Living the Good Life

The other night Ryan and I spent some time goofing off on the computer and watching videos from when the kids were little. As I turned the computer off for the night Ryan looked at me and said, "You know, it's a good life."

How right you are, child.

Speed Racer

Today was our Cub Scout Pack's Pinewood Derby. I will be honest, I was not looking forward to it at all, but it wound up being pretty darn okay.

Ryan with his car "Rapid Fire"

Wesley with his car "Dragon Fire"

The Bears and Webelos raced this morning. Wesley's car did okay, but some of the cars were REALLY fast. Wesley didn't mind not placing though, "I just want to have fun," he said. That kid has a great attitude sometimes!

We had a little more than hour to kill between the older kids races and the Tiger/Wolf races,and of course there was a bit of time between each heat, so the boys did their best to keep busy.

Wesley listening to his iPod

The Tiger/Wolf races were this afternoon. Ryan never came in less than third in each of his heats, which was why I was surprised when he didn't place in the top four in the Tiger division. After a few minutes when Duane and I came precariously close to being "those parents" we learned that Ryan not placing in the Tiger division was actually a very good thing. It meant that he had one of the top four times for the combined Tiger/Wolves - which meant he moved on to the final eight (top four from Bears/Webelos and top four from Tiger/Wolves) basically, the eight fastest racers of the day.

I'll be honest, at this point I just wanted my kid to get a trophy. Wesley has t-ball trophies and soccer trophies, but Ryan has never gotten one.  I was super happy to learn that all eight kids in the finals would get trophies.

Top four racers from the Tigers/Wolves

Waiting for the final races to begin

A little Q & A time with the finalists

Ryan wound up placing 7th overall - that's 7th out of about 56 racers. Not too shabby for his first official Pinewood Derby! His car never broke the 150 MPH mark as the top cars did, but he came awfully close.

I guess we have our work cut out for us next year now that Ryan has tasted victory.

Boys Are Gross

Sometimes I look at my two awesome, amazing boys and wonder, "How on Earth did I end up as a mom of boys?"

Those of you who know me in real life know that I tend to be a bit of a girly girl - and that may be putting it mildly. I love dresses and pink and show tunes and prissy cocktails and nail polish and all things cute and fuzzy. That's not to say I don't enjoy my jeans and a t-shirt, some rock music, a cold beer and football, but really, girly is where it's at for me.

And yet I find myself with two sons. While I love them more than life itself, they do cause me to scratch  my head in confusion on occasion. In the last two weeks I have discovered that one of them peed in the trashcan. I have found boogers dried on the wall. I have found partially eaten Pop-Tarts stuck in the towel drawer in the kitchen.  I just don't get it.

Tonight may take the cake though. I was baking cookies for a scout event tomorrow when Ryan came wandering into the kitchen looking for his dad. I missed the exact conversation between the two of them, but I heard enough to know that Ryan was getting his pajamas on, realized he had to go to the bathroom and "couldn't make it in time" (despite the fact that the bathroom is across the hall from his room) so he peed in his closet!!

Seriously!?! Like that's a real option? It must be a guy thing. I'm just glad Duane was the preferred parent in that moment and I could just sit back and shake my head in disbelief. 

We Survived "The Talk"

Whoo-hoo!! We had The Talk with child one last night and I'm pretty sure Duane and I were able to clearly communicate what we wanted to without anyone actually dying of embarrassment (although I think our son wanted the earth to open him up and swallow him whole rather than endure the conversation. The constant pulling of his hood over his face was kind of clue.

There were a few humorous highlights though.  After The Talk we closed the book we were using to help us explain everything and told our sweet boy that although it was a library book we were going to keep it for a bit longer. We told him that we would put it in his room in case he wanted some additional information or just wanted to look at the illustrations some more.

"NOT in my room!" he cried. "I do NOT want that book in my room!" 

Okay, we said. We'd put it in our room in case he wanted it later.

We also warned him that we would be having an additional conversation with even more uncomfortableness before he starts middle school, so start getting used to the idea now. 

