Boring? No. Chaotic? Maybe.

I have to admit, I have been feeling a little bored with life lately. We did live a pretty exciting life up until 6 months ago and I just can't seem to get over it. But, maybe I still am living the exciting life, just not in the same category before. You know, I do have 3 boys and something is bound to happen...like it did just ten minutes ago.

Just a normal night of getting ready for bed. Aiden was overtired, Jeb was overhyper and Jacob was involved with lego building when he should have been getting ready. I finally managed to get some pjs on Jeb and just tucked him in when I rounded the corner to the bathroom to witness a crazy sight. Now, this could go many ways considering the scene of the crime was the bathroom and there were two boys in it. Funny though, it could have happened anywhere, but thank goodness it was in the privacy of my own home.

Anyway, I rounded the corner to see Aiden full out punching Jacob in the face. Aiden does this when he is tired. He is Jeckyll and Hyde. The beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed boy can be sweet as ever when he has had enough sleep, but watch out if he hasn't gotten his 12 hours! This resulted in a right hook to Jacob's face, followed by a sound of a pin dropping. Everyone was stunned. And then we heard it from Jacob, "He knocked my tooth out!" You've got to be kidding me. But, yes, there was a bloody space where Jacob's semi-wobbly tooth once stood. Aiden was horrified, Jacob was bawling, and I, well I had to leave the room cause it was too funny!

Once I gained my composure I sent Aiden off to his room, located the tooth and finally calmed Jacob down. We walked into Aiden's room to get an apology and Aiden said, "I will never punch anyone again." Sometimes I wonder how I will ever correct a bad behavior, but in this situation it has worked in my favor. At least it stayed in the family. It's a win-win for all. Aiden learns his lesson, Jacob gets some cash, and I didn't have to do much parenting to stop a bully.

Mothers of boys, call me for parenting advice anytime...we are such great examples!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Last Saturday we had a special day celebrating Jacob's golden birthday (8 years old on the 8th). He awoke to gold coins (chocolate of course) and a golden balloon. I would have kept the gold thee going with Golden Grahams cereal, but he did have his request as you can see!

We had said last year that it we were done with birthday parties for awhile, but that didn't fly well when we told him. And the guilt of moving him from his friends set in, so we gave in - a bit. We would go to Legoland in Schaumburg, but he could only have 3 friends. So, that was the plan. But, just before leaving, Jacob got a phone call from Fraser, his best friend in England. I didn't want to eaves drop (yeah right!), but I could hear a lot of "What?", "What?" which led to Jacob breaking out his British accent in order to communicate clearly. It was even funnier when Aiden got on the phone and couldn't understand his friend Rory. "What are you talking like?" said Aiden. "I'm talking like me!" said Rory. "No your not, you sound like Charlie and Lola!" How easy they forget!

Once that conversation was over, the doorbell started ringing and soon enough we had a houseful of excited boys. One, whom had been up since 5 am! (not even one of ours!) We packed in the car and headed to Legoland. It was very exciting to be at an indoor Legoland! The Dragon ride was first on the list - rumored to be a roller coast, but in reality went about 2 miles an hour and reminded me of "It's a small world" at Disney. But, the boys loved it.

We explored a mini-lego Chicago, played with a bit of lego before going on another small ride. I thought it was much more exciting, but the boys choose to go on the Dragon ride, again. After lunch and a 3D movie, we decided we had done it all. All except the Bob the Builder movie, which Jeb was desperate to see. So, Tom took the 5 boys and I went to see Bob. It was only 10 minutes, but a lot can happen in 10 minutes. I took one look at the boys and knew something had happened - no one was smiling and everyone looked scared. Tom explained that while on the Dragon ride he heard the man in charge yell, "Don't touch the lego." Then he heard it again, praying this was directed at the load of 4 year olds 2 cars behind. And then the ride stopped, the lights went on, and the man in charge came through saying, "I'm gonna get those kids!" Tom was praying even harder that it wasn't the ones he was in charge of. But, a few seconds later, he saw 4 boys being ushered out of the ride. Two crying, two looking scared to death. So, yes, you can get kicked off from a slow moving, somewhat boring ride. You just have to really work at it.

In the end, it turned out to be a great time, we just don't speak of that incident when referring to the birthday. We came home to both sets of grandparents, presents and cake. Oh yes, I did this one myself with no directions. A bit lopsided, but you get the picture.

Happy Birthday Jacob...hope it was as memorable to you as it was to us. Don't worry, we'll remind you of it every year for the next 50!

Building Lego cars before testing and racing them.


My masterpiece before it was cut into!

Happy 8th buddy!

A Look Back On Christmas

Now that we are back into the new year, it's time to get organized...or maybe just try to catch up. So, here is a look back on Christmas - spent in Michigan this year. We anticipated lots of sledding and maybe some skiing. Seems that we should have gone to England for that, as they received the snow and we received the rain. Oh well, it was Christmas with family just the same and we were happy to be able to spend it with our loved ones.

The festivities began on Christmas Eve at Joy's parents. Church with a live nativity made it a super fun start. And after opening a few presents, Santa came for a visit! Too bad that Jeb lifted his beard straight up to reveal my Uncle Randy! It was truly funny and the night was a hit!

The next morning, I was pounced on by Jacob, followed by Jeb and Aiden. Santa found us at Grandma's! We had a fun morning opening gifts and a nice quiet afternoon playing with them.

On to the Koops to share Christmas with our 10 cousins - 20 people in all, making it very chaotic and fun!

We headed home and found the cookies we set out where eaten and that Santa had made a stop at our house. Yes Jacob, he can get in without there being a chimney!

We had a great time. My favorite kid quotes are below:

Aiden: "Thanks for this Wii, but it's not really what I wanted"

Aiden: "My favorite gift this year was Golden Syrup" - guess $3.99 is all Santa needs to spend next year!

Jeb: "Hey, what's under this beard Santa?"

Aiden: "I know that you bought Jeb that gift and not Santa - I was with you." Opps.

Jacob: "That was totally not Santa. His gut was a pillow."

Blauwkamp cousins

Tearing open the stocking stuffers

Go Blue!

Star Wars play is going to get even more fun!

The closest we got to a Koops' cousins pic

Jeb and the girls

Yes! Guiness Book of World Records 2011!!

This is what I really wanted

I love this!