Uncle Joel's in town!

Due to all the weather Uncle Joel got a chance to stay with us for the last few days. Unfortunately we have no extra bed or bedroom for that matter. It was couch city for him. We sure enjoyed his stay. Here are a few highlights:

1. Uncle Joel is now known by Andrew as just "Uncle".
2. Uncle cut Andrew's finger while making cobbler.
3. Uncle got to spend Christmas Eve with us at home making stuffed mushrooms, lasagna, and lava cake.
4. Uncle is now our "manny" and we don't think we'll be letting him leave.
5. Joel got to spend Christmas morning with us, watching Andrew and Lo open presents from Santa.
6. He then got to go to my mom's house and have Christmas brunch, and watch more present opening.
7. When we got home he put together Andrew's new easel. (thank you)
8. He took lots of great pictures of the kids while he was here.
9. He referred to Nick and I as the worst decision makers ever. (Rude Joel, rude)
10. Lots of play time with Andrew in the snow.

Christmas Day

SANTA CAME! We weren't sure if Santa would come because Andrew hasn't been a good boy when going to bed at night! Any suggestions moms? However, Santa came through. Lolo received a book, and Bobo a blower. Too much fun.

Opening presents and Grammie and Grandpa's house. Lolo sure loved her dolly. Andrew was having fun with his playdough.



The family Christmas Night. We had two people taking pictures and standing on opposite sides of the room...next year we'll get a better shot. At least we got one though!
The Kraljs! From left; Nick, Kathy, Mark, Winnie (the dog) Emily, Lolo, Joel, and Andrew.

Christmas Night didn't turn out quite as expected, but it was still wonderful just the same. Nick's parents and sister Emily ended up coming over and I fixed Christmas dinner. Yes you read that correctly, I, Lindsey Kralj fixed the dinner. It consisted of Ham (that was pre-cooked and pre-sliced), mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, salmon (for Uncle) and cobbler made by Uncle and Andrew.
It turned out pretty well if I do say so myself, and nothing was caught on fire or burned! We sure enjoyed having everyone over at our house. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Shopping online is fun!

So I'm here in my nice warm house, watching my family work on putting in a new receiver. I won't show any pictures here, trust me you don't want to see it. What I will do is paint you a picture with my words.
Nick-Currently he is half way into the entertainment center. Luckily no crack is showing. He does however hop out to tell me random things like, "This needs some pledge. Could you do that?" or "Lauren is on the move, could someone please watch her?"

Lolo-Well big hint there with Nick's words. She is currently moving around the floor getting into every tool, plastic wrap, or cord that she is NOT supposed to touch. When Andrew takes it away from her, she just simply finds another one. Every now and again she'll do her raptor yell at him.

Andrew-He is working! He's got every wrench and screwdriver out that his dad isn't using. He's also got his Diego flashlight (thanks to Moggy and Papa), and he's working with his dad. His favorite thing to repeat is, "Tell me when you need my help, okay dad?" It's pretty cute. BTW he is currently wearing the outfit he's been wearing for the last 3 days (and somehow managed to sleep in). We're not sure if he's going to take it off. If you're wondering it's a OSU Beaver football shirt (with lots of applesauce, grape juice, and cheese) and his sweat pants.

I am shopping online. Thanks to my friend Meghan I've found the cutest first birthday shirt for Lo. It's on etsy.com, what a fun place! I need some other blog posts to read, so get typing out there people!

PS-Now Andrew is reading a book to Lauren, Dr. Suess Are You My Mother? It's the cutest thing ever.

I deserve some sort of medal

For those of you with children you will understand why I titled this post the way I did.

Today is a "snow" day (although it's not too snowy outside right now). I am home with the kids and we needed some things at the grocery. So after Lauren woke up and had her bottle I bundled the kids up and headed out to brave the arctic blast.

Of course, I was in the Acura because Nick needed to take the Suburban to work (just to be safe). I load up the kiddos, and off we head to Freddies. This part not bad at all, very normal.

