It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Let it Snow!
Let it Snow!

Let it Snow!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

How lovely are your stockings :)

Here are just a few recent pics. We usually have a big, fake tree, but this year we got a small, fake one. It is nice to have for the kids and we decorated it with shatterproof ornaments instead of glass. Caden did break a few last year.

We had a storm today so while Greg was at work, the kids, Dozer, and I decided to shovel the driveway. Well, I shoveled while the kids ran around. It was fun and cccooollllddd!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here was my contribution to our family Thanksgiving dinner. I love making fruit bouquets for family gatherings. This was my first time making it without melons because they are too expensive and out of season. The chocolate covered strawberries were a hit. I made a yummy fruit dip to go with it too. Excuse me for my messy kitchen. It was a crazy morning.

I hope you had a delicious Thanksgiving. As we think about this year, we could think everything that went wrong or what we struggled with. It is so much easier sometimes to concentrate on the bad. There is so much to be thankful for, even the small things. Pondering over the past year for me, here are a few things I am thankful for.

1. Exchanging our truck for our car. It has helped it out so much with the high gas prices and we love it even more that the prices have dropped so much. It hasn't been one year and we have put 20,000 miles on it. We drive it EVERYWHERE!

2. My children. From Caden finally getting potty-trained to him going to preschool and Lola feeding herself to walking on her own. They have grown up so much the past year!

3. Greg's job stability. Since we have been married we have lived in 5 homes and we just celebrated 5 years of marriage and lived in our house for the past 3 years. It was chaotic the first couple of years, but with the disastrous economy, we have been blessed with Greg's job stabilty, for both of his jobs.

4. My best friends. You know who you are. I have had shares of ups and downs and so have you. We have been through the past year full of long talks and laughs. I love you all!

5. My family. I am grateful for them to be alive. I have noticed that we all are aging and especially my parents, they aren't getting any younger. I am so happy they don't have to work as much and I get to talk to my mom whenever I want instead of appointed day and times. We need to go to Seattle soon!

Well that is a few things I am thankful for. I wish I could add that I am done with my Christmas shopping, but I just have a few more things, so not too bad.

Twilight Night!

So the night finally came. Twilight T-shirt...check! Twilight tickets for the 12:20 am showing Friday morning...check! Fun girlfriends to come with me...check! Purse full of card games to play in line...check! I don't think I forgot anything. Actually I did, a blanket and socks.



So the night started off with going out to dinner at Chili's. A place you just can't go wrong. Stef, Kerri, and I started off with caffeinated soda pop to help us get through the night and appetizers. The nachos and chips and salsa were delicious! After a lot of salty foods, we had to end it with their scrumptious molten chocolate cake. Dinner was full of laughs and casual flirting with our waiter :) Before we knew it, a couple of hours passed. We drove to the new theater by the mall and we had a hard time finding a parking lot and there were lines waiting outside for the movie. It was freezing. I had a hoodie, not even a good winter jacket and I was wearing flats with no socks. I was pretty cold. Luckily, there was a baby blanket in the car that Stef was kind enough to share with me. We were able to find our line and made a couple of friends in line, who ended up letting us borrow a blanket and bought us cocoa. It was great bonding time with fellow Twilighters. We weren't in line too long, it went by really fast. The movie started and there were too many squeals and giggles for me. I admit it, I did it occassionally, but what do you expect from a bunch of girls obsessed with Twilight at 1 in the morning. It gets a little crazy! I did like the movie, not loved it, but it was good. What do you really expect from a teenage love story that involves vampires and werewolves? It was a great night and so much fun. We even talked about doing it again. It was definitely worth going to bed at 330am!

Rakin and a Rollin

Newbie!

Here is our newest member of the family. This is Bria Jane. She is the fourth child for Amanda and Corey, who is my sister-in-law and her husband. Now they have 2 boys and 2 girls. How perfect (for them, we like our two). She was born last month and I got to meet her for the first time on Sunday. She sure is a cutie! Can't wait to see what personality she brings into our family pot!

Happy Birthday Greg!

What a great weekend to have a birthday! Greg is the big 2-8! I took him out on a date on Saturday to Chilis and shopping, while Grandpa and Grandma babysat. We had a family birthday party for Greg (28), Cole(6), and Capri(3) on Sunday. Monday was Greg's actual birthday, he got to come home early from work, we went shopping, and we went out for sushi. I would think Greg had a good weekend and birthday. You will have to ask him yourself, but I loved having him home all weekend. So, Happy Birthday Greg! We love you!

