Saturday Night Slumber Party

The Daddy and his offspring decided to have a slumber party last weekend. They stayed up watching movies and eating popcorn then they all crashed out in the living room. It was fun for the kids but had I known what was in store for me I probably would have had them include Ella too. Saturday I was really tired after getting up early so I went to bed early. Daddy brought Ella up at 1o:45 and laid her in bed. She woke up and was up until 2am! It was rough and many times I was temped to give her back to Daddy but it worked out and so Sunday morning I was up at 7:15. I came downstairs to find The Daddy on the couch and the Sister and Brother on the floor. It was cute and I am sure they had fun. There was a time back in the day, say about 10 years ago, when the Daddy and I would stay up until 4am, go to sleep, and wake up at 10. I don't think I could do that now if my life depended on it. I am glad the kids have fun with him and are able to make those memories. They are lucky to have him. Thanks for reading xoxo

Sisters and Brothers

Someone sure likes to snuggle with his sister when she is napping. Such a difference between Alex and Jade (bottom photo) compared to me and my brother (top photo). If it would have been me, at that age, I would have found a way to "accidentally" have my brother fall off the couch. Not that Nick, my brother, couldn't have found his own way to hurt himself. When we were younger I remember going to the doctor because he almost bit his tongue off, or he would need to get stitches for hitting his head or knee. I don't think he ever went for a broken bone but he was pretty accident prone. Which is also ironic because we called him our "early warning system" because he would always let us know the doors were not locked or the lights were on. You would think he would have been the safest but he was falling out of the truck alot or getting his fingers slammed in the door. He has grown out of that phase and I don't think he passed it on to his daughters. Anyway, the point is Alex and Jade have a much better relationship then I did with my brother Nick at that age. Now I love my brother very much and miss him dearly. If I could go back and be a little bit nicer to him I probably wouldn't because it wouldn't have been as much fun growing up. Then again I probably wouldn't have gotten into so much trouble. thanks for reading xoxo

SISTERS

Its so nice having them get along! At first I thought I was going to have to get rid of one of them cause according to Jade this house was not big enough for the two of them. Now she loves her baby sister, always trying to give kisses and wanting to hold her. I hope they will be close, after all they will be sharing a room so that Kato only has to put bars on one set of windows:) thanks for reading xoxo

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! XOXO

What was she thinking...

Who said you have to take a bath naked?

Killing two birds with one stone, bath for Jade and clean laundry.

Just trying out those warm ups to see if they are water resistant.

I didn't know there was water in there I thought it was just bubbles.

I had to get in with all my clothes on daddy was too busy watching football and I had to get his attention somehow.

Daddy your cell phone fell in the bathtub, don't worry I'll get it!

I saw this in a movie once and always wanted to try it.

Im not even 2 yet, I can still get away with doing things like this...right?

I'll show them for dressing me like my brother, my parents are gonna have fun cleaning up this mess for sure!!

thanks for reading xoxo

the sideburns

Those stinking 25 cent gumball machines are just about the worst thing invented, at least from a parents perspective. As for 5 year olds they are just about the best thing EVER! Except when you spend time going through all your coins, picking out only the quarters, just so you can invest in the most amazing spy gear ever designed for a young boy, which is available to you only through those darn 25 cent machines. They display only the coolest toys just to sucker you into dropping those quarters in the tiny slots and giving that handle a spin. They want you to believe that what is on the outside is whats really on the inside, available, and only for you. The allure of a shiny vampire necklace or mini handcuffs can take hold of a young boy and practically make him crazy. Its like being an adult with a gambling addiction, you think you are lucky and this time you will get the big prize but chances are you will loose everything. So the machine calls to him, he gets mad cause mom only lets him bring 4 quarters instead of 8 to 10 and although it would have been nice to have some alone time at the store moms are stuck dealing with the emptiness those machines bring to a 5 year old when all he gets are a lousy pair of fake sideburns and a pink slimy thing. So much for that dollar, but he made the most of it and had fun for a night playing pretend. Thanks for reading xoxo

Naptime

Jade has the amazing ability to sleep just about anywhere when she is tired. Here she is demonstrating that skill. Thanks for reading xoxo

Titlewave and Trigger

Sometimes kids are so super cute that you really do want to gobble them up. Then there are times that they remind you why some animals eat their young. Wednesday I was having a conversation with Alex on the swings. We talked about his worm collection, weapons ninjas use, sports and Halloween, you know the important things to a 5 year old. It was a great conversation with him and honestly we hadn't talked like that in some time. Mostly because he doesn't crawl into bed with me at night and snuggle. I miss those nights but knew one day it would stop. Towards the end of the conversation he said something that caused a flashback to 12 years ago when I was standing in my apartment before I knew Kato and was talking with Michael. Michael said "mommy I don't want to be Michael anymore, I want a different name!" I asked him what he wanted to be called and he said "Titlewave" and he was serious. I think I tried to call him that for a couple of days but eventually he was content going back to Michael. Now here is Alex repeating that same conversation...Mommy I don't want to be Alex anymore, its not a very good name for me. I said it was a good name for him and that is why we picked it for him. I asked him what he wanted his name to be and he said "Trigger!" I said ok we can call you Trigger. He was happy and ran off to play. It was a great day. thanks for reading xoxo

