To say these last few weeks were a bit busy would be a understatement. I hate how everything is crammed into one night or one week. But tis the season right. It's the most wonderful time of the year and we get to celebrate it in so many ways. Here are a few highlight.
We started the week with me being SUPER sick. It's so annoying. I was really sick just before Thanksgiving finally got better then got it again only this time it was worse. Someday I'll know how to tackle these darn sinus infections that almost kill me each year. So I felt so bad I had to cancel several things that I was in charge of and didn't get to attend everything but everyone was so understanding I really appreciate it.
I finally was feeling better just in time to attend some sweet friends white elephant party. It was so fun. And the gifts were super great. Who knew a snuggie would be so popular? Then the next day we had our Ward Christmas breakfast. After our great sing up mishap (no I wont throw Ryan under the bus here) we loaded the van up with my many plates of food and casseroles and dashed. We didn't get to stay long because we had his work family Christmas party that same day. We took two extra boys with us so we had 5 boys to chase around. But they all LOVED it. I mean how can you not with all the activity's and gadgets they have for the kids to play with. We love that party.
Then we had to Cancel another Christmas party invite I was so sad about but I had already signed up to feed the Missionaries. I love having them in my house so my boys can see what it's like to be a missionary. It's always such a great experience for all of us.
Then Monday we had Trevor's 1st real band concert. He practiced and practiced like crazy for it. I was super impressed I never had to ask him ONCE. I loved that they have a performance arts center for the kids to preform at in the middle school. We are talking 6th grade beginner band students. Man we preformed in our GYM. I couldn't stop crying not only because I felt so blessed that Trevor gets to have this experience, but we finally found something he loves and is really good at . Something he can be proud of and something that makes him SMILE. Nothing is better then seeing him smile.
Then Tuesday we had Gavin's pre-school performance. It was cute to see these little kids. It was bitter sweet for me knowing this will be my last pre-school Christmas program I'll go to for one of my kids.
Then the class room Christmas parties arrived. It's always fun to go into there class room and help out and see how they interact with the kids.
All in between these crazy events was my Birthday. My hubby and boys made it so special for me. It's such a crazy time of year for a birthday. I was so grateful that some of my sweet friends took the time out to take me to Breakfast it made me feel so loved. And Ryan really went the extra mile to show me how much he loves me. It's been a super tough year with him traveling alot, I've been so busy that I never get to go out with my friends. It gets pretty lonely. Thank you all for the calls and cards as well. I felt so loved and I so badly needed that :)...
Now we just get to spend the next two weeks trying to enjoy each other and not want to kill each other. While we celebrate the Christmas season.
I was so excited to get a chocolate warmer. I love cake pops, and buckeyes so this will come in SUPER handy. (If I look a little worn out it's because I AM ). So be kind.
Birthday Breakfast
Josh's Class room Christmas party.
Gavin was WAY to excited to be able to join.
All the boys in his class.
Gavin's Christmas classroom party. He's such a goof.
Playing pass the present. He's got a GREAT teacher and got them all the same book.
Smart smart lady.
Sweet Christmas picture with Santa at Ryan's work party.
Trevor with his Clarinet and to short tie. ( this kid is growing like crazy)
Right after his concert.
Gavin was so excited to show his brother off to all his class mates and show him his fun class.
Trevor's performance. These kids have only been playing for a9 weeks. I was so impressed!!!
My top two songs they played.
Gavin's last song, he was the most animated in this one.
There program was short and sweet.
Our last few weeks have been insane. It was nice to kinda slow down and have family over for Thanksgiving. Diane and Fernando came down from Houston with their sweet 2 month old twins Evan and Lucy. It was so nice to have babies in the house again I couldn't get enough of them. And Mark and his new wife Sara came from Arizona. We were so grateful they decided to join us and it was great to get to know cute Sara better. Gavin LOVES her!!! He cried and cried when they left..
Darling Lucy and Evan.
Josh loved to hold the babies. He keeps asking me to have one for Christmas. Wish I could kido. I wish I could.
Josh wanted to help Ryan prep the Turkey. He was brave and pulled the innards out. YUCK!!!
Ryan cutting up the Turkey smoked to perfection!!
The only picture I took of some of the group. Pathetic I know. We were to busy to take pictures.
