Happy Holidays!

Christmas was spent in pretty much the same fashion as it has been the past 7 yrs or so. We spend Christmas eve with Jeff's family, and Christmas day with mine. Christmas eve we have dinner and then off to church. The kids are still pretty little to really have an idea of what church is, but Maddy is aware that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus. She knows about Mary and Joseph and the wise men, and then of course she is onto Santa and presents...what kid isn't?
We has a really nice time both Christmas eve and day, and being with the family is what it is all about.

Tumbling time

Tracy and I frequently call each other on our off days, sometimes it might be at 7am, wondering when we will be meeting up, sometimes it might be 10 times in a few hours...those are days we definitely need to get the kids out of the house. Today was really one of those days, we just needed to let the kids run around for a while. We tried a new tumbling place on 60th and Lloyd, Wildcard Gymnastics. They have open gym from 9-11am for $5 a kid. Not too bad for a few hours of burning off energy. This place was great! When we got there, there was about 6 people total in there, it got a bit busier, but nowhere near the 50+++ at Swiss Turners! No foam pit to jump in, but if it's not there, the kids must have forgotten about it. We had a great time, the kids loved it. Winn and Emmitt are the perfect age to just be able to run and run and run, without getting into too much trouble. Maddy and Cooper had a blast. I cannot believe how good they were, even when we had to leave. We will definitely go back for more! Here are some cute pics of the little gymnasts...

snow, snow, more snow please

Seriously, can it stop for a little while? Again, I am not opposed to the winter, but come on. Are we planning on topping the 100 inches last season? At this rate, I'll believe anything. 99% of the time, Jeff does the shoveling via the Snow Chief. I actually enjoy the old school shoveling, but with the kids it gets more challenging. Instead of taking an hour or so, it may end up doubling the time spent. Now there is no need for a two hour shoveling session, regardless of the great calorie burning:) The other day, Maddy wanted to go outside, so I decided to chip in and shovel that day. Winston is still a little hesitant about walking around with his boots, and is not completely sure of the snow, but I guess he'll figure it out. While I shoveled, Maddy too (not sure of the actual help there, but...) Winn stood there. I proceeded to shovel around him and left a little square that he did not move off of for a good 30 minutes! He is so funny!





The kids and I headed down the block for a little play date today. Maddy usually plays with the kids for half the time, then the other half is spent eating snacks. I forgot to mention that I do not feed my kids much... This morning, I made waffles in the waffle maker, and they each ate one. And a banana and orange. I seemed to think that this was enough, but no, an hour later at play group, they are acting like I forgot to feed them. Honestly. We had fun, its nice to visit with the ladies down the block! We are trying to plan a little wine and mommy time some Friday night! Hooray!

The start of snow!

I think that when I started this blog, it was in the midst of winter. Well, it is here again! Except for Jeff (and countless others I am sure), I love winter! I love the snow, and wearing my hat and miTTens, and catching snowflakes on my tongue (kidding). But seriously, I really love the snow! The kids and I played outside today for a while. It lasted long enough for me to shovel the driveway, just about the time Winn decided he didn't want to wear his miTTens anymore, and took a header into the newly piled snow bank. That was pretty much the end of playtime. Maddy insisted on hot cocoa, yet was not happy until she let it sit long enough to get cold and...ending up cold cocoa. Go figure...
All in all, it was fun, and Jeff got a break from shoveling today, lucky!!

Madagascar 2 here we come!

Tracy and I and the big kids (that would be Maddy and Cooper if you were wondering:)) are going to the movies this weekend. Are we crazy...yes...will it be nuts...yes...will it be worth it...of course! Adam will be hunting this weekend so we're looking to do something with the kiddos. I have never taken Maddy to a movie before, who knows what will happen. Now if we were seeing Cinderella, or Little Mermaid, I KNOW she would sit there. But this is a new one for Maddy. All she can talk about is Madagascar, and the fact that she will have popcorn and m & m's (?????). Apparently I have to bribe her. I will proceed to do what my parents did when we went to see a movie when we were kids. Sneak in popcorn and snacks and juice boxes...hopefully the movie police will not read this. Jeff will be watching Winston, it will be nice for both of us to have some one on one time with each of them! That really doesn't happen very often.
Tomorrow we have a Marquette game so the kids will have fun with G & G. It's off the Rudy's for some Mexican and Margaritas cha cha cha.

Bye Fall!!

