November is already here.

2009 has passed in a flash. I can hardly believe that I am faced with the holiday season again. I feel as if any time has hardly passed.

I love all the change that fall brings for me. Not only does the landscape and weather change here in the Northwest, but I find that my attitude always shifts into a bit of a home body. I love the cozy warm feeling that I have everyday during this time over year. I spend more time cuddle up on the couch and more time on the meals that I make. To me there is nothing better than the smell of dinner cooking all day.

The kids had a blast on Halloween this year. There grandma came over and took the older boys to the movies to see AstroBoy, they LOVED it. Once they came home and they transformed into Darth Vader (Ryker), Wolverine (greyson), and an Ostrich (Seb) we headed down to main street for our annual routine of Trick or Treating. After dark we headed up to the prime spot for gathering the most candy with the least amount of effort. The weather was awesome add everyone ended the day with smiles including Ryker who quickly caught on to this whole hold out your hand and a stranger gives you candy.

So let me dive into an update of the kiddos.

Ryker is now 13 months and is a walker who is now into everything that his brother don't want him to be. Speaking of that I just had to take a 10 minute break from writing because Ryker had his first episode of taking off his diaper so he could make business on the floor. In other Ryker new his top 2 teeth are arriving a the same time. Ryker also LOVES to eat solid food. I mean this kid will have more than one lunch and several servings of dinner. This is a nice change of pace from the other boys. He loves to patty-cake and wave bye bye.

Greyson is sailing along and loving every moment of being 4. He still love star wars and sausage. His is working on beginning reading and is really impressing us. He now has daily chores which has been so good for him. He actually looks forward to doing them and I have yet to have to ask him to complete them.

Sebastian is in the second grade and is handling that well. He improves with his reading everyday. He has finally learned to ride his bike. I think he surprised himself with how much he loves riding his bike. Seb has joined the Cub Scouts this year and enjoys that a ton also. As if Seb did not have a ton on his plate already we added karate to the mix as well. This is something he has wanted to do for a very long time and is one of the best in his class.

We have been doing a lot around the house this past season. We have painted several rooms, planted a flower bed along the walk and the big project was to make over the under used office downstairs. It has now become a room for the boys complete with tv and xbox. This has been one of the best things we have done around here. The house really feels bigger now. The boys have a great space to hang out with their friends and our guest have a room to themselves.

So that is just a little window into our happenings this year. I really want to be better about writing for the sake of the memories of my boys.

I will try again

Wow I can't believe how long it has been since I have blogged. I really enjoy it and I really enjoy reading blog. So with fall quickly approaching I will try to make a routine of blogging so that I can keep memories and everyone updated.

More to follow soon. I promise.
(Texas pics are still on the camera :( )

Saturday Sillyness

Peak....

A-BOO!!!!

What to do with a rainy Sat? We are doing NOTHING! And it is fabulous, I highly recommend it for everyone to try at least once. It seems life is always so busy and our family is always headed in five different directions at once. It is so nice for the kiddos to stay in their PJ's and for me to be cuddled on the couch reading my back log of magazines and watching Heroes with my husband.

So I am wishing you all a happy nothing!

For Friday

I know I will take this challenge. Lord know I could use it.

Friendship

"What I expect from my male friends is that they are polite and clean. What I expect from my female friends is unconditional love, the ability to finish my sentences for me when I am sobbing, a complete and total willingness to pour their hearts out to me, and the ability to tell me why the meat thermometer isn't supposed to touch the bone." -Anna Quindlen

So I went to a retreat (with baby) this past weekend and the topic of discussion was FRIENDSHIP. I did not think much of it, but it turned out to be a very lonely and painful weekend. I spent most of my time watching other women have a good time with one another, and I had one failed attempt after another in trying befriend someone on a deeper level. I felt like an outsider as if no one would have cared less if I wasn't there. I went for a wonderful long walk during our free time. While I was out there I realized that I have not put God first in my friendships. I have prayed for friends throughout my life but never prayed for a friend so maybe I was going about this friendship thing all wrong. I did realize that I do have 2 wonderful ladies in my life that I can be myself and they love me with all my faults. Thank you Molly and Mom for knowing my deep heart and for sticking with me even after you have seen the garbage that is there. The

Lord has deeply blessed my life with the presence of both of you.

