Sad Story but Wonderful Lesson

We are very close to our neighbors on our right (the other neighbors are butt heads). We share everything, watch each other's animals, have dinners together occassionally, and help each other out with projects. (Plus they gave me one of their horses, and our first 2 goats, and our cow is from the family's dairy farm). Well, last week, Luke's grandmother went into the hospital (he is very close to his grandparents, they are like his parents in many ways) because she had pneumonia. Well, his grandfather was driving back and forth to the hospital to visit her and last saturday night his car hit a patch of ice and he skidded off the road and hit a tree. He was rushed to the hospital, but unfortunetly passed away from his injuries monday morning. Luke and Marybeth (our neighbors) are some of the best people you could ever meet and are a joy to be friends with and it breaks my heart that this happened to Luke's family. So, I just wanted to say, if you are the praying kind, to light a candle and say a prayer for the Lucas family (kinda funny, Luke's name is Anthony Lucas, but everyone calls him Luke, not sure why, LOL).

What is the big lesson? Live everyday to the fullest, don't sweat the small stuff (and some of the big stuff too), go with the flow, and tell your family everyday that you love them. Life is to short and too unexpected to waste days on stress, bitterness, and anger.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Well, I know I haven't been on here too much lately, things have just been so busy. Yesterday I wanted to give Collin to a pack of wolves. He just grumped all day and didn't listen to ANYTHING I said. For some reason he was obsessed with cereal, every 20 minutes he was in the pantry stealing cereal. I started out by politely telling him no, then forcefully telling him no, then yelling at him, then slapping him on the hand. But nope, all day long he was in the pantry. My children have an obsession with food, every chance they get they steal it from the fridge and the pantry. I have come out of showers to whole packages of hotdogs being eaten, blocks of cheese opened, and eggs all over the floor. Who knew you could do so much mischiff in 5 minutes!!! And I really don't get it because I have never withheld food, they eat 3 meals and 2-3 snacks everyday, plus upwards of 3 cups of milk and 1 of juice a day. And the problem is they are old enough now that locks don't work, Alex can get them all off, and Collin can at least open doors and the fridge lock.

But, that was yesterday, and this is today. I am hoping that today will be better since I have a lot to do to get ready for Thanksgiving. I am not cooking, but am going to my mom's house in the morning and then Timm's family in the afternoon. For my mom's I am bringing dessert, so I gotta bake today (which for me is a joy anyway), plus we are going out of town for the weekend on friday and leaving the kids with Amma (Timm's mom) at our house, so I need to go to the grocery and make sure we have all the staples and yummy things for all to eat over the weekend. On top of that I gotta finish up some cleaning and make sure my homework is done for school since it is due on saturday and we will be out of town.

So all in all, it will be a busy day, but busy days are better than slow days. They wear the kids out and they take better naps after we run errands and it keeps my mind busy so I don't worry about other things. Well, off to get to it! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Kung Fu Alex

Alex began taking a martial arts class last wednesday called Little Ninjas. It is for kids 3-6 years old and is run by the county. He was a little nervous and apprehensive his first class. Plus he is the youngest kis in his class, but I think given time he will pick it up.



Alex doing jumping jacks

They learned how to do a basic kick in his first class. He kinda got it, but will need some practice.

They also learned a basic punch in his first class. Overall he had fun and I think will pick it up quickly.

Its a Boy's Life

Just a random smattering of pics I have taken over the last week or so. These boys never fail to make me laugh and smile (or want to pull my hair out and scream).


My little drummer boy. Who needs all the expensive toys littering the floor, I want spoons and mixing bowls!! :-)

Alex inherited his daddy's gene for being able to sleep anywhere through anything. This can not be comfortable, but he was passed out. (And please ignore the nasty stains on my couch, no cleaner takes them out, I can't wait for the day when we can get our "post milk/yogurt/juice/ketchup... spills furniture", like in 18 years!!! LOL)

And well, I guess this is what little boys do when their older brother is at preschool and their little sister is napping. Collin is a little angel in human disguise, not because he is perfect, but because for everytime I want to sell him to wandering gypsys there are 3 times that he has made me laugh outloud and smile in wonderment that I was given this amazing boy to be my son.

All my children are wonderful, and special in their own way. Alex made me a mommy and taught me how to be a mommy, he was also so sick when he was born that he also taught me how precious life is. Collin though healed me in a lot of ways. After Alex was born I became quite depressed, I had a LOT of guilt over his birth and was really mourning the first pregnancy that I didn't have, all those wonderful experiences (baby showers, ultrasounds, the "perfect" birth) that I didn't get to partake in. Having Collin really renewed me, he showed me that every child is different and he gave me the chance to have a "normal" pregnancy. He has taught me patience, hope, and never-ending love (even when you are trying to find addresses for gypsy bands). And he paved the way for me wanting to have a third child, and really appreciating my pregnancy with Mackenzie. I like to say that Alex is my heart, Collin is my soul, and Mackenzie is my laugh. The world is a better place for having them in it, and if all I ever accomplish is raising them, then my life will have been a great success. Being a mommy is the greatest job in the world. :-)

A Day Off

Well, a day off for Timm, not for me. But it was definitly nice having Timm home yesterday (bless the federal government and their strict adhearance to the federal holiday schedule!), he even got a 2 hour early release from work on monday because tuesday was a holiday. But with a day off, first it was playing video games while I ran to the store, then he decided to chop wood outside, of course little "chopping" is involved and more feeding wood into the giant wood splitter he got, then it was giving Collin a hair cut, then more video games. Below you will see Collin's new hair cut, I think it is cute, but it will take a while for me to get used to. No more messy rats nest hair! LOL

And, since Timm was home to help with the kids a little I decided to take on a project, going through the boy's room and not only cleaning but throwing away all the broken, nasty toys in preparation for the mounds they will get for Christmas. I have posted pictures of their clean, organized room for 2 reasons. One, it is very very unlikely that it will stay this way beyond this afternoon and I wish to preserve it for posterity, and two so that others may know that yes I do clean their room, I just don't do it with any regularity because they will just rip it apart within 24 hours and I really do treasure my sanity. :-)

Future Rock Stars

These 2 crazy boys love singing and dancing, and now they love banging on stuff with drum sticks (from our RockBand game) and rocking out on their little toy guitar. Future rock stars? I'll be waiting for my mansion. LOL

And well, they are just cute. We got these 2 robes at a yard sale in New York, they were like $2 a piece. They like putting them on after they have their baths.

Preschool Website

Alex's preschool is run by Jefferson County's Parks and Rec. so he isn't in a "school" per se, but his classroom is in the comunity center at Sam Michael Park. But, Parks and Rec does have a website which they just re did a bit and now they have a few preschool pics up, and Alex just happens to be in them! Go to www.jcprc.org and click on Program and Camp Photos on the left. Then click on Preschool. He is the one in a green and blue stripped sweater.

Alex's New Game

So, Alex has a new game he loves to play. It is called Robot. He holds a controller for a broken remote control car he has and then orders you around to do different things. We spent about 10 minutes this evening lining up toys in a row on our area rug and stacking blankets on the floor. Then it was my turn and he had to put them all away (and amazingly he did it!). It is fun for him I think because it gives him the chance to be in total control over something for a while, and then in return I get to make him clean up his mess, and he thinks it is still a game! He is turning into a very imaginative, creative little boy.

On another note, I have to say Happy Birthday to my brother who turned 31 on Halloween ( I was always jealous that his birthday is on Halloween, as a teenager he got halloween parties and I could never go because I was just his pesky little sister). He is one of my best friends in the world (next only to my hubby) and has played a larger part in making me who I am today. He is perhaps one of the kindest, sweetest, smartest guys I have ever known, and I think I owe some of my sanity to him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORD RHOMBUS!!! (LOL, inside joke, :-) ). Good Journeys.

Trick or Treat!

Well, we went trick or treating thursday night instead of friday. Why you ask? Well, the city of Martinsburg (the closest town to us) decided that the high school football game (can we say "good ol' boy's club!) was more important than Halloween (ok, it is the same day every year, they could have scheduled the stupid football game around it). So, to make sure there were enough police for both trick or treating AND the football game, they moved the former to thursday night. So, I took the kids up to the mall and let them trick or treat there. Alex had a blast, he was a little scared and nervous, but overall did a good job and had fun. Collin was pissed off because I dropped his bucket and spilled all his candy, so I decided to do his collecting for him. And Kenzie just hung out in the back of the double stroller just stairing at every one. It was a fun evening, and the boys then spent the rest of the night eating just about all their candy. (except for the 3 musketeers that I stole).

PS. I have learned an important lesson. All those times your mom said she needed to inspect the candy first to make sure it wasn't poisoned, she was mostly lying, she just wanted first dibs on your candy. Hey, we birthed you, we can have your darn Milky Way bar!! LOL. :-)