So I failed...

I did not make it to 10 posts in December but at least I posted something. We are in Indiana for about 24 more hours then it's back to TX where the temp is a full 30 degrees warmer. I can't wait.

We have had tons of fun here and have throughly enjoyed spending time visiting with family and friends but I am anxious to get home and get things back in order. I am ready for the New Year fresh start and all.

So as I get off the computer for the last time in 2009 I wish all my readers well and hope that your lives are blessed and filled with joy in 2010. I am thinking it is going to be a GREAT year for me and mine!

Peace,

Susan

December photos... Lots to see!

So these are a little backwards by date but there are just too many to move around so start at the bottom if you'd like are just take a little walk back in time. Merry Christmas to all. Our celebrations have just begun as we have many more family and friends to spend time with in Indiana next week. Looking forward to it!

Cool enough for middle school?

Never a truer statement!

Christmas Eve around 7 before the kids went out to play.

Fred checking out his wireless keyboard for the PS3.

Will VERY excited about the Bakugauntlet. Don't ask me what it does Santa brought it so it must be important.

Fred did it! He bought me a purse that I have no intention of returning! Mark this down in the history books! I LOVE IT! Thanks honey!

Will and Fred working on the Bakugan gizmo from Santa. Directions and batteries required!

Nic's big present from Santa, a introductory mountain bike with gears. A nice step up from his first bike.

Christmas morning.

Katherine was in such a hurry to get home and put cookies out for Santa that she got a little wild with her scarf.

Sydney came to visit and have some cake but she really just wanted to enjoy the snow.

Will and his buddy Drew after playing outside.

Lighting 2 + 9 candles on Jesus' Birthday cake. Angel food of course.

Pete chillin by the tree in the middle of our Christmas Eve dinner.

Christmas Eve afternoon.

My dog decided the most comfortable place to lay in the entire house was.. on top of me!

The crew at Amazing Jake's! It was an amazing way to start Winter Break.

Early December snow... lasted 1 hour tops.

Band

So Nic had his first Band Concert on Monday. He did a great job I'm sure. I say that because I could not actually see him play, although I am sure he did, nor did I hear him play. I just don't have a musicians ear like that. The band as a whole did a great job and I was sincerely surprised at how good they sounded for only having practiced about 8 hours together. Band in middle school here is divided out by instrument sections so their all band rehearsals after school are their only time together. That being said they did great!

I recorded Nic playing near the Christmas tree last night but it is playing back strangely for me. I am going to try to put it into this post but not sure that I will be successful. If not here are a few pics from the concert to tide you over.

Ok, I tried but failed on the video file. I will try something shorter tonight and see if I can make it work.

I better get busy!

I suggested in my last post that I would try to post 10 times this month. Well, it's already December 10th and I have only posted once! I'm gonna be doing two-a-days in December if I don't get my butt in gear!

So the latest and greatest?!?!?!

I had some MAJOR dental work done on Saturday that went surprisingly well. Not saying that it didn't hurt or that I don't continue to be in some pain but it is not as bad as my anxiety had led me to think. And for that I am thankful. I was able to sleep away my Saturday once I got home so that helped I'm sure. I go back in another 10 days or so to finish up the work and get my new tooth so that will be fun I'm sure... NOT!

Nic has his first Middle School Band Concert next Monday. He is as an all-band rehearsal today and will come home famished in a few minutes. He is doing a really great job learning the saxophone and I am pleased with his progress. Of course I pay $16 a week for private lessons and nag constantly for him to get in his 20 minutes of practice. Once he gets started he does pretty well. It is much more bearable to listen to these days than a few short months ago.

Fred is in Mexico again this week and should be home Saturday. He is working a ton these days but honestly he doesn't do well when things are slow. He thrives on angst and bedlam. Me.. not so much.

For example I worked at the Holiday Store today at the elementary school. The place was just tooooooooo crazy. I should not criticize since I was not in charge but seriously. I could do a better job and I just might. I am seriously considering overseeing it next year. This year my BIG project was the directory and that really turned into Fred's BIG project. I won't sign him up for that again. But maybe... we'll see.

