The Great White North

Just Waiting for the Mail


My Snowblowing Buddy


Also This One


Say Geeze

We finally got a real snow here, and apparently it set a record in some areas of 20 inches. I still think the weather is worse in KS, no minus wind chills here. Luke is rolling over now and wants to grab everything to which I have started calling him Spiderman(seems like everything within 12 inches of his arms finds his mouth). He had his 4 month appt and is on track to keep up with Isaac's growth. He is also sleeping pretty well through the night, which makes life a lot better.
Isaac has seemed to expand his conversations and social abilities within the past 2 weeks which has been pretty entertaining. My favorite is the instance where the mailman asked him, "What's your name" to which Isaac responds without hesitation, "Goalie". He's also a really good big brother to Luke which is great!

Where's the Zamboni?

Manion Ice Arena in All Its Glory

NHL Draft Scouts Get Ready

Don't Blink...You Might Miss the Speedster

Luke in the Official Seal of Approval (Daddy's baby outfit)


One onther tidbit: Tonight I (Mike) made a couple of things out of a top secret restaurant recipe book and Isaac wasn't really interested in either one. He also got a couple of new baseball figurines today and really wanted to play with them. So after two bites, the manipulative little 2 year old says, "Daddy Iya all done."
Kristi and I respond with the fact that needs to eat a couple more bites of his food before he can play. To which he responds, "Daddy you are good cooking man...Does that make you happy?" I say to him, " Thanks buddy that does make me happy" Only to be followed by Isaac smiling and saying, "Iya go play with baseball guys now?"
(Needless to say he still had to finish his meal but did get some good laughs from us, which we tried to play off as laughing at Luke, so that Isaac didn't think he was successful in his first negotiation)

JOY

Tis the season to be joyful!! I love Christmas and I love the fact that there is a time each year that we are given the chance to reflect on what God has done for us and to thank him for Jesus. It's hard though because with this time it seems that so many un-Christmasy things cause extra stress. I was power-shopping Saturday night (where I got all of my shopping done in 2 hrs!) and realized how much I do not enjoy that part of Christmas. Way too many people, loudness, and just craziness in the stores. I definitely prefer online shopping =) I'm glad we have the weekend and I am so excited to have Christmas Eve off. I got really lucky because usually that's a work day but since Christmas fell on a Saturday the hospital holiday is the day before. Yay! Our Christmas Eve service is so awesome. Last year it was amazing and this year they are having part of the Grand Rapids Symphony there. The worship is just amazing and I still remember the message from last year. I wish all of you could be there!

Mike built an ice hockey rink, yes I did just say that, an ice hockey rink in our backyard. This is kind of a normal thing up here but something I definitely didn't know about. It's about 16x24 feet. Last night, Mike was out on the ice with Isaac and his friend, Joe, when our neighbor yelled over that her kids were coming over to play. Her "kids" were 30 somethings visiting for Christmas and wanted to play on the ice. I thought it was hilarious that four grown men and a two year old were playing hockey in our backyard.

I had the joy of watching Isaac skate for the first time tonight. I told Mike that I hope he remembers that moment forever. Mike was holding him under his arms and helping him to skate along. Isaac was so excited and kept looking up at me to make sure I was still at the window watching with Luke. Mike just found him some real hockey skates off of Criags list and Isaac is just beyond excited. We couldn't wait untit Christmas to give them to him!

Well, the Christmas cards should be going out in a few days and then I will feel super proud of myself. I actually sent them out in February last year so I think I'm doing well =) There is a spelling mistake on them but I think if they were perfect, it wouldn't represent our family very well ;)

Hope you are enjoying the week!!

double trouble

So I know that I just posted this picture of Luke but Mike and I were commenting how much he looks like his cousin, Ella, on Mike's side. I think there is a strong Manion family resemblance. Maybe its more obvious in person or if you know them but I think these two pictures are pretty close and it was when they were about the exact same age too. Fun =)

