Team Domm

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2011-05-03T14:59:00.000-04:00

So it's been way too long, but then I always say that. Lately, I've been wondering if this blog is just another project that's fallen by the wayside and is not really worth the effort anymore. Maybe. It seems like there's always something that needs to get done.
Wow, this post is really Pollyanna-ish already isn't it?
I started the blog to keep family updated on what we're doing. Sort of. Part of me liked being clever too, and reading comments. I still like that intent - to keep all of you, our family and friends in the loop with life as we know it. So - I'm giving this blog another chance. I hope you've kept checking to see if I've gotten motivated to at least post a few words and some pictures. Sorry that it's taken me so long to do so.
Anyway - here's the update:
Aiden:
Lost three teeth in one weekend! I will post a picture of his newly gap-toothed grin. He did not take kindly to the nickname "Toothless", so we're still calling him Aiden. He is enjoying first grade and loves to play Transformers and tell jokes. He was just recently diagnosed with ADHD, which adds another dimension to our lives. We've started medication, with the understanding that we will work to get supports and structure in place so that he is on meds for the shortest time possible. I've tried to explain ADHD to him as sort of like a superpower, and we call his meds his "vitamins". He is pretty good about taking them - though that could be because I found that sprinkling the vitamins over a spoonful of ice cream helps him to swallow them better. He's making great strides at school and enjoys lunch, gym and recess. He is a great reader and loves to read comic books.

Owen:
Turns five in June! I can't believe that he is almost ready for Kindergarten! He continues to enjoy preschool, and recently "graduated" from home Occupational therapy services. He is still receiving speech therapy twice a week and some therapy at school. He has blossomed in the past two years since he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS and his teacher thinks that he'll be fine in Kindergarten with some support. (I'm also praying that he'll have the same Kindergarten teacher as Aiden - he is awesome!). He also loves Transformers and cars and helping around the house with such tasks as helping to cook pancakes and holding Dad's tools when he is making home improvements.

Connor:
A very busy three year old. He makes me laugh with his "Connorisms" like calling cubed ham "cute" ham. He loves to play anything with his older brothers, and calls them "my boys" and "my" Aiden and Owen. He keeps me company while the older boys are at school and loves to go to Target when we run errands. We're hoping that potty-training is on the horizon for Connor soon, but out of all the boys I really believe that it will happen when it's totally his decision.

Trevor:
Finally decided to walk and is now walking everywhere! He also loves to climb on the dining room table and eat/play with whatever might be on there. He is saying mom, dad and no - though not often. I think he specializes in baby mind-control and just uses that to get us to do what he wants. :) His big brothers make him laugh with their antics, and he is a great cuddler.

Kurt and I are staying busy with work, school and assorted hobbies. I started a math class online in January and will finish this month. I can't wait! Kurt is still enjoying his job and is looking forward to disk golf season.

Okay - time for pictures:

Trevor at the Easter egg hunt at church.

Connor and Owen playing in our flooded backyard. Transformers costumes and masks, snow boots and pajamas are required attire.

Aiden at the Easter egg hunt. There's a good view of one of his missing teeth! He looks so grown-up to me!

The boys with Kurt at Buckland Park. We were flying kites. It was a fantastic day for it!

Me and the other kite flyers.

Connor LOVED flying kites. I was initially worried that he might fly away, because it was a very windy day, but he held on tight, and was the last to pack it in for the day.

Our awesome Star Wars kite. We also had a Transformers one. Best dollar I ever spent.

Toothless decorating cupcakes at Grandma & Grandpa Z.'s on Easter.

Connor working in his favorite medium: frosting.

Trevor was not particularly interested in kite-flying but he DID like taking off into the parking lot whenever he could!

More pictures of the flood. I've nicknamed our property "The Bayou". Sounds nicer than swamp....

So There

2011-03-30T19:26:00.000-04:00

"You've been blogging so well lately." Kurt says as I scramble around in all my short-order cook glory. Yes, that's right, I'm preparing about five separate meals during this conversation.
"Actually, I shouldn't say that. I shouldn't be sarcastic about that," Kurt continues.
I laugh and say "Yeah, because then I might blog about it."
Kurt laughs and says, "No."
Well - what do you think of this, Kurt?

I'll Help You Pack

2011-01-31T08:39:00.000-05:00

A conversation from Saturday:

Aiden: Mom, I wish that I had a nice mom that would take me to Wal-Mart to look at the "How to Train Your Dragon" toys and let me eat ice cream for breakfast.

Me: Well, you look for her and if you find her then you can stay with her but until then you're stuck with me.

Hmmm....ice cream for breakfast. Not really opposed to that. Would it rock his world if I dished it up one early morning?

Happy Birthday!

2011-01-15T21:40:00.000-05:00

It's not official until tomorrow, but Connor turns three on Sunday, January 16th. Here's a picture of the birthday boy:

Here are a few facts about Connor:
1. He loves the color yellow
2. His favorite foods are cookies, swedish fish, pizza, clementines, strawberries, ice cream
3. He likes to help himself to my oatmeal at breakfast-time.
4. He loves his brothers
5. His favorite toy is his Bumblebee transformer
6. He wants to do everything that the big boys are doing
7. He is my only boy with blue eyes
8. He can melt Grandma Zundel's heart in about 4 milliseconds
9. He has a fantastic giggle
10. He loves to draw and will often carry a little notebook and crayon for such a purpose.

Happy Birthday Connor! We love you!

Expect the Unexpected

2011-01-01T16:05:00.000-05:00

So this was going to be an end-of-the-year blog post with lots of lovely pictures and details about what we've been up to. I had it all planned out. When I had a moment, then bam! It was all going to come together. I would unveil the lovely family photo that our good friend Brandon so graciously took of us. I was going to illustrate my sparkling prose with pictures that would show off my cute little men. So what happened?
Connor threw up on our computer. On which I have all of our pictures stored. And I'm feeling really sick and it's making me grumpy and if one more person asks me to transform their Transformer from a robot to a car then that's it.
So said computer is out of commission, and I'm typing this from Kurt's work computer.  No pictures, but I still feel the need to fill you in on what we've been doing. You know, for the edification of all five of you that might still be checking to see if I updated this blog.
Anyway - how was your Christmas? Aiden declared ours the best Christmas ever and we have a pile of new toys that Santa and/or loving aunts and uncles gave the boys so enough said about that. We made salt dough ornaments, and cookies and I actually sent out Christmas cards. We cut down our own tree and had fun decorating and then taking ornaments away from Trevor once he pulled them off the tree.  It was a lovely holiday season and I only broke down in tears once - what more could you ask for?
Here's the update I promised:
Trevor: Turned one on Christmas Day! I loved not being in the hospital this year, though last year I had a really good reason.   He is crawling and creeping and getting teeth. He loves to laugh at his older brothers and has a really great disposition - nice and mellow.

Connor: Turns three on January 16th. He makes us laugh with his remarks and his independence. He started sleeping in a toddler bed and will go upstairs at night when he's ready to sleep. He loves to draw and play with his older brothers. When he's not throwing up on the computer he's my little buddy - we have a lot of fun while the older boys are at school!

Owen: Turned four on June 5th. He loves preschool and his teachers and friends. I'll be registering him for Kindergarten soon - I can't believe it! We are talking with the school district to see what would be the best placement for him - and I'm anticipating that he will still qualify for speech and occupational therapy. He is daddy's helper in all sorts of home improvement projects and loves to play with his brothers. Transformers and cars are his favorite things.

Aiden: Turned 6 on September 26th. He is in first grade this year and loves his class and teacher. He goes to school all day and loves to buy lunch (he calls it the "hot entree") He had fun playing soccer this summer and loves to play outside in the snow. He is doing great with his reading and other school work and loves to read to his brothers.

Wende: Turned a year older. I took some photography classes this summer and fell in love with taking pictures. I have an old-school SLR that I use and love to develop my own film and print my own pictures at a local Community darkroom. Kurt also got me PhotoShop for Christmas so I'm excited to start using that. I would love to show a few of my favorite shots - hopefully our computer will be up soon and running. I signed up for an online Math class that starts this January at Monroe Community College. It will be the first of a bunch of prerequisites that I will be taking before I apply to a graduate program in Occupational Therapy. I'm excited and nervous - this is going to be a journey, but I really can't wait to pursue OT!

Kurt: Turned more gray this year. He continues to enjoy his job and co-workers at ITT. He is playing soccer at least once a week and refereeing the boys here at home when they start to roughhouse. He recently got the basement all cleaned out and looking fabulous and is planning on doing some more home improvement stuff this year - like a backsplash in the kitchen, getting the attic ready to renovate, etc. I'm so grateful to have a handy husband!

Okay - so that's us.   Adieu.
Happy New Year!

Not where I've been, but what I've read...

2010-11-19T12:06:00.001-05:00

I have about ten thousand words to write about what we've been up to. But they still need to be downloaded and I wanted to share this poem with you. I found it on the Writer's Almanac. It spoke to my mother-side. Also - Mom, think of it as an explanation/apology for my twisted sense of humor. You've been a good sport for the past 34 years.

Diagnosis

by Sharon Olds

By the time I was six months old, she knew something

was wrong with me. I got looks on my face

she had not seen on any child

in the family, or the extended family,

or the neighborhood. My mother took me in

to the pediatrician with the kind hands,

a doctor with a name like a suit size for a wheel:

Hub Long. My mom did not tell him

what she thought in truth, that I was Possessed.

It was just these strange looks on my face—

he held me, and conversed with me,

chatting as one does with a baby, and my mother

said, She's doing it now! Look!

She's doing it now! and the doctor said,

What your daughter has

is called a sense

of humor. Ohhh, she said, and took me

back to the house where that sense would be tested

and found to be incurable.

My favorite summer event....

2010-07-20T15:35:00.000-04:00

I was doing the dishes and congratulating myself on updating my blog when I thought of an idea for a post. I love lists. I want to post lists on my blog for my and hopefully other's amusement. So here is a list. But first some background...
If you're Mormon and you live in this corner of upstate NY you anxiously anticipate those couple of magical weeks in July when you can go out and experience the wondrous jewel that is the Hill Cumorah Pageant. It's a play based on the Book of Mormon, which we believe to be companion scripture to the Bible. It has a great stage on the side of a hill, a cast of several hundred people and it's just good wholesome fun. Pageant ended this past weekend, and so in honor of this year's performance (and our presence there last Tuesday night - if you want to see a picture then scroll down to the previous post) here is my first midweek blog list:

Things to know about the Hill Cumorah Pageant
1. No volcano this year.

2 The work crew doesn't take a bow
The costume department got rid of the concubine and Lamanite warrior costumes. No more scantily-clad teenagers with bad farmer tans greeting you before the performance.

3. Best pageant dialogue:
"Take him, bind him, burn him to death."
"I see I have a poisonous snake among my priestsssssssss...."
"Baptize me, Alma"

4. Things to take with you if your interest is piqued and you plan on going to next year's performance:
Umbrella
Licorice or swedish fish (and possibly money for the concession stands - ummmm, salt potatoes!)
Bug spray
BYU t-shirt

5. Tips for the protestors that always harrass the performance attendees on our way to our seats:
Thank you for not shouting during the show. Keep doing that.
Make sure there is always a guy in a devil suit.
Vary your inflammatory sign colors - they just blend together if they're all bright yellow, and then the insults don't have the same impact.
You need more bullhorns and maybe a few chants/raps. Costumes, anyone?
If you're trying to start fights then you need to be more verbose. Try using, "Hey fatty." or "Excuse me, brood mare...(especially effective for families with several children). Lets ramp up the insults here.

Have a fabulous Tuesday!

The Update

2010-07-19T01:00:00.000-04:00

It's 12:45 in the a.m. and I'm trying to get this new blog design done. I'm so dedicated. Owen is sitting on my lap having woken up for some reason and I know that I will need to take him back to bed soon. So - here is a quick update. If you want more details then leave a comment and maybe that

will motivate me to post again soon. Hey, I see you shaking your heads out there! Really, I'm going to post more often. Okay, the first picture is Owen's 4th birthday. There were many superhero-themed presents and a good time was had by all.

Here is Owen's preschool class performance. I took the little boys with me, thinking that maybe they would fall asleep in the car and then I could just wheel them around the party. Nope, didn't work.

Here are the Smoky Mountains, the sight of a truly wonderful vacation with many other Domms. We looked at sharks, went alpine sliding, swam and had a ridiculously good time.

Some key participants in the Smoky Mountain vacation. Seriously good times. Here below is a picture of my lovely sister Jen, her goodlookin' husband Adam and my lovely cousin Emilie. They were here waiting for me (along with Grandma and Grandpa G.) to get back from the fabulous SmokyMountains.

Here is my cousin Jana and her great family. We got to have some good pizza and wings with them and go see the Hill Cumorah Pageant as part of their whirlwind tour of LDS church history sites. So FUN!

And these are the flamingoes that mysteriously arrived at our house tonight. Arent' they...vivid?So there is the very basic scoop. Good night!

I dunno....

2010-06-23T18:25:00.001-04:00

Hey, we're still here and have many happenings to write about... And I will, I just have to think about all that there is to tell. But until then, I hope, friends, that all is well with you and you have sunny weather to enjoy.
A friend recently wrote a post about how you can contribute to paying down the national debt. I found this idea intriguing as it makes me a little nervous that our country owes 13 trillion dollars to other countries like China.
So I tried to think of a few ways to help pay down the national debt without raising taxes or cutting services from the government (trying to appease the left and the right, you see. ) Now this is just for entertainment purposes, so don't jump all over me!

1. Everyone should give their spare change to the government. We could have a huge "spare change" drive once a year or so. If you find a sudden windfall of a few dollars then be altruistic and give it to the government. Of course, we might have to create some sort of an oversight committee... Who should be on it?

2. Once a month, everyone in the US has "Take a sandwich to work" Day, and donates the amount that they would have paid for that lunch to paying off the national debt. And if you don't know how to make a sandwich, I will post instructions on this blog. I mean, come on!

3. The government has a garage sale. Seriously, I bet there is some really cool stuff that could be sold to India or Sweden. (I'm not talking weapons, because that could get tricky)

4. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we have a tradition of sending missionaries around the world to tell people about our church. They all do such a great job that I'm wondering if just one day out of the year, we could get the missionaries to sell candy bars as well as proselyte and then get the church to donate the profits. Don't you remember when people used to sell candy bars in school so they could go to band camp? I bet it would work.

5. You have the option when you pay your taxes to donate a few dollars to financing presidential campaigns. How about we give each presidential candidate a ridiculously low amount and force them to get really creative and thrifty and then use the rest of the money toward the national debt? I like it.

Well, a bit of absurdity on this middle of the week. Au revoir!

FYI

2010-04-12T09:21:00.000-04:00

Hey Team Domm members far and wide:
There is a new blog that you MUST check out. Kristen has started a chronicle for her family. Go here:
domm-nation.blogspot.com
Oh and you holdouts (you know who you are!) who haven't started blogs yet - GET GOING! Cause we love you and want to see what you're up to. :)

Counterproductive

2010-04-08T08:58:00.000-04:00

Aiden has two "tells" for when he is in the process of or about to do something he knows that he shouldn't:
1. He looks straight at me and stares
2. He hides under the dining room table
Now, even though I know that it would be counterproductive to one of my purposes as a mother, part of me, the former sneaky-kid part, wants to take him aside and say, "Look, if you want to get away with whatever you're trying to do, DON'T look straight at your mom or dad and find another hiding place besides under the table."
Hopefully now that I've shared this with the world, that urge will go away.

