We've been too lax for a while of keeping this blog up to date from month to month, defeating it's purpose of being our personal record of these wonderful memories of our children. Sorry!
Robert has been gone this week for interviews and I just wanted to jot down a couple of small things that made my heart smile today.
First of all the two girls are very entertained by asking us simple addition problems.
Rose: Mom, what is 5 plus 5 plus? (Second plus here means equals, she is starting to use that word, too)
Mary Ann: What is 350 plus 350 plus pi?
Mom: Rose, it's 10; Mary Ann it's 703.14..... (I'm also thinking, let's not get any more complicated, I haven't had any coffee yet)
I then proceeded to alter life as she knew it by informing Mary Ann that pi is a number between 3 and 4. Mary Ann calmly corrected me that this couldn't be true, there is no number between 3 and 4. When I told her there were lots of numbers between 3 and 4 she filed that info away. Then brought it out later today when I asked her how the day rated and she said "Oh, about a 4.5".
My memory of Rose and Peter from today is our time in the Starbucks by our gym. It's become a pretty regular Friday routine that after we go to the gym we then go to Starbucks for pumpkin bread, kid's hot chocolate and a coffee beverage. In honor of the holidays we've added a slice of gingerbread to our usual fare as well. Peter and Rose are great in the cafe, Rose efficiently removes the edges of her pumpkin bread to give to Peter. Peter eats his pieces and then they both go and play at the little kids table for a bit. Then Rose takes a napkin and wipes off our table, deposits the crumbs and cups in the trash and it's time to go. Today they were both so wonderful there I just wanted to record it for posterity's sake.
Tonight I scored a few points by getting "Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale" from the RedBox to watch. I have to say that my opposition to Barbie has dwindled. She's fun, she's pretty, and I just can't buy honestly into the idea that she gives girls a false ideal of perfection and beauty. And her movies are actually kind of fun to watch. I'm shocked to admit it, but they aren't that bad.
We are also enjoying listening to a new-t0-us holiday radio story called "The Cinnamon Bear". Originally aired in 1937, it's available online to listen to and we've gotten caught up in each cliffhanger episode. If you've seen photographs of families settled around their radio listening and staring at it, you have an idea of what our family is doing most evenings. Except we're staring at our laptop. The similarity again made me wonder that even in this incredible age of technology, our behaviors can still mirror those from 70 years ago.
I have wonderful kids. And even though it took a visit from super scary Mommy tonight to finally get them to settle down and go to sleep, I love their little socks off.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Kindergarten
Mary Ann started Kindergarten today! It was a very exciting day. We practiced bicycling to school last week; we put Rose and Peter in the trailer and Katie pulled them with her bike. Mary Ann rode her own bicycle all the way there and back. It was pretty exciting!
We took her to school today. Since it was the first day we just walked. Mitzi is here visiting so she stayed home with Rose and Peter. We made it there in time but learned that Mary Ann was switched from one class to another; it upset us a little because we had known 2 kids already. Hopefully this new class/teacher are a good fit for Mary Ann. She seemed both very excited and also a little nervous. As she told us repeatedly...
Katie was of course also excited...and a little sad. Especially with the new twist of the class switch.
We took her to school today. Since it was the first day we just walked. Mitzi is here visiting so she stayed home with Rose and Peter. We made it there in time but learned that Mary Ann was switched from one class to another; it upset us a little because we had known 2 kids already. Hopefully this new class/teacher are a good fit for Mary Ann. She seemed both very excited and also a little nervous. As she told us repeatedly...
Katie was of course also excited...and a little sad. Especially with the new twist of the class switch.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Mid-July
It's been 2 months since our last post. It's been a very busy time!
We went to KC/Lawrence for a week in the end of July. We first went to Katie's cousin's wedding the first Saturday we were there. Katie and I got to dress up.
We went to a Royal's baseball game with the Thomas family (well, most of them). We got nice tickets that included food/drink in them, so we all had lots of good stadium food.
We then hooked up with the Buschelmans minus Eric, and went to the Great Wolf Lodge. We got a "kid's cabin" room with a special area for the kids to sleep in. Most of the kids loved it...Will did NOT (hence him being in the background for this picture).
