The Hudson Crier...

Nebraska...

2012-02-05T21:49:00.001-06:00

You know you're in Nebraska....

Here is Maggie last Monday, January 30th....I believe she actually looked in the shed for one of our sprinklers, hoping I'd hook it up.

Some bushes from our alley...see the little greenish buds??

And here's Maggie, yesterday, Feb 4th. Just 5 days after begging to get out the sprinkler.

Owen worked on a snow fort Saturday, and today he made a snow home in a pine tree. Apparently he can climb to the top whether or not it's covered in snow.

While I was visiting Owen in his "new" home, I snapped some pictures from inside the tree. How often do we see pictures from that perspective?

And to top off the day (or evening by this time??) Owen gets a good luck smooch from Maggie!

Relaxing in the Kitchen on a Cold Sunday Afternoon (which is almost as good as relaxing with a glass of wine on a cold fall evening!)

2011-11-20T21:16:00.002-06:00

     Anyone recognize the fruit above? I'll give you a few minutes to ponder....don't look too close, you'll bonk your nose on your computer screen! While you think, I'll tell you that the kids and I have been on a muffin kick, lately. I've found that I can make a pretty hearty (and healthy...shhh! don't tell Owen and Maggie) start to the day with some basic ingredients. It sure makes our hectic dash out the door a little less crazy each morning. I also feel better about sending them off to school with the most nutritious breakfast I can give them. We're down to eating a bowl of cereal just on Sunday mornings!
     I've started playing around with mixing up my flours - when it calls for regular white, I put in at least half of the amount with wheat, then about 1/4 of the mixture is flax seed meal, the remaining 1/4 of mixture is regular (unbleached) white flour. I've found the texture to be undesirable when going "all wheat." I also replace all oil with applesauce. If the recipe calls for 1/4 cup oil, I put in 1/4 cup applesauce.
     Our first batch of muffins were pumpkin. No pictures as they weren't that pretty to look at - however they did get requested every morning until they disappeared! I tried a new recipe today while the kids played outside. Have you guessed the fruit, yet? Anyone have to clean their screen from bonking it? Here is the batter they jumped into:

I'll give you a hint: they're in season right now and if you have a pair of hip-waders and live in Maine, you might get some fresh down in a bog somewhere.....If you guessed cranberries you're correct! (I do not own hip-waders and have never picked cranberries. Do note, the author of this blog would not turn down the opportunity to purchase hip-waders in order to go cranberry picking (or is it cranberry bogging?). Anyhow, here is the basic recipe for this batch of Cornbread and Cranberry Muffins.

Here's my batch. Combination of cornbread and cranberries is very good! I can never resist changing a recipe - I didn't follow this one very well. I changed the flours, added 1/3 cup maple syrup and 1/3 cup honey, instead of 2/3 cup sugar. I also added about 3/4 cup of rolled oats, since I thought the batter was a bit on the runny side.

     This picture is a bit blurry due to all the activity going on in the pan. It is a bubblin and simmering away. I found THE best tomato sauce here. You wouldn't believe there's only 3 ingredients: 1 can of "good" tomatoes, an onion, and 5 tablespoons of butter. The butter gives it an unbelievable richness. The recipe tells you to discard the onion after simmering; but I have a hard time wasting that yummy onion. I put a little bit of the onion in with our tortellini, and am saving the rest to chop up with another recipe later this week.
     Just for the record, I DID follow this recipe. Until the very end. I had some leftover sausage from Saturday morning that was just DYING to jump into the tomato sauce to see what all the bubblin was about. Hard to resist. This very simple sauce needed no extra flavors - no oregano, basil, or rosemary. The only thing I had to do was stir and smoosh up the tomatoes while they were enjoying their little hot tub rendevous with the onion.
     I do wonder how good it would turn out if I used olive oil in place of the butter and maybe a wee bit of garlic with the onion? I guess I'll have to try this again and let you know!
     Hope you all have a GREAT Thanksgiving week! Watch for me and the kids on NETV this Tuesday, 10:15 AM while the Platteview Trojans take down Norfolk Catholic for the Class C State Football Championship game at Memorial Stadium!

Maggie Singing

2011-10-26T20:38:00.000-05:00

Here is Maggie singing her current favorite song, Puff the Magic Dragon.

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The Verdict!

2011-10-02T22:38:00.000-05:00

The vote is in...we liked 'em, we liked 'em! They had a slightly tangy almost citrusy flavor to them. I cut them up, sprinkled them with a little salt, tossed them in flour and bayou blast, then a quick soak in a buttermilk/egg bath, and finally a coating of panko and cornmeal. Then off to a hot pan of corn oil. Next time, I might add a bit of parmesan after the pan-fry and shake a little hot-sauce over them.

Experimenting with Green Tomatoes

2011-10-02T17:41:00.000-05:00

We have a TON of green tomatoes. Come and get them! It doesn't appear that they are going to ripen any time soon. So, instead of throwing ALL of them out - I am going to try my hand at Fried Green Tomatoes tonight to go along with our BBQ chicken. Never made it (the fried green tomatoes, that is!). Wish me luck. And seriously, if you're in the mood for green tomatoes come on over - they are going to go bye-bye as quickly as I can fill the trash bin.

Friends of the Earth

2011-08-17T20:41:00.000-05:00

Tell President Obama to reject a pipeline for the world's dirtiest oil!

Click to inform President Obama

Videos for Lit Classes

2011-07-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

So here are two videos I created for my Children's Lit and Young Adult Lit class using Animoto. I would have to say that I much prefer iMovie. However, for ease and sake of not being fussy, Animoto will do.

Like the title states, these are my votes for the 2012-2013 Golden Sower Nominees. The Golden Sower Award is Nebraska's book award, voted on mostly by students. I had a lot of fun with this one since I used Owen and Maggie a lot. I decided to use them as models for my pix, since I didn't want to go searching out pictures on the internet and then have to site them APA style!

This is a book trailer I made for the book, "Shipbreaker," by Paoli Bacigalupi. I think I found it in the Science Fiction section of Barnes and Noble, however, after researching the "shipbreaking" trade and with all of the crazy weather patterns we've experienced the last few years, I wouldn't say this is too futuristic - I'd say many aspects of this story could be before us before we know it. (I won't say anymore because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who may want to read it!)

All in all, my two lit classes are driving me nuts with homework and keeping everything straight and somewhat sane at home. But I love being in class and learning, reading, thinking, making connections, etc. I'll give a better run down along with summer pictures in the near future. I must go read. Imagine that. :)

Yes, I have both!

2011-07-13T13:36:00.001-05:00

Garden? In the back yard. Library? Two of them that I maintain. One public library in town. And several bookcases of our own here at home.

If I were the designer of the poster I make make a slight modification...add coffee (since I don't grow coffee beans in my garden), and quiet time every afternoon!

2 More Projects Completed

2011-06-01T16:35:00.000-05:00

Two more projects crossed off the list. Our refrigerator is not new. However, when we moved in the ice and water were not hooked up. (We moved in almost 5 years ago, by the way). So Monday, Dave decided to hook it up-the kit the owners left was incomplete-it didn't look like it had all the correct parts for iron pipes. (Iron-is that right?) However, Dave made it work.

Next project....got my horn valves and slides unstuck. Still works! It is a Yamaha 668N, if you're wondering. I got it as a high school graduation present...played it through my years at Hastings College and a few community bands, afterwards.

Next big project to finish up is at one of my school libraries. I am totally revamping how I have my fiction organized. It is a big project, to say the least.

2011-05-22T17:12:00.000-05:00

Here it is! The day we've all been waiting for....the bathroom in the basement is finally complete!

The end of winter is near.....knock on wood.

2011-03-14T22:08:00.000-05:00

Here are the last of our "winter" pictures. Spring officially starts in a few weeks. (Knock on wood). As you can see, I have some good helpers assisting me with the shoveling...who needs a snow blower, now?

Owen's snow fort. (He rolled the snow and hoisted them up all on his own!)

Maggie, very proud with her snowgirl. She also made a snowboy down in the backyard. (Yes, the snowchildren are brother and sister!)

I have to say the forecast of 60+ is very appealling. I will go on record to say that I am looking forward to my Spring allergies. Come on runny eyes and itchy throat!

Ash Wednesday

2011-03-09T21:48:00.000-06:00

Ash Wednesday

Beauty in the ashes

Sorrow for sin and fault

Loved and Forgiven anyway

Ashes of sin, guilt, tasks undone, words unspoken, letters unwritten

What will I do with the ashes?

Something beautiful.

Procrastinating

2011-01-18T21:36:00.001-06:00

I SHOULD be reading Living on the Future Edge: Windows on Tomorrow (My textbook that I bought for my free Kindle app that I downloaded for my Mac; purchasing the book cost $9.99 for Kindle, instead of $30 something for paperback.)

I wrote the following this weekend at my Oxbow Writing Project event and thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy.

Learning

There’s so much I want to read and learn. There are search engines and databases just beckoning my name. Click me. Read me. I want you to know about me. What I have in front of me is a huge ocean of information. Where is my floaty? How do I keep from sinking in all that’s available? I many need some sunscreen to keep from getting burned. How do I sort out the truth? Is there a lie detector I can download for Mozilla Firefox? Would being a journalist help my case? I find some friends bobbing along the ocean in my journey. They too, are reading and learning. What are you reading about today, I ask? My new friend tells me she learned how to set up a school fusion webpage and she’s moderating the comments her students are blogging for a discussion on their favorite Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. Another friend I see is researching her medications on line. She’s fuming to me that she read online that her two new medications shouldn’t be taken together. (How does she know if the website is accurate, I wonder?) Another friend I see is reading a Golden Sower on her iPad, tweeting, facebooking, and checking her email all at the same time. I spot another friend. He looks stuck in some seaweed. I swim over to help. His school issued Dell laptop isn’t talking to his projector. Try hitting function and F8. Woo-Hoo! Now he’s swimming again! We swim together and spot a colleague looking worried. She says she’s trying to send a document to our principal and his computer can’t convert it from Appleworks. No worries, we tell her. Try resaving it as an rtf file. Can he read it now? Isn’t it great that we’re all swimming in this information ocean together? Fishing for information! All in the same school…

Back to "work." Stay warm! Did anyone do a Snow Dance for tomorrow morning? :)

Echoes of Spring, page 1 AND 2

2011-01-18T21:22:00.000-06:00

Yes, I am still working on Echoes of Spring...I have completed the first two pages! Yeah! Only two pages, some may ask? Well, let's just say I've been busy. Also, please don't expect perfection. Perfection is NOT my middle name. I am learning and doing this for FUN! Hopefully page 3 won't take quite as long. I keep hoping to meet people who knows a little something about stride piano-get some pointers mainly, and fun discussion. Alas, I have yet to get to discuss in person something I can't find out from a brief Google search. So if anyone out there in the blogger ocean has some insight on playing stride piano-give me a holler!

Echoes of Spring, page 1

2011-01-02T21:12:00.003-06:00

Well, this began when Dave started watching a documentary about jazz in New York in the late 1950s. There was a piano player that caught his fancy. He showed the documentary to me, and I got interested, too. The performer was Willie "The Lion" Smith, a stride pianist. While others played faster, Smith's tune, "Echoes of Spring," was beautiful and lyrical as well as being an example of virtuosity.

My birthday is Jan. 27. Dave is always happy when he can come up with a gift he he'll know I'll like. He found note-for-note transcriptions of Smith's piano solos, including Echoes of Spring. He ordered the book as a PDF and it arrived a few hours later.

I've been working on this song for less than 24 hours. Although it is MUCH slower than Smith's version, I think you can hear some of the beauty in the song. I plan to continue to blog the progress I'm making on the song, hoping to speed it up and make it more fluid. Please search YouTube for recordings of Smith playing the song.

How's that for something new to do in 2011? Heck with losing 20 pounds! Ha! Eight pages total, one down, for the record.

Maggie Noel

2010-12-23T20:26:00.002-06:00

Just for the record, Maggie does know her middle name (Noel). She has been working hard this month (ever since we heard The First Noel on the radio) to learn to learn this song. Enjoy her little song.

A King and an Angel

2010-12-19T22:21:00.000-06:00

One picture for tonight...more to come later. We celebrated Maggie's 4th Birthday this weekend; as well as the children's Christmas Program. As you can see, Owen was a king and Mags is an angel. It's been an eventful month...it's been one day (or in our case one event) at a time. My hope is that this week goes smoothly and I can find some time to make some Rosettes. I have fond memories of being in my grandma's kitchen after school fying up those crispy treats. My mom bought me a Rosette kit and I have high hopes of putting it to use later this week.