Halloween Fun!

We had a great Halloween. We got our costumes on in the morning and then we headed over to Greg's work for lunch. We brought monster toes which are pigs in a blanket with mustard for the toe nails. They were a great hit. Greg came home a little early from work and we had Pizza Hut for dinner and is was off to trick-or-treating. We went around half our neighborhood and back. A lot of people weren't home just because they were going at the same time. Greg dressed up as a wizard and I was a witch. I should've gotten Dozer a costume. Lola walked a little bit, but she was a little slower than the rest of the kids so Greg ended up holder her most of the time. Caden was so excited and he had to come to me after every house and show me his candy. It was so cute! Lola even got to say her " Tee too tee!" and she always said her thank you after people closed the door. We got home around 7pm and we left our bucket of candy on the doorstep so we wouldn't get bugged. I let the kids whatever candy they wanted and then it was off to bath and bed time. The kids were in bed by 8. No one came to our door and all the candy was gone. While the kids were in the bath I went through their candy and sorted it out. I just put whatever I didn't want to keep in the bucket outside and that was all gone too. We probably just have a ziploc full of candy. Ladies and gents, let me introduce to you Buzz Lightyear and our Angelic Fairy!

To Infinity and Beyond!

Life... so far

Dozer is 8 weights so in dog years he is like 2 or so. So what would you do if a child were 2 right now? I am house training, crate training, and bite training Dozer at the same time. So for a toddler, it would potty-training, trying to get him into a bed instead of a crib, and to teach him not to fight ALL at the same time. Plus I have a 3 and a half year old and a 16 month old. How do you think I am doing? It is definitely crazy over here in the Brusik home. It has been better with all three, but my house could look better and I, for sure, could look better. I haven't gone to the gym for a couple of weeks, I am lucky to shower every other day, and grocery shopping is on the top of my list, but it seems like I can't get to that. It really feels like I had another baby, but at least I didn't gain 50 lbs like I did with my other babies. I know all this hard work is going to pay off. We are just getting used to our new member of the family and we just have had to get used to a new schedule. I just got to get back into the swing of things, but before that happens, I am in desperate need of a break. Tonight will be a good one. Going out to dinner and watch HSM3 (High School Musical 3) with Rach.

This week is a crazy one and with my kids older, it is so much fun filled with parties. I am so glad we have so much dress-up stuff for Caden so he can be different things. Today we went to party and Caden decided to be Superman. So did like 5 other boys. They made pictures, painted pumpkins, and had cookies and witch's brew. Lola had a blast with the blown up balloons. This year Lola is a fairy/princess/angel/butterfly. Whatever you want to call her. She has a dress with wings. I love that the kids can actually say trick or treat this year and aren't afraid to get candy. Lola just sounds like " ti de tee" but we know what she trying to say. We'll keep you posted with our Halloween Fun! Hope you guys have a good Halloween week and and fun Halloween night! A few pictures of my babies.

Puppy vs Baby

People tend to compare children and dogs. Not that it is a bad thing because they are both cuddly, small, and just so cute. Having Dozer has made me realize the similarities and differences so now I know what I am talking about when the subject comes up in conversations.

Team Baby

1. They wear diapers when they go potty.
2. They don't have teeth when they are born.
3. They can help you around the house when they get older.
4. You have a good 9 months or so to prepare for a baby.
5. A lot more variety of clothes and outfits for babies.

Team Dog/Puppy

1. They don't back talk.
2. They sleep a good amount of the day, even when they get older.
3. They will come when called and if needed, you have a leash.
4. You don't have to feed them, their food is on the floor in their bowls.
5. They can be left at your house, unsupervised.

They are both definitely hard work and so much fun. It just depends on your preference. There is so much more about babies and dogs, but those were just a few of my thoughts. Hope that helps anyone who is deciding. If not, you don't ever know unless you do it.

