A Day to Play

 

I love freezing cold weather. It made me sad, though, to see Matthew brace against the sleet running to his carpool this morning. I just wish he could have stayed home with us. It got me thinking about getting the kids ready for Mother's Day Out. I just didn't want to get the kids out of the house this moring, so we decided to play hookey! We are all still in our pajamas after lunch and I made a concerted effort to focus on the kids and not do housework. This is very hard for me! Days like today are precious and VERY far between in our neck of the woods. I want to savor each one. This is the last year that I can play hookey with Thomas. Next year, he will be bracing the cold with Matthew! 

See Ya Next Year!

 

I am sad to say that we are expecting a huge cold front to come in tomorrow morning. I absolutely love freezing cold weather, but the first freeze means all my flowers will die, or rather, go to sleep, until next year. I am going to cut quite a few in the morning and give them to Matthew's teacher!
 
I love gardening more than almost any other hobby. It is right up there with reading and cooking. Every morning, I walk into my garden and see who is blooming, who is taking a rest, and who is hosting the hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees that come for food!

I heard a quote once that has always stuck with me. It goes something like, Wonders in nature occur whether we choose to witness it or not. I choose to witness it!

Here are a few pictures taken on Monday.

Bundle up bloggers! It's going to be chilly!


 
  

 
 
  

Happy Holidays!

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Like all holidays, it went by too soon and I was sad to see Bryon and Matthew leave this morning.

Thursday morning, we headed down to Conroe like we do every year. We had a great time as always. ME enjoyed playing with her girl cousins who are right around her age. She didn't stop all weekend! The boys as always spent the majority of their time playing football in the backyard. I enjoyed hanging out with my my sister in law, mother in law, and mother.

Friday morning, my MIL, SIL, mother, and I headed for Kohl's at 5 in the morning. Every year, I wake up thinking I am crazy but we always have a great time! All of their toys were 50% off and I managed to get all the neices/nephew gifts as well as most of my kids at a great price!

Friday afternoon, I went with my parents to Old Towne Spring while Bryon hung out with his dad. I don't get to spend a lot of time with my parents where we aren't playing with the kids so I really had a good time and being there really got me in the Christmas spirit!

Saturday we headed home and I started decorating for Christmas. For the past 7 years, I have been a well oiled machine when it came to decorating. I knew where everything went and was able to do it all fairly quickly. This year, I am having to take the time to decide where everything goes. I am still not done decorating! In true Griswold fashion, I put too many lights on my tree and I blew several fuses in the lights. The majority of my night was dedicated to fixing the problem. Ughh...

Today is Matthew's class trip so I am headed to his school to join them this afternoon. The rest of the day will be dedicated to putting up laundry, finishing decorations, and resting after a busy holiday weekend!

Matthew's birthday weekend

What a fun birthday weekend! I asked Matthew if he wanted a cookie cake, ice cream cake, or cake that I made, and he chose the last one! I spent the night making his football cake.













Then Saturday morning, 7 of his friends came over for Matthew's party. The beginning of the party was, of course, a football game in the backyard. All but one of the boys played flag football together this fall.



















Then, after presents and cake, we headed to the Baylor game. I don't want to jinx it, but Matthew's birthday has been gorgeous every year. It's always pretty here this time of year! Yesterday was bright sunny skies with a high in the upper 60s. Perfect football weather. I had friends concerned about my sanity having 8 little boys in our control during the game. They were really great, though, and I can honestly say I enjoy most of his friends almost as much as I enjoy my own children! Of course, Baylor lost 36-10. We were thinking it would be much worse. Nope, not Baylor's year, yet again!

After the party, my family came over to watch the Iron Bowl. Another disappointing one. Dad was saying that he never dreamed even if he lived to be 100 years old that Auburn would win 5 in a row. Oh well, there is always next year....

Tonight is book club. We will be discussing The Other Boleyn Girl. I haven't changed What I Have Been Reading in a while. I have read a book since then. I will update it soon!

