two weeks later...

Last weekend we went camping - well actually Friday - Tuesday. The boys were going to stay until Wednesday but a big storm was coming in and changed their minds. And let me just say, I LOVE water wings! We had a couple great days out at the lake and the 4 yr olds were thrilled they could swim and float around in the shallows with the big kids swimming. We went on a wild goose chase to find a place that advertises you can go see bears and reindeer but when we got there we decided it looked more like a scene from Cujo or Texas Chainsaw Massacre and quickly left. The trail we usually use for our nature hikes was still in awful condition - several large trees and small trees were blocking the path making it difficult to take the kids and a wagon, but we made it.
This weekend we are hoping for a break from the rain and head out for more golf and more swimming...cross your fingers.
We decided to take Drew out of daycare for a month to save some money esp. since we'll be on vacation 2.5 weeks of it. Julie (Drew's babysitter/girlfriend) is watching Drew the rest of the time and last night he asked how many days in a row. I told him just today since tomorrow will be a Stay-at-home day. Normally he's totally excited about these but last night he told us he didn't like stay-at-home days...Boy does he love Julie. He's going to be in her big sister's wedding in August and is sure to tell me the wedding is coming up! Yesterday he went with the girls to get their fittings and I asked him what color the dresses were. "Pink or Red" he says. "Oh, some are pink and some are red?" "No, pink or red." "oh, they are pink and red?" "NO, PINK OR RED." "Do you mean they have pink with red?" 'NO MOM, LISTEN TO WHAT I AM SAYING - PINK OR RED!!!!" At this point I gave up and just said "oh"!
Speaking of listening, we've been having some issues with listening these days...lots of issues! After saying something several times, I give up and tell him to go sit. It works pretty well cuz he always seems to know what he did to have to sit but now he is in a bargaining phase. I'll tell him to go sit, he says he'll listen, I'll tell him to sit anyway and out come the buckets of tears. "mom, I said, I'll listennnnnn!!!!!" "too late, try again next time I ask you to do something."
And on that note we have - "just one, one, one more, mom?!!" We bought some sparklers for the 4th but broke them out early since he was there when we bought them. And sure enough he'll do one then ask to do one more. After a bit we'll let him but then it continues..."just one more" or "no buts mom, I swear, I just want to do one more, then no buts! please!!" Oh man, sometimes I wish (not really) that we could go back to the days when things were quiet.

Where did the last month go?

Well I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post. I guess that just reiterates that time is flying by way too quickly. Let's see what's been happening...
Memorial Day Weekend - We went out to the lake and Drew had no problem jumping right in - yes it was cold! We played Friday night and Saturday morning before we headed over to a friends birthday party. Had a great time catching up but then headed off to Aunt Janice's so she could watch Drew for the rest of the weekend and we could have some adult time. We went back out to the lake and enjoyed the quiet. Sunday we went golfing - not nearly as successful as the first trip out, but lots of fun. Back to the lake until Monday morning when we headed back to Janice's to help the re-siding process. Unfortunately, Mike's gout was in FULL affect and he spent the day laying on the couch in misery. I helped Janice make a great feast and helped Drew watch a HUGE bonfire uncle Jack started with the torn down siding.
Last weekend we headed out to our friends Lou & Piet who we haven't seen since Drew's been with us - yes, it's been way too long. We had a great time visiting and catching up and trying to remember the German they had taught us years before. On Sunday we went to my cousin Molly's graduation party and Drew's highlight was getting old leaves and the magnifying glass out to see if he could make a fire...see a trend here? Yep, me too...bummer.
This weekend I am on my first girls weekend in 5 years. Unfortunately the weather doesn't look great, but we'll work thru it. Mike & Drew are going to hang out in their boxers, eat their favorite snacks and watch guy stuff. Excellent!

First Camping Trip of the Year

We had our first camping trip of the year, and the weather cooperated quite well considering it was the first weekend in May in Michigan. It rained a bit on Friday but not too much. Saturday we had some sun, some clouds, some wind and some sweatshirts on and off all day. Of course, we packed up on Sunday to beautiful weather but we were all pretty well exhausted and ready to come home, take a nap and unpack. It was the first weekend Sugarloaf was open for the season and they weren't expecting many people. So when we got there, there was no water or electricity but that was fixed by the end of the day. The evenings were a bit chilly but with the heated mattresses in the camper and lots of blankets we were just fine. We went on a nature walk but it was obvious yet again that the campground had not been used since October. The trail was filled with fallen trees, leaves, mud and water. It was still a fun adventure. Drew caught a fish, well more like Mindy caught the fish for him. When we told him there was a fish on the line he dropped the pole and ran. Not like the first fish he caught, but hopefully he'll want to do it again. He loves to put the worm on, but not so much with touching the fish. Our site was close to the Horseshoe pits and playground so we could let the kids go to the playground and watch them without having to be stuck at the playground. Drew must have roasted about 100 marshmallows and ate maybe 10. Fun times had by all!

