A Shell

An empty shell of a room. Nothing but lathe and plaster.


A pic of the wall bump-out framed out and wrapped in plastic to try to contain the dust. It will bump close to the door frame, but small price to pay for some good bathroom space.

The bathroom restovation is underway! It is pretty exciting stuff. The old bathroom was just S-A-D. The tile was the teeny tiny inch-square tile in various shades of pink. The tub: from 1950. The pipes: original. As in 1924. The wiring: knob and tube. It had come to the point where the old tub did not drain and the 1950s medicine cabinet light did not turn on so if you wanted to take a shower, you had to do it by night light and you had to do it fast because the tub would fill up and then you had to stand in the dark and hold the drain plug "just-so" so the water would drain.

In other words. It was time.

Here are some pics of the demo. A little portion of the wall is bumped out about 18 inches to afford us that little extra space. The room is so tiny to begin with that it makes a big difference in the layout that we could configure. It will actually allow us more storage. Design-wise, we are going with what I am calling "vintage/modern". Our tub etc. will be more traditional (a gorgeous pedestal tub, a pedestal sink), with some crafstman-style high wainscoting, but the fixtures will be a little more modern with a brushed nickel finish and a gorgeous travertine tile floor that I fell in love with. It should look fresh and bright and clean and not sad and grungy like our old one. I am so excited!

Right now we have everything torn out - with the exception of some very old tile on the floor which looks suspiciously like asbestos tile. So that will remain and we will floor right over it. It is no problem to keep it, health wise. The danger is in removing it. The new wiring is done as are the new pipes. The new wall is framed. Here are a couple pics....hopefully we are done by Mid-November.

All I Want for my Birthday is.......

A thoroughly disinfected Preschool Classroom resulting in the remainder of the year being illness free for my children.

I feel like all I ever do is give updates that involve some sort of fever or trip to the doctor with the kids. I am SO sick of it! If I am sick of typing it, and you are sick of reading it, imagine how tired of it the kids and I are from actually living it! UGH!

Seriously. The children were so healthy all summer long - when we were AWAY from school environs. My house is CLEAN. Now we are back to school and Kate was sick a couple of weeks ago, then Liam got sick, and we just spent a lovely FULL week of Kate being so sick that she was essentially quarantined by her doctor and did not participate in ANYTHING for a week straight.

So, yes, you read that right....it was a week straight of me being at home with the kids 24-7 and not going anywhere....and the whole time Nick was on a business trip in Poland.

Kate came down with some very yucky potent virus called the coxsackie virus. Couldn't they pick a better name?! I mean, Ew. Anyway, it is the virus that causes Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease (not the kind that cows get) and other variations and is insanely contagious. Kate got the version that caused her to have a fever of 102 for 5 straight days and a mouth full of ulcers which made it nearly impossible for her to eat or drink. She was Mis.Er.A.Ble. Poor thing. After feeling like a total hypochondirac mother for bringing her to the pediatrician (Again)......I was somewhat reassured by my suspicions being confirmed in that she did have an official virus and it was not my fault that she got it. :) The doc said that schools are basically cesspools of this stuff. Lovely.

SO - a week straight at home with both kids, disinfecting everything that Kate touched or breathed on because I did NOT want Liam to get it. (knock on wood) The kids were actually really great and we watched a lot of movies, did crafts and read a lot of books. Kate napped a lot because the fever just wore her out, and Liam was a sweet little boy and mostly just played with his matchbox cars nonstop. I lived for the chances to talk with Nick when he could manage a call from Krakow or Warsaw just to decompress. Oh - and we have bathroom demolition/renovation going on. woo!

And though I complain, the moments of humor and sweetness are not lost on me. The snuggles from a feverish 4 year old are some of the most heart-filling, snuggliest cuddles ever. And the things that can happen while a 19-month old boy is left unattended even for 3 minutes while the parent goes to change a garbage can liner are astounding. Case in point:

