So long

Since I blogged...what to say??
The boys have been great. Joey is teething again we think and has another cold. We are all fighting a slight bug -I blame this crazy MN weather-cold in the am...warm in the aftn.

Last weekend I was able to finally clean the screen porch and hang Joey's swing up. Yesterday Jack pushed him in it. It was a fun family moment..and I was able to run around doing chores while Jack entertained his bro...love that!!

Also got a few flowers planted. The gas/formula/diapers cost is cutting into my flower budget so we are keeping it minimal this year. I will once again be sporting the best WEED garden in the tri-state area -come over and check it out.

Joey started on solids recently. At first he wanted to just suck and chew on the spoon but has finally mastered it I think. He figured out if he gives the spoon back..he gets more yum-yums!
It is SOOOO messy though. Forgot about that part!
A good excuse to buy more cute bibs!..or ask Ma-mma Joan to sew some more!

(note to self..ask mom to sew bibs)
This holiday weekend we are hanging out on the home front.
Sat night I am invited to attend a bachelorette party..woah..havent been to one in forever and I am thinking I will be the oldest one there! Bring on the fun old school style!
Can anyone out there suggest some good drinks for me..I am boring and usually just order Honeyweiss beer or Cap'n Morgan cokes.

I am participating in a consginment sale May30-June1 at the Eden Prairie Ice arena.
Fresh Threads Consignment is the sponsor..hoping to sell a bunch of stuff and maybe find some treasures for Jack or Joey. I have a lot of work to do for it yet.

How about that American Idol finale! I stayed up and watched the TIVO of it..dang that FOX for cutting off the ending..I had to go online to see David Cook had won! Hooray-I liked him best.
Who do you think should have won?

finally sunshine

Jack's latest fascination...playing house..it has been a favorite in the past and he has rediscovered it lately..Dora and Diego moved in last week.

morning surprise

7:20am..breakfast in bed.

Everything tastes better when made by your husband, it is presented on a tray while you stay in bed and your 3 year old helps you eat it!

having your 3 yrd old write MOM on the envelope: priceless

mamarazzi homework

I am a frequent poster on the mamarazzi forum..trying to learn more about my DIGI rebel xTi camera and all its abilities and functions.

Joey makes for a wonderful model on a daily basis..

Jack has figured out he can just make silly faces everytime I point the camera at him.

I submitted these 3 pics for a contest/homework at mamarazzi -the task was to use a low apeture (2.0 or lower) and take a close up, mid range and full body shot of your kid and try to get the Blurry background..here is my submission

Rain, rain go away

...but not until my mom gets some pics of me in my new rubber boots!!

great weekend

It was a busy weekend but productive and fun!

Friday night my mom drove down in the rain to stay over.

My goal was to get Joey's nursery/bedroom cleaned up and ready for him to move in. He has been sleeping in our bedroom in his carseat in a basinett. The carseat was good for keeping him upright to help with the breathing/coughing troubles he had this winter.

It was "dump day" in our town...one of my favorite days right behind xmas eve! We got rid of a bunch of junk and I was not one bit sad to see it all get crushed in the garbage truck..next year I am bringing cookies for the nice man who unloads my crap!! Now I might be able to finally get our 3 season porch looking decent!

I finally put up the wall words I ordered for the boys rooms. (Pictures to come)
Sat night my brother and his girlfriend (who I adore-Hi Jill!) came down and we all went to the Kentucky Derby party at the golf course.
Jack was in heaven cuz he rode over to the course with his Dad in the golf cart. It turned out to be a nice day afterall..they had predicted snow on sat am! YIKES! Luckily we woke up to nothing!

Sunday, Daddy played in a tourney a few hours away so I decided to be super -mom and take the the boys shopping. We went to USA baby to test drive a Peg Perego Pilko3 in Mod verde (green!)- I wanted to see if it truly could hold both boys at once...sadly..no way. I still love the green color but it is a bit pricey to be a 2nd stoller- I am looking for something lightweight to take on our trip to NY...and then to be my easy mall stroller.
Last night surfing I found this one...which always has a strong reputation but..no snack tray?Any of you have one of these? Are they really that great?

