Life with 3 kids!!!!

Well Greetings!!! Life with 3 kids is well Challenging shall we say!!!We are still adjusting to Jaxon Cole .I cannot believe he is already a month old. He is a big boy already weighs 11lbs and 22 3/4 inches long. We are not sure on his personailty yet bc he has acid reflux/ touch of colic. Poor guy is in pain and crying quite a bit. He is getting an upper GI this thursday to make sure nothing is wrong . We are just ready for him to be happy and pain free !!Kids are also adjusting to life with new sibling. Both are doing well and pretty helpful when they want to be.Other then that we have been hanging out at home a lot with all the flu bugs going around.Well i will keep this short and sweet since i am sleep deprived .

1 week till Due Date for Baby Jax

Greetings Everybody! I know it has been about 4 weeks since our last post.I am finally getting around to it. The biggest thing going on right now is the waiting on Baby Jaxon!!!! I am 39 weeks pregnant as of Monday!!! I have never been this pregnant before so needless to say I am ready!!! We are hoping and Praying he comes this week . Since I am attempting to delivery Vaginally after the previous 2 c-section we really need him to come this week since we have pretty big babies.I am dilated and effaced so hopefully it will happen soon.

Issie- She has been in preschool for over 3 weeks and is really enjoying it.They are currently working on going through the Alphabet . It is amazing to see her starting to write her letters. Issie is also going through growth spurt cannot believe she is in 4t already . She also eats like a normal kid now!!!She is really into her Dollhouse and Barbie at this point!!

Zane- We went to the Dentist and found out he now has 11 baby teeth!!!!!( It took him the past 8 months to finally bust in 4 new teeth.He is also getting more new teeth as I type. So he is no longer my good eater anymore but starting to think that almost two year olds are just bad eaters .Zane is really into throwing balls( starting to break things already,guess we will have a no ball rule in house in few years with two boys)He also loves cars and trains!

Other than that we have really nice fall weather up here!!! Steve is currently watchingFootball as i type!!! In case you were wondering !! He has been home a lot the last few weeks , has been nice.I will leave this blog nice and short since the next one will have a new family member!!!

Wow - Two in a row

I know everyone's excited about getting two posts in a row. This week was rather exciting (well the weekend was at least) so here we go>

Issie got to meet her new pre-school teachers this past Wednesday and was a little upset that she doesn't have her teachers from last year anymore. She was a little shy but we're sure she'll get over that once school actually starts. Heather took the kids to the Children's Museum and met up with one of Issie's friends, Becca along with her sister. Issie had fun getting on the donkey (fake) in the new Egypt exhibit. Other than that Issie has been a little under the weather with allergy/asthma issues.

Mr. Zane was excited to go to the CM with mom and Issie because he has a little crush on Becca. It's really cute because he can say her name and whever a picture of her is on the computer he says her name. He also got a couple molars this week (maybe more on the way but getting in his mouth is next to impossible) which made for a pleasant couple days. He is getting in to the terrible twos a little early since he no longer listens to anyone and has started hitting if he doesn't get his way. We foresee lots of timeouts in his future.

Heather is feeling fine but rather uncomfortable when she sleeps. We think Jaxon has dropped because she looks a little smaller and definitely differently shaped. 5 weeks to go so he needs to cook for at least another 2. Granted with the washing machine on the blitz we are a little worried (the dryer quit a couple days before Zane's arrival).

Heather babysat for Aiden twice this week which gave her and I a crash course on dealing with three children' Aiden came with us when we went to Target for the kids 3 and 18 month pictures (Yeah we're behind and yes Heatehr emailed everyone a link) and it went pretty well. Heather also babysat for Jake and Joey last week so she had four kids (five for about an hour but that's a story for game night).

I'm excited that I get to be home fpr 2 weeks due to an OSHA 30hr training class my boss and I have to put on for some managers. I also managed to kill the bees we had living on the house last night and only one managed to get away from the initial spray and try to attack me (it failed). Hopefully this will put an end to Heather's creepy bee experiences (she's been harrassed by them for several weeks wherever she goes. So now we enter the waiting for Mr. Jaxon time and looking forward to the end of my fiscal year (hoping for a good September)

August Summary

We know it's been about two months since our last update but we've been a little busy and have been having electronics issues. That and the fact that we thought we would be moving in the middle of that stretch didn't help.

