get your 80s music fix.

click here for the best 80s mix

you won't be disappointed.

Thanks be to Carl.

days of old

Last week some girlfriends of mine gathered for a little coffee time.

We welcomed more new babies into the group and as the night went on we began to reminisce as we often do, about high school. One of the ladies there is a counselor at a local high school and told us stories about the Prom 2008 that she recently attended as a staff member. Whoa, how things have changed. Since this is a family blog, I won't get into details of what she saw at her prom, but I will post some photos of our "prom" back in 1990s. Our school called it the Junior/Senior Banquet. A title like that lends itself to a much more refined and sophisticated event...or not.

Enjoy the photos dedicated to "the girls"
Notice the bad 90s fashion as well.

In 1992 it was all about bright satin and curls.While in 1993, you had to wear Umbro shorts.
Not a single one of us ever played a lick of soccer.
Also, T-shirt must be tucked in the front, and hanging out in the back.
On to 1994.
Notice the giant Doilys on Dana's gown.
Notice too, my severely unnatural tan.Michelles. At the Mall, sporting oversized Men's shirts.
Now that is a trend I can get on board with again.

Loved (almost) every minute of it.

listen to the music.

if you are hearing music, scroll down this blog to the end of this blog to see phase 1 of My Playlist. Click on a song if you would like to hear it,  or
you can create your own for free at:

PLAYLIST.com

Four Weeks Old!

Is that a Hopkins nose I see?



Pretty in Pink

thank you Geo. Dubya!

Say what you will about him ( and that would be quite a lot I'm sure),
but the much anticipated economic stimulus check has hit our bank account, and I am grateful.

Does paying hospital bills count as economic stimulus?

What I wish I could do with the $$$?
Buy this

What will you do with your $$$ ???

Now go and stimulate!

I made my bed today,

and other major accomplishments from the last two weeks are as follows:
----unpacked the hospital suitcase, finally.
----found an old pair of real, not maternity! jeans to wear
----said good riddance to smelly, holey boots, snowpants, and gloves--either packed or thrown away!
----emptied the dishwasher (instead of my mother having to do it)
----went to Starbucks!

next up--going to church and going to a soccer game. baby steps people, baby steps ;)


We have two weeks under our belts now. It seems like the days and nights are no longer separate but the one endless cycle of infant care. Oh how I forgot that a newborn slows your pace a bit. Juliet has been a content baby thus far, and I am so thankful. The kids have grown more in love with her and slightly less with each other each day. Fighting over who will hold her, smell her, and bring to me my nursing pads! We are adjusting pretty well. The sleep deprivation is starting to become a way of life. It's good to get to that point where my body is used to the middle of the night feedings. I am still working on not secretly growling at Dan as he saws logs right there next to the baby and I at 2:36am. Really, how dare he just sleep like that?

So blogging might be fewer and farther between, but I thought I'd offer a little update on how we are getting along as a family of 6. A few photos as well. Until next time...

Chase and Grandpa H. Turkey Hunting

Soccer season is in full swing

Joy assisting "sissy" with her first bath

what a week it was.

We Welcome With Love..

Juliet Lynne Dieleman

Born April 15   9:13am

8lbs.  12oz.

20"

Prais God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

I am a Lady in Waiting.

Oh bloggers, I am still here. The bun in my oven is cozy and warm and doesn't want to come out today. (or probably tomorrow for that matter) She teases me though. Each and every night I feel her simultaneously bump her head on my bladder, while lodging her foot in my rib, or she tries to make a side exit by punching me with what I can only assume is a fist.

What follows all that activity is a bunch of intermittent, fairly uncomfortable contractions that never really develop into full labor. I drift to sleep with girl names bouncing around in my head and practiced aloud and the next thing I know--it's a new day.
So all in all, spring break has been a nice, relaxed, quiet one. I am glad I had this week to spend with the kids just enjoying a slower pace.

I have to keep reminding myself (and Dan) that I'm not even due yet. (Close enough!!) I think he is even more impatient at this point than me. In fact he just said to me in the most obvious way,

"I feel like we are just sitting around waiting for her to come"

How profound.

the kindness of a (sort of) stranger.

My self pity party was in full swing yesterday afternoon.

