Smiles and giggles...well sorta

We are bummed about the Vikings losing to the Eagles...but we enjoyed the season and the boys liked the quality time they got with daddy, whether it be at home or up at the O club. We still watched with daddy, just a little differently with him this last time and still had a blast eating popcorn and cheering on our Vikings.





























So little N is growing fast and stays awake a lot more, but in a good way. He is alert during the day and likes the interaction that lil' J & M give him during the day. Friday night I think I even made him laugh...that airy sort of laugh...but it also stunned him a little and he starred wide eyed wondering if that noise came out of his little body. He has also started making other noises out of his mouth that aren't crying or grunts and more like happy baby babble.














He is also a good sleeper at night and he sleeps around 6 hours a night in one big stretch...usually from 9-3am and that is very appreciated by me since I am virtually a single parent at the moment. Now if I can remember to go to bed when he does I would be even more rested.

Christmas Recap

A quick family photo...N is awake, but not looking.



















J came home from school looking like Rudolph.



















LongWood Gardens, this picture doesn't do it justice.



















CHEESE!!














So Christmas has came and gone so it is time to recap the great time we had as a family. J's mom flew in on the 20th and stayed til the 24th. During her time here J had a ton of stuff going on at work and had to prepare for his big trip...which I will touch on a little later in the recap. However, we did manage to go to LongWood Garden in PA. It was spectacular and if we are still here next year for the holidays we will definitely be returning with the boys. It is 600 acres with walking gardens, greenhouses, and fountains. For the holidays they also decorate with 500,000 lights and the fountains put on a special music/light show. After freezing our ears off, note to self remember hats not just for the boys next time, we warmed up eating at PF Changs...one of my favorite and boys favorite restaurant which J's mom hadn't been to before. The boys had school still while she was here so during the week it was pretty much the same routine with some Christmas shopping thrown in. We enjoyed her stay, hopefully she wasn't too bored during the week. We also opened gifts from that side of the family, which was good because Santa needed some space under the tree.

Speaking of Santa, we had a nice morning opening presents on Christmas. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the joy that the boys felt that morning...however lil' J thought there were TOO MANY toys to open and got mad. I think he might change his mind by next year though. The boys got more Star Wars Hero figures, GeoTrax station and airport, suitcases, giftcards, books, money, etc...too much to list. But we enjoyed our family time and J and I have sore little fingers from opening and untwisting all those toys from their packaging to prove it.

That afternoon we made our way over to our friends to share a meal and to play some RockBand 2. We put together a pretty good band with taking turns singing, playing the drum kit, and guitars. M really enjoyed playing the drums and was sweating from all the energy he was putting into it. This maybe on our short list of investments in the future, we shall see what kind of space we shall have in our next house.

J left on a trip on the 27th and will be back in March, so we went out and used some of the giftcards and ate at one of his favorite restaurants Carrabas on the 26th...yum yum! We came home and he finished packing, writing the Christmas letter, and said goodbye to the boys.

J got to his destination ok and we were able to webchat and watch the Vikings beat the Giants!! That was a great present for J who has been watching and listening all season and was worried that he was going to miss this important game.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and we look forward to a new year with our expanded family and new adventures.

The New Little Man in the House

J as a Jedi!














J blowing out his four candles and making a wish.














Ready to come home from the Hospital.














The new big brother and the little guy.














Proud big brother M.

So it has been 2.5 weeks since lil' N has been born and I thought I better update with some pictures. We have definitely been busy around here, but we were lucky enough to have my mom and dad out for 2 weeks helping out with everything. N is good little baby and sleeps good at night and really isn't all that fussy. I was home in time from the hospital to celebrate Thanksgiving at home and also celebrate J turning 4. We had gone to Chuck E Cheese earlier so it was just a little party with family presents.

Christmas Wish List 2008

So Christmas is fast approaching and I thought I would take a little time to share what the boys were getting and wishing for this holiday...maybe it will give you ideas for your kids as well.

M will be getting a Razor Scooter from his brothers, both were along to help pick it out **wink**wink** at least J picked it out. M will also be getting some more leap pad book sets since everyone seems to be clearancing them out for the new tag system...new system seems pretty cool, but we already have the leap pad original stuff. He is also getting a Star Wars color wonder book...those magical markers that only work on special paper...the only way to go with these boys and markers. I also believe he is getting Lego Indiana Jones for the WII from Gma K and Gpa T. I think I have a good start but don't have THEE gift of the year for him yet...he has of course circled and has made a list of what he wants in some of the ads. However, we are at the point were we are very picky about what comes into the house due to space limitations, having a new baby in the house that will be trying to eat things in a couple of months, and the big move to the new house.

