The Aftermath...

Well, the last couple days of vacation were spent visiting friends.  We visited Dennis' best friend Tasha on the 27th, up in Baltimore, and got to see her new baby Finley.  Who was ADORABLE!  I enjoyed getting my baby fix by feeding her a bottle and Colin was as eager to hold her as I was.  He had a huge grin on his face the whole time.  I have never seen a young boy who loves babies as much as he does!

Then Dennis took the boys to his friend Jeremy's house, for dinner, while I went out with my Mom and sisters.  We went to an amazing Italian restaurant in Georgetown and then to the Kennedy Center to see the musical Billy Elliot.  We had a really nice ladies night out and ate some of the best italian food I have ever eaten!

The drive back went well except that 10 1/2 hours is a long way for a 20 month old.  Logan cried a few times, but overall he was pretty good.  Evan has been very sweet to Logan lately.  One time when Logan was crying Evan said, "Is there anything I can do for you?".  Then later he said, "Do you want my blanket?  Do you want your lovey?  Do you want inner peace?"  He was a big help on the drive trying to distract Logan!

Then today we spent the whole day putting toys together, cleaning the house, putting toys away and doing mounds of laundry.  We always say we need a vacation from our vacation and that is pretty much how we felt today.  It is nice to get everything back in order and all the new toys are definitely keeping the boys busy.

Merry Christmas 2011!

Well, we had a wonderful Christmas this year.

It started off on Christmas Eve at Grandma and Robert Bridger's home.  The kids were spoiled as always with lots of gifts and they were really excited to finally get to open some after looking at presents under our tree for weeks.  I was extremely bummed to discover that I had left my camera battery in Indiana and therefor was unable to take any pictures this Christmas.  I did get some video footage, but unfortunately other than a few mobile photos Dennis took, we have no pictures.

  

Logan and I with our white elephant gifts...

After putting the kids to bed I ran out to Midnight mass and met my parents there.  It is so hard to stay up that late especially with traveling and all the running around we have to do.  Unfortunately, that is the only mass we can fit in to our schedule at this time.

Christmas morning the boys actually slept until almost 7, but were super excited when they came in to our room to open presents.  Colin was especially excited to open his Nintendo 3DS.  He didn't even ask for it, which made it even more special.  He opened it and said "Wow and 3DS, that's like 100 dollars!"    Evan got a cool ride on scooter which he was excited about, but mostly he loved his small Phineas and Ferb action figures.  Logan wasn't that in to opening presents.  He was just happy to walk around.

Julie and Holly's families then arrived (they brought their santa gifts to my Mom's to open together) and then we had a nice breakfast together.

The day continued at Meghan's house where we exchanged gifts with Miranda and Grandpa McLaughlin.  Evan was very excited to get a leap pad or his own "ipad" as he calls it.  Colin enjoyed putting a lego castle together while we were there.

Then we went to my extended family party at a hall.  There was probably 60 people or so there and we had a lot of fun playing games, eating LOTS of food and having a visit from Santa.  Logan didn't want anything to do with him and wouldn't sit on his lap, but Colin and Evan sat for awhile no problem.  The boys had a blast as always playing with their cousins and my cousins kids.

This year, Christmas was spread out even more because we spent the evening of the 26th also opening gifts.  We decided that since there was no time when my siblings and parents would all be together on the 25th (David was in South Carolina with Fanchon's family), we would celebrate on the 26th.  So, we went to Julie's for dinner and did our big gift exchange then.  It was nice to have my whole family together and it is crazy that there are now 24 of us!!!  And next year that number will be up to 26, since Julie announced on Christmas day that she is expecting in early August (and David and Fanchon are due end of June)!!!!!

It was a wonderful Christmas with lots of family and great memories!

Christmas Cookies

Well, we have been busy packing for our trip to Nova.  We leave bright and early tomorrow morning so we have to have the car all packed tonight.  I volunteered to bake cookies for my extended families Christmas celebration so I spent all day baking and then recruited some kids in the neighborhood to help decorate.  The kids had a lot of fun and I'm just hoping the cookies taste better than some of them look....

