First Day of School

Today we took the boys to their first day of the new school year. They were so excited to get to use their new backpacks and lunch boxes. So, off they went with their cashew butter and jelly sandwiches! Hudson was a little nervous
Connor was ready!

traffic school requires much concentration

While I write this post I am technically in traffic school. I opted to take the 4 hour course so I don't get any points on my license. Luckily they have it on-line. Unluckily you must take 4 hours to do it. Really it is a big waste of time, but since I am still recovering from surgery I am on restriction on what I am allowed to do so I have 4 hours to kill. So, while I wait the remaining required 23 minutes until I can click to the next section of the class (this section is 25 minutes, but I finished the quiz part in under 2) I figured I would update you on the past week. One warning....apparently after anesthesia I am a little fuzzy (Erin keeps telling me it is cute). Hopefully I will make sense. Actually now that I think about it, why make sense....I'll just do one of my favorite quick update posts that requires no real form. And we all know how I love to ramble. So here I go....

Surgery went great, healing quickly

Pops took care of the boys Tuesday and Wednesday, meals delivered by Deacons from church

Thursday Kathy and Tara took care of the boys (& me). Best homemade pizza EVER for dinner!

Friday Kathy took care again and B took the boys to meet the teacher (Mom guilt setting in). Judy & Kathy took the boys to lunch, playtime & swimming. Breakfast for dinner (YUMMY). Then Kathy, Bruce, Tara, John & Judy took the boys over to the new house since B was there getting quotes and they all wanted a look. Dr. John met them there and we got a bunch of great feedback about the house. I love seeing it through other peoples eyes.

Saturday B played with the boys and then Pops took them to lunch and swimming and he and Grammy took them to play. Then we all had dinner that Erin brought over. Chicken & dumplings....YUMMY!

I have finished the first of the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Erin gave it to me before surgery as it was an easy read and well she knows how much I like vampire stories. Very different from Twilight, but I like it almost as much. Starting book 2 today.

This morning the boys and Brandon headed out to church, then Sunday School then straight to the last day of hockey/skating. Later today Brandon is going to do some wiring at the house and Erin is going to bring the kids by so they can all swim together and then she is making flank steak for dinner.

Yesterday was Erin's (sister in-law) baby shower. I hated missing it, but she understood. Can't believe in under 2 months I will get to hold our new nephew...oh and find out what his name is! The boys are currently calling him Thunder Horse!

We had the house re plumbed and are currently getting quotes on a new roof and new AC system. Brandon is having to do all of this without me (wife guilt setting in).

I guess that is the past week in a condensed format. Tomorrow is the first day of school and I am having major Mommy guilt about not being able to drop the boys off. Katina is coming by tomorrow to help me out and of course bring us a Pot Pie!

Off to traffic school!

Camo Belt

warming up with some side kicksAnd push upsHudson tried to be quiet during the testBreaking the boardsparringI got this!He was so happy to receive his Camo belt he almost cried!

Oh Hudson!

On Sunday during the children's story Paul asked the kids what they should do if someone says something mean to them and Hudson said "I'll just shoot them!" Then when Paul asked the kids if they were ready to pray Hudson said "I already farted!". By this point my mascara was running down my face from laughing so hard. Thankfully Paul is able to see the humor in the boys additions to his children's stories.

New House

After months of looking we finally found a home. It is in a great neighborhood and we are very happy with the school the boys will be attending. The house needs some work, but we are really excited about making it our own. Should only take 4 or 5 years!!

Master bath...needs some updating, and what is up with that door?

Playroom, staying as-is
future gymhall bath
boys room....could use some paint.

Sun room
Pool...needs LOTS of workKitchen, gotta love all of those ovens!bar in the family roomFamily room. Plan here is to cover the fireplace in stone and cover the beams in wood.
dining roomliving room

Entry way...love that door!Somehow I forgot to take pictures of the outside of the house.

Dog & Duck

These are Connor & Hudson's best friends (besides each other!) I noticed them on the table the other day and just had to get a picture to show the boys when they are older. Now that I am looking at the condition of dog I feel the need to pass along advice to new parents. If you want you kid to have a stuffed toy to love, pick something WITHOUT fur. Look how much nicer duck has worn over the years. They take a "bath" in the washing machine 2 or 3 times a month and dog has had to have both ears sewn back on and his hair has totally matted over his eyes. But the boys love them no matter what they look like!

Does Costco sell Dermabond?

The other day the boys thought it would be a good idea to walk around the pool with a float over their heads and then jump in together....it was NOT a good idea. They bumped heads and Hudson's goggles cut his eyelid and caused a puffy eye for a few days. It healed just in time for THIS... At the park, down a BIG hill, Hudson refused to slow down and used his face as a brake instead of the actual brake. Luckily our pediatrician's office was still open and they dermabonded (yes, I just made up that word) under his lip. They said we were very lucky and if it had been 1 cm higher we would have needed a plastic surgeon. He also bruised his cheek, got some nasty road rash on his chin and busted open his lip. He was so tough. He cried a little but he was really more bothered that we got water on his shirt while cleaning his wound. While at the Dr.'s office he never cried. Not while they cleaned it or squeezed his lip to glue it back together. We started calling him Wolverine and of course he said...."No, I'm Hudson!".

