SO OVERDUE

I was informed my a loving cousin that I needed to update my blog and so sure enough I realized I have not updated it in 9 months. Proof that time does go by fast. I will give some highlights from the past 9 months if I can remember them. Then what I am going to try to do is update once a month.

So I ended last with Wylie and Kasey getting ready to start school. I am laughing out loud right because I just counted for Wylie today and there are only 24 days of school left.

September: Wylie started K and did great on his first day. He still would prefer to stay home then go to school though. He loves his friends, recess, gym and "second recess." Kasey well she is thriving in her K Prep class. She is the youngest in her class by almost a year and is doing so well. She will be going to Kindergarten in the fall. Her favorite things are art and writing!

October: Gee whiz I can barely remember October. Halloween is in October, let me think back as to what they were this year. . . . still thinking . . Wylie was a soldier, Kasey was a cat again and Tori well she would not partake and stayed home to help pass out candy. Although she would not go near the door because as she would say, "that scare me!" I got to go to Nashville with one of my dearest friends who lives in Colorado. We had a great, great time.

November: Thanksgiving happened!! We decorated the house for Christmas, the kids love this day!

December: We hosted our first Sieburg family Christmas party. We had a great turnout and a great time. Hoping to do it again next December. Kids LOVED the holiday excitement. Wylie sort of sat near Santa mostly to ensure that he got his list. Kasey stayed her distance and asked for 100 seahorses. Poor Santa, that is a tough one! Tori, well she looked from far far away and just kept saying "Santa picking his nose?" She must have seen something we didn't see. My parents stayed over night xmas eve due to bad weather and it was so much fun. We think we just started a new tradition. That way they can watch the excitement of the kids in the morning.

January: 2010 is here. Wylie turned 6!! We (mostly I) threw him a big party. He had 22 of his little 5/6 year old friends over to our house to celebrate HIS day. It was a huge success and so much fun. Wylie went to the batting cages for the first time and no kidding hit 40mph baseballs. It was crazy! We did a couple state park day trips with the kids to hike, sled and enjoy the winter weather. Tori got really sick toward the end of the month and was actually hospitalized for 5 nights. She had double pneumonia and RSV.

February/March: The countdown began for my own personal events: BON JOVI concerts. I went to two shows in March, one in Fargo and the other one in Detroit. They were so much fun and I got to spend some quality time with some good friends and see JBJ.

April: Went to two more JBJ shows. Kasey accompanied me to one of these concerts. It was her very first concert and she got to see JBJ. It was so much fun. I made tshirts for us to wear, she made us matching bracelets and necklaces. She was super excited and had a great time, minus the little nap she took in the middle of the show. She woke up in time for Livin' on a Prayer, her favorite song. She insists she only missed one song, too cute!

*Wylie has his first loose tooth

"If I get married on the beach, I might forget to get married because I will be too busy playing in the sand." --Kasey's quote when I was telling her she should get married on the beach someday like her Mom and dad.

New School New goals

So I have not updated this blog for far to long and apologize for those of you who check it. I get lazy with updating it because most of the people who would check in on them are on FB and get to see pictures of what we have been up to. However, I remembered the main reason why I started this blog, for my kids someday. So it is almost the start of the school year so I am going to try to update this again once a month! For those of you who do check this feel free to send me reminders if you do not see anything by the end of September.

The summer went by far to quickly and I can not even believe this is the week school starts. Kasey is starting her Kindergarten Prep class and Wylie starts at EP Rock in Kindergarten (full days). I thought I was ok with the whole thing but as the day gets closer I am realizing I am not handling it overly well. I am not ready to send him out to the big world of "elementry school." Both kids seem excited for the start of the year as I think they are getting bored at home.

We had a great summer and did lots of fun things. Wylie played soccer and really enjoyed it. He will be playing again this fall. He absolutely loves baseball and playing kickball. He is a true Twins fan and watches the entire game, if allowed he watches everygame. Jacques has taken him to two games so far and another one next week. They both enjoy that time together! Kasey is growing into such a unique individual. She turned 4 and just embraced it and thinks she is such a big girl now. She has gotten into playing dress up too lately. Tori, well what is there to say about Tori. If you have not spent time with her it is hard for you to really know her. She is the spark of our family and truly makes us laugh everyday. She is going through a phase where nearly everything "scares her" and she will tell you. "That scare me, " is something I hear dozens of times a day. Her very first sentence was, "Kasey I am talking to you!" I think that is really cute!

