Head hunting on the beach

A coolish day

Today it was a cooler day, around 64 degrees. We decided to take a long walk down the beach playing the "I spy" game. That's Dave's crazy sister walking next to me, and Michael giving his shadow bunny ears. Steven wanted to be in the water today, but it was just too cool, so he had to settle for the surf.

Sweet Berries

This is my father-in-law eating one of the most delicious things here in Bradenton. Last night we went to "Sweet Berries" for frozen custard. We go here every year we come here, at least twice. This is THE BEST frozen custard I have ever had.

A dinner adventure

Night 1 in Bradenton:

Today we were going to have a pot roast for dinner, but the oven here keeps shutting off. This makes cooking very difficult. By 7:10 the pot roast was still not finished cooking, so we decided to leave it cooking in the oven for tomorrow, and we went out to eat. When we got to the restaurant, the prices were outrageous (at more than 1), and we found out that it is much more expensive to eat at a restaurant on the weekends. It was $10.39 per person (it was a buffet), which meant to feed our children alone would have cost us more than $20.00. We all decided that we would return to our cozy little condo and eat our pot roast. At least we had some good laughs in the van on the way out to eat, exposing everyone's strange little quirks. We are just about ready to chow and it is 8:30pm. What an exciting adventure!! Dinner smells scrumptious!

Florida vacation!

We arrived in Bradenton, Florida at my in-laws place at 9:00pm last night. It seemed like a long trip this year for some reason, but we are happy we're here. After a good night's sleep last night, we are enjoying a little sun and swimming today. Will post pics later...or will try too. Our connection isn't great here.

Our youngest growing boy

Not so little anymore

Koty is growing and growing, and has lost his cute little widow's peak. He's quite the snuggler still. This is him in Mikey's arms today.

Frozen

Brrr! It was about 4 degrees when I left for work this morning. The kids stayed home with Dave today since school was canceled. I hear Minneapolis hit a record 40 below!

Tagged by Father: Michael

1. I like to make dorky faces for pictures and videos.
2. I absolutely hated compliments when I was a small child. (example: I cried when Mom praised me for pooping in the toilet when potty training)
3. When I'm bored I lay down, stick my legs up in the air, and throw things onto the bottoms of my smelly feet.
4. I like NASCAR better than rally car racing.
5. I used to hate going to Applebee's for dinner, but when I started to like it I continued to gripe about it in order to make my parents gray-headed.
6. I'm not very fond of chocolate cake.
7. I don't care if my jeans have enormous holes in the knees.

Dave's work of art in progress

Dave is moving along on the stone fireplace. He did this over the weekend. The next step is another layer of mortar with the stone on it! Michael is so excited, as you can see.

I've Been Tagged! 7 Normal Things About Me (Uncle Dave)

I don't know how Martha caught me, but somehow she did, and I have to come up with 7 strange things about myself. I'll list some things that strange people (Martha) may find strange about me, but I consider everything on this list completely normal.

1. I don't like popcorn, or any corn in general, but I like many things made with corn. (Corn bread, corn flakes, corn puffs, cracker jacks, corn cakes, PECAN PIE ...)
   
2. I don't like to talk in the bathroom...or, I should say, when I am going...
3. I sit like a little boy when I'm playing video games (ei. feet out to the sides)
4. I don't pee in the shower, but I like to sing in there.
   
5. I like Spaghetti o's and Fluffer-Nutter sandwiches.
6. I didn't let the puppy out to go to the bathroom first thing in the morning, but I did feed him and then ignore him while he signaled for me to let him out at the door. He then proceeded to let it loose where he stood. Oops! (I need to mention that I was intentionally ignoring him, because he was not giving me the "correct" signal.)
7. I like to hold my family's hand in public and walk in the most unusual way just to embarrass them. I'm not sure why it doesn't embarrass me.

Well, let's see...I'll taaaaaag...Ben and Michael. You guys can feel free to up the list to 15 if you find it hard to list just 7.

Oops!

I just realized that Martha had tagged my hubby. I'll have to tell him so that he can post his 7 strange things about himself. Stay tuned...

Family Resemblances

Me and Priscilla

Me and Martha

Me and Bethany

Bethany's blog made me start thinking about family resemblances and who I've been told I look like over the years. I have been told many times growing up that I look like my sister, Martha. I've also been told that I look like Bethany. Who do you think I look like? anyone or no one?

