Monday, April 28, 2008

My crazy boys.



Fun weekend with cousins.

Sophia and I hamming it up for the camera.
Maddox happy he has a full belly.
Maddox getting all cuddley on Aunt Sheila.
Ryne taking his turn as catcher.
Sophia and I trying to stay warm at Ryne's baseball game.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

If wonders never cease...

The tree guy called, after 10 days, 2 "broken" stump grinders, and countless excuses he says he's going to be here 20 minutes ago (yep you read that corectly, he called at 11:15 to say he would be here at 11). Needless to say, I'm not going to hold my breath.

Edit: I want this dude's job! He finally made it to the house at 11:45. He was gone when I got home with Nelson at 12:30. The stump is still not fully ground. Let me guess... grinder #3 must have somehow broken, by no fault of his I'm sure (insert rolling eyes)
BBB is getting a call when this is all said and done!

Another Edit: to quote the guys "Are you a witch or something?!?! I've never had so many problems on a job as I've had at your house." Dude, am I a witch or capable of acting witchy? If that stump is not gone before noon tomorrow he won't know what hit him!!!!!

Edit #3: He said he would be here "early this morning". It's 10AM and raining, if I were a betting woman, I would put LOTS of money on him not calling or showing up today...

Spring is here! Spring is here!

After dinner last night, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go outside to wear the boys out. Cooper finally got up enough courage to try to ride his bike, Nelson went into his own superhero world and started making skid marks all over the driveway, and Maddox just enjoyed wresting with the dogs (no pictures of that, I was too busy being the referee.) and playing in his car.

Travis couldn't find a basketball, so he decided Toby would do! Toby wasn't too keen on the idea. Go figure.
Notice the lack of training wheels!!! We are so proud.
Nelson was showing off all the skid marks he was making with his brakes! He loves to "go really really really fast" and then stop to make marks.
Maddox was just enjoying a cruise in the front lawn.

Friday, April 18, 2008

TGIF!!!!!

Hello my beautiful, talented, sexy, peeps at Midwest Orthepedics!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Tallie 2 - Small Rodents 0

The weather has been in the 50's for 2 days and already Tallie has taken advantage of the early furry stirrings in our yard. Yesterday, Sheri realized that both of the dogs were quiet.... too quiet, to be exact. As any parent knows, that can only mean one thing; that the dogs were up to something.

After a quick check throughout the house both dogs were found in their bed where they often are, but this time they were curiously intent on kneading and fluffing the pillow. However, upon further investigation, it was discovered that it wasn't their pillow they were giving a once-over, it was a squirrel-- or what was left of it!

Sheri was not at all amused that I found it humorous having to give moral support over the phone as she tried to steel her nerves enough to remove the now headless and 3-pawed critter. Maybe it was mean to laugh out loud as she SCREAMED when she thought for SURE that it was still moving, but I'm sorry, the mental image of a headless squirrel, running around our house on 3 legs, looking for an exit while the dogs chase it over and under all the furniture was pretty comical to me.

Anyways, when I got home, I saw that she had managed to at least remove the squirrel from the house. Of course that means that the squirrel was still in the bed where Toby and Tallie left it, and the entire bed was outside, but I'm just proud that she didn't call an exterminator and have the house fumigated even though the whole ordeal gave her the heebie-jeebies.

But of course, if that wasn't enough excitement, today we almost had a repeat as the dogs found a family of moles trying to inhabit our compost pile. Apparently Tallie did the catching again today, but this time Toby, 1/4th her size, bullied her away and had a meal of the young mole.

Note to self, dogs that are used to a diet consisting of store-bought dog food get REALLY BAD gas after eating wild game.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Rain, rain go away...

And take my bad attitude with you!
Everytime I turn around, there is a new mess, a new cirsis, or a new fight between the boys to referee. I understand a lot of this is the size (or lack there of) of the house, the age of the boys, and the weather.

I am truly amazed at the ability the older two have of starting a fight or crisis within minutes of waking up! I'm talking coffee isn't made and breakfast isn't even on the table and these two are yelling, screaming, and hitting eachother. I'm starting to dread the first 20 minutes of the day. I also notice that the way they act and feel really affects me. I may wake up feeling really rested and ready to start my day and as soon as I break up that first fight I'm ready to call it a day and climb back into bed.

I also think I have 3 of the most talented boys. No other children can empty dresser drawers onto the floor as quickly as these 3. I can spend days doing laundry, folding it, and putting it away. They can take minutes to pull it all out, have it in a pile on the floor, and be screaming that they have no clean clothes in their drawers! ( not all 3 complain about no clothes in the drawers. Maddox doesn't have enough words to complain about that) Of course you don't , they are all on a pile on the floor!!!!

Cracks in foundation are no fun. They cause water to slowly leak into the basement and under the flooring. No one will look at it until it's dry so as not to seal moisture (causing mold) into it. Well, the rain hasn't stopped in forever! Right now, the new solution is for so much rain that the walls just get too wet and cave in, causing us to take the insrance pay off and buy a new house. (Not really, but I'm thinking it would be the easiest solution right now)

I'm really excited to have my mom and dad come in this weekend, maybe I'll even duct tape the kids to the couch long enough to clean (and keep the place clean until my parents get here).

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

FI-RE...FI-RE...FI-RE, FI-RE, FI-RE....

So goes the chant for the Chicago Fire. Since my dear brother-in-law took my April 1, 2008 (aka April Fool's) post literally and purchased tickets without my knowledge, I'm keeping my end of the bargain and sending him the ultrasound pics so he can ascertain for himself what the ultrasound technician saw... or didn't see in the case of a girl.

Meanwhile, I'll be annoying Sheri and practicing the above chant, and a couple of their other cheers, for the next two weeks so I'll be ready when we go to the game on Saturday, April 26th and see the Chicago Fire play host to the Colorado Rapids. We're sitting 10 rows from the side lines, at what would be the 35 or 40 yard line if this were a football game. You can imagine that I'm pretty stoked about it!!

On the other hand, Sheri, being pregnant and all, is mainly excited about the stadium hot dog, nachos and hot pretzel she will be consuming during the game. Don't get me wrong, she enjoys soccer with the best of them, (and actually understands the "off-sides" rule)-- but let's be honest, we could be watching a jump rope competition and she's not going to care, just as long as I get her a stadium dog topped with relish and mustard, nachos with cheese in the standard 1 jalapeno:1 dipped chip ratio, a hot pretzel light on the salt with extra mustard, and a large Diet Coke. Anyways, at least Toyota Park will have something for both of us!


Wednesday, April 02, 2008

I've been tagged...

Both Katie and Kasey tagged me to list 7 random things about myself. I would link to their blogs, but I'm not that smart.

1. I'm a HUGE Barry Manilow fan. I would give my right arm to go to his St. Louis concert the end of April.

2. I love the color purple! I don't get to use enough of it in a house full of boys. Travis was nice enough to give me a purple living room.

3. I view Toby (my almost 9yr old Boston Terrier) as my first child. There are days he's the most obedient.

4. No matter what Travis says, Starbucks is a real restaurant. They offer food, it's just a choice not to always purchase it.

5. Tiramisu!!!!

6. While househunting, I discovered my 3 boys share a room smaller than what could have been my walk in closet.

7. I love my minivan. I was reluctant to get it, but now adore it! I'm proudly embrasing the "soccer mom" label.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

On Ultrasound Day, It's a _________.

You guessed it, today we find out the sex of the baby. We will be picking Cooper up from school and heading to the doctor's office, 3 kids in tow. Sheri's so excited that if they would let her bring the dogs, she probably would!

I'm excited for the older boys, because this will be their first chance to see what the baby looks like "inside mommy's tummy." They went to the ultrasound appointments for Maddox, but they were too young to understand that what was in there was going to come out and live with them. :-)

Anyways, Sheri and I have decided not to find out the sex of the baby. But we will have the technician write down the answer and seal it in an envelope. If you want to know the sex of our baby, this envelope will be offered to the first person who gets me 2 tickets to a Chicago Fire game! Coupons for Nacho's and a Pretzel would complement the tickets nicely, too. Saturday games work best for me.