Morefield Journal

Brussels & Grand-Place de Bruxelles

2011-02-08T11:29:00.000-05:00

And now, back to my Brussels business trip. I must say thank you to my mother- and father-in-law and my husband Eric for taking care of the family while I'm on week-long business trips out of the country. I've only been on this type of trip twice so far, but I see more in the future.

Brussels is a great city. Europe is so rich with things to see. And lots of things are within walking distance to your location. Since the weather was so great, a group of us walked to The Grand-Place from the hotel for dinner. It's a very busy area for a week night, and beautiful.

This is just one of the streets before entering Grand-Place de Bruxelles. Nice, clean streets, but not the best for walking in heels :-)

I LOVED the flowerboxes. It was still like late summer there.

and at night

Still lots of people!!

Ketchup Day

2011-01-25T12:44:00.000-05:00

It's Ketchup Day!

The day where I "ketchup" on my blog that I've let rest since, oh, September. I needed a break.

1. I'll have to "ketchup" on my Brussels trip in separate posts, because there are WAY TOO MANY pictures to share.

2. I just noticed how much the auto-correction tool on my iPhone has already spoiled me. I misspelled two words in the previous sentence, and had to right-click to correct them. Sheesh, can't Microsoft keep up?!

Renfest 2010
This was our first year experiencing the Renaissance Festival in Waynesville, OH. Genna enjoyed the activities, the costumes and the shows. Clay just enjoyed the rides. Maybe we'll go back in a few years when Clay can sit still better.

Wendel Farm Field Trip
The Morgan Elementary Preschool class goes to Wendel Farm every year (for the past 2 years) to learn about farming, take a hay ride to the pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin, and have fun. They have animals you can pet and a corn bin to play in. Our family goes there every year to pick a pumpkin to carve for Halloween.

There were multiple costumes worn for Halloween this year, plus two pumpkins. Genna's original costume (Scooby Doo) was WAY too small for her, but she insisted on wearing it to the school party. And Clay has a new-found love of Power Rangers.

The kids also enjoyed two different Trunk 'r Treats this year. They were definitely into the candy grabbing!

Girl Scouts - Daisy

Genna decided to get involved in Girl Scouts this year, as a Daisy, which is Kindergarten and First grade girls. There aren't any Kindergarteners in her troop, since this is the first year for this troop, and Girl Scouts wasn't really pushed for that class. I'm so glad Genna decided she wanted to do it, because I think it will build her confidence and self-esteem, and she gets to do activities with girls from her class outside of school. Most of the girls in her class are in her troop. Here's some of the things they've done so far in 2010.

They sorted non-perishable food items at a food drive in Oxford, made ornaments for the tree for the local funeral home, and not pictured, made Daisy t-shirts to wear for events.

Major Injury

Genna had her first major injury of her life at the beginning of November. While playing on the monkey bars at school, Genna fell from them and broke her left humerus (upper arm). I was at work when school called and said Genna fell and may need to see a doctor. When I arrived, she was in the nurses office, covered in mulch, with ice on her arm. She would not let anyone touch her, and she wouldn't move. The principle told me that kids in that much pain typically have broken a bone, but there wasn't any way to tell if that was the case with Genna since she had a sweatshirt on. Eric was called to meet me at school so we could take Genna to the ER in Oxford, at the hospital where Eric's sister works. Children's Hospital would have been the first choice for most people, but I felt Genna would do much better if she were at a hospital where a family member worked. She would be much more comfortable. After a long wait in the ER, and a terrible X-ray experience, they splinted Genna's arm and sent us to Children's for the break, and wanted Ortho to look at it. The ER at Children's-Cincinnati was a HUGE waste of time. We sat forever in the ER, for absolutely nothing. None of us had eaten since lunchtime, and they wouldn't let Genna eat anything in case they needed to give her any anesthesia. We finally left at midnight, with orders to go to the fracture clinic in 3 days, and no pain medicine for Genna. Thankfully, Genna is doing great now, but the broken arm situation was not without a lot of pain, adjustment and stress, and not just for Genna. :-)

Clay's Buddy

Here's a picture of Clay and his buddy, Uncle Greg, putting a large puzzle together at Thanksgiving. Clay LOVES puzzles (so does Genna). He's really, really getting interested in putting them together, and is really good at it for a 4 year old! He can sit still and concentrate when he wants to!

Yes, he's putting together a girl puzzle. The only big puzzles we have are Genna's, but Clay doesn't care if it's girly. Neither do we.

Since we seem to like to add stress on top of more stress, we got ourselves a dog. :-) Seriously, we were not even considering getting a dog yet. A friend posted a picture of our dog on Facebook from another friend who rescued him, and I got interested. After discussing the dog with Eric for a few days, our family took a trip to visit the dog. And, we brought him home. Genna named him Patches, which is fitting.

I don't think 3 kids can fit in the cage with this dog now!

Christmas 2010

Christmas is always a very busy time of year, but this year there were a lot of new things going on too. Genna's arm was broken, we had a new dog, a new tree (because of the rotten cat), and the kids get more into it every year.

Genna made sure Santa didn't get her stocking confused with her brother's. She posted notes on the walls for him, to make it very clear. And Santa also didn't bring Genna the right presents. Upon seeing the Playmobil schoolhouse on Christmas morning, she stated "Santa brought me the wrong thing. I only wanted the workshop and the cafeteria, and he brought me the whole school!" Those things would have been much easier for Santa to bring, as it took him two and a half hours to put together the schoolhouse when he arrived at our house!

This year was our first year for doing Operation Christmas Child. It's a ministry by Samaritan's Purse, started by Franklin Graham, to provide shoeboxes of toys, school supplies and personal items to kids in foreign countries that can't afford to celebrate Christmas. We did one for each a boy and a girl, since our family has one of each, and let the kids pick out what to put in the boxes. Then the completed boxes were taken to our church.

The kids had a great time creating these, and we'll definitely do it again.

