My Ninjas

As we see basketball season coming to an end for Garrett, we welcome something different for Blake...karate!  So far he's loving it.  It's a less formal and more fun format than your traditional karate studio, but he's already earned his first white tape.  That means he's got the four-corner block, double punch and slide step down.  Here he is working on his side kick.

It's been a great place for Blake to focus his attention and energy, especially since he's such an intense kid.  And hopefully it's alleviating some of the stress being created by the pressures of third grade.  Yes, third grade- can you believe it?  That's another story for another time, but speaking of class, check out this stop motion movie Blake made (with Brian's help) for a class presentation.  Technology is so amazing...it scares me.

As a spectator of the sport karate and with the constant presence of Ninjago in our house (Legos+ninjas=Ninjago), Ella donned one of her more creative get ups as a "bad ninja".  What brought my attention to this was Garrett's question, "Uh...mom, why is Ella wearing pants on her head?".  Well, to create the ninja mystique a la mask, of course!  Chase decided to be "bad ninja's kitty" and there you have it.

Never a dull moment in this house.  And, as if that isn't enough fun, let's give a warm welcome for spring tax season!  And February?  What happened to January????

Where Did October Go?

What happens when you combine all the fall's activities like soccer (with two different teams), Cub Scouts (with two different dens), the final weeks of tax season, holidays and a new job?  Well, I can tell you what DOESN'T happen...family blogging!

It's not that I haven't been blogging, but it's part of my new paid gig (kind of, read on).  And, unfortunately for my family, I find that the more I write, the more I want to write.  It's like unlocking almost nine years of not being able to complete a sentence.  I keep trying to remind them that they are lucky that I have a computer and that they aren't forced to listen to me ramble on for hours, but they aren't buying it.  It's just nice to feel useful in a non-child-serving capacity.

So, on to our family fun.

CAMPING AT INDIAN HILLS

October started off with the annual Cub Scouts camping trip to Indian Hills.  This is the site with the ultimate playground, zip line, archery, night hiking, panning for gold and mine exploration, enormous boulders for climbing, a bmx bike track and pretty much every fun and dangerous activity a school-aged boy could want to do.  Only a couple injuries incurred, but nothing serious.  Besides, Garrett's teeth were already loose.

 

 

 

 

 

My miner hard at work.  This kid is gonna find gold if he can't make it himself.

 

 

Unlike last year, Garrett had no fear of the zip line this year.  He must have forgotten about last year's Lego bribe.

   

HALLOWEEN

We skipped the expensive pumpkin patch as a family this year and went budget at Walmart.  The best part is that the kids didn't seem to miss it (and we saved ourselves a bundle on overpriced pumpkins and carnival rides, not to mention junk food and meltdowns).  All the kids really cared about is getting the pumpkins carved.  

My future surgeon.

And his sister that wouldn't even get close to the slimy pumpkin seeds.

The final product: A Pokemon character (not sure which one, the names all sound the same to me), a ghost, a bat, and...

...a spider.  Thanks to Dad and Nee Nee for doing the dirty work.  Now I know why they invented pumpkin beer.

Of course, it wouldn't be Halloween if we didn't have our yard decorated (gotta love the quick and easy spider webs).  And it wouldn't be a holiday with Aunt Renee without some sort of craft.  These are the bats, ghosts and spiders she made with the twins. 

 

But, really, it's about the costumes and the candy.  And the cousins.

 

 

I think it's entirely possible that Mark (cousin) enjoys scaring people a little too much.

And the twins loved getting up close to the decorations almost as much as getting the candy.

 

I figure this is the last year I can get away with taking all my favorite candy from the twins.

He's not just being silly...he really is THIS excited about his mound of candy.

We had some other fun too, like Blake's field trip to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center (which I wasn't able to accompany him to), class parties, the Monster Mash at the boys' school, flu shots and the like.  Like I said, very busy...so much so that I haven't been taking many pictures.

TRAINING

The countdown is on for the Silver Strand Half Marathon the second weekend in November.  Brian and I are looking forward to taking a break from half marathons for a while.  It's not that we don't like racing (okay, maybe only until about mile 10), but we realized that we spent a small fortune on races this year.  BUT, if we find our training slipping, then it's back to the races we go!  Accountability works wonders.

WORK

Speaking of work, I have taken on some part time job responsibilities.  I am working as an independent contractor for a social media consultant, inputting Facebook posts and conducting blogger outreach.  The emphasis is on writing (and following up) and so far it's been fun!  I'm learning a lot, but I think my family is looking forward to me rounding the corner on the learning curve, since I'm spending WAY more time than usual at the computer (and don't think they aren't TOTALLY taking advantage of that).  But, for now, it fills a need for me and gives me a little extra spending money (possibly for the races I mentioned above, since I've missed another work out this week...).

MOTHERHOOD AND OTHER MUSINGS

In addition to my aforementioned job, I have also started a less family-specific and more motherhood-oriented blog called Motherhood and Other Musings.  Feel free to check it out.  If I'm lucky, maybe one day I'll make a few pennies off it.  To boost my viewership, however, I have also been writing articles to submit to mom blogging websites...which is another reason my computer and I have been spending so much time together. 

All in all, it's been a super busy fall.  Up next we have basketball for Garrett on the tail of the last few weeks of soccer, time off from school for Thanksgiving (and Thanksgiving itself), and several other things I should probably start planning for...right after I get my calendar updated.  Good think I have the sugar supply from Halloween to keep my going. :)

The Dresser- a noun AND a verb!

If you know her, have seen her, or just know OF her, then you know Ella just LOVES to dress up. Constantly. And not in the sparkly-fluffy-princess-meet-barbie type of way...more in a bathing-suit-pajamas-cape-and-helmet kind of way. Okay, so she's very unique in her fashion sense. I guess the point is that she doesn't need a designated costume to express her creativity.

In most circumstances I consider this a good thing. Four kids ago it might have stressed me out knowing that a trip to the store would engage stares and curious smiles from strangers at her peculiar get-ups. But now I'm so used to it, that it doesn't even occur to me to offer an explanation about that day's outfit (or, more accurately, that moment's outfit), unless the person asks about it. Expect for maybe the "gas mask" that people thought she donned at school pick-up the other day--it's a "firefighter mask" and has NOTHING to do with current world events. Come on, people, she's TWO.

She has a thing for bathing suits...and hats...

and goggles...

Ella sporting her "duck feet" as she calls them (yes, those are gloves on her feet).

Here she was channeling "Andy" from Toy Story as she held Woody and "skated" away on her "skateboard" (who knew there were multiple uses for a xylophone?)

The down side? Her ongoing wardrobe changes (we're talking 8-10 times a day) mean that there are clothes....E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E...while her dresser sits empty. No matter how picked up her room is before quiet/nap time, it is inevitably turned upside down and inside out by the end of it.

Before quiet/nap time...

...and after...

I've given up folding her clothes, sorting them and neatly putting them in the drawers. I've given up doing multiple loads of laundry daily because I don't know what's clean and what's not. I've given up trying to pick out her clothes and encouraging her to dress in "cute" outfits (or even "girl" outfits, for that matter). It's a never-ending battle that, quite frankly, I'm too tired to fight. It didn't take me long to realize that dressing up is THAT important to her...and staying sane is THAT important to me. And the kicker is that at the end of the day, her absolute FAVORITE thing to wear is...you guessed...her birthday suit! Perhaps she would be better nicknamed the UNdresser.