a little friendly rivalry

ben and his friend, wyatt, had been planning this day for MONTHS!

a while back - i had both boys in the back of my car ...
they had recently found out they were both playing baseball, but were on different teams
they began talking about it ...
and this is how it ended ...

wyatt: hey ben ... i promise that when my team plays your team ...
i won't get you out if you won't get me out.
ben: ok, deal.

NOW ...
you'll notice ben is playing first base in the blue ...
and wyatt is safe on first in the gray ...
now .. i can't say that it was intentional ...
but ... i can say that ben held up his end of the bargain :)
(both boys did actually ... and ben's team won ... still undefeated ...GO BULLS!)

bugs ... bugs ... and ... more bugs ...

this week was field trip week at our house ...

on friday i got to go with drew's class to the nature center.

now ... a nature girl i am not ;)
BUT ...
it was still fun to be there.
it is seriously THE PERFECT field trip for boys.

they HAD AN ABSOLUTE BLAST catching bugs on 'the prairie' -
(i already went and bought some bug nets so the boys can do this behind our house ...
i forsee many hours of fun ...
and many ticks ... ewww..)



they got to crawl around in the 'forest habitat'

and they got to use nets to try to catch whatever they could out of the 'pond habitat'.
(i can say it was a successful day simply because no 2nd graders fell off the dock!
although, i heard someone did from the group that went the day before! OOPS!)



it was a beautiful day for a field trip!
(much better than the day ben got)
it was a GORGEOUS setting and it was packed full of super fun activities!

it was one of those days that i was reminded why boys are so fun.

they love bugs.

they can, without hesitation, get completely into a field trip centered around them.

AND ...

most importantly ...

they are brave enough to fight off said bugs when they get too close to their mom :)

when the zoo is a zoo ...

today was ben's field trip to the zoo.
it was packed!
i am pretty sure that every other school around planned for their kids to do the same thing we did.
it was also VERY chilly for a late may day!

we spent the morning walking around with ben's friend, wyatt, and his mom.
we let the boys do their thing for a while ...
but once we finished lunch we decided
a. it was WAY busy
b. it was WAY cold
and
c. our kids are definitely not lacking in the 'i've been to the zoo' department
SO ...
we asked if they'd rather play together at home for the afternoon
and
thankfully, it didn't take much convincing :)
we enjoyed the 'class' part of the field trip in the morning and then created our own fun for the afternoon.

there will be plenty of days to go back and enjoy the zoo ...
and i'm fairly certain ... they'll be when it's warmer than 60 degrees!

a visit from 'big alex'

our weekend so far has been packed full of fun ...

my brother and his girlfriend, michelle, came to visit for 2 days.

we started out with an afternoon at the zoo ...
(as you can see they fit in real well with the monkeys)



after that ...
we watched the twins show the brewers a few things about baseball.

(and we watched drew teach big alex a few things about making a bet.
next time, alex, if then you could please remember to use the i unbet bet symbol so you aren't out 5 bucks when your team loses!)

while at the game i learned that the boys actually enjoy going for the game now!
AND ... i learned that when trying to keep a 2 yr old busy at a baseball game there is nothing better than an all star ballot and a DS pen with instructions to 'punch out all of the holes'



this morning we spent time hanging out and playing ...

and then ended the weekend with a round of golf for the boys and shopping for the girls ...
(although ... somehow i ended up with no clothes for myself but 7 shirts for drew!
go figure!)

thanks for coming to visit uncle alex and michelle!
i think it's safe to say everyone had a good few days ...
and had a lot of fun!

well ... except ben ...
his day today might be questionable...
he got sick at the golf course ... and ended up spending his entire afternoon napping on the cart.

and, yes he is really sleeping like that.

A is for apple.... OR ...

i just gave ben an apple ...
moments later he got a big smile and then told me that the top stem twisted off on 'A'.
so i asked him what that meant
(totally knowing ... but wanting HIS explanation)
he said ...
"it means my girlfriend has to start with 'A' - so ... Allison"
(Allison is a girl in his class who he thinks is 'cute')

sorry katelyn ... sorry quinn ..
you are TYPICALLY the girls who hold his heart ...
but today ... it's all in how the apple stem twists.

a not very nice bug

this interruption in blogging has been brought to you by ...



