Flour girl

No, it's not a typo. We knew that Violet loved the sand, play-doh, snow, and any other material that allows her to get her hands in it and manipulate it, and this week, it was flour. The first time it was innocent; Ben and she were making the first batch of Christmas cookies, and since I hadn't done the weekend vacuuming yet, I really didn't care how big of a mess they made. Besides, the bigger the mess, the better the memory, right? They had a blast, and Violet is actually quite the cookie maker--rolling out the dough and everything. Here's a few pictures from the 'planned' event:

Then, Sunday afternoon came. We had gotten everything cleaned up and put away, but we had left the flour canister in the middle of the kitchen table--far enough out of reach that I really didn't think anything of it. I was doing work on the computer, and I remember thinking, it's awfully quiet, but that usually means Violets in her book nook reading stories to herself, so I finished my work, only to come out to this:

Yes, Violet had managed to climb up on the table, quietly open the flour canister, and proceed to empty probably a pounds worth of flour onto the table and herself. She, in her words, was making her own cookies. These pictures are after I had discovered her and somewhat reprimanded her, so the joy on her face doesn't show. It was one of those moments where, as a Mom, I was SO frustrated because it was a BIG mess, but had a very difficult time not laughing and playing in it with her. Our memories from 2008---Violet's 2 renditions of a flower/flour girl!

Oh, and for all you moms reading this that might be expecting another little one, here's a link to a contest to win a free baby carrier
http://www.alongfortheride.biz/Win-a-Free-Organic-Embroidered-Ergo-Baby-Carrier-s/49.htm

Big Sister News

So, at the end of the last post, I mentioned that there was more news to share. Well, as you can see by the title of this post, and Violet's shirt, this is good news! We are getting ready to welcome baby #2 into the Talsma household! This baby's estimated arrival date is June 15, just before my birthday, and just (hopefully) after school is out for the summer. We had our first doctor's appointment last week, and he said that everything looked good, so we decided to go ahead and share the news with our extended family of blog followers.

Things are going alright for me; I seem to have a bigger case of morning sickness this time that is not just limited to the morning, and I'm tired, but that is to be expected. Violet is being a wonderful big sister--reading books to the baby and saying good morning to him/her every morning by talking and waving. It is the cutest thing! It was also so sweet this morning--it was not a good morning food wise for me, and she came up to my belly and told the baby to stop making mommy's tummy feel sick, and to "please be nice to my mommy".

By the way, we found out about this in the midst of all our challenges the last month. It was both a bright spot, and made the whole financial issue that much bigger. But, we are truly excited to be in the process of having another baby, and I am anxiously awaiting the end of the next couple of weeks to hopefully kick this morning sickness!

Time to catch up

It has been a long while since I've posted, and my sincere apologies for that. After we got all of our issues taken care of, we just became very busy, and the blog posts got put to the back burner. So, what has been happening since October 21--

Halloween:
This year, Violet wanted to be Winnie-the-Pooh. We thought for sure we were going to have a little monkey this year, given her obsession with Curious George, but that was not the case. She was very adamant about being Winnie the Pooh, so that is what she was. Violet got to go Trick-or Treating twice--once a week early in the Big Rapids Fall Festival/Costume parade, and once on Halloween night.

Violet ready to march in the parade--
with M&M's of course!

The parade was a bit of a joke--it was Big Rapids 1st year of doing it, and it could have been done better, but I'm not volunteering! It was more designed for people wanting to dress up their dogs, and older kids, and not real appropriate for the under 4 set. Violet, of course, wanted to do everything that the big kids were doing, and had a very hard time understanding why I wouldn't let her try to climb on the unsupervised inflatables that they had in the middle of the street. I did eventually let her climb through the one that was supposed to be meant for littler people, but since it was misty, the rubber was wet and slick, and she couldn't climb up the stairs inside it! And, consequently, got stuck. One of my dear kindergarten students tried her best to help her, but I ended up having to go through this thing and hoist her up and out. She had much more fun in the trampoline one, until some crazy kid decided to try to jump clear across the thing and land on her. Tough life lessons, I guess, but I was starting to get very annoyed at how little supervision was going on at this, so we decided to pack it up and go.

Violet going down the inflatable
big slide with a nice older girl willing
to help her up the steps!

