Letters to Elijah

Shopping for an Invisible Fence

2011-08-10T10:37:00.004-05:00

Sara: I think it would be great to get an invisible fence for Penny. That way she could be outside with us all the time.

Eli: But how in the world would we find one in the store to buy? Duh!

Packer Family Night

2011-08-07T20:25:00.005-05:00

Saturday Night was Eli's first "Packer's Game" - it's not really a game (who can afford the tickets! - or get them!) Family Night is basically a practice with other fun events for families. Needless to say the whole family was excited to go!

Leading up the event Eli was somewhat confused as to what was going to happen at family night. He said, "how are we going to run and they are going to play?" You see, the only time Eli has ever been to Lambeau Field is for running events. (to

watch me run or for him to run his own races - 1k Cellcom) I guess it's better for him to associate Lambeau with running rather then beer, right?

Eli, are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Dollar Store Thrills

2011-07-29T21:18:00.003-05:00

While getting Jim's oil change today Eli and I walked over to the dollar store. (Sara is still at LLBC) I got him a spider man watch. He L O V E S it. He's been telling me the time all day. On the way home he said, "Mom, if you can get home in 2 minutes you will break a new record" Just like me, my boy is a little self competitive.

A Day at the Beach

2011-07-01T20:30:00.003-05:00

Today we went to WhiteFish Dunes State Park in Door Co. - It was close to 100 degrees in Green Bay so we decided to hit the beach! It was cold - the water temp was 58! That didn't stop you from playing in the waves and sand :)

Eli's First Sleep Over

2011-06-28T20:08:00.003-05:00

Eli's first Sleep Over with Aiden Kay - (or as Eli likes to say - his BFF)

Sara Cooks

2011-06-23T19:20:00.012-05:00

One housekeeping task I never learned as a child was meal planning. This summer Sara is going to learn to plan meals. Sara is 11 years old - so our main focus will be on nutrition and fun! Here are the ground rules:

plan meal (must include main course, side dish & dessert)
create grocery list (check kitchen for items not needed)
grocery shop
cook meal (with help from Mom, if needed)

I'm thinking as summer goes on I may add an extra challenge - give her a budget! To motivate her I can let her keep the change. Nothing motivates a tween more then getting to keep the change!

Tonight was Sara's first meal. On the menu was - Hamburger sliders with Strawberries and Smore's muffins

The meal was extra tasty - not good for my diet.. but really tasty. Excellent job, Sara!

Do your kids help you plan for meals?

Just Hit Me!

2011-06-13T20:29:00.003-05:00

It's been so long since I wrote on this blog... it's like I fell off the face of the earth. Lately I do these quick updates on Facebook, but this blog was meant for you, Eli. You have just finished kindergarten and have started summer school. I'm the kind of Mom that tries to keep you busy. Today you had your wrestling and boxing class as well as summer school. Seriously, you crack me up, boy.

I love you Eli - you are so precious to me :)

Love,

Mom

He is still my funny boy!

2010-06-04T16:36:00.003-05:00

"I'm not half Canadian - I'm a medium Canadian!"

"When are we going to the flea store?"

Blogging takes up so much time...

2009-12-29T21:22:00.003-06:00

So I haven't been here since October! Is twitter killing blogging or am I just lazy?

Elijah you had an awesome Christmas! This year you were so excited - you loved everything about the season. This year for New Years we are going to do something completely different. We are going camping up North. For Christmas I got you a sleeping bag - and you've been sleeping in it ever since.

I'm now up to 66lbs lost. Weight wise, 2009 has been very successful. I'm excited of what this body will look like by the end of 2010.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Eli!

Two Quotes

2009-10-27T21:12:00.005-05:00

Two Quotes I heard on The Biggest Loser tonight that I just had to write down. Honestly, I'm writing them down so I remember - they are that important on my journey.

"There is a difference between quitting and failing" ~ Jillian, Biggest Loser Trainer

What? There is? I always thought they were the same. But they aren't. If I quit - I fail. But if I fail - I learn. Get it? Cool, eh? I have always had a fear of failure - maybe I shouldn't.

"If you are not failing you are not trying hard enough" ~ Jillian, Biggest Loser Trainer

What? Failure is good? Yep. This changes everything.

