Family Fun!

My parents bought Jackson a Paw Patrol board game for Christmas, and he absolutely loves it. We've played it several times. Last week, we sat down in the living room as a family and made a game night out of it! For about a half an hour or so, we played the game, laughed and just had a great time.

For movie night, we decided to finally watch How to train your dragon 2. While there was a sad part, and some somewhat scary scenes - fighting between the characters and/or dragons - it was a great movie! All three of the boys enjoyed it as well as Jason and I.

The most family fun we had this week though was yesterday. Alex sold over $1000 in popcorn, and was invited to choose between several special events held specifically for boys selling over a certain amount. While they all sounded fun, we wanted to pick one that we could enjoy as a family. It worked out that the most family friendly one was the soonest AND one of the closest to us. We had to buy tickets for the rest of us, but Alex got to go for free, and will receive a special goody-bag later. For the special event, we chose Zehnder's Splash Village in Frankenmuth!

The day started out with us all getting up and ready to head out. At just after 11, we loaded up the car, and drove out there. We went to Applebee's for a late lunch, and while waiting for our food, Alex suggested a game of 20 questions. I'm not sure when the last time I heard all four of my guys laugh so hard! Jackson wanted to play, and be asked what he was thinking of, too. When it was his turn, he asked himself questions, and every answer was no! Hahaha. Dad stumped us for a minute, but I finally figured out he was thinking of a buckeye tree (big surprise with him being an OSU fan, and the game tonight ;) ). But I really got everybody when I chose blueberry. They got close by finally naming some fruits and veggies, but didn't get it!

After lunch, we went to Splash Village and met up with another family from our den. Ethan and Alex went off on their own for the most part, going in the different areas, and checking out the slides. Jackson got to play in the zero depth pool and go down a water slide just his size several times. I even went on two water slides, one each with the older boys, and in the lazy river with Jackson twice. We only had one incident when I was in line getting drinks. Jason was waiting in the zero-depth pool, and one of the boys was walking Jackson around to the slide to go down to daddy, and Jack decided he didn't want to listen to his brother. Of course, his brother didn't know what to do and kind of froze up. I was just walking back and I saw part of what happened, and because I was closer, I chased Jack down and stopped him before he had the chance to slip and fall in the very deep pool by the water slides. Time for a small break at that point. Since it was nearly 6 anyway, we decided we were done. I went with Jackson and changed, while the other boys played a few more minutes. After we were all dry and warm, we drove to Zehnder's restaurant for dinner. That was probably the best fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and pretty much everything else that came with the family-style dinner that I've ever eaten. E and Alex weren't very hungry and decided on some chicken fingers, while Jackson chose a pb&j. When our appetizers came, they brought enough bread and spreads for EVERYBODY, and Jack filled up on bread and cheddar cheese spread, after trying to eat a spoonful of just the cheddar cheese! He didn't like his sandwich anyway, so at least he ate something. Besides he was so tired, he fell asleep in the 2 minutes from Splash Village to the restaurant, so it's a miracle he was awake and in a good mood! All three boys slept part of most of the way home.

We had to take a day off school though today, because Ethan woke up with a stomach ache, and Alex with a cough.

Staying busy

This weekend went very fast. Friday evening, while Jack-Jack and I took Ethan to Choi, Jason and Alex attended a Cub Scout/Boy Scout activity at a local fire station. They worked on the Readyman activity badge and learned about first aid techniques including the Heimlich maneuver! I was surprised with what Alex was able to tell me when they got home. He's excited by all of the activity badges they've been working on lately, and we are looking forward to some coming up in the next few months.

His den leader is also the Popcorn Kernel, and was able to give almost all of his popcorn order to us the same night. Alex is very proud of himself, as he not only met but exceeded his goal, selling over $1000 of popcorn. He and I spent part of yesterday trying to deliver the product and collect the rest of the money. I say "try" because many people weren't home. We went to about half of the homes we needed to deliver to, and only a handful of them were there. Thankfully all but one of those had cash, and the one check written to me is for a very small amount. This Saturday (if not before) we plan to deliver the rest in our neighborhood, and today we are delivering to 4 school employees as well as 3 instructors at Choi.

The older boys each had Catechism class on Saturday. Alex's is in the morning and this week it was "Family Advent Workshop". I figured with the word family in the title it would be a fun-filled learning experience for the whole family - well, the 3 boys and I at least. Not so much. While there was some learning, and there were a couple of fun hands-on activities, it was really just planned for the students themselves to do the activities with help from a parent. Personally, I would have called it "Parent and Student Advent Workshop". I wouldn't have dragged E and Little J along. Jack was being a typical preschooler, getting bored, wanting to do everything, talking loudly, etc. E learned a little but for the most part was bored. Next time, it will be just Alex and I or Jason.

Ethan had his confirmation class in the afternoon, and they are required to stay for Mass, and usually youth group. After dropping him off, I had a couple things to return to the store before picking Alex up to attend Mass with E. By the time we made it back to the church, we had about 10 minutes till the start of Mass. We saw Ethan standing up and singing with a little girl by the couple who run the music ministry and the piano. He saw me, finished the song, and came out into the entrance area to have a quick snack and let me know he was singing during Mass!! I knew they were going to be having the Confirmation students take on different roles in Mass, from music to altar servers and other needed areas, and it was nice to see E was chosen or volunteered. Throughout Mass, I could hear him singing the hymns loud and clear.

New shoes were needed for both Ethan and Alex, as they outgrew (and Alex managed to destroy, in 4 months...) their old shoes. After finding them each a new pair yesterday, we decided to go to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner. I ordered something different - chicken chimichangas - and OH MY GOODNESS, were they so delicious!

We got home fairly early and the boys wanted to play Minecraft, and for the first time in a while, they actually played survival mode. I liked watching how they cooperated and were trading items. I learned a few things, and Jason and I both noticed how much they do get from this game, compared to so many others out there. After all three boys were in bed for the night, I decided to go read in the bedroom for a bit while Jason watched football. Nearly an hour later, I realized it had gotten very quiet (as in no TV noise), so I went to check on him. I thought for sure he'd fallen asleep or something. Nope. He was sitting there playing Minecraft in creative mode. I just laughed. He looked up and said "What?!" Nothing, nothing at all. Just kind of neat to see him playing it, without the boys even. I love that it's become a way for them all to bond, too.

