Herman Nation

Wordless Wednesday (#85): Game Day: Beat Dook!

2012-02-08T08:19:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday (#84): Can't Say I Blame Him

2012-02-08T07:00:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday (#83): Glad She Didn't Forget the Stamp!

2012-02-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

My College Days

2012-01-30T21:27:00.002-05:00

One of the mainstays of the Westminster College (MO) sports community is Terry Logue, the Sports Information Director. He sent me an email a couple of weeks ago, asking if it would be okay for him to do a profile on me for their website, as they are highlighting Westminster grads who are currently working in athletics.

I'll pull this one out someday when I'm trying to convince my kids that I actually WAS a decent basketball player (and student!) back in the day...

Who is a Westminster College Student-Athlete...

1/30/2012
Athletic News - Basketball (W)

Fulton, Mo. - Who is a Westminster College student-athlete? Amy Herman, the Associate Athletics Director for Compliance at the University of North Carolina (UNC), is a former Westminster Blue Jay student-athlete.

Herman, who grew up in Owensville, Missouri, and was known as Amy Schaeperkoetter during her collegiate days and prior to her marriage, graduated from Westminster with degrees in physical education and secondary education. She was a Dean’s List student, a four-time academic all-conference honor winner, a CoSida Academic All-District pick and a four time all-conference basketball selection. Amy left Westminster with the career scoring record of 1,282 points, which still stands, and she is in the top ten in both rebounding and assists.

During her senior year at Westminster, Amy earned an NCAA Women’s Enhancement Program Post-Graduate Scholarship and it led her to UNC, where she earned her graduate degree in Sports Administration. As a result of her success in her graduate program, she has remained on the Tar Heel staff and has risen in the ranks to her current position overseeing the overall development and administration of the UNC compliance program.

Herman credits her involvement in sports and her upbringing with helping pave the way for her educational and career success. “Sports have played a role in basically every aspect of my life for as long as I can remember…I knew quite early that I wasn't going to be the quickest, tallest, or strongest player on the court. But, I truly believed that I could be the smartest, and I made it my goal to learn as much as I could…As a point guard in basketball, I tried to be the coach on the floor,” said Herman. “This attitude carried over quite easily to the classroom. Though a lot of my perfectionist tendencies are genetic (thanks, Mom and Dad!), I do think that participating in sports throughout my youth played a large part in enhancing my desire to perform well in the classroom.”

While she credits her sports participation with providing a structure for academic success, Herman says her parents influenced her career direction. “Growing up with a math teacher for a mom and a lawyer for a dad, it's not surprising that I've always enjoyed working with numbers and have been intrigued by the legal system. When I graduated from Westminster, I tossed around the idea of going to law school,” she said. “However, I ultimately decided that I wanted to take a shot at athletic administration, which led me to UNC. The second year of the program consists of an internship in the athletics department and from the time of my arrival on-campus to the start of the program, I knew that compliance would be right up my alley. It was an opportunity to be involved with the legal system of college athletics, as well as to put my love of numbers to use in the area of athletics financial aid. And I guess it didn’t hurt that it's in a field in which I can put to good use my general nature of being an almost-to-a-fault rule-follower."

It is not surprising that Herman, who learned early in life to follow the rules, is now entrusted with enforcing the rules.

Photo Cutline: The Herman Family (L-R) - Ivie, Amy with Bryce, Macie, and Dale.

A Slice of Bryce (#18): Nine Months!!!

2012-01-29T21:30:00.002-05:00

Whew! Bryce's ninth month was a busy one in the Herman house. Some for the good, some for the bad. But it's hard to believe it's over and my baby has begun his first 2-digit month...

First, I'll share with you his stats from his 9-month check-up:

Height: 29 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 21 pounds, 1 ounce (65th percentile)
Head Circumference: 46 centimeters (75th percentile)

I know, I know, your chin is probably on the ground. Mine was, too, after hearing that B had dropped from the 90th percentile in weight to the 65th! Our boy is slimming down now that he's on the move, it appears. Although it might have something to do with the fact that he spent all of last week throwing up due to RSV...

