Wordless Wednesday - why the orange?

 

My reminder this morning

 For more Wordless Wednesday posts, go here. :)

What I'm looking forward to...

With Thanksgiving just two days away, we have been making plans on how to spend the days
surrounding the holiday as the boys have a 5 day weekend. We originally planned to spend Thursday with Jason's family, Friday and Saturday at home and then Sunday at my parents. It's a bit of a drive (almost 2 hours each way) with both families living in the same city and truthfully, I wasn't looking forward to 4 long car rides with 3 most likely cranky boys in a matter of just a couple of days. After a suggestion, we decided to rent a hotel room for Thursday through Sunday.

I'm truly looking forward to this weekend and holiday. Here's just some of the reasons why: 

6. The pool. I'm only half joking. When we are done with all the festivities, or in between, we can head to the hotel and let the boys swim for a bit. It will get their energy out, let them unwind and have fun, as well as make it feel like a mini-vacation! Holidays can be stressful, even with all the fun of visiting, and swimming is a great way to relax :)

5. The food. Turkey, ham, kielbasa - REAL Polish kielbasa, not "polish sausage" - mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, more turkey, pumpkin pie, did I mention turkey? We rarely have turkey or pie or sweet potatoes. Comfort food, in moderation, can be so, well, comforting!

4. Smiling kids. Spending time with their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins always seems to make them happy. They get to play outside riding the 4-wheeler or mini-bike or inside playing a board game or with blocks or Mr. Potato Head (more the toddler, though his brothers play with him). They get to share what's new and important to them with the people they don't see often enough.

3. Shopping. Not that I will be doing a lot of this, but I'm considering going on Friday morning for a bit with my mom. We've gone a couple times together, and it's nice to just spend some time one-on-one with her, talking and giggling at 5am.

2. Not driving. Well, not as much. Since we are spending a few days visiting, we won't be doing as much driving as we thought. Also many of the times we've been down recently, we've been there either just for a day trip or barely overnight. It's always exhausting and makes it less fun. Being able to truly enjoy a few days visiting, while also having our own space and giving our families their space "back" without being far away, will be very nice.

1. Family. As corny as that sounds, it's true. Jason's sister and new brother-in-law are going to be in town also, and it's been far too long since we've spent time with them. His parents, his other sister, his brother and niece will all be there. On Sunday, at my parents, one of my sisters will be in town with my newest brother-in-law and their kids. Funny stories will be told, many hugs and kisses given, and new memories made. This is one of my favorite times of year. Going home and spending the holidays with the people we love is wonderful.

Change of plans

After thinking long and hard, and talking with Julie, I've made a decision. Yesterday, I had a post that should've went "live" but we had an unexpected outing. Because of that, I didn't finish or share it. I'm putting a hold on the Winter Fun List until it's officially winter.That being said I hope anyone who is interested in doing a winter fun list, whether they decide to link up or not will still start planning it!

December 21st is less than a month away, and the "share your list" linky will be up then. I'm planning to make a separate page with the explanation, and any other info as well as our list. Our list is going up now, and will be tweaked up until the 21st.  I'm hoping Julie over at Learning Life with 3 Sons will co-host the link-up, but we'll see ;) If she does, you will only have to link up in ONE place and it will be shared on both blogs, bringing you more visitors! It may also get more participants too!

Anyway, yesterday started out somewhat rough. My moodiness got the best of me, and everybody was in a bad mood in the morning because of it. After Jason and I scrubbed the kitchen from top to bottom (floor, cabinets, dishes, counters, stovetop, other appliances), he took Alex to deliver the popcorn in our neighborhood. It was so bitter cold out, they were only gone a short while. Thankfully they only had 5 houses to go to. They did have to run back out though because they forgot to get money from the one person we didn't collect from at the time they ordered. We all ate a quick lunch before heading out for some last minute fun.

Bass Pro Shops had Santa visiting, a craft, and some other stuff, so we drove out to Great Lakes Crossing. Jason needs some new work boots, and he figured he could at least look while we were there. The older boys made a felt penguin ornament while Jason and Jackson walked around looking at animals. Then they all rode the carousel and soon it was picture time with Santa. Even Ethan got up there and joined in, even after he told me he knows Santa isn't real. He promised not to spoil the fun for his brothers. I was wondering when that time was coming, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Alex also did the target practice.

