Thankful

Oh yeah, I remember. I have a blog. I might have temporarily forgotten due to this sweet looking two year old (AKA Peter Pan). He is either recovering from ear pain or not recovering from a massive case of "I want my Mommy every minute of my awake life." Time will soon tell because the second set of ear tubes put in last Wednesday should fix the first problem. He is cute though. I thought I would just tease you with this hair shot of Tess, but then you would be mad at me. So...

This girl's latest passion is jumping! And if anyone can get her going, it's Trey! Every kid in our family has jumped in this thing, but Tess just might have the most spunk yet (that's my girl). Makes her spit up every time... I'd like to think that's why they put that convenient little tray on there. :) It's worth it though. The entertainment value beats out the clean-up.

Trey about missed the school bus last week because he ran back home to get his "Vote to be Drug Free" button. He's proud of that button alright. And if you smoke a cigarette, he'll tell you that it's not healthy, but "that's your choice." The kid has opinions about things.

Tess is really into her toys and her hands lately. Oh, and my chin, which gets chewed on constantly! No teeth yet, but I think we might be close! Her eyes cross a lot trying to focus in on things, which the boys think is hilarious.

The only one missing here is Jack, who left - without his Momma - for Florida yesterday. He is spending a week with Grandma and Grandpa Fincher at Disney World, and from the sounds of our conversation tonight, he is not missing me one bit! There is a different dynamic in the house without him. Oh, there is still a lot of noise from the three that are left, but definitely less intellectual conversation to keep me on my toes. Now Trey and I talk, but we talk about things like Guitar Hero and his imaginary brother Sam at his green house. Chase's voice goes nonstop, calling my name, quoting lines from Inspector Gadget, and singing "I don't wanna gain the whole world and lose my soul..." But if Jack were here today, he would have been quizzing me on past presidents of the United States or something. I should be thankful for the down time to study up, I guess. :) And thankful that he is having the time of his life.

Speaking of thankful....I am. Off the top of my head...

For my furnace that got fixed this week and for the reminder that I should be thankful that I have a furnace.

For clean laundry!

For my husband, who rocks in the kitchen and cooked, pretty much single-handed, an amazing Thanksgiving meal for eighteen people on Thursday.

For Tyler's job in this crazy economy.

For the Starbucks Non-fat Chai latte Tyler picked up for me on his way home from work today, because he heard how sick my voice sounded on the phone. Major points.

For four little people who remind me daily that life shouldn't really be that complicated, and who help me to take the focus off of me. Refreshing.

For a God who continues to pour out His grace and goodness in my life, in spite of my sinful self.

Oh, and for paper towel. I seriously could not live without this stuff. Shallow, I know.

What are you thankful for?

1 Chronicles 16:8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.

Oh, Halloween

No costume purchases this year. We would have enough dress-up clothes to last us until Halloween 2020, if they didn't grow, that is. So with all of the variety that we own, tell me why, oh why, did we end up with two Spidermen? That one sure does want to be just like his brothers.

The crazy Trick-or-Treaters, led by Dad the Viking (oh my). I have no words. (He actually wore this to work for an office party.)

I love this shot. The Viking pushing the stroller looks so natural.

SRS Post #5 - Goodbye Summer

So, Tyler was off for Labor Day and I could feel the summer creeping to an end (who knew we'd have 75 degree days in November?!). Summer goals were still hanging in the balance. But moral was high and there was one last hope for the bike riding. So our day went something like this:

Step 1: Set up the Spidey Slip-N-Slide to entertain the two year old.

(yeah, he's got the web-spinning down)

Begin in the backyard on the advice of our friends. Fewer injuries that way. But it was still a lot of hard work and not without some tears.

Trey takes off with a push from Dad!

Tess takes in bike-riding lessons from the Baby Bjorn.

We finally practiced on the road, and had to strap this one in. Doesn't he look innocent?

"When my mom is distracted taking pictures and my dad is instructing, I like to drink pop!"

The gear looked really good, and the attitudes started off that way.

My theory: Jack would much rather read a book on the subject.

Well, my faithful readers :), the series must end, much to my sadness. Fall is here for sure, and seriously, we've rewound our summer long enough, don't you think? Seasons come and go, and we might as well embrace the one we're in, I say (literally and figuratively speaking). Don't fight it, people, because just like the presidential election, you're not going to change it.

Every good parent has to have goals for their kids, I've decided. And speaking of seasons, these goals must change with age and maturity. So to keep things within our limited reach this summer, I came up with a few goals to work on with the boys. They had to be kid friendly for sure. Small kid friendly. And because I like success more than failure, they had to be somewhat achievable as well! So my list went something like this:

Potty train Chase.

Teach Jack and Trey how to tie their shoes.

Practice reading with Trey.

Progress Jack and Trey to strong swimmers by summer's end.

Teach Jack and Trey how to ride a bike.

Oh, and have a baby.

Easy enough, right? Well, first of all, poor Trey. Trey is 16 months younger than Jack, and to say that he gets lumped into Jack-sized expectations is an understatement. It happens often, though, and usually he is up for the challenge. So, with some work Trey can now read his Dick and Jane book and they both got bumped up two levels in swimming before the second day of lessons was over. Check and check. Chase miraculously potty trained himself in what I thought was a pretty poor choice of timing on his part... right after Tess was born. But, what a champ! This kid holds the record so far for the fastest potty training ever in our house! Within a week of beginning training, we were done with Pull-Ups completely and he's been dry ever since. No accidents, and he even wears underwear overnight. Triple check. And that baby? Uh, Check. :)

That leaves us with shoes and bike riding. Oh dear. Well, all I have to say for the shoe tying is one word: Crocs. They never left their feet all summer. They can put them on themselves. I had a newborn. I'm a slacker. Move shoe tying to my winter goal please.

In case you've forgotten, Jack is seven and Trey is almost 6. Yes, I know. Lots of kids have been riding bikes for years at these ages. Hmm. There are definitely great reasons why they've not learned to ride a bike before now, but it's still a bit embarrassing, I'll admit. Our driveway is crazy steep. No way any bike riding is happening there, although it makes for some great snow sledding with adult supervision. You can ride circles in the garage, but seriously, who is ever going to learn that way? Our subdivision has no sidewalks, and our house is right on the curve where it's difficult to see traffic coming. Does it count that I'm always holding a small child?

Well, we're half-way there on the bike riding, and you might be surprised who got it and who still has some work to do. Good thing there's always next summer. How much longer?

The Boilers Win....The Boilers Win!!!!!!!

I knew it could work! I don't want Chase to take all the credit....the coaches did have a couple of great play calls in the last quarter. But the Boilers broke the losing streak today! I decided rooting for Purdue wasn't enough -- it was time to dress Chase for the game....and if need be, send him in as quarterback! It was a thrilling victory. Sorry the streak is over, Michigan, but if someone was going to end it for you, I'm glad the Boilers could do it! Hail Purdue!!!!