A few other things: Ethan and Alex are still loving Choi, taking 3 classes a week. We bought a few private lessons (1 free each and 2 additional per), and they are taking their second this week. I noticed a huge difference after their first one last Thursday. They stayed for the 5pm family class, and normally E would have been getting upset over perceived mistakes, and Alex would have let his form slip. Both were on point and doing their absolute personal best!

They both know their highest pattern and yellow belt speed drill, and are possibly testing this coming Saturday for their GOLD belts!! Not quite 4 months in and they are just about ready for their second belt test! That's amazing. They are not the same kids, especially E, that started there all those months ago. Both of them have really blossomed, and are really more self-confident.

I asked them a couple of days ago to practice some push-ups for me, and they just said "ok, how many?" and busted out 10 like it was nothing. And I mean, pretty great push-ups! 4 months ago, heck, ONE month ago, you would have been hard-pressed to get them to do one without getting upset. They impressed me. They also practiced both their patterns and speed drills in each stance.

Ethan has been more communicative lately at home, expressing himself, asking more questions. Things like "I don't understand why anyone would WANT to go outside when it's cold out." He's been more clear on his opinion and how he feels when certain things happen, or why he doesn't like such and such. I've also caught him saying hi to other students that I've never met, and USING THEIR NAME! He's always had the tendency to not remember names, or just say hi after being prompted. But lately, he catches that they are talking to him, and responds appropriately or even initiates it. Another boy from school attends our church, and we saw him Saturday, and Ethan and I stood talking with him for a few minutes before Mass. He was looking forward to hanging out with E at youth group, which unfortunately got cancelled. Luckily they have class together and seem to have quite a bit in common. The other boy also attended the summer social skills camp Ethan did, and so I suspect he's on the spectrum as well. I like that because they have even more in common and "get" each other. E even asked me about emailing the young man a couple of weeks ago, and at the time I wasn't sure who he was talking about.

This week we have Choi classes on Mon, Tues and Friday, as well as private lessons on Thursday. Alex's pack meeting is on Wednesday with a flag retirement ceremony. Saturday, if they are ready, is belt testing. We signed up to help sort and distribute Thanksgiving food boxes at our parish on Sunday evening from 4-7. We decided on that before knowing that E was required to help either at that on Sunday or Monday or at the Christmas giving tree gift sorting/distribution in 3 weeks, for his Confirmation Christian Service hours. I'm glad we had already signed up, and that he wanted to before he knew he had to. He chose to give his time to help others. And now it's still going for his service hours :) We may try to sign up for the giving tree sorting too, but it's on Mon/Tue/Wed which are all usually super-busy. It's already been decided that we are each taking a tag to buy an item though.

In two weeks, on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we are attending Mass to celebrate the Rite of Acceptance with Ethan for his Confirmation. I remember mine, 9 years ago (Alex was just a baby at the time!) and my sponsors, fellow RCIA candidates and I when to the Basilica in Washington, DC. It was absolutely beautiful there. I've always wanted to go back and attend Mass as a Catholic Christian, but never made it before we moved from Maryland.

Last year, Alex wanted to sign up to light the Advent Wreath before Mass one weekend as a family, and we didn't. I've already signed us up this year, for December 7th. I'm hoping to dig out our personal Advent wreath and light our candles at home each Sunday as well. It's just a matter of finding it and the candles.

I'm taking this moment to remind myself that while we are busy, and this is the busy season of life - when kids are young, in school and activities, learning about life - it doesn't have to wear us down. WE have to be the ones that make the busy-ness of it enjoyable and fulfilling. While that's not always easy, and I've been failing miserably at that lately by complaining, it's a good goal to reach towards. Today is a new day, and even though we will be tired at bedtime, we will have enjoyed our time, and done something productive. At the end of it all, we will have a delicious home-cooked meal, and nice, warm beds to sleep in. So no complaining about being busy, it's a life we choose, Crystal. Enjoy it. Watch them grow, and learn, and live. Get out there and grow, learn and live with them. It's your life, too.

For the birds

Alex wanted to do a "big" project from his Bear Cub Scout book and we decided on a bird feeder. There's no real plans in the book, but I had seen a picture of a simple one somewhere (where I don't remember) and it gave me a starting point on writing up a plan for him to follow. 

Starting with a 12"x24" craft plywood board, Alex measured and Jas cut - using power tools - a 12"x12" section. 

 Then Alex took the two 1/2"x4"x24" boards, measuring and cutting them into four sections, using a handsaw. Two of the sections were 12" long and the other two were about 11 1/4". As they were building the frame, we realized that a little section had to be cut off the shorter pieces for it to fit together correctly.

Alex got to hammer the pieces together with Jason bracing them for him. He did really well with the hammer. Nobody ended up with any swollen digits!

Finished frame

 Next, they attached the bottom 12x12 piece to the frame with some small nails.

Dad adding a couple of starter nails to hold it in place for Alex

"Put one right here to start"

Look at that guy!

Next, they drilled a small hole in each corner, and screwed in 4 small screw hooks.

Using s-hooks, he attached two chains (each 2 feet long) diagonally, connected them with an additional s-hook in the middle, and attached a 3rd 1-foot long chain to hang it from.

Finished project!!

It's now hanging in a tree in our front yard. We are hoping to get some neat photos in the future of different birds.

First update in quite a while!

Finally! It feels so nice to be typing on the laptop and actually writing! I'm pleased with the work the computer repair place did. It was a great price too. While we had to wait almost 3 weeks because the screen was backordered, they replaced it within about 3 hours this past Saturday. We were using the laptop hooked up to our desktop monitor. Not very convenient. The only time we were even bothering was to pay bills or for Jason to do his homework.

