She Hasn't Changed...Much

May 2008

I have to pick a font that is really girly.  Now I need a background that looks like coffee or Coca Cola.  BY Jove, I think I found it.  NOPE, too hard to read.  New font color is needed here.  Let's see, Okay, now it is readable.  My Roo needs her coffee, preferably a Starbucks blend, she needs her sleep cuz she gets really cranky, she loves her shoes, purses, and other fashion accouterments...Otherwise, inside she's a lot like me (some say she looks like me but I am not sure if that thrills her or not..., back to her spiritual makeup  she tends to make a lot of mistakes like I did at her age.  Poor girl, it's hard to watch.  You want so much less heartache for your daughter.  You want her life to be easy, full of love, no disappointments, no sorrow.  I guess that just isn't realistic.  Life is nothing but falling in love, getting your heartbroken, misunderstandings with those you love the most, I digress.  Back to Roo, she has her father's sense of humor but at least she has the good sense to appreciate mine. She is like me in the love department, she falls hard, and like me at her age, she doesn't hold her tongue regarding her dislike for people.  I found it hard to bite my tongue around people that I didn't hold in high regard.  I prayed she would have more maturity than me (I often wince at the things I have said to people).  I guess that will come with age.  She likes my music (some Def Leopard, some Michael Buble, some One Republic), likes to dance (I had the privilege of teaching her to shimmy her shoulders.) And she isn't much of an athlete, but enjoys spectator sports...although she likes hockey fights, I sit through those and she gets on her feet and yells "FIGHT!" 

  

We had lots of time together before it was interrupted with the late appearance of a brother and sister.  I wonder if she regrets praying for them on days when she feels like the third wheel.  I bet she is glad God didn't answer her prayer for twins the year Matthew came into being!

Roo has a heart of gold and she wears it on her sleeve.  She loves her babies.

I will have to quit this ode to Roo, her little brother (that she prayed for) is bugging me and refusing to go up stairs for his nap.  But I think it gives a glimpse of my little darlin'. I love you, Roo.

Hannah's Dream School

From 2013

The theme of my school is swimming and figure skating. I choose these because swimming and skating help build stamina and strength. They also keep you fit and healthy. I also choose this because in order to do these sports you must exercise and properly stretched.

  This is a good theme because swimming and figure skating are very similar. Two ways are, they both use all your muscle and create muscle memory. Another is the both take place in or on water.

  In each classroom you would still do academic learning such as math, reading, science, history, etc. Each classroom would have either a small pool or ice rink. In classrooms both academic and ice or water equipment will be provided. As well as proper attire.

  The logo would be a tiger to show we are fierce and pretty. {Handsome for the boys} This relates to us because we are fierce in competition, but pretty outside of competitions. The name of my school is “The Bice Swim, Ice, and Academics School”. This would be printed on a large sign with stones.

  This is why I picked my theme. Because I love ice skating {not hockey} and swimming and of course you have to have academics too!      

Calico's Journal

When H was in Kindergarten (I think) the kids got to bring home Calico the Bear. He had clothes, a toothbrush, etc. The kids were to write their adventures in his journal. (this really meant parents had to write up the adventures using Calico's voice)

H eagerly (and impatiently) awaited her turn to take Calico home. It was worth the wait. She got him for all of Fall Break and not just the weekend like most of the kids.

Calico's Journal

October 14, 2007

This week I went home with Hannah.  It was Fall Break so I had a nice long visit.  We had a quiet weekend at Hannah’s house and on Monday we went to Chattanooga, TN.  What an adventure!  Our hotel was a converted train station called the Chattanooga Choo Choo.  It was so neat!  There were restored train cars, fountains, rose gardens, and a trolley!

On Tuesday, I saw butterflies, sharks, stingrays, snakes, alligators, and crocodiles at the Chattanooga Aquarium.  We went to the IMAX Theater and a shark swam right at us.  I thought I was a goner.  The jellyfish floated in front of my face and Hannah tried catching one on her finger.  (She caught a butterfly on her finger earlier and I guess she thought it would be just as easy to catch a floating jellyfish.)  We had pizza for dinner. 

