Back to the Grind

Well our spring break has ended and the end wasn't very spring like. Saturday into Sunday it decided to snow about 5 inches. Luckily it has been in the 40's and rainy and so most of it should be gone soon.

The rest of the weekend was just hanging out and watching March Madness. Emma had a great time on Thursday night all by herself. She got to watch a movie (that she picked) and ate popcorn and was just loving being the only one here. Amy, Maddie and the boys got here around noon and we all went down to the stadium to Friday's for lunch. We also checked out the Brewers store and reopened that morning. They remodeled and so they had a big opening at like 5am. The boys game back for just a little while to do some playing and then it was back to Woodstock for them. Friday later in the afternoon we headed out to school so dad could help Chad take down the nets in the rummage room and let the girls run around for a little while. We made sure that we got home in time for the Michigan State game which was quite an exciting one.

Saturday Chad did not have practice, so after getting laundry done in the morning, I had a few errands to run. I went while Emma was sleeping and Chad and Maddie went to go see Monsters Vs. Aliens. She loves going to the movies. Usually we just wait for it to come to the budget, but since it was just her and dad and it was the middle of the afternoon- we figured what the heck. The evening was once again spent watching NCAA basketball and waiting for the snow to come.

Sunday was church and then back home to watch the Michigan State game. Uncle Ben and Christina came over too. Grandma and I cleaned up the basement and put together a nice big pile of stuff for Chad to take to the ML rummage sale.

Monday came and I didn't even have to fight with Maddie to get up. She was so ready to go back to school. She kept asking last week if she got to go. She told me yesterday that she wants to go to school in the summer. I guess she likes school or maybe just her time away from her sister.(Good thing for VBS) I had again a non-stress test yesterday and everything is just fine. I think that Chad and I have finally agreed on a name (you'll have to wait to find out).

Today is the last day for tryouts for the kids who were gone over spring break. There was suppose to be a game today, but since the snow and the rain today- he gets to wait until next week to play. I'm sure we will be out there sometime, but I think that we will be waiting until it gets warmer and not so wet out there.

I can't believe that I didn't take any pictures during spring break, but I guess when you don't actually go anywhere, there isn't much to capture. Emma's new thing is to jump off things. She used to just step off and say she jumped, but now she is actually landing on two feet and getting in the air. As I am typing this, she is using the step stool as her jump pad.

Hoping that this week goes by semi-quick and with little disruption. I can't believe that Easter is just about 10 days away. Maddie is more looking forward to that fact that the Brewers are going to be starting. She knows that they start around Easter and so we have made sure to put Opening Day on her calender. She is going to the game on the 15th with grandpa (she got to pick who she goes with since there are only 2 tickets). At least I know that no matter what their record is in September, she will still be wanting to go and be excited to watch them. Oh, to not know how the whole standings thing works.

Spring Break Thus Far

So usually spring breaks are spent with people visiting us in Texas, but as you know that didn't happen this year. We have been enjoying not having to get up, get dressed, and out the door in a timely fashion this week. Although Maddie has told me that she misses school and wants to go back.

Chad actually just had parent/teacher conferences on Friday, so he didn't have any students at school and was home by 2:30. We headed up to Germantown for the evening to hang out and watch some basketball. Chad and I actually went out to dinner just the two of us while the girls stayed at grandma and grandpa's and played with various aunts and uncles. We all watched basketball and I stayed up way to late watching the overtime Wisconsin game- what was I thinking. At least they ended up winning and so it made it a little worth it.

Saturday morning Chad headed down to school for the last of the grade school clinic with Ben and the girls and I hung out a little up there. We were home in time for nap and then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out, made it to the playground for awhile since it was so nice outside. Sunday after church Chad took the girls out to school so he could pick up a few things and they ended up playing in the gym for like an hour and a half. He was getting some baseball stuff together and they were just having fun, so it was quiet around here for part of the afternoon.

This week started baseball and so we haven't been able to do too much. Chad's assistant coaches aren't teachers, so they still have normal work schedules which meant that practice is at after school times, not in the mornings this week. So Chad has been spending the mornings with us and then the afternoons are spent at baseball practice. Monday and Tuesday we pretty much hung out at home. Those two days it rained a bit and so everything has been soaking wet.

Wednesday we were all getting cabin fever, so we decided to head out to Chuck E Cheese before practice. We were all having a great time- the girls were playing games and on the slides. Our food came and Maddie wanted to change seats. She wanted to go into the big room where the tvs are and were the mechanic Chuck E Cheese is. Everything was fine until the curtain opened and he started moving and talking/singing. Emma lost it. She wanted nothing to do with it- she just wanted to go home. I got her to sit on my lap while we ate and then as soon as we were done and ready to play more games she made a bee line out of the room. It was sort of amusing, but I did feel bad for her.

Today(Thursday) we had another non-stress test. It is sort of relaxing to just sit in a chair for 45 minutes and either watch tv or read a magazine, but it a little annoying to have to go to the hospital, get all your vitals checked, get hooked up to the machine and just wait. Monday we actually had a follow-up ultrasound from Dr. Carr. She is a specialist because baby here has a two vessel cord. Which means- normally there is a big vein that takes everything to the baby and then 2 arteries that take the waste away. Well this baby decided that she just wanted to have 1 artery to do all the work. There is some worry about growth, but since you all know that we don't have small babies this hasn't been a problem. So we had an ultrasound about 7 weeks ago with the specialist and this was just the follow up. The baby is growing just fine- actually I was 32 weeks 4 days on Monday and baby was measuring 35 weeks. Which would make sense since the other 2 were 2 weeks early too. The tech measured her legs about 5 times, because she couldn't believe how long they were. Back to today- while I was at the hospital the girls and dad went down to Miller Park to play on the playground there. Maddie slid down the slide with the big puddle on the bottom and so her pants were soaked. Emma came home to tell me that Maddie peed on the slide- which was not true, but I had to make sure for myself. After that grandma, the girls, and I got in the car and headed down to Woodstock to see Ben, Sam, and Amy. We played at the house for a little while and then we went to Burger King for lunch and to play on the playland. Maddie is down there now and is spending the night. She has been talking about it all week and was so happy to finally be able to go. I had it on her calender and every day she would count to see how many days until she got to go to their house. Emma wasn't too happy that she had to come home with us, but she got over it pretty quick. She has asked a couple times where Maddie is, but I think is enjoying having everyone to herself. Amy is bringing the boys and Maddie back tomorrow- to pay and hang out for awhile.

