Big things ahead...

After the high chair was used as a ladder to reach the counter five times in less than in hour it went out the door.  Also gone is the crib and all the baby clothes.  I am excited for what is to come but missing my little baby!  Reagan has been doing very well at his new daycare and is getting ready to start preschool - at age 2!  After trying to eat the finger paint today he did manage to make his first masterpiece for mom.  

Madison is anxiously counting down the days to first grade.  I am so excited for her and for all the new experiences ahead.  Of course we first have to tackle school shopping which used to be one of my favorite times of year.  Now that I am on the paying end, the excitement had diminished a little!

West Fargo High School Class of 1998

10 years.  Wow.  I think what is so unbelievable is how much changes in most people's lives between the day they get their high school diploma and the day they celebrate their 10 year reunion.  College, career, marriage, children, new home, big step from the trials of high school.  

I loved high school.  I enjoyed college but not as much as high school.  It was great to see everyone.  Ok, so not everyone because only about 1/3 of our classmates participated in the festivities.  We tried to plan the events to please everyone but many people just didn't want to our couldn't make it.  

Friday night we had a get together at the Hub.  Now, I don't like going to bars but I must say that thanks to the smoking ban, it was quite tolerable and actually a lot of fun.  Saturday morning there was a golf tournament and also a picnic at the Red River Zoo.  Unfortunately, Reagan didn't want to follow my command at the zoo so we were only there for about 30 minutes.  Saturday night was the finale with a social/dance at the Speedway Event Center.  It all turned out well but it wasn't without it's headaches along the way.  The event coordinator there is awful but the owner made things right.  It was a lot of fun seeing what our classmates were up to and what everyone looked like 10 years later.  

I am very proud of Ben.  He didn't really want to go (definitely not as much as I did) but ended up having a good time.  We were out past 1:00 am both evenings and it only proves to me that it was way to late, especially 2 days in a row.  We were both pretty tired this morning.  

All in all, good time.  Looking forward to the next one.  

"Not In?"

So, I am making dinner this evening.  I am not particularly hungry so I made chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes and green beans for the kids.  Madison looks at the stove and tells me, "I'm not really in to what we are having."  

Where in the world did that come from?  

On another note, Reagan has been hacking up a lung for about the past eight days.  His nose is not running and it doesn't seem like he has a cold.  When we arrived at daycare yesterday they were pouring whole milk into his cup.  Silly mom, I didn't even think to tell them he should not have whole milk after our experience a few months ago.  He's now back on 2% and I am praying for improvement.  He did sleep better last night than he has the past week so (cross my fingers and toes) I think it might be helping. 

Madison starts first grade on August 25 so one month and 2 days left of paying double daycare!  Woo hoo!!!!!!!! 

Ben and I have our 10 year class reunion this weekend, unbelievable.  We met during our junior year in high school and started dating on June 1, 1997.  It seems like a long time ago but again it seems like just yesterday.  

Well, time to go pick up green beans off the floor and mashed potatoes off the chair.  

No news is good news

It's been a pretty quiet week in the Koppelman household.  I was under the weather on Monday and the kids were on Wednesday.  Reagan still has a pretty nasty cough and has developed an ear infection.  The past few we have been able to treat without antibiotics, however with his cough and low-grade fever, we went to the clinic for this one.  We'll see how it goes over the next few days.  He fell asleep on my lap tonight at 7:30 so I am hoping he'll get some much needed rest.

We had a fun Friday evening with my dad and step-mom.  We went to dinner at the Golden Corral and then caught the opening night of the Mama Mia movie.  It was awesome.  Not as good as the live show in Vegas but it was the next best thing.  

Here's hoping for another uneventful week!  It's hard to believe that school starts in about a month!  School shopping here we come.  

Movie Stars

Ok, so there were no movie cameras and no director to be found but Ben, the kids and I thought it would be fun to start the sequel to the movie Twister.  We headed out for Wisconsin as planned and heard there were some storms in lake country but didn't think too much about it.  We got to St. Cloud and stopped for dinner.  While there we heard a woman say the storm was supposed to hit St. Cloud in about 20 minutes.  We decided we better get our butts out of there and fast.  We hit rain just outside of St. Cloud and played chicken with the storm all the way to Cambridge.  

While in Cambridge we had to stop for a messy diaper and lost valuable time there.  I don't remember exactly what time it was but it was black and it shouldn't have been.  We hightailed it out of Cambridge and stayed ahead of the storm into Wisconsin.  However once inside Wisconsin, we head up a BIG hill and take a left.  Well that left took us directly into the storm.  The skies honestly looked like what you see on the movie Twister.  

There are three towns on the highway in Wisconsin along a 20 mile stretch before you get to our destination.  First there is Centuria.  When we drove into town, we heard the tornado sirens blaring but it is a very very small town and we know noone there.  We decided to keep going to the next town, Milltown.  When we got to Milltown, we heard sirens, again.  We stopped at a gas station and the clerk told us that we were welcome to head into the cooler because there was a funnel cloud spotted 7 miles away.  In that time we had been talking to my grandma and got directions to someone's house in that town.  We set out looking for the house and couldn't see the side of the road.  

