Someday I Will Miss This Chaos

Where Does the Time Go?

2012-01-25T13:36:00.001-06:00

The days seem to go by faster and faster. Some days I relish the idea and cannot wait for what's in store for the next. Other days I want to hold on to that moment, willing it to stay for awhile.

This morning, after taking the kids to the bus stop, I walked back with our neighbor's father and our neighbor's kid (the parents were both at work), The little girl is 3, and she has literally grown up before our eyes. I asked her if I could stick her in my pocket, to which she replied, "I'm too big."

And then yesterday marked the 1-year anniversary since a friend of mine from high school's sister's 2-year old. suddenly died (did you follow that?). The dad of the little boy has been blogging for most of the year, trying to wrestle with his grief. All his posts bring me to tears, so be forewarned if you want to check it out here.

Anyway, I oftentimes find that I wrestle with feelings of longing. Longing to hold on to my kids a little tighter. Longing for the days when the kids were littler. Listen to me--my kids are only 8 and 5, but to me, I fell like those toddler years were so long ago. As kids grow up, they gain more independence, which, in the end is all we can ask for as parents. But with that independence comes needing me a little less.

I have a hard time accepting change. I don't know if I've always been that way (those who have known me longer may know the answer), but I think it's become even more prevalent since having kids. You are basically watching your children grow up right before your eyes.

And I don't know if it was kismet, but I received an email this morning from a website I wasn't familiar with. The company asked me to click a link to let it know if I still wanted to keep my videos on its site.

Videos?

I was intrigued. And I viewed the video, which I honestly have no memory of ever making, and I cried. Gosh, 2.5 years ago isn't a long time in the grand scheme of things, but look how young the kids look! The flood gates opened. You can tell how much Riley adores her brother. You can see how much Jeremy loves food and how we dressed him up like a girl. You can see how happy Casey makes my brother. And you can see just how much my parents love being grandparents.

Yes, I do believe I'll keep that video around for a bit. If only to remind me that life flies by in an instant.

Check it out here.

Riley's 8th Birthday Party

2012-01-17T13:15:00.000-06:00

I realize it's been a few months, but we did have a birthday party for the birthday girl, oh, way back in mid-November. As parents, we wanted her to have fun and invite some friends, but we didn't want to go into debt in order to do so. Plus, the problem we have around here is that a lot of people do the same parties. Riley has been to several at the bowling alley and a bulk at this local chocolate shop. Not that there's anything wrong with having a party there, but we just wanted to do something different.

We finally settled on a roller blading/skating place. Riley originally didn't want it there, but we were able to convince her that it would be fun. She invited 10 of her friends (and one brother of hers), and we had the party the day after her actually birthday.

The kids seemed to have a fantastic time--some of them had never been on roller blades/skates before. So those girls took a bit longer to get out there. What I love about kids this age is that even if they've never met, they can immediately become friends and not hold any preconceived first notions about anyone. Girls were holding hands, trying to keep each other from falling; meanwhile Jeremy is zooming around the rink due to his many hours of actual ice skating.

About halfway through the party we met in a separate room for the kids to enjoy some Italian ice and open presents. The problem with that was that some of the girls needed to use the bathroom, which meant blading/skating over there and trying not to fall.

The other disappointing aspect was that Phil lost his jacket, which had his car keys and checkbook in the pocket! We had the entire staff looking around for it, they announced it over the PA (although I later joked that we were in Bear country, and who would willingly give back a Packer jacket), and about 45 minutes later it was located in another party room. I guess someone thought it belonged with their group, but we were just so thankful that it was found.

Riley had a fantastic time with all her friends, and since her party, she's been invited to two other birthday parties...both at the same place! And they were both for girls who had been at her party! The best part of all was that for the third straight year, we asked parents to not buy Riley any presents and instead to donate food to give to the local food pantry. Some parents did purchase gifts, but we ended up bringing 133 pounds of food to the food pantry! Riley was so proud to give the food, and when we brought it in, one of the volunteers gushed over her and told her what a wonderful thing she was doing. (To which Jeremy complaining: "Am I going to go have to do this for my party?")

Here are some pictures from her party. Enjoy!

Vacation Recap

2012-01-09T09:24:00.000-06:00

Back in November, Phil and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary (Aug. 11) with our first kid-free vacation. It was actually our first real vacation, besides when we traveled to Boston for C+D's wedding. We were blessed to have both grandmas agree to watch the kids since we were going while they were in school, and off we went to beautiful St. Maarten.

We had an overnight layover in Philadelphia (which is funny in itself because in order to save money, we got a room with two queen beds instead of a king. So the vacation began with both of us sleeping in separate beds!). Bright and early the next morning we boarded the plane for the Caribbean. And let me tell you, the view from off the plane was amazing! We were actually the very last ones off the plane, and we disembarked on the actual runway. We walked down the stairs, and was it ever hot! It was about 3:30 pm when we arrived, and it was a stark contrast from the 20-degree temps when we left the States.

We found our bags and got in line for a taxi. We shared the ride with two other women, and the conversation was strained at times due the heavy accents. But we arrived at our resort about 4:30, went up to the room and gazed upon the beautiful ocean view.

We traveled to another island for one of the days--it's called Pinel Island--and it was beautiful. We also rented a car for a day and drove around the entire island, with a stop at one of the world's most beautiful beaches. We spent a majority of the day there, enjoying the weather and the waves. One of the highlights was a spur-of-the-moment dinner stop during the middle of the week. We had plans to go to this Italian place, only to arrive and find it closed. We walked down the street and came across this French restaurant, and when the hostess said she'd give us a free glass of champagne, I was sold! It was one of the most delicious meals both of us had ever eaten.

All in all, we had a fantastic time, and we spent every day in the water at some point. I was happy to get some sun and enjoy being "me" and not necessarily a "mom". It was a great way to reconnect and remember why we're together. We both agreed that the time we were gone was just the right amount. It was 6 days, 5 nights, and we both felt completely refreshed when we arrived back home.

There are a TON of pictures, and I didn't label them all, but here's a link to the photo album. I'll be happy to explain any of the pictures if you have questions. I already miss the scenery and wearing shorts. :)

2011 Year in Review

2011-12-28T16:58:00.003-06:00

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? I had never been away from the kids for more than 2 days, and in November, Phil and I celebrated our 10 years of marriage by going to St. Maarten sans kids. It was heaven, and I only regret that we hadn't gone on vacation with just the two of us sooner. I also started volunteering at the library due to now having 2 kids at school full-time.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't keep them, but I did start running this year. It's still not fun, but I do feel better about myself for doing it. I'm actually thinking of making a list of resolutions or more of a bucket-type list of things I want to accomplish in 2012.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes! I have a new nephew, Quinten William, who was born Nov. 30. And one of my dearest friends had a little boy, Jack, in early November.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes. My grandfather passed away on Dec. 6. I'm still having a hard time dealing with it, and it put a damper on my Christmas spirit. But he was 94, and for that, I feel grateful that he lived such a full life..

5. What places did you visit? Beautiful St. Maarten couldn't really top anything. We also had an overnight layover in Pittsburgh, so we saw that, too. The kids were able to experience Green Bay when we went to visit family.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? More date nights with the husband. And reminding myself to work more during the day when the kids are at school so I don't have to pull late nighters.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Aug. 11 was our 10-year anniversary. Nov. 30 is when my nephew arrived. And Dec. 6 is when my grandpa passed.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Knowing when to accept help. We've had a rough year in certain aspects, but as long as you know what to fight for and why, there are always ways to achieve that.

9. What was your biggest failure? I had said that with both kids on school, I can work plenty during the day. Yeah, that hasn't really happened. And on most days I find that the day flies by and I haven't really accomplished anything. I need to get a better handle on that..

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nope, just the occasional cold.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Our vacation.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My family. For showing me that no matter what, family will be there for you and support you.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Ignorant people and those who abuse kids. That's horrific.

14. Where did most of your money go? Hockey for Jeremy. And our vacation.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? C+D returning to Chicago! And some other news relating to them. :)

16. What song will always remind you of 2010? The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars. The kids LOVED it, and we loved tormenting Phil by listening to it. Firework by Katy Perry because Jeremy would sing it out on the ice while playing hockey.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier. It's been an evolving year, and I believe that both of us have put in the extra effort to make it so.

b) thinner or fatter? Thinner. The running has helped, but I don't run when it gets cold, so maybe I'll be getting a little fatter soon.

c) richer or poorer? Poorer. Only because sports are getting to be a little pricier.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Calming down. Sometimes I feel like I yell at the kids too much, and I hate that feeling. And housework. The house is a mess, and I've been a little negligent in taking care of that.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Laundry. But it has to be done.

20. How did you spend Christmas in 2011? When all is said and done, we will have had five Christmas celebrations. The first one was moved up one week due to my grandfather's funeral. We celebrated (for lack of better words) with family after the visitation. The following weekend we visited our new nephew and the rest of Phil's brother's family. Later that week Phil's parents came out to celebrate. Then the four of us opened presents on Christmas, and then our last one is actually on New Year's Day with my parents, brother and sister-in-law. Phew!

21. Did you fall in love in 2010? I think I gained a higher appreciation for love this year.

22. What was your favorite TV program? Modern Family, The New Girl and Community. Most things on Bravo, especially Top Chef. And all Blackhawks games and hockey in general.

23. What did you do for your birthday in 2011? I had a great birthday this year. My parents came out, and my mom and I had pedicures. Then all of us went to dinner at one of my favorite places--Hackney's!

24. What was the best book you read? I read a ton, and it's hard to remember just one. I really enjoyed Two Kisses for Madddy because I follow the writer on his blog. It definitely made me cry.
25. What did you want and get? Time to recharge.

26. What did you want and not get? A money tree.

27. What was your favorite film of this year? We only saw one in the theater this year, The Muppets, and it was hysterical! I also watched The Bridesmaids and Horrible Bosses on DVD and thought they were awesome.

28. Did you make some new friends this year? Yes, one of my closest friends moved one block away, and she has two girls the same ages as our kids. Plus they go to our church, so we see them quite a bit. I got to know her a lot this past year.

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? I'm not too sure.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? Indifferent.

31. What kept you sane? My girlfriends. I'm trying to be better about keeping in touch with everyone because my girlfriends are my sounding boards and help me get through life's rough patches.

32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? There are so many...Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith, Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper...

33. What political issue stirred you the most? Issues involving education and cutting back funds for kids in school.

34. Who did you miss? I already miss my grandpa. Like I said, I'm having a hard time dealing with it, and I'm not quite sure why. I think maybe because it signifies an end of traditions of getting together where he lived.

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010. Marriage takes work. It isn't always easy. And it's OK to ask for help; nobody is going to think less of you for asking.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

2011-12-22T21:10:00.000-06:00

Time just keeps getting away from me.

Here are a few things that have made me laugh within the last few (rough) weeks.

While driving to dinner with my parents, we passed a house with Christmas lights reaching high up on the family's evergreen tree. I told Jeremy I had no idea how the family was able to get the lights up that high. Jeremy's response?

"I bet someone has long arms like (Marian) Hossa." (Leave it to my boy to reference hockey.)

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Jeremy told me the other day that he has two new favorite animals. The cow and the llama. Why the llama, I asked.

"Because they make bacon." Sure. Makes sense to me! :)

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And lastly, I found this video online. It's about the Blackhawks, and all four of us couldn't stop laughing. Enjoy!

Ponderings

2011-12-14T21:42:00.001-06:00

I'm sorry I've been so lax in posting here. I wanted to post pictures/provide an update about what all we did this summer.

I want to post my thoughts/feelings about losing my grandfather. He passed away on Dec. 6, and we had the visitation and funeral this week. He was an amazing 94-year-old man who farmed all the way up until he was 92.

I want to talk about the kids and how they still amaze me.

