Wishes for MY new year..

I've compiled a list of wishes and wants that I hope for me and my family for 2008:

1) A reliable, paying job for my husband. In the last 14 months, he has only worked 4 of them. The Unemployment check is NOT meant to live off of.

2) That we do not have to look for a cheaper place to live because of #1 not being granted.

3) To establish some better ground rules for the boys regards the playing of video games and watching TV. Well, actually, we can establish all the ground rules we want, I should revise my wish to wanting the boys to cooperate with these rules without a huge whiney, crying tantrum.

4) To get rid of the baby fat I still lug around. But since my "baby" is going to be 5 in a few weeks, can I still call it baby fat? Even if I shouldn't, I'm going to, since it sounds so much better than calling it lazy mommy fat. HA!

5) I wish to help the boys realize that helping mom around the house isn't a reason to erupt into a tirade that "I haven't had enough time to play right now!"

6) I wish to have Kieran trained to fall asleep on his own after his bedtime stories and prayers. Some nights it takes 45 minutes for him to fall asleep deeply enough for me/jerod to sneak out.

7) To be able to babysit for my brother and Jess so they can do some romantic date stuff after the new baby comes in January. I can't wait to hold a new baby!!

8) To become a more health conscious chef for my family. (that means not serving frozen pizza every other night)

9) In order for #8 to be more appealing to me, I wish Kieran would realize that there is much more food in the world besides shredded cheese, drinkable yogurt, chocolate milk, fish sticks and chocolate chip granola bars. On occasion, he'll decide that golden grahams cereal or pancakes are OK.

10) I wish for more patience as I try to be a good mother.

11) I wish for the ability to be more long-suffering and peaceful when dealing with my boys in the middle of arguments. Let's add self-control to that list of qualities I need to cultivate better.

12) I need to have more patience with my husband when he doesn't seem to do things as I would have done them.

13) I wish that my grandmas would be nicer to my mom. I see the stress it puts upon her and I don't know how she can deal with it.

14) I wish Josh could find a girl so I wouldn't have to hear his comments about how much he needs a woman in his life.

I could wish for all sorts of material things, like a new 2008 Town and Country Van, and new truck for my hubby, but all that seems silly if the income isn't there. Oh heck, I'm gonna make a list anyways!:

-I'd like my bedroom redone-new walls and carpet and new paint and a new bedroom furniture set. Maybe a room that actually coordinates!!
-I'd like my dining room table re-finished to get rid of the 7 years of hot wheels dings and permanant marker scribbles (see what I made for you mommy!)
-I'd like a front load washer and dryer
-I'd like a few more pieces of Lia Sophia jewelry
-I'd like to get a wedding band for Jerod to wear when we go out and about. His not having one still bugs me and he wouldn't have to worry about taking it off for work.
-I'd like to have Jerod be able to set up a wood-working shop to make custom furniture pieces. Something that is heated and big enough for all of his equipment.
-How about a fridge with water and ice in the door?
-How about having the roads repaired and taken care of that need it here in Dodgeville? (the potholes and snowbanks are horrible)
-While I'm at it, I wish for world peace, the end of global warming and a fat-free Big Mac!

There you go! I dont' ask for much.......

In case you haven't seen enough snow pictures...

If you compare these pictures to the snow photos I included in my post from last week, you'll see how much more snow we've gotten in the last two weeks. Shane's trailer is completed buried, and here Jerod is digging it out via the snowblower.
When I went out to check on Cayden, here I found him and his dad busy at enclosing the bottom of the swing set in snow walls to make a fort. Jerod used the snowblower to blow snow from under the swings and then dug up chunks of snow to stack on top of each other. Pretty cool! Cayden told me that his fingers were numb when he came in. I guess being out in the snow for 1 1/2 hours is too much for even the toughest gloves! When Jerod came in, he had a big grin on his face. He said he had a blast building this fort with Cayden. Glad to see the kid inside is still alive and kicking

Yet, even more snow...

Just a reminder to our family waaaaayyyyy south what the thermometer looks like in the frigid zone..
Today was a good day to play outdoors. It was pretty cold, around 18*, but the boys perservered. This is the snow fort that Dad used his chainsaw to cut the blocks. The boys have started to dig a tunnel underneath it, although they have a ways to go before they make it big enough to crawl all the way through. It is only December, so I think they will have a while in order to finish it.
A big thumbs up from Kieran!!
It's always good to get a running start if you want to go fast.
Who IS that masked kid?