Wednesday was another exciting day!  We rode a restored train from Grand Junction to East Chattanooga.  Hannah’s brother swears he saw two bears in the woods.  I didn’t see them and I think I would recognize my relatives.  We did go through a long horseshoe tunnel.  It was built in 1852.

After the train, we had some lunch and went for a walk.  We walked across the Tennessee River on the Walnut Street Bridge and stopped at a park.  Hannah and Matthew played in the fountains and then we rode a carousel.  We had ice cream on the North Shore before going back to the Hotel.

Thursday, we went to the Children’s Discovery Museum.  This was so much fun! There was a lot of water to play in, a huge playground, art, a dinosaur, an excavation station, science projects, I can’t remember it all. We took a walk downtown for lunch and drove home to Madison.

Friday, I spent a quiet morning with Hannah.  We were all tired from the trip and then we went for a walk by Indian Creek. I saw a bunny, cows, some guinea fowl, blue jays, cardinals, horses, and a dog.

Saturday was another play day for Hannah and me.

Sunday was a day to worship and praise the Lord.  We gave thanks for all He has given us and the wonderful friends he has blessed us with.

Diverted Again

I am digging around the inner caves of the computer while H is texting me emojis of cats...She just asked me if her new skating dress is sparkly...Shocking.

I guess I'll email Cindi in a little while...

Here is the little jewel I found written by Roo.

My little sister turned 7 today... it's hard to believe that 7 years ago, I was hearing a screaming 10 hour old baby thinking, "I'm stuck with this until I die..." Such a pessimistic thought, but considering I was the only child for 12+ years, you could probably, just maybe, understand why. But looking back, I would not have it any other way :)

I wish I had a picture on my computer to put up of the munchkin. I think we should've known her personality the minute my mom had the 6 week ultrasound. The most determined human being I know, besides my father, was in that picture. She's stubborn, oh so very stubborn. She gets jealous easily; is high maintenance; yet...

Loves her friends; loves her family; loves animals; loves to read her sister's texts, emails, facebook comments (she's a tad nosy and feels accomplished doing so), you name it; doesn't want to be a mommy when she grows up; loves to sing when no one's around; is a future artist; and most of all, isn't a "little" girl anymore. She's 7. I remember when I was 7.

Like H, I loved my friends, animals, baby dolls, everything. Not only that, I was becoming aware of lots of things, like fashion, the hippest nail polish colors, how to apply makeup, TV shows that weren't on Disney anymore... a slew of things. There's quite the difference between 6 and 7. Before I know it, my H will be talking about boys, buying bras (don't laugh), telling of the newest fashion trends that don't exist at Gymboree, will be helping me plan my wedding, babies, etc... it's all a tad bit hard to swallow, because the first thing this morning, last night actually, I thought about the day she was born.

At 12:38 AM EST, Tuesday, January 22, 2002 at Wright Patterson AFB, OH, Hannah Elizabeth was born. And a day in the B family hasn't EVER been the same since. No siree; she didn't crawl, she walked at 9 months. The little imp stood on the coffee table and stripped when she was 1 and 2; she adored yet despised our brother (still does to this very day!); had the best laugh as a baby (sounded like the Pillsbury Dough Boy); she called me "Ssss" for the longest time until she could TALK; the list goes on and on. My favorite memory though is when we shared a room in Boston. To wake me up, she'd yell "sss!" and jump and jump in her crib causing all sorts of racket until I got her out of the crib (at 6:30 am no less.) Or maybe it was finding her with my makeup on her face when she was 2? Not sure... either way, life's never been the same since the Little Palindrome was born :)

Posted by Lauren at 10:25 PM

Tigger Ears and Veggie Tales

Matthew was sick in the middle of the night so the two of us stayed home from Church. We watched the live stream on the computer and after it was over, I  sat down to catch up on email. Being me, I got diverted, I went to save a recipe, decided I needed a folder, and thought "Hey, why I am at it, let's move all my recipes into a folder...oh look, I really need to clean up my downloads (Hannah has downloaded every Cheetah picture on the internet, I believe...) and voila, found old things I wrote to scrapbook...Here is what I found from 2003.