In other news, Aiden lost his first tooth. There is a story associated with it, and a picture of him in all his gap-toothed glory coming soon.

Also, for all you activists and cause-minded people out there, April is Autism Awareness Month!

Satellite in my eye

2010-03-19T09:03:00.001-04:00

My friend Angela had a great theory about getting boys you like to reciprocate your feelings - it was all about propinquity or proximity (which are both fabulous words) - you try to keep the boy in your orbit. As I write this all three boys who can walk on their own are sitting around me and Trevor is nearby. I've noticed this phenomenon before - they all seem to gravitate to where Kurt and I are. I feel like a planet with three small moons following me around.

Also, I had to share - Aiden was talking to me while I was getting dressed the other day and asked me after I put on a pair of khaki pants:

"Mom, why are you wearing man pants?"

I told him they were lady pants because I was wearing them but he stuck to his story. Could this be the conclusion he's drawn after seeing his dad wearing khaki pants to work most days? Or do I have some sort of five-year-old male chauvinist on my hands? Because I asked him if jeans were lady pants and he said "No, they're for boys."

Hmmmmmm....

random universe

2010-03-16T22:26:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting here thinking about a few things that I think are funny. I thought I would share:

I took all FOUR boys to the doctor's yesterday. Connor and Owen were diagnosed with ear infections and conjunctivitis, so now I have antibiotics that I've been sneaking into their juice today. (shhh....) Anyway, a nice lady walked into the waiting room as we were staring into the distance/tormenting each other and Aiden immediately goes over and strikes up a conversation. It went something like this:

A: Hi, I'm Aiden.

the lady: Hi Aiden

A: I'm five years old. That's my little baby Trevor over there. Isn't he cute?

The lady comments on Trevor's cuteness (he was hidden in his baby carrier in the stroller, asleep bless his little heart.)

Now Aiden kept telling her about what he likes and his other brothers and then all of a sudden he's talking about prayer. My ears perked up for this part:

A: When I go to church, I bow my head and close my eyes and fold my arms when I pray.

Aiden then proceeds to demonstrate. I had to shake my head in wonder. How many times have Kurt and I said before trying to have family prayer, "Aiden fold your arms. Aiden, put down Spiderman/Bakugan/the toy you stole from your brother and FOLD YOUR ARMS. Okay, now close your eyes. Close your... CLOSE YOUR EYES." I suspect he didn't learn the lesson from us, but from some excellent sunday school teachers... but oh well, I am thankful that he knows how to pray.

The second funny thing for which I am profoundly grateful is that two out of Trevor's three brothers think that Trevor is the best thing since sliced bread. Aiden tells everyone about his new baby (as illustrated above) and loves to hold Trevor, and tells me, "Mom, he loves it when I rub his head." Owen also likes to observe Trevor from a nose-to-nose point of view and when Trevor is crying will go and find his little knitted cap from the hospital and his pacifier. Given the reaction that Aiden had when Owen first came home from the hospital (granted, he was just shy of two years old) I'm glad that they are currently doting on him.

That leaves Connor who is not feeling well today, and at one point wanted to sit and cuddle with me. I happened to be holding Trevor at the time, and Connor gave him a crusty look while pointing at the baby seat and saying, "Baby." He climbed into my lap immediately after I put Trev down on the couch next to us, and all was peaceful for a moment.

These boys make me laugh....

Here is a picture of Owen with Trevor. I think these two really resemble each other.

Back again....

2010-02-22T16:16:00.001-05:00

Here I am, back again in the world of the bloggers. Forgive the long silence but I've been a little preoccupied. Would you like to know what we've been up to?
After our little Christmas miracle arrived, we celebrated Connor's 2nd birthday and Kurt's 33rd birthday. A good time was had by all, and we now have more toys on the floor of the living room than before.
We've been enjoying the winter weather, Kurt and the boys have gone sledding, built a snowman in the backyard and made the most of the polar temperatures outside.
We have Olympic fever! I really think we've watched enough coverage that it should count as our daily requirement of exercise. I love the Olympics - I have the biggest urge to learn how to snowboard...
After our desktop computer died a slow, painful, virus-ridden death, we bought a new laptop! It's sleek, fast, and has that new computer smell. I don't have to wait for Kurt to get home so I can use his computer, and I can update my blog!
We've also embarked on a new adventure. I noticed that Trevor seemed to be struggling with gassiness and pain and would make his discomfort known by crying long and loud. I really felt for the poor guy, and as time went on, wondered if it could possibly be something that I was eating, since I'm breastfeeding. Anyway - after several trips to the doctor, and a prescription for Zantac we've discovered that he has a dairy intolerance (which is basically an allergy except not) and I can either try soy formula, expensive hypoallergenic formula or not eat dairy. I'm anxious about trying the first two options, so right now I'm not eating dairy. And, you know, I don't feel as though I'm living life to the fullest. But, I've been able to try new things like almond milk, and eating lots of hummus with crackers and veggies and I've since discovered that there are a few things I love that are dairy-free and I can still eat. (sorbet, chocolate graham crackers, brownies). So I'm ok if I look at this whole experience as a voyage of discovery. And, (keep your fingers crossed!) Trevor will be able to tolerate soy formula when he's a bit older... Cause I can't give up dairy forever, people.
Anyway - here are some pictures of Trevor. I thought you might need a cute baby picture fix....

Look at this face!

Give me a fist pump here...

I think he was looking at his brother's antics in this picture.

With Great-grandma Mancuso

With Aiden. I have to say, the boys have been awesome with Trevor. Aiden and Owen ask to hold him and then demand to have their picture taken.

Say hello....

2009-12-28T15:55:00.000-05:00

Well, we have some news. I bet you know what it might be...

Early Christmas morning found us at the hospital instead of snug in our beds, as we awaited the arrival of

Trevor Charles.

He graced us with his presence at 8:53 a.m. on December 25th. (that's right, the big day) We are so excited that he's here.

We thought that you might be too.

His stats at birth:

7 lbs 15 oz. 20 inches long.

TONS of dark hair.

Here he is: (please disregard the weary-looking person holding him in one of the pictures.)

Merry Christmas Baby

2009-12-23T12:20:00.000-05:00

Hello friends:
Well, it looks like those Christmas cards I was going to get to aren't actually happening this year, so forgive the holiday "blog card". We wanted to update everyone on what we've been up to.

Aiden turned five this year and started Kindergarten. He loves school and is very enthusiastic. He is making great progress in reading and writing and his teacher reports that he loves what they're doing in the classroom. He is our social man, and has made friends at school, at church and on the bus. In his ideal world, he would have a playdate everyday. He played lacrosse in September and really enjoyed it.

Owen is three and started preschool this year. He has a great time at school and is doing well with Speech and Occupational therapy, which he receives at school and at home. He loves to ride the bus to school, and play with his friends. He sings to us a lot, and is making leaps and bounds in expanding his vocabulary and use of sentences. He is our fix-it man and loves to help Kurt around the house and outside.

Connor will be two in January. He is using lots of words, and loves to mimic his older brothers. He loves cars and drawing with crayons and markers. He has a mischievous streak that makes me laugh, and the power to hypnotize me with his big blue eyes to the point that he almost has me wrapped around his little finger. He started Nursery this year at church and enjoys playing with the toys there. He loves to give kisses and giggle.

Kurt and I are trying to keep up with our three rascals and maintain some sort of decorum in our home. Kurt loves his job at ITT and is doing will there. I am expecting our fourth rascal any day now, and getting excited to meet our new little boy. I'm enjoying my time home with the boys. We were recently called at co-chairs of the Activities committee at our church, and we like having the opportunity to plan activities together. Kurt is playing soccer twice a week, and I'm taking naps on the couch everyday and looking forward to getting back in shape.

We are grateful for our beautiful boys and for the many blessings that we have received. We are grateful for loving and supportive friends and family. Most of all we are grateful for this holiday season to reflect on the miracle of the Savior's birth. We hope that all of our dear friends and family will have a wonderful holiday season!

Love
Team Domm

Patience is a virtue

2009-12-23T12:14:00.000-05:00

Dear Baby Domm:
Just a quick note to say that I can't wait to meet you, and that I hope you truly enjoy your experience as the newest member of Team Domm. I love to stare at the new ultrasound picture that I have of your ear and a few tantalizing glimpses of hair and possibly a cheek. (I know you were too busy to let the sonographer get a good pic of your face. ) I wonder how you will fit in our family and what your personality will be like.

That being said, I want to tell you that while you can come anytime you so desire, that there's absolutely nothing wrong with being a little early to the big dance that we call life. There are still seven days till your due date, but I think that there are plenty of wonders for you to experience that make my nice, cozy, quiet womb pale in comparison. A little food for thought.

With love,
Mom

Curse of the pregnant gimpy woman

2009-10-26T12:58:00.000-04:00

Well friends, it's finally happened...
I have become a complete and total cliche.
It all happened on Thursday night as I carried a load of laundry toward my basement. This laundry you see, really needed to be done or there would have been a clothing emergency the following day. I had recently made a rule that Kurt is the official laundry basket carrier at least until December 30th, when the little Dommlet is supposed to make an appearance. However, this laundry REALLY needed to be done, and Kurt was playing basketball.
So, I ventured down from upstairs and was on the home stretch toward the basement, when after taking a step I was surprised to find myself airborne.
This was nothing compared to the surprise of landing on my poor defenseless left ankle. I was surprised again as a few choice words left my mouth, amid a few gasps at what seemed to be quite a lot of pain associated with said landing.
After crawling up the stairs and making it to the couch I called Kurt a few times and he finally came home. He got me some frozen peas for the ankle and helped me up to bed (after we watched The Office and 30 Rock, because somehow it was really important that I still watch both of these shows) and I spent the night wondering how the fall actually happened. Was it weird center of gravity? Did the stairs suddenly become a slide? Did I need to prove to myself (yet again, because I have sprained this ankle before) that gravity works? I'm still a little flabbergasted.
So anyway - the ankle has been examined by a doctor and x-rayed and it's not broken, so my grandiose dreams for running after the baby is born are still on track. I have a brace and a lovely pair of crutches that will be my constant companions for the next few weeks, and then hopefully we can just chalk this up to my inherent clumsiness becoming more pronounced with pregnancy. Because in addition to impaired walking ability and some pain, I really hate to be called gimp, and also to be reminded (thanks Dad!) that if Grandpa Jack were here he would have a few things to say about my little spill. These opinions would be along the line of :
"No use being clumsy unless you can show it."
"Come here and I'll pick you up."
and
"It could have been worse; it could have been me."
Also, how embarrassing would it be if I actually did this again AFTER the baby was born?!

All About Aiden

2009-10-19T22:29:00.000-04:00

I'm slightly embarrassed that it's taken me this long to blog about the happenings of last month, but can I plead clemency based on the fact that my computer takes FOREVER to load my digital pictures? I don't flatter myself that you read this blog for the witty content, dear reader, but for the pictures of my adorable kidlets that I try to post each time.

Anyway - the end of September was all about Aiden. He is loving Kindergarten and making lots of friends and amazing me with all that he's learning. On September 26th, he turned 5!!!! We had a "friend and family" party, and sent out invitations and everyone had a blast. Aiden's great love right now is Spiderman, so of course we had to send out Spidey invitations, and have cupcakes with spider webs on top and so on and so forth. It was so strange to think that he was 5 - my BABY is five! He loved opening his presents and playing with his friends and is now counting the days until his next birthday, though we keep telling him that it won't happen until next year.
Oohing and aahing over his presents. This was his favorite part of the party.
Having some cupcakes and other treats...

Also in September, our school district sent out a notice about a lacrosse program for K - 6th grade that went for 5 weeks. Kurt played lacrosse all through school and so we asked Aiden if he wanted to do it. He thought that was a cool idea, and so every Saturday for about an hour and a half he's been at the high school turf field practicing his skills. Kurt said he was a little nervous on the first day, but one of his good buddies from preschool was there and then he was fine. He got a t-shirt for participating, and was showing it off to everyone today - very cute! Anyway - he had all the gear and we got him a mouthguard and ahem, athletic supporter. (good times, he didn't want to wear it till Kurt pointed out to him that if anyone hit him down there he wouldn't feel a thing. Somehow that was the coolest thing.) So - here is a picture of him in all his gear with his friend. I hope that he continues to play lacrosse and maybe one day we'll be going to his games!
Happy Birthday Aiden! We love you! (um, he's the one in the Spiderman shirt)

News News News

2009-09-08T22:16:00.000-04:00

Everyone send a warm welcome over the internet to my very adorable and sweet nephew Troy!
He was born Thursday September 3rd and though less than a week old, seems to have a nice mellow personality. Congratulations to my in-laws Robyn and Terrence on their bouncing baby boy!
SO CUTE!

The First Day of School, Team Domm style
I also had to share our experiences today - since it was the first day of Kindergarten for Aiden, and the first day of preschool for Owen.
Now, let me preface this little account by saying that I don't normally think of myself as ditzy, but after today I'm not so sure.
Aiden was antsy all morning waiting for school time to come. He got dressed in his new Spiderman shirt and jeans, we put his school supplies in his backpack and got ready to go. He was oh-so-excited to catch the school bus, and imagine the anticipation we felt as the bus came driving down the street! The bus stops in front of the house, and the following conversation happened:
Bus Driver: "Are you waiting to get picked up for school?"
Me (Thinking that this was a strange question on the first day of school.): "Yes."
Bus Driver: Well, we don't pick up the PM Kindergartners today. I'm just driving the route to make sure I know it."
Me: (admittedly perplexed at first, and then realization begins to dawn.) "Okay...."
In the dim reaches of my brain, something about taking Aiden to school on the first day begins to float up. I tell Aiden that he will get to ride the bus home, but I will take him to school. So I go and look through the pile of papers that I got about Kindergarten and yes, right there on letter 29B is the information that I'm supposed to be driving to Aiden to school. And we're going to be late. My dad, bless him, was early to watch Connor, since Kurt and I were going to Owen's school for his first-day "Meet the teacher" stuff.
Kurt meets us at home, and we take off, convinced that Aiden is going to be late on the first day. We get to his school and see a few students still standing around outside. I get out of the car, and get him and once we are walking toward the school doors, a helpful aide tells us that they're not going to let students into the building for oh, another ten minutes or so. Apparently I also forgot that Kindergarten starts slightly later on the first day than usual. Unfortunately, the time they will be allowing Aiden to enter the school is the exact time Kurt, Owen and I are supposed to at Owen's school.
So, I'm feeling a little flustered at this point, but we take some pictures outside the school and I walk Aiden in, giving him a big hug and starting him on his journey through the public school system. I would like to say that I got teary-eyed and starting humming "Sunrise, sunset" as I raced to the van, but I didn't. I was just hoping that Aiden would have a wonderful time, and not do anything that would cause him to get sent to the principal's office.
So, we make it to Owen's school about ten minutes later. Luckily he only had school for about an hour today, and the whole time consisted of playing with all the cool toys in his classroom. So - he was pretty much happy. We got to meet his teacher and I signed up on the class calendar for what I thought was snacktime. No, apparently I will be at the school on those days as the parent helper (something that will happen monthly). The only dates that were left on the calendar were this Thursday and Friday. Fabulous!
Aiden rode the bus home and said that he had a great time at school. He played with play-dough, made a crown and played restaurant. He also talked about the playground and said that he really liked his teacher.
Owen enjoyed the toys at school and fell asleep on our way home.
So, first-day success is ours!
Here are pictures of my grownup boys:

Seriously though, am I a ditz or just preoccupied? Anyway, we hope that everyone had a great first day of school!

