Wide Open Spaces

WOW! By lunch time today I had almost lost it! It was one of those days, ya know? At one point today, I actually looked straight at Meagan and told her to go away. Yikes...not the highlight of my mothering career. The kids have just been at each other lately - bickering and picking at each other. The tattling and the whining is almost unbearable at times...today was one of those times. Thankfully, it was quite a warm day (relatively speaking), so I sent them outside to play - and I went out as well. Funny, once I got outside and breathed some fresh, crisp winter air, my head seemed to clear, and I was able to enjoy the kids again. I put up Christmas lights outside while they enjoyed some much-needed room to run and play. They wrestled, chased and tackled. They had adventures. They played on the swing set. They laughed and played and managed NOT to fight for a good 2 hours! LOVE IT!!

So, we got the tree up, the lights on the tree, and one box of ornaments hung. There is still lots to be done as far as decorations go, but for tonight, I'm done. Tomorrow is another day. Tonight we watched Charlie Brown on tv...a sure sign that it's almost Christmas time! I love that they still play that on tv. I remember watching Charlie Brown specials in the evenings when I was little. I love it when memories from my childhood are mirrored in my kids' lives...I know, I'm corny!

Thanksgiving

Okay, I know it's been 2 days since Thanksgiving, but we've been too busy to sit down & post.

Mom & Mike came up to spend Thanksgiving with us this year. Lucas, of course, had to work - they had shut down & start up within 24 hours...don't get me started. The kids were ecstatic to see Grandma & Grandpa, and dominated most of their time.

Here's a picture of our feast - and of Meagan helping me make the apple pie. She LOVES to help in the kitchen, because it almost always involves taste-testing! The meal turned out really well - there was only one tiny little hiccup...I made a pumpkin pie with caramel whipped topping on top. Well, it was supposed to sit in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes to let the topping set up properly, but we were too impatient to wait...so, we cut into it earlier than we should have. The topping was a gooey mess and just sort of oozed all over...but it still tasted good! Other than that, all went well.

Here's another layout I finished today. I made it for Elemental Scraps and turned it into a 'quick page' - which is a pre-made scrapbook layout that you can download, add a picture to, and be DONE! It will be available on a freebie blog sometime soon. If I get a hold of the post, I'll post the link for anyone that would like to download it to use for themselves. It's a fast way to get a page done!

This was one of the pictures I took of Isaac at the park this summer. Isn't he growing up so fast? He's turning into one handsome little man!

Peace

I did this layout quickly tonight - probably about 45 minutes from idea to finish (I love that!). I am so thankful for this peace. I wouldn't be able to get through many days (including this one) without it. As we count down to Thanksgiving, this is definitely one of my blessings I am counting.

Non-Stop in an Every-Day Way

I know the posting has been pretty slim / non-existent in the last few days. Sorry, but there's just been very little to post about. Life has been non-stop in an every-day sort of way. I've been doing lots of cleaning, organizing, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning (again), laundry, playing with the kids, bath times, bedtimes, and all other daily mommy jobs there are to be named. Every night for the past few nights, I've come to the end of the day completely exhausted, and ready to crash, having had no real down time or even very much quality time with the kids. It just seems like there's always another urgent matter to tend to. I did, however, manage to squeeze a few puzzles and board games in with Meagan, and the boys and I did get a little bit of chatting time to catch up on what happened at school, etc.

Today I worked. Tomorrow is library, recycling, gymnastics, and small group. Then Wednesday, the kids have no school, but I have to work (since I won't be working Thursday). So the boys are going to go to daycare with Meagan for the day...should be interesting. Wednesday at 4:30 our church is hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner outreach for the community. We'll be done serving at 5:30, and daycare doesn't close until 6:00. So I'm thinking I'll take advantage of having a readily available source of child care and I'll leave them at daycare while I'm serving. I should be able to pick them up in plenty of time before 6:00, and I think they will definitely have more fun at daycare than sitting in a corner somewhere coloring at the outreach.

Thursday, my parents are coming up to visit for Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to making Thanksgiving dinner! It's always a lot of fun to pull everything together and sit down to a holiday meal with family. Love that! Am definitely excited!

Maybe this weekend I'll finally take the time to undecorate from Halloween, and we'll get our Christmas stuff out. I love Christmas decorations, but truthfully, I sort of dread the process. I'll spend the next few days getting mentally prepared to dive into all that mess! :)

As for tonight, I'm going to take it easy & maybe scrap a bit. I need a night of winding down. And crashing early.

Count My Blessings

Journaling: I love waking up to a snuggly baby girl. I love that you seek me out for 'nuggles' and 'mooches.' I love being your momma. I am blessed.

Cheap Stuff!

For those of you who are interested, I thought I'd pass along some links to some WAY discounted digital scrapbook supplies. There are a few sites that I frequent that have a regular day of the week when they sell one, or two, or tons of kits, papers, elements, etc. for REALLY cheap - like $1.00 (or even $.25 in one case). Here's a short list of the ones I know of that are really worth keeping an eye on. If anyone knows of any others that I don't have listed, please feel free to pass them along via the comments...I'd love to know!

Sundays: Designer Digitals has 2 new items for $.25
Thursday: Elemental Scraps and Funky Playground Designs both have $1 deals
Fridays: Scrap Artist has Fab Friday - some things marked to $1, others are discounted nicely.
Ongoing: The Pickle Jar at Shabby Pickle Designs has some very nice kits marked down (usually about 50% off)...worth looking into.

