My Little Hockey Player

I was finally able to get a few pictures of Drew playing hockey. Unfortunately he plays on mondays when I work but last night my awesome boss let me off a bit early so I could go watch him play! Do you know how hard it is to get good clear pictures of kids constantly in motion? Whew! In the first picture, Drew is the kid with the white helmet on, also the only non-blurry kid! LOL


Drew going after the puck. (white shirt, white helmet) I need to get a picture of him before or after his game in all of his gear, he looks so cute. (just don't tell him I used the word, "cute") It is so exciting to watch them play, such a fast paced game with lots of action. It's hard to believe he's only played since fall, he's come a long way already.

Here's some video of Drew coming oh so close to scoring a goal. Of course a couple of minutes after this he scored an awesome goal and I didn't have my camera on. Figures!!

Sleepover in Noah's Room

Last weekend Drew spent the night at a friends' house so Noah and Aiden thought it would be fun if Aiden had a "sleepover" in Noah's bed. They were so cute cuddled up together in the twin bed and Jack even joined in on the fun.

They enjoyed it so much that they did it again the next night. The perk?? Aiden didn't wake us up at all during the night! Woohoo. Monday night when Todd said it was bedtime, Aiden walks in and climbs into Noah's bed again. When Todd said something about it, Aiden said that Noah was letting him sleep there every night. Too sweet. We did make Aiden sleep in his own bed and will let them sleep together on the weekend again if they want.

The boys have been playing so sweetly with Aiden lately. Just the past few weeks I've noticed Noah and Aiden playing together constantly, whether it be with Legos, Little People, Star Wars and Ben 10 guys, Pokemon cards, or whatever, the two of them have been spending a lot of time together and I've even noticed Drew going out of his way to make time for him. I think Aiden is finally getting old enough where they have more in common and it's so sweet to it. All along Aiden has just wanted to be a part of things with his big brothers and I always worried that with his age gap compared to Drew and Noah's that that would never happen. It's also a huge help to me because I can save all of that make believe play for him and Noah (makes me want to bang my head against the wall) and during the day Aiden and I can do other things.

Snow Play

Ok, I've been a lazy blogger. In fact, the pictures I'm posting today are from a few weeks ago. My camera battery died and I was too lazy to recharge it and upload pictures. All of this fog, clouds, rain, snow, mist, etc is making for some dreary days and not much to take pictures of. Anyway, I have some great pictures of the boys playing in the snow, taken back when we used to have sunshine. I honestly can't even tell you when we last saw the sun and it looks like it may be days yet before the sun peeks through. Depressing I tell ya. The boys got a snowball and fort making kit from Santa and put it to good use one day. Todd even got the great idea to use a Rubbermaid tote to make big snow bricks so they made two forts and plenty of snowballs. They had a blast.

Noah working so hard to carefully make his arsenal of snowballs.

Jack is looking wistfully outside, wishing he could join in the fun.

Working on fort building.....

Maybe Drew thinks that if you put a circle around your snowballs that no one will touch them?

Aiden's letting Dad do all of the hard work.

I think we've gotten more snow this winter than in many of the past winters. Unfortunately the last big snow the temps were well below zero so we didn't get to enjoy it quite as much as this snow. Look sunshine!!

Jack 1 Gerbils 0

Jack finally figured out how to get into the gerbil cage....the gerbils hightailed it into the tube to escape him. LOL One gerbil escaped from the tank this morning and Jack chased him around the house. Never a dull moment here.

Start of a New Decade

I've been a little slow lately. Maybe all the holiday celebrating wore my brain out. It wasn't until New Years Day that it finally dawned on me that not only were we starting a new year but also a new decade. It got me to thinking about where I was 10 years ago. How far I've come since then and yet the time passed by in a blink.

Ten years ago this past New Years Eve, I was a young mom of 27. I had a nine month old baby boy, had only been at my new part time job for 3 months, and to celebrate my new years eve??? My best friend and her hubby were visiting from Florida to ring in the new year with us. That's only the second one we've spent together since we were little girls living in Hazelwood Ct. I don't have any jaw dropping stories of ringing in the New Millenium for you. I was a very sleep deprived mom need I remind you and my very best friend was early in her first pregnancy. Let's just say her and my bathrooms became very well acquainted during that trip. We didn't quite make it until the stroke of twelve but I vaguely remember being roused from my slumber at midnight by firecrackers and other noises. Then I was back to dreamland for a short time, until Drew was ready to eat.

In a lot of ways, I feel like a whole different person now than I was then. It is true that "with age comes wisdom" but I also know I have different views, different passions, different dreams than I did 10 years ago. I'm happy with the place I'm in, I'm very blessed. But I'm not completely happy with certain things about myself. As always, I am a work in progress and I look forward to seeing where I am 10 years from now.

