The Fincher Family

Lego Table

2012-12-30T21:56:00.002-05:00

It's no secret that I am a Pintrest addict. So when I came across a DIY Lego table, I was intrigued!

With Matthew's birthday only five days after Christmas, we are always struggling with what to get him. He still hasn't played with everything that he got for Christmas! We decided that he didnt need any more toys, so we thought the Lego table was perfect!

My brother lives in Atlanta, so he went it Ikea for me. (I love you Bradford!) (He hates Ikea!) I got just a red LACK table. It took Brian five minutes to put it together. (Sorry no during pictures, we had put Matthew to bed upstairs and thought that he was asleep. When we heard him running down the hall and headed to the stairs, I took off running and Brian went reaching for a blanket to cover the table up!)

We bought base plates at Toys R Us when they were Buy One Get One Half Off. We used four of them. We marked where the center was and traced around the edges. Then he used cilicone on the back and we put books on top overnight! Early the next morning, he hid it in the laundry room. Just after lunch, Matthew comes running up to us screaming, "Mama, Daddy, there is a Lego table in the laundry room!" So much for being a secret!!!

Thanks to my mom and dad for the John Deere Legos! It took us 2 days to put everything together!!!

Camo Cupcakes

2012-12-30T21:42:00.005-05:00

Today was Matthew's sixth birthday. We celebrated with a camo party. I saw on Pinterest several months ago where someone made camo cupcakes and I thought, hey I can do that!

I mixed up a regular yellow cake mix and divided my mix into 4 bowls. I used the gel coloring from Americolor. I was very pleased with how the colors turned out. I used forest green, black, chocolate brown, then just a tiny drop of chocolate brown for the tan.

We dipped spoonfulls into the cupcake liners rotating it until we thought that it looked good.

See my helper??

Here is what they look like after they are done!

I used the forest green food coloring to make the icing. It's just plain buttercream.

They were a hit!

Summer Has Officially Begun!

2012-05-29T21:59:00.000-04:00

Today was our first day at home with just me and the kids. And of course it rained. ALL day! Matthew and I ran some errands and then Talon came over to play. It was nice not to have him underfoot for a little while - but they made up for it by destroying his room! They had a war they said!

I am taking my last 3 classes for graduate school. I will be so glad when it's done!

Poor Brooke is already bored. Like she has nothing to entertain her here!!!

We have a couple of VBS's soon and we will see what else the summer will hold for us!

Playing Catchup

2012-05-14T19:59:00.002-04:00

A LOT has happened in the last few weeks. Spring semester ended and now Summer has begun. This is my LAST semester of graduate school!!!!!!!!

But most exciting is that I found out that I am going to be an AUNT! After many years of praying and hoping and wishing for my sister, she found out last week. I am beyond excited!

I registered Matthew for Kindergarten, Brooke will be in 7th grade, and Brandon will be 20 on Saturday. I AM OLD!

I hope to have one more announcement in a week or so, the anticipation is killing me. And no, I am NOT pregnant.

The house is going great. We LOVE it here. We have so much more room and the kids seem really happy.

2012 is our year. Some things really are worth the wait. I asked someone the other day what you do when all of your prayers are answered?? She told me to get down on my knees and thank the Lord!

Finally!

2012-02-03T22:51:00.002-05:00

Well, we are here! Brian moved some furniture today and then we went back tonight and got the couch and loveseat. We can officially sleep here tonight! (And we also have phone and internet!!!)

Last night was bittersweet as it was the last night in the house where we have been for so long! That was the house where we spent the first 15 years together and where we brought our babies home to! If I think about it too much, I may cry!

However, this house has so much more room and we are not all on top of each other. We just need to get the rest of the kids furniture and some junk and that's it! I pretty much have the kitchen done except for a few odds and ends. We even have food over here!!!

Thank you to everyone that has helped us move. We couldnt have done it without you. If I can find the camera, I will take some pictures. the laundry room was a disaster. Those 3M hooks were on the wall and when we took them off, they pulled the paper off of the sheetrock. Brian spackled and sanded and painted and it looks fabulous!!

He is finishing the water heater now so we will have hot water for in the morning. I DO NOT like cold showers!