I ran downstairs to empty some garbage and came back upstairs to find that I had left Liam's bedroom door open by accident. A no-no. Of course, when I came upstairs, I found LIam on the floor in his room surrounded by an incredible amount of chaos that he had managed to whip up in such a short time. Things from his drawers and shelves were strewn ALL over the room - clothes, shoes, socks, diapers, books and stuffed animals. He had managed to completely disassemble all organization in 180 seconds. In addition, I noticed a tub of vaseline on the floor from what I thought was an unreachable drawer in the changing table. It was open. With giant finger-shaped gouges in it. And Liam's face was shining with smears of petroleum jelly. Including his mouth. And he was grinning hugely. Oh LORD! Did he EAT Vaseline? First of all, EW. Second of all, the kid will not eat pizza but he will eat greasy vaseline? Third, what can that DO to him? I took a deep breath and decided IF he ate it - since there was no way to be sure - the worst that would happen would be some interesting diapers. I calmly picked up the tub to check any manufacturing info and, to my horror, saw "If swallowed seek medical help immediately and/or contact Poison Control". OH &%$@! So I called Poison Control, remaining very calm. Thankfully - and as I suspected - they said he would be fine and the worst would be some crazy diapers. GOODNESS! Why do they put things like that on there and SCARE people? Litigation fears, that is why!

Anyway - all these fevers, mouth sores, and petroleum jelly ingestion are NOTHING, really. Honestly. My sister's baby girl, Mia underwent surgery on her kidney and bladder this past week! We are talking incisions, hospitals, anesthesia, recovery...the whole thing. And a baby girl who cannot understand why she is in a hospital or why it hurts to go potty now. And a Mom and Dad who have to sit and worry about their baby while she is in surgery and whose little boy is at home with Nana wondering where everyone is. THANK THE LORD IN HEAVEN, Mia is doing well. The recovery at home now is rough because her pain can only be controlled by tylenol and motrin. She cannot take the narcotic drugs of course. Can YOU imagine having a 5-inch long incision in your stomach and not having serious meds? I sure cannot! Percocet was my friend post-op. So...my exhaustion from one Nick-less week of kid illness is NOTHING in the grand scheme. Or even in my family scheme!

I HAD to write about it, though, because REALLY. I just really have concerns about the germ situation going on. PLEASE other parents, let me know - are you experiencing this? I feel bad for Kate - maybe the CMV thing last year just really put her immune system down for a while and it will take her a while to not get everything that blows by her. But if for my birthday gift I can have an illness-free family through xmas, that would be awesome! I also would not mind anything from Sephora! HA HA HA! Just kidding!

Prayers and love to Mia and the whole Morris Crew! We love you love you love you!

Just Because

It has been a big Kate week around here and I wanted to post pics of Liam so he does not feel left out. :) Here is the big blue-eyed boy getting into all kinds of trouble.

Kate is Four!

I think that Kate had a terrific Birthday! We were supposed to have her party at a local apple orchard, but on her Bday it was raining horribly and we had it at our house instead. The orchard, after all, was a mud pit! But we had a wonderful time at the party - and gave out bags of fresh apples and recipes for Apple Crisp to our guests. Kate received some wonderful gifts and she is a happy, energetic and smart FOUR YEAR OLD!!!!! Thank you to everyone that helped Kate celebrate, either in person or by sending their well wishes! She is so lucky to have such terrific people in her life.


Kate's Apple-Themed Party Cake - soooo yummy.



Kate got two "High School Musical" barbies from her grandmother. Let me tell you that was one of the biggest hits of the birthday! She went absolutely nuts with excitement. The Barbies now regularly act out songs from the movie. She loves them!



Kate got the book "Fancy Nancy" from her Aunt Ava. She has been wanting this book for ages. She immediately went upstairs and dressed herself up "Fancy Dancy", as she calls it, right over her big fleece jacket and jeans. She walked around like that for hours. So cute.



Blowing out the candles! I cannot believe she is four!




My good friend, Sarah, gave Kate a wonderful princess hat and dress up skirt. Here is Kate modeling the gifts on top of a dress up costume that she already had on. Dress up is big around here.

Just Like Beckham

Here are some pics from Kate's soccer practice and game. She scored two goals yesterday! :) It is so fun to go and watch the games with Nick and Liam. One must remember, though, that this is preschool soccer! Games come to an immediate halt when a cool airplane or a flock of noisy geese fly over the field. :) Sorry about the fuzzy pics - I don't have the action shots down yet.

I know, I know....

I need to post a blog, I know. All sorts of fun pics and tales to tell. For one, Kate turned FOUR!!!! A lot has happened in a short five days and I promise to have pics and stories up soon. We started a new renovation here at the house, so things are kind of in disarray and covered in demolition dust.....the bathroom has been reduced to rubble. More to come when things clear up here and I have some time from steering toddler Liam away from the chaos! :)

Cute Liam

Liam is just the cutest. I just want to hug him all day long. He is so much fun. Here are some pics.

