April is Autism Awareness Month

I can't begin to describe how proud I am of this awesome kid. He faces his challenges every day and to be honest some days are better than others but, every day is a learning experience...good or bad. He has come so far in just a few short years...it blows me away when I think about life back then and everything he has accomplished...his future definately belongs to him!

"Heroes take journeys, confront dragons,

and discover the treasure of their true selves." -Carol Pearson

We love you, Sam!

Winter time in the spring?

This is what it looked like when I dropped the kids off at school this morning. As I was taking this picture I was thinking "hmmmm, I wonder if I have time to get the oil changed in the car and pickup a few groceries before I have to come back and get them".

Oh, big surprise...the school closes at 10:45! Heaven forbid we should have snow day...good grief! Now don't get me wrong I like winter, I like snow and I even like cold (that would be why I live in Minnesota, dah) but, this just isn't funny. I know it's supposed to be gone in a few days but, that just isn't helping at the moment. I was already depressed over the complete collapse of my NCAA brackets...both hockey and basketball went down the toilet at about the exact same time (thank you New Hampshire and Tennessee!) and then this. It could be worse we could live in Iowa or Wisconsin (even without snow that's worse...oops, did I just say that out loud?). I'm off to get beat in whatever board game my kids want to play...I hate having kids smarter than me, not really! Have a great day!

P.S. The title of this post was written by Miss Jenna...

Good Evening...

Reason #1232 why I won't be mother of the year...

Me: Hey, Sam, can I take your picture?

Sam: No

Me: Pleeeaaaase?

Sam: No

Me: "click"

Sam: Hey, I said "NO"!

Me: ooops...sorry, I just couldn't help it. Forgive me?

Sam: Oh, okay.

Me: Thanks.

Seriously people, look at those blue eyes...how could I resist????

She is my daughter after all....

Before...bunny has ears.

After...No ears. The bunny has since lost his head, as well.

Miss Jenna has crossed over to the dark side...dark chocolate that is! I was starting to get a little worried, I mean, it's just not natural for a girl not to like chocolate. Let's face it, there will be a time when for one week every month it will be essential to her survival. She now says she LOVES chocolate...wheeew, what a relief! Don't worry about her dad he still has Sam who wants nothing to do with his little chocolate friend. For all of you out there now thinking that it probably isn't healthy and with all the overweight kids in the world I shouldn't be happy about this. Well, I have one thing to say to you...you obviously haven't met my kids. I happen to be the mom of a set of twins who look like they haven't seen a calorie in months...let me assure you, they have. They may not be extremely fond of sweets (still NO POP or soda for all you non-Minnesotans) but, they definitely have their junk food vice's...chips, for instance are a particular favorite. Having said all that I must tell you that we do spend a significant hunk of change on gluten free organic food...we're not really bad parents, just kinda bad.

P.S. Nail polish never looks good on an eight-year-old...how 'bout a manicure, Jenna?

Yee Haw...now that's fashion!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...yup, guess so!

Easter Eve...

Before

During

After

Highlight from last Easter:

Jenna: MOM! Someone ate the ears off my chocolate bunny!

Me: hmmmmmm! Who do you think would do such a thing?

Jenna: Dad

Me: Good guess.

Fast forward a day or two....

Jenna: MOM! Now his heads gone!

Me to Rick: Honey, just a suggestion but, when you steal the kids Easter candy don't put the headless chocolate bunny BACK IN THE BOX!

Editors Note: He's not a bad Dad, Jenna doesn't like chocolate. I know it's hard to believe especially since she's my daughter and I think chocolate should be it's own food group but, alas, it's true. Having said that let me just add that the twins went to the dentist this week and NO CAVITIES...WOOOO HOOOO! Sam got an A on his dentist "report card" and Jenna got a B (little tartar issue) and if you think Sam didn't stick his "report card" right in front of her face and announce it very loudly; you are seriously mistaken...he was a very happy kid 'cause for that moment he bested his competitive twin and the world was right.

What the?

Happy second day of SPRING everyone...woooo hooo! I swear to you yesterday we had green grass and I'm not talking about the fake Easter basket stuff either! This would have been the kids first snow day of the year (can you believe that?) if they actually had school today. Jenna's "fun day" list for today includes dying Easter eggs (boiling as we speak), games and making cookies...'cause you know we just haven't had enough cookies around here (please help me!). It's a good thing she made that list because our satellite dish is covered in snow and that is NOT a good thing. I'll post some pictures of "fun day" tomorrow...unless of course we lose all power and are plunged into darkness from this "spring" weather. Happy Friday!

A little Easter...

Jenna made this bunny/butterfly garland for Easter/Spring and I think it turned out really cute! She used cookie cutters for templates, cut them out of scrapbook paper and strung them together with twine. Homemade decorations made by kids are the best (okay, and cheaper but, that's just a bonus)!

In this house there's no Irish just Norwegian, Finn and German but, we plan on cracking open a Guiness to show solidarity with our Irish/American friends. Rick and I, not the kids...sheeesh people what kind of parents do you think we are? Happy St. Patrick's Day...Uff Da, eh?

It's soooo close!

Spring is so close, you can actually feel it...all 44.9 degress of it, according to our thermometer. And there's the sun which stays out until past the kids bedtime (that's not going over well, by the way). I wonder how long until Sam is on his bike, I give it a day. And I'm dying to see grass, green grass not the brown mushy stuff that's starting to peak through the snow. And by the way, having a dog this time of year is a major pain (especially one with white paws). Since I obviously don't have any recent photos with green in them I'm going to share this old one of my daughter pretending to be Annika Sorenstam (I have absolutely no idea how to spell her name...sorry, but, at least I know who she is!) Jenna is displaying another trait she got from her father...coordination. I'm starting to think the only thing she got from me was her attitude...uh, oh. Have a happy almost spring day!

