Putting it together...

DAY 31 - January 31, 2010



Kaden has been wanting to put together a puzzle lately. We got a "big" one out...one that is 500 pieces and it's fairly difficult for him. He can do it but gets easily frustrated with it. tonight we were at Kohl's and he spotted this one on sale for $2.00. We got it and he had it put together in less than an hour.

Our caring Little Bit...

DAY 30 - January 30, 2010


Kaden (number 2) had a basketball game today. It was their best game yet and the score stayed close throughout. However, they did not win. But...it doesn't really matter when you see a picture like this. Kaden's teammate had gotten hurt on the court and was resting while their coach took a time out. Kaden and his team were standing and listening to the coach but I caught a glimpse of the compassionate and caring personality of Little Bit coming out. Not that is doesn't come out often but it was so nice to see it in this setting.

It really is that bad guys...

DAY 29 - January 29, 2010

We took Lilly to the vet this morning to get her fixed. We figured she would be tired and a bit rundown but I don't think we all expected her to be quite as pitiful as she was. We picked her up around 4:30pm. She was still very noxious. As a matter of fact...we're glad the anaesthesia made her sick a bit. Earlier this week she swallowed a sock of Kaden's. She pulled it right off his foot and ran under the table. Kaleb was trying to get it from her when...GULP...she swallowed it down. We'd been...uhhh...watching for it to appear again but never saw it. Granted, there were times when it was dark out or the boys took her out that I couldn't be sure it didn't pass but we never saw it. She had been eating and using the bathroom quite normally so we figured it must be OK. We called the vet and explained it to them and they figured she had passed it and was fine.

So we go to pick her up today and they inform us that after her surgery she had gotten sick and out came the sock. Thank goodness because it had probably been sitting in her stomach and hadn't tried to go into the intestines yet. I think we're pretty lucky that she happened to be getting fixed on this very day...not telling what would have happened if it had started into her intestines and gotten caught.

Back to Lilly's condition...they brought her out and you could just tell she was not at all comfortable. We took her home and she headed straight for her kennel. I guess she knew where she'd be most comfortable! We went out to dinner and this is what we found when we got home and opened up her kennel door. She was not budging! She stayed here about 5 minutes then she finally ventured out. She just snuggled with us on the couch and slept with Kaden overnight.

Keeping time...and passing time.

DAY 28 - January 28, 2010

Just a basic picture of my watch...I love this watch by the way. Doug and the boys bought it for me the last day we were in Disney last September. My favorite is Tink and they all know it. This watch has a classy look while still being fun. That's what I love about it...

DAY 27 - January 27, 2010

My iPod...it looks like this every evening. I hook it up to the computer to charge and download the podcasts that I listen to. My news comes from podcasts mostly. I'm fortunate in that my iPod plays video podcasts so I get the first hour of the Today show every day (although it's a day late because I can't download each day until the afternoon), I get Night Line, and I get 60 minutes. Other than that I have podcasts from my morning radio station that I listen to. It definitely helps pass the time at work while I'm working in the lab.

Cool way to save...

DAY 26 - January 26, 2010


The kids each got this cool bank from Mom and John for Christmas. I'm not sure you can see it from the picture but the pig is actually divided into 4 sections. Each section is a separate place to sort the money out. The sections are labeled "Spend, Save, Donate, and Invest." The bank came with little stickers of things you might save, spend, donate, or invest to. There were things like a graduation cap, iPod, bike, food, TV, car, wrapped gift, food, a pet, a picture of the world, etc. There were also some blank spaces where you could write something in if you had your own idea. I think it's really a neat idea. As a matter of fact, the kids get a "Time for Kids" handout every month at school. Time Magazine puts it out and it's 4-6 pages of current events and neat little stories. It just so happens that Kaleb got his this week at school and it had a little article on this exact bank. He was so excited when he opened up this gift. He told his friends at school that he got the same bank from "Time for Kids" handout.

To the moon and back again...

DAY 25 - January 25, 2010

I got this fantastic necklace from my Mom for Christmas (which we just celebrated while they were in town last weekend). I had forwarded her a link to a website where I'd happened upon this jewelry over 6 months ago and asked if John could make something like this. Well, she said she was going to be taking a class that she thought would teach her how to do it. So...I waited...and the class didn't turn out to be what she wanted it to be. I'd forgotten completely about this necklace until I opened up my last Christmas gift. I LOVE IT!! Thanks Mom!

There is a story behind why the boys and I say we love each other to the moon and back... Actually our saying is "I love you to the moon and back again and a little extra all the way to my back." What's with the "little extra" you ask? Well, when Kaden was about 4 I was holding my arms out and I'd say I love you this much. Then he'd hold his arms out a little wider and say "Well, I love you this much." I held mine out as far as they'd go and say "I love you this much." What did he do? Only from the mouth of a babe...he stretched his arms out them pushed them all the way behind him and said "I love you all the way to my back." And so it was done...now we love each other all the way to the moon and back again and a little extra all the way to our back."

A low key birthday..and the COLTS!

DAY 24 - January 24, 2010

Even though today is actually Kaden's 9th birthday it was a fairly low-key day. My Mom and John had been in town for Kaden's party and they had to leave today. We went to FlapJacks for an early lunch on their way out of town. Then we came home and lounged around until the Colts game. They played the New York Jets and the winner of this game is the AFC champion and will be going to the Super Bowl. The boys really wanted to get into the spirit and paint their faces. I went against the norm (for me anyway) and let them do it. They had a blast and their "look" turned out great. I did have to laugh with Kaleb came out from the bathroom and he had "INDIANA" written backwards all across his forehead. I asked him if he used the mirror to put that on himself and he had. I had to break it to him that he had it backwards. It was just too cute!!!

By the way...the Indianapolis Colts won the game and now we've got a hometown team to root for in a couple weeks! We won the Super Bowl on our inaugural visit 4 years ago...hopefully we can do it again!

Party time...

DAY 23 - January 23, 2010

Today we had Kaden's 9th birthday party. He had about 10 kids over to celebrate with him. About 5 boys and 5 girls. It was not the usual party...instead we played some party games that he and I picked out together. Their favorite game was at Grandma and John's suggestion...the marshmallow drop! One kid lays down under the table with his head sticking out from the table a bit. The other is laying on the table with some marshmallows. The point is to drop the marshmallows one at a time into the other person's mouth. We decided that each would drop 5 each round. The team that got the most of their 5 in their teammate's mouth got the prize.

The first picture is of the whole gang. Starting at the top there's Justin and Anna, then Megan and Jamie, then Casey and Connor, then Jacob and Katie, and finally Ashley and Kaden. I believe this was the only time they actually sat still!

Kaden's party theme was basketball. Chris got us the cake this year and it was a cupcake cake. The cupcakes were arranged in the shape of a basketball with orange icing. It was really yummy but WOW! These cupcake cakes have a lot of icing!

World's best mac and cheese...

DAY 22 - January 22, 2010



Tonight we went out to dinner with Doug's side of the family to celebrate Kaden's 9th birthday. He chose to go to Outback because they have "the world's best mac and cheese". Here are the boys with their cousin Nick. Kaleb was so sweet and had an idea to get Little Bit some cheesecake from the grocery to take with us to dinner. Unfortunately we had some other errands to do before dinner and we didn't get to pick some up. So, instead, we let Kaden order a piece of cheesecake for dessert. They brought it out with a candle and everything so we could sing to him. He was so excited to get his favorite dessert!

Everyday life...

DAY 21 - January 21, 2010

I came into the living room tonight to get the kids up to bed and this is what I found. I'm not so sure Kaleb is comfortable but apparently it's good enough for him. I let them stay long enough for a few pictures then we went upstairs. If only they'd snuggled in like that earlier in the evening!

DAY 20 - January 20, 2010

This is the calendar we have in the office. Doug keeps it updated every couple weeks or so. It actually looks fairly empty at the moment...give it a few days and it'll be filled up!

Revamped...but still here.

DAY 19 - January 19, 2010



Kaden made a pencil holder similar to this one about a year ago for Doug. It's always been sitting on the desk by the computer. Recently he felt it needed a little update so he took it all apart and then revamped it. So...it will continue to sit here holding the pens and pencils. He's especially proud of the little police block with lights on it. If you press the red button by the blue lights it has a little siren sound and the lights flash blue.

Passing the time...

DAY 18 - January 18, 2010



The boys had appointments today with a urologist to discuss their night time bedwetting. Unfortunately, both still struggle with it. Here they are playing with a magnetic maze in the waiting room at Riley Outpatient Center. Long story short, the urologist gave us some suggestions to try before moving towards medication or a wetness alarm. One big thing is to "fluid shift". Basically, this means they are to drink 6-8 ounces of water every 1-1.5 hours throughout the day until after school. They are then to limit their fluids to 6-8 ounces from3:30 until bedtime. The concept is to trick the bladder into emptying itself often during the day and then not at night. We'll see how it goes. the good news is that they both had ultrasounds to check their bladders and kidneys...all checked out fine.

It was a "this and that" weekend.

DAY 17 - January 17, 2010

What a lazy Sunday afternoon! Lilly was asleep on her pillow on the couch and Kaden crawled up with her to pet her. It wasn't long and he was out too. There's nothing better than a Sunday afternoon nap!

