I watched Glee a couple of times last year and loved it but I could never seem to remember what night it was on and I was always catching the last 20 minutes of the show. Plus, I have Criminal Minds and Parenthood that I love to watch and I just can't have that many tv shows that I would die to miss because I'm not just sitting around here eating bon bons, right?!
For Christmas this year I got Glee Season 1 on dvd and now I am hooked. I am a full fledged Mr. Shuster loving, Don't Stop Believing singing, crazy Finn and Puck and Rachel fanatic. I don't know if it takes me back to the good ole highschool days (even though I wasn't in show choir and didn't sing about my problems) or if I just love these songs so much and it's fun to sing along while I watch. Perhaps I just love Sue Sylvester, the super sarcastic Cheerios coach and the sayer of so many ridiculously hilarious lines that I can't wait to add to my personal conversations.
Then I discovered Glee on Pandora. Hallelujah! Now I can make dinner, unload the dishwasher and put away groceries all while rocking it out to Jessie's Girl or Tell Me Something Good. Sometimes Pandora gets left on while we're eating dinner and my kids and I jump from the table and perform a Glee inspired dance number of our own when a particularly fantastic song comes on, like last night when the Gleed up version of Like a Prayer came on.
I knew my Glee obsession was getting dangerous when I just wanted to watch the Season 2 Premier and tried to find somewhere online to watch it for free. Sadly, I believe I may have downloaded the virus that knocked out our computer for most of last week and made many late nights for Scotty having to rebuild and kept me from keeping up on this blog. So, for now I'm waiting for reruns and thinking of more fun things to chat about.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Bathtime or bamboo shoots?
I have decided that I officially dislike the time of the day between dinnertime and bedtime. It may be because I'm home all day long with these crazy lovely children of mine or maybe because I'm dying too pee uninterrupted with door closed, but most nights 8p.m. (aka bedtime) can't come soon enough.
But before bedtime must come bathtime and that is a horrible time at our house. I will say that there was a time that I rather enjoyed bathtime, because it didn't used to be my primary task. Back in the day when there was just Jolie and Ella and the idea of having more was a panic attack waiting to happen for Scott, bathtime was done primarily by the Daddy at our house because I thought it was important for our kids to know that Daddy could take care of them too. Plus, Daddy's bathtime was WAY more fun filled with bubbles and overflowing bathwater and lots of splashing and usually went on until the bathwater was freezing the kids' tiny butts off. My bathtime usually had some singing of some sort and there were toys present, but I was much more about getting them in and clean, out and lotioned up in a timely fashion because frankly I was done playing after I'd played all day.
So, for those few lovely years we'd worked out a system where Daddy gave most of the baths and I cleaned up dinner and the house and this worked peachy. But then Cam and Maggie came along and our tub couldn't possibly hold all four messy Seitz's, and it was time to let Jolie and then Ella grow up and take showers in one bathroom while the little ones took baths in the tub because we started to get lots of fun questions about differing body parts and lots of screaming about who got to sit closest to faucet. (Who knew that would be so important?!)
At first taking a shower was fun and exciting for the big girls, once we got past the lessons on "how to officially tell if the conditioner has been rinsed out of the hair so you don't have to get back in when mom comes to check" and that "a wet body doesn't mean it's clean" and my personal favorite "mom's shaving gel is not meant for washing your body or for making the floor super slippery". (duh!) But now the shower has become the small confined space where we're quite certain will host a cage match fight between the girls most nights. Also, I think my girls may have set several records for the amount of time it takes two girls to wash their hair and get ready for bed as well as working on the record for the highest water bill ever to be paid in history of Iowa.
Basically, bathtime is the loudest, messiest, wettest time of the day with much fighting and screeching and usually some crying thrown in. Most nights it is not peaceful and calm and fun anymore like the good old days. I think that getting four children bathed, in their pj's, with teeth and hair brushed could be one of the most exhausting parts of our day, and sometimes think I would rather someone stuff bamboo shoots under my fingernails than do it all over again the next night. But I have to admit, they are pretty darn cute when they're clean and smell like baby lotion...and asleep.
