Roasting Cheese

We decorated our Christmas tree tonight, and had a fire in the fireplace. We did not have any marshmallows to roast, so Andrew roasted cheese. He got a slice of cheese (medium cheddar), put it in a skillet, and I held it over the fire until it was melted. He ate most of it, and shared a little with Mari, who was a little out of her head.

In other cool news, Susan went to a cookie exchange today, and brought home a bunch of cool cookies.

Also, I am enjoying cooking on a gas stove.

Also, we found a weird hole in our basement floor, about 18" x 24", that appears to be full of ash. Weird. I will have to ask someone who knows something about old homes. It does look like there used to be a gas line that ran to it. It had always had this huge wooden shelf over it, which is why we did not know it was there.

New Dishwasher

I am not sure why this is blog-worthy, but we bought a new dishwasher today. Ours stinks and while we were out looking for new bathroom fixtures we remembered how cheap dishwashers are, so we bought one. It is in Mimi & Papa's (Susan's parents) garage right now, waiting for me to come pick it up so I can install it this weekend. That should be an adventure.

• We also plan on putting up our Christmas tree this weekend, and taking care of a number of other things around the house.


• Tomorrow we are beginning our bathroom renovation and also reworking the archways on the main level of our house.


• It is cold, and snowy.


• I want to set up the stereo, but I am short a speaker. The good news is that I have my work PC hooked up to my Aunt Harriet's old stereo from the 60's, so I can get some good sounds there.


• Elliot is talking a lot lately.


• Andrew is getting up too early, but is still always a joy.


• Mari has been hitting a lot. We know it is just a phase, but we hope that it passes quickly.


• We still have a lot of boxes to go through. Most important is the box with our winter gear in it, and the stereo speaker.


• I set up a room in the basement as my office. It used to be a tuck-under garage, that was sealed off. It is cold, but I like it.


• Susan thinks that the skull hanging in the corner "does numbers for my office." I agree.


• I also found an old, fake, electric fireplace for my office. It has nice lights, but puts off no heat. Andrew thinks it is really cool. I think it is cool.


• We are trying to get our hands on some firewood.


• The hot and cold are reversed on our washer. I suppose I should fix that.

Our Stuff

Ace Hardware

There is an Ace Hardware that is between our house and Erin & Nate's, where we stayed for 4 weeks. I have stopped there several times to get much needed supplies for our house and always had a great experience. I feel like it is a cross between the neighborhood hardware store and Home Depot/Lowes. I will definitely be going there more often.

ABF U-Pack Moving

When we moved we rented a trailer from ABF, and it went great. Everyone one I spoke with in the company was always very nice, from the 4 or 5 representatives I spoke with while trying to get things set up to the people who work at the terminals in Cincinnati and Des Moines. They were always friendly and understanding. If you need to make a long move on a budget, they are definitely worth checking out.

When we find our camera, which I am sure is somewhere, I will post a picture of what the inside of the truck looked like when it arrived at our house in Des Moines.

Endorsements

I am going to start a new type of blog post - endorsements. I know what you are thinking, "That's not new. Celebrities have been endorsing products for decades." Well, it's new to me, all right? Here come the first two. . .

Des Moines Differences, Part 3

Elliot woke me up early this morning, and one of the TV stations was not broadcasting. I can't remember the last time that happened in Cincinnati. Yesterday morning, when he also woke me up early, I noticed that during one of the early news shows, when they usually switch over to local content, I had to watch the national news anchors sit around and chat for a few minutes. I guess that the Des Moines stations don't have their news people in that early.

Des Moines Differences, Part 2

There are brown squirrels in Des Moines, as opposed to the gray ones in Cincinnati. The brown ones definitely have better color.

Weekend in KC

We just got back from spending the night in Kansas City. Ian and Andrew needed(needed?) to go down for Luke's birthday party, so we all (the Liesland's and Ian) went down last night. It was nice to see the Connors and the boys had a great time. Mari would not talk to Casey the whole time, but did warm up to Joe by the time it was time to go. Andrew cried all the way out the door. I think he had a good time. He may also have been extremely tired.

Elliot Loves Balls

Susan went to a La Leche League meeting yesterday and there was a woman there with a newborn, her first. Elliot threw a ball and it hit the baby right in the head, while he was sleeping. Luckily the baby was unphased, and the mom was too.

