Trick or Treat!

I have a tiny confession.


Before we had kids, I never liked Halloween.


I guess I never saw the point. Growing up we never went trick-or-treating (unless you count the one time we dressed up as ghosts and went to bribe candy off our grandparents).


Remember that, Mom? I think I wore a white sheet with two holes cut out for eyes.



Yep, we went all out that year. (Just kidding mom, I remember it being a lot of fun!)


Back to my point-Do I have one? Once we had kids, Halloween suddenly seemed a lot more appealing. The kids love dressing up, it's fun to see what they want to be each year, and did I mention the FREE candy?!


This year our little tribe consisted of a Nascar driver (Tony Stewart), an Air Force pilot, and a little monkey.

The boys ready to fill their baskets!




Our little monkey

She loves her costume, can't you tell?

The kids had a blast! We went to a neighboring town for trick-or-treating and then met up with some friends for an impromptu pizza party. It was coooold walking around for an hour and a half in 40 deg weather.

Thank goodness for friends who had a hot cup of coffee waiting for us when we were done! Thanks Jeanne! Thanks also for letting us barge into your home and invite ourselves to supper!

Because we are gluttons for punishment, we decided to take the kids to a trunk and treat at a local church after that.

30+ cars for the kids to trick or treat from- without walking from one end of town to the other -plus hot drinks and food for the adults. Now that's my idea of trick or treating.

Yes, I am sold on the trunk and treating.

Even Tony Stewart needs a break now and then.

This is what happens on the way home from Grandma's house after a long day of trick or treating (Yes, that is Drew's head underneath the green blanket).

If only these pictures could capture the snoring sounds that were coming from the back seat.

For once I actually thought ahead and took pajamas along.

This was the little monkey at the same time the boys were snoring. You didn't honestly expect her to be asleep, did you? Everyone knows little monkeys can't possibly go to bed at 10:00. Sigh....


At least I have the hope of an extra hour tonight! Thank you daylight savings time!

Sleep....Who Needs It?

Where to begin?

Well, let's start with this little pistol princess. Guess who decided to be up ALL. NIGHT. LONG. last night? (Well, I guess not all night-she did have about 3 twenty minute cat naps).

No, I'm not even kidding. I saw every hour, thank you very much. I even considered tackling the never-ending pile of ironing at four in the morning.

Thank goodness that moment of insanity was short-lived.

These are the eyes that greeted me at all hours of the night last night.

How can you hold a grudge when looking at those big eyes and chubby cheeks?

Bella is 3 (almost 4) months old now, and growing, growing, growing! She always has had "college" sleep habits (she will typically settle down for the night around 12:30, wake up at 8 for a feeding, and go back to sleep until noon), but I think part of the problem last night is that she is teething.

TEETH?!

You're only three months old, miss Bella. No need for teeth yet.

This picture desperately needs a caption...

Bella, you'll have to be tough with these two as brothers!

The boys convinced Craig to sleep in a tent with them in the backyard the other night.

I'm not sure how much sleeping was accomplished (notice the theme in this post), but the boys had a GREAT time.

Thank goodness, I could play the newborn card once again and sleep in a nice, warm, cozy bed.

I think by the time it was bedtime, half of their bedroom had been brought into the tent.

This picture just makes me laugh:

On a completely unrelated note, Drew has taken relaxation to a new level:

Although his book stays dry. A certain other person, AHEM, may have dropped their book into the pool two or three times this summer.

But I'm not mentioning any names. And yes, it was the same book.

Ahh, summer. I can't believe you're almost over.

Now it's back to the world of early bedtimes (hear that, Bella?), school buses, routine, and blogging!

It's good to be back!

Sum, Sum, Summertime

Goodness gracious. I'm more than a little behind on blogging. As far as reading blogs go-well, let's not even go there.

I'm really hoping that things will return to a more "normal" state around here soon! (I'm using normal very, very loosely).

Hopefully, once the nighttime routine gets more settled, Drew goes back to school, and summer winds down, things will not be as overwhelming!

I've been awful about taking pictures, mostly because our "good" (again, using that term loosely) died and I've been using Drew's camera.

Poor Bella-I'll never be able to get these 3 months back, and I have very few good pictures of her.

So...here are some blurry pics of what we've been doing.

