25 random things about me

although i have already posted these on facebook ...

i realize not everyone is on facebook :)

AND ....

those things i write on my blog will actually get saved -

SO ... here are my 25 random things about me!

1. I think it would be fun to live in the heart of NYC - for a short time :)

2. I love to travel - the craziest place i have gone is the Canary Islands

3. BUT ... i hate to fly if my kids aren't with me. if we all go together - that's fine :) is that twisted?!

4. I filled in as a bartender off and on at Chi-Chi's when I was in college. (most of the time I was just a server or a cocktail server)

5. Stacey and I have known each other - and been really close friends since 7th grade.

6. I love to take pictures and play around with photoshop - I just wish I was better at both :)

7. I would rather have a newborn that doesn't sleep for 9 months than be pregnant.

8. I spent 3 weeks in Bermuda the summer of my senior year.

9. I love to watch Rachel Ray cook and I love to look at cookbooks and recipes - BUT I rarely cook. I just like to bake. (I know ... poor stacey. save it.)

10. I LOVE to shop - and love to buy nice stuff - I just rarely pay full price:)

11. I was on a swim team for 7 years.

12. Even when I was 9 months pregnant I could still put my foot up to my head.

13. Touching - or even hearing - styrofoam gives me chills all over my body.

14. I watch a lot of TV - CSI (NY and Miami), american idol, how i met your mother, jon and kate plus 8, survivor, amazing race, greys anatomy, private practice, desperate housewives, and lipstick jungle to name a few :) thank God for TiVo I guess :)

15. Chicken is the only meat that I eat. And I am even really picky about that.

16. I used to hate running. Now I love the feeling I get after a nice run.

17. I LOVE good photography - especially of kids!

18. In college I drove from ohio to wisconsin almost every other weekend to see stacey - that lasted a year and then we both moved to MN.

19. I do part time data entry work from home - about 8-10 hours a week.

20. My oldest 2 kids are on the Go Fish DVD.

21. When we were in grade school - every time we would hear sirens - a few neighbor kids, and us, would get on our bikes and go try to find where the sirens were going :) (and because we lived near an old persons home/mental hospital ... there were MANY false alarms .. so it happened often!)

22. If it didn't cost so much I would get my hair cut every week. AND i would probably have them wash my hair several times a week. I LOVE sitting and relaxing while they do my hair.

23. I love the feeling of a clean - clutter free - house.

24. HOWEVER ... i don't make my kids make their beds - and i rarely make ours :)

25. i am pretty sure i am going to submit this - but not stop thinking about it for a while. AND i will probably think of things and then say to myself MAN .. i TOTALLY should have put that one on there instead :) OH WELL ... i guess that can be my #25 - I rarely have regrets about life. Everything happens for a reason - so learn from it and move on :)

a busy day

i had quite a tough time choosing ONE picture to represent today on my 365 blog -
so i will put the 2 i didn't use on here to complete the story of our day :)

our day started off having fun with friends that we don't get to see often enough!

we played at an indoor playpark and then ended up at red robin.
AND
i left my camera at home.
go figure.

so ... here's the best i could get ...
a phone camera shot of parker and drew ...



THEN ...
tonight ...
ben went over to play with brooks.
it sounds like they had a blast
all i know is they were kung fu fighting ...
ben came home with the ability to balance on his head ...
and he was definitely wiped out!
he crashed hard - and fast!
thanks, jen!

somewhere in the middle ...

i went for a run...

we finished off the chocolate chip cookies ...

we went to target - twice ...

we finished another kinex amusement ride ...

AND ... we found where our new post office is.

whew!

let's ride.

today was drew's first snowboard lesson.

aside from the fact that it was barely zero degrees ...
it went really well.

the entire lesson was one-on-one
so it was the perfect way for him to get started.

they practiced 'skating' ...
did a lot of work on 'getting up on your own' ...
and even rode the chair lift and came down the 'big hill' as a final hurrah!

by that point ... it had been 2 hours and he was ready to be done.
afterall, drew can only take so much of people telling him how to do things :)

a place of his own!

when we moved out of our house in july we took down alex's crib.

because we were moving into a 2 bedroom townhouse - and because it was for such a short time - we left the crib down.

we started alex out in the pack n play
and eventually switched him to a mattress on the floor.

