Our Second Child

Ugh!..... Sums up Nolan in the last few months of his life. He is a handful! Scratch that....Five handfuls! He has always been an extremely independent child, completely opposite of his brother. I have always dreamed of having a child like that . One who could cater a little more to his needs, entertain himself and so on. I am sorry for this and wish I could take all those dreams back1 Nolan is SSOOOO independent it is hard to deal with on a day to day basis! If you do something for him, anything, pick up toy, put his cup down, move his shoes, drive my car, yes I said drive MY car, the child will undue or try to undue whatever it is that you did and redo it himself. This makes for some major meltdowns when you do something he cant undue, ie flush the toilet or drive the car! Its hard to deal with a 2 year old who wants to pour a gallon of milk and or drive the car, some things he just cant! Try telling him!!!!UGH!

So the latest and greatest? OK, Mr. P was potty trained at 26mnths. YEAH! Good job! OK so why does this pose a problem? Well, when we moved Nolan decided if he doesn't get what he wants, he'll just pee! And on some occasions Poop! We are in the grocery store and he wants cookies, mom says no, Nolan says, "I'm gonna pee!" and does! WT%&@* I'm driving and Nolan asks to go to the playground and we are on our way to school, mom explains that we can't, Nolan, "I'm gonna Pee!" Kyan and Nolan are in the playroom and he doesn't get Ky's toy, yes you guessed it "I'm gonna Poop" This was a daily some times twice a day routine for awhile. So you might say just put diapers back on him? NO! for one he'd just take them off and for 2 heck no! He's trained, its all about control. A woman once told me the other day, "Kids have 2 things they can control, what goes in and what comes out" Isn't that the truth! In a way I feel its our fault because of what we did to our kids routine, basically we took their world and turned it upside down.

So things have turned around a bit. Naps are happening more smoothly (they are zzzzzzz as I blog) and a routine is slowly falling back into play. Just in time to probably move again in a couple months. And most importantly the peeing and pooping has become less and less in the pants! Oh except yesterday when the boys raced to the bathroom to play "swords" with their pee (don't ask, my fault, isn't that what all brothers do? Maybe just mine?) Anyway Nolan apparently changed his mind and decided to whip it out and pee all over the bathroom floor, "just because" he said. AAAAHHHH This kid! Oh this second child!

Fall Dayz!

Some great pics down by the river at our current home! The boys love living on the river it allows for some great after dinner fishin'!!!

Hello? Blog?.....are you there?

I'd be lying if I said I knew where to begin. It saddens me greatly that all this time has gone by with only 2 posts over the summer. So much has happened, so much has changed! Our lives have changed greatly! Ill do my best to do an update without writing a novel but it's gonna be tough!
We spent the summer in our rental house with grandma Debbie in Ann Arbor. Thank God this woman retired and volunteered her precious time to watch her crazy grandchildren while Dad studied for the BAR and mom traveled across the state to work! From swings in the trees and squirt guns in the front yard I'm not sure the kids could have had a better summer (with the exception of having their parents around a little more. Summer was rolling on and our up coming move to our new house in Grand Rapids was approaching fast. July had come to an end, Mick took his BAR (results pending) and our closing date on our house was in three days. This my Friends is when all hell brakes loose! As if our summer wasn't crazy enough. So we find out our future home in a "community" has an easement in the backyard. This would prevent us from putting up a fence unless we moved in in 10ft. My husbands thought on this....."Hell NO!" And that was the end of our future home........now we are homeless! Yes, I said homeless! So what do we do? We buy a camper and go camping DUH! Right when I thought our lives were about to slow down. HA! So within a couple weeks we find a house we both agree on again! WOW the last one took us over 4 months to find and agree on. I have to say I was a bit less picky, being homeless has that effect on me. Now, we need a place to rent. A short term lease in our new school district (so Ky wont have to switch schools) and one that will allow our nice small lap dog Doctor J. Hhhmmmm not so easy to find!!! Oh did I mention that our campground has WIFI? This made home shoppin' a breeze (please sense sarcasm there.....thank you!) Low and behold the last day before I was to condemn us to an apartment complex (a rather nice one) Up pops a short term lease! A 3 bedroom home in the Forest Hills School district and dogs are allowed! All topped off with river frontage!!! wooo woooo! Do we really need to come look at it? Well Take it!!!!! So this is where we stand, renting a cute little place on the river waiting for our new home ONCE AGAIN. If I've ever had a good excuse for not blogging....I think that's it!

So things have turned and seem to be going well. Ky loves kindergarten and is planning on having a party next month inviting all the boys in his class. He gonna be 5! Wow 5! He started Soccer this year and Mick is his coach. Not sure if the kids really know whats going on but its fun to watch, with the exception of trying to keep Nolan from running after the ball! Hockey also started this past week. This season he seems a little more reserved and I'm not quite sure why. But Mick thinks its because the amount of kids on the ice has tripled and its a bit more organized than the learn to skate program, more focused on actual hockey fundamentals. I'm sure he will come out of his shell in no time. He better for the price of ice time!!!

Nolan....well I'm going to save that for a post in its self! If anybody needs birth control let me know and Ill package my Pie up and send him your way!

Welcome back Blog!!! Ive missed you dearly and have thought about you daily!!!!

Just a quick post...thats about all we have time for these days

These pics were taken at the begining of the summer.....oh the Mighty Mac!

Home Sick

If theres one thing I've done this summer, its spent A LOT of time driving. When you drive 2 hours one way to work and then spend 3days in a hotel you have a lot of silent time which leaves a lot of thinking time. I also drove to the U.P and back by myself which added an additional 13 or so hours to again...think. One always wonders what life would be like if you took a different route. I guess I cant compare my lonely days Ive been having without my trio of boys bc I already know what life is like with them. I knew it was going to be hard to be away from them but nothing could have prepared me for how I was going to feel. Every time I leave them now I get that huge lump in my throat, the kind you get when you need to cry but are doing everything at will not to. Life is plain old boring without them! I miss there voices, there smell I even miss Kyans whining and Pie misbehaving....yeah That bad! The good thing, time is flying by (not such a good thing when you live in Michigan and summers only last 4 months) Yesterday when I was driving back down south I saw what I thought was one of the most beautiful sun sets in Michigan but then I realized it was the moon rising, not the sun at all. The moom, full and red, just above the horizon of Lake Michigan, the water so calm it looked like glass,it was so peaceful. I wish the boys could have been with me ( I guess it probably wouldnt have been so peacefull then.... LOL) Ill be back home on Sat. Miss you guys!

