Go Devils!!

Last night we went to the ASU game with Deedee and Chris. Sarah babysat J for us and he said they had a lot of fun hanging out together. It was the first time the boys and I have been to a college game.

Usually whenever I go to a sporting event, whichever team I am rooting for ends up being the losing team. I have thought of myself as a sort of bad luck charm. Well not today. The Devils won!

I am a fan of the marching band. Mike and I decided we both would want to play the drum. Not the big drum that looks like a big gut, we want the one with the four little drums. You know, those ones like on the movie Drumline. We also decided that the dorkiest part of the band is the boy baton twirlers. I wonder if that is what they really wanted to do or if they just want to meet girls.

Marcus was really curious about the loud, drunk, potty mouthed college kids that he wouldn't stop staring at, and the security guards. At one point he was asking me if we were allowed to call security on the people in front of us because they kept standing up and he couldn't see the game.

Anyway, I am a Sun Devil fan now. Chris even taught me how to do the pitchfork gang sign with my hand. I am legit now.

Thanksgiving

I wasn't brave enough to go shopping today. I have done it in the past but this year the thought of getting up at 4 in the morning to go stand in some jaw droppingly long line, to wait in the cold, while keeping an eye on that lady that is trying to cut in line, to get that magic deal on whatever just did not seem that appealing. For those of you that did, I hope you got all the items that you evil-eyed and fist fought for.

We spent our Thanksgiving at my dad's house. Sarah and her kids came over and so did my aunt and uncle. We did the usual, gorged ourselves three or four times, fought off the urge to fall asleep while watching football, and played Rockband. What you mean you don't play Rockband at your Thanksgiving? You're weird.

Yes that is my 47 year old dad playing guitar. If you look on the wall you will notice a very nice animal skin and right next to that is two giant pairs of elk antlers. Yes my dad is single and is looking for a nice girl that enjoys cooking, cleaning, and dead animal decor.

The turkey tester

The ham, stuffing, potatoes, corn, biscuits, green bean casserole, peas, sweet potatoes, and everything else testers.

I was thankful a bee didn't land in my soda like one did in Mike's. I hate bees.

We ate our meal outside, my dad said that meant we were eating al fresca. I think al fresca means "with the flies".

No Thanksgiving meal is complete unless there is a kiddie table. This year's table was for Marcus, Angel, and Ryan. There were lots of "don't move the table", "do you have to go potty", "you have to eat three bites of your veggies" being said.

Here are all the leftovers. Sarah and I braved the dishes without the use of a dishwasher. We are troopers.

After dinner, the kids burned off calories by jumping on the trampoline. You can see Ryan aka Tiny Tim hanging out on the side. He got stitches in his foot on Wednesday and although the dr's said it wouldn't affect his walking, he refuses to walk on it. Everyone has been carrying him around so I named him Tiny Tim.

The older kids climbed up the trees in the front yard. It's so funny to see them up in the trees because it's the same trees I used to climb in when I was their age. Oh gosh I am getting old.

Cheaters

Jason fixing up Tiny Tim

After all the dishes were done, all the die hard Rockbanders (me, Sarah, my dad, Jason, and Nathan) spent the rest of the evening playing. Me and Sarah fought over the guitar but I played the I'm older card so I got to play most of the time. We even got Mike to sing! He was pretty creative with his lyrics which was highly entertaining.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as much fun as ours! And I hope you didn't burn you ooey gooey butter cake like I did mine.

Planning is for Wimps

Our family really likes that old expression, fly by the seat of your pants. We were "planning" to have a preThanksgiving Thanksgiving at my mom's house. She said that would be too boring, so she broke her oven while in the middle of baking pies the evening before the big day, and decided it would be more exciting to have the party at my dirty, unprepared, house. FUN!

Then we "planned" on cooking the turkey for 4 hours like our handy little turkey cooking chart that is always completely accurate said to. That would have been too boring though so mom bought a magic turkey that resisted heat waves and would take an extra 2 hours to cook. You know, that way everyone is starving and the food would taste that much better.

We had "planned" to eat till our stomachs were about to burst and then let Ryan open his birthday presents. Since today is his 3rd birthday today. Then when we got the turkey out of the oven to take his temperature, Ryan decided this party was kind of lame. He decided to liven things up by pulling a towel off the counter which knocked the sharpest knife I own onto his foot. This then caused us to make a surprise trip to West Valley Hospital for some super fun stitches. This way he could pick up his presents that they were holding for him. He got a popsicle, crayons, and a teddy bear that we named Stitch.

