Betty & Doug

Last week my Aunt Betty (Dad's sister) came to visit along with her husband Doug. I haven't seen Betty in 12 years and I've never even met Doug. They have never met Brandon and obviously were anxious to meet Connor & Hudson. I knew we were in for it when Betty didn't even make it to the front door without crying! The first night they spent a little while just getting to know the boys. Then on Thursday we just did a little of everything. We went to the park, stopped by the shop and of course they took the boys shopping for new toys!! On Friday they joined us for dinner and play time with the boys. Then on Saturday Doug & Brandon took the boys on a canoe trip. Betty and I went to breakfast and then watched our wedding video and looked at pictures. Then we went to dinner without the kids. We had a great visit and everyone totally clicked! We couldn't get over how alike we all were. The kids fell in love with both of them and have asked about them all week.

Me & my Aunt Betty!The kids just loved them!They gave Uncle Doug a run for his money!!
But he never gave in!So, Betty, I know you read this every day and I just wanted to say one more time how awesome it was to spend time with you and Doug. Reconnecting with family is wonderful. I have missed you and I love you very much...after all...you helped mold me into who I am today...my evil twin!

Monthly Progress Report

Connor get a monthly progress report. Here is what the teacher wrote this month:

"Connor is doing great in our VPK class. He is polite and kind to his friends. He has been progressing nicely with his academic skills. His penmanship is just fantastic and he's got his letters and numbers down pat. He regularly contributes to class discussions. Connor, keep up the good work!"

We are so proud of the little guy! Oh, and for the first time this year he got a Good for his scissor skills. We have been practicing!

update

Quick post.

We are moved into our rental house. Did you just hear me sigh? This has been a LONG journey to sell our house. The rental isn't ideal, but we are making the most of it. Connor loves it because it is green and green is his favorite color. Ryan and Olivia want us to buy it since there is a pool and a fire pit (wood burning stove) inside. Hudson just keeps saying it's "perfect". We love the neighborhood. We are in a cul-de-sac with a bunch of families. We know many people in the area and it only took 3 minutes to get to church on Sunday.

The move went as good as could be expected. Better actually. 15 friends / family showed up to help. Janet & Larry brought coffee and donuts. Some friends brought pick up trucks, some brought trailers and everyone was happy to help. We were done from start to finish in 4 hours! There were so many of them coming out of the truck with boxes & furniture I had to just stand at the end of the truck and tell everyone where everything went. This was OK with me as I had already spent the entire week moving stuff. I had the entire kitchen set up, the master bedroom closet set up and all of the toys moved over by Friday (thanks Brett).

Tonight my Aunt Betty & Uncle Doug are int town from California. So I am sure I will have lots of pics to post this weekend.

Oh I just remembered that last weekend was Connor's first soccer game. His team won 20-4 and he even scored a goal!! Then on Sunday he scored a goal at hockey. Thank goodness he got some of Brandon's jeans!

Too busy to blog!

Moving....Busy......No Time To Blog.......Enjoy!

CLOSED!!!

We closed on our house yesterday. It feels good to finally be done with the process. So, goodbye house that never felt like "our" home and neighborhood that never felt quite right. We are going to rent in the area that we want to move to while we look for the right home for us. Neither of us wants to rush into a home. That means we get to move AGAIN in a few months, but it will be worth it to finally be "home". The new neighborhood is close to church and a bunch of our friends from there. Plus it is in a great school zone. The only bad part is that it is farther away from our closest friends. Oh, by far away I mean 6 more miles down the road. So, really I guess it isn't that far.
We have been looking at homes for a while now and haven't found the one that fits us yet, but I am sure it will find us!

forgotten blog

I forgot to post these 2 weeks ago during monster truck time. The night before the show there was a truck at the local Dairy Queen. The boys had a blast climbing all over (& under) the truck!

Worse than Megatron?

Brandon did a Sunday School lesson on temptation. He, of course had to bring it to a 3/4 year old level. He talked about being tempted to be bad for cookies or toys. The kids were really getting the point. Then he read them the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan. He started saying "he is the worst bad guy in the whole world"....Connor broke in and said "Even worse than Megatron?" We had to hold back our laughter and Brandon answered him with "Even worse than Darth Vader!". The kids all got it then!