Yummy Sunday Dinner

I love soups and stews. That is one of the best things about fall and winter for me. Tonight we tried and new recipe and it was a great hit with everyone in the house.

Creole Rice and Bean Soup

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 large carrots, diced

1 med onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 small green pepper, seeded and diced

1 small red pepper, seeded and diced

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 (28oz) can whole tomatoes with their juice

4 cups vegetable stock

1 (15 oz) can coconut milk

1/4 cup brown rice

1 (15oz) can red kidney beans, rinsed

3 cups chopped and washed kale

1 (10oz) package frozen peas

3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the canola oil in a large pot over medium heat; saute the carrots, onion, celery, peppers, can dried thyme for 5 minutes, until the vegetables are crisp-tender.

Add the tomato puree, whole tomatoes, vegetable stock, and coconut milk to the pot; simmer for 5 minutes. Break the tomatoes apart with a spoon and add the rice.

Simmer uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes, until the rice is tender. Add the kidney beans, kale, peas, and fresh thyme; simmer for 10 minutes. Add the parsley; season with salt and pepper.



This soup was so colorful. It looked great in the bowl and was very easy to throw together. Which is nice on days like today when the baby was super fussy. We made cornbread to go along with it but crusty bread would be great too.

Enjoy

The Boy is 5 Months

My time is flying by with this kiddo. Even though you can see he his growing, you can clearly tell from the picture above that winter is trying its hardest to hang on here in the Pacific Northwest! Yes, we had more snow this morning!

Ryker is now spending his days goofing around in his jump-a-roo. Who knew that something so little (meaning Ryker) could make so much noise. His other favorite past time these days (besides eating) is to stare at his handsome little face in the mirror. My this baby is vain!

This next month we are looking forward to seeing if he will conquer sitting up all on his own. He is so close to mastering this much needed skill. We will also be trying out eating solids for the first time later this month. Thanks to Ryker's older brother, we will be holding off on that fun stage until closer to his 6 month mark.

BLOCKS!!!

So, I have been trying to add a new post for over a week now, and besides the fact that I keep getting taken away from the computer to attend to my little ones, I have come to realize I have blog block!



As I started thinking about this I realized that is not the only place in my life right now that has a block, so I decided to make a list.

BLOGGER'S BLOCK: I have started a new post 3 times over the last week. Each new attempt has been about something different. I have too many ideas (things to say) floating around in my head. -mom's visit, 1st grade issues, birthday weekend, baby stories, 3yr old stories, the arrival of spring, possible road trips, the list goes on and on. Where to start... so I short circuit and write nothing. TOO MANY CHOICES!

SCRAP BOOKER'S BLOCK: We went to DisneyWorld in the beginning of December and here I sit with an empty scrapbook. I have the paper, photos, and the tools. I printed 92 out of 850 pictures. The 92 photos only covers half of the trip, so clearly I need to do some trimming. So I sit and stare at the pictures, the paper and short circuit. TOO MANY CHOICES.

PAINTER'S BLOCK: I have lived in my house for almost six years and when we moved in every wall was white and from the moment I moved in I have talked about painting. I love color. I love the warmth and cozy feeling it brings to a house. So, six years later I live in a house where 90% of the walls are still white. I have endless ideas and paint chips, several paint samples that I have yet to use because I short circuit. TOO MANY CHOICES.

CHEF'S BLOCK: I have gotten several new cookbooks lately and here again I thumb through the pages and I am left with TOO MANY CHOICES. So, my husband has helped me on the this one. I had him get me started, he has gone through and flagged what he wants to try. So thanks for helping me out on this one.

I am sure there are other BLOCKS in my life, but the kids are factor in those. Like the Lego container being spilled out just to find one block among the thousands that the boys own. (of course they have not picked up the blocks yet).

Like all things I know these things will resolve with time and there will be other bumps. But for now I am sick of BLOCKS.

