Migraine Migraine...

go away. Don't come back another day.


Got Ainsley's hair cut yesterday to even out her hatchet job from before. She has a cute bob with the bangs growing out. I would eventually like it to be longer again, but in the mean time it is pretty cute. You are all going to have to wait for pictures as I feel terrible. Canceling all plans today except for soaking in the tub and vegging on the couch.

Aidan's food issue...

is resolved for the time being anyway. Turns out Aidan will eat a pb and j sandwich if the j part is strawberry instead of grape. I was very thin on groceries Saturday lunch time. I was in desperate need of some essentials and waiting for B to come home from work as he was going to shop on his way home. Lunch time all I had available was peanut butter. I was out of all my lunch meat, chicken nuggets, frozen pizza everything. I convinced Aidan to try a sandwich and let him pick from our jelly assortment. He picked the strawberry, left over from cupcakes from Ainsley's party. The kids are eating while I am fixing my lunch, and I hear "This is the best peanut butter sandwich ever!" Needless to say I am happy that for now it is back in. I am trying to continue varying what goes in the lunch box. He even wants to buy lunch every now and then so I am pleased. Of course he wants to buy on days they have chicken nuggets and mini corn dogs, but tomorrow he is buying spagetti. Could we have passed the pickiness hump?



Prayers for me as well this week. Nothing major to talk about, I just have some things on my mind. Later guys and thanks in advance.

I haven't had time to post...

just because we have been busy doing not much. Friday I was wiped out. Saturday we took the laptop into Best Buy and ate out. Sunday we went to church. Monday was catch up day. If you think of it say some prayers for B. He is already having a rough week at work for reasons I can't go into. Not his fault, but stuff he has to deal with, plus they are having some big time visitors coming in soon too. I am trying to keep the house stuff off of him as much as possible, but sometimes like yesterday I can't do that. We had a water leak. Nothing plumbing related, roofing related. The roofer is coming out today to clear the ice and snow and check it out. Hopefully we won't have to make any repairs and the clearing of the ice will be sufficient like he thinks. Otherwise, the roofing is still under warranty I believe. B at least was able to get our taxes filed so we will be able to pay some bills. We are getting all of Aidan's January surgical bills. Eeek! Knew they were coming though. Not much else going on. Oh! I made my friend Miss N's new broccoli and cheese soup recipe. Can we say awesome! This will definitely be added to my winter cooking file.



Aunt K and Miss N's Cheese Broccoli soup
1/4 cup butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli (find BABY broccoli)
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1/2 (1 pound) loaf Velvetta, cubed
1 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
Black pepper to garnish...
1) In a stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion in butter until softened. Stir in broccoli, and cover with chicken broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.2) Reduce heat, and stir in cheese cubes until melted. Mix in milk and garlic powder.3) In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into water until dissolved. Stir into soup; cook, stirring frequently, until thick. Eat with low carb tortillas or Wheat Thins. Yummy!



We had soup and sandwich night last night so this soup was a nice addition. Later taters!

Bon Jovi!

Yesterday after a much anticipated wait we actually got to go to the Bon Jovi concert down south of here. So much fun. We went with some friends who were our source for the tickets. Thanks Miss B! In the immortal words of my friend, John Bon Jovi is like a fine wine who just gets better with age. He looks pretty amazing for 46, better than his younger days with all the hair. They sang all my favorites so it was a blast. The only bad note to the whole thing was when I was taking the kids to my friend's house I slipped and fell on the icy sidewalk. Sore sore sore this morning. I have already taken a nice long soak in the tub to help loosen some of the soreness up. I am pooped though and I am looking forward to Ainsley's nap. I need to get off the computer to get some snuggle time in with my little one. Later taters!

Oh no...

my laptop is dead. What am I to do? B seems to think that there is something wrong with the network card or the connection to the network card. I hope we can take it in to be fixed. I am so sad!

What has happened to my child?

Who knew that chronic ear infections and congestion would so radically change my son's taste buds. He has gotten so much pickier since the last ear infection I almost can't believe it. The child will no longer eat a peanut butter sandwich. I am getting around this lunch time problem really, but yesterday he had a completely unexpected reaction to his sister having a peanut butter sandwich. "Oh Mom Ainsley is bothering me! Why is she bothering you? she is not even near you. She stinks because of the peanut butter sandwich she has!" He can not even tolerate the smell now that his nose is cleared up. Of course this is the same child that will still eat the packs of peanut butter and toasted crackers that I sometimes send with him as a snack for school. Go figure!

Winter whallop, where?

It looks like the snow we were supposed to get yesterday stayed to the west. Praise God! It rained most of the morning yesterday and we did get some snow, but not nearly as much as was expected. There is plenty of ice on the walkways and streets this morning though. I can manage that believe it or not, have had plenty of experience with that.


