The Krueger Times

The Story of Alexander's Birth

2011-07-07T11:37:00.000-05:00

After days (weeks) of strong but not regular contractions and complications that kept sending me to the hospital filled with worry, I was starting to feel like I was going to be pregnant forever! Luckily, everything with baby was OK, but the contractions were doing nothing to progress my cervix which was really frustrating. I couldn't get comfortable, I couldn't sleep, I was miserable and exhausted! To top it off, we hit record highs (105 degrees!) and it was hot even in air conditioning. On Wednesday, June 8 the weather cooled off, down to a nice cool 70 and my contractions were much worse. I had to stop whatever I was doing, breathe through them and nothing was making them stop or slow down but they weren't regular enough for me to think it was actually labor. I did have a lot of energy though, which surprised me considering how little I was sleeping. I spent most of the day cleaning the house. We went to Adam's soccer game, and had a nice dinner at LeAnn Chin. When we got home, I went straight to bed, I was exhausted after my long day.

I fell into a really deep sleep. I didn't wake up to go to the bathroom and I don't even remember Mike coming to bed, something that usually woke me up and made it hard to fall back asleep. A little after 2 am I did wake up to go to the bathroom. I climbed back into bed but couldn't sleep, something didn't feel right. About 10 minutes or so later I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom again, and as I walked to the bathroom I felt a little trickle of something run down my leg. "Great," I thought, "I just peed myself." I changed clothes but it kept coming. After all of our early labor experiences and false labor I didn't really believe it could be anything real; so I did what the books recommended - despite the fact i wasn't having contractions. I woke Mike up and told him that I thought my water had broken, and I was going for a walk. He waved me off, figuring it was another false alarm, rolled over and went back to sleep.

I put on some clothes and headed outside at about 2:45 am I walked down the driveway and almost to the corner before a huge gush of fluid came out and it hit me - my water had broken! I was officially going into labor! I turned around and headed home, plopped down on the front step and called the hospital. They told me to come on in, but not to rush since I wasn't contracting. I woke Mike up around 3:30 and began finishing packing our bags while he showered. I cleaned up a few things around the house, ate a light breakfast and tried to get my head around what was happening. Overall I was really calm and in control. Not what I expected going into labor would be like at all. A little before 4 I called Grandma Carol and asked her to come over and hang with Adam…she was excited and happy to help! I called my mom (who was in Kentucky for my brother's graduation from Boot Camp) and let her know what was going on. She was a little nervous and anxious since she was so far away, but she was excited for us too. Carol arrived at about 4:30 and Mike and I opened some gifts she had gotten for baby, finished collecting our stuff and headed out!

We got to the hospital around 5, they confirmed my water had broken and it was baby time! We set our goal for the day - Have a Baby! Mike and I both made predictions of when the baby would come. Mike guessed just before 8 p.m. and I guessed 3:47 p.m. Since I still wasn't contracting much, so we started with some walking, after a couple hours the contractions started picking up…after a dose of antibiotics, we went for another walk. This one was harder than the first, since I had to stop frequently as the contractions got stronger. Big Brother to be Adam and Grandma came by to visit us, which was really fun for me. Around noon the contractions were so bad I decided to go for the epidural, I was at a 3.5, which was close enough to my goal of getting to a 4 by myself. About an hour after the epidural they gave me a tiny dose of Pitocin to help things along, since I was still stuck at 3.5.

Around 2:30 p.m. I was dilated to 6! Woohoo! Progress! At 3 the nurses had a shift change, so a couple of nurses came in to go over my chart and such. They started another dose of antibiotics and checked me again….I was at an 8! It was about 3:20 at this time, a few minutes later I felt the urge to push, they checked me again and lo and behold I was fully dilated, the baby was engaged and we were ready to go! They called the doctor, who arrived about 15 minutes later and I started pushing. I was so hopeful that I would actually have a 3:47 p.m. baby - and my guess was so close because after about 4 contractions and 15 minutes of pushing, baby Alex came into the world at 3:53 p.m.

My first reaction was fear, he was too blue and the cord was around his neck and wrist, but the doctor quickly took care of it and placed my brand new, slimy newborn on my chest. Mike cut the cord. I spent awhile just holding my little man, he was so little and new. There is nothing like holding your brand new baby, all wrinkled and soft….Alexander Bruce arrived about 2 weeks early, and was so tiny! He weighed in at 6 lb, 12 oz and 19 inches…he was absolutely beautiful!

Adam and Santa through the Years

2010-12-12T07:15:00.001-06:00

I've been seeing a lot of people posting memories of Christmas' past lately. I don't have time to dig through every year's pictures and find some that sum up our holiday season, so instead I thought it would be fun to peek at all of my son's pictures with Santa.

2005 - Adam was just 2 months old, and I wasn't comfortable letting a strange man hold my son, so we skipped Santa and took Adam to get his Christmas pictures taken. Here is Adam as Santa

2006 - This picture speaks for itself. (Although I would like to add that we submitted it to The Ellen Show for her pictures with santa segment, and although we didn't win, we did make it on the air :D)

2007 - Still a little unsure of what's going on, but willing to pose for a photo.

2008 - Adam is starting to get more comfortable with this Jolly Old Soul.

2009 - This was the first year that Adam was really into Santa. The excitement leading up to going to visit, the preparing the list to tell Santa, the loooong wait in line to see Santa....all ending with a visit that he was talking about for days after!

2010 - This year was the most fun for me. Adam spent days ahead of time writing his letter to Santa. We sealed it up so Adam could hand deliver it. He practiced what he was going to tell Santa, and was so excited to sit and talk with him. I bet Adam would have stayed all day if we'd have let him.

Another day

2010-09-15T10:59:00.000-05:00

Made some big progress this morning, even though I'm coming down with some sort of bug and am not feeling all that great.

I took a bunch of our boxes to the recycling center this morning, it felt great to get them out of our garage, but man was it a nightmare! I had to back my SUV through a maze in the recycling warehouse and unload my boxes into a box smasher/crusher device. The backing up part sucked because i couldn't see out the back and I had to weave around piles, equipment and worker-men. Not fun. But, the boxes are gone and both Mike and I will be able to park in our garage tonight!!!

I also got most of the office unpacked, although it's not even close to organized yet. We have some decisions to make regarding the office, and after seeing the stuff we have, I have some big ideas to toss at my husband. It involves some sort of drawer-like organizing device and a bookcase. I think it will look nice - and will allow me to have my craft desk set up in here as well! I also want a BIG fat bulletin board to hang behind the desk to post pictures, scrapbooking related stuff and who knows what else!

It's been really fun to see some of these rooms come together! I've been enjoying the unpacking for the most part. Except for the closet thing.....at the old house my stuff was split between 2 closets and a storage bin or two, I had clothes I hadn't seen in years hiding in the boxes! Needless to say, we have a Good Will box or two ready to go, and I'm not even done going through it all yet! I need to get some more hangers for Adam's closet before I can finish his stuff....and Mike and I will need to figure out a way to get a little more space in our closet too.

This weekend (well, we only have Sunday because I will be spending all of Saturday at ScrapFest 2010) I want to get shelving up in Adam's closet so I can finish unpacking all of his toys and games. I'd also like to get our DVD shelves hung up, that is about 4 boxes of stuff that could get unpacked when those get hung...