We went back and forth to Lawrence, but finally ended up in KCK for Fr Scott's ordination. I was the first reader, and it was one of the most special moments of my life. We are all so happy to finally have him be a priest.
We went back to Lawrence to celebrate Peter's first birthday. Jen Vogrin made the cake which looked and tasted great. Peter approved!
We had a nice Father's Day in June. Peter was in a very silly mood, so we got lots of good pictures of him such as below
I finished neurology residency in June. There was a nice graduation party for which my parents came up.
Unfortunately we got a flat tire; Mary Ann got a hands-on tutorial!
We finally took the plunge and took the kids on their first camping trip. Katie and I had been wanting to do this for a long time, but there was always a reason to shy away from it before. So many of our pre-kid memories are from camping trips (Utah, Yellowstone, Missouri State Parks) and we have so much camping gear that we finally pulled the trigger. The park we went to was nice...except WAY too many mosquitos. Poor Peter was eaten alive. Overall we learned some better ways to camp.
Finally, we just had some Salina relatives visit us. Marina, Jen, Ashley and Meghan all drove up from Kansas to spend an extended weekend. We had lots of fun times, boating twice, going to the Farmer's Market, going to a pool. The best part was Mary Ann's and Rose's first soccer game. They played on separate teams with games right after the other. Mary Ann's team was on fire, shutting out the other team. Rose's team played a team mostly with kids a year older. They only scored one goal, but Rose scored that goal! It was 2 hours in the hot sun, but it was much more exciting than we had feared. The time actually went by fairly quickly. Both girls did a great job and seem to have natural talent. Next game next Sunday!
We went to KC/Lawrence for a week in the end of July. We first went to Katie's cousin's wedding the first Saturday we were there. Katie and I got to dress up.
We went to a Royal's baseball game with the Thomas family (well, most of them). We got nice tickets that included food/drink in them, so we all had lots of good stadium food.
 |
| From KC trip May 2010 |
We then hooked up with the Buschelmans minus Eric, and went to the Great Wolf Lodge. We got a "kid's cabin" room with a special area for the kids to sleep in. Most of the kids loved it...Will did NOT (hence him being in the background for this picture).
 |
| From KC trip May 2010 |
We went back and forth to Lawrence, but finally ended up in KCK for Fr Scott's ordination. I was the first reader, and it was one of the most special moments of my life. We are all so happy to finally have him be a priest.
 |
| From Scott's Ordination |
We went back to Lawrence to celebrate Peter's first birthday. Jen Vogrin made the cake which looked and tasted great. Peter approved!
 |
| From KC trip May 2010 |
We had a nice Father's Day in June. Peter was in a very silly mood, so we got lots of good pictures of him such as below
 |
| From 2010 June-July |
I finished neurology residency in June. There was a nice graduation party for which my parents came up.
 |
| From 2010 June-July |
Unfortunately we got a flat tire; Mary Ann got a hands-on tutorial!
 |
| From 2010 June-July |
We finally took the plunge and took the kids on their first camping trip. Katie and I had been wanting to do this for a long time, but there was always a reason to shy away from it before. So many of our pre-kid memories are from camping trips (Utah, Yellowstone, Missouri State Parks) and we have so much camping gear that we finally pulled the trigger. The park we went to was nice...except WAY too many mosquitos. Poor Peter was eaten alive. Overall we learned some better ways to camp.
 |
| From 2010 June-July |
Finally, we just had some Salina relatives visit us. Marina, Jen, Ashley and Meghan all drove up from Kansas to spend an extended weekend. We had lots of fun times, boating twice, going to the Farmer's Market, going to a pool. The best part was Mary Ann's and Rose's first soccer game. They played on separate teams with games right after the other. Mary Ann's team was on fire, shutting out the other team. Rose's team played a team mostly with kids a year older. They only scored one goal, but Rose scored that goal! It was 2 hours in the hot sun, but it was much more exciting than we had feared. The time actually went by fairly quickly. Both girls did a great job and seem to have natural talent. Next game next Sunday!
    |
| From soccer 1st game |
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Catching Up
Spring has sprung in Madison and fingers are crossed that chilly weather is now a thing of the past until mid-September. I've recently been thinking that I need to make it part of my weekly tasks to update this blog, but let's not hold our breaths on that one. But I thought I'd take advantage of this early Sunday morning insomnia to record some of the random events of the last 5 months or so.