J seems to get shorted due to the fact he plays with everything that M has and with his bday so close. I think that Gma K and Gpa T are sending a 3 wheel scooter and the Color Wonder Magic Light Brush from Crayola...he LOVES his crafts. I have picked up the Wall-E game for the VSmile and considering getting the Backyardagains one as well. I did pick up a Hot Wheels WII game since he loves being a big boy and playing the WII and also plays a lot with his little cars. I suggested a ceiling solar system for him to my sister...the boys already have glowing stars and a moon that will glow with different waxing and waning stages and they seem to enjoy those at night. Again nothing really big is coming to mind to be the gift of the year...

As far as the new little man...well he won't know any better at this point...I did pick up a new baby cell phone and play keys for the babe...so the boys will have something to say they got their little bro. I see diapers and formula under the tree for the newbie.

And for the adults of the household...J got a new video camera a couple of months ago and has been playing with it ever since...it is way better then the one we got 6 years ago and I can actually watch the footage...I get motion sickness from the old one. He is also looking at putting money towards a new laptop he can take on deployments...which benefits me since he won't be taking my precious computer. As for me...a vacuum.....but not any old vacuum...the Animal Dyson DC17 . With moving in a couple of months we are going to need a better vacuum, the house we are being moved to has carpet everywhere and with as much traffic as we have with boys and 2 dogs we need it. Not very romantic, but something I am excited about.

Happy Early Birthday Lil' J!

So we celebrated J's 4th Birthday on Friday at good ol' Chuck E Cheese. I think the kids had a blast and heck I didn't really have to do much to prepare...that was the best part for me. The kids ate some pizza and cake, played games and climbed the tunnel tubes and got a chance to be one on one with Chuck E. I can't believe he is going to 4 later this month. There have been a lot of new adventures with J this year...school, finishing potty training, swimming lessons, and his overall independence...he is becoming a little man.

More Exciting News

I thought this deserved a post of its own...So.... the Doctor I have been seeing the last couple of visits has decided that I should be induced on the 24th of November. She really took pity on me apparently. So no more stress over when to buy my parents plane tickets or how much time before J leaves on his next big 60 day trip. I should be back home for Thanksgiving...cooked by mom of course, and back for Lil' J's Birthday as well.

October Review

So it appears I have skipped all of October. It was a fun filled month with a trip to the Pumpkin Patch...sorry no pics...a couple trips to Six Flags, which we bought the 2009 memberships to so many more trips to come when it opens again in April, A garage sale to get rid of some of the extra stuff we seem to be moving from house to house with and a little extra cash in the pocket, J got his ATP testing done, and of course all the Halloween Festivities. For those wondering what the kiddos went as J is Jango Fett the Bounty Hunter and M is the head Clone Trooper from Star Wars.

Lil' J started going to preschool 3 days a week this month, he seems to be doing well at school, but says he will miss me while at school. I don't know if it is that or that he miss not getting to play pbskids.org while at school....he enjoys being on the computer just as much as daddy does.

The lil' Man is Growing Up

So since I have last posted lil' J has started preschool at the CDC. He goes in the morning for 3 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays...so far so good. He talks about it all the time and him and M get start comparing their "school" day and what amenities they each have. Since starting school J has also been very diligent about using the potty and has only had an occasional dirty that snuck up on him. He is very proud of himself and really does like wearing big boy underware.

This past weekend the family also went to a Car Race/War Bird event that J got tickets for free through work. It was neat to see the old WWII planes fly and the boys had fun pointing out their favorites, but it was a warm day with lots of walking and no seating. I am glad the tickets were free. Afterwards we went out to PF Changs...yum yum good!! The boys eat Chinese food so well, they love their chicken, rice, and noodles.

A Whole Week

I promised you some pictures from our vacation back in April so I will start the post with these highlights. The boys had a blast and it was good to go somewhere special as a family.

















































So M has been going to kindergarten for a whole week now. I think we are getting use to getting up earlier, but we are still rushing to get him out to the bus on time...haven't missed yet though. J got back from his "trip" and the family is a unit once again. The boys are excited to have daddy back and are less clingy to me once again...ahhh some space! We have been hitting some J's favorite eating joints, since it has been awhile and food out there gets a little boring. So we have had Carrabbas, ate at a China Buffet, picked up sushi and he got some Chipotle last night.

