Surprises

This last weekend was all about surprises and excitement.  Who doesn't like surprises?  I guess some people more than others but I love getting and giving surprises, I think it makes this sometimes dull and rushed life more beautiful.

The first one kind of evolved over a few days last week.  Ehren and I have talked for a while now about me going to Slovakia this Spring.  Even though we had no idea if I would be able to go, we still talked about it and we both thought it was a very high priority this year.  I haven't been home for over 3 years and it has started to show. :)  I'm very glad my parents were able to come once and mom by herself again last year since I've been there, but it is still not the same as going there and seeing everyone.  Not being able to see my 3 brothers and all my nephews and nieces, 3 of them I haven't even met yet, is especially hard.  So, this last week we finally got our taxes done which pretty quickly made me look into the airplane tickets.  At first I thought for sure they'd be too much and yes, they are very expensive but somehow I threw a number out there, like I told God if I am able to find a plane ticket for this price I'll do it.  I didn't think I was going to find one but there it was, one of them was just the right price.  I think it was a bit cheaper than all the rest because the plane leaves on Easter Sunday, but we can manage that.  To make the long story short, I quickly booked it before it was gone and now it is for real - Anika and I are going to Slovakia for 2 and a half weeks.  I still can't believe it's happening and am so excited about it.  At the same time I'm nervous about what will happen with Kason and Kade because we have to figure out someone to watch them, mainly Kason every day during the week.  It is very sad when I think about not being able to take the boys, especially Kade who would love to come with me, but it's just too expensive.  For Kason, he would be very hard to deal with on the air planes and it is such a long trip that I know it would be exhausting for all of us.  Plus, I thought he would barely remember anything from Slovakia and Anika is at the age where she loves visiting people and can take away so many memories from there.  So, on April 24th we are taking off from Fargo and leaving our 3 boys behind.  It was the perfect timing for both of my parents' upcoming birthdays so I wanted to surprise my mom with it.  But the rest of my family too because they had no idea I was thinking about coming, so that was fun.

The other surprise came just a day after me booking the plane ticket.  Ehren has been telling me he has a "family" thing he wants us to do on Saturday so I shouldn't plan anything.  He played it so much about the kids that that is all I thought about.  I totally thought it was something fun for our kids but then when Saturday came I was wondering why he wouldn't tell me what the surprise was when it was just for the kids.  I still didn't think anything of it, plus woke up with a bit of a cold, so I tried to rest as much as I could that morning.  Then the afternoon came and Ehren is telling me he got an e-mail that "they" are not ready for us yet.  I'm thinking who they?  We must be going to visit someone at their house.  When the time finally came, Ehren started the van like we're about to go but there was a knock on the door little bit later and here is my dear friend from church saying "happy birthday" to me.  I was a bit confused, thought that maybe we're going somewhere with her family but the surprise was all for me as a late birthday present and she came to pick me up for it.  We picked up another girlfriend on the way and we met a third friend in Grand Forks for a nice meal, who was all in on the surprise.  It was the best present I could ever wish for.  I love getting together with close friends especially when it's just us without all the kids, which so rarely happens.  Afterwards all 4 of us went to see a roller skating derby, just for fun to see what it's like.  It was crazy different, especially some of the outfits these girl skaters were wearing.  I still don't understand how they manage to get up there dressed like that and not only have hundreds of complete strangers watch them, but their own little children.  But it was something different and good to see what it is about.  We had a great time catching up a little and just talking and talking.  We didn't get home until after 11pm and I felt so recharged.  It meant a world to me to just get together and talk to these sweet friends and I sure hope we do it again very soon.  I almost forgot how much I missed a great girl's night out.  They sure made me feel special that night.

Meanwhile to not disappoint our kids who were expecting a surprise for a whole week, Ehren took them to McDonalds where they played for 2 hours and Kason still didn't want to go home after that.  I'm sure glad they still can get excited about the smallest things.  Unfortunately, it was too cold outside for sledding or something so McD's was the only safe option.

