Well . . .

 . . . here we are facing the end to 2013.  How crazy is that?!.  Happy Boxing Day, Telley!  There are certainly days when I wish that life would just be a little bit slower and I would be enjoying it a little bit more. 

So, four out of five of us spent this Christmas with a cold.  Bleh.  Only Gunnar, aka Mr. Iron Immune System, hasn't gotten it yet - and probably won't.  It's fabulous.  NOT!  I think Fischer is pretty well out of it.  My head still hurts often and my nose is still plugged for the most part.  Paden has coughed enough to make him self throw up a few times.  Sorry for that, TMI.  I guess it was a good deal that the server at work was going to be down all day today anyway, so I didn't go in.  Was going to, but didn't.  It was going to be some quiet time to get some stuff organized, but I guess there's always next week.  I had already planned to take Friday off.  The plant is down, so it's not a huge deal.  Good time to be sick, I guess.  The boys didn't miss school for it.

So, Christmas was pretty good, other than the coughing, headaches, etc.  Fischer was pretty excited at what Santa brought him.  He got three new WWE action figures, a basketball hoop, a comfy blanket and some stocking stuffers, including his own case of caffeine (aka caffeine free Pepsi).  Paden got him a WWE ring for his action figures that has ropes and everything.  I asked him how his Christmas was.  He said, "Good.  It was my best one."  Such a sweet boy.  Gunnar got a new monster truck and his stocking stuffers (his own caffeine, also).  That's all he got and he had to pay 1/2 of it.  It was pretty expensive and we, or uh, Santa, doesn't think gifts need to amount to a whole bunch of money.  Gunnar got some tools and a tool box for his monster truck from Fischer.  Fischer tricked Gunnar though and told him they were for Papa all along.  Gunnar played along really well and it was pretty cute how Fischer thought he was pretty clever for tricking Gunnar.  So, Fischer asked Gunnar if he could borrow a tool for something Neil was doing and of course Gunnar allowed it.  Fischer then said to Neil, "He let me borrow it because me and him are best friends."  So stinkin' cute.  Paden got some Skylanders, a foot warmer/massager, comfy blanket and his stocking stuffers.  He was kind of hard this year because he bought himself the game we thought we were going to be able to get him for Christmas.  He bought it on “black Friday sales” which was actually Thanksgiving morning at like 11am.  So, he paid for it himself and that was that.  He didn’t really want much else.  Gunnar got him an airhogs deal that doesn’t work, so we’ll have to return that.  All in all, it was a pretty good Christmas.  The mini basketball hoop has been the best!  They all three have been having some fun on it.  It hooks over the door and has a break away rim and all.  They have it on the coat closet door and jump off the landing/stairs to make baskets.  A little sketchy . . . but a good way for them to get out their energy.

So, my Uncle's friend that's a girl that lives with him (yeah, not exactly sure you call it a girl friend when you're 50, but whatever) passed away yesterday.  I had only met her a couple of times when we went to my Grandparents' house.  She seemed very nice and did help take care of my grandparents.  She had cancer that was dormant, I guess, unless earlier this year when it became active in her leg and got into her bone.  She had her leg amputated.  Apparently, the cancer spread, but no one knew that.  She got pneumonia or something and didn't realize the cancer was everyone and that was that.  Passed away on Christmas.  I talked to my uncle yesterday; he normally doesn't talk much, but he was yesterday.  It's pretty sad for him. 

It is hard to believe that one year ago, we were kind of in a whirlwind with my mother-in-law passing away on Christmas.  Days go by, weeks go by and then all of a sudden, a year.  I am thankful for the blessing of eternal families.  I am thankful for the blessing of families on earth.  I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that provides a solid path of righteous and honest living.  I am hopeful that I am a good enough example to my children to make good choices, to live life to the fullest, to be thankful for what they have and to realize others in the world, probably even in this town, have way worse conditions that we. 

