What do we have in common?

VICODIN!

Yeah, another round of strep in the house and I have a bad case of pain to the nines. Apparently my strep was taking too long to heal.. and with many sleepless nights I finally caved and re-visited the doctor. After a few comments of 'it's not quite big enough to cause an obstruction but it certainly is a bad scene' the doc took pity on me. Enter left stage: Vicodin. It helps for now, but I really want to open the windows wide and have a fresh breeze clear out the joint! Until then, I'll crack bad, inappropriate jokes about my favorite cheese head and our weirdo similarity for now.

Zebra in da house!

We keep hitting milestones in the Tuney house and this past week was no exception.
















Tyler recently decided to mix two of his faves: money and hockey. In doing so, he successfully worked an angle and figured out how to make a little bling while skating around and enjoying himself. So yes, it's true- he's actually officiating games! He worked two games this past weekend with a head ref who is a friend of the family (thanks Bill!). The thought of reffing a girls tournament had him thinking it'd be slower... however, both games he reffed were overtime games with big, amazing finishes. He had a blast and endured yet another day of his pesky mom at the glass with a camera. He teases and says "That's ok, I need practice for the paparazzi someday."

The bonus for us? We have hope that we won't always be full-time ATMs. :-)

Dreaming of warm.

Lately all I can dream about is warm. Warm weather, a nice beach and the sound of ocean waves lapping. Maybe it's the doldrums of winter in MN and maybe it's my subconscious challenging me to wisen up (what-the-heck-are-you-doing-in-the-cold-anyway?). Either way, I dream of warm.

I have a great view at my office- 29 stories up and watch the sun rise at least twice a week when I'm there. Yeah, yeah, those of you who know me well know that I'd rather be up and working than waiting in traffic. I watch it peek through the clouds and radiate itself across different cities, pouring through the clouds. I can't help but FEEL myself on a plane cutting through the clouds on the way to somewhere warm. I'm downright twitchy!

And, apparently that wouldn't be the worst thing. Jackson told me today that his arms are tired of wearing his big winter coat. He's worried they'll fall off if they have to endure much more. I wonder.... could we, as parents, be held liable if his arms fell off?

How do you spell happy?

F-O-A-M F-I-N-G-E-R!

Yes, I said foam finger. Jackson has been tracking the need for a foam finger for nearly a year now; in fact, his obsession started on a starry night in the dead of winter nearly 12 months ago. Jackson attended a Gopher hockey game when he noticed the magical, air invititing, view-blocking fingers waving in the student section of Mariucci. We're guessing the arena noise fell away because he spent the entire game gazing at the foam fingers and pining away for one. Fast forward another year (we're not sure how we got by without one, but we did). Jackson's mission this year in attending major sporting events (Wild, Gopher Hockey or otherwise) has been *ALL ABOUT THE FOAM FINGER.* So, last night the fireworks were lit. Matt and I snuck away to the Gopher vs. UMD hockey game and picked up a foam finger on the way home. When we brought it in for him, he was tucked into bed but half awake when he finally laid eyes on his very own foam finger. Needless to say, he's been with it all day. Did you know you could sleep with a foam finger? How about eat breakfast or play Nintendo DS? Well, we have proof. All you need is a buddy in the form of a giant's sized finger! :-) Who'd have known happiness might arrive in such a strange shape?

Ever feel like this?

At least I'm not alone.... so, greetings today my Penguin friends. Now I'm retreating back to the fireplace. :-)

We *heart* Kleenex.

'Nuff said. Germs- go away!!

Little doctor in the house...

Apparently the big weekend came with a little downside- Tyler's pretty sick. He visited the doctor today and has a sinus infection and bronchitis. As a result, he's been in bed most of the day. Coincidentally Jackson also had the day off school. He's been pacing around waiting for Tyler to get up. He got his moment to visit the patient tonight and here's a little recap of their chat:

Jackson: Tyler, I'm really sorry you're not feeling good. What seems to be the problem?
Tyler: I don't feel good. Everything hurts, especially my head.
Jackson: Let me see. (poking, prodding, looking closely at Tyler's ears, etc.). Does it hurt when I push HERE (pokes Tyler's cheek below his eye)?
Tyler: OUCH! YES! Did you figure it out, buddy?
Jackson: I know what you have now. You have a shy-ness infection.

Seems logical to me. I wonder how we cure a shy-ness infection...

I promised to follow up...

