A Week in Review (January 19-25)

A Week in Review (January 19-25)

Watched: The Baylor v KU game on my own because my boys were lucky enough to be there too. They got stuck behind too tall people and so they watched most of it on the video board, but Jack got to experience the Allen Fieldhouse atmosphere again. He even waited and got a ball signed by several of players. 

Read: I finished up Losing Hope (Hopeless, #2). My basic review, if you liked Hopeless (Hopeless, #1), than you should pick this one up too.  I am about halfway through The Sweet By and By, which was given to me by my boss for a read at Christmas. I need to leave a detailed review so I can reference it when we are all ready to discuss it. 

Listened: To the horn sound a little too long at Jack's game. Turns out the clock operator didn't realize she needed to turn it off at the end of the period. Wait that clock operator was me :) I guess the just ask for random volunteers to run it.  It really wasn't too bad after you got used to it. Much easier than games where they keep score!

Made: Too many plans for Thursday.  After work, I had to drive home 30 minutes, get some stuff from another mom for Jack's school project, run to the UPS store, cook dinner, make up a guessing game for a baby shower game, get my food to a Bunco friend since I was going to be late, go to Jack's reading night at his school, and run to Bunco. Phew!  But I made it to all the events and everything was a good time. 

Felt: Frustrated at myself for letting someone from my past get my goat this Saturday. It took a couple hours of my time before I was able to formulate a plan of action and move on.  I know that some bystanders will be affected by my decision, but I had to do what was best for my mental health. 

Planned: Lots of meals for at home that didn't get eaten because our week got sucked up with other plans. Nick found out that his favorite restaurant, Fogo De Chao, was participating in KC's restaurant week and so Jack and I joined him for dinner there on Tuesday. Not exactly my cup of tea, but now I can understand what he is talking about. 

Loved: Celebrating a dear friend's 40th with her. We went out to a murder mystery dinner and she ended up being the murderess. We also went out for drinks with a smaller group afterward. Lots of fun!

Here are the pics for the week:

The birthday girl and her hubby. 

In this picture, Jack has the ball at the top of the key. 

He likes to play the point and was really acting like a floor general towards the end of the game. 

A Week in Review (January 12-19)

A Week in Review (January 12-18)

Watched: Jack get his promotion to green belt in karate. I am not sure which Sensei he will choose for his Spring Semester, but he loves it. As you can see by the pictures, Sensei John has several students. Jack is the man in the yellow belt in the front row of my pictures.  He is really enjoying the deeper combinations that come with the higher belts.

Read: Just about 2/3 of Losing Hope (Hopeless, #2). I am sure that I will have a review for you next week. It's been an easy read since I already know the plot from the previous book. 

Listened: To a new (I think or at least it's new-to-me) radio station. It's called 99.7 The Point and they play such a wide variety of music that I enjoy it.  If you are looking for something different, give it a try. 

Made: Jack two football cakes for his birthday party. They turned out exactly how he wanted and so I was pretty proud of them. Nick helped me too, so it was fun to share that experience with him.

Felt: So loved and grateful for my friends and family. They did an awesome job of stepping up and helping out with Jack's party.  I looked up from saying goodbye to the guest and they had swept, packed up the presents, cleaned the tables, put away the chairs, packed up the cake. Seriously, I don't think it gets better then that. So much love goes out to them.

Planned: For there to be more events and order to Jack's party. Nick knew it wouldn't happen and he was right. There were kids who just couldn't handle the game and kids who just didn't want to play, but overall, I think everyone had a great time.  Jack said it was all awesome and he is who I did it for. As he gets older, I think I'll be shooting for more venues like Laser Tag, Skating, Swimming, Etc. :)

Loved: Being able to give Jack a "YES" day for his birthday. We started the morning off with a Captian Crunch Breakfast, went to school wear he took sugar cookies with aqua blue icing with fish sprinkles for the teachers and a snack mix of 6 different things for his classmates, followed by a PB&J  and Mint Oreo Blizzard lunch, swimming, present opening, dinner at Mongolian BBQ, a carousel ride at the mall, a sugar cookie cake decorated in colors he chose, a stop by the Lego store where he spent some of his birthday money, basketball practice, a Skyped conversation where we actually got to see Tio and Aunt Jess, played Pit on Your Neighbor (a reverse game of the one we usually play), and fell asleep in my spot on the bed after some books.  All in all, I would say he had a fabulous day.

Here are the pics for the week:

I didn't get one great shot of him on his birthday, but here they are anyway. 

Struggling with the mountain of packing tape, hence the face 

Here is the great pic I got of him from Portrait Innovations, a day after his 6th birthday. 

Birthday Party Pics:

Notice the candle change?  We lost the green candle to a football accident. Somehow we got lucky enough that it didn't damage the cake. Just broke the candle!

