I'M A DOE

Memories

2012-02-09T21:40:00.002-06:00

Tonight we had parent teacher conferences. Ryan wasn't able to come and the boys came with me. Trace's teacher, Mrs. Sullivan, is so passionate and positive when it comes to Trace. She had nothing but good things to say and is very proud of the accomplishments / improvements he's made this year. He has been moved up to the highest reading group in the class and can sound out many words, even the long vowel words that many other kindergartners struggle with. He is struggling a bit with number concepts but she is confident that once it 'clicks' with him that he will be fine.

At the end of the meeting she quietly said to me (the boys were in the classroom with me and somewhat listening) 'Trace talks about you ALL the time, he really really loves you". I got tears in my eyes and just about melted right there. Of course I know my boys love me and Trace in particular is very .. possessive..of me. He always wants to know where I am....if i'm putting in laundry, or in the bathroom or just out of his sight for a bit he will call out my name to see where i'm at. Both boys still get upset when I leave for a couple hours and Trace is still in our bed every night. But still....hearing that from his teacher just made me so proud to be his mom.

Caige also got a good report from Mrs. Peterson (2nd grade) -- he does rush through his work and would see an improvement in some of his grades if he slowed down so that is our goal. Very proud of him also. He behaves very well in class.

Another story from tonight....we went to Taco Bell after the conferences because we had some errands to run in town. Caige can eat a LOT of tacos. I think he had 7 tonight. He prefers hard shell. Trace had gotten a kids meal which only comes with one taco -- he prefers soft shell and I wasn't sure how many he would eat so at first I just got Caige his hard shells and got Trace his kids meal. After he ate his one taco he wanted more so I had to go order more. I got a 12 pack so I could bring some home to Ryan .... so this took awhile. I came and sat down while they were being made. The Pontiac taco bell is kind of old and the booth was not the sturdiest int he world .... so Trace says "They really need to tear this place down and rebuild it " " But that would take forever like 3 months!" and then I said ..."Is 3 months forever?" and he said "No but if I don't get a taco for that long I would really be starving" LOL. It doesn't sound that cute in writing but the way he says it with the smirk and part serious on his face was just funny/adorable.

Love my boys!

I'm coming back!!!

2011-05-22T22:07:00.001-05:00

I promise....I want to get back into this on a consistent basis. Lots of cute stories as the boys mature. Taking the invite thing off too for the ease of my readers ;) Be back ... tomorrow I hope :)

Cleaning of the toybox

2011-01-30T21:20:00.007-06:00

Should I be concerned when I find .... salt ..... on the bottom of the toybox?

I don't even want to know why/how that got there. lol. Yes, there are lots of dog hairs there too :p

Within the toybox I also found this poor astronaut man. This is 100% Trace - I find these kinds of things all over the place. This particular one reminds me of 'Sid' from Toy Story. When I asked Trace what was up with this he said he taped it there so he wouldn't fly off when he shot off the rocket. How toughtful! lol :

Here is a pic of how Trace loads up his remote control gator:
The boy cracks me up. Love him!

So proud of Trace!!!!

2011-01-27T21:19:00.003-06:00

Trace is FINALLY writing his name!!! First and last and can identify all the letters in his first name and all but the 'z' and 'n' in last name!! This coming from the boy who would cry and fuss everytime we asked him to write his name and would then scribble a non-legible mess. He wouldn't even try his last name before Christmas but is writing it pretty good now!

I'm one proud mama :)

Basketball

2011-01-25T21:19:00.007-06:00

Caige has started a basketball program through the school - Saturday mornings for 1 hour. As with every 'first' that I experience as a mother, I am in awe watching him. Seems like yesterday that he did not want to be far away from mom and now he runs off to the middle of the court without looking back.

The first 'game' was this past Saturday and he was soooo nervous - he has this nervous thing where he kind of picks at his lips with his hands. And you could tell from just looking at him that he was nervous.

By time they were done with their warm ups and fundamentals he didn't seem as nervous. I don't think he really gets the concept of the game yet. He is too nice to try and steal the ball and he is not aggressive enough to get in there and get the rebounds. All with time. Here is my little superstar in action :

Now --- this is a group of 1st grader. Sometimes it is a complete hot mess of kids. Here is a great shot where everyone is about to fall, I love the little girl in this ... so cute
And...they don't fit in their jersey's too good - Caige started his basketball career as #14
And here is how Trace and his buddy, Seth, tend to spend their time during the game

Going Private

2011-01-12T22:35:00.001-06:00

I feel the urge to have a bit more control over who is reading this blog. This is a test to see if it works ;)

If your here - check out the new blog containing the boys artwork :
http://twoboysart.blogspot.com/

Sissy ?

2010-09-15T23:35:00.002-05:00

After the shower my boys smell like watermelons :p

At what age does this become in-appropriate? I'm beginning to get that nagging feeling that they are getting too old for this somewhat girly smelling body wash. They don't seem to mind of course! They are used to mom lotioning up all good and smelly after her shower so they think its cool to smell good (and fruity? lol) Curious as to what my other mother-of-boys friends do for big boy soap nowadays........

Unwrapped

2010-09-14T22:01:00.002-05:00

Have you seen this show on food network? Trace LOVES it. I don't watch much tv but this is something we enjoy watching together. Trace also likes the food challenges where they have to build stuff out of cake, rice krispy's, gingerbread, etc. Its kind of comical because he gets very excited at night to see what we can watch being made :)

Here is a little clip of some Halloween treats UNWRAPPED!

2010-09-13T22:31:00.001-05:00

School Daze

2010-09-13T21:18:00.007-05:00

The boys have settled into their school routine and they make me so proud :) You can check out Caige's class website here - each child had a little interview. So cute. We are becoming accustom to homework and Caige takes pride in his work and thus far is handling everything well. Here are some of his recent quiz's showing excellent work!

Trace is enjoying another year at pre-school. His teacher said he is becoming a leader and is much more talkative. I think we made the right choice letting him stay there for another year. There are moments when he is sad that he doesn't go to the same school as Caige but overall he is doing great. Here he is with a little painting we did at home

There has been improvement in how he writes his name --- hoping that it improves and becomes more distinguishable by the end of the year!

Sleep with one eye open?

2010-09-08T22:10:00.002-05:00

We have been unsuccessful in breaking Trace from coming into our bed overnight. Over the summer we let the boys sleep together which helped some but he would still come in around 2-3 AM. Now that school is back in session we have separated them into their own bedrooms. They go to bed at 8 and we leave the hall light on until we go to bed around 10.....as soon as I go to bed and turn off the hall light he gets up and sneaks in our room. Usually within 10 minutes.

When I go to bed I peek in at him and he appears to be sound asleep. He must sleep with eye open.

I'm back :) This background is called 'sunshiny day' -- how could I resist!??!

Do I stay or do I go now?!

2010-04-12T21:02:00.009-05:00

Wow have I neglected this blog! I find myself torn --- do I stay and attempt at saving this or do I start a new private blog? I admit that sometimes I hold back from what I may say because I know this is seen by more than my close knit group of family and friends. But then I look at the history and time invested into this blog and I don't want to give it up. Another option is to make this blog private and invite those in the 'circle of trust' to view it. Any suggestions from other bloggers?

Spring has arrived and the boys are so happy to be outside and I admit that I am very happy to be able to say 'GO OUTSIDE AND FIND SOMETHING TO DO' when they are driving me nuts :D

Caige has lost 3 teeth all on the bottom and the top two are dangerously loose. We keep teasing him that he won't be able to eat corn on the cob this summer! He has done great in kindergarten and is starting to read pretty well, not as good as some of our friends with kids the same age but I don't feel the need to rush anything. Funny that when he was a baby I was so worried about things like -- getting off the bottle, break the thumb sucking habit, potty training, etc., and now i'm much more lax about things that I should probably be more worried about. I would say Caige's personality is a lot like mine -- he is very sensitive and his feelings get hurt easily. He is also very competitive and sometimes bossy. He likes to get his way and does not like being told no. He also doesn't like losing -- guess some things he will learn the hard way ;)

Trace is full of p & v -- he struggles more in school though I am not sure that is due to his lack of knowledge -- more a lack of interest I think. It will be a rough school career for him if he doesn't find his interest soon, we are trying to work on it. He seems to have a natural ability for building, imagination and ingenuity. His feelings don't get hurt near as often as Caige's and he has a bit of a temper. When he gets hurt he often runs off swinging at the air and being angry. I think he definatley takes after Ry with his natural abilities and his tiny temper ;) He is much more....playful? than I remember Caige being. He will dance around naked and just be a silly goose for long periods of time.

A few pictures :
Caige feeling very proud that Dad trusted him with the job of fertilizing the sunflower patch.......driving the 4-wheeler alone! Mom freaked out a little ! lol

Who needs toys?! Sticks will do :)

Caige's fierce face:
Trace is my silly goose:
And a strong man....lifting his bike:

Hey good lookin......

2010-02-15T21:48:00.004-06:00

We make some fine looking young men if I do say so myself.....

Anyone out there?

