I'll Treasure This...

An important day

2012-02-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

Seventeen years ago today, Dave and I had our first date.

Fifteen years ago today, Dave proposed to me in my 3rd and 4th grade classroom during our Valentine's day party.

Today, we've been married about fourteen and a half years, and have been richly blessed in our life together. Life is good. :)

Among those blessings are four children and one puppy that we spoiled with extra love in the form of...

...a special Valentine's day breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs!

...special candy treats!

...and a pork tenderloin dinner topped off with a red velvet cake that Evan helped me to make!

The kids were also spoiled by their grandparents and great grandma with a big cookie treat and some money to spend at their book fair. Caroline was so excited to finally get her own copy of The Tale of Despereaux.

The kids also received all kinds of valentines from their classmates at their school parties.

Lest you think that I am excluding our oldest in this post, I'm not. :) He just had a very busy day...off early to school, jazz band after school, a play date, and a boy scout meeting. We love you, Henry!

Happy Valentine's Day, family and friends!

We may need a press agent.

2012-02-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

Henry was in our local paper in a picture that was taken at his band concert. He was pretty excited!

With all of the publicity our family has gotten over the past few months (ditto house, Seth's pinewood derby car), Dave was wondering...

What should we do to get in the paper next month? ;)

My Funny Valentine

2012-02-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

Today my funny five year old and I went to his Valentine's Day party at his school.

The kids had yummy treats of frosted sugar cookies, Rice Crispie treats and juice. He's got to live it up with these sugary treats in school this year because next year at the elementary school they only allow healthy snacks. :(
Evan with one of his best buddies, Connor...CHEESE!

Evan with his "girlfriends", Nora and Teaghan :)

Mmmm...beautiful necklace, Evan!

Happy Valentine's Day, Evan! I love you!

What a day!

2012-02-12T19:35:00.000-08:00

The kids are in bed, Dave's playing basketball, and I'm sitting at my computer reflecting on the day. I look around my house tonight, and I feel a sense of accomplishment. Now, if anyone else were to look around the house, they might not get the sense that a lot was done, especially because there are still some groceries on the counter, and some clutter hanging around. However, I know...
--that all of the laundry (7 loads) was washed, dryed, folded, hung and put away.
--we went grocery shopping for the week.
--piles of papers were sorted, some recycled, some filed.
--two big social studies projects were done, homework was done.
--Valentines were made for three classes.
--most of the kitchen and family room is cleaned up.

But the biggest accomplishment of all was what Dave did, with some help from the kids...

They installed the floor in our project/playroom/break dancing room (I kid) downstairs!!!

Evan and Caroline helped by standing on the underlayment after it was rolled out.

Seth worked all afternoon with Dave...

The finished results are BEAUTIFUL! (Dave also finished the ceiling and most of the trim as well!!! YAY!)

When it was all finished, the crew wanted to celebrate by trying out their break-dancing moves on the new floor!Good work, Dave and crew!

Good night, Moxie!

2012-02-10T21:19:00.000-08:00

Moxie is a cage-trained dog, and really that is a wonderful thing in so many ways. I am so glad she likes it and that we have a place to keep her out of trouble when we aren't home or are in bed. However, there is a small part of me that would love to see her sleep with the kids at night. So lately, we've come upon a good compromise...Moxie comes up to the kids' bedrooms now, and up onto their beds, to say good night!

The kids EAT IT UP! You should hear the giggles. I just want to bottle them!

You'll hear what I mean when you watch this next clip, starring Moxie and Seth (as the giggle)...The kids all think its so funny when she spins and digs to find the comfiest spot on the bed. ;)

Happy dog and happy boy!

Henry invited his friend, Alex, for a sleep over tonight, and they were watching a movie while Dave, Moxie and I were tucking the other kids in. When the movie was over, I showed these two the pictures of Moxie saying goodnight to the other kids. They thought it would be fun to "tuck Moxie in" for the night. Notice how they took up Moxie's favorite sleeping position. :)

Then we took Moxie downstairs so she could tuck the big boys in. :)

Good night, sweet Moxie!

6th Grade Energy Expo

2012-02-08T20:46:00.000-08:00

Today Evan and I went to Henry's middle school to visit their "Energy Expo". The sixth graders were assigned to groups to make a group display and individual presentations on a type of energy source. Henry did such a good job on his part, and didn't even need to use his notecards!

When Henry's group was done presenting, Evan congratulated Henry with a big hug!

Here's Henry's group!

And here's Henry's group being interview by a 6th grade roving reporter. :)

Great job today, kids!

Groundhog's Day

2012-02-07T20:17:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we packed up our car and left bright and early to celebrate Groundhog's Day in Woodstock, Illinois with my parents. "Why Woodstock?", you ask? And are you wondering if we always celebrate this little holiday in such a big way?

Well...this was the first time we spent more than a few minutes on this particular holiday. Of course, on the morning of February 2, we'll watch the news to find out if the groundhog will see his shadow. But usually that's it.

But this year was a big year for Groundhog's Day. Remember the movie entitled Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell? Well, this year was it's 20th anniversary, and it was filmed in Woodstock, Illinois. My parents and I loved that movie, so we thought it would be fun to join in the festivities that the town had planned. :)

We started the day off by watching the movie, Groundhog Day, in the theater that was actually in the movie. (Does that even make sense?) It was so fun because the theater was jam packed with an audience that was so "into" the movie. When the main characters drove into Woodstock Townsquare, everyone cheered!

Here I am with the kids right outside the theater.

Here's my parents with the kids near the band shell where Bill and Andie danced.

In the bandshell...

My husband and me :)

The kids got to meet "Woodstock Willy"!

Remember that repeated scene when Bill Murray stepped into the puddle on the street? We found that spot...

...and the kids each took a turn stepping where Bill Murray did. :)

We took a tour of a few scenes of the movie with the Groundhog Day site manager.

He was fantastic, telling such funny stories and interesting facts to the 200+ people in his tour group.

This was where "Gobbler's Knob" was, the place where they housed Punxatawny Phil in a tree stump, and where he made his prediction.

This is the courthouse. I know that they had several scenes in it, but most notably, its the place where my parents, aunt and uncle got their marriage licenses. :)

This is where Andie and Bill had their snowball fight. Caroline demonstrated with a wadded up napkin. :)

After the Groundhog festivities, we spent the rest of the day and night at a hotel. We spent a lot of time in the pool, playing cards and relaxing. It was so much fun! The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel. The kids entertained themselves while waiting for the breakfast by playing with Henry's ITouch.

Such a fun weekend! Thanks, Mom and Dad! (And thanks, Julie and Chris, for taking care of Moxie, and despite the temptation to the contrary, thank you for giving her back to us!)

Pancakes and Pajamas

2012-02-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

Today Evan and his lucky mama got to go to preschool in their pajamas to make pancakes and pink and purple polka-dotted letter P's!

The kids got to measure the ingredients and mix them all up with a spoon.

Then they watched their teacher, Miss Lynn, cook the pancakes.

Next came their favorite part...EATING the pancakes! Yummm!

And because having one "P" snack was clearly not enough, the kids Polished off some Pretzels!

What did these Preschoolers think of their P Party? Why, it was Perfect! ;)

Henry's Big Band Concert

2012-02-05T21:17:00.000-08:00

Henry has really enjoyed band this year. Many times he has told me that band is one of the highlights of his day, and practicing his trumpet is always the first homework he does each night. The practice has paid off...he's a first chair in his instrument, and he auditioned for and made jazz band. :)Henry and his fellow 6th grade band students have been practicing for 6 months now. Last Thursday night, they performed a concert to showcase all of their hard work. Let me just say...we were IMPRESSED.

Some friends jokingly asked if I was going to wear earplugs when I went to the concert, considering that these kids were such newbies to their instruments.

I am here to tell you...No earplugs were needed. Just listen...
They sound great, don't they?! All of Henry's fan club agree...

These kids are top-notch, and we're looking forward to seeing their progress as they continue!

Card Shark and Couch Potato

2012-02-03T20:36:00.000-08:00

Evan is quite the card shark, especially when it comes to the game Sleeping Queens. Caroline received the game as a Christmas gift, and immediately fell in love with the game. She recently taught Evan how to play, and already at this point he is a force to be reckoned with. Yesterday, he finished the game with 11 queens to my one, and was so proud of himself!

One day last week, I went out for a bit. When I came back, I found that Dave and Evan had fallen asleep watching a movie together. It was so sweet that I had to take a picture. Of course. ;)

All about Caroline

2012-02-02T20:12:00.000-08:00

She's crafty...Inspired by our viewing of Punxatawney Phil, Caroline made a groundhog today, complete with a tree stump house and a shadow. :)

She wins awards...Ok, this one she awarded to herself. Nonetheless, she did win "Most Creative Thing" for her depiction of Moxie and the puppies she will never have. ;)

She is loving being on the cheerleading team with her friends, and this week was so excited to see that our mother's helper, Jessica, was a cheerleader too!

She looks FABULOUS in lots of sparkles, especially when going to "Rock Star" birthday parties with her friends.

Love you, sweet Caroline!

A Mini-Reunion

2012-02-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, I was able to have lunch with some of my high school friends. I had not seen one of them for about 15 years, so we had a lot of catching up to do! It was all about sharing pictures, memories and laughs, and honestly, what a good time we had!

So handsome...

2012-02-02T19:30:00.000-08:00

...in a "crazy rock star" kind of way. Seth wore this "do" to school for "Crazy Hair Day". He wanted to die it green too, but, alas, we were out of green hairspray. :)

Lookin' good, Seth!

Seth's newspaper car made the newspaper!

2012-01-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

Seth and Dave were a little disappointed that their pinewood derby car didn't do better in it's race on Friday...

but yesterday when Seth saw that his newspaper car was featured in the newspaper, he felt a lot better about it. :)

Good job, Team Nosek!

How do we love thee, Moxie?

2012-01-26T20:50:00.000-08:00

What is there not to love about this dog? I mean other than that she steals food from the table, occasionally raids the garbage and sometimes drinks from the toilet. You know, other than that. ;)

Wellll...she greets us every morning and every time we've been away with all of her heart, an tail that wags her whole behind at unbelievable speeds, and a tongue that will absolutely cover you with kisses if you aren't careful. :)
She plays with the kids with joyfulness and enthusiasm befitting her name.She makes us laugh all the time.Last week, Henry had some homework that was keeping him up past his, and Moxie's, bedtime. She was curled up under the table at his feet. When he finished, I came over to him when he was saying good night to Moxie. He said, "Mom, I don't know how she does it. How can she make us just want to be with her and stay with her, and all she is doing is laying here?!"She is a blessing to our home. We love you, Moxie!

Mr. Smartypants

2012-01-26T07:59:00.000-08:00

Evan has really been into rhyming lately. Wherever we go, whatever we do, Evan has been entertaining me with his creative, sometimes unconventional, rhyming. He'll say, "Mom!! Dog--Log!" And I'll respond, "Good rhyme, Evan!" A few seconds later, "Mom!!! School--Pool!" "Yes, Evan! Another one!" And then, "Eyebrow..." (What could he possibly pair with that, huh?) "Eyebrow--Wyebrow!" (Giggle, giggle, giggle!) "Ah, yes, those have the same sounds, Evan!"Here's Evan showcasing a little of his rhyming skills for you...Evan is beginning to hear beginning sounds in words too. The other day he said, "MOM!! That starts with M!" (I love how he always shares his discoveries by shouting such an enthusiastic MOM!!) Yesterday, when he finished using the bathroom, it was, "MOMMM! PU starts with U! And a P!!!" Ha! I love how these ideas are really coming together in his mind now. It is exciting to watch him. :)

The last thing I wanted to share with you was Evan singing a song he learned in preschool. Evan has always loved to sing, and always participates fully when they do anything with music in his class. This particular song, "Sticky Bubble Gum", is one of his favorites...Have a great day!