Nothing Better

Sometimes there's nothing better than curling up on the couch with a good book....and a good cat.

Some Christmas Fun

I'm taking a break from gift wrapping to finally update my blog. I have a pain in my neck, a pain in my rear, and a pain in my back from sitting on the floor hunched over gifts. Seriously. I'd ask dear hubby for a back rub but he is snoring in the bedroom. Guess I'll do this all myself.

We've been having fun with our new camcorder that my inlaws gave us for Christmas. We have the software installed on the computer. Now I just need to figure out how to get the clips on the blog......because I have some cute stuff to share. Like Christmas programs, Noah singing in the shower, Drew scoring a hockey goal, so much fun!

One thing I've learned over the years is that it is impossible to get a good picture during the Christmas programs. The lighting stinks, there are a million people, and you can't get close enough to get one anyway. Some day the video will come. Until then, here is my sweet little Joseph. (center with gold halo). The funny part was that towards the end, he halo broke and he was sitting there with a confused look trying to put it back on his head. It was just hanging there. I was cracking up. I said that was God's joke for me. (but isn't he cute??)

We had Christmas parties and I got to attend both of them. Here Aiden and his friend Ethan are busy decorating their Christmas cookies.

Noah and friends are busy painting a Christmas ornament.

Drew's class just watched Elf and had snacks so I sent something to school with him and then popped in to say hi towards the end of the day.

Sunday was the annual Boat Club Christmas Party. Aiden and Noah were so excited to see Santa coming. We had been wondering about Noah's beliefs but he soooo believes. LOVE IT. My sweet gullible 8 year old. Hopefully we can pull it off one more year.

Drew's a smart kid, he knew if he wanted to get his gift from Santa, he had to sit on his lap. As you can see, he told him his wishes. Can't hurt...

I just about melted when Aiden climbed onto Santa's lap. He just snuggled in and rested his head against his beard. I think he was trying to butter him up.He had quite a list.

Noah almost seems taken aback by something Santa said. LOL

Santa must be telling him something good....

So much more, so little time. The cats are playing in the wrapping paper and with the plastic bags. I guess I need to get back to work so I can sleep sometime tonight. Hopefully tomorrow I can finally relax and begin to enjoy Christmas a little bit.

Aiden's First School Picture

His first official school picture is a keeper! I just look at that kid and melt. He may drive me to the brink of insanity more than once per day, but one look at those big brown eyes, dimpled smile, and blonde curls, is enough to melt my heart. LOVE him! My baby is growing up.

Catching Up

I've been meaning to blog for ages but life just gets in the way sometimes....and Facebook is just so quick and easy, and my Christmas shopping is so close to being done.....I can see the end!! The holidays, family activities, and the day to day hustle and bustle has been crazy, but fun. I'll try to catch you up.........

A couple of weekends ago, Aiden had his cousin Ty spend the night. Drew and Noah have been busy with playdates, sleepovers, etc with their friends and one day Aiden asked, "What about me?". Poor third child. So we told him he could have an evening of his own to have someone over. He chose Ty. The two of them had so much fun together and Tyler was such a joy to have. Todd snapped this picture at bedtime. Aiden is pretending to sleep and Ty was laughing at him.

Thanksgiving Day Todd, Drew, Noah and my SIL Beth ran the 5k Turkey Run. It was SOOO cold that day, but it didn't seem to slow them down one bit. It was Beth and Noah's first 5k so I was especially proud of them.

Here are Beth and Drew heading to the finish line.

Noah and Todd hitting the finish line.


My 4 favorite runners.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with both sides of the family afterwards.

I went in to check on the boys before bed the other night and this is what I found. I don't know how Noah was sleeping like that but he did. The cats both look comfy though, don't they?

We celebrated my Dad's 60th birthday with a party at their house. His actual birthday is December 7th, so he's not officially old for a few more days yet. ;) Love you Dad!

When I said I was ready to decorate the Christmas tree, I didn't mean decorate it with kitties.

The cats have been crazy with this tree. I'm thankful now that we are using a fake one this year because a real one would be naked now with pine needles strewn about my house. Tonight the ornaments go on....pray for me.

This could really scare the crap out of somebody........

Drew has been loving hockey and indoor soccer so he is keeping busy with that....and losing teeth of course. The tooth fairy has been busy. Noah had his First Reconciliation Tuesday night. He got to read one of the readings and did a super job. I was proud of him. He's also busy with indoor soccer with his friends. I just found out this morning when I dropped Aiden off at school, that he is going to be Joseph in the Christmas play in a couple of weeks. I laughed at that for a couple of hours. I'm hoping he can pull the holy look off. He'll make a darn cute Joseph though. I'm excited because this will be the first year that all 3 boys will be in the Christmas play together. Lots more to look forward to this month!!!