So, this weekend it's off to wedding reception (Congrats to my nephew Tyson!), family party (always a good time) and a weekend of eating more food that I need.  Where's my fat jeans?  I am going to need them! Actually was just planning on wearing a nice loose dress all day today. It's going to be hard to go back to work next week and have to wear real clothes after wearing yoga pants for several consecutive days. 

Oh, where's the pictures you ask?  Good question. I have a couple on my phone and tablet.  Both of which need charging right now, so . . . well, that's going to have to wait.

Jabamas & Budner Knives

Every now and then there are small nuggets in life worth remembering.  There are things I wish I would have documented in the past; maybe I did and just don't even remember I did. It's possible.

Fischer has always been pretty articulate.  He is four years old and he is quite the negotiator; tests his boundaries and certainly has the "stubborn" quality.  I think he might get a little of that from my side of the family, but ya know, those Livingston's aren't push-overs either.

The other day I was getting Fischer out of the bath and went to get him pajama pants.  He didn't want them, as he has been accustomed to sleeping in shorts all summer.  He couldn't remember what they were called and he kept saying, "jabama" and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what he was talking about until he got a hold of the pajama pants and threw them saying he didn't want "jabama" pants.  He knew he was saying it wrong too, but couldn't figure out the right word either.  So, now it's a small little joke.  Makes me chuckle; or I am perpetually tired and everything is funny - you know that feeling?

Last night at the dinner table, or maybe it was the night before, who really knows at this point in my life . . . some one had a knife and Fischer says, "I need a budner knife."  No one really needed "budner" knives or butter knifes for that matter.  There really was no use for them at dinner.  We had a good laugh at that one, too.  What a funny little guy.  The funniest is when he thinks his own jokes are funny; he's got a good laugh.

I love my boys.  They are awesome . . . all four of them. :)  If gmail would load right now, I would post a pic or two, but alas it's not in the starts for me tonight folks.

Fast Forward

Yep, just hit the fast forward button.  I realize that there's quite a few details of life that have happened in the last few months since my last post in January, but in the end there's really no new earth-shattering news.  No major life events.  But, I suppose I can give a small recap. 

Gunnar played basketball - did very well.  Since basketball season in January he has worn basketball shorts and a warm-up shirt every day to school and takes his basketball with him to school.  He's a balla' now.  Paden also played basketball, but it was more of a camp for a week vs. actual games.  Next year, he'll have real basketball season, should he choose to continue with it.  Oh, and we got a free outside basketball hoop from some friends, so the boys play out there as often as the wind will die down.  On the shortest height, Fischer can make a basket.  It took him quite a bit of practice, but he got it!

Then we moved on to Track.  I love track.  I wasn't ever a super track athlete myself; I did track in Jr. High and Softball mostly.  Back in the day, softball was slow pitch at my high school, and I didn't like slow pitch, so I didn't play for HS.  I wasn't super awesome at track, but looking back, I should have done that in HS instead.  At any rate, I love it.  For the little kids, it's 6 meets, the practices are on Tuesdays, the meets are on Thursdays and that's it.  It's a great schedule as far as youth sports are concerned.  And with both (well, all three) enjoying track more than little league, life is good.

Gunnar did amazing this year with track.  He didn't get less than 1st place all season, other than one bad measurement from the high schoolers on long jump at the last meet.  His best efforts produced 15.35 seconds on the 100 meter dash, 19'10" on the shot put, 84' on the javelin and 12' 2" in the long jump.  All pretty dang good, I think, for a 10-year old.  Now that could sound a little skewed because he's only competing against the few boy his own age (9 &10) - I think there's about 6 or 7 his age.  But, I know he throws the javelin farther than the 11&12 year old boys as well.  As I was jotting down some numbers, I just checked the older kids as well.  Gunnar's right there with them, so if he keeps improving he'll stay ahead of his age bracket.  The best part about it was his attitude!  He had the most amazing attitude.  If you know Gunnar, you know he's not always that way.