We spent the next hour or so walking around the mall, and even though Jason didn't find work boots, we did get Alex a new pair of shoes for everyday/play wear. He's definitely growing into his own sense of style! 

 

Rain Forest Cafe was our next destination, where we enjoyed the atmosphere a bit more than the food. All three of the boys loved the animation of the animals, the thunderstorms and shooting stars above our heads. If you've never been, I recommend it just for the fun of that. The food was ok. E and Alex both got shrimpkens which was popcorn shrimp and dino-shaped chicken nuggets with applesauce for Alex and fries for Ethan. Jackson got chicken nuggets and a banana. Jason got some kind of triple play with shrimp, ribs and steak with fries. I got salmon with hazelnut and frangelico butter, caribbean rice and roasted veggies. Mine was not bad at all, the boys said theirs was good - looked like frozen nuggets to us though - and Jason was disappointed in most of his meal. The food was not worth the bill at the end of the meal, for sure :( Oh well. Even more disappointing was the service. Our server walked past 5 times - Jason counted! - without stopping to ask if we needed anything, when 4 of us were CLEARLY out of drinks! While we should have just flagged her down, she was close enough to notice. Jackson really liked the frog character that was walking around, and took bites of his nuggets to "show the butterfly, tigers and elephants how to eat". Hey, sometimes it takes creativity to get a toddler to actually eat!

Since we got home just in time for showers and bed for the boys, they ran off to do that while Jason stole my laptop and did his psychology homework. Jackson woke up from his cat-nap in the car in a not-so-good mood, so we just cuddled on the couch until he crashed back out. By about 9:30, this mama was ready for a good night's sleep.

This weekend's plans

Nothing special going on today. It's just a day of errands and cleaning.

First thing this morning, I wrote up a cleaning list for myself and the boys. We got a few things done, mainly the boys cleaned their desks, dresser, room and took their bedding to the basement to be washed. I cleaned up the kitchen a bit and started some laundry. We ran to the bank and the grocery store this morning while Jason was at the airport working on the police helicopter. I was planning to finally open the boys' savings accounts but they were pretty busy with only one person available to open new accounts. I did get a money order for all the popcorn money (holy crap, when did money orders start costing $2?!). At Meijer, we grabbed E's prescription refill and a few things we needed.

Jason called while we were at the store and said he was on his way home. So we came home and had lunch together. Costco, Michael's and popcorn pickup is all next on the list :) Then we can enjoy a nice evening at home, eating beef carnitas tacos and maybe a game or movie together.

There's only 2 days of school this week and then the boys have 3 days off for a five-day weekend! Spending Thanksgiving Day at the in-laws, and we are excited, as Jason's sister Jorie and her new hubby Matt will be there too!! We are planning to drive home that night and spend Friday and Saturday at home, and driving back down Sunday to have a second Thanksgiving dinner/celebration at my parents. Only one of my sisters and her family will be able to make it since my eldest sister and her hubby and kids are living in Florida now :( Sure won't be the same but it will still be a nice visit. I'm thinking of taking the laptop and using skype to call them - don't think we've ever done that before, but I think the kids would all love it!

Hope you all have a great weekend and Thanksgiving!

Family field trip

Today, I kept the boys out of school and we took a field trip.

Target sponsored a Family Day at The Henry Ford Museum, meaning admission and parking was free! Since the reason behind the family day was honor and remembrance of the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination, we were going to try and see the car from Dallas.

Our morning started a little slow with the boys all sleeping to 7:30 or even 8! I snuck out of our bedroom, which Jack currently shares with us, and took a quick shower while he slept a bit longer. When I got out, he had just woken up, E was up reading, and Alex was still in bed, but waking up.
After making a quick breakfast for the boys, I went through our weekly budget and started some laundry.

Before we left, I printed off a little packet of activities about JFK including a coloring sheet, vocab list, crossword, word search, and a multiple choice quiz for the boys to do in the car.

