Time

It seems to be going by too fast lately. Working full time will do that, unfortunately. Fortunately, I do enjoy my work. Not as much as I enjoy being with my kids, but it does make my time with them all the sweeter! I was thinking that I'd start adding some "reminisces" from over the years as this blog will hopefully be a way for the kids to look back when they are adults. Odd to think of how the internet will change the way we pass along family history. There will be no denying some things! So last night William asked me to get him some "buggle gum". He and Ben both love "buggle gum". They also like "great nuts" in their yogurt. It got me thinking about some of the good ones the older two had when they were the little ones (so long ago, yet so recent!). My favorte to this day remains the "beavers" they used to get when they were sick (you know, when your temperature rises?). And when lij was big enough to use the potty, his sister said "He needs a rooster seat" They used "blue" to make paper stay together when doing arts and crafts, and loved to eat "racaroni and cheese" for lunch. ...................................... I remember another time when Ben was a newborn and I had him in an infant swing while I worked around the house. Ana and Lij were just doing their thing and playing. At one point I picked Ben up and put him in his crab. Moments later Ana ran to me in a panic, "MOMMY! BENJI'S GONE!!!!!!!!!!" ........................................ Here's one that still blows my mind. When Ana was 15 months old I had my first OB appointment for my pregnancy with Elijah. Brian was holding her and the doc had the doppler on my belly. The sound of the heartbeat filled the room and Ana signed "baby!". HOW DID SHE KNOW? That summer she also saw Grandma and Grandpa bring their boat and fish in our lake; the following spring, when she was newly two, she looked out the window and signed "boat, grandma" (meaning she remembered the year before, when she was one). Wow! She was something. Still is. This morning they played restaurant (because I went grocery shopping after work last night so they were on a mission to eat it all) and she made two different menus, one for kids and one for adults. She CHARGED her brothers for their meals. The OB appointment thing reminded me of something else. The first time she met Elijah she was 20 months old and was put up beside me on the bed in the hospital. Someone handed us baby Elijah who was bawling his little head off (already disagreeing with things). Ana, a firm believer in a good Nuk solving all of one's problems, pointed at her newly arrived brother and signed "Nukkie". She thought he needed one. He never did get one, as he was the first Schurman brother to pioneer the art of thumb sucking, a tradition that has passed from thumb to thumb and is still going strong in his successors. .................... Big news for Ariana, Ben, and I. We are going to see Little House on the Prairie: The Musical at the Guthrie in the end of July!!!!!!!!!!!!!! July is going to be a huge month for ana--she has so much going on. I'm encouraging her to relax while she can but she is antsy to continue with her summer adventures. I digress. We are very excited about the play; myself in particular because Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura in the TV series, is starring as Ma! And...and....and....our seats are row D, center!!!! This was all set up with a friend of mine from Canada who also has a large family headed by one little girl. They are traveling down to Minnesota for it and invited us to join them. So, a great adventure awaits. Oh, Elijah was asked first and he declined, so Ben was asked and happily accepted. I'm looking forward to the time with him as well as to meeting our Canadian friends. ....................... Ana and Lij went to a birthday bash yesterday at their friend Allie's. I love it that they are close enough in age and relationship that they share the same friends. They had a great time. I talked to Ana on the phone afterward and I asked her if Lij behaved (cuz he was getting bucky beforehand about not wanting to swim in their pool, lest someone see his swimming trunks) and she said "he got kinda wild but so did Allie". Then she was telling me about the family's nice house etc. I asked if Allie had a nice bedroom and she said "I don't know, i didn't see it, but Lijah did, and he said it's really cool". So lij was in the bedroom playing barbies and whatnot with her while the others were elsewhere....LOL. We also had Stacy, Henry, and Kate over to swim on Wednesday. That's always a great time as we all enjoy them. Stacy has a sense of humor, which is something that can be hard to find in my age group (why?). I was holding Zac and he kept farting and I said "I wonder if you aren't constipated" and Stacy turned around and said "who???????????" (because it sounded like I was saying it to her). Their move is imminent and they are awaiting some final information before they make their final plans. They will be moving down to Okoboji, Iowa, which is near the Minnesota border. Ben and I already plan to go down there for his birthday and spend the night in a hotel, just the two of us. It will be great. Zaccy finally added tooth #4 and took a big shit and now all is well in his world. Nothing new with Wils...............he likes to mess with me and gets me laughing every time. He likes to ride his trike and he likes to play with his dump trucks. I am so excited to give him his birthday presents, another dump truck, and bulldozer. He asked the other day if we could please just get his birthday cake now too. Well..................I guess that's enough for now. Til next time!