Our Winter Bunker

I am finally going to post a few pictures of the basement while I am on a roll with the posting thing. It was just the basic concrete floor, unfinished basement which you can probably tell from the pre photos. So Mike finished this awhile ago but I wanted to show a few pics because we finally have it mostly decorated. He added all the outlets, lighting, and made the outlets behind the TV so that the wiring didn't show. He drywalled it, put down the floor, put in a drywall ceiling, and finished it all off with mouldings. This was quite the project for him for a couple of months. This will be our new winter hideaway. It already has been so much fun to have. I have my elliptical down there (which I am excited to use eventually), Isaac has a hockey area in the unfinished part and a hockey jigsaw mat on the finished side that he can play on. we are so thankful for this space and it definitely adds to our indoor activities for the winter when we kind of feel like we are hibernating. I guess we are supposed to get a lot more snow this year. Actually, it was pretty nice last year. There isn't wind here like we have in Kansas so while we have more snow, the lack of windchill makes it much more bearable. I definitely am glad that we have an SUV bc there are days when my little Rolla won't make it out of the driveway (Toyota wasn't really thinking snow when they designed the Corolla). We didn't build a guestroom but the couch is comfy, so come visit anytime =)

The Ants Go Marching (Gingerly)

We are doing great this week and I am really enjoying my last week home with the boys. Mike is working this week so we are on our own which is a first on my maternity leave. Mike left today for work and Isaac was crying, saying "no daddy work, work closed". Apparently, he thought he could convince him not to go. We had fun though and I put on a good show with our silly songs CD. My marching to the Ants go marching song wasn't quite up to par but Isaac seems to accept me in my gimp state okay. Here are a couple of pics of the boys and then one of Ethan and Isaac. We (Anspaugh fam) all went on a walk and Ethan wore his Batman costume so Isaac just couldn't leave without a cape on. My mom, being the great grandma that she is, just happened to know where an extra cape was in our house! So Isaac was happy and we enjoyed seeing him wear a cape that my gradma made and that I wore as a little girl on Halloween. We also had to have the traditional Manion boy royals picture that we had with Isaac.

I really will miss the boys when I go back, naturally, but am thankful again that Mike is home with them! We've had so much fun and I know there is so much more fun to come!

Update, finally

I guess we have been a little busy lately because I have this wonderful new baby to show off and a great two year-old and haven't managed to put up pics yet. I still won't get it done today but at least I can write what we've been up to. Maybe tonight I will try to download them from my camera. Anyway, we went home for a week to see family, spent about 3 days in Kansas City and 3 days in Topeka. Isaac was so good in the car and Luke just slept the whole time of course. It is difficult traveling with two kids but I think we are pros now at the long drives =) At least Mike is. We left at 5:30pm from Grand Rapids and got in Kansas City at 4:30am our time. The nice thing is that Isaac took a late nap for about 2 hours since he was too excited to nap at home, then we took a good dinner break while I fed Luke and Mike and Isaac went to Bass Pro shop. After that it was hockey video time! Mike gets this hockey video from the library that is instructinoal hockey tips, totally boring (sorry Isaac) but that Isaac just loves. So they entertained themselves in the back with that and veggies tales for awhile and then Isaac just slept til we got to KS. People always ask how we do it so thought i'd share.

It has been a little more challenging than normal lately which is probably why I haven't written. Luke got sick in KS and is waking up all night and we are dealing with Isaac's "needs". He is a super great boy but is of course, two years old, which means there is a lot to get upset or worked up over. Mike and I are taking shifts at night getting up with the kids so that helps. I honestly can't imagine how it would be if he was working! I am so thankful that we made that decision as it makes life so much better.

Someone said to us when we were in KS that this is the busiest time in our lives, having little ones, and I definitely believe it. But then I think, well I'm making it so we'll just keep plugging along! It's also one of the most amazing times. Luke is such a beautiful baby and is smiling now. It is one of God's greatest inventions, the smile of a baby. So precious and innocent. That's always a fun reward during the day to make Luke smile. Isaac is also talking so much and seeing him put words together amazes us each day. He saw a blow-up santa in Lowe's and said "ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas". We have no idea where he got that from, it wasn't from us!