Snaggletooth

2012-01-29T10:43:00.002-05:00

As if we didn't have enough going on, Matthew had dental surgery this past Friday. And when I say surgery, I mean surgery. He had to check into the hospital, be put to sleep and he is now a snaggletooth!

We didn't have to be there until 11:30 which meant he could not eat anything before we left. He actually did really well. They gave him the drug that was supposed to make him "relax", and it did, for a few minutes. It also made him wild!!! The kid next door laid in his bed under the covers and watched tv. Not Matthew! He bounced on the bed, played with the semi that mom and dad brought him and was WILD! I finally put him in the wagon and rode him up the hall for a few minutes. Luckily, we had lots of company to entertain him.

After surgery, they called to say that he was in recovery. It wasn't even ten minutes later they had to come back and get me to come sit with him in recovery because he was hysterical. He tried to pull out his iv and was kicking anyone who tried to touch him. They got us out of there pretty quick!

We got home and he slept for about 30 minutes, then he was starving! He ate two things of green jello and then threw it up all over me. He threw up two more times but it didnt even phase him. He would throw up then be asking for something to eat right after!

We close on the house tomorrow at 11! I have my to-do list all ready of what needs to be done first! We are excited!!!!

A Lot of Catching Up To Do!

2012-01-22T11:20:00.006-05:00

Well, since August we have celebrated 3 birthdays, Christmas and bought a new house. Been a little busy.....

Brooke's birthday was pretty low key. She was in Perry on her actual birthday, then we celebrated later that weekend.

Matthew had a pirate party for his birthday. Poor child had not even played with his Christmas toys then it was time for his birthday!

And just a couple of days before Christmas, we signed a contract on a new house! So in the midst of everything, we are packing up 15 years worth of stuff to move!!! And grad school started back as well.

We are set to close on January 3oth (fingers crossed!)

Matthew is having dental surgery this Friday. He has no enamel on his teeth so they are falling apart. And this summer he bit into a pecan and broke his front tooth off. Luke put a cap on it and then the tooth up under it died so he has a nice black tooth in the front now.

Look for lots of before and after pictures soon!

Shame on Me!

2011-08-17T19:37:00.002-04:00

I know, it's been a LONG time. I have lots of excuses though. School ended, Brandon graduated, we partied, summer semester of grad school started and we just got lazy!

We didnt do a lot this summer, I took three classes, we did take a trip to Atlanta to the Aquarium and the Zoo. Matthew LOVED it!

We have all gone back to work and school. Brooke is in 6th grade and is loving it and Matthew is back at Peace Lutheran. It took him a day or two to warm back up, but Monday night he asked me if I would get the "Army Barbies" (GI Joes) down if he didnt cry. Daddy even managed to take him this morning without incident...(can't say the same for Baby though!)

I have a small class again this year and I love it. I am able to do so much more with them when there are just a few. It helps my need for art projects much more manageable!

So sorry!

2011-02-10T20:00:00.002-05:00

I am so sorry that it's been so long since my last post. Lots of things are going on. Soccer season has started, the first game is next week, I started grad school and spend most nights on homework. How I thought that it would be easy with a 4 year old is beyond me!

Brandon's senior pictures are in, but the scanner has decided to not work so I can't post them. They do look good on my wall though!

I promise to try and do better!

Christmas Has Come and Gone

2010-12-27T17:26:00.002-05:00

Well, it's been here and gone again! We are slowly trying to recover from Christmas and get ready for Matthew's birthday on Thursday.

The kids had a great time opening presents and Matthew got his lawnmower that he asked for. It has been too cold to ride it, but he did get to ride a little bit on Christmas Day.

We are doing cleaning projects while I am at home with the kids this week. Last week, we started tackling Brooke's room and had I known what an undertaking that would be, I would've hired Merry Maids. I think that we are on trash bag number 12!

I have not even taken the pictures off of my camera to share with you, but hopefully I will get them uploaded to shutterfly soon.

Busy

2010-11-29T20:54:00.002-05:00

My new background, which reminds me of some wrapping paper that mom and dad had when I was little is up! When I saw this kit, I knew that I had to have it! I am working on a header to match, but we do not have our tree up and therefore we do not have a Christmas picture yet. That also means no Christmas card yet either! I hope that we get our tree this weekend. It is our Christmas parade and I am planning on that getting Brian in the spirit....

