Sometimes the smallest feet leave the largest footprints.Thursday, July 1, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Lazy Days of Summer?
It's been so incredibly busy lately so I haven't had time to post. I've taken a few cute videos of the boys, but no pictures (sorry!).
Chris's birthday was Saturday and on Sunday we went to the Henry Vila Zoo in Madison, WI which was completely FREE and AWESOME! Being that it was FREE, I expected to basically see some deer and squirrels but I was SO WRONG! We saw giraffes, a tiger, seals, buffalo, prarie dogs, rhinos, a polar bear, a grizzly bear, chimps and other monkeys, as well as snakes, alligators and a Galapagos tortoise! I was SOOO impressed! We got there when it opened and saw just about all of it in 2 hours which was great, because that's just when it started to get crowded and hords of people give Chris hives.
Yesterday I arranged for the day off and got to smuggle Sammy onto Owen's 1st grade field trip to a local YMCA camp. The kids learned about all sorts of animals that live in WI including snakes, turtles, salamanders and wolves. Sammy blended right in with the other kids. When the guide introduced us to a turtle named Bertha who was 25 years old, Sammy piped up with "Our dad just turned 78 years old!" Of course all the other chaperones looked right at me, which was pretty funny. That Sammy!
It's busy with weddings at work but next week I have two days off in the middle of the week so we're contemplating taking the boys on their first overnight camping trip. Still not sure how we're going to do this with Luke - we might need some sort of a pen for him because he is ALL over the place now, crawling with his tummy off the floor and pulling up on furniture. He's also up to 6 teeth, 4 on the bottom and 2 on the top. He loves to show them off with his big smiles every morning. AWWWW!
I can't believe Owen has just a few more days and will never again be a first grader. It truly seems like yesterday that I welcomed him off the bus on his last day of kindergarten! Next week both the older boys will start summer school for 1/2 day. Chris will have 3 weeks of quiet mornings with just the two little boys. He's not thrilled with packing up William and Luke at naptime to go pick up the older boys, but I think after about 2 days of having all 4 of them home ALL DAY he'll be WISHING they would give him a couple of hours of peace and quiet!
Chris's birthday was Saturday and on Sunday we went to the Henry Vila Zoo in Madison, WI which was completely FREE and AWESOME! Being that it was FREE, I expected to basically see some deer and squirrels but I was SO WRONG! We saw giraffes, a tiger, seals, buffalo, prarie dogs, rhinos, a polar bear, a grizzly bear, chimps and other monkeys, as well as snakes, alligators and a Galapagos tortoise! I was SOOO impressed! We got there when it opened and saw just about all of it in 2 hours which was great, because that's just when it started to get crowded and hords of people give Chris hives.
Yesterday I arranged for the day off and got to smuggle Sammy onto Owen's 1st grade field trip to a local YMCA camp. The kids learned about all sorts of animals that live in WI including snakes, turtles, salamanders and wolves. Sammy blended right in with the other kids. When the guide introduced us to a turtle named Bertha who was 25 years old, Sammy piped up with "Our dad just turned 78 years old!" Of course all the other chaperones looked right at me, which was pretty funny. That Sammy!
It's busy with weddings at work but next week I have two days off in the middle of the week so we're contemplating taking the boys on their first overnight camping trip. Still not sure how we're going to do this with Luke - we might need some sort of a pen for him because he is ALL over the place now, crawling with his tummy off the floor and pulling up on furniture. He's also up to 6 teeth, 4 on the bottom and 2 on the top. He loves to show them off with his big smiles every morning. AWWWW!
I can't believe Owen has just a few more days and will never again be a first grader. It truly seems like yesterday that I welcomed him off the bus on his last day of kindergarten! Next week both the older boys will start summer school for 1/2 day. Chris will have 3 weeks of quiet mornings with just the two little boys. He's not thrilled with packing up William and Luke at naptime to go pick up the older boys, but I think after about 2 days of having all 4 of them home ALL DAY he'll be WISHING they would give him a couple of hours of peace and quiet!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Nine Years
We celebrated our 9 year wedding anniversary yesterday with a photo shoot in a park. Matt Mason, a local photographer who does a lot of weddings at the hotel, offered us a free session with him and I figured now is the time to take it when the kids are small and cute.
Well, I'm sooooo glad the pictures turned out great because the experience itself was quite helacious. (is that a word?) It was about 90 degrees with equal humidity and the bugs were driving us ALMOST as crazy as the kids. When we finally got to the air conditioned car, I announced that the next family portraits would be taken at one of the kids' weddings! Seriously, trying to wrangle 4 boys for a decent shot is NEAR impossible and not something I would recommend trying!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Mother's Day
I had just about the best Mother's Day EVER this year! First of all, I thank God every day for my 4 beautiful HEALTHY sons and my husband who is a tremendous father to them. But this Mother's Day was extra special for me because we took a trip to MI to surprise my mom!
