Major Randomocity...

 

Kyle received his first black eye.  You know, like a gift of some sort.  A sweet young thing decided to swing Kyle around in a circle and into the chin of another boy.  He looks tough, poor kid.  Between the chipped tooth and black eye, I'd say he's ready for hockey.

I'm not sure if I'm more surprised by the fact that Kyle was tuckered out simply by watching Andrew play with this toy or that Andrew actually left Kyle in his room without AndrewVision!!!  Either way, it was super cute to stumble upon this.

I was cleaning out a buttload of junk special school projects and came across this piece of lovliness.  I love the detail Andrew puts into his work and am especially fond of the second drawing.  I don't know why.  I think it looks like a reptile or something.  Cute.

The boys are out to make some fat cash.  I believe a little thinner cash is in order, though.  The most work they've done is shoveling the deck.  In their defense, they've done it twice.  I am so tired of picking up the house, especially when I haven't been around for days, and the boys aren't too good with chores.  I've decided that, beyond what they are required to do to live in my house, {I don't mean it harsh like it sounds} I would put a price tag on every task and allow the boys to decide how little or how much money they want to earn.  I figure it's a good lesson all around.  I think they are too old to be constantly reminded and I'm done so this is perfect.  For us.  For now.  The boys are looking forward to our Traverse City trip next month and love to shop while there.  I sure hope this doesn't blow up in my face.  Andrew is already content with earning 5 bucks by returning pop bottles tonight.  He figures that by adding it to his current stash, he'd have a whopping 20 bucks.  Reach for the stars, baby.  I think he has no intention of doing optional chores.  Ah, so to reword the first statement here, a boy is out to make some fat cash.  Oh well.

Two weekends ago we headed to the Grandville mall.  K had bought me some fancy boots in one of the stores there and I needed to exchange them.  We made a day trip out of it and had a great time.  My children really need to step out more often, though, because I cannot count how many times they hooted and hollered about the awesome mall and how big it was and how we should move to Grandville.  Why, you ask?  So we could live by the mall.  Anyway, the boys took in a movie while I shopped it up.  Oh, that was the plan.  Until the first stop.  I had money in the bank, but my debit card had a crack in it and could not be swiped through the machine.  No problem IF I had my drivers license on me.  No license=no id.  No id=no debit card purchases.  No debit card purchases=a very unhappy-and-bored-for-2-hours-Jodi.  Stupid shopping trip.  The plus was that the boys felt very differently...

Caleb didn't fall asleep.  He was too excited about his snow goggle purchase.

Kyle hates his winter coat.  But not before he loved it and had to have it.  It has a liner and the liner constantly pulls his sleeves up and it makes him crazy.  The zipper has also caused him angst.  The darn thing separates constantly and he cannot zip it up himself.  Leave it to his sweet cousin to step up for school.  It's funny, Ahley can't stand the sight of Kyle isn't always so fond of Kyle, but sometimes she is his best friend and they are going to marry someday.  This day was one of those kinds of day.  She offered to help him zip his coat for school.  Shocking.  Those two act like siblings so often that I kind of forget they aren't.  I really hope they grow up having that same love/hate relationship and remain close forever. ♥

This weekend I'll try to catch up on my fam.  We've been a busy bunch, with no real end to the craziness in sight.  Love  it.

**DISCLAIMER...I've changed my formatting, I guess you'd say, and I lost my spell check.  I do NOT plan on re-reading my posts every time I post something so bare with me. ;)

New Year's Eve

Christmas

So Far Today...

Kyle: Mom, I wuv you on the {he's getting his TH sounds} cake.

Me: You love me on the cake?

Kyle: No, I wuv you on the case...and I wuv you on the cake. Wif a howt on top. {apparently not all Th sounds} AWWWWWW...

Oh, and I managed to get both of my heels caught in a hanger on my bedroom floor this morning. Actually, not just my heels, but both of my feet while in heels. I fell into my footboard. Fun times.

I'll catch up on here soon.

Warning, Warning...Long Post Ahead...

Hey, hey...here we are, one week before Christmas and I am nowhere near ready for it!!

