Andy's Toys

Happy Halloween from all of Andy's Toys!

This year we dressed up in a Toy Story theme. We love that we talked the DeTars into joining us. Here is a run down of who everyone was this year:

Caden-Buzz Lightyear

Emmeline - Jesse

Jackson - Green martin

Tiffani and I - Potato heads

Gabe - Green Army Man

Chris - Evil Emperor Zurg ( I know a little over the top and scary!)

The kids had so much fun trick or treating downtown. I forgot to snap a picture, but runny nose and all Jackson sat in "Andy's Toy Box" and was a trooper. We even managed to hit a couple houses before the rain came down  poured on us. After a few houses we headed home to get our poor sick, tired, kids home.

How ADORABLE are these kids?!?!

You have to love the pool noodles from the Dollar Store. I think I need to do a blog post on all the uses of pool noodles.

We have the BEST husbands. What good sports they are!!!

The ball is rolling

Today Dad had his first surgery in his fight against cancer. I saw him yesterday and he was very eager to get the ball rolling on kicking cancer. After a LONG day at the hospital he was able to leave and recover at home. We are all going to be anxious to get the results on Friday. The best birthday present ever would be a clear biopsy report.
I was thinking it would be nice to start a blog for my Dad to chronicle his journey and keep all our East coast family in the loop. Until we come up with a name and get it going I will continue to post some updates. If anyone has an idea for a blog name, let me know.

A few inches taller

It is amazing how a few inches taller can cause such havoc in our house. It is official nothing is safe anymore. We have decided Jackson must have go-go gadget arms. Jackson loves being into everything his big brother and sister are into. This absolutely drives them crazy. We are constantly chasing after him trying to retrieve items that he sneaks off the once safe counter and table. Tonight it was a fascination with a cup of milk that ended up all over the hallway floor. Thank goodness he is a cute one.

Potato Heads, Cowgirls, and Villains

Halloween is drawing near and this was my last weekend to finish up the costumes. The weekend included several trips to the fabric store and hardware store. You have to love a weekend project that involves spray paint, felt, hot glue, and a pool noodle. I am happy to report that the cowgirl outfit is done along with a potato head. Now I have 2 days to finish the last costume. Here's a sneak peek of my projects this weekend.

Happy 39th Wedding Birthday

Tonight we had an anniversary dinner for my wonderful parents. We were trying to explain to the kids what an anniversary was and Emmeline replied "it's their wedding birthday." So tonight we celebrated my parent's 39th "wedding birthday." They are a true testament to their vows. I love watching my parents. The fact that they still hold hands and my Dad always makes it a point to give my Mom a kiss when he leaves. They are are dealing with so much right now and with my Dad's chemo set to start next week, a family dinner was in order. We had a great night full of a lot of laughs. A highlight was Jackson walking out with the most mischievous smirk wearing Emmeline's purple heels. I wish we all would have stopped laughing to snap a photo.
Happy 39th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Joys of being a twin

Today Caden learned the "joy" of being a twin. Tonight when we were asking the kids about their day Emmeline was quick to mention how Caden got in trouble and had to go to the office. She then preceded to fill on all the missing puzzle pieces that Caden was leaving out. After our discussion with the kids we heard the dreaded message on the machine from the teacher. Your child getting sent to the office is probably one of the worst nightmares of a mother who is also a teacher. Caden seemed pretty sad and sorrowful for his behavior. We are hoping it never happens again, and if it does I am sure Emmeline will be quick to fill us in. I figure Caden will get his turn during the teenage years filling us in on all the boys Em is hanging out with, the curfews she is trying to break, and classes she is trying to ditch. Oh the joys of having twins!

Poor Planning

I am normally very good at planning things. We lucked out  with beautiful weather and planned a fall pumpkin carving party and movie night for this past weekend followed by the next day hitting up the pumpkin farm. With working full time I treated myself to housecleaning to get ready for the party. Friday night it was FANTASTIC to come home to a clean house all ready for the party. Fast forward to Monday and one exhausted Mama and I am rethinking the housecleaning before the party. Mental Note: the house is just going to get destroyed from a party, have a housecleaner come in after the party. So now after a long weekend of parties and fun I am dragging myself to clean and mop the floors - no fun!

Pumpkins and Popcorn

Tonight was our annual fall movie night. We lucked out with some perfect fall weather. The kids had a great time painting and carving pumpkins and devouring some popcorn. They were pretty precious all snuggled up in blankets on grass watching movies. It was a fun night full of lots of yummy snacks. I can't wait to write a detailed post over at Teaspoons and Twine. Here is a little sneak peak of the kids cuddled up watching a movie - pretty adorable!

Napa Week

You know it is Napa week when the husband is up all hours unable sleep, taking Epsom salt baths, and there are yellow tablets EVERYWHERE. This is always such a stressful week. I am bummed the Dogs are playing away this week, but excited for Napa radio do I can listen to the game. Now we just need to work on getting Vacaville's home games on the air.

Treats

Today was a day full of treats.
Jackson was in heaven. Just as I was pulling up to Miss Cari's the garbage truck was at her house. He was one happy boy and could not stop waving.
The AMAZING Erin arranged for a fire truck and crew to come talk to our class. I was lucky enough to have a visit at school by two cute little boys who came to see the fire truck. Then the bestie brought me a Starbucks ice tea. After a long IEP meeting I came home to a clean house. I decided to treat myself to that. Let's see how long it will last with 3 little ones. To round out my day I opened the fridge to find dinner already made. Gram made us some delish enchiladas and rice.
I was one really spoiled girl today.

