Ahhh...a quiet Sunday Morning

After an exciting and busy day yesterday (we went to a retirement party, worked in the yard, and played all day) the kiddos went to bed without complaint last night and are still sleeping! Of course, they are sleeping in on a day when I couldn't sleep in to save my life, ha ha.

Hockey season is *officially* over for Hawks fans. Gabe is still young enough, thankfully, that he roots for anyone and everyone playing, even the Red Wings, much to his fathers' dismay. I've reminded Geo more than once that Gabe comes by his Red Wings enthusiasm honestly; after all I was raised in Michigan and my mom is one of the biggest Wing's fans that I know. He he. Now we have a countdown to opening day for the Bears; it's rough being a Packers fan in this house...

SarahAnne has always been a bit of a nudist, which is fine-in the house-however this weekend she decided that she would strip off all of her clothes in the middle of the sidewalk and prance around (amazing how quick that little girl is!) For the last three days she's been saying to me "Naked outside now momma? Naked outside FUN!" Fun indeed, Bitsy, however not so much for your parents, specifically your father :)

Hope you all have a wonderful week-I can't believe it's already going to be June tomorrow! Crazy! This year has gone by *so* quickly!

Casting

We went this morning to have Gabe casted. Turns out he only needed one cast, not two. His left leg flexed *much* easier this time and was within the normal range of flex, so there was no need for a second cast, which we are thankful for BUT Mr. Gabriel Alexander was NOT pleased about. He kept saying to his therapist, "but I'm supposed to have two! put another on please" goofy boy.

As usual, he's a bit down and will probably continue to be a bit down until the cast comes off. His mood is always a bit cloudy when he has to wear a cast, but he's a strong kiddo, I have no doubt he'll bounce back like he always does.

Thank you for your good thoughts and prayers, we appreciate them!!

A Little Peace and Quiet

I never realized how noisy the house was all day long until I started sending everyone to bed (including Geo) and staying up by myself for a bit of "quiet" time of my own. Other than the tapping of the keyboard, the rain on the roof, and the quiet music coming from the kitchen it is silent in here. Thank God. My goodness, it is SO busy and noisy all day long with the kiddos and all that they are doing. We try and limit the tv, but even still, there is almost a buzzing sound that fills the house when they are awake and active. It's so nice to have only noise that *I* want to hear happening right now. Ha ha :)

Living in the middle of nowhere has been at times, a blessing and a curse. There really is NOTHING to do out here and since we share a car, more often than not the kiddos and I are left to our own devices. We go across the street quite often to play at the playground, we play in the yard, but really there is nothing to do here. In St. Charles we were within walking distance to many different parks and the Fox River which had all sorts of things to see and do. Wednesdays we go to story hour at the library which is good for a half an hour's entertainment and a bit of socialization for momma as well, but it's hard being the new kid in town; all the other mommas know each other, their children all know one another, so Gabe, Bits, and I just sit in the fringes, occasionally talking to people.

The differences in Geo and my parenting is obvious when we head to the library play group-hell, even with friends and family it's obvious we don't "main stream" parent. I wear my dirty footed hippie label with pride but it can be a bit isolating at times. Being the parent who won't let their child play with toy guns or suck down Kool aid with chips and cookies constantly makes us stick out like sore thumbs at times, never mind when I would wear SarahAnne OR *God forbid* nurse her *gasp*

Oh well...summer is right around the corner, and surely there will be more for us to do, right? There *has* to be ;)

Ah Memorial Day Weekend

It's been a rather low key weekend for all of us; Memorial Day is like Christmas for a home improvement store-Geo worked an 11 hour shift on Saturday but was thankfully off yesterday. We ended up grilling with his dad and step mom and we all had a blast. We grilled steak, brats, and dogs; had potato salad, beans, guac, salsa, and chips. We watched the Black Hawks get the tar beat out of them and spent the better part of the day outside.

Today Geo is at work again, which is fine since it's a drizzly overcast day out.

We're thankful today (and everyday) for those soldiers who've given the ultimate sacrifice for our country; their lives. To all of the service people and their families, the Witkowski family thanks you for your faithful service. God bless you and God bless the US!

It's that time again...

Casting Time! Gabe is going in next week to get DOUBLE casts. Woo hoo. Fun times. He is growing so rapidly that his poor tendons cannot keep up with his bones. This time even his left leg has lost some motion, so we're casting as a precautionary measure. He's only going to be in the casts over the weekend; he'll have them put on May 28th and have them off on June 1st. After the casting comes the *real* fun. Botox injections. Gabe's physical therapist thinks that he could benefit from botox injections; they will relax his muscle, give him more range of motion, and he'll be more comfortable (aside from the initial injection) I'm honestly not looking forward to the shots themselves, but do want him to be more comfortable. The botox will allow Gabe's braces to stretch his tendons properly without having to be casted again, so it's a good thing, just a bit scary (and a lot expensive!)

Other than that, we've been enjoying the gorgeous weather as of late and this weekend Geo is building us a raised bed garden. The kiddos and I are in charge of planting (tomatoes, peppers, beans, garlic, and onions) and he's in charge of actually building it. I think he's got the easy part ;) We finally got the rest of our flowers planted and just have sunflowers to plant and we'll be done. We have Lily of the Valley along one side of the house and wow does it smell gorgeous. When I hang laundry all I can smell is Lily of the Valley, what a yummy smell. Too bad it doesn't make the laundry smell like it ;)

Hope you're all doing well, I'll post some picture of the raised bed this weekend!

Our weekend

*ahhh*

After a lovely weekend, we are back online. Will be posting pictures in a bit of the wonderful Witkowski spring fling weekend :)

Little Bits

SarahAnne continually brings happiness to our lives...we're so lucky to have her as part of our family.

Currently the things that amuse us most about her:
*She sings, constantly, and most often from the West Side Story soundtrack; is there anything cuter than a two year old singing "tonight tonight"? I think not

*She wiggles her eyebrows, especially when trying to get out of trouble

*She furrows her brows, scrunches her nose, and says "hmmm" when concentrating on something

*She has the most sing songy little girl voice.

*She's momma's biggest imitator. When I wash dishes, she has her step stool and is right next to me, if I'm wearing an apron in the kitchen SHE'S wearing an apron in the kitchen, and my personal favorite...when we go grocery shopping, just the two of us, she holds the list and pen and "tells" me what's on the list and crosses things off as we put them in the cart.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a laundry date with a perky two year old :)

*contented sigh*

A picture taken after an absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous Illinois spring day. After days and days of rain, we were finally able to get out and do somethings today. We took the kiddos to a baseball game, did some outside work, and are now settling in to watch "Pirates of the Caribbean" We've got a busy week ahead of us, Grandma and grandpa the great are coming in from New York, Aunt Katie, Uncle JD, and Aubrey are coming in from Michigan and on Saturday we're having the Witkowski's spring fling :)

Have a great week everyone!