Where have we been?

Alright, alright...it's been a couple of weeks since the last post and I apologize for the boring, long delay. I have to admit that sometimes I'm just "written out", especially if it's been a heavy writing week (or two) at work. Anyhoo, the ribclan has included lots of exciting events over the last couple of weeks:

1) Oscar party 2007! Weekend without kids!
Well...the snow storm hit, and it prevented some red carpet arrivals (a bummer, of course--especially for Linnea's visit) but when there's 1-2 feet of snow falling, safety is first! I took the Friday before the party off to prepare, but spent most of the day taking care of a feverish little boy who came home from daycare. Funny thing, though, is once the tylenol kicked in, he was good as gold. ribB still took the kids up to the cabin for the weekend, and I spent a lot of time cleaning (now I'm wondering why I didn't relax more, but...). I did go and see the movie "Music & Lyrics"--what can I say. I'm a sucker for a Hugh Grant movie and I'll tell ya, if you loved 80's bands, the opening 5-10 minutes of the movie had me laughing through tears. Let's just say they nailed the typical 80's music video. Very funny.

On Oscar Sunday, the TV's were set to E! very early and final preps were put into place. As you may know, I create a menu based on the best picture nominations. When possible, I try to use something from each movie, and this year I actually got off pretty easily for my menu:
Beverage: The Departed Cranberry Punch! (Leo's character has a thing with cranberry juice)
Appetizer: The Queen's tea sandwiches (cucumber mint and egg salad)
Main Dish: Little Miss Chicken (for Little Miss Sunshine; the mom in the movie has an affection for KFC)
Side Dish: Rice From Iwo Jima (it was a good day in the army camps when they got rice)
Dessert: wedding cake (from Babel)

Overall, the award ceremony and fashions were good, and I many of you made it out for the evening--thank you! Some surprises, some non-surprises. The best pics and, therefore, directors this year were really a strong bunch. I really enjoyed all of the movies, which I can't say for the past year's nominations. It was fun to go into the awards not having a clear front runner (based on previous critics/guild awards, which often show a clear favorite). That said, though, I was not surprised about The Departed or Martin Scorsese's wins...the Oscars are full of "make-it-up-to-you" awards, and he was long overdue.

Alright, post Oscar mania, our family has done the following things:
1) ribB had a boys weekend away with his co-workers/friends up north at the cabin. Beyond the fact that he had to use a canoe paddle to get through the snow drifted up against the door/windows of the cabin, he had a great time playing lots of cards, shooting, ice fishing and casino-ing it.
While he was gone, the kids and I had a good time sledding in the second foot of snow we received (man was it hard to walk up and down a hill in knee-high snow carrying a 35 pound little boy!), making a snow man and also having a birthday dinner with Grandpa Paul.

2)Kdee had her spring parent-teacher conference and received some really nice compliments. As one of the youngest in her class, it's become a pattern to see her social skills take some time to catch up to the rest of the class (afterall there's quite a difference between a young 6 year old and a 7 year old!). Her teacher was very positive about how she's doing, especially academically, which is great. One of ribB's coworkers watched little B for us so we could just focus on Kdee, who came with us (last time he was a wild banchee, so it was a bit distracting to say the least).

3) Ahhh...snow days and illness. Our work schedules were a crazy balance of caring for kids and being responsible employees :-). Kdee's school was closed a couple of days for the snow, and little B was a sick monkey for a good week and a half. All of this juggling and shorter nights of sleep created a need for some time out together as a couple....and

4)The return of Ann! Our fave babysitter, Ann, babysat for us on Friday night after Kdee's karate class. The kids were excited to have her over, since it had been a couple of months. Little B didn't get to play much since it was close to bedtime for him, so Kdee took full advantage of the girl time. When we got home from dinner, Ann promptly showed us the photos she took of her "make-up" time with Kdee. Let's just say that Ann looked a bit like a clown, but Kdee was really proud of the results. As always, Ann was extremely great with the kids and such a good sport. RibB and I enjoyed a couple of hours away from the kids . We were in need of a break, and even though it was a short one, it was nice.

5) On Saturday (3/10), Kdee and I went to get her hair cut and did a girl movie date. One of the local theaters does a special kids movie every Saturday Jan-March for a reduced price ($2.50) and free popcorn! What a deal. We saw "Happily N'ver After", a twist on Cinderella and other fairy tales. It was nice to get time alone with her--she really is growing up so quickly.

6) On Sunday (3/11) we had lots of visitors: Matt, ribB's youngest sister's fiancee', stopped by for a visit and lunch. The kids had a blast playing with him and are still talking about how fun he was. My mom stopped by for a quick visit and let us get out for 1.5 hrs. We went to a local bar/restaurant to watch a bit of the Badger basketball game, which felt like the "old days"...I think we could have sat there a long time! What a treat. Later that night, our good friend, Brian R-H, came over for dinner. His family, our RA friends who live in LA, are moving back "home" and we are thrilled. Brian started his job here in January and his wife/children are finishing out their school years down in LA (she a professor, a son in elem. school). It was great to catch up on the many things they are doing to get "settled" up here and we made a nice list of fun things that our families can do together once the entire R-H clan is moved up here this summer.

7) Little B freaked/grossed us out with a couple of dislocations of his thumb last week...or as he called it, "my finger fell off". As fast as it would look dislocated (after a fall or while in the tub), it would go back into place. According to our Dr., this can be normal for toddlers and he will probably out grow it (it's something to do with the ligament supporting his thumb). Very weird!

8) Our first family weekend at the cabin this past weekend was a welcome hint of the summer to come. We had a great St. Patty's Day get together with Uncle Bart/Aunt Donna/family and Carl/Rose/family. It was a blast. Lots of Irish food (even for good Germans like me and Carl) and silly Irish drinks like "Wild Irish Rose". We can't wait for more weekends like this past one with everyone...especially when warm weather, running water in the cabin, and water play is involved!

I'll try to post some pictures soon...the camera has been a bit on a hiatus lately. I hope you're all well and enjoying the extra hour of sunlight each day!