2010-02-13T21:26:00.004-06:00

It's the 2nd month of 2010 and I haven't posted since 2009!! Hope my readers can forgive me ;) My slacking seems to be a trend with this blog doesn't it!??! My apologies....I really do want to keep up with it. I enjoy going back and reading the old posts occasionally so it will make a good 'memoir' someday.

The boys are good - bundles of energy that I try hard to keep up with. Both getting taller and smarter everyday. Winter cabin fever is starting to set in - we have been trying to go swimming every weekend for a cheap activity to wear them out. Ryan has also been cutting a lot of firewood and takes the boys when he can.

Keeping this post short until I have a something more specific to post about....here is some recent artwork to enjoy :

Happy Holidays from Angel Caige. This picture made from his foot and hand prints. I find it ironic that he has such a devilish look on his face in an 'angel' pic ;)

Happy Groundhogs Day from Trace:

Caige is 6!!

2009-12-29T22:50:00.004-06:00

Happy Belated Birthday to my big boy!!!! It does not seem at all possible that my baby is 6 ! I know every parent says that but REALLY! When did this happen!?!??! lol

One of the things that jumps out at me now is when I read the labels on childrens medication >>> Children under 6 <<< That no longer includes Caige! It seems like just yesterday I was trying to figure out how much an infant could have.

Some of the things Caige is into right now :
*Nintendo! Whether it be the ds or the wii --- he is my little gamer!

*Spelling/Reading -- always wanting to know how to spell things and if he is reading something correctly. *Spiderman - he loves to pretend to be spiderman and act out scenarios with Trace

*Friends. He enjoys having his friends over or telling me about what they did at school

He is still very emotional and can get his feelings hurt very easily. He also does not like to disappoint us. He tries very hard to be a good boy. Such a sweet boy!!! I am so proud to be his mother. He also lost his 2nd tooth on December 23rd! Strange to think 6 years ago he had no teeth, lol!!

Us 6 years ago: Showing off his 2 missing teeth and his 'fierce' hunting face on Christmas Eve:

Bargining

2009-12-10T22:28:00.002-06:00

Caige is becoming very good at bargaining lately. Two of our conversations tonight :

After bath when I declared it was about 45 until bedtime:

Caige: Can I have a snack Mom?

Me: Yes.

Caige after going to the pantry and is now holding a little debbie brownie: Mom, I don't know why but everytime after I open this I am still hungry. I think I am going to need a healthy snack after this
:looks at me entently before opening brownie because he doesn't want it to be his only snack:

Me: Yes, you can have a healthy snack after this. How can I resist? My little boy has a sweet tooth like his mama <3
=================================

Me: 15 minutes until bedtime!

Caige: Mom, God told me he wants me to stay up for one more hour!

Me: Oh really?! How did he tell you?

Caige: I heard him Mom, he wants me to stay up for another hour :laughter ensues:

Me: I think if God wanted you to stay up later he would tell ME since I am your mother!

Christmas Party

2009-12-09T05:30:00.010-06:00

This past weekend was the IBEW 176 Christmas party. They always put on a fun (albeit packed) party. The kids played all the games, had donuts and milk, got balloon animals and face painted all while Dad stood in line for Santa!

Here are some pics from the event (sorry for the date and dark pics- I need a new camera!)

Both boys opted to have their hands painted rather than their cheek....
The sign says "Santa Line Starts Here"
Finally made it to the big guy!!!
Family picture which turned out very dark :( I tried to brighten it the best I could....

Caige received a box of magic tricks which he is really enjoying -- it came with a dvd to show him how to pull off all the tricks and he loves to show you!!!! Trace got a little tykes basketball hoop which we designated for the shed - somehow we had never had one of those yet so it was a good gift.

After the party we went and got our Christmas tree but I haven't taken pics yet.....maybe that will be the next blog! Until then....

I pledge Alligence

2009-12-04T22:12:00.003-06:00

As most kindergartners, Caige says the Pledge of Allegiance every morning in school and has no problem reciting it from memory at home. Tonight we were watching Nat'l Lampoons Christmas Vacation (classic) and Caige cracked up over the part where the grandma is supposed to say grace and says the Pledge f Allegiance instead. We watched it several times and he was still laughing when he went to bed. It's the little things.......

Bedroom Redecorate

2009-12-02T18:51:00.002-06:00

After being in the house 5 years we have been convinced to re-paint the boys rooms. They were teeny tiny when we moved in (Trace not even born in fact) so they had to go along with what they got. This time they had the chance to give their input. Behold the newly decorated bedrooms:

Caige's -- Brown with "Into the Wild" Theme:

Trace's -- Red/Orange with Dinosoar theme
We think this dinosar is remeniscient of Trace, lol:
They are still kind of plain and could use a bookcase and matching furniture but the boys are happy with their new colors and wall design.

Love & Devotion

2009-12-01T21:14:00.002-06:00

My kids love to sleep in our bed. Not just that -- they like to sleep by me. We have the occasional night where they will get to go to bed in our bed and everytime we have to think back to whom last slept next to mom so the other can be next to me that night.

Now when Caige is out - he's out. Sometimes Trace will climb over and end up next to me and Caige doesn't put up a fight. The next morning Caige will just say 'hey, I thought it was MY turn to sleep by mom"

Trace on the other hand.....this boy is something else. He comes into our bed every night -- even if he is put to bed and falls asleep in his own bed. He has an uncanny knack for coming in right as i'm about to fall into a deep sleep. I am beginning to think that he never really lets himself go into a deep sleep until he is in our bed. If I get up to pee, get a drink, or just can't sleep and come out read or ~~get online~~ whatever, this boy will wake up and come find me. If my warm body is not next to him he can't sleep. Now THAT is Love & Devotion.

This is why I can never bring myself to complain about them sleeping in my bed. In fact many times I have a hard time sleeping well if one of them are not in bed with me. I know this is one of the things I will miss most as my boys get older. I love that we are the centers of their world.

Perfect snowball

2009-11-27T22:25:00.002-06:00

I purchased 2 of these today. Something tells me I should have gotten 4!!!!

Now we just need SNOW!

No, Trace has not......

2009-10-19T19:30:00.002-05:00

Seen Married with Children!

Al Bundy:

Trace:

Boy toys

2009-10-09T14:06:00.004-05:00

Trace loves this pvc 'pop' gun. Notice how he found a way to hang it on the bunkbed so it is only a reach away :
And here is how his room looked after I asked him to clean it. Everything shoved in the closet with the tunnel to his hiding place -- He told me we cannot move the blankets!
Here he is snuggled on the chair yesterday as he wasn't feeling the greatest

Warm Fuzzy

2009-10-08T23:34:00.002-05:00

This post is coming to you via laptop! I'm moving up in the technology world. Caige is really into playing games at Nick Jr via the laptop too. I think a webkinz is in order for his birthday ;)

My positive thinking seems to be working. I'm feeling more settled into my job and feel I am making some lasting friendships there. The boys are great and are enjoying school. I also feel lucky to have such great friends. New and old --- friends are so important to me. Love you all!

Ryan has been unbelievably busy working on the outdoor wood boiler we have invested in. We are going to need heat soon (52 outside right now!) and we are thrilled to be able to heat our home via wood rather than propane. I will post a pic when it is all complete. I'll be able to keep the house at 80 degrees if I want and Ry won't complain! Its a beautiful thing!!!

Random

2009-09-29T21:37:00.002-05:00

Since I have been soooo behind in my blog, I think I have neglected to post about my new job. On September 1st I started a new job at Lafeber Company. It is very different from what i am used to but I'm really enjoying the new challenges. It is a great and generous company to work for as well as having great people to work with. It is also 5 minutes away from home. I am working Monday through Thursday from 8-3.

I don't know if its because I worked full time over the summer or what but I'm feeling kind of out of sorts with myself. Instead of coming home and picking up the house, starting dinner early, spending QT time with the boys, etc... I find myself running a million errands and still feeling like I don't have enough time at home. I'm hoping with the colder weather coming in that I will become more of a homebody. I miss just having to come home and not feeling guilty! Of course having groceries to buy, kids in school, being on school board and involved with church...it surely won't feel like I'm a hermit.

I have also been noticing that I am a horrible pessimist. I always assume the worst and before I can even control myself I am spewing about the horrible things I expect to happen. I don't remember always being this way. I don't like it but am unsure how to overcome it. I don't really feel like myself. Which has been something I've struggled with the past few years. I feel full of the pessimist junk. Angry, worried, stressed out. I am making a goal to try and find the positives in life.

This story in the local news has me really upset this week. There is no information as to if this was a random attack or what the motive was. I just can't imagine this happening in your own home. And not only to you but to your children as well. It is hard not to be a pessimist with this kind of news.