I also have to make a decision on what $100ish item I want to get for the house, we ended up getting almost our entire security deposit back from the old apartment (which we weren't expecting) so we decided we each get to pick a fun item for the house. Mike picked a really cool old looking 'train station' clock that's hanging in our family room. I'm leaning towards a chair or table of some kind for our living room upstairs. Additionally, I found a great sale on large indoor plants at Home Depot, so we have to go pick one out yay greenery!

OK, that's enough chatter from me for today, I promise photos are coming soon! I have taken about half of the rooms but want to get a few more cleaned up first!

New House

2010-09-14T09:25:00.000-05:00

Alright, you will all be shocked to hear this - but I don't have any pictures yet! We have been so busy unpacking and organizing and sleeping, I haven't even thought about my camera! But, I wanted to take a minute to share a few things....

Three Firsts

First Bath/Shower: Adam
First piece of mail delivered to: Adam
First meal cooked in our kitchen: Spaghetti

Three Annoyances

The sun - It hit's the sensors on our garage door just right so that we can't close it in the afternoons.
Our screen/patio doors - They don't close well - and it takes HUGE effort to close and lock them.
Fridge - Our fridge is tiny! There are mere 3 small shelves, 1 drawer and 2 small racks in the door. It's way smaller than our old one and will take some major getting used to!

Three Favorites

Full sized washer and dryer - I can wash so much more efficiently, and the clothes dry in one cycle of the dryer instead of two or three!!!
Garage - Though we haven't really parked in it much yet because of the whole moving in thing....it's so nice to have the space out there!
Natural Light - All of the windows, all of the light - it's amazing and I love it! It's so wonderful to have natural light hitting just about every room!

5 Things

2010-08-24T11:39:00.000-05:00

I am looking forward to at the new house, in no particular order....

1. A dining room table that is used for eating. I am really looking forward to NOT sitting on the couch eating off of the coffee table every night.

2. My OWN room and/or Adam having his own room again. As much as I enjoy being able to hear my little man sleeping - I am ready to not have to be silent as I climb into bed at night and also to not have an Adam to move from our bed back to his....

3. A full sized washer and dryer. I am tired of having to wash small loads, not being able to wash my blankets and bedding....it will be wonderful to have a nice big washer and dryer!

4. Space. With three floors, an office separate from the living area everyone can do their own thing in their own space or all together.

5. A fireplace. Need I say more? Curled up with a blanket, hot chocolate a good book....

Maybe....

2010-08-23T15:23:00.000-05:00

So much has been happening in The Krueger World lately. I thought I might take this chance as a 'fresh start' for this old blog. We'll see how well I keep up on it.

I am not going to get into the full "we're moving" story (again) because frankly, I'm sick of it all! I just want it to be over - finished and be settled into the new place. I am looking forward to putting all of this behind us and starting over.

So, if we're not going to talk about the mold, the packing, the cleaning and the moving - what can we talk about? Well, I have wanted to use this blog as a place to post about the things going on in our world, with our family and such - so let me start with something recent that's gone on....

This past weekend, Adam went to spend the night with Grandma Wendy (while Mike and I went out to celebrate our second wedding anniversary). During the course of the overnighter, Adam took a little spill, landing face (eye) first on a steel hand weight. This little fall caused a BIG black eye!

It doesn't bother him too much, and looks better than I was expecting when the incident was described to me over the phone...I just hope that it heals before school pictures and soccer pictures in the next few weeks!

While I had the camera out, we took a few self-family photos....probably the last ones at this home.

I hope to be back here soon with another post!

Holiday's In Hand

2009-11-16T14:28:00.000-06:00

I am taking a 6 or so week online course called Holiday's In Hand. Over the next month or so I will be creating a holiday themed album full of tradition, memories and more. Our first assignment is to think about our values and set a few goals for this holiday season.

I would like to start teaching Adam about our holiday traditions. Sure, he's experienced them in the past and will in the future - but where did they come from, why do we do them and why are they important to me/daddy/our family.

I hope that our family can spend more time together this season instead of co-existing. This means some mommy/daddy time in addition to family time and one-on-one time with Adam.

I need to make more time for my friends this season. Handwritten notes in Christmas cards will be a good first step.

Regardless of what happens this season, I want it to be memorable. Each year Adam starts remembering more and more and I want him to have positive and fun holiday memories.

No stress. I get so bogged down in the shopping, wrapping, planning, visiting, sneaking, hunting etc of the season, that I often look back and realize I've missed it all. I want to take time to enjoy the events and activities that are a part of this time of the year.

Test Post

2009-11-03T14:48:00.001-06:00

Testing to see how this blogger tool works! Hope you are doing well!

Google
www.google.com

2009-10-07T17:20:00.001-05:00

I ended up with a "sick day" today, home with my son who is out of daycare for the week because of a fever. So, I spent the day scrapping! It felt so good to sit and scrap, it's honestly been months since I've just scrapped - I wanted to most of the NINE layouts I got done today. At this rate, I should reach my goal and have 2007 scrapped by Christmas! Click LOs for credits

Mystery Student

2009-09-12T08:10:00.004-05:00

Adam had his first homework assignment for pre-school. To fill out his Mystery Student Worksheet. It was too cute not to share! So here it is! (Click to see bigger)

Birthday Trip to the Zoo

2009-09-07T07:54:00.002-05:00

I'll try and remember to come back and post some pictures, we all know how bad I am at remembering to post here though....but I did want to share this video I got of the big old tortoise eating some dinner. Near the end is where it's really neat - watch him gooo!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-08-22T06:37:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's been a year! A wonderful, wonderful year of marriage! I'm still not used to the new last name, and have to think twice before responding to the "Mrs. Krueger's" I hear around but I'm sure eventually, I won't even remember being a Miss....

A few weeks ago, I joked with Mike that we should make each other gifts, since the first anniversary is known as the "paper" anniversary. Of course, I made him something - and he surprised me and made me something too (despite his bad attitude about it back then!)

I thought I'd share his gift first, then mine!

Mike scrapbooked a page of wedding pictures for me! It's just the right size for the computer desktop screen too! Not only did he make a gift for me, but he took the time to explore my #1 hobby and created something I will always cherish! I love what he wrote on it too - "The first of many happy years together... ...as husband and wife... ...and soulmates..."

I took a slightly different direction with my gift. Over the last year I have been jotting down reasons that I love Mike. From his wonderful eyes, to the days he packs my lunch for me and everything in between. I had my handwriting made into a font, and typed them all up, cut them into pieces and stuck them in a cookie jar! I found this adorable monkey and decorated him to make him a love monkey - now, every day Mike can pull out a reason I love him and hopefully it will put a big smile on his face! Here's Mr. Love Monkey, the reasons inside are between Mike and I!

Happy First Anniversary to us!

(PS: We've headed out for the weekend - enjoying a mini-getaway to Stillwater. We will be touring a winery, enjoying the view and a yummy dinner. Then off to Afton for a night at the historic Afton House Inn and a Sunday morning champagne brunch cruise on the Saint Croix River!

Our Little Rockstar

2009-08-10T20:01:00.001-05:00

Poor Adam!

2009-07-19T18:26:00.004-05:00

We had quite an eventful week. It started last Saturday - a week ago - with Adam playing with some rocks on the patio and he ended up banging his pinky with a rock. It wasn't pretty, but seemed to me like a typically little boy injury. I didn't think about it at all, until Thursday.

