Tubby Bear Gulya and Doodle Gulya

Its official! We legally changed their names at the County Courthouse today! It only costs a couple of bucks and we can change it back in a couple of days if we want. Let us know what you think and if you think we should keep their new names or change them back!

Our first Visit to Apple Holler

We went to Apple Holla' (at me baby) on Saturday. We didn't go to pick apples. We didn't go to pick pumpkins. We just wanted to go somewhere, and we decided there was no place better than Stone Fire Pizza and since we already went to SFP on Friday night (SFP is the best $27.00 we have spent in a long time, and if you got kids, then go there for dinner and games, plus the flu is free for every person) . . . ! For those of you unfamiliar with SFP, it is a mixture between Chuckie Cheese and Shakeys without the mice and annoying characters running around. Also, the parents were not completely wasted as is a major problem at the Chuckie Cheese in Waukesha County.

After we caught every communicable human disease at SFP on Friday, it was only fitting that we go to Apple Holler to catch all possible communicable farm animal diseases. But instead of accumulating contagions, we just had a nice time. It is a well country-style decked out place (unfortunately a little expensive) with a lotta hay, pumpkins, apples, people, animals, corn stalks, corn, dirt, homemade jam, and other country stuff. But best of all, nothing beats hanging out on a farm with one-man reggae music in the background (the musician was pretty darn good too).

We went through a corn maze, hung out on haybales, played in the corn box (sand box filled with . . . you guessed it . . . corn), and we had a nice big oozing and gooey caramel apple. We had a good time, and we would reccommend going to Apple Holler. We still reccommend Stone Fire Pizza in New Berlin more, but that is because not much can top Stone Fire Pizza Co.

The Corn Pit and Train at Apple Holler

Donovan and Hayden had fun in the corn pit. It was quite populated with 20-month somethings, so they were the small guys in the pit. This pit was much more popular than the pig rendering pit at Apple Holler. We learned the corn pit is much cleaner than sand, but the corn castles are extremely difficult to build without glue.


Donovan and Hayden distracted by the dead body recently uncovered in the corn pit.


Fun on the Train!

Feedin' the Goats at Apple Holler

We stopped to feed the goats while we were at Apple Holler.

Thank you goat, Donovan and Hayden for not looking at the camera. That said, I think he was the silverback goat, because he was a BFG.



Um, that is not food for a goat.

This is scary, really scary! (Click Here)

I don't like interjecting politics into my kids' blog, but they would never sing this garbage: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=TW9b0xr06qA
If this does not scare you, then . . . .

Hanging out in our farmer Overalls at the Lake

Melissa might be a Narcissist

Not a very nice thing to say about your wife, but according to this article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080926/sc_livescience/facebookprofilesoutnarcissists
my wife may very well be a narcissist based on the way she uses facebook. I would hate to see a blog user study about narcissism, particularly bloggers who title their blogs about their kids and then only post about their wife possibly being a narcissist. Let's fix that. The boys are learning to climb to the top of the couch and onto the countertops. I think they are about 6 weeks away from learning to dig a hole underneath the gates and the GITMO Superyard. Maybe we should stop letting them use forks and spoons, which can be used as digging tools.

I am waiting for a holding penalty against Dallas

C'mon zebras, quit favoring the Cowboys.

Office Depot Rocks, Jardine Cribs Suck

Office Depot rules. We got an amazing deal on a beautiful desk, hutch combination. It is oak finished and not laminate. Staff at Office Depot on Saturday were very helpful and very polite. Sears Lawn and Garden "we're on commission" salespeople at Southridge could learn a lot from them (FYI, I worked at Sears for 7 years and would never treat people they way we were treated a while back at Sears Southridge--management and our salesperson though were very polite and helpful).

While I am excited about Office Depot, it is overshadowed by other excitement. I am very excited because I get to drive all the way to Babies R Us for the umpteenth time in the last two weeks. We will be going on our third replacement Jardine Crib (Madison Series, Cherry Finish). We had to replace both cribs because of a recall. Donovan's new crib is fine. Hayden's first replacement one had a busted leg. The second one has a overdrilled and unthreaded hole in the front panel. We will see what can be done to fix it.

Go Pack.

Busy Busy Busy

Life has been flying by pretty fast lately, and we have to keep up with the boys more than ever. The boys have moved from walking to climbing. They move a lot faster and they also both both can walk sideways now. We had a sit down talk the other night where both boys were warned that if they line dance, then will not get to walk anymore . . . ever. They do not line dance. Instead, they bob their heads to Lolli-Lolli. The boys really want to see Three Six Mafia on Yo Gabba Gabba.

We had to dismantle the family room. We resurrected the old TV stand (Kyle's 2001 Christmas present from Grandma Sue), took the cushions of the sectional, and glued broken glass all along the edges of the counter top in the family room so the boys cannot climb out. We also have caved in and allow them free reign over the fire place. Once the superyard becomes obsolete, then we will have big problems. Once they learn to use the telephone to call child protective services, then we will have bigger problems.