But before bedtime must come bathtime and that is a horrible time at our house. I will say that there was a time that I rather enjoyed bathtime, because it didn't used to be my primary task. Back in the day when there was just Jolie and Ella and the idea of having more was a panic attack waiting to happen for Scott, bathtime was done primarily by the Daddy at our house because I thought it was important for our kids to know that Daddy could take care of them too. Plus, Daddy's bathtime was WAY more fun filled with bubbles and overflowing bathwater and lots of splashing and usually went on until the bathwater was freezing the kids' tiny butts off. My bathtime usually had some singing of some sort and there were toys present, but I was much more about getting them in and clean, out and lotioned up in a timely fashion because frankly I was done playing after I'd played all day.
So, for those few lovely years we'd worked out a system where Daddy gave most of the baths and I cleaned up dinner and the house and this worked peachy. But then Cam and Maggie came along and our tub couldn't possibly hold all four messy Seitz's, and it was time to let Jolie and then Ella grow up and take showers in one bathroom while the little ones took baths in the tub because we started to get lots of fun questions about differing body parts and lots of screaming about who got to sit closest to faucet. (Who knew that would be so important?!)
At first taking a shower was fun and exciting for the big girls, once we got past the lessons on "how to officially tell if the conditioner has been rinsed out of the hair so you don't have to get back in when mom comes to check" and that "a wet body doesn't mean it's clean" and my personal favorite "mom's shaving gel is not meant for washing your body or for making the floor super slippery". (duh!) But now the shower has become the small confined space where we're quite certain will host a cage match fight between the girls most nights. Also, I think my girls may have set several records for the amount of time it takes two girls to wash their hair and get ready for bed as well as working on the record for the highest water bill ever to be paid in history of Iowa.
Basically, bathtime is the loudest, messiest, wettest time of the day with much fighting and screeching and usually some crying thrown in. Most nights it is not peaceful and calm and fun anymore like the good old days. I think that getting four children bathed, in their pj's, with teeth and hair brushed could be one of the most exhausting parts of our day, and sometimes think I would rather someone stuff bamboo shoots under my fingernails than do it all over again the next night. But I have to admit, they are pretty darn cute when they're clean and smell like baby lotion...and asleep.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
It's the New Year!
With the new year and all I decided that starting Monday, January 3, I am going to wake up bright and early every day before the rest of the house is up and sit at the computer with my cup of coffee and spend a few minutes writing, on this blog and in my journal and perhaps even begin my masterpiece that I want to publish soon. I've been in bed by 10:30pm at night and thankfully Maggie is finally sleeping all night long every night so I should be completely rested and not miserable getting up at 6am to start this "me time" that I want to carve out. I've filled my coffee pot with water and set it to brew before I even wake up so that I might have a Folgers moment and spring from my bed even though it's dark and cold.
But as you can see, it's Tuesday afternoon now and I'm just starting to write on this blog and my journal and my masterpiece are also void of any writing, because I would really rather stay in bed until 7am. Ugh...
So please, if you don't see updates to this blog on occasion or if you're in the neighborhood and don't see a light on downstairs, feel free to nudge me along.
And now I'll end with a Cam funny today:
Cameron, my spirited, ultra-intelligent, and Scott's mini-me in more ways that I can appreciate most days child, loves to remove the batteries from any toy or electronic device and make sure they're fully charged with his Daddy's battery tester. Over the Christmas holiday he has also learned how to plug in the reusable battery charger and charge up his batteries.
This morning he had 3 screwdrivers lined up neatly on the coffee table that he'd found from who-knows-where because I can never seem to find one on the rare occasion that I need one. He also had about 15 batteries that we'd just gotten from Christmas for new toys and he was trying to get them into a toy for Maggie, so he says. Really, I actually think he has just figured out that having all these tools out where his tiny 1 year old sister can reach them and eat them and stab herself in the eyeball with gives me a small heart attack and he enjoys watching me squirm. So anyhow, he was trying to get the AAA batteries into a toy with AA batteries and it wasn't working and he was very annoyed with me because he couldn't make them fit. So I asked him where he found the little batteries and he said to me like I was an idiot, "From the glob, mom."
I looked around and had no clue what he was talking about. So I asked again, "Where did you get these tiny batteries, oh lovely child of mine?"