Will our name change ever go away?

It has been a long time since I have had to deal with any issues surrounding our name change, but our recent move is stirring things up again. It came up a couple of times when we closed on our house in Cincinnati, and now US Bank wants some documentation because I have a check from Duke Energy made out to Robert Hyland.

No big deal, I just wonder when it will go away. Initially we had to deal with a lot of activity, then as things got changed over the activity slowed down, and slowed down, and slowed down. Will it ever stop?

Des Moines Differences, Part 1

1. It seems like traffic moves slower. The speed limits all seem a little low to me. That being said, it never takes long to get anywhere.
2. The grocery store parking lots are smaller, and I bet the grocery stores are too.
3. Speaking of grocery stores - in Des Moines, and probably all of IA, they are not required to put the cost per unit on the grocery items, which makes it a lot harder to compare prices.
4. Yesterday we were out during rush hour, shortly after dusk, and it was raining. Traffic was actually moving. Susan and I were positive that had we been on I-75 at this time, we would have been parked.
5. On all of the traffic reports they always mention that it is harvest time, so watch for slow moving farm equipment on the roads. I have not seen any yet, but I don't leave city limits very often.

I bet there are more to come.

No More Mortgage

It looks like our 2911 Montclair mortgage is now officially paid off. That is nice. Now, to start a new one.

Our First Piece of Mail

We received our first piece of mail in Des Moines today. It was actually just the USPS confirmation of our forward, but I guess it counts, right?

We also set up some new bank accounts.

Tomorrow is my first day at 'work'. I need to get the new office all set up and then get down to business.

Des Moines

We live in Des Moines now. Currently, we have a nice one bedroom apartment in Erin & Nate's basement. Hopefully we will be out on our own in a couple of weeks.

Done

All done.

Time Change

Fall Back + Going West = Trouble

We're Tired

We all had a busy day today. Andrew had school and then went to some friends' houses afterward. The rest of us, with a lot of help, starting loading the moving truck this morning, and sent it on its way this afternoon.

Tomorrow we close.

Early Voting

Susan, Mari, Elliot and I went downtown this morning to cast our vote. We waited in line for about 1/2 an hour. All-in-all, it was not a bad deal. It was not as easy as walking to the church at the end of our street on election day, but since this year that would be a 600 mile walk, we thought that we better just go ahead and vote. Now we just have to wait for everyone else.

Afterward we enjoyed some hot-dogs from the stand outside the BOE and then picked up a few more boxes.

The Final Week

So, as you may know, we sold our house. We are set to close on Friday. There is a truck coming to take all of our stuff on Thursday. It is going to be parked in Des Moines for a couple weeks while we get things finished up there.

Things have been a little crazy lately, with getting out of our current house, trying to get into a new house, and trying to live our normal lives. The three kids have certainly kept things interesting for us.

I would say that 75% of our house is packed. We will finish up over the next few evenings, dwindling down to just the things that we will keep with us for the couple weeks that we are staying at Erin & Nate's.

We are definitely excited to have finally sold our house, but leaving Cincinnati will be hard. We had a couple of parties over the weekend and it was hard to say good-bye to everyone, not knowing when we will see them again. I know that we will see most people again, but I also know that things will never be the same, and a lot of the relationships that we have here will fade away with time.

There is a good chance that a week from now, I will be blogging from Des Moines. I'll let you know.

The Dinner Blog

After being offline for a few months, I have now successfully updated the Dinner Blog through a complete cycle.

Now if only I could convince Susan to start posting here, we will be all set.

Craigslist

We just put two items on craigslist - the couch and entertainment center that were in our basement.

The Couch
The Entertainment Center

If you are interested in either of them, let us know. They are all yours, whoever you are.

Jumping Rope

Andrew was working on jumping rope yesterday for 2 hours straight. When he woke up this morning his legs were tired and he could not be convinced that it was the rope jumping.

Unsung Milestones

In parenting circles, there is a lot of talk about milestones. Usually the talk focuses mainly on a few big ones: first smile, sitting up, solid foods, crawling, walking, talking, running. As Elliot gets older, he has eclipsed two milestones that always stand out for me: helping dress himself and sitting on a stool, instead of his baby seat.

