Ramseyer Revelry

Raiders Vs Colts--and we rooted for the Raiders!

2011-09-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

What's this craziness you say? It just so happens that Dylan plays for the Raiders in the 3rd/4th grade Football league here in Mooresville. The truth of the matter is that I love the Colts but if one of my boys was playing for the Patriots, I would swallow the bile and chant for the team that we abhor above all others. Anyhow, Nana and Aunt Toni were able to come up and watch the football game. It was alot of fun and we were so glad they could make it.

Nana has a wicked camera that takes wonderful pics. The below are all borrowed images from her masterpeice snapshots.

Dylan is # 34, which was one of Chris's sports numbers in high school. He was always a #34 or #33, so we try to stay true to the tradition when we can. Is this boy child not one of the cutest ever? I look at him, Keegan and Brynn and marvel all the time that they are flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood. I mean, Chris and I are not ugly folk, but we really made the most stellar children ever. It's Epic. ; )

And because Dylan has some really cute siblings that were screaming, yelling and hollering at this game...I included pics of them too...he he he...taken by Nana

Aunt Toni brought the cutest hat ever for Miss Brynn....I cannot wait for the cooler weather so that she can sport it. See below. Doesn't it make you want one? The baby or the hat?

Salvation and Damnation

2011-09-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

We hate you, we need you

Any Questions?

Goings On

2011-08-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

Chris is bringing to our home doses of testosterone...yep, these walls will be OOZING with it It is the weekend of MotoGP. He has biker enthusiasts from out of town coming in to stay in between bouts at the track, bouts on their bikes, and just bouts of guy stuff. I happen to like and enjoy most of his sport bike buddies (not to be confused with Harley or cruising bikers), but I am always happy when Sunday finally rolls around too. I don't begrudge him this week because I am of the firm opinion that some "away" time is needed for spouses just as regular time together is important. Anyhow....

We are living, eating and breathing football at this time of year (pics to come in a future post). Miss Brynn and I find ourselves at the football field more evenings than not and we love it (she told me she does). The boys are both playing on defense, although they have my little buddy Keegan on the line on offense as a guard too at times. I hate that. He is too little to be there and everytime they line him up against a big boy I cringe. I shouldn't, because he likes the challenge and more often than not he blocks them like they were actually within 50 pounds of each other (seriously some of these kids are MASSIVE)...but still it is with morbid curiousity as I watch and wonder that my little bundle of dynamite can hold off the mountain. Dylan is doing well also, though he is playing with 3rd and 4th graders and while there are some massive boys in Keegan's second grade league, there are some GINORMOUS boys in Dylan's league. He is learning alot and holding his own. I am so proud of both of them and love to watch them play.

Brynn is coming up on 3 months old here shortly. I am enjoying her sweet little self so much. I think it is because I know now how fleeting the time is that they are so small. She is also my last baby I think and knowing that makes this time so incredibly special. She is smiling all the time, and has such a sweet disposition. She does like to be held all the time, but honestly, I don't mind at all. People probably think I have spoiled her, and I will tell them unabashedly that I have. She is making all sorts of noises and tries so hard to talk. Her toes curl up and her chubby little face turns red until she gets out the syllable that she thinks conveys something to me. It is darling. I swear she said "Hi" today. Chris has been saying that she says it, and I have been laughing at him but today I heard it. LOL...I know it is probably a syllable that she has learned and not the word, but she said it when I went to take her from him. It was hilarious because she spit it out and then grinned at me when my mouth dropped open. HA!

Anyways, it is past midnight and I better turn in. A football game AND a practice tomorrow at different fields. Busy as can be!

1st month down

2011-07-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that little Miss will already be 6 weeks old on Tuesday. The time is already flying and I can say with a grin that I am finally starting to get my baby game on once again. For the first few weeks I will admit to being in a state of shell shocked deja vu ahhhhhhh....THIS is how it was, stupor. LOL..Sleep deprivation and arms in a constant baby locked position makes it all come roaring back. For the record...I wouldn't trade a second of it with any of my babies for the whole world. This time around it has been made even easier by 2 sweet little boys that love their baby sister and help me all that they can. Anyhow, Brynn passed her first month check up with flying colors.

1st month stats:
Weight - 11.2 lbs
Length -23 3/4 inches
Disposition- Sunny and mild UNTIL....duh da dun dun....the first month shot time

She was extremely perturbed when the nurse delivered her Hep shot...her little face turned purple and it was not really even a hurt cry...it was an angry war battle cry and I can assure you that if she truly had legions of warriors at her disposal, that doctor's office would be no more. Also to be noted, this is the same outraged yell I hear when Brynn has a messy diaper. The boys would of course cry when they had messed a diaper, but it was nothing compared to Brynn's screams of indignity...like....ear-splitting screams of indignity.

I did include some pics I took at the doctor's office on my phone (which I do love). I have a free app that does some auto photo editing and I use it frequently. :) The pic at the top was just a pic I took and chose a photo effect for while waiting on the immunization executionner to come visit us...the one below is of her sweet little roly-poly leg with a band-aid.

Is her chubby little dimpled leg not the cutest thing ever? Too bad that rolls of chub looks so adorable on babies and is so NOT adorable on their adult counterparts. I am rocking the chub rolls right now.. (LOL..which I hope to fix in short order).

Some observations about this new baby of ours during this first month (made by brothers, and parents alike).

1. (Dylan's observation)- It is good that Brynn is so cute, otherwise her crying would be really annoying...well...sometimes it is still annoying.

2. Attitude upon waste expulsion- already discussed (see above)

3. This baby girl can eat! 4 ounces...phsaw!! She is a growing girl for sure.

4. "She is just precious!" -- This comes from Keegan who frequently echoes Mamaw's sentiment that was expressed on the day this girl child was born.

So, we are hanging on, we are having fun, we are adjusting to the joys of Little Brynn.

We love you baby girl!

Ribbons and Hair Bows and PINK....Oh My!

2011-06-24T03:16:00.000-07:00

My last post was October 2010, and while I announced that I was pregnant, I didn't even write when I was told that our new bundle of joy was going to be a GIRL!!! Anyhow, on June the 2nd of 2011 Miss Brynn Elise Ramseyer made her debut into this world. She weighed 8 lbs and 15.6 ounces (big sweet baby girl that she is!) and was 23 and 1 quarter inches long! :) She was and is incredibly perfect in every sense of the word. We are swimming in pink around here and I am loving it!!!

I have three gorgeous babies (though Dylan and Keegan would balk at my use of that term in reference to them at this point...they are BIG boys now) and with the arrival of each one am amazed once again of the miracles that they are. They start out so tiny, fragile and dependant and I just sit and marvel when I look at Brynn as I rock her and then look at Dylan and Keegan. It does not seem so long ago that I held them as I do her and yet the years are evident as I watch them wrestling, holding hilarious conversations and being their adorable yet growing selves.

Anyhow, they are both enthralled with our sweet baby girl. She even thinks of crying (squishes up her cute little face and makes the slightest sounds) and Keegan is running for the pacifier and talking to her while Dylan rushes up to make sure Keegan has it covered. LOL...half the time they are on top of it before I even get to my little baby. She already has those boys wrapped around her sweet itty bitty fingers...and I believe that they both know it.

There are so many things about newborns that I have forgotten and yet it all comes rushing back as we go through it.

1. You NEVER remove the dirty diaper before having the new one laid out and ready to lock and load.

2. Even after a great burping (this little lady is a CHAMPION burper) you ALWAYS use a burp cloth when bouncing on your shoulder.

3. Always have a change of clothes ready no matter where you are because even if you are the most diligent parent in the world; bodily fluids of some sort will present themselves on clothing at the most inconvenient of times.

These are all basic newborn care rules, but it is amazing the simple facts you forget when it has been about 7 years since the last baby ruled your house.

I am tickled, I am happy...I am loving this life of mine.

Will post pics tonight!

