whew.

We made it. It's not just Hannukah that lasts 8 days, I'm certain it's Christmas too. Maybe Mary had a r-e-a-l-l-y long labor, or the wise men had some trouble following the star... whatever the reason, it's over... finally...and we're all four alive. We have just arrived home from our 6th Christmas celebration... Don't get me wrong, it was great fun-filled family time complete with all the trimmings: driving an estimated 500+ miles, a visit to santa (who was rather grumpy for a chubby man that only has to work 25 days out of the year), last minute gift card purchasing, wrapping paper overload, spending $325 on boarding 2 dogs for 5 days, two dancing elmos, a call to 911, two snowstorms, a shattered ornament, cramming 20 adults and 5 children in our modest suburban home, eating many-a-mystery-casserole, two vikings games (that's nearly 10 hours of football!... have I mentioned I don't like football?!), two birthday cakes for Jesus and one for Ryan, a power outage, setting the grill on fire (the outside of it), a forgotten ID at the liquor store at 9:59 on a saturday (remember we live in MN, no booze on sundays), a plethora of items made in china (hopefully sans the lead), dogs attacking a turkey carcass, hundreds of twist-ties that spent their short lives anchoring trucks and barbies to their expensive packages only to be lodged in the gut of my Dyson, a bonfire that easily exceeded our city's 3'x3' limit that, which by-the-way, was lit using tiki torch oil (and I thought Ryan was a boyscout), and last but certainly not least; having to reach my bare hand into a public toilet to retrieve a 20¢ sparkle headband... yes, a public toilet... there you have it folks, another Griswald family Christmas. Until next time....

In regard to the black & white striped shirt I'm wearing:

"Mommy, your shirt looks like the wicked witch's legs!"

(she hasn't watched the movie in months... what an amazing memory!)

boongie's vocabulary to date:

"mama" - mommy and daddy
"moh" - milk
"moh" - more
"nah-nah" - pacifier
"bubbah" - bubbles
"apah" - open
"uff" - off
"bappah" - grandpa
"jat" - friend Jack at school
"he-go" - here you go
"ah-dah" - all done
"oh-oh" - when something falls on the floor
"duck"

signs: please, eat, all done

and tomorrow it starts.....

Friday 12/21:
- take car (ahem, minivan) in for oil change
- pick-up "Happy Birthday Jesus!" cake
- pick-up uncle nick from airport
Saturday 12/22:
- drop off dogs at spa (aka: gross, confined, chain-link kennel @ $45/day)
- go to swimming lessons
- pack up two kids, 20 gifts, mom, dad & uncle nick into van
- drive to owatonna, eat.
- drive to winona, eat.
Sunday 12/23:
- go to LaCrosse, WI mall, attempt Santa's lap photo (no, ella, that's not the real santa, the real santa is too busy to be at every mall across america....and yes, I understand his breath was stinky and you didn't like his beard)
- play at "Bockie & Boppy's" house the rest of the afternoon & evening
Monday 12/24:
- Go to Great Grandma Anne's house, eat.
- Go to church
- Go to Great Grandma Mabel's house, eat.
- pack up two kids, mom & dad & strap 50+ gifts to roof
- arrive home around 1:00 am
Tuesday 12/25
- Have the Arnold offspring & Bockie & Boppy over, eat.
- nap
- Reflect on how, even though the last 4 days were incredibly stressful and tiring, family is irreplaceable and Santa will always have bad breath.
Wednesday 12/26
- pick up [dirty & ticked off] dogs
- go back to work wearing sweatpants, and weighing at least 7 pounds more than on 12/20

stinky parents:

This morning:
"Mommy!, guess what?...you're not stinky today!!...and neither is Daddy!!"

(well, that's great, I guess...)

kohl's is having a sale. no really, it's true...biggest sale of the year....

perhaps I should stick to girl's haircuts:

the other babies:

bffs: joie & jake

behind mommy's back:

mommy: ella, why are your playing with my nice necklace?
ella: because I took it when you weren't watching.
ella: mommy, when you're not watching I make naughty choices.
mommy: you do?
ella: yep, I do.

my baby boy:

wasn't I just pregnant?!...my baby is growing up, he's such a big boy!!... now, we've just got to get rid of that "nah-nah."