For inspiration I am closing off with lyrics to the Kenny Chesney/Dave Matthews collaboration "I'm Alive"

So damn easy to say that life's so hard
Everybody's got their share of battle scars
As for me I'd like to thank my lucky stars that
I'm alive and well

It'd be easy to add up all the pain
And all the dreams you've sat and watch go up in flames
Dwell on the wreckage as it smolders in the rain
But not me... I'm alive

And today you know that's good enough for me
Breathing in and out's a blessing can't you see
Today's the first day of the rest of my life
And I'm alive and well
I'm alive and well

Stars are dancin' on the water here tonight
It's good for the soul when there's not a soul in sight
This motor's caught its wind and brought me back to life
Now I'm alive and well

And today you know that's good enough for me
Breathing in and out's a blessing can't you see
Today's the first day of the rest of my life
Now I'm alive and well
Yeah I'm alive and well

Toy Story

2009-09-27T21:36:00.005-05:00

Do you remember the movie Toy Story? How Buzz & Woody and all of Sid's toys teach Sid a lesson by talking to him and telling him how he shouldn't tear them apart and such? I feel a similar event coming up for Trace.

I've mentioned before how he loves to take things apart. His latest is taking the rubber off of the tires on his toy tractors and cars. I swear he will have no functioning toys left! He tells me that he can still drive these even though the black part of the tire is gone :

How can resist such a cutie?
His teacher took this picture at school. He is "5 apples tall" I think it turned out so cute

Deck!

2009-08-25T21:40:00.004-05:00

What a long summer project we have had! When Ryan first started working on it he did a lot in a few days but then it sat for about 2 months! LOL! Finally done. The decking was donated and had sat outside for a few years so it is a little discolored but for the money we have into it we are very happy.

Kindergarten

2009-08-24T21:17:00.004-05:00

Both boys have started school. Trace refused to let me get his picture but Caige will gladly model. His teacher also gave us a sweet poem I thought I'd share:

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING
By a Child

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you hang my first painting and I immediately wanted to paint another one

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw your feed a stray cat and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals

When you thought I wasn't looking
I saw you give your time and money and I learned that those who have something
should take care of those who don't

When you thought I wasn't looking
I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it and I learned we have to take care of what we are given

When you thought I wasn't looking
i felt you kiss me good night and I felt loved and safe

When you thought I wasn't looking
i saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it is ok to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be

When you thought I wasn't looking
I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person

When you thought I wasn't looking
I looked at you and wanted to say
"Thanks for all the things I saw when thought I wasn't looking"

Each of us, whether parent, teacher, friend or daycare provider,
influence the life of someone
Espically children.

Tent Stories

2009-08-19T22:47:00.004-05:00

The boys had a sleepover with Jake a couple of weekends ago. Ryan put up the tent and we had a fire and then lounged in the tent telling stories but we all ended up coming inside to sleep. It was hot and humid! The boys were so cute telling their stories and then Ryan would come up with these exaggerated animal stories trying to scare the boys. The boys would always beg to tell their story next and then their story would be pretty much the same as Ryan's only with a fart or something silly in it and then they die laughing. It was a night I'll remember forever - the boys so innocent and laughing :)

A few of my favorite pictures from that event... Ryan telling his story of the GIANT bullhead
Caige intently listening:

Finally!

2009-08-15T22:41:00.003-05:00

My dishwasher is tall enough!

2009-08-03T23:07:00.001-05:00

Mini-Vacation

2009-08-03T22:31:00.002-05:00

After a very busy summer we finally decided that we deserved to get away - the attorney I work for was on vacation last week so Ryan took off Thursday & Friday and we headed out to Missouri. We drove about 3 hours the first day and spent the day in Hannibal where we took in the Mark Twain Cave and spent the evening at a hotel and swam and used the game room. Somehow I got NO pics of us in the hotel, pool or game room. We were too busy enjoying - so not like me to not take pictures though! The boys just absolutely loved it and Ryan finally got to see Caige show off his swimming skills. We also took in the Mississippi River and the boys just LOVE it when I spell it over and over for them ;)

Friday morning we packed up and headed another 3 hours onto Kirksville/Novinger area where Ryan's parents, brother and Uncle own land. Uncle Mike & Aunt Elaine were kind enough to make room for us at their place and Caleb & John were there visiting too so the boys had built in playmates! Our time there was spent eating well, napping, fishing, walks and relaxing. It was a wonderful get away and I feel so refreshed. Must do it more often! There were a lot of things there that I didn't get pictures of too - like the cute pond Uncle Mike & Aunt Elaine have.

A slideshow of our 4 day get away will be posted soon!

Swimming

2009-07-27T21:55:00.010-05:00

Swimming lessons have paid off in a big way - we have a swimmer! He still wears his floaties for going off the diving board but he no longer needs them in the other areas of the pool! Proud of you Caige!

Look mom, NO FLOATIES!
Diving to touch bottom...
This is usually all Trace would do
We FINALLY had a breakthough and he realized he would float!
No stopping him now!
And doesn't this just suit their personalities?

Country Living

2009-07-22T22:10:00.002-05:00

Some of my recent country living experiences :

3 baby calves keep getting out of the pasture across the street. They run, play and stand in the road and stare at us when we are in the yard. We are waiting for the day when we hear the screech of tires as they attempt to avoid them.
Hummingbirds. They will come right up to my feeders when we are sitting on the porch. They needed to be refilled for about a week and they kept coming back, I finally was guilted into filling them ;)
Moles. Lots and lots and LOTS of tunnels and dirt piles in the yard. We tried to treat the front of the yard but it appears they are coming back.
Daddy Long Leg Spiders. I don't know what it is about this year (moisture?) but they are plentiful and all over everything.
Babysitters. Or lack thereof. I am looking for a sitter when school starts for a measly 2-3 hours and cannot find anyone. I've asked everyone I know. Oh the joys of small towns and having no options.
Raccoons. We have a cute baby raccoon who likes the mulberries in the tree and comes way down on the branches to get them. Even if we are sitting right there he will come pretty far down. Cute as heck!
Frogs. The boys find them often!
Lightening bugs. We know not every state has them so we try to appreciate them ;) Trace has started pulling off their lighted buts and saying he burned them....what a monster!
Safety/Trust. We can pretty much come and go or let the boys play outside without us being right there and rarely have any incidents with strangers or the like.
Deer sightings. Ryan usually takes the boys nightly for a drive "around the square" to check out the deer population. The boys enjoy it.

Motivation

2009-07-21T21:58:00.007-05:00

After catching up on a few of my friends blogs I decided it was high time for me to get back into things. Those who have inspired me : Dawn, Angie, Suzi, and Kendra. Those who have lazily ignored their blog like me: Missy, Tracie, Jess, Michelle, and Heather. I hope one of my lazy friends can now be inspired by ME!!! This means that I can no longer slack. Must keep posting!!!! I am determined to share my cuties!!!

I have been working 2 >count 'em 2!! jobs this summer. I feel like i've missed out on so much with the boys but having the extra money and job security is a nice feeling. I have changed my background in honor of Caige who will be starting Kindergarten in about a month! He is very excited except for that nasty part about having to get up to date on his shots. He needs 4! Yowza! We have a few more weeks until that fateful day but he is not looking forward to it. (Nor is mama!) Trace will be in his 2nd year of pre-school and I think he is a bit nervous about being away from his brother :( He says he wants to stay at the Cornell School where Caige is. Hopefully he will adjust within a few days.

An exciting development on the summer front: CAIGE SWIMS WITH NO FLOATIES!!! I am one proud mama!! I worked with him a few times at the pool and they are in their 2nd week of swim lessons and he is doing great! I am always amazed when they learn a new skill like this - even though millions of kids everywhere do it, I am SO proud when I can see my own master it. Trace is getting pretty comfortable in the water and swimming a little with his floaties on - I am happy with his progress this summer too.

We put up the tent this weekend but have yet to sleep outside in it - maybe this weekend. I am glad our bed will be nearby in case of a back-ache ;) It is also fair time again which the boys L-O-V-E so here are a few pics of our happenings......

Who needs carnival rides when their is a rock pile present?!

Trace not appearing to be too enthused about his car ride:

Caige always showing the excitement:

Do you

2009-07-21T15:09:00.001-05:00

miss me!??! Shall I try to get back to posting?!

Boys will be boys.....

2009-06-10T22:43:00.004-05:00

Watermelon. Such entertainment value!

Every child

2009-06-07T22:56:00.003-05:00

runs through the sprinkler in their undies at some point, right?!

Who knew....

2009-06-02T22:24:00.004-05:00

that eating cotton candy was such serious business??

May!

2009-05-02T20:49:00.002-05:00

Wow, have I been a slacker or what? First off......HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TRACE! I cannot believe my baby is 4! How??? In keeping with tradition I shall give a picture collage....
Love you Trace!

I will end this post for today but I have few things to post so I will be back tomorrow!

Caige cuts his hair

2009-03-19T22:22:00.006-05:00

Haircuts are still a battle here. I have to bring it up day after day and they never want to do it. I have to let them use the clippers first and then they let me finish.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T19:13:00.002-05:00

It is on this day 8 years ago that Ryan proposed to me!!! I can remember this because my niece, Leah, was born the day before and then after he gave me the ring we went out to celebrate St. Patricks day in Utica - which is a party like none other! I was sure a proud fiance showing off that rock ;)

We enjoyed Shamrock Shake's tonight - recipe courtesy of Caige's class :
1 ripe banana
2 C milk
2 C lime sherbet
blend together
Enjoy !!!