It's been a very busy couple of months around here. Ethan and Alex finished swim lessons for this session just a couple of weeks ago, Catechism is wrapping up for the year this next weekend (I believe) and all the hard work they put in to play rehearsal paid off. Saturday was spent at Catechism in the morning followed by "call" at 5pm and the show at 7pm. I went alone to watch that night, while Jason stayed home with Jackson. It turned out so great! The director did a great job casting the parts. The actress who played Annie has an amazing singing voice! As well as many of the other actors and actresses. Ethan and Alex did good in their parts. I wish I would have gotten some pictures or video but no luck. On Sunday, Jason's parents came up for a visit and to go to the show. The boys had to be there at 1, and the show started at 3pm. Jackson slept for about half of it and near the end he got antsy so we stepped out. It worked out nicely since I had gone the previous night. Everyone else was able to enjoy the show.

We had the Blue and Gold banquet a few weeks ago for cub scouts and my parents came up for it. It was really nice.

My dad's SMILING!! For a PICTURE!!

My beautiful momma and handsome daddy! They just celebrated 41 years of marriage!

My dad showing the boys his Eagle Scout card!

Daddy and Jack-Jack <3

Our Pinewood Derby was March 23rd and Jason's family came to watch and to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday. It was great to see Jason's dad, sisters, brother and niece. We missed having his mom come up but were glad his mom and dad made it to the play. Alex's car did really well coming in 2nd and 3rd for each race. While he didn't win a trophy OR a spot in the regional races, he had so much fun and loved making his car this year. We all got to see Jason in action emceeing the race. He's such a ham...

Last week, Jackson and I spent the whole week volunteering at the Scholastic book fair. It was crazy busy for a lot of the time, but we had a good time. He keeps begging to go to the "library" - where we held the fair - and to school, since he got to hang out in the preschool classrooms on and off throughout the week. I am so thankful to the preschool teachers and the other 2 moms who were also working at the fair, including the fair chairperson. She did an amazing job with it, while also working in the preschool in the mornings. She was always right there when I had a question or needed a hand and I hope I did as good a job as she says I did. She even bought pizza Friday night for my boys and I and her family! And took Alex to the spring carnival while E, Jack and I kept the fair open late that night! Talk about awesome teamwork. I would work with her again in a heartbeat. Plus she's such a nice lady! Shout out to CINDY!!

I wanted to write a quick update on our winter fun list so here goes.

We dropped a few more things: sledding; snowman/snowfamily; ice bubbles; s'mores; origami; coloring contest.

We did the following but mostly without pictures: paint a picture - just mom and Jackson; make a fort; play payday - just the boys.

Also I decided to move a few things to our Spring activities. It will be an "unofficial" bucket list and will most likely blend over into Summer. Just things we still want to do but haven't yet. No pressure. Those items are: Lego movie; bonfire; ice skating - indoor arenas are plentiful; go for a hike; video game contest; Detroit Institute of Art; Detroit Historical museum; library event.

The family portrait is being added to our 2014 goals.

Unfortunately, we fell very far behind on our "Saint studies". The nice thing about it not being required is that we can do it at our own pace and will catch up and keep going throughout the year :)

Tomorrow I'll share a 2014 goals update since it's somewhat long!

By the way, April is Autism awareness month! In fact, today is World Autism Awareness! Let's not just promote awareness, but acceptance.

Family Fun Day - a Winter fun list update

This Saturday, we had a family fun day, and knocked several items off of our winter fun list!

First we decided to head out for lunch, and since eat at a new restaurant was on our list, we chose Achatz Burgers. Jason was feeling a bit under the weather and decided against eating anything at the time. I chose a double cheeseburger with lettuce, ketchup and mayo and shared shared cheese fries with Jackson, who also ate a mini burger. Ethan had a single cheeseburger with lettuce and ketchup as well as a small order of cheese fries, and Alex chose a Koegel hot dog and chili cheese fries. We considered dessert - they had shakes, malts, footbeer or Vernor's floats, their "famous" pie and brownies, both of which had an option to be a la mode! - but were all very full from lunch.

Waiting for their food :)

After lunch, we headed off to the bowling alley for a quick game. Jackson fell asleep on the way there, and slept for the entire time we were there, almost an hour! Next time, I'm hoping he'll be awake and get a chance to try a hand at it. Jason won with 110, E came in second with 88, Alex was in third with 84, and I had a score of 83. The best part? We all had a good game, with some laughs, and no yelling or arguing!

We have been wanting to check out SkyZone for a while now, and decided to go ahead and mark it off the list too. The boys had a ton of fun jumping, even Jackson. Jason didn't want to jump, so he stayed off to the side and snapped some pictures on his phone - still waiting for him to send them to me ;) One of us had to go in with Jackson, and they split the main court areas in to two, one for bigger kids, and one for smaller kids (if I had to guess, it was 5 and under). The girl at the counter told me that we would "split up" with the older boys on one side, and Jack and I on the other. I paid for the 4 of us and bought our skysocks. She made it seem like - by saying I would be with Jackson on the side with the smaller children and parents - that I would be able to jump with him... Yeah, not so much. Actually NOT AT ALL! I was trying to show him how to jump (in a separate square from me) and having fun, when one of teenage girls that work there employees came over to our side, and told me to stay off the trampolines, and stay on the borders. I proceeded to tell her that I had paid to jump and I also had to stay with my TWO YEAR OLD and the other teenage girl her fellow employee at the desk had told me I was to go on that side with him and did not tell me when I paid $10 for 30 minutes that I couldn't actually jump with him. I was seriously ticked off. If I couldn't jump on that side with him, why had I paid good money? That was bad enough. I wasn't the only parent told that by her/others, and the two other parents I spoke with briefly also felt the same way about it, why pay if not allowed to jump with them? What was the big deal? I understand the whole safety aspect of it, but seriously, we were all adults and the parents of these toddlers and preschoolers. We know how to be careful and safe. It wasn't as if it was a older sibling just playing all willy-nilly. It just seems ridiculous. Also a dad was sitting on the border by the wall in the court watching his young daughter bounce on the square in front of him, and essentially got reprimanded for that. If these are the rules, why not just post them somewhere? Oh well. Not worth $40+ to Jason and I for 30 minutes. If we go back, it will be just Jason or I taking Ethan and Alex, as they did have fun. When Jackson gets a bit older, he may go back, but for now, not happening. He would have just as much fun jumping on a mattress at home for free. With his brothers. Or mom ;) My review: Great fun for older kids, still fun for little ones, but not worth the cost, in my opinion. Also the cost is somewhat high in comparison to the amount of time. If you pay for a longer time, the value is better ($10 for 30 mins, $14 for 60, etc). I'm not saying the concept is bad, but post the rules somewhere at least.

