Games/Crafts

Ethan was invited to go sled riding with his friend Aiden so that left the rest of us to fend for ourselves.  When Matt got home from work we decided a game of HeadBandz was in order.  Have you played?  It's fun, except playing with Drew is a little tricky.  For example, Matt was a hammer so when it's Drew's turn to guess what he is he will say, am I a hammer while looking right at Matt.  Or if you are asking questions like am I an animal he will say yes and you bark, lol.  It says 7+ on the box, maybe next year=) Brady didn't want to be left out either.

Ethan received art supplies from Grandpa John & Holly so the boys were super excited to pull those out and start painting.  I love the creations they make and they were so proud of them and happy to give them to Uncle Aaron to take home after he came for a visit.

Matt's been working on the bathroom quite a bit, should be done soon and I can't wait, its looking so good.  I am working on some crafts from Pinterest to add in there to liven it up a little, I mean, there is only so much you can do to make a bathroom look nice.  The boys were having a great time playing this morning while I cleaned up the rest of the Christmas decorations.

They seriously love these plasma cars.  They ride them all the time and I love that they let Brady tag along with them.  Drew asked again today for another baby brother.  It isn't going to happen but I love how much they love him!  At night he started giving everyone hugs and kisses which is just the sweetest thing ever.  And he has to be even so he goes around pointing to whose turn it is and says again, you get a hug and a kiss and than he moves on the next person.  But don't worry, this goes on and on to prolong bedtime and its worth every minute of it! 

Brady got a table and chairs for Christmas but I felt sad watching him eat alone so the boys joined him for lunch today.  I mean really, could my kids be any sweeter?

Last night was romantic dinner night so I made a knock off of Red Lobsters Crab Alfredo for Matt & I, yum! http://www.redrocksunrise.com/recipes/Red%20Lobster%20Crab%20Alfredo.htm - it really did taste like Red Lobsters too.  I also made a warm crab dip that was quite delicious.  Top that off with a bottle of our favorite wine, Apothic Red and it made for a lovely evening.  Matt said he was telling a coworker our plans yesterday and her response was AGAIN?!?!?  Yes again!  We don't get out much and this is just as fun.  Put the kids to bed, have a nice dinner and don't have to worry about having a drink since we are already at home.  It was the perfect way to end the week for us since Matt has FOUR days off of work!  That's right, 4 whole days we get to spend together, so excited!

Snow

This morning I took the Christmas Tree down, yeah me!  I need to take all the decorations down still but its a start and I feel better having that done at least. After that I organized the kids games/art supplies/books in the basement.

 
Isn't it pretty?  I filled a bag with books to donate. There was just too much, more than 3 little boys need for sure and we feel good about donating to kids who aren't as fortunate as we are. We also filled bags with toys to donate before the holidays.  We do it every year and I really feel its such a great thing to teach them.  I would like for all of us to go work in a soup kitchen one day but I think they might still be a little young for that so for now this is how we do our part. 

Finally, we have snow!!! This is the 3rd time it has snowed so far but the first time it has stuck around longer than a few hours so the boys were ecstatic. After organizing those two little shelves (notice I didn't take a picture of the rest of the basement?) and we ate lunch and put Brady down for a nap they were ready to go outside.  So I bundled them up and sent them out.  Of course I sat in the window watching them, Mommy doesn't like being cold, and they had a blast.  We can't seem to find Ethan's boots, must have left them at school before break so don't mind that he is wearing mine, it was that or Drew's and those were way too small.

Gift Cards

Monday we didn't get nearly as much done as we had hoped but such is life.  The boys got gift cards to GameStop, Target and Toys R Us.  Let me tell you, when all else fails, buy gift cards!  They love them!  They love picking out their own things and its fun watching them carefully make a selection.  So of course we had to go to GameStop to spend them.  They each picked out a game for their new X-Box and have been happily playing them ever since. 

Tuesday Matt had to go back to work (BOO!) so it was off to Target to spend THOSE gift cards for the rest of us.  I am telling you, they burn a hole in their pocket, can't spend them fast enough!  There they bought a remote and chargers for the X-Box.  We are also redoing our bathroom (still) so we picked out the new paint color and a rug.  We went to Lowe's to look at mirrors but no purchases have been made.  I will post pictures when its all done, it shall be lovely!  We also ran to the bank and library to pick up Back to the Future 2 and 3.