Our 6 year old desktop bit the dust completely. Steve pulled the hard drive in an attempt to get someone with more computer savy than us to pull all our family pictures off of it. Kristin was kind enough to give us the use of her old Mac iBook but it isn't working consistantly so Steve is going to take it with him out of town one of these days to work on it.

I'm a little uncomfortable with being 7 weeks away from my due date. Jaxon is beating me up and doesn't let me sleep. Other than that I'm feeling pretty good. I only gained 25lbs so far and am trying to keep in under 30 for the entire pregnancy. We are starting to think about the schedule for when he gets here and the help rotation.

Steve has been traveling his usual and obviously isn't getting the Peoria job due to Regional President interference and low salary offer. Still looking for something with him home every night.

Issie starts pre-school in three weeks and we meet her teachers the week before that. One of the teachers was a sub last year and Issie was specifically requested by her. Issie's now obsessed with the mini princess dolls from Disney that have rubber dresses for some reason (obviously the dresses are difficult to put on and we've torn a couple already) and she "loves" the Spiderman sock n bop. By love I mean literally she tackles it to the ground, lays on top of it and "makes out". No idea where she gets this I'm not in the habit of tackling my wife and pinning her to the ground for kisses.

Zane is our little artist (and as you see by the pic does a mean Jedi impression) He will sit at the Ikea table in the kitchen and color for hours. The only draw back is that about every minute or so he'll come up to you with a crayon and in his cute little voice say "Momma (or daddy), Z" Obviously he already knows what a Z looks like and he actually adds them to his scibbles. We think this is a little ahead since we only recently got Issie to draw the "I".

We'll try to update more often again. Just getting as much summer fun in with the kids while the weather cooperates and we still have just the two of them.

Mid June happenings

Hello to all, I would love for somebody to actually respond so I know I am not doing this for myself!!!! Yes different writer, can you tell who?Well where to start, so far here in Indiana it has been very rainy but it is finally starting to get warm. I mean mid 80's!!

Isabella- She is still in the terrible 3's, still working on this. She had her 3 year checkup and we were surprised to find she is almost 32lbs and 38 1/2 inches tall!! She is 75% for height and weight! We put her in Vacation Bible school last week , but we only lasted 3 nights. It was weird time for little kids 6:30 to 830 pm . She was the youngest did ok had one terrible 3 fit where I am chasing her across gym while 50 people are staring. ( It was lovely) so we left and no more vbs .She does want to read bible stories now so I guess she did get something out of it.Also yesterday she had her 1st princess party! ( for those of you that do not know that means she dresses up like a princess).Just starting playing in her room with Barbies by her self!!! ( It is so nice)

Zane- Hard to believe he just turned 18 months!!! He is talking really well, everyday he surprises me by what he says already. His two newest are where he is? ( talking about Daddy) and what happened?Another funny thing about Zane is his feet they are huge for his age he is already a size 7 in toddlers( Issie is a size 8 in toddlers) .Other then that he is a happy little guy!!!He is still in the Elmo phase, every moring when I get him out of his crib he says Elmo!!!!

Jaxon- I am 24 weeks pregnant , 6 months already. Baby is doing good! He is very active already!

As for me - just trying to get out of house with kiddo's everyday and do fun summer things. We are going to Memphis in about a Week and half for Fourth of July. I am not looking forward to driving 8 plus hours by myself with the kids but pray it will go smooth!!

Steve has rough work schedule coming up he leaves tomorrow for Kansas and will be back sometime Thursday night. And then leaves Sunday morning for Memphis and will be there 8 days. He has training nearby so kids and I will see him late wed night when we get in town.Other then that waiting on Job offer for Steve for Peoria.

Issie turns 3!!

As you all know Issie turned 3 on June 3rd. We had her party last Saturday at Forest park with a bunch of her little friends. For her actual b-day on Wednesday we were going to go to the zoo but the rain pushed us to the Children's Museum. We have definitely already entered the terrible 3's and Steve and I are using our parental tricks to try to solve this problem.

