Tuesch You Were Here!

Mommy/Little Boy Movie Time

2012-01-08T19:41:00.003-06:00

Last week before the boys started school again after Xmas break (Arielle still has weeks off) I took the little boys to see The Adventures of Tintin. I didn't realize until later that this is Steven Spielberg's first animated film. I thought it was very good, but probably was a bit old for Beckett. Paxton enjoyed it a lot and watched intently, but Beckett was asking for my itouch about 2/3 of the way through it. Since there were only 3 others in the theater and they were sitting way ahead of us, I did let him have it to entertain himself with (since my $38 expenditure was failing, HA!)
That's 2 kid's movies I've seen in a row now and I am ready for something geared towards older movie-goers!! My Week with Marilyn and Tinker Tailor Soilder Spy are on my list =)

New Year, New Start?

2012-01-03T20:34:00.003-06:00

To keep me accountable, I feel like I need to do my annual "resolutions" post =) I did pretty well last year--there were some goals met and very good attempts made towards others, HA!!
So, for 2012:
**USE that nursing degree/license I worked so hard to get!!! Lots of inner turmoil here, but it's time to get my heiney moving on this one.
**Keep decluttering. You wouldn't believe what's been taken out of the attic recently! Well, Parker would! He "gets" to make trips to the Thrift Store as I fill boxes up. Plenty of eBay listing going on too--might as well make some bucks where I can as I go along!! My "mantra" is: "if we moved next week, do I REALLY want to take _______ with me?" If I don't love it enough to move it, why am I storing it?
**Get a card sent out for appropriate occasions. I have to admit, I don't think I sent a single card out last year. Pretty sad considering I really do enjoy making them =(
**I need to get back on the meal-planning bandwagon. What a difference it makes. Really. Truly.
**And last but not least, I HAVE to figure out what the problem is that photos aren't uploading easily to my blog!!! I have not abandoned "TueschYouWereHere", honest. We still do fun, interesting things, as well as "everyday" things that I've been known to blog about, but by golly, they're more interesting with photos to go along with the tale!!! I AM going to get it worked out, I promise!

UGH

2011-12-05T20:58:00.002-06:00

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. I've got several posts I've attempted to put up, but *&%^$@# blogger doesn't want to upload my photos. And really, what's a blogpost without photos of my darling children?
So please be patient (you know how I am) while I keep trying!!!!!

Arthur Christmas

2011-11-26T22:06:00.003-06:00

Kurt has three 12 hour shifts this weekend, so rather than stay cooped up all weekend long missing Daddy, I took the little boys to a movie this afternoon. I had it narrowed down to the Muppet Movie or Arthur Christmas. AC won out =) It was a very cute movie and we enjoyed it. I'll bet we would have enjoyed the parts we missed during 2 separate bathroom breaks too....

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2011-11-24T21:07:00.002-06:00

To you all! I hope yours was as wonderful as ours was. Yummy food with loving family. And none of this "sitting around the table checking emails, sending texts or catching up on facebook on either laptops, blackberrys or iphones". Heavenly.

Five days? No new post?

2011-11-23T17:54:00.004-06:00

Well that'll get you a text from a reader!!! I could think up all kinds of excuses as to why there's been a 5 day drought, but I've got nothing! I even had a birthday in the middle of those days! Kurt took me to a Japanese place where our dinner was cooked in front of us and we had yummy sushi =) The only picture I took was of the dude starting the grill, LOL.
So until something more interesting happens, here's some pictures of Arielle and Beckett being goofy. Ok, mostly Beckett...

There's an APP for that....

2011-11-18T16:52:00.003-06:00

Before I went to Boston, I bought an iPod Touch. For a variety of reasons and I love it!!! Internet access wherever there is a WIFI signal (yes, I know a "smart phone" will do the same thing, but I'm too cheap to pay for a montly data plan--HA!) Anyhow, just like an iphone, you can download an app for practically anything! Her are some that I'm enjoying =)

This one is da bomb!! You can scan the UPC code of ANY product and it will pull up what that item costs are area stores! For example, if I see a lego set at Target, but want to be sure that the best deal is in front of me, I can scan the UPC code on the box and it will show me what those legos cost at Walmart, Shopko, Kmart, even online options! I am going to LOVE this one with upcoming Xmas shopping!!

This one is a "knock-off" version of Scrabble. I usually have several games going at once with many different people. Did you know "xi" is a word? Or "qua"? "Jo" is a great way to offload that J!

And this image is apparently shy! It's an app where you can make lists of gifts you need to buy, or have bought and keeps track of budgeting too!! I'm excited to play with this one b/4 I head out for my big shop trip in a couple of weeks =)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-16T19:38:00.002-06:00

Buffalo Phils

2011-11-13T19:12:00.004-06:00

So, turns out, these kids still want to eat even though we're not at home!!! I always pack a cooler and a big canvas bag of munchies and sammie fixings, but we usually do venture out of the hotel for one meal a day, last night it was supper.
My sister and her family live very close to the Dells, and USUALLY one of my nephews come up to spend some time at the water park so Parker gets to do some rides without a squealing girl sitting across from him, HA! Turns out, he's grown accustomed to eating as well. Kurt had a dinner meeting so it was up to me to take 5 of them out--we chose Buffalo Phil's (not to be confused with Buffalo BILLS, which may cause some sore of copyright infringement issues). They have a room where a model train will "deliver" your meal, but wait-time was over an hour and seeing as we couldn't get good WIFI connections, keeping the boys entertained on iTouches was not going to happen, hence "regular" seating for us =)
Regardless, kids meals come with "buffalo horns" and the 4 boys at the table happily wore them, even is posing for a pic was NOT done happily...

Great Wolf Lodge

2011-11-11T23:12:00.004-06:00

Kurt has his semi-annual union (for all that means in WI anymore) meeting here in the Dells, so we are taking advantage of some family time at the Great Wolf Lodge! Who doesn't love a little time at a water park? We certainly do =)

Some that didn't make the cut....

2011-11-10T20:59:00.005-06:00

As you saw a couple of weeks ago, it was Christmas card photo time. And while some of my favorites make the cut because they are acceptable to be sent through the USPS and possibly hang on a fridge or two across the nation for 11 months, some of my favorites DON'T make the annual card, for various reasons. And some don't make the card for OBVIOUS reasons. These are some of each.... (please to note the one with Beckett spitting chewed up leaves out on Arielle's head. She's smiling SO sweetly while her brothers have an eye on Beckett and what he's up to.)

I see a pattern.....

2011-11-08T20:33:00.004-06:00

Today when I picked up Beckett from Grandma and Grandpa's, I noticed a wider gap in his smile. "Beckett!! You lost your other loose tooth!". "I did?!" he said, completely puzzled. "Where is it?" ask I. He smiled and said "I think I swallowed it"!
Yes folks, TWO teeth down the hatch. At this point I think he enjoys the reaction he gets when he does this and now I'll be very surprised if I see ANY in his little hand after they exit his mouth....

All Dressed Up

2011-11-06T10:27:00.005-06:00

Yesterday Kurt and I had the pleasure of seeing two super sweet people get married =) Nathan was a college kid here who joined EMS when Kurt and I were active there. He met Megan who was an Xray tech at our local hospital and those two crazy kids fell in love and got married yesterday =)
He went and graduated, got a "real" job and moved a couple of hours away. They got married "here" though so we got to spend their special day with them without the hassle of travel--HA!
It meant we "got" (Kurt never LOVES wearing a tie!) to dress up and spend an evening without our adorable moppets--and yes, we enjoyed it...

What I'm Reading....

