Oops

I've noticed this week I've made little mistakes, mostly at night at this time when I'm tired. I noticed I meant to say Jay is the 4th child from the the teacher who is standing on the right side, not the left side. Then tonight Jay was complaining he had something in his eye and I said it was probably just an ash-light, a.k.a. an eye-lash. So on that note, I'm going to bed.

2nd grade field trip

On Wednesday I went with Jay's class to the Peoria Zoo. It was the best field trip. We had such a good time. The picture above is my group of boys I was responsible for.

Jay's 2nd grade glass. Jay is the 4th child from the teacher, all the way to the left. Jay loves his teacher this year and has loved 2nd grade.

On another note, I have been insanely busy this week so I decided to give myself a break and not post my weight this week. I promise I will get back on the saddle. I just wanted to give myself a little breathing room since I knew things would be crazy busy and it would be very challenging to get the exercise in in order to lose weight this week.

Tomorrow is Nick's birthday. I'll post pictures over the weekend.

Fruit Smoothies

I can't even take Nick seriously when he breaks out his dragon costume. Tonight for some reason Nick finished his bath and insisted on wearing his dragon costume and making fruit smoothies.

This time of year the boys LOVE fruit smoothies. It's nice for me because although Jay is my fruit eater, Nick is not, so it's a good way to pack some fruit into my little dragon.

Happy Anniversary!

Our wedding day

12 years later

Today Mike and I will be celelbrating (I use the word celebrating lightly since we have 2 little boys under our feet all day but we did go out to eat last night, thank you Aunt Mimi) our 12 year wedding anniversary. We woke up to a day much like today, rain! Some fun tid-bits I've experienced are:

*The first year we were married we lived in the same apartment building as our friends, the Ausili's. Everyone always says the first year of marriage is the hardest but I didn't find that to be true (try year 7!!!). We had a ball that year.

*The year Mike started working in the Customer Response Center. It has been the only time I've ever seen him loathe his job. Thankfully that job was short lived and he got into maintenace, a job he truly enjoys and is good at.

*I wasn't really aware of his perfectionist nature until we started the remodeling job in the old house. I knew he was a little "over the top" when he tore the ceiling out and I came home to rafters above my head.

*Another remodeling job memory, I did dishes out of a laundry tub and cooked dinner on snack trays for 18 months. As I admit that now, I'm horrified. I can't believe I did that because on top of it all, I had Jay who was only a baby at the time.

*We started building the new house in May 2004. Jay was only 2 and I had my hands full with him. Selfishly I was glad I had Jay to take care of or else otherwise Mike would have worked me like a slave. Ha.

*When we moved into the new house we were able to afford nice, stainless steel appliances. We enjoyed our glass cook-top for one month when one morning I dropped a pan on it and it cracked! Mike just shook his head and got on the phone and ordered another one. I do remember it took me a couple of months to pay for it. Ugh!

*Jay got sick one night when he was a baby. I must have been in the basement because Mike heard him from the bathroom. Mike got out of his shower (yes, naked) and when he picked Jay up to put him over his shoulder, Jay barfed down Mike's back. It was a wonderful moment.

There are many more memories but too long for a blog. I would describe living with Mike as easy and fun! He's always been fun to live with but sometimes not so easy and that's just the reality of marriage. I've been a real "cupcake" too but here we are 12 years later with 2 little boys who light up or fire us up everyday!

Week 4 Weigh Up - Ugh!

I don't know what part of this posting my weight on my blog was a good idea but here's the reality of it. I gained this week. Ugh! With me, that just happens. I was lucky enough to have lost before and during my period. Now that it's a week later I guess it caught up with me or perhaps it was the butterscotch dessert I ate over the weekend. Whatever it was, I committed to posting my weight no matter what it was/is so I'll keep plugging away at it. I was rather irritated last night though. We had fish, rice and garlic bread for dinner. I put my food on a small plate and had small portions. By 8:00pm I was ready to eat my arm and was pretty grouchy about it. Mike had also eaten the same fish, rice and garlic bread. When I was complaining how hungry I was at 8:00, Mike had to tell me he wasn't the least bit hungry! I wanted to throttle him or pelt him with cookies.

Another fun filled evening

Nick and his "snake."

This time of year I spend my evenings washing clothes, vacuuming the mud room and vacuuming more mud out of the washer. Tonight the boys decided to "spice" it up a bit. Mike was working so the boys and I were on our own for dinner. The evening started out badly with a nasty fight between Jay and Nick. Once I conquered that, we sat down for dinner and Nick spilled his tomato soup. We proceeded to go outside and instantly the neighbor kids came over and within a blink of an eye Jay was covered in mud. Meanwhile the neighbor girl was following me around asking if she could sing to me. In my fog I agreed so in between trying to monitor the mess the boys were in, I was being serenaded by a 5 year old. Nick and Jay and the neighbor boy were building a "sod" fort. Nick found a worm which he insisted was a snake (kind of like the time Nick saw a turkey and insisted it was a big chicken, clearly, Nick has trouble with animal identification). Jay proceeded to get on the trampoline, covered in mud and when I asked him to hose the trampoline off, he turned the hose on me!

Finally I got Nick down to bed and was sitting with Jay reading to him when Nick came bombarding into Jay's room dressed in the clothes I had picked out for him for the following day! He had changed out his jammies and decided he wanted to get ready for school. At least now I know he's fully capable of dressing himself. I got Nick changed back into his jammies and again another overpowering smell overwelmed me. He had gotten into calamine lotion. Half the bottle was gone. Apparently, Nick decided he would bathe in it before bed! Just another fun filled evening. And I do mean that. I just have to shake my head and laugh!