And finally, the last "event" of 2010 that I need to share. Genna's school, for the first time, had enrichment classes offered after school. These are classes offered after school that are different from normal classes (Spanish, Dance, Dessert, etc.) Genna loves to be crafty and bake, so she decided to take the Dessert Class. We signed her up and paid for her classes, prior to her injury. It would figure that she'd be without two hands for every single dessert class, so I spent 4 Tuesdays helping Genna and her dessert class teacher, the school counselor. She was still able to participate and enjoyed it much.

Yearly King's Island trip - September 2010

2010-09-27T13:07:00.000-04:00

Every year we have one trip to King's Island - because it's free. Since I work at P&G, the company buys out the park for two days for all the employees and retires, as a thank you for working there. I decided to do a blog post this year about it, since I got some cute pictures of the kids.

My husband started the tradition of eating breakfast out on the way to King's Island. This year, as we've done before, we ate breakfast at Waffle House in Hamilton, OH.

My kids rarely give me a straight face for pictures anymore! I think they get it from their dad!

Clay wanted two fried eggs, chocolate milk with white milk, and nothing else. Genna had a HUGE waffle with chocolate chips and chocolate milk, and I had 3 biscuits with sausage gravy. Eric had a double waffle with chocolate chips and double hash browns. Clay was the only person to finish his breakfast completely. Genna and I were too full to finish ours, and Eric gave up finishing his since we all gave him our leftovers and we were all waiting on him.

We had a great time! Hopefully next year one or more of my kids will be willing to get on some bigger, scarier rides with their mom!

My Brussels Adventure

2010-09-27T12:26:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time (September 19, 2010) I went to Brussels, Belgium. I work for an organization within P&G that brings in professors from around the globe to give technical presentations on their scientific research. Once a year there is a symposium, a large meeting about technical scientific information. Lots of presentations over 3 days about things that are way over my head. Every other year the meetings are held at a global technical site, so this year it was Brussels turn. I am lucky enough to be allowed to go to help assist with logistics and requests during these meetings. I've been on only one other outside the US, to Darmstadt, Germany in 2008.

I left Cincinnati, bound for Chicago, IL at 3:20 p.m. The flight was perfectly smooth, and I found I was travelling with 4 other colleagues. After our layover in Chicago, three of us did not have confirmed seats on the flight from Chicago to Brussels. We came to realize that the three of us were not getting on the plane to Brussels because the flight was oversold and there weren't any seats left. About an hour after the plane left we were told that we would have to go through Warsaw, Poland then Poland to Brussels. So, instead of arriving in Brussels at 9:20 a.m. on Monday, we would arrive at 8 p.m. on Monday. 11 hours later! We received meal vouchers in Chicago and $800 for not being able to board our original flight. I was still in good spirits at this point of the trip, except my feet hurt from wearing heels. I wouldn't normally wear heels for travel, but since we were supposed to arrive at 9:20 a.m. and go straight to the Brussels Technical Center for P&G, I thought I ought to dress appropriately. Oh, and I wore a dress. Anyone who knows me well knows that I DO NOT wear dresses, except on very rare occasions. The dress was very lightweight, comfortable, and not bunchy for travel. I also wanted to save all my pants and shirts for my days in Brussels since the temperature was to be cooler than it is in Cincinnati right now.

I removed my shoes during the flight from Chicago to Warsaw, hoping that in 8 hours my feet would feel better. Little did I know that they would continue to swell. I'm not a seasoned traveler, so I don't know that this is normal. While the flight from Chicago to Warsaw was smooth, it was not comfortable. The seats looked nice, but did not recline far enough, was at the back of the plane, and I could not sleep. I slept maybe an hour or so. The service was inadequate, and the meals were as well. I decided not to eat since I had eaten before boarding the plane, which seemed to be a good idea since the meal was like dry bread and a little lunchmeat and cheese. But I had no idea that they wouldn't come back to offer anything to drink!!! The breakfast was just as lacking, and I skipped it, since there wasn't much time to arrive at Warsaw. Once I realized we'd be walking a while through the Warsaw airport to get through security and find something to eat, I removed my shoes, and went barefoot. Luckily there was a children's store that carried Crocs, and I was able to find a pair of flip-flops that matched my dress.

Swollen before - and not two days later

Shoes I wore on the plane

Warsaw airport was a nice, spacious airport. Had to take a picture of these interesting helicopters.

Also, Chicago and Warsaw had these play areas for kids. Such a great idea!!

I also took a picture of the recycle bins because I thought they were cool.

I don't know why I'm fascinated with recycle bins, but I love seeing them around.

The flight from Poland to Brussels was heavenly compared to what we had just previously experienced. We received dinner, which was delicious (as delicious as airline food can be) with Belgian chocolate and Cherry tart for dessert. The seats were much roomier and reclined nicely, and we had been put in business class seats. Yippee! However, our nightmare was not over. We arrived at the Brussels airport on time to find that our luggage was no where to be found. They didn't even know where it was! We had to provide our hotel information and information about our bags, and finally go to our hotel. Our cab driver drove a Mercedes, which was very smooth, and he sped the whole way to the hotel. I think we got there in 15 minutes, which should have taken us about 30! Our beds never felt so good - BUT we had to wear the same clothes we traveled in the entire next day. We were ecstatic when we heard our bags had arrived at the hotel and were already in our rooms. The weather in Brussels was unseasonably warm, and we had an enjoyable dinner outdoors near the Grand Place.

My Favorite Niece!

2010-09-14T10:55:00.000-04:00

Recently our family had an opportunity to keep my favorite niece, Sofia, overnight. I can call her my favorite because she's my only niece. She is 3, and I love to squish her with hugs.

The Friday evening I picked her up, I, along with my kids, my sister-in-law and her two boys, went to Free Friday at the Cincinnati Natural History and Children's Museum at Union Terminal. I must give my sister-in-law Katrina a big THANK YOU for going and helping me keep an eye on our kids. It's definitely tough and anxiety-provoking to take 5 children to a busy museum!

I think all the kids had a great time. My kids love going there, and it's awesome that they have a free Friday every month during the summer. Sofi was very fascinated with the different vehicles you could pretend to drive. No pictures of Clay, since he doesn't sit still long enough!

