Yes, again! This time it’s a permanent move to an actual web address vs a blog address.
Be sure to change your bookmarks & rss feeds to www.thedusschronicles.com
See you there!
February 21, 2011
I’m just going to start with this morning (Monday, February 20) and then go backwards from there.
6:15am – Get up to see that the plow hasn’t been to our house yet. Awesome.
6:20am – Toss the soaking wet clothes from the washer to the dryer (I hate when I forget to do that at night)
6:25am – Head outside with Cooper to see if the snow is shovelable (I like making up words)
6:35am – Fall at the end of the driveway. Directly onto my chest, because I am just that talented. I decide that I’m going to leave the shoveling to Jason.
6:40am – Jason comes out and decides we’re busting out the snow blower. Sleeping neighbors be damned. Even though it is a holiday for some of them. I’m sure we were super popular.
7:00am – Survey the cul-de-sac and street. Decide that the Ford will definitely make it out with the AWD. The Mazda, not so much, hence the nickname “Go Cart”
7:10am – back inside, make coffee, tuck Carter into our bed to watch cartoons while I do laundry and shower.
7:15am – Email work, call daycare and tell them we’re stuck and may or may not be in today.
7:30am- Take care of a few work related items while Carter rips pages out of his Clifford book. OOPS! Pop Carter into his high chair so I can safely make breakfast.
8:00am – Breakfast ends with the dog spewing all over the carpet because the hardwood floors that are 2 paw steps to his right would be FAR too easy for me to clean up.
8:02am – Carter yells “UH OH” which has become the precursor to him throwing things or getting into stuff he knows he can’t have. This time it’s the carpet cleaner that I’m trying to scrub up.
8:30am – Toss Carter on the couch to watch “education television” while I finish cleaning up.
8:45am – Realize that all our sheets need to be washed due to a “Cinnamon Toast Crunch Incident” that I failed to notice after my shower. Somehow I don’t think Jason would appreciate sleeping in the cinnamon and sugar/milk combination that is now on his side of the bed.
9:00am – Toss all the laundry in, pour a cup of coffee that I made 2 hours ago. Blech.
9:15am – Put Carter back in our sheetless bed so I can check work email and download pictures from this weekend.
9:30am – Contemplate going back to bed already. Seriously.
So that’s my morning so far…here’s a recap from Suzapalooza aka my mom’s 50th birthday weekend in Chicago! Shopping, Wine, Shopping, Mani/Pedis, Shopping, Museum of Science and Industry, Lawry’s Prime Rib, Pizzeria Uno, Ed Debevics, Shopping, Wine, Sleep. The End. Now for the pictures.
Fueling Up
Gun Show
My mom and I were scheduled to fly home on Sunday at 9:10am. On Saturday, Delta called us at 2:00pm to tell us our Sunday flight had been canceled and we were rebooked on a flight in 3 hours. For anyone that has ever been to Chicago or O’Hare airport, 3 hours wouldn’t have been enough time even if I had gotten the message right away. When I finally checked my voicemail at 4:30pm, I called Delta who put us on at 6:30am flight Sunday morning. THANK GOD for that! We were literally on the only ORD to MSP flight that left O’Hare that day! Everything else was canceled. We made it back to MSP at 8:00am and by 10:15am, I was snuggled in on the couch at home with my boys, waiting for the snow to start! I am so thankful that we made it out of Chicago when we did and that I made it home safely before the snow started in Wisconsin.
With another 12 inches of snow, came alot of shoveling and snow blowing. Of course, Carter couldn’t be left out of the festivities! Nana & Papa bought him a shovel when he stayed with them last weekend and he is OBSESSED with it! Whether there is snow to shovel or not, he wants to play with it. So, we put him to work yesterday!
That’s all for now…I just went to check on Carter and found this:
February 8, 2011
Carter’s newest phrase is “Bless You” whether you sneeze or burp you’re gonna get blessed at our house!
