Kohler Art Day

A week or two ago, we went up to the Kohler Arts Center with some friends. Kohler is about an hour north of here, and the gallery part of the Center is so-so:



but they have a fantastic children's art room:







With a large bubble making apparatus:



And a cave where the kids could wear headlamps and color cave-drawings on the walls:




The Kohler Arts Center is also known for having six AMAZING bathrooms. One holds the title of One of the Top Ten Bathrooms in America. (I don't have photos of this one, because it was the men's room, but we did sneek in and take a peek. The most incredible urinals I have ever seen.) But here is one of the ladies rooms:










Also, it was one of the first semi-warm days in Wisconsin, so we spent a little time playing outside.







It looks like a lot when you put them all together.

Creatvity Tag

To make this clear, I am posting this for purely selfish reasons. My friend Abby posted this, and I could sure use more Abby-ware. I'm not promising anything spectacular, but I will make something.

The first five people to respond to this post will receive something made by me. HOMEMADE! The item will be my choice made just for you!


Restrictions and Limitations:


1. I have complete creative freedom
2. What I create will be just for you
3. It will be done within the next 6 months
4. You have no clue what it will be. It may be a personalized note cards. I might bake something. I might not think of anything until 6 months from now...


The catch? You must re-post this on your own blog and offer the same giveaway to 5 people who comment. The first 5 people to leave a comment telling me they are in, will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift from me! Be sure to post a picture of what you get!


Here's to creativity!

Stats on the baby:

Due Date: October 7

How far along: Almost 17 weeks

How far along I look: About 25 weeks or 17 weeks with twins, maybe.

Girl or Boy?: We don't know. We'll find out in a few weeks.

Gender Preference?: There are pro and cons to either. We have everything we need for a girl. But a boy would be fun, too. John says he doesn't care if it's a boy or a girl, but I guarantee there will be some yipping and hollering in the ultrasound room if they find a boy.

Predictions?: I don't have any spiritual premonitions about things like this, but, if you will check the 12 week ultrasound posted previously. . .

Cravings: Mostly a lot like I was with Hailey. Pure sugar. I've tried to keep it under control this time instead of downing bulk bags of smarties (and failing my diabetes test with flying colors). I try to feed my sugar cravings with things like Cookie Crisp and Smacks and any other seriously sugar packed, but also vitamin fortified cereal. Compromise, right?

Also, one night I had a strong strong craving for deviled eggs. I spent probably 45 minutes making myself a batch of them, but got distracted and doubled the salt on accident. Maybe tripled. Hailey's on a "trying new foods" kick, and asked if she could have one. I had not tried one yet, and we have a rule that if you eat something, you need to finish it, so she gagged it down in front of an unsympathetic mother. John came home and tried the deviled eggs too, and spit it right out, which is unusual for his politeness meter. I finally sampled my own cooking, and had to throw the rest away. On the plus side, I don't crave deviled eggs anymore.

And the ever-asked "How are you feeling?": fine. good. good enough, I guess. can't complain. except when I do. like about the headaches and the leg pain accompanied by the growing varicose veins and the (unfounded) middle-of-the-night paranoia over blood clots and the heartburn and the fatigue and the early beginnings of sciatica.

But really, I'm fine.

And

Are the girls excited?: You betcha. Nora likes yelling at my tummy "Hey BABY! You in there BABYYY? HEY BABY! Are you a BOY ONE OR A GIRL ONE?" Very endearing. Hailey of course is making plans on how she is going to be the best big sister ever, and I almost conned her into learning how to change diapers. Almost.

That's right, O h i o.

I guess it's time to explain the pretty unexpected announcement of our moving on to Canton, Ohio.

First of all, where is Canton?



Canton is a city of about 80,000 (metro area 500,000) about an hour south of Cleavland.

And for you geographically challenged folk, like myself, where is Ohio?



What you never heard of Canton?

No?

Home to the NFL Hall of Fame?

And the First Ladies National Library?

Are you sure?

Maybe you'll remember John McCain stopped there in '08 as he was campaigning for President. True. Stephen Colbert even talked about it on The Colbert Report:

On the July 21, 2008, Stephen Colbert, on The Colbert Report made a comment about John McCain making a campaign stop in Canton, Ohio, and "not the crappy Canton in Georgia."The comment resulted in a local uproar, with the Canton, Georgia, mayor insisting Colbert had never visited the town along with an invitation for him to do so. On July 30, 2008, Colbert apologized for the story, insisting that he was incorrect and that the "real" crappy Canton was Canton, Kansas, after which he made several jokes at the Kansas town's expense. On August 5th, Colbert apologized to citizens of Canton, Georgia and Canton, Kansas, then directing his derision on Canton, South Dakota. Colbert later went on to offer a half-hearted apology to Canton, SD before proceeding to mock Canton, Texas.

So, we're not moving to the "crappy Canton."

Ringing a bell yet?

Hmmm.

I'd never heard of Canton either. But that's where we're moving and we're excited to do so.

Why would we do that?

John found a 1-year residency program that he really loved, and everything just seemed to fall in place for this opportunity. I finally visited Canton over Easter break and have officially deemed the placed suitable to raise children and live for a little while. So even though we are sad to be moving further away from family, rather than closer, I think it will end up being a great opportunity for John professionally and a good experience for our family, too.

We still haven't nailed down housing but we hope to do that in the next week or two.

So onward to our next adventure. . .


Post Script: I have a question. Is Ohio considered "midwest" or "eastern" US? It is only six hours away from D.C., but still seems to have a lot more in common with Wisconsin than New York. Please let me know, because if we are indeed moving out of the midwest, I'd like to work on my Eastern Elitism right away.

Because this is what we do for fun when John isn't around.

Oh yeah, and more about all that Ohio business soon. I promise.