Summer Tales

2009-08-19T11:56:00.000-04:00

Hello. So, here I am once again. It's slightly after the tomorrow that I promised in my last post, but here ya go - this is what we've been doing this summer!

I'm feeling lazy, so this is mostly pictures. I'm not sure if they're in order, but does that really matter?

We celebrated Owen's 3rd birthday and thoroughly enjoyed cupcakes and opening presents!

We had tons of fun with Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Adam when they came to see us...
Aunt Jen and Connor at the zoo
The boys in front of the sea lion exhibit

Chillin' with Uncle Adam

Going on our first family road trip to Tennessee. It was so fun to see Uncle Nate, Aunt Tracy and Dallin and Tyler! (thanks for being such great hosts guys!) We discovered that portable DVD players are the best invention ever, and that Connor sometimes gets carsick.

Playing in Nate and Tracy's back yard.

Helping Daddy fix the truck.

Playing with our pool in the backyard.

Eating scrambled eggs and doughnuts in our underwear.

Finding the mud after a rainstorm.

Watching our garden grow!

MayDay

2009-08-11T14:48:00.000-04:00

Wow, don't fall over in shock! I know, two posts in two days - this is quite unlike me. However, I did promise to catch you up, so here you go.

In May, we watched proudly as Aiden graduated from preschool. I got a bit teary-eyed (darn pregnancy hormones!) and can't believe that he will start Kindergarten in September! Unfortunately my camera chose that day to stop working, so here is a picture from the Mother's Day Luau at Aiden's preschool. It was my favorite activity for the whole year and so fun!

May was also in a big way all about Owen.

Since November he has been receiving speech therapy twice a week. In February he started with occupational therapy. We were concerned about his lack of speech at age 2, and also a couple of other behaviors that he was showing. So, thanks to our county's Early Intervention program we had him assessed and he tested as having speech and motor skill delays and some sensory issues. The assessment team was also concerned about a few things and referred us to a developmental pediatrician. In December I called to make an appointment with this pediatrician, but we couldn't get in to see him until May!

We started with therapy and Owen did well, making slow progress in his speech and with his other issues. I waited impatiently for our appointment in May, and when the day finally arrived, I was nervous. What was this pediatrician going to tell us?

We were at the doctor's office with Owen for almost two hours. Dr. Sulkes was very nice and asked us lots of questions, and then spent time testing Owen. Once he had consulted with a few other people on his team, he gave us the diagnosis. Owen has Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified.

So what is this? It's one of five developmental disorders (also known as Autism Spectrum Disorders) that impair a child's ability to communicate and interact with others. PDD-NOS is diagnosed when a child shows some signs of autism, but they aren't severe enough to be considered classical autism and he doesn't show symptoms that would be specific to the other disorders on the Spectrum. Owen is on the autism spectrum, but according to Dr. Sulkes, just barely. He's considered high-functioning.

Once we got the diagnosis, May was mostly about trying to understand what this meant for our family, and what this meant for Owen. Would he outgrow it? Would he get worse? Was this disorder somehow stealing our son from us? For all of these, the answer is we don't know.

Autism spectrum disorders are mysterious. They're on the rise among children. They tend to run in families - if you have one child on the spectrum, your chances increase that you will have another child on the spectrum. No one knows what causes ASDs, though there is a genetic component to the disorder. Usually children don't manifest symptoms of an autism spectrum disorder until after they're a year old - for that first year, they seem to develop normally. There are some parents of children on the spectrum that believe their child's disorder was caused by vaccinations they received. Right now there is no cure for autism or the other disorders on the spectrum.

I was sad, and grieving - I guess for an Owen that didn't really exist. My expectations of what he will be able to experience in his life had to change and I kind of had to throw "normal" out the window. I envied Kurt, because he was confident that Owen would be fine, and that this wasn't going to change his life too much. I felt like I was lacking in faith. And I had an overwhelming desire to talk about it - but no words. I still don't know if it's even a good idea to post about it. What if you, dear readers, think that I am just looking for sympathy? What if having a child with a few special needs isn't really that big of a deal?

But then there are the blessings:

Owen's therapists are amazing! Because of our county's early intervention program we were able to receive speech and OT in our home at no cost. Now that Owen is three, our school district takes over, and he will continue with home therapy and well as have the opportunity to go to an integrated preschool five days a week where he will also receive speech and OT.

We live in an area that has an abundance of resources that we can use, in fact I've heard from two different sources that parents of children with special needs move to Rochester because the resources and services are so good. I know now this is one of the reasons why Kurt and I always felt like Rochester was the best place for us to be.

We have an amazing support network of family and friends who love Owen.

And lastly, I feel blessed to be learning so much about child development and the brain and behavior and sensory stuff. My reading list keeps getting longer and I now know cool acronyms like IEP, IFSP, SID, ASD, RECDC, and cool words like cognitive and neurotypical. It gets a little overwhelming sometimes, but I know now what it means to be an advocate for your child.(thanks to my mother-in-law for that phrase!)

As long as Owen keeps giving me full-body hugs and smiles and thumbs-up, we'll be okay. He is making progress - since November his speech has improved from being at the severely delayed level to a moderate delay. (Did I say that his therapists are awesome?!) He is my beautiful, gentle second boy.

Here's a picture of him that Aiden took - he actually got him to smile for a picture!

Also, if you're interested in learning more about autism spectrum disorders these are two of the best websites around:
Autism Society of America

http://www.autism-society.org/

Autism Speaks

http://www.autismspeaks.org/

More tomorrow - we start talking about June - oh boy!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2009-08-10T12:28:00.000-04:00

So do you have a Christmas song running through your head? I know that August is a little early to be thinking of Christmas, but I have the holiday season on my mind.

You see, we're expecting another member to Team Domm to arrive on or about December 30th!

My apologies for not spreading the joyful news via blog earlier, and in general sadly neglecting to share my thoughts with the bloggerverse. We have been occupied with big things and small things and eating lots of popsicles. I will post about the summer this week and then will try to be more timely in my posts. (Heaven forbid that I continue to have people heckling me about lack of posts) But I won't promise. I can't

As pregnancies go, this one has been smooth sailing so far. The usual symptoms, though I am glad for the small burst of energy that I've had this summer. I'm 20 weeks this week, and got to do one of my favorite pregnancy things last week - have an ultrasound.

I love ultrasound. It's so fun to see the baby and watch them move and wiggle and listen to the sonographer pointing out body parts. The baby is beautiful and seems to have all the right parts. Including some special parts that make it possible for me to announce:

WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, that's boy #4 for Team Domm. Apparently we do a pretty good job making them. So, that's the first big thing that we've been occupied with this summer. There will be more to tell tomorrow.

Spring Fling

2009-04-30T15:21:00.001-04:00

After some gentle hints from a cousin of mine, here I am again. I really meant to post before now, but somehow manage to fill my days and before I know it I'm ready to go to sleep and the blog can wait until tomorrow. It's amazing how busy you get with three kids. ("You must be busy" is the most common thing that I hear when I venture out into the public with Team Domm. The second most common thing is "God Bless you". Except, I have no idea what that means. Bless me for having kids? Boys? Taking them places and putting up with their hijinks?)

So, I've become enamored with the whole concept of gardening. I have seedlings for tomatoes, eggplant, green peppers and other stuff growing on my window sill. Kurt has dug a large hole in the backyard for said seedlings and we actually paid someone to dump a big dirt hill by the large hole so that we have good soil. (Necessary, since I happened to choose to put our garden spot in the middle of a grass and topsoil-covered gravel driveway. With brick underneath. And then was forbidden by Kurt to pick another place to dig.) I am thrilled with our orange tulips in the front yard, and that I have peony bushes coming up by the side of the house. I have a large plastic bag full of seeds that will go into the ground as soon as the last frost is over. I LOVE this! I am reading books and planning to compost and already bugging my mom about canning the wonderful vegetables and fruits that are sure to grow this summer.

Gardening reminds me of dear great-grandparents and grandparents who were blessed with green thumbs. I hope I have inherited their ability, because I want to realize the beautiful blooming garden that I see in my mind's eye.

So -send good thoughts to my seedlings, because they are still looking pretty spindly! Which leads me to the horrible thought: What if NOTHING grows? Okay moving on...

My sister-in-law Kelly had the great idea of taking some family pictures a few nights ago. There is a local park filled with flowering trees, daffodils, and tulips. Pretty soon its hundreds of lilac bushes will burst into bloom and the park will be filled to the brim with people for the Lilac Festival. But a few nights ago, it was in the upper 70's, and a beautiful night. There were people out enjoying the park, and we got a few good pictures of our family:

including, this one of Connor which might just be the cutest picture ever!

My brother-in-law helpfully pointed out that I might be feminizing Connor a bit by seating him among the daffodils, but I don't think so. This much cuteness overrules any feminization.(not a word I know, but it fits.) Anyway this is the cutest picture I, with my humble photography talents, have ever taken and I LOVE it!

Also, I would publicly like to acknowledge my dear husband Kurt for digging the large hole in the backyard, and hauling all the old driveway gravel to the dump. I was not properly appreciative when the hole was initially dug, and am hoping that this public display of gratitude will make up for that fact. Kurt, you are the best hole digger and gravel hauler that I know. Thank you for digging the hole. Thanks for making the hole bigger when I said that 4 foot by 8 foot was too small. I owe you for the gravel haulage. I promise that I will make you Eggplant Parmesan if our eggplants grow. I love you!

Where Have We Been????

2009-04-07T16:07:00.000-04:00

Hello friend. It's been awhile since I posted, I know, and I apologize for that, because I like to think there are at least dozens of you out there waiting with bated breath for my next post.

So why no posts?

Well, I got to a point after writing the last post where I wondered if there was anything else to say. Was Chad Vader my last hurrah? Was anyone really gripped by the small day-to-day of Team Domm? I mean, anyone besides my parents and brother and sister? Also, I opened an account on Facebook, and quickly learned to love FB for the immediacy of contact with old friends and the ability it gave me to write pithy little updates of one sentence or less.

So, what was the future of Team Domm to be?

Well, after many promises to the aforementioned blood relations I am updating the blog once again. I am going to revamp a few things here at Team Domm, and I can promise at least 33 percent more pictures of the kidlets, because really, that's what you're here for, right?

But to tide you over until the pictures and revamp, here's an update of what's been happening:

Kurt:

Turned 32 on January 23rd and had a lovely birthday thanks very much.

Led his church youth basketball team to victory in the stake (Rochester-area) tournament. This is extraordinary for two reasons:

They didn't win a single game during the regular season

This tournament victory makes him the winningest coach in Rochester 3rd Ward history.

He is now looking forward to the start of summer soccer and I know where I'm going to be spending every Friday night for the whole summer.

Wende:

I turned 33 on March 17th and had a lovely birthday, thanks very much.

I ran a 5-mile race called Running of the Green. I ran the whole thing and did it in under an hour! (two accomplishments I wasn't sure I would achieve - and yes, this is the race I said I wasn't going to do in an earlier post. I changed my mind and now I'm in love with running. Again.)

I'm currently planning our next home improvement adventures for this spring, which include attic and front porch renovations and a kickin' vegetable garden!

Aiden:

Is now officialy registered for Kindergarten in the fall! He will be taking the bus and going half days. I feel giddy about this, and am wondering if I will cry on that first day or just jig around my yard. (out of his sight of course)

Melts my heart with his hugs and kisses and makes me laugh with his jokes and stories. (though we're sort of going through an excrement-themed joke phase right now. Anyone have any ideas on how to encourage him to keep making up jokes while getting rid of the poo factor?)

Owen:

Is enjoying playing with cars and outside now that we sometimes have nice weather.

Now tells me he loves me when he gives me kisses.

Connor:

Is walking almost all the time.

His favorite things:

Getting into all the kitchen cabinets

Playing with cars

Hitting his brothers whenever they're in reach

Bouncing on the couch.

Even when he is laying waste to the kitchen he is giggling. It's very cute in a destructive way.

Though there is snow on the ground we have enjoyed some lovely weather during the past month. There are daffodils (I think) growing in the front yard and buds growing on the trees. How can you not be cheerful when spring comes?

Anyway - have a lovely day and if you're still checking in to see if we're around - thanks.

Pop Culture Redux

2009-01-24T19:33:00.001-05:00

I had to tell you all about this conversation that took place at the dinner table tonight.
First, some background. We have a kid-size plate with Darth Vader on it. The boys don't know who Darth Vader is, and have never commented on the plate before.
Kurt hands Aiden the Darth Vader plate with his slice of pizza.
"Is this Chad?" asks Aiden as he points at the picture on his plate.
A slight pause
"No, that's Darth Vader." says Kurt
Now I know, you're probably thinking, oookay, but this exchange is funny once you know that on youtube there are a series of videos featuring Chad Vader, who is Darth's younger brother and the night manager at a grocery store. Now, while Aiden hasn't seen Stars Wars, he has seen Chad Vader on youtube. And remembers who he is. So, if you really want to experience the funny go to youtube.com and type in Chad Vader.
Enjoy!
PS - Aiden and Owen were singing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" yesterday as they put together a puzzle. My kids are hilarious! Hmmmm....this could be why I keep them around.

The Big One

2009-01-15T22:21:00.001-05:00

At 8:18 pm on January 16, 2008, our family gained a new addition. His name is Connor, and today is his 1st birthday! Time has flown by, and I marvel at the knowledge that my baby boy is a year old.

He is such a little love. Even as a newborn he slipped into our lives easily, filling the small spaces that we didn't know were there. He slept through the night almost from the start, ate well, liked to be held and didn't cry unless he was tired or hungry. A blessing for Kurt and me as we attempted to keep up with our two rambunctious older boys, who in their own ways add to the breadth and depth of our lives.

Connor is our blue-eyed boy, the only one in the family with blue eyes - inherited from his grandfathers. He has a ready smile, and loves to laugh and play. Recently he astounds us with his newfound standing and walking ability. He made us smile this morning when he folded his arms for family prayer.

Once you get past the learning curve that comes with your first newborn, you start to get the hang of brand new babies. Connor was a joy for me, from the moment he was born and a huge blessing in our family.

Thank you for making this such a wonderful year, little one. We love you Connor - Happy Birthday!