Thursday morning Adam woke up and told me "My mouth hurts mommy." He felt a little warm, but I chalked it up to the slightly infected cut on his pinky and the sore mouth, well he probably slept with his mouth open. We got ready, dropped Adam off at Daycare and I headed off to work. I made it about a 1/2 mile before "mom instinct" kicked in and I pulled a U-ie and picked Adam up and headed to Urgent Care.

Turns out, Adam has strep throat (poor kid) and, since we were there, I had the doc take a peek at the finger....BROKEN! Who woulda thought! So Adam's on 10 days of antibiotics for the strep and to help avoid a bone infection in his finger - and he gets to wear a Bobafett (aka: Splint) on his finger for a week too to help it heal.

Where have I been?

2009-07-14T10:54:00.003-05:00

Man! I can't believe I've let this blog go for so long! I'll try to get better! No promises....

Things in our workd have been busy &, hectic but good. Summer brings out a very tired little boy most days, and mom and dad are feeling the same. We've had a lot of excitement going on around us. At the end of June one of Mike's good friends had a baby, so we squeezed in a few visits with the little guy. What a cutie!

Jeff came into town for Father's Day and again for the 4th. We enjoyed our visit with him, and even had a chance for the four of us (Jeff, Mike, Joelle and I) to all go bowling together! (Thanks Grandma Carol for watching Adam!)

The week before the 4th Mike got an abcessed tooth and the poor guy was so miserable! I have never seen him in so much pain. The infection decided to make itself comfy in the roof of his mouth, I won't go into details but it's still there and not pretty! Mike ended up missing all of the July 4th Fun - but I still made sure Adam had a good time doing fireworks with his uncles and spending the night at Grandma Wendy's.

Adam is having a blast at the summer program at Daycare. They do so many great activities with the kids! Last week, they had the Zoomobile and my brave little man touched a trantula (Ewwww!) , armadillo, parrot and chinchilla. I can't believe in a few short weeks (7) he'll be FOUR! Where has the time gone?

As for me, I've been busy with my scrapbooking. I recently opened up my own store and have been selling my designs to make a little money for having fun with! I am almost caught up with our 2007 scrapbook, my goal is to have it ready to share at Christmas time! I am learning more each day and wish I could do this full time instead of my day-job. Mike puts up with a lot from me with the scrap stuff, it does take a lot of time, but in the end it's worth it as I make a name for myself and continue to grow my business :) Maybe someday I will be able to do it full time!

Alright, I'll leave you with a couple of recent photos - but you know where to find them all, right?

Mike and I at our Game of Love this year (Twins vs. Yankees) it was our 5th Game of Love

We got Adam a T-Ball set and he LOVES it! Our little All Star!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T11:04:00.001-05:00

Happy Easter everyone!

a little bigger:

Fun at Grandma Wendy's

2009-04-11T08:45:00.003-05:00

Adam spent last Sunday with Grandma Wendy. Grandma took Adam to an Easter Party complete with a visit by the Easter Bunny (and his little twin!)

The spot on his chin are his "Teeth" he wanted bunny teeth. Silly boy!

This is as close as he would get to the Easter Bunny - but it's still a cute photo!

Just a few sprinkles on his cookie!

At the playground at the Community Center!

All in all, I think Adam had a lot of fun with Grandma Wendy!

Great Weekend at the Krueger House!

2009-04-06T15:40:00.002-05:00

We had a great weekend! Let's start at the beginning. On Friday, I picked Adam up at daycare, like usual, and in the care he explained to me how much he loves getting a jelly bean when he pees on the potty at school. A "ding" went off in my head as I pulled into Walgreen's - explaining to Adam that I will get him jelly beans for at home - if he goes on the potty.

I'm. A. Genius.

Starting Friday night, Adam peed on the potty. He pulled his pants down, climbed up onto his stool and did it. No questions asked.

A fluke? A desire for a couple of jelly beans? At this point, I wasn't sure.

Then Saturday - same thing - he would run into the bathroom and do his thing into the potty.

It started becoming a reality, my son is going to be potty trained!!!!

The true test was Sunday, he spent the day at Grandma Wendy's house - and went to an egg hunt (more on that later!) which meant an unfamiliar potty and time running around.

When I went to pick him up, I got the good news - not only did Adam have no problem using Grandma's potty but he also announced he had to pee in the middle of Walmart, was rushed to the bathroom and did it just fine!!!!

This is huge - I'm thrilled that he is finally getting the whole potty thing down, but even more thrilled that I won't be spending nearly as much on diapers! (Perhaps we can invest the money we'll save in Mike's other love.)

Grrargh!

2009-04-02T12:10:00.003-05:00

If it's not one thing it's another, right? Like last week, my car started making this horrible siren-like noise when I was in reverse - I finally got a chance to take it in yesterday for repairs. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but still.

Then there's the sick. Between Adam's ever running nose, allergies for both Mike and Manda and tons of doctors appointments for my chronic sinutis...

But what's getting to me the most these days is work. It's challenging to be more experienced then your boss. I have to cut her some slack, she's new to our organization and doesn't know what's going on most of the time - but it's getting to an overwhelming point. She is so indecisive. She refuses to make any decision outside of our weekly team meetings - which doesn't really work.

Right now, I am frantically trying to finish all of our materials, get quotes and get them to print. BUT I can't. She won't proof anything and takes every single suggestion she gets from other people (locally and nationally) as a rule/requirement which means I am constantly re-doing my work.

There's nothing I can do about it either, I just have to suck it up and do what she wants as frustrating as she can be. I just don't think she understands that my job revolves around her approving. I can't move forward with any projects until she approves. Oh! And she has to have the last word/say in everything. Something can be perfect and she'll make me make a change for no reason. Like the shade of the pink font I used.

I know this makes no sense, and I'm just grumbling. But at least you'll know why I'm a giant crank the next time I see you!

Travel Back in Time!

2009-03-30T07:55:00.003-05:00

I am working very hard to get caught up with Adam's scrapbook. I have a few pages I ened to do with scissors and glue to finish up his first two years (2005 and 2006) but have been creating his 2007 album digitally. I have a list of all of the events I want to scrap and am slowly working my way through it. My goal is to stay caught up with 2009 and get 2007 scrapped this year. 2008 will come when 2007 is done!

This weekend I scrapped like crazy and had fun reliving some of our memories - wanna see? I know you do!

When I'm _ I can _

2009-03-27T14:16:00.002-05:00

Lately Adam has taken to making decisions about his life. He understands that he is too little/young to do some things - so he makes a decision as to what age he will be able to do said thing.

For example "When I'm sixteen I will go on an airplane." or "When I'm twenty-five I will drink beer like daddy."

It's quite humorous to hear his desires as well as the age he thinks it's appropriate to do so.

Yesterday, his statement make me sad and happy at the same time.

"Mommy, when I'm 5 I can have a sister."

What? I asked, hearing the word sister and not really understanding.

"When I'm 5 I can have a sister."

"You want a sister?"

"Henry said sisters are fun. When I'm 10 I can pull her hair."

Great Mommy Moments

2009-03-25T12:25:00.003-05:00

Here's one I never want to forget and one I want to remember to tell all of Adam's future (waaay future) girlfriends.

Yesterday at 4:45 p.m. I strolled into the daycare, as usual, to pick up my little munchkin (so we could race home and finish prepping for Mike's birthday).

I walked into Adam's classroom to find my little guy with his pants around his ankles. "I peed in the potty mommy, see!" He proudly told me. I looked in the potty, and sure enough, filled with pee-pee. Assuming that he had just finished going potty, I did my proud mommy happy dance for him as the teacher explained to me -

"Right now I'm changing his dirty butt, he actually went on the potty during naptime and wanted to save it for his mommy."

I laughed. Hard. My little guy was so proud of his pee that he had to save it for mom. I felt pretty lucky, getting to see my son's 4 hour old pee sitting in the potty just waiting for me to look at it.

We've been busy!

2009-03-10T15:53:00.002-05:00

Hello! Happy March everyone! Hope life is treating all of you well. Things have been quite hectic in our world the last few weeks - let me fill you in!

First, both Mike and Manda have had to have some dental work done, not very much fun at all! We figured while we were spending so much time there we should bring Adam in for his first dentist appointment! He refused to open his mouth, so we'll try again in 6 months.

Additionally, Manda has had a sinus infection for a long time now and we're finally getting some help. A lot of testing has been done and it seems the problem is partly allergies, partly a funky tissue issue in her nose. Nothing to get worked up about, lots of medications to treat the problems though, so that's been an adventure!

Onto some fun news, as you know from previous posts, digital scrapbooking has become a big part of Manda's world - so big in fact that she has opened a digi-scrap shop and is selling some of her templates there. Isn't that fun? Not a lot of extra money and most if it goes right back into the hobby but it has been fun setting up shop! Check it out at www.onesingleseed.com (Click Digi-Shoppe, Designs by MandaK)

Finally, we just got Adam's spring school photos back. Not as adorable as usual, but still cute! Enjoy!

A few LO's of our honeymoon...

2009-02-18T10:01:00.000-06:00

I will slowly make my way through our honeymoon photos as well. These are harder for me, since there are a lot of landscapes and waterfalls and food. There are also a lot of stories to go with them as well as a very important order to put them in...But I do have a few pages done, so enjoy!

Another batch of Scrapbook Pages

2009-02-14T09:58:00.001-06:00

Happy Valentines Day! We hope you are celebrating the love in your lives today, we sure are! Here's another batch of pages for you to look at!

And this might be my most favorite ever so far:

More Scrapping Fun...

2009-02-11T09:53:00.003-06:00

Alright, here are some more pages - this time the theme is Adam...more to come!

This is one of my favorites!

I've been keeping busy!

2009-02-09T09:19:00.003-06:00

For those who don't know, I have become ADDICTED to digital scrapbooking. I spend just about every free moment at the computer creating pages. It's so much quicker and cleaner then using paper and glue, and much easier to share my work with you! (hehe, that rhymed!)

I have finished a ton of pages since the last time I posted....and will share some of them over the next few posts!

First up, wedding lay outs! I want to have our wedding album done by our second anniversary, so I have about 18 months to go!

and one engagement picture one...

All together now, Awwwww......

2009-02-08T11:56:00.003-06:00

I like cards. My only rule around here (ok, I have a lot of rules....) is that I must get a card from Adam and Mike on my birthday, from Mike on our anniversary and v-day and one from Adam on Mother's Day. Other holidays can go by without one, but these things demand a card.

This year for my birthday, Adam was able to actually write letters in my card, and I will cherish this one forever:

The outside of the envelope:

The inside:

Daddy told him what letters he needed to write, but he did the writing all by himself. This was really the best birthday present ever.

Catching Up...

2009-01-27T08:45:00.002-06:00

Man, I've been bad about updating here...not that anyone reads this, but I would like something to look back on! Things have been busy in our house this year...from evening activities to "broken" refridgerators...it's never ending!

A couple of weeks ago Mike made a big purchase and we are now the proud owners of a giant TV. It's big and quite the focal point, but it has a nice picture and movies look great on it!

Manda started coaching the Eden Prairie Speech team again, part time this year. It's been fun so far, but like most high school kids, they don't like to listen.

Adam is still a pretty typical three-year old. He likes puzzles, hates broccoli and does things that drive us crazy! (Last weekend he turned off the fridge causing us to lose a lot of food...because zero's his favorite number...). He is very loving though and is constantly yelling "Love you Mommy" or "I love you daddy."

Manda's birthday is Friday, and she's hoping for a nice quiet evening with her family! Then Sunday, the Superbowl party's at our place...

Grandpa Truce

2009-01-12T14:45:00.003-06:00

Lately Adam has taken an interest in "Grandpa Truce." He knows that Grandpa Truce (as Adam says) isn't here anymore and that we can't go visit him - but that doesn't stop him. He likes to play with Grandpa Truce...he even reads him stories. Yesterday, I was changing Adam and all of a sudden he jumped up "my phone's ringing!" he gleefully said as he ran across the room to grab his new toy cell phone. "Hello?" he asked, "kay, bye!" A pretty normal conversation for him to have on his toy phone.

"Who was that?" I asked him, as he lay back down for the changing.

"Grandpa Truce," he replied, "he said he loves my mommy."

I finished changing him in silence. Tears brimming...where did that come from? Why is he suddenly so interested in Grandpa Bruce - I mean, he knows who he is, I have shown him the picture that's on the shelf...but we don't spend much time talking about him; and when we do it's not like we're talking about Grandpa Bruce, Bruce maybe but more likely dad or "him."

I hugged Adam tightly, "he loves you too Adam."

I'm not quite sure where Adam picked up all of this Grandpa "Truce" stuff, but I am not going to stop him, rather, I'll encourage him! I just find it a little strange (and it makes me sad) that suddenly he's all Grandpa's boy...

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T20:28:00.004-06:00

Here's to an exciting and fun 2009! Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas Tunes by Adam 2

2008-12-24T08:09:00.003-06:00

Here's Adam singing another song, I just love his facial expressions here! Adam in: Where did they hide my presents!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T17:34:00.002-06:00

Our little rock star put on a show for us today and even started over so I could catch this on video to share! Enjoy Adam's performance!

I'm A Little Green Tree

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Love,

Manda, Mike & Adam

Scrapbook Pages...

2008-12-21T11:57:00.002-06:00

Proof he's growing up fast...

2008-12-16T19:16:00.003-06:00

We got this letter today. He's getting big too fast!

(the letter basically says that in a few months it will be time for Adam's early childhood screening. A series of tests he has to take before he can be admitted to the public school system.)

Family Update

2008-12-08T13:49:00.003-06:00

Well, the joys of winter are settling in at the Krueger house. Poor Adam has had a cough and runny nose for over a month. I suppose all the floating germs at day care just help keep it around. This weekend I came down with a nasty case of the 24 hour flu - which (like always) means Mike is home sick fighting his own bug. I have my fingers crossed that Adam will escape this round...it's a bad time of the year to have to stay home sick with him.

In fact, I can't really stay home sick right now for any reason; regardless of how I'm feeling. besides all of the end of the year wrap up we have to do, I applied for a new position at LLS. It's a waiting game right now, an interview will happen later this week, more of a formality...and then a decision will be made to hire me, or look outside the organization. I have a good feeling about it, but it could just be my desire for the new position that makes me feel that way. I keep reminding myself that I have nothing to lose, so even if I don't get the job, at least I'm lucky enough to have one. So wish me luck and cross those fingers!

Prior to the flu-bug that visitied this weekend, I had my annual holiday baking party! The girls who were able to make it and I had a blast. We enjoyed lots of treats, a fun gift exchange (That's what she said!) and the entertainment of "The Crooked Christmas Tree." Not to mention way too many goodies to eat this month!