On Saturday, after a loooong night of various kids waking up (thanks to Eric for being such a good dad overnight), my husband decided to go get donuts for breakfast. We all loaded up in our over-sized pick-up truck (the only vehicle we have that will accommodate all these kids!) and headed to Ross Bakery. Ross Bakery is famous for the size of their donuts. Just look at the one Sofia had!

Her parents warned us that she would get hyper with such a nutritious breakfast, but she was just fine. My kids probably helped her run off the energy.

My ever helpful SIL Kat called Saturday morning to tell us about Safety Day that McCollough-Hyde Memorial Hospital was hosting at the new medical center in Ross. So, when the temperature warmed up, we once again loaded up and headed there. They were giving away free bike helmets.

Sofi appropriately picked a football to have painted on her hand. I said it was in honor of her dad who loves OSU football. Clay and Sofi got the same type of bike helmet and a set of elbow and knee pads. Genna got a cute pink one with the face of a cat. They also got to sit inside a fire truck, and take a look at a medical helicopter, go inside a house that fills with pretend smoke, and slide down an inflatable fire truck slide. BTW - Clay got a red ladybug painted on his hand. Genna wouldn't have anything to do with face painting.

And this is my favorite picture of Sofi from the weekend - pretending to be a cowgirl :-)

Love ya, Sofi!

First Day of School 2010

2010-09-07T15:45:00.000-04:00

It's finally here! The first day of school for the 2010-2011 school year. I think I was as excited about it this year as the kids were (well, at least as excited as Genna). I got all sentimental about 2 months back when I realized Genna would be in school all day for the first time, and she'd get to take a lunch box and have lunch at school. She was really looking forward to having lunch at school too.

As usual, Clay was the first one up. Genna likes to lay in bed until the very last minute (like her mom).

Yes, he's smiling! He's a fairly happy boy, unless something doesn't go quite his way.

Genna's look is because she's not quite awake yet, and because she didn't know I was taking the picture. She looked at me at just the right time when the camera snapped. I didn't warn her, because I knew if I did, I'd get the back of her head.

So, I tried to take a picture of the two of them on the morning before school was to start, and this is what I got:

See?! She was not in the mood. And, of course, since Sissy did it, Clay did too.

So, I already had planned to get to school before the kids arrived on the bus to take pictures of their first day. I've never done that before - I've always just taken their picture before getting on the bus. The preschoolers come in first off the bus so that they aren't trampled by all the other kids.

Clay was oblivious to me being there taking pictures. He was too busy making sure he was holding another child's hand into class. He's the one with the Lightning McQueen backpack. Once I finished taking pictures of Clay, I raced to Genna's class to take pictures of her arrival. She hadn't made it in off the bus yet.

She spotted me right away. Wanting to know why I was there, and scurried into her classroom trying to get away from my camera. But, she was okay with me being there.

Once I told Genna bye, I headed back down to Clay's room to take a few pictures of what he was doing. Oblivious, again!

Working hard on writing his name

Man, this boy has some serious concentration going on! I took 3 pictures of him, and he still didn't know I was there! Finally I made him smile for my camera.

Looks like a happy First Day of School!!

Withdraw

2010-08-23T10:25:00.000-04:00

I'm having blogging withdraw. I'm missing it :-) It's weird, I know. So, I'm just going to post some pictures I've taken recently. Some are poor quality because I used my cell phone. It's so handy!

Taken at Berea, KY off I-75 (http://www.berea.com/) They boast "Where ART'S Alive!" teehee. Guess my dad will live forever in Berea. (FYI - his name is Art)

Rolling storm clouds, August 15, Hamilton, OH

Enjoying some of my wildflowers. Can't wait for it all to be filled with blooms.

If you could instantly become fluent in another language, which language would you pick?

2010-08-10T13:43:00.005-04:00

If you could instantly become fluent in another language, which language would you pick?

Answer here

If your house was on fire and you could only grab three things, what would they be?

2010-08-10T13:43:00.003-04:00

If your house was on fire and you could only grab three things, what would they be?

Answer here

If you could eat dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would it be and where would you go?

2010-08-10T13:43:00.001-04:00

If you could eat dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would it be and where would you go?

Answer here

If you could go only to one restaurant for the next five years, which would it be?

2010-08-10T13:38:00.003-04:00

If you could go only to one restaurant for the next five years, which would it be?

Answer here

If you had to give up one favorite food, what would the most difficult?

2010-08-10T13:38:00.001-04:00

If you had to give up one favorite food, what would the most difficult?

Answer here

Genna's Summer

2010-08-10T10:07:00.000-04:00

Besides all of the fun activities we've done this summer, my daughter has had an interesting summer all by herself. She's lost 3 teeth since school's been out!

One bottom tooth and her two front teeth. Do you think she's happy about it, by the looks of the pictures? You should have seen the relief on her parents' faces! Losing teeth has been anxious, sad and exciting for Genna. Never knew a kid could get so attached to teeth. Even how she lost them has been interesting. The first front tooth Genna swallowed while eating her breakfast, the bottom one she pushed out herself at lunch while eating ice cream, and the third (second front one) was knocked out by her 7 year old cousin while they were playing together.

Genna got her hair cut just before we went on vacation. She's been wanting it cut for a while (she doesn't like her hair brushed, so short hair is easier on her), so I took her to Great Clips to see if her hair was long enough for Locks of Love again. It was!

Her hair is much cuter in person, trust me.

Genna (my crafty one) has been a busy bee playing with my son's birthday toy, a Handy Manny work bench that has projects you can make.

She's made a robot, a row boat, and a bird house. The bird house she put together all by herself, no help!

We also recently went school supplies shopping, but I forgot to get pictures of Genna picking out her own backpack and very first lunchbox. Those will just have to wait until the Back-to-School blog post!!

p.s. - why does my daughter always have to have the remnants of what she's eaten around her mouth??? She's 6 for pete's sake! I thought she'd have outgrown that!! :-)

Clay's 4th Birthday

2010-08-10T09:35:00.000-04:00

Every year Genna and Clay have a birthday party. I never imagined that my kids would get to have a birthday party EVERY year. But my husband's family is so large (I mean cousins grew up together as siblings) that we have to have birthday parties, combined with other cousins, just so that we aren't having a party every week. Clay gets to share his party with his cousin and buddy Ben, who is 2 months older than he, and their 2nd cousin Lily, who turned 8. Ben's mom Katrina (Eric's sister) creates the birthday cakes. I usually help when I can, since there are usually 2 or 3 cakes to be decorated. This year, Genna was DYING to help as well (she's got the craft bug).

