The Mergenthaler Family

We have a lot of frogs around our house.  The wet, warm weather is perfect for them to thrive, and they are great entertainment for the kids. One evening, when Makayla was headed out the door to go practice basketball, a fat frog hopped right in our house.  It was creepy!  Makayla saved the day by catching it in a cup and taking it outside. Last Sunday, when we were on a walk, I saw the smallest frog I have ever seen.  When I pointed it out to Makayla, she was not surprised at all.  Now that I know they are there, I see them everywhere.  In the following pictures, Makayla is holding one in her hand.  They are smaller than a fingernail. Our first years here, the kids would spend hours outside catching and playing with frogs.  They would give them names like Hoppy or George and carry them around for hours.  Unfortunately, I know they have unintentionally murdered several of them.  Their population doesn't seem to be affected, th...

School got out two weeks ago, today.  If I thought I was busy while the kids were in school, it's nothing compared to having everybody home.  It takes a couple of weeks to adjust to being around each other all the time, and it's an adjustment for me to rarely have a moment's peace.  I am trying to enjoy our time together and appreciate the warm weather and carefree days. The end of the school year is a beast in itself.  There are so many end of the year presentations that it seems like the last two weeks of school, Sean doesn't get a decent nap because I have to wake him up and take him to one event or another. Nevertheless, we go and I try to enjoy the kids' accomplishments while I wrestle Sean to keep him from pulling down the classroom book displays or running like an adorable little tyrant through the halls. The first school thing we went to was Ricky's "Spring Showcase."  Ricky has really made a lot of progress this scho...

 Dear University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Based on our consistent patronage over the past three years, and considering the fact that our children are among the cutest you have seen, would you consider a discount on your services?  We are loyal customers and I do not doubt that we will return in the future as it seems the Mergenthaler Family just cannot make it through one week without visiting your facilities. I think a Buy One Get One Free Deal is in order. Thank you very much! Sincerely, A Weary Mother and Her Stretched Budget

I'm starting to think that May might just be my favorite month.  May brings lovely spring weather with green leaves on the trees.  I get pampered on Mothers' Day.  We get to celebrate two of our boys' birthdays and our anniversary.  It is a busy, fun month.  Following are a few pictures and videos from the month of May at the Mergenthaler house. Ricky is playing baseball.  He loves to play, but honestly loves just about anything that involves going somewhere and doing something fun with friends.  Warmer weather means ice cream cones and popsicles at our house.  Sean is so happy about that! Sean also loves being outside.  He is very good at talking me and his big sisters into taking him out.  He'll bring us our shoes and sweaters and walk us to the door, asking "Side?  Side?"  Somehow, we always end up visiting the MacBride Raptor Preserve Park in May.  I planned Andrew's preschool field trip this month, so we went ...

I thought I would be able to get some videos up displaying our children's many talents, but uploading the videos just wasn't working well.  Following is one that worked: Emily wrote a lovely poem for Rick's birthday: The other two videos (Emily's piano recital performance and Sean's favorite game of climbing on the table) were too slow to upload and always came back with an error.  I think they were too long.  I'm working on uploading videos of the boys' birthdays, Ricky playing baseball, and Emily's track meet.  We'll see how that goes . . .

We have had an eventful month so far.  With only one week remaining, I have more news to write about than I care to write--especially since it is not all good news.  But, news is news! Rick turned 34 this month.  We were expecting a busy day on his birthday, so we celebrated on the previous Sunday.  The kids made him some thoughtful gifts including cards, poems, and coupons for "big bear hugs."  I think he had a nice day. It's a good thing we celebrated on Sunday because his actual birthday turned out even busier than I had expected.  I had already planned to go grocery shopping in the morning, get some laundry done, clean up the house a bit, help the kids with homework, make dinner, take Ricky to baseball, and then head off to a Relief Society meeting at the church.  But, even from the morning, things didn't turn out as planned. About five minutes before we were due to walk to school, I heard Emily frantically yelling at me from upstairs about s...

Good afternoon.  This is Sean with a very important public service announcement:  Never play with markers!  There is a chance you could fall victim to a condition known as Pink Unibrow.  This condition is known to remain for up to two days even in cases in which the irresponsible individual plays with washable markers. Another plausible risk of playing with markers is the humiliating experience of being called Unibrow Red Beard by your siblings.  Avoid this at all costs. Thank you for attention to this very important announcement.  Remember, color on paper NOT people .  That is all.