Grandpa has the day off again tomorrow- so maybe we can find something to do in the morning with just Emma since Maddie won't be here until later in the day. The rest of the weekend I'm sure will be spent catching up on laundry. Hopefully Maddie won't be too much of a beast getting up on Monday morning, but I won't worry about that until Monday morning.

Let the Madness Begin- Oh Wait, That is Every Day

So today is the start of March Madness- it also happens to be parent teacher conferences and so Chad has to be at school until about 9pm tonight (haha). So we have all filled out our brackets, Maddie's is quite a long shot and so is grandma's, but you never know.

Maddie likes to fill out her's by what mascot she likes better- here is her Final Four:
Robert Morris
CSU Northridge
Xavier
Michigan

Grandma also had quite a method to her picking to- top team, bottom team, middle team- here is her Final Four:
Louisville
Washington
Texas
Akron

Besides the beginning of March Madness, the every day madness is going strong here. Emma has been getting into a lot of sneakiness lately. She likes to draw on everything and I mean everything, including herself.Here she is in the bath after giving herself a mustache and beard with the purple marker.

She does have her good points too here she is reading to her "babies" in the rocking chair and making sure they are nice and warm.
She also really loves her cousin Nolan. Nolan was visiting us again while Mike was in town for the robotics competition. He stayed with us on Wednesday and then Jana came on Thursday. Emma wanted some good drinking time with her cousin so she joined him in his pack and play.


We have been enjoying the nice weather this week. I am sure that since baseball starts next week it will be cold and rainy for the better part of the week. Spring break is next week for Chad and Maddie. Chad as I said has baseball tryouts. Both of his other coaches aren't teachers, so they don't have practice until 3 everyday. I don't know how much stuff we will get to do- or maybe I should say I don't know how much Chad will get to do with us. Tuesday it was 70 degrees, so the girls and I walked down to the park to play. They were just having the best time being outside and running around.



Here is Maddie just showing off for the camera. Notice all the dirt on her face. I am pretty sure that dirt just jumps up on her face the minute we walk outside.

Today I go for my second week of Non-stress testing. Monday it wasn't as bad as last week with the number of phone calls being made to let people know of their STD. I am thinking that I would rather go to the hospital on Mondays also because at the office this is not a normal thing, so they aren't as efficient as they are at the hospital. I will check on their schedule when I go today to see if I can just go there on Mondays and Thursdays.

Maddie is back to loving school- we had about 2 weeks where she didn't want anything to do with school. It was like a switch being turned on and then off two weeks later. Chad has been able to take her a couple of times and I think he will tomorrow too.

I am sure that this weekend will be filled with basketball and the last of the grade school baseball clinic for Chad. We are all looking forward to Brewers baseball starting. Maddie asks about every day when it is going to start- she knows that she has to wait a few more weeks, but that it is getting close.

Well let's see where the Madness takes us this year. As always I am pulling for Duke, but that is just my heart talking. I know that it is a long shot, but what do you have to look forward to if you can't really get into it, right??

We are still at a lose for baby names, but have been polling people- so tell us your opinion about some of the choices we have made:
Olivia
Claire/Clara (not sure which one)
Lillian (Lilly)

Rain is so much better than snow.....

..... that's what I keep telling myself. The last few days, like 5 have been rainy and dreary, but I keep reminding myself that it could be snow.

So two other funny Maddie sayings from this week that could be added to the last blog post. Sunday I wasn't feeling so hot, so Chad took the girls to church so I could go back to bed for a little while. Emma even went to the nursery, so his job got easier. So they were in the middle of prayers and pastor was describing how we are sinners and sin is smelly. I guess Maddie just looked at Chad like "did he just say smelly", and proceeded to laugh out loud. At least she is starting to get jokes or at least knows when to laugh and not laugh.

The other one happened on Sunday too. My brother and his family came up from Chicago for the day. We all went to Applebee's for lunch. We were in the car driving there and Chad and I were talking about Kopp's (the custard place). Maddie proceeded to jump into the conversation and let us know that she doesn't like cops, but does like police officers. So how exactly do you explain homophones to a 3 year old. We just looked at each other and laughed. She then thought it as funny too.

Yesterday I was the helper at Maddie school. It was a slow Monday, but nothing too major went on, so it as just fine. I then had to go have a non-stress test at the doctor's office, which I will have again on Thursday and then twice a week until this kid comes. It would have taken about a half hour, but 10 minutes into the test, the machine ran out of paper and so they had to reload it and start all over and it took about an hour total. I did catch a little nap in there, so that was nice. So here is what I observed as I was strapped to a machine for that long. The office has a front reception area. Then the rooms and in the back there are rooms and a "nurses station". There were probably 6 or 7 desks with nurses, doctors, or other people who work there. Now the rooms all around the nurses station have a door, while the little room, okay closet, that I was in just has a curtain. Talk about patient doctor confidentiality- every phone call that was placed by the nurse closest to me was how this person's test came back positive for this STD or this issue and how they need to make sure that they let their sexual partners know about this. Then there was a lady who needed a referral for a mammogram, but then they realized that she couldn't go to where they normally send people because she had implants. It as kind of funny to hear some of the one sided phone conversations and wonder what the people on the other side where thinking. Let's just say it made my test very interesting.

On the topic of baby, Chad and I are at a total loss for any names. We have been going back and forth and can't decide on anything. One night when we were out for a "date" we even sat at Barnes and Noble for like an hour and a half looking at names. I figure that this kid will eventually have a name, so I'm not that worried about it now.

Well we are in our three week break between basketball and baseball. Chad has been getting ready for baseball, he is doing a grade school clinic on Saturdays, and getting everything else in order. The good thing is that the snow is mostly all gone because of the rain, so if the ground would dry, he might actually get some games in before May.

Tomorrow Nolan is coming with Mike and then Jana is coming on Thursday. There is the robotics competition downtown this weekend. We will go and check it out on Saturday with the girls and then Amy, Ben and Sam are coming too.

I am hoping the girls survive the day- as I am writing this I am looking outside and it is dark, gloomy, and rainy. Good thing I have MOPS tonight and can get out of the house for a little while.