The finished product!

Clay had to have Spongebob, Ben is crazy about Krypto the Superdog (check it out on CN), and Lily loves iCarly.

Lily's cake close-up

Needless to say, our birthday theme was all over the place. The kids are getting older, so it's harder to have a single-themed party that they agree on. At least two of the three cakes came from Nickelodeon!

Clay couldn't wait to get to presents this year. There was one present in particular that he was highly anticipating - not sure if he knew what was in it, or if it was just because it was in a Lightning McQueen gift bag.

He was ecstatic to get his Disney Cars Ramone's Color Changer Shop.

He was one happy little boy!

Norris Lake Vacation - 2010

2010-07-26T16:35:00.001-04:00

Top 10 Norris Lake Vacation Memories for 2010

10. Captain Katrina and Captain Cannonball

9. Three things broken by 2 little boys in less than 24 hours

8. Going through 4 cans of sunscreen in 6 days

7. Buying an entire Band Hero set for Wii just because I told someone not to bring it on vacation

6. The Daily Catch report

5. Ben, the Sea-Doo Addict

4. Eric's balloon swords

3. Spelling out the words "Norris Lake" for this list

2. Eric and Greg manually towing the boat island when the anchor came loose

1. Peacefully swimming in crystal green waters

Summer Activities

2010-06-29T14:05:00.001-04:00

It's going on 4 weeks since school let out, and we've already been very busy! Genna finished up t-ball, and had a great time playing. I'm very happy she got the opportunity to play.

This is the first year we went to the Butterfly Show at Krohn's Conservatory. Got an awesome deal on adult tickets through Groupon.com, and I'm so glad we did. It was sweltering hot in the butterfly house (I swear I lost a few pounds), and Clay was at a loss for what to do with himself. An active 3-year old doesn't really like to just look at things. He wants to touch and climb everything!

I did manage to get some good pictures, even though my camera battery died, and I had to use my camera phone.

The kids enjoyed "Son Harvest VBS" at Okeana UMC this year. On Wednesday they were able to choose to visit either a grain farm, dairy farm, alpaca farm, or a sheep farm. My kids chose the alpaca farm - probably because we've passed it a thousand times. It sits about 4 miles away from where we live.

The alpaca farm was very interesting and we learned a lot. Clay did a great job of being quiet and gentle with the alpacas. No one got spit on :-)

We've also been swimming, A LOT, and doing a little boating. I'm sure my next post will be after vacation, with lots of pics!

What's Up?

2010-06-08T09:22:00.005-04:00

End of the school year activities have finally passed. Genna's moving on to 1st grade and being in school all day.

She won an award for being a "Radical Reader". She is a voracious reader, and is reading at a 3rd grade level. She can read anything she wants!

She got to participate this year in Field Day. Kindergarten did a relay race.

Clay made it through the 1st year of preschool. One more to go! He loves his teachers, Ms. Mel and Ms. Katrina.

The Artist

2010-05-18T09:12:00.006-04:00

We have a little artist in our family. Her medium is quite interesting. Her subjects are quite rare. And the mood to develop a creation may strike anywhere. Take, for example, the samples below.

This is called "Tadpole in Infield". Genna took a kindergarten class trip to Ferbach-Werner Nature Preserve to learn and see tadpoles, frogs and toads. Must have made an impression on her, since she decided to draw one during a t-ball game on Saturday. Every time the opposite team changed batters, she would add something else to her masterpiece. I'm very happy she's taking in so well what she's learning, no matter how she shows it :-)

My Daughter's Face

2010-05-11T09:15:00.001-04:00

While working in Picasa yesterday, I noticed all the faces of my daughter. Her expressions crack me up! They may not be funny to most people, but I think they are, probably because I'm her mom, and I can see Genna's character behind the faces. I also noticed a lot of pictures from when she was younger, 2 or 3 years old, and her face is so sweet. Just like a Precious Moments figure. And, like her mom, she has a habit of having pictures taken with her mought slightly agape! I think it's so funny to notice all the little things about a child that are inherited!

What We've Been Up To

2010-05-08T14:07:00.003-04:00

In case you've been under a rock lately, or too busy yourself to keep up with the Morefields, we've been running around a lot for t-ball. These pictures are from Genna's first game. It was wonderful weather, and Genna did a great job! She has really good coaches and great kids on her team. Clay and his cousin Ben were having a great time together too.

Neighbor-horses

2010-04-19T11:05:00.005-04:00

I realized after I reviewed the blog that I forgot to update about the horses next door! The red/brown horse in the first picture is Roy'L (new spelling, same horse as before), and the brown one is Josie. She's an 11 years old paint, has had one foal, and is the SWEETEST horse I've known (I've not known too many). Tandy, the previous horse, did pass away over the winter months, and our "neighbor" decided to buy another horse to be able to enjoy and ride. She's a good bit smaller than Roy'L, but definitely holds her own against Roy'L's big attitude. The first week was a bit rough, as Roy'L is the jealous type, and was blocking Josie from getting our attention when we'd call for them or try to pet Josie. The kids also got to ride Josie at the end of her first week at her new home. We are all enjoying getting to know the horses better this year!

Play Ball!

2010-04-19T10:37:00.004-04:00

Genna is playing t-ball for the first time this year. So far she seems to love it. And she's good! She hits well, she pays attention to what's going on in the game, she goes after the ball or stays in place when she's supposed to.

Team pictures were this past Saturday, and that's when she received her uniform. She was highly anticipating it's arrival. Since the pictures were taken indoors, I decided to take my own of Genna outside. I think I like mine better than what I paid for. :-)

First ball game to come this Tuesday. I'll be posting for sure!!