After posting my new header, I tried and tried again to make my Christmas card idea work. I literally used a work day to figure it out, went home and tried some more. I totally gave up and told Keith and Kristin both that I was done trying and no cards were going out this year. I did change my tune a bit by deciding to send out New Year cards instead. Keith thought I should send out a memo so people wouldn't be offended. I like to think people will be so excited to see a card come after the holiday is over. Surprise!!

Last Saturday was our traditional cookie-baking, Christmas-movie-watching, playing-all-day-together and driving-around-to-see-all-the-lights day. Super duper funday! Keith went to town to do basketball sign ups while we started the movies. I think we had three on before we needed a break. I baked brownies, made fudge and mixed dough all the while. We had a great day that day so we headed outside for snowman building and sledding. {not photo shopped...don't care...too lazy} Frosty Fu Manchu...

One of these things is not like the other...{as in Keith is only standing in One of these pictures!}

Keith has never roller bladed or snowboarded. He fell off the treadmill for goodness sake and broke a bone. Okay, okay...it was NOT a treadmill accident. It was a police bicycle accident. Either way...haha...Keith mentioned last night that he thought he hurt his neck snowboarding. {not haha for that reason} I wondered if he tried again and then I realized he was talking about last weekend! Old man!
Don't buy the Polar Express in 3D. We already owned the movie but I thought 3D would be awesome. We didn't last much more than 5 minutes before we took the disc out and played the regular version. Too many heads and too much squinting. I'm just saying..
Sunday the boys went to my mom's for gingerbread making. They all had fun and I received fun prizes in return.

My mom couldn't find Andrew's school pic from this year so she used an old one. I am switching this one out for the current one. Perfect additions to the boys' tree...all of the ornaments they've ever made for me. Yum.
I sent out Andrew's letter to Santa yesterday morning. He had a mini fit about having to write the letter on behalf of all the boys. He preferred to write his own. I told him his writing is so creative and fun to read and that Santa would probably be thankful for his consolidation process, considering Santa gets millions of letters every year. It's good for the forest. He listed a bunch of Christmas wishes for himself, including an i-Coaster, Wizards of Waverly Place for DS, Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel CD, etc. Yes, he did! He also listed Caleb's wants. You know, the typical tween list of a computer and wireless Internet, a phone, Xbox 360, an electric scooter, and Lions and Eagles jerseys...etc. Andrew also listed Kyle's wishes for Christmas...cars and trucks, a yo-you and a real Rudolph with a red nose. Hmm...Glad he didn't ask us for that. Kindly, Andrew also added that, "As a bonus, my mom wants a stocking." What a sweet gesture. Last year, I was forgotten. Everyone else, Keith included, had a stocking full of goodies to go through on Christmas morning. My stocking laid there, flat on the floor. With nothing inside. I must have been a horrible mom last year. Or something.

Ahhh...pitter patter...I received an early Christmas present Wednesday evening. My fabulous FIL made me a built-in for my mudroom for coat, bag and accessory storage. I have 4 baskets for the top shelves and need 2 more larger ones for the lower shelves. I also need to pick out coat hooks. ♥

It is currently sitting in the middle of my kitchen, waiting to be painted. I was so set on a glossy black so it was easier to clean. My mom said to use exterior paint in an eggshell finish so it looked more furniture-y. Now I'm second guessing my color choice. Black is the go-to color for my furniture but what about a color? Hmm. It'll maybe take me until March to figure it out. Maybe it's because my mom and Kristin are both contemplating new color and I wanna too!! Anywho...isn't this piece a doozy?? Much love.
**Note to my children...smaller coats will be hanging on the old coat rack in the kitchen currently located by the phone. Larger or heavier coats are hanging on the coat rack next to the front door. Hats, scarves and mittens are separated into each of your baskets, currently residing on the ledge of the bay window. Keith, your leather coat is where you keep hanging it...over my clothes on the chair in our bedroom. ;)

Sooo much...

Ah...the sneak peek of what would have been my Christmas card this year...if I could have found a decent price on adding 3 more small photos of my kiddos' faces. {new header} Eh. I've moved on. Sort of. I tried my hand at getting a second choice photo yesterday. I didn't want to drive to Muskegon to get the necessary objects, so I made my own. Not really a fan, but Christmas is coming, man!

