Happy New Year

We hang at home for New Year's. Going out just isn't for us right now. Evan has been asking me for a week if I was going to get apple cider. He's been pretty excited about watching the ball drop.

We are all in pajamas (I have new ones I bought today). The boys are playing Wii. We'll eat yummy stuff like meatballs and veggies. Then we'll watch tv.

Sounds pretty perfect to me.

It has been a blessed year. Here's looking forward to the future!


Eric and Evan playing Wii.


Hudson watching Dad play.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Part 2...or Part 3?

My mom with her four grandsons. The two on each end are Logan and Hunter (my sister's boys), and the two in the middle are my rascals.


What's better than a couple of Christmas kisses?!

Christmas - a little bit at a time

Eric downloaded his photos to our Picasa website. That means I can upload them to the blog. I'll do a few at a time over the next few days. It will give me something to blog about.


Evan and Hudson in their Christmas sweaters at my mom's house on Christmas Eve right before church.


Decent shot of my crazy monkeys.


Logan and Hunter with the boys after church. By this point, the boys were itching to get into their pj's so we could get to opening presents. However, the adults didn't get all the pictures we needed before church, so we made the kids endure a 10-minute photo session! Evil!

In other news, I took Hudson to the doctor again today because he is barking like a seal. He'll be on a nebulizer treatment every night for the next three weeks. Fun stuff.

Today was not nearly as exciting as yesterday. We did, however, play Hungry Hungry Hippos. Oh my goodness it was fun! The boys and I played about five rounds of the game. I always wanted this game as a kid. It's just as great as I always imagined!

We put it away so the kids could get ready for bed, and Hudson threw a royal fit. The child screamed at the top of his lungs that he wanted to play Hippo. Ugh. Tomorrow, kid, tomorrow.

X-Ray

Hudson had to get an X-ray today. He is prone to colds and congestion, so the allergist wanted him to get an x-ray to see if his adenoids are enlarged or inflamed or in the wrong spot...who knows.

I got him in at 10:15 this morning. All was going well until the technician told me we needed to take off his sweater (because it had buttons on it) and put him in a little gown. Hudson did not like the gown, and it made him very anxious.


See?

Luckily, Hudson did not resist. I was with him the entire time, and the technician was great. We got the picture in two takes. Hudson came out of it with four Iron Man stickers.


I was so proud of him.

Then we took off to the zoo. Thank you annual pass. We spent nearly two hours there.

Then we went to McDonald's. Thank you, Mom for a giftcard. The kids played there for a good hour.


Taking a break from running around with Brother.

Then we came home, and the kids convinced me to let them ride their bikes...even though it was raining! I caved and figured, why not? I sat in the garage and read my Nook while they rode around the cul de sac getting wet.

After a yummy dinner of pork tenderloin and winter vegetables, we snuggled up to watch Rudolph's Happy New Year, and now we are all snug in bed. Or at least three of us are. I'll be heading there shortly.

Things

Today Evan and I did some fun things. We took Hudson to daycare. Evan would have stayed if his friend Nicholas had been there, but he wasn't, so Evan came home with me.

I changed back into my pajama bottoms (I wore my pj top to drop off Hudson...I couldn't be bothered putting a real shirt on) and climbed back into bed. I read my Nook, and Evan played Nintendo. After a while Evan said, "Mom, is it really 11 o' clock?" I lifted my head to peer at the clock. Sure enough, it was 11. Hmmm, where does the time go when you are snuggling with your baby?!

We did a little cleaning. Nothing strenuous, mind you. Evan picked up trash, and I cleared the kitchen of dirty dishes.

We may have gotten back into bed at that point.

At 1:30 we decided we were hungry, so we went to Me N Ed's for some shared pizza. I actually got dressed to do this. The pizza was mighty tasty. Evan and I split a personal size pizza. He ate two slices, and I ate two slices and a bite of a third.

We went to the grocery store for a few vegetables. Then we came back home. We may or may not have gotten back in bed.

I painted my toenails green. Thank you, Mom! I love the color! Did you plan for the color to match my new perfect amazing wonderful pajamas? I'm sure you planned it that way.


Sorry to anyone who is grossed out by toes, but I just love the new color. I don't know that I'd wear it on my fingers, but toes, definitely! And aren't these pajamas the most comfortable looking things ever?

