Happy Wednesday!!!

Owen is smiling now! It's so hard to get a picture of, though.
The top pic was taken a few days ago. A little bitty smile at Daddy.
The next was taken on Monday. It doesn't look quite like a smile, but trust me, it is! That one was for me!
And then the next two were from this morning. At me again! Owen looks like a little chub in those pics but he's really not. It's the angle.

Today the kids have a half day of school, for the thanksgiving holidays. We're going to bake
chocolate chip cookies! Yum!
I purposely bought two bags of chips...and we already ate one bag.

Not much else going on in our world today. Enjoy the new pics- and the Christmas music!!

Great gift idea!

I have never tried these candles, but head on over to Perfectly Scentsable for your chance to win some! They look really nice and you know me, I love anything that's free! Ha ha.

I think it's a great idea to offer to give some away, especially around the holidays. I imagine they smell *SOOO* nice! I LOVE candles!

Sunday

Hello!!
Today is Sunday!

I am sitting here in my bedroom on the computer and it is *warm* in here. Yes, hard to believe, but it is a nice and comfy 72 degrees. Not only is the air coming in from the woodstove... but Art insulated the window and the doors in here... there was a draft coming from the doors that he never really noticed until he sat at the computer himself!!

Went grocery shopping today and somehow managed to keep it at $110. Let's see if that can last us all week! I did have to buy Thanksgiving stuff, but no turkey, we already bought that. He's in our freezer!

As I mentioned, Art insulated our bedroom today. He also cleaned behind the computer and separated all the cords, and tied them up with little zip ties! It is so organized now! Thanks, hon!

Yesterday was a very busy day here.
Big news-- at bowling, Will got a TURKEY!! (For all you non-bowlers, that is 3 strikes in a row). We have always told him, if you get a turkey we will buy you cheese fries. So I bought him cheese fries... (such a rip off-- $5 and you don't even get a whole lot!) He was very proud though and we are proud of him! He is really coming along. Although he does need a new, bigger ball... so we have to get him one.

Then I took my Girl Scouts (and Will) to a tae kwon do place *not the one Will goes to* and they learned some self-defense moves. It was really neat! Will learned some different things and he was happy to show off what he already knew.

Colby didn't go because Grandpa Bill brought him to the movies- the new IMAX theater that opened up at the mall. He saw Madagascar 2.

Last night we went to a basketball game at the high school. It was a charity game-- teachers and staff from the high school versus teachers and staff from the elementary and middle school. The elementary and middle school team won! Which is who we were rooting for, seeing as that's the schools the kids are in! It was a very fun game. I absolutely love high school basketball games-- the crowds, the chants, just the overall atmosphere... And during half time they had a shooting contest... Will got a basket so he won a season pass to the high school home games!

Pictures:: The pictures in this post are:: First, a view of Will and Colby, who were sitting in front of the woodstove. I was standing at the top of the stairs. Where they are sitting is one of the best places-- it is so warm!! You get hot air blowing right on you!
The second picture is Sam and Owen. I love the picture because it relaly looks like Owen-- sometimes I don't think the pictures really like him :-)
And last, Owen, who has recently discovered his hands! He loves his hands. He's always got one in his mouth, trying to eat it. It's very cute! Until he gets hungry and realizes he can't get anything out of it!!

Have you heard of the book "Twilight"? I just read it. I started it Wednesday, and finished it today! What a great book! It's a vampire story. Meant for teens, but certainly held my interest. Samantha is reading it now. I hope she likes it as much as I did. There are 3 more books and I can't wait to read them! There is also the movie of course, but I don't want to see it until I read the books.

That's all for now. HAGD!

My 200th Blog Post!

Wow! 200 posts! I didn't realize I'd been at this blog thing for so long!

I haven't updated in a while so I have lot to say!
Owen had his picture taken on 11-12 for his "one month portrait". I was really hoping I wouldn't love them so that I wouldn't spend much money. But oh! I love them so much! I was in a hurry that day, so the photographer took her shots and then emailed them to me. I will go tomorrow and pick them. I think I will buy a few because they are just THAT cute!!

The reason I was in a hurry that day is in the second picture. That is Colby. Doesn't he look like someone punched him in the eye? That is his reaction to poison oak. He and Art were cutting down wood on Sunday, and they both ended up with it. Colby's doesn't exactly itch, but it made his eye swell up! So he had to go to the doctor, and he was put on steroids to get rid of it. As of today, it's still there, but much better.

On Wednesday night Samantha and I went to to dinner at the middle school, where the Kiwanis was thanking the kids in Kiwanis clubs.
Samantha is the secretary for the Builder's Club in the middle school! The teacher who runs their group told me she really wants Sam to be the president next year! I love that club so I'm glad she's a part of it!

Colby had Scouts on Thursday. He was supposed to bring a collection. He brought a garbage bag full of stuffed animals!! And now all of those stuffed animals are on his bed.