Tis the season

2009-03-16T22:46:00.007-05:00

Funny boy

2009-03-15T20:33:00.006-05:00

Trace! He plays so differently from Caige. He is always using his toys in different ways - I would just love to know what is going through his mind sometimes. He is struggling a little bit in school, we have had a few parent teacher conferences lately. I think he is just a late developer on the items they are checking for - that is my hope at least. We are going to work with him and hope that he takes off next year in his 2nd year of pre-K.

Here are some of his funny ways to play:

Masked man with no pants as usual - he hates to wear pants! lol
Here's one of his many uses of toys - he uses the lid to the toybox a lot and lines things up just right, then he'll just stand back and look at his creation:
Here is another - may just look like a mound of mess but he took the blankets and everything you see here and arranged this 'masterpiece'
Outside too - this was just today
And even though it was nice out he had to put his mittens on to 'fix the wheels' - so cute

Priceless

2009-03-12T22:25:00.002-05:00

Price of ticket to level 1 of Soldier Field...........................$125.00
Price of Chicago hotel room............................................$100.00
Price of cruzin cooler, coolagon wagon and cooler seat...$600.00
Price of attending Kenny Chesney concert for 3rd year in a row with my sister.......PRICELESS

===================================================================

That's right!!! Tickets for Kenny Chesney concert purchased. June 13th - Soldier Field. Yes!!! Last year we took a cooler on wheels to tailgate and it was SO fun - you end up losing the cooler when you go in because they do not allow coolers. Therefore, I think the Cruzin Cooler is a no go. But really, we would be the talk of the crowd with that. And who thought of this and patented it? Genius!

Writers block

2009-03-08T23:09:00.001-05:00

It has struck me.......or is it my new addiction to facebook that keeps me too busy to post?! Either way I plan to get back at it soon. Stay tuned!

School work

2009-02-12T22:48:00.001-06:00

Woah!

2009-02-12T22:21:00.007-06:00

I haven't posted since 1/21 !!! That is craziness is it not?! I find that the longer I wait the harder it is to get back to regular posting. Must. Blog. Often.

Things have been busy as Ryan was working a lot of overtime and keeping up with the kids alone was tiring. I also got sick for a good week & half and that was miserable. Thankfully the boys never seemed to get it. We also made a spontaneous purchase of the wii and that has been occupying the free time, love it! True to form I think i'll let the rest of this entry speak in photos ;)

How Trace plays with snow - filling up car - silly boy!

Caige's scar healing nicely:
When mama is sick clothing is optional! Notice Trace even has his undies on backwards!

Chuck & Vicki gave us their table chairs! We so needed them. Now our table looks very tiny - we will watch for a bargin on a nice big table now!

I know .... I need to change the date in the camera, lol, oops! I am going to post a slideshow of Caige's recent schoolwork that came home. He had to make a feelings book and used Trace as his subject it just melted me and i'm so proud of his drawings and he can write his 1st & last name pretty good now! We go for a parent teacher conference for Trace tomorrow so I am hopeful that his writing is improving too - in the slideshow I will include a picture of his written name too.

Funnie's

2009-01-21T22:11:00.007-06:00

Courtesy of Aunt Elaine via email...Thanks Elaine!

Baby its cold outside!!!

2009-01-20T22:55:00.002-06:00

The boys just went back to school today after having the last 4 school days off. Last Wednesday was called off for drifting snow, Thursday & Friday it was canceled due to negative degrees and yesterday was Martin Luther King Day. Whew, it was like another Christmas break, lol!

We have been busy on the weekends with Pee Wee Sports and swimming and it is a welcome reason to get out of the house. Helps to prevent the winter blahs! Ryan has been working 6 days a week so my patience is a bit worn down by the weekend and it is nice to have a way to burn off their energy.

Caige just seems to be growing in front of our eyes - getting taller and so smart. He plays Super Mario with Ryan and is just as good as him! Amazing! He even found a secret board that Ryan had never made it too - quite the little gamer. He is doing great in school too and I think is more than ready for kindergarten. All the glue is finally off his head - I'll have to post pics of his manly scar!

Trace is hilarious - he is talking a lot more and makes the cutest faces. He gets very serious about what he is talking about and is just funny. I always have a funny story or two for Ryan when he gets home about something Trace has said. And he loves to play in the tub, he'll stay in there for an hour every night if I let him. He is getting better at the pool - loves the baby pool and will let me carry him for a bit in the deep water even though he still has a 'death grip' on me. I'm hoping this summer he will make some more progress. True to form he is keeping me on my toes with his skin conditions - he has had some pimply type bumps on his leg and we went to the doctor and were told it is Melluscum contagiosum which is something fairly common in children and will go away on its own. The doctor said it is contagious and that he likely got it by touching the germ somewhere and it getting into his mouth - another reason we need to break him of the sucking of the finger habit! I find it odd that Caige has not caught it in that they do bathe together at least once a week but she said as long as its covered there is not much chance of him passing it to others. So we are waiting for them to go away and in the meantime they do not seem to bother him. They bother me, of course, because I hate to see all the little bumpies on him but he doesn't seem to notice.

I have no pictures to post. That is rarity, lol!

Snow Day!

2009-01-14T21:43:00.001-06:00

Comfort

2009-01-12T22:57:00.003-06:00

With bedtime comfort like this why is it that they continue to get out of bed every night to sleep with us?!

A shout out to Vicki on the advice of using Vaseline to help get the glue off of Caige's head - it is working, very slowly but lifting it enough for me to snip off little pieces here and there.....Thank you!

And...........Tracie now has a blog and has a beautifully crocheted scarf to show off! Please visit her blog by clicking here.

10 days later.....

2009-01-10T20:22:00.005-06:00

Our discharge instructions from the hospital were explicit -- do not get area wet. As if the glue would instantly dissolve away once it got wet or was picked at. WRONG. We started last night, nice long warm bath. Didn't seem to affect the glue at all. Ryan suggested hydrogen peroxide; no help. I decided to try fingernail polish remover with acetone as it works well for fake nails and it did help a little but not much..... we tried again today and Caige gets upset if I work with it too much. So I think he'll have the glue spot for quite awhile yet...here is this morning, notice how thick the glue is on the outside edges, it is not going to feel good coming off and i'm sure his hair is attached at the top:

Crochet of shame - Part II

2009-01-05T20:34:00.001-06:00

Tracie followed through on her promise to send me her crocheting pictures since I posted mine. It is my pleasure to present to you the shouldhavebeen beret turned beanie modeled by the beautiful Kitra:

Is it just me or does Kitra seem slightly amused by having to wear this?!?! LOL. I do love the chosen yarn - Ryan is so proud to have a fellow camouflage lover in the family ;)

On the topic of Tracie, she sent me this great wax warmer for Christmas - in the rooster theme nonetheless!!! Love it!! Of course I have to share pics...... love it Tracie, thank you!

Happy New Year !

2009-01-04T23:04:00.009-06:00

Our new year rang in with a bit of excitement.....our first Emergency Room visit with Caige!

Our tradition for the past few years has been to have the neighbors and their kids over for New Years Eve. This year was no exception and Caige was pretty rambunctious and exited to show off his Christmas toys. Somehow he managed to fall and hit his head on the bed frame in their bedroom. He came screaming down the hall and I thought he was exaggerating his cries until I saw the amount of blood coming down his face! The cut was pretty deep and thankfully one of our neighbors is an EMT and confirmed my suspicion of it needing stitches or glue. Ryan would have fought me on that had she not been there ;) and she was so wonderful in helping get him calmed down and she and Denise kept Trace while Ry & I made the trip with Caige.

Luckily they were able to use glue rather than stitches and Caige was very brave at the hospital. There were tears but overall he did great. We are now on the 10-day waiting period of not getting it wet. He may have a bit of greasy hair before this time is up! Here are a few 'after' pics...

And the morning after sporting a big smile

We've been sticking to home the past week and the boys go back to school tomorrow. Back to life as usual I suppose ;) They have also been wearing their new Christmas clothes and to my DELIGHT their are a lot of matching shirts, I just love to torture them in this way, lol! Here they are and none of the shirts purchased by me so I cannot be blamed :

and i'm sure you take note of Trace's new smile - he is much more cooperative to look at the camera these days but loves that big cheese smile. Even in this pic after painting yesterday he had to give me the big cheese:
And to be fair here is Caige showing off his pattern picture

A wonderful Christmastime!

2008-12-26T21:56:00.001-06:00

Update

2008-12-26T20:09:00.011-06:00

Before I get to the Christmas pictures I better update on the happenings prior too the big day....

The boys were supposed to have their last day of school on December 18th, Caige was going to take cupcakes and I was going to Trace's class to help with the Christmas party. Well, there was an ice storm expected to begin around 3pm so school was canceled for the day. The boys were so sad :( i will still send Caige with a birthday treat when they return to school. The ice hit that night and here is what it looked like on Friday morning, needless to say I called off work :

Sadly it still pretty much looks the same here - we are having nasty weather!

Of course we had Caige's birthday to celebrate! Blowing out the candles:

And Caige's fav gift - a watch!
Last weekend my friend Angie drove down and we went to Bloomington to see Rockapella -- for a few pics and details go to Angie's blog here. Wouldn't you know it that by time we got out of the concert Ryan called and said our power was out!?!!? It proceeded to be out until Tuesday!!!! Luckily Ry had access to a generator and we had heat but it was not an enjoyable 3/4 days!