Paden did well in track this year, too.  He got some first places in javelin and shot put, I believe, maybe long jump.  He rocked a lot of second and third places as well. I am happy Paden was out there competing, even though he'd rather be playing video games. He did improve quite a bit from last year on his throwing events, not so much in running.  He did better in long jump, but if we could get the running down, that would help the jumping too.

Fischer wanted to participate, but didn't want to really compete with the other kids.  He (we) did run one 50 meter dash.  I think our time was somewhere in the ball park of 17 seconds.  At the last meet, he wanted to throw javelin, so after all the kids were done, we threw javelin.  I measured one of his best at 16 feet.  So, he's 3.  That's pretty amazing for 3 years old.  Some of the 5 year olds weren't throwing that far.  That should be interesting in the future. :-)

I have done a horrible job at taking pictures over the last several months.  I have a few pics of track on my phone, I believe.  I will have to pull them off there.  Some of the times, they got down so quickly with their events, I didn't have a chance to take pics.  Other times, I was wrangling Fischer.  So, that's a bummer on the photo front.

T-shirt biz is good.  We surpassed last year's sales by about the middle of April.  We're definitely in need of more space for that endeavor.  We're going to build a shed about 180 square feet and move the woodworking stuff out there, so we should have plenty of space for a little while in the garage with that wood stuff out.  We are a full service screen printing, heat pressing, embroidery shop, so any needs out there, let us know.

Neil and I are part of this community leadership program that is pretty cool.  We have a community project to build a picnic pavilion at the river in a popular beach spot that doesn't have anything but a restroom right now.  So, that's going to be pretty awesome when it's done  . . . in a year.  Our cohort has to raise all the money, but we get a grant up to $5,000 from the foundation that sponsors the classes.  But, the pavilion project is looking somewhere around $17.000, if we want to add picnic tables, which would make sense. :-)  So, it's going to take the better part of a year to complete.  It is pretty exciting stuff.  In other exciting community news, Neil finally got approval from city council to put in a splash pad/spray park/water playground deal-y whopper.  So, he's been researching that and getting some quotes.  I think that's going to be awesome!

Looking to the future . . . Fischer is turning FOUR on Thursday.  Craziness right there.  He's a pretty awesome little dude and I'll have to dedicate a birthday post to him on the 23rd of May. 

I am going to Portland with some fabulous friends to participate in a 5K Mud Run - not sure what the crap we were thinking, so wish us strength and stamina 'cuz I might just kick the bucket.

We are planning to go on a bike ride in June when school gets out that is down a mountain for 17 miles. It's the Hiawatha Trail on the Idaho/Montana boarder - http://www.ridethehiawatha.com/ It's supposed to be easy, but I can already feel my rear end getting sore just thinking about it.  I am excited though, I think it's going to be pretty cool and fun.  I feel bad sometimes having to work most of the summer and we don't get a lot done with the kids.  So, I am trying to rectify that this summer.  Hopefully we can get some other small adventures in as well.

I am definitely going to die for a few days when I set out for my Hell's Canyon relay in September.  The name should pretty much give it away.  We are a walking team, but I have to walk three legs of approximately 6 miles each.  The team captain gave me some easy ones, so for that I am thankful.  But, I am supposed to be training to walk a 13-ish minute mile.  So, yeah, I should be getting on that . . .

Anyway, I am now distracted by someone wanting to order scholastic books, so I'll be back . . .

Need MORE time, people!

 

Stuff takes time.  Sometimes too much time, leaving no time for other stuff.  I have a lot of stuff.  Who doesn't have a lot of stuff?  I would like to know so I could share some of my stuff.  I am not sure where people find time to do some of the stuff they do.  I, personally, need/like/want sleep.  So, therefore, I choose sleep over doing some of the stuff.

 

So, on top of the normal stuff that is supposed to be getting done around here, my new-found addiction to Pinterest in piling up other stuff that wants to get done.  Yes, the stuff on Pinterest wants to get done at my house. :-)  It told me, the stuff did.  It's very excited about coming to my house.  It finds my house a little on the boring, un-finished side of the spectrum and therefore is just trying to help.  It said, "you haven't had window treatments on your front room for at least 4 years, for heaven's sake!"  It also asked, "Why haven't you done that cool decoration for your dining room that you've talked about for at least 4 years, for heaven's sake?  And why haven't you ditched the ugly, army green, non-matching bed skirt that doesn't stay on the bed correctly for at least the last 4 years, for heaven's sake?"

