water park fun!

Chad came up with an idea to take the kids somewhere for an overnight before spring farming and field prep is in full swing so we decided to go to a water park!  I thought it was a great idea to do something together as a family before he gets so occupied for the next month or so.  We were thinking the Dells, but some of the fun things we want to do with the boys (the Ducks, and mini golf) aren't open now so we opted for somewhere a little closer and just focused on going to an indoor water park.

It was a blast! We were there for over 3 hours strait, which as I write it doesn't sound like a ton of time but believe me it was. Not once did any of the kids whine, complain, ask for food--can you even believe it!!!!  It was Chad and I that got us moving because the two of us were starving.

There was a great area for the smaller kids which all ours loved. Ben did that area all by himself which was awesome. We all enjoyed the hot tub from time to time as well as the (not-so) lazy river. That got to be a little like bumper cars.

Alex sees the giant slides on the far end of the water park so I take him up. He decides to do the body slide. You know the slide where you lay on your back, arms and ankles crossed, flying through the tube? Yeah. He went down and I realized I had to go down too because he was alone at the bottom. Holy hell that scared the crap out of me! I'm getting too old for all that.  After my mini heart attack I found him and him and Chad did those over and over the rest of the day!  Of course Jack wouldn't even entertain the idea of going. He was more than happy to stay by the smaller slides. Maybe next time...

I didn't get any pictures, sorry. I didn't want to lug my camera to the water park and risk it getting wet or stolen. The other part of the trip was us sitting in our hotel room watching TV and eating cookies and grapes.  All in all it was a good trip, nice hotel with plenty of room for all of us and a great time at the water park.  We will definitely have to do it again soon.

march

March already?!? Summer vacation will be here before you know it and I am sooo not ready.  If anyone has any good websites/books with activities for 3,5, and 7 year olds please let me know!

Okay, lets get to the long over due photos...

 

February was filled with a ton of fun things. First was Jack's 7th birthday. To be honest, I had no motivation to throw this party whatsoever. It went just fine but with no frills by any means. This is why I need Lori to plan my parties =)   We were so lucky that Katie and her daughter Grace were able to come for the weekend and we finally got to meet the baby.  She is super cute and probably the best baby I have ever seen. So easy going and go with the flow--probably because she's a girl.

Mom and Dave came up quite a bit last month and helped with the boys. They loved it and we loved it too because it allowed us to spend a night away for my birthday (29 and holding, dammit!) in the Dells. So nice!

Hockey wrapped up last weekend and Alex got a metal and a certificate. He was so proud! They got their picture taken and are going to be in the "news" (local paper). Didn't see it in this weeks, so maybe next.

In an effort to be more efficient and to not have to go all the way back into the store, I have made up a grocery list template.  Hopefully this will work and I can be more organized in the store and get through my shopping quicker.

We shop mostly at WalMart so I organized the categories in order of aisles.  I found  some templates on-line but they weren't set up how I wanted and they were all full sheets. I don't want to carry a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper through the store.  The one I made has the categories we mostly use and the Misc. is for the household items, toiletries, light bulbs, Twizzlers ect. that are on the other side of the store.  I put 2 lists on 1 sheet of paper so hopefully this will be big enough. I'm not sure it will work for big-time shopping but it should be good enough for the week-to-week stuff.  It's a Word doc so I can tweak it if need be. And of course the reminders on the top to use my coupons and bring my re-usable bags. We'll see if it works!



it's cold!

Holy cow it's cold here! I understand it's January in Wisconsin but still...25 below zero wind chills aren't fun anytime.

The plus side to all this cold, crummy weather has been getting a ton done on our basement. We have carpet coming tomorrow and then just some wiring and finishing touches and it will (hopefully) be done. I painted Jack's room and the family room and lets just say I'm done painting for the year. I've stained 25+ baseboards and have 2 doors and a lot of boards for the ledge around the outside walls yet to do. I think I dis-like staining more than painting. It just smells so bad and I can't really crack a window.  I'm excited to get it to where we want it to be which is more usable space.

Not much else has been going on, just the basement re-do.  Boys are doing well in school and Chad still hates his job. Ben is such a sweetie. I really enjoy our days just him and me when both boys are in school.

I got the boys' chore charts done a while ago. They didn't turn out exactly how I wanted (more of a scrapbook feel) but good enough for who it's for. I found a pack of sports theme paper and Jack chose golf balls and Alex a hockey puck. I wrote the days of the week ad 'Things I need to do this week' then put it in a frame. On the glass we will write the chores for that week and the boys can put a check in the corresponding box when completed.  I plan on rewarding their work with some sort of an allowance, just not sure how much yet.

