Back to Reality

The Bricker household hopes that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had dinner over at Larry and Toni's and ate until we were stuffed. Josh had been itching to go play in the snow and while we were waiting for the turkey to finish cooking he got his chance.


After we were all done eating everyone visited and Dustin excused himself to feed Lauren a bottle. After awhile I went looking for them....and found them.

Pretty much sums up the day.

Then on Friday we headed up to Dad's to celebrate Thanksgiving with him - something we haven't done for 10 years. The kids traveled like troopers and Mattie was amazingly well behaved. Since the van is in the shop we had to take the truck so the kids and I were cramped in the back seat. I bet you can guess who got the entire front...

We had fun, though. Josh and I did some cloud watching, ate some ice cream and sang Christmas carols. When Lauren wasn't laughing at us she was sleeping so I can't really complain.


Dad and Thomas had gotten Dustin and I a night at one of the nicest hotels in all of Minneapolis for our anniversary. And as if that wasn't enough...they took the kids, too!!!

To say that I had died and gone to heaven would be understating things. This place was out of this world!! www.graves601.com The bed was like sleeping in clouds (my favorite), the bathroom had its own flat screen TV (Dustin's favorite - anyone surprised?) and the room service was extraordinary!!

We even took the chance to go out to dinner...just the two of us...to a place that didn't have a kid's menu!! The Hard Rock Cafe was right next to the hotel and we couldn't pass it up. With children, any sort of wait for a table is agonizing so when the hostess said an hour wait I proudly said, "Bricker for two!" Heck yes! That gave us time to pick out small, but pricey, gifts for our children and take a look at all the awesome memorabilia.

We just had such a wonderful time. I think Dustin slept for a total of 13-14 hours. I found myself waking up listening for the kids and realized that my mother was right...you never sleep the same after you have children.

Dustin and I took home just about everything that wasn't nailed down from the room. Anything in the hopes that we could bring a little bit of that luxury home with us. Dad asked if he should expect any additional charges for missing silver. With a smile I assured him that everything of value was left; however, it's not like the thought didn't cross my mind. :-)

I took pictures of everything but even the photos don't do it justice.










Needless to say....I've found my new "Happy Place" when the kids are screaming. I almost cried when we left but Dustin promised me we would return. He even joked that maybe Dad would keep the kids one more night. When I told Dad, he looked frightened. I've already started a fund for our next night there. One sleep-filled night to make up for the remaining 364 sleepless ones isn't asking much, is it?

Saturday Dad and I cooked until we'd used every pot in the kitchen...literally. The food was so good and Josh had fun playing with the Wii until I forced him to let go of the controller and go to bed.

Then Lauren got to wear a new dress to church on Sunday and she was more than happy to show off her "healthy" thighs! Not to mention her second tooth!



Hey...as long as she's happy, right?



A fun filled weekend in Minneapolis is always followed by a long car ride home. Lauren slept for 3 hours and when she woke up I told her we still had another hour left.


Her face said it all.

No where to look but up.

I don't even know where to begin on the kind of week we've had here. Last week was a blur and I was just thankful for it to end. That is, until I realized what this week would bring.

Last week Josh was at the doctor's twice; Lauren once. Both kids were sick and cranky which means no one is/was really sleeping at night. I had class in Des Moines for a day (which always seems to throw a wrench in things). Then on Wednesday I ran errands over my lunch and the wind took my van door and slammed it into my fender. So on top of everything else we had to fit in estimates and the looming payment for future services rendered. Merry Christmas to us!!

Friday was the kids' Christmas pictures. One word...disaster. No, I take that back, two words; monumental disaster. Like this one should have showed up on the Ricter scale somewhere. By the time we left the kids were kicking and screaming...and so was I. On top of it their server was down so I have to drive back down to Iowa City tomorrow night to see if we even got a good shot. My saving grace is the fact that I just went ahead and rescheduled for another time. With as much money as I spent on their outfits...I AM GOING TO GET THAT PERFECT SHOT!!!

