Midwest Journey 2010

We try every year to make it back to the MidWest..Chad has family in Illinois ( where he was born) and I have a ton of family in Wisconsin ( where I was born).  Sidenote:  Chad and I were actually born about 70 miles apart from one another...he at Great Lakes Naval Base outside of Chicago and me in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

Anyway,  this year Chad's dad's family had a reunion planned in Chicago and so began our midwest journey 2010.

We flew into Milwaukee on a Thursday..stayed with my dad a night ( he lives in Oconomowoc..about 45 min. from milwaukee)..and then on Friday drove down to Chicago for the reunion.  The next 3 days were spent with family..BBQ'ing, swimming, enjoying a boat ride on the Chicago River, and listening to an actual thunderstorm!! whoo-hoo!!  After the reunion was over on Sunday we drove to Chad's aunt and uncle's house ( on his mom's side) and stayed there until Wednesday.  It was during this brief stay that my darling Finn decided he needed to turn 2 years old.....boooo!  I really wasn't ready for this...he was just born wasn't he?    We took him to the Field Museum in Chicago ( natural history) and he was thrilled with all the dinosaurs...so fun.  We followed up with a trip the next day to the Lincoln Park Zoo ( which btw was FREE!)..and time with cousins....:-)

The next 8 days were spent enjoying time back up in Wisconsin with Grandpa and all of our other lovely relatives....my dad has 11 brothers and sisters..most of which live in and around Oconomowoc...so there was no shortage of people to visit and cousins to play with.  Olivia and Finn were thrilled with catching fireflies, playing at the city beach ( on Lake LaBelle), visiting Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa ( my dad's parents), and listening to MORE thunderstorms..:-)

The highlight of the trip was a visit to the new Brewers stadium in Milwaukee...it was the kids' first professional baseball game and they very well behaved...well...that is...until Olivia drank 10 ounces of lemonade....yeah....then barfed all of the place....prompting sympathy vomit from Finn....yeah, and then....well....we got them cleaned up and found better seats.  hahahahah!  It was definitely an experience I don't EVER intend on repeating...*sigh*.

All-in-all a great trip ...we can't wait to return next year and make more midwestern memories....the kids are still talking about Grandpa and Olivia's new favorite expression is " Well, Grandpa would probably let me do that..."   Nice.

xoxoxo

Two years and counting..

My darling son is now a big two year old boy!  I cannot believe how the last few years have honestly flown by.   What can I say about him?  Here are some adjectives that best describe my darling little monkey.

Curious,  Snuggly,  Stubborn,  Joyful,  Exuberant,  Cautious,  Playful, and last but not least.....

Happy.

Happy Birthday my Finn...your mama, dada, and big sissy love you so much!

xoxoxo

Ode to a Dad

I think that this was the best Father's Day that Chad has had to date....and I must admit that the day was really one, big, huge blessing. We started the day by me and kids bringing a "lite" breakfast in bed ( because we were heading for brunch later) , watching a bit of soccer, and presenting Dada with his gifts, a leaf blower ( yes, he really wanted that ) and a pair of camo colored shorts.  Then we leisurely got ready and made our way to Malibu for brunch at Dukes!  It was so much fun...lots of good food and after a few pep talks even Finn enjoyed himself ( he's not much for restaurants these days...).  After stuffing ourselves at brunch we headed to Zuma Beach and played for a couple of hours in the surf and sand...the kids slept soundly on the way home and we ended the day with beers,home-made fries, and veggie burgers in our backyard...

It was a really good day.  :-)

Tired ( actually more like exhausted...)

This morning ( for some reason), i woke up feeling very tired.  Not i went to bed too late tired, but honestly and truly TIRED.  Physically, emotionally, and spiritually...all wrapped up in one neat little package. 

I thought the coffee might help. 

It didn't.  ( well, maybe just a little bit).  I try very hard to wake up in the mornings and be present for my family.  I am admittedly not an "early" morning person which generally does not mesh well with having two children under the age of 4.  Try as I might, i will NEVER be a wake-up-at-5-am-exercise-then-read-the-paper-before-the-rest-of-the-house-wakes kind of gal.  I am very jealous of people ( or moms for that matter) who can do this.  But I digress.....

So, the coffee didn't work.  The cold water splashed repeatedly on my face didn't work. I think i maybe I'm just TIRED.....

I am so grateful for all things in my life...wonderful husband, healthy children , great family...but i wonder sometimes where "I" went in the process. 

Maybe I just need a nice, long, nap....or maybe I am just anticipating my 2 week vacation with my husband and kids...the good parts of that , and the bad ( uhhhhh...come on, who doesn't like riding in an airplane with a screeching 2 year old.?).  OR, maybe it's packing for 4 people that's got me feeling "tired". Or maybe it's the MOUNDS of laundry waiting for me...did I mention that they were MOUNDS?  *sigh*.

I'm not complaining...really i'm not...( ok maybe just a little). 

How do you ( doesn't matter if you have kids or not) ladies deal with feeling "tired"?  I KNOW you all know what I mean...

xoxoxoxoxo

ice-cream

Joy.

Sweetness.

Laughter.

Family.

xoxoxo

Pic of the week

Most of you know our dog Cassie....she has been a part of our family for almost 10 years...she is a mutt and I'm convinced that the best part of every dog must have gone into her...

She loves the kids.  She loves to cuddle.  She is a dear companion..

I feel guilty sometimes , honestly, she gets the shaft when it comes to attention around here...

So here's to you Cassie!!  We love you!!!

Heartstrings

He knows

the way to

his mama's heart.

Give a look 

that means

business , and

do it while 

only.

wearing.

a.

Diaper.  

Like Son, Like Father...

We recently took a crack at making home-made ice-cream....with a real ice-cream maker..not a wonderful, automatic, plug-in kind but a back breaking, ice and salt, turn-it-for-an-hour kind.

There were three emotions:

1. Joy!! "Hurray we're making ice-cream!"...that lasted about 2 minutes..

2. Impatience:  " Why is it taking so long?"  " Can't we just buy some from the store?"

3. Frustration: "I want a turn to turn the crank!" " Is is done yet???  ( insert whining)"

All in all...it was a positive experience...and the end result was well worth it...Chocolate with different mix-in's ( toasted almonds, marshmallow, etc..)

I'm not sure we're ready to tackle it again any time soon but it was definitely an experience...

xoxo

Goofy to an extreme...

i love my daughter.

and not just because she is my daughter.

but because.

she has a great sense of humor.

she embodies the word "funny".

and she

embraces every moment of her life.

( this one is for you aunti sarah...xoxoxo )

Baby in a Bucket

Well....i turned my back for a moment ( which i should just know by now...you just can't do...), and this is where I found him...

Seriously..like 2 minutes earlier, i had just changed him into dry clothes..

You would think I would have learned these things by now....*sigh*..

xoxox

Jabber, Jabber..

In the last few weeks Finn has REALLY started talking a lot more...it is so nice that he can actually tell us what he needs now...his new favorite phrase is " I want."...

We're working on that one...

Nothing really exciting in the video...just lots of jabbering...:-)

xoxoxo

The Walk n' Slide

Alright...so I finally dragged out the kids Slip n Slide that was graciously given to them by their Grammy and Papa at Easter...I figured that pretty much it was a no brainer given the water, sliding factor, etc..etc..

Well....

They didn't really know what to do with it.  They looked at it, pondered for a minute or two , then decided that walking/sliding/landing on their knees was appropriate.

I just watched and laughed, pointed a camera and laughed, and decided that I can NEVER predict what my children will do at ANY given moment...


ps...oh , and don't worry ..that slip at the end ended up in laughter..not tears..:-)

xoxoxox

 

Quote of the day

...Driving Olivia to preschool the other day ( she goes to school in Malibu so it is a bit of a drive and we often go from sunny weather to foggy weather very quickly through the canyon)...we are chatting about this or that when all of the sudden she says...

Olivia:" Mom, look at the fog!"

Me:" I know, isn't it nice?"

Olivia:" Mommy, a big frog opened his mouth and bweeved it out!"


So , now i know where fog comes from.....:-)

xoxoxoxo

another month , really?

wow, i'm seriously the worst blogger EVER!!  I just can't get my act together enough to just post a picture...ok so here's one or two...

Can you guess which one is which?

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic tonight....xoxoxoxoxo

Hmmm..I guess you have to try everything once?

Recently , we were dogsitting our favorite pug "Otis" and because he was with us ,we had some items in our house that aren't normally there...for example...a dog crate.  We have a dog , our beloved Cassie, but she does not sleep in a crate, she chooses our bed for her own comforts (  that's another blog entry all together)..

....to make a long story short...i rounded the corner one morning and this is what i found....

When he saw me...he went to close the door only to find that it probably wasn't such a good idea...

...then he hollered at me to help him in his own "Finn" type way..of course I laughed instead and continued to take pictures...

Oh, and don't worry , he finally did make it out and much to my relief did NOT try to do it again...

but boy was it funny..:-)

xoxoxo

Sometimes....

.....it's just a chocolate pudding kind of day...:-)

xoxoxoxox

Wow, was Easter really 3 weeks ago?

Yup, it was..however...we finally had to break down and buy a new computer because the old iMAC (R.I.P.) finally was just not useable for any kind of picture downloading, blogging, etc...

Here are some pics from Easter...we went to service at the Hollywood Bowl in the AM then came back and had a wonderfully mellow afternoon at home.  The kids enjoyed "many" egg hunts with the final hunt producing eggs that had lots of treasures in them ( i.e. sugary cereals and pennies! )

It was a great day...

xoxoxo

updates coming soon...

Hurray!! We just bought a new computer so I can download my pics in a flash!!! Look for lots of new posts soon!! xoxox

The signs of Spring

Lemon Blossoms

Crocs

The first rose of the season..

Lovely, girly hats..

Eating fruit with bare feet

and last but not least ( this one speaks for itself)..

xoxoxoxo

Wouldn't we all...

..just like to feel like this?

 xoxoxoxo