Since it was time to go home and feed our children some dinner, and Jason was finally feeling 100%, we opted for a movie night and pizza. The older boys each picked out a movie to watch and we made it into a double feature. We have Amazon Prime, as well as Redbox Instant right now, so we searched on each for something good to watch.

Alex picked out Free Birds. We all really enjoyed it, and laughing filled the living room. Ethan picked Ender's Game. Alex wasn't sure he wanted to watch it, but decided to sit through it anyway, and ended up enjoying it. I liked it but the end caught me off guard a bit with its twist. I had never heard of the book series that it was based on, but it perked my interest, and I think E might enjoy reading them, as well as Alex. We filled up on pizza so opted out of popcorn.

Other items we crossed off our bucket list this week:
Play Twister - this one didn't go quite as planned, but we made into our own version with Jackson playing along too, and turned it into a learning experience, while still having fun.

We decided to remove the following from our list: Make homemade Valentines; Make cupcakes for Valentine's Day; Melty Bead Ornaments; and finally Watch Frosty the Snowman - we are all just sick of seeing snow right now, so poor Frosty loses out ;)

At the suggestion of a friend and coworker of Jason's, we added Detroit Historical Museum. Ethan and I have been there, for a field trip, way back in 4th grade. It was pretty neat then, and I have heard they added some new exhibits. Also adding in a movie that we ALL want to see, and since it's been a while since we've gone to the theater - other than the movie "festival" that the theater did back several months ago with free, newer movies for the kids and $1 for adults, and then it was just the boys and I - I thought it would be a neat one to go check out: The Lego Movie!

With less than a month left of it being officially the Winter season, we are doing pretty good on our list, having done 19 already, and started 2 (swim lessons and winter reading club). We still have 19 items left, not including our Saint studies and books to read. While we finished our Ohio book, the Michigan book we picked out has been less fun and more of a textbook style book. Not the ideal read-aloud book for a family setting. Our series book #1, Anne of Green Gables, didn't really seem to catch the boys' interest too much, and we haven't picked it back up since day 1 of reading it, only making it to chapter 3. While I am considering changing the series, I'd like to at least finish the first book before giving up on it entirely.

Sorry for such a late update. However, as you may know from my most recent Facebook update, I managed to break my laptop's screen. When I went to get up to help Jackson with something, I sat it on the small stack of towels next to the recliner - which had was reclined at the time - thinking it was safer there than on the stack of library books on the end table. Unbeknownst to me, it slid as I closed the recliner, and while I felt the recliner bump it, I didn't think anything of it because it barely touched it and didn't smash it as it closes slowly with a handle. Honestly, I though a toy was stuck under there. I took care of my very unhappy 2 year old (who, by the way, is dealing with a bit of a cold and it had just started that day with a low-grade fever) and then proceeded to pick up the laptop, realizing at then that it was in fact the computer and NOT a toy that I'd bumped. I noticed a small nick/dent on the outside top, but figured it couldn't be that bad. Um, yeah, I'd share a pic but it's just depressing me. It's got a visible smashed/cracked area under the screen, with it splintered out and the whole screen is distorted. The actual glass isn't broken, thank goodness, but whatever is inside the screen is destroyed :( Since it is almost the same price to repair it as it is to just replace it, we are opting to replace it. However, I feel the need to hold off on replacing it for the time being. It can still be used, and is hooked up to our desktop dinosaur's monitor and works just fine. The desktop PC is rarely, if ever used, so we just shut it off and unplugged it and now the laptop truly replaced it. It's not ideal, as I like to write in the living room, but workable.

Outside fun with a splash of warm water thrown in

Last Wednesday, we ended up making breakfast for dinner. Turkey bacon, sausage links and patties, scrambled eggs for the boys and over-medium fried eggs for mom and dad, toast, coffee, juice, milk. Yum! I love how easy and quick breakfast is, especially on a busy school night - not just for the older boys but Jason as well! That's right! It's back to school for Jason! This semester, he's taking not 2 but THREE classes. He's got a Monday/Wednesday class from 6:30-8pm, a Tuesday class from 6-10pm and a Thursday class from 6-9pm. It makes dinner time a little less of a family meal, unless we (I) prepare better. I've been not so good about that lately and it makes for a rushed, late dinner. Now that E and Alex will be having play rehearsals most Mondays and Wednesdays through March 29 and everyday that last week from 3:30-5:30, it's going to be split up even more! Not a huge deal, I suppose but Jason will most likely be eating alone those 2 nights, or with Jack and I before we head over to get the older two. Then they will eat once we get home (dad will leave before we get home). Tuesday's dinner time works out good, because even though it's cub scout night, we all leave around the same time :)

Anyway, the whole point of that tangent was to say we crossed off "breakfast for dinner" from our winter fun list!! We plan to have eggs and toast for dinner tomorrow too, and I'm sure several more times in the next few weeks.

While I didn't get any pictures, we did go out and play in the snow on Saturday afternoon. All of us, plus a friend! Alex had a friend spend the night, whom we picked up just after lunchtime and met his dad around 11 the next morning, so there was lots of fun had. We played in the snow, had a small snowball fight that more or less consisted of the kids trying to catch me unaware, and then me chasing them and trying to get them back. Ethan made some snow angels but nobody else did, so we will do that again. All 4 boys got towed by Jason on the tractor. They had such a blast chasing down the sled and the other boys riding on it. I'd say they were out there for at least 2 hours, and Jack and I spent over an hour out there before I decided to bring him in to warm up. I regret that I didn't snap any pictures of the kids, but I was just having to much fun playing with them! Jackson posed for a couple cute ones though after we came back in:

Swimming lessons started Saturday and E and Alex had so much fun. They were both unsure about going to lessons again, even though they love swimming and have gone there before. Last time, they attended the same level but Alex didn't get moved to the next level. Since E is currently in level 2, and Alex is repeating level 1 to get some extra practice with floating and such, they are in two different areas of the pool. In a way it's kind of nice because they aren't distracting each other, and have an opportunity to work independently of each other. Alex felt bad at first but then realized he's at the "top of his class" and could get moved up before the end to level 2 if he can show competence! That improved his confidence and put a smile on his face. Even thought they only get 30 minutes of class, it's a 10 week session and they learn quite a bit. E is currently learning the backstroke and another simple stroke (not sure which, breaststroke maybe?). I did make his instructors aware of his Asperger's after class, as I know he wasn't making eye contact as often as the other 2 in his class. I wanted them to know he is listening even if he's not looking right at you, at least most of the time ;) We haven't been able to start Jackson, as this sessions classes were full or already started for his level. Planning to start in March. The boys were grateful that the pool and building were warm, not cold as they both expected.

