Tiny Tu-Tu Tot

I want to preface tonight's performance with Thursday night's rehearsal. So we are getting ready for class on Thursday and Libby decides she needs to wear her cowgirl hat (a just because gift from Grama Shari and Papa Ed) and her cowgirl boots. What might be the matter with that? Well, it's 30 something below zero and cowgirl hats aren't the best for keeping the ears warm; and the boots...well, they are at least 2 sizes to small! She wore them with absolutely no complaints! The idea of stuffing your foot into a shoe 2 sizes too small just because they are cute must be an inherent tool girls are just born with! Definitely not learned from me as I can't seem to find shoes small enough to even fit my foot!

On to tonight. Grammy Shari came to our house for a gourmet dinner of Mac & Cheese and green beans. After dinner we got Libby all dressed and ready to go on time! I even had enough time to explain to Maison that he had to pretend to be 5yrs old tonight. We were expected to pay $5.00 a person to watch a 2 minute half-time show. Needless to say, 5 and under were free. (At those prices, it was worse than going to a movie!) We were making great time until we got behind a driver who was driving 25 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone! Of course the road was winding and two lanes, so passing wasn't an option until a mile from our destination! We made it on time, got Libby where she needed to be and got great seats. Leave it to my brother to get himself and his friend in for free, just because they waited until the last possible second to enter! He obviously got those inherent skills from our father.

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Gracie & Woody

As many of you know, Woody was added to our family right after Thanksgiving. He was adopted through the American Brittany Rescue League. We had an extremely hard time separating him from his brother and were seriously considering adopting him as well.

Needless to say I am glad we didn't! We had forgotten how difficult a puppy can be! The pooping, the chewing, the crying, the eating of anything that isn't nailed down...the list goes on. Sadly Libby discovered her toy necklace outside on the deck intertwined with dog number 2! Yikes! There was no way I was rescuing a 25cent necklace from poop! I have my limits. I was hoping the butterflies from our Elefun game would fly the poop away, but they didn't. That dog must have a gut of steal. On the positive side, the kids don't leave their stuff laying around for fear Woody will eat it.

I think people have forgotten how difficult Gracie was when she was a puppy. I brought her home to Jason's house when she was just 4 weeks old from the animal shelter in Des Moines, The Animal Rescue League. She ate countless pairs of shoes, tore up the garbage every chance she had, and pooped up the house! During our wedding ceremony, Gracie was busy at my folk's house eating my brother's sandals and shredding every tissue in the house! With some time and a little bit of love, Gracie learned the ropes and has been the best dog ever!

I am really grateful we have Gracie. She has been a terrific influence on Woody. It truly helps having a dog that is already trained around when trying to train a new dog. Woody has learned all of Gracie's tricks, good and bad! Now, if we could only keep the two of them off of the couch!

Woody has also been great for Gracie. Gracie is about 9 years old and her age has really been showing. She like to sleep most of the day! Now that Woody has joined us, she is back to her playful puppy self. Woody and her run and play in the back yard, chew bones together, wrestle, and occasionally snuggle together. (I think Gracie likes to pretend to be the Alpha Dog, but when she thinks no one is looking, she likes to snuggle up to Woody)

Woody continues to sleep in his kennel in Maison's room until around 4:30am, when he goes outside to potty. He then joins Jason, myself, and Gracie in bed! Good thing we have a king-size bed! The kids love him, we love him, and Gracie loves him. He has been a great addition.

Snuggle Puppy

Dough University

Maison and Libby attended Dough University with their friends Aydin and Naomi at Nick and Willie's Pizza this afternoon. They had a great time. Each Chef received a hat, a personalized apron, a sack of cooking supplies, a large pizza (which they made), and a diploma. They have now earned credits towards the next class.

After their class, Aydin and Naomi came to our house to sample their pizza. It was very delicious!

On Your Marks, Get Set, Go!

Papa Dan and Maison worked on his derby car over Christmas break and Daddy put the final touches on it this week.Everyone told us the Pinewood Derby was a serious event. We thought we understood what serious meant. Judging by some of the cars, we grossly misunderstood "serious"! This was a professional track that had an automatic start and a timer, which was all hooked to a computer! Maison's car was 33 out of 50 something.

Apparently the boys at the office had their own little Pinewood Derby! Must be a guy thing. Here I thought Jason was going off to the office to put a hard days work in, but I was sorely mistaken. They were busy weighing and racing!