1 little boy

1 nasty bug

5 days

104 degree fever


4 baths per day at least

3 naps per day at least

4 rolls of paper towel we've gone through cleaning up

5 trips to starbucks (for me)

3 calls to the doctor

1 doctor visit

and

more loads of laundry than i can even attempt to count

--------------------------

just when we see an end in sight ...

he throws up and it starts all over again ...

SO ... until we can figure it out and get his body operating somewhat normally ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM - 3 days late.

and ...

know that HOPEFULLY i'll be back to blogging as usual again some day soon.

history according to ben

ben always has a story for everything.
sometimes these stories are real ...
sometimes they have a little 'imagination' behind them.

the latest?? ...

ben informed my friend kelly that his grandpa was in the war between the pilgrims and indians.
he was on the pilgrims side (because they won)
and he fought with blow horns and needles.

*************

now...ben, i'm sure any of your grandpas could put up a good fight,
although i'm not sure they would use blow horns or needles ...
and i realize that the liquor store has stopped carding me ...
but come on, buddy ... i'm not THAT old ;)

silver lining

most of today was spent loving on alex.

he was up most of last night and was sick all day today.
he was running a high fever and was unable to keep things down.

thankfully he is doing much better now

BUT ...
what's crazy is ...
looking back at today ...
as much as i didn't/don't want to get what he had ...
i couldn't get enough of snuggling with him!
it isn't very often that i have an excuse to do nothing but hold him.
SO ...
to have him want me laying next to him ALL day long.
to feel his WAY too hot little body close to mine
and
to just do nothing but enjoy holding him ...

made the fact that he was absolutely miserable ...
and
the fact that we got very little sleep last night ...
seem not all that bad.

------------------------

ON A SIDE NOTE ...
i talked to my friend kelly tonight and it seems as though adi is coming down with what alex has.
apparently they should have spent more time playing at the park yesterday
and less time sharing germs ;)

2 yr old wedding bells

this morning we went to the park with our friends.

the older boys always play really well together
and
alex and adi just do their own thing ...

i LOVE watching the 2 of them.
they REALLY play together.
they talk
they laugh
they plot against their brothers
and
they interact in a way that a lot of 2 yr olds don't.
it's nearly impossible to watch them and not laugh.

today was the perfect example ...

ben came running over and said
'did you know alex and adi kissed?'
moments later adi came running over ...
'this is my honeymoon!'



now i'm not sure whether this was an arranged ceremony compliments of their brothers...
or if they were really looking to take the jump this young ...
but whatever the case ...
i think they are so cute together ...
and i'm glad they are starting to understand love and friendship ...
even if they're only 2 ;)

just "a little" wind ...

... can make for a few very interesting nights of baseball.

i'm just sayin.

effective marketing

so ... it's may sweeps ..

and stacey and i are falling behind on our shows ...

BUT i just have to say ...

starbucks did the right thing by having the stars of the celebrity apprentice walk around with cups of their coffee.

i can't watch a celebrity apprentice episode without wanting a venti drink for myself!

mmmmm ....

puppies, puppies, and more puppies!

the best way to explain our weekend is ...

puppies.

we brought chewy.
bekah (my sister) brought moose and marley.
and my mom has sophie and bella.

so ... 5 dogs ...
(in addition to the 8 adults and 4 kids)
made for a full ... and very busy house!

we let the dogs just do their thing ...
(which they did ... wink wink ...)
and moose and marley did really well with chewy and bella.



we took the dogs to see grandma at the nursing home
(marley is still learning that she isn't a lap dog)

and we watched as chewy and bella wrestled
over ...
and over ...
and over again :)



it was busy ...
but it was fun ...
and there sure is something to be said for 'play hard ... sleep hard'
...
and i'm not just talking about the dogs.

happy mothers day!

today i want to say happy mothers day to all moms ...
especially mine ;)

today is just a reminder of how much you are loved
and how special you are

it may just be 'another day' ...
but for me it's a day when i can look back ...
see past all of the things that annoy me ...
and be extremely grateful that i have been given the opportunity to have 3 little boys

3 boys that as crazy as they get ...
love me, need me, and treat me like a princess ;)

each of the boys had something special that they 'cooked up' for me over the week and then my mom helped them finish it off with a book about why they love me.

now, it's no secret that my absolute favorite thing is when my kids bring me handwritten love letters ...
both of their letters to me for mothers day were SO sweet and of course made me teary-eyed.
but they also made me giggle ...
among other things ...