On what they do in Duluth when it gets really, really cold. Check out this guy below! He proudly sat largely in the front yard of a home we passed each day on the way to the rink. We found him really cool... and creepy all at the same time!

Hey. lookie what I found!

A tournament champ with a great big hug for mom! More photos to come... recap of the weekend:

- 23 below on Saturday morning
- 5 games for Tyler's team, 0 losses
- Championship game was against Eagan today

A great weekend had by all....

Finally Friday!

A long week; we're back to they rhythm of 'real life' post holidays. But- not so fast.

I'm blogging from even further north than usual- the shores of Lake Superior. We're in town for a hockey tournament and despite the bitter, biting cold it's great. The high today here was -2 without windchill. Not much of a high! So far we've conquered the following:

- One hockey game at a rink nicknamed 'Freezeberger' with a win 10-1
- Much swimming in the pool for Jackson and his pals (we have a great 'little brother' team'
- A UMD/Gophers hockey game that came out in a tie. But, who cares. Tyler's coach managed to cordon off a chunk of seats for the boys next to the U of M band and against the glass. They had a BLAST. My favorite moment I predicted.... the boys were messing around a little and wrestling. I leaned over to Matt and predicted the tuba player was going to take a check or sideways hit at some point.... and indeed, late in the third period it was so. Why is it so funny to see a tuba player unexpectedly lurch forward?? And, why was it so funny the band made up a song and played it for them afterward? The main lyrics to accompany the chant/music: Past your bedtime. We enjoyed seats just two rows up from the UMD bench- way fun, way fun.

What's next? A 7 AM game.... updates to come tomorrow with photos. You won't believe what they do with snow up here!

It's soooooooo cold!

A voice inside my head says 'suck it up, you choose to live here.' Then, the other voice says 'but this isn't right for any species. No wonder dinosaurs are extinct!'
Good thing I have a third voice in my head to balance it all out. Yeah, it's cold here and we're going into the deep freeze of winter this weekend without a doubt. So, what do you do when it's so cold?

My top 5 things NOT to do when it's this cold outside:
5. Don't: throw snowballs this week- in this weather they're ice balls!
4. Don't: run a lot of water outside and make a home-made luge. Cars might have a hard time seeing children flying at high rates of speed.
3. Don't: take a dare to run partially naked outdoors - no matter what! You'll really regret it and if it's attached to your body when you start you probably need it.
2. Don't: play poker with Matt even though he looks innocent, he'll shark you and I'm so not kidding!
1. Definitely Don't: lick the slide or flagpole!

My top 5 things TO DO when it's this cold outside:
5. Play a game with your family. They'll love you, even if the little one cheats.
4. Get the nerf guns out. Less injuries, same satisfying feeling!
3. Line the stairs with Star Wars guys, wait downstairs and then have the kids yell 'Dad, we need you right away- someone's hurt!' Have you ever seen a guy literally FLY on the stairs? We have. The aftermath wasn't as fun, though.
2. Surf the Web with the kids. A recent fave site? Almost Naked Animals!
1. Curl up by a fire and grab a kiddo, a book, maybe a movie and cocoa. Then remember the moment forever.

Naughty parents. Oh, and Happy Birthday.

Once upon a time, there was a little fella named Russ. He was a spitfire of a boy who found trouble at every turn. From shooting bullets in his sister's underwear (did you know they weren't supposed to go through silk?) to painting armadillos (have any idea how funny they look when they're yellow striped and running away) he has was always finding a way to get in trouble. As he grew up his pranks were still plentiful and his sense of humour neverending. Yesterday marked that "little fella's" 78th birthday. The birthday prank this year (that wasn't funny) needs a little set up:

Picture this. We agree to meet at his favorite restaurant for dinner, Red Lobster. Now, prankster Dad has a cell phone that he seldom uses while driving... it can be a little too much to handle and keep up with "all the driving idiots in the Twin Cities." Assuming his always-on-time-and-sometimes-early daughter was late, he called from the parking lot to confirm his arrival. What he didn't know is that I was already in a booth waiting for him. So the conversation goes like this (with neither knowing exactly where the other is):

Ring. Ring.
Me: "Hello?"
Dad: "Hey there, it's me!"
Me: "Where are you?" (me)
Dad: "Oh, I'm getting close to the restaurant.. where are you?"
Me: "You're talking on the phone while driving? What gives? I'm at the restaurant"
Dad: "Ok, I'll be there in a minute... oh... wait! Oh no! There's a train. Oh no, I'm stuck on the railroad tracks!!!"

