We're In A Pickle!

We thought we'd find some great way to get rid of our mini-van before we left. It really has been one of the last things on our list to settle before we leave. Bad idea. We have hardly any options for ending our lease without paying thousands or ruining our credit (no option there). So we are searching for someone to assume our lease. It is a 2006 Honda Odyssey. The payments are $385/month with 22 months left. We will offer a $1000 cash bonus. Pass this along to anyone you trust. Thanks.

Skating and Yoga

We finally returned to the great park in Geneva, IL to test the skating ramps.  This was Henry's first attempt and he did amazingly well.  He could do two of the ramps without a problem.  The next higher one looked pretty intense.

Elsa entertained herself on the ramps doing yoga poses.

We liked this sign.

Crazy Climber

Henry and his buddies have taken to climbing trees.  I hope we make it out of here without any broken limbs.  Hang in there Atticus!

"I'll sell that for $2. Actually, how about $5?"

My neighbor Patty and I had a massive garage sale last weekend.  This is us the night before the event...

Neither of us has ever hosted a garage sale before.  We had visions of sitting back and reading magazines while the kids sold lemonade.  Wrong.  It was insanely busy.  One potty break a day and my other neighbor Michelle would bring us lunch (which we didn't even sit down to eat).  We made loads and loads of money.  Well, not really.  By any standard it was a success.  After it was over we still took two van loads to Goodwill.  Yikes, that is a lot of stuff!

Greg posted these pictures and titled this post for me.  I guess I'm just not keeping up.  His title refers to my bargaining technique.  To some it may seem a bit backward, but it was quite effective.  I suppose it made the buyer feel so uncomfortable they just wanted to get it and get out. Hey, whatever works.

Watch Out!

I am so glad each of my children has a sense of humor. They are constantly making me laugh (or scream). I had a brood of children at my house the other day, and because of the house selling thing-I didn't want them inside. So, I brought them all outside to wash my car. It was a fabulously warm day. They of course loved being in the water and loved squirting the hose. Ansel felt the power of this new tool. He stood next to the side walk as the school-aged kids came home and threatened them with the hose. He was hysterical from their reactions to him. What a dude.

The Happiest Place On Earth!

We had such a wonderful trip to Southern California. Greg's mom and sisters met us there for a really great time. The highlight of Disneyland was getting passes to attend the "Magic Hour." They close the park at eight and if you are lucky enough to get invited you get to enjoy the park from 8:30 until 9:30. It was a blast. This trip was just the perfect get away from selling our house.

Bring Your Kids to Work Day

Hi. This is Greg. Husband of Suzy and guest-author for today's post.

Yesterday was Bring Your Kids to Work Day, so I took the two oldest Banshees into the city to see my office. (For those of you who don't know, I work in advertising, doing things like this.) Here are just some of the day's highlights:

The train ride into the city. Henry said this was his favorite part of the day. (It's all downhill from here.) When I asked him why he simply said, "No seat belts!"

Downtown near the Sears Building. (Obviously, the Windy City.)

Taking the water taxi up the Chicago River to the office.
(In the winter I have to walk through the Loop.)

Our Kind of Town. A short walk from the dock to the office.
(I've just noticed I've been using parentheses quite liberally.)

Henry tries his hand at copywriting.
(Note the two cans of grape juice. The free soda in the vending machine meant a morning of punching buttons and an afternoon of trips to the bathroom.)

Elsa drew a picture of Corey, my art director partner.
Apparently, Corey is part Charlie Brown, part piranha.

Foosball!

Elsa loved the view!

The train ride home.
(Do you know how hard it is to carry two kids off a train?)

Choo-Choo!

Last Saturday, we went to the Choo Choo, a diner in the northwest part of Chicago. There's an electric train that runs along the counter and back into the kitchen. When your order's ready, it comes out on the train. The place was packed. When we arrived the line was out the door. But the onion rings were worth it.

Ansel spies the train!

Waiting patiently. Trying to suppress the hungry grumpies.

The onion rings begin to take their toll on Elsa.

Ahh Spring.