Just thought I'd pass the info along. Today I grabbed a few really cute kits from Elemental Scraps & Funky Playground. Hopefully I'll get some scrap time tonight or tomorrow!

Believe

Here's a quick layout I did last night. This picture is from 2006...I forgot they were ever that tiny looking!

Journaling: may you always believe in the true wonder of Christmas: more than Santa Clause; more than the mystery of gifts yet unopened. Believe in the wonder of a Savior. Believe that He came that first Christmas night so long ago. Believe that He came for you. That He came for me. That His love is the motivation for all He does - for all He has ever done. Believe that love is for you, and that it is enough to cover every circumstance. Believe that this love is the truest gift of Christmas.

Snowball Fight!

This evening, Meagan talked Daddy into playing in the snow with her. It started out as just the 2 of them, but it wasn't long before the boys joined in too. Then, it progressed from playing mildly in the snow to having an all-out snowball fight! They had a blast! Daddy took up base on the back deck, and from there, he launched one giant snowball after another at the kids as they ran by and tried to hit him with snowballs of their own. Very fun to watch! The pictures didn't turn out great - partly because of lighting (it was getting dark quickly), partly because snow kept landing on the lens & making spots, and partly because my camera is slowly fading. Oh well...good pictures or not, we have a great memory from it!

An Unexpected Turn

The sleepover was a success, all in all. The boys had a great time together - they got a bit of special wii time, which started the day off well. Then, at about 11:30, we headed to McDonald's for lunch. We met Harley's mom & sister there, as well as one of Isaac's friend and his family. It was a rainy drizzly day, so being at an indoor play area was a pretty good place to be.

At the end of our McDonald's stay, though, the day took an unexpected turn. As I was rounding up the kids to get shoes & coats on, I noticed Isaac's top lip was severely swollen. It looked like someone had punched him. I asked him, but he said nothing happened. He said, "I think it's just because I ate too much ice cream" (since it was only about 5 minutes after finishing an ice cream cone...which we NEVER get at McDonald's so it was a fun treat...minus the swollen lip).

So, after dropping the kids off at home with Lucas (who, by the way, is FINALLY home from his work trip!), I headed to the Dr's office with Isaac, where my suspicions of an allergic reaction were confirmed. He (the doctor) said Isaac had swelling on the outer mouth (obviously) as well as about 2/3 of the way back inside his mouth. Thankfully, the swelling did not reach to his throat. By the time we had gotten there, actually, the outer swelling had even started to subside a bit, but was still visible. Anyway, he gave him a dose of steroid to "prevent any 2:00 am surprises." He said it was most likely a topical reaction, rather than a reaction from ingesting anything (aka - it was something that touched his mouth, not something he ate & is allergic to). His best guess was that it was something along the lines of residue from the cleaner they cleaned the ice cream machine with, etc.

Whatever it was, it caused a quick (although, thank God, very brief) reaction. By bedtime tonight, he was no longer showing any signs of swelling. I think he'll be just fine.

A New First

Tonight we've had a new first in our lives - tonight is the first time ever that one of the kids has had a friend from school sleep over. Sebastian's friend from school, Harley, is spending the night with us tonight. The boys have had a great time playing and visiting this evening, but Harley is having a bit of a tough time settling into our bedtime routine. He'll get there. It's getting pretty quiet right now. Keeping my fingers crossed that it goes well. Only time will tell.

Tomorrow, the kids do not have school, so we are having a hang-out day. For lunch, we are meeting Harley's mom & little sister, plus a friend of Isaac's from school (Jacob) and his family, at McDonald's. Lunch and play land for the early afternoon. Then I am HOPING that Meagan at least will lay down for a nap. She hasn't had one for the last 2 days that she has been home with me. It's really starting to wear on her.

Also tomorrow, Lucas comes home, after a week away in Toledo for training. I think we are all looking forward to seeing him! (Although I'm not sure we'll see much of him, because the expansion of WOW came out this morning at midnight, so I'm sure he'll have some very important gaming to do!)

An Adventure Day

What a day! This morning, after the boys got on the bus, Meagan looked at me and said, "Mommy, can we go on an adventure today?" So, we decided on a Christmas shopping adventure. I got almost all of my shopping done for the kids - I even managed to sneak a few purchases in for Meagan without her realizing it (I think this is the last year I'll be able to pull that off though, as she almost busted me a few times).

We just hung out together and had a girly day. She got to take her time and play with the toys at Toys R Us. And we had a fruit snack and water pit stop when we got to Target. There was one near-catastrophe. She had taken her pink kitty into Toys R Us with her, and as we were leaving, she realized that she had lost it somewhere. So, we made a pass through the store with no luck. We were getting ready to leave (again ) without Kitty, when an employee offered to help us look. So, we made a second pass through the store. The employee actually found Pink Kitty - on the shelf with all the Hannah Montana stuff (my daughter is inexplicably obsessed - I have NO idea why she is so fascinated, as she never watches the show, and doesn't own anything HM??). Clearly, Meagan go a little distract by Hannah and forgot all about poor Pink Kitty. Oh well, thankfully Kitty was found, and all ended well.

We had parent-teacher conferences tonight for both of the boys. Their teachers both had nothing but great things to say about them. I was very pleased to hear that Isaac is doing really well in kindergarten. He isn't having trouble keeping his emotions in balance at all, according to his teacher, and he is doing great learning sight words & knowing his letter sounds and such.