For the record, my boys did a pretty good job decorating, but I can see now how their artistic abilities are advanced for their ages.

Happy Hanukah!

Colin and Luke playing dradle

The boys closest friends in the neighborhood, Luke and Jake, had us over this evening to celebrate Hanukah with them.  They taught us about Hanukah and the traditions they have.  After a wonderful dinner of hamburgers and potato latkes, the boys played dradle and then lit the menorah.  It was a fun evening and we learned alot too.

Jake, Colin, Luke and Evan lighting their menorahs

Let's Dress the Same and Loggie Update...

Even though I don't have twins, I still like when my boys all dress similar, they just look cute that way.  Anyway, I never thought they cared either way, but today I overheard Colin and Evan saying to each other...."lets dress the same, how about jeans and hokie shirts?"  Then Colin went to Evan's room to help him pick out clothes.  Colin and Evan drive us a little crazy sometimes with their brotherly wrestling, but they really are great friends too...

This is how they watch TV many times, I didn't pose them.

We spent a lot of the weekend playing the board game Sorry and again today Dennis played with the boys.  We really enjoy having game nights and it is great to get the kids away from "screen time" (ie. TV and video games).  The boys really enjoy it too, except we are still working on Evan not getting upset when he looses.

Today, Dennis worked from home so that we could all go to Logan's cardiologist appointment.  When the nurse called Logan's name he started crying immediately.  He cried the entire time we were trying to get his weight and height and I had to lay next to him on the table for the Echo cardiogram. Luckily, he calmed down (thanks to some balls and a car the technician gave him).  When we were all done, he was giddy though.  He was waving and saying "bye" to everyone we passed and he had all the nurses and receptionists watching him and commenting how cute he was.  He was walking with his little strut and flirting away.  And, that is pretty much how every doctors appointment goes with him these days...  Well, I am happy to report that his murmur is an innocent one and we don't need to do anything about it.  He should outgrow it, but if he doesn't it shouldn't effect him in any way.  His echo cardiogram was completely normal.

Logan is getting more talkative.  I used to pick him up from school and his teachers would have always marked "happy and quiet" on his take home sheet.  But, lately they have been marking "happy and chatty".  His favorite words right now are "No" and "Yeah".  He is also getting pretty good with some of his sign language (they teach him at school).  He says more, thanks, drink, and all done with his hand signals.  I never thought much of teaching babies sign language, but it really does help us know what he wants and helps him get his point across.  He is quickly starting to talk more and is probably saying about 20 words or so now...

Logan is also trying hard to keep up with his brothers.  When he sees them go potty he tries to, this means even pulling off his clothes and diaper.  Most of the pics I have of this are probably inappropriate for me to put on the Internet, so here is one seconds before the diaper came off....for the record he hasn't actually peed yet, but at least he wants to.  He just bends over and looks at his "pee pee", like "why isn't it working?"

Feeling Better...

Well, it has taken a few days, but looks like we have gotten Logan back to sleeping until 6:45-7am!  Thank goodness.  This morning he slept until 6:50 and I had to wake Colin up at 7:10.  When Logan sleeps better the whole house sleeps better.

Tuesday, I took Evan and Logan to the doctors because of a diaper rash that wouldn't go away.  Turns out Evan has a bacteria infection caused by strep and she suspects Logan could have the same thing, even though his isn't as bad.  So, they are on 14 days of antibiotics.  I'm not sure if that has contributed to the sleeping better, but whatever the reason, we will take it!

Tuesday evening Colin had another soccer game.  His team got "destroyed" as Evan was saying.  Surprisingly, they won against this team earlier in the season.  But, the other team was very good.  They have been together for many seasons and the parents all know each other.  Anyway, Colin didn't seem too bothered by it, he had fun as always.

Today, is Colin's last day of school before winter break starts.  That also means we have one more week before we head to Northern VA.  Dennis and I are feeling a bit overwhelmed with all that is going on.  Colin's January birthday doesn't help.  I'm having to plan that at the same time of all the holiday shopping, parties, etc, and I have to get invitations out before we leave for the holidays.  Too bad he wasn't born closer to his due date at the end of January so I could at least wait until after the holidays to get invitations out!