One Hundredth Post

2010-09-23T21:30:00.000-05:00

     Have you seen http://www.blabberize.com/ ? I find it absolutely rib-hurting hilarious. You upload pictures, create a mouth, and make it talk.
     Here's one of Maggie's belly button talking: http://blabberize.com/view?id=286821

     I have found a new joy – sharpening knives. Through Julia Child and her French Cooking show I have acquired my own unique 45-second, “Calgon, take me away” time.

     Child begins the episode about cooking with onions by explaining the importance of slicing with sharp knives. (Yes, it is much safer to work with sharp, rather than dull knives). Before making French onion soup, she sliced through onions like they were melted butter. I was jealous. I wanted my chef’s knife to be like hers. I had never sliced, diced, or chopped with such effortless efficiency.
     I watched Julia Child demonstrate the professional knife-sharpening method. In all honesty, I think I watched the knife-sharpening scene about 10l times until I felt comfortable going upstairs and retrieving my knives and the steel. I had never used the steel before – never. I felt a little funny about learning the skill. Growing up, my dad always sharpened – ok, “honed” – the blades with a whetstone. It only seemed natural to me that Dave should be the sharpener of our household blades.
     You know what, though? It’s pretty much my kitchen. If I want super sharp blades, I’m going to learn. So I practiced. I brought the blades up and down. Tested them on the back of my hand. Couldn’t feel much sharpness, yet. Back to the steel. Up and down some more – adjust the angle. Aah, I’ve just trimmed some arm hair! Now we’re getting somewhere!
     I love using the steel on my knives in slow motion. I can feel the pull of the steel as I move over nicks and imperfections. I feel the vibrations as I grind away a rough section of the knife. I make a few more passes on the steel until it’s smooth. I could trim my nails with it, if needed.
     Have you ever had one of those days where you feel you could use something to hone your imperfections? Do you ever feel like your life is dull or flat or full of imperfections? What do you do to straighten yourself out? I’m curious. Tell me. Sometimes as I feel the nick jerk on the steel beneath me, I recall a cruddy part of my day…late getting out the door and sharing my frustration with everyone in the house. Computers at work acting up. Books not showing up in our bank of databases. Children not listening. Nicks in my day…going away. It’s zen – a not so good part of my day stuck in my head and zwap goes the knife and steel – the rough edge is straighter.

Biking, Potatos, and a Birthday

2010-09-05T21:01:00.007-05:00

Fresh cut flowers from the front yard. Maggie helped pick them. I planted Zinnias and Cosmos in the front planter with the Seedum. Potatoes, Potatoes, Potatoes. These practically jumped out of the ground and hit us on the head. I planted Yukon Golds and Purple Viking. I am thinking freshly grated hashbrowns and eggs for breakfast tomorrow??

Where have all the Monarchs gone? Every since we've moved in, I've planted Zinnias and Cosmos...we've had Monarchs and other colorful butterflies; but this year is different. Anyone else notice it? This looks more like a moth...

The prettiest flower of them all is in yellow!

The strawberry cake Owen ordered for his birthday party. It was quite tasty if I say so myself.

After readjusting Owen's new bike clear to the bottom, he can finally ride it. Owen turned 5 last week and is greatly enjoying his new bike. (Also, if anyone has any photos of his birthday party, could you e-mail them to me? All that I was able to get a picture of was his cake.)

Maggie and her little hotrod. She has a bike, also, but I think it's a bit small for her. We raised the seat as high as it would go, and there's still not much room for her legs. It's really hard to bike when you're knees almost hit the steering wheel with every rotation of the wheels!

Well not much else to report on...we'll see how Labor Day goes...maybe I'll upload all the pics from my camera...Enjoy the day off, everyone.

Published Author

2010-08-03T22:47:00.002-05:00

In the above book you will be able to find a few pieces written by yours truly this summer. The book, "Time Revisited," is an anothology of the students who participated in the National Writing Project through the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Yeah me, I am officially a published author. I don't believe the book is available quite yet through Amazon or Borders, however you can check it out at the University Library. :)

June and July Pics

2010-07-27T14:45:00.005-05:00

A quick recap of the summer, thus far. A trip to Fontanelle Forest....

A monkey in the tree?

Road rash....Owen has become an expert bike rider!

A little road rash on Mags...

A few flowers picked for good 'ol mom.

A great Nebraska sunset, July 16th...I was at Soaring Wings Vineyard with a few good friends - playing that night was Chris Straub. Although the breeze was really hot and muggy, the wine was cold and refreshing!

Maggie's tattoo that she designed and put right onto to her tummy!

More Fontenelle Forest!

Pirates attacking the bear and keeping Grandpa safe.

More pics to come later...

Need to Breathe

2010-05-15T20:52:00.018-05:00

Wow-it's been a looong time without blogging...I think I'll skip the excuses...I wanted to share pix and videos of one of my favorite bands, "Need to Breathe." I got to see them last night (Friday) at the Slowdown up in O. I'll apologize now for the not-so-good pix-it was REALLY dark. Although, I had a great spot, pretty close to the stage (I could see them sweat!), I'm not sure my little camera is meant for dark stages. If you like the videos and want to hear more, here is their website. http://www.needtobreathe.net/

In other news (I'm waiting for videos to load)...Owen can skip and snap his fingers-he's a way cool cat, now. Maggie is almost 100% potty trained-no accidents in a long time (knock on wood!) we're just working on the independance part, now.

Dave has been busy with house projects. He's redoing the back step railing-taking it out and redoing it so you can actually hold on to it. It will be nice to have something to hold onto in the winter when the steps are covered in snow and ice.

School is almost out for summer! The 21st is the students' last day. I have a few days after that of science curriculum meetings and the I start my summer class at UNO. (I am taking a 5-hour writing class as part of the National Oxbow Writing Project.) If you want to more know about that you can go to: http://www.nwp.org/

Okay I think some of the videos have loaded...note-these are just snippets. Couldn't tape them and watch and enjoy at the same time... :)

This is "Girl Named Tennesee"

"Stones Under Rushing Water"

"Something Beautiful" This is the song I heard that hooked me onto this group.

"Washed by the Water" This was their very last song, they came out from the stage and sang without mics. I love "Bear's" (lead singer) voice. He doesn't sound like the lead singer of every other band out there. I also dig that they were very much into their music - I wish I could have taped more - but they were just too much fun to watch!

Potty Training News!

2010-01-20T21:59:00.008-06:00

Here's our proud little girl in front of her dollhouse shelves. She's been working very hard the last few months to get herself potty trained. It was really tough with all the excitement of her birthday, the snow, Christmas, and then more snow! But I think we finally jumped over the last big hurdle these past few weeks. Dave made the shelves. The roof even opens up! By the way, yes - it's January - and yes, she chose to wear shorts and a tank top. She runs everywhere, so I suppose she naturally stays fairly warm.

Owen giving Maggie a congratulatory hug.

Stay tuned...next blog...update on the basement bathroom!

Last of the Christmas Pictures

2010-01-20T21:48:00.005-06:00

Above are some pics of our Hudson Christmas. Because of the snow, our plans got totally rearranged...instead of heading to Gothenburg, we met everyone in GI at Darin's house. We didn't get to see everyone we intended to out in G-burg-but you can only travel so far in a whole bunch of snow with two little ones!

Hannah and Maggie.

Aunt Mindy, Owen, Jack, Hannah and Uncle Jeff's leg.

Emma and Uncle Toby! Everybody loved the red guitars!

Granny and all the kids...Owen, Hannah, Emma, Jack and Mags. Christmas is over. On to potty training news for Maggie!

Better finish loading pics of '09

2010-01-01T21:18:00.005-06:00

Gotta finish putting up pictures of '09 before I can start blogging the new year. The new decade. Wowsers. Hard to believe that it's '10. Anyways, here's the Christmas '09 Damage.

Owen and Buzz.

Maggie, our new doctor.

Two kids who obviously can't wait to tear into their presents.

Maggie after a few bites of her Strawberry Shortcake cake at her 3rd birthday party.

It took her a couple of tries (and help from her brother and cousins), but she got all three candles out!)

Maggie celebrating with cousins Hannah and Jack, and, of course, her brother, Owie.

Mags and Dave on her birthday.

Maggie opening some presents on her birthday at home.

Hannah, Jack, Owen, and Maggie with Santa while we were in Phillips sometime.

Kids and I making cookies for Thanksgiving.

Fall...

2009-12-26T15:11:00.010-06:00

So let's start recapping fall...here's the Spiehs/Hudson cousins...maybe next year we can coordinate with cousin Emma. From left to right: Mags, Owie, Jack, and Hannah.

Here's Miss Hannah, age 4.

Mr. Owen, age 4

Miss Maggie, age 2, and Granny, age 50 something?

Mr. Jack, age 2

Maggie playing in the leaves.

Took an afternoon trip to Morrill Hall one afternoon.

I think someone is about to get paddywhacked in the Raggedy Ann and Andy book.

The shirt Maggie is wearing is MINE from way back in the 70's!

A couple of pics from Platte River State Park. Aren't they adorable?

Owen showing off his Super Hero physique!

Now that my fall pictures are caught up, hopefully tonight I'll catch up on the winter pictures!

Princess Maggie

2009-09-07T21:04:00.003-05:00

This morning I had the pleasure of taking a leisurely stroll around town and swinging with Princess Maggie. She absolutely loves wearing this dress...She even played basketball with Owen while wearing it.

Owen's Birthday Continued

2009-09-05T14:05:00.006-05:00

Here's Jack trying to take down Owen at the end of the party...Owen outweighs him by probably 15 or 20 pounds....

I thought I'd try the "no layout" for the pictures...that's why they are all scattered about.

As you can tell, I am finally getting around to posting Owen's Birthday Party pictures. We had everyone meet us out at Mahoney State Park at the Activity Center. It was loud-the kids had a great time.

The four cousins....Jack, Owen, Hannah, and Maggie.

Owen not too happy that his cousin Hannah (whom he wishes to marry-picked out a Dora card for him. He had forgotten that he had picked out a Spiderman card and Transformer toy for her birthday just two months prior; probably not her first choice, either...she took it with a little more grace, though, than Owen.

This is inside the activity center. Good place to get lost in!

Happy Birthday, Owen!

2009-08-26T21:26:00.005-05:00

Today is Owen's 4th Birthday! We celebrated a little bit this evening...he and Maggie picked out big birthday cookies from Hyvee...please note they did not eat their entire cookie; and YES we did a doubly good job brushing their teeth this evening!

It's so much fun to see them making a big mess...and enjoying it SO MUCH. Owen didn't make as big a mess as Mags did-but he was trying not to, since he's a real big boy, now!

He's looking forward to celebrating this weekend...he has invited the whole town of Springfield and surrounding areas to his party...I'm sure we'll be wild and crazy bunch out at Mahoney...more pictures to come later this weekend.

Summer???

2009-08-12T20:53:00.007-05:00

We have LOTS of tomatos and squash-PLEASE- come get some!

I love Zinnias! My favorites are the pink ones.

I really have no idea where the summer went. I have started back to work this week-ugh-setting the alarm stinks. But you know, the cutest little alarm clock still comes in to snuggle with me every morning at 6...I often think to myself why bother setting the alarm when my little dumpling will wake me up....you never know-one of these days she might sleep past 6 AM!

We (meaning Dave) are FINALLY getting started on the basement bathroom project. It sounded simple at first-the plumbing for a bathroom is already there; just put in a toilet, sink and shower. Ha ha. The bathroom leaks. We discovered that last December when we hid Christmas presents down there! First, we (meaning DAve) had figure out where the leak was coming from. Long story short, he had to fix the big crack in the steps-then he painted the steps so they'd be nice. But he accidently got some creme paint on the black railing he just installed. So then he had to fix that. Now I guess we wait and see if it stays dry before I pick out paint colors.

Dave took down the ceiling to take a look at the front steps from below.

There's the leak. I spotted it pretty quick. :)

Maggie and Owen being cute.

We discovered that Maggie and Owen like to paint. One of these days I'm going to get a small 8 1/2 x 11 canvas for them and let them paint away on it and then frame them. I think they've got potential...

Must have been a hot day when I took this pic.

More Denver pics...I think this is before the Rockies game.

Some friends from good old Hastings College met up with me while I was in Denver. Emilie is on my left and DJ is on my right. I got to meet his lovely bride-to-be, Yvette.

Just me-taking a self-picture. Thought it was a nice picture.

Here's to another school year! :)

Shari's Workation, Day One

2009-07-07T22:40:00.005-05:00

Monday-sorry no pictures, I took some today, but forgot the cord to upload the pics to the computer.