Anyways...we then went to the BIG STORE...IKEA! Jack loved playing with the toys and I love all the cool colors and good deals. I had a short list of items to accessorize Joey's room and we found them all..I managed to squeeze all of it in a cart with Jack riding in the basket part of the time..He didnt seem to mind being surrounded by rugs and blankets and picture frames.
I bought these goodies :

red shelves for books
storage thingee??-looked cute.may go up in the toy room in the loft.
this floor lamp for Joey's reading nook
these round rugs...in orange, red, yellow and blue-for both Joey and Jack's room
I may use this rug in Joey's room..have to try it out first
some picture frames for our room and some poster frames for Joey's

I cant wait to get it all put together!
Once we made it through the store I promised Jack an ice cream cone at the end!

then we headed over to MOA to pick up a gift card for Grandma S. Because it was just across the hall from Barnes and Noble I really spoiled Jack and let him BUILD A BEAR!
and he picked out this one ...the cheapest one and added the sound "I love you"
then proceeded to talk to his bear while we waited to have it stuffed.:

Jack: "Hi bear...do you want to be stuffed?"
whisper, whisper
Jack: "Mom, luv bear says he wants to be stuffed"
Mom: " ok- honey -we will do that then"
whisper whisper
Jack : "Mom, luv bear says he is glad I am taking him home because he was scared"

He didnt want any of the over priced outfits for luv bear...just the tennis racket and balls...somehow I didn't think they were really for the bear and I had visions of small tennis balls flying all over our living room..but I let him buy them anyway.
Pushover Non -that's me

I cannot tell you how cute he looked walking thru the mall clutching onto this bear-it made him go backward at least 1.5 years in my eyes. (of course no camera with me)

We then had a nice dinner out with the in laws to celebrate Mother's day early. I love the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday's-but I wouldnt recommend the paremsan shrimp dish...blah.

Tonight Non gets to sit outside the pre-school for 3 hours waiting to sign up Jack for the fall morning session. Rumor is the afternoon session is already filled up and only 20 kids will be allowed to sign up for the morning session.
I figure this is a 1st of many times I will go the extra mile to get our kids the best opportunities?!
:)
Now if you have read this far...please leave a comment! I know somebody is reading this becasue my new blog counter is up and running!
And suggest some songs for me to add to my imeem playlist at the top!
NON

Soccer!

Thanks to my friend Nancy for the comment!

Apparently soccer went pretty well. I had to miss it but Daddy gave me as many details as a man is allowed to remember. ..(hee hee -you women get that joke right?)

There were 40(!) kids signed up for this under 6 group.
At first he kept up but then John said he thinks Jack "got intimidated" by all the kids and just kicked his ball off on his own for awhile. Overall he said he liked it and fell asleep at 7 pm that night! Crashed in his chair in front of a Weebles movie.

I hope to get some pics next week and post them!
Non

so big

When Jack and I were sitting in the living room this a.m. I had one of those moments...MY little boy is growing up. I caught a glance of his profile - the way he spoke- the fact that his pj's are getting short all over...

You get a little lump in your throat realizing you can't go backward..only forward.

I get that same lump when I read other mom's write about sending their babies off to kindergarten, or college..the lump that starts in your heart and ends up in your stomach and your throat.

They grow up so fast..what happened to my little guy who needed me to pick him up out of his crib..needed me to zip up his coat..needed me to open up his snack package.

How do you let go?

How do I convince myself it is good for them to grow up?

And that is when I reach over and ask him to hug me and for a moment I am just his momma and he is my baby boy again.

photo taken Winter 2006

Non

end the guilt

Make their artwork in art...

http://www.coolmompicks.com/2008/04/your_child_20032008_an_artisti.php

Make a Baby Romper from a T Shirt - wikiHow

thought this was kind of cute..imagine the possibilites!


Make a Baby Romper from a T Shirt - wikiHow

Joey at 6 months

First tooth came in Friday 4/18/08...bottom left
Still drools like crazy..needs to wear a bib all the time..which covers up his cute shirts!
Is ticklish under his armpits..
Likes to play "This little piggy went to market"
Is overall a happy guy -only fussy when he is hungry
Gets VERY excited when you show him his bottle..he shakes and puts his hands out to grab it
Tried rice cereal for the first time 4/24..pretty messy and he was mostly interested in chewing on the spoon
Can roll over! Best at stomach to back...just gets his arm stuck on back to stomach.
Still loves his brother Jack so much..he can always make Joey smile.
Will have a toy in each hand and bang them together..then let one drop and sucks on the chosen toy.
Sitting in a highchair pretty well..it has new toys connected to it so that fascinates him at the moment.
Doesnt like to sit on your lap for too long...enjoys walking around and looking at everything
Loves to play peek a boo
Will smile at his reflection in the mirror..esp if Mommy asks him.."Who is that Baby?"
Caught another cold and that makes him cough again but he seems improved over the previous problems (using the flovent helps)
Loves attention..play with him and he will smile and be your best buddy..likes to flirt with restaurant waitresses
Wearing 6-12 months clothes
Still eating about 5 -6oz bottles daily
If he doesnt have a toy in his mouth..his hands are there.
Loves his Daddy...he will smile when he hears his voice
Goes to bed around 8:30 and wakes for a feeding sometimes at 5 or 6 but sometimes will sleep until 7!