The first one, helping to dress himself, is a very useful one. When dressing babies, usually you don't get much cooperation which can make it challenging. Once they have been through the routine enough they start to pick up on when to straighten their arm or bend their head, which makes the dressing process a lot easier.

Sitting on a stool, instead of in a baby seat, is a little more nerve-racking. I know that he will probably fall off at some point (Andrew & Mari both did); I just hope that he is as old as possible when it happens. Elliot began sitting on a stool a couple weeks ago at Erin & Nate's. All of the other kids were, so he wanted to as well. When we got home he refused to sit in his booster seat.

Neither of these things are earth-shattering, but they do lead to the moments when I have to step back and think "Wow, he's not much of a baby anymore."

In other news, if we had stayed on the same baby-birthing schedule, we would have a newborn right now.

Andrew's 5th Birthday

I guess Andrew turned 5, huh? His birthday was last Friday. It was the end of a crazy week. He is very excited to be 5, but he is already talking about being six. He can slow down, as far as I am concerned.

He is still enjoying riding his bike more than anything else, I think. He would ride all day if he could. He also got a guitar for his birthday which he has been playing a lot. I just wish that he would learn how to maneuver without conking someone in the head.

A Visit from the Fire Department

Yesterday morning the kids and I were playing outside early (7:15-ish) and I decided to build a fire in our fire pit. Around 8:45 I heard and then saw a fire truck coming down our street and as they approached our house I saw them point. I went to the front yard to see what was going on and they said someone had called and complained. I told them that I had a fire in our fire pit. The lead guy said "The only problem I see is that you don't have a screen covering it." I said "Yes, I do." He looked closer and agreed. He also noticed that I had a hose handy, in case things got out of hand. He said that if someone called and complained again then I would have to put it out.

Now I just need to figure out who called and complained. I have a few suspects in mind.

Canvassing

Andrew and I went canvassing yesterday, which was an interesting experience. It seemed like a lot of people weren't home, which made it go pretty quickly. I think that we were out for a little over two hours, and there was very little complaining. I am not sure what I would have done if Andrew decided he had had enough.

Is it for real this time?

Apparently our power is on again. I am not sure if I want to rush to fill the fridge just yet.

Church Dinner

Last night we were dinnerless. We had no food at our house, and we weren't sure what to do. Susan ran past a church that was hosting a dinner, and we decided to check it out. We ended up enjoying a nice dinner of pulled-pork sandwiches, mac & cheese, cole slaw, garlic bread, and even dessert. Not too shabby.

Make Up Your Mind!

We were able to enjoy a few hours of electricity last night, but now we are back in the dark.

Duke Energy's Power Outage Map



As of Thursday Morning

. . . and we're back!

The power came back on around 8:30 this evening, thanks to some help from some North Carolina crews, we believe. I was upstairs getting the kids to bed, but Susan said that she could hear a collective "Woohoo!" from the neighborhood.

Having the power back on meant that it was time for us to clean out the fridge - woohoo!

Still in the Dark

We are still one of the 300,000 people who belong in one of those dots. They hope to make a lot more progress today, and I hope they do.

Duke Energy's Power Outage Map



As of Wednesday Morning

Camping Preview

We have been powerless since Sunday afternoon, when the remains of Ike swept through. We didn't get any rain, but we sure got a lot of wind. We emptied our freezers Sunday night, and put 10 1/2 gallons of ice cream in Ruth Ann's freezer. Last night we took all of our refrigerated items to a friends house.

Not much has changed in our daily routine, other than trying to find creative ways to eat. This morning I grilled some goetta. Fun times. Hopefully the power will be back on soon, but I have been enjoying the peace.

Duke Energy's Power Outage Map



As of Tuesday Morning

Lieslands on Wheels

Last night we switched things up for our evening walk - Susan and I wore our rollerblades, Andrew Biked, Mari rode her scooter, and Elliot went in the stroller.

Things went pretty well. Mari freaked out about 1/4 of the way through, so we had to load her into the stroller, but after that it was smooth sailing. I had a great time.

School Choice

We have never been sure what to do with Mari when it comes to school. She did not do so well when she went in for her observation day at the Waldorf School, but I guess that we were hoping she would grow out of the emotional roller coaster she is riding.

