Day 59

Tryptophan coma. I'm just coming out of it. For all my friends who have trouble sleeping: Eat turkey before you go to bed. It's a tasty sedative.

I told Corey that we would have the tree put up before he returned on Thursday night. I don't put the tree up. Ever. I leave the house and when I get back it's all done. Every year. That's how it happens and I love that. Not this year. This year I wanted to do it. So do it I shall, with the trusty help of son #3.

 Apparently, every male has an ingrained need to check the oil. Even if it's not a vehicle you are checking. Cam made it clear that he was definitely checking the oil. Who am I to argue?

We had a slight light debacle that started with 6 strings of lights in a Target bag. They weren't new. They were from last year's hanging. After 6 hours of untangling we ended up with 3 working strings of lights. Okay, but it FELT like 6 hours. Thanks for interrupting the madness, Snaps. It was great to see you. (Little i, big O, little s, 5) You can do it!

My mom had blankets that she asked the boys to drop off at the bank for their annual blanket and bear drive. The boys wanted to wear their festive hats about town so they looked pretty spiffy for this photo op. The bank lady even took a picture of them. Corey and I try to openly and purposefully give so the boys can see that modeled. My mom is a wonderful example for them, as well.

Cam finally wrapped up Tap & Jazz class tonight. It was hilarious. He had not one iota of concentration and focus in him. I think the young lady instructing actually gently grabbed his head at one point to turn his eyes toward her.

So, as you can see, we are definitely getting in the Christmas spirit. This is the last blog entry I will compose with a 6 year old in the house (well, until next year.) Wow!

Day 59 Life Lesson: Time flies... except when you are untangling Christmas lights.

Day 56

Woohoo! Another reason to be thankful!

Day 54

Kyle attended his last swimming lesson for this session. He passed and is moving on to Level 3. Woohoo! Way to go, Ky! He is turning into quite a fish.

The For Sale sign got plopped into the ground this morning. So weird. Cameron is wondering why our pictures aren't on the sign instead of our realtor's picture. Let's look at the realtor Magic 8 ball, shall we? What is the worst possible time to put your house on the market? Yeah, it's today. Hey, you can't win the lottery if you don't play, right?

Day 54 Life Lesson: A sign is just a sign until it's in your yard.

Day 52

There IS a sound more irritating than my three sons playing in the house. It is the incessant pounding on our roof created by hammering workers removing shingles and laying new ones.

Day 52 Life Lesson: sigh...

Day 50

Act like you know what you're talking about and people will listen.

Day 45

Phew. Busy week. Trying to get a house ready to put on the market is a daunting task when your house is old and in need of constant TLC. We will press on in this adventure and try to stay energized.

In the meantime life goes on after the big birthday weekend. Cooper is studying "matter" at school and created a rap with some of his spelling words for the week.


Day 45 Life Lesson: Matter matters and so do you.

Birthday Extravaganza Weekend

Lots of fun, sugar, games and family time this weekend. My brother, Tim, celebrated his birthday on Saturday, Coop turned (gulp) 10 on Sunday and Cam turned 5 today. We, of course, celebrated with my sister-in-law on Friday. So, it is a big birthday week for us. Sometimes it goes super well and other times it's a little much. By this afternoon the boys were getting a little crazy but for the most part we had a really great weekend. Cooper's favorite gift was the wad of cash he got from my parents and the 3- ring binder we gave him. Yes, I said, "3-ring binder."  Cameron was thrilled to get Monopoly Crazy Cash and a Cars 2 track. We played games all day on Sunday including Battleship which I haven't played since I was a kid. It was refreshing to see that we have (so far) raised three sons who don't need toys with batteries to have a good time.

We had a preschool party with Cam at his school today. The brothers didn't have school so they joined us for games, arts and crafts, music and pancakes. Yes, pancakes. My parent's came to make chocolate chip silver dollar pancakes for the class. It was the second annual event and the pancakes did not disappoint. They made about 75 pancakes. Yum-O!

We are painting Cooper's room so he bunked with his brothers in their room all weekend. It made for some late nights but it was fun to hear the giggling brother bonding time. Maybe he should just stay there permanently. On second thought, no.

Day 42

We had the absolute pleasure of spending the day with our new family member, Brydon, and his mom. It is my sister-in-law's birthday today. 2 weeks ago she had her first child, a beautiful son. It was an honor to spend the day with her and Brydon. We trekked off to Janesville, MN, early this morning. Cam loved having me and everyone else all to himself. We had a fun lunch with grandma and grandpa and Auntie Karen at Applebees in Mankato. Cam took good care of Brydon all day. I hope we can do it again.

Day 42 Life Lesson: Babies make you smile...  unless you are the one up with them all night.

Day 41

Thursday. We made it over the hump. Phew...

Kyle's conference day. Eeks. To my surprise, he is doing quite well, both academically and behaviorally. Wow, good for him. I must admit I asked Mrs. G. if he might be cheating. Not so. Apparently, he is both smart and well-behaved. I think his teacher might have a lot to do with his success. They make a good team.

We flew from Goodview to Jefferson for pizza and a fun night of sorts. There were math and language arts activities shared by PIP students from WSU. PIP stands for Progress in something or something in Progress. It was actually really fun. I enjoy conversing with teachers-to-be from my alma mater.

Cam and I got a haircut today. It was an interesting little adventure.

I got some extra sunshine in my day. A mid-afternoon walk around the lake with Snaps. The fresh air and conversation were good for my spirit. Thanks Snaps! I appreciate you.


Day 41 Life Lesson: See the best... in all three sons.

Day 40

Wednesday. Hump Day. Can we get over the hump? I think so. Kyle and I have some clashes in the early morning hours before we go to the bus stop. Not every day but some days. Today he shut his alarm off and fell back to sleep. Oops. I didn't wake him up. Cooper was concerned about his brother getting to school so I told him to go wake him up but charge him a dollar. Cooper smiled. I think he liked that idea. Kyle and his weary self came into the kitchen to check the time. 15 minutes behind schedule. Yikes. I believe it's good to learn these lessons now when they don't really matter. I didn't even yell.

Okay, I did yell later about a missing coat. I knew where it was but Kyle didn't. This is a mom thing, right? I told him where it was but he insisted it wasn't there so I yelled really loud and made a mean face. It's not really a nice way to start the day - for anyone. On the way to the bus stop we didn't talk about it but I gave him a big side squeeze and told him I loved him. I'll try not to yell tomorrow.


Day 40 Life Lesson: Yelling hurts the ears and the heart.

Day 39

Cameron has a new friend. I was cleaning the basement over the weekend and the boys showed up and started rummaging. Cam found a bag of stuffed animals. He has named his newly discovered friend, "Boo Boo." Cam takes him everywhere. Yes, Boo Boo is buckled up for safety. 

The boys had some cash to spend so off we went to Target. In this picture they are deciding which roll of tape they want to buy. Yeah, that's right, TAPE. It's their favorite toy. Cam is carrying his favorite "murse", his man purse.


Day 39 Life Lesson: You can't pretend the day away.