When child two returned home from his evening visit to his grandparents' house, he was very curious as to the nature of the conversation he missed. When he asked his brother about it, the answer he got was, "Trust me, you do NOT want to know. It was SO gross!"

Of course, this same child one asked if he could sit in on his brother's talk when the time came.

"Why? Do you have some questions, or want something explained again?" I asked.

Horrified he answered, "NO!! I just want to see the look on his face when you tell him what you told me."

Ah, brotherly love. It knows no bounds.

Getting Ready for That Uncomfortable Parenting Moment

I'm trying to psych myself up for that big uncomfortable parenting moment. You know the one I mean - the one that involves "The Talk." Since one child told me he looked up "sex" in the dictionary last week, I knew this conversation would have to happen sooner rather than later. And by "sooner" I mean, it's happening tonight.

I'm trying not to dread it too much, but I'm not really looking forward to it either. However, I want answers to come from us, not from a random kid on the school bus. 

And since I'm a librarian I got a book to help us out with The Talk - lots of cartoon pictures (I hope I don't scare the love of comics out of the kid) and a bit of humor thrown in, but still covers everything in a respectful and not too explicit way. Don't worry, I'm not planning a storytime or anything, but I thought the book could give us a little guidance and then could be further pursued at Child's convenice.

So if my child is explaining the birds and bees to your child at school tomorrow, I'm sorry. But know that he'll have his facts straight if I have anything to say about it. Oh, wait! Tomorrow is a professional development day! Good. Maybe that means he won't feel the need to enlighten all his classmates if he has a day for it to sink in.

Wish us luck!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama

I did not stop at a bakery to buy healthy 8 grain bread to have with dinner only to leave with the bread and wonderfully flaky, buttery, almond croissant for my breakfast.  And it certainly wasn't worth every single calorie.

I was not a little upset when, moments after my dentist told me that my teeth looked beautiful and I take wonderful care of them, she also mentioned that I have an old silver filling that needs to be replaced.

I am not a little bit brokenhearted (bruised-hearted?) that one of Wesley's best friends has switched schools. And it has nothing to do with liking the kid's mom almost as well as the kid. 

Missing My Kitty Boy

We're approaching the two year anniversary of Sanders' death. I was planning on doing a memorial post in early February on the date that he died, but he's been on my mind so much lately that I've decided to post about him a little early.

And yes, I know some of you probably think it's silly to mourn a pet the way I still mourn Sanders. "He was just a cat. You have other cats," you may be thinking. But he wasn't just a cat to me. He was one of my best friends. So if you're one of those people you can stop reading now because trust me, this post isn't for you. If you are one of the lucky ones who has been so touched by a pet that you know your life will never be the same, then read on.

Like I said, Sanders has been on my mind a lot lately. I had a day in the last couple of weeks when I was looking at pictures of him reading old blog posts and I noticed again how skeletal he was at the end. All of a sudden, I was overcome with guilt, wondering if I kept him alive too long for my own selfishness. If I wanted him with me so badly that I put his well being behind my desires. That day all I could think about was how he fell down the stairs at our then new house. I remembered the nose bleeds he had in couple of weeks he lived here. I recalled how we had to put him in a kennel at night and when we weren't home because he didn't really have the strength to go downstairs to the food and litter boxes. Yes, the kennel had a bed and blankets and his favorite toy and food and water, but it was still a cage and it just killed me. Duane reassured me that I had not been cruel and that he thought we handled everything in a loving way, but it still nagged at me.

Maybe that's why I'm seeing signs of my kitty boy lately. I'm not feeling horribly guilty anymore, that passed and I don't want to sound like I think I'm being haunted, or anything like that. But sometimes little things happen and it just makes me think of him so strongly that I have to smile and think that wherever Sanders is now, he's thinking of me too. 

The morning after my guilt-fest I woke up and found Sanders' hedge pig toy on the floor next to my side of the bed. Do I think Sanders put it there? No! I know that Cleo is very fond of that toy and that she was probably playing with it during that night. But seeing something that he loved right next to me when I first woke up did give me a bit of peace. It was kind of like he was saying, "It's okay."

A couple of days ago Ryan came into the living room and said, "Can I have some tape? I want to hang this in your room." When I looked over, Ryan was holding a crumpled print of my favorite picture of Sanders. Again, I know that Ryan had the picture in his room at one time and probably just found it under his bed or something, but it felt like a smile from my kitty to me.

Last night I had a very vivid dream about my kitty boy. It was one of those dreams that just felt so real. We have a lot of dog owners and lovers at work and in the last month or so three or four of those dogs have come to the library for visits. In my dream, Sanders came to the library. What was weird though is that, in my dream I didn't take him to work in a kitty carrier, he just showed up. He walked in the door with some deliveries and went straight to my desk and onto my lap. It wasn't the young, healthy Sanders, but he wasn't as frail as he was at the very end either. My dream coworkers and I couldn't figure out how he had gotten to the library unless he had walked there (our house is a couple of miles from work) and one of them commented, "He must have really wanted to see you to come all this way."

When I woke up it felt like he really had visited me. That he really did travel from wherever he is just to sit with me for a few minutes and let me love on him. And yes, I'm tearing up as I type this, but it's because I know that cat really did love me. And I really still love him.

Making Music

Duane and Wesley are working on a guitar/ukelele version of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"

It may be a little unconventional, but I think it's coming along nicely.

G-O-O-D J-O-B

How do you spell "success?" Today I spell it W-E-S-L-E-Y. 

You may remember that Wesley was invited to participate in the school spelling bee for third, fourth and fifth graders. He's been practicing words every day for several weeks now, including a marathon cram session last night. This morning he told me that his goals for the spelling bee were to have fun and NOT to be the first person out.

I'm happy to report that Wesley accomplished both of those goals. Wesley was the last third grader left in the spelling bee. He lasted longer than all the fourth graders except one and even beat a fifth grader! He placed 6th out of 15 kids, which I think is great for his first spelling bee - especially since I can't spell worth a darn.

The third grade spellers ready for action

Maybe a little nervous

The kids spelled their names as practice words

Wesley's "I've got this" look

"Gimme that word!"

Wesley also accomplished his goal of having fun. He was all smiles, even after he was eliminated, and is already planning on competing again next year. I'm so very proud of that boy!

Cleo the Explorer

It's taken a year and a half, but our "kitten", Cleo, has entered her explorer phase. Yesterday she explored the upper limits of the kitchen atmosphere by conquering Mt. St. Whirlpool AKA the refrigerator and the Ledge of Insanity (the cupboards that end just above the sink).

"Um....I'm not sure this is as cool as I thought it would be."

"I take it back! This is awesome! I can see forever! OH! What's that?"

"Hmmm....now how do I get back over there?"

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I know I didn't have a morning in the last week when the opportunity to hit the snooze button an extra time was much more important to me that having time to wash my hair. And that certainly didn't happen the morning after the National Championship game. 

I have not stocked my kitchen full of healthy stuff for breakfasts, but still crave pastries every morning.

I did not turn the cat climber so it faces the other direction (and thus fits better in our family room) only to spend an entire day worrying that the cats won't like the change and refuse to climb it anymore. That would pretty much qualify me for "crazy cat lady" status.

Family Date Night

Tonight was the annual dinner and hockey outing with our church group. I love our church group and I love hockey so this should have been a winner of an evening. We did have fun, but somehow Duane and have managed to have children who are not sports fans. Not even a little bit.  Which means our enjoyment of the game was also somewhat limited despite great friends, great energy in the arena and great seats very close to the ice.

At the start of the game, when they were happily anticipating their bribe popcorn

Good view of the pep band

Good view of the action on the ice

The beginning of the end for Ryan

Pouting

Annnnnnnd...he's done

A snuggle from mom helped for a little bit

Wesley ready to hit the road

It was far from a bad night, but it has really made me crave a sports date with my hubby sans kids.

Dreaming of Toes in the Water

I want to go to the beach. Duane and I went to the beach in California back in June, but I'm craving a real beach vacation. Which, if you are from Ohio, means going to Myrtle Beach. Trust me, they might as well call it South Ohio, there are so many Ohioans there.