I started back taking ENT call last week. It's nice to take it now for November and not have to make it up later. I don't start back to surgery until the week of Thanksgiving though which is nice to have 7 full weeks off. This week was a little extra challenging. I had surgery on my foot on Wednesday and am recovering now. I have a lovely boot on my foot. I had a ganglion cyst that was causing some problems and I'm hoping that when I heal I will be able to run again because it has prevented me from doing that for a long time. I am soooo thankful that it was able to be done during my maternity leave because otherwise I would have to take about 2 weeks off from doing surgery. Now I just am being forced to sit and rest. It's probably good for me, I am just sitting all day enjoying looking at Luke and being waited on =)

So that was a lot! If you made it this far, thanks for "listening"! We are doing Thanksgiving at our house this year and we are spending the day with our close friends and making dinner together. It's one of my favorite holidays, even if I turn 30 over the Thanksgiving weekend . . . .

Lots of love to our friends and family!!!!

Cats Meow

Mike was asking Isaac the other day, "what does a (K-state) wildcat say?" He goes "Meow". Mike was quick to correct him, that a wildcat actually says "Roar" and I found it hilarious. Isaac gets it right now and I thought the Jayhawk fans on here would appreciate that.

Luke Kent Manion

Born 4:43PM 9-22-10
Weight: 8 pounds
Length: 19.5 inches

He's a cutie! We were in the hospital for about 28 hours and then were excited to bring Luke home to hang out with Isaac. The birth went perfectly and without complications. My good friends, Jen and Christine are both residents in OB/GYN and they delivered Isaac and managed my birth which made everything just so relaxing and wonderful. I am so lucky to get to have friends deliver Luke (pictured). Isaac held him for the first time at our home and the reaction was priceless. He just giggled and started calling him Lukie over and over. He just wouldn't stop laughing and kind of poking and inspecting him which is shown below in one of our photos. We got the reaction on video and hopefully Mike will have time someday to post it, I'm so glad we captured that moment. He's been a good big brother and helps out a lot, giving a pacifier, helping to get him a diaper (not realizing Isaac's are a tad bit bigger than Luke's), and gave him "Mun". Mun is a special frog in Isaac's world and Luke has a similar stuffed animal that Isaac calls Mun and gives it to Luke frequently. I think it will be Luke's little lovie someday too. My parents have been here since last Friday and have been a big help. We will miss them when they leave terribly tomorrow but my freezer is stocked with some yummy meals thanks to them =)

Here are a few photos:

Ode to Kansas

I planted some sunflower seeds that Baker University sent me this summer. To my surprise they actually grew! They are so pretty and it reminds me of Kansas =) So enjoy!

mommy's athletic skills

I've never quite been known for my athletic skills though I am the only one in my family who actually did athletics in college. What I mean is that I can run in a straight line fairly well at a good pace, but if I have to make contact with a ball, I'm in trouble. My two year old son has now noticed this. We were playing catch together as a family and I kept missing the ball. I would like to point out that I am not quite as mobile at 39 weeks pregnant as I could be, and I am SURE that is part of the problem. Anyway, last night Isaac took the glove away from Mike and gave it to me because "mommy need help". Thanks Isaac =)

photo update!

Here is a lovely picture of myself, posted only by popular demand, this was about a week ago when I was 37 weeks. My friends took me out to dinner for my "baby shower" which was wonderful. It was super great just to have a night out with my friends and go out to a fun Tapas restaurant downtown. My friend, Sarah, had the cutest baby cupcakes made and they were yuuummmmy!

One of Isaac's favorite things is playing in the dirt in our frontyard. I'm pretty sure some people think we are weird for letting him do this but it keeps him occupied and then we can actually have a real conversation while he entertains himself. The dirt pile will soon go away b/c we had all of the landscaping removed and then we are just going to plant grass. The landscaping was ugly and too much upkeep so we ripped it out! Life is to short to have ugly, time-consuming plants =)

Oh baby!