I also found an excellent way to keep all those photo cards we get at Christmas. I am sorry to say I have in the past thrown them away (gasp! I know) because where in the world am I going to keep those? Well, thanks to Pinterest AKA the reason I'm up 'till 1 AM, I found an idea to put them in a book. I just used things I had laying around and make this:

Genius, right?  Now I can store these books with my Christmas stuff and pull them out every year to see how everyone has changed. I really really wish I would have thought of this sooner. I have always wanted to keep the cards but never had a good way to. Now I can look back in ten years and see how big Grace was and then say, "Oh my gosh I'm old!"  =)

I think my next endeavour is a upholstered storage ottoman. Gosh I love Pinterest!

life for us right now

What you see here was a 55" led TV until our "rambunctious" son Alex hit it (accidentally) with a toy. Owned for less than a year, now garbage.  There was punishment haded out and remorse shown. We will not be getting a new TV since it took us over a year to save for this one and we are currently finishing the basement. 

Things with the boys haven't been good around here for a while and it was time for a change for them as well as me.  We had a talk and went over some new house rules.  I am changing the way I behave/react and am hoping that in turn will change some of the boys behaviors too.  So far it has been going very well. The boys have found other things to do since they have no TV in the living room (they can still watch in our bedroom or kitchen).  I have been spending a lot less time on the computer and more time with them.  They have been acting a lot better towards each other which has been so nice.  I'm working on chore charts for the older two to learn some responsibility and maybe earn a little money. I'm also working on a bored jar. Whenever one of them says "I'm bored", they take a slip of paper from the jar and has to complete the task it says. I have some ideas written down, but if anyone has more ideas please let me know!

On to lesser depressing topics!

One idea I found on pinterest was to put all the childrens cups, plates, bowls ect. down low so they can be more self sufficiant. This was the only cabinet I could sacrifice. These "drawers" are old and not supported the best so you can't put too much on them anyway or they won't pull out which makes them great for this kid stuff. It's mostly plastic so it weighs next to nothing and the drawers slide in and out nicely.

I had some random boxes and cans on there that I really never used so I moved them to the pantry and now all the kid supplies down here. It's kind of a duh! why didn't I do that years ago moment, but glad I did it now. The sippys and cups and bowls are in small containers so they don't tip over when the drawer is pulled in and out.  The two small white crates in the back left are super handy. I had more but I can't find them. Extra lids, straws, throw away bowls and other misculanious stuff are in there. This project promted me to re-arange a few other cabinets and am very happy with the results!

Another find that I must share is the reusable dryer sheet. Just soak a small towel (I used a wash cloth) in liquid fabric softener. Let dry and throw it in with your laundry in the dryer. They say it should last about 40 loads. I just started using it so I can't say how long it will last, but I'm loving it so far. Everthing comes out smelling so good and static free! Gotta love it!!

Switching gears again...today was a pretty good day. We were able to buy some stuff over the phone at Menards to cash in on their 11% rebate on everything in the store for the basement. Saved some money and didn't have to wase a day driving there to get it since we are going up there on Wednesday. Made lunch while the boys all built linkin log cabins together. Made a double batch of the best chocolate chip cookies. I had some filling left over from some treats I took to our nieces birthday party yesterday, so we made cookie sandwiches. Not exactly like Mrs. Fields, but close enough!

Chad was done with chores and replaced the service door on our garage while the boys and I went on a walk/bike ride. Jack and I walked, Ben was in the stroller and Alex rode his bike. Jack and I picked up trash like we always do. It's something I started when we moved out here. It keeps them from getting bored on our walks and it keeps our road looking nice. Win-win! Except it's pretty obvious that someone who drinks Keystone Light does a lot of road drinking out our ridge. Not pleased about that since I believe it is one of our neighbors.

Ben fell asleep on the walk so when we got back home me and the older boys played frisbie in the back yard while Ben slept in the stroller in the garage. He was keeping Chad company with his door instillation. I went inside after a bit but the boys stayed outside playing in the sandbox, riding bikes and scooters. It almost sounds more like an afternoon in July rather than in January. I'll take it as long as we don't get snow in July =)

a jack update

Jack has followed in his brothers footsteps and too had his tonsils and adenoids out. We prepared for the worst with him. Alex was sooo easy and him and Jack are two totally different kids so we were bracing ourselves. He did awesome. They took him back to the OR without any Versed to make him loopy (like Alex was). The anesthesiologist was super awesome and fun, telling Jack he was going to fly his fighter plane and asked him where he was going to take them because of the mask they use to put you to sleep. He went back totally calm and it went so smooth.

After a short while he was done and a little while after that they told us to go to secondary recovery where we heard screams. Luckily, it was not our kid! He was sitting quietly on his little bed looking a little sleepy, but for the most part looking great. We were only in there for less than an hour and he was discharged.




These are the only pics I have and he wouldn't sit still long enough for me to take a good one. He is just being silly, not freaking out at all. Oh, and he lost one of his top front teeth before surgery so there is a giant hole in his mouth. Kinda wondered why it is such a huge gap but now his permant tooth is coming in and we see why. IT'S HUGE!!! Oh braces, how we see you in our future.

He was feeling so well, we stopped at Menards so Chad could run in quick and grab a few things for our basement project. To buy this stuff in our town we would almost pay double. We stopped in Shopko to get him a little something for being such a great patient but couldn't find anything and deduced that we will have to stop at the impliment dealer on our way home. He ended up finding a really neat tractor colloring book, little toy, and a cool hat that says JD on the front. I know it stands for John Deere but it also stands for Jackson David. Couldn't pass it up. My Grandpa Obed was the first one to call him JD.