We made it down there just before 11am and got to see many really neat things. There are tons of old farm equipment, cars, carriages, furniture, appliances and housewares, trains, airplanes, an Abraham Lincoln exhibit, the Oscar Meyer wiener mobile, a bus diner and many other things. I think our favorite might have been a really neat LEGO city with skyscrapers taller than me! There was so much detail, from the cornfield to the helicopters, a concert stage to the Willys building! The boys were enthralled by it.

I realized something about Alex today. He is definitely our budding photographer. He got an inexpensive digital camera last Christmas, but it got misplaced sometime during the year. Alex really wanted to take pictures, so since I had our nice camera with us to take some pictures, he was put in charge of it ;) He did a pretty good job and asked how to use the zoom and other buttons. I have to upload the pictures still but I can't wait to go through all of them.

We did have a couple of things that could have gone smoother. First, lunch. We didn't pack because I'd forgotten the expense of eating there... That and the "restaurants" weren't easy to navigate with 2 boys and a toddler in a stroller by myself. The first one only had hot dogs, which E won't eat - it's a sensory thing. The 2nd one had no place to sit and 4 daily specials, none of which any of us wanted. The third is a cafeteria style set-up. Think hospital cafeteria, where there are 3 different main "kitchen" areas: a grill, an "oven" and a salad bar, and then a refrigerated section with yogurt, desserts, and bottled drinks, and a fountain drink, plus the cashier. Now add about 30 people beside your family. It was really difficult to navigate the stroller while carrying a tray overloaded with food. We managed to find a seat after a minute and hurriedly ate our food, as the people who sat beside us were less than polite to the employee and made me uncomfortable.

Jackson needed cleaned up, and when we made it to the bathroom, the older boys sat outside while I went in to change him. There was no changing table :( so I had to use what I can only assume is a designated changing area on the counter top. As I lifted him out of the stroller, I discovered he had wet through his onesie and pants, and had a dirty, not just wet diaper! I'm so glad I remembered to grab a clean outfit before we left. While practically wrestling with him to change his clothes, I heard a mom and her kids coming in, and one of them asked her where the boys in the hallway's mom was. She said something along the lines of "I don't know where their mom is" with a somewhat exasperated, if not judgmental tone. As she was walking in the door, I said "the boys in the chairs? Yeah, they're mine. I thought they were too old to be in the women's restroom". She said sorry if she sounded judgmental, that she was tired, etc. I'm sure she didn't mean anything, but I wanted her to know they were being left unsupervised to roam the museum. :)

We walked around some more, and then Jack needed changed again, and since he had another dirty diaper, I used the last few wipes in my purse. The boys were all pretty exhausted so we decided to call it a day at around 3pm. We didn't get to see the Presidential car because there was a super long line due to the day.

It was a good time, and I think they learned something, plus saw some really cool stuff. The museum has changed since the last time we were there a few years ago, with some new exhibits.

If I wasn't struggling to keep my eyes open right now, I'd upload all our pictures, but they will have to wait till tomorrow. I'm so glad that we decided to play hooky and take a family fun day instead. 

I definitely learned a lesson though from today: Pack lunches or leave and eat elsewhere. Bring a backpack with plenty of diapers, wipes and maybe even 2 outfits for Jack. Know that I can trust my older boys to wait outside the restroom for me while I change Jack and/or use the restroom myself. Although, we did come out to them NOT sitting where I told them to, but standing over by the ATM "checking out all the signs". Silly boys.

Throwback Thursday - Hamer edition

In case your wondering why I use Hamer in some titles, it's a part of our last name, but it's also Jason's nickname. For as long as I can remember, his friends and co-workers have called him this.

In this instance, the title is ABOUT Jason.

We only have a few pictures of Jason as a baby but the ones we have are so cute. ;)

Jason with his mother, Fredna and a cousin (I think)

Jason and his mother :)

Jason and his dad, Joe

First car

Here he was graduating Basic Training or AIT, not sure which. He was so young, and fit! Almost too thin! Crazy!

Jason, Busia (Grandma) H, his brother Jeff - this was after Basic

 I love this next series of pictures because it shows the goofball that he's ALWAYS been!

Even playing pool, you can see the tongue, LOL

Top picture show his ever-elusive smile (when it comes to pictures)

Love this man!

Jason is such a good daddy, love how these pics show his personality!