You're Not Alone

Do you ever feel like you are being watched???

(Grayson peeking down at me from the top of our kitchen cabinets. It's almost creepy)
The gerbils have been busy running around the house in their little ball and the cats love to watch. I'm not liking the look on Graysons' face right now. I also just noticed Jack on the left with his paw underneath the ball. It might have helped it I had edited these first. The lighting isn't really good, Jack just blended right in.

And I have to say, those gerbils are so stinkin' cute. I want to get a picture of them when they cuddle up together and sleep. And if you accidentally wake them, their little heads poke up and they look around all sleepy eyed. Yes, our zoo keeps us busy but they are so much fun. If only we could train Jack to stop eating everything he sees! He just ate through a package of rolls I had bought for dinner....two of them are missing their bottom half.

Leaf Dancing

All this cold and rain makes me want to have back the first two weeks of November when we actually had some nice fall weather. After one of the big storms, it actually dried out a bit AND was warm out. We had a ton more of raking to do. The boys had a blast dancing in the leaves. Todd was standing on our roof with the leaf blower blowing all of the leaves out of the gutters and the two younger boys had a blast running through it. When I tried it, I got hit in the head with acorns so I left that fun to them. (very crummy lighting....it gets dark way too early!)

Leaf Angels!

Aiden being his crazy self

This one makes me laugh out loud every time I see it.

My little fairies.

Drew worked so hard to rake up a big pile. I told him he got the first jump.

(what's so funny is that all these leaves and then some were in our front yard. We don't even have any trees in the front yard! LOL)
Noah and Aiden decided to bury Drew in the leaves.

POP! Goes The Drewdles!

I know Christmas is around the corner already but I just don't feel in the Christmas spirit yet. I was some more beautiful fall weather!!

Skating Lessons

Watching Drew play roller hockey last night (he scored another goal, by the way!!) made me think of a day this past summer when he tried to teach Aiden how to roller blade. Aiden had only gone roller skating a couple of times and when digging through the garage we found Drew's first pair of adjustable roller blades. Drew took Aiden out and taught him how to do it. Yes, Aiden is still wearing his PJ's but in his defense, it was like 8:30 in the morning!

Slow and steady.

Already a Pro!
Big brother goes off on his own.

Capturing A Perfect Moment

Sometimes you just walk into a room and see something that makes your heart melt. Halloween afternoon these 3 were cuddled up watching TV. I had no idea they had fallen asleep until I walked in the room.
Later after Todd had been up for a bit, I had to go in and wake Aiden to go trick or treating. I kissed him on the forehead, he woke up with a smile and asked me if he could get up now. I told him to look at who was sleeping on his arm. He smiled and rolled over and cuddled with Jack for awhile before getting up. I swear, how did we find the best 2 cats in the world??

School and Sport Pictures

The first 3 pictures are all scanned in so not the best of quality. We got Drew and Noah's school pictures back friday. I was happy with how they turned out. They just look too grown up though. My only question.......Couldn't have Noah's background been just a little bit greener?? I mean, it's just so faint. HA! Trust me, it's even worse in person, thank you scanner for toning that down a bit. But nothing can ruin my two handsome dudes smiles. Aiden gets his first school picture ever on the 13th so I'm anxious to see how his turn out too!

I had forgotten to scan Drew's soccer pictures in. The wet spot on his shirt??? From all of that white frost on the grass in the background!! It was so cold and the grass was covered in ice. When they kicked the ball, ice would go flying. Nuts! But I love the picture.

The team with Coach Dad....minus a few players. At least the sun had come out by this point! These were taken in the beginning of October too! Crazy weather. They have their last game this coming Saturday at 10:30 and then Sunday they start indoor soccer at 10am. No rest for the weary. Noah and Todd start up too. I didn't realize the women's league is only second session so I have until January to get in shape now. Woohee!

Drew decided he wanted to give roller hockey a try. Since it was only on Monday evenings for a half an hour for 8 weeks, we said he could do it. They provide all the equipment too which is really nice. Drew did bring his Dad's hockey stick though from back in the day when Todd played in high school. He thought that was pretty special. For having never played before, he's picking it up pretty well. He's gone to a few practices also so that has helped. These were from the first game so I want to take some more later in the season. Drew is in the black clothes. There are some girls in the league too and let me tell you, they can kick some butt! Watch out for them!