Looking forward to a fun holiday week. I am in charge of the cornbread dressing and a pie. Matthew is going to make mini pumpkin pies that he made with his teacher last week! I am going to get my turkey tonight to cook my dressing in. I never enjoyed dry dressing!

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

At Matthew's First Grade Musical last night! What a cute little piggie!
Dear Matthew,
I wanted to write you a letter on your 7th birthday. Tomorrow will be quite busy with your birthday party so I will go ahead and write it today.

I can't believe I have been you mother for 7 years! You have brought me so much joy over the years. You make me laugh the loudest, cry the hardest, and make my heart swell with pride.

My favorite things about you are your love of learning, love for your family, both immediate and extended. How sweet you were last night crying in bed because Aunt Lauren and Uncle Josh were leaving for Thanksgiving! I love how much you love God. I pray that you always put him first in your life. I love how you are always quick to apologize when you have done something wrong. I love how you remind me so much of my father. I love reading the books you make and journals you write. I love thinking about what you will do with your life!

You have been such a gift to me for 7 years. How could I thank God enough for you? Happy Birthday, Matthew!

Wednesday morning

I am enjoying a quiet morning at home. These are becoming a rare commodity so I am savoring every minute!

Last week went really well. A good friend of mine and I headed up the book fair at our school. It was hard juggling the little kids while I was up at school most of the day everyday, and I couldn't have done it without Lauren, but I loved the job. We made $8500 and a lot of it goes back into our library so I was proud of that! My friend and I enjoyed it so much that we are planning on doing it again next Fall. I adored being up at school and seeing Matthew coming to and from lunch and specials. I am having withdrawls not being up there this week! I am happy to be home though and am enjoying the cold windy day with a cup of coffee.

Here is what is happening with the kids:

Matthew:
Matthew turns 7 this week. Hard to believe and I will write more on that later. I just enjoy him more and more with each passing year. Many people who know him call him a little politician or the future president. (Think Alex P. Keaton) He was familiar with all the people running in the local election and would ask who I thought would win. He was also mad at me for voting for the conservative candidate running for a House seat!

My favorite thing about Matthew right now is his love of reading. He is reading between a 3rd and 4th grade level. After I tuck the boys in bed, I hear the pages turning in his book for up to an hour after bedtime! Since I sympathize with never wanting to put a good book down, I usually let him just read until he falls asleep. Maybe he should join my book club!

Matthew got to do something fun last night. At our fall festival at school, there was a silent auction and each teacher donated something to bid on. Matthew's teacher donated a cooking class to be taken with her for the winning bid. Matthew has been begging me since he was 4 to take a cooking class. They recommend you be 7 to do it. He would say things like, "Since I am 5 1/2, I only have to wait 1 1/2 more years to go to Young Chefs!" We had to bid on it and won! They had a fun date last night. Matthew adores his teacher. We feel blessed that Matthew is in her class.

Thomas:
Thomas continues to be just a little ray of sunshine. He rarely gets in trouble and seems to have an easy time following rules and being a good boy. A few nights ago, Matthew was annoying him and I sent him to his room. Matthew and I proceeded to have a chat about being a good example. Then, Thomas walked into the the room and said, "I forgive you, Buddy. Anytime you are mean to me, I am going to punch you back with prayer." Then he got down on his knees and asked God to help Buddy not be so mean! This was a concept Matthew had leaned in Bible school last week. Matthew said, "That is good Thomas because the Bible says to forgive 77 times." Thomas looked at him and said, "Well, then I will forgive you 100 times." What a sweetie.

A funny thing about Thomas is his love of football. He will sit and watch a game from start to finish. He knows the rules and will call out penalties or what the team should do before it is announced on TV! His across the street friend came over on Sunday and the little boy played by himself while Thomas watched football! He is still in love with the Seahawks and I constantly find papers with "Seattle Seahawks" written on the top all over the house! I TiVo games from time to time for Thomas to watch while I clean house.