Tonight is one of the few nights that we dont have anything to do. We have a big muscial coming up with the orchestra, our First Grade program is soon. It's just a busy month.

Matthew had his Thanksgiving Program, the pictures are up on the shutterfly site.

This and That

2010-11-20T16:10:00.002-05:00

We've had a lot going on, but as I sit down here to type, it all just leaves me......

Things are about to get crazy for us with the holidays approaching. It is Brian's busy time anyway, but between the kids and all of their activities and parties and our activities and parties, there are not many nights in December that we will not have at least one thing!

Brian and I have spent today cleaning parts of the house that do not normally get cleaned. I am trying to get things ready for Christmas, we need to part with some baby toys and reorganize. That got me to thinking that Matthew will be 4 in just over a month. Even though I KNOW that now is the time to purge all of the baby stuff, it is still hard. Like his sippy cups. I think that they are more for MY benefit than his. I threw them all out except 3, he likes these 3 because they are like the mugs that people drink coffee from. It's hard at stores not to walk down the baby aisle and realize that you don't need to be there. Don't get me wrong, I don't miss formula and diapers, but I guess because he is my last and I KNOW this, it is hard for me to let go.

Matthew has his Thanksgiving program this week, I will be sure and video tape and take lots of pictures! He LOVES school and even though he has learned a more colorful vocabulary for sure, he has also learned SO much other stuff! He runs in every morning and doesn't want to leave in the afternoons. Most afternoons, he smiles all of the way home and tells me that he loves school!

I got a new scrapbook kit, it reminds me of some wrapping paper that we had when I was little with reindeer on it that I LOVED. I plan to change my background just after Thanksgiving.

Still trying to decide if I am going Black Friday shopping or not!

Catching Up

2010-10-01T22:12:00.003-04:00

This past week has been crazy busy. Between work, the quarter starting back and Brian teaching 2 nights again, orchestra practice, homecoming and Matthew getting sick, I have not had a lot of time to blog!

Last Saturday was Homecoming:

It was our last "official" homecoming since he is a Senior. Sunday was pretty calm, and so was the start of the work week. The quarter started at Moultrie Tech and Brian is teaching 2 nights a week again. We are doing a big production Sunday at First Methodist, so we had practice until later than usual. In the middle of practice, Lei texts me a picture of Matthew's busted lip. He wound up being ok. I have had meetings out the ears this week at work! Usually by Thursday, I have lesson plans done for the next week. But Thursday night, or should I say Friday morning, Matthew woke up wheezing and could not catch his breath. I gave him a breathing treatment and he still was having trouble. We could not get his SpO2 above the low 90's so he and I headed to the ER at 2 am. They gave him an epinepherine breathing treatment and he is still a tiny bit croupy, but he is sleeping soundly now. We didnt get home until 6 am this morning! So I stayed home with him today.

Brandon had a lock-in at church and Brian was supposed to take both kids to Grandaddy Fincher's for the weekend. But with Matthew sick, and on breathing treatments every 4 hours, I knew that he wouldnt be able to handle him. So, Matthew and I stayed home. He was NOT happy when he saw the suitcase! He wanted to watch Twilight (?) so we snuggled in the bed and I started the movie. It wasnt ten minutes later that he was out!

I had planned to do some Christmas shopping tomorrow, but that went out the window! We will see what the day brings!

A BUSY Weekend

2010-09-24T20:25:00.002-04:00

It is offically Fall. Will someone send some cooler weather? I am ready to go to the fair and the pumpkin patch and wear my boots and sweaters!

This weekend will be a busy one, it's been a busy week! I got sick at the beginning of the week with an inner and middle ear infection in one ear and an inner ear infection on the other. I tried to go to work Tuesday, but was home by 10! I slept all day and felt much better!

It is Homecoming week here, Brandon has dressed up every day this week. Today was the Senior's TOGA day. We finally got the toga made last night. In addition to that, we have been studying about Johnny Appleseed and I made applesauce for my class today so that meant peeling and cutting two bags of apples! Then one of my sweet girls surprised us and brought apple juice!