2010-03-23T09:18:00.002-04:00

The kids and Royale. This beautiful horse belongs to a "neighbor", and lives right next door to us. Whenever the weather warms up, Genna begs to go see her. When Genna gets to the barn, she calls for Royale, and Royale comes trotting over to the fence. This year she has started to nuzzle Genna and smell her intently. I fear that Royale's friend Tandy, an elderly horse who resided in the barn with her, has gone, and Royale misses the company. We haven't yet had a chance to speak to the owner to find out what has happened to Tandy, but she had been losing weight for over a year. We will likely see a new friend in the future so that Royale isn't so lonely.

LoL

2010-03-18T09:09:00.005-04:00

LoL means "Laugh Out Loud" usually, but in this case, it means Locks Of Love. About a year ago, Genna got her hair cut and sent it to Locks of Love.

Before

After

I have never seen such a huge smile! I was so glad to catch it. Her hair has grown so much in just a year, but I think it will take one more year to donate again.

Hippity-Hop

2010-03-08T14:57:00.003-05:00

Taken while on a trip to Painted Valley Farm B&B in Laurelville, OH for my mom and sister's birthday. The B&B had a container pond next to the hot tub, and this guy posed for me :-)

Genna's Snow Pets

2010-02-25T23:15:00.006-05:00

Genna loves animals. She wants to be a vet when she grows up. So, anything she does there's usually an animal involved. Her daddy helped her build a snowman walking a dog last week. He added the leash and collar. :-)

A Little Snow Fun

2010-02-10T22:11:00.003-05:00

Every year we typically have at least one snow party at our house. Our house is set back off the road approximately 290 feet, with this awesome sledding hill out front. This picture of Genna was taking in 2008. Her cousin (a boy) decided it would be fun to build a ramp in the snow, and Genna was brave enough to try it. Love this action shot!

Water Bug

2010-02-02T13:15:00.005-05:00

On any summer day at the pool, you'll see this little guy. He's my water bug! The kids love to go swimming in their Uncle Greg's pool when it's hot enough, but this one L-O-V-E-S water. Coupled with the fact that he's fearless, and he's a bit dangerous! Last year he was already trying to be in the pool without his floaties, and falling off the side of the pool head first. He finally decided after bobbing up and down a few times that maybe he wasn't quite ready. I completely expect by the end of the summer this year he'll be swimming laps without the floaties to keep him afloat.

Tiptoes

2010-01-26T09:56:00.004-05:00

I confess. I have a foot fetish. Probably because I spent a lot of time during my teenage years looking down at the floor. But I now have the skill to identify people by their shoes! I love shoes too. Wished I had my own shoe store so I could have all the shoes I ever wanted.

I study people's feet. I think it's something most people don't realize I'm doing. But I find it fascinating how different (and sometimes similar) people's feet are. And I LOVE baby feet. Who doesn't?

My daughter is the Tiptoe Queen. She's been tiptoeing since she could stand up (as evidenced above). She literally walks around the house like she's wearing 4 inch high heels with little effort constantly. My kids are physical marvels to me. I love capturing pictures of what they can do.

Blogging again?

2010-01-21T09:32:00.005-05:00

Not sure! I was kinda burnt out on blogging for a while. I'm the kind of person who NEEDS feedback! LOL So dumb, but true.

What's got me back here today? Well, 2 things. A friend of mine who posts a "Ten on Tuesday" blog about her family (which I wait with anticipation for EVERY week - I'm a blog stalker) discovered a website that posts a "picture of the day". While I'm not really wanting to start that on a new site, it gave me the idea to maybe have a "picture of the week" for my blog. My picture won't be taken the week of my blog, but a picture in my files that I really like, and want to share. Mostly of my kids, of course.

I also reviewed my own blog this morning, and realized that I enjoy going back and reading what I wrote and the pictures I include. Almost like instant scrapbooking! I've been burnt out on that too. It take me WAY TOO LONG to hard copy scrapbook. I'm an instant satisfaction kinda girl.

So, here goes for this week!

Can't believe I picked a picture of me. I wouldn't normally, but the background is what I want to actually focus on. This is from January 6, 2008 at an overlook of Port Au Prince, Haiti. I've been obsessed with news from there since the earthquake on January 12, 2010. I have friends/former mission team partners there when it hit. All are back home, thankful to be alive. One of my life goals is to return there. The people have little, and now have lost it all. Most will survive better than most Americans would in the same situation.

Catching Up

2009-08-31T09:54:00.006-04:00

Haven't posted in a while. It's been busy getting ready for Back-to-School! Plus, my point 'n shoot camera is dead, so I've only been taking pictures with my camera phone. Here's some random pics.

The kids LOVE riding the horses next door to our house. Judy, the horse owner ("The Lady" she's called by my kids) is so patient and lets them help out as much as they want. I bet Genna's going to own a horse some day, and rope her brother into doing all the dirty work ;-)

My kids loved the boxes my new mattress came in (yes, my mattress was in pieces that had to be put together, a Sleep Number). The picture shown is the first time Genna let Clay into her box, which she slept in the night we got them.

Genna discovered our cowboy hats in our closet, so they both had to try them on. I think they look great, and might just have to get them each their own at Christmas.

Genna and Clay's school bags that I fixed up. Genna was required to have a large tote with no zippers, and her aunt graciously donated a reuseable Kroger bag for us to fancy up. I got Clay's book bag free at KI last year, some left over American Idol bags they had. Had to find a Lightning McQueen patch to cover up the logo, that way Clay had his favorite character on his back!

What Kids Think Of Next

2009-08-06T11:12:00.003-04:00

Need to catch up a little bit on my blog! Just finally uploaded some of my pictures/video from my camera last week.

My munchkins decided to make a design on my carpet to look like a birthday cake, complete with a crayon "candle".

Then they sang "Happy Birthday".

Genna's Biggest Accomplishment

2009-08-06T10:29:00.014-04:00

According to Genna, her biggest accomplishment this summer -

Her true big accomplishment this summer - reading like there's no tomorrow!!

Recent conversations at my house

2009-08-03T11:02:00.002-04:00

What you might here at my house - I told Genna she needs to put away her Littlest Pet shop toys where the cat can't get them. I found a tiny ice cream cone under the pantry door, where the cat lost it when she was playing with it. I explained that the cat could choke and die on it. Genna headed to her room with the toy, turned around, and said "Then we could buy another cat?"