THEN ... the time came to move into our new house and we decided to keep the crib down.

because of this - alex became our roamer.
he sleeps all over.
some nights he sleeps in drew's room.
some nights he sleeps on our floor.
(he is NEVER in the room we planned to be his.)
he spends most nights in ben's room.

we realized that ben is happier with him in there
(which i don't understand because alex NEVER stops talking!)
and alex doesn't ever want to be alone.
SO ... we decided to make it a permanent thing.

as of tonight alex has his own REAL bed.
he and ben are officially roommates.
he was very excited
he went and found every stuffed animal he could -
quickly told each that they were his best friend (not joking.)
and then threw them in to bed.



he was even so excited he was asking me to take pictures!

now if we could just get him to stay in there all night.

not holding my breath.

dashing through the snow ... backwards??

with the BEAUTIFUL weather that we had today, ben and alex spent a good chunk of time outside sledding in the backyard.

when i first sent them out i figured that ben would sled and alex would just hang out at the bottom.

WOW ... was i wrong!

a few minutes after sending them out,
i looked out the window to see ben and alex, sitting on the tube together, sledding!

i threw on my stuff and ran outside ...

over the next hour alex got braver ....
and braver ...
AND braver.

he started out riding with ben (who if you look has the funniest -and very scary - habit of sledding - TONGUE HANGING OUT!).
then he went alone on his butt.
then on his tummy.



and in the end what was his favorite way to go down the hill???

i give you my 2 year old ...
going head first ...
on his back.
completely backwards ...
down our sledding hill.



not at all what i expected.
BUT ...
very fun.

now, if this 'january thaw' would just stick around!

a little slip ... perhaps?

yesterday at school drew got to watch the inauguration.

so ... last night when stacey got home drew was excited and said

"daddy .... did you watch the exaggeration today?"

now ... i'm not taking sides here ... (wink wink)

but based on the publicity this has gotten as the biggest ceremony ever ...

i have to admit we did get a little chuckle

*just a side note. this blog is politics free. this is simply a funny story i want to remember.

any comments that attempt to take this into a political debate - i will delete :) *

seriously ... do it NOW

yesterday, one of the fitness instructors from the Y died as the result of a massive heart attack.

she was my age and had 2 kids.

she was an incredible, fun teacher who made an impact on a LOT of lives!!

their family has been on my heart - and mind - since i heard.

and what i keep going back to is this.

it doesn't matter what kind of shape i am in.

it doesn't matter how old i am.

i am not invincible.

in the blink of an eye - i can, and will, be taken from this world.

and am i ready for that?!

if i left this world today - which after what happened i am seeing REALLY could, and does, happen -

am i satisfied with what i have left people with.

do my kids know how much i love them?

what memories do they have of me that stand out most?

i'm REALLY hoping it's not me impatiently trying to get them out the door!

does stacey know that i love him with every ounce of my being?

or was i too busy picking up ... and getting the laundry caught up to REALLY show him -

and not just tell him.

have i given my all - and made a difference in friendships that will not be the same without me?

i hope so.

i realize these are all very deep thoughts.

and i would like to think that it will be a while before people are faced with life without me

BUT ...

nevertheless, they are the thoughts that are flooding my mind today.

as i laid alex down for his nap i sat and just watched him.

all i could think about was how important NOW really is.

AND

my mind kept going back to those 2 sweet little kids - now without a mommy

i realized that i need to use this as a STRONG (and very sad) reminder

just because i'm 'young'

just because i work out often

just because i MIGHT eat the right things (every now and then)

doesn't change the fact that my NOW could end tomorrow

my NOW could end tonight

tonight COULD be the last night i tuck my kids in to bed.

and i can't change that.