You're a goof mounder!

Yep, that's right a Goof Mounder...that's Drew's new word for goof ball. And now we've added knuckle head and pretzel head to the mix. Don't ask me where he gets them, but it's pretty funny to hear what he comes up with. We had a nice, warm Saturday and finally got out and cleaned the windows, now I just need to get the inside of the windows done and maybe we can see out! :) Drew had a blast playing in the hose and making mud in the yard. Mike bought him his own kid sized wheelbarrow so he can help when we get the mulch. And yes, this is why we had to build a shed, everyone having their own tools. Speaking of, I got quite a bit of stuff organized in the garage too, so I was excited about that progress.
Scott took Drew and my little bro, Bill, Saturday night and we picked them up late Sunday a.m. We drove up to Howell to meet up with Julie and did a little shopping while we were there. It got pretty chilly, but on the way home we stopped at the Botanical Gardens and picked up a couple rain barrels. Unfortunately, we didn't get them hooked up cuz today it's raining like mad! Drew was so pooped by the time we got home he just wanted to lay down and watch SpongeBob. He fell asleep around 4:30 and Mike woke him up around 5:30 cuz we didn't want him up all night. He was a bit testy and not really sure he wanted to be up. Just before he fell asleep he was yelling at me from the bedroom. "MOM, I'M HUNGRY!!!! It started out normal toned but ended up at the top of his lungs as I was ignoring his screams. Finally, he hit meltdown mode and started crying as he was yelling about how hungry he was. I told him next time, come find me, I'm not going to deal, but I also understood the child was at a breaking point and I better get him a snack before we were to the point of no return.

Welcome to the world, Troy B!

At least he should be here by now. Our friend Jen went in for her c-section this morning around 5 - yuck! But yay, cuz she should have a beautiful little man in her arms! Welcome to the crew little man!
On top of that, it's a beautiful sunny day, and 99.9% of the snow is gone from the 5+ inches we got on Monday...yes, Monday, as in the 6th of April - urgh! And with the snow came a power outage - but we finally got to use our generator and back fed electrical, so 5 minutes after we woke up to a cold house the heat, and rest of the power, were restored...woohoo!!!! It felt good to finally put to use all the precautions we thought we'd need 3 years ago. So Monday was a stay at home day. Then Tuesday I woke up to find I finally got the cold that Mike, dad and Drew had been fighting off for the last several days...boooo! So I worked for about two hours and went home and crashed. Yesterday I caved and took some nighttime cold meds and felt much, much better. It didn't really make me sleep all that well, but took away the aches and sore throat, which was just fine with me.
Again, I sit here and try to figure out where the last two weeks have gone. I guess we've been outside quite a bit. In one weeks time dad built Drew's play structure and with some help from Mike, our new HUGE 8 x 12 ft shed. It's awesome! Three wide, deep shelfs L across leaving us room for anything else in the blank corner. We still don't have it filled up and everything extra (except the stuff I need to donate) is out of the garage. On Saturday we worked on tearing down the wall between the backroom and the garage so we can actually park Mike's truck in the garage...say it with me now...HALLELUJAH! We still have yet to get up in the attic to figure out what could come down, but we've also added several sheets of plywood to the attic so we've got more storage up there too. Love it!!!! I feel a weeeeee bit like Martha Stewart...things are getting their own spots!
Tomorrow Drew is off and I'm looking at working 1/2 day and hangin' with the little man...not quite sure what we'll do. On Saturday, Domino's Farm has a huge Easter Egg Hunt, so I think we're going to try to hit that if the weather holds out. Speaking of, Drew found two big, fake egg decorations in the garage and we've been using those to practice our hunting. It's funny, he's added himself to the hunt by yelling, "Mom, I'm an egg too, OK?" lol, the things he says.
Honestly, he was being a little stinker a couple weeks ago. Little attitude, little talking back, little not listening - more than the absent minded "I'm watching SpongeBob" 4 year old boy not listening. And just about to the wall, I finally realized I needed to pull out the 'step away from the problem arsonal'...duh! Really, I haven't had to use it lately, but after telling Drew 4 times, not to spray the hose near mom, I finally said, "if I have to tell you again, you'll be putting it down for 2 minutes." It did, and then he did. After two minutes he asked me if he could play with the hose again, which I said no to because he asked...waited about 30 more seconds and told him he could with the understanding that it would not happen again and if it did, the hose would be gone for the day. Guess what? Yep, it didn't happen again. He's happy, I'm happy. or is it I'm happy, he's happy!? Both I guess. So back on to remembering that my great little 4 year old isn't perfect, and that boundries work so much better than saying the same thing 4 times and getting frustrated to no avail.
I have to say we've been pretty impressed with grandpa too. He's seeing that doing something for Drew quickly isn't as important as letting him do it for himself even if it takes 10X longer. And that as cute as he is, especially with some of the expressions he makes, doesn't mean that he should get away with something, even if it's as simple as needing to put on a sweatshirt if it's 50 degrees.

