and I kept Busy..

This weekend was Layton's first weekend staying over night at his fathers. With that being said I had to keep VERY busy this weekend to take my mind off the whole situation. Although Layton never once left my mind. Saturday I sent Layton off with lots of Love. Mom and I cleaned a little, well she cleaned a lot! Wingens wanted Lane for he spent the day with his Aunts Uncles and cousins. It was a nice break for me! Mom was gonna come to a movie with Katie and I but decided she wanted to finish her cleaning. So Katie and I headed to Hutch to see Marley and Me, we met Ruth, Megan, Steph and Dan there. It was a good flick, perfect for any age! I got a nice Christmas present at the theatre too, Dan had my name in the Bauer Christmas exchange, someone suggested I open it there, so I rip off the paper and to my surprise I see a cardboard folder wrapped in clear packing tape. There I sit in the theatre trying to open the gift, after a little cutting with a finernail clipper I finally managed to get inside the cardboard.. Sweet! A 4GB Sd card for my camera. That will come in perfect for my trip to Vegas! After the movie Kt and I did a little shopping and headed home, We went out and got Lane visited for a little bit then headed back home. That evening I headed out to Isaac and Sara Hahns to visit with some of Chads friends. It was nice and they all got to see Lane! Mom offered to watch Lane so I could go out on the town, if that's what it is called in rural MN? I went to Tanker with Kt, pretty Dead, was there for maybe a total of 15 minutes. Then we headed to Gaylord to listen to a band. Seen a few friends, decided that's not where I wanted to be so I headed home. It was ok to get out but I would much prefer being at home in bed!!! So I went home and Lane was just ready to eat, good timing!! Sunday Morning Lane and I laid in bed for a while and I got some quality bonding time with him, which was nice. Then I headed to the cities to give someone a ride there which took up most of the day, another good distraction! It was nice to get out of the house. Once we were back I just had to wait an hour for Layton to get home!! and once he got home I heard the best sound of my life!! MOM MOM.. *giggles* Love you! It was the greatest.. Last night was another story. Layton now wakes up with Night Terrors, it happened Friday night and again last night!! Layton finally fell asleep at 4am!!!!!! It was awful!!! I hope we don't have to go through that every other weekend. That was my busy weekend!!! Glad to have my boys home with me!!!

An old high school friend! Eb!!
sister and I

Lane Almost sitting up.. he still kinda tips over!

Christmas parties #2 and #3

The business of Christmas is over and here I sit with a house full of toys. There isn't even room to walk, so I am going to say this for next year. 1 toy per child, or we will be a toy story by the time they are 5!! haha. Every kid loves getting toys! It has been so fun this year. Layton was excited about Presn(presents). Every where he went he just got more presents!!!

On Tuesday we opened presents with my mom. Layton and Brayden fought over every toy each other opened. Next year we decided we are buying them both the exact same thing.. that way they can't fight over it! And I also decided I'm not going to be buying them so much stuff. When I buy things over time it doesn't seem like much until they start opening it and then I realize I bought way too much. oh well.. it was fun!!

Christmas Eve we headed to my Dads for dinner. Layton got a new bike and loved it. By this summer he will be tall enough to ride it! I can't wait!!! It is super cool!!! Lane just sat back and enjoyed watching his brother open all his gifts! Lane mostly got money since he doesn't really understand how to open presents yet! Christmas Eve we went to our Church for the Christmas service. Layton wasn't having a good night. He wanted nothing to do with sitting and coloring. He would say " Bye Bye" and try to walk out. I could only take so much so I walked out with him, he decided to make a mad dash for the balcony and biffed it on the steps and got a nice shiner. Everyone in church heard the bang and was wondering what I was doing to my child. No Worries I just have a klutz on my hands:) After Church we headed out to the farm. We just hung out and enjoyed each other company. Although, it wasn't the same without Grandma there. But it was still fun.

