Sometime's My Kids Crack Me Up!

So we are busy getting ready for school, another two hour late start. Lunches are made, kids are playing and I jump in the shower. As I'm busy getting ready I hear the microwave. Hmm, I think. I come down stairs and here is the conversation:

Me: What are you warming up?

Joey: Pasta

Me: Why?

Joey: For lunch.

Me: Was it good?

Joey: Mom, it's for lunch.

Me: Is it in your lunch box?

Joey: (Looking at me with that look.) Yes, it's for lunch.

Me: Where is the sandwich I made you... ah, Joey... Won't that be cold by lunchtime?

Joey: Moooom (in that sing-song voice), I warmed it up!

Me: (Stefan looking at me as we are both about to crackup) Oh, do you think it will be any good.

Joey: Idunno...

Me: Don't forget you have a sandwich... just in case. (I smile all the way to the next room.)

3:45... Kids off the bus

Me: How was your day... How was your lunch.

Joey: Smiles... Cold pasta isn't very good.

We all laugh!

Goodbye

We learned last night that a good friends mom passed away unexpectedly. We say goodbye with heavy hearts as we grieve for our friends.

Whew! What a busy "down" day!

1. Bake cookies with Emmi

2. Sew "Twirly" skirt for Emmi (this was a challenge... I set aside the fabric I purchased and used some fabric that I already had... just in case.) I think it turned out pretty cute. Emmi didn't like it at first, but now she seems to think it's cool... did I mention there are sparkles in the material... even better :)

3. Check a project off the list... Stefan's favorite coat... which is now too small... became a snuggle pillow! He is excited... so am I. Now he can't wear it (it was so small) and I checked something off of my list. See honey, I do complete tasks... eventually.

Now, off to make dinner. Ha, Joe made it yesterday. I just have to reheat. He is so good to me. Not to mention a fabulous chef!

We woke to this :)

First thing in the morning, cold in the house, heat kicking in, look outside and see snow. Not a ton, but enough. Flip on the news and almost every school district the greater metro area has closed; except Ridgefield... huge KUDOS to Ridgefield. By 9am, the snow is melting, falling off the trees and it's just wet and muddy outside. Many of my friends are now entertaining their kids, but I just put mine on the bus for a day of school. Emmi is ready to have her Mommy all to herself. First item... bake cookies! (With all of those closures, my preschool had to close... we follow Vancouver School District.)

Wish you could have been here to see the dogs enjoy their romp in the snow... Molly was youthful again... only for 10 minutes... but she loved it! (Molly is in the first picture, Jeep is the second picture.)

More football obsession!

We were having a conversation about Brett Favre and whether or not he would be back for another season. We chuckled as we remembered that on Joey's 4th birthday he wanted a "Brett Favre birthday party. Brett was number 4, so it seemed only right to have a Favre party. So we did... all the kids wore green and gold.

Stefan piped in... when I turn 85 I'm going to have a Greg Jennings party (he also plays for the packers and is number 85). How cute is that?

It's a good thing that puppies are cute!

After a long day of cleaning toys at the preschool, I came home ready to put up my feet, relax and take a nap. I walked in the door to this mess. Jeep slinked away... I was stunned and then not surprised at all. (Sorry Tante for the ruined couch cushion.) Em was a great help... she helped pick up all of the stuffing. Then, we took a nap.

Brrr...

It is cold here... 27 degrees. Okay, I know that isn't cold compared to where some of you live, but for here, it is cold!

So, my knitting saga. Rita helped me get up and going before she left. What do I do? Flub it up and have to rip it out... 4 times! So frustrated (I know where Joey gets it... don't tell anyone though). I finally get online and search out a tutorial... there are TONS of them. So with tons of patience, I'm knitting again. I cast on, I got the first row done (that's a bugger) and I learned how to drop a stitch. I was always having trouble with the first stitch of each row... it was so loose that it was coming undone. Now, it seems to be fine. We'll see what happens. I also watched a tutorial on the purl stitch... not quite ready for that!

A Crushing Blow

The boys were desperate for the Packers to get the big win. Wearing our hats backwards may do the trick. Unfortunately it didn't do the trick. This was one sad house. As we sat down to eat dinner (WI style... brats, etc.) I noticed Stefan was very sad. I looked to Joe and told him he may need to help. When he approached and gave Stefan the beginning of his boost-you-up speech; Stefan began to sob. He has been so "INTO" the season of football. He was crushed with the Packer loss. As parents we were crushed to watch our child be crushed. It really breaks your heart to see your child suffer... even if it was just a football game. With snotty noses and all, we made it through dinner and mended our hearts with Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream!

Packer Sunday....

