Family pictures!

I just realized I never posted our family photos.  My awesome friend, Stephanie (the one who did the back-to-school shoot for me), offered to take some pictures for our Christmas cards.  So, one evening a few weeks ago, we drove out to a field and attempted to get a few good shots.  Sam was in full-on Sam mode that evening and would not stand still.  Poor Stephanie. She had to put her camera on action mode and just chase him around.  However, I think the pictures ended up being some of my favorite of our family!

I am now closer to 50 than to college-aged

Last weekend was my birthday weekend.  Y'all know how I love to drag out my birthdays.  I started celebrating on Thursday by going to brunch during my conference period with my mom and sister/sister-in-laws.

Friday, Tom and I continued our tradition of playing hooky for my birthday.  We started off the day with delicious Thai crepes at Nyam Nyam and then to IKEA for a little shopping.  After spending way more than planned at IKEA, we went to a matinee.

That night was girls' night. I have always wanted to do a murder mystery theater, so I got a small group together and we drove all the way to the other side of Houston (1 1/2 hours) to Murder by Dessert.  We started off with dessert and getting the background story before being let loose in the Billiard Room, Library, Study, and Dining room to look for clues and try figure out the murderer and the motive.  Our group was the first to solve it.  I roll with some smart people.

Saturday, I finished up my birthday celebrating by going to the Houston Improv with Tom.  We usually love the Improv, but that night was really disappointing.  The comic was Darryl from The Office (Craig Ferguson?).  He was seriously awful.  I am pretty sure he was drunk and possibly altered by a stronger substance.  He basically sat at a keyboard and did a sing-a-long with the crowd, every once in awhile throwing in a crude joke.  Lame.  Despite the disappointing ending, I still say my birthday weekend was a roaring success.

Thanksgiving Vacation - with too many pictures and too many words

I took down my blog for a bit due to some disturbing sites linking to it.  I think I have fixed it where it is not longer searchable so hopefully that will solve the problem.

Now, I have a lot of catching up to do.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break.  The first part of the break we spent at a remote resort in Hill Country.  I have a tendency to over-plan my vacations and make myself a little crazy, so this time I decided we would be more spontaneous.  I still had a list of suggested places to see/eat, but I didn't make my normal itinerary where I schedule every minute of every day.  It was a 4 hour drive to get there and this was our first road trip in the swagger wagon.  I liked spacing the kids out, but I quickly realized that it meant no one was in reaching distance to get Sam's toys/blankets/pacifiers every time he dropped them. Super annoying.

We stopped at Stonehenge II on our way.  Only in Texas would you find replicas of Easter Island statues and Stonehenge in the same place.  No one was there so we had fun playing tag and exploring the area. And, of course, taking lots of pictures.

We told Jack the resort was in the middle of nowhere, so the whole way there he kept asking, "Are we to the middle of nowhere yet?"  But, I wasn't kidding, it really was out there. Partly because it is on a huge expanse of land with beautiful, tree covered, rolling hills.  Once you pass through the gates, you drive a few miles up a long winding road before reaching the resort at the very top. My parents were kind enough to let us use their timeshare points so we didn't even have to pay for the condo.  The condo itself was huge and nicely furnished.  The kids had their own room and bathroom on one side and our room and bathroom was on the other side.

Who puts a drum as decoration in a living room? Someone who doesn't have kids.  Or neighbors.

Once we got settled, we drove to Kerrville for dinner.

Classics Burgers & Moore was recommended on Trip Advisor, but we just found it over-priced.  That didn't stop Ellie from eating her extremely large burger and generous portion of fries.  She also refilled her Sprite multiple times, taking advanatage of the rare opportunity to have soda.  I only mention this because around 11pm, Ellie comes stumbling into our room telling us she is going to throw up.  Never mind that she had a bathroom in her own room. No, she walked all the way across the condo to our room and then doesn't even make it to our toilet, but starts vomiting all over the floors and walls.  I was really regretting letting her eat such a big meal, let me tell you.  However, the next morning she was back to her old self and we were able to drive to Fredericksburg to explore.  We ate breakfast at The Old German Bakery and Restaurant (amazing food and huge portions) and then went to the Pioneer Museum.

Breakfast at The Old German Bakery. 

Playing school at the Pioneer Museum - Ellie says, "No school on break!"

 After the museum, we drove to Enchanted Rock.  It wasn't on our agenda (because I didn't have one) so neither Tom or I was wearing appropriate shoes for hiking.  I ended up hiking to the top with Ellie and Jack while Tom made it halfway with Sam.  It was actually a lot more difficult than it looks!

At the top of Enchanted Rock.  Notice my $3 shoes from Walmart? They held up surprisingly well.

After hiking Enchanted Rock, we drove back to Fredericksburg to explore Main Street.  They have the most adorable working library in a historic building on Main Street.  I told Tom that we were going to retire to Fredericksburg someday and I would work as a librarian at that library.

