Tommorrow is the Day

Desiree arrives tommorrow!!

I saw the Robin

Spring is finally coming. The robin made its first appearance in our yard yesterday. I am told that is the best sign that is spring is really going to be here. I am thrilled. The snow has melted, my bulbs have started popping up and the sun has found its way out again. We hit a record high of 73 on Tuesday.

I spent most of the week sick and frustrated. I lost my patience with Danny the other day and I said "please get the damn truck off of me", his response: "Its not a damn truck mommy, its a damn sticker". God bless that kid. Always finding a way to make me smile when I am down. I am finally feeling a little better. Madison made me a few Get Well cards this week. They are both so sweet.

Less than a week until Desiree arrives.

What we have been up to...

Well mostly we have been up to Brownies. Last we was our International Thinking Day and our Badge workshop at our house. We had 9 of the Brownies over on Friday to work on Try-Its. They made all their own food that day and worked on friend scrapbooks! They were so cute. They are all 1st graders and they are really cute when they are together. They get along so well and say the funniest things. We had our Thinking Day event at our regular meeting. The girls played games from around the world and sampled foods from other countries. We finished up our cookie sale too. Everything is turned in and incentives are distributed. Thank you to all who ordered cookies from Madison. She sold 176 boxes !! She was so thrilled. She earned a bunny from Build A Bear and a Tshirt plus her badges. My house is finally down to only the cookies we ordered and I am thrilled. I will finish up my leader training for Brownies this weekend. It seems like it has been a whirlwind of Brownie activities but we are having fun. They will keep us pretty busy for a while.

I registered Danny for preschool in the fall. I can't believe my little boy will be in preschool. It doesn't even seem possible. He will turn 4 a few days before he starts though. I think he is going to love it.

I wish I could be like my children...

I wish I could be more like my children...I wish that I was able to laugh when I am happy, hug when I feel like hugging, cry when I feel like crying, smile when I feel like smiling, and yell when I feel like yelling. Kids are so pure! Why do we try to teach them to change these things about themselves?
I hope they will always be this way!!

Alarm Clock

We've had an issue all year with Madison not wanting to get up in the morning and get dressed for school. I take most of the blame for allowing it to go on too long. But I couldn't just send her to school in her pjs now could I? Last week at parent teacher conference I asked the teacher that very question. I explained the difficulty we were having and asked what she would do if I sent Madison to school in her pjs. She told me she would completely understand. Whew that was a relief!! So we put our new plan into action. We set up a sticker chart for Madison to get a sticker for every morning she gets up and gets herself dressed. She will get a small reward at the end of each chart and a trip to the Dells at the end of the school year when she completes 4 charts. We also bought her an alarm clock. I don't know why didn't I think of this earlier. Since we started last week she has gotten herself up every day and I have not had to send her to school in her pjs. Well its a small victory, but a victory none the less!!!

Another Snowy Weekend

We have been under a blizzard warning since yesterday. We have had a lot of snow but the blizzard (thankfully) has so far not emerged. We did purchase a snow blower yesterday. It will make things a lot easier!! I don't know if my back could handle too much more shoveling this year. During the break in the snow today I hit the clearance sale at Sears and got some great deals. I replaced Madison's winter coats too for less than $10.00 each. She has broken the zipper out of every jacket this year. Its so funny to see all the winter things on clearance for the end of the season when it is still snowing so hard.

I'm counting down the days too... it is less than a month until Desiree arrives!!!

Weekend Report

Well we survived our long weekend. We had Dan's niece and nephew from Thurs-Sun. I took them to Dino Days/Paleo Fest at the Burpee Natural History Museum and Discovery Center on Sat. They had a blast. The Burpee has a juvenille T-Rex on display, named Jane. She is amazing and almost complete. The kids were fascinated by her. The museum is working on a new set of dino bones: a Triceratops named Homer. We can't wait for the unveiling. There were dinosaur crafts at both museums. It was our first time at the Discovery Center and the kids fell in love with it. Our nephew said that he didn't know you were supposed to get so much exercise at a museum. They were all sweating and exhausted. It was pure heaven for Danny. On the first floor he found a construction site, complete with a crane, dump truck, building blocks, hard hats, etc. He spent about 45 minutes loading and unloading (this was Danny size). When we went upstairs he found a giant Thomas table and a huge water table. Madison was fascinated by the pretend bank that had the tube system that they use at drive throughs. Cheyenne was fascinated by the pretend grocery store. Adam loved the virtual sport games. They all were fascinated by the tornado simulator and shadow room. There was a lot of fun stuff to do. We are going to buy a year pass to the museum. I think we will get our moneys worth.
On another note we are having a heat wave-we hit 44 yesterday. It was the first time in over a month that the temp was above 40. Wooohooo!!