At night we had planned on going to Olive Garden for dinner since we had gift cards there (don't know where the boys learn to spend theirs so quickly?) but the line was literally out the door so we went to Perkins instead.  Made a quick trip to Old Time Pottery (Ethan's favorite store) after where we picked up some new rugs for the hallways and kitchen and also some new decorations for next year, can't beat the sales.  We had a nice evening with the boys watching Back to the Future 2.

Ahhh, Christmas is over!

I finally dug my computer out of the madness that my house has become.  Seriously, it looks like a toy factory exploded in here, and my trunk is still full!  We had such a nice holiday weekend celebrating with family.  Friday night we hosted my Dads side, Saturday we hosted my Moms side and Sunday we went over to my BIL Johnny's house.  We ate entirely too much food, shared lots of laughs, played lots of games and the kids made out like bandits as usual.  Let's see if I can remember some highlights..

Brady - a slide, new clothes and jammies, lots of books, a vacuum, bowling set, toy laptop, shape sorter, new ride on car, tools, personalized ornament, keyboard, and plenty more! 

 How cute is this shirt???

 


Andrew - clothes, jammies, Star Wars Operation, Connect 4 Flip, Headbands Game, Green Lantern DVD, plasma car, Angry Birds blanket, tools, personalized ornament, Kirby DS & Wii Game, Kung Fu Panda 2 and much more.

Ethan - clothes, jammies, Uno Roboto, Bop It, The Smurfs DVD, plasma car, Angry Birds blanket, personalized ornament, tools, Spy Kids 4 DVD, ear phones, crafts and much more.

The boys received an X-Box 360, Kinect and 4 games from Santa this year.  Wow - they must have been really good!!!  They were so super excited and so were we. 

The couldn't wait to get on those plasma cars my Mom bought.  They were racing inside the house Saturday night but needed the driveway to really get it done.  Matt and Mom were also racing them in the house, pretty sure Matt won that one! 

Ethan always takes Grandma Munchies cane and walks around like an old person, cracks us up.  Well he was certainly happy to have Grandma Flowers walker to use around the house as well.

Look at that face!

Not to be outdone by his brother!





For Christmas morning breakfast I tried out a new recipe, Creme Brulee French Toast, yum!

 

Yum!

 

And yes, that came from Pinterest.  If you still haven't checked it out now would be the time to do so.  So now it's Monday, we are home relaxing while the boys are playing with pretty much everything. The plan is to get everything put away, Christmas decorations taken down and more relaxing.  I can assure you at least one of those things will happen and I am pretty sure we all know which one that is! 

 



Ritz Chicken and Snowmen

Monday night turned crazy, but the good kind!  Ethan asked if his best friend Aiden could come over and than my best friend Elizabeth and her kids Joey and Ella came over too.  I had planned on making Ritz Chicken for the first time and thankfully I had enough for everyone.  It was soooo yummy!  Of course it came from Pinterest, my go to place for everything now a days - recipes, crafts, home decor ideas, you name it, it's there!  Seriously, Google it! Here is the recipe - you must try this.

Ritz Cracker Chicken

3 or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 sleeve Ritz Crackers
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
Crush crackers in a ziploc bag. Add cheese and shake to mix it up. In a bowl, beat egg then add milk. Dip chicken in egg mixture then in crackers. Put in greased baking dish. Repeat for each breast. Place a dollup of butter on top of each chicken breast. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until done.

Cream Sauce

1/2 cup Onion and Chive Cream Cheese (1/3 less fat)
1/2 cup chicken broth

Put broth and cream cheese in saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir constantly for 3 minutes. Serve over chicken.

After dinner it was time to make the snowmen snacks for the boys Christmas Parties at school.  It was a group effort with me, Matt and Elizabeth.  Aren't they cute?  And the kids loved them which is even better!  Of course that came from Pinterest too.  Did ya Google it yet, huh huh, did ya?  You really should!

And now it's Christmas Break, finally!  14 days home with my boys, so excited.  I love not having homework to deal with, lunches to pack, book bags to gather, schedules to follow.  The older boys slept in until 9:00 today, that's what I am talking about!  Of course Brady was up at 7:00 but that's ok because I got in my morning snuggles. 

