this doesn’t really count

I have been a major blog slacker. I know. And I feel guilty, I really do. Must be the Catholic in me. I feel like I should go to confession.

I have so many good excuses though as to why I have yet to blog about the major happenings like Connor's 7th birthday and Christmas, as well as the minor every day happenings. I need to update my background and my pics too. Ugh. I'm feeling overwhelmed just thinking about it.

I know this doesn't really count. It makes me feel like I did something though. I'm working my way back.

And here, I'm going to throw this random recent pic in too. Baby steps.

elf on the shelf

This is our first year with Elf on the Shelf and he’s proving to be fun for the kids…challenging for us. Click ‘He's actually a little creepy’ for the traditional story of Elf on the Shelf. The little guy needs to be moved every night and we’re running out of places due to, 1. I started too soon and, 2. we just don’t have enough shelves! Johnny, named by the kids (something that must be done because the book says so) has found himself in some interesting places lately.

His first spot that the kids picked

He really did not know what he was getting himself into when he came home with us

Johnny has actually screwed up twice and was in the same spot as the day before. Luckily, the kids have been accepting of our explanation. We told them that he must not have had anything to report to Santa that night. Simple. Johnny also had a close call when his magical powers were compromised by Camryn touching him. Connor and Emily were a little distraught but we quickly told them that the ‘do not touch him or he may lose his magic’ rule only applied if they did it on purpose to play with him or move him to another spot. Camryn was actually helping him off of the floor after he fell and that was okay. Magical powers intact. Phew!

i’ve got nothing better to do

This is what I do after the kids go to bed…

…organize and line up their stuffed television show characters.  Notice they are in show order.  For those of you not familiar, that would be ‘Yo Gabba Gabba’ (minus Muno and Foofa who may be on a date together somewhere else in the house), ‘The Backyardigans’, ‘Little Einsteins’ (minus Annie) and ‘Max and Ruby’, which is technically just Max because I couldn’t find Ruby.  I was a bit thrown off by that at first because, let’s face it, who’s Max really without his big sister Ruby?  She apparently is his guardian on the show since there are no parents.  She makes the rules, cooks the meals, does the laundry, plans Easter dinner, takes him trick-or-treating, gives him money for candy, bathes him, and puts him to bed.  I felt obligated to look for Ruby and then I realized, she’s probably looking after Annie from ‘Little Einsteins’ because she is also parent-less.  I guess it’s kind of like ‘Peanuts’ was when I was a kid.  No parents.  What’s with that?  It’s kind of weird when you think about it.  And ‘Scooby Doo’…they were kids too, and ‘Josie and the Pussycats’.  I mean both groups of teens traveled in vans, one getting themselves into dangerous situations and the other playing concerts.  No adults.  Come to think of it, the boys from ‘Different Strokes’ didn’t have real parents and neither did the girls from ‘The Facts of Life’.  What the hell has been going on with kids’ shows since the 70’s?

A totally random and unplanned post stemming from my slightly obsessive-compulsive need to organize and line-up my kids’ toys.  See, I’ve got nothing better to do. 

october events: school and halloween

I don’t know where October went. I really don’t. I posted four times in October and still didn’t cover everything that October had to offer. Here is what I missed:

Connor’s parent/teacher conference. It went really well. He excels academically, has good relationships with his classmates and follows the rules. I learned that he’s very organized (and saw the inside of his desk as proof). He keeps his things where they should be, and neatly. That’s my “everything has a place and there is a place for everything” in action. Love. It. And, he received Student of the Month. I’m very proud of him…he’s a wonderful little boy.Emily’s preschool pumpkin picking trip. This took place on October 5th, October 12th, October 19th October 21st. It was canceled three times due to rain! We were finally able to go on a beautiful day and Grandmom ended up being able to go because she happened to be visiting NJ for the week. Halloween school parades and trick-or-treating. I’ve had the kids’ costumes since August so I didn’t feel the rush of figuring out what they’re going to be and running around to several stores last minute as I have done in the past. It was easy this year because we went with Disney. Disney has a knack for making everything easier. Both Connor and Emily had school parades, thankfully on different days. They were excited to dress up with their classmates and march around and Camryn was happy to watch.

Above...Connor in his school parade and Daddy and the girls watching. Below...Emily marching in her school parade.

And last but not least, a picture of the kids right before trick-or-treating. This was the first year we all walked...no stroller, no wagon. They're getting older. Sigh.

our scarecrow

This is something I should have written about weeks ago but I’m such a blog slacker lately we did this month that was so much fun. We built our own scarecrow.

The build-your-own scarecrows from previous years are all over our town starting in late September. The kids love them. They scream “scarecrow!” each time we pass one driving through town. Literally. Scream. So when the build-your-own scarecrow day was here (the Saturday of our town Fall Festival) they were so excited that they were going to make their own scarecrow. I had to establish three simple rules first:

1. We’re only building one. Mommy only has 20 bucks to spend on straw and someone else’s used clothes donate to the rotary club.

2. Our scarecrow will be gender-neutral to keep the peace. The girls wanted to build a scarecrow lady and dress her in pink and purple with jewelry and a purse. Connor wanted a boy scarecrow with no pink and purple and definitely no accessories.

3. We need to work as a team. Connor…you pick the shirt. Emily…you pick the pants. Camryn…you pick the hat. Mommy won’t pick a thing and do her best not to care about any of your choices. The clothes do not need to match. The clothes do not need to match. (I had to repeat this to myself several times.)

Even the scarecrow had enough

e-a-g-l-e-s

This past Sunday I got to go to my first Eagles game in years, courtesy of my mom’s extra ticket, which was courtesy of my stepdad’s untimely gall bladder removal (sorry Paco).  The weather was perfect, traffic okay, parking not too bad and it was a win.  Can’t ask for much more than that. 

This was interesting

    View from the seats

Me ;)

Philadelphia and Citizen’s Bank Park (Let’s Go Phillies!)

Unfortunately the most memorable moment of the game was the hit that DeSean Jackson took.  As bad as it looked on t.v., it was ten times worse in person.  He didn’t move for what seemed like forever.  It was awful.

Jackson leaving the field

Kolb played great…got NFC Offensive Player of the Week.  Kind of ironic since Vick got NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September.  I’m wondering what Andy is going to do for their game against the Colts on November 7th and Vick is good-to-go.  Should be interesting.

jack-o-pie

Carl’s morning activity with the girls while Connor and I were at school/work.