My Latest Obsession.....

My latest obsession is Pinterest. Love. It. I have to limit myself each day because, just like facebook, 5 minutes of checking things out turns into an hour. I have been 'pinning' lots of things that I may never make, bake, buy, wear, etc. but it's just so much fun!
Last night I decided that I would whip up a recipe I  pinned to see what the fuss was all about. Because my dear hubby has some lactose issues, I figured this would be perfect for him if it was tasty. Boy was it! Another plus? MUCH lower calorie count than ice cream. The kiddos loved it too.

All you do is take frozen bananas (although I would suggest letting them sit out for a bit so they are not rock hard) and some cocoa powder (I used Nestlequik), blend it up and there you have it. It was very creamy and delicious!

Movie Night.....

Some nachos, some popcorn, a movie and a dog who is just hoping you drop something. Looks like a perfect movie night to me!

Basketball, basketball and more basketball...

We've lived and breathed basketball just about everyday since January 1. Between in-house league practice and games as well as travel team practice and tournaments, we're either at a gym or we are sleeping. I love it!! The travel team (pictured) is such a good group of kids and their parents are all so much fun as well. This is the first year these boys have all played together and they are shocking us all.  It is just so much fun to watch them! They have won two championships and two third place trophies. Looks like I'll be adding another shelf in Colton's room!



Dinner With My 5 Year Old

Since Colton and Mike were at basketball practice, it was just the youngest and me for dinner tonight. I'm not sure how this conversation started or how it jumped all over the place, but I just had to share.

Brett: Mom, did you know that when you are a grandma, you'll still be my mom?
Me:    I know. Cool huh?!

Me: Are you going to want me to live close to your kids like Grandma Claudia or far away like Grandma Sue?
Brett:  Probably far away like Grandma Sue.
Me:  Really? (So not the answer I was expecting). Why?
Brett:  So that way my kids can play a lot of video games on the way to your house.
Me:  What if they don't like video games?
Brett: Oh, I guarantee they will.

Brett:  When you are a grandma and you and dad move away, you'll have to call me and tell me where you went.
Me:  Deal.

Me:  So, do you have a girlfriend?
Brett:  No, I broke up with all of them.
Me:   How do you know about 'breaking up?'
Brett:  That's what they say on T.V.
Me:  Huh. So, did you tell all your girlfriends that you broke up with them?
Brett: Nope. Because I never even told them they were my girlfriends.

Love this kid!

5 Minutes of Brotherly Bliss...

Brett received a snowboard from Santa this Christmas. On New Year's Eve we finally got a little bit of snow. The morning of New Year's Day, the boys were running out the door determined to teach Brett how to use this contraption. I watched from afar and saw my adorable boys work together to accomplish something. I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped a few shots.

Colton was helping Brett get his feet situated:

"Hold my hand Brett...." (sooooo cute!)

And they're off!!

Not to fool you that my boys get along for long periods of time, approximately 8 minutes after these pictures were taken, Brett came back inside saying he was done because, "Brother took my goggles and I can't snowboard without them."

2012...

I almost forgot how to long into this thing. It's been awhile!

Here it is. The beginning of a new year. A time to reflect on all that has happened the past year and what your hoping for in the next year.

I'm not a resolution maker. However, this year, I've got a few goals for myself as well as for my family.
For some reason, if I throw them out there for the public, I feel a bit more obligated to stick to them. Wrong or right, it is what it is.

The family goal for 2012 is to focus on needs vs. wants. This goal is two-fold. The first is to focus on all that we've been blessed with and to be thankful for all that we have. This message was loud and clear to me when we were all watching The Blind Side over Christmas break and in the movie, Big Mike shares with LeAnn that he's never had a bed before. Colton just couldn't believe it ~ that this truly happens in today's world. It was an eye opener to me that we need to spend some time in 2012 helping/encouraging/supporting those that aren't as fortunate as we are. The second is to not spend money just to spend it. We do alright for ourselves, but aren't swimming in Benjamin's in our indoor pool (no we don't really have an indoor pool). I'm great at going to Target to get a few things like toilet paper and lettuce, but then walking out with 2 books, some new pens (when I've already got 36 in the drawer) and some things for the boys because I know they will love it. My husband on the other hand does really well avoiding the day to day purchases, but is more of an impulse buyer on big ticket items. Thankfully we're both on the same page for this goal.