We are currently 2 weeks behind on our Saints and are going to play catch-up tonight before Scouts or tomorrow with St. Andre Bessette, St. Hilary and this week's Saint: St. Marianne Cope. I was planning to read a little something each week during one of our dinners and I either forgot or we were rushed so it didn't get done.

2014 Goals: Part 4 - The little Hamers

*A quick note about these goals. I have asked the boys for their input on these, but they have yet to get back to me. I am writing up some things that Jason and I would like for them to achieve as well as things we know they can achieve. I will add more as they share their own selections. *

Ethan

1. Complete Level 2-4 of swimming lessons. Currently enrolled in Level 2 as part of our Winter Fun List activities. We are hoping to "graduate" to the next level and finish Levels 3 and 4 over the spring and summer.
2. Read 50 books. He will be keeping a list to share with mom and dad.
3. Start learning a second language, his choice.
4. Participate in a play. There is a school musical in March, and he has auditioned. We should know something soon.
5. Learn to cook at least 3 recipes/meals/foods. Considering signing up for a cooking class at the rec center.
6. Take a video game design class through our rec center.
7. Make a comic book and share!
8. Volunteer with mom.
9. Go to overnight camp.
10. Go to a school dance. This will be easy as there's one coming up!

Alex

1. Complete Level 1-4 of swimming lesson. Currently enrolled in level 1 but as he has previously taken and was *this.close* to "graduating", they may move him to level 2 (it was in late 2011/early 2012 when he and Ethan took their first classes, so he has had a couple of years of practice in his grandparents pool.) Hoping to finish Levels 2-4 throughout the spring, summer and fall.
2. Earn his Bear badge for Cub Scouts. He has actually finished all his requirements, we are just waiting now ;)
3. Become a Webelos Scout.
4. Earn 5-10 belt loops for Scouts. We just found out last night that as of March 2015, they are discontinuing the belt loop program, so he is hoping to earn a few more before then.
5. Participate in a play. Same as Ethan, he has auditioned for the school musical and should know in the next few days.
6.  Read 50 books. He will also keep a list for mom and dad.
7. Start learning a second language of his choice. He takes Spanish still in school, so he may consider expanding on that using Duolingo.
8. Learn to cook at least 3 new foods/recipes/meals. Also considering a cooking class at the rec center.
9.  Practice and master fractions. He can do it but seems to be having a bit of a hard time with them.
10. Go to overnight Cub Scout camp!
11. Go to overnight camp with E. 

 Jackson

1. Potty-training!!! YAY! ;)
2. Move to his own room. Yes, he's currently still in our room, but in his crib most of the night from bedtime till 3am or later. He's been sleeping better every night, and last night, not even a peep from 8:45pm till 6:15am! Thankfully we have a guest/extra bedroom, we just need to clear out the queen bed and E's desk. I have some ideas on how to rearrange the house to still allow E a "private area" for homework.
3. Transition from crib to twin/toddler bed. I'd LOVE to get him a car or fire engine bed or even a train!!
4. Level A and B swimming lessons. This month's sessions for his age groups that are at an open time are full, so he isn't enrolled yet. We are hoping to enroll in March, and continue through the summer. He can't take Level C until he's 3 but then may be able to repeat to keep learning/practicing.
5. Learn some simple words in German. I chose German for him, because of my own knowledge of the language and ability to teach him some objects, foods, colors, etc. It will truly be simple words, as my skill level, especially for teaching, is beginner/intermediate. Should be fun, though!
6. Learn colors. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, brown. Currently working on.
7. Learn basic shapes. Square, Rectangle, Triangle, Circle, Oval, Star, Diamond, Crescent. Somewhat knows most, and is able to actually name them. Can point to correctly most of them, when asked, most of the time.
8. Learn to count to 10. Currently counts to 2 consistently and occasionally 3 and 4.
9. Learn his ABC's. He currently knows A-G of the ABC song :)
10. Spend the night at his grandparent's house. This may be harder for me than him...

Hamer-ing through our winter bucket list

We started working on our bucket list last week and got a few things done. Some things Jason did with the boys on Sunday, but I'm not counting them for 2 reasons. One: not all of us joined in (meaning MOM. There was no way I was going out there that day. I think I'm in need of some snowpants...) Two: No pictures! I really want to take pictures of the things we are marking off the list. Ok, so the second reason isn't a really good excuse, but the first is part of the whole reason I wanted to do this. So I would actually get up and do things with the boys, inside OR outside. Starting fresh with that this week, after the wind chill advisory is lifted and we can actually go outside safely.

While the boys did all play in the snow, have a small snowball fight and go sledding (sort of) we are going to do these again, hopefully this weekend. 

Christmas Eve, we played a board game called Labyrinth together. Well, all of us but Jackson, although he certainly tried to help ;)

We had a great opportunity to go down to The Henry Ford last week when Jason took some time off of work. I had taken the boys back in November by myself, but it's been probably 2 years since we went as a family. It was really nice! We saw lots of trains and cars, which Jackson absolutely loved.


They had a neat exhibit for the Avatar IMAX film they are showing and the boys were able to do this neat interactive video activity. 

 

Props from the movie were on display and there was a computer program where you could design a plant from a combination of different species. While we didn't get any pictures of the props, I really enjoyed seeing this exhibit as did the boys and Jason.



There are tons of different inventions and artifacts from centuries and years past on display and we always enjoy learning something new. The older boys and Jason went into one of the old train cars while Jack and I walked around looking at the outsides of them. Alex made sure to tell me that the ceiling was hand-stenciled with beautiful designs.


