Peace.....

I received this from our dear friend, Ann Mullen, back in April 2011.  Ann has had a tough last couple of years, and when I came across this today when I was cleaning up some old emails (in preparation for leaving Schneider this week), the words were so comforting to me, that I want to remember them today and always.....

"May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where

you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are
born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have
received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be
content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into
your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us."

thank-you, Ann.

May 8, 2003

I have been cleaning out my old emails from my work email address.  Here is a favorite one that I have saved for the past (nearly) 9 years....it's from May 8, 2003.....the day before my 30th birthday.

From: "Dennis Barga"

05/08/2003 10:01 AM

To: BargaJ@schneider.com

Subject: Birthday

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday dear Jennifer, happy birthday to you.

( I'm singing).


It is hard to believe how fast the years since your birth have gone.

Your have gone from being a sweet little baby to a wonderful young woman

in what seems to be no time. I hope you know how special you are to mom & I.

I hope your trip home goes well, and a first class seat to go with it!

We have presents for you !!!!!!

We didn't talk about the trip to Columbus the other night, but I guess

it is still on and then on to Dresden with mom. See you then.

Love, Dad

This was my response:
From: Jennifer Harpole On Behalf Of Jennifer Barga

Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2003 11:40 AM

To: "Dennis Barga"

Subject: Re: Birthday

Dad,

Thanks for the message! I could hear you singing to me! At least you left out the "30th" part from Happy birthday. I can't believe I am 30! You probably can't either. I am excited to see you guys next week. I haven't talked to mom about it either, but I will call her today. I haven't booked my plane ticket yet and I need to do that today. I heard it is supposed to rain all weekend in Green Bay - we were going to try to take the boat out with Maria, but it sounds like we may have to hit the mall instead....that will be okay, too.

Have a good weekend & thanks for the sweet message!

Love you,

Jennifer

Little did I know at the time, but my dad, mom, brothers, SIL Tami, and nephews, Alec & Jarrett drove to Green Bay on my birthday (the day after these messages were sent) to attend a surprise 30th birthday party that Jeff had for me!  I had NO idea until I answered the knock on the door at the party!!

Dwive?

"Mommy, when am I gonna gwow bigga to dwive?"     - Kirsten Harpole, age 3

This was Kirsten's question while we were packing the van to drive back to TN after visiting Grandma & Grandpa in Ohio for Easter.  Where does she get this stuff?  :)

Our Little Goalie

Dominick started playing inline hockey in Hendersonville a few weeks ago. Last week, his coach sent out an email to all of the parents letting us know that he now had 2 sets of goalie equipment, and wanted to see if any of the players would be interested in being a goalie for one of the games. Since being Pekka Rinne (the Nashville Predators goalie) Dominick's current career aspiration, I replied to his coach and let him know that Dominick would love to be goalie! The coach replied and said that he had already received 3 replies, but that he would add Dominick's name to the list. So, today, Dominick had a make-up game that had been previously rained out, and he was one of the lucky ones - he got to be the goalie! We didn't tell him until we got to the game, just to avoid a huge disappointment if he ended up not doing it today. Once I confirmed it with the coach, I told him the fun news, and he broke out in a giant grin, which just got bigger once he saw what he got to wear.....pint sized goalie pads, goalie gloves, and he got to use a goalie hockey stick. He was in pure heaven. He did a really excellent job, too, and had many Pekka-like move making lots of saves against the yellow team. All of the parents of the red team players were rooting for him by cheering "good job goalie", "nice save, goalie", "go red goalie!". Each time he heard these things, he looked over at me with a giant grin on his face. I was so happy for him (that he was so happy)!