But that will have to wait. I've been trying to get into the Christmas spirit, but, not surprisingly, it's been hard to find this year. My best friend pointed out that I never tend to be in the Christmas spirit no matter what the year, which is true, but I'm finding it harder than ever this year. I'm hoping that within the week I can get happy and finish my shopping.

I did want to share an article I found that is perfect for this time of year, when we're thinking about the new year and re-evaluating our life. So enjoy this for now, and I hope to get back on here soon.

Giving Thanks

2011-12-03T22:14:00.000-06:00

This post is a few weeks behind (ah, story of my life!), but with some recent changes, I wanted to take a moment and count my blessings.

*My new nephew. Quinten William was born Nov. 30 two weeks early at 7 lbs. 15 oz. This is going to be one tough little guy. He's been through so much already (and so have my wonderful BIL and SIL), and on the day his mom was discharged from the hospital, he was transferred to another children's hospital NICU. He was having issues with his oxygen saturation levels, and until today, he hadn't been able to breathe on his own for more than 3 hours. Then today he was off oxygen for 12 hours! The other concerning aspect was that he hadn't eaten since he was born. Today he was able to take a bottle! Small victories. The doctors still don't know the full extent of what's wrong, but we're hoping he'll be home within the week.

*My family. Gosh, I can't say enough about how much I love these kids and the husband. The kids (and the husband) do make me crazy at times, but they are the lights of my life. I can't wait to hear all about their days at school, and they are literally growing up right before my eyes. School is 1/4 over (already!) and both are doing remarkably. Riley is reading at the 4th grade level and is the smartest kid in her class when it comes to math (I'm not kidding--that's what her teacher said at P/T conferences). And Jeremy, my gosh, that kid can remember anything! Today we went to the local Christmas holiday walk, and he remembered some of the things we did last year. And he's still adamant that he wants to be a hockey player when he grows up.

*My grandpa. Unfortunately, he's not doing that well. His health is failing, and he often wonders why he's here. He's in his 90s, and is now living in a nursing home. We were able to celebrate Thanksgiving at his nursing home, and I'm just so thankful for all that he's done for this family. I used to spend so many summers hanging out down at grandma and grandpa's, playing with my cousins. I remember my mom would let me stay down there for weeks at a time, and we'd help milk the cows, get them from the pasture, gather the eggs and just play. Grandma would let the kids pick out the Kool-aid or burn stuff in the wood-burning stove. I love how close our family is, and it's something I hope to pass along to our kids.

*My parents. After having kids, I realize how important it is to live nearby to your parents. I cannot imagine not speaking to them more than 2-3 times a week and seeing them 2-3 times per month. Due to Facebook, I see that more and more of my friends are losing their parents, and that terrifies me. My parents aren't old enough for that! I hate seeing them age, because in my eyes they're still energetic and full of life. Oh wait, that's STILL my mom! I love them dearly, and I cannot imagine what it would be like if they weren't here.

*The husband. Our vacation was so desperately needed and wonderful. It was refreshing to remember what it was like to be husband and wife and not mom and dad. We didn't have anyone vying for our attention. It literally made me fall in love with him again (or maybe that was the Caribbean rum that made me do that). Kidding. He puts up with a lot, and sometimes I feel like I don't give him enough credit for all that he does. He's a wonderful husband, father and best friend. And I love him more than anything.

I know there are more things that I'm thankful for, but these are the main people. I love you all.

Happy Birthday, Riley!

2011-11-17T20:27:00.000-06:00

8 years old. Wow. Several times within the last few weeks, when people ask me how old my kids are, I stumbled trying to remember how old Riley is. How is it possible that she's 8 now?

8 years ago she entered our lives, reluctantly. After about 2 hours of pushing, out she came. I was convinced she was a boy, and when Phil announced: "Oh my God, it's a girl!" I think my first reaction was "No way!" She was a fantastic baby (especially when compared to her colicky, non-sleeping brother) and such a fun toddler. But in all seriousness, she has really come into her own this year.

We had her parent/teacher conference earlier this month, and we were told she's a stellar student. She's currently reading at the 4th-grade level, and her math skills are astounding. The school will take these specialized tests in January, and her teacher believes that Riley will qualify for advanced placement for math.

School comes so easily to her, and it's amazing to see her learn. On the other hand, when she can't understand something easily, she tends to shut down and burst into tears. She's her harshest critic, something I believe she picks up from me, as I'm my own worst critic. She's had her moments of drama, but I have a feeling this is just a glimpse of what we have to look forward to during the teenage years.

She's an outstanding soccer player, something else that she has really come in to. Her soccer coach from when she was 5 asked her to play some 3-vs.-3 this summer just for fun, and she really improved with her play and her self-confidence. In fact, earlier this fall, an opposing coach, whom we had never met, came up to us and raved about her and said he wanted to recruit her to play for his team in the fall. Then tonight we got a call from her old coach who wants her to play indoor in January. She absolutely loves sports, especially swimming, softball and soccer.

Happy birthday to our beautiful girl. We love you so very much!

8 years ago yesterday. I had no idea my water
would break just a few hours after this was taken.

8 years ago today. Poor girl had to get an IV after she was born, so she
had a splint on her left arm. Look at all that hair!

7 years ago at daycare.

6 years ago today.

5 years ago today.

4 years ago today.

3 years ago today.

2 years ago today.

Last year.

Today. My newly minted 8 year old.

11-11-11

2011-11-13T21:16:00.000-06:00

Phil and I just got back from our 10-year anniversary trip to St. Maarten. Wow. It was a fantastic trip, and I hope to post pictures and write about it soon. But tonight Phil posted this on Facebook, and I thought it was important enough to share. It's moments like this that make me speechless. (But on a less-serious note, Riley told us that on Friday it was veterinarian's day.)

I know it is a couple of days late, but my son learned today at church that it was Veteran's Day and they gave him a flag and asked to put it by a tombstone of a veteran who served our country. This is something he really wanted to do, a boy of 5 years old... My wife took him to a cemetery and placed the American flag on a soldier named Carlton who served in the 2nd world war. It is moments like this that make you stop and think about the men and women overseas that are protecting us and are so far away from home and their families. Thank you Carlton for you service to this country. I am honored to know you even if it is only by your name.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T22:03:00.000-05:00

We had a fantastic Halloween today. In fact, we had a pretty nice Halloween week.

It all started last Wednesday night at 9:30 when I received a phone call from one of the moms from Riley's class. The mom was scheduled to help out at the classroom Halloween party, but her other daughter was sick and she couldn't make it. Riley's teacher had mentioned that I would be willing to help, which I had said when I volunteered the week before. (Sidenote: I LOVE that I can help for any activity at the school since both kids are now in school!). Anyway, I said I would help, so Thursday I went to Riley's class and helped facilitate the party. It was a lot of fun!

Saturday Riley had her last soccer game (more about that later), and then Jeremy had a birthday party for one of his old preschool friends Ryan, and then we had a gathering with the neighbors. There was a ton of food and lots of fun for the kids and adults. Even pumpkin Jell-o shots!

Sunday one of the local churches had a trunk or treat where the kids got candy inside the church and did all kinds of activities. We hung out with a bunch of friends and had a blast. That leads us to today, Halloween! The kids both had school, and they wore their Halloween shirts. No costumes were allowed at school. They got off the bus around 4:15 and we came home to change, have some snack and meet up with our friends.

At the trunk or treat.

We have a Ghostbuster, angel, viking, 2 witches
pirate, karate guy and a sorceress.

Jeremy lasted about 1 hour, and then he asked if I could take him home. Phil had stayed at home to hand out candy. Riley and the older girls kept going for another hour. The two other girls were done, and Riley wanted to visit some of her friends from school. We stayed out another 15 minutes. The amount of candy the kids gathered is ridiculous. And I'm sure I'll be "forced" to help them eat some of it. :) But if that's the price I have to pay...

My pirate.

My pirate and angel.

The motley crew.

Trying to stay still.

We asked them to make funny faces.

That's My Boy

2011-10-21T20:30:00.000-05:00

At dinner tonight, Jeremy was telling us about his day.

"Did you know my teacher likes spinach? And broccoli? Yuck."

So we told him that Dad likes spinach and that Uncle Kevin likes broccoli. He said that his teacher was asking the kids if they liked certain foods, and the kids responded by giving a thumbs up. He said she asked who liked spaghetti, and he put a thumbs up.

"And then she asked if we liked chocolate chip cookies. And I gave her TWO thumbs up."

Yup, that's my chocoholic, dessert-loving kid. :)

First Days of School

2011-10-17T15:25:00.001-05:00

I'm not even going to acknowledge how behind I am...but I am. This post took me longer than normal because I needed to scan a picture I found. Why? You'll see in a minute.

Riley's first day of second grade was on August 24. And thanks to the advances of Facebook, I was able to find one of her old preschool friends was going to be in her class (for Miss Betty's reference, it's Kaitlyn T.). We met Riley's teacher the Monday before school started so we could drop off school supplies, see her classroom, and of course meet the teacher. Riley's desk was all set up, and she was very excited to see that there were a few other people she knew in her class.

We met Jeremy's teacher the following evening (the school does kindy on one night, and the other grades on the other evening). Again, thanks to Facebook, I found that one of his preschool buddies, Hunter, would be in his class as would one of our neighbors. His teacher was so excited and bubbly--just what you'd expect a kindergarten teacher to be. He was able to find his cubby, and we turned in all his supplies.

So on August 24, we loaded Riley up and headed her off to school. She's a pro at this, and nothing seemed to bother her. She's now one of the oldest kids in the school, as the school is only a K-2 school (with almost 1,500 kids!).

Riley with the traditional sign.

Posing for the camera.

The reason behind my posting delay.
This is me in 2nd grade. See a resemblance?

Here we are today.

Dad and his girl.

The kids.

I had the rest of the day with Jeremy all to myself. I was pretty sad about it, mainly because it would be my last day with the guy. I'm sure many of you are/were tired of hearing/reading me lament about these waning days. He's my baby, my boy. And he still is. But now that we're almost 1/4 done with school (WOW!), I can't be prouder of how well he's done.

Anyway...we enjoyed our day together full of parks and hockey, but of course. The following day was Jeremy's first day of school. The school lets the older kids go first and then all the kindergartners start the next day.

Jeremy's first day of school.

My boy.

Mom and her boy.

The kids.

The school sponsored a Boo-Hoo Breakfast for moms/dads of the kids just starting school. We put J on the bus, and I drove over to the school to meet up with his class. He got there a little late--I think the bus was late. But our neighbor kid was very excited to see me. He kept telling me that he was having hot lunch that day and he couldn't wait. And then he offered to take a picture with him and Jeremy. Too cute.

Jeremy and his buddy Hayden.

Boarding the bus.

Jeremy in his class.

Jeremy and our neighbor Luke.

I went to the breakfast and met up with some preschool moms (Kaiden and Kiley's mom). It was a ton of fun. And it helped me deal with the fact that he would be gone all day. The first few days was rough, honestly. But Phil was working on painting Riley's room, so I was busy taping, and I talked to some girlfriends. And now we've gotten into a nice swing of things, and both kids are really thriving at school, not that I had any doubt. They're both finishing up their soccer seasons, and J's last hockey for this session is tomorrow. I'm so proud of the kids!

Two Touching Articles

2011-10-09T21:02:00.000-05:00

Some days I don't feel like I do enough to help others. Now that both kids are in school, I have stepped up my volunteering efforts. I've helped out at school for both kids (I was able to attend my first field trip with J's class last week!), I've helped with Market Day, with PTA stuff, and I spend 1.5 hours every week at the library. (Sidenote: I thought about helping at an animal shelter, but I thought it would be too difficult to leave the animals there and not bring them home.)

And then I read something like this. Or this. And then I don't think I do enough to help others. I look at my brother and sister-in-law who've touched so many lives in their travels. They just returned from Guatemala where they helped build schools for low-income families. This was after a 3-year stint teaching in Lebanon. And prior to that they served in the Peace Corps.

