Day 40

Another night has come and nearly gone at our house and as I sit back and reflect on what we have done today it makes me smile.

My life doesn't always make me smile, there are definitely some hairy moments in there when my kids are driving me crazy or I am stressed or tired but I do try hard not to let those moments define my life and who I am. I want to focus on the positives, the aspects that make me thankful to be me.

To have made it to Day 40...wow, looking back, I really don't know if I thought I would make it this far when I started. There is no turning back now, I am having way too much fun!

Tonight, Travis and I had the pleasure of going to two parent teacher conferences. Both of us couldn't be more proud of our kids and their accomplishments!

On the way home the roads were icy and we happened to come upon an accident. We were the first to arrive on the scene and the college student who was driving the overturned car, was standing in the ditch, very shaken up. I didn't realize at the time, but I was too.

We pulled over and asked him if he was ok and if he would like to get into our car to warm up and he did. While we waited together for emergency crews to arrive, we talked to him and tried to get his mind off of the horrible situation. The entire time all I could think about was his mother, and what she must be thinking and feeling.

I asked him if he called his family, and when he said yes and was close to tears, I felt like I might have been too. Thank God that he was ok and that he was wearing a seat belt.

I am not ready for my own children to get behind the wheel of a car and drive. It is probably one of the things that scares me the most about my future as a mom. ..losing control and letting them go.

We came home and spent an extra long time putting the kids to bed, telling them we love them and then playing together.

At one point I grabbed my camera to snap a shot for today's blog post (nothing like working at the last minute, eh?) and the images that you see below are some of my favorites that came from that impromptu play time/ bed time routine.

I adore my family and thank God for them everyday and am so thankful that I am able to capture moments of us like this, smiling and having fun just being together.

I definitely hugged them all a little tighter tonight.

Day 39

Today, I have to tell you about this wonderful woman in my life. She used to kiss my boo-boo's, read me stories, talk into the wee hours of the morning when I needed it, and encourage me to reach for the stars, and I love her so very much for every part of it! Meet my mom, Pam. As my mom, she is more than I could have ever asked for, but as a grandma, she exceeds any expectation that I could have ever had for her! I love how she is able to make my kids smile even when they want to cry, how she kisses their boo-boo's, tells them stories (they especially love hearing the ones about when I got into trouble as a little kid), and encourages them to reach for the stars. Thank you so very much, mom, for being such a positive, encouraging, and loving influence in my life as well as my kids!
And, of course, true to form, this is my favorite photo that I took of the four of them last night. Tanner and Madi were ready for the photo and the little guy was being silly and not wanting to look at the camera (he really wanted to play with his trucks), so mom was tickling him trying to make him smile, I love these true to life shots!

Day 38

Ok, so last night I blogged about my daughter having a good friend sleep over, and tonight, I have to write about my good friend, Carrie. We went out for supper and had a great time, she is such a good friend and gets me on so many levels...it is so refreshing to have someone I can call a friend and talk and laugh with. I am guessing she isn't going to like this photo, but I couldn't help but post it, I kind of like it...it is definitely us (we tend to laugh a lot when we are together!)..isn't life so much better with a friend that you can call on whenever, no matter what? I think so!

Day 37

Today has been a very big day at our house. Madi has been waiting a long time (almost 3 whole days!) until her friend came over to spend the night. I can't believe that I have a little girl who is old enough to have a sleep over! They are currently snuggled up together on the couch watching a movie while I am busy blogging away...they are so good together!
It makes me sad and happy all at the same time that she will be 5 in a couple short weeks and that she is now big enough for things like this! Where in the world does the time go? I remember my mom and dad saying that exact phrase to me and I never really bought into it until the past couple of years, time has been flying by! I have a feeling that it is only going to go faster and faster from here on out. So, while time keeps on ticking by, I am going to be busy documenting our life so I can look back at this someday and smile.
Oh, and I couldn't help but post more than one photo again tonight (which seems to be happening a lot lately). There is no way that I could show just one of these two cuties and their fun night together!

Day 36

Have I mentioned that I LOVE my life?! Well, I do, and here are three reasons why!


They even took these photos, I am one proud mom!