George Strait

Last night I got to see George Strait in concert! It was awesome. He is such a good looking man and an incredible singer!! Ronnie Milsap opened for him and I could not get over how great he still sounds.

Valentines Day

Well it was definetly a different kind of Valentines Day at our house this year. I started my day by shoveling 6 inches of frozen snow off the driveway and walkway. I was definetly "Bringing Sexy Back" in Dan's blue work coveralls (they are ugly but warm). Next I was off to the Girl Scout cookie warehouse to pick up 95 cases of cookies. The truck was late getting there and we (me and our troop leader) to pull our own cases, put them on a pallet, have it moved to a loading dock and then load it into a mini van and my jeep. Did I mention there was about a foot of snow that you had to stand in on the lower part of the loading dock. We brought the cookies all back to my house and lugged the 95 cases into my house. Spent the afternoon sorting them and then had all the parents come and pick them. So I helped them carry cases to their cars and carried cases for the 3rd time that day. By the way Thin Mints are the heaviest case of cookie! I definetly have never done that on Valentines Day before.

We did have a nice dinner at the house and tonight I am going to see George Strait (yes Heidi thats for you since I know your reading) and Ronnie Milsap is opening for him, thanks to my very generous husband!!

Madison enjoyed Valentines day at school. Her dad told her they had to throw away all the Valentines from boys though. She just laughed. She got quite a candy hall from her classmates.

Danny received a heart shaped box of chocolates with a train on the front and he was in 7th Heaven over his Valentine. He ate all 4 pieces in one sitting and walked around all day saying Happy Valentines Day. It was sooo cute.

I don't think I have ever been so cold in my life

It is -13 degrees right now outside with the windchill making it -25. it is supposed to get down to -33 by the morning, with a high for the day of -1. The schools are cancelling classes because of the cold! I have never seen seen cold like this before and it is quite a shock to my system. I had to go grocery shopping yesterday and it was -2 degrees and I thought I was going to freeze, but I stocked up so we don't have to leave the house (i'm learning).

Kit and the New Hair Cut

Madison's wish from Santa was an American Girl doll named Kit. She had been asking for the doll for about 5 months. She never waivered on what she wanted. She told us a few weeks before Christmas that if she got Kit for Christmas she would cut her hair to match Kit's. I have wanted her to cut her hair for awhile to make it more manageable.

She go the doll for Christmas and the next day she said "Mom we have to go get my hair cut" I took her to the beauty salon and they cut off 12" of hair and she donated it to Locks of Love.

I think she looks just like Kit. They both even have freckles!!

1st Lost Tooth

Madison recently lost her first tooth. She looks so cute with her missing little tooth. She has several other loose teeth too. She went back to school from Christmas break and wondered if the kids would recognize her with her new hair cut, her missing tooth and new clothes.

Thought I abandoned you didn't you?

I haven't been posting much-the flu, ear infections, etc have been running rampant through our house along with just general busy ness.

It is COLD here!! It is 9 degrees right now but I am sure it is less with the wind chill. I am freezing my back side off!! This is my first full winter here and everyone keeps telling me how mild this winter has been. It isn't mild anymore!! It is cold!! It has been snowing most days. I do find it beautiful and I don't mind sitting and watching it through the window from my well heated home!! We have been sledding quite a bit. Our house is at the top of a sloped driveway with the perfect hill for sledding. Danny cracks me up because he only wants to ride on my lap. Madison is a daredevil though. She runs and jumps on it on her knees and goes flying down. she also has the best tolerance of the cold. Danny had discovered Hot Cocoa!! He really likes it. I am not sure he likes to drink it as much as he likes to warm his hands with the warm cup.

Every day I send Madison to school wearing her snowsuit, snow boots, hat, scarf and gloves. It is so funny. She looks like the kid from Christmas Story that couldn't put his arms down.

I have discovered that there are different kinds of snow too. The other day when I walked Madison to the bus we noticed that the snow was lighter and fluffier than we had been having. We started catching them in our hands and they looked so pretty. Just like the photos you see of perfect snowflakes but they were so small and delicate.