Anyway, for comparison's sake, here are Ivie and Macie's measurements at 9 months:

Ivie
Height: 28 1/8 inches
Weight: 18 pounds, 8 ounces
Head Circumference: 44 centimeters

Macie
Height: 27 3/4 inches
Weight: 19 pounds, 6 ounces
Head Circumference: 45 3/4 centimeters

So Bryce has them both by, on average, 1 inch and 2 pounds. Wow. Isn't it interesting the difference between boys and girls, even as babies? It's no wonder I feel like my arm is going to fall off when I hold B for very long. At least it can't ALL be blamed on the fact that the last time I formally lifted weights was the day before my wedding...

Alright, here are a few other memories from Bryce's 9th month:

1. I mentioned RSV above. He had quite a case (involving a 6-day fever, lack of appetite, throwing up, and very raspy breathing), and is still recovering from the double ear infection that came along with it. We (including our washing machine) will all be glad when the diarrhea from the medicine disappears. And I'm hopeful that the last-14-day trend of him waking up to eat once each night goes away shortly, too...

2. The army crawl is slowly turning into a "real" crawl, as Bryce is getting better at holding is belly in the air as he moves along. The crawl is still pretty slow, which I love! He also learned, in the past week or so, how to sit himself back up after crawling. Ahhhhh, it sure is nice to not have to pick him up every time he gets tired of being on his belly!

3. Though he's still working on pulling himself into a standing position, we moved his crib mattress to the lowest position this month, lest he learn how to do it in the middle of the night and decide to lean over his crib rail and try to fly. (Ouch.)

4. Once he's standing, though, he will take baby (literally!) steps while holding onto furniture. This, too, is very slow, and he's got a lot of work to do to perfect it. He also needs to learn how to sit himself back down gracefully. Currently, he just plops down and, more often than not, ends up hurting his bottom and crying.

5. Food. He's still pounding baby food and breastmilk like it's his job, but we've also transitioned into giving him some table food and water from a sippy cup. So far, he's tried chicken nuggets, french fries, pancakes, scrambled eggs, peas, and, of course, more than a 9-month old's fair share of frozen yogurt. So far, he doesn't seem to care whether it's Sweet Frog or Moonberries. That reminds me, though. I have GOT to get a picture of the face that he makes when I first put the yogurt in his mouth. It's soooo cold, and I think it shocks his senses, causing him to break into the most hilarious little scowl. But he's very soon thereafter licking his lips and "asking" for more! Definitely a child of mine...

6. Lastly, as the pictures below will show, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to get Bryce to sit still. He's always wanting to be on the move. So some of the pictures show this "activity".

What's It Worth?

2012-01-29T11:00:00.005-05:00

This morning, Bryce started whimpering around 6:15a (a cherished 45 minutes earlier than Dale and I prefer to be aroused on weekends). As Dale and I lay in bed in silence, both of us clearly trying to figure out the next step, Dale said, "That sounds like the sort of cry that means I could get him to go back to sleep on my chest." In response, I said, "Yeah, but he's going to be soaking wet." Both of us, mind you, were speaking from experience. Dale, who has had much more success than me at getting B back to sleep in the early mornings, and me, who knew that I had nursed B at midnight and not changed his diaper.

We decided that Dale would give it a shot. So when he returned with Bryce, I stayed silent and wrapped up in the covers on my side of the bed (knowing that if B saw me, he would think "MILK!", and it would all be over).

An hour and a half later, when I returned to the room after hanging out with the girls, Dale had the following the say:

"The good news is that I was right (as B sat happily on his chest after waking up just minutes before). The bad news is that you were right, too. Looks like we're going to have to wash the sheets today."

So, in the Herman house, it appears as though a few more minutes of sleep is worth an extra load of laundry and the annoyance of stripping and re-making a bed...