We recently heard that there may be some opening at the Waldorf School and we were thinking of having her go in for another observation. Susan decided to ask Mari about it. I think it went something like this:

Susan: Do you want to go to school?

Mari: Yeah, I am 3.

Susan: OK. You would be in nursery school, so you would have to go by yourself. Dad and I would not be able to go with you.

Mari: OK. I want you to take me. Last time dad took me I was scared.

Susan: OK, but I won't be able to stay there with you.

Mari: I think I will wait until I am 4.

I guess that answers that.

Growing Up

We have been noticing some changes in the kids lately -

Elliot has been acting more and more like a little boy. He is becoming more independent and playing more with Andrew and Mari.

Mari has been having conversations with Andrew and playing well with him and his friends.

Andrew has been a lot more boisterous lately. He has been getting up early and staying up late (for him).

Fun times.

All Clear

This morning the city picked up what was left of our fallen trees. Here are the numbers:
1 - Fires used to dispose of a lot of wood
4 - Chainsaws used to help clean up
5 - Trees affected
16 - People who helped with clean-up
29 - Bags of yard waste
80 - Total number of person-hours put in to get things cleaned up

Now we just need to plant some grass.

Tree Pics

My dad came over last night to start cleaning things up. He was able to get the Mulberry tree totally liberated from the pine, but apparently the Mulberry and the pine were very close, because it looks like the Mulberry can stand on its own.

Attacking the Play Set

This evening we had another tree fall on the play set. Since we put the play set up a few months back, this is the second tree that we have had fall on it. I almost have all of the first tree cleaned up and disposed of, and now I have to deal with this one. The one that fell tonight was a nice-sized, but fairly young Oak. I would bet that it was 40 or 50 feet tall, but not very thick. It snapped about half way down (or up, I suppose), so I have not yet figured out the best way to clean it up.

Tonight we also lost the dead pine tree that has been standing watch over our back yard. I knew it was only a matter of time for this one. I want to get it cleaned up soon, so we can try to salvage the Mulberry Tree that it is trying to take with it.

While we were out surveying our damage our neighbor pointed out that about the top 1/3 of one of our white pine trees broke off and landed in his back yard. Our back yard looks a little different than it did a few hours ago.

We only got to look at it for a couple minutes before bedtime tonight, and I can't wait until the morning to get a better look and start coming up with a clean-up plan. I will get some pictures as well, to share.

We See Trouble Brewing

Mari and Elliot have really been in each others' faces lately. Last night for about 10 minutes Elliot was just chasing Mari around pulling on her clothes, pushing her, and hitting her. He also tried to take a nice bite out of her shoulder earlier in the evening. We can tell that they are going to have an interesting relationship.

Pacified

When I entered a few posts about our trip, I forgot to mention one interesting thing that happened while we were away: Elliot quit the pacifier.

All of our kids have used pacifiers. We are not huge fans, but they liked them, and they helped them all sleep, so we used them. Mari still uses hers, and if Andrew had his druthers, he would still be using one as well (the pacifier fairy came when he was four and switched his pacifiers out for Elizabeth, the stuffed frog, which he thinks is a bear). Elliot won't have anything to do with his. We haven't even tried giving him one in the last week, and all has gone well. Yea!

New Pics & Gallery

I just added a few new pics to our 2008 Photo Gallery.

I also created a new gallery with a few pictures from our trip.

Returning Home

After a great trip, we loaded up the car yesterday morning for the trek back to Cincinnati. It was nice to come home to a clean house and some cool weather. The kids did great in the car and now we are just trying to get back into the swing of things. When I get the time, I will post some picture from our trip.

Des Moines Happenings

The past few days in Des Moines have been a good time. We have been spending a lot of times with Mimi, Papa, and the Reagens. There has been some flooding here of late, and we have seen a lot of the leftovers. We have also come across some rivers that are still exceeding their usual banks.

Des Moines or Bust

We left Minneapolis this morning and headed south for about 4 hours. We drove past some ruined corn fields and flooded rivers, and arrived at Mimi & Papa's in mid-afternoon. A good time is being had by all.

More Minneapolis

Today started like yesterday, at the lake. We played a little at the playground and walked around and explored a little.

