peek-a-boo tires

This is a favorite activity in our house right now.  Unless football is on, you get his complete and undivided attention.  Today we tried peeled grapes (huge success) and again tried carrots (not so much).  Cheerios are always a hit and rounded it out with mashed up noodles.  Yum-o.

Christmas rounded out with a visit from Grandpop.  Grandma Jan was down for the count with the flu so we are hoping she is feeling better.  We watched some quality Lions action and rounded it out with some freshly baked banana bread!  As one devoted Lions fan's sign said

 "0-16 living the dream"

Now that the snow is returning, we are going to try to do a little more sledding before the school machine starts up again.  I am not sure who is dreading school more: me or the kids.  There is so much that goes into getting 3 kids out the door each day.  Homework and activities surrounding school is a whole other 900 word essay that Wackie Burnacki used to require us to write.  I was just also so glad that I had Kamp instead!

Tomorrow we are aiming for Bounce Party.  It did not happen the other night like I had originally planned.  Daddy was hangin with baby....I loaded up Will and Z to go get Jon.  All was well til we got to Jon's when I realized my back tire was nearly flat.  Now, keep in mind, I have a brand new minivan so this should not be happening.  When I limped to the first gas station (4 miles away-EEEK) the air was not working.  So, another mile down the road, the air pump seemed to not be working (unbeknowst to me, that was NOT the problem) and at the third gas station, while applying the air pump to the valve steam, it crumbled in my hand.  Uh, this REALLY should not be happening.  So now there is NO air in my back tire, the van is full of impatient kids ready to run off the stink, it is dark and 20 degrees.  Are we having fun yet?  So, Jon's mom comes over to get us, I have to call a wrecker and watch him change the tire.  You might be asking yourself: Why didn't Mark come get them?  The answer would be....mommy had the carseat in the (you guessed it) MINIVAN!

For those of you who know me, I would not normally call anyone to change a tire.  But being this is a much larger vehicle than I have ever driven and because of the fanciness of this minivan, I could not FIND the spare, I thought it best to watch someone first.  In five minutes and $68 later, I was on the road again.  Now I know how to change a minivan tire.  I can cross that off my 2009 resolution list!

Happy New Year to all.  May the up coming year not be as horrible as they are predicting!

sleeping baby and a bear....

So if you look closely, the baby's head is just above the red bear's head. He fell asleep this way today. We also celebrated Christmas 2008 by greeting Isaac's first tooth. It is isn't out enough to take a picture yet...but you can be sure to see one soon enough!

Christmas 2009- part 1

Here are just a few snapshots of Christmas 2009.  I think I got my Christmas wish- lots of snow for the kids to sled with.  Of course, I was not detailed enough so we had best sled quick because our 3 feet of snow may be gone with temps forecasted to be in the 40s and 50s over the next couple days. Nah, no truth to that whole "global warming" nonsense.... peshaw

I got my other Christmas wish, to have a house full of boyz and sleeping in.  I know Christmas only comes once a year, but it was sure nice to groggily look at the clock this morning to find it was after 8am.  Most morning start at 5am in our house.  Thankfully it is usually just baby and I til around 6:30.  Of course on weekdays, it takes an act of congress to remove Zach from his warm and comfy bed.  Wonder why that changes when we have nowhere to go.... hmmmm.

Among the gifts, Dr. Who could be seen EVERYWHERE!  Guys, ships, videos a plenty.  God save the Queen and the BBC.  Wowee Tribot was also a hit.  Nothing says "great toy" like a 30 second commercial every time you turn him on.  He talks about how great the company Wowee is ...warms the heart.  Such little consumers they are producing!  William got lots of Bionicles and Transformers.  Another dark horse in the running was the Looney Tunes video they got. Daddy and I loved to watch them as much as the boyz did.

I think for me, this time of year is about reflection.  I also love the food.  I really look forward to making sugar cookies.  I just forget how trying the decorating becomes after doing the 50th cookie.  By that point, I am ready to just dip the whole cookie in whatever frosting is closest!  With the extra time off, I look forward to trying new cooking receipts.  That was made even more exciting this year as daddy bought me new green pans and receipt books.  Quick, easy and healthy- very excited!  Now the challenge is to get the boyz to try something other than the 6 meals on their very limited menu- hot dogs, chicken nugs, pb&J, scrambled eggs, pancakes and waffles. My mistake, how could I forget pizza? At least they have their priorities straight...half of their fav meals are breakfast!  I even take them out once in a while for breakfast.  

More pics to come!

Victoria Secret....revealed

So the heavens provided Mark and I a good laugh today.  While Christmas shopping we stopped in to Victoria Secret to use my birthday coupon.  Upon asking for my id, she saw pictures of the family and Isaac next to my license, which led her to ask "oh, are these your grandkids!? The baby is really cute".  I stood their dumbfounded, not really sure I heard her right.  After leaving the store, I turned to Mark and asked if I heard the girl correctly.  Ok, I might be turning 35 on Thursday but sheesh...do I really look like I am a grandma??  Mark and I made cracks to each other all night.  So now I know Vickie's secret...you can be buying unmentionables while being asked about your grandkids.  amazing.

"no sugar added"

So here are da' pictures of the very very LATE LATE birthday party for William today.  Yes, it was a pj / sleep-over theme.  Theme only, I don't think i could EVER have this mean kids over night!  For those of you who know what month William was born...you may shake your head in wonder and nod your head when they nominate me as top ten worst moms.  Because he was born the end of August (before school starts) I had no way of inviting his school friends.  Fast forward to September which gravitates to October which slides into November which finally stops in December.  What the heck, add another birthday to the month!

He was very happy his friends were able to make it.  We watched WALL-E and ate popcorn.  As for the title of this blog entry, you truly had to be here to understand.  As you can see, we had seven 7-8 year olds in the basement.  I think if we could harness their shear energy, we could have had enough energy to heat a small city.  I was truly amazed to see Skinnybob come out at all.  Of course, it was only when the kids were up to the table eating cake and ice cream. Smart Bob...old but smart.  It is hard to believe Christmas is a little over a week away.  Hard to believe I am almost another year older.  At times I feel like i have aged 20+ years.  I am sure this a very common thought for a parent with young kids.  I think the more kids you add, the more  common it is! :-) and with that thought, g'night!

removing any doubt

This video tells it all.  The sheer love of the Doctor of Who.  And now my dear brother can prove to his British coworker friends that the game Dalek Operation was truly for his nephew and not himself!  I think bonkers is a good description.  A big thank you to everyone involved..this was an epic event.  We even took the boys downstairs the next day and showed them on our gigantic map (on the wall) where the game came from and the stops it made in order to get here!  Jolly good!