Evan and I played a little catch. Then we went to get Hudson. The two monkeys convinced me that it was okay to ride bikes around the cul de sac in the dark. Eric came home. We had dinner. We watched football. The kids went to bed.

And I took a bubble bath BY MYSELF! Oh the glory of it! I felt sort of lonely!

I will leave you with a few Christmas pictures. I know, it's two days after Christmas, and I have yet to get the holiday posts done. That's because the pictures are all on Eric's camera. I can't get to them until he downloads them. Maybe I'll post a Christmas review in February.


Santa left a note for the kids!


Stockings are stuffed!


Santa must have thought the two crazy children living in my house were good this year!

Until I get the rest of the photos, these will have to do.

Girlfriends

A few months ago Eric asked Hudson if he had a girlfriend, expecting him to say Brooke, who is a 3-year-old girl who goes to the same daycare. Hudson said that yes, he does have a girlfriend...Ashley! She is the 16-year-old daughter of the daycare provider!

That gave us a good chuckle. Hudson has no age boundaries!

A few days ago Evan suddenly announces to me that Hudson broke up with Ashley! He was very serious as he said it. "Ashley wasn't sharing, so Hudson broke up with her."

I just about died laughing.

"I didn't break up with my girlfriend, though," Evan said.

"Who is your girlfriend?" I asked.

"Greven."

"Does Greven know she is your girlfriend?" I asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

With the utmost respect, Evan answered, "Because I don't want to embarrass her!"

Awww! What a sweet little boy!

With a few more questions, I found out that other kids know Greven is Evan's girlfriend, but she is clueless!

Evan asked me if this was the right thing to do in not telling her. I told Evan while he is in first grade, it is absolutely the right way to handle it. However, when he gets older, I suspect he may want to let the girlfriend in on the secret!

Three Days Before Christmas

But really it feels like two days before Christmas because we start the celebration on the 24th. I love Christmas Eve!

Anyhow, we are having another low key morning.

I exercised on the elliptical, cleaned the kitchen, got the crock pot started for chili this evening, and have been reading blogs. Reading blogs is probably one of my favorite things to do besides watch tv. TV is awful right now. Nothing new in the DVR, so I'm blog stalking.

Here are a few photos from the morning.


Steady rain has brought out puddles and slimy things. All to the delight of two little boys. Evan is using knitting needles to dig in the puddle. Luckily, I don't knit.


I love how the house smells when something has been cooking in the crock pot all day. I would have taken the lid off, but I didn't want the chili to lose heat. You'll have to trust me. It looks and smells heavenly.


My children are obsessed with Egg Nog, which is known as "Christmas Milk" around here. I think it must be laced with crack. The kids won't quit asking for it. I like how it smells, but I won't drink it.


Time to hide head in shame. This is my next project as soon as I post this. Hopefully I'll get this room under control. I'll post updates if I make progress.

Vacation Days

After a leisurely start to the morning, the boys and I headed out to finish Christmas shopping for Eric. We shopped at three different stores as well as dealing with one horrific parking lot.

I don't mind driving anywhere, but I HATE parking. I'm just not good at it, and it makes me panic. I'm also not an aggressive driver, so having to hunt and attack for a parking spot is awful for me. After circling the lot for 20 minutes (EVERY spot was filled), a lady motioned to me that she was leaving. Thank you, Jesus! I didn't care that the spot was quite far from the store. Didn't matter. I just made sure that I hung onto the kids for dear life as we navigated our way through the cars. Ugh!

The boys did such a great job with the shopping that I treated them to a Jamba Juice and a haircut. They love getting their hair cut.


Hudson getting his hair chopped. I think this kid's hair is on steroids. It grows like weeds. Evan's grows at a more manageable pace.


Hudson has such pretty hair. I imagine this is what Eric's hair looked like when he was little!

Hudson's hair didn't always look so great. I had serious doubts about his hair when he was born. He looked like a baby monkey with his hair poking up in all directions! Shoot. I was going to post a picture of him as a baby, but I can't get to the server where his baby pictures are stored. You'll just have to take my word for it, his hair was strange.

Maybe I thought it was more strange because Evan came out with the most perfect head of soft straight black hair that you've ever seen. I spent hours rubbing my hand over his perfect wisps of hair. Hudson? The wisps stood up in the air. I didn't know what to think!