Well, we made plans to go to Indiana for Christmas this year. Actually the week after Christmas through New Year's Day. I am excited to fly and by-pass the 14 hour drive. Since our Thanksgiving plan was foiled by Fred getting the flu this is the alternative and I am OK with it. I will need to send some gifts but I can handle that. Guess we'll take an extra bag for things we need to bring home but I hope family is aware that small items are appreciated. We certainly need NOTHING in our lives, we are so blessed, so just seeing the family will be such a present.

So the frustrating story of the day revolves around my kitchen faucet. Sunday or Monday I was turning it from one side of my sink to the other and heard a crack. Not a good sound to hear from your sink. After the crack the faucet was very loose and swung a little too freely back and forth. Well, Fred got home and used the sink and agreed that it was too loose. He took a look underneath and found a bunch of rusted debris in the cabinet. He had me go out on Tuesday and buy a new sink. I liked out old sink just fine but saw something else that I thought would work just fine. I spent way more than I wanted to but not as much as I could have. It just wasn't in the budget this month but we didn't think it would wait.

So, the guy at Home Depot tells me that my Moen faucet is guaranteed for life and suggested that I call Moen and see if they could help me out. Worth a try right? So Fred replaced the faucet because he is just that capable and it works and looks great! I then tried to call Moen yesterday only to be told that there is a 55 minute hold time. NOT HAPPENING! They had an option to schedule a call from them so I took that option and scheduled a call for this morning. What the Moen guy said was that the warranty applies only to the original owner of the faucet. Well, that's not me. I am SOL.

In the end I have a new functioning faucet and I may take the time someday to drop MOEN a note and let them know of my disappointment. I suppose this means that in order to take advantage of any warranty for my faucet I will need to take it with me when I move. But somehow I'd bet that there is a also a clause that says somethings about"initial installation." Anyone agree?

Let's try this...

How about I see if I can post 10 times in the month of December?! That would be a record of late and I would love to beat a record!

Today is the first of the month and it is starting out nicely. I went to a meeting at the middle school today about bullying. It was informative and gave me some food for thought and discussion. Nic has been the victim of some bullying in middle school and as a mother I want to do all I can to protect him. Sadly I can not do what I have in the past, middle school is a bit of a fortress, so I need to equip him for battle on his own. It's tough.

After the "Coffee with the Counselor" program my pal and I went to Sam's. My list was short but between the two of us we filled a cart. We headed back to her place to unload her stuff and got wrapped up in a project at her house. I ended up there for the rest of the afternoon, helping, trying a new and DELICIOUS recipe, and generally just being a friend. I love being a friend! It's the best. Almost as good as being a wife, mom, daughter, sister, cousin, niece, etc.

I got home to handle a few things here at the homestead that included but was not limited to Will wanting to leave the state of Texas. It seems that he is getting a little bullying at school too. Some boys are giving him a hard time because he is "friends" with so many girls. He is such a good friend to so many that it stinks that some people feel the need to give him a hard time about this. I don't want him to forsake his friends that are girls to please his friends that are boys. That seems pretty unfair to all involved. I hope that I can talk to the counselor at school tomorrow while I am there. The doors are wide open at the elementary school.

Tomorrow is a BIG day. I am subbing for a Kindergarten teacher. Mrs. M's class is the best, I have been there 5 days this year so far. They are really great kids, Mrs. M has them in line so that helps. I am off to kiss and tuck the boys then myself. Gotta get some sleep to prep for the day with my kinder friends!

I gotta get back on this wagon!

I so need to get back to blogging. I am still a little frustrated about Fred's desire for me to lock this up and I may need to go back and renegotiate that. Stay tuned.

I feel like life has been passing me by and although I have been an active participant I can't remember much of it. I have a TERRIBLE memory. I need to journal or blog of photograph things to remember them. I LOVE looking back at my older blog entries and I really want to get back on track with this. I know that when I was younger I would start many journals and looking back there are plenty of gaps through the years but I usually am able to get back to it. I'll try again.

