Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Obsessed...

So sorry to delay an enticing post to fuel your mind....however I am currently OBSESSED with the Twilight series...maybe obsession is too weak of word to describe this current phase. I wonder if this is what the Harry Potter fans went through? Is there a self help group I can attend??? Or can someone please come entertain Beer Daddy, he is not real thrilled with this new obsession and has become a little ornery.

I am pretty sure I set a new record for myself and read New Moon in 2 days and I am half way through Eclipse...however to not delay any further I will post tomorrow with tales of Christmas and some new changes to the blog...I bet you are on the edge of your seat with anticipation. Until then...

Friday, December 19, 2008

I heart...HATE snow!

My commute today...

Left house at 6:10 AM

Arrived at work 7:43 AM

Bonus...I didn't bring my coffee with me for my ride in, yep my day is going that well. TGIF!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Ok, I am a little less pissed...

...than last night. Seriously annoyed beyond belief. I am currently at the Indy Airport, returning home from my last trip of 2008 and OVERJOYED!!! I can't wait to be home and not have to pack a bag for at least a month.

So my post last night (which BTW...apparently doesn't reflect the real time as it was 11PM when I posted) talked about all that has transpired in the life of Vino Mommy last week. Frankly I can't recite it again, lets just put it this way...a lot happened, it's the freakin Holiday season, what do you expect. But like I said I am anxiously awaiting my last flight home for the year and that is HUGE. It has been quite the year for me, for Beer Daddy, and for the munchkins. They have definitely become accustomed to Mommy's travel schedule and like I said before there is no way I could have kept up this insane schedule with out my side kick/partner in crime...the Mr.

Speaking of the Mr tomorrow is his birthday and I am hoping to post a little something special for his big day...we'll see how exhausted I am when I get home....

Monday, December 15, 2008

"Deck the hols wif bour of ho-ry...

fa-ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra"

OMG....I just spent 2 hours typing a post about last week and it is gone. PISSED OFF beyond belief! ARGH!!!>?!?@?!>@>?!@>?!@>

Sorry, but no more until tomorrow, too mad.

Monday, December 8, 2008

What the *BEEP*...

...have I been up to? Seriously I am about to kick myself off of the "blog island"...but I can explain...really I can. So what has Vino Mommy been doing? T.R.A.V.E.L.I.N.G, yep in a nut shell I have been flying the friendly skies, almost done though, which makes me *squeal* with delight.

However I say we take a stroll down memory lane as to the events of late November/early December past...

Thanksgiving Weekend=Ambush Makeover

No joke, a couple bottles of wine and BOOM "hey I have an idea, lets pick out paint colors and paint your bedroom, your bathroom, and Jack's room" this of course leads to the next day where Stacy takes on the role of "House Project Hitler"...task master extraordinaire i.e. do what she says and no one gets hurt, but you know what it...it looks phenomenal and I can't thank her or Lance enough for all their hardwork, they are the bestest BFF's ever!

That pretty much encompasses most of that weekend. But the biggest event out of the weekend, was that my baby boy moved into a big boy bed! (Sniff...sniff) I need to take a picture because he is oh so lovable and adorable sleeping in his bed, but seriously can't believe how fast he is growing up. I am however completely ecstatic to have the nursery crap out of my house (i.e. crib, changing table, blah, blah)...which begs the question "are they done" and the answer is..."we'll get back to you on that..." aka " we are done, but not committed to being done".

After the exhausting Thanksgiving weekend, I of course jumped on a plane to Raleigh, which btw is quite nice...reminds me of the good ol' MN. Got home late Wednesday night and then Thursday Brian, myself, my Mom & Dad, Grandma, and my Aunt & Uncle went to Wicked and LOVED IT! God bless Grandma, I luuuvvv her to pieces, but did have to chuckle at intermission when she kept saying "I just don't get it, what's the point"...I laughed and then continued to enjoy my vino. The men...they just kept smiling and counting the minutes until it was over...I am pretty sure they wished they had stayed at Bellanotte for a few more after dinner cordials.

After work on Friday we picked up the munchkins and hopped in the "Minne Winnie" with Rob and the girls to fetch us some Venison. You see Brian moved into a new realm of Manhood the other weekend and is no longer a "Deer Virgin" so of course his prize was turned into, well food. So we drove down to Kasson to meet up with his Uncle Dan who so graciously had the deer "packaged" for us. The kids had fun dancing to the live band at Daniel's and then it was off to make the trek back home. Needless to say our journey gave me plenty of time to tutor Rob on his "tricked out" phone he got in SEPTEMBER, apparently email was a problem spot. You know we love you...

