Gabe's announcement

Click on this link to hear Gabe's announcement to his grandparents. I'd love to hear what you think!! :-)

The Tale of the Mosquito Eater

There once a little mosquito eater who found his way into the Maiberger home. The children were fascinated by this rare creature. They huddled by the sliding door to stare at it standing on the glass window. Was it it's rareness that attracted them to this insect? Mom Maiberger just couldn't figure it out. She couldn't help but laugh as the children kept coming to ask her questions like,

"Mom, can we go catch mosquitos to feed it? I REALLY think he's hungry"

"Mom, is he our friend? Is he our helper? Does he want to know our names?"

Even the little girl walked right up to the mosquito eater and said,

"Don cwy! Awwwww. It gohna be ok!"

But her heart must have suddenly changed. Mom Maiberger and her son were standing in the kitchen when they heard loud banging. The son looked in horror as his little sister repeatedly beat the mosquito eater with the wooden stick that keeps the sliding door from sliding open.

Son: "NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You killed our helper!!! That was VERY VERY VERY VERY bad. You need to say you are SORRY!"

Daughter: "I sawweee"

Mom Maiberger gathered what was left of the mosquito eater into some kleenex and the son watched as they gave it a solemn funeral down the toilet. Who knows what possessed the little girl into sudden destruction. But now all is well and the mosquito eater is but a faint memory of the morning.

A wild week of fun!

Man, this week has flown by!! Usually when Matt is gone it seems like each day is SO long but these days have just whizzed by! My mom has been here (which you all already know from the previous post) and that has helped a LOT. With everything from going to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, to the Detroit Zoo, to Kensington to swim, to the clubhouse to swim, and of course trips to Target we have had a really full week!! :-) There were some really great one liners from the kids this week...here's a few I can remember:

Grammy: ok, Gabe, let's be detectives...let's look for clues. I will be Sherlock Holmes.

(Grammy and Gabe hunt for clues throughout the house, then get separated. Overheard from the other side of the house:)

Gabe: Sheriff Homelocks!!! Sheriff Homelocks!! Come help me!

Overheard at the dentist while Gabe is sitting in the dentist chair just before he was to get his teeth cleaned:

Gabe: Is this toothpaste edible? (then later) Why are there no Mrs? You call everything Mr. but there are no Mrs.

Hygenist: what do you mean?

Gabe: you call it "mr. Thirsty" and "Mr. Water squirter" but there is no Mrs.!

Anyway, I hope you all have had a wonderful week! More funny stories are sure to come here on the Maiblogger. ;-)

Into the Wild Frontier...

...Frontier Airlines, that is. Oh my goodness. Where do I even start? My poor poor mother flew from Denver to Detroit yesterday to be with me and the kids while matt is out of country. You could name her journey more like "A Series of Unfortunate Events." So grab a cup of coffee or a nice snack and get ready for the airplane story she is not soon to forget!

The flight started great. She was on her way to see me and my kids and she was ecstatic. The plane took off and she smiled to herself knowing that in just a few short hours she would be safe on the ground in Detroit, greeted by the cheers of "GRAAAAAAAAAMY!" Or would she? Fifteen minutes into the flight she was startled by a huge air pressure change. Her ears popped hard but she didn't think too much of it quite yet. A few short minutes later the oxygen masks drop from the ceiling. Could this really be? Did what she saw before her REALLY just happen? The oxygen masks just don't drop unless there is a reason. Most normal airline travelers have never even seen the masks except for in movies. She listened as the whole flight was instructed to put the masks on. Thousands of thoughts are racing through her mind as she starts to cry. Could this be the end? Will I have a chance to say goodbye? WHAT IS GOING ON????? Then it starts. The pilot takes a nose dive with the airplane to get the plane to an elevation where they can breathe if the oxygen system fails. Indeed, the cabin had lost pressure and the quick thinking pilot knows that if they don't get lower they could all pass out. Within seconds the plane drops from 30,000 ft to a mere 14,000 ft. It feels like the worst rollercoaster ride she's ever been on, like the big first hill that never ends. But then they level out at 14,000 ft. They are told by the stewardesses to prepare for an emergency landing, just in case. Then she smells smoke. By this time she is completely beside herself. She tries to call my dad, and gets through for a brief time, letting him know that the oxygen masks have come down. But then the call dropped. My dad called me to let me know what happened and of course we were all just stunned, not knowing what to do or think. I was in the van with Matt and the kids getting ready to take him to the airport for his trip! I frantically called the airline, trying to get any information they would give me. Back to my mom. Thankfully, the plane was heading back to Denver and was going to land, they all hoped. They were greeted on the tarmac by a full emergency crew. Apparently the fireman had to check the wheels to see if they were on fire. That's always reassuring. They rolled into the gate and she was the first one escorted off the plane by a fireman seeing how she is wearing a heart monitor right now. More on that later.
Of course she was shaken but thankfully was able to make all the calls to let us know that she was indeed fine. How anyone who had gone through that could get right back on another airplane I have no idea. But go she must or she couldn't get to Detroit. She did NOT want to get on a plane, but she didn't want her grandkids to be disappointed either, so off she went to find the new gate. She was at gate 26. They told her for sure, go to gate 53. So she high tailed it to gate 53 where she was told, no, no, go to gate 26 and hurry! So she catches one of those little cart men and whips it back to gate 26. They all finally reboard and she is enroute again to Detroit. The nightmare was over she hoped. This flight was as smooth as glass. She got into Detroit about 4 hours after she was scheduled to, and wouldn't you know it....no bag. Nowhere. The little turning thing had stopped turning. There were a few unclaimed bags. Hers was not there. So she filed the report. It is now 24 hours later and no bag and no communication from the airline after many calls to baggage support and customer care. It wouldn't be so bad just not having clothes. But remember the heart monitor? Her electrodes that she has to change everyday are in the bag. Will the saga end???

