Rosie -- 6 months

Our sweet little Johnye Rose is six months old! She is *almost* sitting up on her own now. She can do it for a while if she has pillows around her for support, or if I'm sitting nearby to catch her if she starts to tip over.

Rosie has become very vocal recently. She's constantly singing, squealing, or verbalizing in some way, regardless of whether or not she's gumming and gooing some poor toy to death, which is her other favorite pastime.

She continues to be joyful and smiley, and I thank the Lord for three easy babies in a row.

Here are some photos I took of her the other day, and a link to even more for your viewing enjoyment.

After taking and uploading the photos, I realized they were all really "noisy," which is photography lingo for grainy looking. After consulting with one of my professional heroes (who also happens to attend my in-laws church), we figured out that I had the ISO set WAY too high on my camear. Don't know what ISO is? Neither did I. See, this is how I learn! Now I know, and now I can take better pictures! Hooray for learning from our mistakes.

Anyhow, thank God for photo editing software which salvaged many of these photos. The ones that do look grainy are still kind of cool in that old-school film look sort of way. I can't wait for spring to arrive so we can get back to taking pictures outside.

I love this one of her grabbing her feet -- she does this all the time now. My favorite part is the rolls of fat on her tummy.

The letters she is playing with here are actually bookends made by my Aunt Anita years ago. You may recall Anita passed away about a year ago, so these pieces are very special to me.

And just for fun, I did a couple "behind the scenes" photos to remember these sessions by. Moms never seem to get to be in the photos since we are usually the ones behind the camera. I want to make sure to get in a few so I have them forever.



You can view more photos by clicking here.

Expired

Tonight I made JP a wonderful dinner of pork chops, baby red potatoes, and a garden salad with ranch and catalina dressings. When JP saw the catalina, he asked if it was "still good" or too old to be eaten. I said I wasn't sure, but it was probably fine -- those things never really go bad, right? :)

He checked the expiration date and it said 2009! Wow! That's gross. So, I went back to the kitchen where I knew there was another bottle of catalina waiting in the fridge door. I pulled it out and checked the date, then nearly threw up a little bit in my mouth.

EXPIRATION DATE: SEPTEMBER 2006!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's put that in perspective, shall we?

In September 2006, I...
...had been married for only one year.
...was 4 months pregnant with my first of three children, probably not even "showing" yet.
...still lived in Brooklyn Park.
...still worked at WCCO-TV.

Somehow, that bottle of Catalina dressing survived two moves and multiple fridge "cleanings" unscathed.

How about you? Do you have any expiration date stories you'd like to share?

Take Me Away From Here

We needed a break from the white and gray tundra-like landscape, so last Friday we met up with some friends at Como Zoo and Conservatory. It's such a beautiful place, and such a welcomed relief from the cold and monotonous days Minnesota has to offer this time of year.

I'm not sure I had ever actually been to the conservatory during the winter before. It was really nice because there were barely any crowds to compete with. The kids could get right up next to the displays and take their time looking.


The gardens are all stunning, but my favorite is the sunken garden. The room is always bursting with color. There were stargazer lilies as big as your head and roses that looked like they came straight out of Alice in Wonderland. Of course it made a beautiful backdrop for some beautiful subjects...


...whether or not they decide to smile! (see previous post "Quotes from Rae" for a better shot of Rae from the day.)


Perhaps the most amazing part of the day was when we left the gardens and wandered into the zoo area. Como has a new polar bear exhibit, so we headed there first. Right when we got there, one of the polar bears jumped into the water and started doing flips. He would shoot straight up like a rocket, right in front of the window, then place his giant paw on the glass and push off backwards into a back flip. He did this over and over again. It was amazing.


Did I mention how MASSIVE he was? His paw was the size of Ruby's torso.


Rosie enjoyed most of the views from her car seat. This pictures melts my heart on the coldest day.

Hooray for Como! Fun, free and refreshing!