My Little Pony

Kate is very into "My Little Pony". She has been for ages (see early post about her Pony "tableaux") and I think they are great little toys. And VERY affordable! When I heard that "My Little Pony LIVE!" was coming to town right around Kate's birthday, I just had to get tickets. After a summer of me being less than mobile with the surgery recovery, and all my recent work at the U of MN, I knew that Kate and I would need some one-on-one special time.

So last weekend, I told Kate we were having a special Mommy-Daughter day with NO BOYS ALLOWED. I did not tell her what we were doing, though. First we went to lunch. As we were on our way, we passed a poster for the show! Kate saw it and got very excited. I asked her "do you think that is what your surprise is?" and her answer was "No, I don't think so. I think that show is coming in a long time and that is so people can know about it." (Impressive). I nodded in agreement and said she must be right. While at our big girl lunch, we chatted and laughed and had such a great time! Then I revealed the surprise to her and she was VERY excited. See picture below for a visual! :)

The show was really cute. The theme was "Pony Tea Party" and it was very pink and girly and adorable. Kate had a great time. I would also like to complement Hasbro - the creators of My Little Pony. The merchandise for sale was very affordable! UNLIKE the Disney Princess show where they may as well pass a collection plate around and ask you to place your wallet in it, never to be seen again. While at Disney Princess the "magic wands" were $25, at My Little Pony they were $5! So Kate actually got some goods without us having to take out a Home Equity Loan.

It was a great day. Everything went beautifully and we had such fun. Until we were leaving. As we were making our way through the skyways to the Parking Lot, a very, Very, VERY large woman - so large that she could not see small people or objects in her immediate radius - came barrelling by and literally body-checked poor Kate clear across the room with her stomach. People actually gasped. I had her hand in mind and all of a sudden this women ka-boomed into Kate and magic wands and ponies and kate went flying as her little hand was ripped out of my grasp. Poor sweet Kate. She got a nasty rug burn on her knee and had crocodile tears rolling down her face. The woman did not even stop or apologize. Kate was really upset and I was trying not to show that I was furious at the rudeness and really irritated that such a lovely day had a silly scar on it, but both Kate and I quickly recovered and spent the ride home singing along to "High School Musical". It really was such a fun day.


Kate enjoying her lunch.



Excited Kate - I just told her that we were going to the show.



The Ponies "Live". Kind of creepy, I know! :)

Graceful

Here are some pictures of Kate at her very first REAL dance class. Kate takes lessons at the Alesso Dance Studio and she LOVES LOVES LOVES it. The class consists of tap and ballet, and is taught by an absolutely wonderful woman, Miss Pat. One of the things I love is the discipline. She is the child-whisperer. All the children are in awe of Miss Pat and sit up straight and tall and listen to every word she says. Watching them all dance fills me with great joy --- you can tell that each of the girls absolutely loves being there.

By the way, Kate posed for these pics all on her own, I just told her to smile and these are the poses she struck. Where does she get it? ;P

Soccer Blocker

A quick added note. Poor Kate had to miss soccer AGAIN tonight. This time because of Tornado Warnings. Not really weather for preschool soccer! :) She was so sad. She kept sayiing "is the Twister over now? Can I have soccer?". A Twister? I think someone has been watching a little too much "Wizard of Oz".

I had the news on during dinner because the weather was nasty and we were expecting the Tornado sirens any minute. I was trying to get Kate to eat brocolli with cheese sauce and I wanted her to finish her dinner before we all would have to head to the basement. I said "C'mon, Kate, eat your brocolli! The Tornado Siren is going to go off any minute and I need you to finish this!" Perhaps not my best approach. Kate's eyes got VERY wide and she exclaimed, "You mean if I DON'T eat my brocolli then a TORNADO will come in my HOUSE?"

As tempting as it was to say "yes, brocolli eating can prevent tornadic destruction so hop to it", I did the right thing and focused on nutrition of brocolli, and also at easing her mind about any inclement weather. Sigh.

And PS - no tornados in our part of town, though the weather was very VERY wild!!!!