We made it to the beach a handful of times, numerous play ground (mom is done with play grounds), the MN zoo 3 or4 times, and out camping a few times. We also had the Sieburg family reunion in Brimley, Mi in July. We have this every three years and it is always so fun to see everyone. Kids did great during the 11 hour car ride, only stopping two times on the way up. They were great the week we were there and the ride home again. It got both Jacques and my brain cranking as where we can road trip next . . . a possibility is Fort Meyers, FL this spring for the Twins Spring Training and also a visit to the ocean . . . we will see if we are that brave!

Ok wish us luck as we start this new chapter this week. Hoping Wylie stays strong and confident and enjoys his first day of Kindergarten.

OH boy . . .

I have been reminded by many that I have not updated our blog in months so here goes. Although there are many days that I just can't wait 'til 8pm (bed time) and swear the day is crawling by I am not sure where the past two and a half months have gone. Here is what we have been up to:
SEPTEMBER

• Wylie started Kindergarten Prep Monday through Fridays for three hours. I think he really enjoys all the activities that they do, he thrives on structure and keeping busy. Thank goodness for my "peek at the week" given to us by his wonderful teacher so I know he is doing something on a daily basis because when I pick him up everyday I always ask him, "Wylie, How was your day& What did you do today?" Wylie responds like a typical teenager, "Good and Nothing!"
  

• I took Wylie and Kasey to Chicago for three nights. We had a great time and kept very busy while we were there. In one day we all (me, Wylie, Kasey, Ella and Jess) took the train, rode the city bus and took a water taxi. In between all the transportation excitement we went to the Shedd Aquarium, had lunch and went to the Children's Museum. At the end of the nine hour day spent downtown Chicago as we walk in the door Wylie asked "what are we going to do fun today?" That was our cue to open our bottle of wine.
  

• We went to Sever's Corn Maze with my close friend and her family. It is a fall festival full of kid friendly activities. They have a petting zoo with exotic animals; kangeroos, ostrich's, a zedonk ( yep half donkey, half zebra), monkey's and many more. I learned I do NOT like ostrich's as they would eat you if they could, they are just mean mean birds (they are a bird, right?) The kids enjoyed a corn pit to jump in, listened to music, took a hay ride and did the kid's hay bale maze. It was a great family event we spend with wonderful friends.

• Jacques' youngest sister, Greta got married. . .
  

• I got to get out with the girls and see one of my favorite bands, LoCash Cowboys. I drank too much, danced too much, and it took me a good two days before I was back to myself. It was truly one of the most fun nights I have had though in a while. So much so that you will see in October, I did it again only back to back nights . . . OCTOBER:

• Kasey was asked to be a "friend" at her friend's dance class. So we dressed Kasey up and went to dance. She was so excited to go and even to see her friend but then when class started she froze and sat on my lap and refused to participate. So little Miss Tori stole the show and joined in. It was one of the cutest things I have seen in a while. She loves music and is not at shy, as long as you don't try to pick her up. Kasey below in the pink. Tori is in the blue stripes.

• We did some more fall festival, picked apples, more hay rides more fun. The kids really loved picking apples, I think Wylie must have picked 20 or more and wanted ALL of them. They ate their first hotdog on a bun and realized Mom was not lying when I said it was better to eat it on the bun than plain.Tori fell asleep for the first time in the car since she was a little baby which is darn near a miracle and has not happened since which is just not right when you read what we did the following weekend in October.