Last night Drew cleaned the basement, say what!  He really is trying around here.  All week he was ready for school a 1/2 hour earlier than he needed to be which is just unheard of.  He is probably tired of me nagging him every morning, did you eat?  Brush your teeth? Drew go get dressed!  Put your shoes on, we have to leave!  Ugh, it's exhausting even typing it.  So maybe this is a new change for him, getting ready without being told, cleaning up the basement, maybe he is growing up?  Although he did ask Matt for $25 after cleaning, he got $2;)

Weekend

Friday, after picking the boys up from school in the new van they insisted we drive around town.  We decided to go out to dinner, Italian Village, yum!  Afterwards we did our annual drive around town looking at Christmas lights (again).  Than we came home and watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (you can't just watch it once). 

Saturday we went grocery shopping, the cupboards were bare bare bare.  Than we headed to Target to shop for our white elephant gifts for this weekend.  We got some good (oh boy) stuff this year, can't wait to see who ends up with what.  I crack myself up sometimes, unfortunately I can't say what we bought incase some of you reading this are the ones participating but it should be lots of fun!  After Brady's nap we went and watched our nephew Carson's hockey team play.  It was so fun, but freezing, but who cares because Carson scored a goal!!!  So awesome! The boys had lots of fun because one of Drew's classmates was there so they ran around with him the whole time.  We had family game night after Brady went to bed, Bingo and Trouble.  Than Matt & I had a romantic dinner at home.  We do this a lot since we don't get to go out very much.  

Today (Sunday) Matt let me sleep in until 9:15 while he got up with the boys.  He has been doing this the past couple weekends and its been so nice.  I am having a hard time sleeping lately so am exhausted all day/night long so it's nice to at least have one good nights sleep a week.  We finally put our tree up.  I have been dreading this so much because I am afraid Brady will be chucking the ornaments on the floor and breaking them all day long.  I let the boys do all of the decorating while I kept Brady at bay.  They did a great job!  We were so inspired that we took all our extra ornaments and decorated one of the trees outside. The plan is to wrap the gifts tonight after the little ones are in bed.  I am both dreading and looking forward to it but just want to be done.  This week will be crazy crazy getting ready for our 3 days of celebration but I love it.   

Van

Matt took the day off of work Friday because his travel schedule has been out of control.  I had my CAT Scan for my brain and bloodwork scheduled so he dropped the boys off at school and than took Brady with him to have the 15,000 mile check-up done on my minivan...or so I thought.  As I was waiting for my turn he started texting me - do you like white, black or grey.  Say what?!?!?  Well ya see, this 2012 Toyota Sienna has everything, so many more options than your van AND it's cheaper.  That man is crazy I tell ya! 

Isn't it so pretty though?  And it really is cool.  Bluetooth, my iPhone songs work right thru the speakers, no more plugging it in.  A sunroof, sunshades on all the back windows, that huge screen so the boys could watch 2 different things at once if they want.  Heck, they can even plug their Wii into it.  I mean really, these people think of everything now a days.  8 seats instead of 7.  Leather heated seats.  It's so fun! I remember crying when I first had to get a minivan, boy how times have changed.  I was a little bummed that he didn't put a big bow on it like in the commercials but I got over it;)

Christmas Party

Matt's work Christmas Party is at Morton's Steakhouse every year.  OMG - the food is to die for!  Huge shrimp, like the size of your hand, scallops wrapped in bacon, crab cakes and crab stuffed mushrooms.  And that's just the appetizers!!!  Prime rib, salmon, chicken, white fish, creamed spinach, green beans, mashed potatoes, salad.  My mouth is watering thinking about it again.  And than dessert - oh my - cheesecake, chocolate mousse cups, lemon tarts, it is really amazing.  I thought I was going to bust out of my dress by the end of the night, but it was so worth it.  Thanks again Mary for letting me borrow your dress.  We had a great night as we always do when we are together!

There is no crying

over spilled pop.  Or is there?  Last week my Mother-in-Law accidentally spilled pop on my kitchen floor.  She felt horrible but it was an accident, these things happen.  Brady was crying, Ethan wanted his dinner and I had to get ready for book club so it was too many things happening at once. 

