March

Let's see...what was March? March was Liam growing and growing....way too fast. He also got his very first haircut.

March was my oldest, Conner, getting injured playing Ultimate Frisbee. He had a swollen nose and a broken thumb. His left thumb. And he's left-handed. And a competitive bowler. So, yeah. No bowling or other sports for awhile.





March was also our 18th anniversary. Scott gave me my annual roses.

Then we went out for a very fun progressive dinner. The weather was beautiful, the food amazing, and the company perfect. :)

That was March.

January is a long month

I found this old post in my drafts folder. This was back before we all got sick in early February. Thought I'd go ahead and post it.

I have no idea why it is so hard to keep up with this blog. Oh wait -- yes, I do. Pretty much every time I sent down to update, I am needed elsewhere. And for important things -- a baby needs feeding, a newly-potty trained son needs his bottom wiped, food needs to be prepared...the list goes on. But I do miss having a regular account of our weeks, so I will keep trying.

This month has seemed extra long for some reason. I have to say I'm glad it's about to end. Nothing bad has happened, it's just been very busy and February brings us one month closer to summer and a less hectic schedule.

This last week was very full. Aiden had his regular Cub Scout meeting one night, had to go turn in his Pinewood Derby car another night, and then had the actual race on still another night. He was thrilled to bring home a trophy for most original design.

Conner and Chase have both bowled on the Thornton high school bowling team this year. They had their final tournament of the year today. So that's one less thing on our schedule.

Brenna had two babysitting jobs -- she is saving up for an Ipod Touch and hopes to have enough to buy it in the next couple of months.

On Thursday night, we took Chase to an open house at Warren Tech. He is very interested in their culinary arts program. He can start taking courses there his junior year and register as early as next March, so we wanted to check it out. He liked what he saw, so that's the plan for now.

Liam started crawling this week! I am not quite ready for that. But I don't get much say in it. I plan to do another post on just him.

Zane and Declan are still going to Cherub Choir and love it. They get so excited when Tuesday morning comes around. I love that when I drop them off, several teachers say hello to them and comment on what good boys they are.

catchin' up

Last week seemed incredibly long for some reason. Maybe because the hustle and bustle of Christmas was gone, or because we went back to our normal routine, for the most part. Whatever - by Friday, I was toast.

Last week we read "Grandfather's Journey" from Five in a Row and we are continuing with it this week. I didn't feel like we accomplished everything I had wanted to. We did talk a lot about Japan and found this neat website that is interactive. The boys enjoyed learning about the inside of a Japanese house. They also learned a little origami. They made a dog fairly easily, but the rest were a bit more complicated. I checked out a book at the library over the weekend and plan to have them try even more shapes.

We talked a lot about where Japan is located and traced the grandfather's route from Japan to California and discussed methods of transportation. We also looked at books that showed kimonos and Japanese foods. This is a fun book that ties in "How My Parents Learned to Eat" about an American man and Japanese woman learning the foods from each other's culture.

I took them on Friday on a field trip of sorts. We visited the Ocean Pacific Marketplace. This is a big Asian marketplace that sells a massive variety of foods. Per the online reviews I read, I bought a couple large sandwiches from the counter for lunch. We weren't 100% sure what was in them, but they were very good. :) All of us except Zane & Declan really liked them. And at least they tried it.

For dinner, we picked out several Japanese foods to try. Then we just ate buffet-style. I want to do more research and try different things next time. They also had a large selection of Indian foods which we all love. May have to do an Indian-themed night soon!

Conner was gone all week at the Passion conference in Atlanta. He went with the college-age group at our church and had an amazing time. He came home on Friday and I loved hearing all about it. I can tell he really was touched by his time there. He has a lot of thinking to do about what he wants next year to look like after he graduates. He has mentioned mission trips, which I think would be incredible, but we'll see where God leads him. It's so amazing to see my little boy becoming an adult -- and one I really like to be around! :)

In other news, we had a rough week emotionally with my nieces. But God has been so faithful to put people in my path who help remind me of the importance of what we're doing and to not give up. Friday was my youngest niece's birthday -- she turned 7. I made her choice for breakfast and she took cookies to school for her class. After school, she opened her presents from us and then went to her dad's for the weekend. I think she had a good birthday, I hope so.

The weekend passed by in a blur and another week is here. I hope to work on some more decluttering and continue the organizing kick I've been on.

