Highlight of Christmas 2008

Christmas 2008 was good for the Wenck family. We celebrated Archer's 1st Christmas and Christian's 3rd. It was a busy week. It all started in the Texas Hill Country and spread all the way to Kingwood.

Some of the hightlights were me chatting with Christian at Gran's house after he had opened LOTS of presents. I asked if he had a good time, his reply, Yes. I then I said " you got lots of fun toys, huh?" his reply, "Yeah. Mommy, I love Christmas". Probably not the true meaning of Christmas we want him to embrace ultimately, but hey, he is a kid and he knows what he likes.

Another hightlight was watching the kids open presents and see what Santa brought.

From Christmas

Is it just me or do kids enjoyment of christmas make it just that much more fun?

Another highlight was a very real Christmas miracle.

From Marble Falls

Christmas day in Kingwood was filled with fun. Christian tried to make it thru without a nap, but ended up falling asleep on both me and Daddy a couple of times through out the day.

From Christmas

Archer was a trooper. He did wonderfully.

Friday after Christmas we had a chance to visit some friends. First we visited our friend Diego. His Mom and I met at the Avon 3 day walk in Dallas in 2002. Diego and Christian attended daycare together while they lived near us. We now get to see them in Houston. Diego now has a little brother Enzo. Enzo and Archer are just 7 weeks apart.

From Christmas

I think Christian liked it at Diego's house (that would be an understate really). He loved playing with Diego and his toys. Diego has a bunch of Lightin' McQueen related toys...most everything we don't have. Christian cried when we had to leave. However, we got some great idea for birthday presents for Christian.

From Christmas

After our playdate with Diego it was time to visit the Goerlitz house. The boys were with us for alitle while, then we dropped them off with DoDaddy and returned to the Goerlitz house for an amazing dinner (dinner is always amazing at the Goerlitz house).

From Christmas

Saturday in Kingwood was out playdate with Raphael Goerlitz.

From Christmas

Christian loved the Diner that Santa brough Raphael for Christmas.

From Christmas

He also loved the Noggin' Channel we discovered at the Goerlitz house.

From Christmas

From Christmas

After that playdate we went to dinner with Dodaddy. Then it was off for more grownup fun while the boys stayed at the house with DoDaddy.

From Christmas

Sunday we headed home to unpack all our goodies.

Christmas pics

Sorry I haven't blogged lately. Work is keeping me busy, but I hope to get some time to chat about Christmas soon. In the mean time here are lots of pictures.

Marble Falls

Grama Nita's BIG FAMILY Christmas party



Christmas in Kingwood


We had a wonderful Christmas, we even had a Christmas Miracle too!
Hope you had a Merry Christmas too...now on to 2009.

Christmas time is here again.

This was the start of the BIG CHRISTMAS WEEK at the Wenck house. It started on Thursday with the sing along at daycare. Then Friday Chris and I took Christian to see Playhouse Disney Live. He loved it. All his favorites were there...Handy Manny, Tigger & Pooh and Darby, Little Einstiens, and Mickey Mouse and his clubhouse friends, Minnie, Donald and Goofy. He loved the food too. He ate cotton candy and kettle corn popcorn. It was a fun show and kept his attention. We had ordered our tickets early and had really good seats, so there was no problems with him seeing over people. He did sit in my lap some of the time.




Saturday we headed to Gran and Pa's for Christmas with my side of the family. Everyone was there. All the aunts and uncles. When we see Gran and Pa, we try to get in a visit with Chris' Great Aunt Phyllis and cousin Glenna. We were lucky enough to get that treat this time.

Christian made out like a bandits and we came home with some much stuff, we had to enlist Uncle JJ to help us bring some home in his truck. The biggest addition to his room was his cool new activity table. It was made by Pa and Uncle JJ. Mom put in a few requests when it came to the construction of the table. I asked that its fit a certain set of measuresments so I know it would fit where I wanted it to go in his room. Then I asked that is be tall enough to have storage boxes underneath, then I asked that the table top have chalkboard paint on it so he could color on it as well. Pa, Gran and Uncle JJ took my requests and made them happen. It fits perfectly in his room. He loves it. Of course he loves all the other toys he got to go with it too...some Thomas trains, some match box cars, a race track, and some chalk.

Sassy bought him a Diego trike that looks a lot like the Big Wheels of our day. I don't know who was more excited about the trike Christian or his Daddy. Daddy has fond memories of riding his big wheel around his drive way.

Aunt Sassy also made out like a bandit too. Gran had some fun making her run around the house on a mini scavenger hunt for her present, but it had a big payoff. Gran got her a laptop for Christmas....and who says just the little kid get spoiled.

Archer didn't do too bad either. He received a few toys and lots of great clothes.



Sunday it was off to Grama Nita's big family Christmas party. This is my extended side of the family. It is about 40+ of my nearest and dearest family members. We are quite a bunch when you get us all together. The highlight of the party, besides catching up with each other, is the christmas gift exchange. It is mainly made up of fun and silly gifts with some classics that reappear year after year.



It was a busy weekend. The boys kept up well, but there were some long night that made for a few grumpy moments. Luckily there were naps when they were needed. Mommy and Daddy can't believe it is Sunday and they have to work tomorrow. It will be another busy week, but lots of fun to be had.

