Where do I begin???

I'm sitting here slightly overwhelmed!!! There's been so much going on here lately and there are so many things I want to put here so that I can remember in the future! But where do I begin??? Hmmm. Maybe I'll start at last Thursday and go forward from there. It might just be the easiest way to remember it all!!!

Last Thursday wasn't supposed to be very warm, and the plan was to take the kids to the pool one last time before school started for the year. So we scrapped that plan and decided to take them to the local zoo. We figured the weather would be nice for that. Well, wouldn't you know by the time we got to the zoo it was HOT outside? It was really warm, but the kids still had a great time! I tried out the "baby leashes" with the twins, so I would know if they'd work for the state fair when we went. .. the answer to that was a great big NO!!!! They drove me BATTY with those on! They pulled mommy in all kinds of directions. I guess we'll be pushing the stroller for a while longer!!!!

This picture is Kaleb and Kendyl at the end of their "rope" while walking around the zoo!!

Then Friday during the day we left for my parents camper. The weather for the weekend couldn't have been more beautiful!!! The kids were able to spend a lot of time at the beach fishing, and swimming. The water was a bit cold though, so they also did a lot of playing on the beach! Saturday I was lucky enough to get a visit from my best friend since 8th grade, Karina. It was so nice to get to catch up with her! I don't get to see her nearly enough!!!! The kids and I came home from that trip on Sunday. I took a TON of pictures though!!!

All my kiddos up at the camper. I LOVE this picture!

Gabriel, 6 years old

Kendyl, 3 years old

Kaleb, 3 years old

Dallas, 7 years old

Braving the chilly water

Doesn't he just look so cool???

Kendyl pouting because Kaleb was using the goggles, and she wanted them.

Kendyl got hit in the ear, and asked for an ice pack. They didn't have any, only a pack of burgers. So she used the burger ice pack to feel better. IT gave her the giggles, and worked rather quickly!!!

Kaleb and his big catch for the weekend! He was SO proud!

Karina!! I miss seeing her!

Eating breakfast with Grandma Marian (my grandma)

mmmmm, french toast and bacon

Kendyl and papa found a butterfly! She was SOOOO proud!

Kaleb's turn to hold it

Can you just imagine how COLD that water was with his face???

My mom

We did a lot of fishing, as I mentioned before. Mostly just bobber fishing right off the dock, because that's what the kids like. Usually they catch sunfish, crappies, and perch. We'd not had much luck, and all of the sudden Gabriels bobber went down in a hurry, and his reel started spinning and clicking. IT freaked him out because it happened so quickly. My dad hopped up to go help him out, and I got the other kids out of the way. Gabriel reeled up his fish, and we were FLOORED with what he'd caught. He caught a 22 inch northern on his little tiny batman pole, while BOBBER fishing!!!!! Look at this thing!!! It was a big fish for that pole!!!! And notice the pride on Gabe's face!!!!

That thing was pretty big. Skinny, but big.

Dallas pulling in a little sunny, after hoping for a northern to keep up with his brother!

Round two with Gabe. Not even five minutes later he caught a SECOND norther off the dock! All totaled that day we caught 4 northers, 10 crappies, and 5 sunfish, just off the dock with bobbers!!! The kids LOVED it!!!

Gabriel and my dad. This one was a bit smaller than the first one.

Yesterday we went to the state fair. Todd was playing in the chapel at the fair. We hung out and listened to him, and then we went out and about in the fair. The kids got to ride the Merry-go-Round for the first time, and had a blast!!! We got some wonderful treasures, like a hand stitched north woods quilt for our new bedroom in the new house, as well as some bear and moose stuff. (I collect bear and moose things!) We were all BEAT by the time we made it to the car. We were able to eat some awesome food that you can only get at the fair, and had a good day as a family!!!

Today was the first day of school for the boys! We were able to meet their teachers last week like I'd previously mentioned. the boys and I got up today, and got them ready, and headed to the new house. I have this tradition of taking the boys' picture by the door on the first day, and the last day so that at the end of the year you can see the difference in growth. Its fun to see. We headed to the new house to take the pictures there, since that's where we'll be by the end of the year. We got their pictures and headed to school. Gabe's teacher was awesome and friendly this morning, and Gabe didn't play the shy card ONCE! I was impressed! Gabe was happy to see some of the boys from his class last year there, and I think that helped some with his anxiety over starting a new school year. Dallas was a little nervous going in. There was so much activity going on in his class that he didn't know what to think!!!!! I'll be curious to know how their days went!!!