Wuggle Pets

Dominick:   (while watching a tv commercial) "mommy, can we get a wuggle pet?"
Mommy:      "What is a wuggle pet?"
Dominick:    "It clips to backpacks, purses, and jackets.  It's an adorable pet that you bring to life         yourself". 
Mommy:       "wow.  That sounds really fun.  I will check it out, okay?"  And then, moments later, while checking them out online, I found this on their website: "A Wuggle is an adorable baby pet that you bring to life yourself!"

hmmm.....I guess that proves just why there are so many commercials on during kiddie shows :)

Basements

"mommy, I fink we should haf a basement" -Kirsten, age 3

This was Kirsten's observation that she shared after we spent the afternoon and evening watching (obsessing) about the tornadoes that were forecasted for Middle Tennessee.  We ended up going to our neighbor's house (Buzz & Carol) for awhile since they have a basement.  We definitely need a basement of our own!

"I love you, Pekka"

I surprised Dominick today and picked him up from school right after lunch & took him to a Nashville Predators practice. We have been to one practice (back in October), and he really liked it, so I thought we would go again. He was still awake when I arrived to pick him up, and he got a gigantic smile on his face when he saw me.....mommy doesn't normally show up at the beginning of nap time! As we walked hand-in-hand out to the van, I told him where we were heading.....and he burst into another gigantic smile. We met mommy's hockey-loving-Canadian-friend, Kristin (and her daughters, Selina & Kiera) at Centennial Sportsplex, and then headed into the rink that the Preds practice on. Alth0ugh the Preds website said that practice was at 2pm, it was well underway when we arrived a few minutes before 2. We watched for about 45 minutes, were completely awed by their skating skills.....you are so close to them at practice, it's really a completely different experience than a game. Then practice was over and the players began to clear the ice. I saw a small group of people congregating near the entrance of the locker room, so Dominick and I headed down there to see if we could catch a glimpse of any players. We got much more than a glimpse! I put Dominick on my shoulders so that he could see over all of the people in front of us, and a very nice girl standing next to us held up Dominick's canvas sign that we brought along for autographs (just in case), and asked a few players if they would sign it "for that little boy" (pointing up to Dominick). Before we knew it, he had autographs from Brian McGrattan (#23), Brandon Yip (#18), and Dominick's VERY favorite player, Pekka Rinne (#35). While Pekka was signing Dominick's sign, Dominick belted out, "Pekka, I love you! You're my favorite player and I have your jersey on!". Pekka was so nice to Dominick....he thanked him, asked him what his name was, and then told him what a nice name he has. To say the least, Dominick was thrilled! And then Dominick immediately yelled down from atop my shoulders and declared, "mommy, Pekka is really sweaty". ha!

Our new friend also asked Matt Halischuk "to sign", but when Matt stopped and looked at the sign, he saw that his autograph was already on it, and said as much. Dominick replied with, "I met you at Dollar General! And you already signed it!". Matt smiled at him. On the way out to the van, we saw our new friend again, and she told us that sometimes the players sign autographs on their way out to their cars "back by the green fence". So, of course we headed back to the green fence, and after a quick trip back inside for a potty break, the players started to emerge. Our new friend called out to the players by first name as they exited the building and asked them if they "would sign for this kid" (again pointing to Dominick), and they did! He quickly collected 8 more autographs (Mike Fisher #12, Patric Hornqvist #27, Jordin Tootoo #22, Colin Wilson #33, Frankie Bouillon #51, Jack Hillen #38, Roman Josi #59, Kevin Klein #8). Dominick also informed Kevin Klein that he met him at the zoo, and told each of the players that came over "thank-you" and "good luck". It was all so very sweet, and all of the players were so very kind to him.....I think this little boy fell a little deeper in love with hockey and the Preds today (and so did his mommy).

Twicky Elf

"The elf was twicky to find for me."     -Kirsten Harpole, age 3

This is what Kirsten declared upon finding the Secret Elf this morning after searching the entire downstairs of the house.  He was on top of Daddy's step ladder that was leaning against the kitchen wall (we had just used it to put up the Christmas tree).

What a compliment!

"mommy, you wook wike uh Pwedator gur"     -Kirsten, age 3

This is what Kirsten told me tonight while Kirsten and I were getting ready for the Predators game (well, I was getting ready, she was playing with her babies in the bathroom).

