Finally Friday

Made it through the first full week of second semester.  Did not get picked to serve on a jury.  Finally found the "good" Valentine's Day candy--Sweetarts.  They always put out the chocolate and the Brach's brand hearts (yuck) first.  And finally saw the fourth Twilight movie that came out in October.  Surprisingly it is still at the theater, and even more surprising... Lindsay and I weren't the only ones there!  Onto a Friday night of laundry and cleaning so we can head to KC bright and early for Owen's basketball tournament.

Pinterest #1

One of my goals for 2012 was to make some of the items I pin on pinterest.  This week I finished up a couple of things I had started and made a recipe for pizza casserole.  Here's the results...

e  formamas.blogspot.com

Pizza casserole--this isn't actually the one I made, but ours turned out pretty similar.  Less greasy because I used turkey pepperoni.  I'll add it to the permanent recipe book because it was EASY, made enough for 2+ nights, and the kids thought it was outstanding.  Especially Owen.  

presserfoot.blogspot.com

Anthropologie scarf knock off--I really liked the color and fabric of the knock off, but wasn't able to find any similar fabric here in town.  Instead I used some sheer leopard fabric since I can always use something animal print.  Very easy, fast, and fun too.  Would make again if I found fabric I loved.  

Boot socks--It seems like pretty much everyone on pinterest has these (or another color) socks pinned.  Would you pay $80?  Not this girl.  I stumbled across these purple, kind-of-hand-knit-looking socks at Target for $5.  Embellish a little (too lazy to make them exactly the same) and I think it's a pretty decent knock off.  Cheap for sure!  Total time = 5 minutes.  

"Jenny, I Got Your Number"

Actually make that Sierra.  Miles cracked me up when he gave me this piece of paper after school today.  When I asked him what it was for, he said that I was supposed to call Sierra because he was invited to a sleepover at her house tonight.  Sorry buddy, school night :)

Happy New Year!

No one in this house made it to midnight, but that's okay since the kids still manage to get up by 6:30 (on a sleep in day) even over the holiday break.   Do you make New Year's resolutions?  I find that if I write them down, I'm more accountable.  Probably because I like list and crossing things off.  I've given up the "drink less Diet Pepsi" resolution--it never works out.  Here are my 2012 resolutions/goals, notice that they are mostly measurable--must be the education world/SMART goal influence :)

1.  School--Finish revising all my units (first semester done) and decorate my new room.

2.  Fitness--Run five races (10K or longer) and incorporate other types of exercise to hopefully help my knee last longer :)  Already have Nashville booked for April, with a couple of others in mind.

4.  More organization in the kitchen--I love to organize anything, except for meals.  I hate planning what to eat as well as grocery shopping.  But I'm going to work on it.  Maybe if my planning is better it will make the shopping more bearable and less frequent.

5.  Pinterest--I've pinned a bunch of things, but what good does it do if I just "like it"?  Considering all of the recipes, tutorials and tips I've collected, I'm going to make myself make one thing each week.  Maybe I'll even post what I've tried.

6.  Date Night--We are so busy that it's very easy to let this slide.  Doesn't have to be just us, just no kids allowed.

The maybe's:  Might be the year to go short.... Or pierce my ears.... Or both?  I don't think I need goals related to the kids--we do a ton with them already and set reasonable limitations.  No home goals.  It's already cleaned and organized, complete with boxes ready for garage sale, Next-To-New or to pass along.  As for improvements, we are saving our money until we decide what our long term plans are.  Although we will have to buy a doorknob for the bathroom since we had to rip it off after the big boys locked Graham in the bathroom a few weeks ago.  Happy New Year everyone!  What are your resolutions?

           

18 Months

Graham has turned into quite the little talker here lately.  His favorite things to say are:  dog, cow, no, down, milk, more, trash.  He is also saying Owen (O), Miles (Mi) and Newman (sounds like mimi).  He thinks every animal that isn't a dog is a cow.  He loves to stomp his foot at people and make growling noises.  You can definitely tell he has two big brothers as he has NO interest in his own toys, only "real" toys like adult size basketballs.  Inside he prefers to sneak into the bathroom and get out other people's toothbrushes and suck on them, scour the house for pens and markers (that he now knows how to remove the lids, as you can see by the "vein" drawn on his temple in this picture), play with the computer keyboard, climb on furniture, and get into drawers and cupboards with the least toddler friendly items like blenders and ziploc bags.  As for "tricks" he can do--I already mentioned the growling, but he can also put his clothes in the laundry, point to his butt and say poop (after I tell him, but he's starting to do it himself too), and take items to the trash (learned this one from cousin Brody).  