Santa came Christmas Morning and Layton enjoyed dumping out his stocking and opening a few gifts from the man in red. Lighting McQueen was by far his favorite toy from Santa! (Today we have had to watch Cars all morning and he had to have his Cars Pj's on). Then he headed to his Dads and Lane and I headed to Jim and Ruths for more good food and fun!!! Then it was out to Wingens, 13 kids under the age of 8 running around the house!! And when Santa came things got out of control. Haha.. LOTS and LOTS of screaming!!! It was fun to see the kids get so excited and it was fun to hang out with Chad's family. I just wish he was here to join us in the fun. we did get a huge sign from him. The Shed light flashed and flickered all night long. It was amazing to see!!!!! Then it was home to open the toys we just got and off to bed. Until next year...:)

Christmas party #1

Today the kids and I ventured out in the bitter cold to go to the Uecker Christmas party. I think it was worth the drive. It's always nice to catch up with the family we don't get to see a lot! Some highlights of the day:
*Uecker Trivia- Scott: you wouldn't have known half those questions if you didn't read the blogs.. ha. Also Layton got the crowd going. Brenda asked a question to this effect "who just masted oh la la" and as she is saying that layton runs into the kitchen and shouts.. OH LALA! no one had to guess the answer anymore. Trivia was also a way to bring back old memories, I learned a few things about my dad that I didn't know.. like he used to hide his beer in the ditch!! So clever! And I want to clarify one of Katies questions, "Who failed their drivers test twice and then had to take the trailblazer bus to work at the school?" First of all I only failed ONCE, and I road the bus to work way before I had my license, I didn't ride it because I failed!!
*Layton ate shrimp and liked it. More like he LOVE IT! I was about ready to barf watching him eat that.. I don't like seafood!!!
*Great food! although I hardly ate anything or maybe I did but just ate so fast I don't remember eating. But I do remember whatever I ate tasted pretty good!
*Lane puked on 5 different people. First Traci got it, then Scott, Linds, Julie,and of course myself!! Anyone who held him got puked on. Now Scott you can't feel bad cause Linds got it worse than you and Lane also rubbed it deep into her skin.. lol..he must have really liked her!
*Abby thinks I have a GFW lettermans coat..haha... sorry Ab I had to put it in there.
*And everyone I think had a good time!!!

Tomorrow school is two hours late!! YIPPEE!!!! I will actually get to sleep in!! Stay Warm everyone!

Layton and Brenda eating shrimp (check out the black eye)
Grandma's beer bread

Opening another present

more shrimp!!!

Winter Weather here you come!! I wish the snow came on a school day, that would mean I would get a day off. Oh well, just as long as I don't have to miss the Uecker Christmas Party tomorrow! I love this time of year and all the snow just adds to the Christmas spirit! Again nothing is really new with us. Lane started baby food and his tummy is still adjusting so we have a lot of messy clothes, bibs, and rags!! Layton is talking so much! and it is so clear! I just love talking with him!! And me, well I guess I could tell you about all my vegas clothes but I don't want to bore you, I'll just show you pictures when I get back!! No one is ever going to believe the clothes and SHOES I got!! oh boy, it's going to be VEGAS style.. Gotta love a personal shopper! Well I'll type more later, layton wants to help me type! here he comes gtg!

Can 2008 End?

Sorry to write about the negative stuff..(I think I should just delete the Christmas letter) but this year needs to end!!! I don't think this county can handle any more deaths, accidents, or anything else! For my it all started with Chad passing away and ever since then things never seemed to get better. Why I am writing that is because Friday evening we lost a teacher from GFW in a house fire! Her husband made it out but she did not. I didn't know Deb very well but whenever I had the chance to talk to her she was always very friendly and nice. From what the students wrote she was one caring lady. She will be greatly missed at school, church, and in our community.

I just hope everyone has a happy and healthy Christmas. This year I have decided to take on more than maybe I can handle. I out the Christmas tree up (the decorations are all at the top) Layton only (almost) tipped it over once, I think that is pretty good for a 18 month old! I hung their stockings and Santa plans to fill them too, and my new ambition(i don't think that is spelled right?) is to make Christmas cookies. What am I thinking? I think the reason I want to do all this stuff is to maybe set a tradition for my boys. "Mom always made "----Whatever kind I decide to make--- this kind of cookie for us" "Mom always let us set up the tree and place the Angel on top" or whatever tradition might make us unique. I also was impressed with my pumpkin carving this year. What single mom of a 18 month old and a 4 month old has time to carve 3 pumpkins?? Don't ask me how I did it but I did, and don't ask me how I'm going to make all the Christmas cookies I wanna make because I'm not really sure now I plan on getting it all done. But a woman can set goals can't she?