Tonight Drew spilled pop all over the kitchen floor at dinner because no matter how many times I ask him to sit down he gets up and wanders around.  So naturally he spilled his drink.  And if that wasn't bad enough as I tried to clean it up Brady insisted on walking right through it so he could get to Drew.  Ethan tried to hold him back but that kid is fast. 

So what does Mommy do?  Well, have a break down naturally.  It's not the pop.  Again, it was an accident but sometimes it is so frustrating to try and keep up with the day to day stuff and it all seems to fall apart.  I feel like I am fighting a never ending battle with house work.  And let's face it, I hate cleaning, laundry, picking up, etc.  But I try, oh how I try to stay on top of it all and it just seems to throw itself back in my face.  Like the spilled pop, is it taunting me?  Is it a reminder that I just can't keep up?  That its just too much for one person to handle?  Sometimes I feel that way. 

Or maybe I am just overthinking the whole thing.  Accidents happen, kids make messes and before I know it I will be so sad that my kids are grown and not making a mess in my house every day.  Well, maybe not that last part so much.  Maybe it's just another reminder to not sweat the small stuff.  So I am a lousy housekeeper, Matt knows this and yet it hasn't affected how much he loves me (and that sure is a lot!) So I got on my hands and knees, cleaned the floor yet again and had a lovely evening with my boys afterwards.  Can't wait for Matt to get home tomorrow, I won't mind spilled pop as much if he cleans it up;)

Health

Today I had a doctors appointment.  I have been having some problems with vertigo lately and even more problems with migraines.  I also wanted to have my thyroid checked because I just feel off lately, very tired and sluggish even with a good nights sleep, hair loss, and a handful of other lovely symptoms that I won't bore you with.  Thyroid problems run in the family so it seems like a good place to start.  I started telling my doctor about my symptoms and she prescribed Topamax daily which is a migraine preventative drug.  I don't know though, after reading the side effects I am a little hesitant on starting it at all.  She also had me schedule a CAT Scan of my brain and a bunch of blood work to be done on Friday. It's all a little unsettling to think about so I am trying really hard not to.  I just want to feel better so the whole thing kind of bums me out. 

On to bigger and better things.  Drew brought his progress report home.  PERFECT!!!  The whole thing, he knows every single thing that they are working on.  We are still amazed by how well he is doing.  Some of you know Drew isn't our most motivated child.  He hates having to do, well pretty much anything that doesn't involve playing a video game.  He doesn't like when we have to leave the house to run errands, go grocery shopping, nothing.  Over the summer he reminded us repeatedly that he hated school, wasn't going, pretty much wanted nothing to do with the whole thing.  So that was fun to deal with!  And than it was announced that this was the first year for all day Kindergarten, oh boy!  Imagine our surprise when school started and Drew couldn't get enough of it.  He does homework all night long, sometimes making it up as he goes or following along on what Ethan is working on.  When we went to his conference his teacher was going on and on about how well he is doing.  He is above a lot of the kids in most subjects, say what?!?!?  He even joined book club!!!  It's been such a nice ride thus far, you know, a few months into Kindergarten and all but I am hopeful that he stays on this path as far as school goes.  He still hates running errands though;)

Tonight I introduced the boys to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - a must see movie for everyone at some point in their life.  Ethan was a little disappointed that Clark didn't use colored lights on the house but they still enjoyed it and of course I was quoting lines left and right, that movie is a classic. Doesn't matter how many times you watch it, it's hysterical! 

I will leave you with this picture.  This is how I found Brady after he snuck up on the table and polished off the remaining half of Drew's Nutella/Peanut Butter sandwich. I would say he thoroughly enjoyed it, wouldn't you?

