sponsor page. Thanks friends!

Zach now ...

Oh What a Difference a Day Makes!

Disclaimer: The blog entry you are about to read can (and should) be considered a mother's ranting, venting account of the past two days.

Alright, Thursday morning the stars were aligned and I had one of the most productive mornings that I've had in a while. I jumped on the treadmill before the kids got up, I attended a short meeting at school, went to the library and picked up my book club's next book, went to Hobby Lobby and got some paint for the Pinewood derby cars the girls are building with Jeff, went to Costco (and while shopping got my tires rotated), went to Target and Harvest Health to return a couple of things, and headed home to eat lunch by myself. (Cue the Hallelujah Chorus!) This all was accomplished in about two and a half hours. I have to admit, I was feeling a little bit super-mommy-ish. I knew pride would get me again.

Then came this morning, rearing her ugly, snow-covered head. Zach came in bed with us (again) and took about an hour and half to fall back asleep. He decided to fall back asleep right at the exact minute that my alarm was going off. NICE. I got up and decided to make the girls a plain bagel with cream cheese (Paige's favorite.) They both were dinking around during breakfast and I told them to get eating to which Paige responded with, "These don't taste like Panera bagels." Oh, bite me. Then we go to get dressed I remember that since it's a leap year this year, Zoey's very clever teacher told the class to wear green so they could leap like frogs today. Cute. Where the $%^& is a green shirt? I look in the closet and pull out one that she has outgrown. Yeah --- that's not making the cut for Miss Princess. After many tears, one look at the clock, which now says the bus is coming in 4 minutes, we pull one out of her sister's drawer. She then informs me that she doesn't need me to make her lunch because she is having a pizza party at her school today. (Did I mention she watched me make her lunch this morning?)

The pre-bus morning activities ended with Zoey sprinting to the bus in tears and me asking Paige why she is so nice at school and not at home. Way to go Super-Mom!

You know you're on vacation with kids when ...

• You ride in the lazy river when it's only 65 degrees outside.
• You meet your hubby to "talk" in the hotel bathroom.
• You watch your kids chase bunnies across the resort and laugh.
• You give one of your children a lice treatment with the hotel shower cap and mayo.
• You have to tell them to stop watching Sponge Bob for a few minutes so they can get out of the car because you've finally arrived at the Grand Canyon. (And they respond loudly, "NOOOOOOOOOO!")
• You watch your kids go to the dessert table ten times and you decide they are a great cover for you and your sweet tooth.
• You see their eyes light up over God's creation or hear them giggle together in the car. God bless 'em ...

One more thing. O.K., more than one.

Alright, it's after lunch. I am still in my bathrobe doing laundry and avoiding packing for our trip and I thought I would give you the highlights of our week & Valentine's Day. (I knew you needed one more post to get you through the week without me! Yeah, right.) :)

• My husband gave me a lovely note to wake up to that said I was beautiful and thanked me for everything I do. Then I got to thinking, does he love me just because I do everything around here? So, I asked him why he didn't just write I love everything about you. His response? "Trust me honey. I didn't give it that much thought when I wrote it at 6 a.m." 'Nough said. ;)


• The kiddos I put on the bus every day got me yellow tulips. Love flowers. Love yellow. Way to go C & C!


• I put 12 love notes (4 per kid) inside of balloons and then blew them up and my kids popped them to see why mom and dad love them so much. (Thanks to Hip Moms for the idea.)


• Went to the Casting Crowns concert last night. Very good. They're not DCB (David Crowder Band) but they did rock!

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day. Love ya. (Well, some of you I love and some of you quite honestly, I barely know.)

Does this post make me look fat?

Alright. If Eve was asking this back in the Garden of Eden then it makes sense that I'd ask, "Does this bathing suit that I'm trying on in the dead of winter make me look fat." ;) We leave for Arizona in a few days and while I'm thrilled to be getting the rock out of snowy Michigan, I'm less than thrilled that I will be wearing a bathing suit, with no tan, and with a few extra pounds on me! I know. I should quit my whining & have fun on vacation. Cya bloggers.