Sebastian had a great report too. One of the first things his teacher told me, which I thought was really funny, is that he is the unofficial CD Player guy....and just about any other tech thing that needs to be operated in the room when the teacher is tied up doing something else. He is his father's child - Daddy will be proud of his techy kid! LOL!

Anyway, he's reading at a mid-3rd-grade level, and he is doing really well in all of their subjects. She had no complaints about his behavior. It did come up in conversation though, that he tells her he doesn't like school. She said she wishes she could do something to change that, but she can't make the entire day full of lunch and recess. (hehe...funny kid). She did say that around Christmas time, those who are ready to move on and do some more independent things will have a chance to do that. I think that will help him out, maybe keep his interest since it's something new & different. She mentioned that she wanted to choose a few students to work on doing a monthly class newspaper. That sounds like it is right up Sebastian's alley. He LOVES to write. So, I think that is something for him to look forward to.

We had yet another lazy mommy dinner - grilled cheese & Chef Boyardee. Then the kids put on jammies and watch a movie until bed time. Everyone was tired, and I had to pay bills, so I figured a quiet night of down-time was in order. As soon as bed time rolled around, they all crashed hard. Now I think I'm about ready to do the same. I have to be up early tomorrow - I have to be at work by 8:15. Three of us are heading to Grand Rapids tomorrow for a mini-conference. Anyway, good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bight. (We used to have to say that every night to Sebastian. Along with 'stay in bed sleepy head.' and 'understand rubber band.' Funny that that just came into my head...my thoughts are so random sometimes). Okay, really, good night! :)

Plant a Frog

The other day, Meagan was playing in the garden, which is little more than a dirt patch since it's been winterized. She took the tools and headed out to dig holes. It's a great pass-time I guess. She was planting funny things, though, like rocks and FROGS. She kept covering her little toy frog up and then digging it back up. I asked her why, and she told me the frog likes the dirt because it's warm. Three-year-old logic!

Really Bad Aim!

Tonight, around 9:00, I was sitting in the recliner in the living room, laptop on my lap, watching tivo'd shows. All of a sudden, I heard someone coming down the stairs, one little thump at a time. Soon, I saw the top of Isaac's little blond hair peeking around the landing wall. I figured he was coming my way to ask/tell me something. Instead, he walked right past me...??? "Isaac, what are you doing buddy?" He answers a very simple, "I don't know." Okay, well, he was headed toward the bathroom, maybe he had to go potty before he asked me whatever he had to ask me...??? Nope, he passed the bathroom and headed into the kitchen. Yes, I'm a little slow, but at this point, I realized that, although his eyes were open, he was sleep-walking. I started to get up to go into the kitchen and help him back to bed.

I was too late! Before I could get all the way out of the chair, I heard splashing. I suspected, but hoped I was wrong... When I got into the kitchen, however, I discovered that my suspicions were true. I found Isaac standing about two inches away from my kitchen cupboard, pj's unzipped, peeing down the front of it. There was a big pee puddle on the floor. What's worse, he was standing so close to the cabinet, that it was actually splashing up, so it was on the counter top as well.

What do you do with that? Nothing to do really, but let him finish, send him back to bed, and get out the Lysol & paper towels. I know boys have a hard time hitting the mark from time to time, but that was REALLY BAD AIM!

Why do I do these things?

Today I did something even worse than the random ear-piercing. Lucas has work meetings this week, so he wanted a hair cut - you know, gotta look presentable and all. Then, I figured, while the clippers were out, I would do the boys' hair. THEN...Meagan asked if I would cut her hair. Well...I have been thinking of getting her hair cut for the past few weeks. It has been taking on that stringy straggly little girl hair look, and really needed a touch-up. However, NEVER had it crossed my mind to cut it myself.

Until tonight. My thought process went something like this... Worst case scenario, it doesn't work, and I have to pay Cassie to fix it. No different than paying Cassie to do it in the first place. Right? Hmmm...not sure if that logic really works, but I went with it anyway. So...I cut her hair. I cut a good 2 or 3 inches off at least. It's really actually quite cute, although I'm not sure it's the most even and clean-cut hair-do in the world. I may eventually have Cassie touch it up, but for now it will do.

Phone Etiquette

Yesterday, just as soon as I got into the shower, Lucas called home to chat for a minute. Normally, it would have rung until the answering machine picked up. Yesterday, however, something new happened. Meagan, who was playing in the basement, decided to answer the phone. She talked to her Daddy for a few minutes, then hung up on him. So, he called back right away to see if he could get me on the phone instead of her. She, however, answered again. This time, she picked up the phone and yelled, "What do you want?!" Not exactly proper phone etiquette...gonna have to work on that.

Incidentally, I later asked Meagan why she didn't bring me the phone or tell me that Daddy called. Her answer: "Because the black phone cord doesn't reach all the way to the shower."

Okay. I left it at that.

Trick or Treat!

As promised...pictures & details of Halloween!

The day started with a party at Meagan's preschool at 9:00 in the morning. They did songs, had snacks, played games, made crafts, and about a hundred other things. We stayed until 11:15, when we finally departed and headed home. We knew that Grandma & Grandpa B. and Grandpa H. were headed up to visit, so we wanted to get home to be there when they arrived.