2011-11-04T21:59:00.002-05:00

Several months ago, I came across a blog (shocker, right?) about an anonymous teacher who was eating the school lunches being served to the students in her school and was blogging about it. Mostly how NASTY it is/was. Fillers, over-processed junk, stuff that has sat on shelves for Lord only knows how long. I'm not a fan of school lunches: They are disgusting and I don't like that my kids like them. Well, to a point. Parker is not a fan, but it's not cool to be 17 and bringing a lunch from home---go figure.
Anyhoo, "Mrs. Q" was approached by a publisher and her wonderful blog and all her research and thoughts associated with it has been turned into a book. Which I had to have. And now do.
Fed Up With Lunch. By Sarah Wu. I highly recommend it. Just saying....

Calling the Tooth Fairy!!

2011-11-02T22:06:00.003-05:00

So while I was away for those couple of days, Beckett lost his first tooth!!! It's been loose (just like it's neighbor!) for a while, so I knew it was just a matter of time =)
BUT, there was nothing to leave for the tooth fairy. He was at Grandma's and in Beckett's own words: "a chicken nugget grabbed it and took it down!" There are hand motions to go along with it, mostly him showing the path that little bitty tooth took from it's nesting spot in his mouth, down the GI tract and landing in his belly.
Luckily, ol' TF is a VERY understanding gal and accepted the reasoning behind no tooth in the pocket of the pillow. Plus, if TF reads my blog, she can see the gap in the 6 year old's smile, HA!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T20:33:00.003-05:00

And another Halloween is in the bag--along with a butt-load of candy! The boys/firefighters didn't really go to THAT many houses, but boy oh boy are their bags weighty! We hit the "loop" that my parents live on, another street with a cul-de-sac off of it and a short blip of a street and then headed out to the IL's. (they were disappointed that Brian's light was off--in case Brian is reading this).
On the home front, it was a VERY differnt story. IF I buy candy, I buy way too much. And this year, since we had NO trick or treaters (unless you count the HS girl that came for candy specifically from Parker, and NO that is not a metaphor for anything), we have another butt-load of candy here!! Guess who is going to be voted "most popular" tomorrow at work?

Zombie Prom 2027

2011-10-30T10:51:00.005-05:00

I spent a couple of days at my girlfriends house and while I was there, they had an invitation to a Halloween costume party with a "Zombie Prom" theme to it. I have not dressed up for Halloween since I really don't know when. We just don't get that into it here, coupled with the fact that chance are Kurt will be working for any such event, means that I have no reason to get dressed up, HA!
BUT, Zombie Prom awaited us. Off my GF's hubby and I went to Goodwill to score appropriate clothing and even he had to admit, the shopping trip was pretty darn painless! We were in and out in 20 minutes, each of us with what we needed. (I went back later with my GF and we got her a dress too!)
Lots of white makeup, some scar "tattoos", and lots of baby powder in my hair--boy did I smell like a baby's heiney--and we were pretty much set. Beckett did NOT like how I looked in these pictures, but we had a fun time at the event =)

Ferry Time!

2011-10-24T19:49:00.005-05:00

Saturday after our Trick or Treat adventure (and after Xmas card pictures---dang we were BUSY on Saturday!), we took the ferry across the Mississippi River over to the Iowa side. It had been quite awhile since Paxton had ridden and I don't think Beckett ever had. Needless to say, they had a very enjoyable ride--helped along by the lollipops that the nice gentleman collecting the fare gave them =)

Trick or Treat at Stonefield Village

2011-10-23T18:39:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we did Trick or Treat at Stonefield Village in Cassville. SF is an old-time village made up of businesses that you would have seen from an era long ago: Milliner's, Saloon, Depot, Blacksmith shop, etc. There's an old schoolhouse, dentist office, post office, general store and more as well. Every year at Halloween the different buildings are "adopted" by local businesses, organizations and families and are decorated and "manned" to hand out candy. Last year they had over 2,000 people attend the event---a pretty big deal for a village of 900 (Cassiville, not Stonefield! SV was never a real inhabited place)
We got there nice and early, which means we were able to get out earlier as well, which worked for us =) The boys are firefighters this year! Police officers last year, maybe next year they need to emulate Momma instead of Daddy....

Shooting the annual Xmas card

2011-10-22T20:32:00.003-05:00

Yep, it's that time of year again. The joyous event of getting photos for the annual holiday card that I send (I've missed one year since Arielle was born). This year we went back to the walking trail on campus since we were on a time limit and who knows if we'd get another nice day outdoors?
Our theme this year was Brewer's attire, and we got lucky enough to find everybody something in a different hue. Today I'm sharing "nice" ones, but later this week I'll do an outakes/bloopers post with a bunch too.
Afterwards, Arielle and I ran out to Walmart, got the card designed on a kiosk, hit "complete" and picked up 80 Holiday cards one hour later! Oh when I think of how my Mom had to do it years ago.....

Saving 2nd Base

2011-10-20T15:42:00.002-05:00

October is breast cancer awareness month!! Unless you live under a rock, chances are you knew this already. Pink, pink, pink as far as the eye can see: the NFL dons pink shoes, wristbands, gloves and towels (even the refs have pink whistles, I love it!), I've seen fire department personnel swapping out their usual navy Tshirts for pink ones, and pink ribbons are everywhere!
My local hospital is offering a free manicure at a downtown spa for anyone having a mammogram in the month of October. This saturday in fact, the spa will be set up at the hospital and you can get your boobies scanned and then have your nails done, all in one stop! I walked away with a gift certificate since I'm not doing it on the big day.
Have you had your mammogram this year yet?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T21:16:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile....

Chucking rocks

2011-10-16T14:50:00.005-05:00

More pics from our walk on the campus walking trail. The boys love going under the footbridge (although I do think Kurt has driven across it---it's definately wide and strong enough, but general vehicle traffic is not allowed) and tossing rocks into the stream that cuts through the land

Gone 'a-scooterin...

2011-10-15T22:37:00.002-05:00

Since Beckett's birthday, the boys both have matching scooters and boy do they love them. Last Sunday was SUCH a gorgeous day (and I'm kicking myself for not getting Xmas card pictures done!), we decided to take the scooters down to the walking trail on campus. The trail is a pea-gravel type of material, which made scootering difficult, but there is a rumbly wooden bridge a little ways back that they like to venture under to throw rocks in the stream.

HS football (game)

2011-10-14T20:58:00.004-05:00

Paxton has been wanting to go to a football game for a few weeks now, which I haven't figured out because it's not like we know any of the kids who play on the team. He know Parker goes to the games, maybe that's where it came from? Anyway, tonight was a perfect reason for going--the elementary kids here did a walk-a-thon as a fund-raiser and tonight they got to take a lap around the stadium to wrap it all up. Paxton didn't want to walk, but Beckett did. While we waited for Kurt and Beckett to join us, Paxton had a ball running up and down the steps and goofing around with Arielle--they LOVE when she does things with them =)
They did shave about 4 years off my life when Arielle lifted Paxton up so he could see over the top of the stadium wall, HA!!

Technology and one small boy

2011-10-13T20:37:00.002-05:00

Who is too smart for my own good. He's discovered my ITouch and has figured out how to operate it without any lessons from me!! I will not be sharing any passwords with him, HA!!

A Boy and his list...