Upside Down, Inside out and starting over

2010-10-31T06:57:00.000-07:00

Well...since my life has effectively been turned upside down and flipped around I figured it is time once again to pick up my blogging. We have bought our first home and are leaving the renting community behind. While this probably sounds a bit silly for a mother of a 6 and 8 year old, I am actually glad that we waited as we are buying what we really want and totally skipping the 'starter home' phase. HA~ Anyhow....I live among boxes...lots and lots of boxes. I wish that at this point I could call it organizaed chaos but I would be telling a lie of a large magnitude I fear. Who knew we had all this stuff?
Anyways...not only are we embarking upon moving into our new house...but we will be having an addition to this little established family of mine sometime in the late spring/early summer I believe. I am terribly excited, a tad bit nervous (having not done the baby thing in 6 years) and happy that the boys are so excited. They were all excited at the thought of a baby brother until I burst the bubble by saying "uhhh...guys...we don't really get to pick. We get the baby that god wants us to have and that should be a member of our family, girl or boy." The look on their faces was priceless. It had not even crossed their mind that a sister was a remote possibility. HA! We shall see.....they are fine after I told them that if it is a girl we can teach her boy things....like playing basketball, climibing trees and yes......girls can even wrestle some (though we would have to be VERY careful) when they are a bit older. LOL...
Lots of changes in store for this Quartet!

Easter

2010-05-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

Yeah...I know...writing about Easter on Memorial day? I am taking what I can get at this point in hopes of catching my blog up a bit. These last two months have been totally jammed packed with blog worthy news, totally adorable pictures (of course they are adorable when the majority of them feature Mr. Dylan Keith and Keegan Maurice ;)) and I have been busting to get some of them out here.

Anyhow...where was I? Ahhh yes, Easter! Easter this year was really quite warm and was a wonderful day. First stop this was Anderson to celebrate with my side of the family. We had an Easter egg hunt for the boys, good conversation, good food and I got alot of really great pics! :) The Easter bunny brought WAY too many eggs for a 2 boy Egg hunt extraveganza...but they surely enjoyed it. As soon as we had finished hiding all of them and we brought the boys out the door from the porch, they both saw the same egg and were off to a run. Keegan reached it first and Dylan stood back and was not a happy camper. Keegan is racing from egg to egg, scouting and off, and Dylan is standing in the driveway saying he didn't want to hunt for them any more. I was getting quite frustrated when mom told Dylan to look up high in one of the trees. The attitude was dissipated when he laughed seeing the oddity of an egg way up there. That was courtesy of Uncle Mikie. ;) He ended up using a downed branch to hit the egg out of its nesting place.

Then of course got some great pics of the boys with Mamaw and Papaw :)

The next pic of Dylan I think is honestly the coolest picture I have ever taken and it was on accident. I snapped the picture when I was starting to lose my balance..amazing when art and clumsiness collide :)

After Mom and Dad's then we were off to Joni's. The boys played Basketball with Nana and had a night time quick game of baseball with dad. And.........of course Ang got the camera out there too! :)

Hope everyone had a marvelous Easter!

2010-04-22T22:57:00.000-07:00

What happens when you cross a pair of glasses with an energetic 7 year old boy?

Utter destruction

Frame bent so that you cannot reattach one of the side arms any more,

the one arm left looks like it has been taken to a rock it is scratched so bad at the EAR.

How you ask? Don't...I haven't the slightest and Mr. Man tells me that he is pretty sure that he has not been taking them off and rubbing them on the sidewalk.

We had this pair of glasses for a total of 6 months.

We got a new pair of glasses....they bend in every which way and are meant to be durable enough for rough and tumble little boys.

Why did I ask Dylan when he got home where his new glasses were at and he replied "You are going to eat me for dinner!" After I assured him that this was not the case he told me that he was playing and the lenses on his new glasses keep popping out. ARRRRGGGH.

After pulling them out of his backpack (the bottom of his backpack mind you...underneath heavy books no less) and upon inspection....it was just missing a screw in the side...

Though the missing screw is long gone...we found one that fit and we are good.

AND...the glasses.....

Still fit, Still bendable, Still in tact.....For now.

Dear Dylan....some day I will tell you exactly how much money I have spent on blue jeans that get a hole in the knees the very next day, glasses like the ones above, and other items that just aren't strong enough to survive your enthusiasm and energy. I will tell you this so that someday when your little boy comes home saying that you are going to eat him for dinner and explains his latest errand of destruction, you will understand when you call up your old mom and I chuckle. Just for the record baby boy...I wouldn't damper that enthusiasm or energy for all the un-holy blue jeans or unbreakable anything in the world.

Yowzzza

2010-04-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Today while I was on conference call number three I realized that it was April 15th....which is CRAZY....I distinctly remember my boys "tricking" me with really obvious psyche outs all day yesterday and yelling "April Fools!!" That was yesterday wasn't it? HA! I am not going to go into all the details of the last couple of weeks because you know that tomorrow evening throughout various intervals of my weekend I will be posting pics and updating my poor neglected space in the blogosphere. However, as a quick, down and dirty small list of what we have been up to these last couple of weeks.....we have destroyed the indestructable glasses (well not totally destroyed but enough to have to make another trip to the optometrist yet again); had another visit from the tooth fairy, received a love letter of sorts from a shameless 5 year old hussy...THIS one I WILL be posting further about in the near future, received notice that our son will be on the patient list of an orthodontist here in town very shortly, worked on my resume for a very interesting proposal I have been approached with at work....AND have been in a perpetual state of confusion after seeing that the government thinks that they can now only approve student loans for jobs that are needed at the time. They will only be granting so many loans for doctors (and THEN they will let you know if the specialty that you are wanting to enter in is one that we need more of or else you have to pick something else), lawyers, accountants...etc...yes our government is going to be picking career choices for people...sound familiar...that is because it is ...in COMMUNIST countries...I digress......the last part isn't so much related to what the Ramseyer fam has been up to. It is only in here because this is my blog post and I can leave it there if I want to. ;) Be back blogging at you soon!

The Guys in our Garage

2010-03-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

With the onset of warmer weather (which was late in coming around this year), Chris has been spending alot of time in the garage grooming and tweaking his motorcycles. He has a Ducati 999R and an R6 and is itching to get them both out on the track this spring after a long winter of no riding. I don't spend much time talking about or blogging out his obsessions with fast bikes and the upgrades that are the elusive "musts" for a better track performance, but there you are. : )

This year, the boys have really taken an interest in going out to the garage to help Dad with the bikes. The first time they went out there to "help", I was sure that they would be trudging back in the house in short order after being bored to death. However...they stayed out there so long that I went to check on them twice and came back out with my camera. Chris gave them each tasks...like holding the flashlight and holding screws/bolts etc...and they were totally loving it. When I came out to get some pictures, Chris was going into a very detailed explanation of the part he was holding and both boys were wide eyed and asking questions.

Now anytime that Chris is in the garage for more than 10 minutes, the boys ask if it is okay to go help Dad. HA! I loved all the pictures, but the one below needs a caption that says "My dad has no idea what I am REALLY doing to his bike!" :)

The next are some more that I snapped of both boys helping Daddy.

And last but not least is Dylan Keith's frustrated 'Will you stop taking pictures of me and let me get back to work' face. I believe that my mom actually has a picture of me making almost this exact same face on my 6th birthday. At least I was able to get several (of course only included a few here) pictures of the three of them before my photo session was ended.

Dylan's Doctor Visit

2010-03-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

Today was Dylan's appointment at the ENT doctor and after review of his files (including the number of times that he has had strep throat this year) and referral as well as a gander at his HUGE tonsils, I was informed by Dr. Phillips that he most definently was advocating for their removal. So....the surgery is scheduled for June the 7th..we figured that was coming. While we were waiting in the room for the doctor to come visit with us, Dylan was being his cute little self and I remembered that I had my camera in my purse. This is now standard operating procedure for me going forward. :) I took it out and this is what I got. Dylan...you are just adorable boy...totally adorable! I realized while taking your picture how big you were getting and almost teared up....and then you stuck your tongue out at me and started laughing and I laughed instead of cried. This is the very same grin you used with devasting charm as a baby...and I can swear to you that it has not changed at all.

Bookworm

2010-03-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday of this week I volunteered to work the school book fair for 2 hours in the afternoon. During a break in between classes scheduled to come down, I got to browse through books with both the boys and let them pick out several to add to our collection at home. Seeing their choices was quite rewarding as they chose mostly science and fact books...with a few cute story books, one of which plays to every boy by being titled "The Dinosaur that Loved to Wear Underpants".
Anyone who knows me knows that I am an avid reader. I have a list of books to read and I love to read across many different genres. Just finished up Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy which was a very moving (though fictional) story that was beautifully written. I am tickled that the boys still asked to be read a story at bedtime and that they also enjoy reading stories to me. Really hoping that lasts! :)

Baby Shower

2010-03-24T21:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a hectic yet very fun day. It is always a bit nerve wracking (at least it is to me) to throw a party that should be a memorable event in someone's life. Really...who wants to be the host of a party that will only be remembered in years to come as boring or unoriginal? I would imagine that all of us party planners out there aspire to greatness and envision an event that is remembered as a large time. You plan decorations, games, and party favors and hope that everyone truly enjoys themselves...most of all the person that you are throwing the party for. Taking into account the variety of folks that will be attending and the fact that several of them are friends and work friends (that you have never met) of the honored guest, you end up relying on that acclaimed female instinct to be the ultimate guide in determining what is going to win the crowd.

