It really happened!!!!

Luke sat with Santa and told him what he wanted!! Could it have been all the other 2nd grade boys getting in on the action???

Advent Day 14...

Christmas Party at the Schaefers with surprise guest: Santa!!! The kids don't know yet, but I'm really excited for them. I'm sure Luke will look at Santa and roll his eyes, hoping not to be called on, but perhaps Santa will get him in the spirit this year!!!! As for me.... I have treats/goodies/platters to make for 4 different occasions this week, and instead of treat bags for all the kids' classmates... specialty candy canes from my favorite candy maker: Sam's Club. I really hope I can keep my hands out of the M&M jar. I'm also attending V's class party and Luke's class party this week. Let's see what else this week brings us: Luke's school Christmas program, ballet, hockey, church, 2 class parties, V's Christmas program, gingerbread house making (I've been looking forward to this for 3 weeks!) and ballet recital... so I guess I can say that come Friday at 11:30, I will be the happiest and most crazed mom on the planet. Soon I will be downloading fun Christmasy pictures from my new fabulous camera. (above: Elvis trying to sled)

Advent Day 3

Peppermint Ice Cream. Mmmm! I remember getting this flavor as a kid. (thanks for the idea Holly!) Also excited that I FINALLY figured out how to add a playlist to the blog. I'm stepping up into high technology now!! Now the 2 people that actually read this blog will probably be annoyed and hit mute while reading!! ;0) Next up: weekend with Mom & Dad, Eric & kids. Can't wait!!!!

ahhhh. Turkey Day over... now for the real deal

I always say Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. My favorite foods, my favorite colors, my favorite smells... (and it is followed my birthday!!) This year was no different. The time with family FLEW by, but one thing I know: I am THANKFUL. What bountiful blessings! (I like saying that phrase) Heart=overflowing. Now it is time to break out the Christmas goodies... we have 3 versions of Rudolph rockin the car right now... Charlie Brown & Frosty have already graced our tv... we made our first snowman craft tonight, and I lugged out about 10 bins of Christmas junk (amidst a few dead spiders-gross) to fill the already overflowing nooks and crannies of the house. I also ran head-on into the basement door while moving bins and have a broken nutcracker (sob!) and large goose egg on my forehead to show for it (double-sob!!) I really want to make this December special for the kids and slow it down a bit. Deep breath... here goes!!

uh oh

sometimes it's really fun watching kids mess up & then learn from it. V had one of those moments this morning at swim lessons when she pushed a girl into the pool while waiting her turn to jump in. It was a completely impulsive move of pure joy (not malice) and her smile turned upside down in a flash when mom came running to jerk her away from the pool... she knew... then Eric and I shared a wink and a smile.

productive day!

EVEN though I really wanted to go shopping with my 2 free hours today... I resisted and stayed home. I got the kitchen & basement cleaned, swept, did 2 loads of laundry (both of which are still sitting in the machines) had a friend over for coffee, Victoria had a friend over for lunch and playtime, and I even put some kids clothes on Craigs List to sell AND the kids' rooms are FINALLY clean (til they wake up tomorrow). I stabbed myself in the eye with the mascara wand yesterday and feel like I've been fighting an infection all day.. either that or some kid gave me pink eye yesterday. Either way, my pink eye drops from several months ago are working. (self-diagnosis anyone?) I managed to only eat 4 pieces of Halloween candy today... getting better! And I discovered a new way to eat leftover potroast! Shepherd's Pie! (with cheese and peas added) It was tastier than I thought... but since I'm not supposed to be spending any money... I had to suck it up and actually eat leftovers even though Corner Bakery was calling my name.

Whew!

What a day!! It started at 4 when someone had to get up to go to the airport and made SO MUCH NOISE. It amazes me how one can chuckle while waking the dead at 4am, yet when that person sleeps...people get yelled at for being rowdy at 9am. (you know who you are) Then my shower ended abruptly when Mr. Spider leaped off the ceiling and tried to attack me while I was covered in soap. That is the fastest I have run anywhere (while dripping wet and covered in soap at 6am) Then for some strange reason, my children were determined to play this morning instead of arguing/tattling. At least the daily morning lack-of-focus was done in good spirits, right?? We still had a hard time getting out the door, but there was NO TRAFFIC!!! :0)

Anyhooo... BSF was wonderful, a little 3yr old boy kissed me on the cheek and gave me the largest bear hug EVER. I felt so loved... and so covered in wonderful grimy slobber. Then had the most convicting lecture EVER. Refine... refine... refine... I'll keep telling myself that God is just refining me into a better person. The "Sharing the Gospel" seminar rocked. Finally someone to tell me that it is NOT all about the entire New Testament presentation in one sitting (which in itself is good), but bits and pieces of God revealed in our lives and how we reflect Christ to others. It could be a 10 minute conversation that reveals our trust in God, or it could be a 3 hour debate on who gets to go to Heaven... When God gives us an opportunity, we are to take it. Either way, it was worth the extra 2 hours out of my day.... then on to get Luke and Vic (thanks again Holly)... then on to dinner... church... and a super fun & messy Thanksgiving craft. And now the children have officially crashed and I am going to retire with a Rachael Ray mag and some Food Network... AND celebrate my 2 1/2 HOURS to myself tomorrow morning!!!

Family Pics. Minus Eric :0)

First "professional" pictures since the church directory photos when Victoria was 18 months old. I think we were past due.

Puttin' on a show...

So we all (Me, Eric, and Vic) got a written, formal (nicely cut out with
scrapbook scissors) invitation to the "US vs China Battle" from Luke.
He wrote down orders for drinks/snacks, and he gave us all tickets for
the show, and set everything up for us to watch from the couch.  Then
we had to show up at a "certain" time to watch. He put on an amazing
battle for us. China lost of course, but put up a good fight. I only
got this one pic, as Eric said I was distracting from the show. It was
great!!

Then, the next afternoon, Victoria decides to "dance" for us.
Eric puts on some oldies, and we watch her ballet dance for 20 minutes!!
She has since (in the last 3 days) put on about 8 shows for me.
It is very cute to see your kids unafraid of "performing".

Where has the time gone?

I am tired. I could sit here and detail every minute of the last month and a half, but I'll be brief. The last few weeks have brought me an intense Bible study of the book of John... week one, I knew I was in for the refining-fire... big time. I've also conquered a wedding that I looked so forward to, yet had such anxiety over. I was sure I would mess it up, but it turned out quite lovely. Actually the loveliest I've ever seen, (not just the flowers!) Sometime I'll get around to downloading the pictures. We just got back from Dallas... that was SUPER fun. (if you subtract the rain, diarrhea, vomiting, fevers, and runny noses) U2 of course was astonishing. Ooh. Need to remember to post those pics too, that is a whole 'nother post. :0) Victoria has been singing a new song "my mommy is my best friend" and it makes me sooooo happy to hear it, because Luke has been falling apart and fake-crying at every turn. How is it that one always needs a vacation from the vacation??? Today I come home from being gone all day and Elvis has left. . well... . soft serve. All over the carpet in the office. Ugh. That said... Eric and I have had pics taken of just us for the first time since the beach last year. So here we are cleaned up.

2 weeks in....

Ok so 2 weeks of school finished. I am loving the no homework on Wed/Fri thing, as is Luke. I am absolutely hating the traffic but love the drive otherwise, I've found myself deep in thought many times already despite the rabble in the car. Perhaps this is the cause of some of the honking/one-fingered-salutes I've been getting. Hah!! The view itself is also amazing. On the drive to school, I pass by Chatfield Reservoir, a couple of small dams/ponds, Red Rocks, and Bear Creek Lake. OH and the foothills of the mountains!! Could not have picked a more scenic daily drive. The downside?? Putting 60 miles a day on my car. Cyndi asked me to meet her at Redstone yesterday--my brain must've thought Red Rocks-- drove almost all the way out there only to realize she meant the park down the street. "Well I feel sheepish" ---Genie, "Aladdin".

Today it is raining, and weather.com says it is 47 DEGREES!!!!! our first cold day of September!!!!!! YIKES! My feet are getting colder just typing it. Ok, so off to put on a blanket, pop some popcorn and watch "Earth" with the kids. Loving this rainy day/night.

THE KIDS.

