State Fair and Como Zoo

For our Family trip this year we went to the State Fair and the Como Zoo. Kaleb and Ian were surprisingly delightful which we were relieved about. Usually Kaleb is very into testing his limits when we are out in public but he was very well-behaved. Ian wanted me to carry him which ended up being a great workout for me in the end. We ate the staple state fair foods. Our favorites are the cheese curds, corn (insanely drenched in butter), root-beer floats (and orange ones too), boneless chicken wings on a stick and cashew/peanut rolls dipped in chocolate.
On Monday we went to the Como Zoo and saw some great animals for FREE (we gave a small donation). Kaleb screamed with delight everytime he saw an animal he recognized which included Polar Bear, Monkeys, Zebras, Lions, Tigers and a "Whale" which turned out to be a large Sea Lion. On the way home we stopped at a Super Target just so we could see the inside and all I can say is "HEAVEN!" The notion that I could someday go to one of my favorite stores and do my grocery shopping also is amazing. Totally not the same as Super Walmart (my husband begs to differ!) So I'm off to bed to read some Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix. Enjoy the pics.

I copied Diana....what a great idea!!

Everyone says that Kaleb looks so much like Jake and Ian looks more like me. Well this says that they both look like me 12% more than Jake. It kinds of makes me giggle!!

This one is for Katie...

I hate getting my pic taken but Jake convinced me that someday I would want to see pictures of me with my boy when they were little. Katie also commented that she wanted to see more pictures of the boys so this post is for her!!

My past week...

Well I am going to be a weekly blogger. My life, as exciting as it is, isn't exciting enough to post daily so I posted last Thurs so here is my weekly post.
This past weekend I said I was going to paint and I actually did. I figured I would find something else to do to get out of it but my conscience got the better of me (as well as my husbands voice in my head cheering me on) and I painted. My mom and brother helped and really did most of the work but I might add that I am pretty proficient with the roller and yellow paint. Nothing else really happened though (except #1~ that is pretty exciting~read on) Here is a list of everything that did happen this past week (even the mundane) in order of importance!!!

1. Ian cut his first tooth.
2. Kaleb was accident free. (He is potty training!!)
3. We attended Daddy Mikel's 50th Birthday Party.
4. We went to dinner at Anne, Stokes, Cadence and Liam's house.
5. We won our softball game that I actually played in and got home.
6. I scrapbooked 3 times.
7. I helped paint our new upstairs.
8. We ate Little Caesar's Pizza 5 times.
9. I didn't eat Cold Stone at all. (trying to limit my daily intake of ice cream!)
10. I made homemade mac and cheese twice successfully and Kaleb & Jake actually ate it.
11. I started making Ian's baby food.
12. Daydreamed about winning the lottery and everyone we would help.
13. Starting planning out our next year kitchen remodel.
14. Starting planning our Dec 1st housewarming and Christmas Extravaganza!!
15. Found all my Christmas Cd's and starting listening to them in the car with Kaleb.
16. Worked and Worked and Worked oh....and WORKED!!
17. Made an appointment for Ian's 9 month pics.
18. Took Ian and Kaleb for a couple of walks in the neighborhood.
19. Had 2 lunch meetings with my bosses.
20. Ate Little Caesars one more time!!

Before and a little bit before after.....!

I figured out today that we can start painting our new bedroom and the boy's bedroom on Sat. I HATE PAINTING but I plan on doing it with my mom this weekend. It's all coming together. Maybe some of you don't know this but we are in the constant stages of remodeling our house. We have added 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and a sitting/family room to our huge attic. We go from 1 bedroom and 1 bath home to a 3 bed and 2 bath house. After all of this (we've been remodeling for almost a year) we are never moving. We are staying here forever. It's nice because where we are located we are right across the street from Denfeld High School (alma mater for Jake and most of my Dad's family) where Kaleb and Ian will probably go to school. It is also great because the boys are within walking distance to elementary school also (3 blocks) and with my job I can see them off to school everyday! I've added a before and after pic and hopefully all of you can join us for our open house/Christmas party this December 1st.

Something to add...

So I forgot (how could I) something very important to add on my list of things to do before I die.

I have always wanted to see my favorite NHL team play (against any opponent). My favorite team is the New Jersey Devils. I looked it up and they will play the Wild on March 13th, 2008. Ok I honestly just about peed my pants. For those of you who know me this dream is above finding a dead body so it must be really BIG. After I found that they will play in my own backyard (ok ok another dream), metaphorically speaking, I started planning what I was going to wear (now I have to buy a brodeur jersey maybe in pink) and how I would try to get the all-coveted autograph of my favorite player, Martin Brodeur. Nothing has come to mind YET but if anyone reading this has an in with anyone who could make this wish come true or if you have any ideas please help me. I think I might cry when they take the ice. Jake is a little concerned about me wearing Devils paraphernalia on Wild turf. I scoffed at his suggestion that I would wear anything else besides RED and horns! Silly Man! LIFE IS GOOD!

My Weekend

Well I had a great weekend where I didn't get any of my housework (except laundry) done but I finished a ton of scrapbook pages. I still feel accomplished though!
Jake, my sister Amanda, brother Dave, cousin Matt and my dad Gary did the 5 on 5 soccer challege this weekend and played hard but didn't do so well. They had a blast and Kaleb enjoyed watching Papa and Daddy run around kicking a ball. Kaleb, Ian my mother and I spent most of the weekend at her house scrapbooking and relaxing. I was pretty excited to go somewhere to scrapbook and not have to pick up all my stuff because someone (Kaleb) would want to "play" too. SO besides that my weekend was fine and now I am excited to start another week being busy.

End of the week!!

I am so happy that the week is done. I have been so stressed out now and I kind of want to sleep. I'm sure Ian will have none of that in the middle of the night.
We started playoffs for softball today and we did great although we lost. I am so proud to be a manager/coach of such a fun team. I was able to watch my favorite show when we got home though. MONK. I love that show and always make sure I can watch it. One of my guilty pleasures. I also got to scrapbook for an hour tonight also. That was great. Although I bought the wrong inserts for my scrapbook and now I have about 15 pages loose and roaming around without a home for now. That is my life as boring as it is I love every minute of it. Maybe this weekend will be more exciting.

Recent Blog Question

I just read my friend Jenny's blog and someone asked her what she wanted to do before she dies. I thought that this would be a great way to start our blog. These are some of the things I want to accomplish...


1. Travel to Europe and visit Princess Diana's grave and Buckingham Palace.

2. Sing on stage in my own concert. (where people actually paid to see me.)

3. Own and operate my own preschool.

4. Make my family proud.

5. Discover a dead body.

6. Lose 30 lbs.

7. Show my children the world.

8. Make a difference in someone's life.

9. Love myself unconditionally.

10. Record a CD.

11. Assist women during childbirth.

12. Start a Foundation/Scholarship Fund

13. Travel to Greece, Italy, Poland, Scandanavia (Norway, Sweden & Finland), Ireland, France & Germany.

14. Learn to play the bagpipes.

15. Learn to laugh at myself when I do something stupid.

16. I am sure there is more and I will update this as I remember them.

A special thanks to Jenny Balow for giving me something to think about.