Pre-Christmas Snow

Ben and Neil got some really good packing snow today. This morning they shoveled to their hearts content and this afternoon they built a snowman and a fort. The first picture shows a rare display of teamwork, well, they always start out as a team until someone starts whining 'miiiine'. The second picture shows the final product with blackberry eyes, candy cane nose, and apple slice smile. Our snowmen will have to go armless until our trees get a little bigger and can spare a branch.

Christmas Tree Additions

Here's the ornaments Ben and Neil decorated at the Winter Frolic last Friday. They now have a cozy spot on our tree. In case you can't read the names I wrote on the bottom, Ben's is on the right, Neil's is the left.

The boys beautiful ornaments have been on the tree for an hour tops. I was concerned the boys would not be able to leave them alone since they hung them so low on the tree. The boys weren't the problem. I'm in the office and I hear jingling... the god-damn dog is eating the foot off of Ben's gingerbread man. Apparently just like Gingerbread Fred he could not run fast enough to save himself.

Winter Frolick

Ben's school hosted another special event for the boys to attend. Today Ben and Neil got to watch a hip-hop dance group and learn a few moves of there own in the process. Once we went to Ben's classroom they were able to decorate gingerbread men, which really could have been called 'eating lots of frosting and candy'. After they decorated Christmas ornaments in the shape of gingerbread men. They boys favored glitter! Once they come home from drying at school I'll include a picture.






The boys then got the opportunity to sit on Santa's lap. Ben was all for this and quite eager; he was first in line when they announce they could take a picture with Santa. Neil was not interested. He backed away and was almost about to hide behind my leg when Santa suggested I sit on his lap and then Neil could sit on mine. Neil was somewhat agreeable to this. (Brian has already made all kinds of inappropriate jokes about Santa asking me to sit on his lap.)






Then in an attempt to burn off some of the sugar the boys participated in the gingerbread obstacle course. Ben was surprisingly good at all of them and I think he may have practiced already at school. Finally as we were leaving the boys were each given a gift. They were cars. It was funny to me that once they boys opened them and looked at them for a while they abruptly decided to trade and everyone was happy with the trade.

(Sorry grandma, I didn't think it was a good time of year to invite you to attend. There will be more events in the future.)

Snow in Chicago

The past two mornings we've woken up to snow. Mostly pretty light, and yes, it is melted by the afternoon. But the boys are so eager to use there shovels that we get out there first thing anyway. They were so into it the fist day that once we did the drive and sidewalk they started shoveling the lawn.

They're looking more like twins right now with their matching coats, hats, and snow pants. This will probably be the last time I get them matching clothes. The hats are okay cause they're the same size, but the coats are making us crazy. We have to check the size label every time we get them dressed to go out.

Thanksgiving

Here's the best picture I could capture of the boys all dressed for Thanksgiving day. We had a really nice time at Brian's friend Brad's house. They play hockey together and were nice enough to let us join them. They made a really great meal and the boys were pretty well behaved.

I know this post is really old news, but now that Ben doesn't nap in the afternoon I'm having difficulty finding time to update the blog.

School Update

We got a good report on Ben from school today. Hurray!

Here's another cool thing Ben's school is doing: On Saturday they're hosting a FREE babysitting service so parents can go out and do some Christmas shopping. Siblings are even invited. So Ben and Neil get to go to school from 9-11:30 on Saturday and mom and dad get a break. (I'm starting to really like Ben's school, but does that mean I have to start liking our tax bill?)

How to Make Fondue

with lots of cheese of course

Good Cooking

A few years ago, Santa gave Brian a Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Grilling. This has pretty much been our cooking bible for some time. We've had maybe one or two recipes that we thought, as Ben would say "yucky". So I recently came across a Better Homes and Gardens Kid Favorites Made Healthy and thought it was worth a try. Here was the first one we tried. It was darn good and the leftovers were too.