Christmas #2

Santa managed to track the kids down in Atwood; I think he did a pretty good job this year!  It was a great four days spent with family.  The kids love time with the cousins.  The older kids are able to entertain themselves and they spent most of the time doing their thing (making messes) in the basement, coming up only to ask for more root beer.

 Graham got shoes from Mom and Dad, blocks, books and puzzles from family, and a glider bike (two wheels, no pedals) from Santa.  He's a couple of inches too short, but it will be perfect for spring.

Miles got clothes from us, books, reading light, legos and indoor putting green from family, and an iTouch from Santa.  He couldn't believe Santa would bring this to him!!

Ditto for Owen.  He LOVES this thing!  I'm glad Adam likes gadgety things like this so much--they've spent a lot of time setting things up, browsing the App store, etc.

 The babies have grown since the last "triplets" picture.

 The fur cousins enjoyed each other as well.  Jersey, Todd, and Newman ganging up on Uncle Rhett (who might be part dog :)

 Kids table at Christmas dinner.  And yes, my kids wear these sweatshirts everyday.

 Graham took his first four wheeler ride and kept asking for more rides.

 Seven cousins, mostly still dressed (Owen!) from church.

 Pretending to be sweet kids...

When really, this is more like it...

Snow

Atwood had quite a bit more snow than Manhattan--the kids were glad I remembered to pack their boots.  They made two or three trips outside (each day) to play in the snow.  I only have pictures of them sledding in the neighbors' backyard, but Adam also pulled the sleds on the four wheeler which they thought was great.

 The four "big" kids ready to check out the snow.

 I love Miles' expression here.  He was actually the best at sledding, of course, that annoyed Owen.

Bum Knee

Rewind to December 1994... knee scope to repair damage caused by a collision in a basketball game. The scope was a waste because I actually had a complete ACL tear (this injury was popular back in the day, or maybe that was just Lebo people) and had another surgery a few weeks later.  Basketball season?  Over in the second game of the season.  Fast forward to December 2011... same knee, same surgery, this time (fortunately) the scope was successful.  Apparently I had torn both the lateral and medial meniscus (I've included a nice picture for you to reference if you aren't familiar with the knee lingo).  How?  Not sure.  Too many years and miles of running?  

A week later and things are going well.  My follow up isn't until December 29th.  I'm sure he'll recommend that I find other ways to exercise, hopefully he doesn't pass that info. along to my physical therapist :)  In the meantime, I booked my flight for the Nashville Marathon in late April.  Who else is in??

PS:  Keely was my pre-op nurse at the Surgical Center--fabulous patient care, she should get a raise!

Christmas #1

Owen had a basketball tournament (second place) in Lenexa on Saturday, so we made a weekend out of it and had Christmas with my family as well.  

 Graham loves these balls from Aunt Nancy and Uncle Rolland.  He carries at least one of them everywhere and says, "ball" over and over and over...

 The boys with their cousin McKinley.  Next Christmas she will have a little sister to join the mix.

 Very excited to get Under Armor sweatshirts (and UA turtlenecks as well).  Now Owen doesn't have to wear his blue one EVERY day.  He can at least mix the green in a few days here and there. Thank you Grandma Jean and Grandpa Harlan!

 Boise State jersey and Texas hoodie were hits as well--thanks to Aunt Susan and Uncle Quint!

 Graham had fun playing in McKinley's kitchen--we don't have any girlie stuff here.

 Pumped to get Oregon jerseys from Aunt Nancy and Uncle Rolland.

Thanks everyone for the gifts--as you can tell clothes are popular at our house.  We are fortunate to be able to spend time with both sides of our families around the holidays.  On Friday we'll head to Atwood to attempt to drive Rosie crazy--seven cousins, 3+ dogs, 8 adults and new hardwood floors.... hmmm...

Hoop It Up

I took the big boys to Newton this weekend for Owen's first basketball tournament.  We ended up in the more advanced bracket and ran into some serious competition.  They lost on Saturday but battled back today and ended with a third place finish.  Very proud of Owen and his teammates for always playing hard and getting better each game.  Adam hated to miss but had his company Christmas party on Saturday night.  Grandpa Mike came to Manhattan to hang out with Graham.  I enjoyed the opportunity to have just the bigs.  

 Tenacious defense :)

 Third Grade Wildcats--great job!

Miles spent most of the gym time leached onto Diesel (another little brother).  They definitely got a workout in!

Hard Core

A little rain and cold doesn't keep these dudes inside!  This is either Oregon Ducks (Owen) vs. KSU (Miles) or Boise State (Owen) vs. Texas (Miles).  

Owen has started basketball practice (and games too, no pics yet since Graham was high maintenance at the first game).  For basketball, he has to wear his vest since he claims he can't shoot in his big coat.  Apparently the right glove throws him off too.