• I decided it was finally time to take Tori up to see my 97 year old Grandma for the first time. So my Mom and I drove up with all three kids ( 6 hours one way) and drove back home after a short 3 hour visit with my Grandma. You guessed it, Miss Tori did NOT sleep one minute in the 12 hours we were in the car. She is a stubborn little thing, which worries me slightly because I thought Kasey was stubborn but I think Tori might have her beat. I am in trouble in my years to come. I don't know where they get that stubborness . ..My Grandma looked great and it made her so happy to get to see all the kids and to finally meet Tori after 15 months. My kids amazed me yet again by being so great in the car ALL day, they just continue surprise me and remind me that they are such well behaved, nice little kids. Remind me of that next time we talk if I am complaining about my day . .

• I had two nights out with the girls to listen and watch LoCash again. It was a fun time, again danced a lot, drank a lot and had a good ol' time. No need for any drunken pictures, you haven't seen my Halloween update yet.
  

• So Halloween ended the month of October wonderfully. Jess and Ella joined us for a few days to hang out and trick or treat. Ella wasn't sure of the whole thing but we did manage to get one picture of her as a pink care bear before she took off her costume and refuse to put it back on. Kasey was a cat (again), Wylie was a nascar driver (#88 Earnhardt) and Tori well she was nothing, but a cute baby sporting some cute halloween clothes. The weather was great, the kids in the neighborhood were crazy, must have had over 100 trick or treaters and Kasey is still talking about those scary faces. "Those are just masks," she tells me as if she is trying to convince herself of just that. We also had our good friends over to enjoy the night.
• Oh yeah and I can't forget our Halloween party that me, Jess and Sarah attended at a golf club and listened and danced to the Dweebs all night. It was a fun night and we are so fortunate that Jacques caught our "after bar" all on video as we stumbled through the front door and feel in the hallway (don't worry we had a sober cab). I have since deleted the video after Jess and myself both watched it and laughed, I watched it again a few days ago and realized there is no need for anyone to ever see that video. Plus, no need to give Jacques anything to black mail me with. Fun times! ( sorry Jess for the pictures) NOVEMBER:
• That brings us almost up to date minus all the funny things my kids have said that I have been too busy too write down and now which can't remember. Shoot. Oh well, for those of you that know and see my kids often you have probably heard many funny things so I don't feel so bad. Tori has started talking and saying a few words, mama, da, ball, baby and figuring out how to get what she wants and if you don't listen she will grab your finger and walk with you to show you what it is she "needs" so badly. She is truly a character and is nothing like I remember the other two being. I can't wait to see her turn into a little girl. I do believe we are in trouble for when she does start talking, between her and Kasey we might not ever get a break from listening to them. The car used to be my quiet time and now it is non stop talk from Kasey about anything she can think of and in depth. Oh, and if I say "Kasey, Mom is talking to Dad" or something like that she says all snappy "but Mommm, I just talking to you." No kidding she talks NON STOP.
  
• My brother, Dan was in town with Ella for five days so that was nice to get some more time with Ella. Our kids just love spending time with her. They miss her a lot when she is gone. Asking already how many days until we can see Ella Bella again.
  
• We got our first family picture in years. . . .
• Things we are looking forward to: My closest friend is having her third baby tomorrow, she will then have three kids under 3 1/2 years old (just like me 16 months ago). I am looking forward to helping her out as I know how hard the first months can be.
  
• Thanksgiving we are having my parents, Dave and his girlfriend over before nap time then heading to Jacques' sister's house here in Hudson for after naps for some more food.
  
• Jacques and I are heading to Lutsen in December for our 6th wedding anniversary. We are looking forward to the two days away. I am also going to finally use those brand new skiis I bought 7 years ago (had them checked today and we are set to go). Wish me luck! and then CHRISTMAS WITH THE FAMILY! I love the holidays and I am so excited to see the kids excitement this year! The kids make the Holidays! Happy Thanksgiving to you all, sorry for the long blog. I will try to do better in the months ahead.
  

Where has the time gone . . .

I am sorry for not updating our blog recently. I still do not have time to do a good entry, post pictures and give you all the full update. So here is the quick version.