Sloppy Salsa Joe's
1 lb ground beef (we used ground chicken for ours)
1/2 c chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 c zucchini
1 c yellow squash
1 cup sliced mushroom
1 pepper (we used yellow)
1 16 oz jar salsa
1 t dried basil
1/2 t dried parsley
1/2 t dried crushed rosemary
6 to 8 buns

1. In a large skillet cook ground beef, onion, & garlic over med-high heat until meat is brown. Drain off fat. (Not necessary if you use chicken.) Stir in zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, and pepper. Cook, covered over low heat for 5-7 minutes or until veggies are tender.

2. Stir in salsa, basil, parsley, & rosemary. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered, about 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Serve on toasted rolls.

Go Nate!

Speaking of Hockey…

Brian has been playing on three hockey teams now. (I think he is also trying to regain his pre-children figure.) Anyway he took a stick to the mouth last night and here's what happened. Now when I say he took a stick to the mouth, it's not in a rough and tumble hockey-check kind of way; instead, one his teammates who isn't a very good player fell and his stick went flying in the air and landed in Brian's mouth. Ultimately, he broke two of his bottom teeth. So because Brian was between dentists right now, he had to call his friend's dentist. (The man is on his third dentist since we moved here.) He had his first appointment this morning and they did a root canal and put on a temporary cap. He will have to go back for two more appointments before it's finally fixed. I'm pretty sure he spent the entire time at the bar last night practicing a smile that doesn't show any bottom teeth, since of course we have family photos in two weeks.

Neil's Decorated Room

Here's Neil's room with the new paint job and his new decor. We also have some hats to put up, but we still haven't found the right hooks for that project. I think if you double click on the photo you can see Neil's name better. The letters are mounted hockey pucks. Now were just hoping he continues to like hockey.

Fall Festival

Today Ben's school had their fall festival. Neil and I were able to attend. Neil was pretty excited about going to Ben's school, but he was very disappointed that it was not on Ben's bus. At school we got to watch a magician preform; paint with corn cobs, apples, and paint daubers; as well as make and eat trail mix. I think all of the Rodens agreed that the trail mix was the best part of the day. Neil managed to watch more of the magic show than Ben, but was bothered that the magician didn't share any of his toys with him despite standing with his arms out saying 'please' for most of the performance.

I Believe I Can Fly…

But I can't.

Sunday morning we went to the nature preserve near us so I could run and the boys could walk and explore. After my run, Ben and I decided to have a race. While Ben and I were up ahead, Neil decided to test his flying ability. He was sitting in the front seat of the stroller and just jumped off. So, he landed face first onto the pavement. He has a goose egg on his forehead and we think his nose might be broken (not sure it, didn't bleed much). Two lessons were learned today: Neil now knows he can't fly; and Brian now knows to always strap the boys in the stroller's front seat.

More presents

Today after MOPS we were surprised with a package for Neil from Aunt Donna & Uncle Dan. The boys had great fun playing hockey with their new net. Luckily assembly was a breeze, cause assembly is not mamas department. Of course they prefer the cool Blackhawk's sticks that were included instead of the plain ones.










This sticker is all I need to ship him off right?

Neil's 2nd Birthday

For Neil's birthday he got to open presents before dinner. It's always good to have something new to amuse the boys before dinnertime, not that they eat dinner, but they act like they're hungry. I hoping Neil gets the hang of present opening by Christmas, otherwise Ben is going to be very busy. And yes, that is pink polka dot paper you see in the picture, other presents featured baby shower and craft shipping paper. Why I have two boys and not little boy wrapping paper is somewhat of a mystery to me every birthday.

Neil was blessed with two contributions to his college fund. (Busia refers to this as his 'running away money'. I like to think of it as my ticket to freedom.) He also received a gator golf game, cool cars book, green antique car, sponge bob car, and a race car ramp. Ben thought all of the gifts were good.

After dinner we had train birthday cake. Our gift to Neil was letting him have some cake, even though he didn't finish his dinner. Ben did finish his dinner so he got two pieces. Busia and Papa called the help us sing Happy Birthday and Sto Lat.

Neil got two birthday cards this year. We had a good laugh cause they happened to be the same elephant card.

Halloween

As a parent I'm finally starting to get use to the fact that nothing will go as you expect it. Today we finally finished the pink eye drops and except for a few rattley coughs the boys are better. I, on the other hand, have begun my typical sinus infection battle that follows every illness I get.