First day of school 2008-2009 school year

Dallas, first day of second grade

Gabriel, first day of first grad

There they go! heading for the car to leave for school!

I'm beat! I have so much cleaning to do, and yet I've not done ANY of it yet. I've been sitting here uploading pictures all morning!!!! I suppose, I better get to it!! I only have 2 hours before going to pick up the boys again!!!

Leaving for the lake.

The kids and are getting the last few things we need to get together before we head up to my parents camper for the weekend again! It'll be a very nice way to spend their last weekend before school. The kids LOVE it up there. We'll leave here in just a few, and head up north so that we can beat the traffic rush of the holiday weekend. We'll be back on Sunday so that we can be home Monday to get the kids in bed early! But we're also planning a trip to the State Fair on Monday, so the kids can watch their daddy play!! He's playing in the state fair chapel!



Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Ok Mama bear, back down, it'll be ok.

It always amazes how strong of a mama bear syndrome I get with my kids. If someone upsets them over something that shouldn't have happened, you better believe my blood is boiling. If someone mistreats them, again boiling blood. It doesn't matter the age of the person upsetting them, if I feel its unjust then I get upset FOR them. Now mind you, this doesn't mean I'm always acting on it. I get the feeling and I deal with what NEEDS to be dealt with. Everything else I just realize is me being too sensitive and I have to get over it!

Last night we went to meet the kid's teachers. The boys were really excited to find out who they got and to get that first look at their new teacher! We went to Gabriel's room first because the first grade pod is closer than the second grade pod. We found out that he in fact got a different teacher than what Dallas had had. He got a Ms. Z. Dallas had Mrs. W. And oddly enough, my nephew Kyle got Mrs. W. So we still have the family connection with the same teachers. (Gabe and Dallas had the same kindergarten teacher!!) There were 6 possible teachers he could get, and there was only ONE we knew we didn't want. The one he ended up with was not her so we were ok.

We walked in and it was her and her assistant there greeting parents. Gabriel immediately started to pull his shy act when the assistant tried to introduce herself. He tries to hide behind me and he giggles like a silly fool. So we scratched that and went in search of his desk and the papers we needed to pick up. In the process of that the teacher came over to introduce herself. Again, Gabriel went diving for the shelter of me. I pulled him back around, very much against his will and told him that he needed to speak with his teacher. (now, just a note, Gabe's done this forever. He would come out of kindergarten and being with his teacher and she'd come talk to me while waiting for other parents. He was JUST with her, and he'd still hide. But wouldn't hide in school. Its weird.) Once I got him pulled out front and held there, she got down on his level and began to speak to him. This is when my mama bear moment began. She started to talk to him in a VERY stern voice. One that in my opinion was a bit TOO stern for just meeting someone, but I guess it got the point across. She told him " I don't play these games. You're in first grade now and we don't do this. I asked you a question and I EXPECT you to answer me." I think my jaw about hit the floor. I had the urge to tell her screw you, and run for the door. I had the urge to tell her how DARE she speak to my child that way? Who was SHE to treat him with what I would deem disrespect? She doesn't eve KNOW him. But what happened next is what made me realize I have to back down, and luckily I hadn't said anything yet. Gabriel looked at her, answered her, and even shook her hand. Maybe this teacher will be good for him. Maybe this teacher will be the one to pull him out of his shell some. Maybe this teacher will allow the rest of the world to see the Gabriel we see at home. Maybe.

Its definately going to take some back down thoughts in my head. She's a very. . . .forward person. And those aren't exactly the kind I deal best with. I tend to get defensive myself with those kind of people and it just doesn't set up for a good time. So I'm hoping that this was just the first impression gone wrong. That we'll in fact like her and her teaching style and have a good year. I'm keeping an open mind, and my fingers crossed. So we'll see.


Next we went to meet Dallas's teacher. And fresh off of the experience with Gabe's new teacher I was a bit apprehensive. He got Mrs. T-T. Someone I'd never even heard of before. And come to think of it, I don't know that I'd ever even SEEN her before. She greeted us and gave Dallas a scavenger hunt to work on while we spoke to her. I got a TOTALLY different feel from her. We were able to tell her a little bit about Dallas and his goings on this summer, and how he may be better off sitting up front for a while as his eye is still on the mend. We were able to give her the personal heads up about the ADD meds and how we're watching his heart. She was very kind, and very receptive. Dallas played shy, and when I said to him (when I thought the teacher was talking to someone else!) "why are you being shy? You're NEVER shy!" She turned around and said her son had done the same thing!!!We told her how much of a talker he is and how it just surprised us to see him this way. She said she was told by SEVERAL parents that their kids were talkers, and that that was ok, because she's a talker too! I left her room feeling really good about Dallas's school year, and what he has ahead of him. Hopefully this is a year of better things for him. First grade was really really rough on him. But now with the glasses and the meds I'm hoping he'll have a better chance!!!


I'm sure as they get older the mama bear syndrome will become less and less aggressive. At least I'm hoping so!! I know they're ok, and I know I need to just let things work themselves out. But these are MY babies. MY pride and joy. MY miracles. And darn it, I want to protect them with everything I have!!! I know they need to be prepared for the real world. . .but really, at 6? I don't know about that one yet!!!!

The things people search for, and wind up here!!!

I got the idea from Heather, over at Outnumbered by the Brood to check in on what people are searching for and finding themselves on my page!!! Its rather entertaining actually!!! (and if you're wondering, I do it all through my FEEDJIT by watching live!)




1. Pictures for children on a rainy day: Wound them up on this post. . . hope they enjoyed looking at MY Kids on a rainy day!

2. Children make you cry: Got them this post. I really hope that they were looking for something like that, rather than having a terrible day with their kids, and needing an escape.

3. Family Photo of Kyle and Chucky: Got them THIS post, and talk of Chuck E. Cheese!!! How funny is that????

4. My five year olds colon is stretched to 4 inches, will it ever shink back down: Landed them on this post. I'm sorry dear random reader, I do know the pain you're going through in dealing with a child who's stretched so far that things just aren't pretty. I hope you're having better luck with your child than we are with mine!

5. Rainy day pictures for children: Again, another one for rainy day pictures. . .



Very interesting to see what people are looking for and landing on your blog! Of course I could see all you wonderful people coming and going too!!!

The remainder of 27(hey twin mommies, you have to check this one out!), and a house update!

This is how nice my children were to me on my birthday! They took a nice picture!!!

My birthday. . .yesterday. . . wound up turning out ok. I'd asked Todd to come home with a Mountain Dew, because we were out, and my head was KILLING me from lack of caffeine. He came in the door with a 44 oz fountain pop, since he knows I prefer the fountain pop. (there's still over half of it left today, and that takes into account what my kids got into this morning!) and a funny card for me. Along with 4 milk way candy bars. (I've had a craving for them, so he went over board!) We went and got the kids McDonald's, which was a HUGE treat, because they've not eaten out in quite some time! And we dropped them off at my brother in law, and sister in law's house. Todd and I then headed to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Todd kept bringing it up, so I thought sure, we can't hardly go there with the kids because its WAY too expensive. The food was good, and it was nice to have time with just my husband. In the middle of dinner Todd handed me another birthday card. One that was SO sweet it almost made me cry. During dinner we decided that since the kids were pretty upset that mommy wasn't' going to get to have a birthday party or a birthday cake, that we'd stop at Dairy Queen and pick up a small ice cream cake.

Once we got back in the car, Todd handed me a box, and I knew right away what he'd gotten me. A Willow Tree figurine. I love these figurines, and currently have three in my collection. The one he handed me was called Tenderness and unfortunately was one I'd already had. He said he remembered me looking at it and liking it, but didn't remember buying it!!! Its one that we picked up because Kaleb told me it was me and him, and it was just too sweet not to!! He said he was going to take that one back and exchange it. I'm excited to see what he picks out! Then he said "Ok, how about this one? I know you don't have this one!" And he pulled out another box! In it was again another Willow Tree. It was called Two Together. And oh my gosh is it CUTE!!!! I would HIGHLY recommend it to my fellow twin mommies that read my blog!!! They are gender neutral, and are just too cute!!!! I love them!

We went back to pick up the kids, had some ice cream cake, and then went home to put the kids to bed!!!!!


Todd and I had a discussion at dinner about how all I wanted was the thought. To know that he didn't rush out last minute, and just get me something to get something. He understood how I felt, and even though he DID rush out and get something, the way he gave them to me was special.


Now, onto house stuff. Here's some updated pictures.

New windows on the front of the house!!

It makes SUCH a difference with all that light coming in!

They began tearing things out, and getting the work going!

This looks from what WILL be the master bedroom, down to what WILL be the bathroom.

This is where the tub used to bed upstairs. . .that hole? Yep, you can see the carpet in the room below! YIKES!

This is the wall where the vanity will be going!

Bare naked NASTY kitchen! It needs to be scraped, kilzed, painted, and then cupboards put in!!!

The mess on the carpet below!

Looking back UP the hole.


So, the progress may be slow, but its there!!!!! WOO HOO!!!