Layton is amazing me more and more everyday. I wish Ihad a voice recorder going at all times.. Yesterday he was watching the snow plows and came up with "Snow Trucks" Celver! Brenda taught him oooh lala!!! He says it in such a charming way too!!

Lane is my laid back lil fella. He loves the exersaucer and watching his older brother. He loves laughing at anyone who will sit and talk with him. He has discovered his feet and actually plays a little game with them.. he really likes it when I put the sleepers that have little animals on the feet. hehe

That's it for now. I hope to have a POSITIVE Christmas!!

Double Pink Eye

I have to admit it has been kinda nice staying home with Pink Eye! Yes, Both Layton and myself have the red itchy eyes!! Don't get to close to us you might get it too!! We couldn't get into the dr today until 215 so we both have to stay home again tomorrow. Being I work with kids and Layton is around kids all day we were advised to just take the day off tomorrow! No problem!! It was kinda nice catching a nap with my lil boy today!! We watched Alvin and The Chipmunks and had soup and sandwiches for dinner! I love cozy winter days! Who knows what we will do tomorrow, maybe just hang out and enjoy our time together. Lane is going back out to the Wingens for the day!!

I have to mention Laytons new interest! Bombines!! Combines.. my goodness I had to look up pictures of combine on google so he could see one or two no wait I bet I looked at over 10 different combines! He even went through the Winthrop News and Gaylord hub looking for combines.. My mom finally pulled out the ad section that comes in the papers, out of the garbage so he had a BOMBINE to look at!!

Christmas Time

Can you believe it's Christmas time already? Wow what a year it has been! Many ups and downs for this household but somehow we have managed to make it through! God only gives us as much as we can handle!
I like the way Traci wrote her Christmas Letter so I'm going to try to summerize my year!

January:
Chad and I did a lot of Ice Fishing this month. It's going to be greatly missed this year. Layton was just a baby so we didn't get out to do much in January.

Febuary:
Was a little rough for me. A lot of silly stuff with some certain people. We encountered a few snow storms and if I remember correctly, Layton was sick a lot!

March:
March was a good month and a very sad month. On the 25th Chad and I found out we were going to be having a baby boy! We were both very excited, although I did think it was going to be a girl! Oops! Just 3 days later Chad was killed in a car accident!

April:
Started out with Chad's funeral. Not a good way to start a new month. Can't really remember what else happened this month. I just know it was kinda a blur!

May:
Still much of a blur, At the end of the month I did have a big baby shower. Lots of family and friends came to honor baby Wingen!

June:
LAYTON TURNED 1!!!!! We had a big party at the farm! I also hit up another Twins game!!

July:
We got a lot of pool time in and the big event was this month. Lane was Born on July 29th!

August:
Was spent with sleepless nights and a fussy baby! Thank Goodness he grew out of that!! Layton also finished up swimming lessons!!

September:
I went back to work!! I had 1/2 the month off, it was nice getting back to work but I do still miss the extra time with my babies!

October:
Fall Fun!! We hit up a few pumpkin and apple farms! And enjoyed Layton's first time trick or treating! I also got a few hunting trips in!!

November:
Speaking of hunting. This is the month I missed that Monster buck!! Still is under my skin! oh well.. next year! We also had a a family emergency. My Grandma Bauer had a heart attack! and she survived it! She is amazing and we have so much to be thankful for this month and the rest!

December:
Just started. We have spent a lot of time up at Abbott but have also been enjoying the Holiday season!! The Tree is up, the stockins are hung, and the presents are wrapped (in Santa's workshop of course!). Bring on Christmas!!:)

I missed it again!

