How Many Boddeker's Can You Fit in the Bathroom?

At least 5 is the answer to this question. That's Cassie in the background barking or something, Holly recording, Natalie brushing, Christian hanging out and Hannah posing.

Learning to Count

She can only count to three, because getting swung up in the air after counting to ten is a little anti-climatic.

Fun and Games For Everyone!

Fun for the kids, the cousins, and the Dad! At least with this video game you are REQUIRED to stand, jump, and move around (and if Cassie is involved there will be twirling) Cassie beat all the boys (4 times) by the way.

Rose Cottage

Man!  What I would have given for one of these bad boys when I was a little girl!  I don't think I would have ever come out.  Hannah loves putting clothes in her washer and sitting on her sofa in her little house!  Sometimes she gets confused and puts her baby in the stove and her pan in the clothes washer, but housekeeping can be hard for anyone!  

Grandma Lisa

This is Hannah's wonderful Grandma Lisa.  She lives right down the street from us and watches Hannah everyday while I'm at work.  We are very lucky to have such great childcare!  

O.C.D.

Obsessive Calendar Disorder (One of my flavors of crazy)

The Great Planner Search of 2008 has officially begun! I begin my futile search in July, when all the cute Back to School planners come out and then again in December when planners are everywhere. I buy several, thinking that one will do. Of course, it's not QUITE right, but close enough. Then I find something closer. This means no one around me needs to buy a planner because I always have several at my disposal. What I want shouldn't be hard to find. I'm not asking for much. Here are my planner demands:

1.  The week must start on Sunday. This is not because of God, but because my work week begins on Sunday and if my calendar doesn't, then I cannot be relied upon to come to work on the right day.
   
2. The planner should be small enough to fit in my purse but checkbook size is too small.  Now, in the past, I have compromised on this point and have just purchased a bigger purse, but that causes all sorts of other problems that fall under different crazy flavors.
3. The days should have big enough boxes to write at least one birthday and a soccer game in the same day.
4. These boxes should not have lines.  I don't really know why, but the lines bother me.  It's too much pressure.  Just plain black boxes please.
5. I would like it to be covered in plastic so that it doesn't fall apart in the middle of the year.
6. No cutesy sayings or puppy dogs or kitties.  Not that I have anything against puppy dogs or kitties, I just don't want them on my planner.
7. I would like to have an inside pocket to put scraps of paper.
8. It must be monthly.

OK, that's it!  Don't these all seem like reasonable requests?  Can anyone find this planner?  I am developing a back-up plan of making my own, should I fail once again at my search.  

Oh dear.

Merry Christmas!

The kids had a great Christmas, the adults are tired. We had lots of great food and lots of great company.

Cassie's Christmas was Just So-So

I wish that Cassie could come out of her shell and show some enthusiasm. She is a very shy and reserved child. Just a few seconds after this video she screamed "SANTA ROCKS"! You know what? I have found that Santa does indeed rock! (By the way, she is screaming "Mini I-pod...PURPLE in case no one but your dog can hear her)

Destined for Her Own Cooking Show

Hannah got a kitchen from Santa.
I'm pretty sure that she is already better in the kitchen than her mother.

O.K.

Dancing with Grandpa

Hannah has learned some new moves from her Grandpa Dennis. This dance involves head bobbing, arm swinging and some twirling. As far as song choice, we favor "C is for Cookie" by Cookie Monster. Hopefully she didn't inherit his sense of rhythm.

Just Another Day

There are strange things that happen in my store. I'm sure they happen in every store, and depending on the clientele, they can vary in degrees of strangeness. Today I cleaned up little boy vomit from the front of the store and the sidewalk (poor kid), then watched a customer as he left the store with a life sized blow up female doll. These are the questions I have:
1. What in the world did that child eat?????
2. Did the customer come in with the doll? (and why didn't I see that?)
3. What did he do with the doll and where?
4. Were they on a date and where was he taking her later?

And just for future reference, if you see a salesperson cleaning up vomit and they have a mop, some carpet cleaner, rubber gloves, and a "Wet Floor" sign, it might be a good idea to try to find another salesperson to help you find Freakonomics.  

