A Weekend of Many Firsts!!

We've had a VERY exciting weekend. In fact, it all happened in the same night.

1) First, Olivia drinks out of a sippy cup tonight. Of course, since she's only 7 months, so she's not near ready to transition to the cup, but it's good to know that the ones we bought work for her and we don't have to keep shopping.

2) Maddox not only got undressed by himself, but he also got in his pajamas all by him self too! (Well, maybe a tug or two to help a heel or head thru.) And tonight, he decided that he wanted to join in with The Lord's Prayer and even said some parts without any prompting!

3) Not only does Cooper read a book all by himself and earn a movie on DVD, but he also lost his first tooth! "Mommy, Mommy!" he said, "I was wiggling it with my tongue and then all of a sudden it was swimming on my tongue!"

4) Last but not least, Nelson's big first was that he was the only one normal in our house! And those who know Nelson, know that is DEFINATELY a first!! Welcome to our world, buddy! :-)

Anyways, here's a picture of Cooper right after his tooth came out...

Way to go, Cooper!!!

Cooper hit a huge milestone this afternoon! He read a book completely unassisted. This is a huge accomplishment for him. He has struggled with reading since it was introduced in Kindergarten. I gave him several Step into Reading books for Christmas and his Birthday. He has been working on them. He's very proud to have moved on from Step 1 to Step 2 books. Bolt was one of the books he was really struggling with. I told him if he mastered the book, and if he read it to us we would reward him with the movie.
Well, I'm proud to say he did that this afternoon!!! We celebrated with his favorite cake, carrot cake, and are going to be going out to rent the movie as soon as Olivia gets up from her nap.

Back on the wagon.

I haven't blogged in a while. I haven't felt like it. Vacation was amazing. Being away was so nice. The kids loved seeing their cousins, I loved spending time with my sister, and it was just nice to be away from the house. Now that we are home, I'm having a hard time getting motivated to do much of anything. Every task seems so big and cumbersome. I just want to forget about it or ignore it a bit longer. I can't do that. Laundry doesn't do itself. Dust bunnies don't chase themselves out of the living room or kitchen, or hallway. Meals don't cook themselves and dishes certainly don't wash themselves. I'm back in the saddle. I was so motivated today that I even cleaned out Liv's closet. She no longer has to share it with my remaining "teacher" clothes! They are gone, and it feels so good to have that empty rod in there. Tomorrow I might tackle the laundry room closet and see how much I can get rid of in there. Spring cleaning is coming and I'm embracing it with open arms!
The posts have been lacking pictures lately... We haven't been doing much. In addition to just living we are trying to convince Olivia that sleeping through the night is a good thing and she should try to do it. This leaves me very tired in the morning and not wanting to do much of anything, let alone take pictures. But, I don't want to disappoint our public (as small as it may be) so I have added a few shots of the kids in all of their cute glory.

Spring Break

We all lived. The drive took just about 5hrs with only one stop.
We have had so much fun!!!!!!
Sat. night was "adult's only" dinner, the steak was great, so was the company. Drinks after all the kids went to bed was absolutely unforgetable!!! I met, and hugged, Dan and Roger from The Biggest Loser. They were contestants 2 seasons ago. Dan lives here and they were hanging at Bar Louie in Orland Park.
Last night Sheila and Clint (really just Clint) made us dinner. It was amamzing. Corned Beef, cabbage, red potatoes, carrots, Irish soda bread, rye bread, and just all around goodness!!! All the kids ate really well and loved playing baseball and riding bikes.
My sister in law stayed longer, and just flew out this evening. The kids have had so much fun together. Today Maddox went to The Little Gym with Evan and Layna, they all had so much fun.
If the weather cooperates, we are headed to Navy Pier tomrrow. If it doesn't, we will come up with something else just as much fun.

I have tons of pictures, I will post them soon.

Dream big, Nelson, dream big.

Nelson's homework for this week is to fill out a What I Want to Be When I Grow Up page and decorate paper dolls to go with the job.


Travis was sitting with him and trying to help him get started while I was in the other room feeding Olivia. When I came out, Travis was all serious and told me we needed to talk. I figured it was about Cooper and his Summer School registration that is due next week. Nope, It's about #2 and his lofty job ambition.


Job #1 idea: McDonald's (I am not knocking this place at all!!! I know most of the workers at our 2 area ones thanks to the $0.99 44oz Diet Cokes I get) Travis asked him why he would want to do that for his job. His answer, "Dad, they make the best hamburgers and fries." Well, Nelson, when you put it that way.


Job#2 idea: Ninja or Knight. Again, Travis asked him why he wanted to do that. "Dad, they fight the bad guys with swords, knives, and staffs.


After everything was said and done, Travis asked him why he didn't want to be a superhero like Superman, Batman, or Spider man. Nelson looked at him very seriously, and said, "Dad, the kids would make fun of me if I was a superhero, they are fiction. That means they aren't real."


Well, then I guess the most logical choice is to be a Ninja...

More Than Fate

Travis is a member of Toastmasters, a public speaking group and had an opportunity to give a testamony to a diverse croud, who's religious beliefs include Christian, Agnostic, Hindu, and Jewish people. Thought you would all like to read it.

About 3 weeks ago, my van was totaled in a head-on collision so violent that the other car spun 180 degrees in one direction, we were knocked 90 degrees in another, and my license plate was severed.

Fortunately, everyone, from the driver of the SUV to my wife and kids in the van, was not seriously injured. But if you have ever been in an accident, you can understand my frustration of having to total out a car and purchase a new one. Added to this frustration, was the recent memory of shelling out $400 for new tires on a van that I can no longer drive, and the fact that I was 2 months away from paying off the van. My wife and I were going to take our tax return and pay off the van so we could double-pay on the loan for my car. The remainder of the tax return was going to go towards our first ever family vacation that didn’t involve sleeping at my parent’s or my in-law’s house. Now, that money would have to be used as a down payment for another car, and our dreams of reducing our debt so we can ensure a good credit score as we look for a bigger house were now crushed and utterly destroyed.

But the story doesn’t end there. What happened over the next few weeks was opposite of Lemony Snicket, where we had a series of fortunate events! First, we found favor with our Claims handler in replacing our car seats. Second, we found favor with the insurance adjuster, who gave us the NADA retail value of our car, rather than the average value. This paid off the loan, and gave us the exact same amount of vacation money we had set aside...(third) with an added extra $100. Fourth, we found out that a new friend of ours worked for his father at a wholesale auction house, and we could purchase a used car for cheap. Fifth, his father found out that we occasionally watched his grand-baby, and he sold us the car at wholesale price, taking no commission for himself. We ended up getting a 2005 Grand Caravan, loaded with stow-n-go, automatic doors and lift gate, with 47000 miles for 6,200.

And what’s more amazing, is (sixth) that we bought this van for $300 cheaper than the first one, which meant we had no problems being approved for a loan. Then good fortune shined on us a seventh time when we went to sign the papers for the loan on the Grand Caravan. Apparently, since we were financing so little of the value of the car, we got another reduction in our interest rate; final APR was 4.95%. Truly what started out as being a terrible situation was turned around for the better, not once, twice, or three times, but 7 times over!

Which has me wondering, was this just luck? If so, then I should buy a lottery ticket. Was it just fate? I’m a pretty nice guy, so was simply “what goes around, comes around” playing out in reality? If so, did I use all my good fortune on the car? I have 6 people in a 3 bedroom ranch and NEED bigger house! I’d rather use the good fortune on a new house, then on a car. Or, was this the handiwork of an unseen force in the universe that bestowed on me good favor when I was at a bad spot in my life? And if that’s true, then why me? Aren’t others more deserving, or in more need? What intrinsic value do I have that I should receive good fortune? And what is my response to the benevolent benefactor, whomever he/she is? Are there strings attached, or is this a free gift?

These are tough questions; but they must be asked, and they deserve to be answered. I hope you’ll contemplate them the next time you experience some good fortune in your life.

Pass the wings!

Travis and I made chicken wings for dinner earlier this week. It was no Buffalo Wild Wings, but it was good. So good that we are repeating the menu tonight at the request of the boys! If they will eat it, I will gladly make it.

You give the girl rice cereal, avacado, and green beans and she thinks she can yell and scream for chicken wings... Not yet Baby Doll.

Nelson (sporting his "robin" cape) and showing off the chicken wing on steriods.

Taking a bite out of it! (this was the largest wing, and the 6th wing he ate)

The remainder of what Maddox ate.

Toby loves having a baby in the house!

If we didn't have a baby, there wouldn't be a boppy chair for Toby to curl up in on cold afternoons.