giving vegas a break

and finding other indoor activities to keep us occupied. Plus, it’s nice to see bright colors during these long winter months…..although have you noticed that all paint colors when mixed together always end up a strange shade of brown??

passing time until spring

By February, winters in Wisconsin feel never-ending. Memories of warm weather and light clothing are faint. Groundhog Day holds no comfort or value, because even if the little rodent predicts six more weeks of winter….well, that is an early spring. Moreover, by this time, we are running low on ideas for indoor entertainment.

That is, until now.

Introducing DOG DECORATING! The newest and latest in indoor, winter fun!

At least for the humans. So far, Vegas has been silent regarding his opinion.

family portrait project 2010

Okay, I know it’s not Friday anymore. About time I get a new post out here!

A blog I frequent, The Rinrins, has joined a project to post a monthly picture of the entire family along with an update describing that month. Then, at the end of the year, a book is created containing the photos and updates. Since this sounds like a fabulous way to record a year’s worth of memories, I am totally in! Of couse, I have missed January, but eleven months will do just fine.

So…my goal: Get a picture of our entire family, including both me and Joel, each month during 2010. All of us. Together. In one picture. For the next eleven months. I’m up for it!! Wish me luck, and be sure to check back for all the fun.

And maybe even join in?? I would love to see your pictures and updates!

happy friday

never a shortage of expressions

to an 8 year old, she’s hilarious

And he completely adores her, which completely melts this mama’s heart.

five things you probably don’t care about at all

I am feeling the need to post today but really don’t have anything in particular to write about. So, instead of the normal picture updates, I thought I would try a written one. Or typed, actually. And I am going to accomplish this via a list of miscellaneous, and probably meaningless, stuff. Tidbits of our famously glamorous life, if you will.

1. Joel is the only one who is allowed to brush the kids’ hair after baths and showers. Apparently, I am too rough on the snarles while he, on the other hand, patiently and gently combs them apart. In general, that’s how it is in our house. Anything that requires patience is Joel’s realm. Anything that involves running around frantically while tripping over dogs and toys is my realm. Well, that and holding puke buckets and shoving pills down our dogs’ throats. I get those too.

2. Ethan’s new favorite channel has recently changed from Animal Planet to the Military channel. He seems particulary interested in shows about military aircraft and even had an F-16 on his brithday cake this year. He will ask me tons of questions about military aircraft, and while I am flattered that he thinks I would actually know anything at all about them, I know nothing. Well, I have seen some Hummers driving around over the past few years, so maybe I do know something. But those aren’t aircraft either, are they? So we are back to I know nothing. And, maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but I don’t care either. Does that make me a bad mom? A bad American? This is the first interest of Ethan’s that I have absolutely no interest in and haven’t been able to even act like I do. Sadly, it’s probably just another one of those signs of him growing up and coming into his own, so I should be proud. Mostly, I just want to turn on Sponge Bob.

3. Now that she is talking coherently, it is painfully obvious that Charlie has an older sibling. Her favorite sayings are “Darn it!”, “Awesome!”, and “That’s what I’m talking about!”. Of course, we still get the incoherent stuff thrown in too. Like last night, Ethan and I had the hardest time figuring out whether she wanted to fly a kite or fight a cat. Since I’m not a cat fan, I really didn’t have a preference as to which one it was, other than the fact that I definitely did not want to stand outside in the cold flying a kite.

4. Ethan doesn’t lie anymore, and I miss it. Okay, so he never lied; he was a story teller. But I miss those stories. They usually involved fun things like that I was a policewoman and let my kids play with my guns, that we were moving to Colorado, and that we owned a second home in England. Exciting stuff! Now when you ask him what I do for a living, he will tell you that I have “just a regular job” but he will quickly note that my office does have Hostess cupcakes in the vending machine downstairs. So maybe in reality, we do live on the edge.

5. People tell me that Charlie is a “performer”, “funny” and “spirited”. But I’m not fooled. I know those are all code words for “out of control”. Trust me…I see it, feel it, live it. Like, for example, we don’t take Charlie out to eat. We recently tried it again after a one year sabbatical, and to say that it didn’t go well is kind of like saying she is a performer, funny and spirited. The fun started almost immediately after we sat down when she somehow managed to rock her booster seat hard enough that she tipped herself over onto the floor causing me to lunge from my seat to try and catch her which forced my chair to fly backwards and as I picked her up off the floor the neckline of my shirt was pulled down to the point that the front of my bra was completely exposed which didn’t bother me at all since I didn’t actually notice that I was standing there with the front of my bra on display for a significant period of time before I finally looked down. And I write this as a run-on sentence because that is exactly how it was. A long run-on sentence of chaos. But we’re not deterred. Joel and I figure we will try it again as soon as I stock up on a couple turtlenecks.

So, I’m guessing at this instant you are sadly realizing that you will never get back the last few minutes of your life.

eight

My favorite photo from his birthday shots…

and his favorite…

ethan turns 8 today

It’s the strangest thing. Although my baby boy turns eight today, he is actually not getting older at all. He hasn’t changed one bit. In fact, he has barely grown in the last eight years. Simply put, he is not growing up.

That’s my story, and I’m sticking with it.

(A true eight-year picture will follow as soon as the stomach flu leaves him for good, since right now, a picture wouldn’t be so pretty.)

a place of comfort

When the stomach flu hits, the bathroom floor becomes better than any five-star hotel.

Well, except maybe for the bathroom floor of an actual five-star hotel. But you get my drift.