Violet in the inflatable

trampoline, pre-accident

She had a blast trick-or-treating with her Daddy--I stayed home to pass out candy as we get a lot of school kids who would be disappointed if they didn't see at least one of us. I guess they went about 4 blocks down and back up before Violet decided that was enough. She walked the whole time, and Ben said she said Trick or Treat at every house and said thank-you. YAY!

Violet's 1st stop

On her way to get
more candy!

General Fall Fun:

Another thing we've been having a blast with is the abundance of leaves in our yard. Violet loves jumping in the leaves, and it's really unfortunate that we haven't had a lot of dry fall days. Despite that, we managed to have one good, warm Saturday afternoon that we got to spend outside raking a big pile of leaves for her to play in. Notice in this video how she briefly panics for a moment, but eventually gets herself out:

Another thing she did this fall was climb her first tree. Her father put the idea in her head by climbing up first, and she thought it was quite silly. But then she decided that she wanted to be like the letters in Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and climb to the top of the coconut tree herself! Here is a picture of her and Daddy in the "coconut" tree:

I think that wraps up the fall/Halloween news pretty well. And, I'm at the limit of Violet being able to entertain herself in her playroom! More news to come!

Trials and Tribulations

Do you ever feel some days that the world is out to get you and you just don't know how you're going to handle it all? That's kind of the point that Ben and I are at right now--the beginning of the school year started with some challenges, and they just keep coming.

So without feeling like a whiner, but coveting thoughts and prayers, here are some of the trials we have been given over the last few months. Some of them are both blessings and trials--but because of other circumstances, the trial seems bigger than the concurrent blessing!

~our furnace went on the kaput and is being replaced, which gave our finances a BIG hit
~our babysitter is taking a job at school (tomorrow) so we need a new babysitter NOW, which will probably be more expensive
~our bikes are still gone, which means we're driving the car everywhere=GAS
~my job is changing (good, but) which means I'm transitioning and really have no idea what it is all going to entail--next MONDAY (maybe); I was also reminded that I am a curriculum coordinator and NOT the curriculum director (semantics)

When I list them, there doesn't appear to be that many, but they all affect every area of our life. Not having a babysitter affects both our personal and professional life; not having a heater primarily affects our personal life, but it affects how much we can afford for other things--including things for our professional lives.

I keep telling myself that challenges make us stronger, but I'm having a hard time seeing that at this point in time. And, I know that there are a lot of people who are worse off than we are, and our blessings far outnumber our trials, but that doesn't make it easier.

So because I need a reminder of my blessings, here's a few of them that you can include in prayers as praises:

~we BOTH have jobs: no small feat in Michigan's economy
~we have a house, and are in no danger of losing it
~I have a beautiful daughter, who will probably adjust a lot better than I will, and a fantastic husband
~I have family that cares and is beside us all the way
~We live in a greater school community that is working with us to find a solution to the babysitting problem
~we will have heat tomorrow, (but that does mean we pay a gas bill) and it will be much more efficient than our last one.

I promise I will make a post about Violet soon--we got the funniest video of her yesterday.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers in advance!

Comments

Not sure why the comments aren't appearing on the last post, so hopefully they'll appear on this one.

By the way, keep us in your thoughts through the next week as it is to get colder and we haven't gotten the new furnace installed yet! Thank goodness we have been blessed with lots of blankets!

New job & a trip

Things have been pretty crazy around possibility manor the last few weeks. Some things have been good, some things not so good, but all a part of life! So, the not so good first--shortly after discovering our bikes missing, the weather decided to give us a sneak peak of winter...and we tried to turn on our furnace..and tried is the key word there. Long story short, the furnace that was somewhat 'economically' installed in our house prior to our purchase of it finally gave its last breath and we get to buy a new one. Where is the money tree when you need it? Fortunately, that was the last of the major 'bad' things to happen to us that week...sometimes when it rains it just seems to pour. Oh, and the thieves didn't just make out with our bikes...I also noticed later in the week that they had also stolen some frozen pizzas out of the freezer...College/teenage kids perhaps???