Happy birthday Ryan! I am sure this is a party that you won't even remember in 10 years but it was definitely one we will never forget.

Now I am "planning" to get a good night sleep and have my husband rub my feet and feed me peeled grapes in bed. I'll have to let you know how that plan goes...



On a different note,
How come it seems like whenever I am at the hospital I am a magnet for the medical student that wants to "practice". Now I know they have to learn somehow but shouldn't there be something in it for me? How about a free copay or an Ipod or something. I mean if I (or Ryan) am going to sign up to be a lab rat and donate myself (or Ryan's self) to better someone's stitching skills we should get something in return. Just a thought.

Marcus The Great

Marcus made his singing debut at his school recital today. Marcus wore a pilgrim hat and they sang Thanksgiving songs. Well, the other kids sang and Marcus just stood there most of the time looking cute and awkward. He is very anti singing in public just like his mom.

Soccer

Saturday was the last day for soccer this season. We had a couple make up games that morning. Then each of the boys made the all star team in their division because they are so awesome. Our day started at 9am for the first game and we finally made our way back home STARVING at 7pm.

Marcus did great in his game. The other team can't score when he is in the game. He is a defensive ninja, whenever the other team was about to score, he just appeared out of nowhere and stole the ball.

Jason had a rough season this year. His team, for a lack of a better word, well, they were horrible. Halfway through the season they were moved down a division so that they could be a bit more competitive. Even so, they never won a game. It was very hard for Jason to not give up and quit but he stuck through it and we are proud of him. He finally snagged a victory in his all star game and was elated.

I think he is glad this season is over.

Nathan had a good season. His team was very competitive and were a force to be reckoned with. The only hiccup in Nathan's season was a couple of weeks ago when he got ejected out of the game. He pushed a kid on the other team that had blatantly pushed Nathan several times throughout the game but the ref never saw the other kid push (of course). Nathan finally had enough and pushed him back. I'm not saying he was right because he wasn't, but, he wasn't in trouble with me either. He should have told someone what was going on instead of dealing with it himself, but I am glad he stood up for himself.

Here are the all stars in Nathan's division. Nathan is on the kneeling on the right side. Since his game was at night, I didn't really get any good pictures of his all star game except for this one.

This is Marcus and Coach Marvin. Marvin has been Marcus' coach for the past two seasons and he is the best. Marvin and Marcus are best of friends and they are both undefeated for the past two years! Here they are comparing muscles.

It is always bittersweet at the end of the season. I love to see the games and they have so much fun. We meet make new friends and meet more neighbors. But on the other hand, practices are no fun with three kids. We had practice times that overlapped and were at two different locations so that was always very stressful. I was a very frantic soccer mom at times. It is definitely worth it and I can't wait until next season!

I Got Tagged

I got tagged by Nicole dang it. I wonder how long this virtual tag game has been going on. Anyway, here it goes....

5 Joys
-My family of course
-Reading
-Photography, I didn't know I loved it until I got my last camera. Before that I thought I was just a horrible picture taker
-Eating unhealthy food
-Flip flops (I try to incorporate them into every outfit I wear)

5 Fears
-Butterflies, I know that sounds retarded but when I was little, one chased me when my family was camping and I have never been the same. I swear I remember it being the size of a dinner plate but my mom said it was average sized.
-Uncooked meat, I am freakish when it comes to this. I need all my chicken and steak near burnt and dry or I can't eat it.
-I am afraid to swim in lakes and the ocean because a fish might bump into me. Even a little fish brushing against me would make me scream.
-I have had the same dream at least once every couple of weeks for the last 11 years. It is really awful and I always fear that it is really a premonition.
-Lightning (see below)

5 Surprising Facts
-When I was 11, our house was struck by lightning while I was home with my sister and grandma. It actually caught on fire! It was the loudest thing I have ever heard in my life. I was the one that got everyone out of the house.
-When I was in 4th grade, I used to hate my PE teacher so much I forged a note excusing myself from PE for the rest of the year due to asthma. I thought it looked pretty legit but I got busted anyway.
-I had Nathan naturally (no epidural). This was not on purpose, I just did not make it to the hospital in time to get it. Oh I wished I would have got there earlier.
-Most everyone knows I met Mike at work but most people don't know that he was my boss. That's right I married my boss. Very scandalous.
-I've only gotten three trophies in my life. Two of them were for reading and the other one was for fishing. Yep, I was and am a big nerd.