January:
1. Welcomed in the New Year with Katie's siblings and family in Lawrence. Great night!
2. Celebrated Mitzi's 26th birthday in Madison with a minor car accident and KU victory over at K-State. (And yes, we are allowed to return to Buffalo Wild Wings)
3. Hatched the plan for a 6 month Keel-Reddig Biggest Loser competition
February:
1. Celebrated Mary Ann's 5th Birthday with a carnival themed birthday party in the basement. She got her first Barbies (Thank you, Cornetts!)
2. Began (and ended) construction of the bathroom. Looks good!
3. Celebrated our third Feuerzangenbowle with friends and enjoyed watching the Vancouver Opening Ceremonies
3. Robert and Katie attended the annual "Beat the Winter Blues Ball" and got their groove on
March:
1. A blur, what happened during March? Oh wait, the NCAA tournament. Well, let's not think about March this year.
2. Well, one thing--enrolled Mary Ann in Kindergarten. She is so excited! Especially since she does not have to do chores since she'll be in school all day. (Um, right)
April:
1. Celebrated Holy Week. Enjoyed our traditional (modified) Seder Meal on Holy Thursday with Mitzi and all of us attended Holy Thursday mass. Most memorable part (family-wise) is Peter cracking himself up playing peek-a-boo during the solemn procession of the Eucharist.
2. Go to see "How to Train Your Dragon" in the theater as a family. Everyone gave it two thumbs up!
3. Mary Ann got to attend Holy Saturday mass with Mitzi and Robert, but called it a night after the Gospel. Rose and Peter stayed home with Katie and helped make bread.
4. Easter was a big hit all around, lots of Jelly Beans enjoyed by all!
5. Rose, Peter, and Katie continue to go to the Middleton Library storytime. Rose particularly enjoys playing "Bluebird, come to my window", especially if she gets a purple bird, and also dancing to "The Bean Bag Rock" with a purple bean bag
5. We get to visit Mary Ann's preschool and see what all she does (which is a lot). Very impressed with her learning! The "Stamp Game" particularly
6. Enjoyed first post-Lent ice cream cone with Babcock Ice Cream on campus. Peter likes ice cream
7. Went to the first Farmer's Market of the season, mainly just to look around and get donuts. Robert survived, barely.
7. Went to Chicago to see Mitzi and Scott. Great visit! Mitzi has an awesome office, Scott gave a lovely homily.
8. Peter begins to decide to crawl
9. The girls enjoy dressing up like Fancy Nancy--ooo-la-la!
May
1. We get our boat out of storage!
2. Nancy (Grandma) comes for a week long visit
3. Go to Farmer's Market for the 2nd time this season and successfully get Spicy Cheese Bread
4. Rose and Mary Ann complete their Storybook Ballet lessons with "Beauty and the Beast", they were beautiful!
3. Robert and Katie go to Baltimore. Robert attends the American Pain Society Convention and Katie gets a pedicure. We also go to DC to see the sights and visit with friends.
4. The girls and Peter go to Chuckie Cheese
5. Enjoy a wonderful Mother's Day, complete with coffee and biscotti in bed to start and a banana split to finish.
6. Spend a Saturday getting the garden ready to plant. Green thumbs have finally started pricking
7. Peter is moving in earnest now and drinks out of sippy up like a pro. He can feed himself and has realized if he doesn't like something he can spit it out (green beans).
8. Spend a beautiful evening on the lake. The girls do so well on the boat. Rose was just chilling in the front as we cruised along, sunglasses on, legs propped up, living the good life. Peter's not sure about having to wear his life jacket, but as long he can eat a pretzel, he's happy. Mary Ann likes to help Robert drive.
We're looking forward to a wonderful summer!
January:
1. Welcomed in the New Year with Katie's siblings and family in Lawrence. Great night!
2. Celebrated Mitzi's 26th birthday in Madison with a minor car accident and KU victory over at K-State. (And yes, we are allowed to return to Buffalo Wild Wings)
3. Hatched the plan for a 6 month Keel-Reddig Biggest Loser competition
February:
1. Celebrated Mary Ann's 5th Birthday with a carnival themed birthday party in the basement. She got her first Barbies (Thank you, Cornetts!)