Ahhhhhhh....

It was such a happy 45 degree day!! This winter has been well, bitterly cold...I really had the urge to use an explative there but, this is a family blog. Today was such a sloppy, wonderful mess and my roses are starting to peak out from under the snow, I can't wait for the day I get to uncover them. Even stubby green bushes are better than snow covered. In honor of this warm day here are some roses from last year...I miss them! I would also like to include an open letter to the woman I encountered this morning:

Dear Lady in the White Suburban;

You probably didn't notice me as I passed you this morning dropping off our kids at school but, I couldn't miss you. I know it was starting out to be a warm day but, it was still only 32 degrees at 8:00 this morning. Even the 45 it got to this afternoon is still technically chilly. What I am trying to say is, IT IS TOO EARLY TO WEAR A TANK TOP! Now, if you were late and still in your pj's I do understand...running out the door so the kids aren't late (been there, done that and yes, in my pj's) but, really, truly maam...grab a coat!

Thank you for your time and have a nice day.

Sincerely,

Me

Just the guys...

It's so hard to get a photo of these two because, well, frankly they are just two of the biggest goofballs...especially when they're together.

When I see photos like this it makes my heart break for all of the parents of kids with autism who have NEVER gotten a hug or an "I love you" or even a smile...please say an extra prayer for them today.

It's all about the dog...

Over a year ago we got a dog. After a lot of time on the Internet researching dogs and tons of e-mails between me and skinny hubby we decided on an Australian Shepherd...translation: HIGH ENERGY DOG and smart. Combining smart and energy is an experience that we could not imagine. Granted she's everything we read and perfect for our family; having said that let me tell you about her flaws. #1 She's smart and uses it against us, what I'm trying to say is that she is smarter than we are...no comments, please. We already know how pathetic that is. #2 She destroys things when she thinks we're not paying enough attention to her (can we say "spoiled"?). The tally count of things she's destroyed is roughly as follows:

8 pairs of flip flops (mainly a puppy thing she's pretty much grown out of)

4 sneakers (not pairs just one of 4 pairs...it's more painful that way)

10 throw rugs (including two the DAY AFTER I bought them)

6 blankets/throws

2 pillows

22 socks (apparently a favorite)

1 Girl Scout Sash

64 empty toilet paper rolls stolen from the bathroom garbage cans.

One scrapbook page (that was not a happy day)

A couple heads and limbs from the kids toys (nothing is as pathetic as a plastic dinosaur missing it's head) *Note: the kids learned really fast to keep their toys away from her. In all fairness doggy toys and kids toys bare a remarkable resemblance.

and last but not least...

One library book...

Here's the letter Chayley wrote to our library. I haven't given it to them yet because I'm waiting until I finish the "replacement" book...I have to find out how it ends! *Note: I included the picture of the "destroyed" book with the letter:


Dear Le Sueur Library;


This book used to be "The Kite Runner" and I destroyed it...I'm very, very sorry. I don't know why I do these things, I really am a good dog but, sometimes I just can't help myself. I got a major doggy time-out and the humans in my house (especially Mom) weren't too happy with me. Don't worry they can't stay mad at me very long because, well, I'm too darn cute! Mom replaced the book and I'm guessing the money came from my treat "fund" (drats!). Mom made me promise not to demolish any more books (or rugs, or shoes, or pillows, or Jenna's girl scout sash...did I mention I'm a good dog?).


Thank you for being so understanding.
Sincerely,
Your Friend
Chayley Rame

I'll let you know how the letter goes over. After all is said and done we love our gargantuan beanie baby of a dog (she's really, really soft and cuddly...kinda weird for a sixty pound dog) and can't imagine life without all those doggy kisses so, I guess we'll forgive her and buy her more chew toys.

Lesson we would like you to take from this post: If you are gone at work all day and run kids around to various activities during the evening or live in an apartment - DON'T GET AN AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD!

Science Saturday

I should have been scared, really I should have but, I'm kind of tired of being the "no fun" mom. I grabbed my camera and just kept my big mouth shut (that was a lot harder than I remembered). The thing is when my skinny husband was a kid he did lots of "science" experiments with his brother (Hi Kurt!)...the kind that had to do with shooting tennis balls out of something (the kind that still make his mom cringe to this day). To be honest I kind of tune the stories out a little 'cause they scare me...I'm a girl, we never did things like that as kids, we just cut Barbie's hair and pierced her ears. By the way, there's a reason I never went into cosmetology, you just have to look at my old Barbies to know why. Anyhoo, skinny hubby (his new name) came home with some dry ice that came with something shipped to him at work (I kind of tuned that out too...apparently I do that a lot...oooops). I have to admit they had fun and it was a nice father-twin bonding moment. I'm glad my kids got their smarts from their dad...don't tell him I said that!

I'm married to the biggest looser...and that's a good thing!

Congrats to my husband for winning the second annual biggest looser contest at work. He lost 24 pounds to avenge his second place finish last year. He celebrated with a box of girl scout cookies (samoas, of course) that he cracked open about two seconds after the final weigh in! I would have loved to have taken a picture that really shows how skinny he is now but, for some reason he refuses to let me take a picture of his butt! He's no fun! Note: he only gained five pounds back from the thirty he lost last year...he rocks!

Some pictures of sledding down the septic mound today...I know it's weird but, it works, sort of. It's fun being outside when your face doesn't freeze off after 30 seconds of being in the cold!

Have a great weekend!