Now, on to the good news. I've been waiting to post until everything was official, but I was offered and did accept the position of Curriculum Director at our school. It's not an administrative position (usually it is at other schools) but I will work with teachers in developing and maintaining our curriculum, and schedule and suggest professional development activities. It gives me a great foot in the door and adds to my resume extensively, as Curriculum Directors are quite often administrative positions (at least Central Office) in other districts. I'm not too bummed about the non-administrative part; if I had the ability to hoist other powers that administrators can, it would probably mean that Ben would have to resign due to conflict of interests. So, it works out for the best. Because this position is a part-time position, and I wanted (and needed) to stay full time, I will continue teacher K and 1st grade music, and a days worth of computer teaching. I still have not officially started the role--it appears that they are going to wait until they hire the person that will replace me before moving me into the new role. I do have some sadness in leaving my elementary kids--especially the 2nd graders--but I will still be in the building, so I will get to see them! I'll keep you all posted with the new adventures, joys, and frustrations that this new job will no doubtingly entail.

My co-driver

The second bit of news for this post is that Violet and I took a trip to Iowa this past weekend. Chandra flew home from California and we spent 2 days doing wedding dress shopping. I had forgotten all that that entails, but we had lots and lots of fun. I took two days off work (Fri. & Mon.) so we wouldn't be rushed, and that enabled us to have a great Sunday with the Fynaardt family. Violet did fantastic--she had lots of fun laying on the stool that the brides stand on and Chandra, good aunt that she is, played right along pretending to step on her and cover her up. All the bridal stores we went to were VERY family friendly as well, which made the whole process that much easier. One even had toys! It was very encouraging to see the effort, and not have to worry too much about Violet disturbing or distracting the store! And, Chandra found some very beautiful dresses, but I think a decision is being held off for more shopping :). We also found that the stores had just been to market, which means the new designs will be coming in around Christmas, and since she is not getting married until next September/October, she has plenty of time!

I have some pictures from Iowa to share--Violet has gotten into Winnie-the-Pooh lately, and loves to play Pooh sticks. The farm has a nice little creek running through it, so we all got to walk down and play Pooh sticks with Rabbit and Tigger and Eeyore and Piglet, and Caisey-Daisy, G&G's new puppy. We didn't get Violet into the tractor or combine--she's still scared of big trucks and tractors for an actual ride, but we convinced her to wave from a quiet, not running tractor!

Violet and I in Uncle Eric's super smart tractor--
seriously it's more techno-advanced than I am!


Auntie Chandra and Violet in the grass by the creek.


Grandpa and Violet on the R.R. tracks.


Violet and Kasey-Daisy--best buds--
as long as Kasey wasn't too excited!

To close, here's the video of the tricycle race with Grandpa Fynaardt:

Downs and Ups

The last few days have brought quite the roller coaster of emotions for us. We were actually having a really nice, relaxing weekend until Sunday, when we went out to the garage and discovered that our bicycles had been stolen sometime during the night/day. This included Violet's bicycle seat and helmet. It really isn't the value of the bike that upsets us so much (although we found that bikes aren't cheap), it just really makes you sick to your stomach that someone was in your garage and taking your stuff--mostly likely while you were sleeping. And, really, what kind of person steals a bike with an infants' seat on the back????

Fortunately, Violet doesn't completely comprehend the situation, and feels in her heart of hearts that the policewoman that took our report, is out scouring Big Rapids for our bicycles and she will bring them back. Oh, to have the faith of little ones....

To add to this misery, we came home from one of Violet's friends' birthday party and our computer had crashed. There was no choice but to set it back to factory settings, and when we first got it turned back on, I could not find any of Violet's pictures after her first birthday. I was already fried emotionally, so I turned the computer over to Ben, and he eventually found where they were hidden. Phew! I am buying a large MB flash drive very soon and getting all of those backed up! And, I have vowed to update Shutterfly more frequently, because they're always there. Thank goodness for them!

So, needless to say, we went to bed Sunday night somewhat emotionally exhausted, and for those of you that know that I was interviewing for a new position in my district, that was happening on Monday. It really didn't feel like the stars were aligning very well for me!

But, Monday morning came, and my interview wasn't until 2:00, so I taught all morning and begged for the afternoon off so that I could prepare for the interview. It was very weird getting ready--I haven't interviewed for a position in 7 years! Even when I moved to music, my 'interview' was the principal asking me if I wanted to move, so the last time was when I interviewed for a kindergarten position straight out of college. My how time flies! And of course, they ran late, so I got to sit in the office and wait a little longer--all the while 'revealing' to fellow staff that I was gunning for this position. (Although I was rather proud of myself because many of them were surprised!)