I think one of the highlights for Jackson was getting an opportunity to sit in one of the many farm vehicles with mom.

As well as "riding on an airplane" ;)

 Of course, we also had to stop by everybody's favorite spot for a photo op: be a hot dog!

 The following day we crossed off Make Paper Snowflakes!

Jack didn't actually get to help as he's too little to use scissors, but he loves seeing them hung up on the wall.

It was also Jackson's birthday, so we had brownies that Daddy made and frosted, after tacos for dinner.




Some other things we did last week:

Played video games; watched a movie that obviously didn't leave an impression on any of us as we can't seem to remember what it was, LOL; visited with Grandpa Joe on Saturday when he came to visit. None of these, save the movie which I'm not counting, are on our bucket list.

We did start our Saint lessons though. We read some articles on Mary the Mother of God, including about her feast day, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Before reading the articles, we went around the table sharing what we already knew. I really enjoyed this, as I felt all 5 of us learned something new from it. I'm looking forward to continuing this activity.

We are improvising a bit this week. I'll share more on next Monday but we have of course already started this week's activities, especially the faith-based things. Yesterday was Epiphany, but we didn't have our King Cake. I couldn't find a nice, easy recipe I liked yet, and don't have the natural food coloring I need for the icing. We are going to use a vanilla pudding cake from Kroger, with just a little white icing on it, and I am hiding a quarter in it, rather than a plastic baby as is tradition. Next year, we will plan ahead and do a more traditional King Cake! We are going to share it tonight though, since I forgot last night.

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves! Stay warm out there!

Linking up over at Learning Life with 3 Sons and Homeschool Camper again this week, thanks for hosting The Winter Bucket List link-up, girls!!

Winter Fun List - Hamer Style

Here's our official Winter Fun (or Bucket) List. We may add or change some things over the weeks, but here is an outline of activities that we are going to attempt to do. Joining in the fun over at Learning Life with 3 sons who is hosting a link-up for Winter Bucket Lists.

Books

• Find a new series to read together. Chose Anne of Green Gables series on 1/26/14
  
• Read a book about Michigan 1/27/14
  
• Read a book about Ohio 1/27/14

Faith-based activities

• Pick a Catholic Saint and/or special Feast (Holy) Day each week and learn more about them
• January
• 1st-4th - Mary the Blessed Virgin (Mary, Mother of God - Holy Day of Obligation Jan 1st) and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton 1/3/14
• 5th-11th - Epiphany (*1/5/14*) and St. Andre Bessette 1/27/14
• 12th-18th - St. Hilary 1/27/14
• 19th-25th - St. Marianne Cope 1/27/14
• 26th-Feb 1st - St. Thomas Aquinas 1/27/14
• February
• 2nd-8th - The Presentation of the Lord and St. Dorothy
• 9th-15th - Sts. Cyril and Methodius
• 16th-22nd - St. Finan of Lindisfarne
• 23rd-Mar 1st - St Tarasius
• March 
• 2nd-8th - St. Teresa Eustochio Verzeri
• 9th-15th - St. Paul Aurelian
• 16th-22nd -St Patrick(of course!) and St. Salvatore
• Learn the Rosary (more review for myself and teaching the boys)
  
• Read the Bible

Movies 

• Watch Frosty the Snowman
• Movie Night with popcorn

Outdoor

• Go Sledding
• Make a Snowman or Snowfamily
• Have a snowball fight 1/18/14
• Have a Bonfire
• Go Ice Skating
• Go for a hike
• Ice bubbles!!
• Snow Angels
• Get towed behind the riding mower on the sled 1/18/14
• Play in the snow 1/18/14

Indoor 

• Family Portrait 
• Holidays in Henry Ford Museum 1/2/14
• Play payday
• Play twister
• Play Labyrinth 12/24/13
• Video game "contest" - Wii sports, Wii Fit, etc
• Coloring contest
• Detroit Institute of Art
• Have a party with friends (games, fun food, etc)
• Find a new museum to visit 1/25/14
• Library event
• Swim lessons for the boys Started these on 1/18/14 for E & A
• Make a fort
• Go to skyzone
• Bowling

Food

• Make Homemade Marshmallows and Drink Hot Cocoa 
• Make S'mores
• Buckeyes - peanut butter dipped in chocolate. Yum.
• Bake cookies (and give some to our neighbors)
• Make/Eat a King Cake for Epiphany 1/7/14
• Try a new restaurant
• Make cupcakes for Valentine's Day
• Breakfast for dinner 1/15/14
• Try a new recipe/food - KIDS choice! 1/27/14

Crafts

• Make paper snowflakes 1/3/14
• Make snowmen in jars
• Melty bead ornaments 
• Paint a picture
• Make homemade Valentines
• Origami

Reader participation needed!!

With winter fast approaching, and in Michigan, that means lots of snow and lots of cold temperatures, we will spending more time doing "nothing".

In an effort to combat that, I'm going to take an activity we participated in over the summer (although I don't think I posted about everything, we did about half of our summer bucket list. I think I was a tad bit overzealous when I made that list, though ;) ) and do something similar. 

Julie over at Learning Life with 3 Sons - my friend and former co-blogger here - has been doing a Fall Bucket list. I had intended to do one "with" her but never did. I suppose there's still a little time, but I don't want to try and rush through something.

Now, with the snow just around the corner and the days getting shorter, I won't really feel like doing things with the boys that involve going outside or to other places. To motivate myself and to keep it fun (and somewhat educational ;) ) for all FOUR boys - yes I'm including Jason in there, lol - I want to make a Winter Fun list. I will also share what our personal Winter Fun list is in a few days. I'm working on it now and want input from the boys :)

 

Now for the participation mentioned in the title: I want to give ideas to and get ideas from YOU! 

I'd like input from my readers. What are your favorite (indoor or outdoor) wintertime activities? Since we may all live in different locales, obviously location-based activities aren't always going to work for others, but feel free to share anyway. You never know of there's another reader nearby or perhaps visiting the area. Free and inexpensive things are best, because we all know with a family, it can add up quickly. However if there's something that does cost, but is really unique or is a favorite for your family, feel free to share!