We haven't been to the beach for a vacation since Wesley was one. That's eight years ago! Trust me, Ryan feels this is a great injustice. Never mind the fact that Wesley doesn't remember a thing about going to the beach, if the topic comes up, Ryan is completely beside himself that he has never been.

With any luck, that will change this year. We are hoping to hit the sand with Grandma and Grandpa H. for a week this summer. They came over last night to look at some condo rental possibilities and discuss dates which might work for all of us.

This morning the boys busily discussed their packing lists for our (currently hypothetical) trip.

Wesley: Well, if we're going to be gone for more than a day, I'll need to take Carr.

Mom: If we go, we'll be gone for about a week.

Wesley:  Then I'll definitely need Carr. Plus about 5 notebooks and two pens and that's it. Oh, and some shorts and sandals.

Ryan: I'll need my Kindle and a whole bunch of books to read and the only clothes I'll need to pack is my bathing suit. You have to take a bathing suit to the beach.

Wesley: Oh yeah, I forgot my bathing suit. I'll take my bathing suit too, but that's it then. All we need.

Is it wrong to admit that a bunch of books, something to cuddle with and a bathing suit pretty much sums up my beach vacation packing list too?

What the F?

"I know the "F" word, " Wesley confided to me the other day.

"Oh, you do? And where did you learn that one?" I asked.

"I learned it from K. And I've heard it on the bus."

I can't exactly say I was surprised. I mean, apparently Wesley is starting to learn all sorts of things that I'd rather he didn't know yet.

"But I know I'm not supposed to say it," Welsey went on to assure me.

"Do me a favor," I told him. "Whisper it in my ear."

Wesley looked at me in horror.

"You aren't going to get in trouble, I promise. I just want to see if you really know what the "F" word is."

Wesley took a deep breath, leaned in close, cupped his hand around my ear and whispered, "Frick."

Sigh of relief on Mommy's part. Yep. That's the "F" word alright.

Fear the Pink!

On Sunday the W. family had the honor of attending a birthday party for the little girl who lives next door to us. We got so lucky when we moved and have fantastic neighbors on either side of us. Normally I'd get really nervous about going to a party (even a kids party) where the only people I knew were the hosts, but everyone was so kind and friendly that we had a ball.

The party was held at a play cafe nearby and, going in, I reminded Wesley and Ryan that they were most likely going to be the oldest kid there, as the birthday girl was turning 3. We had a quick talk about letting the little kids play on the equipment and that they'd have to be careful not to run any of the little ones over.

Both Wesley and Ryan did a really good job despite being the big kids in the room. They entertained themselves, only went in the bounce house when there weren't younger kids in it, and even played with some of the little ones.

Of course, Wesley was determined to prove that he wasn't that big of a kid.

I don't think I fit

This one has plenty of leg room

Everything went very smoothly (even the pinata) until it was time for cupcakes. Being a little girl's party, the cupcakes were frosted with pink icing. Delicious pink icing. With sprinkles.   As soon as L. blew out the candle, everyone helped themselves to a vanilla cupcake or a chocolate cupcake.

Well, everyone except Ryan.

Ryan got an extremely grouchy look on his face and began stomping his feet in disgust.

"Ryan, what's wrong? Don't you want a cupcake?" I asked.

In response Ryan emitted a low growl. 

"Ryan, stop that! I'll get you a cupcake if you want. What kind? Chocolate or vanilla?"

Another growl.

I turned to Duane for help. "What's his issue?" I asked.

"They're pink," he said.

Yes folks, my child, the original junk food junkie. The kid who would live on a diet of cookies, chips and soda if I let him was refusing to eat a cupcake  - despite the fact that he desperately wanted one - because the icing was pink.

"It's hard to be a boy and eat pink!" he cried before hiding under a train table to pout.

I tried to reason with him, pointing out that every other male in the room, from little boys to daddies to grandpas were all eating pink cupcakes, but it didn't work. I finally offered to scrape the icing off one of the cupcakes for him, which he accepted.

