And the answer is...

Corner frosting on a cake I made for a baby shower for a colleague. It is her first baby and it was a surprise. She is due at the end of January and I am SOOOO GLAD that I had my babies in moderate temperature months...in GEORGIA! I can't imagine having a tiny baby in this cold :-)

"What is it?" Wednesday

Potty Training

We have finally begun in earnest with Ankica. She has been going on a regular basis at school and she did really well yesterday staying dry in undies. Not constant but at least she finally understood that wet was uncomfortable and not a wanted outcome.

I have ZERO patience for this kind of thing. Which is probably why BOTH of my girls are older than some of their young friends that are already potty trained.

Give me your children with algebra and chemistry problems. Let me teach them how to draw and bake and knit...but someone PLEASE potty train my girls for me! :-)

We will struggle through and it will happen eventually...Lord give me strength!

Christmas Vacation and Snow

I hate to say it but this is what I have been missing for about five years. Well, I guess there are layers to it. First, I have been missing the idea of Christmas vacation...the time off after a hard semester of work. I barely remember a time when I wasn't working on the semester schedule. It wasn't until after Ankica was born that I had a year round vacation from school. Now that I am back at it, it is sweet.

The second thing about today was the snow. It is snowing at a medium rate this morning and it looks like a snowglobe when we look outside. There was a bit of a blizzard two weeks ago so there was snow on the ground already but this week being the week of Christmas and with snow in the forecast for most of the days this week INCLUDING Christmas, well, it is just RIGHT for our first Christmas in Wisconsin as a family.

The next thing is the girls. Having them at an age where they want to go outside and play in the snow (sort of) is just the kind of thing I was waiting for. We were out early this morning because I got tired of the begging from the girls AND the dogs. The dogs were playing and enjoying the snow while I was holding Lillian's hand. She wasn't too keen on the deep snow in the backyard but Ankica was making snow angels. Suddenly Riley took me out at the knees and down I went. Thank goodness for the deep soft snow! Lillian was frantic but I just laughed :-) We were outside for a total of 15 minutes but everyone is suitably tired and the itch has been scratched.

At least for the morning.

Christmas Tree...when the kids help

Their new favorite movie

One day we turned on the T.V. and there it was "The Wizard of Oz". I wasn't sure how they would deal with it but they LOVED it. The next day Ankica asked for it. She knew how many friends there were and could name all of them. I was amazed. I told her we would have to buy it. She cried. I tried to make her feel better by looking through their videos to find a new favorite movie.

Low and behold. We already own Bizah da Boz. Just ask Lillian. She'll translate for you.

And the answer is...

A picture of the Christmas tree with no flash while moving :-)

"What is it?" Wednesday

Boy has it been a long time!!

The Day the Snow Stopped Us

I really didn't think the snow was that bad last Wednesday but apparently the University and even the Governor disagreed. Not that I was overly sad about it :-) Loran's work called him at 6:30am and we were up earlier than a normal day! I got alot accomplished with the day off and we didn't even have as much snow as places farther west in the state. This is the bush in our front yard. I bought some net lights and that was the only outdoor lights we got up this year.

Luckily our big upstairs window shows off the Christmas tree quite nicely. Unluckily there is a half strand of lights that died IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TREE. It looks good from the inside but I don't want to turn the tree. I need to buy a small strand of lights to overlap the dead part but I am sure I won't get to it before Christmas is over :-)

Christmas Letter

I realized today as I was writing my Christmas letter that if I don't keep up with my blog I won't remember what happened during the year! I looked back over the year and couldn't believe how much things have changed...and I was grateful for the time I took to write down my thoughts as we were making the transition.

And I really appreciate being able to see how important people and their families are changing and I need to keep up with this blog better for anyone that might care what is going on with us too.

So my New Year's resolution ( a bit early) is to be a better blogger. :-) We'll see how that goes!

Last class!

I just finished teaching my last class of my first semester!

Granted, I still have papers and assignments to grade, finals to write and then give and grade next week, but as for teaching classes and preparing lectures...

I AM DONE!!!

How do they do it?

I am missing Loran...he is in Madison for training. Granted it is better than him being in Georgia because if he NEEDED to he could be home in about an hour and I am not jealous that he is spending time with good friends.

He will be back on Friday, for which I am grateful, but it really makes me wonder how those amazing military moms do it. I know some and I think they are awesome! I know I could do it if I HAD to but...

Anyway, the visit with Julia was great. She came to school with me M-W and had a good time (I think :-) pretending to be a college kid. We went to Fond du Lac for Thanksgiving and spent W-Sat at my parents' house. It was alot of fun being with family and not feeling stressed about getting back home. I spent alot of time grading exams though :-)

We got our Christmas tree on Saturday and put it up on Sunday night but it is not decorated. It is, in fact, in the middle of the living room in a pile of needles. I don't think this tree wants to be a Christmas tree. It looks very sad. Ah well. Maybe it will look better with lights and ornaments. I am hoping to get some lights on it tomorrow night so that we can decorate it on Saturday with the girls.