Today I set Lane down on the floor and went to get Layton a cup of milk, when I came back, Lane was on his tummy. Dang it. I missed the big roll over again!!!! I grabbed my camera hoping he would do it again, instead Layton wanted all the attention and also my phone wouldn't stop ringing. What the heck. Hopefully I will catch it soon!

Layton is still talking up a storm. Did I talk that much when I was a child?? Ha I bet some of my family can vouch for that one. I think I did.. infact I know I did because I have horrible memories of people telling me to STOP TALKING SO MUCH!!!!! I love it though, I can't wait to hear the things he will come up with in a few years.. He's newest saying is "LOVE YOU!!"

My Grandma is still in the ICU at Abbott. She is on the road to recovery! What a blessing!! and what a miracle!! I can't say enough about the ambulance crew and the hospital staff!! They saved my Grandma's life!! From what I understand now, 5 shocks usually doesn't do that job and the person is usually long gone if they have to do 5 shocks. Please PLEASE be CPR Trained and AED trained, you never know when you might have to use it and it does save lives!!! I am so Thankful this Holiday season!!!! Life gives curve balls but they aren't impossible to hit. We hit them head-on and deal with it.

Quote of the day from my Great Aunt in San Diego
"Patience for the patient!"

Until next time..

www.caringbridge.org/visit/lucillebauer

Praying

Its been one busy weekend, last night we headed up to Abbott to visit my Grandma in the ICU. Its hard to see someone you love so much in the hospital. She is in really good hands though!!! we set up a caringbridge site for her..

www.caringbridge.org/visit/lucillebauer

More to be thankful for

Tonight I have even more to be thankful for. I want to thank the Winthrop Ambulance crew, hutchinson hospital, lifelink helicopter, and the Abbott Hospital staff for taking such good care of my Grandma during her heartattack. She is in the ICU right now and she isn't out of the woods yet but I pray for the medical staff to do whatever they do to keep her healthy!!!!!

Its amazing how fast life can flash before your eyes. How fast something to precious to you can be taken away. The last things I told my Grandma was that I loved her!! And I plan on saying it to her a lot more times!! Hug the people close to you and cherish every moment with them. Life can throw us some curve balls!!!

I'm saying a prayer for my Grandma tonight!! Thank You Lord for giving us another chance to tell her we love her!

What am I THANKFUL for?

1. I am thankful for my family.

3. Layton
4. Lane
5. Good Health
6. I am thankful I have a roof over my head and wheels to get me to work.
7. I am thankful for my job
8. I am thankful for my Grandparents for teaching me some important lessons in life
9. That also goes for my parents.
10. I am thankful the friends in my life.
11. I am thankful for the new friends I have made this year.
12. I am very thankful for the open arms into the Wingen Family.
13. I am also VERY thankful I met Chad!! He has changed my life in ways I bet he never imagined he would.
14. I am thankful for the doctors who brought my beautiful sons into this world!
15. I am thankful I seen atleast ONE deer this year and that I got a shot off.
16. My life
17. For Ann, she has helped me in so many ways.
18. All the kids at school. Even though some days they drive me crazy.
19. For teacher and educators, drs and nurses
20. I am thankful for having God in my life. He might not answer all my prayers but I know he is there!!

What are you thankful for. There are so many more but I'll stop at 20.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE. I am hoping my Holidays are filled with Happiness and I will try to get through them knowing the people who have passed are sharing this day with us, in spirit!

We got hit!

we got hit by the "COLD". All three of us at the same time! There has been very little sleep for this Momma. and I Can't wait until we are all healthy and sleeping through the night again! I'm up about every hour with Lane, Layton will sleep in his bed for a couple hours then wants to be with us. So we really aren't cold, we are snuggly warm but we all have stuffy noses, sore throats, and the coughs. Vicks vapor rub did the trick last night!! I even used some. Today we are going to have a little visitor over for a little play or "stare at each other time" (since they are both babies. Then it's off for family pictures. I'm excited, I hope they turn our ok!! Then it will be home for Hot baths and hopefully, cross your fingers, SOME SLEEP!!!!!!!!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. This week I am looking forward to yummy food and I have lots to be thankful for!