 

I really haven't been able to figure out where to start with some of the stuff from Pinterest.  It's quite a debockle, really.  So, after returning from Las Vegas this week with three new scarves, which is after my lovely niece Sunny Lynn gave me three or four more scarves, I am now the proud owner of . . . oh, maybe like 7 scarves.  I kind of didn't know how to store them, but luckily for me, I have an addiction to Pinterest and I found a great solution on there.  I didn't even have to go buy anything.  I pulled out a hanger from the closet.  I dug out some unopened, new shower curtain rings from the boys bathroom that have probably been in there for at least the last 4 years.  I used a glue gun - that stuff is super hot when it comes out, by the way, and voila!  I made a scarf holder-thing-a-ma-jig.  The glue didn't hold like I thought it would, which is likely why the Pinner I borrowed the idea from used tape.  I reinforced with some Gorilla tape; it's good.  Luckily, I am not worried about aesthetics on this masterpiece.

So, there you have it.  I completed a project.  Yea me!  Oh, but don't get too excited as I do have a couple of unfinished Christmas projects laying around.  I did finish one of those today too, but I have a couple more that I had planned on doing . . . maybe tomorrow. 

There's some other stuff that needs to get done as well - you know that stuff that gets you organized for a week of school/work/ball practices/etc.  Yep, that's the stuff.  I realize that most of the world has Monday off for holiday, but I do not.  So, I will be doing some organizing/cleaning/prepping stuff tomorrow.   There's also that pesky task of taking down the rest of the Christmas decorations - luckily we didn't put that much up and we took down the tree the day after Christmas or sometime real soon because it was dried out.  I just need to stuff the village houses back into their cozy boxes and get the stuff off the mantel into the attic.  Sounds easy, I know.  I need to get the stuff organized for taxes.  It's about that time of year.   I hope it's still good news this year.  I have that dreaded unpacking stuff to do as well - which means laundry . . . ugh.   Always laundry stuff to do - I have not yet embraced that in my life. 

Speaking of unpacking, we did some fun stuff in Las Vegas this week.  Grandpa Livingston stayed with the boys.  I am sure he returned home Friday and took a LOOOOONG nap.  He's a trooper.  The boys enjoyed having their grandpa here for the week.  Anyway, back to the fun stuff.  We went to two Cirque Du Soleil shows - Zarkana and Kà.  We got a "locals" deal on of them and the other got at the discount ticket place.  They were still a little on the spendy side as far as entertainment goes when you are from hickville, but I think it was worth it.  Google them - watch the trailers.  It's amazing.  They are so awesome, you can't really describe them.  I liked Zarkana better - the acrobatics were insane - but maybe we were just too tired the next night too.  At any rate - it was some cool stuff.  We did find out that Blue Man Group changed up their show and so we might have to hit that one next year. :-)

Well, I might have emptied enough stuff out of my head for the night.  Might . . .

Might need some serious help

Hi.  My name is Tina.  I think I have a addiction . . . to Pinterest and Dr. Pepper (caffeine free, of course).

I do NOT do diet soda.  Yuck.  I probably should, but no.  Just can't.  So, really it's better to just lay off the hard stuff for a while.  Soda seems to be the one thing that makes the scale tip a little further each week.  During times of travel, like we've done the last several weeks, we buy soda.  We usually don't buy it a lot during "normal business" hours, but once the travelling as subsided for a bit, we have to ween ourselves back off it.  Yes, I am drinking one now.  IT. IS. DIVINE.  I love Dr. Pepper.  It is very sad I can't purchase it caffeine free from the fountain; that would be a bigger problem for me.  I'd be down at that Circle K daily - for sure.  Eighty-nine cents is a steal of a deal for 44 ounces of delight.  I am trying to think what else I could cut out in order to keep the Dr. Pepper in the fold, but alas, that might not be the best choice.  Bummer. 

I realize I am late to the party on the subject of Pinterest, but it is seriously addicting.  I am just browsing the DIY & Crafts section and next thing I know it's an hour later and I can't stop!  This might be a problem.  Might. 

I have seen some pretty dang cool things on there.  Some of them are things I would like to do or make.  Some of them are just cool things that I probably will never do.  I perused the Women's Fashion section and saw some really cute outfits that I would love to own.  I would have to definitely bring my "pin board" shopping with me.  Some great cleaning tips, which I probably should pay more attention to.  There's lots of organization awesomeness that I definitely need to incorporate in my life.  I swear I used to be organized . . . not sure when, I am pretty sure I was.  But anyway, it baffles me the amount of just stuff on there - there's some amazingly talented people in the world.  It's awesome how technology allows us to share that talent around.

So, we'll see if I can get some motivation to actually DO some of the cool stuff - organize something, make something cool to decorate the house.  We've been here 5 years in this house and I still have white walls in places - bleh.  Really need to do something about that one of these days.  I have a hard time deciding on colors in fear of doing too much of the same colors in every room.  Anyhoo . . . I really need to get some browsing of Pinterest in tonight and I really should fold some laundry; less than 40 minutes before my bedtime so I better get on it!

It's all about starting over.

 

There is a little rebel in me at times and I really just go against the grain, especially when it comes to New Year's Resolutions.  They are so cliché and it kind of bugs me. But, nonetheless, I do kind of need them . . . just about once a month.  So, I try not to get discouraged and I try not to get too gung ho all at one time.  We are always starting over with something.

 

I like to think we have a routine, but there's always a hurdle or speed bump.  So, I guess we should just work that into the routine and not let it really derail us.  Why don't we do that?  Rhetorical question, you don't have to answer me. 

 

So, as we start the new year, it's time to start over again and get back on track.  My kids despise when I say those words.  "Back on track" cuts into their video game playing time.  I have a love/hate relationship with video games.  I love that they can entertain themselves for hours on end . . . until I need something; then there's lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth.  In reality, I just want them to go to bed on time, eat meals at regular intervals at the table (not in front of the TV) and a few other things, as well.  I don't think that's too much to ask.

 

The holidays were a whirlwind and a little out of the ordinary this year.  I think we are all still trying to recover and it may take a while. Maybe I just need to document for the sake of documenting.  I don't really know how to describe it all, but it's been exhausting.  We travelled to see my grandparents one weekend.  Paden almost didn't survive without Internet and Netflix; luckily we only stayed two nights. :)  It was nice to see them - probably need to do that more often.  The boys didn't have school that next week, but I did go to work.  The next weekend (12/21), we loaded up the bag that hadn't been unpacked from the weekend before and headed up to my in-law's house, just for the weekend, as we wanted to be home on Christmas. We arrived and no one was home.  My mother-in-law was in the hospital.  She's been in/out several times in the last several months.  Her health had been declining over the last year and pretty rapidly the last few months.  We came home Christmas Eve; she was still hospitalized.  Long story short, she passed away on Christmas night.  I know some people believe that it's awful timing.  It might be, but I am thankful for that gift.  The gift that she is free from pain and suffering; free from medicines & doctors.  I am thankful for the time I knew her on this earth and I am thankful for her raising an awesome family.  It's going to be weird taking the kids to see their grandpa and not having their grandma sitting in the chair watching BYU or Gonzaga sports or HGTV.  It's an adjustment . . . I think that we were only partially prepared for the last several months.  But, there is no reason for anyone to "be sorry for our loss" as we don't feel we've really lost anything.  I guess I am sorry for those who don't believe in Heaven, the resurrection or eternal life.  We are good.  We are adjusting, but we are good.  2012 will be memorable.