The table. YES I cheated and had nice everything but then I used paper plates. I was so sick of dishes by the end of my two days of cooking.
Josh wanted the drum stick. No one else would touch one.
Some of the yummy food. I was so pleased my stuffing that took FOREVER to make turned out AMAZING. I was so stressed about it.
Uncle Mark was the Lego building Master and my boys hero because of it.
We had such a great time with everyone. Played fun games, watched movies and even shopped on Black Friday. I'm so sad I didn't take more pictures so I guess you'll all have to come back next year so we can re create our adventures :).. I love having family around. It's so lonely here with Ryan traveling all the time and my busy schedule I sometimes go DAYS with out talking to a adult.
Trevor was going back and forth on if he was to old to trick or treat this year. I told him he had a good few years in him. I think it's good to go until 12 isn't it? Maybe older who knows. But he wouldn't go with out a friend. So Patrick joined us.
It was another night of perfect weather. I really don't miss bundling up with a huge coat under my kids costume only to freeze or be soaked after 10 mins. Halloween in TX never gets old. I LOVE It.
The boys filled up there bucket twice until we called it quits. I was pretty tired by the end and we had more then enough candy to last us the rest of the year.
When Gavin said he wanted to be a Jelly fish and a RED one for that matter I started searching for costumes. Having no luck this was the best I could come up with. He Loved it so that's all that matters right.
The older boys had to be something creepy. Patrick, Josh, Gavin and Trevor. As we walked the neighborhood our group somehow kept growing. By the end we had so many boys and several grim reapers it was hard to keep track of them.
Trevor wanted the scream mask. We compromised on this one. :)..
Josh wanted to be the same thing as Trevor only he wanted to be the purple grim reaper.
By the end of the night I was holding two masks, a knife, and a Jelly fish hat. And they would just tell people what they were for Halloween. Happens every year. :)...
Ryan heard there was a haunted Garage in the next neighbor hood over. We took the boys there. Not knowing one side was for little kids and the other (the scary side) was for bigger. Poor little Gavin came out terrified. When he is nervous he sticks his hand in his mouth. His whole hand. And he came out of there with his hand crammed down his throat and wet pants. Last night he slept in my bed with me saying "I hate garages" Poor little guy. I was not a happy camper that happened. He finally hasn't had a night terror for two week straight. I forgot how great it was to get more then 3 hrs of sleep a night. Hopefully we can help him forget about the scary garage soon.
Well it wasn't really a concert per-say. I was wondering how they were going to pull off a concert when they have only been in school 6 weeks and have only had 2 weeks with their full instrument put together. And I'll have to say I was really impressed with the band program in the middle school. They have practice rooms, a HUGE band room and the teachers are amazing. Nothing like my little middle school experience in band. Oh and here people really want to be in the bad. It's not just a required class. They actually want to play in it.
Trevor has really taken to it. He practices everyday with out me asking (that is HUGE) and he really is excelling very well. I think we finally found his talent. He loves it which is so nice. This year has been night and day different from the last year which was a nightmare. It's amazing.
To say I'm super proud of him would be an understatement. He's such a great kid. Just wish he wouldn't pick on his brothers so much. But he can't be perfect can he.
I can't believe it. Gavin is 5. It seems just like yesterday I was 90lbs heavier, couldn't walk, didn't fit in any clothes and Ryan was away in Australia. Ah the memories :)...
With all the complications I had during my pregnancy and then the birth was even worse where I went into shock after losing 3 pints of blood and had to have my c-section re opened (I'll spare all details). I got to meet my sweet little 10lb baby a few times for the 1st time. As I was leaving the hospital the nurse came and gave me a huge hug saying. "you were the closest to dieing that I've ever had to deal with." Not to sure how I felt about that. But it was all worth it. Because we get to love this sweet little boy every day.
Getting to meet him for the 1st time.
He was such a little tank.
Trevor and Josh meeting their new brother. Josh was 3 and Trevor 6
And this is when he was Fresh from the factory (as Ryan puts it) I was jealous Ryan got to hold him long before me. But it was such a great bonding experience for them.
Gavin has been such a blessing to our family. He is so easy going and has quite the imagination. His favorite thing to do is Watch Weather caught on camera. Or YouTube lightening storm videos, car washes and how they work and his very favorite Jelly fish. He can tell you all the different kinds of Jelly fish what they eat how long they live where they live etc. He could even spell Jelly fish before he could spell Gavin.