NOT ME MONDAY!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

After a regular week of preschool, school and drool. I spent my weekend unwinding with my complicated mother-in-law (and her dog), Sister-in-law, and her 2 yr old over for a visit. So at the end of Sat. I informed my MIL that I was too tired to cook for everyone so I DID NOT watch her take the left over rice and curry (with tofu and sweet potatoes in it) that I had made for lunch that dayand mix it up with soy sauce, guacamole, tortilla chips, some sort of white cheese, spinach, bacon bits, and yes more soy sauce. I also DID NOT take a bite of it and think that "Hey this is not half bad". So I DID NOT have another bite or two.

I also in a rush to leave the house on a Sunday morning could not find the match to my favorite white socks so I DID NOT wear missed matched socks all day long. But at least I WAS NOT cozy for half of my feet for the day.

Here's to a new week of preschool, school, and drool.

(Don't worry it wasn't a true cocktail)

Things that have made me sad

This past year I have come to really enjoy reading blogs. I read all sorts of them. I read Family, Educational, nonsense, and stories of families going through the hardest times of their life. I admire how so many people can open up their hearts and share themselves with total strangers. I also admire how hundreds of strangers come together to support and lift up each other. I love that about the blog-o-sphere.

But the thing that makes me really sad is when people feel it OK to tear down complete strangers and hurt them with their words. I wonder if the people doing this feel better after they write their mean, judgemental comments. There is not one person who walks the face of this earth who is perfect and without sin. I believe these families that share their blogs have the best intentions and are trying to be the best that they can be. Those that tear them down are not making these families journey any easier, plus it serves no purpose to any one.

So, to the people who have been hurt by comments.... blog on! For every bad comment you have there are one hundred who love reading your words.

Late Edition for Not Me Mondays

I know it is Wednesday, but I have to confess. With having every one in the house sick over the weekend, that I DID NOT have a clean kitchen when I woke up on Monday morning and I DID NOT feed my boys ice cream for breakfast.

If we were all perfect people and everyday day was magical then the world would be a pretty boring place.

"I'm a big kid now!"

So potty training has always seemed to be a long process in our house. With the middle boy he has been reluctant to make a poo in the pot. He will hold it just to avoid it, then we wind up with a big messy. (I don't have to go into further detail, you can use your imagination.)

So the other day I am downstairs working on the computer, the oldest and Dad were on the sofa reading a book. I hear the upstairs toilet flush. I did not pay much attention to it, because I was too involved in what I was doing. I hear the toilet flush again, then again. By the third flush I was snapped out of what I was doing and thought to myself, two of the guys are downstairs so who is that? I quickly realize that my three year old is up stairs, so I race up stairs and I do you know what I saw....

The middle boy standing in the hallway with his pants around his ankles and a baby wipe wedged into his bottom and he says to me. "Mama I went poo and I am cleaning my butt, does that my you happy?" I fell to my knees laughing. It is an image that is burned into my mind forever. I also have to add that he had to waddle into the baby's room and climb onto the dresser/changing table where the wipes are kept, then waddle back into the hallway where I found him. I am pleased to report that everything made it to where it was supposed to go and there was not a messy trail behind the guy's footsteps.

Man, some days you just have to love having preschoolers and appreciate the magic they bring into your life.

The boy is 4 months today!!

Just 4 short months ago we welcomed the little guy into our family. Last night as I went to bed I was thinking it felt like yesterday when I was standing in my bathroom crying out loud to Christian that I felt like I was never going to have this baby and now here he is 4 months old already.

He is no longer a newborn, but a happy little guy. He is kicking and laughing (squeaking) most of his days. He is no longer this quite little sleepy guy, but a noisy, jolly little guy. He is no longer sleeping a 6 hours at a time at night, but getting up about every 4-2hours. So, I bet you can guess how I am feeling these days.

I have packed away his newborn and 3month clothes. As I put them into the boxes I wondered if this is the last time I will see these clothes. Many of the sleepers have been worn by all the the boys. Some cousins included in there as well. So there was some sadness there as I said good-bye to those sweet little clothes.

The Seb is waiting everyday with excitement for the next stage in the boy's life. He keeps hoping for a word to form out of all the hundreds of coos we hear each day. I for one am not wanting to move that fast. I have seen the next stages in life, although they too are fun. I am trying my best to experience the magic of each day with him.