aiden's first time shooting

dave had an invite from our friends, the garcias, to take aiden shooting for the first time.  check out the garcia's blog to see some more pics from the shoot.  you can click on jen's blog to the right: growing up garcia.

aiden and ethan giving a thumbs up after a successful shoot. 

aiden's very first shot.  not too bad! (notice the fro: dave took him for a haircut on the way home!  what a great husband i have. )

brian garcia giving aiden the pointers. apparently, aiden took 3 shots on the table and then was allowed to shoot standing up.  he did very well!  makes me laugh as dave is more of a fisherman instead of a hunter.  

drew and i hung out today. just some mommy time at mcdonalds and then some errands. of course, buying a bakugan for a treat helped too!

school starts monday.  please be praying as we finish this second half of the school year.  we especially need to make some decisions regarding the sell of the house here in jupiter and then move up to port st. lucie.  

happy new year!  by the way, please email me at daveandamyc@yahoo.com with your addresses as i've lost my address book in the moves.  thanks! 

the tooth fairy is coming tonight!

how much does the tooth fairy pay at your house?  we'll decide that tonight (dave has some crazy idea to put $1.28 under his pillow. something from a veggie tales movie that the boys laugh about.... ), and i'm sure it won't be close to the $101 aiden is expecting! ha.

looks a little small for it to even cost a $1.  i, however, know that this is an important decision to make as each subsequent tooth will demand an equal payment or more. hmmmm, i only remember receiving a quarter for mine.

 some friends and i were discussing how squeemish dave and i are in pulling teeth. (we grilled out last night and had corn on the cob, thinking it might fall out then.  but it didn't... just bled, further adding to my nausea.)  i was about to have a friend hold the boy down when he came running to me after the service and announced that his tooth fell out.  

congrats aiden!  i feel like i've just arrived into a new stage of life.  my oldest is no longer a baby.  it's so exciting, but yet sad at the same time.  i know, there are so many other things in which to be thankful.  maybe it's just that i found a couple baby pictures the other day (as most pics are still in storage in cleveland.... arrrggghhh). 

anyway, a new era of loosing teeth.  i might still need my friends to uphold and sustain me.  dave's family can attest that i am not the best when one of my kids' bust a tooth.  unfortunately, we've had many events with drew and his teeth. 

and now i'm going to throw up.

tackling form

woohoo!  the last day of school for 2008 has come and gone.  the boys had their christmas program this morning.  what a wonderful time of angst and joy.  angst as i was desperately praying that drew would behave himself, and aiden would not knock down the background.  joy as dave and i laughed throughout the whole production.  the boys are truly funny when they perform.

aiden gave the kid next to him a 'thumbs up' after they recited their lines. 

drew hammed it up for his parents, commenting later, "but mom!  i didn't jump!  i didn't jump mom!"  he did everything BUT jump.  i should have counted how many adults made mention of my silly 4 year old, but then i would have been bored after 20....

***********

is it sad that i look forward to exam week?  

what's not to love? half days, students quiet as they desperately scribble down vague answers, half days, christmas joy, half days.... did i mention half days?

2 whole weeks of relaxation and trying to keep the boys entertained.  oh, i almost forgot about the highlight of our week: drew's behavior on wednesday.

drew had a COMPLETELY horrible day on wednesday, but i can't help but feel mildly responsible.  i mean, he did inherit my sin nature, especially my lack of patience and frustration that ensues from people's erratic behavior. let me explain:

we didn't arrive home until 10 p.m. on tuesday after band practice.  i was SO frustrated from the night, really frustrated at myself for my decreasing skill on the piano.  with my piano in storage in cleveland, i don't come close to practicing... EVER.  a bit frustrating to me as my dear, wonderful husband continues to take easy worship songs and mess with them to make new, "cooler" arrangements.  thus, my frustration increases. 

crashing in bed at 10:00, i knew the next day was going to be a little rough.  WE WILL BE ON TIME FOR SCHOOL.  i am a teacher after all.

so here's the run-down:

1. drew bit a kid who wouldn't give him a ball.  frustration.  i can relate.  he had a little talking from the principal and the nurse.... daddy would deal with him later that night.

2. i picked drew up from aftercare to find out that he had a rough time at lunch... or really HE was the one who was rough.  he pushed and was all around nasty.

3.  treasure box.  he took 2 treasures ***aghast**** and therefore, received none.  drew was NOT pleased.

