Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

It's snowing outside. Our little slice of the world is covered in a beautiful shimmery blanket of white. When we woke up this morning, I looked outside and sure enough we had a good layer of snow. Yippee! No school! I run downstairs to check the school's website. Now, I grew up in Southern California and we didn't have snow days. I think I remember once there was no school because our school didn't have air conditioning and it was too hot, or we didn't have school because of some brush fire. But, this morning I felt like a little kid hoping for a day where I didn't have to get all the kids bundled up to bring Annika to preschool by 8:30 this morning.

I anxiously wait for the school's website to upload. Nothing, no alerts, nothing. So I go to the public school's website because we follow what they do...nothing. There must be some mistake! There is snow on the ground and more snow coming down, surely they would cancel school! Right? I run to the basement to turn on the news...nope, nothing at all about our school district being canceled. I ask Dan, "If there is snow on the ground and it's still coming down, don't they cancel school?!" (The true SoCal girl coming out in me). Ahh, then I remember, we aren't in Virginia where even the slightest whisper of snow sends everyone first to the grocery store to stock up on t.p. and milk, then to their homes where they lock themselves inside until the barely quarter inch of snow that actually fell melts an hour later.

I remember reading an article while I was still in Virginia about Weather Warriors vs. Weather Wimps. I can safely say I am a weather wimp. I would never make it with my cousins up in New England. However, my husband is a Weather Warrior. Afterall, he's from Iowa where he "drove to school in his little blue Honda Civic through 10 foot tall snow drifts uphill both ways." That's why when you see pictures of our kids in the snow it's my dear husband who is with them. I just quick run out to take a picture and then hustle back inside. Afterall, someone needs to keep the hot chocolate hot and make sure we are stocked up on toilet paper.

It's called SoCal Casual!

Somedays I expect those two wacko hosts from "What not to Wear" to jump out from behind a bush and say "We've been following you for the last few months and we are here to help!" They'll show the video of me in jeans, t-shirts and flipflops when the weather was warmer and then jeans, long sleeve t-shirts and UGGs for when the weather turned colder. They may even have caught me in my sweats and slippers. I may even be wearing my old Superior Ready mix sweatshirt or a Quicksilver hoody (yes, both are from college). There may be a random "this is better" moment when I got dressed up for MOPs a few weeks ago and for church. And there was the Christmas party last weekend where I wore my "dressy" jeans.

Now, I have never considered myself a fashionista... unlike my dear friend Michelle or my sister Anna who look good going grocery shopping. But, I think I may be hitting a new low in my mommyhood. It's not that I don't want to dress up it's just that it takes too much time and money. Plus, whenever I think about getting new clothes I seem to get pregnant again. So, I have named my style, Southern California Casual, let's just hope these Midwest types get it. It's a style that's economical (UGGs can serve two purposes...slippers AND trendy footwear, plus it cuts down on my need to buy new socks), comfortable (bras can be so restricting!) and casual (I want to look approachable).

Many of my NOVA friends may recall my stoplight incident. The lady in the car next to me flagged me to roll down my window and yelled "Hey, I am a hairdresser, I can really help you with your hair!" Oh dear.

Recently, I went to Target after I dropped off Annika at preschool. It was a quick run in for a few things so let's just say I probably wouldn't have won any beauty contests. Who do I see there, but one of my new neighbors. She was all cute with make up on, and her hair done...she even had on real shoes that weren't made out of sheepskin! We chatted for a bit, and as I continued to walk around the store, I noticed she wasn't the only one. Hmmm...maybe I should do some more of my shopping at Walmart.

I was at a preschool playdate the other day, and one of the ladies next to me said, "I need to dress more like you, you look so comfortable! Those boots [my UGGs] look so warm!" Not sure what to think about that one.

So when Stacey and Clinton come hunting me down, I'll say "Sure! I'm up for a makeover!" Then I'll take the $5000 credit card and run. I'll spend it on some new oversized chairs for the sitting area in my kitchen, maybe some new barstools for the counter, or maybe even some new bedding for our Master bedroom... plus, I could use a new pair of UGGs.

