O.S.C.A.R.

I have no idea what this acronym is for but Zachary was selected to receive an award this Friday at an assembly at school at 2:15.  Yeah, he gets out of school at 10:30 so I'll have to take him back to school for the assembly and we'll find out what it is all about.  I'm sure it will be a proud mommy moment, especially since Zac's teacher had 40 students to chose from (20 from her morning class and 20 from her afternoon class) and she chose Zac, so whatever it is... I'll let you all know Friday :)

Sunday Selects

Last Week:
1. Jerry was on vacation from work all week...it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  We had some fun outings like to the zoo and movies.

2. We got the Christmas tree put up...it's not decorated yet but it is up.

3. We bought a new computer tower so the boys have a place to do their homework, yes, Zachary already has homework for the computer in kindergarten *eyeroll*

4. I don't think I'll survive 2 full weeks of the boys cooped up in the house during Christmas break...5 days has been too much....

Next week:

1. Oil change #2 for the Ford...yippee!  I get to entertain the boys at the dealership tomorrow...It'll take longer then normal because the fuel gauge is screwing up so they'll need to investigate that while they have the car...

2.  Luckily the Ford dealership is literally AT Target so we may walk to Target to kill the time.

3.  I have my last Ortho appointment before surgery, which is 2 weeks from tomorrow. YIKES!  I'm not so much worried about the surgery as much as after the surgery and getting around after surgery.

4.  I also have an appointment with my regular doctor for a follow up on increasing my migraine medication.  It's been going well so it should be a quick appointment, which irks me, it's a waste of $20 in my opinion.  I don't know why I couldn't just make an appointment if there was a problem instead.

5.  The boys have their last 2 swim lessons of this session this week then they have a month break until their next session...December is going to be a long month.

You know when something HITS you out of the blue?

Like the fact that Christmas is less then a month away?

Or that you've been driving for over 1/2 your life now?

Or that your youngest is nearly 4 years old? 

4...

4...

4...

When the hell did that happen???

Maybe it snuck up on me because I still lie about his age.  

Like when we go to the pizza buffet.  I'm not going to pay $4 for him to to eat a 1/2 a slice of pizza, so he's 2 at the pizza buffet. 


Or when we go to the drive in.  He's 2 there too.  He never watches the movies, he plays in the car, or by the car or watches the dvd player if we remember to bring it but he doesn't watch the movie on the screen so we don't pay for him to get in, except when they played Toy Story 3, we paid for him that time.

Maybe it's the fact that, in my opinion, he lost the 'baby' look early and has looked like a little boy for so long.  Or that he's so independent I forget how old he is and then when I stop to think about his age it just shocks me.  Or that he hit milestones early, like potty training, he was potty trained before he was 2 so he's always been a 'big boy'.  He does look younger than other 3 year olds, not in a baby way, just that he definitely doesn't look like he's almost 4.

In about 4 months I can legally convert his 5 point harnessed car seat into a high back booster if I so desire, not that I will, just that I can.  He'll be starting pre-k through the school district in the fall.  He'll be 4.  We won't even start on the fact that big brother will be 6 just 2 months after that...

 

Kaleb going home from the hospital

Kaleb 1 year old

Kaleb 2 years old

Kaleb 3 1/2 years old

It seems so long ago...

On Thanksgiving weekend 2006 Zachary was only 1 1/2 years old, see how cute he was???  Kahlua, our wolf, was still alive (we had to have her put down the week before Christmas in 2006, she was only 6 and started having strokes - I miss her)

I was 5 months pregnant with Kaleb, we were in the middle of finding out if he was a boy or a girl.  I had 7 ultra sounds to find out.  I'm not a patient person.  Well, I'm pretty patient but I hate surprises.  Each ultra sound we had they could not definitively tell me if he was a boy or a girl, one would say 70% sure it's a girl, one would say 80% sure it's a boy; it was driving me nuts!  Finally after a week of this back and forth we got a 100% sure it's a BOY! (wow, this is certainly not a flattering picture!)

As usual, we got our Christmas tree at the local tree farm on this weekend.  Odd tid bit of info...our Christmas tree has never been in the same spot twice in this house in the 5 years we've been here...wonder where it will end up this year...

Zachary wanted to help with the lights - his hair always stood straight up in the back so it looked like we shocked him :)  This is why to this day he has a buzz hair cut.

I miss those days...

Thankful...

I can't wait to post that I'm thankful that Kenadie is recovering and well (see her story here) but she is still receiving her pacemaker after hours of delay and no mommy of a 2 year old should have to sit through their child going through any surgery, never mind a surgery like that.
So I'll move on to other things I'm thankful for in the meantime.
First and foremost I'm thankful for my two very healthy boys.  They drive me nuts.  They test my patience on a daily basis.  But they are good kids.  They are healthy.  They are sweet, caring and I get the opportunity to be with them every day which a lot of parents don't, and for that I am also thankful.
I am thankful that Jerry has a job that not only provides me with the opportunity to stay home but gives him the freedom to have a flexible schedule so we can do a lot of family activities.
I am thankful that even though we are definitely not rolling in money we can provide out boys with everything they need and a lot of what they want.
I am thankful that we have some wonderful neighbors who  make not living near kids not seem so bad.
I am thankful for some awesome friends and family

So now I can update...at 8:28 pm central time; 9:28 eastern time Kenadie is heading to the Cardiac ICU and has her pacemaker, it was not a surgery without complications but thankfully she is out of surgery.  So now I'm hopeful tomorrow I can be thankful for a smooth and uneventful recovery for Kenadie.

Another update on Thanksgiving morning...so far so good for Kenadie...she is recovering well :)

Frugal vs Clutter Free

Sometimes the two just don't mix well...

A perfect example is my hair dryer. 

My expensive hair dryer.

My $130 Chi hair dryer (which is actually a $180 hair dryer that I got a good deal on), it came with a diffuser, I have naturally straight hair, I permed it once and didn't really care for my tightly permed hair so I never used the diffuser.

We listed our house on the market and needed to clean out our cabinets, including the cabinet under the master bathroom sink and I ran across the never used diffuser to the expensive Chi hair dryer which had not been used in over 2 years so it was tossed.

Last month I got a body wave perm (which I love)...I no longer have a diffuser for my hair dryer.

I started my search with a Chi universal diffuser, $35 later it was delivered, it didn't fit my Chi hair dryer.

I literally lost sleep over this.

Thankfully the company took it back and fully refunded my money including shipping, whew!  So I tried a cheap universal diffuser that just slid on, well, it also slid off and would pop off while I was trying to dry my hair, so I returned that one too.  Finally Ulta had a universal diffuser that works, only $10! 

BUT, that could have been $10 I wouldn't have had to spend if I was not such a freak about getting rid of things that don't get used. 

I hate clutter but I hate wasting money.

That $10 will bother me and the next time I go to throw something away that I just might use again I will consider it a little longer and if it attaches to something I do use, I'll probably hold on to it.

Just a side note: The expensive hair dryer is a lesson in frugality itself...you see, I have thick hair, I was spending $20-$30 every 6 or so months on new hair dryers because I was burning up the motors drying my hair, this $130 hair dryer is 4 years old now and still going strong; so far it's saved me around $100.

Crazy Warm Weather

It got to nearly 75 degrees here today in Oklahoma, which is very warm for this time of year.  Since Jerry took his vacation time this week and we were our running errands we decided it was much too nice a day to waste running in and out of stores or sitting in the house so we went to the zoo.  It's actually been a few months since we've been to the zoo even though we have a family membership.  It really was a nice day; most of the animals were out enjoying the nice weather so we saw lions, tigers, cougars, cheetahs, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, sea lions, seals, and a bunch of other animals. 
There was a group of Amish people walking around and Zachary insisted they were Pilgrims, which seemed quite appropriate for the time of year :) 
Even though it was a very nice day and I do like warm weather and absolutely despise cold weather, I am ready for more seasonal weather because all of this hot one day, cold the next is triggering migraines nearly daily and my migraine medication doesn't seem to be stopping them.

