I Promised Pictures!

It feels like ages ago that we got to enjoy 10 beautiful August days in Wisconsin.  Mike’s mom likes this pic so much it might end up on their Christmas card…I figure we can photoshop Jake into the picture. He’s not in it because he’s driving the boat.

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I think I mentioned that school started last week.  It’s a preschool program for 4 year olds at the same school we had him in last year (remember, the one we pulled him out of in December because he had such a hard time?)

• Actual days of school: 3
• Actual days attended: 2

I’ll keep you posted.  The missing day was not for illness although the screaming crying fit thrown in the school parking lot was pretty sick.  Today was a good day.  No tears.  His teacher is awesome.  She’s going to be the reason he makes it through.

GREY*isms*

(after putting a pile of hot peas onto his dinner plate)

• G: I’m allergic to pea steam

Both boys have colds right now but they’re powering through.

Graham is somehow going to be 11 months old next week.  I’m not sure how that happened.  We’re just going to pretend that his 1st birthday is next year. He still has only 1 tooth and isn’t walking or talking so I think he can pass as a toddler for a while.  If you hear him say ‘hi’, ‘dada’, ‘mama’ or ‘all done’, it’s a figment of your imagination.  He might look like he can stand for long periods of time but that’s because he has a low center of gravity. Any signs of dexterity is just luck or brilliance.  Not age.  Not maturity. So be quiet. He’s just a baby.

4 years old and counting

Greyson’s 1st day of 4B at First Presbyterian

A few days worth of blogs

I’m starting this blog with little idea of where it might go and I’ll warn you now that I’m A) crabby B) tired and C) missing my boys because Hurricane Earl couldn’t get his fat ass off the coast before my plane landed.  We did enough circles above JFK to get us back to Ireland.  I watched 3 full length movies, read a book, took a nap and still had time to spare.  I wish I could say it’s over, but I still have to get to Seattle from NYC.  A mere 8 hours more and I’ll be home.

I stayed at the Dylan hotel and loved it. Dublin is a wonderful city with friendly and accommodating people who are truly interested in getting to know you. I found myself complaining about the talkativeness of my cab driver and then stopped. A friendly cab driver who proactively describes the neighborhoods, traffic patterns, places to eat, drink, or “get a cup of coffee and sit on the canal”?  Refreshing, not annoying.  The only thing that would have made it better would have been my sweet Graham sitting next to me clapping his little hands and Greyson asking to take the LUAS up and down the island.

…the 2 paragraphs above were written on Friday, September 3rd.  Today is Labor Day and I’m sorry to say that I’m on a plane again. This time back to Canada for a round of golf and some meetings.  I get home on Thursday and I plan to stay there for the foreseeable future (aside from a quick trip to Wisconsin in 2 weeks).  Rather than start my blog over I decided to keep the original material to prove to all of you that I really do think about blogging often enough to keep you interested. The trouble is actually putting pen to paper and publishing it.

Here’s a few snippets from the past few weeks:

• Greyson visited the San Juan islands this past weekend and got to see Orca up close and personal. This morning he told me that he was going to catch a baby Orca whale, bring it home, cut off its tail and eat it.
• I told Greyson that a new toy would not enter our house until he started donating his existing ones.  Here’s his list so far:  broken ukelele, armless lego guy, a couple of trains, but he won’t name which ones and Mike’s Brewers hat
• While getting ready to take me to the airport, Greyson says to Mike “get your shoes, homey!”
• Graham is now waving, clapping and giving high fives. There’s not a cuter 10 month old on the planet.  Unfortunately he has a horrible sty in his eye so he looks like he just got out of a bar fight.

Happy Labor Day.

OK, 2 days later and I’m planning on actually publishing this post. Greyson starts school today. I called him last night and he’s so excited. I’m sorry that I won’t be there to see him off.  He’s not giving kisses anymore unless it’s just the two of us. If someone else is in the room and I ask for a kiss, he makes everyone else close their eyes.  He started wiping them off a long time ago.  He thinks it’s funny.  I try to laugh about it too but deep down, I’m wondering how this is happening so soon.

Pictures will be posted this weekend, I promise.

Fried Cheese Curds, Anyone?

Coming to you live from the shores of Lake Tomahawk…pictures will post later this week when I find the sync cord for my Nikon.

We’re on day 5 of our 11 day Wisconsin vacation.  Days 1-3 consisted of a highly anticipated annual golf outing for Mike with his college fraternity brothers. (He had ZERO fun)  The kids and I spent an awesome weekend with my family on Silver Lake where Greyson entertained by pouring a cup of milk over his head at dinner and Graham ate sweet corn off of his highchair tray with no hands.

GREY*isms*

• G:  “Mom, I lost my manners”
• Me:  “Where did they go?”
• G:  “They’re in my leg”

So, a few hours later, while putting his jammies on, he tooted.  I said,“What do you say?” to which he replied “Remember, I lost my manners? I told you that already!”