Then our poor Uncle Joel. Friday night he called because he was in severe pain and throwing up. After, what I can only imagine felt like forever, he got some serious drugs and a diagnosis. Kidney stone. A big one.

Saturday, after Josh and I made him a card, I went to visit him in the hospital and he was doing much better. He had surgery again today and I took the afternoon off to be with him. My payback...a ticket from the Hiawatha Police Department. I'm due. With the way I drive I should have gotten one a long time ago. But, it still stinks.

The surgery was semi-successful and we're hoping that things will be back to normal for him very soon. As always, prayers are welcome.

On a happier note, we decorated the house for Christmas this weekend! I take that back. Dustin carried boxes and watched the Iowa game. Josh and I decorated. I decided to only put up one tree this year. Well, I take that back, too. I asked Dustin to bring up the other tree and he just ignored me. I didn't push it.





While Easter is my favorite Christian holiday...Christmas is a very close second. The smell of Cranberry candles, the sound of Mannheim Steamroller, the sight of freshly fallen snow and the story of Christmas are simply magical to me. As a child, my father created the most amazing Christmas experience. Our house always looked like it was right out of a magazine. Evergreen and lights outside and inside every room was trimmed in evergreen, candles, velvet and ribbon. It was always amazing and I hope and pray that I am creating the same type of memories for my children.

On Friday night around 11:00, Lauren's first tooth broke through. After all the pain and tears she officially has her first chomper. This is the best shot I could get and please ignore the oatmeal all over her face.

Just imagine...in a few months her toothless smile will be a thing of the past!!


We want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!!! We have so many things to be thankful for and are immensely grateful for all of our blessings.

Now go eat some turkey and enjoy that pumpkin pie!

My little Vincent van Gogh.

Six years ago tonight Dustin and I were sitting in a hotel room in Florida ready to kick off our honeymoon. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago until I think about the fact that we've lived in two houses, had two children, several job changes (that's mostly Dustin), weight changes (that's mostly me) and so many other amazing experiences together.

I look at couples like my Grandpa and Grandma Krueger and I see Dustin and I in 50 years. While some may laugh at the comparison (only because the resemblence is uncanny), any relationship that can last as long as theirs must be admired. And even though their bodies have aged over the years...their friendship and affection for each other has not. I am beginning to understand how couples look at one another one day and all of a sudden they each realize ten, fifteen or twenty years have passed. While I certainly wouldn't say we have it perfect...I must admit I can't imagine my life without him. Our secret...laughter.

I pray that God will continue to watch over us and keep us as in love with each other as we are today...and for many years to come.

As much as I'd like to follow that with something romantic we did in celebration of our anniversary, I cannot. Instead of a night out or a candlelit dinner, we took the family bowling. You can tell it's our sixth anniversary and not our first, can't you?





Lauren was obviously more interested in her bottle than anything else but the rest of us had fun. I beat Dustin both games and even took photographs of the scoreboard for documentation. However, Dustin thought it would be funny to hit me on the butt while I was taking the photo. So this is all that I have for proof because immediately following the shutter closing the camera's battery died.



Don't worry...I paid him back later at dinner. It was his turn to change Lauren's dirty diaper because of course Lauren only waits to fill her pants while we are out in public. He takes her to the bathroom and we can all hear her screaming. Laughing, I can't imagine what her problem is until Dustin comes back to the table and reminds me that I left the wipes in the van. Oops. Honest mistake.

Sunday I worked on convincing Josh that he needed a haircut. The kids have pictures on Friday and I needed to have a few extra days of growth if I screwed things up. Well, I finally suckered him into it and his hair looks fine. The gashes on his ears and the one on the back of his neck don't look so hot. I clipped him THREE times! Of course his ears had to bleed like a stuck hog and Dustin came in just to say..."Oh my God. Mom cut off your ear!!!" I guess paybacks are hell.

Once I got him calmed down and showed him that his ears were in tact I assured him that mommy would not use the big razor around his ears anymore. And tonight again he reminded me that I use the big razor on the big hairs and around the ears I use the small one. Nothing like a little traumatizing experience to make you feel like a bad parent.

