Bermuda with my Baby

On October 14th My Sweetie and I landed on the beautiful island of Bermuda....without the kids!! My Sweetie has worked for his company on the corporate side for 4 1/2 years. Every year he has "hit his numbers" that he needed to make for each year. For the first half of this year My Sweetie sold at least 60% HIGHER than his target which earned him into Presidents Club. A sweet place to be if you are the spouse who gets to be the guest on one of these trips. I am so proud of My Sweetie for his years of hard work and for earning President's Club this first half.

From the time we landed we were treated with the best hospitality you can imagine. In order for the guests of President Club to be given THE best treatment, the company flies in an entire hospitality staff to take care of everything during our stay.

The resort was beautiful. The dinner parties were amazing and more than I ever expected. The gifts they gave us were appreciated. The money they gave us was even more appreciated! The time spent with his team members were memorable. But the time My Sweetie and I had in our moments alone were priceless and a nice break from the reality of life at home.

Here are a TON of pictures from our trip.....

Ready to head out for the Welcome Dinner on our first night. I'm certain my eyes were the size of half dollars as I walked through the ballroom doors. The band was playing, waiters lined up with trays of wine, ice sculptures, beautifully set tables, food stations throughout the ballroom.


This is what I did most of the trip.


This is what My Sweetie did!


Our first full day was cloudy and windy but the best day for My Sweetie to see things in the ocean. The winds really never stopped and made the ocean very choppy and My Sweetie was unable to see much the rest of the trip.

As My Sweetie was out in the ocean snorkeling I sat on the beach reading my bible. He found this shell.....in the shape of a butterfly! I about cried.


Enjoying the beach.

We walked to this lighthouse then all the way up the 180-some steps to the top.

Looking down at our resort from the top of the lighthouse.

Us on top of the lighthouse.

Dinner our second evening

Peeking down towards our beach.


Beach Party dinner (inside due to weather) third night.

Toes in the sand!!!!

Our last night we had a cocktail hour and were able to have dinner alone!!!!

Flying out Sunday. Goodbye Bermuda. Thanks for letting us visit.

Racing through September

September has flown by and kept us on our toes!!! With two of the kids in two different sports this fall and all the other "normal" stuff there have been some nights when we've actually needed our jogging shoes on to keep up.

We had more birthday celebrations for our new 7 year old to do. He wanted a family party "at home"
We also gave him a little party for friends at the children's museum.

The kids each were able to make a rocket then they launched them in the lobby of the hotel. It was really fun to watch the rockets fly and see the smiles running to chase them down to run them back and try again.

Even The Daddy had fun!

Isn't he cute??!!! :)

We've had two soccer games a week. BuhBuh does such a good job of "getting in there"

Last night he even scored a goal!!!! (Sadly, I missed it because I was just getting back from picking The Boy up from football.)

Saturday mornings we've had football games to watch.

The Boy is also doing a good job of doing what he is suppose to out on the field.

For it being his first year, and having a cast on I'd say he's doing a pretty good job.

One game he even had a fumble recovery which had this momma proud and excited! The cast is officially off now. WOOHOO! Hopefully we can make it a little longer than 10 months until the next one. EEK!

During the day things are a little less hectic. I have my typical mommy work to do and there is always something for missions or children or youth that I am working on for church.

With my mommy friends having their babies off to school this year I had to find some things for Little Dude and I to do.

I'm going to Bible Study on Mondays which are a little challenging to have a 2-year old sit through....when this book study is done I might not do anymore until he's in preschool.

BUT, I did join a MOPS group which I am really enjoying. Little Dude has his own class he goes to and plays and does projects which he is always so proud of.

I get to sit and eat yummy food, and enjoy some time with other moms. I'm excited to see what other blessings come from belonging to this group.

He and I also are going to the Story Time at the Library. I forgot how much I missed that from when I did it with BuhBuh. It is a nice time just to focus on him without the distraction of the big kids or the chores at home. He has made a project there that he is very proud of too.

We've also been able to play with our friend Emery. I hope that we can do that some more but it's good for the both of them.

