New Letters

Brad has some new letters he can put behind his name now. Now he is officially, Dr. Brad Irving, D.O., FACOOG (the FACOOG is new- stands for Fellow in the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists). He was recognized yesterday for his great achievement in studying for and passing (with flying colors!) his certifying board exam last fall. This certification is kind of like the cherry on the top of all the education he's had for the past however many years (a lot!)) and it's a huge accomplishment. We were all very proud of him. :)

 Here he is processing into the hall with the others

 Receiving his "hood" from the president of the college.

Standing on the stairs for a picture with many other green-clad newly certified. :)

 With his very proud wife.

 And equally proud parents. It was a high moment for everyone, seeing Brad follow in his father's footsteps. Our girls know him simply as "Papa," but here he is "Dr. Irving," past president of the college and a man who commands the respect and admiration of all those around him. How cool for everyone that his son, my husband, is now at the beginning of a similar journey. :)

 This picture doesn't fit with the others. But it's weird, so I wanted to blog about it. Strangest turtle I have ever seen. What's with the dragon nostrils on a turtle?

The evening of the certification ceremony there is a president's "ball." These docs really have a lot of fun together and it's always a good time. This is my third one of these to attend- my first was 11 years ago when I was just 19 and tagged along with Brad's family for his dad's outgoing president year (the year after he served as president of the college)- it was at the Opryland hotel, and that night was the first time Brad said he loved me. :) Awww....

It's been a fun time, but it's back to regular life now. We have to fly home this morning. Ugh! There is a big rainstorm outside and it is making me feel very nervous about getting on a plane... I hate flying in general, and the feeling has intensified as time's gone on and I've had a few rough flights. So say a prayer for our plane today! I want to go home and see my girls!

Islands of Adventure

 Our first full day in Orlando was WET! It rained nearly all day long, but that didn't really stop us from getting out there and being outside. I went on my first outside run (in preparation for the Shamrock Shuffle next weekend!) and got caught in a downpour! This is what Universal Studios looked like Monday... we didn't think it was worth paying to go in there- though I'm sure the lines would have been much shorter!

 Here we are with our hotel in the background (the picture is blurry because no one wants to take the tutorial on our camera when we ask them to take a picture for us :)). We're staying at the Loew's Portofino Bay Resort. It's really quite pretty.

 We were able to go to Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure park yesterday. Brad skipped out just a leetle early from his lectures and we got half-day discounted conference passes to the park. It was really a fun time! Not being pregnant or pushing a stroller enabled us to do many fun things we haven't done in years! Roller coasters and lots of long lines without any whining (except for what we allowed to escape from our own mouths). :)

 The reason we chose Islands of Adventure for our one-day park experience is because we're kind of Harry Potter dorks and they have a whole Harry Potter World at this park. They have an entire village that's a combination of shops in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley brought to life (if you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to read the books!) It's a very popular attraction, as you can see.

 I found someone else walking into the attraction with a similar camera and I jumped on the opportunity to have a picture of both of us taken by someone who knows how to use a DSLR camera! :)

 Here's the Hogwarts Express

 And here I am in front of the "Hog's Head" bar where I got to try frozen "butterbeer," which was a very tasty type of slurpee. Very nice and refreshing. :) Plus the "Hog's Head" was a  fairly good rendition of what I imagine the "real" place should look like!

  Here's Brad in front of the Three Broomsticks.

After that I don't have any more pictures because we started riding rides. I thought it was really interesting how much biometrics have entered into everyday life now. To get into the park, you had to record a fingerprint, and whenever you'd lock your stuff in a locker, you used your fingerprint as a key! Isn't that wild?

Because we're staying at a Universal resort, we got passes to go to the front of the line of most attractions (not the one of the Hogwarts castle, which was well worth the 1-hour wait anyway)- so we hardly had to wait at all. We went on both of the spinny, upside down, twirling, speeding roller coasters several times until we both started to get a headache and we decided it was time to head back to camp. :) 

We took a bike ride back to the hotel- all these college boys make money through the busy season shuttling people back and forth from the hotel to the park in these bike carriages. I've always sort of wanted to ride in one, so we did. :) The picture's too dark, but you can see that we were there.

I have missed my girlies while we've been away, but it helps that we aren't in a place where they would have been having much fun. 2012, Lord willing, will be the Year of Disney World for our family. :) I'm already looking forward to it! It's been a fun few days. We go back home tomorrow, and I'm kind of feeling ready to get back to normal.

