Never Knew Fetch Could Be This Funny

Something about Ruby is incredibly funny to Luke. Maybe it is all that fur! He frequently laughs when she gets near or catches his eye. And she seems to love him; I think it is because he lives on the floor too. But today it was more than just her tounge licking his head or her big ol' shaggy face sniffing at him, he was in hysterics over her game of ball with Adam. With our brand new digital camera (what I call my "Thangiving gift;" our four-year-old one was about 100 shots away from a total nervous breakdown, so we figured we should get a new one before missing all the holiday pictures), we were able to capture the end of the game to share with you.

End of Season

Today Zach's soccer team, the Ice Cubes, had their last game. It has been a fun season with a team of great kids. Zach really showed his stuff this year. The kid has skills! He is a great soccer player and loves the game. Here are some pictures from the last day.

Little Pile of Leaves

Most of the trees in the greenbelt behind our house are Evergreens, so we fortunately don't get a huge number of leaves in our yard in the Fall that need raking. But we have one beautiful small-leafed maple tree in the yard, that loses all its tiny little leaves in October/November and attempts to make up for the lack of other deciduous trees. It is lush green in the summer, and the colors in the fall are bright and lovely. It gives shade in the evenings, Ben can monkey around in it, and it provides enough leaves in the fall for a few little piles to jump in. Most of the leaves fell off in the big wind storm that knocked over the other leafy tree, but there were still a few that held their ground, or their branch, as it were. Sadly, the wind today blew these last little clutching leaves off the tree, and scattered them all over the yard and patio. Ben, Josh and I set to raking them up to make the yard pretty for our potential buyers. But before they retired to the yard waste bin, we thought it only fair that the boys get to un-rake them a bit too!

I Am Thankful For...

Today was one of those days that all us women have. I had laundry in need of washing and folding, Josh and Luke both have chest colds (and are therefore very crabby), the lawn needed mowing and the plants needed to be cut back for winter, there are leaves everywhere, and on top of it all I had one of those Murphy's Law Moments. You know, Law #472 that states, "The day you decide to take a day off from staging your house because you are certain that no one is coming to see the house (because no one has come for a week), and you let it get messy in order to get other things done, not one, but two, real estate agents will come." Yes, that happened.

The worst part is that usually it is OK to let the house get a bit messy because we have asked that agents give us an hour warning before coming so we can tidy up and get out of the house. Well, I was so busy this morning trying to get laundry and yard stuff done that I took a late shower. Of course, that is when the phone call came in. So I missed it. They arrived and there were toys everywhere; laundry was folded in piles on the couch and coffee table; I was dressed, thankfully, but my hair was not yet brushed and looking more lion-like than usual; plus, the baby had just been woken up by his wonderful big brother, Josh, (and he was not happy about being awake) and hadn't eaten yet, so he was extra fussy. I would not usually be grateful for this, but it is fortunate that the two agents did not have clients with them and were just previewing! I was totally flustered, I didn't even think to turn off the kids' music which was blasting in the playroom. In the 10 minutes they were in the house, Josh fell off his chair where he was eating lunch and crashed into Ruby's water bowl. Josh was crying because he hurt his leg and his Flash costume got wet (because that is what he has been wearing every day since Halloween), and Luke was screaming because I had to put him down to make sure Josh was OK and clean up all the water. All the while, "La Vida Mickey" was blasting in the background (Disney's version of the Ricky Martin hit "La Vida Loca"). I just kept apologizing over and over (and they were really nice about it all, but I doubt they will be back). So that really helped set the stage for this crazy day. By dinner I was counting the minutes until bedtime. And then I ran across this....




This "I Am Thankful For..." Turkey is the art project Zach brought home from school last week. Zach included many feathers saying he was thankful for "Fellings" (Feelings), "Famaly," "D.S." (the Nintendo Double Screen, which he doesn't even have), "Jeses," and more. When he brought it home on Thursday the orange feather, however, was blank. So I asked him if he wanted to think of one more thing over the next few days and write it on. I have no idea when he did it because he never said anything to me, but tonight, just as I was throwing the Annie's mac-and-cheese box into the recycling I saw it. At some point over the last few days he had written in "Mom" in the "I am thankful for..." space on the orange feather. He did it without me knowing, he didn't ask for props or show me to get in my good graces, he just did it, and that makes it so much more precious. I nearly burst into tears right there, standing over the recycling! I love my children so much! It was just what I needed to get through the rest of the night. And I know it sounds cheesy, but I think Heavenly Father knew I needed that right then, which is why I didn't see it before. Don't worry, Zach got extra hugs before bedtime. I have so much to be thankful for!

Not Just for Football Fans

I love football, and this is nothing short of brilliant! Take a looksee, it is so amazing! The best part is the announcer totally keeps his cool until the touchdown. That is impressive! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7oF4ZDigjM

Rolling Along

Today's big news...Luke rolled over for the first time! After about 15 minutes of happily playing on his tummy, he started using his little baby muscles, pushing himself up until his arms were straight. He did this a few times, then all of a sudden, pop! He was on his back! He wasn't all that pleased about finding himself flipped over, and after about a half an hour trying to get him to do it again on camera I gave up. So all I have is the picture above of him saying, "Ha ha, Mommy, no video for you!" And looking like he is close to flipping, but alas, no actual clip. I will keep trying. But for now, once is good enough for me!

Seven Things only Adam knows...