At this point he stops working and puts the screwdriver down, sighing more than a 3 year old should have any right to sigh, and points a electronic globe on the floor, "the glob".
The globe. Funny.
But as you can see, it's Tuesday afternoon now and I'm just starting to write on this blog and my journal and my masterpiece are also void of any writing, because I would really rather stay in bed until 7am. Ugh...
So please, if you don't see updates to this blog on occasion or if you're in the neighborhood and don't see a light on downstairs, feel free to nudge me along.
And now I'll end with a Cam funny today:
Cameron, my spirited, ultra-intelligent, and Scott's mini-me in more ways that I can appreciate most days child, loves to remove the batteries from any toy or electronic device and make sure they're fully charged with his Daddy's battery tester. Over the Christmas holiday he has also learned how to plug in the reusable battery charger and charge up his batteries.
This morning he had 3 screwdrivers lined up neatly on the coffee table that he'd found from who-knows-where because I can never seem to find one on the rare occasion that I need one. He also had about 15 batteries that we'd just gotten from Christmas for new toys and he was trying to get them into a toy for Maggie, so he says. Really, I actually think he has just figured out that having all these tools out where his tiny 1 year old sister can reach them and eat them and stab herself in the eyeball with gives me a small heart attack and he enjoys watching me squirm. So anyhow, he was trying to get the AAA batteries into a toy with AA batteries and it wasn't working and he was very annoyed with me because he couldn't make them fit. So I asked him where he found the little batteries and he said to me like I was an idiot, "From the glob, mom."
I looked around and had no clue what he was talking about. So I asked again, "Where did you get these tiny batteries, oh lovely child of mine?"
At this point he stops working and puts the screwdriver down, sighing more than a 3 year old should have any right to sigh, and points a electronic globe on the floor, "the glob".
The globe. Funny.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Merry Christmas from Des Moines!
Because I would love to send out a Christmas letter to everyone I've ever met, but I have a husband who'd rather I send out an Christmas eCard instead, I've decided to post our Christmas letter to our blog so everyone can read about what we're doing this month!
Also, it's going to be my New Years Resolution to keep us this blog more than once a year! Now that I've decided not to freelance quite as much, I've got a little more time to keep you updated on the Seitz happenings (aka Jolie, Ella, Cam and Maggie funnies!).
With much love and stuffed stockings...
The Seitz Family
-----------------------------------------
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
December is here and we’re starting to celebrate! We love traditions in the Seitz house and we have lots of them that we celebrate all year round. But we wanted to share with you a few that we especially LOVE at Christmastime to make sure you’re in the Christmas spirit.
Often tradition gets a bad reputation because it’s so easy to get caught up in the “have to” and you forget the true reason for doing it in the first place. While we’ve been guilty of that ourselves, our hope is that our “Seitz Family Traditions” help our kids feel like they belong to something special, that we’re all sharing these moments together and they’ll become memories that they will carry with them their whole lives and maybe even continue with their own families when they’re grown. These things that we do each season aren’t necessarily huge events for anyone outside our family, but for us we’ve been anticipating them for days or weeks or months and we can hardly wait for them to get here! So, enjoy reading about what we’ll be doing this month and maybe you’ll find something in there that you’d like to try with your family.
We start off the month of December by creating a “Christmas Calendar”. We begin with a blank calendar page and fill in each day leading up to Christmas with something special that we do as a family. Lots of days it’s something fun and silly like singing Christmas carols, watching a Christmas movie, saying “Merry Christmas” to everyone we see, or drinking hot chocolate in fancy tea cups after dinner. Some days we do good deeds like buying a present for a child in need, being kind to your siblings, or surprising the garbage man with hot coffee in a festive travel mug. (To be completely honest, this didn’t work out as well last year as it has before as he came early and I had just stepped out of the shower. I made Ella, who was completely embarrassed, walk it out to him and he was thoroughly confused and a bit weirded out by this tiny girl handing him a coffee. This year I’ll make sure I shower before 8 a.m. and all will be good!) Other days we go sledding or build a snowman (crossing our fingers that we have snow), do a Christmas craft, or make Christmas cookies with friends. Each day the kids wake up ready to check out what’s on the agenda for today and it’s been a fun way to celebrate the whole month long.
