Our weekend

We went to Tom's parent's cabin this weekend in the Northwoods. It sounds fancy when you say "Northwoods".

We brought home this:

Just kidding!

I wanted to bring this home:

But where would I put it?

What we did bring home was a ton of wood for projects and a hand me down riding lawn mower so I can stop push mowing the lawn with Gus in the Kelty on my back.

We did a ton of this:

And just so you freak out a little more, I did this:

Remember when I was talking last week about the Northern Water Snake?! We held them.  And never for a second thought about bringing them home. But, since Tom and I really don't care for snakes that much, it was a huge feat for both of us to show our boys how brave we are!

Our big backyard

I put an email out to the neighborhood to see if anyone was getting rid of their swing set and if so, can we buy it....and guess what? Someone was! Yippee. So we took our tools and our laborers and went and grabbed it. It wasn't too bad to move.

And now, sitting in our backyard is this:

He looks freaked, but he's really lovin' it.

That's right. Helmets on the swing set. That's how we roll. Oh and cowboy boots with sweats. Cool.

See! Happy boy!

Look at that, helmet, mittens and rain boots. Oh boy.

I'm so happy that it worked out this way. Now my "backyard fort money envelope" has been transferred to my "get a new tent envelope"! Hooray!

Easter Weekend 2011

We had a very low key Easter this year. Quiet times at our house. Oh, who am I kidding, it's never quiet here. NEVER.

We actually had a very BIG weekend for one little dude.

Traditional family photo with their best Easter shirts. Notice they are each wearing their favorite color.

Porter has been riding a two wheel since the beginning of last summer. He just got on and started riding.

We've been talking about it with Jack since his 4th birthday at the beginning of the month. We took his training wheels off and one them broke so we couldn't put them back on (wink, wink).

So we said, "Orange dude. You gotta do it." He said, "Okay." We went out and Tom held on for a few seconds and Jack said, "Daddy let go! I can do it myself!" So, Tom let go. Done. Jack's a two wheel rider.

They probably won't remember learning to ride their bikes. They'll just think they have always known. I mean, how much do you remember about being four? I got nothin. That's okay, because I will remember. And of course, I cried. I cried at the loss of my babies. I cried at the smile that spread across his face. I cried at the pride that was bursting out of that tiny little body....cried. Sobbed.

So, now we've got two out of three riding two-wheels.

Oh, and we found this little guy on our front stoop on Monday morning.....odd little fella. The boys think he's magical. I think the neighbors think they are funny....we're going to send him on in a few days...

Happy Day.

Family Dinner

One of the things I'd like to do this year is really get into family dinners. Although the boys always eat lunch and dinner at the dining room table, they are often the only ones sitting there. They eat supper about 5 or 5:30 and Tom isn't home by then, and I'm constantly up getting things for them.

So, we are taking charge of dinnertime in our house. Fortunately I have a mother-in-law that reads minds and got this book for all the families at Christmas.

The Family Dinner, by Laurie David.

This book came at just the right time. Like many of you, I've been setting goals, purging junk, moving things around, packing things up and getting ready for the year. 

The book gives great ideas and suggestions for making dinnertime family time. It also gives some easy-peasy recipes and some hints to get your kids to eat veggies! I love it. Simple ideas and suggestions. Just what we need.

The first thing I did was make a dining room. If you've been reading for awhile, you may remember that we have been using our dining room as a catch-all for everything under the sun.

It's the dining room/transition room/office/playroom. Uhh-huh.

This is the best picture I could find of our dining room/kitchen eating area.

The kitchen is closest to us in this photo and the formal dining room is to the left of the kitchen....if that makes sense....

So, I took that table, and moved it to the front room...eh-hem...the dining room.

There are a few things that need to be done. the computer is still connected in this room because we haven't hooked up the cable in the other room. And the light from the other room needs to go in here. Tom likes that light, and so it is staying with the table, BUT, I am already liking the new set up.

This is the current state of the eat-in kitchen. And I like it. It hides the junk from the front of the house. That makes me happy. It makes it easy for me to see the boys playing when I'm in the kitchen and once the computer goes on that table, it will be a nice place for computer time.

Umm...this photo was taken this morning. That's right. Two diet cokes. One was from yesterday. The black chandelier is going over to the dining room and a school house light is going in here. Something like this:

Or this:

Or this:

All three of these are from school house electric. AND, they are each under $75. Which I thought was fairly reasonable. I could probably find one at ReStore as well. And may have to make a trip over there. BUT, I like to buy new lighting, that way I don't have to do any rewiring.

We've put in place a rule of no electronics in the dining room. No tv, no phone, no leapsters, no toys, nothing but eating during dinner. And it is going great. In addition, the boys are helping with dinner preparation. Taking things to the table, helping cook a little. For the last three days...hee-hee...it's been fun.