We had Ainsley's birthday party this weekend. My little girl had a blast! Aidan had some behavior issues though that we will address and have to work on a bit. I tell you what, that little boy can be so self-centered sometimes. Computer and video games have become a huge issue as well. It is all he wants to do. I typically set a timer for him and he plays a limited amount of time. This weekend though, while all kinds of kids are here to play with he threw a huge fit about wanting to play video games. Needless to say, he did not play any the rest of the day. If he throws a fit about it I definitely don't let him play. Anyway, B got some great party pictures that I will hopefully download soon and post later this week.


Otherwise on the Ainsley front, we are more seriously working on the potty training. She is so not interested! She will go potty if I take her, but she won't tell me that she needs to go. Wish me luck, I think I am going to need it. Well, I am off to do the laundry shuffle. Later gaters!

Happy Birthday Ainsley!

Looking lovely with your tutu, wings, tiara, and what you don't see her glass slippers.

My Ainsley girl how you have grown. You are now 3 years old and so full of energy. You are so sweet and lovely. You are so much fun and I can't wait to continue to watch you grow. Love you baby boo.

Party Prep and Library Fun

I am pretty impressed with myself here. The above picture are the party favor bags for Ainsley's party. I never thought I could make them turn out so cute. I don't do anything with ribbons for Aidan's parties because they just aren't boyish. Having a little girl is becoming such a treat. B says she and I are going to be good buddies as she grows up because she already loves to shop and loves shoes. We are in trouble I think, I am definitely going to have to go back to work to support that habit! Hopefully I will be able to teach her to be a frugal shopper like my Mom taught me.

Ainsley and I met up with some friends at the library for story time today. They made these super cute Valentines crowns that say I love the library. Most of the little girls were wearing theirs afterwards in the play area. I wish I would have had my camera to take pictures of all the Valentines princesses. Nonetheless here is my Ainsley with hers on.

B is out tonight entertaining the big wigs. Come to find out the big wig is his predecessor who is also a good buddy. I am betting that they are at one of the local pubs having a few beers. So it is just the kids and I so I am letting them watch a bit of PBS Sprout this evening so that we can have some snuggle time. That being said, I need to get off this computer. I will hopefully post pictures of my birthday girl tomorrow. Later gaters!

Weekend fun

Pretty self explanatory I think. We took advantage of the winter weather before the temps plummeted over the weekend. In the top picture, I am really not screaming. I was about to run into my hubby who jumped in front of Ainsley and I to take a picture. Sledding is not Ainsley's thing yet. We got to the bottom of the hill and she says, "this is just not good." She doesn't look like me, but she is so my child. Aidan just loves this activity and especially likes to go over the bumps that make him go airborne. He is a bit of a thrill seeker. A fun time was had by all.

Can't wait for Ainsley's birthday! I got her a ton of cute clothes from Gymboree and the Children's Place. I may have to go back as I got more coupons in the store and in the mail.

Otherwise, I have been in a bit of a funk again. I was talking to some friends at dinner this weekend and I am pleased to know that I am not the only one ready for a spring thaw. Some friends of ours ( the babysitter we use and her family) are moving to the Dallas area. We were talking about what it is like and all the shopping and things to do. Made me a little homesick, especially when I hear how much warmer it is there right now.

Anyway, it is going to be a busy but fun week. We are having a brunch birthday, with strawberry preserve cupcakes with white frosting and pink sugar "sparkles". Miss Ainsley is such a girly girl! Later gaters!

Winter wonderland

I took some pictures this morning to show everyone how much snow is on the ground. The first one is the view down the street from the front porch and the other is of the house. We only got six inches yesterday but according to the paper some parts of Wi received 21 inches of the white stuff.

Sunny and pretty day so I went to the grocery store and playgroup this morning. It was good to get out. If tomorrow is like today I will head to the mall tomorrow to do some shopping for Ainsley's birthday. The kids will enjoy lunching out and a trip to the play area. It should be fun if we get to go. Otherwise, I will have to make a trip up next week.

So much snow!

It is snowing again, I think we only got a few inches. Not to bad, but it is still snowing. The city of Milwaukee is pretty much closed down for the day I heard on the radio this morning. They are expecting 18 inches of snow on top of what they got in the big storm last week. I am glad I am not in Milwaukee right now. Not going to the grocery store this morning. Need B's vehicle to feel safer. The main roads aren't too bad, but the side streets are pretty messy. I will have the time to get caught up on laundry this morning at least. Feeling shut in right now, I still wanted to go shopping Friday, but not sure if the weather will cooperate with me. I guess I will try to go to the store tomorrow morning before our playgroup is meeting. I am so ready for spring and all of this snow to melt.