Well, today was Luke's first day of school.. SECOND GRADE!!! I picked him up early this afternoon for his 7 yr checkup. When he saw me in the hall, he ran toward me yelling... "MOM!!! They do hot lunches here EVERY DAY!!! Can I buy my lunch tomorrow!!!??????" Priceless... I now know EXACTLY what is important to 7 yr olds. We got flu shots at the doc and were told that he eats... a lot... and needs to cut back.... same thing I've been told at every checkup since he was 2 weeks old. Super exciting.

As for Victoria, Eric said he was listening to talk radio this morning. The radio host said something like this, "As for Obama's new healthcare plan, he couldn't even pick up a turd from the clean end" and Victoria yells out, "Dad.. He just said TURD!!" all the while giggling. Then at dinner tonight (at Maggiano's of course) she tells me the story of how on the radio she heard a guy talking about "picking up turd". What is NOT to love about life with children? Wouldn't change it for the world!!!!

School Starts Soon!

The other dreaded triple S. :0) Tuesday begins Luke's first day of second grade. Victoria starts her second year of preschool the following week. I have officially "menu-planned" my entire lunch and dinner schedule for next week, including super scrumptious after school snacks for my little people. Half of me is semi-excited to have a semi-empty house, and the other half of me is screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" as if someone is about to push me off the cliff.

Check back Tuesday night to see if I've survived with no tears. Sometimes I envy the homeschool moms and their ability to play with their kids all day (I mean, um, studying/teaching of course). I would be a terrible homeschool mom though--- we'd play hookie and hit the pool everyday just to call it "PE".

school supply shopping

The dreaded triple-S. I started the morning excited! til the kids went wacko on me! Buy me this.. buy me that... can I have these ice pops? can I have Frosted Flakes? Can I have this ($4) notebook instead of this (35 cent) one??? Can I have the Lego Star Wars shirt, I don't have one like this??! Never mind that it was a size 4 shirt & Luke wears a 10. I knew we were out of control when Luke said, "I need underwear too" and threw 3 packages of size 18-20 in the cart without even thinking... SOOO... everyone at Walmart thinks I'm nuts... the kids and I had a little heart-to-heart in the little girls underwear section. I'm sure Luke was embarrassed. WHOA... but NOT as embarrassed as I was when we left. We finally got back to the car an hour later and I found this note on my windshield:

"When you threw your car into reverse & didn't even look behind you -- you almost hit me, my two children & another lady. Please be more careful!"

I am reading it as I type. And still mortified. When I read it, Luke said, "oh yeah mom, I remember when we were parking a lady threw her arms into the air and made a mad face" That was information that COULD'VE been used at the time it occurred. An apology would've done the lady well. Now there will forever be some mom who tells all her friends about the psycho mom with the big-ol' suv and mom haircut mowing people down in the walmart parking lot. I so don't like being a stereotype nor do I like causing others harm. Not to mention, I probably ruined her day!!! I'm so grateful no one was hurt because of my distracted driving. And I was not even texting or talking on the phone. Or yelling at anyone. ;0)

short hair

Day Five of me with short hair. I think I like it. This is only the 3rd time my entire life that I have chopped it off. Dad reminded me of when I was in what, 2nd grade?? when I sported the Dorothy Hamill do... then went hormonal after having Luke, I cut it above my shoulders. I hated it short then. I only remember having the "mushroom" do in the 2nd grade when looking at pics. It's taken Eric a few days as well to get used to it. Who cares though right!?? There is some little girl out there who may inherit my 4 lbs worth of hair and like it. Or hate it. ;0) Either way, I still hate my short-hair shadow. It doesn't look like me!!!

I'm listening to the kids right now upstairs having a conversation about their favorite movies, and I'm wondering what to do with all the crap that just came out of my freshly cleaned car, and I'm noticing on my calendar that there is exactly 2 weeks left until school starts. Which I have yet to "fully" enroll Luke. SSSOOOOOOBBBBB!!!!! MY how the summer has flown by.

I am about to have a 38 yr old husband and a 7 yr old son. I wonder who feels older?

posted on Facebook

Heather Young

is wondering how a quick car clean-out turned into a 4 hour scrubbing ordeal. Perhaps it was the months-old cheesestick, dried milk, chewed gum, glued-down legos or pile of chips under the seat????? SO GROSS. I used to think cheerios and goldfish on the floorboards were a sign that I had "arrived" as a mom. Now I just cringe when I reach under the seats.

UGH. I don't want summer to be over.

So here we are at the end of July. I thought for sure I'd be updating this blog more often. Eric is on the phone with Ross, talking about stocks, holds, calls, puts, and other such terminology with which I am not familiar... the kids are playing upstairs.. and from the sound of it, doing somersaults on my bed.

So, for the actual update!! I felt SURE that I was seeing results from bootcamp this week, until Pappadeaux lunch, ChickfilA breakfast, mexican food, late night snacks, etc etc. Back to square one with Eric grabbing the 'mommy top'. Slang for muffin top. We spent many hours at the pool this week, for the first time all summer. I was wondering how I made it through June & July without the pool, then remembered all the rain and cool afternoons we've been having. No complaints. Ok, back to the update: my beautiful new nephew was born this week and I am aching to cuddle that newborn... the kids felt the need to buy a "killer whale" for the twins new pool, they are equally as excited! Luke cut his own hair this week and I have NO clue why, then he tried to style it so it wouldn't "look weird". Like I wouldn't notice?? So it is VEEERRRY short now. Elvis just helped himself (an hour ago) to over a pound of freshly cooked pork tenderloin--I'm angry, that was my lunch tomorrow!!! Victoria is going through a serious growth spurt, eating everything in sight. Also, Eric discovered that "Emergency" re-runs are back on tv, so we've been dvr-ing them. The kids are fascinated with the show. I am amused, the original "e.r." drama, only without the sex, drugs, and shock-value. (Eric doesn't know I'm recording I Dream of Jeannie too) :0)

Durango vacation was amazing. There was so much fishing and I've not seen Eric this excited or proud in a long time. I did get to shop too, and the mosquitoes were more than I wanted to deal with, but it was truly relaxing. I don't know how it went by so fast. We've since been fishing on the Ark, and Eric caught many fish. The water was so clear that the kids and I stood on a bridge overlooking the river, and could see all the fish swimming in the river. I think I FINALLY can handle this fishing lifestyle.

OH and I cannot forget to mention reconnecting with my friend Cyndi from high school. Her laugh is exactly as I remember it. Nice. She lives here now and convinced me to go to the NKOTB concert a couple of weeks ago. You probably already know this about me, but I had the best time and had to refrain from digging up my old buttons to pin on. I downloaded their new cd, but was really disappointed. Somehow synthesizing-club-dance-sex-music and I just don't mix.

I stayed in my pjs til almost 4 today. That felt really good until Eric came home and said, "well, I see you've made progress". tee hee hee. He loves me though I know because he went to the store and cooked dinner. Ok, that's enough of a book for now. Stay tuned for another exciting adventure....

Ok. back in the saddle

I'm a bit embarrassed for not keeping up with the blog like I had planned. But hey, I was a busy woman this year!!! I'll get around to seriously updating this site soon enough. I do have to copy my dear friend Holly and load the video she so fabulously took of the kids. Nothing like some Bon Jovi. Luke's skating lessons resumed today. The rink was way colder than I remembered!! And I learned something new about hockey sticks and curvature. Anyway, I am sitting here waiting for our ONE set of sheets to dry. I'm sure Eric is upstairs typing on his laptop, lying in the bed without sheets. He gave me the approval for another set today though... it's only been about 2 years with the same set. :0) I cannot express my excitement now that summer is here! I need this time to refresh myself and the kids. Eric is even taking a break from traveling, cancelling his Chicago trip, because I think he feels the same way. It's nice to see each other's faces for more than a hi/bye/quickie. heh heh heh... Insert phrase "LOL".

We have 3 official play dates this week and I am so excited. Although Luke & Victoria seriously came close to losing them today at Walmart. Why do kids feel the need to block every aisle, beg for things they won't play with or eat, and play chase during checkout?????????? I'm sure every person paying today thought my children A) needed to be drugged B) needed to be spanked or C) needed a new mother. That said, this mother is going to bed (after I put on the clean dry sheets) and so I can have my beauty sleep before yet another 6 am boot camp. I think this class is making me bigger. Or maybe that's pizza and bacon. My gut doesn't fit into anything currently. Night night.