Sunscreen

It was a beautiful morning yesterday so I decided I would take advantage of it and take a walk. Mike was working in his shop and the boys were happily playing outside, enjoying the sunshine. I was only gone for 25 minutes but when I returned the yard was quiet and there was an overwelming smell of coconut. As I continued to walk towards the garage the smell of coconut was overpowering. I walked into the garage and noticed my van looked like it had taken a bad trip the hair salon and got some bad jerry curl products. My van was covered in sunscreen. Jay was the first to rat on his brother. Apparently, Nick got into the spray sunscreen and decided my van needed some extra SPF, try two bottles worth. My side mirrors were so covered they were dripping with what looked like grease from a bad hamburger. I will give Nick credit for one thing, he was smart enough to know if he was going to do it, he would hit my van and not his dad's! Just another fun filled adventure in the Siebert house.

Play-date Evolution

These pictures really aren't related to what I plan on blogging about but I thought they were cute. Lauren came out yesterday morning and hung out with Aunt MayMay and her cousins. The kids colored together. We always enjoy spending time with Lauren!

Years ago when Jay was 3 and in Pre-K and he was my only child I thought it would be a good idea to arrange a play-date for him. What a disaster! I don't know if I thought 3 year olds could actually form solid friendships (maybe some can but it was not something Jay was capable of at 3) but I learned quickly and now that Nick is approaching 4, he has yet to have a friend over. Don't get me wrong, we have neighbor kids over all the time. In fact, the boys have attached themselves to the 5 year old twins (a boy and girl) across the street. But that's just it, when things go bad, they live right across the street so they go home and vice versa when my boys are over there.

I've found from my own personal situation that second grade seems to be "key" with Jay! He's gained maturity, manners and has formed solid friendships with some boys. He has two really good friends. Both boys have spent time at our house and what nice boys they are! Yesterday, Jay had one of these boys over and I told his mother I would bring him home within 3 hours. Those boys could have played in the yard all day together and before I knew it, it was time for him to go home. The time flew! They built a "fort" in the pine tree and I would see them go out into the timber to get more sticks for their fort, talking and laughing together the entire time!! Now that is some good boy fun if I ever saw it.

Week 3 Weigh Down

I would have posted my weight yesterday but I had to be at work at 5am, therefore I wasn't in any humor to be taking pictures of myself on the scale at 3:30am (the time I was up and at 'em). Perhaps waiting a day helped me anyway because I had a 1.5 lbs. weight loss this week. Yeah! But the reality is I am walking 45 minutes to 1 hour everyday and I go to bed hungry every week night. It sucks!

Mud, it's a beautiful thing

Dear Mud:

You know what they say, "April showers bring May flowers," and we couldn't be happier when it rains. Rain turns into mud and nothing makes us sequel with delight more than mud! Just the other day we found a hill and turned it into a mud slide. Before we knew it, we were covered in it! Sure, it drives our mom crazy but we think she has fought a good fight through the years but has finally given up! Most nights she'll appear out of nowhere and we know we've been discovered when we hear her same song and dance, "BOYS, GOOD HEAVENS, WHAT ARE YOU INTO NOW," routine. Sure, sometimes the consequence of getting muddy is tough. The garden hose being turned on us on chilly April nights isn't so enjoyable but it's worth every second of playing in the warm, wet mud!

Partners in Crime -

Jay & Nicholas

2010 Fishing Derby

Today was the annual Cub Scouts Fishing Derby and what a beautiful day it was. In the years that we have participated, this year was by far the nicest one yet! The sun was warm and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Jay didn't catch a thing but he still enjoyed himself.

Since the fishing derby takes places at the lake/beach where we live, Nick comes down to watch the boys and play in the water.

Jay and Nick headed down to the lake in their tractors!

Weigh in - Week 2

Well I dropped a pound this week. I was pleased especially since my eating had no boundries on Easter. I propped Mary Penguin next to me so she could cheer me on this morning.

My Advice Bucket

I'm learning as I go but if I could leave an "advice" bucket for my boys with just a few simple things that I've learned in my 35 years, this is what it would consist of:
*Jesus loves you, keep him close to your heart and always ask yourself, "What would Jesus do?" It makes you think before you leap head first, hurting another person's feelings and possibly even hurting you.
*It's okay to have 2 or 3 friends. You don't need an army of friends. I'd rather have two or three friends who I truly love spending time and who really get me than with 12 medicore friends.
*Something that seems a big deal at the time is usually insignificant a few weeks later and you end up wondering why you spent so much time worrying about it.
*When everyone or everything fails, family is ALWAYS there! No one knows more about your history and where you came from and who you are than your parents and your sibling.
*High school is so not that important (grades, Yes, socially, No). Trust me, the best is yet to come.
*After high school, get some kind of training, whether it be a 2 year specialized degree or a 4 year degree. It's something no one can take away from you and gives you a sense of accomplishment.
*Be head over heels, over the moon in love with the person you marry. It will help get over those tough times that all marriages hit.
*Never think you're better than anybody. Arrogance is toxic and eventually will come back to bite you.
*Less is more. I just figured this out in my 30's and I've learned this from my boys. They are at their best when they are playing in the lake, running their trucks through the sand and making mud pies. It's the simple things in life that truly make them happy. In this day of modern technology and having your kids signed up for every activity under the sun, they remind me daily they are just children who enjoy good old fashioned fun that money can't buy.

Happy Easter

We had such a nice Easter this year. I had 16 people over. It was good to be with friends and family and the weather was great! I can't recall an Easter where it was warm and sunny!

I had an egg hunt in our back yard for Jay, Nick and Lauren. Jay found the most eggs but then would lead Lauren on a hunt. He would lay a path out for her and she would follow him. It was cute.