Happy Thanksgiving!

I am a very thankful person today and as we ate and laughed I was reminded of all the things I am thankful for.

I have a loving family which includes my boys, Jake, Kaleb & Ian, wonderful parents and siblings as well as a awesome family of in laws! My life wouldn't be complete without any of them and as we are all separately celebrating this Thanksgiving I remember how much we miss them when they are not here. I have a stable job and great friends all over the United States. I have a warm house full of love and a car that, although threatens me at times, is drivable! I am thankful that God has blessed me with so many wonderful things and many more (too many to mention!!) I hope all of you reading this is reminded of what you are thankful for.

I am gearing up for my 12th annual shopping excursion tomorrow. I don't have much to get but I still can't wait to see all the people and get home to my boys. We are decorating the house tomorrow which should be very interesting!!

The Results

I placed 2nd last night and very happy about it. The woman that won attends my old church and has been doing Karaoke for awhile and deserved to win. She won $500, a nights stay at Grand Casino, 2 tickets to the concert, Opening for the Rockin' Road House tour and two meal vouchers. As a finalist (top 10) we each got tickets to the same show and 2 buffet vouchers at Grand Casino (where the concert is taking place.) Most of you who know my husband knows that he was just about to pee his pants with excitement when he found out that I won 2 meal tickets.

I called the winner this morning and gave her my two tickets to the show so she could take her kids (5 of them (including a foreign exchange student)) as well as her husband. She said that she has spent most of the morning trying to round up tickets to take them. I felt that I wouldn't enjoy the show as much as her family would seeing her up there and I would have wanted someone to do that for my family when I opened for JoDee Messina..."do unto others." Thanks to everyone who wished me luck.

Update

Well I have finals tonight for a karaoke competition in Duluth. If I win I get to open for Mark Chesnut, Joe Diffey and Aaron Tippin at Grand Casino for the Rockin Road House Tour. I also get a night stay and Grand Casino, $500, Front row tickets to the concert as well as 2 buffet tickets! I am pretty nervous and have been every time I think about singing. I usually sing the same song, "Broken Wing," by Martina McBride (it's my signature song) but recently Jake has been telling to "break out of my shell" and sing something different. Well, my other option is "Forgive," by Rebecca Lynn Howard but I am afraid that I don't know it well enough to really perform it. I have been practicing in the car though. Here is my thought. What if I sang "Broken Wing," and after the competition my friends usually make me sing more before I leave I could sing "Forgive." I think that is what I'll do. Writing always helps me solve problems. Thanks for reading my crazy incoherent thoughts and giving me advice as to what you think I should do.

Impromptu Photo Session

The other day while Kaleb was away playing in Chester Park with Auntie Manda Ian and I had a photo session with a bushel basket and leaves. Now some of you may know that when Kaleb was a baby (5 months old) I scooped the guts out of a pumpkin and wiggled him in there. The results were fantastic. Well I wanted to do the same for Ian. My sis-in-law Gigi had a great idea of doing a bushel basket and leaves instead of the pumpkin. So we mixed it up a bit. And I think the results are fantastic again! The model was handsome and very cute as well very easy to work with. He wanted to make it as quick as possible. (I think we dumped over in the basket about 12 times.) He as you can see in a couple of the pics did not like the leaves touching his back. Enjoy!

I'm a Snowman...ROAR!!

We ventured to Boo at the Zoo this weekend. Kaleb was a snowman and Ian was a fez monkey. We went with our friends Anne, Stokes, Cadence(a Peep) and Liam (a bat). We started the tradition for Kaleb and Cadence's first Halloween and took their siblings along for their first time this year. Cadence had a baby brother on Dec 31st of 2006. So all of our kids are really close in age.
Anne has been my best friend for roughly 7 years. We met at Blackwoods where we both worked at the time. We have shared a ton of things together. Her and Stokes were married November 1st, 2003 and we were married April 17th 2004. We both were pregnant with our kids at the same time. Cadence was born March 7th, 2005 and Kaleb was born May 5th, 2005. Well the next year we were pregnant within a month of each other and had our babies in December. (Ian on the 10th and Liam on the 31st) Liam was supposed to be born in January but he wanted to share a birth month with his friend Ian as well as his Papa Stokes. We have shared so much together and year after year it keeps getting better and better. We have learned a lot about life from each other and plan on spending the rest of our lives as best friends. Could it get any better than that??
I've included some pics of the kids all dressed up. Kaleb loved being a snowman and thought that snowmen were supposed to be scary so he "roared" a lot!! Ian was pretty indifferent about the whole situation. He was just content riding in the stroller watching people as they walked by. One of the pics is of Liam sleeping by a pumpkin. He was asleep in the stroller and they wanted some pics by the pumpkins and he wouldn't wake up!! Enjoy!!