Quotes from Rae

I'm starting sewing lessons soon, so the girls and I stopped by the fabric section at Wal-Mart the other day to see what options they had for making summer dresses. We were picking out designs we liked and finding a few that were really cute. Finally we came across a brightly colored tie-dyed one, and I asked Rae what she thought of it. Her response was so "Rae."

"No offense, but the choices we have are sophisticated."

HA!

And then a couple minutes later...

"What does sophisticated mean?"

Gotta love that girl!

Natural Toy Giveaway

The hilarious and very fun blogging mom at Life in a Shoe is hosting a natural toy giveaway. Check it out!

How cute are these Castle Blocks? Or this house?

Click here for the giveaway

Love Each Other

Ramblings

We've had an eventful week or two since I last updated. Most notably...

...my car broke down. Thankfully, my parents were headed out of town the day after my car died, so they let me use their van for about 5 days. What a life saver. JP was so busy with work, he wasn't able to even look at the car until a week later, but then was able to fix it pretty easily. We did, however, miss out on a few fun activities, including a long-anticipated trip to the planetarium in St. Cloud. Rae was so sad!

...my brother Micah graduated from Special Forces training (US Army) and received his GREEN BERET! Oh my goodness, we are so proud of him. They found out they will be stationed at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky, but first he's decided to go to Ranger school as well, so they'll be in North Carolina for a few more months yet.

...Ruby got sick AGAIN. I changed her sheets five times between 2-5:00 am on Sunday night and did three loads of laundry in the middle of the night. By Monday night she was back to herself, so I'm grateful it wasn't nearly as bad as last time.

...I've been keeping up with the "30-day Shred!" I'm still trying to do every other day, although I skipped Monday after the middle of the night barf escapades. ;)

A little Rosie Love for YOU!

Fairy Tales of a Dream

The other day, Rae told me she would like to write a book. She brought me paper and markers and wanted me to be her scribe and illustrator. She told the story, and I wrote it down and drew pictures.

I wish I had taken more time with it, because by the end I was cracking up. She is just too funny for me! My penmanship is the worst you'll ever see it, and I only passed art class because...how are you going to fail a student in art?

Nevertheless, here it is in all of it's glory: Fairy Tales of a Dream by Rae Charlebois

(*You can click on the images to enlarge them.)

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful heart. It had golden sparkles on it, and it also had a beautiful, big, red jewel heart that shimmered in the moonlight."

"But one day, a very big planet came to Earth with a space alien on it, rolling over the mountains and over the beautiful flowers, and it floated in big lakes. It made people really sad."

"Then there was a big castle. It was made out of playing cards, and the playing cards had hearts on them. And a very beautiful princess lived in it. She had sparkling earrings, a sparkling dress, and even a sparkling crown."

"The alien jumped on the heart. Then one day, the big planet rolled all the way to the princess' castle. The princess was outside. When she saw the planet coming, she ran inside. It almost broke the princess' earrings."

"The princess sprayed fire right at the planet, and then the planet kept on getting farther and farther away until it could no longer be seen. The heart was broken into one piece, but the castle was saved. THE END!"

I love you, Rae Rae! You make every day bright!

Moon Dough

Moon Dough.

This is what it looks like on the box:

And this is what it looks like in my kitchen:


This is what Rae requested for Christmas, and she and Ruby both LOVE it.


I, on the other hand, have a love/hate relationship with Moon Dough.


I guess it's the smiles on their faces that make it worth it. Most days. ;)

Upswing

I'm happy to say that Ruby is on the upswing. She is back to her old self, smiling, laughing, and picking on Rae. She still has mild diarrhea, but not as severe as before, and she's eating and drinking plenty.

Rae, on the other hand, spiked a fever of 101.6 last night. She didn't eat her dinner, either. I gave her some Tylenol and put her to bed. This morning her fever was down to 99.6 and she seems to be feeling better. She has complained of a tummy ache a couple times, but nothing has come of it (puking, diarrhea, etc.).

Rosie is oblivious to it all and as happy as can be! We're still praying the rest of us avoid this nasty bug.