I have a couple of personal goals for 2012.

My first is the standard goal that 99.9% of females have; eat less and move more. I have some great girlfriends that are all on the same page as me and we've got our own little program that kicks off tomorrow. Yee-haw! If you are interested, I strongly suggest the iphone app - Myfitnesspal. It helps you track your daily calorie intake and exercise.

My second is to get and stay organized in 2012. I spent a majority of this weekend clearing out closest. I went through my bathrooms and realized that I had 7 bottles of sunscreen. Seriously?!! I also cleaned out my spices and have to admit that I had many duplicates and containers that expired in 2008. Oops.

My third goal, which is a combination of goal 1 and goal 2, is planning out meals. This helps avoid any last minutes take-out orders or pizza calls (helps save $ for family goal and helps with lbs for personal goal). I've got the first week of meals planned out. Our schedules are crazy with basketball for the oldest 3-5 times/week plus wrestling practice for the youngest and school work on top of that.

And last, but not least is to facebook less and blog more.

Here's to an AWESOME 2012!

Daddy's Helper...

Hut Hut...

Being in 4th grade means you get to play tackle football. Colton couldn't be more excited. Me on the other hand couldn't be more nervous. Don't get me wrong. I really enjoy watching football. However, I don't enjoy the thought of my offspring being knocked unconscious, breaking a bone, etc. We've got 2 weeks of practice and one scrimmage under our belt and so far so good. There isn't an injury to report.
Here's a few pictures from this past Saturday: Doing some warm-up drills. My kid is the one with the skinny legs. He gets that from his dad.

Kind of hard to pick him out so I thought I'd help you out. Defense is his favorite. I asked why he couldn't just be a kicker. He told me that was boring. Can't blame me for trying.

Here he is carrying the ball - into a sea of kids that want to knock him down. Lord help me.

First Day of School....

Like all the other parents out there sending their kids off to school, I too think, we're did the time go?

Colton is starting 4th grade. His last year at the elementary school. I keep telling him that I have vivid memories of 4th grade and that is seems impossible that I'm sending one of my own into 4th grade. The morning of the first day, you told me that you weren't really that hungry because you were just so excited. I love that you love school! My baby. Entering kindergarten. Wow. You are so proud and I love it. You had it in your mind that you were wearing a mohawk on the first day. Lucky for me, I was able to tame it down before we got to school to take your pictures. You love that you get to wear a backpack, ride the bus and have school friends like your big brother. It's been a week of school now and you haven't stopped smiling when people talk to you about kindergarten.

Family Vacation...

A few weeks ago we took the boys camping at Jellystone in Wisconsin Dells. To say we had a blast would be an understatement. We spent a day and a half at Noah's Ark riding all the water slides. Not sure who had more fun there, Mike and I or the boys! The campground was great. We stayed in a tiny one room cabin that had bunk beds for the kids and a bed for the adults, a small table, a dorm fridge and a microwave. It work great as the weather was wonderful and we were only in our cabin to sleep. There was mini-golf, activities for the kids on the hour every hour and nice lounge chairs at the pool for me.

So.Much.Fun.

Currently...

I got this idea from Jenny over at stickyfeathers. We got back from a family vacation at about midnight last night, I'm up to my eyeballs in laundry and thought a mindless post is in order.

loving: My vacation weather. Nothing but sunshine and 80 degrees!!
pondering: Watch a movie tonight (The Kings Speech) or catch up on blogging, facebook and Words w/Friends. (I know. Lame.)
reading: The Help - well, technically I just finished it today
anticipating: School starting. 4th grade and kindergarten ~ how can it be???
cursing: All the calories I've consumed on vacation.
wearing: shorts and a t-shirt. No make up worn since day one of vacation...I look a little frightening!
deciding: Where to buy new carpet for the family room.
hoping: I can get my to-do list done before Tuesday.
planning: My upcoming weekend
dreading: Tuesday - back to work
wishing: That the money tree in my backyard would start growing.

The 5 Year Pictures...

I attempted to take Brett's 5 year pictures today. Never mind that he's been 5 for a month and a half. He really, really , really wanted to wear his new hat in his pictures so I figured why not. After about the first 5 minutes, the kid was workin' it. "Mom, how about I stand here and do this. Mom, what about this. Mom, that was really fun."
We had a great time and managed to snag a couple cute pictures. Here's just 4 of the 74 we took today.