Kids say the funniest things

So here are a few of those funny things that the girls have talked about in the last week that I still can't stop laughing about.

1. I was the helper at Maddie's school on Friday so that means that Emma stayed up at grandma and grandpa J's. Since uncle Kurt had a tournament game in the evening on Friday we were just going to meet them at the game to get Emma. So we had a good day at school and were leaving and I asked Maddie if there was something she wanted to do that afternoon- just her and me, something fun. She said she wanted to go to the movie theater. I told her we had to go home and check on the computer what was playing and what time it was playing at. She proceeded to tell me that when I got home to just go to movietheater.com to see what time the movie started. I cracked up and couldn't stop laughing. It is so funny to me that dot com and google are part of her vocabulary. She has told me a few times before to just google it.

2. Maddie and Emma went over to auntie Susie and uncle Kip's house on Saturday morning. I had my last game and Chad was reffing at the Mount Olive 5/6 grade tournament. They were all ready to play with Sophie the dog and then also to make cookies. So they were rolling out the dough and cutting cookies out, when Maddie informed everybody that what they were doing was so cool. Like Maddie even knows what cool is or if something is or is not cool.

3. The girls have gotten real good at annoying each other. We are trying to get Maddie that sometimes you have to just ignore the other person. So they usually really get on each other's nerves in the car. So Maddie asked Emma to stop whatever she was doing that was annoying her. I then told her to try to ignore her sister, she proceeded to lalala and tell Emma that she was ignoring her. When Emma kept on talking to her and asking her questions, Maddie just kept on telling her that she was ignoring her. It kind of defeats the purpose of the ignoring if you have to keep telling the person you are ignoring them.

4. Yesterday Emma stayed home to nap while we took Maddie with us to uncle Kurt's game (remember he was in a tournament). His game was at 1 and so we told Maddie we would leave at noon and let her pick somewhere to get something to eat. She had to think about it and finally decided on King Burger (Burger King). She was very excited to go, but we told her she had to keep it a secret, because Emma wasn't coming with us and it isn't nice to rub it in her face. So she was trying to not say anything, but then went over to Emma and told her that she had a secret to tell her, but couldn't tell her. So she walked away, then came back over to Emma and figured that since it was a secret if she whispered it, it didn't really count as telling her. We just watched the whole thing and sometimes just have to laugh at her logic.


As you can see the girls are keeping themselves busy. My basketball season is over, Chad has this week left. He plays tonight and then on Friday night. It will be nice to have a few weeks off before baseball starts. It is hard to believe that it is March already. We are just patiently waiting for all the snow to melt. It was almost all gone and then Friday/Saturday we got about 6 inches, for a fresh blanket of snow.

I am excited for tomorrow- I will now be able to have an honest to goodness Sonic Cherry Limeade that I haven't had for like 7 months. Right on the other side of Miller Park they have put up a Sonic and it opens tomorrow. I told Chad that he should stop by on the way home, since he passes it every day and bring me one home, so I can take it to MOPS with me. I have a feeling that it is going to be busy until the newness dies down. Nothing like a happy hour large cherry limeade for 79 cents to make your day.

Haircuts

So we have had two haircuts in the last couple of weeks with the girls. One was intentional and the other very unintentional. Maddie has been refusing to have her hair put up in any type of ponytails, so I told her that either she needed to get her haircut or she had to let me put ponytails in. She opted for the haircut. So one Friday evening we went down to the Supercuts and got it cut. She sat very still and just watched the lady as she cut her hair. She has such curly hair that no matter how many times you brush it in a day it still looks all messed up. So here is the new Maddie:
The other haircut was very unintentional and Emma gave it to herself. She had done this about 3 weeks ago and it wasn't very noticeable, but Saturday evening she decided her bangs still needed more cut from them. It is somewhat humorous, but she looks silly. We realized she was doing it when she started screaming at Maddie for trying to make her stop. Maddie was telling her to not do it and take the scissors from her and then she screamed her scream of death and that is when we found her with her new "haircut". So here is Emma with her haircut- check out her bangs and the couple of "layers" they have:


We have continued being busy with basketball and getting ready for baseball season. I have just one more practice and one more game and I will be done with basketball. Chad has 5 more games and he will be done on the 27th. He has about three weeks off before baseball starts on the 23rd. The girls enjoy going to the games at school- they have even gotten used to sitting and entertaining themselves during the game. We went to my cousin's game last night, it was her senior night, we made the girls t-shirts and they were so proud to wear them. Of course I forgot my camera, so I will have to get a copy of them from my aunt.

School is going for everyone. Maddie had a little trouble yesterday of not wanting to go. It probably had to do with the fact that Ben and Sam were here and they didn't have to go to school and she did. We are hoping that maybe if grandma drops her off tomorrow we won't have any tears or temper tantrums. Here's hoping. Emma is wanting to go to school, but still has no desire of the potty. She knows she needs to use it to be able to go to Mrs. Willer's class, but just doesn't want to. She sat on it once, but just is not interested. We have her registered for next year, but we can always pull her out if needed- I'm hoping not too. I figure it took Maddie until about the end of July to get it all down.

Ben's 5th birthday was on Friday- they were suppose to come on Saturday and we were going to go to Stone Fire Pizza, but Ben was sick. Ben, Sam, and Amy came on Sunday and we played and played and ate cake too. They hung around a little yesterday, but then headed back home.

Here are a few other pics from the last couple of weeks:

Here is Maddie's photography skills at work- if you notice she got all of dad, but completely cut out uncle Jan.

Emma has been really into dressing herself lately- this is from about a week ago. Yesterday she had the same skirt on, pink striped tights and a pink polka dotted shirt. Hey, I am just letting her creative side out.

Maddie and cousin Kate playing gameboy while waiting for their food at Max and Erma's. We went down to Schaumburg to meet up with them and also Jana and Mike.

Ben and his Spongebob cake. He wanted to blow out the candle, but we couldn't sing happy birthday to him. Everyone had a blue face after a piece of this cake.