The birthday boy when he was brand new:

And twelve months later:

11:19 pm thoughts

2009-01-14T23:19:00.001-05:00

I've fallen off the resolution wagon.
I decided that I don't want to run anymore. I am not going to train for the Running of the Green. (maybe another time) Running makes my right knee hurt. And I don't have a treadmill, and so I run outside and I have to go when Kurt is home to watch the kids and so I either have to haul myself out of bed or go when he gets home. It's dark at both of these times. And the roads are slick.
Now this is not to say that I won't ever run again, because I don't see that. I've just sort of rediscovered something else that is making me happy to exercise right now.
Swimming!
I love it. I love it. I love it. I won't wax poetic about it here because hey, that's boring, but I will say that swimming is great for some deep thinking.
But more on that - first I have to say that I think, and I'm not being delusional or overly optimistic, that we've solved Aiden's #2 problem.
Whoopee! (say it with me in a whisper so as not to awaken the dear, sleeping children)
Kurt and I just decided that we would take Aiden out when he had to go #2, and wait for him to do his business and then pick it up in a little baggie and put it in the outside toter. So far it's been a little cold for him, but it's working pretty well.
Kidding of course. But he's only had one accident since last posting and I blame that on Grandpa Z. because he was distracting him. (yeah, Dad, you heard me!) So now I owe Mr. Aiden the Mickey mouse race track.
So, as Bill Murray said in Caddyshack, "I've got that going for me.
Anyway - the deep thoughts that I thought (thunk? Is thunk a word? I mean, in this context, because there is the type of "thunk" that someone's skull might make against cement. Eww.) during swimming centered around my inability to get up early and my other inability to keep my house neat and organized. And I was going to get all philosophical about hey, can a person change, when I already know that yes, they can. So, there go the deep thoughts. I have a new resolution that has two parts : Get up early(ier) and organize my house, using a system that I will actually follow and not just say that I'm going to follow. I do still believe the flier that I got in the mail : "Life is too short to clean your own house." But I could counter with, if I don't do it, then nobody else will. Also, Ben Franklin wrote in Poor Richard's Almanac "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." I know that he lived to be quite old for the time, he was rich and said some wise things. So, maybe it's true.
OR
Maybe it was all a total scam by some secret society that has vowed to always protect Ben Franklin's near-sainthood as one of the Founding Fathers! Does anybody else smell a conspiracy?
Shutting up now....

New Year's Brain Jam

2009-01-06T09:36:00.001-05:00

My head is full of thoughts and I haven't posted in a long time so I have a traffic jam of potential blog posts that I keep writing. I don't even know if that sentence made sense, so let's just keep moving.
We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's spent with some of my favorite people:

(my brother-in-law's first time eating a garbage plate - a Rochester specialty which deserves its own post sometime.)

I got to meet my gorgeous nephew Liam (on the right with his new best buddy):

The Gardners became our first official houseguests:

And of course, there was a TON of good food! In fact, I went a little nuts this year with this recipe:
Chocolate-covered pretzels:

6 oz milk chocolate chips

2 T shortening

Melt chips and shortening in double boiler (or put a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water). Dip pretzels and lay on cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Chill and serve. Keep leftovers in airtight container.
I've since discovered that this recipes also works for chocolate-covered strawberries and chocolate-covered candy cane pieces. So - have fun!

I also made another less-pleasant discovery:

Now, normally with a picture like this, I would be in raptures about my cute boys and bragging about them. But in looking at this picture a couple of days ago, my hair caused some concern. It reminded me of somone; imagine my chagrin when I realized who it reminded me of:

Apparently I am Rod Blagojevich's long-lost twin sister!(Blagojevich, you know, the governor of Illinois who is accused of trying to sell Obama's now-vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder? Yeah, THAT GUY!) Ack! Now of course this must be remedied somehow. I've thought about growing my hair out, and just wearing ski caps until it's long enough that I won't resemble B.(that name is too long to keep spelling) It's cold outside, so realistically that's my best option.
At any rate, it's time for a haircut.

I love making New Year's resolutions. Keeping them is a different story, and so I'm doing something different this year - I've taken out my calendar and scheduled time for each thing. So, you might look at my pages and see:

Run (there is a race in March, the Running of the Green that I've wanted to do for a few years. This is the year!)

Write - secret ambition and desire that I'm hoping I will find time for now that I've told the whole world about it. But am I any good????? - this is what holds me back.

Take no crap from anyone - ha, it would be funny to schedule time for this everyday. I am learning to be brave in the ways that I'm currently not.

I want this to be a great year. Not that 2008 wasn't, because Connor David joined our family, we bought and renovated a house, Kurt has a great job in his field, we live close to friends and family and life in general is sweet, but for the specific aforementioned goals, I want there to be real progress.

There is also another goal that has been on my mind lately... A little disclaimer: if talk about potty training or poop offends you, then you can move on to another blog. Unless you're a mom who has some magic secret that could help me. Also, a little background: we didn't start potty-training Aiden until a few months ago (or at least with any success) So, I haven't been dealing with this situation for very long...

Okay, so Aiden can go #1 like a champ. He's got it down, never has accidents at night, knows what to do, tells me when he has to go, what have you. In this I am so completely proud and am ready to let him pick out a toy as a reward for doing so; but there is just one problem and it's called

#2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The kid won't do it. Has accidents all the time, which are so much worse than #1 accidents. Yesterday I spent a half hour (maybe more) sitting in the bathroom with him while he was on the potty pleading with him to go #2. I knew he had to, he was doing the #2 dance. I knew that he had to be uncomfortable. I tried invoking the promise that if he did, he would get the Mickey mouse race track that he's been talking about for a couple of months. I tried telling him that I go #2, his dad, grandparents, cousins and friends all go #2. We told each other made-up jokes (I'm particularly proud of this one: What did one eye say to the other eye? "I'm watching you!") but to no avail. He eventually got off the potty, and in a moment where I was less vigilant, #2-ed in his pants. Curses! So - not sure how to facilitate the #2, but there has be a way. He can't be the only kid in Kindergarten next year who doesn't know where to put his #2...because I'll tell you right now, he's still going to Kindergarten even if he IS that kid.

So - you could say that right now, we're sort of obsessed with New Year's resolutions, Season 4 of The Office (one of my Christmas presents!) and #2.

And so you have it, the poop on the Domms. (I had to do it)

Do You Want Chicken or Beef?

2008-12-16T10:16:00.000-05:00

I love lists. It's a cold Tuesday morning and all I want to do is write lists.
Here are a few for you to enjoy:

5 Things from my to-do list:
a. Wash and fold laundry
b. Decorate my house for Christmas (it feels sort of Grinchy to not have any decorations up yet)
c. Finish Christmas presents
d. Clean my house for the big family party that I'm hosting
e. Wash dishes

4 Things that I wish were on my to-do list:
a. Eat a pound of boneless Buffalo wings
b. Read a book
c. Watch "A Christmas Story" and "Elf" in that order
d. Take a nap

3 Beefs on my mind right now:
a. To Buffalo Bills head coach Dick Jauron: WHY DO YOU KEEP PUTTING JP LOSMAN IN THE GAME? He's terrible! I know that Trent Edwards is injured, but where's your third string quarterback? Give him a chance to lose a game!
b. Did you know that the colleges that send football teams to all the bowl games in January make millions of dollars for their school? And it's tax exempt! What's up with that?
c. Why do professional athletes make so much money?! And is there a legal way to tax it and then give the tax income to education? Could someone work on that?! President-elect Obama?

2 Things that would make my life easier:
a. 4 words: Drive-thru grocery store
b. A personal assistant

1 Wish for you, dear reader:
Your to-do list is filled with things you actually want to do.

Thoughts...

2008-12-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

My mind has gotten cluttered with some extemporaneous thoughts that are preventing me from concentrating on the important things like laundry.
Here is a random sampling of what I'm thinking about: ('cause I know you're interested!)
*Is it tacky to send an email Christmas card to friends and family? My reasons for wanting to do so:
Good for the environment
I don't have to hunt down anyone's street address
If you like my letter, you can print it and display it
I can use a family picture that I have on the computer and not worry about getting copies of a picture made (now that I think about it, I wouldn't really have to get copies made)
I asked Kurt if he thought we should do an email Christmas letter this year and he gave me a look that essentially said, "that's a silly idea", hence the waffling on my part.

*My boys have too much stuff. I don't want to buy them any more "stuff" this festive season, but I want the holiday to be meaningful and also I don't want to be a hypocrite, because I like buying stuff for myself. Is it possible to give them the gift of "time", "love", "peace on earth" and have them still jumping up and down on Christmas morning? I have this sneaking suspicion that a certain amount of new stuff is unavoidable. Also, is it possible that if we spent more time and thought on something meaningful and less money on "stuff" could we eventually achieve something really cool like "peace on earth"? You can see that peace on earth is a thematic element for me right now.

*My children are really ridiculously good-looking. (a prize for anyone who can tell me what movie the "ridiculously good-looking" part comes from) How did I get such handsome boys?

*What sorts of things can I dare myself to try once the new year begins? Any suggestions?
*This flyer that someone left in our mailbox made me laugh the other day:

"Life's too short to clean your own house"

So true. And yet, a clean house is sort of nice for the fifteen minutes that it lasts...

I've changed the blog template a bit, and in honor of the New Year coming soon I'm going to switch around a few things. Sort of a new improved Team Domm.
Hey, it's December 1st! 24 more days to go......
Happy Holidays. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

The End of the Beginning

2008-11-17T16:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, so here is the rest of the house. I meant to get this out last week, but it didn't happen - apologies for the delay.

We're moving upstairs today, which I don't know how exciting that's going to be - we've painted the bedrooms, but left the bathroom and attic alone for the time being. Well, I'll let you be the judge.

Here is the master bedroom:

Note the lovely curtains and the dinginess of the walls and light fixture. I knew that we needed to lighten this room up!

Now, I do have a dilemma with the after picture. This paint color seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm now drawing a blank on how to decorate the rest of the room and make the best use of this color. Since I'm pretty sure that new paint isn't in our budget, I am considering painting the room the same gray-blue as the living room and dining room. I have a whole can of paint left over, and I know that would be enough to do the whole room. Also, I know how I would decorate once I've painted the room the new color. So - my question to all your cyberdecorators out there: should I try and live with the color I've already got or move all the furniture to the middle of the bedroom (which won't be very far to go) and go for the new color? Really hoping for some opinions on this one, people!

Now, the boy's room had an interesting feature. The previous owner had nailed a piece of paneling to the wall and when we asked him what it was, he said that it was a poor man's headboard. Huh. It was the first thing I tore off the wall after we started work on the house. And let me say, it was oh-so-satisfying!

For the boys' room I wanted a nice blue, and found this one:

It goes really nicely with the general car theme for their room. Now I just have to get the rest of the stuff that I bought up on the walls! Also I would like to add that their beds are the same bunkbeds that my parents bought when I was ten! Talk about longevity!

The nursery featured an interesting design choice that according to my neighbor Z. is circa 1975. It was a rust, orange and brown painted arrow that wrapped around one of the windows. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture before we started to prime the walls, but you should get an idea of what it looked like before we painted.

Here is after - just pretend that there are lots of cute baby-themed pictures on the walls. And of course Connor is an awesome decorative accent to any room. :)

The bathroom was not offensive enough to be redecorated at this point, so I'll spare you a picture of the toilet. Here is the attic, which in time will become another bedroom/family room/office depending on how old the kids are. I love it though - so much potential to play with!

Thanks for your patience with my sporadic posting. Hope you liked the tour!

Now - go do something fun... It's Family Night!

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

2008-11-12T10:17:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay. Life gets kind of crazy and I get behind in my blogging...But I'm back and ready to continue the tour of my cool new house.

We were in the kitchen first because that was the most involved part of the renovation. And I had to give Kurt props for all the work that he did!

Let's backtrack a bit - I have to show you our entryway. When we first toured the house I loved the tile floor in the entryway. The house was built in 1919 and the tile floor was one of several beautiful design elements that the builders incorporated in the house.(I think. Maybe tile was cheaper or they had some left over from another job - anyway LOVE the tile! ) I also knew that I wanted to paint the dining room and living room a color that would coordinate with the red and blue design in the entryway. After experimenting with yellow, which just wasn't working, I picked a color called "Voyage", which seemed so provocative! It helps that I also love the color.

First, here is the entryway:

Now, here is the living room before:

Behind the door to the left of the boys is a built-in bookcase with glass doors. I'll have to get a picture of that too. The door to the right of the boys opens onto the entryway and then you would go through onto the front porch.

The living room after:

Here is the dining room before:

This view of the dining room is looking out into the living room. This entryway has pocket doors that remind me of my Grandma G's house when I was little!

The dining room mid-renovation:

The dining room after Kurt refinished the floors (if he wasn't already a stud after doing the kitchen, he and his parents stripped and refinished all the wood floors! Another BIG project.)

The dining room with the table and chairs that I found for a deal and refinished and our new-to-us piano:

There are still pictures to put up and organization to happen. Oh and a sideboard for the dining room that is in the process of being refinished.(I think refinishing furniture might be a new hobby of mine...) - But, I'm pretty happy with these two rooms right now.

So - next we'll be venturing upstairs... Are you ready?!!!!

Thanks to all of you for your comments and enthusiasm for our little house. I love to share this process with other people!

Have a happy....

Is a very very very fine house...

2008-11-06T18:08:00.000-05:00

Hi there. I know that you all must be in raptures over our cute street, and oh so attractive green and white exterior, so let's venture in and see what else has occupied Kurt and I for several months.

We are lucky enough to have an enclosed porch. It's a nice big-sized "room" and I think with the right weatherproofing and a heater we'll even be able to use it in the winter.

Here's what the porch looked like when we first started working on the house:

The porch makeover was the last big project that we tackled before we moved in. Now that we're in the house, the porch is my favorite place! We moved all of the boys' toys out here and so it keeps the living room relatively uncluttered AND it's cozy with the carpet, new paint and I love all the light the windows let in. I have to thank Kurt for talking me into putting carpet on the porch - it seemed like a great decision after we tried to cover the old oil-based porch paint with new latex stuff. We quickly found out that latex does not stick to oil. Go figure! Anyway - the carpet makes it warmer and it's a softer surface for the kidlets. So - here is our porch/playroom:

So, now we're walking into the house. I'm going to post tomorrow about the living room and dining room and talk about the kitchen right now. This room underwent the biggest transformation of all.

The kitchen looked like this when we first came to see the house:

Note the lovely Ronald McDonald-yellow countertop and windowsills, and also the fake wood and fake brick paneling. There weren't any cupboards, just shelves and the range wasn't really what you would call operational.
So, we knew that we had our work cut out for us...Here's what the kitchen looked like after the demolition crew came through:

Kurt learned a lot while doing the kitchen. We owe our brother-in-law Chris a huge debt of gratitude for helping him with the drywall. And also to Jeff, Kurt's brother for helping to put in our new kitchen floor.

Here's the kitchen with new walls: And, with a new paint job, cabinets, counters and a floor:

And finally, the finished product! The only thing original to the kitchen when we bought the house is the fridge - everything else Kurt did. I have to say that my husband is amazing!

Anyway - here's where all of our culinary masterpieces happen. After living in apartments for so long, it's so NICE to have my own kitchen!

See ya tomorrow...

Our House...

2008-11-05T11:25:00.000-05:00

Okay, I've unpacked enough boxes and finally located my USB cord. I know that you've all despaired of ever seeing pictures or hearing from us again, but we're still here! I had visions of doing a Better Homes and Gardens-worthy layout of my new casa, but the boys will be in college before that happens, so please excuse the mess and take a gander at the Domm house!

I have enough pictures that I'm going to post a few every day. That made more sense than one Tolstoy-long post, and while I could do a slide show, I um, don't have time. You'll get to see befores and afters for almost every room, and all the hardwork that Kurt put in to making our new home livable.

So, pretend for a moment that we live in the same city and I've invited you over for dinner. This is my street:

If you turned into my driveway, this is what you would see:

Welcome!
Here is the back yard:

And the view you would see if you decided not to turn into my driveway and just wanted to enjoy a nice autumn day:

Coincidentally, Kurt and I lived in an apartment just up the street from our house. I used to go running in these neighborhoods and look at all the gorgeous houses and wish that one day we might be able to live in a neighborhood as beautiful as these.(I wish you all really did live here so that I could show you around!) So, finding this house really is a dream come true.