Since Kasey and Tori's birthdays the time has flown right on by. In August we finished up softball season, Jacques had a couple "away" weekend tournaments, leaving myself at home with the three rascals for the weekends, we took a family trip (minus Tori) to Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, Wiscsonsin for 4 days. It was beautiful, pictures will hopefully be added soon as I did send some out via email after we got back. And Wylie has also started preschool. He goes 4 mornings a week for three hours. He did great the first day and enjoys it. His teacher sent home a post card saying " Wylie has had a great first week of school. It is exciting to see him explore and learn already. He has a gentle side and seems to really grasp right from wrong. It will be fun to see him learn and grown." - Miss Nikki ( his teacher)

Kasey enjoys her time with me since Tori naps during some of Wylie's school time. It is a good thing for all of us. She is really into painting, her care bears, the curious george movie, riding her big bike, and picking flowers.

Tori well see is a handful, mostly because she is just the third child and the two others kids still need a lot of help doing stuff too. She is walking now all over, so that is an adjustment. She does not like to be held and has a mind of her own. She is very independent. We don't want to wish the days away but we are still waiting for her to get "a little bigger" so we can start doing more stuff as a family.

We are all hoping winter does not come to quickly and when it does we hope it goes by even faster. I don't know how I make it each winter. This one will be better than last considering I could not leave the house for 7 months last year but it still isn't great. Next summer we will be able to see the light at the end of our baby stage years- with no hard feelings. :)

Happy Fall to you all!

Kasey's Pink Birthday Party

In Kasey's mind she is already three because we just had her "pink birthday party." When asked months back what kind of party she wanted she said, " a pink one." She wanted pink decorations, pink cake, pink party hats (which I forgot to buy and I am still hearing about) and specifically everyone who comes to her party to wear pink. As you will see below most everyone were good sports about it and wore pink (even Uncle Dan which was her toughest sell).
The party went really well considering we did after naps but kids were too excited to ever fall asleep so they were extra tired. We were also coming off three days playing with cousin Ella and all that excitement of her staying at our house. We got to go to the park and even the beach. So now that Kasey is three she doesn't get sippy cups anymore, she has to go in the bathroom and go by herself (unless she needs help with #2) she has been potty trained for over 6 months now, and get her own water out of the fridge if she is thirsty. A few little things but in the mind of a three year it is too much:)

Some facts about Kasey:

Size clothes- 4T

Favorite color- obviously PINK

Favorite food- she just told me Kiwi

Favorite toy- her calico critters house and mouse family and her pet shops and pets

Favorite tv show/movie- Still loves Dora

Funny Quote this month- " Mom how come you put those on everyday (meaning boobs)?" so I sort of explain that girls have them and we can talk more about them when she is older. Kasey then says, "okay when i am four you can tell me all about it, but i want pink ones -ok?."

To my daughter, Tori one day . .(pictures below)

The Joy of my life


It all started on a hot summer day
camping together hours away

When my water broke out of the blue
Not even in my last trimester this could not be true

I head to the hospital with thoughts running wild
This is way to early for my precious child

Transferred to a hospital with special care
While all I could think was this was not fair

They tell you the odds of what can go wrong
And I have to sit there and try to be strong

Everyone is saying it will be alright
But the truth is my daughter is in for fight

A fight she could win a fight she could lose
An outcome that I could not chose

Eight days later the day had come
To finally meet my little one

The first precious moments I had to miss
I was so thankful I got a quick kiss

Not even three pounds you looked so small
I hardly saw a baby at all

The tubes and wires were a frightening sight
I just hoped and prayed you’d be alright

I learned rather fast that there were highs and lows
The emotions I had nobody knows

I came and I held you each and every day
Embracing it so and wishing I could stay

And then came something I could barely believe
You were breathing on your own and ready to leave

I anxiously waited and then answered the phone
Yes, it was true, you could finally come home

We were so fortunate you got stronger every day
And joined us at home after your 65 day stay

We knew the challenges were not over as you face your fist year
But you beat the odds before there is nothing we fear

The first year now behind us it is now in our past
The memories and emotions will forever last

You were a fighter a trooper right from the start
For someone so small you sure captured my heart



- your mom

What a difference a year makes . . .

A year ago today was the scariest day in my life. Miss Tori Joy was brought into the world weighing less that three pounds. Today, she is still as fiesty as ever and is up to the 20 lb. mark. It was an emotional day for me specifically. Here are a few pictures from her 1st birthday.