FINALLY (SNEEK PEEK!) FRIDAY!!

We have had a busy week- half days of school and days off, a little more of that yucky virus going around and excitement in the air as halloween approaches. We don't make a big deal about halloween, but we do let the kids dress up and go out on our street to trick-or-treat. We have a big group from our cul-de-sac that all go together so it makes for a fun time. This year, the University where my husband works put on an event through Student Life for children of the staff. They had carnival games, pumpkin coloring, prizes, goodies and all kinds of treats. It began at the chancellors house and then to the resident halls. The children had a blast and were excited to wear their costumes twice this year! I was itching to post a cute group shot of the kids dressed up, but will wait until Sunday to do so. In the mean time, here is a sneak peak! See if you can guess what they are going to be......!?!?

FAVORITE THINGS

I had a little quiet time alone with Fire Cracker today. I love these precious moments with each child. Having four children means moments like this are a bit more scarce, but that just makes them more special! One of Fire Cracker's favorite things to do one-on-one is read while sitting in my lap. He also loves to be tickled- so fun! This morning I began to ask him questions about himself and here is what he had to say........

Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Food: Peanut Butter & Jelly
Favorite Candy: M&M's
Favorite Person in the world: Dada
Favorite Friend: Rachel (his little friend across the street who he adores!)
Favorite Thing To Do in the World: Play with Bottle Rocket and Smoke Bomb
Favorite TV Show: "Phinney and Fern" Phineas and Ferb

'CARY COSTUME

THIS.................................

SCARED THIS...................

A LOT TODAY....................

Let me just start by saying that I am elated no one is wearing a mask as part of a costume this year. Fire Cracker found this mask (The Thing which was part of Smoke Bomb's costume last year) under his bed this morning and put it on....then screamed at Sparkler. She ran and screamed and hovered near me for some time. I put the mask away- hid it under the bed- far away from sight. Then tonight, Smoke Bomb found it hidden under the bed, far away from sight. He put it on and went straight up to Sparkler before we could intervene, twice! Leave it to little boys to think a reaction from someone warrants a repeat of the offender. And Sparkler was "cared!" And I mean 'cared! She would not go to sleep tonight. She cried, we went to comfort her, she said she was 'scared and her eyes were big as saucers. I held her for every bit of an hour and she finally went to sleep. I felt horrible. But it was nice to hold her and be still with her on me. Once again, here is to traditional costumes this year and no 'cary masks!

EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS

I asked the kids and MacGyver tonight what was different at the dinner table. They were quick to point out quite a few things including the fact I had cleaned which made me feel good! What they did not realize was that, while still in her same position at the table, Sparkler wasn't sitting in a high chair! She was a little lady at the table! We were officially a table of 6 eating dinner together tonight!! This seems to happen about every 2 years around here!! We blink and somehow the youngest is sitting at the table with us all grown up. Okay well not all grown up, but at that moment it feels like it. It was, however, a bittersweet moment tonight since we know this is the last one to "graduate" to the big chair and table. So now we will move on to what's ahead and stay in the moment! Here's to many more " I can't believe their doing that!" moments!

FINALLY FRIDAY!!

Here we are at the weekend again! I hope you have something fun planned! It has been a bit hectic for us here . Among many other things going on, the kids' school had boxtop wars to help raise money. Turns out we had 5000 boxtops to count in a 2 day time frame. It was a great cause and the school raised $4000 in one week! Needless to say, we have not taken many, make that any, pictures this week. So I have decided to share some of my favorite pictures from the past. Here's to a blast from the past!

FROWNY FACE FOR SMOKEBOMB, HAPPY FACE FOR MACGYVER

Smoke Bomb's teacher has a discipline plan in her class that involves children moving their monkey from the tree when they are not behaving as expected. At the end of the day if you have too many monkeys moved, you receive a frowny face versus a smiley face. Smokebomb has not had one frowny face yet this year. Until yesterday.

I went to sign his behavior chart and saw the note from his teacher. He had a frowny face in the responsibility column. What had he done? Why such a long note from his teacher? Of course we take these things seriously, but we also know everyone makes mistakes sometime. So I read the letter from the teacher. And then I began to giggle. But first things first. Although I was tickled at what he had done, he still needed to understand how his actions were wrong.

I asked Smoke Bomb to explain to me why he had received the frowny face. He proceeded to tell me that he was in centers. His center was the play kitchen with lots of fake food and utensils. He took it upon himself to do something familiar. Something he considered fun. Something that came naturally to him. Something his Dada encourages him to do on a daily basis. He took some practice swings!! Smoke Bomb had created a game of baseball using the spatula to hit the pretend potato! The note from his teacher of course noted that this was not acceptable.....although very creative she said. And MacGyver agreed, of course! He was elated that baseball was on Smoke Bomb's mind. It was tough to be too upset at SmokeBomb when he was just following his roots! And I have to admit that if this is the worst thing he is doing in class, I am okay with that. Here's to many more smiley faces.....and perhaps a few "creative" frowny faces!

THIS POINT

Then I reached this point......the point when I knew that point was no big deal. The point I knew that life was a constant balancing act between that point and this point. The point I knew that point was necessary to reach this point! I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason and in a certain time frame for a specific purpose. And this was one of those times.