So Thanksgiving 2009. Unlike any thanksgiving ever for me. We were all set to head to Indiana last Friday to spend the week with family and friends. We had a packed schedule and planned to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas in one trip. I was uncertain for the trip's reality at about 9 on Friday morning when Fred, who had gotten up and dressed to go to work, was back in bed in his sweats and announced he needed to stay close to home. By 10 he was worshipping the porcelain god and I went out to run some errands and leave him to suffer in peace. When I returned a few hours later with the boys in tow he was asking me to take him to the Dr. (Fred rarely seeks medical intervention, this was serious!) I had brought the boys home early so we could leave town around 2. Instead we headed to the Dr at 2:30. The results... Flu A positive. Ugh!

Well, by Saturday we had decided officially that the trip was off. Fred was fevering and miserable and would be contagious for 24 hours after the end of the fever, whenever that might be. My bigger fear was that one of the rest of us would catch the virus and end up sick once we got to Indiana. Who really wants to be sick and away from home to boot. We hunkered down, lived out of our suitcases for a few days and made some plans locally.

The week turned out to be really pleasant. We had all sorts of plans for up north but nothing on the calendar down here. We certainly filled it in with some shopping, chillaxin, movie watching, an impromptu dinner party, a trip to the Cowboy's game for the kids. The boys have spent some real quality time with friends and have enjoyed the mild weather this week. In the end, we managed to salvage it and make it a GREAT week. The only thing that could have made it better was a private jet to take us to Indiana or bring the Hoosiers south for a day or two.

So, here it is Black Friday and I am in the BIG city instead of the little town and I have not even left the neighborhood. The boys are proving to be VERY challenging when it comes to Christmas this year. Their wish lists are short and spendy and my wallet is slim and guarded. Stay tuned.

Ok, I think I'm going to do some laundry and think about a to do list that includes wrapping presents and perhaps baking cookies. I am really looking forward to baking spritz cookies this year since I did not make a single spritz cookie last year in the chaos of moving back into the house. This year I have two ovens, a Kitchen Aid Mixer, and a new cookie press. It's like Christmas.... Oh yeah, it it CHRISTMAS!

Recent challenges of motherhood

Obviously I can not cover all of the challenges of motherhood in one entry or even in this one blog but here is the latest from the weekend.

So Nic told me before school on Friday that he was going to have a bunch of homework to do this weekend. I scribbled it on the whiteboard as a reminder and said we talk more about the fine points after school.

Well after school we did just that. We found that he had done VERY poorly on a grammar quiz and was given an opportunity at redemption in the form of a re-teaching worksheet. He needed to type up a poem, write 5 other poems, do a math worksheet and start on a scrapbook project/ book report. This added up to HOURS of homework and we were all feeling overwhelmed. Add to that the fact that Nic had failed to bring home the rubrics for two of the projects and we were pretty much screwed.

I shot a note off to his English teacher at about 4:30 asking for his assistance and he caught my note before he left for the day thank God! He sent some info we needed along with some due date info and said that he would help Nic remember to bring some more info home on Monday. Progress in the right direction for sure! We took a few minutes and Nic came up with a plan of attack on the additional items and we went on with our day. I gave him Friday off more or less and sent him to a friend's house to spend the night. It was his only real opportunity for that before the WORK commenced on Saturday.

Saturday I picked him up at 10:30 and by 11 he and Will were hitting each other and not getting along so I forced Nic to adjust his work plan and start right away instead of his proposed 12 noon start time. He managed to get through typing a poem he had already written and did a nice job with it. Then we moved on to the math homework which he seemed to have left at school or lost. I was over the top ticked off at this point and let him know it. He really already knew I would be mad but in about 5 minutes we had both calmed down and come up with a plan. We copied the worksheet of a friend and Fred was able to erase all the friend's work, reprint the worksheet and provide a clean copy for Nic to work on. Once he had the worksheet he got it done 100% and we moved on.

The poor grammar quiz was pretty unsettling. He did REALLY badly. His redemption opportunity was significant but was going to take work so he spent some time on that. He then had these 5 poems to work on. They aren't due until Thursday but obviously we needed to get BUSY on them now. He did one, started a second and then we called it a night. We went out for a yummy family dinner to Go Go Burger and got home in time to chill a bit before bed.

