Do the hustle

A month ago, when there was no snow on the ground and no one was sick or tired (ok, maybe we were tired... When aren't I tired??), my sister said, "Hey let's do the 5k Santa hustle!" And I said, "Ok!"
Fast forward to yesterday when no one thought that getting up at 6:15 to go run a race in the freezing cold was a good idea. But really, the kids were all great and had a lot of fun. Abby, Cole and Nolan ran the entire thing. Max and I, Erin, Chad and my sister ran... Some. It makes me want to start running again. Just not in the cold. Or in the early morning. Hmmm...
Too bad I already did Christmas cards! (And also too bad I haven't sent them yet...)



Cutest eyes ever, Santa Nolan!


I look like a boy. I know it's supposed to be Santa and all, but still.

Awwwww.

There were thousands of Santas. Next year we put something on the kids so we can find them!

Finished!

To reward themselves, the kids went sliding on the ice.


And visited Santas reindeer!

A good time by all!!!

Yes, but what does it all mean?

Nolan my little philosopher...

What if

There are so many mornings that are rushed in our house. Despite everyone getting up early, the kids usually spend too much time watching tv, horsing around and doing anything but getting ready. I usually spend too much time trying to put away one last load of laundry, getting some more work done and doing anything but getting them ready. At the last minute, Max is always still shoeless, his backpack still in disarray. With the onset of snow this week, we weren't ready with boots and snowpants, and rushed around at the last minute to get it all together. There are some mornings when one or the other of them forgot to do their homework, forgot a permission slip to be signed or forgot they needed a snack, and it's realized mere minutes before we're heading to school.

Sometimes all those things are just happenings that I can take in stride with all the other things of the day. But sometimes? All those things come together and I just can't deal. Some mornings I scream and shout and make one or all of them cry. I yell jibberish about responsibility and tell them I'm leaving without them and that from now on they will have everything ready before they go to bed at night. I always end up feeling bad and try to make them feel better before leaving to school, but I know that sometimes it's too little too late, and it will impact the day they have.

And this weekend, I can't help but wonder what if. What if on Friday, that gunman had come to Jackson instead of Connecticut, and I didn't take the time to play with them, to indulge them, to answer their enless rounds of questions, to show them just a little more patience? What if I had yelled at them, and brought tears to their eyes, before I drove them to school and sent them on their way? What if I never had the chance to give them one more hug and kiss and tell them I love them? I can hardly bear the thought.  It's so easy to do, and I wonder if any of those parents of any of those little kids taken from us were in the same boat. I wonder if any of them had a harried morning, and were looking forward to the school day to start, if only to get some much needed respite. For any in that boat, I wish I can tell them I understand. We're all guilty of it. That their kids knew they loved them. And, I'm going to try really hard to find a little more patience each and every morning.

Angel? Yeah right.

Dave took Nolan to a basketball tournament tonight, and I took Max to Tae Kwon Do and Abby to volleyball. Ava fell asleep, and when she woke up at Tae Kwon Do, she threw the best fit you ever saw. She screamed and yelled and kicked and spit for about 45 minutes. I started in the bathroom with her, realized everyone could likely hear her, and then took her outside. She continued the hysterics there, until she just wore herself out.

 

How fitting that, on the same day as all of that, I found these pictures of her on my computer that Alina took. She certainly plays the part well!

I've lost my mind

Tis the Season to skip my blogging
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Work is crazy, my time it's hogging
Fa la la la la, la la la la

Sports events have taken over
Fa la la, la la la, la la la
To think I considered a dog named Rover
Fa la la la la, la la la la

See December passing quickly
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Add in a kid who's kind of sniffly
Fa la la la la, la la la la

I'm just trying to survive
Fa la la, la la la, la la la
While I drink some Christmas wine
Fa la la la la, la la la la

Fun together

Sometimes they fight. But sometimes, they do this...