Happy Belated Birthday America!

We all headed north AGAIN for the fourth of July. Mick, Deb, Ky, Pie, Doc, Malachi and Flower (apparently a beta wont die if you dont bring it on vacation, they can live without food for quite some time, have to remember that next time, a bowl of water doesnt travel too well!) all headed up from A2 on the second and I trailed from Grand Rapids on the 3rd. The kids had a blast at the Gladstone Parade, what kid wouldnt have fun with 4lbs of candy thrown at them for an hour! We spent the first part of the 4th with my cousin Katie, her BF and his adorable girl Kallie who is just a little older than Pie. There was a giant blowup slide that you could pay $5 and slide all day. Turned out it was a waterslide and turned into a comedy show for my mom and I watching Nolan bounce 5 or 6 times down the slide before plumeting into the pool of water at the bottom, I think he had an audience for awhile! The fire works were...well the usual fireworks. Suprisenly the kids werent all that excited about them but did enjoy them. Then Monday we visited some friends at their cottage on Lake Michigan we spent the day on the beach and then enjoyed a fire in the pit. Kyan collected some rocks and will be doing an expirment to find fossils in them by submerging them in vinegar. Stonington, where the cottage was is famous for having lots of fossilized rocks.
I think we can officially say Nolan is POTTY TRIANED!!! WOO WOO!! He is 27.5 months, not bad for a boy but not good enough to beat Ky's record of 25 months! He still has an accident if you dont remind him/force him to go! But NO MORE DIAPERS!!! (with the exception on nap and night) All I heard all weekend was how well Nolan speaks. He sure is a blabber jaw. He is speaking in 4 word+ sentences and likes to repeat everything he hears his big bro say. The mom in law brought back her cords for her camera so pics are coming soon, she has captured the entire summer for me so far and boy does have some great ones!

I have a blog? Oh yeah!

It can't be July already! Here is a quick update. Sorry if you have been wondering if we fell off the face of the earth, as usual, life is at its busiest! Im glad blogger doesnt cancel blogs with inactivity!

Jen:
The J-O-B in Grand Rapids is going well and she is excited to finally know she will be working somewhere long term. Hotel living is not for her, but somebody has to pay the bills! It finally hit her tonight that she is extremely home sick and needs some place to call home quick! On the other hand living the "single life" 3 days a week does have its pros!

Mick:
Continues to spend the whole entire day, every day locked up in the loft studying endlessly for what (with the exception of fatherhood) may be the biggest test of his life. He sat out in the sun for less than 2 hours the other day and fried like a lobster. Seriously this guy does not leave the loft, only to eat and sleep. He has also been busy planning the "family schedule" that consist of getting the lady of the house up and exercising at very early hours of the morning....hmmmm.

Kyan;
Has been a super kid lately. He's been a great big brother lately and is working on not getting put in time out. He has a chart that devides each day into halves and he can earn a star for each if hes not placed in T/O. His days include fun in the sun, sqirtgun and waterballoon fights, hangin' with grandma debbie, trips to burns park and his favoirte pass time...riding on two wheels! He's been going at it for almost a month now!!! He really enjoys going on long bike rides where mom rides her bike too!

Nolan:
Oh good ol' Mr. P! Talking like a teenaged girl in english class. Last week he talked non stop from Grand Rapids to Esky, thats 5.5 hours folks. He remains what his mom referes to him as, "non stop action packed" He insists he is old enough to not have to nap and even thinks its funny at times, ITS NOT! The other day he gave his brother (who still naps like a pro) a rude awakening by throwing hard cover books on him once he fell asleep. His potty training is going well and he has not been in diapers during the day for some time, he still has accidents but they are getting farther apart. His counting and his ABC's are at about the same level, he counts "2,5,2,5" as he points and rambles an occasional "LJK" Oh well he'll get it someday!

Gramma Debbie:
Wonders,"what was I thinking" when she offered to come stay with us for the summer and watch the boys. I think she is reliving the days of when Mick was a young boy....poor Deb!

Last but not least

DOC:
Continues to take bread and butter off the kitchen counter and hide it in random places throughout the house only to be discovered by his owners days later. Chased the mail man away and almost made his owners have to get a P.O. Box., and lets not forget about jumping up on the stove to lick the bacon grease out of a pan and igniting the stove to start a grease fire while his owners were out! Jen got home just in time to save the house! In other words, Doc hasn't changed a bit :(

Have a Happy 4th!

Only real men wear pink.....thats what I told him anyway!

Michingan unemployment at 12.9%? This woman?....Standing strong!

Low and behold this mama found a job. I guess you all were right when you said,"you'll always be able to find a job" So I got another contract just in the knick of time. I will be returning to the same NICU that I worked at last summer. I have an 8wk contract set up and will be siging up PRN staff after that! IT couldnt be more perfect.
Over memorial day I was in the U.P. with the boys and Deb. I went to a freinds wedding where Kyan was my date. Mick stayed in A2 to continue study for the BAR. We looked fashionly aswome I have to say, me in my hot pink dress rockin some heels and him in his matching pin stripped suit with pink shirt and tie. Oh and did he rock out his mohawk that night!!! I will post pics soon. We met up with Grandpa Brian and Auntie Wind AKA Anniwin LOL at the Deyounge Family Zoo and had a great time seeing all the animals. Im still not sure how that man was able to start a zoo, literally on his front porch. HHMMMMMM? Nolan really liked the reptile room, I think we were in there for a good hour. It really stunk so I kept trying to get him to come out, only to return a min later to stop him from whailing. Two words to sum up that child...Independent and Determined. His on going theme...."Self". Yes that boys must do everything him "Self". The boys ended up staying up north with Deb so she could hit up a wedding tonight. My parents will be taking the boys over this weekend. A shout out to both our parents, you guys all rock!! Thanks to you all for taking such good care of the little men so we can continue our hecktic lives!!!! XOXOX The boys have been away from me since tuesday aftenoon and mick since last friday! Mick is a bit affended that the kids are having a blast with the grandparents and not too concened with talking to him in more than 30sec blocks. All Nolan usually whips out is a "Ba Bye, Love you!" Im sure the reunion with the Ky and the Pie will be more than exciting for them on Sunday afternoon when they get back. I know Daddy is excited to see them, oh wait He bought tickets to the Stanly Cup series tomorrow knowing that the boys were comeing home....hhhhmmmmm? Hey Hey Hockey Town!! GO WINGS!!! I will be crossing my fingers for Grandma Debbie as she makes the 7hr trip back down with them in her back seat!!! Good Luck Deb, youll need it!
Well this is my last night at HFHS, I have one week off and then will be starting back up on June 8th. Unfortuanalty I will have to commute for 8wks, GR is 2 hours form A2. UHG!! Oh well, its a job! I will just be living at a cheep hotel a couple nights a week. UHG!
OH.... I CANT BELIEVE I DIDNT MENTION THIS! WE FOUND A HOUSE.....THAT WE BOTH LIKED!!!! Its beautiful, build in 2006, walk out ranch, maple floors, cherry cabinets, cathedral cielings 3bd 2.5bath just to name a few and.... I LOVE IT! Im trying not to get too attatched until its in our possession (ok, too late, I know) Anyway I love the room it has to offer 1875 finish sqarefeet and the walk out level has an additional 1875 with like 10ft cielings for a grand total of 3750 sq feet!!! This house is perfect because the walkout isnt yet finished so it will give Mick something to do, we all know how he loves endless projects when it comes to the house! LOL I will post picks once this baby is ours. Hope you all are enjoying the begining of your summers! I already know its going to cruise by for us. June Already????