The crayons have left the table

We have been stuck in the house for the past week due to the cold. Yes, I know I am now a weather wimp...stop laughing. So, I found something fun for the boys to do indoors. I rolled out a huge piece of paper, traced their bodies....Let them color themselves in... Then we hung them one the wall. (The drawings, not the boys)They had so much fun. All of the kids who have visited have wanted to make one too!

He's not a dentist...he just plays one on TV

Last night we watched Ryan and Olivia so Erin could go to a meeting (Brett was at work too). The kids and I all had dinner together and then a little while after Brandon arrived home i had to leave for a meeting at church. So he took care of all 5 kids for about an hour and a half. Nice guy, right!

So, what you need to know before you watch this video is Brandon has been offering the kids at church $100 to whoever will let him pull out their loose tooth with a set of pliers. He always wanted to try it. Some kids got close. They would let him get the pliers on the tooth and then they would all chicken out. So, when Ryan got his first loose tooth Brandon made him the same offer. Ryan was all over it. He was already spending the $100 in his head. When I got home last night Brandon told me that Ryan let him take out his tooth and was quite brave about it too. Here is the video i found on my camera this morning.

Erin didn't want to let Ryan take the money, but Brandon said he promised so he talked her into letting Ryan have it.

The kids all behaved really well, but 4 kids, even behaving is too many kids. Wow, it was loud!

24 hours

Here, in non-paragraph form is 24 hours of my life:


Connor had soccer

made dinner early

woke Connor from nap

had dinner with Connor

told Connor to eat

got up from table to get something

Told Connor to eat

came back to table to find my entire drink spilled

told Connor to eat

mopped floor

told Connor to eat

got Connor ready for soccer

told Connor to go back to eating

made plate for Brandon

sent them off to soccer

Hudson wakes up

let Hudson eat at counter while I do dishes

tell Hudson to eat

clean up Hudson's spilled juice

tell Hudson to eat

play power rangers with Hudson

watch some cartoons with Hudson

Connor & Brandon get home

showers, snack & stories

read for 1.5 hours OUTLOUD to Brandon

Sleep

Wake up

boys wake up

Make lunches for boys

Make breakfast for boys

call boys to breakfast

clean up kitchen

call boys to breakfast

tell the boys to eat

start laundry

tell the boys to eat

make bed

tell the boys to eat

pack Connor's back pack

tell the boys to eat

do sinus rinses on boys

help them brush their teeth

get boys dressed

drive to school

grocery shop

home

edit video

talk to Erin

blog

fold laundry

back to blog

lunch

shower

pick up boys at school

snack / play /naps

plan dinner

fold more laundry

start dinner

Erin drops off Ryan & Olivia

listen to kids play while i finish dinner

think....wow 4 kids can be LOUD

make plates for 4 kids and 2 adults

think about making appointment for Brandon to have a vasectomy

have a great dinner with 4 awesome kids who all eat their green beans

think...well maybe this isn't so bad

clean up dinner and the noise starts again

look up Dr.'s # to call tomorrow

kiss them all goodbye and go to a meeting at church.

I love you more than

I play this game with the boys where we say "I love you more than.." and then we fill in the blank. Here are some of my recent favorites they have come up with.

I love you more than...

a whole bunch of ice cream sandwiches (Hudson)
pizza with Chinese food on top (Connor)
cookies with sprinkles (Hudson)
new toys (Connor)

Wivia

Today I watched Olivia for a little bit while Erin was at work. I swear it still amazes me how well behaved that little girl is. I am also amazed with the way her and Hudson interact. We started off by playing with cars and making traffic (we line up all the cars, tons of them!) Then I had to go make Hudson's bed and she asked if they could play in Hudson's room and hang out with me. I said yes, of course. She climbed up into the rocking chair and told Hudson to sit next to her so she could read him a book. She "read" him Goodnight Moon. She must know it by heart. Then he "read" a book to her. They were so cute. Then Olivia found Hudson's little bible and she asked what it was I told her it was Hudson's bible, but only the new testament. She said "No miss Ilene, your wrong." She stuck her hand in the middle of the book and said "This is the old testament and this is the new testament"she flipped back and forth from the front half to the back half. "Mr. Brandon told me in Sunday School". Then she said "Come her Hudson I will read you the bible so we don't get into trouble'.