No snow yet. We must have brought the Georgia weather with us because it has been a very mild fall so far. But I want snow for Christmas. Next week I think :-)

I have pictures but I never seem to get them uploaded. I need to put the software on my laptop so that I can bring the camera with me to work and get it done in my downtime here (oh, I am so FUNNY!).

I have 6 more articles to write to get to 200 on Associated Content. Technically I have written 202 but 8 of the articles were for AC partner sites. (Those were great...very lucrative...in fact, I passed the $1,000 mark a few weeks ago...)

What should I write about? I need IDEAS. I have some but they never seem to get on paper. I try to write for things that AC is looking for if I can but I have also thrown in my own stuff to make it easy now and again. If you haven't seen the site in a while, I have added some of the review sheets from my science classes just for fun. The link is over on the right :-)

I need new eyes. I have had these glasses for WAY too long and I realized last week that I can't see very far at all. So in two weeks I have an eye exam and then I just need to get new glasses. What was the name of that website Coralie? I know my mom would kill me (she is an optician) but I need to save some $$ until we sell that house in Georgia.

Anyone want to buy a home in Columbus Georgia? :-)

Chicken Strips and Dipping Sauce...Just Not the Same

I made some homemade cheesy breaded chicken strips and we had honey mustard (Sweet Baby Ray’s...pretty good) and Kraft Ranch Dressing and BBQ sauce. It was good. Loran will eat just about anything I put in front of him as long as I follow the rules. I won’t make anything I won’t eat. Ankica and Lillian have always liked breaded chicken and even Julia ate a few helpings (we have Julia until next Sunday...yea!)
One thing was missing though...one very major thing. Chick-Fil-A sauce. I LOVE that stuff! Seriously if anyone knows someone that works there (hint, hint) and they can get the secret recipe, or even just get us a supplier, I would be SO grateful :-)
Just another thing to miss about Columbus. Loran might miss “the South”, but I only knew Columbus and that is what I miss.
It should snow here this week, finally. It will be very cool because Julia is with us for the week so she can be part of the new annual FIRST SNOW traditions, whatever those turn out to be.
I am looking forward to the three days of work this week because Julia will be hanging out with me. It will be good for her to see what I do and what college is like a little bit (because she WILL be going someday) and it is always good to encourage her to see that there is more to life than job-hopping and minimum wage.

Super Ankica to the rescue!

That is a little line that Ankica likes to say sometimes and today it came true.

I washed the girls' hands after giving them some dough from the dinner rolls I was making and they were a mess. We washed hands and then I turned the light off and headed downstairs to watch some more of the Packer game.

We heard Ankica telling Lillian to come downstairs and as they were coming down, Ankica told Lillian she needed to come down in case she got a tummy ache. A red flag went up and I asked Ankica why Lilli would have a tummy ache. She said that Lillian ate something green from the bathroom. I immediately knew what it was and I smelled Lillian and ran upstairs. Sure enough, she had eaten some of the Scrubbing Bubbles toilet gel from the inside of the toilet.

I have a feeling that she had done it once before because I remember cleaning the toilet yesterday morning and thinking that the gel looked "smudged" and no one really uses that toilet but those thoughts came later. The side of the box said to drink water so we got Lillian drinking. I called Poison Control immediately and they quickly informed me that the chemical would not burn or be poisonous although the soap part could make her sick to her stomach. We had her drinking water, eating ice cream, and eating yogurt. She even ate a little at supper.

Lillian seems completely fine right now and now I know I need to keep a closer eye on "Trouble" but I am SO grateful that it wasn't worse and I am SO proud of Ankica and what she did for her little sister. They love each other so much!

Happy Birthday Loran!

Loran's birthday was on Friday and we had a little pumpkin spice cake and ice cream on Friday night and watched Monsters vs. Aliens and the preview to Caprica (Battlestar Galactica). Then on Saturday my mom and dad made a trek down to Platteville to see where I work and where we live. That was awesome! We had pizza and a red velvet cake that Loran requested. Then today I made the dinner I intended to make for the last two days: pork loin roast, clover leaf dinner rolls, carrots, potatoes, pumpkin spice cake, and warm orange cinnamon cider. MMMM!

I got Loran a snuggly in Packer material and a book...he loves to read and has more time than I do :-)

Happy Birthday Weekend Honey! I love you!

Thank You Veterans!

I am so blessed. I live in a country defended by (past, present, and future) some of the greatest people ever. I personally know so many veterans and I am grateful for each and every one of you!

Loran: I love you and THANK YOU for your service to our great nation, then and now.

One of the best things about living in Columbus Georgia was getting to meet so many AMAZING people in the military. Sean, Jeremy, Joe, Kelsey, Macks, Ira, Mark, Mr. A.T., Dr. Bryson, Jim (and maybe Mike)...I apologize if I am forgetting anyone! What great people...I was truly blessed to have spent time with all of them and their families. As is the way of the military, many of them have even moved on since we met. GOD BLESS YOU ALL! Especially those of you still overseas.

My family is full of veterans and active military as well: David, Paul, Grandpa, Dad M., Doug, Uncle Marty, Jeremy, Bobby, Dr. Holte (close enough to family).