Just before 1:00, I left Meagan with Daddy and headed to the school for the second round of parties! Isaac's class party started at 1:00 and went until 2:00. There was a little down-time (which I used to clean out my van...yes, right in the middle of the school parking lot, but it desperately needed to be done, and I figured there was no sense in waisting perfectly good time!). Somewhere in that down-time, Grandma & Grandpa B. met me at the school, so they could be there for the next event.....at 2:45, the whole school, K through 4th, did an outdoor costume parade. After the parade, we headed to Sebastian's classroom for his party, which lasted right up to the end of the school day. Honestly, by that time, I was T.I.R.E.D. and would have been perfectly happy to go home and go to bed. BUT we still had a night of trick-or-treating to do!

We had a quick Subway dinner (in the interest of not having to cook & clean up in the short window we had for dinner). Then we got the kids back into their costumes once more, and trick-or-treat started at 6:00. We stayed out for about an hour, then came back and watched Charlie Brown movies before bed.

It was a long, but very fun day! We really enjoyed watching the kids trick-or-treat. It was the first year that Meagan really had an awareness of what was happening around her, and she was just beside herself! At EVERY house, she would say, "Trick-or-treat....Thank You...Happy Halloween...(then as she was running down the driveway of the house she was just leaving) Grandma, I got ANOTHER candy!" Every time! Very cute! I love that our kids are still in the stage of being excited and grateful for every piece of candy they receive...I dread the day they switch from excitement and expectation to entitlement. (We won't think about that right now, though).

I've not forgotten

No, I haven't forgotten to post Halloween pictures and stories. I just haven't had time. Not sure there will be much time tomorrow, either, but I'll try. If not, then I should definitely be able to get something up on Tuesday. Sorry for the wait. Off to bed.

Go Long

Tonight at football practice, Sebastian threw a pass for a touchdown! Unfortunately, I didn't see it - Lucas did, though. See, I took Sebastian to practice, along with Isaac and Meagan, because Lucas had to stay over at work. After he got home, he came to the football field to stay until practice was over, and I took the other two home to warm up. It was about 40 degrees and windy today. After about 15 minutes in that kind of weather, out in the middle of an open field, we're pretty much ready to be done. So, while I very much appreciated the relief from the cold, I was bummed that I didn't get to see his pass. I did, however, get to see him run for a touchdown earlier in the practice, so I guess that's something! Only one game left in the season - that's this Saturday. I have really enjoyed watching him play, but I'm not sorry to be done sitting in the cold. :) (Yes, I acknowledge that I am a major wimp.)

This was NOT on our To-Do List Today...

...But we did it anyway! This morning, Meagan asked me if she could get real earrings. She had been playing with her costume jewelry, and one of the earrings kept breaking and falling off. She asked. We talked about it - I was up-front with her about the fact that it hurts for a second. She said she still wanted to do it.

So, after lunch, we headed to Wal-Mart to see what we could see. They had a bunch of different earrings to choose from, and the piercing itself was free. We only had to pay for the earrings. She chose a pair of pink (PINK...she isn't my child!) cubic zirconium studs. Even though they're pink, they're pretty cute.

Two ladies worked together to pierce both ears simultaneously...thankfully, because we would have only gotten through one ear otherwise. For a second, she wrinkled up her nose, squinted her eyes, and whimpered like she was going to cry. But the earring ladies were quick to distract her with a sheet of stickers to choose from. That was all it took. Instantly, she forgot to be upset, and she suckered them out of four or five stickers instead of one. She has a knack for that, ya know?

So for six weeks these have to stay in. But after that, she can change them out if she wants. We just may have to put fancy earrings on the list for stocking stuffers!

Trick or Treat - Round 1

Today was round 1 of the trick-or-treat extravaganza that is our week. Meagan had costume & candy day at story hour, so I thought I'd share a few pictures. This is Meagan and her favorite girl in the world, Julia. You may notice that she is not, in fact, the giraffe that I thought she would be. See, when we went costume shopping for the boys this weekend, she went with us. In the process of things, she gave me her very cutest eyes, and her very sweetest pleeeeaase, for the Cinderella dress that she 'really really likes because it's sooo beautiful,' and I caved (without much fight, really). So, she is going to be Cinderella for Halloween (not very different from her princess costume she wore last year...a lighter shade of blue, I suppose). But she's happy, and she's only young once. She may as well dress it up!

A Good Decision

Well, after today, I believe that moving Meagan up to the next class level in gymnastics was a good decision. Today she had her first class with the preschool pre-team girls. I was a little surprised, truthfully, at the content of the class. It was made up of 4 other little girls, all of whom are 5 and 6 years old. When I realized that, I was a little concerned, but I figured I'd watch and see how she did. I was pleasantly surprised.

She got right out there with them and jumped right in. No hesitation. When she didn't know what she was doing, she watched someone else in the class and copied them. She took instruction from her coach really well. She stayed focused the entire time. She even shook it off when she fell and got right back up again. I could tell at about 50 minutes she was getting tired. Just before beam, toward the end of their bars rotation, she was wearing out a little, but she hung in there.

