Flooring

Scott and I FINALLY agreed on a floor for the downstairs. We also started installing this flooring and I am happy to announce that there were not any level five fights and we are still married. Seriously though, Scott and I have completely different ideas on how to approach life. These different ideas translate into everything: driving, painting, laundry, loading the dishwasher and yes, installing flooring. I am more of an impromptu-let's-get-this-done-the-mistakes-will-work-themselves-out-later kind of person. Scott is a lets measure-measure again-research-research-go to Lowes-go to Lowes again-ok now we can start- kind of person. We finished the office over the weekend and it looks great! We started the living room Sunday but have laid the first five rows twice and had to pull it up yet again today. Apparently our floor is terribly uneven. The fifteen people I asked about installing lock-n-fold flooring, no one said ANYTHING about dealing with an uneven floor. I see this as a small, surmountable problem. Well, Scott...I'm sure you can guess.

Here is Scott's apprentice helping him. Jackson went upstairs and changed his clothes to look exactly like his daddy, including the boots and pencil behind the ear; imitation is the greatest flattery

Aida and Ivie

Just a few pictures of the girls outside today and a video of Ivie getting down: http://youtu.be/2n_EPsaAtxc

"When I am 100 years old"

Ok grandparents, get your tissues ready, this is great! His teacher chose him (along with seven others) to read this tonight at the school board meeting.

"These are things when I am one hundred. When I am one hundred I will my grandchildren treats. On the weekends I will go to my grandchildren's house. I will never forget my granchildren."

LOVE. THIS. LITTLE. BOY!!!

Decisions

"There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction." Winston Churchill

Life has thrown some crazy curveballs lately. At first the pitches seemed untimely, scary and unfortunate, but now I'm think they may have been a blessing in disguise. Change is a hard concept, especially when you are focused on one particular path. When that path changes directions, life can be stressful. My path has not been chosen yet, but I am at least open to the possibilities. My grandmother always reminds me to listen to the small still voice that is within all of us. When I attended the Jewish Temple in South Carolina, the Rabbi also talked about this voice. This voice is God and God is within all of us. As I make my decision and determine if the change is in the right direction, I will listen to that voice. More on this later...

Kids

Ever wonder how long a toddler can cry? Surely Vegas has an over/under on this sort of thing. We are going on 25 minutes. And yes, I am talking about Ivie. She is definitely entering the terrible twos.

Today was watch day at Aida's dance school. Normally, the parents do not get to watch the kids practice. About every two months the school holds watch week and the parents get to go in the rooms during practice. Aida also thought it was a good idea to share with the teachers and other moms how "daddy and Jackson like to fart." She went on about this for about five minutes; a great moment for the Weidner household.

Jackson is enjoying basketball and is getting much better. He is also doing well in school. He was such a good helper the past two days while I was terribly sick. He got himself ready for school and packed his lunches. He even made me a get-well card.

What's in a Name?

Let me introduce Vivien "Ivie" Cecilia. She is a sweet, silly, fun and happy 19-month old with bright blue eyes and unexpected blonde hair. She is the youngest of our three children and loves her older siblings.




Scott and I took naming our children very seriously. With the exception of Jackson, who Scott early on said "if it is a boy his name will be Jack", we went back and forth, between several names, consulting websites, books, friends, and family before permanently marking the birth certificates. Aida was known as "Baby Girl W" until day three in the hospital and probably only received a name on day three because the birth certificate lady gave me that look after she had come to my room four different times.

A person carries their first name with them for...the rest...of their...life. We finally choose Aida Jane after contemplating the meaning, spelling, pronunciation, and popularity. Aida (actually aaah-e-da in Italian) means happiness. Jane is my grandmother's middle name. Her name honors my grandmother and my dad's Italian heritage. Aida has been nothing but a happy child since the day she was born; living up to her well-thought out name.

Ivie was also known as "Baby Girl W" until day three. We waffled back and forth between two different names, both with significant meaning and with family honorees. After we had Aida, we found the name "Ivy" and both agreed that if we had another little girl, we would use this name. We liked the earthy tone. An ivy plant climbs and is strong. And the name was an old name. Our only reservation: Was Ivy professional? Was it too hippyish? Was it too unique? But we loved the name and its meaning.

Finally, on day three in the hospital, we decided on Vivien. What?!?!? What happened to Ivy? Well. We decided that she needed a professional name; something that would look great on a resume. We both liked the name Vivienne and the meaning: Full of life. Creatively, we changed the spelling to a less popular form "Vivien", abstracted "ivie" and that is how we arrived at the name Ivie. Cecilia was my great-aunt's first name. It was official: Vivien "Ivie" Cecilia.

Whenever we introduce Ivie to others, we are greeted with smiles and compliments on what a wonderful and pretty name.

Today, the headline is the birth of Beyonce's baby girl: Ivy Blue or Blue Ivy. I cannot even express the disappointment in the celebrity couple using the name Ivy, whether as a first or middle name for "Baby Girl Carter". I'm sure Beyonce and Mr. Carter also painstakingly waffled between several names. However, what I can guarantee is that hundreds of soon-to-be mothers will not. Americans are obsessed with celebrities in every way, including the naming of their children. I do not know if Americans are too lazy to research their own names or in such awe at the wealth and popularity of celebrities that we attach ourselves to them in any way possible.

