Like the Dickens

Christmas programs

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 16:26:00 +0000

B in the school choir singing at North Park Center

He's in the middle left of the choir teacher, by the microphone stand.

B in the school program. This one is blurry.

J in the school program. B did most of the filming. The boys at least sound nice. J is second from left in front row.

Between then and Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 16:15:00 +0000

I haven't blogged. Obviously. Here are pictures from the past month or so.

A participated in her first Intramurals at UA. Frosh Green. They didn't completely lose, they got 3rd in Mural.

Those are my pictures from Thanksgiving. The children all snuggled together watching a movie, actually touching each other. They saw the camera/phone and refused to stayed posed for me. And Ugly Dip, the favorite appetizer of the day, sent to the cousins to tell them to hurry over or it would be all gone.

B's birthday: Hot Chocolate Cake topped with homemade marshmallows, a gel ant farm that the whole family found fascinating, and hero-worshipping the cousins from Iowa

B constructed a tunnel in a pile of cedar leaves.

Baseball players at the lake

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 02:48:00 +0000

The day after Halloween, DH & B headed to the lake with some boys from the baseball team for an end of season celebration. The first cold spell hit that weekend but it didn't stop the boys from having fun.

Halloween 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 02:43:00 +0000

I'm finally getting around to posting about Halloween.

Halloween. It was a kind of a crazy rushed day. I worked. B had a half day. A went to Ranger Day at Jesuit and then helped with intramuals decorations. J had a full day of school. When I got home, A was already over at the cousins' house to hang out with her friends. She took her pumpkin with her. The boys had already carved their pumpkins but I didn't get pictures with them lit. I took pictures of the boys before DH & B headed over to a halloween party & I dropped J off at a friend's house. When I finally made it to the party, it was crazy busy with kids everywhere. It was Halloween on a Friday night so everyone came. Last year B played too much and was upset at the end of the night because of he lack of candy. I walked with him and his friends trick or treating so we didn't have that issue this year. A & her friends came trick or treating at the party. J was dropped off at the end of the night. He had fun with his friends and 3 lbs of candy. Luckily, by then, the boys were tired and I could go home.

Autumnfest 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 02:57:00 +0000

Last Saturday was Autmnfest. DH was busy all day with in charge of the beer tent. I signed up to volunteer from 12:00-2:00 so I would be free for the rest of the day. J got there and took off with his friends. I don't think I saw him again until 8:30 when he was ready to go home. B had fun and stopped in for a photo every now and then. A was there early with her friends but it was homecoming that night. They left around 2:30 to get ready for the big night. I can't believe how grown up they are all.

State Fair 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 20:10:00 +0000

We ended up with an afternoon free on the last day of the Fair. A was at Six Flags with the church youth group, so the rest of us headed out. We took the obligatory walk through the auto show where the boys checked out sports cars. B practiced his Heisman stance. Next on the list was corny dogs.

We spent way too much time in the midway. B played lots of games. J tried multiple times on the shoot the star with the bb gun game. He came very close, maybe next year. They both rode the bumper cars and B rode a couple of little rides. He's still my little boy who loves motorcycles.

On our way out we walked back through the auto show so the boys could drive a simulation video game. They ended up being too short. We found a pinball machine instead and played for free. I was the queen of pinball and beat them all. All the boys want a machine at home!

We grabbed an ice cream on the way out. It was a great visit to the Fair.

Friday night

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 20:28:00 +0000

A went to a football game. J went backpack camping with the Boy Scouts. B played his last baseball game of the season. It was a good Friday night.

State Fair Field Trip #3

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 20:25:00 +0000

B is in third grade this year, so he got to go on the State Fair field trip and I got to chaperone. It wasn't as good as the other two times. The people at the fair were not as organized as previous times. There was a lot of walking to a place, figuring out where we were suppose to go and then waiting for something to start. I had B and two other boys to watch. One of them kept disappearing. I had to go to the teacher multiple times and tell her I couldn't find him. At least she knows the kid and knew it wasn't do to lack of attention on my part. B was sad because he wanted to go ride the rides and eat a corny dog. Maybe next year!

