Thank you Auntie Chris!

Auntie Chris sent Braden and Olivia a little money for a Halloween treat. Braden immediately wanted to go to Starbucks. This just goes to show you that I had been going there (and taking my kiddos) way too often. Not only am I going in withdrawl trying to save money but apparently Braden is too! Ha!

We went to Starbucks before going to the zoo today. Braden picked out an organic vanilla milk and a bananna, chocolate-chip coffee cake. Olivia had water and a multi-grain roll and I had my usual - Grande Nonfat Latte Please!

It was great fun until we went into the bathroom for one of those emergency trips... "Mama I have to go potty!" We quickly picked up the table and ran into the bathroom. Olivia was innocently enjoying some of Braden's vanilla milk while we were busy. I was helping Braden, explaining why we don't touch public bathroom toilet seats and I turned around to the sound of spilling milk. She had poured all the rest of Braden's milk down the front of her clothes. Might I remind you that we were also on our way to the zoo! AHAHAHHH I cleaned her (and the Starbucks bathroom floor) up as best I could and we headed out.

It was actually a really fun little pit stop so thank you Auntie Chris. We talked about how lucky we were to get your cards in the mail and that you were the reason we got to eat and drink yummy treats!

A Day at Jacobus Park

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful sunshine outside today and bundled up to head to the park. It was Olivia's first time wearing mittens and she did great! She didn't try to take them off once which was nice to see. We wore our hats, mittens and warm coats.

Jacobus happens to be one of our favorite parks. Wauwatosa has wonderful places for the kids to play and many of the parks have or are surrounded by some sort of trail system. We played on the equipment for a while (we were the only ones there!) and then hiked around through the colorful trees. The leaves in some places came up to Olivia's knees but she tried her hardest to keep up with Braden. It was great to hear the crisp crunching beneath our feet and just smell the clean, fall air. We have so much fun when the three of us are outside together.

Our noses were pink by the time we got back and we were all feeling a little hungry so we sat down for a goldfish snack. After swinging for a short while and playing for a little longer we headed home and are now enjoying a great lunch. Hopefully I wore them out and they'll take great naps because I wore myself out and could use a nap too!

I love fall.

My Little Diva

Olivia is such a girl. She LOVES shoes! Maybe her auntie Em has already rubbed off on her. :) I am in the process of putting all of my summer shoes in the attic so they are in a laundry basket in the hallway. Tonight she decided to explore! She slid her chubby little feet into my heels and walked around the upstairs, "clip, clop, clip, clop." It was adorable. I think we're going to have our hands full someday. Not only does she love shoes but she adores necklaces, bracelets, hats, and clothes in general.

Love Dare

Steve and I have been reading this great book called, "Love Dare" recommended by our friends Heather and Brodie. It's a book that takes 40 days (or in our case a bit longer) to complete. Each night you read a short passage about an element of love and/or marriage and then there is a dare for the next day. The dare might be to not say anything negative to your spouse the next day or to call them out of the blue and ask if there is anything that you can do to help them out. When day is done (or when the dare is done which sometimes takes more than a day for us) there are some questions to help you reflect on what the dare was, how it made you feel, etc. I don't know that Steve writes anything down but I'm obviously a journaler so I do! :)

It's amazing what a little love and attention can do for a relationship. It's so easy to forget about "us" when the kids take most of our time and energy. The BIG things we used to enjoy doing together and for each other aren't possible anymore without painstaking effort to rearrange schedules, find babysitters and empty the bank account to pay for a fun night/trip and a babysitter! What this book has done for us is give us an excuse to refocus on each other and through little gestures, remind ourselves and each other why we fell in love. I am so thankful that I have a husband who will do things like this with me. I'm always finding new journeys I think we should take and he jumps on board willingly and whole heartedly.

My last dare was to list all of the things that I love about Steve on one sheet of paper. This paper represented a room in my brain that I visit when I think happily of him. Then I had to write down all the things I don't love about him which also represented a room in my brain which I sometimes visit too frequently. The book stated that as marriages progress people find themselves spending more and more time in the negative room and less and less time in the positive room and that we have to make a conscious effort to change that. It was very easy for me to write about all the things that I love and I found that the number of positives was three times as long as the negative list. A pleasant surprise for me. I didn't doubt that Steve is a wonderful person and that his list of positive characteristics out lasts many but I seem to find lots to get frustrated about or nit pick about. It was a good wake up call that I seem to fall back on the same arguments and I need to just let them go.

