GOOD TIMES WITH GRANDMA

Here are some photos of my mom and little Gwen. I think I would be bordering on insanity right now, had my mother not come for a few weeks. Little did I know that 3 kids would be such a handful! She is such a calming, helpful presence. What a blessed daughter I am.

OUR NEW LITTLE LADY

Here is our new little baby, Gwen Abigail. She is a delight already, and turns 2 weeks old tomorrow! How time flies! I keep telling my kids to STOP GROWING but they don't listen... they just giggle and smile about that extra inch they grew since yesterday. Honestly it seems that way! I guess I'll just have to cherish every day... :)

GROWTH WALL

Now that Ian is 6 years old, we finally started a growth chart on the wall. Tom said we should have done it as soon as we moved into the house 3 years ago, but alas... we did not. He had his growth pencilled in on a wall in his house throughout his school years, and it I think it's a fun thing to do!

TRADITIONS

I am all about incorporating traditions into our family. It is so fun to do when little children are involved! Now that my kids are old enough to remember the previous year, they take great delight in reviving traditions they recall. And this time of year is the BEST for traditions!

One tradition we do is packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. The kids have fun shopping and picking out gifts for children their age, and we bring them home and wrap them. It can be a challenge to stave them off a bit... from wanting to keep the gifts themselves... but it's a good lesson I think!

38+ weeks

Me and my big ol' belly at 38 weeks.

DRESSING UP

I'll admit that Halloween isn't my favorite holiday. But I DO enjoy seeing my children dress up! Their excitement is palpable as we visualize costume possibilities, scrounge the costumes up, and finally see them brought to fruition. I also enjoy the challenge of making their costumes. This year I just made Ian's, and it was a furry mess for a while! Trimming that white furry fabric left trails of white fuzz all over the house.

So... the final costumes are Ian as a baby harp seal (photo below, if you aren't sure what they look like) and Nina as Princess Aurora.

We went trick or treating at Burnsville mall, since Ian had the sniffles and I wanted to keep them indoors.

Nina was beyond enthused to be able to wear makeup for the FIRST time. She carried herself with a regal presence and was noticeably more diplomatic and beautified!
Such fun.

BABY SHOWER

Today we had a baby shower for my fourth sister, Katherine Ann (Poch) Brown. I love her dearly, and it was so fun to shower her with gifts and love as she nears the day when her first child (a boy!) will enter the world. I am so excited to welcome another nephew into the world!! I should have taken more photos at the shower, but here is a picture of her with her mother and my two sisters and I.

MY OTHER KIDS!!

Of course my own children are my favorite, but I wanted to show you a few more of the kids in my life. These are the youngest that I teach - 3 1/2 and 4 years old. They are great singers and are even learning to play the piano at this precious young age! We have lots of fun together every Saturday morning. This is only one of the four classes I teach on Saturdays, but I didn't get a photo of all of my adorable students in their Halloween costumes. I have one more Saturday with them, a recital this week, and then I'm on my maternity leave for 6 weeks! Hard to believe it has come so quickly!!

SEA LIFE FIELD TRIP

I recently scheduled an outing to Sea Life in the Mall of America (formerly Underwater Adventures) with a group of homeschoolers from our church. I admit that my choice of destination was somewhat determined by my oldest child. I knew Ian would LOVE it, even just since last fall when we went last!

Because we are an educational group, we got an amazing discount. In addition to that, we can get the behind-the-scenes tour, in which we see all the tanks from overhead, see the animals being fed, and we even got to go into the prep kitchen and see for ourselves how they prepare the food that the sea animals are fed.

I wasn't supposed to take pictures... that's why it's blurry ;)

This is the jellyfish tank.

And afterwards, Ian was able to purchase a long-awaited toy - a stuffed harbour seal. We've been looking and saving for a little while, and finally he found it! Needless to say, Henry the Harbour Seal has been adopted into our family and goes pretty much wherever the rest of us go!

FAMILY GETAWAY

Tom, the kids and I took a short retreat at the ministers cabin in Alexandria MN. I didn't take any pictures of the cabin itself but here we are, enjoying the fall colors just down the hill in the gazebo by the lake.

BIG BOY HAIRCUT

Ian and I have been tiring of combing his gorgeous blond hair every day... so we buzzed it.

