Fall has arrived!

I can't believe how quickly the summer has come and gone. I'm already dreading the winter and it's barely October!!



We celebrated Connor's 6th birthday in September. Why does six sound so old to me?? He had a birthday party the weekend before his birthday with lots of friends and family. Instead of buying him a bunch of toys that he doesn't need (and I don't need to clean up!), we redid his room as his gift from us. He loves Dale Earnhardt Jr so we did his room with that theme. My brother, David, helped me with the painting and wallpaper border and I bought him all new bedding, posters and a few other Dale Jr things. He loves it!


The boys are both off to school now! Connor started 1st grade and is doing well. He seems to like it a lot more than last year. Fortunately one of his best buddies from last year is in his class. They have their desks right next to each other and I can't believe his teacher hasn't separated them yet. His teacher's name is Mrs. Koukides and he really likes her. I am volunteering in his classroom two days a week--Monday afternoons and Wednesday mornings. I just went on a field trip with his class to Brown's Berry Patch and it was so much fun. We went on a hay ride, picked pumpkins, had lunch in a barn, saw some animals and the kids played in a play area and had a lot of fun!

Evan started preschool on September 12th. He loves it!! He is such a social little critter! I love seeing him all ready for school with his Scooby Doo backpack! He's sooo cute!! He has Mrs. Porter for a teacher, the same one Connor had a couple years ago. I've been in to help in his class a couple times already and it's a really nice group of kids. There is even one set of triplets! I can't even imagine!! The class has 20 kids in it and 15 of them are boys!! Poor Mrs. Porter!!



Connor just passed his test to be promoted in Taekwondo. He went from a yellow striped belt to a solid yellow belt. Black belt here he comes!! He still really likes it and we're encouraging him to stick with it. The official promotion ceremony is next Saturday night.

He also just started going to Cub Scouts. I'm hoping that this can be a father/son activity since I already feel like I spend my entire life running around to the boys various activities. He got his kit to build a pinewood derby car and he's really looking forward to that!

My last entry rambled about how we've had so much sickness. Well, it continues... Both of the boys have recently recovered from the stomach flu (they both missed a few days of school) and now Evan has a nasty cough. Where are all of these germs coming from? I guess I've gotta get more faithful with the vitamins!

Evan's birthday is next week (October 13). My baby is turning 4!! We're in the process of planning his party and will probably have it on the 23rd. October is such a busy month around here that it's hard to find a date that works for everyone. Evan loves Scooby Doo so that will be the theme of his party. He's really excited! Next Friday I will go into his class to celebrate his birthday too.

Keith and Connor have returned with Chinese food (Connor's favorite!) so I'm off for now...

The Summer of Sickness!!

Our house has become a giant petrie dish full of germs! The summer of 2005 may always be remembered by us as "the Summer of Sickness!" LOL For the last month I have either been taking care of sick kids or in bed myself with a fever of 102. Connor started us off and was sick for a week, then Evan got it the following week, and now I've been sick for over a week, plus Evan's gone back for round two and gotten an ear infection! There were a couple of smalls breaks in there, just long enough for us to go out into the world in an attempt to share our germs! We've had fevers, coughs, puking, pink eye, sore throats, headaches.....you name it, we've had it! I am cautiously optimistic that we're on the road to recovery now and hopefully can enjoy the remaining 3 weeks of summer vacation without incident. ((crossing fingers))

Connor has a couple of friends over today for a playdate. This is complete craziness!! I was feeling guilty that the boys have been so cooped up in the house lately so when his friends' mom called I said "Sure, bring 'em over" without even thinking! LOL Now I am sitting here thinking "what have I done!" As long as they all have fun though....right??

I feel like we haven't done anything this summer, between Keith traveling a lot and all of the sickness. So I'm gonna try and fit some fun stuff into the next few weeks before Connor (and Evan!) goes back to school. My mom is going to take a few days off so we can take the boys on some little day trips to the zoo, beach or wherever. Hopefully we can fit a camping trip or two in there too.

Well, the boys are getting wild so I'm off to preserve the structural integrity of my house...

