243/365

Zach's Yearly Check-up
Today Zach and I voyaged out to the pediatrician's office for his yearly check-up. He is a healthy, thriving 3 year old! The doctor does want his eyes checked for some turning in, so she will be setting up an appointment with the pediatric opthamologist here in town.

He is still on the high end of the growth charts weighing in at 38 pounds and is now 39 inches tall (both in the 90th % of the chart).

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The New Republic High School

Construction on the new high school is coming right along. It has been fun driving by it throughout our time out here in Republic and watching the progress. It is certainly a large beautiful school! Construction is to be complete by Christmas so they will be able to move into it over the break.

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Tire Troubles

I am dealing with a slow leak in the front passenger side tire of my mini-van. Every other day or so I have to fill it up a bit so the tire sensory isn't flashing messages at me. I've also gotten in the habit of carrying John's cordless air pump with me all the time so I don't have to stop by a gas station to fill it with some more air. Eventually I will get around to getting it fixed!

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Happy Birthday, Zach!!

I can't believe my baby is already 3! What a great little guy he is becoming. He has such a big heart and usually a huge smile for everyone. And man is he a daredevil! This child certainly keeps me on my toes. You just never know what you will find him in (or climbed up on) next!! lol I love you little man!!

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A beautiful sunrise. With school now in full swing, I am getting to quite a few of these now :)



****Ok, I am going to attempt on doing some catching up here! (since it is 12/6/09 today - UGH). Since I am so far behind on posting the pictures, I'm not sure how far I will make it. Man this year sure has flown past me!!****

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Halloween Costumes are Here!!
The boys were so excited to see their Halloween costumes had arrived today. And of course they had to try them on right then. :) They each picked out what they wanted to be this year (despite suggestions from Mommy...those days are gone it appears). Zach is going to be Larry Boy (from the Veggie Tale cartoons...need to still pick up a black long-sleeved T and pants to complete the outfit). Drew is a Star Wars X-Wing fighter pilot - according to him not just any pilot, but X-Wing Luke (need to find some black shoes for him still). I spent a little more on the costumes this year, but boys can't wait to be able to dress up in them after Halloween whenever they want...so hopefully they will get a little more use out of them.

237/365

Netflix from Alaska!!
The boys have been wanting to see a Little Cars movie all summer. And while it was at the top of my list most of that time, we had yet to receive it...always said "long wait". I was notified last week from Netflix that they were sending it from another location (other than our usual Springfield...and occasional Tulsa deliveries). I was pretty surprised to see it arrived all the way from Anchorage :)

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Uh-Oh...
Not the thing number I like to see show up on my phone! While Zach & I were having lunch with Angela & Addison, I received a call from Drew's teacher. NOT a good day for him. Looks like he is struggling with the same old things...emotional control. *sigh* Let the stress begin!! ;)

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Runny Nosed Kid
We thought Zach has been fighting a cold of the past week or so, but are now wondering if it might be allergies. His nose is running CONSTANTLY!! Poor kiddo.

234/365

New Telescope!
John and Drew pooled birthday money they had received to purchase a nice telescope on-line last week. They finally got a chance to try it out!!

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My Little Houdini!
What a STRESSFUL day!!
After dropping Drew off at school this morning, I came home and immediately began working to clean up the house before our friends arrived later in the evening. I started off with cleaning the basement bathroom and Zach followed me downstairs to play in the toy room. Next I headed upstairs to work on tackling the Master Bathroom, not giving a second thought to Zach being downstairs alone. When I was walking back from the kitchen with a new trash bag, the doorbell rang. I could see a lady with some children on the front porch as I approached the door. Upon opening the door, I believe I just stood and stared. There stood Zach in just his pull-up and polo shirt and of course a snotty nose (currently has a cold) and leftovers around his mouth from his snack! The lady introduced herself as the neighbor 2 doors down (one I had yet to meet) and said she believed I had an escapee! I could not tell you what we said to each other since my heart was beating a mile a minute and my mind was already going through all the "what ifs"!! On top of those things I was wracking my brain with how he had gotten outside in the first place. I had had to unlock the front door...the neighbor said she believed he had came out the basement since she had found him at her back door. She said he was standing at their door knocking and saying "Let me in!" - probably wanting to come in and play with the toys in their basement and their little girl. I kept thinking it wasn't possible he had gotten out the basement, we have a piece of wood edged in the track of the sliding door which I usually have a hard time getting out to open the door. When I went downstairs, sure enough, the wood was out of the door and the door was unlocked! CRAZY kid can get out of/into anything!! UNBELIEVABLE!!