Submit via comments, Facebook, or email if you like. Deadline for ideas is December 1st. After I receive and sort the ideas, I will compile a list for you all. You may find something new to do, or remember an old favorite! Either way, it could be fun! 

So that's 2 lists I plan to share in the coming days. The first will be our personal Winter Fun list, hopefully posted within the next week. The second, a list of ideas and activities from all of you to inspire you and myself alike!

Exploring history

While I was planning to write yesterday, I got very distracted on Ancestry.com looking at family history and trying to find not only my mom and dad's lineage, but my husband's as well. It's proving somewhat difficult on my side, as there is conflicting info or people with similar names, etc. I have gotten pretty solid info going back at least 4 or 5 generations on most of my grandparents sides.

Jason's family is more difficult. I've yet to find anything on his mother's side, and his dad's side only goes back to Jason's great grandparents on both sides. They all came over from Poland according to census records, but then the trail goes cold. It's frustrating! I really wanted to know.

I love learning about history, and finding out my great-great-grandfather was born in England and moved here when he was 2, married a girl from Missouri who's father was Canadian, is very interesting. I'm sure it goes even farther back, and I THOUGHT (not sure because again, conflicting info) we had Swedish and German and Dutch roots between my mom and dad's ancestors, as well as the definitive English and Canadian on my maternal grandfather's side.

Jason's definitely got Polish roots on both paternal grandparents sides, as they were both 1st generation Americans! I'm really hoping to find more to share with him.

We are shaped so much by not only our choices, personalities, those around us, likes, dislikes, but also the past: our lineage and ancestors. If it wasn't for each particular person meeting, marrying/having children together, for each of those generations, we would not be the exact person we are. We could be somebody totally different, inside and out! It's neat when you think about it in terms of you are who you are because of a unique set of circumstances, and choices made by every single ancestor you have!

I'm hoping to share some more info here if I find anything interesting :)

7 Quick Takes ;) - July 5, 2013

--- 1 ---
Just the 3 of us!

Yesterday was the 4th of July. Independence Day. We didn't have our 2 older boys with us, so it was just Jason, Jackson and I. After a light lunch, we went to Great Lakes Crossing and walked around for a couple of hours. Jack LOVED the animals at Bass Pro Shops. He was pointing at them and trying to name them. Even the fish were just the most amazing thing to him! We decided to have dinner at Toby Keith's I <3 this bar and grill. It was pretty good. I ended up ordering a half-rack of St. Louis style ribs, baked beans and sweet potato tots.

We didn't go see fireworks last night, but we sure did hear them. Our dog is a scaredy-cat and spent the whole night whimpering and whining. I can't wait till people are done shooting them off... 
Actually since Monday, we've just been kind of not doing a whole lot. Jason has had class most evenings, so Jack and I have been spending time together.

--- 2 ---
Technology growing pains...

While at the mall, we passed the Verizon Wireless store. My Droid X2 has been acting up for the last couple of months. Missing texts, not dialing, dropping calls, the screen freezing up, having to do a hard reset by removing the battery. It has gotten quite irritating. I'd already gone over once to the store nearest to our house, but the customer service rep was less than helpful (kind but unable to offer me a replacement). So when Jason suggested stopping in to this store, I wasn't exactly enthusiastic. However, the very nice lady looked up our information and found that not only do we have insurance, but also the extended warranty, meaning they would replace my phone with something NEWER, of equal or better value! For FREE! And it won't change our plan or "renew" our contract so we won't lose our current unlimited data. I should be getting my brand new Droid RAZR M on either Monday or Tuesday! It looks pretty sweet. Smaller phone, but all screen, so it's actually a bigger screen, lighter, faster, 4G, and I won't lose my apps. I'm pretty thrilled to say the least.

--- 3 ---
From me to you! 

I want to let people know that if you get a message from me on Facebook, I'm not spamming you, nor am I just trying to bug you or sell to you. I'm genuinely reaching out to help others. My thought is this: If I don't reach out to so-and-so and they DO want help reaching their goals, I'll never know, nor will they know I want to help them. If I do reach out, and they don't need or want help, at least they know I care, and if they ever need support, that I'm there. Also maybe they know somebody that wants or needs assistance. So please don't mind my messages. If it's not of interest to you, a quick no thanks would be grand, but if you forget or don't have a minute, I understand. Just know that it's not to bother you or because I think you are in particular need of something. I figure all of us could use some support at sometime or another. :) Thanks for your understanding!!!

--- 4 ---
It's all relative

You don't realize how much you are alike (and different at the same time!) until you spend a lot of time with family members. This past weekend, after dropping the older boys off, I picked my mom up and we drove down to Columbus. We stayed at my sister Heather's house for the weekend, and while it was fun, it did get a little, ahem, tense? sometimes. Really it was over silly stuff, and most of it was myself overreacting. I do want to apologize though, again. Love you!! We threw her a bridal shower, and even though no family from out of town came in (...), we still had a good time and made the most of it. Jackson had a blast running around with all the "little" girls that were there. They ranged from 4-12, I think? Oh my gosh, he was so funny. Back at the house, he'd chase the dogs, yelling "dog" or "gigi" (one of Heather and Matt's pups names). Jack loved that they were almost all smaller than him.

--- 5 --- 
Shoe important!
 

Looking for boots for the wedding party proved fruitful. We found a pair all of us girls liked, though a different color we originally talked about. We did have to go online to order them (planning to do so this weekend actually) and found a better deal too! I promised I would share a picture if it was alright with the bride-to-be and she obliged :)

Justin Boots Red Torino

On top of finding those, yesterday proved fruitful too. I found a new pair of tennis shoes for exercise, walking and hopefully, eventually, running! They are Asics, very cute, comfortable and not terribly expensive. I guess, after reading the description on the site linked below, they are technically trail-running shoes, but whatever ;)

Asics GEL-Venture 3

I'm still on the lookout for a good pair of tennis shoes for everyday wear to replace my 4 year old Sketchers shape-ups that I love but are worn out... I did find a pair of Sketchers D'Lites that I like, but wanted to price them elsewhere before I got them. These look and feel good, and even though they are actually considered "athletic training shoes", I could wear them everyday, with jeans or whatever.