After breakfast we met some friends for brunch and then hung out with more friends in the afternoon.

Raspberry Island or Bust

Last night could have gone better. The lovely barbecue pizza that we had for dinner yesterday kept me up half the night, and now everyone else is having some digestive issues. Digestive issues aside, we were up early this morning and headed out on a walk around Lake Harriet. Even though the lake is close, it took us forever to get there and back because Elliot insisted on walking, and pushing the stroller.

It was great to get down to the lake. This is the same lake that Susan and I used to walk around when I first visited her in Minneapolis. This morning we walked around the lake for just a few minutes because the kids were taking a long time. We settled in at the beach where the kids enjoyed the water, even though it was a little chilly.

After nap time, we headed off to Martin and Courtney's wedding. It was at the Minnesota Boat Club, on Raspberry Island, in St. Paul. The island was a little island on the Mississippi with a great view of St. Paul. The wedding was outside with the city as the backdrop and was followed by a lovely dinner, good cake, and some dancing. We headed home a little later than we had planned, which I think is a good thing, because that means we were having a good time.

Minneapolis or Bust

We started off this morning spending a few more hours at camp gray. Jeff was up early with us and we at breakfast, walked around camp a little, and then we were off.

We had about three or four more hours to Minneapolis, and the drive went well. Elliot has been taking his naps in the car. Mari has not. We arrived in Minneapolis in the middle of the afternoon. We are staying with Maribeth, Susan's friend from high school, and her husband Eric. We stayed with them last summer as well, and had a great time.

After we got settled in we decided to go for a walk to a pizza place. Just as we were leaving a storm blew in, which made our walk interesting. There was not a lot of thunder and lightning, but there was a lot of wind. It was a nice contrast to the many hours that we had been spending in the car. We enjoyed a lovely barbecue chicken pizza, and then headed home for bed.

Reedsburg or Bust

We left Cincinnati at 9 this morning, cutting across IN, IL, and stopping in Reedsburg, WI. Our friends Jeff and Rebecca Hoeben are co-directors at Camp Gray and we are staying the night here on our way to Minneapolis. We arrived at camp just before dinner, joined the campers for dinner, and then got settled in to their house. Day one went well, and we are off to a good start. The drive went well and it is always fun to be at a summer camp.

On a side note, Jeff also had another friend passing through, Cameron. When we were sitting around chatting this evening Cameron mention that he had spent some time at the South Pole. I thought it was pretty cool to be talking to someone who has actually been to the South Pole. You can follow his exploits at offyonder.com.

Mari is Three! ! !

Mari turned three yesterday. We had a nice, little party, with a few family and friends. The kids enjoyed another piñata, which I fear may be becoming a tradition. Mari ended the evening by staying up until 11, which has left her in a very pleasant mood today.

What's Shakin'?

Man, what's Shakin?

Things have been hopping around here. Not much doin', but we are keeping busy.

We never made it camping this Spring, which has been a little disappointing.

Elliot is walking, which is awesome. I enjoy his walking because it makes my life so much easier. He gets around a lot better and on more surfaces, which is nice.

That's all I got for now.

Elliot is Getting Older

If you can't see the video, Click Here.

New Pics

I just added a slew of new pics to our 2008 Photo Gallery.

In other news, Elliot is probably officially walking, which is nice. He is not yet to the point where he walks more than he crawls, but he is almost there.

Video Vault VI

Andrew's Message




If you can't see the video, Click Here.

Belly Dancing

Things have been going well for us this Spring. The kids love to be out, and so do the parents.

Andrew - Andrew is doing well. His school year is coming to an end. He has really enjoyed school this year. We are trying to figure out what we should do for school next year.

Mari - Mari is as wild as ever. She is still on an emotional roller-coaster, which I would guess is not going to end soon. We are also trying to figure out what to do with her next year.

Elliot - Elliot has been growing up a lot lately. He is communicating a lot more and seems to be learning more words. He isn't talking, but he knows what more words mean when we say them. He has been standing a lot lately and has just recently started moving his feet, a little. He appears to be on the same timeline as Andrew & Mari were.

Susan and I have been spending most of our time parenting. She did get to go to a belly dancing class last Saturday night, which sounded like a fun time.