How does one start a “workation?” (Shari’s idea of vacation-going to a conference for work) Better get yourself a pedicure! So far starters this morning, I headed over to Regal Nails for a pedi…I watched part of the Michael Jackson televised memorial while getting me toes all dolled up. Had a lot of good memories come floating back…my mom had a 47 record of the Jackson Five-my first introduction to Michael Jackson was of playing him on our little beat up record player – not sure how old I was when I was looking through the old blue box of 47s, but shortly thereafter he broke off and went solo…other fond memories were of watching him on MTV at my Grandma’s in Aurora. (We didn’t have cable out on the farm). I remember my eyeballs literally popping out of my head watching him dance his way through Wanna Get Something Started, and Beat It, etc. And then me and my friends trying to horribly imitate the moves at our slumber parties. (Still haven’t met anyone who could replicate the Moonwalk). I regretfully missed his brother Jermaine singing one of my favorite songs (who knew it was also Michaels?), "Smile." Another one of my favorites was, and still is, "I'll Be There."

Next, off to the airport. I actually watched the signs this time and made it without having to turn around. (Usually I have someone in the car with me that I’m delivering or returning and we’re yapping away; or it’s just too darn early or late and I miss something cuz I don’t see well in the dark).

So, a little background info…I haven’t flown in about 5 years….The last time I flew you had to hand your info to a real person and they gave you all your “stuff.” NOW there’s a computer touch screen that you have to deal with. So, I do the best I can, ask a few questions along the way. One of them being, does this touch screen really speed things up? (especially since I’m the ONLY person standing at the SouthWest ticket counter). I think I have everything and head on my merry way.

I’m early-I stop in to have a cup of coffee…a nice lady my mom’s age sits next to me and starts chatting, so naturally I chat back. Turns out, Marcia (also my mom’s name) taught music at King Science when she first taught for OPS, back then it was just an elementary school, though. (King Science was my first OPS school). So we have a lot to talk about...

Then I head to security. Did I mention I don’t get out of state very often? I hand them whatever the lady at the ticket counter gave me…they laughed. Where’s your boarding pass? It should have printed out at the computer. Hmmm no one said anything about that…I’m just laughing at myself at this point. Thinking, I really need to get out more often. Turns out, the boarding pass (which I didn’t know I was supposed to pick up) had been picked up by someone and turned in, but the ticket people had just thrown it away…it had been awhile and they didn’t think I was coming back. (Duh, I was talking to a nice lady and enjoying a cup of coffee!) So they printed me another. Got through security....even with one of the security dudes noticing my big envelope carrying all my important info with big, red, bold words printed on it, "DO NOT LOSE." Yeah, he thought it was funny to remind me not to lose it. Thanks...can you help me pick up my license and boarding pass that I just dropped, Mr. Security Guy?

Then I met friend number two. I think I have a “talk to me” sign on my forehead. Very nice 40 ish gentleman from Chicago…6 kids, we exchanged life stories while we waited to board the same plane. Found a seat and got geared up for takeoff. I’ve always wanted to yell out, “Weeeeee,” while taking off. But I didn’t. It was hard to resist. Then one of the stewards asked if once in the air I’d trade seats with a gentleman up a ways so he could sit with his wife. Being a married woman, knowing how nice it is to fly with your hubby, and since I was flying solo, I said sure, no problem. So my reward for being nice was a few complimentary drinks. “Weee!” About halfway through the flight a fellow across the aisle started chatting it up – we’re a very friendly center section of the plane…we’re all getting to know one another. Turns out HE was the one who picked up my boarding pass and returned it. Even he agreed that I needed to get out more often!

So we made it to the hotel…a little later than I anticipated, so I am not going to the Rocky Mountains; that really is a true day trip, anyhow. So I walked around downtown Denver, just taking in some shops and people watching. And, obviously catching up my blog.
Right now I’m sitting on 17th street enjoying a nightcap before I head back to the hotel and iron my clothes for tomorrow. I found free internet just down the street from the Marriot, where internet access is $12.95 a day. Rip off.

Feel free to send me a ticket to anywhere in the future...would hate to let my traveling expertise be forgotten.....

Happy Saturday

2009-06-27T14:51:00.006-05:00

Who knew that Superman needed to practice casting his fishing pole...

Maggie is talking to the goose down there...she talked to him or her for about a good 10 minutes. She even sang Jesus Loves Me, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and the ABC song to him (or her).

Maggie just being cute!

Owen and Maggie checking out the green algae in the water, the bugs, and whatever else that was crawling around down there...

I took the above photos yesterday....I am not a "stay at home" kinda gal - so I was really glad to convince Owen that we should get out of town for a few hours (I couldn't even convince him to go to Hyvee for chocolate milk and freezee pops the other day. He seems to be really enjoying staying at home with me now that school is out.)...so we went down to a state park and practiced casting his fishing pole.

Maggie enjoying the sprinkler park (I think sometime last week). I sat in front of this sprinkler...the cool mist was awesome!

Our "Ode to Michael Jackson." Kids are boppin around to "Beat It." Getting the "Thriller" tape when it came out in '82/'83 was the highlight of my 3rd grade school year!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T14:11:00.006-05:00

Our friends, Mike and Emily and adorable Quinton came over last weekend to visit...awesome grilling weather, sunny, not too hot...the brats and burgers were pretty near perfect.

Maggie and Quinton, I think he'll be 1 in September.

Despite not napping, Owen pulled off his Superman abilities...jumping and leaping...he could have used his Superman cape a few days ago....(he jumped off our neighbor's waterslide...about 5 1/2 feet tall, landed on his bum; chipping his top & bottom teeth and gashing up the gum behind his bottom teeth...there was lots of blood. Of course I was the only adult around, me and my queasy tummy got him all fixed up, though. I was glad when Dave got home to take over consoling Owen, he (Owen) was really worried about his teeth)

Hmmm....can you guess why the Superman video is Owen's favorite? (Owen would be Superman every day if I washed his outfit that often somehow it only gets washed once week). I thought it was fitting to post a Superman video on Father's Day, since I know so many Super Men!

Happy Father's Day: Dave, Dad, Dan, Jeff, Toby, and all my friends!

Yikes!! May 31st! Really??

2009-05-31T17:44:00.007-05:00

Flowers from my yard....tons of daisies this year....the chives are also doing well...they were also really yummy in some potato salad I made this last weekend.

Owen and Maggie really wanted to nap together last weekend...they are trying to fake us out...What do you think? I think they're a little too smiley and cute to be sleeping...

Owen has the opportunity at his preschool to take dance and tumbling lessons. They had a little "thing" a few weeks ago. (I wouldn't really call it a recital...it was more of a "thing.") It actually was really cute. I was a little worried at first that we wasted the extra bucks for him to participate because the first 5 minutes he just stood there with the group with the deer in the headlights look. Apparantly he hadn't napped and then got a little stage fright. He eventually figured out where he was what he was supposed to be doing....he got around to "shakin his booty," as he refers to dancing.

Here's a little snippet of one of the songs. I think he's supposed to be flapping his arms like a bird. But then move on to something else. His arms have got to be getting tired with all that flapping!

Here's Owen and our neighbor girl doing a somersault together.

That's pretty much our month of May. School got out down here on May 21st...I know a lot of area schools are still going strong. I've always been a firm believer in start the school year break, have a few short breaks, and end the year as early as possible.

Looking forward to a long, leisurly summer with the kids. (I especially like nap time!)

I'll have more pics from the garden next post. I've got tomatoes up, squash going, lots of radishes and potatoes and other stuff...

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:20:00.007-05:00

Well, Happy Mother's Day to all the moms who read this blog. After having Maggie meltdown for about an hour this afternoon (no nap) I decided that yesterday was my Mother's Day. The sun was warm, I got a lot of seeds put in the ground, and the whole family went to a state park to the south of us for some hiking and fresh air.

Yesterday (Sat) was such a great day...took the kids and a picnic basket full of food down to "Owen Landing." Owen brought his fishing pole and practiced his casting skills....he's getting pretty good. Won't be long before he really bugs us to take him fishing for "real."

Owen patiently waiting for a bite.

Owen and Maggie being silly on a Saturday afternoon after their nap.

This is what they do when they're bored. (Or raining, as the case was last week).

Music Composing Software Question...

2009-04-16T12:13:00.003-05:00

So I e-mailed a bunch of musically inclined friends recently...asking if they could recommend a music writing software program-which I could install on my Mac laptop and then plug into an older style Clavinova up at the church. Is there a program out there that I can just plug everything together, then play the song on the Clav, have it record into the computer software and then be able to go back in and type in the lyrics? (So I can do something with this song I've been gifted with....see earlier post) I got a response, but not what I had hoped.

So I pose the above question out to bloggerland...

PS, I would like the software to be dirt cheap; or better yet-free.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions anyone may have.

Time Consuming Application....

2009-04-13T21:56:00.002-05:00

I have been working in my spare time on my application to UNK for admission to a graduate program in Education....(I'm hoping to begin working on my Master's in Education - in the area of Reading Specialist).

Two words to describe it - painfully tedious.
May I also add Not Fun...

You see, I have to put together a portfolio. I am not a portfolio type of a person...
In the end, it will be worthwhile....I keep telling myself "I Will Survive"...

Whattda weekend!

2009-04-12T16:33:00.003-05:00

Here's Maggie....boy did she have fun playing in the dirt with me! We discovered so many things under all the leaves in our flower beds. If you zoom in on the picture, you can tell how much dirt she got in her hair! She really didn't mind the dirt - she especially liked all the crawly things, not sure how many times I heard her say, "What dat, Mommy?" Every time we cleared away the leaves, we discovered a new plant that was coming back to join us - it was almost like unwrapping Christmas presents to discover what all was underneath the winter blanket of leaves and brush. Here's some pictures of some of the plants we found:

We of course had to dye Easter eggs this weekend. We found so many new forms of life this weekend that it was quite befitting that it was also Easter weekend.

My favorite egg is the blue one.

Enjoy your Easter weekend. Enjoy new life as it comes to you in whatever form God gifts it to you -birds singing, tulips popping up, a new song in your heart, spring scents in the air...

Opening Day Win for the Cubbies!

2009-04-06T20:49:00.001-05:00

Woo-Hoo!!

The Big Z got his first Opening Day "W!"

Your Hands

2009-03-29T20:46:00.003-05:00

Your hands, reaching for mine.
Your arms, circle me with holy love.
Your eyes, smiling for me.

I want to breathe the air you breathe,
all consuming, love for me.

Your nail scarred hands, show the world Your love.
Arms stretched to the east and west,
proclaiming love for all.

piano interlude

Your hands, bleeding for me.
Your life, given for mine.
Your crown falls for me.

For me.

(copyright Shari Hudson, 2009)

I'M SO EXCITED!

2009-03-28T21:51:00.002-05:00

Can you tell? I'm excited! I wrote an entire song this evening! I've started a few songs before that come into my head, but have never finished them. This time was different; I got the beginning, middle, and end...all in one shot!

It's called "Your Hands."

I was walking over to the church this evening, planning just to go over the music for tomorrow. I was thinking about my Grandma Hadenfeldt, and Easter, and everything going on in my little world, and words just came into my head. So I wrote them down, picked out a key (easy D, in case you were wondering), and started playing...it just all kind of flowed together.

I don't know why I was thinking about my grandma. Sometimes I have dreams that I'm looking in her cabinets for something. What it is I'm looking for, I never find out. (She had great cupboards full of yummy stuff.) The image of me and my mom being with her when she breathed her last breaths came to me and I started think of the words: "Your hands, reaching for mine. Your arms circle round me...Your eyes smile for me..." and it that's where it started.

I left the song in my music bag, and I forgot it at the church. I'll post the rest of it tomorrow.
I hope I can sleep!

Spring Training Almost Over

2009-03-22T15:01:00.001-05:00

Just in case you were wondering....15 days til the Cubs first Official Game of the 2009 Season.

The Mom Song

2009-03-20T20:40:00.003-05:00

I found this to be really funny! (And kind of true!) Hopefully you'll laugh, also!
Thanks, Dawn for sending it my way! :)

Old Habits Die Hard

2009-03-05T21:34:00.007-06:00

It's officially my Spring Break, so I have a little extra time to complete some "blogging." Here's a picture of me and Maggie-playing "tea party."

Owen is practicing his "standing on his head skills." (He's getting a little bit of help from me in the top picture, but not the one directly above.)

Maggie really enjoys playing dressup. Here's our little princess all gussied up. She even wanted me to comb her hair (normally she hates that because she's got baby fine hair and it tangles easily).

With it being our Spring Break I plan to do lots of sleeping. I've already taken several naps and today the kids and I slept in until 7! I love to sleep.

Editor's note...this blog entry originally started March 5....it's now March 16...

Habits...