He's my little buddy. He will still cuddle with me, and following me around asking me how anything and everything works.
This year we just had a family party. I decided a few year ago when I got so overwhelmed with birthday parties that I would only let the boys have a friend party on their even birthdays. It's worked out quite nice. And I do enjoy the just family time spoiling them rotten.
So I let Gavin pick where he wanted to go to dinner and he picked I-Hop. I'm not a big fan but Gavin's all time favorite thing to eat is french toast. This is a kid who wouldn't eat for two years. Really he was such a picky eater it seemed like he didn't eat anything. And he grew a love for french toast and now would eat it breakfast, lunch and dinner if I let him. Sadly he was so excited to go there when he got the toast he shoved it in to fast and threw up. I also think he has Ryan's nervous tummy. Because after we took a little walk and got some air he had no problem eating his cake.
We then came home and opened presents. He got a Jelly fish wall decal, a few jelly fish shirts, a play mobile car wash and a lightening ball. Oh my I love this age and they excitement of opening presents.
I wish I could freeze my kids to stay little forever. I'm really struggling with this new stage of my life. I'm so grateful that Gavin gets two days a week with just me and him home. I love playing games with him and having him help me cook and clean. He's an amazing helper and a great shopper.
I love him so so much.
Gavin wore this to school on his birthday. He was so excited to get this shirt. It fits his personality perfectly. He loves Jelly fish and anything RED. To bad in the picture 1.2 the shirt was tucked into his pants. D'OH!!
Helping me make sugar cookies for his class. Red ones his favorite color. Although his color blind Mom made them pink and the older boys freaked. No problem I just spent forever finding only red M&M's all around them to make it better :).
He was excited at all to open his presents. Tore right through them in nothing flat. I loved it.
I lost my Camera so the pictures are from my phone and blurry. But here he kept asking me "what where did you get this? I love it."
After our little bout of sickness the boys had Columbus day off. I had Parent teacher conferences that morning. Which I'm always so proud of the boys. We have such great schools I feel so blessed. After our conferences we decided to go to Six flags. It was a overcast day and the kids in San Antonio still had school so we figured it wouldn't be very crowded. Not to mention we got the tickets for CHEAP. Usually the park is $60. Way to expensive for me. So when we can get the tickets for FREE with the kids reading program or this killer deal we take advantage. It was PERFECT. Hardly anyone was there. So the kids got to go on ride after ride and stay on some rides multiple times. Some of the rides were closed due to the drought which was sad to see. But I'm glad the park is doing there part to conserve as well.
This creepy guy kept following the kids around. They thought he was funny. Until he grabbed them. Then they avoided going anywhere near him the rest of the day.
I love the parks at Halloween time they always decorate it so cute.
Josh was such a trooper. While Ryan took Trevor on all the big rides that Josh is still just a hair to short for he stayed in the wiggles land and went on all the rides with Gavin. They went on this roller coaster the romp pomp a stomp 7 times. So buy the 8th time Josh was telling Gavin to put up his hands not knowing he would get smacked right in the face. But they still came off with a smile and went two more times after that. Hands raised and all.
Then Josh and Trevor went on some bigger rides. This one was their favorite. I don't get it. They threw up on the tire swing after only 5 minutes on it. And they went on this ride 4 times straight. They just stayed on. By the 4th time they were looking a little green so I decided it was time to go on a new ride. They picked the swinging ship, all three could go on it which I was surprised that thing went up high. But Gavin loved it so they went twice. Just looking at it makes me queasy. I can handle roller coaster that flip me upside down and sideways. But the one's that swing back and forth or round and round do me in. Luckily Ryan will indure those.
This picture makes me laugh. This is when Josh was DONE with the kiddy rides. Still being a good sport he said "That one should have a age limit no 8 year olds, even if you are short."
They had trick or treating and the kids got to meet some of the looney toons characters. Tazz was Gavin's favorite. And now his obsession has grown to the love of Jelly fish and tornado's.
I love family time like this. We all play hard. We get to spend time together and everyone is Happy.