The interview went very, very, well; at least in my opinion. I haven't heard anything official back, but I've gotten good feedback from some members on the interview committee, and really, job or no job, I now have my first 'administrative' interview under my belt. I now have an idea of what they are going to be like! I felt very good with my answers, felt very prepared--even with some unexpected questions, and now I'm just in the waiting game. As soon as I know more, I will pass on the news.

Well, I'm going to get some 'real' work done now. I have a daughter who is playing 'doctor' with her dolly, and we're patiently waiting for Ben to get done with X-Country practice because our car died uptown and it is raining so I didn't want to walk home carrying a 2-year old. Hope all is well wherever you are!

Possibility Manor

When I started this blog, I said I would explain the name of it at some point in time. That time is now. There really isn't much of a story, but it's a story nonetheless.

About 4 years ago, shortly after purchasing our house and coming to terms with living 'up north', Ben and I took an overnight trip to Cadillac to celebrate my birthday and our anniversary. Since we were up north newbies, we took the opportunity to walk around downtown Cadillac, which we had heard was somewhat of a 'destination' and came across some unique boutiques. One of those boutiques had all sorts of home decorating things in it, and because we had just got our house, we were looking for things to decorate it that weren't passed down from family and friends (even though we REALLY appreciated all the passed down things). We came across some wooden plaques that had different key words spelled out in bold letters, and a 'famous' (and excessively cloying) quote using that bold word. We took turns vetoing, scorning, or ridiculing each plaque, until we came across "Possibility", with Emily Dickinson's quote, "Dwell in possibility." Since we were just starting out in our married lives, in new jobs, and in a new house, we decided that it was just cloying enough for us. We picked up the plaque and dubbed 824 Rose Ave. "Possibility Manor".

And that's the story...probably more meaningful to us than anyone reading the blog, but at least now you know why the blog is titled "Life at Possibility Manor".

All about Violet

It dawned on my today that we really don't talk about Violet's 'vitals' that much...probably because we get to be around her all day, so when people point out something to us, we're just like, yeah, that's our Violet. Anyway, here's an update for those of you that are interested:

• At her 2 year appt., Violet was 33 in. tall and 26 lbs. (fully clothed--she even got to stand on the BIG scale while dolly snuggles got weighed on the baby scale). This puts her in the 25th percentile for height, and 27th percentile for weight. She is definitely taking after her mommy! (And making it VERY difficult to find clothing that's long and skinny enough)
  
• She is, for the most part, potty-trained, as long as mom and dad aren't too busy to take her to the bathroom (which only adds to the clothing issue--no more bulky diaper taking up room).
  
• Sings the entire alphabet song, in rhythm, with all the letters, including L,M,N, O, P.
  
• Can "read" (fill-in-the blank) of a couple hundred (not exaggerating, she has a small public library in our house) of her books
• jumps, getting both feet off the ground, and land!
• hangs on the trapeze of her swingset and lands on her feet (most of the time)
• pedals her tricycle (when she wants to)
• counts to 10, 20 with hints
• counts with one-to-one correspondance
• identifies letters, and numbers 1-9
• points out her favorite letters on walks--look mommy, there's an X on the sign, etc.
• knows her basic shapes, and identifies them (square, circle, triangle, rectangle)
• knows her colors
• has a CRAZY sense of humor, and her new favorite phrase is "that's kinda funny
• has a vocabulary that is amazing--and she's very quick to pick up words--which is VERY scary!
  

This seems like a little brag session, and I really don't want to be one of those kind of parents. But, for the family and friends that don't get to see her, hopefully this gives you a little glimpse into what Violet 'does'.

Until next time!

Violet's Birthday Bash!

Saturday, September 13th was the date we set for Violet's birthday party. A little late, but we decided that having all the grandparents there was more important that celebrating on the day itself (and it gave Ben and I time to settle back into the school routine before being hosts!).

Unfortunately, the weather was the only thing that decided not to cooperate! But, despite the rain that lasted all day, we still had a fantastic time celebrating Violet's 2nd birthday (and her grandpa Fynaardt's 53rd!)

