2009 Here we come!

When I started this blog I though I had better pace myself so I would not write something every day and drive everyone nuts trying to keep up with it. Well, that is a thing I really shouldn't have worried my pretty little head about. So now I will update the blog.

Advent, Christmas have gone by so fast and now the New Year is about to be ushered in just a few hours from now. What can I say about 2008? It was a year of joy and struggles. The biggest joy is of course the birth of William Patrick Schindler in March. The struggles were numerous and I don't honestly feel like writing about them right now so I won't.

For Christmas we packed up the van and headed south to St. Louis. It was a fairly uneventful trip with only a few weather related stresses. We hit some slick spots on the way down and dense fog on the way back. Fortunately we were able to stay at Tim's parent's house as soon as it got too dark to drive. All ended well and the kids traveled amazingly well. We couldn't have asked for better behavior from our 3 year old and our 9 month old on a 10 hour drive. They were real troopers!

My favourite part of the trip was in all honesty being in a car with my little family. There was nothing else to be done, like dishes or laundry, just talking, cuddling and looking out the window. David likes to "hold arm" to comfort himself. Tim and I took turns climbing in the way back of our minivan to accommodate his need. It gives us a chance to enjoy cuddling with our 3 year old big boy knowing that, after long, the cuddle time will be gone and he will not need or want to "hold arm".

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

All I want for Christmas is...........

I know, I know. It is way too early to be talking about Christmas. Although, I am about half way finished with my Christmas shopping. The reason I titled this "All I want for Christmas...." is because William just got his top two front teeth.

Both top teeth have broken through this past week. Still, the kid is hardly ever crabby. So far it looks like his top two teeth will be like my top two. I had to 'grow' into my teeth as a child. Either way, William is as cute as they come. Did I mention what his first word appears to be? We think it is David or "Dadid". I can't imagine why he chose that as his first word. It might be because that is the word he hears the most, other than 'NO'.

David has had some really cute moments lately. He is such a loving boy and simply wants to help with whatever the task is. If we forget or don't include him in things like washing the dishes or vacuuming or cooking, he gets truly upset that he was not allowed to help. Sometimes I think that I can just get the task finished quickly if he doesn't help. After 15 or 30 minutes of consoling David I realize that it might have been faster to just let him help.

We recently put out the humidifiers for the winter. We have baseboard heat in our house and the air gets so dry, especially at night. David calls them "humidityfires". It is one of his jobs each night to make sure that they have enough water in them to run properly. With DaddyO's help, he fills them up and gets them ready. He is a hard worker.

So now about Christmas....I know that it is still 5 weeks away, but I am looking forward to getting the shopping accomplished so that I can just enjoy Advent and preparing for Christmas this year. Last year because we needed to have all our gifts purchased by Thanksgiving we were finished before the official shopping season had even started. It made the season so much more enjoyable and less stressful. I am hoping for a similar start to this year as well. (Hint, Hint. If you have not given me some gift ideas yet, now would be a good time:-)

All Through the Night

Good news! William has slept all the way through the night for the last two nights. He went to sleep at 9pm and slept till 7ish both mornings! I forgot what it was like to sleep all night long. Wow!

My mother will get a kick out of this. David locked me out of the house the other day for the second time. The reason she will get a kick out of it is that I did the same thing to her when I was about 2 years old. I actually locked her in the basement in her pajamas. She had to go outside around the front and break the chain lock on the front door of the house to get back into the house.

When I got locked out, I actually had my keys on my belt loop. Unfortunately, David also locked the screen door. He is able to unlock the inside door and open it, but there is child proof doorknob spinny thingy that prevents him from going outside without my knowledge. It also prevents him from opening the door to unlock the screen door. The first time he did it, I was able to tear the screen on the door and reach in to unlock the door.