Mary Elizabeth:
Little ME Lou Who is in the height of two year oldness. Absolutely adorable half the time and absolutely exasperating the other half of the time! She is funny, loud, joyful, strong willed, tenderhearted, and exuberant all wrapped into a tiny little package. She has made several funny comments lately that have made me think she needs more girlfriends. Lets face it, she is living in a boys world! I met several of my neighbors who have little girls at our local children's museum on Monday so I can encourage her to branch out into little girl activities!

Thats about it for now! The rest of the week will be spent getting ready for Matthew's birthday party. Since Baylor's last home game is happening on his actual birthday, we are taking several of his friends to the game for his party. Baylor's head coach has a weekly call in radio show and Matthew has already called him and begged him to win for his birthday. I am not keeping my fingers crossed!

A fun weekend has come to a close!

Whew! Lots going on here!

Thursday, I met my mother-in-law half way to Houston to drop off the younger two. Matthew was in school so he couldn't go. This was ME's first trip away from us to see her grandparents so it was a momentous occasion! I hurried home to witness Matthew's last football game. He scored another touchdown and had a great time. It is always bittersweet ending the season.

Friday was meant to be a day to organize without kids around. It ended up being an almost entire day up at Matthew's school getting ready for my big P.T.A. event this week. While I was bummed to not be home, I was grateful to have the time kid-free. I picked Matthew up after school and we had a great time hanging out just the two of us. Just like the old days!

Friday night, Lauren and Josh graciously agreed to have Matthew spend the night with them so Bryon and I could go out on a long date! This is dinner and a movie. Not dinner or a movie! After a meal at our favorite romantic restaurant, we met some friends of ours for a coffee and movie. These are friends who have kids our kids ages, and we spend lots of time on the ball fields together, but this was our first "date"! We had a great time!

Saturday morning, we headed to the Antique Rose Emporium for their rose festival. I took a few classes and had fun roaming the nursery. Saying it is a nursery really isn't doing it justice. It is a sight to see. Bryon and Matthew were with me and they enjoyed sketching the flowers. Matthew is really into art right now and loves drawing on his doodle pad! I loved our time here and look forward to their next festival!

After our time here, we headed down to my in laws to pick up the kids. We had fun visiting with everyone and left after church today. I love watching ME with her two girl cousins. One is a year older than her, one is a year younger than her. I am sure they will have lots of fun together over the years!

What a horrible weekend for football. Alabama was embarrassed, Baylor lost, and the Cowboys lost in the last milisecond of the game today. Ugh...

I am hoping just to survive this week. I will be up at Matthew's school almost all day every day with ME and Thomas. We will see how it goes!

Halloween

Before I start this post, I have to say that I really love Halloween. I get into it every year. But, as I woke up totally exhausted this morning, I couldn't help but compare Halloweens of the present to Halloweens 50 years ago....

Halloweens 50 years ago (as described by my mother, not personal experience)

*Moms would use rags, sheets, or old clothes to costume their kids.
*Halloween evening, the kids went all over the neighborhood unescorted.
*Decorations were limited to pumpkins that were crudely cut out by knives.

Halloweens present day...

*Festivites are usually a week long. Not just Halloween night, but also a Trunk or Treat, dressing up at school, and Halloween recitals that need to be dressed up for. It isn't unusual to dress the kids up 3 times for different functions.
*A month in advance, mothers are combing through websites offering the latest and greatest costumes. It is hard to find a cute one for under $50 per child including acessories and shipping.
*Homes and front yards are decked out in Halloween decorations. Forget carving with knives! Just download patterns for cute carved pumpkins with many different faces online. You will need to purchase special tools for the carving.
*Scoop out those pumpkin seeds, but don't roast them the old fashioned way! Make pumpkinseed brittle!
*You know that you will be demoted from your previous position of mother of the year if you bring a store bought goods for Halloween parties. The cuter and more original the treat, the better!
*Every October, the search is on for the best pumpkin patch in which to take a picture of your adorable children getting the great "Pumpkin Experience"! Look at this picture and see how glad I am that I took 2 hours out of my time for such an activity!













