alex's first timberwolves game

last week we got a chance to go to another timberwolves game. since i haven't gotten the chance to put a picture up from it until now i figured this could be tonight's post. (which comes in handy since alex is cutting another tooth and is miserable and very needy)
this time unfortunately the t wolves lost. drew knows it is because they didn't get him dancing on the screen, like they did last time.
maybe next time they'll get smart and realize that when we come to the game the only way to win is by capturing drew's lucky dance.

baby love

it's amazing how quickly time passes. alex is a whopping 7 1/2 months old. i know that he has gotten bigger. but it's hard to remember just how teeny he used to be. when i see alex laying next to one month old addison border it doesn't seem possible that he was really that little. his thighs are about as wide as her tummy! ha ha ha! it's a good reminder of how quickly he's growing and to embrace every minute -- i'm sure it won't be long and he'll be passing me up!

snow much fun

as of friday our entire yard was grass. it felt kind of crazy for living in minnesota in the middle of february. well, overnight we were reminded of what minnesota should be like.


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** a special thank you to brian and jen for offering us their snow blower! you guys rock!

SUCCESS!

yes this is my 2nd blog of the night - but it's well deserving.

all i can say is ... SUCCESS ... without shortening!!

for those who are also trying to perfect the non-flat chocolate chip cookie -- i used a tad bit more flour. and margarine straight out of the fridge.

WOO HOO!!

chomp!

it's official. as of this week alex has his first tooth!!

thankfully it hasn't made any difference in nursing for either of us :) te he he :)

warm thoughts

i was looking through our pictures to decide which i was going to scrapbook tonight. i was in august of this past summer and came upon this picture of ben.
it's crazy to look at how blonde he is!
it made me long for the days when we all just play outside all day long and we all have naturally bronzed bods :) ha ha :)

please come soon summer.

drew's heartstrings

drew: hey mom i can feel my strings vibrating when i sing
me: drew, people don't have strings
drew: oh. well what do we have that makes us sing.
me: well.. (taking my time trying to come up with a good answer)
drew: wait. i know. we have the power of God.

things ben has taught me

in his short 3 years (well actually mostly in the past 2) ben has taught me many things.

*i've learned that when pulled out one by one, a box of kleenex can cover the carpet of an entire room.

*i've learned that to properly wash a counter one must use a dripping wet washcloth and spread puddles around everywhere.

*i've learned that sharpie markers are in fact permanant on all surfaces.

*i've learned to always keep extra paint on hand to cover up "art projects" using said sharpie markers.

*i've learned that yogurt works better than hair gel.

AND ... as of today i've learned something new.

*i've learned that a 40 lb 3 yr old can take 5 triaminic soft chews without harming his body. it should be noted however -- they will cause a short buzz. and this buzz will abrubtly stop causing previously mentioned 3 year old to fall asleep wherever he is (for example on his chair in the middle of IHOP during lunch.)

a day rarely passes that i don't say to myself at least one time "what in the world was he thinking?!" he's not a naughty little kid. just very curious. and very busy.

life without ben would be very boring.

miserable cookies

well... i have no idea what i did last time. BUT .. tonight i tried to replicate it. and i failed.

miserably.

tonight we have yet another batch of flat cookies.

now, flat warm chocolate chip cookies are still better than no chocolate chip cookies. but, i was thinking we were really on to something.

if anyone has any good ideas on how to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie - let me know.
it has to be chewy - no cakey. so don't tell me more flour.
and yes i've tried butter - salted and unsalted.
and no i will not make my cookies with crisco - that is disgusting.

baby face

so the lady at starbucks looked at alex and said "wow ... he's getting so old."
(yes ... the lady at starbucks in target knows me well)

starbucks lady: how old is he now?

me: 7 months

starbucks lady: he's losing his baby face.

me: yes ... i know. (while thinking thanks for pointing it out lady!)

alex is losing his baby face. i'm not sure how to feel. i'm excited because he is changing in so many fun ways. he's SO close to crawling. he's happy to just sit and play. he's putting sounds together to make his first words. he's trying new foods everyday.

but ... everyday we get further away from those sweet moments where he just wanted to be held. where i could listen to his newborn hums. where i could carry him and my arms didn't get tired. where his itty bitty body was too little for every outfit i tried on him. where he was 100% dependant on me.