Our Weekend

We had a busy weekend with work and our annual SWAIN Cross Country Invitational. My dad is the director of the high school cross country meet for the Duluth Public Schools and as his daughter I have been selling t-shirts for as long as I can remember. So now that Jake and I are married he looks forward to the first weekend of October as much as I do. Unfortunately we don't have any pics from the event due to the less than favorable weather. But I will add some of the boys for fun.
On a happier note I finished Harry Potter on Thurs night. I actually was shaking for the last 5 chapters unable to predict what was going to happen (there was one point where I shut the book and thought maybe I would not read it but I pressed on) and that it would be to my dislike. It was better than I expected. In fact I was very happy with the ending but now am sad that it is over. It honestly makes me sad that I have no more Harry Potter to read. I can't wait for the last two movies and to buy the whole series for myself (I've been borrowing my in-laws copies) and for Kaleb and Ian to read someday. Now I must find something else to read while I pump. I did find an old copy of "Mr. Poppers Penguins" that I might read again just for fun. Maybe I'll embark on a Roald Dahl adventure after that.

Here are the cute boys. The first one is of Kaleb and his Papa (my Dad Gary) doing Wednesday night at the races earlier this summer and with his ribbon. The next two are of Ian and the final one is of Kaleb and his friend Cadence. She was born a little less than two months before him and she has a new brother that was born 21 days after Ian. His name is Liam. Enjoy!!

Harry Potter

Well as it states in my profile I am reading Harry Potter. I am now approaching the end of the last book and I am pretty sad. I get so excited to read (it helps me through the time when I pump breast milk for Ian) but then I don't want to read because it means that the end is approaching. I never thought I would but when the 7th book came out I was not going to let anyone ruin the ending for me and up until now I have no idea how it is going to end. (Which I would like to thank all you who know how it ends and didn't spill the beans.) I can't put it down. I stay up and read until 1 or 2 in the morning.
It actually makes me cry to think that I won't be visiting Hogwarts or Harry anymore. I have come to love the storyline and all it holds so much. I sound so corny and a few years ago I would be the one laughing at myself for how I feel about this series and guffawing at the fact that I am reading it. "Who has time to read 7 books about a little boy?" I certainly didn't think I would but I had to make time and through it all I have connected so much with the whole series. So if you haven't read it....DO IT! I totally recommend it to anyone who can sneak 15-20 min a day. It has been a journey for me that I will never ever regret.

A sad weekly blog...

I am sorry to report that I am not going to the Wild/Devils game on March 13th. Jake checked on tickets and we would have to spend $160+ to see them and they are almost sold out too. As much as this dream of mine should not have a price limit I decided that there are more important things right now like buying groceries!!! Maybe the 2009-2010 season they will play here again. Maybe this is my punishment for forgetting to include it in my first list of things to do before I die. KARMA!!! So as a tribute to my fave player and my team here is a pic of Martin Brodeur!!

As I have said before as life is as boring as having two boys and that is where we sit. I've included some pics of them for your viewing pleasure. The first one is of Kaleb on the potty. For those of you who may think he is telling me that he is stinky you are wrong. That face he is making is his NEW smile. When we say "smile so I can take your picture," he makes that crazy "man I am stinky" face! The next one is Ian laughing at his brother. The last two are cute bath pics of the boys. Ian finally likes the tub.