I'm not much of a shoe or fashion person, but since I'm losing weight now, I need to start slowly replacing my clothes with things that fit. I may need a fashion advisor... anybody want the job? LOL.

--- 6 ---
Finding myself in my hobbies is a chore in itself

I got married pretty young and never really developed a sense of "self", so to speak. I didn't really have any hobbies or at least I didn't really grow them? As I build this blog, and grow as a person, I want to find new things to do. Photographing things has been fun, but I always seem to put it away and never learn more, or I forget my camera and miss out on opportune shots!

I have tried learning to knit, and while I did successfully make a hat, I just don't seem to take the time to work on my projects!

Excuse after excuse, really. I have got to stop that.

--- 7 ---
Kicking the Summer Bucket List starts...

NOW! Well actually tomorrow. Well, technically, it already did a few weeks ago, BUT we only did a few simple, already scheduled things. Now it's time to hit it and hit it HARD! Ethan and Alex will be excited to get moving on it and start doing some of the fun things we have listed. I think first thing we should cross off is making homemade donuts. A couple of weeks ago, we found a BabyCakes donut maker on clearance at Meijer and snagged it. Sunday morning would be a great day to do this :) I will try to remember to snap some pics of the process and the aftermath! I'm thinking using our whole wheat pancake batter recipe, just a bit thicker might work? Any thoughts? I'd like to make them a healthy version. They are basically baked, not fried, and we have tons of King Arthur's white whole wheat flour, and fresh berries we could add. We'll see how they turn out!

Thanks for reading!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Surgery, birthday and bucket lists... oh my!

It's been a pretty crazy 7 days around here!

Jackson's "adventure"

First, Jackson had a minor surgery Tuesday, which took all day long. He had to be there at 10:30am, with the surgery scheduled at 11am, and since he was having general anesthesia, it meant he couldn't eat past midnight, nurse past 2:30am and he was only allowed water, apple juice, or pedialyte till 6:30am. Jack was a trooper, but they never even came to get him for surgery till 5 minutes to 1! Then what should have taken about an hour, ended up taking an hour and half, plus then I was still in the waiting room at almost 3. They finally brought him out to me, he woke up and was in and out of sleep for the next hour, while I nursed him and we attempted to give him tylenol with codiene :( Not my favorite thing to do, but he was miserable at that point. Finally, we had the all clear and made it home around 5. Thankfully, Jason was able to leave work early and get the boys from school, though Julie offered too. That's a good friend right there!

Waiting...

Playing with "new" toys

Mama and Jack-Jack

Finally home: Daddy and Jack-Jack

In case, you're wondering, he had a "Fowler-Stephens one-stage orchiopexy" and it is expected to remedy the problem. (After you google that, know that yes, he is sore and a bit bruised, but all is well and even though he has a slightly wider gait at the moment, he will be fine :) )

 

 

Alex's Birthday!!

Alex turned 8 last Thursday and decided he would like a digital camera as his present. We didn't do a huge celebration, but he took watermelon slices to school for his treat, I made him a (dye-free, natural) chocolate cake with decorated homemade frosting and natural food coloring (made from annato) for the words, and he was given his presents.

From his brothers: 2 new Skylanders, one is a giant and the other a regular size one, as well as a storage bag.

 

From mom and dad: a new digital camera, a camera bag and memory card (plus some rechargeable batteries ;) )

Mom forgot to buy candles, so Jason improvised and grabbed the 3's from his cake in December and the 2 from my cake in April and we just counted that as 8, LOL! Alex and Ethan both thought that was funny. Jack really wanted some cake -------->
(Not sure why he has 2 sippy cups out... but looks like one had water and the other milk)

Summer Bucket List

Home Depot Workshop

So first thing Sunday morning, after we had breakfast and all that fun stuff, we took the boys over to Home Depot for their craft. They each got to make lawn-mower pencil holders. Even Jack got in on the action!

  It was a lot of fun and they even got to paint their creations! Jack, of course, wanted to just play with his and kept calling it a car. He still plays with, driving it around.

So bucket list item #5 done (home depot workshop - June 1st)

Tons O' Trucks

Then it was off to Tons O' Trucks, where we met up with Julie and her boys for a bit!

This is only one of many, many pictures we took but blogger is being finicky and not uploading anymore right now! Anyway, bucket list item 7 done! YAY!

There were lots of neat vehicles including a swat TANK! Of course, Jason's favorite was probably the GNX. :)

E and Alex each planted a flower to bring home and we got some free goodies, like chips, spray hand sanitizer and some teddy-bear shaped cold/hot packs for the first aid kit, as well as some coloring/activity books.

Alex also signed up for a free kids' hockey clinic in July! He's super-excited to try it out. The nice thing is that the kids don't need experience playing hockey OR even ice-skating!

We attempted to do our picture scavenger hunt but there were so many people and there was so much to see that it didn't work out. Plus Alex's camera settings were all off and it kept freezing up on him, as well as the photos weren't coming out clear. Now that we have that all figured out, we can plan it for another day.

More Birthday Celebrating!

Sunday afternoon, Jason's parents, sister and niece came up for a visit to celebrate Alex's birthday. He got a new skateboard and elbow and knee pads and wrist guards. Of course, he had to try it out right away, so Jason took him in the basement along with Grandpa Joe and gave him some quick lessons. I swear, the kid is a natural at anything daring! ;) After a little practice, we had cake and ice cream and played outside before Grandma and Grandpa and the girls went home (I say girls because Madison (Jason's sister) is only 17 and Jason's brother's daughter is almost 4).
For Alex's birthday dinner, he wanted to wait and go out Sunday night, so we went to Bagger Dave's - which was a new restaurant and bucket list item for us! It was ok, but we've had better burgers. I did really like their mac and cheese, though!

It's settled down around here now, at least till this weekend. We are possibly going over to the VFW to plant some flowers with the cub scouts on Sunday. In the evening, I have my kickoff for my June challenge group as a Independent Team Beachbody Coach. Looking forward to just getting caught up on the laundry and finding and organizing all the garage sale items. Jackson does have a follow-up with the urologist tomorrow afternoon, so we should know how everything is going.