Happy Sunday!

Wordless Wednesday (#82): Saturday Morning Coloring

2012-01-25T20:22:00.002-05:00

(Thanks to the timer feature on my camera!)

The Great Television Debate

2012-01-21T21:12:00.002-05:00

Whenever Dale is traveling (and sometimes even when he's home!), I let the girls watch a television show while I put Bryce to bed. So our daily debate is who gets to choose the show. Or, in other words, are they going to watch Barney (Ivie's fav) or Caillou (Macie's go-to)?

We've tried various methods of making this decision. Ivie's idea is always to "hold a number behind your back, Mommy" and let one of them choose the number (e.g., Is it "1" or "2", Macie?) But this game only works when, well, it never really works, because one girl always loses (GASP). And it's also a method that is highly "fix-able", since Macie, with her incredibly short attention span, always chooses whatever number you say last (like "2", in the above example). As a result, Dale and I can always "make" either Ivie or Macie win, depending on who's been the better kid that day.

So what we've gotten in the habit of doing lately is taking turns. (Took us 5 1/2 years and 3 kids to figure that one out.) This works great typically, but only when we can remember which show they watched the night before. Unfortunately, with my memory, that's not a given. And I certainly can't just ask them what they watched, because, although they both definitely know, you can rest assured that they are seeing right through my weakness and are both adamant that they watched THE OTHER GIRL'S FAVORITE SHOW the night before.

So this causes quite a dilemma, not unlike a slightly different scenario we encountered tonight. The problem? The girls "lost" television last night as a result of a kicking battle in the car on our way home from Chick-fil-A. Which means that I had to think back to who had chosen the show the night before last. Yeah. No chance.

So I told the girls that they could either try to agree on a show, or I was going to pick one (and it wouldn't be either of their two favorites). Ivie, in an attempt to reason with Macie but still maintain immediate gratification, said, "Macie, I'll let you choose the next TWO nights if you let me watch Barney tonight!". And Macie, being a 3-year old, kept her response short and not-so-sweet, saying, "No!!! I want to watch Caillou!".

Turns out they really enjoyed The Berenstain Bears.

Wordless Wednesday (#81): Introducing... The Tupperware Cabinet!

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday (#80): Happy Hump Day!

2012-01-11T07:45:00.004-05:00

The Pledge of Allegiance. In Latin. Random, I Know.

2012-01-10T20:47:00.003-05:00

Ivie often comes home from Kindergarten reciting random phrases, etc., in Latin. While I'm impressed that they're teaching the kids another language, I sometimes wish she would instead come home saying things in Spanish. You know, a language that might actually do her some good someday.

Anyway, I think her class has been working on the Pledge of Allegiance for quite some time now, so I thought I would get it on video so that when she's older, and it's long-gone from her memory (sort of like any knowledge I used to have of the German language), she will have proof that she once knew it.

If any of you out there actually know Latin, or even just the Pledge of Allegiance in Latin, feel free to fill me in if there is any of it that Ivie doesn't get quite right. Because, right now, she has me fooled into believing she actually knows it...

(Sorry about Macie's interruption part of the way through. She was adamant about showing Ivie where she was supposed to sit after her performance. And it definitely couldn't wait until Ivie was finished, because, well, these days it's Macie's World, and we all should just be happy that we've been given the opportunity to live in it.)

Chompers #4 and #5

2012-01-08T15:24:00.002-05:00

Turns out I didn't have to wait long for that top left central incisor to make its appearance. This morning when Bryce woke up, it was there! And then, as if his mouth believes in symmetry, the right one was popping through by lunchtime. So Chompers #4 and #5 arrived at 8 months and 16 days of age.

So I guess this means that I can, once again, blame the middle-of-the-night-awakening-turned-nursing-session last night on teeth. Phew. Another day of not having to believe that it's possible that Bryce isn't going to be as good a sleeper as his sisters were...

Along with the tooth chart, I'm including some pictures of Bryce eating his Cheerios this morning. Dale and I are both excited that he appears to be favoring his left hand for food-grabbing... (For those of you not familiar with the handedness in our family, Dale, Macie, and I are all lefties when it comes to eating and writing. Ivie is our sole righty. Time will tell on Buggy!)

Facebook: December, 2011

2012-01-05T07:00:00.016-05:00

December 2 at 8:01am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
We saw a house that was burning down this morning on the way to school. Macie was distraught, worried that HER house might burn down. Then she said, "Did the house stop, dwop, and wowull?".

December 2 at 8:51am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
You know you're old, married, and utterly exhausted by work and 3 kids when you're in bed at 8:45p on a Friday night, talking about how you could potentially get 10 hours of sleep.

December 3 at 10:30am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Visiting with Santa!

December 3 at 2:08pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
What happens when the girls are left on their own while Dale and I watch the basketball game...

December 4 at 9:35am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
When I left the room 1 minute earlier, all the toys were IN the bucket...

December 4 at 11:28am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Why do I, one of the two authority figures in our home, feel like I have to hide the fact that I'm recycling some of the girls' old (and falling apart) books?!? Oh, yeah. It's because I know that if I told them, we would then have to go through the IT'S-MY-FAVORITE-IN-THE-WHOLE-WIDE-WORLD-AND-I-CAN'T-LIVE-WITHOUT-IT drama.

December 6 at 4:30pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Ivie had gotten quiet upstairs, so I went to check on her. Turns out she was organizing my shoes. She is her mother's daughter...

December 7 at 8:05am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Just saw a school crossing guard at the corner near day care. Macie said, "Mommy, can you give some money to that girl?". Confused, but compassionate.

December 8 at 5:22pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Ivie playing dress-up in a dress I wore as a flower girl at her age!

December 10 at 7:19pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Buggy, why must you choose the very second I sit you on our WHITE bath mat to spit up your ORANGE vegetable beef dinner?!?

December 11 at 11:19am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Daddy-and-daughters date to the movies this afternoon. Bryce and I will enjoy the rare peace and quiet.

December 13 at 7:48am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
I love having 4 cheeks to kiss in the mornings!

December 15 at 8:55am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
How many 5 year-olds get their $15 boots shined at the airport? #onlywithdaddy

December 15 at 2:28pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Nina with her (very tired) NC girls.

December 15 at 3:46pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
There's just somethin' about lying on your Mom and Dad's couch...

December 15 at 5:57pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Papa and his NC boy.

December 17 at 9:30am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Had to special order this one...

December 18 at 2:09pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Shakespeare's Pizza before the Mizzou game.

December 18 at 3:24pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
At basketball game. Announcer says "Time out on the court.". Ivie asks Dale if the players got in trouble.

December 18 at 3:31pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Clearly enjoying his first Mizzou basketball game. (I'm sensing a pattern.)

December 18 at 7:50pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Worn. Out.

December 20 at 7:27pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Ahhhhhhh

December 21 at 5:46pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Stuck at the airport with a cancelled flight. Wonderful. At least we don't have 3 hungry and tired kids, ages 5 and under. Oh, wait.

December 21 at 8:18pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
My youngest daughter has eaten the following since our arrival at the airport 5 hours ago: 4 Starburst, mini bags of both pretzels and Chex Mix, a large bag of BBQ chips, approximately 30 mini marshmallows, and now a Ring Pop. Al, I'd very much appreciate it if you could find those bags.

December 21 at 9:30pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
On the positive side, the hotel room has a fridge for B's four bottles of fresh breastmilk. Phew.

December 22 at 1:11pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Might as well be First Class Cabin! Finally home!!!

December 23 at 8:04am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Bed head.

December 23 at 2:53pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
"Two Girl Rock" putting on a Christmas concert.

December 24 at 10:23am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Ivie has her first loose tooth! She thinks it's pretty cool - we'll see how she feels when it's time to pull it...

