Dear Librarian,
I started out today with gumption. I was going to take the twins and Alli to Kohls and then to the library. I did my hair, I put on jeans, and I even did my make up so I wouldn't scare anyone by the haggard look I have without it. Shoot, I even put a sweater on instead of a sweatshirt. I was stylen'. Look out here I come. I got everyone ready and into the car. I did notice that the sky was getting dark, but we were off.
My first stop was Kohls and by the time I got the twins unbuckled and into the stroller it was raining, not sprinkling, but raining. I got Alli out of the car as quickly as I could and we ran into the store. We pretty much looked like drowned rats. So much for doing my hair. I bumped into a few elderly ladies who oohhed and aahhed over the twins, made my purchases, and we were off to come see you. Well not personally you, but the library.
I just have to say that when we came into the library, a little disheveled, you were so nice to us! I was so focused on my task that when you said "wow, your twins have grown" I really didn't think about it. We truly enjoyed picking out books. But what really made me feel so good was when you, dear librarian, came back up to me and told me that I was a good mother. And when you told me you could tell I nurture my children, my heart soared. When you went back to work, I remembered you. I had to tell you you were great to us last year when I made a stop in the summer. When I asked if you remembered us and you said you did, I couldn't believe it. We only came twice last summer. Although, if it was the time that I got stuck in the doorway with the double jogger, I'm sure I wouldn't forget that either. It was so refreshing to hear you say that you liked seeing well behaved bigger families. So I'm writing this to say a huge thank you. Your encouragement to me was beyond all measures. So thank you, thank you, thank you.
from a very blessed mother
P.S. You are now my favorite librarian
Wassink Family
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Ten Little Chicks
We went to TSC this past week and bought 10 new baby chickens. They are adorable. We are trying a few new varieties. Ameracanas, Isa Red, and Leghorns. The Ameracanas lay yellow, blue, and pink eggs. The leghorns lay white eggs and the Isa Reds lay brown. We already had 4 chickens that are full grown and the kids love to play with them!
Now Clay and Leanne have been hanging out in the garage to play with the baby chicks. I find them laying down in the wood shavings playing and talking to the baby chicks. They have come up with some different names for all of them. Some of the names are Lightning, Yak, Hunter, Chipmunk, Carter, Zack, and Cow (otherwise known as Blackie).
I took 4 of the little chicks to school Tuesday to visit the kindergartners and 1st graders. The kids loved them! The chickens were passed all around. There was a lot of giggling and squealing in both rooms. Most of the kids liked to hold them, and only a few wouldn't pick them up, but they were all happy to pet them! I think the chickens were a bit relieved to go back home to their makeshift coop.
The kids learned a few lessons today regarding the baby chicks. One, we must always ask daddy before feeding them and two, the chicks need to be bigger and more grown up before being introduced to the bigger chickens. A child, who will remain unnamed, decided he would feed the baby chicks. He had mountains of food laying by the chicks. If the chicks get too much food they will trample it down into their wood shavings instead of eating it. Not to mention the fact that chicks have a certain type of feed until they are older. So we were not certain what bag the unnamed child grabbed his food from. Then the unnamed child informed me that he took one of the big chickens and put it by the baby chicks. He took him out when he realized that the big chicken did not care for the little chicks. We are uncertain if the adult chicken would harm the baby chicks because they were not born in there coop. Chickens have a pecking order. One chicken is the leader and then they sort of have a line up in the group. So when getting new chickens we have to introduce them slowly to the older ones. They may decide to not lay eggs for awhile otherwise. We had, a few months back, an animal get into the chicken coop and it plucked out feathers from the back end from one of the chicken and ate some of the eggs. The chickens wouldn't lay well for a couple of months. Instead of getting five eggs a day, we were thankful for one or two eggs a day. Now they have settled down and they are producing a lot more for us.
Chickens are very interesting and entertaining animal to have around. They are great and useful for so many things. Ross just said the other day, "God made chickens for man's use. Not only do they lay eggs, and provide meat (well not these, unless we put it in a slow cooker for a week. They would have very tough meat) they also keep the yard low on tics and unwanted bugs." We are thankful for our chickens.