February 7, 2011
Carter rockin’ out to the Black Eyed Peas. Disclaimer: Yes, I realize my husband swears but I just couldn’t cut the video down. Carter really gets jammin’ around the 1:30 mark.
January 31, 2011
January has been pretty low key around the Duss house. I think this is the most that we have been home in one month in a very long time. We have a pretty solid routine down now so things feel calm for the first time in well…months!
The second weekend in January, I snuck up to the cabin for a girl’s weekend with my BFF Kate and a few of her friends. It was so nice to get away and not have to worry about getting up at 7:00 am on a Saturday. I’m not going to lie though, there was a lot of chatter about our kids going on but there was also a lot of wine consumed. Overall, it was a pretty good balance!
Carter’s latest obsession is wearing Jason’s shoes around the house. It sounds ridiculous but looks even more ridiculous! Exhibit A:
One Saturday morning, I came into the living room to find this:
It was almost nap time and some dude was cranky so Jason wrapped him up like a burrito, gave him a me-mo and hoped he would pass out while watching a movie. It didn’t work…
I actually decorated for Valentine’s Day well in advance of the actual holiday. This is very unlike me!
We’ve also been working on projects around the house. So far this month alone, Jason has built storage shelves in the basement, a workbench and a laundry room table. I’m extremely impressed with his building skills, so much so that I keep adding to his build list!
Most evenings end like this at our house:
Last weekend, Nana came to visit. She took us out to Mike’s Smokehouse, played with Carter, watched Shrek with us and helped me recover the awful, ugly chairs in our living room. I had no idea how much work recovering furniture was going to be! One down, one to go!
We have lots of fun trips planned for the upcoming months. I will report back with pictures and stories!
January 10, 2011
After a gentle nudge from my seester-in-law, I’m back. (Hi Sarah!) Here are some pictures to hold you over…http://regenthillphotography.blogspot.com/ In the meantime, I need figure out where all the Christmas pictures that I took went. Here’s a recap of what we’ve been up to:
We traveled.
A lot. Like a lot, a lot.
Christmas at the cabin was better than I could have expected. Minus the mice.
Carter got spoiled rotten. Think lots of plastic, lots of toys and not enough batteries to run it all.
JD & I got spoiled. A pressure washer? Yes, Please. A sweet new Vera Bradley bag? Thankyouverymuch.
Got my first ever sick call from daycare. 103+ fever. Poor red cheeked buddy.
Carter got sick, I got sick and we missed a wedding. 😦
Watched the Badgers lose the rose bowl but the Packers make it into the playoffs.
Finally took down the Christmas tree!
Carter’s sick, I’m sick…again.
We’ve watched Toy Story 1, 2 & 3; Shrek and Nemo more times than I can count in the last 14 days.
Carter weighed in at 27.2 lbs this morning. I’m starting to think he’s going to be a heavy weight.
Cooper is going to be 9 this month. It’s hard to believe we’ve had him that long.
Next week will be filled with pictures and paragraphs, I promise!
December 19, 2010
That’s right, I’m back for a second week in a row! We were busy, busy this week but that’s nothing new!
Monday night was bid night for Jason at work which meant he slept at the office (literally) so I took advantage of the situation and let the lil’ guy fill Jason’s spot in bed. We snuggled up and watched HGTV until we fell asleep!
When Jason got home the next night, the Duss 500 started…they did laps around the foyer, kitchen, living room and family room. Carter won with a Cooper placing a very close 2nd! 
Pit Stop
On Friday, Carter gave me the gift of sleeping in! Neither one of us got out of bed until 9:00am! That meant no Friday morning playdate at the sports center but we did play and read in his room. As you can tell by the crazy hair below, he’s got some of my curls!
Looking for his missing book
We headed over to Fond Du Lac on Saturday morning to see both sides of my family. It was great to see all of my cousins, aunts, uncles and Grandmas. Carter had a blast playing with the newest addition to the Gross side of the family, Brinleigh.