Sitting pretty?

Or whatever little boys do...Landon decided today was a good day to try sitting up. He does really well until he gets startled or really excited then he just falls backwards.

Just a bit of snow

We got some snow this weekend. God wanted to wait until after Thanksgiving...one holiday at a time, right? ;)

Anyway, there was enough for Annika and Dan to make a snowman, I mean, snowgirl. May I introduce you to Elizabeth...

Here is Elizabeth today. She's not fairing to well in the heat wave of 40 degree weather.

Happy Thanksgiving a few days late!!

We are in recovery mode from a full and fun weekend. Dan's two sisters with their families, mom and dad, and two cousins came down to spend Thanksgiving with us...there were 20 men, women and children packed into the house from Thursday to Saturday. We really had a lot of fun and the house is still standing! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!

Book Game Winner!

At 2:30 p.m. Central Time, using Random.org...I got a random number between 1 and 22 (the number of comments):

Here are your random numbers:4
Timestamp: 2008-11-23 20:30:08 UTC

So the winner is Uncle Mike VS!! So, uncky Mike, your gift card is on it's way...no, you can't just give it to Aunt Lydia for her Christmas present. ;)

The Eekhoff's Plain Life thanks you all for playing along and for commenting!! Also a big "HELLO!" to all my blog lurkers. Thanks for stopping by and checking up on us!

p.s. even if you missed the deadline...it doesn't mean you can't still play. It's interesting to see what books, magazines, self-help books, random owner's manuals, etc. everyone has closest too them and their computer.

A "Book Game" Giveaway!!

First, thanks for your kind comments in regards to my little pity party! It was the pep rally I needed!! Now on to some fun stuff...

My friend at His Treasured Possession did this on her facebook page, and I thought it would be fun to put it on my blog and see what kind of response I get...

The Book Game, here are the rules:
1) Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
2) Turn to page 56.
3) Find the fifth sentence.
4) Post that sentence in my comments. (If you have never posted a comment, you click on the comments link at the bottom of this post. If you don't have an account with google, that's o.k. Just use the "Name" option and type in your name, do required security word, and then "publish your comment").
5) Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Here is what I got:
"animal cracker: a small cookie shaped like any of various animals" Thanks to Webster's New World College Dictionary 4th Edition!

Just to make it even more fun, if you play along and post your comment you will automatically be entered into a random drawing for a $10 Target Gift card! I know it's not much, but, hey, the holidays are coming up and that's 10 things at the Dollar Spot!! Stocking Stuffers!! (If you don't think I have your email address be sure to include that in your comment so I can contact you if you win). This is a time for all you "blog lurkers" to come out of the woodwork. ;)

You have until 2:30 p.m. CST Sunday, November 23 to play!!

New Year's thoughts in November

No, I'm not celebrating 2009 yet, but I just got my new Weekly Planner for 2009 today. I got to a point where I was writing too many dates at the end of my 2008 planner so I had to get a new planner for 09. I know some of you do that fancy schmancy stuff on the computer, but I am old school when it comes to my calendars. Pen and paper and little boxes that you have to fill in. I think I feel like if I write stuff in I will remember it better. (p.s. I also have an address book where I have to WRITE in the addresses!)

As you may notice, I get sentimental with my calendars. Do I keep my old ones? Why should I? I don't journal so I have actually needed my old planners when I do my scrap booking. Helps with the dates of trips, activities, etc. That is if I ever get back around to my scrap booking which I haven't touched in 5 months. In fact, I have my 2007 calendar in my desk here so let's take a look at what we were up to one year ago today...10:30-12:30 Thanksgiving Playgroup. Hmm, I remember it was at Lacey's and we made Turkey cookies. In fact, I told Annika we were having turkey for Thanksgiving she was very disappointed when the turkey wasn't a cookie.

There is something to be said about an empty calendar. Each day is just waiting to be filled. I have mixed emotions right now about how those little boxes will be filled. Ah, I know I will be busy. Since we are closer to family, I am sure we will have visits with them. I am still working on finding friends, so I am hoping I will have play dates and maybe even a Girl's Night Out (NOTHING will replace the old crew, however). Hopefully a few dates with my man and special events with the kids. I am just a little sad that it won't be as simple as it was. I am sure soon enough the unfamiliar will become familiar, out of my comfort zone will become comfortable, and life will be "ordinary" again.

