Busy as can be

That has been the story of the month of April. Today is the FIRST weekend that we are plan-less and have nothing to do except well, nothing! It's a little depressing as my children have had so much fun playing with lots of family and lots of friends, and today, well, it's back to just mommy and daddy. April started off in Tampa. From Tampa we went to Atlanta. From Atlanta we went to Orlando from Orlando we came home and had a fantastic visit from Erin's parents and grandparents and from that we had a swing by visit from Brad's parents as they packed up their Sarasota condo and started their journey back to Mequon. WOW!!!

We thank all of you for coming to visit or opening up your homes to us. May is going to be a long one as we prepare for a little weekend get away in Savannah GA and then home in June.

So...if anyone is looking to escape the norm, you know you're welcome here!
We miss you all already.

The Bartosz's visit!

Great Grandparents!

The "magic" school bus...

or a motor home! My grandparents decided to swing by Jacksonville on their way home to the North Woods after being gone for 6 months. They parked their motor home about 20 minutes away from us and visited often. Brad and I took the boys to visit them when they first got here and Sam thought it was the coolest "magic school bus" he had ever seen. He asked Grandpa a few times if he could drive, but it wasn't in the plans. Grandma Arleen spoiled Sam as he ate cookies, m&m's and drank his milk. Matthew thought it was just great to have more hands to play with! It is moments like these that we will cherish forever. Their stay coincided with my (erin's) parents being in town so we had a party almost everyday!

A present!!!! It is a remote control car! How did Grandma know it is Sam's favorite?
Caption Matthew at your command!
Daddy, I see you!

Kix Kix Kix

Were EVERYWHERE. In an effort to keep Matthew quiet while Sam was taking a nap, I decided it would be a okay idea to have Matthew play with his zip lock bag of Kix. When I didn't hear much noise coming from the other room, I decided to check on him, and this is what I found. Happy as a clam, kix EVERYWHERE and a very very happy baby in a mess of cereal. What more could a baby want?

Pampers fun!

Amazing what fun a empty box of Pampers diapers can bring! Sam told me he was driving a car, and he wanted Matthew to buckle up! Matthew had a great time, as you can see. These little moments will only explode as the two of them become older and understand that they have a life long friend.

First trip to Disney Grounds!

Haley and Sam

Matthew, just happy to be out of the long car ride

Brothers!

What a great weekend we had visiting the Shamahs and the Millers. The big children had a great time playing in the kiddie pool and the little children had a great time just feeling the water around them. Matthew thought it was so much fun that there was another baby there who was smaller than him! Thank you all for your hospitality and your visit.

We miss you guys and will see you in June!

To be 84

Those of you who know Sam know how much he LOVES celebrating birthdays! He belted out the words to Happy Birthday and then gobbled up the cake!

What would being 84 years old feel like?

According to my Grandma Trudy, "pretty darn good". I guess if you can hop a plane and fly to Florida to celebrate, I'd have to agree.

Happy 84th Birthday Great Grandma Trudy!

Oh where oh where

can our little Matthew be...Oh where oh where can he be.

I sometimes have to step back and say, "oh no, where is he now!" Needless to say, he is normally doing something to annoy his brother.

Yes, he's already learning at a very very young age!

Green boogers!

Our poor little Matthew was sent home with a RX of Amoxicilian today from the Doc. He's had this awful cold (thank you Sam) for 8 straight days now and it just wasn't getting any better. We really didn't think that much of it because there was no fever involved, until yesterday. We left the doctors office this afternoon with a diagnosis of a Sinus Infection and a need for a vaporizer! So, let's hope he is back to his old self very very very soon. He has been a little impossible over the course of the past week.

Mirror Mirror on the wall...

Who is the cutest of them all? There is just something and mirrors that makes this boy crazy!

Matthew 9 months old!

And just full of fun! Crawling is a major priority in his daily activities and it is making his brother crazy!!! Just when Sam thought he had everything under control, Matthew decided to show him his new moves. Matthew (of course) wants EVERYTHING Sam has. It is rather humorous to see the two of them squabble over a train or a block when there are many many more. Matthew won't go down without a fight, which in itself if humorous.