I had a baby shower for my friend and I thought I would show the cake I made. It's far from perfect but I am trying to start learning how to make cakes, just simple ones, so here is my first attempt at covering a cake with fondant. Isaac's cake was made with fondant, just the red part though, this cake was completely out of fondant. It was only slightly stressful =) I would do it differently when I do it again. My neighbor is a pastry chef so she has been super helpful with good advice.

Few Birthday Pics

The Great Hockey Cake (Nice Work Mommy!)


Practicing Happy Birthday to Me (Notice Hockey Guy on the Piano)


OHHHH....A Hockey Puzzle

More Pics to come...

A Day with I-ya

So I've(Mike) been hiding out for the past month or so in the basement trying to finish it before Dosito arrives and the beautiful Michigan winter weather graces us. Its been tough to find time to work during Isaac's naps and at night (why can't I use a circular saw at 2 am?). Eventually I'll get the before and after pics up, but we're pretty happy with the way it has turned out.

The rest of the time I'm not working, I get to enjoy some pretty funny moments with Isaac (I-ya) that I thought I would share:

-So whenever he wants to do something he always says OK or ohhhhhh. Best example was when Kristi and I were driving and we saw a ferris wheel in the distance, Isaac immediately sees it and says OK, thinking that if he answers the question before we ask, he will get to go.

-Some of his favorite toys are little 2 inch baseball players that are actually cake decorations that I used to have. He makes sure that they travel everywhere we go and will often hold 3 in one hand while riding in the car or inside the stores. He also likes to line them up on the piano bench so that they can "watch" us play hockey, or line them up in front of the goal and use them as target practice.

-Some kids get excited about Toys'R Us...Isaac loves the hockey store. Yes in Michigan there are stores solely devoted to hockey and Isaac thinks its his playground. The people in the store think he is cute so it is a little easier to let him try on all the gear as he walks around saying the proper terms for the equipment. A minor tragedy struck about a month ago though as the store was locked and Isaac started bawling, he had to get out of the car and physically shake the door to make sure it was locked!

-Thankfully he also likes and is pretty decent at a more southern sport....baseball. It was fun when Kristi's parents were here and he hit off his tee outside for about an hour. Grandpa was most amazed at his ability to hit it where he was told to hit, with the exception of drilling Daddy in the mouth when he tried to hit it over my head.

-Random thing that happened yesterday; I had to tell Isaac not to put his tank and motorcycle in the toilet! I just thought it was a funny thing that I get to deal with on a daily basis, and have another boy on the way!

-Isaac and I try to make a daily trip to somewhere in the car, which is always fun to hear what random things he sees. For example, every time we get on the highway, he knows there is a certain silo which is on the way to the hockey game which then leads to the following conversation every time.
--Isaac "Ahgee, Ahgee"
--Daddy "What about hockey buddy?"
--Isaac "Ahgee see all duh" (which is hockey season is all done)
--Daddy "When do we get to go to hockey games again?"
--Isaac "Nose" (which is his cute word for"snows")
I had to come up with the snow explanation bc he used to get really sad knowing we were going over by the arena and not going to a game, so I really hope it doesn't snow before Oct. 8.

-Continuing with the car stories, he often wants me to turn up the "meek" (music). One day I was listening to some Spanish song and he started speaking his equivalent of Spanish (sounds like gillallliillilillll). Most of the time I listen to 80's and classic rock, and the other day I changed the station to something else, and Isaac says "aseydesy" (which meant he wanted me to turn back to AC/DC... ie drums and guitars)

-He loves to ride his tricycle up and down our sidewalk. We are quite well known to our neighbors now, since he takes about 30 minutes to go about a tenth of a mile. He does get a chance to go see his little friend Claire on the way which is always a fun time since they are the same age. One of my favorite moments though was after we had been to the Harley store (Isaac loves motorcycles!). He stopped his trike and was making his motorcycle sound, "mmm-MMMM", I wondered if he saw one in the distance , but when I turned around I realized he was trying to kickstart his trike, like some motorcycles do!