It was amazing to hear the kids chanting for their favorite cars! The Oscar Meyer car was a crowd favorite. One heat included the Oscar Meyer car, the Ketchup Bottle car, and a Mustard car.

There has already been talk about next year. Now that we know this race is more about the parent's ability and creativity, Papa Dan and Daddy will have their work cut out for them!

On Your Marks, Get Set, Double Click Play!

Surprise Party

To my surprise, it actually worked. We actually pulled off a surprise party! Jeremy, Erin, the girls, and us all made the trip to Rolfe Friday night for Mary's birthday. Papa Dan must have called a half dozen times during the day through the evening. Despite all of the phone calls, Grama Mary had know idea we were coming.

The kids waited patiently under the counter waiting Grammy's arrival. Cousin Hayley thought she would be invisible if she took her clothes off. (So the floating pair of underwear is Hayley) I don't know who was more excited about the surprise, the kids or Papa!

Double Click for Some Birthday Surprises!

A Day of Sledding Fun

Ever since our first ice storm, seems like we are getting weekly snow storms. I don't mind the snow, but the ice is horrible. Jason and the kids built a fort out front in hopes of avoiding piles of dog "you know what".

We spent an afternoon sledding at Grama Shari and Papa Ed's house. Papa had to plow a path for the sleds because the drifts were too high! Papa almost buried Maison in the snow! Yikes. The first run down, I rode with Jason. When we reached the bottom, the sled stopped, and I kept going right over the top of Jason. He ended up with a face full of snow! Whoops.

Double click the play button

Happy Birthday Papa Ed

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We celebrated Papa Ed's birthday at the Wasserbaun Holiday Inn at the Amana Colonies. Everyone had a great time swimming! Papa's favorite card is always the one his Uncle Vic and Aunt Peggy send. It's always loaded with random things from rubber bands to expired coupons. He looks forward to that card every year.

The Schmidt Family Christmas

We arrived at Grama Shari and Papa Ed's house much earlier than expected on Christmas Eve. The kids got the key ready for Santa and climbed into bed. Maison started complaining of a stomach ache. OH NO! I asked him to come home but he wanted to stay.

Jason and I went home for a good night's sleep in our own bed. My brother called early the next morning to report that Santa had made it. So we brushed our teeth, put our shoes on and headed over to open gifts.

Poor Maison, he was feeling so yucky! In the video you can see his progression. He starts off opening gifts and pretty soon he is lying on the couch. He stayed on the couch the whole day and night!

Santa brought Libby a doll house, Maison a magnetix roller-coaster, and Jason and I ISU football tickets.

We all got lots of great things for Christmas! My parents also cut back on the number of gifts, which helped. The kids are playing with their things daily. The roller coaster got set up right away and is still set up, the movies have all been watched more than once, games have been played (Maison is is master Toss Across player), the doll house is in Libby's room, play-dough has been played, Moon Sand has gotten all over the kitchen floor, L-Max games played, and lots of pictures drawn and erased on their cool dry-erase boards.

We've eaten out, Jason has organized our game closet with shelving from Lowe's, and our ISU wreath is hanging on our patio door. Decided not to put it on the front door, as our neighbors who are Hawkeye fans like to play pranks on us.

Thank you all for all of the great gifts!

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The Allen Family Christmas

We headed up to Rolfe for Christmas on the 19th. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins. Unfortunately we had to cut our trip short due to the stomach flu! I didn't feel good on the 23rd and Jason got it on the 24th. We ended up coming home early in hopes of not passing it on to everyone else. No such luck! Grama Mary, Papa Dan, Auntie Erin, and Uncle Jeremy all ended up sick for Christmas Day. YUCK!

The kids really enjoyed their gifts. Libby's favorite gifts ended up being a bath robe, ratatouille pajamas, a kitty bathroom bag, and the movie Chill Out Scooby-Doo. She continues to live in the jammies and robe! The bathroom bag has become a purse!

Maison's favorite gift was a red lantern. Jason has it plugged into a remote control outlet. It is hanging above Maison's lofted bed and he can turn it on and off with a remote! He also lives in his ratatouille pajamas and uses his bathroom bag to store everything but bathroom stuff!

Jason and I ended up earning an Engineering Degree over Christmas Break. Jason's dad was given a Juke Box. Sounds great right? Well, they dropped it during the unloading and it wasn't working. Jason and I worked on that crazy thing everyday we were up there. After a couple of new fuses, some sodder, a mini repair job after Jason broke one of the selection screens, and a crash course from the manual, we got it reprogrammed and running. Only broke a couple of discs in the process. I hope Dan won't miss The Spice Girls or Pink Floyd.