I was admittedly at wits end and feeling quite overwhelmed just before a scheduled weekend at the beach with my parents and siblings. It could not have come at a better time. I did not ask for it, nor in any fashion whatsoever did we expect it. It was something that had been planned for months in advance. But the timing could not have been more perfect.

This past weekend, we traveled to the beach with my parents and family for the holiday weekend. They all helped so much in taking care of the kids over the weekend. They insisted we let them wake up with the kids (which was 5:45am on the first day!) and made every effort to allow us to enjoy the moment. We had a wonderful chance to catch our breath, watch the kids with other family members and spend time with each other.

They helped so much that MacGyver and I felt like we were teenagers again! We had time to breathe and relax a bit, time to read a few minutes and time to spend just as a couple. We had time to sit on the beach, take a ride together, eat breakfast at a separate table and hang out at night with family members laughing remembering the "good old days!" It was so much fun and so much of a treat! When you are in the throes of parenting, it is quite easy to forget about who you are as a couple and when opportunities such as this come along it is quite refreshing. I think it is great for the kids as well! I don't think my parents or sister and brother-in-law realize just how special this time was to us! Not only was it great to spend time together as a family, we also had time to enjoy the trip with extra help in the responsibilities! It was rather memorable....the first time we had all been together at the beach in over 20 years! Not to mention it was the same beach I grew up at each summer as a child.

All 4 kids loved the playing on the beach and swimming in the pool (thanks to 90 degree weather in the early fall!). We enjoyed hanging out in the tide pools, boogie boarding, flying kites and writing alphabet letters in the sand. The weather was perfect without a cloud in site all four days! We watched the sunrise on the porch and ate chocolate cake for breakfast! It was super! I will forever appreciate all the memories that were made (and time "off'")!

THAT POINT

I realized yesterday that I have reached that point. You know that point. The point when you realize you are burning both ends of the candle. The point where you wonder if there is an actual point of return. The point where you must laugh because if not you will cry. The point where you know those around you, including the dog, are looking at you wondering what you'll do next. I realized I was at this point when I looked up and saw myself on one knee, beside the dog, in the den, holding a can of air freshener in one hand and a bag of salomi in the other! Realizing there is an issue, is the first step in recovering, right?!?! That is when I knew I needed a break..... or act of God to help get me back from my insanity. This can only go on so long! But in the overall scheme of things, I have very little to complain about, if any. So I will choose to focus on the things that are important and do all I can to "keep my ducks in a row!"

WORDS

border
force
pardon
custard
argument
horrify
darling
target
fortunate
ignorant
important
ordinary
remarkable
marvelous
cardinal

These are Bottle Rocket's spelling words for the week....yep, he is in 2nd grade. He made a 100 on the pre-test today. If you ask me that is remacrkable, marvilus and not so ordinnary. I still have trouble spelling some of these words! Way to go Bottle Rocket!

BREATHTAKING

I cannot look at all of this (as seen on Smoke Bomb's field trip the other day)...................

and not know we serve an awesome Creator! Simply breathtaking. And miraculous. Without a doubt.

TAILS WAGGING

Miles and Sandy have been around since the first year we were married. They are both 11 years old and some of the best dogs around. Both were rescued.....Miles from the newspaper ads and Sandy from the shelter. Both likely have a life better off than what they were destined for at that time. We raised Miles from a puppy of 6 weeks and he has been one of the most loyal, obedient, patient and playful dogs an owner can have. His hobbies include baseball and fetch....in the old days he never needed a leash to stay nearby. Sandy was 1 when we adopted her. Her owners were moving and gave her to the shelter. She had just delivered a set of pups a few months earlier. She was the only dog Miles tolerated during the interaction test that day. She is compassionate, inquisitive, loves the outdoors and very affectionate. The first morning after we brought her home, we thought a helicopter was landing on the house. Turns out it was her tail wagging under the bed where she had nestled overnight. What a sign of gratitude on her behalf! I will never forget that morning or that sound of her happy tail. In the month following her arrival, Miles taught her to play...something she had apparently not ever been taught. The two were perfect for each other. They lived in companionship and seemed to understand each other.

As kids have come along, the dogs have been amazingly tolerant. They are open to the kids hugs and love, but have the integrity to walk away when they need time to themselves. They both still love to play fetch, ball and frisbee with the kids and Miles is always the first one on the field when baseball is in action.

If you know me well, you know I love animals. I think they have a language of their own used to communicate with each other. I also think they have an enormously positive impact on us as humans. I have seen it first-hand. Our dog, Sandy, and I participated in pet therapy at a local hospital for a few years. The interactions I witnessed proved that animals continuously bring joy and love to humans. A special kind of love. An unconditional love with no strings attached. An unexpecting love that does not require anything in return. Hmmm......we could learn a lot from an animals love.

So you are wondering why I post about our dogs when this is a blog about my kids? You guessed it....they are a part of the family too! This whole post stems from the picture below:

This is Miles, falling asleep, next to a softball and toy dinosaur, ready to play! He might be old by age, but he is still young at heart! And this is Sandy who makes her "mark" with her unusual markings. So there it is. Now you have met the whole family!

THE DOCTOR IS IN

As a parent, I think it's natural to wonder and dream about what your children will be when they grow up. Of course it is out of our control. In fact it has already been decided.......long before they were even born. Nevertheless, it is still fun to ponder. The real thing that matters is that they do something that makes them happy and find rewarding. Here is my (at the moment!) prediction for Fire Cracker.......can you see why?