Library

I never did like getting books from the public library. Luckily, since I taught kindergarten for awhile I have a stash of pretty good ones that will work till the boys are ready for chapter books. But, every couple months I think we should go and get other books. A couple weeks ago was one of those times. All three boys and I went into the library. The first thing they go to is the movie section. It’ll be nice when they build the new library in town. There they will have a true children’s section.

Anyway, I let Garrett check out The Incredibles DVD because he wants to be Mr. Incredible for Candy-Night er, Halloween. Well, it’s two days overdue and I cna’t find it in the house anywhere! One more day of looking and then off to confess what I knew already. We are not library checking outers. Next time, we are reading the library books at the library and ours at our home. We will not mix and match.

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Dinner

Since I was out of the house with the boys so Husband could do some school work, He put the chicken in the oven AND made some rice.  Yum.  Thank you!!  You’re a great cook.  Feel free to make dinner anytime!

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Suitcase

I’m not sure if I mentioned that we were in Pittsburgh this weekend.  My grandma has been in the hospital for some tests and monitoring her tremors.  The boys wanted to pack their own bags so I gave each of them a black rolling suitcase to put their stuff in.  I thought they would put in some toys but also some clothes.  When I was done packing mine with my clothes and all of our bathroom supplies, I noticed theirs were all zipped up and ready to go.  When I peeked inside, all three were full of toys.  Instead of making them unpack, because it was hard work for them to narrow down all their toys to some that would fit in their suitcase, I packed their clothes in mine.
Fast forward to packing to come HOME.  I thought it was smart to start the night before.  I put all the dirty clothes in one, clean in another, toys they hardly used in two and one was empty to be filled in the morning with the favorites.  It did not matter if things were mixed up to go home.  They do a great job sharing but they do know whose things are whose.

Morning came and I started packing up the beenie babies they sleep with, the justice league charachers, and a few other odds and ends.  Mom was already at grandmas nursing home but apparently she gave dad directions to help me and hurry us out the door so we get home before dark (mind you it is, at most,  a 4 hour trip and it was 10 AM) so he carried our stuff out to the van.  I started packing it in and then took a quick look around downstairs.  I thought he looked upstairs.  We gave quick hugs and kisses and left.

Two hours later Connor asked if I could get him the Justice League guys.  I found a perfect place to pull off, opened the truck and looked.  And looked.  Then counted and looked some more.  We were missing one suitcase.  Not the dirty clothes, or the clean ones but the suitcase full of favorite toys!  Connor was wanting to turn around to get them.  I considered it thinking we could stay the night and leave again the next day but remembered that I had one more night of feeding 120 teachers (this time lasagna).  There was no way.  I let them know we would get them in two weeks when they came down to see Josh since he just got done from Boot Camp.  They cried a little but knew there was nothing we could do.
So, Josh’s party was canceled, he wouldn’t be coming home after all.  But my sister made a trip to Pgh and got home today.  We made a special trip to  pick up the suitcase.  As soon as we walked in the door one of the boys asked for the suitcase.  Beth put her hands over her cheeks and said, “suitcase!!” like she forgot and the boys looked at me like “do I believe her!?”  She never answered.  Five minutes later same question.  “SUITcase!!” was the same response.  They ended up playing with their cousins and Beth put the suitcase in the van.  Well, we had to go and the boys did not know what was going on with the suitcase so for the 20th time (no exaggeration) they asked if she had the suitcase.  In  order to get out of the house and home to my husband who made us dinner, I had to jump in.  i told Connor it was in the van.  He ran outside, jumped in the van and found the suitcase.  The first thing he did was come up to me when I was saying bye to Beth.  He said, in all seriousness, “Was it there the whole time??”  I just gave him a hug as we all got a laugh.  “No, son, I would not torture you for over a week and call it a joke.  Beth just put it in the van when you were playing with your cousins.”

Cute kid!!

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What Have You Done?

What have you done?

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne – (probably)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer (probably)
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children (currently)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery (mole on my nose)
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (no but I’m trying for 15)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad – and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life my husband says I saved his life, does that count?

via Amy

What about you?

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Big Mouth and big belly

The assistant who works at the school (who I don’t even know!) has one. I don’t even know her (did I mention I don’t even know her?) but she asked a group of teachers if I was expecting. Ugh, now everyone is going to be looking at my belly. I better get working again! Today I saw her and said something along the lines of, “Oh, I hear I have to suck it in around you.” Yep, she got a red face. Bet she never makes that mistake again. I know I shouldn’t have said anything but I just couldn’t resist.

It doesn’t help that I have not gotten a chance to go to Curves this week.  I’ve got to watch this Bo Flex DVD but it is very intimidating!

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Traveling

when Jeff started working with Mattel, he traveled a little. Once he got a couple promotions, he traveled a lot. When we only had one child, it really wasn’t bad. Connor was so little and we knew Jeff was working hard not only providing for us but making a way for me to stay home. I also got a lot done when Jeff was gone. I would paint, rearrange furniture, cut down trees, you name it, if I wanted it done, I would wait till he was gone and do it. He never minded. Well, he did mind when I lifted things when I was pregnant but other than that, he seemed excited to see what was done after every trip. Once the boys got older and started crying even when Jeff was not traveling but chose to do me a favor of going to get milk at the store, we decided it was not a good thing for the family anymore and had to rethink what we were going to do.
We just heard our wonderful friends are starting this traveling thing too. It seems Miah will be traveling a lot BUT when he is home, he is home. It sounds like a great deal as long as they continue to communicate and share with each other. So, M and M, we wish you guys the best and can’t wait to hear how things are going. If you ever need to talk, we’ve been there and done that. Hopefully you won’t be apart for more than 10 days. That was all I could do by myself.  But, you know where the airport is.  Just say the word!!