Happy birthday, Grandpa!

2012-01-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we gathered at my in-laws' house to celebrate Dave's Dad's birthday. (We love you, Denny!)

I always count my blessings when we get together with our family. We are richly blessed!

My mother-in-law knitted the CUTEST Smurf hat for Caroline!! (You might want the pattern, huh Kathy?!) It was a HUGE hit! Caroline was so excited to wear it to school on Monday, and continues to wear it everyday. Last night she even slept with it! She was concerned that some of her friends would not believe her that her Grandma could actually make a hat like that, but when she came home from school, she was happy to report that her friends believed her, and that they all loved it, even the boys! ;) This morning she told me that her teacher was bringing her camera to school today to take Caroline's picture in her special hat. Thank you, Jean!

We all Skyped with Dave's brother, Mike, his wife, Vika, and our young nephew, Dennis. They live in Germany, so Skype is a wonderful way to keep in touch!

Aunt Debby and Great-Grandma joined us too!

Dave and his brother, Mark, took the kids and Moxie outside to play in the snow. When they came back, Moxie looked like she was wearing moon boots made out of snow! I had to spend the next hour melting the packed snow off of her paws with a blow dryer, and then I had to remove at least 100 burrs from her fur. Moxie was pretty patient about it, but she definitely was not a happy dog. I think that the next time we let her go romping in the snow, we might have to invest in a pair of real boots for her!

Thank you for a fun day, Denny and Jean!

The Thrill of Victory...

2012-01-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

It was the big night...the night of the Pinewood Derby.

Seth and his friends were pretty excited. Expectations were high. Seth was hoping to retain his championship title :) from last year with his "rolled up newspaper car ".

Sadly, sometimes you have the thrill of victory, and sometimes you have the agony of defeat. Seth's beautifully designed car, the one that he and his dad worked so hard to make together, had the fastest start, but then jumped the track. It meant immediate disqualification. :( However, he handled himself so well and was such a good sport, thanks in no small part to his friends who reassured him.

Despite the disappointment, we are very proud of this racing team. Better luck next year, Seth!

Don't Carpe Diem

2012-01-19T05:45:00.000-08:00

One of my friends posted this article on Facebook this AM. It contains so much of truth in it about parenting, and it felt so reassuring to read it, that I needed to post it too.

I'm sorry...

2012-01-18T19:58:00.000-08:00

I've been neglecting my poor blog. And I love it so much. I should not treat it this way! ;)

Really, all is well here. We're healthy, busy, and aside from wallowing in a bit of clutter and disorganization, we're all pretty happy.

I am trying to tackle the clutter and disorganization. The holidays were fantastic, but they also got us out of our groove a bit. Slowly but surely, in amongst the kitchen clean-up and laundry I have to do daily, I'm trying to organize and re-establish systems that make our household run more efficiently. Unfortunately, I have to be very patient because time is limited in a house with 6 people and 1 dog. ;)

School is going great for the kids. I laugh at myself, but I am almost counting down the days until Friday, which is the day report cards come home. Henry is getting straight As again, and Seth and Caroline should do well too. I am proud of the effort the kids are putting into their homework and classwork, and am so thankful that their hard work is paying off.

We are keeping busy with extracurricular activities right now too. As I mentioned before, Seth is playing basketball, and Caroline is cheerleading. It is the first time for both of them. (We're really looking forward to the game that Caroline gets to cheer for Seth's game!) Henry, Seth and Caroline are all still in scouts as well as Religious Education. Henry tried out for and made Jazz Band at school. We are so proud of him, and he is really enjoying it! Once basketball and cheerleading is done, Henry and Evan will get a turn at a sport. Henry will be running track and Evan will be playing baseball. Having only two kids in sports at a time has been a LOT easier on the family schedule. We probably won't always be able to do that, but we're really appreciating it right now.

I'm continuing my preparation for a 10K in March and a 10 mile race in June, both in Chicago. Four of my friends are doing it too. Its been nice to be able to support and encourage each other. I'm looking forward to choosing a race to run in with my sister as well!

That's it for now...gotta go run! :)

UPDATE:
Just finished my run. Tonight while I was doing that, I watched The Biggest Loser. Wow, is that show motivating. I credit a lot of my weight loss last year to watching it.

Before my run, I wrote this post, but felt kind of blah about it. I mulled over the reason why when I was running. I think that I gave the impression that I have my act mostly together, and truthfully, that's really not the case. As a wife and mom, I think that it is important to focus mainly on the positives, and really, that is what I try to do in this blog. Reflecting on what is going on right now, I am thankful that what is going well lines up with what Dave's and my priorities are for our family.

But if you were to see our everyday life, you would realize that besides our strengths, we have our struggles too. I mentioned the clutter and disorganization earlier, but I kind of glossed that over. Really? Our house is out of control. One example...the laundry room. Mountains of laundry; endless coats, mittens, scarves, snowpants, boots and jackets that need to be dried again and again and again; back packs, a trumpet, a pantry that constantly overflows with food that has next to no organization; kid's art projects; clutter that we don't know what to do with so we hide it in there so that nobody sees it :)... Oh my word. Part of it is life with 4 kids. But part of it is that we need to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and get it together.

So, I started on that this week. The pantry is done, the laundry is caught up, and the refrigerator is cleaned out. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem like much, especially in light of the fact that there is so much more to do. I have to remind myself to be patient, with perseverance and endurance, hopefully we'll get there.

Another thing is that I don't feel the kids do enough to help out. There have definitely been times when they've been better at that. I keep telling myself that the reason they don't do more is that they have school work and activities, and things are so out of control that we don't have our systems in place anymore. Grrrrr...in the end, those are just excuses, and we need to figure out how to make sure the kids feel more responsibility for their family and where they live. I really want Dave and me to feel good about how we are training the kids, and I want all of us to feel proud of the house we live in. I so want to get our acts together in that way.

What else? Grumpiness. I'm tired from our hectic schedule. I don't always sleep well because I am a terrible worrier. I'm often stressed by all of the demands on my time and energy. I want to be more patient and understanding, handle stresses with a calmer spirit, and enforce boundaries without snapping at the people I love most in this world. I really want to rise to the occasion.

There is oh-so-much more, but because it's getting late and my patience level tomorrow really is contingent on how much sleep I get :), I need to get myself to bed.

But the bottom line? Things are going well, but we definitely still have our work cut out for us. :)

SNOOOOOOOWWW!!!

2012-01-12T19:35:00.000-08:00

The much anticipated moment finally came this morning. All week, the weather forecast called for snow on Thursday morning. It wasn't snowing when the kids woke up, but right before we left for school, it started! Caroline looked out the window, saw a few flakes in the air, and screamed "SNOOOOOWWWW!" Of course, the other kids came running to see for themselves. (Poor Henry was already at school.)

(You might wonder why Caroline was still wearing her pajamas when we were about ready to leave for school. Caroline's whole class got to wear their pajamas to school today, as well as bring their favorite stuffed animals.)

After school, all was right in my kids' world. It had been transformed into a winter wonderland just in time for them to enjoy it over their 4 day weekend! As soon as they got home, they got all of their snow gear on and played outside until dinner time. Henry and Evan built a fort together.

Seth...

and Caroline did a lot of sledding.

Moxie had a great time bounding through and rolling in the snow. She was so funny that Caroline and I decided to video her. Unfortunately, while we were doing that, her tether broke and she ran off. Thankfully, Caroline and a neighbor were able to catch her pretty quickly.Untitled from Sarah Nosek on Vimeo.

When the kids got cold, they came inside to warm up with some hot chocolate.

I think we're in for a fun weekend!

Happy birthday, Connor!

2012-01-12T16:33:00.001-08:00

Evan's friend, Connor, had a birthday bash at Chuck E. Cheese today, and honestly it was one of the best Chuck E. Cheese experiences we've ever had. First of all, we were celebrating one of our favorite friends. And second, because of the big snowstorm that we had today, we had the place almost completely to ourselves!

The birthday boy "wowed" his buddies by getting the grand prize from one of the machines...125 tickets! It was very exciting. :) Here's Connor and his buddies all wrapped up in the tickets.

Of course, after Connor's success, each of the boys had to try their hand at winning. :)

Then it was time for pizza, cake and singing happy birthday to Connor!

The kids had a great time playing together,

and comparing prizes ("You mean you got a blue raspberry Airhead candy too?!!! COOOOL!"),

Happy birthday, Connor! I can't believe you and Evan are 5!

Playing Playdough with Grandpa

2012-01-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my parents came over after I picked Evan up from preschool. We had lunch at McDonald's, and then headed back to our house so my mom could help me tackle some things on my to-do list. (Thank you, Mom!) While my mom and I worked, Grandpa and Evan played with some playdough. Grandpa + Playdough = Happy Evan! Aren't these pictures sweet?

Check out my mom's antique booth!

2012-01-11T08:48:00.000-08:00

My mom's antique booth was recently featured on a popular home decor blog, "Opendoor Studio". It's so fun to see her amazing decorating talents showcased and recognized like this! Yay, Mom! :)

Click on the picture to link to Opendoor Studio's post featuring my mom's booth...

Just Dance!

2012-01-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

I got the Wii Game, Just Dance, in my Christmas stocking this year. It was probably one of my favorite gifts for a couple of reasons. First, we are ALL having a lot of fun playing it. Second, this whole family could use a little help with their dance moves. ;) Third, seeing my husband dancing with our kiddos? That makes me happy. It's the gift that keeps on giving...

Untitled from Sarah Nosek on Vimeo.

5 Boys and 1 Girl for Kathy!

2012-01-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

My dear friend, Kathy, is expecting her sixth baby at the end of this month. That alone is reason enough to celebrate...but because she's had five boys, and this sixth is a girl, well...that calls for a party full of ruffles, bows and plenty of pink!
So a bunch of her friends and family gathered at my house on Saturday to shower Kathy with lots of best wishes and girly things...
This is the beautiful mother-to-be and her lifelong friend, Lisa...
We had lots of good food and yummy punch. (Thanks for all of your help, friends!)Then it was time to open the gifts, full of sweet sleepers, dresses, jumpers and accessories. This little girl will be quite well-dressed! :)
There was a lot of ooohing and aawwwwwing...
Lucky, lucky girl! :)
She even got a pink Cubs outfit!
Congratulations, Kathy and Tom!!! We can't wait to meet your little girl! (Thank you for making the beautiful centerpiece, Mom!)

I don't know how the kids got away with this tonight...

2012-01-08T20:31:00.000-08:00

The kids were having so much fun playing together tonight. Evan built Henry a castle...

They had a dance party in our master bedroom...

and then built a few tents...

that Caroline and Evan were enthralled with...
Somehow these two convinced me, on a school night, to let them sleep in their tents tonight.
Caroline, my sweet little girl, went right to sleep. Evan? Not so much. If you haven't guessed, this child is full of it. ;)
Thankfully, he did finally fall asleep. I wonder how many pictures I have of my kiddos like this. I love to peek at them while they are sleeping. :)
I'm so glad they had so much fun together tonight!
Sweet dreams!

Our Basketball Stars

2012-01-05T19:11:00.000-08:00

I am sooooo excited about the winter basketball season! Seth had his second basketball practice tonight, and he LOVES it! His coaches have been really encouraging, and apparently from what others have said about them, they make sure that all of the kids get to play equally in the game. They said that their goal is to teach all of the kids basketball, not just to win games by only having the good kids play. I am thankful that he is having a good first experience with this game. His first game is on Saturday, and we can't wait!
Miss Caroline has really been enjoying her cheer practice as well. She and I have been practicing her cheers at home using the tutorials that have been posted online. She is on the same squad with all of her best friends, and even carpools with them, so she is as happy as a clam. To top it all off, she got to be in a lift tonight! She gets to cheer in her first game next weekend.

Henry and Evan are not playing a winter sport, which in some ways is a good thing. Two kids in a sport per season is plenty...and their turn will come in the spring. :) Looking forward to track for Henry and baseball for Evan.

Caroline's Crazy Cool Family Fun Fest

2012-01-02T20:59:00.000-08:00

At one of our family parties this year, Caroline and her cousins, Anabel and Nadia, put together a show for our extended family. Today Caroline was remembering how fun that was, and that prompted her to create her own family fun tonight...

It started as a competition between two contestants (Seth and Evan). Dave, Henry and I were the audience. I loved how she set everything up!
The first part of the competition for the contestants was to dress in the craziest costume they could come up with.
The next challenge was to dress in Caroline's favorite colors. Seth refused. ;)
Next up...the Dancing Competition! These kids had some crazy moves!
Evan taught Seth his "booty dance".
Then...a little balloon volleyball.
After that, things got even crazier. Everyone wanted in on the action when it was time for the "Spinning Sword Races"! Look at the fancy way Caroline and Evan started their race, ha!
Dizzy, dizzy, dizzy!
Then it was Caroline vs. Seth...

And Henry vs. Seth!

The "Crab Walk" came next...
Dave and I couldn't resist the challenge of this one! :)
It was such a fun family night, all prompted by our little girl! I think your Family Fun Fest was a hit, Caroline, and that we'll all want to do it again soon! :)

One Year

2012-01-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

Last year at this time I wrote this post...

"I think I'm on to something"

My sister, Lisa, visited over Thanksgiving. She had lost some weight, and I commented on how great she looked. She was thinner, and her hair and skin looked beautiful. She told me that she had read Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet book, and how much it has helped her. She explained that she is eating 6 small meals a day, and that basically the meals combine a complex carbohydrate (including grains, vegetables and fruit) and a lean protein. She drinks lots of water, a couple of cups of green tea, but no pop or juice. She was never hungry as she ate about every three hours. She feels better and has more energy than she had for a long time.

All of that really appealed to me, and I wanted to follow her lead. Truthfully, I have not really been living a healthy lifestyle. I drink too much caffeine through pop and horribly caloric chai tea lattes, and eat too many sweets. I don't eat enough fruits and vegetables. I don't get enough sleep. I don't exercise. I'm heavier than I have ever been (aside from when I was pregnant), my complexion isn't clear, I'm ALWAYS tired, and quite often don't feel well. After talking to her I decided to try to "eat clean", get to bed earlier, and start exercising.

However, I knew that I might not be as successful in changing my diet if I started during the holidays. So I vowed to prepare myself to start on January 2nd, after our last holiday party. Toward the end of the holidays, when I didn't need quite as much caffeine ;), I started to wean myself off of Diet Coke and Chai Tea Lattes. I picked up the Tosca Reno's book and started reading. I asked my sister's advice as far as her favorite meals and snacks, and made up a shopping list.

On January 2nd, I started. I am on my fifth day of eating clean, and I feel fantastic. I am never hungry, I feel good and have lots of energy, and I have lost 7 pounds. (Apparently, that sometimes happens at the beginning of this diet, but I should lose about 2-3 pounds a week after this from now on.) I've been walking and running on my treadmill, enjoying my food, and feeling hopeful and happy. My sister and I have been checking in with each other every day, and that encouragement is such a good thing.

Wish me luck!

And now, I write this post, on this January 2nd. :) January 2nd is a big day for me. Last year it was the day I committed myself to a resolution to change my lifestyle. I wanted to eat healthier, feel more energy, be more active and have more confidence. This year on this day, I can look back and be proud of myself. I did it.

It's been a year where I...
--lost 44 pounds and then maintained my goal weight.
--went down 5 jeans sizes.
--ran 3 5Ks.
--ate a healthy diet.
--felt more energy.
--bought new clothes!
--felt more confidence.

Where do I go from here? These are my resolutions for 2012:
1. Train for and run a 10K with my sister. :)
2. Continue my Eat Clean lifestyle.
3. Make and keep all of my doctor's appointments.
4. Feel healthy, happy and strong.

I am so excited to see what this year brings!

A Cousin Christmas

2012-01-01T20:19:00.000-08:00

Every year since my mom and her sister started their families, we've celebrated Christmas together. Many of my favorite Christmas memories comes from this very special group of people, my aunt, uncle and cousins. (I love them, love them, love them.)

This year we gathered at Tom and Dianna's house. Such fun! Good food, crazy cousins, LOTS of laughs, and to top it all off, Evan taught Tom how to play Plants vs. Zombies. I'm sure he always wanted to learn that. :)
Miss Megan was a little stingy with her smiles, but my mom got her going by tickling her toes. :)
Don't these two look good in grey?
Caroline and Grandpa
The kids' table
Who brought the walruses?!
The adults' table...what a fun group!
Skyping with Aunt Pat and Uncle Bob, who live down in Florida
The girls! (My mom, Dianna, Mary, me and Caroline)
My family (Dave, me, Seth, Henry, Evan and Caroline)
Mary, Pat and Megan
Dianna, Brianna, Tom, Henry and Jake...Congratulations on your engagement, Henry and Brianna!
My mom and dad...love!
Happy New Year, family and friends!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T09:16:00.000-08:00

We spent in New Year in the company of friends at a neighborhood parade...

This is Evan and his sweet friend, Nora.
Then we cuddled up for a movie marathon. We tried to get Moxie to cuddle with us, breaking our usually steadfast rule of "No dogs on the couch!" She thought we were crazy, and only tolerated this behavior for a couple of minutes...
but it was enough time to tickle our funny bones and get a couple of fun pictures. :)
Evan fell asleep early, but Caroline and Seth made it until midnight. Caroline was in charge of making all of the bead-filled tupperware noisemakers for the big moment. She did a fine job!
Happy 2012!!
Henry was at a New Year's party with some friends, but thought to text us "Happy New Year!" at the big moment. He's a good kid!

I hope that the new year brings you many blessings and happiness!

Some Favorite Gifts

2011-12-29T19:35:00.000-08:00

The kids have all been loving the gifts that they got this Christmas. For the most part, over the past few days, they have had a lot of time to play. I think they have been grateful for that. :)

One of Henry's favorite gifts was his ITouch. He has downloaded lots of free games already, as well as set up an email account and free texting. We have removed his internet icon so that he can't browse without adult supervision, but Dave is looking in to setting up access to favorite safe sites. I am not sure how that will work yet, but I am grateful that Dave is figuring it out, and that he is such a conscientious dad. Henry has loved being able to text. It's actually been pretty fun, and we've had some good laughs from it. So far he only texts me, but we'll be asking some friends and his cousins for their texting numbers so that he can share his 12 year old humor with them too. :)

Seth has LOVED his new Kirby DS game, as well as his Milennium Falcon Lego set. Seth and his dad have been working at putting it together, slowly but surely. And both Seth and Henry have loved their Beyblades game. Who am I kidding? We've ALL loved that.

Evan has been all about his Star Wars toys and pizza playdough set. Mmmmm...yummy!Caroline has been all about her BIG stuffed animals. She sleeps with them both, which makes it a very tight fit in her bed. :) She also has loved her Sleeping Queen card game. Caroline and I played that game tonight, and she's scheduled me for a game with her tomorrow morning ASAP. A third favorite has been her Magic Science kit because she's been able to make a wizard hat, magic wand, and disappearing ink. Here she is explaining what she did...

Untitled from Sarah Nosek on Vimeo.

We had a big fun day with my sister and brother-in-law's house, but as I am falling asleep at the computer, maybe tomorrow I'll update about that. Night, all!

Guest Photographer

2011-12-26T19:17:00.000-08:00

My brother-in-law, Mark, takes great pictures, and is always so good about sharing them. The following are a few that he sent to me tonight...

Opening presents at the lakehouse
Cousins hiking by the channel...Jamie, Charlie, Simon, Anabel, Henry and Iris
Dave's brother Mike, his wife Vika, and their son Dennis
Crowned cousins
The firetender, AKA my lovely niece, Anabel
Cousins by the Channel

Some of the football players

More football players! (I love Jake's football hat!)
The firestarters, Anabel and Henry

Christmas Day with the Ortons!

2011-12-26T14:41:00.001-08:00

We stayed at the lakehouse pretty late, so that by the time we got home, it was time set cookies and milk out for Santa, and then tuck the kids in to bed.

And then...Santa came!
He polished off his cookies and milk, and then wrote a letter to the kids.
Caroline made a small stocking for the big stuffed dog she hoped she'd get!
Here's the tree and presents before the kids came downstairs in the morning.
Just before the kids woke up and came downstairs, my parents came. So they were able to see the kids' excitement Christmas morning!
Henry and Seth opened stockings with Grandpa.
Moxie got a stocking full of candy cane bones, a very strangely shaped ball and a Christmas lights tug-of-war toy.
Here's Caroline with her stocking.
I snapped this picture just before the kids opened their presents...grandparents and grandchildren!
Santa did not dissappoint! Caroline got the big stuffed dog she wanted!
Seth got a lego Millenium Falcon.
Henry got an IPod Touch and case.
Evan was so excited about all of the Star Wars stuff he got.
Caroline also got a big make up case, and has been having lots of fun doing make overs on herself and her mom!
Another big hit was Caroline's Password Journal...
and Evan's Operation game that he "always wanted"!
Oh, and how could Santa resist? A Moxie girl for a Moxie girl!
The kids and I gave their daddy some new football cleats, a Wii remote charger, and a special photo album book that their Uncle Mark designed on Shutterfly.
Dave and the kids gave me a new set of luggage, a super warm Sherpa blanket, and a heated car seat. They all know that Mom is ALWAYS cold!
Here's our family posing in all of our Christmas chaos!
Underneath the Christmas tree, Henry played games on his new ITouch and Evan did the same on my (or as he sometimes thinks, HIS) IPhone.
One of MANY Beyblades tournaments on Christmas Day between my brother, Bill, Seth, Caroline and Dave
Moxie got a special present under the tree too...a huge bone that is almost as long as she is!
My sister, Karen, her husband, Jim, and their son Robbie came to celebrate with us too. They always give the kids special ornaments to commemorate something from the year, a little scroll describing the reason for the ornament and a little faith lesson. This year Evan got a baseball ornament, Caroline got a funny fish to remind her of her trip to the aquarium, Seth got a spaceship because he is the expert on all things space in our family, and Henry got a rat in honor of his being on the River Rat swim team!
Uncle Jim also picks out special books for the kids, and then writes inscriptions to the kids on the inside cover. Caroline was thrilled to get her third Knuffle Bunny book. That series has always been a favorie for her!
Then our nephew, Robbie opened his gifts...legos from Grandma and Grandpa, and a Diego game from us. Silly Moxie...don't open Robbie's gift!
Then we sat down to our Christmas dinner. Thanks for the yummy food, Mom and Dad!
Another Beyblades tournament...
and yet another! The competition was fierce between my brother and me!
Although there was some question as to who won, we still love each other! ;)
We had a brief scare when Dave told us that Moxie had run away. My parents stayed with the kids while Dave searched the neighborhood on foot, and I searched in my car. I drove down the streets she usually goes to when she gets away. With my windows open, I kept yelling loudly "Moxie, do you want to go bye-bye in the car?" I'm sure all of my neighbors appreciated that!

