Heard Around the House This Weekend.

We had a beautiful weekend here in Atlanta. We did manage to get the kids outside to play for a bit, but we also had chores inside so the kids played. Here are some choice snippets from Josh...

"Mom, most of the boys in my class like Rap Music, but not me! I like Rock and Roll!"

Need proof?




I don't know why they insist eon taking off their shirts when they play Guitar Hero...



That game has upped my coolness factor for the time being... "Mom! You know 'Paint it Black?' and 'Schools Out?'"

And then we went out side and got some fresh air too -- Josh had a baseball game....



He hit this ball. He did really well -- good fielding, good base running...

We played some soccer....






Rich was teaching Josh tricks --








And then they boys were filthy so we came home for baths/showers. While I was getting Sam cleaned up Josh got in the shower...

Josh: "Okay Mom, I'm done."

Me (from the other room): Did you wash your hair?

Josh (sighs): Yes!

Me (still from the other room): Did you use shampoo?

Josh (getting annoyed): YES!!!!

Me (now looking at Josh): Then why is your hair still dry?

Yes, he had to go back in the shower and actually CLEAN himself!

I Hope He Stays This Way

Josh is a little ray of sunshine... but if you know him, you already know that. He really is a sweet, sweet kid.

And, most of the time he's an optimist and it's wonderful to see.

Last week they changed his bus times and bus route. I think, like most school districts, there is an effort to save money so they combined his routes with another.

This means the bus comes 10 minutes earlier in the morning -- thank goodness! Before he barely made it to school on time! And it's more crowded. They sit three people to a seat.

And in the afternoons, since we're near the end of the line, he's not getting home until almost 3:00 -- school is dismissed around 2:15 and the buses leave the school at 2:20. Before, he was getting home at 2:30.

One of the other parents at the bus stop was a bit upset as her daughter, a kindergartner, doesn't like crowds and because they're home later, she's concerned because the kids are on the bus for so long!

Josh got off the bus one day last week all smiles and said, "Mom, this is great! Now we get to sit three to a seat so I have MORE friends to talk to, AND I get to be on the bus longer so I can talk to them LONGER!"

And then earlier this week, after his last chorus concert we asked him if he was upset, "No, not really. It's been fun, but this just means I'm even closer to being a THIRD GRADER!"

Don't you just love his spirit?

Making Adjustments...

It's amazing how little changes to schedules can cause all sorts of adjustments.

I'm sure most of you know Rich used to work from home almost every day. It was great because the kids could see him and talk to him. He'd be around for dinner and if he still had work he could eat then head back to the basement to finish up.

Well, with his new role -- he's started working with a new group and he loves it -- he's had to go into the office every day now, with a few exceptions (like yesterday). Usually he gets up and has breakfast with the kids, then does his workout and goes in late. This means he's not home until after dinner and the kids are either in bed or in the process of "going" to bed.

And on the few occasions he goes in early, he usually calls to say there's a late meeting...

So this has messed up our routine in more ways than I can count.

For one thing, the idea of a "Family Dinner" is now just that... "an idea." But, realizing how important it is to sit down together, I don't want to give up on this idea completely. So, now I eat with Rich some nights when he comes home and some nights I eat with the kids.

Of course I also want to eliminate "cooking twice" and I don't really want the kids living on a diet of hot dogs, chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese, so meal planning has to be creative as well. I don't mind the "not quite as healthy" meals for the kids on occasion, but as a rule, I'd like them to eat "real" food. I'm still working on what the best option are here, so suggestions are appreciated! I did just buy a slow cooker and so far it's great, but I'm still working out how best to fit it into our lifestyle. By the way, best way ever to roast beets is in the slow cooker.

Another adjustment is when the kids come home from school. The first thing they do is still open the door to the basement to say hi to Daddy. It's been three weeks!

Our weekends have changed too. Now the little chores Rich used to do in the week, like paying bills and such, he has to do during the weekend.

And it's not just adjusting to Rich's new schedule. My kids are growing up! Josh now has baseball practice on Friday nights and games on Saturdays. Last night, he had his last chorus performance of the year. We went to watch all the local school choruses perform in a "Cluster Concert." All the choruses from the schools in North Cobb (county) came together to perform. Josh's chorus was first and the youngest. Then we listened to some 4th grade choruses, middle school choruses, and the High School Chorus. I tell you, I was very impressed with all the kids!