- - - > S U P E R L O U D H O N K I N G H O R N < - - - -

Suddenly I can't breathe. The phone is quiet and I'm FREAKING OUT. My Dad was just run over by a train!!

Me: "Dad! Dad! Are you there? Are you ok???"
Him: (Laughing uncontrollably) "Yes, I've just finished honking my horn. I'll be right in- I've been in the parking lot the whole time."

Ugh. Who says kids give their parents grey hair?

Facebook & High Schoolers

Eden Prarie High School has received recent 'famed' attention recently due to Facebook photos cropping up... showing kids drinking. 42 kids were subsequently interviewed, 13 disciplined, receiving suspensions from sports and other activities. There is a lot of debate about rights, free speech, administrators going to far and 'the administration ruining kids opportunities in sports and attaining college scholorships' as this has come to light.

One of my favorite columnists, Katherine Kersten (STRIB, 'Think Again' blog) summed it up wonderfully, so I'm posting in support:

"You broke the law, and some of you broke your word. As an athlete, you signed a pledge not to drink or possess alcohol, and to be 'fully responsible' for your actions and their consequences. What is there about this you don't understand?

If you think breaking the law and breaking your promise have no consequences, well, you've learned something.

Don't give me the 'everyone does it' line. That never worked with my mom, and it won't work with the Highway Patrol.

And drop the privacy-rights stuff. There's a camera in every cell phone these days. If you do what is right and don't drink illegally, you'll have nothing to fear from other people's cameras.

Yes, you're 17 years old now, but there's a lot you don't know. The stakes here are higher than losing two weeks with the lacrosse team.

Imagine what would happen to your privacy and life prospects after you've driven off the road, paralyzed yourself or killed a friend. Alcohol lowers your inhibitions, and makes it easier to discard your principles. It can lead you to abuse someone else, or become abused yourself. The consequences could transform your life.

Oh, and about your concern that the school's penalty was too harsh. You'll soon think of that as a Hawaiian vacation compared with going without car keys until the last snow melts this spring in Eden Prairie."

Things that make you go hmmm....

The big bad match up in yesterday's tournament was ER vs. Woodbury. Tyler's team met up with them a few weeks back and won, 3-1-- but they were really solid competition, the kind you like to meet. As we entered the rink, the parents were saying that this was likely to be a really good game, that ER was really going to want to win since we'd beat them once. In hindsight, that is THE understatement of the year. The score of the game was 0-0 AT THE END OF THE GAME! The first overtime was a 4 on 4 and ended with no score. The next overtime was a 3 on 3. With 8 seconds left, Tyler's team sealed the deal and we squeaked out the win. *WHEWWWWW*

Now, I don't want to be in the business of detailed sports reporting here (frankly, that usually bores me!) but this relates back to stuff that makes you go 'Hmmmmmmmm....'! Why is it that when your fella is in a high pressure situation you find yourself on the edge of your seat and holding your breath for them.... as if it will actually help? Maybe it's mama bear's instinct to protect them, maybe it's wanting to save them the discouragement of the loss even though it builds character and helps them learn. Or, maybe I just wanted a happy kid for the day ( Jackson usually lays it out for us: "I'm glad he won because when he loses he's really crabby.")

Either way, I guess I better buy a bottle of hair color to hide the grey these games will give me. After all, I figure I'll have to look good on the edge of my seat, holding my breath from here on out! :-)

And the clouds parted and the angels looked down...

Ok, a little dramatic but worth it. Both kids came home from school so very, very happy today. We have fits and spurts of 'good days' but the rarely happen on the same day.


Tyler: confirmed he is FINALLY pulling an A in Civics, one of his most aggrivating-fight-through-it-hard-to-keep-on-track classes. Whoo hoo! And to top it off they won their first game in the tournament tonight. Now we're on to saturday to play Elk River again.


Jackson: is at a new school post- holiday. I'll share more on that later. One of his highlights is a sister of one of Tyler's pals (and his friend). She's in 5th grade. He was delightfully aglow that she had a band concert during school. Direct quotes:
"I saw her in the band today and she is amazing. She plays the Clairminet just like Sqwidward on SpongeBob!" I'm sure she'd be amused at the comparison. Either way, he loved the band and at the end? She waveded at him.

Need a laugh?

You know you're a hockey parent when you...