Have you ever...

just felt off? Like you say and do stupid things. That is how I have been feeling the last few days. Like I say or do something and then I just beat myself up over it. Don't know why I am doing that. It is not useful or beneficial in any kind of way. For example, I made cookies for bible study this morning. I needed to get home to take care of somethings and I wanted to grab my container before I left. Instead of leaving the cookies for the other kids to eat, I took my container home originally thinking that B would like to have some. When I get home, I keep thinking how stupid, you should have left those for the kids. I can't let it go for some reason. Stuff like that has been bothering me for the last day or so. Does anybody else do this or am I just nuts? Time to let it do, I must accept the things that I can not change.


So tired today. Tuesdays zap me for some reason and I can't seem to get anything done. I wanted to go grocery shopping in the morning since Aidan will be off on Friday. I wanted to head up to Green Bay since he was going to be home. Now we are under a severe weather advisory so depending on how bad it is I may not want to head out to the store tomorrow. We will see.

Go Giants!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What an awesome game. We had friends over and at the end we were all screaming our heads off. I can't stand the Pats, I think the talk of a perfect season was such a crock. If anything it was a tainted season, like Barry Bonds baseball mark it with a star. Appropriate ending in my book.

Snowing again and other stuff

Well, it has been a bit of a rough start to a Saturday morning. Aidan jumps into bed with me and wakes me up before 7 the one morning I get to sleep a bit. Cat starts yacking again. Lately it is every morning. This wakes Ainsley up then the kids start to scream at each other because Ainsley won't follow the leader (Aidan). No one is following the leader unless it is me so lets go down stairs and get milk and breakfast. Grumbling from the peanut gallery but they follow. B is at work again this morning and I heard him thrashing around early downstairs. We walk into the dining room on the way to the kitchen and we find a bag of doughnuts. Daddy can be so sweet sometimes. Not good for the waist, but they sure taste good. Everyone gets to eat and the bickering seems to subside. It flares up again when I sit on the couch to catch a bit of the morning news, I just don't seem to have enough lap to go around. Aidan asks to play a video game, Ainsley is now watching Bambi and I sit here on my "recliner" warm under a quilt and with my laptop on my lap with a very large cup of coffee. I peak out the window and it is snowing again. B wants me to call the kid that came by this week to come shovel, but what is the point now since it is snowing again already. Best to wait until it stops and hopefully B will be home by then. B was out late last night too. I hate weekends like this when he is seldom home.


I warned the kids yesterday and this morning that this was a cleaning day. We have friends coming over to watch the game tomorrow. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like around here had the Pack beat the Giants. I imagine everyone would have been bananas. So today my plan is to get the floors mopped, bathrooms scrubbed, and house dusted. It is bad! I also need B to move the old tv into the office at least. He is going to love me for that one, but finding it a new home has been something he has totally fallen down on. He has been falling down on a lot of jobs at home lately because he has been working so much. Trying to be calm and patient and not harrass him. Oh, I have to work on my study today as well. I had to play catch up yesterday because I was feeling not great on Thursday afternoon and skipped it.

Well that is it. Aidan had his extra work sent home yesterday and the sub (long term sub because Aidan's regular teacher had to take maternity leave early due to high blood pressure issues and being placed on bed rest) sent home a note hoping that the book he was sending was a bit more challenging than the last one. It is a collection of Frog and Toad. Little does he know, we have this book and have read it many times already. I do appreciate that he continues to send home writing assignments because Aidan does struggle with writing. Just not his favorite thing to do so he rushes through it, and when he rushes through it is just a jumble. If you can get him to slow down he does much better. Something we will have to continue to work on. That is our fun for the weekend, later dudes.

Thanks my sweet friends...

for you comments regarding homeschooling. B and I don't totally see eye to eye on that one. He thinks I would like to only to keep the kids from growing up. Says the man who wants baby #3. Anyway, I may look into doing something with Ainsley. They are starting a 4K program here with the school district, so Ainsley would be doing that 4 mornings a week from 9-11 or so. More like kindergarten was when I went through school. Since we will be doing that I would prefer to keep her home next year as well. B is already asking if I am going to place Ainsley somewhere. If the Y still had their program I would but since they don't anymore because of 4k...decisions decisions. I will keep the idea of homeschooling Aidan in mind though in case school becomes as issue. Right now they are very focused on his advanced reading level so they send extra work home for him to work on at his own pace, plus he is in Reading Theater at school, plus he is in a separate reading group with the teacher so they work things together also at Aidan's pace. He would not be separated into the Excel program until the 3rd grade up here so I just have to see how it goes between now and then. I think about homeschooling on days that he has off because I just like having both kiddos around. Warming up here by the way a balmy 27 degrees this morning, plus we had more snow overnight. Enough already!