Baseball

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 04 Oct 2014 03:18:00 +0000

I got to see B pitch tonight. He pitched two innings and struck out 3 batters holding them to 0 runs in his second inning. Plus, he got a home run later in the game. It was a good baseball night for B.

TCU football

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 01:57:00 +0000

In order to go to the Aggie game at SMU, we bought SMU season tickets. Since we had tickets, DH & B joined S#2 & her family for the TCU v SMU game on Saturday. The rest of us had other plans. J went camping with Boy Scouts. A & I had some mother/daughter bonding over toe shoes & pedicures.

Chore

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 01:19:00 +0000

I cleaned my fridge. It was such an accomplishment, it needed a blog post. I don't want think about how long it had been since it had been completely cleaned. Earlier this summer, the boys tried making orange juice popsicles in the freezer. Somehow it spilled and it was disgustingly sticky everywhere. The fridge wasn't much better. It took several hours but it was well worth the effort. It feels so refreshing to open the refrigerator door and see clean.

Aggie football

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 21:11:00 +0000

Last weekend the whole family headed out to another football game. This time we didn't have to travel far since A&M was playing at SMU. It is a fun school for tailgating and we saw lots of Aggie friends. I think B was indoctrinated to the whole Aggie thing. He might want to be a Yell Leader some day. He loved it all. The game itself was a blowout and kind of boring. We were some of the few who stayed for the whole game. A was glad she brought her book with her.

ND Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 03:08:00 +0000

DH & I went to South Bend for the Michigan game with S#2 & family, S#5 & a cousin or two. We hadn't been back since S#5's senior year/22nd birthday celebration. It was a great weekend to go. DH ran into Dick Vitale in the new bookstore. We tailgated with BIL#2's roommates and enjoyed jello shots from a neighboring tailgate. The weather was perfect for a football game. Our seats were on the very top row of the stadium, but they were still good seats. We had a terrific view of the field and the campus. Best of all, ND won. Big!

Bonus for the weekend, we were able to stop for a quick visit with a high school friend & her family on our way out of town. Next time, we need to plan for a longer visit!

Arboretum

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 03:45:00 +0000

We were only slightly busy Labor Day weekend. Sunday we made the kids help clean the house. They made sure to let us know that we are awfully mean parents, except not in those words.

Since they worked hard Sunday, we went out Monday. The Arboretum had $5.00 admission, including the new children's garden. The weather was lovely when we got there. There were clouds, a slight breeze, there were flowers and insects galore to inspect and discover.

However, the clouds blew off and the slight wind died and it got hot. 100+ hot. The heat increased right about the time we arrived at the children's garden. It is nice, but it doesn't have much shade. I wanted to just go in, check it out, and leave. Unfortunately, B realized there was cool stuff to do. The boys took off; A & I found some shade and waited. They were all tired out by then end.

It was a nice afternoon. We should think of going more often. I really enjoyed all the plants and have lots of ideas for our flower beds.

Back to School 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 01:27:00 +0000

It was not a simple first day of school this year. Three kids in three difference schools lead to a week of back to school activities.

B was up first on Monday.

B is 1) standing nicely smiling for Mom, 2) being excited about third grade, and 3) showing how he really feels about the end of summer.

It was very strange walking him into class all by himself, but I think he kind of liked it. His teacher wasn't in the classroom yet, so I didn't get that picture. Another mom told the boys to hold up three fingers for third grade. Of course B took it to the extreme.

Tuesday was Opening Ceremonies at J's new school.

I neglected to take pictures of J by himself. I did take pictures when he tried on his dress uniform on Monday night.

Here are pictures of the boys together. Of course they had to be goofy. The repeated eye-rolling led into all out back to school craziness.

DH took J to his first day at his new school, Cistercian. I thought he'd be more nervous, but he wasn't. Hopefully that is a sign of a good year to come. They had Opening Ceremony (which was just a mass with all the boys in the blazers & dress pants) and then eye & hearing check, pictures, and all the other first day of school necessities.

Thursday was A's first day of Freshman Orientation at Ursuline.