2011-10-11T21:02:00.004-05:00

Or his Momma's list, whichever---it's a fine line. Beckett went with me to get groceries the other day (against my better judgement. Usually I'm able to get it done without ankle-biter assistance, but once in a while I cave and let him come. And then tell Kurt when I get home to never let me do that again!!!)
He insisted on handling the list, even though the only thing he could read in my handwriting was "ice cream" HA! It added about 120% to the total shopping time to do it his way, I can tell you that much. After each item went in the cart, it was his personal mission to find it on the list (keep in mind, he couldn't read my writing) and cross it off. Then announce to me the next thing we needed to find (again, from a list he couldn't read).
At first he'd find a flat spot on a shelf to do his crossing off, and if none was available, he'd just stretch right out on the floor and do it. No one ran him over, thankfully---not even me!

Wedding Reception--long time coming!

2011-10-09T21:04:00.003-05:00

My Dad grew up in a TINY little "burb" with 3 other guys who all grew up and stayed close. They all married and the 4 couples did many things together, include raising a total of 10 kids. The FINAL one of those 10 was married yesterday and it was a reason to celebrate =) These are pictures from the big party!!

WIN-SCONSIN

2011-10-05T19:25:00.002-05:00

I've seen this logo floating around a lot on facebook. And while I'm no big-time sports-nut (ask anyone who knows me in real life, unless it's my son's golf meets!), it is a pretty cool Fall that we're having here in the land of cheeseheads! The local HS football team is undefeated so far as well, but that's not worked into the above graphic---HA!

Beckett's 6th Birthday Party

2011-10-02T20:12:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is officially my baby's birthday, but party day was today. We had a gorgeous day and he was able to open gifts outside on the deck =) The usual finger-foods made an appearance with a couple of new ones to try (the dipped grapes got a thumbs up, the hummus, not as much although "mean" Grandma is not much of a salesman!)
Beckett got a microphone, keyboard, a CD player and a few CD's, Buzz Lightyear Operation game, a scooter, clothes, savings bond, a FyrFlyz and a few more things. He's a mighty lucky little man!
Parker was on the "some assembly required" duty for the scooter, here's hoping it doesn't fall apart as he rolls down the sidewalk!

Box Tops for Education

2011-09-28T21:59:00.002-05:00

The boys schools, like so many others across the country, collect box tops for education to earn items for their school. I'm sure you've seen them on products you buy!
Beckett's school is collecting them for about a week in October---the winning classroom wins a pizza party =) We cut them off of boxes and toss them into a jar until it's collection time. Tonight I trimmed, Beckett glue-sticked and Paxton plastered them onto the sheets he brought home from school. Grandma made a couple of copies for us to use, but we're going to need a few more!

Our little Poet...

2011-09-25T20:11:00.004-05:00

Well, maybe not quite yet. On Fridays Beckett brings home his poetry folder that has 2 new pieces in it each week. They work on them at school and he is pretty much able to read them to us by the weekend. He got Arielle on Saturday night (when she pointed out that they are really more like nursery rhymes than actual poems) and Daddy heard them tonight.
He's pretty proud of his reading ability---as are we =)

Me and Boston

2011-09-23T17:38:00.004-05:00

Tired of Bean-town talk yet? OK, this'll be it. Just me, enjoying my girls weekend!!

Absence make the heart grow fonder..

2011-09-22T17:59:00.003-05:00

Kurt was never far from my mind while I was in Boston =) Brigette and I had to chase down Boston's famous Rescue 1 to get directions to "the Big House" so we could buy tshirts!

FOOD!!

2011-09-21T20:59:00.004-05:00

LOTS of eating got done in Boston! I had Thai for the first time, tried deep fried alligator (super good!), I was introduced to bubble tea (2 differnt varities, but both had the needed big balls of tapioca at the bottom!), went to the Cheesecake Factory for the first time and introduced a couple of the girls to the Melting Pot. We also got a pastry at Mike's, which is a "must do" in Boston!
We had IHOP for Anna (no IHOP's in Canada, which makes one wonder what part of international IS this house of pancakes?!) Dunkin Donuts are everywhere and push carts sell practically anything edible. I was hoping to try falafel while I was out there, but it just didn't happen =(

BOSTON!!!

2011-09-20T17:55:00.004-05:00

So no blogging for the last few days---had you noticed?! I had a great reason though =) I was fortunate enough to be able to slip away for 5 days to go to Boston with my baby momma friends (as I call the women I met on the internet who all had babies in October of 2005.)
We ate yummy food--I tried fried alligator, bubble tea, cheesecake factory and thai food. I was hoping for falafel, but that didn't happen. We did LOTS of walking and taking in just a few of the sights that Boston and Cambridge has to offer. I would go back again in a heartbeat!!!
This post just has a few of the tourist-y things that we did, I'm sure I can get several posts out of all the photos that I took!!!

Not as a big a helper as he thinks he is.....

2011-09-12T21:56:00.005-05:00

Just more of Beckett during Parker's Sr. picture photo shoot....

Dairy Days 2011

2011-09-11T09:36:00.004-05:00

Time to have my "Mommy of the Year" medal inscribed and sent my way. The annual Dairy Days celebration rolled into town this weekend. Or, as the boys so excitedly shared with me, "the carnival is here"!!! Fairs/carnivals SKEEVE. me. out. *shudder* No need to creep you out with it here!
BUT, the boys love the whole "ride til you puke" thing. And I mean that quite literally. We bought the $20 per kid bracelet that means you can ride anything non-stop for 4 straight hours. And we came darn close. At the end they chose to ride this thing that pretty much just spun around and then tipped as it spun. We didn't think it looked like they were enjoying it nearly as much as some of the other rides, but when they got off they said they wanted to do it again. So we let them, but voted among our parental selves that trip #2 was it for that ride and we were moving on when it stopped.
Well, as they staggered off, Beckett towards Kurt and Paxton towards me, I noticed evidence of the reappearence of his last oral intake (that's RN talk for breakfast), and he confirmed my suspicions. We fell 20 minutes short of the 4 hour window with both boys agreeing that they were ready to call it a day =)

He works hard for the money....

2011-09-09T19:17:00.004-05:00

I don't sound a THING like Donna Summer, so don't spend anymore time imagining me belting out that little ditty in the title.
No no--Parker had his Senior pictures taken today after school. (Flashback to Arielle's turn: she had at least 3 sittings and what seemed like 27 outfits---which had to be accomplished the nano-second she stopped being a Junior in HS. Parker: oh hey, we should get your senior pictures done one of these days....) We are fortunate beyond belief that FIL is a professional PHOTOGRAPHER, not even close to a FAUX-TOGRAPHER--big difference peeps! Even MORE fortunate is that he keeps agreeing to use his skills to make this motley crew look good for things like yearbooks and wedding albums.
And it's not easy! Between Parker making faces NOT suitable for publication in a book that half of his classmates will not be able to locate by 2014, Beckett tearing around insisting that he is NOT in the shot and the Mamarazzi, it's darn amazing that Grandpa doesn't self-medicate as soon as we clear the driveway!!
Anyhow, these are a few pictures of Grandpa working his magic for those he loves (and thank you Kurt for that!)

What $800 looks like

2011-09-08T19:46:00.004-05:00

Disappointed? I'm still in the shock phase!!! Parker sees a dermatolgist for his areas of psoriasis and she is always changing up the creams, lotions, sprays, potions and miracles in a tube. We have a whole bin of these tubes. And dermatology drugs are flipping expensive!!
His dermatologist is sweet enough to send home coupons that bring down the cost of our copay for them, which is helpful to be sure. The other day my cousin who works in the pharmacy we use told me that Parker had an Rx there to be picked up (something Parker neglected to tell me). She went on to say that she was surprised that insurance paid for it and to my puzzled expression she said that it's REALLY expensive and not all insurances will cover it. Um, how expensive you ask? She said our carrier paid over $800 for it. ULP!! And he has 3 refills on it!
We did have a $35 coupon that would have zeroed out the copay, but you need to be 18 to use it and he's not quite there yet.
He IS noticing a difference, so I guess it's doing it's job!!

The Dells, Ducks and a Drive-in

2011-09-05T10:39:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, Kurt FINALLY had a weekend off (his first 3-day weekend since APRIL, no that is not a typo) so we decided to DO something. I suggested a picnic and a drive-in movie, so that meant heading south to Iowa or north to the Dells. We opted for the Dells based on the movie, HA!
A picnic was packed and we got subs when we hit the Dells. Kurt took us to a park that he played at as a youngster (the equipment has been updated!) and the boys burned off some energy--until the sprinkling started. We decided it was a good day to ride the "Original Wisconsin Ducks". It had been several years since Kurt or I had been on them and the boys never had, and they told us several times that "this was a great idea!" Beckett did decide the water (in the Wisconsin River) was disgusting.
We hit the park again after our ride until it was dark enough to head out to the drive-in. It was actually a double feature of the Smurfs and Zookeeper, but we only stayed for the first show--it was after midnight by the time we got home as it was!
If you ask the boys, they'll tell you "it was a great day" =)

Beckett gets a library card!

2011-09-03T20:25:00.004-05:00

Part of being in 3rd grade for Paxton means that there is reading. Like every night reading. Which he is not as thrilled about as one might think. So we've made him a deal that he can pick some of HIS choices to read from the library and that means he'll not complain when he has to read the assigned books. To make it more appealing, we went to the public library today to make train book selections. Beckett of course went along and had the courage to ask the librarian how old you had to be to get a library card. She told him there was no age limit!! Talk about happy little boy =)
So we filled out the application (I read him the questions, he answered and I wrote them down--he knew most of them!) The librarian got it all entered and handed him his card to sign. He only wanted to sign his first name though!! He was also tired of the Mamarazzi by the time we were leaving, HA! His sweet face scored him a free keychain too!

Back to School!!

2011-09-01T15:52:00.002-05:00

Or as Kurt calls it: The most wonderful time of the year! HA! Everyone is in school all day every day this year (except for Momma, SHE graduated in the Spring!). Beckett is in kindergarten, Paxton begins 3rd grade and Parker is a SENIOR!! Everyone was pretty cooperative for the traditional first day of school photos--which is not always the case!

Kindergarten Meet and Greet

2011-08-30T21:53:00.004-05:00

A couple of years ago, the elementary schools in our district started having a before school open house--a chance to come to school a couple of days early and bring in supplies, find your classroom, locate your cubby, etc without the rushiness (made that word up) that the first real day usually entails.
Tonight was Beckett's school's planned meet and greet and Beckett got to do all of the above as well as practice putting his apple into the right bin (to tell the teacher if he brought a home lunch or if he's having a hot lunch), putting all of his supplies into the community tubs (while I got to write his name on every. single. twistable. crayon.
He says he's excited for Thursday to come. There WILL be an update--HA!

Summer's Last Blast

2011-08-29T19:32:00.004-05:00

The saddest time of the year is here =( Yesterday was the last opportunity to go to the public pool and enjoy ourselves. Our pool closes SO stinking early (you KNOW we'll have a run of 90 degree days here soon!), it is always closed before Labor Day weekend. The arguement is that "all" of the lifeguards have gone back to college, which is completely false because plenty of them are HS students!
In the last couple of days, both sets of Grandparents made it up to see Paxton doing his thing off of the diving board and Beckett being his usual goofy self on the big slide. The boys tell me not to be sad and remind me that they'll fill it again in May and we can swim again, but it's awfully depressing to see that big blue empty space as we drive by in the meantime =(

Parker the plumber, minus the butt...

2011-08-27T19:40:00.004-05:00

Papa's right hand man was put to work again today in the continuing (but approaching finished!) bathroom remodel. The tub drain had a bit of a leak and a smaller hand (why don't you do this, Mom?!), but a strong one was needed to fit into the tight space to seal and tighten the connection. He learned a lot about righty-tighty/lefty-loosey and the difference between clockwise and counter-clockwise! He also wasn't thrilled with camera flashes, but since he was sitting in the closet with his arm in a tight spot, its not like he could get away =)

Crossing Fingers

2011-08-23T20:43:00.002-05:00

Today I received a phone call regarding a nursing postion I applied for and they went ahead with the phone interview right then and there! (Totally caught me off-guard!). But with any luck, I made a good enough impression that the nurse manager of that unit will want to visit with me face-to-face. She said I should hear something within the next week.
Soooooo, crossing fingers!!! (but I like this image of the flower!)

Final Floatie Night of 2011

2011-08-21T21:19:00.004-05:00

On Sunday nights, our local pool has "family night", which basically means you can bring inflatable toys and such into the pool during the night swim session. A few weeks ago I picked up surf boards for the boys and we got our money's worth the very first night they used them.
Tonight was the last night for floaties for this year (next Sunday's night swim is a "doggie dip", don't get me started on my opinion on THAT). Although when we got up there, the UW football team was there on its annual pool outing, so when you fill a pool with 100 football players, it becomes hard to navigate a raft around!

Happy Golden Birthday, Arielle!

2011-08-20T12:43:00.004-05:00

My first-born is 20 today! So 20 ON the 20th means she's having her golden b-day (although she's more looking forward to 21, eyeroll).
Just posting a few pictures from previous birthday parties (back when new Barbies and American Girl clothes made her one happy little camper!!)

More picnic pictures

2011-08-17T21:26:00.006-05:00

Just a few shots of the boys playing the games they offer at the PFD picnic. They both popped balloons and did the ring toss for 2 liter bottles of soda. Beckett won "wegwawer" pepsi! (Regular pepsi) for his Momma =)
Excuse the "funny" tones on the dart picture---the setting on my camera got changed somehow, but I like the picture!!

What stared out as the PFD picnic post

2011-08-14T20:48:00.004-05:00

Today was the annual picnic for the families of our local fire department, of which Kurt is a proud 10+ year member. There's a yummy lunch, rides on an old fire truck, games for all ages, etc. The big draw for the boys at this point is getting to climb in, on, around, under, well--you get the idea--all of the big red trucks (we're a classic type of community!).
They'd had their momentary fill of the row of trucks in one area of the parking lot and were heading towards the big tower truck, when who do we see but Kurt's Uncle David, cousin Greg and his family! Including cousins Carson and Piper and their Momma =) Carson is Beckett's age and had been wishing he could see the trucks up closer and voila, there was Kurt to fulfill his wish =)
Miss Piper wasn't as enthralled with the apparatus as all of those boys and she wasn't willing to sit for a picture on those big red beasts without Cyndy, but we did get one!
We don't get to see these guys nearly often enough!

Bathroom day 2! (the one where Parker learns a trade)

2011-08-12T21:05:00.003-05:00

I wasn't expecting Papa to return for more bathroom work until after the weekend, so I was VERY surprised to see his truck in the driveway when I got home from work today! Even MORE surprising was what he had Parker doing =)
Parker spread the goop, I laid the tile and Papa did the cutting where needed. It went pretty fast less one trip out to Menards for more tile (yes, we had measured!) and one brief discussion about whose blood was dripping onto the white tile (for the record, it was mine--cut finger).
You can also see that I got the last of the pink tile painted over!!! (and perhaps a small portion of the 5 year old boy that lives here) Next I'll get the floor ready for grouting and sealing! Making progress...

Bathroom remodel: day one....

2011-08-11T20:26:00.003-05:00

The day has finally come! The upstair bathroom is getting its makeover =) When we bought this house, the bathrooms were NOT the selling features--HA! But we lived just fine with them the way they were. Both of them had/have plastic tiles on the walls (halfway up) and glass shower doors, which I HATE. A couple of years ago, my Dad put a new pedestal sink and tile floor in the downstairs bath, which was much more period to our house (the flooring was a nasty linoleum and the sink was a crappy "wooden" vanity).
Upstairs I painted the tile (and then did the downstairs!) and crappy wooden vanity and both shower doors were covered with a crisp white curtain.
But a leak somewhere under the potty (hate the word toilet, sorry) meant it was time to undertake another revamp. Tuesday night I got everything purchased and brought home and today Kurt and my Dad started. They got it gutted (goodbye vanity and tub and SHOWER DOORS!), the tub and drain are in place and all of the cement backer board is laid for the new tile that's to come!! Notice the pink tile that was behind the potty and sink!! I will be painting that to match before Papa comes back to tile!

SCORE!

2011-08-10T21:19:00.003-05:00

Not that I'M headed back to school this Fall (yay!), but when the BTS coupon from Maurices arrived in the mail, I thought I'd at least take a look in our local store. I found jeans that I liked, kind of pricey, but I thought if I tried them on and liked them, I could talk myself into them at 20% off.
WELL, tried them on, liked them, went to purchase them. The tag said they were $77.98 (no WAY would I pay that!), BUT they rang up at $9.95!! Then take off the 20% and all of a sudden they were down to $7.98!!! And yes, we (the clerk and I) looked around to see any more were going to ring up that way. No dice, but I was DANGED happy with my bargain =)

Yummmmmm?

2011-08-06T20:27:00.003-05:00

You've seen the ads: Red Robin!!! (pause) Yummmmmm! Yeah, in the words of this reviewer, not so much.
This weekend is tax-free shopping in Iowa (note, not MY state), so Parker and I went to finish back-to-school shopping for him this morning. We found some great deals too between the sales, lack of tax and coupons!
Well, shopping can take a lot out of you, even non-monetarily, and I was with a growing teenage boy. Clearly, sustinance was required to keep us going. It was my idea to try Red Robin, I admit it. When we got close we noticed that Buffalo Wild Wings was right next door, so I gave Parker the choice. Neither of us had been to either place, so he chose RR.
At best, the meal was mediocre (strike one occurred right away as they serve Coke products!) but the best was yet to come with the $34 bill that was slid to me at the end. $34 for LUNCH for TWO people. One of whom drank water! We did split a $5 dessert, I readily admit to that, but even still. To put it in perspective, on Wednesday evening when FOUR of us ate out at Olive Garden, the tab there was $38. And that food was GOOD!
Long story short, I will not be seeking out Red Robin when the signs of hunger are approaching....

Olive Garden

2011-08-04T21:56:00.004-05:00

Well, when I am slow between posts, it's easy to bust me! Clearly, we deviated from my well-thought-out meal planning by venturing out to Olive Garden last night! Beckett had an appointment with a dermatologist for a lingering rash and he was a VERY good boy so I said we'd go to OG as a treat. (Where he proceeded to only order breadsticks)
The trip had another purpose though, and we were able to finish off the last of school supply shopping and pick up the special soap and cream that was recommended for Beckett.
The 5yo has realized that Mom always has a camera in her purse and he takes great pride in documenting outings: his milk cup, the ceiling, menus, my salad plate, Paxton's hand, you get the idea. I get lots of practice with the delete button...

Menu Planning Monday!!

2011-08-01T21:28:00.003-05:00

Wow! Remember when I used to be so good about doing this every week? Me too, but barely. I DO still feed my family, but we're so much more on the go in the summer months, as you probably are too. On my long days, the boys are usually anxious to hit the pool for the night swim (as am I) and Kurt is now working a swing shift and I can never remember which night to "assign" him, HA!!
Things are much easier when I do have a plan though, so here I go again, hopefully with gusto!
Monday: OK, not such a great start, I had a meeting and Kurt went to the pool with boys!
Tuesday: BBQ pulled pork sammies, pasta salad, slice cukes
Wednesday: Kielbasa, boiled taters, veggie
Thursday: Ravioli bake, salad, garlic bread
Friday: Turkey legs, stuffing, corn
Saturday: Chicken in some fashion, pasta side, veggie
Sunday: Tilapia, rice, beans

I'm going to link up to I'm an Organizing Junkie, as before

Beckett is a fish in the pool too....

2011-07-28T21:24:00.003-05:00

He DOES do the slide, but wouldn't go down it the night I was taking pictures, little turkey. So what you get to see is his little backside doing his usual routine of jumping in off of the side of the pool. He likes to go "in the deep" (ie: 12.6 feet!) but can only be there if I am sitting right there. And since there are no chairs over there, Momma won't sit over there for 3-4 hours!!

Diving board love...

2011-07-27T21:22:00.003-05:00

Yep, Paxton has it. The boy loves him some diving board time =) He told me a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to give it a try and now you can't peel him off! What a big boy....

Melting Pot Meet-up

2011-07-24T10:18:00.004-05:00

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but a quick re-cap might be in order. Back when I was expecting Beckett, I joined an on-line expecting club for Momma's who were having babies in October of 2005. Once our babies were all born, we became a playgroup. The board eventually fizzled out in its original place, but we live on on Facebook, about 80 members strong! I (and sometimes Beckett) have been fortunate enough to meet several of these lovely people in real life =) Last night was another such time!!!
Penny lives only about an hour from me, and we've met more often than some of the members. Her PP (precious pumpkin) is Sofia. Heather lives in Michigan and her husband was in the Milwaukee area for business this week so Penny and I, with our PP's drove over to see her last night and had dinner at The Melting Pot. Yum yum! Beckett did quite well--I'm sure giving a 5 year old boy a "spear" and letting him dunk food in cheese had something to do with that--HA!
Afterwards was photo op time, of course, and these are a few from the evening.

Surgery for Papa

2011-07-20T21:29:00.004-05:00

Yesterday my Dad had surgery to relieve the blockage in his carotid artery that was found last week. My sister, her 2 boys, and Parker spent the day doing a LOT of waiting at St. Mary's and I went up after work to visit for a while. Thankfully, all went well and they kicked him out today (at the insistance of nursing staff, I am quite sure!)
Now to get him all recovered so work on our bathroom can commence!!!

Chillaxing...

2011-07-18T20:36:00.004-05:00

So since my parents camping trip got cut short the other day, there was food that WOULD have been prepared around a fire but wouldn't be. So Mom and I pooled resources and grilled out for 14 peeps with a buffet of brats, burgers, dogs, chicken breasts and legs. Round that out with cukes, potato salad, pasta salad, sliced tomatos, cut up fresh fruit and noone went hungry!
And since my point and shoot is with me as long as my purse is with me: say CHEESE!!!

The FINAL Harry Potter =(

2011-07-17T20:33:00.003-05:00

My Mom and I saw Harry Potter Deathly Hallows part 2 this morning--in IMAX 3D, HIGHLY recommend catching it this way!!!
VERY bittersweet to see the end of the series actually happen, I will miss Harry and all of the others =( I am in the camp that hopes JK Rowling WILL write more Harry related books, either prequels OR what happens to everyone after Voldermort's demise, either way! I think they did a wonderful job with the movie, even with the liberties they took with the screenplay vs. what was written in the book.
Two thumbs up!!!
I've put a few of the movie posters up---my how the kids have grown up over the course of filming 8 movies!!!

Paging Dr. Dorian...

2011-07-16T21:33:00.002-05:00

Egads! Too many hospital/clinic/Dr's visits in the past couple of days!
First: My Mom calls on Wednesday night, they've been camping in Eau Claire (pronounced Oh Claire, unless you are the voice inside of Tom Tom, then it's E-A-Uclaire) and my Dad had 2-3 mini strokes and was currently admitted at Sacred Heart hospital--hence the photo of the cast of Scrubs. My sister was camping with them, so she was already there, but my brother and I had to make the drive on Thursday to help pack up the campsite and bring them back home. It's about a 4 hour drive and my brother doesn't believe in stopping for bathroom breaks. Dad has a partially blocked carotid artery and will have surgery on Tuesday to remedy the problem.
Second: Beckett has had a little bit of a rash on his thighs, slightly itchy and starting to get a little "welt-y" so I wanted to have it looked at. I got an appointment for him on Friday afternoon, and as I'm getting ready to take him to it, Parker calls....
Third: "Um Mom? I'm at work and I kind of passed out and fell into the pool". YIKES! Healthy 17 year old boys don't pass out and fall into pools of water! So guess who got to tag along to the 5 year old's appointment? They've decided that he has a bladder infection and are treating him accordingly. Beckett got a prescription for steroids and antihistimines for a possible exposure to poison ivy/oak/summac/something.
Yeah, they're loving us at the pharmacy....

Goodbyn Art

2011-07-14T21:59:00.003-05:00

I hate school lunch. Like really not like it at all. It's expensive, it's unappetizing, it's repetitive, and the same few menu items are rotated through in a very short time span (that's a play on reptitive HA!)
I follow a few lunch "bento" style blogs where those Momma's are so darn creative that it's sickening. I'm more of a "pretty on the outside" type of lunch-packer =) Last school year I bought an orange Goodbyn for Beckett to use for home lunches (he always takes one, Paxton, not so much) I've also purchased a couple of Laptop Lunch systems which are a hit as well. In my travels around the online auction site known as eBay, I managed to score a wonderful deal on 2 more Goodbyns for the boys to use come Fall! They came complete with stickers for personalizaton and last night the boys sat down and got to stickering! Quite the budding artists, THIS unbiased Momma thnks anyway!

What I Wore Wednesday...

2011-07-13T20:58:00.006-05:00

Not that this weeks outfits that I actually photographed are award-worthy, but I'm linking up for fun at the Pleated Poppy.
HA! After looking at what I took, I'm only uploading one because I look TERRIBLE in the other ones. Really, you should be thanking me....
Today I wore a pair of my Silver shorts (I actually bought these new--big splurge!) the tank is from Kohl's (hard to see but there are a couple of fun rosettes on the neckline--LOVE rosettes, they're everywhere!) and sandals I bought at Gap outlet

Time for a Change....

2011-07-11T19:32:00.003-05:00

Because I'm no longer a "Great RN to be". Because I am now: a REGISTERED NURSE!! Yep, in-your-face, onling "screaming", all CAPS registered nurse. I took the NCLEX boards, waited not-so-patiently and finally caved and paid the $8 fee to get an early look.
Totally worth it.
And now, I must brainstorm for new lisence plates...

It alll comes down to this...

2011-07-08T22:04:00.004-05:00

After 5 years of nursing school, 2 graduations (not that I attended either, LOL!), HOURS of studying and stress beyond comprehension, tomorrow afternoon I sit for my NCLEX boards, my final step to getting a nursing license and the right to call myself a REGISTERED NURSE!
Wish me luck...

Seventeen Big Ones!!!

2011-07-07T19:50:00.004-05:00

That's how many birthdays my very first baby boy has had!!! My tiniest baby at 7# 7oz who came nice and early on a Thursday morning, about a week before we were expecting him---not that I complained a bit about that, HA!! He was turning a nice shade of yellow before we were kicked out of the hospital the next day (that was the day of "drive by deliveries" where you got 1 day for a "regular" birth and 2 for a c/s! Whatever you think of President Clinton, women across America should be thankful he made the 2 and 4 day stays the norm!) our MD wanted us to stay longer, but our insurance said "no way"! (Met Life, Snoopy as your mascot is darned cute, but as an insurance company I am not impressed). To make a long story short, he ended up being readmitted for 5 days to bring down his dangerously high bilirubin levels.
Clearly, we had a happy ending =) Here's some pictures from about 10 years ago. Pretty darn cute, don't you think?!

What I Wore Wednesday...

2011-07-06T21:58:00.003-05:00

Well, clearly, I haven't been faithful to this weekly venture! I've missed a few weeks and this week I only took one picture. What can I say, most things lately have not been noteworthy!!! I'm going to try to link up to The Pleated Poppy for her weekly linky-party, but I haven't had the best luck with links since my laptop came back "from the shop" =(
This I wore last Thursday: The chocolate brown shorts are from NY & Co, via consignment, aqua rosette tank from TJ Maxx, white shruggy thing from Maurices and the "birkenstocks" are flower covered and are from TJ Maxx as well!

Our 4th of July

2011-07-05T19:58:00.004-05:00

was pretty low-key, as always. Kurt had to work his usual shift, as he usually does, so no big picnics, parades or parties for this bunch. The boys and I went to the pool and afterwards they spent some time at the IL's so I could do some studying and painting without "help" or interruption. Then we met at Kurt's Aunt and Uncle's, they live just at the edge of where the fireworks in our city are shot from. We don't have a good view of the lower and ground show, but actually we're cool with that. We have reserved, FREE parking, INDOOR, CLEAN potties and free snacks! (Order of importance not represented!)
I took some pictures of the boys in their matching All-American shirts and Paxton tried his hand at taking some shots of the fireworks, but since fireworks are pretty much the same all over, you're forced to look at more photos of my sweet moppets, HA!
Towards the end, Beckett did his best to get his head into Paxton's frame. Sigh....

Happy Birthday, America

2011-07-04T19:50:00.002-05:00

What's more all-American than Snoopy and Woodstock? Besides, the boys just love these two =)
Pictures of our "celebrations" later....

BFF time =)

2011-07-02T22:53:00.005-05:00

On Tuesday, I headed down to see my BFF for a couple of days =) That morning while I was getting ready to go and packing, I was on the phone with her and she got rear-ended while sitting at a light! That meant we had to spend a little time getting an estimate for a new bumper =( I shopped for a while on Tuesday since she had to work: TJ Maxx, Gordman's, ya know, stores not right in my neighborhood! I ate at Chick-fil-a (can't get here!) and bought a couple more NCLEX review guides (yikes!).
She grilled yummy shrimp for dinner and had twice-baked potatoes the size of a newborn, HA!
Wednesday we hit some cute boutiques (home decorating, not clothes!) and ate lunch at a deli that served very generous sammies! Then we took in a movie---Bridesmaids!! Cute, definately worth seeing =)
In between all of that was lots of girl talk and perhaps a little bit of alcohol consumption, but not in excess! LOVE the time I get to spend with Patti!!!!

Truthful Thursday

2011-06-30T16:16:00.006-05:00

The de-cluttering/downsizing continues. My new mantra: if we moved tomorrow (across the street, across state lines, across the country---doesn't matter), do I really want to pack it up, move it and unpack it? If not--SEE YA! For example, I saved a TON of the megablocks/lego kits that Parker adored when he was Paxton's age. Now Paxton is in love with Legos too, but he is so wrapped up in his fire and police stations that it's ridiculous to even think of introducing something else. WHY am I continuing to store them then? Well, actually, I'm not. Once I get this post up, I am making a trip to the Thrift store (my second of the day, in fact!)
I culled through my closet and these SIX bags of things are items that I don't LOVE and hence, rarely wear. It's true: you wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time! In a perfect world I will get these all listed on eBay to make a little $ (it DOES work, but it IS work) I do intend to click away on the keyboard as a seller until my fingers are numb, but this little thing called my nursing boards is sucking up a lot of my attention for the minute, HA!!!
Man, it feels good to get it out of here =)

Take your Beckett to Work Day.....

2011-06-27T21:38:00.004-05:00

Actually no, he had a dental appointment for a filling this morning---I took him to work with me and Kurt came up to get him after he took Paxton to Summer school. When we got there, I told him he could go up front and talk to Shelly and Ashley while I got changed into my scrubs. Well, he headed right up there and was ready to settle into Kelly's chair (where he had his teeth cleaned)!
He did so well for his filling and then he had time to "help" us do some work. He assisted me in checking the charts Shelly pulled (and everytime the phone ring he said "Shelly, can you get that?!" HA, it was too funny!
Then Carol was setting up trays so we invaded her and he got the disposables into the right compartments. And then came Daddy! Beckett said he could leave because he was busy working =)

Flashback Friday

2011-06-24T16:44:00.003-05:00

I was looking through some older photo albums the other day (yes, I still print photos!) and came across a bunch of a couple of vacations that Kurt and I took with the big kids before the little boys made an appearance.
The Spring Break before we were married we took the kids to California for a week and hit Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. DCA had only been open for about 3 weeks when we got there. Needless to say, someday we need to get the little boys to a Disney!!! Everybody needs to go at least once in their lifetime =)
Gah, these two look so stinking little!!!!

Progress in Paxton's room!

2011-06-22T21:20:00.004-05:00

Getting SO close to done!! Yes, I know, I need to get that top board on of my board and batten project. Just look past that, HA!
I hit Hobby Lobby on a couple of different days and got EVERYTHING for 50% off. (Just like Kohls', wait a week and what you like will go on sale!) I bought the USA license plate map, shelf, lamp, all of the wall signs and bank, photo frame and lightswitch cover. The cars on the wall of signs are actually photo frames. Paxton loves it all =)
Please excuse one small little brother on the bed!!

2011 Golf Season Recap...

2011-06-21T21:42:00.004-05:00

Our young golfer had a TREMENDOUS season this year! He added to his letter and scrapbook =) The highlights:
Won PHS Masters--trophy
Won PHS match play--trophy
Won his match in the Southwest Cup, playing in the #2 spot for the entire conference--medal
Conference medalist with a 74, blowing the field away
First team all-conference--medal
PHS MVP--wall plaque
PHS lowest season average--name engraved on a trophy that stays at school
Top 10 medalist at the Springs invitational--medal
Top PHS score for all but one mini-meet
And a TON of ink in the local newspaper.
SO proud of Parker =)

Happy Father's Day!!!

2011-06-19T18:16:00.004-05:00

To my wonderful husband, whom I love so much! Also to MY father and FIL, both of whom I adore as well =)

Shopping at The GAP

2011-06-16T13:25:00.003-05:00

With pooltime upon us, it became apparent to me that the little boys needed some new suits! I like them to match, much to Kurt's chargrin, so a trip to the Mall was in order.
We (OK, me) found suits on sale/clearance pretty quickly while Paxton sweetly followed me and offered to help carry what I was finding. And Beckett? Well, he was in love. As I'm putting the items on the counter, I hear "Mom, look at my new girlfriend!". He was dancing with one of the soft (good thing!) mannequins that were modeling the latest fashions. The clerk thankfully, was too sweet and said he couldn't hurt a thing and he was fine to play with them. He told me that he didn't knock off their heads, "they just never had heads, Mom!"
We call him "knucklehead" for a reason...

Sometimes you can't explain...

2011-06-15T17:30:00.001-05:00

Yeah, Beckett. We just shake our heads a lot around here.

GRRRRRR!

2011-06-14T21:48:00.002-05:00

Now that I HAVE more time for blogging, I'm having major issues getting Blogger to upload my photos!!! I really do have posts to share, I promise. Cross your fingers that I can get them up SOON!!!

The pool is OPEN!!

2011-06-10T16:15:00.000-05:00

Every September when they drain the city pool, I get sad =( I HATE having to wait all through the Fall, Winter and a good chunk of Spring before it's refilled and the boys can get excited about jumping from the edge, coming down the big slide and spraying each other with the rubber ducks. Parker even looks forward to it because for him it means a bi-weekly paycheck, HA! And this year he's a lifeguard!! Big step up =)
Luckily we had a gorgeous opening weekend and we made it to the pool twice on Saturday and again on Sunday. Their smiles say it all!!

Love this Wisconsin weather....

2011-06-08T21:43:00.004-05:00

OK, love is a strong word. Egads, we had a FREEZING Spring--no really, until just this week we had frost warnings at night and people were covering up their flowers and gardens! (um, not me though. I JUST got my pots all planted a couple of days ago). And then this week we got hammered with temps in the WAY upper 90's, think 98 degrees.
As I speak, it is storming outside and the next few days we will have highs in the mid-60's, our pool won't open unless it's 68 degrees, so come on sun!!!
Mother Nature needs herself some Prozac or something....

Technical Difficulties.....

2011-06-06T21:28:00.002-05:00

Can I hear a big "UGH"?! I've been creating posts daily, but blogger isn't uploading my pictures. I've got NO clue why!! And who wants to read one of my posts without accompanying photos? Yep, that's what I thought =(
I haven't abandoned my poor little blog!!!

Girls day out. With Beckett....

2011-06-03T23:23:00.006-05:00

On Friday Arielle and I had plans to make a trip to the Dells for a visit to the outlet mall there. As I was getting ready, Beckett asked me if I was going to work and I told him no, Arielle and I were going to go somewhere instead. He asked if he could go and I couldn't think of a good reason why not. Yeah, I called Kurt at one point and told him to remind me off all of the good reasons why not:
He's a little dictator when in comes to the music. HE wants to pick the CD and knows which tracks he likes. When one is up that he doesn't like he yells: SKIP IT!
Is easily distracted by those cheesy rides that cost $.75 and last for 49 seconds. Hard to justify when he can ride the ponies at the grocery store for $.01. Yes, a penny.
Can get his shoes and socks off in a heartbeat (usually as you're putting the car in park), yet is unable to get them back on himself.
When he finished his little jugs of milk, he chucked them into the front seat with us. Yeah, NOT cool--he got in trouble for that.
Asked Arielle to get him all cleaned up after his snack of Cheetos and as soon as she turned around from that big job, we hear him crunching away on more!!
Good thing he's cute, but next time it's GIRLS only.

Truthful Thursday

2011-06-02T21:13:00.003-05:00

WHEW! Tackled the closet. Too tired for many words, HA! Beckett helped me pull it all out. Guess who was NOWHERE to be found when it came time to put it back...

Rountree Branch Trail

2011-06-01T20:19:00.003-05:00

There is a walking trail here that runs along the edge of the city. Nicely maintained and people walk, bike and run along it. It's tree lined and shady and there's a nice stream that meanders along with it. That also means: GNATS! Oh my word the little buggers were out in force tonight!
We ate dinner out tonight and while Kurt took care of the check, the boys and I walked down behind the resturant and hopped on the trail. I called Kurt and asked him to just take the car down the road and meet us farther down. You could just see huge clouds of the nasty bugs that you knew you'd have to walk through. I would take a picture, close my camera and when I'd open it to take another picture of the boys, I'd have to clean 2 or 3 corpses off the screen. I swear I killed 2 gnats for every birthday I've had, and by golly---that's a lot of tiny murders. I will sleep just fine tonight too.

City Boys Through and Through....