Well, tomorrow I'll show you the porch, living room, dining room and kitchen. Are you ready?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIDEN!

2008-09-26T10:49:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know dear readers that you are patiently waiting for pictures of the new house. They're coming, I promise, as soon as the pesky USB cord is found. (or I borrow one from my Dad) But I just couldn't let today go by without a post, because today is a Momentous Occasion.

Aiden turns 4 today! You would think that turning 5 would be a pretty big deal, or 10 or 16 or 18 or 21, but turning 4 is huge around here.

Aiden has been asking me everyday for about two months now if he's 4 yet and if today is his birthday. So imagine my utter delight when I was able to tell him in the predawn hours (his idea of a wake up time) that yes, it is his birthday today!

He is currently running around the house with his brother, playing with the toy guns that we bought for him that light up and make noise. (Connor was very confused about all the extra noise) He opened presents from us this morning, had his favorite breakfast of doughnut holes, and will have cake and ice cream with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents later tonight. All in all it should be a pretty good day.

Aiden just started preschool a few weeks ago and loves it. He is very verbal and creative and loves to run and play and do all things boy. He also cracks us up regularly with his little non sequiturs. So, in honor of Aiden I thought I would share four things that I love about him, and four of his most recent "sayings"

Why Aiden is a rock star:

1. Gives great hugs and tell me and Kurt that he loves us very often.

2. GREAT wonderful terrific sense of humor

3. Smart as a whip and doesn't miss much

4. Cute, cute, cute!

Aiden-isms:

1. Aiden was sitting at the window yesterday looking out onto the front porch. I asked him,

"Hey Aiden, what'cha doing?"

His reply, without even looking up from the window:

"Waiting for my birthday"

2. Last Thursday when I picked him up from preschool, his teacher told me that during circle time Aiden had told her that he loves her.

3. This is a question that I get a lot: "Mom, can we go to runs on Dunkin and get some white doughnuts, black doughnuts and jelly doughnuts?" (he's watched the Dunkin doughnuts commercial a few times and knows that "America runs on Dunkin.")

4. We were staying at my parents while we renovated our house, and during our last Sunday there, I was getting the kids ready for church. Aiden came up from the basement in his Sunday clothes and my dad told him that he looked very nice. Aiden's reply "Yes, I am stylish."

Here is a picture of the birthday boy when he was brand-new. He's made every day a joy for the past four years!

We love you Aiden!

You don't know where that's been!

2008-08-25T14:11:00.000-04:00

I know that the millions of you that read this blog have probably been scratching your heads in between watching the Olympics and living your lives and wondering, "Hey, what's Wende and her small army of boys up to?" If not, then just pretend for a minute and humor me.

Kurt and I have been renovating our lovely new (old) house and I've finally scraped off enough paint and sawdust to be able to sit at the computer and give you an update. The walls are all painted, I have new cabinets and a new floor in the kitchen and countertops and light fixtures ready to be installed, and this weekend we had a great adventure with a large floor sander and our hardwood floors. Kurt did find that the sander did not do well with the charming unevenness (is that too many n's?) of our old floors and so tonight will be dedicated to sanding down the remaining varnish that is left in the little nooks and crannies. And also to anwering the question, "To stain or not to stain?" If we don't stain then we can slap a few coats of polyurethane on the floor and call is good. However there are some suspect areas that are discolored that have nothing to do with old varnish and everything to do (I think) with the previous owner's dog! So - we'll sand some more and then figure it out.

Oh I have to add that for all of you who saw the post about the color palette I was going to work with for the house - yeah, that went right out the window. The house is now a collection of blues, green and gray. (Reminds me of an old Ned's Atomic Dustbin song. Did I just date myself?!)

The troops are trooping along. Imagine the joy the filled my heart when I got Aiden's letter for preschool! He starts in just over a week and I'm so excited! He hasn't quite figured out yet that preschool is a good thing, but I will keep cheerleading for it and maybe he'll catch on. He's also asking me everyday if he's four yet, and if today is his party. His birthday is next month, and he is so ready to celebrate. Now if I could just get his list of birthday toy requests down from about 25 or so.

Owen has developed a quirk. I didn't think it would be a quirk at first, but it's been everyday now for about the past 3 weeks, so quirk it is. At some point during the day he takes his shirt off and that's it for the rest of the day. (unless I put it back on, but that usually doesn't last) I think it's kind of funny, especially since I gave him a haircut (scalp job) and so now he looks like a little prizefighter.

Connor is the proud owner of two new bottom front teeth. He is drooly and happy and loves to clap his little hands - pretty much the definition of adorable. Once my MIA USB cord is located you will get see some pictures of the troops.

I have to say that I feel really blessed amidst all the stress of renovating a house and being sort of dislocated. I LOVE renovating our house and the sense of accomplishment that comes with it. I love my boys and how they're dealing with all the confusion really well. I love my parentals for letting us live with them through this process and providing home improvement and babysitting services. I love Kurt's family for their willingness to pitch in and help and also watch my boys.
I'm so grateful for this blog and the reconnections that I've made with family members. I recently lost a cousin and miss him. I'm so glad that I have the rest of you in my life and the friends that are out there too. You add depth and breadth to my life.

Well, back to painting...

Why My Husband is COOOOOOOOL

2008-07-28T08:35:00.001-04:00

I was reminded again today why I married Kurt. Now there are all sorts of big reasons, like he's smart and funny and cute and honors his priesthood, and you know, those are very important. But there are also all sorts of little reasons, like his dead-on impression of Mrs. Bennett in the BBC version of "Pride and Prejudice" ("Oh, Mr. Collins!!!!!" - and also the fact that he's even seen the BBC version of "Pride and Prejudice"), his ability to quote movies and TV shows, and creative food theories (Mustard Brownies, but I will explain that another time). Well, he has given me another reason, and really if he hadn't been talking to my mom I probably would have made out with him at the end of this conversation.
He and my mom were talking about our boys, and what kinds of things he wanted them to participate in when they were older and they got on the topic of musical instruments. Now, here is an approximation of the conversation, to give you an idea:
Kurt: "I want the boys to play musical instruments, but they need to be cool instruments like the piano or the guitar."
Mom: "Not the oboe?"
K: "NO, that is not cool. Neither is the clarinet." (sorry to all your clarinet and oboe players out there - Kurt did play the clarinet in school, so I thought maybe this was firsthand knowledge.)
Mom is laughing at this point, and the conversation continues.
K: "I want them to play the piano or guitar because I am all for any of the boys having a garage band. That would be totally fine with me. I would rather listen to that than the symphony."
M: "Your neighbors might not appreciate that."
K: "I'll start moving stuff out of the garage now and putting up eggshell foam."
Now at this point, I'm cheering and madly in love with my husband. Why? Because I too think it would be so COOL if my boys were in a band. I have always wanted to be in a band, but due to lack of musical talent, this dream will probably never come to pass. Maybe I should have kept up with the piano instead of joining the track team..... Anyway, going to concerts was an integral part of my college experience, and I went to all sorts, classical, jazz (love it!), garage band and other stuff. I dated a musician for a bit and he was in a band so I got to be a groupie. I have to say it's more fun to be in the band after that experience.
The only problem with the kids being in a band? What if I turn into some demented stage mother??????!
Anyway - I love that my husband is cool if our kids have a band. He'll be in the first row right next to me dancing like a maniac.

Also - the paint angst still continues, but today is supposed to be paint-buying day so I've got to get it together. I'm so excited to buy paint!

Happy Monday.

Like watching paint dry....

2008-07-24T11:44:00.000-04:00

I really wish that I were watching paint dry right now.... We are waiting for our renovation money, and so aside from some really cool kitchen demolition, and removing a few other things around the house and washing and dusting walls for the aforementioned painting, not much to report. I do have pictures, but I need to find my USB cable so that I can post them.
It's a pretty disjointed life right now... the boys are confused about living at Grandma and Grandpa Z's, (though we really thank you guys for letting us stay!) and I am in search of the perfect paint color for my living room and dining room. My house isn't very big, and I want the two rooms to kind of flow together and seem as big as possible. There is mosaic tile around the front door with terra cotta red and blue gray tiles that I would like to incorporate. So, that really leaves only one choice, (hot pink?) though I love to go online and "paint" different rooms on valspar.com. (check it out even if you're not painting your house) Anyway - this is causing me a great deal of stress, this whole paint decision and is even dare I say turning into an existential dilemma. This paint represents my whole life, apparently and will be permanent once I paint my walls with it, and I will forever be known as "the girl with the ugly tile entryway and hot pink walls." Even now, I can feel my shoulders inching up towards my ears, and that cold yucky feeling entering my stomach at the thought of deciding on a paint choice and really I could go on and on but I won't. Do you know why?
The boys are clamoring for mac and cheese and like Scarlett O'Hara, I can't think about this now, but would much prefer to postpone this till later. So you are spared my existential paint dilemma until a future date. I promise to have pictures to make up for it.

Hey- Here is something fun to do that I saw on a friend's blog. Please follow the instructions below:
1. Leave a comment on my blog, one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

To quote the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "So long, and thanks for all the fish."

And now, the news

2008-07-17T10:34:00.000-04:00

So, after blood, sweat, tears, paperwork and a pretty big down payment check, we are proud new homeowners.
We signed the papers yesterday afternoon, and then spent a busy night getting our apartment packed up and cleaned. We found someone to sublet our apartment, which is wonderful, but he wanted to move in on Friday. That meant we had to be out (and all our stuff too) by Wednesday. So, packing, unloading, cleaning and such took us from about 6:00 (not accounting for the packing that was done previously) pm on Wednesday night to 5:30 am on Thursday morning! That's right, AM.
We're now at my mom and dad's, mooching off of them till the house is ready.
You know, I had a moment yesterday at about 2 am, after Kurt and I finished unloading boxes in our lovely new casa that this house is going to be a lot of work...imagine a house with lovely bones, but that has not grown old totally gracefully. This is a house that needs TLC, and we are just the do-it-yourselfers to try and provide it. Or, die trying.
Yeesh, what have I gotten myself into?!
I will post before pictures as I take them. Wait till you see the afters!
Later tater!

A Wende-centric Universe

2008-07-07T14:44:00.000-04:00

Not to be megalomaniacal or anything, but I'm really wishing the universe was Wende-centric right now. See, I have a great reason.

Kurt and I are waiting to close on our house. It was supposed to happen last week, and didn't and we spent the 4th of July weekend bemoaning (in between the barbecue and fireworks which were fun) the fact that we weren't yet homeowners and working on our house. Because the house is going to need a LOT of work.

So, I talked to the broker today - things are moving forward, it should happen this week, but no firm date yet as to when the papers will be signed and we will have our own little piece of land to mold and shape and paint. Thus, the wish for the Wende-centric universe.

If the universe were Wende-centric then the closing could happen whenever I said. Because, let's face it, to the rest of the world that includes our broker, lawyers and other assorted persons this is just a closing; routine, boring and it'll happen when it happens. But to Kurt and I, this is our HOME. This is a BIG DEAL. So - can you see where I'm going with this?

The universe wouldn't have to stay Wende-centric. I would let others borrow it, and eventually just let it be heliocentric again, so that crops would grow and the weather wouldn't get too screwed up. I really just need to be the center of the universe for an hour or two.

I never really was that patient...

In other news, we are all thriving and growing and dreaming about houses. I thought I would share the color palette that I'm working with. These are the colors that I've chosen for most of the rooms in the house (I won't tell which is which, but will post pictures when the rooms are painted so you can see where they fit).

It really is exciting to have a theoretical house to decorate. And, of course, a garden. Though that makes me wish that Grandpa J and Grandma K were around to help me plant flowers and give me gardening advice. And Great Grandma M. too. They were all fantastic gardeners.

Hopefully the green thumb doesn't skip a generation or two.

I'm about a month late, but I do have to write about my Owen's 2nd birthday. We had a little family party for him at the playground near where we live. The weather cooperated and everyone had a great time. Here's the birthday boy on the swings:

Owen is nonstop and keeps me on my toes. He is talking a lot, though it's still pretty garbled, and makes me laugh when I sing and he tells me "No." He has a cheesy grin that he loves to flash, and he gives wonderful sloppy kisses. He is independent and stubborn, and gives us a run for our money, but can also make my heart melt in about 2 seconds. He is our climber and knows no fear, which can be scary! But, it's also something that I hope he holds onto, because while I want him to respect boundaries, I also want him to retain as much of that fearlessness as he can. He is my beautiful brown-eyed boy, and a joy to my heart.

Also, I had to take this picture of him today - I got frustrated with trying to get him to sleep and so put the gate up, figuring that he could benefit from a little quiet time. He cried for awhile, and then I tiptoed up to the door to see if he was okay, and saw this:

Connor is also growing fast! We recently started him on rice cereal, and while he didn't quite know what to think of it at first, he's starting to like it. I can't wait to get him started on bananas and squash and all the squishy foods! He'll be 6 months in a few days - time is speeding by at a breakneck rate and I'm starting to think that there is something to the "you blink and they're grown up" school of thought.

2008-06-17T13:41:00.000-04:00

I know it's a bit late, but I wanted to talk about two important people that you might recognize....

In the Book of Mormon, the first words are "I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents." I kn0w what Nephi means. I have great parents, who love and support me. Words fail to eloquently describe all that they've done for me, and I know that I can never repay this selflessness - I can only hope to be as good a parent to my boys.

Since Mother's Day I've thought about what my mom means to me. Now with Father's Day just past, I am thinking about Dad too. They have always been an indivisible partnership in my mind, and they complement each other in parenting styles as well as other things. Mom helps Dad not to be a recluse, and Dad helps Mom not to go into full alert mode, also nicknamed by my brother, "Blueberry Susan" mode. (Not that she has panic attacks, she just gets a bit excited about things.) They were always affectionate with each other (not that I appreciated that growing up - ewwwww...) and can make each other laugh. Their example of how a good marriage looks is an inspiration to me.
But first, here are some pictures of the folks...

Dad is the one sitting on Grandpa Z.'s lap - notice that Grandpa is keeping a close eye on him.

Mom in her blond bombshell days.

Now, as the oldest child, I think of myself as the experiment. They tried out all their parenting techniques on me and I helped to refine them for my brother and sister. Or so I like to tell myself. As with every relationship there have been times when I didn't like them very much and also when I might not have been a complete joy to be around. But as a mother in my own right, I know that the love never stops, even when you're ready to put your child in time out indefinitely (or at least till they turn 5 and have to go to school). So, Mom and Dad, thanks for sticking with me and having faith that the "experiment" was going to be successful.

I have a lot of wonderful memories of my Dad, and so I thought I would share my top 5 or so.

1. Singing Smothers Brothers songs while bailing water out of our flooded basement after the 1991 ice storm. (we were without power for NINE days!)

2. Dancing with Dad at my wedding reception; he was such a good sport, despite the catcalls he got from Brockport ward people attending the reception.

3. In the temple when he told me he was proud of me.

4. Watching him hold his first grandson, my Aiden. I felt like they recognized each other as kindred spirits from the start.