The Prez

2009-10-04T08:53:00.001-05:00

Eli said, "Now I look like the President of the United States" :)

I've lost 50 lbs!

2009-09-18T11:11:00.002-05:00

I've got a long way to go - but off to a great start!

He knows what he likes...

2009-09-12T08:59:00.001-05:00

On the way home from picking up Eli from school Eli made a declaration:

"I like blondes" - oh boy!

Discovering the Sun - 4 year old style

2009-09-08T15:45:00.000-05:00

Eli: Dad, there's a hole in the sky.
Dad: What do you mean there's a hole in the sky.
Eli: Right there with the light coming out of it.

Labor Day

2009-09-07T10:27:00.004-05:00

Greetings, All!

Honestly, I've been ignoring my blog. It's just so much easier to tweet!

Summer is over and we are back to school. We are still homeschooling Sara - she is now in grade 4. Elijah started 4K this past week and LOVED it! I'm happy we are back into a routine - but so not looking forward to a cold winter.

We do have another addition to our family. Penny! She is a miniature pincher that we love so much already. She is supposed to be a family dog - but it turns out she has an obession with Sara. She sleeps under the covers with her! She will be a perfect dog once we get her trained not to poop in my dining room!

I'm still doing the whole diet/exercise thing. I'm now at 49 lbs lost - which is awesome! Nothing feels better then your clothes falling off of you :)

Today is Labor Day and we are going to have a end of summer bbq. Wisconsin brats with watermelon and apple crisp. Have a great day!

My kids are getting the exercise bug too! Wordless Wednesdays

2009-07-29T15:07:00.000-05:00

All Aboard for the Train Garden Tour!

2009-07-26T21:23:00.002-05:00

Sunday afternoon we had fun visiting Train Gardens!

Four local homes opened up their yards for us to view these beautiful gardens!

Eli and Mommy - taken by Sara

Satisfying 186 Calorie Breakfast!

2009-07-02T09:12:00.003-05:00

This is so good...

and filling :)

Omelet
2 egg whites
1/2 yoke
2T shredded cheese
onions

1 c strawberries - hand picked yesterday in the rain :)

ff hot chocolate

What did you have for breakfast?

For the Birds

2009-06-26T18:43:00.010-05:00

Here's an easy frugal treat for your feather friends. The kids will love to make these Peanut Butter Cones and the birds love the taste!

Ingredients: bird seed, yarn, pine cones and peanut butter.
Tie your yarn on first - trust me, it's less messy then after the pine cone is covered in peanut butter and bird seed.
I microwaved the peanut butter for 1 minute. It's easier to spread when thinner.

Learn from my mistake - maybe this is a better outdoor project. The peanut butter can get messy :)

These were quick to make! We made 9 of them all together.

Hang these tasty treats on your trees for the birds. They will even use the yarn for their nests!

Do you feed the furry and feathered friends in your yard?

Too busy to blog?

2009-06-12T22:27:00.005-05:00

Hi Elijah!

I never write on here anymore :( I have a real bad habit of starting something, becoming obsessed.. then lose my momentum. I love constant change - it feeds me.

I'm still going to the gym.. 5 or 6 days a week! I've lost 23 lbs in 6 weeks. I am so impatient! I hope you don't get that flaw from me - but I think you will. You get angry so quickly - just like me. Today you got real mad about the sprinkler. You said "I want to go in the sprinkler." I said - that's okay- go in. You replied, "But there's too much water" (did you feel me rolling my eyes?!)

Here's another Eli-ism:

Eli: Is today Sunday?
Mom: No, Eli - it's Tuesday, we had a long weekend. Plus Daddy is on vacation this week!
Eli: (holding arms out looking around the room) THIS is No vacation! We need a hotel!
(there I go rolling my eyes again!)

Another one: :)

For you Eli, it's not the YMCA... it's the YMCK and you get really really mad when we try to correct you.

As I've always said, it's a good thing you are cute!

Love,
Mommy

I Now Know who that Girl Is!

2009-05-22T21:49:00.003-05:00

Have you ever been in a public place and seen someone and knew you knew them from somewhere - but had no clue where? I think we all have. We run down our list of where we might know them - work, church, child's friend's parent.