Heading over to Fondy meant that Carter got to spend his first night in a hotel. Between the king sized bed and extended bedtime, he was LOVING it!
"helping" me unpack
Bedtime snack
The next morning he had breakfast in bed and watched Sponge Bob with Jason. Does it get any better?
Enough with the camera mom
One of our family’s Christmas traditions is celebrating St. Nick’s day. Each year, we set out our shoes and they are filled with candy, presents and a beautiful glass ornament. We’ve decided to continue this tradition with Carter. Last year, he got a Green Bay Packer football player and this year, in honor of the Badger’s trip to the Rose Bowl, Carter got the a Wisconsin Badger ornament! On Wisconsin!
That’s all for this week! Next week we’re headed up to my parent’s cabin for our first family Christmas on the lake, celebrating our first Christmas in our new house, stopping in at the extended Duss family Christmas at Randy & Sue’s house AND hosting Jason’s mom’s side of the family for dinner on the 26th! Phew…it’s going to be another busy week at the Duss house!
Brinleigh
December 12, 2010
When we last left you, Jason was still in Madison, Carter & I were still in Champlin and I was planning to be a stay at home mom. Well…all of that has changed. Since our last post…
…We went to Bayfield, WI for our annual trip to Applefest. Only this year the cabin we normally rent was double booked. After spending entirely too much time looking for a new cabin to rent, a week before the areas largest event, we found this place:
Oh my…it was AMAZING. We extended our trip by a day and it was worth every penny! Lets just say that we won’t be going back to our usual cabin.
Not only did we have a private lake, in the middle of the woods, we had more bedrooms and more space! We’ve already reserved it for next year!
…I got a job! Our original plan was for me to have my last day of work in the Cities on December 3 and then become a stay at home mom. Welllll, that all changed when my friend Brook called me and asked me to reconsider interviewing for a position she had open at the non-profit she ran. I figured it was fate or a sign of some sort so I agreed to come in for an interview. 20 minutes after I met with 2 board members and Brook, she called and offered me the job! Suddenly, I had a job which meant I could move to Eau Claire an entire month sooner than we originally planned! Woo hoo! Talk about a blessing! I started working at the Family Resource Center for Eau Claire County on November 15 as a Fund Development Coordinator. It’s completely different that anything I’ve done before but I really, really like it!
…We went to the Badger homecoming game! Jason called me from work one afternoon and asked me if I would mind spending our 5 year anniversary in a suite at Camp Randall. Um, let me think about that for a second! NOPE! It was homecoming and we just happened to be in the box next to Barry Alvarez, who I stalked in the hallway and met between quarters. 🙂
It was complete madness but so much fun. The next day, we were taken on a personal tour of Camp Randall and I took Carter’s 1 year pictures. Check out my personal facebook page for those pictures!
…Carter & I moved in with Nana & Papa for 2 weeks. Because moving is SO much fun, I decided to move in with my parents for 2 weeks so we could empty out the townhouse, clean it and get it ready for our renters. Aside from driving 35 minutes to daycare each morning, living at my parent’s was fun! Carter got to hang out with Nana & Papa, I didn’t have to make dinner and it was nice to have adults to talk to after work each night.
…We were approved to rent out our townhouse for 2 years. PHEW! What a unbelievably huge relief. The day after our association met to determine our fate, our renter moved in! Such perfect timing! We received a note from our renter the other day telling us how much she loves it there and is taking good care of the house. It’s nice to know that we don’t have to worry.
…Carter was a puppy for Halloween. Although he didn’t entirely understand the concept, he did like getting candy from Grandpa. And he looked so stinkin’ cute!
…I hosted the annual Widows Weekend! Widows weekend is opening hunting weekend in Wisconsin. All of the hunter’s wives get together and go out to the bar for the night. It’s always a great time. Hosting the event was a huge milestone for me. Coming from a 1,200 sq ft townhouse where we could comfortably fit 4 other people in the house besides ourselves, we didn’t host many parties unless it was warm outside. I’m happy to say that we fit over 18 ladies in our house for dinner and drinks! Plus for the first time ever, I got to come home and sleep in my own bed at the end of the night!