Journey

Here is a good post in a blog that I follow:

Motherhood Is A Journey

Video Vault V

Mari Talking




If you can't see the video, Click Here.

Easter Happenings

We had a busy Easter weekend. Erin and kids came to town on Wednesday morning. I was supposed to work until 3 on Thursday, but Rod called Thursday morning and we had a couple of showings, so I took the afternoon off. Friday we hit the Natural History Museum, a nice alternative to the busy Children's Museum. Saturday we had Kelli, Emory, and Oliver over for dinner. Sunday we hunted for eggs, ate candy, went to church, and went to my Aunt Elaine and Uncle Mikes House. Monday we ate some more candy and hung out at home.

Erin and her kids left this morning and I headed back to work.

Susan just called and said she is lonely.

Video Vault IV

Andrew Singing




If you can't see the video, Click Here.

Gala

Last weekend was a Gala-filled weekend. Friday night Susan helped set up, and then Saturday night was the actual event. I was on the committee, so I had to be there at 5:30. Susan was going to stay home with the kids, but at 6:30 she showed up and told me that my parents were going to watch the kids. She was planning on taking an intermission at 9 to go home and help with bedtime, but when she called my parents said that all the kids were asleep. She ended up going home at 11 and I was up until 1. It was a good time.

Taking Responsibility

A couple nights ago I read an interesting article about parenting and modeling proper behaviors for our children.

Today I came across an article which I like, agree with, and think has the same message.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/14/beckfloridamichigan/

Video Vault III

Andrew Holding Mari




If you can't see the video, Click Here.

DST

It is time again for my semi-annual complaint about the time change.

I am sure that to someone the time change seems like a good idea, but they must not have little kids.

Snow

So apparently we got a lot of snow. Seems like a lot to me. It started snowing Friday morning and didn't stop until Saturday afternoon. I got to leave work early on Friday so I could enjoy the white stuff. Friday was spent watching it snow and hanging out in the kitchen. Saturday was spent digging out and playing, and then by Sunday it was all play.

Simon and Rachel came over on Sunday and we hit the slopes of Mt. Airy Forest, at the same place where we had our wedding reception. It was pretty warm and sunny out, so the snow was slow. We sledded for a while and then went for a nice winter hike. By the time we were finished we were all a little warm, so instead of heading home and having hot chocolate we headed home and had some chocolate milkshakes. It was a fun day.

Video Vault II

Andrew's First Birthday




If you can't see the video, Click Here.

The Play Set

On Sunday we got a bunch of people together to help us move the play set that we bought a couple weeks back. We found a used play set on craigslist and decided that it was meant to be in our back yard. The only problem was that it was still set up in someone else's.

We started the day at 11, at our house, with a light breakfast. We headed to Florence, KY and started working around noon. It was raining lightly on us as we finished taking the play set apart and loaded it into the vehicles. Luckily we were able to fit a major part of the 'clubhouse' in the back of Will's pick-up truck.

The drive back to Cincinnati proved to be a little more challenging that expected because Will's truck was having a hard time making it up the Montana hill, so we had to turn around and go to the next exit on the highway.

Eventually we got all the pieces back to our house and started putting it back together around 3. We were just about finished as darkness set in, and we could have finished, but we came up three nuts short, so we decided to clean up and call it a night.

I was at Home Depot at 7am this morning, home by 7:30, and by 8 the kids were swinging. They have been having a great time on it already - last night while we were putting it together and today when it was finished.

It turned out to be a fairly large project, which I suspected it might. Luckily we had a lot of help, which made it a lot easier.

I added some pictures from the play set raising to the 2008 photo gallery.

Is the hot water burning?

On Saturday morning I thought I smelled something burning in the basement, but I didn't see anything on fire. I smelled the same smell again on Sunday morning and thought I had better do a little investigating. I noticed that the smell was coming from the hot water heater so I looked at both of the elements and sure enough, one of them was overheating and melting the element and the attached wire. I turned it off and turned off the water.

Luckily I have been through this before, so on Sunday night I was able to drain the thing and put in a new element. I am glad the house did not burn down.

Cinciditarod

Last Saturday we participated in the first ever Cinciditarod. Tammy asked us on Monday if we wanted to do it, and we spent the next week preparing. The highlight of the race (for me at least) was the one-minute lip-sync and dance routine that we had to do. We had a great time and we actually gave our best performance during the race, which was nice. By the end of the day, we were pretty tired.

