The New Year!

Hello All!

I'm am posting my resolutions in hopes of repeated looking at, I will stick to them better! :)

1. The ever and always - get in better shape and lose some weight - I am purposely leaving this very vague in the hopes that it won't scare me away with set times and dates. :) I am going to try and stick to a "for each minute I exercise I can freely allow 2 minutes reading!"

2. Set up a cleaning calendar - each week will feature one room/item of deep clean. This will of course concur with the normal daily cleaning.

3. Stick to a better budget - i.e. grocery shopping once a week (hence sticking to a menu for meals), only going across town once a week.

I am trying to not be unrealistic with resolutions this year. Short, sweet and to the point. No sense in making a lot I won't be able to stick to. I think I will try to set quarterly ones. That way, every three months I can reevaluate and determine what's working, what's not and make adjustments accordingly.

The Holidays were good here. I was scheduled to work Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the day after, all 12 hour days. So in light of this, Jas and I made the extremely hard decision of letting the boys go back to Whitehall with my parents when they came to get my sister and her family after they flew in here to Billings from Boston. I knew the boys would have so much fun with their cousins, aunts, uncles and Grandparents - it was just, of course, hard because Jas and I wouldn't be there with them having fun. But, all went well and they DID have a great time and I was able to (by the skin of my teeth) get Sunday off and head over to Whitehall myself that day. While there we ate A LOT of food, went swimming at Fairmont Hot Springs, and played some very competitive volleyball with the siblings, their husbands and some of the kids. It was so much fun and I still have bruised arms and one extremely bruised knee to show for it. I am considerably slower and less moblie than I used to be *sigh*, but I have to say, even with all the years gone by, my hands still have the "touch" and my sets are still 90% on mark! :)

We stayed home for New Year's, we had been invited to some friend's house, but I went into work that morning to cover a sick call and the boys were both sniffly so we decided to stay home.

Happy Holidays and may this new year bring you all your hearts desires! :)

Tyler's football picture this past fall.

Cody's football pic.

School pictures.

The boys goofing off while decorating the Christmas tree.

Ty helped me make his birthday cake this past year.

The best part of making cake - the beaters!!!

GO BRONCO'S!! Ty wanted a Boise State Smurf Turf cake - we did pretty good! :)

Snow

We finally got our first real snowfall last night! Yes, you heard right....finally! Fall is by far my favorite season, but Winter is a close second! These two seasons are just gorgeous! Now don't get me wrong I love my Spring and Summer flowers and my garden, but there's just something mesmerising about the changing of the leaves and trees and then the starkness of the vegetation before it all gets blanketed away by layers of snow! Getting to wear all the big loose clothing - wearing layers - not feeling the tips of your fingers when getting home from walking the kids to school (okay, I suppose I could leave that one behind:))! My only thing I would change is the roads. As everyone who has ever witnessed or had the "pleasure" of riding in a vehicle I am driving knows, I am a very aggressive driver - I should have been a cop!! - and when the roads turn to slush and ice my already present frustration mounts!!! I am NOT patient with slow or "stupid" drivers and they only increase their stupidity (and slowness) once the roads turn. Now once again, don't get me wrong, I DO slow down and use more caution, etc but people plain out forget!! how to drive in the snow! I would like to blame it on transplants into the state, but sadly most of these people hail from it - YIKES and double YIKES!! I have a few errands I need to run this afternoon before school gets out but I'm seriously debating just putting them off til Monday (I work the whole weekend). It is "Thankful Week" at school, so this past Monday I went and read with Tyler and then had lunch with him and Cody and today is Cody's class' day - so I will go in and read with Cody and then have lunch with the boys again. Cody is insisting I stay and go to recess with them and play kickback - which was fine on Monday - it was 45 and a little windy, but today is snow covered and COLD! But I will stay and I will play and I will have fun! But then I need to run the errands - hence the hesitation of doing it today! I just don't know if I could make it to the West end, get all the stuff done and then get back by the time school gets out, especially with the roads how they are. Sigh!
Ty's birthday was fun! Him and I made his cake. We did a sheet cake that has a Boise State Smurf Turf football field on it!! It was the bomb! Ty totally loved it, as did I and it tasted yummy if I do say so myself! My parents drove over after church and had dinner with us - Ty's favorite: steak, twice baked potatoes and corn! He told me that that is what he is going to have for every birthday! At-a-boy!! Jas hasn't downloaded the pictures yet for me, but when he does I'll post them!
It's been a while since posting on here so I need to update a little - the boys got report cards at the beginning of this month - my Cody got straight A's!! 4 A+, 5 A's and 1 A- I am seriously so proud of this kid!! He was the only one in his class to get all A's. At teacher conferences his teacher could not say enough good about him and was surprised to hear he had never been recommended for extended studies by any of his other teachers. So she got the ball rolling on that and Cody will start those this Spring. I get choked up and teary when ever I think about how well he's doing!
My Tyler did very well also! :) He got all S's (satisfactory/average) and G's (good/above avg) and one N (needs improvement) I want you all to try really hard to figure out what he got the N in - I know it may be really hard, especially knowing him, his brother and Dad (cause of course, he wouldn't get it from me! :)) Figured it out - YEP - Ty got an N on "takes turns and waits to speak" BAhahahaha Is he so not a Brunner! (and yes, including me) we have such a hard time keeping our knowledge to ourselves and taking turns! He too was praised by his teacher at conferences. Of course, he's a 6-year-old little boy and does what 6-year-old boys tend to do, and has had to pull his fair share of green tickets in class - in fact the other day he came home with a yellow slip explaining that he had his YELLOW ticket showing in class. SIGH!!! So, how it works is you start the day with 3 green tickets, 1 yellow ticket and 1 red ticket. Each time you are observed breaking a class rule you take a ticket. If all 3 green tickets are pulled and a yellow ticket is showing - you have 5 minutes in-class time out. If a yellow ticket is pulled and a red is left showing you have to do a 20 minute time out at a desk in the hall by the 2nd grade classrooms. If all tickets are pulled you have to go to the principal for a behavior plan - I think that's what it's called. So I asked Ty what he did to have a 5 minute time out and he said - "Well, I shouted out once (no big surprise- this is what he usually pulls tickets for), I got out of my seat without permission once and I don't remember the 3rd." Me: "Yes you do Tyler, WHAT did you do?" Ty: "Wwweeellllll, I think I accidentally punched a girl" I admit it I lost it - You WHAT!!! There is no such thing as an "accidental punch" Tyler!! He tried to make up some cockamaimee story about swinging his arms around and one accidentally hitting a girl. Seriously, I was not born yesterday kiddo! :) Anyway, I happened to volunteer the next day in his class and talked to the teacher about it - she said she caught it out of the corner of her eye and Ty looked like he had had enough of the little girl by him from the look on his face and hauled off and punched her in the leg. I guess at least it wasn't in the face, but still unacceptable!! so he was grounded and in his room for the rest of the day - what a stinker! :)
Anyway, I think that is all for now. Once Jas gets the pictures on the computer I will post them!

Kindergarten crushes

My Tyler is loving Kindergarten! Two days ago after school I was asking him about how his day went and he tells me "Good, and mom, today I got a crush on a girl and she got a crush on me and I made a new friend." Really? A crush? Wondering if he knew what this word meant, I proceed to ask him. "So Tyler, what does "crush" mean?" Should I really have been surprised that he actually knew what this word meant? No, he does have an older brother in 4th grade who has been talking about crushes for a couple years now. This was Tuesday, the day after the most awesome Boise State Broncos beat the Virginia Tech Hokies in a very very fantastic football game if I do say so myself (Kellen Moore kicks some serious QB butt!!). And the boys always like to talk golf and football to Coach (grandpa Don). So Ty was on the phone with him telling him later that night about his day and also proceeds to tell him about the crushes and new friend. Jason in the meantime meanders on into the bedroom where I'm lying down and asks if he just heard Tyler right? "Did he just say that he got a crush today?" "And a new friend." I replied. We giggle a little and I do a little forehead slap, cause seriously KINDERGARTEN!!! Anyway, the next morning we get to school, Cody goes to the back of the school to walk (that's where the BIG kids get to walk) and I'm walking with Ty. It is just too dang cute, every single person he knows, or suspects he knows, he'll say their name or tap them on the arm and say "Hey", sometimes with a little wave sometimes not. He'll look at me and say "I know him/her." I just love it. Anyway, after a couple laps we come up to this girl and he tells me her name is Celeste and she's the one he got a crush on and she gets this shy little smile on her face and nods. And they continue the rest of the laps holding hands until the bell rings. And I must say, she was adorable, Ty has good taste! :)

Tonight is open house at the school. We get to go in and see what they've been doing in class so far. I am just thrilled with the teachers my boys got this year! Cody has the most fantastic 4th grade teacher anyone could ask for. She had two boys of her own and just really relates to her students like no other!

You'd think with having both the boys in school that I would get myself on more of a schedule for workouts..... :) I keep telling myself.....tomorrow or next week......well today was yesterdays tomorrow, so I should get to work! .......sigh........ off I go........maybe :)

My camera was being very obstinate on the first day of school, so the picture of Ty was the only one I was able to take on that camera. I got more with Cody, but they are on Jason's camera, so I will post more once I get them on the computer.

Early morning pellet...........

