Trick-or-Treat

I know I'm a week late, but better than never. Last weekend we drove over to Missouri to visit my sister for Halloween. On the way there we stayed in a hotel and went to an indoor waterpark. The kids had a blast (except Luke, he was fussy that day)! Don't have any pictures, since we were swimming and keeping a watchful eye on the kids. Here are some pictures of our Halloween.

We have Dracula, Jackasaurus, and a witch.

Erin and her cousin Jackie. They are about a year apart in age and got along really well. They loved matching that day. Jackie was also a witch for Halloween. It was too cute.

Here is my very last minute costume that I picked up at the store earlier that day. I'm dressed as my Grandpa Simmons....big ears run in the family.

Here's Howard...almost every year he is a scarecrow. I made it for him for Howie's first Halloween. I have a Dorothy costume, but I can't fit into it yet...hopefully next year. Oh yeah, wanna know why Luke's not dressed up? Luke's costume was the first one I purchased this year, but we forgot to pack it! Oh no!!! He was supposed to be a little giraffe. I was more sad about it than he was!

Here's all the kids playing with uncle Levi. The other little green kiddo is Nadia, she was a froggy. She's so stinkin' cute, I wish I could take both of my nieces home with me! I'd keep them forever if I could.

Refrigerator Help

We are in the market for a refrigerator and I would really like some suggestions and input. We are looking for a quiet/energy efficient model. We also would like a water dispenser (but it can be inside or out). It needs to be large enough for our growning family (remember, I will have 3 teenage boys one day).

What do you thing of the newer french door styles with the freezer on the bottom? Is it convenient? A hassle?

Pros/cons of side by side models?

We all have a refrigerator so please share with me what you love or hate about yours, please include brand with model number if you're able to.

We checked consumer reports and we are considering the Kenmore Elite model # 77592. Does anyone have a Kenmore or this particular model number? If so, please let us know what you think.

We are also considering the Whirlpool Gold, model # gx5fhtxvq. This was also highly rated on Consumer Reports.

It's Official: We are Grown-ups!!!

So we bought a house! (Almost)

We signed some paperwork today, put down some good faith money, and we will be in touch with the mortgage broker first thing in the morning. We do know that our builder will get the sale closed and us moved in before November 28 (2 days shy of the Nov 30th deadline for the $8000 tax credit). It was a toss up between 2 homes (same neighborhood) but we're glad we went with this. Stressful thinking that we will have debt (aka Mortgage) but we know it's okay to have a mortgage. I'm a grown-up now!

Our beautiful front yard (j/k). They will put in landscaping before we move in.

The front.

Our living room, facing the front door.

Our living room facing our kitchen and formal dining area. We will use our formal dining area as a play area/computer area.

Our beautiful Kitchen! I have real tile floors...NO MORE LINOLEUM! I also have corian counter tops (I previously said I had granite, but I was mistaken. I obviously have a few things to learn about houses) with a tile back splash, and solid Maple cabinets. I know I'm bragging, but it's not every day you sign on a house! I also have a nice sized pantry to the right.

Here are the details...

3 bedroom, 2 bath

approx 1450 sq ft.

the bedrooms are a decent size, plenty of room for the kids.

Covered front porch

Covered back patio

2 car garage

laundry room

2 walk-in closets

2 pantries (1 in kitchen, 1 in laundry room)

Super energy efficient home

10 year frame/foundation warranty

2 year heating/cooling price cap guarantee (if our heating or cooling bill ever exceeds $61 in the next 2 years, they pay the difference...we have that in writing!)

www.ideal-homes.com

It's the Foxtail-B plan in the Wildflower subdivision of Moore.

Some of you may know, we're not very happy with our children's current school, so this is primarily what has prompted this move. Their new school is excellent! We feel that this will be a positive change in all aspects of our family life. Hopefully it will go well!

Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch

We were supposed to be on vacation these past 2 weeks, but it was postponed due to reasons beyond our control. We're sad about it, but we decided to use our free time by exploring the local area a little bit. We drove about 40 minute out from the base and headed north to Arcadia.