Laundy Weekend How-To:

10 Steps to a successful "Laundry Weekend"
1. sort into whites, pinks, blues, yellows & greens, darks, towels and specialty items.
2. dust bust remnants: dried-up peas, small pieces of play-doh, dog fur...etc...
3. wash

• 3 loads- white
• 2 loads- pink
• 2 loads- blue
• 2 loads- yellows & greens
• 1 load- towels
• 1 load- darks
• 1 load- special items...bras, 30-1/2 year-old blankies, princess dresses, stuffed animals...etc.

4. move cushion from love seat in family room
5. pile all clean laundry on love seat
6. fold over course of one day
7. designate one basket per resident
8. let clothes sit in baskets in each resident's room until next laundry weekend
9. use items as needed from baskets
10. put away into drawers/closets on 13th day, at which time you'll need the baskets again for..."Laundry Weekend!!"

just an average day out on the town:

roller-derby mama:

why bother with just one sucker?!

bummer.

As grandma buckled ella up to go to her dentist appointment, ella commented: "ugh, this is the very worst day of my entire life."
(I'm thinking I should let her know, it only really gets worse)

polka-dotted brother:

On monday, Ella made Grant polka-dotted. (picture to come)

sandwich artist:

"Mom, I need to make some poop sandwiches for the flies in the bathroom."
--ella 9/18/07

footnote:
a) there are NO flies in the bathroom
b) generally, we don't eat poop at our house.
c) exception to item b, 8/29 post

I'm not certain what the plan was here, this is how I found her:

...and yes, that IS the original "Memory" circa 1980-
match the mama animals with the baby animals.

veggie tales:

"Bockie, I can't take a nap because there is a pea under the mattress!"
--ella

mommies can be silly too:

The test results are in...

....there is absolutely no question that Grant is MALE:

(all he needs to learn now is to put his hand in his diaper)

the great minnesota butterfly-together:

Ella made some new friends while on her first trip to the Minnesota State Fair...we spent nearly 30 minutes in the butterfly room...she especially liked the 3 inch caterpillars. Overall, she didn't really care for the "...on a stick" concept. Personally I found the birthing Cows interesting, the babies are 130 pounds at birth...and I thought my kids were big...

Sometimes I eat my poop. by Grant Albrecht

So last night I pooped in my diaper. It leaked out both sides and ran down my legs. I found this cool trick, that when I sat down the poop would squish out the sides....so I did it over and over again until there was a puddle of poopie on my mama's rug. Then...guess what I did?! I scooped up a handful, and ate it! yup! and it was good....then mama saw me and put me in the tubbie. bummer, my fun ended.

last night:

Ella was climbing into bed holding the ends of a blanket around her neck like a cape. I asked her if it was a superwoman cape, she replied with "No, it's a night jacket. Do you have a night jacket?"

((What on earth is a night jacket?!))

It's official....I am a SOCCER mom, minivan and all...

torren and the ladies:

coolest dude in town:

como zoo nap:

girl's night out:

sore armpits:

"Mommy, when I was in your tummy my armpits were sore." (hmm??)

doll's names:

Last night we were reviewing all of the names of Ella's dolls: Claire, Lucy, Camille, Stella, Henry, Betty, Betty's Sister, Charlie....."Mom, don't forget about Johnson and Burrito!" (Burrito?!-what the, where does she get this stuff??-and who's Johnson??)

K is for Cat:

ella: Mom! K-K-K-Cat starts with kah, K!
mom: This is a tricky one, because sometimes the K and the C sound the same. But cat starts with C, not K. C is for Cara and C is for Cat. C-C-C-Cara and C-C-C-Cat.
ella: Oh Mom, you're all mixed up, you've got it all wrong. Cat starts with K not C.

alright whatever you say...

boongie looks at the world from a new perspective:

we got our hairs cut!

no dancing:

this morning as I was dancing to the intro theme song to Curious George (which is quite catchy by-the-way) ella told me in her crabbiest morning voice: "Mom! Stop! You're giving me a headache!"