I found some pictures that I took of the kids a few weeks ago. Before we had to wear hats, mittens, and winter coats EVERY time we go outside. Fall went way too fast, and I guess winter is here. I consider it winter when I have to wear my hat, miTTens, and scarf. However, I am a sally, and I do get cold ofter. I wanted to have these cute pictures of the kids in a big leaf pile. This was all in my head of course, because there was no cooperation on the kids part. Maddy was telling me to stop taking pictures, and Winston wanted nothing to do with the leaves but eat them. Maybe in a few years we'll try again...

More chicken soup please...

Kids are asleep, hooray. It really is not fair that you can't call in sick as a mom. If I could I would. I am sick (really) and its no fun to take care of the kids when you are sick. The one thing worse is if they were sick too. Knock on wood for that one, quick...There can only be enough TV time for kids. No more Thomas the Train, or Little People, please... I am begging you! We HAD to get out of the house today, a quick visit to the mall to burn off some energy. It was a bit too windy to be playing outside for too long today. The sick bug must be going around!
If you are interested, there are pictures of Jeff and I out for Halloween. The link is on the right side of the page, Que Sera Sera.

Winn's 1st B-day!!

Our little Winston is now 1 years old. That sounds absolutely crazy to me. I was thinking that a year prior to this, labor was starting. Yikes! We had a small family birthday party on the 19th of October. Winn was cutting some teeth at this time (isn't it always something??), but he was so good and seemed to have lots of fun. I think he was most excited by the 6 dollars worth of balloons that I bought earlier in the day. He walked around all day with those things. It is now 2 weeks later and they are still in our house! G and G made the cutest cake for Winn, it was a baseball cake, appropriate for this family I suppose.



We also had a special Halloween/we forgot to sign happy birthday and open presents party for Winston...We had so much fun, here are some of the pictures from Halloween!!

Party time!

Hooray for Halloween! The party went well, lots of kids running around, no rain, and lots of leftovers. What more could you ask for? I was so worried about rain and cold weather, however, the forecast was dead wrong, and the weather was great. We did halloween in the usual 72nd street fashion. Fire pit and cooler of beer on the front lawn, and lots of good company. The kids looked great in their costumes. I didn't get as many pictures as I would have hoped, I think I was trying to do too many things in a short span of time (imagine that). I think all the kids had fun trick or treating, and of course the dumping of candy all over the floor afterwards. Somehow there was blue frosting on a few of the doorknobs in the house, no idea of how that happened. Everyone left by 9 ish and Jeff, my Dad and I sat out by the fire pit for a while. It felt good to relax! I still have to upload my pictures so I will post them soon. If anyone has any good pictures, e-mail them to me and I can put them on!
Thanks for all the adorable gifts for Winn. He and Maddy are still learning the concept of sharing, which is no easy task, for a 2 1/2 yr old, or a one year old boy. Maddy better watch out, Winn is getting bigger...no taking things away from him anymore!!!

Halloween party

I am very excited to be hosting our first Halloween party/Winn's first b-day party this saturday. As most of you know, Jeff and I are extremely into Halloween, costumes, parties, decorating, the whole shebang. I was hoping to go all Martha Stewart on everyone and make all these fancy appetizers and desserts...and then I woke up from my dream of apparently having no kids. Who in their messed up world, has the time to do all that. I still am hoping to have a Halloween theme with the food and desserts, but we will see how that goes. I am trying to plan some fun games for the kids. However, what I am really hoping for is that the rain gods will be nice to us and at least not rain during trick or treat time. We will see.
I am excited to start a little halloween tradition and hoping that it will grow in the coming years.
I can't wait to see all the cute kiddos costumes!

Fashion plate

Is she a fashion plate or what?? I just got another bajillion bags of winter clothes for Maddy from Yasmin. I bring these clothes home, and I literally have to hide them or I will be attacked by the next America's top model. Maddy is so into clothes, I don't know where she gets that from (ok Jeff). She spent the hottest day this fall so far, in her scarf and hat...demanding that she wear them outside. Hello, is it 70 some degrees outside.

Fall is in the air...

On saturday night, we headed out to Harvest Fest at State Fair Park. I always look forward to going, it usually signifies the start of fall, which is my favorite time of all. We got there and of course we had to pass all the rides. We happened to tell Maddy that there were not going to be rides there, maybe a hay ride. She was insistent that there were rides. So, we ended up doing a few rides. She had fun! We did get to go on a hay ride, Maddy thought she was pretty cool on that...
Jeff took her "fishing" and she was so excited to pick out a prize out of the bucket. She picked out 2 spider rings, which she wouldn't take off. My daughter, as you all know, loves food. She is my daughter, I wonder where she gets that from. She ate an entire corn on the cob...it was literally longer than her arms. I was planning on sharing it with her; I got 3 bites, not fair!!! All in all, it was a fun time. No love monkey's this year, harvest fest isn't the same without them!! Hey girls???

Maddy and her friends

Maddy was so excited to watch the Brewer game on Sunday when she woke up from her nap. She proceeded to bring all of her "friends" into the living room to watch the game too. She is too funny. She lined them all (and I do mean all) in front of the TV so they wouldn't miss the Brewers win. Thank goodness they did. The Ehrhard't are very excited over here for post season Brewers playoffs. I was only slightly convinced that they would make it because my name didn't get drawn this year for the chance to buy post season tickets. Of course, last year my name was drawn via e-mail and I was able to purchase 2 tickets to the game that never happened. So it is in fitting fashion that they will go this year. But I can live with that!

New Blog

I am now feeling compelled to start another blog. I think I am crazy, but that is not a surprise to most. I think I will try to devote the kiddos topics to this one and the rest to my new blog, Que Sera Sera. I think I have a blogging addiction, which I can thank Jenny for.

Kiddos

Let's see...Winn is walking, or should I say running, everywhere. I am starting to see the not-so-subtle differences in boys and girls. Winn is a little monster man. I never really had to "child-proof" the house too much with Maddy. She just didn't seem to get into too much trouble. Winston on the other hand, opens everything, sticks his hands into the toilet any chance he gets, and for some reason enjoys the wine rack. Maddy calls him the wine racker. She is too funny. I guess I will need to lock cabinets and move things a bit for Hurricane Winston. Has there been one of those yet? If not, I am sure it is coming! Watch out.
Maddy is doing great. She is really into playing house and store, and has an incredible imagination.

My return to blog...

Things have been extremely busy over the past month. I was out in Vegas for a conference for ACE which is the American Council on Exercise. It was a fitness symposium for health/fitness professional, and there was tons of great information presented. I am in the process of obtaining my personal training certification, in part for my new role at work, also for my personal life. I would love to start doing some personal training, one-on-one or small groups, away from work. This, of course, in my spare time (which can you guess, I have none at the moment). It was a good week away. My friend Jason came along with me, which was great! We had a fun time, learned to play craps, cashed in a poker tournament at Binion's, and lost my wallet...a within a few days! Yes, the squirrel loses her wallet once again. Imagine that, is this like the 3rd time this has happended??? Yes, actually it is. Enough said about that, I am not happy.
I am back to work, and that is good. Lots of things to catch up on, with the new job starting. I am not leaving my old job, just a role change. A good one! I will keep you updated, maybe guesting on Jenny;s new blog on weight loss/health/fitness.

I am still here!!

Hello all! I realize that I have not posted in like 2 weeks. There has been a very sad and unfortunate event in our lives over the past 2 weeks. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers. I will get back to the blog soon enough!

C.A.R.E.

A good friend of ours, Kim Kozinski, organizes a golf outing to raise money for Alzheimer's. Her mom was diagnosed with this a few years ago and this will be the second year of the CARE golf outing. Last year, I was very pregnant with Winston and was not able to golf. I helped out with the set-up, auction items, etc. This year, I was excited to participate in the golfing. Now there was virtually no way in the world we could ever win (hello, I was on the team), but I was excited to be out for the day none-the-less. The outing was held at Songbird in Sussex, which is a shorter course, but still fun. Our foursome was Jeff, Joe K (the Commodore), Dom, and myself. We did ok for us, I think we tied placed 15th or 16th out of 30, so I was happy we were not last. Although, we would have won a prize if we were in last place. All went well, I hit really well off the tee, and actually chipped a few on the green. Second shot, not so much, but that is nothing out of the ordinary for me. The highlight (not really a highlight, but now is laughable), was when I got hit with a ball from someones drive. This really hurts like hell, let me tell you. I still have a huge black/purple bruise on my upper thigh. It's getting better, but really sucks. After golf, they had a lunch for the golfers, brats and chicken, etc. There was a silent auction to help raise money for CARE. We didn't bid on anything this year, but it wouldn't really have mattered because Neal aka Ninski Brothers co-owner bought EVERYTHING!! We ended up at 1 under and the winner was something like 15 under!! There was also a par 3 hole, where someone had the chance to win a cruise on Royal Caribbean or round trip tickets on JetBlue. It cost 10 bucks for the chance. Of course, we had to attempt that! I mean, what if, for some crazy reason, I actually hit the hole in one, or was the closest to the pin...and I didn't participate?? So I paid the $10 and hit well over the green and smacked into the fence. At least I got it over the huge water that was directly in front of me!!



Later that day, we headed out for a good friend of ours, Matt Alles. wedding. I will be posting some of the pictures and some video. Boy, this should be good!!! It was a great time, and great wedding. Perhaps the last of an era...

Bay Beach

Friday morning, the kids and I headed up the Green Bay for a visit to Bay Beach. with Terri and Ben and the kids. If you're not familiar with Bay Beach, it is a park in Green Bay, that has lots of rides for kids for about 25 cents a piece. It is great! I bought $10 in tickets, and ended up giving some to the Nysse's. Oh, I forgot about the $2 pony ride for Mads. We packed a lunch, so I pretty much paid for gas and a few dollars worth in rides. It was a lot of fun! Maddy had fun with Will and Addy, while Winn pretty much held his own in the stroller. He did go on the carousel a few times, he thought that was pretty fun. Maddy's favorite was the motor boats, probably because she could reach the water from the boat. They both slept on the way home, hooray! It was a fun Friday! Now we'll be getting ready for the busy weekend of golf and weddings!! I will post some pics when I get them!!

So many fests...

I was going a little stir crazy at home, so I called up my dad and we took the kids to Irish Fest. I was originally planning on returning to the Zoo, but really, how many times can one go to the zoo in a given week? I know that Tracy trumped me there with her 3rd visit. Granted it was Zoo Ala Cart, but still. I was there thursday and friday. I now have leftover tickets for food but what can you do?
So we went downtown to Irish Fest for a few hours. We had a really good time! It was ungodly hot, but ok in the shade. Maddy had fun dancing the Irish jig (I used to be able to do that in my day (that would actually be 2nd grade with Ms. Haberski the nun.)) We had some Irish stew and fish and chips and a few delicious Irish beers to top it off. And of course some ice cream! The kids had fun, I think just getting out of the house was nice. Jeff is on his way home, and is off tomorrow. We'll have to find something fun to do. I have my list of to do's: none of them fun for the kids, haircut, oil change, get bowling balls and grocery shopping...and no zoo!

Slip sliding away

We take the kids to the park and slides ALL THE TIME. If I had a bigger yard, I would be putting up one of those Rainbow play sets. But for now, I am content with living so close to about 4 playgrounds. We usually stick with Enderis Park, which I love. It has swings, a bunch of slides, and a cute little wading pool (and a bathroom which we frequently visit now). The other choices are Roosevelt, which is an elementary school a few blocks away, or St Pius, which is one block farther. There are, of course, the super and super-duper slides, which are accessible via the car, but those are for special occasions.... St. Pius has a cool rock climbing wall and a tunnel slide that we started putting Winn down. He is so funny on the slide. He screeches and giggles all the way down, and apparently has no fear. Maddy was always a little timid with the slides until she got used to them. She is now used to them and loves them as much as Winn does. Here are a few clips of Winn & Maddy in the tunnel!

Hooray for blogger

So, I am not as technologically incompetent as previously posted. I figured it out with the help of some "help groups." I finally have my template that I like, and I can customize if and when I'd like to! Yippy skippy! Now I just have to figure out how to stretch out my picture a bit.
I am sitting here watching the Packer preseason game AND the Brewer game and both are quite disappointing. Jeff is finishing his second to last night away at golf! This has really been a LONG weekend! I am glad that Jeff is usually around more often. I feel for the wives who have husbands that travel A LOT. It seems that the kids are testing me a bit more when I have them for extended periods of time by myself. I always feel silly for saying that, its not like I can't handle it, but its always so much easier (and calmer) when there is reinforcement. Jeff goes on this golf outing each August, this year from thursday night until sunday night. He reminds me that before we got married, he mentioned to me that he will always go on this golf outing. I don't care that he goes to this at all, I am just saying that its hard with the kiddos. Time for me to start planning the girls weekend. Just kidding, no I am not. We talked tonight, and he said its going well, I am glad that they had nice weather for it at least! I am looking forward to normalcy again!! Whatever that is...

Technologically incompetent, I didn't think I was, but apparently I am...

I have been going crazy with this blog. I have been trying to change the template/format to get something more exciting! If anyone of my fellow bloggers out there have tried to upload new templates, let me tell you, it is a pain in the you know what. Somehow, I reverted my blog to the "old" blogger style and cannot return to the new one. That is what I get for trying to be technical! And, I think I now have viruses on my computer. I will blame it on Blogger...just kidding! So, please bear with me as I attempt to get a new style. This current one is stuck in there, I don't really care for it too much, but it will have to suffice until I can figure out what the h e double hockey sticks is going on. Enough said.....

Grill out

I see that my posts are out of order! I have had no time to post anything. Like Jenny, I have too many pictures taken at too many events. I am now having time to load them on the computer. Anyways, Friday evening, we went over to the Ignatowski's to grill out and have the kids play together, and adults too! See below pictures. Maddy and Taylor were so cute together. They are 3 months apart, I hope they become friends like their parents! They were really cute towards the end of the night. Giggling in the Dora tent and giggling getting their jammies on. All kids went to bed great, then it was time for the adults to play. So we decided on the Wii. Jeff and I have played before, and I distinctly remember being a little sore the next day, I think from the boxing! We did some bowling, tennis, baseball. Then we moved to the WiiFit game, which is a series of fitness exercises (yoga, strength training, aerobics, etc). Jeff doing yoga poses was pretty darn funny! He did achieve yoga trainer, as I myself, was yoga master. This title, as you will read further on, did not bode me well. I must have done something wrong, because I woke up the next day and could not move. I woke up at 4am, and I literally could not move my neck or back in any direction. I was feeling very nervous about this. Now I have obviously experienced muscle soreness from lifting weights and running,etc. but NEVER like this. I was concerned that I really hurt something. After the kids had breakfast, I was still not able to move well. I could walk, but I couldn't rotate my body at all. Jeff took me to Froedert and after some drugs, I was feeling better. I strained my trapezius muscle, which is the large triangular shaped muscle in your upper back. I was instructed to take lots of ibuprofen and muscle relaxers, as appropriate and percocet if needed. That day, I felt really bad, but after a good day of rest I feel that I am back to normal. I feel so silly! The MD's at Froedert said they have been waiting for the Wii related injury. Mine did not qualify, as I didn't dislocate my shoulder or anything like that. Of well, got to keep things exciting here.







 

A Day at the Fair

Saturday we spent the morning at the fair. Maddy had a good time, she loved all the animals, but kept looking for the rides. She must think that every "festival" will have rides. Little did she know, that we skipped over the Midway section of the fair, and focused more on the animals and food part. She did get to pet one of the cows, and she was quite excited. We went to the fair straight from breakfast, so we weren't particularly hungry, but how can anyone pass up the ice cream sundae booth, or the milk booth, or the baked potatoes, or the..... Maddy and I split a strawberry sundae, I stole most of it (shame on me). Jeff and I both took a turn taking Maddy down the "giant" slide, she could have went down all day, but that was enough for Jeff and I! I was hoping to make it down to the fair with the adults, but that is not to be this year! At least we got to go, and Maddy and Winn enjoyed themselves, I think.


 

 

 

 

Islands in the stream

We had a fantastic trip to the Bahamas! Short, but sweet... It was such a beautiful place, I cannot wait to go back. This first group of slides is from the resort where we stayed, Atlantis. This resort was on Paradise Island, which is the touristy part of the Bahamas. This resort was absolutely gorgeous and huge. It pretty much took us about a half hour to walk from one end to the other.



Jeff and I decided to go on a sailing and snorkeling adventure while we were down there. For me, this was the highlight of the trip. I have been in the ocean a handful of times, but only a little ways out past the shore or beach. I was psyched that we decided to book this. For $60, we sailed out about 45 min past the dock, and anchored. We pretty much jumped out of the boat into the ocean and got to snorkel for about an hour. It was amazing! I regret not having an underwater camera because I cannot explain how gorgeous it was. We were in about 20-30 feet (maybe), some parts deeper some more shallow near a reef. We saw sea turtles, tons of fish (Maddy was excited that we saw Dory fish), jellyfish, and other fish I am not sure what they were! But it was amazing...for 3 1/2 hrs and 60 bucks.



We enjoyed a nice dinner at Mesa Grille, which is a southwestern style restaurant by Bobby Flay, all my food network pals out there. It was insanely expensive for dinner, as well as every other food item at the resort. For one round of drinks, a glass of wine (a generous one, however) and a T and T was $36, not including tip. Yikes!!!! The entire trip was like this. They really get you in the food and drink department, but what can you do? Jeff had a delicious steak (imagine that), and I had a tuna steak (fresh from the ocean). The food and hospitality on the island was fantastic. I cannot remember a time when someone didn't ask us how we were enjoying our dinner, the trip, etc. The Bahamian culture and people were wonderful. We didn't get a chance to visit the straw market for shopping due to crazy rain on saturday afternoon and night, and again on sunday morning when we left.
We also spent lots of time in the casino, imagine that as well, Jeff and I in a casino???? Lots of blackjack. We did alright, no big wins or losses, but it was lots of fun. Makes me want to go to Vegas again. Oh wait, I am going to Vegas. Early September for a work conference.....no gambling for me, only work, work, work!!!

We had a great time, missed the kids, but I can't wait to go back. Maddy wants to go back next time. We'll see...maybe if we win the lottery...

Bahama Mama

2 days and counting...
Our trip to the Bahama's is upon us. Somehow it crept up really fast! Jeff somehow won another trip from Fidelity, I cannot complain about that. So we are off to Nassau, Bahamas for 3 nights. I am really excited for a little R & R. Jeff and I aren't usually the lay around type people (on vacations that is...not football Sunday's), but I guess that I can force myself to lay on the beach, next to the ocean, sipping some fru fru cocktail concoction...
We are planning on doing some snorkeling, and some other excursions I would presume, but honestly, I am looking forward to the for mentioned. I am exited for some beautiful scenery, warm weather and lots of sun. I hope the weather holds up. Our last trip to the Caribbean, we ran into Hurricane Ivan. We had to divert our cruise a bit, still had fun, but the weather was a bit gloomy. This time, no boat, just a visit to Paradise Island, Atlantis Resort. I'll post more when we return. Hopefully I'll get some nice island pictures! See ya later!

tag I'm it

Another blog tag, I do like them though!!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:30am...not by my choice, obviously
2. Diamond or Pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw? Does Disney's Beauty and the Beast count?
4. Who always supports you? Jeff
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Shredded wheat on weekdays, eggs toast and bacon on weekends!!
6. What is your middle name? Ann
7. What food do you dislike? Seafood
8. What is your favorite CD? Any George Strait CD
9. What type of car do you drive? Toyota Rav4
10. Favorite sandwich? Any sandwich made by someone else. I am not a big fan of sandwiches, unless they are fancy ones with field greens and chipotle mayo and all that fun stuff
11. What characteristics do you despise? Arrogance
12. Favorite item of clothing? Old comfy jeans
13. If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go? Italy
14. What color is your bathroom? Sky Blue
15. Favorite brand of clothing? I'm not too particular about my clothes
16. Where will you retire? Here
17. What was your most memorable birthday? 21st
18. Favorite sport to watch? Football, please Favre don't ruin this for me
19. Furthest place you are sending this? Not sure about that one...Wisconsin Rapids, I'm real adventurous
20. Who do you expect to send this back to you? Bloggers
21. Person you expect to send it back first? I have only one other friend that blogs, Jason
22. Favorite sayings? Anything where I can stress my "t's"
23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning
24. Pets? 2 fish
25. What did you want to be when you were little? A brain surgeon
26. What are you today? Exercise Physiologist
27. What is your favorite candy? Smarties
28. What is your favorite flower? Peoney
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? July 24th, Jeff and I leave for the Bahamas.....yeah baby
30. What are you listening to right now? TiVo So you think you can dance
31. What was the last thing you ate? Vanilla bean ice cream
32. Do you wish on stars? Yes
33. Do you believe in Angels? Yes, yes, yes
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Magenta
35. Pet peeves? Lateness
36. Favorite Television show? LOST
37. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Jeff
38. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes
39. Favorite soft drink? Diet Coke
40. Favorite restaurant? Rafters
41. Hair Color? Brown
42. Siblings? 2 brothers
43. What do you like most about yourself? I am easy going
44. What was your favorite toy as a child? PlayDough
45. Summer or Winter? Winter
46. Hugs or kisses? Kisses
47. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
48. When was the last time you cried? Sad movie
49. What is under your bed? Dust bunnies
50. What did you do last night for dinner? Chicken on the grill
51. Favorite smell? Cookies fresh out of the oven
52. How many keys on your key ring? 7
53. How many years at your current job? 10
54. Favorite day of the week? Friday
55. Do you make friends easily? Yes

Pool Party!

 

 

 

 



Who doesn't love a good pool party? With the temperature at a scorching 90+, we opted to take Maddy and Winn over to the Lee's to visit Cooper and Emmitt. Nothing like a dip in the cool water on a hot day. The kids had a fun time, Maddy and Cooper enjoyed dumping buckets of water on Auntie Tracy's lawn the best! Winn took a couple of whole body dives into the deep end (Tracy has a fancy deep and shallow end in her pool, ah the ammenities of Brookfield). Emmitt wasn't all too excited today, though he is much the fish. We had a little lunch after, and were home in time for naps! I hope we wore them out enough to sleep for a few hours...

It's not easy being green

So I have decided to try a little harder to be more environmentally aware. I have bought some reusable bags from Whole Foods for $.99 a piece, and I get something like $.10 per bag off of my bill at Pick N Save and Sendiks. So I guess they have paid for themselves already. My neighbor is a very environmentally friendly person. Maybe that is where I am getting the push from. She is on the "progressive" end of the environmental issues, whereas I am teetering somewhere in la la land. I know that I should be more cognisant of these issues, but it's not easy. Last saturday, my neighbor and I visited the West Allis farmers market, Jeff seems to think that this is funny. Most likely because a) he does not know the difference between a zucchini and an asparagus or b) he does not eat vegetables (only carrots and corn). Perhaps a combination of both. I spent $15 and bought tons of delicious veggies: broccoli, patty pan squash, zucchini, cucumbers, peas, beans, and lettuce. First of all, the grocery store usually has crappy produce, and its always so expensive. Second, there is something great about buying local produce from "your own backyard." I would say that I would like to do this all the time, however, I know realistically this is not going to happen.

Enough of my crazy ranting...

More festivals...

Jeff and I took the kids to St Dominic's festival on Saturday evening. We were looking for something outside to do, and when Jeff mentioned a festival, Maddy was instantly hooked. We brought this up in the morning and she was just beside herself all day. When she woke up from her nap, she shot up and said "Are we ready to go to the festibal??" So we had to find one fast. We were going to attempt Bastille Days, but it's not too kid friendly, no rides or games or anything like that. So we googled church festivals milwaukee and came up with St Dominic's in Brookfield. We got there around 4ish and planned on feeding the kids and getting dinner there. Now Maddy remembers the rides from St Roman's festival a month or so ago. Apparently, it is the same festival group that did Romans's because Jeff recognized the carnies!! Yikes!! So Maddy and Jeff and I went on 5 rides or so, including the Bee's, the cars and teapots. It was a great time, we had a lot of fun and the kids were really good. Last time at the festival, Maddy was not too happy to leave, but this time she was great! However, on the way out, she said "The rides will be here for me when I wake up, right??" Not so much...
Sunday was golf at Kettle Hills in Germantown. We had a scramble as part of Jeff golf "league". We had 16 golfers in 4 teams of 4. On the 4th of July, I was one of four chosen to be captain. I randomly chose my dad, Anne, and Jeff as part of my team, which is pretty funny. I am pretty bad, but I still enjoy playing and being outside, and a break from kiddos is nice too! We were getting 2 strokes for 18 holes, technically the worst team! The front 9 we did really bad, but the back 9 we shot so much better. I think we had 3 birdies, which is more than any of the other teams, however we tied for last. At least we technically weren't last... All in all, it was a great time! I don't get the chance to go out and golf hardly ever, but when I get the opportunity I will jump at it. I know it's a lifelong sport, so I have lots of time to perfect my game (or at least attempt to break 120?????)
Afterwards, Jeff and I and the kids went to watch Steve Serbiak play little league. He happened to be playing at a park a few miles away from our house. We had a little picnic dinner and attempted to watch the game. Maddy had fun watching the kids play baseball. I wonder if she will be interested in playing soon, maybe next summer! Jeff would be in heaven...

4th of July...and the 3rd and 5th and 6th

What a busy past few days! This is one of my favorite holiday's of the year, next to Halloween of course. I like our simple tradition that consists of marching in the Wilson Park parade, the Ehrhardt 4th of July party, and of course fireworks! This year, we added a few random commitments, but all in all, it was a pretty good weekend. Unfortunately, the week started out with Winn getting the dreaded hand, foot and mouth disease, which simply is a nasty virus with a high fever and rash. Great, lots of fun there! Poor little boy, he did pretty good considering how he was feeling.
Thursday the 3rd, Jeff and I went out to dinner with Mary Jo and Scott at Ristorante Bartolotta in downtown Tosa. It was a nice night out without the kids. It was great to enjoy a delicious dinner and not have to eat food cold, or cut food up, or convince someone to eat playing silly games the entire time! Imagine! We had reservations at 5:30, Jeff's parents were watching all 4 kids while we sat and enjoyed a relaxing dinner (does that seem fair????). After dinner and a few drinks later, we decided that we should splurge and have dessert, which is usually skipped at these "nice dinners". Mary Jo and myself had tirimasu, while Jeff opted for the banana chocolate cake. Scott went a bit off the board and chose some grapefruit shaved ice...with some kind of liquor shot poured on top. In west allis terms, this is considered a Snow Cone, but in Tosa, we step it up a bit. After dinner, in our nice getup, we headed over to the Club Tap for a post dinner drink. Now, at dinner, Jeff was talking about Schlitz beer, re-brewing their old classic Schlitz recipe. Apparently, it is extremely hard to get your hands on cases of this product. Once and a while, I enjoy the taste of a cold beer (????) (once and a while???). Sometimes even the old school one's. We walk into Club Tap, and see signs posted all over for the new (old) Schlitz beer. So we decided to have 1, or 2, and they were great! Nothing like an ice cold brew on a hot summer night!
The next day, we woke early for the parade. We march in the Wilson Park parade every year, I joined in when I met Jeff, but he has been doing this since as long as he can remember! Now, this parade is like no other. You ask, why? Are there floats...no, are there marching bands...maybe, but a really small one, are there horses or other animals...definitely not. What there is at this parade is a lot of people marching with flags and decorated bikes, strollers, scooters, headed towards one common goal...ice cream. We march about 6 blocks or so up 20th and down 16th street to Wilson Park. I joke, but it really is pretty fun! It is a time where I get to catch up with some of the girls, have a beer from Mr G at 10:00am, and have a mini cup of ice cream at the end. Maddy really enjoyst he parade, but especially the ice cream after too. Winn got his first taste, and he thought that was pretty great. I will get some pictures in a slide show soon too!



After parade time, we seem to have out own little traditions. The boys go and get the keg of beer and ice (somehow we always end up with the perfect amount), and the girls run to Kohls for some clothes. I always seem to dress wrong. We plan to spend the entire day at the Ehrhardt's party, and I never seem to pack enough for temperature changes, etc. So every year, I am either buying pants or shorts because it got too cold or too hot. The party was lots of fun. The kids had a pretty good time, again, despite being a little under the weather. We watch the fireworks at 9:30or so down by the creek. We are a bit far from where they light them off, but its nice not to have to leave home to see them! I love fireworks! Maddy, once again, did not make it to the fireworks. She had quite a fever, and went to bed pretty early. Next year I hope!!!
Saturday was my friend Tara's wedding day! What a gorgeous day for a wedding, couldn't have been better. The ceremony was held at Elmbrook Church followed by a reception at Bristlecone Pines Country Club. Fancy schmancy place! A night of dancing, and friends. Cheers to Tara and Justin!



Sunday Jeff and I played in a poker play-in tournament. I was first knocked out (my goodness) and Jeff took 4th, no cash and no entrance to the Tournament of Champions. Maybe it wasn't meant to be, all weekends through mid August seemed to be booked up.
I am glad to get back to some sort of normalcy around here, if there is such thing.
Our holiday weekend was great, hectic, fun, and tiring, but I still love it!!

Tired Princess

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went over to the Smith's for a cookout on Saturday evening. It was great to catch up with everyone. The kids had a blast together. The Hannes's, Smith's and ourselves all have girls about the same age. Throw in Leo and Winn and you have your starting Bucks line-up. The Smith home is now called the home of costumes! Leo, Maddy and Clare were trying on costumes for half the night! It was so funny to see them running around in Spider Man, bees, lady bugs, and of course princesses! The kids played so nice together. We played outside for a while, Dave brought a kite, which the kids absolutely loved. I hate to say, but I am jealous (not in a really bad way) of the gorgeous yard that we could run around in, and all the great space to play inside! Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE where I live, but I would REALLY love more yard and more room!! Mark reminds me that there is lots of land out by their home, and I remind him that I can't live that far away, not to mention that our money tree needs A LOT more water!!
It was so nice to see everyone (and not just for poker) for a night of delicious food (Mark makes the best chicken), good wine, and of course good friends! We always say we need to get together more, but I am hoping that we can keep it up.