New Photos

Nothing really new, just wanted to share some photos. Lane rolled over and I missed it the first time and then I seen it again last night!! I'll have to get out the camrea and try getting it on film!! Layton still likes using the potty, he how needs to have his book while sitting on the potty. He has yet to go but he sure looks good trying!!

Same old same old

Same stuff different day. The basics are accuring at our house lately..(I don't want to sound too much like a proud momma cause I understand most kids do these things through out their developmental stages!! haha) Layton is sitting on the potty, talking up a storm (I can't believe how much he picks up on..ex: we were watching Little People Big World and one of the boys on TV climbed on the counter and Layton yelled ..Dett DOWN! (Get down). He will also say NO NO BUS.. DOWN WAA WAA..NO NO BABA. BAANEY? (Barney) and so on.) Lane is on the verge of rolling over and...SLEEPING THROUGH the night. He loves to sit up in his bumbo chair and also lay under the play gym thing for babies and bat the toys that hang down! I can't believe he will be 4 months on the 19th and Layton is almost 18 months.. Seriously where has time gone!! As for me, well.. firearms season is over, still nothing to report. My mom's fried Jerry got a nice eight pointer, but me..i'll have to wait until next year. Bow hunting is still open but I just have has enough of the cold weather and really don't wanna sit out there anymore. Who knows, I might get the urge to get back out there!! Oh wait a minute there is something new with me, I'm going on vacation!!! YIPPEE!!! Vegas here I come, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to me! A 4 day trip and I'm sure I will be more than ready to come back to my kids. I like the idea of going but not really liking the idea of being away from my kids that long. Somehow I have to find a way to store my breastmilk while I am gone (just what everyone wanted to know), but really that's my biggest worry right now, besides being away from the boys. I love traveling, and I can't wait to take my kids to places I never got to go to as a child and to experience those things with them. Who seriously wants to stay in MN their whole lives and not see the "outside" world, there is so much out there.

LOSER..haha thats the first thing i think of when I see this picture

Hunter Lane..Just like Mommy and his Daddy

Great Grandma Uecker and Laner

Jerry's Nice eight pointer.. boy am I jealous.. nice deer though
and Jerry and My mom

Before I was a Mom!

He truly does amaze me. today I ventured out with both boys to the store. I get in and out just fine, it's while I'm putting Lane in the car that Layton takes off. I catch him before he can get too far and he is resisting my attemp to hold Of course there are some tears but he manages to get up and shake it off.. then we get home and he is talking away like normal.."DOWN..WAA WAA" He is saying he fell down in the water!! I was so shocked that he made a sentence..well kinda, but he was sure trying!!!

I also want to share this poem with you.. I got it in an e-mail and it could not have been written any better! I forgot what life was like before I had kids.. Seriously what did I do with all that time on my hands! Sometimes I might wish for a vacation but I wouldn't trade my job for the world!! Even when it talks about plants being poisonous, who would seriously think about that if you weren't a mom, I know I checked into that before Layton came along!! Enjoy Moms!

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a
Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a
Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel

to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.
Before
I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a
Mom.

One of those days..

Yesterday I had one of those days..and lately I haven't been having them as often. It was a "I really miss Chad day" I seen pictures of his headstone and it just became all to real! Honestly I don't even like going out there but to see the final touches was kind of hard. It's only been about 8 months but that was the last piece to be placed. or so it seems. And what makes it even harder is the Holidays that are right around the corner. 1 year ago I was the happiest girl ever, now today, I am grieving something that was good in my life..for once. Its like one minute your on top of the world and the next everything is turned upside down. I look at Lane now and I am sad for him. He will never know his Dad, he will never hear his voice, he will never smell him, play baseball with him, hunt with him, watch a scary movie with him, read a book with him, Chad won't be there to teach him how to ice skate and eventually play hockey, I sure the heck don't know how. I will try my darnest to do whatever I can to make sure he knows as much about his father as possible and I know the Wingen's will too. Really..that's all we can do and we can let Chad do the rest from above... okay I just have to vent.. Ann tells me I should do that in whatever way helps..this would be it...