Sunday Selects

Last week:
1. Zachary had Indian Day at school.  I find it funny that they use such a politically incorrect term in such a densely Indian populated state but hey, whatever floats your boat.  Kaleb and I went to volunteer and I was impressed with how many parents were there to help out.  It was fun, the kids made some crafts and played some games and Kaleb even got to go around to the different stations and participate a little.
2. Aside from a gift card for Justin, I am done with buying gifts for Christmas this year.  My last order was placed yesterday for the grandparents and 1 great grandma.  I'm excited to see them.
3. Friday we went to the Drive-In for probably the last time this year.  It's always fun and I'm glad that place is still around because you can't beat the price.

Next week:
1. I do not plan on cooking Thanksgiving dinner or even having Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday this year, we'll see how that goes because that has been the plan in the past and I've buckled to the pressures of the season and gone out at the last minute and bought everything and made a turkey dinner.
2. Jerry gets paid Wednesday which is the day I go grocery shopping (on payday), should be quite the mad house and I am not looking forward to it in the least.
3. Only 2 days of school this week for Zachary.
4.  Jerry is on vacation this whole week. He's not even on call!
5. The OSU/OU bedlam football game is this Saturday, we always to go Jerry's parent's house for a get together and will this year too.  This get together is part of the reason I don't plan to make Thanksgiving dinner, Jerry's parent's always do on this day, since I'm not a huge fan of turkey, once in the week is plenty for me.  The only problem is the game doesn't start until 8pm so we won't be staying for the actual game this year but we don't ever actually watch it anyway.
6. Zachary and Kaleb have a play date today, we rarely have time in the house when one of the boys are not here and never when both of them are gone.

Picture with Santa 2010 plus a look back

So this year we got Zachary smiling but could not get a smile out of Kaleb even with the bribe of candy.  Oh well, still a cute picture.

And just because I love looking at past Santa pictures here are the past Santa pictures...

2005, my favorite picture, Zachary's first Christmas, this one looks like Zachary is thinking "are you the real Santa?"

 And because we needed a picture of Zachary's face for his first picture with Santa here's another 1st Christmas picture with Santa:

 Zachary's 2nd Chrismas, he wanted nothing to do with the man:

 2007, Kaleb's first Christmas, nearly the same look as Zachary's first Christmas picture (this is the same Santa, for some reason he smoothed out his hair this year)

 

Still 2007, first picture of both boys with Santa, Zachary still didn't want anything to do with Santa:

 

 2008, Zachary is fine with Santa but Kaleb didn't want anything to do with him so Zachary is holding Kaleb on the couch:

 Zachary talking to Santa:

 

2009, the one and ONLY year both boys are smiling with Santa!!!!

Some Clearance Items Don't Make Sense

I went to Kohl's to exchange some underwear for Kaleb today, just never dawned on me to tell my mom to get size 6 instead of size 4.  So I picked up 2 packages of underwear and asked the customer service lady if one package was the right price and she said "well actually it's on clearance for 76 cents."  Umm, ok.  It's never made sense to me why something like underwear, especially boys superhero underwear goes on clearance, it's not like it's going out of style or is getting ready to expire.  But ok, fine.  I went back and picked up a package of Scooby Doo underwear to take care of the exchange and bought the superhero underwear, with tax for 87 cents. 

This attitude has gotta STOP!