October begins tomorrow. I can't believe it. However, I'm looking forward to the trip My Sweetie and I get to take in 2 weeks!!!! BERMUDA!!!! I will miss the kids but they will be in very good grandma hands while we are gone. I am however looking forward to some much needed connecting time with My Sweetie and relaxing break from reality.

Future Lawyer???

BuhBuh: Is it illegal for a white person to marry a black person???

Me: Absolutely not.

Deep for a 7 year old I thought.......I have no idea where this question came from. It was out of the blue in the car. He must do most of his thinking in the car.

Later that afternoon he asked another question.

BuhBuh: Is it illegal to sleep while you are driving???

Me: It's very dangerous because if you are sleeping you can't see where you are going and will probably crash your car.

Moments later he asked....

BuhBuh: Is it illegal to lick a phone??

He said this as he picked up my phone and pretend to lick it.

Me: No BuhBuh, no it's not. But please don't lick my phone.

7 years old

Sometimes I just don't know where the time goes. As my kids get older, and especially this year for some reason, I just wish more and more that I could freeze time and put the in a bubble and make each day last an entire week. Despite our busy schedules, I am learning the true art of soaking in each good moment, living in the moments because moments are precious yet brief and will pass by quickly and be forgotten if we don't

My BuhBuh turned 7 yesterday. We celebrated with all the traditional things we do in our home. The Birthday Boy wakes up to streamer art from The Daddy, we open gifts (he guessed almost all of them correctly. What a smart cookie!) and have cinnamon rolls. There was also a birthday treat to be shared at school and then a birthday dinner of the honored child's choosing. Last night was Church so we shared with all of our Wednesday night friends too! He didn't think he should have to do homework on his birthday, thankfully he didn't have too much to do last night.



In the last year my BuhBuh has completed kindergarten and transitioned into 1st grade. He is learning to read and write and spell. I can tell that math is going to be easy for him just like it is for his big brother. He has played soccer, t-ball, taken art classes and cooking classes, joined scouts and taken swim lessons. He is an amazing big brother to Little Dude and knows how to push The Boy's buttons, especially when all he wants is some sort of attention from his big brother. His favorite thing is still Star Wars; I think he was born that way. He still says things that crack us up. I don't post as many of them as I would like and I post them because I don't want to forget those kind of moments. He is an amazing helper around the house. He is quickly growing into a big boy but he will still snuggle up, give me hugs and wants mommy to tuck him in at night.



This little boy of mine holds a special place in my heart because he wouldn't have been here if life would have travled the path I was trying to direct it to go. He was and is my second chance. He reminds me everyday of what grace and forgivness from both God and my husband is.

Happy Birthday BuhBuh.....we have some more celebrating to do with family and friends!!! I'm looking forward to a fun weekend! Mostly I'm looking forward to all of the amazing moments he brings to my life and our family over the next year.

A Simple September Sunday

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I Remember....

Written on this blog three years ago.....

5 years ago I was at home with my then 4-year old son. He was in the living room watching his cartoons and I was just going about my morning. The phone rang and it was my husband. It was a shock to hear his voice on the other end because we had been separated for several months and were in the process of a divorce.

"Are you watching television?" It was the most civil he had talked to me in months.

"No, why?" I asked.

He proceeded to tell me what had happened and I watched the news in shock.

"This is bad, really bad," I remember him saying.

After getting off the phone with him I called a couple of friends from work. I worked at a television station in the production department. I was a news geek....there was breaking news and I knew I had to get to work.

I quickly dressed and got my son ready for and dropped him off at day care and was at my station by 10:30 that morning. I usually worked a second shift position. But everyone was there in the control room. I took my seat next to the director and that's basically where I sat for the next 12 hours.

When we weren't on our network we were doing local cut ins. It was a fly-by-the seat of your pants day. This was what news was all about. The adrenaline rush carried me through the day.

At one point I called my husband. I needed to hear his voice. When he returned my call he was short with me and I almost regretted that decision. He asked about when I was going to get on my own health insurance because he had some papers to sign at work. Our country was under attack and THIS is what he has to say to me?