I turned 36 a few weeks ago. 4 more years before Mike throws me a decade party.  He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going to outdo himself from my 30th (insert the winking smiley face here).  We were reminded of how great that party was when looking at old pictures; especially Patrick Blessing’s homage, written and performed by him, accompanied by his big brother on guitar.  It was the highlight of the party (parts of it made our families blush).

Graham’s 1st tooth came in a few days after my birthday and since then, he’s climbed the stairs on his own and is pulling himself up on everything and starting to cruise around.  We give him 1 month before walking begins.  His best new move right now though is waving hello with his left hand.  Say hi to him and you’ll get a wave, guaranteed.  It’s awesome.

GREY*isms*

• G: (Watching a kissing scene in Aladdin) “Ewww, he’s kissing her dirty lips!”

We had our first order of fried cheese curds today. It’s not possible to come to Wisconsin and NOT order the fried cheese curds. At some point this week I’ll go for a run, but not tomorrow.

To those of you we’ve seen this week, thank you for contributing to an already memorable summer vacation.  To those of you we have yet to see, we’re looking forward to additional fun in the sun.

GREY*isms*

• G:  “Hi, my name is Dick”

Happy August!

Until We Meet Again

On Thursday, July 22nd, Greyson said:

• G:  “Are you going to be sad, Mom?”
• Me:  “Yes, I’ll be sad for a little while”
• G:  “Don’t be sad”

We lost our friend Patrick Blessing.  The world lost a son, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a philanthropist, a comedian, a soon-to-be-dad.  Last week we mourned his death and celebrated his life.  We miss him.

My comfort comes in knowing that God enveloped Patrick in His arms. Heaven’s laughter is louder since he arrived. Patrick sang, he danced, he loved.  He didn’t watch life, he lived it.  He was Superman. Peter Pan.  He was loved.

Patrick beat leukemia over 15 years ago and this condition prevented him from qualifying for life insurance.  Mike and I are joining forces with Patrick’s friends and family to make sure that his beautiful wife and unborn daughter are taken care of.  Click Here to view the Memorial Facebook page or Email us directly for more information.

  “To die will be an awfully big adventure”  James M Barrie, Peter Pan

GREY*isms*

(putting on his “magic” Wobble-Goggles)

• G:  “I can see everything with these glasses!”
• Me:  “You can??”
• G: “Yeah…I can see Patrick!!”

I believe he could.

Summertime Sum Sum Summertime

Northwest Trek animal park is a very cool adventure for kids and adults that’s about an hour South of us.  It’s an opportunity to see native animals in their own habitats.  It’s like a zoo without the cages and glass and faux rocks and depressing looks on the faces of animals in captivity.  Don’t get me wrong, we take our kids to the zoo too, but it was a refreshing change; the least of which was the landscape.

So you can walk through the forest at your own pace and view cougars, lynx, bobcats, owls, eagles, brown and grizzly bears and wolves.  Take an hour long tram ride and you’ll see bison, buffalo, moose, caribou, black-tailed deer and other herbivores.  Greyson was like himself in a candy store. A key-lime lollipop unnecessarily added to his natural high.

The climax of the day was a view of Mt. Rainier.  We’ve been out here for 2 years and this never gets old.  It still takes my breath away every time I see it.

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I can’t believe we’re over halfway through the summer already!  We’ve got an action packed rest of July and August and before we know it, Labor Day will be here and in Greyson’s mind, everything starts after that. “First Halloween, then Thanksgiving and THEN Christmas, and then my birthday.”

GREY*isms*

• G: I need a new piece of gum
• Me: Why?
• G: Because mine is crooked

Ireland was a fantastic whirlwind.  I met a guy from Delafield on the Guinness tour.  It was a great trip, but even better to be home again. 

A view of Ireland from the Guinness Factory

What’s Ireland without a leprechaun? 

What’s Ireland without a Guinness (or two)?

Johnsons, Goehlers and Sibleys…can’t wait to see all of you in Colorado.  10 days and counting.  Cheers!

I’m Walking on Sunshine

There is not a prettier place in the United States then Seattle right now.  The locals say (INCESSANTLY) that summer doesn’t start until July 5th.  We landed at Sea-Tac airport at 2:45pm on July 5th after a gorgeous and relaxing but far too short weekend in Minocqua with Mike’s family and we were welcomed by sunshine, no humidity and a beautiful view of the mountains.  We heard that it rained over the weekend but on that day, you couldn’t tell.

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Our faces continue to be warmed by the sun.  The mountains, all of them, have been “out” in all their splendor.  With temps in the “no humid 90’s”, we’ve enjoyed hours outside and a wonderful visit with Carrie Roca-Dawson and Payton Blessing who are in town for a wedding this weekend.  They’re attending the rehearsal dinner now so I’m finding some time to blog a bit before life, once again, gets crazy.  Mike will be in the Tri-Cities tomorrow and I’m on a plane to Dublin, Ireland for the week.  We’ll hit Breckenridge, Colorado for a long weekend with college friends and our kids at the end of the month before going back to Toronto for a week in early August for work and then a much-needed week’s vacation back to Wisconsin before school starts.