*ben mentioned that he loves to play tag with me
(apparently i need to do that more often because i can't remember the last time we did)
*drew told me that i am an amazing cook
(yes ... those of you that know me well can stop laughing.
for those of you that don't - i bake and do snacks well. but an amazing cook - not so much)
*drew told me he loves that i love nature
(once again, i appreciate that he gives me so much credit.
i love looking at some nature. and i like being outside. but ... an outdoorsy girl i am not)
*as one of his reasons he loves me ... ben listed 'good party planner'
(now ... i do love to throw parties ... i just thought it was funny coming out of his mouth)

it's gifts like these that seriously make it all worth it.

'the beach'

now that the weather is finally warming up we are exploring our new development.

one of the hits is the new 'beach'.
supposedly this summer it is being developed into 'a real beach' -
however not much has been done yet.
SO ...
until then ...
we are enjoying walking over there and having the place to ourselves.

there's dirt.
there's water.
and
there's rocks.
so,
my boys are thrilled.

why i need ear plugs ...

the following conversation happened in the car today

ALEX: what's that?
ME: a lawn mower.
what's he doing?
mowing the lawn.
what's mowing the lawn?
cutting the grass.
why is he cutting the grass?
so it doesn't get long.
why does it get long?
because it grows fast in the summer.
why does it grow fast in the summer?
because the sun shines so bright.
why does the sun shine so bright?
because God made it that way.
why did God make it that way?
so that it wouldn't be dark all of the time.
why would it be dark all of the time?

and that is where i put on his favorite song ...
made sure to turn it up nice and loud ...
and reminded myself that finding ear plugs before our next trip to WI might not be all so bad.

ben turns a page ;)

ben finished his first chapter book today and he was SO excited!
(he asked me to take this picture)

as i look at this picture i realize how thankful i am that my kids really enjoy doing things to make each other happy ...
well, usually ;)
drew knew this book would make ben happy so he used one of his 2 weekly school library book choices to get this for ben.
they have been using their time on the bus lately to read
and i think it's really helping ben jump ahead with his reading!

way to go ben!!
i'm so proud of you!
and thanks for being such a thoughtful brother drew!

** on a side note i apologize for such a cheesy title. but i just HAD to ... ha ha **

why i would LOVE to get married again (to stacey, of course)

ok .. so i just learned of a trend in weddings.

this trend is the candy buffet.
it functions as a favor for the guests.
there are boxes and/or bags that they can fill with goodies and take home with them.

now ... i LOVE candy.
(remember what my dream job is?)
the thought of setting up and organizing a table of candy like this ...
the thought of the fun pictures we could take with a table like this ...
the thought of what my kids would do to a table like this ...
ok ... maybe not ...
BUT ... really ...
the mere THOUGHT of a table full of candy such as this ...



WOW!

THAT is a trend i would like to see stick around!

thankful

there isn't a day goes by that one of alex's prayers doesn't make me smile.
they are always SO random ...
and often times they go on ... and on ... and on ...

his latest had all of us fighting back the giggles ...

we were sitting at dinner and alex said he wanted to pray.
ben sighed, i smiled at stacey, and alex began his prayer ...

'dear Jesus ...
thank you for this,
and thank you for this,
and thank you for this,
and thank you for this,
and thank you for this,
and thank you for this.
.....
he continued to make his way from one corner of the table to the other thanking God for each thing he saw.
HOWEVER ...
rather than saying what he saw - he just kept saying 'thank you for this' ...
over and over and over again
and then ended with a big ...
amen.'

you're so funny little guy.
i'm glad that you enjoy praying.
you make me smile ...
you encourage me ...
and
i love that.