2. Began (and ended) construction of the bathroom. Looks good!
3. Celebrated our third Feuerzangenbowle with friends and enjoyed watching the Vancouver Opening Ceremonies
3. Robert and Katie attended the annual "Beat the Winter Blues Ball" and got their groove on
March:
1. A blur, what happened during March? Oh wait, the NCAA tournament. Well, let's not think about March this year.
2. Well, one thing--enrolled Mary Ann in Kindergarten. She is so excited! Especially since she does not have to do chores since she'll be in school all day. (Um, right)
April:
1. Celebrated Holy Week. Enjoyed our traditional (modified) Seder Meal on Holy Thursday with Mitzi and all of us attended Holy Thursday mass. Most memorable part (family-wise) is Peter cracking himself up playing peek-a-boo during the solemn procession of the Eucharist.
2. Go to see "How to Train Your Dragon" in the theater as a family. Everyone gave it two thumbs up!
3. Mary Ann got to attend Holy Saturday mass with Mitzi and Robert, but called it a night after the Gospel. Rose and Peter stayed home with Katie and helped make bread.
4. Easter was a big hit all around, lots of Jelly Beans enjoyed by all!
5. Rose, Peter, and Katie continue to go to the Middleton Library storytime. Rose particularly enjoys playing "Bluebird, come to my window", especially if she gets a purple bird, and also dancing to "The Bean Bag Rock" with a purple bean bag
5. We get to visit Mary Ann's preschool and see what all she does (which is a lot). Very impressed with her learning! The "Stamp Game" particularly
6. Enjoyed first post-Lent ice cream cone with Babcock Ice Cream on campus. Peter likes ice cream
7. Went to the first Farmer's Market of the season, mainly just to look around and get donuts. Robert survived, barely.
7. Went to Chicago to see Mitzi and Scott. Great visit! Mitzi has an awesome office, Scott gave a lovely homily.
8. Peter begins to decide to crawl
9. The girls enjoy dressing up like Fancy Nancy--ooo-la-la!
May
1. We get our boat out of storage!
2. Nancy (Grandma) comes for a week long visit
3. Go to Farmer's Market for the 2nd time this season and successfully get Spicy Cheese Bread
4. Rose and Mary Ann complete their Storybook Ballet lessons with "Beauty and the Beast", they were beautiful!
3. Robert and Katie go to Baltimore. Robert attends the American Pain Society Convention and Katie gets a pedicure. We also go to DC to see the sights and visit with friends.
4. The girls and Peter go to Chuckie Cheese
5. Enjoy a wonderful Mother's Day, complete with coffee and biscotti in bed to start and a banana split to finish.
6. Spend a Saturday getting the garden ready to plant. Green thumbs have finally started pricking
7. Peter is moving in earnest now and drinks out of sippy up like a pro. He can feed himself and has realized if he doesn't like something he can spit it out (green beans).
8. Spend a beautiful evening on the lake. The girls do so well on the boat. Rose was just chilling in the front as we cruised along, sunglasses on, legs propped up, living the good life. Peter's not sure about having to wear his life jacket, but as long he can eat a pretzel, he's happy. Mary Ann likes to help Robert drive.
We're looking forward to a wonderful summer!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Bathroom
So...we've been working on our bathroom. More specifically, I've done some demolition and a construction guy has been doing some...construction work.
We started with a bathtub and a shower stall
There was also a wall between the single sink vanity and the shower stall (on the left)
I ripped out the shower stall and the wall
We kept the bathroom with a sink for quite a while so we could still use it
On Valentine's Day Mitzi and I then took out the vanity
Construction finally started, with drywall going up first including 2 ledges that would flank the new vanity
He put some new pipes in for the new sinks (and in the process made our main water turn-off switch to the whole house leak in our basement...)
He put in some new floor tiles...
...some shower tiles
and finally the vanity cover and sinks
We still have to prime and paint the room (we got a light gray for the walls). It's super bright in there with all the vanity lights on. After we paint, the construction guy will come back to grout the shower tiles, put in the baseboards and install the actual shower in the tub. We are so close! Unfortunately I have our residency inservice test this week, so can't work on painting until Saturday.