We took the kids to see the movie "Ice Age" at a drive-in theater. It worked great, because I could take Bella without worrying (since we just stayed in the car). Notice how impressed she is.





The boys were much more impressed. (I warned you the pics were blurry).

If I ever need help or have an emergency around here, I'll know who to call. This is the scene that greeted me after breakfast the other morning.

How can you not feel safe with these two around?

The long summer days and hard work of firefighting have worn poor Alex out. When I went to get him for dinner this is what I found: (yes, he does have shorts on)!

We also went to a Cleveland Indians game the other night-minus Bella.

It was the first time for the boys and they loved it. Actually, I think they liked the food and fireworks the most.

Or was that me?

The view from our seats.

Do I always look this tired????

LOVE this picture. Craig and mini-Craig.

If I ever wonder what Craig looked like as a little boy, I only have to look at Alex.

Look! Another picture of Bella. In her car seat and with her nuk. AGAIN.

I'm sorry I don't have any more pictures of you, Bella. Your mom is pathetic.

Does anybody have any camera recommendations? I'd love to hear them!

Up

Oh, blogging. How I've missed you.

I've come to realize that blogging and writing are therapeutic for me. I'm not sure exactly why that is, but I do know that I feel as though something has been missing the few weeks that I haven't been blogging.

Maybe it's because as I'm writing (even if it's just about what we did that day), I'm processing my thoughts and feelings.

And I've missed comments. I've also come to realize that if I want anyone to comment on my blog, I first have to post something. Ahem.

On a completely unrelated matter, why is Bella STILL AWAKE?! She has been fed, changed, held and loved, and is still completely wide awake and unhappy.

I finally put her in her cradle beside me with her pacifier, since nothing else was making her happy. She is currently seeing how often she can spit out her pacifier and cry for me to put it back in.

I think we're up to ten times now in two minutes.

Someday she'll start sleeping all night, right? C'mon Bel-it's midnight for pete's sakes.

I'm not sure where to start blogging-the last few weeks have been busy and exhausting. We've celebrated an anniversary, Alex's birthday, Father's day, had a fun day making strawberry jam (oh, how I kid-after 10 batches of jam and 20 quarts of strawberries I was ready to never see another strawberry again), and the list goes on.

Pretty much though, I'm still just trying to keep my head above water most days, with two energetic boys and a newborn.

Last Friday I decided it was time to throw my hat in the ring for the mother of the year award. Oh, you haven't heard of that award? Yeah, me neither.

I had spend all day Wednesday and Thursday pricing items for a garage sale (no, not at our house, thank goodness), and I was feeling very guilty for not spending much time with the boys. My original plan was to spend the day in the pool, but the rain put an end to that plan.

In a moment of insanity, I decided to take three kids to see the movie "Up". Yes, I said three kids, and yes one of them was 7 week old Bella.

I really thought she would do fine-she hates her swing and bouncer, but LOVES to be held-and this would be at least two hours where Bella would have arms to hold her.

She did great, and slept the whole time while I held her. I have to admit, I did have a mini panic attack when we got there, when I had visions of Bella screaming and me and my little tribe being kicked out of the theater.

But I digress.

As we sat in our seats Drew said to me "hey mommy, remember the last time we came to see a movie?"

Me: "I do-the mouse one,right?" (Despereaux)

Drew: "Yeah. Remember you looked like you had swallowed a turkey?"

Nice, Drew. Thanks a lot.

The boys after the movie

Bella, during and after the movie

I have to say, Up probably was not my favorite movie. I know it had great reviews, but there were definitely parts that were scary for Alex.

Alex says he wasn't scared, just "tiwed." Drew laughed out loud during the movie multiple times, and looked as though he was having a great time.

As we were walking to the car I was congratulating myself and patting myself on the back, thinking what a fun, cool mom the kids must think I am.

Right.

Here's how the conversation went as we were leaving:

Me: "So did you have a great time Drew?" (trying not to hurt my arm as I'm continuing to pat myself on the back).

Drew: "No not really. I thought that was the worst movie ever."

Me: "What! But you were laughing during most of it."

Drew: "I know, but I really didn't like it."

I guess I won't have to dust off the shelf for that mom of the year award after all.