Whoever came up with the phrase "Terrible Two's" apparently never had a three year old!  Kaleb is literally hell on wheels, and not in a good way.  He wakes up disgruntled and grunting his disgruntlement at everything from his breakfast choices to clothing choices.  Demanding to watch Oso and refusing to get ready to leave the house to pick up Zac from school.  Immediately when we walk into the house he takes his shoes and socks off, which wouldn't be so bad if when we attempted to leave the house again he didn't go into his sock drawer for a new pair of socks then throw a fit when I told him to put on the previously worn socks; oh who and I kidding, it is that bad because he refuses to put the shoes back on, and no, they are not too small, I've checked, he has 4 pairs of shoes to choose from and refuses to put any of them on.  He refuses to wear a hoodie or jacket, if I can wrestle him into one as soon as we get into the car he takes it off.  He stomps around stores just mad at the world because he's not home playing with his toys or running around the back yard.  He sulks when we are in public.  If there is a wall in reach he will kick the living daylights out of it if he is not currently getting his way (and if he's been told no at all that day, that qualifies as him not currently getting his way). If we go out to eat and Zac has a crayon color he wants he will throw the worlds largest fit until he gets his way.  Kaleb is not a spoiled kid, he didn't act this way a couple months ago.  It's like he hit his head one day and this is how he woke up.  I just want to know what happened to my sweet little boy?  Zachary never went through a phase like this.  He had and still has tantrums but not with the added attitude thrown in. 
What really gets me is that he can be playing and sweet as can be one minute then screaming, kicking, pinching mad the next with absolutely no warning.  It's like there is a switch and I can't find it.

And another thing (more on body scanners and pat down searches)

Lucky for you I have problems sleeping and couldn't stop thinking about my post yesterday ;)

First, as I said, I was a police officer and as a police officer I had to have PROBABLE CAUSE to pat search a person, I couldn't just go up to any and every person in a location and pat search them.  Just because I buy a ticket to fly to some place I'm not giving anyone probable cause that I intend to do anything other than get on a plane peacefully and fly to my destination, so what right do they have to search me in any way?  And you may say, well, you consented when you bought the ticket...well, what if I do my research and specifically search out an airport without body scanners but then arrive at the airport, check my baggage and proceed to the security check point only to get to the front of the very long line only to find that I have to chose between a body scan or a pat down (and this has happened more than once in the past week alone).  If you refuse these 2 choices and retrieve your bags and leave you open yourself up to criminal charges, I'm not sure how but you do.

Second, All this increased security in answer to this supposed call for increasing our safety since 9-11 is bullshit.  I highly doubt the next terrorist attack will happen the same way 9-11 did, for the reason I mentioned in my last post (the general public being too aware and not willing to sit back and take it) and that there are too many other ways to hit the United States much more easily and tragically before we ever knew what was happening.  Subways, trucks, rails, suicide bombers in very public areas for instance.

Third, There are only 2 things that see my naked body, my mirror which I apologize to on a daily basis ;) and my husband, no apology necessary ;)  I know, I should be proud of myself and I am, just not of how I look at present.  My doctor doesn't even get to see me naked, I get the decency of wearing a piece of paper for those visits.

And last but certainly not least, for those of you who think this does not affect you because the airport you are using does not yet have body scanners, you still have metal detectors...oh just wait, do I have a surprise for you!  Now, since the body scanners have made such a hoopla this part has not gotten all the attention but you know how when you go through the metal detector and you set it off because you forgot you had a dime in your pocket so you rechecked your pocket and emptied it and got to go back through the metal detector?  Yeah, well, those days are O.V.E.R!  You now get to proceed to the PAT DOWN AREA!  Doesn't sound too bad yet does it?  Except that someone will be touching all your private parts, and yes I know they are 'supposed' to be using the back of their hands, uh huh, come on, and the qualifications and skill level of these highly qualified front line TSA agents are what again????  Oh yeah...high school graduate.  Yeah, they are looking for the cream of the crop there, aren't they?
Anyway, back to my point, imagine you've done your homework and booked your next flight through an airport not equipped with the body scan devices for your next family trip with your 13 year old daughter.  Your wife goes through the metal detector first without a problem, next up is your 13 year old and ding ding, oops, forgot about that hair clip, she now goes on to the pat down area where you and your wife are welcome to stand behind that line 10 feet away, it is explained that this young man, a "trained TSA agent" will be patting down your daughter head to toe including her chest and groin area, you cannot stop this process, and no, we do not have any female TSA agents available at this time but this is being recorded and we do have a supervisor here as well.  Leaving the airport at this point could result in criminal charges against you....So, are you going to fly or drive on your next family trip?

Airport Body Scanners

There has been a lot of talk about these new full body scanners at the airports lately so I thought I'd throw out my two cents.  Now, I don't travel by air much, in fact, the last time I flew was in 2005 when we went to Saint Maarten.  In an attempt to keep this post as short as possible I'll refrain from voicing my disgruntlement of lost luggage, late flights, cramped flights, damaged luggage, rude crews and all the other horrors associated with flying and just focus on the scanners.
Now first, I think these scanners were supposed to be in answer to a supposed call to make flying safer after 9-11.  Well, here's problem number 1.  The scanners don't scan past your outer body, ask any law enforcement officer, people will shove anything and everything into any orifice to get past a pat down or scanner, in this case.  These scanners are not designed to scan the orifices of the body, just under your clothing and in your pockets; that's pretty useless to someone wanting to blow up a plane. 
Problem number 2, the planes on 9-11 were all, or at least mostly, over taken using box cutters or small pocket knives, not bombs or guns.  The only thing that will stop another 9-11 is the people on the planes, not the supposed technology in the airports.  The people in the planes know what happened on 9-11, the people on the planes are not going to sit and let that happen again, they will take back the planes down to the last person, I think terrorists know this and I think THAT is why there hasn't been another attempt like it, NOT that TSA is in place or Homeland Security raises the threat level to red or orange. 
Problem number 3, Scanning or patting down children is unacceptable I don't care who you are or what your reasoning is and I would NOT allow it to happen to my children.  I have been a police officer and I know the procedure of patting someone down and I would still not allow someone to put their hand on my child just to get on a plane and no way is someone looking at a scanned image of my child either.  How many times are teachers or daycare workers or preachers or other workers arrested even AFTER they passed a background check for child related offenses, I will not allow some potential pervert to be looking at my child, ever.
Problem number 4...the terrorists have won.  Our rights have been infringed upon, our personal privacy has been stomped into nonexistence, we cannot fly unless we consent to someone looking at our essentially nude body or someone touching our private parts and that is unacceptable. 
I, my friends, will not be flying any time soon if I can at all help it, which I can so I will chose to take to the roads instead.

House, what to do?

When we started this whole process, I went into with the attitude that if it didn't work out exactly the way we wanted it to and exactly the way we needed it to that it wasn't meant to happen and that we would stay in the house we are currently in.  We don't dislike this house, we just dislike that there are so many projects that need to be done in this house, which means $$$, which is in short supply.  The first house we started this whole process with we didn't get, which was fine because I wasn't thrilled with the lot the house was on and I also wasn't thrilled with the layout of the living room.  After looking for a couple of weeks we did find a house in the same neighborhood for the same price on a much better lot with a much better layout.  I'm still of the opinion that if we are meant to move, things will happen the way we need them to, as in we'll get the offer we need to make this worth our effort; since we don't NEED to move and this is purely a financial motivation if we don't make money off the move, it's obviously not worth it to us.
I spoke to a guy today who wanted to offer us $130,000, now he did do his research and knew we bought the house 5 years ago for $127,000 but the house is worth more than only $3,000 more then our purchase price.  Every Realtor and every lender who has come through our house, and there have been many, has said that our house is listed right where it should be at $150,000 and we should not drop the price at all.  This guy wants to see the house tomorrow at 2pm.  So we'll see if he makes and offer, and what that offer is.

Sunday Selects

I've decided to start "Sunday Selects" which will be a compilation of things from the past week I didn't get a chance to post about or things from the coming week that we are looking forward to.


From last week:
1. I am done with Christmas shopping!  I can now avoid the malls and stores until after New Years except for grocery shopping which I do during the week...YAY for avoiding crowded stores!
2. I met 2 of Zac's friend's parents over the weekend, it was nice, we hit it off pretty well.  I am having some second thoughts about moving out of this school, I'm sure I'll meet other parents but I also like the fact that this school has the highest test scores in the district. 
3. We are taking our house off the market on November 30th, with the idea that we will re-offer on the house on Chantilly around March 1st, I like that neighborhood, but I like most of our neighbors here too.  I'm really having 2nd thoughts about moving.  I just feel like if we were supposed to move, it would have happened by now.  So maybe in the time we have our house off the market, the house on Chantilly will sell and we won't have to worry about it.

The week to come:
1. I finally have my appointment with the Orthopedic Specialist, I am really worried that they will not do anything other than a steroid injection.  My knee is getting worse is some ways, it doesn't hurt as much to bend it but now it hurts to walk and it is very painful to walk up or down any steps.  The swelling is getting a lot worse also.
2. I need to do a lot of paint touch ups around the house and do a major house cleaning.  With having the house on the market and having to keep it uber clean for months, I got lazy and now really need to get back on track with cleaning on a more regular basis.
3. Santa is at the mall, this is the best Santa I've ever seen and the only Santa the boys have ever gotten their picture taken with, I think we'll go this week since Rachel needs to do her Thanksgiving grocery shopping and will probably be down this week we can beat the crowds!  I love beating the crowds!

Christmas Card Picture Picking...Please help

I'm really not sure if anyone reads my blog, I don't think I've ever gotten any comments. I know a few family members have e-mailed me about things I've posted because they couldn't figure out how to comment, as far as I know I have the comments turned on (if I don't someone please let me know at goorob@yahoo.com!) Anyhow, we took our pictures for Christmas cards today, and just in time too, because as soon as we were done we had a major melt down from Kaleb. Before I post the pictures I'm trying to choose between let me say that I've had in the back of my mind that I was going to use a picture of the boys "sleeping" and use the phrase "May all your Christmas dreams come true." on the card, but there are a couple other shots that I think are very cute also so now I can't decide what to use....so here are the contenders, in no particular order...

A.

B.


C.


D.

Beating the Christmas rush...

I had originally decided that this year I was going to wait and do my Christmas shopping closer to Christmas. I usually start near the end of summer and am done around Halloween then store the gifts and wrap them just before the big day. Now the boys are getting older and I really don't have much space in this house to hide gifts so I was going to wait, well, call me impatient, call me cheap but I found some great deals and I just could not pass them up so I bought some of the gifts already. I don't buy them much in the first place, grandma and grandpa spoil them pretty good so I don't have to worry too much which is good because our budget won't support too much gift buying. So I only have a couple things left to buy which is good but I have no place to hide the gifts. I was hoping we would have sold this house and closed on the new house and been moved by now, the other house on Chantilly has a HUGE master closet which would be PERFECT for hiding gifts in but instead I have a large brown box next to my bed, which surprisingly the boys have not asked about but is currently hiding the majority of their gifts. So it looks like I'll beat the Christmas rush again and not have to fight my way through shopping.

Constant, incessant knee pain

I've had knee pain for over 20 years now. It all pretty much started when I was kicked in the left knee when I was in Karate when I was 12 years old. Since then it's been on and off pain. It's never really lasted more than a couple weeks and on a scale of 1-10 was probably never more than a 7 or 8 at it's worst. Of course it would get worse when I would start to work out, if I went to a doctor they would say to stop working out, ice it, take an aspirin, rest it then start working out again slowly and low impact. 20 years of this got old, my knees, both of them really, are creeky, they grind, crack, pop but in January 2010 I noticed it was very painful to straighten my left leg out, it felt like something was getting stuck in the joint and I'd have to break whatever was stuck to straighten it out, it got to the point that I would be nearly in tears, definitely a 10 on the pain scale. After years of going to doctors and being told to rest, take an aspirin and ice it I was hesitant to go to a doctor but the pain got so bad I brought it up when I went to a new patient appointment in July. The new doctor said she felt stuff floating around and that it was swollen and immediately sent me for an MRI, which much to my dismay came back with the result "fluid in the knee but otherwise unremarkable". My doctor said I could go to physical therapy to see if that helped. I was truly disheartened because of the amount of pain I was in, I was just sure the MRI would show something. So I started physical therapy in September, my physical therapist, Jenny, said that the MRI is just a picture in time and at rest so it was not unusual for it to not so anything unusual. So I started PT not able to straighten my leg without a lot of pain. About 4 weeks into my 6 week jaunt of physical therapy I could straighten my leg just fine but suddenly could not bend my leg without excruciating pain and I also noticed that in the morning I had a large bulge on the side of my knee which I can only imagine is the fluid building up over night, I'm guessing throughout the day when walking it disperses throughout my leg and overnight pools in my knee. Even though I would not rate the pain a 10, I'd give it a solid 5-6 most of the time and it can certainly get up to a 10 at times. I cannot sit for more than 10 minutes without my knee and leg hurting. I cannot walk up stairs or inclines without being in pain.
I finally have an appointment with an Orthopedic Specialist (no thanks to my doctors office who has still yet to send over my file) and I will push for surgery, which I know people think is crazy but if you had to deal with the constant pain I deal with I think you'd agree. I think if the Physicians Assistant I'm scheduled to see (since it would be another month before I could get in to see the doctor) suggests a steroid shot I may break down and cry right in the office. I just want them to drain my knee and clean out all the crap in there so I can have a chance at walking and sitting and sleeping pain free. I've never been able to sit on the floor and play with the boys without being in pain, I can't get things off the bottom shelf of a cupboard without pain, I can't clean the bathtub without pain, I can't even sit on the couch or sleep in my own bed without pain.
So now I wait until Wednesday until my Orthopedic appointment to see what the next step is and if I will finally find relief.