I've been so far behind on my blogging. It's kinda looking like my journal. Which always starts "I feel so guilty I haven't written in 6,7 8 months or oops it's been a year" I have so much on my plate these days. I thought as my kids got older my life would become less hectic. WRONG. Now I live in my car going to and from school, or sports or music lessons. And each kid is only in 1 thing well Josh plays football and take piano but I can't imagine them doing a zillion things like alot of kids do. With all the homework, and there one thing twice a week I feel like they have zero down time. (which is a good thing) but it can get overwhelming at times. With me living in my car I spend lots of time on my phone (no not talking on it I still only had 35 minutes of talk time last month) I HATE talking on the phone. But I now surf the web and am on stupid FACE BOOK way to much. I don't even know what I do on facebook. I joined because my family is always getting mad at me about never telling them what I'm up to. I feel like that's my way of letting them know. But it's not a good way to communicate I realize and I need to get better at it. So if they really want to know what's going on they can read my blog :). After all it was them that I started it in the 1st place. Sorry I'm just never going to be a phone person.
Now back to my original post whew.
This is Josh's 1st year in scouts. I'm determined to have my kids look more like a REAL scout and not a white trash one that there parents don't care about them. Really I tried with Trevor. And I get so discouraged that I CAN'T SEW. I've tried so many times trying to fool myself that if I keep trying I would develop that talent. But no.
I sewed on Joshua's badges and Trevor's new BOY SCOUT (we are in the big time now gotta look sharp) badges. It took me 2 hrs. to sew on 3 badges on both boys shirts so we are talking 4 stinking hrs here. FOUR HRS. 7 band aids for my fingers and legs. Don't ask. And I used a whole thing of thread because I had to pick it out several times when I realized I sewed the arm sleeve together. But finally I got it done and I challenged those badges to fall off. (wrong move)
Well here he went to Rain gutter regatta. Sadly Gavin was sick so I couldn't attend. I was so proud to have Josh wear his crisp new shirt with his badges all STRAIGHT and not sliding down his arm like poor Trevor's from the horrible glue and the stinking lieing BADGE MAGIC. There ain't nothing MAGIC about that garbage.
When he got home all of his badges had fallen off and were in his pocket. I 1st got annoyed with him thinking he picked them off. With me not being there I could see Josh board while watching the other kids. And haveing this 700 lbs of thread itching him so he picked at it. But no they just fell off. WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED? not to sure. All I know is I washed Trevor's shirt and all the badges were in the wash. I think I bought thread that disolves when it gets wet. Just my luck.
These darn boy scouts are going to be the death of me that's for sure.
But Josh didn't care. He had a GREAT night and came in 5th place. That's all that really matters right.
He was stressed out about having Asthma and not being able to blow his boat down the rain gutter. But he did it perfectly and I'm so proud of him.
Testing out his boat.
His 1st run.
My happy boy :). Sure love this kid.
Ryan just got called to be his den leader. I think my thoughts about that will be best said in my Private Journal if and when I ever get to it.
But I will say we are all thrilled about it each for different reasons. :)
Remember this post? http://suzettejen.blogspot.com/2009/05/joshuas-new-bed.html. Josh loves his bed. I love the storage. He has all kids of toys in the stairs and I put all his clothes in the front. He has all his Art stuff in the desk drawers and he always keeps a book on the shelf right by him. It's been a GREAT purchase only there are two down falls. 1 it's the biggest pain in the butt to make. I have to pull out the mattress and climb up the desk to pull the sheet over. It takes alot of man power and man I break out in a sweat every time. 2. We learned last night that if you don't make it to the bathroom when you are sick and puke from the top it's the worst puke mess EVER to clean up. No only did it go in ever crack (who knew there were so many) but in all the drawers on the stairs so I had to clean every toy as well. On and when something gets thrown from that high up the splatter oh the splatter. I scrubbed every every surface of his carpet, and walls. And this all happened at 3:30 a.m. It was a delightful night. I climbed back into bed at 5:44 knowing the other boys would be getting up soon but sometimes that 15min power rest is something that I just can't resist. And this is only the start of flu season. Poor Gavin had it last week. I made Josh come down stairs and sleep on the couch with a bucket. I hate nothing more then when my kids are sick. I stress about them the whole time and even if they are sleeping peacefully I don't because I have to make sure they are breathing and doing ok. I hope this one doesn't last long. We have sport pictures on Saturday and Monday is Columbus day so no one go's to school. It's just his luck to get sick when it's a holiday. Poor kid.