Now Clay and Leanne have been hanging out in the garage to play with the baby chicks. I find them laying down in the wood shavings playing and talking to the baby chicks. They have come up with some different names for all of them. Some of the names are Lightning, Yak, Hunter, Chipmunk, Carter, Zack, and Cow (otherwise known as Blackie).
Leanne with a chick
Clay with a chick
Older 3, Allison will pet a chick,
but she will not pick it up. The kids call
her a "city girl" not a "farm girl"
Luke and Reed checking out the chicks
The chicks better get used to being handled.
I took 4 of the little chicks to school Tuesday to visit the kindergartners and 1st graders. The kids loved them! The chickens were passed all around. There was a lot of giggling and squealing in both rooms. Most of the kids liked to hold them, and only a few wouldn't pick them up, but they were all happy to pet them! I think the chickens were a bit relieved to go back home to their makeshift coop.
The kids learned a few lessons today regarding the baby chicks. One, we must always ask daddy before feeding them and two, the chicks need to be bigger and more grown up before being introduced to the bigger chickens. A child, who will remain unnamed, decided he would feed the baby chicks. He had mountains of food laying by the chicks. If the chicks get too much food they will trample it down into their wood shavings instead of eating it. Not to mention the fact that chicks have a certain type of feed until they are older. So we were not certain what bag the unnamed child grabbed his food from. Then the unnamed child informed me that he took one of the big chickens and put it by the baby chicks. He took him out when he realized that the big chicken did not care for the little chicks. We are uncertain if the adult chicken would harm the baby chicks because they were not born in there coop. Chickens have a pecking order. One chicken is the leader and then they sort of have a line up in the group. So when getting new chickens we have to introduce them slowly to the older ones. They may decide to not lay eggs for awhile otherwise. We had, a few months back, an animal get into the chicken coop and it plucked out feathers from the back end from one of the chicken and ate some of the eggs. The chickens wouldn't lay well for a couple of months. Instead of getting five eggs a day, we were thankful for one or two eggs a day. Now they have settled down and they are producing a lot more for us.
Chickens are very interesting and entertaining animal to have around. They are great and useful for so many things. Ross just said the other day, "God made chickens for man's use. Not only do they lay eggs, and provide meat (well not these, unless we put it in a slow cooker for a week. They would have very tough meat) they also keep the yard low on tics and unwanted bugs." We are thankful for our chickens.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Twin on a Mission
Ross said today "Reed's mission in life is to follow you around and get into things you leave unattended" after he watched Reed get into a cabinet that I forgot to clip the safety lock on. The twins are now 18 months and they are very curious little fellows. Mainly Reed is the more curious of the two. We thought Clay was a mischievous little boy and Reed has him beat by a mile, and the fact he has a partner in crime, Luke.
The following are a few glimpses of my twins on a mission:
The other day I gave them each a piece of banana for breakfast. I must have missed some of the banana during clean up. When I walked by the kitchen register I found mashed banana in it. Like Reed try to grate the banana. He also did that with a cracker on my bedroom register. It wasn't crumbs when he was done but cracker dust.
I have a drawer in my kitchen where I keep all of my sandwich bags, gallon bags, saran wrap, etc. They LOVE that drawer. Reed is usually the first one to pull it open, but Luke is right behind him and they have a baggie party. We do have a safety lock on it but it was placed just slightly lower than what it needed so they can get it open.
The other cabinet they love is the cabinet under the sink. The dishwasher tablets, dish soap, and a trash can is in there. We have a lock on the outside of it, but if I forget to lock it for even a second they are in there. The last couple of time, thankfully, they were more interested in pulling out the dishwasher tablets than the trash.
I'm always looking to make sure that the toilet lids are shut and the doors to bathroom are shut. But on occasion, I don't catch when one of the other kids are done using the bathroom and they accidentally leave the lid up. If the twins even see the bathroom door open they are in there. If the toilet lid is up they're splashing around in it. Reed now gets up on a stool and pulls open the toothbrush drawer and gets toothpaste out.
The bathtub is a highlight for them too. If shampoo is on the side of it, they either try to open it up or they push it over the side into the tub. I have found their snacks in the bottom of the tub because chucking snacks down there is way more fun than eating them.
