Opposites attract

So I have a firm belief in the "opposites attract" theory.  I have no empirical evidence of this, just a gut feeling based on my own experience.  Erik & I are opposites in just about everything non-important.  He's a lefty, I'm a righty.  He's got blue-green eyes, I've got brown eyes.  He's lucky . . .I am not.

Erik gets mad at me when I tell him he is "lucky."  I'm not really sure why, because he is the luckiest person I know.  You remember that Seinfeld episode where George's luck gets better, Elaine is the unlucky one, and Jerry always evens out - well, Erik always evens out - in fact, most times, he does better than even out.  It really never fails.  Tonight was no exception.

I am leaving Thursday night after VBS to go to my hometown to visit family.  Since tomorrow will probably be rushed, I thought tonight would be a nice night to grill some steaks, cook up some potatoes, and eat a nice meal with my husband after we put the kids to bed.  On the way to VBS, I stopped at a local grocery store, Friedman's, and picked up two big, juicy steaks.  A nice NY Strip for me and a Delmonico for Erik.  Yes, we have steaks in our freezer, but our steaks weigh in at about 3 ounces - if we are lucky - not exactly what you think of when you are in the mood for a good steak. 

The steaks were beautiful - or so I thought.  I brought them into the church with me during VBS and put them in the fridge there.  Remembered to get them back out and bring them home with me.  Get home, get the kids settled, and as Erik is putting them to bed, I break them out of the cellophane packaging.  I open Erik's and it is thick, firm and has a beautiful of pink marbling.  I open mine, a little giddy with anticipation of how good these steaks will taste and as I remove the cellophane, I notice two odd colored greenish gray spots that I didn't notice in the store because there was a large "USDA CERTIFIED ANGUS" covering them.  As soon as I saw the spots, I knew my dreams of a thick, juicy steak were over.  I put my nose to the steak and sure enough, it was SPOILED!  I could have cried - I was craving a steak all day.  What makes matters worse is that this is the third item I have purchased from that particular store that has spoiled!

I sucked it up, went down to the basement and defrosted a package of our Jersey cow Delmonico's for myself.

Here is the finished meal for Erik.  Erik selected tonight's fine china, by the way.  Doesn't it look so yummy?  Mmmm - and garlic roasted potatoes - it just hit the spot!

Here is my plate.  Yes, those are TWO Delmonico steaks.  They are about 1/4" thick and about the size of a deck of cards.  Usually we joke and say that our Jersey beef could be advertised as "perfectly portioned."  And it really is.  Most nights, this size portion is perfect for our family.  
But tonight I just wanted to cut into a THICK, Juicy, NY Strip.
See how one of my steaks fits on top of Erik's Delmonico?  Ridiculous!
How perfect is this meal?
Erik cuts into his steak . . .
Mmm. . . thick and juicy - and the perfect pink center (sorry for the blur).
Yum!
After discovering my rotten steak, I caved to the defeat and depression and cooked up something else I have been craving.  White cake with whipped white icing and fresh berries.  
Dessert:  It makes everything better.

A perfect summer day at the beach . . .

We spent the most glorious day at the beach Sunday.  That's right - even here in Western Pennsylvania, we are able to enjoy the beach!  Well, the beaches of Lake Erie that is.  

Erik informed me Saturday that he was thinkin' he'd take us all up to Erie for the day on Sunday.  It was supposed to be warm, beautiful and NO humidity.  The perfect summer day.  And it was!

The kids couldn't get over the vastness of the Lake (I admit that sometimes it awes me as well).  To look out across the water and see it meet the horizon - it is just like the "real" beach at the ocean.  So cool.  

You know how we all have an idea of how Heaven will be?  Well, in my imagination, I believe that part of one's experience in Ultimate Knowledge in Heaven will be being able to look back through time and see how things were hundreds and thousands of years ago.  I know, it is silly, but I bring this up because watching the boats on the Lake, explaining to Walker that huge, big ships can navigate this lake to ship supplies and goods across the country made me wonder what early settlers thought when they encountered these Great Lakes where they could not see the other shore.  Were they like, "Man!  There are oceans everywhere?"  or did they realize right away that it was a Lake?  Other things I wondered:

• Who figured out that they could float big ships on the Lakes? Did they start off with small canoes and then upgrade until one got stuck?  How did they know how deep it really was?  
• Did people hang out and enjoy days at the beach then the way we do now?
• How hot must it have been to wear a wool swim suit?  

So, like usual, I digress, but those were interesting questions that I will try to explore with the kids this week.  That's the beauty of having a computer - we can google some of these questions and get some answers!

Here are the photos from our day.  

Walker & Will work on digging a hole.  We tried to fill it up with water but the sand just filtered the water through.  
Erik, who hates hanging out in the sun, was such a good sport.  

