Jades First Pig Tails...

Jades first set of pig tails. Finally she has some hair that can actually do something!

Black Friday and First Tooth

Black Friday wasn't as bad as many people said it would be. I worked on a list Thanksgiving morning and night, before bed so I would know exactly what to get, where to get it and how much it would be. I had a plan and it was mapped out. I wasn't going to get trampled and I sure as heck wasn't going to take crap from anyone. I was up at 4am, fed Ella, got ready and left the house by 5:15am. I went to Walmart first, 90% of the stuff I wanted to get was gone, or not in the size I wanted. I was a little upset but I guess that is what I get for not getting there at midnight!! I picked up Ella, fed her first, then off we were to Madison. Toys R Us was busy and the wait in line was twice as long as it took me to shop. Target and Kohls was the same, long lines, not much to chose from but I still managed to get some good deals. The mall was packed and the kiosk's were a pain in the butt not to mention the people working the kiosks were pushy and I don't like that. All in all I had a great experience and was glad that I survived Black Friday with Ella. Somewhere between Toys R Us and pizza for dinner, Ella cut her first tooth!! 4 months 7 days and 13 hours into her life and she goes and cuts a tooth!! On Black Friday too when I was focused on shopping which I won't do again (shop black friday) unless there is something I really really need, which probably won't happen. I still have some shopping to do but at this point I think I have some time. I got most of the things for my family in WA done packed and ready to go and will have Kato ship it off Monday. Saturday night I got out the xmas lights and went through them to see what worked and what didn't. While making dinner Alex decided to hook them all up and when he was done it was so bright in the house I am sure the electric meter was spinning off the charts!! thanks for reading xoxo

Thanksgiving 2010

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! Its hard to believe that one year ago I was pregnant with Ella and now she is here having her first Turkey Day!! Jade wore the traditional "Kato" shirt. It was Katos when he was a little boy and Alex has worn it at Thanksgiving and Jade has now worn it at Thanksgiving and I am sure Ella will wear it too. Ella had her hair up in a piggy tail, its her first one (sorry can't really tell in the photo)!! Jayne made all the fixings with the help of cousin Tena and Grandma Lamb (Great Grandma to the kids). We ate and enjoyed the company. We have so much to be thankful for and family is at the top of that list. My grandma hasn't been feeling well lately, please keep her in your prayers. Thanks for reading xoxo

Football

Kato really gets into college football. He doesn't miss a beat when it comes to his precious Badger games. He keeps track of all the info and knows most of the players. Me, I am a NFL fan more so then college. Kato teases me I should play fantasy college football...ya right like I have the time for that kind of research plus the players change way to much every year and there are about 100 more teams to learn. Never the less its been a great season for them and my husband has been fortunate enough to get to a few games. The past couple of Packer games have been really exciting for Kato also. Mostly because they have been blowing the competition out of the water. In their last 3 games they have held the opponents to 7 points or less. They had a bye week and came back to beat the Vikings 31 to 3! During that game I got this awesome pic of Ella and Daddy enjoying the sweet victory and reveling in the fact we didn't have to hear that stupid Viking horn all game long. Now that December is upon us Badger football will be ending soon and there are only about 6 more weeks of regular season NFL football. Looking forward to seeing the Packers take on the Giants in Green Bay, look for us on TV!! thanks for reading xoxo

Alex lost another tooth...

Second Tooth Lost...11/21/10 Tooth fairy delivered $1.oo. thanks for reading xoxo

Our Last Airbender...

This weekend we rented the movie The Last Airbender. Alex got into in. So much so that he needed a hair cut right away, costume, and his airbender weapon. He watched only 20 minutes of the movie but those 20 minutes changed him. So here he is all Airbendered out and ready to take on the other three benders (water, earth, fire) and I am thinking he might win. thanks for reading xoxo

Michael meets the Parents...