Enjoying the lollipop that goes along with a haircut.

Sorry, no photos of Evan. I mean to, but then I forgot.

Just had to mention, I made a roasted pork tenderloin for dinner that was delicious! It was a Weight Watcher recipe. Oh my it was so good!

The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree is one of my favorite books by Shel Silverstein. It's all about a tree who does nothing but give, give, give to a little boy. And the boy never appreciates the tree for giving him shade, or a branch to swing upon, or fruit to eat. The boy grows up to be a man and still doesn't recognize all the tree gives to him.

It's a rather sad, but lesson-filled, story.

Today we had to cut down our Giving Tree.


We have had a whole lot of rain, and it has caused the ground to be super duper soggy. We woke up this morning to find our beloved climbing tree leaning precariously towards the house.

Evan has been climbing this tree for about three years. He and the little neighbor girl from down the street managed to climb way into the tallest branches last summer and take pictures of brand new baby birds in their nest. They also love foraging for pine cones which they throw down like discovered treasure.

Eric bought it as his first Christmas tree 11 years ago. Once Christmas was over, he planted the tree outside in the side yard. And now we have to cut it down.

It makes me sad.


Midway through the tree branch cutting process. Eric had to go buy a chainsaw just to do this. As if we really wanted to spend money on a chainsaw at Christmas time. Better that than a deductible, however, if the tree crashed into the house.


The end result for now. We ran out of dry weather, light, and energy. We'll have to see what the next few days of storms does to the ground. At least if the tree falls, it should fall clear of the house.

Not the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Great Day

My mom treated me, my sister, and the four grandsons to a movie this afternoon. We saw Yogi Bear. Yogi turned out to be a pretty cute movie. Much better than "How Do You Know?" that I saw yesterday. That movie was BORING.


The boys settling in before the movie started.

Hudson did alright for it being his second time at the movie theater. He stayed quiet until he ran out of candy. Then he was thirsty. Then he was restless. However, I didn't have to leave the theater with him, so we'll call it a successful day.

Then my mom and sister took the boys home for a slumber party! Yay! That gave Eric and me a chance to go out to dinner and do our Christmas shopping. We had bought a grand total of two things before tonight. And now we are done except for stocking stuffers. It was really weird purchasing so much at one time.

I stole all of the photos of the kids off of my sister's facebook page. Looks like they are having a good time at Grandma's house.


They made a giant snowman cookie.


They did a little hard labor. (Grandma made them clear the sidewalk of leaves so Santa could come visit!)


They played.


Grandma gave them an early Christmas present.

A night without children can sometimes be the best gift of all! So nice to just be a couple every now and then.

Excited

Tonight Evan looked at the clock and made the comment, "Wow, time sure seems to be moving fast. I guess God is excited for Christmas to come!"

I thought it was cute that he thought God was speeding up time so Christmas could get here faster.

Is God Real?

Evan asked us if God was real tonight. He wanted to know if it was real or just a pretend story. We assured him that God was real, but I wanted to know the reason for the question.

He said he just wondered because he's never seen God before because He's in heaven. I told Evan that he was right about God being in heaven, and it is a little hard to understand.

Then Evan asked, "What about this tricky thing, Mom? God can be in heaven, but he could also be at a lake at the same time." Um, yep, He sure can.

I told Evan that God is like a super hero with super powers, but even better and stronger and more powerful.

I found his questions to be very real, thoughtful and sweet. I didn't mind at all that he was questioning the "realness" of God. It gave us a good few minutes to talk as a family about God's love.

I told him that even though we don't see God in person, we see signs of him such as our love for our family.

Then we talked about Christmas lights.

Such is the mind of a 6-year-old boy.

I 4

Hudson wants to be four. Everyday after I pick him up from Linda's, he tells me, "I four now."

I have to deliver the sad news that, no, you aren't quite four yet.

I think he wants to be four because we told him he could go to school when he was four.

Oh little man, you don't want to grow up too quickly.

Bah Humbug

We started decorating for Christmas on Saturday. And by we, I mean I started decorating. The boys made life irritating, and Eric watched football and did laundry. At least Eric's involvement in the process was a good trade.