Likes it when mommy brushes her hair on his tummy like a "car wash"

Loves to GRAB mommy's hair and glasses in a death grip!

Likes to swing in the airplane at daycare outside

momma & me

taken by Daddy..6 months old

update soon

Joey turned 6 months old yesterday..I need to upload the pictures yet.
Tonight I am going to meet Molly at Archivers for a school days class. I am pretty sure Molly could teach the class and I could come up with the layouts myself but we both decided we want to have a start on the kid's school books..this will be a jump start.
And an oppotunity to see each other w/out the kids in tow.

Jack has his first night of soccer practice and I will miss it. Daddy is taking him and I HOPE it goes well...they are letting the 3.5 y olds on the team even though the min age was supposed to be 4.

one week later-10 on Tues

1. thanks to my blog/scrapper star friend Michelle I have added the ability to leave anon comments...so leave some people! But be nice!

2. I had a very interesting weekend up north scrapping at Sugarleaf in Cross Lake, Mn.

I didnt arrive until 11pm on Friday and then woke up with pink eye (thanks to my lovely boys) and had no drops with me. I was lucky enough to visit the BMC (branierd med ctr) urgent care and get help.

I figure it was God's way of telling me I need to know where the urgent care is with 2 boys and our in-laws lake place in Cross Lake. Something is gonna happen someday.

3. We have friggin ants in our living room. We welcome spring whole-heartedly but not the bugs that go along with it. We put out the liquid poison and had a lengthy discussion with Jack about why we dont touch it, go near it etc. Crossing fingers he will keep a distance ....and that the little buggers will carry it back to the homeboys and kill the whole stinkin brood.

4. I am considering buying an external hard drive for my pictures and the A&S acct info. Then I can sleep peacefully at night..(I dont have a problem sleeping now but I am c-m-a- covering my a**)

Anybody have any recommendations? Looking at this dandy one possibly.

5. We are going to pick up the Jetta tonight and Jack and I convinced Daddy we should have dinner at my FAVORITE place too..Champps.

Love the seasoned sour cream and fries..

I used to work at one the summer before my junior yr at college- and I gained about 15lbs from it and the beer cheese soup..well maybe it was also from eating big mac value meals at 1:30 am when I finally got off work- and not carrying huge acctg books across the college campus to burn it off.

6. The Jetta was being driven by hubby to court on 169 near Jordan and as he crossed over the bride (ie-nowhere to pull off) some 'yahoo'(my families term for idiot) 3 cars ahead of him had their ladder fly off and onto the road and approaching traffic. John said later it was scary..and that is saying a lot for my big tough hubby. We needed to get the old black bart in for an oil change anyway.

7.Naturally the afforementioned Yahoo had an expired license and no insurance -3 dwi's -(you are not supposed to be able to drive Dirt Bag.)

8. Naturally we dont have collison anymore on a 10 yr old Jetta so no luck on claiming all the work that needs to be done on it.

9. Here are some of the fabulous pics Olivia took of Joey and I am considering which photo to select for a big canvas...what do you all think..which one?

10. Still trying to learn on my new xTi and decide if I should invest in Lightroom ..I just cant afford Photoshop right now! What do you all use for post processing?

10 on tuesday

Yes I am copying this idea from everyone else in blogdom..

1) We had a good weekend. Attended a crop on Saturday at a local church. Yeah...only a 5 minute drive to crop instead of the usual 30-60 mintue one. I only got a few pages done but I was able to dust off the cobwebs on my supplies and get creative after a long hiatus.

2) Hiatus..that word reminds me of an old boyfriend. ugh..

3)Joey is sooooooo cute and snuggly Still..thank goodness- I still fear I will miss his baby stage completely -they grow way too fast.

4)Today we had Jack's last ECFE class at Ney nature center. It was so cute watching he and his little friends run around the grass looking for birds in their toilet paper roll binoculars.

Afterward we had a fun dinner at DQ with Dylan and his parents. They are so easy to hang with and talk about the boys.
Michelle is prego with #2 and I am excited to see if it is a girl or boy.

5) We talked at length about the boys starting preschool this fall. Man there is so much to figure out with kids. Which preschool to pick..how many days to go..Should they start kindy in a year or 2? I didnt want to be the "anal" mother but you almost become one when you want the best for your kids.