Lent has started; we're trying to get the girls to do something. Mary Ann (for now) has agreed to only have sweets on Sunday; Rose didn't want to give up anything. We watch the Olympics occasionally, and try to get most of the KU games watched too.
We started with a bathtub and a shower stall
 |
| From demolition & construction |
There was also a wall between the single sink vanity and the shower stall (on the left)
 |
| From demolition & construction |
I ripped out the shower stall and the wall
 |
| From demolition & construction |
We kept the bathroom with a sink for quite a while so we could still use it
 |
| From demolition & construction |
On Valentine's Day Mitzi and I then took out the vanity
 |
| From demolition & construction |
Construction finally started, with drywall going up first including 2 ledges that would flank the new vanity
 |
| From demolition & construction |
He put some new pipes in for the new sinks (and in the process made our main water turn-off switch to the whole house leak in our basement...)
 |
| From demolition & construction |
He put in some new floor tiles...
 |
| From demolition & construction |
...some shower tiles
 |
| From demolition & construction |
and finally the vanity cover and sinks
 |
| From demolition & construction |
We still have to prime and paint the room (we got a light gray for the walls). It's super bright in there with all the vanity lights on. After we paint, the construction guy will come back to grout the shower tiles, put in the baseboards and install the actual shower in the tub. We are so close! Unfortunately I have our residency inservice test this week, so can't work on painting until Saturday.
Lent has started; we're trying to get the girls to do something. Mary Ann (for now) has agreed to only have sweets on Sunday; Rose didn't want to give up anything. We watch the Olympics occasionally, and try to get most of the KU games watched too.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Christmas Voyage
We're back! We made it, over 1500 miles and 10 days. Whew!
We started off on Dec 28th, driving to St Louis. We spent the night with the St Louis Keels (Rocky, Jane, Hannah and Abby). The girls had a great time dressing up in the costumes. We really liked the laid-back tone of the night.
We left the morning of the 29th. We met up with the Oklahoma Keels (Fritz, Kelly, Jesse and Wiley) en route to Jefferson City where we spent lunch with Oma.
We even got to go to the local HyVee to get her groceries, though she did forget she needed milk. After lunch we stopped in California, MO to see the grave of Katie's grandma. We then drove through KC rush hour to make it to Lawrence. Everyone else was already there. We designated Dec 29th as "Christmas Eve" for the family. We had a good first night and got the kids to bed fairly early.
December 30th was Christmas. There were tons of presents from Santa as you can see--we almost lost Mitzi. See our Picasa page for pics of the kids opening presents. We had a nice Christmas dinner that Nana made--even though we had to excuse the Buschelmans since they had a baptism party.
On Dec 31st we went to Free State for lunch. L'Opa reserved the upstairs private room for our group. There are still a few extra seats at the table, so only a few more kids allowed. Afterwards we toured the campus in the car and saw the Chi-O fountain look like it was crystalized but really they just used lots of plastic bottles to make it look neat. We saw the new Oread hotel that they are constructing on the north end of campus. Future spot for the Keel-Clan to stay?
We then went to Jaybowl with our friends Matt, Jen, Luke and Faith. We used the bumpers. They have a great deal--one lane of bowling, including shoes, up to 8 people per lane, for just $18 per hour. Not bad entertainment for 4 kids!
We then went back to the Keel house for New Year's Eve. The kids got cool glasses and glowing bracelets. The kids had their countdown at 10pm. Dominic was conked out as was Rose. The adults then counted down at midnight after a night of drinking and games. It was a pretty fun night. Some games (like "Things") are a lot more fun with people drinking. On Jan 1st Katie, Mitzi and I went to Mass since Katie and I couldn't go the night before. We had leftover Christmas dinner for our last meal in Lawrence.
On Jan 2 we went to Salina for one night. We opened presents and found that one of the dogs there ate most of our presents that we had shipped to Salina. The girls were really excited that their "friends" / cousins were able to make it over to play that night.
We drove to KC on the 3rd. We opened presents that night. On the 4th we had a great day. We went to Crown Center to do a little shopping. Then we went to Quiznos for a quick lunch. We then went to see the movie "The Princess and the Frog." The girls loved it, though there were a few scary parts. The most exciting part was when my dad spilled his coke on him and partly on Rose. Luckily she survived, though it was touch and go for a while. We went to 119th street to do a little shopping, then off to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. It was nice to have a big salad after days of heavy foods.