Yesterday we also went and checked out the preschool program that we have been talking about getting lil' J into. I think we will send him, though he isn't fully potty trained. He has a lot of accidents because of being "too busy", but they said to put pull ups on him and that if he is having too many accidents or messes they will let us know and we can pull him. Hopefully that won't be the case, because I think I will enjoy having the house to myself for a couple hours a week. Maybe things will click after seeing the other kids taking care of business, but we will see.

First Day of ALL Day School!!

So it was M's first day of all day school...last year was just half days. Well I even set my alarm clock this morning, because he is such a slow eater (and picky so I want to make sure he has a good breakfast in case lunch isn't his cup of tea). Well even with getting up at 630 we were the last ones to get to the bus this morning...and then the camera's battery was dead...so only one of the pictures is from this morning and the rest were "recreated" after school.

This one is from this morning.

So the story behind being late was J's refusal to be potty trained and having a nasty this morning right as we were heading out the door...and fearing that he would finger paint my house, I changed him. Any good tips for getting a head strong almost 4 year old to use a potty?

lil' J and I kept busy running errands...blood work and Target...and cleaning the house. The day still flies when he is gone all day, but J didn't get too upset about being left all alone with me all day. Hopefully tomorrow we will get to the bus a little earlier and won't have the morning drama we did this morning.

Bad, Bad Blogger!

So it was March the last time I was on here and now it is September...I don't have that many excuses...ok I do, but they really aren't that good. I know some of you have mentioned that you haven't seen anything new on here in a long time so maybe we can get this rolling again.

So this was Easter.

So what has the family been up to since March...well we went on a family vacation to Washington DC and to Williamsburg VA. We got to go to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and Natural Sciences Museum while in DC. The boys totally dug looking at all the Airplanes and Dinosaur bones. A special treat was seeing R2D2 and C3PO were being housed at the Air and Space Museum while their normal space is being renovated. We then headed down to Historic Williamsburg and stayed 2 nights at the Great Wolf Lodge Water Park...a little pricey, but a very nice resort that has everything right there. We took the boys to the Water Park one day and on the final day we went to the Busch Gardens European Adventures. What a nice amusement park...lots of trees that gave us shade on the warm April day we were there. The boys started off on the small kiddie rides and by the end of the day they were doing BIG rollar-coasters and the giant swinging pirate ship. It was a long 8 hour drive back home to get M's big 5th Birthday Party underway...thank goodness the boys slept through the night on the way back and M went to school to have one less body floating around while we prepared for the Pirate Bash.

In other news...J has had some trips taking him away for parts of the spring and most of the summer so it will be good to have him back in less then a week. While he was away we ended up going back home for the second time, we were home earlier in June for my nephew Derek's graduation party, and had a good visit with family and I had extra hands to manage the boys. The boys had a good time out at my parents farm riding their little gators and the new little 4 wheelers. They also enjoyed eating fresh veggies straight out of Grandpa Rubens garden...stuff I would never get them to eat was wonderful and Delicious because Grandpa grew it.

A breathtaking view from one of J's trip...this one was to Alaska.

M is starting all day kindergarten on Thursday and we went to meet his teacher yesterday and say hello to his old teachers in the Cookie Monster class. He seems really excited and I am so nervous about getting him up and on the bus in the morning, making sure he eats at school, making sure he behaves and listens, etc, etc...you know all the typical stuff.

MOPS is starting another year and I am on the steering team this year and I have been busy the past week getting craft days figured and submitting my wish list to the chapel. I am excited about getting a little more involved with some base functions and getting the boys involved in some other outlets and meeting new kids to play with. In other news we are expecting a new little boy at the end of November...another reason it was great to have extra help with the boys this summer. I have been busy sorting and washing clothes and baby gear since getting back.

Well I hope that I will actually get back into the swing of things with blogging and you enjoyed our short little catch-up of the summer...I will upload some of the highlight photos in the next post...I PROMISE!

2 Months later....

So it has been awhile since I last updated...2 months to be exact...bad blogger...Feb is a short month so that makes a difference right?

SO what have we been up to....