We began Saturday by torturing the children and taking them to see Santa for pictures. Ross made it quite clear to Santa that he wants a white Hotwheels race car and Jack wants a blue one. No exceptions. Damn, Santa got off easy this year. It's great that the child is sympathetic to the current economic times. :) After our journey to Diane's for pictures we got ready for the annual Jorissen Family Christmas Open House at my folks place. It is a tradition that has been going on for more years than I can remember with my Dad's cousins on my Grandpa's side of the family. It involves a lot of people, a lot of food, a lot of vino and a wee bit o music. This year my (follow me here) Dad's Cousin's Son (got that?) brought his guitar and not only played, but sang some fantastic tunes. I felt like we were having our own private Studio C performance.

Sunday started off by sleeping in...aka HEAVEN! The kiddos decided they needed a sleepover (or was it Mom and Dad???) at my parents house and so to not disappoint them we agreed. Brian and I got some much needed sleep as Jack has not been the most cooperative with the transition to his new bed, so yeah sleeping in until 10AM felt fantastic. From there we got ready to head out to another annual Christmas tradition, attending the TSO concert. However this year was even more special as we took Ross for the first time (well technically his 2nd, the first time he was about a month out from being born). He had a great time, loved the fireworks and laser light show, but somehow managed to fall asleep for a portion of it. I tell ya my kids, they can sleep anywhere!

Hopefully you made it through my diatribe and are still reading this. Which brings me to the present and of course that means I must be traveling somewhere...I am *hoping* there are no delays tomorrow morning due to the weather as I have a date with a plane to New York...until then stay warm and I'll be back soon...



Ps. Check out this freakin adorable school picture (yeah, I know I am the Mom, but whatever, this kid? ADORABLE!)

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Oh my blog, how I have missed you...

...I really have, there is soooo much floating around in this melon of mine, but alas it must wait...until then I implore you to head on over to my SIL's blog a.k.a. Catherine a.k.a. Charlie Alpha Tango...the girl, she slays me, her latest post too damn funny. Gotta love our little "Asian" Catmandu she's small, she's quiet, but give her a cocktail or a blog and BOOM goes the dynamite.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Good/The Bad...

...sitting in the new Indianapolis Airport enjoying the worlds smallest glass of vino at Vinea...so the bad news is frankly the amount is quite small, the good news, is that it is delectable vino... so who's complaining.

The airport is certainly busier than Monday night with many eager travelers waiting to head out. I am literally giddy at the thought of being home with my guys for so many days in a row. I know that sounds terribly, well sad, but I am half way through this traveling insanity and then I am officially grounded at home for about 4 weeks...I am sure Beerdaddy will be shoving me out of the house by then. :)

So other than that not too much else to report, did get a chance to try out Fogo de Chao today for lunch, if that isn't a South Beach dieters heaven I don't know what is. Can you say bring on the meat?

Last but not least to all who are reading this, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and take time to remember all the blessings in your life. I for one am certainly grateful for the 3 loves of my life who will be in arms in just 2 short hours, but also for my incredibly wonderful Parents, In Laws, Grandparents, Friends, Family, the home I live in, the job I have and that I want for nothing other than to be surrounded by those I love, what a great feeling. Happy Thanksgiving.

Love,

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Livin' it Up...

...what does this entail you may ask? Well, tonight I am donning my most comfortable outfit consisting of jeans, old MSU sweatshirt (perfectly worn, torn & loved) and my slippers. I am of course sipping on some delicious vino after filling up on scrumptious Chicken Tortilla Soup and capping it all off with a piece of apple pie. Yes this is the glamorous life that I lead...here in my familiar yet quiet hotel room. Livin it up.

But you know what is better...

(Just in case you are wondering, they are pretending to be cactus)
I just love my guys, more than anything.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Guess where Ross & Bampa went last night...

...that's right, to a Wild Game! It was Ross's first time to a hockey game and he loved it! He is always turning on a hockey, football or baseball game at home and last night was pure excitement for my 4 year old (ok, almost 5 year old). I don't know who was more excited for their "special" night, Bampa or Ross. Needless to say after such a long day of playing they only made it through 2 periods, but they loved it none the less. Of course Bampa had to purchase some paraphernalia for the boy, so Ross now has a Wild hockey stick to add to his sports collection. Jack on the other hand was not real thrilled with being left behind, but I reassured him that when he no longer craps his pants he can go with too.

Off to relish the last day of the weekend with my boys...

Friday, November 21, 2008

"Man, I've gotta get out of this town...

...and out of LA"

That's right I am back! Finally after 5 long grueling days of work and travel I am home. I officially walked through the door at 11:56 last night. The days were filled with learning and debate, the nights with "shop talk" and cocktails, each day making me a little more home sick than the last.