They started on floor and vault (the vault is a spring board, a mat, and a barrel mat to dive over. I was surprised to see that they were doing fundamentals for front handspring vaults already. But she did what she was told, no hesitation, and she did it well. After floor/vault, they moved to bars and conditioning...one girl on the bar at a time, the others at various conditioning stations. They are all working on pull-overs on bars. Again, I was surprised to see that Meagan was really right there with the other girls as far as skill level goes. She was pulling over with just a little spot, which was true for all of the girls in her class. Funny, she wasn't too keen on the sit-ups station (LOL...she's my child!) The last rotation was beam....HIGH beam. They didn't even step foot on low beam. Her coach had 2 girls go first (on 2 separate beams at the same time). Then Meagan was in the second group to go. The first time, she climbed up, and only got as far as her hands and knees. She froze, and was not about to stand on the thing. He helped her up, and helped her get her bearings, then he went to the other end of the beam (where she was headed). First she was just supposed to walk the length of the beam toward him...her walk was definitely a lot more of a foot shuffle than steps...she never picked her feet up...LOL! After 2 passes down walking forward, they did one pass walking backward. Surprisingly, she did better going back than going forward...??? By the time they got to the leg kicks, she was chillin' on the beam, and was telling him she didn't need his help for anything. She got over her uncertainty quite quickly.

So, it was a longer class (by 15 minutes), and she is definitely the youngest in the group, but all in all, it seems like a really good fit for her. When we got in the van to go home, she told me she wanted to stay so she could do gymnastics for a longer and longer and longer time. I guess she likes it. :)

Happy Halloween

As I was laying in bed last night, trying (rather unsuccessfully) to fall asleep, my mind went on a whirlwind rampage and thought about almost everything, including scrapbooking (which, I'm sure, is not all that difficult for you to believe). Anyway, as I was lying there, this layout came together in my head really clearly, so when I got a free minute today, in between everything else that was going on, I threw this layout together in a matter of 10 or 15 minutes total. Love that! I know I've mentioned before that I keep finding myself tending more and more toward simplistic styles, and this layout follows right along with that, as you can very well see.

Journaling: Every year, come Halloween time, I put up a fight against decorating for Halloween. It's really not my favorite holiday, and decorating is just more work than I want to do. But it seems that year after year, much to your delight, Grandma Hilleary makes sure the decorations go up. I admit, the house does look festive with all the orange!

Tough Boy

Sebastian is on a kick lately about being tough. The other day, he fell on the stairs and hit his shin on the edge of the step, which normally would send him into high drama (and understandably so...that hurts!) This particular day, however, he just said 'Ow' and moved on. I commented to him about it, and his answer was, "Yeah, well I'm working on being tough."

Okay.



Tonight, we got in the van to head to his football game, and he fell backwards and landed in between the seats on his back side. I asked him if he was okay, and he said, "Yeah. I'm a boy." Then, when we got to the football field, it was rather muddy from all of the rain we got today. I made a comment along the lines of, 'Yuck, mud.' He was quick to respond, "Well, it doesn't bother me. I'm a football player!"

(In this pic, he's the one on the right running with the ball)

Saturday Football

One more thing before I call it a night. Sebastian's flag football team has a game to make up, and they're doing it this Saturday (November 1) at 9:00 in the morning. If anyone wants to come see him play football and can make it on a Sat, you're welcome to join us. I know a few of you have asked me to let you know if any weekend events ever came up, so considered yourselves told. Love ya! 'Night!

2 more layouts requested!

Holy moly! I guess when it rains it pours! I opened up my email the other night, and there was an email request from the Creating Keepsakes editor. They have requested 2 of my 2-page layouts for a special book they are putting together. I think the book is going to be called Easier Than Ever 2. The premise is to publish a book full of layouts that are quick & easy and can be used over and over without getting old. So 2 more layouts of Meagan - both birthday picture layouts. Very fun. It's funny to me that, for so long, I really really wanted the approval of others when it came to my scrapbook pages, and I wanted more than anything to get my pages published. And the whole time I felt like that, I got nothing. Now that I've let that go and have made it my purpose to scrap for myself and my family, and not to need the approval of others, God has apparently opened up the doors and let His favor fall on my work. Because truly, compared to so many other amazingly talented ladies out there, my layouts are really nothing exceptional. I just do what I do because it's important to me to live a life worth remembering, and to remember the moments that make life worth living. So anyway, it was just a bit of fun news, and I thought I'd share.

Apple Pizza

I made this the other night for desert (mostly motivated by the idea of using our apples before they went bad). I didn't have a recipe handy to go by, so I made something up, which I often do (sometimes it works out better than others). If anyone wants to give it a try, it was pretty tasty. Here's what I did:

• Unroll a refrigerated pizza crust


• Coat it with a layer of unsweetened applesauce


• Dice some apples. In a bowl, coat them with Sugar (about 1/2 cup), cinnamon (about 3 tbs), nutmeg (about 1/4 tsp), and cornstarch(about 3 tbs). Then throw the apples on the pizza


• Melt some butter in a bowl. Mix in some oats and brown sugar (I have no idea how much...just until it looks & tastes good). Then spread that around over the apples.


• Bake it according to the crust directions


• While it's baking, mix powdered sugar & milk to a good drizzly icing consistency (it doesn't take much milk, be careful...I drown my first batch of powdered sugar & had to start over!)


• When the pizza has cooled, drizzle the icing over it. (I was way too impatient to wait for the cooling part, so you can't really see the icing in my picture, because it melted instantly. oh well. it still tasted good.)

Just thought I'd pass that along for something to try. It was easy & very yummy. Hope you enjoy it!

We're raising William Wallace?