BUT ...

there are things i can change.

that's where my focus needs to be.

this is EXACTLY what i was talking about in my NOW post -

only it's a whole new level!!!

i need to live today

not only because my kids change too quickly

and because my memory will slowly dissipate.

i need to live NOW

because i may not have tomorrow.

and i urge you to do the same.

AND ...

i ask you to please pray for the fandre family.

i wrote this post becaue this is what is on my mind-

BUT this isn't about me.

carter is 8 and lily is 5

their world has just been turned upside down

in a way i can't even fathom.

although i barely know them

i know that surrounding them with prayer is one of the best things we can do!

if stacey got his wish ...

this is how i would play guitar hero!

and to see how he REALLY wishes i would play ...

you'll have to go search for 'heidi klum guitar hero' on youtube yourself ;)

it's ... now!

wow ... not even sure how to follow up a post like that ...

all i will say is ...

thank you.

i love you.

and i am 'sure' :)

and now, in my attempt to follow it up ...

i am jumping back to my one word challenge post.

although i believe there are a few words that really do captivate what i am feeling,

i have decided to choose a word that is little - but packs a lot of punch.

this word can take on many different meanings -

coming out of my mouth it can mean something very different than coming out of my 2 yr olds :)

my word is going to be ... now.

when i look back at what i said,

i realize that a lot of my problem is that i don't make time right NOW.

it is SO easy for me to get caught up in the fact that if i don't do my laundry NOW that tomorrow i will have more. or that if i don't chip away at the millions of thoughts running through my head right NOW that many of them will get lost :)

BUT...

while i'm doing that ...

i'm missing out on all of the little moments that i could have been enjoying.

the little moments that REALLY matter.

and too quickly those opportunites are lost.

the 'now' moments become 'then' moments.

and too often i can't get those back.

i know i have mentioned this before on my blog.

after seeing kung fu panda this quote really stuck with me

"yesterday is history

tomorrow is a mystery

today is a gift

and that is why it is called the present."

and my whole 'NOW' idea goes back to that.

this year i want to focus on the now.

i want to snuggle with my little guys NOW ... not tomorrow night.

afterall, tomorrow night snuggling may not be 'cool' anymore.

i want to REALLY listen to the people around me NOW ... not be too busy thinking about the things i should be doing to stay ahead.

i want to live, appreciate, laugh, play, and love NOW.

not tomorrow.

not yesterday.

today.

now.

the present.

MY present.

"sure"..... 14 years later...

4 simple letters. such a simple word. but what does "sure" mean to you? does it mean certain, or positive? perhaps reliable or trustworthy? all are valid definitions according to the Webster dictionary.

what about in the context of a first date? what about asking the most amazing girl you had ever met to the "prom alternative"? what would the response of "sure" mean then? would it be cryptic or mysterious for you? for 14 years that response has plagued me. it was ambiguous and vague. but what did it really mean?

For those who haven't caught on Sarah's blog has been hijacked :) A half awake Sarah easily gives up her password to Blogspot!

For some reason tonight... 14 years later.... the word "sure" takes on a whole new meaning. i can't explain why tonight of all nights.... but the ambiguity is gone. the word "sure" is no longer vague...

tonight the word "sure" defines the Love a young girl had for a scared and terrified boy so many years ago, though she wouldn't admit it at the time. tonight it defines the eternal Love a young boy had for the most beautiful girl in the world though he could not comprehend it's ramifications for the future. tonight the word "sure" means unfailing, assured, inevitable, and destined.

tonight for the first time ever... the word "sure" does not take me to the past. tonight the word "sure" takes me to the next 14 years and beyond, where there is no ambiguity... no doubt.. and no hesitation. tonight the word "sure" has transformed into the love that was, the love that is, and the love that will always be!

I Love you Sarah! I'm so glad you were "sure" 14 years ago.

You can have your blog back now :)

visiting baby nolan

today alex and i spent a good portion of our day at the hospital with kelly and nolan.

to give a little update/background -
nolan was admitted a week ago for a fever and troubles with his oxygen levels.
(keep in mind he was 9 days old at the time)
at the present he is being treated with antibiotics for bronchiolitis and bacterial meningitis.
because kelly took him in when she did ... everything is under complete control
and
he is basically a healthy baby boy that just has to spend the next 10 days in the hospital.
so ... all is good.

BUT ... i'm trying to help kelly stay sane (well at least i hope i am ... HA!)
SO we went up to have lunch and chat.

i posted a bunch of pictures on kelly's blog for her ...
BUT here are a few of my favorites :)
oh .. and i had a little fun while kelly was out of the room ;)
that picture is my ABSOLUTE favorite ...
it's my picture of the day - so hop over there to see it :)

you sure are a cutie, little nolan!
thanks for letting us visit with you today!

yep ... i'm full.

with the boys in good hands ...
(thanks pheebs)



stacey and i headed out for a night on the town ...



(YES ... that is a cart of meat ... and YES i think it is absolutely DISGUSTING!)

started it off with a little wine ...then added some good food!
(or so stacey says ... i STILL can't taste anything!)

and then we decided to finish it up with a 'small' brownie sundae ;)



i have a feeling the wii fit is NOT going to be very happy with either of us tomorrow!!!



OH WELL ;)

and by the time 11 pm came ...

my heart was full ...

my stomach was DEFINITELY full ...

and

the bed was calling!

being 30 is just not easy.

especially when we have a 2 year old who recently discovered our lollipop drum

AND

for whatever reason thinks 7 am is an appropriate time to play it.

hmmmm.

5 to 1

my day with 5 kids actually went remarkably well.

ben and carson spent a good portion of the morning out sledding.
(don't we have the perfect size backyard sledding hill?!)



and ... just like yesterday alex and adison spent the day following each other around and playing really well.

i included this picture to show the great lengths that alex goes to when it comes to choosing an outfit to impress a girl.

the kids all played well and kept very busy.
i've decided that i know i COULD handle 5 kids on a day to day basis ...
but what i can't imagine is doing the every day things that are normally quick.

running into target ...
going to the y ...
getting starbucks ...

let me just say there would be nothing quick about going anywhere with this bunch :)

a fun morning

this morning brought a lot of fun to our house ...

you see, my friend kelly's 15 day old baby is in the hospital.
at this point they aren't sure what it is ...
SO ...
i keep praying ...
AND ...
doing what i can to offer a little fun up to the rest of the bunch.

TODAY ...
adison and garrett were over to play.
with drew off at school, it worked out perfectly.

alex and adison play really well together -

they spent a LONG time dancing in drew's room ....



and just a LITTLE time sneaking toothpaste:)

(hey at least they share nice!)

as for ben and garrett ...
when the 2 get together they go from one imaginary scenario to the next
they honestly keep busy THE ENTIRE TIME they are together.
(i took this picture shortly after hearing ... 'hey let's get adison and alex' :)
i knew they had handcuffs and i figured the combination of the 2 PROBABLY wasn't going to go over so well ...
SO .. i disctracted them with the picture and it worked!)



you guys are a riot!

we're back at it again tomorrow ...
AND ... adding carson to the mix ...
so stay tuned ...

one word ... maybe

some of you may have read over on elizabeth's blog about my one word challenge.

along with the project 365 was a challenge to find one word that represent what i would really like to focus on this year.

SO ... i don't have a word.

i know what i want - but don't know exactly what the ONE word is.

SO ... after reading this ... if you know ... please, let me know :)

for this year i want to spend my time on things that matter.

not necessarily learn to prioritize

because i am a great multi-tasker and i get things done.

that's the not the problem.

the problem is that i need to be more intentional.

i need to stop all of the mundane multi-tasking long enough to REALLY focus on the things i want to be doing.

for example ...

stopping long enough to suggest to the boys we play a game - not just be approached.

stopping long enough to snuggle, watch a movie, and allow myself to enjoy it (not thinking of all of the other things i 'should' be doing)

stopping long enough to bake - and REALLY let my kids help :)

there is a diagram that our church uses that i want to briefly describe.

picture a target.

in the center is

'what i'll die for'

