A snapshot of Beantown!

It's been a week since we've been back from Boston. Life got in the way of me updating the blog, but I got a few minutes (thanks to the Wiggles) and thought I'd put out a few pics from our trip. Man, it was fun. We had a "late season Nor-Easter" roll through our first "full" day there.

We're lucky we flew in the night before. But it dumped about 10 inches of snow on us that day...just happened to be the day we had slated for "touring" the city. We did walk around the Common area and saw some famous sites. But because Brooke was with us the bitter cold and heavy snow led us to do a great "driving" tour of some other spots (Harvard Square in Cambridge, Fenway Park, Beacon Hill etc...).

(US in front of the Green Monster)

How lucky were we to have a native Bostonian to navigate around the city. TJ was awesome, he knew how to get EVERYWHERE. I'm from St. Louis and you get me in the "city" and I have no idea how to get anywhere unless it's right off of 70. We had lunch in little Italy. Before we left, we were told we had to have cannolis at "Mike's Pastries" in Little Italy. Our Boston friends said the same thing...so we bought a couple of cannolis and a WHOLE Boston Creme Pie. (Keep in mind this was my 3rd Boston Cream Pie of the trip (including a Boston Creme Donut) and we just arrived yesterday afternoon).
That night we were snowed in and it was absolutely our favorite night of the whole trip. We stopped by James Hook on our way out of the city and picked up some (as TJ would say) LOBSTAHS. Check out the size of this creature...

It is the biggest Lobster I have ever seen. His claws are bigger than my head. His tail is curling up a bit, so you cant see exactly how long he is, but he was HUGE! It weighs as much as Brooke!

I probably have more pictures of this night than any other. Lots of pictures like this... Letting the lobsters have a bit more fun in their short life left.

(How an Okie eats a lobster...sandwich)

We had a blast. Taylor and Brooke liked each other...but aren't at the age where they really interacted a whole lot...except to steal each other's binkys (right out of the mouth).

And St. Patty's Day...good lordy. Claire (TJ's step mom) watched the girls for us so we had a "free pass" to get a little crazy. We started off by touring the Samuel Adams Brewery

(which is in no way even close to the Anheuser Busch tour)

but the "sampling" at the end was far better than Busch's tasting. It was really cool. Then we had to visit some Irish Pubs...it IS St. Patrick's Day, right?

Kate Bosworth was at the booth behind us. You may be asking "who is that?"...we didn't know either-but she's an actress that was in the last Superman movie and I guess she dated Orlando Bloom. She's actually very pretty. The bouncer rattled off a few other films but I didn't recognize many of them.

We ended up at the legendary Cheers...which I really just had to see (and which looks nothing like the 'set' of Cheers from the inside).

Us doing Cheers! in Cheers... And Wade and I with the gang:

We spent our last night in Providence, RI. We spent some time at Providence Place and toured some of the old homes (we're talking early 1800's here)...the kind of history you dont get in the mid-west (or southwest depending on your opinion of where Oklahoma is). We drove the harbor and got out to look at a lighthouse. We really wanted to do a lighthouse tour while we were there but the weather and time of year just didn't cooperate. Guess we'll just have to go back in the summer.

Beacon Street and Legal Seafood are a must if you ever go to Boston. Legal (hands down) had the best Boston Creme pie...I should know, I gained 5 pounds in my quest to find it.

Great trip, great food, great friends, great fun...

Dedicated to Heath and Pearl

Heath and Pearl came through Tulsa on their way back to Kansas City (from San Antonio) this past weekend. They complained about their "lack of mention" in the blog so here is an entire entry dedicated soley to them. No more complaining now...

We really had a great time. Last night we went to see Sugarland at that Brady Theater. This was part of my b-day present from Wade and (bonus) Heath and Pearl went with us. Although they were not as "familiar" with their music, it was a great show.

We also took them to the "Center of the Universe"---which yes, is in downtown Tulsa... and some of you thought Tulsa didnt have anything to offer.

Other highlights of the trip were the kids getting to spend quality time with Uncle Heath and the soon to be Aunt "Puulll". Riley is getting better with the name. Last time we were with them she was "Perch" so she is improving. We ate at this German restaurant we've been wanting to try for a while now, & we all got different things so we could taste a bunch of different stuff. I can't pronounce what Pearl got, but we all agreed hers was the best. Heath got the best dessert...German Chocolate Cake (even though the waitress tried to talk him out of ordering it).