Until then...can you be homesick when you're at home?

Now that's more like it!

What I paid for my gas this morning!

Just waiting for the price of a gallon of milk to go down...

and then there were 10

We started out as couples without kids...IBC "trailer trash," staying up way too late playing cards or random German Board games, camping in the wilds of Prince William County, etc. Then we each had one and we discovered that we could make our kids portable with the wonderful Pack-n-play. Our late night game playing became less frequent, but we still tried. Fast forward 4 years and now the kids outnumber the adults and we all live in Kansas! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!

The weekend after Halloween we drove just 2 1/2 hours south to see our dear friends the Winns. What a wonderful time seeing their home and watching our kids play oh so sweetly together. It was really a fun time. It did my heart good to see a familiar face. We ate way too much junk food, played board games, stayed up way too late (Thank goodness for the time change!!) and just caught up on life. We love you Winns! THANK YOU for hosting us! Looking forward to returning the favor!!

Picture taken by Annika

The kids table

All ready for bed...the kids in order from oldest to youngest (4,4,2,21 m, 9m, 4m)

Soldiers in The Lord's Army!!

All dressed up for church!

Hot mamas

Then and Now...

Before it's Thanksgiving...

I thought I should post some of our Halloween stuff. This was the first year we were alone for Halloween. In Virginia, we trick or treated with the D's and G's (and their kids, of course!). It wasn't the same and Annika was asking if her favorite friends were going to join us. :( Anyway, it ended up being a good way to meet some of the neighbors. Since we are the newbies in the neighborhood, we weren't really sure what to expect. Dan walked the neighborhood with the girls while I stayed at home with Landon and handed out candy. We had a busy neighborhood. I think people probably just came to our house out of curiosity. I know I would if there were new neighbors down the street! The night before Dan and the girls carved the pumpkins, one for the girls and one for dad. Can you guess which one is which? :)

Getting the seeds out

Minnie Mouse

Go Hawks!

Ready to go out and get some candy (Taryn's not smiling because she was scared of the pumpkins behind her).

Cleaning advice needed!

The question isn't too hard, but I am just looking for some ideas since the main level on the new house is mostly wood floor.

What have you found to be the best way to clean your hardwood floors? I'm not talking about the daily sweeping or swiffering, but what do you use when you want to mop/clean them? You know, what we do before our mother-in-laws come over (love you Mom E!!).

(Even though we all know this is worthless because 5 minutes after you're done, your child will find that random grape, step on it and proceed to track it's sticky-ness all over the newly cleaned floors).

We're Still here!

It's been a little crazy around here lately...but we are still livin and breathin.

Landon had his 4 month appointment today! We are praising God for our healthy little guy. He weighed 17 lbs and is 27 inches long...I think he's only a few pounds less than his sister!! He's rolled from his tummy to his back the other day (I tried to upload video, but blogger is being a bugger...will try again soon).

Ain't he a cutie?

When we moved into the new house, we decided it was all or nothing and put Taryn into a big girl bed. We've had a few interesting nights, but its gone really well. One night at about 4 in the morning, Annika came in and woke me up saying "Taryn's not in her bed." I thought maybe she was semi-sleep walking and just couldn't see her. But, sure enough, Taryn wasn't in her bed. I was a little concerned to walk in and see the empty bed. She had to be here somewhere. Guess where she was! UNDER the bed. She must have climbed or fallen out and just scooted under the bed. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture of her (hey, it was 4 in the morning!!). But, here is a picture of her in her big girl bed--now we just have to kick the "nuk."

She also picked up a habit from her Auntie Anna...texting at 21 months!

Annika loves preschool and is sad they are on fall break all week. She has been talking about how she misses her friends in Virginia. "But, they will come to see me in Kansas someday." We miss you all out there!!