Icy Day

Well my car didn't look quite like this one, but I did have a pretty thick layer of ice to scrape off my windshield before I went to work this morning. It was a bit of a slippery drive in so it took me about 40 minutes to get there, vs my normal 20-25 minutes. I was wondering how many people would venture out to the dentist on this yucky day, but to my surprise I had a very busy day. I was kind of hoping that my patients would cancel because my kids had a day off school today...oh well. When Steven prayed at dinner he thanked God for bringing me home safely, and for the nice dinner I made for them. That made me feel a little teary to feel so feel so appreciated, or maybe it was just the food he appreciated. Lol!

Windy day!

All night long the wind has been howling. This morning when the boys were getting ready for school, a huge gust moved our picnic table and chairs over, slamming it into our grill and breaking a piece off it (the grill). This is a heavy table with a thick glass top! Dave has to go to Buffalo today. I hope he doesn't blow off the road!

Isn't it lovely?

A stone fireplace in the works!

Dave started putting up the mesh stuff for our stone fireplace today, how exciting! He put one piece up, said it "was too much work", and started playing with the dog.

Not Feeling Well

In this picture I was probably just teething, but maybe I felt something like I did today. I woke up with a very sore throat this morning, and have a nasty cough and stuffy/runny nose. I just have that overall headachy feeling that comes with a bad cold. Luckily I don't get colds all that often. I am convinced that tomorrow will be a better day.

My, how they've changed!

One of my friends has offered to watch Koty while we're away this year. I am very grateful for this. She has 2 dogs of her own.

The Beach

This is Dave and I at the beach last February break. In only 3 more weeks or so we'll be there again!! Today I feel cold, have a scratchy throat and a cough.

Happy Birthday Steven!

Steven is 14 today! I can hardly believe it. Here are 13 things about Steven...

1. He loves to draw and is quite good at it.
2. He swam on a swim team for 2 years.
3. He really enjoys swimming, but prefers to get his homework done rather than have it hanging over his head.
4. He's always been grossed out when our previous and current dog got their saliva on his skin, although he will let them lick his hands if he can wash them right after.
5. He's a very hard worker in school.
6. He's very kind to others.
7. I hear he's quiet in school, but he's not at home. I sometimes tease him that I'm going to videotape him and play it for his teachers.
8. He used to love to sing when he was little and could carry a tune quite well!
9. He loves sweets and is often heard saying, "Mom, we need some goodies around here!"
10. He loves to "push Michael's buttons".
11. He's very competitive.
12. He's good at bumper pool.
13. He cares about others.
14. I am proud to call him my son! Happy Birthday, buddy!

Koty's entertainment

Koty is pleased as punch just to sit and watch Dave cut every segment of his grapefruit with a knife and then eat it. When Dave was finished he tried squirting Koty with the peel, which made Koty feel very playful. He ran around the room like a crazy dog!

Ouchie!

This is a picture of my lovely thumb (with neosporin all over it), which I just found out has an infection in it from our little Koty getting it with his tooth 9 days ago. It didn't feel like much then, but today it is very angry. I now have a prescription for antibiotics and had to get a tetanus shot. That little stinker.....

Wind

I guess our unseasonably warm weather for the last couple of days comes at a cost. Today the cold air is moving back in, so with the warm and cold air colliding comes WIND. These are a couple pictures from our local newspaper.

Steven's Falcon

Steven, my almost 14 year old, drew this falcon about a month or so ago. He looked at a picture of it while he drew it. I think he did a great job!

It's warm outside!

It was like a balmy spring day today. It is 11:15pm and it seems like it keeps getting warmer outside. An hour or so ago it was 60 degrees and now it is 62 degrees. The kids are getting nervous that we won't have a "real" winter, but I'm enjoying it...I know it won't last.

Special friends

I am so thankful for the small group of friends that we meet with every other Thursday or so to study the Bible and pray together. Tonight we ended up just praying together...that's actually all we had time for, but what a blessing it was! I feel like these people are family. I think everyone should have friends they can talk deeply with and pray with on a regular basis.

Koty meets someone new

Today a dog trainer came over with her 15 week old puppy to meet Koty. He will be starting puppy Kindergarten in the middle of January, so this was like a little introduction. Koty was a little nervous about this new friend at first. When she came in the front door, he ran and squealed a little bit, then came back and looked at her like in the above picture.

This is them playing together.

He even shared his new chewy stick, and quite nicely I might add! He just watched a little, but didn't growl or try to take it from her.

Merry Christmas from all of us...Koty too!

A little confused puppy

Here's Koty opening his Christmas present. (I know it's early, but we couldn't resist)

Once the gift was opened, it just fell out on the floor, and Koty ran off with the paper in his mouth.

Here he decided that the gift was actually much better tasting than the wrapper it was in.

A visit to my parents

Tonight when we went to visit my parents. They were frosting Christmas cookies together.

Later in the night, my mom laid on the floor because she wanted to see what Koty would do. This is what he did...he climbed all over her head, messed up her hair, licked her face, and then play bit.