December 24 at 5:40pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Making gingerbread houses. Fun!

December 24 at 9:40pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Putting out food for the reindeer!

December 25 at 9:09am

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Bryce likes the girls' new hula hoops.

December 25 at 3:31pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
Mommy had to rely on my Aunt Bobbie for a handmade crocheted Christmas bib. Nifty, huh?!?

December 26 at 7:53pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
I think the Keva Planks might end up being more of a gift for me than for the girls. Behold, my first tower...

December 29 at 10:15pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
My role in taking down Christmas.

December 30 at 1:18pm

Amy Schaeperkoetter Herman
As Ivie rode off on her bike to play with a neighborhood friend, I told her to be a good girl. She said, "I will, Mom. You can count on me!"

Chomper #3

2012-01-04T20:45:00.001-05:00

If you would have told me 4 days ago that the next tooth that popped into Buggy's mouth would be his lower right lateral incisor, I would have never believed you. That's because 4 days ago, he developed what our friend (and, as luck would have it, also our pediatric dentist), Dr. John, referred to as an eruption hematoma on his top left central incisor, which led me to believe that it would be the next tooth to cut through.

But when I felt around in his mouth tonight, still no tooth "upstairs", but the pointy end of another one on the bottom floor! So Chomper #3 officially makes its appearance at 8 months and 12 days of age.

So here's the updated tooth chart, along with a few pictures of Bryce I snapped tonight when he and I were hanging out with a toy frying pan from the girls' kitchen. Pardon the pink bib. Let's just say I didn't feel the need to go out and buy new eating bibs for B when I knew they would regularly be covered in squash, anyway...

(Side note about these next two. In the first one, he heard his sisters voices and looked toward the sound. In the second one, he actually saw them running down the stairs. I LOVE how I was able to randomly catch the slight changes in his expression that show first the anticipation, and then the excitement, of seeing them! Ivie and Macie are, by far, his favorite two people in the world - if you don't count Mommy in the middle of the night when he needs a little snack).

Wordless Wednesday (#79): Christmas Ornament Storage

2012-01-04T07:00:00.004-05:00

(Out with the old...)

(...and in with the new!)

Bryce's Army Crawl

2012-01-03T07:00:00.004-05:00

Bryce is officially mobile. But not in a conventional crawling sort of way, which is really no surprise, since the girls didn't start out with "normal" crawls, either...

Bryce's method is similar to an army crawl, as he's not yet able to keep his belly off the ground and over his knees. This might be partially due to the fact that it's winter and he's always wearing slippery pants, and partially due to the fact that his little arms aren't strong enough to hold up his hunk of a trunk!

But the bottom line is that if Buggy wants something, he's going to get it. I guess it's time to put up the Pack-n-Play so I have somewhere to sit him when I need to leave the room!

Christmas, 2011

2012-01-02T12:46:00.002-05:00

On Christmas Eve, we spent a few hours at the home of the McCulloch's, good friends of ours that have girls the same ages as Ivie and Macie, and a boy a year older than Bryce. I didn't take my camera to their party, but I did snap a few pictures of the girls all dressed in their Christmas red (down to the candy cane earrings!) before we left the house.

Upon our return home and after getting the kiddos to bed, Santa got to work. Here was the foyer as the girls found it Christmas morning.

The dollhouse was certainly the biggest hit...

But the puzzles and hula hoops got some early-Christmas-morning play, as well.

I'm posting below a collage of video clips from our morning. You'll likely notice that Bryce doesn't make an appearance. That's because he slept through the present-opening. Which was fine, as there weren't any gifts for him under the tree, anyway; thankfully, Santa got Mommy's message that Bryce has more toys than he knows what to do with (thanks to 2 older sisters).

It was another wonderful Christmas morning at home! They seem to be getting calmer as the girls get older. That is, until next year when Bryce will be 20 months old and ready to rumble...