Today we got busy right around lunch time. Will had some homework to finish so we all worked at the table on our respective assignments. Will wrote a story about wind, Nic wrote a poem and found prepositional phrases and I read Entertainment Weekly to map out my fall TV watching schedule. All important tasks if you ask me.

Well, Nic's pal called and wanted Nic to come and play so he was motivated to work on his projects straight through. He managed to pump out three of the five poems and finish the grammar re-teach worksheet by 4:00 and was able to go to his friend's house for about 90 minutes of fun. He then returned for a tasty spaghetti dinner and saxophone practice. Now that everyone is clean and has clothes picked out for tomorrow and a plan for lunch we are in really good shape to start our new week.

I am optimistic that we are on top of the homework for the week and that with some planning we can get through the scrapbook/book report project without too much drama. I think that the reality that Nic is the least organized member of our household had slapped me across the face and I, as his mother and biggest cheerleader, need to nag and cheer him onto a successful turn-around of this challenging trait.

The good news is that people can change and that Will is nothing like him. Enough about that. I'll come up with something more positive before I write again!

Wow!

I said goodbye to my son last month and I never came back?! Lucky for me he did and we have just been going going going ever since. I have ignored the blog for too long and I am sorry. I have a plan in my head to get back on track so we'll hope it happens. I have found that since I went "private" I am less compelled to write because so few people are subscribed to read. Oh well, for you lucky few... Here goes!

The end of summer was a blur. Nic at Leadership Camp, Will's birthday, My birthday, dentist appointments, friend in the hospital, 6th grade boot camp, swimming, then SCHOOL! The boys have been back for almost three weeks and it is going OK so far. Yes, we have had a few rough evening with homework drama and stuff but overall pretty smooth transition so far.

Will is in 4th grade and has the Goddess of 4th grade as his teacher. All of the other 4th grade teachers are goddesses in training. I think that is just a hoot and I can't wait to make something for his teacher that proclaims her goddess title to all who enter her room.

Nic is in 6th grade and has 7 teachers. I have not met a single one and am suffering because of that. Tonight is curriculum night so I hope to put some faces with names tonight. Nic has been doing well with middle school but did have a little stumble when it came to lunch offering in the cafeteria. There are just so many choices that cost so much money. We are still working on that part but I think my message is clear. Or should I say that I hope for his sake that it is clear.

I am getting into the swing of being home alone during the day. I seem to be here so rarely. My local BF landed herself in the hospital just before school started so I have been trying my best to help her as she recovers from this MS setback. I was also called on day of two of the new year to substitute for a kindergarten class on days 3-5. We struggled through and I think I did a pretty darn fine job with them all things considered. I affirmed that I am sooooooo glad that I did not follow through on a degree in Education when I was at Marian. Subbing is so much better for me and the kids. I have not had the chance to sub again since that first week due to running middle school carpool and various other stuff but maybe next week. I would like to do it about once a week just for a few extra bucks. I spent what I made last month on some bathroom decor items that I have been wanting but have just not prioritized. It's a done deal now and I am pleased.

So my latest endeavors include working on the PTA directory for the elementary school and trying to do a little crafting. I am working on an album about myself called "Me : The Abridged Version" that was inspired by a great book that I read a few years back. The Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. I am rereading it (although I had to buy a new copy because I passed my first copy on to a friend) and am trying to contain myself to short but insightful entries about me from an alphabetical perspective. It's thought provoking and fun to write some entries for sure. Maybe if I like the way it turns out I'll share. maybe...

Ok, I need to accomplish a little more with my day today and save some banter for tomorrow. Check back, I'll do better... I promise!

Bye for now son...

So this week is here. I have known about it for months. I PAID for this to happen. My first born child is outta here for the week. I will miss this generous hugger, I will not miss his unmistakable scream, I might enjoy leftovers (if I decide to cook) that won't get gobbled up because he is not here. I am full of mixed emotions.

I drove him out to the middle of nowhere this morning and as long as he doesn't get kicked out he should be incommunicado until Friday at 1:00. We will all look forward to his homecoming and will celebrate this by celebrating Will's 9th birthday! It's all in the timing people.