Planning

I always love the first week of the year. New calendars make me happy. ;) Usually I have purchased one by about oh, say, October. Not this year. I finally bought one last week. Just in the nick of time. I also usually spend time looking around for just the right one, but owing to the time crunch, this time I just picked one out of those available on Targets end cap. It's this one.

The funny thing is I got it home and started writing in everybody's birthdays. Then I wanted to add activities, so I got out my little calendar I carry with me. It's this one. I never even noticed I had picked out the exact same design. I must really like it, though, to have chosen it twice. ;)

Today was kind of a slow, rolling start to getting back into our normal routine. My nieces break was ove so I had to get up early to get them to school, but I'm not starting school with my kids until tomorrow. Scott was also off work today so another reason to delay school. He very sweetly did some "honey-do"s for me, as well as a few things on his own list.

I went through my coupon box, throwing out all those that expired in 2011. I heard there were some great coupons in Sunday's paper but ours somehow disappeared. The 3 and 4 year olds usually bring the newspaper in and today they brought me Saturday's and today's. And Sunday's was nowhere to be found. :( So I sent Scott to the store to see if they had any left. He found two and brought them home. And they had not. one. coupon. I was so bummed. Maybe tomorrow I'll try another store and hope I can find some. So frustrating that I cleaned out my coupon box and was all set to fill it back up and start stockpiling again and now my plans were thwarted. Patience is not one of my strongest virtues. haha

I also printed out a few different to-do lists to try out and see which one will work for me. Tomorrow I'm trying this one . Also found some great meal planners on Pinterest. I can spend waaay too long on that site. I'm hoping to start making more freezer meals. This burrito recipe looks really good. I think I'll try it out on Sunday.


Conner is in Atlanta this week, attending Passion . I'm excited for him, I know it will be an amazing experience for him, but I sure do miss him! I can't wait to hear all about it when he gets back.

Well, another early morning tomorrow so off to bed I go.

Fall begins

I'm so happy fall is here. But unhappy that I didn't find time today to put up my decorations. Hopefully I can do that this weekend. I did buy some pretty flowers for the table and picked up some fall-related books from the library to read with the kids.

This was an interesting week, and I'm glad it's over. Scott had to report for jury duty on Monday morning and ended up being picked to serve. So he was there all week long, but found out today that he was the alternate. He was bummed that after all that, he didn't get to be part of the deliberation. By the end of the day, the jury still hadn't reached a decision, so the judge said he'd call him next week to tell him the verdict. I thought that was pretty neat of him.

Conner was at a leader's retreat for our church last weekend and came home with a cold. He felt pretty crummy all week. Thankfully, he was only scheduled for one day at Chick-fil-A so he was able to rest more than usual. Declan was sick with a stomach bug last week, and now Zane seems to have it. We have been really healthy around here for awhile now, so I guess we were due.

In our preschool studies , we continued with Five in a Row. This week's book was Lentil. We talked about our senses, so we did a taste test and sampled things salty, sweet, sour and bitter. In the book, Lentil learns to play the harmonica so I found some at the dollar store for the three younger boys. They were surprised to find out that it's harder to play one than they thought.

For some reason Aiden talked me into buying a coconut while we were out shopping so Chase spent a long time opening it and then they used all parts of it. They drank the water, made coconut milk, ate the meat and even reused the shell as a cup for smoothies.

Liam is turning 4 months next week and I can hardly believe it. The newborn stage seems to disappear faster with each child. He really prefers being upright, so we brought in his activity jumper. He seems to really like it.

He must have worn himself out playing, because when Brenna took him in her room to play with him, he fell fast asleep on her bed. Right in the middle of her schoolwork, stuffed animals and the cat. Haha

I entered a giveaway on a blog a few weeks back and actually won. Today I received in the mail a "busy mom's gift basket" for the car. It's from bp and had a travel mug, insulated tumbler, first aid kit, air freshener, tire gauge, umbrella, and several other items. There were also 2 gas gift cards that I gave to Conner. It was a nice way to end the week.

Renovations

Scott is in the process of switching jobs...prayers are appreciated that it will be a good change.


I asked him to take a week off before he starts the new job to work on house projects. We really wanted to pull up our living room carpet and put down laminate like we have in our kitchen. He and my dad knocked that out in an afternoon.



We scoured the wonder that is Craigslist and found a great leather couch, 6 months old, for an amazing price.