Adam has been enjoying his Christmas Countdown routine. It involves an advent calendar (where he gets too look for the next number every day) and a really adorable snowman counter that my grandma got me last year. According to last night's count - only 18 days to go! Are you done with your shopping?

We hope all is well with each of you, don't forget you can leave comments on our posts by clicking the link below each psst. We'd love to know who is visiting!

2008-11-27T08:05:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays!

2008-11-26T16:51:00.004-06:00

We just got our hands on the holiday pictures taken at Adam's school. I really wanted him to have a tie to wear, so the night before I was frantically running from store to store when I found this adorable outfit for $15! It was worth the extra stress once I saw these pictures, we hope you like them as much as we do! What a handsome boy!

Holiday Program

2008-11-22T10:37:00.003-06:00

Parent Teacher Conferences

2008-11-19T15:09:00.004-06:00

Earlier this week we had conferences with Adam's teacher, Miss Kelsey. I don't think we learned anything new or surprising, but it was nice to see and hear what the teacher thought of Adam, his learning abilities and social behaviors. All in all, she didn't say anything we disagreed with.

Adam was also given a little test - and he did very well.

She layed out a pile of crayons and asked Adam to pick out certain colors. He thought a pink was red at first, but other then that he got all of them right (I think there were 9).

He was shown letters of the alphaebt out of order, both uppercase and lower case and asked to identify them. He thought that the lowercase q was a p, but that's understandable!

He was asked to count as high as he could, he made it to 26. He also identified all numbers 1-10.

He was asked to identify a bunch of shapes, he got them all right!

He is also very good at patterns, matching and understanding "which has more."

We have a smart little man on our hands, he must take after daddy!

RIP Timbit

2008-11-07T20:35:00.002-06:00

Adam's friend and first fish Timbit has left us for the big fish bowl in the sky. It was a very sad moment in our home as we explained to Adam that Timbit wasn't going to be able to swim anymore.

We decided to take Adam out this weekend and buy him a new fish...he wants a blue one.

The First Snow

2008-11-07T10:31:00.002-06:00

The Journaling Reads:

This morning you burst into our room and shared your excitement over the dusting of snow on the ground. Not because you liked the snow, but because you finally got to wear your new winter jacket. I’m not sure if it was the jacket or the scarf and mittens that put you over the top. But you were such a happy boy in your new yellow jacket, and construction hat, scarf and mitten set. So happy that you didn’t even need a morning treat.

Picking Perfect Pumpkins

2008-11-01T16:10:00.004-05:00

(Design and all elements by Manda)

Monkey-Boy

2008-10-31T13:51:00.003-05:00

The last time Adam was over at Grandma Carol's house, he found something to entertain himself...the corner between her china hutch and the wall. We might have a gymnast in training on our hands...

Ladies Night!

2008-10-30T07:39:00.001-05:00

Last night I attended a "Ladies Night Out" with my Mother In Law at the local Home Valu store. We weren't sure what to expect, but they invite said free food and free gift for all who attend and my MIL wanted to look at bathrooms...so we went. I am so glad that we did, we had a blast!

They had all sorts of vendors tucked in with samples and fun stuff. We both fell in love with some purse lady purses (and my MIL ended up winning one!) We ate some yummy food, drank some yummy wine...we got mini manicures, parafin dips and I convinced my MIL to get her first henna tattoo.

Additionally, our goodie bags contained a really fantastic gift. A $100 gift certificate good that night only - for anything. At first I was going to buy something practical for our house, but then I decided that I should use this as a chance to splurge on something that I would never just go and drop $100 on if it was my real money. So I came home with this:

Gorgeous granite framed mirrior - it seriously weighs 20 pounds - and I love it! This little accessory cost $95 - but for me, it was my free gift. Woah baby! I love the flowers!

Thanks for inviting me Mom, I had a blast!

Adam's School Halloween Party!

2008-10-26T08:16:00.003-05:00

(or a sneak peek into Adam's Halloween Costume!)

Like Father, Like Daughter?

2008-10-17T09:46:00.002-05:00

Adam has two-best-friends at school, Will & Henry. These boys are fun kids, they both know me and I often get hugs from them when I pick Adam up at night. According to the teachers, the three of them together can be quite a handful when the get going, but the mostly entertain each other. But Will & Henry seem to have a bad influence on my son.

It started months and months ago, when Adam was still in the toddler room. Will &/or Henry taught Adam about GUNS. He would come home from school and tell me "pew-pew you're dead," while shooting me with pretend guns. (This issue has been resolved, mostly.)

But lately, it's been a different situation. It begins with Star Wars. Any of you who know Mike know that he has a little crush on Star Wars, and apparently this is rubbing off on his son. Which makes Mike quite happy (in fact earlier this week he pulled out all of his Star Wars shirts to show Adam). With the release of the new Clone Wars cartoon, more kids are being introduced to the lives of Yoda, Luke, the Wookies and Darth Vader; including Adam, Will & Henry.

A few weeks ago, Adam was virtually clueless when it came to Star Wars. He knew "d2d2" and "3p0" but that was about it. Now the kid tells me stories about characters I don't know, getting into fights in places I've never heard of and explains to me who the good guys and bad guys are and tells me all about his light saber.

When we get in the car after school, I always ask Adam about his day.

"What did you do at school today?"

"I shooted the Wookies with my light saber and I was Princess Leah"

"You were Princess Leah? But she's a girl. Are you a girl?"

"Yes, I'm Princess Leah. Henry says so."

And there you have it, peer pressure at age three has convinced my son that he want to be a Princess.

(PS: Daddy has been teaching him other characters he can be, like Luke - it seems to be catching on.)

The One With The Ceremony

2008-10-13T10:12:00.000-05:00

It was finally time - the moment we had been waiting for for oh so long was here. I was waiting in the room across from the sanctuary with a little view of the processional. A lot of deep breaths were needed, I was overwhelmed, a little nervous and a little anxious. I hadn't seen Mike all day - I had talked with him for a few moments that morning - and I was excited for him to finally see my dress and look - and me!

Mike's dad and aunt played the prelude music

And then it began

We delivered roses to our grandparents during the ceremony. It was a nice moment

Mr. & Mrs.

And a hug - We did it!

Now get this dress bustled!

Next Up: Details of the ceremony and the sweetest buffet

The One With The Waiting

2008-10-12T09:45:00.000-05:00

So, the ladies were running way ahead of schedule, arriving at the church an hour before we needed to, which meant we had a lot of time to wait. Unfortunately, we couldn't do much more in terms of pictures as it had started sprinkling and we had to remain hidden in the basement of the church. Luckily, we had a few touch ups to do and there were games to play and champagne to drink!

The guys arrived, right on schedule and began their tasks.

Getting flowers:

Lighting candles

My MOH got a break as she went to rehearse her song and warm up

While I laid back with some champagne and my flower girl

After a while we decided to share with the guys and shipped some champagne up stairs

Then the pastor came down and said "It's time for you girls to line up."

So we grabbed our shoes and went....

Next Up: The I Do's and We Will's

The One With The Guys

2008-10-11T09:38:00.001-05:00

While the girls were off drinking coffee, the guys were modeling at a local lake, one of the 10,000 in our state!

My handsome groom!

Next up....waiting...waiting...why do we have to wait so long, how on earth are we so far ahead of schedule! What did we forget to do? Oh well, let's play games and drink!

