Let the countdown begin.

Here we are, less than one week till Christmas... and just about everything is ready.

All the shopping, wrapping, and baking is done. I do have to say that Henry has been quite the little helper. He peeled the tape off the roll when we wrapped presents. He decorated the cookies by shaking all the sugar toppings everywhere. He stuck the return address lables on the envelopes for the Christmas cards. And he was instrumental in picking out what went on the gingerbread house this year. Everything is "I"ll help you Mom!"... which has been nice. (Maddie was a big help too, her job was to watch Meg and kept her smiling.)

This afternoon we have Henry's class sing-along and tonight we have Maddie's school concert.

Tomorrow I need to pack, clean and check all my lists twice before we leave for Wisconsin.

visiting the Big Guy.

This past Saturday we went to Greg's Christmas Party for his work, this was the family party that they have every year. It was done very well, they had it at a country club and it was well-attended. There was a clown, doing balloon sculptures, an air-brush tattoo artist, a magician and a craft area. Even the buffet was for the kids with grilled cheese sandwiches, jello, pasta, chicken fingers and french fries with an ice-cream sundae bar for dessert. There was some "adult" food, but the grilled cheese won me over. There is also a firm party for the grown-ups next weekend...

Well, needless to say, all the kids were thrilled when Santa and Mrs. Claus made an apprearance, so they could give him a list of demands and nod in agreement that they'd be good for the next few weeks.


Henry was promptly in line to see the big guy. With a big grin on his face, he asked him for a Pirate Ship. And promised that he'd be good... and he was for a few minutes until I asked him to stand next to his sisters for a photo, "No Mom, I'm going to bark like a dog over here in the corner..."


Maddie asked very seriously for "The American Girl Doll 'Nellie'"... Santa said he'd look into it.


Meg asked Santa for a nap, since she just had a bottle. I'm not sure what else she'd like, but I think that Santa can read baby's minds.

Then we spent the rest of the day decorating our Christmas tree while watching movies with the kids.

Elfed.

watch the kids and Papa doing a
crazy elf-dance...

little Polish girl.

Today I went to Maddie's school for her Heritage Day Festival. Each child in her third grade class picked a country of their heritage to celebrate. Maddie chose Poland.

She made a little doll showing what a Polish peasant would wear as an immigrant from the early 1900s. Her doll is also wearing a babuska. (She even looks more Polish with her plaid school uniform pants underneath.) They also wrote a report after researching their country.


Natalie (Ireland), Maddie (Poland), Eliza (Poland, and who speaks Polish!) Margarita (Mexico)


We were treated to a few international songs and dances, and were even invited to come up and dance with them! Yes, I did it too.... it was fun!


We even had a little Thanksgiving. Each child also brought a dish that represents their country. We made Polish Tea Cakes, practically everyone asked me for the recipe. Also on the menu: Polish sausage, cabbage rolls, Irish soda bread, cheeses, German chocolate cake, potato pancakes, leek soup, shortbread cookies, pecan cookies, sauerbraten, homemade tortillas, pazzelles and many other good things I can't remember.

I'm so glad that Maddie invited me, I really enjoyed their performance and treats! This was a pretty cool project for the kids, even though it was a lot of work. I'm sure they learned more by tasting/singing/dancing and wearing their heritage, than by just reading about it.

turkey day.

So, we had our own little turkey day here in Rockford.

Gran, Poppa and Fredddie came over from Waukesha to stay for a few days and help us celebrate. They arrived on Tuesday, and helped me hunt down the right kind of sausage for the stuffing, and cook & bake all the traditional fare that were requested for our feast. We pulled-out the good china and even had namecards made by the kids and Gran. Everything was delicious (of course!) and we enjoyed our full-bellies after our three desserts. (pumkin pie, pecan pie and apple-caramel cake). We even had visitors, our neighbors Brett and Amy joined us for dessert(s).