When does pooping in the shower end? Or is this a rhetorical question when you have boys?

So.......this morning was shower day (another thing with having boys, to get them to bathe takes an act of God (and yet once they're in, it's nearly impossible to get them out:)), so we have set up shower days to be every other morning.....) Cody hops in first and after about 10 minutes I tell Ty to get ready and go get in when Cody's getting out. Well Ty goes in gets in the shower before Cody is out. No big deal, they do this often. But then I hear Cody come streaking out, running to my bathroom, where I am brushing hair, teeth, sleep from the eyes, etc....saying "Ty pooped in the shower." I stop mid brush and say "Whhuuutt?" (and mind you, Ty had been having some pretty serious gas that morning, so I shouldn't have been surprised). And Cody repeats, "Ty pooped a little pellet in the shower." GROSS!! So I go in the bathroom and ask Ty what's up and did he really poop in the shower. I didn't have my contacts in yet and hadn't put my glasses back on to go into their bathroom, so I'm having a hard time seeing the drain in the shower with the water still running. Ty is huddled at the far end of the shower and confirms what Cody had stated. Meanwhile Cody's standing in the doorway gagging....I really can't see anything, so I grab a Kleenex and fish around the drain and sure enough come away with a little green "pellet". Cody goes running to his room trying to not barf, Ty surprisingly isn't barfing or gagging........me, well, I'm trying to keep it together. I don't really want to laugh, cause it wasn't funny, I just had to fish a piece of turd out of the shower. So I ask Ty, why he pooped in the shower and Cody of course pipes up (because Cody always answers for everyone when asked a question......something we are working on correcting) "He got in the shower and farted at me and the pellet came out." OH MY GOSH!!!! Are you kidding me? I lost it! While trying to not let Tyler think this is okay, I laugh hysterically. But, EEEWWWW GROSS!!! At least it was in the shower though and not his pants!! :) May they never learn that you can light your farts on fire or our poor dogs will never be safe!!! :)

Snow and Ice cream

Billings is experiencing an unusual event......lots and lots and lots of snow. Now, we are not strangers to snow mind you, but the shear amount is, yes, quite shocking in it's rarity. We have almost tied the record for number of days in a row with snow on the ground. We have had 68 consecutive days of snow on the ground and counting. And as I sit here at work, on the forth floor looking out a patient room window, I see, yes, you guessed it, snow coming down. Big ol' fat flakes of it. So pretty, so prestine and so SLICK!!! :) And with how deep it already is, I really don't see it going away any time soon.


I got to sneak away from work for about a half hour this morning to catch a couple quarters of Cody's b-ball game. And of course, he had scored 6 points before I got there! Oh well! :) Go Cody!! He is doing really good, he again had a little of a fouling problem, but hey, who doesn't??? :)

After school on Friday, we went to Target and got ice cream. I love it, only in a select few states do you go for ice cream when it's freezing temps outside!! And keep your snow gear on while eating it!!

Tyler likes to wear his ice cream. Makes him feel closer to it I guess! :)

Emma (via Kietra) sent me a picture of her and Claire on my phone with the most adorable little "Hi Amber" message yesterday. So this is the pic I took of the boys and sent back to her with them saying "Hi Emma". It was fun.

The boys didn't sit very well at Jas' game last Monday, so they've lost video game priviledges for 2 weeks, it's been interesting watching them go without! They of course fight more, too much time on their hands!(and hence, get in trouble more), but I think this has been good for them!

I got the boys a snow castle building set yesterday at Target. It's pretty cool, there are 2 rectangular forms, one tall, one long, each having turets on the top and a little shovel for scooping and packing. Cody's been big into making a fort outside in the snow this year. And with our massive snow fall this year, the fort's stuck around pretty long. A few weeks ago when he had pretty much used up all the snow in our yard, he talked me into letting him, Ty and his friend take a sled to the school playground to try and bring back one of the big snowballs from there back. It was comical to watch! Too cute! They made it about half way before I had to go pick them up to take the friend home. So we had to leave the snowball. Cody was devistated. He thought for sure the kids would destroy it on the way to school the next day. But it was still there the next day and I think they went and got it after school. Last night Cody and Ty took the new snow fort building gear out and were working on their fort. Well, Jas was out also, knocking snow from the gutters and roof and decided to let the dogs out front. A few minutes later Cody came in and huffed himself down in a chair to pout. So I ask the first questions that came to mind "Did you get in trouble?" "No." "Did you and Ty fight?" "No." "Well, what's the matter then?" "Dad knew that we were working on the fort and he purposely let the dogs out front and Sumo ran right through my fort destroying what I built! Dad did it on PURPOSE!" Now, this may be true, cause Jas is very onery like that, but I decided to give Jas the benefit of the doubt and just believe that he didn't do it on purpose. So, I had to talk Cody down from that, cause he was pretty worked up. And once he settled down he was able to go back out and have fun with the dogs in the snow.

