Fun Filled Weekend

We had quite a fun weekend.

We played in a box of packing peanuts.

We played a little football. Look at my form, my grace.....I was going to catch that ball, darn it! LOL

Drew's a little light on his feet.

We also have been playing a lot of basketball now that we moved the hoop to the front of the garage where we have a bigger "court" to play on.

Noah went to the district wide Pinewood Derby competition on Saturday. He ended up somewhere in the top half so he was happy. That's his car on the far right.
You probably can't read my text in this picture but that brown blur is Noah crossing the finish line in first place.


Saturday night we all ate at my mom and dad's since Nate was in town. It was good to see my littlest bro and the weather was nice enough for all the kiddos to play outside. The food was awesome, nothing like a burger on the grill when the weather is nice and it was a nice relaxing evening.



Sunday, Grandma Tunie and Grandpa Ken threw Drew a pool party at Fairfield Inn with his friends for his 10th birthday. It was a VERY long 2 hours. 'Nuff said about that!

Make a wish Drew!
He opened some cool gifts, had cake and ice cream, swam and had a blast with his friends, brothers, and cousins....Blake,Ty,and Ellie.

Noah doing a crazy belly flop!

Poor Ellie was the only girl there. She was stylin' in her adorable bathing suit and pigtails though. I could have eaten her all up.

We also took a family jog on Sunday. I jogged further than I ever thought I could do without stopping and then walked for awhile after it. I'm a little sore today but feeling very confident about pulling off my very first RUNNING 5K in May. I much prefer to walk them but decided to join Drew in his run so he wouldn't be alone if Todd did the half marathon. It's also one more thing to add to my list of things that I have done that I never thought I would. I'm happy to say that list is growing! I'm getting more adventurous in my older age. Aiden and Noah did well with the jog yesterday too. We all know Aiden has boundless energy but I didn't know if he'd have the stamina....he did great! I see more family jogs in our future.

Drew and I finished off the weekend watching Twilight on DVD. It was my 3rd time and since I didn't want Drew to read the book till he was a bit older, I did think the movie was ok for him and he LOVED it. What a wonderful weekend. My To-Do list is still a mile long but at least I procrastinated tackling it by having fun with my family. The dust and clutter will still be there tomorrow.

Flashback Friday

Ok, so flashback friday is a day late, story of my life sometimes. I did get the pictures loaded yesterday and then sat down numerous times to type.....but then I'd get interrupted by one of the boys or I would sit and stare at the screen while a number of memories flooded my head. I just didn't know where to start or what to type. How do you put years worth of memories down in one blog post??? You can't. My flashback is about two important parts of my life that are now gone.....my friend Kathy and this amazing house.


It's been almost 3 years now since Kathy passed away. I think about her a lot, about how damn unfair it is that she is missing out on her kids' life, missed out on her life. I know if I could be with her right now, she would make me laugh my butt off over stupid stuff. That's what good friends do, right? She would cheer me up out of a funk. See this house??? It's been almost 14 years since it was torn down to build a parking lot. Kathy, me and some of our best girlfriends lived in that house for our last 3 years of college. Ah, so MANY memories in that house. I think that house haunts me.....I have dreams about it all the time. I can still see every nook and cranny of that old, beautiful house. It was the perfect place for us to live in--we took good care of that house, we were proud of it. We even named that house. Everyone knew it as Tapped Out. See that window on the top floor?? That was Kathy's room....we would all climb out of her window and lay out on that roof, trying to catch some rays and talking about life. That porch was the best porch in the world. I WANT that porch on my house. We had a porch swing where we would sit at night and hang out. We had a huge concrete basement that looked like a cave....perfect for Halloween keggers when we didn't want our house trashed. :) We had an attic where we often heard little critters scampering around. We even caught a bat in a mouse trap one time--we could tell you a number of bat stories in that house. When that house was torn down, us girls drove over one night and we all stole a brick from the rubble....I still have it along with the stained glass 1115 that hung proudly over the front door. My dad got that for me and I still cherish it. House, I love you. We were so lucky to have you to make incredible memories in.

Here are the 4 roomates. (Do you think striped shorts were popular then???) Kathy is on the far right. We had so many good times together. We had our rough times too but we made it through. Some of my own rough times I never would have made it through if it hadn't of been for my girlfriends.