Dare I say it has arrived? The crocus have bloomed and daffodils are poking up. I have even seen the first leaves of the hollyhocks. Birds are singing, and Ansel has been allowed to go outdoors! Heaven help us we can hardly open the door without him escaping or throwing a fit when he misses his chance to breathe some fresh air. This weekend we took a little time to visit Geneva. Geneva, Illinois that is. We found a great little park with some wicked fast slides. Ansel was in heaven. He dove head first down these slides. Mothers were gasping in fear. We couldn't get a picture because we had to catch him at the bottom. Elsa exposed her bare legs for the first time this year. She was worried about goose bumps and was pleased that they didn't manifest themselves. She really was scared about these goose bumps I had warned her about-she thought they would hurt. I really don't know what her imagination had drawn up in her one-of-a-kind mind. Henry was mesmerized by some young boys on their skateboards-actually he was green with envy. It felt good to be outside. Thank you spring.

Mueller Visit(s)!

We were so happy to have our cousins Calvin and Natalie (and of course their lovely parents-Travis and Audrey) come and visit. We had such a great time eating and playing. One highlight was gathering in the couch bed to watch a little show. How fun all cuddled up together. Thanks for coming guys. We hope it isn't years before we see you again. Please come visit us in Geneva!


The week after Grandma and Grandpa came! We had such a wonderful time eating and playing! (I have gained five pounds since their visits)! The children loved their visit. We are so grateful for our family. I don't know why I didn't take any pictures of my cute parents with their darling grandchildren. duh.

Easter Sunday!

This post is an afterthought. I didn't even know I took any pictures on Easter. It didn't seem worth going all out with new Easter outfits this year, it was just too cold. Elsa wore a new dress from Grandma and Grandpa and looked very pretty. Henry made do with what he already had, and Ansel looked quite dapper in some hand-me-down seersucker. I really felt great about my effort to minimize when the kids had nearly finished their candy by Monday. Easter was good.

New Perches!

I obviously enjoy chasing after "the Booch," because I keep taking these pictures of him climbing over and into everything. He is a joy.
This one on the counter makes me laugh. . . he's so comfortable up there.

The earth laughs in flowers. -Emerson

It looks like I'm not the only one not laughing!
This winter has been way too long. On my way to pick the kids up from French class, it started to snow. Unbelievable.
Some lady on our way out was commenting on the bad weather, and Henry reassured her that we were also looking forward to warmer weather. He didn't quite know what to think when she responded, "Good, or I'd have to beat your head in!" Yikes!
To make it worse there are a handful of people in the neighborhood that haven't taken down their Christmas wreaths. Easter is this Sunday for heaven sake. The wreaths are dead-take them down!
I remember my Sophomore year in college walking across campus in June and it started to snow. That was a bummer too.

Farewell "Sisters"

I recently noticed since Elsa has turned four that she has quit mentioning her 5 dead sisters. Don't be alarmed. If I haven't introduced you, Elsa has/had five dead sisters (imaginary) that she named: Juni, Yuni, Charolette, Pepper, and Nancy. Whenever she was mischievous she'd say she learned it from one of her dead sisters. We thought it was pretty funny. Others were disturbed by it. Well now that they're gone, I miss them and am hoping they pop in to say hi every now and then.

Tagged?!

I think this started circulating around Valentine's Day. I couldn't get it done any faster than this. Here's to keeping the love alive. Hats off to you Kim. Here's to the man that makes me laugh every single day! Lucky me.




What is his name? Gregory Christensen

How long have you been married? This is our eighth year.

How long did you date? Our first date was December 15, 1999 and we were married August 11, 2000. That equals eight months.

Who said I love you first? He did. I returned the favor with a dramatic pause intended to illicit a thoughtful moment, however all I did was put terror into the heart of my only true love by not answering immediately. I'm sorry.

Who kissed who first? Greg politely asked to kiss me and I tried to talk him out of it for about two hours. True true. The moment he kissed me I knew I would marry him.

Who asked who out? He did.

Who proposed? He did.

Who eats more sweets? Oh we are equals on all things that matter. It is our approach that differs. I'm a grazer, he's a gorger.

How old is he? He's 34. Nine months younger than me.