Christmas sing along 2008

So the Christmas sing along was a success and the plan to hide worked for a little while. Remember the Thanksgiving sing along ? Well this time we were told that we could go up in the balcony and take pictures or film the program. We also thought this was a great place to hide. It worked. Christian went up there with no problems. He eventually saw us, but never cried. He didn't really sing either. The funniest thing was that he fell asleep up there. Yep with about 50-70 daycare friends on the stage, he falls asleep. We didn't get to see that part, but other parents told us and Landon's mom said she got some cute pictures of it. I saw him yawning and then he sat down. Well once he sat down, a little girl standing next to him was blocking my view from above. The entire program was very cute and sweet. His class cracked me up. I think because they are the youngest they are the easiestly distracted. Some walked around, some swayed, some started in the top row and were on the bottom row by the end, some laid down on the stairs. But then again that is what makes these events to much fun. Not that they sing perfectly, the fun is not knowing what cute thing they will do next.

So here are the pictures.

New Playmate

Our newest playmate is Joel Fox Petty. Here are some more pictures of this little guy.





Here is a little video too. We were trying to get him snorting on camera. It is too cute when he would snort. I didn't get the snort, but this is cute anyway.

From video

New little sweetie joined our world today

Welcome baby boy Petty (name to be announced tomorrow).

Born 11:01 am, 7.5 lbs. 20 inches long.

I can't wait to get my hands on your and my camera around you.

I'm gonna give you tons of kisses and then take bunches of pictures!

You sure are cute!

"Be nice to Daddy."

Last night at dinner Chris and I were talking. I guess my tone was getting heated (read my voice was getting louder). I'm sure we were discussion the Big 3 Bailout or the Governor of Illinois or something else that might be me irriated to discuss. I guess when I discuss these things and I raise my voice Christian thinks I'm mad at Daddy, when I'm really just mad at other people or the situation. So last night while Chris and I were talking Christian tells me, "Be nice to Daddy". I think he also wanted some attention because we were having adult conversation and not paying attention to him (heaven forbid).

Did I mention Chris LOVED this?!?!

So for the rest of the night Chris repeated "Be nice to Daddy"...over and over again.

Christmas prep

This weekend we were able to enjoy a little christmas cheer.
Friday night we all made gingerbread cookies. Not gingerbread men because I don't have those cookie cutters. We made gingerbread animals. Sometimes I have these grand visions of our family time. Many times the actual event falls short of what I have invisioned. Luckily this wasn't one of those times. Christian did great and I did great. We had lots of fun making these cookies. He knew how to roll out the dough. He did a wonderful job of cutting out the cookies.

Then Saturday night we got the tree out of the attic, put a fun Christmas CD on and put on Christmas decorations. That was lots of fun too. Archer was in the swing facing the tree enjoying the lights. Christian enjoyed picking through all the ornaments. I enjoyed putting up all my Capitol Christmas ornaments. I have almost ten years worth. Chris loves putting on the ornaments Gammy has passed down to us. Christian's daycare classes usually make a cute craft. I have the ornament that was made when he was in the infant room. A sweet glass ornament with his little hand print on it. It is so precious. Hard to believe it was only a few years ago, he was Archer's size. We made some sweet little family memories tonight.

Brotherly Love

Christian kept Archer entertained at dinner tonight. (click on photo to go to Picasa and see video)

From itsy bitsy spider video

He has started requesting Archer sit by him at dinner time. It is cute how well he entertained him with his song.

Christmas cards

I LOVE CHRISTMAS CARDS!!! I love giving them. I love receiving them. I love deciding how to design them. I send out a bunch too.

Well this year I had some BIG help with the Christmas card pictures. My friend and co-worker Erik has an amazing eye for photography and some great equipment to back it up. Here is some of his work http://picasaweb.google.com/esmoore68

After Archer was born he offered to take some family pictures of us. I jumped at the chance, of course! Here is a collage of the results and I think they are a great representation of our family at this stage in all our lives.

From Collages

So this is kind of a sneak peek of our cards. This isn't the exact card. This is just something I had fun putting together with Erik's pictures.

If you will notice Christian is quite busy in most of the photos and the rest of us are watching....that is pretty much our lives right now...and that's fine with us.

Thanksgiving,,,and what it means to me by ...

That seemed like a clever title, but I'm not sure how much I will actually get to write. I have to admit, I'm exhausted.

Here are just some of the many things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving.
1) My boys...all of them. The one I married and the ones we had together. They make me happy on so many levels.
2) Family, all of them, blood and in-laws....I have a great bunch of both. I saw most of my immediate family on Wednesday and then my in-laws from Thursday thru Sunday. I enjoyed all the time I was able to spend with all of them.
3) Children - mine and others. They make things so light and fun. They sing and play and make you forgot the mean or sad stuff.
4) My husband - it takes losing someone to make you realize what you have. I didn't lose him in the grand sense (I don't even what to think about that prospect) but I lost him in a smaller sense. He is SICK. Sicker than I think I have ever seem him. So I missed all his help in everything we do coming home from our Thanksgiving adventure to see Gammy.
5) Bedtimes - I am thankful for my children...I love them dearly, but after a day like today, I am truly thanksful for bedtime. They are all tucked away. One is fast asleep, while the older one sings and I'm sure he will be asleep soon.