Gavin was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. His reply.
A storm chaser. And if that doesn't work out I'll be a scuba diver.
Gotta love that kid. He's pretty creative for a 4 year old.
We were looking at his baby pictures as my sister in law just had two darling little twins. I've been prepping Gavin for when we go and visit because he gets so mad when he sees me holding babies. And I'm so anxious to hold these sweet little babies.
I then showed Gavin the pictures of the new babies. I said aren't they so cute. He came and sat on my lap and said. Do you know what else is cute? "ME".
Darling Lucy and Evan Mladineo.
Oh boy someone is very possessive of their mom I tell ya. It's a good thing he is so stinking cute.
I love this picture of Gavin. He was about 1 month old. Ryan was huge in sticking his tongue out at our babies (any baby for that matter) because that is something they will always copy. This was what Gavin did every time he saw his Daddy. So funny!!!
I miss having a chunky baby around. They do grow up way to fast.
Fall sports is my favorite time to play. It's supposed to be perfect weather only this year we are still at our record breaking heat. The last two games have been in the 100 degree temps. It's miserable. Not to mention Josh and Gavin both practice at 6:30 in two different places. Which makes it a challenge when Ryan's out of town. But the boys love it and it's a part of every boys childhood isn't it.
I could only do two sports as Trevor this year is in the band \and he has to focus his time on that. (I didn't know how competitive band was here)
Josh picked flag football. He actually wanted tackle but they don't allow it until they are 10 so I was happy about that one.
He's on the Cleavland Browns team. We both laughed and laughed that his uniform was BRIGHT ORANGE!!! And it wasn't a football jersey. (gotta love the Y sports)
Gavin picked Soccer
Gavin is a RAM. He doesn't grasp the concept of getting the ball at all. And just cries that he wants to play on the big red slide. (love it)
There is alot of this on game day. The ref running after the ball and the kids just standing there.
And this is what happens at Josh's game played on the WORST field known to mankind. But the shade is nice and gives something for Gavin to do.
All of the sitting in the hot sun, dashing to practices and doing 700 more loads of laundry to get the mud off everyone is so worth it for this. Josh made his 1st touch down and they won the game. He had a smile from EAR to EAR. He takes it pretty serious and is the center so he get to be in game the whole time. I think he found his sport he''s quick!!!
And each of his games remind me of the show Charlie brown and pig pen how a pile of dust follows him around everywhere. Football is pretty intense in TX so I was really hesitant to let him play. The coach is a yeller but he also really praises the kids so he's got a balance. Which is way better then when we've had coaches that just yell.
Only 6 more weeks of this. Hopefully the boys will have a good season.
My sweet Josh has had a ROUGH week. On Labor day weekend the weather finally cooled down and he has been begging Ryan and I to take him to the skate board park so he can ride his bike in the big open swimming pool (that's what he calls it) knowing he's 1. my accident prone child and 2. there are a bunch of teenagers that get really aggressive I've been hesitant to take him. But we went early and not many people were there so we let him try. He got one good run in and then just as he went down again he crashed. HARD. Luckily there were no broken bones and no stitches were needed but he now HATES the skateboarding park and has been sore for days.
The handle bar of his bike went right into his rib cage.
He also has been complaining of not being able to breath and I've noticed him gasping for air alot. He hasn't been as active as usual and has put on some weight so I decided I just better take him in to see what is going on. And sadly he was diagnosed with Asthma. I had it as a kid, But this is a whole new ball game. I was pretty overwhelmed with all the medication they gave me and all the WARNING signs you could have. I felt terrible I didn't take him in earlier. He has to do a inhaler day and night, he has this huge pump thing he has to use in emergency's and is on steroids (just for little while) I wasn't at all happy about that one. But he was only getting 60% of the amount of oxygen you need and when he was in a physical activity he was only getting 30. Crazy. He's been handling it well. And I'm so glad to know what the deal was now we can treat it and live more normally.
It sais Mrs. Harris, I'm sorry for being disruptive and not obeying the rules. Besides it's a new day. Love your student Joshua.