When I made them lunch she said "thank you miss Ilene, this lunch is great"

How cool would it be if she really did marry Hudson ( or Connor, I'm OK with that too). I could tell my daughter-in-law that I loved her since the day she was born.

Monster trucks and Vampires!

The boys all went to Monster trucks recently. This was Hudson's first time to go and he loved it! He are a couple of short clips of the boys enjoying their day out with Dad.










Erin & I went and saw Twilight that night. We giggled like 14 year olds and vowed to see it again as soon as Katina & Mindy finish reading the books. We have been invited by the other moms from preschool/music class to go see it in the dollar theatre when it comes out there too. Ahh..the obsession continues!

4 hour time out

Last Tuesday was supposed to be Hudson's first music class. He is in the same class as Olivia. Connor has been in music class for a few months now and I thought Hudson would really love it too. I signed him up and told him about it. He said "no thank you". I know, very polite! The night before class I told him about it again and got the same response. When we got to class he threw a fit and screamed and refused to go to music class. I got so mad. I do not have much experience with fits. I think Connor threw one when he was 18 months old and that was it. But one thing I can not stand is when you see a 4, 5 or 6 year old (or older) throw them selves on the ground uncontrollably. So, I decided to make his punishment severe so he would not soon forget it. We left right away and he went straight to his bed. Stayed there for 2 hours. Then I turned off his light and he took a nap. Then dinner, then back to his room. He was allowed to come out for 15 minutes to play before bedtime. Someone told me that was dumb since he wouldn't even remember why he was in there after 2 minutes. Well, I went in there often to remind him why he was in there. Then that night I made him call the music teacher to apologize for his behavior. I know lots of people would say "well he's only2". But then next year do I say "he's only 3, he's only 4, etc." No, I need to stop it NOW. Hudson, I love you too much to let you be a brat!
Since that punishment he has been sooo good. On Wednesday he said something about not wanting to go to school and I said "do you want to go to school or stay in your bed all day" he said "I want to go to school" and that was the end of the conversation. He knows I mean business. This past Tuesday he couldn't wait to try again at music class. He kissed me goodbye, took off his shoes and sat down like a good boy. The teacher said she did not have any trouble out of him at all! He loved music class. He can't wait to go again. I am a big fan of making our kids try things. Making them step out of their comfort zone. Brandon always uses the example of swimming. All kids are terrified of swimming when they start. They scream and beg to get out of the water. But we know that they will be safer when they learn. We also all remember how much fun swimming was as a kid. So, we make them leave their comfort zone and once they learn it is awesome to see the smile on their faces when they can jump in on their own.

Oh, and on Friday he got a special behavior award at school. They don't even have an award for behavior. They just made a special one for him since he was so good that day. So, I must be doing something right!

Twilight!

I know I haven't written in a while, but I have a good excuse. Or at least it sounds good to me. You see, the last day I wrote Erin dropped off a book to me. So, I started to read Twilight that evening. 2 days later I was done. I have never read a book so fast in my life. There are 4 books in that series and I read them all 10 days! I loved them. I made fun of everyone who told me they were reading these books last year. Since they are geared to a "younger" audience. Well, I was wrong. I loved the love story. I loved the vampires. I loved it all! I am back to the land of the living now and can start blogging again any day now.

I'm cold!

It is 40 degrees here and I am freezing. The boys made me get them a blanket to watch cartoons this morning. I think if we had a fireplace I would use it right now. I guess that makes it official. I am a Floridian! I can't even imagine being cold for months on end and not able to leave the house. I need to go get some groceries and I think I will wait for this afternoon when it is warmer. How sad! Most of my family is in NY, covered in snow.... sorry guys! So, to warm your hearts here are some more "winter" pictures of the boys. Again, pay no attention to the short sleeves and lack of shoes!

Not so weird

When I first met Brandon and he said he didn't watch football (or any other sports for that matter) I thought it was really weird. I mean, what were we going to do on Monday nights? No more cheap beer and wings? Turns out we still went out for cheap beer and wings we just didn't have to worry about having a seat where we could see the game. Oh, and he actually looked at ME. I know weird! Oh, and now on Sunday's we actually take the kids to do things instead of being slaves to the TV. Again, WEIRD! It really did take a couple of years, but now I really like it. There are a few exceptions to the rule. If the NY Yankees or NY Rangers are in the world series / Stanley Cup finals, I make him watch. We also go to a Super Bowl party every year. We usually hang out in the kitchen and enjoy the food and watch the commercials though.

