20 Questions, Marriage Style

A sweet friend of a friend posted this to her blog and I thought it was fun.

1. How long have you been married?

11 years on April 15th of this year

2. How long have you been together?

18 years June 24th of this year

3. Where did you go on your first date?

First date alone was Peking Inn for Chinese and then the movie So I Dated and Axe Murderer (still one of our top 10 faves)

4. Where did you go on your latest date?

We had lunch together at MCL two weeks ago. We're KER-RAZYYYYYY!

5. What's you anniversary date?

April 15th, 2000

6. Where where you married?

St Luke's United Methodist in Carmel, IN by my brother in law, Todd

and renewed our vows this past April 4th at East 91st St Christian Church (again by Todd)

7. What was your favorite wedding gift and from whom?

Two things : One was my canister set for my dishes from my friend Natalie that I nannied for. They were really expensive and I did NOT expect to get them. The other was a hair cutting kit from our crazy friend Vojin. We registered for it partly as a joke and he got it for us!

8. Where did you honeymoon?

Disney World

9. What food do you now like because of your spouse?

Sushi

10. What type of music do you like because of your spouse?

Pet Shop Boys, Moody Blues and Depeche Mode. And also Reggae

11. What TV program do you like now because of your spouse?

History channel documentaries

12. What is your favorite PG rated activity to do together?

Date nights at home where he cooks dinner and we watch a movie

13. Last gift you bought your spouse?

A Griswold family Christmas t shirt and a RAM brewhouse t shirt

14. Last gift they bought you?

GLEE cd!!

15. Favorite thing about your spouse?

I know lots of people say this about their own spouse, but he really his the kindest man I've EVER met. He is VERY good at loving me and our children.

16. Something you disagree about

He never remembers to put the seat back after he drives my car. But of course, he's usually charged my cell and filled my gas tank, so it doesn't matter.

17. Book that you both like?

I know it's cheesy, but the Bible. Other than that, not a single one.

18. Favorite shared experience.

Births of all our kids and our first Indy 500 win

19. One thing you want to do together in the future?

Retire early and travel the world

20. What makes a marriage last?

I would have to think that is different for every couple. For us, it's a foundation on Christ, a steadfast friendship, intimacy, trust, and humor.

Check out my friend Michelle's blog. She will inspire you in so many ways!

http://http//imperfectlywonderfulworld.blogspot.com/2011/02/20-questions-marriage.html

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...six weeks later!

Ok, so I've never said I'm good at the blogging thing. I am terribly impatient and struggle to sit in front of the computer very long. Couple that with not liking to write, and I'm NOT cut out for the blogging world. But, with that said, I have several friends and family that don't live close by that have said that this is a good way for them to stay abreast of our family's happenings. So even though I haven't done this since last fall, I will again attempt to post some fun times and get everyone caught up.

*Meg turned NINE. Yeah, unbelievable I know since I'm still in my mid 20's.

*The girls are halfway done with 2nd and 3rd grade. I volunteer at their school a lot and am getting to know all the staff including the lunch ladies.

*Christmas was amazing and filled with blessings and precious memories.

*Chip Ganassi laid off my incredibly hard working and devoted husband after eight 1/2 years of loyal service to him without any warning and three days before Christmas. I hope Mr. Ganassi doesn't die miserable and alone, with nothing but his money.

*We rang in the New Year with dear friends and Claire and Ian made it to midnight for the first time ever. Megan, the saint, put herself to bed at 10.

*We got a guinea pig and Eric doesn't know if it was a birthday gift for Megan or if I was fulfilling my own childhood dream.

*I decided to update my blog on a random Wednesday evening when everyone was in bed and I couldn't sleep.

So, now we're caught up! Here's a few pictures to go along with all that valuable info:

I love you, a bushel and a peck!

No one loves this time of year more than my oldest boy, Eric. He starts getting excited for fall about mid to late July when the humidity is so high that walking out your front door at 8 in the morning merits a shower. So, he packed us all up and took us to Tuttle Farms. This is the apple farm we've gone to as a family since Meg was ten months old. Unfortunately, this was probably our last year there. As they have grown, so have their prices. They now charge $3 a child just to play on their playground. So, we've spent $12 before we've even picked an apple! Since we were already there, we ponied up the dough and let our annual traditions proceed. They enjoyed all the usual stuff : the hay bale maze, the swings, the pedal tractors, sandbox, and the llama. Megan has had a special connection to this less than charming creature since she was a toddler. You would have to be there to believe it, but I swear that animal remembers her each year. It is truly amazing the connection she has with animals.