I think it was March when I first started typing this, and apparently never finished. But, I was looking through my drafts and when I opened this, and saw the look on Ava's face on the second picture, I just had to publish. Maybe I published them some other time? Not sure. But, it will bring a smile to my face again so it's worth it!

Minnie Mouses

On Sunday, Gram took the little girls (Kate, Erin and Ava) with me and Aunt Jen to see Disney Live! The girls lived it...


And were the cutest Minnie's ever!


They got Mickey binoculars to see the show and got $10 cotton candy (yikes!!).

 
Fun times. It won't be long before no one will be interested in this kind of thing anymore. Thanks for the memories Gram!

Happy day off school!

And happy day off work! We headed to Aunt Jen's and found some bouncy houses, some go carts, a rock climbing wall and a dance floor. Well, not at her house, but near enough.

Cole and Nolan jousting. I may have to invest in these for Christmas.


This rock climbing wall was HARD! Not that I tried, but none of the kid got too far.


Muscle Max!


Ready to race!





The girls...


And the boys.


Weeeee!





Ava was too small to reach the pedals so someone had to help!





And this. Give Ava a dance floor and she's happy! Maybe I should invest in this for Christmas instead??? (Hope you can see it!)

And the verdict is...

I'm still the proud owner of my baby Fiat. It may or may not be for much longer. I do love that car, though!

It'll be sad

I'm sitting at my local Fiat dealer. It's the dealer where I bought my car a little under a year ago, and the dealer that I pass nearly every day on my way to work and point it to my car and say, "Look! There's all your friends!" Ok, I don't say that every day. That would be weird. But still. I am sitting at that dealer, waiting to get my car appraised to see what they would give me if I sell it back to them.

There's a million reasons to do it. With my new schedule we just don't need three cars anymore. In fact, when I have to drive the kids to school and pick them up, I won't even be able to drive my car anyway, because of course they won't fit. And we won't even talk about the extra car payment and insurance!

But, despite all those reasons, I am still sad that I'm even contemplating. I live that car. It's cute. It's fun. It's mine!

Maybe they will come back with a really really low offer and it wouldn't make sense to sell it. A girl can always hope!

Stay tuned...

Sweet tooth!

 After years of tagging along with the other kids to the dentist, it was finally Ava's turn! She watched Abby before her, and went into Max's room and Nolan's room to see them too. She was ready when it was her turn.

 She was a little under the weather, so her eyes look kind of funny. Actually, I got a call from her teacher today... apparently she's really under the weather and needed to come home early. :(

 Not sure why the hygenist looks like she's flossing her own teeth in the background! That's Brandi... we love her. Her son went to preschool with Nolan. It's a dentist by our house, so we know them all.

 I just love Ava's hands here! She kept them folded neatly in her lap. I'm guessing she was probably gripping pretty hard. She did great, but I do think she was a little nervous!

And the result? A cavity!! Ugh. She has to go back and actually have it filled. Too much candy or juice? Not enough teeth brushing? Likely both. Fortunately, it's a baby tooth. We'll vow to do better going forward!

Democrat friends, close your eyes!

Despite being disappointed in the results of the election last night, I'm proud of myself that I woke up and was able to make Nolan happy by telling him Obama won. He likes Obama because Obama is from Chicago and likes the Bears. Good of reason as any, I suppose. I was even more proud of myself that I turned it into a lesson about electoral college vs. popular vote, how many voters voted, and why it's our duty and right to vote, especially since people in other countries put their lives in danger to vote. When Nolan asked me how Obama reacted when he found out he won, I even let him watch the acceptance speech over breakfast (it helped my diet... I was suddenly not hungry anymore!). And finally? I was ultimately proud when Nolan asked how Romney responded, realized he must have been really sad, and then asked to watch his speech too.

I can't control the election, but I can be proud of my own little corner of the world!

So proud!