Here are the boys. Ready for all of the games today. Joey wanting the Patriots (he went all out with black lines under his eyes. When he first came down I thought that he had used marker on his face. He said, "No, it's paper." Oh, How is it sticking? "Glue" So we peeled that off and washed his face and found the face crayons. I wish you could have been there. Joe and I laughed and laughed!) ... Stefan cheering for the Chargers (no such luck today) and all of them pulling for the Packers!

Getting the Hang of it!

I spent some time today practicing my knitting. I think that I am getting the hang of it (ha, there is so much to learn, but I can keep my wool on my needle :) I even came across a big problem... my wool broke in half. I thought... there must be a way to fix this... so I double the wool and kept knitting (incorporating the broken strand with the fresh strand.) I can't wait for Rita to see it... she will have lots of suggestions for the next time it happens.

The kids started swim lessons again today at the MAC. They did great. Joey, always the competitor, swam well to stay ahead of the others in class. Stefan went into class determined to pass level 3.... guess what, he did! He will begin level 4 next Saturday. And Miss Em... loves to put her face in the water now and be silly. The only reason I can handle the silliness is that it is just her personality. She does listen and she does try her best. After everyone was dressed we headed up to the gym. The boys shot baskets, Em tried and I tried to knit.

All in all, a good Saturday. Now Stefan is complaining of an oncoming cold. We'll see what happens :)

Knitting is relaxing...

I've decided that I want to learn to knit. Okay... off to the library to find a book. There are many to choose from, so I choose two.... one written for kids, the other written for teenagers. I smile and think, yeah, that's about my level for this craft. I browse through them once home and decide to call Rita and ask her to just teach me. I'm such a wimp!

Rita was so patient. Here she is, lying in a hospital bed, nervous for her surgery and I pull out the wool and knitting needles. My hands were a mess... I felt like a complete spaz, yet at the same time it was very humbling. So with my tongue sticking out of my mouth I keep repeating in my head.... Patience, go slowly... (BTW, Rita's "port" surgery went very well. She is off to cross off the next items on her list.) Oma's quote had to be the best... It's like having two broom sticks in your hand. I couldn't have said it any better myself. I will conquer knitting. And, I will be relaxed :)

Look what I found...

Ms. Em... very happily playing in her room with all of her jewels. It was priceless. I ran downstairs to get the camera to capture this priceless moment. I snuck up the stairs, laid on my tummy (to which Joe said... WHAT are YOU doing?) I just ignored him and started clicking pictures. Ms. Em finally looked up, saw the camera and smiled. So cute... the photos didn't turn out nearly as cute as the moment.

Getting organized...

Don't you hate it when you can't find something and you KNOW you just had it. That happened to me yesterday; which in turn caused me to straighten out a mess. Here is the finished product. I had used this cart to organize scrapping supplies, but have since given each of the kids a drawer to keep track of their homework, library books, etc. That turned in to placing all of the "important" mail into a drawer. The problem was that I hadn't labeled anything. So, yesterday afternoon I heaped the table with all of the stuff and put it into the correct location. Hopefully, this will help. A place for everything and everything in its place! The simple things make me happy :)

Back to Reality

Today, we all go back to work and school. Last week the boys had to go back, but really it was only Joey as Stefan was in school for only 1 day. Joe was up early and headed into the office for a meeting. I am taking my "ME" time... I do that now from 6 to 7am. It is great.

I get so excited to return to school. I slept last night, but it was a restless sleep.

Need coffee... be right back.

It 's nice to return to our routine, but even better to get to see all of those little faces today. Should be a good day. Em is a little nervous about getting back to school. I'm sure we will have a little attitude, but she will be fine. She has come so far. She is recognizing many letters now. Very exciting. She let me know that I was working too much this weekend, so we took a time out to play a game. She chose Monopoly Jr. I was stunned. I thought it was too hard for her. You know what, never underestimate your child. She did great!

Have a good one....

This is what it's all about....

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe that it is already 2008! Where does the time go? This year we will have been together for 14 years, married for 11 and have an 8 year old! Whew... amazing :)

The New Year makes me think of this past year... what a year it was. Many highs and a few lows, but it all evens out to make a great life. There always room to improve, so here goes...

1. Healthy Me: It's time to focus on Mama. My baby is now 4, so I can't claim "baby weight". It's time to take the bull by the horns and make it happen. I started last year (on my birthday) and did well... By about October I started slipping. So here goes again... exercise and portions!

2. Darling Family: I'd like to focus on one-on-one time with the kids as well as my darling husband. It's so easy to get caught up in schedules... Make it Happen!

3. My Mind: Read, read, read (Not just, "If you give a Pig a Pancake") I'm also heading back to school to obtain my Master's Degree. Working out the kinks... but it will happen :0

There are many other things that are important to me to work on, but this gets the big picture across. Wishing you all a great start to a great New Year!