Keva Plank Creations

2012-01-01T21:10:00.001-05:00

For Christmas this year, the girls got a set of Keva Planks from Santa. I had first seen them at the NC Museum of Life and Science, and I thought they would be a great gift to encourage the development of the girls' "creative genius". I figure they're definitely going to need it, since neither of their parents have a creative bone in their bodies...

On Christmas afternoon, we headed to Hickory to spend a couple of days with Dale's mom. We brought along many of their gifts to show Grandma, including the planks. Surely the girls would want to build amazing structures with their older cousins, right?

Well, turns out, the girls preferred begging their cousins to play hide-and-seek, and yours truly ended up alone in the living room with the planks. You won't be surprised to hear that I resorted to copying the images in the booklet of ideas...

Here are a few of my (errrr, the company's) "creations"!

A Slice of Bryce (#17): Eight Months!!!

2011-12-28T21:00:00.002-05:00

Well, Bryce's eighth month came and went over our Christmas break.

Lots of updates for the B-Man this month...

1. Let's just go ahead and get the one negative update out of the way first. Before the holidays, as I noted in his seven month update, we were on quite a roll with sleeping through the night. But our travel has gotten him off-schedule a bit, which has led to him waking up around 11:30p for a late-night snack, and then sleeping in until 8:30a or 9a (since there was no Mommy alarm to wake him and get him ready for school). We're back home for the foreseeable future, though, so I'm hoping being back to school and having to wake up at 7a each day will get us back on track.

2. We've continued with Size 2 baby foods, and I've tried throwing in a few "real" solids (Gerber puffs, mashed potatoes, banana pieces). He loves the pureed foods, but still gags on the real stuff. So we'll keep working on it. Slowly, since I'm not interested in cleaning up baby puke on a regular basis.

3. Speaking of regurgitation, we're still waiting for that blessed day when the spitting just miraculously disappears. I feel like it happened about this time with the girls (i.e., when they started moving/crawling around). But still no end in sight for Bryce.

4. My latest nickname for B is Buggy. Dale is not supportive. I guess it doesn't sound manly enough for him. But until he comes up with something that rolls off my tongue better, Buggy it is.

5. B has a bit of an army crawl going. I haven't yet gotten it on video, but I need to soon, as I have a feeling he's going to lift that belly off the ground and take off in a "normal" crawl any day now. But even with the army crawl, you can rest assured that if he wants something, he's going to get to it.

6. Bryce also loves to stand up. If you're playing with him and have him standing in front of you and need to sit him down for a break, he will straighten his legs, arch his back, and refuse to sit, meaning that you pretty much have to lay him down on the ground. If you really want him to sit, you literally have to bend his knees for him by holding his calves and pushing down on his thighs. Pretty amusing. He's still not pulling himself up into a standing position, but I have a feeling that's on the horizon. Judging from his current attitude, once he can stand himself up, he might never sit down again.

7. We're still stuck on two teeth. I've been thinking that his teeth are coming in much more slowly than the girls', but I just checked the blog for Macie's tooth chart, and it turns out that she didn't get her third tooth until she was 8 months and 2 days old. So I guess B is not as far behind as I originally thought. Phew.

8. The kid is ALWAYS smiling, and most of the time it's with his mouth wide open. I'm pretty sure he's the happiest baby of my three. Maybe it's because he has two big sisters to entertain him, which they are almost always willing to do. Ivie's at the age now where she constantly wants to hold him. She will just plop down on the ground and scoop him up and onto her lap. Generally, it's right after he's eaten, and it doesn't take much shaking and bouncing around for him to spit up all over her, himself, the floor, and the toy-of-the-moment. But she isn't deterred and is right back at it after we get them all cleaned up. She and Macie are both wonderful big sisters. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't trade their brother for anything. Except maybe more dolls for their new dollhouse.

9. Lastly, the older Bryce gets, the more pictures I seem to take to document the month. But the smiles remain consistent. My sweet baby boy.