Zane is currently the easy child and as you can see by the picture is starting to love playing in the water. We shaved some hair off his head and while it's a little short he is still a handsome little man. We have decided to keep one of those small helium tanks around because Zane will play with balloons for hours.

Jaxon's cyst was not able to be seen on the u/s Tues so we're excited about that. The only proble we may have is that the u/s tech and the Dr. have already said he is a big boy. Might be trouble trying to deliver naturally. Nothing new since the cards are always stacked against me.

We get to have a date night coming up for our 6 year anniv. Not sure where we are going but we are definitely getting out of the house. We get to get outside more now that the temp. is up. The kids love being outside but I have to watch the fair haired child.

We're Getting Better

We are trying to get back to blogging every week. I guess the big news this week is that I have to be in Memphis for a week of training June 28-July 2. Obviously this has caused some excitement since we didn't really have a Memphis trip planned. My lovely wife and children will be joining me mid-week for an extended visit.

Issie had her last day of school this week and was sad that she won't be seeing her teachers for a while. She knows her birthday party is next weekend and is excited about her presents. She claims to be getting a scooter when in reality we got her a big dollhouse.

ZANE is as crazy as ever even though we took him to the doctor again for his cough. If he doesn't get rid of the fluid in his lungs the doctor is worried he may develop pnemonia. Other than that he absolutely loves being outside but is our fair child that turns red when he's hot (we kept thinking he was getting burned). Heather is very anal about getting them in sunscreen so no worries there.

Jaxon is fine. I'm sure we've all heard by now that the level 2 U/S showed nothing of significance and we have the same chances as any young couple for a healthy baby. Heather also got her bloodwork back and there were no markers for any of the genetic chromosonal problems. Other than that he has been more active and when Heather relaxes he gives her some punches and/or kicks to let her know he's in there. Hard to believe she's already 20 weeks.

Speaking of Heather, she is feeling pretty good but the warmer weather is starting to make her feet swell a little. Nothing crazy like when she had Issie yet but we are taking care to try to keep her cool. She is irritated that no maternity clothes fit and her regular clothes are getting to tight so that's a problem. She is gearing up for summer activities and we'll be getting a little 8' round pool soon to keep everyone happy.

I didn't travel quite as much this week with Heather's Dr. appointments so am relatively fresh and ready to go. With the short week next week Mike and I are doing a Regional audit on one of our offices. Nothing else really going on.

The kids had their first pool weekend with the nice weather and we got mixed reviews. Issie loves the water but Zane is still a little unsure.

Has it Really Been That Long

So we apologize for taking so long. And yes can you tell different writer!!So we got Issie big Girl Furniture!!! Full White Sleigh bed with white dresser!!! It makes me sad that her room is so big!!! Can you believe she turns 3 in a month!!! Steve is making fun of me and my painfully slow typing!!

Issie had a teacher's conference this past week got stellar report except for taking turns.They suggested she go into the enrichment program 1 day a week which means she gets extra music,art and more dramatic play. And she goes 9 to 3!! So she will start in Sept with one full day and one half day!! Exciting!! We are currently planning her Bday party a Barbie Park Party for May 3oth.

Moving on to Zane, He has this crazy new bath thing. He is terrified of the bath water, I mean hysterical crying and shaking. So gets like a 45 second scrub down. Just breaks your heart to hear him scream like that. But will play with water in other setting and loves it! He says Baby and it is so cute. He also only has 7 or 8 teeth depending if you count Siamese tooth. I am afraid he will be in Kindergarten and called no teeth Kolodziej.

As for me we find out the sex of the new baby May 15th and dying to know!!Really not sure would like girl but leaning toward boy because my symptoms seem similar to Zane. What else oh we had a broken dishwasher for three weeks, and now we have a new one Thanks to Steve!! Steve and I have a date May 16th so that is exciting. Other than that just trying to get our messy house under control and get ready for Issie's bday party and actual bday.

That was kinda painful, for those of you who don't know my beautiful wife is not the swiftest typer in the world. I am not that fast but I definitely kick her but. I've been all over the central region of the US the past month, for those of you who didn't hear I drove to KC and Wichita and then came back from Wichita in one day (730 miles). I love having a fuel card on days like that. Other than that I've been missing a lot of Cubs games but have watched the last few Bulls contests but looks like I'll miss tonight's game.