Most people chose to sit and watch the events unfold. I didn't because I was part of making it unfold for people. I couldn't escape it. As I watched one of the network reporters get choked up towards the end of his story I realized how much worse so many people are right now than myself. Here I was in the middle of a divorce with my husband for selfish reasons and there were people out there wondering where their loved ones were.


I remember the images from that horrific day. But mostly I remember how I felt. Scared; confused; like my life was spinning out of control. I had nighmares for a long time after. I called them "end of the world" nightmares. I haven't had any in a long while which is good I suppose.

I worked at least 12 hours that day, not getting home until late. That night, I slept in my bed that my husband and I shared. Neither of us had moved out during the separation and I had been sleeping in my son's room on a mattress on the floor. But I just needed to be near my husband that night; needed to feel him somewhat close; needed to feel safe. I was back in at work by 6 a.m. the next day to direct the morning news and put in another 12 hours at least.

On Sept. 13th my husband and I had our first counseling session. Although there were many more rough spots in the months ahead I eventually called off the divorce; just in time for Christmas. I don't know if I would have been so willing to work on things with him had it not been for September 11th; had my life not been put into perspective for me that day; had I not realized how short life is.

My heart continues to break and weep for those who were affected by this tragedy in a direct way.

Marathon Momma's Thursday

6 a.m. Alarm goes off I hit snooze twice
6:15-7:05 a.m. I wake up kids, make breakfast and facilitate the getting ready for the day process and having morning devotion
7:13 a.m. Take kids to bus
7:20 a.m. Run to Church and check to make sure all ingredients for Mission Meal have arrived
7:45-10:00 a.m. Do a bunch of random things around the house such as make phone calls, talk to hubby, tiddy up keep Little Dude company while he watches some cartoons and I write a letter
10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Errands such as....post office: hang flier, library: hang flier, parish office: drop off fliers, children's museum: pick up bday invites carrying a sleeping child, grocery store: carrying a sleeping child, mandatory taco bell drive through: I was hungry! other post office: hang flier, home: drop some groceries, dollar store: buy water, church: drop off rest of groceries, start cooking meat, head back home
1:30-3:30 p.m. Dishes, 2 loads of laundry, hand out snacks to Little Dude, sit on computer (GEESH! What a slacker!!!)
3:40 p.m. Welcome home BuhBuh and The Boy with hugs and smiles and visit with them asking about their day and homework
3:50 p.m. Run to church and put food in oven, run to drop off bday flowers and card to friend
4-something p.m. Back home, 1st grade homework, tell The Boy to eat and get dressed for football, feed BuhBuh and Little Dude too
4:55 p.m. Run back to church (we live close) get food ready to be loaded into father-in-laws car to be driven to the Meal Site
5:15 p.m Run back home pick up The Boy drive him to football practice
5:30 p.m. Back home, more 1st grade homework, get BuhBuh ready for soccer with cranky 2 year old on my hip
6:30 p.m. Give said cranky two year old bath and laugh when he refuses his jammies and gets me a collared polo shirt, we agree on a different shirt and mis matched pj bottoms
7 p.m. Read 20 trillion books to Little Dude, say prayers then listen to him cry when I turn off the lights and sit by his bed while I start this post
Current Time: 7:28 p.m. Still sitting in the dark but now I'm typing with one hand....the other one is being held by a seemingly sleeping darling little boy.

The night is still young!!!!!! 7th grade homework to monitor, showers for my football and soccer players to make sure get done, read to BuhBuh, kiss him goodnight, and tell The Boy not to stay up too late.

I'm hoping tomorrow I can be more productive!

Goodbye Summer...

Labor Day seems to be the "unofficial" end of summer even though according to the calendar we still have a couple of more weeks. With the kids already back in school summer feels like it ended for us a few weeks ago. We had, in my opinion, one of THE best summers! We had a lot of fun and it went really fast. I am one of those moms who LOVE having their kids home. It can be loud and crazy but it's so much more of a laid back causal time of the year for us.

I haven't really been ready to let the summer go and getting back into the swing of the school year has been more of a challenge for me this year than it has been in years past. I feel like a crabby mommy in the morning and in the evenings my feet just can't keep up with the clock. I'm trying to get Little Dude to fall asleep in his own bed and by the time that last task of the day is done, there is nothing left of me to give to My Sweetie. Often times he's waking me up next to the toddler bed and telling me to go to bed.