Anyway - my dare also asked that I pick one positive thing that I love about Steve and recognize him for it. I wanted to do that here. I wanted to share that love with everyone because he is such a wonderful man. One of the things I love most about Steve is what a kind heart he has. He shares it with me, he shares it with our children and he shares it with everyone he meets. Steve is warm - he wears his heart on the outside of his body and touches the world with it daily. Here are ten things he does that show his kind heart.

1. He constantly hugs and kisses Braden and Olivia
2. He is the first one to say good morning and to remind me to slow down for a kiss/hug goodnight
3. He has a hard time not giving to anyone who comes selling at our door or calls on the phone
4. He loves taking care of the earth: recycling, picking up trash he sees, saving energy, etc.
5. He calls and thinks of people when they are in need - he even sends cards - yes a man that sends cards!
6. He cries when we watch sad movies or we read about sad news
7. He has a hard time walking past a homeless or hungry person without helping him/her
8. He works until the wee hours in the morning to make sure he has done everything he needs to for all the people at work
9. He sends handwritten thank you's all on his own - no reminders from me!
10. He tells me he loves me every day - even on my most difficult days!!!

Steve - I love you honey. You are an amazing man and I am so lucky to be married to you.

Carving Pumpkins

I cannot remember the last time I carved a pumpkin. We had so much fun tonight I feel like a giddy little kid. I want everyone to come over and see our creations! They are nothing special but the magic that floods the air when you light a candle in them on a crisp, dark night is irreplaceable!

We had four pumpkins to carve - two small and two large. We set up the table, newspaper underneath, carving tools set to the side and began to dig in. Olivia was quite intrigued, Braden more disgusted than curious. He wanted NO part of "getting dirty." Steve and I jumped in and started pulling out the seeds and strings of pumpkin that squish between your hands. I have to admit the first handful does feel rather slimy but after that it's fun! Who doesn't like to get dirty - what child doesn't like to get dirty? We were baffled. I also thought Olivia might dive in but she wasn't sure what to do. She did try to carve with a small (dull!) knife and scoop out the guts with a pumpkin spoon but didn't reach her arm in as I had envisioned. Steve and I made up for their tentativeness.

Braden decided to fully participate when it was time to carve! He and Steve chanted, "in and out, in and out" as they pushed and pulled at the knife creating a "scary" face with "shark teeth." See if you can guess which one that is in the picture! :) Olivia and I made a ghost. We lit them right away in the kitchen and turned out the lights. WOW - darkness does wonders for our talents!

We took the jack-o-lanterns outside once we were all finished and got them arranged just perfect. I should probably mention that by this time Olivia was in bed, Braden looking at his catalogs again and the "we" that was making sure the pumpkins were perfect was just Steve and I! It was really fun; I can't believe we haven't done this before now. We didn't know what we were missing. We enticed Braden to come out and look at them with us which he did after I bribed him with trick or treating! Is that bad to use bribery every once and again? Hope not!

So all in all it was a really fun Friday night! I loved being able to be creative and no matter what you do - the result is always great when you light it up in the darkness. If you haven't already (and you obviously don't need kids as an excuse) I think everyone should go and get a pumpkin to carve. If for nothing else, to get the yummy pumpkin seeds that are in our oven roasting right now. What a fun time of year this is.

Christmas is Coming

The catalogs have started rolling in and before I have a chance to look through them Braden has staken his claim on the ones with toys! He looks through, sometimes browsing, other times circling all of the items he'd like for his birthday and Christmas. He asked me the other day if Christmas was close and I had to explain that first would come Halloween, then his birthday, then Thanksgiving, and finally Christmas.

I'm not exaggerating if I tell you that daily he shows me about 15 things he'd like to have. Part of me gets anxious when I hear all of these wants - I'd like to raise a child who is thankful for what we have. Other times I feel more at peace with this just being a phase. I said to him yesterday, "Braden you already have so many toys. I feel sad when you talk about all the toys you want to have because some children don't have any." He replied, "I don't want my old toys - I want all new ones." So that was the end of that. I thought it might be a perfect learning opportunity but I was hugely mistaken.

You can see from the pictures that Olivia has taken up the hobby as well. She loves to mimic whatever Braden does so I found her sitting on the couch, looking through catalogs and mumbling about what she'd like too. Steve and I were reminiscing about when the big SEARS catalog would arrive in the mail when we were young. We both talked of dreamily drifting through the pages looking item by item and picturing each thing under the tree on Christmas morning.