I spent the rest of the afternoon shacking and crying off and on with the horrible thoughts of the "what ifs" and repremanding myself for being a horrible mother and not keeping a closer eye on him. I also turned our security system back the monitor mode so it dings every time a door is opened (annoying but at least I will know when he opens a door now), and purchased a shower tension rod to put at the top of the sliding door until we can figure out a better way to lock it.

*******
In other news, since it was Friday, we received our 1st weekly report from Drew's Kindergarten teacher regarding how his week had gone. Somethings he needs to work on - but looking good so far!!

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PCBC Ladies Salad Supper
This evening John arrive home early and informed me I was going to the Ladies Salad Supper at church...no excuses allowed. This stressed me more than a little bit since firstly, I had not prepared any salad to take with me! Secondly, we are having company over tomorrow and I have yet to do much cleaning around the house!! With John pretty much pushing me out the door, I went reluctantly, and ended up having a nice time. Then when I returned home, I found the kitchen straightened and the floors cleaned. What a nice surprise!

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Time to Wrestle
As the boys get older, it is becoming more and more common to find them in this situation. They LOVE to wrestle each other! The problem being that it usually ends with one of them getting too rough and the other one crying. Oh, life with boys!

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1st Day of Kindergarten
Today was Drew's 1st day of Kindergarten!! He started of his day with pancakes for breakfast - placed on the plate w/syrup to make a smiley face (which he got a kick out of). Then it was time to get dressed in his new outfit - complete with Transformer tennis shoes - and have Mommy take some pictures. ;) Finally it was time to pile in the van and head off to school...a normal 5-10 min drive took over 25min with all the 1st day traffic. It was CRAZY!! We arrived just before 8am and all walked him to his room. Because we were later arriving, a majority of the kids were already there. Drew walked right in and never looked back. Although I couldn't tell if he was just tired or possibly a little overwhelmed....as he stood for awhile after we arrive just looking around. I thought it was really sweet that one of his preschool teachers even came over to say hello. All in all I think it was a successful 1st day!! And I even kept it all together...aside from a couple times of getting misty eyed. ;)

229/365

Under Contract!!
We FINALLY have a contract on our old house!!! WOOHOOO!!! It is set to close on Sept 18th. PLEASE pray that everything goes as planned and it actually happens - since it is contingent on them selling their house...and ours passing inspection. :)

228/365

Sausage - Egg- Cheese Breakfast Casserole
A favorite of John's is my mom's Sausage, Egg& Cheese Breakfast Casserole. Whenever we have company it is an easy thing to fix.

Recipe:
2 lbs Sausage
2 cans (12-13oz) Evaporated Milk
12 eggs
4 slices of Bread - cut into small cubes
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Prepare the evening before:
Cook & drain sausage (I usually dab it with a paper towel to remove as much grease as possible).
Beat eggs and milk slightly.
Pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish, add sausage, bread cubes and cheese.
Refrigerate over night

Next morning:
Bake at 350 degrees for an hour uncovered. (Cook a little longer if not done - should be starting to slightly brown on top)
Let set for a few minutes before serving.

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Zach's Bday Party
Today was the boys' birthday party with family - we actually call it Zach's party, but also include Drew since it is with family. Because of things going on for everyone, the only ones that were able to make it were my parents and John's dad & step-mom. Despite the small size, we had a great time visiting and of course the boys had a blast opening all their presents. :)

226/365

Trip to the City Pool!
Here we live only a couple blocks from the city pool, and we never made it there the whole summer! Linda Sue and I had planned to take the boys yesterday, but Drew was in a BAD mood and ended up loosing that privilage and Linda Sue just took Zach. So today we were finally all able to go - John even came home from work early. We had a great time!! And we have found out Zach must be part fish. That child has NO fear!!! He goes down the kiddie slide - even usually going under for a bit at the bottom - and LOVES it!! He spent almost the whole time - both days - going down it over and OVER again. I really need to get him in swimming lessons soon!!

225/365

Laptop In Pieces
This is a scary site to see first thing in the morning! When I entered the kitchen this morning, there was my laptop in pieces. John has taken it apart so he & Alex will be able to sodder a new piece on so it will HOPEFULLY allow the plug to make a connection without me holding it at an odd angle.

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Visit from PaPa & MeMe Alexander
John's dad and step-mom got into town yesterday night and will be staying with us until Sunday morning. We started the 1st full day of their visit off with a trip to Toys-R-Us...which of course resulted in Drew having a new Lego set to build ;)

223/365

Meet the Teacher
This morning we went up to Republic EC to see Drew's Kindergarten classroom and meet his teacher. We are so excited that Drew is in Mrs. Sly's class this year and are looking forward to a wonderful year starting next week!!

