b book...

Brianna reading to Bryce. :)

friends and fun and crafts...oh my...

I think the titles of my posts get more lame every time. Anyway, I have a bunch of stuff to share since I last posted, so lets get to it.

Last weekend we headed to WI to visit with some friends. Abbie and Chris graciously invited us to their house along with the Isaacsons. We headed to their house late Friday morning and arrived to beautiful weather. The kids ran around outside and played and the adults caught up on what was going on in each of our lives. The boys got to play some golf on Saturday, while the girls did some crafts and ran around outside some more, the weather was PERFECT, and when they got back from golfing we took the kids to the park. Saturday night after the kids were in bed (and all were sleeping except Brianna...big surprise on that one) we started playing Guitar Hero World Tour. My wonderful husband got this for me for my birthday, and it is seriously hours of entertainment, especially when there is alcohol involved. There was tons of laughter and I don't think I will ever forget the singing, dancing around, banging on the drums, and some choice quotes that were said that night, which will not be posted here because well...this is a family blog. Abbie and Chris were such wonderful hosts and it was so good to finally meet little Samantha. Brianna had so much fun playing with Andrew and Holly's two little girls Ella and Lily and Bryce ate up all the attention that was given to him. I know I enjoyed chatting and catching up with Abbie, Holly, Andrew and Chris and Bob most definitely had fun playing golf with Andrew and Chris. I was having so much fun I didn't even take out my camera the whole weekend. Abbie has some over on her blog and Holly said she'd be posting some soon (no pressure...I know you're busy :). We are so very blessed to have such wonderful friends. Thank you again Abbie and Chris for letting us invade your house.

This week has been pretty low-key...but today we did a craft that Holly told me about. Brianna had so much fun making these (anything that lets her use glue and stickers will make her happy). I made Bryce's (obviously) because even though he's not big enough to do this stuff himself, I love having both of their crafts hanging on the wall or whereever they may end up (Brianna is pushing for daddy to take them to work...so we'll see). I absolutely love crafts that incorporate hand and/or foot prints. They are my favorites because beyond the decorating and the little touches Brianna puts on her projects, there is something so personal about them being made from their hand/footprints. It is a part of them, the part that reminds me to cherish these moments because they won't be this small for very long.

Enough with the rambling...here is a picture of the butterflies.

Have a great weekend everyone...hopefully I'll be back before long.

going purple...

All the small things is going purple. This is the first chance I've had to make the change. We are going purple to honor Ian and Maddie and all the premies who have lost their battle, and in honor of McKenna and all the ones who fought and are still fighting to stay healthy. The March of Dimes is a wonderful organization, one that I whole-heartedly support and am happy to send my money to each year. The March of Dimes deserves your support because they help these babies have a fighting chance at a healthy life, and I think we all agree that every baby deserves that. So, go here or here and give what you can...do what you can to give these babies the best start in life.

easter...

I hope you all had a great Easter. We had a very good, but busy weekend. We were in Iowa from Friday night until Monday morning. We had a great time with family, although there was a definite lack of sleep on the part of the kids and myself :) I think that I don't want to spend my time with my family sleeping because it seems like we don't get to see everyone much so I tend to not sleep much at all while at my parents. But we had a great time and it went too fast as always. We had Jackson's birthday party Saturday and Sunday consisted of candy, Easter egg hunts, naps and spending time with family. A perfect day in my opinion. Yesterday we left mom and dad's about 10 (and only forgot a few things) and headed to Galesburg to stop by the business office. We stopped and had lunch with Steve and Alli (and then Alli & Gavin accompanied us to Galesburg as well). We got home about 7:30 last night and are trying to recover today. We take off again Friday for WI to visit some friends so in the 2 remaining days this week I need to get laundry done and the house cleaned up. We'll see how that goes. :) We are looking forward to seeing some friends we haven't seen in far too long, so we are all excited about the coming weekend. Hope you all had a very Happy Easter filled with family and friends.

I'm uploading a bunch of pictures from the weekend to shutterfly, so feel free to take a look.

I'll leave you with a couple here. Have a great week everyone!

crazy day...