It was love at first sight!

The country roads, beautiful fall colors, lakes, and old farmhouses just mesmerized us! We had so much fun, our only regret is that we didn't go sooner.

Partial family picture (the other kids we off playing).

Another partial family pic...we just completed the corn maze. This was the bridge at the end.

All the kids were able to ride a Shetland pony. They loved it of course!

Luke's first pumpkin.

Jack probably had the most fun!

So we've had a lot of life changes this week and it all started with coming to this pumpkin patch. While we were on the hay ride we met a wonderful LDS family (that's not very common here in Bible Belt, not because of the lack of quality LDS people, but because of the lack of quantity.) Anyway, they were from Edmond (the next city over) and one thing led to another and Howard and I got to talking about moving to Edmond. That was Friday.

All day Saturday we talked about moving off base and all the pros and cons. After researching prices, crime, schools, and things like that we decided to consider Moore (which is south of OKC). Moore is considerably cheaper but with all the nice things still.

Since Sunday morning was Jack's birthday we decided to sleep in, let Jack enjoy his birthday morning and visit a Moore Ward in the afternoon. Turned out the ward we visited had 2 Realtors, 1 in the Bishopric.

Monday we met with Bill Vawter (the Bishopric member) and we went house hunting in Moore with him. On the afternoon of the first day, Bill took us just South of Moore to a small affordable neighborhood. If you drive one way 5 minutes you have all the shopping you need. If you drive a different direction 5 minutes you're in the rich area, and if you drive another 5 minutes in the opposite direction you're in the country. It's the best of both worlds.

It is so beautiful! Country roads, beautiful trees...the works!

Today is Wednesday and we signed a buyers agreement this evening for our NEW home!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Jack!

Every birthday we celebrate we allow the kids to open their presents from us first thing in the morning. It's kind of like Christmas morning for the birthday kid. Luke really enjoyed the birthday festivities too! We had to make sure he didn't eat the wrapping paper.

We were really happy that Jack enjoyed his presents so much.

He loves dinosaurs, so he received several dinosaur books and coloring books. We also got a preschool age R/C car and an electric triceratops. It was a fun morning.

This evening after church we had our good friends, the Gardner's, over for dinner and birthday festivities. Here's Jack taking the first hit at his pinata. All the kids had a turn and then the Dad's finally beat it open for them.

Jack asked for a dinosaur cake and that's what he got!

I made it on Saturday and I'm really happy it turned out well since cake decorating is not a strong suit of mine.

When we sang Happy Birthday to Jack, he sang right along with us, he knew all the words. It was so cute!!!!

Now that Jack is 3 here are some facts about him...

~He loves dinosaurs

~He's good at coloring

~He's potty trained

~He's almost done taking naps (some days are better than others)

~His speech has improved a lot and he's speaking more clearly

~He expresses his thoughts to us

~He has a wonderful imagination

~He's very active

~He's a good big/little brother

~He's a big helper

Miracles Do Happen!

This is what I found in my shoe this morning after my water aerobics workout. At first I thought it was a piece of glass, then I thought that it was my cheapo CZ earrings falling apart. I tossed is into my bag and I'd worry about my earrings later I thought to myself.

Turned out to be neither, but the real thing...my diamond from my wedding ring!

I noticed that my diamond was missing from my ring a few minutes later while I was doing my makeup in the locker room. I quickly searched my gym bag and found the diamond. I put it in my wallet for safe keeping.

There are so many what ifs!

What if it had been lost in the pool?

The shower?

Anywhere else but my shoe?

I know this may be small, but I feel very blessed today to have received a miracle such as having my diamond fall into my shoe and that I noticed it!

Live and Learn

While Howard was away, I struggled as a mother, wife and woman. BUT I also grew and came out a better person because of it. I hope I made the most of my time while we were apart. There are definitely things that I would have done differently, and a few moments that I'm not proud of, but my kids still love me and I still love them. We survived!!!