The good news is I have a husband who on the scale of amazing, is truly out of this world. This job, as wonderful and fulfilling as it may be is also taxing and trying on so many emotional levels and he is the one constant who never fails to support me and let me know that he and the boys are behind me 100%. It's funny but there are times when I wish he would just be "that guy", the who gets mad at me for leaving and putting the pressure on him to be the sole parent when I am gone...why I don't know, but he never does and I love him for everything he says and doesn't say.

So I am taking today to be with my guys before Brian heads out to do "manly things" (deer hunting) with is brother and uncle this weekend. I myself plan on snuggling, playing, cuddling and just hanging out with my boys, oh and a little bit of Christmas shopping until my next flight...Monday night.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

So much to do...so little time...

...I know I owe the 3 people who read my blog a post, but alas I am traveling yet again and am determined to spend it playing with the big boy who is healthy and snuggle the little boy who is sick...who knew I could be vomited on so many times without having myself actually vomit. The joys of being a parent.

So tonight or possibly tomorrow a post of monstrous proportions about what I have been up to, but now time to pack and head out to LA...

Friday, November 7, 2008

Depressing...

...you know what is depressing? Working 10-14 hour days all week and oh yeah still being at work at 7:30PM on a Friday...what happened to TGIF?

...I did finally leave the office at 10:10, high five for another record this week of a 15 hour day. :(



Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Hello Mr President...

...watching the coverage with intensity...looks like President Obama it is...definitely a moment I will not forget.

Monday, November 3, 2008

My motto for November...

There will be no rest for the weary and this month will be no exception...but with enough coffee I will conquer all...I hope.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

NaBloPoMo...

...say what? No it is not a disease and I did not sneeze. It is National Blog Posting Month! So I am going to push myself to feverishly keep up with daily posts to my blog in honor of this monumental month...and I am not referring to the election. :)

Some thoughts of the week since it has been....say it ain't so....a week since I last posted? Bad girl! Ross got over me leaving and my trip went swell with the exception of my flight home where I was faced with not wanting to vomit during the entire flight. Why you ask? Let's just say the dude next to me had some bad ass B.O. going on and that combined with the person eating what smelled like an onion sandwich in front of me about did me in. GROSS.

I also am VERY excited to get my "braces" I use quotes, because they really are not braces per say...not the train track, metal mouth, rubber band, head gearesque kind...they are a new, adult friendly Invisalign "braces", well more like trays. So anyways went in Thursday morning to get my final impressions made and take a few "before" pictures and oh that's right sell my arms and legs to pay for these. But the end result will make Vino Mommy a very happy girl! They say I should have my first couple trays by the end of November and I can't wait!

After all of my dental fun, I headed on over to Ross's school to help out at his "Harvest Party"...basically their Halloween Party, but you know...anyways apparently my ever reality based child was not interested in wearing his costume (the kid is not a fan of make believe, dress up, etc...he apparently see's no point in such foolishness) so there I was with the ONLY child not wearing costume. My first thought is..."great, everyone is going to think I am some nut job parent who won't let my kid participate in Halloween and that is why we have to call it a Harvest Party now"....super. His teacher reassured me that this is not a big deal...ok. The kids had a great time and I was in charge of the golf game (thank god not arts and crafts) and all went well. My favorite though is my conversation with Ross as we left...

Me: Ross do you think you will want to wear your costume (that btw you begged for) on Halloween night?

Ross: Umm...

Me: Phoebe, Simone, Konnor, and Kyle are coming over to go trick or treating with you.

Ross: Yes! I want to wear my Spiderman costume and even my mask!!!

Me: That sounds like fun! (thinking why didn't you want to wear it today????!!!!)

Ross: Mom, it is going to be so fun!

Me: (I don't understand 4 year olds)

So Friday night we had a crew of people over for some trick or treating, chili and vino. The kids had a blast and now we are all in a candy induced coma...

The kids..



Mr Frog...Jack


Spiderman...Ross
Pumpkin Princess and Spiderman...Simone and Ross

Bat Girl...Phoebe

Chili Pepper...Kaiden
Alligator and Pirate...Konnor and Kyle


Sunday, October 26, 2008

"Come fly with me...

...lets fly, lets fly away..."

Yep it's that time again, time for me to catch my Monday flight to Indianapolis. Unfortunately my heart was just broken by the Big Boy and makes me wonder why I do this...

Me: I am going to miss you tomorrow, Mommy has to fly to her other office.

Ross: (Choking up w/tears in his eyes) I am going to miss you too Mommy.

Me: What's wrong sweetie, why are you crying?

