October sky

Hard to believe we are nearing the end of October already... The boys have been back to school for almost 6 weeks, are nearing the end of soccer season and gearing up for Halloween.  This month has flown by but also been a blur... we've had a lot family and friends in and out, a crazy schedule and then everything came to a halt when Brian's mom passed away 2 weeks ago.  She was diagnosed with late stage cancer in August.  It's hard to believe how fast life can change.  We are trying hard to slow down and be present with each other and those around us...to cherish the "doing" instead of worrying so much about the getting it done.  

Spring

A couple of weeks ago we noticed this nest out in our yard. A robin finally appeared this week, and she has been sitting inside pretty much 24/7. Yesterday she was out of the nest, and the boys wanted to know if there were any eggs inside. After climbing up on the deck railing and halfway into the tree, we were able to see this cool, blue egg!

Whoa!

This is the biggest strawberry I have ever seen!

Trying to catch up...

It has been too long since I have had time to post anything new! We have been crazy busy the last couple of weeks. We have had something almost every night lately which is fun but tiring. Last week Sam had school, swimming lessons, soccer and a few playdates. I was busy shuttling the kids around, volunteering at the Caddies 4 Cure concert, playing softball, hosting friends for dinner, and helping with our end of the year MOPS brunch. I had two Silpada shows which were a lot of fun as well.

Last night we had dinner with friends. The kids had fun running around and playing crispee (frisbee)... not sure where Sam came up with that one! They have a 1st grader so he was excited to play with a BIG boy.

This was going to be a quiet week, but our schedule is filling up with playdates, coffee and dinner out with friends, 3 softball games, and hopefully some time to relax. Brian is headed to the coast on Friday for his annual guy's weekend. The boys and I will be going to cousin Caden's birthday party on Saturday - the party season has begun!

In May we celebrate Sam, Mom, Brian, cousins Kelly, Caden and Zoe, Uncle Lee, Aunt Lisa, and Gail along with a few friends! I can't believe Sam turns 5 next week! I registered him for Kindergarten today!

Last few days...

Nothing too exciting going on around here... a few pics of the kiddos... and the beasts.

We had Erv's birthday dinner with the Goldens and cousins Sunday night... Aunt Dee gave all of the little ones Valentine's balloons. When we got home they had a great time running through the house with them.

Ben got a new potty yesterday. He hasn't used it yet but seems to think it's a good place for toys. And he is finally starting to feel better - yahoo!

McDreamy

Woohoo!!

I have my popcorn ready! Gotta go... new episodes start tonight!

Fun with Papa and Paint

My parents stopped by for a few minutes tonight. The boys went crazy! Sam asked me every 5 minutes for an hour if Papa and Mimi were here yet... Where are they? Are they here? When are they going to be here? Let's go check out the window and see if they are here... they aren't here?

When they did show up there was a lot of squealing, running, jumping, giggling, dancing to loud music and being just plain silly. Both boys kept yelling "Watch me Papa! Watch this - look at me!" You would think they are starved for attention around here.

We are finally starting work on our 1/2 bath tomorrow. My friend Nicole's husband is coming over to tear out what is currently in there. I am thrilled to get rid of the 80s look! I will not miss the tan toilet with white sink and crazy light fixture. You can see all of my paint swatches in the mirror. I think we have finally narrowed it down to two... cayenne or green tea.Our whole house is very neutral so I am ready for a little color. That ugly gold fireplace screen will be gone very soon too! (see above)

Moon

As I was driving home tonight Sam pointed out the moon. As I looked up it all made sense - Aha! It is a full moon. That must explain the wacky day we had today. Nothing really crazy just everything a bit off... A few things that drove me crazy:

-Sam has decided he is going to test the waters... push the limits... challenges... battles... everything is a negotiation. When I ask him to do something..ANYTHING... he either asks me why, tells me he'll do it in a few minutes or that he just doesn't want to... or gives me stink eye, attitude or ignores me. This is my usually compliant, sweet boy. OK so he is pretty compliant and sweet but I am getting glimpses into the teenage years and it makes me crazy. We talked over and over today about remembering please and thank you, listening, sharing, helping etc. The things he is usually pretty good at. Funny how much he can forget in 5 minutes.

-Ben has gotten 3 teeth in the last two weeks and the last of the bunch is almost in and giving him grief. Ben's teething=no sleep which means no sleep for me which means I have little patience.

-Mac is feeling better and is starting to move around a bit. I think I have rewrapped his bandages about 40 times today. Keeping bandages on a dog's forearm and elbow is a major pain... every time he takes about 2 steps they slouch down...now that it's healing he is interested in getting at it. Only one week left until the stitches come out and he gets back to normal - bandages off, walks etc.

-Ben purposefully dumping water all over his carseat and clothes via a leaky sippy cup. "Mom...I'm spilling my water...it's spilling...my pants are wet." I looked back and he had the cup upside down - just letting it run all over himself.

-Sam moaning about me cooking the wrong kind of rice... Apparently he wanted brown rice tonight...so he sat and stared at his plate for 30 min and whined until we threatened to send him to bed.

Things that made me happy today - and the above seem more insignificant:

-The sun came out today - yahoo!

-The sky was an awesome blue/turquoise color tonight after sunset and full of stars - gorgeous.

-The kids have been playing really well together... it is so fun to see them entertain each other, do nice things for each other and make each other laugh.

-Fun holiday parties and festivities coming up...zoo lights, peacock lane, tree cutting, Christmas music, cookie making, present wrapping, Starbucks red holiday cups, Christmas jammies...

-Ben is turning 2 in a few weeks. This is bitter sweet - but sweet none the less. He makes me laugh every day and is becoming such a big boy. He says a few sentences in a row now, runs wild, squeals and is a pretty silly kid. He learned how to jump this week - and get both feet off of the ground which is pretty hilarious. He does it over and over and over...

-Sam is getting really curious about everything. He loves asking why which can be annoying, but he is genuinely interested in how everthing works. He is learning so much at school and has recently started reading. He notices everything around him... right now he is really interested in the seasons changing...the leaves falling etc.

Random

We seem to be having a cool, soggy week... I guess fall has hit here in Oregon. The trees haven't lost all of their leaves and are still gorgeous. We are going to have to throw on boots and coats and continue playing outside as we are getting cabin fever already! Puddles - here we come!

Buzz taking a nap...

I can't believe the drool this kid can generate. He has gotten 3 I-teeth in the last 2 weeks and has one more trying to come in. He hasn't been his normal happy self today - so I am guessing the last one is close. I am hoping his final molars don't come in for a while so we can get some sleep around here!
Spinning, chasing, tackling, squealing...

Wrestling, more chasing, spinning... and finally crashing.

Superman! I need to paint my toes!

**The boys got to play with their friends Nolan and Hayden Scott this morning. Laura who is super artistic and creative helped me hang all of my family photos - they look awesome. Thank you sooo much!

**Mac is going in Monday to have the lump removed from his elbow. It will take about 3 days for the report to come back. Once we know what we are dealing with, we can make a plan.

**We are going to start a bathroom update on our downstairs half bath in the next couple of weeks. I picked out the tile yesterday for the floor. Next... paint. I can't wait to get started!