Mother "No"s Best

In the land of "downers" I am queen.

I have been the queen for about a year now. That's about how long it's been since Dustin got really big into wanting a camper. And now with Christmas approaching Josh is just finally noticing my tiara and scepter.

I remember as a child when the JCPenney catalog would arrive and I would spend days going through each page and ogling over all the toys. I would fold down the little corner of just about every page and dream of coming home on Christmas Eve to find all my gifts overflowing from under the tree.

I look at this time of year much differently now that I am a parent. Josh has literally run his marker dry from circling all of the toys on his wish list. I have about 200+ toys on his list and five magazines circled from front to back. Every commercial that comes on I hear, "I want that, Mom. Circle that for me, okay, Mom?" Of course every commercial and ad print shows the toy in all its glory. Through experience and age I am now able to see past all the glitter and smiles and see that 99% of this stuff is junk. So without dashing all that is good about Christmas gifts I have begun to say "No" to certain toys in the hopes that by the time we actually open gifts Josh will not be disappointed to see his select few toys.

Even so, he always has his magazine and marker in hand. Every morning he gets out of bed and gives me a hug as I pick out his day's attire. He usually says, "I love you, Mom", but this morning it was "Mom!!! I was just dreaming of all the things I circled!" Then, when I was getting the kids loaded up in the van we couldn't leave the garage until he was properly set up.



And tonight after I put Lauren to bed, Josh and I layed on his bedroom floor and went through all the magazines again, as if he hadn't already done it a hundred times before. I just love to see him get so excited and if I could afford it I'd get him everything he wanted just to see him smile.

In the end, though, I would need to get a bigger house and most of the items would be recalled in a few weeks anyway. Sad, but true.

IHOP

Dustin took the kids to Josh's Halloween parade last Tuesday. If you remember last year's fiasco at all you can understand why I let him go ahead and take him alone. Now, even though this year didn't entail tears and even though only 5 of the 33 photos Dustin took were actually in focus, you can clearly see that Josh wasn't far from a breakdown.





It's so funny how ten minutes before an event Josh will be laughing and singing and jumping with joy.

And as soon as you tell him to "perform" he clams up and acts like he's mute.

I'd show you pictures of the kids on the actual Halloween night but Lauren was in no mood and was screaming the whole way home from Larry and Toni's. The only reason I even got a photo of Josh was because I bribed him with two pieces of candy. He was already irritated with me that I wouldn't go out and buy him a new costume because he wanted to be Scooby Doo...not a doctor. This he tells me right before the last house. Do mother's ever win??


So, Sunday morning it was Dustin's turn to get up with Lauren and make breakfast. I heard Lauren start to cry and gently tapped his shoulder to wake him up just enough to realize she was crying. Usually the gentle tap turns into a kick in the butt, but for some reason it did not come to that this Sunday. I fell back asleep only to be rudely awoken about 15 minutes later. I honestly thought the house was on fire and Dustin was screaming for me to get to safety.

I came running downstairs to find him making pancakes and sausage. It is important to understand that Dustin got his cooking abilities from his mother (sorry Toni) and I've never expected him to try anything more than cereal or cinnamon rolls from a can for breakfast.

Now realize my eyes were still half shut and my mind was still in sleeping mode. He prefaced our conversation with, "Don't put this on the blog." But, he is not here tonight; therefore, it is free reign. Then he moved aside to show me his pancakes.

Oh..my..God. The batter was like play dough. It was disgusting and the only photo I have for proof is this:

There was a small struggle in order for me to get this photo; hence, the pinky finger in the shot.

Hysterical.

In other exciting news, the coupon monster has struck again. I got an AMAZING deal on diapers last weekend and completely forgot to show all my loot! I basically got the diapers for half price and saved a total of $39.75!!!!

I know you look at all those diapers and think that they should last me until Lauren's potty trained. Yeah, right!! This is probably only two and a half months worth! Sick, huh?

With all the money I've been saving, Dustin should be able to afford a very nice anniversary gift for me!!