Superbowl

Well Superbowl is here and gone- I love to hang out with friends while some are watching the game and even the commercials aren't that big of a deal. We went out to our friends Ben and Wendy's house- they have two kids, so we knew that the girls would have some other kids to play with. We had lots of good food- for Pittsburgh Nick made Rothlisburgers (burger- with a fried egg and bacon) for AZ we had taco salad along with potatoe skins. It was all so good. We had lots of laughs and it was nice to be out there. We weren't going to stay for the whole game because Maddie and Chad had school in the morning, but since the game went pretty fast and then got interesting at the end we ended up staying.

The girls are doing great- Maddie is loving school even though some mornings it is like trying to wake the beast. She gets that from her dad. She is enjoying all the basketball. She is starting to actually sit and watch the games, not the whole time, but she is starting to know what is going on. She loves to play in the gym after the games and also to play in the gym during my practices. Maddie still has no concept of time, but is always asking how long it takes to get somewhere or when something is going to happen. So trying to get her to grasp is a little harder then you can imagine, but she is trying. Her new favorite games are Pretty Pretty Princess and Princess Wii (Thanks Phill and Shelly). She keeps wanting to know when baseball starts- when we drive past Miller Park she always ask if the Brewers are home yet. I don't know where that obsession comes from. We also told her that on Sunday that would be the only day that we would allow her to cheer for a team named the Cardinals. Our friend Kate- was at Superbowl- is a Cubs fan and Maddie made sure to tell her that the Cubs and the Cardinals are ucky. She is getting good at writing her name and got a realy good report at parent/teacher conferences. She is also her father's child because her biggest issue at school is cutting with a scissors. We got her paperwork done so she can be tested for speech and start some speech therapy at school once or twice a week. She can't wait for her birthday, but hasn't asked for anything yet, so we will see when she figures that out.

Emma still has no interest in the potty, but she wants to go to Mrs. Willer's class next year, so I am hoping that will light a fire. She is also very into Pretty Pretty Princess- she just likes to wear the jewelry. She is now sleeping in a big girl bed. About three weeks ago she decided that she no longer liked her crib and would scream when she had to get in. Let's just say that when Emma makes up her mind about something- it is going to be how she wants. For a few days she was sleeping on the pull out couch in the living room until we went up to Chad's parents to get the other half of the bunk beds. They are not bunked now, but both are in big girl beds and Emma likes to let everyone know that. Yesterday the girls came to practice with me and Emma was insistent that she wanted to go to day care, she did end up going which surprised me a little, but she said she had a great time.

There is just a few weeks of basketball for both Chad and I. This weekend is the boys tournament at Mt. Olive, so we have a pep rally on Friday. The basketball girls of course are all excited and so Thursday we are going to make posters and stuff for the gym. I'm sure that we will venture up there at some point, if not for the games at least for a brat. Chad then will have a couple of weeks before baseball starts. Hopefully in that time the snow will melt.

Here are a few pics of the girls from the last couple of days:
Here are the girls with cousin Nolan- this is from back at the beginning of January when Nolan stayed with us for a few days.


Maddie playing at Ben and Wendy's house on Sunday- she came out with this mask on and we call just cracked up. Well everyone except Emma, she saw her and started to cry.



Emma loves Grandma's hat for some reason- she felt that it was so cold she needed to wear it in the car last night.


Congratulations to Michael on his appointment to Westpoint. We are very proud of you and know that you will do great.

I never know where the time goes

So my last post was 11 days ago, but it seems like it has been like a month. That is what happens when there is always something going on. So the last few days have all run together and most days I have to stop and think what day it is and where I have to be.

The first week back at school was an adjustment week for everyone. Maddie was adjusting to being back at school, Emma was adjusting to not having Maddie or dad around the whole day. Later that week we had an ultrasound and lots of laughs to go along with it. You can read Chad's post about it on his blog. The weekend was basketball I had a game Saturday and uncle Kurt also had a game on Saturday. We managed our first win of the season last Saturday. Friday evening Chad and I managed to go out for dinner, just the two of us. Saturday after all the games, Kurt came home with us and Emma went to hang out at the Janetzke's. After all the kids got back to their respective homes, Chad, myself, Ben, and Christina went out for a little while. The rest of the weekend was spent just hanging out and relaxing.

This week was something going on every night of the week. Monday I had practice and so the girls went with me. Tuesday was a help day at school for Chad and no practice, so he was home early. So of course instead of just hanging out at home we were off to uncle Kurt's game. We went to the game and were planning on coming straight home because I had a MOPS meeting and so Emma was very upset that she wasn't going over to grandma J's. She wanted to go over there and I told her that if she asked grandma if she could stay over then it was okay. So she marched over to grandma, who was in the middle of a conversation, and asked her. So once again we were down a kid for the evening. Wednesday Maddie and I took Chad to school, then I dropped Maddie off about 20 minutes late because it took us about 45 minutes to get Chad to school and about 50 minutes from there to get to Maddie's school. Both of those drives are usually about 20 minutes, but there was some snow and whatnot, so it took twice as long. I didn't know what to do with myself for two hours with no one. After picking Maddie up, we headed up to Germantown for the afternoon. Chad met us up there after practice and I had a game up near there. By the time the game was over, we already knew that school was canceled for Thursday because of the wind chill. Side note: we did win our game, so that was two in a row. Thursday I ventured to the mall (there was no one there) to get some jeans, then Chad and I went to a dr's appointment, we headed to Target after to pick up a few things.

In the evening I had a game for the tournament and Maddie's school. We were of course playing Maddie's school. The gym was loud, it was their "A" team, they had like 15 girls on their team, and then there was our team. We have 9 girls from 5th-8th grade. They thought that we were so bad that they didn't even start their starters. I kind of took it as a slap in the face, but we played hard in the first half and were losing 10-5 at halftime. The second half was another story. We were out of gas and they put their starters in. I think we scored 2 more points the rest of the game. School was canceled again for Friday, so another day with dad home. Chad still had his game last night, so we were out there for his game. They lost by 2. It came down right to the end. We stayed for the JV game, which was not pretty.

Kurt is staying with us this weekend since mom and dad are at a conference in the Dells. We picked up some pizza on the way home. Once the girls were in bed, they played some Wii and I went to bed. It was off to more basketball this morning. Our game went about as well as Thursday's was. Chad took the girls out to Martin Luther for Kurt's game. He is still out there doing some baseball inventory. I have another game this evening. Hopefully we can pull out one win for the tournament.