Here's another thing I overheard - Genna got to Clay's toy train before he did, and he wanted it. So he tried to take it away from Genna, and was fussing over it. Genna said to him "Big boys don't cry!" (it was his birthday, after all) and "God doesn't want to hear you cry!"

4th of July Parade!

2009-07-06T08:28:00.003-04:00

Our family participated in the 4th of July parade in Hamilton on Saturday morning. Our church has a float in the parade every year, and this year the theme was "Things & Times change, but God Never Does!". Our "float" was a procession of cars, starting with a model T, then a '66 Comet convertible, a mini-van, and then my Prius. 35 people (and kids ranging from 14 to 2) from our church walked, rode, and passed out bright green chip clips with our church name on them. My husband designed the decor for our car, and the kids helped put some stars on. They surprised me with the design on Saturday morning when we were leaving. It was really cool!

The magnets are still on my car. Not sure when I'll take them off. If you see me in town, be sure to wave!

Genna's Off to Kindergarten!

2009-06-29T15:46:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I've been MIA from my blog. Didn't have the motivation to post anything, and kept forgetting to upload some pictures from my home computer. So, here's a new one.

Genna graduated from Pre-school on Friday, June 5. She is SUPER excited to go to Kindergarten next year. I'm wondering what in the world she'll learn that she doesn't already know, thanks to the excellent preparation she received in preschool. She is already reading easy readers fluently. It won't be long before we'll be shopping for school supplies and new clothes. Way to go, Genna!

Chance to Win a Flip Ultra HD Camera!

2009-06-22T11:00:00.001-04:00

Go to this site http://mommysnacks.net/2009/06/giveaway-flip-video-ultra-hd/, watch the video, and fill out the form below the video for a chance to win!

Win a free Bobarra Laptop Bag!

2009-06-02T09:34:00.001-04:00

http://mommysnacks.net/?s=bobarra+laptop+bag&x=20&y=16

Things Kids Say

2009-06-01T14:33:00.003-04:00

What Genna said today at lunch - "Look at mommy's face! She has red bumps on her. She has poison & ivy. Does poison & ivy move? Did you see it before it ran away?"

The Okeana Speedster

2009-05-19T14:26:00.001-04:00

Our second pregnancy was a planned one. I told Eric when Genna was 2 either I go to Haiti on a mission trip or we try for another child. He picked trying for a child (He secretly didn't want me to go to Haiti. It didn't work!).

This pregnancy was pretty uneventful. Way less morning sickness, but I was hoping I would enjoy being pregnant more. I'm definitely not a person who likes to be pregnant. I am blessed, however, since I don't have any complications to deal with, and my babies are healthy.

Clay's name (Clayton Garner) was chosen a few years before we even had children. If Genna had been a boy, that would have been her name. I really wanted boys, since I got along so well with them, and I am a bit of a tomboy myself. This name is also the name of Eric's great-grandpa. I just wanted to be able to use Clay for short :-)

About a week before Clay was due, I was very ready to have him. I hadn't gained as much weight, but I also hadn't lost all of it from having Genna. July 30 was a Sunday in 2006, and I suppose it was like any other Sunday, church in the morning, lunch with family, then hanging out in the afternoon at my in-laws so Genna could play outside. That night about 10:30 I started having very regular contractions. If I remember correctly, they were close to two minutes apart, but they weren't painful, just very apparent. I was in bed, but not yet asleep.

At around 11 p.m., my contractions began to be painful. When I would have one, I'd have to stop and breathe through it before I could move again. I told Eric that we should call the dr. to let him know, since he told me not to call the office until my contractions were painful! I worked on getting dressed while Eric called the doctor, called his mom since we'd have to drop Genna off at their house on the way, and got the car ready. Eric went out to the garage while I waited in the living room. I called my mom to let her know we were getting ready to go to the hospital. I had to cut the conversation short since I was getting ready to have a contraction. I hung up, got on my hands and knees on the living room floor. That's when my water broke. When Eric came back in from the garage (he was out there a long time. I think he was trying to pour gas into the tank of the car because it was low!), I was saying "Uh-oh, uh-oh! My water just broke!" He asked me if he should call the doctor again, and I said yes. In the meantime I needed towels and a bowl - I was sick. I tried to talk to the doctor on the phone, but couldn't, so I handed the phone to Eric. The doctor said we should still be able to make it to the hospital in time. When Eric hung up, he asked me if I wanted him to drive me or to call 911. The panic in his voice was very evident, and I knew that there would be no way he would be able to drive me to the hospital in that state of mind. As he called 911, I was screaming with the first contraction after my water breaking, since they are much more intense after that event. Still on my hands and knees, I felt Clay's head pop out. I was still fully clothed!! The emergency operator was giving Eric instructions. He was so focused that he didn't hear me screaming "He's coming! He's coming!"

The actual birth location

Eric had me turn over to get on my back. As I turned over, I had to put one hand between my legs, as I felt the need to support Clay's head. Eric took my bottoms off, as I was in the process of having another contraction, and baby Clay literally plopped onto the floor. I was relieved, but Eric went into another level of panic as he watched Clay tumble out. He yelled "He's out! He's already out!" into the phone as it dropped to the floor. He quickly picked up the phone, and started unwinding the umbilical cord from Clay's body. I was saying to Eric "Everything's fine. Calm down." The operator instructed that Clay's airway needed to be cleared. Eric repeated the instruction allowed, and I grabbed a towel that was laying on the floor, and used it like a tissue to squeeze out fluid from Clay's nose. (It was a good think I already had one child, or I would have never thought to do this!) Clay wimpered, and then lay quietly on the floor. There was a knock on our kitchen door, and as Eric went to open it, our next door neighbor came flying in. Anita was a volunteer EMT/firefighter for our township rescue squad, and had heard the call over her radio. Eric was never so relieved in his life to see her coming into the house. It still seemed a few more minutes before a cop arrived, rushing to be the first one on the scene. His hopes were dashed when he saw Anita there already. Eric took a shoelace from his gym shoes to tie around the umbilical cord, and got more towels to wrap around Clay to keep him warm until the ambulance arrived. Eric called his parents while Clay was being checked out by a paramedic who was on call to let them know he was already born, and everything was okay. They had been waiting by the door at home to get Genna, and wondered why we hadn't arrived yet (we only live 12 minutes from them). The house became more and more congested as volunteers from the township arrived at the house. I believe there were about 15 people in my house at one time before I was loaded into the ambulance. Genna was upstairs in her bed, sleeping through the whole thing! Eric said if she had woke up, he would have lost it.