The scene:
Driving in Meijer parking lot looking for a close spot to park and thinking to myself,

"What did you do for Spring Break '08, Chelle?" You took your 9 month pregnant self and your 3 kids to Meijer on a Monday afternoon to return smelly, sticky pop cans.
As a bonus, you get to fight off begging for toys and Mt. Dew."

How quickly I forgot that I had just spent a nice morning with my friends at the park on a beautiful spring day, the ride from the park to Meijer changed my attitude. I was not looking forward to this excursion, no way, no how.

Pop cans returned and impulse buys in cart, we headed to the check out. My mood lightened as I scored a sweet 26.00 dollars off my grocery bill, I tried to pretend that my kids were not actually screwing around with the spin around bagging thing. I even managed to work up a smile and hello for the person in line behind me. Boy, she looked familiar.

As I was getting ready to push away from the check out, that vaguely familiar face behind me in the check out line ever so nicely said,

"Here, take this, and bring your kids out for ice cream or something this spring break."

She handed me some cash. I was just so overwhelmed with that act of kindness I started to tear up right there in the check out lane. As I talked more with this kind lady, she suddenly realized she knew me and my parents and so on.

What an undeserved gift. What a lesson in kindness. What a Spring Break so far! God used that small act to give me some perspective on my attitude, my kids, on HIM.

Now, how to pay it forward...

only in Michigan!

just when I think I have heard it all, this was the top headline at our local news website at noon.

the weird thing is, it almost happened at our house one early one spring!

your guess is as good as mine

Per Nicole's suggestion,   what is your prediction for 

"What Date Do You Think Chelle Will Pop?"

and the always debatable:

"Will she get an epidural?"

winning prize to be determined. 

humor me people.

what not to do.

when you are 9 months pregnant.

• try to move your sofa
• goto Target for some last minute supplies. you will end up buying fish sticks and maxi-pads as if you will NEVER get to the store AGAIN. impulse buying at it finest.
• run to the bathroom. you might not make it there in time. just walk.
• decide to organize 7 years worth of photos into albums. not only is it a project best left for retirement, you will find yourself devastated by how you have aged in only 7 years.
• start anew on coming up with a baby name. If you haven't found one from the book titled 40,001 Great Baby Names by now, you ain't gonna!
• tell your husband you think you might be starting labor, when you really are not. the Boy who cried Wolf, much?
• Drone on and on in the blogosphere about above don'ts. No one needs a list of what not to do. This info is only useful for MVH or MiniMeMom right now. No one else cares.

Any other don'ts to add to the list?
tick, tick, tick.

my first car.

Recently my brother-in-law finished up what seemed to be a pretty grueling Driver's Education program. Numerous sessions, hours of practice that require parental supervision.

Come on, my driver's training was 2 weeks at Sears Driving school. Mr. C, anyone?

Anyway, I realized with my last birthday that I have been driving half of my life, and it's been 16 years since dear old Dad bought me my first car for a sweet $700.

here's a hint



Is it me or do the "first cars" of today's teens seem so much better then what we drove ? Where are the gigantic winter beaters with rear wheel drive and bald tires?

Can I get a shout out for the
Escorts?
Station Wagons?
Buicks?
Tempos?
Chevettes?
LeBarons?
Nova?
Cavaliers?

If we name her, she will come.

I believe that since we have yet to agree or even decide on a name, our daughter does not want to be born.
here is my last attempt to be inspired by a fresh name

I realize I am the worst about this and no one wants to help me anymore, nor do I deserve it. But...if you are up for a challenge,
Here are the rules:

the name should probably start with "J"
no gender neutral names
no names popular from the years of 1985-1995 (these are Dan's favorites)
the name should be her own, not Michelle Jr.
Classic but not blah, not too trendy, not overly used, but not made up.

good luck with that.

stick a fork in me,

I'm done.

pix from the last month

a birth remembered, and a birth awaited

When pregnant (sorry, another preggie post) with my first, I inhaled pregnancy books, magazines and literature. I wanted to be fully prepared for the big event.
What is recommended, maybe especially the first time around is a Birth Plan.
I always wondered if birth plans are followed or do they all go out the window when the pain hits hard. I suppose I had a birth plan back then, but as is my usual fashion, I adjusted it accordingly.

8 years ago today our firstborn Chase made us a family of 3. On the day that I labored I visited my Dr., went to Value City, and played cards with Dan and my parents, all the while Chase was preparing to meet us. When we got to the hospital, we walked the halls and looked at each other, like "how did we get here, and now what do we do?" I vividly recall the moment I received the much anticipated pain relief and observed my husband nap, snack, and take a bath in MY jacuzzi tub. Was this a vacation for him? Certainly this was not part of the birth plan.

