Wordless Wednesday: Art Club

{Picture taken last week before the recent snow fall}

Ya gotta love an open canvas, new chalk and some neighbor friends.

Let the creative juices flow...

 

 

The downside

I've said this before on many occasions (here, here and here)- I'm blessed to have gotten the opportunity to stay home with the kids this last year.  It was a welcomed change and maybe even a necessary one.  Living far away from loved ones & where we had called home for the last 5 years, a newborn in my arms, a 2-year old who needed me more than anything, as well as the opportunity to attend speech therapy often, and a growing 4-year old little boy who had enough energy to run from here back to Florida and still have some left over. 

I'm blessed.  I know.

In addition to being there for my kiddos 24-7-365, I also managed to finish my coursework for my Masters in Education Administration and find a new school to complete my principal internship with.  In just 7 more weeks, it will be done.  It will be over.  Degree awarded.  Opportunities (hopefully) knocking.

I'm blessed.  I know.  Really, I know.

I won't even get started and go on and on about my husband.  Selfless, provider, motivator, voice of reason, and the hardest working man I know.  This year would not have happened had we not been the team we are. I love you Brian.

But I'm gonna complain just for a moment - because I can and I need to.  Please, no comments.  Just be my sounding board. 

I'm so ready to have a paycheck again.  Seriously.  This has been the downside to all of these blessings.  When you make a lifestyle change, knowingly & consciously, that entails going from a 2 income household down to a 1 income household (whilst adding another child)... we have clearly had to adjust our household budget, realign our priorities, make some many sacrifices and just suck it up!

Don't take any of this the wrong way... I never thought I would have the chance to stay at home with Thomas, Abbigail and Marilyn. I've had a teaching career for 12 years - I just always knew I would be a working mom (with my summers off to be with the kids).  This has been the most important thing that I could have done for them, for myself, and for Brian at this point in our family's life.  I know in my heart that I have become a more understanding, more loving, more patient (although I have to work really hard at this daily) mother who really knows each of her children.

I'm blessed.  So very blessed.

I guess I'm just ready to help take the burden off of Brian in providing for us.  I'm ready to be done with school (again, again and again) and put my professional brain back to work... for a paycheck now.

Yummies & Funnies

 The other day, Thomas got a small package in the mail from his cousin Jake.

When he opened it up, to his delight, there were 2 little bags of yummy Halloween treats.

At closer glance {and after I read the labels to him}...

... Thomas laughed so hard that I thought he was going to pee his pants!

Thanks Jake for the awesome treats & the hilarious laughs.  Miss you.

Some other yummy treats that we have been enjoying...

 

You can't go empty-handed to a Halloween party.

These delicious treats were decorated by my team of little goblins & ghosts.

 Spooky Monster Mouths (for afternoon snack)!

 Just for laughs...

3 Halloween-ers

Our baby elephant

 I don't know what's cuter... her big floppy ears & nose or her big puffy butt & tail?

Enjoying some yummies at a Halloween party this weekend!

Our beautiful princess, Cinderella.

 Princess hair

Making a princess cookie just the way she wants it.

Snake-Eyes (character from GI Joe) looking especially tough!

But he lets his guard down to enjoy some snacks this weekend!

 

And there you have it... my 3 little Halloween-ers this year.  We've already consumed plenty of extra sugar, but have enjoyed the fun immensely.  The weather forecast looks like we won't be getting any snow by Halloween (which is traditionally when we say goodbye to the green grass & hello to the white frozen ground).  We will still have to dress in many, many layers to go trick-or-treating, but we won't need to trek around in the snow or ice!  Here's to a Happy Halloween and lots of yummy treats!

Halloween Painting

 As if we haven't done enough artsy, fartsy crafts in the last few weeks...

Thank goodness for paint smocks, paper plates, washable paint and a kids picnic table that just won't quite!

 

 

Friday Night Leftovers (Halloween overload edition)

• I'm not trying to rush the holidays or anything... but did you people realize that Christmas is in two freak'in months?  What?  Impossible, yet true.
• Both Thomas & Abbigail each had their parent/teacher conferences this week at school and got AWESOME reports from their teachers!  Definitely some proud Mama bear moments there.
• We could very well be on Halloween overload by the end of this weekend - we have two parties to go to and that doesn't even include trick-or-treating next Wednesday evening.  Lord help me.
• Speaking of this candy-infested holiday, my house rule is the candy can stay for ONE week.  Period.  That's it.  After 7 days, it goes in the trash.  Period.  I figured that I have the right as the mother to end the sugar insanity in a timely fashion.
• I won't lie... it's realllllllllly nice having my car in the garage at night during the long winter months.  When it's time to load up in the morning, the car is already warm & cozy despite the single digits outside.  I owe that all to my hubby.  Love you.
• As my principal internship enters the final weeks and it becomes real that the end is near (can I get an Amen?) ... the job hunt has been kicked up a notch (or several).  Watch out people - I mean business!
• Because the back of her hair was out of control  & she was starting to sport the not-so-popular Mullet, I had barber John "trim" the back of Marilyn's hair this week before Brian left.  Praise the lord.  I can sleep again.