The summer so far...

Two entries from me within a few hours?? Shocker!! I think it might be a procrastination issue--there is a pile of laundry that needs folding and a house that needs cleaning! But hey, I haven't updated in months so I *should* be doing this....right??

In June we were able to escape for a weekend to visit our Canadian friends--Nancy, Geoff, Jack and Claire. My brother (David), his fiancee (Karen) and her son (Brandon) went with us this time. We had a lot of fun, as usual. We spent one HOT day at the Toronto Zoo, which was a lot of fun, despite the heat. The kids loved it, though by the end of the day we had some tired, hot and cranky boys!! There was an awesome spray park there that provided some relief to the kids so they LOVED that!!

While we were there we were able to escape for dinner one night WITHOUT kids!! It was great!! Nancy got some unsuspecting neighborhood girl to agree to stay with 5 kids for a couple of hours! I expected the worst but was surprised to return to find them all quietly watching a movie in their pajamas! I suspect she drugged them but hey, whatever works!! LOL

We have a tradition of taking pics of all of us in matching t-shirts so Nancy got us some Canada t-shirts from Old Navy. We realize that this is too cheesy for words but we do it anyway. And don't be surprised when you see a similar pic further down this entry! LOL

For the 4th of July we returned the hospitality and the Watts family came to our house for a few days. We had a cook out for the holiday and it was fun with the exception of Connor breaking his face. Yes, I did say breaking his face! A bunch of kids were all together in a group and one of the boys swung a baseball bat and Connor's face ended up being in the way. Why doesn't it surprise me that Connor's first broken bone is his face?? Aye yi yi!! The doctor said it crushed the bone above his eye (the part of the eye socket just under the eyebrow) but that it should heal fine. I have to take him back on the 29th for a follow up visit. The doc said he was one lucky boy because another 1/2 inch difference and it would have been really bad. I'm trying not to think about that! But other than that, we had a nice day.
And here is that other cheesy photo I promised you!! It's not easy to get 4 kids to look at the camera at the same time either! Connor has a black eye and Evan looks like he's trying to escape but other than that it's not bad!! :)



Evan is all signed up for preschool in the fall. He'll be going to St. Paul Lutheran preschool, the same place Connor went a couple years ago and that I went to 30+ years ago! He's excited about it and I'm more than a bit nervous! Evan is....well, lets just call him very expressive! LOL If he wants to yell, he yells! If he wants to hit, he hits! If he wants to completely melt down, he does! I hope that he is able to conform and behave properly or he could be the first kid ever expelled from preschool on the first day! He will be going Monday-Wednesday-Friday from 9 am till 11:30 am. What will I do with the free time?? Here's a pic of him on his 4-wheeler earlier this month. He LOVES that thing!! Connor has one too (I mentioned it in the previous entry!) and the two of them chase each other all over the yard and have a blast!!

Other than that we've just been hanging out this summer, trying to stay cool. The boys and I have been spending a lot of time at the nearby spray park. They love going there! Sometimes we meet friends there or sometimes we just go alone but they always have a good time. Whoever decided to build this place is my hero! It's great because I can just sit there in my chair under a tree and keep an eye on them and don't have to worry about them like if they were in a pool or something. We just pack a picnic lunch and go hang out for the afternoon!

Connor just finished his first season of t-ball. His team was the Devil Rays and they had a lot of fun. T-ball is great because they don't keep score and all of the kids get to bat each inning. He had a great coach who was really encouraging and nice to the kids. He says he wants to play again next year.

He is also still taking taekwondo. He's doing really well and has graduated from the Tiny Tigers program. He's got his yellow stripe belt now and is taking classes with the "big kids!" They had him skip a Tiny Tiger belt and graduate early because they felt he was ready to move on. He really likes it and we hope he continues. He's already talking about "when I'm a black belt."

Other than that, it's been a pretty uneventful summer. The boys went to Vacation Bible School for a week earlier this month. And I am doing a Bible storytime at our church on Tuesday mornings for the summer. We do stories, crafts, music, snacks and then some outdoor playtime. We're getting ready to start construction of a deck (finally!) so that's gonna take up a lot of the remainder of the summer. We're hoping to still fit in at least a couple of weekend camping trips and some day trips. I think next week we'll take the boys to Six Flags (Connor got a free ticket through his reading challenge thing at school).

Well, I guess I can't procrastinate anymore! Please do me a favor and leave some comments so I know that somebody is reading this! (Otherwise I can't justify my procrastination!) Enjoy the rest of your summer! :)

He did it!!!

Yeah, yeah....I know I keep promising to do better with updating this. What can I say? Life happens!

Let's see....where to begin...

Connor finished kindergarten in June. After a rough start he had a great year! I am amazed at how much he learned this past year and how much older he seems. I'm trying to continue working with him over the summer on school stuff so that he's all ready for 1st grade in September. He doesn't know who is teacher is for the fall yet but we should be finding out sometime in August. He's excited because his kindergarten teacher spilled the beans to me that one of his friends, Chris, will still be in his class. Chris is one of a set of twins that were Connor's best buddies last year. Anyway, they had a graduation ceremony that was so cool. When did kindergarteners start having graduations?? :)

During the ceremony the teacher had each kid stand up individually and she talked about them and gave them an "award." Connor received the "Future 4-wheel racer award"...big shock, huh?? Apparently he drove everyone nuts will all of his 4-wheeler talk all year!! When presenting Connor with his award his teacher said that all year she and the teachers aide though that Connor had a real big 4 wheeler and that it was only through talking with me near the end of the year that they realized it was just his *stories* that were big, his 4-wheeler was actually a small one made by Fisher Price!! LOL

I volunteered in Connor's class two days a week all year plus I was there for all of the activities and field trips and stuff so I am gonna miss the little monsters!! I loved being able to be involved in his class and to get to know all of the kids (well, *most* of them!). I hope that next year I can be in his class a lot again but I'm not sure if they still have as much parental involvement in 1st grade.

The pic above is Connor's buddies from kindergarten. From the left is Chris, Eric, Connor and Connor's first *crush*, Natalie! He was so cute when he would talk about her! Awww!

Since I was in their classroom so much, the kids made me a gift and their teacher, Mrs. Penepent, presented it to me (along with some flowers) during the graduation ceremony. They made me an adorable tote bag that they all put their names and "faces" on. I love it!

I can't believe that this school year has gone by so fast. It seems like just yesterday that I put him on the bus that first day and cried my eyes out! I'm really proud of him! Why does "1st grader" sound so much older than "kindergartener?" I feel like my baby is slipping away from me. :(

So, I've rambled enough for one post. I think I'll do another one later today cause I haven't even begun to tell you all about what's new with us! I'm really excited about the new photo feature on here too, as you can tell by my excessive use of photos!! LOL What can I say? I'm a picture person!! More in a bit...

Is it Spring Yet??

I guess the title says it all. I think we're all so sick of being cooped up in the house that we're driving each other crazy! The boys have so much energy that they run through the house endlessly. I just can't stand the dreary, cold days much longer. And Keith hasn't been here enough to realize it's actually cold! LOL I just can't wait to be able to let the boys go out to play without first spending 20 minutes bundling them up. Someone please tell me that spring is just around the corner...even if you have to lie to me!

So, it's been a couple months so where do I begin?? Hmmm.....Our holidays were really nice. The boys got more stuff than they could ever possibly need or even want. Most of the new toys are already tossed in the playroom, never to be seen again. We got to spend lots of time with family and friends so that was great. Our friends from Canada (Nancy, Geoff, Jack & Claire) came down for a few days and spent New Years Eve with us. We always have lots of fun with them. A little too much to drink, WAY too much to eat, and suddenly 2005 is upon us! Where did 2004 go?

Keith has been traveling non-stop. Since the beginning of January he's been gone most of the time, usually leaving on Sunday or Monday and returning on Thursday or Friday. The boys are seriously daddy-deprived and I am losing my mind! LOL At least he's been getting lots of frequent flyer miles, in case we ever decide to go anywhere! In the last couple months he's been to Miami, Orlando, Texas (Houston, I think!), Maryland and Scottsdale, Arizona. And a few more places I can't remember! Half the time I have no clue where he is!