Maybe it's selfish - maybe it's a phase - or maybe a bit of both. Either way, it's fun to dream!

So You Think You Can Dance

A bunch of friends and I went to the So You Think You Can Dance tour last night. It was a blast. We started out with dinner at an Italian restaurant called Tutto. It was delicious - we had eggplant fries! Then we headed to the Bradley Center. We've gone now for the last three years and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I couldn't believe how many people were there. The bummer of the evening was that Katie, my favorite female dancer, was injured so we only saw her dance one number. Also her partner for most of the show...was Josh (the winner). So that was disappointing but it was still a really great show. Thanks Ladies for a fun night out!

Update on Owl

Owl has been found! Of course the minute I find a replacement (thankfully it wasn't something I went and purchased) owl shows up. The doctors office called me just now and found owl hidden behind a basket in the waiting room. Olivia will be soooo excited when I have a chance to go and pick him up. Wooooo Hoooooo!

Owl Whoooooo?

For her birthday, Sam and Emily gave Olivia an owl blanket. They type that has the soft head of an owl and the it's body is actually a small brown blanket. She loved it and has slept with it ever since.

Well - owl is missing!

Owl was lost sometime between getting Olivia out of her crib Saturday morning and nap time. I have scoured every nook and cranny in this house because it breaks my heart every time she comes to me and says, "owl, owl, owl." I cannot find it anywhere. The only place we went on Saturday was the doctor and neither Steve nor I think she brought it with but I called just in case and they didn't have it. Needless to say, I have no idea where this little owl is.

On our walk tonight Steve and I talked about getting Braden's old ducky blankets down from the attic. They are the same idea as the owl and just as soft so we thought it might work as a replacement. We also have two of them so if we happened to lose one we always have a spare!

I brought them down just before putting her to bed and she LOVED them! She bit on the beak just like Braden used to do and snuggled right in with them. Hopefully they can be her new "lovey." As Steve so zanily put it, "Olivia will be saying, "Owl whooooo?" ha!

Today was simple yet fun!

Today was a simple yet very fun day. Evan came over this morning and we made a masking tape city of roads on the carpet in the porch. I got the idea from my friend Sarah whose city was so awesome it makes mine look like a measly township! :) They played cars, we made garages out of diaper boxes and then turned it into a zoo!

They boys went off to school and then Olivia and I came home and got caught up on some things, ran one errand and then picked them up. They had a great day learning all about owls. Over a grilled cheese lunch (no tomato soup to our disappointment) they explained to me in detail how an owl eats a mouse and then regurgitates it's bones and fur. "They DO NOT eat the fur mama." Very nice you two. :)

It was nap time and then more play time. Some in the masking tape city and others running around the house. It felt like we needed a little something special to do so we decided to make Pumpkin Bread/Muffins. The boys each had a bowl and got to stir and make their own batch. Evan wanted to make muffins and Braden wanted bread so we did both. It was really fun and we did it all with relatively little mess.

We had curry chicken salad sandwiches which was my co-op meal this week and then went for a walk and stopped at the grocery store. Now it's off to bed for them both. Such a simple day. Sometimes those are the best.

4th Annual

Katie and I take an annual shopping trip to the outlet malls in Kenosha. I think this is our 4th trip!! We leave early in the morning and shop till we drop and then return home with buyers remorse and having had a great time laughing and catching up. The day went way too quickly and we both spent way too much money but we really did enjoy our time together. I haven't laughed that hard in a while and I love just talking with Katie - she's such an amazing part of my life. It's crazy to think that she's been a part of my life for longer than she hasn't. I remember walking down to her house with my mom to introduce myself when we moved. We were 11 years old. I love you katie and apparently we did go to the Gap!! hehe

Look the Same?

Someone commented recently that Olivia is looking so much like Braden so I thought I'd post pictures of them at the same age.

Morning Walk

I was feeling stressed this morning thinking of all of my little things to do around here with a busy week/weekend ahead. That never makes for good mommy skills or a happy household so we decided to head out for a walk this morning. We bundled up since it is a little more chilly than the last few days and headed out. My camera decided to work spontaneously so we captured some beautiful pictures.

We admired trees, found all kinds of tracks and talked about what kinds of animals were there. It was fun - Braden was extremely interested in the animal tracks and exploring for them. We stopped and played cars on the trail for a while and ran up and down a hill. It was the perfect medicine for a stressed mommy. We had a great time and are refueling with a snack now!