Here’s Payton, 13 going on 30 (taken this afternoon) with the Seattle skyline behind her.  It was a beautiful day for a visit to Alki beach, where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed.

Payton’s uncle Patrick, a dear friend to us and hundreds of others across the world, needs prayer, good ju-ju, lots of thoughts and just all around love coming to him and his family as he fights for his life after suffering a major heart attack.  Visit the Care pages website that his wife Christy updates when she can: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Pblessing.  They need all of the support they can get.

Enjoy the latest of our boys.  Greyson continues to blurt out *isms* but I’m failing miserably at remembering to write them down.  He did ask me why I don’t feed Graham from my boobs.  Geez, even my 4 years lays a guilt trip on me for selfishly depriving my youngest of his mother’s milk.

   

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Happy Summer, friends and family.  Lack of blogging means we’re spending every free minute with each other and when the kids are sleeping, so are we.  Love to you all.

Looking forward to some down time

We’re too tired to blog, to think, to plan…our 4th of July vacation couldn’t be coming at a better time.  So, a few words and a few pics and I’m signing off for another 2 weeks.  Like last year, we’re craving time with our families.  We’re daydreaming about lazy days on Lake Tomahawk, Midwestern beef, and Culver’s custard (you cannot find frozen custard out here so craving is exactly what we’re doing).  We land in Rhinelander on Thursday afternoon.  It can’t come soon enough.

Greyson insists he’s going to tube this year (we’ll believe it when we see it; he wouldn’t get on a pony as tall as him yesterday).

Graham’s still smiling, still mellow and still not crawling nor showing any teeth.  Enjoy the photos and say a little prayer that our flight is uneventful and the weekend brings sunshine and heat to a Vitamin D-deficient, Wisconsin summer-craving, frazzled and ready-for-a-vacation family of 4.

Have a great week and a safe and relaxing holiday with friends and family. 

Cheers.

Graham’s bathtime= fresh mohawk

Greyson cannot resist a photo opportunity

Though Grey prefers to be in front of the lens, every now and then he’ll give up his spotlight get behind the camera  We’re pretending that Graham has the skills to take a picture- not bad!

Leavin’ on a jet plane

 

I’m on a plane to Baltimore as I write.  Technology makes it hard for us to take a break.  On this 5.5 hour flight (plus an hour on the tarmac while we waited for traffic to clear), I have wireless internet and a laptop battery life of 7 hours.  So much for a good book and a snooze.  I did clean up my email over the past 4 hours.  I’m down to 166 messages in my Inbox.  You don’t want to know how many I started with.  I once was organized.  I don’t remember when.

We took the kids to the Redmond Farmer’s Market on Saturday and the sunshine and fresh air got the best of Graham who fell asleep in his backpack while Mike was walking with him.  What a life, huh?

Greyson picked up a cold this weekend but he still managed to play “I broke my leg”.  On his legs?  Why, casts of course!

Really on his legs?  My delicate cashmere finger-less gloves.  Let’s hope he doesn’t decide to cut them off the way a doctor would.

This was a nice little break, pausing to blog.  I’m off to tweak my presentation notes.  Wish me luck.

(Is it the 4th of July yet? )

Everlasting Mess

I might have mentioned that Greyson is reading (i.e. we’re reading to him) Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.  Actually, we’re on the 2nd read at this point.  We’ve got him all jazzed up for How to Train Your Dragon as I’ve heard it’s Roald Dahl-like.

So, I was thinking about Willy Wonka and how much I LOVED the original movie when I was little.  Who am I kidding?  I still love it.  I actually like the movie better than the book and that’s not normal for me.  I wanted an everlasting gobstopper more than anything… ‘you can suck ‘em and suck ‘em and they’ll never get any smaller’.  That was then.  Today, the idea of an everlasting gobstopper grosses me out.  All I can picture is sticky hands and sticky faces.  And where the hell do you keep the thing when you’re not sucking on it?  Lay it on your bedside table?  2 years in and you’d need a crowbar to get the thing off and then what?  You start sucking on it again?  Sick!

GREY*isms*

• G: “Mom, I should have that box!”
• Me:  “Why should you have it?”
• G:  “Because I’m elderly”

*another one*

• G: (removing the napkin from his lap)  "I would prefer not to use a napkin tonight”

We had a really nice weekend with a gorgeous Saturday that made up for last week’s rain.  We all played outside, all day, and got really dirty.  We ended the night with a dinner picnic outside (we cleaned up first).

   

The rain and sun has done wonders for my vegetable/herb garden and our landscaping.  I can’t tell you what these flowers are…but they’re all growing in our yard (OK, I’m pretty sure the last one is a rose?)

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PS. Thanks to everyone who donated to the 8k that Mike and I ran a few weeks ago.  Our team raised over $3000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation!