Father's Day 2009

For some reason Mother’s day and Father’s day are important days to me…more important than birthday’s or even BBQ holidays…they are days set aside just to show appreciation for those special people. Too often people don’t have a special mother or father to celebrate for many reasons…
I think that is why it is so important to me…NOW…that we are raising two little girls under our own roof by our own rules. After all, these girls are blessed more then they realize. Ben and I are NOT perfect but we each try our best, I’m sure we are making our fair share of mistakes but we have a lot of time to learn our lessons and hopefully turn out two pretty decent kids.
So Father’s day at our house went a little like this….
I had planned to make homemade cinnamon rolls with the girls and have them ready for when Ben woke up or at least came out to the kitchen…I was up no problem…Ally too! Natalie on the other hand had climbed into our bed at some early hour and was strewn across our bed in ALL directions. I nudged her around 7:40 to see if she would wake up right away…and she said,
“mommy I will do it all by myself when I wake up”
Well, she slept another 28 minutes just long enough for the rolls to bake…she did wake up in perfect time to give daddy his card and Ally held his present…she was hesitant to try the cinnamon rolls…but did finally give them a try. Ally on the other hand decided to try them immediately and then pecked at Ben’s fork like a baby bird until his rolls were all gone…
Thankfully we are feeling well enough to meet my dad for a pizza picnic at a local vineyard…it will be our first trip outside in 3 days…the sickies are hopefully getting ready to leave the building!
Hope you all celebrated well with your fathers!

Come to TEA with me and the fairies...

I have been waiting almost 4 years to take Natalie to this special TEA. We first noticed it driving home to my mom and dad's house. It seemed so magical...hundreds of little girls running in a garden filled with flowers and little bridges, and tulle wrapped tea chairs and canopies...such a dream.

Summer's past is a place that you just can't drive by...it calls for you to stop and explore and see all the special things that they have to share...they have a homemade soap and spa shop where they also give soap making classes...they have a fantastic coffee shop near their garden where people can sit and rock and enjoy the magical mornings...they have a fairy shop with wings and halos and wands and all things imaginary, they also sell herbs and flowers and huge array of special things for your garden...they do weddings and special events and this year was OUR year to share their annual Calling of the Fairies...Of course you couldn't miss the Fairy of the Ceremonies....

I wanted to wait until Natalie was old enough to explore and be amazed for herself...I wanted her to be curious and in LOVE with the idea of going and maybe seeing a REAL fairy...here she is looking for a REAL PURPLE fairy...

We had a great time! I invited my mom, sister and Aunt Diane to come with us...we all shared a tea table (next year we decided a picnic would be just fine). There was a fairy garden contest and Natalie couldn't get enough wandering...she kept saying "This one is my most favoritist of all" They really were cute, all with their own little fairy hidden inside...Natalie would ask you what the fairy's name was and I would have to make one up...maybe one year we can make our own fairy garden.... here are all her choices...

It was a special morning with the BIG girls...Allison can wait until next year....then Natalie will have a fairy dancing partner for the fairy band...Here is some weird fairy move...maybe a greeting?

Strader European Vacation Part 4

Ireland...Irish eyes are a'smilin'

We originally were going to spend a whole week in Dublin because Ben was going to host a class there...well after only 3 or 4 students enrolled for the class he moved them over to the London class and we shorten our stay to 3 or 4 days. I had found a really nice apartment with some help from my Irish friend living in the Dublin area. It was going to be perfect!

We ended up at a decent hotel, kid friendly with an excellent restaurant. The bus stop for transit into the city was right out front (more on this later:) and it was in a great area of Dublin! We flew on Ryan Air, for only 1 pound...Ally was 20pounds (go figure) then come the fees...5 pounds for a suitcase, 10 pounds for airport check in, 3 pounds for priority boarding...all in all it was about 75 pounds pretty cheap.

We took a cab to our hotel and "relaxed" realizing now that relaxing really isn't part of a vacation with two toddlers in tow. We found the bus stop just fine and made it into the heart of Dublin. I had arranged a Double Decker "hop on/hop off" bus tour of Dublin...perfect for the kids! We found it no problem and enjoyed it the whole day....

We saw the Dublin castle...sort of disappointing unless we missed something...