an appointment with the bathtub:

ella-ism: 7/9/06

To grandma's dog, Petey:
"Petey go away. I know you love me, but I don't want so much love today."

grant's first time at the beach:

(he pooped sand for a week)

ella and the giant tomato!

happy 231st birthday america!

ella-copter:

it's too hot for this:

In regard to seagulls:

driving home tonight ella saw hundreds of seagulls circling the bay near our home, she asked what they were doing, I told her that they were searching for fish to eat. She then asked if they ate at night, I told her that I didn't think they did as they couldn't see the fish in the water at night. She said, "Well, if seagulls had eyes like squids they could see the fish at night, because squids have the biggest eyes." Of course...perhaps God should have consulted with ella in regard to the seagull's eyes.

Allergies:

Sunday Morning:

-Daddy singing Sweet Caroline-
Ella: Daddy stop singing!
Daddy: Why?
Ella: You're making me allergic!

Father's Day 2007, Twins VS. Brewers:

Ella, the Veterinarian:

Jake was neutered yesterday, and this morning as we were heading out the door Ella said, with her hands on her hips:

"Now Jake, no licking on your penis today, or your surgery will worsen-ok?"

Last night while doing a picture find:

mommy: Ella, great job finding all of those pictures, I didn't even see some of them!
ella: I know, I'm so talented!

helping mama in the kitchen:

Ladies Man:

the girl:

Ella is four!

the boy:

Boongie is One!
What a handsome little squirt...

Ella-isms...volume II:

6/3/07 -"Mommy let's dream about caterpillar poop tonight."

6/1/07
Mom: Ella, what do you think about going to McDonald's today? (very rare event)
Ella: I think that is a splendid idea!

- "Don't worry about me right now, I 'm not making good choices" (in response to why she was doing something she isn't supposed to do)

- "Mommy look, Ruby (the caterpillar) made his chrysalis!" (she didn't say cocoon, no, she said chrysalis...of course, why wouldn't she-don't most kids?!) This is, btw, just after she woke up with her bugs, yes, her bug box sleeps with her.

the may birthdays! - part two

On sunday we had a bbq in celebration of Boongie's 1st birthday. He loved his cupcake, and the tissue paper and boxes. Next time we have a party at our house, please, just bring tissue paper, bags and boxes-those seem to be the best gifts, and SO affordable!

the may birthdays!

On May 6th, we celebrated Ella's 4th birthday!
We had a "Wizard from Oz" party and had twelve, yes, 12 kids over...it was crazy!

Drama Queen Vs. Mr. Maintenance-Free

Below is a typical day in Albrecht-ville.
As you clearly see, the siblings were not signed up for the same personalities.

tubby-time!

Availability of the road:

Driving away from my parents' house on monday night around 9:00pm, Ella says:
"Mom, it's a good thing cars have lights on the front or this road would be unavailable to us right now."

Deep Thoughts - by Ella Albrecht

A conversation in the car last fall between Ryan and Ella:
I don't think one needs to be spirtual to think this is pretty intense.

[A little background: I had a miscarriage 3 months before I got pregnant w/Ella. The first baby was due in January, Ella was born in May-She knows nothing of the miscarriage, we've never mentioned a word about it]

Ella: Daddy where did you get that ring?
Ryan: I got it from my Boppy (grandpa), he's in heaven now.
--silence for a bit--
Ella: Daddy, I was going to come to you and Mommy, but then I got sick and Jesus had to take me to Heaven, so I came to you in the spring.

She went on to tell about heaven... she said there were lots of snacks and gummi bears.

ella's funnies - volume one

I decided to set up a blog to easily share with everyone the trials/tribulations and funnies of everyday life as a mom.... (or whatever else it is I feel like sharing)

First blog starts now:

Last thursday morning we were sitting at a stoplight (yes, in our minivan) and this was the conversation Ella and I had:

Ella: Mommy....
Mommy: Yes honey?
Ella: I was just thinking about pooping in a cymbal
Mommy: Pooping in a cymbal? That seems like a funny thought.
Ella: Yes, because then you could bang them together and smoosh the poop.
Mommy: (no comment)