When we get to Freddies Andrew wants to ride in the race car cart. Fine I say, there was a red one available; after I use paper towels to soak up all the water in the seat. So, with Andrew riding behind the wheel where oh where is Lolo going to fit? She's still in her car seat carrier (of which she is way to big!). So I throw her in the actual cart.

This leaves me with approximately 6 inches of space to put all my groceries, and I did have a list here people. I wasn't going for one thing. So, away we go. I realize right away that this cart definetly has a mind of it's own. I swear I felt like I was back in my Colt driving days with no power steering.

We manage to work our way through the store finding what we need. I found myself pulling them facing backwards quite a bit because the cart was THAT unreasonable. Now keep in mind that as I am manuevering my way through the aisles, I am almost knocking over displays and having a few close calls with the other customers. I know I had a few dirty looks thrown my way. To top it off the pants I was wearing were a little loose (they have a draw string) and they kept falling down...great.

So we finally make our way out to the car, I load everyone & everything up and the nicest thing happened. A very kind man offered to take the cart in for me. Seriously, Merry Christmas. I was so excited. I warned him it had a mind of it's own. Then I got in the car and told Andrew and Lolo about the nice man. The entire way home Andrew kept asking why he took our cart. Again, seriously. I do deserve some sort of medal.

So here's a lesson for everyone. When we see a mother of two with her pants falling down barreling down the aisle with a red race car, give her a break.
Happy Holidays!

Lolo 9 months!

Lauren is officially 9 months old. We had our Dr. visit today and things are looking great for our little girl. She weighed in at 18 pounds 15 ounces, just about the 75%. Her height was 28", just about the 50%, and her head...well that's another story. Her head is above the 90%. Our Dr. mentioned something about a lot of brain power...why do I have big headed kids? Seriously. Is my head big?

She was so cute at our visit. She's fascinated by finding herself and others in the mirror. She can entertain herself for hours. When the nurse came in to weigh and measure her, Lolo gave her a glare. Then it turned to real tears as she was on the table. The screams started the minute I laid her down to be measured, and they stopped just as quickly as they started once I picked her up.

She is so funny. If she doesn't get what she wants, she will let you know. Today I had her in the high chair eating cheerios while I was on the computer. As soon as I walked away and brother did as well, she pulls the pouty lip down and starts wailing. And then when you walk back in the kitchen and talk to her, she stops crying. This child definitely knows what she likes and what she doesn't.

She is so much fun right now. She absolutely LOVES bouncing. If she's on your lap she's bouncing, if you're holding her on your hip, she's bouncing. Her most favorite thing is the jumper that she can bounce in. The smile is from ear to ear.

I love her more than I could have imagined. I know that they tell you that you will love the second just as much as you loved the first; but I have to say I didn't think that was possible. When Andrew was born and his first years of life (sans Lo) I seriously didn't think I could love anyone more. He was so amazing (and still is) but of course I was wrong. The Lord likes to remind me just how wrong I always am. When He gave us Lolo the love came out all over again. She is the most amazing little girl, and so beautiful, and such a personality. I could go on and on. I won't. I will spare you. But trust me on this one. She's one of a kind.

Snow-whatever!

I just have to say that I'm annoyed. I'm all prepared for snow, and possibly a school closure or at least a 2 hour late start...do you think we're getting anything here in Vancouver? Nope. It's everywhere else; Portland, Gresham, Washougal, Hillsboro...the list goes on and on. Why oh why isn't Vancouver lucky enough? All I wanted was a day off, instead I'm going about business as usual. I'm hoping this ranting blog post will encourage the snow to fall and ice over and then I can have my way. That's all I have to say.

Christmas Trees & Apple Pie

So I made an apple pie from one of Martha's recipes. I think it turned out pretty, not so crazy about the taste. It was an apple spice pie and I think I'm going to stick with the regular old apple pie recipe next time and keep the crust. I love the circles as the top. If you want the recipe for the crust or inside let me know, it was pretty good.