The next day the girls went to get their hair cut, hopefully to cut down on tangles. Afterwards we had a combination of Yello Sub (ok, really Planet Sub) and Gates BBQ for lunch. We then went to Wonderscope for a few hours. It's a really cool place--take your kids if you go to KC! The girls tested balls rolling, played doctor, went in a Lego submarine, dressed up as astronauts, and pretended to go shopping. For dinner we went to one of the best places in KC--Gojo Japanese Steak House. We all had leftovers.
We drove back on Wednesday the 6th. We left early to miss the big snow storm that was hitting Iowa in the early afternoon. We were lucky and only had a few very light snow showers.
I'm on vacation until next Monday. Plan for me for this week: demolition of our upstairs bathroom!
We started off on Dec 28th, driving to St Louis. We spent the night with the St Louis Keels (Rocky, Jane, Hannah and Abby). The girls had a great time dressing up in the costumes. We really liked the laid-back tone of the night.
We left the morning of the 29th. We met up with the Oklahoma Keels (Fritz, Kelly, Jesse and Wiley) en route to Jefferson City where we spent lunch with Oma.
 |
| From Christmas |
 |
| From Christmas |
December 30th was Christmas. There were tons of presents from Santa as you can see--we almost lost Mitzi. See our Picasa page for pics of the kids opening presents. We had a nice Christmas dinner that Nana made--even though we had to excuse the Buschelmans since they had a baptism party.
 |
| From Christmas |
On Dec 31st we went to Free State for lunch. L'Opa reserved the upstairs private room for our group. There are still a few extra seats at the table, so only a few more kids allowed. Afterwards we toured the campus in the car and saw the Chi-O fountain look like it was crystalized but really they just used lots of plastic bottles to make it look neat. We saw the new Oread hotel that they are constructing on the north end of campus. Future spot for the Keel-Clan to stay?
 |
| From Christmas |
We then went to Jaybowl with our friends Matt, Jen, Luke and Faith. We used the bumpers. They have a great deal--one lane of bowling, including shoes, up to 8 people per lane, for just $18 per hour. Not bad entertainment for 4 kids!
 |
| From Christmas |
We then went back to the Keel house for New Year's Eve. The kids got cool glasses and glowing bracelets. The kids had their countdown at 10pm. Dominic was conked out as was Rose. The adults then counted down at midnight after a night of drinking and games. It was a pretty fun night. Some games (like "Things") are a lot more fun with people drinking. On Jan 1st Katie, Mitzi and I went to Mass since Katie and I couldn't go the night before. We had leftover Christmas dinner for our last meal in Lawrence.
 |
| From Christmas |
On Jan 2 we went to Salina for one night. We opened presents and found that one of the dogs there ate most of our presents that we had shipped to Salina. The girls were really excited that their "friends" / cousins were able to make it over to play that night.
 |
| From Christmas |
We drove to KC on the 3rd. We opened presents that night. On the 4th we had a great day. We went to Crown Center to do a little shopping. Then we went to Quiznos for a quick lunch. We then went to see the movie "The Princess and the Frog." The girls loved it, though there were a few scary parts. The most exciting part was when my dad spilled his coke on him and partly on Rose. Luckily she survived, though it was touch and go for a while. We went to 119th street to do a little shopping, then off to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. It was nice to have a big salad after days of heavy foods.
 |
| From Christmas |
 |
| From Christmas |
The next day the girls went to get their hair cut, hopefully to cut down on tangles. Afterwards we had a combination of Yello Sub (ok, really Planet Sub) and Gates BBQ for lunch. We then went to Wonderscope for a few hours. It's a really cool place--take your kids if you go to KC! The girls tested balls rolling, played doctor, went in a Lego submarine, dressed up as astronauts, and pretended to go shopping. For dinner we went to one of the best places in KC--Gojo Japanese Steak House. We all had leftovers.
We drove back on Wednesday the 6th. We left early to miss the big snow storm that was hitting Iowa in the early afternoon. We were lucky and only had a few very light snow showers.
I'm on vacation until next Monday. Plan for me for this week: demolition of our upstairs bathroom!
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