 

So, we are starting over.  A new year, new adventures, new habits, new whatever. I am sure there's some things that could stand to be started over . . .  Paden has already started his Christmas Wish List for 2013.  Dang kid - can't barely recover from one Christmas before he's starting over preparing for the next one. 

 

Merry Christmas Eve

Here we are.  The night kids all over the land have been waiting for.  I am hoping that our boys enjoy the morning as much as they think they are going to.  The boys didn't ask Santa for too much and we didn't approve Santa to bring everything on their list either.  They kind of got a little something from us early because they were on sale and although it's not officially part of their Christmas gift, they don't need a bunch of other stuff.  I sometimes wonder if Fischer gets the short-end of the stick since it's easy for Santa to bring a "family" gift that works for the older boys, but Fischer doesn't usually enjoy it until a year later.  So, last year, Santa brought the XBox.  Fischer plays it now, but didn't then.  I guess in the end, it's all good.  We would love to enstill in the kids that Christmas is NOT about getting, so we tend to approve a lesser quantity of gifts that Santa can bring each year.  There's always the grandparents that like to spoil the kids, so we're good with that.

 

I kind of wanted for Christmas some home improvement projects that are a little pricey or a little too much DIY work involved, so they will have to wait.  My in-laws are getting new carpet and I admit, I am a little envious.  We need new carpet as well - a DARK BROWN boy colored one. :-)  Someday . . .  In addition, I have most of the stuff to update the kitchen backsplash, cupboards and bases, but that's the "little too much DIY work" that I don't seem to be motivated to do.  At the moment I feel a little motivated, the house is a disaster and all energy is spent trying to get it cleaned.  I just can't seem to get those flat surfaces reclaimed to ZERO clutter and it's driving me nuts-o.  So, next on the Christmas wish list . . . new clothes.  What girl can't use new clothing for Christmas - but that would be in the form of gift-card and shopping day w/out kids kind of "new clothes".  But, I keep telling myself that I really need to lose a few pounds before any more new clothes enter the closet.  We have too much laundry as it is anyway.  Too. Much. Laundry.  Scratch that idea.

 

So, it's back to the drawing board.  What I want for Christmas is World Peace and a nice day where all family members get along, have much patience for the others' annoyances and shortcomings and some good prime rib!  I want to have fuzzy socks and peppermint hot cocoa and pajamas all day long.  I don't think that's too much to ask.  Maybe I could throw in a maid service, as well . . .or is that pushing it?

I hope my family and friends all have a very Merry Christmas.  If you haven't gotten our Christmas card yet, I'll have to, er, um . . . check with the mail carrier as to why those darn cards haven't made it out of our mailbox yet - or is that out of my purse yet? Either way, I am thinking you'll have them real soon.  If you don't get one and thought you should have, then please feel free to call.  I can't seem to keep a current list of addresses handy when I need it!  Maybe I should ask Santa for my former self back - the one where I was an organized, neat freak - oh yeah, make that skinny, organized, neat freak.  :)  I was all of those things once, I am pretty sure.  For sure, it's too much to ask to have that good memory thrown back in there too!

May the blessings of Heaven be upon you and your family. Happy Holidays! 

More Often

Part of me wonders if it's really worth the time to blog.  Part of me wishes I would do it more often.  So, tonight I am on the "do it more often" side.  Tonight, Paden was reading through the blog and looking at old pictures and Gunnar and Fischer joined in.  They had a good time recalling different events.  So, even if no one else reads this, I suppose it is all worth it for the kids to have something to help them remember different events in our lives.  So, I read through a lot of of blog posts. I read a lot of good stuff.  I am glad I documented.

So, although I am tired and don't have much to say tonight, I am going to figure out how to get some more blogging in.