5 Obsessions
-Diet Dr Pepper (I know this is very bad but I have one for breakfast everyday)
-Twilight, I just read all four books and loved it so much I am reading it again
-America's Next Top Model, it's an awful show but I can't help myself
-Coach anything, it goes against my frugal ways but I love it. I even have Coach glasses
-My kids and husband who make my world go round

That wasn't too painful. Hopefully I didn't put you to sleep, really I am not all that interesting. Since most of the people that read my blog don't have blogs you lucky duckies are safe. So Sarah, Tiffany, Amanda, and Melinda you're it!

The Walk

Today after work, Mike wanted to go for a walk. I voted for taking a nap, but James voted for going for a walk too. Dang it! Once again I am outvoted. Why do I hate going for walks so much! It can hardly be called exercise, but in my head it is equivalent to torture. The whole time I am putting on my shoes and getting the baby ready I am trying to come up with some reason why I can't go. I couldn't think of any so we went for a walk.

We walked around one of the neighborhood lakes. I looked for these...

And Mike looked for these. He drives me crazy with his house hunting. I think he figured that out so he mostly house hunts behind my back now, but I still see him looking for the web address on the signs out of the corner of his eye.

If you have ever been in the car while Mike was driving you probably know that he drives with his knees a lot. Yes, his knees. I have told him it is very unsafe but he insists he is really good. James likes to steer with his feet, I hope James isn't learning this bad habit from dad.

We all had fun chasing these coots around. We don't like these gross duck imposters. They tear up the grass and leave green poop everywhere including the sidewalk. Every winter they migrate to our lake.

Ever since James got his new tooth this week he feels like such a big boy. He has become quite the professional eater, that is sort of his niche since he is definitely no where near crawling and he is not a good sleeper. His new favorite food is orange slices which he ate while lounging in his stroller. No wonder he voted for walk! If I were going to be fed and sitting the whole time I would have picked it too.

Maybe tomorrow I will bribe James with oatmeal to vote for nap. I have a feeling that I am going to lose again so I guess I better just start thinking of my excuse now.

My Husband

Reasons why I love my hot husband....

1. He rides a very uncool scooter to work everyday to save us some cash
2. He has very sexy legs and green eyes
3. He fixes my brakes
4. He let's me put my freezing cold toes on him to warm them up
5. He always eats whatever I make and says it's good
6. He picks my outfits for me when I can't decide
7. He let me have a cat even though he hates them
8. He likes to barbecue.. and I love to eat barbecue

Wondering why there are only eight? There are lots more reasons but I don't want to make you all jealous

I love you Mike

Vanilla Wafers

Yesterday, Jason and Nathan had an eating contest. On the menu was Great Value Vanilla Wafers, mmmm. Marcus wasn't interested since he doesn't care for the wafers. Actually, the only dessert Marcus really likes is ice cream.

The rules were simple. No chewing, and the wafers can't be held in by your hands.

Yes, this is the type of thing we do with our free time. We are odd like that. It was actually very hilarious to watch them try to cram just one more into their already super stuffed hamster cheeks. Sibling rivalry is awesome.

Jason managed a very respectable 8. Keep in mind they weren't allowed to chew.

The very proud winner somehow managed 9. Jason filed a dispute though, his complaint was that Nathan's last one wasn't completely in his mouth. I did rule in Nathan's favor since that was not in the rules.

Maybe I can make our next eating contest broccoli florets. I wonder if their desire to beat each other would outweigh their dislike for any green food. Maybe if I had them blind folded that just might work. Ohh I am so evil Ha Ha Ha!

That Look

This my friends, is the death stare. I am sure if you have a pre teen or a teen you have seen this look before. This look means- if I could shoot laser beams out of my eyeballs you would be gone. He is 11 now so I guess this is going to be pretty common for a while and I'm sure my mom is laughing because she is getting her revenge now.

Mom I just want to say I'm sorry, I am sure I did this look a lot to you too.

Fire

This weekend we had our first backyard campfire of the season. It was complete with our kids wielding metal sticks and marshmallows. I don't think there is a child on this planet who doesn't love to roast those puffy sugar balls.

Can you believe they actually got tired of the marshmallows? At the end they just wanted to roast them. Well, I guess they did split an entire bag.

It went pretty well. Nathan only burned his lip two times this time. He is finally starting to learn how to actually roast the marshmallows instead of just turning them into charcoal briquets. Honestly, I think the briquets tasted good too though.