Happy Birthday Nonie

Tonight we did one of my favorite things have family dinner. Tonight's dinner was extra special, we were celebrating the AMAZING Nonie's birthday. We had the whole crew over for her birthday dinner. When we asked her what she would like for dinner she said ribs... I am pretty sure that was not really on the top of her list, but beign the amazing person she is, she picked the husband's favorite dinner. We had ribs with all the fixings followed by some delish apple pie that Aunt Cory made and the Twins' favorite strawberry cake. We love our Nonie and are so thankful and grateful for EVERYTHING she does. Happy Birthday Nonie!!!

Laundry

I LOVE Fridays, but I hate the greeting I get every Friday when I open the laundry room. One of the many dislikes of working full time is all the chores I have over the weekend. I absolutely HATE doing laundry and with kids and two adults there is A TON. I really don't mind the washing, but the folding and putting away is the worst. So here is a snap shot of what was greeting me when I opened the laundry room and that isn't even including my wet bag of dirty diapers, towels, and sheets. Makes me tired just looking at it.

On the Other Side of the Table

Being a teacher I have sat in dozens of IEPs. Today I had the opportunity to sit on the other side of the table. Today I was Mom. I have to say it was very odd. Reflecting on it now I feel so sad for so many of the other parents who have to go through this horrible, long, process. I am lucky to be somewhat familiar of the rules, acronyms, and the process because of my job. But I am really blessed to have family who know the system inside and out. There are so many families out there who I think really don't know or understand their rights and probably are not getting the best for their child.
After the meeting I am mentally drained.  I am not feeling like we won the race today, but my wise Father-in-Law reminded me to think of it not as a sprint but a marathon. So today we ran a leg 1 of the race.

Bandaids

Update on the flu shots:
We all still have very sore arms and two of my three kids still have a band-aid on the shot. The thought of me taking the band-aid off  of them is more traumatic then them getting the shot.  Emmeline insisted in the doctor's office that she can only put the band-aid on and it was barely hanging on. It is really funny how much they dislike band-aids. We have just about every type of band-aid you can imagine; princess, cupcakes, Toy Story, Angry Birds, robots, and hearts to try and get them to just let us put a band-aid on them. Most kids can not get enough of them, but in our house they are seen as pure torture. Hmmm... maybe I just thought of a new punishment???
I can't wait for them to be older and I can remind them that they didn't mind shots, but hated getting a band-aid.

Shots

From my last post I mentioned that I was pleasantly surprised to have no school on Monday. I thought to myself what is a Mom to do on a no school or work day? For some reason I thought it would be a great day to go get all of our flu shots. At the moment it  seemed logical and reasonable. I was sure there wouldn't be much of a line and we don't have to show up on a Saturday. As I am standing in line with three munchkins and just myself I got to thinking that this probably wasn't my smartest move. Being a coach's wife I had a game plan all set; Mommy gets that shot first to show them it would be fine and that way by kid number 3 we could bolt and not wait. As soon as we made it to the front of the line the nurse looked at me with pity and ushered me into a room instead of the hallway where they were giving shots. Bless her heart for helping me contain the troops. Well, the nurse had a different game plan and after lots of bribing and a trip to the toy store we all have our flu shots and very sore arms.

T.G.I.F.

Today was a pretty great day despite the fact it took me another hour and a half to get home.
I started the morning with a Starbucks treat - which I have to say was the first of the school year. I know I made to October with no Starbucks!!! While at Starbucks I ran into one of my favorite students and her Mom. They were the sweetest and treated me to my coffee. While at work making pumpkin pancakes I learned we don't have school on Monday- woohoo! I topped off my day with a win from the Dogs and movie night with my kiddos. Caden and Emmeline convinced me to let them sleep together in Caden's new bunk bed. It was so sweet to listen to them giggle and laugh at one another. Here is a quick pic from their "slumber party."

105 minutes

In an hour and 45 minutes there are so many things one could do. You could; watch a full length movie, wash and dry a car, enjoy a long facial and massage too. If I had 105 uninterrupted minutes I could probably get my house clean, but today I spent 105 minutes in my car. It took me almost two hours to get from work to home which sadly is only about 20 miles. Luckily I had a pretty content passenger in the backseat who enjoyed my singing and my moans and sighs. And lucky me tomorrow is Friday which means I get to deal with horrible Friday traffic. I think the countdown has now begun for Christmas break and two weeks of no work, no traffic, and no STUDENTS!

Graduation Day

This is such an exciting post!!! Today is graduation day for my sweet friend Melissa. She is graduating from chemo. She has been such an amazing and strong person through this whole journey. Her faith in God even through the hardest struggles has helped me focus and have faith for my Dad. Kind of ironic that she is finishing her journey with the "Big C" and today my Dad went into surgery for his.

I am so proud of my sweet friend for all of the courage,  grace, and strength she showed through all of this. I wish I could have been there to see her more.  I am itching to see her and give her a big hug. I hear that she may even be up to traveling to California soon for a visit. If she is not able to come out soon, I think I may just need to plan a quick trip to S.C. to go see her.

Tackling the Impossible

This was a super busy weekend filled with lots of projects. Daddy was in a not so good mood -something about 3 losses in a row and reading The Reporter on Saturday morning did not help.
I thought to cheer him up I would take on the impossible task of trying to make "Mr. Feld Ribs". I have to say the husband was pretty impressed and they were pretty delish. I am going to scoot over to Teaspoons and Twine and blog all about my new, super, simple recipe.