Lil' J and M are still playing Star Wars...Lego Star Wars on the xbox, acting it with things out of the dress-up box (like seen here, don't ask me who he is but it is Star Wars that he is playing), playing with the Star Wars little figures and space ships that we have gotten them over the holidays, building ships and pretend guys from legos for a giant battle, and I even saw M doing it at school with some of his little friends when I went in to help the class. They are pretty dedicated fans.

We got our nice tax refund and helped the economy by purchasing a new couch, love seat and an end table. (Actually brand new too...not from a friend or at a garage sale...although we did get it at a Clearance center)

J has been going on "trips" here and there.

I have joined our local MOPS group.

We finally whined enough and housing installed new cabinets and counter-tops in our kitchen. Notice the 5" gap I have between my oven and a half and the counter....moving that huge thing is a pain...and the gaps was actually spread on both sides...otherwise it wasn't anywhere close to the exhaust fan to make any good for that. I think the boys had it out for me as well and they would through their toys back there and I would have to move the whole oven out to get the precious toy they thought would be fun to put back there. I will post pictures of the after maybe in a couple months...since that seems to be my tendency. Lets just say I LOVE my new cabinets and counter-tops and now if they would come back and finish the job and replace the trim board that goes around my door frame.

J has started his Masters program. He has two classes currently all CD and Internet based...lots of papers and that is about it.

I took the boys out in the snow a couple weeks ago (we really haven't gotten any all winter) and actually built a snow man and started building a snow fort with a brick maker. The y had a blast...well except J, he just wanted to do the opposite of what M thought would be fun.

I have been going into M's class a couple times to help out with special parties/activity days. Green Eggs and ham was the most recent one, and they did make Green Eggs and ham with some toast....the toast was the only thing the M ate.


SO that is about it for now...until next time...

Some Pictures of 2007

Thought I would share some great pictures from 2007 as we start the great year 0f 2008...

A great one of the boys that we used for Christmas. Of course decked out in the vikings gear...too bad the season couldn't have been better!







The Boys looked so cute...too bad mom and dad couldn't pull it together for the family photo at Jessica's wedding.











We tried camping with the boys for the first time this year...in our own backyard. The boys had a blast and the weather was comfortable...but mom and dad sure are getting soft...next time we better get the air mattress out!









Our Lil' J turned 3 this fall! He is getting to be such a big boy! He is so my little ham!


















M had fun this summer with a slip and slid he got for his Birthday, he would be out on it 24/7 if we let him.



We sure had a busy 2007! There are more great memories to come!

Oh how time flies!

So the last post was right at Thanksgiving...and now it is a couple days past Christmas...so this should tell ya how busy we truly are around here...
My parents were out for a visit--we saw NYC decked out for the holidays, we went to Hershey PA to the Hershey Fun Factory, went shopping, ate out and they also helped get our place decked out for Christmas (too bad that we really didn't get any snow besides the storm that they came in on and that the wind totally knocked everything over almost everyday).
J has had possible trips to go on, but all them so far have not panned out...we wish he would have gotten onto at least one and relieved that he was not on another trip. He is all done with his upgrades and now has been stuck with an office job for at least another month.
M has been home from school and said that he got everything he wanted for Christmas...thanks to all of you who sent us presents...the kids had a blast opening presents. Before school let out they had a Holiday party that I went in to help with...he is such a good little boy and I count my blessings that he has 2 wonderful teachers and that he isn't one of the "wild" ones in the class.
J has officially moved to a big boy bed. We spent a wonderful afternoon and a great store called IKEA...for those of you who have been to one know what I am talking about when I say it is an awesome shopping experience and everyone needs to go at least once...but we ended up walking out with a bunk bed for the boys...a low one that has J's bed literally on the floor and M's bed is maybe up only 4 feet. The boys were totally pumped at the idea of a bunk bed after visiting cousins this summer. They are definitely enjoying a larger footprint of play area.
So what did I get for Christmas you may be asking...well I got a van earlier this fall and a washing machine this summer that were pretty big ticket items, so J and I decided on spending a little less on Christmas presents this year. I got a new replacement chain for a pendant the boys got me for mothers day a few years back. I got him the Guitar Hero III for his Wii, and technically the Wii we got this summer was the family gift....thankfully we got it then when we a little extra money from his trips and when they were still easier to find! The boys got a ton of great toys, Star Wars themed are always a huge hit, and have been busy testing them all out.