Beautiful or Ugly?

Quick opinion poll: Do you find these pics from around our neighborhood

to be beautiful ... or just plain ugly?

Confessions of a SAHM (Stay-At-Home-Mom)

This is my second or third posting with this title. I must have a lot to confess.

• If I get dinner made before my husband gets home, I think I deserve The Mother of the Year Award or at least some kind of medal. (I'm not joking. He's the grocery shopper and meal planner.)
• I bake homemade cookies because I like to eat the dough. The kids and hubby think I do it because I love them so much.
• I unbutton the top button on my jeans while sitting at the computer. (See above confession to know why. Cookie dough = doughy belly.)
• I think my son is one of the most lovable kids in the world. And so do all the ladies at church who he walks up to and hugs randomly.
• My kids let me sleep in. My neighbor Patti woke me up today by calling to see if I wanted to go sledding with her and another neighbor (at 8:45 A.M. --- NUTSO LADIES) and I told her I'd have to decline since I was still in bed.
• I threw down my Wii remote and stomped upstairs after my husband beat me in every game we played last night. Seriously, darn boys and their video game prowess piss me off. (another quick confession: I'm a bit competetive.)
• I found the four most romantic words I could ever say to my husband, "I like to shovel." (That really got him going!!)
• I'm still pumping my fists while I'm running on the treadmill. ;)

Dear God

Smallest snowmen in Michigan.

Please stop the snow machine and if it does snow again this winter, could it come during the day so the buses can still run in the morning? Thanks.



And God, thanks for having someone invent the Wii.



And thanks for the "Holy Spearmint" (Spirit) as Zach likes to call it.

Bite your Tongue

I bet Jim (o.k. I forgot his real name) would never say this to his wife when he gets home from work and she has been stuck inside all day with her three kids because it's another snow day:

"Paige didn't practice her piano yet?" (Implied meaning: what the heck have you been doing all day?)

"Ummm, no."

"You know, I would really like to come home and just have fun with the kids, not practice piano or help them with their homework." (Yeah, sorry honey. I guess moms have all the FUN!)

I'm happy to report that I bit my tongue. Now if I didn't just blog about it, I'd really be a saint! :)

Helpful Heloise/Laurie

Alright, in my checking in on everyones lives/blogs after my vacation I came across a fun blog about being a hip mom via Brenda's blog. O.K. after five attempts, the link is not working and so I am just going to give you my helpful mothering/cleaning/cooking/exercising advice. Oh man, it must be another snow day and I'm bored! :)

1. If you buy the mega-three pound bag of Kirkland tortilla chips at Costco (and why wouldn't you, they're just so yummy) freeze the ones you can't consume in a week. I put them in gallon size ziplocs, take them out of the freezer, and they are instantly ready to eat and are as fresh as the day you bought them.
2. If you get a fruit stain on your clothes, use boiling water right out of your tea kettle and pour those stains away. (Strawberry and blueberry stains are no match for scalding hot water.)
3. Get more than one laundry hamper/basket and separate your clothes into darks and lights right away. It saves time and let's face it, any time saved when doing this dreaded job is welcomed.
4. Buy a Wii (or get your neighbor to find one for you while she's out shopping, thanks Patti) and burn a few calories after dinner while kicking your hubby's butt in tennis or boxing. We did however experience two downsides to the Wii this morning, a Wii whine by Paige who kept getting beat in tennis, and a Wii wipe-out by Zoey as she was executing a killer forehand shot.

I am also including "some blogs to read" ... kind of like t.v. shows you should be watching but you're not. Patti, new blogger/great neighbor looking for readers, Amanda, Dutch girl in Spain, and Dana, witty pastor's wife who's vocabulary puts mine to shame. Happy reading and don't be a lurker on these girls' blogs!