Rap Star Dance (A year ago)

Video Clip - Look what I stumbled upon?  This video was taken a year ago this week.  What a bunch of silly gooses they are... especially Thomas... always the entertainer!

Wordless Wednesday: Fashionistas

Who knew that this look was in?

With my girls {especially Abby}, this is a very common look throughout the week.



Fashionistas in the making.  No doubt.

 



BBall boy in action

Video Clip - Be forewarned now.  It most certainly is not the NBA.  It's not college-level, high school ball or even close to rec league.  It is, however, the Pee-Wees.  Here's a glimpse of Thomas (#7) & his team (the Blue Sharks) in action this week.  He's tough on defense, has made some great improvement on shooting, and is far better at dribbling down the court than when he first started the season a month ago.  Enjoy... because we certainly do each and every game!

HeckLures' is going private

Update:

HeckLures' Adventures is going private.

I've been thinking about this for quite a long time. 

Some might argue that with posting photos and including the names of my little munchkins, along with noting your city and and state, the blog should probably be private... as a little extra security.

Additionally, as the kiddos are getting older, what I share & who I share it with should not be a concern of mine.  By going private, I know who is out there reading.

 

If you want to be invited to be one of my readers... just knock.

Leave a comment, send me an email, or drop me a note on Facebook with your email address.

You have a week... the blog is going private on Nov.1st.

I hope to see you soon.

 

Abbigail's letter

Dear Abbigail,
I love you.  I love you.  I love you. 

With that said, I want you to know that you are stubborn.  Ohhhhh, you are stubborn!  I realize you are only 3-years old, so this has to be part of the reason.  The other reason I think you are stubborn is because we must be so much alike.  You are doing things that are driving me crazy & giving me even more gray hair than I already have.

To better illustrate:
I know that I'm naturally inquisitive but you ask "why?" on everything I say.  Even when I say that it's snack time or time to go play.  I know that I have a type A personality and like things just *so*, but you are particular with everything... which clothes you will wear, which pen/pencil you want to use, where a toy goes when it's time to clean up, etc.  And don't even get me started with the crying.  I realize I can be emotional from time to time when I feel passionate about something, but you have taken it to a whole new level.  You cry at least 10x a day.  Really?  Is that really necessary? 

I guess when you are 3-years old, anything goes.  Just par for the course is what I'm telling myself.

Love,
Mommy

Good Citizenship

We were invited to attend a special assembly this week at Thomas' school to honor the monthly award winners.  Thomas was one of them.  Brian and I had no idea what award Thomas had earned... but we were certainly excited & proud of him regardless. 

When we arrived, all the K-6 classes were already seated.  Thomas, along with all of the other monthly winners, was on stage waiting for the assembly to begin. 

 It wasn't hard to spot Thomas with his bright yellow sweatshirt on.  Surprisingly though, he saw us in a sea of parents right away and started waving and blowing kisses.

Video Clip of our proud boy!

Yeap... that's our boy being awarded for showing good citizenship.

 Honesty, Compassion, Respect, and Courage are all part of being a good citizen.  Although those words might not entirely sink in with a kindergartner, learning how important it is tell the truth, caring & respecting others, being responsible for what you do and say and being brave enough to do the right thing and to ask for help when you need it are all concepts we hope our children learn at a young age.  This Mommy & Daddy are extremely proud.

 We even brought out the Red Plate to celebrate at dinner.

Way to go Thomas!

Spooky Ghosts

Just like we did with our family of pumpkins the other week, we have created a family of ghosts to add to our Halloween decorations.

 For a household that goes through more than 4 gallons of milk PER week, it seemed like an obvious choice for some cheap Halloween decorations. 

 

Things you need:

milk containers

black permanent marker

cutting shears/sharp scissors to cut hole in bottom

LED tea lights (or a string of white xmas lights)

 

To get started, make sure you rinse out the milk containers well & allow them to dry out.  If not, when you cut a hole in the bottom it will be messy.

 Although this Halloween decoration was done primarily me, I had the kids draw the ghost face they wanted me to put on their milk container.  Not only did they design it & had fun doing that, the completed ghost was much more personal because they helped create it.

 

I'll give you one guess which one Thomas did?

How 'bout Abbigail?

{Answers: T is the far right.  A is the center one}

 

Once the faces are drawn on using the black marker, be sure to let it dry before cutting a hole in the bottom of the milk container for the light.

 We decided to buy a pack of LED tea lights, but you can easily use a string of xmas lights for each milk container.  I guess I was just too lazy to go dig out my holiday decorations in the middle of October.  A little suggestion though if you use a string of lights - cut your hole low on the back side of the container so the milk container will not be sitting on the cord.

 Even during the day, our Spooky Ghosts look great in the windows.  Surprisingly, we have gotten a lot of great comments from the neighbors & kids who walk by.

 But they look especially spooky at night when they are glowing in the dark while watching everyone go by.

 

Happy Halloween decorating everyone!