I spent about 5-10 minutes driving around, and it seemed like forever. I was near tears thinking of how awful it would be to lose our beloved pet on Christmas Day, and the immense pain that would cause our family. You can imagine my HUGE relief when I saw a flash of white running across a yard. The tears came when Moxie turned to see my car, and I could tell she recognized it. She came dashing across an intersection towards my car, excited to "go bye-bye". (It's crazy how we talk to her, I know.) I pulled into the intersection to ensure that she wouldn't get hit by another car, and then she leaped through the car door and into my arms. THANK GOD!

We ended the night by snuggling up to watch a movie together. The kids all fell asleep on their bean bags...
dreaming happy Christmas dreams...
and, in Caroline's case, snuggling with her favorite Christmas toys!
who even had breakfast with her the following morning!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas Eve's Eve and Christmas Eve with the Noseks!

2011-12-26T14:01:00.000-08:00

This Christmas we were blessed to be able to celebrate with all of Dave's brothers and families. This is the whole family!

Dave's brother, Mark, set up a little studio in his parents living room so that we could take all kinds of group shots. Here's our family with Dave's parents. I thought it was so nice that Jean suggested we have Moxie in the picture because, as she said, Moxie is part of the family!I think that this picture of our family turned out well too!
Besides Christmas, we had another big reason to celebrate! My sister-in-law, Vika (Mike's wife), passed her test and became an American citizen. Congratulations, Vika!!!

This is the kids' table for our Christmas Eve's Eve :) dinner.

And this is the adults' table!
This is Dave, his younger brother, Andrew, and Andrew's son, Truman.

Opening presents!

Evan was in heaven when he got his Angry Birds game from his aunt and uncle.
At my sister-in-law's suggestion, Dave and I gave our niece, Nadia, the DS game, Kirby Mass Attack. That same game happened to be what our Seth wanted. Nadia opened up her game right before Seth did, so when it was his turn, he was one happy and relieved boy that he got the game too!
We stayed at my in-law's house kind of late because we wanted to watch the 20/20 episode that we were supposed to be on. Sadly, we weren't. :( Our picture must have wound up on the editing room floor. Oh well.

Then we traveled to the lakehouse and spent the night there. The next morning Dave and I made chili for the main meal of the day, which had to feed 19 adults and 12 kids. (We're a big group!) Dave cousin, Jude, Dave's brother, Mark, and their kids got to the lake early, so all together we were able to bring in the Christmas tree, deck the halls, and light a fire.

By the time Great Grandma and Aunt Debby arrived, the decorations, warm fire and yummy smells made the atmosphere at the lakehouse very Christmas-y. Great-Grandma walked into the family room, took it all in, and said, "I just love you all!" That moment brought tears to my eyes, and I will always remember it.

In the afternoon Dave, his brothers and cousins took their kids out for a hike and a football game. There was no snow on the ground this Christmas, but that made for excellent conditions for football!
Aunt Debby brought "present poppers" for the kids. The kids pulled strings on little presents, and they popped open to show little crowns and gifts inside. Here's our group of kiddos, minus little Truman who was napping.
Here's some second cousins gathered around the fire.
We then gathered in the family room to open presents...
as well as to listen to a little Christmas flute performance by Nadia.
Amazingly enough, in the midst of all of the Christmas revelry, cousin Jude fell sound asleep!

Great Grandma's grandchildren and great-grandchildren gave her a photo collage, including picture from all of her years at the lake!
I think she liked it! :)

After opening presents, Henry and some cousins played with his new set of Beyblades. We played A LOT of that game the past few days!
At the lakehouse, Moxie is only allowed in the kitchen. She does push her boundaries a little bit, though, by inching in on the family room carpet.
Grandpa Nosek and sweet baby Truman...I love this picture!
We gave Aunt Debby a half a case of wine and some yummy cocktail goodies. She decided to pose passed out by her gifts! I love her sense of humor!
Great Grandma and Aunt Debby...I love these two women!
It was a very merry Christmas Eve!

Christmas at Cosley

2011-12-26T13:38:00.000-08:00

On the Sunday before Christmas, we spent the day with my parents. We went with them to their church, had a yummy chili dinner at their house, and then went to Cosley Farm together.

Besides the animals, Cosley has tons of lighted Christmas decorations. It always looks so festive!
It was such a big day that it completely wore Evan out. When we got back to my parents' house, I set him on his feet on the driveway, thinking that he was awake enough to bear his own weight. Then I turned around to help the other kids out of the car. When I turned back to Evan, I found him curled up on the pavement! I quickly picked him up, but not until I took a picture first, of course! Poor tired boy!
Thank for the fun day, Mom and Dad!

Looking back

2011-12-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

I am soooooo looking forward to Christmas with our family, as I always do. We are very fortunate to be able to spend time with so many people that we love, and because of that I definitely feel God's blessings in abundance at this time of the year.

And I can't help but look back at past Christmases, reliving sweet memories of time spent with family. Tonight I looked back at pictures on my blog from last year. (I love, love, LOVE my blog for how easy it is to organize and access pictures and stories from the past.) Last Christmas was one of my absolute favorites. We spent Christmas Eve at the lake (click here to see!) with all of Dave's extended family, and then Christmas Day some of my family gathered at our house (click here to see!). My Aunt Shirley, who was very sick, felt well enough to join us too. As it turned out, it was her last Christmas on earth, and I am comforted by the fact that she spent it with some of the many people that loved her.
It was full of good food, happy children, skating on our back pond, a funny dog who provided good entertainment with her love of snow, rest by the Christmas tree, and memories shared.
I miss my dear aunt, especially this Christmas, but am so thankful that we were able to have the blessing of spending so many Christmases together. I treasure those memories.

And I bet that her first Christmas in heaven is absolutely amazing! :)

Crazy, but true!

2011-12-20T14:47:00.001-08:00

Dave called me from work today saying that he had just gotten off the phone with someone from 20/20. He said that they wanted to put a picture of our Ditto house on their Friday night show.

I immediately told him to knock it off.

You see, two years ago, when we first did a Ditto display, we were amazed at how all within one day NBC5, Yahoo, and People magazine asked to run our picture. So Dave decided to play a little joke on me. He told me that Oprah had called him. I could tell he was joking because his poker face is not the best. :)

Anyways, I just figured he was trying to do the same thing this year.

In fact, he wasn't.

Look for our neighbors' and our house on Friday night's episode of 20/20!

My Sweet Babies Having Sweet Dreams

2011-12-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

Caroline and Evan are having a sleepover tonight in Caroline's room. This is how I found them when I went to check on them after they settled down tonight...

I love these two! :)
Note the paper plate above Caroline's head. It's her dream catcher...
and I am sure that her beautiful handiwork will ensure lots of sweet dreams for these two!

An Easy Bake Date

2011-12-17T20:07:00.001-08:00

All week Caroline has been asking her daddy to help her bake some cake and cookies in her Easy Bake Oven. Today was finally the day! They mixed up the batter, popped it in the oven, and a few minutes later, out came dessert!

Caroline could not have been more pleased with the whole experience, and could not stop talking about it all night. :) Here's the finished product...Mmmmm!And here she is telling the story of what she and her favorite Daddy did!

Untitled from Sarah Nosek on Vimeo.

Two more pictures of our sweet girl...Here she is with her friend, Eloise, showing off their Christmas artwork at her class party. I was so glad that I was able to go and partake in their 2nd grade fun!
Here's Caroline and Miss Elyse...crafting again. When these two get together, that is pretty much all they do!

Ditto Photoshoot

2011-12-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

My good friend, Patti, came by tonight to take some pictures of ours and our neighbors house, some of which might be used for the Wall Street Journal article. She did a great job!

Our neighbors' beautiful display
Our family
Our family with our ditto sign
The Cybulskis and the Noseks in front of our Christmas displays
Neighbors :)
The engineers of the Christmas displays

My last Preschool Christmas Program

2011-12-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

Sigh. It was Evan's last preschool Christmas program today. He's growing up too fast.

But doesn't he make a cute Rudolf?!

He made such a nice gift bag and ornament and was so proud to give it to us. :)

Here's Evan with his buddy-reindeer, Connor.

And finally, here's a few sweet songs from the program. Enjoy!

Untitled from Sarah Nosek on Vimeo.

It keeps going...and going...

2011-12-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

So get this...yesterday Dave got a phone call from Geoffrey Fowler, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal. He interviewed Dave about the Ditto House, and is now writing an article for an upcoming issue! I'll post when the article is supposed to run. Unbelievable, huh?!

Also, just tonight we saw that an article ran in our local paper. Click on it to see it bigger.

Who knew that our 15 minutes of fame would last this long?!

Our 2011 Christmas Card

2011-12-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Three Cheers for Snow!!

2011-12-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

Our brand new basketball cheerleader...

who just had her first practice and got her new uniform just last night...

would like to show you her new cheer...

in honor of the...

first SNOW of the season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HIP, HIP, HOOOOOOOOORAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Trumpet Solo

2011-12-06T16:30:00.000-08:00

...by Henry

Henry has really been enjoying the trumpet. He faithfully practices, loves his band class and teacher, and gives us free concerts any time we request it. He is progressing quite nicely, and is thinking about trying out for a jazz group at his school.

After school, Henry came home saying how awesome his friend, Alex is. I told him that I know that, but then asked him what prompted this latest praise. Henry told me that Alex had given him an early Christmas present...sheet music for his trumpet! :) So this afternoon Henry was having so much fun playing "Star Wars", "Harry Potter", and "The Simpsons". When he was done, he performed his latest songs for Evan and me.

The first he played was my request...Trumpet Voluntary. When Dave and I got married, a trumpet played that song when I was walking down the aisle. :)

Next up? Star Wars! Evan's favorite!

Last but not least...Harry Potter!

Excellent playing, Henry!

Ramona's Ditto House

2011-12-06T07:29:00.000-08:00

Check out this link a friend just sent to me...

Ramona's Gingerbread Version of the Ditto House

Our house has been immortalized in gingerbread! Ha! :)

A Star and a Snooze

2011-12-05T17:21:00.000-08:00

He had been waiting and waiting and waiting. And waiting. And FINALLY it was Evan's turn to be Star of the Week at his preschool. I can't even begin to describe how happy my boy was when he walked out of his classroom with his star poster in hand and told me his good news.

After lunch (at Burger King with his buddy, Connor) he wanted to get started on his poster right away. He wrote his name, Evan N, in the spot of honor, and then he picked a picture of himself, our family, and Moxie to display. Then Caroline (who was home with a low grade fever) and Evan colored the poster. (You can tell she played a part in it because of the pink and purple she used!)To finish up, I interviewed Evan and wrote what he said so that he could share about himself with his classmates.

They were so pleased with the finished project!!

A few things to share from the poster...
His dislikes include: bees, sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes, pickles, girl toys and spiders
When Evan grows up, he wants to be: a daddy (Awwww!)
He is good at: swimming, coloring, being silly, playing, soccer, and catching frogs
His hobbies include: playing with his friends, coloring, drawing, playing with legos, playing with Play Dough, playing video games

Didn't they do a good job? :)

The following picture is like a little window into our life tonight. Dave was helping Seth on a math homework assignment. I was making dinner and folding laundry. Evan came over to ask me what we were having for dinner. I replied that we were having Turkey Tetrazinni. Unfortunately, partly because he was tired, and partly because he prefers pizza for every meal, he did not like my answer. He proceeded to protest and cry right next to me as I was folding clothes. He carried on for a couple of minutes, much to Seth's chagrin. Thankfully, though, his little tantrum was extremely short-lived. It was like all of the sudden someone flipped his switch off. He went from crying to sleeping in no time flat. Thank God! (The only downside? He was taking a nap in the evening, which did not bode well for bedtime.)