Sunday morning, I couldn't quite get out of bed as I felt a lot worse, just sweating and having muscle aches.  But after resting all morning I got better so it wasn't that bad.  Having so much fun on Saturday was well worth it.

So in conclusion, I have to admit I love surprises.  Especially the surprises that Ehren is part of because he knows exactly what I love and need and that's why I love him.  He knows I wouldn't care about a big surprise party with a lot of people, but getting some real quality time with my friends is just what I needed.  And he knows how hard it is for me to live so far away from my family so even though it's not easy to spend so much money on plane tickets, he gladly and lovingly sends me off while many of his friends are buying trucks, big screen tvs and other toys.  I am so thankful to have Ehren in my life, to lean on him and to create a home with him.

dinner with friends

This was big girls' and beginners teams, it wasn't very pretty when they fell down in those outfits.

They can only shove with their elbows, but can't push each other down

the purple team was from Grand Forks and they kicked butt mostly because of a little girl on their team who squeezed by everyone and scored points.

Valentines Day

I know, it is a pretty overrated holiday and way too commercialised but needless to say, it is still another day we get to express our love.  I always looked at it as a romantic day for couples and Ehren and I have had some pretty incredible valentine's dates over the years but now that I'm a mom somehow I look at it differently.  I think of my children weeks before Valentines Day and think about that special something to give or do for them on this special day.  I think about my mom and dad and how much I miss them.  I remember mom doing something extra special for me on this day and now I feel like I finally understand how she felt when she did that.

Now I'm going to get the kids' little valentine's ready so I can watch their grinning faces tomorrow morning.  We are also going to have a special valentine's party for lunch, which Anika and Emily are so excited about.  And to me, their innocent excitement is more than going out with Ehren which we can do any other day.  I'll post some pictures of our day with the kids afterwards.  Of course, the kids will go to bed at 8pm sharp and then we're having that special romantic time with cheesy (for some) candles, rose petals and all... And there won't be any pictures of that. :)

my 3 girls (Ani, Emily and Aveah) I take care of during the day

Our Valentine's Day lunch party

Heat wave

When you hear the word "heatwave", everyone has a different idea of what it means.  Most people automatically think 100 degree weather when you step outside and you can barely breathe because it's like sauna.  But here in northern MN, we have different kinds of heat waves.  The ones that occasionally come in the summer time and people have to get to a lake because they can't handle the heat.  And the kind that comes during the winter months, mostly January and February.  After we go through weeks of sub zero temperatures, especially with many days of 20-40 below Fahrenheit (or 30-40 below 0 Celsius), when we finally get a weekend of 30s (or around 0 Celsius) it is a reason to celebrate.  To our bodies it feels just like a heatwave and kids think they should walk with no hats or jackets on.

And this finally happened yesterday.  It was sunny and around freezing and it felt amazing.  I couldn't help but think that growing up in Slovakia, that would be the normal cold weather during winter months.  So many people I know have no idea what it feels like to run to the mailbox all bundled up because if you're not your fingers are numb by the time you get back to the house.  Or kids waiting (or freezing) for the bus early in the morning, at the end of the driveway when it is 20 below Fahrenheit.  The first 5 years of our marriage we lived in the Minneapolis area and even though it gets pretty cold there a few times every winter, now that I live, as people here call it "way up north" I know that is NOTHING in comparison to our winters.  I do miss the nice weather, especially the nice running winter weather they have because it's cold but not too cold.

But yesterday, it was like we were in the cities.  The heatwave came and it was so nice to be outside.  Kids actually enjoyed playing outside for hours because their tiny fingers and toes weren't freezing after 15 minutes.  When Kason went down for his nap I was able to go running outside for the first time in months.  It was funny because even with the warmer temperature, this is still a tundra and a flat land so any tiny breeze can get very harsh when trying to run around our house.  And, just as I turned away from our driveway I could feel the cold southern wind, blowing in my face.  Of course I wasn't wearing my winter coat because I was going for a run and even though you need to wear layers of clothes you can't wear too much or else you'll sweat way too much.  So after 2-3 minutes of trying to run against the small but very cold wind I almost turned around and thought I should just forget about it.  But I kept on and was very glad I did because after I turned at my corner, it was just fine and I was able to enjoy the sunshine and the fresh air.  It was just me and my mp3 player, white covered fields all around me and it felt very peaceful.