Ryan gave me my Christmas gift early on Tuesday night :

I got to make cookies for Christmas with it and of course we used it for the mashed potatoes for Christmas dinner. I am SO in love with it :)

Christmas eve we went to church and they had a candlelight portion which was very nice. Then we spend the evening with Ryan's parents - I forgot my camera in the car but the boys had big fun and were SO wore out by time we left. Here they are on the drive home:

Christmas day we stayed home and Tink, Kevin, Nathan and my dad came over - we had a great time and the boys seemed very pleased with their goodies. I think I will post a slideshow with Christmas day pics....

5 !

2008-12-19T14:28:00.002-06:00

Happy 5th Birthday Caige! We love you SO much!

I get to spend today home with him because of the thick layer of ice on the roads today. We've had quite the treacherous weather already this year! A few pictures of my baby -- all older ones since we don't get to see those too often ;)

Crochet of shame

2008-12-17T22:00:00.007-06:00

Crocheting, my new hobby. I don't think I can say skill as you will soon see by the pictures. At first I thought I was a real dumb ass for not being too good at this - I mean really it looks SO easy and there are lots of "teach yourself" books out there. So I tried that first. Before Caige was born, lol! I was all confident that I could just whip out a baby blanket of multiple colors. WRONG! I don't even think I got the first row done on that project.

So this summer I took a lesson and finally got the hang of starting it, holding the tension, etc. but I think it is safe to say i'm still on the learning curve. Here is my first official afghan done in my favorite shades of yellow since I knew it would not be worthy of giving to anyone :

Notice that it is no-where near the same width on the ends...just a minor technicality

No matter how it looks I am still proud, lol.

For Ryan's birthday I worked on a camouflage afghan. I think I made a little progress in learning from my mistakes but this turned out a little weird, uneven and really long. It would be great for a tall skinny person wouldn't it?

So I gave up on afghans for the time being. Instead I have made a few scarves - much easier to keep even

Now at first my self-esteem just plummeted from doing such a horrible job. But then my sister-in-law, Tracie, called me and the subject came up and she said that she had been trying to learn too and apparently has done as bad of a job as me....I'm waiting for the picture to prove this.........so we agreed that if I posted to the public my humiliation that she would email me her creations and then I can proudly show her crochet of shame too! Stay tuned!

Busy Busy!

2008-12-16T20:50:00.001-06:00

December is quite the month, always going a million directions and still not seeming to have enough time! Hence my lack of updating in here ;) First off a big thank you to Angie for changing up my background to reflect the season. Love it Ang, thanks!

First we had the union Christmas party which is pretty fun for the boys but very crowded. They enjoyed face painting, balloon animals and seeing Santa of course :

The boys have had their Christmas program and had to wear pajama's. Both boys fell asleep on the drive there ((oh the joy of going to a school so far away) here they were as we were pulling up and we are wondering what kind of performance they would put on after this :

They did quite well but I have no pics of the actual program to share because I was videotaping and Ry tried to take pics but they didn't turn out so well ;) Here they are afterwords in their matching pj's :

Then there is the start of the holiday baking - so far we've only made gingersnaps but Trace dug right in to help. Note that we do not need chairs for that either :

We had a little winter storm tonight and Trace insisted that he shovel before coming in the house. Imagine my surprise when this is what he was determined to shovel off:

Think the paint will hold up? LOL. He did help with the sidewalk and then flung lots off the porch, here he is trying to get me:

Caige was smart and stayed inside the warm house ;)

Now that I am caught up on what we've been up to I am prepared to make a post all about CROCHETING!!! I know your all dying to read it and I promised my sister-in-law Tracie so stay tuned for that!

Birthday party

2008-12-04T21:30:00.003-06:00

December

2008-12-04T20:49:00.008-06:00

Stealing my post title from Dawn sometimes the darn title is hard to come up with. On Sunday we had Caige's birthday party with a few of our friends and my side of the family, we did a combo party with Landen like last year at the YMCA. The boys really loved it and it is so fun to watch them in the water now - my little fishes! I am going to post some pics in a slideshow when this post is done, I find that easier when I have a lot of pics from one event ;) You know i'll include some of Landen too since Missy never updates her blog--- even public humiliation on my blog doesn't help.

We had our first snow on the eve/morning of the party - we must have the knack for scheduling this swimming party because last year it had to be rescheduled due to snow!!! We were thankfully able to make it to this years party though. Here is a pic of the snow that morning, the trees were just gorgeous:

My little shoveler's did not want to pose for this picture however.....

In the spirit of this first snow I will be changing my blog background to snowflakes soon ;)

The kids even had a snow day on Monday due to the drifting - it was my day off so I had 5 kids all day. Take note how seats are not required at craft time:

The next night Trace was just WILD and ended up with a time out and having to go to bed early because he wouldn't stay put. Here he is after he gave up on his rebellion :
and i know i've been doing this a lot lately but they just sleep in the cutest positions - it is one of my favorite parts of the day to check on them before I got to bed ... here they are from last night:

Tis the season

2008-11-29T22:30:00.010-06:00

The boys & I put up the tree yesterday and it was a bit chaotic. We are still using our cheapo tree where you have to put the branches into the pole to assemble it and the boys just had no patience with that. I think next year we'll get a real tree so they can pester dad while he gets it in the stand ;) To round things out 3 out of the 4 strings of lights would not work. This also did not please the boys as they were sooooo ready to put on the ornaments......

So I agreed to let them hang the ornaments on the lower portion with lights and we arranged to pick up lights when we went to town later for the Christmas parade. Here is Caige unwrapping the ornaments - he was very into it this year and was SO excited to see ones with his picture or name on it...

Trace was in charge of hanging them:
You see the lovely array of ornaments? He really took pride in his placement of each one.....
Here was the tree when we left for the parade:
and after the parade with the rest of the lights and the ornaments re-arranged, needs some garland of some type - I'll have to work on that.....:
I am also excited to be able to display some of my pretty ornaments on my new ornament hanger from my trip to Bronner's this summer:
Here are my 3 boys waiting for the Christmas parade to begin - note that crazy Ryan did not wear a coat!
What is smarter...not wearing a coat or wearing a coat with capri's and flip flops? LOL

Tonight we wrapped a few presents for Daddy to put under the tree - the boys are very helpful with their scissors and attempts to tape it up. Caige was a total sweetheart to Trace...Trace has a cold and constant runny nose and was laying down in the bedroom watching a movie so Caige wrapped up a tissue to take to him, lol, it was pretty sweet but I suspect he just wanted something more to wrap up ;)

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T22:13:00.005-06:00

This year we went to Missy's house and had a great time. The boys were SO tired by time we left, they were asleep by time we hit Grand Ridge ;) Sophi & Leah had made these cute place mats for everyone - we had to bring ours home and the boys still like to use them:

Note the camouflage T & C here -- they know their cousins well ;)

Missy had these large forks to grab at the turkey with ((ok, so this pic is for my rambler friends...you know why ...not near as funny without the margarita's....))
And a pic of the cousins before we ate :

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-24T22:38:00.008-06:00

In case I do not have a chance to post before then i'd like to wish all of my faithful followers a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving! The boys have been doing a lot of turkey related crafts at school and Caige made the adorable THANKFUL banner you see above. The leaves have written on it what he is thankful for...they say 1) thankful for mom & dad, 2) thankful for brother and 3) thankful for his house. What a sweet boy.

We celebrated the Oct/Nov/Dec birthdays with the Garzanelli family this weekend (missed you Elaine & Mike!), we went to Bianchi's - so good! So here is a pic of Mr. Innocent Caige (just look at this first pic, so innocent) with his favorite gift, a snowman snow globe from Noni & Papa. It changes colors and has a fan that stirs the glitter up, it is so cute! He also got the shirt he has on from Uncle Mike & Aunt Melissa it says "never enough dirt"...how true for boys! He also came home with Star Wars Clones, ~~torture devices~~ nerf guns and slippers! Spoiled already and his birthday is not for awhile......

Checking out the snowglobe.....

The glow effect.....I think this would have been a great picture if I had used the correct setting. To have his hands holding it....

And one more cute story. The boys always go to sleep together and then usually end up in our bed. Well, the other night Trace insisted he wanted to sleep on the bottom bunk alone. When I went in to check on them before I went to bed he had, of course, climbed in with brother. They slept there all night too (bliss!)

Sometimes....

2008-11-22T21:15:00.001-06:00

A dog bed simply will not do........

Happy Birthday

2008-11-20T21:18:00.006-06:00

To Ryan(today) and Vicki(yesterday)!

Ryan finally caught up to me in age today (33!). I had to work so I cheated and got a Dairy Queen cake, our neighbor came by to celebrate with us and the boys had fun with the gifts they picked for daddy...a gigantic punching glove and some fart eating undies. LOL

I got him his very own mp3 player which he had been wanting so he was excited.

Birthday boy and his little boys :

Helping dad blow out the candles:
A birthday is never complete without new undies, lol! Caige picked the super mario ones ;)

Good Combo?

2008-11-19T16:44:00.003-06:00

It's a known fact that I love chocolate and that I love popcorn.

What do you think of combining them into a chocolate popcorn bar? Not sure that appeals to me but Dale & Thomas make them so they have to be delicious. A bit expensive at $54 for 12 or $4.50 for one, lol.

Snuggle Bugs

2008-11-17T20:35:00.003-06:00

Our friend Colton spent the night on Saturday - I suggested they all sleep in the 'blue room' because it has a queen size bed that they would all be somewhat comfortable in and it has our old heated mattress pad on it - what more could you want? Colton really wanted to sleep on the bunk bed instead. Of course Caige & Trace both insisted they sleep next to him so they all squeezed into the top bunk.

How cozy :
Now here is the question.............................

Why did both Caige & Trace still come into our bed that night!??!?!? How can they want anymore smushed snuggles than they had??!?!? Ahhhh, I think they just know the feel and smell of their mommy and have to be right next to it :)

Unlikely toys

2008-11-11T21:20:00.002-06:00

It's amazing how kids can take the simplest things and play with them for hours. Some of the favorite things in our house right now :

Shoelaces (out of the shoe of course, the boys find many creative ways to use these)

Pillow cases (can carry many toys inside and then it is fun to ask Mom what she thinks is inside or it can be used like a sack to jump around in or around the head like a turbin!)

Laundry baskets (sit inside and have someone push you, put a pillow and blanket in it and it is instantly a crib for your babies or put it over you and its like a cave!)

Blanket spread out on the floor (this becomes the field to plow, road to drive on, etc etc etc)

Piece of paper cut into a square shape and taped to your eye (instant pirate! Note Caige in the photo below)

November

2008-11-04T20:35:00.009-06:00

You would never believe it was November with the warm weather we are having. The past two days the boys have worn short sleeve shirts with no jackets to school! The leaves have changed and are coming down though and the boys have had some fun playing in them so here are a few pics for you to enjoy

Caige being a daredevil and giving me a heart attack!

Brothers playing

Caige swinging

Trace enjoying the leaves

A view of the yard and i'm so glad we don't have to bother raking leaves - they'll all get blown away!

Who can resist this smile?!

Thanks for looking!

Halloween Fun

2008-11-02T15:43:00.001-06:00

School Boys!

2008-10-15T20:44:00.002-05:00

Trace has successfully completed his first day of school! He seemed a bit nervous at home beforehand, a few times he even said he didn't want to go. But he got on the bus just fine and was all excited when he got home! He told me a lot about his day and told me more than Caige used to tell me last year. I guess he was ready ;) His highlights from today seem to be 1) playing with toys, 2) singing the hello song, and, 3) riding the bus. He also was sure to tell me that he shared and picked his toys up because I have been ~~lecturing~~ talking to him about that.

A funny tidbit......everyday they get a daily note sent home and on the bottom it has Great, Good or Not my best for behavior and then one of them gets circled. Well, Caige has never gotten a great. We have often joked about what you would have to do to earn a great. So, what does Trace come home with today? GREAT! LOL, Ryan and I laughed because he is much more our problem child at home than Caige is so we would not expect great out of him, lol.

As always, I am prepared with photos of my happy school boys!
Caige's school pic - MAJOR improvement from last years pic : And a few from Trace's first day - I couldn't get one of him going on the bus because it was pouring down rain : And I just thought this was cute tonight. Caige was wearing his hat and putting a marker up by the ear and saying he had work to do like Dad, lol, what a cutie!

Fall Fun!

2008-10-13T20:59:00.001-05:00

Excitement!

2008-10-13T20:40:00.002-05:00

Trace has orientation at school tomorrow and Wednesday is his first day! We are excited and nervous to see how he does - my baby is growing up!

Caige went hunting with Ryan again this past weekend and they got 2 deer!!! How do you shoot 2 deer in one night?!?! They managed to do so! Caige was so excited and proud to tell me all about it. I will refrain from posting the pictures since I have some friends who are not fond of hunting but anyone who wants to see can email a request or ask in the comment section here and I will get a pic out to you.

I'm not much in the writing mood so i'm just going to post a few cute recent pictures.

Trace making some kind of tow truck out of his bike and wagon:Caige playing under the table - he does this frequently

Over the weekend I did some baking and while I had my back turned getting things in and out of the oven the boys had a hayday with the flour. Notice the distinct difference in their personalities....Caige is so afraid of getting in trouble and Trace thinks its funny!

And...today we went to the local pumpkin farm; i'm going to post a sideshow of those pics!

Caige's first hunt!

2008-10-08T21:08:00.006-05:00

October 1st marked the beginning of bow season. This means that every weekend is now occupied with morning and afternoon hunts. As noted in a previous blog, we invested in a two man deer stand and Caige gets to go with Ryan on the warmer days this year.

Sunday was his first time out - he was SO excited and Ryan said that he did really well at holding still and staying quiet. Sadly, they did not see a deer but hopefully this weekend will prove better results. Enjoy the pics!

Newest addition to the family.....

2008-09-29T08:42:00.009-05:00

Chickens! The boys are totally into them and love feeding them bugs and checking to see if they have any eggs for us.

Here they are observing and waiting for them to lay an egg

- there is an egg and they are so excited!
The egg didn't hold up from the transfer from Caige to Trace, oops!

This greatly upset Trace who could not hold the egg

LOL! As you can see - the boys really are enjoying these chickens!

A few more cute pictures... Trace unable to keep his eyes open (a rare moment!)

And Caige upset that he has to wash up after indulging in a powdered donut

Funny

2008-09-26T16:25:00.004-05:00

During my lunch hour I took the car for an oil change. During my wait time I read the Pantagraph this story just cracked me up. Any of you who know Ryan will understand immediately! I am going to cut and paste in case you do not want to follow the link :

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va.
— A West Virginia man who police said passed gas and fanned it toward a patrolman has been charged with battery on a police officer. Jose A. Cruz, 34, of Clarksburg was pulled over early Tuesday for driving without headlights, police said. According to the criminal complaint, Cruz smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and failed three field sobriety tests before he was handcuffed and taken to a police station for a breathalyzer test.
As Patrolman T.E. Parsons prepared the machine, Cruz scooted his chair toward Parsons, lifted his leg and “passed gas loudly,’’ the complaint said.Cruz, according to complaint, then fanned the gas toward the officer. “The gas was very odorous and created contact of an insulting or provoking nature with Patrolman Parsons,’’ the complaint alleged.
He was also charged with driving under the influence, driving without headlights and two counts of obstruction. Cruz acknowledged passing gas, but said he didn’t move his chair toward the officer nor aim gas at the patrolman. He said he had an upset stomach at the time, but police denied his request to go to the bathroom when he first arrived at the station.“I couldn’t hold it no more,’’ he said. He also denied being drunk and uncooperative as the police complaint alleged. He added he was upset at being prepared for a breathalyzer test while having an asthma attack. The police statement said he later resisted being secured for a trip to a hospital that he requested for asthma treatment.
Cruz said the officers thought the gas incident was funny when it happened and laughed about it with him.“This is ridiculous,’’ he said. “I could be facing time.’’
Update to article here

Poor bird

2008-09-24T18:05:00.004-05:00

With only Trace in the car today we drove over the creek where we saw a large Herin in the water.

Me: Trace, look at that big bird in the water
Trace: Oh boy, I will shoot him with my gun

Trouble.

2008-09-23T22:17:00.002-05:00

Every day we get a little report back from pre-school and it indicates how the behavior for that day was. Last year Caige had one day, near the end of the year, when he did not behave.

We are in the 2nd month of school and we have already had a call from the afternoon bus driver! Caige has gotten a bit too big for his britches and likes to show off on the bus. We was not listening to the monitor, calling people names and pinching. What?!?!?! This really isn't like Caige but I really think he just thinks he is hot stuff. Luckily they gave us the chance to correct the problem before writing him up.

Caige reacted right away when I sat him down and started talking about it - instant tears and apologies. I don't think he does it intentionally, I think it is a combination of him being overly excited and the games Ry plays with them at home. They have their rough-housing games where they kind of pinch each other and say 'judo-beep' and sometimes we teasingly call each other funny names. So i'm wondering if Caige thinks he is playing. So we had a big talk about how these are things we do together but that outside of the house it could hurt someones feelings or hurt them. I think we will definitely put an end to those little games at home.

I checked with the bus driver today and he properly apologized to all of his 'victims' and behaved very well. I really hope this will be an isolated incident.

And we thought Trace would be our handful since he has a bigger temper! Parenthood!

Wild Mike

2008-09-20T03:28:00.002-05:00

Ryan and the boys were discussing the movie Barnyard and which animal they were most like. It was unanimous that Trace is most like Wild Mike, now that they brought this up it is a perfect description, lol.

Of course Ryan & Caige both thought they were like Ben but I had to point out that they sure had a few Otis tendencies, lol!!!

At any rate - I decided to make this post about my little Wild Mike, here are a few ways he has entertained us lately. He is really changing this last few weeks - talking longer sentences and clearer and finally acknowledging colors and such when asked!