Pursuant to rules I learned in the early years of elementary, Who, What, When, Where,Why and sometimes How....(or was that sometimes Y?) should be the meat and potatoes of any article. Not one to argue with such sound principles, let me break it down for you.

Who: In honor of Elizabeth (Bethie) Johnson and the expected arrival of Miss Rylie Paige and hosted by yours truly
What: Baby Shower (I know...the title gave it away again)
When: Saturday March the 20th from 2:00-4:00 pm
Where: My Momma's house. She lives in Anderson, Beth lives in Yorktown (10 mins away), they both work in Anderson and many of the guests were from there as well. Makes sense doesn't it?Plus...Mom and Dad's pool table/rather large family room was BEGGING to be decked out in Pink, pink and more pink
Why: To celebrate the impending arrival of my little neice....and because I love my sister very much and was tickled to be able to throw her baby shower.
How: Because I am one fabulously awesome diva that likes to party...likes to plan...is a bit quirky and pulled off a fun baby shower...No one was chanting "Rudy, Rudy, Rudy" while I was wearing my heart on my sleeve and handing out toilet paper...but I am sure the party was a Rudyesque success! ;)

Mom made a FABULOUS diaper cake...she was so excited telling me about it on the phone but I must sheepishly admit that the excitement at first was a bit lost on me since I had not seen one before and was not expecting anything like the work of art that she had created. ROCK on MOM!!! :)

I made party favors

And we decked out the room with PINK everything.

In the process of shopping for decorations I found that I live only 15 minutes away from a Party Central in Plainfield and I have to say that little fact tickles me to death as it was a mecca of everything you could possibly need to decorate for ANY type of party.

Anyhow...we played a guess the size of Bethies Belly game with toilet paper and a game called "Tinkle in the Jar"...since expectant mothers have to "tinkle" all the time you lead in with that and then explain the rules. It is a race of sorts with two jars on opposite sides of the room...the racers have to place a quarter in between their knees and waddle to the jar without losing it. After you make it to the jar you release the Quarter --no hands of course-- and it makes the tinkle sound. :) First person to get it in wins and the winner is in for round two...winners keep racing each other until you are down to the victor and prize winner. It was a fun game to participate in and watch. I do have to say I was a little concerned though after I outlined it and asked who wanted to go first. Silence...Silence....Silence....then after I said "C'mmon" in a wheedling, please don't make me beg kind of way....we had two takers and then others from there. What the crowd did not know was that I was not above throwing quarters and yelling "Play Dang You Play!!!" LOL... no seriously... :)

We had a diaper raffle of which everyone was informed on the invitation and so Bethie got a ton of diapers which will be coming in handy shortly. I had advertised on said invitations to bring a bag of diapers if they would like to be entered into the raffle for the chance at a great prize. Did I have in mind the "great prize" when I said that...not specifically...I had ideas..but then of course obssesed and stressed over what to get. It was originally going to be a spa gift certificate...but it would have to be from Anderson and I started thinking what if someone wins that doesn't live in Anderson? What if the person that wins it isn't the type to enjoy a spa package? Hard to imagine I know but I know some ladies that probably would just let it sit and I didn't want it to be a waste. Then I thought...restaurant gift card...and then of course my evil, nothing you do is gonna make you happy voice started harrassing me about how everyone has different taste and with my luck I would pick a steak house and the winner would be vegan.....so what you may be asking did Ang settle on?...a Visa gift card. The winner can do whatever the heck she wanted with it and good riddance :)...too much stress. I would be happy to win a $50.00 card that I could spend anywhere I wanted...so that was that.

I had found a Mom to Be sash that I had to make Bethie wear at first and then she wouldn't take it off...very cute! :)

And of course me and Bethie had several pics taken after the guests went home. Sorry Mom...LOL..she kept snapping pics and then Beth wouldn't like it or I wouldn't like it and we asked her to take it again. I think by the 9th do over she was over us. HA!

And THIS is what happens when you try to spare asking your mom again who is laughing at both you and your sister's vanity and own personal photo session

Regretfully...mom only got one pic of me and Beth with Sarah and of course when I was saving pics I was not happy with the fact that it was unflattering of me, so I am not posting it. Next time Sar, I promise I will review the picture first and then we will make mom take 50 of em if needed like Bethie and I did...ha ha ha...make no mistake...my mom takes very, very good pictures..but it was body flaws and/ or flyaway hair that was captured in some so those were eliminated. :)

However...at Bethie's shower I did get a couple of REALLY good pics of Sarah and Emma too. The below pics were my favorites.

Isn't Emma a cutie?

I cannot wait to meet Rylie and I am crossing my fingers and my toes that she looks just like Bethie did when she was little.

To Beth:

Thanks so much for letting me throw your baby shower. I had a ton of fun planning it and was so happy to get to do that for you. I don't tell ya often enough how much I love you...and when we were young and you were the devil incarnate I still loved you.

To Rylie:

Auntie Ang cannot wait to meet you and give you big smooches and snuggles. When and if you have an abundance of your mommy's...hmm...we'll say 'spunk' ....and you pull some crazy shennanigans and you get scared of her because you know you are in some serious doo doo.....you just call up your Auntie Ang and hand the phone to Mommy. I will remind her of all the doo doo she got into and the many times she shared in getting us other sibilings in it too. ;) Much love baby girl....Life is gonna be GOOD!!! :)

All Around Our Town at Northwood Elementary

2010-03-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday was All Around our Town day at Northwood Elementary (LOL...sure you got that from the title of this post). I had so much fun volunteering to help with a booth...AND I got to observe my boys during a rather large school activity. Anyhow...let me explain a little bit about what exactly All Around our Town day is. In the school gym, booths are set up all over from different companies and services in Mooresville Indiana. The kids from K-2nd grade come in and "work" at each booth earning "money" (or points rather) on a paystub with their name. The activities are related to the business running each booth and age appropriate. For example, I helped out at the St. Francis booth...for the 2nd graders we had a syringe that they had to measure and get the right amount of medicine (really of course it was just fruit punch) into a medicine cup. For the Kindergartners and first graders, we had a teddy bear with a timer in its back. They had to tell me what a stethoscope was used for, who usually has one and then they had to try to listen for the heartbeat on our bear. The children were supposed to come up to you and then say "Hi...my name is ______ and I would like to work for you today". It was absolutely adorable. At the end of their time in the gym, they got to take their paychecks to the school store and buy some of the toys, notebooks, and school supplies that cost the amount of money that they had earned. I do truly love this school. They do a ton of really neat activities like this that teach the kids needed skills while allowing them to have fun doing so. Representatives from the Fire Dept, Police Station, State Farm Insurance, St Francis Hospital, library and the electric company were there amongst many others. Both my boys came over with grins on their faces to do the activity that I was assisting to host and I know I am so terribly biased...but they were so stinking cute!!! When Dylan and Keegan saw each other they gave each other a high five and then ran over to me to get some hugs. Can I tell you that I LOVE the fact that they are not embarrassed to show love like hugs and kisses to their ole mom yet? I will bear it stoically when it happens (I promise...I really will try to remember that being cool is important to boys when they get a bit older)...but for now I am glad I don't have to!! ;)