Layton is continuing to amaze me everyday! The things he is saying just make me laugh. Yesterday he started sitting on the potty. I'm not pushing potty training, he wanted to do it. He didn't pee of course but he sat and sat and used A LOT of toilet paper. and I'm afraid to say it but I think the terrible two's are starting. Today at daycare he had 3 timeouts..once for bitting and twice for hitting. That's not normal for him, although, tonight has been really rough so maybe it was the weather..lets just hope thats what it was.

Lane is growing like a weed. He is almost rolling over, his eyes changed to a hazel color, and he is almost eating baby food. Can you believe on the 29th he will be 4 months old!!! Where has the time gone? I am looking forward to the Holidays with my boys!!!

And for me, lets see.. I wake up, get kids ready, go to work, come home from work, play with the kids, bathtime, then bed time.. that's pretty much my life..Except for this past weekend when..let me remind you..I missed the buck of a lifetime..no i'm still not over it..

Well i'm gonna e-mail some family about Christmas ideas...until next time..

It was a dream come true until....

Firearms hunting opener, snow, wind, 35 degree tempertures. I was on a mission, I was going to shoot a deer this year, and I couldn't have had a better chance, to screw it up! Dad and I walk out right at shooting hours in hopes of kicking something out. We did kick out 2 does but I couldn't shoot them because I didn't have a doe permit. So we stand in the woods a little bit hopeing some other hunters kick something out. Sure enough there runs a doe, back into the woods, and that's why my dream came true. Dad says TRISH THERE'S ONE.. BANG BANG.. GET UP THERE AND SHOOT (out of the woods and up on the field!) IT'S HUGE...SHOOT..BANG.. KEEP SHOOTING..BANG BANG.. KEEP SHOOTING..BANG. DID IT FALL...IS IT SLOWING DOWN.. BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP... THAT THING WAS A MONSTER! BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP!

There you have it.. the monster buck I have been talking about, you know..the one I was gonna shoot..Yup well it's still out there!! Dad said that's the biggest deer he has ever seen a live, and the guy who missed it before me said he was a MONSTER too.. Let me tell you, I had dreams about that thing last night, more like a nightmare. The whole thing keeps replaying in my mind and I just keep kicking myself for not hitting that thing. Not that I want to make excuses but here might be some reasons to why I missed the biggest deer in Sibley County..

1. Blowing snow in my face
2. I was using my dad's gun, which I have never shot before.
3 The deer was running away from me..at an angle

Everyone keeps telling me that was a once in a lifetime chance and now I feel even worse about missing it! Not like I TRIED to miss it!!! I was hopeing so bad to see that thing fall!!! He's still alive for a reason, he's smart!

We did trial it once it got to the state land but then it crossed the ditch and was GONE!!!!! So there ya have it.. the story you have been waiting for, without the happy ending!! I knew he was out there!!

Snow, are you kidding me!

Just wanted to welcome the first snow of the season...now you can leave again!!! Thanks!

laughing Layton!

Layton and I playing a little peek a boo with a book.. He finds it to be VERY funny!!! the video doesn't do justice to his actual giggle!!!

The Right to Vote: I VOTED!

Well today is the big day, the day that we might finally get to see some Change. To be honest, I didn't understand the voting process until just last year!! Sad, I know, but now I understand. We aren't voting for an actual person we are voting for the political party. Because the Electoral college takes care of voting for the President in December! I think it should be by popular vote but it's not. I do know Minnesota gets 10 electoral votes! Hehe.. Good thing I am working at the High School. I learn something new everyday, or I just didn't pay attention in High School! So anyways, this morning I woke up all excited to get out and VOTE. I even got up early, and got the kids off to their destinations and I headed to the polls. It was quick and painless, and I proudly wore the red "I VOTED" sticker. THEY say this is the most historic voting and I am proud to say I took part in it! And I also want to let the Quast's know that if I lived in Gaylord, Doug would have been my vote, and No not because he is family but because he is a great Mayor!! GO DOUG!!! Now I lay in bed and watch the future of the USA hopefully change!! I am ready for a more positive outlook on things and lets just pray we choose the right President to do the job!!! I am a proud American and I'm glad I exersiced my right to vote!!!

