Who is this kid?

Since January 20th, I have noticed a change in Jaina's reading habits......

Before January 20, here are the titles of the books she brought home to read:

Fancy Nancy - Delectable Cupcakes
Popcorn
Fancy Nancy - Heart to Heart
A Present for Grandfather

Notice something?  No, nothing of note really....

But since January 20th, the list looks like this:

Washington D.C.
New York
Pochahontas
The Four Oceans
Mexico
Amelia Earhart
Clara Barton
Great Lakes
Niagra Falls
Mae Jemison
Rocky Mountains
Masschusetts
And Mike's personal favorite...... FOG

Someone has decided she LOVES non-fiction.

Wow.

Yep, she's my kid.

Operation save Henry.

We have a problem. His name is Henry.

He is a sad little African violet. I inherited him from darcy. Actually I inherited him from Steph. Who got him from darcy

And my violet, Lucy is doing very well in her new home. See how happy she is?

But Henry is sad. And sad flowers don't like to grow. So Henry moved with me. And we will see. Steph's office (or cubicle really) is so cold. So we will hope. Climate change helps Henry. I will keep you posted

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Blog world! 

The Groen family is jumping into 2012 with both feet.

Our Holidays were fantastic. 

Jaina asked Santa for one thing..... Cowgirl boots.   And Santa delivered....

And Jackson re-fell in love with cars, and trucks, and pretty much anything else that has an engine.

And more at home :)

What could have been....

I don't know if anyone else every walks down memory lane, since the year is ending, it is always a good time to wax nostalgic.

Growing up, I knew exactly the type of man I would marry. He would be blond, incredibly good looking, perfect teeth, and very preppy. After he was done growing up, he would see the error of his ways from chasing "models" and attention starved children, to see that I was perfect wife material.

Together, we would explore the world, one country at a time, and I would be whisked to exotic places like California, and New Hampshire. And we would have perfect blond haired, blue eyed children, and life would be perfect. He would be athletic, and did I mention preppy?  Totally dug preppy. They were the "good" boys.

And the man I did marry?

Blond?  Nope, except as an infant
Incredibly good looking? To me, yes, Check
Perfect teeth? Um, not exactly, but mine aren't either, and dental insurance rocks
Preppy? Never in a million years

Exotic Travel?  Kind of, but only through hard work, no whisking away here.
Perfect blond haired, blue eyed children?  Nope, but I did get perfect for me children with the MOST beautiful brown eyes, the kind you want to melt into. (And impossible to say no to, I might add.)
Athletic?  As in, likes watching?  Then check.
Preppy?  Again, heck no.

So, in a typical movie, here would be the segue into what the "other" guy is doing. Scanning through hundreds of "potentials" on the internet, this is what my "dream" husband is up to these days...

 - Taking constant pictures of himself.
 - Fake tanning, and bleaching his teeth.
 - Still chasing the perfect woman
 - Spending obscene amounts of money on things I would hate
 - Showing off children to ensure that "Hey, see how much they look like me?"

My actual husband is....

 - Being a good father to our two children
 - Supporting me in my day to day activities, and constantly building me up
 - Showing me what it means to be a loving partner, spouse, and man of God
 - Showing me exotic adventures, even if it is just picking up toys at the end of a long day
 - Being my best friend.

So, if you ever even think that God doesn't know what he is doing, trust me, He does.

I love you Mike!

Introducing.....

I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family. Starsky is his name,and mischevious is his game.

Okay - a little backstory.....

Starsky got his name from me. I know that the kids are supposed to name them, but frankly, I want a dog, and I told Mike that if we EVER get a dog, I am naming him Starsky. Or Hutch. Not sure yet. Since Mike has made it clear that we will NOT be getting a dog (he is pretty smart, and know he would end up taking care of it), the elf inherited the name. So THERE!

Anyway, Starsky came at the end of November, and has been a sneaky little elf the entire time.  At first he was shy, and stuck to our living room.

But then....he just got sneaky......

And then he did it....... Jaina was SO mad..... he "wrapped" our tree in Toilet Paper....

Naughty little elf.....

Wonder where all of that creativity comes from?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! (Yes I am shouting because I like to keep the CHRIST in Christmas.)

Here is my little analogy for keeping Christ in Christmas......

So you take Christ out of Christmas and replace it with X-Mas.

Hmmm okay.... X, for What?

Oh right, for Cross-Mas....  So nice try nay-sayers. You cannot take Christ, or the Cross, out of Christmas.



So what is new with you?

What is new with us?  Not much, it has been a pretty typical December.   Busy Busy Busy with all sorts of things Christmas related, and trying to get other stuff done in between.

So, to go back a few steps.  Jackson has never been a super happy kid. Since 6 weeks old, he has been CRABBY.  There are a lot of days in which this feels like ALL he is. To be completely truthful, there are a lot of times I have difficulty remembering when he was NOT crabby.

But he turned 1, and I thought we might turn a corner. Turned out he had some pretty severe reflux, and because it had gone on a long time, he had some pain. Several weeks of therapy later, and he started eating pudding.  For those of you who have never had to experience this, this is actually progress. And now we have moved on to a lot of other things, but he has NEVER been a huge eater.

So we move to this weekend. Jackson was crabby (not all that surprising), not sleeping through the night (Jaina did this at a similar age), and not eating (again, reflux.)  So I thought we would get through it, but he just kept getting worse. So I took him to accute care, and lo and behold, he has strep. 

The guilt I feel is pretty strong. Where were my instincts? Why did I not think to check it out this weekend?  Why did I wait until Mike told me?

I try not to beat myself up too much. We do the best we can, right?

Anyway, that's where my head is at this evening. Sorry for the downer.

Someday, they will pose

This is what happens when attempting to take pictures of my sassy, photogenic-but-dont-yet-know-it children.

(Jaina actually likes to pose, in case you couldn't tell)

Finally, I got one I decided to use......

Merry Christmas!