The second time, unfortunately I had not replaced the screen and had closed the glass window on the door. It was, however, about 70 degrees outside and had opened the windows in the kitchen for some fresh air. I went to a neighbors for help because I had William in my arms. (One of my neighbors works from home and was home at that time of day.) We tried to gently pry the screen door open with a crowbar, but were unable. Finally, I took a car key and ripped one of the window screens. I really did not want to do it, because I knew that it would be a pain to replace. My very tall neighbor was able to then reach inside and open the back door and David unlocked the screen door.
I am very grateful that my neighbor was home and willing to help me. Since this second incident, I have removed the locking mechanism from the screen door. We never lock it anyway. David was at no times in real danger because our house is pretty well childproof. I was worried about my M&M stash. I left one of the kitchen chairs down and David knows where the M&M's are located. He did help himself.

Ahhh motherhood...... Fatherhood however.....

Gone Apple Pickin'

We spent the last 75 degree Saturday at Afton Apple Orchard. We ate, um, I mean picked raspberries, apples and took photos with the pumpkins. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I think I even got a bit of a sunburn.

David had a blast helping to pick the fruit and took great delight in eating just as many of the raspberries that he picked. William enjoyed the stroller ride and the fresh air.

William is starting to crawl and we have taken to calling him Bulldog lately. No, it is not his looks or even personality. He growls a lot. As I type this, he is playing in the living room with David and I can hear him growl as he moves around the floor. It is very cute and it makes us laugh.

Tim is off tonight at a meeting with his nephew Andrew. Tim will serve as Andrew's confirmation sponsor. We are going to have pancakes for dinner.

Well, another exciting day at the Schindler household. Hope you all had more fun.

ARRRRGHHHHH!

No, the title is not a pirate's most common saying, it is a growl of frustration from Kristin.

Last night, I took David with me to the grocery store to quickly grab some things we needed for dinner, and of course, milk. We pulled into the parking lot and noticed a parking space right up front. As it was raining, I was happy to have such a close spot. I pulled up across from the spot and put my blinker on so that other drivers would know I had dibs on that spot. Another driver came speeding around the corner and up the aisle made eye contact with me and then ignored my blinker and turned into MY parking spot! ARRRGHHHHHH!

Don't worry, this does turn into a cute story about David.

Needless to say I was irritated. No, I take it back I was as close to road rage as I could ever get. I flailed my arms, pounded on the horn, gave the other driver dirty looks. Do you think she realized her rudeness and backed out to let me have to spot? No! She got out of her car, looked at me and shrugged her shoulders and headed into the store. I don't think I have felt that angry in quite a while. I had visions of running her down, slashing tires, yelling profanities at her as I walked past in the store(I haven't used profanity since I was in high school). I sat there for a moment and had the sudden thought that there are other parking spaced in the lot. I parked, calmed myself down, and headed into the store.

My next thought was, what is David learning from me about all this? He watched all this happen with a great deal of interest. As I started to cool off, the rain helped quite a bit, I explained to my 3 year old why Mommy got so mad. I told him that there are many ways to handle my anger and that Mommy shouldn't get so mad at other people for something so silly.

As we walked past the woman in the store I didn't even glance her way. David, not knowing that we were walking past the culprit, looked up at me and said, "Mommy, maybe she will say sorry for making you mad. Maybe she'll say sorry." I stopped bent down gave him a hug for giving the other person the benefit of the doubt, which I had not done. David is learning about apologizing when he hurts someone else or even hurts their feelings. When he apologizes we say to him, "I accept your apology." or "I forgive you." He has obviously learned this well based on how he reacted to my virtual road rage. I love that kid!

The Heart

This past week Tim's dad had a heart attack. It was his 4th we think. The doctors were able to put a stint in the artery to open it and stabilize him. He is recovering well and I am sure ready to get back home from the hospital.

It was an amazing thing to arrive at the hospital on Tuesday to see how loved Bill is by his children and their spouses. Those that live within a driving distance dropped everything and headed straight to the hospital when they heard. They wanted to see how he was and what they could do to help. I am constantly in awe at the lengths families go to care for one another no matter time or distance.

On a different note, a friend sent me this link today to a very interesting article. It's short and worth reading. I was encouraged by it. After I read the article I sat back reflecting on where I am at in this Tunnel and how I can possibly respond differently to it. If you get a chance take a look at:

http://www.omsoul.com/The-Tunnel-of-Parenthood.php

www.omsoul.com is a great web site also! Lots of information on NFP.