Every morning I take one or both of the kids to daycare and/or preschool. Each time I go to start our Escape, my left foot goes down and my right hand moves over to move the gear shifter into reverse. Except there's nothing under my left foot anymore. The gear shifter goes straight back, not back and to the right.

It's been 3 full months and a couple of days that I haven't been driving the Ford Focus daily. (It had a manual transmission). I've been driving a stick shift forever. With the exception of one car - most of the cars I've driven high school through now have been stick shifts. So it's no wonder that my foot still hunts for a clutch, my right hand wants to throw the shifter back, and my ears want to hear the small rev of an engine...it's like there's a manual transmission ghost in my feet and hands.

It is hard to break habits. However, sometimes your life has a change-like getting a different car, and that changes allows for your brain to change the "daily route" it takes.

I've always believed that change is good, especially if it's for the betterment of one's self, or family. I'd like to take some time to tell you about another habit I have. Praying.

The first topic in a Lenton sermon series that our pastor talked about was prayer. I immediatley was reminded about the "Examen" reflective prayer (from the Exercises of St. Ignatius). I think I originally learned about these back in my college days...(I went to a Presbyterian college, where you had to take a few religion classes. Not a bad thing, of course..probably would have been wiser to pay more attention back then, then trying to recall information now from memory.) Anyways, I again read about the reflective prayer in a publication of "Alive Now." I thought to myself, "Aha! I have been doing something GOOD that I learned way back when..." I would say about a year and a half ago I started to take time time to reflect on the previous 24 hours. Then give thanks and praise to God for the times and places I've been aware of His presence. Then, ask for forgiveness for the times I have "missed the mark." Finally, I think ahead to the next 24 hours of my life and ask for guidance in the experiences to come. It's a simple exercise. It really sets my head for what I need to accomplish. I can't go to sleep without doing that simple exercise, though. I've gotten into the habit of doing that exercise every evening.

The manual transmission ghost may die away eventually; but not my Examen reflection.

Snow Pics

2009-02-14T21:00:00.004-06:00

Wow. Two posts in one day. I'm sure we'll get another half-foot of snow tomorrow because of me. :)

This picture is right before we go sledding (for the second time today). What beautiful faces.

Maggie and I. Maggie really doesn't like to sled by herself - she'll go as many times as I'll take her.

My beautiful snow angel!

Here's Owen at the end of his "run." You can kind of see our new Escape behind the swingset. Have I posted a picture of it? We got an '06 Ford Escape to replace the Ford Ranger which met its fate a few months ago on ice...

Owen, mid-hill. Not sure why the sled stopped in the middle. Dave came along to give him another push.

We finally have some "typical" Nebraska weather. I find myself daydreaming of white beaches and tropical islands more and more. Coronado Beach, come and get me! I am patiently awaiting my vegetable and flower seed catalogs...makes the winter months pass by a tad quicker if I have something springy to think about...what shall I plant this spring?

Colds, Coughs, now Snow, Oh My

2009-02-13T21:37:00.003-06:00

Maggie's beautiful curls. This was a few weeks ago, her hair is now long enough for piggy-tails, so it's starting to straighten out. The "piggies" are just about as cute as the curls, though...

Here's Owen and Maggie in their Rocket Ship.

Another snowy day had to be spent inside their makeshift "tent."

Who new we had a talking tent?

Well, I've finally posted a few pics AND a video. January always seems to be rough. Somebody in our family has been sick since before Christmas. We now have gone 4 days without someone being sick. We've all had everything. You name it, we got it.

Let's see, what happened in January? Not much. We went through a lot of kleenex. I had another birthday. My students took great care of me-had a big cake delivered, fresh flowers, cards from lots of friends and family. A great day!

The week before Dave and I celebrated by going to Gran Torino and I got my piano tuned! It had been about 4 years since the old '38 Baldwin had been tuned, it really wasn't that bad...but it needed it a tune up!

January was a big month for writing. My students all completed a soon-to-be published, hard-bound book. (each student wrote their own book of memoirs, most of them wrote about 20 pages!) So I did A LOT of reading and editing. It was a great project to lead up to the big State Writing test. Which we got done and out of the way, thank goodness! Only 45 more assessments left to give!

Well, we got about 7 inches of snow today. I actually got "the call" this morning at 5:45 AM, and there wasn't even a snowflake in the air, yet! I think we could have had school. I had 2 tests to give, plus the Valentine's Day party. Poor kids had a snow day the day before Christmas break and had to cancel their Christmas party. Oh well, me and Maggie made cupcakes (from scratch-gotta teach her right from the start!) Owen wanted to go to "school," (pre-school) so he went and had a blast, as usual. I got a great nap with Maggie.

I'm sure tomorrow will be spent making snowmen and women. Better go take some aspirin in preparation for the snow fun awaiting me in the morning.

Getting back into routine...

2009-01-11T15:16:00.006-06:00

The week after Christmas break....it's soo hard to get back into routine. Work was great-I reviewed procedures and routines with my 4th graders-they're like a well-oiled machine. And Maggie goes with the flow...usually. Owen, on the other hand...let's just say it was a very long week for him. Monday through Friday we couldn't get him out of bed with a cattle prod. (We didn't really use one, but the thought crossed my mind!) And then on Saturday, he was up before 6. Ugh.

To get a little peace, I took my little girl grocery shopping late Saturday afternoon and on the way home she started talking about the "petty pink ky." (pretty pink sky) I then noticed what a beautiful sunset she was talking about. Then she started singing along to the song on K-love, "Shine," by the Newsboys. It WAS a gorgeous sunset...my favorite kind-with bursts bright pink and orange and the prettiest robin's eggshell blue all around it. I'm so glad SHE had the sense to call my attention to it. The next song that came on the air was Chirs Tomlin's, "Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone." What a great song to sing in the car with your little girl. My favorite part of the song are the last two verses:

The Lord has promised good to me. His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be, as long as life endures.

My chains are gone, I've been set free. My God, my Savior has ransomed me, and like a flood His mercy rains, Unending love, Amazing grace.

The The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine, but God, Who called me here below, will be forever mine. Will be forever mine. You are forever mine.

The second week of January is turning out better than it started.
Owen and Maggie are still napping, too. :)

All is well.

Maggie the Talker

2009-01-07T21:19:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure why we ever worried that Maggie lagged behind Owen in her communication skills. She just turned 2 a few weeks ago and she spouts off the ABC song about 10,000 times a day, talks back to Owen, and can say up to an 8 word sentence. At bedtime and naptime we often have to tell her that her "babies" (she has 7 of them) are sleeping and we have to stop talking now so we don't wake them up in order to get her to stop talking so she can fall asleep.

It's also really cute how she's starting to recognize more of our neighborhood, landmarks in town and the people on our street. There's a wonderful couple down the west side of our street (we'll call them Joan and Allen). We stop to talk to Joan when we happen to be outside at the same time. On Sunday we took an afternoon stroll around the block, we were on the east side of the block where Joan and Allen live. As we got close to Joan and Allen's house she started talking about Joan. She said, "There Joan house-ee. Joan nice-ee. I'm cold. Let's go home." And then as we passed another great family's house (Lisa and Greg and Leo and Claire) she stated, "Claire and Leo not home. Claire has nice toys. I'm cold. Carry me, pease."

What manners.

What was all that noise last night?

2009-01-01T16:27:00.002-06:00

I heard lots of noise last night. Woke me up right around the stroke of midnight. I think it was Joan and Allen from down the street setting off fireworks (illegally) again.

I've never been much of a New Year's Eve partier. Mostly because I don't like to interrupt my sleep schedule. I think the last time I stayed up past midnight on New Year's Eve was in 1999. Just to make sure nothing went wrong....If someone were to hand me a ticket to Sydney or Tokyo, or London, or NYC to watch the big fireworks and events, sure-I'd go. But I was quite content to go to bed last night at a respectable hour.

We did end the year on a good food note, however. We hosted a few friends over at our house...I'm quite proud of the spread I put out...homemade everything: French Onion Soup, (we used up onions from the in-laws garden, plus garlic from my garden); a pork dish I call "Piggy Goodness," (pork tenderloin butterflied and stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes and basil pesto, and then drench it in a honey mustard soy sauce dressing). I also made nut brittle and a New York style cheesecake. And a few veggies on the side.

I do have to admit that I fell asleep during a game of Trivial Pursuit. I have never been in pursuit of trivial knowledge, so that game bores me to snores.

So I guess it's the first day of 2009. It doesn't matter what year it is, I still have to think every now and then about what year it is. I still sometimes write 1988 (the year I got my checking account-7th grade! The first check I ever wrote was to the school's library for overdue books).

What's going to be different about this year, than the last one? Not sure. I try to tackle change as it needs to happen. There are things that I changed last year that I want to continue....like always practicing with a metronome. When in a small group, listening before I speak. Listening to the music inside my head. And just always be open to change. You never know what great things can happen if you aren't willing to take a risk.

Christmas in Gothenburg

2009-01-01T16:17:00.002-06:00

After a day and a half in Phillips for the Spiehs Christmas, we headed further west to Gothenburg for the Hudson Christmas. It was a little bit quieter for this part of the holiday...it was us, Dave's brother Darin, and of course, Dave's parents, Dan and Karen.

Here's Maggie excited to have a new blankie.

By now, Maggie is getting pretty good at opening up boxes!

Darin, Dan, and Karen watching the kids opening their presents....probably amazed at the enthusiasm they have for opening gifts.

Owen...note he's still in his Batman jammies and it's around 5 PM. He's going through a big comic book hero stage the last few months. I just hope he grows out of it by the time he goes to kindergarten!

We also had an extended Hudson Christmas that weekend at Dave's Aunt Ramona's house.

Christmas in Phillips

2009-01-01T15:47:00.005-06:00

After Christmas in Springfield, we loaded up the new wheels and headed west to Phillips, for our "Spiehs Christmas." Owen and Maggie have 3 great Spiehs cousins: Hannah (3 1/2, she's exactly 2 months older than Owen) and Jack (1 1/2) go with my big brother, Jeff (and his lovely wife, Mindy); and Emma (1) is the daughter of my little brother, Toby (and his lovely wife, Cynthia). This first picture is of Owen and Jack playing with Barbies....

Here's Hannah, Jack, and Owen with Uncle Jeff.

Maggie just hanging back to checking out everything going on.

Cynthia and Toby helping Emma open her gifts.

Cynthia and Emma.

Hannah and Owen, Jack is in the background.

Jack, the big boy opening all his presents by himself!

There's Grandma and Grandpa having a blast with all the grandkids.
It's always a fun (and loud) time when the whole crew gets together. I really don't remember the last time my whole family was together on Christmas Day. Somehow all 13 of us (and the food) managed to fit around the dining room table. I don't think I'd ever since the old table stretched out that long...it was like a banquet table for a diplomat with all the food and people around it.

Christmas at Home

2009-01-01T15:24:00.006-06:00

Here's the disaster zone Christmas morning. Everything is unwrapped and partially put together. I believe the kids are finally eating breakfast at this point in the morning....which is why they're not in the picture. We had our usual "don't have to go to work, so mom cooks breakfast for us breakfast..." pancakes, eggs, fruit, etc...

Here's my gift (on top of the Dex phone book). I've been having lots of fun loading songs onto it. I've already used it a lot...especially when the kids are napping, I can crank it way up and not have to worry about waking anyone up!

Dave's gift...the Patrick O'brien novels. (Owen got the Superman book of comics).

Owen and Maggie playing nicely side by side with their own respective toys....for awhile, anyways!

Owen is trying to figure out what in the world is in the box. (It's an inflatable snow sled. We did have a white Christmas, but we left for our other Christmas celebrations that afternoon, and when we came back a few days later all the snow was gone. I'm sure he'll be able to use it eventually. If not this year, maybe next year! Ha! Wishful thinking!)

Owen and Maggie gleefully unwrapping some of their gifts.

Christmas morning. We couldnot get Owen to give us a nice smile. (This is the best one!)

A Christmas Eve Invitation

2008-12-22T20:47:00.003-06:00

Hi there, friends and family,

I know I sent most of you an e-mail earlier about Christmas Eve, but I don't have everyone's e-mail who reads this blog.

Just thought I'd let you know that my church, Springfield United Methodist, is having two Christmas Eve Services. 5 PM (a little more contemporary with the praise band) and 11 PM (a little more traditional with the chancel choir). There will be lots of music! (at the 5 o'clock service we'll be doing a few songs arranged by Third Day and also at both services we'll be performing "Mary, Did You Know?").

If you're in the area with not much to do Wednesday evening, we'd love to have you join us. (especially if you're an old college friend!) (I mean it! Come on out in the cold! It will be warm inside!)

Merry Christmas a little early!

Maggie in Stages

2008-12-20T21:30:00.009-06:00

It's so hard to believe that we brought Maggie home from the hospital 2 years ago. Let's go down memory lane, shall we?

Owen the happy brother...although he was a little disappointed way back then that she didn't poke him back. Now he gets all that he dished out (and a little more!)

My contented little sleeper...I swear she slept the entire first 2months of her life...and finally woke up when I had to go back to work!

Here she is about 6months, smiling like a pro!

Scooting around...gaining some independence!

Her she is, one year old...(Olan Mills portrait)

Not sure what she's doing.

Last summer out at Owen Landing in the Platte River State Park. We really had to watch her to make sure she didn't dive for the ducks in the water!

Here she is just a few weeks ago!

A Birthday Dance

2008-12-18T21:07:00.008-06:00

How much cuter can a brother and sister be? (Owen totally picked out the orange shirt to go with his red sweater and gray "cozy" pants).

Here's our Christmas picture, courtesy of "Granny Spiehs." If you haven't guessed it, here are some pictures from our Maggie celebration! She officially turned the big 2 TODAY, Dec. 18th. She has officially graduated into the world of tantrums (only once in a while), screaming/crying when she wants something and doesn't want to talk, pestering her brother (although I think she mastered that about 18 months ago), and realizing the value of "my toys," and how hard it really is to share!

The beautiful birthday girl, note...the doll's dress matches Maggies. (For a girl who wore all of her brother's clothes the first year of her life, has 2 pairs of shoes, and didn't have her own doll until about 6 months ago, she's quite the girly-girl.)

Here's Maggie with part of her cousin, Hannah, and Aunt Mindy.

Overall, I think she had a good day. It took her a while to warm up to having 13 relatives in the house...I didn't put the pictures of her crying in my arms while we sang "Happy Birthday" to her! (Owen had to blow out the candles for her!)

Here's to another good year, Maggie!

Dream...

2008-12-06T13:50:00.001-06:00

Last night I dreamt that their was a "warning message" on this blog. In red, it said: "Warning, due to financial difficulties of the internet and the stress of the economy, your previous long post will be published in sections."

Me? Long winded? Not really. Just really thankful for all my friends, family and the little things that make me happy.

Thanks...

2008-12-04T20:18:00.001-06:00

Here's Maggie on her new big-girl bed. She loves it...hasn't had any problems transitioning to it from her crib. It was so nice to say "bye-bye" to the old crib.

Can you believe this little cutie-pa-tootie is almost 2?? We're celebrating her birthday this upcoming weekend, since the next 3 weekends are going to be crazy.

I had full intentions of updating the blog this last weekend. To say the least, it was a little crazy. After the excitement of Saturday night and the wee hours of Sunday morning, I decided to write more about what I’m thankful for. Tis the season for being thankful and all…

In random order:
1. Friends and family who are willing to come over and watch the kids, or take them for the weekend. It’s the little things that make me happy…like when Dave’s brother Darin was here for the weekend and I was able to shave my legs. Although, getting the big projects out of the way is nice, too. Dave and I have been up to our necks in projects and having a hiatus from parent duty frees us both up to finish up the loose ends and really get a tremendous amount of work done. As it is, when we are working on a project, one of us is with the kids; thereby freeing the other one to work without having to worry about a child poking themselves with a hot clothes iron or soldering iron, or a hundred other things that could go wrong. This weekend we were able to finish up the new sound system project and replace Maggie’s crib with a regular, big-girl, twin-size bed, clean out the kids’ closets in preparation for new toys, and deep cleaning of places that haven’t been touched since June.

2. Dave. By now most of you know that Dave was involved in the 30 + accidents on I-80 Saturday night due to the black ice, caused by drizzling rain. The truck was totaled more than once. (The truck was hit 3 or 4 times). This is the second time (in 3 years) he’s been in an accident where the vehicle he was in was totaled out. The Mustang was repairable. The truck, however, is pretty much a sardine can. It probably can be used for something; scrap metal, most likely. Trucks and cars can be replaced; loved ones cannot be. I think once I got past the initial shock of what all happened, and what could have happened…I’m proud to say that we are handling the situation as best we can. I think a lot about one’s character shows up in times of duress. We could have freaked out. We didn’t. We could have thrown our hands up in the air cursing our bad luck. We didn’t. I think we’ve learned that life throws us all kinds of curve balls; and that it’s always going to be throwing us curve balls when we’re not ready for them. It’s how we respond that really matters. There is truth to the saying that you can find a silver lining in every dark cloud. Once the insurance settles, we will probably be able to get another vehicle that we can put car seats in…and hopefully the replacement will be better for us to drive in the winter than the Ranger was.

3. Pumpkin yogurt from Target, pumpkin tea, pumpkin beer, and pumpkin pie. I like pumpkin. If you’d like my secrets on how to make an incredibly scrumptious pumpkin pie, you may make the request via e-mail. It will cost you one item per each secret you desire. (I have 3 of them). Items that I will trade my secret for: new Cubby t-shirt (mine finally bit the dust and is now a pajama shirt), sheet music for the Beatles, sheet music for Tom Waits, CDs from the following artists: Todd Agnew, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Audio Adrenaline, Third Day, Bebo Norman, Mandisa, Point of Grace. You may also offer me a free car (it must run and be able to put car seats in)! (Do that soon, though, before the insurance adjustor finishes up the claim and we start looking for a replacement for the truck!)

4. My part-time job at the church. I’d love it if it were full-time with benefits. I never thought I’d be a choir director, but it’s working out quite well. The folks in the chancel choir appreciate having someone to direct them; and I’m delving into different parts of the bible, which the songs we’re working on are based from. I’m working hard on incorporating the themes Eldon’s talking about each week into our music. I know I’m not absolutely perfect for the job; but who is? I’m learning a lot along the way. I already know of several things that I will do differently next year for certain holiday sermons. I’m really looking forward to our Christmas music. I picked out some traditional-contemporary versions from Third Day; and we’re also (hopefully) going to be performing Breath of Heaven and Mary’s Song.

5. Our children. Although at times when both of them are in crisis over something trite; overall they’re wonderful blessings. It’s hard to remember that, though, when Maggie doesn’t want to use her words and screams instead. Or when Owen is being defiant, just because he’s 3 and he tests us on everything. But it’s all worth it when out of the blue they come up to you and tell you how much they love you and shower you with hugs and kisses. I suppose one day Maggie won’t want to rub noses and cheeks and pat my hair; but for right now I’ll take all I can get.

6. My job. I’m sure there are many blogs you can find written by someone being laid off, or already out of work. I was never sure what I wanted to be when I grew up (and honestly, I still don’t really know), but education has proven to be a good choice for me. I really enjoy teaching 4th grade. They don’t have that “attitude,” yet…and they still like playing little kid games every now and then. I also really like being able to walk to work. Switching to Springfield Elementary was a good choice given the situation with our lack of a vehicle right now. Being able to walk everywhere –church, the bank, grocery store, work- (as long as the weather holds!) has been a blessing.

7. My sniffer. One of my favorite things about the holiday season are the smells of pies baking and turkeys roasting and all of the wonderful aromas (cinnamon, vanilla beans, cloves, thyme, nutmeg, cedar and pine trees, wood stoves, etc) which fill a home. I think I had the worst cold ever beginning about 3 weeks ago and I’m finally beginning to get my sense of smell back. 4th graders don’t smell too bad, but I’ve been unable to detect dirty diapers. Sorry, Maggie.

holy garbanzo beans, it's almost turkey day...

2008-11-24T21:29:00.001-06:00

Every month, I wonder where did our time fly? Well friends...it was spent changing diapers, calming tantrumy children (both at work and at home) and making every day worth saying that it was a good day.

I've been talking a lot about being thankful to my students the last few weeks. One of the "fluff" activities we're doing in our spare time is making a "Thankful Book." A colorful turkey adorns the front cover, and the feathers have the name of the person or object they are thankful for. On the inside, each page is devoted to a poem or lengthy description of why that person or object deserves an extra "thanks" this time of year. It's really nice to see that my 4th graders love and respect their families. They have a lot of thankful items they're writing about. (As do I, since I made one ahead of time to show them).

One feather of mine has the words "wisdom" written on it. (Not that I have a whole lot of it to tout, but more of searching and acquiring the good stuff). I was sitting in a meeting for a "behavior disorder" student about a week ago..most of you who know me well, know that I often have music playing in my head most of the time. The song that popped in that afternoon (after an already very long day) was the Beatles, "Let It Be." I think I was thinking at the time, that I can do all the teacher things I know to do for this child. But really, it's going to be up to this child to make his own choices. I can totally be a great person while he's in my classroom, talking about how to make good choices and what the consequences are going to be for each decision; but ultimately I have to eventually let go and let him make those choices for himself. And of course, being a teacher I have to wonder why that song came in my head....how does today relate to my life at home, and I have to remember that those same thoughts apply to raising my kids and being a good wife and mom. Some things I just have to "Let It Be."

So does one have to be old to have wisdom? :)

And where does one find it? I haven't had to go far, I've been reading a bit of the book of Proverbs every night. The ultimate book of Wisdom. Probably the key is to not just read it, but then put what I learn into action...that's the test.

A very happy Thanksgiving to each and everyone of you. Thanks so much for reading our blog and keeping up on our lives. Every one of you is a blessing; I think I have a few more feathers to add to my turkey tomorrow morning!

Halloween really isn't over...

2008-11-01T20:12:00.001-05:00

Halloween really isn't over....until all the candy is gone. How long can two youngsters go without being able to dig through their pumpkins? Let's time it....6.8 seconds. Pumpkins are now going up on the fridge until Easter! (We still have Easter candy up on the fridge...) I think Owen and Maggie woke up this morning still hyper from all the sugar they ingested yesterday.

After a very long day of keeping my 4th graders in line (which was difficult, because my school has a HALLOWEEN PARADE! This is my first school district that I've taught in that actually encourages dressing up and then parading down the main street sidewalk, collecting candy from all the businesses. Then when we get back, the room moms have a party and games waiting for us), I got the kids from daycare, and we headed up to the big O to Dave's new office for their big Halloween party. They got tons of candy, pizza, games, prizes, etc. Then back home. I think Maggie could have gone to bed at that point, but she didn't want Owen to have all the fun....so I took both of them out trick-or-treating. Dave stayed home this year to pass out candy. I think he said about half of the school showed up....pretty much all of my students came by....luckily we don't have too much candy left over.

I still have a headache from yesterday.

Where did our weekend go?

2008-10-26T20:55:00.000-05:00

As with the closing of almost every weekend, by the time it reaches 9:oo PM...I'm struck with amazement that it's SUNDAY night already....and it's almost time to go to bed. Where in the world does our time fly off to? Must have been the haircuts and grocery trip Saturday morning. Or the all afternoon trip to the mountains that afternoon. (Owen knows about 2 sets of mountains; the Rockies and Appalacian. If we want to go to the Rockies, we head west on the sidewalk in front of our house. Me and Maggie walking, Owen on his hot rod (3 wheeler). Or, if he's full of energy we try to make it to the Appalacians...we get as far as Buffalo park, and become distracted with the swings and slides.

The above pictures were taken just a few hours ago at our our friends Mike and Emily's house. They just recently had a beautiful little boy, Quinton Donovan. I think on Friday we told the kids that we were going to visit "Baby Quinton" this weekend. They were so excited to go see the baby. Owen immediately raced into his room to find him a toy to play with. (I think he was expecting Quinton to be a little bigger).

If you didn't notice, I am in the picture. That is just for my good friend down in KC who said, "Your kids are great and all...but where are you in this blog?" Enjoy.

The Pumpkin Patch...

2008-10-23T20:07:00.001-05:00

The above two pictures are a little out of order...they were taken after the trip to Vala's. Owen has been interested in the camera the last few weeks. He wanted his pictue taken with Maggie, and he put his arm around her all on his own. He also took the picture of Maggie snarfing an apple slice. He took several...this one was the most respectable...

So last weekend, I did what every working parent in the metro area does during October. Took the kids to Valas. I have to say, the kids had a blast. It was cold. It was expensive. Once you promise your kids a horsey ride, though, you can't go back on your word. Thank goodness for Visa. The price itself, I didn't think was too bad. $11. Preschoolers, I thought should have had a much reduced price...Owen and I were the same price. Maggie was free, though! $4 bucks per kid for a 5 minute horse ride. I think the hayrack ride you also had to pay for....we didn't wander down that way, though. Of course I couldn't leave without buying homemade kettle corn and pumpkin fudge. (Which by the way, don't bother with the pumpkin fudge. It's way to sweet. You can barely taste the pumpkin).

To give you an idea of how large this place was, think the farm in Phillips...from the driveway all the way out to the hogshed and from the railroad tracks to half-way down the cornfield south of the house. That's probably about how big the place was. I'm just really glad I didn't lose one of them. The only minor scare I had, was when we used the family restroom and Maggie kept running out while Owen and I used the facilities. Thankfully, she would run out and then run right back inside.

Thank goodness there's an entire year inbetween now and the next time I'll take the kids. I'm going to start saving my pennies!

Owen Rockin Out

2008-10-18T13:07:00.000-05:00

Owen's favorite Saturday morning activity....rockin out with his guitar on his little stage. The videographer forgot that you can't rotate a video clip. Sorry that you have to turn head 90 degrees. Pumpkin Patch pictures to be uploaded later.

Happy Fall Flowers

2008-09-22T21:13:00.001-05:00

A bunch of happy zinnias from my front planter. The bees just are happy to bumble around them all day long.

New Room for Owen

2008-09-22T21:00:00.001-05:00

Here's Owen...pretty happy with his new room. He was very impressed with all the work Dave and I did to his room. I don't think we'll be ready for another project like that, until, oh...Maggie turns 3!

Here are some "before" pictures of Owen's room. You can see how cruddy the carpet is. When we moved in, it was pretty clean....but spots kept appearing...we're pretty clean...Owen doesn't eat in his room and he's pretty good about taking his shoes off....somehow those spots kept magically surfacing, so it was great to get rid of it.
All I can say is, "Yuck!" I'm not even going to tell you what "might" be in those stains. blech.
The floor before I scrubbed it clean and then polished it with lemon oil.

The "after" picture. It took Dave about 2 weeks to put the rocket bookshelves together. He made it from scratch. It was Owen's "big boy" present for when he got potty-trained.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Owen!

2008-09-02T21:49:00.000-05:00

Maggie's new favorite toy...the balloon. It's amazing how easy they pop outside in the heat!
Me and Owen.
My sister-in-law Mindy, and her daughter (my first niece) Hannah and Owen.
Owen. Don't you just love his tie? He told us when he was getting dressed for his birthday party that he wanted to wear a tie, just like his Daddy.

Saturday was a great day to celebrate Owen's 3rd Birthday. He had his cousins Hannah and Jack (along with Aunt Mindy...I'm sure Uncle Jeff was thinking of us...I took him to the airport that morning around 5 AM.) Uncle Darin made it out, Owen's "best friend," Kjell and his lovely wife, Lisa came out, and of course the grandparents....Grandma and Grandpa Hudson and Granny and Grandpa Spiehs all came out to celebrate with us. He is in love with all his "new stuff." We're just trying to find a spot for everything....

Summer is Over...

2008-09-01T21:30:00.000-05:00

Here's Maggie enjoying the sprinkler.
Owen, the tinkerer.
Here's part of our church praise group. We played for the County Fair in July. "Soul Force" from Louisville joined us. It was hot and fun!

So it's been forever and a few days since I've posted any news....

It was a busy summer. School is back in session.

Owen turned 3 last weekend. The kids continue to amaze us.

I Lowered My Cholesterol!

2008-01-17T20:25:00.000-06:00

Just thought I'd share some good news about myself.....
July Cholesterol Reading: 224
January Cholesterol: 188

July Triglycerides: 307
January Triglycerides: 110

Still need to raise my "good" cholesterol a little bit.

All that with no prescription drugs. Fish oil, running around after a 2nd child, and kind of watching what I eat.

Maggie's One - Year Stats

2007-12-31T11:08:00.000-06:00

Maggie had her one-year check up last week. She hadn't been feeling that great when we took her in, it was good timing since the doctor discovered an ear infection. This would be her 2nd.

Here's how she stands:

height: 31.75 inches (99%)
weight: 23.4 pounds (88%)
head cirfumference: 17.91 inches (63%)

Happy Birthday Dear Maggie, Happy Birthday To You!

2007-12-22T21:29:00.001-06:00

It's so hard to believe that our little Maggie has turned one year old. Her official birthday was Tuesday, however, we celebrated on Sunday. We were supposed to have a houseful to celebrate, but as it turned out, it's flu and cold season. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Mindy were in Jamaica, and Cousins Hannah and Jack were sick....and Uncle Toby and Aunt Cynthia were still waiting for their little baby....We had a small, but mighty gathering of her Hudson grandparents and uncle Darin. Jami (daycare lady) and her youngest daughter (Maddie) stopped by for a little while. Her older daughter was also sick. Owen was sick, too....and Maggie's cold was just coming on....nobody really felt that great. Actually, I think Dan, Karen, and Darin all felt fine. Hopefully they didn't pick anything up while staying with us.

It ended up being a fine day. Maggie loved playing with the paper, and is enjoying playing with her new toys.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas...

2007-12-14T20:45:00.001-06:00

Ho ho ho...Last weekend we had breakfast with Santa Clause at the Masonic Lodge. Since Owen is the oldest, we let him go first on Santa's lap....little did we know that he was a bit shy. (We practiced the night before...I guess I didn't make a very good Santa). Maggie sat on his lap without any hesitation. Once Maggie had her little babble session with Santa, Owen was a little more confident to climb up into his lap. He told him he wanted a new tractor for Christmas. Owen caught wind that Santa was going to be in town again (this time at the bank, different Santa, of course!) The second time around, Owen knew exactly what to do....he climbed right up on Santa's lap and told him he needed a new loader. Santa asked him if he really knew what a loader was and he replied, "I feed cows with Bapa. We need new loader." Santa asked him what color. Owen grinned and told him "gween."
Maggie really isn't asleep. She babbled his ear off. We didn't quite catch what she wanted for Christmas. She already has her two front teeth....she probably wants all those other ones that make her gums swollen to come in.
Here's Owen putting the first ornaments on the tree. They didn't stay on. Somebody kept taking them off, so we just put all the ornaments away for another year (or two. or three.)
Owen of course has to be Daddy's little helper.

We are just about ready for the holiday season. One more week of work and then some time off. We discovered however, that with our snowday and keeping the kids home it really was more work taking care of them and running (literally) after them, than our actual jobs. We did manage to go sledding on our snow day....

3 new videos posted

2007-11-25T20:41:00.000-06:00

http://www.putfile.com/3hudsons
I posted some new videos on our putfile account. There's a video of Owen playing his guitar (he's singing Jesus Loves Me), Maggie crawling, and Maggie jumping in her Johnny Jumper. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-25T09:11:00.001-06:00

Grandma getting Maggie ready to go out into the cold.

Here's Owen and Hannah helping Grandma clean.
Owen sacked out after a heck of a performance.
Maggie's new "do." She's finally getting enough hair to play with.

Owen and Hannah, partners in crime. Grandpa and Maggie.
Jeff, Jack, and Dave...I think the Huskers have lost by this time in the day.
Maggie's always ready to smile.

Not sure what they're up to here. All in all it was another successful Thanksgiving. Mindy's pumpkin pie was fabulous, my stuffing was pretty good and Jeff's smosted turkey got eaten in a hurry. (It was half smoked and then finished off by being roasted). Everyone got a long fairly well...even the two-year olds! The babies got along fabulously. Just wait until next year....We'll have 2-three year olds, 2 two-year olds and an almost 1 year old!

Fall Pictures

2007-11-24T21:24:00.000-06:00

Pictures from the Louisville State Park. Saw the geese....paddle boats were all put away for the year. Owen was so disappointed that the teepees didn't have their "covers" on them anymore.

Owen and Maggie in their tent.

Owen helping Uncle Jeff pick corn.

Owen and Maggie helping with the garden harvest of potatoes and pumpkins.

Halloween

2007-11-04T19:46:00.001-06:00

Amazing...two posts in one day. I'm actually doing some serious procrastinating. I am avoiding grading 144 "Eureka" stories. I guess technically only 139. I submitted 5 of them for our "Write Touch" contest. They were due to me about a week ago....but, I haven't started grading them, yet. I think there's some dishes to do....maybe some cookies to bake....too bad the kids are in bed, I'd vacuum!
Owen made this "thingy" all by himself. At first it started out as an airplane, and soon turned into a "thingy." He looked through it like he was sighting something...which makes sense, because we went to the Council Bluffs train museum yesterday, and he looked through a surveyor scope.
Here's Maggie, cute as can be.

No one believes me when I tell them I'm raising a monkey. Here's the proof. Curious Owen. We survived our first Halloween trick-or-treating. It really wasn't that great. We thought 5:30 would be early enough. So Dave took Owen out around that time, but only 1 person on our block came to their door. I don't think Dave really wanted to take him to a bunch of places where we had no clue who lived inside the house, so they came back, Owen's pumpkin only slightly full. The upside is that we don't have to worry too much about tooth decay!
Here's a happy Maggie....laughing at the monkey, again.

Here's Owen all serious. He loves his new church outfit. He was very careful to not get it dirty.

The last of Summer Fun

2007-11-04T13:10:00.000-06:00

Here's the last of the summer pictures. It only took me 2 months to post Owen's 2nd birthday

party pics. The cute picture on the couch is right before church (Owen and Maggie were baptised, finally...same day as his birthday). The following weekend we went paddle boating.

I will try to post Halloween pictures soon! (Hopefully before Christmas! :-)

A few less leaves to rake this Fall...

2007-08-19T20:47:00.000-05:00

We had quite the storm in our neck of the woods last weekend. (around 75 mph!) We had some slight tree damage, luckily the 30 foot limb did not land on our cars, the house or shed. Unfortunatly, the tree did suffer a split higher up, and will have to be repaired. If we don't repair the split, the next high wind, or heavy snow might result in a HUGE limb on someone's garage or house...I have to say we have some pretty great neighbors and family with chainsaws. We had the majority of the mess cleaned up by noon the next morning. Since all the wires (power, cable and phone) were ripped off the power poles we were without a few of life's little luxuries. I am very thankful it was a cool night! In a few days we were back up and running like "normal." Whatever that is. Until my family surprized us with their arrival, Owen, Maggie and I mostly stayed indoors. I didn't want to have to be carrying Maggie around and chasing Owen away from Mr. Nielson's chainsaw. Or, having Owen trip and gowging out an eyeball from the many other small branches that fell. Owen enjoyed helping pick up sticks after there was an extra eye to look after him!

Here's Maggie, cute as can be. The storm didn't bother her at all!

Mini-vacation and yummy garden goodness

2007-08-05T21:21:00.000-05:00

First off, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to see Kerry Wood back on the mound a few minutes ago. Seems like years since I've seen him pitch. Also, I never can get these pictures in the correct order. This picture was supposed to be last, after the picture of the tomato in Dave's hand. (fresh picked, warm from the sun right outside our house)

More awesome summer veggie goodness from our neighbors yield. (The tomato is ours).
Owen and Maggie learning how to share.

We took a quick trip to Cheyenne, WY to visit my super-great friend Ann. This is not a picture taken in WY, though. On the way back home we detoured through Estes Park, CO. I had never riden a tram or ski lift up a mountain. So for $9, I got a heck of a ride. Before getting in the elevated cable tram lifty thingy I made sure to ask the attendant if she'd ever had any scary experiences riding up and down the side of the mountain. She assured me, that no, nothing bad had ever happened. However, she advised us not to look down on a very windy day. You'll see the cable wires going crazy, which I guess could be a little nervewracking. This picture was taken from the top of the tram ride before we got out to walk around.
This is about half-way up the mountain. Everything is getting smaller.

This is my friend Ann and her son, Lane. I've been friends with Ann since my "North Bend" teaching days. She's one of those gals that you meet, get to know and just want to stay in touch with for a very, very long time...

The first tomato of the season! It was yummy!

A good chuckle

2007-08-04T21:44:00.000-05:00

Found this joke at one of my favorite restaurant's website, "Absolutely Fresh Seafood Company."