5. Every time he did the "Cocoa puffs" dance on Saturday mornings.

Now, for Mom, I thought I would list her most memorable statements. She has a gift for making us laugh. (she gets it from her (me-own) Mom)

1. Get that dog off the rug he's got hair all over him!

2. Did Wende remember she forgot her keys?

3. Wow, the temperature changed to Celsius when we crossed the border? (on a trip to Canada)

4. I can't hear you I don't have my glasses on.

Mom also always makes sure that everyone is comfortable and is there to help whenever we need her. I remember crying after Aiden was born - because she and Dad had spent the week helping me with my brand-new baby and they had to go back to work!

There was a lot of laughter in our house growing up - dinnertime was considered amateur comedy hour, and Mom and Dad encouraged us to have fun together. I didn't expect to be living in the same place as them when I grew up, but I'm glad that I'm here - my sons have the chance to really know their grandparents. I know that they love this - especially Aiden, who counts my Dad as his best friend.

So - Mom and Dad, we love you very much. This isn't as eloquent as I would like, so let me add a video of two of your biggest fans - they are blowing you kisses... Thanks for all that you do. (sorry the video is a bit dark.)

The Grandma and Grandpa Z. Fan Club:

Aiden

Owen

Connor

Liam

The original Fan clubbers:

Introducing...Liam Collin Z.!!!!!!

2008-06-02T14:18:00.000-04:00

Be impressed, I only blogged a couple of weeks ago, but I just had to share my cute new nephew with the world.

So - here he is....

Isn't he gorgeous?! He is 8 lbs, 20 1/2 inches and a total scrapper. The delivery wasn't the smoothest in the world, as he had meconium in his lungs, and had to be delivered by emergency C-Section. The doctors were worried about pneumonia, and he was in the NICU for a bit, but he fought hard (hence the scrapper part) and is now home with his proud mom and dad. Welcome Liam!
I have to say, it's really hard to believe that my baby brother is a daddy. Here he is with Liam:

I'm so happy that Liam is here and that he's doing well! Also, a shout out to my sister Jennifer: I think I'm going to be the favorite aunt - I already have all the cool toys! :)

In other news, Aiden will finally wear underwear and pull-ups! However, he still isn't quite catching on to the whole "tell-mom-or-dad-before-you-go-in-your-pants-concept". So - it's a work in progress. Will he be ready in time for preschool? It's really anybody's guess at this point. I will tell you though - the director told me he could come even if he wasn't quite potty trained and I am taking her at her word! If anyone has any really good ideas about potty training, send them this way. I just wish I could get rid of the dreams I keep having about Aiden being 8 years old and still wearing a diaper. Yoinks! Also I'm trying to figure out how to break his sick addiction to Nutri-Grain bars. It's all he'll eat!

Owen has also reached a milestone. He finally started climbing out of his crib, and wouldn't stay in it when we put him down for naps and at night, so he now has a big boy bed. Okay it's really only a mattress on the floor for right now, but we got some cool car sheets for it and everything. And he will go in and lay on the mattress. However, that lasts for about 30 seconds and then he's up again! We can't really force him to go to sleep, and he gets really upset when we try and rock him, so for the past couple of nights he's been up until after 10:00! Crazy! Short of tying him to the bed we haven't really figured out what to do about this yet, so again, any good tips out there let me know!

Connor went in for his 4 month checkup last week. He is perfectly healthy and happy, and yet I still freaked out. Why, you ask? Well, the nurse weighed him and then told me that he was in the 15th percentile for weight! 15th? 15th! This probably shouldn't freak me out, but neither of my other kids was ever that low! Even Aiden, who is now a string bean was at least 50th (or was it 25th?) percentile at the same age! It also forces me to conclude that though he is happy and well-adjusted I must be starving him to death (the perils of breastfeeding) - and so when the doctor said she wanted to see him in a couple of weeks to be re-weighed, I knew that something needed to be done. I went to BJ's and got the huge can of formula, and now he happily sucks down two bottles a day, intermixed with nursing. Anyway - we'll see how that goes. He is still the cutest Connor in the universe as are the other boys when they aren't making me want to tear my hair out.

Finally, here are a few words to ponder. Do you ever see words that just really appeal to you? Maybe it's the English nerd in me, but here is a list of words that have jumped out at me lately: lovely

bordello

chiaroscuro

cadence

digit

honeysuckle

Swim in the beauty of the words and hopefully you have nice warm weather where you are. Get some sun, you need the vitamin D.

As Jennifer and I used to say: Au Reservoir!

Let's Give Them Something to Talk About...

2008-05-20T22:35:00.001-04:00

Hello there cyberbuddies....

I seem to be unable to post more than once a month...I blame it on my boys - it's not easy to blog when you're breaking up fights over cars and running around serving mac and cheese and changing diapers. So I'll do the cop out excuse (because I know that you wait with bated breath for my every post) and say "I've been busy".

I do want to share what we've been up to, as we've been doing some really cool things.

In April Kurt, Connor and I took a road trip to the fabulous city of Chicago. We traveled there to attend a wedding. Kurt's college friend Anmol, got married. Anmol is Indian, so it was a traditional Indian wedding, which was so cool! I was seriously so geeked out about it and it lived up to all my expectations! Also, it was a semi-getaway for dear old Kurt and I because my in-laws watched Aiden and Owen, and Connor is about the easiest baby in the world. He did great, with only one really cranky period on the drive back. But anyway - the wedding was fabulous. Instead of trying to describe everything that took place, here is a list of my favorite things:

1. The food rocked! I am still dreaming of samosas. Go out RIGHT NOW and get Indian food!

2. Indian brides get to wear red! I am so envious of this, as red is my favorite color. I wore red shoes when I got married, but went with the traditional white dress. Also, the guests in all their traditional clothes (saris, etc.) were beautiful! I wish I had worn a sari!

3, There was dancing and singing galore. At the engagement ceremony (the night before the marriage ceremony) Anmol and Pearley's families sang songs to them in Hindi. There was also dancing after the engagement ceremony and at the wedding reception - with crazy techno Indian music mixes.

4. As guests of the groom, we were part of a procession from the parking lot in front of the banquet center to the banquet center (the location of the wedding) - Anmol rode a horse, there was a drummer and some serious dancing and singing going on.

5. Kurt and I got to indulge our cravings for superhuge burritos at Qdoba! If you're ever in the midwest I would recommend visiting Qdoba. We don't have one here in Rochester, and I'm seriously thinking about becoming a franchisee. They are that good. Now, you might say, "Hey, that's not really wedding-related!" but you know what? It's my blog!
Anyway - here are some pictures...

Kurt, Connor and I at the engagement ceremony. Another of Kurt's friends from college, Matt also came out for the wedding.

Anmol dressed as a king and riding the horse to the banquet center. This is his nephew riding with him. At this point, the serious dancing and singing procession had begun!

The happy couple, Mr. & Mrs. M. after the marriage ceremony. The fun bunch at the reception. Kurt, Connor, Matt, Matt's Dad, moi, Matt's Mom, Anmol and Pearley. Pearley's dress is indicative of how elaborate the traditional outfits were at the wedding.

So - you have now seen what our Chicago adventure was like. If you want to know more about Indian weddings, do a search on wikipedia or watch "Bend it Like Beckham" or "Bride and Prejudice". And if you ever get a chance to attend an Indian wedding, do it!

Kurt and I are also in the process of buying a house. This is very exciting and very scary. The house is in the area we want to live in - great schools, great neighborhood, in our current ward boundaries and close to everything. It's just down the street from the apartment we lived in when we were first married, and I fell in love with the area. I used to go running, and look at all the beautiful neighborhoods and wish that somehow we would get to live here. Now it looks like it's going to happen!

The house is a fixer-upper, which is exciting and makes me want to buy my own toolbelt. We should close this summer and then we'll spend about a month painting and doing all sorts of home improvement stuff. (I'm trying to watch a lot of "This Old House" to prepare. :) I might have to start speaking with a fake Boston accent and calling Kurt "Naam") I'm having fun choosing paint colors and dreaming about what I want the house to look like. I'm excited that my boys will have their own back yard and a great front porch to play on. Of course, I never knew that choosing between Honeysuckle Beige and Coriander could be so stressful! I'll keep you posted...

I'm also euphoric right now because today I finally, after a year...went running! Wahoo! I've been wanting to go since Connor was born, but have been dealing with a pesky and painful knee issue. I think I've finally got it under control, and it felt great to run today. For 15 whole minutes I might add.

Well, after rambling through what we've been up to (or at least the highlights) I am posting a picture of Connor. This is for Jennifer who has been going through picture-withdrawal. He had a great baby mohawk going, and I tried to get a good picture of it. So - enjoy.

Happenings...

2008-04-14T11:05:00.000-04:00

It was a pretty typical weekend - so I'm just going to let you watch the video I'm posting and kick back.
This video is of my very cute nephew Dallin. I'm posting it here so that Nate, his Dad can see it. Nate is serving our country in the armed forces and will be away for awhile. So - Hi Nate! Here is Dallin having fun at Grandma D's!

I had another video to post, of Aiden playing golf, but it's way too dark to even see. Darn it!
I'm very excited for this week - we're supposed to have gorgeous weather! I can go outside with my munchkins - wahoo!
Also - something to ponder: According to a magazine I read,(and Oprah) you should replace your pillows every 18 months or so, because they sort of loose their fluffiness and also they get full of dust mites. If you do this, then what do you do with the old pillows? If they're full of dust mites and not too fluffy then you really don't want other people sleeping on them, do you? And I cringe at the thought of just throwing them out - I have visions of landfills filled with people's discarded pillows. There you go - your imponderable thought for the week.

Cheers!

Discovering the Inner Athlete

2008-04-10T08:45:00.000-04:00

I was reading my cousin J-Dudes' blog, and just had to comment on one of her posts. (you should check out her blog - she is funny and one heck of a writer) Anyway - she was commenting on her lack of athletic ability, and shared some experiences from her forays into sports. I'm forced to conclude that I must have also gotten my clutziness and lack of athletic coordination from the Z.'s, which are the grandparents that we share. I don't remember ever hearing stories about Grandpa Jack playing football or Grandma Kate doing hurdles, though my dad will tell you about a few experiences when Grandma chased him with a broom. But we're not sure if he's doing a little exagerrating on his childhood experiences.

Despite the clutziness and lack of coordination, I did find I enjoyed swimming and running. I was on the swim team in junior high and on the track team in high school, and had a lot of fun. I still love to run, and have managed to avoid any big falls while running, which is major, because I can trip while walking on level ground. (and in fact did at church a few weeks ago) My brother and sister were the same - Jen did basketball and Collin did tennis and soccer.

These forays into the athletic world are nothing compared to my husband's family...

But first, a little background. We moved here to NY when I was twelve. My husband was born here and lived in the same town until we got married. We grew up in the same stake, I knew his sisters (mostly from when they were wiping the floor with everyone in church basketball) but didn't know he existed until we met in the young single adult ward affectionately known as the GVB. I must have really liked him because I remember trying to play soccer while we were dating, and I usually have a very strict no soccer policy. It's safer for everyone that way.

As I got to know him more, and met his brothers and got reacquainted with his sisters, I got a little intimidated. Why? Because all seven of them are very athletic and coordinated! They all played sports (soccer, basketball, lacrosse, and volleyball respectively) through school and into college! They are scholar-athletes! One of Kurt's brothers even played pro soccer for awhile! And that's not even mentioning the other girls that married into the family! Basketball, volleyball, triathlons! I doubt that anyone of them has ever fallen UP the stairs, which would happen on a regular basis to my sister and I, or tripped over their own feet.

So - I married Kurt despite this super-athleticism, and just figured that I could opt out of sports events to minimize the potential for embarrassment on my part. It also helped that I've made a few discoveries that evens the playing field between us. The first, is that I'm a better swimmer than he is. (which, if you're reading this Kurt, I know those are fighting words, but admit it, it's true) That is the one area in which his family does not excel. They sink like stones. The second, is that we're pretty evenly matched when it comes to dancing.

I suggested to J-Dude that she try dancing as a sport, but didn't elaborate. I thought I would share that Kurt, in the interest of being a good husband and making me happy agreed to take a ballroom dancing class with me through continuing education. We asked my in-laws to babysit, and every Monday night found us at the high school, learning to waltz, foxtrot or swing. I LOVE to watch dancing, and will admit that "Dancing with the Stars" and "So You Think you Can Dance" are two of my guilty pleasure tv shows. I count "Strictly Ballroom" as one of my favorite movies (two very enthusiastic thumbs up! Go rent it, right now!) So I was totally excited about dance class. Kurt was vaguely uncomfortable, and spent a lot of time making me laugh over his antics. That is, when we weren't arguing about the actual dance steps. We could never agree over how to start the foxtrot, and the swing had us arguing in the middle of the dance floor. But it was nice to know that we shared a lack of grace when it came to dancing and mostly had a great time. It was also nice exercise, and I have to conclude that dancing is a good way to get in a workout. Especially at home, with your children where you can let your inner nerd out and dance in your own special way. Maybe this works right now because my kids are young and unembarrassable.

Just remember, it's all about movement and not necessarily coordination...um, yeah.

Also - I now have an excuse NOT to do laundry. Why would I want to get rid of Owen's reading chair?

True Confessions

2008-04-07T10:50:00.000-04:00

I have a confession to make...

Yes, I know it's been awhile and that's the first confession - I never mean to go so long between posts. My distractions these days are many, and the three main ones are named Aiden, Owen and Connor. But really, I'm going to do better! No, really, I mean it.

Do you ever really know a person? I was floored the other day when a friend from church told me that I always seemed to have a good sense of who I was. She has no idea! Most of the time I feel like I'm still fourteen years old, and someone is going to find out that I'm not really an adult and send me to detention or call my mother. I confess that I sometimes look at my children and wonder where the heck they came from and why they're calling me mom! I confess that it's taken me a long time to really adjust to being a stay-at-home Mom, and to tell acquaintances what I do without cringing. I always felt like I should be doing something more important. What about grad school? What about a career? Where and when was I going to have the time to find out who I really was?

So imagine my surprise when shortly after Connor was born I had a new feeling...contentment. Suddenly it's okay that I don't know what I want to do when I grow up. It's okay that my career right now centers around the ABC's and going to the park. I'm enjoying Connor, with all his cute newborn tricks, and Aiden and Owen crack me up on a regular basis. So, life is good.

Let me tell you what we've been up to lately.

I confess that I turned 32 a few weeks ago. Pretty nondescript-sounding age, but it was a lovely day.

Kurt and I are also embarking on a new adventure. He started a permanent job in March (wahoo!) and so we're in a position to become homeowners! We're just getting started, and so there is a long road ahead, and I'm already nervous about such a big step, but it's exciting too.

Of course, it leads to another confession.

We're waiting to hear about the whole mortgage-approval thing and I'm NERVOUS. I have no control over the approval process, and so instead of continuing to eat chocolate and pick at the skin around my thumbs, I did what I usually do when I feel my universe is spinning out of control.

I cut my hair!

Here is a before shot. (please excuse the very amateurish photography - it's a self-portrait. :) )

Rebecca gave me a very cute haircut in October when we came out for Jen's wedding. Unfortunately, when I went to try and get a trim, the stylist didn't quite do what I wanted. So - I wasn't happy with my hair anyway and then I saw a really cute cut and decided to go for it. Here is an after shot: (4/9: You couldn't really see the 'do, so I took a new picture. Keep in mind that this picture was taken at 8 am.)