But for now I just thought I'd share with you those two articles that affected me. I hope maybe they can inspire you, or make you go home and hug or call your kids/loved ones. And know how much you all mean to me.

Animal Crackers

2011-10-06T15:07:00.000-05:00

We have a very busy sports schedule. Mondays and Wednesdays Jeremy has soccer, and Tuesdays he has hockey. Fridays and Saturdays Riley has soccer. Most people would think that's a bit much, but I think the kids thrive on scheduling and, let's face it, sports. They're both super athletic. You're welcome, Phil. (kidding)

So a few Fridays ago, I brought some snack along for Jeremy to munch on since I knew that he would be hungry. We usually eat dinner before soccer since practice starts at 5:30. I look over at him, and he's meticulously eating animal crackers. He's taking a few nibbles and then giggling.

I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was eating their butts. Why, you may ask? In Jeremy's words:

"so they can't poop."

Yes, that's my son. I'm so proud. On most days.

Life with Two in School

2011-10-06T14:41:00.000-05:00

Earlier this year when I signed Jeremy up for kindergarten, I was hit with a wave of sadness (as evidenced by my numerous posts about how I was coping with his impending full-day schooling). I wondered how sad I would be, knowing that I wouldn't have anyone around for most of the day. It made me prematurely miss the baby phase and how Jeremy starting school would signify another aspect of his independence.

(I still have to upload the pics from the first day of kindy, so bear with me.)

The first week was sad, there's no doubt. I would come home to an empty house, or when Phil would work from home, he'd go off and work and leave me be. I spent much of the first week just taking time for myself.

And then it became fun! I could catch up on my DVR, I could rent movies from the library and watch them, I could go to Target and walk around without having to enter the toy area or worry about children getting tired and wining about when we could leave. Granted, I haven't been able to get a whole lot accomplished--I did have these grand plans of cleaning out some closets and doing a thorough cleaning of the basement.

But I have made progress in other areas. My parents came out and helped me clean out the garden. I canned 4 full jars of pears, I've made jelly, I've cleaned up the office and sorted paperwork, I switched the kids' closets around and I've been freelancing more during the day. I was able to attend my first field trip with the kids when I traveled with J's class to the apple orchard. I've had lunch with both kids this week. And I've started running daily.

Overall, life is pretty good. And J is totally loving school, not that I had any doubts. I don't know what I was so worried about.

Summer Roundup Part 2

2011-10-04T14:59:00.001-05:00


Janis and the kids. Notice Jeremy's ode to Janis' hometown: Edmonton Oilers.

Ah, the rest of our summer!

My cousin Janis from Edmonton came to stay with us for a week in July, and I don't know who had more fun! She's headed out here a few other times, and I love that the kids remember playing with her. We spent several days at the pool since the temperature was in the 90s for several straight days. She also was able to check out Jeremy skating. We had planned all along to go to the zoo on the Friday that she was here, and we were so sad when we woke up Friday morning to all this rain! But we decided to go ahead with it and hope that the zoo was dry.

The kids and Janis at the dolphin show.

We were right! I've never seen the zoo so empty in the summer. We found a close spot and were able to enjoy an almost-empty zoo. We checked out the dolphin show, and the kids just had a blast hanging out with Janis.

Beautiful girl.

Me and my girl.

Me and my boy.

Janis and Riley.

In front of the zoo sign.

Riley took this pic.

C+D reading to the kids.

The following day we went down to great-grandpa's for a family reunion where we were able to spend lots of time with Uncle D and Casey. We spent the night down there, and the six of us shared a connecting room. The kids enjoyed having D and Casey read a book they had given the kids: Casey and Derek Take the Ice. Ha!

Uncle D sandwich! Poor Casey's on the bottom!

J playing hockey with Uncle D.

Almost all of the Ackerman clan.

Great-grandpa and his children.

Great-grandpa and the Smiths.

J getting ready to throw.

Sports dotted our summer, much like any season. J played T-ball again, and I honestly think he's ready for regular baseball. His hockey buddy Billy was on his team, and his parents and sisters enjoyed chatting and hanging out with us. His sister Kaylynne called Phil "Uncle Phil."

Nice follow-through!

Riley ready for the pitch!

Riley participated in softball, which she didn't do last year. That girl can hit the ball! She had a lot of fun, and she had a really good coach, which definitely helps. I have a feeling she'll want to play again next summer. I just felt bad that most of her games were on Saturdays at noontime when the days were about 90 degrees!

I think she was annoyed we asked her to look at the camera.

Riley on the tram.

We headed to the zoo one last time during the summer since the kids told me they wanted one last venture. We checked out the stingray bay exhibit, and the kids attempted to touch a ray. For extra money, you could buy seafood to try to feed the marine life, but the kids weren't up for that.

J doing his obligatory smile.

Me and my girl. J took this pic.

The kids and Mom.

The stingray exhibit.

On the carousel.

Riley's turn.

J goofing around with Uncle D.

We spent some more time with Uncle D and Casey before they headed off to Brockton, MA, for a wedding and spend some time with Casey's family. They are currently in Guatemala where they helped build some schools and houses. Last I heard, they were still planning to come to Chicago in a few weeks to find a sublet!

Putting Uncle D to work!

Riley bowling.

I treated the kids to some bowling before school started, and they each had so much fun! I love that they have the bumpers, but leave it to both my kids to throw the bowling ball over the bumpers! Jeremy's actually landed on the lane next to us and caused the other person a scratch! And Riley had to have an employee come and rescue her ball!

Nice follow-through.

J waiting patiently for his turn.

Getting ready to board the train.

We capped off the summer with a trip to visit Phil at the office. I surprised the kids, and we rode the train downtown. They both did great, and we experienced an extra treat because while we were pulling into the train station, we witnessed some of the airplanes practicing for the air and water show! Two planes formed a heart with their exhaust, and the kids LOVED it! We didn't do much downtown, but the kids got to look out across the city from Phil's office, and we even walked around the Sears/Willis Tower.

Outside Dad's office.

Dad and his girl.

Our puzzle. We actually got it through
the library's puzzle exchange program.

Before school started, the kids and I completed a 550-piece puzzle. It took us 3 days, but it was SO much fun! Jeremy has really gotten back into puzzles and usually does 1-2 daily. He's notorious for finishing a puzzle, wrecking it, and doing it again. His favorites are these Disney puzzles that came 8 in a box, with the minimum number of pieces at 150!

The PONY!

Our really good friends who are our neighbors held a joint birthday party for their two girls right before school started. And no party is complete without a...PONY! How cool is that? Riley was all about it, but J wanted nothing to do with it. But it was quite a sight, and I joked that this birthday is going to be difficult to top!

We Interrerupt This Blog

2011-09-11T21:06:00.000-05:00

Today marks the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I've been thinking about it a lot today, and I'm sure all the coverage by the mass media is a part of it. As the kids grow up, I think about it a little more every year. Neither one has spoken of the day, and I'm not quite sure how much they know about it. I've been trying not to watch too much about it on TV, for fear that they might see something that would make them uncomfortable. And, quite frankly, I don't think I'm ready to deal with answering questions about that fateful day.

But as I sit, watching the news this evening, I'm at a loss. To hear a little boy speak of the father he never met, but is eternally grateful for giving him life. For those spouses who lost their loved ones simply just because they went to work that day. The firefighters who sacrificed their lives to help others, and hearing of their colleagues who live with survivors' guilt.

And like most people who were adults just 10 years ago, I know exactly where I was. I was at work, and, like every morning, I had my radio on. Most people were starting work that day--I started at 7:30--and I remember hearing the DJs talking about a plane hitting a building in New York. They were saying how scary that was, and then the newscaster came on to say another building has been hit and that it was no accident. By then, the DJs sounded panicked, and I immediately went around to find other cooworkers to talk about it.

I doubt any work was completed that day. About 30 of us found a TV in the executive area, and we sat and watched the coverage. A collective gasp came over when the first tower collapsed, and then when the other went down just a few minutes later. What on earth was happening? It seemed more like a movie scene than real life. Many people were crying. Others were concerned about friends/family in the New York area. This was before cell phones were really prevalent, and it was hard to get a hold of people.

We heard that many of the office buildings downtown were being evacuated. My company was on the outskirts of the city, but we were told to stay put. I don't even think I called Phil, which is surprising because on 9/11, that marked our one-month anniversary of being married. He was actually home that day, as he was to have worked the evening shift at work. Needless to say, he was a tad worried when he left me 4-5 voice mails at work and I hadn't returned his call.

The next week was eerie. I used to drive over the Edens, and I remember someone placed an American flag on the fence, and it remained for several weeks. The skies were so quiet, which, if you live anywhere near an airport is shocking enough. I do remember sometime later that week that there were fighter jets that flew overhead, and I think my heart skipped a beat.

Slowly life resumed. It never got back to normal, and my kids will never know what normal once was. They'll never be able to greet their loved ones at the gate at the airport. That sounds minute, but they'll never get to experience it. 9/11 will remain a part of our lives, and as we've heard, we will never forget. God bless all those who lost loved ones. God bless all those who sacrificed their lives to save others. And God bless those who keep us safe every day. On behalf of my family, we cannot thank them enough.

Summer Roundup Part 1

2011-09-09T22:40:00.001-05:00

We've had quite the busy summer, and there's no way I can keep up with the blog if I don't just do an overall synopsis of everything. So forgive the massive amounts of pictures, but I figure that most of you would rather see pictures of the kids than read about my musings! :) Here is part 1!

A week after school ended, the kids and I headed off to the zoo. It was a beautiful day, but it was a little crowded. We were able to see the usual attractions, minus the dolphins. It was our first of three zoo trips this summer.

J on the carousel.

Riley on the carousel.

The kids by the underwater seal exhibit.

In the middle of June, both kids enjoyed a week-long session of Bible school at our church. This was Riley's second year doing Bible school at our church (she did two other sessions at a church with a friend of hers), and this was Jeremy's first time. It was nice to have three hours to myself, and the fact that the kids had a blast didn't hurt. Riley asked one of her best friends to join her, and Jeremy was with the two girls. I think next year I'll let him hang out with boys of his own. :)

Singing some songs.

Toward the end of June, we celebrated Papa and Nana's 39th wedding anniversary. We so enjoy spending time with them, and the kids just can't get enough of Nana's energy and Papa's ability to joke around and do puzzles with them.

The kids with Papa.

Nana and the kids.

For the 4th of July, we made our annual trek to Palatine to spend the holiday with some of Phil's best friends. It was a somber occasion because the local pool was set to be demolished later that summer. The pool holds a special place in Phil's heart because it was the pool that he was a lifeguard at for 15+ years. The kids had fun playing with Jeeves the dog, and we had a great time catching up with everyone. I took the kids home while Phil stayed for the fireworks. The kids are still a little hesitant on the fireworks--they don't do well with loud noises.

Aunt Clare and the kids.

Aunt Maggie and the kids.

Our big summer outing was a trip up to Green Bay to visit with Phil's family. We met up with Phil's brother's family at his uncle's house, where the kids hung out with their cousins and went riding on a four-wheeler. The following day we went to Bay Beach, which is a local amusement park. Riley rode the swings by herself, and both kids experienced the Ferris wheel for the first time. We capped off the day with a trip on the kiddie train.

Cousins.

Cousins on the 4-wheeler with Autumn.

Riley on the swings at Bay Beach.

Family pic in front of Lake Michigan.

J with me on the Ferris wheel.

Riley and Phil were right behind us.

Daddy's girl.

The two of them on the Scrambler.

Riley and Grandma (with Phil in the back).