What a day, and night, early morning, and finally late morning of great excitement. When Chase was born at 10:38am we rejoiced, we had a son! A precious gift according to God's plan. Happy Birthday Chase!

I suppose I have no real birth plan for this 4th time around. If I did, it would go something like this:

--Wake up on a Tuesday or Thursday from an excellent night's sleep
--Send the boys off the school with a hug and kiss
--Shower, shave
--Eat first breakfast, read an inspiring bible verse such as Philippians 4:13
--Labor begins.
--Call Dan who WILL NOT be working in Indiana.
--An hour later, drop off Joy and head to the hospital.
--Be greeted with open arms by the anesthesiologist
--Push a time or two
--Meet our baby gal.
--Actually have a name to give her.

It could happen, maybe with a few minor adjustments.

Sell, Salvage, Donate, or Dump!

An old friend, and I use that term lightly, has returned to haunt me these past couple weeks. An old friend named Pack-Rat. I have tried to ignore him, but it just isn't proper to ignore an old friend now is it?

Remember this post of almost 2 years ago? Did I not learn a hard lesson from my pack-ratty ways?

Once again I have a storage room full of clothes, housewares, and junk that needs to be purged.
As previously mentioned, the my Nesting Instinct is in full swing.

Nesting Instinct --according to pregnancy weekly

Around the fifth month of pregnancy, the "nesting" instinct can set in. This is an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world.

Fifth month? No one told me that! I was supposed to take care of all of this in the 5th month, and somehow I am nearing the 9th month with pack rat still hanging around!

I ask you now bloggers, what to do.

Shall I save it for a garage sale in the summer? Donate it all to the thrift store?
Toss it out? or simply stand paralyzed at the thought of it all and close the door to it. Do I need to tackle this kind of project so late in the game?

please advise

strange

all my organ systems are complete and being finalized...

I just noticed that is what the little baby ticker at the top of the blog says. What exactly am I growing inside? A robot baby?

so long ol' trusty.

After 7+years of living in a "bag of Skittles" as Dan would say, we have made a few changes in the house.
After many spills, spit ups, farts, and what have you on the old , colorful couch, we shipped her off to the second hand store. Kind of sad for me, exciting for Dan.

Thumbs up to Danno and his willingness to spend some time appeasing my nesting instincts. He has a list a mile long of "honey -dos" before the baby arrives. Including the most dreaded...crib assembly.

Here are a few photos of the new neutral color scheme. Now, rather than a bag of Skittles, I would say we live in a coffee cup. Mmmm...coffee with cream.

that is all.

brain bender...sort of.

So I was driving past a local Costco the other day and saw lines of cars, some 6 long at their gas pump.

Odd, I thought. Does Costco has super excellent gasoline? Is there some oil shortage I didn't hear about on the news? Why are all these people wasting, I mean, waiting in line for gas?

Considering I could see 2 gas stations from where I was located I wondered why folks would prefer to:

1. waste time (and probably gas, it was a cold day) in a long line at Costco.
2. not just go to the station across the street where they would be first in line.
3. drive to Costco from who knows where, just for gas. It's not like Costco is on every corner. You know some of these folks drove a considerable distance to wait in this ridiculous line.

It's all about the washingtons & lincolns. At these gas prices, the jacksons and the benjamins too! Costco must have el-cheapo gas. But after doing the math, does it really save that much $$ over the Quik-E-Mart across the street or conveniently placed Fill-R-Up on the way to your destination?

Maybe that was you in line for gas that day, I judge not.
I am severely about convenience these days, prolly to a fault. If I need Milk and it costs me 4 bucks a gallon but is on my way home from somewhere I will grab it and go rather than drive to some obscure place to get it for $3.19.

blogger nation, what do you think?

Grace in an unexpected place.

Many Friday nights following what seemed to be a long week I drift off to sleep with grand visions of the perfect Saturday morning. It might go something like this:

I roll over, wake up slightly to notice my clock says 6:30. I realize it's Saturday and doze back to sleep. I awake again as I hear the kids playing nicely at 8:00am and think to myself, "oh, what precious loving angels." As my husband is right there keeping the bed warm on the cold morning, I enjoy the fact that he is home on a Saturday as those days will soon come to an end when Spring arrives. With everyone awake, we congregate in the kitchen to enjoy artificially flavored blueberry pancakes and anticipate the day ahead. No fighting, no whining, just glee.