An in a sad turn of events for the weekend, my Grandmother passed away on Saturday. My folks left early to make arrangements and I will be traveling this week for the funeral on Thursday.

helping dad.

Yesterday we finally decided to do some leaf clean-up (we weren't really putting it off, since fall came late this year.) We had an amazing amount of leaves in our yard for not having any trees actually on our property. (Blowing them back into our neighbor's yard did come to mind, but they were out raking too.)

So Greg got to use one of his favorite outdoor appliances, the leaf blower. Not only does our leaf blower "blow", it also "sucks" like a vacuum. And yesterday it really sucked because it broke, which left Greg to use his least-favorite tool, the rake. And for the short time that it was working, Henry would stand in front of it with all the blowing leaves, running through the leaf piles, hindering progress and having a whole lot of fun.

After all was done, a sense of accomplishment was reached. Then we enjoyed a family trip to the grocery store to shop for dinner which Maddie picked out of an Emeril cookbook that Greg got at the library for her. Since she's been fickle about dinner lately, we suggested that SHE choose some recipes that she would like to try and help cook them. She chose Chicken Parmesan and a Cinnamon-walnut Shortbread for dessert. Both were easy to make and were delicious. She declared that she LOVED them, even though she "doesn't like" cheese or nuts. Naturally, if I had made Chicken Parmesan, we would have heard "ick". Small victory for us, since sometimes dinner can be a battle.

Meg @ 12 weeks

here's Meg... wide-eyed and ready to go. She has a little runny nose, but otherwise all happy.

rock on.

Henry has a "gym" class at the YMCA every Monday morning... its a Sports Sampler class that lets the kids try different things, before you sign them up for soccer and then after one practice they tell you they hate it (we've experienced this firsthand). Today's sampler: rock-climbing. True, not your typical activity, but it is the year 2007 and no one else in our household has gone rock-climbing, so this is a Ripple first for us.

He was pretty tentative at first and even said, "Mom, this is not a sport". Perhaps to dissuade me from letting him do it, or maybe he wanted to know who was winning or how you keep score or something. But he did go up a few times about 6 feet high and had fun coming down on the harness. (the whole wall was 2-stories high and one little girl was more than halfway up... she sure showed those boys how it was done!)

He ended up having fun and can't wait to do it again. They do offer a class for 3-5 year olds for rock-climbing, but can you imagine what your kids would be climbing up at home? (the banister, the bookshelves, the dresser, Maddie's loft... maybe I could permanently outfit him with a helmet.)

So next week is T-ball... something more traditional in the sampler rotation where you can keep score and get ranked among your peers.

Henry says...

...on Friday AM, when we leave the house.

Hen - "Mom, why is the grass white?"

Me - "That's frost, it means that its cold outside"

H - "Cool. I like frosting. Can I touch it?"

M - "Sure Henry, go for it."

H - "Hey, its cold! I like it!"

M - "Wait until it snows."

halloween recap.

Well, our luck ran out with the good October weather this week as it began to rain about 5 minutes before we went out Trick-or-treating. Luckily, both kids wore something on their heads to keep the drops off, and Henry's costume actually was like a raincoat.

We went around the block once and both kids had a blast. Meg and Greg stayed back to hand-out candy. And when we got back, we reviewed the loot and sugared-up for bedtime stories. (trades were made, as Henry cannot have gum yet. They got all good stuff with no boxes of raisins or religious literature. One neighbor even handed out those mini-cans of soda. Mmm. liquid sugar.)