We toured the Guinness factory- YES WITH KIDS! It was actually one of the best things we did all day with them. Not that we wanted to promote beer to Natalie we left that part out...she enjoyed the barley display where she could touch and taste and play with the "raw" barley...also the huge water display where we got a great snapshot of the family...also all the "mini" movies here and there. She enjoyed the Guinness Chocolate muffin from the snack shop and the big elevator ride up t o the "glass castle" where we tried our complimentary Guinness beer...we took some great pictures up there and I nicknamed it "The only sunny spot in Dublin".

These are the glass walls which make up the building The Gunniess Family picture:)

We also saw Trinity College, stopped at Temple Bar and all the cool shopping spots and touristy places...even though it looked cold in our pictures it wasn't too bad except for when it rained every hour for 10 minutes...then it would stop then wait another hour and rain some more...

I love this one with Ally's head in front of Trinity College...

Back to the convenient train stop just outside our hotel....so we were tired - let me elaborate...I was tired, and had Ally in the sling who was asleep...so I was carrying an extra 25 pounds or so...Natalie was tired but just enough so she was constantly whining and dragging her feet along the ground in her stroller...Ben was pushing and he wasn't happy, his feet hurt as usual, and he has a REALLY BAD sense of direction and WON'T ask anyone which way he should go. He doesn't even like me to ask...nor does he trust my sense of direction which is usually 97% accurate. He was choosing to walk in the direction he thought we should go..(sigh) I knew it wasn't the right way...(sigh)...but he seemed determined...I pointed out a few times where the bus stopped and we could wait...he didn't seem impressed by this information. He finally got frustrated enough to ask (I mean yell at me) to lead the way...as I was doing this (in the correct direction) he was criticizing my sense of direction and insisting we were going the wrong way...he was too tired to flat out disagree I think he was happy just whining...oh wait...I wonder where Natalie learned it...(I do my fair share of whining as well - but this making for a great story isn't it?)...So there we are a family of four...all pooped out and WALKING home...I keep pointing out landmarks to Ben to assure him I have a stellar memory...hiding my grin to myself. Finally I get us pretty far from the city and quite close to the hotel but I reached an intersection and I truly didn't know which way to go so I stopped and looked at my tired family and asked Ben if he wanted to take a cab? Of course he was still NOT convinced that I had gotten us any closer...we hopped in a cab WITHOUT car seats...praise the Lord we are all OK! and in 3 miles we were back to our hotel....for the record I had taken the correct route and was so happy because even at times I was not convinced hence my offering up a truce by asking for a cab ride.

Lesson learned...even if the bus is easy to catch FROM the hotel doesn't mean it is easy to catch the RIGHT bus back to the hotel.....

This was the pivotal evening....we had arranged a hotel babysitter, Karrie, from the front desk to babysit while we ate at the hotel restaurant...I did say how delicious it was right? Ben though I was a freak when I asked to see Karrie's picture ID...I wanted to know her last name...that was all...we went downstairs for dinner and enjoyed some salmon and steak....this was when we decided to make changes to our travel plans....first we thought sunny - where in Europe could we find sun...we looked at Italy and Spain and Greece...then thought Club Med...with kid programs and promises of "relaxation" we'd pay anything for that right about now...We found a few good deals and then none of the airfare matched up..either the locations weren't offered from Dublin, or we need too many changes...anyhow this is how we wound up choosing our next location...I found us tickets $$$$cheap to go from Dublin to ???? and Ben jumped on it! Done!

The next day Ben suggested we do something totally for the kids...so I found a children's museum not far from our hotel...it was the BEST children's center EVER! It was modeled like a mini city for kids...it had an auto garage, doctor's office, library, diner, grocery store, a butcher, post office, bank, televising studio, a news anchor desk, construction zone, a HUGE dollhouse, 3 story climbing/imaginarium play structure, a fantastic kid friendly cafe...I can't say enough check out those pictures! TOO much fun...they also had a spot for Ally so she could play safe too...Ally was just learning to walk at this point so she is "free" a lot of the time.

We packed our bags the next day and headed back to the airport---heading to the USA!

P.S. we were suppose to be heading to Scotland instead via a ferry and see a castle...but we took the "Choose Your Own Adventure" route and decided to do something different:) Next time Scotland...