We left WI last Friday and got in that evening. First, we met up with Chris's brother in law to take pictures of his 2 girls, Mya and Ella, with our boys so we could give the portrait to Chris's mom for Mother's Day. After 7 hours in the car, about the LAST thing 2 year old William wanted to do was smile pretty, so it wasn't fun but I think we got a couple decent shots. Then we went to "Nanaland" (Chris's parents' house) which is second only to Disneyworld on Owen and Sammy's list of favorite places to be.
On Saturday, Chris's sister had a BIG party for the girls' birthdays. Mya turned 7 on April 30 and Ella turned 4 on May 9. When I say BIG, I mean B-I-G! There were probably about 40 kids under the age of 8 there, as well as about 50 adults. They had a TON of food and probably the best cake I've ever had (thanks, Costco!). Luke got to sample the chocolate and I'm hoping Chris's sister will send me the picture she took of him afterward - this tiny little baby in a huge Jacuzzi bathtub with chocolate smeared all over his face. He was the happiest guy in the WORLD!
The kids ALL had a great time at the party and I think it was honestly one of the best parties I've ever been to myself. They had a huge bouncy house in the front yard, a cotton candy machine, a little train to take kids around the neighborhood and a clown who painted faces and then did a show for all the kids. William LOVED the clown show! It was 4 hours of more fun than I can remember having and you can imagine how well the kids slept that night!
I got up early on Sunday morning and left with Luke to go to my mom's. Remember, she had NO IDEA I was in town. I called her from the driveway and woke her up (oops!) but she said it was ok because she had to be at my sister's for breakfast in an hour. She asked me how was my Mother's Day and I said "It just might be my best one ever." When she asked why, I said "Because I get to spend it with MY mother." Pause. "I'm standing on your back deck right now." NO!!! She raced out of bed and planted a big kiss on Luke as soon as she opened the door. It was one of the coolest things I've gotten to do for someone in a loooong time. We then went to my sister's and surprised her and then my brother and his family (the only ones who were in on it with me) came over to her house later that afternoon for pizza.
During the trip we had two great discoveries: William discovered DOLLS. He's 2 1/2 but has never really seen dolls before. He was fascinated by their hair and kept flipping it around. It was adorable! And Luke discovered TABLE FOOD. YUM! He loved the cake at the party, he had cotton candy (a perfect food since it dissolves on your tongue), and he also loved French fries, crackers and chicken noodle soup. I even shared an Oreo with him. Baby food will never be the same for him, but he's almost 8 months old so it's not long now until he can belly-up to the bar with his brothers. He'll be so excited!
Sorry for the long post, but there was much to recap. I'll try to get some pictures from the trip up soon.
We left WI last Friday and got in that evening. First, we met up with Chris's brother in law to take pictures of his 2 girls, Mya and Ella, with our boys so we could give the portrait to Chris's mom for Mother's Day. After 7 hours in the car, about the LAST thing 2 year old William wanted to do was smile pretty, so it wasn't fun but I think we got a couple decent shots. Then we went to "Nanaland" (Chris's parents' house) which is second only to Disneyworld on Owen and Sammy's list of favorite places to be.
On Saturday, Chris's sister had a BIG party for the girls' birthdays. Mya turned 7 on April 30 and Ella turned 4 on May 9. When I say BIG, I mean B-I-G! There were probably about 40 kids under the age of 8 there, as well as about 50 adults. They had a TON of food and probably the best cake I've ever had (thanks, Costco!). Luke got to sample the chocolate and I'm hoping Chris's sister will send me the picture she took of him afterward - this tiny little baby in a huge Jacuzzi bathtub with chocolate smeared all over his face. He was the happiest guy in the WORLD!
The kids ALL had a great time at the party and I think it was honestly one of the best parties I've ever been to myself. They had a huge bouncy house in the front yard, a cotton candy machine, a little train to take kids around the neighborhood and a clown who painted faces and then did a show for all the kids. William LOVED the clown show! It was 4 hours of more fun than I can remember having and you can imagine how well the kids slept that night!
I got up early on Sunday morning and left with Luke to go to my mom's. Remember, she had NO IDEA I was in town. I called her from the driveway and woke her up (oops!) but she said it was ok because she had to be at my sister's for breakfast in an hour. She asked me how was my Mother's Day and I said "It just might be my best one ever." When she asked why, I said "Because I get to spend it with MY mother." Pause. "I'm standing on your back deck right now." NO!!! She raced out of bed and planted a big kiss on Luke as soon as she opened the door. It was one of the coolest things I've gotten to do for someone in a loooong time. We then went to my sister's and surprised her and then my brother and his family (the only ones who were in on it with me) came over to her house later that afternoon for pizza.
During the trip we had two great discoveries: William discovered DOLLS. He's 2 1/2 but has never really seen dolls before. He was fascinated by their hair and kept flipping it around. It was adorable! And Luke discovered TABLE FOOD. YUM! He loved the cake at the party, he had cotton candy (a perfect food since it dissolves on your tongue), and he also loved French fries, crackers and chicken noodle soup. I even shared an Oreo with him. Baby food will never be the same for him, but he's almost 8 months old so it's not long now until he can belly-up to the bar with his brothers. He'll be so excited!