I'm tired already. :) I've been up since 5am. I do not get up at 5am EVER. I woke up and all the little things I needed to do today started running through my head...the things I needed to remember to pack, the kid's Easter basket stuff, pictures, camera (you get the picture). So of course I could not go back to sleep. So I actually got up and decided to be productive. I think everything is ready to go except that I still have to pack clothes for the kids and myself (which you would think would be the biggest concern...but...no). The house is picked up and the dishes are done. We've got about 6 more hours before we have to be out the door, and in that time I have to pack clothes, shower, get dressed, get the kids dressed, feed everyone, pack the car and get out the door so we get to Bryce's 4 month checkup ontime so we can then leave for Iowa. Whew...and did I mention that I've been up since 5 and am running on no caffine? Since I gave up pop for lent and don't drink coffee I'm kind of SOL today. :) I realize today that I am insane, what woman in her right mind gives up pop/caffine with 2 small kids at home? Anyway, Mr. Bryce just woke up (yes, he has been sleeping since last night...this is why I don't get up at 5am EVER) and is probably starving...so I'm off to get moving on this day...again. I leave you with a couple new pics of the kids. Happy Easter everyone!

there are no adequate words...

I've mentioned before how I tend to blog hop starting out reading this one, and then ending up somewhere many clicks away from where I started. Well about a year or so ago, I blog hopped my way over to The Spohrs are Multiplying. I read whatever post happened to be up that day, which was (I'm sure) funny and had some adorable pictures of Maddie. So, I added it to my Google reader. I went back through their archives and found out more about Maddie and was drawn in by her story. Maddie was a preemie, born 11 weeks early. As any of you who have been here before know, my cousins, Dale and Suzanne, have had 2 preemie babies both born 25 weeks gestation. I was hooked, and have been reading their blog ever since.

When I opened my Google reader yesterday, I saw a post that little Maddie had passed away on April 7, and I cried. I cried for a little girl I have never met and for her parents, family, and friends. There have been hundreds of posts written about Maddie in the last 2 days and as of now over $18,000 has been donated to the March of Dimes in her name. She has touched so many in her too short 17 months on this earth.

My thoughts and prayers are with her family. Thank you for sharing your beautiful angel with all of us.

following her lead...

In honor of Jodie's air it out post I've decided to give it a shot myself...


1. Our kids have no bedtime routine, it is not unusual for Brianna to be awake at 10pm (or later) this is our fault, but I do not have the patience to try to instill a bedtime routine.

2. I try to give the kids a bath every other day, but that doesn't always happen (read...almost never) Heck we are stuck inside all day, every day...how dirty can they be?

3. The thought of packing up 2 kids in carseats to drive down the block to the store (when it is too cold to walk) makes me want to cry, so we don't go anywhere.

4. I often threaten that we will not go somewhere because of bad behavior, but don't often follow through because it is usually more punishment for everyone else than it is for her.

5. I have showered 1 time since last Friday, it was also the only time I've left the house since then.

6. I can't remember the last time I dusted. Our living room furniture is supposed to be a dark wood, instead it looks gray.


7. I have stood in the shower until the hot water runs out because it is the only place I occasionally have some privacy.


8. Our 3 year old has a TV in her room, and it is on every night when she goes to bed.


9. I didn't feel guilty having Brianna in daycare. I realize now how many less dirty diapers I had to change while she was there. (plus she loved it)


10. I've taken a shower and put on the same (dirty) clothes I've worn and slept in for days on end...more than I care to admit.


There are a million more, but I'm not brave enough to share all of them :)


I'm embarrassed about these things because of the way I think people will react to them not because I'm truly embarrassed about them (well maybe the shower thing :)).
I just watched the Oprah show from yesterday and it is funny how I related to the mom's on there who said a million things I've been thinking, so I wonder why I still feel so ashamed of all the things I feel and why I wrote and edited this post about 15 times before I even felt slightly comfortable posting this.

twenty-nine...

In just a few hours I will technically turn 29 (7:12am). I will hopefully be in a blissful sleep at that time. In all honesty, most days I can't remember what age I am (it is a good thing I was born in 1980 so I can usually figure it out pretty quickly...as long as I remember what year it is :)) Some days I feel 80, and other I feel like I'm just a kid playing house. I look and my life and wonder where the time has gone. How is is possible that I have an almost 4 year old, and that my little man turned 4 months old today? My life has turned into a cliche...the days go slowly but the years go by so fast.
As I sit here thinking about the turns my life has taken in these last years, I find that while there are some aspects of my life that I thought would be different (job/career), there are other things...the important things...that are exactly(or better) than I always imagined they would be. I have a wonderful, loving husband, 2 great kids, and incredible family and friends. So, my gift to myself this year is to live in the now, to be grateful for what I have in this moment, and to not dwell on the things I don't "have". I tend to get so wrapped up "what-if's" and "if only's" and always wishing there was more...more time, more money, more space, that I don't realize that in reality I have all I ever need.
So, I am embracing 29 and all it's possibilities. Here is to the peace in knowing that I'm exactly where I want (and am supposed) to be.