After the extortion, I mean playground time, we headed to the orchard. Another tradition we observe is the fight over who will pull the wagon. Megan has conceded this battle to her brother and sister and left our more bullheaded children to duke it out. Inevitably, Ian wins when Claire realizes that the ground is not perfectly smooth and pulling the wagon may strain her delicate nature in some way. Ian is happy to comply and takes on the burden of the Radio Flyer. Ten minutes later when they've all eaten their weight in apples and lost interest, we head to the gift shop for a treat and Daddy's apples. Yes, that's right folks, Eric doesn't buy the orchard apples. He opts for the Honeycrisp...the Holy Grail of apples. So, with our bellies full of apples, apple cider, cider slushies, and a few candy corn mixed in there somewhere, we head home to two week's worth of apple recipes. Happy Fall!

Ian goes back to school

Well, I'm out of kids...two days a week, anyhow. Ian is back in preschool at East 91st Street God's Kids' preschool. It's at our church and this is our 8th year there. Both girls started there as 1 1/2 year olds and graduated from Kindergarten also. And now Ian is following in their prestigious footsteps. Last year was a little rocky as his teacher changed frequently throughout the year. I was nervous about this year being the same and having to hear Ian whine all the way to school about not wanting to go and listening to him cry as I left him each week. Fortunately, he has two teachers that my girls had and they aren't going anywhere! He is in LOVE with school this year. It's so fun to take him when he can't wait to get there and is so happy he doesn't even turn to say goodbye. As painful as that should be, I find so much comfort in knowing he's learning in an environment where he is covered in prayer, loved, and taught about God's love for him. It helps that there's 6 boys in his class too, as opposed to last year only having one other boy. Ian is a man's man and likes to hang with the guys. And by hang I mean play trucks and beat the tar out of each other.

Open up and say AHHHHHH!!!

Ian has had another milestone and passed with flying colors. He has had his first trip to the dentist. Now, many of you parents out there know that this could go one of two ways. Some children come in, see the big chair, hear all the sounds, and once someone is coming at their mouth with a silver hook and saying open wide, the screaming like they're being stabbed ensues. Then there are the other children that thrive on the mere fact that regardless of what's being done to them, they're getting attention. This was my son. Oh, how the ladies in the office fussed over him! And while they were probably putting on a show to make him feel comfortable, it WORKED. That boy was like the only man on an all female college campus. You would have thought they had never seen a three year old boy the way they were talking to him. He is, after all, a man in the making, and would have let them stick knives in his mouth if they had asked. He sat and did everything they told him without a moment's hesitation. They even did his x-rays which apparently they usually leave for the second appointment so as not to overwhelm the little ones. He loved his new toothbrush and prize bag which wrapped up his perfect first trip to the dentist. The girls were there too and they mentioned discussing orthodontics for Megan next time we're in. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit from typing that.

School...BLECH!!!

OK, so remember that Sunday night feeling? You know, that feeling of bummerness that comes over you around 4 in the afternoon on a Sunday when you realize your weekend is almost over? You have school the next morning which means five days of getting up early, working hard, and maybe even some drama with classmates. Yeah, well, that never went away for me. I still get the bummers on Sunday nights. If I had my way, my family would live in a bubble and we would never have to be apart. Sounds sensible and healthy, eh? Well, yeah, I know it's not so I send my kids to school like the law tells me I have to. I even go all out...new shoes, outfit, feigned enthusiasm. Fortunately, my neighbors rally and we all have breakfast together at the bus stop that morning which adds some genuine excitement to the morning. I did OK this year. I kept it together until I could hear the bus enter the neighborhood. I had on my biggest sunglasses to try and hide my misty eyes, but Meg is too in tune with me emotionally. She looked over at me with tears in her eyes at that same moment. I told her I was so happy for her to be a third grader (that's right, folks, THIRD GRADE! Didn't she just roll over for the first time last week?) and couldn't wait to hear her stories when she got home. Claire, of course, could barely contain her excitement to show off her new earrings, gab with friends, and have the same teacher that Megan had loved the year before. So, with knots in my stomach and a lump the size of Idaho in my throat, I put my two lovely, sweet, growing up too fast girls on the bus and sent them off so other lucky people can spend all day with them. Did I mention I really like being their mom?

I still have my buddy Ian. He fills my days with laughter, anger, energy, and frustration all wrapped up in one. I am so thankful for this one on one time with my little man. I hope I can make the most of it until he climbs on that bus just before I'm dragged into the ambulance that will take me to Shady Acres as their newest out patient. You know, the crazy mom who can't stand to be away from her children so she volunteers to spend hour after hour in front of the school copier? Yeah, that's me.

Giveaway from Lisa Leonard!

Lisa Leonard is having a giveaway in honor of her birthday! Since I love her jewelry designs but I love free stuff more, I thought I'd pass this along!
http://http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/blog/2010/08/19/birthday-giveaway/comment-page-30/#comment-86531