Pumpkins

So here are our pumpkins form last year. We used print outs to make it look good, but from cleaning them, cutting and smoothing out the edges from the cutting, it took hours. This year we took a different aproach.
I found these pieces at Wal-mart. They are like Mr. Potato Heads, but for pumpkins. The kids had a blast doing these and it took minutes instead of hours. Caden got really creative and thought they looked so funny when he was done. Lola picked a bunch of things and put in on one face, so it looks like monster. We even managed to make a dog pumpkin. They are reusuable and we don't have to worry too much one a mold problem like we did last year.

Tag, I'm It!

All about Threes

3 Joys:
1. Chips and dip.
2. Nap time.
3. Smell of clean laundry.

3 Fears
1. Pointy things coming towards me, specifically my eyes.
2. What kind of world my kids are growing up in.
3. Spiders.

3 Goals:
1. Fold all my laundry AND put it away.
2. Try not to go out to eat as much.
3. Read at least 2 books a month.

3 Obsessions:
1. Making sure Dozer goes potty OUTSIDE.
2. Paying my bills on time.
3. Getting my kids to put their toys in their designated bucket.

3 Surprising Facts:
1. I would like to open up my own business, but I don't know what exactly.
2. I don't know how to ice skate or rollerblade.
3. I love Root Beer Floats!

Introducing Dozer

We got a puppy! Dozer is mostly a black lab with a little border collie, which explaines the white, and is 6 weeks old. He is all black except the white one his chest, paws, and the very tip of his tail. We picked him up yesterday. We have been thinking about getting one for a while and we finally did it. The kids love playing with him and he sleeps most of the day. I just fell in love with him the first time I saw him. I have always wanted a black lab and Greg has wanted a Rottweiler. We agreed on the lab first, then the rottweiler later. It was so hard to pick out a name. In this whole process, I realized Greg and I have such different taste. I got to choose the puppy because I am with him most of the day and Greg got to choose the name that I could stand. Dozer won. Can be short for Buldozer and he always dozes off. So we are getting used to our new member of the family and all his puppy needs. Isn't he cute?

He is a little dirty in the picture, but a bath was the first thing we gave him when he came to his new home.

He is not a baby anymore...

So Caden has grown up. He will always be MY baby, but he can't stand it that I call him that. A few of reasons why he isn't a baby anymore.

1. Today, he didn't need me to walk him into his school. He wanted to do it himself. I let him out of the car and he had to make sure I didn't move from the car. He kept on telling me to stay and finally he ran off and said bye...tear.

2. He now goes potty standing up. He figured that out on his own and prefers it that way compared to sitting down.. We have had only a couple of minor accidents, but in general, he has pretty good aim.

3. Instead of me telling him stories, he tells me the stories and reads me the books before going to bed. He is so creative and imaginative.

4. He picks out his outfits and dresses himself (with shoes) pretty much everyday. He freaks out when I pick out his clothes for him. He does like to wear the same clothes over again, but those are his favorites. When we got shopping, he actually has an opinion on what he wants to buy. It sometimes drives me crazy because he will pass up a really cute outfit. He rarely matches and I just try to ignore it (as much as I want to change his clothes).

5. He get his own snacks for himself from the pantry and in the refrigerator. I love it when he gets snacks for me and Lola too. Apple for Caden, carrots for mom, and string cheese for Lola :) As long as I provide him with a cup or bowl, he does the rest. I love it!

My Caden is growing up and he is just going to get bigger. I wish I could rely on Lola being my baby, but it seems like she is growing up as fast as her big brother.

My baby at 6 months

3 years later...

My Two Favorite People

Pumpkin Patch

Every year, well since Caden could walk, we have always gone to a pumpkin patch. Last we went twice and this year we will probably go at least twice. There is a fun one that we go to that is south of us. I went with my mom's group yesterday and it was a great and sunny day. We were able to go on a hay ride, which last year there was hay and this year, they made a bench to sit on. So the hay ride went through the orchards and stopped at the pumpkin patch. The kids had a blast looking for their own pumpkins. The rule is, if you can carry it by yourself, you can bring it home. Maybe I ruin it for my kids because they don't get a big pumpkin, but you aren't the ones carrying the pumpkins my kids choose. At pumpkin patches, that is the rule, but when Greg comes with us, we get the big ones. He's the one with the muscles :) So the kids grabbed mini ones. We got donuts, a coloring book, and had ice cream. It was about 85 degrees so it was a wonderful day to pick pumpkins.

I love the Fall! Don't you?

Tag I'm It!

The tag is simple. 6 random things about me. Here it goes.