Booky Sorts of Gifts

Just look what my wonderful booksellers gave me today! How lucky am I? Amy made a beautiful book fairy! Bargain Jack gave me a Willow Tree "Wisdom" girl. Julie sent me a subtle message via Louisa May Alcott. I love them all! (The booksellers AND the gifts!)



PS- Have I mentioned that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE comments? Well, I do!

Speaking of Elves

The Elf on the Shelf is a book that comes with a little red Kewpie elf. It's a wonderful tradition to start with your family. We began ours this year. Here's how it works: 1. You name your elf (Sneaky Bernard is the chosen name at our house), 2. Every night Bernard magically disappears to visit the North Pole to tell Santa if you've been naughty or nice, 3. Your elf will magically reappear in a different location in your house every morning. 4. If you touch him he loses some of his magic. 5. Register your elf online and get a letter from Santa (because what good is a toy if you can't register it online?)

So, it seems that there have been a few nights that Bernard does not travel to the North Pole. Cassie pointed this out when he didn't magically reappear in a different location the next morning. We chalked it up to a defective elf or perhaps a lazy elf.

   Give the elf a break wontcha? He probably works all day and is very tired at the end of the day and sometimes just can't REMEMBER to go to the North Pole and magically reappear in a different location. And how many different locations are there for an elf to sit in anyway?

Also, isn't it a little creepy to have an elf watching you all the time? Then moving around the house all willy nilly like?

We have been Elfed!

My cousin, Melissa, has elfed us! Who knew we had such great moves?
Thanks Melissa!!
Click on the question mark. The first download takes a bit.

Crank Dat

I gained permission from the subject before posting. As said subject often changes his mind with the wind, this post may disappear at any moment. For now I have permission. Do not turn up your volume, there is no sound. The beat is all in his head. Makes it even more impressive, don't you think?

A Visit to the Doctor

Hannah had her 18 month visit to the pediatrician. She is in the 80th percentile for height and the 15th percentile for weight. The doctor says she will be a tall skinny girl. I wondered how he could make such a long term statement when it is really too early to tell if she has inherited the very serious Snickeritis that inflicts her maternal side of the family. He also said that I should work on fattening her up. I wish my doctor would tell me that. I would develop a serious attitude towards my weight gain and would plan my snacks and meals with the intent to consistently gain. I would want to make my doctor proud.

Her doctor asked how many words she knew and if she knew her nose and ears. We scoffed at this! Hannah pulled out all the stops and blew him away with "elbow", "shoulders" and "hiney". After she threw the doctor kisses and waved bye-bye, he left the room and sent in the nurse to do his dirty work. Hannah was not happy about her flu shot but forgot in about 30 seconds when presented with a sticker. Sometimes a colorful sticker is all it takes.

Baking Cookies

We made some delicious sugar cookies last night. Hannah kept busy by unbuckling her booster chair many, many times. I kept busy by buckling the booster chair and vacuuming up sprinkles.

A Letter to Santa

Cassie requests a "real live Tinkerbell" for Christmas. Do you think fairies do laundry?

Another Aside

More kids and babies coming soon.  For now, another one of my book related ponderings coming at you.

How do you avoid sounding like a huge dork when you gush to a customer, "Oh!  You are so lucky that you haven't read this yet!  I'm so excited for you!"?  Some people get that, most do not and just look at me like perhaps I'm a little too invested in their reading material.  I feel that way about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Red Tent, The Time Traveler's Wife, To Kill a Mockingbird, and so many more.  You can read them over and over again, but it's never the same as the first time (how many things does THAT statement apply to?)  That first time, when you postpone finishing the book because then it's over, even though you are just DYING to find out what happens.  Then you read the last sentence and put the book down and just stare for awhile because you are not quite ready to return to real life.  For me, the hardest part is what comes next, that feeling that there is nothing else out there that could possibly live up to what I have just read.  So I shun the wannabees.  I can't read anything else until my unrealistic expectations have dissipated a bit.

 I remember having an Ecolab exterminator who came to the store monthly to ensure we were bug free.  This woman was PASSIONATE about bugs.  Only the dead ones, though.  She loved to talk about different killing devices and decomposing bodies.  I found it a little creepy, but had to give her props for finding her passion in life.  Maybe customers will think the same of me (without the creepy part.)

So, how do I avoid sounding like a big dork?  I believe that ship has sailed.

Grade School Musical 1 & 2

Holly's choir performance was last night and it was beautiful. She's in the front row in the black dress.  The background noise is Hannah screaming "HOLLY" throughout the program.

Cassie's wackadoo program featured colonists, Betsy Ross, Ben Franklin, Yankee Doodle, Santa and Rudolph.  I'm still not clear on the details, but here are the things I know: 1.  Yankee Doodle had a toothache. 2. Betsy Ross and Ben Franklin offered help.  3. Santa and Rudolph were there.  4.  Cassie's bonnet made her head itch.

Retail Therapy

It's that time of year. Stores are crowded. Lines are long. From customers you hear horror stories of rude retail employees. From retail employees you hear horror stories of rude customers. I've seen both. It is within my job description to deal with rude employees and make them see the error of their ways. Rude customers, however, are a different story. My job, as I see it, is to first protect my employee from abuse. Next, I must win the game. The game is something I made up in my crazy head to make troublesome retail times tolerable. Here are the rules: 1. If my employee did nothing wrong, I must never apologize for their behavior ( because that is cheating and you will always win the game by doing this). 2. If my employee was in the wrong, I must promise to discuss it with them immediately and then do so. The object of the game is to have the customer smiling and thanking me at the end of the customer/store manager interaction. After the game is won, I say a little prayer for all those that will come in contact with this person later in the day and wish them well. Then I pile more wonderful books into the arms of waiting people.

Is this Close Enough?

The lights are on the tree.  We have three ornaments hanging from it.  The rest are in these bins sitting next to it.  I keep pushing them closer.  I think subconsciously I'm hoping the tree will decorate itself.  Stranger things have happened.  Think of how easy it will be on December 26th.

He Was a Good Dog

Poor Duke.  He went on an adventure and tried to cross a busy road.

A Visit to the North Pole

Going to see Santa is very exciting. Even if you are dressed like an elf. Apparently I have become THAT mom.

Hannah was a little reluctant to spend time with Santa Claus. She definitely was not going to be sitting in the chair with him. But Santa knows how to win over the babies. He plopped down in the floor and played trains with Hannah for 30 minutes. 

Quite a sharp contrast from her mom's first Santa picture.

Boddeker Family Photo: The Outtakes

This one is missing some kids

The Leaning Tower of Family

Unhappy baby

Just weird

The things I can show you from this weekend!

Holly and Christian made an awesome gingerbread house.

Cassie had a friend spend the night!

Holly and Cassie baked some cakes in their Easy Bake Oven.

The things I can't show you from this weekend.

A nasty stomach virus is making its way through the Boddeker household.  I'm afraid I started the wretched thing.  Hannah then caught it and passed it on to Christian.  Luckily it leaves as quickly as it comes!  Paul spent his weekend doing lots of laundry!  Then, Saturday night, during the sleep over, while reading a book, I had a case of spontaneous eyeball bleeding.  What?  You have never heard of this?  Well, neither has anyone at the Medical Center Emergency Room!  After some searching and poking and bright lights they removed a "blood fiber" from my eye.  It was determined that I scratched my cornea and cut my eyelid.  I feel certain that the blood fiber was actually part of my brain.  The memory part.  While I had visions of a pirate eye patch, I left with some drops and instructions to wear glasses for awhile.  By the way, I had decided that my pirate eye patch would be pink with flowers.

Bedtime Fun

Every evening we spend some time in Hannah's room.  We practice our singing, jumping, and general roughhousing.  It's always nice to get the baby all riled up right before bedtime!

Thanksgiving!

What could be better than family, food, wine (thanks Melissa!) and babies!!!  Hannah and her cousin, Gracie had a wonderful time playing together.  The guys had a fun time together also!

Giving Thanks

Here are some things to be thankful for!
To go from this-


To this!

And also this!!!