1993

I just had to add this last one of Kathy, it makes me smile. We started out having all of the same classes together our freshman year, then moving into a dorm room together at Christmas break to escape our current roomates, to moving in the house together, to a lifelong friendship that was unfortunately cut short. I miss ya girl, I hope you're living in that cool house of ours right now smiling down on us all.

Pete, Kathy, Mark

Anyone For 9 Holes?? / Pi Day

Today I'm not going to brag about my boys or talk about what's going on in my life. Today I'm going to brag up my hubby a little. He is a high school math teacher and in my eyes, is an incredible teacher. He has such a passion for what he does and really cares that his students succeed. He also comes up with fun ways to incorporate math into their daily life. Recently his Geometry classes used their skills to design a 9 hole mini golf course. Every year when his classes do a project, they design a math related t-shirt to sell to students to raise money to pay for the materials needed. For those of you out of the math loop, March 14th is Pi Day. You know...3.14....... (Todd can recite the numbers for pi....it's really sad.) His math classes celebrate that every year with a miniature pie that Todd picks up by the caseload at Walmart. This year all of this fun fell on the same day. Todd took some pictures....a ton actually and then after school last friday the boys and I went to school with him so they could play a round of golf themselves before we helped Todd take down the golf course. So here are a few of the many pictures (I'm on my laptop so I can't use my photo editing software....sorry some are dark)

Here are a few of the holes from his mini course. They had it set up in the back hallway by his classroom.

Here is Patrick with one of the math t-shirts they sold draped over him. The equation may not make sense to most of us but when you solve it, or reduce the equation, or something......the answer reads "i over 8pi" Hmm, that's funny that the pi symbol isn't on my keyboard. I'm sure most people need to type that all of the time, don't you think?? Anyway "I over ate pie". Are they comedians or what??? They sold a ton of t-shirts at school as they usually do. I think it's kind of funny to imagine a large portion of the student body walking around with a math related joke on their shirts.

This girl got into it even more by painting the pi symbol on her fingernails.

Striking a pose or a hole in one??

Drew concentrating on his putt.

Daddy and Aiden race down the hall.

Those 3 shadows are my boys playing. I told you the lighting was bad....maybe I should have used a flash, huh?? :)

Such concentration............

Todd's problem solving class is currently working on a scale model of the Sydney Opera House. I'm anxious to see how it turns out.

Handsome Dude

Drew brought his spring pictures home from school yesterday. Seriously kid, stop growing. He looks like 14 in this picture. We all agreed last night that he looked a lot like his Uncle Scott in this picture, I think it's the smile.

I always love the spring pictures at school. I've always been lucky to get really good ones of the two older boys and the prices aren't too horrible. Noah still has to get his taken though. The day these were originally taken he woke up with swollen glands. He looked like he had an egg in the side of his neck. So I kept him home and took him to the clinic. Aunt Jane took good care of him and he tested positive for Strep. He felt perfectly fine other than the swollen neck so that was kind of funny. But he started on antibiotics and his neck was normal again in a couple of days. So Noah will have to get his taken on retake day and hopefully will not look like the elephant man this time.

Pinewood Derby

Sunday was the annual Pinewood Derby races for Scouts. This is the first year that Drew and Noah were competing against each other so I was curious to see how that would play out. The boys got creative with their cars this year and did most of the work by themselves. As you can see below, Noah made his to look like a Hershey bar but named his Noah Bar. Drew's is the plain block of wood next to his. It's made to look like he didn't do anything to it but add the wheels but actually he sawed it in half, hollowed out the insides and glued it back together and put weights in the back. It amazed everyone that it was fast. It's kind of funny because everyone spends hours making theirs look good but it doesn't take much to make it fast!

Noah's cheesing in this picture because his car just took 1st place. Drew's took 2nd during his heat so we knew it would be a close race. The first time their two cars raced each other, Noah's beat Drew's and that didn't go over well.
In the end, out of their pack, Noah placed in 3rd and Drew got 4th. I was proud of them and their hard work. The first two places out of each pack get to go to the mall next Saturday for the city wide races. Our 2nd place person will be out of town so that means Noah gets bumped up and will get to compete Saturday for the championships. Drew handled it very well, especially since this is technically his last year he can race. So that's where we'll be next Saturday afternoon if anyone wants to watch Noah Bar race!

Here's a picture of Noah with his car and trophy. You can tell he's proud of his first year of racing. Do you like the new haircut?? He wanted to be bald so he wouldn't have to wash his hair anymore. This was the compromise.

I'm not posting the picture of Drew with his car because he was sulking about Noah beating him in it. Frankly, it pissed me off. He should have been happy to place and get a trophy. Sometimes he's too competitive and he can definitely be a sore loser. Luckily he got over with fairly quickly but I have to say I was disappointed in him.

Happy St Patrick's Day!! It's going to be a beautiful weathered one here!

Should I Be Jealous??

My cat seems to spend more time sleeping in Noah's bed than mine. But when I think of how scared Noah was to go to sleep tonight because of bad dreams, and I see how protective Grayson is of Noah, how can I be jealous? I know Noah is sleeping soundly and feels safe with Grayson's paw laid protectively on his arm. I love that cat. (AND that kid!)

Drew, My Soccer Stud

Indoor soccer season is finished for all of us in the Klauser house. We got a few pictures of Drew from his last game.

Here he is after the game, all rosy-cheeked from playing hard. He just looks so cute and grown up in this.

Unfortunately this is a really crappy picture but I had to post it because this is where Drew shoots a beautiful goal.....it just sailed over everyone right into the goal.


Another action shot of Drew kicking the ball. It's really hard to take pictures through plexiglass! On the left there, you can see the reflection of the hallway to the concession stand. I cropped out Todd's brother standing there because his reflection was a little ghostly! LOL

Spring soccer starts up soon and Noah is the only one playing....his indoor team decided to stay together and do that league. It's just a 6x6 outdoor soccer league. I'm hoping to get some good action shots of Noah out in the spring sunshine. Spring IS right around the corner, right???

Was That Out Loud??

3 Things Happened to Me This Weekend That I'm Embarrassed to Admit:

1.) I cried over the finale of Tool Academy on VH1. I know, I should be banned from reality TV forever.

2.) I think Daylight Savings Time affected me more last night than my children. I tossed and turned all night long and couldn't sleep. I also played musical beds with Aiden. When he came in our bed, I went to his, then he followed me back in later, then I went back to my bed. Needless to say we all almost overslept this morning but speedy Drew woke up at 7:30 and got completely ready for the bus by 7:45. I only woke when I heard him go into his bathroom to brush his teeth. I did have to drive Noah though, he wouldn't know speedy if it hit him in the face.

3.)Friday night, the males in my family all went out to my dad's cabin for a campout. The boys spent the evening there and then I picked them up at bedtime. I waited all week long for this precious time to myself and had it all planned out. I loved every minute of it and honestly, it went too fast. The confession??? It was a little too quiet and a little lonely with them gone. Was that out loud?

A Day In The Park

Yesterday was the perfect weather day and we did just about everything outside. When Todd and the boys got home we ended up hitting two different parks to play and we took a TON of pictures at the park. I tried to narrow it down to some of my favorites. It was one of the beautiful feel good days that makes you think spring is finally right around the corner and we soaked up every minute of it....even ending our day at TCBY with Grandma Tunie and Grandpa Ken sitting outside enjoying our snack. I'm so thankful for another warm day today!

I love this picture...he's so darn cute I can hardly stand it. Those brown eyes always get me.

Drew had to show his balancing skills.

The lighting stinks in the tunnel but it's such a cute picture of Noah.

Down the slide..........

Drew jumping off of the rock wall. These things rarely phase me anymore.

Noah is so proud now that he has mastered the monkey bars.

Aiden said "Hey guys, I could use a little help here".

Big brothers to the rescue.

One of my three monkeys.

Seriously, this was the kid that never wanted his picture taken. He was hamming it up yesterday and even asking for us to take a pic.

I love these three boys of mine and there is nothing better than the 5 of us out and about enjoying the day together.

Me Too, Aiden, Me Too

As I was putting Aiden's shoes on this morning, he says to me. "Mom, you are the best, but sometimes I don't like you." If only he knew that I sometimes had that very thought about him and his brothers.

The Wierdness That Is My Life With Three Boys

I've been the mom of boys for 10 years now. I still don't "get" little boy parts and why they are so unpredictable. I still don't get a lot of things about boys in general but I am getting used to it (and loving it!). Bringing my first born son home from the hospital, I was more than a little freaked about taking care of his little boy parts that were still sore from his circumcision. By the time the other two came along, they had an easier procedure and it was simpler to take care of. Aiming at the toilet???? What's the big deal??? My husband obviously doesn't take my side on this issue. Seriously, the kids are short and much closer to the toilet, really, how hard could it be?? Apparently, it's hard.

Take these examples.
1. I take Aiden to school last wednesday afternoon. When we get there, he has to go potty so I take him to go before I head out. Somehow he missed the toilet and got some on his underwear, while keeping his pants dry mind you. He tells me we need to go home and get dry underwear. For the love of Pete child, how could you not aim at the child sized toilet?? I know "school" is only an hour and a half and by the time we run home and get back, we lose a lot of time. So I did what any mom who desperately needed this hour and a half without her 3 year old. I took the undies off and he went commando that afternoon. I rolled up the damp underwear, tucked them in my pocket, and nonchalantly headed to my car. Problem solved.
2. Minutes before the school bus pulled up the other day, Noah went into the bathroom. He comes out and says he doesn't think he'll be able to ride the bus and when I asked why, he said he was afraid to tell me. I said it was okay, I wouldn't get mad. He replied that when he went to go to the bathroom he didn't realize his penis was pointing up instead of down and he got pee on his clothes. What??? How do you NOT realize it's pointing north instead of south?? How many times have I begged my boys to actually hold onto the hose when they aim?? I just told him accidents happen, he changed clothes, and I drove him to school.

I have many more stories like these, but I'm sure you get the point.

Being the only female in a house of 5, my boys aren't exposed to a lot of girliness. So when we visit friends and family with little girls, they are in bliss to be surrounded with pink, and dollies, and dress up clothes, etc. Sheesh, I almost feel guilty for depriving them. Sure we have dress up clothes, but not tutus, princess dresses, heels, lace and that fun stuff. Aiden's latest is having to carry one of my purses around with him. I'm trying to say yes more so that when I say no, it carries more weight. I tend to say no to things that annoy me or I don't have time for etc, but I'm learning to say no only when I have to. If he wants to wear his brown boots with his sweat pants, it doesn't hurt anything, he just looks like a dork right? So yesterday when we took Noah to the dr and went to the grocery store to get his prescription, I conceded and let Aiden take "his" red purse with him. At least it matched his red and blue coat right???

I've always said God gave me all boys to toughen me up a bit as I am a wimp about a lot of things. But I've also learned so much more about them and myself. I'm also much more nonchalant about a lot of things. Boys climbing up the door jambs??? See it every day. Pillow pit with all the cushions on the couch?? Don't you do that?? With the right imagination, anything can be used as a light saber, even a toothbrush case. Needing only mommy when hurt or sick??? Perfect!

Flashback Friday

I tried to come up with a cute idea for flashback friday today and had no luck. So I decided to shut my eyes and click on random folders and photos. Well, then I got an loading error and had to start over. So I started randomly clicking and then found some funny ones, some long forgotten ones, etc. So here's my hodge-podge of random flashbacks for today.

I love this photo because I have all 3 of my babies cuddled up in my bed. What's better than that?? This was from early 2006

Sept 2005. Todd tried taking a bunch of pregnancy photos with me and the boys....and the belly. This was one of my favorites. Aiden came just a few weeks later.....

Colorado Vacation 2007. One of our favorite vacations with my whole family. That backpack to carry Aiden in was sooo nice on those long hikes. I think Aiden and Daddy look so cute here.

These next few pictures will leave you thinking that we are crazy. We are just goofy around here and love to have fun. We do silly things to our children and laugh at them. C'mon, you know you're guilty of it.

When Aiden was a baby we were being silly and put Noah's Spongebob underwear on him. Doesn't it look like Aiden is thinking..."What are they doing to me?"

Ok, I did NOT do this. When Noah was three, I went to check on him during his nap and he had fallen asleep with two Little People sticking out of his underwear. I think it's one of the funniest pictures I have.
Here's a close-up. If only those toys could talk......

Have you ever heard the song "Suds in the Bucket"? How about Buds in the Bucket?
My two cute little punkin's in the Pumpkin Patch. I'm guessing this is October 2004.

This cracks me up. We were at the zoo and I asked the boys to pose and simultaneously, they both tilted their heads. I was cracking up.

Have a great weekend. I'm going out for the evening with the girls and then the rest of the weekend is open. It's been awhile since that has happened and I'm looking forward to it.

This Kid

This is the kid that wouldn't let me take his picture. This is the kid that would duck and run when a camera came his way. This is the kid that would get pissed if you actually DID take a picture of him......and then when we would sit and look through our pictures, he would ask why there weren't any of him. Arrrrrgh! One day I got really upset and told him that 20 years from now I wanted to look at my pictures and know what all 3 of my kids looked like and that it made me sad that I didn't have any pictures of him. Thankfully he has since changed his mind about pictures and is back to being a total ham. We got our new camera a couple of weeks ago and have been playing around with all of the settings. This kid jumps into one of his favorite standard poses and asks us to take his picture. Photogenic little booger.

Sweetest Words

I got home from my soccer game tonight (We won!! Woohoo!) and flopped on the couch. Aiden comes running over and climbs into my lap. He says "Mom, your little lion cub missed you" and gave me a hug and kiss.

Can't beat that---and I was only gone an hour!

Flashback Friday

I am so over my funk from yesterday. It probably didn't help that I missed a dose of Lexapro and have PMS, but whatever. It's all good. When Todd got home, I got some much needed time in my craft room and made a few goodies. Then we all went out to eat at Ruby Tuesdays and used our gift certificate that Noah won at our Mother/Son Date night. The boys were so well behaved and it was such a nice relaxing meal. We then headed over to my mom and dads to see them. They had just gotten home from a celebratory meal--that day they signed the closing papers on their old house and it marked the halfway point through my dad's radiation. Both good things to celebrate. The house closing was very bittersweet for me though. I hate the thought of never being able to go in my childhood home again. (hmmm, unless I become friends with the girl that bought the house....) It's kind of like losing a dear friend. I know I will still make random drive bys once in awhile though.

So for flashback friday, I decided I'd post some pictures of Drew and Noah's 1st days of preschool. It's so hard not to get in a sentimental funk when looking at old pictures though. You just don't realize how fast it goes by till you look at those sweet chubby cheeks and realize that it's hard to remember those.

Drew's 1st day of preschool Fall 2002

Such a cute picture of him, I just wish there wasn't a shadow on his face.

He got his nametag and went to the dress up box. I think he's going on safari.

Noah's 1st Day of Preschool Fall 2005

The lovely squinty smile because "mom it's too sunny". He still does that too.

Picture in front of preschool.

1st day of school and he's already a princess. I'm so proud.

Preschool Open House

We had Aiden's Open House to sign up for preschool next year. I was happy to see such a great turnout but the one thing happened that I was afraid of happening......we were the oldest parents there. I guess that happens by the time you get around to putting your 3rd child in school. What was really wierd was my 23 year old brother's friend and his wife have their little girl going there. *Insert Twilight Zone music.* Later in the evening there were a couple more parents that came that appeared older. Whew, we aren't the only old geezers. Aiden was excited, he's spent so much time at school with his brothers that it didn't even phase him. He walked in, took his coat off, and started playing with the other kids. I guess next fall it will once again be me in tears as I leave my last baby at school. I guess it's a good thing that my boys have all been so excited for school, it's always been harder for ME to separate than them. Even though Aiden will only be gone 6 hours per week next year, I am already worrying about that empty nest feeling. Sure, I look forward to 6 glorious hours to myself to do whatever I want....or nothing!! But as time continues to fly by, I know in a blink he will be entering kindergarten just as his brothers did and life will never be the same. I will then no long have little guys home with me, I will miss them like crazy, and I will eventually need to go back to working full time. I have loved every age and stage with my 3 and I look forward to the rest of the journey with them but I wish it would stop going by so quickly. I can remember sending Drew and Noah off to preschool like it was yesterday.....it was yesterday wasn't it?? I can't help but get a little.....well, okay, a LOT sentimental when we hit these milestones. I think that's why the baby fever has been getting me lately. I know we aren't having anymore, I just miss that baby stage. I can't help but be a little unsure of the future also. I work outside of the home but very part time, what will I do when I go back full time?? I've been an at home mom for so long that I feel like I sometimes don't know how to be anything else. We've hit a rough stage with Drew lately too and if hitting age 10 is like this, I'm scared of the teen years with my boys. It will make me miss the younger years even more. My feelings are just all over the place today so I apologize for jumping from one thing to the next. With having a couple of rough days with Drew and Aiden with behavior issues, I'm back to questioning myself and them and everything in between. But the bottom line is, I love my boys more than anything in the world and while sometimes that means they may break my heart a little at times, I just keep plodding along, trying to do my best, and hope they turn out ok. The damndest thing is, the traits they have that are driving me nuts.....they inherited from me! What do I do about THAT?? :) I'm trying to change but they make it hard some days.

Bendables

You know you've bought generic Q-tips when you go to clean your son's ear and it bends completely in half.

Glow Stick Experiment

Glow sticks. Kids love em'. It's pretty cool that by bending and cracking a piece of plastic, you can get it to glow all night. Did you know they are non-toxic?? (Thank God!) Did you also know that if you chew on them, they will crack open and spill onto your PJ's, your sheets, and yes, even your carpet? You and your bedroom can look radioactive all night long. Well, unless your mom is paranoid of it bleaching out your sheets, PJ's and carpet and gets everything changed and thrown into the laundry immediately. And now glow sticks will no longer be used as lightsabers and especially not be taken to bed with little ones.

Oh, and my cat has a problem. We can't get him to stop eating cardboard. Yes, we do feed him but I'm guessing he needs the extra fiber??? The bad part is, the boxes I brought home from work to pack things in are all chewed up and look like a large family of mice lived in them (minus the mouse turds). He will also hide out in it and when you walk by the box he will leap out like a maniac and cause you to almost pee your pants.

Life is always interesting.

Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Our weekend was chock full of fun so we kept busy. Friday night we went to my Aunt Jer's house for a Mardi Gras party and had a lot of fun (and good food!!!) there. My Valentine's Day started off bright and early....Drew had a soccer game at 8am and Noah had one on the next field over at 8:30. Drew scored an amazing goal that just sailed into the net...it was awesome and Noah's team finished their last game of the season with a bang. They won by a large margin and finished the season with only one loss!! Their team did great.

We came home and I had to jump in the shower so I could get dressed and ready to attend a distant cousin's wedding. Todd and the boys had some Valentine surprises in store for me and I received them in true mom fashion......I was sitting on the toilet before my shower, the door bursts open and the boys come running in bearing gifts and yelling "Happy Valentines' Day Mom". Such is my life. I asked if they minded waiting for me in the living room so I finished my business and headed out. They had some flowers for me, homemade truffles and a beautiful card. I'm such a lucky mom and I have to say, being the only female in the house has it's advantages sometimes!!! (and I must learn to lock the bathroom door!)

The wedding was beautiful, I'm always such a mushy sap at weddings, I can't help myself. Afterwards my parents, Todd, the boys and I met up with my cousin Kris and her fiance Brian at Kelly's for lunch. (or 'the restaurant with the rainbow' as Aiden calls it) That night the boys had a fun evening at Todd's parents while he and I attended the wedding reception by ourselves. It was fun to get dressed up and go out with the family and relax and have some fun.

Sunday my nephew Blake got to spend the night as part of his 5th birthday present. Drew and Noah each got that as a gift for their 5th birthdays from Matt and Beth so we thought we'd carry on the tradition. The 4 boys had a blast together and it gave me a small taste of what life with 4 boys would be like. Ya know, it's not any more chaotic than 3! That doesn't mean I'm going to rush out and have another one though!! I'll enjoy my niece and nephews!

For Valentine's Day I gave this to my mom and dad for their new house. My sister in law Beth took these awesome photos of the 6 grandkids (thanks Beth!!!) and I did the layout in the frame. I'm still feeling a little nitpicky about a couple of things but they are mostly things to do with the size of the layout. I wanted a bigger frame but completely fell in love with this one and bought in it's largest size---14x18. It looks awsome against their chocolate brown walls and I think my mom and dad loved it. How could they not when they can look at their 6 beautful grandkids every time they pass it???