The One With The Girls

2008-10-10T09:37:00.000-05:00

When we left off, I was putting on a final coat of lip-gloss before heading out to take some pictures with my girls. We decided to simply use my mom's front yard and the back yards of various neighbors of hers. The pictures on the big rock are right in my mom's yard, that and the bush are two places we ALWAYS took pictures of special events growing up, so I had to have wedding pictures there too!

My MOH and I went to school together, we have a few great Prom pictures right in this spot, so we were trying to be all nostalgic about these photos!

And to prove that we're in back yards - walking across the neighbors lawn!

I don't know what you do with your friends when you get together - but we typically go to Caribou coffee and grab a drink, I couldn't think of anything more fun for us to do on my wedding day - so we did. It was so fun and everyone came up to me to congratulate me - it was so worth it!

I recently taught myself how to do selective color to photos - I love the way this one turned out. If you have a picture you'd like selectively colored, I will do them for you for a small fee of $5/picture!

And if you'll remember, I was sick. Pink eye and laryngitis. I had been drinking Caribou's green tea for three days straight, and all I wanted was a cooler. My mom got their first and ordered me my tea, but when I made the "I guess this will do" face they brought me a cooler too!

As we finished our drinks, we headed to the church, my MOH was singing in the ceremony and needed to meet the band she had hired...meanwhile they guys headed off to Lake Harriet for some pictures as well...

World's Cutest Three-Year-Old

2008-10-03T16:59:00.005-05:00

The week after Adam's third birthday was also the week that Daycare did school pictures - we decided to save a few bucks and hope for the best by using his school pictures as his 3-year pictures. We figure between some of the great shots of Adam at the wedding and these, we'd have a perfect "3" picture of him - and man did we luck out!

Somehow we ended up with a little boy who decided to behave for the photographer, and a photographer who knows how to work a little boy. We couldn't be happier with his school pictures. (Although the class picture leaves a little something to be desired!)

Forgive the exceptionally happy classmates - I didn't feel comfortable posting pictures of children whose families we don't really know online .

So whose with me? Worlds Cutest Three-Year Old? I think so!

The One Where the Guys Get Ready

2008-09-29T16:20:00.001-05:00

It's amazing how much quicker and easier it is for guys to get ready! They went out to breakfast, popped back to our apartment and got dressed before heading out for pictures. Mike said they took their time, to allow for pictures - it was a 20 minute experience!

(I hid the scissors, not on purpose, but to get them out of the way, they made do with a box cutter)

Little did they know, as they put Mike's cufflinks in, that they;d be taking them out and putting new ones in a few minutes later!

And now they are all set to head out for pictures...

**Photo credit to Cory & Tamrah Ryan and CM-Photographics

The One Where the Girls Get Ready

2008-09-28T16:17:00.001-05:00

We started the morning at the salon - the photographer met us about half way through, and I am so glad I had her come for this part of the day!

My fantastic bridesmaid trying to find where the linens were put.

The photographer and I made a stop to see my dad. The headstone had just been placed earlier in the week, so this was the first time I was seeing it. I am so glad to have this on film, and to have this memory.

A moment with my mom!

I climbed into my dress - it worked really well!

I had my mom and sister-in-law as the only two helping me get ready. The house was full! My bridesmaids, aunt, cousin, grandma, my mom's boyfriend, my son and random people were all there!

Seeing myself fully dressed for the first time.

Getting the veil on...

And the shoes!

A hug from my little guy. He was afraid of me and didn't want to come by me, I had to steal this moment!

One last touch up before we head out for pictures!

**Photo credit for all photos to Cory and Tamrah Ryan and CM-Photographics

The One With The Rehearsal Dinner

2008-09-24T12:01:00.001-05:00

We decided to take our crew bowling for our rehearsal, and we got more compliments from everyone on how fun it was then anything else, it was a blast! Especially for me, as I was still feeling quite under the weather at that point and only bowled once (Strike!) and sat back and watched the rest of the party/ We had a build your own burger buffet - twas delicious! Now, onto the photos in no particular order!

Mike and his Best Men

Look at that form!

Passing out gifts to my bridesmaids (They each got a monogramed tote bag, a travel jewlery roll, a travel size bottle of wine, personalized note-cards, a bottle of water and some cheap-o jewels to wear the day-of, if they wanted.)

Me and my almost hubby (check out the pink eye!)

My MOH and I

Family picture!

My MOH opening her gift, she also got a CD photo calendar I made.

The bags for the moms (they got a "Mom" wine glass, damask kleenex, a note pad, personalized note cards and a Willow Angel)

Me with my fabulous practice bouquet

Adam loved bowling!

The ribbon around the stems. My bridesmaid copied all of the wishes given to me at my shower onto this ribbon, it's very thick and a lovely touch)

From front Left to right: Personal Attendant J, MOH, MOH's Man, my brother

A group shot!

Me with my mom and brothers

Mike passing out the kiddo's gifts. They got a bunch of fun little summery toys, sun glasses etc. Adam also got some toy cars and our FG got a purse and necklace.

Us with the guy's gifts. They got an engraved beer mug and the Best Men also got a bottle opener. My escorts each also got a box of their favorite treats.

And after the fun bowling-ness I headed home (to my mom's house) with my MOH for a girly night and some rest, while Mike and his siblings hit the bars...Next up...The Day of.

Honeymoon Part 5: Lobstah & a Very Long Drive

2008-09-20T08:21:00.002-05:00

(This is going to be long, but it's the last edition of Honeymoon, so you know what that means - the wedding itself is next!)

After Vermont, our next and final stop was Portland Maine. But before we could arrive there we had to stop to see Lenny, a life-sized chocolate moose. He is 1,170 lbs of chocolate, lives in a chocolate lake and has 3 100 lb chocolate bear friends. Mike loves moose, so we had to stop. He was pretty neat, and the treats we bought there were delicious!

We finally arrived in the very confusing, very different city of Portland - found our "hotel" (we stayed in an old mansion, aka an Unhosted Inn). It was a pretty place.

We searched and searched the wharfs for a reasonably priced place to eat, we finally found $3 Deweys; although the story behind the name made us second guess our decision.

The next day we went on our own lighthouse tour - taking our time and enjoying the view. Mike was totally in his element running over the rocks and jumping into the waves - I was a little more low-key about it, but it was really fun!

The waves were amazing - we don't have ocean or water like this in Minnesota!

After our fun and beautiful morning, we decided to spend the afternoon on one of these:

It was such a beautiful view and a really fun way to enjoy the area. Our only glimpse of bad weather was about 10 minutes of this ride, when it rained on us.

That night, with my sunburned boobies, we got dressed up, made a reservation at a fancy place and headed out so I could try my first lobstah.

These babies hadn't seen the sun in awhile...

I didn't like the lobstah.

The next morning we left Maine to head home. We spent the night in Erie, PA and tried to enjoy the beauty of the road. But on our way out I saw this!

47 baby!

This picture is awesome!

Because we're too stupid to operate a shower.

Finally, after nearly 15 hours on the road, we saw this:

Home. Sweet. Home.

We had an amazing trip. It was wonderful to have that time together,away from life, and most importantly (for us) away from parenting. We really enjoyed just about everything we did, and even the car ride wasn't bad most of the time. If anyone is planning a trip to Niagara, Bennington or Portland, let me know and I will give you more tips! If we could go back to any of the places, I think it would be Bennington - the city was adorable and peaceful and we loved the food! Our next trip, we want to head south, I think.