Saturday night was the church program. Major happiness. First, my eldest two...knockouts. I always dig Caleb in black. {it's why he owns 3 different styles in the same color} That night was no exception. Handsome. Mmm!! Caleb {did I mention this} is too old for the program now so he rang the bells. He was so nervous standing up front getting ready for the performance. The first song wasn't terrific. He had a death grip on his bells so they didn't ring. He loosened up and the second song was loud and clear. Then he prayed. Yes, my baby boy said a prayer in front of the entire congregation. By himself. I didn't mention that before any of this took place, I leaned over to Keith and told him I was going to cry. Caleb just looked so grown up, and handsome, and I could barely take. The tears welled up in my eyes. Do you judge me because I quickly pulled out my ipod and made a video of his prayer? Hehe.

Andrew was dressed in Joseph garb and had a slight speaking part. He's so small that I couldn't even get a glimpse of him the whole time. Keith snapped a few shots, but that was it. Until he walked back down the aisle at the end.

Kyle...backing up, Kyle has been joyfully singing Go Tell It On The Mountain for a couple of weeks now. He said he didn't know the words to any other song. Catchy tune I suppose. At dinner that night, before the program, Keith and I both spoke to him about making sure he sung loud and proud so we'd be able to hear him over everyone else. He practiced at the restaurant. We had to ask him to be a little quieter so he proceeded to lip sync the song in full Kiss mode. I'm pretty sure the tongue even slipped out. It was the only time I've seen a song enacted and the only time ever that a churchy, Christmas song was treated as heavy metal. In my humble opinion. Kyle did us proud, especially during the finale. We heard. EVERY. SINGLE. WORD. of the chorus. It will be a remembered night forever. {yeah, that's on video, too}

Sunday was fun. We got together with family for the annual Schmieding Christmas party. Arrive at school. Kids run around like banshees. Set up food. Chat. Pray. Eat food. Kids run around like banshees. Chat. Exchange cookies. Take millions of pictures. Go home. Short and sweet.

Yesterday, as I was getting ready for the game, it dawned on me that basketball season is officially here...

My tub will look like this through the end of February!! Black and red are both my favorite colors but I get bored easily with them this time of the year. I need to freshen things up. {last night I wore the polka-dot skirt, in case you were wondering. :)}

Andrew tried out for the play last week and he got one of 35 munchkin parts!! Hooray!! His rehearsals start tomorrow night. I will post when I figure out the date of the play. Way to go, baby doll! Right up your alley.

I said in my last post that this would be more geared toward the holiday, so...I come into some money Friday and cannot wait to finish my shopping. I thought I was doing well until I noticed all the gifts I haven't purchased. My December Daily has also not been started, but I do have a list of what's going in it.

I cannot wait until Saturday!! No interruptions, no other plans!! We are spending the day baking treats for the office ladies and bus driver, watching our Christmas movies and checking out Christmas lights after dark!! It's almost the best day of the season. {almost}

Just Another Manic...Wednesday...

This means nothing without reading my last post, but this morning I made another stop at the high school and Kyle was with me. As we got closer to the door, he asked, "Mom!! Whey-o is da chiwi?"

Um, it is evident that cheer is in full swing because I am already falling waaaay behind. I am already overwhelmed and it's panicking me. I am always in over my head with everything I do. I don't get why this is so different. So many blasted things are going on right now with all of us that I cannot catch my breath.

First of all, a bill is late. That is crap. It's not labeled late, but it's late nonetheless. It makes me crazy. I also have been robbing Kyle to pay Caleb. {and Andrew} What kind of mom am I? I paid Kyle back 2 weeks ago and had to borrow from him again this past weekend. Andrew needed a birthday gift, I ordered a wreath and the boys needed lunch money. It's sad to know my 4 year old has more cash than I do. Somethin' just ain't right!

I cannot remember what I've done in the past week, let alone what members of my family have done. Sad. I remember going to my parents' home for Thanksgiving. That was nice. I remember thinking that I had tons of time to spend at home, but I think I was wrong. we left my parents' later than anticipated and forgot about renting a movie. Friday Keith had to work so Kyle and I...I really cannot remember what we did. How sad is that? Holy crud. What did we do?? Maybe nothing. I did manage to get a great gift online for Andrew. Something that has been on his list for two years now. Something that I would never buy for the price tag alone. I opened an email regarding Black Friday deals on Amazon and on the main page was this silly gift...for 30.00!! {from 90.00!!!!} Best purchase so far. Super happy. I did also manage to wrap 11 gifts. I have a love/hate relationship with wrapping. I love, love, love to wrap gifts super pretty with fat ribbon and big bows but hate, hate, hate it when I leave it all to get done 3 days {or less} before Christmas. Everything turns out ho-hum. Hopefully this year will be different.

Ah, now I remember...I cleaned Friday. Fun times. I was anticipating a tree. Or two. When Keith got home I asked Kyle to point out to his dad that the carpet had been vacuumed and is ready for trees. Right now. Ask and you shall receive. I decorated the living room tree myself and the boys decorated the family room tree together.

Saturday the boys were supposed to have a soccer game early in the morning and I was going to make a few quick stops on the way home. A cancelled game and 5 not-so-quick stops later, I came home with gifts for school teachers, midweek teachers, Sunday School teachers, my sister-in-law, gift wrap for everyone, and...that might be it. But, I also came home with groceries. Extra bonus points scored for me!! I may have also lost points for coming home with a present or 2 for me. But really, a book for 2.99...? How could I not buy it?

Saturday night I wasn't feeling well. Sunday I felt worse so the boys all went to church and I stayed home for a bit. I headed in after Sunday school to meet Caleb at Northland so he could finish his school paper and I could finish my cheer calendar. Afterward, we headed back to church so Caleb could practice his part for the Advent service tonight. Pastor had stopped me a few weeks ago to ask if my schedule permitted Caleb to be part of a 3 week skit during the advent services. Regardless of my schedule I was going to make it work so he invited Caleb to do so and of course Caleb was super excited. Cannot wait for tonight.

Monday was the 4th and last practice before our first game of the season. Were we ready? Heck no. Currently I am dealing with one less girl and an additional 5 part timers due to the school play. I haven't been able to fall asleep at a reasonable hour the past two nights because I play the scenarios over and over again in my head. Here is the stress I referenced at the beginning of this post.

Caleb's grade is doing a study on cultures and heritages {?} and needed a family recipe turned into class. There were questions relating to his ancestry and all that jazz. The grade is putting on an International Dinner Friday with all 6th grade students preparing their recipes {ahead of time} for the dinner. Caleb has never done anything like this before. {at home} He's led a privileged, or spoiled if you may, life. This will be a treat. What's funny is that I told him he'd have to bake the cookies {a German recipe} at his dad's because he'd be there on Thursday. He was totally confused. He thought I'd bake them Thursday night and he could just take them to school Friday. I told him that HE has to do the work-beginning to end. It was as if I was speaking in German! He told me that the letter I read stated he had to do the recipe-writing work himself with my supervision. I gave him the sheet of paper to read again. "Ohhhhhh..." I'm sure it will be a fun night at the Tallquist's house tomorrow night. ;) Definitely full of laughs.

Andrew came home from school yesterday with a Munchkin Application for me to sign. He is trying out for the part of a munchkin in the Wizard Of Oz play put on by the high school. There is actually a height requirement {love it} and Andrew was measured in class before he was handed the application. Tryouts are Thursday. Please root for him. This is his life. He wants to be both an actor and a singer. ♥ He really is a terrific performer. I have my fingers crossed. I hesitated sharing this info too soon, but just couldn't hold it in. Funny enough, I was in the Wizard Of Oz years and years ago. This would be a fun little keepsake thingy for me. **I was NOT a munchkin!! I was a sugar plum fairy. Ahem.

Midweek tonight, followed by Advent service. Practice and cookie baking tomorrow, girls over Friday, program practice, soccer, cookie baking and Christmas program Saturday and family Christmas party Sunday, following church and Sunday School of course! I think I'll sleep after that. Yes, sometime Sunday evening I will get some sleep. I think my next post will have some pictures attached and will be more Christmas-geared.

One last thing...Caleb, Kyle, Ashley and I were riding home yesterday when this mini conversation took place...

Kyle: Whey-o's yo backpack?
Ashley: By my feet.
Kyle: Well, mine is by Ca-ub's because he's sweet and I'm sweet so my backpack is by his.

There was practically no room for me in the van with all the space Kyle's ego was taking up.