Double click the play button for some Christmas fun!

Our Family Christmas

We had an early christmas this year. We always have our little family christmas before we leave to go to Jason's folk's house. Then we make the long trip back on christmas eve night so we can have christmas with my folks on christmas morning. It's quite the eventful holiday!

Jason and I decided to approach christmas a little differently this year. We took the idea of the gifts from the 3 wise men, a special gift, a practical gift, and a gift to enrich their christian faith. It was the best christmas we have ever had. Maison and Libby each got an i-dog, an mp3 player, and a Veggie Tales Movie! Less is definately more!

We hope everyone has a wonderful christmas!

Double click the play button to enjoy a little christmas.

Christmas Photos

This year we decided to have a friend of ours, Elli, take pictures of the kids for Christmas. Getting them in their natural element, thinking it would go much smoother. They did a great job and had a lot of fun. Check out Poor Girl's Photography to see more about Elli and her photography. She is amazing!

Sleigh Ride

After our first round of ice last weekend, we finally got a few inches of snow. We went to Grama Shari and Papa Ed's house for some sledding. The weather was a cool 14 degrees, no wind, and fresh powdery snow for sledding. Perfect conditions! I don't know who had more fun, Papa or the kids?

Double Click the Play Button for Some Sledding Fun!

New Member of The Allen Family

We recently added a new member to our family. Woody and his brother were rescued from a Davenport animal shelter. He and his brother are pure-bred Brittany Spaniels. Jason and I went to meet them Wednesday night. It was a very tough decision to separate the dogs, but we felt our house could only one more dog. Libby loves him and wants to bring his brother home, Gracie is unsure, and Maison has a new roommate. So far so good. If you know anyone that would like to give Woody's brother a good home, let us know or check out http://www.americanbrittanyrescue.org/

Chicken Pox For Christmas

Tonight was Libby's first performance as a dancer. I spent the day charging every set of batteries we have, 12 total, just to be on the safe side. (Didn't want a repeat of the dress rehearsal.) We had to be in Cedar Rapids with Libby dressed and ready to go by 5:30pm. We began getting ready at 3:45pm. The infamous ponytail was the first step. I figured everything after that would be cake. Took about a half an hour to tame that baby-fine hair into a ponytail, applied a tiny bit of makeup, and got her dance outfit on. We loaded everyone up in the car and headed north to Cedar Rapids. I was really impressed with our timeliness. We even had enough time to run through the drive-thru at McDonald's. Seems a little too good to be true. We got arrived right at 5:30pm. One would think we had plenty of time to get Libby situated and grab a great seat, since the show didn't start until 6pm. Not the case! The gym was absolutely packed and the only seats available were in the balcony 3 rows from the top! Luckily Libby still managed to locate us in the crowd!

Libby's Dress Rehearsal

Let me preface this entry by saying that I never realized what a great camera we had! Never took the time to read the manual until recently. When I say recently, I mean less that two weeks ago. It has some really great features! Even takes full length movies! Wish I had known that before Maison's program! Can change color, do different effects, etc. I guess it was worth the money, two years ago when we bought it!

Tonight Libby's dance class had their first dress rehearsal. Things were going as planned. Kids ate dinner with no complaints, and Libby was extremely excited about getting to wear her performance dance outfit. Everything was great until she decided she needed to wear the matching bow in her hair. We had to be there ready to go by 6pm, and at 5:45pm she decides she needs this "pony". So there I am, knee deep in super-fine baby hair, comb in one hand, ponytail holder around my pinkie, matching bow in mouth, trying to gather that fine hair into somewhat of a ponytail. The hair was putting up a tremendous fight. (I've never seen hair that refused to be styled!) Feeling like I was losing the battle, I called for reinforcements. With the assistance of my trusty side-kick Jason, we finally managed to create a ponytail. He held the hair while I tried to comb it back, without all of the "road bumps". No such luck. With minimal speed bumps, I slid the then circulating cutter offer ponytail holder off my numb dead dieing finger, wrangled the hair in it, slid the bow through the pony, headed for the camera, changed the batteries, and out the door we went. All in a matter of 61/2 minutes! Speed Styling.

