funnies

Me: Who is on TV?
Syd: Kevin.
Cass: That's where we go when we die.
Me: No, that's heaven!

Syd: Your breath smells.
Me: Like what?
Syd: Garbage.
Me: What?
Syd: I still like you!

kristin was on tv for the wheel-a-thon

http://mystateline.com/content/video/?cid=78901

tennis is over

we finished the two-week tennis lessons this week: of course, it was hot for the last four days of it, especially the day that parents went out on the court. kristin filled in for me w/syd while i played w/cass.

mike had to work almost 12 hours saturday, so the girls were on their own. gym. bank. swings. wii. bubbles. pork burgers. trip to the herb farm (should have taken video of them smelling everything -- we bought a tiny cilantro plant). new pj's at target (syd and cass). play, play, play.

today, we grilled burgers and the kids chased mike while he mowed the lawn (this was the epitome of excitement for them, honestly). cass and i took a "30-minute nap" that turned into 3 hours. syd helped daddy trim the tree in the front yard. grilled chicken sausage for our pasta. went for a walk. gorgeous day.

the pics from the week

father's day weekend

it has been a jam-packed weekend.

this week, we found out that cassidy's rash/breathing issues are pretty much allergy-related to cats (not peanuts as we suspected), so she can't go to nana's for a month because that's where "baby cat" lives and we are putting cass on a new set of drugs. and she can't go to the daycare down the street we just set up a few hours each day so that mike could take a nap each day. we also started the kids in their two-week summer tennis lessons: fun, fun.

on friday night, we took papa out for father's day: right in the middle of the 3-inch rainfall we received. their neighborhood almost flooded again. and a train derailment possibly caused by washed-out tracks put rockford in the center of the national news universe. so the rrs staff has been working all weekend on this story.

on saturday, i worked for a while, came let the kids run in the sprinkler and got groceries at like 10 p.m. at night.

on sunday, i worked in the morning and then was saved by my parents and sister, who came here for father's day (we were supposed to go to wis. originally). they grilled steaks and made cupcakes/pie. stuffed! then we let the kids run in the crazy sprinkler and played frisbee. the girls were angels most of the night while i let mike sleep for a few hours (except syd wrote on her table when she got mad about something; why do i buy expensive things?)...

perfect summer weekend

well, almost perfect: mike had to work.

and it did rain almost the whole day saturday.

but sunday was gorgeous.

anyway....on saturday, i had a date with the bosu at the gym (and I'm still paying for it). in the afternoon, the kids played while i cleaned about three brown bags worth of clothes out of their rooms to donate to goodwill (cass says, "you're taking to allie's? i say, no, not allie's dad's house -- i guess will's name is burned on the brain!). at night, we made chicken teriyaki meatballs and surprisingly enjoyed "bedtime stories" with the kids and then mike and i saw junk tv like "i love the 70s" and "house hunters international."

on sunday, we went to church to hear syd perform her song from vacation bible school. the kids and i played soccer in the yard for a good while befor i made beer-marinated steaks for lunch (i don't think the recipe is typed in anywhere yet). after lunch i let the kids run through the sprinkler for the first time -- syd did this for about an hour; cass tired of the idea after about 15 minutes and never would actually run through it. got some weed pulling done during that (and a sunburn). drew chalk on the sidewalk. ran to get ice cream (fruit smoothie for me). made the basil chicken strips for supper and crashed (but not before scrubbing the floor, finishing laundry and cleaning the bathrooms!).

the many faces of cass

jane rocks: another good recipe

Basil Chicken Strips

1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

In a large resealable plastic bag, shake chicken strips and flour until coated. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add the chicken; saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and basil; cook until chicken juices run clear. Yield: 2 servings.

Thanks, Maria's mommy!
See how good it looks!

two nights out

on friday night, the girls and i went over to the neighbors (trey is in sydney's class, so they had some play time).

the weather this weekend was cool and rainy, helping me to get a little more cleaning done than normal but not nearly enough.

on saturday, i made it to the gym and tried to fix the karaoke machine in the morning. pizza for lunch b/c no one wanted what i was cooking. afternoon was a lot of cleaning, groceries and board games. at night, mike and i went to the driving range and garrett's for a nice dinner with friends while auntie kristin watched the girls.

on sunday, more of the usual stuff, except poor cass was itchy all day because of a trace amount of peanuts from the yo crunch oreo yogurt the night before. ahhhhhhhhhhh. thanks to the nana/papa combo, we did get out again with friends to see "drag me to hell." it was decent for a horror movie; mike loved it.

this week is syd at vacation bible school: she's done with first grade! ... and cass has her last week of summer preschool. last week she was a little chef. this week she'll be jumping around. will scan pics at some point.

pics from anderson gardens last week

wish these could have been better. hard to shoot at 6 pm when the sun is bright and coming down.

ah, summertime

-- poor cass. had to take her to the doc again this week because her face was swollen. turns out, she is sensitive to mosquito bites. or at least that is the latest hypothesis.

-- on friday night, mike and i got to go out on our own, so we walked around anderson japanese gardens before dining in the restaurant there. we took pics (the waterfall and bridge, of course... to come because i'm too lazy to switch computers). i had five-spice sea scallops with sweet potatoes, peapods and carrots; mike had a very juicy steak with coconut wasabi mashed potatoes and asparagus. we shared essentially a dark chocolate, gourmet ding dong for dessert.

-- on saturday, cassidy's bff from preschool, ella h., had a birthday party at the playworld, so i took both the kids to that. they ran, climbed and slid around for an hour before pizza, cake and gifts. made mini turkey burgers for lunch, then tried to make up for my lack of cleaning last weekend. watched "the reader" at night by myself: i liked it, but mike probably would have rather been working.