Olivia Update

In typical Dupee fashion, Olivia has graced us with yet another trip into the ENT clinic at Children's Hospital. We met with Dr. Conley, the doctor that performed Braden's surgery. We spoke about her history of ear infections and congestion while she napped in the stroller. Then he briefly looked into her ears and throat.

His recommendation is that we have tubes put in and her adenoids taken out. He said her tonsils looked just fine so he'd leave them in at this point. We also had a hearing test and like Braden, she has minor hearing loss due to stagnant fluid. That should clear up with the tubes so isn't a huge concern.

We scheduled our surgery for Thursday, December 4th at Children's Hospital. The recovery time shouldn't be as difficult as it was with Braden since the tonsils are staying in but it's surgery none the less so I'll be taking some time off of work and we'll keep her home for about a week. Hopefully this will alleviate some of her troubles with ears and nasal congestion poor little thing!

Dawn, we will miss you!

Steve's cousin Dawn passed away yesterday. She finally ended her long battle with cancer. We are grateful that she is no longer in pain and her body can finally rest but we will all grieve her loss. She leaves behind a husband, Dee John, who adored her, and three children. Riley, Caden and True, who of course loved her dearly.

My mind and heart can't make sense of the whole thing. I just don't understand how we live in a world where such unfair things can happen. No children should ever have to grow up without their mommy. They are too young to have to understand what death means and realize the fragility of life. I ache for them all.

The funeral is Friday. We will be heading up to Steve's parents that morning most likely. I feel very fortunate that I have not had to deal with many deaths in my life thus far although that doesn't make this one any easier.

I didn't know Dawn very well but want her to know she will be missed none the less. If you have some extra warmth in your heart this week please send it to the three children of Dawn and Dee John. They need all the love, guidance, and support they can get.

Life...so amazing...so fragile...so relatively short.

A Fabulous Fall Weekend

We had another wonderful weekend - enjoying the fall weather and a lot of family time - but I have no pictures to prove it as my camera is broken. What's a blogging girl to do without her camera? I feel lost!

Friday night Steve and I put Olivia to bed and relaxed together. It was a great, quiet evening! Just perfect.

Saturday we woke up and were cleaning maniacs. It felt so good to get the house clean. We did stop for a while and drove down to meet some friends from out of town at Alterra by the Lake. It was a great visit, and then it was back to work! Steve finished painting our back porch railing which Marc had come down on Friday and completed. We own Marc big time - he's so good to us. My mom came and brought Braden back just before dinner. We all ate Mediterranean Chicken (a co-op meal from Sara) which was delicious. A neighbor boy came over and babysat the kids for a couple of hours while Steve, my mom and I went to a concert at church. They did a coffee house concert - it was great! We stopped at Starbucks after and then headed to bed.

Today we got up - went to church, and then went on an awesome walk along the flood reservoirs. They finished digging them out this summer. It feels like you're in the middle of a nature preserve. We really love where we live - so close to the city yet so many fun things to do that make you feel like you're far away from the hustle and bustle. We did more around the house and then grilled out for dinner and ate outside. It might be the last chance we have so we enjoyed every minute of it. We played for quite a while in the yard and there you have it - a wonderful weekend. Nothing spectacular - nothing monumental - but just what we needed.

Braden's time at Nana and Papa's

Braden had a wonderful time visiting Nana and Papa's house in Appleton. He left Thursday morning and then returned Saturday night. They were very busy and he had a great time. They went to the glacier ridge animal park, hiked the ice age trail, picked apples and pumpkins at an orchard, played at the park, and toured a fire station. Such fun!! He loves that one on one time and deserves every bit of it. I'll add pictures when my mom sends some although she said that most of them are of the back of his head as our latest stage does not include smiling for pictures!

3 Rules

We had our first family meeting last night. Steve and I decided we needed to be more consistent with rules and our parenting when Braden was being challenging. I read an article recently about the importance of rules and consequences being clear for children if we expect them to follow. We decided to establish three rules and the specific consequence that would follow and talk to Braden about them. It was a great conversation. He was very engaged and receptive. We also made a poster together so that we could hang it up as a reminder. Braden gave us ideas for the symbols to use to represent each rule. The three rules and consequences are:

In our house we...
1. Use kind hands and feet. (consequence: play by yourself in your room for a little while)
2. Put away our toys. (consequence: toys are taken away)
3. Use a nice voice. (consequence: mommy and dadd can't hear you when you're voice is not nice)

Today has been great so far and we've already talked about the second two! Hopefully this will work for us for a while - we can always add on later if needed.