Strader European Vacation Part 3

So we survived the flight and even the adjustments to London and Ben's work schedule. On Sunday the girls and I waited patiently around the hotel for Ben to finish and pick us up to go and see/stay with Taz's mom and dad, Di and Robin.
Fortunately for everyone involved we managed the 45 min. drive with ease and arrived to the sweet familiar sway of an American flag on their gate. We were so happy to see a swing and a teeter toter, a bouncy ball, a whole kitchen of toys, and a house complete with crib, toddler bed, highchair and all! This truly was the saving grace of our trip! The bathtub was enough to keep the girls happy...Notice the very English faucet...



Ben stayed over and had to leave for two more days of work, the girls and I stayed on with Di's help and fantastic cooking. In fact when Ben couldn't make it over for dinner the first question was "What is Di making?", not I'm sorry you'll have to go it alone, or I miss the girls so much...just what delicious dinner will I missing out on.



Natalie and Ally slept so well, and ate fantastic dinners, they had a few playmates come over - We walked through the "magical forest" and saw the beautiful blue bells...which only grow in ancient forests of at least 1000 years old...amazing...



Robin and Di's house was 300 years old (the white front part)...and they took us to church which was 800 years old and still have the original door...This is where Natalie found out what gravestones were.


We met so many animals in the country naughty taughty was the turtle...then Bumble and OScar came with us to the bluebells....also the odd horse, chicken and rooster!

One of the days just the girls went on a shopping mission and Di took us to this little walking village where Natalie got fitted for a new pair of shoes and I bought some special gifts....we had a nice lunch a small cafe and this was the view from one of the little bridges...

We had such a great time staying with Di and Robin...Ben joined us after work was through and soon we were off to Ireland...Ben wanted to stay on with them in the country but those that know me understand my agenda and all the plans that I had made...

The Strader European Family Vacation-Part Two

London

We stayed in a Holiday Inn just outside London near where Ben was teaching. We ventured out for the first time and rented our own car from the airport along with a trusty Navigation system.

The car was great! The Sat Nav, as they called it, was not so great...and what do you do with a rental car in London and no Sat Nav? Get lost, get car sick and throw up, then have an argument in front of your kids (they were sleeping but it makes the story better) you also call someone you barely now and pay for a 20 min foreign phone call to talk you through the directions....

Once we got the "hang of driving" and we decided I couldn't scream every time I felt like we would run off the road or hit something Ben "pinched the curb" I wanted to say "I told you so" soo bad but didn't, he had to change the tire so I am sure he figured it out...besides I knew for sure he would be EXTRA careful after changing a tire so I guess it worked out for me in the end.


Our first night was like an all night slumber party...we tried to stay up as late as we could, after our 9 hour flight turned into almost 13 hour flight...we managed to stay up until 5pm. Then we all crashed! At 10pm we were all up again, as if it were morning...TV on, toys out, calling room service for food. Around 1 AM the next door neighbor banged on our adjoining door, I guess he didn't just arrived from America with two little kids??? Sorry:)
By 2:30 everyone was settled down again and we slept "in" till 10...this part, for those of you ever adjusting to UK's 8 hour ahead time clock, didn't go so bad...

The next day we headed to LegoLand...I'm sure I know what your thinking...why would we travel all the way to England to visit a park that is right around the corner at home? Strategy my friends...we were able to keep the girls up and busy and HAPPY! A round of applause please! We even found a really cool, really American, restaurant to eat nearby our hotel! SUCCESS!

Ben's classes did go really well, and he taught an extra day then what we expected...we are happy to have had this new contact and WILL be going back if they will have us! While Ben set things up Natalie and Ally did some playing in a HUGE park like setting with GYNORMUS dandelions...the biggest ones I've ever seen!