Thankful

I am a lot to be thankful for.... I am especially thankful for my husband and children. They are a blessing to me each and every day. I am thankful for incredible friends who accept me for who I am. I am thankful that we are healthy. I am so thankful that Glenda is out of the hospital and is doing well. I am thankful for the rest of my family. I am thankful for mild weather so far this year. I am thankful for Madison's teacher, who is such a blessing to her. I am thankful for the opportunity to be home with my kids and do fun mom things with them. I am thankful for all the blessings in my life.

The Gingerbread Man

Danny and I went on a photo tour recently. A friend from California's son started kindergarten this year. He made a gingerbread man and is mailing him around the US to have him visit with other people and learn about new places. Danny and I drove him to the the Illinois/Wisconsin border and took his photo on the Welcome to signs for both states. We also went to the Illinois tourist center and looked at brochures. It's funny how you never think to do stuff like that when you don't have a particular reason. We picked up a whole bunch of brochures and learned a lot of new stuff about our area. We found out there was a car museum right here in Roscoe. Dan took Danny to check it out. Who knew you could visit a Grateful Dead tour bus, a Richard Petty Race Car and the Flinstone mobile right here in little old Roscoe? Well we hope the Gingerbread Man had fun during his stay with us. He has left for his new destination. Run, run little Gingerbread Man.

Danny's 3rd Birthday

I can't believe my baby is 3. He is so big anyway that it is hard to think of him as a baby, but now he is also leaving his baby ways behind and becoming more like a little kid. I am sad to see that part go but I am also thrilled to see him blossoming into a little person. We took him to ride Thomas on Sunday and he didn't know where we were going. We were at the railroad crossing to get into the Railway Museum when the RR crossing bars came down and Thomas came chugging down the tracks. Danny started shaking with excitement. He couldn't believe he was seeing Thomas in real life. He asked if we could ride Thomas. Of course!!! He was so excited the whole time. The Illinois Railway Museum is pretty cool even without Thomas. They have over 2 1/2 miles of old trains. Danny wanted to climb on and touch every one. He was so thrilled when we actually rode Thomas, he had a look of sheer bliss on his face. We had a small dinner and cake at our house last night for his birthday. I made a Train cake with tracks and everything. Danny was so excited. All day long he asked "Can we eat cake?" and he was thrilled when the time finally came.

Thomas

Today we are taking Danny to ride Thomas, he doesn't know about it. He is turning 3 this week, how can that be? We decided to surprise him with the trip to Thomas for his birthday. I can't wait to see his face when he sees a "real" Thomas. His little buddy Zach came over to bring him a present on Friday and they were so cute. Zach is 2 also and he and Danny get along famously. Danny is so excited to have his own friend.

Success

We made it through the 1st week of 1st grade. Madison did great. She has a teacher she really likes and has even made a few new friends. She did better than I expected for being at school all day. She likes eating lunch at school. She only ate the cafeteria food once (she's so picky) and took her lunch the other days. She loves recess -who wouldn't. There were only tears once at school when she got nervous the first day after lunch and couldn't find her teacher. Daddy brought her home a new barbie for having such a great week. The other success this week is that Danny has actually used the potty a few times. These are our first successes with the potty so I am thrilled beyond belief. I can't wait to be done with diapers (it has been for the last 6+ years straight). Dan surprised me for our anniversary this week by coming home early with flowers and jewelry. Then he took me out to dinner while his mom watched our kids. We went to the Olive Garden and it was so yummy, we haven't been since before we moved. It was a nice treat.

Happy Anniversary and the 1st Day of School

Today is mine and Dan's 9th wedding anniversary. We are going out to dinner alone tonight. Today is also the first day of school. Madison started 1st grade. I can't believe she is growing up so quick. she was very nervous, but I am sure she will be fine. Danny and I drove up there after I put her on the bus and went and peeked in on her. She was so excited to see us.

Fruits( and Vegetables) of my Labor

Well all my attention to the garden is paying off. We had strawberries already and some black raspberries (Madison fell in love with these and would eat every last one right off the plant). Now my other raspberries are starting to ripen too. My vegetable plants have vegetables on them and they are beautiful. We picked the first cucumber the other day. It is really cool to have grown everything ourselves. I feel like a farmer!!