Well, it was bound to happen...

We've been using the Parent's Night Out services at the YMCA since February 2010, every 2nd Friday of the month since then we drop the boys off for 5 hours and do whatever we want kid free. We haven't missed a month. That is, until now. We had our plans all made, we were going to meet some friends, go see a movie "Unstoppable" then go to dinner. One of the few times we actually had real plans for the whole night and only the 2nd time we had plans with friends. Jerry called me tonight and he's being sent to Kansas for work on Thursday night through Monday to work a copper theft detail. It couldn't be last month, or next month, or last week or next week. No, it has to be this month, this week. It was going to be such a fun night too, but the overtime check will be nice and is much needed also.

Training them young

That's the idea after all isn't it?

Have kids, train them to do the chores we all hate, listen to them complain about the chores we all hate, they grow up and have kids to train them to do the chores they hate...and on goes the cycle...

October in a Nutshell

Since it's been a while since I've blogged I'll just have to wrap October into one post cause I'm lazy that way ;) I think I'll do this as a picture post and just make it easy on me.

The boys got new desks, these were on sale at Toys R Us for $16 and they are worth every single penny. They both love coloring and writing at their own desks and I don't have to worry about them ruining my new dinning table.

We went on our yearly visit to Chester's Party Barn in Piedmont to the Pumpkin Patch. The boys enjoyed the pony ride as usual, and this was the first year they did not have daddy or mommy walking next to them. They did wonderfully. Here's a shot of Kaleb:
And here's a shot of Zachary:


I didn't get a picture of the 'hay' ride, which doesn't not include any hay but here is our trek through the corn maze:

This is the big slide at the end of the corn maze which all the kids and most of the dads enjoy. Here's Zac coming down:
And Kaleb going up:
They had a couple wheelbarrows out so Jerry decided to load the boys up and push them around:
Lately Zachary and Kaleb like to play cowboy and horse, Kaleb is always the cowboy and Zachary is always the horse, oddly enough this never causes a fight, this particular time Kaleb happened to have a cowboy hat and gun:

And our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
Here is trick or treating at the Haunt the Zoo:
Spider Web cookies for Halloween:
Halloween Cake Pops:
Going out trick or treating the night before Halloween (that's what happens when you live in Oklahoma and Halloween lands on a Sunday!)

The boys started swim lesson in October, at first I thought it would be a complete disaster but then we switched instructors for Zachary and he did awesome, he even graduated from the Pike class to Eel class by the end of the session. Here's Kaleb on the side of the pool:
And Kaleb with his instructor Andrew, Andrew is very nice, but is too nice, he let Kaleb off the hook too easily.
Here is Zachary with the most awesome instructor MaryAnn:
I decided for Christmas this year I wanted to get my hair done, since I'm growing it out, it is between lengths and I cannot do anything with it. It is straight as straight can be and limp and lifeless so I decided to go for an early gift and get some me time before Jerry's last business trip.
My before picture:
My after picture:
Much happier now!