An update on Gammy. She is doing better. We were told she looks much better than she did. She enjoyed seeing everyone this Thanksgiving. And she gave all her great grandchildren, cute little toy turkeys that gooble.

God's Will

Have you ever gotten an email, read a passage, received a call or a letter that said something you really needed to hear. My Mom says God it talking to her when she receives messages like this. I received this in an email today.

'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

We are off on our normal Thanksgiving trip to visit Gammy this year. However, this year Gammy isn't doing as well has she has been in past year. She is in the hospital. We are coming to terms with what God's will might be and hearing things like this help.

From Labor Day 2007

Living with the Budget

So it is Christmas shopping time and yes I have been given a Christmas Budget.

I have been very good. I created my list of people to buy gifts for, along with the allotted budget amount. Yes, all of this is on a spreadsheet and I track each item and expense after I have purchased it.

I have been doing really well, until I realized I forgot a very special group. The daycare teachers. So today I had to email Chris and tell him I will be over budget. Here is how the emails went.

Me: I will officially be over budget on Christmas because of the daycare

Him: Are you requesting a bailout?

Me: Yes, from Christian and Archer, For their daycare teachers.
I’m cutting back….I already eliminated some and I've also taken on the ______ present in my budget. See I’m not like the Big 3 CEO’s….I haven’t been flying around in my private jet.

Him: I see... Actually, Senator McCain just emailed me and told me what a fiscal conservative you are. Currently, I have _____ left in the budget for Christmas. How much over that do you think we will spend?

Now if this is just Chris and I going back and forth, can you imagine what it will be like when Christian or Archer ask for some expensive item in the future?!?!
I will be saying, "Well son let me see your spreadsheet first before we go present this to the budget. "

My children should be well versed in the use of spreadsheets by the time they are 10, if not sooner.

From Christmas

Thanksgiving Sing-a-long

Today was our first official school function. It was a Thanksgiving sing-a-long at daycare. I think there are 4 general types of kids when it comes to these kinds of functions.

1) the "perfect" child...he or she stands up with everyone and sings along like a dream

2) the "ham" ...he or she stand up with everyone and then acts silly and kind of sings along and kind of just plays

3) the "scared one"...he or she stand up there, but looks terrified and doesn't sing. It is just enough that they are standing up

4) the "cryer"...he or she may or may not even make it up in front of everyone because they are to scared of everyone or they see Mom, Dad or some other family member and want to go with them but can't....so they cry.

Which one of these 4 categories do you think my child fell into today????

YEP...he is a cryer. All he had to do was see Pa and Gran and he lost it. He sat in his teachers lap the whole performance crying. He wasn't done crying, because when he finally saw us after the concert was over, he was still crying. Still crying while I was holding him on the way back to his room. Still crying when I said go bye to him as he was off to lunch with Gran and Pa.

Luckily Chris and I have probably heard the entire performance at our dinner table for the last week. It was a bummer he didn't sing in front of everyone, but Momma had a funny feeling this is how it was going to go.

I was able to snap pictures of many of his daycare friends. Here are all the pics.

I was able to stop by and see Archer to..he doesn't get as upset yet when we come and go from school.

So new rule for family attending performances at daycare....HIDE!!!!!!! Don't let him see you until after the performance is over.

What I want for Christmas

Is to teach this song to Christian. I have a few weeks, but he is super smart (of course) and picks up songs quickly these days. I know Chris will be sick of this song soon, if he isn't already.

Happy 3 month birthday little man

Archer is 3 months old today. He is such a little sweetheart too. He coos and smiles and loves to watch his brother run around. He loves the attention he gets when he is being changed. He loves to look at his mobile. He has the sweetest blue eyes and the cutest little tummy. I love that you already sleep through the night. You love to read books with Christian at bed time.

Happy birthday little man! We love you.

New Baby Girl

We have a new baby girl in the family. JJ's stepdaughter Andi had a baby girl she named Addison Loraine on Sunday.

Here is baby girl Addison with Grandma Sara

My new favorite Blog

I have a new favorite blog. Some of you might know I love my crock pot. It isn't new and fancy or anything. It is a hand-me down from my grandmother Lois, who has since passed away. She had several for some reason and gave me this one. It is avocado green with lovely dirt brown as an accent color...circa 1972. However, I love to use it. I make slow cooked pork, which makes great sandwiches. I have made roasts in it. I have made a chicken and rice recipe. Of course I have made cheese queso in it many times. I have used it for beans for parties. I love my crock pot.

Well I found this website and I fell in love. I have a whole new slew of recipes to try...and just in time for the holidays!! The site is called "A Year of Crockpotting"

For those that just use their crockpots for queso, you should really try out one of these recipes.

Daddy daycare

Christian woke up from his nap yesterday running a fever of about 102. You could tell he didn't feel well at all. We gave him some motrin and within an hour he was feeling much better. The rule at daycare is you can't go to school unless you have been fever free for 24 hours (or the dr. says it is okay). So Chris is home with him today because I have no sick or vacation time to speak of and Chris can productively work at home.

