Aaron's Birthday

Here are the photos of the little man's birthday. He was in a very somber mood yesterday, so getting a smile out of him was near impossible, but I did manage... finally! I must have taken a million photos and bribed him with just about everything imaginable... who knew that a simple straw would finally do the trick?!?

Friday evening we just happened to be shopping at Sam's when AARON spotted this HUGE frog. They had an adorable puppy and elephant as well, but he was totally set on having the frog. He loves his new "Buddy" and you ought to see him carrying this thing around... hilarious. Other than Buddy, he received a Doodle Pad, a game, snacks, and his first "Bike." What more could a little boy want?!?

Adam impressed us again with yet another masterpiece. This is one of my new favorites... of course I say that about each one ;o). It turned out so neat. Aaron was a little nervous about the blowing out of the candles so his brothers had to help him out a little.

We were so excited to have some warm weather and lots of outside time this past week. I am glad we took advantage of those times because it is coming down like crazy out there today. This snow is so wet and slushy... not good for driving in and definitely not fun to shovel. BUT, it worked just right for making a few snowmen!

A Year in the Life....

of AARON!
He's 2!

At 8:17 tomorrow morning (10:17 central) my little BUG will officially turn 2 years old. I just can't believe it! This little guy has grown and changed so much, especially these last few months. It is so exciting yet so sad all at once. Sometimes I feel as though I get so busy that I miss out on so many precious moments with my little guy... and those moments just keep passing quicker and quicker it seems.

He has become quite mischievous lately. Just this week we've had several rolls of toilet paper unwound, PAM sprayed all over the kitchen floor, a roll of tape made into quite the tape ball, 7 highlighters uncapped and placed back in the drawers, crayon everywhere you can imagine, etc., etc. You just have to keep an eye on this child at all times! He will disappear several times throughout the day, and I'm always a bit afraid of what I will find when I finally find him. I guess that's just part of turning 2... lots to discover and conquer!

He is certainly the comedian of the family... he has quite the sense of humor and loves to tease and joke around. He cracks me up all the time. He also loves to wrestle with Daddy and pick on his bigger brothers. I LOVE IT! For one so small, he is quite capable of handling himself (to a certain degree... afterall Sam is almost 4 times his size!). He has been so much healthier this winter... we all have, really. Though at the moment, it's kinda like a booger factory around here. So gross!

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet AARON! We love you, Buggy!

First Braid

She got her first braid today, but I must admit.... it was the end product that I really got a kick out of ;o)

She is so fun!

Kid Friendly Recipe

Okay, so here is a recipe that goes amazingly well in our house. It is AMAZING, mainly because I have 2 boys that aren't huge meat fans. In fact, I really don't cook meat on it's own. I always chop it up and put it into something (pasta, tacos, pizza, etc.) because I'm not really a huge meat fan myself. I do make an exception for anything my AMAZING hubby grills because he just has this ability to make it taste so good! I have definitely never been a fan of meatloaf. I always thought it was slimy, greasy, and yucky until I found this recipe...

Kraftfoods Family Classic Meatloaf
1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1 pkg. Stove Top (6 oz.)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 c. chili sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Mix meat, 1/2 c. soup, stuffing, egg, onion, and thyme. Press evenly into 8x4 loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 55 minutes. Heat remaining soup with chili sauce. Spoon over meatloaf before serving.

I made it like this a few times and it was pretty good, but then I came up with these improvements...

Mix about 1/3 cup of ketchup into the meat mixture (instead of the soup).
Use only half an onion and chop it super finely (so hopefully Seffer's won't be able to find and pick out each individual piece... yes, he really does this!)
For the topping, mix approx. half a cup of ketchup with a couple tablespoons mustard and put it on the top of the loaf and return it to the oven for another 5-10 minutes... tangy and yummy.
Lastly, make 7-8 huge meatballs rather than one large loaf. That way you can pour off the fat during cooking and there are more edges to get crispy... there is nothing worse than soggy, greasy meatloaf to me.

Serve them with ketchup...

Aaron was a little nervous about this meal, but he proceeded to devour his little meatball as well as another big one.

A Taste of Spring

I am loving the weather we have had the last few days... it's been nearly 50 degrees. The sun has been shining in through our windows and just making it so warm and cozy. I really am a much happier person when the sun shines... it's been a good few days ;o) I love that we are able to see little patches of grass here and there as well. I just love spring and am really looking forward to it. This winter has seemed especially long and cold to me.

Anyway, this morning I made the deal with Sam that if he could get ALL of his schoolwork and reading completed before lunch, I would take he and Seth out to ride bikes while the little ones napped. He finished just in the nick of time. It was so nice to get out! Looking forward to being able to do this more often. It's so good for the boys to get out and run off their energy and just have fun.

Adalie decided to wake up just as we were headed out so she got to join in on the fun. I had her in a little dress so I just threw on a hat, sweater, and pants underneath.... and I thought it was so adorable!!! She can make anything look cute! I think she enjoyed the fresh air... until our mail lady came. The boys love Lois, but Adalie is afraid of her and cries every time she sees her.

Another Ordinary Day

So... here are some photos from our trip to Widmer's Cheese Factory. It was a small business started about 100 years ago by a Swiss immigrant and passed down thru the family. The bricks you can see in the photo are the original bricks used to make brick cheese back in the early 1900s. We watched a video on the cheesemaking process and sampled some yummy cheeses. The boys LOVED the cheese, but Sam was a little disappointed that he didn't get to see much of the actual production... my very inquisitive child! Addie was a hit with all the little old ladies, who just ooooed and awwwwed over how adorable she was in her little cap :o)

Here's a little sampling of our day... Addie was just cute and happy as usual. She is really starting to get some little bumps on those bottom gums.

My boys, on the other hand, just keep me guessing all day long. I never knew just how much trouble and mischief little boys were before I had a few.... a TON! You just can't leave them alone for a moment! We had a bit of a rough start to the day so our movie night (we always watch a movie when Ad's on call) was canceled. Over dinner, I gave the boys a small proposition that I didn't think would be a possibility... if they picked up all the toys, clothes, etc. in the living room, hallway, their bedroom, and Daddy's room... and then vacuumed the whole thing... maybe then they could have their movie back. THEY DID IT! I kinda feel like I was a little too soft on them and just let them get away with all their disobedience of the day, but I couldn't really go back on my word. I really didn't think they'd do it!

I am now just enjoying a little Mommy/Daughter time with Addie... I love the time after I put the boys to bed and just get to be with her for a while. It seems like she kindof gets lost in all the busyness of the day.

Have a good night!

Favs of the Day

My favorite photos of my favorite people... for today!

Going on a field trip tomorrow... to a Wisconsin Cheese Factory! Adam's going too.... woohoo!

Have a good weekend!

We did it...

We survived our first Wisconsin Blizzard!

The winds howled so loudly all night, and there were several instances of snow thunder... it was incredible! It woke Adalie several times throughout the night. But we eventually woke to beautiful sunshine and TONS of snow! Beautiful, HEAVY, drifty snow... everywhere! In fact there was a wall of it between the screen door and the back door so when I opened it this morning... well, it all came right in... and soaked my fuzzy socks! The amount of snow that fell just amazes me!

The boys were eager to get out and play.... Aaron included. I think it was a little more than he could handle, however, because he was back in in no time. So he, Adalie, and I watched contentedly (for the most part) from our warm little perch on the table. Sam was having a blast throwing snowballs at Aaron in the window. And poor Seth got a leg stuck in a snowbank and was on the verge of losing it (his mind, not the leg) when he was finally able to pull it loose.

Adam spent several hours digging us out. Our snowblower decided it wasn't going to run afterall, so he did most of it with the shovel and then our neighbor let him use his blower. The snow was so deep that you had to shovel most of it up before the blower would even touch it. I worked out there for about an hour before my body decided it was all it could handle... and I hardly put a dent in it. I am so thankful for my strong, determined husband who worked all day and night and then came home and shoveled snow until 2pm. What a trooper! I'm thinking we'll all sleep well tonight!