When we chose Ivie, the name hovered somewhere between 700-800 on the Social Security Administrations list of baby names for 2007-2009. The name had not seen the top 100 since the early 1900s. I will bet that in the next two years, the name Ivie, Ivy, Ivi (however you spell it) will leap to the top 100, all because of a celebrity couple named Beyonce and Jay-Z. This is very unfortunate for someone like my Ivie Cecilia who went three days known as "Baby Girl W" as her parents searched for the perfect name. She will now be amongst other little girls whose mothers found the name on TMZ. Scott and I will probably spend our lives explaining, "No, we are not obsessed with pop culture or Beyonce." Ivie will probably also be in class with seven kids named Blue, Red, and Yellow.

So what's in a name: For us, months of research, thought, love, and family. For the rest of celebrity-obsessed Americans: The hopes of their little girl becoming the next Beyonce - or something like that.

Differences in personalities

I find it amazing that three little people can come from the same two big people, live in the same house, and have two completely different personalities! Although we are not exactly sure of Ivie's personality, we do know for sure that Jackson and Aida are VERY different.




Jackson is exactly like me: He is particular, timid, quirky, and conservative. Aida is just like Scott: She is adventurous, fun, fearless, and very outgoing. There are things that Jackson does that I know I did as a child that must have drove my parents nuts (i.e. being afraid of everything and a very specific bed time routine). I don't know about Scott, but feel bad and commend my parents for putting up with my strangeness as a child. (I commend Scott for putting up with it now.)




So what brought about this post? Well, pudding snacks of all things. The allocation of twelve pudding snacks to three kids has made me realize the very distinct personalities of my children. I had a coupon for pudding snacks AND they were on sale, which means that the kids scored three packs of pudding snacks at the grocery store (for those that do not know, I do not buy anything unless it is on sale AND I have a coupon). Three packs of pudding snacks with four cups in each pack means, well you do the math, four to each child.



(Back to the personalities: Jackson has an obsessive personality like me and Aida has an addictive personality like Scott. Both personalities equal the kids obsessing over any kind of snack or candy that enters the house.)


In an effort to curb the constant firing of questions from the kids to us about the pudding snacks, I told the kids they each get four and to eat them as they chose. If that meant eating all of them that night, then so be it. I bought the pudding yesterday. Can you guess how many each kid has left?

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Jackson: 4 Aida: 0 Ivie: 1



I love those kids!


Here are some pictures from today. We had a beautiful day (55 degrees) so the girls and I were able to get outside for awhile! Unfortunately, since Jackson was at school, I didn't get any pictures of him.

Impromptu NYE Party

Happy New Year Everyone! Can you believe its 2012? I cannot. Wow, not only did 2011 go race car driver fast, but the year is now 20-12, two thousand and twelve.

We had SO much fun last night! We brought in the new year with an impromptu gathering at our place. At the last minute we invited a few friends over (Tosha and her husband and three kids and our neighbors and their two kids). Our last minute party turned into a Scott-styled spread of sandwiches, shrimp, asparagus, and spaghetti and meatballs. Luckily for our friends, Scott works in the food service industry and understands the importance of feeding people, enough food, at a gathering. I, on the other hand, would have placed a bowl of chips in the middle of the counter for eight adults and nine kids. The food was great; the company was even better. Our impromptu NYE party turned out to be one of the best NY's yet.

The family.

The kids with their grandparents.

Ivie "talking" with Canada.

The Michael Jackson game for the Wii was a hit! I don't know who had more fun, the kids or the adults. (Jackson, Jayden, Felicia and Tosha getting down)

Today Was a Good Day

Today was a good day; not in the 1993 Ice Cube sort of way, but in the I have the best family sort of way. Seriously though, the whole week has been good.

The kids and I spent two days in northeast Ohio visiting grandparents and great-grandparents. I went to a holiday party and had a blast! A good friend from Kent State, who I had not seen in over five years, hosted a holiday party with her brother. It was a great night of catching up with old friends.

Today, Scott and the kids and I braved the swarm of last-minute shoppers and went to Target to spend some gift cards the kids received from Quin and Zoe and money from Gigi and Aunt Sandy (I only yelled at one lady to "smile" after she glared at Jackson and me...true story). The kids purchased some great gifts including: A cabbage patch doll and keyboard (Ivie), barbies and playdough (Aida), and a shot gun and battleguns (Jackson). Thank you Zoe, Quin, Gigi, and Aunt Sandy and Uncle Steve!

The kids spent the evening playing with the various toys. Tonight Ivie is sleeping with her cabbage patch doll, Aida with one of her barbies, and Jackson has his shot gun under his pillow. No joke.

Aida surrendering Dinosaur to Jackson. Dinosaur took a bullet to the mouth. Poor thing.

Isn't she lovely?
Sharp shooter Jackson taking a break from his hunt to smile for his mother.

Jackson aiming at our refrigerator. I promise you, it was NOT my idea to buy a shot gun with styrofoam bullets that actually discharge from the gun.

Ivie's cabbage patch doll looks like her: Blue eyes and curly blonde hair!

Aida eating edamame. Doesn't she look grown up?