 

17 months old

How did that even happen?  It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in the hospital giving birth to this precious little baby and I blinked my eyes and here he is, 17 months old already.  Everyone always tells you to enjoy it, how fast they grow up.  Man, they weren't kidding!  We knew it would go fast, especially since we spaced Brady out from the other 2 but it is going too fast and I hate it.  Pretty soon he will be leaving me to go to school too:(  But for now I get to stay home and enjoy every minute of his life.  He is such a sweet baby.  He wakes up around 7:30 every day and is such a cuddler, he will sit on your lap and gives hugs for a long time in the morning, it's such a great way to start every day.  Monday mornings we do a playgroup with his little friends, Campbell and Claire.  We have done that since he was 6 weeks old and its so cute to watch the 3 of them interact with each other.  The rest of the week is a free for all.  We don't have a lot of time to fill because we take the boys to school at 9:00 every day and pick them up at 3:30 and Brady lays down at 12:30 for his nap so its only a couple hours that we get to play and hang out but I love every minute of it. 

So proud!

Ethan came home and announced he had been selected as the Star Student of the Month! One kid from each class is picked and gets to have a special breakfast, a pencil and their picture taken and hung on a certificate displayed throughout the school. I am so proud of him! Last year his teacher had mentioned he might be picked sometime throughout the school year but it never happened. One day when I was getting the mail over the summer we received a wonderful letter stating that Ethan was 1 out of 2 kids in his whole grade who had won the Outstanding Student Achievement Award. We are so proud of him and all his accomplishments. Being a stay at home mom doesn't get a lot of recognition and that's not why I do it but it still feels pretty darn good to have your child be chosen for such an honor and it makes me feel like we are doing a pretty good job around here of raising them.

Today was the Secret Santa Shop at school. It also coincided with swim lessons. The plan was to rush through the shopping so we could still make swim class but after thinking about it and talking it over with Matt we decided skipping lessons was a better plan and we instead enjoyed a fun morning/afternoon of letting the kids pick out gifts, playing Bingo, bean bag toss, making crafts (cards for me) and eating some lunch and goodies. Drew decided to copy Ethan's card to a "T" so I now have 2 cards that say To Mom From Ethan, lol. Silly kid! But we had a great time and seeing their faces and the fun they had was well worth the wasted money on swim class. I do feel a little guilty since we missed class last weekend too since it was the annual Kalahari night, but again, another fun family memory eases the guilt a tad. With Matt's travel schedule we like to enjoy all the family time we can get and that's just what we did.

So...

Blogging seems to be the thing to do, right?  I mean, how else will everyone keep up on your every move other than Email, Facebook, Twitter, Texting, FaceTime, Calling, etc.  Just kidding (kind of).  But anyway, this is something I have thought of doing for a while and for some reason just never started.  Matt and I always have these moments, remember when Ethan used to say this, remember when Drew used to do that, Brady is getting so big and we will soon forget his quirks too.  Well at least if I blog a bit I will have some way of recalling moments from their childhoods, cause God knows how forgetful I am becoming. 

So right now Ethan is 8 and in the 2nd grade.  He is so fun but trying his hand at irritating his brother which isn't really working out for him.  I know it is part of growing up, becoming independent, and catching on to the misbehaviors of other children but it isn't going to fly around here! He really is a sweet boy, still loves cleaning, helping around the house, arts and crafts and just being the oldest child. He is always cracking jokes and entertaining us. He is still taking Young Rembrandts, an art class that the school offers and taking swim lessons.

Andrew (as he has decided he wants to be called instead of Drew) is 6 and in Kindergarten and just taking off!  We were concerned about him being there all day, that it would be too much for him and he would get frustrated easily but he has surprised us in so many ways.  He loves school, loves being there all day and learning which was such a nice surprise. He is always working on his reading and math facts in the evening, so fun to watch!  He joined book club at school, takes gymnastics and swim lessons.

Brady is 1 and such a joy.  I can't believe I am lucky enough to hang out with this little guy all day long, he is so happy and fun, I just can't get enough of him!  It's so fun watching him learn new things all the time, he is always smiling and happy, well that is unless you aren't one of the members who lives in our house, than please hands off! He hasn't warmed up to others as of yet (17 months old, not sure what we are waiting for) but we see a completely different side of him than everyone else.  He laughs, he plays, he shines around his brothers.  He is so happy when we are all home together, he actually flaps around in anticipation when Matt walks in the door, adorable!

I am so lucky to be able to stay at home and spend my time with these 3 amazing boys that Matt and I are raising.  I wish he didn't have to travel as much but I do my best to keep him up to speed on all the humor, fun and misadventures that take place while he is working hard to provide for us. So this blog will come in handy for Matt as well.