She missed taking pictures with her brothers so she tried to get the dog to stand in. It didn't really work.

We picked up cousin E. They smiled prettily for the first couple of pictures and then turned as goofy as the boys. I think they were attempting to recreate the past pciture, they need to work on the pose!

Carpool line to drop them off took forever! All the parents were getting out of the car taking pictures of the President and Principal of UA shaking hands with the new freshmen. I told them I would skip it and just took a picture out the window of the car. I still can't believe the twin cousins are now high school freshmen. It was just a minute ago they were little girls!

A still has her first day of classes on Monday. I'm working on convincing her to be ready early enough to get a picture of all three kids in uniform. We'll see if teenager sleepiness overrules family photo time.

Daddy Day

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 13:30:00 +0000

This whole working full time has its drawbacks. Yes, it pays for private school education, but it doesn't leave me time for summer day trips with the kids. The kids (and I) were disappointed but I'm looking into something over Thanksgiving and/or Christmas break.

Meanwhile, DH stepped in to give the kids a day with Dad at the Perot Museum.

We bought a 2 year membership last August. I think we've gotten our money's worth.

The Great Room Swap IV

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 14:24:00 +0000

I spent last week doing very little work on the bedrooms. I am still going through stuff. I've made 3 runs to St. Vincent De Paul. It has been nice to clear out a lot of the extra junk. The boys got new comforters for their bed and decorations for the walls. J needed some furniture. We did what most people do and headed to IKEA. He and I spent most of Sunday putting together a desk, a dresser, a desk chair, a laundry hamper and a filing rack. It wasn't fun, but it all went together and I didn't kill anyone.

While J & I were busy in his room. A spent the day cooking a meal from scratch for the family. (With a bit of help from S#5, thank you very much!) We had homemade pasta with butter onion tomato sauce, pesto sauce, parmesan green beans, lemon vinaigrette zucchini & caesar salad. It was delicious dinner after a long day. Thank you A!

We've put a lot of work into the house over the past 3 weeks. The boys' closets could probably use some organization which will happen at some point in time. I still need to go through photos and find places to store the stuff from the office that we're keeping, but as far as bedrooms, we're done

P.S. Bad photos. Sorry! That's as good as it gets right now.

Saturday afternoon of fun

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 20:02:00 +0000

Saturday was typical. Lots of stuff to do, errands to run, places to go. At 3:30 we found ourselves trying to decide what to do next. Summer is coming to close, the kids start school in a few weeks, the weather was nice and we wanted to take advantage of the day.

We ended up at Free First Saturday at the Nasher Sculpture Museum. B decided we need a willow tree to run through at our house. He loved it. A posed in front of the Picasso and the boys joined in. After the Nasher, we walked to the downtown Cathedral for mass. We had about 30 minutes until Mass started so we walked through the Crow Collection of Asian Art. It was nice and small, perfect for a few spare moments. After mass, we drove to Chicken Scratch. It has been on DH's list of places to try, and I think everyone wants to go back again.

Last baseball of the summer

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 14:05:00 +0000

Last Sunday, DH & I went to B's baseball tournament in Waxahachie. It was a stinking hot day. They lost both games on Saturday, so I wasn't expecting to be there long. I planned to be home by noon and organize closets in the boys rooms. They won the first game, so my plans for the day were done since we had several hours between games. Unfortunately, they lost the second game. Good for me, sad for the boys. B had a great tournament and had fun. Since we hadn't had enough baseball, we were home in time to go to dollar ice cream day at the Rangers!

The Great Room Swap III

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 02:01:00 +0000

I last left off with A's room and the bathrooms painted. I finally found time to start painting the boys' rooms on Thursday night. It was after 8pm before I started. I decided to get the edge done in B's room before the night ended. If I finish the edging on Thursday night, I might be able to finish painting by Sunday or maybe Monday.

Things didn't go quite as planned. B picked a deep green. It wasn't a forgiving paint. I don't normally tape when I paint. I keep a steady brush and a wet rag to clean up as I go. Well, let me tell you that green paint doesn't quite clean up. It just sort of smears. I got frustrated quickly. Lets just say that within 45 minutes, I edged one wall (horribly), cried and quit.

