Monday, June 28, 2010

Skyping w/ Mia



She has a few free days before setting off on some travel adventures. She skyped with me at work and then called the Polack and kids. Fortunately, the Kubatski cousins were visiting so they got to talk with her as well.

Friday, June 25, 2010

More graduation photo's

Remember when I said my battery died on my camera during Mia's graduation? Well luckily, the in-laws had their camera and were able to take a few photo's before THEIR camera died. Together we almost a team!







A friend from elementary school saw that last picture with Nicklas as said it was a spitting image of me at that age.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Random Thought Thursday

1. The end is near everyone! The family will be moving to Bloomington NEXT WEEK! No more commuting! We'll all be together again! I'm excited! Can you tell!

2. As happy as I am, I bit sad that I won't see Uncle Bill nearly as much. I hope he will join us often for dinner and other fun activities.

3. Six more days until Eclipse.

4. I'm calorie counting through MyFitnessPal. (Did I already mention this?) And hoo boy do I make sure my calorie counting is perfect. So perfect that the other day, when I was eating my chocolate chip peanut butter granola bar and one of the mini chocolate chips fell into my keyboard, I made sure to retrieve and eat it.

No judging!!

5. I feel very fortunate to have a great job and great team of people to work with.

6. Have you seen Ashton Kutcher lately?

7. The Gallogly's have decided to participate in the Lake George Boat Parade this year. The theme is 1980's movies and our plan is to re-enact scene's from a few of our favorite movies with the songs playing in the background. We're doing Risky Business, Ghostbusters, Star Wars, Say Anything, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. This will be interesting!

8. I wish Mia was here to help with boat parade. She would have so much fun.

9. Mia has posted on Facebook twice since returning to Norway. Her latest post admonishes Norwegians for not appreciating The Office or understanding "that's what she said" jokes.

10. The Polack and I always go away for our anniversary. We take turns planning the getaway. Since money is tight right now and we're going to Vegas 2 1/2 weeks before our anniversary, we're trying to decide if that will count as our getaway or if we can afford something in addition to. Decisions, decisions....


Whoa, that's 10 already! Time flies when you're having fun.
I can post from my phone. Look out world!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Mia's Graduation

I don't have the greatest pictures from Mia's graduation - and my camera died right after the ceremony - but here are some photo's. Another rite of passage for Miss Mia...

Right before we left our house to go to the ceremony, we received a package from Norway. Mia's mom had sent us a Norwegian flag to wave and some ribbons to wear. When Mia was given her plaque, the boys enjoyed waving the flag.



The foreign exchange students didn't actually receive a diploma. But they were recognized on stage. There were 12 this year - the majority from Germany. Mia is on the far right.



Here's an after shot - right before my battery died - of Mia and her friend Katie. Did I mention that Katie is spending the summer in Norway with Mia? How lucky she is. They are planning to travel most of the summer. Denmark, Germany, Italy, Greece. What great experiences they will have!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Back Blogged - Invisible Children

While Mia was attending American high school, she became very involved with bringing attention to Uganda and the fight for the Invisible Children. She and her classmates held several fundraisers and raised awareness within our community. We are very proud of her activism. Here are some photos from one of the events - a walk for awareness.







Thursday, June 17, 2010

One more picture from soccer

Here's one more shot from the soccer season. Seeger definitely has the hair for the sport. Too bad he doesn't have the interest!


Random Thought Thursday

1. Mia returned to Norway on Monday. (I'll post more about that another time.) Today is her 18th birthday so she's home just in time to celebrate with her friends. 18 in Norway is the same as 21 in the U.S. and since it's nearly 7pm in Norway right now, I can only imagine what she's up to.

2. We've had some nasty wicked weather in Indiana this week. Lot's of thunderstorms and several tornadoes. I've split time between Lafayette and Bloomington. Both had tornadoes/high wind but never when I was there. Such a bummer - I love tornado weather.

3. I have my date to see Eclipse. Woo woo! It's been so long since I've seen the book, I barely remember what it's about.

4. Nick's baseball team won their first game of the tournament. We're all happy and surprised.

5. The family will be in town with me this weekend while I dog sit for a co-worker. She has a pool so the boys are looking forward to swimming. It's a great weekend to be in B-town. Their Taste is taking place, they have an art fair around their courthouse event, and it's Fun Frolic (I'm not sure what that is but I've seen the midway rides being set up).

6. I really want to take a ballroom dance class. And learn to golf.

7. Mia has been encouraging Nicklas to start a blog. I hope he does it. It would be good for his typing skills.

8. Did I tell you that Seeger stopped sucking his thumb? He did it cold turkey and I'm so impressed with him! I'm also a little sad because this means he's growing up. Sometimes when I'm tucking him in to bed at night, I want to whisper in his ear, "It's okay, you can suck your thumb. I won't tell anyone..." BUT I refrain from doing so. I wish the boys could stay this age forever.

9. I drove the Polack's car to Bloomington yesterday. Blech. I wish I had my own car.

10. Nicklas and I are reading a Wrinkle in Time. I can't wait to finish it! It's amazing how much more I understand it compared to when I read it as a kid.

Well, that's all for the randomness my friends. Have a lovely afternoon!

Monday, June 14, 2010

TMNT

Seeger as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle - I helped him make the shell...

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Spring Sports

Just a few shots from this year's soccer and baseball seasons...









Friday, June 11, 2010

Prom

Mia got to experience one of the biggest events of her time here in the US... She has been looking forward to prom for awhile. She and her friends went dress shopping a view times but she ultimately decided to have her dress made. After getting her hair done, the girls got dressed and their dates and respective parents came over pictures.






The Polack and I signed up to chaperon.



After pictures, the kids went off to have dinner and meet up with a big group of friends. They all rented a small bus and drove around awhile before heading to prom. As a chaperon, I got to see all the kids come through the door. I enjoyed checking out all the dresses. We ran into Mia a few times throughout the night but left her alone so we didn't seem like "those kind of parents". I did take a quick picture of her at the drink station.



Chaperoning was pretty easy and no one really gave us any problems. I was puzzled by the lack of slow songs but I suppose they weren't necessary since the only move the teens seem to do is grind up on each other. I also thought it was weird that the grand march was in the middle of the prom. The dance was 9-midnight and at about 10:30, they turned on the lights and all the parents and friends gathered around the balconies of the gym to watch. I definitely like the way my school did it with the grand march before the prom. You got it out of the way!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Seeger got himself dressed...

Though he wasn't very successful....

Random Thought Thursday

1. The sponsored ad on my facebook page the other day was for Secret Life (the tv show on ABC Family). My first thought was "Oh, Facebook really knows me because I've watched that show." My second thought was "Holy crap, there isn't a good reason why facebook should be marketing that show to me since I don't really meet the demographics of their audience." So my question is do I have a misperception of just who exactly watches Secret Life? Or is Facebook just really that good?

2. The capability we have to stalk/market to/snoop on people through technology is very scary. But I prefer to pretend otherwise.

3. Every Monday morning when I'm making my drive to Bloomington from Lafayette, I drive past a billboard that has a picture from the movie "Where the Wild Things Are". It reminds me of when the family (including Mia and my mom) went to see it and every one of us left the movie theater bawling. (Except the Polack - he must have a heart of steel or something!) It was the first movie Seeger ever cried at. Nick's first movie to make him cry was the Bridge to Terabithia. Mine was The Black Stallion. My mom took me to see it and we both bawled and bawled. I was only five or so but I remember her hugging me and telling me everything was going to be okay. All the while, I could feel her tears dropping on to my arms.

4. I just looked up the movie and the Black Stallion was made in 1979 which means I was four when it came out.

5. With less than 6 weeks until the group trip to Vegas, I'm back on the dieting wagin. (The plan to share a pool cabana with 15 people is quite the motivation.) I'm using myfitnesspal.com and it's going really well. I say this four days into it so we'll see. They have an iPhone app so that helps. I like it better than Weight Watchers iPhone app. Hopefully I can report back in a few weeks with some positive feedback.

6. I've done a lot of catching up on my blog so be on the lookout for multiple posts in the next few days. I still have a few more things to recap but I'm feeling pretty good about my progress.

7. I went to get my hair highlighted today. Being new to town, I got a recommendation for a local day sap. Their menu said foils start at $85. That's about $20 more than I like to pay but I figured I treat myself. Liesel threw in a mini facial and conditioning treatment so I was feeling pretty good. Until I went to pay and I was told it the service was $150. I nearly started crying and even though everyone keeps complimenting my hair, it's ruined on me. Now I have to find somewhere else to go which is a shame because I really liked Liesel.

8. I handle the family finances and I have a budgeted amount for everything each month. Haircuts for everyone are $60 a month. That's what we've been averaging but after my fiasco today, it's going to be awhile before I'm allowed to treat myself again.

9. I had green onions on my salad for lunch and now I have the oniony breath. I hate that.

10. I'm finally all caught up on Glee. What a great show. I know I've said it before but it really, really is awesome.

Don't stop believing, yo!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Seeger's Graduation

Due to my work schedule, I missed Seeger's kindergarten graduation. I was sad but the Polack took lots of pictures and even filmed part of it. He's the best!



I tried to upload the video but Blogger isn't cooperating. :(

Spring Fest

Many years ago, the Purdue Entomology department began an outreach program for the community, aptly called the Bug Bowl. This morphed into the Purdue SpringFest which encompasses all sorts of activities organized by all the academic programs on campus. This year we met up with some friends and introduced them and Mia to just a small portion of the many activities.

Mia ate her first elephant ear...


We also convinced her to try a chocolate covered cricket!!


Nicklas participated in the cricket spitting contest...


He also held a baby chick...


And finally my favorite - there was the bug petting zoo...


Back Blogged - Seeger's birthday

For a recap of Seeger's birth story, visit this post from last year.

I'm finally getting around to posting photo's from Seeger's birthday. The boys only get parties every other year so this was an off year for Seeger. Instead of a party, he had his friend Mason spend the night and we also had birthday cake and ice cream with the Kubatski family, including his cousins. I asked him what kind of cake he wanted and he said he wanted one with Spongebob and "stuff all over it." I wasn't sure what that meant but he seemed please with the outcome.



Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Happy Birthday to the Polack

Today is the Polack's birthday. He's a whopping 35.




Happy birthday, baby. I love you!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Random Thought Thursday

1. Yay - I'm actually posting on a Thursday!

2. Today, the Polack got to meet all the math teachers he'll be working with next year. I dropped him off at the school this morning and told to play nice with the others. :)

3. The Polack let me know that I misstated his feelings on Anna Paquin. It's not that he can't stand her, it's that her teeth bother him.

4. This weekend is Mia's graduation open house, our goodbye gathering for our friends, and Nick's farewell party for his class. I think I'll cry to most at Nick's party.

5. All these parties and I haven't even started shopping for the food. I'm going to be running around like a crazy woman the next few days.

6. The Polack got pulled over for speeding yesterday - with the whole family in the car. Mia was so excited because she'd never been in a car that was pulled over by the police. She did say it was the best situation because she got the experience but he ended up only getting a warning.

7. We spent last weekend at Lake George. I love Lake George. I wish I could spend every weekend there!

8. The family went apartment hunting a few days ago. Hoo boy, there is quite the variety around these parts.

9. I wonder if I'll ever get caught up on my blog posts? So many to do! So little time....

10. I heard a feature on NPR about a book that was recently published. It's about how technology is training our brains to be less focused and attentive. Sadly, I think there is definite merit to the theory so I'm wondering what I can to to combat that with myself and my children. Delete my facebook account? Stop texting? Turn off my email? Not very practical...