30. have more miles on your '02 minivan than a '66 Chevy.
29. have had to Use a grandparent to take kid #1 to a tournament because Dad was in a
different state with kid #2 at a tournament and Mom had kid#3 two states away in a 3rd tournament all in one weekend.
28. know every single kid on every single team your child has ever played on...... But doesn't have a clue as to who his school mates are.
27. ground your kids for a week (except for hockey practice)
26. chuckle when a co-worker says his kids play soccer.
25. take out a home loan to pay for all the equipment and expenses.
24. complain about ice time when only 10 skaters showed up to that game
23. plan birth of next child so he has a good hockey birthday.
22. shout "Watch this, watch this" every time Junior touches the puck in practice.
21. find your new baby's first word is Zamboni
20. need new personalized license plates (again) since child changed teams.
19. find that the volume of hockey related e-mail at work exceeds business related email.... during the off season.
18. use the term "illegal recruiting" in a post discussing 96's
17. find that all your computer passwords begin with "hockey" or contains child's
number.
16. have been barred from more than one rink on more than one occasion
15. notice all photos of family vacations have a Canadian flag in background!
14. keep stats ..........................at practice!
13. can rationalize spending $159 on a Synergy for a 9 year old but won't spend $5 on a Birthday Card for his/her mom.
12. have more Hockey Mom T-shirts and Sweat Shirts than shoes.
11. hate sending Christmas cards, because the stats only show half the season!
10. had to explain that the pilgrims didn't play hockey, and Thanksgiving is actually a holiday, not just a tournament!
9. purchases a new $135.00 stick because old one didn't have any goals left in it.
8. can't compose a sentence, or have a conversation, that doesn't use at least one of the following words: "elite", "select", "AAA", Nationals", "premier" or "tryouts"
7. think a '93 Merlot Select is a new NJ hockey team, and wants to know when tryouts
are!
6. know a few 5 year olds that are good but "lack focus"
5. have had kids ask if Christmas is "home or away"
4. want to try for another, so we can start younger!
3. when asked to decide between try-out and first communion- asked church what his
options were!
2. received a letter from AAA Automobile Club and called for more info about tryouts.
1. when someone asks how old your children are, you respond "I have a 93 and an 90".

Laugh now, my friends. Laugh now.

H-O-C-K-E-Y. But who goes where?

We live it, we breathe it and we drive to it (a lot). We'll be living hockey like mad in January. 3 tournaments in the next 4 weeks and great match ups with some of our favorite College teams! Gophers vs. St. Cloud, Gophers vs. UMD, Gophers vs. the Sioux (and Tyler BETTER be wearing maroon and gold!!)!

But, in the midst of all this, we're finding ourselves in a strange spot. We've seen our friends do this for years. It's the dreaded 'conquer and divide.' Until now (mostly), we have been fortunate to go with the 'it's a family event' route for quite some time. Jackson goes to Tyler's events and visa versa. Tyler is a coaches helper for Jackson's hockey team this year, which means he's always on the ice with his brother. Nice, neat and a family all in one place.

BUT... we've officially arrived. We have 3 overlapping hockey events for both kids this weekend. One of us goes West, the other East. This is why, in this day and age, I applaud technology. Text messages will abound and we'll just blaze the path behind the generations of parents who worked this to an art before us!

Heading into a great 08!

So long, and adios 2007!

We're fresh off what seems like several weeks of no school and work and today is D-Day.. the day we have to begin normal life again. What have we been up to?

We celebrated the holiday season with loved ones (and yes, Uncle Frank is roasting a marshmallow on Chrstmas for Jackson... he reasoned "You have a fire, I know where the sticks are and I think my Mom hid chocolate somewhere.")

The boys enjoyed the outdoors (YES, nothing better than hot tubbing outside, in the winter, in Minnesota!)

And, of course a lot of hockey (we won a game vs. Elk River - how weird was that?)





I also learned that hockey boys no longer go to bed at midnight on New Year's Eve. We had a great group of kids (most of Tyler's team).... however, the actual bedtime still remains a mystery. Suffice it to say it was the wee hours of the morning.

So what are we looking for in 2008? It's simple: health, balance and peace. We're looking forward to speaking to each other with kindness more often, eating at home more and spending time with those we love. So, here we come 2008! Cheers to '08!

Waiting for Santa was hard work....

Hit 'play' below to see exactly HOW hard it was!



And later in the night, we ended up with a Blair Witch version of waiting for Santa....

Ode to Modern Technology

I don't use this space to promote often, however, all of my gal pals will surely appreciate this post. In fact, maybe all of you already know of what I speak(!?)

I was introduced yesterday (at Christmas Dinner) to Renolds Slow Cooker Liners. A revolutionary thought, really. Let's see:
- No more scrubbing the bottom of the crock
- No more mess
- No more trying-to-fit-it-in-the-dishwasher-because-I-really-really-really-don't-want-to-get-my-hands-in-the-dishwater

It's a great idea and something you simply MUST have if you use your crock pot often. I purchased a pack of four today and gave it a try via home made Spaghetti and meatballs simmering in the pot all day. Let me say- the clean up totally exceeded my expectations.

Ok, shameless promotion is now complete. Seriously, check these things out!

Our Holiday Letter : 2007

Friends and family,

We're breaking the mold with an online holiday letter this year. Actually, I hope it'll be more of an online brief! We can start with me (Heidi) - as you can see, I spent some of this year working up the Tuneberg chronicles. It seemed like so many things happen day-to-day in our lives that weren't being captured.... silly things the boys would say or do- and much, much more. It occurred to me one day that those moments are so easy to forget that I turned to my computer and worked up a Blog. Sometimes photos do the most justice. So, I combined a couple hobbies - photography and reporting on the kids into our online space. So far, so good!

Our family is growing and thriving, as always. This year finds Tyler at age 13 and Jackson at age 6. They are enjoying 8th and 1st grade, respectively.

At age 13 it can be argued that Tyler seems older than he is - mostly due to his growth in the past year. He now stands just shy of 5'8" and is 165 pounds... and grew over a FOOT since our last holiday letter. Indeed, a growing boy. He likes school about as much as most 8th graders (ha ha) but his passion still lies with Hockey. He spends all of his free time trying to play or watch it... and it doesn't matter who or where. :-) He attended his first 'away camp' this summer - which has it's own seperate novel buried in this blog. He continues to get daring on the wakeboard, play baseball in the spring and enjoy the good life. He is also learning the value of the almighty dollar - and worked at the Warehouse for Matt this summer. Not too strangely, after the portion of savings money goes away he always finds a place for the money in a new hockey stick. Although I would argue his major accomplishment in the past year is his transformation to a big-hearted young man, he would (without hesitation) tell you he is proud of what he's done in hockey. After much summer work at hockey, he made the A Pee Wee team this year. He also reported (in a rather thrilled manner!)the other night that he now has a 67 MPH slapshot and a 47 MPH wrist shot. Another reason I will never be goalie.

Jackson doesn't have to try hard to keep up - he keeps us spinning most days! He is 6 - but also going on 13. I often joke that he has the spirit of a little old man trapped in a young body. He played baseball for the first time this spring and enjoyed it most days. It's such a switch to see dandelion picking and resting (*ahem, laying!*) on third base from when we watch Tyler's games. He has transitioned now to hockey on his own and is on a Mite team for this winter. Again, he has a lot of fun skating around and checking the other kids... although it's really not something you should do... The coaches chuckle and we pray he catches on to what is acceptable for kids his age soon. :-) Jackson is also a budding artist and musician- he LOVES to paint, draw and sing (usually with Grandpa!). Sometimes he mixes his passions by drawing or painting anything Star Wars while humming away (by the way- I had no idea George Lucas could make things so complicated). He and Grandpa have been working up some serious tunes, which I hope to record and share sometime soon.

Matt continues at Midwest - and business continues to diversify. He co-coached Tyler's baseball team this summer and is a number one member of what I call the 'Pacers Club' at hockey. For those of you who may are not familiar - the Pacers Club is the group of Dads that stands (and paces) near the glass during hockey games. At the heart of it he's a great, involved caring Dad but we do need to make fun of him for his inability to just sit. He continues to work the wakeboard challenge with Tyler in the summer... however, knowing he'll never read this I'll confess: Tyler's got him schooled!

As for me- I continue on with a few hobbies, mainly photography, gardening and blogging. I made a professional change this year after much consideration and am now with a new company: MRM Worldwide. I continue to work very flexibly and part-time. I couldn't be more pleased that I can balance work and family and really love the work I do.

I'll keep posting here and hope to hear from you at the holidays and beyond. In the meantime, Merry Christmas to you and your families. Be safe and most of all do this: Be sure to tell those you love how much you love them each and every day.