Croupy Loopy

It is 1:30ish in the morning. I just got back from the ER with Liam. Poor little guy woke up after only about an hour of sleep tonight and he was barking like a seal. A hot steam did nothing to help and he just kept getting more agitated and was crying non-stop gasping/honking for breath, so I took him to the ER. As suspected, he has a bad case of "the croup". They actually gave him some medication to open his airways up. So now I am sitting here on the couch at home in the middle of the night listening to him breath in his crib. Poor sweet LIam. On top of it all - he was so distraught in the ER that he threw himself out of my arms while we were sitting down and split his chin open on the corner of an open door. Awesome. Well....at least we were already at the Emergency Room! But I felt like a total idiot! The mom who cannot even prevent her son from injury in an enclosed space in a hospital of all places! sheesh. Everyone was so nice, though. If an ER experience can be called great, it was great.

A thought....all due respect to my daughter's preschool. But her CMV illness last year, a bout of fever last week that made her miss soccer and a day of school and now Liam's croup have led me to believe that maybe there is not enough hand-washing going on with the 3 and 4 year olds. I actually asked Kate's teacher this week to please help keep an extra eye on Kate's hand washing to make sure she is doing a good job because I feel like she is always catching some bug. This summer she was so healthy! But as soon as we started back to school....germ central.

Anyway, to further cement my belief in the need for more soap at school, when I was checking Liam in at the ER, I glanced over to my right and there was a really nice Mom from the Preschool! She had HER baby boy with her and HE had Croup, too! AND she told me that her son had been out sick last week, too. BLAH! It was nice to see a familiar face at midnight in the ER, though!

Any suggestions to avoid the school sickies, please let me know! I think Kate is still too young for "airborne"! :)

Off to bed as my little seal slumbers.......

Sassafrass

As Kate gets closer to her 4th Birthday, the Sass Factor has increased dramatically! God help us when she is actually a teenager because right now she is 3 going on 16! She is full of humor and wit, and I have to give her credit for being a sharp little person. However, sometimes the cheek is challenging! :)

Sometimes, though, the cheek is just funny. Yesterday when I dropped Kate off at school, she ran over to the Craft Table in the classroom and began coloring away. She was all business, sitting up straight and tall in her brown dress, furiously focusing on staying in the lines. I was on the other side of the classroom, talking to Kate's teacher, Mrs. Rogers. All of a sudden, Kate called from clear across the room, "Excuse me Mrs. Rogers, but you and I BOTH have BROWN on today!!!!!" (Insert look of amazement from Kate). Mrs. Rogers warmly reinforced her observation with a kind "We sure do, Kate! How about that?!" Kate, with a knowing look on her face, sort of nodded at Mrs. Rogers and, in a sing-song voice, called across the room "Brown IS the new Black, you know!!!!!!!"

Are you kidding me? Where does she get this stuff? Mrs. Rogers and I almost lost it.

So that is an example of sweet sass. Last night, I was subjected to some serious sass. And it went a little something like this:

Scene: Kate's Bedroom. Jammies are on, and the bedtime ritual has begun. As I went to clear out some of the menagerie of stuffed animals from the bed, I grabbed her "softie blankie" and realized it was wet!

Maggie: (with blanket in hand) Kate! Why is your blankie all wet? Did you have an accident and not tell me?

Kate: (with full, open, honest eyes) No, Mom! I spitted on it!

Maggie: (puzzled) You SPIT on it? Did you spit up or throw up? What do you mean you spit on it?

Kate: (very matter of fact) No, I SPPPIIITTTEEED on it. With water from my sippy. I spitted on it.

Maggie: What?! You SPIT on your blankie? Kate! Why would you do that? Spitting is very naughty and gross.

Kate: For my pretend turtle! Turtles loooooove water. So turtle needed a lake! So I made a lake by when I spitted the water.

(Um, ok - so now we have a lengthy talk about the inappropriateness of spitting at all times - well, not all times, because as Kate points out, we spit out toothpaste when we brush our teeth. The bedtime ritual continues, with brief interruptions of whining because she cannot have her blankie. She does not grasp that it is her consequence from spitting. Frustrating. Lots of trying to be rational with a three year old ensues)

Skip to final straw....

Kate: (very frustrated by now after getting in trouble for spitting and throwing a tantrum about the temporary loss of her beloved blankie and then losing another stuffed animal as punishment for throwing a tantrum) Mommy, can I please have a glass of Fresh Cold Water? (She always asks for it this way)

Maggie: Well, now, Kate, I don't know about that! The last time you got a sippy of water at naptime, you spit it all out all over your room!

