The Weekend

We left town this weekend and headed to my parents, we hadn't been back since Christmas, which seems like it was FOREVER ago. The boys and I were happy to see them. We came back today and still managed to get some grocery shopping and wash done.

I feel like I can finally get on with my life and regular sleep schedule now that the Olympics are over.

Figure Skating

The babysitter helped the boys make an Olympic ice skating rink for their little people. If you look close you can see the Olympic rings under the ice.

The boys took turns playing, licking and "having concerts" (they added their own singing as music) on the ice with their people so long that when they were done the ice was almost completely melted.

Walkie-talkie...

The boys were getting ready for bed on the second floor of the house and Nick was in the basement. They wanted him to come upstairs to tell them a story so....

They scream into the vents to get his attention. It was WAY more entertaining to watch back when Geremu thought the communicating happened through the carbon monoxide detector plugged into the wall in his room.

The Airing of Grievances...

Every night when the boys are in bed we do roses and thorns (I'm pretty sure I've explained this before) right before they pray. Geremu is really good with the roses and thorns but then when it comes to prayer time his prayers sound just like his thorns.

Gere: "Mom I pray now."
Me: "Okay, go ahead"
Gere: "Dear God, Cullen mean today. Cullen chubby-wubby people and Mom no let me eat popcorn."

Of course I prompt him when he finishes to say things/people that he is thankful for or happy about and he does but then isn't the prayer just a repeat of roses and thorns?

Geronimo!

My Grandpa Bob (my mother's father) affectionately calls Geremu, Geronimo. Bob is pretty much 100% with it, his hearing is going a bit but he is totally with it. He just can't remember Geremu's name and he calls him Geronimo. Geremu isn't the only name that Bob screws up. My sister Colleen has been dating a guy, Luke, for at least two years now and Bob always refers to him as Jake. I think it's so funny that Bob makes nicknames for people and doesn't even seem to know he is doing it. Frankly, the name Geronimo fits Geremu pretty well- I like it.

This past weekend I was cleaning Bob's house. I didn't want to miss Apolo Anton Ohno's race and since Bob was watching the Olympics I asked him to call me for his next race. A little while later I heard Bob yell, "Annie, Uno's racing again". I couldn't help but smile, another GREAT nickname by Bob!

One more Bob story for you. We went to church this past Saturday afternoon. In the middle of mass I decided to tell Bob something I thought he would get a kick out of. So I lean over and say, "Hey Bob, I've got Olympic Fever", meaning we are going to need to leave a little early so I can catch more the of Olympics. But Bob didn't hear me so he says, "What Annie?" Not so quietly. I lean over and repeat myself a little louder. Again I get a, "What Annie? I can't hear you." This sequence repeated itself one more time. Finally I gave up trying to tell Bob what I was saying after I figured everyone in the church knew I had Olympic fever except for G'pa Bob.

Another Weekend Come and Gone...

This weekend again flew by and I find myself counting the weeks until spring break. The boys had a good weekend and got a chance to see some of Nick's relatives while I got the chance to see a few family members on my side.

Today Geremu laid down with me to take a nap, he never fell asleep and told me after about 30 minutes that naps give him a stomach ache. Yeah right kid- I don't buy it. Anyways, after resting a while I let him get up. When I went down stairs with him Cullen wanted to snuggle with me. So we went upstairs and Cullen had made a tent by draping blankets off the top bunk. When Geremu found us in the comfort of that tent he really wanted to join us because, "I love naps." Yeah right kid, why won't you actually fall asleep anymore?

One thing lead to another and the next thing I know Cullen has talked Geremu into making us popcorn and chocolate "If you know how to make that.". Geremu leaves and I'm thinking this was all just a plot Cullen used to get more alone time with me because I'm sure Geremu doesn't know how to make popcorn or chocolate... Then I hear popcorn being dumped out... A bit of a struggle... I jump out of the tent and head downstairs expecting disaster.

I find Geremu struggling to get the microwave door open. There is no mess and he has put just the right amount of popcorn into the bowl. Apparently Geremu does know how to make popcorn. I helped him cook it and Geremu sprayed on the "I can't believe it's not butter" before adding the perfect amount of spices to the popcorn- he had retrieved all the ingredient from the cabinets himself. Freakin' amazing! After he brought it up to Cullen, Cullen asked for the chocolate to which Geremu said, "I go get it". I stopped him at that point and we just enjoyed the popcorn, which was delightful!

Late afternoon fun for Geremu included a sink full of water and a few toys.

Short video of Gere doing "tricks".

Cookies...

Cullen and Geremu LOVE helping and having little jobs around the house. Last night Geremu made pizza (I'll post pictures when I get a chance) and today Cullen made cookies (clearly not from scratch).

He wanted to see them grow so he watched them cook the entire time.

This week life has been busy, the boys are doing great and constantly keeping us on our toes. That's all I've got right now.

Our V-Day Party

I decided to invite our friends over for a Valentine's Day "party" ("party" meaning we decorated the house) today. We invited our friends Katie and Billy over with their three kids to celebrate the day. The highlight of the food spread was chocolate covered strawberries and a garbanzo bean salad that was simply delightful (says the cook). Sophia preferred the "chocolate balls" (malted milk balls), she kept sneaking them when her mother wasn't looking.

The one requirement to attend the "party" was guest had to wear red, pink, or purple attire. Everyone played along to keep the host happy.
We tried to get a picture of the older kids in their matching outfits, my kids didn't quite cooperate but at least Carson and Sophia look amazing. This afternoon the boys played, Geremu practiced roller skating with a little help from Cullen. It was a fast, yet fun weekend.

This past Monday we had a bay window put in, I love it and it's just what our front room needed. This picture is mostly for my parents viewing pleasure.

The V-Day Party that Never Happened...

Well we found out last night Cullen can't handle amoxicillin, he broke out in hives from head to toe. I thought it would get better over night and with some antihistamine in his system but actually it got MUCH worse and included swelling around his mouth. Um, not good. Let's just say when I went in to wake Cullen this morning I was a shocked, really shocked.

The doctor wanted us to keep a close eye on him to make sure his tongue didn't start to swell, so he did not go to school today. He was SO disappointed (crying) that he couldn't attend his class Valentine's Day Party today. I did let him go outside to give his bus driver and helper their Valentine's Day presents. When the bus stopped Ms. Sandy got off and asked Cullen what happen to him, remember he is red and swollen all over his face and really puffy around his mouth like a clown. To which Cullen replied, "I sure hope these poke-a-dots go away soon so I can go back to school."

We also drove to his school to drop off his V-day treats for his teachers and class. Where he preceded to tell one of his teachers, "I'm sorry, I can't come to school today, I have the chicken pox." What? Anyways, I'm glad we did that because when we got to school we found out one of his teachers was also home sick so Cullen did feel a little better about missing the party.

He Loves Me

Cullen said to me, "Mom, I love you more than Christmas."

Now that's some major love.

The cherry on the top was this afternoon, we were sitting together talking and he grabbed my hand. After about 2 minutes I realized that he just wanted to hold my hand so I said, "Cullen do you think you will ever hold another girl's hand."

To which he replied, "Yeah mom, but I'll always love you more."

Vacation with the Girl's

I had a wonderful trip with my girlfriends, we got home LATE last night from Colorado. Here are a few random pictures of the trip.

Tea with the ladies at the Bolder tea house after a morning/early afternoon of hiking.
Group shot of my girlfriends; Amy is on the left, Karen (this is who we went to visit) is next to Amy, me in the middle, Michelle on my right and Raeann in the red.

A little break from our climb to 10,000 feet. Amy managed to talk the entire hike, then wondered why she was the only one out of breath.

The below picture is from our Super Bowl Party, this was taken right after the Saints scored. Amy brought prizes and gave them away to the pool winner at each quarter. People cheered when they won school pictures of us despite the fact that our fist time meeting was at the party.

Long afternoon/evening at the airport.

Headed back to the Midwest, don't ask how I got to co-pilot the plane because I won't give away my secret. We crossed our fingers for a snow day because we really needed to recover from our vacation and we knew the snow was on the way. No snow day, however LOTS of snow!

Hopefully we can get out as a family this week and do some snowshoeing.

What I've learned...

Marshmallow Fluff at high altitudes is HARD to open and once it's open it immediately starts to expand. I'll fly home from my vacation late tomorrow night. I'll post pictures once I've got some time, it's been a BLAST!

Nick has been Mr. Mom and seems to be doing an amazing job, everyone is having fun and happy!

Baby Eva

Yesterday was a BIG day, our friends Katie and Billy had a baby girl. Here is a picture of Katie I took Sunday night, I'm pretty sure I told her I wouldn't blog it but she is just to stinkin' cute I had to share.

Everything went well and baby Eva is a tiny, little peanut. I'm pretty sure baby Eva is the first baby I've ever seen so close to when she was born (besides Cullen, but I don't remember that). Her head was a little red, her feet a little blue and her skin as soft as silk.

After stopping by the hospital to see the new baby we headed over to a local high school basketball game. It was a pretty big game so Geremu had to bring his drum. He gets really into watching the games and pretending he is part of the band- LOL. His drum doesn't make much noise and he is only allowed to play between quarters. He doesn't always hold his sticks correctly, but he has fun.
We left after half time because Cullen was so tired (he had swimming in the afternoon too). Today when I came home from school I found Cullen sleeping on the couch...

When he woke up I asked him if he was sick, he told me, "Nope, I'm just too pooped to pop."

Geremu Already Misses Me...

I'm taking a little vacation later this week with 2 of my best friends. I wasn't really planning on telling Geremu about it until later this week, Nick told Geremu tonight. Geremu proceeded to follow me around hugging me telling me how much, "I miss you Mom." He doesn't understand the concept of a few days. He cried tonight before bed because he "misses me so much". I think we need to make a calender so he can see when I go and when I come back. I already feel guilty about going and I'm not even gone.

In other news, last night we went to our friends house for the "last supper" (or the last supper with them before they have baby #3). I was greeted at the door by this....

Sophia got a hold of Katie's lip stick and went to town on her face, beautiful. Carson got a hold of a scissors and cut part of one of Sophia's pony tails. The damage was in the back/top of her head and unless the mullets come back in style soon her hair-do is going to take a while to look flawless again.