Soon and very soon...

I will update! I promise! How can it be that my last upload was on November 7th? I guess it has been the busy busy boys keeping me occupied. By the time they are in bed and Mike finally gets home from work--this lady is tired! (And frankly, likes her time with her books as you know!)

It's just a regular day at the Dugans...

...when the boys pick up the guitars and want to "rock out". Here are two short videos--one took place right before bed in the evening and the next, right after breakfast the next morning. If you pay attention, you'll hear Ethan say "mom, rock out" in one. And you'll be able to tell who likes to hog camera time--and check out Colin's crazy hair too! He finally has agreed to let us trim it next week! (My apologies for the video quality... I'm shooting these on my point/click camera!)
Life with these boys is always entertaining!

Halloween 2008!

We had a wonderful Halloween here in our new hometown. The boys and I carved pumpkins... with Charlie watching of course, and Colin was proud that he had a "scary" pumpkin for the first time ever. On Friday morning, Colin ran--literally--all the way to school where they had a costume parade all over campus. Then that evening we went trick or treating and then spent the rest of the time at a party with our new neighbors. You'll catch glimpses of some new friends we've made... the Peter Pan family--Jeff, Jaime, Emma and little Isaac, Henry the astronaut, and Carson the T-Rex. The day was even better because of warm temperatures!

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Over the river and through the woods...

Here is a quick show of the boys and I during our last visit to St. Charles. We spent a glorious fall morning at the Morton Arboretum with Mimi & Bubba, played for hours outside, and were able to connect with my cousin Kim (& family) and my cousin Alyson.



Have we mentioned how much we like being closer to family and friends?!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

SPECIAL OFFER!

A great deal... and a great way to get started early on those holiday gifts! You can use the link above or enter code SCLB30 when checking out using the standard website, http://celebratingbarefoot.com!

Going Barefoot

Yes, it’s true, I’ve gone Barefoot in the chilly late fall weather! I’ve become a virtual stallholder of Barefoot Books for children and young adults. I have fallen in love with these books and this company, whose values include the following:

Inspiring Creativity
Celebrating Diversity
Giving Back
Building Community
Protecting the Planet

As a mother, and teacher, and all around book fanatic… being involved with a company whose values mimic my own is important. I hope to be able to recommend meaningful and thoughtful books for families.

And as a library lover, please also check out Barefoot Books at your local library. If you or your children love any enough to want to own one, come back here and buy one through me. You can click on the link at the side of this page, or use my website, http://celebratingbarefoot.com/. And I am always able to work with you via online or catalog ordering.

I thought long and hard before deciding to sell these books, however, I would talk your ear off about this company and these books, small change aside. They just have the right idea. Period. And at the end of the day, having beautiful, thoughtfully written books, that I can happily share with my sons, well, that is something I value without question.

Thank you so much for your support!

One of the best things...

...about living in southern Wisonsin is being close to family that we get to see more often! Enjoy the pictures of a recent visit with my cousin Eric's kids, Cire and Audra... and then our weekend getaway to Dodgeville! We spent the afternoon and then evening with my aunt and uncle. A trip to a pumpkin farm, a bison farm, and lots of football watching ensued. It's been so much fun for all of us!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We finally meet!

As many of you know, I spent 14 weeks on bedrest to make sure Ethan arrived full term. During those long weeks, I connected to a group of women from all over the country through the miracle of internect technology. Our babies were born and a small group of us has continued to maintain friendships. These women are some of my best friends, and until a few weeks ago, I had only spoken to them by phone, exhanged messages and mail. Then we moved to Wisconsin! Now Cori and I live only 40 minutes apart. We had our first meeting a few weeks ago. The boys and I headed up to Madison to meet Cori, her husband Jason, and their two kids--Kira and Dylan--in person! We had a fantastic time. And can't wait until our next playdate.

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Honor Lisette's memory...

As some of you know, our dear friends Bill and Katie, suffered a horrible loss last week--the death of their newborn daughter Lisette. Katie experienced a PROM at 20 weeks, and although they did all they could, Lisette was born just five days later. She was able to be baptized, loved and cuddled, before she passed away.

We have felt the burden of prematurity with Colin's birth at 34 weeks as a result of a PROM, and then fighting 14 weeks to keep Ethan from coming too soon.

If you are moved to do so, please make a donation in her honor.... and to fight to ensure that all babies get their nine months.

What a wonderful day...

We spent a glorious day today with our new neighbors and friends in East Troy, WI. The Michael Fields Agricultural Institute held its harvest festival and we spent the day walking their land, investigating antique farm equipment, listening to live bluegrass, and sampling delicious foods. Our other neighbor was also there sharing her sustainable flowers and vegetables. The boys got their faces painted, got to see real beehives, and loved the long hayride. The weather could not have been more perfect! Mike has been so busy with his work lately, it was a real treat for all of us to be together with our new friends.

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September?

Last weekend, when it was still September, we took part of the day and spent it in Lake Mills, WI. We were returning Grandma Bette's car, which we borrowed while our VW was in the shop--and it was such a beautiful day,unseasonably warm too, so a picnic was in order. Good thing I ran back inside to pack the boys' swim suits! They had a ball playing in the water and sand. A wonderfully relaxing morning and early afternoon.

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Fun times tonight!

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Aunt Mandy came to town!

Just last week Aunt Mandy (aka Dee Dee to Ethan) came for a visit. The boys loved seeing her and showing off their new home and town.

Lots of pictures to share!