*sigh*

i guess i can say it is official. if the starbucks lady noticed it, than it must be true.

alex is growing up.

a forgotten love

OK ... so i can't even believe that i forgot to put this on the list.
thanks for reminding me elizabeth.

tivo.

i'd be lost without it.
it is probably in my top 10 loves and i forgot it!

unreal.

things i love

in honor of valentine's day i thought it would be fun to do a short list of my favorite things -- or things i love. i challenge all of you to do one of these on your blogs -- or to add to my list. it's kind of fun to see what the first things are that come to your mind and then the things that i thought of later that i couldn't believe i forgot.

so here they are in no particular order :)

* my family
* the beach club at wdw
* good photography
* grenadine (preferably in coke)
* kaleidoscope scrapbook products
* a clean house
* ice cream before bed
* desperate housewives
* punch pizza
* runs on summer nights
* chamois sheets
* God
* reality tv
* wolfgang puck express
* pottery barn kids
* text messaging
* super target
* being a mom
* the minnesota twins
* applebee's 1/2 price appetizer
* candy
* autumn leaves
* acapella music
* baby giggles -- actually any kid giggles
* the shout house
* e-mail
* starbucks -- see if you can name my drink without reading the next line
nonfat toffee nut latte with whipped cream and extra toffee nut
* shopping
* fall colored leaves
* snuggly baby clothes -- Janie and Jack takes my favorite
* ike's
* to travel
* chili's chips and salsa
* empty laundry baskets

crazy kindergarteners

i went to help in drew's class today for his valentine's party. i think after a few more of these volunteering sessions i will be able to start a blog based solely on the funny things kindergarteners say.

one little girl told me that she is on a diet. i told her that was silly (she seriously couldn't have weighed 40 lbs) and that she didn't need to be on a diet. she said "WELL ... it's too late now!"

then ... one of the little boys that is in drew's class and in his reading class that i help with came up and grabbed my hand. he told me that he would like to reward me. i said "oh you would?!" and he said "yes. with a kiss." i told him to kiss my hand and he said no. a REAL kiss.

poor little guy. he was hitting on the wrong woman! ha ha.

my little idol

drew told us today that he decided he should try out for american idol because he has real talent.

however, he told us that he wants to go and sing for them in his newly found chewbacca voice because that is what is going to get him on tv "for sure".

he found his first true fan when we dropped ben off at preschool. kelly told him she would even pay for text messaging on her phone so that she could vote for him on her home phone and on her cell.

he was still talking about it this afternoon so i told him that you have to be 16 to try out.

he went to bed tonight still trying to figure out how many more birthdays he has to have before he can follow his dream.

a perfect night

the boys really wanted to go to the Y tonight. stacey and i were both exhausted from being up last night with alex. so, neither of us felt up to running. however, we didn't really have anything else planned and with it being cold out the Y does give them a way to burn off energy.

SO ... we all went to the Y. alex slept the entire time. drew and ben played and had a blast as always. as for stacey and i -- we went and sat in the hot tub. now i'm sure that i didn't burn quite as many calories as a 30 minute run. but -- it was fun and relaxing.

now ... we're home. many of you know that stacey and i have been on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe for quite some time. my sister hannah has it mastered! we've tried and tried and have yet to replicate what she so effortlessly can do.