I did make 8 new cards yesterday, so if anyone is in need of baby shower cards or birthday cards, feel free to buy them from me. :-)  Just kidding, I have really only ever sold one card to a co-worker and I wouldn't have taken the money from her if she hadn't forced me.  Felt good to get some card-making in.  Paden wants a blanket made, so I started that tonight.  Never mind that the sink is full of dirty dishes.  Tomorrow, we will be eating whatever breakfast food doesn't require bowls or spoons; we'll see how well that works.  Back to card making, up next some thank you cards I think.  Then more birthday cards.  I like to have cards on hand for any occasions.  Christmas cards?  Eh, well, maybe.  I am thinking that Shutterfly photo cards are the way to go again this year. I have never really gotten in the groove to mass produce the same card over and over and get them addressed to family and friends in time for a certain holiday.  Pretty much happened once . . . with our wedding invitations nearly 12 years ago . . . and I had help then. ;-)

Well, folks, if you didn't already know . . . we bought an embroidery machine.  (Yes, this is random paragraph posting night).  So, our business, DeadRock Sporting Goods, LLC is a full-production shirt making biz.  We can do screen printing, heat press and embroidery.  Neil does all the screen printing, I do most of the heat pressing (well, cutting of designs/names) and we both can run the embroidery machine (he better than I, but still).  So, we are doing pretty well at this little business.  Soon, we'll have a website up; it's started, but not finished.  Since I quit Facebook, I'll have to ask my few faithful readers to help us out and get our web site posted to the masses once it's finished, so stay tuned.  It's good.  It keeps Neil busier than just substitute teaching at the school.  It is something that the boys can learn to do and take over if they want some extra cash as they grow up and it pays for us to take a vacation here and there - maybe next time we'll actually take the kids.  Is that really called vacation if you have to take your children?  Or is there another word for that "seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time, chaotic, road trip"?

Abruptly end randomness here . . .

WDTG?

Seriously, where does time go?  And why is it always in a hurry? It's November 1st.  NOVEMBER.  Wow.  This phenomenon is perplexing.

Many good blog topics have come and gone.  Many small events in the lives of my children have certainly passed without being documented.  Well, in my work world of Human Resources we have a little theme that if it's not documented, it didn't happen.  So, I kind of feel that way at home.  Stuff has happened and soon I'll forget about it because I didn't blog it.  I suppose I need to get better.  Since I quit the time-sucking evil that is Facebook several months ago, I thought I would spend more time doing more important things. I am not sure I've gotten there yet, but I did start reading a book called "Getting Things Done".  So, I am working on it. :)

So, let's back up the train a little bit . . . first, School.

Gunnar started a new school this year as he entered 4th grade.  He is now a Wolf instead of a Bucaneer.  He seems to be doing very well thus far.  He started the year with a substitute teacher though.  I realize that women are free to have babies whenever they please, but it's a little annoying that his teacher is going to miss the entire first quarter of school.  She supposedly coming back on the 13th of November.  We were happy with who Gunnar got for  teacher, we didn't know until the first day of school that she wasn't going to be there.  At any rate, Gunnar doesn't have to deal with his brother at school anymore so that seems to be good for him.  Paden still silently worships Gunnar, but Gunnar was really ready to have a break.  At the elementary school because Paden was in a 1st/2nd grade split class last year, he was in the 2nd/3rd grade hallway and same lunch/recess schedule as Gunnar.  Needless to say, a big brother just needs a little space sometimes.  We figured that from here on out, they won't run into each other very much, so I am hopeful they will love each other again someday.  We missed conferences due to a football game that we had to leave like at 4pm.  I was going to send a substitute parent to talk to the substitute teacher, but I thought that might have been a little much.  Gunnar does have perfect attendance so far.  I really think that's important.

Gunnar played football for the first year.  It was a fun experience to get into football.  There were 20 kids on the team, only 5 of which had ever played before and there were about 9 fourth graders.  We don't have enough kids in our town to make a 3rd/4th team and a separate 5th/6th team, so it's one team and we had to play the older teams.  We got crushed.  Hard.  I think second game ended about 51 to 0.   The team only scored one touchdown all year.  They did however make improvements from game to game.  They started to get the hang of it.  It's pretty fun to watch them - Neil may disagree. 

