A note about how everyone is nicer than me!

Paola is pretty darn awesome.  The longer we live here, the more amazed I am.  It has also been a bit humbling… I majorly need to 'up my game' when it comes to being a friend. Don't get me wrong, I have always cared deeply about others, and I try to be a good friend.  But I kinda suck compared to everyone we have met since moving here! We have simply been floored by the generosity and thoughtfulness that we have felt.  There's been way too many instances to list them all… but I'll give some recent examples.

What this cookie needs… is MORE sprinkles

Last week the kids and I were invited over to the Black's house to decorate cookies.  Meagan had prepared the cookie dough, had icing of every color, and a plethora or cookie cutters and decorating paraphernalia. I brought a few jars of sprinkles. Red, Green, and yellow (for good measure) and it's not like I went out of my way.  I already had the sprinkles sitting in my cabinet. Course Meagan already had about 5 jars of waaaay better sprinkles.  Ones shaped like Christmas lights and multi-colored shakers.  Anyways, she opened her home (not to mention fed us dinner) and then proceeded to let her daughter as well as my 5 and 2 year old roll, cut, bake, and decorate sugar cookies.  As you can imagine the process was very clean, there was no mess at all.  Then at the end of the evening, Meagan sent us home with a tupperware full of cookies (and told us to keep the decorative tupperware) and THANKED US for coming.  What?? Why are YOU thanking ME? Did we not just crash your home, eat your food and then make out like bandits with your delicious cookies? I mean really, have I ever been this nice to anyone??

NonaJane, Jack, and Bella working on the cookies

I was proud of these… so much so that I needed to take a picture

Last night we were invited over to the Richter's house for dinner.  I thought I would up my game, so I brought two little gifts that I had seen on Facebook.  I cleverly placed a can of pop in a canning jar, then with twine I tied on a miniature bottle of liquor. "Enjoy a drink on us! Merry Christmas from the Schwatken's".  I also made a delicious dessert to share after the meal.  I was feeling pretty confident that we weren't going to be bummer dinner guests.  Upon arriving there was a spread of appetizers on the table, drinks were offered (I admit I had half of a hard apple cider and it was delicious. Sorry Matthew for being baby #3.)  The meal was delicious- smothered pork chops, green beans and mashed potatoes.  After dinner, they said "kids.. do you want to open some presents??"  They had wrapped special gifts for Jack, NonaJane, AND MATTHEW!!! All we had brought was some lousy liquor.. and in miniature bottles! What good is that?  Her kids may never forgive us.  Luckily Grace's birthday is around the corner so we can attempt to redeem ourselves.

NonaJane, Jack, Grace and Bella

We also went with the Black's to see the Christmas train ( I did take Grace along with us.. so I suppose that was nice…).  I volunteered to drive since I now have a vehicle that seats 7! ( look at me.. doubly nice right?? yeah, well then Meagan went and bought all the kids bags of kettle corn. See what I mean? Super generous)  The Christmas train is the same one that goes to Union Station, but we were able to see it down here in Drexel.  BEST THING EVER. There was NO line.  We literally walked thru the train twice without waiting.  Then we went and sat on Santa's lap (after waiting for about 2 minutes in line).  This experience was a million times more enjoyable than going to Union Station during Christmas time.  Every year we have tried the Union Station thing. I have had some delusion that it would be like a Christmas movie, but it turns out to be a crowded hell hole.  We get nowhere near Santa, we squeeze thru crowds, and leave bitter and hungry.  Well NO MORE! Thank you small town, thank you very much.

Grace and Jack with Santa (Jack is anti-sit on Santa's lap)

I have also started to find that everyone is really connected to someone else in this town. Someone is so and so's cousin, or brother in law, or best friend.  Everywhere we go I am starting to have people smile and say hi to me. (Sometimes this is bad because my brain can't keep up with all the new names and faces. Did I meet them at church? Work, Jack's school…. ahhh!)  I even had a stranger at church tell me she already knew who I was, and knew the kids' names because she had heard about us!  (that sounds creepy now.. but I think it was a good thing really).    Either way, she offered coloring books to my kids and that was a blessing.  We even got a handwritten card from someone (whom we don't know) in the church saying how "wonderful it was to see our young family at service".  What is the proper response to this.. do I send a card back? Do I hunt them down at church and thank them? Or do I just take the kind words and let it make my day?
Anyhoo.. I think the moral of the story is that everyone is nicer than me. I'm not exactly sure why they even invite us over!  BUT, perhaps in time these qualities will rub off on me and I too will be the type of friend and neighbor that welcomes people to the community. Just let it be known, if you are reading this and a friend of mine… that I appreciate you.  I appreciate the thoughtfulness, the words, and the actions of others.  Hopefully in time, they will feel it all reciprocated back!