Anyway I think were all okay enough to do the typical Halloween stuff – until lunch. This is when Neil began a melt-down of a monster proportion. Turns out his two-year molars are trying to come in again and he's is miserable. So at 4 o'clock when our neighborhood start trick-or-treating he was still napping. Ben and Brian got to go around the block and collect some candy. Ben did pretty good, only one item had peanuts which will be good for mom's waistline. Neil finally woke up and we managed to get the fireman coat on him, but not the hat and not the smile.


Before lunch (and the melt-down) the boys did have fun opening gifts from great-grandma and cards from grandma.

Catalog baby

Each year when my photographer friend comes to take our family photo she comments on how our kids could be 'catalog babies', since they are so willing to smile for the camera. Now I know it's true. Ben's cuter don't you think?

Sick again

Well, just like the rest of the country were sick too. Brian seems to be staying healthy, but the rest of us are suffering with some degree of the flu. Ben is the worst since he is battling pink eye too. We will have to give him eye drops for the next 5 days. Friends of ours mentioned that their toddler went through numerous rounds of pink eye too. Their family doctor said it's from one of two things, picking your butt or picking your nose. Ben has been up to the later. Hopefully our stern explanation will stick with him and he will finally get away from this vile habit.

Time Away!!!

Norm and Joan came to town this weekend and were gracious enough to watch the boys for us while we went away to recharge our batteries. Brian and I went to Galena, IL/Dubuque, IA. We stayed in Dubuque (only 15 miles from Galena). While we were away we were able to go to a nice restaurant called Pepper Sprout. The chef was a very talented lady, the food was really good, as was the wine, but oddly enough the desserts were not impressive so we went down the block for that. Brian's was in a beer glass, mine involved chocolate and ice cream.



On Saturday we went kayaking in the afternoon. To bad the sun went away, but it was still a comfortable temperature. Besides we were infinitely more comfortable than the guy who launched with us, who managed to tip his kayak (Wasn't really aware this was possible since they are far less tippy than a canoe.) on entering and ended up waist deep in the river. We had lots of fun but it took a few reminders from Brian as to how to do it. I kept doing 360° every time a came out of a rapids area. They were rapids in the slightest sense really just swifter and bumpier than the rest of the river. We also got to see a blue heron come flying down the river and he was calm enough for us to cruise by and get a picture.

We also managed to do a little shopping in the trinkets and trash stores. And Brian played the craps table at the Diamond Jo's casino three times. The first two were better than the third, but he was able to leave Iowa with there money so all is good.

Here's some of our pics.

Bouncin Bonkers

This is a new business that opened near our house. Monday-Thursdays they have open bouncing. So here's the boys trying out for the first time.

Still Handing Out Bribes

Ben is still being bribed to poop in the potty. Today was a good day so of course he asked for cake. I got wise though… and made cupcakes. So now I've got the rest of them in the freezer. Now I can have them on demand (any day Ben is successful) and won't have the temptation of eating an entire cake. Neil at this point is just reaping the rewards of Ben's behavior.








Ben also got four quarters from Brian. He's pretty hilarious about his money. As soon a Brian got home from work Ben ran to the door with his hand out. No hello, no hug, just where's my cash Pops. He also scammed me out of my change at Aldi and the quarter for the shopping cart. For those of you that haven't been to an Aldi, think Costco without the membership, you have to have a quarter to unchain a shopping cart, when you re-chain it you get your quarter back. As long as you don't have Ben with you. Ben's piggy was very oink-oink happy today.

Pillow-Palooza

So we've been looking for new ways to burn off the boys energy now that we can't spend the evening at the pool or the playground. Always fun is the indoor race track. This consists of a lively game of chase around the house. The track run through the kitchen, past the family room, down the hall, through the living room and back to the kitchen. We've even had timed races.

Tonight we had pillow-palooza which is all the pillows from the family room and the living room, ten in all. Jumping and wrestling are the highlights followed closely by knocking over the stack before it's done being built. This is when I'm proud of finding those pillows for $4/ea. at Target.