Getting to meet other children the same age and gauge their responses and attitudes was totally fun too. I got a really good laugh when one of the little boys that came over from the other hospital booth asked me if he could take the scrubs mask and hair net off.. I told him that I was sure he could but he needed to make sure to take it with him so he could save it. His response "Good....I am tired of walking around looking like a freak" HA!!!! I got a good laugh out of that. Another little girl came over and when she heard the bear's heartbeat through the stethoscope she actually started freaking out a little bit and said "OH MY GOSH...you have a real bear...that bear has a REAL heartbeat...it is not fake!!!" I hurriedly explained that we put a timer in it's back so that they could hear a sound through the stethoscope that sounded like a heartbeat. HA! I thought she was going to have a bonafide melt down. One of the other little girls that came to the station where they had to look at x-rays and identify which part of the body it was a picture of, was having trouble identifying the neck..when the woman asked her again to look here was the head, there were the shoulders..what is this part? The girl responded...Awww....hell...I don't know...WHEW...can we say glad it was not my child and talk about embarrassing!! It is quite entertaining and eye opening to talk to all sorts of children with different experiences and different upbringings. When you start asking them questions they are bound to be honest and open...LOL..some obviously more than you would have wanted them to. What fun though! I do confess that I LOVE to volunteer for stuff like this for the school, but it always leaves me in a pickle when it comes to pictures. I can only take pictures when I am not in the middle of what I am supposed to be doing...so...I have posted the only ones I got. ;) Oh well..until I get someone to follow me around 24-7 taking pictures when I want them to, I will have to make due with the best I can get in the time I can get them. :)

The loss of Keegan's first baby tooth

2010-03-11T22:59:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning...bright and early I hear Keegan say close to my ear "Oh mmmooooooooommmm" It was a sing-song-oh-so-cute-I-know-something-you-don't kind of voice and when I opened my eye he pointed to his mouth. He was grinning so big and whispered..."Feel my tooth mom....it is really loose!" I almost groaned. I had heard nothing of any loose teeth the night before and I assumed that meant that we were getting ready to have the same conversation that we had when Dylan lost his last tooth a couple of months ago. Keegan told me almost every night for a week "My tooth is loose mom" and I would try to wiggle a totally nonbudging baby tooth. I explained each night back then that his time would be coming and he should under no circumstance be trying to wiggle his teeth hard enough to jar those babies into early retirement. So imagine my surprise when I "feel his tooth" and it is truly moving all the way front to back so easily I knew it had to be close. I perfomed the 'is it ready to pull with no discomfort test' (which is moving it from side to side and if it wants to come up out of the gum that way on the wiggle it is TOTALLY time) and sure enough that tooth was hanging on by a very small thread. HA! When told Keegan he was right and I was going to pull it...he screamed YES! and climbed onto my lap. :) One tiny tug and I had a cute itty bitty baby tooth sitting in my hand. Keegan was grinning....Dylan came in to give Keegan a congratulatory pat on the back with a high five and Keegan did a happy dance bellowing "The tooth fairy is coming tonight BABY!!!!"
The tooth fairy waited that evening and slipped into the bedroom leaving her very generous gift under the pillow and another baby tooth in this household has officially bitten the dust. I loved seeing my little babies with gummy grins and no teeth...and I loved watching their little first baby teeth poke through (though do not mistake me and think that I am saying I love the whole teething process which is NOT fun)...and now I am seeing those little teeth that I watched break through gums not so long ago fall out to be replaced by adult permanent teeth...funny cycle it is. :) Congrats Keegan on joining the Missing teeth club populated by so many of your fellow kindergarten pals... :)

Upwards Awards Ceremonies 2010

2010-03-11T22:17:00.000-08:00

Sunday March the 7th at 2:00 you would have found us at the Mooresville High School Gymnasium for the Upwards end of season Awards ceremonies. Actually, you would have BARELY found us there at that time because I think I had hands of both of the boys and we were flying through the door at right before 2:00. The gymnasium parking is terribly inadequate and we had to park WAY out there and it ended up being a mad sprint to get into the entrance marked with a big number 8. Anyhow....it was a packed event. All of the kids that participated in the program sat on the bleachers on one side of the gym and the parents sat on the others. I said "You want them to sit .....there.....and me to sit way over ...there?" GULP...I get a very odd, nervous, not happy place kind of reaction to being separated from my children in a huge crush of people. I mean...okay...so it was not like they were being left on bleachers with no supervision. Their coaches were sitting with the teams and yet I still found myself looking at all the parents and mentally trying to map the route I would take to descend from the nose bleed section of bleachers after the ceremony was over that would get me to my boys the quickest. I mean...coaches are good and all that...but they are guys...guys that are not ALWAYS paying attention to MY guys...like I would be and would they walk Keegan to and from the bathroom if he had to go instead of just showing him where it was and expecting him to get back to their team after he was done????...I mean.....he is 5 and this is the high school...and...HA! I can still get myself a bit worked up about it but do realize I can be a bit more obsessive than most and try to 'go with the flow' when deemed appropriate.

They brought in a team of Pacers sponsored Basketball acrobats to entertain the kids and they did some really awesome tricks from a trampoline to the hoop in a routine resplendant with some old school hip hop. I laughed when I looked over to see Keegan bobbing his head to the beat of the music. That boy was just busting to dance. HA! Dylan was in a trance watching the boys fly through the air doing flip after flip from the trampoline to the basket. Every feat performed earned a great big grin and I could tell they were both really enjoying it. Heck....I was really enjoying it!

After the performance, they called each childs name while they ran through the door of fame to center court to receive their award. It was so cute to watch the kids...some ran as fast as they could when their name was called over the loud speaker...MR. Dylan fell into this category and after he received his award he slowly strutted off to sit with the rest of his team. Other children walked or skipped to the middle. MR. Keegan did a combo. He was walking til he looked around at all of the people watching him and then did a skip run to the line. LOL...you can see it in the pics. Dylan was a BLUR (I must learn how to take action shots if it is possible with my camera and if not dear friend then you are about to be upgraded) but you can see from Keegan's pic a part of the combo I referenced. ;)

Anyhow...it was loads of fun...and I did safely retrieve my children at the end of the program. :) LOVED Basketball season and I will be counting the months til the start of it rolls our way again!

Career Paths

2010-02-25T19:40:00.000-08:00

My boys have been enthralled with wrestling lately. Not the real sport kind of wrestling....but Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Undertaker and ole school Hulk Hogan kind of totally fake and way over the top wrestling. We never watch it here. Not my cup of tea (go figure)...however..they have talked to all their buddies and had begged for the WWE wrestling playstation game, which they did get for Christmas. So....we are at Nana and Jack's house last weekend and guess what program comes on? WWE Royal Rumble. Let me tell you....both of the boys' eyes did not move from the screen and they were in utter amazement as all of their game heros come out on the screen in the flesh. Keegan starts singing the theme songs, which he somehow has memorized all of from his game and they both were so excited. I am sitting on the couch trying not to roll my eyes as the boys are saying things like "Ohhh...that had to hurt"...I didn't want to ruin it by telling them that it would only hurt if the wrestler had in fact been hit instead of missed by a mile and only acting like he had just been beaten to within an inch of his very life.
It is during this time that Keegan turns around and says "Mom, I am really going to be a professional wrestler when I grow up" I say "Keegan, I thought you wanted to be a brain surgeon when you grow up...that is a great plan." His reply??? "That is what my wrestling name is going to be....The BRAAAAAIN Surgeon". He told Nana that she could be his manager...but "if you want to be my manager then whatever guy I am versing you have to make sure to hit in the head with your clipboard." We were all dying....He was being totally serious and telling Nana what would be expected of her if she wanted the job. I thought that he would forget all about it but this week he has really been planning through how this is all going to be accomplished and has worked it out in marvelous 5 year old detail. Earlier he told me that I would have to make sure to drop him off at the wrestling place when he grew up...and that I would need to come pick him up at "half time" and then drop him off again because he won't know how to get there. He insisted on calling Uncle Mikie and when I gave him the phone I could only hear bits and peices of the conversation but I did hear Keegan tell Mikie that "Sure you can be my tag team partner." HA! He is cracking me up and of course Chris has been downloading them old wrestling videos like from the days of Jessie "the body" Ventura. Chris has admitted that he loved WWF until his dad took him to a real event, they got up close seats and he saw that all the moves were fake. FOR THE LOVE............
I asked Dylan during all the hoopla (when they were both singing the songs and showing all of us their super duper wrestling moves) if he wanted to be a wrestler too....and he looked at me and said "No...I just want to be a computer guy...but I do want to watch Keegan". ATTA boy Dylan Keith!! ;) Let's all cross our fingers that Keegan does not turn out to be a spandex-wearin' beefed up drama king wrestler one of these days. If you won't be crossing yours...I sure the heck will be!!!!