Happy Baby shower Jessica!!

The Nanas and Aunties...
The Girls...

Thanks to Casey for hostessing the shower. Food was yummy, friends were fun.

Snow Lovers rejoice!

A million thanks for the snowblower Chad!!!!
The boys were a big help..

Any what snow play day would be complete without hot cocoa!

How we are faring this winter.....

Holy cow do we have snow! I'll make sure to post pictures when I get a chance, I just don't have my camera with me right now. So Saturday we got a good 4 inches of wet, heavy snow. That wouldn't have been so bad, but on top of that it rained and sleeted to the tune of about 1/4"- 1/2". Those who didn't get their sidewalks/ driveways cleaned up by dark on Saturday woke up to a frozen solid mess on Sunday. The rain had frozen on top of the snow, creating a crust that shovels couldn't break through. Heck, even snowblowers and big plow trucks couldn't move the snow. It has caused huge problems in snow removal. If we would get a day above freezing, it may help melt it some so that it could be moved, but the warmest day in our short-term forecast is Saturday at 33* with a good chance of....you guessed it...more snow / sleet / freezing rain. Yikes!

We got another 4 inches yesterday and last night. No school for the boys today, so they are home with Dad. Tomorrow we are forecast to get another 1"-3" of the white stuff. Yeesh! Snowmobilers are rejoicing, that's for sure.

You gotta see what Jerod built for the boys. He took out his chainsaw and cut blocks of snow to make an igloo. I have a picture I will put on here. But that gives you an idea how solid the snow is-it took a chainsaw to cut through it. Old folks are saying that they've never seen snow this impossible. I find it rather intriguing, you all know how weird I am about weather phenomonon.

Speaking of which, pray for our poor brothers in Washington and Oregon. They have been hit with the equivalent of a 2 day hurricane in that region. 10 feet of water washing out interstate 5 along the coast and tens of thousands left homeless from the flooding and hurricane force winds of 120 mph. The photos took my breath away. If nothing else would convince me, just noting the weather craziness would be enough to confirm to me that we are indeed living in the last days.

This weekend is Jessica's baby shower. I'm very excited for her. She has 7 weeks left. I think she looks good, but she says alot of people can't believe she has that much time left to go. It's just because she is short and carries the baby all in the front. I know she doesn't think so, but I think she makes a cute pregnant mom!

Cayden has been home the last 2 days from school with Strep Throat. Poor guy! Even though he's been pretty wiped out, he still has mustered up energy to go outside a couple times to play in the snow. Big surprise there! We have reached the point (FINALLY) where the boys can dress themselves to go out. Well, we still need to help with the gloves, but man, what a relief! Undressing is still a bit of an issue for Kieran; he can't get the concept of taking off the wet boots BEFORE trying to take off the snow pants. He'll get it, eventually.

I do have more to type, but it'll have to wait for another post.

Our assembly weekend..

My familia....Nana and her "kids"
Tiffany's interview.

Just some pictures to share of our weekend. We were in Janesville for our 2 day circuit assembly. Had a nice time visiting with old friends. Heard some good counsel and suggestions. There are now 6.9 million Jehovah's Witnesses around the world in more than 101,000 congregations. How cool is that? The organization is growing by leaps and bounds. "The little one will become a 1000 and the small one a mighty nation" Isaiah's words are being fulfilled more than ever in our day.

Misc pictures to share.

Now, that's a deere!
Br. Harper had all the young people come on stage and recite the books of the Bible. They did great!
How can he look so sweet and be such a little gremlin?
Lovin' the slide at Pecks....

Carzy wild fun with Rileys!

This was one GINORMOUS slide..long line to get on it.
Waiting for storyhour..."Click, Clack, Moo"
Showing off the face artwork
Beck says, "Go west, young man!"