Day 35

Madi and I spent the morning creating art. What do you think of our spring inspired mosaics? Mine is looking pretty sloppy with glue because it is still wet, but Madi's turned out adorable! She followed my lead of making a rainbow and made the creation all her own. We got the idea for the project here, I love this magazine and their website is chock full of great tips and ideas too! If you are a mom of young kids, you should check it out!

Oh, and as a side note, after going through 13 pairs of underwear yesterday, I would love to update this post and say things are going really well with potty training but I can't. I can report however, that we are still trying and this morning he is still in the same underwear I put on him when he woke up (nearly 2 hours ago)...I am sure that I just jinxed myself but I am proud of him!

Day 34

We are potty training at our house and I couldn't be more excited to have no more DIAPERS! Aside from a few diaper free months before the little guy was born, it has been an almost straight 6.5 year stretch of changing pants... and I am so sick of it! I realize that this is just another step away from babies for me, and it makes me slightly sad but the feelings of happiness far outweigh those of sadness! Doesn't he look so proud to be washing his own hands?
And I have to say that I absolutely love how grown up he looks in his new race car underwear but I don't want him to hate me someday for posting a photo of him online in his underwear, so those photos will have to be for our eyes only! We are already on pair numero tres and it is only 8:30 am, I am sure that we will go through a few more but the point is that we are working on it and both of us (well, ok all 5 us!) couldn't be more thrilled!

Day 33

I am so proud of myself for remembering to bring my camera with me when we ran into town. It is an ordinary Monday at our house. Tanner and Travis are watching old basketball tapes in the office and Madi, Ty, and I had some friends over for a play date. After our friends left, we headed into town for Madi to dance and then run some errands. My two little stinkers were great helpers at the grocery store, can you tell? I think that Tyson thought I was more than a little nuts when I pulled my camera out (this is definitely not a normal place for me to take their photo!)

Day 32

Not your normal blog post. I am missing this man today and my heart is heavy. There is no reason in particular, no anniversary, birthday, or anything. It has been 3 years, 5 months, and 9 days since I have seen him or spoken to him. If you're listening dad, I love you and miss you more than you will ever know. Thanks for 'raising me up to more than I could be'..
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Day 31

This is my oldest son, Tanner. He likes to elude my camera but I happened to capture a cute shot of him today. He insists on wearing this old mask, it isn't the cutest hat he owns but it is the warmest! And since he has to walk to the bus most mornings when it is well below zero, I am glad that he has it!

Day 30

It was just Madi, Tanner, and I home this evening since Travis and Ty are off getting some beet pulp for the cows, and I couldn't think of what to make for supper. Tanner had a great idea when we were at the grocery store to make manicotti and since my not so adventurous husband wasn't going to be home for the meal, I said yes! Travis is your typical scandinavian, non-adventurous eater and since I share some of my ancestory with him as well as the slightly more adventurous Italians (at least when it comes to eating, I don't mean to offend anyone!) I love to cook both types of foods..I just choose the times when I cook Italian a little more carefully, i.e., when my picky husband isn't home!
Tanner even happily volunteered to help because he loves it so much. Madi ended up helping a little more, when it came down to it, the Wii game Tanner was playing seemed a lot more interesting than cooking supper! I took a lot of shortcuts last night, there was no homemade sauce that my mom used to serve and the garlic bread even came ready to heat out of the box. I am not normally one to cut corners that much with cooking but I am glad that we did because by the time I put the meal on the table it was after 7 and everyone was starving! I wanted to take a couple of photos of the kids and their food but they scarfed it down so fast I wasn't able to. We had a great night together and sat around the table long after the food was gone talking and laughing and telling stories. I am so thankful for good food and a fantastic family!

Day 29

This morning as I was in full 'rush' mode to get Tanner on the bus for school (made more difficult by the fact that he hasn't been there all week b/c of this awful virus making its rounds at our house), I heard a little voice coming from the living room that didn't really sound like talking. ..

I found Tanner reading one of his old favorite Thomas the train books to Ty. It was the sweetest moment and one that I just had to capture. Luckily, Tyson was too interested in the story (and his sippy cup of milk) and Tan was too into reading to notice me too much. I cherish moments like these! It can't get much better than hearing your oldest child reading to your youngest and I have to add, using his best 'choo- choo' voices!

Day 28

I'll never beat the view from my front porch looking in...

