My mini vacation with the kids

Ben was in Vegas this week for work, I decided to take the kids up to my sister's so we could finally take them to Lincoln Park Zoo.  We left late Tuesday afternoon, and got to Crown Point in time to have dinner and hang out a bit before bed time. I originally planned on sleeping in one room with Maddie, and having Josh in the other room, but the kids had other ideas.  They slept in the room Melissa has with a trundle bed. After about 30 minutes or so, they finally fell asleep.  It was so cute peeking in on them sleeping there together!

It was off to the zoo on Wednesday.  We could not have asked for a better day!  It was 76 degrees and sunny, with a slight breeze.  Perfect Zoo weather!!  We saw our favorite seals, ostriches, zebras, lions, tigers, etc... The kids had a blast, but I think Josh enjoyed the drive in better. He wants to ride a boat on the lake, take the subway in, go to the top of all the tall buildings.  He was loving every minute of it!

Melissa had meetings all day today, so we took off back to Indianapolis.  It was a short trip.  So I decided to take the kids to Fair Oaks Farms.  It was an interesting place, and I do want to go back.  It's one of the largest dairy farms in the world, with 9 families of farmers combining to create this one dairy experience.  We took the bus tour out to the milking area, where we saw the gigantic turntable the cows walk onto to be milked.  Then we went to the birthing barn.  They have about a cow an hour born at the farm!  When we went, a calf had just been born, and another cow was in active labor. I would have stayed for the birth, but Maddie was making it difficult.  The ask you to be quiet in the birthing barn, and Maddie kept saying very loudly "She's poopin'! The cow is poopin'!" So we went to the play area. They had all sorts of stuff for the kids to play on.  The video at the top is Josh jumping on the trampoline/bungee thing, but PLEASE watch it on mute!  If you don't, you will hear Maddie crying.  There was a minimum weight requirement of 40lbs to participate, and she is NO WHERE near that! I've attached other photos below from the other stuff they played on at the farm.

All in all, it was a good trip! We had a good time, but we are ready for Ben to be home (me especially!)

Fair Oaks Farm

Busy months

The past few months have been busy ones in the groff household. Josh finished up his last days of preschool, and we are now prepping him for kindergarten in the fall. I can't believe he will be old enough for that! He attended his first camp this summer, and loved it! It met every day for four weeks! They just had their last day last week, ending with a pizza/pool party.

Maddie shocks me everyday with her vocabulary and ability to put together sentences. It was a struggle to get Josh to use 2 word phrases at this age! I guess that's the benefit of having an older brother that you love to be with! Where ever he is, she wants to be there too! Aunt Barbie recently took Josh to see Cars 2, and as they walked out the door, she cried "I wanna go too!!"

We are finishing up our July 4th celebrations, and I, as always, am reflecting on the fact that my mom has been gone 3 years. I miss her so much, and wish she would have gotten to meet Maddie.

Here is a link to our latest photo shoot, which we did while up in Michigan recently with my niece, Ellie! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/aVdWqUsLUabGoO6IaU1To_a_b5YtjwgX8dQJ0nep2jo?feat=directlink

A Conversation with Maddie

This should fit!

I sometimes wonder what goes through a little boys mind.  I have managed to not have to go to the ER with Joshua for 5.5 years.  Well, until today that is.

He had just gotten home from school, Maddie wasn't even up from her nap yet.  He ran into the "lego room" (better known as a dining room) to start constructing something wonderful, I'm sure.  Not 2 minutes later, I hear him screaming and crying.  I run in there, and he looks at me with terror in his eyes and says "There's a lego stuck in my nose!"

So I ask what color the lego was.  His response was "glass." This lets me know it was a clear lego, and thus very difficult to see up one's nostrils.  I looked up his nose (while he was screaming, and I have had a migraine all day today), and I couldn't see it.  I tried having him blow his nose, hoping the offending lego would fly out, but no such luck.

So I run upstairs to grab Maddie, who is now awake from the screaming, out of her crib.  We all pile into the car, and I go to my friend Lisa's house to drop off Maddie.  I call Ben to let him know that he has to leave work and get Maddie (Lisa had to take her kids to soccer).

Josh and I make it to the ER, and of course, everyone has had an emergency that night.  We wait about 2 hours before we get back to the room.  I think the doctor must have gone into emergency medicine for the exciting traumas, because he did not look thrilled to be participating in the lego extraction.  Luckily, the lego had not gone too far up in his nose.  They took this little tube, which had a balloon on the end of it, and shoved it up his nose.  They inflated the balloon, and out shot the clear, blue lego.