That laundry pile looks pretty comfortable, doesn't it?!

Buddy's back!

2011-12-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

Caroline and Evan got the biggest kick out of what our Elf on the Shelf was doing today. Usually Buddy just hides in funny spots around the house. Today, however, Buddy must have been very hungry. He snuck one of our cookies and many times when we weren't looking, he would take another tiny bite.

Caroline and Evan thought it was so funny and kept checking on his cookie progress all day long.

Wonder what he'll be up to tomorrow?!

Hometown Christmas Stroll

2011-12-03T08:23:00.000-08:00

Our hometown has a Christmas Stroll every year with oh-so-much going on downtown, fun and food for all. We've gone to it almost every year since we moved here, so it's definitely a family tradition.

Santa always visits with the kids at the library. So we use it as our chance for the kids to sit on his lap, take a picture and tell him what they'd like for Christmas. It was a very long line to wait in this year, so Dave held our place while I took the kids to the magic balloon man. Caroline got a mouse balloon that she absolutely loved at first sight. As soon as each kid got their balloon creation, we went back to the Santa line with Dave. Unfortunately, right when it was our turn to visit with Santa, Caroline's mouse balloon broke. Oh, the tears!! We assured her that we would ask the balloon man to fix it, but it took letting a few families to go in front of us for her to calm down. Then she was concerned that Santa saw her cry...Poor thing! Thankfully he reassured her that a few tears are ok, that she had been a good girl this year. Evan got a little one on one time with Santa while Caroline settled....

...and then they all got to visit with Santa. :)

Here's the balloon man...

...and the infamous mouse balloon!

Then it was on to posing for a picture with Watson, our library's mascot.

We headed over to the fire station to see the fire safety house and the fire trucks.

Then we saw the fire department's demonstration of what happens with Christmas tree fires.

It's a very scary danger, and really drove home lessons about how to be safe during the Christmas season.

This is a video of an artificial Christmas tree burning.

After that, we went over to the community center to visit Evan's class and teacher.

There were a number of different organizations that had a display, food or activities set up for the kids in the community center. One of them was the animal shelter. The workers from the shelter brought in a couple of wild animals that had been hit by cars. During the process of being nursed back to health, they had imprinted on humans.

Here's Caroline with a sweet opposum. We told the kids that most animals of his kind were very shy and would not let you pet them like they were able to do with this one.

Here's Evan talking to a Canadian Goose, whose personality was like no other Canadian Goose we know. ;)

The kids were fascinated!

Afterwards we ran in to Henry's 5th grade teacher from last year as well as Seth's 4th grade teacher from this year, Mrs. Bateman!

Then we went over to ride the Christmas train with Santa. For the rest of the night, Caroline kept telling me how excited she was to be able to sit right next to the REAL Santa!

Our last stop for the night was Candyland. One of the banks in town decorated their office to the hilt to make it look like a lifesize replica of the board game!

I can't imagine the work involved in putting something like that together!
What a night! :)

Preparing for Christmas

2011-12-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

With my parents' help last week, we decked the halls. Then my mother-in-law came to stay with us on Monday and Tuesday to help us catch up and let me go Christmas shopping. Thanks to my family, Christmas is kind of getting under control around here. ;)

Buddy, our Elf on the Shelf, came for the first time yesterday morning! He hides in a new place every morning, watches the kids all day, and then flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa about if they were good or bad. Caroline was sooo excited, so much so that she wrote him a special note yesterday...

You can click on the picture to make it bigger...or you can read my transcription...
"You are the best elf on the shelf I ever had even thou I never had one before. I will miss you on Christmas. :( " By the elf, she wrote the following:
"I axadently made your hat to short."
"I axadently made you to fat."
"I axadently made your face to creepy looking." (Ha! Love that!)
Perhaps to make him feel better, she added, "but your smile is okay."
Hee hee!

Then Caroline wrote a letter that she wanted Buddy to deliver to Santa...

Dear Santa Claus:
In a book Mrs. Holly is Jolly, AJ said Santa you have to loose some weight. But you don't have to that's wat makes you magic. I only think that.
P.S. Can you give me some crazy school books for Christmas please?
Buddy Please take this note to Santa. P.S. This note is from Caroline.

She was a happy girl that Buddy and Santa replied! :)

Our ditto house picture has been making the rounds on Twitter too. One of my friends sent me this link, and I thought it was a good one. :) Click here to check it out.

Seth's championship football team made the paper, and he was so proud!
Well, that's us, up-to-the minute! Hope you are doing well!

The Ditto House makes the rounds on Facebook

2011-11-30T20:06:00.000-08:00

Over the past week or so, a number of my friends have told me that the picture of our "Ditto House" that we did a couple of years ago has been posted to their newsfeed on facebook. Dave and I have been so amazed at how this photo has been EVERYWHERE. Then today one of my friends messaged me on Facebook that she saw our Ditto House on Ellen's page. Well, I thought that she was just talking about one of her friends named Ellen. No, she was talking about THE Ellen. As in Ellen DeGeneres. Her show has a facebook page called, of all things, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Click here for a link to it. I checked it out, and there was our house and our neighbors' house! In the 9 hours its been posted, it's gotten 28,093 likes, 7,315 shares and 1,986 comments!

Isn't that CRAZY?!

A McDonald's Monster Mash!

2011-11-29T04:43:00.000-08:00

Evan had a family party on his actual 5th birthday last Friday, and then on Monday he had his friend party. My poor young son was very confused and disappointed when he didn't turn 6 at this second party. ;) Evan's cousin, his friends from school and neighbors all joined him at McDonald's for a monster party.

Evan's favorite thing to draw right now is a one-eyed monster, so we thought that this theme was perfect for him!

Our McDonald's did a great job helping Evan celebrate with Happy Meals and goody bags.

The kids watched Evan open his presents...

and had a great time in the play place!

You've always got to have a funny face pic!

Then it was time to sing Happy Birthday...

and blow out the candles on the cake, with Robbie's help :). (We had to move the cake to the opposite side of the table from Evan, and right by Robbie, because of a pesky heating vent that threatened to blow the candles out. That, plus the fact that my nephew just had a birthday and candles of his own to blow out, made it a little confusing. Sweet boy!)
No worries...we just did a round two!

Evan had all kinds of fun monster stuff in his goody bags he gave to his friends, including these design-your-own monster masks. Note the one eye on Evan's mask. :)
Glad you had so much fun, birthday boy! Love you!

The Muppets

2011-11-27T18:55:00.000-08:00

I took the kids to see The Muppets the other day, and other than the fact that we had to sit in the first row of the theater because there were no other seats left, we LOVED it. We give it 10 Nosek thumbs up! It was really fun sharing with them something that I watched as a kid

The Three Amigos

2011-11-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

About a week ago, Evan was able to have two of his friends over for a lunch playdate. They had some big fun playing superheroes and Star Wars...
cheesed for the camera...

made lots of silly faces for the camera, and then giggled when they saw the picture...

and then watched a movie and ate popcorn together.
Evan's a lucky boy to have such fun friends!

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

2011-11-26T12:16:00.000-08:00

Our young elves, with the help of Grandma and Mom, have decked our halls! They did a beautiful job (pictures to come soon). Dad and Grandpa decorated outside, and then, of course, I needed to decorate the blog (with a little help from Evan). :)

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Yay Christmas!

5!!!!!!!!

2011-11-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

Our big boy remembered something very important this morning. The first thing he said to me today was not, "Good morning, Mommy!" He said, "I'm FIVE!!" That's right. This young man is a full hand of fingers now!

Grandma and Grandpa Orton spent the night with us! We all sat down to Evan's favorite breakfast, which is cinnamon rolls, bacon and eggs. Then it was time to open presents!

Evan has been very into Star Wars lately, so he got an AT-AT vehicle, Star Wars figures, a Darth Vader Transformer, and a General Grievous mask! Evan played for FOREVER with them, and his brothers and sister joined him which made him very happy!

After that, we put the lights and ornaments on the Christmas tree that we had set up on Thanksgiving night. It was so much fun this year listening to the kids remember the stories behind each ornament, many of them special gifts from their Aunt Karen, Grandma, Aunt Shirley as well as handmade ones from preschool and grade school.

Then we got ourselves all showered and ready to go for a special night out to celebrate Evan's birthday and to kick off the Christmas season. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Karen, Uncle Jim, Robbie, Uncle Bill and our family all went to our favorite hamburger joint.

Here's Evan and I posing with his special monster birthday cake, one that he's had his eye on at our grocery store for about a month.

Our favorite 5 year old, our favorite 4 year old, the older kids and me!

I love my sweet nephew!

After we ate, we went to my hometown's Christmas Parade.

The kids got a front row seat. They were pretty excited about that. Can you tell?!

Young Robbie had a great seat too, on top of his dad's shoulders!

Brothers!

Sister and brother!

My handsome husband and me

My mom and dad

My sister Karen, brother-in-law Jim, and Robbie

Santa came, and the kids were so excited, but sadly this is the best picture I have of the event. I definitely need to work on my night time picture-taking.

The whole crew before we called it a night

Thanks for the special night out, Mom and Dad! Love you!

Evan's Birthday Eve!!

2011-11-24T20:44:00.000-08:00

After a full day of playing football, cards, cooking, eating turkey, pictochatting, hiking, and setting up a Christmas tree, we were all pretty tired. Some of us took naps,

and then we all cuddled up to watch "Horton Hears a Who!"

It was Grandma's last chance to cuddle a 4 year old Evan...

because tomorrow that very same boy will be turning 5!!! FIVE!!! Wow, I can't believe my baby is turning 5!
Sweet birthday dreams, Evan!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T16:38:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh, Thanksgiving! The turkey turned out great, thanks to my sister Karen's yummy recipe.

Dave did a fine job carving it. :)

Moxie did a fine job supervising and cleaning up any scraps that happened to fall.

Caroline set the table and made place cards. Beautiful job, Caroline!

Evan provided the beautiful turkey centerpiece that he made in preschool.

My parents brought many yummy side dishes. Here's our family gathering for Thanksgiving 2011! We used the china that I inherited from my Aunt Shirley, the set that we always had Thanksgiving dinners on at her house. We miss you, Aunt Shirley!

After the big meal, Dave and my brother, Bill took the kids on a hike at the marsh behind our house. Don't you just love Bill's hat? (OK, you're right, it's Caroline's!)

The hikers!

Our soon-to-be five year old!

Sweet Caroline!

and last, but not least, our handsome oldest sons, Seth,

and

Henry!

Doesn't this boy look huge? He's growing up so fast!

Our youngest and their favorite dad

The back of Bill's jacket after the kids finished decorating him with burrs. :)

He's just a big kid...Bill climbing a tree

After the hike, we rearranged the living room and set up the Christmas tree (and a few other smaller trees).

And after all that, we watched a little football. My brother was kind enough to dote on Moxie...she LOVES him!

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving. Hope yours was too!

The Entertainer

2011-11-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about Evan is how much he loves to share with us the songs he learns in preschool. Tonight when we were cleaning up the kitchen from dinner, Evan just plopped himself down in the middle of the kitchen for a little impromptu performance of "The More We Get Together". Because I didn't catch the first performance, I asked him to sing an encore that I could record. He happily obliged, so without further ado, I give you Evan's cover of this ever popular song...

Good singing, Evan!

Our sickie and some stories

2011-11-19T18:47:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to my mother and father-in-law's house for a dinner with Uncle Larry, Aunt Sue, Uncle Jim and Aunt Jean. We had such a nice visit, and were so happy to see them because we don't get to do that often.