So after almost 2 years I have realized that we have a motorcycle riding, guitar loving, hockey playing, analytical observer (ie engineer), who never stops laughing. That could be one interesting teenager, huh!?!?!

Deal of the Day

Our neighbor told me about this block garage sale that sounded kind of promising and Isaac and I decided to go today. It was a perfect day for it, not too hot, and he had a rough night (we are trying to get him to sleep in a toddler bed and he keeps getting up in the middle of the night). It was good for him just to ride around in the stroller since he was kind of tired.


Anyway, I just posted about our pink carpet and wasn't really planning on doing much about it but they had this at a garage sale for $20!!! and I couldn't pass it up! All I really needed was the rug which originally was hundreds at Pottery Barn and she had it for $10. The rest of the stuff, a custom made lampshade to match, crib bumper, bedskirt, and valance was all thrown in for $10. I'm super excited to have some "new" stuff for Dosito's room, especially excited about the five foot round rug. This picture is from ebay and it was selling for $599 but included a quilt and mobile which we don't have (or need).



Oh, and I also managed to pick up some brand new tall black leather boots from Ann Taylor for $10!! Very fun!!

Snips, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails

I can't believe I forgot to update this! I was just talking to my friend on my the phone and realized I never posted. But we are having another boy, yay! God's going to keep me on my toes with all of these boys running around =) We are keeping Dosito's real name a surprise until he is born but definitely couldn't keep the gender a secret, we are too excited! It will be nice though b/c he can share most of Isaac's stuff since he will be born in September and Isaac was born in August. The only difference is that its a little colder here. We also have some lovely pink carpet in Dosito's current room but I think it just might have to be that way for a little while. Hopefully it won't scar him forever to be in a pink room =) Isaac's nanny, Miss Carole, had him in a pink room when he was a baby and he seems okay =)

We just had a wonderful time with Mike's sister, Kristi, and niece visiting from Kansas! Her daughter is just a couple of months younger than Isaac and they had a great time together. Isaac actually cried when she left and I think it's the first person he has cried about leaving him besides Mike. It made me sad that he was so sad. I ended up with a great schedule while they were here and got to see them a lot too. It was rainy but Kristi said it was a nice change from the 90 degree KS heat.

Green Thumb

Or at least I hope so. Again, one of my goals this year was to plant a garden. I've always wanted to and just never have. So Isaac and I got up this morning and worked on it. I don't really know what I'm doing. I'll actually be pretty proud of myself if something green sprouts up out of all of this. My friend had some leftover seeds she gave to me yesterday so I decided there's no time like the present! I planted some heirloom tomatoes, roma tomatoes, zucchini, watermelon, green beans, and various lettuces. I'm pretty sure I planted it all too close together but we'll see. I'm going to wait to invest in a wire cage for my tomatoes before I actually see if it starts to grow!

I'll keep you posted!

Raise the Roof!

Or ceiling that is. Mike just finished putting up the drywall on our ceiling using one of those fancy drywall lifter things you rent from Home Depot. Now he is going to tackle the mudding/taping part of it which we hear is not too much fun. So if any of your home improvement gurus out there have suggestions, we'll take 'em!

I think they should invent paint that smells like the new house smell. I like the way our basement smells now with all of the lumber in it, reminds me of a new house. Maybe we'll just stick some random pieces of lumber around our house or under the couches to get the effect . . .

Saving the world, one milk jug at a time. . .

My effort to participate in saving the world started today. I made a resolution this year to start recycling and I've been saving all of my lovely trash so that I can drive 20 minutes to drop such lovely trash off to a place where they will make it into something better (hopefully). I'm hoping the fuel requirements don't discount my efforts. I have a million excuses as to why I've never recycled before, mainly where to store it. Now I found a place in Kent County who will take my used plastic/paper/glass for free!!!

Less trash for me, more recycled plastic benches for you and your kids in the park. How lovely.