Nightmare on Halloween

Wow, what a busy night!!! Layton and I have been going non-stop since he got home from Daycare!! He had such a busy day!! Of course he had a party at daycare, he came home with 2 pumpkin (punpin) tattoos on his check and a BAG full of candy and treats! From there, I thought it would be cool to get one of those papa murphy's pumpkin shaped pizza, so we ate and then were off to the neighbors. Layton held out his bag and the neighbor lady put the treat in there and Layton dropped his bag and looked at her as though he was scared! After that we went to another place and he is slowly starting to understand the concept of trick or treating. Then we were off to the nursing home here in Winthrop. All the residents sat in a big circle and the kids just went around and got their candy, Layton was a little scared at first but finally got the hang of it. I turned my back for a minute and when I look back at Layton I see him going around to all the residents again, getting candy and putting it in his bag. Little stinker caught on fast!!! We walked around the neighborhood a little bit before heading over to Gaylord, thats where the night got interesting. We stop at Brenda's and I was running all the treats out to the car and I hear this hissing coming from the tire, I look around and I see a nail, sure enough, I ran over a nail and now my tire is leaking fast! Now what?? I have more places to take Layton and I have a flat tired!! Well Brenda was kind enough to let me take her car to finish our work. Then I had to get a hold of my dad (who DOES NOT have a cell phone) so he could come in from the field to see Layton. so 20 minutes later he shows up and we are hanging out, some kids come on the deck and dad is outside talking and Layton is inside playing by the door, well, Layton had a hold of the door handle when Dad swung open the door. Layton goes flying outside hitting his head on the way out. Tears are flowing, kids are piling on the deck and Keena isn't listening!!!!! It was a heckic couple of minutes but we quickly turned off the light before any one else could come..(Dad wasn't planning on handing out candy since he was suppose to be in the field!!), after that we made a few more stops then it was home to BED!! Wow.. that was fun but boy is that work!! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!! We sure did, and we even got to see Lane's cousins all dressed up!!

Also Keep praying for the Bjorklunds!!!!

Blogging from my bedroom

Isn't technology awesome. Boys are sleeping and I can blog...FROM MY BED!!! Ha, I sure am enjoying this laptop stuff. Now I can spend more time with the boys because now I can sit in bed and enjoy a little computer time!:) Ok enough about that lets get on to new business..okay, there isn't a whole lot of new things but here I go anyways. Layton is a talking machine!!! We really really have to watch what we say now!! He repeats everything. So I read in Parents magazine that you are suppose to use "real" words with your kids, not slang. So I said, Layton that is your penis and he says something that kinda sounds like that, so now he looks at it and says penis.. What a smart boy!! Good thing you can't really understand him yet. He also learned how to spit after you brush he is done brushing his teeth. He also grabbed the washcloth in the bath today and started scrubing himself. Man, my job is getting easier. He also can undress himself..kinda..lets just say that one is a work in progress, but he understands what he needs to do!! I can't believe how much he learns in just one day! I just love that about him!!! And Lane, well he is starting to laugh.. IT'S SOO CUTE!:) He can roll over as long as he can push off of something with his legs, he is sleeping a lot longer at night too!! That's amazing for me!! Ok enough about my kids...

I do want to mention something on the sadder side..(is that even a word)

Please PLEASE pray for the Bjorklund Family. Dale has lymphnode cancer. His 2nd oldest daughter, Jenny, is one of my very good friends!! They need our love, support, and prayers!!!!
www.caringbridge.org/visit/dalebjorklund

Well thats it for now, I better get to bed!!

New Discoveries

All three of us have discovered something new in the last couple of days! Lane can roll over as long as he is on his side already!! Yay for Lane!!!

Layton just discovered that he can stick his finger in his nose, and better yet, that something comes out of it too!!! He knows where his nose is but just last night he learned you can stick your finger in there!! How cool.. and today he learned that if you stick your finger in there sometimes something is stuck to your finger! Sweet..I will just have to keep a closer eye on him now so he doesn't stick anything else in his nose!!