I heard a Red Skelton clip on FLR this morning talking about the Pledge of Allegiance. Very moving. I am going to observe Veteran's Day at 11am here on campus with an event the Veteran's club is sponsoring. There are 170 students on campus who are veterans, including the President and VP of the Student Senate. I will bring some kleenex. I am so PROUD to be an American! I pray that the next President of this country is someone a bit more closely connected to the military...like maybe the mother of a soldier. Or at least someone who has served. We should get back to that.

It took me back...

Yesterday I was walking through the Student Center after getting lunch there and suddenly I was back in 1995...14 years ago. It was 1pm and the light was coming through the big window at a late fall angle. It is getting darker earlier and the sun is a welcome change. There are students bustling between classes and country music is playing on the radio. It is Friday and I am done with classes. I LOVE that feeling. There was serious de ja vu yesterday.

A thought about those days, 14 years ago. In River Falls it meant that I would drive in to Hudson. I stocked up on junk food and rented at least four movies. I would spend all night on Friday and most of Saturday morning eating junk food and watching movies in the late fall and early winter. I was a senior and my classes weren't hard. I was already accepted to vet school so my future seemed secure. I was never a party person, preferring much more to stay in my room and get work done and veg by myself. Life is much different now. It got me thinking about how things have changed since then.

Ten years ago I was in Maryland. Just four years before I didn't know I would be there. I was going to be going to vet school and nothing else had ever entered my mind. In 1999, I was spending my Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in the lab and in my office. I was really busy with classes, research, administrative duties, and getting into the graduate school experience. I was a long way from home but I was becoming good friends with my advisor and his family so I knew I would be heading to his house for Thanksgiving.

Nine years ago (2000) I was in Illinois. Gosh, nine years ago already. In fall of 1999, I didn't know we would be moving to Illinois. So suddenly here we were. The family situation had changed because Cheri and Matt had Katy and that was an adjustment. I was starting my Ph.D. and I was closer to home.

Six years ago I was done with my Ph.D. I had defended in October of 2003 and was wondering what I was going to do with my life. I wasn't any closer to finding Mr. Right and I was getting tired of school. But I worked hard at getting my dissertation turned in on time and was enjoying a little freedom.

Five years ago (2004). I had met Loran a few months before and was planning on meeting his family at Thanksgiving. The family was busy with wedding plans for Dennis and Jodi's wedding. Little did I know that a month after her wedding I would be moving to Georgia and planning my wedding.

Four years ago (2005). By November we were moved into a rental house, I was firmly ensconced as a Basic Skills instructor and getting more involved with work outside of classes and I was pregnant with Ankica.

Three years ago (2006). Ankica was almost six months old and we were adjusting to life with a little one. I wasn't working much and we were planning a trip to Virginia for Christmas and we would soon find out we were expecting Lillian.

Two years ago (2007). Lillian was a few months old and we were planning for a trip to Wisconsin for Heidi and Adam's wedding right before Christmas.

One year ago (2008). We were homeowners and I had just started recovering from a long overdue follow-up procedure to my surgery in 2007. We were planning for our first Thanksgiving in our house and I was going to make a turkey in my roaster. I still remember Kacie and I sitting at the table making plans for the appetizers, food and dessert. I was between Thanksgiving dinner and dessert that we drove up to see the house Mike and Kacie now own. A year ago I didn't even know that this position at UWP existed. I was content with how things were going and we were just enjoying life. We planned for Loran's parents and Julia to visit for Christmas and we were looking forward to the new year.

I can't believe how much has changed in just the last year. I am excited to see what things will look like next year but I can't even begin to imagine what life might look like!

Sweetly sleeping

And the answer is...

It was outside in the cold after we washed the skunky dogs late at night. It did eventually go back to normal. It was kind of cool though...looked like something from a under a polar ice cap.

"What is it?" Wednesday

The girls' trip to the pumpkin patch

I got to chaperone their field trip because I didn't have class that morning. We had a good time :-) I discovered that Ankica has a little friend named Sam that talks about her all the time at home and that everyone loves Lillian.


She seems to be a favorite of the helpers and the teachers are always commenting about something cute she has done.

We went through a corn maze and they picked mini-pumpkins after a hay ride and they fed a llama, a miniature horse, some goats and some weird looking sheep. As soon as they found out they could get grass for the animals, my girls were the leaders. They were totally unafraid, which is good and bad :-)

We also got to see a pumpkin trebuchet and another steam powered pumpkin shooter. It was wet but fun.

This is how the girls dressed up on Friday...

They wore the only "non-regular clothes" things we had around the house :-)

Fall around here...

(Just so you don't get confused...the picture descriptions are UNDER the pictures :-)

This was the day of the Homecoming Parade...October 10th. And it SNOWED that morning :-) It hasn't even so much as flurried since then and this week it is supposed to be rather nice (50s).


The girls love the Packers. Both of them recognize the logo and the word "Packers" better than they recognize their own names :-)


This is the soybean field that was very green when we moved it (like the picture at the top of the blog).

The neighbors decorations...we don't have a lot up outside this year.


Really pretty red bush out in front of our house.

What once was soybeans is now...not.



Beautiful trees down the road from the house.