The Forever Kind of Friend

My friend JoDee turned one year older on May 25th. JoDee is a beautiful, remarkable person and a great confidant. Isn't it true that the older women get the more beautiful they become? I have always been a firm believer. I have had the pleasure of having a few "forever friends" in my life. JoDee, Thank you for being one of them!!

Memorial Weekend

We had a really fun weekend. Wade's parents drove all the way to visit us from Georgia. What a drive - 900 miles I think they said. They arrived on Thursday evening and left yesterday (Tuesday) morning. We don't get to see them that often so the time we do get never seems to last long enough.

Friday Gage had his end of year picnic at school so I went and spent some time with him at the park. We had a sack lunch and I watched him play kickball, catch and tag and just watching wore me out! As this school year ends I am curious and excited to see what the next year brings. We will all really miss Gage's teacher because she took us under her wing (along with her entire class) and made us feel great about school and learning. She also made us feel not so bad about the day's that we got notes sent home - not the good notes. Although she was awesome and will be hard to say good bye to, we are eagerly anticipating meeting his new teacher and moving on to 2nd grade.

Saturday we visited the Amana's, a favorite of the Georgia Cadenhead's, Bob and Eugenia, and of the Hiawatha Cadenhead's as well. A trip to Iowa wouldn't be complete without a little Amana shopping and a filling dinner at the Colony Inn. A little too filling sometimes because I can't stay away from the bread!

Sunday we had more of a restful day and walked down to the farmer's market. This happened to be the day that Last Hope Animal Shelter was there showing off all of the lovely dogs that needed a home. The kids almost got us (by us I mean just me) talked into taking one home as I was petting and hugging and petting and falling in love with all of the dogs and pups. It was if they were reaching out to me saying "You are the perfect family for me - Take me, pick me!" Then a gust of wind or a husband or something woke me from my dream like puppy loving state and reminded me we are not yet ready for a dog. We will be someday though...and I hope soon!!! I think the trick is to get a dog before you have kids otherwise you are always waiting for them to get to the right age that they are more self sufficient so you can really take the time to care for a dog like you need to. We also visited with the soap lady again and I asked about her website because I wasn't too impressed and she deserves an impressive website. She said it's still being worked on and when it's done, she will let me know. We bought soap lady made Deet Buster bug repellent (no deet) and it seemed to work pretty good after the second application. It smelled a lot better than store bought bug spray too. We are going to Pinicon Ridge this weekend, so I will let you know how it works after really putting it to the test!!


Monday we visited the Mississippi River Museum. That was a pretty great place to see. Now if I ever decide to ski again on the river - I know what calls that water home! Yipee!

It really was a neat place though. I couldn't believe all of the different species of fish and other wildlife they had!! We learned about crayfish, snails and clams and erosion. We got to climb aboard an old river boat and see how the pioneers and explorers lived on the river. We saw a huge array of catfish. Who knew there were so many different varieties of catfish!! They had a huge beautiful alligator and my poor picture taking skills will not do any of this justice. There were otters, snakes, frogs, ducks, sturgeon and even Cow Rays!! The cow ray's were our absolute favorite! There is so much history surrounding the Mississippi. I would like to go back sometime when I can get a chance to read more of the informational plaques. Not sure why - but the kids were not interested in those at all. :)

Overall, this is a good museum for all ages. Gage touching a baby alligator at the Museum.

Ella's turn!

Bob, Wade and the kids at the scenic overlook.

Gage and Ella bored by now of my picture taking :)

Is this a Sturgeon?

This was us touching Cow Rays. The kids loved it and were much braver than me! They are pretty slimy but after the first touch, I kept hoping they would swim by for another!!

More Cow Ray petting

Bob, Gage and Eugenia looking at snakes.

My Sad attempt at getting an Alligator to smile.

Wade's parents are currently on a long drive back to Georgia and we miss them already! Next time we will give them a rest and we'll make the drive.

In a Nutshell - Or am I a nut?