Anyway, it's been a cold, snowy, fun week. Wonder what next will have in store for us!

Hodgepodge

Today is my parents' 36th wedding anniversary! Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! It's nice to know in this day and age of quicky weddings and even quickier :) divorces that there are still people out there willing to make it work. Because as we all know, it is difficult at times to make it work or even to want to make it work. It would be much easier to just turn your back and be done with it. So, Thank You Mom and Dad for making it work! Love you!

I think the boys secretly (and even sometimes not so secretly) like it when I work on the weekend. They always beg their dad to sleep downstairs. It used to be they would make a bed on the floor in the living room and Jas would sleep on the couch and they would watch something fun on TV, usually stuff that mom doesn't like to watch.....ie wrestling, NBA, etc. But now, since we've moved the biggest TV, downstairs they like to make the bed on the floor down there and sleep. I have to admit, I highly encourage this setup. For multiple reasons, some being: I can get up at 4:30am to get ready for work and turn lights on, shower, etc without worrying about waking anyone. I also like this cause I get to watch what I want to watch in Jas and I's room as I'm going to sleep. Also I don't usually end up getting a 5-year-old crawling in bed with me in the middle of the night (sneaky little stinker!). Sadly, I don't usually sleep as good (weird, I know) but as I've often stated sleep is highly over-rated and I do just fine with minimal sleep, to which I am eternally grateful. Especially after being around/with people who need a certain amount and don't get it! :)

Sooo, wonder who's going to win the games today. The boys are hoping to see the Colts vs Vikings at the Super Bowl. Favre and Peterson are going to have their hands full trying to beat the Saints, but I have faith in the old man! :) We have all decided that we would cheer for a good game if it ends up being those two teams. The boys and I like both teams pretty equally. Jas would cheer for Favre, I think.

I already got the paper work on Friday to register Tyler for kindergarten. Crazy, I know. He was pretty excited when he realized what I was getting at the office. Though, he wouldn't show it, tried to do a Kailee half smile. It was cute.

Cody had basketball skills day at the Y yesterday. From just what I saw, he's pretty good for his age. But how could he not be? He and Don(aka Coach) love to go out and play against each other. And most of the time, when Cody can stop giggling long enough, he does okay. And Coach is so patient and informative for Cody! Cody's a little bit of a fouler though............not sure where he got that??? :) Watching him do drills yesterday sure made me want to get out there again myself. I sure my body would seriously PROTEST though!!! :) Jas' city league team is doing good so far. I've had to work each night he's had a game so far, but I finally convinced him that the boys are old enough to take with him. I told him to just sit them behind the bench and take their DS's to play. So he has, and so far they have done great! Cody even told me the other day, that he had a hard time playing his DS because he was watching the game too much! :)

Cody's roller coaster he got from my parents for Christmas is almost done. When I'm home sometime, I'll have to post pictures of the different stages. There were a few parts missing, and I had to call the manufacturer to order them, so that's why it's taken us so long to get it finished, besides the fact that it's pretty extensive!!

Lazy.......

I have been extremely lazy the last couple days. Minus work, I have really accomplished nil! I just am NOT motivated. Each day or evening on my way to work I urge myself to be more productive the next day, once again feeling all guilty over my days productivity. And THEN, well the next day comes and my book or computer just call my name until I finally give in and devote all of my attention/time to them! :) So.......TOMORROW I am going to be better and do my goals for the day. I started making daily goal(s). Just one or two things, so that I don't feel overwhelmed with the enormity of the stuff I'd like to accomplish. But seeings how I've been so lazy the last few days, I need to make up a couple of "goals" that got left behind.

My entryways are dump sites. People (people being all 3 boys!) walk into the house either through the garage or front door and take off all their extra gear, i.e. coats, snow pants, gloves, backpacks, shoes, the list goes on and on, and proceed to leave it in a heap on the floor. Even if said items are soaking wet, muddy, or whatever, it just gets left. Even after numerous attempts by yours truly to remind them, that the floor is not the items home. SO....my goal for tomorrow is to get my coat racks on the wall by the garage door. With luck, I will be able to post a picture tomorrow evening or the following day. I'm crossing my fingers I am motivated! :)

Here's a picture from Christmas. While at the Mullendore's we tried to get a nice family picture. And after countless attempts we found that the best picture ended up being the one where we all were being "silly". Ty wanted to do "D Generation"X"", so that's why the bottom 4 of us have our arms in an "X". I personally like Geri's antlers and the fact that Don is smiling in the "silly" picture.