Happy New Year!

So how many trips to Menards does it take to replace a faucet? The answer ....... FOUR. After a lot of swearing and a couple new tools, we now have a great faucet that goes on and off like butter and does not leak! and we did not even have to take the sink off!

To minimize the amount of swearing the boys would hear while Pat was working on the faucet.....I took them outside to the neighbors house for an afternoon filled with sledding.Here the boys are making a sledding train. And afterwards we started up a campfire and roasted marshmallows. They are just as tasty as they are in summer, and cool off much faster. The neighbor boy also learned that they burn just as well.Hey Peter, say "chubby bunnies". Thanks neighbors for inviting us over.!

We have been playing a lot of cards, Uno, GoFish and War, and then Peter asks...Do you know how to play Black Jack? should I be worried? Soon he will be playing Texas Hold'em and wearing sun glasses and hood so I cant tell when he is bluffing. He is getting much better at losing/winning. The key, he needs to be well rested and well fed. That seems to be the key to a lot of the boys issues. I guess this works for me also, not just the boys.

New Years Resolutions-(my thought is if they are published then I have to stick to them longer)

• be more patient with all the boys in my life
• read more
• establish (and maintain) a routine cleaning schedule

!!!!!Happy 2010 to everyone!!!!!!

Christmas in Green Bay

Christmas was spent up in Green Bay...with all of my siblings and their families, 14.5 people in all (my sil is pg). My parents were smart and rented a hotel room for themselves for some peace and quiet (and a swimming pool that we used one night!) A couple of us were trying to figure out how we could sleep there also. Alex was up at 6am ready to open presents (this is how I thought christmas would be). While we were kind of sleeping I hear the following conversation between Jamison and Peter.

"I think I hear Grayson"
"What did he say?"
"I dont know, I dont speak toddler"

I started to laugh just enough to be awake....I guess it is time to unwrap the chaos!

In the morning we were all surprised to a living room full of presents, my parents outdid themselves again! Grandma/grandpa got a Wii and a Wii fit, to we spend a lot of time bowling, golfing and seeing how unhealthy we are. We also spent some time outside to give grandpa a test run on the new knee...the verdict...not ready for uneven snow. No naps, lots of sweets and trying to keep up with the older cousins sure makes two very tired boys. We got to unleash the hyperdrive for most of the drive back home! We arrived home to see this mess from the storm a couple days earlier. Pat did snow blow us out before we left and branches were coming down all around him. I never saw anyone snowblow with a hard hat on! A couple more came down when we were gone. I guess we have some clean up to do! Now for a week off of school....wonder what fun we should have!

pre christmas fun

T'was the night before christmas and all through the house....were two squirrley boys and and a mom done chucking cashmere. We opened the presents that were sent from all over the world from our friends and family. Thank you to everyone! Keiko sent some snacks from Japan..and Peter was insistent that the boot was to go on his foot. He then fell over and declared that it wasnt. We always love the yummy chocolates from Germany and the game looks fun to play!. Some cuddle friends made it all the way from Sweden. We also opened our presents to each other...the boys did a great job of thinking of their brother and parents. The boys got the traditional jammies, that are to be worn the night of christmas...and in Jamison's case for days afterward. The boys were so tired that we had to wake them the morning that Santa came. Whatever happened to the kids waking up at 5am and starting their day! Santa was all too nice to the boys this year, bringing each boy many things on their list. Jamison found a huskey dog at Target that he told the dog to run up to the north pole and tell Santa where he lives. The Husky made the trip and even brought his brother! So now we have two huskey cuddlefriends. Peter was soooo excited when he opened his Bakugans since all he wanted for christmas was bakugan bakugan bakugan! Thanks Santa for everything!!! We also got another christmas surprise....Aunt KT! Her flight was canceled out of ORD to Green Bay so she hopped one to Madison! The boys were happy to show her everything they got and I was happy for someone else to share in the excitement. Now off to Green Bay!

week in review

St Nick brought CARS inspired Uno cards...and we have been playing almost every night. Lets just say that Peter really likes to win. We have had to have a couple talks about losing and winning....and I quote from my favorite book "Sometimes I like to run ever so fast...sometimes I come first but sometimes I come last" We are working on the latter part of that. Usually a game lost by Peter ends up in tears and him requesting "time by myself"

During our blizzard we took the opportunity to do some baking. I did not hide them well enough...so we had to bake some more. The boys were fantastic Hershey Kiss un-wrappers...as long as I promised one when they were done. Hopefully these will last until we give them to the neighbors across the street.

Dont you love winter time. The season of cold, snow...and GERMS. Both boys brought home the stomach flu. (note the bucket, bottom right of the picture). Fortunately they had it within hours of each other so they could have someone to be miserable with. Pat has fallen to the evil germs....I am still in the clear and I hope it stays that way.

Look...a Title TextBox (Jamison Dancing)

This is Jamison dancing to some tunes while mom is away. Her being away is confirmed when Peter atempts a stage dive at the end. He needs to work on that--and listen to his dad about being on the couches!

He (Peter) is now jamming to "Jailhouse Rock."

Its beginning to look a lot like christmas....