He had the Science Fair on Friday night too. His Cub Scout troop did an experiment with sound.
They made "phones" with 2 cups and string. Colby was very proud of his!!
I brought all 4 kids to the fair because Art's arms were so bad. His poison oak is terrible. All over his arms and just oozing puss. It's gross! He has it in other places too, and it's very itchy for him.

Something else exciting happened on Friday-- MY BABY BROTHER was born! Zarek Wayne was born that afternoon. He was 7 lb. 14 oz. We went to visit him on Saturday. No pictures- I didn't bring my camera because I remembered they hadn't wanted me taking pictures when
Kaden was born. We stayed about 1/2 an hour I think. Zarek looks just like Kaden! It's amazing. So much dark hair! And of course he made Owen look so big!

Since we were in Saratoga, we took the kids to a natural spring and let them drink the water. We all decided it was GROSS!! It tasted like iron. Heavy metal. No one took a second sip!

See Owen sitting? He can't really sit, I propped him like that! I just thought he was so cute in all his nakedness!!

And last night we had Grandpa Bill over for a steak dinner in hour of his birthday! Will wittled him a fish out of soap. He was SO PROUD of his fish! And so excited to give it to Grandpa! He loved it, of course. And I have to mention- Will wrapped it all on his own. In newspaper. With staples. Apparently he couldn't find tape! Ha ha. Ingenius.

And another exciting thing-- there is heat in my bedroom now!! Art was able to get heat from the woodstove to the bedroom and the back room! Hurray for Art!!

Look what I made!

Today is Monday

Good evening!! What a nice sound I hear-- nothing!! Silence!! A rare noise on any given evening in my house!
Tonight Art has taken the boys to tae kwon do (thank you, Art!) and Samantha has gone to Sarah's for a little fun. So it's just me and Owen here for about another hour.

This top picture is a bit blurry-- but it's mommy and daddy and Owen and we don't have many of them!!

This second picture is Cool Owen! Those sunglasses were found in the attic (remember the cleaning?) and they are from Build A Bear!
They fit Owen just perfectly and oh boy does he look cute! He didn't even mind wearing them!

The next picture was taken on Saturday. The cousins!! Top row: Colby, Nellie, Samantha, Braelyn... bottom row: Colin holding Owen, and Will. This was taken at Grammy's house after dinner, our Thanksgiving dinner. We had a special dinner because Grammy and Wally will be going to Virginia for Thanksgiving again this year.
It was yummy dinner! It's always nice to get everyone together, and we don't see Mike and Renee nearly enough. During dinner we had a
great political conversation! That's always interesting!

The next picture is little Owen in his Bumbo seat!! Ha ha! I guess he's a little too small for it at this point, but we tried. It makes him look so tiny! He liked looking around for a few minutes, but then he cried and wanted nothing to do with it! But Colby enjoyed it- he wore it on his head like a space helmet for a while!!

And this last picture- I know you all don't recognize it. I know I need to explain. It's a
picture of Samantha and Will *gasp* playing TOGETHER! And GETTING ALONG! I love their smiles-- real smiles! They were playing a game on the computer and I just had to snap a picture because it is so rare!!

So today is Monday. Owen had his one month check up today. So hard to believe he is one month old already... four and a half weeks have gone by fast as lightening. You wait and wait for the baby to be born, and then BAM! he's here for a month and you don't even realize it's been that long!!

Owen's appointment went well. He is now 10 lbs. 3 oz (which puts him in the 50th %) and 23 inches (which is the 90th %).
Just for some fun comparisons, at one month:
Samantha weighed 8 lb 2 oz (smaller than Owen was at birth!) and was 21 1/4 inches long.
Will was 11 lbs. 3 oz and 22 inches (bigger but shorter!)
and Colby was 12 lbs. 6 oz. and 23 inches... so a good 2 pounds bigger than Owen!!
It's so fun to compare their sizes! And I'm really glad Owen is smaller than Will and Colby were- I'm loving my *little* baby!! He just recently outgrew his newborn outfits!! And his newborn diapers. But of course he wears mostly cloth diapers... and he wears newborn sized prefolds and small covers. It won't be long before he moves up a size though!
I'm having a great time with the cloth diapers though! I was amazed at the community out there that CD's! I joined one site, and a woman showed pictures of her son's "stash" and I swear there were 100 diapers!! All different colors and patterns, some with matching hats, some with matching shirts. There are a lot of people out there who use cloth diapers, and I am just learning about all the different types. I just signed Owen up to be a tester for a woman who makes them herself-- I get a diaper at a reduced price! Yeah!! I'll probably keep it simple and do what is easiest and cheapest, but let me tell you-- it is so tempting to go all out and by the COOL diapers!!

I think I'll go downstairs and hang out in the NICE WARM basement by the FIRE!!!

Friday update

First let me share these adorable pics of Owen, in my *favorite* outfit!! My friend Laurie sent this to me. He also wore it home from the hospital, and it swam on him then! As much as I want to think he hasn't grown and will stay tiny forever- this outfit is proof that he is getting bigger every day.

And you may notice that *gasp* binky in the first photo? I was going to try and not give him one... but we were shopping at Wal Mart one day, and he was in the sling and was miserable. I ended up buying the binkies, and he was happy as a lark
and even fell asleep. So he has a binky now, but he only gets it when he needs it and cannot nurse... like in the carseat. However, there are times when he is just inconsolable, and doesn't even want to nurse, but the binky calms him down... so he gets it then too. He will let you know when he doesn't want it too... he spits it out, or gags on it...

So today is Friday! And our country made history on Tuesday by electing Obama as our next president. Funny, all of the kids "voted" for him in their mock elections at school, and they
were telling everyone to vote for him!!

Report cards came home today.

I need to brag about Samantha here--- she made president's list! You need to have an average between 95 and 100 to be on there, and her average is a 97! What a snarty pants! She was very proud of herself, as she should be!!
I also had a meeting at the beginning of the week with some of her teachers. They have classified her as a "highly abled learner" in math and they are giving her lots of opportunities to be challenged that are above and beyond what the other students are doing. They are not specifically classifying her as "HAL" in Engligh-Language Arts, but since she reads so much and is really above the other kids, they are planning to do special things for her there too. Let me tell you, it is really nice to go to a meeting hear everyone tell you how wonderful your child is! (like we didn't know!) but really, it's nice.

Will and Colby had great report cards too. School does not come as easily to them as it does to Sam, though. She excels in reading and both boys struggle in reading. But they are both really smart in math like she is. Both score really high and grasp math concepts easily. And they are both "a pleasure to have in class". I wonder if a teacher ever says a child is NOT a pleasure to have in class?? :)

The weather is beautiful! I have been bringing Owen for walks whenever I can because it is so nice out. The other day I brought the kids up to Cumberland to get slushies because I had parent-teacher conferences for the boys and they both went really well. I am loving both of their teachers! Will's teacher seems to genuinely like him-- he has a special nickname for him on account of his mohawk, and he also has money that he gives the kids for good behavior and Will is on the $2 bill! And Colby's teacher is just a sweetheart! I can't wait to see how much Colby grows with her.

I started cleaning out the attic-- who knew we had so much junk?? Half of it is great toys that I am hanging onto for Owen... like the little people, and the lincoln logs, etc. But I honestly found bags of junk... little misc. pieces of nothing! Garbage even! Not real garbage, but nothing we need to be holding onto! Thank goodness the school is collecting items for the holiday bazaar- I will donate a lot! And I'm also giving some away. The dollhouse is going to Braelyn, which makes me a bit sad. I'll never have another little girl to play dollhouse with! But Braelyn has wanted it for a while and I know she'll enjoy it. I also was getting rid of a huge rescue heroes ship, which reminded Colby of all the rescue heroes, so we took them all down and they are currently all over the living room! It's nice to see them being played with though, even by Will! Anyone want junk from my attic? I'll sell it cheap! Ha ha.

Well, need to go cook dinner and do some laundry! Have a great night!

It was Halloween??

Yes, it was Halloween. But it almost passed us by! I am lovingly referring to this as the "Halloween that Wasn't".

Oh sure, we had costumes. Well... the kids did. Art and I didn't even dress up this year, and that's rare!! Owen had the best costume... 2 actually... he had a Tigger costume, that he wore all day... and a Li'l Pumpkin costume that he wore to go trick-or-treating.
Samantha was a farmer... jeans, one of Daddy's flannel shirts, and one of his hats... that's how we make a farmer!

Will was a "dead man walking"... he wore his normal clothes, but he had scars and blood on his face...!
And Colby was Luke Skywalker... we colored his hair black (that was interesting!) and he wore tan pants, and his tae kwon do top on inside-out. And of course, he carried a blue light saber.
All costumes that cost us nothing... aside from hair color (which Will used a little too).

I say this is the "Halloween that Wasn't" because we didn't have any pumpkins. Well, Will did... he carved one at his friend Elijah's house last weekend. But no one else did... even little Owen, no first pumpkin! Oh well...

And we didn't have any decorations... nope...not a one. I'm lucky I found the plastic pumpkins that they use for trick-or-treating! Which, actually, no one used... Sam used a pillow case, Colby used a little bag on a stick, and Will used a glow-in-the-dark bucket.


Colby's school had the usual parade (brrr) and then his class had a party, so that was fun! It was fun seeing all the kids dressed up, and the teachers... and everyone loved seeing Owen too. I got some great photos of Colby and Owen (see the one here?)

But Will and Sam... for some reason, their school decided to not have costumes and just do black and orange day. And although they both had parties, I didn't know anyting about them until they got home from school. So I guess they were kids only.

Samantha did get to go to 2 Halloween parties this past weekend, so that was some extra-fun for her. Halloween is a great holiday, but when you have a 3 week old baby, everything seems to take a backseat.

We all had fun though, and that's what matters!