A Week in Review (January 5-11)

A Week in Review (January 5-11)

Watched: Jack's first basketball game.  It was hilarious. He looked nothing like the kid at practice.  There was lots of side line coaching from parents that drove Nick nuts.  I do think that there was just too much for the kids on the court.  Hopefully we see an improvement next week!  

Read: I finished up Never Let Me Go. So it is clear to me that the Man Booker panelists would not have the same taste in literature. This is my second attempt at either a winner or a finalist. Neither were books that I enjoyed. While I thought this book had a good premise, I kept waiting for it to take me somewhere that it never did. I'm surprised that this was made into a movie and one that rates so well with internet reviewers. Maybe they added in a bit more... Guess I'll have to add it to my To-Watch list and see.  Next, I am starting on Losing Hope (Hopeless, #2). It is the same story line as Hopeless (Hopeless, #1), only told from a different point of view. 

Listened: To a bit of an audio book again. I was only able to finish because of the pages I was able to mark off driving too and from work this week. 

Made: More new Pinterest recipes.  One was for a ham and cheese baked sandwich.  It was a miss at our house. The second one was a corn dip and it was a big winner with the poker crowd.  Simple and yummy. I can see it being a go to dip for me!  I made it by mixing a half packet of ranch dressing mix with a 1/2 cup of each sour cream and mayo. Next, I added in two 12oz cans of Fiesta Corn (corn with bell peppers in it). Lastly, I added in about a cup of shredded sharp cheese.  If you wanted to spice it up you could easily add something liked pepper, green chiles, or diced jalapeños.

Felt: Excited to actually do well at poker. My friend, Stacy, invited me out to her neighborhood gathering. Usually I just go, eat some good snacks, and play for a bit until my luck runs dry. However, this time I managed to make it into the top 3. I should have gotten 2nd at least, but one guy had all luck and beat me with worse pocket card twice in a row.  But that's the nature of the beast.

Planned: Out various activities leading up to Jack's birthday next Wednesday. So much to do so little time. I thought about writing my to-do list here, but then I decided that no one would really about the details. Just know that next week's post will be birthday heavy!

Loved: That my husband volunteered to take Jack to karate practice on his own on Thursday. Generally, we do this together and have some time to talk. However, after working all week, it felt so nice just to veg for a couple hours. I am even more in awe of full time working moms!  Not sure how you ladies get it all done, but you rock it!

Here are the pics for the week:

A funny photo from Nick's Christmas party. Funny because this was last call for the drink tickets and Nick had somehow managed to double his number of tickets. You will notice that he was generous enough to share. Secondly, I guess someone lied to the kid in the middle. It was business casual and someone told him it was totally casual. I guess this was funnier because he normally dresses to the 9's at work. And lastly, that chick just snuck herself in the photo in the last minute. It was kind of funny too. All were much better than the play that was showing!  Thank goodness for the good food!

The next two are of Jack's game.  When I was clapping I managed to turn on some funky filter. And, of course, those would be my two best shots. He played the point (or what they have of it) often that game, which you see in the first shot. I like the 2nd shot because it's him getting back on D. 

A Week in Review (Dec 29-Jan 4)

A Week in Review (Dec 29-Jan 4)

Watched: Got all caught up on my Days of Our Lives. Sometimes I wonder why I continue to watch it, but then I realize how much I love the mindlessness of it all.  It's a nice form of escape that doesn't involve a book :)

Read: I actually finished up two books and started on a third.  The first one was The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism.  I put this book on my To Be Read list after it was featured on The Daily Show. It is insightful look into one child with autism. While the author often speaks with generalities, I think that still many things can be gained from reading it. For me, seeing how many thoughts could be processed by someone so unable to communicate them was amazing. How frustrating of an experience would that be? One reviewer called this a Rosetta Stone for your vision of what it is to be human and I couldn't agree more. Well worth your time to pick up this book which is styled like a long interview.  Next, I finished Orphan Train.  I really enjoyed this quick read. It opened my eyes to an entire section of US History that I had never thought about. I did like the feel good option of it all, even though it was pretty formulaic. I was definitely more connected to the past than I was the future. Good read for historical fiction fans.  The next book I chose was Never Let Me Go.  Not sure what to think of it yet.

Listened: To a sales person give me a much higher total than I thought possible for my eyeglasses. Luckily I can usually get two years out of a pair since I buy the higher quality. Sticker shock still got me. Looking forward to seeing the final product when they come in.  