Ross: Because I miss you when you are gone.

...*cue* my heart breaking...

That about did me in..seriously could my heart strings be tugged at any harder? The good news is moments later I was brought back to "normal" and the boys began to argue over some toy. Pheww...I was about to become a blubbering mess had that not happened. On another note I am not sure, but I think Jack just might have ate a "cherry" from the Hi Ho Cherry-o game...hmmm, wonder if it is hard to pass those?

Anyways, had a great weekend in Duluth visiting J. We stayed on Canal Park and enjoyed walks to Caribou (despite their lack of pumpkin spice lattes), checked out UMD, her dorm room, ate at a few restaurants and just chilled. Although I think Brian and J were the only ones who were not sick...so here's hoping they stay well. We did get a chance to see the USS Freedom come into the bay this morning which was very cool (thanks for the heads up Smitty). Check out the link to read more on the ship, pretty interesting.

Other than that I am sending a shout out to Catherine who is heading out on her first business trip tomorrow morning, good luck with the drive!

More tomorrow...

Thursday, October 23, 2008

If misery loves company...

...then come on over. I am S-I-C-K...the runny, raw, red nose, pretty much look like hell, kind of sick. I am trying to will myself to feel better as we have a fun weekend in Duluth planned to visit with J...hopefully I won't end up playing the part of the "party pooper". :(

I will try and muster the energy to post more tomorrow as I had THE MOST FUN EVER at a concert when I attended the NKOTB concert on Tuesday...oh the stories, the screaming, the dancing, the FUN! We had a blast!!!! So much to post about my run in with my teenage heart throbs...but for now a box of Kleenex and bed are calling my name. I will say that the Star Tribune review of the concert pretty much summed the concert up to a T. Enjoy!

BTW...my Aunt Robin doing better and was released from the hospital yesterday. She has quite the recovery process ahead of her, but is very lucky the scenario was not worse. We all learned a great lesson from this experience, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wear your helmet. Also thank you to everyone for all your kind thoughts and prayers for her speedy recovery.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

What a weekend...

...we experienced highs and lows and everything in between. We started off Friday night with a little pizza and Wii at my folks place...again my kid kicked my butt at bowling and tennis. Ross has definitely got game! :) Hopefully th sweat I built up playing helped counter the calories of the pizza and the vino.

Saturday morning we went to my Aunt and Uncle's studio for some fall family pictures....that was painful...ok maybe not that bad, but Jack was definitely not in the mood for the photo shoot at all. It took a lot of cookies, mini muffins and a promised trip to McDonald's to get him on board with getting his picture taken, but I think it was a success! I can't wait to see our proofs...bonus we brought Brian's guitar and each of the boys guitars for a little "jam" photo session as well.

After pictures I was exhausted and was in much need of a nap and Brian had a little fall cleaning bug he needed to work out. From their we had plans to attend a little bonfire par-tay with the kids.

We were in the middle of BBQing at the party when Brian walked into the house with a look that I hope to not see anytime soon. He said that my Uncle Bob (my Mom's brother) had just called and my Aunt Robin was in a 4 wheeling accident, she was being flown from Walker, MN to North Memorial Hospital and needed us to get there as he was heading down but it would be 3 hours before he could get there.

My heart dropped, knowing that they were flying her down was not a good sign. So with that we gathered the kids as quickly as we could and drove to the hospital. Frantically calling my Mom and Grandma as they are in San Diego and I needed to know if they knew anything. They didn't. I couldn't get a hold of my Dad either, so I called my cousin's to meet me there and called Jo to meet us at the hospital so she could take the boys home. When we arrived at the hospital we were told the helicopter was about 45 minutes out. The waiting was awful and once we heard it land, the wait became even worse. We just wanted to know something, anything about her condition.

Needless to say after what seemed like forever the nurse came out and took her Mom and Sister into a room to talk...that about did me in, all I could think was the worst. Thank god it was far from that, we were told that she suffered a severe head injury as she was not wearing a helmet, however her full body CT showed no permanent damage and things looked "good". We were able to go back in two's to see her in the ER stabilization area, she looked pretty good considering all she had been through. She was lucid but barely, she was intubated as she was having trouble breathing and had a neck brace on as well. Soon after we could see her, my uncle arrived with their kids and they moved her to the ICU for further observation. We stayed till about 1AM and once we knew things were looking "good" (again I use the term loosely) we headed out to get some sleep.

Today she was down graded from the ICU and they took her breathing tube out, she still is pretty out of it and has not been able to eat or get out of bed, but she has been able to move her legs, arms etc... Apparently she has no recollection about the accident or that we were there last night. The doctors and nurses all stated that she will have short term memory issues, but if that is the worse part she is VERY VERY LUCKY and we all are elated that this is the case. At this point we do not know when she is coming home, but hopefully soon.