*Halloween is just now behind Christmas as the most expensive holiday in America.

All of this is in jest as I get just as much into Halloween as every other mother, but really, is it a wonder why we are so stressed out as a nation?

When Mommy gets on the phone, little Halloween candy theives go into hiding!

Trunk or Treat

We had our annual Trunk or Treat at church last night. Normally, the members park in the parking lot, decorate their trunks, and pass out candy to the kids. It has been raining like crazy around here, though, so the candy was passed out in the auditorium!

The last two years, Bryon has missed the festivities because of work. He was able to make it last night which made things much easier! The kids were adorable and it was a good dress rehearsal for Halloween! Matthew's Bama football costume didn't make it in time because we had to exchange it for another size. He was happy being a Baylor Bear, though.

Today begins the great candy adventure. A few things usually happen during this time. First, the kids get in trouble for sneaking in to get candy. We have already been to the "naughty chair" once with ME this morning! I also hear things like, "But I am so HUNGRY for candy!" Also, I start separating. Reese's, Nestle's Crunch, Butterfinger, go in my pile (the candy theif comes while the children sleep!). Dots, Smarties, assorted other candies that are the messiest or worst for teeth, go to the redistribute on Halloween pile. The kids get their share of the rest!

Checking in.

We had a fun homecoming weekend! Michael and Jilinda met us at our house early Saturday morning to head to our homecoming parade. Baylor has the largest homecoming parade in the country. I had fun remeniscing about the one very cold night I spent as a sophomore in college guarding our float. Sitting on a float in 40 degree weather laughing with a bunch of girlfriends....anything more fun than that? It was fun to see all the college kids having a ball. I saw many people I went to school with and marveled at the large number of people who I didn't know! The kids had a great time and it was worth getting up early on a Saturday morning to be there.

After Thomas's game, the guys went to the Baylor game. I stayed home with ME and put a big dent in the book I was reading. After ME's nap, I went to the grocery store to get ready for dinner that night. When I got to the store, Baylor was down 35-17 with 10 minutes left to play. I figured I better hurry in the store as everyone would be coming home early! When I got back in the car, Baylor had scored their way to a 35-36 lead! I can't believe they won that one! It was the first time in 8 years that we had won a homecoming game. Baylor has had many lean years. Could this be the start of a comeback?

Last night was book club. We had a great time and enjoyed our discussion of Follow the River. I finished next months selection, The Other Boleyn Girl, tonight. What a page turner! I managed to read the 650 page book in a week. I little racy, but very enjoyable. I think I need to stick to magazines for a few weeks so I can get some housework done!

This morning was 2 year pictures with ME. Anyone feeling sorry for me? Two years olds are much more mobile than 1 year olds! I hope we got a few good ones. We spent the afternoon at the dentist with Matthew and my checkups. We had just scheduled Matthew's and mine was tomorrow. The receptionist told me when we got there that the appointment after Matthew's was cancelled and would I like to go ahead and get mine done? The thought of three kids with me at the dentist was only slightly more appealing than using my precious mother's day out time tomorrow to do it. I held ME for most of my cleaning and spent a good deal of time snapping my fingers at the boys to be quiet as my mouth was incapacitated!

Thomas

My sweet Thomas scored his first goal today. This is the same boy who is thrilled for all of his friends when they score goals. Who happily lets his teammates have the ball close to the goal so they can score. He was thrilled! We were thrilled! He came up to me and said, "I can't believe it! Me?" Yes, you sweetheart!

A smoother end to the week

I appreciate everyone's comments earlier in the week regarding our schedule. I don't feel like we are overscheduled, just not finding a rhythm to our afternoons. Some things we have tried and seem to work:

*Matthew gets in the car on the way home from school and does his homework. I doesn't take more than a few minutes to do his work and we can easily slip it back in his folder and into his backpack and not wonder where it is in the morning!

*We have also started Matthew reading to us while we are in the car. Whether we are going to Starbucks, to church, or to the dentist, he can get some of his required out of school reading time done. We also read before bed, but it seems like it is a good use of time.