Dinosaur Morning

This morning was crazy. Olivia has started to throw temper tantrums when she doesn't get her way. Yes, she is 15 months and already throwing temper tantrums. This is where my mom can probably say that payback is a *****. She was screaming because I wouldn't let her:
a. throw her yogurt all over the kitchen
b. climb on top of the kitchen table
c. eat Braden's cereal
d. all of the above
Of course it is "D"! Braden on the other hand was peachy so at least they were taking turns. Thankfully we had a fun day planned outside of the house.

We left fairly early and drove down to Whole Foods. It's a field trip for us since it's a little drive and we don't get there very often. We bought some fresh fruit for our trip and also some freeze dried fruit and veggies that I wanted to have on hand for snacks. After Braden picked out a chocolate, chocolate chip muffin from the bakery we got ourselves loaded into the car and on our way.

We drove down to Kenosha and started at their public museum. I was VERY impressed. It's small but has a lot to offer and is quite kid friendly. As you can see from the pictures they have a field room where kids can experiment with many different tools, games, etc. They are practicing to be "botanists, paleontologists, artists, etc."

Around noon we went outside and ate snacks while we waited for the trolley car. For $0.25 each it took us to the next museum, The Dinosaur Discovery Museum. Braden LOVED the trolley car. The dino museum left a lot to be desired. It's got beautiful skeletons and one dino that Braden could touch but it's just one room and at his age, he wasn't much into the skeletons. In the basement however there are fun kid things to do. Unfortunately Olivia was overdue for her nap so we didn't get to stay very long before meltdown mode began.

We walked back to the other muesum, got into our car and drove home. It was a really nice day! A fun, family, field trip.

Braden's First Conference

I attended Braden's first conference at preschool today. It was 10 minutes and was a very different experience for me sitting on the other side of the table -being the receiver of information rather than the deliverer. I wasn't nervous going in but realize in hindsight that I had pretty high expectations for how this conference would go.

They told me he was a very busy little boy and he was doing a good job adjusting to school routines. He likes to play with others and does so appropriately. He also engages in all places around the room although art projects are his least favorite. They also mentioned that he doesn't like to participate in games or songs they sing that have actions. This surprises me a lot!!

I wondered how transitions were for him since they are a challenge for us here at home and they said that at times they are hard. Steve and I talked afterwards about some things we can do to continue to work on this although part of me wonders if it's just an age/phase that will pass at some point regardless of what we do at home.

Wow - our little guy is growing up! It's crazy to think that this is only the beginning for him. How exciting.

Happy Birthday Ava!

Ava had her 2nd Birthday party today at Cozy Nook Farm. We had so much fun going for a hayride and picking our own pumpkins. Sarah made a very cute pumpkin cake that was delicious! The kids had a really fun time running around the barn, seeing the cows and eating yummy treats. It was a very nice way to spend a PERFECT fall day. Happy Birthday Ava. Thanks for inviting us to your party.

Friday Nights

When we get offers for fun things to do on Friday nights, we often politely decline. It's no offense to anyone, we're exhausted and love being home on Fridays. They typically go something like this...

Sarah picks up the kids and gets home.
They scream - Sarah's stress level slowly rises.
Braden is screaming for attention and Olivia is screaming for food.
Sarah puts in one of the amazing co-op meals and feeling like she is going to pull her hair out because all she truly wants to do is collapse, she calls Steve to see when he'll be home.
Inevitably there are always additional things he needs to do before leaving.
While on the phone Braden pushes, hits, or kicks Olivia.
Sarah puts Braden in a time out and then sits down with the kids to play.
The buzzer goes off and the meal is ready.
Steve arrives and everyone sits down to eat dinner.
Sarah and Steve have to get up 5 times to pick up thrown sippy cups, refill water...no milk...I changed my mind...water please!
Dinner ends.
Time to clean up.
Put the kids to bed.
Collapse.

Another Friday night, spent at home, relaxing, enjoying my family, feeling exhausted, ready for Saturday (my favorite day of the week), can't wait to go climb in bed, eating ice cream, and appreciating my life. Tomorrow is a new day - I'll have renewed energy and it's a good thing because my to-do list is a long one! :)