We spent this past weekend up in Milwaukee visiting my brother and his family; our niece turned one. All of my brothers were there and so was my mom, dad and grandma. It was relaxing and a good time and just what I needed to take on the business that the fall generally entails in our family.

I'm sure there were still be crabby mommy moments in the mornings, and I don't foresee our evening schedule getting any lighter until after the holidays. But I finally feel ready to say goodbye to summer and ready to tackle the rest of 2009 with a smile (most of the time!)

Three Practices Later.....

Car Talk Part Three

BuhBuh: Today I was chasing older girls on the playground.

Me: WHAT?!?!?!

BuhBuh: I was chasing older girls on the playground

Me: What would you have done if you would have caught them.

BuhBuh: I dunno....I forgot....

What a Good Sport!

A fundraiser was held yesterday for a program that benefits needy families with in our school district. My Sweetie was asked if he would be in the dunk tank. He graciously accepted.

For about 30 minutes he sat and watched as his children and even his dad threw balls trying to hit the bulls eye that would send him for a plunge.

The Boy spent some of our money, some of his grandpa's money and some of his own money trying SO hard to dunk daddy to no avail. BuhBuh however did get to send daddy into the tank thanks to how close he was able to stand and the nice lady who let him keep trying.

My Sweetie got dunked several times by others and I'm sure he got the funds for the cause we were supporting off on the right track. Scheduled for later in the day were all three school principals and the superintendent.

He kept a smile on his face the entire time and had a great time doing it.

Laundry Helper

With the big brothers at school, I really don't want the TV to be Little Dude's babysitter (she says as he is currently sitting on the couch watching TV) and there is still mommy work that I need to get done for the family. So, we had a little fun folding laundry. It's a pain in the
back, don't ya know, to keep bending over to reach into the dryer for clothes to fold.

Little Dude was happy to climb into the dryer and pull out clothes for me

He'd hand it to me and say "I DID IT!" followed by a "GIMME A FIVE" in his very best 2-year old language

He'd set the laundry on top of the washer for me to fold, sign and ask "MORE???" and would start all over again.

First Day of School

On Tuesday the boys both started back to school. The Boy as a 7th Grader and BuhBuh as a 1st Grader. New in our school district this year is a unified start time which gives me an extra hour in the morning and I get both boys home from school at the same time. The bus time will be a bit of a challenge as it is at 7:13 a.m. SHARP!

So, when I went to take our traditional first day of school pictures before our walk to the bus stop I realized my camera had a dead battery. I charged it quick for a minute and took two shots of The Boy. Charged it again and took two shots of BuhBuh. When I went back and looked at my pictures, the camera must have only worked during The Boy's "funny face" picture.

SO, this is the ONLY picture I have of him on his first day.

HA!!! There isn't any guessing on how HE felt about the first day!

BuhBuh's pictures were blurry because I was trying to hurry.

Not only was it the first day of school but it was the first day of football for The Boy. He has been a soccer player all these years and this year has decided to try football in the fall and play soccer just in the spring. I thought he looked so cute, eh, handsome! All dressed for practice....he doesn't have his pads on and he's not even dressed for a game, so there will be more pictures!!

I'm proud of him for stepping out and trying something new.

When Daddy's Gone....

You have a movie party with a carpet picnic!!!

I thought a great way to end the day of too much TV (so mommy could get Daddy ready to go!!) was to have a movie night! It's always fun to eat in front of the TV when you watch a movie!

It was gourmet, let me tell ya!!!! Grilled Fluffer Nutters (Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Fluff) Sandwiches for the big boys, grilled cheese for Little Dude, a half banana (because there were only two left), popcorn, and a half a glass of milk (because it was almost gone and there are three kids!!!) Not the most healthy meal, but they gave me a thumbs up!!!

The Daddy has a work team meeting tomorrow morning and then is going to a Brewers baseball game. I had to laugh at his facebook status this evening which read, "At a Brewers Game" They must have figured out what to do with their evening tonight too!