I will be working on privatizing my blog next week. I have many of your email addresses who read this regularly- but if you haven't sent me yours, please do! I promise not to be anything but thrilled that people I don't know in real life are reading my blog! I really love getting to know new people whose paths might not have crossed mine any other way, and I love sharing my life with you. So don't hesitate to tell me who you are so you can keep reading! :) I just feel like making the blog private is a good step for protecting my family, and especially my girls, from this world where ghastly things happen- it behooves us to be careful.

Going Under

Update: to be added to the "in" list for this blog, leave your email address, please. :)

Well, I've decided to follow the growing trend of family bloggers "going private." At one time I had dreams of becoming a famous mommyblogger and having a throng of followers from all over everywhere... but I'm really just not that good. :) And I'm starting to wonder if it's really best for our girls to have so much about their lives "out there." So... starting next week, you will have to sign in with your email address in order to access this blog. Email me at ebirving@gmail.com or leave a comment on this post if you would like me to put you on the "approved" list. :) If you're creepy or a spammer... don't bother. :) hee...

Having Fun

We are having fun just being together tonight. :) It's warm and sunny, and it's been really nice to have a chance to catch up after several VERY busy weeks! Brad's attending a medical conference, but I'm here as a "guest" and looking forward to a few days of R&R. The girls are happily playing with their Ammy and Papa (hopefully sleeping now!) and of course we miss them, but it is good for us all for us to get away every now and then. :)

Trouble

This one... is T-R-O-U-B-L-E! She recently discovered that she has the ability to remove her clothes, and this is frequently how I have found her in the mornings lately! We are in the midst of a crash potty training course, motivated at least in part by the fact that she refuses to wear diapers anymore. She just takes them off if she feels they are icky. The other morning she woke up an hour early and the first thing I heard was "poop on my fingers!!" Yuck!! Poop everywhere else, too, if you want to know (I know you didn't, but I told you anyway :)) Ah, the glamourous life of a mom! :)

Green

 Last week, Carolyn's preschool class took a field trip to a local greenhouse. They learned in school about how plants need soil, water, and sun to grow, and then got to see it all in action at this really neat green house. It was a fun field trip, and pretty cool to watch their little minds growing along with the plants. :)

 It was a very hands-on field trip- the kids all got to see what the roots of plants look and feel like (and smell like). :)

 And they all looked so cute pushing this huge cart along the pathways. :)

 Here's Carolyn's class. Hard to believe the preschool year is almost over!

This is how Carolyn chose to stand... she was a little upset that the bottoms of her pant legs got a little wet and dirty during the watering demonstration. :)

I mentioned in the previous post about how we've decided to send Carolyn to pre-K next year. Many kids her age are really ready to start full-time school, but over the past couple of months, we have come to the conclusion that the extra year will be so good for her and set her up for success later in school and life. I was honestly surprised when we had a screening a couple of months ago that indicated that she isn't quite "there" yet with some of the skills that make for success in school (especially concentration, sitting down and staying on task, paying attention)- and the school where we are going to send her strongly recommended that we give her the chance to do pre-K for a year. The teacher for pre-K is simply phenomenal, and she will go every afternoon next fall, and probably we will do all-day kindergarten the following year. It does introduce some social scenarios at church if she's not moving up to kindergarten with the rest of the kids born the same summer, but I think we'll navigate them fine, and I've come to see this year as a gift we can give her- just an extra year to bloom at her own pace, develop along her own path, be nurtured and loved in a really wonderful, small-classroom environment, and extra time at home. She'll end up being one of the oldest kids in her classes in school- but, all things considered, I think I'd rather her be one of the oldest than one of the youngest. Hopefully this will set her up to be more the leader than the follower. I'm so proud of her and how much she has grown this year in preschool, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the next year will bring in pre-K. And, I'm really not sorry to have to send my baby away on the bus... just yet. :)

The Little Things That Matter Most

Today I tried very hard to consciously exercise some boundaries... it's one of the struggles of life as a SAHM with a little business on the side... the boundaries between the parts of your life get blurred and it's often the things that are least important in the long run that seem to want to take the greatest priority- and it's a constant struggle to really think about making the most of the days and giving your best to what matters most when what matters most might not be what is screaming most loudly to get done.

So anyway, lately I've been feeling really convicted about this, and really wanting to work on having my daily life better reflect what I would unequivocally say my priorities are. So today, I deliberately stayed away from the computer, intentionally spent time with my girls, and appreciated their preciousness in a very purposeful way. It was great.

I actually finished putting labels on this afternoon's packages BEFORE the girls were up from rest time so that I didn't spend the time right after their nap scrambling to get everything labeled for our daily trip to the post office (I really wish I could do away with that afternoon trip and just have everything ready to go in the morning... but somehow, I haven't been able to convince myself that the shipping "deadline" is 11am when our mailman comes when I know it really is 4:45pm when our post office closes- or if I'm really behind, 6pm, when the post office a few miles away closes! Must be the result of living to a deadline for so many years in school!)

So anyway, we went out for ice cream this afternoon. I took them to Baskin Robbins and we each got a cone. It was so funny to watch them choose their flavors and eat it. I did not attempt to influence their choices in any way- but Carolyn chose my favorite (rainbow sherbet) and Nora picked Brad's favorite (mint chip). They both thoroughly enjoyed it. I enjoyed watching them (and eating one myself as well. :)) Nora ate hers like she'd never had an ice cream cone before (she probably can't remember ever having one!)- she was so delighted with sticking her little tongue onto the ice cream and slurping it back into her mouth. And then she was just over the moon when she realized that you can actually EAT the cone part. The pure joy and wonder and delight of toddlers is something I think God must know that moms need in order to reconcile the intensity, defiance, and tantrums in kids of the same age! I just wanted to "freeze" that moment in my life and take a snapshot with my eyes of what the girls looked like today as we shared this totally ordinary moment that became extraordinary when I stopped all the other things I usually do at the same time to just really BE there.

There was another family there- a mom with two boys, 8 and 6, and I looked at her and though how in just a few short years, I will be where she is- my children may be nearly as tall as I am, and they will look like little models of themselves as teenagers and young adults. I have been so ensconced in the preschool and toddler and baby years that I have rarely thought much about what comes afterward- and here we are, on the brink of the "school years" with our first baby getting ready to go to school this fall. I registered her this week for daily pre-K (or "young 5s"as it is called in some places). How we came to that decision is a story for another day- but while I was at first a little taken aback at the recommendation to take a year and do pre-K instead of moving straight to kindergarten like many kids her age- I have great peace about it now, and I really think it's going to be a great year for her- and she will then be really ready for full-time school when the time comes. Plus, I have to admit that I'm a little relieved not to have to make that transition for another year. We are indeed on the brink of the "school years," but I am grateful that for us it looks like the slope will be a more gradual one than it is for some people. :) I'm happy to have her mostly home for another year, because I know I will miss her terribly when she goes away to school full-time! Not a reason to make a decision, but still one of the perks. :)

Somehow this blog ended up longer than I anticipated, and there was still one more thing I wanted to add- but it doesn't really fit with the rest of the post- who cares. I LOVED this picture that Carolyn drew today in the car. She was a bit upset because a fly was in the car (she has never cared for flies and used to go into hysterics if she saw one!)- but instead of really freaking out, she drew a picture of a fly, which I have attached below!

Isn't it great? She is putting so much detail into her pictures now. She added feet on all the legs, and even drew antennae on the top- though she called them "ears." I loved the picture. :)

Princess

This weekend, we went with some friends to the pinkest event in town- Disney Princess on Ice. :) Brad kindly allowed me to escort Carolyn... I know how much he wanted to go (hee :))

It was a great time for the little girls. Like pretty much every group of SAHMs in town :) we went early to do the "meet and greet" for the princesses so we got to see Cinderella (and Princess Tiana) up close.

I really think we almost could have gotten away from the tables with all the flashing lights and overpriced princess gear, because Carolyn was quite frankly most interested in the obscenely priced cotton candy... but peer pressure is as strong at (sshh... 30) as it is at 13... and all my friends bought stuff for their kids, so I did too. :) And Carolyn WAS thrilled with her light-up princess crown! :) It was a special day for her, and I wanted it to be special. :)

We had a great time... though she wasn't really in the mood for pictures after the excessive stimulation and unusual influx of sugar!

 I love my princess!!

Messy Bean

Chocolate chip oatmeal cookie and pepperoni pizza are a grrreat lunch combination. :)

"Wash-ee hens in seek?" (wash my hands in the sink?)

She is saying some great stuff right now; I wish I could remember it all. Some of my favorites include:
-"Mommy fix this!" (when something isn't the way she wants it to be)
-"Take-it  FAH-WAY!" (take it far away! generally speaking of poop :))
-"Ooops! Sah-wee!" (when she has a minor injury, she generally apologizes for it :))

So cute. :)

Tomorrow's post: Carolyn's trip to Disney Princess on Ice on Saturday. :) Pics are on the other camera, but we had a great time.

Sunshine at the Zoo

We spent the night in Chicago last night just to visit Aunt Michelle and Elliot (Bryan had to work a long day today, but they will be coming our way next weekend :)) Took the kids to the Brookfield Zoo this morning- a membership purchase that has definitely turned out to be a good buy. It's fun to have something interesting and free to do when we go to visit the Scheffers. :)

It was sunny enough to play on some of the play equipment they had there.

And warm enough inside the dolphin show area to take off the coats. In another stunningly brilliant parent move (see Thursday's post for more :)) I completely forgot to pack clothing for my children to wear today (I usually forget jammies and I did in fact remember those this time :)) So I had to buy some new clothes for them to wear- and all I could find that was worth the money at all was summer clothes! But we made do, and thankfully it wasn't really all that cold today. :) And I do like their clothes and wanted something from this Gymboree line so all's well that ends well. :)

The dolphin show was a total success this time! Both girls loved watching the dolphins, both before, during, and after the show. :)

It was fun to do something fun with them. I seem to cyclically struggle with the fact that there are only two of them when I wish there were more (go figure...)- this weekend was at least partly to take my mind off the bad thoughts of brokenness and failure that I have every month and put it back onto gratitude and joy for what has been given. So I enjoyed celebrating my girls, and we all enjoyed the dolphin show. :)

Nora especially enjoyed the music of the show. She danced the whole time! She is so full of life and joy; she is one of those blessed people who just make everyone fall in love with them.

And here, of course, is my handsome nephew Elliot, who is, at 7.5 months, now the same weight as Nora. :)

We had the brain wave to rent a wagon for the girls, and that really  helped. I am sure that the "my legs are tired of walking" whining would have started a lot earlier if we hadn't had the wagon! They sat there as Shelly and I walked from inside exhibit to inside exhibit, and as long as they were fed and watered, they did great, despite being WAY overtired!

We always love visiting the large primate exhibit at this zoo. Both girls (and especially Nora!) loved seeing all the monkeys!

Another great part of the Brookfield Zoo is the penguin house. You can see lots of penguins and puffins and stuff. Pretty cool.

Nora wasn't all that interested in the penguins... but she did like the steps- up and down, up and down. Plus, the lighting was actually pretty decent for pictures... and I love her bright colors, so I busted out the camera (yeah, like I really ever put it down anyway :))

Not really sure where I got such a photogenic child- she definitely didn't get this from me!

Before long, we were taking pics of all the cousins... here are some outtakes

Why am I sitting on the ground spotted with bird poo?

And seriously, who's that crazy lady with the camera?

Everybody looking in generally the right direction...

Two look cute... one... weird eye shut thing...

Haaaaaaa! Very intense look there, boy!

Now you're going to let the 4-year-old hold me?

Well, not so bad, really. :)

Titles I Win This Week

Wow, it feels like a hundred years since my last post... but really not. It's just been SO BUSY around here! Still trying to figure out how to juggle being a mom, a person, a wife, a homemaker, AND a little business person. :) In no particular order. :)

I may not have won "Mother of the Year" this week, but here are a few titles I did deserve:

1. Most Original Dish Washer. Tonight as I was washing the dishes with our spray hosey nozzle thing I somehow managed to spray the ceiling, the computers halfway across the room, and soak myself in the process. It was seriously awesome. :)

2. "That" Grocery Store Mom. You know, the one whose toddler throws an epic tantrum throughout the entire store, kicking, screaming, wailing... and the mother just shakes her head and rolls her eyes, while all around people are furtively dialing CPS on their phones because clearly the child has a really difficult existence.
3. "That Other" Grocery Store Mom. You know, the one who subdues her children by allowing them to stare at a screen in the checkout lane. The one I swore I'd never be because there are so many interesting things to learn and teach at a grocery store... but the one I was desperate enough to become after I earned Title Number Two.
4. The Brainless Wonder. Yep, I'm the mom who forgot to bring a snack for preschool today, even though it was MY daughter's "star" day. The apples I paid an arm and a leg for (that aren't even very good because apples are not in season!) are still sitting in my fridge, uncut. Sigh... where DID my brain go?!

But my favorite title of all: "Mommy."

I'm not perfect, not by a long shot. I don't do everything (or even most things) right, or even always adequately (see point number 4!) But for better or for worse, I am "Mommy" to those two sweet girls. And there is just nothing sweeter in life than the enthusiastic 4-year-old hugs that say "I love you, Mommy!" or the energetic grasp on my finger by a sticky little 2-year-old hand and a small voice that says "'Mere, Mommy!" as she drags me toward whatever new thing has interested her. These are the sweetest moments of my too-hectic, too-fast-paced days!

And I am more grateful than I can say for these two faces that I get to enjoy breakfast with every morning (even on the days, like today, when we decide to go for "naughty breakfast" (aka donuts before school), not because it's really good for anyone- but simply because the Mother of the Year didn't manage to get everyone moving in time for real breakfast before school!)

I love you, my sweet, sweet girlies! :) You are the light of my life.