One of the traditions that we love the best is going to pick out our Christmas tree. We’ve been going to the same tree farm for the last 8 years, listening to Christmas music on the way there (our favorite is Bare Naked for the Holidays by the Bare Naked Ladies) and each year we have our picture taken next to the “chosen one” and we leave with candy canes and our Christmas quarter compliments of the Miller Tree FarmJ This sounds so picturesque and you may be wanting to throw up because of its sappiness (no pun intended), but sometimes these trips aren’t as lovely as we plan for them to be. As you know, we have 4 kids, which means that sometimes someone is grouchy (often Scott or I if you can believe it…) and the girls are fighting over which stray branch they’re bringing home to make into a Charlie Brown tree in their room and Cam is sneaking away to turn on the machine that shakes the needles off the trees. Ugh…are you exhausted just reading about it? But in the end, what we remember about that day each year is that we found the perfect tree, we brought it home on top of our van and we decorated it together that night and it was good.
About 5 years ago we wanted to help our kids understand that Christmas is also a time for being generous, so we began our tradition of ringing the Salvation Army bell together. Rather smartly, we chose an indoor bell in the mall near Target where we get popcorn and can use their bathrooms, plus it stays warm and there’s lots of people and it’s mostly fun. I say mostly fun because although it is our goal for it to be a fun evening by getting dressed up in our matching Christmas attire and planning to see Santa afterward, it never fails that by the second hour of bell ringing Scott and I are hissing at the kids through our teeth to get off the dirty floor, sweeping up spilled popcorn, begging the kids to quit fighting over who’s rung the bell the longest, and trying to find out what Maggie has in her mouth and where she found it. But again, at the end of the evening, what we remember is that the passersby’s thought the kids were darling, lots of people put money in the bucket because Cam told them they should, and we’re pretty sure at least one of the twenty pictures of the kids on Santa’s lap that we had to snap from outside Santa’s Christmas confines because we don’t want to pay $20 for a wallet size photo showed everyone smiling, and it was good.
And then there is Christmas Eve. I especially love our Christmas Eve tradition because there is no better way to start off the frenzy and excitement of opening presents from Santa and overflowing stockings with a simple and beautiful reminder of what Christmas is really about. My family sitting together in our church that we love, listening to the story of the Jesus’ birth and singing Silent Night with their candles burning makes me cry every year. My cup runneth over. How proud I am to be the mom of this family and as I glance at my husband, I know he feels the same. We have these four amazing kids that are so healthy and smart and funny and generous and we are so thankful to be blessed like we have been this year and every year. It’s often about this time when our hearts are about to burst with love and joy for this family of ours that we hear the less than quiet argument break out between Jolie and Ella over who’s candle is who’s, realize that Cam is dangerously close to setting the woman’s hair on fire in front of us, and see that Maggie has eaten the wick off her unlit candle.
But (if you don’t already see where I’m going with this) the memory that we’ll keep of Christmas Eve is that we drove home admiring the houses with the best Christmas lights, we set cookies and carrots out for Santa and his crew, and we put the kids to bed so they could wake up at the crack of dawn to open presents and it was good. It’s always good.
So, this holiday we hope you are enjoying the season and celebrating every day. Merry Christmas:)
With much love,
Scott, Jamie, Jolie, Ella, Cameron and Maggie Seitz (and Harper, Elvis and Sam- the pets)
And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:10-11
Monday, February 9, 2009
Is It Spring Yet?
All weekend we've had beautiful weather here, almost 50's in February...which is rare for Iowa. Last Friday I had my windows open and every room in my house was aired out, my kids played outside and rode their bikes through the enormous puddles in our cul-du-sac (which resulted in about 10 changes of pants throughout the day), but it was all good because they were happy to be out and I was happy to have them out.
Saturday morning we all slept until 7:30ish, which those of you who know us well know my kiddos are immune to sleeping in. The house got cleaned and it smelled like springtime inside and out. And I swear if we drop down into below zero temps and get another foot of snow, I will cry. I will bawl like a big huge baby and have a kicking screaming tantrum because I'm ready for spring.