Hey Remember Me...

Lately I have seriously neglected my kids, my husband, and my blog. I'm sorry guys. But seriously it wasn't my fault, here is the culprit....

I have been reading at an insanely furious pace. I have read 2,438 pages in the span of ten days. Insane, for sure. Necessary, well, at the time I thought so. Hi, my name is Rebecca and I am an addict. I don't know if it possible to be addicted to a book but I was so it must be. I would get the shakes every time I wasn't reading. I would even sneak a few pages in between calls at work. The no books in the bathroom rule was off. Edward and Bella were my drug of choice and I wanted them bad. Amazingly, after I read the last page my addiction was cured and I am on the road to recovery. Hallelujah!

So kids I'm sorry if I made you sandwiches for dinner so I could read a few extra pages instead of cooking. And Mike, I am sorry if I pretended to not hear the baby cry a couple times so that you would get him. Thanks for putting up with me. I am sure there is a staggering mountain of laundry waiting for me. I cringe at the thought.

WARNING
Twilight- Read at your own risk

Bandaids

Lately, this child has me buying bandaids on a weekly basis. I am not sure he is going to make it through kindergarten the way things have been going this week. Maybe instead of just a bike helmet, I should send him out to play in one of those snowsuits like the kid an A Christmas Story was wearing. It would be hard to get hurt with that on.

Oh and yesterday I thought I was going to have to take him to go get stitches. He did a head plant into the brick retainer wall in our back yard and was bleeding all over the place. It was hard to see how big the cut was because it was in his hair. When I finally got it to stop bleeding it was only ---- <--that big. Apparantly your head bleeds a lot. Either way I was sad grandma/nurse Mickey wasn't here to calm us both down.

Hey Marcus let's sit down and watch a movie tomorrow until I can go to the store and buy some more bandaids.

Progress Reports

Today the boys brought home their progress reports. Usually a day to celebrate in our house since they always have pretty good grades. Nathan got his usual straight A's, and Marcus is finally recognizing all his letters and their sounds after months of hard work. Huzzah!

I opened Jason's and I think my mouth hit the floor. Two F's and two D's! I can't believe it! Before this, the worst he has ever got was a single D surrounded by mostly A's. To me this is where it is real hard to be a parent. School is something where I am not in complete control and am not there to see what is the issue until it is too late. I can honestly say I thought he was doing well. He never has problems completing his homework and I never got a note from his teacher about missing assignments. Total shock.

The guilty party is confined to his room for the day after our long talk (I hate sending them to their room for the whole day, I always feel so guilty but it's for his and my own good right) and there is already a letter for his teacher in his backpack.

I am determined to get to the bottom of this and get him back on track. Mom, Mickey, Mena, I am sure you have all been here before, any advice?

P.S. Sorry for the not so cheery post, I'll try to make the next one extra cheery to make up for it

Tonight was craft night at our house. I thought we could use some holiday decorations around the house and the kids were happy to lend a hand. I love to craft but I'm no good at coming up with creative craft projects. We decided on hand wreaths since I did those in 3rd grade and knew what I was doing and Jason made a toilet paper santa which came out really cool looking. Jason and Nathan thought it was hilarious, and by hilarious I mean in tears on the floor laughing, to make their hands have six fingers or really pointy fingers. Me and Marcus didn't get it. We are too mature for things like that. Nathan and Marcus did Thanksgiving wreaths and wrote things they were thankful for on each hand. Jason made a Christmas one and isn't his Santa awesome? All of their stuff came out great.

I was going to do a wreath but spent most of my time helping Marcus cut out his hands. If I were to do one I would have wrote that I was thankful for being able to stay home and be with my children, for my sexy husband, for my new Twilight book "New Moon" that I can't wait to read (thanks mom and Stan for the gift), and for cooler weather.

One of Those Days

Today was one of those days. It was one of those days where we just fell of the face of the Earth, and life only existed in this house of ours. One of the lazy days where we stayed in our pajamas all day and did nothing.

the baby slept more than usual

the boys hardly stopped playing video games

Mike was glued to the football games on tv while I couldn't seem to escape from my book


In fact, the only hint of any sort of physical activity today was when it actually rained for 5 minutes. It was just long enough for Marcus to grab his beloved Bob the Builder umbrella to dance in the sprinkles. He was the only one who actually got dressed today.

Rain and clouds have that effect on us. Good thing there is only 7.5 rainy days in Arizona a year.

Back to normal tomorrow