So this past Sunday was no different than any other, we were busy. Actually we were busy all weekend. On Saturday Brandon went to work and then Brett picked up Connor and they met Brandon up at church and took down the Nativity. Connor has helped put up and take down the Nativity every year since he was 6 months old. That first year he rode in a back pack carrier.... but he was there. Then after Brandon got home from work (half day) he took the boys outside to play with their new RC car. Then Hudson went down for a nap and Brandon and Connor met up with Max & Maxwell for a canoe ride. Then that evening we met up with Justin & Erin to take the boys ice skating. Connor did great. He was so excited because a "real" hockey player came up and said he was good and asked how old he was and how long he had been skating. Then another man came up and said he had a promising future in hockey. He ate up the compliments... so did his very proud parents! I think Justin & Erin ate them up a little too! It was Hudson's first time on the ice. While he had fun it was not much fun for us! Poor Brandon had to lean over and hold him almost the entire time. We are going to have to teach him to roller blade first!

Then on Sunday we went to church and Sunday School. We came home, had a pizza picnic in the family room and then it was back to the rink for Connor's first Hockey lesson. He got to use his new stick. He is the youngest kid in the class, but he did great. I was afraid they wouldn't let him stay but he totally held his own! We were so proud of him. Can you believe I forgot my camera? I promise I will remember it next time. After hockey lessons we went home, Hudson went down for a nap and Connor & Brandon went over and played RC cars with Ryan for a while. After that it was back to church for a fellowship dinner. The boys ate vegetarian chili and corn bread. I really did not think we had a chance at them eating the chili, but they both did a great job. We even stayed for a few rounds of trivia.

So, that was our weekend. I am so glad it wasn't interrupted with Brandon forcing us to sit on the couch for 4 hours to watch football. OK honey, I admit it... it's not weird anymore!

House Call

Brandon went for his recheck of his stitches last Friday and they told him he could take them out in 1 week. He took this to mean HE could take them out. Luckily he said this to our friend Judy and she offered to do it for him. Judy is our friend, a nurse, John's (of Tara & John) Mom, oh and our minister's wife. So, last night Judy came over to our house and removed Brandon's stitches right there in our kitchen. Then she went upstairs and tucked in the boys (they love Judy!). Kind of cool to have our own private nurse.... who makes house calls! Thanks Judy!

Watch out NHL!

On Wednesday I planned to take Connor ice skating. His Hockey lessons start on Sunday and we wanted to get him some ice time before then. The ice was closed due to an adult tournament so we just went to the pro shop instead. I bought Connor a hockey stick for his lessons. I was probably more excited then he was to get it. They measured him and cut it to fit him. I can not wait to see if he likes hockey. I know he loves to skate, but hockey is something new.

So, when we got home he played hockey all over the kitchen. I finally banished him to the backyard. When I stepped out there with my camera this is what i found.

He thought it was great fun to shoot pucks off of the play set. Hey, at least he is practicing! His favorite game was balancing the puck on the blade and then flicking it in the air.

Strawberry fields

This morning we got up early and went to a local strawberry farm to pick our own strawberries. The boys had so much fun! And Brandon and I had fun watching them.

Connor had great techniqueConnor picked about 10lbs. and Hudson picked about 3 lbs. That's right, 13 lbs. of strawberries.Hudson ate his weight in berriesWe ended the morning with strawberry shakes. It was Hudson's first milkshake. I don't have to tell you how he felt about it.I have no idea what we will do with 13lbs. of strawberries... but it was well worth it!

hat pics

I took the boys outside to snap a few "winter " pics. Pay no attention to the short sleeves.

Apparently you can hurt steel

So, Christmas morning Connor had a fever. The next morning we went straight to the pediatricians as soon as they opened. We got right in as usual. Amazing what a really nice yearly Christmas gift for the office staff will do to your wait time at the Dr.'s office. I got both boys checked out. Connor had bronchitis with the beginning signs of pneumonia. Hudson was just starting a double ear infection. GREAT!!! We got started right away on some antibiotics & nebulizer treatments. It really sucked since the weather here was beautiful all weekend and Brandon had Saturday off. But you all know Brandon can not sit in the house for more than an hour. So, we packed the boys with some of their new toys and went to do our Christmas returns. They stayed in the car and dropped me off at each store and drove around the parking lot while I did the return. Everyone else must have gone on Friday. The stores were empty. We did take them into the mall but we made them stay in a stroller. Connor looks too big for the stroller, but I didn't think we needed to infect the whole mall. Just the toy store. KB Toys was having a going out of business sale so we let them use some of their Christmas money there. Here is what they bought:

Light sabers, army men, binoculars, compasses & guns. Lots of GUNS. They all make noise too. We have been having all out war here for days now.