Well, after stopping in the middle of this post to feed Bella and change an explosive, stinky diaper she is FINALLY asleep. On a completely unrelated note, Craig has been snoring on the couch for the last two hours. At least someone is getting 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. But I'm not bitter.

Scratch that, I AM bitter.

Last Day of School!

It's official! Summer vacation has begun! Although, Alex keeps saying "It's not sumwer yet. It's still cold!"

What, Alex? You don't consider 65 and rain to be a perfect summer day?

Here is my soon to be first-grader (sniff, sniff, sob) on his last day of kindergarten.

Drew loved kindergarten, but apparently summer vacation has greater appeal than school.

When I asked him what he would miss the most about kindergarten he replied with a heartfelt "absolutely nothing."



Alrighty then.


Drew's teacher Mrs. Wallace was a gem, and he was so blessed to have her. She was the reason he loved school, and she instilled a love for learning in him.



Besides, anyone who can immediately quiet fourteen hyper 5 & 6 year olds by holding up two fingers gets my utmost respect and admiration.



We celebrated the beginning of summer vacation by going to get ice cream after I picked Drew up from school.









Bella, on the other hand, did not think getting ice cream was such a great time. She was awake the whole time we were inside eating our ice cream, and then proceeded to scream the entire fifteen minute ride home.


I can just tell this will be a peaceful, quiet summer.



What did the boys do on their first full day of vacation? They decided it would be fun to get up at 6:15 in the morning.



Seriously, boys. Give your mother a break!



They now have a clock in their rooms, with strict instructions to stay in bed until the first number is a 7. You guessed it, the last few mornings it's been 7:01 when two smiling boys come bounding the stairs.



Sigh.



I better just resign myself to the fact that this summer will not be filled with lazy mornings spent sleeping in.



Here's to summer vacation and early mornings!

While We're Waiting...

Nope, no baby yet.


Does it help that I have contractions all. the. time. or that I haven't been able to sleep more than 3 hours a night?


See, it's just like having a newborn around here-minus the cuteness, crying, feeding, and oh yeah-a real, live baby.


Patience...it's not a strong suit of mine lately.




So...here are some pictures of what we've been doing the last few days.



Drew had his first Tball game.





It was about 50 degrees and windy that night, but the cold weather didn't seem to stop the fun for the five and six year olds.



I love Tball!

Where else can you watch as the entire team runs to the outfield for one lone ball or see numerous players playing in the dirt?



Poor Alex has been rained out the last two Monday nights he's had games. He's convinced that he'll NEVER get to play Tball like his older brother.



I can only imagine how entertaining a team of ten three year olds will be.



The weather in our area was BEAUTIFUL this weekend, so I decided to rush the season a bit and get out the "little" pool for the kids. (Keri, Craig completely agrees with you about the warm weather!)

They loved it, but kept asking why we can't just uncover the "big" pool and go swimming in there.

Umm...probably because it's about twenty degrees in the water and your mother has funny ideas about her kids turning blue and getting frostbite.

Once they figured out they could still have water fights, they both decided the "little" pool wasn't all bad.

Which of course, inevitably leads to someone crying, lots of "it's not fair" and finally the famous "I'm not playing with you ever again."

Right.

Saturday night we decided to have a special family night with the boys, since we'll never be a family of just the four of us again. (Well, eventually we won't).

We took the kids miniature golfing and then went to their favorite restaurant Hot Rod City.

They have lots of automobile memorabilia and old cars that the boys love. The food is mediocre and you definitely pay for the atmosphere, but that's a completely different story.

Of course we would have picked the evening when they had a live Elvis impersonator performing a show the entire time we were there. To say it was loud would be an understatement.

Every time he would start another song Drew would put his head in his hands and cover his ears.

I honestly can't say I blamed him.

No, Alex didn't fall asleep, he's trying to find his ball in the pipe (I think).



The true test of whether they had fun (even with the Elvis impersonator)? Both boys were asleep by the time we came home and didn't wake up till the next morning.

I wish I could say the same!

Picnics and Parks

The weather was beautiful in our area today. Nearly 70 degrees with NO clouds in the sky. Ahh springtime, I have a love/hate relationship with you.

I love you on days like today where you excite us with visions of flip-flops, capris, and ice cream cones.

Then, in a few days you'll mock us with temperatures barely reaching 45 degrees, requiring cozy socks, jackets, and a cup of hot chocolate.