Phil decided that Riley deserved a trip to mighty Lambeau Field. Because let's face it, I want nothing to do with football (seriously, I never thought I would hate a sport as much as I hate football thanks to the dear husband!), and Jeremy wants to do anything for me (just as Riley would do anything for Phil), so Phil took Riley, and J and I stayed behind. She loved it, but the Pro Shop (gift shop) was rather crowded. We got on the road about dinnertime, and some of us enjoyed a nice nap on the way home.

Riley with Vince Lombardi.

Typical cheesehead.

Exhausted!

Both kids participated in swimming lessons, and I'm happy to say that Jeremy did MUCH better than last year. Riley was in the third level, and did such a great job that she moved up another level. She jumped off the diving board numerous times, and certainly is Phil's little fishy. Jeremy enjoyed picking up the rings from the bottom of the pool and was happy to hear that he "graduated."

J's class.

Riley on her last day. I couldn't make it since J had hockey.

More to come! I'll try to be timely. :)

Happy __ Day!

2011-09-05T21:17:00.000-05:00

Today is Labor Day, but according to Jeremy it's Neighbor Day. He thought that today was the day when we go visit all our friends at their houses. I thought that was pretty cute. We did spend a majority of our weekend with friends, so I guess he was correct in some regard!

Hockey Boy

2011-08-30T11:56:00.001-05:00

I'm working on a longer post, but I wanted to include some video of J skating during his summer hockey session. We've had about four weeks off, but we're starting up again tonight. J couldn't be happier, but Riley is not looking forward to being in the cold. Her words, not mine.

At the end of the second video, you can hear his coach kindly reminding Jeremy to get out of the goal, as there are no goalies during scrimmages. :)

Jeremy practicing his drills. This is his least-favorite part of hockey!

Scrimmaging. He's in the gray sweater.

Skating around.

Last Days

2011-08-24T22:08:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow marks my little man's first day of all-day kindy. I've lamented many a-time on how hard it's going to be for me. I've tried to not think about the reality of it--I've purposefully filled our last few days chalked full of stuff to keep the kids busy and to let me enjoy every last bit of them. And it's worked. For the most part.

Riley's first day of school was today, and she was up at 6:30 to start the day. Luckily she went back to sleep for a little bit, but we heard them excitedly talk about the day this morning. She couldn't wait to get back into the swing of things, and I can't blame her. She enjoys school, loves to learn, is an avid reader and excels in math. I have no doubt she'll exceed again this year.

Last night, while tucking Jeremy in, we had this conversation:

Me: So tomorrow's your last day at home with me.
J: I'm moving?
Me: No, I meant that it's your last day before school. Do you want to move out?
J: Not yet. Maybe in 3 months.
Me: So around Riley's birthday?
J: No. How about 100 months?
Me: OK, so when you're 12?
J: Yes. Wait, I'll just stay here forever.
Me: What about when you have kids?
J: You live at home until you're a parent. Then you have to move.

*sigh* My boy. So insightful. :)

I have no doubt he will succeed in school. He has 3 kids in his class that he knows of, which I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. They're all 3 boys, too. His teacher seems great, and I'm looking forward to hearing all about his first day.

It's just going to be awfully quiet around here. You know, in between my sobs. :)

School

2011-08-21T11:32:00.000-05:00

Here we are with just a few days away from school starting, and I'm finally posting pics of the kids' last days of school back in June! :)

As mentioned, oh, a few months ago, Riley didn't have a very good last day of school. The poor girl didn't feel well, but the bad parents that we were, we sent her along. J and I planned to have lunch with her on her last day, and while we were waiting at the school for her class to arrive, she comes walking toward the nurse's office. The nurse took her temp, and sure enough, she had a fever. We ended up having to take her home, which made her so upset. She wanted to celebrate with her class. Her teacher was nice enough to send Riley's autograph book from school home with her a few days later, but the look on Riley's face as we had to clean our her desk was so sad. Luckily it was only a 24-hour bug, but of all the days for her to get sick, it had to be the last one!

You can tell she's not 100%.

At least I was able to get the tradition-based picture.

My little man, on the other hand, had a very cool-temp day for his last day. He had a picnic with his preschool friends, and I admit that I got a little emotional. It's so much different with preschool. When the kids are that young, you grow an attachment to the parents and teachers because you see them every day, or every time you take your kid to school. Once your child hits elementary school, you send them on their way via the bus (at least in our case), and you don't interact with other parents (except for those at the bus stop) and rarely with the teachers (unless you volunteer a lot). And I cannot say enough about our dear Miss Betty.

If you're lucky, you have a Miss Betty at least once for your children to experience. Never have I encountered a teacher who not only loves enthusiastically what she does, but makes you laugh and makes the kids feel so special. Both my children were lucky enough to have her as their preschool teacher, and she was one of the reasons why I'm sad to be done with preschool.

The graduation ceremony was rough. My little boy was all done with this phase of his life. Miss Betty and I chatted for a bit, and we both agreed that we didn't want to mention that this was the end. She praised my kids and my parenting, which still means so much. (I'm tearing up as I write this.) But what was harder was my 1-on-1 meeting with her that I had the following week. I walked into the classroom stating that I didn't want to be there. I didn't want this meeting to happen because of what it meant. I spent much of the meeting teary-eyed, which, honestly isn't hard for me to do when it comes to Jeremy! That little guy has learned so much and gained some wonderful friendships for years to come, I hope.

Hunter, Logan, Diego, Ryan and Jeremy.
Hunter and Jeremy are in the same kindy class!

Brady was added to the mix.

Standing with the other preschool class.

Waiting for his name to be called.

Shaking Miss Peg's hand.

Getting a hug from Miss Peg while Miss Betty looks on.

And a hug from Miss Betty.

Me and my guy.

Watching him walk away.

We did get a chance to visit Miss Betty over the summer, but when hockey season starts this fall, it won't be the same. Miss Betty is a big Blackhawks fan, and Jeremy would keep her up-to-date on the Blackhawks results. But she will never be forgotten. I'm just sorry we don't have any more children to send her way. :(

Quick Wit

2011-08-15T21:23:00.000-05:00

On the way to the pool today, Riley saw a sign that read: For Rent. She asked me what that meant.

After much discussion about what it means to rent a house vs. what it means to buy a house, the kids pretty much understood that you rent a place when you aren't sure where you want to live for a long time or if you don't have money to buy a house.

Jeremy said, "I know how you can get more money to buy a house. Steal some!"

Nice.

10 Years of Marriage

2011-08-11T21:41:00.000-05:00

Today Phil and I celebrate 10 years of wedding bliss. It's simply amazing to me that it's been that long. Some days it feels longer while others make it feel like we're the carefree kids who just met. And I know people have a tendency to say that they love their spouse more now than they did back then, but it's true. Back then I had no idea how chaotic days can be with kids. Back then I had no clue that our relationship sometimes had to take a back seat to life and kids. Back then I had no idea that once the kids went to bed, I would have to work and wouldn't get to spend time with my husband. But somehow we always found our way back to each other.

Ten years ago today we showed our friends and family how much we wanted our relationship to work. That we're committed to each other. That we're in this for life. And there have been times when our relationship has been rocky. I teased Phil that we're busy making plans for our 10-year anniversary trip (to St. Maarten in November!), that we're not there yet. So this morning, he told me, "We made it! Let's go on vacation!"

Without getting overly emotional because I did that plenty in his card, he is my rock, my strength, my best friend. I cannot imagine life without him, and I'm so glad we're in this together. He has helped me raise our two beautiful children, and together, we can get through anything.

Happy anniversary to my husband. I love you so very much!

Us. 10 years ago.

Us. As a family. Today.

RIley's Play

2011-08-02T21:01:00.000-05:00

Each year the first graders put on a play for the parents. It was really cute, and Phil was able to come and watch Riley perform with the rest of her class. After the performance, the kids had a picnic lunch with their parents and then were able to play some games. I couldn't stick around for most of lunch because I had to pick Jeremy up from preschool, but I'm so proud of how she did.

Here are a few videos and pictures from the day.

Being shy.

Sitting next to Sean, who is a huge Packers fan. Phil loves that.

House Rules

2011-07-30T20:10:00.000-05:00

Riley decided yesterday to write down a bunch of rules for the house. According to her, this is what they are:

1) No having gas on Mommy.
2) Jeremy has to wear his eye patch. (He has a bad eye, and we're working with the eye doctor to get his vision somewhat back to normal.)
3) Be nice.
4) Play nice and play by the rules
5) Help Mom make something.
6) No complaining
7) Dad does not take the blankets from Mom and don't snore and leave the TV on.
8) Don't wake up people.

This list was entirely written by her. I merely suggested number one because Jeremy has a gross tendency to do that. So far several of the rules have been broken (mainly by Jeremy and Dad), but we have yet to determine a punishment. Maybe that's Riley's next task!

Parent/Tot

2011-07-24T21:41:00.002-05:00

Back when Riley was 2 and Jeremy was just born, I was going stir-crazy. Add to that the fact that Jeremy was a colicky baby and that I was now a stay-at-home mom, and I was a bit out of my mind. We had been receiving the school district newsletters, and in the newsletter was information about a Parent/Tot program that was held at one of the elementary schools. It was free of charge and available during the school year.

Somehow I survived the summer with the kids, with the help of many park visits and stroller rides, and in August I trekked over to the elementary school to check out this program. And I fell in love with it. It became my refuge on certain days, and both the kids and I looked forward to heading over to "Miss Carla's." Miss Carla is the name of the woman who was in charge, and she soon knew our family by name. We made a habit out of going once a week, and it was there where Jeremy would practice walking. It was there where Riley made some friends. And it was there where I found some dear friends myself.

Once Riley turned 4, she could no longer attend. So Jeremy and I would go on days when she had school. He enjoyed having time to himself where he could play and not have to be in her shadow. And I enjoyed spending time with him. Last year the Parent/Tot center moved to Riley's school (it was at another elementary school), which made it more convenient for us.

We made it our goal to try to meet up with our friends Ryan and his mom Cheri every Thursday. The boys have sisters who have become the best of friends, and the boys love playing together. And Cheri and I really enjoy chatting about anything and everything. The boys just lit up whenever they'd see the other. This year, they spent one day completing almost 100 puzzles, and another day they spent more than an hour trying to catapult every Little People character through a hole in a caterpillar tunnel. A month later, Miss Carla told me that a parent came up to her to ask what those boys were doing that one morning with all the Little People!

I'm so grateful for such a service that the district provides. Miss Carla came to be one of our dear friends, and she knew how much Jeremy loves hockey. She would ask him the scores on the days that we came in, and would love to hear what he's up to. Sadly we won't be attending anymore, but I may just have to pop in and see her whenever I'm at the kids' school.

Here are some pictures of our last day at Miss Carla's.

Ryan and Cheri.

Sweet boy by the Play-Doh.

Jeremy hiding in one of the drawers.

The boys working on a block cage for their animals.

Posing for the camera.

Jeremy and Miss Carla.

Taking a Break

2011-07-17T21:46:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you just need to take a break. From life. From chaos. From everything. Kids are no different. They look so peaceful when they're sleeping. And I caught J resting one afternoon and took advantage of it with a picture. He tucked himself in all by himself. Sweet boy.

He's my Little Dude.

Kids Through the Years

2011-07-12T22:00:00.000-05:00

Every Father's Day since Jeremy was born, I take a picture of the kids sitting on the couch. The pictures are framed and hung outside their rooms, and it takes me back just looking at them. Enjoy a walk down memory lane.

Riley age 2, Jeremy 3 months

Riley age 3, Jeremy age 1

Riley age 4, Jeremy age 2

Riley age 5, Jeremy age 3

Riley age 6 (and not wanting to cooperate), Jeremy age 4

Riley age 7, Jeremy age 5

Riley's Soccer

2011-07-11T21:40:00.000-05:00

I just uploaded a ton of pictures off the camera--I hadn't done that since mid-May! Needless to say, I'm doing some catch up on here as I want to write a bit about spring sports, Jeremy's last day of preschool and Parent/Tot, Jeremy skating, Riley's last day of school, Bible school, you name it! But first--Riley's soccer.

As you may remember, we had a lackluster team/coach in the fall. So much so that I didn't want the experience to damper her enjoyment of the game. We were able to get her on a new team in the spring, thank goodness! And my, what a difference makes!

Her coach was so supportive and enjoyable. I even was asked to coach one game while our coach had to attend a funeral. Man, that's a tough job! It's so much easier to watch and critique than it is to coach a bunch of kids who all want to play specific positions and never want to sit out.

But Riley had a great time, and after the last game of the season, the coach treated the kids to some Culvers. Not a bad way to cap off the season. She was asked this summer to partake in some 3v3 practice games with kids who are around 10 years old. She's holding her own in those practices, and I couldn't be more proud. They start travel soccer out here once kids head into 3rd grade, so looks like we might have another soccer star on our hands!

Riley with the ball. She scored a goal in the last game.

Ignore Phil's hand, but Riley in goal always makes me nervous!

Oh, Riley

2011-07-07T17:24:00.003-05:00

Me: Riley, please stop arguing.
Riley: I'm not arguing.
*sigh*

Me: Riley, it sounds to me like you're complaining.
Riley: I'm not complaining. I'm whining.

Hockey Talk

2011-07-02T18:31:00.000-05:00

The Blackhawks made a trade earlier in the week, getting rid of one of their star defensemen for two players from the Florida Panthers. I broke the news to the kids in the morning.

Me: Brian Campbell was traded yesterday to the Florida Panthers. The Hawks got two players I've never heard of.

Riley: That's OK, Mom. I'm sure Jeremy knows who they are.

Of course. Jeremy knows all. Especially when it comes to hockey. :)

Preschool Mother's Day

2011-06-29T15:04:00.000-05:00

This is very belated, but I finally uploaded some pictures off the camera. Jeremy's preschool put on a Mother's Day performance, which was simply touching. I joked with one of the fellow moms that I was going to cry, and sure enough, I did. I cried when they did sign language to one of the songs and when they sang "You Are My Sunshine." I used to sing that song to J when he was a baby to get him to sleep. Riley would lay on the floor while I would rock J, and she would sing that with me, along with "Baby Beluga" and "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles." Makes me teary just thinking about it.

Jeremy giving me my gift.

Giving my boy a kiss.

My guy.

Posing for a pic.

The kids also made wonderful Mother's Day presents, one of which I still had when Riley was in preschool. It's just an empty box, but it holds a hug in there. Phil was able to come and be the photographer/videographer, which worked out great since I was a blubbering mess. Jeremy also had asked me to wear a dress, and I obliged with a skirt. I figured that would've worked. It was a very special Mother's Day celebration. One I will never forget.

Flat Stanley

2011-06-10T20:50:00.000-05:00

Riley's first grade class read a story about Flat Stanley, which is about a fictitious boy who gets flattened by a blackboard while at school. The upside is that now his parents can mail him all over the world to visit family and friends.

When Riley first received information about Flat Stanley, she knew immediately who to send it to: Uncle D and Casey. (and Casey updated her blog recently, if you haven't checked it out). After contacting Riley's teacher to make sure we'd have enough time to send Flat Stanley to Lebanon, we got the go-ahead and away Flat Stanley went.

A few weeks passed, and Riley came home one day from school just beaming that her Flat Stanley arrived. And what she loved even more was that out of all the kids in her class, her Flat Stanley went the furthest--about 6,100 miles! Other kids in her class sent their Flat Stanleys across the United States, to Mexico and to Germany. But I'm guessing that Riley is about the only kid who had a Flat Stanley go to Beirut.

Apparently Flat Stanley had a great time visiting D and C. He watched Uncle D play hockey, enjoyed the view from their balcony, visited Pigeon Rock and almost fell out the window! We're so glad he didn't have a tragic end to his visit. Here are some pictures of his adventures.

Overlooking a soccer field near the Mediterranean.

Visiting Pigeon Rock.

Visiting a mosque.

Relaxing in C + D's flowers.

Checking out their garden.

No, Flat Stanley! Don't jump!!

Riley's Turn

2011-06-09T21:54:00.000-05:00

I feel sometimes like I don't focus enough on Riley. She had her last day of first grade earlier this week, and Phil and I were both bad parents that day. She woke up extra early (even for her), and came into our room complaining that her head hurt. She didn't want to eat much breakfast, and at first we attributed it to her not wanting school to end. I took her temp, and it was 102. Oops. And like the bad parents that we were, we sent her to school. Only because it was the last day.

I took the traditional end-of-the-school-year picture on the front steps (I'm so behind on uploading pics off the camera), and the poor girl couldn't even smile. I waited all morning to receive the phone call from the nurse saying that we had to come get her, but it never happened. All three of us went to school to have lunch with Riley, and that's when I saw her walking to the nurse. Sure enough, she had a fever. I took her back to her classroom to tell her teacher and pack up all her stuff. She was so sad, and she sat at her desk crying.

Her teacher, who has been nothing but wonderful all year, was so sympathetic to Riley's situation. She wasn't able to have the kids sign her autograph book, so her teacher promised to have the kids do it and send it to her.

On the bright side, we received Riley's report card and rankings from the standardized testing. She is in the 99th percentile for both reading and math! Unreal. And she also received the national award for the physical fitness testing, which means that she was above 50% for all the tests.

When we got her home, she basically slept the entire afternoon (while Jeremy and I went skating and then to the pool....), but yesterday she was back to normal, fighting with her brother. Ah, it's going to be a nice long summer.

But I do have to share this: in the car yesterday, I was talking with the kids about how one of our neighbors had to have surgery because she has cancer. I believe my exact statement was that she was "gonna have surgery," to which Riley immediately said, "Mom, it's not 'gonna.' It's going to." Nice. Corrected by my 7 year old. I couldn't be prouder. :)

Riley in April.

Reflections

2011-05-24T22:01:00.000-05:00

I'm having a hard time coming to grips with Jeremy almost done with preschool. Our one-on-one time is going to be diminished because Riley is almost done with school as well. I cherish the time just the two of us have, and I'm struggling some days to keep it together.

Just last week he finished up his last session of spring hockey, and of course I was a blubbering idiot every time I thought about it. He had his last time being at Miss Carla's to play with other young kids last week, and that was a place that I'd been taking him for the last 5 years. Add to it that he has 3 more days of preschool, followed by his picnic/graduation next week, and I'm a mess.

I know that it's not like he's moving away or even will forget about me. But I'm the first person to admit that sometimes I have an unhealthy relationship with him. I tend to hold J a little closer than I probably should. I had a smaller bond with Riley, mainly because I went back to work after she was 3 months old. I did have one extra day at home per week with her until she was about 15 months old, but Jeremy and I have been together from the very beginning. Thanks to him (and Phil), I was able to be at home full-time once J was born. He never went to daycare. He was my shopping buddy, my park companion, my playmate, for lack of better words.

I took J to get his hair cut on Monday, and as he sat in the chair, I thought about how grown up he is. I used to carry him on my hip wherever we went. He would put his head on my shoulder and play with my hair. His first word was "mama," and he still looks to me for approval and to play with him. But he's growing up and turning into a talented, athletic little guy, and of course I'm proud of him.

When Riley started kindergarten, I was sad but I never once doubted that she wasn't ready. I know J is ready, too, but part of me wishes it was half-day kindy. Maybe more so for me than for him. So many of the preschool moms are excited for their kids to start kindergarten, and although I am excited for all that he will learn, I will miss my companion. I know both of us will be fine without the other; after all, life is about changes.

I'm just mourning what used to be, especially since he's my last little guy.

Trash Talker

2011-05-18T12:35:00.001-05:00

So I'm letting Jeremy watch a replay of last night's Lightning/Bruins hockey game because it was on past his bedtime last night. A promo comes on with Mike Green (Capitals). Jeremy says, "Oh yeah, Mike Green? You're all done. See you next year." Nice to know that my kid can trash talk.

Jeremy's First Blackhawks Game

2011-05-16T17:44:00.000-05:00

As part of my birthday present, Phil surprised me with tickets to a Blackhawks game. And not just any game, but a game against the rival Detroit Red Wings on the last game of the season! Of course I was beyond excited, after I harassed him for spending so much money on me. But then he left me with a difficult decision: who should I take to the game? And as the title of the entry states, I took my favorite little hockey-obsessed boy. (Don't worry, even though Riley voiced her displeasure at not being able to go, Phil treated her to a day of Riley. Included were bowling, Dairy Queen, and playing with the neighborhood kids.)

In our hockey gear before the drive.

At first I was a little apprehensive driving into the city by myself. Yes, me, who lived in the suburbs for 20+ years of my life still gets a little anxious driving into the city. But after I got over my fear, I asked Jeremy if he wanted to go to the game with me. And I was met with a resounding YES!

The game was scheduled for 11:30 since NBC wanted the game for their Game of the Week. That meant we had to leave by 9:15 because Chicago was hosting its annual Shamrock Shuffle, which is an 8K race, and we didn't want to deal with traffic. We made pretty good time, and found a parking spot by 10:40. We walked around the parking lot, and there was a guy dressed up in goalie gear for Degree deodorant (I have no idea why), and they asked if they could take Jeremy's picture with the goalie. Why not?

We walked around the inside of the building and found where our seats were. And wouldn't you know, they were right near one of the bars? We found our seats, and Jeremy began to get scared. I think the height bothered him -- he wasn't used to being up that high. People began filtering in, and it was getting loud due to the speakers and the people. Jeremy got even more scared and actually told me he wanted to go home. They dimmed the lights and ran the pregame highlights, and Jeremy was scared. (Sensing a theme?) When it was time for the anthem, he knew that Jim Cornelison was doing the anthem, and it was LOUD! He buried his head in my shoulders.

Watching the Hawks before the game started.

But then the game started, and it got quieter. The Hawks scored first, and I lifted him up so we could dance to the song the Hawks play when they score. He loved it, and he told me he wants to do it again. Luckily we were able to do it 2 more times.

He did great during the game, although when there was 2 minutes before the first intermission was over, he declared he had to go potty. I was a little frustrated that he waited until the last minute, but we went and had to wait a bit to sit back down. So I reminded him before the game was over that we were going to use the potty again before we got in the car because it was a little while to get the Papa and Nana's. He said, "That's OK, Mom. I've had to go potty since the second period, but I didn't want to miss anything."

During the shoot the puck contest, Mr. T took a shot.

Unfortunately, on Jeremy's first Blackhawks game, they lost to the Red Wings 4-3. The players stayed on the ice afterward and gave their jerseys off their backs to "random" fans (which I'm sure were season-ticket holders). At the time, the Hawks needed the win to secure a spot in the playoffs. Luckily since the Wild lost that night, they did make it in with the eighth spot.

Me and my boy.

Focusing on the game.

Being sly.

Smiling for the camera.

The Hawks tried to make a rally.

The scoreboard shows the final score.

But for the hockey-obsessed boy and I, we made it out of the stadium, to which I found several text messages from Phil containing some vulgarities regarding the Hawks' performance. It was a balmy 86 when we got out of the arena, so I let Jeremy change into shorts and take off his shirt when we got to the car. Traffic was horrible, and he actually ended up falling asleep on the way to Papa and Nana's. But in the end, we both had a blast. I cannot wait to go to more games with him in the future.

All worn out.

Riley's Art Show

2011-04-30T19:19:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, Riley's school had their annual art show where the students showed off their creations. Parents were invited to come to the school and view the artwork. Each child had 2 of their drawings on the wall, and we found Riley's right away. She drew one picture of a cake with hearts flying around and the other was of her family underneath a rainbow.

At first glace, we all thought she did a great job on her pictures. There was Jeremy, Riley, Mom and...wait, who was the last one? Let's see...Riley, Jeremy and Mom all had black/brown hair. The other person, who was a boy, had gray hair. Riley explained that was Dad.

That was the funniest thing I've heard in a very long time. I only wish I took my camera with!

Happy Birthday, Uncle D!

2011-04-28T17:00:00.000-05:00

Today is Uncle D's birthday, so the kids recorded him a message. We weren't able to talk with him today, as he and Casey are enjoying a vacation in Sri Lanka. But I was able to talk to him on my birthday earlier this month. They'll be home for a bit in July, and I don't know who is more excited: me or the kids! (Except I think Jeremy is more excited to have someone play hockey with him!)

So happy birthday to my favorite little brother. I hope this year finds continued happiness, adventure, success and love. We love you very much!

Jeremy's Birthday Party

2011-04-25T18:24:00.000-05:00

Almost a month later, I'm finally writing about Jeremy's party! We had a beautiful day for the party, but the weather still wasn't warm enough to open up the house. Ah, life in the Midwest! This was the last year for a full-on family party, since we stopped doing it when Riley entered kindergarten. You know, what's good for one is good for the other. It's only fair. :)

We all had such a great time with all our friends and family. It's always nice to catch up and let the kids play. Perhaps the best part for me was when Phil's brother complimented my guacamole. So a special shout-out to Casey for the recipe (and honestly, several people have commented on other occasions about how good it is. Thanks!) And thanks to all who made the celebration memorable. Jeremy had a wonderful fifth birthday!

Mike with Isabella and Fiona. Isabella couldn't get enough of Mike!

The birthday boy!

Jeremy and Caden.

Caden

Checking out some of his toys.

Looking at the camera.

Dad trying to set up the Toy Story characters.

Riley.

Riley on Skates!

2011-04-19T21:23:00.000-05:00

I'm so terribly behind on here. One of these days I'll have time to be current on here. I recently took up another freelancing gig, which is great in the grand-scheme of things, but it doesn't allow for a lot of free time. Not that I had a lot of free time to begin with! Anyway...

Last month, Riley and her best friend Lauren went ice skating with their dads. They met in preschool and were lucky enough to be in the same kindergarten class last year. And I say lucky because the school the girls go to has 19 kindergarten classes! Crazy. Although they weren't in the same class this year, Lauren's mom and I have made sure the girls get together occasionally.

Lauren's mom and I are very close friends, and Lauren happens to have a younger brother who's just a few months younger than Jeremy. We all love getting together and catching up, so the moms and boys played and chatted while the dads and daughters went ice skating. The girls did this last year, and they had a great time again this year. We capped off the evening with some pizza at Lauren's house.

Riley and Lauren.

The girls.

Dad and daughter.

The girls being cautious.

Holding hands.

Happy Birthday, Big Guy

2011-03-30T17:33:00.000-05:00

Today is Jeremy's 5th birthday. As always, here's Jeremy through the years:

At the hospital

3 months

6 months

9 months

1 year old

18 months

2 years old

2.5 years old

3 years old (and sick)

3.5 years old

4 years old

5 years old

He's really come into his own this year. He's succeeding in school, he's a whiz at math (seriously, ask the boy to add stuff, and he can tell you. Ask him how many minutes until a specific time, and he can tell you.), he's doing very well at hockey for not even skating a year and cannot get enough of hockey. Really. The boy insists on watching hockey highlights on TV in the morning, much to Riley's dismay. He loves board games, from Chutes and Ladders to Memory to Trouble to Uno, he's an endless source of game playing.

We spent some of today doing all that he wanted to. We played games, we watched hockey, the kids built a fort, we went out for ice cream and then played some hockey outside. He chose his favorite dinner, which is pizza and bread sticks from a local pizza place. Of course it just so happens that Riley doesn't like that pizza, so she said for her birthday, she's picking food that Jeremy doesn't like. Good luck with that, as Jeremy eats pretty much everything!

I'm no longer ashamed to admit he's not my baby anymore. He's my guy. I'm so very blessed that I'm home with the kids. I've watched him and helped him become the boy that he is today. I'm there from breakfast to taking him to school to suiting him up for hockey to even coming home to play street hockey, it's me. He's really the best boy I could've hoped for. I'll always have the memories of him as a baby, but now my baby is 5. I love you, Big Guy.

A Whole Hand

2011-03-27T21:16:00.000-05:00

We're coming off the sugar high of Jeremy's 5th birthday party (crazy, huh?), and while sitting at the dinner table, Jeremy was waxing prophetically about his age.

"Mom, in a few days I'm going to be a whole hand-full."

To which Riley replies, "I'm almost two whole hand-fulls."

Some days, they have no idea how accurate they are. :)

My Babies

2011-03-12T22:03:00.000-06:00

Most days pass in such a blur that I can't even remember all the things we did that day. What did we have for breakfast/lunch/dinner? What errands did we run today? Did Riley finish her homework? What stories did the kids hear today?

And as the school year is beginning to wind down, I'm realizing just how quickly time does fly. I look at that picture above and am amazed at how quickly the kids have grown. They are each other's best friends on most days, and they can keep each other entertained for hours. Wasn't it just yesterday that they needed me every step along the way? Wasn't it my hand that they reached for? Wasn't it me that they reached their arms up to and wanted to be held? Didn't I constantly hear "Mama, Mama, Mama" all day long?

Don't even get me started on Jeremy starting kindergarten in the fall because I just might lose it.

I'd like to think that we've done a good job in shaping their lives so far. It's still a work in progress (aren't we all?), but when they can play nicely with not only each other but friends, it's a true sign that we've done well in raising them. They're very well behaved, they're kind and considerate, they share and are overall good kids.

Some days it's just hard to believe they're not little babies anymore. But I guess they'll always be my babies. Guess I can live with that.

Hockey Heartbreaker

2011-03-09T21:48:00.000-06:00

My friend Amy has a son, Ben, who is in Jeremy's hockey class. Amy brought her camera to practice yesterday and captured some beautiful pictures of our boy. I still have so much to write about in regards to his hockey practices, but for now, enjoy these pics!

In his full gear. We purchased shoulder pads this weekend,
and now he looks like a real hockey player.

Skating with his preschool buddy Kaiden.

Love this!

My boy.

Tickling or Tackling?

2011-03-06T21:36:00.000-06:00

I find that having one kid of each gender proves the stereotypical outlook on occasion. Case in point: tickling. The kids love to tickle, and most of the time the parents oblige. I mean, really, is there anything better than hearing a kid's giggle? And I have to say that both kids are adept in knowing our ticklish spots: mine is above my knee and Phil's is his feet.

But tickling has proven to be more of a challenge when it comes to Jeremy. He would rather body-slam you than try to tickle you, yet he still refers to it as tickling.

So yesterday I asked him why he tackles instead of tickles. And his response?

"Mom, that's just how I roll."

OK then.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day

2011-03-04T17:33:00.000-06:00

After taking some recent pictures and video of Jeremy skating, I realized I never posted pictures of the kids' Valentine's Day cards. For the special day, Jeremy had a celebration at school, but I had to go with him since he doesn't normally go to school on Mondays. The kids were so cute in class, and the boys spent time comparing arm hair. Riley had her own party at school, but it was small, so parents weren't invited.

The kids dressed in their red/pink outfits.

Both kids made cards, with Jeremy's arriving in the mail thanks to preschool. Riley took it upon herself to make the family a card. It was a very low-key day, but one that reminds us to show those we love how much we care.

Riley's card.


Jeremy's card to the family.

Rewind

2011-03-02T17:28:00.002-06:00

Riley was reading to me for part of her homework and had to use the bathroom. Jeremy told me to make sure and pause the book until she got back.

Do you think we use our DVR much?

Funny Husband

2011-02-26T18:05:00.000-06:00

Thursday night, Phil reminds me that he took Friday off. I looked at him a tad confused, as we didn't have anything in particular planned. I asked him why.

"So I could spend time with you."

And there was a collective "awwww" that came over the crowd. Oh wait, that was just me. But then he continued.

"And Cubs tickets* go on sale tomorrow."

Nice.

But he did redeem himself by checking to see if the local Dairy Queen was open, and then he purchased me a Blizzard. So I guess he can stay.

* Please note that the husband is not a fan of the Cubs. He merely purchases the tickets to a high-value game and then sells them for a profit to all those silly Cubs fans out there.

Class of 2024

2011-02-16T16:43:00.000-06:00

I had to do something last week that I'd been dreading for a few months. The school district posted the signs I believe before Christmas, stating that kindergarten registration would occur this week, and when I first read the signs, my heart dropped a bit. Could it really be time for my little guy to get signed up for kindergarten? Has it really been almost five years since he's blessed our lives?

For those who know me, I don't shy away from the fact that I feel pangs when it comes to milestones with Jeremy. I blame it on several things: he's my baby, he's my boy and it's the last time I'll get to experience these milestones. I have a hard time letting go, but that's just the way I've been for most of my life. I tend to hang on too long, just grasping at these feelings for one last time.

I really am trying to embrace the fact that my little guy is starting kindergarten in the fall. But it's hard. My kids are my life. I stay home with them, and that's what makes it harder in a way. I'm around them all the time. And that's perhaps why it's easier for me to let Riley grow up a little--I worked after she was born and then stayed home after Jeremy was born. Jeremy and I went through everything together--sleepless nights, colic, separation anxiety, potty training, preschool, you name it. And as much as I wouldn't change those experiences for anything, those special times with him make it harder.

I've already said that August 25 is going to be tough. He's going to be gone all day. (But don't worry--Jeremy is beyond excited, and Riley loves the fact that she gets to ride the bus with him and show him where he needs to go.) And I don't think it will fully hit me until the afternoon, since he's already at preschool three times a week but is home to have lunch and spend time with me in the afternoon until it's time to get Riley. Nobody said parenting is easy. And sometimes letting go is even harder.


Can you believe this little guy will be the Class of 2024?

Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-02T21:34:00.000-06:00

Last night, what could best be called Snowmagedon, hit most of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. The snow began to fall Monday night and didn't stop until early this morning (Wednesday). Add to that, 50+mph winds, and you have quite a sight. I was in shock when I looked out the window this morning. I kept saying over and over that I couldn't believe the amount of snow we received. I ended up taking a tape measure out, and I think we had about 17 inches, but again, it's hard to tell with all the wind.

Downtown, Lake Shore Drive was completely shut down and people had to abandon their cars on the road. Part of I-80, which is south of us, was shut down as well due to the massive drifts of snow.

Luckily Phil chose to work from home yesterday, so he didn't have to drive in the inclement weather. He did, though, use the snowblower 6 times yesterday. Riley was recovering from the flu (it was her first time missing school, as she got perfect attendance last year, so it was rather traumatic for her to miss school), so she was home.

Both kids were off today and school is also closed tomorrow due to wind chills in the -25 degree range. Oh how I dream of warm weather with windows open, bare feet in the grass and sunny days. (No comments from Uncle D where the temps are sure to be in the 50-60 degree range.) The kids did want to me post these pics for C+D to give them a taste of winter. Enjoy!

Our enclosed deck received quite a bit of snow.

More evidence of the fierce wind gusts.

A view into our back yard. Our fence is about 7 feet tall, so you can see the drifts.

The view out our front door.

What we saw when we opened the garage.

A view across the street.

The plows had yet to come through.

Riley surveying the snow drift.

Our neighbor helped Phil clear the driveway since he had a bigger snowblower.

The kids are all bundled up.

Trying to tackle the drift.

They did it!

Jeremy got his foot stuck.

Our mailbox. You can see the drifts.

Our street.

The kids by our mailbox.

Jeremy getting swallowed by the snow on our walkway.

Riley helping me shovel the sidewalk.

Riley is in there somewhere.

Jeremy's Blackhawks Room

2011-01-29T21:29:00.000-06:00

We finally finished Jeremy's room shortly after Christmas, and I'm finally getting around to posting them on here. I uploaded them to Facebook, and many of my friends were amazed at how well it turned out. I am, too, despite the fact that some of the white carpeting has black or red paint on it (despite me reminding the husband to put a drop cloth down....). But Papa and Nana gave Jeremy a beautiful Blackhawks rug for Christmas, and that has covered most of the stains. And that will suffice until we purchase new carpet for the upstairs.

I just hope Jeremy continues to love the Blackhawks for just a few more years. Because I know repainting over the red and black is going to be a pain!

The beautiful Blackhawks rug.


Jeremy's bed, with a comforter thanks to Uncle D. Nana made the curtains--they have hockey sticks and pucks on them. The cat is a bonus.

We ordered the Kane pic (on the left) off eBay.
It's him celebrating after scoring the Cup-winning goal.
The other is an autographed picture of Jeremy Roenick.

The one on the left is Roenick, and the other is Hossa after he scored a game-winning goal in the playoffs.
Hossa was in the box for 5 minutes, came out, and scored the goal.

Our neighbor gave Jeremy the pennant,
and one of the pucks was signed by Sharp, as was the stick.

We mounted Jeremy's first hockey stick, worn blade and all.

I framed the poster Phil and I got at the Jeremy Roenick Heritage Night last year.


The sign on Jeremy's door.

Hockey + Football

2011-01-23T20:16:00.000-06:00

At dinner the other night (before the Packers won today), Jeremy announced:

I really hope the Packers win the Stanley Cup.

We all had a good laugh about that one.

Nothing But the Tooth

2011-01-12T17:27:00.001-06:00

Riley finally lost that elusive tooth on top, so now she's officially without her two front teeth. She was a few weeks late to say that all she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth. It's so cute to see her smile without those teeth--she's now lost six teeth, but only two have come in. It's a wonder the girl can eat.

Jeremy in the News and on the Rink

2011-01-12T17:13:00.000-06:00

I forgot to post this link, but when Jeremy and I went to the library to meet the Wolves player, he got his picture in the winter newsletter! He's on page 3.

Also, here's some video of Jeremy skating--these were taken about two months ago, though. He's improved since then. I still haven't figured out how to rotate videos, though, so sorry for that!

Kids and Their Words

2011-01-11T15:23:00.000-06:00

Jeremy received a dry-erase board for Christmas, and lately he's been asking me to spell words so he can write them down. Today's installment:

J: Mom, how do you spell, "I love you so much"?
Me: I L-O-V-E Y-O-U S-O M-U-C-H.
J: OK, now get out of here.

-------------------

This morning I found Jeremy's dry-erase board in the basement where Riley had drawn on it. This is exactly what it said:

Dear Jeremy,
Sometimes I do not like you, but I like you now.
Love, Riley

Ah, kids!

All Hockey, All the Time

2011-01-09T21:03:00.001-06:00

If you couldn't tell (and really, if you couldn't, shame on you), we're a hockey-loving family. I admit that it makes me proud to say that. I love that the entire family can bond over it and enjoy watching games. And yes, I LOVE that Jeremy plays and I hope he continues to enjoy it so.

Jeremy poses for the camera.

Jeremy is second from the right. The kids love this!

Jeremy practices shooting--he's in the gray shirt.

Jeremy was able to scrimmage with boys who were much better.

Cheesing it up.

Jeremy with his friend Kaiden.

This past week Jeremy began his first class of Level II hockey. He didn't have the best time, partly because he had new skates and I think they hurt his feet. This class is a lot harder, too, so that might be part of it. But he skates with one of his friends from preschool, so that helps some.

A few weeks ago, Jeremy and I headed to the local library to meet a Chicago Wolves hockey player. The library was beginning their Read to Succeed reading program, and the Wolves are helping out. Jeremy got to meet Jamie Hunt and told him that he was named after a Blackhawk. Jamie thought that was pretty cool.

Jeremy and Jamie.

Jeremy and I won tickets to a game, and Riley went with the rest of us during Christmas break. It was the kids' first experience seeing a live hockey game, and it was...interesting. The kids were terrified of the pre-game fireworks, and Jeremy kept flinching when the Wolves would shoot. That's because the fireworks would go off again when the Wolves scored.

Riley posing for the camera.

Jeremy's turn.

The view from our seats. We were in the balcony.

Jeremy enjoying the game.

We ended up staying until the end of the second period, since it was late and the roads were icy. The Wolves ended up losing in a shootout, but I think the kids had a nice time. I actually won two other tickets for a game of our choosing, so we might go out there on a weekend when the game times are a bit more kid-friendly.

2010 Year in Review

2010-12-31T16:04:00.000-06:00

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before? I came to peace about only having two kids. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is. I'm trying to look at it as a good thing, but it's still hard sometimes. On a lighter note, I took the kids to the zoo by myself, which is something I didn't think I could handle.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't keep them, but I want to do a better job of staying in shape. I feel like a lazy bum some days, and I'd love to be more physically fit.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Good friends of ours adopted a little boy who was born in March.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes. Someone I used to work with and drove to work a few times passed away this fall. And one of my best friends lost her little baby when she was only 8 months pregnant.

5. What places did you visit? Nowhere fancy. We made it up to Wisconsin to visit my cousin, otherwise we kept to the state.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? Serenity. The ability to not think the worst in some situations. More patience. Being able to live in the moment.

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? June 9 is when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. November 4 is when my friend lost her baby.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? One car is entirely paid off with the other not far behind. We've really stuck to our budgeting, thanks in part to a 13-week financial class I took early last year.

9. What was your biggest failure? Amazingly, I’m grasping to try and pinpoint anything I’d really consider a failure.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nope (knocking on wood).

11. What was the best thing you bought? Our front-loading washing machine. I love it, as much as someone can love an appliance.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Most people I came in contact with. The kids for showing me the fun in everyday activities. The husband for going above and beyond making my life easier. The parents for being my sounding board. My friends for being there for me.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Our one neighbor for her lack of parenting abilities. And anything involving Sarah Palin.

14. Where did most of your money go? The mortgage. And hockey for Jeremy!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Christmas this year, because we were finally able to provide for so many this year. That and how excited and proud the kids get when they talk about church. The Blackhawks playoff run this spring into summer. And getting Jeremy involved in hockey. He only started skating in June and has moved up to level 2 of hockey already!

16. What song will always remind you of 2010? Anything by Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. The kids love singing their songs.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier. It's been a relatively good year.

b) thinner or fatter? Probably a little fatter due to the overindulgence of Dairy Queen (not that I'm complaining...)

c) richer or poorer? Richer. We've done a great job at keeping track of finances and the second car will be paid off in just a few months!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I would have loved to have gone on vacation, but we didn't have the money for it last year. I also wish I would've spent more time enjoying the moment instead of freaking out about what might happen.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Overreacting.

20. How did you spend Christmas in 2010? We actually had four Christmas celebrations--the first was with Phil's brother and family, followed by Phil's parents, then my extended family's celebration at my grandpa's and then my parents came over to do Christmas with them combined with our little family's. It was extensive and a tad exhausting, but it fulfilled everyone's wishes to spend a part of Christmas together.

21. Did you fall in love in 2010? No, but I stayed in love.

22. What was your favorite TV program? Modern Family and Community. Most things on Bravo, especially Top Chef and all its spin-offs. And all Blackhawks games and hockey in general.

23. What did you do for your birthday in 2010? The only really big thing I remembered is that I got Chinese food and one of our cats escaped from the house and we couldn't find her for an hour. I remember that because I thought how crappy would it be to lose our cat on my b-day! I also received a Patrick Kane T-shirt and a hockey stick, so Jeremy and I could play hockey in the driveway together.

24. What was the best book you read? There were three that stood out One Day, Winter Garden and Every Last One. All were great in their own ways and two of the three made me cry.

25. What did you want and get? I really wanted the new Blackhawk's book for Christmas, and my husband got it for me. Yea!

26. What did you want and not get? An MP3 player. That's OK, though.

27. What was your favorite film of this year? Toy Story 3. We took J to see his first movie in the theater, and he did pretty well, but he did keep asking toward the end if it was almost over! It didn't hurt that the movie was so touching and made me cry.

28. Did you make some new friends this year? Yes, some parents of kids in J's preschool class and his hockey class.

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having more time to spend with C+D.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? Comfortable. Not caring. :)

31. What kept you sane? Get togethers with girlfriends. One of my best girlfriends from grade school and I try to get together once a month, and we've done a decent job at sticking with it. It's nice to get out and commiserate about husbands, kids, school, and life in general.

32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Patrick Sharp. And he's totally hotter in person!

33. What political issue stirred you the most? Most issues involving gay rights.

34. Who did you miss? C+D. I wish we all lived closer and could celebrate holidays and birthdays together.

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010. Sometimes it hurts to let go. But holding on even tighter isn't always the best solution.

Jeremy's Christmas Program

2010-12-30T21:12:00.001-06:00

I was lucky enough to be able to attend Jeremy's preschool Christmas program, but unfortunately I couldn't make it to Riley's since it was in the afternoon and siblings aren't invited. Jeremy's class put on a wonderful performance, and since Phil couldn't make it, I took plenty of pictures and video.

Smiling for Mom.

They were singing "This Little Light of Mine".

Showing off his reindeer antlers.

I personally couldn't wait to give Jeremy's preschool teacher her Christmas present. She was the same teacher that Riley had, and she shares a similar love for the Blackhawks. In fact, she called Riley and left a message on our machine right after Riley "graduated" her class and the "Yuckies" (Red Wings) had beaten the Blackhawks in the playoffs. And once I told her that Jeremy was named after one, she was thrilled.

As for her present, I started it over the summer after finding the pattern on eBay. I was really hoping that she'd still be his teacher and not decide to retire. Well, we lucked out and got her for another year. And we couldn't be happier. J and I stuck around after the concert and snacks, and we made her open the present before we left.

She almost started crying right then and there. I said that now she won't forget us when Jeremy is done, and I said not that she would, but now she can't. She was so touched. I know it will be something she'll treasure. She's a wonderful teacher, and I cannot say enough wonderful things about Miss Betty.

My pride and joy--it's counted cross-stitched.

I wish Jeremy wasn't looking away, but this is Miss Betty.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T17:41:00.000-06:00

From our family to yours: We wish you a very merry Christmas!

Christmas Tree and Church Program

2010-12-23T21:36:00.003-06:00

Earlier this month, not only did we spend a Sunday picking out our Christmas tree, but we watched both kids perform in the church's Christmas program.

First we scoured for quite awhile to find a tree. A whole five minutes! I think this was a record. The kids enjoyed throwing snowballs at each other, and I enjoyed finding a tree that quickly so I could go inside and get warm. We brought it home and decorated it that afternoon.

Our festive tree.

Kids and the tree.

The kids were in their church attire.

Then we had the kids' Christmas program at the church. Riley was asked by the music director to play Mary in part of the play, and although you can't tell, Phil was able to get it on video. I had to take her back to get dressed, and I took the camera with me. But you can enjoy pictures of both kids and video of Riley singing. This was the first year the kids participated in the program, and they did such a great job. We're so very proud of them.

Jeremy was up first--he's in the middle in the back.


Riley with her class.

Riley's Birthday Festivities

2010-12-18T20:36:00.010-06:00

This was Riley's first birthday where we opted to not do a family party. I knew the time was coming, as she was getting older and all. But it was still bittersweet.

We did have a kid party for her school friends, and we opted to have it at a make-your-own pottery place. The kids had a great time painting their own creations and laughing with each other. We also asked the kids and their parents to donate food to the local food pantry, just like we did last year. A week after the party, we took all the food to the food pantry, and we donated more than 120 pounds of food! There were high school kids there helping out, and several of them commented to Riley that it was such a wonderful thing she did by asking for food from her friends. I hope she realizes that what she's doing helps so many.

Baby Cam and his dad.

Beautiful Isabella and her mom.