So, on Monday I had the boys at Costco with me. I was on my way to pick up some lunch when Freddy called to say we had someone who wanted to see the house. Of course we did. I had 2 sick kids for 4 days, SURE the house was ready to show...NOT! I drove as fast as I could, picked up lunch and dropped off some tools at the shop for Brandon. I didn't see him there so I called him to tell him where I left his stuff. He answered the phone and sounded weird. I asked him where he was and he said urgent care but he couldn't really get out any other words. Of course my first thought is he is having a heart attack and why the hell didn't some one call me and why is he answering his phone? I just kept saying "are you OK?". Finally he handed the phone to a nurse who informed me that he sliced open his hand. I asked is he was OK, if he was going to lose and fingers and if Pops was there. She said he was OK, he was not going to lose any fingers and yes, Pops was there. She said Brandon was in too much pain to talk. So I called Pops right away and made sure they didn't need me to go down there. After all I didn't think the boys needed to see their Dad in that condition. He ended up with 17 stitches on his right hand. Don't worry, I didn't take any pictures! He is in pain, but doing well. He is not really able to work and I know that is very frustrating for him. He can't get his hand wet so showering is a chore. But it really could have been so much worse.

Christmas

Christmas morning Connor walked downstairs at 6am. He walked right past all of the gifts and into our bedroom and said "hey Dad, do you think Santa came yet?". Brandon said, why don't you go check. He walked out into the family room and we heard a gasp and then he said "get up, Santa came!!". He got into our bed and we could feel the heat coming off of him right away. Poor little guy had 103 degree fever. Oh No! We got him some ibuprofen and made him stay in bed with us for a while. i knew he wasn't feeling good when it took him an hour to ask about the gifts again. Then at 7am he rolled over and said "Can I go wake up Hudson now?" We told him yes and listened through the baby monitor. It was so cute to hear Connor tell Hudson that Santa had come.

BEFORE

AFTERThe table is ready for a delicious dinnerI made beef wellington and a cauliflower puree. Justin made mushroom, parmesan risotto. The food was awesome. I usually try to be humble about my cooking, but this meal was AWESOME!!! I was so proud of myself. Everyone seemed to love it. I mean, really, who doesn't love beef wellington?

Brandon's family reloaded our tree with giftsThe boys had to put on their star wars t-shirts as soon as they opened them. They have asked me to wash them every day!

We had a great Christmas. We were able to teach the boys what the holiday is really all about this year and it really stuck. So much so that they stopped to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus BEFORE they opened their gifts. I was so proud of them.

Christmas eve

On Christmas eve we got ready and put the boys in their traditional matching sweaters. I know one day they are going to refuse to dress alike so I am going to keep this going as long as I possibly can. They even let me put gel in their hair. They hate gel. We went to church for the very loud but fun family service. Then it was over to the Wesley's home to enjoy dinner with our friends. The boys had a blast with Anna.

Hudson had fun chasing her pet chicken around. No they do NOT live on a farm and YES that is inside their home! Too hard to explain.

We had such a great time and enjoyed some really good food together. Then it was home to get ready for Santa!

Christmas cookies

On Tuesday the boys and i made Christmas cookies. Then I made frosting. That's the first time I've ever made frosting and now that I have I can never eat it again. I had no idea it was just sugar with a splash of milk. No wonder it tastes so good.

We caught Hudson eating a few of the cookies

I let the kids put on all the decorations themselves. I'm sure Santa loved them!

Cherubs

The Sunday before Christmas the boys sang in the Cherub Choir at church. They brought down the house. They're were 8 kids, including our boys and Olivia. I have never heard such a loud applause.

I only have pictures from the practice, but here is the video from the actual performance. Hudson is right next to (and sometimes behind) the microphone. Connor is the tall one.