Recently, Violet has gotten into pretend play, and really loves to pretend to cook things. There were a couple of kitchen sets at the various doctor's offices that we visit from time to time, and Violet always has a blast 'cooking' in them, so Ben and I bought her a little toy kitchen, and she also received play food and pots and pans from her various grandparents and friends.






She also received a child-sized rocking chair,



a collection of British stories and poems from her grandparents across the ocean, tinkertoys (the real wood ones) from her Uncle Nick, and a alpha/number recorder-boom box from her friend Andy that she can sing into and it records her voice! So, the last 24 hours, Ben and I have been enjoying gourmet dining thanks to our new chef Violet, and her dolly Snuggle (another present she opened on her birth day) has enjoyed many a story in the new rocker. It really is so much fun to watch her play--sometime I'm going to have to sneak a video of it!

This year has also seen an infatuation with all things Curious George (the books, not the new cartoon). So, her 'theme' this year was Curious George, and in keeping with that infatuation, Auntie Chandra bought her a plastic George that blows bubbles in the bathtub! We haven't tried it out yet, but I think it's going to be hilarious and tons of fun (and probably a big mess)! For you Star Wars fans out there, when you squeeze George to get him to blow bubbles, he sounds very similar to Darth Vader, which makes the toy that much more fun!

Well, I am being served a piece of toast, on a leftover George plate with some lemonade and water, so I will close with some pictures. Turning 2 isn't quite the hoopla as turning 1, but it was still tons of fun. Ben and I really enjoyed celebrating Vi's birthday with all who came! I can't believe she's 2 already.......

Violet was very thirsty after opening all the presents. The George on the right is the bubble-blowing George.

She wasn't quite sure what to do with all the attention--and she tried to put the candles out by grabbing them.

Sunday morning we finally got her to wear her hat for more that 30 seconds--the rest of us

including Bu!
got to wear those hats while she opened presents!

VIOLET'S TWO!

Happy 2nd Birthday Violet Dawn!

You are our BIG Girl, but still Mommy's Little Pumpkin and Daddy's Big Gaboo!

Love you lots!

To those reading: Violet's birthday party will be held this upcoming weekend--there will be pictures and stories I'm sure!

Summer's End...

It is with a bit of a heavy heart that I make this post, as the title indicates that our glorious summer vacation is coming to an end. But, not before we had the chance to do some pretty fun things! We spent a long weekend at our parents' beach house on Lake Michigan, (which included some quality time with Violet in the sand) took Violet on her first trip to the zoo, had Violet stay at Grandma's house overnight without Mom and Dad, ate lots of corn on the cob, went on our first camping trip (on which we forgot the camera :( ), and frantically got ready for the upcoming school year. So, I thought I'd leave you with some pictures of the end of Violet's 2nd summer. Enjoy!

Summer, 2008

`

Happy Anniversary!

Ben & Charissa
August 2, 2003

Today marks 5 years that Ben and I exchanged vows in an outdoor setting at The Big Red Barn in Iowa. How time flies!

The Wedding

Blowing bubbles at the reception

I'm finally getting around to posting about Violet's first flower-girl role. I say first because shortly after my brother's wedding, my sister and her boyfriend announced their engagement. So, it appears that Violet will be reprising the role of flower girl next fall.

It was quite the experience for Violet, well at least for her mom! The week of wedding festivities began with shopping for her dress. We found out very quickly that Violet LOVES pretty dresses, but does not like the salespeople. We were shopping in one of those stores that the salespeople bring the dresses to the dressing rooms for you, and after we had gathered about 10 possibilities, this really nice salesman came up and took the dresses to the dressing room. Unfortunately, Violet was convinced that he was taking her dresses away, so that got the whole process off to a rather tearful start.

I was already dreading having to fit her into multiple dresses, and starting off on this foot did not help matters any. We managed to get her calmed down and there was another little girl trying on dresses as well, so they got to twirl for each other. We got Violet into the first dress, and it was gorgeous (and secretly I knew it was the one we would end up with, but grandma wanted to see the others). We took her out to the big mirror outside of the dressing rooms, and she was such a princess--twirling and smiling at herself. But...then she found the big bow right in front, and decided she didn't like it. It was safety-pinned on, so it was removable, but of course, this is one of those stores that if you damage the dress, you buy it. So, I'm trying to just take it off so she doesn't rip it off, and then the lovely salesman starts saying, "No, no, don't mess..I will fix...don't worry..." and that freaks Violet out again! So the rest of the trying on process was completed with a crying Violet. Not much fun. But, we got the dress, and got Violet out of the store and appeased with some chicken nuggets. Phew!