It just wasn't the best of days because both boys were sick, fighting, squabbling, and being little rats. Christmas mess was everywhere along with regular mess.

I was jealous of all the happy and spirited posts on facebook proclaiming "the tree is up, decorations are done, and we are sitting by the fire sipping hot cocoa." Gag. I only say that because I was green with envy. Where was my tree? My cocoa? My cozy fire and happy kids? Oh yeah, sick with snot running down their faces and screaming at each other. Pleasant.

Some how, some way, I managed to get the decs up without any major mishaps. Note to self: if I throw something NECESSARY away such as oh say a tree stand, be sure to buy one right away rather until forgetting about it until a year later when we are trying to find the tree stand and can't figure out where in tarnation it went.


Messy table and two of the 14 or so boxes with Christmas stuff. Each year I say I need to cut back, and each year I can't bear to part with my pretty stuff.


Ugh. Where are the elves to help me put all this stuff out?


Pile of stuffed Christmas toys. These are the things Hudson is allowed to touch. He's got quite the talent for arranging them, don't you think?


The house is finally pulled together. I like my shelves o' Christmas.


I LOVE the little mini Santa and Elf clothes hanging on the line. I can look at these while I run on my treadmill. Or I can skip the treadmill, simply walk by this spot as I head to the kitchen, and enjoy them that way. Yeah, that sounds like the better plan.


My pretty nativity set that I got for Christmas two years ago.

If you are one of my four readers that has been reading this blog since last Christmas, the photos at this time of year look pretty much the same. I promise they are new ones from this year though!

In any case, I'm trying very hard to feel the Christmas joy. I'm trying. At least the house now looks pretty. The kids, however, are still snotty and screaming. So much for that cozy setting I was going for.

Thanksgiving Part 2

Yesterday we drove down to Bakersfield to have Thanksgiving all over again! We do it every year. At least we don't have the guilt of not spending the holiday with one family or the other. Each side gets us.

I didn't take too many pictures yesterday. I took two, to be exact. Here is the better of the two.


Hudson got to sit next to his cousin, Michael, who is a senior in high school and is an awesome athlete. All morning before we got to the IL's, Hudson kept saying, "I don't want to say hi to Michael." Who knows why? Once we were there, Hudson became Michael's shadow.

Being grandkid #13 on that side has its advantages. Everyone likes you!

Happy Thanksgiving, again.

Happy Thanksgiving

My mom, sister and nephews joined us for Thanksgiving at our house. Eric made prime rib and garlic mashed potatoes. No turkey for us! Man, was dinner good!

The four cousins played hard all day long. I love it when they play play play! They played inside. They played outside. They put train tracks together. They played baseball. They played on the swings. It's great having cousins close enough in age to be able to play and enjoy each other.

Mom, Tiff and I played a game called Sequence. Mom won two rounds. I won one. Ha ha, Tiffany! You lost!

We celebrated Eric's birthday with a Bulldog cake from Julie's shop. So adorable!


Eric also got a Bulldog lunch box/cooler from Tiff and a giftcard to Olive Garden from my mom. Yay! Dinner out. That is...unless he takes his girlfriend!

We are all pretty tired. Especially Hudson.


He is one worn out little boy. He's also fighting a cold, so that isn't helping his disposition. As much as this little yahoo makes me want to hide in my closet for hours, I am so thankful for him, his brother, and his daddy. I'm also thankful for my mom, my sister, and my nephews. It was a good holiday. I wasn't sad today without my dad, but I do miss him a lot. I can be thankful that he is looking down from Heaven and watching us grow and be happy.

Happy Birthay Honey!

The boys helped me make brownies to surprise Eric for his birthday yesterday.


Evan was a little excited in singing his own funny version of Happy Birthday!


The boys helping Eric blow out his candles.

We had pork chops, onions and noodles for dinner. Then Eric opened his presents. Evan gave him a glove compartment tool kit. Hudson gave him a giftcard for iTunes. Then we had brownies. Then we danced in the bedroom while Eric used his giftcard.

Happy Birthday to the man who loves me without fail. We love you so much!

Day Before

Today is the day before Thanksgiving. The kids went to Daycare on Monday and Tuesday. I sent them there purposely on Monday to take a day for myself. They went back on Tuesday because they wanted to play with their friends instead of hanging out with me.

Today they are home with me.