A little marker-on-the-face a la Braveheart. We tried to get her to shout FREEDOM, but she wouldn't do it. :)

It was a good day

What a day! I love Wednesdays!! It's one of my favorite days of the week - besides Tuesday and Thursday, and Friday (and Saturday and Sunday and Monday...okay I'm being a dork, but as I was thinking about it, there really are things that I love and look forward to every day of the week...moving on). I love Wednesday's for a few reasons in particular. First, it's a day home with Meagan. Also, I enjoy watching her at gymnastics and spending that time with her. I also (usually, barring FREEEEEZING COLD WEATHER) enjoy watching Sebastian's football games. And when there's not football, I really look forward to Wed. night church and seeing all the kids on the bus. And also usually Wednesday is my get-together or talk-on-the-phone night with one of my favorite friends in the whole world (not to offend any of my other favorite friends in the whole world, of course!). So anyway, you can see that Wednesday's are typically good days.

Well, this morning, we woke up to a baby girl in our bed, sleeping in between us. She obviously had made her way in some time during the early morning. So, although I'm not a fan of letting our kids sleep with us, it was a nice surprise to wake up next to the most beautiful little girl face in the whole world. The good mood of the morning continued, with the boys getting up, eating, and getting ready for school with plenty of time to spare. Nice start!

Gymnastics was adorable, as usual. She's just so darn cute when she's concentrating so hard! I talked to her coach a bit more after practice today, and have decided to go ahead and move her up to the next class level starting at the beginning of November. I really wasn't going to, because I didn't want to push her to fast. But after watching her last 2 or 3 practices, I really think it will be to her benefit. She's starting to get aggravated with the other kids' getting distracted from what's going on. I think she has realized that when they do that, her coach has to stop everything so that he can bring them back in line with what they should be doing. She's not a fan of all the stopping and starting and waiting and repeating. An example...today she went through their beam rotations 3 times before the others got through it once. She is just spending a lot of time waiting around on the others. So, I'm going to try putting her in the next level up to see if that suits her better. She's excited to be able to practice in the big gym instead of the preschool gym. I'll let you know how it goes.

After gymnastics, it was pretty late (almost 1:00) before we left there. So, we decided to have a special girls lunch date. We went to Steak-n-Shake, which she absolutely LOVED because she got a banana milk shake all her own. That makes a happy girl! :) So, we didn't get home until about 2:00.

I laid down with her at nap time...just for a few minutes, I thought...to help her settle down from all the activity. I'm not sure which one of us actually fell asleep first, me or her! LOL! It's been a while since I've had an afternoon nap. That was pretty nice! Until Lucas called and woke me up! (Actually I was glad he did, because, like I said, I had only planned on laying down for a few minutes).

For the rest of the afternoon, I was pretty groggy / lazy. I read a little, and laid around (it's crazy how naps can make you feel more tired, isn't it?). For dinner, I decided I would be a very nice wife and make a meal that Lucas loves but that I'm not really a fan of (to put it mildly)... so I made sloppy joes. BUT. There's more. I made them with deer meat. I thought maybe it would be a way to use some of the ground meat we have. By the time I got to the point of mixing the sauce in with the meat though, it was evident to me that I was going to struggle to eat this meal. It looked like BBQ soup! I don't know, I have a weird issue with food textures, and that texture / consistency was ALL WRONG! I tried, but I really only managed about two bites (nibbles) before I had to quit. If I would have kept eating, it wouldn't have been pretty. I admit, I know where Sebastian gets his irritating dinner issues - like gagging down food and having stare-downs with dinners he doesn't want to eat. Hmmm... moving on.

Anyway, we froze at football. They did not win. Sebastian played pretty well though. After football, I was pretty hungry, so I did a taco bell drive through. I brought it home and left it on the table while we read stories and got everyone tucked in. I came back down about 20 minutes later to warm it up and eat it, only to find that it wasn't what I ordered.

Since I was going out anyway (to get my order corrected...because I was not about to eat a steak something or other that was drowning in some kind of goopy sauce stuff!), I decided to drop by the church first and help with the take-home bus route. Well, one of the girls on our bus couldn't get into her house when we stopped because no one was home. So, she ended up riding the bus back to the church, and I took her home later (after exchanging my taco bell, of course!). It was a busy night, but a good one. It was a good day!

Fancy Green Sparkles - the Layout

I finished this one a few days ago, but keep forgetting to post it. It's Meagan's fancy green sparkles, of course!


Oh, and Grandma & Suzie, you might like to know that this week she wore her new fancy soft fuzzy green one. She loved it!

A sticky situation

It's amazing to me the way my mind works (or doesn't). Sometimes I can see all of the elements of a situation and still manage NOT to be able to put them all together. Yesterday evening was a perfect example of what I'm talking about.

After dinner, Isaac asked me if he could cut papers. Okay. So he got a big stack of construction paper and a pair of scissors. Soon, Meagan and Sebastian joined in. Sebastian went to the basement and grabbed a drawer full of markers, a few more pairs of scissors, and a glue stick. They all gathered in the living room floor and started cutting and making all sorts of randomness. Isaac especially was working very diligently on his projects. As he would get done with one, he would stick it up on the front door and move on to another project. I sat on the couch, talking on the phone with a friend whose daughter is in Sebastian's class, and I watched them as they cut and created. As Isaac got up and stuck his fourth or fifth project to the front door, something dawned on me. He didn't have any magnets. Or tape for that matter. And the papers were still sticking to the door. Hmmm...? He did, however, have a glue stick. I wonder... No, no way.... But if not, then how?