We Know We're Slackers

All right we know it's been awhile but we've been busy and then Heather got sick so cut us a little slack.

We went to the midwife last Friday and got to hear the heartbeat for the first time so that was very exciting. Heather is 12 weeks and finally feels pregnant. (EN: She does still say "I look pregnant" whenever trying on clothes) So we find out in about 2 months what the sex is.

As you see by the first pic. we went to the Children's Museum this morning and it was crowded as hell. The new welcome center is coming along and will be huge when it opens. The kids new favorite area is the dinosaurs, especially Zane. Zane learned how to bump fists today while taking a bath and Issie is loving school and has to play every week with her BFF Sophie.

This weather sucks and we really want to use our zoo membership before it expires. Heather is completely surprised that she likes the minivan. On a more selfish note, I am very excited about having found a pair of Lucky brand jeans for half off. (EN: It happened to be at a department store that cannot be named for fear of motherly and sisterly shunning)

That's all for now, it's off to St Louis and Springfield for me next week.

You're All Slackers

All right ya bunch of slackers. Here Heather and I are taking time that we could be spending sleeping to update our blog and we get virtually nothing back in comments. (EN: Mom and Kristin have responded in the past so kudos to them)

ISSIE: I had a fun week because the weather was nice. I got to go outside and my BFF Sophie came over and we played. Saturday mommy curled my hair and we got to go take pictures. (EN: Trying to curl the hair of an almost 3 year old without burning is impossible. Issie also finds hairspray "Yucky its wet") Oh I have picked up this really obnoxious fake forced laugh that drives mommy and daddy crazy. Sophie even thought it was annoying and kept telling me to stop.

ZANE: I finally got HOPS!!! Yup I can get a good 1/2 inch off the ground when I really try. (EN: This means he can officially out jump Tom) I also got pictures done and I was annoyed because I was stripped down to my diaper and these stupid angel wings kept tickling my back. Mommy and daddy thought it was adorable though. I tried and like mushrooms since daddy made some for dinner tonight. I also like to play out in the front yard because I keep mommy on her toes by sprinting to the street at random times.

HEATHER: I was stuck in the house the beginning of the week because Issie was still sick. Not a whole lot happened this week, my morning sickness doesn't come on as often (Thank God). Steve and I watched Nikki's girls on Saturday since they watch our kids last week. Yeah, 4 kids all under 2.5 for four hours......lots of fun but we were exhausted. I have a full week coming up; consignment sale drop off tomorrow and the sale starts Thurs.. I'm hoping to find a good double stroller (if such a thing exists). We also have two play dates scheduled and date night on Sat. for Steve's B-day.

STEVE: Not much of anything happened this week. I was irritated because the first hotel I was in (Charleston) had a crappy treadmill so I quit after 1/2 mile, then the Cleveland hotel's fitness room was Out of Order. Can someone please explain how an entire room is out of order? I still managed 11.5 miles for the week which isn't too bad. I did finally manage to get around to making Heather some desserts for her B-day (Yeah I know I'm late). I made a peach and cream coffee cake this morning and a carrot cake that managed to be tasty in spite of the fact that I left out the veggie oil.

Well my contacts are dry and I have a 3 1/2 hour drive in the morning so good night and God Bless.

No Longer Slacking

OK so we took a week off...get over it. Nothing really happened two weeks ago anyway.

Now this week we had a few things happen. Heather and I got to go on two dates. Movie on Thursday and Bonefish on Friday for her birthday. Now to most people this isn't a big deal but considreing our last date before these was June 2008 we had fun.

ISSIE: My week started off good with School on Wednesday and a play date with my BFF Sophia on Thursday. Then daddy took me to school Friday and that was fun, I even got to play with Miss Heather from next door while mommy and daddy went out to eat. Unfortunately Saturday I got sick and was throwing up so I didn't get to enjoy the Nana and Pop Pop visit as much as normal. I still had fun and kept asking about them after they left but I wasn't my usual self.

ZANE: I am getting a lot more chatty even if I only use words when I want to. It drives mommy and daddy crazy that I say up, down, oops, thanks and more only when I want to and not when they ask (that is part of the master plan after all). As you can see from my pic with Nana, I started giving kisses when asked and I feel like it. Nana brought daddy's cars down when they came and my sister and I fight over them now with me winning most of them.