Can you tell this guy wears pants year round?  Oh - see that little white patch between his tan arm and his sleeve?  He didn't realize that his shirt had pulled up and that little patch got sunburned.  Poor guy.  That & the tops of his feet.  
Maggie is showing off her her "castle."  I don't know where she learned about sand castles, but she wanted to make one.  Unfortunately, all we had to build it were the 5 gallon buckets Pop got them.  5 gallons of sand is too heavy to turn over in one piece - so we compromised and just piled up sand and she smoothed it all out.  She was happy which is all that mattered.
Maggie & Walker working on their sand projects.
Walker showing off his hole.
Kids playing with Erik in the water.  The water was pretty cold - or maybe I should say the sun wasn't too hot, so the cold water wasn't as refreshing as it could have been.  The kids were shivering every time they went in the water, but those little fishes kept on swimming!
Will got pulled back a little bit in the waves and was taken by surprise.  Can't keep him down though - he popped right back up and kept going.  He really enjoyed crawling around on his belly in the shallow waves.  
All the kids enjoyed belly crawling on the beach.
Maggie & Erik sort through the sand to find sea shells, glass or other beach treasures.  
Swimming like fish!  Walker wanted to know if there were any sharks in the water. 
Walker is digging for treasures too.
Will didn't mind putting his face in the water at all.
Will steals a drink of Daddy's cherry Coke.  
Even on his day off, Erik finds time to get his hands dirty and run the heavy equipment.
Beach toes:  Will
Beach toes: Walker
Beach toes:  Maggie
Will is trying to figure out how to lie back on his elbows like his brother.  He couldn't figure it out for the life of him.  It was hilarious to watch!
After our day in Erie, we headed home to Vacation Bible School.  As we left the church, the sun was setting and it was just too beautiful not to take a picture!  The perfect end to the perfect day.  I taught Walker that old saying about the sky - his version, "Pink sky tonight, sailor's de-night."  Tranlation: "Pink sky at night, sailor's delight."  I couldn't have said it better myself.

Two little girls and a slumber party

Thursday night was "boys" night.  The Schwalm brothers took their boys to the Big Butler Fair t0 watch the truck pulls.  Woo- hoo!  Talk about exciting times.

Maggie had no interest in going and yesterday afternoon, Erik decided Will would be able to go with him and not be too bored and cranky, so that left me alone w/ Maggie for the night.  So, I deviously hatched a plan to invite cousin Taylor to spend the night with us so Maggie would be occupied with a playmate and I could "cut" the playhouse walls and possibly prime them.  

It was a perfect plan.  And it worked!  Maggie and Taylor had the best time playing with each other.  I don't think Maggie has ever had such a long period of girl play in her life.  First on the agenda was a marathon dress-up session.  They had a blast trying on the different princess outfits and sporting these fancy hats.

And the conversations!  Soooo funny!   They played princess dress up and applied about 14 pounds of lip gloss.  Then they headed outside to the sandbox and play kitchen where they played "cake maker." (wonder where they got that idea)  At one point, Maggie said to me, "Momma, pretend Taywor is the big sister and I am the young sister."  

I had so much fun watching these girls play.  It was such a privilege to watch. 

When they finally finished playing, we picked up a pizza and watched Tinkerbell.  Those girls ate EIGHT slices of pizza!  I guess I must have starved them all day!  It was so sweet to watch them wolf down that pizza like ravenous beasts, lips smacking and sauce all over their faces, then 15 minutes later, they were snuggled up under a blanket together, eyes wide in awe of the magic of Tinkerbell - wondering if maybe, just maybe, the movie might have some elements of truth to it after all.  

As the credits of the movie rolled, the girls told me they were ready for bed.  I took them upstairs, tucked them in and threatened them, "No whispering and staying up late telling secrets!  Or I'll have to come up here and you'll be in trouble."  I don't think I even made it to the bottom step before I heard soft snoring coming out of that room.  

Being a Mom - it's the best ever!

Bravery and Fear

Last night we met up with our good friends, the Nichols, to ride the carnival rides at the Big Butler Fair.  The Nichols twins LOVED to ride everything!  They went high in the sky on this ride.Walker did enjoy riding this "roller coaster" with them but . . .

The Schwalm's are not really ride kind of people.  I hate that feeling of my stomach dropping and I get severe motion sickness - defeating just about every rides purpose.  Erik hates waiting in lines in big crowds.  When we hit the fairs and festivals, we usually stick to the animals, free side shows and the food.  It's just more simple that way. 

Will and his girl friend, Ella, were not big enough to ride the rides.  They were both a little miffed that they didn't get free reign of the midway.  Will wandered off once and was then locked into his stroller.  We gave them both a bottle of tea and they were happy.