Now, I consider myself fairly objective and although I've been tired of winter and cold and stuffing my wiggly, mostly non-compliant children into their coats, boots, snowpants, hats, mittens and scarves all to go the store, for quite sometime now. But I also love the fluffy snow when it falls while I'm working and I like to watch my kids play on the enormous mountain of snow that is my neighbor's yard (from my front window sipping a cup of coffee- of course). But after a beautiful weekend, I don't think I can bear the thought of another big snow storm, and cold that makes your chest hurt, and ice.
I'm ready for the warm weather and thunderstorms and flip flops and trips to the park. And most honestly, I'm ready to be able to send my kids in the yard to play and to have to call them in!
So, I guess I'm wondering what the chances are that we'll end up with an early spring, in February, in Iowa?
I know...it doesn't look good.
Saturday morning we all slept until 7:30ish, which those of you who know us well know my kiddos are immune to sleeping in. The house got cleaned and it smelled like springtime inside and out. And I swear if we drop down into below zero temps and get another foot of snow, I will cry. I will bawl like a big huge baby and have a kicking screaming tantrum because I'm ready for spring.
Now, I consider myself fairly objective and although I've been tired of winter and cold and stuffing my wiggly, mostly non-compliant children into their coats, boots, snowpants, hats, mittens and scarves all to go the store, for quite sometime now. But I also love the fluffy snow when it falls while I'm working and I like to watch my kids play on the enormous mountain of snow that is my neighbor's yard (from my front window sipping a cup of coffee- of course). But after a beautiful weekend, I don't think I can bear the thought of another big snow storm, and cold that makes your chest hurt, and ice.
I'm ready for the warm weather and thunderstorms and flip flops and trips to the park. And most honestly, I'm ready to be able to send my kids in the yard to play and to have to call them in!
So, I guess I'm wondering what the chances are that we'll end up with an early spring, in February, in Iowa?
I know...it doesn't look good.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Christmas Letter 2008
Merry Christmas from the Seitz Family!
Since our Seitz Family Christmas Quiz was such a hit last year, we decided not to mess with perfection and write another for the year 2008…why disappoint our fans? We’ve had another amazing year here in Des Moines and we’d love for you to guess which events actually happened and which we’ve embellished for your enjoymentJ
1. Some of Cameron’s big achievements this year included…
a. learning to take out the trash without being asked, perfecting his parallel parking technique in front of Jolie’s school, and whipping up a mean soufflé.
b. walking, talking, and growing 20 teeth!
c. no major achievements as he prefers to lie around the house in his boxers eating animal crackers.
Answer: B- Our sweet Cameron is no longer a baby, but a full fledged toddler, who runs, climbs, chats our ear off and likes to carry around his trusty step stool for easy access to all the no-no places and death defying heights. He loves his Tiny Tumblers class at the YMCA (but who wouldn’t when your mommy teaches itJ) and he loves to talk about space and look for the moon with his daddy!
2. An activity that fills Ella’s day might include…
a. preschool with her mommy in the afternoon
b. Tumble Tots at the YMCA
c. gymnastics on Wednesday nights
Answer: All of the above- Ella turned 4 this year and although she hasn’t started preschool at the Science Center yet, she and Mommy spend time most afternoons working on letters and numbers, reading and making books, and doing other crafty school activities. She also loves to tumble and swing on the bars at gymnastics class and walk on tiptoe on the balance beam at Tumble Tots. She’s quite the gymnast!
3. A new skill that Scott has acquired this past year is…
a. a mean curve ball for our summer league Swingers softball team
b. a new dirty dancing move he tried out at several weddings this summer
c. plumbing our basement
Answer: C- Scott spent all of his Labor Day weekend learning how, practicing and practicing some more and finally getting the plumbing nearly finished for our basement bathroom. It was a long weekend with no water (the kids and Jamie escaped to Cedar Falls for most of that great adventure), but Scott can now proudly add ‘plumber’ to his list of Scott-of-all-trade talents and skills. And a side note…Scott already possessed the other skills on the listJ
4. Although we didn’t take a family vacation too far from home this year, the Seitz family did live it up by…
a. piling in the family truckster and heading to Kansas City for a long weekend of fun.
b. renting a log cabin up north with extended family over the Fourth of July holiday.
c. shooting off fireworks in our cul-de-sac with neighbors this summer.