This is what she looked like when he was finished...well actually she took one quick swipe at her hair just before Dave snapped the picture.

An early Christmas present!!!

Tonight my honey gave me my Christmas present because he said he couldn't wait. I think I was one of the few people who still didn't have a cell phone, and I had talked to him about getting one for a while, but every time the subject would come up he would insist that I didn't need one. He has one only because he has to for his job and his employer pays for it. Anyway, there have been many many times where it would've come in handy... like when I hit the deer last August, and when I went to Vegas for my job in March (I had to borrow one of my coworker's phones or go into a smoke filled casino to use a pay phone so I could call my family.), etc....

Chocolate baked macaroni and cheese?

A few nights ago Steven put some meatloaf and homemade baked macaroni and cheese on his plate, and then proceeded to go get some Nesquik to put in his milk. We always harass him because he never fails to get some on the place mat while he's putting it in his milk. Well, this particular night he was bound and determined that he wasn't going to get any on his place mat. Just as he was about to put it in his milk (and oh SO carefully) Dave scared him by making a loud noise. This is what happened to the chocolate. He immediately looked at his plate and said, "I'm NOT eating that!" It was pretty funny so I had to take a picture. He did get a new helping of mac and cheese. (Notice the few granules that made it into his milk)

Koty and Michael playing in the snow

My Brother

Many of you know that my brother Tim, who's 10 yrs. older than me, was brain damaged at birth when my mom was given too much of a medication and stopped breathing during labor. Today was the annual Christmas Party at the home he lives in, so I visited for a bit. (he lives about 45 minutes away from me) It's very difficult to communicate with him because he really doesn't respond at all, but it was nice to see him.

Let it snow!

"The National Weather Service predicts 16 to 20 inches of snow across the Rochester area starting late tonight, which could increase the area's total to more than 43 inches this month.

A winter storm warning has been issued from 10 p.m. today until 7 a.m. Monday because of expected blizzardlike conditions with high winds and low temperatures in the 20s."

These are words from our local newspaper this morning. We may get an early start on our igloo this year!

Do you see the resemblance?

Thirteen things I got accomplished this week

1. Put up Christmas tree on Sunday that we had cut down on Saturday.
2. Put away autumn decorations and took out Christmas decorations.
3. Ordered some gifts online.
4. Washed and folded lots of laundry.
5. Cleaned powder room.
6. Vacuumed
7. Took Koty potty and poopy LOTS of times.
8. Played bumper pool with Steven and got my butt kicked more than once. He's getting way too good.
9. Played pick up sticks with Michael and got beat again.
10. Made some yummy meals and an awesome almond cake that I got at Leta's "Tastefully Simple" party.
11. Took Michael to the orthodontist.
12. Visited my mom.
13. Worked about 17 hours at my Dental Hygiene job.

Oh yeah...and blogged with Koty.

Koty must have read my blog from last night. He has been an angel today!

It's a winter wonderland out there! Brrr...

Looks can be deceiving...beware!

This post is for Heather who said that Koty must be keeping us very busy because I haven't posted in a while. All I have to say is that he's extremely cute... when he's sleeping. When he's awake he is a terror. Dave and I were just reading a dog training thing on line and discovered that we have reinforced some bad behaviors since we got him a week and a half ago, so now we need to reteach him the right way. His biting was very gentle when we got him (for the most part) and when it was too rough we would yipe which really seemed to work at first. As time has gone on he has become more aggressive with his biting and we have responded by either holding his mouth shut when he didn't respond to "NO", or today I gave him a shove and knocked him down when he kept coming at me...he came back with a vengeance. The training thing says that what we did was give him reinforcement by giving him attention for doing it. We should have put him in his crate for a minute "time out" when he didn't respond to the "NO" command. If he continues the bad behavior when he's released, he again gets a "time out" for a minute and this time when he's released we should ignore him for a couple minutes. It should take about 3 weeks to completely correct the behavior. I'm feeling like a brand new parent with a strong willed child. Hopefully we don't ruin him too bad. I'm going to start him in a puppy socialization class soon, which hopefully will benefit him. Today I took him to work to show my coworkers who had asked that I bring him, and he wriggled and squirmed when they held him until he was back in MY arms. That made me feel good, like he feels some sort of attachment to me already. He wanted to get back into the arms of "the lady who lets me be naughty". Haha, just kidding. We are lacking sleep as well, since we need to get up around 3:00am every day to avoid him pooping in his crate...then it's up again around 6:30am to feed him and take him out again.

I thought that it might be fun to have a 3rd child, but this has completely gotten that out of my system. This "child" will grow up a lot faster!