From Omaha

Since I have no idea how to manipulate my parents IMAC (though I will say I never want a Macintosh computer!) I don't know what pictures will show up with this blog. I tried to select a house one, as Ronnie has been emailing me updates while we are up here. Our new home is being framed as we are 11 hours away!!! I also hopefully selected a pic of my brother and I, since we've not seen each other for TWO years, and a pic of us at the children's museum on the Sesame Street steps, and finally a pic of my kids and their Moon Sand on Christmas morning. Santa did VERY well this year! We are having so much fun up here, and at least for me, time is flying by! I will be sad to go home on Saturday.

Tutu much!

I was the party Mom at Aidan's Christmas party on Friday...and learned one of Aidan's best kept secrets...he loves a pink tutu! They played dress up while I got the gingerbread men ready to be decorated, and Aidan headed straight for the pink tutu and after he donned it, he danced around like John Travolta! Ms. Kathy said that is his favorite costume. :) Shortly after, he told Laura, one of the little girls in his class, that he wanted to play doctor. So, while he got out the doctor kit she laid down on the ground, lifted her pretty dress, and exposed her midriff so he could listen to her heart...oh my! It was a bit much for me all before 9:30 AM!

Shhh...I dare not say it too loud but...

I THINK WE'RE POTTY TRAINED!!! Woo Hoo! I think Aidan has finally made it...he's been in underwear for 10 days now! I think it took me printing up 72 Christmas letters that said he is not potty trained for him to prove me wrong. (And, some Superman undies from his teacher at TLC helped too!). I may never have to buy another diaper again! :)

Our cement...uh correction - Concrete!

We have concrete! Woo hoo! I called my Dad to tell him we had "cement" and in an educational moment- which he is fond of :) - I learned that we in fact did not have cement, because it is a powdery substance that is used to make concrete, and would not by itself hold our new house up! So, OK, we have CONCRETE! I have to admit, I had half a mind to run up and put my handprint in it, which SO goes against my rule-following nature, but to imprint my hand in our new cement would be fun! Not to worry though, I did not.

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

So we had snow before my parents did...isn't that crazy? It started out yesterday early in the morning with "thundersleet" as they called it on the weather channel...don't know if that is a meterological term or not, but it certainly applies! There was thunder and lightening, with rain, then sleet, then hail, then sleet again. After all that, it started snowing later in the morning, and by the time Luke was out of school (yes he had school despite the fact that every other school - including MSU was closed) there was enough snow to actually play in! It was Aidan's first snow experience, and he loved eating it as you can see! The boys pelted me with lots of snow, and as we came in and had to shed all our snowy hats, coats, gloves, and boots, it brought me back to many childhood memories. And, since we live in Texas, it'll be gone in a few days, which I like! No black snow that lasts until May like in Nebraska!

Bloopers

My friend, Kelly, took our family pictures today for our Christmas cards. We went to Smith's Gardentown where they have a beautiful gazebo set up with poinsettas all around. Of course, to get my 3 guys to smile is quite a feat! (note - Dail is THE WORST!). So above, in one he is biting Luke's ear, and the other he left us altogether! :) Thank you Kelly for working with such difficult subjects!

Many Blessings

We had a wonderful weekend with my parents visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday. They got to see our dirt and we went through many model homes so that they too may have their own dirt here someday. We spent Thanksgiving at Dail's Aunt Lola's in Olney, and the photo of the boys with our dog is in part inspired from that visit. Dail's cousin's wife, also named Debbie, wanted to see our dog, so here he is Debbie! Luke decided to rake the leaves in our backyard - for fun- today and so I took a pic of the boys and Speedy in the leaves. They have so much fun together!

The other photo is from Aidan's Thanksgiving party at his school. Isn't that the cutest bunch of 3 year olds? Of course, my son (the only boy that day) is the one making the strangest face!

