Mom, I can't!

"Mom, I can't go to bed yet, I'm not done reading!"

Ethan & Emma

Emma is a little 3 almost 4 year old girl who lives two houses down from us. We have been SO fortunate in making fast friends with her and her little brother Isaac, and of course, her super cool Mom and Dad too! Ethan LOVES playing with Emma and can be coaxed to do just about anything if he knows he gets to be with Emma at the end. (I think it's because she has much more interesting dress up clothes at her house, i.e. Cinderella and Tinkerbell costumes!) We had a grand outing with Emma, Isaac and Jaime the other day. Long walk and a stop at our favorite local coffee shop, The Sweetspot Coffee Shoppe.

St. Patrick's Day

Well, we attempted to make delicious St. Patrick's Day cookies last month.... after all, we ARE Dugans, right? Unfortunately, the "egg free" dough was a bit tough to handle. But nevertheless, both of the boys had quite a bit of fun making a mess and then creating dough sculptures--which is what happened after our attempts at the cookie cutter failed!

It's official...

... we signed the papers to purchase a new home today. Look out Whitewater--the Dugans are here to stay!

We told the boys early this morning and explained that the new house had three bedrooms so that they could have their own bedrooms.

Ethan said, "I want my own room.... with Colin."

Colin said, "No way, I want my own room, without Mr. Talky Talky!"

We're envisioning lots of room sharing this summer as we make the transition! We are all excited to finally be able to really settle down and make a home here.

Let's Go Mo-Hawks! U-Dub-Dub!

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Men's Wheelchair Basketball team won the National Championship on Saturday, March 14th. With a score of 82-76, the game started of with UWW trailing but by the second half all was on the line, and they took it. It was an amazing game and we absolutely loved cheering on the home team. The boys were enthralled with the physicality of the game, the antics of the crowd, and of course the screaming and cheering. Colin's favorite cheer was "U-Dub-Dub" and Ethan just liked yelling, "Let's go Mo-Hawks".... he refuses to belive us when we explain that they are actually Warhawks, not Mohawks! We are now official fans of the Wheelchair Basketball team and can't wait for next season.

Queen of Books

Years ago, when I was in 7th grade Language Arts (Mr. Newby's class at Haines Jr. High), we had to do a book report. I read, Many Waters by Madeline L'Engle. I adored the book--and being a rabid book lover already came up with a creative way to express my feelings about the book: I wrote a song using my small Casio keyboard. I recorded myself singing the song using a small tape recorder, and then I got the A. Not only that, but the character "The Queen of Books" was created. I even remember the beginning lyrics:

I am the Queen of Books

Have I got a book for you

The book is Many Waters

By Madeline L'Engle

And the book is really COOL!

Since then, my family will randomly remind me of this stint (and the famous last day of school when Mr. Newby played the tape for the entire class--much to my embarrassment).

Now, as a full fledged book lover and weekly library fiend, I am trying to pass this love of books to the boys. I know full well that avid readers are avid life long learners. What better lesson to teach and model? Anna Quindlan said it best:

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.

So, for those of you who need recommendations for books, or are curious about what this all-grown-up Queen of Books is reading currently, check out the new widget to the right. I am finally switching from my little blue reading journal to the electronic record keeping. And I hope to develop an account for the boys as well.

Happy Reading dear friends!

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

-Dr. Seuss

We're a bit run-a-muck...

Life has been hectic and exciting in southern Wisconsin. Our most thrilling news is that Mike officially accepted--signed contract and all--a tenure track position at UW-Whitewater. We will now be able to really settle down in the town we have all grown to love. Along with this wonderful news is the fact that we now have many decisions to make, namely, where will we live? We've spent some time looking at homes, but are holding out hope for "the one"... especially since we know this will be a move that will really last. In every home, I look around and try to imagine a gaggle of teenaged boys. Will I be able to make multiple lasagnes? Will there be room for wrestling? Can we continue to walk to karate? Can Mike continue to commute via bike or on foot? And selfishly, I'm prone to any home with a built in bookcase. We'll let you know what happens.

In the meantime, we're sticking to our regular schedule. Mike finished teaching up his Brass Tech class last week, so he promises to be home a little more often. Colin's is three sessions into his first organized activity--karate--and absolutely loves it. His coach is fantastic, and we now read books about karate and have to have discussions about when he'll earn his "gi" and what exact moves he will be able to perform when his is a "Master". I think he secretly just wants to be able to topple his Dad!

Ethan and I continue the battle of wills daily. I thought teaching middle school was tough--this toddler has tested my patience in all new ways. And then, he looks at me with those huge Hershey's chocolate eyes, and will say something like, "Mom, can I tell you something in your ear? I love you." He is such a happy, exubernt little boy. Proudly spouting off all sorts of questions and sentences... He loves visiting the library every Wednesday and has a crush on Miss Cathy the children's librarian. And let's not forget his Friday morning playgroup, which should be called "How to Run-A-Muck" with 15 other random children in an old Amory gym.

I still haven't mastered making my own bread, but am so content to read more often, to walk with friends, and to have time to really think.

We are so fortunate!