Michael has a girlfriend named Nicki. She goes to a different high school so they don't see each other everyday. I am thankful for that although I am sure he isn't. This weekend was a big deal for him because he went out to dinner with her and her parents. I am not sure exactly where they went but I know it was in Baraboo which doesn't have any super fancy restaurants. I am glad he wore a shirt with sleeves and jeans without stains. He said it went well and he got along with her dad. For the last few years he said he doesn't want to have a girlfriend during wrestling season because it would be a distraction. I asked him if he was going to dump her once wrestling really picked up but he said no because "she makes him wrestle better!" I wonder about that but we will see. As long as he is happy I am happy for him. thanks for reading xoxo

Mama has an agenda...

When I was growing up our family Christmas was always the best!! There was only one Christmas that I thought to myself "what the heck happened here?" And I know this sounds shallow (I was just a kid), but it was cause the gifts totally sucked!! Mom and Dad, I am sorry but it did, and as I look back now I know why and understand. It did get better once we got to Grandma and Grandpas house. We always had the best Thanksgivings too! With the holiday season fast approaching I always think about those holidays growing up and wanting the same things for my kids. I want that look of awe and excitement on their faces when they see that Santa came. I want the big squeals of joy when they tear into the most awesome thing EVER!! I want the paper clutter everywhere and smell of coffee and sweet rolls in the air. I want to be able to give my kids memorable holidays and when I ask them what their favorite gift is I want them to be tongue tied and not able to pick out just one. It is getting harder and harder though. Michael wants guns and $300 dollar video game players followed by more expensive games and toys for teenagers. Jade and Ella are easy, one or two things will fulfil their desires and it takes them all morning to open them anyway. Then there is Alex who too wants everything under the sun and on all the commercials. He knows his birthday is close to Christmas and is now saying exactly what he wants for his birthday followed by what he wants for Christmas and in what order and just assumes he will get it. The good thing is when I really sit down and talk to him about it he seems to get the concept of one big thing and maybe a couple little things and when I ask him what one big thing he wants the most...he always says the same thing. So this year to save us the money, time, and possibly heartache of not getting the goods, I have decided to brave the 4am sales and hit the stores for Black Friday! I am not sure if I will be getting the guns and video game players but I am sure whatever I get it will be good. If not, well, things can always be returned, exchanged, or bought yourself. So as I prepare myself (not like the lady in the Target commercials) for Black Friday I can only think of one type of strategy...OUTTA my way cause this Mama has an agenda and four kids that deserve the best! thanks for reading xoxo

WATCH THIS!!!

Its amazing how many times in a day I hear the words "watch this!" I swear there are days when I hear it about 100 times a minute. These days usually involve a no school day and extra kids. I had one of these days last Friday. The tricks are tricky, the moves are amazing, and each and every kid had something to show. I "watched this" a million, gazillion, bazillion, times and it never got old. thanks for reading xoxo

on the mend...finally

Finally people are on the mend at our house. It was a rough few days. Now it is time to get down to business with the Christmas shopping. I usually get a jump start on the holiday shopping and are half way done by now but with all we have going on its difficult to get out of the house, alone, to get it done. I was able to get out a little bit Sunday morning. I don't like going the day after Thanksgiving but this year I might have to just to save some money and make sure I get it done. Kato and I are going to a Packer football game for our gifts to each other. It will be a good game, Pack vs. Giants.

My mom sent Jade these gloves and she loves them!! Put them on and didn't want to take them off even to eat!! too cute

thanks for reading xoxo

We were icky sick...

Thursday night Jade got sick and was throwing up, unsure if it was something she ate or a bug we did what we could for her and by Friday evening she was pretty much back to normal. Come Sunday morning my stomach felt like a monster was in there fighting its way through my intestines and causing all kind of havoc. I should have purged it out but didn't. It was very painful and I was nauseous all day. Alex however had no problems until 4pm he came in from playing outside and said his stomach hurt. We grabbed him a bowl for "just in case" and thank goodness we did cause he got sick and vomited close to a half gallon of stuff. He did a great job of getting it into the bowl at least. He said he felt a little better, fell asleep, woke up and puked some more. The Packer game was on and we were not able to enjoy the meal cause they were playing Dallas and we were supposed to have chili but opted for 7up and saltines. Alex stayed home from school on Monday. Kato stayed home from work and helped me with the kids. I am really glad he did too because my stomach was still hurting, better then Sunday but still hurting. By 3:30 I was feeling much better and went outside for a bit to get some fresh air. It was 65 out and nice. We are all almost on the mend now, Jade woke up this morning with fever and cough. Welcome to cold and flu season!! YIKES thanks for reading xoxo

Alex lost a tooth!

Saturday was a busy day for us. Not only did we have a million gazillion bazillion leaves to rake up but we also had a very exciting Badger game to watch and tacos to make. Not only that but Alex naturally lost his first tooth!! Naturally because he did have a tooth pulled back in August. He bit into an apple and his bottom wiggly tooth got really loose and started to bleed. He freaked out and needed to see the dentist right away. He settled for a phone call to the dentist and thank goodness when I called the office (which was actually my moms house) the dentist was there to take his call (which was actually my brother) and answer his questions. He hadn't lost it yet but soon after the phone call and just before eating his soft taco he pulled it out himself. Since he supposedly doesn't believe in the tooth fairy he didn't put it under his pillow but thank goodness the tooth fairy came at 5am with four quarters and a note thanking him for another perfect tooth for her collection. At 7:30am he ran into my room stating the tooth fairy didn't come but that was because he hadn't found the note and quarters she left for him at the table. I explained she didn't leave it under his pillow cause the tooth wasn't left there and next time he should put it under his pillow. We will see what happens at that time. At school on Tuesday (he was sick on Monday) he hopped out of the van and immediately told the school helper he lost his tooth. Its nice to hear he was proud. thanks for reading xoxo

Michael is 17

Michael turned 17 on Friday. He invited some friends over for dinner, cake, and ice cream. He originally wanted pizza but later decided something healthier would be better. Wrestling is picking up again and he will be watching his weight and working on getting to a lower weight class. I don't like the idea because he is so tall and already rather skinny. He will find out on Wednesday if he will even be allowed to do that based on what the clinic says. I hope they say no lower then 189. I think he wants 171. He weighed in at 200 on his birthday after dinner and cake. He wants to get to state this year so lets cheer him on. Happy Birthday Michael!! thanks for reading xoxo

Wednesday Night...

As if we didn't have enough excitement for one day it got even more exciting...Ella rolled over!! Kato was in the bathroom and the kids and I were in the living room. She had been a bit fussy but only because it was getting close to bed time and she wanted to eat and sleep. She was on the floor kicking and rolling from side to side. I scooted to her right side and was watching something on tv when all of a sudden she rolled over and bumped me. I was so shocked I started yelling "she rolled over, Kato!" I called my mom and shared the news and she told me that I started crawling at 5 months!! Good Golly SLOW IT DOWN ELLA don't you know your my last baby and I want to savor every moment!! I am so glad I got to see it and be there for her big accomplishment. I was actually a bit surprised because she is so chunky, you would think it would be harder for her to roll over but she did it. Ahhh Bittersweet "firsts" you love to see em but know it means they are growing up. thanks for reading xoxo

Fall Leaves

One thing about fall that I really don't enjoy is the fact that we don't have a single tree in our yard that produces leaves yet every year we get so many leaves in our yard that when they are all piled up, the pile is 5 feet tall. But despite the work it produces it can also be so much fun for the kids. And with that in mind what a super fun day we had yesterday. We walked to the school to pick up Alex and crunched leaves along the way. Once back at my house we had Benjamin and Jacob hang out and play in the leaves. Jade and Luci really had fun. Gillie played on the swings. We really got into the fall spirit by throwing the leaves up in the air and piling them up and burying people in them. This weekend we will have to rake them back to the street for pick up. It was so cute listening to Jade giggle with so much delight and watching her play in the leaves for the first time was such a joy. How do you not love watching kids like that play!! They are priceless. Thanks for reading xoxo

Peek a Boo

October 31st 2010

Trick or Treating round 2.