More Soccer

Hudson started in his very own soccer class today! This is in no way shape or form connected to Evan. In fact, Evan looked a little lost having to sit on the sidelines!

I failed to get a picture. Just imagine the cutest kid ever with the biggest eyes ever out on the field and holding his own with kids several years older than him. I'll try to get a photo of him next week.

At first Hudson was very excited. Then we got to the indoor soccer field, and he freaked out a little when he realized that Evan wouldn't be out there with him. I took his hand and led him to the field. Once he got out there, he was fine.

Our schedule this week is completely nuts.
Monday -Me staff meeting, Evan soccer
Tuesday - Me Christmas play practice, Hudson soccer
Wednesday - Me tutoring, Us WW weigh in, Evan soccer, Me 50th anniversary committee
Thursday - Me Christmas play practice, Us allergy shots, Us 2nd grade meeting for First Reconciliation
Friday - Us birthday party
Saturday - Soccer tournament, Christmas tree sale/boutique, electric parade
Sunday - Soccer tournament

I need Christmas to come just so we can slow down for a few weeks. Sheesh!

I did spend a few minutes last night cleaning off the notoriously messy counter.


Before


After. It's not perfect, but it's better.

Money and Santa

Eric and I have been working on our family budget for a few months now. We don't share money details with the kids, but we also don't talk about it in secrecy.

Evan knows about money. He is getting better and better at understanding the true value of a dollar. He also knows that we can't buy everything we want any time we want. We work and save for the things we want.

Yesterday we were at the mall, and the line for Santa was empty. I am all about getting the Santa visit over with, so we walked over to talk with the jolly guy.

Hudson, surprisingly, had no interest whatsoever in speaking to Santa. He wasn't scared. He wasn't crying. Even with his brother sitting on Santa's lap, that didn't convince him to walk over to say hi. When I asked him why he didn't want to see Santa, he said, "That wasn't the real Santa."

Oh. Okay. I guess Hudson is holding out for the real deal!

Evan did see Santa. I asked him what he asked for. Books and DS video games.

Later on Evan asked me which cost more money, the books or the video games. I told him that video games are more expensive.

He said, "Okay, then I'll have Santa bring me the video games, and you and Dad can bring me the books because they don't cost as much!"

Awwww! A part of me thinks this is very sweet. He wants to save us money. A part of me wonders if he hears too much money talk.

In any case, I sure hope Santa got the message that Evan wants video games!

What I (You) Missed

I'm not the most consistent blogger. I tend to be better about it when I'm on vacation. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyhow, I think there are a few events that happened over the past few months that I failed to document. I'll fill things in now.


Last spring, Evan caught a butterfly. Or maybe it was a moth.


Apparently, I thought I was a butterfly.


Evan helped put out flags at a local cemetery for Memorial Day.


Evan lost his first tooth, finally!


I ran a race on the Fourth of July. It was so hot and humid that I thought I was going to die!

That's enough for now. The next time I have nothing to say, I'll report on the past.

The Marker Won

We should have known Hudson was up to no good when it was eerily quiet in the house.

He drew with blue marker on his face, his hands, the bathroom wall, the door jamb, the kleenex holder, and the hall wall.

He got put in a timeout on his bed. I tried to talk to him, but he was refusing to speak. I told him to come find me when he was ready to talk.

Five minutes later he was asleep.


Hudson, Hudson, Hudson.

Later on, he helped to decorate the Christmas tree.



He finally understands that Santa will only bring presents to good boys. I'm hoping that threat will help him make some better choices for the next month!

Turkey Day #1 and 2

Yesterday was Turkey Day #1.


Brother in law cooked.


My mom is ready for dinner.


My plate.

The food was good, but I gotta be honest. Thanksgiving "dinner" is not my favorite meal. I can take it or leave it. I don't get all excited about turkey and cranberries, and I don't like stuffing.

Eric's prime rib and garlic mashed potatoes the night before? Oh yeah. That's what I'm all about.


My sister and my brother in law.


The cousins singing songs.

It was a low key day. We ate, and I slept. I was really tired.

Today was Turkey Day #2. We went to Bakersfield to see my husband's side of the family. Good day. Lots of food.

Now we are home and dressing up the dog.


Harry is cold all the time. Maybe the manly pink shirt will help.

We are going to attempt to eat healthy and put up Christmas tomorrow. We'll see.

Cinna-Bust

So.....the cinnamon rolls I started yesterday for Eric's birthday didn't exactly turn out. At all.

First problem: I started them too late in the day.
Second problem: The oven was being used most of the day for better foods like prime rib and roasting garlic.
Third problem: I'm not a good baker.
Fourth problem: The dough wouldn't rise because it was cold in the house, and I didn't have access to the oven (see above).

Once Eric was done cooking his own birthday dinner (trust me, he doesn't want me anywhere near prime rib and homemade mashed potatoes), I put the dough in a glass bowl with a towel on top, hoping the dwindling heat of the oven would activate the yeast.

Then I left the bowl there. Overnight. And forgot about it.

Fast forward to this morning. Eric turned the oven on to preheat it for pies. I still didn't remember that there was a glass bowl and a TOWEL in there. Luckily, Eric discovered it a few minutes into the preheat process.

What do you do with half risen/half cooked dough?


Well, I'm glad you asked!

You combine it with this:

A half eaten container of vanilla frosting.


The two together were quite delicious. And this way I don't feel so guilty about just licking frosting off a spoon. The frosting now has a purpose.


Then things got crazy when I sprinkled on a dash of cinnamon. You'd never know these weren't proper looking cinnamon rolls!