But, the Nichols had special passes which allowed us to get ride passes for free for Maggie & Walker and since we didn't have to pay, we hit the midway for the rides.  Let me start off by saying that for a traveling carnival - these rides seemed well built and maintained.  I saw none of the built up grease, rusty parts, etc., that I remember seeing in the days of my youth.  

So, last night, our children, given the opportunity to ride all the rides, explored.  Walker remembers doing some of the rides before.  He is not fond of any rides involving heights and dropping.  This includes the long slides.  .  He has not been on a "big" slide since.  And when given the opportunity to do the slides last night, he declined.  This photo is from two years ago.  You can see from his face  how much he liked the slide.  (On a side note, doesn't he look like a chubby little fellow?  And back then we thought he was stick skinny.  Who knew he'd get even skinnier?!)

Maggie did not and she soon learned she does not like the big slides either.

She starts off Ok . . .

But half way through, she realizes she does not like going this fast.  She then gets to the bottom and is not exactly thrilled with the ride.  

She is determined not to cry, but you can see in her face that she wants to.  

"Maggie?  Do you want to do this ride again?

"NO!  I neber want to do dat ride again!  Neber eber!  Can we pwease go wide the horsies?"

Maggie & Walker enjoyed these nice, easy circle rides.  Here they are on the "speed boats." Check out that crazy "fun house" mural.  Not sure who exactly they are trying to attract to this fun house, but I think the murals are crazy, not attractive!  

Noah on the speed boats.

I'm sorry, Will, but you just can't be trusted.  And you don't meet the height requirements for any of the rides.  Next year you can ride.  And next year you will understand what I mean.  I do have a feeling that Will is going to be the Schwalm that will ride the rides!  He is our resident daredevil.  Don't even get me started on him.  I'm seriously considering making him wear a helmet daily.  He considers himself a big kid in a little boy body.  It can be quite scary.

Maggie & Grace on the speedboats.  Grace is practicing her "princess" wave for when they go visit the princesses in Disney World.

Walker enjoys the speed boats too.   Again, see that crazy lady on the fun house mural?  She looks scary to me - not like she's having any fun.  I certainly hope that's not what we look like when we are at the carnival!  

My non-biological first born children

This tall boy in the yellow shirt is my non-biological first born. 

 I met Alex when he was about the size of Maggie, seen to the right of Alex.  He was a beautiful and active preschool fellow.  He was/is smart and knows it.  This led to the occasional confrontation, but, being the wise, practically- perfect- in -every -Mary Poppins -way nanny, I was always able to give him a logical and stimulating reason for why we were doing things : 

 "BECAUSE I SAID SO!"  

I promise his parents were aware that I used that line.  In fact, if I remember correctly, they endorsed it.  

Alex is now a man.  I recently drove my three biological children across the state of Ohio to visit my non-biological first born on the occasion of his graduation party.  Here I am in my early 30s and my non-biological firstborn had the audacity to grow up and graduate high school.  He'll be returning "home" to Pittsburgh at CMU.  I am way too young of a mom to have a child in college.  The sad part of this story is that my parents were not much older than I am now when they took me, their firstborn, to college.  As someone in my early to mid thirties - I can't imagine being my age and taking my child to college.  Some days it seems as if I just finished college myself!  That is ridiculous! 

This taller boy in the white shirt is my non-biological second born, Drew.
Drew was the size of my third born biological child (seen below in a series of shots of Will attempting to slide down the bridge on the min-golf course) when I first met him.  I met Alex and Drew at the daycare Center I had just been hired at my sophomore year of college.  I had originally signed on to this agency to do nanny jobs, but they had asked if I would be interested in keeping some hours at the daycare, and since I wanted extra money, I said "Sure!"  I remember seeing Drew in Miss Jackie's toddler room the first day.  Something about him just drew (no pun intended) me to him.  He was so very shy - really didn't want to have anything to do with me.  I wheedled, cajoled and bribed him with endless rounds of "The Wheels on the Bus" and the "Barney" theme song to like me.  He was just so adorable that I had to be around him.  It probably sounds weird, but looking back now, I know that God's hand was in this attraction to him.  God had a plan for these magnificent boys to be in my life and He led me right to them.

My life was changed entirely by my fondness of this boy - and by his family which unofficially welcomed me into their family - much to the dismay of the father : ) 

I cannot begin to explain the difference these boys made in my life and how much I grew to love them and their family.   I am so privileged to have been a part of their lives.


Now my children have been blessed with getting to know them a bit by our visits with them.  I know I have grown apart from Drew & Alex.  I'm not a part of their every day life anymore like I once was - which is to be expected.  I at least know that they still think of me fondly - andthat my love for them is reciprocated - at least that's my interpretation based on the extra tight squeezes I get when I hug these boys - I mean men - goodbye.