Answer: All of the above- Although we were bummed that both of our big vacations had to be cancelled this year, we found plenty to keep us busy closer to home. We had a blast in Kansas City, swimming and tubing at the Great Wolf Lodge, and exploring the KC Zoo and Science City at Union Station. We got to hot tub and hang out at the campfire with the cousins up north in our HUGE log cabin and we always have fun in our neighborhood…participating in illegal activities with our neighborsJ
5. When Jamie isn’t sitting around eating bon bons and watching her soaps all day, she might be…
a. bedazzling a pair of jeans for Scott to wear to work on casual Friday.
b. daydreaming about life before three children.
c. teaching Step, Water boot camp, and Tiny Tumblers at the YMCA, catching up on her latest book club pick, helping out at Jolie’s school, managing her growing Virtual Assistant business, or keeping life running smoothly for the Seitz family.
Answer: C- Jamie is enjoying her expanding VA business and loves her amazing clients, along with the flexibility and challenge it offers. She’s also been teaching new and different classes at the Y and is thankful for a healthy stress outlet (and built in babysittersJ). She also loves being a PTA mom and lives for her monthly book club meetings (aka fancy dinners out with friends). And to be honest and fair…answer B is sometimes true too!
6. The major events in Jolie’s life this past year might include…
a. losing 7 teeth, cutting her head open and getting 11 stitches in her forehead at school, discovering the Magic Tree House books as a 1st grader, and watching her idols, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Lukin, in the Olympics this summer.
b. sitting quietly and ladylike in the house and sewing her very first patchwork quilt, all the while telling her mother how much she loves and admires her.
c. playing school, Barbies and gymnastics with her siblings and explaining the rules to them in a loving and calm voice, with a smile, and absolutely no hint of distain or frustration…and giving them each a heartfelt hug when the game is over.
Answer: A- Jolie has had an amazing year this year. She started 1st grade and loves school, reading, recess and “Chicken Nugget Wednesdays”. Her new passions are Magic Tree House books and gymnastics and she practices the uneven bars on any bar-like object she can find: our neighbor’s swing set, our other neighbor’s tree branch, ect. She is also sporting a good size scar on her forehead from the head vs. playground bench accident last spring at school that left her with 11 stitches, a trip to the ER, and two freaked out parents! But she’s healing well and it adds character…right?
So how’d you do? Some were tough, I know. Scott’s answers are always tough to guess because he’s so darn unpredictable. If you missed any, I suggest you come visit us or give us a ring so you can find out what we’re up to. You can also keep up with us on our family blog at www.seitzlife.blogspot.com/ . (It’s a little bare now, but it’s our New Years resolution to keep it up.)
We are so thankful for the blessing of family of friends in our life. We hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season and an exciting 2009. Our prayer for you is that God will bring you peace, joy and contentment this year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
God Bless and Much Love,
Scott, Jamie, Jolie, Ella and Cameron Seitz
Since our Seitz Family Christmas Quiz was such a hit last year, we decided not to mess with perfection and write another for the year 2008…why disappoint our fans? We’ve had another amazing year here in Des Moines and we’d love for you to guess which events actually happened and which we’ve embellished for your enjoymentJ
1. Some of Cameron’s big achievements this year included…
a. learning to take out the trash without being asked, perfecting his parallel parking technique in front of Jolie’s school, and whipping up a mean soufflé.
b. walking, talking, and growing 20 teeth!
c. no major achievements as he prefers to lie around the house in his boxers eating animal crackers.
Answer: B- Our sweet Cameron is no longer a baby, but a full fledged toddler, who runs, climbs, chats our ear off and likes to carry around his trusty step stool for easy access to all the no-no places and death defying heights. He loves his Tiny Tumblers class at the YMCA (but who wouldn’t when your mommy teaches itJ) and he loves to talk about space and look for the moon with his daddy!