Just to mix things up we took a trip to Lowe's. Where yes, I bought paint, and I'll post pics of Neil's room once the decor is complete. Since the race car shopping cart was broken (shouldn't they be able to fix that at the hardware store?) we let the boys indulge in some lawn tractor riding. Ben went for the deluxe model with the canopy. Neil like his grandma prefers a convertible.

Movie Night

We recently discovered that we have a theater by us that has $1.50 shows. Since you can't beat the price, we decided it was time to see how the boys would like going to the movies. We chose Ice Age 3, a PG movie with dinosaurs that was about 90 minutes long. It was a pretty cool outing. They even have booster seats with cup holders for the kids. The boys ate an enormous amount of popcorn and sat very well. Ben was the first to want/need to leave. He informed Brian he had to go potty and after two attempts in the public restroom they decided they had to head home. Neil and I continued watching the rest of the movie. Finally with about 15 minutes left Neil decided he'd had enough and wanted to go too. And why not, he was out of popcorn and had already spilled what was left of his water. Luckily Brian and Ben were just returning from the trip home and we were all able to head home. Our next movie will probably be once Ben decides he can go potty in public restrooms.

Gallery 1673

A new and upcoming artist is on the scene at Gallery 1673. Ben Roden will be exhibiting his first show in the gallery's lower level. Currently his preferred medium is non-toxic paints, his tool of choice truck tires. He's considering a silent auction for his original work, but be aware the reserve is expected to be quite high.

Dog-Dog I & II

I think most kids have a special stuff animal that they like to sleep with. The thing is most people don't remember them once they're adults. Neither Brian or I can remember ours. Even though I do remember having a rather tattered looking teddy – was he my first friend – I'm not sure. So I'm recording the boys friends so they can remember.

This is Ben with his special friend Dog-Dog (formerly known as Sparky). Neil is also showing his special friend who's name is also Dog-Dog (the original).

Potty Training Update

Ben has been doing really well. No pee-pee accidents for quite awhile now. Earlier this week I reported on the Ben or Blue poop incident. Well, I'm elated to report Ben pooped in the potty today all on his own. No prompting from me or the potty watch. Brian will run the train in his bedroom for him today and if he keeps up with the pooping in the potty he will get another cake. Hey, I can afford to have another cake in the house since I'm down 3 pounds from the food poisoning I had earlier this week.

Ben & Neil enjoying the train reward.

A New Look

I think everyone is pretty familiar with how often I paint/redecorate rooms of our home. Consider our blog one more room for me to redecorate.

Accident Free Days

Busia was wondering if Ben will be getting cake on all of his accident free days. Depends on who you ask. Ben does believe he should get cake everyday. He asks about it – a lot. He's still doing well. He has a Potty Watch he's been wearing which has really helped him be successful, but he's also indicated he needed to go while we were out and about on two different occasions and managed to hold it until we got home. (He's still not sure about using bathrooms other than ours.) The next hurdle is going to be getting him to poop on the potty. This has not been part of his success lately. He even had an accident on our bedroom carpet this week. Brian had to ask him, 'is this from you or Blue?' Ben responded, 'Mine'.

Grandma visit

Brian has his national meeting this week so Grandma came to visit the boys and help keep me sane in his absence. Some of the fun things Grandma brought for the boys were wooden train whistles, homemade play-dough, a giant fire truck puzzle, new t-shirts and new hats. Neal got a Chicago Bulls hat and as you can see here Ben got a train conductors hat. I think he looks super cute in it. Grandma also helped us go to the shoe store and buy new tennis shoes. This is very much a two person job with all of the rearranging boxes and running up and down the aisles.

A new treat

The great thing about making egg-free cakes is you never have to worry about anyone getting sick from licking the beaters. So who doesn't love licking the cake beaters? Initially Neal. Mr. Stubborn finally gave in and he enjoyed them. Oh, the cake was for Ben having a successful no accident day.