Tomorrow we are heading out to Germantown to spend the day and night there. Chad and Maddie don't have school on Monday and we have canceled practices for that day. Even after having the last two days off, this one was planned so it is a little bit more relaxed. Chad has to make up finals next week Tuesday and Wednesday, so that will be taking half of the week. We have more basketball for him and I have another tournament next weekend. One of these days things might slow down, but I am not counting on it.

Christmas and the New Year

Well Christmas has come and gone and sorry if you were looking for a Christmas letter from us, you can stop checking the mail. I don't even know when I would have had time to write or go to the post office to mail them. So here is the low down on our Christmas.

When we last left we were having our snow day- which all of us enjoyed a lot. We watched movies and just hung out all day. The next day I had a game, uncle Kurt had a game, and Chad had a game. We lost our game 15-16, I think uncle Kurt won, and I know that Chad got his butt kicked. The Chapman's were also around that weekend, so we hung out with them.

Monday evening we headed up to Germantown to spend a few days with the Janetzke clan. Everyone was there and we had some good laughs. We spent the days playing Wii, cards, and watching movies. We also took some time to decorate Christmas cookies.Chad, Kathy, Scott, and myself even managed to leave for a little while to run some errands and get something to eat. Tuesday Chad's practiced got canceled and so we just got to hang out more. Christmas Eve was playing in the snow, while the boys shoveled and broke the ice off of the driveway. We went to church and then came home to open presents. The Janetzke family got their own Wii and I wish I would have had my video on for the camera to capture the reaction of Kurt and Ben. We went home Christmas Eve night.

Christmas morning was church and then we came home to open the presents from Santa (meaning what we bought for the girls). The Chapmans arrived later in the morning and then we just hung out and played until we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house. We had a good time just hanging out, playing games, watching movies, and the kids played hide and seek for like 2 hours.

The weekend came and we headed out to the indoor waterpark for the weekend. We went out on Saturday night and stayed. The Pownell family and Chapman family stayed too. My brother and his family came up for the day on Sunday and we all had lots of fun at the pool. Chad even got to watch the Lions game (they were playing the Packers), but was not happy with the outcome that whole 0-16 is just hard to take.

The next few days were filled with basketball practice, watching movies, hanging out with Jana, Mike and Nolan. New Year's Eve came and went. I don't think I made it to midnight, but it was pretty close. We even managed to watch a movie (Iron Man- I actually liked it). Jana and Mike went home on New Year's Day and left Nolan here. Jana had to work the weekend and Mike was off to Minnesota for the Vikings playoff game. So the girls enjoyed "babysitting" Nolan over the weekend. We had another little guy with us on Friday. Eli ( Nic and Ashley's son) spent some of the day with us while mom and dad went to look at a few houses. Sunday we were out to Germantown to drop Emma off because I had to be the helper in Maddie's class on Monday.

Maddie was more then ready to go back to school. On Sunday all she could talk about was going to school. I am glad that she still enjoys going. We had fun at school and then we enjoyed a quieter afternoon with Emma still at Grandma J's. It was back to basketball practice for me yesterday and it is going to be a long next few weeks. Like the fact that I just got the bracket for a tournament we are playing in next weekend. The tournament happens to be the Our Redeemer tournament (which is where Maddie goes to school)- which we are playing the home team in the first round which if anybody knows that means that they know they can win and want to advance to the winners side.

Today was more basketball. Chad had a game, we watched a little of the JV game and then Chad took the girls home while my dad and I went to my cousin's game. Chad won by 18- they were down by 10 at half and finally woke up after half time. My cousin wasn't as successful, but maybe one of these times when I watch her she will win.

The rest of the week is pretty routine- Chad gets to take Maddie to school tomorrow because he is doing Chapel for Our Redeemer, so that will be nice to not have to get her out of the house. Chad is getting ready for finals- not liking that finals are after break after being used to finals before break. We are just getting back into the routine and will hopefully be back into it soon.

Happy Epiphany and New Year!!!!

SNOW DAY

So it has been a long 4 years since we have been able to say those words. Those are the days that teachers and students live for. I guess since I am in the house with teachers and a student- that is a day that I live for too. So Thursday night we were all ready for this snowstorm coming- some schools opted already close Friday on Thursday and right there I thought we were in for the jinx. I figured now that some schools have closed already- a day in advance we for sure were going to get like 3 inches of snow. Low and behold- we were up around 5:40 and everything was closed. Chad went back to bed and I laid there for a little while before getting up. Mom and dad were off to work- mom to return just a couple hours later. This was after Chad had to go help her get unstuck on the other side of the block and at least make it to Aunt Gerry's house- good thing aunts and uncles live just around the corner. We spent the day just hanging out and watching the snow fall. Chad got to do some shoveling and has decided that when we get a house- we will have a snow blower. The girls got to hang out with dad, play wii, watch cartoons, and then we finally got around to decorating the tree that night.

Saturday morning the roads were clear and that meant off to basketball games in the morning. My team played the first game and I thought we were going to pull it off- we lost 15-16. After our game uncle Kurt played, so we hung around to watch that. We made it home with uncle Ben and uncle Kurt coming with us. Chad had a game later that afternoon that they were going to. The Chapmans arrived in the early afternoon and the boys and Maddie had some fun playing Wii. Grandpa, Joel, Ben, Sam, myself, and the girls all headed to Chad's game. They weren't any more successful than my team, well at least my team made it a game. Their's was pretty much a blow out.

Yesterday we braved the negative windchill (like -30) and headed to church. We were just going to lay low- but then decided to go see Bolt. So after nap we loaded up and headed up to Menomonee Falls to meet uncle Ben and aunt Lydia. They went to the movies and I went to Wal-Mart to get some last minute things. You always have to make sure that you have batteries for those toys. We met back at the house and hung out there for the evening. Kathy, Scott, and the boys got there yesterday so it was good to see them.

Chad has practice today and tomorrow- it is suppose to snow again tomorrow, so we will see about that. We are heading up to Germantown this evening and will be there until Christmas Eve night. I have just a few more presents to wrap and hoping to get those done today. Christmas will be here in the morning and then we will be heading over to my uncle Jan and aunt Sharon's in the afternoon. Since Jana has to work and Alan has to work the day after- we are doing Christmas with my brothers and sisters on Saturday and Sunday. We decided to cut out presents and instead head to a local indoor waterpark for two nights. I'm sure that all the kids will enjoy that.