I feel he has learned his lesson.  We came home, he had some tylenol (by this time he had a headache and was tired), and he barely ate dinner.  The whole extraction process took at most 2 minutes. And what was Josh's response after it was removed? "MOM! I can smell again!!!"

Bad Weather

 
 
We have been having lots of rain the past few weeks. In fact, I can't remember the last time it didn't rain at some point during the day. Last night, along with the rain, came some pretty strong winds. I thought I heard cracking, but wasn't sure, and didn't see much when we looked out the window other than the odd blue colored lighting. When I finally looked out the window this morning I saw 2 huge branches on the ground and discovered where they had snapped off. I do believe these trees are too large for me to deal with, so I guess I will be calling a tree service. I might as well have them look at all the trees, just in case one is dying and I don't realize it!

Maddie's birthday,Easter eggs, and Easter morning

April has been a busy month for us! I made Maddie pancakes for her birthday, and continued the Mickey theme with the pancakes. She received a Minnie dress from the Keiskers, and she looks so cute in it! We also dyed Easter eggs this week to pass the time during all of the rain we've been having.
Easter weekend, Abbie and her boyfriend, Sam and Craig, and Ben's parents came down to celebrate Easter with us this year. The kids had a blast looking for eggs that morning, and we followed it up with a yummy Easter brunch. It was nice to celebrate the holiday with all of the family.

Maddie's Birthday Party

Maddie had a Mickey and Minnie themed birthday this year. I still can't believe she's 2! Our neighborhood friends came over, as well as Caryn, Dustin, and Logan and Aunt Barb. The cupcakes were a hit, and Maddie had a good time. Please take note of her outfit. She is my little fashionista, and she dressed herself that morning. I couldn't argue with the party girl!

Getting Ready

I have started to prep for Maddie's Mickey and Minnie birthday party tomorrow.  I can't believe she's gonna be 2! I decided for her birthday to make cream filled cupcakes.  I hope that are as good as they look!

Dancin' Queen!

Maddie has been singing and dancing a lot lately. So I tried to get a quick video of it tonight.  Of course, I haven't figured out how to flip the video so it's right side up, and if you can ignore Archie trying to get into to the picture, you can hear Maddie.  Ben's helping her out by playing the maraca.

Josh started soccer for the spring season.  His coach is very organized and has the kids doing drills and learning the terms, which has been great.  I was excited that he expressed interest in it again!

Archie's first haircut

Archie got his first haircut today.  He looks like a poodle now!  The groomers were great with him, and overall the experience was fine.  His fur is so soft now, it just begs to be petted!

Sickness strikes again!

And both kids are sick.  As you can see in the picture, Maddie's eyes are disgusting.  The doctor said that the eyes weren't pink, but with that much goop (and no ear infection), it was more than likely pink eye.  So she got eye drops.
Meanwhile, Josh has had a fever and says his "neck hurts."  I had heard strep was going around, so I got him in first thing this morning. (I should have asked about a 2 for 1 special) Low and behold, he has strep.  And to my surprise, Maddie had a fever (which she hadn't up to this point), and the doctor was concerned that strep was not too far in her future.  So both were prescribed amoxicillin, and I will give it to Maddie if she continues to worsen.

Because of all of the illness, I was unable to watch much of the Superbowl.  And since it was Ben's birthday, and the Packers are his favorite team, he was glued to the TV.  I'm glad he got his birthday wish and that the Packers won!

Ice Ice Baby

Need I say more?

Maddie's First Dance Class

I knew that I wanted to get Maddie into a gymnastics or dance class soon, and when a Groupon was available for a local dance facility, I jumped on it to see if Maddie would enjoy dance class. She loves music, and is always "dancing" around when she hears music.

I took her to her first class this past Saturday. The class was a success! She hesitated just a bit at the beginning, but by the end of class she was taking the teachers hand and trying to follow the other girls. I loved watching her, and took some short videos with my phone so Ben could watch her enjoy the class.

Been a long time...

It has been some time since my last post. Not sure why - perhaps the craziness that comes with the holidays, or the seemingly constant sickness that travels around the house. But whatever the case - I'm long overdue for a blog update.

The biggest news in the Groff household is our newest member - Archimedes! He is a black standard poodle that is about 14 weeks old.