I must have gotten a wild and crazy hair, because I decided to make my "once a year" special bread. I used to make it at Christmas and Easter. Over the last few years it has whittled down to just making it at Christmas. So why on Earth am I making my bread for Thanksgiving? I don't know. I just felt like it. I had nothing better to do? Hmphh. Yeah, right.

In any case, the bread making began at approximately 8 a.m. this morning. I just pulled the last loaf out of the oven at 1:30. Not a quick baking project.

The boys helped me. Lord oh Lord did they help.


This is the middle stage of the bread making process that takes FOREVER. I have to roll all the dough into strips to be braided. I easily spent over an hour on this step. The kids were still in pj's playing with a small piece of dough that I gave them and lots of flour (or powder as Hudson calls it).


This is going to taste so good tomorrow morning while we watch the parade! The best part about making this bread is getting to "punch" it after it rises in the oven. The boys had fun beating the heck out of it!


Hudson had a grand old time making an enormous mess. I am torn between cleaning it up or just letting him continue to play and get flour and sugar all over the kitchen floor. On one hand, I need to clean it up. On the other hand, he's been occupied and quiet for over an hour!!! He's very serious about his measuring cup and spoon play!

I can't say that I look much better with flour all over me. I really need to start wearing an apron.

We made seven loaves of bread. Now I just hope that I won't lose my desire to make it at Christmas time. Even if I won't want to, I'll still make it. It's a tradition. And I love traditions.

Friend Makin' Monday: TV

Today is Friend Makin' Monday hosted by Kenz at All The Weigh.

Question: What's on your DVR?

Oh boy! Lots and lots of stuff. I am finally comfortable in admitting that I LOVE watching TV. I watch tons of stuff, and I am perfectly happy saying that a good portion of it is junk tv.

We watch most of our shows on DVR, so I don't really even know what day they come on, but here is a list of some of my favorites at the moment.

Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice
The Middle
Better With You
The Vampire Diaries
Gossip Girl
Hawaii 5-O
NCIS: Los Angeles
Undercovers
House
Glee
Desperate Housewives
Castle
Army Wives

Then there are all the reality shows that I watch such as Bachelor/Bachelorette, Kardashians, T.O., etc. Mindless really, but that's okay.

I don't know that I could even narrow my shows down to one a night. Let's see, if I could only watch one show from now on, I think I'd have to pick NCIS: Los Angeles because I just love Chris O'Donnell. And I like crime shows!

Look who's ridin'!

Hudson decided to learn how to ride a two-wheeler with no training wheels today!


And he's off! Look at my 3-year-old go!

He was soooooo proud of himself! And we are very proud of him as well! I thought Evan was a little super star when he learned to ride at the age of 4. I guess having an older brother pushes Hudson to do certain things faster.

Yes, I am totally, unashamedly, completely 100% bragging right now!

The bike he is riding is Evan's old Diego Animal Rescuer bike. It is about three inches too big for Hudson, so he can't start and stop by himself. I was trying to show him how to use the curb for a little bit of height and to help him push off. That will come. Stopping is also a little rough. Mainly he stops and falls over!

Hudson did figure out how to successfully turn in circles so he can ride around the cul de sac without having to stop at the end and turn around. I know that Hudson's little Strider bike that Santa brought him for Christmas is the reason he has enough balance to be able to do this. That little bike was the best thing ever!

Besides learning this skill, both Evan and Hudson had good "well kid" checkups at the doctor. Hudson got a shot and didn't make a peep. As much as my kids make me crazy, they also impress and amaze me!

Science

I teach 7th and 8th grade science. It's fun. It's hard. Yesterday, I did some pretty cool experiments with both classes.

The 7th graders extracted DNA out of strawberries, and the 8th graders made a density rainbow. I am having fun planning new experiments and labs for the kids to do.


This is one of my 7th grade boys looking at the stringy DNA strands. I think the kids really enjoyed the experiment.


Here are two of my 8th graders experimenting with the liquids of different densities.


It worked! The different colored liquids with different densities did not mix!

I always breathe a sigh of relief when the labs go as expected. But hey, even when they don't, it's a great lesson in the reality of science.

One cool thing that has been happening lately is that Evan is very interested in science. For a few months now his answer to the question of 'what do you want to be when you grow up?' has been a scientist! I think I need to start doing some easy at home science experiments to keep that interest piqued.

