Dusting Off the Cobwebs

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Anybody home?!?

Well, turns out that free hosting doesn’t last forever. Many thanks to Ryan for all the years off free hosting and tech support. After a few attempts at researching free, WP friendly hosting options, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t worth the headache and setup the site on WordPress.com. So far, so good!

I’ll be tweaking the site more as time goes on, including setting Maria up with an account again, FB tie-ins, etc., but in the meantime, I’m reenergized for writing.

Take care,
Michael

Hello!!!!

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Well since I have written on this thing last I have added two more blonde haired bright eyed little men to our family 🙂 I am watching the youngest dance right now…..crazy to see your almost 1 year old dancing around like he is much older! It has been a super fast but wonderful summer. I have loved the heat and playing with the kids. Life is nuts but so very blessed….hope everyone is well!

Life’s Changes

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Well, here I am. Rocking my youngest to sleep. I have some to reflect on life’s recent changes. Friends that disappear or float farther away… Kids growing up fast… Myself getting older. It’s hard to stay focused sometimes on the future, I catch myself starring in the rear view mirror, wondering what on earth is going on. Life is about choices. But more importantly, it’s about the impacts of those choices. Tomorrow, I’ll try to make more good choices then bad. That’s all we can do is try.

Time to Reflect

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Well, it’s that time of year again. We look back at our accomplishments and failures from last year and strive to do better/more next year.

Yeah… I’m looking forward to hitting the breaks.

It’s time for Maria and I to reflect on our accomplishments but in the mind frame of “Are we happy?”. And I sure hope her answer is the same as mine. A resounding yes!!

We’ve done so much in such little time, trying to improve our daily lives with foresight on the future.

But truth be told… We’re spent. Dead tired.

This year I’ll be looking forward to lazy days with the family (after the kitchen is done of course). Boy, I sure hope I can pull off this relaxing thing…

Happy New Year!

The Independence Revolution has Begun

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Well, it happened. Far sooner then I imagined. I knew it would come, perhaps in five or so years, but not today.

I was wrong.

Isabella and I went outside to play in this winter’s first snow. She went over to her friend’s house, coaxed her outside, and turns to me.

“Dad, you can go home now.”

Utter shock on my face.

I blow it off, chat with her friend’s mom for a bit, then I get the look that means “what are you still doing here!”.

After being asked again politely by my four year old to leave, I say my goodbyes and walk home.

I knew this day would come, but I thought I had a while to prepare. I guess not.

Finding Joy in the Small Things

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Tonight I remembered how nice the simple things in life can be. We have a tradition in our house of doing Christmas light rides nearly every night from Thanksgiving to New Years, so tonight we loaded up the car and took the Mecca to Olin Park. Boy was it packed!! The kids had an absolute blast, and hearing their giggles and laughs coming from the back seat made my heart melt with joy. Kids get it. It’s not about opening presents crammed under a fire hazard in your living room, it’s about creating memories, having experiences, and establishing traditions with loved ones around the holidays is what matters most.

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Night the Oven Went Poof

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Last night, we experienced something I never thought would happen to us… A kitchen fire. We were prepping for dinner and Maria walked past the stove and noticed flames, sparks, and smoke, oh joy!!

She called me inside and I immediately sent everyone to the neighbor’s house. I was able to put out the fire and the folks from the MFD confirmed everything was safe. So after hauling out the burned up oven and attempting to clean up the awful mess, Maria and I went to get the kids. Both big kids were visibly shaken (rightfully so, how often do you run outside with no socks in the middle of the night with a fire truck coming to your house) but OK. So proud of them for being strong!!

Looks like Santa’s bringing us new kitchen appliances after all…

Alone at Night with the Crazies

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It seems crazy how life takes twists and turns. I sit here in the dark, rocking my snoring son Noah to sleep for the fifth time tonight. Thoughts race through my head on how life was and how it might be in the future. It’s sometimes hard to stay grounded in the present, without drifting too far in the past or looking ahead to the future, but my kids do that for me. My crazies keep me grounded and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I forgot about this thing!

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Hi all!
I hate to admit it, but I’ve been facebook plagued lately and forgot to update our lovely website. Life is great here in Madison, well minus the cold and snow. We are enjoying spending the winter in our beautiful new basement, gas fireplace and all. Isabella is 21 months old now, talking a lot, and adorable as ever. We are blessed and hoping to add another addition to the family in the upcoming year! This time of year I am always reminded of how fortunate I am to have a job I love, a beautiful daughter, and a truly amazing husband. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and a blessed 2009!

Catch up day….

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Hi! I finally got a chance to post some pics from July and August. So far they have been very busy months for us. In July, Isabella discovered how much she loved her pool, and by now she’s kind of over it. Mike stood up in Patrick’s wedding in Milwaukee on the 19th. We had a great time! I even went to 2 weddings in the same day, craziness. August has brought about deck demo, (pics to come later), and fair fun! Summer is going way too fast. My friend Courtney took our pictures last weekend, I hope to see them soon, and can post the link for everyone to enjoy. My poor little girl is getting teeth like mad, and is not a happy kid. I hope it passes soon. Isabella is getting bigger and more adventurous everyday. We are heading to Grandma and Papa’s early next week for a visit, I FINALLY have a stretch off from work so that we can get away. Unfortunately we have to leave dad here to work, but hopefully he can get a little rest while we are gone. I’m going to go and try to win some deck money at the casino 🙂 Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the summer. We are tentatively planning a Fall party this year, because our annual summer party has gotten away from us. More details to follow, hopefully we can all enjoy the new deck! Love to all! Maria