So what do you think?

One more confession to make, at least for right now!

I accidentally "bumped" someone with my car. It was yesterday as I was leaving to get my hair cut. I was waiting for a car to drive by so I could pull out of my in-law's driveway. I start backing out slowly, and then I heard a noise and looked at my rearview mirror. I was just in time to see an elderly gentleman and his bike fall over! Horrorstruck, I parked and ran to the back of the van. I quickly found out that the poor guy didn't speak any English, and that he was okay as was his bike. (whew!) I think he might have shook his fist at me, but he seemed okay, and got back on his bike and continued riding down the sidewalk. I felt so bad and it was so weird! Later I told my mother-in-law the story and asked if she knew who he was...She said that she didn't know his name, so she calls him Mr. Kosovo. Anyway, I introduced Mr. Kosovo to the back of my van yesterday, and now I've told the whole world about it. How's that for a confession?

Here is a picture of Connor from last week. I love his blue eyes!

Have a lovely day!

A Plague upon both your houses!

2008-03-04T10:37:00.000-05:00

I'm sick. Not just sick, but siiiiiiick. (whiny voice not included) Even Kurt concurs that I'm sick and that's something. I discovered shortly after we got married that we have different philosophies in regard to sickness. Only a fever will make him call in sick, while a cold is grounds for me to burrow into my bed with kleenex, chicken soup, a good book and the strongest cold medication possible. Oh, and according to Kurt, a cold does not count as "sick".

So, while I do have a cold, I also have conjuctivitis (thank you, Owen), ear infections in both ears and a perforated eardrum. Luckily, the doctor gave me some good antibiotics, so I've got that going for me.

It's interesting though...I now know the meaning of the phrase "cotton-headed".

I suppose this is one of the joys of motherhood - exploring the world of contagious germs with your children. Is there a way to document such fun? If so, then let me know. I don't want this experience to be in vain. :) Also, does the fact that I seem to catch a cold every few months mean that my immune system is slutty? It seems to just melt away in the face of the almighty rhinovirus.

Well - laughter is the best medicine, so they say. So I am leaving you with a funny picture. Enjoy. Hopefully I'm not breaking any major copyright laws and am about to be arrested. On second thought, maybe I should get arrested - would they give me my own cell? No I better settle for hiding in my bed till my boys find me. I'll take the baby with me. (poor guy, he is sharing in the conjucti-joy that we're all experiencing.)

3/5/08: I took George down because I found this clip of Aiden dancing and thought that might be more fun to see. That and I was sick of seeing George's picture on my blog. So - enjoy!

Hooray for Owen!

2008-02-29T16:45:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, Kurt found a cup in our garbage, and for a few seconds I was really worried that I had succumbed totally to absentmindedness and had thrown away the cup by mistake. I'm embarrassed to say that I've stopped myself before from throwing non-disposable cups and silverware into the garbage. (The perils of a cluttered mind?) So - I thought this was a legitimate fear.
Imagine my relief when I'm standing at the sink washing dishes and Owen comes trucking around the corner with a plastic cup and proceeds to throw it in the garbage! I called out a very heartfelt and relieved "Thank you honey!" after him. Bless his heart! Trying to be grownup and take care of some of the clutter in the living room AND helping to relieve my anxieties about early-onset terminal absentmindedness!
Have a great weekend!

Six weeks later...

2008-02-27T13:22:00.000-05:00

Hello all,

My resolution to post more regularly on my blog was torpedoed by a cute little distraction I like to call Connor and so it's taken me THIS LONG to get back to it. On the upside, I have some very recent pictures of the boy, like this one - taken the day we blessed him. I think he might be a candidate for cutest Connor in the universe...

Here's another one - you can see how big he's getting! Also I can't believe he fell asleep in the middle of the living room with two older brothers running around and making all sorts of noise!

It's been an interesting six weeks and much has happened. I don't want to bore anyone, so I'll give you the highlights:

Kurt turned 31 on January 23rd!

Happy (very late though I did put balloons up on the actual day) Birthday Honey!

Jennifer and Adam came to visit! We had so much fun! Thanks guys for coming to see us and hopefully we've convinced you to move to Rochester eventually!

Here's a picture of Jen and Adam with the kids - they were great sports and played a ton with them.

We had good news about Kurt's job - he will be a permanent employee at his company on March 1st! Whoopee! Congratulations Kurt! This means all sorts of lovely things for our little family and we're truly grateful for such a blessing.

So - there is a sampling of the good stuff. We've also been well-taken care of by family and friends with meals and babysitting and we feel very fortunate to have so many wonderful people in our lives.

Now - I have to share some of the lessons that we've learned so far about being a family of five:

1. I've learned that my older boys, darlings that they are, know to wait until I'm sitting down and nursing the baby before they get into stuff they're not supposed to - like the carton of eggs in the refrigerator.

2. Aiden has learned that the universal answer to this question: "Aiden, what are you doing in there?" is "Nothing!" I didn't think you learned this one till you were older.

3. Owen has learned that conjunctivitis + goopy eyes = eye drops. He's developed really strong eyelids to keep us from prying his eyes open to put in the drops. Atta boy!

4. Connor has learned that he just has to give Mommy the illusion of a smile and she melts into a pile of mushy goo.

5. Kurt has learned that having three kids really cuts into your available time for fun like basketball.

Well anyway - some days I'm convinced that three kids is not that bad and other days are what I like to call, "Walk softly" days - meaning everyone walk sofltly around me or I might have put you in time out for an indefinite amount of time. But maybe that's just the lack of sleep talking.

Connor David

2008-01-19T17:34:00.001-05:00

He's HERE!
Our Connor David arrived this week on January 16th at 8:18 p.m. He weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and is 20 1/2 inches long and perfect in every way.
Kurt and I got to the hospital on Wednesday a little after 8 and Connor was born shortly thereafter - it was a quick labor (my contractions started at 4) with a race to the finish at the end! Unfortunately, there was no time for an epidural...
Anyway - here is our baby about 30 minutes after he was born.

Look at that sweet face!

Then there were five...Aiden and Owen didn't have much reaction to their new little brother when they came to visit. Too many fun things to mess around with in Mom's room - like the Nurse's call button! Aiden has since told Mom and Dad Z. that he has a baby brother named Connor and he told me this morning that Connor wanted to get up and have some candy for breakfast. Owen just looks at me suspiciously. Can't get anything past that kid.

Connor coming home from the hospital on Friday night. His very cute bunting is just slightly too big!

Connor is a great baby and we're all doing well. We are truly thankful for all the family that we have around us who are such a support.

Thus begins our adventure as a family of five....stay tuned!

Still pregnant after all these years...

2008-01-13T23:20:00.001-05:00

I am starting this post with a picture of my pregnant belly. It's big, it's round and I'm about 5 days away from my due date. My sister-in-law Robyn wanted to see what I looked like at this point - so here you go Robyn! I'm trying not get too impatient, but I'm ready to have this baby! I had to share some pictures (I even attempted to download some video) of one of the boy's (and I mean Kurt too) favorite pastimes - playing with cars. Kurt has a very cool remote control car, and so on Friday we headed over to the church and let the boys run around chasing the car. Mom and Dad Z. had to be there for a Young Single Adult activity, so they hung out with us as well. It was a lot of fun seeing Aiden try and steer the car, and Owen chasing the car around the Relief Society room! There was a lot of laughter and running, and thankfully both boys were ready to go to sleep by the time we got home! Ha ha, my devious plan worked! So - I hope the video works, and you can see Owen "dancing" with the car.
I would also like to give a shout out to Kurt's friend Anmol. He treated us to a delicious lunch on Saturday at a local Indian restaurant and we had a great time talking with his fiancee and him.

Congratulations Anmol!

Well - aside from waiting for contractions to start, that's been our weekend... Hopefully my next blog entry will feature pictures of Baby Domm version 3.1
Till then, cheers!

A Sunbeam...A Sunbeam...

2008-01-06T21:19:00.000-05:00

This post will be pretty short, but I had to share my proud Mama moment from today.
Here is a picture of Aiden complete with cheesy grin and "I am a Child of God" crown that he colored in his Sunbeam class! That's right, SUNBEAM. My baby started Primary!
Since I'm in my ward's primary presidency I was there with him for sharing time (in fact, I was in charge of the sharing time portion of Sharing Time.) - which I don't know if I've ever seen so many blank or confused faces as when I was trying to get everyone involved in the activity that I planned! Anyway - Aiden was a total champ, apart from an unfortunate tendency to put his hand down the back of his pants. I don't quite understand that one, but Kurt thought that it was due to a scratchy tag on the back of his new underpants. So - we'll go with that. His teacher said that he was really good, and all afternoon he was saying "Piano" and "Forte"! (the primary chorister has been teaching these terms to the kids - so I'm glad that Aiden retained something from sharing time. :) ) Anyway - a small milestone, but one that still made me smile today.

I also just had to share this picture of Kurt and Aiden. Kurt doesn't usually wear a suit to church, but when he does, he's totally smokin'! So - here's to my handsome husband and cute son.
Baby madness continues here - I'm in nesting mode and want to get everything organized! Too much to do!
Keep smiling and have a wonderful week.

Falling off the Face of the Earth...or Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T21:32:00.000-05:00

So with the absolute best intentions in the world I have been meaning to update this blog for about a month and a half.

This was before I took into account that Christmas was fast approaching, and that I'm a million months pregnant. So - for all my dear family and friends you get an update on our holiday festivities after the fact!

Here are a few memorable moments:

We have a family tradition of going out to Wilbert's tree farm and cutting down our own tree. Here are Kurt and Aiden with this year's model. Of course Kurt made fun of the trees that I kept picking, accusing me of trying to find the original "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree"! Aiden had a great time walking around in the snow and looking at the baby trees. Owen unfortunately fell asleep on the way to the tree farm, so thanks to my mother-in-law he had a great snooze in the van. Nothing like cutting down your own tree!

For the past couple of years we've gotten together with Kurt's immediate family a few days before Christmas to eat, laugh and play games before everyone scatters for the holidays. This year's party was so fun! Kurt made up a game that we all played, we had fabulous Chinese food for dinner, and here are the grandkids putting on the nativity. I would like to point out my little shepherd Aiden, in the bottom left corner of the picture.

For Christmas Eve, we went to Mom and Dad Zundel's. Mom made a wonderful crab dinner (Mmmmm, Crab!) and we opened Christmas Eve presents (always pajamas) and had a great time. Here are the boys looking a bit confused, but excited about the presents.

I don't have any pictures from Christmas morning - we were too busy unwrapping presents and playing with toys! Needless to say, the boys got some great new stuff - Aiden loves his Home Depot tool kit and Owen loves his new fire engine and we had lots of fun. My favorite presents: A new nonstick skillet, The Office season 3 on DVD and an MP3 player! (does that make me a total Mom-nerd or what?) We divided up the day between families and had fun. The only black cloud - there was this nasty gastrointestinal virus that cycled through all of us, and then the boys caught colds in time for the big day - being sick at Christmas is NO FUN! Another fun fact that I've learned - Christmas is so exciting when you have kids!

We were so excited because Kurt's sister Tracy, her husband Nate and their boys were up visiting from the South! They moved there not too long ago, but we've really missed them! Here they are during their visit to our lovely home with their adorable boys - Dallin, (18 mos.) and Tyler (2 or 3 months) - seriously some of the cutest kids that I've seen. In fact, I've included an extra picture of Tyler because he is so cute! (this was the first time that we got to see him since he was born. ) So keep scrolling down for the cute baby!

Here he is - Tyler James!

New Year's was low-key which was just what Kurt and I needed - games and fun at Kurt's brother Mike's house. We were home before midnight and asleep soon thereafter -

though we did talk about goals and resolutions and set some for every member of the family. :)

We've embarked on the exciting adventure of potty training. That's right, we put some real underpants on Aiden (he was kicking and screaming about this) and we are attempting to teach him how to use the toilet. Thus far, he's averaged about two successes a day, and about 4 accidents. So - definitely room to work. That and we have to keep washing his underwear because he goes through all his pairs in one day. (time to buy some more underwear) He's catching on - I think, and anyone who has some good potty training tips will earn gold stars from me - I thought I knew what I was doing, but maybe not!

Owen is teething and still has a cold. It makes for some interesting days and nights, as he's stopped sleeping straight through on account of nasal blockage and general bad attitude.

I'm anxiously awaiting another trip to the Labor and Delivery department and counting down the days till my due date - January 18th. I'm feeling pretty good, though tired and the nesting thing has kicked in - I really need to get organized! Soon we'll have another cute baby to take pictures of!

Kurt is working and gearing up for Church basketball which starts next week. He's been playing soccer as well and keeping busy with his calling as Young Men's president and being my gopher. He's been great about getting me Whoppers with cheese from Burger King and taking care of the kids. Our five-year anniversary is coming up soon, and I do have to say - time flies when you're having fun!

Christmas is such a special time of year, and I love the chance to celebrate it with friends and family. We hope that your holidays were great!

Also - keep checking this blog because I promise to keep posting......

Oh My Stars!

2007-11-09T23:09:00.001-05:00

It wasn't until I looked at the date today that I realized it's been about a month since I last posted! I've had people reminding me this week, and kept putting it off (I LOVE to procrastinate) The whole thing started because I wrote my previous post and then decided that we didn't really have anything noteworthy going on and that I would post after our trip to Utah. And now it's been almost two weeks that we've been home and wow, I am finally posting. I do want to say thanks to all the family members who told me that they had been reading my blog. It makes it feel less like I'm just shouting words into space. Hopefully you'll keep reading.

So - we had a HUGE event in the Zundel family - My sister Jennifer got married!

Her name is now Jennifer Zundel Ard, meaning that she trumped my meteoric rise up the alphabet from Zundel to Domm, and that I have to start thinking of her with a new name. Crazy. I do have to say that Adam, her husband is a peach and we all think very highly of him. (Enough to give him a nickname. Welcome to the family Bob!)

Jen decided to get married out in Utah (after we did a little lobbying for the Palmyra temple.) and so on Wednesday, October 24th we packed up the boys, snacks, portable DVD player (never leave home without it), toys, books and the kitchen sink and began our excursion to Utah. We flew at night, and I am grateful to say that my little plan of having the boys fall asleep on the plane worked! (thanks to a lengthy layover in Chicago where we let them play and run around) They both slept the whole way from Chicago to Salt Lake, and then once we put them in the car, they slept until we got to my Uncle Lex and Aunt Marilee's house. (By the way - you guys were total stars to put up with us - especially the crazy hours that Aiden kept! Thanks for opening your home to us!) We all fell into bed in preparation for a busy day of getting our hair cut and helping Jen with wedding stuff.

The next day dawned bright and extremely early. Aiden was up and bouncing around the room at about 5 or so. I put "Finding Nemo" on the DVD player and tried to pass back out, but to no avail.

Later that morning, Kurt and I got our hair cut by my Aunt Rebecca. As you can see in the pictures, she did a fabulous job. I LOVE my haircut! Thanks Becca! We also got to see Adam and Jen's apartment, and hung out with the happy couple and with our dear sister-in-law Tianna for the afternoon. It was so great to see everyone.

