No more Rockstar!

Saturday morning Evan decided he was ready to get rid of his "rock star" hairdo.  He is back to short haired Evan and he looks adorable.  I liked the long hair too, but the short hair is definitely easier.

Later that day, I went on a mission to find a dress for this travel auction/gala that Dennis and I were invited to for next weekend.  While I struck out with the dress shopping I did discover the new Nordstom Rack Store here and I went on a mini shopping spree.  I could have done some serious damage, but I did resist. Sometimes it stinks being so practical!  We ended the day with a family dinner out, yum yum yum.

Sunday the big boys had a big day.  Dennis took Colin and Evan to go see the live show for Phineas and Ferb, one of their favorite shows.  They had a blast!  Then later that day Colin had a birthday party to go to for one of his classmates.  It was at the indoor soccer facility, so of course he loved it.  I mean a soccer and dodgeball party, it doesn't get better than that!

Colin and Evan at the Phineas and Ferb show.

Movie night!

Well, the second interview went pretty well today.  I think I am leaning toward this job because of the better pay.  But, there are pros and cons, so I will have to think on it over the weekend...

Colin seems fine today, though he did come home from school saying that his throat hurt all day.  Hopefully, it doesn't turn in to anything more.  After school he went over to his friends house and played and apparently raked leaves too...

Dennis showed up from work with a movie for the kids, Cars 2.  So, they are spending the evening eating cookies and watching a movie.  I'm keeping this short because I am off to a jewelry party at our neighbors house while the boys bond.  Looking forward to another great weekend...

When life hands you lemons...

....Make Cookies!!!!!!

This morning I got a call from the school nurse at Colin's school saying that Colin came in complaining of a headache and not feeling well and that he had a very low grade fever.  He wasn't sick enough that he had to go home, but she was giving me that option.  Well, that morning Colin had to be woken up at 7:30 to get ready for school (usually he is up by 6:45 or 7), so I had a feeling that maybe he was coming down with something.  Since I was home anyway, I figured I should go ahead and pick him up.

Of course once I got there Colin said he no longer had a headache, but he still did have a slight fever.  He went on to spend the whole day complaining that he was home and asking if he could go back to school.  I spent the day trying to get him to rest and not run around with his brothers.

In an effort to get him to calm down and not get more sick we decided to make cookies.  I had the brilliant idea to use up some of the Halloween candy by baking them into cookies.  When Evan and Colin weren't licking spoons, bowls, and fingers, they were helping me bake.  The cookies turned out well and thankfully taste better than they look (I seem to have a problem getting cookies to turn out right).  Unfortunately, the Halloween stash still doesn't look like we put a dent in it, so I will sending another bowl full to Dennis' work.

Are they done yet???

Back To Reality.

Well, I made one more step today back to reality...

I had my first interview.  After being out of the workforce for 20 months or so I was very nervous to have to go through this process.  Every other job I have ever had, I was recommended by someone who already worked there, so my interviews were very laid back and not really interviews at all.  Not having any contacts here in Indy, makes things a lot more scary.

Anyway, I interviewed at a Rehab hospital for an outpatient position.  I'm not sure its the best fit for me, it's a little outside my comfort area and I might have some learning to do, but I liked it more than I thought I would.  They also seem to be pretty flexible about giving me the hours I want.  Because Dennis works long hours and most of the after school commitments fall on me, I want to be sure to be home in time to pick up all the kids, make a home made dinner, and still get to a 5 or 6pm activity.  So, I am thinking about working 3 days a week, 6-7 hrs a day, instead of a full 8 hours.

I have a home care interview on Friday, so I am going to wait and see which job makes more sense for us.

Tuesday, Evan started level 3 of swimming.  He is still having a lot of fun with it.  Colin also had another great indoor soccer practice.  They scrimmaged a bit with another team and Colin was upset that the other team was better and had "3rd graders".  I'm not sure if they were really 3rd graders, but it is an under 8 league so there are kids older than Colin.  He did well though and was all over the field as usual.

On the way home from soccer Evan asked, "When I die, can someone in this family go visit me at the cemetery, so you won't forget me.  I don't want someone to say "Who was Evan" one day."  I don't know what made him think of this, but it was pretty deep for a four year old.  Later, when I was telling Dennis what he said, Dennis told Evan that, "Mommy and Daddy can't visit you because we will be dead by the time you die".   Evan got so upset he started crying.  He didn't want to be left a lone and he didn't want to be forgotten.  We explained that we would see him in heaven and that by the time he dies he will hopefully have his own family that will visit him.  This calmed him down a little, but he was still upset about the whole thing.  Poor thing, he shouldn't be stressing about this stuff at four years old!

Happy Halloween 2011!

Halloween is getting more and more fun for the kids as they get older.  Both Colin and Evan love getting dressed up.  I have caught Evan a couple times during his naps asleep wearing his spiderman costume.  Similarly, when Colin was little I checked on him during nap time and he was standing on his bed in full spiderman costume and mask.

So this year they of course jumped at the chance to dress up.  And of course they chose super hero's.  Evan chose his favorite, Thor, and Colin chose Captain America.  And because we have 3 boys we took advantage of hand me downs and Logan wore one of Evan's old costumes, a dog.  Unfortunately, that costume will be going in the trash after this years Halloween due to the zipper being broken.  But, with a safety pin, Logan was good to go and nobody noticed.