Again, I beat everyone at Risk...but what's new there? I AM Grand Master Champion after all, even though I'm the only one in the family that HASN'T been through military training. Even Pearl is in the National Guard...but we'll give her (this one time) a free pass since it was her first time playing.

We're leaving Wednesday to drop off Riley and Cade with Grammy. They are going to have so much fun with her and their cousins Aiden, Kate', & Kelsey (their aunts and uncles too). Brooke is going with us to Boston. I'll let you know how Boston is....Lets pray for some unseasonalby warm weather there.

See you soon Christy!

Goodbye to my Youth...

Yikes. I'm 30 today. 30! Doesn't that sound so old? Wasn't I just partying with my friends at JR's? It does seem like a little while since high school, my reunion helped me with that, but I was JUST in college. I still think of myself as a little bit fun and cool (yes Chad, Todd & Heath...I know, I've never been cool). But I don't know what's in fashion or how "they" wear their hair these days...is the "Rachel" still in? So I'm taking a page from my friend Sarah's blog. Almost every post she puts down 10 things she's grateful/happy for.
So here's my list paying homage to this birthday: 30 things I'm happy/grateful for (in no particular order):

1. The 2nd anniversary of my 29th birthday (because it means I'm still alive...old, but alive).


2. Wade--the most perfect match for me & such an involved dad. I sure lucked out with him. (Quick side note: my Tulsa sisters will remember my first crush at TU (Erich Shadle)...ran into him a couple weekends ago. He was a waiter at the restaurant we were at. He's still a cutie, but his line of work would definately not support my 3 kids. He asked if we were in Tulsa or St. Louis now, so he gets definate "cool points" for remembering where I am from.
3. My Scrapbooking hobby-gives me an outlet for the 1000's of pictures I take.
4. Mt. Dew
5. My daily Y & R (Young & the Restless), because I've been following it for over 20 years (now that makes me sound old....and pathetic) but Mandy and I used to sneak a little portable TV up to Sunnybrooke Pool and watch it...that was 4th grade.
6. My high school friends. There is something about the people that have known you through these years that is bonding for life. Special kudos to Derek and Justin who always treat me like I've never been gone...even though I haven't lived there since '95. My grade school friends (mostly Micki and Mandy-who know what a geek I really am from my "head gear/braces/retainer" days.) and maybe the only 2 friends who really know my natural hair color :) (for those keeping track-it's dark again)
7. Riley-my curly headed spaz-that has more energy than most 4 (almost 5) year olds. And is a bigger help than I could ever imagine.