It was at the point that I closed my eyes and just prayed that we would be safe.  When I opened my eyes, to our left was the lights beaming out of the fire hall garage doors with people looking out the windows.  Wow, what a relief.  We pulled into the lot, ripped the kids out of their car seats and ran inside through the pouring rain.  We were all scared, even Ben.  But then I realized there was no better place to be than where we were.  If something terrible were going to happen, what better place than with the firemen and first responders.  And the kids got cool little fireman hats.  

At the fire hall they had a large tv going with the weather reports.  There was a funnel cloud only a few miles away and the storm was moving at (get this) 73 mph.  No wonder we couldn't out run it once we turned up the hill.  I have never been so scared to be in a vehicle in my entire life.  We are so thankful that the fire station was there.  I don't know what we would have done as we couldn't see enough to find the house we were looking for.  

After about 30 minutes of watching the storm pass we were able to finish our trip and arrived at grandmas.  What a relief.  And in other good news, the kids did very well with the cats and dogs.  Reagan loved the dogs but fortunately he has nothing more than a little cough.  

Well that's all for now.  I felt a little under the weather today so I'm going to try and convince the kids it's cool just to relax and watch tv with mom.  Ben is at his first school board meeting!!!

New words

Well, Mr. Reagan's vocabulary is ever increasing.  Some of the new words have been thank you, ice cream, cookie, thank you, eew stinky, please mama, drink and now open.  It's fun to listen to him.  He bumped his head on the cement during his second day at his new daycare but other than that seems to really like it.  The best part...they get him to take a nap everyday which was a challenge for me.  Madison likes it there as well although she tells me she gets bored.  Once she makes new friends, I am sure she'll be fine.  And in 7 weeks first grade starts so she'll have plenty to keep her busy then.  

Madison has also taught Reagan how she feels is the proper way to eat an Oreo.  She twists it apart, eats all of the cream filling and then eats the cookies, one half at a time.  Reagan does it the exact same way only Madison makes each half of the cookie a few bites whereas Reagan stuffs the entire half into his little mouth and then smiles at you with a mouthful of what looks like dirt.  It's pretty cute.  Unhealthy?  No, Oreos are a food group in my family.  My favorite are the new golden oreos.  

July 10, 2008 - the last "month" birthday as I have been told it's customary to count by year after a child turns two.  So happy 23 months Reagan as after next month you'll just be 2 for 12 months.  12 months of terrible two...bring it on.  After watching Baby Borrowers last night where the teenagers had to care for toddlers, I realized that Reagan isn't much different than 90% of other toddler boys in the world.  I seriously think that any teenager who thinks it would be "cool" to be a parent should have to experience a baby in the NICU and also a toddler boy!

In any event, we are headed to Wisconsin to visit grandparents for the weekend and I have all my fingers and toes crossed.  For about the past year every time we have traveled, one or both of the kids has gotten sick.  A lot of it was allergy induced so we'll see how this trip goes!!!

Clean your room!

The three words my daughter may hear from me those most (other than I Love You) are CLEAN YOUR ROOM!  Madison loves to do five things at once which generally lends itself to a messy bedroom after a day or to.  Sometimes we can't even get her into her bed if she falls asleep elsewhere.  So, she was working on her room and I decided to tackle our bedroom.  Our bedroom has a rather messy history at times.  We moved in and it was great.  Then I was put on bedrest and everything I needed was put bedside, filing cabinets, desk, computer, you name it.  I have had it clean for some time but then stuff kept finding it's way back in.  So I am proud to report that my room is clean.  Allowance please?  The only thing left is for Ben to hang the tv on the wall.  

I have been begging him for decorating help and I am going to persist until it happens.  I love our house but it needs professional help.  I am not a decorator.  Sure I can hang some pictures on walls and put pillows on couches but that doesn't mean my  house looks great.  After watching some of the great homes on HGTV and what it takes to get money out of your home, I've decided it's time to call in reinforcements.

Tomorrow Madison and Reagan start at their new daycare.  I am excited but a little apprehensive.   I have a few concerns I need to address with the director and owner but I have heard good reports so I am praying all goes well and the kids are happy.  

Happy Independence Day!

Not just a long holiday from work.  Not just a reason to relax at a lake and stuff yourself silly with grilled treats.  Not just the one time of year some people can shoot off fireworks.  It's the time we remember how great it is to live where we do, how we do and as free as we do.  To be thankful that we can go to school and work without worrying about the burdens other parts of the world face. 

So, I apologize for my lack of posts lately but there isn't much to report from the Koppelman camp.  School is over.  The election is over.  It's just been great relaxing and enjoying time with the kids, and Ben when he is home.  

Tonight was the first night that Reagan fell asleep in his new bed without one of us laying there or without him falling asleep in our bed first.  That is a terrible habit to break so I am trying to avoid it.  This morning Madison was in our bed by 2:00 am and Reagan joined us at 5:00 am.  He woke up ready for waffles (affles as he calls them) and there will be no cooking happening in this house before 7:00 am.  So he joined the three of us in a queen bed which means 2 on each pillow and sometimes 3 on one, generally mine.  When I woke up at 6:45, Reagan was laying half on top of his sister and half kicking his dad out of bed.  It was pretty cute.  There is something about our pillows that go with our Sleep Number bed that he loves.  

My goal for July is to start cooking something different than the same old crap I have been giving my family for the past many years.  I am now a Food Network junkie and my goal is to try at least one new recipe each week.  If it turns out well, I'll post the recipe and a picture.

Well, it's 11:00 pm and I am going to go pull Madison from playing American Idol on the XBox with her dad.