It keeps falling from the sky....

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

All about snow

We received a ton of snow yesterday. It is fabulous. As far as I'm concerned: if it's going to be cold, let it snow-snow-snow. But, when looking at the situation of cold and snow, there's always up & down side to it all.

Upside (as confirmed by Jackson): "It's great that there's so much snow and it's so cold. When we're outside we can see our breath and that means we're really alive! People wouldn't know otherwise."

Downside (as confirmed by ME): The snowplow tagged our mailbox last night and it's barely hanging by a thread. We're calling it the 'swivel' box.. but that's only until the wood finishes giving out.... Poor mailbox.... :-(

Santa Anxiety

Before I rolled over for the alarm today.... Before I even thought about opening my eyes I felt breathing on my arm. I peeked open my eye to see Jackson standing next to the bed. He looked worried. He whispered 'Do you think Santa knows everything?' I answered (half asleep still) that he's pretty smart and that's probably close to true. Then he started crying. It turns out he's feeling bad.

Next I heard: 'I hope he doesn't give me coal for wanting to sell Tyler on eBay.'

Grandpa goes to hockey

Lord knows we hit the highway for enough hockey. This weekend, however, brought a special treat. Grandpa joined us for Tyler's hockey game in Red Wing. Not only did he witness an 11-1 domination, Tyler stepped up with a goal and two assists to top off the day. How do you celebrate with Grandpa? At Treasure Island, of course! We hit the buffet with Grandpa, Auntie Dee and Uncle Frank. The best is Grandpa's quote of the day when asked 'What do you think?': "This sure is different than last time; they really move and hit a lot! It's good Tyler's a big kid!"

Shameless Auntie post

Yeah, Yeah, I'm on a roll tonight. I'll admit, I have to make a shameless Auntie post in ode to my Fab neices and nephew!

Giving thanks today...

For family. The holiday brought us together after much too long a separation of busy lives. We were fortunate this Thanksgiving to regroup as a family and remember what's most important to us all, which is each other. We met baby Heidi, played cards, shined in Karoake with Grandpa and even shared the flu (sorry you're missing from the picture, Ty!). Cheers to health, happiness and family. We already miss you!

Fairies again?

The tooth fairy really knows her way to our house. Jackson lost tooth number TWO in a week - and Tyler lost one as well.... while wrestling with a hockey pal! Our natural reaction "Was it attached to a brace???" Luckily it was one of the last remaining baby teeth around. Jackson prepared a great little tooth fairy box at summer camp this year - and it's getting a lot of action!

Pumpkin Pie

At the close of Kindergarten last spring each child was offered a seed to 'sprout and bring home to plant.' Jackson chose a pumpkin seed and his teacher was so taken with the reasoning, she sent home a note. As it goes, Jackson's favorite pie is GRANDPA'S home-made pumpkin pie. And, he reasoned with the teacher, he'd plant the pumpkin seed, grow a pumpkin and Grandpa could make him a pie.

Well, the growing season was fabulous and the dynamic duo of Grandpa and Jackson harvested the pumpkin just before Thanksgiving so Grandpa could whip up a famous pie for the holiday feast! It was PERFECT!

Another star in the sky, thanks to Jackson.

It finally happened - Jackson lost his first tooth tonight! After wiggling and wiggling and wiggling it finally came free. In the aftermath of the event, Jackson immediately found his tooth fairy box and put his tooth in for safekeeping.

As I readied him for bed, he said he was excited and to keep the shades open so he could see the sky. Not knowing what he was referencing, I asked. He answered me very matter-of-factly: "The tooth fairy leaves you money or star wars guys, takes your tooth and grinds it up into dust. Then she blows it into the sky and that's what the stars are made of."

I'm still smiling. Now I know why there are so many stars!

p.s. picture coming soon - too tired to pull it outta the camera tonight.

Raising boys who appreciate women

Is harder than it seems. Tonight Jackson and I were exploring a Brain Quest flash card set; '1,000 Questions and Answers to Challenge your mind' when we came across the following question:

If a boy can be a hero, what can a girl be?

Correct answer according to Brainquest: A heroine (admired for her great courage, achievements or character)

Correct answer according to Jackson (without hesitation): 'A sidekick.'

Apparently I have work yet to do.

Wash your hands!