Where we are at.

We are all moved out of the house and into our sublet. Well, all but the patio set and grill, which the renters have agreed to have us pick it up later. Who would have know all our stuff wouldn't have fit into the storage unit? I guess we will need to take more than one trip to Grand Rapids when it comes time for the big move. Currently we are in the rental the whole famdamily including the mother in law. Have I mentioned this woman is wonderful? Well she is, and thank goodness we have had her over the past few weeks. The kids are doing great with grandma with the exception on Pie not allowing her to do ANYTHING! "Mama do it" "Daddy do it" If we aren't there he of course lets her help with anything, thank goodness. Mr. P is still practicing mastering the art of potty training, today as I cleaned Kyans fish's water Mr. P must have gotten excited by the running water. Yeah he peed all over my foot! Ugh as if dirty fish water wasn't enough! Hopefully over the next month or two we will be diaper free. Kyan just completed a 2 week course of abx for an ear infection. We took him back to the ENT after his right ear was draining puss. Turns out the right ear was infected, hence the 2 week course of abx and the left tube, is falling out. Falling out?! Great! Glad it cost over 4k to have the stupid thing put in just to have it fall out 2 months later! Geeze, I wonder if I find it once it falls out if I can return it for a refund? Well at least the tube in the right ear did its job buy draining the fluid and not storing it in the inner ear making the kid def again! Kyan is getting ready to finish up his last days of preschool. Now that we are in Ann Arbor it is so nice driving him to school, its only 2min away!!! The location of the elementary school to our new house is a huge factor in the hunt. We still haven't found that perfect house yet. Partly because my husband and I don't agree on ANYthing! I'm sure we will someday, just hope that day is sometime in June or July of this year! Mick started his BAR review today, so he will continue to be busy with boring law stuff for the next 2 months (oh' I think that will be true for him for the rest of his working days) He takes the exam on july 31st. I on the other hand only have a few working days left. My contract ends on the 31st and I was told there will be no extension offer. Because the economy, there is no agency help needed UGH! I just hope I can get a job somewhere! Wish me luck in my search, I only have 2 weeks to find something.

A Monday for Moments

I had a moment at Micks graduation. As I watched him walk over the stage, all I could think about was the times over the past three years when I could have been more supportive.
I had a moment when Nolan had enough of sitting through the ceremony and decided to chuck his blowpop over the balcony hitting a woman 2 stories below.
I had a moment when I was told I will no longer have a job, one I was expected to have until our move in August to Grand Rapids. Besides the crappy housing market, the crappy economy finally hit home. How does somebody in my field have to worry about a job?
I had a moment when I took one final walk through the house we called home for the past three years. Nolan's first room, Kyan's stars on his ceiling, the family room downstairs Mick spent countless hours refinishing making it as perfect as possible. I didn't cry, but had a moment.
I had a moment when I walked in the door after not seeing the boys in what felt like forever. With the move and working I was only seeing them for what seemed like minutes each day. I have never seen Nolan's eyes bigger than they were that morning. As he did a big dance from half way down the stairs when he first saw me, he took my cheeks in his hands and said,"Mommy.....my friend!" and pulled me in for a kiss on the lips. What a moment!
I had a moment when I woke up to a flooded bathroom in the house we are subleasing. I had an even bigger moment when I walked down stairs to find the kitchen underneath the bathroom flooded along with falling drywall...OH WHAT A MOMENT!
I had a moment when I thought about how lucky I am to have Deb as a mother in law.
I had a moment tonight when Mick gave me a wonderful kiss goodbye before I left for work.

He DID IT! I couldn't be smiling any bigger!

On the road again.............

I attempted to bask in the sun today during nap time only to be disappointed by the clouds, ugh! The weather has been wonderful. The kids have been loving the outdoors especially my Pie Pants. Its so awesome how they can go outside and entertain each other. Well at least Mr. P entertains himself. Kyan on the other hand thinks he lives at a resort with 24 hour a day entertainment! Ugh just go play!!!!!!!! The neighbor kids (part timers) have been coming over and playing in our back yard with the boys. It caught me off guard but was so cute when Morgan rang the bell and just stood there. I guess I was suppose to know she was "here to play" Ok come on in!!! The kids are 7 and 9 a bit older but keep the boys on their toes and completely entertained! They also serve as role models. Jordan was standing on our fence and fell, caught the back of his shirt on the top of the fence and ripped a board down. Basically he almost hung himself, ouch! Watching it made me cringe, but not a tear from that boy. Now, when Kyan hurts himself what used to be cries and tears is now a brush off the old knees and, "Im tough, just like Jordan" THANK YOU Jordan! Kyan need to see that!!!! Of course all this friend making had to start happening right when we are about to move :( Mick always says I look at the glass half empty. I admit it, I do! So yeah, we need to be out of our house by May 15th! Talk about a hussle to pack and move. Mick graduates on the 9th so we will be busy with company coming for that. The packing process has started once again for us. So where are we moving? Um, oh yeah forgot that part! Not sure yet. We have not found a house yet in GR. Well, one we can agree on that is. We will most likely sublet a pad in AA for the remainder of the summer so I can finish up my Contract at Henry Ford. We do have our eyes on a duplex that would be nice. Build in 99 both sides 3 bed 2 bath with approx 1700sq ft each. By scooping up a property like this our morgage payment would be cheap, I mean dirt cheap. As long as the otherside is rented. PJ and Jess are talking of moving to GR so they would make wonderful tenants! PS Get your butts packing Jess, I dont care if you are 38wks prego!!!! We have come to terms with this to save save save to buy a home we really want instead of something mediocre. Its a shortsale property so it may take some time. Then, we can move again in 2 years! Whats wrong with 8 times in 6 years? Wish us luck! If we don't find anything, I did snatch a load of boxes from sams for packing. We could always just duck tape them all together, we could probably get over 4000 sq feet of living space!!!!