HEATHER: I turned 28 Friday so there is that. Steve and I went to see Taken Thursday night and while it was good it was also a little disturbing. Issie is NEVER allowed to travel without me. We had fun at Bonefish but Steve never got me a cake. Oh he tried to get one at Marsh but the stupid guy gave us chocolate when we specifically asked several times for yellow. Of course I'm having morning sickness in waves all day pretty bad.

STEVE: As usual nothing much happened on my end of things. I was able to drive back and forth to Louisville Mon-Tues and then had an overnight in Toledo which is such an exciting town (Sarcasm for those of you who have never been there). I am trying to run a little more and finally got outside and off the treadmill Saturday. That sucked since it was cold and windy which is not a good running combo.

Preggers

As most of you already know we are expecting our third bundle of joy in October. Heather goes tomorrow to the midwife for her first exam and we'll know more. Additionally, Heather got her hair cut last week and highlighted today.

ISSIE: I had my first Valentine's Day party at pre-School this week and got a lot of cards. Then Mommy took me to play with my friend Sophie and we had lot's of fun even though I was being a stinker. It was so nice outside that I even got a chance to play on my swingset. It makes me very happy to get to go outside.

ZANE: I now have a new shoe thing that drives daddy crazy. I love shoes but apparently I only like to wear one at a time. My new words for the week are "boo" and "Yeah". I like outside also and even got to go to Issie's V-day party and wrestled some 2yr old for a ball. I would have won if mommy hadn't stopped us.

HEATHER: Pregnancy feeling update: Surprisingly pretty good so far. Just a little nauseous but hungry at the same time. I'm trying to get on thetreadmill as often as possible to keep the bad weight off and only gain good weight.

Other than that I love the new haircut but am a little worried with it being so short that I have to maintain the back. I'm irritated that we just bought new clothes with our income tax money and now I don't get to wear them very long. Heck, my pants are already getting tight. Oh well I do enjoy being pregnant and know the weight will come back off eventually. On the whole a good week since I got t get out a bunch: visited my friend Niki during the week, went to a Mary Kay party Thurs. then got the highlights on Sunday. For me that's a lot and to make it even better Steve is taking a week off of traveling.

STEVE: As you read above, I'm taking a week to recharge. I've been traveling every week since the first of the year and need a break. Other than that my big news for the week was that I bit the bullet and joined Facebook. Granted I have lots of time to kill in hotels during most weeks so it only made sense for me to join eventually. I now see where it could be very addicting but who cares. I also got a new pair of running shoes when I was out of town this week. I'm telling you, I'll never buy another pair of running shoes at a chain store again. The people who worked at this one made me walk and jog around the store both barfoot and in the shoes they got me and the shoes I bought feel great.

That's all for this week. Like Heather said I'm in town all week and she has some medical appointments so I'm sure there will be more news next week.

Next Generation Cubs Fans

As you can all see there are a few little things this week that I'm sure we are all happy about. The kids and Heather all got hair cuts and the kids received new Cubs hats. Issie's actually has scratch and sniff strawberries on it. EN: Issie's hair is no where near as short as it appears in the picture, it is still relatively long.

ISSIE: I finally got to go back to school and we actually had to wearour pajama's on Friday since it was Polar Express day. I got to go shopping with mommy and daddy and they bought me new running shoes which I love. I went to a birthday party on Saturday and got my first kite which daddy says we can fly once the weather cooperates and the ground isn't mush.

ZANE: I have a falling issue. Apparently I fall and pretty much always hit my head or face. I have a scratch on my cheek, a bruise under my eye and I hit the back of my head at least twice. Yes I am taking after my daddy who always leads with his hard head. I got another Cubs hat and like Issie got new shoes and clothes.

HEATHER: As you see I got my hair chopped off but I like it. We also got our income tax money so I was able to get out of the house (alone for once) and do a little shopping. I got my around the house "sweatsuit" which is closer to workout gear than a sweatsuit. Other than that not much going on.