We have so many friends and family to be thankful for. If you are reading this, you are surely one of them. Thank you for your gift of friendship, support, and encoragement. Our family is blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives!

City Lights Festival

We invited our friends, the Steins, to the annual City Lights Festival parade over the weekend. If you didn't know - parades are my FAVORITE! I absolutely love them! In fact, Dail said he will take me to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for our 25th anniversary. No trips to the beach for me, I just want a parade! :) The parade is always a kick off of the holiday season, with all the downtown buildings lighting up and a nighttime parade of floats, old timey cars, area bands, and horse drawn carriages. After the parade, the Shriners had a train ride, there was a horse and buggy ride, and many other adventures - all for free! Woo hoo!


Their family has a nice photo - I get the uncooperative ones in mine! Where is Dail anyway?
Philipp and Luke - they look like brothers!

More candids

Here's a couple of fun shots of Mr. Aidan man. He loves to be batman - especially because he can take off his glasses!

He also had his first dentist appointment last week, and unfortunately, his teeth aren't much better than his eyes...he already has 2-3 cavities, and Dr. Perez doesn't feel comfortable working on someone so little and "active" as he put it. So, he's referred us to a pediatric dentist in the metroplex and we'll see what she can do with him. I can't imagine him sitting still! We can make it a really fun day for him and schedule it for whenever his next eye doctor appointment is! Poor guy! Apparently Dr. Perez thinks he was just born with bad teeth, or saliva, or something like that. Ugh! Oh well, it could be much worse, so we'll take these little bumps in the road in stride.

St. Martin's Feast Day

We were invited to a neat celebration yesterday by our friends, Michi and Achim. The kids at the German school here in town celebrate the Feast of St. Martin each year, and though their son doesn't go to the German school, they are of course German! (St. Martin was a Roman soldier who gave half of his coat to a beggar. Later Jesus appeared to him in a dream and revealed he was the beggar. Thus began his life of helping those less fortunate.) The festival happens at dusk, and each child carries a homemade lantern in a parade procession that is led by a knight on a horse. After we paraded around the streets, we returned to Notre Dame for some hot cocoa and cookies, oh and gluvine (or something like that - it is hot German wine - very tasty!). Philipp, Luke, and Aidan ran around in the dark until they were exhausted. It was fun to be a part of their cultural traditions...I can't imagine what it must be like to celebrate this feast day in Germany!

6032 Laci Lane

This is our DIRT! I've never been so excited about dirt in my whole life! We signed the papers to build our house on Tuesday, and today there was a SOLD sign and tractors piling up dirt! Woo hoo! We have until March 1st to sell our current house...so if you know of anyone in the market... :)

Fun photos

I thought I'd share a couple of fun pics...the first one is Aidan's "school" pic from TLC...cutie boy! The second is a pic of us at the MSU Homecoming football game with our friend, Adrian. We actually met Adrian while we were working for Penn State...I recruited him to come to the Mont Alto Campus all the way from The Colony. Shortly after he arrived, Dail took the job at MSU and we moved, much to Adrian's Mom's disapproval. She wanted someone to "take care of" her baby. Well, Adrian has gone on to earn his degree from Penn State, work in Washington DC, New York City, Peace Corp in the Ivory Coast, and recently a 2 year stint in China. I think he takes care of himself just fine! :) But, I'm a Mom of two boys, so pity the person whom I encounter when my boys go to college...I'll be wanting them to look after my "babies" too.

He came to MSU's Homecoming game because his good friend's brother was up for Homecoming King...so it was fun to see him! And this is very random but, I look at that picture and am amazed at how much Luke looks like me! Our faces are just alike. Amazing what genes can do!