My costume editorial:
Okay, our kids were a witch, a firefighter and an angel. Three great, traditional cosutmes. Right? Remember when you would go as your hero, something scary or your favorite TV cartoon character? Well, if you're over the age of 13, it now appears that whatever you can wear (or not wear in some cases) qualifies as a halloween costume. Wear your dad's boxer shorts, and nothing else. And what are you exactly? Okay son, I know you want some candy, but you needn't degrade yourself. Or wear some kitty-cat ears with a short skirt and thigh-high boots... is your hero a pole-dancer? I feel like I should be handing out condoms instead of candy... perhaps some literature on good-taste or maybe you're the one who should get the boxes of raisins, toothbrushes and pennies. (Not the little kids who have been dreaming of this night for two months.) And if you want to TP my yard in return, my border collie will herd your inappropriate excuse for Halloween mockery right out of my yard. Am I judgmental? Yes. Well then, don't come up to my door half-naked asking for food.

my little punkins.

Greg took Henry and Meg to get pumpkins and apples from the farmstand this weekend. So we had some carving-time on Sunday. Henry insisted that his pumpkin be "super scary"... so it has big, pointy teeth. Maddie was very specific about all the cuts made to her pumpkin, including the vampire fangs. I gave Meg a happy, smiley pumpkin. Sorta just like her.

And some of the Honey Crisp apples became caramel apples. Yum-o, especially when topped with M&M's.

monster mash.

Today Maddie and I had some good 'ol wholesome, fall fun. We headed up to our local Girl Scout camp with her brownie troop for the annual Monster Mash.

As you can see, we went on a hayride (which was jumpy/bumpy) but it was nice to be out in the woods with smell of fall leaves in the air around us. We also decorated gourds, went through their haunted house (about 5 times), had a scavenger hunt and trick-or-treating around the campgrounds. Not to mention a healthy snack of carrot sticks and celery, with ranch dip dyed red (like "blood" I suppose?) mmm... healthy.

The girls had a blast. And we proudly boasted that our troop had the most witches (I went as Professor McGonagal, so I counted too!). There were other groups with several Hannah Montanas. But as our girls pointed out, you can have several kinds of witches, but only one kind of Hannah.

Ahh, witches unite!

Meg @ 9 weeks.

Meg just had her latest check-up and is doing great. She checks in at 11 lbs. 7 oz. and 22 inches long. The doctor says she eats as much as a 4-month-old... what a shocker, she is a little chow-hound.

She was also subjected to all those nasty shots. Henry did not like them hurting his baby sister to say the least. He kept telling her to be brave like he was. (he just got a flu shot on Friday) Some early sibling solidarity showing through there.

Not much else new here... getting ready for Halloween next. Although it was 75º here this weekend (thus, Meg's little shortie outfit), so it doesn't really feel like next week will be November.

attack of the spiders!

This year, I was lucky enough to get a big box of spiders in the mail from my Dad. (Awww, thanks dad!)

And consequently, my porch has become their new lair. Perhaps they'll snag some whiney neighbor child in their web.

Wishful halloween thinking.

all clean.

At 8 weeks, getting a bath is no longer a scary thing, but fun and relaxing for Meg. (it also gives her those cute little curls)

good-bye summer.

On October 7 it was 88º here in Michigan, so we decided to make it down to our beach for the last time this season. Even Meg dipped her little toes in the lake. Can't wait for summer to come again.

fun with Jess and Max.

We had a nice visit from my very good friend Jessica and her little boy Maxwell. They drove up from South Bend and spent a few days with us when Greg was out of town last week. It was great catching up and playing with the kids, since we never get to see each other anymore.

Maxwell and Meg share a birthday (he just turned one). He's a cute little guy, and we were saying how him and Henry look enough alike, that they could be related. They played together really well, and Max eagerly followed Henry around everywhere. (just like a little brother!)

We went to the zoo on Friday and enjoyed the 85º weather... and the kids got to visit the tiger and meet the new lion, brush the goats and laugh at the swimming penguins. Meg slept, and was pushed around in her carriage mostly, looking like a doll in her summer dress. Needless to say, both moms were tuckered by the time we left for home, and thankfully, so were the boys.

Hopefully we will see each other soon and let the kids run wild once again.

some good advice.

So here it is. 25 cubic feet of modern refrigeration. Its almost too large to photograph.
It also came with the attached warning, "Don't place live animals in the refrigerator."