Christmas tree shopping tradition! We went out to get the tree with the family. Of course Nick and I choose our tree in about 10 seconds. It was basically the first one we came to. Cody cut it down for us, and that was that. Lisa was next in finding her tree, not too long after us. Anne and Sharon on the other hand took quite some time locating the "perfect" tree, with Sharon winning out as taking the longest. Afterward we went back to Dad's house and had pizza. It was a fun outing, I know Andrew enjoyed. Lolo had a good time too in the backpack, she was able to see all the action.

This last picture is classic Andrew. He's wearing my shoes, and quite proud of how he can walk in them and they make a really fun noise on our hardwood floor. He's always getting into something and surprising me.

November

Thanksgiving fun! We went to my grandma's in Salem for one last holiday at her home before it goes up for sale. The kids had fun playing together. Reagan is such a good helper with the little ones. And Lolo is for sure jealous of Devyn's hair! Funny story. As we were all getting ready to eat, everyone is seated at the table. Andrew says to the entire table, "Can I have a roll people?" Right. I thought it was hilarious. Apparently things weren't moving fast enough!

Bath time! They love taking a bath together. Andrew's favorite seems to be getting very close to dumping water on Lolo but not actually doing it. Lo just started taking a bath in the actual tub. She's such a big girl now. She loves to eat the toys in the water. She doesn't love getting her hair washed, neither does Andrew for that matter. They do seem to enjoy each other though that's for sure!
Lolo eating a little yummy cereal and applesauce. Yummy! She has started eating the "puffs" and cherrios, etc. She's so great at picking those up and eating them as fast as she can. She tends to get upset if she doesn't have something to eat or drink with her at all times while seated in the high chair. The only thing that will keep her satisfied (besiedes food) is her brother doing something silly to make her laugh.
Dressing up is Andrew's favorite thing. He loves to wear his "work" goggles because he has a lot of "work" to do. He also loves wearing a glove. You got it, not plural. Just one glove. We like to call him Michael Jackson. His glove is his sock, any sock will do. My favorite is when he is wearing his "clean up" sock. Yes, that's right. When he wears that he actually does put things away.
Andrew wearing an awesome headband that he put on himself. Love it. Anybody thinking about sweating to the oldies?

And the winner is...

None of the options I posted...but one very similar. The stupid computer will only let me do a few at a time, so I'm going to do a few posts with the other photos we ordered. Too cute

Vote for your favorite!!!

Choice 1
Choice 2



So Sarah took our family photos a month or so ago and we have the pictures. I want to post a few so you can tell me which one you think I should order for our family photo.
The only story I can think of is Andrew often has to tell me a "recipe." He wants me to get real close to him so he can whisper it to me. He is trying to say secret, but for whatever reason he thinks it's a recipe. It's pretty sweet. He's so sweet. He likes to pray to God and thank Him for his baby sister. How sweet is that? Seriously. We are having a great time with these two.
Love it. Love it. Love it. (most the time!)

Things I've done...

I got this from Christy Wagener (Phillips). I think everyone should try it. It's fun. Copy and past. I'm waiting to read yours...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (they won't let me because I have mad cow disease...I don't really have the disease but they think I might because I lived in England for 6 months)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club(I want to though...)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
101. Learned to play an instrument(Does the recorder count???)

Andrew voted!

The stickers on him say "I voted". He put them on himself with no direction from either mom or dad...too funny!

Trick or Treat

This is the best shot I could get of the two of them. Happy Halloween!
Lolo the teddy bear and Kennedy the lady bug sharing a chair. It's really difficult to get a 7 month old and a 3 month old to look at you at the same time and do some sort of smile.

Cookie Monster and Cowboy Carter having some Halloween fun!