Honeymoon Part 4: For a small town, Bennington has a lot to offer.

2008-09-16T16:03:00.001-05:00

The two biggest attractions in Vermont are Robert Frost's grave and the Bennington monument - so we went to see them.

Frost's grave is at the back of a very old cemetery - he's just there like everyone else, a few signs point you in the right direction. Still neat to see.

The monument is just that, a monument. It was never used in battle - but it's still neat, and the view from the top was amazing!

After a morning of sight seeing, we snuck into the spa for couples massage time - it was amazing! After we left we went to the North River Winery to try some unique wines including: Vermont Pear, Green Mountain Apple, Vermont Blush, Rhubarb, Cranberry Apple, Raspberry Apple, Blueberry Apple & Vermont Harvest (Reminiscent of a sweet sherry, made with apples, cinnamon and 10% Vermont Maple Syrup. Great chilled or heated.) We bought 4 bottles - they were so good!

After a rousing game of backgammon in the gazebo (it was after 5 by this point...) we got ready for our special 4-course private candlelit dinner.

I prepared by drinking.

The dinner was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Mike and I both agree that it was the best meal we have ever eaten, ever. We would go back, just for the food. The Inn owner cooked it all fresh, just for us.

Fresh bread, a yummy bread dip, veggie ravioli in a sun dried tomato sauce, a salad with my beloved maple vinaigrette in a cucumber bowl, fillet mignon with a creamed spinach sauce and homemade sorbet. nom! nom! nom!

When we returned to our room, we found this:

For breakfast the next morning we had another delicious combo:

Said goodbye to our beloved B&B:

and said goodbye to Vermont as we began the drive to Maine...

Honeymoon Part 3: If it's 5:00 in Vermont, that means Bennington's closed.

2008-09-15T20:43:00.000-05:00

From Niagara Falls, we headed to Bennington, VT. The drive across New York was pretty and nice -

A pit stop where Max took a ride and we had some Ice Cream, signs for Bennington and Troy, NY (So sorry Lisa!), a beautiful little town - so cute !

We finally approached Vermont

And found our B&B...

We headed out to find some dinner around 5:45 p.m. only to find that the entire town shuts down at 5. Gas Station, closed. All shops, closed. The town is adorable though, very fun to look at...until you start wandering downtown and see these everywhere.

No, they are not real people, they are creepy realistic statues. Check out the detail:

Yeah - we didn't' get it either, but they are everywhere - dozens of them! After gawking at the statues (and taking sooo many pictures) we found a restaurant that was open - the place that I had my first taste of Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette - my new love - at. Oh, and yummy raspberry beer.

After getting back to the B&B we headed to the bar. The best part? Serve yourself Just jot what you make down and you'll be billed accordingly. We loved it!

(I am going to keep going, and end at a weird spot of the next day - just to split the pictures evenly!)

The next morning we headed down for our breakfast and oh, the food! The food was amazing...from the homemade scones to the amazing pecan pancakes and omlettes...oh, I am so hungry just thinking about it!

Bennington has all sorts of covered bridges, which I fell in love with. They are so cute and give this feeling to the town. I made Mike take me to them in the day and at night. Looove!

To be Continued...

Honeymoon Part 2: It's always raining at Niagara Falls

2008-09-14T10:41:00.002-05:00

Our full day at Niagara Falls was going to be a busy one! We woke up to see the falls full of mist, and couldn't wait to get started!

We headed down to purchase an Adventure pass, allowing us to do everything! We started with a ride on the Maid of the Mist boat. It takes you right into the falls and was incredible. The wind, water and mist really help you understand how powerful the falls are, and as you drive out you can see the horseshoe falls in all their glory. If you go, do this.

We then headed to the Journey Behind the Falls - which was pretty neat, you can really see the power that water has as it tumbles over the falls. It was so loud and windy here, we didn't stay long.

We headed back up to the walking paths and got a few more pictures before hopping on the bus to go to the Butterfly Conservatory.

The butterflies were neat, but nothing too spectacular, we stayed about 10 minutes and caught the next bus home.

And by home I mean to the Whitewater Walk - a trip down hundreds of feet to walk along the river and see the biggest white water rapids. They were HUGE and scary looking, but it was sure pretty down in the gorge. This is about the point we filled memory card #1 - so we had to go back to the hotel room, and take a nap.

But our nap was interuppted twice by a fire alarm, which made us run down 28 flights of stairs, twice. Annoying!

We finally decided to get ready and go to dinner at a falls view restaurant. On our way out we saw another rainbow, you see, due to the mist it's always raining in Niagara Falls (or at least it feels like it) and the most incredible rainbows form through the mist. They are gorgeous!

Dinner was pretty good, and the view was nice:

And for dessert we took our honeymoon mascot Max to...

The Hershey's Store!!!!

After yummy treats we tried to catch sunset at the falls, but there wasn't a gorgeous one - we did get a few fun shots:

The next morning we packed up, took a few last shots and headed back to the states, and Vermont!

Bye Canada, we'll miss you!

Honeymoon Part 1: A Long Drive and The Great Falls

2008-09-07T16:25:00.001-05:00

The Sunday after the wedding, Mike and I loaded up the car and began our honeymoon. The first day consisted of a 10 hour drive through 5 states, ending in Lansing, Michigan for the night. Lansing was not what we expected. I guess we expected the capital city to look great and be this crazy fun town, like other capitals we had been to - but man this town was a dump! Good thing it wasn't our final destination, and one good thing comes from Lansing:

Coffee Jam Coffee, Yummy!

We began day two and the drive was amazing, the entire time - how can you complain about views like this?

We finally reached the destination I was most excited about - Canada.

Where I converted all of our money to Canadian dollars:

and where we discovered Tim Hortons:

(seriously who can complain when the lunch combo is a sandwich and a donut? Yum!)

(Side story about Tim Hortons: When you're on a road trip, car appropriate snacks are a must. When we saw how inexpensive (and tasted how delicious) the donut holes at Tim Horton's were, we decided to buy a big box of them. They were called Timbits - the conversation at the register went like this:

Me: "Are those Timbits?" I asked (pointing at the "Timbits")
Lady Working: "Yeah, what do you call them?"

This conversation led us to believe that canadians (or at least some of them) called Donut Holes, Timbits. This also left us feeling quite stupid a few days later when we realized how wrong we were.)

After a few more hours and hours in the car, we finally made it to Niagara Falls, checked into our hotel and got our first glimpse of this:

The view from our hotel room was amazing, as you can see. This view helped met get one of my favorite shots of the entire honeymoon:

The first night at the falls consisted of dinner at a delicious place called Frados. Not only did this place have a wonderful homemade taste to their food, but the view was great - a "draw bridge" with ships passing by quite frequently (twice during dinner).

After dinner we headed to Niagara on the Lake (NOTL) "The Prettiest Town in Canada." On the way we stumbled across an open winery, so we popped in for some samples - yum. We came out 20 minutes later with three bottles of wine - including one of Ice Wine.

We spent some time wandering NOTL and enjoyed a delicious Cows Ice Cream cone, the cones were made fresh and still warm when served. Yum! The town was very pretty, with lots of great shops and we left with another bottle of wine (that's 4 for those of you who are keeping track).

When we made it back to the falls, they had lit them for night. (The falls are illuminated on the Canadian side by 21 spot lights. 18 on the hill and 3 at the base). So we walked down to see it first hand. It was tricky to photograph, because of the distance and lighting - but I got a few to turn out. It was stunning. I especially loved them in all white.