Guess that's all for now...Happy Easter weekend!

I don't think this day could go any slower!

First of all - TGIF! The sun is shining and it's going to be in the high 50s - woohoo! I guess that's why today is seeming to take FOREVER! I woke up early this morning, before the alarm even, and felt good about the day. That is, until I was almost to work and realized the sun was out and it was fairly warm, then it set in, I'm stuck at work all day. Which really isn't entirely true. As soon as my boss comes back from watching some EMU softball, I should be out of here. Which I'm guessing will be in the next hour. Until then, I just keep watching the clock.

So what's new...hmmmmm. We finally put together the air hockey table (OK, actually my dad did) but it's because we finally made some more room in the garage. So now everyday Drew wants to play, which wouldn't be bad except it's a bit chilly out there and I'm kinda just ready to be inside where it's warm. Last Saturday we asked Drew if he wanted to go out to dinner. He said yes but then quickly did an about face and said he would rather stay at home with Grandpa and drill stuff. They were working on using a drill and cordless screwdriver and putting screws and holes in an empty box. We were shocked it opted to stay home and reminded Grandpa it was a pretty big honor cuz he always is up for going to dinner.

Speaking of Grandpa - he cracks me up. Last weekend we bought a new grill as ours would require more money in parts (after only 4 yrs) than just replacing the whole thing. So all three guys went to Sears and picked up a new one. My dad looked at the box as it sat in the driveway and said, "I didn't know KMart sold Kenmore". I said, "dad, Sears and Kmart are the same company now, have been for several years!" I was amazed. Likewise of all our new-fangled technology like the DVR, laptop, cell phone, caller-id, voicemail...yep, all those "new" technologies are mind blowing. A couple weeks ago I was blogging and he looked at me in amazement, and said, "well, I could have never typed that fast" and I said, "well you know this isn't a typewriter, we can push delete." Luckily, he and Drew have a great time after school playing outside. It's been a bit chilly but it doesn't stop them. They practice fishing, play hide 'n seek, trim the trees, and have a great time just being outside. Their latest project, which Drew doesn't know about yet, is building an elevated playhouse. Drew really wants a treehouse but we don't have any trees quite ready for a house, so now they can build the next best thing.

ok, it's not just me

So, first of all, we are midway through March and I'm not really sure where the time has gone. I've noticed this seems to be a theme with other friends and family blogs I keep up with. I've been bummed that I haven't seen much activity on their blogs but understand since it's the same with mine.

We had a great, sunny, warm day today and spent it outside taking down a few trees, cleaning up some of the fall leaves that got stuck in the flower beds and putting together a new grill. Our grill, which is only 4 yrs old, is rusting out so we had to breakdown and buy a new one. Fun, fun. Drew got his Jeep out and drove around the yard. He drove over to his babysitter, Julie's house, and asked her to come over and babysit today. So a few minutes later she showed up and asked us when. Let me just say - meltdown city! He was crushed that she couldn't babysit today, but we worked thru it.

What else, oh, Drew will be starting a new school in two weeks. We took him to the new place on Friday and he didn't want to leave...good sign and great feeling. He makes it sooo easy some times. Most times really - unless Julie can't come over and babysit!

Can't really think of much else - probably because I'm really tired after working outside all day, and not looking forward to heading back to work.