I emailed to see how things are going...he was Daddy's response.

1) He is watching TV.
2) He took off all his clothes and ran around .. For a minute... Then he put his clothes back on.
3) He put a green.. Stocking? on his foot... Silly...
4) He put his socks on his hands.. Silly...
5) wants to watch Handy Manny.. But We don't have any recorded...
6) Now he is looking at books.

I did comfirm that he currently doesn't have any fever. We hope it stays that way.

Dinoland Day!

We finally made it out to DinoLand at the Zilker Botanical Gardens. Christian loved see all the life size Dino's. It is a great exhibit through out the park, which is beautiful all on its own. We even ran into Helene some of her family, Jennifer, Michael, Rhem, Charlotte, Ruby and Eliza. Jennifer Blogs at Mayhem Mania. Actually reading her blog so often is how I realized they were there...Rhem walked right by me and I thought, "That looks like Rhem". Following close behind was the rest of the family.

We started our Dinoland day off with a good breakfast at Cypress, one of our new favorite places. Then headed off to Dinoland.



After Dinoland Chris and the boys dropped me off at the office so I could get a little extra work done and they all headed home...hopefully to take some well deserved naps.

A crush

There is a little girl at daycare that has a little crush on Christian. Her Mom says she talks about him all the time. I think the feelings were mutual for a while because he used to mention her all the time too. But alas, she is in the Dove Room and he has moved up to the Fishie room. Well, we still see her and her mom lots.

Yesterday her Mom told me a cute little story. Little girl was going on and on this weekend about loving Christian..."I love Christian". Well little girl's grandma is quite religious and was so excited because she was thinking this meant little girl loved BEING a christian. "Oh, isn't that so sweet. She loves Jesus. She said she loves being a christian"...well momma of little girl had to break it to grandma that she loves little boy names Christian at her school.

My little heartbreaker!!!!

A cute conversation from last night...

Christian: I love Mommy

Me: Oh how sweet, you love Mommy.

Christian: Yeah, Daddy too.

Me: That is so nice. Do you love baby Archer too?

Christian: No. I love my Sassy.

Me: You don't love baby Archer?

Christian: no, I love my Sassy.

So needless to say, Aunt Sassy got a cute voice mail last night saying Christian loves her more than baby Archer.

Veteran's Day

From Veterans Day 2007

What is a Vet? By Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC
Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.
Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.
You can't tell a vet just by looking.
What is a Vet?
He is a cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.
He is a barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.
He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.
He is the parade - riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.
He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknown, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his county, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.
So remember, each time you see someone who has served our county, just lean over and say "Thank You." That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.
Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".
"It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, And whose coffin is draped with the flag, Who allow the protestor to burn the flag."

Our Veteran's Day 2007

A day without TV

It was more like 1/2 a day without TV. We actually pulled off from the early morning until 3:00pm without TV..all of us. If you know us and Christian, that is a big feat! Christian has become a little TV junkie and we thought we would take a break.

He wasn't thrilled about it. He first asked for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, then Wonder Pets, then Go Diego Go, and I think a few more shows. But he adapted quickly and was very entertaining. We just explained that we weren't watching TV. It makes it easier when the TV is just off all together and we don't have it on one of our stations. Christian sang songs, told stories and we all in all VERY entertaining with his imagination.

We planned to take a nature walk in the green belt and I brought my camera along for the trip. Turned out we ended up spending our time at the little park down the street.



It wasn't a full day without Movies or TV because Christian had plans with Sassy and Jonathon to see a movie in the afternoon. He ended up watching Diego with Sassy and Jonathon while they waited for us to get home...they didn't know about the TV ban for the day. Then he was able to watch a show for his treatment (that is pretty standard around here too).

Another things we did this weekend was get several things out of the attic for Archer. One that he really enjoyed for the exercauser. He loved just sitting in it watching Christian run around him playing with all the attached toys.

First day of school

Monday was Archer's 1st day of school. I think I have said it many times before, but it never hurts repeating...WE LOVE our daycare!!! The teachers are priceless. They love your babies like they were their own.


This is Miss Jana!! She is one of our favorites (but we have so many it is hard to keep track). Miss Jana is also Rocky's Nana. Rocky and Christian have been best buddies for pretty much their whole lives. That sounds like a long time, but they are only 30+ months old. Whenever you ask Christian about school, his answer will usually contain something about Rocky.

From Archer's first day at school

I think Christian had fun going into his old room. He might not remember all his days in the Caterpillar room, but he seems to enjoy going back.

Chris demanded we both drop off the 1st day. He knew I would have questions and he probably won't get all the right answers (yes, he is learning the way I am). Archer was crying some when we left, but was a very happy camper when I picked him up. He was happy yesterday too. I think the busy days in daycare are wearing him out though. He has been fast asleep by 7:30 both nights this week. Only to wake up about 3:30 for a feeding.

Mom and Dad are still adjusting to the new routine of picking up and dropping off two kids. Each of us usually forgets something from one of their rooms. We will get it down soon enough I'm sure.

Wedded Bliss

I wanted to share the pictures from Russell and Melissa's wedding this weekend. It was beautiful.