We ended our first day at the falls by climbing into our in room hot tub with a glass of our newly purchased wine. Yum!

Next time: A day as a tourist at Niagara Falls.

A Movie for Adam: Vermont has Mountains; They are pretty

2008-08-29T20:49:00.001-05:00

The drive from Vermont was very mountainous and curvy, Mommy had to shut her eyes a few times while daddy drove so she wouldn't get scared! It was beautiful though, we stopped at this little scenic overlook to get a few pictures and make another movie for Adam!

A Movie for Adam: Niagara Falls at Night (Horseshoe Falls, Canada)

2008-08-28T19:32:00.001-05:00

School

2008-08-02T15:32:00.001-05:00

Adam loves school - and we love his school too! They have so much fun every day, and he is always learning something new. As he finishes his summer session, we are wrapping up the days of "Daycare" and moving into the days of "Pre-School."

Yep, you heard me - Adam is going to start Pre-School this fall, and we couldn't be prouder of him!

Check out some pictures of him having fun at school!

Lucky kids get McDonalds for lunch!

Playdough at Grandma's

2008-07-25T09:25:00.001-05:00

I mentioned last post that I was recently in a wedding. I was actually the Maid of Honor, so the events kept me busy. I didnt' want to have to be a mom that night, so we shipped Adam off to Grandma Carol's house for some big fun! She took him to Underwater Adventures and let him play with playdough. Nothing like being spoiled at Grandma's! (Playdough does not come out at our house, I don't want to be picking it out of the carpet for years to come!)

Look at how hard he's concentrating on cutting that dough! I want to go to Grandma's house and play with him!

FOOTBALL!

2008-07-20T09:16:00.001-05:00

Man, it's been awhile! We have been a very busy family! I was in a wedding a couple of weeks ago, and it took awhile to recover, then a friend's birthday party - not to mention all of the crazy last minute wedding plans. But, stressful days aside, we still find time to have a great time with our nearly three year old little bucket of fun!

The other day, we decided to play some football. (Daddy's the one who encourages him to throw balls in the house, but only certain ones are for inside play!)

We try to not use the AC very often, but we open the sliding door and let the fan blow to circulate the air. Those of you who have been inside our apartment know that we can't get any cross ventilation. Adam thinks it's fun to let the fan make him fat and to talk into it and say "I am a robot!"

I think we have a little construction worker on our hands, he loves to play with his tools. He was fixing mommy's cheeks with the drill. When I was all better - I was stuck with a kiss face!

But it always comes back to sports - tackling daddy and waiting to make the big catch for a touchdown! Always fun and games at our house

A Monumental 4th of July

2008-07-05T07:09:00.001-05:00

As parents, we have learned that there is a first time for everything - from the first smile to the first steps to the first we experienced yesterday: The First Throw Up. I should have known something was wrong, Adam slept in until almost 9 before I went to wake him (he's normally up by 7) and was very cranky and not very interested in eating.

About 20 minutes later, I heard him gagging so I spun around and watched as my baby's breakfast came up. I won't go into details, but other then the spit up occasions as a baby, he had never done this before. I am not sure why or where it came from, since he behaved fine for the rest of the day and wasn't acting sick. He did have his tired moments though - and we decided not to keep him up for fireworks, in case he really was sick. He was pretty cute cuddling daddy on the couch and relaxing for most of the day though!

Making a Splash!

2008-06-22T08:06:00.001-05:00

We drive past the pool every time we come or go from our apartment and for the last week or so, Adam has been begging us to take him swimming. Yesterday was the big day. We headed down to the pool and wondered if he'd like it or be afraid (it took quite awhile last year for him to like it). He loved it! He climbed right in and clung to daddy for dear life! After a few minutes he wanted to swim (although, he doesn't like the water in his mouth), a little later he wanted to jump in...We'll have to get him a floaty of some sort to play with, because I have a feeling we'll be back!

Ah, summer!

2008-06-21T08:31:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, it was finally nice enough outside, finally there was a wind-less day and finally Mike was feeling up to pulling out the grill! I got some delicious steaks for him to get hot, boiled up some corn on the cob, and cooked some red potatoes with garlic butter - it was a delicious dinner! I think Adam had as much fun "helping" and watching daddy cook it (and playing outside) as he did eating it! Adam might have eaten more steak then mommy did, he really likes his meat!

Hat's off to the Graduate!

2008-06-09T20:47:00.000-05:00

This past weekend my littlest brother, Ryan, graduated from High School. I was such a proud sister, it's been a long, hard road for Ryan and I am so proud of the hard work and diligence Ryan put in to be able to walk across that stage. He was pretty proud of himself too! The graduation ceremony was looong (over 850 kids) and we also threw him a huge party to celebrate, so it was a tiring weekend - but nothing could bring down the high I felt as my brother received his diploma. Ryan, I am so incredibly proud of you. I am so lucky to be your sister!

Here I am with the almost graduate:

Right before the ceremony I heard rumors that the kids were lined up and ready to walk in, I snuck out to "the bathroom" and managed to get a few pictures of him walking in. Not very many people were out there, so he easily saw me in my hot pink dress and smiled for me. Look how excited he looks!

Finally graduated! As soon as he saw his mom, he grabbed her for a HUGE hug - you can see the excitement and pride in both of their faces!

Ah, clean carpet!

2008-06-07T20:43:00.000-05:00

We were quite lucky, and as a bonus for renewing our lease (again) we were given a free "high traffic" carpet cleaning. Well, it seemed ridiculous for us to have them come in and clean the 5 feet of carpet that is usually showing - so we decided to take it upon ourselves to move everything out of the way. See how clean the carpet turned out? And how packed every other room in our apartment was!?!? It's so much softer and nicer now - if only we can keep it this way!

Adam really loved all the space - he just couldn't play too much, since it was still rather damp. He also decided it was too clean, and didn't waste any time before getting crumbs all over the nice clean floor!
Sure was fun hauling those couches at 6:30 in the morning!

The Game of Love: (or: a sappy first post)

2008-06-04T20:41:00.001-05:00

Back in the year 2004, when the Twins played the Yankees - it wasn't only the Twins who won - Mike and I won too. Neither one of us expected to meet our perfect match at a baseball game (although, I would be willing to bet that Mike secretly wished he would!) It was at that game that Mike and I first met - although we wouldn't become a couple for a few weeks, the sparks were there. On June 1, nearing 4 years later, the Twin's played the Yankees again (Twins won!) so Mike and I headed out to the ballpark to enjoy what we jokingly refer to as "Our Game of Love"

Every season, Mike helps me choose an attractive member of the Twin's team to watch. I don't espeically love the game - This year my "Twins boyfriend" is Nick Blackburn, a pitcher. Apparently the fates didn't like that he was pitching at "Our Game of Love" because halfway through the game Nick took a ball to the face and had to be lead off the field!

We hope to make this a tradition - attend a Twins vs. Yankees every year, to celebrate that wonderful day we first laid eyes on each other!

Welcome!

2008-06-04T15:08:00.001-05:00

Alright, I know I'm not quite a Krueger yet, I have just over 2 months until it's official - but what's a name? Mike, Adam and I are a family now - and I would love to share with you things that are going on in our world! I hope you enjoy The Krueger Times and stop by often! I am excited to get this thing rollin' - check back soon for a real update!

-Manda