I went to bed and decided that I would go buy tape for the edges and start again the next day. Luckily DH knew I was at my limit. He was probably at his limit with me too. He called me before lunch the next day. He booked painters for 8am on Saturday to finish the two rooms. It was sort of pricey but well worth it. Three guys, 4 hours, several hundred dollars and the two rooms were done! I got to spent the day sorting through all the stuff.

The Great Room Swap II

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 14:59:00 +0000

Friday night I started painting. I got A's new room painted sky blue. Soar by Sherwin Williams. Saturday, I painted her new bathroom the same purple she selected when we had them redone last year. I planned to start painting the boys' bathroom on Sunday. Instead I spent the day going through A's junk. Even though I told her every day that she had to start packing to move while I was at work, it became quite evident that she had done very little.

After we spent many long hours of going through her stuff, we were able to move her into the new bedroom and move the boys furniture into their new rooms. I was not expecting that by Sunday night, but happened. I might have been very cranky, but it was done.

The next day I was exhausted so I took Monday night off and went to my knitting group. Tuesday night I jumped right back into painting and finished the boys' bathroom Wednesday night.

The Great Room Swap

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 14:27:00 +0000

We made some big decisions about the house this summer. The boys really needed their own rooms. J decided to take DH's office, even though he'll have to walk down the hall to the bathroom. Since J was going to be walking down the hall, he needed access to the hall bath, which was attached to A's room. J would probably rather share a bathroom with his brother than his 14 year old very girly, long-shower-taking, nail-polish-using, smelly-lotion-wearing sister, so B really needed to switch rooms too. The great room swap became J moving into the office, B into A's room and A into the boys' room. We only had a month or so left to get it done before school starts.

Since the boys were going to be gone for a week, I took advantage of their absence to clean out their room. Sunday was the hardest part, debunking the beds by myself. I had my tools, diet coke and hex wrenches. An hour and a half later, with help from A, the task was done. It took me 3 more nights after work to go through all of their stuff and empty their room. Going through 8 years of little boy stuff was not fun!

Lake Trip 2014 - Boys Week

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 13:55:00 +0000

The boys stayed behind at the lake for another week of fun. They went tubing of course. However the new game was jumping from tube to tube. Crazy boys! Thank heavens I wasn't there for that. They went on a long boat ride to Big Cedar Lodge for lunch. B went to a week long sleep away baseball camp with his cousin. It was 5 days of baseball, baseball, baseball. He loved it! J stayed at the lake with Pa Pa & Grandma. He fished and fished some more. He came home with 5 bags of the fish he caught so he can have his own fish fry. He loved it too!

Lake Trip 2014 - Girls Ride Home

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 02:13:00 +0000

A & I left the lake earlier than the boys. She suffered through a book on tape (or mp3 player) with little complaint. Thank you A.

We took a side trip to Fayetteville, AR to visit the Crystal Bridges Museum. It was a great museum and free. I took pictures of some of my favorite pieces. I'd like to go back someday and walk the grounds. They looked beautiful.

After our museum visit, we headed to downtown Fayetteville to find Crepes Paulette. I found the little crepe stand on a "restaurants nearby" search on Google Maps. It was well worth the visit. They serve buckwheat crepes with all kinds of fillings. A had chicken with pesto. I had ham, cheese & jalapeño. We ended with a sweet crepe with sea salt caramel and dark chocolate ganache. It was so yummy, it disappeared in minutes. A, who learned to make crepes in her decats class, definitely approved of our lunch stop.

We had another 5.5 hours until home. The audio book was interesting and not racy, which I started to worry about since I was listening with A! It was just a tad too long, so after we emptied the car, we sat down on the couch and finished the last 20 minutes.

It was nice to be home again.

Lake Trip 2014 - fishing

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 02:07:00 +0000

The boys spent some time fishing and caught a couple of keepers. Papa taught them how to clean the fish, J actually tried, B took care of the guts. We ate them when their great grandmother Vi came to lunch. When fishing was done, B honed his tubing skills. The dog had some fun too.