This has to b e one of the funniest things in a long time. I think this guy should have been promoted, not fired. This is a true story from the WordPerfect Helpline, which was transcribed from a recording monitoring the customer care department. Needless to say the Help Desk employee was fired; however, he/she is currently suing the WordPerfect organization for "Termination without Cause."
Actual dialogue of a former WordPerfect Customer Support employee. (Now I know why they record these conversations!):
Operator: "Ridge Hall, computer assistance; may I help you?"
Caller: "Yes, well, I'm having trouble with WordPerfect."
Operator: "What sort of trouble??"
Caller: "Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went away."
Operator: "Went away?"
Caller: "They disappeared."
Operator: "Hmm. So what does your screen look like now?"Caller: "Nothing."
Operator: "Nothing??"Caller: "It's blank; it won't accept anything when I type."
Operator: "Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out??"
Caller: "How do I tell?"
Operator: "Can you see the 'C: prompt' on the screen??"
Caller: "What's a sea-prompt?"
Operator: "Never mind, can you move your cursor around the screen?"
Caller: "There isn't any cursor; I told you, it won't accept anything I type."
Operator: "Does your monitor have a power indicator??"
Caller: "What's a monitor?"
Operator: "It's the thing with the screen on it that looks like a TV. Does it have a little light that tells you when it's on??"
Caller: "I don't know."
Operator: "Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where the power cord goes into it. Can you see that??"
Caller: "Yes, I think so."
Operator: "Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it's plugged into the wall.
Caller: "Yes, it is."
Operator: "When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one??"
Caller: "No."
Operator: "Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable."
Caller: "Okay, here it is."
Operator: "Follow it for me, and tell me if it's plugged securely into the back of your computer." Caller: "I can't reach."
Operator: "OK. Well, can you see if it is??"
Caller: "No."
Operator: "Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over??"
Caller: ; "Well, it' s not because I don't have the right angle -- it's because it's dark."
Operator: "Dark??"
Caller: "Yes - the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window." Operator: "Well, turn on the office light then."
Caller: "I can't."
Operator: "No? Why not??"
Caller: "Because there's a power failure."
Operator: "A power .... A power failure? Aha. Okay, we've got it licked now. Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff that your computer came in??"
Caller: "Well, yes, I keep them in the closet"
Operator: "Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from."
Caller: "Really? Is it that bad?"
Operator: 'Yes, I'm afraid it is."
Caller: "Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them??"
Operator: "Tell them you're too stupid to own a computer!!!"
-- -- -- -- --

July fun, pain meds and Grandmas' gracious help

2007-07-20T21:01:00.000-05:00

So much for lying around on the floor and doing "tummy time!" Maggie has graduated into the Hot Rod! Who-hoo, she's growing up! She can make it scoot backwards a few steps. And of course, Owen likes to scoot her around, too. Not mention, he likes to get in and out of it and play around and scoot across the floor. Although, I'm not sure how he does it since it's on the lowest setting and his knees practically drag on the floor, grass or cement....wherever it's at!
Peace Grandma (as Owen now refers to her. Translated = Grandma Spiehs) was very daring during her stay in Springfield and took Owen and Maggie to the zoo. We had just been there a week or two before with my parents, brother, sister-in-law and neice and nephew. Owen loved the entire trip, especially the monkies! If I'm having problems getting him somewhere, I can use the monkies to my advantage. "Climb up your changing table like a little monkey." "Scoot into the car like a monkey." To divert a screaming tantrum: "Go find your monkey book." (Curious George)What a smiler. The last few weeks Maggie's really enjoyed being in the jumper. She really seems to get a kick out of being able to control which direction she's looking and being able to stand on her feet. Just in the last few days she's figured out how to actually jump in it. Owen, of course (being the master hopper that he is) thinks he can teach her how to jump higher by grabbing hold of the bungee cords and jumping with her! Yes, she goes much higher that way.

No, we don't feed Owen in the highchair. I'm putting this on the blog so there's offical record that Owen chooses to climb into the highchair (usually once or twice a day). After we thought he had outgrown it (about 6 months ago) we got him a handy booster seat. He used that for about 2 months. (Although he'll ask for one at Peace Grandmas). We didn't argue too much with him about not using the booster seat. As long as he eats, we won't argue too much with him. Since Maggie has started using the highchair now a few times a day, he thinks he should get to sit in it, too. I thought at first that it was going to be a once time thing, and then he'd move on. Wrong! I don't think I'll argue too much with him on this issue, either. Six reasons. 1. He gets in and out of it himself. 2. He can't go anywhere once he's buckled in and has the tray on. 3. The tray is easier to clean than the table. 4. I can wipe his grubby mug and paws before I take off the tray and unbuckle him. 5. He's not running around the house. 6. He feels special because it's something that he wants to do and we let him.

You may have caught in the title of this blog "Pain meds and Grandmas gracious help." Vicodin is a great pain reliever! I ended up in the ER last week after having a seriously bad lowback spasm and couldn't walk or move myself very far. I've had a history of low back problems (the last 10 years). This last time I was putting Maggie down in her crib for a nap when the muscles just snapped and I couldn't move. My mother-in-law ("Done Grandma" as Owen now refers to her, translation = Grandma Hudson. He has the "D" sound and the last "N" sound, he'll get it, eventually!) was at the house, thankfully to help get me to the couch and the ice pack. Needless to say, I knew I wouldn't be any good for the kids; my mom was able to get to Springfield from Phillips in record time. (as Karen was heading out for Georgia that day). The next day actually was worse than the day of the spasm, which is when I went to the emergency room for some awesome shots and prescriptions for spasms and pain. The weekend came and went. I slept most of it away, if I had a burst of energy I tried staying upright for a while and walking and moving in a very cautious sort of way, almost holding my breath with every slight bend or twist of the waist. I can honestly say that the recovery from this back incident, was worse than recuperating from the C-sections. At least after the C-sections, when I was able to get up on my feet, I stayed up and was able to walk; I didn't have to wonder if the spasm I was having from trying to stand up was going to get worse if I stayed standing up or tried to sit back down. It spasmed whatever I did. Not sure how many times I heard Owen say, "Mama ouchie." We had a week of Grandma help. Grandma Spiehs from Wed - Sunday. And Grandma Hudson from Sunday to Wed. What a blessing to have such wonderful women in my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Since I was out of drugs and still in pain, I headed to a doctor on Monday. Got more prescriptions and an appointment for an MRI on my low back. I wouldn't call myself a claustrophic, but it's not a procedure I would like to have done too many more times in my life. Although it was a half hour laying down with no kids and listening to Van Morrison's, "Moondance." :-)

We'll know the results in a few days. Most likely it's nothing. Just a precaution to make sure it's nothing. So I'll try to remember to keep everyone posted.

June!

2007-06-18T13:06:00.000-05:00

Here we are in June, already! The Big News of the Day is that Maggie has her first tooth! She took it all in stride. You really wouldn't have know that she was about to break through a tooth. She really didn't drool a lot, or carry on as if in more pain...Today actually was her 6-month check up! She got a thumbs up from Dr. Specht. Here are her stats: weight 17.15 pounds (86%); height 28 inches (99%).

The picture of me and Maggie was taken just yesterday. We were having fun with the sprinkler. More pictures of the sprinkler fun towards the bottom of this post. Not sure how I got the pictures so out of order! Let's see, the end of May marked the closing of my first year at Buffett Middle School. I am glad to be done teaching Journalism! Even more thrilling is that I will have only "prep" next year, as I will only be teaching 6th grade Language Arts; I will be covering writing, grammar and "word study." (spelling) Although the drive clear up to Buffett was a bit much for me, I have to think positively-next year we are not buying a house and moving, I am not switching jobs, and we are not having another baby in the middle of the school year! With that all in the back of my head, I have to hope that next year will not be quite as stressful. And possibly the stress lines in my forehead will fade a little!

So after school came to a close, Dave travelled down to Dodge City, KS with Owen for a weekend with an old high school friend, Aaron. Dave and Owen are sitting next to Aaron and his son Holden who is just a few months younger than Owen. Apparantly they all had a good time, and both Dave and Owen survived the 6-8 hour long drive down there! I have to say that the house was REALLY quite without Owen. I'm not sure Maggie really understood what was going on, but I think she kind of missed Owen!

Owen is having some fun with the sprinkler. It originally was located in a spot to water some flowers, but Owen thought it was much more fun to play with it, then just run through it.

Here's Maggie enjoying some rice cereal! She's graduated to eating food! So far, she's tried rice and oatmeal cereal, applesauce and peas. No complaints, yet!

Happy May!

2007-05-23T19:41:00.000-05:00

Here's some pictures taken just this weekend. Owen's newest toy is the sand and water activity center. He absolutely loves it! So do mom and dad! Owen can hang out and race his boats and cars and pile up sand to his hearts content! He also loves helping Daddy out with the truck and car. He's getting very helpful when we need something....especially if it's on the floor.

Maggie has been pretty content the last few months. We've started her on rice cereal, and she's taken to "eating" very well! Hopefully the next picture of her will be in her highchair. We've really been procrastinating getting the highchair out of storage. It's ugly. It moves around too much, and the tray is a pain in the derrier to get on and take off. It's a good thing she'll only need it for a short time period in her life. Then we can burn the darn thing!

Now that school is coming to a close, (the kids are done this Friday, then the teachers have to go next Tues-Thurs.) hopefully I'll be able to update our blog more frequently.

Mud, Slush and Sunshine!

2007-03-10T20:14:00.000-06:00

This was my kitchen on one of our "snow days!" Owen obviously thought he had a better idea of how everything should be arranged.
Playing dress up with grandma's gloves and shades. One of his favorite "indoor" activities.

OK-so sue me for not posting more pictures of Maggie. On second thought, don’t bother, my slim paycheck from taking 2 months off for maternity leave doesn’t leave us very much. Truth be told, Owen is just more photogenic right now. Maggie is still in the “I’m content just to lay here, smile every now and then in between poops” stage. Trust me, I’m not playing favorites, I try not to compare children and no, Owen is not bribing me to post him more often than his sister. So here are some more photos of the Magster. (Taken just today!) I guess they're up there.

Another reason why I don’t get to posting more about Maggie is that our computer stinks! It seems every time I’m in the middle of typing a good story about the kids or a quick yarn about my students at work, the darn gizmo shuts down. It’s not in the middle of updating Windows, I didn’t kick it, I haven’t sworn at it lately, the screen just goes black and starts laughing at me. You wouldn’t have known it, but as soon as I got done typing the two previous paragraphs that you can’t see (BECAUSE THEY’RE GONE!) the computer blacked out. I swear, if there were a “crappy computer” contest, ours would certainly be in the running. At least it doesn’t turn on all by itself anymore. That was creepy. So true is the saying, “You get what you pay for.” Stupid Ed (as I affectionately call it) was good when we got it. Worked well right up until the warranty expired, almost exactly 6 months.

So let’s see, what was I posting about before my computer got giddy from the fresh air and passed out? Yes-the fresh air! It’s coming back to me know…..here we go: Raising kids has gotten tons easier! I say that because Owen loves to be outside! All it took was the increase in our state’s temperature by about 30 degrees! Owen has discovered what fun splashing in puddles can be, and what it feels like to fall into a big puddle of mud! After he got used to the brief shock of cold wetness on his legs and back, he exclaimed, "Wet!" And off we went! I was able to take Owen out for more than 30 minutes at a time…and was able to take Maggie out without bundling her up like we were going on a toboggan race! Today we were out almost all afternoon! Owen had so much fun playing with the neighbor’s sticks in their yard it was ridiculous. It was a good thing they weren’t home, otherwise I might have hit them up for some money for all the work that Owen did for them! He really likes to be busy and loves to do whatever Dave and I are doing. Not sure why he likes to pick up sticks, though. (We don't make it a daily habit to pick up sticks like we do reading a good book). He’s very helpful picking up at the end of the day, and I suppose the yard does look pretty sloppy with all those twigs lying around, so he must think the yard has to be as neat as our house. I’ll let him go with that thought!

Whatever you do, do it well!

2007-03-09T20:43:00.000-06:00

Like my previous post said, I'm just not sure where February went. I think we spent most of it indoors, since the average temp was, well-COLD! I knew going back to work fulltime would be stressful and wouldn't have a whole lot of extra time...so spending time with the family has been first and foremost...then comes grading, then we do the dishes, etc...

We had the pleasure of seeing some college friends last weekend...long story short-Dave was friends with Margaret Norwood during their years at Hastings College. Margaret wrote a screenplay. One of the characters was based on Dave. The screenplay got turned into a film, and they brought it to Omaha for the Omaha Film Festival last weekend. http://omahafilmfestival.org Yeah Margaret and Matthew Noorwood and Terry Gsell! (Sorry, Terry, for butchering your last name!) Kudos to Jason Levering (also an Aurora High Schoool and Hastings College Alum) and all the folks who worked to make it possible for Omaha to actually have a movie festival!

I am trying to include into my daily classroom rituals one of my favorite details I noticed in Margaret's movie, Independance, in one of the scenes, the bank marquee had this scrolling past: "Whatever you do, do it well." I am trying to remember that everyday as I get focused before my students arrive, hoping it will rub off on them. (Especially my 8th graders....they focus so much on trying to give off the illusion that they're "bad." Trying to get them to attempt to do well on anything and not be embarrased about having success is like trying to herd cats...)

I felt in awe through most of the movie...I remember Margaret and Terry (I was a freshman) in their last year of college completing their music degrees, always amazing on stage, and always seeming like they really had it together. It did not surprise me when Dave got an e-mail from Maraget saying her screenplay was becoming a reality. http://babylionproductions.com

Whatever you do, do it well!

Somehow we missed blogging in Feb....