Tomorrow is the homecoming dance. It is Brandon's last official Homecoming. Hopefully I can put some pictures up tomorrow.

An update and technical issues

2010-09-19T20:51:00.002-04:00

So I am having technical issues. First, our internet was down, then we got a virus. Now, I cant get pics to upload to blogger. Between that and Brian's obsession with World of Warcraft, I have not had a lot of computer time. I did make a new background today while he was grilling steaks.

The year is going along ok, the first 9 weeks are almost over. I keep thinking about the guys that just started school and while it would have been nice to have a few more weeks of summer, I am sort of glad that we went ahead and got it over with!

Matthew does not cry (most) mornings. He goes to his seat and starts on his morning work. He learned all of his colors quickly and has moved on to numbers. Once he gets them, they will start on letters. Boys are definately different than boys. By the time Brooke left PL, she could write her first and last name. We will see if this is the case with Matthew.

Homecoming is next weekend. Then the show season starts. Hopefully, I can upload pics by then.

Scrap Pages and some inspiration

2010-08-17T17:57:00.011-04:00

I have tried to upload this post a dozen times. We have had internet trouble, first, it died, then we had a virus. But hopefully now we are back to business!

I have a scrappin' and bloggin' friend that loves Katie's kits as much as I do. So when she posted her new pages that she had made, I had to take a look. The funny thing is that we have made pages that are extremely similar. And I am in LOVE with the Who's at the zoo page that she did! Amanda sells her quickpages for $1-$2 each. That is a steal. Just go to her blog to check hers out.

Here are mine:

This is the one that Amanda and I have that were similar.

My Who's At the Zoo page wont load! I guess that it's too big!

First Days of School

2010-08-08T16:15:00.002-04:00

Friday was everyone's first day of school. I met my students and they are really sweet. Brandon had his LAST first day of school. He is only going to school part of the day and then leaves to go to work. Brooke started 5th grade and she loves it. Matthew started 3 year old kindergarten also. Brian had to take him because I had to be at work so early but all in all it was pretty uneventful until he tried to leave him. But Mrs. Margaret said that he did really well. And Matthew is ready to go back tomorrow. We'll see if that is still the case in the morning!

Whew!

2010-08-02T16:25:00.003-04:00

Where did summer go? Today is the last day before I go back to work. I feel like I have done nothing this summer! It's too hot to do much of anything.

We haven't been up to a lot. A visit to Chuck E. Cheese last week and trying to get my classroom ready.

Matthew will be starting his school soon. Today we got all of the school supplies out and wrote names on everything. New school supplies make me happy.

Jady Day Studios is hosting her Grand Opening. I made my new background and header with her kit You Light Up My Life. I love the colors!

Beach Trip Part 3

2010-07-16T17:13:00.008-04:00

I think that I can finish the beach trips into this last post...maybe. But first, let me interject, WHERE DID THE SUMMER GO? I went to my classroom today for the first time!

Fish!

So, the boys finally got to go fishing Tuesday. Brooke, Matthew and I went to the beach for a bit then to the pool. Dale called and asked if we wanted to meet them at the marina, so we jumped in the truck (yes, I drove, through St. Pete and over a draw bridge) to meet them! The captain was cleaning the fish when we got there. We have lots in the freezer to cook!

While driving one day, Brian and I spotted a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. I knew that we had to try it. So later that afternoon, we loaded up and headed that way. It was neat and the food was great. They have all sorts of memoralbila from the movie and the waitress asks you lots of trivia questions.

This is what I had:

It is called "accidental shrimp".

We followed dinner with an interesting game of adventure golf. Matthew wore me and Brian out. He didnt quite seem to get the whole "this is your ball, dont bother anyone else's" thing!

Wednesday morning we loaded up and headed home. But not before hitting the TGI Friday's in St. Pete! It was the LONGEST drive ever!!! But I know that when we go back next year, we will be ready to do it all over again!

Beach Trip Part 2

2010-07-15T14:39:00.003-04:00

On the way down there, as we were going over the causeway, the water was CHOPPY The white caps were huge! It was so choppy, that the water was splashing onto the highway.