I Should Be Studying

I should be studying (actually writing); instead, I'm posting to get a few things off my chest. (Cue sighs.) During the past few minutes, I've thought about several things that I thought deserved to be written down. Because I tend to lose random pieces of paper with "important" lists and musings on them, I've decided to post some of my musings here, where their insightfulness or short-sightedness will be forever accessible to our vast audience. ("Blogging: Never have so many said so little to so few." I'm not sure who said that first, but I like to think that the "so little" part doesn't apply to things people say about their kids.) Warning: This has nothing to do with our children.

Sometime during the next century (or two), there will be a war fought over weather. As more countries begin to "seed the clouds" to make it rain, and"fight global warming" to make it cool (like temperature-wise, not radical-wise), the effects of some countries' meddling will rain upon some other countries' parades. Other countries will not like it. War will ensue. What I find interesting is not the question whether people will or won't fight over the weather (they will), but whether people will fight for cold weather or hot weather, wet weather or dry weather, etc. In the end, people will probably fight for cold, hot, wet, or dry, when what they really want is a mix of all four. If this sounds like modern politics (a fight for extremes when what most people want is the middle ground), it is.

The future of warfare is not bigger, more destructive weapons; it's much more subtle. Countries with nuclear weapons don't attack with them (at least not with the intent being to kill large numbers of people). Countries without nuclear weapons strive to get them, and some, if not most that seek them eventually will get them (sorry Israel).

It's difficult to say what will happen when the majority of countries possess nuclear weapons. It seems that it will be in all countries' best interests to band together against the use of any nuclear weapons, lest most of mankind be wiped off the earth in a volley of retalliatory strikes. The most historically significant advancement in warfare will either become, in effect, a non-issue (if countries don't attack with nuclear weapons), or most of us (at least those of us living in countries that possess nuclear weapons) will be obliterated by it. In either case, there's no need to waste time worrying about it.

Back to the future: religion's grip on the human (and robotic?) mind will loosen; global cooperation among nations, even those now described as super-powers, will be the norm; wars will be fought over more rational and meaningful disagreements (like border disputes, trade wars, etc.); countries will avoid overt warfare because it is wildly expensive and because killing children (while overtly waging war) is both seemingly unavoidable and widely unpopular. Countries will still look for ways to ensure their survival by threatening the survival of others, but will do so only when they can not be held responsible. Think ant treatment: If you spray with Black Flag one hundred ants in the house, you've temporarily solved your problem, but until you treat with something that the ants take back to their nest to kill the colony, your ant problem will return year after year. Leaders of countries found to be waging overt war without the consent of the global majority will be deemed "uncooperative"; such leaders will be swiftly punished, removed, and replaced by cooperative leaders - this will be the primary use of overt warfare.

Of leaders, they will be chosen democratically. The days of the dictator are over. While individual countries will still harbor internal debates about the proper role and size of government, the primary division on the international stage will be between those countries pushing capitalism and those countries pushing socialism. The days of the communists are over.

Of armies, they will be smaller. Once borders are secured (they will be), and overt warfare becomes disfavored and more mechanized (it will), fewer troops will be needed. Because the economic disparity present between rich nations and poor nations has diminished, "cooperative" countries will be more able to assert effective control over uncooperative countries in their region.

Of subtle warfare, it's difficult to say what it will look like: Pollution seems too easily traceable; the same goes for internet and other electronic warfare; perhaps epidemic-disease-warfare would be effective, but I suspect countries will become more vigilant about screening those who intend to enter. I can't think of many things that could be done in good faith (or at least apparently so) domestically but which would nonetheless have serious negative repercussions abroad; weather manipulation is one such thing.

It's late, and I'm already sure to catch flak from Jen for posting this, so I'll stop. Beware, though, there may be similar ramblings in the future.

Not a Master Card ad...........Better!

Law School at a top 10 school 40k a year

IBM note pad $1000.00

Suit shirt $30.00

Jumbo Salsa $7.00

Multigrain Chips lite salt $2.99

Crashing in front of the fire place so you can stay up and cram and write long papers all night long......Priceless.





Love you Mick.....only one more week honey!!!

Happy Birthday Thing 2! Hope your taxes are filed!

Take 2 of last weekend...........

GOT EGGS??

Kyan playing in the back yard.

Home boy style, its cool to leave the tags on right?

Can it stay this way....Please!?

Tonight Nolan stayed in his big boy bed without attempting to get out once!!! Ok, I have to admit the boys were out with me until 9:30 and didn't get to bed until 10. Of course he didn't get up, he was exhausted. Maybe this will be his new bed time for a while?

Leaps and Bounds and No More Foffy!

We had a wonderful extended weekend with my parents and Micks mom down from the U.P. We celebrated Nolan's second birthday on Sat. and of course Easter on Sunday. Saturday we started the day at Domino's Farms for an Easter Egg hunt, boy was it a joke! You had to pay $5 bucks a head to get in. It would have been an additional 5 bucks per kid for food to feed the goats (I was thinking ahead and brought a whole bag of cheerios, the goats need grains too right? I think Ill carry a diaper bag until my kids are 18, you can fit everything in there!) So they advertised the hunt to have 20,000 eggs! Not bad for five bucks right? Well I think 30,000 kids showed up! Some kids didn't even get an egg!! What counts is the boys had fun, and they did. I will not be returning next year. Later that day we had a little shin dig for Mr. P. We carried on our tradition this year and asked him what he wanted on his cake. His request was "pizza" So the cake had a slice of pizza on it. (I will post pics on the 15th when he actually turns 2) And the BIG news.....Nolan has been geared up for days now and the time has come. He gave up his Foffy! When you ask him how old he is he replies, "2, noooo more foffy" while shaking his head no, Priceless! Giving up his pacifier was really easy. We also took him out of his crib for his own safety. That on the other hand, not so easy! The kid will not stay in his bed!!! Not only that, he's waking up about an hour earlier now too! UGH! Kyan was way too easy, he wouldn't get out of his big boy bed. In fact, he would scream, "awake!" in the morning for us to go get him! Duct tape, saran wrap? Anybody have any "legal" ideas to keep Pie in his bed? Im all ears!