BIRTHDAY PARTY PREP AND EXECUTION

Ha, the title of this blog makes it sound like I'm an expert on birthdays. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I am taking suggestions on how to throw a creative, thoughtful and outrageously fun party for a child on a reasonable budget. Please comment with your ideas! :)

Ian is about to turn 6, and we had a birthday party with his friends a few days ago. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture during the pandemonium of 13 children ages 3-8 and 5 adults (and a newborn or two), as I was quite occupied, but here are some photos of me prepping:

Homemade banner

Beginning of ocean mural (oil pastels are so fun!)

Jello experiment that went over really well. This is in a middle stage where I am setting the blue jello with a toy in a clear glass. When it's set, I pour more jello on and let it set again so that it looks like the fish is suspended in water. The kids loved them!
Here's the ocean mural after the kids had colored and cut their favorite ocean animal, and attached it to the wall.
We incorporated a little charity into the birthday as well. Instead of bringing a gift for Ian, the kids were asked to bring school supplies for children in Africa as a part of Children's Cup's fall backpack ministry. Kids in Africa who can't afford to go to school are often sold into prostitution in order to pay for school supplies. Ian's friends were eager to contribute, and we had fun stuffing the backpacks and praying for the children who would receive them.

Whew! This mamma's tired... :)

NEW TWINS STADIUM

I was hoping that we'd have a chance to go to a Twins game this summer, but I wasn't necessarily making it happen (not the most enthusiastic fan, as you guessed). And yet there is something about live baseball that seems innately American. So I thought my kids would appreciate a glimpse! When Tom got some free tickets at work, we took them gladly.

Impressive architecture.

Ian was all smiles when we bought him a frozen lemonade.

Bright lights on the field

Our little charmer
The Twins didn't win, but we weren't keeping track!

RECENT INDULGENCES

Am I crazy... or are a woman's senses heightened during pregnancy? More particularly for me, taste and smell. Here are a few smells I've been enjoying lately...

Cherry Blossom solid perfume (a recent gift from a music student)

An earthy, firewood candle (Tom's favorite and now my obsession)

The rich scent of high quality Italian espresso beans (I sniff this every time I walk by it on the kitchen counter)

My favorite tastes for the last few months:

Baking soda toothpaste (strange, I know)

Fresh radishes

Green top carrots

Cottage cheese

Dark chocolate

Saffron bread from the freezer (baked this winter)

Ah, well. It's fun to enjoy the little things! :)

CRAFT DAY WITH THE KIDS

The kids and I hopped on over to Tom and Carol's house a few days ago when Katie was in town visiting. It was a fun opportunity to display our collective creative prowess as a Poch family. I had been thinking of it for awhile, since Katie is so crafty, and since the kids love being at Grandma and Grandpa's so much!

Here Katie and Nina are painting egg carton flowers. They are so adorable... pipe cleaner stems and all.

Carol is making homemade gummies with them! I had no idea that it was even possible. You press your own shapes in cornstarch, then pour the hot gummy mixture on it and let it set.

I'm helping Ian with an ocean landscape. His watercolor background was even more beautiful than the demo I made! Yeah... I've got a budding Monet on my hands.

Nina's putting her favorite pink sparkly markers on a flower cutout.

Ian with the finished product. He was so proud!

As we were in the beginning stages of our crafty pandemonium, Carol said, "It looks as if this is a craft day for the three adults more than the kids!" because she, Kate and I were busily prepping our craft projects. It was a humorous moment. But as soon as we had everything all set, the kids were diving in with us and wonderful memories were made! Mission accomplished.

ZOO ADVENTURES

We have been to the Minnesota zoo a lot lately. The kids are at prime ages, so we take advantage of our annual membership whenever we get the chance. Here is part of the native Minnesota exhibit, and they are watching a river otter swim by.

Ian and Nina have been saving their money and they chose to spend it at the zoo. Nina bought a pink sparkly baton, and Ian bought this set of ocean animal toys (he is squinting terribly from the sun... and from intense excitement!). He has been enamored with sea animals lately, particularly dolphins, seals, and killer whales. These seals have gotten some serious play time since we brought them home only a few days ago...

SAGA COOKING SCHOOL

Last night I had the fun experience of attending a cooking class with Tom's parents and sister. It was so scrumptious. Special thanks to Tom for watching the kids so I could go! :)

Here was the menu:

First Course

Thai Spring Rolls with Cilantro Lime Sauce

Second Course

Minnesota Wild Mushroom Risotto with Baby English Peas

Third Course

Fresh Diver Scallops with Smoked Bacon and Garlic Pistou

Sauce

Béarnaise Sauce

Main Course

New York Strip Steak with Pepper Crust

Dessert

Salted Chocolate Grenache Truffle Cake and Hot Caramel