On a separate note, I am quite happy to have tomorrow off! I am heading to bed now with dreams and visions of sleeping in...if Hudson allows it!

Thankful - Part 2

Earlier I listed my Top Ten things to be thankful for. I'm going to make another list. This one might be a bit more superficial, but important none-the-less!

1. Pepsi - How I love thee. I don't drink coffee. Gotta get that caffeine from somewhere!

2. Wedding ring - Okay, so this one is still sentimental, but I sure love this ring. I usually stare at it when I'm at church.

3. Fake nails - I finally had my nails put back on two weeks ago. They make my hands look much prettier and more feminine.

4. Bubble Bath - I love nothing more than a HOT steamy bath filled with mounds of bubbles. Now if I could just keep the small people from joining me in the tub!

5. Bathrobe - I love wrapping up in my robe. I have it on over my flannels right now. I wear a robe in winter and summer. Along with my robe, I also love my slippers. Always have them on.

6. iPhone - Even though it is Eric's hand me down, I love it. I can call people, check Facebook, text, play games, listen to music and keep track of where I need to be. Amazing little gadget.

7. TV - I admit it. I love tv. I am old enough not to be embarrassed by my need to watch junk show after junk show! At least I know what the 7th and 8th graders are talking about, because we watch the same stuff on tv!

8. Whole house fan - What an amazing contraption that dramatically lowered our PG&E bills this summer.

9. Allergy shots - A weird one, I know, but I am grateful that my shot therapy keeps me from being miserable this time of year.

10. Candy - Another vice. I love sugar. My youngest loves it as much as I do. Candy shops are my idea of heaven on earth.

Thankful

This is a part of Friend Makin' Monday.

Here are 10 things I am thankful for:

1. My children - As much as I complain about how crazy they are, they have forever changed me for the better. They bring me laughter, joy, and sunshine. I am continually amazed and awed by them both. By the way, Evan is an amazing athlete at 6-years-old, and Hudson can now spell his name. I am so proud!

2. My husband - We've been married for 7 1/2 years, and I can't remember what life was like before him. He is my world. He loves me as I am. He is my best friend. He's the one who knows all my secrets and loves me anyhow!

3. My mom - My other best friend. Mom is the one who is always there. She also knows everything about me. We talk on the phone nearly every day. She is the one who made sure my sister and I had the best childhood. She is a friend to all. My mom is just the nicest person. Plus, she's funny!

4. My sister - We don't see each other all that often, but it doesn't matter. A sister is always there. My sister is realizing what a beautiful person she is on the inside and out. I've always known it.

5. Friends - Whether a friend I see every day (Stacey) or friends I see once a year (Aniesha) or friends I see even less (Ann), I am grateful for them all. They provide me with an ear for listening, great laughs, great memories, and good times.

And now moving away from the list of people, I am also thankful for:

6. Having a job - I am thankful to be able to help provide for my family. I am blessed to work as a teacher in a Catholic school. I am surrounded by people who are kind, compassionate, and faithful. I enjoy what I do. I enjoy the kids. I love working where my oldest and soon little one go to school. My school is like a family. You can't ask for more than that from a job.

7. Technology - Facebook has connected me with long lost friends, my iPhone gives me a sense of security, computers have transformed the work world, the internet gives us instant access, DVRs let me watch all my tv, and my iPod allows me to have instant music. I tell my students all the time that I can't wait to see what is going to happen in the next 30 years.

8. My faith - I became Catholic 10 years ago. Teaching in a Catholic school has helped me become more aware of the traditions, prayers, and celebrations that Catholics observe. I am grateful to my parents for providing me with a solid Lutheran upbringing and then understanding my need to convert to Catholicism. I am grateful to be part of a faith that is universal and so much larger than myself.

9. My health and that of my family - After several health scares and losing my dad last year, health is something that should not be taken for granted. That being said, I need to make my health more of a priority by eating better and exercising more. I always am amazed at what my body is able to do with discipline. I have the ability to run, jump, walk, swim and more when so many people can only wish to do these things.