8. Bubble Baths, a glass of Reisling, and my Creating Keepsakes magazine (my favorite nightime ritual)
9. The computer-because I might not be in touch with some old friends if not for email. And for my friends that blog. Jaye...thanks for introducing me (and for letting me steal your template...almost exactly).
10. My mini-van. The first sign that I was old. I held off as long as I could but child #3 did me in. As far as minivans go, we're pretty blessed. Got everything we need and more...AND (Chad) it was the #1 ranked in Consumer Reports (easily beat out the Seinna).
11. Cade-and eyes that glisten when he smiles
12. Buckets-to catch puke so you don't have to clean as much out of the carpet
13. Music. It can take you back to another time. The Doors remind me of high school and Derek's house - "Island" dancing--Karen and Dave leading us all (thats D's parents for those that weren't lucky enough to be there). "Return of the Mac"...definately college and my sorority sisters. "Anvil Chorus" my dad pulling in and blarring it in the garage. Classical-Mom. Ratt-Chad. "Eye of the Tiger"--cheering. The year we all got new mattresses and we spent a few weeks with all the neighbors bouncing on the old ones in the garage to "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake (on a mixed tape we had to make by recording the song off of the radio)...back then there was no downloading music-you usually ended up with the DJ talking over the beginning and/or end. Fun times.
14. Brooke-my stationary little angel. I have only about another month before she becomes mobile and knocks my world upside down
15. My job at Scraphappys. Supports my habit, and allows me the chance to "escape" from the house when I need it.
16. Health-With all the things that could go wrong we are so blessed to be healthy and have 3 healthy kids...and we have a (half-eaten) jar of that tainted peanut butter and we're all good.
17. My family-Mom, Dad, all my brothers (& their wives/fiance's). Also all my in-laws in Tulsa and Tennessee. I LOVE having a big family. I can't imagine how it would be to not have my brothers. Although I always wanted a sister (until I joined a sorority) and now I know - I got the best deal just having the boys. Although I was forced to play w/ GI Joes & transformers a little too much!
18. My house. I love my house. My only complaint...(no playroom)--but that's a big one.
19. Pay at the pump. I could make a whole list of these...drive thru's (dry-cleaning, pharmacy, restaurants, bank, etc) When are they going to make a drive thru Pilates?
20. Another that could be a list in itself...the little things that make life easier...disposable diapers, microwaves, my digital camera (do you remember life without these? I can't even imagine the amount of money I'd spend on film and developing). It would take me a whole roll of film...just to get "that one" with all 3 looking at the camera.
21. Summer just around the corner. Cause it means flip flops (my favorite)...and gardening season for me. There is such a sense of accomplishment when you prepare a dinner with things you grew yourself...or eating watermelon off the vine. Yum.
22. "Lost" on Wednesdays, "Grey's Anatomy" on Thursday. What girl from my generation didn't fall for McDreamy during "Cant Buy Me Love"?
23. My tattoo...and the memory of all of us getting them together on our senior spring break trip in Vegas. And for getting it (in my opinion) in the best place possible, and for getting something that doesn't make me regret getting it 8 years later.
24. My neices (Kate' & Kelsey) and nephew (Aiden)...and the other one on the way. So my kids have cousins and holidays will never be dull (or quiet)! Was Christmas ever fun before kids?
25. To be living in the best country in the world.
26. Sampson. The world's most wonderful dog. Everyone who meets him says so. Even his grandmother who "hates" dogs likes him.
27. My mom's recipes. Sorry, but she is hands down the best cook. Undisputed. No contest.
28. Dr. Nilson (my own personal Dr. McDreamy) and 3 smooth, fast, deliveries. Got to keep having babies so I can keep going back. (Just kidding Wade...kind of.)
29. Super Target- possibly the best store on the planet...groceries, clothes, home decorating.
30. Wade giving me a trip to visit Christy in Boston for my birthday. And that we pushed the trip to St. Patrick's Day, because let's face it...besides Ireland is there any other place that would be a better place to be on St. Patty's day? Anyone know the best place to get Boston Creme Pie? You can bet I'll find it.

Wow. Long Blog. For those that complain I don't blog enough. Now you have plenty to read before I get back on.

My Valentines

My valentine is out of town, so these 3 became my valentines yesterday.

I know the day is supposed to be for Wade and I...but I dont know...Valentine's day just isnt a big deal to me. I'd really rather get flowers on a random day when Wade is just feeling the need to show some love. But as far as Valentine's day goes, I'm not a flower girl, I'm a little too practical for that, spend the money to get me an hour massage...

Now Valentines is a HUGE day if you're school-aged. Riley made her box and decorated it all up and was so excited for her school party. (I remember how fun that was!) She picked out Shrek valentines and her first special valentine was a boy named Griffin. He is the class "bad boy". Always getting in trouble and sent to time-out. When we have parties at the school he's the kid belching and making all the kids laugh and act up. And somehow she is crazy about him, she talks about him all the time. When it is her snack day and she gets to pick the helper...she chooses Griffin. This is her special friend. She picked out her first valentine for him. "This one is for Griffin...mommy! I want this one for Griffin. Mom---did you address this one to Griffin, cause this one is for Griffin!" Enough of Griffin. She's enthralled with him. Hope it's a stage. But I guess she comes by it honestly. I had a bad boy phase...his name was Donnie Wahlberg. And my room in middle school was dripping with him. It's like the New Kids threw up in my room and little Donnie chunks landed everywhere.

Patience

By the way, be patient with me if you have called/emailed this past week. I have over 200 unread messages in my inbox. So if you sent me a forward, joke, or link to another website...chances are I will not get to it right away or it may get "accidentally" deleted if it's a joke or forward. I hope to tackle a few everyday until its manageable. I will try to return calls later in the week too. But I've had other priorities lately.

Sick and Stir Crazy

The last time I posted an entry was a little over a week ago. I tend to update the site while Riley is at school (if I can get the other 2 to nap at the same time) or late at night after everyone is asleep. Little did I know that as I was posting my last entry on the blog my daughter was in the nurses office at her school with a 103.3 (oral) temp. So it turns out that all 3 kids have RSV. And as a double whammy, Riley also has a pretty substantial case of pneumonia. So we have once again been hermits for a week. Yesterday we went for a "re-check" to make sure Riley was clearing up and the diagnosis...all 3 have ear infections. We missed school all last week, missed church, missed Adonis's Superbowl Party, missed MOPS today, again we're stir crazy, AND the weather is beautiful--it's 65 today. Wade has been in Denver this week. He is home tomorrow and Thursday and then we wont see him again until the following Friday. So of the 12 days, he'll be home 10 of them. Now tell me that is a bit unfair? :(
I thought about going home, but I can't with the sick-o's. So I'm stuck.
As my sister-in-law Lindsey and I were talking about...there are 2 kinds of sick. The kind where you get to skip school and lay on the couch and watch movies all day.
Then there is this kind...