Jack, Grace, and Wesley. The "three amigos" of Sonshine Pre-school

Sweet Moments with NonaJane

Family Pictures 2014

We had our pictures taken in late October. We were lucky to get them in with how RAINY it was all month. On the good side, our pond filled up. On the bad side, we had to cancel our pictures three times before finally getting them done. But the result was well worth it!! I was 23 weeks along with Matthew T in these pictures. NonaJane was a complete doll thru out the photo session… we shared these with Hoffman (Jack's agency) and are thinking if NonaJane shows interest we may sign her up when she turns 4 as well.

Thank you little car!

Our new (and pleasantly used) 2008 Acadia!!

Well the $1,000 dollar car has given us a great year. Can you believe it?? We drove it for a full year! Admit it, you all thought I was crazy last year when I sold my car and bought this.  Well, it may have squeaked over every bump, and squealed around the turns, but this car was GOOD to us. Technically we still have it, and Adam has been driving it to work and back to save miles off the truck. It doesn't have carseats in it anymore so it doesn't get used for daily stuff.  We can all thank Baby Matthew for the purchase of the Acadia. I came to the realization a month or more ago that three carseats were NOT going to safely fit across the backseat of the oldsmobile.  They do sell special 'narrow' carseats.  But I worried about Jack going into a booster, and then his head being right up next to his siblings plastic carseat… then we realized that the seat belts in the back were stretched from having held in carseats for so long.. that they lacked the spring reaction to tighten up on their own when used for a booster.  It was kind of the final straw for me… just couldn't risk having my kids not be safe.
Nona and I will have fond memories of the time the giant spider made a web INSIDE the car and I got to fearfully whack it out of the car with a folder (only to then accidentally roll it up IN the window effectively squishing and smearing the spider remains across the window). NonaJane had the unpleasant honor of sitting by that window… and pointing out the "spider" each time we got in.  I know, I should have just washed it… but you couldn't really run the car thru a car wash because the doors didn't properly seal. I wasn't about to hand wash it (blame the pregnancy).
I also have new found appreciation for heated seats, and doors that actually seal. We no longer need to pile under blankets for a car ride.

But, we absolutely can NOT complain. We had the Oldsmobile for a year, Adam replaced the brakes, and we had the oil changed and tires rotated.  We drove over 13,000 miles, and didn't have a single mechanical problem.  Not many cars that you can say that about with 212,000 miles on them!
So here is hoping that the Acadia will treat us well. That it will keep our family safe, and provide us with the ability to give rides to our little friends as well!

Giving our friend, Grace, a ride home from Kingdom Kids. (And NonaJane with full blown pink eye…)

Thanksgiving 2014

The youngest: Nolan (2) Luella (3) and NonaJane (2)

We took the Acadia on it's first big trip just 2 short days after purchasing it! We headed out on Monday evening towards Wisconsin, but decided to make a two day trip out of it and stopped in Iowa at a hotel. The kids had a blast swimming in the pool, we all enjoyed a good nights sleep and a pretty darn good complimentary breakfast.  We were able to make it to Mark and Katie's by 1:30 on Tuesday!  It was definitely a calmer Thanksgiving this year with no babies in the house. In fact, there weren't even any diapers in the house! All grandkids are potty trained, eating real food, and sleeping in big kid beds.  But no worries, baby Matthew will change that up for next Thanksgiving.

Clearly having a stressful day… not

Katie, as usual, cooked a delicious spread every day.  We had the classic Thanksgiving Feast on Wednesday, and enjoyed the leftovers on Thursday.  I think my favorite this year was actually the Turkey! It was super good!  We watched our usual "Christmas Vacation" and also managed to see "Home Alone" as well as "Elf". Jack refused to watch "Home Alone" because he doesn't like the part where the burglars go thru a string of injuries. Particularly the part where he steps on the nail.  I'll chalk it up to him having a tender heart.  But am thinking he went a little far with that one.  Anyways, as I'm sure you can tell, it was a very stressful few days :) There was a nice amount of alcohol, games, and laughter. (I can still only imagine the stress though of being a host to 8 adults and 8 kids for 3-4 days!) We continue to be so thankful to Mark and Katie for hosting Thanksgiving each year. I believe this was the 5th year?? All I know is that the entire Crabb family looks forward to Thanksgiving each year… in all honesty it just might be my favorite holiday.  What is better than the entire clan coming together, the simplicity of food, relaxation, and time together?
 

Family movie night. Nolan and NonaJane on the floor. Then from left to right is Adam, Me, Jack, Julie, Luella, Katie, Hudson, Mema, Henry, Ethan, Michael, and Everett

Things weren't always as calm in the "kid zone"

The miniatures table

Mark carving the turkey

Wisconsin had some beautiful snow fall while we were there, and the kids played outdoors twice a day.    I was excited that Jack and NonaJane got some time in the snow, seeing as we haven't had any yet back in Kansas.

Everett even got an honest to goodness STRIKE!

On Wednesday when Katie was in the midst of major cooking, we cleared the house out by taking half the household to see a movie, and the other half went bowling. We were part of the bowling crew. My parents and Everett chose to come with us, which I was pretty excited about. I haven't had much opportunity to have time with Everett, and he was excellent company!
We made the journey home on Friday, and it was pretty darn smooth sailing for a 9 1/2 hour trip! Would you believe that NonaJane wore big girl undies the whole car trip there, all week, and the whole trip home without a single incident.  I think she has got the real hang of it :)

snacking… always snacking… and drinking

Now if we could get her to stop playing with the straw and lid until her water spills all over her and she rides home in a soaking wet car seat...

Our Jack Jack

 A few weeks ago I was having a pretty upsetting/stressful day at work.  Then when I went to pick NonaJane up from the sitter.  I was told (and shown) how she had bitten the other little girl (sorry to throw you under the bus NJ, just telling the day how it was). Apparently Nona had become irate when the other little girl turned the TV off (as she had been told to do). But NonaJane doesn't always like to follow the rules, and her poor little explosion of frustration could only be managed by a flesh clinching bite. (At least I assume this must have been how she felt).  SO by the time I picked Jack up from school… I was feeling a little down.  We jumped in the car, and I unzipped his backpack to find this note
         "Jack is such a joy to have at Sonshine. He is a great friend to others" with a big smiley face adorning the note.

Translation "Baby Matthew, your family loves you"

This little note was a bright shining star on a day that had otherwise gone to hell in a hand-basket.  Jack has always had a way of doing that. He brightens the room, and you can always count on his tender heart and big brain to cheer you up anytime of the day.  I swear he tells me at least 10 times a day how much he loves me.  Lately he always follows it with "but I Love Jesus MORE".  Not sure if he was taught this at Sunday school, or at pre-school… but he now feels it necessary to clarify his level of love for me.  I smile and tell him "of course" but the terrible side of me is a tad bit jealous of Jesus :)  I hear Jack telling NonaJane daily that he loves her too. He hugs on her and includes her in his play. He tells me how excited he is for baby Matthew to be born (which he so cleverly spells as Mathu… can't really argue that now can you?)  Now don't get me wrong, Jack will occasionally hit NonaJane, he jumps on the couch, and attempts to sneak candy canes off the tree… but really, that's about the extent of it.  He has even jumped on board the parenting train and tried to help Adam and I out with rationalizing with Nona "Nona, you chose to ride in the cart with me, you have to sit down" or "Nona, you can't have your dessert because you didn't eat your oranges." It surprises me that he sticks his neck out there to reason with NonaJane, because it usually results in a rather large back lash from his sister "JACKKKKKK!!! I don't sit, EVER!" or "JACKKKKK NO!!!!!"  but he stays calm and will attempt to reason from a different angle "but if you don't sit you could fall," or "I didn't get my dessert either because I don't like oranges".

After Thanksgiving, Jack was very eager to write his Christmas list.  By eager, I should probably say he was having a mild anxiety attack.  He was panicked that he would change his mind, ask for something that he wouldn't really like, or that Santa would not put him on the nice list (which was simply crazy talk).   I think we had to have at least 3 heart to hearts that all would work out, that Santa would surely have him on the nice list, and that he had plenty of time to write and make changes to his Christmas list.  Well this zealous 5 year old little boy jumped on the computer, went to Toys R Us, and started internet shopping.  When he found a picture of a toy he liked, he would copy down the name of it onto his Christmas List.  In a word for word EXACT manner. Such as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Movie Basic Action Figure Donatello".  Lord Help Santa Clause to bring him the exact item he asked for- because we all know he won't forget (and of course there are a million different teenage mutant ninja turtle action figures.) I asked Jack to confirm with me which picture was the one he wanted, he explained to me with all his wisdom that I really didn't need to worry about it. He would show me which one it is when Santa brings it for him!
 Jack's Hallmark pictures that he took in the Spring have also started popping up on the Hallmark website. Which has been really fun and exciting! Now I have to periodically check into the Hallmark website, because they don't notify you or anything.  Hopefully I haven't missed any!