Dale had booked a fishing trip for the boys (Matthew was NOT included) for first thing Monday morning. So he, Brian and Brandon left the condo at 7:00. I was NOT ready to get up, so I went back to sleep. About an hour later, a man walked into my room, it took me a minute to realize that it was my husband! The water was too choppy and they didnt get to go fishing. So we had another day on the beach and in the pool.

Brian needed a quick nap so I took the kids to the beach. Brandon and I were sitting there and all of a sudden a man with a doorag came running by. Brandon was staring at him, I thought because he had a strap with his ipod hooked on his arm and he was thinking that he needed that, but all of a sudden, he says, "Mama, is that Coach Earls?" (One of his soccer coaches.) I said, surely not, but holler BOBBY and see what he does. So Brandon yells, BOBBY EARLS, while he is looking down just in case it's not him and the man turns around. It IS him! It was hilarious! They were just a couple of condos down from us, so his daughter Liz came to hang out with us.

Brian took Matthew upstairs to take a nap and Brooke and I went to the pool. Like I said, the bar was right by the pool so we more often than not had a drunk person in there with us. This particular day it was the red head. Now it was 2:00 in the afternooon and she was already slurring her speech pretty good! But the funniest part was when she started trying to teach the little girl how to swim. She decided to show her how to do a cannon ball and when she came back up, her boobs were out of her bathing suit top! It took her a good ten minutes to realize it and we were all cracking up laughing. There was another mom on the lounge chair next to me and her husband was sitting on the edge of the pool and he said, "Wow, I finally see a topless woman and they are not even an A cup!" She and I cracked up laughing.

We got ready later and took our beach pictures. Just past the walkway, there was a huge plot of grass that was a beach project so it seemed like the perfect place for our pictures. Dale was nice enough to take our family shots. Matthew was not in the mood to cooperate, but we did get some nice shots.

My three wonderful children

Me and Brian

And all of us!

After that, we took off the white shirts and went and ate pizza across the street! This night, we convinced Matthew to sleep with Brooke so we wouldnt have arms, legs and feets in our faces all night. That was the best night's sleep that I got! Until the next morning when the boys left for their fishing trip!

To Be Continued.....

Beach Trip Part 1

2010-07-15T12:22:00.005-04:00

We just returned from St. Pete last night. Actually we stayed on Treasure Island. We had to cross a drawbridge to get there. Matthew really liked that part.We left Saturday morning and went to spend the night in Gainesville. Sunday we got up and went to church with Nana and Dale. The church is beautiful. It is an old Spanish style church that is still white stucco. It has the original pews inside. After church, we headed down to St. Pete. Because we were leaving from Trenton, FL, we did not go 75/275. It was a nice divided highway most of the way there with NO traffic.

(Our Condo from the beach)

We got the the condos around 4:30 and the kids and I hit the beach. They had a good time. Matthew insisted the entire way down there that he was NOT going to the beach, he just wanted to go to the pool, but when we got him there, he loved it. Brian took him way out (it was waist high on Brian) and as soon as he saw a wave coming, he would grab Brian around the neck and try to get on his head. If anyone went out without him, he would stand at the edge of the water and scream for them.

Poor Brooke, this was how she swam most of the time.

The boys, this was when Matthew FIRST got in.

Brooke is as bad as Brian about swimming, I made sure that I could see that green mask every few minutes even though the next day, she dropped it and lost it in the waves!

Brian was being silly and almost lost his pants. Matthew thought that it was hilarious!

Pretty much everything we needed was within walking distance. There was a Publix and Walgreens across the street, a really good pizza place and lots of little shops. The Publix was COOL. You parked underneath and had to ride the elevators up to the actual grocery store. That would be nice when it was raining, but I cannot imagine having to tote my kids and groceries down that four times a week. I think that Nana and Dale were shocked at the amount of food that my family goes through. The sandwich meat that was supposed to last the entire time we were there lasted one meal.