So two minutes and some awesome driving skills later, we get to the recreation center. Of course the parking lot is full, because most parents got there early. We had to park in section N... Nosebleed. So I grab her hand and we make a mad dash. Her shoe, her tu-tu, and other stuff is flying as we are running. I stop to gather things up, put Libby in the good ole football hold and run. (Those 2 hours a day on the treadmill from 5am to 7am are paying off.)

We get to the room just as they begin to line up for practice. As the girls patiently listen to directions. I began getting the camera ready only to realize the batteries I grabbed were dead! So I frantically call Jason, explain where the good batteries are and beg him to drive like the wind. I watch them line up, feeling so proud, yet really sad. I couldn't believe the batteries were dead. So as any mother would do, I kept trying to turn the camera on just in case it actually worked. I sat and watched her dance occasionally unable to resist waving back at her. Just as the teacher shuts the music off, Jason walks in the door with working batteries. I was absolutely sick! Missed the whole thing because of dead batteries! Feeling like the worst mother in the room, I sat and held her while the older girls danced. We talked and snuggled. To my surprise, they had enough time to run through the show one more time! Miracles do happen! I took my "Worst Mother of the Year" badge off and handed it to the guy beside me when he said, "Oh, I guess I had some extra batteries right here."

Double Click to See the Tiny Tu-Tu Tot in Action

Maison's First School Program

For the past couple of weeks, Maison has been practicing his parts and memorizing scriptures. Little did we know, this was going to be a major production! Last week I spent the majority of my afternoons helping the kids paint their set. Had I known my family were professional art critics, I would have declined!

They performed worship songs, scriptures of thanksgiving, poems, vignettes, and small one act plays. Maison sang in the choir, played a pilgrim, and portrayed the father of Goldilocks. That night before the show, he was showing everyone his mustache followed by, "you know, it's not real", like we couldn't tell it was drawn on with marker. Yes marker, the outside says washable, so I guess we'll find out how washable after bath time. Maison could very well be sporting a mustache for Thanksgiving.

Below is a snip-it of Maison's best clips along with some photos. I missed is father lines for the play, but he said, "Be a good girl. Don't go near the trees, or in your room you'll stay." I hope to have their whole thing on here as soon as I can get a copy!

We are so proud of him!

Double Click to See Swivel Hips McGee in Action

Maison is wearing a Pilgim's hat and vest, black sweat suit, and of course is the only 6 year old with a mustache.

Squanto Meal

Maison's school shared a Squanto Meal today at school. Squanto Meal consists of apples, cornbread, and succotash (a mixture of corn, carrots, onions, beef and cream). Squanto and his people provided the Plymouth Colony with this portion of the Thanksgiving meal.

(Delicious)

The early settlers of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts were particularly grateful to Squanto, the Native American and former British slave who taught them how to both catch eel and grow corn and also served as their native interpreter. Without Squanto's assistance, the settlers might not have survived in the New World.

The Plymouth settlers (who came to be called "Pilgrims") set apart a holiday immediately after their first harvest in 1621. They held an autumn celebration of food, feasting, and praising God. The Governor of Plymouth invited Grand Sachem Massasoit and the Wampanoag people to join them in the feast. Evidence to support that claim came from diaries of Plymouth. The settlers fed and entertained the Native Americans for three days, at which point some of the Native Americans went into the forest, killed 5 deer, and gave them to the Governor as a gift.

Cake Auction

This has been one crazy week! In between musical rehearsals and performances, a cake had to be baked and decorated for the Boy Scout cake auction. The auction took place at Penn Elementary, complete with real auctioneers!
There were quite a few cakes. We will definitely have to step it up a bit for next year! The cake with the highest bid was around $80.00! Hope it was frosted with real gold!



Maison's cake went for around $20.00 courtesy of Papa Ed. The boys came home with 2 cakes, Maison's and a pudding cake with gummy worms. Apparently they also had a Darth Vader cake, but gave it to a little boy who didn't get a cake. How nice! Maison's cake went with Jason to work and the worm cake is still in the fridge. Not too bad!

"Honk" Jr

I used to teach science at LaSalle Middle School and help with their school's musical production every year. I continue to help every year with the musical, which is quite the show. It is performed every year in the Theater at Xavier High School; complete with costumes, make-up, lights, music, and microphones! Hard to believe it is 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.

This year's production, "Honk", was a contemporary retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's Ugly Duckling. Maison's school received special permission to attend the Thursday afternoon show. The students loved it, Libby fell asleep, and Jason struggled to stay awake!