Our living room is long and narrow so we measured and re-measured to determine our best configuration: couch, loveseat, chair ... couch, 2 chairs ... ? We decided 2 couches would fit best and provide (almost) enough seating for everyone.



We perused Craigslist again and found a microfiber-leather couch that matched our first one and was even cheaper. Woohoo!




We are still working on finding a desk and shelves but so far I'm happy with what we've gotten done.

In our home recently

I haven't been blogging much, just busy with life. Aiden had stomach problems for over a week and we grew worried since he recently fell from some really high monkey bars and landed on his back. After bouncing around doctors, we finally got him into a Children's Hospital urgent care and they did an x-ray. Turned out he was extremely constipated. Poor guy. So we've been working on remedying that.

We've also been working on our backyard. With two large dogs, we've struggled to keep grass back there. Scott finally built a dog run on the side of the house. That was great until they figured out how to get out. LOL Scott came up with a solution and now it's working out fine.

We were able to get a fantastic deal on an above-ground pool at the end of summer last year so Scott has been preparing the backyard for that. He spent an afternoon tilling the ground and laying out astroturf. He got the pool up, but only today had time to fill it. The kids are extremely excited and should be able to swim tomorrow.

I also planted some flowers in the front yard and have been enjoying watching them grow. I put in flowers and also seeds. I was worried the flowers wouldn't make it in the heat but they have. And the ones growing from seed have shot up fast! In the fall, I hope to plant tulips around the outside of the flower bed.

This is how they started

This is how tall they are now

These are the already-blooming ones I bought

Yesterday we held a garage sale. Mostly to help my brother-in-law sell stuff since he's moving. We did sell a few things though, and it's so nice to free up some space.





Other than all that, we're just enjoying the break from school and doing some fun summer activities with friends. Conner is in the midst of his baseball season and so far his team is undefeated. I am feeling very well with my pregnancy. The great energy I've had in the 2nd trimester is starting to wane a bit, though. I find myself terribly tired most evenings. But other than that I feel well and the baby is very active.





And that's what we've been up to. =)

Garage sale bargains

Yesterday we got up bright and early and went to some area garage sales.

This is what we came home with:

Not pictured is a small desk for Brenna's room. She got a sewing machine for her birthday but hasn't had anything to put it on. The white dresser and bookcase are for her room also.

I got the sandbox and little "swingset" for Zane and the new baby. I think Zane likes it. =)

The best part is all of it was only $50. Now if only I could find dressers for the boys' rooms...

for the birds

The kids have been spending a lot of time each day watching the birds out the window. A couple years ago Chase and my dad built some great birdhouses and they've gotten a lot of use. This poor double-decker is losing its roof. We were worried about the babies in there if it fell but it's hanging on and they are getting pretty big so I think they'll be okay. Chase made some new birdhouses recently so we'll be replacing this one as soon as the babies are grown and gone.

Zane loves watching the birds. He will stand at the window for quite a long time.

Project 365 - Day 111

kids lunch

The kids made their own mini pizzas.

Project 365 - day 95

my husband is no longer allowed to leave town =)

It seems every time Scott goes out of town for work, stuff around here falls apart. Last time the bathroom sink clogged up horribly.

This time...well, let's count shall we?

1.Our dog, Hershey, sprained his leg.
2. Both little boys came down with a bad cough, one added an earache for good measure.
3. I also caught the cough.
4. Brenna had a bad migraine. (this was her first one, and a friend mentioned getting her eyes tested. We will do that very soon).
5. I had afternoon sickness every day.
6. The garage door won't close properly.
7. Today, as we headed out for bowling the Suburban's battery was dead:



I hooked up our portable charger but no dice:

Scott was supposed to be gone from Sunday-Wednesday but his return got moved back to Friday. We are going to be very happy to have him home!! Not just so he can fix things, although that's a factor. =)

Needless to say, this week I'm especially thankful Friday is almost here at last!

Project 365 - Day 73

test

I took a test recently.....

I passed.

Project 365 - Day 62

BRRRR

Our changing Colorado weather: yesterday it was in the high 70s and the kids played outside in shorts. Today it was 35 degrees and the kids played outside in coats and huddled in their "fort" drinking mugs of cocoa.

Tomorrow is to be colder still and there's talk of white stuff falling from the sky. I may actually have snow pictures to share soon.

Winter is upon us.

Gotta love those after-Halloween costume sales

(These were all 90% off -- woohoo!)

And for those days when you just can't decide which one to wear: