ok, one more post

I would have put all of these in one post, but for some reason it will only let me upload four photos at a time, so there you go.

The other day when we had our freak warm-up (it got up in the 40's!) I took the boys to the farm. They both really like it (Jack LOVES it) and it's been a long time since we've been out there so I figured I'd load 'em up! Here are a few shots:

Jack loves to ride with his dad in the skid steer. I couldn't even get him out to sled down the driveway. Alex and I did it instead and it was fun. You forget how fun simple things like sledding are. I could have gone a few more times, but Alex was cold and it was lunch time, so maybe another day!

alex's newest trick

We've already had a few spills off of the couch. At least 911 is easy to remember!

party at the cheese

We had Part I of Jack's B-day party at Chuck E. Cheese's on Sunday. I was kind of not looking forward to it in a way, but it went awesome. Cousin Casey was there so they had a blast together, as well as with Papa Dave! Here are a few shots from the day:

Even Alex had fun. They had these little ride-ons that Alex rode the whole time. Luckily each ride was only one token, so that was nice for everyone. I think Chad had had enough by the time we left. He did such a good job of chasing after the kids.

We had a good weekend here. Mom and Dave came over on Sat. and watched the boys that night so Chad and I could go snowmobiling. It was a lot of fun! Going out in double digits is a lot warmer than single digits! They came up to Chuck E Cheeses with us on Sun. which was awesome. I know Jack was so excited to have them there, even though that is totally not my mom's scene. We had a great time and were all exhausted when we got home.

not really news

Now that I'm sort of documenting our lives around here (the blog and project 365) I'm coming to the sad realization that we are kinda boring! Not much varies in our day-to-day lives. That kinda sucks! It's also winter and frickin BELOW ZERO FOR DAYS!!!! No one can stand to be outside long enough to get the mail, let alone play. It's looking like a warm up for the weekend, then plummeting back into the teens and single digits next week. Groovy.

Alex had another swim class on Tues. and did awesome! No one else was there, so we got 'private lessons'. It was fun and he has sooo much fun. I wish I could get some pictures, but there's no way I can handle that stress! He makes a bee line for the door to the pool before we even get jackets off! At least he's excited.

Jack helped his daddy clean the living room while I was getting ready today, and let me tell you I can't even tell you the last time I've felt that kind of joy! If you've seen our living room lately, you'd understand my almost tears of joy. If you don't know what it looks like, imagine Toys R Us exploded and that is what our living room looks like. Actually, it looks like a tiny implement dealership exploded with tractors, round balers, manure spreaders, combines, yada yada yada...

Going to go to my kickboxing class again tonight. I'm getting kinda bummed-there's only 2 classes (I think) left. I'll have to look for something else to do 'cause I want to keep this momentum going. I've actually lost 31/2 lbs and my pants are fitting looser so that's great! I'm a teeny bit proud of myself! My goal is to lose my baby pooch, so I got a ways to go yet.

Here's to a happy, healthy, and a I-have-to-buy-all-new-clothes-'cause-my-old-ones-don't-fit New Year!

weekend update

We had a nice little weekend around here. Jack had his last swim class on Friday and his certificate said he can move to level one when he's 5! That's great. Only 2 more years to go :( I don't think it will take that long, but I've heard rumblings that the pool is closing in May due to money issues. I hope they figure something out.

Sunday we went over to Chad's sister's to watch the big game. Such a shame how it ended (he he)!! We had a good time and the boys played the night away. Baby Ryan is growing bigger and bigger each day!

This is an unrelated photo (and not a great one, by the way) but it further proves my point that this boy's a lot to handle. He was supposed to be napping, but he had peed his pants and changed into a pull up and put his pants on backwards! I know people always say, "Cherish these moments because they grow up too fast." Sometimes I can't wait 'till he's in high school and can (possibly) put his clothes on the correct way!

Tonight the bathtub was actually clean, so I put both kids in and let them have fun. And they did.

Doesn't he look like he's trying to sell the rubber duckie? Almost like the mentos adds.

Rubber Duckies: The Bathmaker!

untitled

Boy, staying on top of this blogging thing is harder than I thought. It doesn't help when we have a million and one things going on right now. Lets see, Alex and I had our first Parent-Tot swim class Tues. It went great! He is a little fish out of water. I was nervous because the weekend before we took him to the pool and he hated it, but the pool at the hospital is like taking a bath. He floated around, kicked his legs, sat on the side and kicked, he even 'jumped' in. He would lean forward and kinda fall in the pool. He had a great time. Angie (the instructor) even had him learning how to climb out on the ladder! Here's a few shots of him tonight:

Jack is still not doing great at his swimming lessons. He doesn't listen or participate--it's like if your going to act that way, I won't even bother with all the hassle of getting you there! He does have fun, though. He needs some socialization, STAT!! I think I'm going to take him to a play group in Westby at the school on Friday. Two of the girls in his swim class will be there, so hopefully it'll be fun.

My project 365 is becoming harder and harder each day. I need to be more disciplined about taking my pictures and taking different pictures. I need to start making it a habit of taking my camera everywhere I go.

My word of the day is becoming lost as well. I need a nice reminder, like a necklace or something that will help me grasp it every day. I could have really used it this morning. Jack gets up way before the rest of us and has gotten into so much trouble, we have to hide practically everything. This morning, he couldn't find anything else to get into, so he got out an entire container of cereal and dumped it all over the couch and peed in the corner. What!?!?! What posesses him to do something like that? Chad said, "I guess one of us has to get up when he gets up." Yea. Since he doesn't get home 'till 3-3:30 in the morning, I guess that one of us is going to be me. Joy. I'm going to give him one more final chance tomorrow morning. Wish us luck.

swim class

Chad and I both took Jack to swim class Friday, so I was able to get a few (not real great) shots. He's the little guy in the orange and blue striped trunks. Here, they're practicing their 'ice cream scoops'...

and here...

Here, our little guy is being anti-social and not listening (big surprise). He didn't want to jump in with the others, so he sat on the stairs and splashed the other kids when they got out. Typical.

This was before it started. Alex wanted to go in, too!

Jack's kind of struggling to sit still and listen. The teacher said I can still bring him, even though on Friday he went kicking and screaming. Once he gets in, he's fine. I don't know.

We took both the boys to family swim on Sat. night. Jack had a blast "swimming" around. He even jumped in a few times. Alex screamed for the first 30 minutes, mainly because he was cold, but after a while he warmed up a little and he "jumped" in to me and floated around in his little floater thing. I hope Alex doesn't freak out on Tues. at Parent-Tot. It is a lot warmer in the pool at the hospital. We went out to eat after swimming and to DQ for a little ice cream. It was a nice night with the family.