Then there is the issue of the stairs leading down to the basement. Leanne's room, Clay's room, a toy room, and the family area are down there. I don't mind that they go down there if I'm down there watching them. As they head down, I usually shout out to one of the kids to shut all the doors so they are secluded to the family room. It goes awry when one of the older kids accidentally leave the basement door open and the twins sneak down there. I usually find them in Clay's room playing with his small legos. If they get into Leanne's room they get a hold of her CD's. They know they're not supposed to go in there. When they see me coming they give a sly grin. Such cute naughty little faces.
These two definitely keep me hopping through out the day. It's a constant minute by minute getting them out of stuff. They are quick little buggers. I love those twins. They are too cute even if they do get into everything and anything.
The following are a few glimpses of my twins on a mission:
The other day I gave them each a piece of banana for breakfast. I must have missed some of the banana during clean up. When I walked by the kitchen register I found mashed banana in it. Like Reed try to grate the banana. He also did that with a cracker on my bedroom register. It wasn't crumbs when he was done but cracker dust.
I have a drawer in my kitchen where I keep all of my sandwich bags, gallon bags, saran wrap, etc. They LOVE that drawer. Reed is usually the first one to pull it open, but Luke is right behind him and they have a baggie party. We do have a safety lock on it but it was placed just slightly lower than what it needed so they can get it open.
The other cabinet they love is the cabinet under the sink. The dishwasher tablets, dish soap, and a trash can is in there. We have a lock on the outside of it, but if I forget to lock it for even a second they are in there. The last couple of time, thankfully, they were more interested in pulling out the dishwasher tablets than the trash.
I'm always looking to make sure that the toilet lids are shut and the doors to bathroom are shut. But on occasion, I don't catch when one of the other kids are done using the bathroom and they accidentally leave the lid up. If the twins even see the bathroom door open they are in there. If the toilet lid is up they're splashing around in it. Reed now gets up on a stool and pulls open the toothbrush drawer and gets toothpaste out.
The bathtub is a highlight for them too. If shampoo is on the side of it, they either try to open it up or they push it over the side into the tub. I have found their snacks in the bottom of the tub because chucking snacks down there is way more fun than eating them.
Then there is the issue of the stairs leading down to the basement. Leanne's room, Clay's room, a toy room, and the family area are down there. I don't mind that they go down there if I'm down there watching them. As they head down, I usually shout out to one of the kids to shut all the doors so they are secluded to the family room. It goes awry when one of the older kids accidentally leave the basement door open and the twins sneak down there. I usually find them in Clay's room playing with his small legos. If they get into Leanne's room they get a hold of her CD's. They know they're not supposed to go in there. When they see me coming they give a sly grin. Such cute naughty little faces.
These two definitely keep me hopping through out the day. It's a constant minute by minute getting them out of stuff. They are quick little buggers. I love those twins. They are too cute even if they do get into everything and anything.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Random pictures from winter
Leanne and Clay having fun
the babies.
Reed in white and
Luke in blue.
Smooches for Allison
Snow day fun
Cutie pie Leanne
Playful Clay
Sweet Allison
Allison preparing for
her future job (she's
going to be a princess
when she grows up)
All the kids wanted to
help daddy put the sink in.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Juggling
Some decisions in life can be hard. I've been extremely busy since the twins were born and spread very thin. I was trying to get back into my career also. I was picking up more day shifts and I even found a sitter that would be able to take care of everyone while I was away. Even as I write this I can clearly see I was wrong. But in the midst of it, I didn't feel like I was doing wrong. I'm a nurse. Being a nurse is a calling in life. I loved my job, loved taking care of newborns and preemies, and enjoyed my fellow co workers. Something was pricking my conscience but I continued to ignore it until I couldn't anymore. I wasn't happy at home anymore. What I thought would make me happy made me sad and irritable at home. I found out firsthand that I couldn't be 100% mom and wife and 100% nurse. Something had to give and it wasn't going to be my family. I gave my two week notice at work. There has been many tears in this process but I believe in letting go of my job, I have already grown as a mother, wife, and nurse. Sometimes stepping away is the best thing to do. I pray that God humbles my walk toward Him and continues to bless me and my family.