Anyways, our tree is starting to get filled up with gifts, though not a single gift under the tree is for anyone in our family (it is all extended family).  The boys keep checking to see if anything is for them and are disappointed each morning.  I'm not worried about it though, one thing these boys do not lack for at Christmas is gifts!  The positive (and negative) of having two large extended families is that they get  A LOT of gifts at Christmas!

Well, that is it, I am off to go make stuffed mushrooms for ladies night bunco tonight!

Grandpa McLaughlin Visits...

Grandpa McLaughlin has been visiting since Thursday and will be here until Tuesday.  The boys are enjoying playing with him.  Dennis and I enjoyed having a "babysitter" so we could go out to dinner Saturday and se a movie (Breaking Dawn if you were wondering).  We even managed to pick up a couple Christmas gifts while we were out.

Another big highlight on Saturday was going to the Children's Museum.  For winter they have a slide you go down while sitting on a rag.  Colin and Evan really enjoyed this and I even went with Logan.  Logan was nervous about it, but then when I bonked his head while getting on, he really started crying.  I think he actually did kind of like it, but me hurting him did not put him in a good mood.

Dennis and I are becoming pros at the Children's Museum.  We have learned to pack the kids lunch and that way, while Dennis is getting the adults food I can get them set up with theirs at the table.  This saves us from trying to negotiate a food court with 3 little ones and also saves a lot of money.  It worked out really well.

By the way, I am sure I will have a lot of posts where I mentioned we went to the Children's Museum.   Most people here say that they are there every other weekend or so!  And since many of the exhibits change regularly, there is always something new to discover.  Besides, after two trips the membership pays for itself, making it a very cheap thing to do with the kids.

The boys have been a little out of sorts the last few days.  Logan seems to have a slight cold, and congestion doesn't go well with being a thumb sucker.  So, he has been waking up very early which then wakes up everyone else.  Colin especially does not do well on little sleep, so he has been kind of cranky.

Today, Evan is off to see a movie with Grandpa (Happy Feet 2).  Colin wasn't interested in the movie and decided he would rather stay home.  Dennis is getting ready to plant himself on the couch for football for the rest of the day and I am debating between staying home and being lazy or Christmas shopping...the Christmas season would be so much easier if I actually enjoyed to shop!

I forgot to mention...on Friday Evan had Grandparents day at his school (which is why Grandpa McLaughlin is here, we figured he might want to use that as a reason to come visit for the weekend).  Anyway, they got to make a gingerbread house together.  I hear Evan was very excited to see his Grandpa come to school and gave him a big hug!

Evan's class is also so excited to see Evan each time.  Supposedly, one of the kids was crying on Monday because Evan didn't come to school (a slight stomach bug attacked the kids earlier in the week)!  That boy is popular!

Deck The Halls...

This weekend was all about Christmas.  My favorite time of the year!

Saturday morning started off at the boys daycare where they had "breakfast with Santa".  They had one room set up for breakfast and then the boys got to see Santa.  Logan went running up to him (he heard the word candy and saw the "candy cane" Santa was giving out).  Since he was so excited I thought he would sit on Santa's lap no problem, however he started screaming as soon as I put him in Santa's arms.  So, instead I had to hold him and we got a group shot.  Colin and Evan were both kind of quiet and couldn't think of what they wanted for Christmas.  I will say, I am glad my boys aren't so greedy that they can automatically spill out a whole list of things they want.  They are really pretty easy to please and will be happy with whatever they get.

After Santa, the older boys had fun doing some Christmas crafts.

Colin has been asking to gell his hair into a mohawk for weeks now.

Then, the daycare had "Parents Day Out".  For a small fee, we were able to leave all 3 boys there from 10-2 while Dennis and I went out for some Christmas shopping.  Evan and Colin were in the same class and had fun doing crafts, watching a Christmas show and eating lunch.  Logan was in a separate class with the little ones.  When we picked him up he was laying down in his cot for nap time.  It was cute to see all the little toddlers sleeping.


Dennis and I had a great time doing some Christmas shopping and then enjoying a sushi lunch out.  We also managed to squeeze in a haircut for Dennis.  I am so grateful for a good daycare that does fun events like this!