Christmas is only 97 days away!!! Get Ready!!

My weekly blog is being written later and later every week so pretty soon (if I don't shape up) it'll be a monthly blog that is really long.
Not much has happened lately although reading Jenny's blog, Fall is coming!!! I love fall when the leaves are changing (maybe because Jake proposed in the 25th of Sept. at Enger Tower when the leaves were changing) I love winter too! I love being snuggled inside when it is freezing outside sipping hot chocolate and watching it snow. I thoroughly enjoy Christmas (who doesn't?) It is for me better than my birthday. (Some of you don't know but just about every other year when I was a kid my birthday party was cancelled because of a snowstorm in March. My birthday is March 3rd and this past year we were all going to paint pottery at the Pottery Burn in Hermantown and I HAD TO CALL AND CANCEL because of a crazy huge snowstorm.) Anyway back to Christmas. I enjoy everything about it and actually start planning it 3-4 months in advance. Now I have been chastised my whole life for listening to Christmas music all year, wanting to keep the tree up (haven't convinced Jake yet as to why it is a great idea) and buying anything "holiday" that I can get my hands on. I also love Christmas crafts and this year Kaleb is going to make gingerbread houses with me. I've never done one and love the fact that we'll do one together for the first time. He loves Christmas too, as much as a 2 yr old can, and requests that we listen to my favorite Christmas song "Dominick the Donkey" all the time in the car. We can't do it in the car with Daddy so every morning when I drop him off at daycare the whole ride over is dedicated to "Dominick the Donkey!" I just love that Italian Christmas Donkey.
So I'll post some pics of the boys from Sunday when we just lounged around and spent time together. One of them is of my brother Dave's new kitten, Simba the 2. We had a family cat that we put down in February and when Dave acquired this kitten for free she looked just like her namesake. In fact when my sister and I saw her we both teared up a bit.
Ian now signs "more", "milk" and sometimes "please." He is such a cute little boy. I'm not just saying that because he is my baby; it's the word on the street!! He is "commando" crawling all over the place now and hates to be on his hands and knees to get places. He pulled himself up last night for the first time and of all places, the bathtub!!
Kaleb informed me that he is going to school now instead of Grandma Dianne's. He wants her to be his teacher and Grandpa Mark is to watch all the kids. He has started to want to watch Christmas movies when it's time to relax. You honestly can't get enough "Christmas Story", "The Grinch", "Rudolph" and "Polar Express." I'm rubbing off on him a little I think. He's not a big fan of "Home Alone" though. When the robbers are getting hurt in the end he has too much compassion and we shut it off!!
So here is my weekly insight and wisdom as well as a little update on us! The first picture is from Wed. When I came home from a play with my friend Anne, I encountered 3 boys asleep on the couch in various positions. Kaleb was actually half on the couch and half hanging off. The next pic is from one of our RE/MAX softball games. (I had to include it. He looks so cute~again the word on the street!) The next 2 are hats that we found to try on Ian for winter. He would make the cutest elf wouldn't he!! Next is a cute one of Kaleb. The next 2 are kitten pics and the final one is of Kaleb and his messy, messy face which happens to exactly how he likes it! ENJOY!!

My weekly post...a bit late though!!

This past weekend we went to my friends Briana's wedding. I sang two songs and Jake took some pics from the balcony. When we got to the reception usually I can't wait to start dancing but this time I wanted to leave and pick up the boys and go home. Jake said that that means that I am officially old! I can't help wanting to be with my babies. Yesterday I was fortunate enough to scrapbook with my sis-in-law Katrina and then we were treated to dinner at Perkins with my family for my brothers birthday (he's now 23) that really makes me feel old.
Ian is a waving and clapping fool now. He also is starting to fake cough for us just like Kaleb did. Kaleb is also still doing great potty-training but we still have our share of accidents here and there. His new favorite book is "Green Eggs and Ham" and can basically read the story to me. He calls it his "Sam-Hi-Ham Book!!"
I wish I had more to report and update everyone on. But as busy as out life gets we still are pretty boring most of the time.I've included some pics from the wedding as well as the boys.

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.