The Mergenthaler Family

Last Monday, Emily participated in a district-wide track meet for 5 th and 6 th graders. I was able to go for some of it. I liked watching the races. Emily participated in the agility course, the 50 meter dash, and the three-legged race. I have included a video of the three-legged race at the end of this post. It's pretty shaky because I was holding Sean and Andrew and standing up to film, but you get the idea. On Friday, Andrew went to Kalona with me to a flower auction. Last year, I went to the auction with some friends to get flowers for our yard. I figured it was the cheapest way to get flowers, so I went again this year. The trick about the auction is that you are buying in bulk. I didn't get much variety because I couldn't fit everything in my van, but I ended up with some beautiful, inexpensive flowers. I bought 9 large hanging baskets for $6 each and 17 pots of geraniums for $2.50. I have kept the flowers I wanted and sold the rest to friends. The auc...

Last week, we celebrated two birthdays: Andrew turned 3 on Sunday and Ricky turned 6 on Wednesday. Andrew requested a "Phineas and Ferb " cake for his birthday. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to make a Phineas and Ferb cake. As Andrew's birthday neared, I decided that rather than making an actual cake in the shape of Phineas or Ferb , I would buy figurines, stick them on the cake, and call it good. Saturday night, I finally got to the store to look for Phineas and Ferb . I was unsuccessful. Somehow we managed to talk Andrew into a car cake. I was glad for the change because since it was also Mother's Day, I didn't have a big "cake project" to complete. Andrew is so excited about being a 3-year old, but sometimes he acts like he is much older. He is kind of bossy sometimes and acts like the family "know-it-all." He is always right and always in charge. Our lunch conversation last Tuesday illustrates my point . . . I asked him...

The last few weeks have found me at the school every Thursday afternoon for end-of-year celebrations, projects, and musical performances. Andrew looks forward going to the school and I enjoy meeting the kids' classmates. As always, I'm not able to get into the classroom as much as I would like, so I take every opportunity I can when little ones are allowed to come. As much as I like being there, the last few Thursdays have been long and exhausting. Every Thursday, the children get out an hour early (1:55 p.m.) Usually, the school schedules these events for 1:00 p.m. so that the parents can just take their children home afterward. For me, it means Andrew doesn't take a nap and I don't get any break before the kids come home. By the end of the day, both Andrew and I are kind of grouchy. Our first Thursday activity was on Earth Day. The school had a "sing along" followed by healthy snacks in the classroom . The following Thursday, I went to Emily's music per...