Home with snow.

I love how a little snow can make everything look better. For instance, you can't see all the kids' toys, that were discarded some time in October, lying on the front lawn. Nor can you see that my once dark blue minivan is now a lovely "road salt gray." Oh I do love Christmas snow! Don't worry I'll be over it by January.

Physical Therapy

I had a reality check Wednesday, when I started physical therapy for my once-broken, now-mended foot.

I apparently have the leg strength of an average 7-year-old.

After I took the strength test, the physical therapist had to go check with a collegue that the machine wasn't malfunctioning. "Could this possibly be right?" she asked. The other PT (also a 20-something cutie) said, "Hmmm, I think so. Do the other leg and see if it's similar." WELL, the other leg (with the afore mentioned broken foot) was only 60% as strong as the first! Does this mean my left leg has the strength of an average 4.2-year-old?

Okay, so maybe I haven't worked out in 2 years. Maybe I haven't done anything at all for the last nine weeks, but come on, I carry a 28 lb boy around all the time. I run up and down the stairs looking for clean laundry, missing Pokemon and my BlackBerry at least 20 times a day.
Does this count for nothing? Apparently.

Excuse me, I hear that 28 pounder crying. I need to use my sadly withered legs to carry my almost 38-year-old ass upstairs.

Grandma's 87th Birthday

The Bronson side of the family all went to the Lucerne Inn for a birthday brunch for Grandma's 87th birthday! Rubie had the camera, and this is what she took...

Halloween is Over...but we had fun!

I went Trick or Treating with Penny Pinkleton (from Hairspray), a cowboy, a princess and Indiana Jones! (and a Jedi Knight, played by my handsome, albeit dorky husband!)

Happy Halloween!

Can you guess which pumpkins were carved (or designed) by which family member?

I have broken my foot.

Going to the store with three kids and a broken foot:

Put one year old and four year old in cart.


Let seven year old have the "special helper" job of pushing the cart. ( I left the ten year old at home.)


Try to keep up with the speedy seven year old, while new at this crutches thing.


Scream, "Stop, there are cars coming!" three times before even reaching the store.


Apologize to all the old ladies who get hit by the cart with the seven year old pushing.


Tell the four year old, "No, you have to stay in the cart. No, you cannot push the cart."


Fail miserably with this, and end up with the four year old, out of the cart, pushing the one year old headlong into a display of canned goods.


Apologize profusely to the store manager.


Ignore the one year old's cries to be carried through the entire check out process.


Finally leave the store, head hung in shame.


Go home and have a big glass of Merlot.


I actually found out today that I don't need a cast. I have a big boot thing on it for the next 5 weeks. I can walk on it, which is really good because the crutches were awful!

Kollman's Krazy Punkins!

The kids have opened a pumpkin selling business! Come on over and get yourself some!

To each child, what they can handle!

I just told Rubie she was "extremely annoying." Great mothering, huh? Fortunately, Rubie is non-plussed by these types of comments....on the other hand, Reggie would go to his room and cry for a day or two if I had said the same to him. Lily would laugh and continue the annoyance; hey, it got her attention! We'll see about Henry...

Lily

Lily is quite a human being! She can belt out a Broadway tune like no 4-year-old I've ever met! She loves to cuddle and to play, but is often quite serious. Being the third in the family, she can compete with the big kids when it comes to getting her way. She doesn't like to pose for pictures, so it's difficult to show what a beautiful girl she is! She also has a very funny way of talking, she sounds like she has a Brooklyn accent!

Reggie

Reggie is a great guy! He loves to hike and his best smiles can be found on top of mountains! He's way too hard on himself, and would tell you that he's not really good at anything (except video games, of course). But, I know him to be a wonderful reader, a very fast runner and a clever puzzle-solver. Reggie would make any mother proud, he's a sensitive and caring 10-year-old boy!

Rubie

Rubie is the sweetest girl. She always rushes to help a sibling in distress, is kind and amazingly generous. However, don't cross her! She has a quick temper and you'll know it if you've upset her!

Henry

This is Henry. Inquisitive, sensitive, sweet, rascally rabbit!

Okay, I'm here...I'm writing something...

Margaret, I just read your blog. I feel ya baby! Some days I don't know how we all live through it.

I will post, I will post......maybe later, Lily is yelling "Mammmmaaaaaa, I can't find any clean underpants!!!!!!!!!"

Spring has sprung!

What a week will do! Last week I was wondering if the snow would ever melt and if spring was really coming! It's here, finally! I'm outside in a short sleeve shirt, yippeeeee!

Sisters can be merciless...

Okay, I was going to post some pics and write something this morning. However, after trying to get my camera's memory card into the slot for about 10 minutes, I discovered that I had removed the camera's battery, not the memory card. So here I was trying to upload my weekend pictures ( a manuever I've done at least 1000 times ) and I could not figure out why the card would not go into the slot. It's the battery, genius...I think it's too early to blog...maybe later...

Hmmmm, A Blog

I've decided to try this blogging thing...I was thinking that maybe it could be like a virtual scrap book, since I have proven abysmal at scrapbooking! ( I think I'm up to November 2004 in a photo album)

I am inspired by the Speidel Family and the EddyBlouins. I have been reading their blogs and now here I am.

Hey Lily, if you kick at that ice long enough, it might actually go away!