It's not the best picture, but it's what I have right now. I have noticed I take a lot less pictures with 2 kids than I did when it was just Josh. Throw a puppy into the mix, and forget it!
You may be wondering where we came up with Archimedes. Well, I thought we needed a dog name that a)fulfilled the requirements of an appropriate "poodle" name, b)could be shortened for a nickname, and c)had something to do with Ben and I. Since Archimedes was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer, it seemed fitting. And it can be shortened to Archie!
His is fitting in nicely with the family. He thinks he is a lap dog, which is fine now, but when he gets to be about 50 lbs, I may have to make him rethink that. Josh LOVES to play with him. Archie tends to think Josh is a litter mate, and nips at him, but I am hoping with training he will stop that. Maddie likes him, but she has a personal space bubble of about 6 feet, so when she feels he is invading that, and she doesn't want him, you tend to hear "NO Archie!". If he is near a toy of hers, then you hear "NO Archie, Mine!". I guess she is the alpha dog!

The kids are doing well. Josh is still enjoying school, and will be playing soccer this spring. Maddie's vocabulary is increasing slowly (though she picked up Archie quick!). I signed her up for 'Lil Steppers dance class today. It meets on Saturdays. She seems to love to dance, so I thought she might get a kick out of this. We will see how it goes.

The sickness strikes the house

Ben was unlucky enough to get sick while on a business trip. I got sick right when we got back from a weekend in Chicago. I was hoping it would avoid the kids.

It didn't.

2 am, I hear Josh crying loudly. I get in his room, and sure enough - he's gotten sick. He proceeded to get sick 11 more times over the next 5 hours. I wanted so badly to take away the pain, but there was nothing I could do but rub his back and comfort him. He's finally asleep, and I am hoping he doesn't get sick anymore today, but I know he won't feel well. Looks like we are going to have a movie day today!

Here's hoping for a healthy Christmas!

First Craft Project of the season

I always seem to do some sort of craft project during this time of year. Last year I made a wreath and decorated ornaments. This year - it was tree skirts! I put a small tree in each kids room, and I decided that they needed tree skirts. I looked in the stores but a)they didn't have any small ones that I could find and b)I didn't want something so fancy.
So, knowing that my grandma has made all of our tree skirts out of felt, I went on a mission to get felt and items to decorate the felt skirts with. I am pleased with the results. The skirts are not fancy, nor are they complicated, but I think they are perfect for my kiddos rooms!

I know the circles are not perfect, but I feel it adds to their charm!

He's 5!

I can't believe that 5 years ago today I gave birth to Joshua. I still remember how bruised his little face was from my rib cage! He's grown and changed so much over these years, but to me he's still my little bruised faced boy! He's funny, smart, charming, and polite. I see so much of his father in him, and yet he is his own person. I'm proud of the boy he is, and I can't wait to see the man he becomes.

I love you Joshua!

Josh's 5th Birthday Party

 
 
We celebrated Josh's birthday a few days early this year with a bunch of his buddies. This year, we held it at Recreation Unlimited, which is actually a showroom for Rainbow Playgrounds. They have about 15 playgrounds set up indoors that the kids can play on, plus trampolines, train tables, and cottages for the kids to play in. Needless to say, the kids had a blast. I am sure everyone will sleep well tonight. The most surprising thing for me was that Maddie was not afraid of the playgrounds! These were not small (one cost $25,000!), and she climbed right on up and would do the biggest slide down.
Josh had a ton of fun, loved all the cool gifts he got from his friends, and devoured the Whoopie Pies I made him. All in all, it was an excellent 5th birthday!

Happy Halloween!

Trick or treating was fun this year. Both kids got to go out and trick or treat, though Maddie only did a few houses. It seemed fitting that Maddie was a cow since we call her Maddie Moo. She did great, and didn't complain about the costume at all.

Josh was a spooky skeleton. He trick or treated with his buddies in the neighborhood, and dad, while I stayed back to hand out the candy. Don't worry - I wasn't alone! Maddie, Aunt Barb, and Franklin poodle helped pass out candy! I think some of the kids were more excited to see Franklin than the candy! Barb and I worked hard at passing out the candy and trying to stay warm at the same time. Our neighborhood is crazy about Halloween, and it's fun just to see what the kids AND the adults are wearing!

Groff Dance Party

It's pretty funny when they decide to just start dancing. Unfortunately here, they are dancnig to Miley Cyrus on Disney. I don't like the music, but I like to see them dance!