2011-05-30T12:24:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we had a graduation party for a family friend to attend and it was WAY out in the boonies (is this a local term?). Plenty of farmland and farm critters to see. Um, yeah---that's where we need some work. The boys saw a field with animals in it and I hear from the backseat: "look Mom, PIGS!". So I look. At cows. "whoops, those are cows, guys!". Oh right, says Beckett and he laughs.
As we're approaching our destination, there is a large pen with more animals laying and walking around. "Mom! Look, more cows!". I had already seen the pen I was sure they were referring to, but I looked around for cows. No cows. "Those are horses, guys". Oooops.
Ever since they were little, they would sail through those baby/toddler books with all the different animals and the sounds that they make. Hmmmm, maybe art doesn't imitate real life in this case.
At any rate, there was a horse barn with a couple of horses inside in pens, so we ventured inside to have a close up look. They were even pretty brave about putting out their hands to have the horses smell them!
We worked on reading road signs on the way home...

When Arielle gets the camera...

2011-05-28T09:23:00.004-05:00

Parker had his Regional golf meet yesterday (he had a great day, BTW---the whole team is advancing to Sectionals, but if they weren't Parker would be moving on as an individual!). His favorite sister came out to watch (and brought along a friend again---the more fans following Parker, the better!). She occasionally asks to "see my camera" which means I do a lot of deleting when she's not looking! But I did keep a few from yesterday.

Truthful Thursday

2011-05-26T16:14:00.005-05:00

How are those New Year's Resolutions coming along, you ask? Let's check!!
** I graduated!!!! DONE with nursing school!! Unless/until I decide to go back for a BSN degree....
** Sending out cards. Not so good. REALLY not so good. Gotta work on that...
** Keeping the checkbook register up-to-date. Sketchy. At best. Don't look right now...
** Decluttering/organizing. There's a box and 2 bags downstairs waiting to go to the Thrift store. A bag in the works for a co-worker, another bag almost ready to go to another co-worker's niece. Oh, the top shelf in our main closet got an overhaul. I've been wanting to find a basket that would work on the narrow shelf and finally hit paydirt at Target. AND, see all of those empty hangers? Yeah, eBay, baby! I listed a lot of items on eBay and all but 2 things sold. Loving a little extra bones in the account! Of course, the bottom of the closet is enough of a disaster to make one throw up in their mouth a little bit...

Whistling Straits

2011-05-24T20:46:00.003-05:00

If you know even a tiny bit about golf, you know that here in Wisconsin we've got this course known as Whistling Straits. Kind of a big deal. The US Open was held here again this past August---like with ALL the big golf names present.
For the 3rd year in a row, Parker has been lucky enough to play golf here. Last year it was FLIPPING cold (like Momma wore a winter coat and a fuzzy hat complete with earflaps) and this year we had to endure rain--to the point that they decided to only play 9 holes (and after the last group was in, the rain cleared, UGH). Since you've seen LOTS of golfing pics of my favorite young golfer (conference champion, did I mention that? First team all conference, did I slip that in somewhere?) these are just some shots of our day at WS with no swinging clubs in sight...

Pin Me!

2011-05-22T20:46:00.003-05:00

Here's a little bit of tangible proof that I have indeed completed nursing school. Saturday was pinning and graduation (no pics of me walking through the ceremony--Parker had a golf meet in Sheboygan and I headed that direction after pinning)
Kurt and my parents came to witness the event (Kurt shot photos too) and MIL sat with the boys at home while we were gone.
I thought I was done with whites forever after my last day of clinical, but NO, we had to wear them for pinning as well. GAH.

Couch to 5K....

2011-05-20T17:22:00.002-05:00

Have you heard of this? It's a program you can find on the Web that is designed to get you up and moving! Over the course of 8 weeks you start from nothing and will be able to run for 30 minutes, which is the equivalent to running a 5K mini-marathon. You do it 3 times a week and in the beginning its a blend of walking and running for short distances and as you progress, it's more running/less walking. Today was day one for me and I didn't keel over, so there's hope, right? I have some on-line and real-life friends who have done this with great success, so there's really no reason I can't do it--in my mind anyway, HA!
Of course it meant buying a pair of shoes not based soley on how cute they look (although, they are stinking cute) AND a good bra to keep the girls in place! A couple of friends have recommended some apps to download to my ipod, so that's next on my list. Wish me luck, Peeps!!!!

Conference Medalist!!!!

2011-05-19T19:04:00.003-05:00

The 2011 SWC conference meet was held yesterday on a very tough, non-conference course. Guess who was the medalist?!?! My baby boy blew the competition away with a 2 over par 74!!!! One bogey on the back, TWO birdies and pars everywhere else. I wasn't able to be there, but his Dad sent me texts after every hole and it was exciting even from a distance, HA!
I sent the message to give him a hug for me and I was told that there was a line to hug him after that round =)
We also learned yesterday that because of his phenomenal season, Parker made first team all-conference. So very proud of my sweet golfer!!

132 pictures of this:

2011-05-17T20:20:00.000-05:00

SOMEONE has been playing with my camera. If he hadn't admitted it, I would have figured it out anyway---there were plenty of him in the mirror caught in the act. He says its ok because "I wore the strap around my neck like you're supposed to". Uh-huh....

Happy 8th Birthday, Paxton!!!

2011-05-15T19:01:00.004-05:00

OK, technically his actual birthday was last week, but we had his party today to celebrate. Both sets of Grandparents, his Godmother, Arielle, my brother and nephews were here to help us celebrate and Paxton had such a nice day. He received the lego sets he had been dying for (and a couple of surprise sets too!), water guns, a couple of gift cards, savings bond, the always appreciated outfit, a new DS game, a CD player/radio (which Beckett has been playing non-stop), a scooter and Yogi Bear (cute movie!!).
I can't believe its been EIGHT years already since his 9# 14oz self made his overdue arrival =( He's just he sweetest little boy and it is a pleasure to be his Momma

SWC vs SWAL cup, 2011

2011-05-14T19:45:00.004-05:00

So last year, 2 adjoining conferences came up with the idea of pitting the top 30 players from each conference in a Ryder Cup style tournament. The #1 player from SWC would play the #1 player from SWAL and so on all the way down to #30. Last year Parker was somewhere in the 11-20 range in points for our conference, this year he is number TWO! (and he's beaten the #1 a couple of times this year).
It was a very cold and windy day---so not fair for May 14! But my baby boy played like the weather wasn't a factor, he was amazing--one of his best days on this course. I won't bore you with tons of golfing terms and lingo, you can just take my word that he "done good" HA!
SWC pulled out the win again today, and Parker adds another medal to his letter =)

No more pencils, no more books....

2011-05-13T21:29:00.002-05:00

That's right. For all intents and purposes, I have completed nursing school. FIVE years, peeps. I did it part-time, nights and weekends, summers included. While working full time, mothering 4 children, wifing one husband. It wasn't easy and I had loads of help and now it's over. Well, except for pinning. And graduation. And sitting for the boards. But compared to the 5 years behind me, those upcoming things seem small.
Believe it or not, my classmates and I did not leave the hospital skipping, screaming and throwing books and papers into the air. It almost had a surreal feeling to it. Very hard to describe, HA!
I. am. a. nurse =)

When you're on top....

2011-05-11T21:13:00.000-05:00

as Parker is (number one on the team, in the number 2 spot for the entire conference), you get the bigger following in the gallery when you play. Many thanks to all the parents, friends and families that come out to watch the golfers and especially to those that are out to see Parker. It means a lot to them--really.
When you tell people that you're going to your son's golf meet, the looks that you get are interesting. Certainly, its not like spending Friday night under the lights in a stadium cheering on the football team or sitting in the bleachers of the school gym watching a basketball game, but there ARE spectators! Just no refs or popcorn--HA!