STEVE: Other than missing the Superbowl so I could fly to stupid Kansas City and then drive 3 hours to Wichita my week was rather boring. I got back in town Wednesday and hung out at the Indy office doing an audit there for a couple days. This weekend I cleaned and put together our new treadmill in like an hour even though all the review whined about how hard it was. EN: It became very obvious to me that most of those people were rather stupid.

Well that's the week in a nutshell needless to say it has been interesting. I do plan on ironing clothes and watching the Grammy's here in about a half hour so I got that going for me.

Snow Hell

As you can see we got a little snow this week. (Look I know Chicago and Salt Lake City got more than we did but Steve was out of town Mon-Thurs so back off) It was actually too deep for the kids to have any fun since we got over a foot and Zane is 31" and Issie is 36" tall. That's like us walking through almost 2 feet of snow. Enough complaining onto the updates.

ISSIE: My school was cancelled all week because of the snow and I was supposed to be the star of the week which means the whole week was about ME! Talk about a rip off. I told mommy that I don't like the snow when really there is just too much to have fun. Even Bubbles doesn't like it because her legs aren't long enough. EN: Heather made a little poop area which I made larger today. I have a new "I did it!" dance which looks a little like the Carlton dance from Fresh Prince according to Daddy. Mommy says I just wiggle my booty back and forth and say "I did it!" EN: This is actually hilarious to witness in person.

ZANE: I colored/scribbled my first picture this week. There isn't much to it but mommy thinks it is the best and put it on the fridge. I did make a little socially unacceptable boo boo when mommy was changing me. All she'll let me say is that it involved poop, my hands and the old saying curiousity killed the cat. Mommy and daddy keep putting me down for a morning nap but I'm trying to tell them that I don't think it is necessary anymore. Gosh, they're stubborn.

HEATHER: Since I was a snow bound hermit this week and my husband wouldn't take a snow day I was not in the best of moods. I had to really shovel for the first time and it is not fun. I finally found a doctor this week tht seems to know what she is talking about and my energy level has gone up tremedously. EN: Heather's thyroid doctor told her that her lack of energy and irritability was from "motherhood." Yes, its a male so bash freely since the woman knows her stuff. This was a very boring week and I pray that the next way of snow they are calling for does not happen. I did finally order a pair of pink snow boots so at least I'll finally be able to keep my feet warm.

STEVE: I was in Detroit and Grand Rapids this week and they actually got less snow than Indy. Granted they already had over a foot on the ground when I got there so it all evens out. I get to miss the Suprbowl tomorrow since I have to fly to stupid KC and then drive 3hrs to Wichita so I can be there first thing monday morning. EN: Yes I'm bitter but glad to have a job Other than that I had the usual boring work week and nothing exciting has happened since I've been home unless you count shoveling half the driveway after the sow had been sitting for several days. Heather did get the icy part out of the way before I came home so I didn't have to chip away at anything.

Hopefully next week is more exciting!

Zane on a Toilet

Well as you can see te little man has started showing interest in potty training. We're letting him dictate when he wants to get on the potty since it is a little early to try to do any actual training. Apparently our children show interest early since Issie did the same thing. Now without further ado:

ISSIE: This week I channeled my inner 50's housewife and heloped mommy and daddy clean the kitchen (while wearing heals). I'm also the star of the week this coming week in pre-School so we have to make a poster board or something. EN: Heather and I have no clue what this means since Issie started in the middle of the school year and we missed orientation. I have had to go in time out a little more since I've been my usual little stinker self and mommy and daddy actually think they are in charge.

ZANE: The potty rocks!!! Anyway I've had a rough week because these stupid teeth keep coming in. Of course with more teeth I get to eat more food which is awesome! Mommy made me chili this week and even though I end up messy I REALLY like it. I started saying Whoa this week. EN: I refuse to let me son turn into Joey from Blossom Hopefully I'll start feeling better so I can continue my climbing all over everything and give mommy a heart attack.

HEATHER: I am SO over winter already, when does spring get here? EN: Yes she complains all the time about how the weather is SO much better in Memphis We went to the Children's Museum this week and Issie did really well. Of course when both children hit the ground they have to go opposite directions which is fun. Steve was in town more this week which basically saved me because I had to stinkers this week with both of them being sick at some point. I plan to get out of the house if the weather cooperates.