Our weather has been, for the most part, beautiful this fall so far. We've been outside alot. On the weekend that Jerod reroofed Kuhs, the boys and I headed down to Deliverance's. That Saturday afternoon we went to Eberts. It is a large landscaping company that has a fall festival each year for the community. They have face painting, animals to feed, a hayride to a corn maze and blowup rides for the kids. What a blast. Here are some of our pix from that trip.
In search of sustenance, Deliverance took us to Mullens, an old-fashioned ice-cream soda shop. It was complete with red vinyl metal stools along a long counter. We all shoved ourselves in a booth and tried to eat without bumping into each other too much. We ended our meal with ice cream, real, honest to goodness hand scooped in a SUGAR cone. I haven't had a sugar cone in ages. I was in heaven.
One side note: When the waitress/waiter sees the age of the kids you are ordering ice cream cones for, and is the one scooping out the ice cream, do you think it would be too much for them to realize that a heaping, leaning, mountain of ice cream teetering on the top of a cone, is NO FUN for anyone involved? When I say "BABY or VERY SMALL" cone, I mean exactly what I say. Do they think they are making points by serving a 4 year old a 40 year old serving? So then between keeping my cone drip free, I have the task of monitoring two little boys with their cones containing a quart of ice cream. UGH, I think I end up consuming the equivilent of 2 cones and have to throw out the rest. What a waste!
(I'll get off my soap box now...)

An update for my loyal readers...

I have got to get over this thing I have that makes me think that I can't update this thing without a picture or two. That is so not the case, as it just makes me fall far, far behind. So look at this, it is going to be October 1st tomorrow and I haven't written anything for over 2 weeks. Sorry.
Well, we've been sick. No big surprise there. Two weeks into school and Kieran comes down with a sinus infection and Cayden was suffering from a combo of fevers, earaches and sore throat. Strep test came back negative, so we aren't sure what he had. Now both boys have a lingering cough. yea! My least fave thing in the world is a cough that keeps them awake at night. My next to least fave thing in the world is when I have the cough, too. Which I do. I have been sick for 5 days now, and I am sick of being sick. Coughing so hard you see little points of light on the edge of your eyesight, coughing for 1-2 hours each night AFTER you try to go to bed, pounding headache each afternoon that sometimes Excederin Tension Headache medicine may not touch. I hate being sick. Plus side-Jerod's entertained the boys enough to let me either nap or go to bed earlier than normal. I've been exhausted.
Enough boo-hooing! I'm not dying, for crying out loud!
I wish I would've gotten a picture of our neighbors house to post here. Each year their house gets blanketed in TP during the homecoming game. This year was no different, actually was not quite as bad as last year. But still...In an odd, twisted way, it looked pretty cascading from the tree branches in the street light. I am not exaggerating when I say the guys who did it must've used 50-60 rolls of TP. Not the cheap stuff either-I saw a couple empty Charmin Mega-pack bags. Now, if I'm going to TP, I'm going to go for the cheap sandpaper-quality TP. Kids must have more money than I did in High School. Right now, it is raining something fierce, so everything should look really great in the morning. I just hope that not much blew into our yard....SIGH...
This morning was the first meeting we made all week since we've been sick. A bunch of other families must be sick too, since it was a pretty sparce crowd.

HOLY COW how did I forget to mention this? Josh is back with us. My mom had a little party last Thursday night after the meeting and then we had him over for lunch today. It's so nice to see him and talk with him again. His attitude is so positive, and I am happy to see him so happy. It's been a long year. Now we can have family gatherings again! WELCOME BACK JOSH!!!!

October will be a crazy month. CO's visit, Beck's youth hunt, Oktoberfest in Richland Center, re-roofing Kuh's, teacher conferences, picture day, my 3 month eye check up (can it only be 3 months?) Jerod's bow-hunting, AND we are being audited at work by the SIPC (securites and investment protection corporation). So before I know it, it will be November. YIKES! I better feel better soon!

OK, well, that's gotta do for now...Hope all is well in your world!

What can I say to this picture? It's a classic

Should we say "Chippendales?"

MMMMMM....Culvers!

So, I don't know what kind of ice cream they may have in Panama, but something tells me that they don't have Culvers' frozen custard. So just in case the Genschaws have forgotten what this cone full of chocolate-heaven-on-earth looks like, I have provided these pictures to help remind you.....ENJOY!

Kieran's First Day of School...