4. after school.  he tackled a birthday girl, nonetheless, on the playground because he didn't want her to have the swing.  (i was somewhat tempted to ask the childcare worker if his form was ok on the tackle.... already thinking about a future in football or MMA.  i digress.)

so let's just say that drew had a nice, long nap at home.  daddy had his discipline moment and then a much better week.  drew did have to apologize to about 10 people the next day, but i would say it was a successful end to a very tough day.

i love you little man.  one day we will laugh hysterically over the things you did as a kid. 

thanksgiving, christmas and such

i love making gingerbread houses with the boys.  unfortunately, i'm not martha stewart (or dave's mom: she's a fantastic cook and decorator!) and therefore result to the gingerbread kits! ha.  we have fun every year making one.  this year's focused more on slapping the house together, taking the quick picture with my computer, and then tearing into it.  

the kids were hungry, what can i say?

although, this year's house was bit of a disappointment.  it tasted like trash, cardboard more specifically. dave and i both commented on the lack of taste... really only a hint of cinnamon at the very end.  

thanksgiving: we had a FABULOUS time with my side of the family and a short visit with dave's maternal grandparents.  my sisters were each in town with their growing families (excluding julie's eamon).  i loved seeing my nieces and nephew.  we even exchanged gifts between all the cousins.  the boys received a Wii from my parents, a total blast.  (they are playing it as i'm writing now!)

*** side note:  i was throwing out spelling words to the boys the other day.  aiden was practicing his school words and i was making up easy word for drew.  i asked drew how to spell "we."  

he said, "w...i...i."

uh....  what a brilliant kid i have!!! haha. ****

back to the family.  lisa now has 2 kids: jackson is 2 and ryan, my new niece, is 3 months.

ryan is a content baby and rarely cries unless jackson bites her. :) the boys had fun with jackson, romping around and ...being boys.

heather has micah, another niece, who is 7 months.  it was truly funny to see how micah would react to me.  she would normally become squirmy and reach for heather if other would hold her.  not with her aunt amy!  :) craig commented several times how genetics work in my favor.  that little girl would just look at me and snuggle in.  so sweet. 

i was passing craig and micah several times on sunday morning as i was getting ready for church.  i didn't notice until craig commented how micah would cry for me every time i passed her.  i can't help it... i love it.  i'm living vicariously through my sister until God blesses us with another baby!

as we gear up into the christmas season, we are praying that God continues to be a blessing to you and your family. if you are in the area, join us on Christmas Eve at Calvary Chapel Port St. Lucie. looking forward to celebrating Christ with the church and family.  have a great Christmas!   

stalker mom

i'm officially a stalker mom, defender of the defenseless (AKA: my boys).  dave previously wrote about the all-new craze of bakugan toys.  our boys have two: 1 each.  

well, yesterday i picked the kids up from school and discovered that aiden had snuck a bakugan to school, trading it for another.  only he didn't trade his....  he traded drew's.

 

i was not a happy camper.  aiden defended himself by saying, "but mom! i got one in return!!!" let me explain: earlier this week dave had to detail the concept of trading.  trading means giving and then RECEIVING a toy in return. 

so off i march to school with the boys in tow.  super mom to rescue drew's traded toy.  have we mentioned how the manufacturer is making a LOAD off of these toys?  every store is sold out, hence why the boys only have one bakugan each.  some of these kids at school have 10+.  it's completely crazy.

the child aiden traded with was still in aftercare, but no bakugan in sight.  he had already traded it with another boy.  ARGGGHHHH.

my two (count them: one, two...) planning periods were eaten up trying to unravel the trade.  but i prevailed.  :) (are you surprised?)  

drew has his toy.  aiden learned a lesson. mom is tired.  

**** gum update****

i have officially caught #50.  about 10 students are in the process of paying still.  some have payment plans. :)  what a great way to save for Christmas.  i could kiss the administrator who came up with this rule, but then that would be gross.

 

what did you just say?!?!?!

the comic timing on drew is just incredible.  i'm sitting at the computer, checking my facebook, and heard the funniest thing out of him.  as the boys grabbed a snack to tide them over until dave arrives home, drew announces, "pop tarts!  be healthy!!!"

is he really praying that God will change the molecular structure of his sugar-induced pop tart?

so funny.  all this with newly shaved heads. 

shhhh. don't tell my mom.  she just told my sister she couldn't wait to see how long the boys' hair was!  uhhhhh.....  hope everyone loves our Christmas picture we'll take at Thanksgiving!  

Oh were oh were have normal toys gone? Oh where oh where could they be?

Alright, for some reason I'm thinking about toys during my lunch break... My boys are into some new toys... Bakugans & Tech Deck Dudes. Yeah, you read it right... The Bakugan is a transforming toy that turns from some ninja character into a small ping pong size ball that can be shot from various proprietary firing mechanisms, much like a nerf ball... Transformers, old news. Ninja Turtles, a thing of the past. Spiderman, sometimes.... Football, occassionally. Bakagan... all the rage. Did I mention each toy comes with a trading card? A genius move combining Nerf like fun, Action Figure fun, & The Pokemon trading card thing = mega sales. I'll get my boys one or two just to boost their self esteem at school. For all you out there who think a bakugan is evil, I watched the smurfs & I became a pastor :).