"Isaac, how are you hanging your papers on the door?"

"I'm just using my Diego glue."

Huh. Apparently so.

Unfortunately, as I tried to explain to him that we really shouldn't GLUE things to the door, that maybe we should find some tape or a few magnets, his ears turned off somewhere way at the beginning. All he heard before entering absolute melt-down was that he shouldn't hang his projects on the door. He lost it. He busted into HIGH DRAMA, crying HUGE tears, and sobbing, "I was just (sob, sob) trying (sob, sob) to make (sob sob) Halloween (sob) decorations for (sob) yooooou." So he grabbed them all off the door (thankfully, the glue stick is pretty old, and so not very potent, and it was still wet, so the papers came off rather easily), crumpled them all up and threw them in the garbage. Then he went upstairs and laid on his bed for at least 15 minutes, crying the whole time.

I gave him a few minutes to settle down, and then went up to spend some time with him and talk to him. At first he hid under his blanket and wouldn't talk to me, but he ended up smiling, then laughing, then finally rejoining us for a little more project time before bed. Poor guy. Sometimes his emotions just simply take over, and he has to really work to bring them back in line. He is definitely one emotionally-charged little guy. I was glad to see him rejoin us and make another project before bath time. He made a purple jack-o-lantern and hung it on the front door...with a Transformer magnet. Perfect.

2 Layouts Requested!

What a nice surprise I had this evening! After we got the kids tucked in, I sat down in the recliner, ipod in, big green machine on my lap, ready to scrap a bit. As is habit for me, I decided to check email before I started. In my inbox, there were 2 emails from Scrapbook Trends magazine requesting 2 of my digital layouts for a digital segment they're doing in their March 2009 issue! I am very excited! It's always a good experience to have a layout published, although I really do try to create my pages to please me and not to please everyone else's idea of what makes a good page. Anyway, they requested Grown Up (the red, black & white one I did recently of Meagan in my shoes & purse), and Enjoy Life (it was green, brown, and red...Meagan playing outside in her purple coat...not sure if you remember, it's been a while.) The only bummer is that I have to go through and remove them from all of the online galleries where they're posted (including my blog). I will be able to repost them in May after they are published. (I would hate to leave my blog incomplete!) Anyway, off to scrap now...just thought I'd share my good news.

Poor baby girl.

What a bummer. No gymnastics for Meagan today. Instead, we got a trip to the doctor's office. Last night around 1:00, she woke up screaming and crying. After about a half hour of trying to calm her down, I finally got her to tell me what was wrong. Her ear hurt. So, I gave her some ear drops and some Motrin, and rode out the storm until the medicine kicked in. Finally, sometime after 2:00, she fell asleep again. This morning, her initial report was that she felt okay, and she wanted to go to gymnastics, but about five minutes later, her tune changed drastically. She started whimpering, then crying, then screaming again. Again with the ear. So, I called the doctor. Thankfully, they had a pretty open morning, so we were able to get right in. His conclusion is that she has a nasty infection in her left ear, and a little junkiness in her upper chest. So, 2 prescriptions (one medicine, one numbing ear drops...thank the Lord!), and a follow-up appointment for next week. When we got home, I called her coach and let him know we wouldn't be there. I think we're going to try for a make-up class this Friday if all is well. One good thing that came out of the morning, though - at least in her eyes - is that she got a Hannah Montana sticker from the doctor's office. Sheesh. (Those marketers sure know what they're doing...and that is NOT a hint for people to begin buying H.M. gifts...please...I beg you, not to.)

So anyway, she basically has laid around all day. She attempted to eat McGriddle sandwich for breakfast after her appointment, but gave up after only a few nibbles. She even tried it a second time around 11:30 for lunch, but didn't get much further before she went and laid back down. She watched Robots and then laid down in bed for a nap. Hopefully she gets some good sleep, because she could surely use it.

Finally!!

After a month & a half of being in school, finally yesterday Sebastian came home with HOMEWORK!! I had been starting to really wonder what the deal was, because kids at virtually every school around us have been doing homework since the first week, but Sebastian has had nothing! Yesterday, though, he busted out a F.I.S.H. (I can't really remember at the moment what it stands for...families and something something homework...??) homework folder. It had a list of homework assignments for the week, the book he is reading, spelling words to practice, and the papers he has to do. The homework is all due back on Thursday, so he can do it at whatever pace he chooses, as long as it's done by Thursday. I can't tell you how relieved I felt after seeing this folder! All I can say is, it's about time! :)

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

It's been a beautiful Sunday morning / afternoon, but it's been a bloody one. It's also been a day of firsts.

This morning, Lucas went out hunting again. He's been out several times since bow season opened, but he's been disappointed every time, seeing only raccoons, skunks and mosquitoes. Yesterday, he went out and moved his tree stand, in hopes of improved location. He went out again last night, and still wasn't able to get a shot. He has been hoping to at least get a shot off with his bow. Finally, this morning, he got his wish. He finally saw a deer - a buck even - and it was close enough to take a shot...right under him to be exact. So, after feeling like he may never even get a shot, my crazy deer-hunting husband got his first deer with his bow & arrow. He was happy. (The back of the truck, however, was quite a mess. He took pictures, but I just can't seem to bring myself to post them...I'll spare you the details).