The lovely widows
…Carter had his 15 month check up! We met our awesome new peditrician, Dr. Vandeloo where Carter got a clean bill of health! He’s hitting all of his milestones and he’s still in the 90 percentile for both height and weight! He’s turned into quite the little parrot, repeating everything we say to him, and is a very polite little boy. He’s says (and signs) please and thank you which warms my heart!
Things he’s into these days:
- Reading
- Dancing
- Playing with balls
- His puppy
- Sitting in his rocking chair
- Watching football
- Grandpas – he LOVES his papa and grandpa. When they are around he cannot get enough of them!
- Trucks
- The Christmas tree
There’s not much that he won’t eat and he is loving meatballs, oatmeal, milk, juice, pizza and anything else that we put in front of him!
He’s got 9 or 10 teeth now. 4 on the bottom, 4 on the top and it looks like at least one molar on the bottom right side. We went through a horrible week of teething last month. He got 4 teeth all at once and spent 3 nights getting up every few hours. It was rough on all of us but he seems to be doing much better now.
…We went through a parenting rite of passage. Two weeks ago, we had our first puking baby incident. Let’s just say there was a lot of laundry, crying and throwing up done that night and not all by the baby. Thankfully, it only lasted 24 hours and I was the only other person to get it in the house. No picture of this super fun milestone.
…We found a new daycare. Leaving our old daycare was heartbreaking. Melissa was amazing and I felt like we had become part of their family. Her 8 year old son cried every day during Carter’s last 2 weeks and I cried the last morning I dropped him off. Melissa was such and amazing provider turned friend and we consider ourselves very lucky to have found her! In fact, Carter will be spending New Year’s Eve with Melissa’s family while we attend a wedding!
Carter’s new daycare is also great but very different. Now he’s at a daycare center instead of an in-home daycare. He is adjusting really, really well and loves all the space to run around. He recently started taking his naps in a sleeping bag on the floor with all the other kids. When his teacher, Miss Jenna, told me they thought he was ready, I thought she was nuts! But then I got this picture via text one day.
Yes, that's a camo sleeping bag!
Not only is he sleeping in his little sleeping bag on the floor but he also sits at the “big kid” table for lunch. No more high chair for him!
Well, I think that’s enough for now. I’m sure that I missed some things but as you can see it’s been a crazy 3.5 months! I’m hoping to start blogging on a weekly basis so check back next Sunday for another update!
September 30, 2010
Things are moving forward with the move…just one minor major details lies between me and Eau Claire. Our association’s approval regarding our request to rent out our townhouse. We probably should have submitted the letter, oh about 6 months ago but it was one of those things that fell through the cracks. When you have this many balls in the air, one of them is bound to crash.
We’ve been gradually moving our things from the townhouse to the new house. Load by load, I realize just how much stuff we have. Our townhouse looks less and less like our home everyday. You know what? I’m OK with that. Last night Jason asked me when I realized that our new house was “the house”. I told him it was the day we broke into it. You read that right, we broke into our new house.
See the previous owners had locked the front storm door which meant the key in the realtor lock box didn’t work. I was bound and determined to see the inside of the house. I had been DREAMING about this house for weeks, there was no way I was leaving Wisconsin without seeing the interior. Jason, the realtor and I walked around the house looking for an unlocked door or window to sneak through…in the pouring rain. I found the tiniest slit in a screen on one of the garage windows. Without a second thought, I poked my finger through and slid the unlocked window open. Somehow I convinced Jason to dive headfirst into the garage and open the front door for us. The second I walked in, I knew it was home.
Which is why I am so stinkin’ anxious to get there and get settled. As of right now, December 3 is my last day at my current employer. At 4:00pm that day I will become a full-time mom and I am SO excited about my new title.
The Duss Family 