Being the amazing and selfless mom that I am, I made the supreme sacrifice of eating the forkful of icing off the cupcake as I handed the naked pastry to him.

"I can still see pink on it!" he cried in dismay.

"Ryan, unless I cut part of the cupcake off, I won't be able to get every last little molecule of pink off it. Eat it or don't."

Ryan chose to eat it, but under the safety of the train table where it was least likely someone would observe him ingesting food containing the slightest bit of pink. The moment the last crumb past his lips, he rushed over to me with a napkin. "Make sure there's no pink on my face! Or on my hands! I don't want anyone to be able to tell!"

Once the sugar hit his system Ryan got over the pink thing and enjoyed the rest of party. In fact, he spent the last bit of it blowing bubbles for a little toddler girl to try and catch or pop.

Lesson from the party? Well, let's just say I think I discovered Ryan's kryptonite.
 

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I was not a little bit happy when Duane was actually able to go to Tiger Scouts with Ryan and I didn't have to.

I did not have a lovely week of vacation where I was around my children pretty much 24/7 only to loose my stuff after one school closed "deep freeze" day at home with them.

Wrongly Accused?

Wesley and Ryan are working with one of our pastors to earn a "God and Me" badge/medal for scouts.  This requires meeting with our pastor once a week for about a month and also requires the family to do a workbook lesson together in order to prepare. Because of our schedules our prep time for the last two weeks has been on the Saturday before our meeting.

The first week we called the boys to the table and sat down together to work through a lesson, which takes about 30 - 45 minutes to do, and it was not a big deal. The boys did a good job and the whole thing went pretty smoothly. Of course, the first week they did not have a brand new, partially finished LEGO Ewok village waiting in the toy area.  Yesterday's lesson went much more slowly, with the boys - especially Ryan - repeatedly asking how long it was going to take and when they would be done and generally whining about the whole thing.

Towards the end of the lesson I said something to Ryan about this behavior (for the umpteenth time) and he responded by rolling his eyes towards the ceiling.

"Ryan, you can go to your room. I'm not going to have you rolling your eyes when I talk to you," I said. Yes, I know as they get older I'm going to see the whites of their eyes more and more frequently, but the little dude is six and I don't have to put up with it yet.

"I didn't roll my eyes!" Ryan said.

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't!" he insisted.

Duane informed Ryan the he also saw the eye rolling and that Ryan needed to go to his room immediately.

Ryan went, but we could hear him screaming and howling in his room that he didn't roll his eyes. I mean the kid was really upset.  We finished up the lesson with Wesley a few short minutes later and I went upstairs to check to on Ryan.

When I opened the door to Ryan's room I found him curled up on his bed, sobbing into his pillow.  I was actually a little concerned because crying and screaming is not Ryan's usual response to getting in trouble. Ryan is much more likely to go to his room and either draw pictures to express his anger or slam things a little. He gets mad, not despondent.

I sat down on the bed and pulled my little guy close to me. "Ryan, you need to calm down a little bit," I told him.

"But it's not fair! I didn't roll my eyes!"

"Honey, we all saw you do it," I reminded him.

"But I didn't!" he insisted in another burst of tears.

Suddenly a light bulb went off over my head and I asked, "Ryan, what do you think it look likes when someone rolls their eyes?"

Ryan sat up, dried his tears, looked at me and proceeded to makes his eyes go around and around in a complete circle by moving up, to the side, down, and then to the other side.

"See! I didn't do that!" he insisted.

Oh my sweet boy.

"No Honey, you didn't do that. You're right. What you did was move your eyes so you were looking up at the ceiling in disgust. That is what people mean when they say 'rolling your eyes.' It's rude and it's disrespectful." I explained. 

Ryan's punishment was reduced to time served and the prisoner was allowed to go free.  Note to self: make sure your kid actually understands what he's being busted for.

The Wait is Over

It's here! It's here! Wesley's LEGO Ewok Village is here!  He has been saving up for this LEGO set for a good eight months and he finally saved enough. We ordered it online earlier this week and it arrived this evening.

I was at work when he discovered it in the front seat of Duane's cart, but I'm pretty sure I could hear his excited scream from several miles away.