He likes to add "Poop" to the end of everything. For example, "Goodnight POOP" and then falling into a tumble of laughter.

He has this new thing about saying 'I bought this for you' or 'I made this for you at school' (even though he is not in school yet, lol) Like tonight Ryan grabbed a candy bar from my very large stash of chocolate and Trace said "You can have that dad, I bought that for you POOP"

He has always been my child who never seemed affected from falls, scrapes, bangs to the head, etc... Well, on Wednesday he fell outside and skinned up his leg and it was bleeding a little and would you believe he turned into a drama king?! He was holding his leg and going on and on, It hurts mommy; I need a band-aid; Ow Ow Ow mommy. Of course his face was so sad during this - tear soaked eyes, snot running down his nose and just the general pleading look about him. He was thrilled to get a big rectangle shape band-aid and even forgot to say POOP at the end of his complaints

He likes to stay up late - he'll lay down with Caige and they will talk/play/mess around until finally Caige crashes. Then slowly Trace starts inching out of the room. A lot of times he'll stay up until I go to bed ((which sometimes isn't until 11ish if I don't work the next day)) Of course I tend to cherish this time because I don't get a lot of time with just Trace w/o Caige there. He is always very good and quietly plays with his toys. This is another way he takes after his dad as i've been told that Ry liked to sneak out of his room when he was a boy to watch the Late Late show!

He likes to do the 'cha cha cha' this in part due to my addiction to "So you think you can dance", which the boys faithfully watch with me when it is on. His face is the best part of his dance - he kind of scrunches up his face and then starts moving his legs and swinging his arms. Kind of like Wild Mike ;)

He has taken to snorting like a pig at opportune moments. We'll just be sitting wherever and he'll go SNORT ((insert boyish snort here)) and then if you look at him he gives you that scrunched up face and swings his arm. So cute.

He's very logical - the kid has a reason for everything! For instance, if he comes inside soaked from playing in the water spicket which he is not supposed to turn on........ he'll say
"but mom my tractor was dirty from going through the mud and I had to wash it off, ok mommy?" He gets a very serious look on his face when telling me these types of things.

He is an instigator. He likes to throw things. Inside and out. He encourages Caige and any other child (Jake) who is here to throw with him. The other day they were outside and I heard something hitting the house. They were throwing things at a spider near the garage (the one from my previous post perhaps? :shudder:) anyway, now there is a toy stuck on the roof. Caige knows way better than to throw something at the house....but if brother is doing it than why not?

He starts school October 15th!!!! I'm kind of sad - I know it will make him grow up even faster. He seems very excited though.

He is not a morning person - on the days I work he has to snuggle in bed a bit (which I love) and then he has to catch at least 1 episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with his cereal and if I even mention leaving during that he will loudly say "we can't go yet i'm watching Mickey" POOP. Nah, not the poop - just throwing that in there. He has been known to have some large tantrums in the morning.

Most of all he brings smiles to us everyday. My sweet little punky. Love that boy!!!!

That's what I call hungry

2008-09-15T12:14:00.002-05:00

This is what I found attached to the garage on Saturday. The joys of living in the country.

I also saw a commercial for Kight Rider which is starting soon. What is up with all the remakes? 90210 and now Knight Rider?!?! I feel old!

Shout out

2008-09-13T10:23:00.000-05:00

To Angie for making my new header - love it! Thank you Angie!

Seriously?

2008-09-09T14:40:00.002-05:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080909/ap_on_re_us/kfc_secret

I really thought this only happened in the movies. I remember something like this in Oceans 12, lol

The recipe will be slid into a briefcase and handcuffed to security expert Bo Dietl for the ride.

Stupid question BUT couldn't they just copyright it which would protect anyone from stealing/duplicating it?!?!

So predictable

2008-09-05T22:01:00.002-05:00

I was totally going to blog about the cool weather and how it feels good to be wearing a sweatshirt and feel cozy. Then I thought i'd look back about this time last year and yep, I blogged about this last year on Sept 16th, lol! A little earlier this year I guess ;)

Caige is thoroughly enjoying school, although he is really exhausted by the end of the week. This exhaustion then turns into meltdowns in the evening. He is SO sensitive to everything - I think he takes after mommy in that area ;) The other day we were having races outside and he broke down in tears because I didn't win any of the races, he is so thoughtful and sweet! Other nights he'll just look sad and get teary over different things - I think it is just because he is so tired most of the time.

Trace is his usual spunky self. He's getting very good at singing his ABC's and although he still won't tell me colors, if I start saying 'its ___ insert wrong color name here___ " then he says nooooooooooooo, lol, so he know but thinks it is funny not to answer me. He is always busy and is the little inventor of the family. I've been enjoying my afternoons with him while Caige is at school when i'm not working.

I had my last day at the bank on Tuesday because the real estate market is so slow. I saw this headline tonight when I logged on. Can't say i'm sad that i'm already out of that field -- it is going to be a roller coaster for a few years until the economy settles down. In the meantime, i'm back with the attorney I worked for before Caige was born, working on Thursdays & Fridays. It is nice to have a change of pace.

Hopefully i'll get back to updating this on a more regular basis now that summer is over and things are settling down.

Brave hunter, yes?

2008-09-01T22:40:00.002-05:00

Today marks September 1st. Exactly one month before opening day of bow season. Since Caige will be 5 this winter Ryan has deemed him old enough to sit in a few hunts with him this year.

So this weekend they went and purchased a 2-man deer stand and Caige was thrilled to assist in putting it together and getting it up. He requested I come out today to see him practice climbing in. Where has my baby gone?!?!?

This stand is 15 feet high (which Ry says is not that high!) and Caige did not bat an eye when he started climbing up that ladder. No fear! He will have a harness on during deer season but Ryan just went very closely next to him today.....

No fear!

Getting a quick lesson and i'm sure being told how quiet he'll need to be~!

Mr bigshot:

Of course Trace had to have a turn too but after he went up a few steps on the ladder he looked up and started coming back down - smart boy ;) But after awhile he wanted to try again so Ryan obliged. Still had to be carried down though...

Childrens opinion of beer

2008-08-26T17:35:00.002-05:00

Thanks for the forward Missy ;) I liked it so much I thought i'd just post it here....

A handful of 7 year old children were asked 'What they thought of beer'. Some interesting responses, but the last one is especially touching.

'I think beer must be good. My dad says the more beer he drinks the prettier my mom gets.'--Tim, 7 years old

'Beer makes my dad sleepy and we get to watch what we want on television when he is asleep, so beer is nice. '--Mellanie, 7 years old'

My Mom and Dad both like beer. My Mom gets funny when she drinks it and takes her top off at parties, but Dad doesn't think this is very funny.'--Grady, 7 years old

''My Mom and Dad talk funny when they drink beer and the more they drink the more they give kisses to each other, which is a good thing.'--Toby, 7 years old

'My Dad gets funny on beer. He is funny. He also wets his pants sometimes, so he shouldn't have too much.--Sarah, 7 years old

'My Dad loves beer. The more he drinks, the better he dances. One time he danced right into the pool.'--Lilly, 7 years old

'I don't like beer very much. Every time Dad drinks it, he burns the sausages on the barbecue and they taste disgusting.'--Ethan, 7 years old

'I give Dad's beer to the dog and he goes to sleep.'--Shirley, 7 years old

'My Mom drinks beer and she says silly things and picks on my father. Whenever she drinks beer she yells at Dad and tells him to go bury his bone down the street again, but that doesn't make any sense.'--Jack, 7 years old

Slumber Party Weekend

2008-08-25T20:37:00.001-05:00

Slumber party!

2008-08-25T20:31:00.002-05:00

We kept my sisters kids over the weekend. They all had a great time and I am proud to say that we even managed to get all 5 kids out to church on time Sunday! Much easier since Sophi & Leah are pretty self - sufficient. There is a separate post with a sideshow of the weekend.

Sophi is destined to be on animal planet someday. She spent most of her time with Caige's little digital camera, which can also take video, she made little movies and I caught her numerous times taping the fish and voicing a dialogue along with it. Pretty cute! She also loves to hunt for frogs and really enjoyed the hunting paraphernalia at Caleb & John's house - we have a good christmas present planned now!

Leah was busy with cheerleading Sat morning so we didn't get her until the evening. She has turned into quite the social butterfly and flirt! I think Missy has her hands full!! She was also queen fisherman - every time her pole went in the water she immediately got a fish! I felt a little bad for Sophi because she was the one who really wanted to go and who would like to tape a fishing show and all ;)

Landen is Mr. Protective over his sisters. Whenever Ryan rough-housed with Leah, Landen would scream! What a good brother - think it will remain that way?! LOL. Caige & Laden seemed to play together a lot more this time than past visits. Oh and Laden loves chicken nuggets. Possibly more than my boys, which I did not think was possible, lol!

In other news, the boys are always cracking me up, a few pics to show why...

Caige sitting on the porch playing with his camera, guess there is not enough to do outside?!

We cleaned out closets and had empty boxes Trace thought that was great!
Trace snuck outside in his pj's pants and no shirt. Pretty carefree, huh?

Sunflowers make me happy

2008-08-17T18:52:00.002-05:00

I found these wall plaques at Kroger's yesterday. Thought they fit nicely on the new & improved brown wall. Love 'em!!!