Our whole family went except for Caroline because she went to a good friend's birthday party/sleepover. When we picked her up in the morning, her friend's mom commented that she was quieter than normal. I asked her about it, and she said that she had a headache all morning. I didn't think too much of it because she is prone to head aches, and probably being up late at the sleep over might have triggered one. I gave her some Tylenol, and then Caroline and I snuggled in bed, watched the movie Enchanted, and snoozed.

When she woke up, she got all teary, and said that she was worried that she was sick and wouldn't be better by the time she had to return to school. In a week and a half. (The kids are on Thanksgiving break this week.) I told her that she had plenty of time to get better if she was sick, that we would take good care of her. Because she was so weepy, I thought that something other than just tiredness was going on. I took her temperature, and sure enough she was running one. My poor sweetheart barely ate lunch, and then napped for most of the rest of the day...like this...

She said that it helped her headache to lay like that. :0(

I'm crossing my fingers that the rest of us don't catch this bug because we want to have some fun over break, and because we're hosting Thanksgiving.

While I was with Caroline and doing laundry, Dave took the boys out to clean up the garage. And check this out...they made it so that we can park our two cars in there! We're pretty happy about that because now we don't have to worry about brushing the snow off the cars when it comes.

Now the rest of the garage...that's another story. It looks like it does because of a garage sale that never happened and because we're storing things in there that we're trying to sell on Craig's list. (So far we haven't had much luck.) It's baaaaddddddd...but we won't think about that right now because....

we can now fit two cars in the garage!!! And we need to celebrate that. :)

I took this picture from our back yard a few mornings ago when I was up with Henry before school. It was beautiful outside!
I'll finish this post up by sharing a couple of stories...

A few nights ago at the dinner table, the kids were sharing what they wanted to be when they grow up. Evan shared that his friend, Connor, wants to be Buzz Lightyear. :) Evan said that he wants to be the Hulk. Ha! Seth said, "I want to be some kind of a scientist. Maybe I'll study magnetism, or space...or maybe CH (as in cha-cha)-EMISTRY." Hee-hee!

Then, tonight we were watching Apollo 13 together. At one point, one of the main characters swore, and really, you couldn't fault them for it given the situation they were in, right? Well, Dave turned to the kids and said, "Just so we're clear, you can only ever say that word if you are flying through space and something explodes in your space ship, all right?" We all laughed. :)

That's it for tonight...got to go take care of my sick little girl!

Yes, we spent a fortune.

2011-11-15T06:33:00.000-08:00

School pictures R Us. I believe we spent about 95% of our household budget on school pictures this fall. ;) (I seriously can't believe how expensive they are!)

However, I am so glad to have them!

Henry's cross country team (He's in the bottom right.)

Henry

Seth's football team (He's in the top left row.)

Seth

Caroline's soccer team (She's in the top middle.)

Caroline

Evan's soccer team (He's in the bottom right.)

Evan

Henry's 6th grade picture

Seth's 4th grade picture

Caroline's 2nd grade picture

Evan's preschool picture

Evan's preschool class picture
Cute kiddos, huh?! :)

Wherever we go,

2011-11-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

there she is.

She snuggles at our feet...
listens to our music practice...

and loves to sprawl under our chairs when we eat.
Sweet, silly dog!

Spinning my wheels

2011-11-13T18:54:00.000-08:00

That's us right now. We're working non-stop, but honestly, to look around this house, you wouldn't guess that. Dave's playing basketball at the church. I just got the kids to bed. And now I am looking around the house thinking a tornado must have passed through here, and really not feeling like doing anything about it.

But...we were busy and productive today, just not in any way that anyone looking at the inside of our house would be able to tell.
--We went to church.
--We went shopping for a treadmill. We didn't find one of those, but we did find 4 pairs of used ice skates for the kids to use on our back pond and at the lake. They were pretty excited.
--Henry started a big project for one of his classes today, and is about 75% done with it.
--Caroline and Seth finished their homework. Seth finished two projects as well.
--I cooked a good dinner.
--They all practiced their math facts.
--Henry practiced his trumpet.
--The kids all showered and bathed.

I look at that list and think it doesn't look like a lot. But then why were we so busy? Why am I so tired? And here is the biggest question...Why am I so whiny?

Don't you think I should quit my complaining and just clean up the kitchen and go to bed? You're right. Hopefully a good night's sleep and a bit of cleaning will snap me out of this. Sorry, friends!

An Advertisement

2011-11-13T18:36:00.000-08:00

Henry is reading the book, Hatchet, in his Literature class. One of the assignment he was given was to draw an advertisement for an invention he would create, and then to write a commercial that will last 60 when he reads it to the class. This is what he came up with...

His writing for the commercial just made me laugh...You probably can't read the words in this picture, so I'll type it below.

Ever worry about going hunting and getting lost? Stop worrying! The solution is the Complete Gun Survival Kit! Replace your silly old rifles with this one! It has a compartment on the barrel that holds...first aid, a knife, a flashlight (if it gets dark), some batteries for the flashlight, a lighter (this is necessary to have if you do not want to have to act like a neanderthal rubbing two sticks together to get a fire going), and some bug spray inside! It also helps if a bear attacks you because it serves two purposes...shooting and survival! You would be a fool not to buy it this second! It could be the difference between life...and DEATH! It makes a great Christmas present! Now only $11.99!

Don't blink.

2011-11-12T19:40:00.000-08:00

I did, and look what happened. The whole week passed by, and I only blogged on Tuesday. That's crazy.

I'm trying to figure out why I've been in such a slump lately. For sure, I am so grateful for all of our blessings, and we have it so much easier than so many others. And truly, many things are going well. The kids are doing great in school, and that is the most important thing. We were being pretty productive for a while, and checked a number of jobs off of our list.

However, for the past couple of weeks, I've just been dragging. I get to the end of the day, after the kids have their homework done, are showered and in bed, and all I want to do is crawl into bed myself. I read for a few minutes and that's about all I can last. I fall sound asleep. Maybe it's the pace we were keeping for a while, that I'm just needing to take a breather. Maybe it's the cold weather and less sunshine. Maybe it's just the day in/day out doldrums of the demands of a big, busy family. Maybe I'm just feeling overwhelmed and need some extra rest. Whatever it is, it makes for less blogging and less laundry done and less decluttering and so on.

So today I vowed to get back on my horse. The kids helped do some chores around the house this morning, Dave checked off some things on the "Honey, do" list, and I did major amounts of laundry. I emailed, made phone calls, etc. I helped Henry on some homework and got him started on a big project. The kids practiced their math facts and Henry practiced his trumpet. Dave took Seth to for his basketball evaluation to place him on an appropriate team. (He's thrilled that many of his friends as well as football team mates are going to play basketball too.) I took Henry, Seth and Caroline to Toys R Us to create their Christmas lists with the scan guns. (They LOVED it, and Santa now knows exactly what they would like! Thanks for the idea, Kathy!) Dave played with Evan and took Moxie on a walk. Then I dropped Caroline off at a birthday party sleepover, and we had some quality time with Our Three Sons. :)

We set up marble ramps,

we wrestled, and we read. I love these boys!

It's my goal to have the same kind of a day tomorrow...church and Sunday school, housework, homework, finishing the day up by curling up in bed with a good book and going to bed early. (I just finished reading The Kitchen House and LOVED it. Now I'm reading The Violets of March, and am completely hooked.)

I hope your weekend is productive, fun and relaxing too! :)

A Rescue Mission

2011-11-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

Today, our three good-hearted sons and very caring pet panda (AKA Caroline in her favorite new hat)
showed how compassionate they are by rescuing all of the worms on our sidewalk and driveway

and although Evan wanted to keep them and give them names,
after a little encouragement from his older and wiser siblings, he agreed to let them go back to their preferred environment. :)

The 4th Annual Robbie Bobbie Birthday Fall Fun Fest!!

2011-11-07T14:45:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, family gathered at my sister and brother-in-law's house for a beautiful fall day

celebrating their son and my favorite 4 year old nephew, Robbie!

Henry,

Caroline,

Seth,

and Evan

laughed in the leaves

and launched leaves to their hearts' content.

Then Grandma and Grandpa A arrived bearing gifts in a new wagon!

Robbie was so excited, so Caroline took him for a spin.

After Leaf Lollapalooza, we all helped bag the leaves

The birthday boy with his two grandmas

Then Uncle Bill (AKA Robbie's favorite jungle gym) arrived, much to this 4 year old's delight.

My sister's decorations were again absolutely amazing...Check out all of these fun signs she made! (Robbie LOVES signs, and reads them all the time. Such a smart boy!)

Karen made delicious cupcakes as well as

goody bags for her nephews and niece complete with their own street sign.

Robbie and me...LOVE!

Here's Robbie showing his great Grandma an IPhone game. :)

Robbie and his Grandpa A. I love the way Grandpa's looking at him!

The big boy got a bike for his birthday!

Here's the big boys getting Robbie accustomed to his new wheels.

My Dad and my brother!

Sweet Robbie!

Happy birthday, 4 year old! We love you!

Meet my husband...

2011-11-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

Dave (AKA Larry), the cable guy.
Dave dressed up as Larry the Cable Guy for his company Halloween party, complete with Chevy hat, cut-off plaid shirt, "Git-r-done" sign, and beard. (A few of his co-workers wondered if maybe he grew his beard for this costume, lol.)

Pretty good, Dave!

Henry's Report Card...I laughed, I cried...

2011-11-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

Because I can check his grades on the internet, I knew good news was coming. I was prepared. ;)But even still, when Henry showed me this report card as he walked through the door...Wow, seeing the proud smile on his face and knowing how hard he had worked and how far he had come, I couldn't stop the tears from coming.

So, yes, I cried. Why, you may ask, did I laugh? Well, it was a story that Henry told me about his report card. Apparently, when he first received it, he was looking it over and saw this...

Now, you and I, being experienced report card readers, understand pretty quickly that what is shown there is a key, specifically one showing the amount of effort a student puts forth in class. Looking at the above report card, we can see that Henry got all 1's, which means "Excellent effort". Unfortunately, poor Henry saw what was shown in the above picture and thought that was part of his actual grade. He couldn't understand why two of his teachers gave him "Low effort" and "Poor Effort". Thankfully, one of his friends quickly explained and put his mind at ease. Ha!

After he shared his report card and that story for me, he said, "Mom, since I did so good on my report card, could I have a root beer?" To that I said, "Of course!" Some parents reward good grades with money. Apparently we pay out with root beer. ;)

We're proud of you, Henry! Keep up the good work!

Their Halloween Haul should be safe...

2011-11-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

I told the kids that they were lucky that candy is not on my Eat Clean diet. :)

Their candy SHOULD be safe while they are at school or out and about, although...

the Reese's peanut butter cups and Sour Patch Kids are definitely testing my will power! These pictures make it look like they were taking inventory, so maybe they still didn't trust me. ;)

Stay strong, Sarah! :)

Funny Friends

2011-11-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

Some of Evan's best friends he has known since birth, so they definitely feel comfortable around each other...

...comfortable enough to pose with funny teeth...

...to dance like crazy fools together...

...and to show off their arm tatoos while acting like shirtless tough guys.

They do provide this mom with some good entertainment!

We are the CHAMPIONS, my friends!

2011-11-01T20:18:00.001-07:00

I think there's a song that goes something like that. ;)

Anyways, what an amazing way our White Knights ended their season! LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!! Tonight we got together again for two reasons:
1.) To revel in the excitement and glory of their victory one more time as a team, and
2.) To take some pictures of our winning team as the terrible weather conditions on Sunday did not allow for a good group shot. The boys were all miserably cold, and it was pouring, so what we got on film did not do the achievement justice.

So we did a redo...

Our Seth...
Our Champion White Knights!