I dressed the boys up new cute little vests. The wedding provided childcare...thank you Melissa for this...it made your wedding stress free for Chris and I to enjoy!

At the wedding reception Melissa had a children's table...WITH TOYS!!! She sat us right next to it...again, this helped make our night a little less stressful initially. However, once Christian realized how much land Kathie and Rand has, he was off running. His favorite phrase of the night was "I gotta go.." it was followed with run or hop. And he was running or hopping the whole night.

Now Archer, I don't think he was a fan of the tent. He liked being outside walking around most of the time. Then he got REALLY hungry because Mom wasn't paying attention to the time. Once he was fed, he was much happier being held by almost every member of the family.

Kudos to Russell's best man. He gave the funniest toast I have ever heard a best man give! It showed me a WHOLE OTHER side to Russell.

Russell and Melissa are now Man and Wife..they are honeymooning in Wine Country. I hope they have as much fun out there as we did.

Halloween 2008

I am having a horrible allergy attack, I guess from being outside trick or treating...so tonight's post is just enough to get the pictures from tonight out there. We have a fun, filled weekend planned, so I hope to have lots of pictures from Russell and Melissa's wedding.

Special Thanks to Jonathan and Sassy. They came by to trick or treat with us. Jonathan used my camera and took lots of great shots....that is why you might actually see me in a few pictures this time.

Halloween at the Office

Some of us here at our office enjoy dressing up for Halloween. It doesn't hurt that vacation time is up from grabs.

Her is Krystal with her Awesome impression of the Caddyshack Gopher. (click through links to see video)



Here is a slide show with the rest of us who dresses up.

Bedtime

I asked Christian if he wanted Archer to spend the night with him. He quickly said yes. I snapped these pictures before he changed his mind....Archer is a noisy sleeper.

New Word

Christian has learned a new word. "Stupid" He told me "You're stupid" yesterday. Lucky it didn't appear to be used in the correct context because I really don't think I was doing anything "stupid" at the time. He said it while we were playing in his room. So that means he really isn't sure what the word means. But I had to quickly think about how to deal with this. I got a very serious (but not mad) face and said "That's not a nice word, we don't call people that."

Then later after Chris was home he said it again, so he heard it too. Then we did our best tag team parenting and both got the serious face and again told him we don't say that word and we don't call people that...then we used the big "T" word...We said that word would get him in timeout. That put an end to the word for the night.

Now I know this isn't the worst word he will ever say, but I don't want him getting into the habit of using this word.

After I had time to think about it, this entire situation reminded me of the first bad word Stacy (aka Aunt Sassy) said. I happen to be present when she said hers and I think she was about the same age. Her word was a little worse and I won't type it out here, but it was a similar situation. She was chasing after me and a friend and she called this friend of mine a bad word. My friend and I both stopped in out tracks and thought...OOOOOO she is in trouble, because that is a BAD word, because we were about 11 years old and we knew we would get in trouble if we said it.

Then we heard Sheri say from the living room say "Stacy Renee, what did you just say?!?!?" Then she knew she was in trouble.

There is nothing like having a child in your life to make you pay more attention to your words and how you use them. So watch out...little eyes watch and little ears hear...and repeat.

What a weekend.

Man was it a busy weekend! FUN, but busy. So much to blog about. I will start at the beginning and see how far I can get! Luckily I took some pictures.

First things first. Aunt Debbie finally was able to meet Archer. They bonded over their love of UT and each other.



Aunt Debbie, Uncle Jack, Abigail and Emilie all came to town to see Archer's dedication...oh yeah and A UT FOOTBALL GAME. Hook 'em!!! Way to go horns!

Jack and Debbie went to the game while the girls stayed at the house with Us, Memaw & Dodaddy. There were lots of games of "I'm gonna get you!" with Abby and Christian. There were lots of movies. 101 Dalmatians, Little Mermaid...
Everyone was dressed in their finest burnt orange to cheer on Texas. I'm sure that is why they won!

When Christian work up Sunday morning he was chanting " Go Texas!". He grab some marachas and started shaking them saying "Go Texas!"..then gave one to Chris and said "Shake it Daddy! Go Texas, Daddy! Where's Texas Daddy?!" Uncle Jack gave all the kids Longhorn stickers to wear too. They loved them.

Chris and I left the kids with Memaw and Dodaddy and headed off to Cory and Jordan's wedding. It was at this amazing place on the river.



It was beautiful ceremony right on the river. We ran into some of Chris' friends from Kingwood...Chris and Amber, Darrin and Denise. We all had a great time visiting. Cory and Jordan had a great band called the Gourds play their wedding. And to quote Cory (the groom) the reception was "BAD A$$". We all had a great time. We both have sore feet from tapping out feet to the music and dancing..yes we even danced....and if you know Chris well...you know he really must have liked the band.
It was a long night for us, but so worth being able to hang out with old friends for Chris and new friends for me!

Sunday was just as busy as Saturday. We had Archer and Lily's dedication at church, then everyone came over for a BBQ lunch.


It was a special day for both our families. Presenting out littlest ones to God. Pastor Wyles always gives the best speeches at this time. I looked at him while was talking about what a special gift we have been given as parents and what an important job we have. As I held my youngest son and looked at my oldest, I know this will be my most important job ever! This was a special day for Grama Nita too. Lily is her 11th great-grand child and Archer makes an even dozen.

After lunch we were lucky that everyone at our house had a chance to take a nice nap. Christian was the only one that protested on taking a nap, but his was much needed too.

Well that is our weekend wrap up. Now off to get ready for an equally busy Halloween week. And another wedding this weekend....

Memaw

Memaw was here with us this week. She came to spend a week taking care of Archer. They had lots of fun. They went for walks and spent lots of quality time together. WE LOVE YOU MEMAW!!!!!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we went out to the local pumpkin patch. Christian had a great time picking out pumpkings for each of us.


I had a little fun today playing with my camera lense.

An Austin Institution

Dirty Martin's Kum Bak Place is an Austin Institution....and one that my husband had never been to. He has lived here for 9 years and has never been. Well we corrected that Friday night.

From Dirty's

Christian just had to wear his "yeehaw" hat to Dirty's.

From Dirty's

From Dirty's

I had a cheese burger and onion rings...a Classic! It was yummy.

Chris had a chilicheese burger, he said it was good too.

Pop would be proud that we were carrying on an Austin tradition, burgers at Dirty's.

Crazy day and Peaceful Night (I hope)

Well today was my official last day off from work for maternity leave and boy was it a crazy one. First off, Christian's daycare was off today so I had both boys at home. This isn't so bad, but takes some getting used to. Christian has been coughing more and more. We really noticed it last night while he slept. Also, this morning when I woke him up he felt warm, not hot, just warm. I took his temp and he had a 99.0 temp, not a fever techinically, but still not the norm.

Then Archer seemed to have a stuffy nose too. I took him temp and it was 99.5.

So I call the Dr. office to see if we need to start giving Christian 2 treatments a day. The Dr. hasn't seen him since June so they tell us to come in. I call again about Archer and the Dr. says she can see both of them.

Since Christian wasn't feeling well, this meant lots of his favorite shows and movies during the day. Then when he went down for nap, he coughed the entire time.

As soon as we got to the Dr. office and she listened to his chest, she said he needed the fast acting meds. Hmm, glad I came in. So we are back to 2 treatments a day and now Christian gets to stay home with Daddy tomorrow.

Having to take both boys into the Dr. was quite a chore for me. I had my handsful to say the least.

Archer also has a cold. We are supposed to keep an eye on his temp and anything over 102 means a trip to the ER. OH FUN! Our favorite place. The Dr. called Archer's cold the 2nd child syndrom...meaning big brother brought home the cold from school.

I am hoping of a peaceful night because tomorrow is my 1st day back to work and Chris 1st day to stay home alone. He will have both boys too...that should be fun.
But because he stays home, that means he takes the night shift...which should mean a peaceful night for Mommy!!!

Keeping the balance

As my friend Deena is good to remind me, you can't do one thing for one son and not do something similar for the other son. Well today Archer had his 1st portrait session. Here are the results. Pretty cute!

Bits and pieces from this weekend and week

Apparently we have an owl in our house...take a look.

From Owl in the house video

(Click this to go directly to the video)

This week we put up some Halloween decorations. Christian was a big helper with everything, but the string. We also walked to the park on Saturday morning and have some fun on the swings.

National Night Out

Last night our little street had a National Night Out Block Party. It was lots of fun getting to know our neighbors better (as well as we could holding and feeding an infant and chasing after a 2 year old). Our neighbor Anissa does a wonderful job coordinating our Tyhurst Block Parties. Not that she doesn't have her hands full with 3 active boys. She is so good, she even turned in a special request and an Austin Fire truck stopped by the party. Can you tell the kids enjoyed that!?!?!?

Budget

I have been thinking for a while about writing a post about the Budget. With all the news today on the financial crisis the US is in, it seems like the perfect time. When the news analysts are saying you have to cut back and take responsiblity for your actions and your spending, they always go to the "create a budget and live by it" line. Oprah did a show today on being Thrifty. She had the thriftiest family in America on helping out a family that was in crisis. Very interesting stuff.

Now, if you chat with me much or know my husband well, you have heard about the Budget. The Budget is a separate entity in our house, ever watchful, ever present. Whenever I ask about buying something the response I get is "Let me check the Budget". So when I hear on the news gloom and doom, I take pride in the Wenck Family Budget and I give all the credit to the Man I Married almost 5 years ago. Oh yes, you read that right...I give him ALL the credit.

It all starts with a Feasablity Budget. This is done annually, around the end of the year (after we know if we will be getting raises for that year). This budget takes all our income and all our expenses and makes sure we are only spending or saving what we make. I also like to refer to this as the negotiation period. Chris wants to cut and I want to spend/save, so we take to bargaining. We also take everything we can think of into account. Pet expense, eating out, personal allowance $ (this goes for me, chris and each of the boys, yes the 7 week old has a budget too). We plan for gifts thru out the year...pretty much, you name it, we plan for it. Now of course something get missed, but that is to be expected.