Another day I took the girls by myself, armed with only one stroller and a sling, onto the train and into downtown London. Once I figured out how to park the car (a whole other car story) we rode the 30 min train in with ease...I must have taken a wrong turn out of Waterloo train station because I ended up walking through a tunneled alley way covered top to bottom with graffiti art. I was convinced myself London is just so artsy and this kind of walkway was totally safe over here...you know London being so edgy and all. There even happened to be a group of "artists" painting a new space...they smiled? Seemed friendly, the spray paint fumes were a little strong. I didn't realize I had taken the "wrong" way until my way back to the station, whereby I came the regular route, with people and sunshine...there should be a bit in the tour book about not walking down strange graffitied tunnels - I wanted to take a picture, I guess it is good I didn't..When we surfaced to sunlight, Natalie said..."Mommy that was a little scary" I agreed with her - even though I never once felt unsafe at the moment...it was retrospect that I thought hmmm probably shouldn't have done that...however on the return trip I managed to get both girls so tired they slept the whole way home...see me in the train station:)

We ended up picnicking at the park just below the London Eye...we played at the awesome playground there! Then visited the Sea Life Aquarium...the girls slept the whole journey home and I was back to pick up Ben ON TIME! Not so bad!

We returned to the same fantastic kid friendly restaurant we even requested our same waiter...

The Strader European Family Vacation-Part One

We are a traveling family! Lots of our friends haven't taken their kids on an airplane, a road trip or even a camping trip...come on people what are you afraid of? Read on....you may be VERY afraid and let it be known...you have been WARNED!

It all started innocent enough...Ben had to teach some raceheads who all speak a bunch of different languages. I figured I could keep the girls busy and then we would start a little family vacation afterwards. I had the trip planned down to all the last details. That was exactly where I went wrong. When traveling with children keep no mind to details...they will waste you money!

Our flight...we have flown overseas a handful of times. Each time has been a piece of cake - I am serious. Natalie is a great sleeper and often times will sleep the WHOLE 10 hours...I should have known we were in for it when I realized I had NEVER booked our flight a mere 4 days before we were to leave. So thanks to my mom we salvaged, 4 tickets last minute on expedia.

We made it on the plane and had just gotten the girls down to sleep when we realize there was a drunk women swaggering down the aisle, drinking the bottle of hand soap from the airplane restroom...that's odd! Then she was taken to the rear of the plane (just the row behind us...she is searched (found to have Ambien and seems she has taken 8 of them, among other prescriptions) She is speaking to people who aren't there and tried to crawl away while barking and biting the flight attendtant's ankles. Quite entertaining really, not with 6 hours left in our flight. So she ends up getting handcuffed to the seats in the row behind Ally and I and her medical volunteers (who happened to be as lucky as we were) kept a comical eye on her antics. We had to make a u-turn, to the USA. Bangor, Maine to be exact. Here the police came on board to arrest her - she had a big surprise when she came to and wasn't in London. We should have known we were in for an adventure with a start such as this...

We (heart) Ally

Our little Ally is special in so many ways and she wants us to know it!

It all started when we were "trying" to get pregnant. As most know things didn't go well for us and we experienced two losses before being blessed with Ally. Then I was thrilled with the thought of a second attempt at natural child birth - Ally had other plans...she was discovered breech at 37 weeks and didn't move...AT ALL!

When she was born we learned of her Ptosis...AKA droopy eye...and will continue to monitor that (upcoming appointment in June). And now at her one year check up we learn of her irregular heartbeat. Sending us back into a panic...but I realized something while emailing my cousin about how hard it is to organize an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist...

"I am fairly certain our lives will be unchanged by Ally's heart...she is simply proving she is the more sensitive one...she was harder to conceive, stayed in a breech position resulting in a repeat C-section...she was born with her special eye which we have to monitor and now her special heart...

After Natalie, miss independent, stubborn (in a good way:), thrill seeker and never cries when hurt....I am blessed with one who needs me a little more and who I can baby a little longer..."

It truly is a blessing for God to give us the ability to see all things in a positive light. Even when we are down and the world is heavy on our shoulders I often hear God speaking to me and telling me all the ways I am blessed through these tough times...I am beginning to feel I am His positive messenger..always seeing His good works.Please pray for Ally, for her heart to be strong and for these doctors to understand my fear and worry. As of now our appointment is scheduled for July 6th...unless her regular doctor, who detected it, feels she needs to expedite the exam. My prayer is that we can KEEP the July appointment because then the doctor isn't worried. My other prayer is that when we go into see the cardiologist he finds nothing wrong, because God will have already healed it.