DAY 16 - January 16, 2010

Tonight there was a Cots playoff game. The Colts did very well this season and were 14 and 2. The 2 losses pretty much happened because those last 2 games didn't really matter...we were already in the playoffs and had a bye week for the first game. Coach Caldwell decided to sit a lot of the starters in an attempt to prevent them from any possible injuries. So...tonight was our first playoff game. We played the Baltimore Ravens at home. Our neighbors and good friends the Goldman's usually tailgate before the game. They called and asked if we'd like to join them down at the parking lot. As you can see...they've got this down to a science. That little shelter even had a heater in it! I definitely appreciated that heater because it was COLD out! If you look at the picture you can see Lucas Oil Stadium right behind the tent. That's how close we were to the action. It was really fun to be down there with the crowd. Unfortunately Doug had to work tonight so it was just the boys and I.

DAY 15 - January 15, 2010

Every year we have a Couple's Dinner around Christmas with several couples from the police department. Usually we go out to dinner but this year they changed it up a bit and had a pitch-in at the Eck's house. Obviously we're a little late too since it's already January 15th but hey...it works! It was really nice to catch up with everyone I hadn't seen in a while. They are such a fun group of people. At the end of the night just before we were ready to head out they played a couple games of Flippy Cup. Believe it or not...I've never played before. Basically you put some glasses with small amount of beer in plastic cups along both sides of a table. As you can see it was the men vs. the women. When the game starts the first person drinks their beer, sets their cup on the edge of the table and has to flip it up from the bottom making it land upside down. Once they've done that the next person goes and on down the line. I think we played 3 games and the women won 2 of them. It was fun but that ping pong table had lots of beer on it since the cups end up upside down!

A big help.

DAY 14 - January 14, 2010

The boys and I attended the GOP Club meeting tonight for Perry Township. The speaker for the night was Mayor Ballard. When we got there they only had 1/2 the room ready for members but we quickly realized there would not be enough space for all those attending. Kaden helped some of the guys put some more chairs down so there was room for everyone. He must have worn himself out (or maybe he was just bored) because he actually fell asleep for about 15 minutes.

Presentation board.

DAY 13 - January 13, 2010

Tomorrow night we have a Perry GOP club meeting. Earlier, Doug was asked to talk about the GOP Families Project Christmas Shop and we put a display board together with some information and pictures from the event. I think it turned out really nice. We'll see what the club members think of it at the meeting.

Birthday loot!

DAY 12 - January 12, 2010


Kaden has decided to have his 9th birthday party at our house this year. I went online and found some good "old fashioned" party games to play with the kids so it's somewhat organized instead of a 12-kid free-for-all! We went to the dollar store tonight to find some game prizes the kids could choose from. Here's Kaden opening the packages and splitting up the loot!

A lost (and found) baby tooth.

DAY 11 - January 11, 2010


For the past couple days when Lilly has been chewing on her rawhide there has been a little blood on it. I figured she was going to be losing one of her baby teeth soon but never expected to find it. Well, as you can see...we found it! She was chewing on something but we didn't know what it was since she hadn't gotten into anything and had been laying right by us the whole time. When I pulled open her mouth out came this little white thing...her molar! I was amazed at just how small the roots were...it's a wonder the tooth even stayed in at all! The boys thought it was the coolest thing to have found the tooth. They'd already asked what happens when she looses her teeth and knew the chance of actually finding the tooth was slim. Of course we've kept the tooth...now...just what to do with it?!?

Sledding!

DAY 10 - January 10, 2010

We went sledding today at Paul Ruster Park and took my nephew Nick with us as well. There's a huge hill at that park and is a favorite sledding spot by many! Driving up we were a bit disappointed because it looked like the snow had melted at the top and there were tons of people standing on top of the hill. We decided to go anyway and ended up having a really good time. It was not nice fluffy "never been sledded on" snow because so many had already been down the hill but it was still fast! Also, the snow had not melted as we thought it had. Actually, so many people had been there that at the top the snow had worn down and the grass was coming through. It didn't matter much...the sleds still went right over it and down the hill. We had a great time even if we weren't the first down the freshly fallen snow.

Dinner...by Kaleb.

DAY 9 - January 9, 2010

Kaleb had picked out some recipes he wanted to make for dinner one night. Well...tonight was that night and his choice for dinner tonight was Pigs in a Blanket and Velveeta Ultimate Mac and Cheese. We worked on it together but he did most of it. Here he is looking so proud of his work. It was really yummy!

One of my pet peeves...

DAY 8 - January 8, 2010

We got about 5 inches of snow tonight and it's still going to come down overnight. We had some errands to do tonight so we had to be out in it. Thank goodness Doug was off and could drive...and that we have a Trailblazer! I HATE this grey snow that clumps up in the wheel well when you drive in snow. I hate that it stays there then drops off and melts into a dirty pool of water in the garage. I try to kick them off when I can BEFORE pulling in the garage...just one of my little pet peeves I guess!

Making it work.

DAY 7 - January 7, 2010

Kaleb got creative tonight before sitting down to read. He found a way to make a footstool out of the video chair! He turned the video chair upside down, put a pillow on top of it followed by a blanket. Guess he wasted to be a bit more comfortable for his reading time...that...or he wanted to put off his reading!

30 minutes a day.

DAY 6 - January 6, 2010

We're going to try to do better with the boys' reading this semester. They're supposed to read at least 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week but that is sometimes hard to do. Tonight, Kaden and I sat down to read and Lilly joined us. Kaden had picked out a book called "Angus and Sadie" from the library at school. I read some to him and he read some to me. It's a story of a farmer and his wife getting 2 puppies. We're not that far into it but I imagine it's about all the things the puppies do and the mischief they can find.

It came! It came!

DAY 5 - January 5, 2010

I got the Project Life package today in the mail. This is the WAY COOL album that Chris got me for Christmas. This kit is the album and all the "stuff" that goes in it to make my picture a day project look cool. It came with the album and photo pages, date cards for each week, journaling cards for each day, some decorative cards to dress it up, some monthly markers, and a date stamp. There are even cute little stickers to put on each picture telling what day it is and also cute little arrows that direct your eye from the picture to which journaling block tells about that day. I sat down at the kitchen table tonight and put it all together as much as I could. This way it's much easier to just fill out the journaling cards each day (hopefully...at least that's my goal for this year) and then print the pictures and put them in. I really love this album! Thanks Chris!

Ready for morning.

DAY 4 - January 4, 2010

I do as much as possible for the boy's lunches the night before. I fill their lunch boxes and try to make a sandwich or prep whatever might go in a Thermos so that the next morning it's much easier to pack up. Here are their lunchboxes sitting on the counter ready for morning.

Just in time for...Oh, too late!

DAY 3 - January 3, 2010



As you may remember, we made a gingerbread house this year for Christmas. The boys really had fun with it and it was much easier than I thought it would be. After all, we did use a kit so I'm not sure what I was afraid of! But...since we started it and got a lot done that first night it was not quite done for a long time. Every couple of days Kaleb would get it out and work on it a bit adding some frosting to the windows or another piece of candy here and there. Well, it's now January 3rd and I think it's about as done as it's going to get. I think it turned out really nice. By the way, the boys keep asking if when they can eat it...I think this thing would be nasty if they tried to eat it but I may let them take a bite anyway. Hopefully they don't break a tooth!

Good cookies and good friends.

DAY 2 - January 2, 2010



Ok...so we're a little behind on the cookie decorating! We made these cookies on December 23rd but only got around to decorating them now. It doesn't really matter...we've got plenty of other sweets around and didn't miss these. We spent the evening finishing them up so they looked nice. Don't you agree?




DAY 1 - January 1, 2010

Today we went out to dinner with the Peavlers. They stopped by earlier and Brian helped Doug move our old big screen TV out to the garage. We had this TV since we'd moved into our first house over 10 years ago. We kept it in the playroom in our new house but the picture went out about a year and a half ago. I still turned it on and listened to the news since I got ready in the bathroom next to the playroom every morning. Well, it eventually gave in and wouldn't stay on at all. We replaced it with a new flat screen we got in November but weren't able to get the old one into the garage for heavy trash day. Well, that day finally came.

So, after all that I'm here to post that after dinner we all went over to the Peavler's house to hang out a while. We ended up playing a really fun game called LCR. It's a dice game and basically you roll dice and have to move your chips to either the left, center or right (hence L, C, R) or keep them if you roll a "dot". It's a nice, no-brainer game...I suggest you pick one up if you like games.

Happy New Year!

DAY 365 - December 31, 2009

For New Year's Eve tonight we went to the Prior's house. They had some other friends over and there were lots of kids for the boys to play with. We ate and just socialized for a while then we kinda split off into the men and women. The men played some poker and the women played a game called "Things". The game was really fun and the tag line was "you won't believe the things your friends will say". Basically a phrase is read like "Things you shouldn't do in the dark" and everyone is to write down their answer. Then the answers are read and one player has to figure out who wrote down which answer or phrase. Other cards read "things you shouldn't say to a police officer", Things firefighters do when they're not fighting fires", and "things you shouldn't lick".