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I hope this works--it is a much easier way to share more than a few pictures at once. You'll see pictures from our crazy end of summer... including our trip to Hershey, PA... visits with our friends the Migely's before the move, our neighborhood going away party--complete with cheese curds, party ball, fireworks, and cheese head hats--and a final trip to Sunny Side Up and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Enjoy!

The first day of school...

Here's a quick picture of Mike in the early morning before his first official day... and one of Colin (aka Mr. Photogenic) before we walked to his school as well. Colin is not in kindergarten this year, as he JUST turned 5 right before the cutoff date and we decided another year of pre-k would be the best fit for him. He's attending a prekindergarten program at the UWW Children's Center which as been fantastic so far. He goes five mornings a week and absolutely loves the college students he is able to interact with. Oh and of course, Ethan couldn't be left out!

We're HERE!

Well, as of August 25th we are now official Wisconsinites. We have slowly settled into our new normal and for the most part we are loving the change. I am now home for the first time ever with the boys while Mike works long days at UWW. We both have welcomed the transition! Mike really enjoys teaching, and I am loving trips to the library, park, and lots of time for reading and cooking. Being so much closer to our family near Chicago has been wonderful as well. The last month or so has been a blur as we spent several days in Pennsylvania visiting with Mike's family and mourning the loss of his Grandma, almost a week in northern Wisconsin at Summer Haven with my parents, we packed up in Minneapolis--and spent lots of time trying to have fun with our neighborhood crew and close friends (and Mandy of course), I finished my job, and moved in to our new home. Then just four days later we were back on the road again for my cousin Tyler's wedding! Colin turned 5 and Ethan turned 2 within 10 dyas of our arrival--mix in the first days of school for both Mike and Colin and whew! We still have boxes to unload, but we're getting there. Today, we were able to enjoy the fantastic weather and spent time with two other faculty members and their families (with all boys!) It was such a good time. Hopefully, we'll update more regularly now!

A quick catch up

Can it be the middle of July already? Our summer is already flying by... The biggest news to report is that Mike successfully defended his doctoral project and so now is officially Dr. Mike Dugan! We had a wonderful celebration the day before the 4th with his parents and many neighbors and friends (pictures to follow eventually). In our other huge news, we sold our house and will be moving in about five weeks to Whitewater, Wisconsin. Working (yes it is hard work) to sell the house has been time consuming to say the least and we feel very fortunate that it has sold. Fingers crossed that all will be well from now until our closing.

We will post pictures of the every busy and growing boys just as soon as we are able... Bear with us during this crazy and exciting time! Being a Dugan is always "dynamic"!

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

This afternoon, Mike "cleaned" up an old Holton trombone. Colin is enthralled already... take a peek at the first video (sorry it's sideways)--he's already pulling in his corners and trying not to puff out his cheeks! After testing it out downstairs, he wanted to go up and serenade Jess across the street. You can see Mike in his playing stance already!

Go Red Sox!

We had a great time with Anna, Zach and Christian watching the Red Sox beat the Twins last weekend. Colin loved his blue cotton candy!

Rockin' out!

This is one of their favorite songs--obviously!

Learns to RIDE! Volume II

He learns to RIDE!

Being silly!

A few random shots... the two boys love to play and cuddle in Colin's bed, Ethan after his bath and jammies decided he wasn't really done playing in the bath, and a cute one of Ethan at the Green Living Expo.

New York City in Springtime...

In early April, Mike made his Lincoln Center debut with the Minnesota Orchestra. I wasn't about to miss that event--a once in a lifetime for him! We flew charter with the musicians and enjoyed a whirlwhind weekend visiting with friends (including a contingent from out of town who came to see Mike too!)... and then capped off by an outstanding Mahler 1. (And spring WAS in the air... it had arrived in NYC... just not in Minnesota at the time!)

Just enjoying life!

Just a few of the boys doing things the love... playing outside and eating Mom's cookies (egg free for Ethan of course!). They are really beginning to enjoy each other... well... most of the time!

Easter 2008

We enjoyed a hectic day with Mike playing hours and hours of music, and me singing two services at our own church. Thank goodness for Aunt Mandy who helped out with the boys! Both enjoyed their egg hunt at home once we were all back together.

We're still here!

I know it's been AGES since I've updated this... so tonight I'm all in. American Idol on the TV and lots of pictures and videos to upload. Hopefully, now that Mike is home for good and done with his school year I won't manage to get so behind. Enjoy!

Colin's first memorized poem!

When I got home from work today, the first thing Colin wanted to do was "perform my poem". It's sweet--ENJOY!

Ethan's newest talent

Ethan's Moves

Not to be outdone by his older brother, Ethan climbed on the stool to show off his "tricks"!
(Colin clearly doesn't like to be out of the spotlight!)

Composing Colin

Last week Colin decided he needed to write music using Daddy's music stand. Here's a clip of him performing the "song I wrote". Note preferred vocabulary of 4 year olds!

This morning we trekked out to cold and frozen Medicine Lake to see the annual Art Shanty projects. Artists create their own ice houses and there is a section of the lake which becomes a huge art installation. It was our first visit to the event and it was such fun. Colin loved walking on the ice and meeting the artists! Ethan was just happy to be in fresh air!

Ethan's first REAL haircut

When Grammie was visiting last week, we decided it was time for Ethan to have a real haircut--not a Mommy special!

He wasn't too thrilled at first, but one taste of his first sucker and he was all set. He looks so old now! An official toddler...