The Lonestar Leadership Academy should be teaching my boy a thing or two about being a leader and a group member. He will get to see a BUNCH of cool places in and around Dallas and hopefully meet some new friends. As I was walking him to the bus today he did mention that he noticed a few cute girls. Who knows, maybe he'll come home with a long distance girlfriend? That is a scary thought for sure!

OK, off to snuggle with the young one and try to think of something good for two and a half people to have for dinner.

I digress, what's new?

So this post should be about the end of our week in Indy but I'd rather babble...

We had an entire day of rain yesterday then I had an entire evening of a MIGRAINE FROM HELL! It was the worst I have had in a long time. It was unique and annoying and painful but thanks to medication and a patient family I survived and woke up a newish person.

The boys are getting on each others nerves so right now they are separated. Will has some pals over here at the house and Nic is at the foster home that will keep him in the event of my untimely death. Just kidding, kind of.

We stayed in all day yesterday and have been a bit more productive today. Each boy got their eyes examined and they are good to go using their current prescription of glasses. Yeah! I just saved $300! After the exam we completed the shopping on Will's school supply list and bought a couple of grocery items then headed home. This afternoon has been a good mix of progress and chillin. I should try to get some more progress in before Fred gets home. The good news is that I have a PLAN for dinner, this is quite unusual, and everyone should be home to enjoy.

I feel like summer is winding down around here. We still have nearly one full month before school starts but it is going to be a busy month none the less. Nic goes to his leadership academy next week M-F and is excitedly nervous, as am I! Will and I will spend lots of quality time together and hopefully his friends will get him through the week without his brother.

We get Nic Friday afternoon then have a couple of hours to kill before Will's Birthday Bash! 3 RSVP's so far plus my own kids so we are getting there. The week after Will's b-day we have dentist appointments, I think Will needs a shot/booster and back to school boot camp for Junior High. Then we will be busy busy busy counting down the hours until school starts, getting PTA stuff ready, selecting the perfect outfit and looking over school cafeteria menus. I CAN'T WAIT! I just love back to school time. Wish I needed a new notebook!

What an AMAZING week!

The boys and I headed out to IN last Saturday morning. It was going to be an adventure for certain! Jack, my GPS, took me out of TX in a wonky way but we eventually did make it to Lake St Louis on Saturday night to join our friends the Langstons. They used to live around the block from us in Iowa and have since relocated to MO. Their home is a nice stopping point on the way to IN and since they let us stay for FREE and even took pets it was a win win all the way. The boys had a blast playing with Nathan and Grace and were sad we could only stay about 13 hours. Their hospitality was much appreciated!

Sunday we headed the rest of the way to Indy and arrived at my parent's house late afternoon. The boys were excited to see Georgia's new puppies and Pete was excited to stretch his legs! We jumped back in the car and headed to Jen and Shannen's for a YUMMO BBQ and had a great visit with the cousins and Aunt Andrea as well. We missed you Ben!

Monday we headed to downtown Indianapolis to Circle Center to do some browsing, check out the arts garden and see the CITY! We drove around the Circle a few times then headed out to Jennifer's for another tasty meal... Chicago's Pizza this time! After another fun evening I ran my dad home so he could get to bed then the boys and I went to Aunt Joanie's and Uncle Mike's house to visit. Sarah was home so we chilled, literally, on the deck and played my FAVORITE GAME EVA!!!! Uno Attack. It was fun until it got too dark to distinguish the card's colors and then it was time to head inside. We moved to the kitchen table and started playing LCR. We have this game but have never played before. It was a BLAST! Very simple, quick and FUN! The boys took to it really quickly, anyone would, especially when instead of playing with the mini poker chips included your Aunt pulls out your Uncle's change jar! The boys were having a blast playing for coins but somehow the pot began to include trinkets off of the kitchen wall from Somerville Dr. Next time you visit over there and you see nails with nothing hanging on them just know that the decor items are being well cared for by the Baker Boys!