Just miserable and nothing helps.
This is what the kids bathroom counter looks like.
The kitchen counter is much the same. They all have to do breathing treatments, so it's loaded up with the nebulizer and the masks and the medicines for that .
The highlight of my week...that little glimmer that keeps me going--is that LOST is back on tomorrow night. Can't wait for that. And they moved it to a later time so we wont miss the beginning when we're putting the kids down anymore. Lovin' that!
And Riley is feeling a ton better than she was last week. All of their fevers are gone so I can only hope the other 2 are following suit.

Weekend Recap

We went to the Home & Garden show on Saturday and I wore Brooke in the little snugli all around the show. When we got home and Riley wanted her turn. It was kinda funny so I thought I'd share a picture.

She's such a smart little girl. On Friday she drew a picture of our family beside a Christmas tree. She pointed out who everyone was - but she was bigger than daddy. So when I asked her why she was bigger than daddy she said, "well mommy, daddy is just farther away that is why he looks smaller". Do most 4 year olds think that way? Maybe I should call MENSA and have her tested. :)
And not to leave the other kids out, here are more...
Cade, what does a dinosaur say?
ROOOAAARRR!

Last but not least our little Brooke...

Hope you all had a good weekend. Some good news: Heath is back home!

Moments from a photo shoot

My old roommate from college, Harrison, knitted sweaters for Cade and Brooke when they were born. So I was trying to get a picture to send to her with both of them wearing their little sweaters. I probably took 15 pictures to get one that would work, and thought I'd share.

How cute are my munchkins?

Thought you might get a kick out of some of the rejects...Cade did not want to slow down for a picture.
I don't want to smile...

Fine, I'll fake a smile so I can get up...

But I'm still not going to like it...

Well I guess if Riley gets in, ok...but who needs the baby.

Still no school today...today marks day 7 of "togetherness". Snow coming tonight. Channel 6 says up to 8 inches. Are you kidding me? I may not be sane by the end of the weekend (not that I ever was before).

Stir Crazy

Everyone is physically well, but mentally is another story. It didn't snow here, it iced for 3 straight days. We have been trapped together since Friday. This picture was taken when they were getting along. Any of you that have or are a sibling know that is not an easy thing to capture, especially when you've been trapped with each other (and only each other) for nearly a week.

The kids have been sledding a ton. They even got a ride to the sledding spot because its strictly ice. Cade's hands got cold so Wade gave him his gloves. I thought this picture was cute.

I was going to go home (St. Charles) this weekend, but we have more weather coming and I just cant do that with the kiddos. School has been out all week and it's been cancelled tomorrow too. Remember how we LOVED snow days when we were a kid? Completely different when your the parent.

I'm including this picture because it's my favorite of the month so far. (My 2 favorite bald-ies.)

In other news, my dad is leaving for Afghanistan on Sunday. When he gets back Brooke will be walking. Cade might (but probably not) be talking--I hope he's using the potty by then. He'll be gone for a year. But as he put it, we are trading him for Heath. Heath comes home in 8 days!

Congratulations to

• Jess who just celebrated Anniversary #8. Truly Fantastic!
• Emily who just announced she's engaged!
• to the "person" who just found out she's expecting but hasn't made it public yet. I'm really glad you told me but it's really hard to stay quiet...especially this long, so hurry up already :)

It's going to be a great year, except for turning the dreaded 3-0, ugh!

Swimming w/ the fishes

So everyone is feeling better now. Cade and Brooke still have those continually runny noses but that is much easier to deal with. There is someone that isnt so well. Ariel.

Ariel was a member of our family for a whole 2 days. She is no longer with us. See Ariel and Dash here..........
Now had it been a week and Riley might have lost some interest in her little gal but no...And had it been Dash, Cade wouldnt have noticed that his had been "replaced"). But somehow our family has to do things the hard way.
We did replace Ariel. With a new fish named...Ariel. (Can you guess what theme Riley wants for her birthday party??)

Happy New Year

Hi everybody. Sorry its been so long. I know lots of you have called/emailed and yes, we are still alive. But most of the family is sick and mommy is the one with the job of trying to make everyone somewhat comfortable. Brooke is just now starting (as of yesterday) to keep some food down. The kids are up coughing all night which means rounds of medicine and "boogie sucking" as my friend Micki puts it. So its hard to get much done, like checking email, cleaning house or showers. I'm tired & running on empty.
But a quick update...Christmas was wonderful, but hectic. Although brief, I got to crop with my sister-in-laws. Wade and Chad made my brother Heath (who is serving in Iraq and unable to be home for Christmas) a batch of homemade beer. The "Wilson" Girls went to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and it was awesome, I highly recommend it, if it comes to a town near you. And we got all the cousins together which was truly chaotic, but lots of fun and impossible to get everyone happy and still for one picture.

I even squeezed in a double happy hour one night, first in St. Chuck with my old buddies, and second in Clayton with my old Tulsa friends that were in "the Lou" for the holidays. That was the only night I got to see any friends -- so I missed seeing Mandy, Micki, Christine & Jess, among others...seems there's just never enough time. Hopefully we'll get back when Heath comes home and I can see the others then. We raced back to Tulsa early to get Brooke in to the doctor (she's been very sick) and then we had our Clark Christmas which was also wonderful, but we are just now getting back to normal.

Got to keep this brief but will try to start being more regular with my updates when things settle down. Until then check out this sweet pic of my girls...(taken before we left for Christmas therefore everyone is well).
Got to love them. They are adorable. Although I could do with out the puking.
Wishing you all a happy new year...

Ready for Santa

You cant tell but those are our stockings on her feet. We cant hang them up because the kids yank on them and our stocking holders crash down and clunk them in their heads. We learned this the hard way last year, and I swear Riley had that huge puncture wound for at least 2 months. And I didnt really want to clean up blood this year. Head wounds bleed too much.

Sampson gets a mention...

We love our dog. He was our first baby. But Sampson is a dog...and therefore, is not and never has, been allowed on the furniture. But while Riley is at school, Cade takes his naps and I guess Sampy feels like Cade needs someone to "nap" with him. Shocked when I went in to check on Cade, I found Sampson resting on Riley's bed (yes they are in the same room). The funny thing is, Sampson did not even move a muscle when I came in, not even raise his head to look at me. He was awake, his eyes followed me while I took these pictures.

But did I make him move? Not this time. Poor guy has been demoted with each new kid. Now he's just one step above Wade. Just kidding! -not really :)

Here is one more cute picture I wanted to post. Riley loves Brooke so much. We are so lucky we've never had the jealous thing to deal with. Here she is reading Brooke her latest library book.

This was not a "posed" picture...this is as candid as it comes. I snuck up on them to get it, and I zoomed in so they wouldnt notice me.

Ban in the kitchen

There is now a ban on Wade making pudding. Here is his second attempt at pudding. This time he did use milk, but he scorched it to where it litterally tasted like we were chewing charcoal. I seriously almost hurled. This time I documented it...

You can actually see the chunks of scorched milk.
----------------------------------------------------------
The snow is pretty much gone now, but I took the kids sledding and thought I'd post a couple of pictures.

White November

Thursday morning we woke up to this...

Anyone that has spent anytime in Oklahoma knows that Tulsa goes nuts over heavy flurries. We just dont see a lot of snow here - maybe once a year. So the schools were shut down (I remember thinking how easy these kids have it...back home they would NOT shut down school over this). But Riley and Cade were ecstatic! So I tell Riley that she wont be going to school today, and she says, "Why, is it on lockdown?" She missed school a month or so ago because the Bass Pro Shop is close to school and someone stole a "weapon" - so school went on lockdown. I thought that was funny. Back in my day we had to deal with the crazys that came in and out of school.
Anyway, the day went on and it would not stop snowing. And this is what we woke to this morning...

Notice the trampoline is buried. It is a record for Tulsa. The airport's official reporting is 10.4 inches! If you want to know how amazing this is, the previous record was 3/10ths of an INCH set 51 years ago.
Wade is hunting with his uncle in Antlers, OK, left me with the kids (snowbound and all sick...Brooke and I included). But he called this morning and said he got a 10 point buck. He hunts ducks a lot, but this is his 1st deer. I'll spare you the poor bambi pictures, but here is a picture of the snowman Riley and I built this morning...

Christy---I think its actually colder in Tulsa than Boston today.