Jason (the goofy daddy) with Ethan, 3 or 4 mo, and 1yr or so

From top: Jason and E, May 2005; Jason and Alex

Jason at "work", LOL

On the US Ronald Reagan - again being goofy!

On the flight home in 2006? Love the flight helmet ;) selfie, btw. LOL

Love this next picture as it's one of very few with the Kings!

Grandpa and Grandma King, Jason, brother Jeff at their mother Fredna's grave

I always forget how silly Jason can be. I don't know why, because he is that way most of the time. In fact, his goofy, silly take on life, his sense of humor, is one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with him.

Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my honey's life! 

Menu Plan Monday

On Tuesday...

I actually used to do this on my old blog (that's no longer updated and not currently public - although there are a ton of really cute posts about the older boys when they were little that I'm considering bringing over here!) and thought I did on here a couple of times. I'd forgotten about it to be honest, until I saw Homeschool Camper share her family's menu plan yesterday!

It's hosted over on I'm an Organizing Junkie. Here's where you can find this week's linkup!

MONDAY: Leftovers was the plan, but 95% of them were either something that wasn't well-received the first time OR had turned into a science experiment after being forgotten at the back of the fridge for well over a week - some close to 3 weeks! EEK! - and they didn't want Sunday's dinner leftovers already. So Jas had ShakeOlogy before class, and we baked the last pizza in the freezer and it was just enough for E and A to each have 2 slices, J to have 2 smaller slices and me to have the last larger slice. The pizza came out of the box oval shaped so when I cut it, it wasn't really evenly sliced, LOL.

TUESDAY: Asian beef lettuce wraps, instant brown rice
 
WEDNESDAY: Homemade chicken nuggets (adapted from 100 Days of Real Food - I use panko bread crumbs and coconut oil, everything else I follow exactly. Seriously the best nuggets EVER!), baked french fries, applesauce
 
THURSDAY: Sesame seared beef (ribeyes for mom, dad, E and A, ground beef patty for J), sides to be determined but probably carrots as one :)
 
FRIDAY: Beef carnitas (cooking in crockpot) - using as a taco filling with organic refried beans, cheese, sour cream and lettuce on fresh-cooked tortillas
 
SATURDAY: Grilled cheddar smoked sausages, steamed golden and sweet potatoes, squash (yellow squash and zucchini) au gratin
 
SUNDAY: Sweet and tangy pork sandwiches, instant brown rice, sugar snap peas

How is Ethan doing?

I've had a few people inquire about Ethan and how he's doing. I haven't really updated in a while now is a good a time as any.

It's been almost two months since we decided to have him start taking the Prozac. Within a few days, we saw changes in him. He started opening up more at home, and dealing with frustration better. It seems as though at school, he's been doing great too. Even when he does get upset, he calms himself easier, and I don't think I have heard of even one instance of him needing to leave the classroom!

Now I know some of this is due to him starting to mature, but I feel like the medication is helping him cope too. E has told me he's able to calm himself and keep the frustration "in his head" more, rather than having verbal outbursts. Not always, but much more often. Things that would have disappointed him previously immensely? Yeah, they don't seem to bother him as much. If he misses a day - yesterday for example - we see a drastic change in his coping skills. He's very whiny and overly emotional about certain things, especially video games.

E has even done wonderful in gym. First trimester is over now, and so is gym, but my child who hates anything athletic/active (for the most part) made it through no problem, even getting an A-, with an A on the last two tests. One was 25 correctly done sit-ups, and the other was 25 correctly done push-ups!

He starts study skills today, and I really believe he will get so much more out of it this year than last. He reminded me yesterday that he will probably need a binder and looseleaf paper. This is not something he would have thought of before, and when asked this morning what he needed to do if he got a syllabus from his teacher today, he responded with "bring it to you, mom!" (with a little sarcasm, like duh, mom! LOL)

We were discussing on the way to school what he thought he might have next trimester, Spanish or Art.

E: I hope I have art!

Mom: Really? I thought art is stressful to you?

E: It is, but I'm not going to let that hold me back from doing art!

That right there made me so proud of him!!! I said something like I'm proud of you buddy, and I know how much you like to draw so I'm glad. :)

I also told him that he is such a good example not only to his younger brothers but me to not give up even when something is hard or stressful for us!

6 months ago, I don't think he would have said that, or been able to express a lot of what goes on in his head sometimes. Especially when it has to do with stress, anxiety and frustration. That's not to say he wasn't or couldn't communicate well. He just couldn't explain how he felt and then when a situation became frustrating or upsetting, he had an even harder time not only dealing with the situation, but explaining his feelings and thoughts. It's like a cloud has lifted for him, and I'm so grateful. I never thought we'd put him on medication, and even though it has been one of the hardest decisions we've made as parents, it has definitely, so far, been one of the best ones.

My boys all amaze me everyday, and show me that anything is possible.

Another quick story about E. He was in the MTSS classroom for reading remediation (his scantron scores dropped due to him rushing through the tests, and it's procedure for him to go there, regardless of his ACTUAL ability...) and they were reading about carnivores. The teacher asked if we are carnivores and E said "well, actually, we are omnivores!" The teacher had him define omnivore and explain to the class why as humans, traditionally at least, we are omnivores! She said he seemed to enjoy "teaching" the class, LOL. Also she told me that even though he's in there, it's hard, because the other students are working at 3rd-7th grade reading comprehension, and he's got it all and should be working on TENTH GRADE reading comprehension!!! But he's an absolute joy to have in her classroom, her words, not mine. :)

We have conferences for E and Alex next Tuesday right after school. I already know their grades though.

Ethan:

• Math - A
• Reading - A
• Science - A
• Social Studies - A
• Gym - A-
• English - B+

Alex:

• Spelling - A
• Social Studies - A
• Science - A
• Handwriting - A
• Gym - A
• Spanish - A
• Math - A-
• Reading - B+
• English - B

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!

Productive Saturday

Last night it took us about 2 1/2 hours to set-up all our stuff! We made it home just a few minutes before Jason got home from his Friday business class, around 9. I made a mental note that we needed to be up no later than 7 so we'd have time to stop by the bank and get change because I'd forgotten.

 We woke up a little late this morning and it threw the day off some. Since I didn't want to rush Jackson eating his breakfast and make us even later and Jason had nothing going on today, they had a daddy/son morning. On the way to the school to meet Julie, I remembered the boys needed rice and instant mashed potatoes for the Thanksgiving food drive the church is holding. We stopped at Meijer and grabbed those 2 items as well as some cash for the sale - I remembered our bank doesn't open till 9am on Saturdays. By the time we got to the school, we had missed Julie :( I felt really bad that she had gone up there to look for/wait for us! I considered just keeping the boys with me, but decided to drive them over the their catechism class. I made it back over to the school just a few minutes late, and was able to get $10 worth of ones from the ladies collecting admission fees.

When I had gotten there, the family next to me gave me some money they were holding from my first sale of the day! In the 3 hours of the sale I made about $100! I did spend $14 though, buying Jackson 10 outfits and a toy, and 5 shirts and 2 pants for our niece. After we were all done, I gave the last 3 maternity items to one of the pregnant teachers and almost all of the 8/10 and some of the 6/7 clothes to a friend who I knew would be able to get some use out of them. Still had a truckload to bring home, but it's all good :)

Julie brought the boys back over to me, and between her and her boys, and my boys and I, we got the truck loaded up. On the way home, we stopped and grabbed some lunch to take home.

I had to run back out to grab some diapers, milk, bread, and a couple of other things. I don't think in 11 years of being a parent, and 3 boys (one currently in diapers almost 2 years, one for about 4 and the other for 3), that we've ever RUN OUT of diapers! I would of sworn that we had another box in the closet. While I was at the store, E and Alex got some video game time, and Jackson fell asleep.

I guess the week and morning caught up with me, because I went in to read in our bedroom where it was quiet, and I ended up crashing for about 4 hours! Jackson and I both woke up around 8. He's up playing with train tracks and his new car toy. I have a feeling it's going to be a late night for him...

He was loving climbing in and out of this box. It's the perfect size!

Jack loves it so far.

Look at the great job he did building the track by himself!!

Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy and warmer, and I'm pretty sure we are going to just have a lazy Sunday around the house.

Now to go finally get myself a (very) late dinner. Hope you all have a great rest of your weekend!