2. An activity that fills Ella’s day might include…
a. preschool with her mommy in the afternoon
b. Tumble Tots at the YMCA
c. gymnastics on Wednesday nights
Answer: All of the above- Ella turned 4 this year and although she hasn’t started preschool at the Science Center yet, she and Mommy spend time most afternoons working on letters and numbers, reading and making books, and doing other crafty school activities. She also loves to tumble and swing on the bars at gymnastics class and walk on tiptoe on the balance beam at Tumble Tots. She’s quite the gymnast!
3. A new skill that Scott has acquired this past year is…
a. a mean curve ball for our summer league Swingers softball team
b. a new dirty dancing move he tried out at several weddings this summer
c. plumbing our basement
Answer: C- Scott spent all of his Labor Day weekend learning how, practicing and practicing some more and finally getting the plumbing nearly finished for our basement bathroom. It was a long weekend with no water (the kids and Jamie escaped to Cedar Falls for most of that great adventure), but Scott can now proudly add ‘plumber’ to his list of Scott-of-all-trade talents and skills. And a side note…Scott already possessed the other skills on the listJ
4. Although we didn’t take a family vacation too far from home this year, the Seitz family did live it up by…
a. piling in the family truckster and heading to Kansas City for a long weekend of fun.
b. renting a log cabin up north with extended family over the Fourth of July holiday.
c. shooting off fireworks in our cul-de-sac with neighbors this summer.
Answer: All of the above- Although we were bummed that both of our big vacations had to be cancelled this year, we found plenty to keep us busy closer to home. We had a blast in Kansas City, swimming and tubing at the Great Wolf Lodge, and exploring the KC Zoo and Science City at Union Station. We got to hot tub and hang out at the campfire with the cousins up north in our HUGE log cabin and we always have fun in our neighborhood…participating in illegal activities with our neighborsJ
5. When Jamie isn’t sitting around eating bon bons and watching her soaps all day, she might be…
a. bedazzling a pair of jeans for Scott to wear to work on casual Friday.
b. daydreaming about life before three children.
c. teaching Step, Water boot camp, and Tiny Tumblers at the YMCA, catching up on her latest book club pick, helping out at Jolie’s school, managing her growing Virtual Assistant business, or keeping life running smoothly for the Seitz family.
Answer: C- Jamie is enjoying her expanding VA business and loves her amazing clients, along with the flexibility and challenge it offers. She’s also been teaching new and different classes at the Y and is thankful for a healthy stress outlet (and built in babysittersJ). She also loves being a PTA mom and lives for her monthly book club meetings (aka fancy dinners out with friends). And to be honest and fair…answer B is sometimes true too!
6. The major events in Jolie’s life this past year might include…
a. losing 7 teeth, cutting her head open and getting 11 stitches in her forehead at school, discovering the Magic Tree House books as a 1st grader, and watching her idols, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Lukin, in the Olympics this summer.
b. sitting quietly and ladylike in the house and sewing her very first patchwork quilt, all the while telling her mother how much she loves and admires her.
c. playing school, Barbies and gymnastics with her siblings and explaining the rules to them in a loving and calm voice, with a smile, and absolutely no hint of distain or frustration…and giving them each a heartfelt hug when the game is over.
Answer: A- Jolie has had an amazing year this year. She started 1st grade and loves school, reading, recess and “Chicken Nugget Wednesdays”. Her new passions are Magic Tree House books and gymnastics and she practices the uneven bars on any bar-like object she can find: our neighbor’s swing set, our other neighbor’s tree branch, ect. She is also sporting a good size scar on her forehead from the head vs. playground bench accident last spring at school that left her with 11 stitches, a trip to the ER, and two freaked out parents! But she’s healing well and it adds character…right?
So how’d you do? Some were tough, I know. Scott’s answers are always tough to guess because he’s so darn unpredictable. If you missed any, I suggest you come visit us or give us a ring so you can find out what we’re up to. You can also keep up with us on our family blog at www.seitzlife.blogspot.com/ . (It’s a little bare now, but it’s our New Years resolution to keep it up.)