Most of you are well aware this has been a rough week at our house. My first bout of strep in 13 years (I don't even have tonils!!!!!), Jackson's landed another sinus infection and Matt has contracted the flu for the first time in 10 years. Tough week! So, in honor of this, I feel it necessary to share a few good practices in germ control for those of you who can still be saved! Here goes:
- wash your hands frequently
- stay home if you are sick (so you do not spread it to other people)
- cover your nose and mouth when sneezing and coughing (or cough into your elbow)
- use single-use tissues for wiping your nose
- wash your hands after coughing, sneezing or using tissues
- if working with children, have them play with hard surface toys that can be easily cleaned
- do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth (viruses can transfer from your hands and into the body)
- do not share cups, glasses, dishes or cutlery (especially important for families!)

Here's to you- in hopes you keep the germs away longer than we could!

My Mom told me to brush my teeth...

But instead I cut my hair. Wait- ARE YOU KIDDING??? Apparently not. While I was working in the office last night Jackson was to brush his teeth. I heard water... then for a little bit of an extended period of time. A few minutes later, he appears and the voice behind me says "I think you might be mad at me." I reply (still not looking) "I don't think so, honey, why would that be?" Then I turned around.

There is nothing more to say than this: the only way to fix it was to shave it!

On the optimistic side, Jackson shared a few 6-year old perceived benefits with me:
- I don't have to brush my hair anymore!
- My hair will dry really fast
- I look like an army man
- I don't have to worry when the teacher talks about head lice
- I don't have to go for a hair cut for a long time!!

Hard work pays off

Congrats to Tyler, who made the A Pee Wee team today!

Camouflage Kid

This was a conversation I had with Jackson today, I kid you not.

[Set up]
Matt took Jackson with him this afternoon to meet Uncle Frank at the 'hunting land.'

[Phone Call to Matt's cell] Phone is answered, it's not Matt but Jackson.

Me: Hi Jackson

Him: Hi Mommy, guess where I am?

Me: Where?

Him: I am in the forest with the guys. There are trees all around us and we are putting up special houses where we can look for deer. We got to ride the four wheeler and everything!

Me: Oh really? Sounds very fun!

Him: Oh Mom, it is! AND, I'm wearing camouflage pants, a blue jacket and a camouflage hat. You can barely see me! *hesitation and breaking sticks in the background* ....But, between you and me *he whispers*... deer are colorblind so it doesn't really matter!

The lucky number 13...

Radar, radar. We have a 13 year old in the house! WE hit a big mile stone this week - Tyler had another birthday. This birthday was marked with the ususal squeezed celebration (did you know an end of September birthday is hard to fit in with hockey try outs??) and a special request shopping trip to the Mall of America. I can proudly say Tyler has his mother's love of shoes!


So, it's only fitting that in tribute of this big occasion into 'teenagehood'... we hit a trip down memory lane (*ahem* something only mom can get away with!).

Happy Anniversary!

In time you grow to understand the priorities of the world and appreciate what really matters.

This week, we creep up on 12 married years... a drop in the bucket compared to some but nonetheless a great deal of time to share a life.

In our time together, we've mananaged countless hairstyles, paced the floors with sad or sick children, curled up on the couch to watch good and (many) bad movies. We've lost fishing lures, found lost socks and learned why you run after spraying the bee's nest. We've frozen at hockey rinks, dripped with sweat at baseball fields and we've seen smiles that make us remember why we do it all. Not a minute would we take back- even when times were crabby.

How fortunate are we:
- To have our health
- To have two *great* kids
- To have families who love us
- To have each other to share all of this with

Cheers to the past, the present and the future. Happy Anniversary, Matty!

First day of school

Awww! How they grow!

Aww!

Houston: we have a one-handed cowboy!

They say hockey players are a unique breed. They play hard and hit harder. Tyler's week at Shattuck was 'very cool' and he can't wait to go back next year. There were endless 5 for 5 dorm deals (5 pizzas for $5 each), midnight firedrills and squat holds. Add to it ice three times a day, dry land training and more. Despite all the hard work, he loved every minute of it.

That is..... until he broke his hand. Confirmed by a Doc, his fifth metacarpal was fractured during a check mid-game. We close this day with this: ride 'em cowboy... just not with your left hand! And, in tribute, today's photo features him using both hands pre-hockey camp.