The rest of break will be filled with more basketball practice for Chad, relaxing, and most likely playing in the snow. The girls have been eager to get outside, but with it being so cold that hasn't happened. We know for a fact that if we put Emma in one of the snow banks at the bottom of the driveway- we would lose her for sure.

Merry Christmas!!! I will be sure to put some pics up after the week.

Basketball and Door County

So right now our life is pretty much consumed with basketball. Chad got his first win on the 2nd when he traveled to Watertown Luther Prep to play. They had another game on Friday and they didn't win, but in the week and a half since I saw them last play, they looked a lot more like a team. The game on Friday was a nightmare. The officiating was not at its finest and we then came to find out after the game that one of the refs was the baseball coach from last year, in other words, the guys who's job Chad took. I am a firm believer that Freshmen basketball should be called a whole lot tighter than varsity, because they are still learning, but these guys were letting guys roll around on the floor with the ball and not call anything. Okay I could go on and on about it, but I won't.

My basketball team had their first regular season game this past weekend, they had played in a tournament the weekend before Thanksgiving, but league play started on the 6th. We are out of town, so my dad (who is helping me) coached on Saturday. It was a real defensive battle of us losing 10-6. My dad said that they couldn't make a lay-up to save their life. That meant that yesterday in practice we went back to the beginning basics ans started with walking lay-ups. It could be a long season. I think that I am not looking to set any records, but maybe just make them better players. We play on Thursday of this week, so we will see if we can make some improvements.

So Chad and I headed to Door County this past weekend for a surprise birthday "party". Kate is married to Ryan and he turned 30 earlier in the week. She rented a cabin for 11 of us to share and hang out in. 9 of us live in the Milwaukee area, but Nathan and Katherine even made the trip over from Fort Wayne for the weekend. We left after Chad's game and were on the road by about 6:30. We grabbed some dinner and were up there by about 9:40. We only had to stop once for me to use the bathroom. When we got there Kate and Ryan were there, Ryan was the one who we were surprising. Nathan and Katherine were there and Ben and Wendy got there about 15 minutes before us. About 15 minutes after us, Nick and Ashley got there and then about 15 minutes after that Craig arrived. Ryan was quite surprised- he didn't know anything about it. So by about 10:30 everyone was there and settled in and just hanging out. We were up quite late, but we had lots of laughs that night. Saturday morning, everyone slept in and when everyone finally got up, we all went to breakfast together. We went to the Door County landmark, Al Johnson's. If it wasn't winter, it is the place where the roof is made of grass and there are goats that are on the roof who eat the grass. It was nice to be lazy and not have too much to think about. Everyone was fortunate enough to leave their kids with grandmas and grandpas. We went back to the cabin and the guys watched football and napped while some of us girls just relaxed and watched some HGTV. That night we grilled out and played games. Sunday morning we took our time and most everyone was gone by about 11am. We were home by about 2:30. I drive most of the way- because Chad ended up coming down with the flu and even stayed home from school yesterday. I am just hoping that no one else in the house gets it. I think that if we haven't gotten it yet, we should be okay.

Maddie seems to be getting a little cold, but nothing to worry about. She is going to the fire station and library tomorrow with school. It is snowing once again, but hopefully it should be all done by later this afternoon. Chad was suppose to have a game tonight, but the school they were playing has no school because of the snow, so that is canceled. We are almost ready for Christmas. Emma is waiting for grandma to pick out her tree, because Emma insists that she is going to decorate it with grandpa. We have cousin Sam's brithday party this weekend and then just one more week of school.

Here are some pics from the weekend. Hope you are all staying warm.

Leaves Fall Then Snow Falls

Well a couple of weeks ago we raked the leaves for the final time. We thought that they were going to come and pick them up, but they didn't quite make it down our street. Grandpa was off of work, so the girls and I headed outside to help him. Emma like using the push broom to sweep the driveway and Maddie liked using the leaf blower to clear out under the tree. Maddie headed back inside to warm up and Emma decided that she is more of a supervisor then a worker, so here she is "doing" yardwork with grandpa.



This morning at about 6:15 I was laying in bed and that is usually the time that the dogs across the street start barking, but this morning they were drowned out by the plow on the playground across the street. I know that sound and when I was in grade school and high school I usually rushed up to go look out the window and hope for a snow day. Knowing that there couldn't be that much snow, it actually made me move slower, because I knew that there would still be school. That meant having to get Maddie into boots and full snow gear. Luckily grandpa took her to school today, so I only had to get her ready. Any other morning I would have had to gotten Emma in her gear too. The girls were very excited about the snow and spent some of the morning just looking out the window. Most of it will probably be gone in the next couple of days since by Thanksgiving it should be up to 40 degrees. They both wanted to go out and play, but it is quite the wet snow, awesome for snowballs, but that's when you come in just soaking wet all the way through.



Maddie took grandpa to school today with her for her Thanksgiving Feast. They made lots of crafts and had some good snacks. Emma and I just hung out at home. I have to say that it was nice to not have to rush out the door on a Monday morning. Not only that, but I was able to take a shower in the house finally.

So in the beginning of October the plumbers came and gutted the downstairs bathroom and redid the plumbing. Since then my dad and mostly Uncle Kip have been sanding, tiling, grouting, and painting. Yesterday the two of them put the toilet, sink, shower fixtures, and lights in and we have a functioning bathroom. I was getting used to taking showers at the YMCA or even a bath upstairs. I know my mom is just glad that when she has to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, she doesn't have to come upstairs.

This week Chad has his first basketball game. So we will be over at school more, it also helps that my cousin plays on his team. My other cousin is on the girls varsity, so we will be out there tonight for her game. I have also taken over the 7/8 grade girls team at Mount Olive. So today is the first practice with me. They start league play on the 6th, so we have this week and next week to get ready.

We are having Thanksgiving with my parents and aunt and uncle. We will be up at the Janetzke's on Wednesday for church and then to hang out. Chad has practice on Friday and so I think he is hoping for a low key day on Thursday. Grandpa Heff's birthday is Wednesday and so Maddie is wanting to make a cake. Maybe we will tackle that tomorrow.