Did I mention that they are "Number 1"? ;)

Here they are with the team banner we flew at every game.

And finally, here's Seth with the best football coaches around, and they just so happen to be ours. We couldn't have asked for a more encouraging group of coaches. Our team was blessed.

See you next year (oh, and at the pizza party!), White Knights!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T19:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Our Halloween started early because the younger three were able to wear their costumes to school. They rushed through their breakfast and chores in order to get dressed up ASAP. All three of the boys were skeletons this year, while Caroline was Ghoulia Yelps, one of the Monster High girls. She chose her costume because she thought it was very stylish (really, what says style like blue hair?), because it had lots of accessories included, and because when she was walking out of the fitting room, she ran into one of her best friends, Audrey, IN THE SAME COSTUME. (You can imagine their screams of delight, can't you?)

After I dropped Seth and Caroline off at school, I went with Evan to his preschool Halloween party, where the kids did crafts and games,

had yummy snacks,

sang spooky songs for their parents,

and modeled fabulous costumes.

In the afternoon, Evan, Dave and I went to see Caroline...

and Seth in their Halloween parade.

Then Dave took Evan home while I helped at Seth's party. Just look at all of these fabulous fourth graders!

We played the traditional "Wrap a Mummy" game.

Here's the finished result!

After school, we dressed the kids in layers upon layers, grabbed a snack, and then headed out to trick or treat with some of our best friends!

At one house we stopped at, the owners had rented a cotton candy machine!
Another house had an amazing Halloween display in their front yard, complete with a skeleton rigged up to transmit the owner's voice. The kids laughed and conversed with him for the longest time!

When we were done trick or treating, we came home for a pizza dinner and finished up homework. (It hardly seemed fair that there was school the next day!) Then Evan and I went over to Evan's buddy, Ryan's (oh, I mean Batman's!) house so that they could play and enjoy each other's costumes a little bit.

Then the kids humored me by posing for a group shot...aren't they a good looking group?! :)

I'll finish up this post with pictures of our pumpkin masterpieces...

Hope your Halloween was fun too!

The Championship Game

2011-10-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

Our beloved White Knights played the Black Knights in the League Championship game today. They earned their spot in the championship by beating the Bengals last week. That's our Seth in a picture that one of our friends just sent today.

Our archrivals, the Black Knights, were undefeated, and were favored to win. Our White Knights had 2 losses, one in a heartbreaker to the Black Knights. The championship game was played on a beautiful, brand-new high school football field. It was fun to see the boys play on astro-turf, while we sat in real bleachers. :)

It was MISERABLE outside. MISERABLE. As in 45 degrees, rainy and windy. YUCK! This picture shows how we watched the game. I was wearing my "George Costanza"/Michelin Man jacket, and the kids stayed huddled under blankets. Blue Blob #1 was Caroline, Blue Blob #2 was a sleeping Evan, and Blue Blob #3 was Henry. :)

The Black Knights scored 6 points in the first quarter. It was neck and neck in the 2nd and most of the third. At the end of the third quarter, our team scored 6 points to tie it up. With 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter, one of our star running backs broke off a 40 yard run, bringing it to the 11 yard line. Two plays later, we punched it in for another touchdown with 10 seconds left in the game.

It was amazing! They fought through adversity and awful weather, and look at them now! We are SO proud of our LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!

Our very soggy, cold and super-excited Seth...When we got home he ate 10 chicken nuggets, drank hot chocolate, and took a long hot shower AFTER I took his picture. :)

Keepsakes from a fantastic football season...

a team picture...

a picture of our favorite football player...

and a beautiful 1st place trophy!

WAY TO GO, WHITE KNIGHTS!

Party at Seth's house!!

2011-10-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, it was a month and four days after Seth's real birthday. However, last night we had a birthday honoring our favorite ten year old with all of his favorite friends. I had decided that we needed to wait until all of the fall sports were mostly done, so I told Seth that by the end of October we would have a party for him. We just made it! :)

When I picked Seth up from school, he could hardly contain his excitement. He helped me decorate and set up for his party, and even dusted and cleaned a little for me too. Unfortunately, as you can see, he missed a few cobwebs. ;)

When his friends arrived, they played a little basketball, and a little "tackle Mr. Nosek."

Then it was time for Seth's favorite food and drink...pizza and root beer, mmmm!

Seth loves his friends...Matthew...

Will...

Mason and Giancarlo...

as well as Jack and Patrick!

Seth requested a "cookie cake".

Here's the whole crew right before we sang "Happy Birthday" to Seth.

Then it was time to open presents. I love Seth and Will's laughing faces in this picture.

Mason, Seth and Gian

The whole crew again...I think this is my favorite picture from the whole night. I told Seth that we might frame it for his room. :)

We played a few of Aunt Debby's Minute to Win It Halloween games. Here's Mason doing a fine job at the Frankenstein walk.

Evan was suprisingly good at this game too!

Will was pretty quick at picking up the scary ingredients with his straw for the Witch's Stew game.

Seth really "shook his Boooo-ty" to get all of the ping-pong balls out of the kleenex box attached to his back.

Seth wanted to show his friends the Party Rock Anthem Halloween house on the computer. They loved it!

At the end of the night, the kids snuggled up in their sleeping bags to watch Captain America, which was just released on DVD. The kids were so excited to see it! Caroline and I made sure they were well supplied with popcorn, and then she and I went upstairs to the master bedroom to watch Cats and Dogs. Since I had been getting up at 5 every day this week, I was exhausted, so I fell asleep watching the movie even before Caroline did! Dave stayed up with the boys watching the movie, and then it was lights out by 12:30.
The kids slept in until 7:30-8:30, so they actually got a decent amount of sleep for a sleepover! For breakfast, the kids had donuts, bacon and eggs, and then played some more.

Seth said that it was his best birthday party ever, and although he says that every year, I always love to hear it! :)

Happy birthday, Seth!

Party Rock Anthem Halloween House

2011-10-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

The kids and I just found this clip this morning...WOW! Love it! Wonder if Dave could do this for our house! ;)

Awww!

2011-10-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

One of Caroline's sweet friends (Audra) was not able to come to her birthday party. So yesterday Audra and her mom had Caroline over for a playdate where they celebrated her birthday. It was so thoughtful...just look at their set up! They made Caroline feel so special. :)
Thank you, Audra and Lisa!

Playoffs and Pursuing the Perfect Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, while I was off having fun with my friends, Seth went to a sleepover birthday party for his friend, Will. And to celebrate the end of a successful quarter, we let Henry invite a couple of his friends over for the night. It was a weekend full of sleepovers. God bless my husband because although I was home for Friday night's sleepover, he handled Saturday's on his own. He deserves a guys' night out soon!

On Sunday morning, when we normally would have been going to church, we packed up the family to go cheer Seth on in his 1st round playoff for his football team. They WON! So now the championship game is between our beloved White Knights, and their rivals, the Black Knights. It's a classic case of good vs. evil. ;)

Here's a clip of our team at the end of their post-game huddle...

After the game, we went out to celebrate Seth's team's success at Portillo's, and then tried to find a place to buy our pumpkins. Sadly, the pumpkin patch that we have gone to for the past few years with my husband's extended family is no longer around.

The first farmstand we went to was very cute, but the price of their pumpkins did not fit our budget. So we thought that we'd stop at Aldi to pick up pumpkins. Despite being a very unromantic site for picking pumpkins, Aldi does have very good prices on big pumpkins. Unfortunately, Aldi's were out of stock. :(

So we thought we'd look for another, and hopefully cheaper, farmstand on the way home. We happened by a small farm that I imagine has just started into the Halloween business (kind of like Sunny Acres a few decades ago, family). They had one little shop where you could buy jams, jellies, fruits, veggies and Halloween decor. One little shop, that's it. They had a little play area, and although they charged to get into it, it was only a few bucks, not like twelve. The farmer took us on a hayride through their corn field to a hidden pumpkin patch, and it was huge, with TONS of pumpkins to choose from. The pumpkins were not $2.50 like they were at Aldi, but $6 was not bad for a huge pumpkin and a hayride! Needless to say, I think that this will be our new traditional spot to get our pumpkins every year.

On the hayride going to pick out the perfect pumpkins!

My favorite daughter and I (although when I say that, Caroline usually corrects me and says that's not fair to Moxie!)

The boys

She found her favorite!

Evan almost chose this bumpy pumpkin.

Henry with his choice

Seth, half skeleton, half football player, with his choice

Bringing the pumpkins back on the hayride! They were so proud of their pumpkins!

Caroline hugging her brother and her pumpkin!

On the way out, we stopped in the shop to pay for our pumpkins...the kids found these fancy fingernails and couldn't resist scaring their mother.

Finally, here's Seth posing with the pumpkin that he carved at his friend Will's party Saturday night.
What a fun fall weekend!

My turn

2011-10-25T03:52:00.000-07:00

On Friday night, Caroline had a party with her friends, and on Saturday, I went to a party with my friends! We had a Halloween party at "the hostess with the mostest" Carlene's house. (She's the pink and black cat.) (Notice how I'm a full head taller than everyone else?! That's because I was wearing super tall heels and everyone was crouching to make sure that people in the back row could be seen.)

We played a little bunco, had yummy food and laughed all night! ;)

I laugh at this picture of myself. First of all, this is the first time I have dressed up for Halloween in years. (Last year a pumpkin t-shirt was the extent of my costume.) Second, I was in a mad rush to find a suitable costume on Saturday afternoon. It was IMPOSSIBLE to find a costume that wasn't too revealing and was long enough (apparently they don't make costumes in tall sizes). After looking in two stores and trying on 5-6 costumes, I finally settled on this one because it was the only one that fit. Third, I don't even know the name of what I was. I think I was maybe some type of Goth character, which just makes me laugh because look how I am smiling and posing in this picture (not so Goth). I think that if I ever wear this costume again I should take Goth acting lessons. :) Fourth...seriously? Me, Goth? That's just funny.

Towards the end of the night, we got a little punchy, and were laughing at everything, especially when we started modeling each other's wigs.
Caroline had a sleepover on Friday night...I almost had a sleepover on Saturday night. A few factors led to me falling asleep on Carlene's couch at the end of the party;

I was so worn out from the Friday night fun.

I had one (one!) beer, and I am an extreme lightweight when it comes to drinking.

I have NEVER been known for my ability to stay up late.

I carpooled with a three other girls, and they are VERY GOOD at staying up.

At about one o'clock AM, I made my apologies, gave up the fight and curled up on the couch. My friends woke me up just a little bit later and drove me home. :) It's a good thing I'm not really a Goth, because I think I'm better suited to be a suburban mom, ha!

A Birthday Bash!!

2011-10-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

Call us crazy and we will absolutely agree with you. The proof of our insanity is what my husband and I did on Saturday night...

We had a birthday party for Caroline...

and invited 15 girls, thinking surely some would not be able to come...

but they all did...

and it was a SLEEPOVER.

I'll let you mull that over in your mind a little bit.

That's right. We had 15 very excited little 7 and 8 year old girls, 16 counting Caroline. On the invite, we said that the girls could sleep over night with us if they would like to. Four wound up going home, and the rest stayed.

Aside from a few moments of drama (after all, they are girls) and NON-STOP action, the party was a success. Caroline and her friends were happy little girls! (A BIG shout out to my mom and dad for taking Henry, Seth and Evan to a movie, and letting them spend the night...Thank you so much!)

We started out the night with pizza and juice...and a little dancing entertainment from Caroline and Elyse...

Then it was time for cake (in Caroline's new favorite color, orange!)...

and the birthday song...

Caroline blew her candles out, but they kept relighting because her rotten mom used the trick kind. Aren't these sweet friends beautiful?!
Then it was time for opening presents. Caroline's friends spoiled her!