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-25T09:46:00.001-05:00

Christmas in Missouri, 2011

2011-12-24T15:05:00.001-05:00

It seems as though each time we travel to Missouri, I pull my camera out less and less. The hustle and bustle of our time there just doesn't lend itself well to snapping photos. I did get a few treasured shots, though, that I want to share here. Namely, a photo of Granny and Papa with all of their great-grandkids (minus Bryce, who had JUST fallen asleep for a long overdue nap on Nina's lap in a quieter area of the house)...

...and a shot of Nina and Papa's 8 grandchildren.

Since I did snap a few other good shots, I'll just include them in this post as well.

Though I don't have the pictures to prove it, our Christmas trip to Missouri was wonderful! The girls had a blast playing with their cousins, and Bryce couldn't get enough of all the attention and action around him. And us adults? Well, suffice it to say that there's nothing better than time with family.

Buddy the Elf

2011-12-24T14:51:00.001-05:00

We finally jumped on the Elf on the Shelf bandwagon this year. Ivie pretty much guilted us into it by talking about how much she wished she had an elf like Riddle, who belongs to the Devers. She kept seeing Danny's pictures of all the silly things that Riddle was doing in the mornings at their house, and the sad look on her face when she would talk about us not having an elf was too much for us to bear. We're suckers and we know it.

So the night before we left for Missouri, I ran to Barnes and Noble and bought the Herman family elf, which we later named "Buddy". Not very creative, I know, but it's certainly better than Dale's suggestion of "Rameses the Elf". In some areas of our lives, sweetheart, we have to separate from our beloved Tar Heels...

After we'd hidden Buddy in several places each morning at my parents' and then again upon our return to North Carolina, Ivie made an off-handed comment to Dale that changed Buddy's life forever. She said, "Daddy, Buddy just isn't as funny as Riddle. He doesn't do silly things like Riddle does."

Telling Dale he's not funny is like telling Macie she can't have dessert.

So I took to the internet to try to step up our game a bit (because we're not very creative on our own). And, just as Buddy's time with us comes to an end (today was his last morning with us before reporting back to Santa and staying at the North Pole until next Christmas season), Buddy turned it around and made the girls laugh.

Here was his pose yesterday morning:

Who doesn't love a nice bubble bath?!?

And here was this morning's:

I think last night's dinner at Los Portales must have gotten to him.

Ivie questioned the appearance of the random toy bathtub and toilet. We didn't offer up any ideas, but she ultimately said, "I wonder if Buddy brought those to go in our Barbie Dream House?" (the main item on her Christmas list).

You know, Iv, you're pretty smart for a 5 year-old.

Buddy, Dale and I will spend the next 11 months coming up with "fun" things that you can do when you return next December. We promise that you'll give Riddle a run for his money...

Ivie's 5th Birthday Party Photo Book

2011-12-09T14:21:00.002-05:00

It's December, which means that Ivie's 5th birthday party was over 8 months ago. What is it that people say? Better late than never? Yeah, I totally agree with that sentiment.

And I'll take this moment to tout briefly the enhancements that Shutterfly has made to their book-making process. The "embellishments" and the ability to customize the picture sizes and placements? LOVE. Now I just need a coupon code for an 8x8 hard cover book. Anyone?

Click here to view this photo book larger

Wordless Wednesday (#78): Christmas Card Outtakes

2011-12-07T09:10:00.001-05:00

Random Act of Kindness

2011-12-05T15:22:00.001-05:00

I feel like it's been sooooo long since I've gotten on here and just told a story. But this one? This one is definitely worth the time it will take to write...

First, a little background.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but Dale and I have a reward/punishment system that we started several months ago with the girls. It's a marble system, in which they each have their own jar, and, when they do something particularly "good" (like asking politely for help, instead of whining for it), they are rewarded with a marble. And when they misbehave (like not listening, or saying "NO!" when Dale or I ask them to do something), they get a marble taken away.