We are so thankful for the blessing of family of friends in our life. We hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season and an exciting 2009. Our prayer for you is that God will bring you peace, joy and contentment this year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
God Bless and Much Love,
Scott, Jamie, Jolie, Ella and Cameron Seitz
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Breathe in this moment
Today at church our pastor broke down when he started talking about his oldest son getting ready to graduate from highschool next week. He said that he thought he'd be fine, he was excited about the next chapter in his son's life, he felt confident in their relationship and he knew he was ready to move up and on and away from him. But he said that it was a combination of watching him run his last lap of his last track meet of his last year of highschool that first cracked the facade of emotional strength he'd been hiding behind. He reminded us to breathe in these moments.
I had a hard time holding back the tears as Pastor Mike spoke of how quickly time passes. I nodded in agreement as his voice cracked and he could have sworn that just yesterday, no more than a month ago, he was sending his son off to preschool watching him leap from the minivan and trot off with his teacher. As he was comparing his love and disbelief of time gone by to that of God and the way that he must feel about us, I was watching my son poke the last fistful of his strawberry donut down the collar of a man sitting in front of us. Breathe in this moment.
In the last year I've been battling my own desire for control and balance, and it's been a creeping, dark, guilty feeling of mine that I'm slowly becoming the mom that I don't want to be. I feel frazzled and irritable and hurried, not appreciating the beautiful and amazing mess that my children are because I'm already thinking of how much of a pain it will be to clean up later and how I just don't have the time. I feel like I've forgotten why I chose to be home with them and why I wanted to watch them grow into the people that God created them to to be and who He trusted me to mold them into. I feel like I'm running on empty and under appreciated and ignored and pushed to my limit. Breathe in this moment.
As I listened to Pastor Mike and watched my one year old scoot back and forth between my husband and I and into the little girl's goody bag next to us, wanting to bump into my legs and instead of playing nicely in the nursery, I made a decision. I'm going to breathe in this moment and each one like it.
I'm going to breathe in this moment. I'm going to breathe in the tough moments after this. I'm going to breathe in the hilarious moments tomorrow when my three year old combines her love of ballet and yoga posing with scooter riding (picture her riding her scooter on one foot while her back foot arabesques up toward her head- dangerous, I know, but hilarious to see!). I'm going to breathe in the frustrating moments too. Those seem to be taking over these days, with three kids all wanting what they want and wanting it now.
I'm going to breathe in all these moments because like Pastor Mike said, "It surely couldn't have been more than a month ago that I was dropping him off at preschool." Breathe them in because they pass by quickly.
I had a hard time holding back the tears as Pastor Mike spoke of how quickly time passes. I nodded in agreement as his voice cracked and he could have sworn that just yesterday, no more than a month ago, he was sending his son off to preschool watching him leap from the minivan and trot off with his teacher. As he was comparing his love and disbelief of time gone by to that of God and the way that he must feel about us, I was watching my son poke the last fistful of his strawberry donut down the collar of a man sitting in front of us. Breathe in this moment.
In the last year I've been battling my own desire for control and balance, and it's been a creeping, dark, guilty feeling of mine that I'm slowly becoming the mom that I don't want to be. I feel frazzled and irritable and hurried, not appreciating the beautiful and amazing mess that my children are because I'm already thinking of how much of a pain it will be to clean up later and how I just don't have the time. I feel like I've forgotten why I chose to be home with them and why I wanted to watch them grow into the people that God created them to to be and who He trusted me to mold them into. I feel like I'm running on empty and under appreciated and ignored and pushed to my limit. Breathe in this moment.
As I listened to Pastor Mike and watched my one year old scoot back and forth between my husband and I and into the little girl's goody bag next to us, wanting to bump into my legs and instead of playing nicely in the nursery, I made a decision. I'm going to breathe in this moment and each one like it.
I'm going to breathe in this moment. I'm going to breathe in the tough moments after this. I'm going to breathe in the hilarious moments tomorrow when my three year old combines her love of ballet and yoga posing with scooter riding (picture her riding her scooter on one foot while her back foot arabesques up toward her head- dangerous, I know, but hilarious to see!). I'm going to breathe in the frustrating moments too. Those seem to be taking over these days, with three kids all wanting what they want and wanting it now.
I'm going to breathe in all these moments because like Pastor Mike said, "It surely couldn't have been more than a month ago that I was dropping him off at preschool." Breathe them in because they pass by quickly.
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