I'll keep you posted on the dinners and the state of each of our rooms!

Happy Thursday.

Mom Ramblings - The Christmas Edition

1.What a fantastic Christmas Vacation we had!

This cute blue-eyed kiddo was getting two molars and was NOT the most pleasant one to be around. But, it's hard to be upset with him, I mean, look at him! Plus, I read that the pain from teething is comparable to labor....so I understand the pain. And the crankiness. And the drool. And the snot.

2. We traveled 10 hours to NoDak. 10 hours. We saw family and hung out with my Dad. We were spoiled rotten with treats and presents and snow. Lots of snow. And one extra pound on the tush. We had potato cakes for Christmas Eve and Lasagna for Christmas Dinner. Hence the extra pound....But that's okay. It was totally worth it. The boys got spoiled rotten with time with their aunts and uncle (and one aunt's boyfriend)!

3.Why didn't I take any pictures?

4. We then traveled 8 hours to Northern Wisco to spend some time with Tom's family. 8 adults, 9 kids, 4 dogs. It was chaotic and messy and delicious. We had a fantastic time. It is so nice for the boys to spend time with their cousins. They all seem to get along so well. The weather was crazy warm for Wisco and we were outside most of the time, sledding, building snow forts, and mastering the art of rolling snow into a ginormous 12 foot tall snow man.

5. Oh, and eating, which of course is where the other pound I gained came from. That's right. I gained back what I just lost. I know. It's such a vicious cycle. Oh well, you lose some, you gain some. I've got all year to lose it again!

6. Jack loved the snow fort. That's right. Helmets with tape covering the holes. And goggles.  Safety first.

7. Gus and Jack loved being pulled on the sled by their "Reindeer Mommy". Uh, that would be me. To get some exercise I would run them up the hill/driveway and push them down the driveway and run next to them....it's a long driveway!

8. We made chocolate covered pretzels, and to say Jack got carried away is an understatement....

Sprinkles anyone?

9. Ooohh! We took a sleigh ride with hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps (only for the adults, of course). Porter with his cousin Maggie (they were connected at the hip the ENTIRE week).

Jack and Daddy enjoying the sleigh ride.

10. Porter spent most of the time with his cousins sledding. I've got video. It's hysterical. He stands at the top of the hill and yells, "Comin' dowwwwnnnn...." Then he throws himself onto the sled and goes down the hill. It is the best to see him lovin' the snow. It makes his 'downhill skiing obsessed' father so happy! Did I mention he went to college in Colorado just to be able to ski?

11. We are so sad every year when this week is over. It is such a great family time for all of us. And now, back to work, back to school, back to the grind.

12. In true form, the second we arrived home I started unpacking all our stuff and at the same time packing up all the Christmas stuff. We left the lights on on the tree out back, it's tradition for Tom to leave those up until sometime in the spring. He loves to irritate the neighbors. Dork.

13. Merry Christmas, Happy 2011.

14. I can't wait to see what is in store for us this year. Welcome to all the new readers! I hope you stick around and find out too.

Dad visit.

My Dad came to visit for Thanksgiving and he stayed. For a whole week!

We had a great time and we were all spoiled rotten. Treats. Treasures. Time. It was fantastic.

For some reason I didn't get many pictures, but this one stands out the most. One of my Dad's dogs.

In this basket. Next to the fire. Odd dog.

Thanks for the wonderful week Dad. We love you!

Fall Fun.

Okay, so here's what I've got. I can upload one picture at a time. If I upload more than one then just try and place one of the photos in the post, I lose them all. Ugh. I write on a Mac so they don't have LiveWriter for Macs yet. It's so frustrating! With the new photo upload, for a few days I was able to upload a bunch at the same time and then just select the ones I wanted to post at that time. Then go back for more. What is going on with this madness?

So, here's a post, uploaded slowly with photos. But, not too many, cause I have a chicken to put in the crock pot and a 17 month old with a piece of candy corn near our new furniture....Oohhh, new post about that soon!

On our trip back home we had a little bit of time to play in the fall leaves. It was so much fun! I love to be a kid again.

Enjoy your nice fall day!

Wedding Weekend

My sister married her best friend this weekend.

It was an absolutely perfect wedding.

The bride was stunning.

The kids were well behaved.

And Oh my gosh, couldn't be cuter.

The Reception was totally fun.

Really? Seriously? Dying...

Hooray 4 Love.

Our families got along famously.

Look at those girls! Can you tell we're sisters?

What a handsome bunch. 

Congratulations to Sara and Mark. May you have a lifetime of happiness and joy.

*All photos courtesy of Mark Anthony Photography.