Hoosier Hoops

2010-02-22T18:26:00.000-08:00

I have neglected to post about the very part of our lives that has had me tickled for the past several weeks, but will remedy this with a post tonight. :) Both Dylan and Keegan have found a true love for the sport of basketball. They have been playing in the Upwards league here in Mooresville and it has been a true pleasure to see them so excited to learn all the ins and outs and to practice dribbling, passing and shooting. They both were able to be on the same team this year because the divisions are by grade with Kindergarten and first grade boys being together. Their team name is the Hoosiers and they have been practicing every Tuesday since the beginning of January and have had games every Saturday. At the start of every game, they announce each child as they run through doorway streamers and a smoke machine. It is so very sweet to see the pure excitement on each boys face as they run as fast as they can to the center court to clapping and shouts. Yes....they even have cheerleaders!

Keegan is one of the youngest on the team. As such, he has had a bit harder of a time with dribbling and he does not always make it the long long way up to the basket because, let's face it...he is almost two years younger than Dylan and the arm strength has not totally yet kicked in (though he has had a couple rim shots that I could not be prouder of from his little 5 year old self). I am happy to say though that my sweet, sweet boy sure enough makes up for all of that with his enthusiasm to play and learn and gives his all every game. He is the sweetest little guy and he was grinning from ear to ear when coach told him last game that he is their most valuable defensive player because he always stays on top of his guy and is getting better and better every game. Here are some pictures of superstar Keegan on the court in his glory.

Dylan has been doing a great job as well. He is one of the older ones on his team but this is his first time ever playing and I have been astounded at how easily he has stepped into it. At the last practice he made every single shot he took which were many. His coach has said that Dylan is a natural and was surprised that he had not played before on a team. It is hilarious to watch him take the ball down court and his little swagger. He has also done several fake out passes that were executed so perfectly I was honestly a bit flabbergasted. Who knew my boy was such a pro? See below for some pics of Big D:

It has been a fun, fun season. I am going to be so sad to see it end and I know the boys will be too. It has been so much fun to watch them play together. When either Dylan or Keegan has the ball they always look for each other first to see if they can pass it to the other. After the game, they each try to talk at the same time, excitedly firing off sentences like "Did you see when I...or Remember when you?" I have also included some of the pics of the boys together during the game. These are some of the best days of my life folks!

Rock ON Hoosiers!!! :)

Valentine's Day Classroom Parties

2010-02-11T20:30:00.000-08:00

Today marked the day of the Valentine's parties at Northwood Elementary school for K-6. I am the room parent in Dylan's first grade class this year. As such, I get to plan and execute the class party...YEAH!!! :) I wish I could be room parent for both my boys, but figure I will just need to start switching off years. Anyhow, I enlisted Chris's help (there are never very many parents that come) and he ran the cookie decorating station while I helped the kids with the craft. I do have to admit that it is truly chaotic as for some silly reason they only have a half an hour party. It is extraordinarily difficult to get through a couple of activites with 24 kids in that kind of a time constraint...but we did it (BARELY)..and nobody missed the bus! Score for Ang and Chris! The first couple of pictures are of the kids handing out their Valentines which was so much fun to watch. They were all really excited and as they were reading the names they were hurrying across the room to deliver them so we could start the activities.

We split the kids into two groups...12 kids went to the table and they decorated sugar cookies with red icing and lots of different Valentine's trimmings...little chocolate hearts, different color sugars, sprinkles, etc. :)

The other 12 then sat at their desk and worked on making foam Valentines with foam stickers and foam markers...can you tell I am a big fan of 'the foam'? LOL...the foam stickers just have the adhesive strip on back that you peel and it is so much faster to get it all together than using glue or tape.

We then flipped groups and we just scraped through getting everyone done with both. Chris ran over to Keegan's room and got a few pics of him working on the craft that they were doing in his room.

Getting all kids through planned festivities---Check

Meeting crazy time constraints--Check

Getting told by a little boy (that was not my own) how much fun the party was and then looking over to see my husband helping 12 kids SMOTHER cookies in red icing and sprinkles--Priceless.

Oh NO!! Cavity Calamity

2010-02-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

Well....much to my chagrin, I had to take Dylan to the dentist yesterday to have the very first cavity from either of the boys (at 7 and 5 I know that is not saying much) filled. He had a cavity in one of his top Baby teeth, but since it is in the back and is one that he is going to keep for 4 or 5 more years, it had to be filled. Yes, my children do brush their teeth. Is mommy going to be much more diligent in the scrubbing of the teeth even when the boys are grumbling that it is taking to long....YES!! Dylan was a great sport about the whole thing...he had laughing gas and didn't fuss at all when I saw that big ole long horrid needle go into his mouth. At the point that the dentist pulled that needle off the tray I wanted to yank the mask with the funny fumes and huff it as quickly as I could for my own nerves. It does very odd things to a mom watching them pull that sucker out and knowing that it is going to be stuck in your babies gums (even though they had a ton of numbing agent swabbed first and the gas was on full tilt). Much to my surprise, it was actually over very quickly with no apprehension or fear from my little man. I was going to snap a couple picks in the chair...but then I didn't want the office folk to think "Look at that crazy mom trying to get a pic to document the boys appointment for his first cavity"..so I snapped a couple in the car. :) We were also advised that I need to call and make an appointment for an orthodontist to look at his teeth. He has a baby tooth on the side front but it is coming in and there is no where for it to go...LOL..poor guy...Him and Keegan do not stand a chance on not having to have braces as both Chris and I had them. Dylan has my teeth and Keegan has not lost his first baby tooth yet so I am not sure what his big boy teeth are gonna look like. Sorry Dylan...sure wish I had a better dental genetic blueprint that I could have passed to ya. :)

If you look closely to the pics you can tell which side of his mouth was affected. I was so scared that he was going to open a gash on the inside of his cheek when eating since everything was numb..but luckily that did not happen.

Happy Brushing!!! :)

2010 Super Bowl Sadness

2010-02-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

Watched the super bowl tonight with the husband and boys. We were united in our Blue Fever...the evening started out great. We yelled, we hollered...we consumed too much popcorn. We all wore grins and were happy at the time that The Who came out for the half time show. Little by little during the 3rd Q the stress picked up. By the dreadful time I realized that the dream of glory for our Colts was finished for the year, I look over and Chris was passed out on one couch, Dylan and Keegan were snoring on the other...and I wished that I too had the mercy of sleeping through an upset that just hurt. I wish that I could be the bigger person and say "Way to go Saints"...but in reality. I cannot...I am irritated, I am bitter and in the best interest of not being a hateful person I am preparing myself for bed. Drew Brees was crying after the win while holding his son (this I was told by my mother-in-law while on the phone) and I knew that I needed to vent (here) and then slumber (in bed) because I found myself hoping that he cries enough for his face to be swollen beyond recognition and blotchy in the morning. Yes...that is horrid of me and I have admitted my shame and I hope I will be sorry for it in the morning.

The Writings and Stylings of Dylan and Keegan Ramseyer

2010-02-06T12:40:00.000-08:00

This week the boys brought home several papers...Well...honestly...who am I kidding? They bring home several papers everyday, but this last week I got several that fell into the memorable category and thought I would share a couple of them.

Paper number one from Dylan was a writing assignment directed to answer the question whether or not he would like to be a Vet when he grew up. The stories they were reading last week had to do with veterinary practices.

"I would like to be a Vet. If I was near a dog that bites I would run away. I hate to be near a dog that bites. I like being near Keegan so I am not lost. I want Keegan to be a vet too."

By Dylan

Paper number two regarding the subject of Robots

"If I had a robot I would want it to clean my room. I also want it to play Nerf. Robots can also be in games. I also want it to have fun with me and then I would have two brothers."

By Dylan

It is so much fun for me to read what the boys have written about specific subjects. Honestly, many of the papers that they have brought home are about things that I never would think to ask them about...like what they would do with a robot. :) Though I heartily agree....that I would love for Dylan to have a robot to clean his room...LOL

Keegan, being in Kindergarten, is geting the hang of writing as well though his papers are usually one or two sentences, they are also very entertaining. He brought home a paper that asked what they would like to work on in the new year.

"I will always be nise to my bruther."

by Keegan

His teacher wrote "Mom and Dad will like this resolution. :)"

Most of the time the boys do play very well together and Dylan's teacher told me this year at parent teacher conferences that it is very rare to see brothers as close and loving towards each other as they are. The funny thing was the very evening that I got the paper with Keegan's New Year resolution the boys were wrestling in the hallway. Keegan was on top of Dylan and Dylan was yelling "Keegan GET OFF me!!" I came up and Keegan while still straddling his brother stopped and looked at me. "Keegan...I thought you always were going to be nice to your brother?" His response to my query? "DARN IT!" He climbed off Dylan and held out his hand to help Dylan up and all was well.