Who is taller? Greg. After dating what seemed like every 5'4" dude on campus, I knew I needed to help my gene pool.

Who is smarter? What! Am I suppose to secede just for the sake of humility. Forget it. Like was mentioned before we are equals, our intellectual talents differ. He does amaze me every day with his vast amounts of knowledge.

Who can sing better? Greg for sure. I like to sing, but he can.

Who does the laundry? Me.

Who pays the Bills? Greg.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Stage right? Me. That isn't necessarily an advantage. It is further from the bathroom in our bedroom.

Who mows the lawn? Both. I think I enjoy it more.

Who cooks dinner? Me.

Who drives? Greg

Who has more siblings? Once again equals. We each have three.

Who wears the pants? Greg and I really prefer dresses and skirts.

Elsa Is Four!

Elsa's birthday was Tuesday. We didn't celebrate until Saturday, and that didn't bug her one bit. . .as long as she could claim four on Tuesday nothing else mattered. Apparently the shame of three was deeper than I had imagined. She was so angry when her buddy Brynn turned four back in November. She's finally at peace again.
Her party was a ton of fun. We gathered a bunch of her friends and they baked and decorated her birthday cake from scratch. I really get into planning my children's birthday parties. I love it. I love entertaining lots of hyper children for a couple hours with the hope that my child will have a great memory. This one was a breeze. I'd do it again in a second. The kids had a great time and were enthralled in the baking process. I didn't have to plan any games or anything. We brought Elsa's kitchen down, and they played with that for about 15 minutes while we waited for the cake to cool.
Elsa had a great time being with her friends. She is such a dear. I worried for weeks about getting her "the" gift, but in the end knew it wouldn't matter. She is such a sweet little girl and so very easy to please. Just like not celebrating on her birthday--she could take it or leave it. She really just loves to be surrounded with her friends and family. Thanks Nana for coming to celebrate with her. She loved it.

The Swiss Family Christensen!

It is official. We will be moving our family to Geneva, Switzerland on June 1. G. accepted the offer today. He will be working for the same company, different office. We are very excited, and have committed for two years. Henry and Elsa will be enrolled in Swiss schools next fall and speaking French. Believe it. I will be learning French. I was angry about that for about a month. Switzerland has four, but really three, official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansch(?). Seventy five percent of the country speaks German. How easy would that be. Whatever. French is starting to sound nice.


These pictures are from our visit to Geneva last week. The first is G. and Ansel in St. Croix. A lovely little mountain village. The second is me in front of the big fountain in Lake Geneva. However, don't be fooled. This was no vacation.
Geneva is beautiful. It will be a lovely place to live. Come visit.

Tent Night

Occasionally Greg sets up the tent in the living room, then takes the kids to pick out a movie at blockbuster. They have a little camp-out inside while enjoying a good flick and eating some of his delicious popcorn. The best kind of camping experience for Chicago in the winter.

The Little Booch

Henry made up a game that he plays with Greg where they run around and he calls him "The Big Booch." They've been playing it for a couple of months now. The name has a great ring and lately I've decided we might need to graduate Ansel from some of his more babyish nicknames. He is 15 months old! The Little Booch seems to be just right and is sticking nicely.
So what's the Little Booch up to? Everything! I can hardly keep up. But I know if I haven't seen him in about thirty seconds he is on top of one of his perches. As for the messes only the long wear lipstick has been photographed. The syrup and cocoa are just really good stories. We sure do love the messy Little Booch!

Wintertime!

Henry loves the winter. I love that when he comes home from school and it is so cold outside he still wants to put on all his gear and be outside. He even convinces Elsa to join him and she loves it too! Her bouts outside are usually half as long. Thursday we got our biggest storm this year, about ten inches. Henry has spent so much time outside building forts and shoveling and just loving the snow. Elsa has pneumonia so hasn't been able to play outside with him. I have enjoyed watching him from the window (Ansel just isn't ready to spend more than two seconds in the cold air), but had to go out when I saw him against this tree just enjoying a rest in the snow. I love it. Our kids are so entertained throughout their day I sometimes worry that they won't be able to just enjoy the world around them. Ahhh.