Once the terms are agreed on Chris sets up the 365 day cash flow budget..oh yes, you read that right too, 365 DAY!! This shows all $$ coming in and all $$ that is expected to go out. Another key to the Budget is automatic bill paying and automatic spending. The majority of our household expenses are set up on an automatic payment systems. All of our savings is automated too. We save for property taxes, insurance, long-term household repairs, car repairs...you get the idea. ING is wonderful for this because ING allows me to set up numerous accounts....that is a dream set up for a nerdy accountant type like myself. Each savings catergory has its own account.

Another one of our tricks is to use our solo credit card to our advantage. We have a rewards plan that pays us cash back once a year. In years past we have received over $800. The Budget likes that!!!

So, what are the results of our Budget.

• we don't have a car payment,
• we only have 1 credit card that doesn't carry a large balance,
• we save up and pay cash for something or we don't get it
• we don't lose sleep at night wondering if our house will be foreclosed on
• we don't worry about paying off our multiple credit card bills

Now we didn't get to this point alone. At one time we both had credit card debt and we also had student loans. Through some fortunate situations we were able to pay all those off early in our marriage.

And if you wonder if we are raising our children in the Budget Doctrine, just look at this picture

From seton shower

I am the "Budget", and I approved this message. (editor's note: Chris wrote this line)

My words coming back at me

There are several phrases that have been said by Chris and I that have found new life in our house:

1) There, is that better?
2) Ok (this comes after almost everything)..."Chocolate milk, ok." "No, bath, read books, ok."
3) That's enough!
4) Goodness Gracious
5) Eat what's on your plate
6) Yeah
7) This is the right foot

These are Christian's favorite phrases on the week and month. It is funny to hear your words repeated back to you. You don't realize how often you say something until a 2 years repeats it to you numerous times a day.

Sling Thing Part II

I wore my sling again today. This time in Big Lots! and then again to HEB. In Big Lots, the aisle are so small it is hard to get around. At one almost run in with another cart another women politely smiled at me and then saw my sling and gave a loud "AAAwwww", as if to say, oh how cute, there is a baby in there. It was funny, because she didn't say anything else to me, just "AAwww."

Then it was on to HEB again, it seems like I always forget something from the last trip, forcing another trip...and I live in a house full of monkey it seems...Bananas don't stand a chance in my house. So there I was at HEB again with my sling. This time I see lots of Moms with babies, in those quilted cart protectors and baby carries. Archer isn't big enough to hold himself up yet, to those cart protector covers are out.

On the juice aisle a man was moving his cart to stock the shelves and I just happened to be standing exactly where he needed to be. After I noticed that I was the reason he was waiting I apologize. He said no problem...and can I ask you where you got your thing you are holding your baby in. We then have about a 2 minute conversation about slings and where to purchase one. I suggested a resale shop because they are much cheaper there and a better investment if you decide you really don't like the sling thing.

I moved on to the rest of my shopping. Then is comes time for me to check out. As I am putting all my items on the belt the woman behind me asks how old my baby is, she also says he is cute...and even mentions "well his little head looks cute, because that is all I can see". She tells me she never used a sling or carrier because she never found one that she thought felt safe. I show her how this sling works and we chat for a few more seconds.

I think it is really funny how many people comment on the sling...oh well...everyone is nice that does.

Sling Thing

I recently said I didn't think I was a "Sling Momma". Ya know the type. The Moms that cruise around the shops wearing their babies with their hands free. Kind of like my neighbor of 3 boys across the street. She is an amazing Sling Momma. She is a pro and has used it with all of her sons. She was even the one that told me about the particular sling I ended up with. (not to slight her husband...he is a great Sling Daddy too)

I tried to use the sling a few time unsuccessfully with Christian. I just never got the hang of it. So it sat there in his closet collecting dust until Archer came along. This time I thought I would give the Baby Bjorn a try. My plan was to sell my sling at the resale shop and then use the money to buy a used Baby Bjorn. Well today I took my sling in to sell. They turned it down!! I was very surprised since I have barely touched the thing. Their reason was because it had some marks on it...mainly from sitting around in the closet collecting dust and then sitting in the back of the car waiting for me to get it to the resale shop.

I was a little peeved to be honest...not taking my sling..the nerve. Well it is really my own fault for not looking at it closer before I took it in.

After my rejection at the resale shop I thought, what the heck??!! I will give this sling another shot. This time it wasn't a practice run around the house. It was a full on trip to HEB.

IT WAS GREAT!!! I remembered just enough of how to place the baby in the sling and Archer didn't complain. On a recent shopping trip to HEB I noticed many parents (Moms and Dads) wearing their kids. They came in all types...some slings, some baby bjorns, some other ones I don't know the name of.....I thought WOW, that seems so much easier than hauling around the heavy baby carrier.

Today I was one of those Moms and happily so. I even had a 5 minute conversation with a former Sling Momma in the frozen foods aisle. She told me all about how she loved her sling with her two daughters. She even suggested another type of carrier when they get bigger. With this one she mentioned, you can carry your child on your hip or piggy back. She also preached the benefit of the sling and said it keeps people from touching your baby when you may not what them too. She said she once had a checker at Wal-mart come around from the other side of the register and "grope" her baby (her words, not mine).