BABY love

2010-02-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

I love babies...yep...I do...I sure do. I LOVE the fact that my siblings have now come to the point in their lives where they are providing me with some itty bitty nieces and nephews to snuggle and cuddle. I was able to get my baby fix this week...on Tuesday to be exact. Jaxson Michael Reichenbach was born on Tuesday to my brother and his wife Sunny. It has been so much fun to see my brother so happy..and nervous...and happy some more. He is gonna be one of the great daddys in this world and my heart swelled to meet the newest addition to our family which is growing by leaps and bounds my friends. I got some pics...but because I left my memory stick in the computer instead of putting it back into my camera, the pics got stored on the camera's memory and I have been unable to find what the heck I did with my mini cable adapter to get them off....SO....I had to snag some from my mom until I can get my husband to find me a replacement cable. :) Feast your eyes on this sweet little boy...he won't stay this way for very long...SIGH...they never do.

And yes....of course I got one with me and MR. man...Love you baby Jaxson!! :) Dylan and Keegan cannot wait to meet you!!!

100th day of school

2010-01-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

Okay....so the weekly post didn't happen...but one week and some change is far better than my previous track record. I am getting there and I am not counting this as a miss. LOL... Anyhow....For the 100th day of school the Kindergartener's have a big bash to celebrate their first ever 100 days of school. :) Last year, for Dylan's class we had to make a project that utilized 100 of something that they loved. It could be anything at all and with a project scope that big my creative juices were bubbling. I had all sorts of ideas...but since it was of course Dylan's project and not mine I asked him what he wanted to do and stumbled a bit when he said "something Star Wars"...hmm...my 100 ideas started to shrink quickly. After realizing that there was no way we were going to be able to draw any of the Star Wars characters and make it look decent, Chris got sent on an expeditionary adventure to Walmart to look for a Star Wars poster. He came back with a great poster and I had asked him also to get two great big bags of M&Ms. We taped 100 M&Ms over the lengths of the light sabers (one being red and the other blue) which really made them pop out. It was really fun and the boys loved doing it together. I was tickled because we had two things that Dylan loves (first and foremost of course Star Wars and then in second place the M&Ms) and he was so pleased with it when we were all finished up. This year, Dylan is past this celebration as a seasoned first grader and it was Keegan's turn. I had been waiting for 100s day to roll around again this year and was really anticipating finding out what things that Keegan wanted to combine and coming up with a fun project. They changed up the game on us a bit. Imagine my surprise when I read the paper sent home in Keegan's folder indicating that instead of completing a project for the celebration this year, you had to dress like you were a 100 year old person. At first I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. Projects are so much fun to do with the boys and when the whole family gets involved to do one it is memorable. However, after I read through the guidelines again I began to see the possibilites. I had SO much fun putting together his outfit...though I have to admit he makes the cutest, most stylish 100 year old man I have ever seen...and can I tell you that I was in love with the suspenders on him? WAY cute! He even got slowly out of the car when it was time limping with his cane and groaning like he was in pain (he must think that to be 100 you have to be in constant agony) and had me laughing in fits that whole morning remembering it. Keegan you are going to be super fly when you get old my man! Happy first 100 days of school!

New Year Resolutions

2010-01-17T08:53:00.000-08:00

New Years resolutions are notoriously hard to keep. Every year I think of what I want to accomplish for the new year and stick to it for a hot second before they evaporate. So...this year...I have come up with my resolutions after much thought and deliberation. I have come up with reminders on my calendars and I have a plan folks. I think the reason that they are so hard to hang on to normally is that most all of them include changing habits which can be quite difficult. However...this year I have really put alot of thought into what each of my resolutions will require and what I can do in order to ensure that I stick to em. Below is my list and I am writing this here for all to see (well...whoever really looks at this besides me)

To update my blog every week: My life is flying. I mean really flying at a crazy speed. My boys are now 7 and 5 which seems totally surreal to me at times. I want to capture everything I can and there is nothing so important to me as documenting my memories so that I can look back in great detail--even at the small things.

To lose weight: I am not going to document exactly how much weight I need to lose out of embarrassment. I have let this go on for way too long and it is time to take it by the horns and really do something about it. Since my last baby was delivered over 5 years ago I cannot keep using the excuse that before I had babies I was the perfect size. It is my fault that I am where I am and it is time for me to accept responsibility and change it all.

To be more patient: This is going to be one of my most tricky goals as it involves a complete overhaul in reactions and attitudes in all situations. I have the best two boys in the whole wide world and they deserve more patience from me. I do good at it sometimes..but with others I struggle.

To learn how to play my guitar: I love music....always have and always will and have ALWAYS wanted to learn how to rock out on a guitar. My husband bought me a Les Paul and a line 6 amp for Christmas and my birthday so I will be doing it in style and I am so excited. I will be practicing after the boys go to bed every night for at least a little bit.

These are the things that I am going to accomplish in 2010. It is going to be a GREAT year!

Time Trials

2009-09-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

You know the song, "Time is on my side"? Well, it just ain't on mine! Between working over full time (yes folks, there is an over full time. It is called being a salaried employee where you work until you have everything done), volunteering to help at the boys' school, cub scouts, football, (football ending in 2 weeks and basketball starting in 3 weeks), as well as spending quality time with the boys, not even mentioning the regular tasks of dinner, baths, homework and household chores....I have come to the realization that I have got to come to a better grip with my time management skills to save my sanity. I looked at the calendar during one of the 4 conference calls I was on today and realized that tomorrow marks the beginning of 4th Quarter madness at work. I think I honestly about had a panic attack. I am struggling to find life balance and I am not doing so hot. I am a problem solver, it is what I do, it is what I am good at...but this is one Rubics' Cube I for some reason am not snapping right into place. Anyhow...on the optimistic side, I am still trying, have not and will not be giving up and am focusing on honing in slowly on areas that I am dragging in. I will not be giving up blogging (or facebook though I need to seriously limit the time that I 'surf'). Recording precious family moments and thoughts is important enough for me to work it in...and I know that I do have some time that I "dally" with each day...I just need to turn it in to more productive activities that will help me have everything positioned for the next day. I feel better, I have vented, I am strategizing and I will conquer ;) Anyhow...be on the lookout for posts either later tonight or tomorrow on the first day of school, Dylan's 7th birthday, Keegan's field trip and whatever else I can find time to backtrack with before I catch myself up again!

School time

2009-09-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

Yes the boys started school on August the 14th and whoa Nellie! This has been such a fun and busy time for us. With Dylan in first grade (which I must say is a HUGE adjustment and way more difficult than I ever remember 1st grade being) and Keegan starting Kindergarten, we are in full swing round here. I volunteer with Keegan's class every Monday for an hour during my lunch break and just make up the time later. It has been so much fun to be involved with the class and to get to know his teacher and the rest of his classmates. I could only volunteer for one and since this was Keegan's first venture in school I decided to do it for his class. I am head room parent on the PTO for Dylan's room, so I have gotten to be involved there in that capacity. While I cannot go into his room each week, I am the party coordinator for his class which was a blast for the Fall party (that post is coming up later...watch for it ;)) The boys are both doing really well and we just got the results from the first nine weeks. I was pleased. We have a couple of areas that we can work on of course, but Dylan got an A+ in 3 subjects and did very well on the others. Keegan isn't in the grading scale portion yet, but he seems to do really well and both teachers spoke about what great boys I have when I went for parent teacher conferences.

Keegan has already been on his very first field trip. I couldn't go because this was one that the teachers do without parent volunteers, but Keegan told me all about it and now wants to be a doctor. :) They called it "Let's Pretend Hospital". They took the kids over to St. Francis Hospital and gave them a tour. They each had to bring a stuffed animal and then they helped the kids to cast the leg of their lil stuffed pals. They also showed the kids an x-ray, which Keegan called an "etch-ray"...and he continued to talk about a girl that swallowed an earring and that etch-ray told the doctor what was wrong? LOL...trying to get all the details from Keegan was quite entertaining. I love to hear his spin on events...it is too darn cute! Anyhow...they gave the kids all some doctor gear to take home and I have included a picture of DR. Keegan at his finest!