The boys got right to work on the new set. Translation: Wesley put the characters together and got his little brother to do all the hard stuff. Oh, and Wesley micromanages Ryan in the process.

I'm so thankful they have something new to keep them occupied while the temperatures dip into the negative numbers again this weekend. If only it had been here for yesterday's snow day things would have been perfect.

Ryan's Weather Forecast

After another school closing this week (this time due to the subzero temperatures), Ryan quipped, "It's so cold out that even the ice is freezing!" Why, yes. Yes, it is.

Not That Innocent Part Two

Wesley loves a good joke. And bad jokes. And good bad jokes. Pretty much, if it's a joke, it's something my kid is interested in. I mean, he eats Laffy Taffy almost solely for the jokes on the wrapper. His best buddies at school share Wesley's fondness for jokes in all their forms, although perhaps a bit too much.

The other night at dinner Wesley shared that one of his friend's told him two jokes that day that were really funny, but also "pretty inappropriate."  I know the kids that Wesley hangs out with school and they are good kids, so I wasn't too worried, but Duane and I told Wesley that if the joke was inappropriate, then he shouldn't repeat them.

Yeah. That works really well on a nine year old boy.

A minute or two later Wesley asked us, "Do you know what  n-u-t-s are?"

"Nuts?" Duane asked. "Sure I do. You eat peanut butter all the time," he told Wesley while shooting me a look of "I know where this is going."

I happened to be munching on some bridge mix for my dessert and popped a chocolate covered almond in my mouth. "I'm eating nuts right now, that was a chocolate almond."

"Well, it can mean something else too," Wesley confided in us. "It can mean 'privates' "

We agreed that yes, it could, and then redirected the conversation.

Later on that evening Wesley approached me asking if I wanted to hear the inappropriate jokes he had learned. Figuring it was better to hear it from the horse's mouth, I said sure.

The first joke was the old one about the naked guy walking into a doctor's office and telling the doctor something was wrong, but he didn't know what. "Well," says the doctor, "I can clearly see your/you're nuts."  Pretty harmless. I'm pretty sure kids have been whispering that one at school for ages.

The second joke was pretty much along the same lines, although it did require Wesley to ask me (in complete seriousness) "Mom, do you what 'balls' are?"  That was a special parenting moment indeed.  But he wanted to be sure I got the joke he went on to tell me. Q: What's the difference between a snowman and a snow woman? A: Snowballs. 

Yes folks, that's third grade boy humor at its finest. And we'll get to re-experience it in two short years.

Well, Excuse Me!

Some people wake up with a scratchy throat or a deep thirst. Some people wake up with some crust in their eyes. Ryan wakes up with a cough. Nearly every morning he coughs a dry cough until after breakfast. I used to worry about it, but I really think it's just part of his make up and his morning routine,  just like taking his vitamins.

Speaking of vitamins, that's another thing that kind of went out the window during winter break. I give the kids their vitamins at breakfast and since we didn't necessarily sit down to breakfast regularly on break the boys didn't get their vitamins very regularly.  They're still alive, so I guess there were no adverse effects to missing a few days.

Ryan seems to have other ideas though. After a few good coughs on the first morning back to school, I made a comment along of the lines of  "My goodness, that's a lot of coughing."

"Yeah," Ryan answered. "And I think I know why I'm coughing so much."

"Why is that?"

Ryan looked down at his plate, picked up his vitamins and popped them into his mouth. "Because you keep forgetting to give us our vitamins."

Report From Back in the Saddle - Before Falling Off

Believe it or not, starting back into our regular routine yesterday went off without hitch. It may have required a second cup of coffee on my part, but other than that it was really pretty smooth. No one forgot lunch boxes or book bags. Breakfast was made and chores were done. We even left the house on time!

Best of all, the guys had good reports to share at dinner. Wesley was so happy to have spent time with his two best buddies at school and Ryan was thrilled that his best friend at school was named student of the week this week.