Max follows the bigs to so many sporting events. He had a Tae Kwon Do tourney in April and another one today April was a first and a second place, and today was the same despite a long long wait, max rocked his board breaking. In fact, the board went way across the room on a very difficult kick for his age. Grandmaster Lee was so impressed he asked Max to take his picture with him! Dave has that picture on his camera, so for now this one will have to do.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone (first time posing from my phone... Pretty slick!)

October Wordle

I love Wordles... I think they're so fun! Here's what my October Wordle looks like. I think I talked about Abby a lot.

Fun weekend, my version

A week ago, we all had a great weekend. But the thing is, we didn't all have the same weekend! Here was my perfect weekend...

 

Abby and I hung out on Friday night, all by ourselves. We went shopping for our upcoming Halloween party, and then went home and watched the movie Benny and Joon (I saw that in the theater with my sister a million years ago!). Then on Saturday morning we got up early and headed to the train station, to take the train down to Chicago. There was a big surprise as we waited for the train in that my friend Nina and her daughter Gabriella were taking the train as well. I've known Nina for many years, as we used to be coworkers. Her daughter is Nolan's age, and we've done many things with her. Abby sat with Gabriella and they played on the iPads and watched movies while I caught up with Nina. It made the ride go very quickly.

 

When we got to Chicago, we met up with my friend Nicole, who wanted to take Abby for the weekend. I was all about it! We headed to the hotel (Hard Rock Chicago) and then to brunch. From there, Abby and Nicole headed out, as did I. I just wandered. First down Michigan Avenue, then all around Water Tower Place. I ended up heading over to Lake Michigan and just hanging out, reading a book on my phone. Loved it! Then I walked back to the hotel, stopping at Fannie Mae's for carmels and then at Starbucks for some yummy coffee. It was perfect, and I got back just before Abby and Nicole. We sat and relaxed, and ate, and talked, and then started to get ready for the evening. We headed out to Navy Pier for some shopping and some dinner. We ate at Harry Carey's and then headed to the ferris wheel.

 

Abby and Nicole... Abby looks so grown up!

On the ferris wheel... it is a lot of fun, with great views!

Pretty girls with dimples! (Too bad I didn't take out the red eye...)

Reminds me of the fair.

Abby went on these swings. I nearly puked.

Loved the moon out over the skyline.

Thanks Nicole!!

Abby hanging out at the hotel. She got those new boots. From Payless. (Just because we're in Chicago doesn't necessarily make us shoppers!)

The next day, Nicole and Abby headed out again. I walked a million miles (okay, 3.5) to get my hair cut and colored. And then walked along the lake back to get a massage and a facial. And then back to the hotel, a ride back to the train station, and we were on our way. My friend Nina was again on our train, so we caught up some more and said our goodbyes at the Milwaukee station.

For me, it was the perfect amount of company and time by myself. The most perfect weekend!!

Fun weekend, boy version

A week ago, we all had a great weekend. But the thing is, we didn't all have the same weekend! Here was the boys' perfect weekend...

 

It involved heading down to Dave's parents on Friday night and then getting up early on Saturday. While Ava and Max got to spend fun quality time with Grandma and Grandpa and fun cousin Megan, Nolan and Dave headed to Notre Dame with John and Jake, Dave's cousin Joe and his son Brett. The boys, from what I gathered, played a lot of football while tailgating.

 Nolan smoked his first cigar. Or, ate a beef stick.

 As did Jake. Notice the matching Gatorades.

 Joe, Brett, Nolan, Jake. Those are football fans if I've ever seen them! Notice the keg of Heinekin on Joe's shoulder!

 Touchdown Jesus.

 Nolan was in Seventh Heaven.

 Brett looked like he was having a pretty good time, too.

 Like father like son...

 Nolan with the jersey of his new favorite player... Mante Te'o.

 The leperchaun himself.

 There he is, Nolan! So close!

 Something tells me these guys will grow up going to sporting events together, and bringing their own kids, just like their fathers.

 Nolan's proud bookstore purchases.

They all had a great time, and were more than happy to spend their day watching a Notre Dame win!