Here is a picture of the 3 boys during movie night at Grandma's. Doesn't it look fun!!!:)

and I discovered I can bake!!:) I made my very first pumpkin pie the other night and it turned out great!! I spilled a little so that's why the crust burnt but otherwise I think it tasted pretty good!!! Yay for MOMMY!!!:)
Well Lane needs me now, until next time..

New Vocab

Layton is starting to take after his mother, talking a lot!! I remember when I was little my older cousins would always remind me to be quiet because I talked so much. Although I am not telling layton to be quiet I am enjoying everything he is learning. Here are a few examples of his new ablility.
Lanner= Lane
Puppa= Puppy
Papa= Grandpa
BAAAAAAAAA= Sheep
Go way= Go Away
madma= Grandma
Aaaion= Allison
Momma= Mommy
WaaWaa= Water
Baba= Bottle
Malk= Milkbaak= Book
and there are many more wordsHe amazes me everyday. He copies about everything I say so I really need to watch what I say.He is such a joy (most of the time), he is also starting the tatrum business. Things should start getting interesting now. But honestly, I feel so blessed to have him, he brings so much joy to my life along with little Lanner. I'm having a hard time accepting Chad's death because of all the joy my children are bringing me. I know he would be having a ball with these kids. He had taken Layton as his own and when he was about to have a Child of his own his life was cut short. I know everyday he is with us though. I can just tell by Lane's actions that he is around. So anyways, Saturday we went to Mn Harvest by Jordan with Chad's family. (that too was hard) but we had a good time, we ate dinner there, well most of us, Layton choose to climb up and down the steps instead of eating. Lane just slept. Then we went on a Wagon ride to pick apples. The kids really enjoyed this!!! A lot of apples were ate during the picking:) Then we played on the play ground but one of Chad's nieces got pretty upset when she couldn't go down the slide with Layton first, after 10 minutes of pouting she finally was ready for her turn. Then it was off to the putting zoo. That was an experience, you pay for a cup of food then they send you in with the bears.. haha, No they open the gate and it's just an open pen with all different kinds of small farm animals (Deer, cows, sheep, goats, ponies) As soon as you walk in the gate the animals attack!!! The kids cups went flying or they were being chased by animals. Layton opted for me to hold him most of the time as it was a bit overwhelming. I can't imagine what it was like for the little kids having to be face to face with these hunger animals, no wonder they were running away most of the time. I feel so blessed that the Wingen's have accepted Layton and I into their family! Now if Chad were only here to experience all of these joys with me. Well i'm off to get Layton, Today was his first day with his Dad alone. That's a whole different story! I am so excited to pick of my baby!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just half of the Wingen Cousins
Layton Appleseed
one of the HUNGER goats!

I still love my Twins!!
Layton and Josie on the wagon ride!
enjoying his apple!
Papa Wingen and Layton on the pony
Max and Lane (6 months apart) sleeping!

The Joys of Fall!!

Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins!! I have been taking full advantage of some fall fun! Last Saturday Myranda, Heather, Myself, and the 4 kids headed to Burnsville to Chucky Cheese for Myranda's 17th Birthday. She had never been there so I had to make sure you had the experience. The kids were a bit of a handful and Myranda only heard "Our we there yet" about a million times. I think she was a tad bit annoyed on her Birthday!! but we all survived and I managed to buy myself a pair of jeans while doing a LITTLE shopping. Sunday Layton was suppose to go to a birthday party but we had to cancel because we took some Great Grandchildren pictures for my Grandpa and Grandma Bauer. The 5 year old and 2 babies did the best job of sitting! the 1 1/2 year olds were a little more energized. We got some good shots and are hopeing to get a nice picture frame made for them!:) I also enjoyed another round of pumpkin carving. Last year I did a friendly ghost and this year I tried a frankenstein and a scarecrow, and I will soon be carving out a MN Twins Pumkin.

I wish I could type more but my oldest son is needing my attention at the moment!!:) Check out the very last picture as most of you will probably get a good laugh..:)