What a weekend! (Beware lots of pics)

This weekend was great fun and yet relaxing as well. I spent Saturday hanging out with girlfriends, lots of fun. Saturday evening we went for a walk at Lacamas Lake and then played at the park. Funny story. We were walking along the trail and I saw a woman who works at my school. I said, I work with that woman. Later on down the trail Nick and I hear Andrew saying I work with her, she's my girl. Hilarious.
Sunday we decided to make some banana bread. I finally convinced Nick to put in some chocolate chips...as you can see from the photos the bread didn't turn out as planned. Apparently I was supposed to use Pam spray not the olive oil sprayer (who knew?) Anyhow, Andrew and I will be eating the "broken" bread as he likes to call it all week and loving it!
We also went to the pumpkin patch with Nana and Papa, what fun! It was great. Andrew really enjoyed himself. He was very into pulling the wagon by himself, and didn't want to leave it for anything (even to pick out his own pumpkin). When we finally convinced him to go and get a pumpkin he decided he wanted a small one that he could carry. Oh boy. We then took our third annual picture of him next to the pumpkin sign. When he was 6 months he took a picture next to the small pumpkins, last year he was at the medium sign, so this year of course, he's at the large sign. Lolo is at the extra small sign this year. So cute. Then for the finale Andrew rode around the patch on the hay ride. He even got to "drive" the horses. Great fun for him. It was then back to Nana and Papa's house for carving and stew. We had a great time!

Cute pics in our new chair!

I'm home today with the kiddos. Our day-care provider is sick, so I got to take the afternoon off. As of right now, both children are in their bedrooms with the doors shut. Lauren is crying, last time I went to check on her she was on her belly. Andrew is kicking the wall next to his bed, yelling intermittently and not sleeping. At least their in their rooms right? I hope you enjoy some of the pictures.
By the way for any of you who know and have seen my dad...doesn't Lolo look exactly like Lar? Seriously.

I have friends!

I'm so impressed with myself (although Sarah told me how to do it), I now have friends listed on my blog page. Yea! Happy day. I'm very much enjoying this blogging thing, and I was so against it. It's fun though. I think I like it so much because I enjoy reading everyone's blog.

In other news, house update: We had someone come look at our house today. We haven't heard anything though, so we'll see what they say. While the house was showing we took it upon ourselves to do a little shopping. Each of us got a little something, it was kind of fun. Nick ended up with shirts, Andrew a shirt and pair of sweatpants because the current sweatpants are TOTAL high waters, (seriously they are 18 months, he's 30 months) Lo got a pair of cute warm jeans, they have pink lining in them. And I got a sweater that I'm not sure I really like. I think I lost in this particular trip.

New background!

I'm so excited! I'm finally starting to figure out some of this blogging stuff. I have to thank Amber for having the link about the cutest blogs on the block. I went there found a cool background (well I think it's cool) and then figured out how to make it work for my blog. I am very impressed with myself.
In family news, not much is new. Things always seem to be to busy. I've realized that now that I have two babies one of them is bound to get screwed. If one needs to nap, the other needs an activity (outside of the house), and if the other needs to nap then one begins to cry really loud and wake them up. It's this terrible never ending cycle.
My friend Krathbu and I talked today, and we've decided that it was hard with one baby because we thought we would always do something wrong. Paranoia somewhat. Then with the second it's still hard, because even though you have the baby part down, now you have to figure out how to manage two. AHHH!
I don't mean to scare anyone who wants two babies and only has one right now. But I don't want to burst your bubble it's hard. But I wouldn't change it...at least not a permanent change. I would like to find an hour where I feel rested and normal...but I'm sure it'll get better. Right?

Good Fall Fun!

Oh the pumpkin patch! On Friday Andrew got to go to the pumpkin patch with his day-care provider, Leasa. What a day! As you can see from the picture Andrew chose a green and somewhat orange pumpkin for us. (He told me we could share it)

Leasa told me she wasn't sure if she should have made him choose a different pumpkin because his was green. I said, no way I love the fact that he chose a green one. It's perfect. He was very proud of his pumpkin. It's also, "very heavy mommy, so don't touch it." What great fun. I've very thankful for Leasa, and I am glad he was able to go with friends on an outing.

We'll be going as a family soon. I wonder what type of pumpkin he'll choose this time...stay tuned.