And this is how I hope to spend the majority of my day. Hey, I ran a 5k Turkey Trot this morning. It's all good.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Eric. Happy Birthday to Eric. Happy Birthday to my husband. Happy Birthday to Eric.

If I had to sum up Eric in one word it would be "family." Following are a few photos showing how the majority of his days are spent with, for, and helping his family.


Amazing dad with a Magic Armpit. As in, any of us, including the dogs, can curl up into Dad's armpit and we are instantly asleep. Hence, the Magic Armpit.


He plays games with his kids.


He attends all family functions, including his mother-in-law's birthday lunch on New Year's Day.


He started a new sport this year - cycling.


He got honored at work.


He makes funny faces.


He comes to all of our races. He never complains about standing out in the freezing cold. He watches us run away, and he cheers as we run back.


He took us to Disneyland.


He took us to Monterey and hung out with the kids at the museum.


He took us on some pretty amazing bike rides.


He entered his first bike ride.


He tries his best to be patient with all of us!


He's there for all the milestones...like the first day of preschool.


He whisks me away for kid-free weekends and watches me run races.


He got me into cycling.


Today's birthday lunch at Japanese Kitchen.

I love this man more than words can ever express. He is everything to our family. Happy Birthday!

Why?

Sometimes I walk around my house asking why? Why are various items in various spots? Why, why, why? Sometimes I can answer my own question. Sometimes I can't.

Here's a stream of "why's" from just today.


There is a toy gun in the bathroom sink. Why? I can't answer this one.

The gun in the sink is the sight that started my pondering for today. Obviously, the gun has something to do with my children. I'm guessing this was Hudson's work. Was he scared while pooping? Were there dangers in the bathroom requiring a weapon? Your guess is as good as mine.

I can add another why to the above photo. Why are there four toothbrushes for just two kids? Shrug.

Then I started looking around for other oddities and why's. They weren't hard to find.


At least this one I can answer. Hudson made this Valentine decoration last year when he went to a daycare for two days while our regular daycare provider was on vacation. I hung it over the fireplace and never took it down. I think it needs to go into Hudson's memory box. It's time.


Train tracks going from the family room and wrapping around the kitchen island. Why? It's vacation, and the boys are having fun and mostly getting along.


Another one I just can't answer. I don't know why this kid likes wearing things over his head. I just have no answer.

There are undoubtedly more why's than just these, but I'll stop here. We don't need people knowing just how strange we truly are!

End of Soccer...sort of

Yesterday was the last game for OLPH soccer. Evan's school team was 11-0. They did a great job playing, and it was a great season.

We take a small break over the holidays and will start indoor soccer in January. However, Evan still continues with his "travel" team, Argentina. We haven't traveled anywhere as of yet. In fact, every game has taken place at Clovis East High School, which just so happens to be less than two blocks away from our house. I can handle being on a travel team like this!


The three returning players from last year. In my humble mom opinion, they were the superstars of the team. Isaiah, Louis, and Evan.


The whole team with their end of season trophies. The team is made of 1st and 2nd graders. It was neat to see the little guys improve tremendously over the season.

The team party was held at the indoor soccer arena located across from Fresno State. One of the dad's on our team just happens to own the arena! Very cool! The kids got to play soccer just for the fun of it. All the parents got involved, and it soon became a fun game of adults vs. kids. I think the kids won!


Eric had fun out there! I didn't. I was sick. I woke up the night before with a fever and chills. Not nice at all.


The team enjoyed cake and pizza after playing hard for an hour. Both Evan and Hudson were soooooo dirty from playing hard. Can't beat that!

After the party, we jetted off to basketball practice. We ended up staying longer to watch the San Joaquin Memorial basketball players play in a scrimmage. Those high school kids move fast! I could never handle that.

I guess now that one team is done for the season, our weeknights might get a little less busy. I don't know. We'll see. There always seems to be something that pops up. The three weeks in between Thanksgiving and Christmas tend to be insanely busy.

Way To Go, Evan!

Today was awards day at school. I knew what Evan would be getting, but I didn't tell him.

The best surprise was Eric was there!

I'll be honest. I didn't have the best day. I just got a bit overwhelmed, and a last minute issue sent me into tears. Ugh. Thank goodness for a week off for Thanksgiving Vacation.

It was great walking over to church with the kids for the awards and seeing Eric walk up in front of us!

Evan didn't know his Dad made it until he got an award, and I pointed out where he was sitting.


Evan received Gold Honor Roll, 3rd place point earner in Accelerated Reader for 2nd grade, and an award and medal for Cross Country.

I got teary all over again as I sat there watching the awards in the church. I feel so blessed to work at this amazing school. I am blessed that my kids are receiving a Catholic Education. At the end of the awards, our priest got up and gave a really nice closing prayer. How many schools have awards and end them with a prayer from the priest? Not many. It just makes me so happy to be raising my kids in this environment.

After the awards, I gathered all my stuff so we could leave.

Hudson was excited that Dad was there to pick him up from school. Everybody loves surprises from Dad!

One Little Indian

Hudson had his Pre-K Thanksgiving Feast yesterday. I was very happy to be able to pop over to his classroom to enjoy songs and good food.


Hudson was line leader for today. He chose to wear his Indian head piece for the feast.


Singing about Tiny Tim the Turtle in the bathtub.


Hudson colored his turkey very nicely.


Hudson refused the cheese, meat, egg rolls and mac and cheese and opted for spaghetti, muffins (our contribution), and a cupcake. I enjoyed the first items mentioned. Good stuff.

I also took some video, but I'm having trouble uploading it to the blog. I'll work on it in a separate post.

I am very thankful for my Hudson.