Audacity of Hope

Our book club met again tonight. It was a really enjoyable evening as it always is. We met at Katie's to discuss Obama's, "Audacity of Hope." It was a great talk with some heated moments but all in all very intriguing and I for one walked away feeling more knowledgeable about our government and Obama himself. This was not a book I would have picked up on my own so I appreciated the extra nudge. We do spend the majority of the evening talking about the book but inevitably our discussions digress and we end up drinking wine, laughing a lot and sharing our lives with one another. I love this group of ladies!! Our next book is, "Loving Frank," which I am super excited to read! Off to bed for me. :)

French Bulldog

We have been talking about getting a dog for some time now. We've been talking about either a boxer, a boston terrier, or a french bulldog. We feel like the french bulldog might be a good compromise on the boxer and boston. I grew up with a dog and I want Braden and Olivia to as well. Maybe this summer will be the time. I worry about training a puppy and the wear and tear on the house although if I am going to have four kids I don't know why a dog concerns me! ha! These pictures are of two different french bulldogs...soooooo cute! Who knows, maybe in a few months you'll see another dog blog and it'll be the real things not just dreaming anymore!!

A Fantastic Friday Night!

Tonight was such a fun night! We started the night with Steve bringing me home a latte from Alterra. What more could a girl ask for? We had a great meal co-op dinner - Kristin's Italian Chicken and Tomato Pasta Toss - which was delicious of course.

After dinner, Braden decided he wanted to train for the "twinkle trot," a race he is going to run in March to benefit the Wauwatosa Historical Society. He and I bundled up and ran around the block! He's fast, I think we may have another sprinter in our family! :)
Steve and Olivia got coats on as well and we all headed to Longfellow Middle School to a Magic Show benefiting the local Crime Stoppers. We got to meet some police dogs. A 10 week old and 9 year old Bloodhound. They were beautiful. Braden and Steve enjoyed the show while Olivia and I roamed the halls.

Braden was hungry when we got home so he pulled his little red chair into the living room and asked for cereal. He reminds me of Sam when he does this ... I remember Sam eating cereal as a snack at night while we were growing up!
It was a wonderful Friday night and we still have the whole weekend ahead of us! I love having my whole family home. :)

Braden's Surgery

Braden and Daddy - Just about ready to go home!

We returned to Children's Hospital this morning for Braden's ear tube surgery. All went well and we were home by 10am. The surgery itself took longer than usual due to the amount and the thickness of the fluid in his ears that they needed to extract but other than that it was quick and easy. He was a little groggy coming out of anesthesia but is now enjoying granola bars, yummy French-Toast Kringle (yes, I did say French-Toast) brought over by our neighbor, apple fruit rolls and milk. It's a special day so I've been the "yes" mommy today. "Sure Braden you can have Kringle for lunch!" Hopefully that's the last time I'll have to spend time there - at least for a while anyways! Thank you everyone for your well wishes this morning!

Discovery World

Today Braden and Evan had no school because there are parent-teacher conferences. I've really been enjoying the day! The first thing that I noticed is that I wasn't bound by the clock like I am most other mornings. It was nice to get up leisurely, not worry how fast we got out of our PJ's, ate breakfast, etc. I really didn't have a set agenda for the day.

Evan arrived and the boys played around the house for a while. I say around the house because it's inevitable that they slowly make their way from the porch, to the living room, to upstairs and then basement. I am slowly crawling behind them picking things up! :)

Around 9:30 we headed out to Discovery World. It was really, really fun. We saw the great lakes, watched the fish, climbed in a boat, had a pre-packed snack and then headed down for a movie on how all different creatures move around. It was fascinating and filled with about 150 other school age kids so it was thankfully okay for the intermittent comment to come out of one of my children's mouthes. Braden was proudly naming many of the creatures and Olivia was yelling, "more mama," as I was stuffing goldfish in her mouth so she'd stay sitting. :)

We came home, played, had lunch and they are all down for naps. Such an enjoyable day so far. I take for granted days where you can do whatever you please not bound to anyone or anything. I'm sure as the kids get older those days will diminish even more so I should be thankful for the few I can still capture!

Playdate with Charlotte

We had a playdate last Friday morning with our neighbor Cheri and her daughter Charlotte. Cheri and I have become good friends and decided it was finally ready to get the girls together. We sipped Starbucks while they chewed on toys (well Charlotte mostly), watched each other and were quite well behaved! :) It was really fun and we are looking forward to getting together again soon. Poor Olivia is usually a tag along for all things Braden so it's nice once in a while to have something special for her to do as well. Thanks Cheri and Charlotte!

Thank You

Thank you so much to all of our friends and family who have reached out with words of encouragement. I've really appreciated it.

What a journey this has become. I've been trying two specific things the last few days and it seems to be going fairly well. I have been picking out many, many specific things to praise Braden on each day. He beams when I do. I have also been finding some alone time to spend with just him - doing what he wants to do. It's been harder with Olivia around so we've been playing things we can somewhat include her in while she is awake and then having our "special" mommy-Braden time when she goes to sleep.

He said to me Sunday, "Mommy, I'm falling in love with you." I about melted. Then he was telling me he loved me throughout the whole day and towards the end of the day he said, "I don't know why I am telling you I love you so much." He's obviously feeling more love from me so I think it's a step in the right direction.

Again - Thank you all. I am so very lucky to have you all in my life.