The above did not occur today.

Instead of describing every last detail about how this particular Saturday stunk, I will share the one redeeming quality for this Saturday morning filled with fighting , whining, and non-glee.

All 3 of them were playing with Joy's doll house, ironically called the Loving Family Doll House.

Snarling and gnashing of teeth ensued. I stomped into the room. Well, I waddled as fast as I could and sighed heavily as to let it be known that heads were going to roll.
Joy had thrown the picnic table at Dewey's head "for no reason!" Off to my bed she went to sit, cry and hopefully prepare her apology. She screamed for her blankets , Dewey cried in pain, and Chase felt altogether satisfied that he had no part in the debacle. As she continued to cry, I saw Dewey do the most unexpected thing, and this is what gives me hope for my children, heck, for humanity.
He went to Joy's room, found her blankets (dee-tees), opened the door just enough to slide them through the crack and hand them to her.
Let me tell you, I was shocked. I stood there in my robe with my mouth wide open.
My children actually care for one another? My children can actually see past themselves once in awhile.
God's great grace and the Holy Spirit works in little hearts!
Now, just how do I apply this to my own life when someone throws a picnic table at me...

This just In...Mini-Van Mega-Fun returns!

Since I have not blogged for nearly 3 weeks, I have received much flak and inquiry as to where I went. I did not disappear into some blogger's abyss. Thank you for your concern and/or mockery. If anyone still checks in, well, why I haven't blogged doesn't have much to do with anything except that life gets in the way and days turn into weeks and so on. Excuses, excuses.

February was a month of snow, winter fun, illness, and sadness. March has arrived and we celebrate a new month of birthdays, "a birth-day", and my yearly itch (let's blame the hormones) to paint the interior of the house (yes, again).

I am putting together a little photo show of recent events that I will post soon.

For now I can sum up the last few weeks with numbers.

• pregnant now for 240 days, 40 to go
• 32lbs. and counting.
• different colors my kitchen/living room area has been in 6 years---6
• number of times my daughter told me to "stick a sock in it" ---at least 10.
• Joy turned 4
• I welcomed in 32
• Hugs given and tears shed in sadness and in praise---many, so many.
  
• 56 candles for my parental units.
• pink diaper pail purchased---1
• 111 miles traveled to IKEA for house goodies where Dan consumed the 15 pc. meatball plate.
• number of solid contenders for the name of our little bun in the oven--ZERO

Well, I guess that counts for a blog entry, sketchy as it is.
More to come.
Just for giggles, a photo that never gets old.

Winter can be FUN!

A few photos for grandparents, cousins, aunts who are far (south africa) and near (across the driveway)

2 years of Blogging Excellence!

I just noticed that my first Blog post was 2 years ago today.  That is all. 

Just an observation.

where o' where has the time gone?

10 weeks to go!

or 70 days, whichever seems longer.

I just looked at the little ticker on this blog and there is was in black and white. 30 weeks have passed, 10 (ish) to go! Um, that can't be right. Since it took me 20 weeks to fully realize I was pregnant, I feel like this thing should drag out a little longer so I can mentally, emotionally, financially, and so forth prepare for this new arrival.

At this rate, I am going to be one of those unsuspecting ladies that gives birth on the toilet or wakes up and realizes a baby is in my pants!

Time for me to wake up and smell the poopy diaper, don't ya think?

For the sake of my own memory keeping, I would like to document things I relish about pregnancy but also things I will be glad to retire when it is all done.

RETIRE

• peeing in my pants when I sneeze, tmi?
  

• well meaning folks asking if I am due any day since I am so large and in charge.

• tipping over when trying to don my socks each morning.

• stretch marks and square back

• MOOD SWINGS and my constant urge to nit pick everything . Dan has felt the brunt of this one. Don't even ask him about the how many minutes are proper to warm up the van on a cold day or how I demand dishwasher loading perfection. Honestly, someone needs to duct tape my mouth closed.
  

• Maternity clothes. Not cute, not flattering, and worn so often, sometimes not clean.
  