OK - This is going to sound like a rant so I will not post until I have re-read. (Then it will probably still sound like I am ranting-but truly I am not the mad hatter - ha ha) I am somewhat opinionated for the two of you who didn't already know this. I recently while browsing the Internet ran across a website that seemed to be judging while implying not wanting to be judged. How does this work? Let me say this first before I begin -
I really truly (honestly) love all of you mom's who made your own baby food and breast fed until you were blue in the face. I never judged you while you were feeding your baby at the park or on the airplane. I never judged you because I envied you. I was fortunate enough to have breast fed Gage until he was 6 months old. With Ella however, I could not make it work. Anyways, back to my point. Today as I was reading about how wonderful slings and breast milk are I was also reading about how awful swings are - and baby food and formula and bouncy chairs and baby carriers (other than slings) and television and well you get the picture. The author of this was at the same time asking not to be judged for feeding her children in public??
I think that almost every mom can say that whatever was used in rearing her children she did the best she could with what worked best for her family. Don't judge us mom's who use baby food from a jar and formula and toys that may not last very long - because the truth is we are probably just an insy bit jealous of you moms who don't. That being said - GO MOMs everywhere!

This takes me to my second wind of chatter. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get Ella to get rid of her sippy cup! Can some one help me?! I don't know if Gage was easier to transition into new phases in his life or what, but I don't remember it being this hard with him.
Those two are so different, it really amazes me.

Gage is my shy guy. He is extremely competitive, sometimes to the point that it's upsetting because of his fiery temper. I think he forgets that we started by just having a good time. He is not like this all of the time though..only when he is losing..haha..not really haha though. He is also very compassionate and can be a great big sweet heart. I found a note he wrote while cleaning our basement last night. It said "My mom is the prettiest mom in the world. I love her a lot". What a way to get the eyes teared up. He has given his extra change to classmates for freezy pop Friday's when they didn't have any and he once let his friend hand out his snacks on snack day because the friend forgot his snacks and became very upset. He even tears up at sad parts in movies. He listens pretty well, or pretends to at least. He is definitely more of a morning person like his dad. He takes chances but doesn't like to get hurt, and when he does, he never minds a little healing kiss or an ice pack. He really is my little guy. He loves dinosaurs and bugs and sports and if the sun is up, he is outside. He will still hold my hand and give me a kiss good bye (when no one is watching) and let me tell you, I will take what I can get.
Ella on the other hand - is wildly outgoing. She will say hello to anyone. She may be waving to the car next to us, or starting a conversation with the person behind us at the grocery checkout line, or just making a new temporary friend at the park. She is just like her mom when it comes to wanting to stay up late at night and sleep late in the morning. She is my wild child. She has no fear of the unknown, which completely freaks me out. She is bruised and scratched and doesn't much complain about a skinned knee. She is as opinionated as any two year old could possibly be and everything has to be done the way she wants it done. She hates bugs and sprinklers but loves being outside and playing in the rain. She loves to give BIG kisses and hugs and tells everyone she is no longer a baby, but a big girl with big muscles.
With each new person they become as they get older and enter new stages in their lives, I fall in love with them all over again. I hope that if I can give them anything in life, I can give them the ability to look back and be able to say they had good childhood memories. I hope to give them the ability to see, hear, smell and touch the world around them. I hope to give them the confidence that they can do anything and go anywhere in life. I hope they don't judge others but feel free enough to share their opinions. I hope they will always know they are loved.

(pillow case racing)

A day to remember

So where shall I begin? How about Mother's Day. I want to share just how wonderful my family was to me this past Mother's Day. My day started out by Gage coming in and waking me up to tell me that I could sleep in because it's my day today. Awww..how sweet. About an hour later both kids come in and tell me they have a surprise waiting for me in the kitchen. I walk out rubbing my eyes to see flowers on the table, a coffee waiting for me and the newspaper! WOW...it couldn't get better than this, and yet it does. Wade is making pancakes with strawberry topping. Yum! My very favorite! Then after a bit of relaxing, we walked down to the farmer's market. We bought great tasting asparagus, and green house tomatoes. They were good, but not as good as they are from our own garden. I think all you gardeners know exactly what I am talking about. Wade and Gage planted their vegetable garden and I planted a few more flowers. Just a great relaxing day. As if all that wasn't wonderful enough on it's own, I don't think the kids fought once that day. If they did - my euphoria from the great morning and the wonderful smells from the handmade soap lady at the farmer's market blew it in one ear and right out the other. I really don't think they did though..fight that is...all day. Ahhh, moments like that, and there really are so many, make you realize how small the struggles really are.

This is what kept Ella busy while we were outside planting.