Then, to keep with the theme of bloody messes, Sebastian came downstairs this afternoon, with blood all over his mouth, and his bottom tooth hanging by a thread. He wasn't sure what to do with it, so I gave it one little yank (no string or pliers involved...no trauma this time around *lol*). He has now officially lost his first tooth. His only comment... "That didn't even hurt at all!" He must have been expecting something worse!

Grandma & Suzie

This past Wednesday, Grandma H. and Suzie came up to visit. They came up Wednesday morning, spent the night, and then spent all day with us on Thursday. They got here early enough on Wed. morning to see Meagan's gymnastics practice, which she LOVED! After gymnastics, we took her to McDonalds, which she also LOVED! Wednesday evening, we all went to Sebastian's football practice - in the windy drizzly weather. And somewhere in there they managed to clean and decorate my entire house! What a HUGE blessing to come home Thursday from work to a dusted, vacuumed, mopped house with clean bathrooms, made beds, and folded laundry!!! So as not to mess up the very clean kitchen (LOL) we headed to Applebee's for dinner before they headed home. It was a great visit, although very short.

Before they left, they made me promise to take pictures of the kids & the Halloween decorations and put them on the blog. A little late, but I did it!

The kids are each standing by their pumpkin (the big ones are theirs...Lucas and I get the mini ones I guess!).



This year, Grandma brought the kids scarecrows to put outside...2 big ones (the boys) and one little one (Meagan...which, you might notice is acting a little like Meagan in this picture...not holding still and cooperating for the picture! LOL)


They also talked one of them...not sure if it was Grandma or Suzie...into the purchase of a new black cat from Wal-Mart. They LOVE the black cat. He (she?) seems to be moving all over the place...they just can't seem to leave him alone. Lilly likes the cat too. They're buds.

Autumn Play

I finished this one tonight. It's been sort of lingering in process for about a week now. LOL. I also reconstructed my album from my trip to Spain (from 1998). I took it out about 3 weeks ago to show one particular picture to a friend, and the album posts sheared right in two. Today at Hobby Lobby, I found a nice D-ring binder, and some page inserts for 50% off. Total, the whole thing cost me less than $20 to put back together. And because the pages were the kind that the pictures just slide in, the album went together in just a few hours (all 380+ pictures).

Other than that, today we accomplished very little. The kids played upstairs for a lot of the day. They played outside for a while this evening after it cooled off a little (now that the weather has gone from freezing cold back to 70 degrees, you would think the sun was going to melt my children...what wimps! LOL).

Pumpkin patch in the morning

So this was our morning...we went on a field trip to the apple orchard / pumpkin patch with Meagan's preschool class. It was beautiful weather - clear and crisp...just the way fall mornings should be! We got to go to apple school, where we learned about the apple cycle. We saw where they keep their apples, how they sort their apples, and how they make their cider. We got to go on a hay ride out to the patches, where we got to pick on pumpkin and one apple to take home. Then we rode back to the front of the orchard, where we had a pumpkin doughnut and apple cider snack. Mmmm! They were so good, we bought a 1/2 dozen doughnuts to bring home! It was a great morning! (Can't wait to scrap it...maybe tonight!)

Backyard Exploration

This afternoon, when the boys got home from school, we headed outside for some fresh air and play time. For a while, the kids played in the yard, and I worked on winterizing the flower beds and the garden. Then the boys wanted to ride their bikes...which, of course, led to Meagan also wanting to ride her bike. Eventually, we all four ended up at the end of the road at the culdisac. There are some vacant lots at the end of the circle that are basically just overgrown with weeds and decorated with fancy piles of rock and dirt. But for the kids, it's a haven of territory that begs to be explored. So, they forged paths through the dried out weeds, found a 2x4 to serve as a bridge across the gully, and ventured past the edge of the bean fields behind the vacant properties.


They climbed rock mountains, and ran to the top of 'the tallest hill they've ever seen' (according to Isaac). But I think my favorite part was when they looked out over everything they could see from the top of the hill, and Meagan turned to me and said, "Mom, I think we're on top of the world!" And Sebastian said, "Mom, it looks like a dream up here. Everything is so beautiful!"

Ultimately, our exploration adventures were cut short by the cold air that was creaping in. Our hands were cold, and our noses were threatening to run. So we decided to head for home to warm up and eat dinner. It was a good evening!

He's on the verge...

...of losing his first tooth! It's very wiggly, and from a distance, it is visibly out of place. The spacing is just all wacky. Tonight at dinner he was demonstrating to us how it bends down really far forward - gross! It shouldn't be much longer. Heaven knows he has waited a child's eternity to lose his first tooth.

Tubby Scrubby

Journaling: There once was a time in my life when the shower was one of the few places, as a mother, where I could be alone...a quiet place to think without interruption...to relax and unwind. Those days are gone (along with the days of general bathroom privacy). Somehow, you have made your way into my shower routine on an almost-daily basis. As soon as you hear the water turn on, you come running into the bathroom..."I want to take a shower with you!" At first I was set against it. I wanted to keep my shower time to myself. But when you came in fully loaded with all your tubby supplies...soap, wash cloth, a whole collection of scrubbies, and even a rinsing cup...well, really, how could I resist those big blue eyes and that big silly grin? My showers may no longer be havens of peace and relaxation, but they have certainly become more interesting.