Ella 54 and Badger Game

Ella turned 54 days old yesterday and to celebrate we dropped her off at Grandma and Grandpas along with her sister and Alex, Kato, Mikey and I went to a Badger game. It was Alex's first game, same for Mikey. I asked Michael if he wanted to go but he said no and since we really like Mikey we invited him. I was surprised he said yes but really happy he did. I think he had a good time and as always he was very thankful. The Badgers won 27 to 14 over San Jose. Alex was a little sad that Bucky didn't come over to our area and I was too cause it would have been nice for him to get an up close view of him. He has seen him before but not at a football game. We stayed for the 5th quarter so the boys could get the entire experience but halfway through it we decided to leave. We picked up the girls and headed home. Kato got some movies and we all slept well, until 8:30 this morning. Sunday, football day, and here we go!! Packers play at the Eagles house today, not too happy about that so I hope Philly sucks this year. My husband has this ingenious idea to eat something representing the team the Packers play that day so tonight we are having Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches. Lets hope its the only bright idea he gets this season! thanks for reading xoxo

FF Forever

Fantasy football draft was last Tuesday night. Jayne came over and sat with the kids so I could go since Kato decided he needed to go out of town for work. Figures. Anyway, I got the 3rd pick where as last year I was the 8th pick so the same but on opposite ends. We will see how it goes. I am really going to try not to take it so seriously as I told the girls its a love/hate relationship...I hate that I love it. It brings me so much happiness yet so much pain and suffering. I will be a player for life probably and now I wonder why it has taken me so long to get into it. thanks for reading xoxo

Labor Day Weekend...

It was cow chip weekend here and we all had a great time! Saturday we headed to the park for the arts and crafts where the kids didn't really like it so they went to the bouncy houses and slide for fun. After, we got a quick bite to eat and watched the parade at noon. It was great!! We left for home and to take a quick break after the parade then went back for a few more minutes on the bouncy houses. We got two funnel cakes while the kids walked through the petting zoo then we headed over to the Grandparents for dinner. Great Grandma and Grandpa Katers was there so we visited for a bit. They got the kids stuffed animals (big dog and two bears), and gold coins. Alex said they were from One Eyed Willie the pirate. Kato stayed up late to watch the Badgers game. Sunday we got up and got ready for our block party. Katos mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa stopped by for a bit before the party started and we got some photos taken. We set up the driveway, bouncy house, backyard, and garage for the bbq and when everyone started showing up it started raining. They quickly got stuff into the garage and the kids just played in the rain. It was a another successful party and we had a ton of great food and company. Monday was a lazy day but we managed to get outside yet again and reheat the leftovers on the grill and enjoyed the traditional root beer floats. It was a wonderful end to the summer. The temperatures dropped about 20 degrees and it feels like fall already. The Packers and Badgers start their regular season and its time to get into a happy routine for my sake and for the kids. thanks for reading xoxo

Michaels first day of Junior year

There is something to be said about a guy who can wear an outfit like this and still be considered cool!! This is Michaels idea of a wonderful back to school outfit. He said to me as he was leaving that day "I hope I don't get in trouble for wearing shorts this short but I want to let the teachers know where I stand!" Yeah Michael I am pretty sure anyone will know where you stand when you wear shorts that bright!!! thanks for reading xoxo

Kindergarten

First day of kindergarten is scary and yet exciting!! The anticipation builds for months and feels like you will explode if you don't get there quick enough. You secretly daydream about what it will be like and fill yourself with a vision that is kept to yourself. You play it cool and don't show too much emotion even when every adult asks "are you excited for school?" The weeks before you shop for new clothes and supplies, which only intensifies the curiosity and sparks concern over why you need certain items. Some items you may have never used before because in preschool you just don't do that kind of stuff. You color coordinate your items so you know what is yours and you never stop to think what if someone else has one just like it. You are in your own world filled with colorful pencils, shiny new folders, and smelly good markers. In your anxious state of mind you forget how heavy everything is until you get it all in your backpack, neatly labeled with your name and put it on for the first time as you think to yourself "this is it!" You are determined to carry that thing all by yourself even if you fall backwards because you don't want the others to think you can't do it. Besides for the past month everyone has commented on what a big kid you are now that you are starting kindergarten and you don't want to let them down. You pick out your first day of school outfit and get your new shoes ready. And as you drift off to sleep the night before you play it all out in your mind, the first day, what it will be like and who will be in your class. The next morning you wake up all on your own and practically jump out of bed. You feel good and that anxious bull in your stomach starts roaring. Breakfast, brush teeth, get dressed, is it time yet? Can the morning go any slower? Finally the moment when you step out the door backpack on, lunch box in hand, and feeling a little bit older then you did the day before, arrives and you are on your way. The hustle of getting there on time and weeding your way around all the other parents and students makes you a little uneasy but you are quickly reassured its only like this on the first day. You quickly try to remember where to put your stuff just like you were shown at orientation and you span the room looking at the other kids sizing them up and wondering if they know you have vampire teeth or a secret unicorn stashed in your closet at home. You might not talk to anyone but the teacher that day and lunch may not taste as good as your dinner will later that night but you know you have arrived when you sit at the table in the cafeteria and think to yourself "holy buckets there are alot of kids and the lunch lady doesn't look anything like the ones on tv!" Then at the end of the day when the most familiar face you know, the one you have seen everyday all your life, the one that tells you what to do (and you hate it) arrives to pick you up, you can finally exhale cause you made it through the first day of kindergarten and it was great!! To my darling children the tears I cry on these days are not ones of sadness but of bittersweet joy filled with the pride and love of knowing you your entire life and sending you off on your first right of passage alone and without me. I love you dearly. thanks for reading xoxo

Another rough night!!!

Last night was rough!!!! Jade did not want to go to bed at 8 and Alex was not happy about sleeping in his room alone with no tv. We created some bad sleeping habits with the kids but it worked for us now we have to get them into a routine that works best for them. They have to get up super early and mom does not want to mess with fussy tired children every day. So after two hours of Jade screaming Daddy slept with her in her bed and Alex cried himself to sleep in his bed and Ella decided to stay up till midnight. Up at 6am to get ready for kindergarten and believe me 6am comes quick. Better luck tonight, we got another plan! thanks for reading xoxo