STEVE: I was down in Lexington Monday and Tuesday doing that work thing. Had a dentist appointment so I came back in town. EN: The only saving grace of our dentist is the fact that one room is Cubs and one is Star Wars Other than that it was a pretty easy week. I read a lot (Tom I finished the latest Laurel Hamilton Meredith Gentry book and Princep's Fury by Jim Butcher) and tried to keep my lovely wife sane with two sick kids (I failed). Funny story, every time my wife takes a picture of our son now it looks like he has been drinking heavily.

Lastly, we had a little good news last night. We decided to get an estimate as to what our income taxes would be this year so we did a little online turbo tax stuff. Well it turns out that we are going to get a little over 5k back from the feds but owe the state $120. Considering we had over 17k in cancelled credit card debt that we had to claim we were very happy. So we filed with turbo tax on line and should get our money in a week or two.

Another Week - Lot's more stuff

All right we had our first real snow this week and I'm sure everyone knows how cold it was. Granted I was out of town so Heather had to bundle up the kiddies and play. Without further ado I'll let the kids talk.

Issie: I had to go to the dockie twice this week to get my cough checked out. The first time they gave me bubble gum medicine (Amoxicilian) and then the second time I went in I got tested and now I have to wear this mask thingy and breathe. Editors note: This means she was diagnosed with "a restricted airway" which you me and the rest of the non-medical world calls asthma. We got her a nebulizer and give her treatments when she needs them. Not a big surprise given our allergy/asthma history. Then last night hile mommy and daddy were getting ready for their grown up game night I threw up. EN: Yup - apparently we got sick from going to the Dr so much this week, she threw up again after everyone left so at least we had our game night un-interrupted.

Zane: Seeing as how I'm still housebound the worst thing to happen to me this week is that mommy interrupted nap time twice so we could go pick up my big sister from pre-School. I mean how unfair is that, the younger child always gets the shaft! In adition to this my mouth hurts from the two teeth coming in, but I am able to play with my cars by myself longer which is a lot of fun.

Heather: This week I was housebound since I sure as heck wasn't going out in that cold weather. One funny thing that happened early this week was that in an attempt to keep my children from destroying my new phone I decided to keep it in my pocket. Well when I went pee and stood up you can probably guess where my phone ended up. Luckily Verizon covers water (or in this case pee) damage and after paying my deductible I have a new less fun phone (my new one is black and my old one was red). One really exciting thing that happened is that our across the street neighbors want me to watch their newborn and will pay me about $200 a week to do it. The best part is I don't start until August so I still get the summer to have fun.

Steve: Let's face it people mylife is less interestng than my kids or wife. I spent this week the week in Cincinatti and Columbus for work and other than given my sister grief for having to shovel her driveway while I was having a cocktail with dinner my work week went by quickly. We did have game night last night and it was fun. Heather and I are both a little worse for the long night since normally we act like old people and are in bed before 10:00. It was a change for us to actually interact with adults and not spend the entire evening talking about nothing but our kids.

That's it for this week. Heather came up with the new format so any derrogatory comments will be met with the go to Hell glare.

Our First Blog

Heather and I decided to start our family blog so that we can update everyone a little more often than we have been. For those of you dense enough not to figure it out SHIZ is Steve, Heather, Issie and Zane. My lovely wife came up with it soince apparently the straight Kolodziej Family name was already taken.

Not a whole lot going on this week. Issie did start pre-school and so far she seems to enjoy it. They only comment she had after her first day was that one little boy, "Poo poo'd in the potty", yes ladies and gentlemen my daughter uses potty humor.

Zane is already starting to eat us out of house and home, Heather made chili the other night and the boy ate two bowls full. Made for some interesting diapers.

Bubbles is the same, she is spoiled rotten and has finally accepted the fact that the kids aren't going anywhere so they are allowed to touch her on occassion.

I was in St Louis and Springfield, MO this week and nothing exciting happened in either of those spots. Heather enjoyed the single child time when Issie was in pre-school. She had her first MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) meeting and thinks she'll like it. My wife is the only person I've ever heard of to injure her wrist while doing yoga. She always over does the program when she first starts.

Well that's the end of the first issue. Heather thinks she'll be writing the next one but considering that I am alone in hotel rooms a couple nights a week I'll probably get bored and add little tidbits here and there.