And poor Sam. The concert didn't even start until 6:30 PM and we didn't get home until almost 9:00 PM. The poor kid usually goes to bed at 7:00 - and what time do you think he got up? Yep, 5:30... I was never so happy to send him to school. He won't be grumpy there, but he will if he stays home!

So, we're all adjusting to new schedules, growing kids and more responsibilities...

Just Call Me "Auntie Purl"

I've been doing a bit of knitting lately and thought I'd share some of what I've done.

This is a baby sweater I made for a friend. She's due with her fourth child (3rd boy) the end of the month. Last month she had a baby shower at a paint your own pottery place. It was pretty cool. I think I may bring Josh there -- he'd have a blast painting up a plate or something.

Anyway, I got the pattern from a book I have called "Weekend Knitting." It was fun to knit up. The yarn was not so great, it kept splitting -- but it was the color I needed. It knit up quickly too. It's unique because it's knit "sideways" -- instead of knitting from bottom to top, it's knit from side to side.

I'm not really happy with the buttons either, but over all, I think it's cute.



I have another friend who just had a baby. This is a bib I quickly knit up for her. I got this pattern from a knitting community called Ravelry. It's from the blog "String Theory." It was a very easy, quick knit up. I used some stash yarn and it didn't take much.



And the last thing I made is my favorite thing so far. I made a turtle -- from the Sheldon pattern on Knitty.com.


This one is Josh's and he named it "Dribble" after the turtle in Judy Blume's "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing."



This is so cute! And very quick to knit up. Plus it was interesting to knit -- lots to do. The boys love it and of course now I need to knit another one so they each have their own. Right now they're doing a great job of sharing "Dribble."



And after I finish Sam's turtle he wants me to knit him a super hero cape! So I've got a few things on the horizon... and still, nothing in the que for me!

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And on an unrelated note... I'm having a giveaway on the Being Savvy Atlanta site. Five gift boxes of Tree Top Trim are up for grabs.... Head over to enter!

My Boy is Now Eight!

Well we had a fun and exciting weekend!

Josh's birthday was on Sunday and instead of a party we talked him into just inviting one friend over to spend the night. We were able to convince him without a party, he'd get a better present because we'd have the money to spend on the gifts.

Worked a charm! On Saturday, he invited his friend Sean over and since we're friends with his parents and hadn't seen them in ages, we just invited the whole family over for dinner. That way Josh and Sam could play with Sean and his brother Jackson for a bit while we had some "grown up" conversation with Pat & Sherry!

One thing Josh did request was that I make some Shark cupcakes from my Hello, Cupcake book. I only made four since there were only four boys.

I think they turned out cute! The "sharks" are twinkies that have been cut and dipped in grey frosting.



The "teeth" were a challenge -- and one fell on top of another one so I had to try and fix it. But in the end, it didn't matter... the boys ate them!



Like I said, the boys were entertaining themselves while the grown ups ate dinner. At one point it sounded like they were having a sack race around the 2nd floor. And guess what? Not only were they having a "sack race" but a "redneck sack race" to boot!



I guess they had to run off all the sugar from the cupcakes!

We got up and took the boys out to IHOP for breakfast then dropped Sean off. I'm still finding his stuff around the house! Good thing he lives close by so I can drop them off!

After we dropped Sean off with his parents it was time to come home to open presents!

We took all the money family had given us for birthdays and bought a "family" present -- a PlayStation3. And it is fantastic! It plays BlueRay Discs and the picture is just awesome! We had to go out and buy a movie just to watch it!

Anyway, he also got two games for the PS3 -- Little Big Planet and Guitar Hero. Sam loves Little Big Planet and Josh has become addicted to Guitar Hero! I must admit, both are fun!

Here's what my son will look like as a Rock Star!



He's got real "bed head" in this photo... he didn't even need to "fake" it! And notice the nice Red Liverpool t-shirt Auntie Jane and Uncle Rich gave him! Needless to say, it's his favorite t-shirt!

Sam has been asking to play tennis and we were lucky enough to get some tennis rackets from Auntie Jo & Uncle Dean for both the boys.



Sam has hardly put his down. He wanted to take it to school to show his friends. When he opened it he said, "Are these for the WII?"

And since it was Josh's birthday, that means it snowed yesterday!



We lucked out here and had no accumulation although other parts of the metro area received quite a bit. We'd had several days of rain prior to the snow so there was lots of ice out on the roads. Our county was the only school district in the Atlanta area (just about) not closed! There may have been two or three others... but most were closed.

So now we're just recovering! Since the kids were tired yesterday, it was nice to just hang out at home and let Josh enjoy his presents!