Rosie living the high life

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In other news, I've started Jillian Michael's "30-day Shred." She's the lady from the TV show "The Biggest Loser." I'm probably crazy to announce this, because now I'll have all of you to hold me accountable. That's normally a good thing, but since I've never completed any sort of work-out commitment in my life, it could be a bad thing! It's really going to be more like the "60-day shred" since I'm only holding myself accountable to working out every other day.

My ideal goal is to drop 20 pounds, but I'd be happy with 15. :) Honestly, I don't keep a scale, because I have a history of obsessing over the numbers, so I'm really just going to go off of how I look, how I feel, and how my clothes fit.

I remember after Rae was born, the weight came off so easily. She was born on a Saturday, and on Wednesday I went to church in my regular jeans. I still own those pre-kid jeans. If I can fit into them comfortably, I'll be happy.

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Speaking of weight, Rae & Ruby went in for checkups a couple weeks ago. Rae was 41.2 pounds (87%) and 45" tall (99%). Ruby was 31.2 pounds (82%) and 35" tall (68%). They are growing so quickly.

I got highly irritated when the nurse told me that Rae was "at risk of growing up to be underweight." Funny thing is, last time they told me she was at risk of growing up to be OVERweight! If you ask me, SHE'S FOUR, PEOPLE. She's not at risk for anything yet. It's called a growth spurt. Kids have them. Leave mine alone.

Rae just had a growth spurt. She was in 3T clothes for a very long time, then she zipped right through 4T and is now in 5T. I swear, she only wore 4T for about 2 months. Now Ruby is in 3T and has millions of clothes, and Rae only has a few things that actually fit her!

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Rae just woke up; I'd better get back to being a mom!

Ruby is Sick (Warning: this post contains TMI)

Poor little Ruby has caught the stomach bug that has been going around. It started Friday with some loose stools, then yesterday (Sunday) she woke up in the morning with puke in her bed.

She puked again before lunch, ate barely anything, then went for a nap around 1:00 pm. I finally went in to wake her up at 6:00 pm! Unfortunately when I got to her room, I noticed that she and her bed were covered in diarrhea.

Into the tub!

Later that day she started small fever. She went to bed early and woke up today clean and dry (whew!). She still had a fever, so I gave her more Tylenol and she basically just sat around all afternoon. She had one scrambled egg for breakfast and didn't want lunch, but nibbled on some crackers. Sadly, she woke up from her nap covered in poo AGAIN. This time it was also in her hair. DON'T ask.

Back into the tub!

We watched Toy Story 2 and sat around some more. I thought we had made it through the day without throwing up, but then she started back up around 6:00 pm.

Please keep her in your prayers, and also pray that nobody else catches it. It really is heartbreaking to see Ruby this miserable and sad. I don't want the other girls to get it, and JP and I simply cannot afford to get sick right now.

Happy Valentines Day from the Charlebois!

Status Updates

Audra is...

...working on 2010 bookkeeping so we can file our taxes. This would be easier if we had done any bookwork at all the entire year.

...freezing because we had to open up all the windows today when the smoke detector went off. I had set the oven to "clean" and it got pretty bad. The house still smells.

...taking B Complex vitamins daily. It's supposed to help you deal with stress and winter blues. Cabin fever!!!

...needing spring to come A.S.A.P.

...making reservations to visit a planetarium with the kids.

...researching home school curriculum. We're starting Rae in the fall.

...attending the Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators conference in Duluth (for the first time) in April.

...cutting back on sugar for myself and especially for the kids. It's easy for me to tell them "no," and harder for me to tell myself!

...hoping the new Cinderella alarm clock I got for the girls will help keep them in their beds (or at least in their room) until the appropriate time in the morning.

...dressing Rosie in 9-12 month clothing!!! She's so LONG she needs the bigger sizes, even if the sleeves end up getting rolled a bit.

...thinking about getting another hair cut, this time with some bangs (not drastic).

