TV for kids-It's a good thing!

For those who think that any amount of TV that kids watch is a harmful waste of time, I beg to differ. I'll admit that my kids probably do watch too much TV, but it's only PBS so I am not feeling too bad about it. Anyways, today Tyson took the "lace" covering off of a toy bracelet and was hooking the bracelet around heavy toys. I asked what he was doing and he said "It's a simple machine." Yeah, I can guarantee you he did not learn about simple machines from me, or even his engineer dad. I asked him to tell me about it and he said "It is a simple machine that makes it easy to lift heavy things. I learned about it on Sid [the Science Kid]." He played with it the rest of the afternoon and told Darin about his invention and other simple machines like ramps and levers when he got home from work. You gotta love PBS.

Weekend O' Fun

Last Wednesday, Darin's sister La Shawn and her kids, Kaden and Nevaeh, drove up from Iowa to spend the weekend with us. We had a lot of fun-we being La Shawn and I : ) No, really, we all had a great time. There were a few problems with sharing and being kind, but Tyson and Jori were very happy to have their cousins around to play with. I really did enjoy being able to sit around with La Shawn and have a chance to get to know my sister-in-law a little bit more. Yes, I've known her for over 7 years, but usually when we are together there is a lot of activity going on.

We did manage a few fun activities with the kids. These included going to Love Inc so the kids could pick out a new toy (I tricked mine into picking from the bin of freebies!), going to PlayWorld (which is way fun for any of you that live in West Michigan), and we even hauled out the container of Darin's He-Man action figures. Yes, I know that I said I thought Tyson was too young for them (on November 19, if you want to read it again), but desperate times call for desperate measures. However, even that little plan backfired on us as the boys fought over the different "guys" instead of playing with them. Once I round up all the little pieces, I will be relegating He-Man back to the basement storage room. Here's a little video of some bath time fun. La Shawn took some super cute pictures of my kids too, posing all cute, but I don't think I can put them on here. So sorry.





On Friday afternoon, I ran for my life headed to Grand Rapids for a Girls Weekend. Pauline, a college friend who now lives in MA, flew out for a weekend of fun thanks to her loving husband and the plotting of her friends. On Friday night almost all of the Rooks girls got together (minus Julie who was enjoying warmer weather in Florida) for dinner and some time away from our darling children. Not all of us were childless, however, as Pauline had brought along her baby, James, Tracey had little Ellery and Michelle came with Jack who was LESS than a week old. Girls Night Out is NOT to be missed!

I spent the night and on Saturday I was thrown headlong into the somewhat frightening world of "crafting". We went to a couple fabric stores (not my comfort zone) and after MUCH deliberation and with a lot of help and encouragement, I finally chose fabric to make a tote bag. We got home a little after 2, ate some lunch and then, around 3:30, I started the process of making a bag. There was cutting, and pinning and ironing going on and then the sewing. I was honored to use Amy's super high tech sewing machine. This thing had a computer screen and everything. Finally, at 10:30, my masterpiece was finished! Yep, I did it, with a lot of help from Amy, Pauline and Sarah. Thank you so much dear friends.

After a long day of sewing, it was time to get some exercise. So we busted out the Wii and played some doubles tennis. This was my first time playing anything on the Wii, and it was super fun. We were all way into it. So into it, in fact, that Pauline was having some chest pains, sweatshirts were coming off, and a few of us had trouble catching our breath. I decided to head home a little before 1 so I could get up for church in the morning. When I woke up, my shoulder and elbow were SO sore--from a video game!! Sad, I know. I didn't get a chance to do the Wii fit, but I am guessing that my Wii Age, or whatever it is called, would be in the 40's or 50's, if not even older!

Sunday was pretty quiet, or maybe it just seemed that way to me because I took a three hour nap. I really AM getting old and totally cannot handle late nights, especially two in a row. Around 7, Darin took La Shawn and the kids to meet up with the people they rode out with. They were planning on leaving at 3 or 4 the next morning, so it was easier if they all stayed in the same place. Darin and I watched Amazing Race (my fave) and then I went right to bed.

After dropping Tyson off at school on Monday, I headed back to GR with Jori for some more fun with my friends. Having kids around did not allow for quite as much fun. We had to be very sneaky when eating our double stuf oreo's and Sarah's little Miles is one observant kid. We also ate all of the glossy fluff on Saturday night, so there was nothing to dip the oreo's in. For those of you that don't know, glossy fluff is a small jar of marshmallow cream mixed with 8 oz of cream cheese and it is GOOD. Most people would dip fruit in their fluff, but oreo's are also a good dipper!

That, my friends, was our weekend. This weekend is going to be way more low key. A trip out to Sam's club, pizza and movie night with the kids, and church on Sunday. I am looking forward to the slower pace!

The love between a brother and a sister

Apparently, this love goes pretty deep. This morning the kids were talking about when they grow up. Jori said "I can be a mommy just like you" and I said "Someday you will be a mommy. First you'll find a husband, just like I found daddy, then you will have babies and I will be the grandma". Tyson was sitting quietly, then he said "I will be Jori's husband". Um, no. I told him he would go to Calvin or Dordt and find a sweet girl to be his wife. He said "I will go to Dordt, but I will still marry Jori when we are big". I tried again to explain to him that Jori would be the Auntie of his babies someday and NOT his wife. This was met with much crying and carrying on, so I let it drop. For now I'll just be thankful he loves his little sis so much.

They are running around downstairs right now. Every once in a while one of them will fall and say "That's not funny, right!!!" and the other will agree that, indeed, it was not funny. Tyson started saying that a while ago when he would trip over something or get hurt, but now Jori has picked up on it as well.

I'll have to work at getting some pictures up here later and we have a few videos Darin will have to upload to YouTube. If anyone is actually still reading this, I am sure you are thrilled to know another post will be coming soon.

Christmas Pics

Better late than never, right? I just uploaded an album to http://picasaweb.google.com/mifeys . I think I have some other recent pics on our laptop that I will get to another day. Maybe next time I post pictures, I'll remember the little code so I can just write click HERE instead of having to type out the whole website. Probably not, but I am sure Darin can figure it out.

We are all doing well here. Tyson stayed home from school today with some stomach issues. I am hoping that he is feeling better tomorrow. On Wednesday night, Darin's sister, LaShawn, and her kids Kaden and Nevaeh are coming up for a long weekend. We are very excited to see them. On Friday, my college friend Pauline and her little guy, JT, are coming out from Massachusetts. I am looking forward to some late nights and lots of Double Stuf Oreos. Mmm.

That's all for now!

New man or little boy?

Recognize this? Probably not. Those of you who haven't known me outside of Michigan have never seen it before. Neither has my wife. Am I talking about the ring around the collar from an old shirt I used to wear in college? Nope. I'm talking about my chin. Tonite it can be seen as it was the day I was born, without any facial hair. The last time I totally shaved my chin was
sometime in college, I don't remember exactly. It has actually been over a year since I've shaved any of my face with a razor. I HATE shaving, so I always just use my beard trimmer to get close enough to just leave a little stubble. Why do such a drastic thing tonite? Because I'm competitive. I recently joined a different division at work that has an annual Stache Bash Contest. Tomorrow is the official start date, with March 5 being the crowning day for Mr. Stache and Mr. Beard. Stay tuned for pictures of the results!