Um, thanks for the advice.

5 weeks of Meg.

She's getting cheeky, don't you think?

Henry the cyclist.

Henry and I have been taking his bike (and Meg's stroller) over to the bike trail in Rockford to get our exercise while the weather is still un-frozen. It's a nicely-paved trail that has playgrounds (with restrooms!) along the way that we can stop at. It even goes by a coffee shop so I can get my caffiene fix, and a cookie for Henry. As you can see, he typically zooms up ahead of us (but stops when I yell, "Henry, wait up!" or "Don't run into that nice lady!") And when there is a stop-sign, he always obeys, unlike many licensed Michigan drivers.

Its really cool to spend time with the kids like this. (Just thought you'd like to know.)

Kathy's visit: Before and After

subtitle: Chicks with saws.

Okay, My very best friend Kathy came to visit this weekend. I love her for many reasons. One of them being that she'll fly across Lake Michigan just to play with my kids and hang-out with me for three days. The other is that she always lends her expert advice (and labor) on home improvement/repairs and remodeling.

On Friday, when she arrived, I was saying to her "Hey Kath, I have an idea of how I can get a bigger refrigerator into my kitchen, how much do you think it will cost me?"

And Kathy's answer was "$10 and a case of Diet Coke".

Yes, for $10 in plywood and the correct amount of caffeine, Kathy was able to remove the top cabinet above our old fridge (because, how useless is that cabinet anyways?), slide the remaining cabinetry over to the left, and re-cut the crown moulding. This will allow us to put in a new, larger fridge on the right, which we could desprately use, and which never would have fit in the old, miniscule space otherwise.

Moving the refrigerator also solves a traffic-pattern problem in my kitchen, because if someone is standing in front of the refrigerator with the door open, then nobody can get in or out of the doorway to the living room.

So, props out to Kathy, already back home by noon on Monday. (mmm, when will she return to Rockford, and I wonder which project will "pop up" then?)

And now, I get to go appliance shopping! (also, I'm totally motivated to finally remove the old wallpaper border and repaint the kitchen now that there is a void where the cabinet used to be.)

p.s. - the $10 in plywood was used to level out the gap in the hardwood flooring, since they laid the hardwood around the cabinet base that we moved. We also borrowed my neighbor's compound-miter saw for cutting the angles in the crown moulding and base trim.

The middle child.

And then there's Henry. (You'd think that we didn't have another kid with the latest blogs being about the girls.) Trust me, we wouldn't forget Henry.

He's becoming the typical middle child. Sweet and sassy. Small, yet big. "Mom, I AM a BIG BOY... I don't want to get dressed by myself!" And still very charismatic and charming. He just began soccer, and does a very good job at listening and participating, so far. And he's doing great with Meg. No real outward jealousy, he usually just runs by and says "Hi, baby Meg!" and does his own thing.

"Awww", you're thinking. Right. Don't let his cute ways fool you. He's devising many tactics to make himself known around the house, one which includes him taking off ALL of his clothes. Yes, ALL of them. And he just stands there in the middle of the room. (its really hard not to laugh!)

Its the full Henry.
(sigh)
Really, laughing is the only thing to do. ;-)

To Libby Lu hell and back.

Ok. Let's just say that overall, the trip to Libby Lu was entertaining and fun for Maddie.

But not for her mother.

There were several moments where you had to tell yourself that "I love my kid, and this is fun for her." And just wonder to yourself what could happen next.

Case in point:
1. Guest arriving at our house 30 min. late... which dominoed into me picking up other girls late. I hate being late. This is an omen.

2. Being stuck in traffic on the way to the mall isn't fun for the driver, but fun for the party-goers reencacting High School Musical and Hannah Montana episodes. (what should have been a 45 min. drive took and hour and a half because of the construction on the highway.)