Tyler goes to camp

Well, it's official. Tyler left for a week yesterday to attend Shattuck - St. Mary's hockey camp. Wow, what a day yesterday. Seriously EXHAUSTING! Snapshot of what happened:

- Wake up. Pack Tyler. Try to get on the road on time. Detour to sharpen skates.
- Shattuck: dorm move in at 3 (did I mention THIRD FLOOR, no elevators?- why’d we bring so much STUFF!?). Make bed, unpack clothes, point out where toothbrush is.. etc. Air conditioning is sure a luxury.
- 3:30: Walk the campus through main building (which Jackson said ‘Wow, Hogwartz (Harry Potter)… cool!). What he really meant to say was: 'the architecture is very cool here.' ;-)
- 3:45: Make it to registration table. Matt drove the car from the dorm over to registration, Jackson’s melting because it's 95 degrees and I have no clue where Tyler went. Must be comfortable here!
- 4:00: 5 station registration complete: initial check in, camp bank check in, t-shirt check in, jersey check in and locker check
- 4:20: Locker room check – all equipment stays there for the week (thank God… they’ll be breathing semi-clean air at night).
- 4: 40: Everything SEEMS to be in place. Parents depart for a nice little dinner in Fairbo. Boys are due to go to dinner at 5 in the dining hall.
- 5:00: We go enjoy a nice walleye, steak, pasta kind of place in Fairbault.
- 6:40: Head back to Shattuck to watch ice time. Ice time is a ‘scrimmage’ but is actually evaluations. Kids just don’t know it.
- 7:15: Kids hit the ice. No way.... Matt let Tyler purchase BABY BLUE LACES?!?!?!? Group seems a little slow and Tyler has a SIGNIFICANT amount of height on most kids out there. It looks a little like the Wizard of Oz. They’re all 94 birth years... scrimmage goes fine.
- 7:45: Kids are clearing the ice but Tyler and his room mates are held back. In trouble already? Oh no!
- 7:48: Looks like they’re skating another ½ hour… wait. That’s because they were MOVED up a group and will be skating with bantams all week. The camp guy informs us that we are not only moving up a group… now we need to go pack their belongings and head to a dorm across campus. Oh my. I look back toward the ice and OH MY LORD. The kids are going to die. Unlike the last group, this is FLYING hockey and several kids are immediately checked into next week. Our boys make it through but we know this ain’t gonna be a pretty week.
- 8:15: Pack up dorm. THIRD FLOOR *ugh*. Enough said.
- 9:00: Get to new dorm. Only two beds. RA goes in search of another. Tyler gets lucky as the third bed had to be hauled from professor’s quarters and it’s a PILLOW TOP. YAY.
- 9:30: Unpacking is complete, boys have arrived back at the room to find it all unpacked and ready to go. We hug.. and head out for the night. No call from Tyler to say good night. They had a dorm meeting at 10 PM.
- 10:20 PM: Arrive home and fall into bed. Muscles are sore and I pray this week is good for Ty. He has 7 days of intensive ice, weight training and classroom work. If he still likes hockey after this week, it’ll be ALL GOOD.

More to come as the week progresses!

Stay tuned...

Lake photos and details to come!

Bad, bad Blogger!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bloggers are supposed to be timely, entries plentiful, yeah yeah. :-)

Ok, so we took some time off to finish up the hockey season and headed into baseball. Tyler's favorite positions this season included catch, first and pitch. As July rolls to an end, the season is nearly complete... which indicates we're back into (drum roll please) hockey! Ok- just camps and clinics so far.

On a note with more variety, we just returned from our week long vacation to the lake. More to come on that shortly!

Our little communicator.

What can I say? I LOVE that Jackson can write and draw.

This is what he prepared for us today:

THE HIT

They say there are moments in hockey that stop your heart.. and we had one of them this weekend. Ty played a tough-n-rumble team (they were very good) and Ty took a horrible hit in the corner. It was actually a sort-of clean hit, although the kid led with an elbow and fist.

The pictures show the action... but what they don't show is him laying on the ice for what seemed like FOREVER. I had to practice 'good hockey mom' and not run down to the ice..... thankfully he only got the wind knocked out of him pretty good.... and thankfully he was fine.

So, back to what I originally said: I like it better when he's the hitter, not the hit!! By the way - they took 4th out of 16 teams. Not bad!!

Happy Holidays!

Tis the season to be jolly. We're feeling sort of jolly at our house but need to get gifts wrapped up! We're working on it slowly but surely. All is well and I wanted to do a quick post to say Merry Christmas. More to come later.