After that we played a little Halloween "Minute to Win it!" My husband's Aunt Debby had thought of these fun games for her Halloween party for our family at the lake, and she graciously let us use her ideas and supplies for Caroline's party. This picture shows Audrey doing "Shake your BOOOO-ty!," where the kids got to attach a kleenex box full of ping pong balls to their booty, and then they had to shake the balls out of the box in under a minute. Hilarity ensued. :)

Here's Caroline shaking her booooty!

Then it was time to make witch's stew. The kids had to suck up ingredients (a bat, an eyeball, a bone, etc) with a straw, and then transport them into the witch's cauldron.

We played a few more games, like The Frankenstein Walk and Dizzy Mummy, played a little house and school, danced, watched a movie, ate popcorn, and then settled the girls down for the night at around 11:00. Thanks to us setting the clocks ahead, the girls thought that they were staying up until 12:30, and that was a good thing. Several of the girls, including Caroline, had their last soccer game of the season the next morning, and I didn't want them to be too tired to play well.

The girls woke up early the next morning, and we made them a good breakfast of donuts, cider, bananas, bacon and eggs. They were very thankful to have more time to play after that, and they used it well by writing and performing their own play.

What a party! Happy birthday, sweet Caroline!

Progress

2011-10-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

Clean closet...

and a clean playroom...

make Sarah a happy girl. :)

On Friday night, we'll have a houseful of Caroline's friends for a sleepover/birthday party. I had better enjoy the cleanliness and organization while lasts!

Caroline and the Third Commandment

2011-10-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

In Caroline's Religious Education class, they've been talking about the Ten Commandments and sin. I can tell that Caroline is really processing this information because at home she has been talking about it a lot and asking many questions. Caroline came home to tell me that she had a conversation with one of her friends about the Third Commandment, which is "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain." This particular friend says "Oh my G--!" often, and Caroline was apparently worried about it. Caroline shared her worry with her friend, and suggested an alternative phrase for her to use...

"Oh my HAMSTER!"

or

"Oh my BANANA!"

or

"Oh my TOOTHBRUSH!"

Caroline said that her friend loved the new phrases, that they were both laughing a lot, and that her friend didn't break the Third Commandment all afternoon. :) Sweet Caroline!

Study Partners

2011-10-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

Henry and his good friend, Dylan, are on the same team in middle school. In three of their classes they have a test tomorrow, so they decided to study together. I think that they did well in that they stayed focused, read over all of their notes, and even made practice quizzes for each other.
We'll see how they do tomorrow, and if we let them study together again. ;) Good luck, boys!

Random thoughts on a Tuesday morning

2011-10-18T04:45:00.000-07:00

--I am loving my mornings! Yes, it is hard to wake up at 5:00 in the morning, but that feeling lasts for only a few minutes. The results of waking up early lasts all day. I am able to have some quiet time to myself to prepare for the day. I get some one on one time with Henry because he is the first one up and out the door. Then Seth and Caroline get up, and I can focus on them. Evan is the last to get ready because he goes to school last. I love the staggered design because I feel like by the time they need to go, we've had enough time to get each of them prepared. Sending the kids off to school well inspires me to be more productive when they are gone. So, all in all, the mornings are what they need to be. :)

--Caroline and I went out to dinner together and then to Secret Keeper Girl LIVE! on Friday night.What's a secret keeper girl, you ask? According to their website, "A Secret Keeper Girl values modesty, she surrounds herself with wise friends and she embraces Godly beauty. So, she keeps the deepest secrets of her beauty for just one man. But she also knows that she can share all of her heart secrets with her mom at any time. The coolest thing for you to know is that a Secret Keeper Girl is a masterpiece created by God." Many of Caroline's best friends went. It was fun having a special night with her. We danced, we talked, we laughed with friends, and we prayed. All in all, we learned a lot and it was definitely a Friday night well spent.

--Getting the master bed and bath painted inspired me to get other things checked off my to-do list. Yesterday, I tackled the "out of control" playroom, bagging up garbage and games or toys that had missing parts as well as toys that have been outgrown. They immediately went to our garage, where they will be given to my nephew, Robbie, Goodwill or thrown away. Caroline's sleepover birthday party is on Friday night, and there is nothing like entertaining and the threat of an "influx of new toys" that motivates a mom to get organized. :) I am finishing the playroom today, and hope to tackle the basement and kids' rooms next.

--I have been reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother lately. It's been on my list of books I want to read for quite a while, and finally I have gotten around to reading it. One of the concepts I am taking from it is the fact that a very important way to show your love for your children is to make sure that they are well-prepared for their future, and not letting anything stand in the way of that. One of the areas that we are focusing on right now, drilling morning and night, is math facts. There have been some complaints and the kids have not had as much free time, but because I love them, I am not letting that stop us. We have been using a website called xtramath.com, and what I like about it is that it tests each child on their facts and figures out which facts they need extra practice with. The kids visit the site once or twice a day, and have practice sessions tailored to them. Finally, it keeps track of the facts that they've mastered on a chart. One more thing...it's FREE! We've also been using flashcards, as well as doing drill sheets from math-drills.com. I am really pleased with the progress the kids have been making!

--Henry has also been working on improving his keyboarding skills through a website called freetypinggame.net . Before school he works on one of the typing lessons, and after school he gets to play one of the games. It's been working for him because he is typing 10 words per minute faster than before he started the program!

--I had a great conversation with my little brother a few days ago. I haven't talked to him in too long, so it felt really good to catch up.

--Caroline cleaned her room yesterday, with Evan's help (!), and it looks beautiful.

--Dave worked late last night, so I did the carpooling, dinner, helping with homework, and getting the kids ready for bed by myself. I'm thankful that most nights he's home and in the trenches with me.

--I'm thankful for my runs. They definitely help me keep my sanity. There are so many things that I love about being a wife and a mom. HOWEVER. ;) There also are many frustrations and stresses that can eat me up, bog me down, and cause me to not see the beauty and enjoy this season of my life. Going out on a run helps me to work out some of those frustrations, gives me time to thing, and helps me to feel strong and capable.

--On that same note, I am thankful to be running outside. About a year ago, my brother-in-law injured his knee. He asked if we could trade our elliptical machine for his treadmill for a while. It worked out beautifully. He was able to recuperate with the help of the elliptical, and I was able to get back in to running because of the treadmill. Just a couple of weeks ago, he asked to exchange the machines again. The elliptical is sitting in our garage. We're going to take it to a Play It Again Sports and exchange it for our own treadmill. Having a treadmill is a really good thing, especially when its cold or rainy outside, or if I can't run until after the kids are in bed. However, not having the treadmill right now has gotten me running outside. Being out in the fresh air, soaking in some sunshine, and seeing the beautiful fall color is so therapeutic!

--I'm thankful for our fall sports (cross-country, football and soccer). We've really enjoyed them, and they have definitely helped us to budget our time well. Being busy with practices and games has forced the kids to use their time wisely. That fact was especially evident in Henry's life this fall. He has been such a busy kid with cross country practices, meets, and the increased homework load of middle school. He has been working his tail off. It has been hairy at times trying to fit everything in, but he has risen to the occasion. Our son is getting all As! Now that middle school cross country is done, he is joining a running club. As soon as Seth is done with football, he is joining it too. Since parents can participate as well, I'll be able to run with them sometimes too! I am loving the whole idea!

--That's all for now...the kids are up and it's time to start our morning! Have a good day! :)

Fitting it all in

2011-10-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

I have not been especially faithful to my blog this past couple of months. Truthfully, it's bothered me. I want to document everything. I want to remember everything and hold on to everything in this season in my life. I love this blog and everything I've captured here in videos, pictures and words.

Why, then, have I only blogged 6 times in this month? Why am I letting days go by without updating?

I wish that I could balance everything and do everything. But I can't, and really, no one can. I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed with what I can't get to, and trying to feel good about what I am getting done. There are a lot of good things happening right now, not everything that I would like, but I'm working at it. The kids are in a good place with school, sports and scouts, and that's the most important thing. Plus, we painted our master bedroom after living with blotchy paint-sampled walls forever, and I think I like it. :)

And to top it all off, tonight I blogged. :)

Hopefully soon I will have everything balanced so that I can fit everything in!

Learning her prayers

2011-10-12T21:05:00.000-07:00

This is a very important year of Religious Education for Caroline. She is preparing for her First Communion in the spring. She has been taking the process very seriously, getting her homework done right after it is assigned and diligently learning her prayers.

The way that she learns her prayers is a system that she came up with, and it is really working for her. And honestly, I find how she is doing it so sweet that I had to share. :) She practices a prayer until she remembers it, then tests herself by seeing if she can write the whole thing on a sheet of paper. She then draws a few crosses on the paper and hangs it over her bed.

Then, every night before she goes to sleep, she says her prayers. I am so proud of my sweet girl!

And, Mom, guess what? We finally hung that bulletin board that you made for Caroline. She LOVES it! (We also moved the doll shelf above the book shelf. It only took us about a year and a half to get that item checked off our to-do list!)

Keep up the good work, Caroline!

Having a "Moment" with Henry

2011-10-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

After school today, Henry walked in the door and had a snack. He then proceeded to practice his trumpet, do some homework, practice his keyboarding and math facts, and finished two projects. He did all of this without complaining, knowing that it all had to be done before he went to Religious Education class at 7:15. At one point, I looked over his shoulder, and seeing what a good job he was doing on his communication skills project, I actually got a little teary. I asked him to look at me, and said to him,
"Henry, I am so proud of you! You are hard-working, responsible and organized, and your grades are top-notch. You have come such a long way from some of the struggles you had last year. It has been a joy to watch you develop as a student this year. You are amazing me!"
Seriously? You should have seen his smile. He was beaming.
It was such a moment between us, and I will always remember it. :)

Random Picture Post

2011-10-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

Missed me? :) Sorry I've been gone so long! It's been a whirlwind around here since last last Wednesday night. We've been out of the house with sports, activities, family fun, etc., and FINALLY I was home all day today. Feeling overwhelmed, I tried to "catch up on everything". That's code for "I walked around in circles starting but never finishing countless items on my to-do list." "Inefficiency" was the word of the day today.

So here I sit on a Tuesday night, trying to process the past few days and plan for the next few. I'm feeling kind of scattered right now, partly because of the weekend and partly because of just being exhausted. Please bear with me...this post contains random pictures with no central theme and probably less than top-notch writing. :) With that kind of a set up, don't get too excited!

Yesterday our whole family went to my father-in-law/dentist :) to have him check our teeth. We got great news. NO CAVITIES! The kids got to put their pictures on the bulliten board.

Last Wednesday night right after CCD, Seth and his friends started working on their homework right away, even amongst distractions from yournger siblings. What good boys!

When Seth was stuck on a few of the questions, Matthew and Will put Seth right in the middle and helped him.
Seth and Evan sharing a quiet Angry Bird moment together at Henry's last cross country meet.

Right before the meet, the boys got together for a cheer.

Here's Henry right at the beginning of the race...kind of a cool shot. :) He did great!

We've been working on getting the kids their Halloween costumes all set. The boys decided to be skeletons, and Caroline is going to be one of the girls from a show called Monster High. When Caroline was trying on her costume, she walked out of the changing room and ran into one of her best friends, Audrey IN THE SAME EXACT COSTUME! Well, the girls thought it was fate, and decided right then and there that this costume was THE ONE!

Moxie is not a huge fan of the costumes. She barks whenever the kids put them on.

Caroline has been decorating the house for Halloween a little at a time. Don't you just love what she did with the chandelier? :)
That's all for now...Off to bed for me. 5 AM is going to come WAY TOO EARLY tomorrow.