You may know one or two, but here are seven things my friends may not know about me....
1-When I "grow up" my dream is to be a middle school math teacher, but I graduated with a Bachelor's in history, so I don't think I will be able to do it without having to get another degree in math before I get my Master's in education and that doesn't sound too appealing. Bummer.
2-I don't like sharing my glass of milk. I don't mind sharing any other drink, but there is something really yucky to me about seeing where other people's lips have touched my glass, and milk makes it obvious. I also don't like sharing my apple, what is it about an apple that makes people eat half the apple in one "shared" bite?
3-I think I am really funny, even though I know I am not. I usually end up just laughing at myself, by myself, unless I am with my sister (Adam tries, but I can usually tell it is a sympathy chuckle, while Leah is really laughing). I think it is because I think things are funny that others don't find all that funny, like puns, I LOVE them!
4-I LOVE to travel, and want to see the world, but I am TERRIFIED of flying. Don't ask me why, I know it is irrational, but I just can't get over it!
5-Before I started studying history I was in the Pre-Med track, I love science and would have liked to be a medical research doctor, but then I got to the complicated math classes and quit. Maybe that is why I want to teach math, so girls like me will feel confident in their math skills, and won't do stupid stuff like that.
6-I love going to the movies. My perfect day off from mommy-life is going to the movies and seeing at least three (if there are three goodies out at the time, like during the Holidays and at the start of the Summer) and eating a lot of good food in between (I love food too, but everybody knows that;)).
7-I wanted to join the Peace Corps or Greenpeace. I have always wanted to do something to make a difference in this world (thank my hippie mom for that, for example, she took me to the Boycott Exxon rally after the Valdez spill), and I know raising these boys to be good citizens of the world is my most important job, but one day I would still love to go out into the world, get my hands dirty, and help improve people's lives.
Now let me know some new things about you!

Cinco Meses Viejos

Still lovin' my tummy!

I can be serious too.
You are so funny, Mommy!
I'm going to eat you!!
My daddy, how I love him! Luke hit the five month mark today! I've said it before, but I will say it again...he is such a great baby! He loves snuggles and smiles. All you need to do is look at Luke and he lights up. He has moved from only coos and goos to coos, goos, squeals, shrieks and growls. I love every one of his sweet little sounds. He also just discovered that he can make raspberries with his lips, so there is a lot of spitting going on. That is cute too...for now. He shoves anything into his mouth, toys, blankets, burp cloths, hands, etc...anything, that is, but food! Luke does not like rice cereal one bit, and he has discovered that if he doesn't move his mouth or smack his lips when I put it in, it will just drool back out once it gets saturated enough with his spit to do so. So I can stick it in all day, and he just lets it plop on out. Smart little sucker! We are going to try oatmeal and carrots this week. We will see how that pans out. His favorite toy is that little rainbow lion in the picture above, sometimes it gets so droolie we have to set it aside for a whole day to let it dry, yuck! He still sleeps only so-so. We have our good nights and our bad ones. I know it will pass. But naps are getting longer and more scheduled out, which is nice, so if we hit a certain time in the day and he gets crabby, I know why. He hasn't rolled over yet, and he likes being on his tummy so much that it is rare when I see him even trying to push himself over, but it will happen soon, I am sure. He also tries to sit up if he is in any semi-reclined position at all. Sometimes he pulls himself up all the way, sits for about one second, and then ends up going right over on to his tummy. Our baby is growing fast, seis meses coming up!

My Heroes!

This year all the boys wanted to dress up as super heroes for Halloween, yes! So I got in one more year of having a Halloween costume theme with all four boys. I know the Halloween when they all want to go their separate ways costume-wise is approaching, but one more year of having something they all agreed upon was nice because it's so cute when they match! Two years ago we did Peter Pan, last year we hit the Star Wars theme, this year it was Super Hero time! Zach was Spiderman, Ben was Batman, Josh was Flash, and Luke, he was Super Baby. The pictures are from our church Halloween Party. Once again we invited our neighbors, Ian (Mario) and Evan (nerd boy), along for Halloween fun. Adam and I shook the dust off of our same-old-same costumes of a pumpkin and a witch, yeah, yeah, boring, but at least we try! If I am sly enough, maybe next year I can convince the boys to be Harry, Ron, Neville and Hermione (Luke won't mind, right?!).

Trick-or-Treating Super-Hero-Style

This is a conversation I have had 10 times today at least:

Josh: Mom, when is Halloween coming?

Me: Halloween is here now Josh! Today is Halloween.

Josh: Where is Halloween? Can I see it?

Me: No, Honey, Halloween is a day we celebrate, not something we can see.

Josh: Ohhh, Halloween is here, today!

Me: Yeah!

Josh: Can I see it?

Sometimes I just said, "No, Joshie, you can't, but you can have fun." Other times I tried to use the "It is a special day that only comes once a year, like your birthday" line, but since he thinks he had two birthdays this year (and another one is just a few days away, he's sure of it), that didn't help. I also tried to explain what it is we are celebrating...ummmm...yeah that came out something like, "We celebrate...." Here there was a long pause, then: "Candy...and costumes...." (and then under my breath) "and a long time ago it was a night to placate the dead to keep them from haunting you." What the heck is this holiday for now anyway?! So I pondered it for some time and then I had it...we celebrate being able to poke fun at the things we are scared of so they seem less scary. I tried this one out on Josh and guess what he said....

Josh: Oh, Halloween is a special day! And it's here! Can I see it?

You can't blame a mom for trying!

All, right, I just had to share. Now, on to the fun. We had another great Halloween night with our friends the Shevitz and Browns. Hannah was the Pink Super Girl, Zach was Superman and Madison was Princess Leia. Below are pictures from our Halloween night of spooking, treating and only a little tricking....

A good-looking group of spookies!

Yummy!

He would eat it all if we let him. He is our candy fiend! This is Madison, about whom Zach recently said, "I know who I am going to marry, and I think Madison has made up her mind too." Welcome to the family Madison!That's a lot of loot for little people (on that note, it's a lot for big people!). We let the boys pick out their 30 favorites and then we will give them 10 cents for each piece they give us after that. Pretty fair deal!