Sorry about the milk

So this morning I was "working" on the computer. You know, when you tell your kid that you're working but you're really reading gossip columns, or reading something else that is a total waste of time. So that's what I was doing...well apparently I wasn't parenting. Andrew comes up to me and says, "Mommy sorry about the milk Mommy." Huh? What are you talking about (this is in my head). Then I realize that I left the milk out on the butcher block from breakfast and he can reach it, and I get up to check, and it's not there any more.

As I'm running down the hall I'm yelling, "Where is it?" My son can only say, "Sorry about the milk Mommy." As I turn the corner to enter his room, I see the EMPTY milk carton sitting on his rocking chair. I approach the chair and hear the sound of milk spilling from the corner of his chair onto the floor. Right. My 2 1/2 year old son has taken the milk carton and dumped it all over the bear, his chair, and now it's spilling onto the carpet. So instead of getting super pissed I realize that it's partly my fault and I calmly clean it up while my son sits in a 2 minute time out for, "touching things that you know you're supposed to ask about first."

The best part, or maybe not so great is the fact that after I discovered the milk spilling onto the floor I go out into the garage to get some cleaning supplies and I see my husband sitting in the driveway talking on the phone. I motion to him, he opens the door, I say there's milk all over Andrew's room. He closes the car door and continues talking on the phone. Right. It was an interesting start to the day. Once things were clean I calmly locked myself in my bedroom and took the longest shower possible so that I didn't have to talk to anyone in my family. Feel the love.

Does it get any cuter?

I had to post these pics of Lolo. Seriously, does it get any cuter?

I am a total idiot. I've decided to get back into the blog and for crying out loud I can't remember my freaking log in. AHHH. It has taken me 20 minutes to figure out how to recover my password! (AGAIN) It's a good thing I didn't go into computers.

So onto more important things like what's new with us. We currently have our house on the market. Good timing, I know. We thought we had it sold, went through the negotiations, etc. however they had to back out at the last minute due to financing...great. So we're back to square one. Does anyone want to buy our house?

Otherwise, not much else is new. Andrew is getting big. He informed me today that he wanted to go outside (in the rain) in his shirt and big boy underwear. I told him that wasn't going to happen. He proceeded to tell me, I'm going to hit you. That's just great.

Lolo is getting big. She now eats butternut squash, carrots, and peas. I don't think she cares what it is as long as she's putting it into her mouth and it's at a rapid pace. The girl can eat. I wonder where she gets that from. I'll try to take some pics tonight and post them so you can all get a feel.
I wish I knew how to do video on this, because dinner around these parts is always interesting. I've got Bobo trying to "help" with all the preparations, Lolo crying in her high chair because apparently she's starving, and Nick saying, "What can I do?" Seriously.

So now that I think I have my sign in and password under control, I'm logging out. Now I need help with how to add my friends...this could be another torturous round at the computer for me.

Having quite a few technical errors

So, for those of you reading this you might be wondering why I didn't send out my blog address when I made my initial post...well let me tell you. I couldn't figure out how to get back in. I kept forgetting my password and then when I would try and recover it, I couldn't figure out how to do that. I know that I may sound very slow, but I tell you it wasn't easy. I'm finally back on and I know our password and I know how to get in. Yeah!
Not much else is new. I'm headed back to work tomorrow (ugh!) The kids are starting new day-care (let's cross our fingers), and Nick is still working hard. SO...now that I know how to get back in, I'll write more later. :)

We're all about family!

The title of our blog came to us from our son, Andrew. For my birthday this year LeAnne bought me several decorative blocks that spell FAMILY. One night at dinner, not too long after we displayed the blocks in the kitchen Andrew looked up and said family. (We had told him what it said, he's not that much of a genius)Nick said, "Yeah, we're all about family." Andrew proceeded to go around the table and list who was about family. It sounded something like, "I'm all about family, daddy's all about family, & mommy's all about family." We said who else is all about family, and he said, "Oh yeah, Lauren's all about family too!" (Sorry Lauren you were left out at first...)He said it with such enthusiasm and joy we couldn't stop smiling about it. So that's where our blog name came from. We hope you enjoy reading about our family.