Just for the record, this is what a "Pwedator gur" actually looks like, and although I definitely don't look like that, it was the highest compliment I have ever been paid. Thank-you, sweet girl, you made mommy's night!

Ocracoke.....

I looked update Ocracoke today just to see how it was after Hurricane Irene hit the island on Saturday (Aug 27, 2011).  This is the update I found that was issued by Hyde County Public Information:

“There is no reentry to Ocracoke for non-resident property owners or visitors until further notice”.

hmmm.....we are suppose to fly there for a weekend getaway in less than 4 weeks (on Sept 23).....doesn't look like that is going to happen!

Swimming Lessons

Kirsten and I started a "mommy and me" swimming class today at Seastar Swim School.  Dominick has been taking lessons there, and every week when we go, she says, "my wimmin wesson, too, mommy?"  So, I signed her up for a class, but I didn't know if she was ready to do one with Dominick yet, so I thought we would do the first class together.  She did so awesome!!  She went under several times and absolutely loved it.

Oh, and on the way there, she said, "my want pink one, mommy". I  asked what she wanted pink. "dat towel pink, mommy". She must have seen me put green and blue beach towels in the van for us, and clearly didn't agree with that :)

"Dat beebee's time-out, mommy"

This morning, Kirsten lined all of her babies up along the wall in the living room. When I asked her what she was doing, she replied, "dat beebee's time-out, mommy". She has NEVER been in timeout in her two years of life, so she must be getting this idea from watching her brother......I am wondering what they all did to get themselves ALL in time-out at the exact same time :)

Robots and Piggies

On the way home today, Dominick suddenly announced "when I turn 5 on my birthday in December 8th, I want to have a dinosaur party". I cringed. Not because of the unexpected dinosaur-theme, but because, "eeeeek! he is GOING.TO.BE.FIVE on his next birthday". Wow. Then it hit me, he already knows what kind of party he wants. In February. He has, I then realize, caught on to the fact that for the past four birthdays, mommy has selected and planned his party theme without soliciting any input from him. He probably thinks that if he doesn't pipe up now, who knows what kind of party he would get this year? (In my defense, he has LOVED all of the parties I have planned for him). Kirsten then said, "my piggies, mommy". She often calls her toes her "piggies", so I just assumed that since were were driving in the van, she had probably ditched her shoes and socks (like always), and was referring to her "piggies" (ie: toes). "Where's your piggies?", I said. "my wike pink piggies my hap birt day, mommy". Oh, nevermind, she wasn't telling me about her toes, she was telling me that she wanted a piggy birthday party. A pink one. It evidently only took her TWO years to figure out that mommy sort of controls the birthday party festivies around here. Well, looks like that is all about to change. Looks like I'll be searching for some dinosaur and piggy cake ideas, favors, cricut cartridges, etsy goodies, etc, etc. Oh, wait, before we were even home, Dominick declared that, "actually, mommy, I forgot. I actually want a robot party for my birthday". And to think I JUST seen a Robot Cricut Cartridge on clearance somewhere, and although I can't remember where, I do remember thinking (at the time that I saw it), "well, of course they have a ROBOT cartridge on clearance. Who in the world would need (or want) a cartridge full of just robots?". Turns out that someone is me. Now, to just find a piggy one on clearance, too.....

Birthday Party Requests?

