I don't believe it.  If you haven't read Click! yet, you might want to browse it for a preview of the insanity about to unfold.  The night in question was almost an identical set up.  Ann was going out for a night with adults for a little hiatus from the kids which she more than deserves and never does enough of.  I was all alone with the kids for the night.  No big deal of course.  However after reading Click! and the following story, you will be asking yourself why Ann ever leaves me alone with the kids.... [More]

Oh...about twenty-two years ago, I made a bet with my brother Tom that there was no way I was going to college.  At the time, he was 17-18 deciding which school to attend and I was 10-11 convinced school was for the birds.  I remember the conversation like it was yesterday with me desperately looking for a reason why on earth Tom would willingly go to college.  I was absolutely positive my Mom was forcing him to go, but he assured me he was going on his own choosing.  I still did not buy it and said without a doubt that I would never attend school after twelfth grade!  I was so confident, I wagered my entire savings with Tom...luckily I only had a dollar to my name at the time (that video arcade addiction was a killer).  Well, as you can all guess, I lost the bet, although I don't think I ever paid Tom his winnings (hopefully he's not reading this and demanding interest).

I was completely reminded of this story a couple nights ago because Josh and I had quite the round about discussion leaving him in an all out balling session.  I have to admit, I think it was mostly because of the fact he was way over tired and had had an extremely busy day.  But for those of you that know Josh, he is 100% into power tools, outdoor tools, lawn tools, etc.  I was laying in bed with him discussing how great 'our power tools' are and he was in the middle of making fun of Tom again about not being able to start a lawn mower way back when.... [More]

Whoa, we've got a couple of addicts on our hands.  I thought I loved movies (at least before we had children - now who has time??), but Josh and Audrey put me to shame.  Back in February, our house was decimated by the Flu.  Somehow I avoided it, but Audrey, Josh and Ann all got hit with it and were rendered useless for varying numbers of days.  It was definitely a tough couple of weeks, with puke stains all over everything.  I swear, just when you think a kid is getting over it, they want to eat something bright red (marinara) or in Audrey's case, black and purple (a birthday cake) and then they do it.  Just when you are complacent and not on your toes to run them to a bathroom, they launch puke from one end of the room to the other. We even had to go out to Target and buy a new Hoover vacuum to try and 'contain' the spreading stains.  And to this day, we'll hear Josh ask, "Can I play with the puke vacuum?" and if we answer no, "Can I play with the dirt vacuum?"  Think Hoover would like that categorization?  Puke Vacuums versus Dirt Vacuums.  All I know is that Josh better still like to vacuum in a couple years when we are 'making' him do it!

Anyway, the point being, for those two weeks of down time when someone caused Ann, Josh and Audrey to be 'pinned' at home, we let them watch movies because they literally couldn't move a muscle.  They just vegged on the couch waiting to throw up.  Well, after two, three, four movies a day during that period, we are now out of control.  Is there a "Watch To Many Movies Anonymous" group we can get these two into?  Not that we find time to watch TV, but I find it strange that they refuse to watch regular television (even cartoons).  They want feature length movies or nothing!  Audrey was easily sitting through an entire film with complete concentration at 20-24 months.  I am still trying to figure out if that is a good thing (meaning she's smart) or a bad thing (we are letting her watch TV in the first place).  I do say that I think it's fun to be able to take the kids to a theatre (they obviously love it) and not have to completely 'entertain' Josh and/or Audrey.... [More]

Harry Potter Birthday

So Josh has turned four and can't wait to turn five!  It was actually a great birthday.  For the Aney side, hands down the best present Josh got was his cousin Nick's hand me down Harry Potter blanket.  Every night I get a run down of everything on it when I cover Josh up.  It's almost as if he expects the blanket to magically change or something ;)  A huge thanks to Nick for that one - he thought of the present himself when he was told Josh was having a Harry Potter party with his friends.

So for Josh's first 'friend' birthday party, Uncle Tom was the hit of the party dusting off some of his old magic tricks to do a Harry Potter Magic Show.  Unfortunately, I discovered minutes before the show that my Camcorder was broken and I was relegated to trying to tape it on my regular digital camera.  However, the big problem was that the memory card kept filling up, so I'd run downstairs and copy it off quick and run back up and start recording.  So I missed a few tricks, but I missed the best one of all.... [More]

Flu Season at the Aney Household

Last month turned out to be quite a douse. We got the horrible stomach flu that lasted for a full week and then got toppled with up with really bad colds (fever, cough, earache, runny/stuffy noses). The whole ordeal lasted about 3 weeks straight. We were literally quarantined in our house the whole time. The stomach flu was so bad that we even went out and bought a Bissell – what a great investment!! I don’t know why we didn’t get one sooner. Grandpa and Grandma came for a surprise visit to help out which was greatly appreciated. And, it really cheered the kids up and distracted them from their flu ailments.

Happy Birthday to Audrey!

Audrey turned 2 a couple of weeks ago. Her birthday party was a fun-filled day. All of the Hennen Aunts and Uncles and Baby Isaac traveled down here for the event. Audrey had a Frosty the Snowman cake which she devoured. Audrey can practically sing the entire Frosty the Snowman song. She has been in LOVE with Frosty since about age 1. Joshua was a very good “Big Brother” for the event and graciously helped Audrey open all of her gifts. He kept reaffirming the fact that his birthday party was next. We had a bit of a scare on Audreys’ big day though with my sister, Mary, having appendicitis. She ended up staying in the hospital for almost three days. She was very very sick. It’s nice to have Mayo around, that’s for sure.

Valentine’s Day

We hosted preschool at our house this past week, so we got to have a Valentine’s Party. The kids made Thumbody Loves You Valentines, played with red and white play-doh (making pink with the two colors), exchanged Valentines, and made a real volcano. The Letter for the week was “V” and the shape was a “heart”.

Audrey’s Wearing Underwear!

I went away of a women’s retreat this past weekend and while I was away, Daddy got Audrey to wear “Big Girl” underwear. Yeah!! Guess I should get away more often. Audrey has been potty-trained for quite a while, but for some reason hated wearing underwear. Audrey has been fully trained and in underwear now for a week with zero accidents. So, I’m hoping we’re in the clear with diapers. Cross your fingers!

When is Spring going to get here?

Overall, we are anxiously awaiting for Spring to get here. The winter is getting long. However, Josh is always ready for more snow to come so he can go “snow-blowing.” Audrey doesn’t like the cold weather so much, but LOVES the “hot toco” (hot cocoa) after we come in from cold. We have drank A LOT of hot cocoa this winter you could say. I think this has been one of the snowiest winters in a long long time.