Made: Another winning new recipe. It is so yummy. I used one can of diced chicken and that was enough for 4 good sizes burritos so perfect for 2 people. As you most likely know, Nick won't eat chicken so we saved a little ground beef out for his and he loved it as well.  So if you are looking for something to change up for you dinner plans, I highly recommend the following recipe.  http://richestoragsbydori.blogspot.com/2013/01/green-chile-and-pepper-jack-chicken.html?m=1

Felt: Like a CLUTZ. Not once, but twice, this week I fell down the stairs. The first time I tripped on something left in the middle. I pulled a shin muscle and bruised my butt something fierce. On Friday, I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I think I stepped wrong on the stairs and twisted my ankle. In attempting to recover from that, I caused a mid foot sprain on the other foot.  It was pretty ugly, but I set around for 2 days keeping it elevated and I think it won't be giving me any troubles. 

Planned: My lessons for January. It is so hard for me to believe that we will be back into routine of school next week. We have really fallen off the bandwagon and I'm nervous about us getting back on.

Loved: Celebrating the New Year with our friend's, The Beane's.  They hosted a fabulous party and everyone had a great time.  Minute to Win It Games make time fly by so quickly!

Here are the pics for the week:

A New Year's Collage

My fancy new bulletin board from my mom. Nick hopes it keeps things off the side of the fridge. 

One of the most awesome Christmas cards I've ever been given.  And it was even drawn by a Husker. 

A Week in Review (December 22-28)

A Week in Review (December 22-28)

Watched: Finally watched the movie 42.  Jack spent the movie appalled that they would treat a man just like that because of the color of his skin. He couldn't believe the way people talked to him. I can hope that these same movies will be made about gay rights. I am not a vocal supporter, but I saw myself more like the random part of the movie where a man approaches Jackie and Ray and let's him know he's pulling for them.  I often wonder if that's doing enough. 

Read: I finished up Hopeless (Hopeless, #1). I was really expecting to be blown away because so many of my Goodreads Friends had given it 5 stars. While I admit that I was sucked right into the story, the writing left something to be desired. The way she wrote the conversations between 5-6 year olds was pretty ridiculous. Also I felt that everything was too interconnected. I know we live a small world, but this was a bit much for me. I will still have to read the second book in the series.  Then I started The Last Song.  I expected it to last me through the new year, but I finished it up quickly.  This book followed your typical Nicholas Sparks formula, I was still quickly drawn in by the characters and the story line. Everything gets wrapped up in a nice little package and leaves you feeling satisfied. If you are looking for a speedy little read, this is for you.  I am not sure what I will pick up

Listened: To Jack ask if we were there yet when we were heading through the park to the light display at Longview Lake. While we really enjoyed it, I don't think we will go back yearly. It seems like a good event once every 5 years so.

Made: Christmas cookies with the whole family.  Jack picked out the shapes, Poppa rolled the dough, and everyone but Nick iced them (we left him in charge of pictures). I think Jack's favorite part was icing them. He had so much fun mixing the colors and dumping on all the varied sprinkles. The cookies look horrible, but I love everyone of them. 

Felt: Excitement to see Jack open all of his gifts. I came to learn that he is not the over-the-top screamer type. He had lots of big smiles and was pleased that he got everything, but there weren't any too outrageous outbursts.

Planned: A delicious menu for the week of Christmas. We had a Mexican, took the family to BD's before the lights at Longview Lake, made baked fish with some yummy Parmesan basil orzo, had our traditional Christmas Eve pizza, and Christmas Dinner consisted of: Prime Rib, Rolls, Parmsean Cilantro Corn, and Strawberry Banana Jello.  It was quite delicious.

Loved: Celebrating Christmas with our families. My family was able to be here for Christmas proper and then we went down and exchanged presents with the cousins and Grandma Denise and Papa Lee. Lots of fun was had by all.  It will be hard to readjust to just the three of us!

Here are the pics for the week:

This made us think of Aunt Valerie because she loves Nascar. 

Aren't those beautiful???

A break from present opening to play some Notre Dame checkers in a Power Rangers suit. 

Family presents cleaned up and Santa's presents under the tree. 

A sleepy boy examining his stocking

Attacking Dad with our new family set of Nerf guns 

Opening up his present from Grandma Denise and Papa Lee. 

The room was very quiet, so I opened the door expecting to find something interesting, but this was all I got. 

But good times were clearly abound since this scrape came sometime. 

A Week in Review (December 15-21)

A Week in Review (December 15-21)

Watched: Jack do a little Christmas performance. He hasn't really done anything like this before and I could tell that he was pretty shy. It's not the greatest video, but you can watch it HERE. 

Read: I finally finished up We Are Water. It took me 5 weeks to read this book. That is incredibly long for me. Unlike the rest of the author's books, I wasn't hooked almost immediately. The book really picked up for me just a little over half way into it. There are some chapters that I would have preferred not to read, as they took me to a place that I generally try to stay away from. If you are a Wally Lamb fan, I'd highly recommend it. If you are a person looking to discover the way we are threaded together, I'd recommend it to you too. Hopefully you'll be speedier than me! I started a new book Hopeless (Hopeless, #1). I am not even sure how it got on my holds list. Hopefully it's something I enjoy. 