Now we get to W-Day. That's right - it's time for the wedding. The date was Friday, October 26th. The place was Salt Lake City, UT. The bride wore white, the groom wore black, they both said yes, and it was a happy and busy day. Jennifer looked bee-yoo-ti-ful in her dress. I took a few pictures of the happy couple at the temple:
Standing on the steps

Another shot of Jen and Adam on the steps. What a handsome couple!
Walking out of the temple. Jen is smiling at the cheering crowd of people that were waiting for her and Adam.

Collin, Tianna, Me, Dad Zundel, Aiden, Owen and Kurt waiting for the appearance of the bride and groom. (not sure where Mom Zundel was for this picture.)
There was a delicious lunch right after the temple ceremony and then the Zundel-Domm contingency went and hung out at Aunt Peggy's until the reception. The reception was elegant and beautiful. Mom and Jen did a great job planning it. It was held at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and was so fun! The only thing that would have made it better: a dance floor. Adam's friends played some great jazz during the reception (and some old classics) and I was dying to dance!

Here is Owen at the reception, having a little snack. He had a great time running around and hiding under some of the taller tables.

Aiden passed out about halfway through the reception. Grandpa Zundel took a turn holding him, and then I sat with him until we left to go back to the Olsen's. This is what happens when you don't take a nap in the afternoon!

The 26th was a very full day, but a happy one. I am so glad that Jen was able to be sealed in the temple to someone great and that we could be there see it. It was also lovely to see all of our cousins and uncles, aunts and Grandma and Grandpa Gibbs. I wish that I had taken some pictures of them, because it was one of the best parts of the trip to see everyone again!

Aiden having fun with Grandpa Zundel, and my cousin Emilie's daughter, Eden.
We somewhat reluctantly left for home on the Monday, the 29th. Once again, the boys did great with the flying and we had an exciting thing happen. On the flight from Denver to Washington DC, Aiden and I walked on the plane and were invited by the pilot to go and see the cockpit! It was so cool! Here are a couple of pictures of Aiden checking things out:

Getting comfy in the pilot's chair

I tried to get him to smile for this picture, but he was too distracted by all the buttons. Talk about paradise for 3-year-olds! The pilot let us stay up there for as long as we wanted, and Aiden didn't want to leave. I finally had to pull him out of there so that we could find our seats...

The next adventure awaiting us was Halloween! We took the boys trick-or-treating in Kurt's parents neighborhood, which was awesome. Kurt's siblings all brought their kids and so there was a big mob of us walking from house to house. Aiden really knew what was going on this year (he had been practicing trick-or-treating for a month previous) and was really excited to go out with his cousins. You can see the boys' costumes below:

Owen made a great pumpkin, though he wouldn't wear the little hat that goes with the costume. He wanted to be held while we were out trick-or-treating and was pretty oblivious to trick-or-treats and to candy. I have to admit with a small bit of shame and embarrassment most of his candy is gone, as a direct result of Kurt and I helping ourselves! Oh well, while he still really likes graham crackers I'm going to milk it for all it's worth.

Here is Aiden in his car costume. (I made it for him and am pretty proud of how it turned out. :) ) He was really excited to wear it, though it made getting up and down front steps and onto porches difficult. Kurt and took turns going to the doors with him and giving him a lift up the stairs. He had an absolutely great time, and still asks for candy every morning. He especially loves Reese's Peanut Butter cups, something that he shares with his aunt Jennifer.

So - a good time was had by all, and it was fun to be with the Domms.

Well, it's been an eventful few weeks, but we've been blessed with lots of chances to spend time with family. Speaking of which, I have give a few shout outs:

Congratulations to Nate and Tracy Hall on the birth of their son, Tyler James Hall! (Tracy is Kurt's sister) I will have to beg for a picture so that you can see how cute this baby is.

Also, congratulations to Paul and Holly Domm on Paul's first Air Force posting to Germany! (Paul is Kurt's brother) Paul will complete Officer Training school this week, and then at the beginning of December they will be off to Deutschland. We will miss them incredibly, but know that this is a fabulous opportunity for them. Good luck you guys! We'll try and make it over to see you!

Well - this weekend is going to be packed...A Primary talent show is happening tomorrow, and then we've got the Primary sacrament presentation on Sunday. Gulp! I'll have to let you know how it goes...

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of the Domm's!!!

Utah State! Hey Aggies All the Way!

2007-10-07T21:32:00.000-04:00

Homecoming Time!
We didn't get to go to Utah State for homecoming, but we did have a lovely day at Fredonia State (Kurt's alma mater) on Saturday. It was Homecoming, and Kurt and his brother Jeff played in the alumni soccer game. We got to see some of the campus and the town of Fredonia - it's so pretty! Then dinner with Jeff, Kristen, their girls Jillian and Joy Kristen's sister Becky and dad. (Pizza, yum!) We also stayed and watched the first half of the homecoming game - Fredonia v. Cortland. Then it was time to head home and put the boys to bed! (and me too)

The trip to Fredonia really got me nostalgic for college. I had such a great time and so many great experiences. I LOVED college - though I do wish that I would have put more effort into my classes. I made some wonderful friends and learned a lot about myself. I did so many crazy things, and went on road trips and had fun. Logan is such a beautiful place - the town itself and people and mountains and everything. Someday I want to take the boys there for Homecoming and show them around. The Wende I was in college seems a million light years away from wife-and-mom Wende and you know, that's how things go, but I am grateful for the experience of college and what I learned.

Kurt and Jeff before the game warming up.

Kurt and Jeff - soccer boys forever!

Today we spent most of the day at Mom and Dad Zundel's. It was a ton of fun, and the boys had a great time playing outside.

Here's Aiden riding his bike.

Here's Owen splashing in a puddle. I wish I could have gotten more of an action shot, but he was having a great time!

I also want to wish my Mom and my brother Collin:

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! WE LOVE YOU!

Mom you are such a wonderful example to me. Thanks for all that you've taught me and your love and support.

Collin you are amazing. I've had the privilege of seeing you grow into a strong, smart and perceptive man. I'm so honored to be your sister. Keep up the good work!

The autumn leaves here in Rochester will be at their peak next week - time for a family expedition to one of the nearby parks to see the fall colors. Hopefully I'll have pictures for my next post.

News! News! News!

2007-09-28T22:11:00.000-04:00

It has been a momentous week for the Domm extended family and so I am posting for the 2nd time in 1 week let you know all the news.

First, I am so proud to introduce....

Sydney Nussbaum!

9/25/07

8 lbs 6 oz

22 inches

Her proud parents Chris and Kelly are my brother and sister-in-law. She is a sweetie! (oh, and Kelly is doing great too)

"Isn't she lovely?"The proud Mama and Sydney

Then on September 26th, it was time to celebrate Aiden's 3rd birthday! He was very excited to have a party and sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candles on the cake (and eat the cake too) Here he is just about to blow out the candles.(He is sitting on Aunt Holly's lap) What a smile!

Aiden with some of his favorite people in the world - his cousins. Oh, and Owen too. The party was great - the kids were on a sugar high, and running around all over the place. Aiden got a boatload of Matchbox cars, so he was in Heaven. He also got some non-car related gifts that were pretty cool. (a giant calculator from Grandma Domm!) Thanks to everyone for coming to the party and making it so fun!

So- the day after Aiden's party, I happened to put the leftover birthday cake on the table to cut some pieces for Kelly and Chris. (I thought they needed to share in the joy of the birthday cake) I got distracted after I cut the slices, and then came back to the kitchen to find Aiden going to town on the cake! Note his smile of pure bliss and the smears of chocolate decorating his face. The cake is definitely worse for the wear too.

And finally, we are saying a fond but sad farewell to in-laws Nate and Tracy as they embark on their adventures in their new home. Nate just finished his army training and they have been posted to Fort Campbell (?) Kentucky! Good luck! (how cute is their son Dallin?) We'll miss you!
It's amazing how many cool things happened this week. We are very blessed to live so close to family and to get to share in the new babies, and birthday parties and even some goodbyes. (We'll see you soon, Nate and Tracy!) It makes me so happy that my boys have the blessing of growing up with their cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents and the chance to really get to know their family.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Sweetly Sings the Donkey...

2007-09-24T17:03:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday Kurt and I were discussing what we should do with the day. We had a few chores to do, but thought it might be fun to have a little family time. After doing a quick search on the Net, we found a Harvest Festival happening at Springdale Farms, which is near my parents. So - after feeding the boys and getting ready we set out to have fun at the festival.
We had a blast! Aiden especially loved seeing the animals and playing in the petting zoo. They had hay bales set up in a tunnel and he went through that a few times too. I have to say that the Harvest Festival was definitely a good time. So, here are some pictures so that you too can get in the Harvest mood.

Here are the boys with one of the cute little donkeys. Aiden tried to feed the donkey some leaves.
Tom the turkey. Aiden got his fingers nipped when he stuck them inside the fence. Kurt's reaction when he saw Tom? "Mmmm, turkey." I have to say Tom was looking like he might make a delicious addition to someone's Thanksgiving table. (Mmmmm, Thanksgiving....)

Aiden was fascinated with the chickens - we spent a lot of time looking at them. He wanted to bring one home, and I had to explain that we didn't have a place for them. It really broke my heart to have to tell him that...

Aiden and Kurt also went to see Ricky the pig, but by that point Owen had let me know that he wasn't really enjoying the farm environment and was screaming bloody murder out by the car. Aiden loved Ricky, and even now talks about how Ricky was a "big pig".

So - we kicked off the Fall in style. We even got Kurt some fresh pressed apple cider. Now we just need some doughnuts. (Mmmmm doughnuts...)

To get philosophical for a moment; I have a friend who is studying the ability to attract and repel different energies, positive and negative. Essentially we choose our perception, and can influence the energies that we attract. Basically, it sounds like good old positive thinking. So I find the concept interesting, especially as it relates to faith and our ability to believe. What do you think? Are you attracting or repelling positive energy? Food for thought. (Mmmmm food...)

Well - stay tuned. This week Aiden turns 3!!!!

Also, I would like to give my sister-in-law Kelly a shout out. She's getting induced tomorrow and there should be a new baby Nussbaum entering the world shortly! Good luck Kelly!

The Adventures of...

2007-09-16T22:45:00.000-04:00

Here in the Flower City there is a hero. He moves stealthily through the night, fighting the forces of evil and striking a blow for justice...

His name is...

Rashman!

Okay, kidding kidding.

I'm trying to make light of the fact that my little Owen is recovering FOR THE THIRD TIME of a horrible, red, blotchy, miserable rash. One that turns my mild-mannered little guy into someone almost unrecognizable.

You might ask, have we been to the doctor? Oh yes and then some. The first time the pediatrician's prognosis was "an allergic reaction to a virus that Owen had caught." Sooo, we gave him benadryl, kept giving him antibiotics and eventually it went away.

So when it came back the second time, I waited a couple of days, gave him some Benadryl and finally took him back in because, hey, a rash is a rash. So - the doctor looked at him for about five minutes and finally told me to come back if it got worse. It did, but again, went away.

So now - when my poor baby wakes up with the horrible rash AGAIN,(and swollen face, hands and feet) I call the doctor determined that I will leave the visit with at least a referral to an allergist or dermatologist. And - we did. Of course, we couldn't get an appointment until October, but the rash has once again gone away so we'll just wait and see. The prognosis this time? Owen might be allergic to the dyes in the antibiotic that he's taking. (the reason for the antibiotic is in itself is a different and entirely too lengthy a story for right now, dear and patient reader)

And thus begins the legend of Rash Man - defender of truth, justice and toddlers everywhere.

Here are some pictures...

In a proud Mom moment, I would like to add that Owen is saying his first words. The first really clear one is "Daddy" which he loves to say and which makes me laugh because he pronounces it "Da-deee" with what sounds like a French accent. He also says something that sounds like it could be "Aiden" but it's not very clear.

It was truly a party weekend - we went to our dear nephew Charlie's 5th birthday extravaganza (I say extravaganza because there was great food, pinatas, tons of kids and those glowy necklace thingys. Oh, and a Superman cake. Jen and Mike did a GREAT job) Aiden had a great time hitting the pinata and then feasting on the candy that he collected. He also had a great time playing with his cousins and the other kids that were there. Sadly, we had to leave the party a bit early, since Anmol, Kurt's good friend from college, had a birthday and finishing-his-MBA bash.

It was great because he lives in the same apartment complex that we do and so we just had to walk over to the party room. My parents babysat and we had a fabulous time! Anmol is from India, so most of the people there were A. Indian, and B. people we didn't know. He had absolutely delicious food from our favorite local Indian restaurant Thali of India (glad I took that Zantac beforehand!) and really loud Indian music. Anmol is a great host and made everyone get up and dance, though most of his friends put us to shame mixing native dances with stuff you'd see in dance clubs. Kurt and I tried our best and no one laughed at us, so we must have done okay. It was great to eat awesome food, dance a little and just enjoy Kurt's company. Thanks, Anmol for the sweet party!

Hello Bandwagon...

2007-09-09T20:44:00.000-04:00

It's so fun reading what everyone has been up to, and I thought I would share too. Thanks to my cousins for their good blogging examples!

It's been a busy summer - we've been going to Kurt's soccer games...

Playing in the water...

Playing pirates with Grandpa Z...

and lots of other stuff. Two of the highlights were Jen, Adam and Grandma and Grandpa's trip out in July...

Grandma and Grandpa aboard the Sam Patch - cruisin' down the Erie Canal

and Collin and Tianna coming to see us in August... we had a great time with them in Ithaca!

Taughannock Falls State Park

People made all of these sculptures out of loose stones around Taughannock. I thought it was awesome - reminded me of a Zen garden.

Of course, since we were in Ithaca, we figured we'd check out Cornell's law school - Collin was interested.

Our little guys keep us busy and make us laugh a lot. Aiden will be three in a few weeks and he loves Nursery, cars and pasta. He is getting so big - we love his singing and when he tells us stories. We finally conquered his pacifier dependency (it had to happen - we lost the last pacifier and told him that was it) - up next - potty training! (For anyone whose children were potty trained at 2 or earlier - I don't want to hear it!)

Owen just turned 1 in June. He loves to do whatever Aiden is doing, which can get annoying for his older brother. He is saying a few words, mostly "Daddy" and what I think might be "Aiden" and we're working on adding more. He loves to play in the water and kick a ball. He has such a sweet easygoing personality. Right now he is giving Kurt and I grey hair - he is climbing on everything! We are just getting rid of some scrapes on his face from his tumble down some bleacher stairs while we were at a soccer game. Of course I'm envisioning knocked-out teeth, broken bones, concussions, etc. - no, Kurt held him for about five minutes and then he was ready to play again.

Kurt is going on his 4th month at Scene Genesis. He's working as a web developer and really likes his job. We have our fingers crossed that the company will sign him on for a permanent position in December. Soccer season just ended, and he's trying to get out and play disc golf with his buddies. He planned a High adventure trip for the young men in our ward in August - they canoed the length of Cayuga Lake! (40 miles - not too shabby). He is keeping busy as Young Men's president and helping me run around after our two hooligans.

I'm still doing the stay-at-home thing, which is a lot of fun. Our third little boy is due in January - on our fifth anniversary! It seems like there is always something going on - with the boys or Kurt or with family or Church.

Fortunately I've also had plenty of time to indulge a few of my passions - reading, cooking and swimming!

We are all looking forward to Fall - the weather has been hot and sticky. We can't wait to see the leaves change and be able to drink apple cider and eat doughnuts. I saw pumpkins at the farm market the other day and it made me excited for Halloween!