10. Living in the USA - I am grateful that I live in a place where I have freedom to do anything I choose to do. I can marry whomever I choose, I can have a chosen profession, and I can practice my chosen faith. I am grateful for the comforts of amenities such as grocery stores, medical facilities, and entertainment. I am grateful for a city with an infrastructure such as roads, garbage collection, and sewer systems. I am grateful for education that is available.

November is a great month to think about being grateful. The one thing I am not grateful about at this moment is not being able to sleep, but I am very grateful knowing that once I get sleepy, my big, comfortable, warm bed is waiting for me!

Stuck

Evan is the owner of a new ring. As in a mood ring for his finger.

The reason I bought him the ring? He put it on his finger at 7-Eleven (yes, Mom-of-the-Year again...quit judging) and could not get it off.

Once Evan realized after much twisting and pulling that he couldn't get it off, he started to do the panicked high-pitched squeal. Me telling him we'd have to cut off his finger probably didn't help. I didn't have time to deal with it, and I didn't want to spit on his finger in the store, so I walked him up to the register, held up his hand, and said, "I need to buy this."

Once we got to school Evan jetted into the bathroom to use soap to get the ring off his finger. It was stuck on "tall man," but it fits very nicely on "ring man." If you know the song "Where is Thumpkin?" then you know what I am talking about.

After school Evan was excited to report that the ring changes colors! I didn't realize when I made a jewelry purchase that morning that it was a mood ring. Evan spent the next 30 minutes trying to "trick" his mood ring into thinking he was sad and mad. That was sooooo fun to listen to.

I'm telling you, the fun never ends in the Forcey house. I tried to take a picture of the ring, and then I forgot. Sorry.

Strong Willed

Hudson is strong willed and independent. Much more so than his brother. Hudson seems to figure, why wait for someone else to do something for me that I can do myself?

Case in point.

Yesterday I poured Hudson a half cup of milk into a sippy as politely requested by him. I set it on the counter. A bit of time went by. Hudson then decided that half a cup of milk was not enough, so he got the milk out of the refrigerator.

I jumped up, told him no, and took the milk jug out of his hand. Hudson got quite angry and threw the sippy cup across the room.

I retrieved the cup from under the kitchen table, unscrewed the cap, poured the milk down the sink, and tossed the cup in the sink. Needless to say, this resulted in high pitched screaming.

By this point I was pretty angry, so I left the room for a few minutes.

When I walked back into the kitchen, I'll be darned if that kid hadn't gotten the sippy cup out of the sink, poured himself a whole new cup of milk, screwed the cap back on, and had it on the counter.

I was torn between wanting to throw the sippy cup myself and wanting to laugh.

Oh my goodness this child is never going to let life be simple. I have to admire his ability to get things done, but I am butting heads with his stubborn nature. I cannot possibly have been this strong-willed as a kid. It must come from Eric.

I Voted

Today was Election Day. I did my duty and voted. And I was blessed with luck this evening as my particular check-in table had no one in line. The other hundred people in line weren't quite as lucky.


The picture is a little dark, but this is just a fraction of the people in line, and that was only one side!

I was stunned when I drove past my polling location at 6ish. Our old polling location shut down along with 300 others due to budget cuts. I figured I'd take Hudson and go eat, and we'd try again in 30 minutes. Evan and Eric were at soccer practice, and Hudson wanted a sandwich, so off to Quizno's we went.

We drove back to our polling location at 7ish, and the lines were just as crazy if not even longer than before. I've NEVER seen an election day where the lines were like this. Not even two years ago for the presidential election did I have to wait to vote.

I put myself in two different lines asking each time if I was in the right spot. I was in the second line for about two minutes when a polling place helper came by. I showed him my voter card, and he gave me the amazing news that there was NO line for polling place 906! Everyone around me started joking about how they could become #906 as well!

This guy wasn't kidding, either! I literally walked in front of a line of dozens of people, scooted in the door and walked right to my empty table. All the people in line were having to wait to sign in at their very busy table. I signed my name, got my ballot, and had to wait a bit for an empty booth.

The whole scene was nuts! I waited five minutes for Eric to get to the polling place so I could show him where to go.

Voting was such hard work that we decided to get ice cream at Foster's after waiting in line for such a long time! **snicker**


Hudson enjoyed the treat!

After ice cream, we drove back by the polling place so Eric could get his car. It was 8:10, and there was still a huge line snaking from the building out to the street.

What an experience!