Flag Football

2009-08-28T00:57:00.000-07:00

Yep...those are my boys...They are on the Blue Devil flag football team here in Mooresville and these last couple of weeks have been so much fun! Whether it is unpacking the lawn chairs for practice or games I am in heaven. I love to watch some football and watching my boys learn the fundamentals and really enjoying it has me totally psyched. Their first football game and then the second (we have only had two so far with a third tomorrow early morning) have just been an absolute riot to watch and they have done so well and are trying so hard. In the last game Dylan ran the ball, got one flag and Keegan ran the ball as well. I am just really glad that they are having so much fun with it.

You can see Keegan giving the kid he is getting ready to block "the look"....

Look at them all ready to go!! They know what they are about!

Seriously...I am lovin' this!

Keegan's birthday

2009-08-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

My little man Keegan had his 5th birthday on the 21st of July. This seems impossible to me. It seems like just yesterday I was holding him in my arms for the first time and I can easily remember how overjoyed I was that day. It has been so much fun watching him learn and grow and I cherish the time that has already passed as well as look forward with excitement to loving him and watching him learn and grow even more over the coming years. How is my baby 5 already????

Keegan, you are a joy to be around. You have such a sweet spirit about you and love to make others happy. I hope that you know now and always how much your mommy and daddy enjoy and love you. You are much loved by many sweet boy and Happy, Happy Birthday to you Mr. Chucklebug!! :) Here's to you babe!!

Busted

2009-07-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

Ha! Thought I would post this picture of Uncle Mikie teaching Dylan the finer points of a boy's life. Look at Dylan's little face gazing at him with total boyish adoration. My brother has taught Dylan many endearing things...such as how to burp on demand by gulping air quickly, singing the cops theme song when he got into trouble (I wondered where they learned the "bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do"...until Mikie started laughing and confessed when I told him about it) and making disturbing noises originating from the arm pit area. Oh Mike....vengeance will be mine...isn't Sunny due in February? LOL...

Celebrating the Fourth of July

2009-07-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Our country is one in which we are so blessed to live. We enjoy freedoms that many people in the world can only dream of. Our forefathers shed much blood, sweat and tears to ensure that future generations would enjoy a life in this country that they worked so hard to build. The original documents that outlined the way in which the country should be governed still hold fast (though unfortunately our government lately has not adhered to them as they should). I have always loved the Fourth of July and the celebrations that include fireworks of course. It is amazing to watch the sky lit up with the beautiful colors and to hear the songs that celebrate our precious liberty. It rained this year on the fourth so our fireworks show got postponed to the 5th. We watched them with Nana this year in Greentown. They were magnificent and I love the tingle that always creeps up and down my spine when I watch them and think about all of the sacrifce that went into making our country great. The boys loved watching the fireworks as well and it was alot of fun to hear them verbalize their pleasure with loud ohhs and ahhhs... :)

My country tis of thee//Sweet Land of Liberty

Of Thee I sing

Land where my Fathers died//Land of the Pilgrims Pride

From Every mountainside//Let FREEDOM RING!!!!!

The above is a picture with Nana and the boys in the back of Jack's pickup truck (which served as our own private firework viewing platform) :)
Can you by chance tell how hyped up a certain little 4 year old boy was?
En Garde...:) Chris was having fun lighting the sparklers for the kids after the fireworks show.

We picked up a couple of different kind of sparklers and Nana had some too. The ones that we got called 'Morning Glory' sparklers were really cool and changed colors. They also happened to be the largest sparklers that I have ever seen.
It was a great holiday, hope y'all had fun at your 4th celebrations too!!

That crazy Tooth Fairy!!!!

2009-07-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Our tooth fairy got a bit carried away when Dylan lost his first tooth last year. She left a hefty sum (for a tooth anyways) under his pillow thinking that she wanted to give him enough to get the toy that he had been wanting and to know that the money came mostly from his friendly fairy pal. Well.....what the tooth fairy did not take into account was that he would be losing several teeth and that his brother would not be that far behind him. Dylan has lost 7 teeth and he LOVES it when they are loose enough to come out (go figure). Most kids are hesitant to have their teeth pulled and there is a bit of crying and fear. Dylan wiggles his as much as he can and has a big grin on his face when he tells me that his tooth needs pulled. I hope that all of the other fairies out there are a bit more sensible than our crazy fairy. Ha!
Anyhow...I am recalling all of this because Dylan has lost his second front top tooth and the tooth fairy made yet another trip to the house. Keegan has been a trooper watching Dylan lose 7 teeth and getting money each time. He has repeatedly asked when his teeth can start falling out and was insistent the last time that his tooth was loose too. At one point he was frantically pulling and I had to gently explain that the tooth fairy does not pay for damaged teeth so he needed to let them be for now and it would happen to him when he got a little bit older. The day that Dylan lost this last tooth my heart could have broke from the forlorn look on little Keegan's face and he put his little head down and left the room when Dylan was happily exclaiming that his tooth was out and the tooth fairy would come tonight. So........the next morning the boys slept WAY in (now THAT does not happen nearly enough) and I went in to wake them both up. Dylan right away reached under his pillow and when he was doing that I told Keegan that he may want to check under his pillow too. His eyes got really big and he said.. "ME? You mean under MY pillow?" I told him that the fairy and I had a talk last night when she came and she told me how proud she was of him for brushing his teeth so good all of the time and that she knew it was hard seeing Dylan get visited all the time but it would be his turn soon. He checked under his pillow and said.. "AWWW....That was so sweet. I love that tooth fairy. She was just flying around and thought, hey...I am going to give Keegan some money this time". LOL.. Anyhow....Our tooth fairy may be really crazy but she sure loves Dylan and Keegan. :)

I LOVE hearing Dylan's new missing teeth induced lisp. It is so cute when he says certain words. You can hear his breath whistling around his mouth in odd patterns when he is rushing to say something.

Fun at the Selma Reservoir

2009-07-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

My grandparents celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary 2 weeks ago at Selma reservoir, which is just outside Muncie. It is the very same reservoir and park that I used to play at with my brother and sisters as a little girl. It was so much fun watching the boys play on the rocket slide and roll down the big hill as I used to do. They also got to see and play with their cousin Lane whom they love. You know...every once in a while there are really truly perfect days. The really perfect ones don't happen often, but when they do it is amazing. I look around and try to memorize everything so that one day when I am old and rocking in my chair on a porch somewhere I will be able to close my eyes and remember. The funny thing is that it is usually the simple days that end up being the great ones. Anyhow...this day was one of mine.

As you can see...papaw and the boys quickly gathered the flocks

The boys always have fun playing with their cousin Lane

Ahhhh...the good ole Rocket Slide. Of course you can see one of the reasons it has earned this name. What you cannot see is how fast you can fly down this baby once you pick your feet up.

There is something totally carefree and wonderful about being able to barrel down a hill rolling as fast as you can. If there would not have been so many people around I would have tucked my shirt in and done it myself. That is one of the pities of reaching adulthood. We tend to care about what other people think.

And of course we had to do the photo op by the water..too good to pass up. First with mamaw and then all three of my boys. :)

Champion of the world!

When we started on the drive home Keegan asked when we could go to grandma's park again. :) Of course practical Dylan decided that we should just buy it.

Catching up

2009-07-02T19:52:00.001-07:00

I will start off by saying that I did not die or have any of my typing digits amputated. I have just been extraordinarily busy lately and have not made the time to get my blogging on. So.... I have found myself a bit of time after getting the boys down for a very late bedtime and I am hoping to catch up with everything we have had going on.

The last entry was about Memorial day...so this post of course is a big welcome to the family to Miss Emma Louise. My youngest sister Sarah had her baby on the evening of May the 29th. I only got to see her that day for a hot second before my boys made it well known that it was bedtime and they were tired of being cooped up in the family room at the hospital.. :) Since then I have gotten to hold her several times though and she is a cutie pie! The first pic is of Emma right after she was born and the next couple are of the boys and their newest cousin a couple of weeks afterwards.