Getting Moved In

We closed on the house on Thursday night! Yeah! We have had our stuff in temporary storage since we moved here. The movers came bright and early on Friday to move it all into the the house. It was strange walking into a totally empty house which was now ours. After looking at so many, this one was the one. Now it's on to unpacking! Auntie Anna came out to help, she thought she was coming for a vacation...ha ha fooled her!

On Friday night, Anna and I painted the only room in the house that needed painting before we moved in. No Sophies in this family! Thanks to all of you who made comments about their new room, we will keep you updated...

I ignored the grunt from Dan as he carried me over the threshhold on Saturday morning.

Warning: Trees were killed in the packing of our belongings. Dan's company paid for packers. Boy, are they ever sure that nothing gets broken! If you have ever had packers you know what I mean. All my tupperware was even wrapped up! Guess you can never be too careful.

It kept the girls occupied for awhile.

My kitchen is under there somewhere! The only real moment of chaos was right before we were heading back to the apartment with the girls for naptime. We couldn't find Taryn's bear. Anna and I looked all over the house. Then the realization hit us. Do you think? Yep, we had cleaned up all the paper and stuffed it all into boxes and guess who we found after we took out all the paper? A little tan colored (VERY similar in color to the paper) "bee-bee." Oh the tragedy if we would have lost him!

We are hoping to pack up the apartment and totally move in on Sunday night...Anna leaves on Tuesday...any volunteers to help unpack?! Kansas is beautiful this time of year. However, I am not sure how much of the outside you would see. :)

Calling all aspiring designers!

I need your opinion please! When we move (this weekend, yeah!), I am going to put the girls in a room together. I got a steal on some beds on craig's list. Now I am looking for some new bedding. After reading about the deals my friend got at Home Goods, I decided to check them out. I found two twin sets of bedding that come with all the sheets, dust ruffle, quilt and shams for what I thought was a really good deal (after more research and looking around I have realized that I found a great deal!). Anyway, I brought them home and Dan said, "Are you kidding, it looks like an old lady's house!" I said, "it's shabby chic!" He said "it's shabby something, that's for sure." I was chatting with my sister-in-law, and she said to open it up to my fellow bloggers and blog readers to see what they thought. The girls' beds are dark mahogany and we are going to do white wainscotting (or beadboard) around the base of the wall with "Blue Willow" paint on the top.


Here are two pictures of the bedding...trust me I won't be offended if you too thinks it's "old lady!" (No offense to all the old ladies out there!)

First picture is from the bedding packaging (click on the picture to make it bigger):



Closer picture with the wall color (click on the picture to make it bigger):

So, what do ya'll think?!

What are you listening to?

I need some new music! Considering all I have been listening to lately is "Wee Sing Sunday School Songs," I feel a little out out touch. So I am reaching out to my blogging community for some advice!

Here's the question...If you could bring just one C.D. to a deserted island which one would it be?

How would you answer this?

Annika: Mommy, where were Taryn and me when you were a baby?

Mommy: Well, you weren't even born yet.

Annika: But, who took care of us when you were a baby?

Mommy: Hmmm...God?

Unanswered Prayers

Anyone else remember that song by Garth Brooks?
The lines...
Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when youre talkin to the man upstairs
That just because he doesnt answer doesnt mean he dont care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.
Even though this is about lost love, I still think it's appropriate.

On Tuesday (my 30th Birthday!) I went with our realtor to look at ANOTHER house (lost track of what # house this was, maybe #54?). We had changed our minds about the foreclosure, or house #3. We didn't feel right about it. So this house that I went to look at wasn't in the "perfect" subdivision, but it was still a great area and only 3 miles from Annika's school. I walked inside and fell in love. I just felt like I was at home. When we were moving, friends told me that would happen. I had Dan come back that night after work and we put in an offer on the spot. They countered, we countered, they countered and we countered (just because my husband needs to have the last word...stubborness?)...and last night at 9:00 p.m. our realtor called and said "We have a deal!" Hip, hip hooray! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! He had this in mind the whole time, he was just waiting for us to surrender to His will. We were being like the apostle Peter and "looking at the water." (Matthew 14:22-36)

Our super realtor came over last night (at 9:30 p.m.) and we signed all the paperwork. When she was coming up the walk, I met her outside and we did a little party dance. I am sure our neighbors think we are crazy. I told her they are probably ready to call us in with all the times she has been over late at night to sign offers. They probably think she is our dealer or something. :)

So...drumroll please...here is our new house!! We are set to move in 2 weeks! As you can see it was on the market for awhile...it's not snowing here yet. ;)

No tears!!

By Annika, anyway. There were some tears from her Momma, though. Monday was Annika's first day at preschool. Obviously we started a few weeks late because of the move. She did so great!! We went a bit early and met the teacher first. That helped tremendously. She wasn't overwhelmed with meeting new kids. The only time she cried was when she had to go home. We had bought new school supplies and she was very sad that she couldn't bring them home with her. This prompted me to bring out the watercolors that afternoon so she could see that we do allow creativity at home! :)



On Tuesday she told me that I didn't have to walk her to the door, she could go into the class by herself. I knew that I didn't have to, but mommy kinda has to do it for her own selfish, "I'M not ready to let you go by yourself" reasons. It makes me so happy to see the big smile on her face when we pull up to school in the morning.

Monday was also Dan's first day of work...he didn't have to be there until later so he left after we did...here's a picture of his first day. ;) Don't know what kind of smile he has when he pulls into work everyday.

Ice Cream Sundaes to celebrate the first day of school

Make sure you get every last bit!

She is her father's daughter!

Third time's the charm?

Augh, this house hunting stuff is getting a bit aggravating. When we arrived here last weekend, we thought we were organized and ready. We met with our realtor on Monday to look at some houses. We revisited some that we saw on our househunting trip, and also looked at a few new ones including one in a subdivision that we found online. This area looks like a great community that is right across the road from the school where Annika will be attending preK and hopefully elementary school.

Needless to say we fell in love with the house in the great subdivision. It had EVERYTHING we had on our "wish list." It even had a back staircase from the kitchen (like the Huxtables!). Great yard, great price, great everything. We were ready to put in an offer. The next day our realtor called a 1/2 hour before we were to meet with her to put in an offer. The sellers had already accepted an offer on the house. We were devestated. Tuesday we essentially "mourned" the house and the fact that we won't be living there. We did put in a backup offer in case the buyer backed out, but with the information we have that isn't likely. For some reason, God didn't want us to have that house.

House #1--bummer, already sold

So it was back to the drawing board...House #2 came along. Same subdivision but higher price tag. We took a look. It was a beautiful home, great yard, move-in ready with a finished basement, but more than we wanted to pay. But, we took a stab at it anyway. We went back and forth with the sellers (who were already relocated to Alaska). Eventually, yesterday (Saturday) we decided we didn't want to go as high as they wanted. This was getting frustrating...again, we have to see God's hand and say that he didn't want us in that house.

House #2--too high of a price tag

On to House #3...same subdivision, just down the street, another house. Exact same floor plan as House #2, but even though it's new construction this was a foreclosure. This house is on a good lot, but not necessarily move in ready. It has some cosmetic stuff that needs to be done by the builder. It doesn't have a finished basement and there isn't any landscaping done yet. Other than that it is also a beautiful house and the price could be right. That is where we are now...our third offer on the third house. Will this one take? We will keep you updated! Hopefully, we will have a home soon!!

House #3--maybe home?

Yes, mom,

I'm eating my vegetables.

Our home until we find a home

As a part of Dan's relocation package, his company hooked us up with furnished temporary housing while we search for a house (more on the househunting progress later). Here are some pictures of our apartment...it's a nice little space. Enjoy the tour!



The Main living area





View of the Kitchen from the main living area




The kitchen





The hallway with a computer area





The Master Suite




Landon's "room." Poor kid has been stuck in the closet ever since he was born! We won't know what to do with him when he's in a real room!




The girl's room. So far them sleeping together has worked out well.




The view from our balcony. The geese give us a little symphony as we lay in bed at night. There's nothing like a few quacks to set the mood.