St. Louie

Since the kids had Thursday and Friday off of school last week, we headed down to St. Louis to visit my sister Deb, her husband Daniel, and their three very adorable kids. We headed to the Arch on Friday and rode the capsule up to the top. Paige kept saying, "I'm not so sure about this" and as our stomachs did flips Jeff & I were both thinking, "either are we!" We also went to the Science Museum (forgot the camera), a fun mall, a late movie (just my sister & I), and Jeff & Daniel put in two new vanities in their upstairs bathrooms. All in all, a busy, productive, and fun weekend with family! I also got to rock baby Owen to sleep a couple times before his nap and I think we may need one more of those little babies! ;) (Oh that's right, that's ship has sailed, and by sailed of course I mean snipped.) Thanks for hosting us Daniel & Debbie.

This is How I Roll At Home

Dude, where'd my tan go?

As you can see, I'm all about fashion when I'm hanging out at home!

You're Welcome

To the future Mrs. Zach Guikema, you're welcome. This boy loves to clean toilets.


Alright, so these frigid temps. have me (and just a few others) feeling a bit crabby lately. So, I thought I would come up with a list of all the great things about winter. Hang on to your long johns ... here we go.

• Unlike summer, you don't have to put on a bathing suit every day. (Or get sand in your unmentionable areas.)
• Your towel is always dry in the morning because the heat's been running all night.
• Soup tastes better.
• The kids can find another use for their Easter eggs --- eyes for their snowman.
• Hot chocolate is appropriate to drink anytime.
• You get to wear cute hats, scarves, and mittens.
• You can watch football all day and not feel guilty that you aren't playing outside.

That's it. If you have any others, comment below. And if you want to give a smug blogger a hard time, check out Amanda's blog.

Hi, my name is Laurie ...

And I'm addicted to checking email. I've decided that if I'm going to go check my computer so often, I am going to stick prayer requests on the screen so I'm talking to God when I'm checking to see if others are talking to me. Let's just say, the current requests on my list have been thoroughly prayed over. ;)

Random Pics 'Cause I'm Random

Hmmmm

Over dinner Zach reported, "I have a rocket in my pants."

(Hmmm ... apparently boys think this from a very early age.)

New Glasses ... More Teeth

So, I wanted to change up the 'ole blog and the best pic of the family is one with Paige with her old glasses and missing her two front teeth. So when you view my blog, try to picture Paige more like this. :)

Picture of the entire family by Steph.

Book Club

Does anyone else think that by the end of this book Ms. Gilbert gave up meditation for sex?

Come and Listen

I may have mentioned this before, but I got a holy crush on Mr. David Crowder. My crush is not in the least bit romantic. ( I mean he's cute in that Where's Waldo with a kickin' goatee kind of way but ...) I just love his music and how I always feel closer to God each time I listen to one of his songs. So, to kick off the new year I wanted to share the lyrics of one of his songs & ask you to "tell me what he has done for you."

COME AND LISTEN
Come and listen/Come to the water's edge/All you who know and fear the Lord
Come and listen/Come to the water's edge/All you who are thirsty come
Let me tell you what he has done for me
Let me tell you what he has done for me
He has done for you/He has done for us
Come and listen/Come and listen to what He's done
Praise our God for He is good

Like any good host, I'll go first. This is what God has done for me. God gave me a wonderful Christian husband when the highest requirement I had in college for my future mate was that he was able to make me laugh. (Can you say naive and so blessed?) God gave me a healthy son when every medical professional and book told me his life would be one filled with disabilities. For these, and for so many other reasons, I know that our God is profoundly good. I want to listen to what God has done for you in your life. Let this meager blog be a praise offering to God.

Downtown Fun

Rosa Parks Circle has been our new form of cheap entertainment. Ice-skating with the family for $1/piece. Oh Rosa, you're speaking our Dutch language. I don't believe you were Dutch however. ;)

Time with our cousins from Pennsylvania.
My men in orange.