BUT ... tonight i am proud to say that our wonderful Y workout was topped off by the perfect chocolate chip cookie. i tried a few things differently and i'm not sure what it was that made the difference -- but it worked.

now ... if alex just sleeps more than 3 hours at a time ... tonight can be classified as a perfect night!

the meanest mom

in the past few weeks 3 kids in the area have died from the flu. of course it became an instant news story. it was the lead story for a few nights. it basically became a media frenzy. hospitals and clinics in the area set up flu shot clinics for the weekend. at childrens in st. paul they closed registration last night because the clinic for today had already hit 2000 people for one morning!

i went back and forth on it. typically we don't do flu shots. they already seem to get so many shots now and i see it as just one more thing that my kids probably would be ok without.

well ... although i'm still questioning myself ... the media successfully guilted me into taking my kids to get shots. what a mean mom. but, all i could think of is how terrible i would feel if something really did happen and how i would never forgive myself. SO .. yesterday alex got his shot and today drew and ben got theirs. drew is the one i was the most nervous about. he had been told after his kindergarten shots he wouldn't need shots again until he was 12. this is something he has reminded us of often and was quite excited about. (plus ... he's the one that has to leave the room at the doctors if alex gets shots. i think if i made him stay in there he honestly would have a panic attack. te he he.) things ended up going very well though. they both decided from the very beginning they were going to be brave. so they marched right in there (juice box and rice krispie treat in hand -- SMART CLINIC!!) and got their shots. what brave boys!!

then there is little alex. he got his flu shot yesterday. well... he was up all last night. he was fussy and just not himself. he had a bit of a fever also. i wasn't sure if it was teething, the shot, or something else. WELL ... after a few readings of above 103 on the thermometer i decided i should probably take him in just to be safe. SO .. after getting the older 2 their shots we took alex to our usual doctor's office. not only did he have an ear infection -- it had ruptured his ear drum! OOPS!! i guess maybe the fact that he hadn't been sleeping super well the past few nights should've been a clue something was up! i felt terrible. poor guy. he's in pain and i just assume it's teething and he'll get over it :(

i'm going to add this week to the ongoing list of reasons why i am the reason my kids are crazy and in therapy later in life. poor things.

kindergarten love notes

yesterday after school drew was SO excited to give me something he had done for me at school.
he gave me this note which he had folded up and placed in a decorated envelope.

it's funny how something so simple can be one of the best gifts i've ever received and one that i know i'll treasure forever!!

a little bit of style for a little guy

alex's hair just keeps growing. and it keeps getting fluffier. i've been torn on whether or not to cut it. i don't want him to look too grown up. i still want him to have that baby look.

but a few days ago the hair over his ears just got to be too much for me.

SO i cut it! i only cut the sides. i'm still torn on the top. i know if i cut it it will look cute - but i'm afraid he'll look so old and i don't know if i'm ready for that:) te he he!

in the meantime, before i send him anywhere i rub his head down with a little aveda phomolient to help control the fluff. ha ha! i figure that way he has style and smells good!

and if he ends up a hairdresser i take complete responsibility.

teamwork

apparently ben has enlisted drew to help him.

today drew and i went to target. as we were walking past the dog food aisle drew stops. he gets really excited and says "MOMMY ... WE HAVE TO GET THIS FOR BEN'S DOG!"

it seems as though every trip to target from here on out is going to be met with someone demanding i buy food for our imaginary, hypothetical dog.

7 months

in one month we have come a long way! alex is a very different baby today than he was on january 5th.

he is MUCH happier.
he giggles a lot - the boys have found it doesn't take much to make him laugh.
he finds happiness in the simplest of things.
he is content to sit and play with his toys - AND if he falls over he just lays there and "talks".
he is no longer taking ANY medicines!
he's going to the chiropractor every 2 weeks now!!

AND... most importantly ... he sleeps! he still isn't the greatest sleeper at night. but we are making progress. so we'll take what we can get. AND... during the day he takes occasional naps. (this one in particular has been a VERY nice change for me)

as much as i don't want him to get older and grow out of this baby stage- this past month of growth and change have been really nice. i can actually say that he is fun to be with. he is fun to hold and to snuggle and to just plain love.

HAPPY 7 MONTH BIRTHDAY BABY ALEX!

he is not kidding

there aren't many things ben is very persistant and passionate about but over the past few weeks we've gotten a glimpse of the few things he is genuinely passionate about.
and... i am officially placing katie right up there with taking pictures and dogs.

drew and ben were in the car yesterday talking about their marriage plans again.
ben insisted yet again that he was going to be marrying katie.
and once again drew got frustrated because ben is not giving anyone else a chance and drew is sure that ben will change his mind before it comes time to get married.
but as much as he tries to convince him of that ben insists katie is the only girl for him.
finally we got sick of the bickering so stacey cut in and said "drew ... he's just being silly. don't let it bother you."

to which ben replied. "NO I AM NOT! I AM GOING TO MARRY KATIE AND I AM SERIOUS!"

so to any little girls out there that are interested in ben -- you are going to have to get rid of katie first.

a little bit of alex

alex has great taste when it comes to music.

this is how i know -- if he starts to scream when he is in the car all i have to do is put on superchick -- we live we love -- and as soon as he realizes it is on he stops.

i got this on video - but i had to take it from my spot in the drivers seat. if i would've tried to take it from the back seat it wouldn't have worked because as soon as he would see my face he'd stop. (yes he is very conditioned.)

i thought i'd share it because it's rather comical. enjoy.

p.s. i'm also putting some pictures of him because i think he's feeling neglected that drew and ben have had so many pictures of them put up lately. it seems to have caused a disruption in his incredible sleep habits. (HA!)




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speaking their language

i'm reading a book called preparing him for the other woman. so far it's been a good read. a lot of it isn't rocket science. but it's good reminders. basically - short overview - it is about preparing your sons for their future wife. about doing things now that will make them good husbands. since i have 3 future daughter - in - laws to impress i figure i better do all i can now to get working on them.

each chapter has practical tips that you can use for different aged boys. i was reading the tips for one of the chapters and it really hit home. it said to connect with your boys on their level. to do something that speaks their language. it shows them that you are interested in their lives and the things that interest them. it said one of the best things you can do is to master the xbox controller and spend quality time impressing them with your skill.

skill.

i've got skills. i've got mad skills when it comes to the xbox. HA HA. of course i like to show most of them using dance dance revolution pads and not the controllers. however ... i've learned a thing or 2 about some of the games that interest them. i've learned most boy games still have a princess. i've learned star wars legos is a great game for little boys. i've learned that shrek super party is a great distraction on a rainy or cold day (and that even grandmas can play it). i've learned that when i win playing crash nitro kart all of the sudden whichever character i had chosen becomes the one that they want to be because they think that will help them win. i've learned that simple things such as opening up a level that was unopened before creates such happiness in my boys that they can't wait until they can play xbox with me again.

i hope that by doing these simple things - and sitting down for 15 minutes and letting them show me their latest conquests that i will come away with something much greater. that it will help them in relating to girls and help me in connecting with them.

and i'll also hope that i don't set the standard too high for the women in their lives when it comes to video games :) ha ha!

when is a deal a deal?

the other day i had the perfect set-up. drew was at school. ben was at a birthday party and it was alex's naptime. SO ... i went to the mall.

i ended up looking through the racks at macy's because everything was seriously marked down! i found a cute coat. it was tommy, short, and brown corduroy. i tried it on and thought that it was cute ... but i probably could have used a size smaller. and ... they didn't have a size smaller. however, i decided that it was such a good deal i should just get it anyway. it was normally 90 dollars on sale for 15!! i thought ... MAN .. if i even wear it out one or 2 times it is worth the 15 dollars to feel cute! right?!

but now as i sit and look at this coat i'm starting to second guess myself. i think i do this too often. i find something that is such a good deal and then convince myself i like it. so then i buy it mostly just because it's a good deal. and then it sits in my closet (or the boys closet) and doesn't get touched.

when i look back over the past few years i wonder how many normal priced things i could've bought if i wouldn't have bought the "had to have" deals that are still hanging in the closet with the tags on:)