"Mommy, when I'm five, I want to have a robot birthday party."     - Dominick Harpole, age 4

"my piggy hap birt-day, mommy."     Kirsten Harpole, age 2

So, I guess we have their next round of birthday parties all figured out :)

Sick Day

Kirsten developed a fever yesterday afternoon, and was home with me today. She was sitting on my desk (pretending) to be 'talking' on the phone to daddy while I tried to get a few work things done. All of the sudden, she noticed my earrings....something she's never done before. She promptly hung up the phone, and then moved my hair aside so that she could get a good look at the earring in my left ear. After examining it closely, she then asked, "whut dat, mommy?", to which I replied, "that's my earring, Kirsten. I have another one in my other ear" (as I turned my head to show her the one in my right ear). She got the biggest smile on her face, and then proceeded to grab the sides of my head and turn it from side to side, admiring the bling in my ears. She then decidedly stated/asked, "my wike dat my ear, mommy?". Translation: can I please get my ears pierced and wear pretty diamond earrings like you do, mommy?". I just laughed. Where does she get this stuff? I have a feeling this won't be the last time we have a "discussion" about her wanting to get her ears pierced.

Do you know who this one is, mommy?

When Nana Kelley was visiting us last week from Alaska, she & Dominick watched the movie, "Cars" together while I made dinner one night.  While they watched it, Dominick asked her lots of questions about the names of all of the cars in the movie.  Nana Kelley looked them up online for him and they learned them together.  This morning, he brought me the Cars movie case, and the following conversation took place.....

Dominick: (pointing to his Cars dvd case) “Do you know who this one is, mommy?”.
Me: “hmmmmm, I’m not sure, buddy, is it Sherriff?
Dominick: “nooo, mommy” (and laughs)
Me: “is it Red?”
Dominick: “nooooooo, mommy” (and laughs some more).
Me: “Is it Mater?” (I knew it wasn’t Mater, but I couldn’t think of any other names to guess).
Dominick: “noooooooooooo, Mommy. I think we better call Nana Kelley and ask her!”.

I think he’s right. Sadly, his mommy is not a Cars expert yet!!

Happy Birthday, Oma!

At Dominick's suggestion, I am baking a birthday cake to celebrate what would have been Jeff's mom's (and my dear MIL's) 63rd birthday today. Happy Birthday, Oma! We are going to take the kids out to dinner tonight to celebrate your life, and then come home and enjoy some Pineapple Upside Down Cake tonight in your honor :)

"Otay, Jen-fer"

me: "Kirsten, it's time to go brush your teeth."

Kirsten: "otay, Jen-fer." Followed by giggles.....first hers, then her brother's, then mine and Jeff's. She's a nut. Where does she get this stuff?????

Dall Sheep

Dominick's class has been studying artic animals for the past couple of weeks. As part of learning about arctic animals, each child in his class drew a name (of an arctic animal) out of hat to do a report on. Dominick's animal is the "Dall Sheep". His teacher gave him a blank 11 x 14 posterboard that we needed to fill with pictures and facts about Dall Sheep, and then Dominick would have to use the posterboard to do a presentation to the rest of his class. I decided to take Dominick to the library to get started on the project. Jeff questioned this idea, and thought that using the internet (at home) was a much better approach. "But, it will be fun, and we'll find everything we need to finish the project. And I can teach him how to use the library for research". Wrong. After chasing Dominick and Kirsten around the libary for an hour, trying to keep them off of the computers, sitting (sort-of) through story-time, reminding them to talk quietly about 371 times, we left with ONE book with ONE measley picture of a Dall Sheep in it......AND then we went home and looked up everything we needed to know on the internet. I printed out a bunch of pictures and a map for him, typed up a fact-list, and cut out some letters on the Cricut. I handed him a glue stick and the pile of stuff we had, and after attempting to glue the first thing onto the poster, he decided he didn't like how sticky the glue stick made his fingers, so he quickly delegated the glueing to me, while he directed where to put everything. We didn't get it completely finished until Sunday, Jan 16, which was the day before his presentation. We had been practicing all of the information with him for a couple of weeks, though. We had him practice giving the presentation (with his posterboard) to us thoughout the entire day. At some point, he suggested that Jeff and I practice doing the presentation, too. So, Jeff and I each took a turn, and even Kirsten. She doesn't want to be left out of anything. She mainly just held the posted and said "Dawwwwwl Sheep" a few times, but it was very cute that she wanted to take a turn, too. On the big day, he did amazing. He was confident and excited, and he nailed it. Jeff and I both went to his classroom to watch him. We were so proud of him! I took the below video....he was so excited to get started that I missed him saying, "hi, my name is Dominick.....". The volume is REALLY quiet on this for some reason (I think because I did it on my regular camera vs. the video camera). So, make sure your volume is turned all the way up on your computer :)