We are contemplating finishing off more of our basement to make a play room/dungeon. It will require getting a new furnace, which may make this project only a pipe dream. Oh well, every bad idea usually starts with a vision and dream.

This weekend may require putting together one more crib. One of the cribs we bought had a busted foot and wrecked railing, so we get to go to babies r us this week to get a new one! Yay, putting together a crib is a day well spent! Almost as fun as shopping our auto insurance (another project).

Alright, time to sleep. Go Pack

Maddox Smith

We got to meet Maddox Smith on Thursday! What a charming young man Jenn and Mike are raising! We had a great time with them and we will write more when we get back into town.

Seven Years

Happy Seventh Anniversary to my beautiful, caring, tolerant, mildly sarcastic, organized, and wonderful wife, woman, and babies' momma! Without Melissa taking a chance on me, there would be no www.gulyababies.blogspot.com, no Hellhound, no Harriet, No Moose, No Doodle, No Tubby, and none of the other great things in our life that we have cultivated together.

WTFWIDWH, Love,
Kyle

Bobbin' their heads

When we were driving to Jersey City, we were bumping some Slick Rick and other 80's Hip Hop during the 97.1 Jam Session. The boys were bobbing their heads to the hip hop music. Donovan goes front to back and Hayden goes side to side. Donovan is f'adorable because he has the cutest little smile while he is doing it. Hayden is still learning and he smiles a lot too. They also dance now too!

Uncle Paul and Uncle Tony's Civil/Holy Union Ceremony

Uncle Paul and Uncle Tony got hitched at Liberty Park in Jersey City just across from the skyline of Manhattan. The party was __________ing Awesome! It was an absolutely wonderful ceremony and party with unbelievable food, breathtaking views, fireworks over the city skyline and four drag queens (some of whom have been in Project Runway and Sex in the City). I will post more pictures but here are some of our family including uncle Paul and my Aunts Dot, Jean, Mary and Helen among other pictures.

Party at Tony's Sister's Home in Jersey

After Uncle Paul and Uncle Tony's civil/holy Union, we went to Tony's sister's home near Hoboken to have an Ecuadorian feast of all different kinds of South American meats. It was awesome. We also went swimming and had a nice time visiting with my uncles.

Melissa screwing around with the camera and wasting valuable memory!

Visit with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa

We drove to Bethel to see my grandparents. We had a really nice visit. It was great for all of their great grandchildren from our immediate family to be there.

Our tips for going to Manhattan with Kids on the Cheap

We spent a lot of money so far. Oh well. Here are some cost-saving methods we could have utilized but didn't:
(1) Don't buy milk for your kids at stores or restaurants. Just go to Starbucks, fill up the sippy with whole milk or half-and-half at the milk and sugar station and high tail it out. You never have to worry about hitting up the same Starbucks twice for free milk because there are over 1.2 million Starbucks in Manhattan with 10,000 more popping up each day.

(2) Just go to Central Park and ride the State Island Ferry everyday. They are both free. Also, stiff the Met when they say "whatever you wish to contribute for enterring"

(3) Forget your hotel, either stay at P'Diddys or sleep in the Subway--its warm!

(4) Buy from the Off-Broadway hot dog vendors--they are $.50 cheaper per dog.

(5) go to Manhattan Kansas

(6) Skip the M&M Store and go to the Skittles store in the Bronx. It is a lil' riskier, but probably cheaper

(7) If some dude can play guitar in Times Square in his underwear, then so can you! Grab a pair of drumsticks, an empty five gallon bucket, play and panhandle

(8) When the guys at the Plaza hotel (a ritzy hotel on the southeast edge of Central Park) tell your their bathroom is "under construction" and is not open to the public, then go in a plant in the lobby.

(9) There are enough pigeons and other birds in the parks and the City that you can eat by hunting them. Plus, no one will miss them.

(10) "Can I have a lot of crackers with my soup? I said a lot of crackers!"

The M&M Store in Times Square

We went to the M&M Store in Times Square. It was right across from our hotel.

Who would put their kids in these pants?
OK M&M marketing Dept. You are really funny. 4 out of 5 M&M characters look really stoned. Just put the bloodshot eyes on them and get it over with.

We saw more shoplifting at this store than any other store in Manhattan! You can fill a bag full of M&Ms from these colorful chutes. The cost is only a meager $11.99 per pound (in the store it is about $3.00 per pound). We saw more people taking handfulls of M&M's and munching away.

"Behind the Colorful Chutes of M&Ms: The darker side of the M&M store"

Empire State Building

We went up to the 86th Floor of the Empire State Building. The wait was attrociuos, but the views were great. Plus, it is an outdoor viewing deck!
The Financial District, SoHo, Chelsea, East Village, Chinatown and Little Italy


Hairpulling!

Uptown Baby!