Anyway, since this is still a fairly new initiative in our house, we've tossed around a few different ideas about what they can do with their marbles when their jars fill up, which seems to happen a bit more quickly with Ivie than with Macie. I think it's because, well, Macie is THREE and has the attitude to match (although we've seen some signs lately of her growing up a bit!). But to give you one example of how Ivie has "spent" her marbles (each one is worth 10 cents), she used $10 worth to purchase a new leotard for gymnastics (because she couldn't decide which of the two she wanted, and I told her I was only buying one).

Fast-forward to last week. On Wednesday afternoons, I pick up Ivie and a friend of hers after (half-day) Kindergarten at 1p. They decided this past week that they wanted to go to Barnes & Noble and browse/read some books. Before leaving the store, I let them both pick out one of the $4 paperback books to take home. They were beyond thrilled, so it was $8 well-spent.

Their excitement sparked an idea in me, so, that Saturday, I suggested to Dale and the girls that these $4 books might be a wonderful (and educational, and space-saving, you get the picture) way to spend their marbles. They both bought in, so we spent some time counting their marbles to find out how many books they could each buy. It turned out that Ivie was 3 shy of 40 marbles (or $4.00, one book's worth), and Macie was 1 shy of 120 marbles (or $12.00, three books' worth).

By Sunday after church and lunch, they had both successfully earned the necessary remaining marbles (it's amazing how positively sweet they can be when they're striving for something!) to head to the store. So we did.

And this is where the "real" story begins.

When we arrived, Ivie led us up to the children's section of the store. Right at the top of the escalator, there was a table of children's holiday books. On it, I spotted "Llama Llama Holiday Drama", which is the latest story in Macie's current favorite series (others that we own are "Llama Llama Mad at Mama" and "Llama Llama Red Pajama"). When I saw the book, I exclaimed to Macie, "Look, Mac, there's a Christmas "Llama Llama" book! I wonder if you have enough money to buy it! Let me check..." As I opened the book to find the cost, I noticed a lady standing close by, perusing books on the other side of the stand, and we exchanged "knowing Mom" smiles as she overheard my conversation with Macie.

When I discovered that the book was $18, I said to Macie, "Oh, sorry, Mac. This book is $18. You only have $12, so you don't have enough. Maybe if Ivie wants to "go in" with you, you can put your money together and have enough to buy this book!". Macie looked expectantly at Ivie, but, sadly, Iv wasn't interested, as she was already headed over to the $4 books to pick out her own. Macie expressed a bit of sadness, but quickly got over it and moved on. We all followed Ivie over to the cheaper paperback book section, and the girls excitedly picked through the various books, trying to decide which ones to choose.

A few minutes later, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was the woman with whom I'd exchanged smiles earlier. She whispered to me, so that the girls couldn't hear, "Excuse me. I have a daughter, too. Would it be okay with you if I did something nice for yours? I have a $20 Barnes & Noble gift card I would like to give you so that you can buy her that book she's wanting."

I wish I could tell you, verbatim, how the rest of our conversation went. Actually, no, I don't. Because I'm pretty sure I sounded like a bumbling idiot. I was so floored by her kindness that it was all I could do to fight back tears and try to develop a coherent response. But (I think!) I managed to thank her profusely and tell her that what I would really like her to do was to find another small child to surprise with the gift card. I explained that my husband and I are blessed with enough money to buy books for our daughters, and that the discussion she had heard about "not having enough money" for the Llama Llama book was our effort to teach Macie the value of money and working hard to earn it.

I think the lady could tell that I was about to cry, so she, mercifully, smiled and walked away. Dale, out of earshot of our conversation but intrigued by the odd look on my face, wandered over. I couldn't even make it through the story. Right in the middle of Barnes & Noble, I cried. Overwhelming kindness will do that to you, apparently.

As adults in this broken world, we see a lot of unthinkable, horrifying, repulsive acts that destroy other people physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But yesterday, in that 30 seconds, my faith in humankind was renewed. Thank you, God, for the gift of that woman.