2007-03-08T20:21:00.000-06:00

Owen was fasinated by all the trucks scooping snow the last 2 months....he can see sooo much better when he climbs up onto the window sill to watch them work. Not nearly as much fun as actually going outside and using his own little snow shovel, though!

Welcome to March...

The Magster

2007-01-20T19:26:00.000-06:00

Maggie is now about one month old. She's rolled over twice (over achiever!) Last night she slept from 8 PM - 4 AM and then 5:30-8:30. Probably won't happen again for another 2 months. Maggie hasn't exactly been on a regular sleep pattern. Except for sleeping a lot during the day, and then wanting to be up between 12-5 AM. I guess that means I should go to bed when she does! But what about that laundry that's been sitting around for the last 5 days?? And dishes? And my corner cabinet project? And catching up on e-mails? And working ahead on school projects?

Just a few more cute pictures

2007-01-01T20:44:00.000-06:00

What a contented little sleeper!
One of Owen's favorite toys-my mixing bowl-he likes to walk around and bomp into things!
Thank goodness for Grandmas! Here's Grandma Hudson reading with Owen. Both were able to come help out for a while...very helpful since Owen is at a very busy stage in his little life.

Here's Maggie

2007-01-01T20:04:00.000-06:00

Dave, Owen and the back of Maggie's head (and Owen's stuffed doggie).
Here she is just a day or two old. She was born Dec. 18th, 2006. 7 pounds, 9 ounces. 20 1/2 inches long. She sleeps almost all day long. She wakes up every now and then to eat and get her diaper changed!
Here she is thinking about waking up.
Owen seems to be adjusting pretty well to having a sister. He likes to give her kisses and tries to play catch with her. We keep telling him that in a few months she'll be a little bit more fun. If you're patient enough, just wait a year and she'll be chasing you all over the house!

We got our first snow of the year yesterday. Dave and I both took turns taking Owen out in the snow. He wasn't too sure what to think about the cold, white, wet stuff . It was definitely something different for him to babble about when we finally came inside.

Owen's new words are doggie, thank you, and ball. He just continues to baffle us with the things he can do (especially when he chooses to do them). He now puts on his own bib, can go find his sippie cup, waves bye-bye, hugs and kisses, and is often just a blur of color while running from room to room.

Getting ready for Maggie

2007-01-01T19:52:00.000-06:00

Here's Owen testing out the Moses basket. He used it from birth until about 3 or 4 months old. We're hoping Maggie will be able to use it a bit longer, until Owen's ready to switch over from the crib to a "big boy bed."
Of course, Owen had to make sure that Maggie's carseat is properly put together.
One more thing to check off the "to-do" list....painting the Mustang!

A quick update

2007-01-01T14:27:00.000-06:00

Here's Owen enjoying bath time in his "new" tub.
I guess this is a little out of order...Owen is great help packing up our books.
Again-great help mowing up the gazillion leaves that fell in our yard!

A lot has happened since our last post....I started teaching at a new school (writing and journalism), we purchased our first house, packed and moved, unpacked (mostly Dave did that work while I worked in the evenings grading and slowly getting everything ready for my maternity leave).

Thanksgiving came and went by quicker than any holiday I ever imagined. We had Thanksgiving lunch (or dinner, if you prefer) at my brother-in-law's house, Darin. And then another Thanksgiving meal for supper at my folk's house. We also got in some Christmas cheer that evening exchanging gifts.

Before we knew it, Christmas was almost here, and then it was time to go to Methodist Hospital for the arrival of our newest addition, Margaret Noel Hudson.

September News and Updates

2006-10-01T20:04:00.000-05:00

Gosh, September has just come and gone. We had Owen's birthday party at the end of August, September flew in and went by in a flash! During the month of September, Owen experienced his first high temperature, ear infection and pink eye (in both eyes) all at the same time! Needless to say, Dave and I also got wind of his illness and took weeks to recuperate....I still have a lingering cough and scratchy voice. Here is a picture of Owen before we realized he had pink eye. Owen has also given up bouncing in his jumper. He'd much rather walk around and get himself into all kinds of trouble!

Owen has also mastered walking! He still trips over his feet on occasion, and stumbles a lot when he's tired, but he's pretty much given up crawling!

Self explanatory-Owen getting goofy with his spoon! Another evening after a hard day of day care....first time he had ever fallen asleep in the highchair.

Owen is just about as excited to move as we are! We didn't even have to ask him for his help when we started packing up our books. He just started tossing in books! What a great helper! We can hire him out for a fee! :)

Here's Owen and Addie (and Addie's mom, Joanna). The two tykes seemed to get along fabulously. Owen has always been drawn to cute, older girls, and Addie definitely fits the bill! Joanna is a friend of Dave's from High School. Joanna, her husband, Dennis, and Addie, along with another high school friend, Kjell and his wife Lisa were over for lunch today. Owen couldn't believe it when everybody left him. He had so much fun playing with everyone....he cried for quite a while.

We are certainly getting anxious to get out of our apartment. The more mobile Owen gets, the more we wish we could plunk him down in our huge back yard under the enormous oak tree and watch him run around! Certainly can't do that on the corner of our 2 super-busy streets!

Power walker!

2006-09-09T22:38:00.000-05:00

http://media.putfile.com/Owen-walking

Above is the link to our video of Owen walking. Shortly before his 1st birthday, Owen decided to take a few steps all on his own. In a short 2 or 3 weeks he has officially graduated into being a regular walker. He still prefers to walk barefoot over wearing his sneakers. (even outside) I guess it won't be an issue until it gets cold!

Owen had just gotten over his cold after his birthday party when he decided to catch another one. This time it seems to be lingering quite a bit longer, and the cough is even cruddier. He also very graciously "gave" it to me! Luckily, Dave hasn't come down with a cough or sniffles. Last night I made my first "late night run" (3 AM) to pick up some cough syrup. Owen woke up, started hacking and just couldn't get back to sleep without his cough waking him back up. Needless to say, Dave and I are both a little short on sleep....so I should sign off and go to bed!

Birthday Boy!

2006-09-09T22:19:00.000-05:00

Well, my pictures didn't get posted in the order I thought they would.....we celebrated Owen's 1st Birthday at our apartment, and for a while (before it started to rain) we were at Elmwood Park.
Owen's Grandpa Hudson, looking mighty spiffy in his birthday hat!

Owen seems to be enjoying stuffing his face with the Dr. Seuss Birthday cake!
Opening a few presents....
Grandmas Spiehs, Hudson, Owen and Mommy walking over to the playground area.
Owen received two big gifts from his mom and dad: 1. a pair of shoes (which he doesn't really like to wear and 2. a house of his own to live it! (we hope he likes the house better than his shoes!)

Owen is just getting over his cold, which is why you don't really see him smiling very much...

Homeowners!

2006-08-13T16:27:00.000-05:00

As you can see I've posted pictures of a house and its yard. From the title of today's blog, I assume you've figured out that we're homeowners. Well, pretty close to being homewoners. We have the house, termite and radon inspection on Monday; our official closing date won't be until middle or late September...and then the fun of moving will begin. We'll finally have a house to call home. It will be ours, all ours...we will be able to do whatever we want and not worry about not getting our damage deposit back from a landlord!

We think it's a pretty nice house, lots of landscaping (and garden) potential. It sits on about one-third of an acre, so there's plenty of room for a garage/shop for Dave. Lots of room for the kids to run around in, and if they don't think there's enough room, they can run across the street to the park.

New pics and video

2006-07-30T11:20:00.000-05:00

The picture on the top is of Owen's bathtime.
Video of Owen's bathtime:
http://media.putfile.com/Owens-July-Bath

Picture on the bottom is Owen's first trip to the pool. He didn't like it very much since the water was a bit ont he cold side. Went back a week or two later after 100 degree weather and he enjoyed it much more!

Long time, no posting...we're still around!

2006-07-30T10:07:00.000-05:00

I'm enjoying a nice quiet Sunday morning while the boys are napping. Instead of picking up the living room, washing the huge stack of dishes in the sink or even fold clothes I decided to take a few minutes and put up a new post and pictures.

Here are some pictures from Early July. We celebrated our neice's 1st birthday! Hannah and Owen played pretty well together. You can see that Owen is enjoying stuffing his face with a birthday cupcake! We didn't quite get Hannah's cupcake in the picture above, but it's there. It''s so hard to believe that a year has gone by and how much has changed. Owen will turn one August 26th, our lives are soo different.

We had a rather surprising surprise in May. Turns out that Owen will be getting a little brother or sister for Christmas! I'm about 18 weeks into the pregnancy, so I had to go get the box of maternity clothes out of storage about 2 weeks ago. (Seems like not too long ago that I put them away!) The 20-week appointment when they do the ultra-sound is coming up, and we've decided that we are going to go ahead and find out what kind of bun is in the oven this time. Since we're planning on buying a house soon, we'll be able to plan ahead and get a nursery put together that doesn't have to be shared with the computer and office stuff. Hopefully each child can have their own room and not share with the computer!

I've been working at Sylvan Learning Center for about a month now. I work whenever they're open for tutoring. So when Dave comes home from his work, I hand Owen off to him, give him the details of how our day went and off I go until 8 or 9. With me working part-time, that doesn't leave a lot of free time to look for houses, but somehow we've managed to look at quite a few. We even made an offer on one down in Springfield, and went back and forth a few times with the bid, but the owners seemed unwilling to negotiate very much...so we're still looking.

Dave's 1960 Cadillac Sedan DeVille is up for bid on Ebay. We're trying to downsize our "stuff" and hopefully make a profit as well. It will be up for bid until Tuesday...Aug 1st.

I can't think of anything else that's new and exciting to report on. There's more pictures and a video that I'll try to get posted.

Owen, the Traveler

2006-06-16T14:16:00.000-05:00

New video of Owen--he is crawling:
http://www.putfile.com/3hudsons

Owen has been quite the traveler, lately! Last week he spent 2 1/2 days in Phillips with me and the Spiehs grandparents. On Sunday, Dave picked him up and continued west to Gothenburg so they could spend a few days with the Hudson grandparents.

Since returning home, Owen has mastered the art of crawling! He also, just today, figured out how to get to a sitting position from laying on his tummy!

The pictures were all taken in Gothenburg, with the exception of Owen in the Cadillac. Currently, the 1960 Sedan de Ville Cadillac is being stored in Grand Island. We are looking for interested buyers....

Sons of Tupelo Reunion

2006-06-02T15:35:00.000-05:00

We had one crazy, hectic week! Dave and I had been looking forward to seeing old college friends May 30-31. To start the week, our family pictures were taken last Sunday, the 28th of May. Owen was a total ham, the more people that came into the office to see what was going on, the more sillier he got! Monday was the start of a very busy week.

To prepare for our venturing guests (Brother Memphis and the Colonel), on Monday we cleaned the house. Dave (Brother Cadillac) also made some homemade ice cream (banana-walnut); as well as putting together his ribs to cook Wed. We were supposed to get our first guest in the middle of the night on Monday, but when we woke on Tues morning to see if Santa had arrived, we were so sad to see that his bed (futon) had not been slept in. Chad had to do some extra stuff at work, so he would be arriving later that afternoon.

About noon on Tuesday, Bill and Amy Rinehart concluded their long journey from Ohio by meeting us at Valentino's. I have to say that Owen was much more interested in flirting with the waitresses and waving at complete strangers than conversing with our guests. We all (the Rineharts, Plambeck and the Hudsons) finally met up at our place for a fun afternoon of playing catch with Owen. Later on we hit an Omaha Royals game. After the game, the boys and Amy played video games, watched movies and in general stayed up way too late for their own good. I, of course, had to stay at home so someone could be there when Owen wakes up in the morning.

Wednesday, everybody's dragging their behinds, looking pretty ragged; especially Bill! Dave stays home to take a nap with Owen, while the rest of us hit the Old Market in search of nothing.

Wednesday afternoon was also Owen's 9-month check up! Here's his stats: weight: 24 pounds (93rd %), height: 31 1/2 inches (off the chart %), head circumference 47.9 cm (also off the chart %). So he's healthy as a horse and growing like a weed!

Family Pictures

2006-06-02T11:06:00.000-05:00

We finally had a chance to get our family pictures taken.

Mustang Video

2006-05-26T12:46:00.000-05:00

http://www.putfile.com/3hudsons

Above is the link to our video webpage. Dave took a short video of the latest work on the rear-quarter panel of his 1966 Mustang.

New Teeth!

2006-05-18T18:58:00.000-05:00

Owen finally cut through one of his top teeth, the second top tooth will shortly be through. He got his first bottom teeth along time ago....around Valentine's Day, so we were wondering when the rest were ever going to pop through! Here they come!