Kate: But MOoooooommmmyyyy, I am very thiiiiiirrrrssstyyyyyy.

Maggie: Well, do you think I should get some for you? I mean, I expected you to drink your water like a big girl the last time and instead of doing what I expected, you spit it everywhere!

Kate: (very huffy and totally sassafull - and I am not even kidding that she said this) WELL. I expected YOU to fix my doctor kit toy when you said you would FIVE TIMES and you STILL have not done it like I expected!!!!!!!

(OH. Ouch. Direct Hit. I literally had to turn around and leave the room because of the combination of trying to catch my patience and also so I did not totally crack up and laugh my butt off in front of her. Needless to say, more discussion occurred and things were all resolved, with no blankie, down one stuffed animal, a sip of water before bed as a compromise instead of a full cup and Kate fell asleep - exhausted by her attitude.)

I sort of melted down the stairs in exhaustion, fell into the arm chair and immediately dialed my parents:

Mom: Hello?

Maggie: Mom? I just want you and Dad to know that I am so sorry for being such a sass when I was a kid. Remember when I would talk back and you would say "May God give you one just like you!"? Well, He listened. I love you and I am really sorry for all the grief I caused! :)

That's how it rolls....

Today was to be Kate's FIRST DAY OF SOCCER. She really was looking forward to it! She had the outfit, the energy and she has some pretty great soccer skills! She has been a little out of sorts today, and I thought it was maybe because she was so anxious for tonight. And she was! She got all dressed, posed for the obligatory pictures and then all of a sudden had a melt down of tears and sobbing?!!! As she wrapped her arms around my neck and I (very bewildered) asked her what was wrong, I felt HOT tears on an even MORE HOT cheek against my own face. Poor thing was burning up! So - with Kate having a Fever of 102, I made the executive decision to not have her run around in the damp 50 degree weather. Even if it IS her first day. She was furious. But after about 30 minutes, some peanut butter crackers and milk, and some snuggles on the couch - she knows she is the right place right now.

Regardless, here are her adorable ALMOST-first-day-of-soccer pictures. And YES I KNOW the shin guards are more like armour from a knight. It is the smallest they had! And she is supposed to have them. Plus they are pink! :P She needs bigger socks, though......

Enjoy!

Getting the Band Back Together

Nick is back from what I call his "mancation" in the UK! :) Every year, he and his good friends from Yale (which, en masse, are known as "The Lads") try to get together for a guys weekend. Since the majority of the Lads live in Europe, this year they all met and spent the weekend in London and Cambridge. It sounds like they had a blast. They went punting on the River Cam, had some port and some pints, spent time in a pub or two, watched some football, went to the British Museum, toured one of the colleges at Cambridge and much more I am sure! Most importantly, he got to spend time with such great people. Those guys - and their wonderful wives and children - are lifelong friends. I am so glad that he had the chance to go! He works so hard and deserves a break!

Here is a pic of the guys in Cambridge. I think it looks like an album cover. "The Lads" on their "Cambridge" album.

First Day of School

Kate loves going to school! Here are some pics of her on her first day!

The Best Laid Plans......

Remember when you were a kid and the years were measured by the school year calendar as opposed to a January-December timeline? I always thought of September as a "new year" back then. Now that I am back on a school-time calendar with the kids, I find myself again thinking of the beginning of school as a sort of "New Year". So, Happy New Year to you all!

With the "new year" comes new schedules and activities and - yes - resolutions! On the top of my list...more patience and continuous improvement of my time management skills. Both were put to the test at the same time this week. I decided to use one of the days when Kate was at school in the morning to head to the gym! They have a great daycare and I can leave Liam there, playing with other kids while I get a quick workout in. What a great way to maximize my resolutions! I am using my time well, affording myself some patience since I will blow off steam at the gym, and Liam still gets some playtime in! SUPER!

All was going well. I was "ellipticating" to some very fun tunes and I was sweating through my shirt and my face was as red as a tomato. Some of you may know that it only takes me about 5 minutes of exercising to look like I have run a marathon. This has been the case my whole life and my current level of fitness (or lack thereof) has no bearing on it. Once, when I was living in Japan, I was taking an aerobics class and the Japanese instructor caught a glance of me in the mirror and freaked out and turned off the music and all 4 feet 9 inches of her came running over to me, with her little rock-n-roll aerobicizer microphone headset still amplifying her voice saying "Breeze! Breeze! iiinnn,, owwwwww, iiiiiin, owwwwwww! Oh you are velly velly Led! So Led! BREEZE!" I was totally fine. But totally embarrassed.