Archer did start to wiggle some at the end of our shopping trip, but all and all it went really well. So I will give this sling another try.

Signed,
Second Chance Sling Momma

Dancing with the Stars here we come

If you click thru the pics fast enough, he looks like he is dancing.

"Smile and the whole world smiles with you"

Can you tell who is who?

I will admit they are looking more and more a like.

Keep in mind I'm not Steven Spielberg

pirate movie

(click on this picture to take you to picasa, this is a video..keep clicking until it plays)

Arrggg Matey...this here is a dress rehearsal for our halloween this year...shiver me timbers he makes a good pirate.

A night in the life of....

Archer Wenck.....
It starts off with a little snooze while Mom makes dinner. The snooze takes place on Daddy's knees. Then he wakes up and spends alittle quality time with Daddy. Soon after waking up he decides he is hungry..REALLY hungry. So mom feeds him while feeding herself at the dinner table. This is quite the balancing act. Then it is off to get a bath.

From Sept 2008

Pre bath picture

Baths for Archer aren't a nightly occurance like they are for Christian. Christian runs around a dusty playground several hours a day. Baths for Archer generally occur while Christian is also getting a bath. This is Wenck tag team parenting at it's best.

Archer does great in the bath. He really likes the warm water. I don't remember Christian ever liking his bath until he was 6 months old. Even now it can be a fight.

Sometimes he gets a little too chilly and lets me know about it.

From Sept 2008

Then it is off to his room and changing table. He is so calm when he lays on his changing table. Chris says sometimes he doesn't want to take him off because he seems so happy there.

Then we have a little chat after he is in his PJ's, while on his changing table. He tells me about his day. I don't interupt him even though I know everything he did that day because I was there with him. I just let him ramble on. Sometimes I see hints of a true smile. It is coming...

From Sept 2008

Then sometimes we go in and all sit on Christian's bed and read books. But tonight Christian chose to watch Go, Diego, go until bedtime, so no books.

Tonight Archer spent a little time swinging around in the living room. He takes some of his best naps in his swing. This looks pretty uncomfortable, but he never complains.

From Sept 2008

Then Archer gets a evening snack and usually falls asleep in Mommie's arms. I let him stay there for awhile and sometimes I even take a little cat nap with him. I know there is a short window of time in his life where this will be the norm and I want us both to enjoy it.

Sweet angle boy

How sweet is this little guy?!?!?

From Archer Jonathon

Post baby shower

Chris' office threw Archer a baby shower today. They are a smart bunch because the shower came after the baby and the baby was able to attend the shower. So was his big brother. Christian thought it was someone's birthday, and he was partly right. Archer was napping so Christian helped out by opening all his present. We arrived a little early and Christian was able to sit at Daddy's desk. Notice how quickly Christian took to playing with Chris' 10 key.

Old Friends

From Tallie's Birthday

The Ladies in this pictures have known each other for about 20 to 30 years. I personally have known Tallie since the first grade (30 years ago this month). That is LONG TIME.

Tonight we all got together to celebrate Tallie's birthday. We had a great time talking about old times and fun times to come. Some said they wanted to relive their high school days. Hmm, not sure I would go that far, but I might go back and relive a few of my college years.

Go, Diego, Go!

Christian has started to really take an interest in Go, Diego, Go!

I guess he is getting too big for Mickey Mouse (ha!) No, he still loves Mickey and TiggaPooh (aka My Friends Tigger and Pooh) but this week Diego is the favorite.

But it is so much fun to watch him, watch this show...sounds silly, watching him, watch the show, but it is too cute. They ask lots of question in the show, like what tree it the tallest, and things like that...and Christian has started to respond. I can't say that his answers are always the right ones. However, I have been noticing he is getting more and more right. They also ask the kids to repeat words in spanish and he does very well with that too.

He has been staying home with me and Archer most Friday mornings, until his breakfast date with Gran and Pa. This means he gets to sleep late, watch some of his shows and usually this means eating in front of the TV.

Shoes

Can you tell how long we have had these shoes? To look at them you would think a very long time. Christian received these shoes in the mail from Aunt Sheri on Sunday. YES! Just three days ago these were brand new, never been wore shoes. Now there is a good layers of playground dirt on them. Can you tell this little boy plays hard!?!?

Girls Night

From Leslie girls night

I love a good girls night. One night every once in a while when you can get together with friends and just chat and catch up. I work with 3 of these lovely ladies and the 4th one used to work with all of us. Three of us get to keep up with each other at work, but nights out like this allow us more time to really visit. In the case of this particular group of ladies the 4 of us that are still at the MAC get to visit with young Leslie that has moved on to other adventures. This particular night we were celebrating and sending off Leslie to her new job in BIG D.

From Leslie girls night

We will miss our ladies nights with Leslie. She is a bundle of fun and fashion. She is about the most fashionable girl I know. I put her up there with Tallie and Stacy, two of the other most fashionable people I know. But fashion isn't her only strength. This girl has drive and determination. She is super smart too. She is an amazing girl....the total package, brains, beauty and fun. But then again I think this whole group of ladies are the total package!

Good luck Miss Leslie. We will miss you bunches. I wish you all the best on the new adventures and challenges that await you.