Kyan has had another milestone too! I took his training wheels off his bike! He is doing great, well minus the fence post he ran into twice! Ouch! He needs to work on getting on and going by himself, not that coordinated yet. He'll get it! The second time I let him go he rode the length of the block! YaY good for you KY!!!!!! He's had really good behavior lately, I think its because he likes seeing Pie get into trouble.

Easter Sunday was a hit for the boys! The Easter Bunny left eggs all over our back yard. I filmed the boys collecting them. Their personalities really shined during the hunt. Nolan ran around like an animal as fast as he could to get them, Kyan....too busy looking in each one. Our parents left around lunch time, prob excited to get away from the chaos we always offer them when they visit! Thanks for everything you guys! Sure is nice to have a break, you help so much when you are here.

Kyan is on spring break this week and we will be seeing Auntie Wind and Aunt Becky from the U.P. this weekend! They will be taking the boys on Sat. so I can sleep and Mick can study. 1.5 wks left of law school!!! Who's counting anyway?

Tuned back in!

So here I am once again explaining myself. Yes, I have fallen off the blogwagon. I think it was the loss of my camera cord that has kept me so distant. Behold! I found the cord in the "extension cord basket" Not sure how it got there but I will take the blame. So a quick update. We still are homeless when it comes to our move to Grand Rapids and our renter is still pending background checks (I think, this is micks role) so wish us luck as we try to find our place in GR.

I have extended my contract at Henry Ford until July for insurance purposes, Mick will be getting his jaw surgery before we move. Mickey only has a couple weeks of Law School left!!!!! And officially graduates May 9. I'm sure you will be able to hear a sigh from our house all the way to the pacific coast the day he is done! Kyan continues to hear and is still pushing every button known to mom and dad. We are holding our own! Mr. P is has rounded 3rd base and is approaching his 2nd birthday in a few days. His bash is tomorrow, nothing extreme, a few friends, family and a lot of cake! Just how we like it.

Nolan gave Mom and Dad a scare of a life time Tues morning. He want awake by 830 so Mick and I knocked on his door together to wake him up. He was laying on his belly and whimpered when we came in. Knowing he got to bed later than usual the night before we figured he was just tired and crabby. After 15 min of him not budging, Mick picked him up, he screamed and grabbed his head/ear. It took forever to calm him down, I told Mick just to leave to bring Ky to school and I would take care of Nolan, calm him down and possibly bring him to the Ped. for what I was thinking could be an ear infection. I knew I couldnt send him to daycare like this. I sat with him in his rocking chair and rocked him and he was content. If I moved, he screamed. He was hungry, I asked if he wanted to go eat in his highchair, he screamed. I then brought him to our bed where I laid him down and then got him a nutrigrain bar to eat. When watching him eat it, it hit me. Oh my God! He cant move his neck!!! His head had been turned to the right ever since he woke up! I panicked and called mick. He call the ped and then got home and we rushed him to the ER. He climbed out of his crib the other night twice and we arnt sure if he fell our had a smooth landing, he just "appeared" to Mick in the living room. Im thinking the worst, broken neck, skull fracture, contusion......etc. So after a dreadful IV start, blood work, CT of the brain and C-spine and mult xrays all being clear they decided to admit him overnight for obs. Thank goodness for all the testing being negative! I think we should just forclose on our hose and move into the hospital, it might be cheaper! Then after a little Tylenol and then Motrin he started moving it! By 10 that night he was a new man! Talk about a hassle for a stiff neck! We are just thankful our baby is ok! Oh, did I mention I worked a night shift the night before? I finally retired to bed at 10:45pm the next night after a long 30 hours with no sleep.

Potty Training you ask?

Lately I have been asked,"What's your secret to potty training?" "How'd you do it?" by multiple friends, acquaintances and not to mention frequent flyers to story time. Please note: I'm not bragging in front of these people at story time, Nolan has come up to me and requested I take him to the Potty in front of other moms. So what is our secret? I don't know if we have one. Nolan is not yet potty trained but I'd say he goes #2 about 90% of the time on the potty (he's 23 months) When he poops he pees, so hes doing well with that too! Kyan was out of diapers at 25months. Do you remember what kyan used to reply when asked how old he was? "Two years old and potty trained!" He got plenty of laughs from inquiring minds on this. Who says boys are hard to train? I think our true secret might be the way we parent. I give the credit to Mick on this one. From day one he has always, always explained EVERYTHING to the kids. Its amazing how much they know even if they can not yet speak in sentences! For example, I remember the nurse being shocked at Kyans 2 year well child check when he had to get two shots. We explained to him that he had to get shots, and yes, shots hurt. BUT they only hurt for a really quick second and I promise the pain will go away really fast. We may have reiterated it by counting to explain the length of the pain, 1..2..3. and then the pains all gone! Something he could have understood. So did he cry, no because he trusted us that the pain would soon be gone. The nurse told us she never in her career had a child that young not cry after a shot. What a man! We are honest with just about everything. What I am getting at is I/we believe you should be honest, up front and tell them like it is, cut the baby talk , that's for infants when they really don't understand how stupid you sound, or maybe they do!!! I also think starting earlier is better than "waiting unit he/she is ready" Before you know it, they are to smart for us! For the moms at story hour, if your child is still nursing at four and you are having problems potty training, I think you know what the issue may be! (Ooo that was a bit cruel) I started at 18months with Ky and about 20mnths with Nolan. We never offered treats with Kyan or put anything in the potty for him to "aim at" One thing we do, we have a party in the bathroom every time they go! Kids love to feel important and love any extra attention, especially from mom and dad. This, in there eyes was way more fun anyway. I wont lie, I have pulled out the treat one time with Mr. P. But I have stopped that. So basically we have never done anything except start early, be consistent, have a routine, just like bed time....say "underpants down/diaper off, get on the potty, 1,2,3 Pee, etc. When they are done, "wipe yourself, and flush!" (only allow flushing if they go, this is fun to a child so only reward if they go) If they ask, always take them, really celebrate when they go...dance, sing be silly ,anything to let them know you think they are special! Keep a potty seat (stay simple with the design) in the car to always be able to offer the potty in those emergency situations (I still need to do this for Nolan, did it for Kyan) Forget the pull ups, save your money. Half the time you need to take the pants off anyway (well at least in boys. Other wise their little pecker points up!) Oh and I almost forgot, a good training book, start reading it before they start training so they have an idea of what to expect.....I think this goes along with our explaining first approach. Our favorite....My Potty Book, written for little boys. Well that's what we have done/are doing. Not saying its going to work for you but it might! Good luck and happy training.

