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The holidays are almost complete and dare I say it? Whoo-hoo! Tonight we celebrate the last hours of 2007, the birth of Daddy and pray for an amazing 2008.

2007 was quite the year for expansion: Freddie, Jeff, Noah and Brennan

Can 2008 top that?

Predictions for 2008

• Jack will conquer the toilet.




• Brennan will learn to walk and begin to talk.




• Mama and Daddy will drop 40 lbs each... right, right?!




• Household projects, like new counter tops will be complete.




• The townhouse will be sold. (That would be so, so huge.)

It's easy to bitch about life, think things aren't fair and worry about money. I do it all the time. I know I do. But when you force yourself to sit down and itemize the irreplaceable things in life like healthy-gorgeous-brillant children, a happy marriage, and extended support from friends and family, it's a relief to feel good and revel in it if not but for a moment.

Peace, love and Happy New Year.

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So, we're less than a week away from Christmas and I think I am strangely prepared ... of course, that worries me. Who did I forget?! I hope boys have a great day and aren't disappointed. I think Santa will be good to them.

Of course, if Jack was more committed to the potty, he'd be getting the flying helicopter we promised him. He's got about five days to accomplish that. Will it happen, folks?

Speaking of the potty, he was recently taken to the restroom by his Ga. He did a great job. He told me he had to go, Ga rushed him into the bookstore facilities and he then proceeded to talk to Ga about how to swirl. I really don't know where he comes up this stuff.

The other night when he was eating dinner and out of nowhere Jack turned to his Dad and says, "In the summer I want you to paint this room red."
Daddy was zoned out and I asked him what he had just said to make sure I understood.
"This room. It needs to be red," motioning with his hand in a circle (reminiscent of a flight attendant).
I asked him why.
"We've got a lot of white," he said shrugging his shoulders. "We got white in here. We got white in there. We got white in there. We got too much white."
"But," I reminded him, "The bathroom is blue."
Unimpressed, he shrugged. "This rooms needs to be red."
I suggested someday we painted his room red. That seemed to appease him -- as long as we didn't paint Brennan's room red.
"Daddy! Daddy! JOE!" he said, growing louder. "We need to paint this room red!"
"Red, huh?" he asked not really looking up from his computer.
Good luck, I thought.

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So, you may have noticed I changed the name of my blog ... again. I wanted it to be creative and fun but still reflect the boys in the blog. Then the other night during a late night feeding, I thought of this.

It was right after a recent "amazing" trade that brought every Tiger's fan to tears. This is the year apparently. It's the magical summer that my husband, brother and everyone else from the Mitten state have dreamt about since 1984 when the team mantra, "Bless you boys!" was born.

And my decision to make this change was confirmed the other night when friends in from LA., but Michigan natives, discussed it with Husband with such passion and fever I thought more tears would be shed. The men's eyes (and woman's) twinkled with delight at the thought of the Tigers having the season they've waited so long to see.

And, at the same time, it's appropriate because my boys are blessings. And they deserve blessings. I can only hope and pray that they are blessed with an outstanding life; one that will make them happy.

So this one sticks. I am finally ready to let JWJ go. I only wish I could incorporate the OLD ENGLISH font into the title. If anyone knows how I can do that, let me know.

And even though the thought of watching all 500 baseball games this summer makes me cringe, I know my boys will someday enjoy the crack of the bat, the kosher dogs and the summer evenings with their dad, grandpas, uncles and cousins. That image is something I can't wait to see. Two little boys decked out in Tigers gear, mitts in hand, learning how to keep score.

That's a blessing.

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Brennan and Maggie meet ...

... And they love each other!

I see him wanting to spend summers in L.A. with his girl!

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Apparently, my kidneys are plain old dehydrated. At least, that's what my urologist says. So after months of pain, two surgeries, millions of tests, it's ... dehydration and low calcium. I wonder if they even know what they are talking about...

Yesterday Husband was in Peoria, Ill. for work so I dropped Jackie-Boy off at school and took Baby B with me to my appointment. He is a very good, easy going baby. But he doesn't like to be wrapped up to protect him from the cold. So as soon as we got into the waiting room, he let me know he wanted out.

Once peeled out of his layers, the boy had a great time staring at everyone. I was the youngest adult in the room by 50 years -- and all the surrogate grandparents were quick to stare at my gorgeous boy. And he just ate it up. He cooed and laughed and looked around soaking it all up.

Those of you who know me and my maternal-side of the family, may be familiar with a certain stare. Brennan is concrete proof that this penetrating, perhaps unfriendly looking stare is purely genetic. There was one particular woman who was interested in my baby. He didn't seem thrilled by her. He gave her that Brennan (literally, that's the side of the family it comes from...) stare. It's the same stare my Nana had, my aunt has, my mom, my cousins, my sister, my Jack and me. If you haven't seen it, it's not always taken well. I don't think its meant to be mean, at least not for me, it's just not a rainbow and roses kind of look. Basically, he wasn't impressed. He was annoyed even. (I wish I had a camera to capture the look. Classic.)

When we got back to see the doctor, I discovered I needed an X-ray (and yes, I still have a stone). Obviously, I couldn't take Brennan in with me so the technician offered to get a nurse to watch him. I told him he'd be fine in his seat if she didn't mind just watching him. When I came out of the X-Ray room, about seven nurses were circled around him just cooing and loving on him. And he was eating it up. He was in his prime.

Next, we went into the examination room to wait for the doctor. That's where he decided to have a horribly stinky diaper. The room was small and the stench was strong. I changed him but didn't want to leave the bomb in the trash for some poor nurse. So I grabbed a rubber glove off the counter and stuffed in deep enough to tie off the top. I thought for sure the doctor would come in. I got lucky.

By the time we went to check out, Brennan was having the time of his life. Standing in line, the X-Ray tech found me and wanted to hold him. She said she hadn't gotten her turn yet. Then we went back in the waiting room where I fed him a quick bottle. When the nurses heard I was still there, they came for one last coo and sniff. (They literally smelled his head.) Again, the other patients (a new batch) ate up everything. And when he let out the biggest burp he has ever gotten out, more than person exclaimed, "Good boy! That was a good one."

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Quick hits.

** The other morning, Jack crawled into bed with us making the total number of occupants to be 4... Daddy, Brennan, Jack and Mama. He laid there a moment hugging me. Then he sat up and looked as his family lined up like sardines. He turned to me and said, "Mama, we need some more grils around here." (grils = girls.)

** Brennan has been laughing out loud for some time now. It's amazing the first time you hear the pure squeal. And now, the three of us trip over each other to get him to laugh more.

** Jack is brillant -- of course. We're very conditioned to compliment him when he accomplishes tasks. We reinforce him, help him to grow more and more confident. The other day I caught him doing it to himself. He was playing on his Thomas computer and he got an answer correct and I hear... "You're so smart, Jack!" and then "I know! Thanks."

** How do I know that Brennan is Irish? The kid raises one eyebrow. Good thing we went with the Irish name. It's a tribute to Nana for sure... she and Ma: wicked brow raisers.