*Matthew ADORES throwing the football with Bryon when he gets home from work. I have told Matthew that if he gets his piano practice done right after school, he can have much more time to play with Bryon at the end of the day.

*We did have a rule about watching 1 show after school every day. This worked out well, but then he would see previews to the next show and it would be a struggle to get him away from the TV. We talked about it and agreed that TV will be watched on the weekends only. This way his free time is used talking to me, extra time playing with Thomas and ME, or going outside to have alone time. Yes, he already asks me to have alone time just to think quite a bit.

*I have attempted to find activities for Thomas and ME to do immediately after Matthew gets home. We have a few minutes to talk about the day, go over notes home, and even get a few minutes of reading on the couch done.

So far, these tips have helped and I hope that they continue to make our afternoons run more peacefully!

ME's dual personality and the hair to proove it.

I loved this picture and had to share. ME's hair is a funny phenomenon. Every morning, the front of her hair is shiny, golden, perfectly in place with soft curls. You turn her around, and the back of her hair is matted, unruly, tangled, frizzy, and completely wild.

As I have mentioned in a few previous posts, ME is going through a bit of the terrible twos. Nothing unusual, but we are going through it nonetheless. Her hair is symbolic of her personality. Perfect, sweet, sunny, golden on one side and unruly, wild, and mess on the other!

Some advise needed from mothers who are a little further down the road than me.

I am needing some help.

This year has really thrown us for a loop. I feel a peace in my soul when things are running smoothly and simply. We just haven't seemed to find our rhythm yet.

First grade started homework for Matthew. Everyday, he comes home with sheets to do and a reading assignment at night. We also have to do piano lessons. Throw in a game or two, maybe a practice, Wednesday night church, etc. and the day is over in a snap.

I also feel like Matthew needs some down time as well. He dreads doing his work at the end of the day because all he wants to do is throw the football in the backyard with his brother. I can't say I blame him, but the work needs to be done as well.

The piano and reading need to be done with me supervising. This is no easy task as I have two little ones who still need me and dinner to make.

Does anyone have any tips to make afternoons run more smoothly?

Two versions of a Willie Nelson hit that have been playing in my head this afternoon:

Mama's, don't let your babies grow up to be 2 year olds
Look at those precious innocent babies in your arms. Try not to think about them growing into two year olds who, in the span of one hour, can spray Round Up on your roses, dump a half bottle of green shampoo all over your carpet, and stick an entire Slim Fast bar in her mouth crying, "I NEED chocolate!" All while you are trying to make dinner.

This is all hypothetically speaking of course....

Mama's, don't let your babies knock out their permanent teeth
We have had to get Matthew's tooth "reapplied" many times since his run in with a tile floor last year. It had been months since it popped off. I thought that last week. I thought too soon. It popped off again Friday at 5 p.m. Why do these things always happen Friday at 5 p.m? He struggled this weekend with a jagged tooth until I could get him an appointment today. I had to take him out of school early, forgo ME's nap to get him to the dentist. After his appointment, we came home. 15 minutes later, he came in with the tooth fragment in his hand saying, "I don't think he put it on too well."

Off to the dentist again tomorrow.

What a day...

A reluctant fan

I'll admit, that when I heard Matthew wanted to play flag football, I wasn't thrilled. I am much more of a soccer fan. However, the team that Matthew has been playing on since last year wanted to play football, so I reluctantly agreed. Little did I know that Matthew was quite the football player! Today, he caught a pass from the QB, blocked the opponent to let his teammate score, and most impressively, caught the ball on the kickoff and ran the entire field to score a touchdown! I couldn't have been prouder. He did a victory dance in the endzone. I am so happy that they didn't fine us for that! ;)

Maybe a future as an Alabama Crimson Tider is in our future?