Listened: To Jack talk his Grandma's ear off.  They have such an awesome relationship. I am so blessed that Jack has so many awesome grandparents who take the time to make relationships with him. 

Made: A yummy blueberry cobbler.  In THIS post, I mention the delicious and so easy apple cobbler, I found for our Fall Fun Day. Since I love blueberries, I thought I would try substituting blueberry pie filling for the apples. I did and it tasted great. The one drawback was that the blueberries were not heavy enough to support the topping and so it fell into the goop making it not the prettiest dessert. 

Felt: That we are unbelievably unlucky when it comes to illness this year. We almost never get sick and this year seem to be getting everything!  Sunday I came down with a stomach virus that wouldn't allow me to keep anything on my stomach. It was coming in one end or out the other. Wednesday, Jack came down with a milder version. At least it passed for him in about 10 hours, but it's left his stomach feeling crampy. Poor thing!

Planned: On wonderful dinners for hosting when my mom and stepdad and here for Christmas. I am looking forward to making food for the crowd.  Let's hope the winter weather doesn't impact my dinner plans to see the lights at Longview Lake!

Loved: That my mom and stepdad were able to travel down here. With all the time Nick had to take off with his knee, he didn't really have the vacation time that is necessary for the 600 mile journey. Our house may be small, but it will be filled with an extra helping of love this season.

Here are the pics for the week:

My cute little Rudolph hamming it up before his song. 

This is Jack's teacher. We decorated her as a tree and each of the kids got to hang an ornament on her. She was a good sport it. The kids had a lot of fun. 

Here is her card and gift basket. I made the card by cutting out each students handprint.  We collected money for gift cards for her. She is a great teacher and I hope she enjoyed her gift. 

A Week in Review (December 8-14)

A Week in Review (December 8-14)

Watched: Jack really enjoy roller skating for the first time. Wilson and Company had a kid's party this year and decided to book the skating rink. While he spent the vast majority of the time playing the arcade games, he was getting a feel for his skates. Towards the end of the party, he decided he wanted to give the floor a shot. He did really well with the trainer and only fell a couple of times. It was nice because there were very few people out there so he didn't fear being run over.  He also loved seeing Santa and getting to chat his ear off. He made sure that he told of Connor's misbehavior.  It's a good thing Santa's have been clued into elves. ;)

Read:  I keep plugging away at We Are Water.  While I am enjoying the book, I still haven't gotten to that part where it just grabs me.  It wouldn't be so bad if I weren't racking up fines from the library and stopping others interested in reading it from doing so!

Listened: To a scene that perfectly encapsulated toddler-hood. We went to deliver a birthday present to Mr C for his birthday (which was on Thanksgiving) and he had just fallen asleep. So we had to wake him up and he was quite mad at us.  Once he realized that the package contained a ball, things were a bit better. And when he realized that he could play basketball super star, he was as happy as a clam. Such is life with a 2 year old!  You'll find a picture below. 

Made: More fun adventures for Connor. The one that was probably the most memorable was the candy cane skiing one.  I had seen the idea of Pinterest and thought it would be cute. I think the people who suggested that one, we one of the ones who also didn't off season surgery on their elf installing wire into his appendages. Nick helped me fashion something that ended up being okay, but getting there was pretty funny!

Felt: That I am the perfect mother for a boy because things just don't phase me and most I find funny. As you may or may not know, Jack prefers to spend his at home time sans clothing.  One day after he was done in the bathroom, he starts singing the words, I am a cottontail, as he walks down the stairs.  I ask him what he meant  and he turns around and shows me a wad up TP stuffed in between his butt cheeks sticking out like a tail. After laughing hard and asking for a pic so I could show his father, I did ask him to go flush it. While I do think you would also get a huge laugh out of the pic, I will refrain due to indecency of it. 

Planned: To go back to work full time for at least a the first full week of January.  My boss suffered a knee injury (maybe I'm bad luck for the knees this year!) and will be undergoing surgery over break.  However, she will need a bit longer to recover than possible.  I am so glad that I have some awesome support around me. What I am even more thankful is that we have decided that it works better for our family for me to a mostly stay at home mom and wife.  I love my days with Jack and I know he likes them too.  He's finally getting old enough to verbalize that he likes hanging out with me.

Loved: The movie We're the Millers. Both Nick and I were constant busting up. It definitely isn't a comedy for everyone because it's full of foul language and sexual and drug references.  It is in NO WAY family friendly.  All that being said, I would recommend it to 90% of people that I know. So if you watch it, I'd love to know your reaction.

Here are the pics for the week:

Jack telling Santa about Connor's naughty nights.