My in-laws arrived at the house just after Clay and I were loaded into the ambulance, and got to see us before we left. I was told by the driver (Anita's dad) that all the police officers we passed on the way to the hospital were saluting us. Not sure how they did this, but it was cool anyway. Eric called my mom to let her know we were on the way to the hospital. When we arrived, she and my sister were already there! My sister lives in Middletown! I couldn't believe they beat us there.

According to the 911 call, Clay arrived about 12:08 a.m. on July 31. He weighed 8 lbs, 1 oz., and was 21 inches long. When I saw him for the first time in the ambulance, his profile looked just like Eric, and he had a much bigger nose than I remember Genna having.

I believe I was awake for over 24 hours before I was able to get some rest. Once we got settled in the hospital, the adrenalin and excitement of the event kept me wide awake. I just kept replaying the whole thing in my mind, and smiling at all the blessings that took place. God had his protective hand over us the entire time. There were so many things that could have gone so terribly wrong, yet everything worked out perfectly. Genna could have woke up, we could have been in the car when the birth took place, Clay could have gotten really sick from B strep, any number of normal complications that wouldn't have been good since we weren't in the hospital, etc. Because the birth was so fast, and no drugs were used, we went home from the hospital quickly, and all was well. I was showing Clay off the following week at church.

Mr. Independent

2009-05-18T10:17:00.004-04:00

My Clay is Mr. Independent. He wants to do everything himself. Just this morning I told him I'd get him in Eric's truck to go to my in-laws while we are at work and he looked straight at me and said "I will get in the truck myself!", and pointed his finger at his chest. Everyone (except Eric) literally has to climb into the truck to get in, and Clay loves to climb!

Clay has been potty-trained for almost a month. It took about a month to train him, but it was SOOOO much easier than training Genna! I think his independent attitude helped a lot, and the fact that he LOVES being told he's a "Good Boy". Every time he tinkles he says "I was a good bo-ee!" Take a peek at his awesome big boy undies!

Can you tell he loves Disney's Cars? His birthday party with his cousins (we have family birthday parties since Eric's family is HUGE) will be a Disney birthday theme, and of course Clay will have a Light Queen (Lightning McQueen) cake! Eric and I are pretty convinced that Clay will end up as a race car driver. He always wants to go fast. He has honestly never been slow to do anything! He's been fast since the minute of his birth - which I will share soon.

My Daughter's Birth Story

2009-05-12T08:29:00.009-04:00

I want to record this before I completely forget how it happened! I'm sure I've already forgotten or incorrectly remember some details, since she's already 5 at the time of this posting.

My first pregnancy was not exactly a planned pregnancy. I had been off birth control, and was using Natural fertility sign charting method to determine when I was fertile. (BTW, I would highly recommend the book "Taking Charge of your Fertility" by Toni Weschler). Anyway, me and a previous family member were going to try to become pregnant together, but she was having some fertility issues. Sometime in March, 2003, I started to notice some changes in how my body felt, and I was still tracking my basal temperature, which was continuing to be on the high side. I had taken off work to go to an allergy/asthma appointment to have a skin prick allergy test. When the appointment concluded (I had no allergies, but I found out I have asthma), I decided to buy a pregnancy test with two sticks, just to be sure I wasn't pregnant. I stopped by my sister's office (she worked in a head start facility at the time), and told her I was going to take a pregnancy test. I went to the bathroom, pee'd on the stick, and waited. As I could see the stick inside the plastic window become wet, it had a pink tinge to it. I didn't think anything of it, thinking that it just looked that way from becoming wet, and must be the pink dye they use in the stick for the indicator. The minutes passed, and a very faint line was present. I thought "This must be a false positive.

I need to get online to see if this is possible." I was in total denial. I showed it to my sister. I have no idea what she thought or felt because I can't remember anything beyond "This must be a false positive."

I sat at my sister's computer for at least an hour, on the internet, convinced I would find information on how a pregnancy test could give you a false positive reading. It was possible, right? You're able to get a false negative, why not a false positive?

I finally decided I needed to go home and take a shower (I had ink pen written all over my back from the prick test), and figure out how in the world I was going to tell Eric that it seemed I was pregnant. I'm guessing my face had a slight smile (since we had been talking about starting a family, yet not quite ready to), and eyes as big as saucers.

When Eric got home, I sat down next to him on the couch, and told him I had something to tell him. After sharing the news, we sat next to each other, staring straight ahead, in silence. We were in shock. Then Eric asked me, "Was this because we didn't use something?" At the time I just answered yes, but thinking about it afterwards, I said to myself "DUH! How do you think it happened??"

I had horrible morning sickness for 5 weeks in my first trimester. I couldn't leave the house to go to work until I bowed down to the commode, and anything I smelled made me nauseous. All Day Long! Once that passed, I ate everything in sight, fell in love with anything fried, and proceded to gain 45 pounds. I was shocked at how fast I grew out of my normal clothes, and felt like I was always trying to find something that fit. I had some great friends who lent me clothes - that was a God-send and a budget saver. I also felt like there was some sort of alien taking over my body, and I was no longer in control. Although my pregnancy was relatively uneventful (just needed to be treated for anemia), I absolutely hated being pregnant, and wanted the whole thing to be over quickly. Maybe I'm a bit of a control freak.

My due date was set for December 15. I was determined to deliver as close to that date as possible, and hopefully not over. The 15 was a Monday, and Eric's first day off of work. He was in the midst of changing jobs, and had planned on taking a week off work when I delivered to help out at home. Since it was close to the holidays, he wasn't scheduled to start his new job until after Christmas. This proved to be a great blessing.