1. I can rewatch anything, still enjoy it for the umptheenth time, and I do it often. So Greg asks me why and how I watch a certain episode of Law and Order, Sex and the City, whatever show over and over again. I don't know. I mean how many times have you watched an episode of Friends and you still laugh, and probably hard than the first time you watched just because you know what is going to happen. I love it. I find something new that is funny or just entertaining. I can't do it as much with movies, but I do it a lot with tv shows.

2.This sort of relates to the first one. I cannot turn off the tv when I turn it on. I put the kids down, the house is clean ( or not) and I want to take a break, I sit down and turn on the tube. I cannot, for the life of me, stop watching unless someone physically turns it off for me. That's why I end up rewatching episodes of a show. I mean, is it the tv or is it that I just don't want to get off the couch?

3. I can pretty much eat anything. I mean I grew up with a house that probably smells weird to most of you and I miss that smell. I have eaten things from pig ears to frog legs and I like it. Usually salty foods are my weakness compared to sweets.

4. I love typing on the computer. When Greg was in school, I had him write his papers down at work and I would type them up for him when he got him. I like doing it, it gave me a break, and Greg didn't use the correct fingers, which drove me crazy. I am faster than him so it worked out.

5. I love writing things down and making lists.

6. I try to be organized with everything and my thoughts, but when it comes down to it, if I am looking for something, I usually put something in a few different places and change the category and location of where it is. So sometimes when I look for a paper, I have to look at a couple of places to finally find it. Sorry Greg.

A few random things. It seemed hard in the beginning, but them once I started, I could think of more random stuff. I am not going to tag anyone in particular so if you wanna do it, go for it. I would love to read some random things about you.

Two Breaks

My husband spoils me sometimes, well a lot of the time. Greg does so much for me and he is just great at letting me have a break when I need it and want it. This week is just an good example of how great he is. On Tuesday, I got to go to dinner with my friend Rach and we went out shopping so I was out until 10pm. It was a blast! Then last night, I got to go out again.

I don't know if you know this about me, but I have been going to a Mom's "club" for the past year. I needed to expand my horizons and meet moms around here. You just don't realize how many other mothers are trying to do the same and how hard it is to make some friends. I saw that there was a mom's group in my area and I decided on going. It has been a year so far and it has been a great. It started to be a large group with random people coming to outings, but now there is a good 7 of us that come to hang out regularly. We go to parks, go to someone's house, go somewhere and just let the kids play while us moms hang out. Every month, we try, we leave our husbands and either go to a movie, go to dinner, or have a game night. Last night was a dinner night and we went to PF Changs. Of course I had some lettuce wraps. You can't go there without getting those. I also got the lo mein and all six of us shared the Great Wall of Chocolate. Just a wonderful night, with good food and even better company. I had a great time and it has been so great to have something to look forward to each week. It is nice to have support system and it is unbelievable that none of us knew anybody and we came together to look for the same thing. The moms in the group are so much fun and my kids have a blast. Here is a picture of some of the group during the summer.

Mustache

Can't take this face seriously. Makes me giggle everytime I look at him. Hope it makes your day!

Stuck in the house

So the past week and a half, Lola has been really sick. We came back from Denver and she had a fever and a huge fever blister on her bottom lip. I gave it a few days to make sure she was sick longer than a day or so. I hate calling going to the doctors and they just tell me that I can't do anything for them, except give them tylenol. What a waste of money! So I usually wait until after the weekend and it seemed like Lola was getting worse and she wasn't eating anything, which is really unusual for her. I googled her symptoms, which I usually do with my kids when they are sick, and I had suspected what she had. Sure enough, it was confirmed by the doctor. Simple terms, she had herpes. The doc said it was common at her age because they like to get into everything and use their hands for everything and just put them in her mouth. I make Caden wash his hands all day, but I forget about Lola. The doctor also said he saw two cases the day before our appointment so it was going around. The first time a child gets it is the worse. Her mouth was sore and bright read and had sores all around. Her throat was covered with sores and was worse than having strep. If we were lucky, it would last a week, but it usually lasts for two. Poor girl! The doc also said that most of us have the herpes virus inside of us, but we don't all break out in cold sores. Be careful out there, especially those with little ones. I don't even know where she got it. Caden has never had a cold sore, but that doesn't mean he didn't give it to her. Who knows? So we have been staying at home all week and she has had a diet full of ice cream, yogurt, pudding, pretty much anything cold and smooth. Doc said, the fattier the better. Just make her eat. So both kids, yes Caden too, had that the past week.

