New ambitions

I still often think about what I'd be doing if I was still in the classroom teaching on "this day."  There are definitely things I miss about teaching - but a lot of things that I do NOT miss.  One of the blessings of being at home is I have time to discover new ambitions that I NEVER imagined myself doing.  One of those is CANNING.  I never thought I would be interested in canning anything.  But, when good friends are involved and with a little prodding - I do like to try new things.  This is my 3rd year of canning - and by far, my best year.  I did peaches, tomatoes (from my own garden!), raspberry jam, and applesauce.  Yesterday Rach and I did the applesauce together.  Since the kids are on Fall break - they actually got in on the fun.  It was sincerely a simple pleasure to see my boys being involved.  There is a great satisfaction in seeing those jars all finished and ready to go into food storage downstairs.

This is the final batch - I've done this a couple times this year and I'm quite depressed about it.  boo broken jars!

My stash for my family - Rach took home the same amount for her home!

The Haunted Garage

Last weekend, our garage was HAUNTED!  We emptied everything out and put up tarps to divide the garage into 4 different rooms.  We decorated, prepared, and scrambled like mad-men the hours before our "opening night" and we officially ran our first Haunted Garage for the neighborhood!  We had a room of touchy-feely creepiness, I was a fortune teller in the next room, the next space was a graveyard with tombstones and a coffin (Shayne's handiwork!), and lastly, a mad-scientist room with all sorts of cool decor thanks to Cherae!  We handed out the fliers only the day before and tried to spread the word in the short time we had - I was surprised how many people did come!  I'm so glad that so many enjoyed it and have been asking about it becoming an annual tradition.  We definitely see this being an annual thing - and we'll just have to make improvements every year - (I hope the first year was the craziest!).  I wish I had photos to show you everything - but they just didn't work out in the dark.  So, let your imagination run wild and make plans to attend next year's Haunted Garage!  PS A huge shout out to Cherae's family and to Brian & Devri - it would not have happened without your time and help those last few hours and during the event.  THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH!!

This is what we had in the "touchy-feely" portion...

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Cole's soccer season

The local rec center begged me to be a coach after I said I was willing to "assist" a coach.  So, I ended up coaching for the 1st time - I learned a few rules along the way and I also had a great time getting to know each of the kids on our team.  As coach - I was on the field being referee and coach for each game.  I'm sure Shayne would have been willing to go out there and do it for me - but honestly, I felt like I knew their names the best and I was a part of that team!  Cole was a good sport for most games and most practices.  If he didn't get his way - he'd pout and I'd have to ignore it because I had too many others to pay attention to!  He REALLY, REALLY wanted to get a goal - and he kept "quitting" during the game when the ball would be taken from him.  Shayne got a great shot of him sitting in the field - crying and complaining.  Soooo perfect.

One of the reasons that Cole decided to give soccer another try was because Emily was going to play too.  They were on the same team and that girl has SPUNK and SKILL!  I loved having Emily on our team.  After the final game, we got a picture of the two of them together - notice that Cole grabbed Emily's hand and this made Emily's eyes get REALLY big and she just giggled.  Cole was very matter-of-fact about it!  So cute!

Hunter is 9!

I barely got to the point that I really knew that Hunter was 8 - I didn't quite believe it for the whole year!  Now he's even OLDER!  I told him to stop growing up - he just laughs at me.  We do birthday parties on even-year birthdays and birthday dates with mom & dad on the odd years.  I did my best to make his day memorable and happy!

I surprised him at school with a happy-meal during his lunch time.  I had sent him to school with a sacklunch and he complained when I made a PB&J sandwich when he really wanted a "Lunchable" - I said "Sorry, it's already made.  You'll live."  I did it on purpose because I packed a lunch I would want to eat!  When he figured it out later - that really cracked him up. 

Danny and I watched Hunter play 4-Square.  This is is FAVORITE recess activity.  The big boys were especially nice to him on his b-day - doing "truces" and letting him cut in line.  4-Square was a lot different in my day...