I am so PROUD of their kiddos for being so brave and level headed enough to remain calm and do the right thing in regards to the accident, at 10 & 12 I am not sure I could have done what they did. We are very fortunate that she is going to be ok and this was a big wake up call to remember how quickly things can happen in life.

For now I am in need of a little less eventful evening with B and the boys...

Friday, October 17, 2008

Vino Wisdom...

"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink I feel shame. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this wine, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, 'It is better that I drink this wine and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver." ~ Jack Handy

Monday, October 13, 2008

Hello Stinky Poo...

...that would be my Jack's way of greeting his Bampa...I find it pretty freakin hilarious.

Not really sure what to post tonight, other than it has been wayyyyyy to long. The weekend was fun and busy (seems to be a theme for us). Stacy and the little Miss came to visit for the weekend, so Friday night we sort of laid low since Ross was a little under the weather. Then Saturday the big boy had his last soccer game and after that we were off to Emma Krumbees to pick pumpkins with the masses (good god there were a lot of people), finally we ended the day with a little BBQ at our house with the whole fam damnily...well most of them.
Catherine detailed Saturday night's events, feel free to cruise on over to her blog and read about what ensues when the Gadient clan gets together...
Sunday we all decided that we had not spent enough time together so we cruised on over to Rob and Dana's for heartburn inducing chili and football.

Other than that back to the grind this week with another sick munchkin...why must children spread germs between each other?

Here's a few pics of the kiddos from the weekend...
Cutest soccer player I have ever seen...

A medal and a cupcake, does it get any better?

I am bored with you people...

Mr Ham... I LUVVVVV this picture!

Jack doing his best not to look at the camera and doing so with great success...

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

I *Heart* Fall...

...I really do. I luuuuvvv everything about it...pumpkins, apples, cider, mums, colorful foliage, cool weather, sweaters, pumpkin spice lattes, I could go on forever. So after Ross's preschool screening (which btw he did EXCELLENT at even though he was a little under the weather) we went to Pahls Market to pick up stuff for me to make my "fall display". I of course did this only because I had super Great Grandma with me to wrangle the munchkins and all of the "stuff". I think it turned out pretty cute, still needs a little something but it will work for now. Another item of note is we stopped to pick up some vino and some how Gma got the deal of the freakin century, no lie...I am not sure if she showed a little leg or what, but damn the woman's got skills! Luv ya Grandma. :)

Tomorrow will be another fun filled day of remodeling at my office, there are so many things I would like to post about this, but again I treasure my job especially these days...

Ross after his Kindergarten screening (I know the hair is out of control)...
My display (Great Gma let them pick their own painted pumpkins, Ross wanted the skull, oi)...

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Hello, my name is Gwen Iffil...


…or at least you would have thought I was on Saturday night, more on that later…

We had our annual “NDSU Reunion” this past weekend at the McNab’s. We try to get together with most of our college friends and their families to eat, drink, and well be merry. On Saturday the wives were oh so gracious in letting (yes, I used the word let, my blog, my story) the men retreat without us and go golfing (or galfing as Ross says) while the we, the mothers, attended to the short people…ok so maybe we played outside, drank wine and played Wii with the kiddos (which btw Ross has MAD Wii skills, seriously we don’t even own one and the kid is pretty damn good).

Since the weather was so gorgeous out I decided to steal Stacy’s camera (which I luuuuuvvvv, hint, hint, honey) and try my best at capturing some pics of my boys in the fall foliage. And here is what I got...
Later that evening after our delicious turkey dinner that the women slaved over all day (no laughing) and put the kids to bed, the vino consumption ensued until we could no longer avoid the “elephant” in the room, i.e. the politics discussion. Why such a big deal, who knows really, I mean besides the fact that we all are opinionated, at the heart of the matter we all pretty much agree. So what we all once tiptoed around earlier in the day became a drunken debate in short order and that is when I assumed my role as “Gwen Iffil” moderator extraordinaire. Needless to say I thought our discussion although infused with wine and passion at times was pretty damn good and if nothing else I was so happy to be around “smart people” (all who were privy to this debate are rolling their eyes as they read…I apparently felt the need to tell everyone how proud I was that we are smart).

The next day I decided to tempt fate with the camera again, even though my vision was a little foggy and see if I could snap some of all the kids together…

Of course I have to throw in a few of Miss Chunker Cheeks in her Vikings paraphernalia…

It was an all round great weekend, with good friends, good times and great discussion…oh yeah and good vino.