Cream Puffs with Great-Grandma

My Grandma invited us over for lunch this week. Every birthday we ask her to make the kids treats. The Boy asks for her cream puffs. Recently he asked if he could learn how to make her cream puffs. So before lunch the boys got to work with their Great-Grandma to make these yummy treats!

Unfortunately, the puffs weren't very puffy for some reason. Not wanting to let a good thing go to waste, The Boy suggested we just take the puffs and dip them in the cream. He called them, Inside Out Cream Puffs!

Puppy Boy

Little Dude like to pretend he is a puppy every now and then. He pants, he barks and he even plays fetch.

Good Times

We had yet another great weekend. (I forgot my camera!!!) We went to celebrate our niece's birthday!! She is just 5 weeks older than BuhBuh. I was fortunate enough to be in the delivery room when she was born. It was AMAZING!!! I also go to hold her when she was less than an hour old.

Her party was to be an outdoor swim party. It was rainy and cold. We ate pizza, cake and opened gifts and wouldn't you know it, the rain stopped and the sun came out!!!! It was still chilly but none of the kids seemed to mind. Since it had been raining all day, we had the pool to ourselves!

We spent the rest of the weekend with my sister-in-law and niece. Had yummy breakfasts, My Sweetie helped his dad fix her garage, we ran some errands, went to a yummy dinner, went back to the pool and just relaxed.

It was so great being there the morning of our niece's actual birthday. We got to watch her open her gifts. One was a HUGE box full of Disney balloons. She was a little confused as to why she had a box full of balloons then her mommy told her they were going to Disney World. She ran to her mommy and gave her a big appreciative hug...there were no words, but there didn't need to be. It was precious and perfect. This will be their first big vacation. They deserve it and I'm so happy for them!!!

Summer Reading

I don't ever read as much as I would like to. There are a lot of things that I'd like to do but I don't ever allow myself simple pleasures such as reading and scrap booking. Although I have done ZERO scrap booking this past summer, I have read several books. Most of these books I read during the month of June when we were unplugged.

This book was written by a man who was dying but it is all about the full life he lived. He had the opportunity to deliver a Last Lecture and after that he co-wrote this book. Even after his diagnosis he continued to create and make memories with his children. He inspired many during his years as a Professor and this book too will continue to inspire now that he is gone. What an amazing gift he has left for his children.

I finally got around to reading this! I had started last summer but then began a 32-week long Bible Study which was a lot of reading, so I picked it back up this summer and started over. I am so glad I did!!! I can see why it has been so popular.In this story you see the Trinity in a unique way. This book creates some beautiful images of what and how our relationship with God our Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit can look like and feel. I found myself feeling both comforted and challenged while reading this book but mostly what I learned is the importance of being IN and staying in relationship with God. That's why He created us to begin with.

My Sweetie bought this book for me. He enjoys listening to Dr. Laura on the radio and has been telling me for years that I should listen, that I would like her too. So he bought me this book. This book was a nice re-affirmation of what I do and it has helped me to look and see things a little differently. If you are a stay home mommy or are thinking about being one, I would recommend reading this book.

After finishing In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms I told my Sweetie he could go by this next book for me. My thought is if you are a wife, you should read this book!!!! There is something in here that every wife needs to hear for the sake of making their marriages better. Some of it seemed like common sense to me and I was a little baffled at how some women actually treat their husbands. But then again, I'm not perfect either and also gained some new insight on how I myself can be a better wife. So, if you are a wife, regardless of how good or not so good or maybe even a little indifferent your marriage may be, read this book!! Or buy it on CD and listen in the car!!! Your marriage will be blessed by it!

God's Fingerprints

BuhBuh: Where are God's fingerprints?

Me: Everywhere.

BuhBuh: Are they on cars?

Me: Well, people make cars. But God gives people the gift of being able to make cars, so yes!

BuhBuh: There's a song that says, "God's fingerprints are everywhere"

Me: Yes, I know that song

BuhBuh: Whenever I see tree bark I just stare at it and stare at it trying to see God's fingerprints and I just can't see them.