That evening we got our sitter to come and enjoyed dinner out at Maggiano's with two of Dennis' coworkers and their wives.  We had a blast laughing the whole evening, and it was a great way to end a fun day!

Sunday was a bit more lazy.  We stayed home most the day decorating for Christmas.  The boys had fun pulling out all the ornaments and seeing the stockings.  Unfortunately, we couldn't get the outside lights up because of rain (it has been raining a lot the last few weeks).  But the inside of our house is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

I almost forgot...Saturday we finally got a brief break from all the rain and I was able to take a few pictures for our Christmas cards.  I am being lazy this year and not going to a studio.  I just really didn't feel like waiting at a busy picture studio with a 20 month old.  Anyway, as expected it was extremely hard to get a picture with all of them looking in the same direction.  Logan would not stay still for us to get a picture....here are some of the ones that didn't make the cut....

First Snow 2011...

Well, as predicted I have discovered the first bad thing about life here in Carmel...winter!  I knew it was coming and had been told by many people to "wait until winter", and they were right, it stinks!  I no longer think there is any possibility I will want to stay here forever.  Despite the nice people and how much I like our lives here, I just can't see putting up with winter every year.  I don't know why anyone would choose to live where it gets cold and snows as much as it does here (and there are places far worse than this).

Today, we got our first snow (except for flurries a little while back).  It is going to take some getting used not having everything close down when it snows.  Instead, despite snow coming down pretty hard and the roads pretty slick I had to drag 3 little boys across town for Colin's soccer game.  Colin did well for the record.  What didn't go well, was trying to get all 3 kids back in the car.  Colin and Evan were fascinated with the snow and kept picking it up and throwing it at each other.  Than Evan cried because his hands were cold.  Logan was crying because he didn't like the icy snow pelting him in the face.  And, I wasn't too happy myself trying to pull out of a parking spot with no visibility.

We made it home safely, but I can't believe it is only the very beginning of winter here and I know it gets a whole lot colder.  Luckily, Dennis is on the same page with me.  He is no bigger a fan of winter than I am.  His drive home was no fun and being in the Camry was not very helpful, he was sliding around a lot.

I am sure all the Indy locals are laughing at us for being "rookie's", and maybe one day we will get used to it, but I'm not holding my breath...I am already dreaming of summer.  Bring on the fruity drinks sitting by the pool, I'll take that every day!

Thanksgiving In Virginia...

The boys were super excited for their first plane trip.  They were actually pretty fascinated with the airport, as well as the plane.  Luckily, the airport was pretty empty when we got there, so we had plenty of time to eat dinner before we boarded.  Colin and Evan did wonderful sitting next to each other and watching a movie on the iPad the whole time.  Logan was a bit more restless.  He didn't cry much, but he is definitely not at an age where he wants to sit on our laps for for that long either.  So, it was exhausting keeping him from playing with the tray in front of us and trying to keep him distracted.  He is the least interested in TV of all of our boys, so we couldn't use that to distract him. But, we survived and were happy to see Grandpa Pritchard when we landed.  He picked us up in my sister, Julie's, minivan (who let us borrow it for the weekend).

Thanksgiving was busy as usual, but great to see both sides of the family too.  We are very lucky to have most of our family all live near each other, so that we get to see so many people all at once.  First was lunch at Grandma and Robert's house, which was nice as always.  The boys were all pretty good and they enjoyed seeing cousin Miranda. 

Then we went to my sister Holly's house for a dinner.  Of course with all the kids on my side of the family, dinner was definitely louder, but fun too.  It's every man for your self with my family, because there is so many people.  The boys always have fun with their cousins.  It was great to see my nephew Jacob, who I had not seen yet (he is my sister Carol's baby).  But, the most exciting part was the news we got during dinner.  We were picking names out of cup of who we would have for our gift exchange for Christmas and Holly picked out a name that she didn't understand.  She said, "I'm confused, what does this mean?".  Then she read the paper and it said, "Baby Pritchard".  Well, it took us all a second to realize the only Pritchard left is my brother.  So, then my brother announced that him and his wife, Fanchon, are expecting their first baby in June!  

Friday we were supposed to watch Colin run in his first race, but he got sick twice during the night so we made him stay home from the race to rest.  He woke up fine though, so I am now thinking he might just of had an upset stomach from all the junk he ate all day.  The rest of us went ahead to Reston Town Center and watched Miranda race (or attempt to that is :-)) and then we met up with my best friend Nikki and her children and watched the parade and had lunch.  It was great to catch up with Nikki and see her adorable kids.

Friday night was a surprise 40th birthday for Carol.  Grandma and Robert were nice to watch all the kids so we could go.  The boys said they had a great time eating lots of mac and cheese and popcorn and watching a movie.  Dennis and I enjoyed the party where Dennis won some money at poker and I ruled the pool table (well, if loosing both times and taking an hour to play one game counts as ruling that is).  I was happy to get to see so much of my extended family while we were in town.

Saturday some of my family came over to Grammy and Grandpa Pritchard's to watch the Virginia Tech game and just hang out before our trip back home.  The plane trip back was great for Colin and Evan again.  Logan was extra restless though, since this flight was later and he was ready for bed.  He was all over the place and I think driving would have been easier.  I tried to buckle him in to the empty seat next to me, but he could undo the seat belt very easily, so it didn't work.  He spent a lot of the trip flirting with the other passengers and walking back and forth across the isle from Dennis and I.  We did have the 2 best stewards I have ever come across and they brought cookies over for all the boys, which entertained Logan for 5 minutes.  We learned our lesson and will get an earlier flight next time!  Anyway, we survived the trip and are happy to be home after a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

Thanksgiving Celebrations and Colin's First Singing Performance.

Today was a busy day...

9:15-10:00a- Evan's last swim lesson of this session.  Dennis took him and said he did great swimming a little on his front and back by himself.

11:15am- Logan's class Thanksgiving feast.  Logan and Evan don't go to school on Tuesday's but Dennis and I took them to their feasts today so they could enjoy lunch with their class.  Once again it was cute to see Logan sitting so nicely with all his little friends.

12:15pm-Evan's class Thanksgiving feast.  When Evan got to class 4 different kids ran to him and gave him hugs.  His teacher said that all the kids were talking about the fact that Evan was coming to school for lunch.  I guess he is pretty popular in his class.

1:00pm-Colin's 1st grade Thanksgiving performance.  The first graders were all dressed up as pilgrims, Indians and turkeys and sang a bunch of songs.  Colin did a great job singing and doing all the hand movements.  It was very cute to see.

2:00ish-naps for the little ones

5:30pm-Colin's soccer game.  They pulled off a win during a close game and Colin was able to score a point.  He got hit in the face at one point and cried some but then was ready to go back out.  When Dennis returned to his seat another Mom commented to Dennis that she loves watching Colin play because he is so in to it.

While Dennis was at the game I was busy packing for our trip to Virginia, feeding the little ones, and giving them baths.  We are looking forward to our trip to VA after school tomorrow.

Bragging About My Boy Evan...

I wasn't planning on taking time to write today, because the kids were all in school and there wasn't much to talk about.   However, when Dennis got home from Evan's teacher conference, I knew I had to take time to write about my boy.

An outside tester came in to Evan's school to administer some sort of test called the Bracken School Readiness Assessment.  Anyway, Evan scored in the 96% compared to other kids his age and he is considered "Advanced" and was actually only a couple points away (within error range) from "Very Advanced".  His teacher said he is in the top two in his class across the board.  I knew he was smart, but had no idea he was that ahead of his classmates.

She raved about his artwork and how detailed it is, she said he is just miles ahead of all his classmates.  He spends a lot of time trying to make it perfect and is always asking what they are going to do for art.  He is also very very smart and way above his classmates.  In fact he is only one of two kids who can write his last name, and the other kid only has 2 letters in his last name!

What makes me even more proud then the academics is the fact that she said he is so well behaved.  He always listens to his teachers, follows rules, plays nicely with other kids, and never ever is aggressive.  He is always a great helper for his teachers.  Basically, Dennis said that his teacher painted him to be the model student.  We are beyond proud of him.  I wish I could say he is always this perfect for us, but I would gladly have him not listen to me a couple times if it means being the perfect student for his teachers.

And to show that he has some spunk too, here are some pics from Dennis and the boys jam session this evening, playing guitar hero...

Another Christmas Season Begins...

First of all, an update on Logan.  Our neighbor listened to his heart and said that Logan definitely has a flow murmur.  However, he didn't think that it was one to worry about.  He said of course the pediatric cardiologist will be able to confirm this, as he would be more experienced with what a young child's heart sounds like.  Supposedly, 90% are innocent heart murmurs.  So, when the cardiologist see's Logan in December, he will then determine if any further testing is needed.  I was happy to hear that he didn't hear anything that was too alarming, but I was hoping he wouldn't hear anything at all.

The rest of the weekend was spent running a couple errands.  We went to the mall and I actually bought my first two Christmas gifts of the year.  I have been in denial that Christmas was coming soon and haven't really thought about what any of us need or what to get others.   But, this weekend I worked on getting our lists together and starting the whole process.  14 kids this year to buy for this year, in addition to the adults.  I know I should be spending time looking for deals on the internet as I usually do, or looking around for good ideas.  But, with just starting a new job my mind is definitely elsewhere.

Colin had his church retreat this year.  I volunteered and had a great time with the kids.  Colin enjoyed the different crafts that they did.  The retreat was to make Christmas goodie bags for kids in a local shelter.  Colin was not looking forward to the day.  But, once he got there and saw that some of his best buddies from school were there he got really excited.  He ended up having a blast!

After that was football and hanging out at home as a family.  Dennis and I enjoyed having no plans, but the kids sure do get stir crazy when they are home most of the weekend (especially Evan, who has a bump on his head to show for his craziness).  Needless to say we are ready of 7:30 pm tonight so we can put these tired, restless kids to bed.  Thank goodness they ALL like to color, what a blessing that has been for us...

Logan's 20 Month Well Check Up...

Logan had his 20 month well check up yesterday (a couple weeks early).  His stats at the office were....21 lbs (3%), 34.5 in (85%) and 19.5 in for head circumference (not sure percentile, maybe 75% or so).  When I heard his weight I was shocked because he really doesn't look that skinny.  But the more shocking news came when the doctor looked up at me after listening to Logan's heart and said, "has anyone mentioned a heart murmur to you?".  Of course I said no and she told me that he not only has a heart murmur, but that it doesn't sound "benign" to her.  They have scheduled him for a pediatric cardiologist consult.  Unfortunately, the earliest appointment was Dec. 20th, but I did get put on the wait list also.  I was very concerned because of the sudden weight drop too, however, when I got home and weighed him on our scale he was 27 lbs (with clothes on), so I think something was wrong with their scale.

I think the height measurement could also be off, because he was squirming a lot.  Anyway, one of our neighbors is a cardiologist and he said I could bring him by their house Saturday and he would listen to Logan's heart.  So, I am curious to see what he says tomorrow.  The pediatrician we have here is very young and new, so I am half expecting our neighbor to not even hear a murmur.  We will see...

Other than that, the appointment went ok.  Logan started crying as soon as the nurse called his name (I think he remembers when he had to get the antibiotic shots a couple months ago).  He cried up until the nurse left the room.  He then started back up when the doctor came in.  Luckily, he was absolutely quiet (sitting in my lap) when she was listening to his heart, or she may have missed the murmur.  When the doctor left and I went to grab Logan's onesie to start getting him dressed he was giddy.  I think he thought he was going to be able to leave without a shot.  When I didn't put his pants and shoes on, he brought them over to me and was confused when I wouldn't put them on.  As soon as the nurse came back in he started screaming again.  But, then he quieted down when he realized she was giving Evan the flu mist.  When I said, "It's your turn now, Logan."  He sat in Evan's chair thinking he was just getting the mist too and smiled.  Of course the screaming started right back up when I laid him on the table and he got a couple shots.  But, he bounced back pretty quickly.

Funny Evan story....the doctor asked if Logan's dad was tall and skinny and Evan responded, "No, he is tall and fat."  He continued to say this over and over about 5 times.

The rest of the day we enjoyed at home and then I had a nice dinner out with some girls in the neighborhood.

Busy.

Life is getting busy.  I can't even imagine how busy my life will be in 7 or 8 years.  I can almost guarantee that I will not be writing this blog with any regularity at all.  By the time all three boys are tucked in bed I am exhausted.

Tuesday involved swim lessons for Evan (he did real well and is swimming very short distances on his own, floating on his back for 5-10 seconds, and going underwater for about 7 seconds).  Then we got home and made lemon strawberry muffins, cleaned, did some laundry, made lunch, organized my work paperwork while the boys napped, got Colin off the bus, did homework with him, and got all the boys ready for Colin's soccer game.  

Then I took all the boys to Colin's game.  Colin did great on offense and scored a goal.  He did not so great on goalie.  Not that he isn't good at defense, he is, the problem is that he wants to play so badly and gets so into it that next thing you know he is far away from the goalie box and leaving it wide open.  He didn't get that many scores on him, but that was pure luck!  That boy definitely likes to be in the action.

After the game, I got all the boys home, warmed up dinner and served it up, gave all the boys baths, read books and put them all to bed.  I was wiped.  And if your wondering where Dennis was, he was at a work dinner and got home just as I got downstairs and was done.  Gotta love his timing.

Today, I got to treat my first patient.  As much as I love being home with my boys and would love to be with them all day long, I was reminded today that I do actually enjoy my job.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy going to the patients homes and educating them.  It helped that I had a great first patient.  I am sure I will take that back when I get a 500 lb patient with multiple medical issues and a 10 cats in the home....but until then, I will try and remember that I am pretty lucky to be a part of a great profession.

This afternoon was very busy again, I picked up Colin from after school enrichment (he was mad I picked him up "too early" for the record), picked up Evan and Logan, came home with about 15 minutes to feed the boys (thank goodness I thought ahead and had dinner cooked in the crock pot), packed them all back in the car and got to Evans sports sampler with a few minutes to spare.  I then worked on Colin's homework with him while we watched Evan do his sport of the week...track and field.  We got home just in time to change in to PJs and put the boys to bed.  Dennis was at least home in time to help me get them to bed.

Busy, busy, busy....that is our lives right now and I know it will only get worse as the boys get older.  As busy as it is, I am really enjoying every second of it.  I only wish Dennis was home earlier and could share in the after school dinner/activities chaos with me.  I can't complain about him too much, he is sitting folding laundry as I write this, and I am about to eat some candy, lay on the couch and watch TV.

Back To Work.

I was hoping this day would never come, but today I started my new job.  Really today just consisted of a whole lot of paperwork, orientation, some training and tests and a pre-employment physical.  I left the office with a huge stack of paperwork to get me started and organized, and I should be ready to see my first patient later this week.  Wednesday I am riding along with one of the other PT's to get a feel for the company and how they do things and then Friday I should be good to go.

I like some things about this company, but I also can already tell I am going to be annoyed by a lot.  For example, my last two home care jobs both used computers for documenting paperwork.  However, this company is all on paper, which is fine if it was a clinic, but in home care that makes for a TON of paperwork.  It is crazy how much rules there are in home care and thus how much documentation is needed.  I am starting to remember how much I disliked my previous company when they were still on paper.  Hopefully, I will get used to it and will enjoy the job once I get started.

A funny Evan story... When I picked up Evan from pre-K, his teachers told me that Evan ate a crazy amount of orange slices.  They said he loved it and Evan agreed, telling me how good it was.  I hadn't bought oranges in awhile because I didn't remember him liking them.  They then told me how the class was writing thank you cards to the cook and Evan said "Thank you for making broccoli!"  The other kids put the usual, pizza, mac and cheese, etc, but not Evan.  I have said it before, but that boy LOVES his fruit and veggies!  And, I will try and be appreciative of that, since he wouldn't eat one bite of my baked spaghetti tonight!

Our First Gala Event...