Connor is doing well in school. He got his 2nd report card today and he did very well. The transition to kindergarten from preschool has been kind of rough on him so we're very proud that he's doing so well. He participated in his first taekwondo tournament in January and did great! He loves to show *everyone* the trophy he received. Next week we're taking him to sign up for the summer t-ball program. Anything to use up some of his excess energy!!

Evan is doing well too. He's pretty much completely potty trained and thinks he's *really* a big boy now!! The whole potty training process took no time at all! The only problem now is convincing him to wear clothes as they cover up his really cool Bob the Builder underwear! I take him to storytime at the library on Thursday mornings and he really enjoys that, though I suspect he also likes the big train they have there for the kids to play on!

That's about it for news here. Nothing too exciting! I'll try to update more often from now on. :)

Christmas is Coming!

How is it possible that Christmas is less than two weeks away?? Where did this year go? I'm finally all decorated for the holidays but the task of wrapping is still ahead of me. Where are Santa's elves when I really need them? I have the majority of my shopping done but there are still a few gifts to buy for some hard-to-shop-for people. Keith still has the outdoor lighting to finish but I have a lovely display of animated raindeer in my garage to show for his efforts to this point!

The boys got to see Santa last week. I still volunteer for the Big Buddy program so the boys, Rachael (my little buddy), and I went to the Big Buddy Christmas party last Wednesday. I didn't think there was any chance that either of the boys would be caught within 100 yards of Santa but they surprised me. When he called their names they both ran right up to him and sat on his lap. I don't think it hurt the situation that he had gifts for them! I managed to get pictures of both of them with Santa so I was happy! Yes, as most of you know I *am* that freak mom who has to have pictures of EVERYTHING! The boys had a good time and they always enjoy spending time with Rachael so it was a nice evening.

Last night the boys were in a little Christmas concert at church. Evan, of course, was a ham and was singing and dancing his little heart out. Connor, on the other hand, stood there with his hands in his pockets barely moving his lips! It was cute. They love Sunday school and going to church, we don't even have to bribe them!

Connor's karate holiday party was Saturday night. They had an awards presentation and Connor got the trophy for being "Quiet as a Mouse!" For those of you who *really* know Connor, you understand how hysterical this is!! At karate though, he is a TOTALLY different kid! They think he is so quiet and well-behaved. Why can't he exhibit some of this behavior at home?? Connor also got promoted to green-striped belt in October, I'm not sure if I mentioned that in an earlier entry. Evan can't wait till he can take karate, he already asks me "when can I take 'arate'?"

I guess that's all for now folks! Not sure if there will be another entry before Christmas or not so I better take this opportunity to wish you and your families a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I hope Santa is good to all of you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I can't believe that it's already almost Thanksgiving. Where did the year go?

We finally had Evan baptized yesterday. We've been trying to get this done for a couple of years (literally!) but it finally all came together. There was a really nice service at the church followed by a little party at our house. He was so adorable during the service and didn't mind the water on his head a bit.

Connor has been doing well in school. We had our first parent-teacher conference a week or so ago. He's still being a little shy some of the time and is hesitant to ask for help when he needs it. Academically he's doing well though. I can't believe how much he has learned in just a couple of months. He's starting to write more and even read a bit. Thankfully, he seems to really like school too. He's got a really nice teacher who makes it fun for the kids. Tomorrow Keith and I are going to the school to see him in a Thanksgiving play. He and his classmates are going to be Native Americans while the other kindergarten classes are pilgrims and turkeys. They've been practicing their songs for a few weeks so it should be really cute!

Since today is opening day of hunting season, Keith has taken to the woods. Bambi beware! :( He should be home soon, hopefully he's not asleep against a tree somewhere!

I hope that you and all of your families have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! If you're traveling, stay safe! :)

Happy Halloween!