Halloween and such

Of course I have to post about Halloween - although I really don't have any good pics of the occassion. We were invited to "Germantown" by friends of ours who live on a street that has many German families. Michi always outdoes herself when she invites people over, and Halloween was no exception! She has a tiny baby, and still finds time to be such a great hostess! She had her whole house decorated so cute, and she had glow sticks, glow bracelets, glow necklaces, and multi colored wands for each of the kids (and there were quite a few there!). After we ate a bite, we all took the kids around Michi and Achim's street to trick or treat. They got SO much candy - really crazy! And, it was really COLD - thus Luke's jacket over his Spiderman costume. Aidan (who dressed as Scooby Doo) got fed up with it all and as you can see, Dail had to hold him (that pic is strange because of the night lights). All in all, we had a wonderful time and the kids have enough to last them for 5 Halloweens!

House for Sale!

After a busy weekend with the CCC's 20th anniversary and MSU's Homecoming, we just went CrAzY and put our house on the market today! It is very scary and exciting at the same time. We have narrowed down our home we would like to build to one plan that just needs a bit of tweaking, and we have narrowed down the lots we would choose. We just need to get the final details figured out, and hopefully sell our house to someone who doesn't want in it right away! Otherwise, it's off to Archer City for us to live with Dail's parents for a while. We'll see what happens...this isn't an ideal time to sell, but I think there isn't an "ideal" when it comes to huge decisions like this! :)

First 9 weeks...ice cream truck...life is BUSY!

It's been quite a while since I've blogged - as always - life is just busy! But, I wanted to post a couple of pics, and a couple of stories...

Dail makes fun of me all the time, because when I was growing up, we had an ice cream truck that came around and of course the kids could get ice cream...except we called him the ding ding man (all very innocent, as the bell noise went "ding ding"). Now as an adult, it does sound a bit strange to call the ice cream truck that. But anway - last week, the "ding ding man" came around our neighborhood for the first time ever! So, my boys were thrilled to see it and wanted something desperately! By the time they got to our house, they only had snow cones left. But, here's a pic of them enjoying their snow cones!

Luke completed his first nine weeks of kindergarten...and we had parent teacher conferences today. (His kindergarten pic is above). His teacher is SO wonderful - we really adore her. And, she adores our Luke, which works out! He has come out of his shell for her, and always tries to excel at whatever he does. She said she has one autistic child in the classroom, and Luke is always helpful to him and makes sure he doesn't get left out. He has such a sensitive heart! We may have him tested for gifted/talented. He is doing exceptionally well and is mastering everything she gives him. But, he would be tested by an adult whom he has never met, and he often won't open up to or talk to a stranger. She may ask him the color of the sky and he will just shrug. So, we'll see! Regardless, we are confident his teacher will keep him challenged all year, which is what is most important to us. He loves school!

In our spare time, we have been considering building a house. We've looked at so many house plans! Between choosing a plan, a lot, and staying within a price range, it is a bit of a challenge. But, we feel we've outgrown our little starter house here, and to choose all new things would be just amazing! Dail is in 7th heaven to think of "creating" a kitchen for himself! And I just can't wait until the day that our cat litter box isn't in our bedroom anymore! Woo hoo!

My multicultural? children

Two stories from the mouths of my kiddos this week:

1) I was lamenting to Dail over the weekend that I was doing this tri-lingual prayer service for a Formation Day for our Diocese, and I had to have it in Vietnamese, Spanish, and English. And, since I was going to be up on stage, I had to attempt to speak the Vietnamese part, so a student was trying to teach me. Luke is listening to all of this and he says "Mom, did you say Vietnamese?" I say "Yes" and he says "Oh, I have a friend who lives in Vietnamese." I smiled and told him "Are you talking about John from your class? He is from Vietnam." How cute that he thought he lived IN Vietnamese!

2) Today we had a play date with some friends. Aidan and I went and we talked to a woman who recently adopted her beautiful baby girl from China. She told Aidan, "My daughter's name is Maya and she was born in China." He looked at her over the tops of his glasses and said "Mulan is from China." (you know, the Disney movie). Jennifer smiled at him and told him he was right. He further said "Mulan's Dad had to go to war." Random thoughts from little children!

Crammed right in the middle of a hectic week (MONTH really!) was my little Aidan's 3rd birthday. But as Aidan loves life itself, he was just happy to go to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate with a few of his friends. I think Luke thought it was Christmas for him too because he asked Aidan if he could open his presents for him, and Aidan said "sure". So Luke opened nearly all of Aidan's gifts at home. At the party, Luke was joined by Elizebeth, and the pair of them "helped" Aidan open his presents. Luke also asked Aidan which ones of his toys he would share or give to Luke, and Aidan kept one tractor (thanks to his Godfather Jeff!) and told Luke he could play with anything else. How sweet! Luke, in fact, slept with Lightening McQueen - Aidan's new toy! And now the two of them are playing with ALL of Aidan's new toys, Luke is relishing in it as much as his brother is! I'm so glad my boys are *almost* always so kind to each other! Happy Birthday my sweet Aidan!!!

Western Day

Being in limbo with computers and in the midst of a VERY busy fall semester leaves me little time to post to my blog. I have to add pics now and then though, so the friends and family afar can see my kiddos. Aidan had Western Day at his school on Friday. So, of course their class got to ride ponies (real ones, not sure why the one I chose for this blog is a fake), go on a hay ride, and have a "campfire". It was adorable! Oh - and if any of you reading this have experience with Windows XP Media Edition - I'd love to hear about it! I'm sure it would make my life easier with pics, etc if I only knew what I was doing.

Grandparent's Day

Luke's school celebrated Grandparent's Day last week and we were thrilled that Polly & Melvin agreed to go. They joined Luke for lunch (though he wouldn't eat the school food!) and got to have their picture taken with him for the school wall. He was shy and reserved, but they talked to everyone and had a good time!

Singing in the Rain

I have been without a computer for over a week - so I am behind in blogging. We did ride in the HHH bike ride last weekend - WITH my parents, who I am so proud of - but my Dad has those photos...so maybe I'll post them later.

Today is a rainy day here...which I love! It's been raining since we got up this morning, and the boys were dying to get out there and splash around in the rain. So, armed in umbrellas that sometimes were useful - they ran around in our drive and enjoyed the rain. Every puddle, every eave that had water flowing, every place they could find abundant water - they were in the middle of! They were of course soaking wet when they came indoors - but happy as two little boys could be!

Wine glasses and what?

Well, it has been quite a week with Luke in school and Aidan and I at home. He finds MUCH more trouble without his brother to guide him into better choices. I don't think I can turn my back on him for two seconds, and he can't help but find mischief, which often leads to disaster! This morning, I was checking my email on the computer. I had him all set up with his Amish Cinnamon Bread muffin and chocolate milk in a sippy cup. What harm could be done, right? Ha! After a few minutes, I heard a clinking noise that only comes from glass. I quickly went into the kitchen to see what he was up to. He had several of my wine glasses out in front of him, all with backwash chocolate milk in them (blech!). It is my fault that they were in reach of his little hands. But, the story gets much better...I said "Aidan, what are you doing spitting chocolate milk into my wine glasses?!" He said "But Mommy, I'm just playing Body of Christ. See (he lifts a glass to his lips and proclaims 'AMEN!')" Now how can I get mad at him for playing priest?? All of you non-Catholics are probably chuckling - well as I'm sure are all the Catholics! Father Aidan here we come! What will the next 16 years have in store for me I wonder? :)

First days of Kindergarten

Luke did SO great for his first day of kindergarten! He was nervous in the morning, but he did awesome, especially considering that his school is uniform, and he hasn't worn a belt since he was 18 months old! Collared shirt, tucked in to boot - all things he despises. But, he dressed with no fuss at all. When I picked him up, he said "Mom, it was actually better than I thought it was going be!"
Today was his first full day, and he rode his bike to school with Dail. He got there early, had breakfast in the cafeteria, and waited until the aide took them class. He said he liked being there early, but not eating there. From now on, it's breakfast at home for him. He was so cute too because I told him I missed him terribly while he was gone all day, and he said "Mom, at lunch I was thinking a lot about you, and thinking that it would be better if you were here with me." Awww! I told him I'd come have lunch with him soon.

Meanwhile, my dear Aidan is bored to tears without his big brother, and doesn't know how to entertain himself (nor how to keep himself out of trouble!). Today while I was drying my hair, he proceeded to get a chair, pull up onto the stovetop, and try to help himself to some cereal above the microhood. Yikes~! I had to make him take a shower with me or who knows would would have befallen my house when I got out. It is perilous, to say the least!

Wonderful little trip

Dail and I took a great little trip to Tow, Texas at the end of the week. He had bid at a silent auction on a winery tour, tasting, and picnic back in April, and we finally got a chance to sneak away for our "winning". We went to Falls Creek Winery on Lake Buchanan and had a wonderful time tasting wine and being pampered at a picnic they gave us. We shopped all afternoon (and Dail and I can do some damage when we don't have our kids around!) and then stayed at a cute Bed & Breakfast in nearby Burnet (the B&B was actually an old barn from the 1800's! - see pic). After being stuffed with delicious food again the next morning by our B&B hostess, we went to Longhorn Caverns to take a cave tour - we so wished we had our boys with us for that! Thanks to Ronnie and Granny & Papa, they were in good hands though. So, now we are rested, relaxed, and ready?, well maybe not, for school to start on Monday!

My adorable guys in specs

Earthworms, snails and...

If I didn't know it sooner - I am officially the Mom of BOYS! Luke has been going to this Creepy Crawly Critters class this week to learn about bugs and things of that nature. He really loves it. Well, yesterday, both because I am one of the few Moms who actually goes inside to pick up my child instead of waiting in the car outside AND because I responded "Yes" when the teacher asked us if we have a fish...we ended up the proud owners of 6 crickets, 5 earthworms, 3 snails, and some aqua plants. Yech! The crickets I quickly took to my friend Ronnie's house where I placed them on her kitchen counter with a note that they were for her turtle, Todd. I also deposited two of the three snails there with her roommates who also have fish or aquatic turtles. The last snail I told Luke he could keep and we brought it home to join his beta fish. The poor fish is none too happy though! And, the earthworms stayed in our fridge until we got home last night and gave them fresh soil under one of my plants outside to live in. Down the hall from Luke's class is Mommy and Me Scrapbooking...which as you can imagine has many little girls and their Moms. So, they come home with scrapbooking pages done (something I need desperately!) and I come home with critters! :) To be the Mom of boys!

Probably not PC but...

Luke said the funniest thing this morning as we were driving to his "Creepy Crawly Critters" class. Aidan had been bugging him all morning, and Aidan surely knows just how to push big brothers buttons. I kept telling Luke to just "tune him out". Finally, Luke sighed in frustration and said "I wish I was one of those people who talk with their hands because then I couldn't hear Aidan when he was trying to bug me!" So, basically he wishes he was deaf because then he couldn't hear Aidan! Hilarious especially from the complex mind of my 6 year old!

4th of July, swimming, & triathalon

I'm quite sure that back when I was 18 and dreaming of my life as a wife and mother, I wouldn't have guessed that at age 35, my weekends would be filled with bike rides and triathalons, especially not the kind we were participating in. An occassional recreational softball game, yes, but these cardio activities, NO! But much to my health benefit, my dreams were not quite accurate. So, here I am reflecting back on last week that started with the 4th of July Parade to the Kell House (where Luke rode his bike and Dail rode his CLOWN bike while I rollerbladed behind Aidan in the jog stroller), swim lessons for Aidan, and ending with a triathalon sponsored by the YMCA (with my good friend Susan swimming, Dail riding, and our neighbor Randy running). I love that my kids are growing up with such activities, and hope to someday cheer them on too!