This past week I was leaving the Y and a girl was coming in. I knew her - just didn't know from where. She knew me. We said an "I know you" Hey - Hello, how ya doin'? with a smile. I kept walking and my daughter Sara said, "do you know her?" I replied, "yes, but I don't know where from"

Tomorrow morning I have an early shift at work 6:30am I started to prepare as I normally do the night before - putting out my clothes, choosing now what I would eat for breakfast - WAIT. I know that girl!

Up until a month ago I used to stop at McDonalds before my early Saturday shift. SHE was the girl that always served every Saturday morning. Wow, the McDonald's girl works out at the YMCA. She must of been shocked to see me there. I guess she now knows where I've been the past month :)

I've done a 180 in the past 3 weeks!

2009-05-18T21:43:00.005-05:00

Dear Elijah,

I used to write here all the time - sometimes daily. Life gets busy. We keep pushing forward.

Today I had to buy a new microwave. Our old one made a funny sound and then smelled like burned wires - this all happened within 7 seconds.. not a good thing. Microwaves are basically disposable.. sad.
When I put the new microwave in the old one's spot it was so shinny. You were so cute. You said "Hey, we got a TV for the kitchen! Cool!" Silly boy :)

Just 3 short weeks ago I started dieting and exercising. I've done this a thousand times before - I'm serious, a thousand times. So my expectations are pretty low. According to history I'm due to quit any day. But I so much don't want to. I've been going to the YMCA six days a weeks - I won't always be able to go that often, but 4 days/week is my minimum. I am very thankful that you enjoy going to the "kid's korner" and play while I exercise.

I love you Eli - you are such a funny boy and fun to have around.

Love,

Mommy

This is Going to make your Head Spin

2009-04-22T09:25:00.005-05:00

This morning we received an email from AT&T stating that our "service order" was complete. What service order? I decide this requires a phone call from me. (note: me and customer service people don't get along too well)

First - I need the phone number. AT&T provides a link to the phone number (would it have been too difficult just to give me the number) I call... then go throw 2 minutes of talking to a robot... grrr... say "yes", "I see you are calling from 920-....." say "no", "I do not understand your request, can you say it a different way"

Finally I get to a real person. She asks for my phone number... grrr.. the robot knew my number, how come you don't?

The lady then goes on tell me she has to ask my permission (due to some new federal law) to sell me their ~~products~~ crap at the end of this call.

AT&T"Do I have your permission?"
Me "ah.. NO"

I go on to tell her about my email - this service order.

AT&T: "Well, that is what I was just talking about - the permission"

me: "what? I want to know about this service order. I didn't ask for any change on my account"

AT&T: "the email is to inform you that we added to your account that we have to now ask your permission to sell AT&T products"

me: "are you serious? You spammed me ... now I had to call you to find out that you now have to ask permission to sell your crap? Is that what you are saying?

AT&T: "I wouldn't use those words - but yes"

me: "well thanks for spamming me and wasting my time - It's nice to know you have to ask permission now to sell your products but that it's still okay to spam me. Have a good day"

Click.

Is AT&T being run by the government? Because they seem about as efficient.

My week without Facebook

2009-04-04T09:06:00.004-05:00

I have a part time job from home where I work as a social media specialist. I'm not so sure on the "specialist" part. But that's what they call me. A lot of my work is dealing with facebook - since it's so "hot" right now.

Earlier this week I was creating fan pages for a client. I created one too many and facebook assumed I was spamming and I got the boot. Kicked off facebook. At first I was stunned, shocked even. What was I going to do? I used my twitter account for the rest of the day to vent my frustration. On facebook I have mulitiple accounts that I use for testing and advertising purposes. What I lost was my personal account - with all my friends.

All this happened on Monday - today is Saturday. You know what? I'm still alive! I had to ask myself - do I really have 160 friends? Or were these just people that I've met? I realized that maybe my friend Mark Slippy could be right - "Facebook is a great time waster".

I'm spending the day outside - enjoying God's beauty. What about you?

2009-03-30T16:13:00.001-05:00

managed to get her personal fb account disabled today... yikes, created one too many pages. Posting from ping.fm