Dont worry the blog lives on........

Once again time seems to have flown by since the last blog post. The days are getting longer (thank goodness) and warming up. We have been spending a lot more time outside these days. Kyan loves it and Nolan won't stop saying,"outside, me outside!" while tapping chest. We are in the works of getting our home rented out for our future, sooner than later move to the west side of the state. We will be heading to Grand Rapids in the morning to once again look at some properties. One is a duplex that we would be for income only and another is a small home in a good area next to a good elementary school. Together with both proprieties, we could potentially live for free and save, save, save. Wish us luck on this, I hope it works out. I have so many pictures that I want to post but cant find the USB cable to the camera and my laptops XD card reader is broken due to a little 4 year old we all know. My brother was here 2 weeks ago from AZ with his fam. We had so much fun visiting with them, it was shorter than we all wanted but we got the most we could out of it. Taylor our niece is such a big girl now and has grown up so much since the last time we saw her. We went to a Red Wings game while they were here, unfortunately they got killed 8 to 2 :( Everybody still had fun. I have plenty of pics but again, they are stuck on the camera:( Nolan continues to potty train like a pro, he goes everyday I don't work and am pretty sure he goes for Mickey too! He as even stepped it up to going in public bathrooms. I'm not a fan of this, so gross! But he has to do it at some point. We still need to stop him from pooping in his crib, something he has always loved doing. Will he be out of diapers at 25 months like Ky? Only time will tell but I think he is right where Kyan was at this age! Go Pie! You can do it little man!!! His vocabulary continues to sore to higher numbers and more complex words, he whipped out "microphone" to mick and Kyan yesterday, clear as could be! He wants to go to school really bad and keeps pressing me to give him gum. He gets the same response to both, "No Pie, when your bigger buddy." He does not like this at all. "Me School!" he says in response. He continues to sing "Happy Birthday" and hes now added the "to you" part. This has become a daily e song that he randomly whips out while playing. Too cute! He is going to have so much fun on his actual birthday (planning is in the works, again not sure what we are going to do) He has big plans for his 2nd birthday, if you ask him what he will be giving up on his birthday he will proudly tell you his "Foffy" or what he calls his pacifier. He still uses it when he sleeps. So that's enough about Mr. P. What about Kyan? Well Kyan continues to be extremely trying and challenging at this point. 2 years old was easy, 3 years old was a bit challenging, 4 years old is EXtremely challenging. He has become a little bossy guy, bulling his brother when we aren't looking and talking back to just about everything. This is natural right? The last 2 days have been good and we have reinforced over and over that his behavior will not be tolerated. Mick and I had a long talk to make sure we get back on and stay on the same page when it comes to his discipline. Wish us luck, this parenting thing can be tough at times. Don't get me wrong he's still a great kid, just to smart for his own good. Other than that Kyan is also very excited about spring and summer approaching us as I am sure the whole state of MI is! He asks just about everyday if we can "lawn the grass" He's very excited about being able to ride his bike again we gone on multiple rides already. I cant wait to help him learn to ride without training wheels, I plan on doing after the move. I should probably start giving pep talks about this, maybe Ill let him ware his hockey equipment, that will be safer right?

Well sorry the blog is so boring lately, I know pictures are the best part. Hopefully I can find the cable and be back in business soon!

Poopin Just to Stay Up Later!

So the little guy did it again! Nolan is extremely smart, gifted I might say (what mother doesn't think so) Pie will think of anything and I mean anything to keep him up just a little tiny bit longer. Story tonight?b Nolan:"two book" ok we can read two. "Pup" (how he says cup, he still goes to bed with a sippy of water just like big bro did) Yes Nolan here is your cup. Nolan:"Pup icky, yuck!" No Pie Mama just put fresh water in it. Nolan:" Poder" (We put powder and Tough Actin Tinactin on his feet, the kid has athletes foot at 22 months...nasty!) Yes Nolan Mama already put creme on your feet. Nolan: "Rock" Of course we can rock, I rock him every night anywhere form a few min to 20 and I love every min of it. I used to love putting Kyan to bed at that age but for some reason he as always too heavy to stand and rock and he used to wear me out? Maybe it was because I was already Prego for Pie at that time? Anyway I love bedtime/cuddle time with Nolan, its my fav part of everyday and I miss it dearly when I have to work. He's just so small and round and cuddly and oooooo, you get the point. Ok back to my point, we are rocking......ready to be put in the crib when he says it....."Potty, Poop" Yes Nolan we just read your potty book, now its time to go sleepy. Nolan: "POOOOOOOOP!!!" Ok, ok, lets go, but then its time for bed (enough of the sappy stuff, American Idol was on and I was trying to get out of his room to watch it!) But sure enough, red faced and grunting our little man did it again. He used his potty!!!! This called for celebration, we called for daddy....."DADDY!!!!" we called for brother....."BROTHER!!!" Everybody came running, we all clapped and danced singing the song "Nolan went......PEE PEE ON THE POTTY! PEE PEE ON THE POTTY! YAAAYYYY! Then the big guy when back in his room and went right to bed and I got downstairs at 820 to watch the rest of Idol! Life is good!



Oh, and just for the record (Nolans record when he's 16 and dating) I had nothing to do with placing "mama stickers" on him he got into the bathroom vanity and decorated himself and the bathroom with more than 20 of them things!

MAXI PIE TO THE RESCUE!

Wholelattabloggin

KYAN's SURGERY

Looking at the 'noids

First he had to copy the hawk, now we've moved on to more fun things!

He got sick on the way to the hospital and passed out during registration. Our little man is a bit nervous :(

"Check out these pipes!" "And this elaborate blue spaceship gown"

Im Ready



Still tuckered out from the anesthesia

So everything is going well with the boys ears. I believe he is hearing better, still loud, but hearing better. He seems to talk to me more about what's going on at school and I see him socializing on the playground more with other kids. Maybe its all in my head or maybe he's able to actually talk to and hear his friends! He doesn't go back to the ENT for 3months!

SUPER TURTLE SUNDAY

A little bit of an update on Mr. P:

So we are again testing our potty training abilities. He knows how to do it but is too busy of a boy to take the time. He walks in the bathroom looks at the potty, "All Done" The other morning he kept saying "No Mommy" (his latest saying to just about everything, he picked that up thanks to Kyan) Anyway, I mentioned the word "treat" (something we never did with Kyan) Nolan's eyes lit up "Treat?" Yes Pie, If you go potty you can have a treat. "Ok" The little stinker sat down, pee'd and got up, "All done, treat?" Yes, he knows Exactly what he's doing. To reward him, he got to put on his very first pair of big boy boxers and yes he got his treat!

ELMO'S BIRTHDAY

(Imagine turning 3 EVERY year, Elmo's Mom must be in a nut house!)

Happy V-day

Things are looking brighter with the exception of the weather, it snowed again. Kyan was well enough to return to school on Friday for his Vday party. He made 32 Valentine cards for his friends and wrote his name on all of them! He's getting great at it. I am not sure how the surgery has affected his hearing yet, its been hard to notice because he has been sick with the URI. but he is more quiet (probably because hes not feeling well) Otherwise he is in no discomfort. Nolan still has a little cough but enjoyed Valentines day to the fullest! The first thing he said this morning when I walked in the door....."Chocolate" and "Cocoa" How did he know today was a chocolate filled day? He gets that instinct from his mama and 3 year old cousin Kiana!!! I got the boys a larger than necessary chocolate chip cookie with frosting on it and surprised mick with a counter full of chocolate covered strawberries when he woke up! I know I'm the best! I have tons of great pics over the last couple weeks I just cant post them from work. Stay tuned.

More great news! (Wow, we better slow down here....don't want anybody to get hurt!) My brother and his family are coming to visit from Arizona! I haven't seen my niece or SIL since we left phoenix 2.5 years ago. They haven't even met Mr. P yet. They are flying in to the D and we are all going to a Red Wings Game. I am so excited to see them!!! Ok thats enough good news from the Larsons for the next 2 months!!!

And the ship sails on :( At least we haven't sunk yet

So the boys both are sick. I took Nolan into the ped because of a barking cough and a temp of 102. They told me "its probably a virus" but wrote for steroids again so we don't compromise his respiratory status any further. Its probably croup. Kyan has the same croupy cough and is on abx profalacticly from his surgery so I am suspecting the ped is right when she said Nolan's is viral other wise Ky would be clearing up from the abx (fat chance) Kyan too has been running a temp over 100. He seems to be a bit more under the weather than Nolan. I will see tomorrow if he needs to go back to the ped too. I know all they are going to tell me is....."it probably a virus" I cant wait to move to Grand Rapids this summer just to get a new ped! I love the doc. and the nurses at the office but everybody else SUCKS. I'm going to stop there to keep this blog family friendly. I returned to work tonight and am holding my own at 3 hours into my shift. Yesterday I went to my ID doc and he cleared me to return but increased my antivirals to 14 days because I'm still getting my headaches. And told me to continue to take my new friends as needed for the pain. Note to readers....never acquire Viral Meningitis, it hurts like hell!



Oh and we have some good news (Imagine that!!!) My brother and his wife are expecting their first baby!!!! YEAH I have been waiting to hear this news for a long time! I am so excited for them! They are nervous but I know my bro is going to make an awesome daddy! Oh and he also told me they want to pump out another one right away! I think we need to match their number 2 with our number 3....what do you think honey?!!!

Down again but not out.....(this is starting to become a trend)

Its been a huge gap between blogs. Not because we are busy or lazy only because mommy is dying. Yes, dying. I went to the urgent care office (was dragged there by my oh so loving, knows when I'm sick husband) with a head ache from hell and a small rash on my back that I was blaming on the switch from Tide to Gain. Turns out this is no detergent rash, I have shingles and Viral Meningitis and Dying! I've never been the "sickest" person in the ER but was labeled that by the attending while the waiting room was packed and people were coming in on stretchers. So after a visit to urgent care, ER, a CT scan, Spinal tap, some morphine mmmm morphine (only thing that really took the pain away) 3 days on 8e Room 801 with a large plasma TV, That you need to PAY for to watch OMG.....I'm dying.... finally get to watch Oprah with no kids and they are going to make me pay 6 bucks a day....what is this world coming to? And after shoebox full of Vicodin, loads of anti virals, some anti puke pills two basins + full of puke and a lost sock in the hospital I am finally home with my family. Its amazing how much you miss them when they are gone for so long even thought it wasn't at all. Unfortunately once I was home I wanted to crawl into my shell and not come out. Micks mom and grandma are here to help and have been a blessing for the both of us during this time. Even though we could have done it by ourselves because I have the greatest loving hubby out there, he cleaned while I was in lock up....aaaawwww Love you! I'm still ill and get headaches and puke almost every 3 hours. but no more rash and my headaches go away with my new addiction...Vicodin. I need to gear up because son 1 gets his ear surgery tomorrow morning. We are on track, gave him a bath tonight.....check ..... as directed to get all the gross boy germs off of him! Nothing to eat past midnight....check. Now in the morning it should be interesting to allow him no food or drink until his surg at 10. We need to be there by 8 so its the nurses job after that to keep him from his oh so loved morning meal.... OJ and 2 packs of instant oatmeal with a side of fruit please!

Of course he did.......

The Hawk

YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING....DID NOLAN GET A MOHAWK????

2009! Is it over yet?

Things have been quite crazy for quite some time now, unfortunately its going to continue for a while. After shopping for what seemed like forever for a car. We found one! We ended up going for a Ford Freestyle. We got the limited edition (Mick HAD to have all the bells and whistles) So it has a DVD player...will our kids soon loose their virginity to movies? Anyway the car is coming from Texas and wont be here for another week= Crazy hectic schedule! It was OK with one ride for a while but now mick is back in school= rent a car tomorrow for the week. Mick has an 8am class so he and the boys will be out of the house before I even leave work at 0720 in the morn. I'm hoping the kids do OK this semester getting up this early. (Deep Breath) Its OK only ONE more semester and he'll be done!