Friday check in

What is wrong with me? Either I am having fewer blogworthy moments, I am too busy to sit at the computer, or I have blogger block. In any case, it is getting harder just to sit and put my thoughts online. Here are a few things going on with us right now:

*Matthew came to our room at 4:30 in the morning after a nightmare. He was hugging Bryon fiercely and told us he dreamed that Bryon and I were no longer living in the same house and he didn't get to see Bryon anymore. This nearly broke our hearts. There are several kids in his class who have divorced parents and Matthew is just now getting a dose of the sad reality of our divorce happy culture. We spent a lot of time with him this morning reassuring him that we would always be a family.

*We have a big P.T.A. function at school tonight. My co room mother and I have been working hard getting ready for it. It should be lots of fun, but I will be glad for it to be a good memory! I am also working with a good friend on getting ready for our school's Book Fair. That is coming up in a few weeks!

*ME is really getting good at naming her colors. When I ask her what something's color is, she usually says, "Pink". Then I ask her again and she usually says the correct color with slight variations. For instance, "orange" is "orange juice". She loves her soft orange juice sweater. "Brown" is "chocolate". "I wearing my chocolate shoes!" And green is "Baylor". "Daddy has the Baylor towel."

*I am always ready for the weekend! We will be at the ball fields from 10-3 and have a birthday party tomorrow afternoon.

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Monday morning

A few things going on in our world right now...

*It's Columbus Day which means a very light schedule for Bryon today and no school for Matthew. Usually, when Matthew has a day off, Bryon loves taking him to work with him. He sits quietly in the back and likes to talk to the judges. Today, Thomas got wind of this and wanted to go as well so Bryon took the boys to court this morning. Being the sweet mother that I am, I couldn't help but tell the boys that if they fought in court, there was a good chance that the judge would throw them in jail!

*We had our first dinner guests in our dining room on Friday night. The way it worked out, there were only little girls who came with their parents. Matthew was at his first slumber party, and Thomas spent the night with my mother. This meant that ME was in a room full of girls for one of the first times in her life. I have never seen her more giddy! She laughed. She did what she could to make the other girls laugh. What a cute sight that was.

*My garden continues to fill out. I was rewarded this week with a hummingbird who has been coming every morning. What a gift!













*Matthew continues to love flag football. He ran in for a touchdown the other day and scored a "two point conversation". Thomas continues to love soccer. My favorite part about watching him is that he giggles anytime the ball is in his possession!

*We had a family date watching The Little Mermaid last night. The kids and Bryon were amazed that I knew every word to all the songs! I think it was just as much a treat for me as it was the kids! At the end of the movie, the chef hits his head on something and all of his teeth fall out. Matthew said, "Wow. That was just like when Ben Roethlisberger got in a motorcycle accident and all his teeth fell out!"

*I have a busy week ahead getting ready for a big P.T.A. event at Matthew's school. I am in charge of getting a basket ready from Matthew's class and coordinating parent volunteers. It should be a busy week with that.

*A funny little story Lauren told me...Thomas was eating a sandwich at school the other day and a few bites were taken out of the bottom. "This looks like Indiana!" he told Lauren. "Oh wait. It needs a river on top." So he ate a nibble off the top left hand side of the sandwich. She had forgotten the story until Saturday night when she asked me if there was a river on the northwest side of Indiana. Sure enough.....

It did need a nibble on the left hand side! Maybe I have a little geography whiz on my hands?

*I am in my last 30 pages of Follow the River. Maybe with the boys gone, I can finish it today?

Happy Monday Morning to everyone!

2 years old + an addiction to chocolate= HUGE MESS!

I walked into the kitchen only to find my darling 2 year old with 3/4 of a french silk pie in her hand chowing down! In the picture, you can see the other handful had just fallen on the floor. I just had to laugh. How can I stand in between a girl and her love for sweets? When I was cleaning it up, she kept protesting, "I NEED my pie! OK, Mommy?" How dare I clean up her pie on the floor?! Mom has several pictures of me at different points during my toddler years with a stolen cake in my hand, flour over my entire body made into a paste with drool (yum, yum!), and climbing to the top of the refrigerator to grab bananas. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!