Stay with me, people. There really is a point to this post. (I think).

My to-do list today consisted of things like vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, laundry, dusting. Yawn.

I just couldn't do it. The forecast was inviting, I was tired of sore, arthritic joints from cleaning, and have I mentioned I'm anxious to meet this baby?

I realize that last sentence had nothing to do with our plans for today, other than the fact that I'm tired and grumpy and very pregnant.

So the boys and I packed a picnic lunch (ok, let's be real: I packed some cookies and grapes, Subway did the rest), and spent the afternoon at the park.

Now of course, nothing ever goes as planned. The park was muddy, it was chilly and windy in the shade when we tried to eat, an older elementary class completely monopolized the playground when my boys were trying to play (I'm still bitter about that, they have their own playground equipment at the school), and of course somebody always ends up getting hurt.

But you know what? All of that still didn't seem to matter in the end. Both boys keep telling me what a fun day they had, and both have asked me when we can do it again.

One of the best parts for me? I even got to read a whole chapter in a book while the kids were playing AND I got a sunburn.

It's the little things in life. I didn't get very many pictures, because, well, I was trying to read my book. Thankyouverymuch.

Before I show you the few pictures I did get, I need to point out that really Alex does have a whole closet full of clothes and shirts. I think I've mentioned before that little Alex is quite particular in what he wears. In fact, currently, I think we have about five shirts that are deemed acceptable to him, and three of them are tank tops. (How in the world he found the box with the summer clothes in them I'll never know).

So, the pictures of Alex are of him wearing Drew's old Tball shirt again. I think that orange shirt is IN EVERY PICTURE I HAVE OF HIM. The good news is Alex's Tball games start next week, and he'll get his very own shirt and hat. Can we all just say a little prayer that he is not on the orange team?

"Really, Mommy? Another Picture? I'm trying to eat my cookie!"

"If only Mommy bought me more clothes, I wouldn't have to wear this shirt again..."

What would a picnic be without ice cream on the way home? Alex ate his whole bowl in about 4.2 seconds and promptly fell asleep for the rest of the drive.

Ahh, parks, picnics, ice cream and naps. Now that makes for a very good day.

Monster Trucks & Bob The Builder

I've been wanting to post these pictures for about two months now...better late than never, right?


This winter (besides looking for fun things to do with the kids), I wanted to do something special with each child before the new baby comes. For Drew, this was a no-brainer. He's been talking about going to the monster truck show since he went last year.

Guess who got two tickets in his stocking at Christmastime for monster jam?! Yes, I said TWO. Alex doesn't like shows with lots of loud noise and I was more than happy to let this be a special daddy/Drew event. Monster trucks, crushing cars, extreme bikes: Wow. That's a lot of testosterone.

Here are some pics of their night. (Notice I really don't have any of the two people who actually WENT to the show. Maybe mommy should have gone along).

Oh wait, I have ONE picture. Don't they just look excited beyond belief to be at a monster truck show?

Apparently, Grave Digger and Bounty Hunter were the big hits. Drew's favorite part was "when Grave Digger crushed old cars. Whoo-hoo!"



Wow. Maybe I will go next year. Maybe. Probably not.



Alex's special time was a Bob the Builder Show. I heard about the show about three days before the event. Surprisingly, I found tickets online in the fourth row. (I think it's because I only wanted two tickets together).



I had every intention of taking Alex, since Craig and Drew were going to a high school basketball game that night.



Who knew it would be the night of the biggest snow storm of the season? It happened to be the week after I fell on the ice at church (shudder), so I was still paranoid, PLUS the thought of driving an hour each way with bad road conditions was more than I was up for.



Thank goodness for Craig giving up the basketball game and sitting through a Bob the Builder show! (Although the basketball game ended up being canceled due to the snow). Still, I hear, he endured quite a bit of teasing at work. I'm sure all the teasing only helped develop character...Ahem.



Alex, had a great time, and still talks about it.

These pictures are blurry and difficult to see, because somebody forgot their camera in the car and only had his cell phone. (But it's really OK, because I did not have to brave the road conditions that night).

Now, back to the nursery. I think I'm almost ready for this baby! The nesting stage has kicked into high gear at the Yoder household.

I'll post pictures soon!