Here's a re-cap of my journey since June

Life Moments

2 missed birthdays (Howard 32 , Erin 6)

2 missed anniversaries ( 9 year Wedding, 8 year Temple)

1 broken arm (the tip of Erin's radius to be more specific)

1 dead car battery (my neighbor was my knight in shining armor that day)

1 potty trained boy

1 crawling baby (Howard missed half of Luke's life! He left when he was barely 4 months and came back at 8 months.)

2 tooth fairy visits (Howie and Erin)

2 new baby teeth (Luke's first and second)

2 parent/teacher conferences

3 fundraisers (I boycotted one of them)

1 zoo trip

3 museum trips

1 road trip (2 if you count each way)

2 rooms painted

1 whole house unpacked

3 sets of curtains hung

1 whole bedroom set assembled (bed, trundle, dresser, and nightstand all by myself!)

10 lbs of baby weight lost!!!!

a couple days of "The Office" marathon. (I watched every episode in about 2 weeks. It's my new favorite show.)

too many late nights

We've learned a lot too

piano lessons (we started with 3 students and are now down to 2, Howie and I are left.)

swim lessons

Girl Scouts

Cub Scouts

water aerobics at the YMCA (I'm the youngest one in the class)

Homecoming and Random Pictures

Sorry, I know it has been a while since my last post. Howard is finally home! Yeah!! He arrived home early Wednesday morning on October 7th. I was a little disappointed on how it all turned out since I had been daydreaming of our homecoming for 3 months and 3 weeks. It was 7:30am and I was in the shower, the kids were in my bedroom watching a cartoon on the computer. Then I hear shouts of "Daddy, you're home!" through the bathroom door. I finish up and grab a towel and say hi to Howard. (All the kids were there in the room, so keep your minds out of the gutter!) I went back in the bathroom and got dressed while the kids loved on Howard. I had him get them breakfast while I got ready for the day. It was a nice break, but weird at the same time. I was disappointed that I couldn't see the look on the kids faces when he returned or even take pictures of it, but in the end he was home safe and that's all that really matters. We kept the kids home from school that day and had some much needed family time. Unfortunately Howard had to report to work the very next day, no comp time or anything! I wasn't very happy about that! So that's what we have been doing....Howard works and I'm home with the kids as usual. The past 2 weekends we've been super busy with projects around the house that I was not able to complete while Howard was away and also Scouting activities for Howie. Also, the kids have all been terribly sick on and off for the past 2 weeks. It's been rough!!!

Life seems to be getting into a routine and better slowly, but I would like to share a little secret with everyone. Military homecomings are not all they're cracked up to be. Everyone asked me, "Isn't it so great that he's back?" ... honestly NO (at first anyway). I thought it would be great, but the past week and a half have not been easy on our family. There have been a lot of changes and emotions for everyone involved. At first it felt like I had to put on a fake smile, because it would make me a bad wife if I actually thought that I wanted him to go back to where he came from. Now, after talking with some of my more experienced friends (with regards to military separations) our roller coaster ride of emotions are normal. So next time your friend's spouse returns from a long TDY or deployment, don't assume everything is all roses. Just be there if they need someone to talk to. I can honestly say now that Howard and I (and the kids) are all doing well and our family love and unity have returned. (Thank goodness!)

Here are some random pictures taken the week before Howard returned home (except for the very last picture).

Howie's happy because he's earning money!

Erin climbed our backyard tree all by herself!

When the weather is nice, Jack can be found outside in the sandbox with his dinosaurs!

When the weather is not so nice, he's inside coloring his dinosaur "homework" as he calls it.

The children's morning chore consists of them all putting away the clean dishes. Howie and Erin put away the cups and dishes, and Jack just started putting away the silverware. Looks like Luke wanted in on the action too!

This was taken today. Luke enjoys looking out our living room window at the tree outside. He's starting to pull himself up and he can crawl anywhere. He does laps around the house. It's just so cute.

One more thing...

You know you're raising a military brat when your 7 year old tells you that the baby needs a haircut because his hair is touching his ears!

Fundraisers

It is fundraiser season at our house currently and I have VERY mixed feelings about it. It seems as though it is a necessary evil that I must submit my child to if they want to participate in wholesome activities such as Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts. The fundraising helps our family by lowering the monthly dues that we will owe each month for these programs. This will be Howie's 2nd year in Cub Scouts and Erin's 1st in Girl Scouts. They are both having fundraisers going on (simultaneously) and if you are at all interested in helping out here are the links....

Cub Scouts

(To the right of the screen there is a place to put in Howie's scout ID number so that he can receive credit. It says " You are supporting no one. Change." Click on Change and you can enter Howie's number. His number is 3083651)

Howie is selling popcorn and nuts. The items are a little pricey, but the popcorn is GREAT and 70% of the proceeds go directly back into the local Scouting program! They also accept cash donations. (until October 16th)

Girl Scouts

Erin is selling magazines, CD's, and candies. Erin's fundraiser has MANY affordable items to choose from. 40% of the proceeds go to the local Girls Scouts. (until October 25th)

Since we live on base we are prohibited from selling door to door. I have determined that fundraising is very hard for a newly transplanted military family. We have not yet established ties to the community (especially with Howard being gone I'm in survival mode...not make a million friends mode). So that is why have have sent out emails, facebook posts, and now this blog. Sorry if it is bothersome, but I have to at least try for my children's sake.

Bath Time

Sunday nights we generally skip baths for the kids since they stay clean and inside all day. Howie wanted to take a "fun" bath with Luke tonight, so I obliged.

Howie and Luke had a lot of fun.

Jack joined a little later and now Howie and Jack are livin' it up in the bath. I'm glad Howie was smart enough to close the shower curtain to contain all the water. They were really splashing a lot!

Howie is absolutely the BEST big brother in the whole wide world!!! I'm so thankful for him and his willingness to help with his younger siblings, especially his little brothers. He's so responsible, caring, and affectionate. It's great.

(As I was typing this Howie started telling Erin that he loves her 1%. He sometimes has issues with Erin, but I know he loves her. If he keeps it up, he's going to make me a liar.)

Can you say O.C.D.?

Jack LOVES dinosaurs!

I cannot over emphasize this enough. He is either playing with them in the sandbox, playing with them inside, looking at them in books, dressing up like one, or watching a movie about them. He's even in the bath tub right now with them having a dialogue between Sarah and her Daddy from "The Land Before Time" movie.

Here they are migrating.

My Saturday Morning

While Howard has been away my bed has not been as lonely as one might think. I have these three handsome boys to keep me company. I'm not always this nice to let this many children in my bed at once, but Erin was at a sleep over on Friday night, so I was feeling a bit lonesome.

Sorry this picture isn't centered, I did crop it, but Jack was half way out of the picture to begin with. The flash was just a little too bright for them in the wee hours of the morning.

Lil' Paleontologist

The past few days Jack has been very into playing in the sandbox. That's all he wants to do. He takes his dinosaurs out there and buries them and then digs them up. I don't think he even knows what an excavation is, but that's what he's doing.

You can see how serious he gets. He can spend hours out in the backyard. Just last night I had to practically drag him in the house at 7:30pm because it was time for bed.

This last picture was taken with my flash off. It was dusk, but not dark. This picture was taken at the same time the others were, but my flash was on with the previous pictures. If anyone has a tip on how to have my pictures brighter (without being blurry or grainy) lease share. I hate our flash, it seems to darken everything around and behind my subject.

I Like This!

18 of these sure can make someones day a little brighter!

On Wednesday I made cinnamon rolls and shipped them overnight to Howard. They were still a little warm when they left OKC. That evening I received Howard's little surprise. A dozen and a half roses! I'll make cinnamon rolls more often if this is what I get! These last longer.

This evening I was trying to make dinner, feed Luke, and clean up the house before our home teachers came over. Luke was a little fussy that he wasn't getting my full attention so Erin stepped in to help (without even being asked). What a big help. This is definitely a change for her. She really hasn't been into babies since I've had Jack or Luke, so I'm glad she's taking more interest in them. One more thing...Luke loves cheerios and just started eating real bananas (not pureed). He is really enjoying the table food that I give him (it's not much, but he loves what he gets!)