6) It is REALLY windy out tonight. We finally had warm weather today but wind gusts of 50mph..it looked like a dust bowl at work with the dirt from the nearby farm fields blowing onto the runway.

7) John and I and Jack all have bad colds. Hopefully mine will subside in time for the weekend

8) Because I am going scrapbooking AGAIN! YIPPEEEEEEEEEE! Another year at Sugarleaf with the gals from New Horizon. Man I dont miss that job at all..But it is always nice to see old friends.

9) I have not printed a single pic of Joey yet..that is soooo bad. Take stock in Shutterfly because it is going to be a massive order my friends!

10)Trying to decide wether to buy Photoshop elements or Lightroom. Hoping the mamarazzi school will come to MN or Chicago to teach me how to use my camera and post processing better!

off to bed...I will post some pics soon..uploading them now.
nite
NON

GAP love

I admit it..I am addicted to Baby Gap clothes..I REALLY wanted to get this one piece for Joey for the summer but they only show it in teeny sizes..rats..I swear it was never available in larger than 0-3 mos. Oh the horror! LOL

too fast

The days just fly by. Work is crazy busy..the 15th of April is approaching and I am so far behind on getting the co stuff done for taxes. Also behind on Anderson & S stuff..ugh.
I just read a great blog entry..a mom wrote a letter to her 11 mo old boy about all the things he is doing in anticipation for his big 1 yr bday.
Makes me feel guilty for not recording enough stuff that Joey is up to.
I need to add more pics to the blog Iknow..our ocmputer at home is slow in uploading and it takes time. I start the process and then I get distracted by the boys needing me or it is late and I know I should just go to bed.etc...

Going to scrapbook this sat..where do I begin?
better get to work..

Busy weekend

Whew...what a busy weekend.

I survived the Doodlebops show..we almost didnt go once Jack threw his lollipop stick at me in the car...then proceeded to wail for 5 minutes yelling "I'm sorry Mommy, I sorry" . He just wanted to eat at the McD's in Jordan and I said no -trying to get us up to St Paul in rushhour traffic.
I bought him his coveted guitar..he stood for the entire concert and "played along" - I think he enjoyed this concert/show the most out of all we have seen so far.
Sat was get ready for the anniversary party day..I was able to sneak down to Mankato to get a chin fong pedicure (u pick color..). a new outfit (Kohl's is my ace in the hole always for that kind of last minute stuff) and my hair done by my wonderful stylist Allison. I just can't get that salon look at home even with my Chi flat iron!
The party was super fun. My cousin Robyn was up from IA with her handsome boy Wil (8 mos now?) There was a great mix of relatives to honor my folks and we played a super fun game of Jepordy- personalized to my parents -nicknames, Twin City Furnace (my dad's business), Polish pride and family tree. My bro made it up and I thought it was really fun...even if my team took last place:(
Today Jack actually took a nap! Yes the rivers parted and the pope was seen flying by..Jack took a 3 hr nap willingly for us. I was able to get a little work done and then took him to Dairy Queen for supper and Horton Hears a Who..we were the only ones in the theatre-cool. He could talk as loud as he wanted
I thought the movie was just ok..not really that great for kids at all I think..young ones at least.
Enough for now...nite
Non

cool idea

So I am already married but if we were going to do it all over again I would so have one of these babies at the reception..
http://www.fotocabina.com/

Your own photobooth where guests can have goofy fun and then leave a copy of their photos for your guestbook! Sounds like a much better idea than giving everyone a dumb bag of gross Jordan almonds wrapped in tulle!

Love these..

I may need these someday for Jack...

One night I had to put his HUGE Flounder (think Nemo) stuffed animal behind the chair in his room to keep monsters out of the corner...

Behold the monster under our bed BOMB

Do u think it works on dust bunnies too?

AND

The tooth fairy pillow...

A little creepy looking..I may be able to find a happier looking one..I have a few more yrs I think before this would get any use..

I worry about being the parent who falls asleep and forgets to have the tooth fairy visit! :(

Tommorow night I have to take Jack to the Doodlebops concert at the X. Cant say I am looking forward to it..I enjoyed the Sesame Steet show (because as a child I LOVED SS) and the Playhouse Disney was fun because I love Handy Manny ...

But the crazy scary painted face Doodlebops..not so much------->>>>>>

I bought these tickers awhile ago when I was still very much pregnant with Joey..I was worried about still spending time with Jack...(which was a silly thing to worry about I know now!)

great ..now I have that freakin song from their show stuck in my head.."Just get on the bus.."

nite nite

Non