Visiting the Dentist

Ben came with me to the dentist for the first time today. I wanted to give him an opportunity to get familiar with the place before we have to put him in the chair for his own check-up. He was a very good boy. He was patient and observant. After my cleaning was done he was given a chance to check out all of the hygenist's tools. Ben tried out Mr. Thirsty (the hygenist's name for the suction tool), felt the polishing head and got some air blown on his hand from the water spout. He declined a ride in the chair, despite our attempting to make it look like lots of fun. His next visit will be with me in March for his first cleaning.

Hopefully he'll be a bigger boy about it than his dad.

MN twice as nice

One of these year's Brian will get in the picture too.

For the second year we went to Minnesota for Labor Day. We driveway camp at our former neighbor's, the Kuebelbeck's. The boys are able to have a fantastic time playing with the Kuebelbeck kids and their most awesome toys. We are able to catch-up with all our old neighbors and a few other local friends.

We took the kids to Como Park to check out the zoo and amusement park there. The boys really enjoyed the rides.

The highlight of the weekend was the neigborhood wiffleball game and barbeque. Ben took a turn at bat and ran to first base – and beyond, then decided the playground looked like more fun. Sports don't compare to the joy of digging in the sand with Ben. Neil on the other hand wanted to play ball the whole time. Luckly I was able to sideline him for batting practice while the older kids and adults got to play.

Truth be told, the downside of the trip was the 10 hour ride home (should have been 7), but the boys did it like a couple of real troopers.

Ben thought the fire engine ride was the best.

Ben, Neil & AJ driving a sports car that went surprisingly fast.

The boys also took a train ride.

Guy's day - Saturday Football

Brian took Ben to have a pretty special day watching his godfather play football. Here's some pictures.

Ben with cousin Meg.

He's got a lot of growing to do before he can fill this helmet.

Ben with his godfather Nate.

Ben getting to hear Sto Lat again.

Ben turns 3!

We've been asking Ben for a few days what he would like for his birthday. His response was always 'cake'. So first thing this morning, he comes into the kitchen and says 'cake'. I had to explain we would not be having cake for breakfast. Besides, I didn't decorate it until nap time today.

We opened presents before dinner and cake – so we had more time to play with the new toys. Ben was quite blessed. He received a v-tech game station, a hand-held Wubzy game, a gear game, a trio building set, and a top. And the much appreciated college fund money. Despite all the cool technology and Wow Wow Wubzy's - look what was the big hit.

Ben's First Day of School

Here's Ben getting on the bus for his first day of school. He's been pretty excited about it. We were reassured when he got on the bus, turned around and gave us a thumbs up. (This has always been Brian's sign for calming Ben's nerves.)

We meet Ben's teachers yesterday at orientation and two other families. The other children seem to love the program, plus there's only four other boys enrolled right now. We're excited to see the progress he'll make. The two other boys had pretty good speech from what we could tell so far. Hopefully that's a sign of how much Ben can improve.

Ben returned home happy as a clam. His bus driver said 'it was like he does it everyday'. Ben said he had fun and he played. His only concern was that he thought he lost his picture ID tag, but we ended up finding it in his back pack.

Yes, I exist

Some of Brian's friends are starting to doubt my existence since I'm rarely in any of the photos. So here I am with Ben. Brian also scores extra points for getting a picture of me while camping where I don't look too bad.

Jellystone Chicago

Yogi with our little blond boy and our little brunette boy.

We went camping this weekend and tried a Jellystone that's less than an hour from our house. So the drive was very easy. The boys had fun hiking, playing putt-putt, swimming, playing in the water where they "mine" for rocks. (This is one of those tourist-trap like activities where you have to pay for a bag of dirt covered rocks and your kid gets the pleasure if cleaning them off in the water. Our kids thankfully didn't need the store bought rocks.) The boys also meet Yogi, Boo-Boo and Cindy Bear. Ben started running up to Yogi and hugging his knees whenever he saw him. We went on Hay-less Hay rides where the boys were more interested in the tractor pulling our wagon than the Yogi Bear on the wagon. Ben found a nickle and a dime at separate times and was very possessive of them proclaiming "mine" with each. Ben and Neil also enjoyed the playground. They both went down a curly slide that was so tall it twisted around three times.

On one of the Hay-less Hay rides.

Mining for free.