Well, we finally had Evan's birthday party. After postponing it due to the birthday boy's sickness, we had it this past Friday night. Evan had a great time! The theme for his party was "The Wiggles" (ugh!), complete w/a Wiggles cake, pinata and decorations. We had about 30 people here and Evan loved being the center of attention. Connor, on the other hand, can't stand when Evan gets presents and he doesn't! Typical, I guess. I'll have to figure out how to insert pics in here one of these day so I can show pictures of stuff like this. Yeah, I'll get on that as soon as I have some free time!

For the past month I've been having a rather difficult time with my back. It's been particularly frustrating since I've been so good for so long. I had hoped that maybe the days of my spine controlling my life were behind me. Now I don't know. I had about a week where I couldn't do much, thank God my Mother and Mother-in-law were such a help. They both pitched in to help w/the boys and do some cleaning for me. I wouldn't have been able to do Evan's birthday party without my mom's help. I was able to take it easy and that probably helped me to start feeling better. My back is much improved so I hope things can return to normal now.

Tomorrow we're having a Halloween party here with about 20-25 of the boys friends plus their parents if they decide to stay. Yes, I do think I may be insane! I started planning this when my back was feeling good, if I'd known then what I know now it might not be happening! :) The boys are so looking forward to it (and I am too) that I didn't want to cancel it. They are really into Halloween this year. Connor is dressing up as Spiderman and Evan is Bob the Builder (both major shocks, I'm sure!). Last night they went to a Halloween party at Connor's karate academy and today Connor had a party and Halloween parade at his school. On Sunday night we'll just take them trick or treating a few places, most likely in my Dad's neighborhood. Tonight Keith carved pumpkins with them which they thought was pretty cool! Evan wanted a happy face pumpkin and Connor wanted a scary one. Hmmm.....what does this say about their personalities?? LOL

We're blogging!

Hi All!

I thought I'd start an online blog as a way to keep everyone updated on what's going on with us. It's so hard to email everyone individually all the time and it never fails that I forget *someone*. So, for my first entry I'll try to hit all of the high points! :)

The boys are doing great! Connor celebrated his 5th birthday in September. It's still unbelievable to me that he can possibly be FIVE! I was forced out of my denial when I put him on the school bus for his first day of kindergarten. After a rough start, he now loves going to school. I thought (hoped?) that he would come home everyday exhaused but this boy has more energy that anyone I know! He is also taking karate (taekwondo); he started in May. He is in a class called "Tiny Tigers." He was promoted from white belt to yellow stripe over the summer and will soon be testing for his green stripe belt.

Evan turned 3 last week. Something about "three" seems so old; he's not my baby anymore! On the evening of his birthday he started getting sick so we ended up postponing his party. With a little luck, he'll finally have his party this Friday night. He's adjusted fine to Connor being gone all day, he probably secretly loves being able to play with ALL of the toys without risk of attack! He keeps me company all day. He is constantly talking and is so much fun to have around. I am enjoying having some time alone with him.

As for me, I am enjoying being a stay at home mommy, though at times I would love a little more contact with the outside world. I babysit our next door neighbors kid, Charlie, 3 days a week and I am volunteering the other two weekdays at Connor's school. I love being able to see what is going on in his classroom and to get to know all of the kids. I've been getting involved with the home-school association too (kinda like PTA) so I've been helping with stuff like the school book fair and class pictures. I figure it's a perfect way to meet other moms and keep informed of what's going on at Connor's school.

Keith is busy ALL THE TIME! It seems that if he's not traveling, he's working late. He's recently been promoted to Vice President so I'm sure it's not going to get better anytime soon!

The house is an ongoing project. We recently had to have it dug up all around the house and had the outside basement wall resealed because of water in the basement. In the spring we want to put the deck on (finally!), get the sidewalks and landscaping done, and probably pave the driveway. This summer Keith and my brother, David, built the boys a playset outside that is really more like their own private playground! They LOVE it! And so do all of the other kids!

Anyway, that's it for now..... Keith is working late and I have a couple hungry kids on my hands. Feel free to comment or email me anytime!! :)