...researching weight loss programs. Weight Watchers -- what does $20/month tangibly get me? Fitness Centers -- how on earth can I schedule 3 visits per week to get the insurance compensation with three kids? Curves -- why don't you have child care? Liposuction -- why can't I afford you?

...admitting: Today, February 5th, we finally took down our Christmas tree. It's been undecorated for a long time, just not taken down. Don't judge!

What's on your mind?

My Ruby

Happy 4th Birthday, Rae!

Today my baby girl turned FOUR. All I can think about is how wonderful she's made our lives.


We didn't have much planned for the day until our friend Etta asked if she and Rae could do some baking. Rae decided on a flower cake, and it turned out great!


It's hard not to get sappy and cliche on a day like today. I just can't believe how quickly time is flying by. I look at pictures from even just this past summer and she looks like a baby. She's so big, so thoughtful, so smart, and soooo funny. She is helpful and caring and loving.


Happy birthday, sweet Rae Rae. Mommy loves you with her whole heart.

And now, here are Rae's "Fourth Birthday Favorites."

Favorite Color: Pink
Favorite Food: Mac & Cheese
Favorite Drink: Berry juice
Favorite Princess: Cinderella
Favorite Show: (currently) Bubble Guppies
Favorite Book: Princess Bible
Favorite Song: Fruit of the Spirit song
Favorite Treat: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Ice Sculptures

Drawing inspiration from a display we saw outside the Maple Grove Community Center...


...the girls and I decided to make ice sculptures.


We learned about mixing colors, how water freezes ("see, the top is frozen, but if we jiggle it you can see bubbles underneath!"), and how salt will melt ice. They had fun learning!


Plus now we have some beautiful artwork shimmering in the sun outside our window. That was a fun project.

Killing Time

Hi there. :)

I don't really have much to say right now; I'm just killing time. I put the kids to bed and need to run out to the store in a minute (JP is home, don't freak out), but I always like to wait a few minutes before I leave to make sure they are asleep and not goofing off.

I had a wonderful and much needed dinner out with my mom, my sister, my future sister-in-law Becky and her mom on Monday. My brother Joe & Becky are planning a September wedding, so our "girls night out" focused on the wedding plans and ideas Becky has pulled together so far. Let me just say -- it is going to be absolutely beautiful. They booked this place. Uh. Mae. Zing. Watch the video, it's gorgeous. I wish I had known about this place when we got married. Drat!

I'm very bummed because my parents' church is hosting a big 30-year anniversary conference in March that we won't be able to attend. It's sure to be a big reunion of all of the people whose lives have been touched by the U of M campus ministry God put on my parents' heart 30 years ago. They rented out a resort in Wisconsin with a water park and everything.

I've been car-less all week. JP's van overheated just as he was leaving for work on Tuesday morning, so he had to transfer all of his tools into my van for the week until he could get time to work on it. He's in the shop right now; he says it's the radiator. He's such a good man to not get discouraged when stuff like this happens. When I met him, all he knew about working on cars was how to change the oil and fix a flat. Now he does all of the car repairs himself, which saves us so much money. He works so hard to provide for us.

I, in exchange, get to have a good attitude about not having a car and being stranded at home. It hasn't been so bad, although we do need groceries. But I hate grocery shopping, so this is working out!

Tomorrow Malachi, Zach and Anna (our nephews and niece) are coming over to hang out here while Missy attends her grandpa's funeral. I feel sorry for her; the pain of losing Papa is still so fresh, it's easy to relate; and I know she wishes Micah was here to go through this with her. He is on a month-long "mock deployment" right now, the last big test before he earns his green beret at the end of February. They have no contact until the "deployment" is over.

Speaking of Micah, could I be any prouder of my big brother? In a month, he'll be a full-blown Special Forces soldier.

I've stopped eating food after 9:00 pm in an effort to shed some more of this post-pregnancy weight. So far I haven't seen much of a difference. I've been doing it for a couple of weeks now. I remember this technique working really well after Ruby was born. God forbid I should actually have to work out to get back into shape.

Here's a couple funny quotes from Rae this week:

"Mom, Ruby doesn't know much things, so can I just tell her what to do?"

and my favorite (said to me while I was folding laundry):
"When I get bigger, I'll do everything and you can do nothing. You can just take a big, long break while I do all my things!"

Think I can get her to sign on the dotted line??!!?? :) hahaha

I'm loving American Idol again this season. I was hesitant about it with the new judges, but the J-Lo/Steven Tyler combo is cracking me up. I do wish S.T. would stop screaming every opportunity he gets, however. I don't know what it is about that show -- we originally started watching just for the bloopers, but then you get sucked in by the people with great stories, great voices, etc.

Well, for not having much to say, I sure filled a page. I should have ended on a deeper note than American Idol. Oh well. I'm off to the store. 'Night!

I am not an introvert

JP has this thing he loves to tease me about.

When we were first dating and I was in college, I took a communications course in which we studied the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. For those of you who aren't familiar, it's basically a personality type indicator. You can read more about it here.

When we were studying the section on Introversion or Extraversion, my professor explained it this way (roughly):

Introversion is when you draw your energy from within (eg: ideas, being alone, reflection, etc).
Extraversion is when you draw your energy from the outside world (eg: involvement, being with others, talking things out, etc).
It is possible to be a shy extrovert or an outgoing introvert. That part of the personality varies; what matters is from where you draw your energy.

I had never heard of an "outgoing introvert" before, but I liked the sound of it. I don't know, maybe I thought being an introvert meant you were "deeper," maybe even wiser, whereas extraverts were "shallow" and dependent.

So I dubbed myself Audra, the outgoing introvert: I'm outgoing and like to be social, but I draw my energy from being alone, reflecting and contemplating the depths of life. (I know, so poetic, right?)

JP just laughed at me when I told him. He asserted I was 100% extravert and was crazy to think otherwise.

I held my ground on this for a long time, and would even point out things to him to defend my stance. Things like, "See, I've been going and going with all of these social activities and I'm drained. I need to be home or alone to gain back my energy." He would laugh and say, "That doesn't make you an introvert. It just makes you tired and in need of rest."

Maybe he had a point, but I still wanted to be an introvert for some reason.


Fast forward 6+ years. I am a stay-at-home mother of three. I L-O-V-E my job and my life! I'm doing exactly what I always wanted to do since I was in middle school -- be a wife and mom. But one thing is very clear: I am not an introvert.

There! I said it!

It probably became clear to me about 2-3 months after quitting my job and staying home full time. We stay-at-home-moms have a lot of time alone. But not really alone. I constantly have three little bodies attached to my hip. I don't have a moment's privacy while they're awake, not even to change clothes or use the restroom (I can't remember the last time I even attempted to close the bathroom door -- it's pointless).

But even with constant companions, I get to feeling very alone. Alone, because I have very little adult interaction these days. After I get to see or hang out with another adult (it could be a girlfriend, a member of my family, whoever), I find myself counting down the days until the next time I get to be with another adult.

"Ok, today's event is over that means five more days until we go to grandma's house! I just have to make it through five days of Buzz Lightyear and horsey rides, then I can have another face-to-face conversation with an adult."

Pathetic, right? Pathetic extraversion. I need "social." Without it, I become edgy, impatient, crabby, and depressed. *sigh* ...so shallow.

And yet, I don't think I am alone. Because although we are mothers, we are also still women. And women need to feel like women every once in a while. You know, put on some heels and eat a warm dinner without stopping to get play dough out of the carpet.

Honestly, I'm not really pushy or naggy about getting out, but after a couple months of very little social interaction I start getting antsy not to get away from my kids mind you, but to just have an afternoon where I can put on an outfit that I normally wouldn't wear for fear of getting spit up all over it, or drink a full cup of coffee in one sitting without having to put it down and warm it up 4 times because I had to avert World War 3 over a Polly Pocket.


If I could do those things with my kids around, that would be even better! My children bring me immense joy, but it is very, very draining to have six big, blue, beautiful eyes that you just can't say no to, always looking to you to be their source for...everything. Their 24/7 source for entertainment, nourishment, comfort, health, companionship, and any other need you could possibly think of. What an exhausting, beautiful honor.


Anyhow...what was my point? Oh yes, extraversion. JP wins. Today, I am needing to "draw some energy" from the outside world. I've had enough alone time. And it's T-minus 3 days until I get to have a dinner out with my mom and my sisters. ;)

Thanks for listening to the ramblings of a Minnesotan extrovert mom with cabin fever.

Belated Christmas

Last weekend we finally had our belated Christmas celebrating with JP's Dad's side of the family. It had been postponed due to Papa's passing.

The big event of the weekend was a long-anticipated "Happy Birthday Jesus Tea Party."


The kids had received invitations for the tea party weeks ahead of time and were very excited about it. Gammy & Grampies did a great job with it, too. There were party favors and activities that all centered around being the "King's kids," and at the end all of the girls got matching princess tutus.

Poor Vinnie, can you blame him for not wanting to be in this picture?

Rosie in her tutu.

After the party the dads took the kids sledding.

Fun for all ages! (Uncle Scottie, our brother-in-law)

That night we exchanged gifts, and the kids all received matching aprons, lovingly made by one of Jim & Margie's neighbors. (Rae's hair has never been crazier than in this picture)


After the kids went to bed, the adults feasted on a delicious fondue dinner of chicken, steak & shrimp. We also tried out a new game we had heard about, telepictionary (also known as "eat poop you cat."). If you've never heard of it, look it up. It was tons of fun.

Johnye Rose -- 4 months

Today little Rosie had her 4-month checkup. She's grown to 15 pounds, 5 ounces (84%) and 25 1/2" long (90%).

When we got home, we celebrated with a photo shoot. :)


She is more fun every day. She giggles, is ticklish, squeals a lot and is very interactive. Her smile can change my mood in one single moment.


Her new favorite thing is to be gently tossed up into the air and caught. She lights up every time she sees one of us, and especially loves interacting with JP.


What would our lives be without her? We love you, Johnye Rose!

Papa

The last couple of weeks have been sad ones for the Charlebois family. JP's paternal grandfather and our beloved family patriarch, "Papa," passed away on Tuesday.


Last week, we got a call that Papa wasn't doing well. He had been in and out of hospitals lately and had finally taken a turn for the worst. The doctors told the family 24-28 hours. We hurried to his side that night.

Our time with him was bittersweet. We sat with him, held his hands, told him how much we loved him and how proud we are to be a part of his family. We told him how proud we are to carry the Charlebois name, and that we plan to name our firstborn son after him. JP recounted some of his fondest memories of times they spent together, including when Papa taught him how to crack a whip and fillet a fish.

Rae painted a picture for Papa and the Aunts hung it on his wall where he could see it. Rae also sang a few songs to Papa, and he smiled and told her how beautiful it was. We brought Rosie in to him, his youngest great-grandbaby, and he held her tiny hand in his. At one point, Papa even sat up in bed (even though he was in no condition to do so) and JP joked with him, "Are you trying to go to the store for a beer, Papa?" Papa smiled and somehow managed to reply, "Rum and Coke!"

Papa & his bride of 62 years, holding Rosie

Papa was an amazing man, fully devoted to the Lord, his family, and especially his loving bride of 62 years, Nana. Both of my grandfathers died when I was young, and we lived so far away from them that my memories of them are dim at best. So when I married into a family with such a wonderful patriarch, it was easy to take him as my own grandpa. He always treated each and every one of us as his most prized and cherished possessions, because to him, his family was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on.

He ALWAYS had time to play with his great-grandkids. Look at the smile on Ava's face!

It's hard to imagine what life will be like without Papa. My heart aches to think of a family gathering without him. He always brought his biggest smile and best jokes. But we are so thankful for the hope of eternal life, and that Papa is home with his Savior, free from pain and the suffering of this world.

We love you, Papa, and we'll see you again.