The splits

Connor has to work on splits for karate so Brandon and Hudson practice with him every night. He is getting closer and closer. Hopefully it will only be a few months before he can hit the floor! Looks kinda painful!

Skate!

Hudson can roller blade! Hudson can ice skate!
Brandon has been working with Hudson on his rollerblading and the little guy has really come along. Check it out!

Shouldn't be long before he is faster than me!

I mean GREAT!!!

So after yesterday's post Erin said to me "you know I'm going to do everything, right?". I reminded her that she has a family, house and job and she said "so?". She said she could just make double the dinner each night and send half to us and she could just buy our groceries at the same time as hers and drop ours off and of course she could just throw in a load of laundry while she was here! Then Katina dropped me a message to say she was going to bring over 2 chicken pot pies (we LOVE Katina's chicken pot pies) and she would spend the morning helping me with whatever I needed around the house. Add that to Kathy's offer and the Deacon's at our church providing meals for us and you get one conclusion:

We have GREAT friends!!

girl parts

In 12 days I am going to have a hysterectomy. That's right, I'm talking about my "girl parts" right here on our happy family blog. Why? I guess because it is going to happen. I write about everything else that happens to us, why not this. Plus, when I get messages like "why aren't you blogging" or "Wow your blog suddenly sounds cranky" or "Is it just me or are you spending an insane amount of time in bed?", I wanted you to know why. So, instead of sending nice private messages to my loved ones I figured I would just put it out there. However when I publish the blog into a book for the boys to have I will probably leave this page out. OR, maybe I'll leave it in and when their first girlfriends come over I'll leave the book on the coffee table open to this page. That oughta freak her out! But I'm getting off topic. I am actually excited about the surgery. To be done with a portion of my life that has given me problems for so long seems like a dream. The one thing that scares me is the boys. And I mean all 3 of them. WHO is going to cook and clean and do the laundry? WHO???? Brandon has assured me that he can handle it. He has also assured me that he will not handle it the way I would handle it. I will have to give up control and just trust that the boys will be OK. Even if they eat PB & J for dinner. Even if their sheets don't get washed on Tuesday and towels on Thursday (you know I have a laundry schedule). The worst part is I scheduled the surgery to coincide with their first week of school that way they would be out of the house and I could actually rest. I was planning on taking them to school on Monday & then have surgery on Tuesday. Turns out I got the dates wrong and they start school the week after. Soooo I am going to MISS their first day of school. I KNOW! This makes me the worst mother ever. At least it does in my crazy OCD brain. I have been up many nights thinking about the long term effects this will have on them. I can hear them now in the therapist office "She was a good mother, but there was that first day of pre-school in 2009...she didn't even take us! Oh, and let me tell you about a book she had on the coffee table!!". OK, so they probably wont even care. Brandon will be there and lets face it, he is way cooler than me. He will let them run into school, probably pack a way better lunch and not tell them to behave 100 times. Kathy Rogers (Tara's Mom) is taking Thursday and Friday off of work to take care of us. I KNOW! Want to know how to make me cry like a baby?.... tell me you think of me as family and turn your world upside down to take care of my 3 boys and help me through recovery. Yeah, that will do it. That and watching The Notebook. Soooo, my 2nd motive for talking about my girl parts in public is to solicit help. If you are around anytime after my surgery and you have an extra meal (that does not include broccoli) or know how to start a load of sheets (on Tuesday's) then I would appreciate the help more than I can tell you. Who knows you might even see me cry!!

Adventures in dressing rooms

OK...Stop the messages..I know it has been a while. I went to NY and when I came home all 3 boys were sick then I was sick, then we had a bunch going on in the Real Estate Department (more info soon). So, to start back let me share a story with you.

The other day I stopped at ROSS to get Connor some socks for hockey. They were having a big dress sale and I just wanted to look. I bribed the boys with gum, cause that's what good parents do. I spotted a couple of cute dresses. So, I started to weigh my options. Call Pops and come back or just bring them in the dressing room. I have not brought the boys into a dressing room since they were in strollers. For good reason. First I hate when kids are all cranky in a store and the Mom's are oblivious. Second I try not to torture the boys with girly activities. But, there were lots of cute dresses for under $20....obviously an emergency! I asked the boys permission and they agreed to help me pick out a pretty dress. So we took a few into the dressing room and I pulled off the dress I had on and as loud as possible Connor said "Mom, you are in your underwear!". On the bright side he told everyone I was wearing underwear.....on the other hand HE TOLD EVERYONE I WAS WEARING UNDERWEAR!!! I could hear the other women giggling. Then I tried on a dress on the shorter side and Hudson said "Mom, you can't have that dress, it is too short!". Ahhhh....BOYS!