3. Arriving late to our Libby Lu "scheduled appointment" was a nearly a disaster since they were booked for the entire day. We were "squeezed-in" for a 1 p.m. and I was given a stern look of utter distain from the platinum blonde behind the counter.

4. After completing their makeovers, Chelsea says "Mrs. Ripple, I don't feel so good" and pukes right there in the store.

5. Deciding to take Chelsea home (after giving her a Younker's bag to barf in for the car) became the longest car ride ever. The poor girl was still getting sick (yet remained glittery). I called the other parents saying that we'd be late since the other girls still needed to eat lunch, it was already 2:30.

6. Although it wasn't Maddie's first choice, we went to Corner Bar in Rockford for lunch. (who wouldn't take a bunch of 8 & 9 year-olds to a bar?) Afterward we strolled around and got some ice-cream. This was pleasant except for the fact that while goofing around, Maddie dropped her bracelet into the river, and retrieved it, so now she's wet and cold.

7. I call it a wrap and take everyone home. Please, no more for Mrs. Ripple.

We finally get home by 5:20. I announce that I'm going to take a nap.
And I didn't wake up until 1:00 a.m. to feed Meg.

Turning 9.

Maddie turned 9 this week on the 12th. "Her last year in the single digits." as Greg puts it. Of course she has been nine since she's been 4, so next year she'll probably turn 15. We had a cozy, family celebration on Wednesday, with cupcakes and shrimp-poppers. Gourmet, I know. But kids don't want gourmet, they want what they like. Could that be the true definition of gourmet?

On Saturday, I'm taking her to Club Libby Lu with 4 of her girlfriends for obnoxiously-cute makeovers into cheerleaders, divas and princesses. And afterwards we are going to walk the mall and get lunch. "You gotta show off your new look mom!"

I'm taking Tylenol in advance for this one.

more Meg...

I thought I'd post some photos showing all her long, dark hair... since I'm sure it will fall out soon.

1st day of school.

Ahh.. the first day of school. And this time with a uniform! (Which I am so glad that we have again. Its just so much easier and cheaper (yes, even uglier...) it must be that good Catholic thing, keeping you humble or something)

Maddie started at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary School last week or just "Assumption", in the 3rd grade. Her teacher is Mrs. Westman, also a Notre Dame Alum, so that's pretty cool. And she's already gone on a GirlScout overnight with her new brownie troop... so Maddie is back in the swing of things.

And Henry started in the Purple Room at his daycare, which is 3-4 year olds. More like a pre-school setting. But he didn't want me to take his picture. He doesn't wear a uniform, except for when he wears one of his football jerseies. Which is actually just about every other day.

Announcing Baby...

(click photo to enlarge)

Well, here she is, our little Meg.

Margaret Kathryn
Born on August 20, 2007
at 3:02 p.m.
7 lbs, 2 oz, 20 inches

After a relatively easy labor and 5 days in the hospital for jaundice, we came home to two excited kids and our own nanny (my mom). The last two weeks we've been working hard to get some meat on her bones (since she wasn't eating too well from being lethargic from the jaundice) and basically taking it easy while I've got the chance (my Mom is here).

I'll upload more pictures when I can....

hellooo fresh paint...

Well, this is the final product. New roof. Newly-repaired cedar boards. Nice new paint job on EVERYTHING. Siding, trim, shutters, gutters, porch railing, porch floors, doors... Everything is so much brighter and cleaner. The cedar-siding color is a light gray-green which changes colors throughout the day. The porch is my favorite part, going from dark gray railings with a burgundy floor, to white railings with a sage-green floor. And the doors are a terra-cotta-brown-orange... something different than everyone else on the block. (they all have red, burgundy, dark green or blue doors)

We are getting a lot of compliments from the neighbors (well, who can blame them?) Before they were looking at the Adams Family house, and now they can gaze at the trendy-new Ripple abode. (To see a photo larger, just click on it...)

I think I'll go have some lemonade on my new porch now....
oh, and still no baby.
yet.