222/365

Rainy Summer Day
This is often the site around our house...especially on those rainy days...Legos spread out as the boys pretend their little mini figures are on some great adventure.

221/365

Earring Making
After looking at some earrings my mom purchased and really liked, I decided to try making some more for her. They actually weren't too difficult to make and I think they turned out pretty well. :)

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Addison's Birthday Party
This afternoon we went over to the Walker's house to celebrate Addison's 3rd birthday. Despite a VERY hot & muggy day, the boys had a fun time jumping in the huge bouncer they had rented and eating the yummy ice cream cone cupcakes Angela had made.

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Celebrating with MeMe H & Blake
This afternoon, John's mom and Blake (John's sister Joanie's step-son) came over to celebrate the boys' bdays. Mindy got in town last night and will be heading out this afternoon to go to Oklahoma for Jake's 1st bday party (John's sister Rebecca's son). They brought McD's for lunch (per the boys' request) and after opening presents...Drew & Blake played DS games (since Blake had brought his DS with him)...followed by some time out swinging on the playset. Zach was SO excited to finally get to open some presents himself. :) He has done really well about not throwing a fit when Drew was opening present last Saturday and then also on Tuesday night. We keep telling him his turn is coming!!

218/365

1st Trip to New SAMs
A few weeks ago, they opened a new SAMs club just south of our church and MUCH closer to our new house. We have been needing to go to stock up on the usual household things (paper towels, TP, detergent, pull-ups, etc), but were having trouble finding a time to get there. So this evening, the boys and I met John after work at the Library next to SAMs so the boys could pick out some books...then headed over to SAMs for dinner (lol sounds funny to say we went their for dinner, but they have pretty good pizza and I had a yummy salad and an Coke ICEY!!). $300+ dollars and a hour + later we walked out having survived our the trip despite 2 cranky little boys. The check-out is always a shocking time since everything is sold in bulk there and it seems like very few things are under $10.

217/365

Happy 6th Bday Drew!
You started your day off with a bday candle in your cinnamon roll (since we had already had a bday cake on Saturday with your friends...and we will be having another on the 15th w/family) - which you thought was really great. The rest of the day was spent playing with your new DSi & the Lego Batman game...and also building your new Star Wars Lego ship set. Mommy & Daddy then surprised you with a trip to the movie theater before church to see "Monsters vs Alliens" (which you LOVED)...and to make that even MORE fun our friends, the Walkers, showed up to see it with us. You wrapped up your day with Wednesday evening church and dinner at McDonald's (per your request). Over all a pretty great day I would say :)

216/365

Birthday Presents
We decided to let Drew open his presents from John & I the night before his bday so we would be able to charge his new DSi, plus then he would have the whole rest of the day to play with it and John wouldn't have to get up early to be up to watch him open everything.

215/365

Out of bed!!
Zach was doing SO well about staying in his bed at night...not any more! We tend to fight him on trying to get him to stay in his bed for at least an hour every night...often more like 2. So this is the sight that greets me OVER and OVER again every evening.

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Fathead Wall Decals
As part of their birthday presents, we surprised each of the boys with a Fathead on their bedroom wall. John put them up while I gave the boys their shower...so when they walked back into their rooms, they were greeted with their surprises. :)

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Drew's Bday Party with Friends
This year the theme for Drew's party with his friends was Lego. It is amazing how difficult it is to find Lego party items! I was able to find some napkins with Legos on them, and a Lego ice cube tray (that I used to make little candies as well as ice cubes). The rest of the decorations were done with primary colors (& green since it is his favorite)....green table clothes and cups, blue plates, yellow flatware and red napkins...and red/yellow/blue/green balloons. Since we went with straight Lego theme...instead of the Lego Star Wars that Drew was really wanting...he picked out a huge Darth Vader balloon to get as well. For goodies for the quests, I found someone selling their used Pick-A-Brick containers (only available at Lego Stores) and filled them with Lego stress bricks (like stress balls), gold Lego brick key chains, Lego brick erasers, a small Lego set, the t-shirts I painted and a glow stick (leftover from the 4th of July). To help keep the kids entertained (since I'm not a big game person), we purchased an inflatable water slide for them to play on...and then they spent the afternoon between it and the playset. Since we had invited whole families to join us for the evening, we also had a BBQ hamburgers & hot dogs for everyone.

The delicious cakes that is pictured above was made by a friend from church. Erin did such an AWESOME job on it!! I am SO mad at myself for not getting a picture of Drew with the cake!!! UGH!!!