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snow batman

One of Evan and Connor’s friend’s has the snow white batman. I think it is batman dressed for winter or something. Connor has been asking and asking for this thing. I have been looking all over thinking Jeff and I could surprise him for Christmas. having no luck anywhere, I thought I better start to warn him that he may not be opening white batman from under the tree this year.

“Connor, I can’t find snow batman anywhere. I tried the stores, ebay and online. NOthing!!”

Feeling better when I heard his words, “That’s ok mom…”

Then suddenly sick again when he continued, “…Santa brought Chase his batman so I know he will bring me one too.”

So, to the two people I now who read this and anyone else who is visiting, if anyone finds a snow white batman on their shopping trips, please pick one up and I will pay you back, including shipping and handling. Thankyouverymuch!!

UPDATE:  Wonderful husband looked online to find the real name of this batman.  Not only did he find the name but he only found it one place.  for $35.  That made the one I found for $15 seem like a great deal.  Someone is going to be happy this year.

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What could make two boys cry at 7 PM?

The news we got tonight, that’s what.  We had a tiger scout go see it at the police station tonight.  The boys were so excited.  A police station AND getting to see their buddy, Chase!  This is the second year since they met.  Chase and Evan have been great friends (best friend status is saved for the brothers) since they met!  They were in the same kindergarten class and now they are in the same first grade.  They sit together at lunch and go out to recess together.

Tonight the police officer doing the tour was Chase’s dad.  At the beginning of the tour he said he had something to tell me.  I thought it would be something funny Chase said at dinner or something so imagine my surprise when the tour was over when he told me they have decided to home school Chase.  I don’t think my boys got it till we got to the car.  Evan started crying first.  Once he started Connor joined in.  “Is Chase really going to home school?!  I play with him and Evan on the playground!”

Evan quietly cried then said, “I sit with Chase every day.  We play batman on the playground every day.  Who am I going to play with?  I have no other friends.”
Luckily, Chase was not there today so I got to ask what he did today.   I need to learn more about Evan K. because that is who my Evan is playing with when Chase is not available.
We were talking about it and I was agreeing that it stinks.

I said something like “this is the worst news ever!”

Connor replied with, “Not exactly the worst news.”

me “what could be worse?”

Connor, “Carly’s dead”

Our dog Carly died this time last year.  It was bad news and it seems like we all cried just as much.  I just have to remind them that Chase is not dead.  We can still have play-dates together.  But, truthfully, my heart felt as sad as it did when people give the news of death.  It is tough to see your son(s) crying so much and there is not one thing you can do about it.

Oh, and, now they want to home school too!

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the weekend in Pittsburgh

The boys and I made the trip to visit my mom and dad and grandma.  It has been planned and postponed a few times but this time it worked out.  There was a boy scout camping trip we missed out on but the boys were more interested in visiting family than freezing in a tent and Jeff and I did not influence their decision.  I know some may say the parents should have the final decision and, really, we do but I see no harm in discussing options with the boys and work out things together.  In fact, I hope it will show how we problem solve and also show that family is a top priority.

Anyway, mom did not really mention how bad off my grandma is.  She did say they were in the hospital getting tests for a few days and nights but that was it.  Grandma was back in the nursing home when we got there and she would not let the boys in to see her.  She didn’t want me in there either but I insisted she was one of the three reasons we make the trip so I was going to come in.  I figure I’m 36 years old and I understand what age does to a person.  My boys may have a harder time so I did listen to her request there.  Boy, she was looking her age.  95 i think.  I held her hand and we went to a concert.  She belted our a verse here and there and seemed to enjoy it.  But, whenever she would get anxious and have tremors, she would start  counting.  You never knew when she would start saying, “21, 22, 23…”  It was all very sad.  I did talk to her about the good ole days.  I think she was happy to remember and when she didn’t remember something I went into more detail and she smiled a little.  Well, I like to think she smiled a little.  Truth is, I don’t think she did.  Her main question was, “where is your mother?”  She won’t let mom leave.  She wants her there at all times.  That is how grandma feels safe.  If I didn’t have thick skin I may have gotten hurt when she said things to me like, “You can go. I only need her here.” and pointed to my mom.  I know she needs mom so much but it makes me sad that mom is pulled in so many directions.  Thankfully dad is taking it well.  Some say he has to but he doesn’t have to make it so easy.  Some men wouldn’t but he does.  It’s cool!
We got home yesterday.  Halfway home we realized we left a suitcase.  It was the most important suitcase, the one that held all the important toys!  The boys wanted to turn around but I assured them it was not worth 3 hours and we will get them back in three weeks when they come down to see Josh, my nephew who just finished basic training.

We had a fun time.  Jeff’s mom and dad loved it too because he spent a lot of time with them.  Today, when I dropped off Garrett so I could volunteer in the school, she rushed Garrett in her house and closed the door saying “goodbye” to me.  I called Jeff and let him know I was starting to get a complex.  First my grandma and then his mom.  Pfft.

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Today

It was a busy day.  I took my two oldest to  a friends house for the morning since they had a half day of school.  Then my youngest and I went on his field trip to the orchard.  He got to choose a pumpkin, played on the play ground, had a snack and had a tractor ride.
Then I had to come home and quickly chop onions then finish getting my chili into the appropriate crock pots.  I ended up making 16 batches of chili, some rice, cornbread and donations of dessert.  I put in 7 hours in doing that crazy dinner today alone.  If my husband did not come home early (because of a pulled muscle) and watch Garrett while I went to the schools I do not think I could have done it.

Oh, then I took the big guys to their boy scout meeting while Jeff put Garrett to bed.

Thanks Jeff!!

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