Korean Language Dinner

We spent the last few months attending the UW Korean Language class for beginners. Tonight we rewarded ourselves with a delicious dinner at K-Peppers.

We waited to tell the kids about our Korean dinner until right before we walked in the door. They had heard about my trips to K-Peppers in the past for dinner w/ friends or a Mom's Night out. Any place that serves good Korean food is a place the kids want to go! They were very excited to hear our surprise. We all enjoyed a delicious dinner and great company. Can't wait to go back!

Happy Gotcha Day Ian!

Ian with Foster Mother

4 years ago today our lives were changed forever as we met with Ian's foster mother one last time and did the "hand off". As a very experienced foster mother, she showed only happiness of handing the child she took care of for so long over to his forever family. Ian wasn't so sure of this as he only knew the love and care of his foster mother. It would be a long journey to bond and develop the trust he had with the woman who made him his favorite pumpkin porridge every day.

Ian in December 2007

Christmas Pictures

We headed to the State Capital to take our Christmas pictures. We were suppose to get them done a few weeks ago, but Ben had an accident and his face met the sidewalk which caused major scrapes on his face. We opted to cancel the pictures and give his face time to heal. Although it was damp and chilly, it made for a nice day to be inside (and a little outside) the capital to get our pictures done. A friend from ALCS who has a photography business, Melanie Guest Photography, did our photo shoot. We love how our pictures turned out and can't wait to use her as our photographer in the future!

Father/ Son bike ride

Ben, Alex, and Zach

Our FTKA group had a father/son bike ride last weekend. Due to the cold weather, only 3 dads and their kids went on the ride. Ben and Justin had a great time!

40K Blog

I have been following a blogger whose focus is teaching classes and also posting deals and coupons online on how to save money. She saved her family $40,000 by couponing. I love getting good deals and love any chance to help others save money too.

This week I received a card in the mail from the Wisconsin State Journal for 13 weeks of the newspaper for free. I signed up then shared it with the 40K blogger. Today she posted it on her site!!!

This is from an email from a reader -- so THANK YOU to Dana M for sharing this! If you do NOT subscribe, this offer should work for you.
:)

We just received a card in the mail from the Wisconsin State Journal. A good deal for those who do not subscribe to the paper. They are offering 13 weeks FREE of either the daily or Sunday only paper. The link is go.madison.com/13weekfree


Great way to get coupons when you are first starting out!
Thanks for all of your helpful tips!

Dana M.

As heard in Eastside Preschool...

Something pretty cool today...

Ian's teacher, Mrs. Novotny, stopped me today when I was dropping off Chloe. She stated that during preschool yesterday, she asked the kids to tell her some of the jobs their moms and dads do. Some kids stated that mom cleans the house, dad works in an office, etc. Ian raised his hand and told her that "My mom and dad give money to people that don't have any money"

Wow! While we don't give handouts to everyone, we do try to teach the kids to give to those who are less fortunate. I don't think they understand completely what that means or why, but someday they will.

What a blessing to have a teacher tell you something positive, especially on a day when my youngest child was a little challenging and this mom's frustration grew and patience lessened.

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween

from a race car driver, pirate, and a princess witch