Icy Lake Michigan

Last weekend we took the kids to Holland to check out the ice on Lake Michigan, and to have dinner at our usual place, Village Inn. We have a yearly tradition to go to Holland and swim in the summer and have dinner at Village Inn, so doing it in the winter was a lot of fun. We had their snow pants with us, but for some reason we didn't put the kids in them before venturing out to the Lake. It was brisk and everything was covered in ice, snow, and puddles. It was gorgeous! The kids had a blast walking on the ice and sliding down the side of the pier like penguins. They ended up soaked and Sam was the only one we had extra pants for. We stopped at Goodwill and got the big kids new jeans to wear and went to dinner. It was a really nice time and I hope it's a new yearly tradition for us as well :)

Sammyisms - The PT Edition

On the first of the year, Sammy decided that maybe, just maybe, it is okay to pee somewhere other than his diaper or into a fan. It was actually a very easy process and even the issues we thought would be hard to overcome have been fairly easy. He had very few accidents since deciding he wanted to wear underwear.

Yesterday, I sat in the bathroom with Sammy while he did his business. We were in there for nearly 30 minutes. It was ridiculous. The entire time he narrated every little moment of his pooping experience. (I noticed his other Sammyism has to do with poop too. I'm seeing a trend.) "Mommy, that's my poophole. The poop goes down into that poophole. I'm pooping! The poop came out! *toots* My butt did that. Mommy, my butt pooped."

I can't believe just a couple months ago I was really concerned he'd never be potty trained. Now I'm concerned he'll never stop narrating his bodily functions. I'd say "life with boys" but Natalie is the one that said, "That's just the sound my butt makes" when she tooted once back when she was two. It's just kids. Kids are gross. And hilarious.

Remember when blogging was cool?

Ten years ago blogs were it. Myspace was a new fangled idea, and Facebook wouldn't be too far behind. Once we had a way to stay connected in an easier set up, blogs (at least mine and the blog friends I had then) became less of a thing and more of an afterthought. But before Myspace and Facebook, we had blogs. I made so many wonderful blogger friends, a few of whom I am still in touch with today. Yesterday, one of those friends (hi Christie!) posted on FB (for shame ;) ) that she had made a new blog entry. I went over to her page and found an entry from ten years ago...one that I had commented on. It was a blog entry about how she had a "feud" with another blogger. I read through the comments and saw comments from all of those old blog friends - some that I still talk to regularly (like Beth, who happens to be one of those special IN REAL LIFE blog friends, ha, and her sister) and those that I had totally forgotten about. I also saw comments from someone who I actually ended up not only meeting in person, but we totally made jello shots and went camping together. It made me feel nostalgic for the time when we'd have to actually make an effort to not only read what was going on with someone, but comment on their post. And then have to actually search for the next blog, or click over on your own sidebar. I remember finding new blogger friends just by clicking "next blog" on the top bar.

Now it seems blogging is only reserved for those very special people, like those awesome moms who are not only funny, but somehow have built a following by writing about controversial things or because they swear a lot and saying f&*k is hilarious! I miss when every Thursday we were all coming up with our list of Thirteen things and linking ourselves to that host blog and visiting all sorts of other blogs to read their lists. I remember sitting and waiting for just ONE COMMENT and feeling so proud when someone would come and say my list was awesome. I remember scrambling around on Thursday nights to find the three items we needed to post for Stuff Portrait Friday (which STILL EXISTS, btw, but on FB - Hi Kristine!) and spending my entire Friday checking out everyone else's pictures that may be as simple as something green or as complex as "what makes you want to punch someone in the gut while jabbing them in the eye with your keys" (which I kinda just came up with. This should so be something we need to post, btw).

This is not my original blog. It's not even my second or third blog. Blogs I've had in the past were titled things like "Supertramp" "Something Beautiful" "Jazzy and the Chicken Coop" (my particular fave). I honestly don't remember the name of my first blog, but it has been gone for a very long time. That one focused on poker and drinking. Who did I play poker with? Ryan? Tom? Chris? Who did I beat? What did each person drink? How late did we stay out? What did SHE wear? I was unmarried(though still with Chris) and obviously had no kids.

My blogs followed my journey with THE HOLE, new jobs, vacations, my engagement, my wedding, married life, a new house, my pets, and my pregnancies (which are mostly on this blog, as least Sam and Nat's are). I also wrote about some very personal things like my relationship with my mom, my health struggles, depression and my break up with Paxil, the death of a good friend and teacher, and all sorts of other things.

So where I am now? I'd like to think I'll keep this up, but if you go back to the new year for the last four years, you'll see a similar post to this. I never keep up. But like I say each time, I'm gonna try. Blogs should be back. Facebook usually consists of posts about what someone had for dinner or how their kid made the honor roll. I miss reading REAL THOUGHT OUT FEELINGS from my friends. I don't give a crap if you write like an intelligible person or if you type like me or write like me, like I barely passed fifth grade. I just like reading about what makes people tick. I like finding common ground with others. I like what makes us different. I learn so much from other people when I find things we don't have in common.

Anyway...It's nearly 2pm...I've got to pick my big kids up from school in a bit, but in the mean time I'm going to listen to music and snuggle with my littlest stink.

By the way, I'm ending this blog entry while listening to "From Now On" by Supertramp. Touche, blog gods, touché.