Well, it is nice to have our little girl back. She talks, giggles, and now plays by herself. It is nice to have Lola back. Of course she still screams at us, but it's not all day. Life is more enjoyable these days compared to the past week or so. I never thought something would happen to my Lola, but with more kids you get them out in public earlier and they get exposed by more. Keep them clean and safe. Hope none of you have to go through it.

Here are a few recent pictures of the kids.

Cutie, pa-tooties!

Crazy Kids!

Looking over at Daddy!

Spinning

A little intimidating at first because you can burn up to 1000 calories/hour. In general, what is spinning. Spinning is a class offered through the community and gyms that have you ride on stationary bikes to lively music to get a cardio workout. I was scared at first, but one of my best friends, Stef, went with her husband one time and thought I would like it. Before we were going to yoga and pump classes so we needed a different scene. We went and we loved it. The class is 45 minutes, has awesome music that just pumps you up, our instructor Brian is so motivating, and it is completely dark. If you want a great cardio workout, go for it. Make sure you bring a water bottle and towel. Seriously, you need it. Hopefully your class doesn't start at 5:15am like ours does!

Diggin' Denver

Greg had a work conference last week that was in Denver, Colorado. It was for a couple of days and we made arrangements for a little trip, just the two of us! Greg's wonderful parents were so kind to watch Caden and Lola for us. It was pretty much a two-day, two-night trip- the longest we have been away from the kids. We had a really good time, but it is great to be home.

We decided to fly instead of driving, which was the original plan. Greg had his work conference all day Thursday and half of Friday. He learned a lot, but it was really to network. I got to relax. I ordered room service, slept in, and got to read. I brought The Nanny Diaries, which I finished while we were there. It was a good, fast read. We had a networking dinner filled with good food, a magic show, and dancing. We shopped (which is one of our favorite things to do together) and before we knew it, it was time to head home. The time went by so fast.

The kids loved being with Grandma and Grandpa. Lola got sick on Thursday so I got really worried. She is still a little sick. She was the kind of sick that she was tired and just laid around a lot, instead of crying all day, so that was good for the grandparents. Of course, since we have been home, she cries a lot. Caden had a blast and on our way home and before going to bed he kept calling us Grandma and Grandpa. It was so funny.

I asked Caden if he had a fun time, he said, "Yes.I love Grandma and Grandpa." I asked Caden if he was a good boy. His response..."No, I was a bad boy." I asked him what he did. "I threw sand everywhere and I hit Lola in the face with my robot." I had to laugh, but I am sure glad he is so honest.

We are so happy it worked out, even though Lola got sick. I am so happy they were good. Now we are thinking of doing this more often. Hopefully the grandparents agree to it. It was a fun and successful trip to Denver. Denver is big and busy. We like it a lot. A potential place to move to.

Cute and Cheezy!

So I had to share this with you. I try to give Lola a snack before she goes down for her afternoon snack. Today, it happened to be string cheese. I gave it to her to distract her so I could change her diaper. I put on a little Sesame Street and I went to the bathroom. When I came back, I came back to this...

Yearly Fun

We went to Hogle Zoo. We go once a year and it is usually during Labor Day weekend. Greg has been working a lot of weekends lately so we finally found a day that worked. I am sure glad we went. It wasn't too busy and it wasn't too hot. The kids loved it and we had so much fun. All the animals were out so we got to see all of them. We usually walk around and after a couple of hours, we just go to the animals we really want to see. The kids were great and we love the yearly zoo trip. Here are some highlights of our trip.

Here the family is having fun at Discoveryland. It is the zoo playground.

Lola riding a ginormous caterpillar.

On the see-saw/teeter-toter.

The elephant's trunk sprays water and Caden put his face there right as it sprayed.

The carousel is a new addition. Caden loved it and had to be on the lion. He rode it twice.

Lola during Caden's carousel rides. She fell asleep right when we got there.

Lola slept the entire time and woke up right when we go to the gift shop to pick out a toy. Lola got a little tiger stuffed animal and Caden got a green camera. All-in-all, it was a great trip!