We hope that you have had a great Holiday Season and hope that you have a great 2008!

Happy Pre-Thanksgiving!!

I hope that everyone has a great gobble day tomorrow. We will be playing it low key...saving up energy for the madness of Black Friday. Since we have to have things mailed out we have a lot of the extended family shopping already completed, but really need to get going on presents for the boys. So what is on the wish list of the boys this year...well they really aren't that vocal about it.
M did say he wanted the new Crayola Color Explosion Glow Board and he also said he wanted some Transformers, which are very popular with his friends even though he isn't allowed to watch the movie...good flick just not for kids IMO. We will also probably get him the Lego Star Wars II game for the xbox, he pretty much has the first one mastered.
J is a little harder...he pretty much goes with the flow and does everything that M does too, plus his birthday is the 28th of November so all the good ideas are usually used then. If anyone has any good ideas let me know I would sure love to hear some!
We are also looking forward to having my parents visit us in 2 weeks. It hasn't been that long since we have seen them, but the boys love having Grandma and Grandpa around to play with. I would really like to head out to NYC and see all the neat holiday decorations and store fronts, we rarely do any mini trips like this unless we have guests to go with. So cross your fingers that it isn't too cold or a Nor'Easterner come through causing us to get iced/snowed in!
Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend, and save some of the good deals for me!

Belated Happy Halloween!!

I don't know about you but it seems like some weeks go by as fast a a day around here sometimes. Halloween week being one of them. We had the office party, M's costume parade at school, and then the real deal of going out around the neighborhood...and by that time I think the whole family was a little Halloween'd out.

J was Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story movies and M was Dash from The Incredibles movie, both had a lot of fun with their characters. I think they set a record for the shortest trick or treating and were out for maybe 30 minutes before coming back with full baskets and wanting to "help" hand out candy.

We also have officially kicked off the Christmas shopping...more things are getting crossed off the list is seems everyday. We are excited to get as much done as possible earlier this year, partly since my folks are coming out in December and we can send some stuff back with them and also while they are here we don't have to worry about shopping for presents and enjoy adventuring to some of the sites.

Outdoor Decorations

Thought I would share a couple of pictures of what the front of our house looks like decorated for fall...not anything overly special. The houses here all pretty much look the same in the section we live in...so its what you put out that allows you to stand out a little more from your neighbors. Most of the time our yard is covered by the outdoor toys the boys think will be fun to play with for a the split second it takes them to drag it out...only to find something that entices them more.

Pictures of the new Ride

ETA: Got the photos up!! The color is a really pretty dark blue..not royal, but not navy either...

I have been trying to upload some pictures of the new van...but blogger isn't cooperating right now...so hopefully I will try later and have a little more success.

We received a letter today saying that we got yard of the month...for our section anyway and that we will receive a $25 gift card and are in the running for yard of the year. I will try to upload pictures of our yard later as well.

M is home sick form school today, he was running a low fever last night and complained that his head hurt and even took a nap and went to bed early...you know something is wrong when that happens! He is feeling better today, just has a headache..at least he says he does. He had a good day at school yesterday...his first field trip! They went to a local apple orchard and he got to bring home 3 apples and I guess he has a pumpkin at school they are going to paint up.

On Saturday afternoon the family meet up with J's coworkers at a pumpkin patch and went out picking pumpkins and going through a couple of corn mazes. We managed to come home with 3 standard size pumpkins and a giant 70 lb pumpkin that J got to carry. The boys enjoyed running around in the field and also in the maze trying to find their way out.

Home Again...

I have totally been a slacker to the blog...but we have had a really busy September with the mini vacation and getting back into the routine of being home once again. M is back at school and had school pictures yesterday, and once again lil' J is adjusting to having his afternoons all by himself.

We have been van shopping, as previously posted we were leaning towards getting something different for the little green machine (aka the Bravada). After a many long hours the past couple months researching on the Internet we were narrowing it down between the Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey....more towards the Sienna due to the lower price....we spent another week tracking down the perfect van with all the features we wanted, price range we wanted to stay within and the miles that were acceptable. Well we had a breakthrough yesterday and found one and liked it....so we have a new addition to to the family...maybe I can get a picture of it soon to show everyone....it is a pretty blue!! So far we are enjoying all the van has to offer and the boys are so excited about it as well!