Tuesday we hooked up with Jen and the kids again and went to the New Indianapolis Public Library. It was more than beautiful. Very impressive and seemed to be well used too. Always nice to see. After the library a lunch at McDonald's was in order. Jen ditched us with the baby and the four kids, me and mom headed west out to Marian University. My Alma mater has changed names and has been going through some dramatic physical adjustments as well and I needed to see it with my own eyes. The football stadium was quite impressive. The campus looked nice, I only wish I had had more time to wander. All the same, I got to the bookstore and bought a couple of Marian University shirts and we headed back to 2205.

We stopped at 2205 long enough to grab swim gear, dropped Granny off and then headed out to Jen's to swim in their neighborhood pool. The boys were terribly excited but were a bit shocked at the cool temperature of the pool water. Swimming in TX is usually done in pools filled with bath water so it was an adjustment. They swam for an hour or so then we ran back to granny and grandpa's and the boys changed real quick so that they could go fishing! They went to a friend of my parent's house and had such fun that they didn't get home until 11:45PM! They caught fish, told fish tales and generally made some great memories. While the boys were fishing I went out to dinner with my mom, sister-in-law, a few cousins and a couple of aunts. It was a nice evening topped off with sharing birthday cake for my cousin Sarah's big 23!

Wednesday the boys needed to sleep in so we got a bit of a late start but headed to Logansport to see the Baker side of the family. We drove directly to the Cass Co Fairgrounds and jumped at the fair food and even watched some of the cattle show that was taking place. We left and then headed to Aunt Mary Sue's to swim and visit. Planning all the while to go back to the fair for more fun on Wednesday night. Well upon our arrival at MMM's Nic went looking for the cat that hates him in ended up taking a nose dive down their basement stairs. He was quite shook up and seems to have injured his wrist to some degree. He calmed down and gave up on the cat and chose instead to swim. Well, his wrist was bothering him so much that he gave that up pretty quickly too. I called my almost local athletic trainer and consulted about the injury and concluded that he had not broken the wrist. He was uncomfortable so we settled on an Ace bandage wrap and some Motrin and headed to the fair. We debated long and hard about rides at the fair. All you can ride bracelet or tickets or waste your money on carni games. The boys FINALLY settled on wrist bands! Will went first then Nic stuck his wrist through the window only to be told that they would not sell him a wrist band due to his injury! NO WAY PEOPLE! I can totally take it off, it is more mental than physical I promise! No luck they wouldn't band him with a known injury. We got $ back for Will's band and walked away pretty dejected.

Well, a quick thinking set of moms decided that they could not keep him off of rides if he just bought tickets and took the Ace off so that is what he did. He and Will had a decent time and we were all ready to move on sooner than I thought so it is probably a good thing that the bracelet thing fell through.

Ok, I should really be doing some other stuff to get settled back in from the trip. Laundry is in process but there is always something more. I will talk about the tail end of the week in my next entry!

Two posts in one day.

One HOT day we went to the frisco city pool. IT WAS HOT!

After the pool we went to the SnowCone Lady for the first time. This is not the SnowCone Lady. This is my friend Sabrina!

" Cool and refreshing!" According to Nic and Alex.

GRAPE!

Later in the week the boys took a little bicycle safety class at Safety Town.

This is Will heading down the right side of the street with his helmet on. He ven knows hand signals now.

After Safety Town we headed to Strikz to do a little bowling. This is the 2nd place finisher.

Here is the first place finisher. Yes, I got beat by my kids. But they did have bumpers!

It's easy with just pictures.

Disney!!!!! Not enough time for words but here are some pics!

Fred trying Mexican Coke product that he had never seen in Mexico. Go figure...

Will pumped about the American idol Experience! We each had our favorites.

Will and me taking a trip on the Astro Orbiter. It was HIGH!

The boys ready to play Toy Story Mania Mid-way Games.

Nic's dessert at LeCellier in Canada. I think it was called S'more. The marshmallow on the stick was roasted and dipped in sprinkles.

Will after 4 hours at Disney Quest. Their new favorite theme park by Disney. Full of "virtual" games and rides.

A hidden Mickey I found on our headboard. I was so excited because I always look for hidden Mickeys and rarely find them. Yay me!

Building a car at the Lego store. We have this on our MUST DO list each and every trip!

The Welcome Home picture at our resort.

Hey, it's a start. I'll fill in the blanks some day...