Monday, October 29, 2007 at 11:21AM Woohoo! I'll be chatting tonight on the CK Message Board from 9-11 pm EST (that's 7-9 pm MST folks). It's called Happy Hour and there's a drawing (maybe more than one?). So come on by and ask a question or just chat, okay? See you there!
Monday, October 29, 2007 at 04:18AM Wow. Lots to report from the weekend. Here’s a recap:
1. Noah and Asher finished their first soccer season on Saturday. (Join me in doing a little happy dance!) It was freezing (almost literally) but the boys had a great time as usual (except Micah, who did not appreciate the weather at all). They looked so adorable with their stocking caps and gloves on, in addition to the layers and fleece and soccer gear. We had blankets, too:
I won’t bore you with the details, but between the two games and the two end of season parties, logistics were problematic…leaving us not in any hurry for Micah to be old enough to play also. :) Regardless, both boys proudly now display their trophies on a shelf in their room. To quote Noah, “having a trophy just makes me feel good.” As well he should. In fact, both boys earned “most improved” kudos from their coaches, and it’s true. I think back to the first practice (where Noah adamantly refused to let go of his ball or participate in the drills) and the first game (where Asher took each bump personally and we had time outs for crying rather than injury) and am amazed at how far they’ve come. Both are looking forward to next season already.
2. (Total turn-around on the weather and it was beautiful and in the 70s Sunday.) There are definite benefits to having the biggest front yard on the block. The boys were rediscovering the tee ball set we had yesterday. One neighbor boy came over and joined in. Then another. Before long, we had almost 12 kids out there playing an impromptu baseball game. The kids ranged in age from 12 to 2 (my three being the youngest with one exception), and I was just so impressed at how well they all played together and how polite they were. At one point they picked teams, and the two captains (without any prompting whatsoever) selected Noah and Asher first, regardless of the fact that they obviously had the least experience (having never played a “game” before and not knowing the rules). The other kids then proceeded to cheer for my guys and give them little pep talks and individual coaching. So very blessed to live in this neighborhood.
Oh, and while the “big” kids were playing, one neighbor kept Micah occupied with a little game of catch:
3. We carved our pumpkins yesterday also. I didn’t remember to buy candles ahead of time, so we’ll have to do pictures tonight or tomorrow. They turned out great, if I do say so myself. Noah even braved it all and stuck his arm right into the pumpkin finally this year. Asher still refused and Micah just looked at us as if we were insane to even ask such a thing. Still, fun times.
Hmm. Listing it all out, it doesn't seem like too much, but it definitely felt long. :) Hundreds of pictures (still sorting). Happy sigh. :)
Friday, October 26, 2007 at 11:47PM First off, while I'm happy to cheer for our Colorado Rockies in the World Series, why must baseball games last so darn long? I don't know why but I couldn't not watch Game 2 last night (okay, I do know why...I was procrastinating...still, I can blame baseball)...which meant that I wasn't working on the three layouts that were due earlier today...which meant that I stayed up most of the night finishing them. (By the way, they're done and scans were sent off earlier today...yay! Now to tackle the other three layouts due early next week.) I digress.
It would have been fine, except that Nathan is taking his first "long weekend" off since August (he's only been taking one day a week all year, and sometimes not even that but, obviously, August brought some disruption to everything). Why is the long weekend a problem? Well, it's not really. Truly, it's spectacular and soooo very needed. But given that this is the first weekday I've been able to get out on my own during business hours in who knows how long, I booked a number of appointments...starting at 8:00 in the morning up in Old Town (20 minutes from here). So. No sleep for me last night.
But I had a lovely morning. Got my hair cut (nothing exciting unfortunately, but I've learned the hard way not to go for a short cut just before winter hits), took care of some Christmas shopping (yes, it's "early" but I don't foresee many opportunities for child-free shopping between now and Christmas), quick stop at the library...stuff like that. Then I came home and took a nap while Nathan and the boys played outside for a bit. After that, Ash and I ventured out for a little one-on-one time and so Ash could find a birthday gift for Noah. This may seem like a little thing, but really I was pretty excited about it. To date, I've always done the shopping and gifting on everyone's behalf around here. But this year, Asher actually approached me wanting to get a gift for Noah because, in his words, "he's such a good big brother and he's always teaching me things and he invited me to his party so I should get him a gift." Who can argue with that? (Even though I'd already finished birthday shopping for Noah.) Incidentally, we're already planning to have the boys do their own Christmas shopping this year (with guidance, of course). :)
While Ash and I were out, I noticed that winter wear is very evident in the stores (duh, I know). Call me weird, but what's the deal with vests? Seriously, this is something I've never understood. If my arms aren't covered up...they're going to be cold. What good does a vest do? Is it just me?
Oh, and earlier today (totally rambling here...see the title of this post), I asked Noah to grab the vitamin bottle for me so I could distribute the boys' multi-vitamins. He came back with vitamins for everyone (and I had to quickly stop him from giving Micah too many...the older two get more than Micah). When asked how he got the "child-proof" cap open, he stated simply that he'd read the instructions. So perhaps they should be called "child-proof until they can read" bottles?
Um, I should go to sleep. Yup. Really. Gotta get up early again tomorrow for the boys' last soccer games of the season. But I'm sure that will merit another blog entry... ;)
Monday, October 22, 2007 at 10:54AM It snowed here yesterday. Nothing major and it didn't stick at all, but we did officially see snow. And it was cold. Way cold. Saturday it was windy but sunny and in the 60-70s. Today it's sunny again. In a couple days it's supposed to be in the 70s again. That's Colorado for you. :) Noah's a bit bummed because a local store was having a "guess the first snow" contest where we could win a gift certificate to the store. But we guessed today, not yesterday. At least we were close.
Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 01:30PM Here's the deal. I, um, don't cook. Oh, I *can* if I have to, don't get me wrong. I can follow a recipe and all that. But, honestly, cooking is supremely not up there on my list of favorite things to do. (Fortunately, Nathan cooks. Yay!) One day maybe this will change. But I don't foresee that happening in the near future. :)
But. Since Tiffany refuses to come cook for me and mine, and since our homeschool group is having a Halloween party soon...does anyone have any good and EASY recipes for me to try? The party is going to be a candy-free potluck and many present have difficulties with gluten and dairy. So. Ideas? I'm told that either entrees or veggie sides would be appreciated. I'm guessing a yummy dessert wouldn't be unappreciated.
Seriously, folks, I need ideas. :)