ANYWAY - as usual I digress. Back to the scene. I am at the gym working out and managing time well. I am very red and sweaty but I feel GREAT! I have 40 more minutes at the gym - including a shower without kids pounding on the bathroom door!!! Heaven!!! And then I can go get Liam and then we can pick up Kate from school on the way home from the gym. And it is not even 10am yet! Productivity! Woo hooo!

Wait - what was that announcement? "Attention Lifetime Fitness Members, will Maggie Harris please report to the Child Care center? Maggie Harris PLEASE come to the Child Care center. Please."

Oh boy.

When I walked into the center, Liam was as red as I was and VERY loudly crying as if his heart was broken. He held his arms up to me and giant crocodile tears rolled down his cheeks. "M-M-m-m-mooooommmmyyy". Awwwww. There went my shower. Liam would not let me put him down. They said he had been crying inconsolably the whole time. My poor little man. We were basically booted from the gym - two red, sweaty buddies. Me in my oversize college t-shirt and ancient yoga pants with a gym bag, a diaper bag and and an ipod trailing behind me while I lugged a sobbing, gasping, limp, very heavy toddler past adorable fit and perky pony-tailed moms who were speedily bouncing along on the stairmasters with their six pack abs bared in nothing but a sports bra and teeny tiny shorts. How did these women ever give birth? It is not possible.

Poor guy. I had not thought about it being a new year for HIM, too, and how he had a summer of being inseparable from his sister.....that was his first time ever being in a day care situation without her. He was lonely and missed his "Keht" as he calls her. My sweet Liam. Guess we have to work on his resolutions, too. Being a big boy at the gym without his sister. So today we tried again - and he did just great and I got to have a shower! :) What a super kid.

I will post "first day of school pics" of Kate soon. Nick is in England right now and has the camera with him, and the memory card has Kate's pics on it. This weekend he is spending time with his Yale lads. They are all going to meet up and head to Cambridge, UK as I think they put a nice dent in London on their last visit. I cannot wait to hear about it and see pics! I've never been to Cambridge! If I remember correctly, I think Yale was supposedly modeled architecturally and such after Cambridge, so it should be an interesting comparison. Plus I am sure they will more than keep the pubs in business this weekend. Hopefully he honors my request and has a Pint and some chips with vinegar for me. Yum. I'm guessing the super fit gym moms stay away from such delights....sigh.

Gotta Daaaanncce

Kate is very excited to be starting dance classes at a wonderful dance studio this fall. Last week, we attended the Open House and she got fitted for her ballet and tap shoes! She will be in a Creative Movement class where they explore ballet, tap and theatrical dance. She is sooo excited (as, of course, am I). Her class runs for a year and finishes out with a recital! You can be sure there will be blog entries galore with that! :)

Nick and I agreed long ago that we would encourage well-rounded activities until our kids figure out what they enjoy the most and what their talents are. In the meantime, we have Kate doing music, dance and a sport. Kate starts soccer this fall as well and I cannot wait to see what is sure to be a huddle of little people all chasing after the ball at the same time - I think zones don't really sink in at this age! But Kate loves kicking the soccer ball around in the back yard and Liam has the "goal" announcement down pat. He yells "Gooooooaaaaaaaal! Goalgoalgoalgoalgoalgoal Goaaaaaaaaallllll". It is too darn funny.

Anyway - I am straying from the topic. Kate is thrilled to be starting dance class. I am pleased that it is truly an interest of hers and not just something that I am trying to get her involved in because it happens to be one of my personal passions! :) It does warm my heart that Kate regularly dances around the house and leaps and twirls through the kitchen. I am excited that she will get some structure in it and am interested to see if she loves it as much in a class envirnoment as she does in our family room! This IS a girl who loves watching "Singing in the Rain".

Here are some pictures of the first minutes that Kate tried on her very first pair of tap shoes. She loved the sounds they made on the floor and instantly began shuffling and ball changing around the kitchen. When the camera came out, she immediately broke into "posing" mode. Too cute.



Tah daaaaah!


Jazz Hands!!!!


Supah-stah!!!!!!

Camouflaged Cheese

Liam is becoming more fun every day. He is so full of personality and joy! Right now, he is very into coloring. Give the kid a box of crayons and a coloring book and he will literally sit still for an hour, scribbling away. Liam also is very into having his picture taken right now. He shouts, "Cheeeeessseeee" over and over and over if there is a camera in sight, even if it is not in use at the time. Here is a sequence of shots taken recently - he is sitting in his jammies, coloring and you can see his increasing amount of "cheesing" to the point where his face his barely recognizable. He makes me laugh!



Liam coloring.



Cheeese!!!!



CHEEEEEEESSSEEEEE!!!!



CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Liam getting busted as I caught him crawling on top of the table. So funny.

So long, farewell

Our dear, DEAR friends, the Dunns, moved to Connecticut this month. Combine our sadness from truly missing spending time with them with our jealousy over the fact that they have returned to the East Coast and you have an interesting cocktail of emotion! :)

Seriously, though - we spent some nice time with them at the beginning of the month with Maggie Dunn's birthday celebration, a "Going Away" party for the Dunns, and a playdate to give the kids some time together before the Dunns trekked to CT. Here are a few snaps....


Nick and Liam at the Dunn's Farewell Party



Kate and Maggie playing dress up



More dress up fun



Kate painting a ceramic box at Maggie Dunn's birthday party at "Paint Your Plate"

We're All in This Together.....

A new cultural phenomenon has sung and danced it's way into our home. It flickers on our TV Screen and floats out of our car speakers and family room stereo. Our wooden floors are becoming more worn with the dance moves that this music inspires Kate and Liam to produce. The culprit is the Disney made-for-TV-movie, "High School Musical" --- and now also "High School Musical 2".

These sugary sweet and very bouncy musicals are all the rage with kids across the US right now - literally from age 3 to, well, 32! :) (I must confess, they are fun, cute, and catchy!) Kate is completely into "HSM" and knows all the songs and dances along. Liam gets into it too - particularly during the basketball scenes where he runs around and bounces up and down with a huge smile on his face.

I have to say, Nick and I are thrilled by the interest. First of all, it is not animated, so that is a nice change. Plus it really is just all about the exuberance and innocence of youth and has a strong message of independence and acceptance - all set to an infectiously bouncy beat that makes our kids boogie....and nothing is more fun than watching a 1-year-old and a soon-to-be-4-year-old bust a move.

Yesterday at Target (which was the most poorly planned trip to Super Target ever in that I took the kids with me on the Sunday of move-in weekend for all the colleges around here) Kate drew the smiles, laughter, and even applause of many-a-college-girl as she belted out HSM songs from the Target cart. Every college girl I know from my work at the U of M also has an unabashed affection for these movies and they know all the tunes and have super crushes on the lead guy, Zac Efron (his character is Troy Bolton). And, ok, I must admit, I TOTALLY get the crush factor! If I was 13, I FOR SURE would have had a "Troy Bolton, High School Musical" Trapper Keeper.

For a musical theatre nut like myself, I have to appreciate the "homage" that they pay to all that came before "HSM". I have fun noticing the nods to the movies of the past - the line from "Mame" that runs through the film, the dress that mimics "Maria's" from "West Side Story", the Esther Williams and Busby Berkley choreography, the Fosse, the Kevin Bacon Footloose rip-off, the "Hopelessly Devoted to You" frame and the "Time of My LIfe" mirroring. It is musical theatre fabulous! :) For anyone who cares! ha ha

But.....Nothing is more fun right now than 7 o'clock pm in the Harris household when dinner is over and baths have been had and the freshly clean, sweet smelling Kate and Liam are running around the family room singing "Get Your Head in the Game" (Liam does this by saying "getcha getcha getcha getcha" through the whole song) while they jump and giggle all over the place and Nick and I laugh and applaud from the safety of the couch.

Seriously - it is so fun.

Kate-isms

Kate has been full of funny quips and new vocabulary words these days. Here are a few recent funny phrases/moments:

1. On a day when she was, shall we say, a little misbehaved, Kate got on the phone with a friend of mine. When Julie asked how Kate was doing, Kate replied "Ummm....I was a little rude today, I am having an off day!" :)

2. When asked what her favorite number is, Kate replied "MY favorite number is ONE, because there is only ONE ME!!!!"

3. Kate sat working on writing her name and was a little bit meticulous about perfecting the letter "K". When my Mom asked her what she was up to she said with great emphasis and seriousness, "I am CONcentwating on making the letter K!"

4. Kate was playing hairdresser with me this morning. At her insistence she stood on the ottoman while I sat in the chair. I was the client, she was the stylist. In attempting to hold a comb and a brush in one hand, she kept dropping the comb on the floor. She would climb off the ottoman, pick up the comb and start over. After the 5th time of this happening, she let out a very exasperated huffing noise and exclaimed "I am VEWY FWUSTATED RIGHT NOW BY THIS!!!!!!"

She cracks me up.

35W Bridge Collapses in Minneapolis....We are Safe

Phone lines are jammed here in Minnesota, but we have already received lots of phone calls and emails and I wanted to post that all the Harris crew - as well as Patrick - are home and safe and were not part of the tragic bridge collapse in Minneapolis. It happened very close to Patrick's loft and is blocks from the University where I spend a lot of time working, but neither of us were anywhere near it today. Nick is still at work far away from this accident, though his commute home may take a while because all traffic is backed up. Prayers for all the people and families affected by this inexplicable accident....we are supposed to get rain and it is near nightfall, so please pray for all the people involved and for our rescue workers. I hope all my Minnesota friends are home and safe as well.

Fun Kids

Kate on the monkey bars!



She loved the monkey bars!



Kate and Liam and their magnadoodle workbooks. Best buddies.



Liam picking up a little light reading.



Kate and Liam goofing off.

The kids are so much fun! They really get along so well and love each other and are buddies. I love it! They were really cute this past weekend. Kate got to go to her first ever real movie at the Theatre when Nick took her to see "Ratatouille". They went to the movie, lunch, and then the bookshop. When Kate returned and I asked her what she did she said "I went on a date with Daddy! We went to see a movie called "Rats Could Cook". Both of the kids have just grown so much this summer! Kate has legs a mile long and she is so tall and skinny. Liam barrells along, and has become quite the "class clown"....one of his favorite things to do is walk around all off balance, stumbling and teetering while saying "Whoooaaa, whoooaaaa" then he purposefully trips and falls down while yelling out "WHHHOOOOAAAAAAA". Then he flattens himself on the ground and slowly lifts his head up with a HUGE grin on his face, waiting for the audience reaction to his slapstick comedy. Where does he get this stuff?

Love 'em!

Here are just a few pics of the kiddos from this week. They are just the best.

In Sickness and in Health.....

So, 6 years ago today, Nick and I pledged to love one another through thick and thin! Most would interpret this as one of the "thin" times, but I disagree. As you may know, I had to have surgery this week - a hysterectomy to finally resolve a myriad of health issues going all the way back to my pregnancy with Liam that did not respond to other treatments. I won't go into too much detail because, when it comes to the uterus, that falls firmly in the category of "Too Much Information" for most. In short: it was the absolute best medical option, I am totally fine with it, and am a-ok with the fact that "the uterus was done at age 31" (and that I am able to make a little rhyme out of the situation). :) The surgery went fine and I was in the hospital for a few days. I have an amusing tale involving anesthesia and my resulting filter-free speech, but will save that for another entry.

I am now home and, thankfully, my Mom is here to help out with the kids as my abilities are somewhat restricted for a while. According to the docs, I am not allowed to drive anwhere or lift anything over 10lbs for several weeks. Yeah. Well, Liam weighs over 30 lbs. and sleeps in a crib so figure that one out! :) Also, for the time being, I am admittedly getting by with tabs of Percocet and cannot quite stand up straight yet thanks to incisions, so YAY for Kate McKenny coming to save the day! All will be well, though, and I am feeling better every day and life will soon return to normal I am sure. And if I ever feel blue, I just have to remind myself that I have lost 7 pounds in one week, so at least I am looking more svelte in my loungewear! :)

But, the best part of today is this - it is our anniversary and we are truly living our vows. That, to me, is more romantic and sweet than any wrapped gift or celebratory dinner. So instead of champagne and candlelight, we will have a movie night in with lots of pillows and blankets and the high probability of me falling asleep mid-movie thanks to the pain pills. We knew this was coming - hence the trip without the kids up north and a nice dinner out last weekend - but it is nice to actually be at home on the actual anniversary, hearing the giggles of our two beautiful kids, vegging out in the living room, and knowing that we are living up to every promise we made at St. Cecelia's in Boston 6 years ago.

So who needs a darn uterus?! Organs, schmorgans!!! I have the best husband and family in the world, and what better gift is there?