Nolan gave Daddy a scare while I was at work the other night. He avoided an ambulance ride thanks to his rescue inhaler but ended up in urgent care for respiratory issues. They don't want to "label" him an asthmatic because he only has issues following an URI. He's on steroids and every 4hr breathing treatments. He may also have croup but that too is treated by the steroid that he is on so we are covered. I hope this doesn't go on for too long. He has been up hackin all night, poor guy. No sleep at night calls for really crabby days with pie pants
Kyan went back for his follow up with the ENT. Turns out the Nasal steroids he's been on (dang, my boys are gonna be ripped from all the roids) have been unsuccessful in attempting to shrink possibly inflamed adenoids to allow the Eustachian tube to drain. Kyan will be getting tubes in both ears in the next couple of weeks. I cant wait. I have been having some very trying times with Kyan these days. He just wont listen to a thing I say. I've gotten to the point were all I do is yell at him. I am going to avoid taking them to appointments together at all costs. At the ENT I was trying to fill out pre-surgery forms and my kids literally went nuts. Kyan was screaming and laughing and making all those loud boy noises while Pie is climbing around, on, over, under just about anything and reaching and grabbing and taking everything Pens, computer mouses, other pt. files, Receptionist phone (while she is on it, you know just pull on the cord!!!). At the same time Kyan is talking to her (she's on the phone with another pt. mind you) Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me.! STOP! Nolan disappeared and after frantically looking for him I found him in the bathroom repeatedly flushing the toilet. After about 10 min of this total chaos I finally told the receptionist, "This is NOT working for me, can I take this paperwork home" The answer was "no" so instead they caged me and my animals in an empty exam room. How humiliating! I need to get a grip on Kyan listening to me, they can sense when they have control and just feed off each other. I think if I get Kyan under control and get him to lead by example, Nolan will just follow calmly in his footsteps.....oh $%I& who am I trying to kid?! Is this year over yet....do kids listen better at 5?

Christmas Adventure....Larson Style

The story starts with our friends Ryan and Katerina. They had a planned month vacation to their mother land Slovakia when the dog sitter bailed on them. "Oh that's OK" my husband says "we can take your 65lb dog over Christmas/ New years and half of January even though we have a 7 hr drive to vacation up north for 2 weeks, we do have a minivan you know"...... OK, so its not so bad because we CAN fit two adults, two kids, two dogs, a cat, 2 weeks luggage for four plus all of Santas gifts to the boys plus gifts for 20 people in our van right? Oh lets not forget about the Orchid we got my mother in law. The tables turn when I'm driving home from work from the Ghetto of Detroit when some tini bopper decides to hit some snow in the median on the freeway sending her car spinning in circles with me slamming on my breaks behind her sliding down the far left lane screaming OOOHHH $H!&. I ended up T-Boning her and now....No more mini van. Don't worry, no body was hurt. So here we are with a major dilemma, how to get home for the holidays? Later the next day after thinking maybe we may just have to spend it at home we get terrible news that Micks Grandpa passed away. Now, we have to go home. Have you ever tried to rent a minivan or SUV on Dec. 23rd? No? Me either and I don't recommend trying. All that was left, a 15 passenger van HAH! Now I know in the past we have been teased for having a mini but I was not about to loose all respect for my young self! We ended up going for plan B...... Cram everybody and everything into our Alero and header home! How does that saying go, Where there's a will there's a way. Here's to you Alero, eye sore car I've been wanting to get rid of for sometime but wont because its nice to have $0 care payments! In the end, we made it home. Our trunk was filled to the max with gifts and one mini hummer suitcase for the boys, my duffel bag below kyan and Mick's below Pie. Thank goodness they don't need leg room yet. One dog in between the boys and one on my lap up front (I knew I gave that dog a bath for a reason) All topped off with a 2.5ft orchid in the middle by the shifter. Mick had no complaints and said the driver seat was actually quite roomy! Funny mick, funny! We all had on our seat belts with the exception of the animals. Oh, and our neighbor watched the cat so he stayed behind. While up north we had fun going out with friends and seeing family we don't get to see that often.. We spent Christmas eve with my side of the family and Christmas day with Micks. The Boys had a blast. Nolan enjoyed opening about 3 gifts then when to daddy for assistance after that. We spent Christmas night with grandma Sullivan so she wouldn't be lonely that night and in the morning on Grandpas bday which falls on the 26th. For the first time we had to talk to Kyan about somebody dying, he did ok but is still talking about grandpa and asking his ever so popular "why" We keep it simple and he is fine with it. Everybody seems to be doing ok and are happy grandpa is no longer in pain. The Sullivans partied hard on Christmas night and that's the was Pat would have wanted it!

Kyan and I got to go sledding at Ludington Park. This is mine and Micks old stomping grounds as kids. We had a blast! It has snowed over 100 inches and 31 days straight in some parts of the Upper Penninsula of Mighigan already this year!!! That leaves a lot to do.... in the snow! Kyan got to go riding on the 6th wheeler and snowmobile at Grandma Debbie's. Mick and I went to a "tacky Christmas sweater party" apparently no body else got the memo, as our luck would have it (I like to believe its micks luck), we were the only ones in costume! There wasn't suppose to be any prizes but Cat Man (the owner of the bar we were at and a great friend) Presented Mick with a TShirt probably bc he felt bad that he went the whole night looking that pathetic, he gave him the shirt as a consolation prize. I changed after about an hour of weird looks and people confusing me for Peg Bundy. Jude, next year lets do it again except maybe we could advertise a few weeks in advance????

The ride home was about the same, packed like sardines. Same amount of gifts, more clothes, less dog food, wider waiste line but this time.....I got the roomy seat wooo wooo!!!! When we got home our smashed van that was parked on the side of the road next to what used to be a lot of snow was now basically parked in the middle of the road, all the snow melded revealing the curb about five feet away from the side of the van.! Ooops! Our neighbors had to beg the cops not to tow it. We just didn't have time to deal with all the insurance stuff and getting it towed before leaving town. What next! Wish me luck on the new car shopping, Im looking into the crossovers, anybody have any suggestions?

Mick and I believe in Karma, we are good people and good things happen to good people right! Im thinking its got to be out turn sooner than later!! We are planning a trip to Europe in August. Please have us in your thoughts at that time so we can have a smooth trip for once. Im telling you now because with our history we are going to need a lot of thoughts!!!! You didn't forget about our trip to Canada did you?

Hope everybody had a wonderfull holiday and a happy New Year!
Good bye 2008 hello 2009. I hope its a lucky one.....