Oh, the things kids say!

Kate met a little girl about her age at the park last night. They had a great time playing and Kate decided to introduce Joe and I.

While I thought the usage of titles had sunk in a bit, I guess I was wrong. Kate introduced me as Sarah and Joe was introduced as Uncle Joe.

After some awkward laughter, Kate corrected herself. Oh the things kids say.

Please vote!!

A few years ago my church started a project where we assembled backpacks for homeless people. The project was created by Carol, who always drives by homeless people on her way to work downtown Minneapolis. She started talking to a couple shelters about creating a backpack to store some essentials and what those essentials would include. The bags include a blanket, rain poncho, water bottle, first aid kit, pen and paper, toothpaste and toothbrush, brush or comb, etc. Union Gospel Mission and Simpson Shelter have been recipients of the bags.

And now, the project is a semi-finalist for a $15,000 grant and it needs your vote!!

Please go to http://www.givehappychallenge.com and vote for Carol (she's the one in a blue shirt with an orange bag). Voting is everyday into June and will be done in a couple different rounds.

And please pass this on! We could create and distribute a lot of backpacks with the money.

Not a fun Monday morning

1. Mom takes daughter to 3 year old wellness visit/checkup.
2. Mom tells daughter there are no shots after hysterics have ensued about getting shots.
3. Mom and daughter arrive at clinic where daughter tells receptionist "no shots!"
4. Receptionist confirms there are no shots for 3 year old visits.
5. Nurse isn't all the way in the room when daughter vehemently tells nurse "no shots!".
6. Nurse kindly says "oh, we'll see sweetie", then proceeds to tell Mom that a new shot was added 2 weeks ago.
7. Mom feels like a liar and feels resentful of the nurse.
8. Daughter does fine through rest of appointment with the doctor.
9. Daughter does not do fine when the nurse comes back in the room with the shot.
10. Hysterics and tears.
11. Mom still feels bad about telling daughter there are no shots.

They are not so little anymore

We had Kate's 3 year old and Zach's 1 year old pictures taken by Michelle last Saturday. Michelle did newborn pictures of Zach and then family pictures last Fall. We love her work and it's been fun to develop a relationship with a photographer.

Here's a link to a sneak peak on her blog.

Baby Elbow?

The joy of a 3 year old (or almost 3 year old)! This morning, Kate was sitting on the bathroom counter when Joe came in with Zach. She saw him without a shirt on, pointed at his left elbow and said "That's the daddy elbow", then pointed to his right elbow and said "That's the baby elbow".*

I have been wondering if, and when, she'll really notice that her dad is different. So far, it's been amusing things. She'll be laying on the couch with me and complain that my arm is in her way, but she doesn't have that problem with Joe. Then again, I think it's easier to snuggle with him too.

As I think further ahead to those adolescent years, I sometimes worry that she'll be embarrassed about his arm. For now, I get to cherish the fun moments like we had this morning.

* Obviously you have to know us for this to make sense.

March...in like a lion, out like lamb?

March has been quite a month for us.

The Lion
It started off with my visit to urgent care with chest pain, feeling faint, and high blood pressure. EKG, chest x-ray, and a stress test showed my heart is fine. So, the only thing we could conclude was some odd events converging at once and maybe it was the flu which has been going around work.

Then we needed to find new day care. Thankfully I already had a few plans in place and it set up in less than a day. Talk about relief!

After that, a really fun surprise scheduled for a friend had to be canceled.

Then Joe was sick, then Kate, then Zach, and then me again. This wasn't just a couple days kind of thing. Joe was home from work for 5 days and even when he returned, co-workers asked why he was there since he sounded awful. We all still have some coughing, goopy eyes, and runny noses.

Add in performance review season at work and I'm so ready for April!

The Lamb
Vacation plans are starting to fall in place for our 10th anniversary in October. The week has changed and another couple may be going. A travel book for St. John has arrived and I'm ready to book flights. October may be 6 months away, but it'll be here before we know it!

Where to go?

Joe and I have our 10 year anniversary this October. We've been talking about going somewhere for a vacation without the kids. We haven't had an overnight together without kids in over 2 years, so the idea of a whole week is rather mind-blowing. My problem now is figuring out where to go.

That leads to deciding what kind of vacation we want. Museums, hiking, lay on a beach or by a pool, stay on a boat, warm or cool, all-inclusive or house/condo rental, etc. How to narrow it down?!?

Right now, I'm really thinking about the US Virgin Island of St. John. A coworker's family goes every year and says it has a nice mix of sights and activities to relaxation and laying in the sun. Sounds good to me!

So, anyone been to St. John? Recommendations? Other vacation destination recommendations? I'm pretty sure I want relaxation and laying in the sun.