The first night there, the pool closes at 10. We got out around 9:40 and took the kids back up and got ready for bed. We had the "poolside effeciency" condo package where it was actually 3 rooms and they all could connect or you could lock them up and have individual rooms. Our bedroom faced the pool, the common room had 2 queen beds and it faced the pool, that was where the kids slept. In addition to the pool, Bazzie's Beach Bar lets out into the courtyard. At midnight, I was screaming at the kids who had jumped the fence and were beating the crap out of each other with pool noodles. Then as soon as security got THEM out (and it involved the teenager, she could NOT have been older than Brandon losing her bathing suit! I did not know Brandon was watching until the next morning!) the crowd comes flowing out of Bazzie's and is so drunk, they are screaming and hollering and carrying on. By this time, it's 1:30 (am) and I was pretty ticked off. But just as soon as I picked up the phone, I looked out the window and there were the cops busting up the party. So finally, sleep! Nana and Dale had NO idea what had gone on during the night. Their room was beside ours and it faced the south AND the main air conditioner was in their room so they heard NOTHING. It was neat though, we could lock our door (not for long, someone was always beating on it) there were 3 bathrooms, one for me and Brian (the TINY one), one for Nana and Dale, and then the common room had one, the kids used it, it was HUGE. There was a full kitchen in the common room too and both of the bedrooms had a mini fridge and a coffee pot and microwave. The maid service was fantastic! Our lady was hilarious and was forever bringing us more towels and washcloths and cutting up with the kids. One day she started the vaccuum and Matthew started screaming so she chased him around for a few minutes. She even washed the dishes in the sink after I told her that I would get them later. She said, (in very broken English),"Lady, you on vacation, I wash dishes!" Oh! And we ALL had our very own tv's!

So that sums up day one, stayed tuned for the rest of the days, and yes, it does involved more lost bathing suits (not ours). Next time, we will NOT be getting a poolside condo!

2010-07-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

Where Has June Gone??

2010-06-30T21:59:00.002-04:00

June has flown by! I counted today and I only have 4 1/2 weeks before I have to go back to work! And we have so much that we want to do!

The annual Fincher Family Reunion is this weekend, and we are leaving for the beach soon.

I had to go back to the doctor today because I thought that my incision was infected, but it turns out that I am allergic to the glue that they used to put me back together. Brooke has also been at the dr today. She has swimmer's ear.

Tomorrow, I am participating in a memorial for a baby named Cohen that died a few days ago. His mama is the sweetest person I have ever met and they prayed so hard for him. He was born with a heart condition and his parents are devastated.

Rest assured that I will be back soon with pictures of the kids.

Healing

2010-06-19T10:27:00.000-04:00

I can almost walk straight again. Every day keeps getting a little bit easier as far as pain. I still dont have an appetite, I am hungry, but as soon as I take a few bites, I am full and my stomach hurts. The kids came home last night, and we managed to keep Matthew from kicking me in the stomach.

I dont go back to the dr until July 8th for a post-op checkup. So hopefully I will be all better by then.

Post Surgery

2010-06-16T16:30:00.000-04:00

Today is the first day that I have felt somewhere near human although when I woke up this morning, I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get there again!

We got to the hospital Monday at 12:30 and I have no idea what time they even took me back to surgery. They take you to a holding room, like cows to slaughter. The guy to the left of me had staph and I tried to stay as far away from him as I could and the guy to the right snored so loud that I couldnt have slept if I had wanted to. I do remember them wheeling my back and he put something in my iv and the next thing I remember is waking up in recovery and being in a lot of pain. I dont do waking up really well in the first place, but I never did throw up until we got in the car on the way home. Vicadin and an empty stomach do not go well together, she tried to force feed me some saltine crackers and I think that I got 2 bites down. We stopped by to see the kids for a second, made it home, took one tiny bite of chicken and dumplings and that was enough for me.

When I woke up Tuesday morning, I felt great. I was ready to wash clothes, loaded the dishwasher, but boy, did I crash later. I havent been able to keep anything down much until today, and cant get into a good sleeping position because I am so sore.

But I can tell this afternoon that things are healing, my incisions are not nearly as sore as they were earlier. Brooke and Matthew came home for a bit today, and Matthew and I rocked and took a nap. We put a pillow in between us so he wouldnt kick me, and he wound up falling off of the bed. Brooke has been a good nurse. And so has Brian for the most part, although usually to get him to do something, I have had to get up and start doing it. The laundry is not going to fold itself!

I think that tonight I am going to go and sleep in Grandmama's recliner so I can get comfortable. Laying on my back all night is NOT for me!