It tickles me to see the boys so enthralled with a little baby. We found out a week ago that my brother and his fiancee Sunny are going to have a baby as well. YEAH for babies!!! : )

Oh...I ...Like Big Bubbles and I Cannot Lie

2009-06-05T16:20:00.001-07:00

Well...as you can see the several posts over the next couple of days didn't quite materialize. I am working on it. :) Over the Memorial day weekend we went to visit Nana. One of the things that the boys love to do at Nana's house is get out the bubble machine and play. They take their guns, swords (whatever they are into playing with at the time) and have some good ole bubble fun complete with soapy water, determined boys, and lots of laughter. As an adult, I think we lose some of the enthusiasm and wonderment of things as simple as beautiful bubbles. Inevitably, one day the boys won't get so much pure unadultered joy out of them as well...but for now I aboslutely love to hear their high pitch squeals when they catch one in their hand without it busting...and the look on their faces when they stand in the middle of a bubble storm. :) It gets a bit difficult at times to snap the pictures since the boys are totally engaged in what they are doing and quick to move around....but you know of course I always try. :)

Kindergarten Zoo Field Trip

2009-05-27T19:22:00.001-07:00

I am running a bit behind but am going to try to catch up with several different posts over the next couple of days. On Friday the 15th of May, I went with Dylan's Kindergarten class to the Indianapolis Zoo. It was a beautiful day to go...not too hot in the afternoon, not too cold in the morning and no rain . There were actually quite a few parents that went which made it a pretty easy and enjoyable trip. I only had Dylan and two other boys (Josh and Jayden) in our group and we had a lot of fun. All three boys were pretty laid back, stayed together, and listened very well, much to my pleasure. :)

The school had each child assigned to a parent and we were responsible for getting our kids around to see everything that they wanted to see, meeting outside the zoo for the designated lunch time and then later on getting them back to the buses to leave by 1:30. We did make it through the whole zoo but of course had to rush over the last parts. It was so much fun seeing the boys all excited and talking about the different animals with them. Dylan had me cracking up at one point because he had yelled " Hey guys...look over there...that is a wild chicken"....wild chicken? Ha! He was pointing to the Peacock. LOL...Anyways....I was absolutely thrilled and tickled to get to go with him on his first field trip. He was excited for me to go as well, which made me feel pretty doggone special. :) When we all loaded up on the buses, I asked all three boys what their favorite part of the trip was and all three said "the snakes"....Ha! Boys!!! Below are the few pictures that I did manage to snag along our way.

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful day Mother's day is. A day set aside for recognizing and celebrating motherhood. A day to tell our mom's how much they mean and for hearing the sweet sentiment expressed from our own children.
We had a cook-out at mom and dad's and the boys were truly excited to see what mamaw thought about the flowers that they picked out for her. Of course she loved em...:) and the following pictures show how much fun they had helping her plant them in the yard. Keegan enjoyed hearing so much that she loved them that he was asking every so often "Mamaw...do you love those flowers that I got for you?"

Here are all three feet on the shovel...Mamaw's feet are about as small as the boys'. :)

They got all the flowers planted and loved doing it. It will be fun seeing the flowers grow over the coming years and remembering the boys so excited and how much fun we all had this day.

And last but not least...me with my sweet boys!

Keegan goes to Kindergarten Round-up

2009-04-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today I took my little man Keegan to Northwood Elementary for Kindergarten Round-up. The rule of thumb is that you have to be 5 by August 1st, so Keegan makes it into the big league this fall with a July the 21st birthday. It amazes me how much paperwork is involved with registering a child in school. The amusing thing is that on ten different papers I had to list the same information. I have never been so tired of writing our address and phone number as I was the day I tackled all of it.

Anyhow, when we got to the school Keegan was so shy at first that it caught me off guard. He is usually my knows no stranger, talkative, little guy. He covered his face with his hands and didn't want to get his picture taken. Eventually the camera lady won him over and he started to come out of his shell. While we were all waiting by the office to go back to the library, he looked around and said "Mom....this place is REALLY cool!". :) That was more like it.
For Kindergarten round-up they separate the kids from their parents at the very beginning and then teachers come and take each child separately to test them on all their letters, colors, shapes, numbers and writing their name. They have a piece of paper that they score them on and then after the child is done take them back to the library but behind the bookcases to play with blocks, cut out objects and draw. Then each parent meets with one of the Kindergarten teachers to discuss results and what you need to work on over the summer prior to the start of classes. I met with Miss Maxwell, who is Dylan's kindergarten teacher this year. She is an EXCELLENT teacher and I believe that she has probably spoiled me for all other teachers that we will ever have! :) Keegan did a great job. We do need to work on our writing a bit more (which is more my fault since I have not really hit hard on this like I need to)...but everything else was perfect. I was so proud of him!

I did get quite a laugh though while I was waiting to meet with a teacher over his results. As I mentioned, they had the kids that were done doing various tasks at small tables that were behind the bookcases where we could hear them but not see them and vice versa. I heard one of the high school cadets that was working with them say "Keegan, can you please cut the circle out and stay on the lines?" His response was "That is hard...I said I was having problems with that!" He wasn't sounding rude...just honest. :) I got a bit tickled.

All that said...I had to bring with the mound of paperwork his birth certificate and social security card. I was supposed to bring his immunization record, but he has not had his last vaccine that he needs before Kindergarten. So...he has an appt with shots on Monday, which is always fun. These will be his last ones though for several years and I will make sure to remind him of that after they are done.

I would have taken pictures at the school with my camera, but I was rushing around this morning and totally spaced it. However, for the sake of posterity, when he got home I snapped a couple pictures of him with the information we got from registration. Thumbs up is Keegan's sign that he is good to go!

Easter Weekend

2009-04-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

We started out our Easter weekend this year with a trip to Mamaw and Papaw's house in Anderson. The boys had been asking for the previous 2 weeks when Easter was and it was a relief to be able to tell them that Easter weekend had finally arrived! The Easter bunny (smart, sly creature that he is) had already made his deliveries to Mamaw and Papaw for the boys and the kids of course were excited when Mamaw came out toting the candy treasured basket for each.

We hid 60 Easter Eggs in mom and dads yard and it was so much fun to watch them run and try to find them. Even more fun was watching their different egg hunting styles. I laughed hearing Keegan's screams "Mom, mom...I found a PURPLE one!!", "Oh Oh Oh...there is a BLUE one." Keegan yelled an entire play by play of the eggs he was finding. Dylan was not as intent on announcing each discovery. It was hilarious to watch him though as he would see it, run up, grab it, drop it in his bag and not stop. It was on to hunt for the next egg for him and that boy was on a mission! The Egg hiders (Ahem...husbands, Sara, Bethie)...got a little bit overzealous so there ended up being 2 eggs that went unaccounted for even after Bethie and I attempted a search and rescue....Sorry Mom and Dad! Hopefully some squirrels came and took them away and you have not found them yet with your mower. You will notice that I did not include myself in the overzealous egg hider list only because I am certain that it was not my eggs that were MIA. :)

After the Egg Hunt we had our family Easter dinner and then colored Eggs. Mikie's girlfriend Sunny came to spend the day with all of us (even though Mikie had to work) and she was instrumental in making all of the eggs look so pretty. The boys got to play with Bethie's step daughter Skye, whom they absolutely adore. Sarah was able to make it up from Kokomo and my papaw was able to come. We had much fun!

Sunday afternoon we drove to Kokomo to spend Easter with Nana (Chris's mom) and Jack. The boys kept saying "We are going to Nana's now??!!" They could hardly believe that they got the good fortune of getting to see Mamaw, Papaw and Nana all in the same weekend! Guess what?? That crazy Easter bunny had of course visited Kokomo as well. Their eyes lit up when they saw the additional Easter loot that they scored. We had another Egg hunt and this time it was Uncle Nick that hid the eggs. Thankfully, none of the eggs we hid were absent on the egg count from Dylan and Keegan's bags. Grandma Nancy was able to come to Kokomo and spend Easter with us all as well which made it complete! I am so glad that Chris and I come from such great families and that the boys are loved by several totally wonderful people!

While my kids at the ages of 6 and 4 do not have the full grasp of the enormity of what the savior did for them, for me, for all of us that makes Easter such a special time of year....they do know that Jesus loves them and for this I am thankful. Happy Easter!

Introduction

2009-04-17T15:38:00.001-07:00

I am so tickled to be starting my very own blog! I have wanted to do this for a while and I will start out by thanking my friend and technical blogging advisor, Ang ,for pointing me in the right direction. What a great way to be able to document 'the days of our lives' and keep family and friends in our day to day loop. The boys are now 6 (Dylan) and 4 (Keegan) and constantly amaze me with the things that they are learning. These are great times in my life and I never want to forget the small things that my little men do every day to bring a smile to my face. Anyhow, I cannot make any promises regarding how amusing, witty or even interesting each of my posts will be for any one that plans to follow....I can only promise that I am going to have fun doing it!