(these are the core beliefs)

the middle ring is

'what i'll defend'

(these are things that matter ... but your opinion may differ slightly from mine and that is ok because it doesn't affect our eternal outcome)

and the outside ring is

'what i'm willing to discuss'

(and this section is those things that there is no 'right answer'. because of this, spending time debating and trying to get to the bottom of it might be fun - but really isn't worth the time.)

as a church, they want to spend most of their time in the center, some of their time in the middle, and not a lot of time on the outside ring.

this is how i want this year to be for me.

i don't want to waste my time getting caught up in things that don't matter.

i want to focus on the relationships that REALLY matter to me.

i want to make time for what's important and let the other stuff, that isn't, be what fills the gaps,

not the other way around.

life goes too fast.

and

i don't want to miss it.

project 365

i started something on the first of this year, called project 365.
(no i didn't come up with it ... creating keepsakes magazine and becky higgins are my motivation behind it)

i am going to take a picture each day this year.
(or at least try.)
the picture might be of the kids.
it might be of stacey and i.
it might be a picture of a store we visit that day.

basically i want to capture snipits of our life that when placed together tell a bit more about who we are and what we do on an every day basis - without too many words.

NOW ...
initially, i was just going to organize the pictures on my computer ... and then maybe scrapbook them.
well...
i decided that it might be easier to keep track of ... and transfer to a book ... if i created a blog for it.

SO ... that's what i did.
my crazy loves project 365

i realize that you already have plenty to do in your day ...
so i'm not asking you to follow yet another silly blog of mine :)

INSTEAD ...
i just wanted you to know what that link is on my profile
AND
i want to say that i think you should try it too!

link to 365 different ideas to help you out!

creative play gone wild

although ben and alex have been to our children's museum many times ...
they have never experienced what they did over break.

they had picked out their groceries and taken them up to the nice young man at the counter.
he was VERY polite and helpful in telling them what they were buying.
AND he was very good at math and figured out exactly how much he was hoping they would pay him IN REAL CASH! (HA!)

THEN ...
as if this was a drill he had practiced while in 'supermarket checker training' ...
he hit the button on the cash register that makes an annoying, and non-stop, BEEEEEEEEEEP.
then yelled ...
'INTRUDER ... EVERYBODY ... DOWN!!!'
and proceeded to crawl under the register.

alex and ben exchanged a 'what in the world is he doing' look ...
and i sat over in the doorway giggling about everything i just saw!

the BEEEEEEEEP really does sound like an alarm.
and i found it so funny that he would think to act as though the childrens museum grocery store was under attack!

when i look back now i actually think it's a little sad that so many kids actually know about situations like this!

AND ...

i realize that maybe i need to teach ben and alex that if a crazy man takes over the grocery store, and the checker tells you to take cover, DON'T JUST LOOK AT EACH OTHER ... LISTEN! :)

Christmas recap

although it's already 2009 ...
and Christmas was a WHOLE week ago ...
i wanted to go back and just do a quick recap of what our Christmas looked like this year ...

as i mentioned ... it was probably one of our sicker holiday seasons ...
BUT ...
as always we still went strong!

the weekend before Christmas,
stacey's mom and brother (and family) came to visit.
the kids had a blast being together!
it makes me wish they could see each other more often!



THEN ...
on Christmas eve we headed to wisconsin.
we started out having some fun with my dad
then went back to sleep ... and woke up and did Christmas morning with my mom.
we were able to stay for a few days to hang out and play
which was nice
(well for us anyway ... i know they all LOVED it. thank God for lysol, i guess)

on saturday we returned to our snowy paradise (HA!) ....

so that we could be ready to play on sunday ...

elizabeth and crew were in town!

yet again ... the kids had a ton of fun playing and it made me wish that they lived closer.

when i look back .... i see that although i've gone through 4 boxes of kleenex ...

and don't remember a WHOLE lot of details ....

i know that we had a really fun week.
it was jam-packed.
but fun.

(and for the record .... the picture of my boys with aiden ... FIRST TRY!! how amazing am i.)