11 in 2011

11 in 2011 (ie: New Year's Resolutions)
1. FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY lose the last 20 pounds that I gained during my pregnancy with Dominick. It's been over four years, and it's starting to drive me a bit (okay, a lot) crazy. Ok, I guess it really hasn' been over four years, not if you count that fact that I got pregnant and had Kirsten in that time period. But still. It's been too long.
2. Date night once a month (with each other, minus the kiddos). We have so much fun together when we do this. We have an awesome babysitter. We really have no excuse not to make this one happen.
3. Go on a fun, family trip every quarter. Just a long weekend will do. Just something to do together, away from our house, where we get bogged down in laundry, cooking, cleaning, DVR, work, errands, and all sorts of other time-consuming stuff. Possible options for this year: New Mexico to visit Jeff's dad, Chattanooga, an Indoor Waterpark, Center Hill Lake, Dunbar Cave State Park, Jack Daniels Distillery.
4. Blog at least once a week. I have been keeping this blog (ie: my e-scrapbook) for awhile, but am not great at keeping up with it. And that's an understatement. I am especially not great at posting actual posts. I have like 952 drafts created that just need a picture, or period, or exclamation point, or some minor thing added to them and they would be finished.. I know I am going to regret it if I don't, uh, finish all of those drafts, and then actually keep up with it at the same time......so I am going to do better. I have been telling myself this daily for over 2 years now, so we'll see how it goes this time around. Maybe I should grade myself on this list in order to actually make some progress? Or actually share this blog with someone so that I am more motivated to keep up with it?
5. Start making my own laundry soap. It's easy (so I've heard). It's less expensive (or so I've heard). It's better for you and the environment (I've also heard). All this hearsay cannot be wrong.
6. Shop, Cook, and Eat healthier (this is for all four of us). I think that our kids eat fairly well. The older they get, however, the worse they get. They are fairly open to trying new things, and eat a pretty wide variety of fruits and vegetables, but there's definitely room for improvement. I want to squeeze more nutrients into their diets (and ours), and incorporate more 'real' ingredients into my cooking and less processed ones. When Kirsten started on milk, we transitioned to organic (because of all of the hormonal effects I have read about that milk has on girls), eggs, chicken, and some produce, but I know we should increase this.
6a. Use a CSA or grow an organic vegetable garden. See #6 above.
6b. Begin buying organic beef from a local farmer. See #6 above.
6c. Do the 7-day detox from therawdivas.com. This is for Jeff and I, and I have him 80% convinced to do it with me. He may, however, no longer agree to it once he sees that name of the website, though. Yep, see #6 above.
7. Move Kirsten's bedroom upstairs. Dominick has been asking for this for awhile, so we just need to make the time to make it happen.
8. Visit Jeff's sister, brother-in-law, and niece in Alaska. We miss them, it's gorgeous there, and last time, they let us bunk with them for free for the week. Why wouldn't we go?
9. Organize and de-clutter our house. First stop: containerstore.com. Second stop: try to convince Jeff to build me a craft room.
10. Go see Kenny Chesney in concert. We try to do this every year. Or every year that he is on tour, which is every year every since I can remember except last year. LOVE. THAT. GUY.
11. Go on a long weekend trip somewhere…..anywhere (just Jeff and I). We did one in Sept 2009 and Jan 2010 (both for weddings), and we enjoyed them so much. This one and the Kenny Chesney one may be knocked out together….if Ticketmaster and Grandma & Grandpa cooperate with us, that is.....and if someone will get engaged, set a date for this year, and then invite us to their wedding :)