Maddie is really into helping cook lately. She has almost perfected mac n' cheese. She likes to be able to do anything to help out. She likes to be the "maker" as she calls it. She of course is still loving school. Yesterday we saw her teacher at church and that still is weird to her, to see her teacher outside of her classroom.

Emma is Emma, meaning she is the drama queen as always. She gets upset at the weirdest things. She all of a sudden hates baths. We think she is so worried that her toys or her are going to go down the drain, even though we don't take the plug out until she gets out. She is not liking this whole hat and mittens thing either. She tries to bargain and tells you that she will just wear her hood instead of her hat, but that only lasted until yesterday because a hood doesn't do as much as a hat. We try to give her a choice, so we don't have meltdowns. Usually like juice or milk, boots or tennis shoes. She really likes that she gets to pick out her own shirt in the mornings. She knows that she picks out the shirt and I get to pick out the pants. She doesn't like her wet diaper, but will not go anywhere near the potty. We will start trying a little bit more after the new year. She knows that to go to Mrs. Willer's class she has to go on the potty. I have a feeling she is going to be that kid who one day announces that she is done with diapers and just start using the potty. We will see. She loves to go pick up Maddie from school, because she likes to see Carter, who will be in her class next year, who also happens to be Isaac's cousin. She always has to look for them at church too. Let's just say she could be labeled as a stalker "girlfriend".

I can't believe that Christmas is right around the corner. I have almost all my shopping done. I have just one more person, or technically Chad has one more person. I am hoping to avoid all stores for the most part for the next month. I went to the mall on Saturday to get my haircut and it was already just out of control. I then went to Target after that and it was just as bad. I was glad I didn't have the girls with me.

At least this post didn't come a month since the last one- as the holidays get closer, I'm sure I'll have more pics to share.

A Long Overdue Post

Okay so where should we start- how about the beginning of October. We have had a few posts in between, but nothing too in depth.

Okay- so let's start with the Brewers. So we enjoyed our short stint in the playoffs after a 26 year drought. The third game was in Milwaukee on Saturday October 4th. Chad, myself, my dad, and my brother-in-law Joel went to the game. It was awesome to be there and we all enjoyed the game especially since they won. We went on to hang out in the parking lot for a little while afterwards. Sunday I wasn't planning on going to the game, but my aunt wasn't feeling well, so we had an extra ticket and I got to go again. The outcome wasn't as good as the night before, but it was still pretty cool to be there. I did take some pics on Saturday, but of course they are on the infamous camera that is still missing and I am just going to have to realize that it is gone and so are the pictures that were on it.

So the following week Chad headed up to Minnesota on Friday afternoon on the Megabus. It was a little late, but he made it up there and then headed to the Olson's to hang out. He managed a round of golf on Saturday morning and then hanging out with the Minnesotans. Sunday he went to the Vikings/Lions game with Mike and then back on the Megabus home. While he was gone, the girls and I managed without him. Saturday we went to uncle Kurt's flag football game. After we headed to the pumpkin farm with grandma and grandpa J, uncle Scott, aunt Kathy, cousins Luke and Ben, and aunt Kendra. It was the weekend where is was like 80 degrees and so the patch was crowded. If you want to see a couple pics, there are some on the Huster's blog (link on the right side). That evening we met grandma and grandpa Heff, who were babysitting cousins Ella and Kate for a hayride.

We have been in the normal routine of school during the week and Maddie is enjoying school. We have been to the pumpkin farm, it was cold and rainy, but the kids loved being able to feed all the animals. Maddie loves to read all the letters in any word she can find. Like in church when we sit down and you can hear her talking to herself saying," E-X-I-T". She has a little trouble with lower case letters that don't look like the same uppercase letter.

So the weekend came again and this time it was off to Michigan for Chad's cousin's wedding. Which is where the camera was lost, so no pics of the wedding. We enjoyed seeing family and got to spend two nights with the Heiden's. We had lots of laughs and enjoyed being able to attend the wedding since we are closer now.

The last full weekend of October was spent hanging out with the Chapman family. They came up to trick or treat with us in the neighborhood. Grandpa and grandma Heff's neighborhood always has an evening trick or treat with a costume contest and other things. Maddie was once again a sausage- it was much more of a hit here, then in Texas. Everyone asked where we got it- it even won her second place in the costume contest. They went home with lots of loot, but Maddie was tried, so she went to bed early.

We have been visiting grandma J often during the day, since we are both home. She enjoys the change of routine and both Emma and Maddie love to play up there. Emma has spent more time up there while I help at Maddie's school. Her favorite thing to do is to make cookies with grandma. She likes to help mix, but really she just likes to be the taste-tester.

Last weekend we went down to Woodstock for Halloween. We went to the square with Ben and Sam for some trick or treating and then Ben and Maddie went to a couple other blocks. Emma and Sam had more fun handing out candy to other kids then actually getting it. Jana and Mike met us back in Milwaukee for the weekend. We had fun just hanging out for the rest of the weekend.

This week Maddie had school on Monday and then on Tuesday we headed up to the Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells. We were up there a day early because we went up with grandma and grandpa J. Chad, uncle Kurt, aunt Lydia came up on Wednesday. For a few days we enjoyed being in the hotel and playing in the indoor waterpark. We did get a few pictures from borrowing my parent's camera.

We got home yesterday and have enjoyed just being home for the last day. Today Maddie had her last day of tumbling and then it was off to watch uncle Kurt's basketball game. After the game we took the girls to see Madagascar 2. The girls enjoyed the movie along with the popcorn and soda. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a resting day and getting laundry done.

So here are a few pics from raking leaves, and the waterpark. Hopefully that has caught some of you up on us and it hopefully it isn't a month before I post again.

Camera MIA

So I think our camera has been lost somewhere between Michigan and Wisconsin. I am hoping to clean out the car tomorrow and look for it. We are going Trick or Treating tomorrow in the neighborhood association at my parent's. Cousins Ben and Sam are coming too. I know that I have been quite the blogging slacker. You can leave me comments and tell me to get my butt in gear if you want. Emma and Maddie have taken turns being sick in the last couple of weeks. Maddie had it much worse than Emma. Maddie is still liking school. We are getting to go to Wisconsin Dells the first week of November for the Wisconsin Teachers' Convention. The girls and I are going up a day early with Grandma and Grandpa (The Superindendent) so we get to spend an extra day at the indoor waterpark.