During the race we were already thinking of some ideas for next year. . .

Video Vault

Brace yourself - last night I stumbled on some old videos stored on my computer. I am going to start a weekly post called 'Video Vault', highlighting these videos. This first one caused a few tears to be shed in the Liesland Household.


A & M, October 18, 2005




If you can't see the video, Click Here.

Busted

Elliot was crazy Saturday night. On Sunday we saw a ton of goop in his ear and figured that his ear-drum ruptured. We called the Dr, who confirmed that was probably the case, so it is another 10 days of antibiotics.

Sledding

It was 32 degrees today, and there is plenty of snow on the ground so we were able to get out for a little sledding. The kids had a great time, which was great to see.


Sledding




If you can't see the video, Click Here.

Elliot's First Birthday

Here is a little video from Elliot's first birthday.

Elliot Vacuuming




If you can't see the video, Click Here.

There are some pictures from his birthday in the 2008 Gallery.

2008 Photos

I finally got around to posting some photos from 2008.

2008 Photos

Elliot is 1

Elliot turned 1 today. Pretty amazing. He still seems like such a baby to me. Maybe that is because he sleeps like one, or at least like all of ours have slept.

We had a nice little party, which he fussed his way through. I will try to get some pics and maybe a video up soon.

Valentine's Festivities

What did we do on Valentine's Day, you ask?

Well, this year, we broke with tradition (Panera), and went to my parent's. It was a nice dinner, followed by a nice evening of putting the kids to bed and sitting on the couch.

Since we didn't make it to Panera last night, we decided to go tonight. Last year things were a little crazy. Andrew was 3 and Mari was 1 1/2 last year. Things got a little chaotic, especially with Mari. This year was very peaceful. We even sat around for about 5 minutes after we were finished (Andrew was not actually finished, as he eats on his own schedule). It was a nice time.

All Smiles

Ever wonder what it is like to try to get a four year old, a two year old and an almost one year old to smile at the same time? Click Here to find out!

Two Years

We thought he was passed it. We thought he had moved on. But, alas, Andrew has an ear infection. The cool thing is that he is old enough to tell us. Our Dr looked in her records, and he had not had an ear infection (that we knew of) for almost two years. He has been sick since Tues, with a fever, and cold symptoms.

Elliot is crazy. He really likes Susan (can you blame him?), and is not sleeping very well. Susan has had a hard time getting him to sleep during the day, so most weekdays he only has one nap, which probably contributes to his craziness. He loves to go outside and to look out the window.

Mari is Mari. She is doing well. As usual, it is a lot of highs and lows with Mari, where she is either laughing our crying - there is no in-between.

Susan is managing to stay sane through all this, somehow. She gives and gives-up a lot, so I hope that over the next few months, or year, Elliot will start to give her a break.

Later.

Scooting?

Elliot has finally started moving around. This video was shot last week, and he appears to be progressing in his crawling motion, closer to a crawl now, but still a ways off.

Elliot Scooting




If you can't see the video, Click Here.

The Flu

It's been busy lately, too busy. This is mostly due to the fact that we all had the flu last week, dragging into this week, Susan still has the occasional fever, and there is still a lot of coughing and snot. Susan went to the Dr today, who said that she must still have the flu, because everything else checks out OK.

Maybe next year we will get some shots.

Final 2007 Photos

The final photos from 2007 have been posted here.

Here is a gallery with some of the projects I was working on for Christmas.

Update on Mari

Mari is still potty-training. She did OK on the trip and in general has been doing well so far.

Snowy Drive

We just got back from a week-long trip to Des Moines. We headed out the day after Christmas and got home this evening. There was snow on the ground in Des Moines, which was fun. On the drive home I asked Susan how long she thought the snow would last and I can't remember what we decided, but there was actually snow on the ground the whole drive home. Luckily the roads were fine.

We had a really fun trip, visiting Nick in St. Louis for an hour, and then spending a couple days with the Connors (Susan's sister Mary, and family) in Kansas City, and then we headed up to Des Moines for a few days.

Now we are back, and need to get back into the daily grind.