Practicing at the rehearsal--she didn't actually throw the flowers at the wedding.

Fast forward a week to the wedding...Violet did fantastically. Ben and I were so proud of her--she isn't even two and cooperated very nicely at the rehearsal, practicing her walk down the aisle and giving silly smiles to the bridal party. We did have some bribes--Violet had gotten attached to some little 2 in. care bears from my childhood, so we had two with me at the front of the church, and one she carried down in her basket.

Dress is on...we're ready to go

The wedding also went well; the only hitch was that she and the photographer did not hit it off very well, so she wasn't in many professional pictures, and because Ben and I were trying to keep her happy, there aren't a lot of pictures period. I've made a note to make sure I take someone along to next year's wedding just to snap candids! She successfully made it down the aisle with little fuss (I don't think my brother and sister-in-law chose to video tape the ceremony) only asking for Mom the last 10 ft or so, and only giving the photographer a life-threatening look when he popped out to take her picture) and danced with Mom with the bridal party at the reception. It was a great evening, lots of fun, and I've decided that there is just not a good time for weddings if you have two-year-old. No matter what, you're going to run into nap time!

Grumpy face--this is what she did if she decided she didn't want to do something!


But really, she's such a princess!

That's the story of the wedding. I hope you enjoy the pictures. It amazes me just how big she is getting, and the fact that she's doing all of this before she's two!

Happy Belated Fourth of July!

A family picture on my Grandpa's restored 1955 combine

Hello from the great state of Iowa! We made it down safely on Thursday evening, leaving after Violet's swimming lessons that morning. Violet is having a blast with her grandparents here, and Ben and I are enjoying a little bit of 'vacation' from the parenting thing, as Violet has plenty of aunts and uncles to entertain her. She still wants to snuggle with her Mom and Dad at night though, which is, I believe, one of the greatest feelings in the world.

We haven't been too busy since the last post; Violet is still a little fish, although a fall off the side of the pool at swimming lessons instilled a little bit of fear in her about the water. I really shouldn't say fall; she was jumping off the side (which she loves) and didn't get close enough to the edge before she jumped. She didn't make it to me, and ended up doing her first head-first dive into the water, and we believe she probably caught her feet on the edge. She'd jumped in and put her head in the water before, and still will swim with her face in the water, but she doesn't enjoy jumping quite as much. That's why we think she must have clipped her feet. That, and the fact that we found a blister/scrape on her toe a couple of days ago which led to this:

Violet's first Band-Aid.

And now, of course, she is fascinated by Band-Aids, so she has begun asking for Band-Aids for every little ouchie she has!

She also loves, as I mentioned, to imitate her Mom and Dad. Here is a picture of Violet putting in some good hours 'working':

We had a good time watching the fireworks; Violet loved the sparkles, but not the booms so much--she asked very politely to have her ears covered the whole time. She also did her first sparklers, which she loved. These pictures are from the fireworks display in Grinnell; I love the 2nd one because you can see by Violet's face that this is the exact moment that the first fire work went up.

The weekend was also highlighted by attending my great-grandmother's and therefore Violet's Great-great-grandmother's 97th birthday party. It's been a very tough year for her; she broke her hip (she didn't fall--the doctor said that she's just lived such a long life that bones get brittle and just break) which caused her to have to move out of the home she was in to a full-fledged nursing home, which she did not like at all. But, the hip has repaired nicely and just a week ago, she was able to move back into the assisted living facility where a lot of her friends are, and is much happier. It was just cool that Violet got to see some of her extended relatives, and have another opportunity to meet this wonderful, strong woman.

Violet and Great-Great Grandma Cobie


The family picture

The rest of the week will be spent relaxing and getting ready for my brother Eric's wedding. Violet will be the flower girl, so look for pictures of her in her little purple princess/fairy dress. I must say, it is the cutest thing, and I can't wait to see her all dolled up in it. I'll tell the story of the buying of the dress when I get those pictures.

To close, here are a couple of pictures of Violet 'modeling' her Winnie-the Pooh shades! Isn't she just the grown up little lady? :(