Colin and I showed up early to pick up Evan from school, so that we could go to his Halloween party.  Evan was obviously hyped up for the evening festivities and was acting very crazy, but I think he liked having us there.

After picking up the two younger boys it was off to home to get everyone dressed in their costumes.  As soon as Logan saw the older boys get their costumes on, he grabbed his and brought it over to me, he loves being part of the action.  Dennis got home just in time for us to walk over to a neighbors for a Halloween pre-trick or treating party.  We had this tradition at our old house in Virginia.  So, it was nice to see that one of the neighbors here does the same thing.

One big difference between Virginia and Indiana is that it stays light longer here.  So, instead of darkness being a sign that it is time to start trick or treating, their trick or treating ends about the time it starts to get dark.  Evan even noticed and asked "Why are we trick or treating if it is light outside?"

We decided Dennis would go home with Logan to hand out candy while I stayed with Colin and Evan to trick or treat.  A large group of us that were all at the party all went together.  This made for a fun time for the boys.  They were running from house to house with the other kids.  I was happy we chose not to have Logan trick or treat because there is no way he would have been able to keep up.  I think the trick or treating at his school was probably enough for his age.  Evan got tired half way through, so when we hit our house he stayed home with Dennis and I took Colin to another section of the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, handing out candy wasn't too fun for Dennis this year.  We bought a ton of candy anticipating all the kids in the neighborhood.  However, because our small strip of road still has a lot of empty lots and is sandwiched between two circles, it seems that most of the trick or treaters didn't venture our way.  So, not only do we have Evan and Colin's huge buckets of candy we also have all the candy we bought.  Dennis is taking a lot to work with him to give away, but that still leaves us with a ton.  I guess that 5-10lbs I want to loose will have to wait...

Evan supposedly asked Dennis if smarties make you smart and he was dead serious!  If only all this candy made us all smart....

A Spooky Weekend...

Saturday, Logan still had a nasty cough and seemed to be crying out in his sleep, so we took him to see the doctor to make sure it was nothing serious.  Luckily, his ears look great and there are no signs of pneumonia or bronchitis, so looks like it just has to run its course.

While I was at the doctors and the store, Dennis took Colin and Evan to see the movie Puss and Boots.  Evan especially has been asking to see this for a long time.  So as soon as it came out we knew we needed to take them.  The boys then spent a lot of the afternoon playing outside.  Colin went over to a friends house to play, so Evan ended up outside with two older girls (2nd and 3rd grade), but that didn't seem to phase him at all.  He jumped right in playing with them.  They were playing on our neighbors play set and Evan yelled "Hey guys you want to play with my sidewalk chalk?"  Later the girls were riding their bikes and I heard Evan say, "Ok, the first one to get to me wins."  It is funny how he jumps right in and doesn't even care that they are girls or older than him.  He is so fun to watch.

Even though I don't like Halloween, I do love Fall and baking with pumpkin.  Since Evan has been asking me daily when I am going to make a pumpkin pie, I decided to pick up some pumpkin at the store and do some baking.  I told him he will have to wait until Thanksgiving for pumpkin pie, but I did make a batch of chocolate chips pumpkin muffins (because everything in my mind is better with chocolate) and a loaf of pumpkin bread.  The house smelling like pumpkin just has to put anyone in a good mood.

Dennis and the boys spent the evening carving pumpkins.  I gladly step back and let Dennis do this each year because he is creative and artistic.  He also seems to enjoy it.  Of course the boys wanted super hero pumpkins and Evan made his own design on one of them, which I thought was really cool.

On Left Evan's design, middle is Hulk and right is Wolverine.

Sunday, Dennis spent most of the day (it was a long process) cleaning and cooking pumpkin seeds.  They tasted really yummy despite Dennis dirtying up every dish in the kitchen!

Sunday was pretty low key.  Church, Church class, Football, and Colin playing at a neighbors again.  Now the kids are all tucked in bed and looking forward to Halloween tomorrow.  Me, I'm trying to figure out how I am going to get through the next few weeks with all this candy in the house (especially Reese's peanut butter cups, my favorite).  I'm not sure why I decided I need to loose 5-10lbs right before the holidays are starting.  I must like to torture myself, but at least if I eat well for the next few weeks I can better rationalize eating two Thanksgiving meals like we do each year!

Spooktacular!

I have to admit Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays.  I don't think of myself as very creative and the thought of planning a costume always stresses me out (hence why my boys have been in store bought costumes).  However, this year I seem to be enjoying Halloween more than usual.

Friday I went to Logan's class for his Halloween party.  I was amazed when I got to his classroom to see 8 little toddlers all sitting nicely at the table and quiet as can be.  I barely heard a peep the whole time I was there.  Logan did love the snacks.  Amazingly, he ate the fruit first and then the other snacks and ate the cookie last (and that was the only thing he didn't finish).

Then it was a mad rush home to get dinner together and costumes on so that we could go back to Logan and Evan's school for their "Spooktacular" Party.  Basically, the kids got to decorate bags and then go trick or treating at each classroom and ended the evening with cookies and punch.  Of course the boys loved trick or treating, even Logan!  He did a great job holding out his bag at each room and was acting so much older than his age.  His costume was also the hit of the Party.  Lots of people commented on him.