We also took the kids ice skating after that and they had a lot of fun.  I finally took out my old worn out skates and it felt great to skate around again.  I found some small hockey skates from Kade that are just the right size for Kason now but he's a bit too young for it and didn't like it very much that he had no control over his feet.  It was only Anika's 2nd time but she still loved being out there and didn't want to go home.  I'm sure she'll be starting to skate on her own next winter.

It was just a great day with the family.  And the truth is, I wouldn't appreciate the 30s weather as much as I do now if I wasn't stuck inside the house for so long because it's too cold to go anywhere.  Living here makes us appreciate and really enjoy every nice day because really, there aren't too many of them some months.  So no matter how tired or lazy we feel some days, if it is nice out we have to get out there and enjoy this beautiful life God is giving us or else it will just slip away.

Anika's first steps without holding on

playing Candy Land after skating

Thomas world

I wonder what the fascination is with the little blue tank engine - Thomas.  Both of our boys have been very into it starting around 18 months old.  Kade is now too good for it and thinks it's too childish to play with the trains (even though he still likes to watch new Thomas shows on tv) but Kason at 2 and a half is just all about Thomas right now.  He could listen to Thomas books all day long if someone would read them to him and if not he'll just pretend to read them himself.  He loves playing with the wooden trains we have, knows them all by name and if he gets asked what he wants to watch, the answer is always Thomas.

Well, recently Kason started to use some of the vocabulary from this English show and it can be pretty entertaining sometimes.  If Ehren or I get angry about something, I hear Kason tell Anika :"daddy is cross" and it makes me smile inside. 

Today I wasn't smiling or laughing at his little melt down, but in retrospect it was pretty funny.  Kason and I were at Walmart and it probably took a little longer for his not very long shopping time limit so by the end I could tell he was getting pretty tired.  Well, once he saw the play area (pretty much just 2 cars to sit on that move if you put coins in them) he forgot all about me or wanting to go home and got right on the cars as I was paying for the groceries.  I put everything in the cart, slowly got over to him and let him play for a while longer.  Then, like a good mom I was letting him know he has 2 more minutes to play.  Out of all 3 children, he is our toughest cookie yet, with a very strong will, and melt downs if he doesn't get his way.  So I knew even before I said it that it wouldn't make a difference and when the time was up, he'd be throwing a fit.  So, just like every time when it is time to go, he was screaming and yelling, telling me to go home by myself because he was going to stay there.  After a few exchanges the only option was to throw him on top of the cart, kicking and screaming, and take off.  I was actually thinking right then how proud I was of myself for being so mature and grown-up about it because it didn't even faze me or bother me to have my child misbehave like this in public.  I think he was really tired though because this tantrum lasted a lot longer than usual, after I buckled him in his seat, put all the bags in the van and all the way home.

The funny part was as we were driving off the parking lot, Kason is yelling out his very mad 2 year old statements and besides others he says: "You're a bossy boiler and I am cross!"  That almost made me laugh but as I was trying to hide the smirk on my face I calmly disciplined him and said that it's not ok to talk that way to me.  Of course, he didn't care what I had to say, he knew he was safe in his seat so he kept throwing out some other lines from Thomas, which I didn't quite catch with all the car noise and him crying.  I knew all Kason needed was a time out alone, which he got as soon as we got home.  Then I sat with him on the bed, holding him and he just held me so tight with his arms around me.  That is his way of saying he's sorry and I love that.  He's our little cuddler and after being held for a while he always feels better and is ready to go, like nothing every happened.

I pray I have the wisdom to discipline him the right way and show love to him every day.  He's such a sweet child but has such a strong will and determination that I wonder what is lying ahead of us.  For now, I will just smile at his funny statements which he says with all seriousness and thank God for this unique little person.