Dennis and I were invited to a Gala yesterday to raise money for the International School of Indiana.  Dennis' coworkers kids go to this private school and he bought a table and asked us to join him.  We were really looking forward to getting a chance to dress up and have a fun evening out.

It was also our first chance to try out a baby-sitter here in Indiana.  Another coworker of Dennis' gave us her name, she is a part time college student, lifeguard and Nannie.  She turned out to be great!  The boys all seemed comfortable with her and even Logan just gave me a kiss goodbye and didn't seem phased by us leaving.

Dennis and I had so much fun at the event.  It was an auction (both silent and live) and a sit down dinner. We were hoping to buy comedy tickets to Chicago, just as an excuse to go there and maybe celebrate our 10 year anniversary there next year.  However, at the last 5 seconds of the silent auction, we lost it!  We did get some books for the boys (which we will save for Christmas) and Dennis got a package from a local brewery, which he was excited about.  Of course, we were very small spenders compared to the many people there.  There were condos in Beijing and Grand Cayman, trips to London and Napa Valley, and much much more.  It was crazy to see how much money people were spending!  It was a really fun night and now that we have a good sitter here, we will have to take advantage of some more date nights out.

Home Videos

Today was the last day of me being home before I start work on Monday.  Well, actually Monday is just orientation, but still.  After a quick trip to the dermatologist, I met up with our neighbor for lunch.  I am so glad she invited me this week, since I wouldn't have been able to do it once I start working.  We had a wonderful sushi lunch and got to know each other a little better.

This evening we looked at some old videos.  Dennis and I have been very good about videotaping the kids.  For each pregnancy we videotaped us taking the pregnancy test and then each month of the pregnancy.  We also have footage of being in the hospital and stuff like first bath, etc.  It is so fun to go back and look at these videos.  It is crazy how you forget the way they used to talk or walk.  This has been one of the best things we have done and I am so happy we have those video clips to look back on.

Tonight, we were looking at Evan's baby footage.  We were watching Evan getting cleaned up right after I gave birth and I asked Evan "Do you remember that?"  And he said very seriously, "Yep."  And then later said, "That was a good day, because I was became alive that day."

Boo hoo hoo...

Do you hear that?  That is the sound of me crying.  I know many thought this day would never come, but alas it has.  I have accepted a job and will be starting the orientation process next week.  I know I should be excited, and I am happy about bringing some money into the house.  But, I have really enjoyed being home and wish that I could continue to do so full time.

I have loved being home when Colin gets off the bus so we can do his homework together in peace, while the other kids are at day care.  I have enjoyed being home in plenty of time to get a home cooked meal together and try out new recipes.  And, I have also enjoyed being able to run errands or make doctors appointments in the middle of the day.

Unfortunately, with owning two homes and having to pay for two kids in preschool, we could really use my income.  Not that we can't make do without it, but it allows us to spend without having to worry too much and also gives us more room for saving for college tuition's... And most importantly it keeps my PT license active in case, god forbid, Dennis looses his job or something happens to him and I have to switch to full time and be the one to support the family.

So, with a sad sad heart I accepted the home care job today.  I ultimately decided that home care was going to give me the most flexibility to work as little or as much as I want while still making good money.  It gives me more freedom to schedule patients around events that might be happening at the kids schools or doctors appointments or other errands.  Even though it isn't my favorite setting to work in, I think it makes the most sense for us as a family.

In other news...Evan had an okay practice today.  He did well swimming, but he got water in his nose early on and got upset and never really recovered from that.  He got teary a couple times.  I think he was just tired from Mr. Logan waking us all up at 5:30am.  That boy is having an awfully hard time adjusting to day light savings!

Colin had his first indoor soccer game tonight and he did awesome.  He scored 3 of the 5 goals that his teamed scored!  The teams were very well matched, but unfortunately he lost 5 to 6.  Colin's teammate actually accidentally scored for the other team, so it should have been tied.  I forgot to bring my zoom lens so the pictures weren't great this game...

During the car ride home Colin was upset that they had lost.  Evan tells him, "You can't win every time Colin."  Then he thought about it a little more and said "Well........the Packers win every time."  That boy is too funny.