He is struggling with being in 3rd grade. They are pretty strict the first few weeks of school to help the kids learn what is expected of them and he keeps getting in trouble for Talking at lunch. They have quite time while music plays for 2 mins then they can talk for 2 mins and it alternates for 30 mins (I think that's the policy) While I think this is the STUPIDEST most ridiculous rule ever and have tried to fight it several times it's still a rule that he has to follow and I have to support when he gets in trouble. But I will say I'm pretty lenient with this one. Today he got in trouble again for the 3rd time so I told him how it probably makes his teacher really sad that she has to keep reminding him and he knows better. We talked about it for a while and I told him tomorrow is a new day and a new start so show her what you can do. He came down later asking if I could put this letter in a envelope. It was to cute not to keep as a memory. I love his picture he drew of himself. He's such a tenderhearted little guy and never gets into trouble so I feel so bad this year he's acting up and then he feels so bad about it. I sure hope he out grows it soon and is back to his sweet self.
I realize in this picture I need to get rid of my 4th of July stuff. I'm a little slow at that.. Gavin is so excited to go can you tell?
I looked all over for that stinking stuffed dog. Gavin so badly wanted to take him to school with him as his little love from home. We were in such a dash getting out I didn't even notice he put him on the table until I uploaded the pictures. So funny!!! Doesn't my little guy look so big I can't believe he will be 5 in a month.
It's so funny the two older boys I have to beat drag them out of bed to get ready for school and Gavin who had to wait two weeks has been begging me everyday for his school to PLEASE start. Today was finally his day. Yesterday we went to meet his teacher and he only stayed 1/2 hr. when I came to get him he said "what that's it, when am I going to start learning stuff? " So today I told him he got to stay longer and actually learn some new things. He was beyond excited. He helped pick out his clothes Red is his favorite color and he got new shorts, shoes, socks, and under ware so when he was done getting dressed he said. "look mom I'm a new kid." So funny. This year he has 3 church friends in his class (all very shy friends who don't talk according to this little chatter box) but he sure loves them and was so happy to see them. I was sad to say this was my last year doing the whole pre-school thing. I love pre-school the kids are all so eager to learn and play it's such a great age. Not to mention I hate my kids growing up.
Sadly we missed the Welcome walk this year. But we were back in time to scout out the schools and meet the teachers before school starts. They had a camp wildcat for Trevor it was really fun. (for him) overwhelming for me. I'm used to the elementary info not this power point presentation with a zillion rules. I had a hard time keeping my emotions in check. I still can't believe he's old enough to go to middle school. I HATED middle school and hope I'm not putting my fears of the worst years ever on him. Trevor wasn't even nervous at all for the 1st day. Ryans out of town and they both go at different times so it was a bit hectic getting them all figured out but we did it. I was super proud of Trevor. He was ready for middle school and loved his 1st day. Lets hope he has a great year he sure deserves one. Poor little Gavin has been so sad to have his play mates gone. So I told him we could go out to breakfast he picked I-hop his favorite place ever. It was fun just going on a little date with him (then to the dr. to get his shots) so so sad. He starts pre-school in a few weeks and I feel so blessed I get to wait one more year before I have to send him all day. It's funny how when the kids are home all summer I about lose my mind. The fighting and complaining about being bored just gets overwhelming. I get so excited for them to go to school again just to have structure and not have to be on constant referee control. And the minute they leave I cry and cry that they are gone. I love these kids more then anything. I hate that they are growing up so fast. But I do enjoy watching them handle it so well. Super proud of my boys. Here's to a GREAT year :)...
Josh looking FANCY.
Trevor grew into a Giant over the summer.
I thought this year I would catch a picture of them coming home on the 1st day. Josh wasn't to happy. He said the portables are hot and his teacher yells. Looks like it's going to be his 1st tough year. Poor little guy.
Trevor LOVED it. He was so glad to be in middle school and go to several different classes. He really liked all his teachers as well so that was great.
It's been so hot here 70 straight days of 100+ heat. When we went to the back to school howdy we made the teacher some Scotcharoos. (evil little treat I like way to much) Sadly I had to park so far away Josh and I were running so the chocolate wouldn't met but sadly it did. Hopefully she put them in the fridge and they came back to life. Never again will I make anything with Chocolate.
Everyone keeps telling me I should write a book with all my crazy events that always seems to happen. So this is my attempt to update everyone about our little adventures.