When Travis and I started dating almost nine years ago, I remember hearing the lyrics to this song and it became one of my favorites at the time (and as an added bonus I made sure to add it to the top of my playlist for today)...if you are reading this and not hearing it, you can switch the song at the bottom of the blog to Lonestar's 'My Front Porch Lookin' In' if you feel like it!
Today, the kids and I headed outside for our first front porch adventure of 2011. Although it was a little breezy and slightly chilly, it was a great success! Madi and Ty were playing red light, green light in this shot, the little guy is so much more involved in their playtime now than he used to be!
When we were looking at floor plans for our new home last year, my number one requirement was a front porch. I am so thankful that we were able to make that dream happen! I have a lot of work to do to it this summer to make it look the way that I envisioned but I am more than thankful to have it be a part of our home! We spent a lot of time out there last year and I know we will again...I am sure it will be a popular meeting spot over the years. So, the reason for this blog post today is to show you what I see from my front porch looking in, what do you see when you look into yours?

Day 27

We are learning letters at our house. These are the 10 that Madi has yet to master so we are practicing. She really wants to learn how to read like her big brother and she is well on her way! She had a lot of the sounds of these letters down, just not the names. As her mom, it is so rewarding to watch her blossom in her love of learning! We had a lot of fun coming up with pictures to draw for each letter, and she even copied some of the pictures. I've said it before and I will say it again, she is quite the little artist! I really can't wait to see where she is going to take these talents of hers!

Day 26

We were feeling slightly better today and decided to venture outside in the beautiful weather we are having (it is currently 37* with little or no wind, a serious heatwave compared to the below zero temps we have had the past few weeks!). I tried to get Ty to smile for a photo with me, but it didn't work too much, he is still not 100% better but we are done with the puking so that is a good sign!

Day 25

Sick, sick, sick. Yesterday was the first nice day we have had since the onset of winter last year and I was stuck in bed with a fever and chills and a massive head ache...ugh. I am not such a fan of being sick, but really, who is?! I snapped this photo of the little guy a few hours before he decided that he needed to be sick right along with me and puked all over me and our bed, oh the joys of motherhood!

He loved this new sweatshirt so much that he cried when we had to take it off after being sick! Poor kid, I have a feeling I will be washing this one a lot!

Day 24

This past Saturday, my mom and I hosted a baby shower for my little sister Angela and her soon to be born son, Johnathan. The afternoon couldn't have turned out any better (especially since I was laid up in bed with a super cold the next day!). We had a great turnout and had a lot of fun visiting with friends and relatives that we haven't seen in a long time. This photo was taken by Madi, who is a tiny photographer in the making. She is becoming quite good at it!

Day 23

Happy Birthday Travis! My husband turned 31 on February 11, and although he won't be too thrilled that I posted this photo, I couldn't resist! Tyson refused to get in on the photo so it is just Tanner, Madi, and Travis posing with his ice cream cake. We had cake and wild rice soup for supper, yummy! Afterward, we were able to go to a movie, just the two of us which was so great since we don't get to do that too much anymore! If you get the chance go and see 'just go with it,' it was so good!

Day 22 (and the reason I am behind!)

About 4 weeks ago, I received a phone call from the principal at the elementary school where I used to work (and where my kids go to school). They needed a title one teacher as soon as possible and she wanted to know if I would be interested. Well, it took me a lot of soul searching and a couple of sleepless nights and I finally decided that at this point, I couldn't take it. I did tell her, however, that I could fill in until they found a replacement (since it was pretty much the same job as I did last year, just new students). I spent three weeks with the kids and had a lot of fun (especially getting to work in my sons class!). Between keeping up with that, kids, home, photography, ect., ect. I didn't have time to keep up with my blog. I felt pretty bad about it at first but have come to the conclusion that I want to finish it, however out of order the days will be! I won't be finishing on Jan. 1, 2012 like I had hoped, but thats ok. My life is busy and I want to continue to document it, even if it gets a little out of order! So, without further ado, here is Day 22.

This is Tanner and Ty with Tanner's good friend from school, Parker. He was so excited to have a friend over to play and when I asked them if I could take their photo, they grudgingly said yes and then the little guy snuck in as well. I have a feeling this will happen a lot in the future, Ty wanting to be 'included' with his big brother and his friends! But, do you notice that he is the only one looking at me?!