Around noon on the 15th, I laid down on the couch, in constant pain around my stomach, shaking as if I had chills. Eric's sister happened to call to see how everyone was doing, knowing it was my due date. Katrina has been a hospital nurse for at least 10 years at this time, and usually one the family consulting when something didn't seem quite right. She had also had a son about a year prior, so Eric told her what I was experiencing, and she said I should call my doctor. The doctor told me to come into the office as soon as possible. I felt horrible, being in pain, and hadn't eaten lunch. I got sick on the way to the office, and made Eric go into the office to tell them I was there, and to have him wait in the waiting room to call me in. I was not in any condition to sit in the waiting room with a bunch of other pregnant women. I honestly didn't want to scare them! When it was my turn, Eric came and helped me into the office. The doctor and midwife looked me over, did a cervical check, and declared that I was in labor, and sent me to the hospital. I was sort of relieved, but still not feeling great.

I got to the hospital, up to the labor and delivery floor, and told the nurses at the desk that I was sent by my doctor there because I was in labor. Their standard operating procedure was to put you in triage first to make sure you were in active labor. My doctor hadn't called them, as he said he would, to tell them I was on my way. Upon asking me how dialated I was, and informing them about 5 cm (I had been 5 for quite a few weeks), they immediately admitted me. I was thankful, since I was suffering. They hooked me up to a monitor, started an IV line, and took my temperature. I could tell something was concerning the nurse, but it didn't seem to be horrible. Finally I was informed that my temperature was elevated and the baby's heart rate was higher than normal. Quite strange, since I hadn't been sick at all. I wish the doctor's office had checked the baby's heart rate there, but that probably would have meant an ambulance ride to the hospital instead of a more comfortable and less conspicuous ride in my car. I was given Tylenol to control the fever, ice chips to consume, and a saline drip since I hadn't had anything to eat or drink in quite some time.

Once we were settled, we informed family where we were and what was going on. Several hours passed with no change in progress, so my water was broken. I heard the on-call OB say "There wasn't much fluid to break". There really wasn't any gush. I believe my daughter was so far down into the birth canal already that the amniotic fluid was being blocked by her head. I definitely remember the contractions after that! I didn't have very many of them before the nurses were encouraging me to have an epidural. My plan (although welcome to change at any time) was to birth naturally. It didn't take much persuading to agree. I was dehydrated, exhausted, and ready for a break. My sister swears it took over an hour for the epidural to be completed. I have no idea - it didn't seem that long to me, but I could only concentrate on keeping as still as possible while having contractions every few minutes. Horrible contractions!

Oh what sweet relief! I encourage anyone to have an epidural if they feel they need it. It was absolutely the only way I was going to get any rest before needing to birth my daughter. I am so glad I did, because I thoroughly enjoyed my birthing process. I slept for about 5 hours after getting the epidural. I woke up when a nurse came to check on everything, and I told her that I thought I needed a cervical check because something felt very different. I could feel much more pressure than I had since getting the epidural. She said "If you're having paid, just press the button for more medicine". I quickly informed her that I wasn't feeling pain, just increased pressure, and that I should really be checked. After checking, she said "Yep, you're ready to go!". Everyone in the room was woke up, since it was about 5 a.m. and they had been there so long waiting on me to pop. My doctor was called to let him know he needed to come to the hospital for a delivery, and the room was prepped. Once the doctor arrived, he okay'd me to begin pushing, and he promptly left the room for the nurses to handle me. He was so laid back, and he sure didn't know me very well! When I set my mind to do something, I do it full on. Half hour later, Genna Makenzie was crowning, and the nurse was trying to keep her in! I suppose the doctor has to be present when the birth takes place, since he's ultimately responsible. I don't know how the nurse was able to keep her from coming, because even I could feel she was slipping out anyway without any help at all.

Genna was perfectly healthy, although very plump from all the fluids that were pumped into me (4 L), and had a red, splotchy rash from being "cooked" in the womb with my fever. She had pale blonde peach fuzz on her head, and she really liked looking around. Very alert. She weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz, and was 22 inches long. Born around 6:30 a.m. on December 16. 16 hours of "labor". I was relieved to have her out!

Breastfeeding proved to be quite a challenge for us. I never did get the hang of it, although I stuck it out for a whole month, pain and all. 5 days after bringing Genna home, she was placed on a billirubin light at home to treat jaundice. She just wasn't getting enough fluid from me to expel all the red blood cells floating around in her. Of course I felt it was all my fault for not seeing that she was ill. It was a blessing to be able to keep her at home instead of having to visit her at the hospital during that time, and Eric was home to help. I've never been so exhausted in my life. We'd sit down to watch a little telelvision, and we'd both be completely asleep in 5 minutes. Genna was allowed to be off the light blanket completely on Christmas Eve day, and we celebrated. She was well on her way to being a very healthy baby.

Real Friend Test

2009-05-11T15:23:00.002-04:00

I know a lot of you have seen this circulating in e-mail, but I love it to pieces! I've got it posted on my bulletin board in my office, just to remind me what a real friend is, so that I don't get caught up thinking someone is my friend, when they really aren't, and to remind me how to be a friend.

A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest.

A real friend opens your refrigerator and helps himself (and doesn't feel even the least bit weird shutting your refrigerator door with their foot!)

A simple friend has never seen you cry.

A real friend has shoulders soggy from your tears.

A simple friend doesn't know your parents' first names.

A real friend has their phone numbers in their address book.

A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party.

A real friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.

A simple friend hates it when you call after they've gone to bed.

A real friend asks you why you took so long to call.

A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems.

A real friend seeks to help you with your problems.

A simple friend wonders about your romantic history.

A real friend could backmail you with it.

A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument.

A real friend calls you after you had a fight.

A simple friend expects you to always be there for them.

A real friend expects to always be there for you!

Just Beginning

2009-05-11T14:59:00.002-04:00

Welcome to my new blog! Don't know how long it will last, but I'm hoping to use this as a place to remember the things my kids have done or said as they are growing, to record special events the way they happened in order for them to be right in my scrapbook (whenever I get to them) and post my random thoughts. Please sign up as a follower if you'd be interested in keeping updated about us Morefields. I'm thinking this will only be updated twice a week, at most, for now since that's about how much I'm on the computer these days.

Enjoy!