5 Things....

5 Things that have kept me busy this week (other than work and kids).

1. Our front porch has been bugging me since winter. As you can see in the 2nd picture, we had a railing with spindles. This winter, one of the kids was snowboarding down the hill on the side of our house and ran into the porch snapping one of the spindles so it's looked really classy over the past 7 months. Apparently on Sunday I had had enough and grabbed Mike's tool box and some tool and started wrenching on the mile long screws that held it into place and after about an hour of sweat and a few choice words, I got all the pieces off.


Here's what it looked like before. Don't be distracted by the band Naked Bacon that was performing in our front yard.

It's still in need of some work. I'll be borrowing my father-in-law's pressure washer and applying a nice fresh coat of paint. I was very happy when I called the city to see at what height railings are required and mine is low enough to not need them ~ yeah!

2. Still in the "clean this place up" topic, I gutted out Colton's room. I threw away so much stuff and reorganized everything else. It took me 2.5 hours, but it.looks.awesome! Luckily for me, Colton wasn't around to say, "no, don't throw that, I play with it all the time" with the million and six things he hasn't touched in years.

3. We are taking a little vacation to the Dells soon and the kids are excited! We are staying in a cabin that provides a whole lot of nothing, so I've been busy making a list of all the things we need to pack including meal plans for each day. I love doing this kind of stuff. I've got a great spreadsheet started with multiple categories. I'm so type A!

4. I'm helping again this year with Vacation Bible School. I've been busy attending prep meetings over the past few weeks. I think this is my 4th year helping out. I've been upgraded from leading kids from station to station to heading up the crafts station. Nothing like young kids, glitter and glue!

5. Words with Friends. Need I say more? I'm loving this game. Currently I've got 10 games going and two of those are with random people that the game hooked me up with.

What's keeping you busy this week?

Photo Printing...

I'm overwhelmed. I have a bazillion pictures on my computer. I download them off my cameras, might do a little editing and then they sit. I haven't printed pictures since early 2010. Ugh.
I had a notebook of all the folders that I printed pictures from in an effort to not duplicate print orders (which I may have done a time or two). Not sure where that notebook is. Great.
Do you print your pictures regularly? If so, where do you do it - online, at home, bring your card to Target?
I have no idea where to start. I'm thinking I'm going to start with the most recent and work my way back. I think I'll start tomorrow.

Back To Blogging.....

I used to blog regularly. Looking back, I would post a few times a week. Now I'm lucky if I get one post done in a month. I blame that on a few things - working full time, raising 2 busy boys, summer and Facebook. Yes, Facebook. That lovely vortex that sucks away my time. It's much easier to post a sentence than to compose a paragraph or two.
However, I'm coming back. I am going to make a commitment to myself to blog at least twice a week. It might not be a lengthy post and it may not include pictures, but my intent from the beginning is to capture moments of life to look back on down the road.
You in?

Happy 5th Birthday!

My sweet boy. We are so lucky to have you in our lives. This past year, your personality and preferences have really shined through. You are incredibly witty ~ especially for a 5 year old! There isn't a day that goes by where you don't make us belly laugh. I adore that about you.

You can hold your own with your brother. The two of you can't be so angry with each other and then in the next blink of an eye you are snuggled up on the couch watching a movie.

You love lasagna, yogurt and french toast sticks with my special dip.
You are very polite.
You are such a boy. You love to get dirty, catch bugs and torment the dog.

Thank you for being an amazing boy and thank you for still wanting me to tuck you in at night. Happy Birthday buddy!

4 Wheels to 2 Wheels....

Brett has been asking to take his training wheels off for a couple of weeks. The day finally came and he was so excited. At first. For being a little daredevil, he was extremely cautious when it came to trying to ride his bike. He wouldn't keep going fast enough to keep the bike up no matter how good Mike's pep talk was.

He mastered the "lean" and was trying really hard. See the tongue hanging out? That's when you know he's really concentrating.

He'd make it a few feet and then just stop pedaling. We all know what happens when you stop pedaling and don't put your feet down.

You got it. Wipe out. A handle bar to the ribs.

And he's done. He wouldn't get on the bike again after that. He wanted his scooter.

Guess we'll try again another day.

Daredevil...