In other news, I had the hardest conversation as a mother last night. Gabe had had a rough night going to bed so the usual discipline was taken. However, after going back and forth and me having to toe the line harder and harder, he finally through tears says, "Mom...it just seems like I should have never been born." My heart BREAKS and Gabe and I talked for about 30 minutes about his behavior and how he was feeling. Ugh. I hope the saying is true that kids who have a hard time in their early years have great teenage years. God, I need Your help!!!!!!

Mercy Me

Last night we went to see Mercy Me at the Fowerville Fair. Overall it was a good concert. The two bands before Mercy Me were alright. The first one called "The Afters" had one song that I really liked. Then next was Sanctus Real. I have heard them before and I just wasn't too impressed. But then Mercy Me got out there (finally after TWO HOURS) and they were really really good. I was kinda sad cause they didn't play as long as I thought they should have. The other two bands played SOOOO long that it seemed like Mercy Me ran out of time. They even didn't do all of "I can Only Imagine" which was kindof a bummer. That was the one that of course everyone was waiting for. And they kindof threw it on at the last minute...Matt said it was like "oh we better do this or you all are going to shoot us." Which, on the side of Mercy Me I guess I can understand because I can only imagine that they are so sick of that song by now. haha

Anyway, not too much to blog about. I am SOOOOOOOOOOO tired today seeing as I didn't get to bed until 2 am. Matt leaves Friday and my mom comes Friday so we are busily preparing for that. I need a little burst of energy!

Oh on a funny side note, this was Gabe's comment to me this morning:

Gabe: hey mom, it looks like you are losing weight!
me: awwwww thanks Gabe that made my day! (giving Gabe a hug)
Gabe: well, it looks like if from the back, but right here (patting stomach) it doesn't look like it so
much.
me: well thanks for the compliment anyway (smiling)
Gabe: actually, maybe what happened is that the weight from your back just got pushed to your front stomach.

Laughing I just walked away. It was the thought that counted! :-) Oh and sorry I haven't gotten a picutre on here yet, but to make my weekly post on my weight loss as promised, let's see: Week 3, -3.5, -5.5 overall.

yes yes, and yes

I was just reading through all of your blogs and was going to post comments on all of them but instead I decided to just write one blog as a comment post...is that legal? :-)

To Misty: we haven't done the astrological sign thing but we have done one of those personality tests and Matt and I are both Otters to the max (spontaneous, energetic, etc). According to the test Otters never seek out Otters...haha. So I guess we are an anomoly as well. Haha...or rather it means that we have a ton of fun but we never get anything done!! That would be a lot more accurate! ;-)

To Mindy: Can't wait to hear all about your vacatio...well, time away. :-) We've all missed you in blog land!

To Mandi: If my children ever both slept past 8 I think I would pass out. Congratulations!!!!! And even though it has felt psycho, I think it is truly great that your children know their cousins. I want that so bad for mine as well...so far we only have one neice in utero...due in Sept.

To Angie: I think you are doing a fabulous job and I think if we all ever come up with some sort of mommy organization thing we would all be rich and could all retire somewhere warm. ;-) Seriously though, everything you have gone through is not for nothing. God promises you that. And in those times you feel the weakest, that is when God is the strongest...and I have seen that in you. I love the words of one of my favorite worship songs:

Lord you are my strength
Lord you are my shield
Lord you are my refuge in my time of need
When I am weak you make me strong
When I am poor you make me rich
When I am sick you make me whole
You are my everything

To Sandy: I cracked up when I saw that 'cause my mom ironically just showed me a copy of the actual article that she had from somewhere just a few weeks ago! If only, eh? You know I am all about having the peace haven and such, but not asking when he chooses to stay out all night?? Um, I don't think so!!! :-)

In other brief random news, we did get to see the fireworks on the 5th of July. Kindof seemed weird, but still cool nonetheless. The kids loved them and stayed awake through the whole show!

Weight Watchers, going mostly well. The only insanity this week was the late night craving last night for near a whole pan of rice crispy treats. Ugh. Rice crispy treats...why does something so tasty have to be so wrong?? :-)

Again, wish I was seeing you all on sat. Have fun. Update me. I (sniff) wish I (sniff sniff) were there!!!

Week 2: -2

One week down, 51 more to go

Haha...well, at least I hope so! There will be at least 52 more weeks at this weight watcher thing if not more, but I am pleased to say that week one went for the most part GREAT! I love how I feel when I get to work out. Now what I need is to be able to do it at the same time each morning...that is the hard part for me!

In other news, it is raining today, July 4th and most of you know that. *sigh* It looks like it might clear in time for fireworks, but if nothing else we are going to do a few sparklers with the kids. I hope we get to see fireworks!!!!!

Anyway, here is the picture, as promised and my progress. Hope you all are having a wonderful 4th and I wish I could say that I will see you all Saturday, but as Misty and Angie already know I can't make it. Something got scheduled after we had made our schedule and I can't bow out. I AM SO SORRY!! We are having a bunch of youth sponsors over here for breakfast at 8am so unless we meet at 6 or earlier (which I know would be killer for you all) then I will have to wait until our August movie night. However, if by some random freak thing you all wanna meet at 6, I'm there! :-)