-- on sunday, we did the usual church, then grocery store thing. helped the girls ride their bikes and they played around while i pruned a few bushes in the back yard. i hate yard work. mike bought a few outdoor chairs and tables, too, to spruce up the deck (can be moved to the firepit easier, too, then our heavy deck chairs). did some reading (junie b. jones) and a lot of the kids pretending that cass was rexie the dog.

more photographry art by cass

and we were outta here!

mike was supposed to have off memorial day weekend but had to work... blergh!

so the girls and i headed up to the cabin friday night and survived a little stop-n-go traffic.

on saturday, we headed to koni k's for breakfast and then into antigo for a little shopping (resisted. urge. to. buy. life. is good...!). after lunch, we headed to the post lake dam for fishing: syd got a big bullhead! cass played with the plastic fish on her rod, and the rest of us sat around and read. happy hour was spent at the ice cream shop before mom grilled steak and veggies. after the kids went to bed, we played some serious sequence.

on sunday, we stayed in for breakfast and then hit the lake on the boat for fishing --- syd and gramps caught "a brother and sister" perch because one had blue and one had pink. huh? :)
in the afternoon, dad, karin and i golfed and then we sat on the deck for the warmest part of the weekend. turned in early, but not without strawberry-blackberry pie.

it was a great weekend w/the usual suspects: foosball, "hopping" on carpet squares, painting, the 4wheeler...

today, we left early and battled the brake lights for a long trip home. :)

mother's day cards

wii and my friends

quite a week: got the results back from cassidy's allergy tests. she is big-time allergic to peanuts and also slightly to cats and guinea pigs. she's on singulair now, and we still have to give her a breathing treatment about every other day. we go back to the doc in a month.

well, we actually went to the doc again on thursday. cass fell on the playground on her preschool field trip and no one was sure whether she hit her head. she is fine.

syd, as you can imagine, was in need of attention, and she got it on saturday night by having a big-girl sleepover with auntie kristin (and dog brutus). they ate pizza, popcorn and root beer floats and watched "madagascar 2."

that evening, mike worked and cass hung out w/nana while i went w/anna to the "100 men who cook" fundraiser for the literacy council. man, i was stuffed. and thirsty today from all that sodium i ingested.

otherwise, saturday was normal: gym, cleaning and errands like haircuts.

sunday was a gorgeous day. at church, i met the secret pal i've been writing all year (he's an eighth-grader; a reminder of a painful time in life...). kristin went to service w/me while the kids played in the nursery. for lunch, i grilled hamburgers and brat patties and we ate on the deck (veggie chips and strawberries, too). ahhh. then mike played outside with the girls (golf, washers) and i took them biking (syd biffed it twice but didn't cry... this is a major advance). while indoors, the girls played wii fit (syd got cass started on her profile for the first time).

tonight, syd fell asleep at 7:20 on the couch while cass and i watched "mad. 2" -- good thing she already saw it the night before!

p.s. mike and i saw "benjamin button" on friday. ugh, it was long, but it was ok. oh, and mike saw "trek" again w/his dad thursday and got more geeked out about it. :)

"couch butt," by cass

how does she come up with this stuff? i mean, she's right, it does look like a butt, kind of, but really? really?

mother's day weekend

started things early with "moments with mom" at school, which consisted of donuts on styrofoam plates (ach!), a card and watching syd on the playground.

actually started things the day before. i visited cass' preschool for her concert, which really turned into cass crying, leaving the stage and sitting on my lap the whole time. oh well. at least i got a card and a handprinted poster.

on saturday, mom, dad, karin and jackson came for lunch: shish kebobs, fruit and strawberry-rhubarb pie, all brought to my house. i kindly supplied soda and a table. ha. ... in the afternoon, mike, dad and i trekked to "star trek," which i enjoyed despite barely understanding the original show ("who is bones?" ... i hated the show as a kid. it was always on and BO-RING!). the girls watched "bolt" on demand and rode bikes and went for a walk.

on sunday, karin, mom and i walked again in the walk to empower breast cancer fundraiser in grant park, chicago -- with 30,000 other people. unlike last year, which was like a monsoon, this year was gorgeous if but a little brisk. we joined dad for breakfast after the 1-mile option at yolk, where i had multigrain blueberry pancakes with granola inside and bananas and honey on top. yummy. ... then drove back for lunch with mike's family and a treasured nap.

syd's art in the art show at school last week

this is what we do when mike's not home

fell asleep last night after a busy weekend...

it was a beautiful weekend, if but a touch chilly with the breeze and clouds blocking the sun from time to time.

on saturday, after the gym, we played t-ball and pitch with whiffle balls, plus catch with gloves with daddy. in the afternoon, syd went to volcano falls for mini putt and games with nana and papa (cass was clingy, so she went on the exciting adventure to the grocery store w/me). in the evening i let the girls get away with shenanigans like bed-jumping while i cleaned.

on sunday, it was the last day of sunday school. then we met luke, abe, anna and our friend andre, who was visiting from delaware. it was a loud, goofy time. later, we played ball again and swings and i grilled brats. mike had to work :( ...

kids are still in school, but 2 nearby districts canceled due to probable H1N1 flu cases. i wonder how far the ripple effect will go.

more stuff i scanned

syd's first-grade portrait ... a little goofy.


cass' preschool portrait ... she looks like an angel!


sweet sisters in their easter best for their 2009 portrait.


syd looks so grown up.


cass sat nicely for the first time in a studio!


artwork by cass...