Paden is in second grade, although I was seriously confused the other day and had to ask him if he was in 2nd or 3rd.  Because he was in the 1st/2nd split last year and did all 2nd grade work last year, I keep forgetting what grade he is in.  So, he's still testing in the 97th and 99th percentile in Reading and Math.  He got some ridiculous percent of his goal for the first quarter AR reading - like 134% or 145% or something like that at a 3.9 level average (so 3rd grade 9th month average).  And he got that like a month before the quarter ended.  So, that's Paden.  He is somewhat like the absent-minded professor.  He's not a neat, organized kid.  He's a little sloppy, clumsy and just all over the place.  His teacher said that sometimes she has to watch or he'll be on her lap.  She has Paden helping with getting other kids logged into the computer, of course.  He's a little needy still, but he does have a few friends.  We've been trying to work with him quite a bit with his social interaction with people his own age.  The teacher said there was one time where a girl got upset at something Paden said because she didn't understand.  The teacher understood what he was trying to say, but it came out wrong to another 7-year old. Good times.  Paden also has perfect attendance.

Paden played soccer and starts a little basketball camp on Monday.  He had a good time with soccer even though I had to bribe him to play.  He's OK with basketball because it's only a 5-day camp.  He doesn't want to do wrestling, which I am alright with.  I am sure he'll be playing quite a few video games during the winter.  He did state he needed a new game because he's bored with the ones we have.

Then there's Fischer. We elected not to put Fischer in Preschool this year because he'll have to go two years anyway.  So, next year he can go.  I hope that goes over well.  He's very similar to Paden in that he doesn't do change well and anything out of the ordinary he freaks out.  When our babysitter wasn't available, he had to go to my friend Jessica's and the second day he refused to go to the bathroom at her house.  She had to just make him sit down and cry until he went.  So yeah . . . hopefully he doesn't do what Paden did when he was 4 with the preschool thing.  Paden would have a meltdown about going to the sitter too.  Fischer throws a fit if he can't go to Sarah's, so he's used to that.

Fischer does work on his letters at Sarah's.  They just finished "F".  He knows how to write an F and an E.  He can count to about 23.  He is pretty dang witty.  He likes to joke around.  He knows he's funny.  He had to take some pictures to Sarah's for a project.  So, we quickly had to look through pics one morning.  Later that day when she showed me the project, she said that she thought the pictures Fischer brought were of Paden.  After further inspection, it appears that is the case.  Fischer thinks they are him, so whatever.  But, yeah, I think they are Paden.  They all look similar to one another in different stages of their life.  Fischer is actually very athletic and intelligent.       He's pretty dang cute.

I think I'll have to finish recapping another day - only so much energy available . . .

White Sharks!

Well, Paden has played what is more than likely his last game of soccer today.  His little team of 6 and 7 year old kids had a good season.  Paden didn't really want to play this year and so I promised him his beloved babysitter, Edith, would be his coach.  He still wasn't convinced.  Edith's little sister, Arianna, didn't want to play either.  We had to bribe them both.  Because I am the president of the youth soccer club, I let Paden pick the uniform colors for like 4 teams and let him decide some of the players on his team.  He was somewhat satisfied. I think they might have also used his suggestion for the team name - White Sharks! He also got to be the first person to use the GoPro camera and he wore it during one of his games.  That was some pretty funny footage.  Paden likes to play goalie.  He's not that great at soccer, but he seemed to enjoy himself alright.  He actually was playing pretty aggressively today.  It was cold this morning - like 30-something degrees.  So, I made Paden put on a long-sleeved shirt over his undershirt, then put on his jersey - so three shirts.  I couldn't find the thermal underwear, so he had one a pair of sweat pants (little too big) under his shorts.  He looked spectacular. :-)  

Not sure why he looks like he's going to cry here . . .

Goalie ready!

Go Number 7!

Game over!  Nice job!

Overall, it was a pretty successful soccer season for this team.  I am pretty sure Paden is done with soccer.  The next year, he'd be moving up to the next age bracket and that's when it starts getting a little serious.  He's not that in to it, so we'll have to find something else for him to do in the fall.