Well, the snow came and it came and it came! There was somewhere between 15-17inches. The snow blower started and worked! Always something I wonder about each and every time it snows.Schools were cancelled, business closed except for LandsEnd!. There was not enough cashmere in the world to get me to drive the 25 miles. Sorry if your orders are delayed. The boys NEEDED to get outside and play. They proceeded to dig tunnels all through the front yard like small rodents. We did spend plenty of time out side and slidding down the neighbors sledding hill. They even went off the jump. I wonder who is going to get the first broken limb of the year. On another note, i had to email St. Nick and ask if he could come to the house the next weekend...he said "no prob" by the way. I over heard Peter telling Jamison "If the stocking is chubby then St. Nick came, if it is flat then he didnt. Well to his surprise they were chubby. Jamison then declared that St. Nick is crazy because they were not at all good to get what they got in their stocking. I assured him that even though they have been little snitzels lately they look at your performance all year round. He was not convinced. Maybe he should fill a stocking with coal or even worse....underware. I tried to get the "in front of the tree" picture but Jamison was a crabcake. Daddy set up the video camera on the new computer so the boys can talk to grandparents. Jamison thought it was cool...Peter was grumpy.

Weekend with the ladies

We headed up to River Falls for the weekend to visit the ladies. The morning started with pancakes and bacon...hey Jamison...it is polite to chew with the your mouth closed.
the boys dont go very far from dad now-a-days. You might miss some Mario time.

Shelby set up her own tatoo parlor, it is a hot-happening place for the 4-5yo scene
The grownups spent some time looking at various blogs...some of them were a little alarming! Just remember to take a look at what you are wearing before you head out to Walmart.

We made some christmas cookies!
Lucy pondered the meaning of life
And then we opened presents. The girls picked out the most awesome transformer remote control cars. The boys have been playing with them non-stop!
We gave the girls some outfits from India. I could not pass them up. I am so glad we are good friends with some little girls, otherwise I might be dressing the boys up in these.
Then the cookies were ready to decorate!
Lucy wanted to make sure that all the sprinkles were cleaned up. She even used the most dangerous weapon...her tongue!
Then we took in a holiday classic, The Grinch who stole christmas...the real one not the one with Jim Carrey
This is a good sign we had an awesom weekend-and we got to engage the hyperdrive!
Thanks Lily and Lucy for a GREAT weekend!

Tday and holiday preparations

I know, I have been a bad blogger. We were out of town for the holiday and I have been working everyday (whine, wimper) and by the time we get the boys to bed I pass out on the couch. Excuses, i know, but I have some pictures to make it up. Pat and Jamison in a tree stand...not hunting, just taking in the sites and talking about how they would like to convert this to a tree house next spring.

I was responsible for the Thanksgiving day stuffing and Peter was was my souxchef. Just like Jamison, he had to sample the ingredients as we added them. (see the full cheeks) The stuffing turned out great and will be added to my repertoire of recipes. It even had cranberries and Pat still liked it. (he picked the cranberries out but it did not taint his view of it!) On a side note...dont take pictures of your kids when they have a reflective shirt on, you wont get a good photo.

Nothing cuter than a boy and a dog! (although it is hard to see). Peter wishes that Wini would be that loving...she is only if you have food on your face that needs some cleaning.We went to the Eagle River Childrens Museum...he is Jamison trying to get away from me and the camera.It was Pat's birthday over the weekend also. We made him a lemon bundt cake and I insisted that we put all 37 candles on it. Jamison can count that high! We thought we needed the fire extinguisher....it sure did give off some heat. He blew them all out! good thing he does not have any girlfriendsPat and the boys have been playing video games together (the "E" is for everyone-ones, NOT the shooter ones) so the boys wanted to give Pat a couple new ones to play together. We also got out the game cube and revived Super Monkey Ball, the boys totally got into it. It was fun to watch them lean in the direction that they wanted their monkey to go.

The weekend did not go by with out some excitement. I tested how sharp Don's knives were by slicing it through my finger, requiring 3 stitches (I will save you'all from the picture) and Jill to top me with a small explosion in the oven. No major medical treatment necessary, just some ice water, burn cream and some open windows. Lets just say Jill will not need a haircut for a while.

We are on the hunt for our new favorite christmas tree farm. After doing a little research, we did not want to spend the $50+ that they want in this area for a tree. A while ago we were joking that we could use the trees in the front as christmas trees...as I would like to put some flowering trees in that corner of the yard. So, no time better than now....we picked one of the trees on the side of the yard and cut it down! I feel a little redneck but if we plan on planting something different they need to go. We decided that we are going to groom a couple of the other ones for the next couple years. It is amazing how big things are when you actually get them in the house!. We ended up giving the tree a "haircut" in the back so we can push it close to the wall. The thing is HUGE. We even found 2 birds nests in the tree while we were decorating it. (Jamison is bringing them to his show and tell)

Once the boys get haircuts we will be working on getting that holiday picture in front of the tree. (I tried to get a good one here, got one pretty cute one. These are the outtakes) I gave Pat one...and now I am inspired to do two more heads! I think we are going to go with "mop-tops" or as Jamison called it...."brush-brooms". Peter does not want to cut the top of his hair...as he is working on a killer mohawk for next summer.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone(belated)!