He did fall asleep for a short while on the ride home. That was the only rest he had until he went to bed that night. He was and still is such a trooper. You'd never know he had surgery. He has been out of school all week but we're thinking of sending him back on Thursday or Friday. I think he's looking forward to that.

Jack was so tired tonight he fell asleep in bed with Chad around 7. Chad was taking a nap before work and we were all in bed telling daddy goodnight. He was the last one left in there and fell asleep. I had to carry him into his bed and lets just say that's the last time I'll be able to do that again. He is a big boy!

pinterest

I have just discovered pinterest and I am in love!!! So many neat crafty ideas, recipes, funny quotes, you name it it's on there. Follow me if you dare.

I have been cooking and crafting a lot of different things lately and I thought I'd share some of them.

Mini Pizzas



The photo is terrible but they taste so good. Roll out grands biscuts, sauce and cheese them, and bake them according to the time and temp on the biscuts. I found an awesome recipe for pizza sauce here. We just like cheese, but you can put what ever you want on top. Easy and delish!


Rolo Cookies

Super yummy & super easy to make. Just make sure you follow the recipe for the cookies, not the directions on the back of the cake mix. Best if served warm but good either way. You can pop them in the microwave for a sec and they will taste like just from the oven.

Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring

I've made this twice and it is sooooooooooooo good! The only change I make is I use the 2 tubes of buttermilk biscuts (per the directions) but I coat both sides of the biscuts in the brown sugar/cinnimon mixture before putting them in the pan. Super easy and delish. I see a trend of not-so-healthy foods here, but sometimes you just have to live!


Weekly Family Planner

I started with this $10 frame from WalMart, scrapbook paper, and stamps for the days. Openings are 4x6 and I thought that would be too small, but it works out well for us.

I stamped the days of the week onto the paper. If I want to change out the paper, I can just stamp on the new ones. That and I couldn't find days of the week stickers and don't have any scrapbook supplies (letters, stickers) so this route was cheaper.

Here is the final product sans Wednesday. Someone accidentally broke the glass trying to get the back off so we had to go back to WalMart to get a 4x6 frame for the glass. Good times. You write on the glass with a dry erase marker and it wipes right off. Turned out good and works well so far.



Seasons Frames

Dollar store frames, scrapbook paper, and however you can do the letters. I got 6 different (ugly) frames at the dollar store and spray painted them black. Cut scrapbook paper to fit. Sidenote: did you know all the seasons have six letters? So you will always have enough frames when it comes time for a new season. Just swap out the paper (and letters, of course).

If you own a Cricut, the cutting out of the letters would be super easy. I do not own a Cricut (oh, how nice one would be =) ) so I printed out the letters from the computer and used a projecta scope I had from college to project the immage on the wall. I traced the letters and cut them out with a scissors. Did I mention how nice a Cricut would be? Adhere the letters to the paper, put the backs on, and voila! All or $7 or $8 (including spray paint).

You could also do this with the letters in your last name.

alex is 5!

Big Al is now 5 years old. I can't believe it, although he's looked like a 5 year old for probably 2 years =)  A few things about Alex right now:

• He is in Learn to Play Hockey (after 6 weeks of Learn to Skate) and LOVES IT! We got him a hockey stick and are supposed to cut it off right to the players nose without skates on but we left his in tact so he can use it for more than one year. He is so tall!
• Alex is off the charts in height and weight and what I assume, head circumference. 48" tall and 63 lbs.
• He is really liking school. He goes 2 full days a week which is different from what Jack did.  He is sure pooped after his school days. He rides the big bus to school with his brother and it's so weird to see the two of them at the end of the driveway!  From the house, they look like twins.
• He is in love with video games. Loves his DS and Wii. We are trying to limit his usage but he'd play them all day if you'd let him.
• He always says I love you. He's the only one of my kids who does that. I guess Ben says is it every once and a while too.
• He gives great hugs and loves to cuddle.
• He's a talker like his mother. Comes by it honest.
• He is my fearless boy, willing to make new friends wherever he goes. Willing to try anything and quite the ladies man. Still lovin' the ladies.

 Since Mom and Dave couldn't make his party, they came up the weekend after and we all went bowling.



Now, I feel like I need to explain some things. First, this was my first attempt and Windows Movie Maker and as you can see I'm still figuring things out. I really should delete this video and try to edit it again but I'm too lazy.

Second, the lanes really were that non-slippery. They weren't sticky per se but you couldn't slide at all. Even watch the people who bowled next to us hopping because they couldn't slide. Just had to put that out there.

Now that I can upload and (somewhat) edit videos, I hope to keep putting more up.

Here are some pictures from his party the weekend before...

 My Grandma played the accordion. All the kids just sat quietly and watched. Even my brother in law said it is a lost art =)

DQ cake, of course.

I know, flash photos are horrible but there is no natural light in this house! I wouldn't have gotten a single usable shot if I didn't have my flash.