Ice cream at Clear River Pecan Bakery

After Main Street, we decided to drive to Luckenbach because Tom had once gone to Willie Nelson's 4th of July picnic there.  The town consists of a post office and like two houses, but it is very cute.  We then drove on to Boerne for dinner even though it was still even further out of our way.

The next morning, we decided to hike one of the many trails on the resort.  The trail head was right outside our front door.  It was so beautiful and peaceful hiking with the kids.  We even saw some deer cross our path.  It made me realize that my kids have not had very many experiences in nature.

We only stayed two nights at the condo because we wanted to be home in time for Thanksgiving.  My oldest brother and his family were visiting from Tennessee.  We had a delicious family dinner together at my parents' house and then I talked my sister-in-law and my sister in hitting up the Black Friday sale at Walmart on Thanksgiving.  It was crazy.  I don't think I will do that again next year.

Thanksgiving morning

Black Friday shopping with my sister on Thanksgiving.

Playing at the park with family

On Sunday, I had to give a talk in church and I was a nervous wreck. But not too nervous to skip taking my Sunday Best picture. Haha.

Sunday evening we let the kids decorate the tree.  Only 2 decorations were lost in the process.  I have continued on my parent's tradition of not caring too much about ornaments or the overall appearance of the tree.  It's all about the memories.

The break was over much too quickly and then it was back to work.  Thankfully, we only have 3 weeks between Thanksgiving break and Christmas break!

In which I learn about Von Steuben Day

Yesterday, as I was picking Sam up from the babysitter's, I received a phone call from the school nurse informing me that Jack was in her office with a head injury.  School was letting out, but she didn't feel comfortable putting Jack on the bus in his condition.  So, I raced up to the school to pick him up.  I pull up right as Ellie's bus is leaving, taking her home.  Nice timing.  Jack was fine, but he had a very, very large knot on his forehead.  He is going to look great in the family pictures we are taking after school today.

After dealing with that bit of drama, I was more than happy to escape for a night out with the ladies. A group of us went to see the Mockingjay premiere. I stayed out way too late for a school night, but it was worth it.  As I am typing this, my students are watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  I like to show it the day before Thanksgiving.  I figure it is fitting since Ferris danced in the Thanksgiving Day parade, right?  OK, I have always assumed it was a Thanksgiving Day parade, but I googled it just now and it is actually the Von Steuben Day Parade that takes place in mid-September.  So there goes that rationalization.  But it does talk a lot about high school...and I teach high school...so there we go.

I am really looking forward to this Thanksgiving break.  We are taking a small mini-vacation to hill country (about a 4 hours drive from our house) and staying at a rather secluded resort there.  I am ready for some rest and relaxation...although with three kids in tow, I don't know how much of either we will be getting.

Weekend recap

This was a busy weekend, as usual, but it was also relatively stress-free.  Tom is not in season so he was able to really step in and help with Sam.  It is so much easier going to things without a toddler!  He watched Sam on Friday while I helped with Ellie's after school commitment - Destination Imagination.  He also stayed home with Sam while I took the two older kids to Ellie's team party at a local burger joint.  A place with the name of The Shack should not cost $45 for 3 burgers and some fries is all I'm saying.  The kids had so much fun, though.

Saturday morning, I again left Sam home with Tom while the older two kids and I went to a friend's baptism.  Then, in the afternoon, we dropped Sam and Ellie off at my sister's so Tom, Jack, and I could go to the A&M football game.  This was Jack's first football game and he loved it.  I think he liked the food and halftime more than the actual game, but he was a great sport.

Sunday afternoon, we all went to my mother-in-law's house to celebrate Tom's sister's birthday.  It was the first time all weekend the whole family did something together.  Tom and I did have a discussion that we need to quit leaving Sam behind and start including him in more things!  Poor kid.

A big pile of poo

Sam is still in his fiercely independent phase.  He must do everything on his own.  In the morning, he wants to get his own waffles out of the freezer. Then he has to be the one to take them out of the box and put them in the toaster (he pulls a little stool up to the counter).  Any attempts on my part to do it for him results in him screaming at me, “I do it!”  He also insists on eating with a fork – that he gets out of the drawer by himself – and it has to be a regular fork. No toddler utensils for him.  This is our routine every morning.  After breakfast, it is time for shoes and backpacks.  He has to wear a backpack like the older kids, even though he doesn’t need one. Unfortunately, unlike the older kids, he has recently started refusing to wear shoes or socks.  So, those go in the backpack.  Then we go out to the van and he insists on climbing into the van and into his carseat on his own.  As someone who is always in a rush in the morning, his need to do everything by himself requires an extreme amount of patience on my part.

So, this morning, I was on my way to drop Sam off at Ms. Donika’s, when I hear the sound of a seatbelt being unbuckled.  I pull over to the side of the road and walk around the van to go buckle him back in. Oh, yeah, he insists on sitting on the back passenger side…it’s like he knows it is more inconvenient for me.  Anyway, as I was leaning into the van to buckle him, my foot stepped into something very slick and squishy.  I thought it was mud.  I thought wrong.  Apparently, I stepped in a very fresh, very large, pile of dog poo.  And because it is still dark when I leave in the morning, I didn’t see it in time.  Luckily, I always carry a travel pack of Clorox disinfectant wipes in my car.  But, still, who wants to start off their day by stepping in a giant pile of dog poop?

Soccer season is over!

Ellie's team ended up with 2nd place in their soccer tournament.  The final score was 0-2.  The girls were all just thrilled to receive trophies. The game did have to be stopped at one point due to some irresponsible parent letting their toddler wander onto the field mid-game. Ahem.

All Ellie

Ellie had a late game yesterday.  I wasn't able to go because it was way past the boys' bedtime, but Tom and my parents went to cheer her on.  They ended up winning the game so they will compete for the championship tonight tonight.  It will still be after the boys' bedtime, but I am not missing this game.  Everyone is just going to have to be tired tomorrow! We never expected Ellie's team to make it this far.  When the tournament started, they were seeded 9th.  Now, depending on tonight's game, they will finish 1st or 2nd!

Ellie came home from her game last night really emotional and moody.  I know she was just really tired, but she has been difficult to deal with a lot lately.  She used to be Mom #2 and I relied on her for so much.  I don't know what happened, but now she is always picking on her brothers and sassing back to me.  I miss my sweet Ellie.

A cold, rainy Saturday

Ellie woke up this morning feeling well enough to play in her soccer tournament. It was cold and rainy out, so I left the boys in the back of the van with snacks and the ipad while I stood outside and watched.  Ellie's team lost, but even if they lose their next game they will still place 3rd for their age group. Not too shabby.

Tom wasn't faring much better with the weather in Austin.  The team ran through med and rain to place 10th, same place as last year. Top 10 in Texas is pretty impressive!

Me time? What's that?

I took a half day from work today. I'd requested it two weeks ago when I thought we would be going to Austin for the state cross country meet and I never cancelled it when I realized we wouldn't be able to go.  I envisioned a lovely afternoon in my quiet house, binge-watching Scandal on Netflix. No sooner had I collapsed on the recliner with my bowl of popcorn when I got a call from the school nurse informing me that Ellie had a fever and wasn't feeling well. This is the universe's way of ensuring that mothers never feel rested or sane.

Long days

The past two days I have had mandatory dyslexia training from 4-7pm. That means I leave my house at 6:30am and don't return until 7:30pm. Maybe I wouldn't mind if I was getting some sort of compensation, but I'm not. Oh well, I think it is good for Tom to take over some of the evening duties.  Although my evening duties usually involve making dinner, doing laundry, unloading/loading dishwasher, etc.  Last night Tom ordered Chinese and tonight he is ordering pizza.  At least he sends me cute pics to let me know they are alive and well!

Sports, sports, sports

Tom's cross country team is competing at state this weekend.  I know after last year I said I would never bring Sam again, but I am forgetful and was planning on the kids and I crashing Tom's hotel room in Austin this weekend.  I really do love going to the state meet and watching Tom and his team in action.  Unfortunately, Ellie has a soccer tournament on Saturday.  After a pretty disappointing season, her team actually won the first two games of their tournament.  So, they play on Saturday.  I was so tempted to just skip it and take the kids to the state meet anyway, but I figure that would not send a good message to Ellie about being a team player and the team counting on her and blah, blah, blah.  As someone who is nonathletic, sports sure do rule my life.

Just Jack

As my blogging has become more sporadic, I feel that I have stopped capturing the stages my children are in and instead am just documenting things that we do.  Since I am blogging every day this month, I think I will spend time just writing about my kids as they are right now.

Jack and I have been working on his sight words each night.  I found some small, beginner-reader books and he was so excited to discover he could read a whole book all by himself!  I am loving this.  Ellie learned to read at Montessori so I missed this stage with her.  It is so fun to watch those connections being made and to see him evolving from a non-reader to a reader.

Jack also loves to draw.  When he was 4, he would get mad at us and then go draw pictures of us with angry faces.  He would then show us the picture and tell us the story of why he was so mad.  Tom and I referred to it as his art therapy.  Now he just likes to draw all the time, not just when he is angry.  I bought a little desk and stocked it for him.  He will go there almost every day to furiously draw and color whatever his little heart desires.  Yesterday, he drew a picture of all the things that make him happy.  The day before he drew a picture of Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat.

We have had three incidents this year with Jack and physical violence.  The first was the first week of school when a boy in the before-school program with him punched him.  The second was on the bus when two boys were teasing Jack.  He told them if they didn't stop he would punch them in the face.  They didn't stop so he punched one of them in the face.  The third incident was last week at his before-school program.  The same boy from the first incident pushed Jack in line.  Jack pushed him back and then the boy punched Jack in the arm.  The boy ended up getting suspended from the program because of hitting other kids, as well.  This is all very new to me.  I never had to sign any incident reports with Ellie about physical altercations.  I don't know if it is just a boy thing or a Jack thing, but I am leaning towards the former.

Halloween and NaBloPoMo

I remembered at 11:58 last night that it was November 1 and thus the start of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) so I tried to hurry up and post a Sunday Best picture, but the clock switched to midnight right as I hit post.  I am still counting it!  I am hoping NaBloPoMo will get me back into the habit of blogging. Ellie loves to read my blog books and I love reading about when they were little.  There is so much that I forget.

This past weekend was Halloween.  We did Trunk-or-Treat at the church on Wednesday.  Ellie dressed up as an American Indian and the boys were cowboys.  I was able to borrow whatever I didn't already have, so I was pretty proud of myself for not spending any money on costumes this year!

Halloween fell on Saturday which is our cleaning day.  The kids tried to tell me that they didn't have to do any chores because it was a holiday and you are supposed to rest on holidays.  I then cancelled Halloween.  They changed their minds and Halloween was back on.  I set out their costumes on the dining room table, but when I called the kids down to get dressed, Ellie and Jack appeared in nerd costumes of their own devising. Since they weren't going with the original theme, I decided not to try to wrangle Sam into his cowboys boots and instead put him into Jack's old Power Ranger costume.  He looked adorable.  I love the year that the kids first get the hang of Halloween.  That was Sam this year.  He would run up to the door and yell "trick or treat!" and then grab a big handful of candy.  I had to tell Ellie to tell the homeowner not to let Sam get his own candy.  Who just holds out a bucket anyway? Don't give them options!  At one house, Sam walked right on in to go play with the owner's dog.  Toward the end of the night, he started asking people at the door to open the candy for him.  He was in his element.

We came home with so much candy.  I usually take the majority of my kids' candy to school to use as incentives for my students.  Ellie and Jack love candy, but they usually forget about it after a week of getting 1 to 2 pieces a day.

Sunday Best

Weekend Recap

Last week was a really frustrating week, but my weekend totally redeemed it.  As I do every year, I took Friday off to go watch the district cross country meet.  This is my favorite meet of the year because it is a a great park and it is always on a Friday morning.  The past two years Dianna has come along with me to cheer on Tom's team, but she was in Italy so Sabrina joined me.  Tom's team, both JV and Varsity, came in first place.  Quick brag moment: out of the 9 years Tom has coached at his school, his team has won district 7 times and come in 2nd place the other two times.  He does not get more talented runners than the other 9 schools in the district, he is just that awesome of a coach.  OK, done bragging.

After the meet, Sabrina and I tried out a new place to eat called Patsy's.  Y'all, it was amazing.  We had funnel cake fries as an appetizer.  Funnel. Cake. Fries.  My mouth is watering just thinking about them.  I can't wait to find a good excuse to go back because there were so many things on the menu I wanted to try.

Saturday morning, we had Ellie's soccer game.  Since Tom did not have a meet, I let him be on game duty so I could catch up on laundry. Then I had Super Saturday at the church where I actually made something that involved staining and drilling.  I was so proud of myself.  Since I was feeling so "crafty" I decided to try my hand at Harry Potter perler designs with Ellie.  I really like Perler beads!  It is something I can do with Ellie that is actually fun and gives us time to talk. I followed the pattern exactly, but Ellie didn't like their owl design so she changed it up and I actually liked her owl better.  Poor girl, the first time she did it. she spilled the beads all over the kitchen when she was bringing it over to be ironed.  She had to redo the whole thing all over again!

Saturday evening was the best part of the weekend.  A large group of us got together to go on a Zombie Hunt.  Basically, we just rode on the back of a long trailer and shot paintballs at people dressed up as Zombies.  A little ridiculous, but fun nonetheless.  We ended the night going to dinner at Freddy's and visiting for two hours over burgers and fries.  My kind of night.

Sunday morning, Jack came into my room to say hi and I noticed he was missing his bottom tooth!  His first tooth and we have no idea when or where he lost it!  He was really excited to show off his missing tooth in my "Sunday Best" photo.

After church, we all went over to my parents' house to celebrate the October birthdays.  I bought Sabrina's birthday present two months ago and have been so excited to give it to her.  It was a horse mask because we had so much fun wearing them on our girls' trip last year.

Last night Tom and I stayed up way too late because we just didn't want the weekend to end.  I sure do love my weekends.