Maddie is excited that it is suppose to snow flurry on Sunday. She sure is going to be disappointed when the snow doesn't stick to the ground.

Hopefully I will find my camera and be able to take some pics tomorrow. I am jsut excited that people will know Maddie is a racing sausage and not think she is Spongebob Squarepants.

National League Wild Card Baby!!

I know I know, some of you are sick of my Brewers posts, but can you blame me. It has been pretty exciting here and so here is another Brewers post. So today was Emma's first game ever. We tailgated with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. Everyone was very nervous for the game, but were ready for it. It was a great game. It was very nerve-racking, but when Braun hit that homerun, the place just went nuts. There were a good number of Cubs fans there, but after that they didn't do too much more cheering. During the whole game we were all keeping an eye on the Marlins/Mets score. Whenever the Marlins would go up- the whole place would erupt. After the game all the Cubs fans started leaving and we stayed. They ended up putting the Mets game on the jumbrotron and everyone was on the edge of their seats watching. After they lost, the place went nuts and just couldn't believe it. All the Brewers came back out after celebrating in the lockerroom and came out on the field to celebrate with the fans. Some of them were spraying champagne into the crowd and everything.

Here are the pics from the game and celebration:

Here are a few pics of the girls and their cousins from the last couple of weeks. We have been enjoying the warm weather, we went to the Zoo this past week and Maddie is still loving school.

Wow!!!

So last night my dad and I were at the Brewers game. We were a few rows back from our usual seats, it was also fan appreciation night, we didn't win anything. We were just watching, keeping score, talking to the guy next to us, and hoping for a Brewers win. Gallardo was back after being out for 4 months. He pitched four strong innings, by the bottom of the 4th it was tied 1-1 and stayed that way until the bottom of the 10th.

So here comes the extra innings, I looked at the clock and it was a little after 10, I'm thinking my limit is 11pm. We were all getting anxious. Three walks and two outs in the 10th- I was thinking they were going to walk in the winning run. Let me tell you, it was amazing. I don't even know if I can describe it. Two strikes with Braun up, he hit it and everyone knew it was gone. It wasn't one of those major league pop-ups that some people around you think is out, but doesn't even come close, it was gone in the 2nd deck. It was awesome!! That is definitely going to be a game that I will never forget.

We now have three games against the Cubs, while keeping an eye on the Mets playing the Marlins. We are all going to the game on Sunday- I'm just hoping it doens't come down to Sunday, I'm not sure I'd be able to handle it.

Best part of the Grand Slam- dad called it. Right before the pitch, he looked at me and said he is going to hit a grand slam. Classic dad.

Sorry this is about the Brewers and not much updating. I promise after this weekend I'll post some pics of the girls, the Chapmans are coming and Maddie starts tumbling tomorrow.

New things all around

Well Chad started at his new school- at least that is what the girls call it. He started on the 25th. He got into the swing of things with just a 4 day work week since they had Friday off for Labor Day weekend. That same week we had a new member orientation at church and an Open House for Maddie. Labor Day weekend was spent just hanging out. My parents headed to Iowa to see baby Nolan and to help Jana and Mike pack. We had some people over on Saturday to watch football. Chad was more than disappointed when the Michigan State game was not shown here. He even had three tvs going- one for the Missouri game, one for the Michigan State game, and one for the Brewers game. We all had lots of fun and even got a few rounds of MarioKart in. John- a freshman at CUW who is from Concordia, Tomball even came over to hang out.

Sunday after church we headed to Matteson for Luke's 2nd birthday party. We were in the midst of all the Harley riders heading home from Harley Fest. I was mad I didn't take more pictures over the weekend, but I did get a few on the way down to Matteson. The girls loved all the motorcycles all week and looking for them wherever we went and they were everywhere we went. I loved seeing them all too. I always said I wanted a Harley. So back to Luke's birthday party. We had a good time just hanging out and visiting with the Husters. There were a couple of other teachers from Scott's school there too. Luke had a great time eating his cake, opening his presents, playing with his presents, and then taking a bath with his cousins.

Monday we headed up to Germantown to help do some cleaning. It ended up being a burning of all the things that were being thrown away. I think everyone was having way to much fun throwing things into the fire.

We had a quiet day around here on Tuesday. Chad had a fantasy football draft with some of the other teachers from school. I ended up at the Brewers game with my dad, cousin, his wife, two of my uncles, and my other cousin. It wasn't that great of a game considering they lost in 10. Maddie wanted to go to the game so bad, but with school on Wednesday she wasn't allowed. She was crying and whining and begging to go. She was crying about it and my dad and I were standing there listening to her when she comes out and says, "But I want to go to the game, I LOVE the Brewers". My dad and I couldn't help but laugh. Needless to say she still didn't get to go.

Wednesday was Maddie's first day of school. She has three under her belt and is loving every minute of it. Every day after I pick her up she goes on and on about what she did. This week is the first full week- we have school pictures on Wednesday. She likes her teacher and there is a student teacher for the first 7 weeks. On the first day when I picked her up her teacher told me how she was walking and talking and ran into the door- all I could do was laugh and say that that was typical Maddie.

Friday Maddie finally got to go to the Brewers game. My dad, Chad, myself, and her went. While Emma stayed home with my cousin Alex. Maddie did pretty well. We did go and play on the playground for about an inning and a half. She was the star of the jumbotron getting on it about 3 times. We got to watch C.C. pitch again and see them win.

Saturday Chad and I got to head to the game ourselves. The doctor my mom works with has season tickets with another doctor. They are three rows behind the Brewers dugout. It was great to sit so close, but I actually prefer to sit up in my parents' seats on the club level, there is a lot more room up there. We saw another great win and a complete game shutout from Ben Sheets.

Sunday the Chapmans were here to go to the game. The girls and I dropped Grandma and Ben off at the game right at it was starting and then ran some errands. We then headed out to eat with them for Amy's birthday after the game. We have been keeping ourselves busy and are pretty much into a rountine now that school has started. This weekend is the first home football game. I know that the girls will probably be looking forward to going, as long as it isn't too cold for them. Maddie is always insisting on wearing a coat or sweatshirt to school. It has been in the high 60's.

Happy Birthdy to Amy!!!
Happy Birthday to Isaac- we wish we could be at your party.