HUZZAH!

On Saturday we went to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. It is a yearly September tradition that Tim has had since he was younger. As a family we have attended every September for the last 4 years. Rain or shine we go. Incidentally, it has rained 3 of the 4 last years but it is kind of fun to walk around in the rain and stomp through mud puddles.

The workers and some of the attendees dress up in Renaissance/medieval type costumes. Some even dress up in.... um, uh,... other costumes. Our first year going together we saw a woman who was green and looked like Princess Fiona from Shrek. That same year we saw a guy who was wearing leather pants and leather sleeves. No shirt, just sleeves. We look for the guy with the sleeves every time we go the festival. Haven't seen him since.

Yes, we dress up in costumes also. Tim and I are adding to our costumes each year. Last year I made him a cloak for Father's Day and this year I made one for myself and one for David with the extra fabric. David's first year we made a costume for him to wear and even dressed up the stroller. He won second prize in the kid's costume contest. This year William wore that same costume and we made a new one for David. We looked good and had fun too.

The kids really enjoyed the day and Tim was in his glory. He dreams and plans for the festival almost the whole year long. We watched a live joust, rode human powered kiddie rides and ate tasty food that is really bad for you. By the end of the day we were covered in mud and soaked through to the skin. We did bring umbrellas and rain gear for the kids so that they would not get so wet and then sick. All in all it was a great day!

Because of the rain we did not take many photos but we plan to get dressed up again and have a neighbor who is a photographer take some family photos of us. We will post them when we have some.

The Tooth of the Matter

Welcome to the West Side Schindler's Blog!

Here goes!

William
We left St. Louis last Tuesday morning after a nice visit with the grandparents. William seemed a bit fussy, which is unusual for him. He grabbed my finger and put it into his mouth and I was surprised to discover that he had one little tooth.
This Monday William was a bit fussy once again and I put him down for his mid-morning nap. When he woke up he had a second tooth. If he keeps up at this rate, he will have a full set of teeth by Christmas.
David
For David's 3rd birthday Tim and I got him the School House Rock DVD. Sometimes I wonder if it was really for David or for us. It brings back lots of memories for both of us of watching Saturday morning cartoons . We were watching the "Conjunction Junction" and David exclaimed that the conductor looked like his grandpa. When asked which one he said, "Grandpa Schindler, not Grandpa Guy."
David is a bright, energetic, thoughtful 3 year old. The other day he pulled a chair up to the cabinet where we keep the snacks to 'help' himself to a snack. He walked up the stairs with graham crackers in his hands. When asked where he got them, he simply told us that he wanted some graham crackers and brought some for Daddy'O and Mama to have too. He would share them with us. I love this kid!
Tim
Tim is in the process of Fall cleaning. He loves to be out in the garage during those crisp fall Saturday mornings cleaning and organizing the garage. He does a fantastic job also. Lately his big project has been to put together an appeal for Mission Honduras. There is a parish in the West Metro that is interested in partnering with a particular organization and giving them their "Time, talent and treasure". Although Tim gets nothing from all the hard work he has put in to this project, Mission Honduras stands to gain much needed financial support and possibly a long term partner in the fight against poverty in Honduras. Please say a prayer for those in the discernment process.
Kristin
As for me, I wear many, many hats. Mom, driver, personal shopper, nurse, sister, daughter, daughter in-law, chief cook and bottle washer. You name it, I do it. Not that I am any different than any other mom out there we all wear many different hats.
My latest endeavour is becoming a FertilityCare Practitioner. That basically means that I teach NFP, Natural Family Planning. If you want more details, just ask, you'll get an ear full. It is part medical, part teacher, part psychologist all rolled into one job sort of ministry(that means I don't get paid much). I really enjoy it though. It keeps me out and active with other people, teaching adults and learning new things.
I have been dabbling a bit with sewing. My mother in-law is a master seamstress and I have had the opportunity to learn a bit about sewing from her each time I visit. Maybe I will include some photos of the simple projects I have tackled and conquered to date. The latest was a Renaissance costume for our jogging stroller. Last year I made Tim a Hobbit style cloak and one for myself this year. Who knows what I will attempt next.