A Thief in the Grand Forest

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Well, to be honest the there were 5 thieves…and they were us! We found an albino caterpillar, who could resist taking that little guy home to live in the confines of the boy’s bug house. I’m guessing he/she will live at least until morning but we’re justifying the relocation because how long could an albino caterpillar live in the wild? Natural selection being what it is and all. I do have to say that it is very well loved here and he/she wouldn’t have felt that kind of love in the Grand Forest.

We’ve been pretty low key this week, just staying close to home and not doing too much of anything. Getting ready for school to start and trying to get a little more organized before that all happens.

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We tried…and we’re about 1/2 way through the dreaded trying on of fall clothes. The fun of living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest is that summer lasts for about 2 months and then the drizzle and gray skies settle in. I’m still hoping for a few more days of sun but we’ll see. We were hoping to finish trying on clothes and all today but we had total meltdown and decided naps were much more important. So we’ve got

Still trying to figure out Halloween costumes for the boys. They want to be pirates again but how boring is that? We’ll see, we just love Halloween and costumes and decorating and all so maybe we’ll come up with something the boys are excited about and us, too. Anyone have ideas for us? We’ve done Winnie the Pooh and Tigger (Trey wasn’t born yet), then Spiderman, Superman and Batman then Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2 and last year was Pirates.

Visting the Cousins

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Packed up the boys and headed down to Hoquiam last night to see Linda, Scott and the girls. Despite the holiday weekend we made decent time and the kids got to play with their cousins before bedtime. It’s always fun to go see Linda and Scott, plenty of laughs and good conversation and the kids just adore their cousins.
We got up this morning and got ready for a family reunion, Dee’s mom’s side of the family. There were relatives she hadn’t seen in 10+ years! I was nervous, as they didn’t know about our family and Hoquiam is basically full of “McCain for President” billboards and they don’t necessarily embrace our unique situation. It all went well, I’m sure there were many whispering to eachother but nobody seemed to have a problem. Good thing because we would have high tailed it out of Dodge.
We made a stop at the cemetary on the way out of town so Dee could see her mom’s grave site. The coolest thing happened, there was a deer sitting right next to it, probably 10 feet away, just watching. Levi kept asking what all of the gravestones were, they all think that when people die they go live on the moon and watch over us, and I tried to explain that it was where people remember their loved ones. Death is such a tough thing to explain…
The boys were tired after the trip but we had free tickets to the Tacoma Rainiers game tonight (that we won at a foster parent appreciation dinner). We made it through 3 innings before we packed up and called it quits. It was just too much for them, nobody was watching the game and it’s no fun trying to keep 3 tired kids entertained at a ballgame when they aren’t interested. While we were leaving, after many warnings to behave, Carlos was crying and saying he didn’t want to leave and Levi and Trey were following his lead. I was happy to get in the van and have the dvd player to distract them from leaving the stadium.
Great trip, even if it was short but glad to be back home. I hate to admit it but I’m thinking that summer may be gone for good. Since school is just around the corner, we’re going to get out the bin of fall clothes and start trying them on.

Brotherly Love

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The sleep study is over and that’s one more thing we can check off the big ol “To Do” list. I feel like it was last night…I’m wiped out!
It was nice to spend some time with Carlos, he slept better that night than he has in a long time, go figure. I thought I would stay up late and watch a grown-up movie but he was restless so I just rested with him and then watched a little tv before dozing off. The hard part about a sleep study is that they are coming in every so often to do something, reattach wires, add more wires, put him on his back, etc, etc. So just as I would get to sleep the tech guy would come in and I’d be awake again. Let me tell you, after that night the 5:45am wake up call came early. We went out for a nice breakfast and got back home. I really missed Dee, Levi and Trey…even in that short overnight period of time.
We’re trying to get our house in order so it looks like a total bomb went off. The end result should be much more functional so then I’ll be happy but I’m NOT good with the mess that is our house right now. Time to zero in on one project at a time and get things done, otherwise it’s overwhelming.
Carlos got a rude awakening today…he was acting out (you’re shocked, I know!) and I told him that if he didn’t pull it together he would go to Carolyn’s. She’s a no b.s. kind of gal and doesn’t put up with his garbage. Truth is, he really does like her but the bottom line is that he wants to be with mama, no matter what. So he was acting up this morning and I put him in the Naughty Spot and he actually had the nerve to come out of the Naughty Spot and stomp my foot. Bad move, dude. I called Carolyn and he is over there now for some attitude readjustment time. I think it’ll help. I hated to leave him so upset but he did it to himself. I called over there and he’s steaming mad, hasn’t gotten up off the couch the whole time he’s been there.
Parenting advice from a novice parent….ya gotta follow through, it really does pay off!
Found these fun shots of the boys to share….sometimes they really do just love eachother (and then someone goes and pinches or hits and then it’s war).

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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Wish us luck, Children’s Hospital just had a cancellation so Carlos and I are headed over to the sleep clinic tonight for his sleep study.
It’ll be nice to have some one on one time with Carlos and I’m sure he’ll do just fine. I’m bringing the laptop so I can blog (I’m sure I won’t be sleeping well) and maybe watch a movie or something after he’s gone to sleep. Stay tuned!

Planning Ahead

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I always feel better about things when I have a few meals prepared in the freezer for those busy days that dinner seems to sneak up on me. We’ve been on the go all summer and the boys haven’t been eating all the much with the hot weather and all so I haven’t kept up on keeping the freezer stocked. Tonight I made 3 rigatonis (my favorite), BBQ pork chops and Honey Ginger Pork Chops and they are waiting patiently in the freezer to be used up. I feel better about the school year starting already.
We’ve also been working a little on getting the office area cleaned up and useable…and getting some of the clutter out of the house.
Another project no accomplished was the dreaded “try on all the boys shoes” and getting rid of ones they don’t wear and ones that are too small. If you know me, you know I can’t pass up a deal on boy’s shoes. But you all will be impressed…Levi is down to 8 pairs, Carlos is at 12 pairs (hey, hey…he gets all the hand me downs!) and Trey is down to 5 pairs. I’m doing WAY better on not buying them more shoes, they have plenty.
It’s a good feeling to get things done, guess this dreary wet weather makes us slow down and catch up with life.