Onto the doctor report:
Weight: 20 lbs

Height:

Matthew also has skin irritations, like his older brother. So we're treating his eczema with an over the counter cream, and if that doesn't cure his eczema, we'll move onto a steroid. Sam has grown out of his eczema, for the most part, so we know this is just a phase. However we'll do our best to avoid cat & dog tongues & dander and dress him in as cool as possible clothing. Heck, we're in Florida, who needs clothing!

We're also out to prove the studies incorrect. Both of my boys experience extreme discomfort during the allergy seasons. We were told that the chances of children under 2 having allergies is next to impossible, however, both of my boys provide us with all the symptoms through out the year. Sam started Clariton at 8 months, and the doctor just put Matthew on Zyrtec daily to help cure his red itchy eyes and congestion. I have to report that he has been much happier since we started the meds. The doctor also looked in his nose and said that sure enough, he had a 'allergy purple looking' nose!

Anyways, he did get his hepatitis B shot, but did fairly well with it.

Easter 2007

This year we traveled 6 hours North to Georgia! Dear friends, Amy and Justin and their two little girls, Ana (2 yrs) Taylor (10 months) live a little North of Atlanta in a city called Cumming. A cold front moved in over Easter Weekend and the temps didn't top 50, but that didn't stop us from having a great time indoors. We did however, brave the temps and decided to take the kids out to get them a little exercise at the park, however, we didn't last long. We ended our visit with Easter Sunday. The Easter Bunny came and hid all the eggs that Ana and Sam decorated the day before. The kids were so cute as they searched for the eggs. The little babies, they just crawled along for the excitement! Enjoy the pictures below! And Happy Easter 2007!

Dr. Clay County Utility Services;

Yesterday was a hot one here in Jacksonville. The temperatures topped near 95 degrees. The boys and I had a great day planned, until you decided it was time to disconnect out water services. Now, just so you know, I do have 2 little boys. You decided that it was time to turn off my water at 8:29 in the morning, leaving it very very difficult for my children to bathe and eat, while my husband was off at work with all his necessities.

However, with this in mind, it was our fault that our bill was a FEW days late, due to our landlord not providing us the bill, and my husband 'forgetting' it was due (that's another entry). But to completely TURN OFF our water and tell us that you are unable to connect it until 9PM last night is horrendous. Again, we were a FEW days late.

I watched the man in his little white truck drive up to my yard, remove the water connection plug, take his little tool and turn it off. I wasn't sure what he was doing, as I was concentrating on my children destroy a red ant hill, but it all clicked when I went to fill up the tub and a little trickle fell out of the faucet and then nothing. Not to mention our routine. I had a devastated toddler who wanted to brush his teeth after his (pretend) bottled water bath. I tried explaining to him that we'll have to brush them a different way. Absolutely NOT. He was beside himself, which lead to a LONG LONG day.

Again, we understand that bills must be paid, but find it extremely frustrating that you act as you do. When we called to find out the approximate time the water would be turned BACK on, you said there is a list of over 300+ people who need their water turned on as well. Don't you think you're wasting man hours as all these people in little white trucks do is turn off, then come back later and turn on????

Upset and now paid in full,
648 Acorn Chase Drive occupants

Tampa Passover

This past weekend the boys and I headed down to Tampa for Stephen and Vicki's traditional Passover Seder. It was great to be with family and friends. The kids had a blast and as you'll be able to see from the photos beneath, Alivia had so much fun testing out all her makeup on Sam. At one point he had lip gloss, purple eyeshadow and sparkles all over his face. It was great and they had a good time being together. We also spent some time with Stan and Judi (Brad's parents) at their vacation get away condo in Sarasota. We played at the pool and visited. It really still hasn't hit us that we drove down there in a few hours and didn't have to board a plane. The kids did okay in the car, but towards the end of the trip they were just ready to get home. Thanks you all for the hospitality! I couldn't decide which pictures to post, so instead you get the all at the slide show below.

Passover-2007

The 4 questions