Cheesing it up for the camera.

The kids painting away.

More painting.

And more painting.

Then there was cake. All over his face.

A few days later, Grandma headed out to celebrate Riley's big day. That was followed by Riley's actual birthday, where we had a meal of her choosing and headed out for ice cream. Then Papa and Nana came out a few days later to cap off the week-long celebration. It's crazy to think that tiny little girl is now a sassy 7 year old!

Opening gifts with Grandma.

Reading her cards.

Checking out her MP3 player from the family.

Opening her present from C+D.

Reading her cards.

Enjoying ice cream with the family.

Dad and his girl.

Happy birthday girl.

Opening her scooter from Papa and Nana.

Trying on her Blackhawks jacket.

Thinking of C+D

2010-12-06T21:25:00.002-06:00

The kids have had their moments of late. We've had a very busy few days, with festivals, church programs and Christmas decorating. But they both said some cute things this weekend that I thought were important enough to post.

Both kids were pretending to go on vacation yesterday. They had backpacks and stuffed animals ready for the trip. I asked Riley where they were going, to which Riley said they were going to a water park, Lebanon and Boston. I'm not sure there are too many kids (or adults) nowadays who would say they're going to Lebanon for vacation!

Today Jeremy and I were running some errands, and he was spelling signs of stores that we passed. Then I asked him to spell his name and Riley's. I asked if he knew what our last name started with, and he said a C. I said, here's a tough one, how do you spell Uncle D's name?

He had a puzzled look on his face and said he didn't know. I said "D. But do you know what his real name is?

Jeremy's response? "Uncle."

So C+D, we're thinking about you two and how warm you must be as we braved the negative wind chills this morning at the bus stop. :)

Toothless

2010-12-03T20:44:00.002-06:00

A mere five days after turning seven, Riley lost tooth number four. It was on the bottom, and she lost it at school. Seeing as this is a pretty popular occurrence at an elementary school, the school nurse had a typed-up letter stating that Riley lost a tooth at school today, and she placed the tooth in a sealed envelope so she wouldn't lose it. We had a feeling it wouldn't be long for that tooth to come out, seeing as it had been holding on for dear life for a few days.

But we were shocked when, just two days later, she lost another! This time it was one of the top ones. And I have to admit, this lost tooth makes me a little sad because she lost her first of the baby teeth up top. The tooth came out during dinner, and let's just say that after it came out in her food, she had no interest in eating any more food! Not that I blame her. And, no, she didn't swallow it either.

Later that night, the tooth fairy left Riley a note under her pillow along with the money. The note read:

Stop losing teeth. The tooth fairy

Riley thought it was hilarious. I was just grateful the tooth fairy had money left!

Feeling Thankful

2010-11-25T21:13:00.002-06:00

Last week at school, J's teacher's asked him what he's thankful for. Now, most kids replied that they were thankful for their houses, their moms or even their toys, my little guy replied: carrots from the garden. And then tonight at dinner he expanded and included all vegetables. Riley replied that she's thankful for health and food. Guess next time we should ask the kids after dinner!

And now what am I thankful for? Glad you asked.

*My family. Hands down, my family is the most important thing to me. Whether they're living in my house or halfway around the world, every one of them means something important to me. Although sometimes family drives me crazy, at the end of the day, I thank God for each one. My parents have taught me so much during my 30+ years, and keeping family as the most important thing in your life is something I hope to pass on to my kids.

*My friends. At times, I'm not a very good friend. I let days pass without returning phone calls. I sometimes take them for granted. But those few who I've kept close enough to communicate with on a constant basis are my lifeline. They're the ones who get me through the difficult days I sometimes have. They're the ones I boast to about the kids' accomplishments. They're the ones I can vent to. I love them all.

*My house/neighborhood. When we moved to our neighborhood 5 years ago, I had no idea the lasting friendships that would form and the friends that my kids would make. My parents still live in my childhood home, and I envied the neighbors that they have. The people that would wave whenever you made eye contact outside. But now, we have that in our neighborhood, and I couldn't be happier. The only downside is not seeing everyone as often as we did when the weather was nicer and the sunlight made the days longer. Thankfully we get together every so often for neighbor night, where the adults get to mingle and the kids get to play.

*My job. I love the freedom I have with my job. I'm blessed to have two lucrative freelancing gigs right now that give me the flexibility to work from home yet not stress myself out too much by putting in too many hours. I love that we're able to afford me staying at home and not having to send the kids to daycare/after school care. I love that I can get Riley off the bus every day. I love that I can help out at her school.

Other random things that I'm thankful for:

*Apple cider donuts
*Electric blankets
*Being the first patron to read a newly released library book
*Eating dessert after the kids are in bed
*Reading the newspaper in the morning
*Playing Uno with Jeremy while watching hockey highlights
*Listening to Riley read
*Watching Riley curl her tongue when she's concentrating on homework
*Seeing Jeremy twirl his hair when he's tired
*The husband making me popcorn
*Said husband allowing me to put my constantly cold hands on his arm/back/stomach/face
*Walking outside in the summer without socks or shoes on
*Harvesting food from our garden and eating it fresh
*Hockey. Plain and simple
*Instant messaging with family members
*My cat who constantly curls up with me while I work
*Hackney's onion rings, Luke's french fries and DQ Blizzards

What are you thankful for?

Fall Festival

2010-11-21T22:11:00.004-06:00

We did take the kids to a fall festival this year at the local market. I love that it's so close to our house. We went during the week when it was so empty, it was cheaper and the weather was beautiful! The kids had so much fun playing and running around, and Phil and I had a great time watching them. All of us even participated in the corn maze, which we completed successfully. And this was the first year that some little boy didn't insist on being carried!

The kids.

The kids and Mom.

J and Bob the Builder.

J driving Dad.

I'm thinking of making this the Christmas card. :)

J riding the tractor. He loved this part.

Soccer Star

2010-11-20T21:02:00.002-06:00

While searching for photos of Riley, I forgot to mention that she played soccer this fall. She really enjoyed playing in the spring, and we desperately hoped that she would have the same coach in the fall. Boy, we were sadly mistaken!

Riley is in the middle.

The after-game handshake.

Her team this year was not that good. And as a former athlete, it sometimes pained me to see how poor the team played. What was worse was that the coach did not want any help. Nothing. I certainly didn't want to run the practice, but when you have 10+ 6-7 year olds, sometimes you might need help keeping them involved and focused. One practice the coach was running late, so I thought I would help out and start practice with some stretches. He arrived and didn't even thank me.

It was definitely trying for Riley, too. The team, like I said, was not good. She's still playing co-ed, and it's for first and second graders. Some of the boys can be a little rough, which is hard for Riley, but she held her own. I'd say she was one of the better kids on the team, not shying away from the ball. There was one kid on the team who was hands-down the best. He scored all the goals for the team this year. Every one. And it got to Riley a few times, as she'd come off the field crying when they lost. Competitive much?! And nevermind the one game where she thought she heard thunder and wouldn't calm down. I was embarrassed, but what can you do? I think there's a reason why I don't have many pictures of Riley playing soccer, as I was embarrassed for her team!

At least J had fun at most games, playing with other kids.

I hope this year hasn't deterred her from playing in the spring. I don't want to push her to play, but I don't want this one bad season to prevent her from playing again if she really likes it. The coach mentioned that we can request to have him for a coach in the spring as well. Um, I think we'll pass!

Number 7

2010-11-17T21:37:00.003-06:00

My little girl turned 7 today. I know I say this ever year, but where did the time go? Where is my little child who had such a hard time nursing that her dad had to feed her with a syringe? Where is the little child who carefully walked while holding my hand? Where is my little girl who was wide-eyed when her brother entered the world and insisted on holding him every chance she got?

She's still here, but now she's reassuring us that she can do things herself. She tells us -- sometimes while rolling her eyes -- that she can take care of herself and doesn't need our help. And as much as it pains us as her parents sometimes, it's true. Our little girl has become an independent child. And now she's 7.

We spent dinnertime yesterday reminiscing about what we were doing 7 years ago. We were at the hospital, and, depending upon the time, Phil was either watching the Packers/Bucs game or The Wizard of Oz. I said that Uncle Kevin and Aunt Mandy were there, as were Papa and Nana. They all left about 9 that night, since it looked like our little child would wait until the next day to make an entrance.

And she did, which surprised the heck out of me that the child I had was a girl. And of course Phil was over the moon because he knew that I was having a girl. We told Riley this, and then we asked her who was the first family member other than Mom or Dad to hold her. She gave the right answer: Uncle D. He was working at the hospital at the time and came to give me my meds (he was a pharmacy tech).

Our little girl is 7. We celebrated over the weekend with a little party for her friends, and then today Phil took 1/2 day so we could celebrate as a family. Both sets of grandparents called as did Uncle Kevin and family. She even received a package from Uncle D and Casey. We went out for ice cream to celebrate the special day, and capped it off with both Mom and Dad tucking her into bed.

Seven years old seems like a lot. I cannot wait to see what changes will happen to her this year. As hard as it is sometimes to see her grow up and miss what she used to be, it's just as exciting to see what she will become. We love you, Riley. Happy birthday, sweetheart.

7 years ago yesterday:

7 years ago today:

6 years ago today:

5 years ago:

4 years ago:

3 years ago:

2 years ago:

Last year:

This year:

Meeting a Blackhawk

2010-11-16T21:18:00.000-06:00

I wish his eyes were open, but what can you do!

Last Thursday Jeremy met his first-ever Blackhawk. And honestly, I don't know who was more excited: him or me!

Phil actually heard on the radio that Patrick Sharp was going to be in my hometown on Thursday, and he thought I might want to take Jeremy and meet Sharpie. Heck yeah! So I gave my dad a call to see if we could stop by on Thursday since we'd be in town. To make a long story short, Dad said he'd go to the Wallgreens (where Sharpie was signing) and wait in line for us. Well, when J and I got there, I couldn't find Dad. And of course Dad "forgot" his cell phone. J and I walked up and down the line, which was a few hundred people thick. I even put J on my shoulders in hopes of finding my dad. Nope.

I ended up calling the house and getting ahold of my mom, who just returned from work. She walked (yes, walked) over to the Walgreens and held my place in line so I could find my Dad. Turns out he was actually inside the store--I didn't know the line began inside! So crisis averted. Mom walked back home, and Dad really wanted to leave, but he had the wristband, which we were not able to remove without cutting it off. Dad was stuck. But he brought a folding chair...since he was there at 3 for a 6 pm signing! Special thanks to Dad!

We were about 60 people from the front of the line--the first person was there at noon! It was Veterans' Day, so some kids didn't have school. Plus, come on, it's Sharpie! He actually came in to the store right by where we were standing, which was pretty exciting. And despite Dad having a wristband and J and I not having one, we were able to get two items signed by the time we got up to the front (only about 40 minutes once Sharp began signing).

Jeremy got to Sharp, and I walked up there with him. He put the plastic stick down in front of Sharp, who told J, "Nice stick!."

I said, "Tell Sharp that you were named after a Blackhawk. What's your name?"

J said, "Jeremy."

Me: "Tell him who you were named after."

J: "Jeremy Roenick"

Sharp: "That's cool."

Me: "Tell him who your favorite Blackhawk is."

J turns to look at Sharp and says, "You."

Good answer, boy. Then we got a picture of J and Sharpie, which I'll have to upload. We walked back to Papa's car, who drove us to our car, since we had to park rather far away. We went back to Mom and Dad's for a quick dinner and then headed home. Riley was a tad jealous that she didn't get to go, and I did feel bad, but she got to spend plenty of time with Dad. Who knows, maybe she'll get to join us the next time we meet a Blackhawk!

The signed stick and puck.

School Pictures

2010-11-14T16:53:00.002-06:00

Jeremy's preschool pic.

Lucky boy had two poses.

Riley's first grade picture.

Where did my babies go?