And a pic of the room with the new & improved curtains (Thanks Tracie) and the brown wall...I don't think I ever posted a pic since I painted that wall.

Back to school!

2008-08-16T16:54:00.003-05:00

Caige starts school this Wednesday and we had parents orientation this past Thursday. They gave us a little book that goes over what their day will be like. Caige had to read it over and over, so.........I decided to video it. This is my first attempt of a video with this camera and it is really dark (any tips Angie?) but you can at least hear him 'read' it. Also, listen to how Trace says 'Caige' it is so cute. Kind of sounds like 'TAGE'

Without further ado :

Misty Morning Fog

2008-08-13T10:36:00.003-05:00

I woke up early today and saw this beautiful sight. I think I sleep through a lot of beautiful scenic events. Of course.... I went to bed after taking the pics, lol!

Momtourage

2008-08-11T21:42:00.003-05:00

This weekend I went to Michigan to attend Angie's wedding and have fun with my best group of friends. I got to go by myself. WOW!!!! A big thank you to my MIL for keeping the boys for 3 days - they had so much fun, thank you!!! Ryan was originally going to go with me but as the plans became finalized and we added more and more women to our visit he decided he'd rather stay home ;) So he got a quiet weekend at home without kids or a wife to bug him, lol!

I arrived Thursday night about 2-3 hours later than expected. I am not a hard-core driver and had an hour long traffic jam. During the drive I was texting back and forth with Jess when I came about a rainbow. Then about 1/2 hour later, a 2nd rainbow!!! Of course I wanted to share this bounty of nature with Jess so I texted her about it. And I got my camera out and snapped a few pictures - I love a good rainbow ;)

So the whole weekend the joke was that I was a slow driver and that I was late because I spent too much time pulling over to take pictures of rainbows, lol, it's all sunshine and rainbows in my head!!!! Clearly you can see the bugs on the windshield and the cars around me as i'm driving in these pics :

During my drive time Jess went to get her matching tattoo and that night we went to Angie's bachelorette party. Lots of good dancing and being silly with friends. I think we were one good looking group :

We were smart and left somewhat early - Jess & Heather had been up for 24 hours by time we got home. They had a long drive - thanks for staying up to party girls! Now the bride on the other hand......word has it that she stayed up a weeeeee bit too late partying but thankfully her wedding was not until 4:00 so she recovered nicely ;)

Enter Friday around noon. We all load into Dawn's van to return a cd to Angie and grab some lunch. Upon noticing the time Dawn gets giggly and giddy in the way only she can do. She announced that we were so lucky to have entered the vehicle at the noon hour because it was time for her favorite inspirational catholic radio talk show. As Dawn ~~forced~~ encouraged the words onto our ears they started talking about a momtourage. How fitting! I would definitely describe this group of friends as my momtourage. Wouldn't know what to do without all of you!

The wedding was beautiful and Angie was gorgeous relaxed bride. Their 2 little boys were beyond cute. My favorite moments from them......

After they all poured different colored sand into a large container Alex wanted his smaller container back. When they put it back on the alter he proceeded to climb the alter in hopes of reaching it

After Angie & Tim were announced 'Mr. & Mrs. Prime' Max declares "MOM! You finally have the same last name as me! So cute!

As a surprise for Angie we all chipped in and helped Michelle fly out from California. She was supposed to arrive at 11:30 on Friday, which would have been plenty of time to get ready and attend the wedding. Unfortunately, Michelle's first flight was delayed which, in turn, delayed all of her connecting flights. She ended up not arriving until 6:30 on Friday. Poooor thing traveling so long - I cannot imagine! We all snuck out after the wedding to go get her from the airport and casually walked into the reception when we returned. Angie's face when finally looking up from pouring champagne and seeing Michelle:

I do believe I see some tears!
The reception was fun although the DJ did not have 'I knew the bride when she used to Rock & Roll' HOW can they not have that?!!? I enjoyed my share of Miller Lite which I feel I had some pull in getting the happy couple to order. I gave Tim a little ribbing about having a keg of my brand at his wedding. heheheh. I have some pull don't I?!!?

I also had a celebrity meeting! The lead singer from Rascal Flatts!

Ok, really this was Angie's brother - but he really does look like the lead singer of R.F. doesn't he?!?!

Saturday we lounged and had a day of no commitments and we could do as we please. First on the agenda was getting Michelle's tattoo! The first place we tried was too busy but at last the Electric Chair could squeeze her in - how comforting, lol!

We wanted to parouse Frankenmouth but it ended up raining for most of the day. We did spend a few hours at Bronners which is such a fun place. We ended up just going back to Dawn's and relaxing until dinner time. Dawn had to leave us to go to a Detroit Tigers game - see how festive she gets? She has been known to spill hot cawfee on friends when getting a little overly excited by a Tigers homerun! Dawn graciously entrusted us with her home while she was gone (and we stayed every night there, thank you Dawn!!!) We tried to behave and had some fun with the Wii. I had to show them the patented Tommy strike pose for the bowling game.

We finished the evening by sharing some cake and margarita's and having fun with a "3 pronged very large fork" ..... then since we were all leaving at 5am we decided to have a slumber party in the same bedroom. Oh that was fun and Heather's daughter, Jenna, was there and kept it lively with her 'fart fart' song! Some things I guess you just have to be there for.......

So, to my momtourage :

I love you all, thanks for putting up with me!!!!

Signing off with a pic of 5 out of the 7 of us with chick feet tattoo's :

The things they say

2008-07-30T23:43:00.002-05:00

We went to dinner with my dad tonight. Here are some of the things Trace had to say on the ride home ..........

"Here comes a stop sign Mommmmmyyyyyyy, you better slow down" ((where does he learn these things? There really was a stop sign coming - what a smarty!))

"My oh my, my oh my" ((Dont' ask me why - it's his latest saying))

"No, tractors don't do that silly" ((After we saw a tractor spraying the fields with what appeared to be water. I said Look at that tractor watering the field and that is what he said))

"I can't hear, I can't hear, I CAN'T HEAR" ((Apparently I had the radio too loud. I kept turning it up when he said he couldn't hear.....what he really means is IT'S TOO LOUD but he doesn't say that))

Those are just some tidbits but he is constantly cracking me up with his sayings and he talks so cute. Yet, I still can't get him learn his colors - if he knows he is being stubborn and not answering correctly ((which would totally be like him)). Ryan and I are wondering if he may be color blind - he gets blue / brown / black right sometimes but will never acknowledge red / orange / yellow........ He is pretty good with shapes so I don't know why he would be so stubborn on the colors. Of course Caige answering before he has a chance to say most of the time probably doesn't help, lol.

Paint

2008-07-28T17:33:00.006-05:00

Work is really slow at our bank right now so I was off all of last week and will be off until Friday this week. I'm trying to enjoy it and accomplish some things around the house but it is becoming hard not to feel like a bum and of course i'm worried about finances, job stability, etc etc...

I was able to get the living room painted last week, (finally!) I had been wanting to do that since the painting of the red wall last year. For color I went with Sherwin Williams, Latte, I really like it; it warms up the room a lot and makes it more inviting. I can't wait to have some decent lamps and matching end tables, coffee tables, etc but all in due time, right?! Ry is still not thrilled with the red wall - I got a gallon of a darker brown but i'm afraid that would make the living room too -'blah' - so we are going to use it in the boys room one of these days because they want a hunting themed room. So here are some pics of the new and improved hodge podge living room :

BEFORE

AFTER

I think I need to go back to all red curtains (thanks for the suggestion Tina) but I won't have money to do that for awhile so this will have to do.....and we need to paint our front door, that is something that Ry will have to do so who knows when it will get done!!! I'm thinking brown for that or latte color....

My new favorite pic :

He got bored.....

2008-07-24T00:15:00.005-05:00

This shirt tells it all. We have a million yard toys, treehouse / swingset, sand...but none of that is as good as M-U-D

later that day......

Caige on his bike and Trace on the scooter for a ride to the beautiful mud creek :

Sound familiar?

2008-07-22T08:57:00.002-05:00

25 REASONS I OWE MY MOTHER

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE
'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL
'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
' Because I said so, that's why.'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY
'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
'You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.'

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION.
'Stop acting like your father!'

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
'Just wait until we get home.'

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING .
'You are going to get it when you get home!'

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.'

19. My mother taught me ESP.
'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

20. My mother taught me HUMOUR.
'When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.'

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT .
'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
' You're just like your father.'

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?'

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE
'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you

The same picture many ways.....

2008-07-20T19:46:00.001-05:00

What a difference a week makes

2008-07-20T19:22:00.002-05:00

This Spring Ryan planted a field of sunflowers for me (ok and the deer).

Last week when my friends were here with their great cameras and photography skills, there were no flowers open yet. Less than a week later the field is blooming with beautiful sunflowers. I love love LOVE it! Here are some pics, although I do not think they do it justice!

This one is my favorite - strangely enough it is the biggest one so far and yet is shaded by the tree it is under

Fun with friends - we had a GREAT time

2008-07-17T22:19:00.001-05:00