RELISH

• feeling the baby move in response to the kids talking to her

• laughing at a frustrated Dan every time he tries to feel the baby kick and she completely stops...until he walks away...then she happily kicks away again.

• breakfast at 6:30 and 10:00am
  

• sharing pregnancy with friends and family who are also expecting
  

• sleeping through the night without interruption (most of the time)

• having the kids bring me the phone, pick crap up off the floor, etc. because I think I'm getting too big to accomplish such lofty tasks.

• day-dreaming about what kind of unique child God has already planned for her to be, and how she will fit into our family.

• the simplicity of having the baby inside. All of her needs for being met, no crying, screaming, fussy times.

Snack Attack

Let's face it I come from a family of snackers.

My father would eat a full meal for supper and have 2 nightly snacks before bed. One was almost always a huge bowl of cereal.

My brother would try to get away with the same, claiming one was a bonafide "bedtime snack", but he also needed a "treat"

I have now produced an entirely new generation of snackers.

"Mom, can I have a snack?" at 7am of course

"Mom, I am so hungry only for fruit snacks."

"That was not a big enough snack"

"I ate my sandwich, now can I (immediately) have my snack?"

crying and rolling on the floor just as supper is about th begin "But I forgot to have my afterschool snack!!!!"

The icing, or whip cream on the cake, if you will, was last night when Drew came running up the stairs with the ultimate idea for a bedtime snack.

"Mom, I just want whippy do for my snack, in a bowl, with a spoon!"
(whippy do is Dan's weird name for CoolWhip)

For many reasons, which only made sense to me at the time, I let him scamper off with a bowl of coolwhip...and a spoon.
Oh , what has become of me?????????

Out with the Old...In with the New?

With a new year upon us this is our mantra. Everyone seems to be cleaning out, repairing, resolving, planning, evolving, changing. A few weeks back I noticed something rather unchanged as I sat in a Sunday morning worship service at my church. Allow me to share.

The worship style at my church is blended. From traditional hymns, to contemporary praise songs, we usually have a combination of styles on any given Sunday. I assume this is not an easy task for the worship leaders in a church with varying musical tastes and this post is not my attempt to choose sides in a debate about worship style. This post is about the transcendence of music.

We began to sing the hymn of 1826 Holy, Holy, Holy. You may have heard of it.
I guess I'll have to admit that I am at times be one of those folks that "looks around" during church. I'm not taking a mental roll call, but I just enjoy seeing the faces of those I am worshiping with and the expressions on their face as they worship. As I scanned the crowd I noticed a precious Senior lady of our church sitting lovingly next to her husband. I know this lady has Alzheimer's Disease and I have a special place in my heart for her. She reminds me of my grandmother who also lived with Alzheimer's.

What struck me so greatly that day again as well as when I worked in the nursing home is the power of the old hymns to an older, by that I mean a senior citizen, Christian. I looked at this elderly lady and watched as her mouth sing the words to Holy, Holy, Holy. She may or may not have known where she was, or why she was there, but she knew that song and she was singing to her God. It was beautiful to me, it is beautiful to God.

I am simply grateful that we still sing hymns, that we have not swept out the old , solely in favor of the new. I am inspired to see God's Word through music still touching the life of and elderly lady.
I wonder what song will always get me singing, even into old age.

Mmmm...indoor S'mores

Bringing the outdoors in.
Dan received a indoor S'more maker for Christmas this year, what fun it is for the kids on a regular Tuesday night.

A Fresh new batch of Crazy.

A new year and the pregnancy hormones are a pumpin'

Fighting the urge lately to re-paint my house, clean behind the frig, and oddest of all, I have not once, but twice, attempted to pack my hospital bag for when I go into labor (in April, mind you.)

Other oddities include dreams about Toaster Strudel and having Dan make a Monday night run to McDs at 8pm for Chocolate Shake!

I am also obsessed with the need to buy a pink diaper pail, and soon. A pink pail will make diapers more girly and smell better of that I am sure.

Of course a packed bag and a pink diaper pail will bring me no closer to my due date or even for deciding on a name for this baby. I prefer to drift about waiting for the perfect name to come in the mail, ring my door bell, or call me on the phone.

Happy Winter!
More crazy to come...

BTW, Braaaaad

The Christmas Tree and all it's decor came down last Saturday---chew on that!!!!

"This Little Piggy...

went to Target."

The Girl's own version of the ever popular,

This Little Piggy Went to Market.