On his birthday - I was busy teaching lessons all afternoon and our wonderful babysitter, Marissa, made cupcakes for us and even stayed to help us celebrate.  It was an impromptu family birthday party - even Grandma and Grandpa showed up!

That weekend, we had our birthday date with our big boy - we went to the Barnum and Bailey Circus.  I wasn't super excited about it - but it really surprised me with all the amazing acts and costumes.  We really enjoyed ourselves!  Our favorite part was the tight-rope walkers -but I did all videos (rather than pics) of that part.

We finished up the date with Mexican food - Hunter's favorite.  He ordered his burrito and ate TONS of chips and salsa.  I love that my boys love Mexican food!

Things about Hunter:
He has officially moved downstairs to his OWN BEDROOM!
He got a new alarm clock and that kid doesn't know what "sleep in" means... someday I'm sure there will be a change!
He saved his own money for the last few months - including all his birthday cash and purchased his very own I-Touch for himself.  I'm so proud of his money savyness and his self-control to save, save, save!!
He loves to play soccer and occasionally I'll find him shooting hoops in our backyard too.
He loves Legos and can spend hours working on projects and playing with them.
He is known for being helpful and especially kind to others in his classroom - what mom wouldn't beam with pride for those traits?
He loves his new school, teacher, and class.
He is an excellent student.
He loves cheesey Disney sitcoms... not mommy's fav.
He is an amazing pianist - with an amazing memory!
His favorite foods: homemade burritos, nachos with pepper-jack cheese, tomato soup w/cheese sandwiches, and pork chops (thanks to Cherae's recipe).

I love you HUNTER!!  You are such a blessing in our lives.  I can't imagine a day without you!

Cravings

Pregnant women are notorious for having cravings... so I thought I'd take note of what I have "craved" during this pregnancy.  Nothing too weird - but still kinda funny to me! (PS I found pics online - these are not from my kitchen!)

Sourdough Bread- this has been a definite "CRAVING" - yummy, yummy.

Spinach Artichoke Dip  - I finally splurged and made myself a batch. 

I wanted/CRAVED Zupa's tomato basil soup - but then Rach showed me a homemade recipe that ROCKS and was soooo wonderful.  I ate it all in 2 days.  It's time for another batch.  (e-mail me if you want the recipe)

I definitely have a sweet tooth after lunch time.  I'll just grab myself a few of those "cotton candy taffies" and it makes the day feel so right!

There's definitely a pattern for craving "comfort foods."  This week I'm fixin' for some peach cobbler... it just sounds so good!

Bribery

Grandma shared this story with me and I want it written down...

Grandma took the boys to Cole's soccer game so that we, Shayne and I, could attend a parent meeting at Hunter's school.  After the game, Cole was given a bottle of Gatorade. This is the conversation Grandma overheard...

H:  I will tell you about my science experiment at school today if you let me have 1 big gulp of your Gatorade.
C:  ::Grand Pause:: - thinks about it - then replies "I want to know the WHOLE experiment, what you did AND the results - not just the experiment.
H:  Ok, then, I'll tell you about the experiment from beginning to end AND the results for 3 big gulps of Gatorade.
C:  No way, that's too many gulps - it would be all gone.

Grandma was just giggling and I have to laugh too.... when do you hear kids bribing each other with details about their school SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS?   And I don't remember if Hunter did ever win a gulp of the beloved drink!

Kitchen re-DONE!

With help from my mother-in-law, I learned how to do DEEP cleaning!  We went through each and every cupboard and drawer in my kitchen - cleaning and reorganizing.  I really can NOT thank her enough for spending a week helping me with this DAUNTING task!

In the process...

 

The pantry before... 

It probably doesn't look amazing to you, but when I look in this picture I see ORGANIZATION and even floor space!!  

A love note from Shayne

It's a bag filled with my favorite candy - Cotton Candy and Vanilla flavored taffy.  He's so sweet!!