Proverbs 31:27 and 28 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her"
Proverbs 31:27 and 28 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her"
Sunday, December 30, 2012
some like it cold, some like it hot
Okay, so I know that there are a lot of coffee drinkers out there and now I have finally joined the bandwagon. Coffee used to mean a bitter taste in my mouth and how could anyone ever like that disgusting stuff, until I ventured out and bought flavored coffee creamer and now I'm in love with my glorified coffee.
Now because I love coffee, I had to figure out how to make it. Ross was just making extra for me before he left for work, but I upped my coffee intake to two times a day. The first time I tried to make it was a bit of a challenge. I put the grounds in the filter and put the water in, turned on the machine and I was expecting it to brew, but it came out pouring through just as fast as I put in the coffee maker. And it was COLD! So I thought that I just had to leave it in the pot and let it warm up on the tiny coffee burner. Ten minutes later, it was still cold. I resigned myself and put in the microwave to warm up my "coffee". I may have done this a few days before I finally swallowed my pride and called Ross to learn how to make coffee. Apparently, I was not supposed to put the water right on top of the grounds in the coffee filter. Whoops! Apparently, I was supposed to put the water down the side of the machine. It felt so wrong the first time I dumped that water in where it was supposed to go. I said to Ross "are you sure I'm supposed to dump it in there? I'm not going to ruin the coffee machine, am I?" He just chuckled and said it wouldn't ruin it. He was right! It didn't ruin it, it actually brewed my coffee and it was HOT!
I can make supper, I can make desert, I can make bake goods, and now, ta da, I can make COFFEE (or should I just say I can make caffeine).
Now because I love coffee, I had to figure out how to make it. Ross was just making extra for me before he left for work, but I upped my coffee intake to two times a day. The first time I tried to make it was a bit of a challenge. I put the grounds in the filter and put the water in, turned on the machine and I was expecting it to brew, but it came out pouring through just as fast as I put in the coffee maker. And it was COLD! So I thought that I just had to leave it in the pot and let it warm up on the tiny coffee burner. Ten minutes later, it was still cold. I resigned myself and put in the microwave to warm up my "coffee". I may have done this a few days before I finally swallowed my pride and called Ross to learn how to make coffee. Apparently, I was not supposed to put the water right on top of the grounds in the coffee filter. Whoops! Apparently, I was supposed to put the water down the side of the machine. It felt so wrong the first time I dumped that water in where it was supposed to go. I said to Ross "are you sure I'm supposed to dump it in there? I'm not going to ruin the coffee machine, am I?" He just chuckled and said it wouldn't ruin it. He was right! It didn't ruin it, it actually brewed my coffee and it was HOT!
I can make supper, I can make desert, I can make bake goods, and now, ta da, I can make COFFEE (or should I just say I can make caffeine).
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Haircuts
Today was the day the twins needed haircuts. This is not their first one, they've been getting them since 9 months old. Since I'm dutch, we save money by having Grandma W. (Wassink)come over and do it. I did it one time, but the outcome was not good. Once in awhile the twins do good with it, but usually they HATE it. Today was one where they hated it. We put one in the high chair and let the other one roam. Reed was first today. He was doing okay in the very beginning but got progressively worse as the hair cut went on. Part of the battle is getting them to sit still. Every time Grandma would get ready to cut, he would turn his head. Luke, who was supposed to be playing, started to have sympathy tears or really sympathy wailing. Luke was hanging onto our legs as we tried to get Reed done. Then it was Luke's turn. Luke has always been worse with haircuts. Right from the start he was throwing a major fit. He would not sit still. Twisting and turning his body this way and that. Trying to stand up and basically fighting Grandma with everything he had in him. Reed was sympathy wailing for Luke now. We decided that I should hold Luke in my lap and try to keep his head still. He is strong!! He twisted his body so that he was laying stiffly on his belly on my lap and he accidentally kicked Reed to the ground(Reed was standing clinging on my leg). But somehow through all that, we got the job done. Luke's hair is far from perfect, but it looks a lot better than it did before.
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