No time to chat...

...busy busy here. We are busy preparing for BFWW's visit for Thanksgiving. And I am soooooooooooooooo excited that they are coming! We are working on getting the house clean and planning our Thanksgiving Day menu which consists of 11 side dishes (with the possibility of 12) along side our 22.53 pound turkey named "Yummy the Large." (don't ask, we always name our turkeys...) Along with BFWW and family, we are hosting friends, Joy and James, so all together we will have 6 adults and 4 young children. Yes, you are correct, that is a TON of food, but you can never have too many leftovers.

But, enough chit chat. I have to get back to it so I can have everything ready for their arrival. I will be sure to post after the weekend about how much food and fun we had.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday, Elise!

Elise Susan is 2 today! It seems like a lifetime ago that I checked into the hospital that crisp November morning when she was born. But, at the same time, I can't believe she is 2 already. With all the complications and scares we had with her during my pregnancy, we were so thankful when they doctor announced she was a healthy little (4 lbs!) girl. We were so very happy that day and have been blessed every day since then with her in our lives.

Happy Birthday, sweet Elise!

"Mother of the Year" I am not - #2

Last night I laid awake in bed listening to my child make a pitiful, sleepful whining noise off and on for a couple hours. It was not a true cry - it just seemed like maybe she was dreaming or uncomfortable and would eventually fall back asleep. I knew if I got up to check on her, she would not let me go back to bed without her screaming because I dared leave her alone while she was awake. So, I opted to let her work it out on her own and she did finally quiet down.

At 8:00 this morning, she was still not awake so I went in to get her up and ready to leave the house. As soon as I walked into her room, I knew that I should have gotten up with her last night. There was my sweet little girl sleeping in a large dried puddle of her own vomit.

Halloween Pics

Here are some pictures from Halloween. I told myself that my children wouldn't go trick-or-treating until they could actually say "trick or treat," but Jer was pretty excited about taking her and we got a free hand-me-down costume from my sister so I gave in. I didn't feel so bad after I saw the adult couple with their two dressed up dogs going from house to house. If they can get candy, why can't my mute 23 1/2 month old get some, too?

Elise appeared to have a good time. She couldn't say "trick or treat," but she didn't seem to have any trouble reaching into the neighbors bowls of candy to get a handful for her pumpkin. And she really enjoyed wearing her cat costume. She even insisted on wearing it the next day. She had a hard time carrying her pumpkin and ended up dropping it and spilling all the candy more than a few times, but we picked it up and continued on our way. It was a fun evening and I know that Jer and Elise are counting down the days until the next Halloween. (okay, okay, and me, too.)

Quick Halloween Candy Stealing Survey

I'm taking a quick survey of parents. Jeremy and I got into a discussion last night about parents and their children's Halloween candy. I was pretty excited that this year Elise has no concept of her candy missing so I felt like I could eat whatever I wanted without upsetting her. Jer said this was the last year we could do that since she will know what is going on next year and it was mean to steal our kids' candy. I remember my mother eating my Halloween candy and if I protested, she would just say, "Oh, I'll buy you some more later." And of course, I never saw that candy again.

So, my survey is as follows:

1. Do you eat your kids' Halloween candy?
2. If yes, do you steal it while they are sleeping or do you ask them if you can have some?
3. Do your children willingly offer some to you or do you have to fight with them over it?
4. Do you think it is cruel to steal it while they are sleeping?
5. What is your favorite Halloween candy?

I'm Back!

Hello, again! I have been away from my blog for a while, but I suppose it's time to start up again. Nothing too exciting has happened at Casa de Kooistra, so you haven't missed anything while I have been absent.

I was recently up north to visit family and friends and had a nice time. Spent a lot of time out in NW Indy with my sister and nieces. Elise had a blast and started talking a little more while being around them. (It's true what they say, "be careful what you wish for.") "Noooooo," can now be heard constantly throughout our household. After several days at sis's, we headed out to my dad and stepmom's beautiful new house they just built. Elise had a ton of fun exploring the place and spent most of her time inside their large pantry. We had a nice dinner over at my grandma's with Aunt Jan, Uncle Jim, my cousin Kristen, and Kristen's daughter, Jazmine. And, I was able to spend lots of quality time with BFWW. Elise and I had a great time and she was absolutely wonderful on the car ride up and back. I couldn't have asked for her to be more cooperative and well behaved that long in the car.

Elise and I both caught colds while we were up there and are still trying to fight them off. We did, however, sneak in a little trick or treating last night. I will be posting some pictures and telling all about it a bit later, so check back to see how that went.

It's good to be back in the blogosphere! Looking forward to keeping you more regularly updated.