Everyone adjusted back into our routine better than I could have imagined so of course Mother Nature had to throw a wrench into things and bring us enough snow for a snow day on the second day back from winter break. So much for routine.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

There is no way 41 year old me enjoyed roller skating one afternoon as much as 14 year old me did. And there is also no way I enjoyed it as much (if not more than my kids.)

I did not do an "accent nail" on my manicure, only to have one of my best friends point out that I was accenting my middle finger and ask if I was trying to send a message.

I did not start dreading the end of my vacation and get that sick to your stomach "Sunday night and I haven't started my homework" feeling when I still had two days off to enjoy.

I did not give my children the "old" fries at a fast food restaurant and save the fresh, hot fries for myself. Nope. Never happened. 

Time to Re-enter The Real World

I have worked four hours since December 24th. Duane has been on vacation since noon on December 26th. The boys have been out of school since December 19th. We've celebrated Christmas and New Years. We've gone to the science museum, to play indoor putt putt, to the library, to the roller rink, to the movies. There have been play dates and puzzles and football.

 It's been amazing to have all this time off as a family, but reality is creeping back in.

We started earlier bedtimes last night. We did small group and scout stuff at church today. We've planned menus and grocery shopped and lunches are ready to pack.  I'm going to have to dig out hats and gloves and book bags today.  I've taken the puzzle table down and we've got one last afternoon fire going in the fireplace.

Our reality is pretty darn good, but this is the first time in ages that I have ended a vacation with my kids when I'm not craving our regular work and school routine. I honestly feel like I could stay home with them even longer.  Remind me of that when we get our first snow day of the year, okay?

Skating Into the New Year

For more proof of how amazingly awesome my hubby is, instead of spending New Years Day on the couch watching football all day (which I know he wanted to do) he went to the skating rink with me and the boys.

Santa Claus brought the boys roller skates for Christmas and Wesley has been obsessed with them. As soon as Wesley wakes up in the morning he gets dressed, puts his skates on and goes into the basement to practice. He turns on his CD player and spends hours down there skating around in a little space that we cleaned out.

It looks like all his practice has paid off though because he did great at the skating rink yesterday!

Ryan is doing much better on his skates too, but unlike his brother, Ryan does not keep them on nearly every waking hour.

Hard to believe this is the same Wesley who swore he was "never skating again" after he went for the first time!

New Year's Goals

Happy 2015 everyone!!!

As you may know, I don't really love the whole idea of resolutions because I think it's just too easy to break them and just say "oh well, everyone breaks their New Year's resolutions. That's part of making them."  Instead, I've set 5 goals for myself for the upcoming year. Goals are achievable and require work, sometimes set backs, and more work. Goals don't have to be accomplished by a certain point.

None of my 2015 goals are really life changing, but I think they will bring a happier me and a happier family.

1) Bake more - try a new recipe every week.  This is a win on several levels. It will make my family and coworkers happy since they will have to be my guinea pigs. It will make me happy because baking is one of my stress reducing things.  It will also help with my tendancy to hoard recipes. I'll actually try some of the hundreds I've collected and weed out the ones that aren't my favorites.

2) Craft.  The other thing I tend to hoard are little home projects/craft ideas on Pinterest, but I never do them. This year I'm going to try attempting 2 a month. Nothing major. No quilts or murals or anything like that, but I may do some wreaths, seasonal decorations or small gifts. I can handle that.

3) Walk in three 5K races.  Now let me clear this one up. I am NOT going to start running. I do not run unless someone is chasing me. However, I can walk with the best of them and I know I need to be more active. I did one 5K in 2014 and enjoyed it a lot. I've even picked my three for the year.

4) Add a second Zumba class to my week. I really really love doing Zumba at the recreation center. I'm not trying to lose weight, but I know I need to move more. I have fun doing Zumba and there is another class that fits into my schedule, so I'm adding it.

My 5th goal is the one that is really going to be hard and test me. It's the one I expect to fail at and have to pick myself up and try again. I am a yeller. I yell at my kids way too much. My goal is to yell less. It's not going to be easy because I'm so accustomed to it, but it's got to be worked on.

So there you go - my goals for 2015.  Hope this year brings you happiness and goals to work on!