Like the hat? The wind blew it into our yard in Okinawa...it's Japanese. If you look close at her nails we painted them during nap time. We bought 4 nail polish colors yesterday at Target (oh how I love Target!)

One more thing...

Howard and I are in the market for a new TV, so the kids and I went to Best Buy to browse and see what they had. When we were done there we went next door to Target and picked up some fall clothes for Jack and I and a few extras. Let's just say I'm banned from shopping for the next month or two (self imposed of course, Howard's not mean that way)...that's how much I spent! Once we were done (about an hour and a half later) we get to the mini van and I hear a noise coming from it. I left it on and running the whole time!!!!! Somehow in the commotion of taking 4 kids shopping with me all alone I forgot to turn the car off!!!! That's something that I could see myself doing when I'm pregnant...but I'm definitely NOT pregnant. Crazy huh?! Thank goodness my van was still there. Someone could have driven off with it! I'm still in shock over the matter and that was over 24 hours ago. At least it was just my keys and I didn't leave any of the kids in the car. Now THAT would have been bad! (That's actually one of my fears. It breaks my heart whenever I hear a news story about a parent forgetting their child in the car and the worst happens. What a tragedy.)

Have a great day!

So Stinkin' Cute!!!

Luke is really getting around these days and he's even taking it to the next level. Today he stood on his hands and toes with his cute butt sticking up in the air. The pictures that I have didn't catch him when his butt was highest, but he's just so stinkin' cute that I wanted to share. I was on the phone with Howard when he first started doing it and I described it to Howard as best I could, but here are some pictures for a better idea.

He was VERY interested in the camera!

He's crawling a lot farther now. Before he would just stay in one room, but now he can make into into the next. He can also go from a sitting position to crawling without smacking himself in the face on the ground.

Another funny thing today...as I was practicing the piano he crawled right under the bench to where the damper pedals are. It was a lot cuter than it sounds just reading it on my blog. I promise.

Crafting With Erin

Ever since I had my Super Saturday last week, I've been very excited do to some more crafting on my own. I'm really not much of a crafter, and I have only the bare minimum of supplies. Erin LOVES crafting and so I thought it would be a good thing for her and I to do together to get some girl time. Unfortunately one of the consequences for being such a good girl is that I don't spend very much time with her compared to the others. She needs less correcting, less homework help, and mostly stays out of trouble. With the boys, it seems like they have a monopoly on my time wit homework, discipline, and extra basic needs. Well I finally broke down last week and splurged on a bunch of craft supplies for her and I. My kitchen counter did not see the light of day for about 3 days straight. I'm so glad Howard wasn't here to complain about how messy the house got.

Here is Erin painting her tray. She was so happy to do a project with me. The messy house and chicken nugget dinners were totally worth it last week.

Erin made a fairy wand and tray for her little nick knacks in her room. I helped.

The next items were my project. Erin picked out the paper that I used, but I did the rest.

I bought her letters on premade MDF boards and traced the letters on scrapbooking paper. I painted the MDF letters pink first, then I cut out the paper letters and modge podged them to the MDF boards. After adding several coats of of the modge podge, it built up a nice lacquer. I hot glued the ribbon on and added a couple other embellishments to the letters.

I also decorated a cheap Walmart frame with the same paper as the N in her name. I added some blue rick rack and put her most recent picture in it. She loves it! $3 Walmart frames are good for something.

We are done crafting for a while, but my mind is busy planning what to do next. I think I'll work on the boys' room next.

Howie's Project

Late this afternoon, Howie found some acorns. When we got home from being out for a few hours he asked if he could "play with them" (his exact words). "okay, sure" I said. I started making dinner and I found him doing this...

PLANTING THE SEEDS

I don't think he got a digging permit, but I guess I'll let it slide this time.

Then she came along to help get the soil wet...

They finally caught me taking pictures.

But they just kept on working!

Howie and Erin got out the yard tools by themselves, so they also had to clean and put them away. They were a bit muddy, so bath time was BEFORE dinner tonight.