My Goals for October

There is a lot of things that I need to do with/teach my boys for them to be more self sufficient in life.

Generally, I find myself saying, "We really need to work on that." and then it quickly gets forgotten thanks to all the daily craziness. Plus, I just get overwhelmed by the long list.

There really is a lot that kids need to know.

I've decided that I am going to give myself a monthly to do list. A short list of things to work on. I do good when I have lists.

Our goals for October were to:

• teach Lucas to finally ride his bike (he's close, but still a bit timid)
• get Josh Oliver potty trained
• teach Luke and Henry the Our Father
• teach Luke how to tie his shoes (he added that one himself)

Now that the month is over, Josh is well on his way to getting potty trained, Luke is tying his shoes, and both boys know the Our Father. Luke still isn't riding his bike by himself, but as soon as he stops checking to see if we are still holding on, there will be no stopping him!

Now I have to figure out my list for November. So far I have:

• finish potty training Joshers
• get Luke riding his bike and start on Henry
• teach the boys how to tell time
• learn the Hail Mary
• work on Luke and Henry's handwriting

It's a good system for me!

A Kansas City Halloween

This past weekend we went to Kansas City for our big Halloween weekend.

On the agenda was:

• a ride on the Haunted Train in Baldwin
• a trip to the Night of the Living Farm at the Deanna Rose Farm
• a KU football game for Lucas and Uncle Dave
• lots and lots of time spent playing outside.

What we learned over the weekend:

• even when Henry is terrified, he puts on a brave face and forges on (we all feel bad about having a hand in scaring him)
• Lucas still gets horribly quiet and shy when he is super excited (the football game)
• It's really hard to drag Josh off of a dance floor
• Eli is not a fan of haunted houses
• Josh Oliver has learned that if he takes toys to the basement to play with them, he won't have to share with Eli
• Lucas is one of the best marshmallow roasters, but will not eat them
• Potty training and Aunt Amy's house is not a good combination
• Flashlights and scavenger hunts is one of the funnest things EVER for my boys

It was a fabulous weekend--probably one of our best ever! I love October and everything that comes with it!

"Well...this is it." --Henry, convinced he was about to be stolen by the spooks

(He really was smiling through his terror!)

A Kansas City Halloween

This past weekend we went to KC for our big Halloween weekend.

On the agenda was a ride on the Haunted Train in Baldwin and a trip to the Night of the Living Farm at the Deanna Rose Farm. Also included was lots and lots of time playing outside, and a KU football game for Lucas and Uncle Dave.

It was a pretty fabulous weekend!

On the train, we kind of let our storytelling get away from us and ended up convincing Henry that the spooks were going to take him in the haunted house. I must say that Gigi, who is by far the biggest chicken when it comes to haunted house, was probably the worst with the story telling. In our defense, we were laughing the entire time and Henry was smiling the whole time so we didn't really realize how wrapped up in the story he was. Lucas wasn't paying attention to us and Josh was busy falling asleep, so it was only Henry that was involved. Poor kid!

Right before we went in he just calmly said to Gigi, "Well, this is it." and then bravely went in. Turns out that it was the "wetness in our eyes" that had him convinced. He apparently didn't realize that the tears were because we were laughing so hard! Good to know that he is so brave, though!

At the Haunted Farm we were really impressed with how much stuff there was to do. Oddly enough, the biggest attractions for my boys were all of the animals and play areas that are there any given day. The boys really loved a dancing stage that was set up. They rocked out to some Miley Cyrus and Elvis! There was also a super fun scavanger hunt with--guess what--FLASHLIGHTS!!! It was really fun!

Enjoying Fall

I deemed last Friday as our Fall Holiday.

Our weekends in October are always busy, and with Lucas at school all day long, we just haven’t gotten a chance to enjoy fall the way it is suppose to be enjoyed.

I kept Henry home from Preschool and Lucas came home after lunch. (I was going to keep him out all day, but I decided that would be a little too irresponsible!) We spent the afternoon playing outside in the leaves and riding bikes. It was perfect!

I’m thinking it may have to become a yearly holiday for us—only next year I think I really will keep the boys home all day long!

I Really Am Lucky

I am one heck of a lucky girl.

I've got four fabulous boys who I adore.

There are days, though, that I have to remind myself that they really are good boys.

Today ended up being a bit rough thanks to these two--especially the cute one on the right!

Grandpa Henry

Today Henry and I were having one of our random conversations.

He told me that when he was older he was going to be a Grandpa.

Then, however, he started thinking about it a little more.

H--"Who will be my grandkids?"

M--"Well, I don't really know."

H--"Who will be the grandma?"

M--"Well, probably the girl that you marry."

H--"Oh. Well, I did meet one girl at that party with the animals. She was really pretty and I think I'm going to marry her. She's an adult already."

He really should have asked her what her name was--especially since she's gong to be the grandma to his grandkids!

Momma's Boy

Josh Oliver is a Momma's Boy.

I can't really decide if I like it or not.

I love the extra cuddles that I get and it's always nice to hear him insist that I hold his hand, or push his stroller, or read him a book. There are times, though, when it gets a little ridiculous.

Sometimes he will have trash, or a cup, or something equally trivial, to give to me. If anyone else offers their hand to take it he will say to them, "No. I give it to my Momma!" There have also been many times when he will say something to me and Ben or Gigi will say something back to him and he will say, "I'm talkin' to my momma"--as in "not to you"!

It's almost like he has a bit of tunnel vision. He wants to interact with me and no one else. Luckily, it only gets that bad a few times a day, and occasionally it's me that he completely shuns for someone else.

I've also started noticing a lot more jealousy with other kids. If I hold a baby or play with someone else he tries to push his way in between us. One time I was holding one of my friend's babies and he just kept telling me to "leave her alone." Actually he was hollering it at me from 10 yards away at the YMCA. It was sort of embarrassing!

When it comes down to it, I really do love that he's my boy! I will happily take any extra attention he wants to give me, even if it isn't always convenient!

We are working on being a polite Momma's boy, though!