Sorry for the long post, but there was much to recap. I'll try to get some pictures from the trip up soon.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Top 5 Working Mom Fitness Tips
I know I said I was going away for a while, but sometimes I can't help myself especially when it's spring and everyone's trying to get in shape for summer. Quite some time ago, I posted my tips for staying in shape while home with the kids and promised I'd do a similar post once I went back to work after maternity leave. Almost six months later, here I am. (So timely, I know!) 
1. I converted to a stand-up desk shortly after I got back to work. There are some drawbacks to standing at your desk all day, especially when it comes to picking out footwear in the m0rning. Needless to say, my cute heels have been all but retired in favor of flats. I have also been known to kick my shoes off and stand in bare feet for quite a bit of the day because there's a big difference between shoes that are comfortable and shoes that are comfortable ALL DAY for 9 hours. I've heard that standing all day vs. sitting burns an additional 300-400 calories per day, though, so it's worth it. AND I don't feel like my hips are conforming to the shape of the chair, either.
2. Get up in the AM. I am a BIG believer in morning exercise. I'm lucky to be a morning person who doesn't require caffeine or even an alarm clock to get me out of bed, but I believe in morning exercise anyway because it affects how you think the rest of the day. When I've already invested 1/2 hour or more in exercise, do I really want to sabotage any weight loss by raiding that candy jar that's just 10 feet away from me all day? Well, I'll admit it's still hard but at least the morning exercise makes me think twice about it.
My new morning fitness routine?
Yes, I broke down and got an Ergo carrier. It was fairly pricey but I really felt I'd use it and after just one week, I realize I WILL! I grab Luke every morning at 6am and we go walking and talking for about 30 minutes. True, walking isn't the most strenuous exercise out there but I can run later - right now I just want to have some alone time with my precious baby boy! Anyway, with any luck by the end of the summer I'll look as thin as this lady in the above picture. :)
3. Don't eat after 5pm. This one is tough for me, since I don't leave work until 5:30pm so it requires me to basically pack my entire day's worth of food in the morning but when I adhere to this rule, the scale REALLY moves! I try to remember this when I get home just in time to see the kids eating dessert and I'm sooo tempted to partake!
4. Have a goal, not just a goal weight. Mine is our 9 year wedding anniversary coming up at the end of May. We're having pictures taken of us as a family. Here's a preview of me....
Ok, clearly that's not me but if I could look like that just this ONE time for this ONE picture, I would be THRILLED!
5. Confront the scale every day. I don't always like it, but it tells me the truth. Sometimes before I even step on it, I know. I take off every stitch of clothing and even remove any hair clips/rubberbands before I get on that thing and sometimes even THAT doesn't help! But I do it and will continue to do it EVERY DAY even after I make my goal weight. I know it will take some diligence to keep at the weight I haven't been at since sophomore year of high school, but I will get there and I will STAY there.
Just 15 lbs to go! (That's a lot, huh? Well I'm closer now than I've been in 10 years so that's still something to celebrate, right?)
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Time Out!
Sorry to both my readers out there (ha ha!) but I have had to focus more on my work blog than on this personal/family blog lately, hence the lack of posts and pictures. And we cancelled our internet at home - BOO! - due to really bad service from our new provider. Once we figure out how to get it back up and running, you will see new pictures of the kids driving, going to prom and getting married. Just kidding! It won't be that long - I promise!
Take care of yourselves out there and if you get a chance, check out my new favorite blogger, Kelle at www.kellehampton.com. A friend of mine posted Nella's Birth Story on Facebook last week and I must have read it 5 times and BAWLED (in a good way!) every time. I'm probably going to lose both my followers (man, that joke just never gets old to me, does it?) to her blog since it's so well written and with GORGEOUS pictures but it's ok. It's too good to keep to myself. ENJOY!
Take care of yourselves out there and if you get a chance, check out my new favorite blogger, Kelle at www.kellehampton.com. A friend of mine posted Nella's Birth Story on Facebook last week and I must have read it 5 times and BAWLED (in a good way!) every time. I'm probably going to lose both my followers (man, that joke just never gets old to me, does it?) to her blog since it's so well written and with GORGEOUS pictures but it's ok. It's too good to keep to myself. ENJOY!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
YAY for Owen!
I haven't been really good about posting these days and part of the reason is I've actually started a blog for work as well, so that needs to be my focus right now. But my heart is filled with pride as I found out today that Owen was the first place winner of his class's spelling bee today. HOORAY! We studied the words with him and he's a great speller anyway, but I worried he would rush and not THINK before he spoke and that would have him make a silly error. Part of that worry stems from my 2nd place finish in my school spelling bee in the 4th grade. I was ROBBED! The word was "their" and I spelled it T-H-E-R-E because I had forgotten to ask for it in a sentence. This has haunted me ever since. I could have won a BRAND NEW BIBLE but instead I went home with NOTHING! :(
Anyway, just wanted to share that awesome news. I'll be back with some pictures soon!
Anyway, just wanted to share that awesome news. I'll be back with some pictures soon!
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