Kieran's first day of school pose. Should I call GQ?
Mr. Bart-his teacher...
Getting things situated in his cubby.
Finding his mailbox for his take home folder.
And making new (girl)friends on the first day. Busy guy, huh?

So Kieran's school schedule is a little different this year. He has afternoon classes Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. No school at all on Wednesday. This is affectionately called Wacky Wednesday due to school being let out at 2 PM. So I drop him off at daycare after I drop off Cayden. The little school bus comes to pick Kieran up from daycare around noon, and I pick the boys up at 3:10. Now you know my daily routine for the next nine months. I am gratefull that the boys are already used to getting up early in the morning, so that hasn't been an adjustment we needed to make. The no nap for Kieran will be the hardest thing I believe. By Thursday of this week, I should have a good idea of how it will be for him.

I'll keep you in cyberspace posted as to how our school year is going!

School DAZE begins

Cayden's first day of 1st grade.
I love how subdued he looks. Kieran on the other hand, well...Cayden's very own desk.

Boy, I remember being one of those kids that spent time every week cleaning and rearranging my desk so that everything was organized and easy to find. I wonder how Cayden's desk will be by the open house on the 18th. We'll see.

So the first day went well. Cayden likes his teacher Mrs. Oelklaus. She has been around awhile. She told me she had Darrin for 6th grade and some of the Rochon kids. She remembered Courtney as a "sweetie" What a compliment for Courtney! I hope she works out well as a teacher. As long as Cayden likes her, I'll be happy.

Our summer is winding down..

So today is our last Friday home together. It is so hard to believe that school is starting on Tuesday! I met Cayden's teacher yesterday. I don't know how many parents make a point of meeting the teacher b/4 the year starts, but I for one, like to know the person who will be molding my young child's mind for the next 9 months. She seems nice enough, I've only heard good things about her from other moms, so I'm sure it will be a good year. Kieran's 4K teacher is Mr. Bart and he is awesome. Any of the 4K teachers would've been great. Mr. Bart likes to use nature alot in the classroom; AKA bugs, spiders, lizards, creepy-crawly things. The kids eat it up! (not literally, of course, ICK)

Our weekend promises gorgeous weather-DRY, sun, low humidity and 80* days and cool nights. Anyone out camping sure has a perfect weekend to do so. We may put up our tent in our yard tonight for something fun to do.

Next week will be very busy for another reason as well. We've hired a lady to help in our office. I'm so happy, since I haven't had the time to do all of the work needed to be done. She is going to work out great, she has a wonderful personality and is excited to join our office. She starts on Tuesday.

I think today we are going to walk down to the library. We gotta do something to enjoy this wonderful, beautiful day!

Everyone have a fun, safe, and happy weekend!

Summer Fun at the James'

The stars of the afternoon...

Kieran's turn yielded solid hits but no candy.
Actually Tyler's second turn (with a baseball bat) proved to be no match for the pinata and the candy spilled out on to the tarp. Mass chaos ensued, of which I didn't catch a single decent picture, but no fists were thrown and no blood was spilled and everyone walked away with a decent load of candy.
My boys with their bags of goodies.

Chase really got into his cake
Ava taking a swing at the pinata!
Cayden was one of the "older" kids, so he had to wear a blindfold. He still made some major contact with the thing.
Chase even had to have a turn..This kid is such a little cutie. You can't help but smile every time you look at him, even when he's crying, he's just sooo cute.

Cayden manning the bounce house entrance
Cousin Ava and Cayden enjoying their M&Ms
All of the kids got a bag full of goodies from the scavenger hunt.

The "Splash Ball Toss" game,,
Cayden's spoils from the splash ball toss






Kieran's spoils from that game.
















So, Aunt Misty and Uncle Todd and the girls organized a party for all of the young ones in the hall. Finally today the weather cooperated! What a day it was. We had a bounce house, water balloons, scavenger hunt, yummy food, oh yeah, and a pinata full of sugary sweets. All of the kids had a BLAST! The adults too. I gotta mention Dan Chitwood's role in the huge water fight. He and Jose' put in a great offensive against Val and Brit. Despite their efforts, the girls kicked their butts. Dan was still wet 2 hours later. HA! I wished I would've gotten a picture of him, but I didn't. Oh well. All of us loved the party! I have put in a few pictures of the fun times we had...