Our Little Pooh Bear loves to put on her Tigger ears.   You never know when she will pop up with her ears.  One morning she woke her sister up by peeking over her crib while wearing her ears.  It got the day started on the right note…

Hannah loves her Veggie Tales.  You can hear her say “I want Bob.”  You will hear this in the car until you pop in the CD.  You will hear this at home until you put in the DVD.  You will hear this phrase when you put her to bed, you have to play her music.  You will also hear this while doing school with Lauren until you pop in the video.  Who cares if it is a Christmas video and it is March…

When Dad or Grandma calls on the phone, she will tell them, “I want Bob.”

Lauren proclaims to hate “Bob, “ However, Lauren can sing all the Vegie Tunes, just ask her Youth Group. 

Lessons Learned

Things with the house have been crazy or as Roo says "Cray-Cray." We pray, we think something is a sign from God to follow and then it all just goes "South." Like selling our house...we both decided to take our house off the market and that night we got an offer from a family in MD. They had never even seen the house, then another offer from someone who kept driving by the house and made an offer. Our Realtor found not one but two houses of people who had a single level house, not listed, but wanted to sell. One house kept haggling on the price, so G decided to walk, the other house we loved even more and verbally agreed on a price, closing costs, and closing date....then that family decided to not sell. Apartment living is where we ended up...on the second floor...bearing in mind the reason we decided to sell was to not have stairs.

Now for hiring the movers...Two Men and A Truck wanted over $7600 to move us...Motivated Movers $1300, and then what I thought to be a sign from God was Motivated MUSCLED Movers (a company that uses Body Builders...the estimate was $100 an hour, 4 hours to load, 3 hours to unload. Hired.

We decided to move a lot of stuff ourselves to save even more...we had the kitchen, books, pictures, clothes...well, just about everything that was not furniture settled at the apartment before moving day. I even donated our dining room furniture. (It suffered a lot of banging with all the military moves) So, now the items to move is minimal...Monday arrives, the movers show up at 9 am and 7:45 pm only about 1/3 of my stuff is moved. The assistant manager promises a discount. The movers show up the following morning and at 1 pm, Greg sends them packing. We were charged $1200 and given a $25 discount.

Now we are in panic mode...stuff needs to be moved, house needs to be clean, and the closing is on Thursday...Not good.

Did I mention it was unbearably hot and humid? I am perplexed how things that seem to be so perfectly aligned turn into total mess ups.

On Wednesday, we hired some cleaners who pitched in and helped us move the remaining items (they took pity on us and saved the day.) They then cleaned the house, Thursday morning, Greg applied the touch up paint, and we walked out at 9:50 am leaving a perfect house...the walk through happened at 10:30 am. Closing was delayed until Friday since their loan papers had not arrived.

And now it is done. Apartment living has commenced. The air conditioner was broken for the first few days...all I could imagine was a $1000 electric bill and a Summer of sleeping on the couch where it was cooler. But now that is fixed. I feel kind of guilty grumbling since there are people in much worse circumstances. I drove home from skating on Monday and saw the tent under the Interstate where some of the Homeless live...they are being evicted by the Department of Transportation. So really, what do I have to grumble about? Now if I can just get the kids to understand how blessed we are even though they have no yard to play in.....

Wednesday

Here it is, our new home. Needs a little work, no?

We signed the contract to build last Friday, closed on the house, and drove to Nashville for Matthew's hockey tournament. Spent the weekend in Nashville, came home, and G left for Colorado Springs on Monday. Everything is kind of a blur. The only clear recollection I have is standing at the top of the staircase at our home on Wickerberry and thinking, it looks brand new, like we never lived here. (Except if you open the pantry door...you will see all the measurements of the kids...unfortunately, we only wrote the day and child's name, not the height.)