Happy Halloween!!

Today I am going Trick or Treating today.YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy.....................Lexie

We had fun:) I think the kids are about done in:) Here are some pics:)

Kids are enjoying life:)

Ok - sorry I had to abandon you for a sec. I was picking Brett up at school and now we are at Lemmer waiting for Lexie. I love Thursdays:)

Lexie woke up with a sore throat yesterday, but I think it was just from being dry as she was fine an hour or so later!!

Last night, Charlie and Morgan came over. Charlie was helping Jason work on the house and Morgan played with the kids. I guess they all got along good:)  I toasted the pumpkin seeds from their carving. They carved their pumpkins Tuesday night. They sure had fun:) I've got pics:) I might see if I can upload them for you:)

The kids are doing well:) Brett wasn't too happy with his archery teacher on Tuesday, so he left class and went to the gameroom. Jason and I weren't very happy with him, so Jason took his video game privileges away for a week or so.

Lexie still loves dance:) She was supposed to start ice skating on Sunday, but she doesn't have skates yet:( I can't seem to ever catch the lady at the pro shop:( I think I'm just going to get her some from Dunham's.

Jason and I are going to be hippies for Halloween and Wanda and I have been working on our bell-bottoms:) Lexie wants a pair, too:) So I'll have to get her a cheap pair of jeans we can cut up:) She wants to wear them to school:) She's a fashion statement for sure;)

I guess that's it for now:) I'll talk to you soon:)

sorry:(

Hey:) Sorry it's been awhile:( Between sick kids, our anniversary, and starting a new job, I've been pretty busy. I'm trying to keep bloggin, but sometimes other things just have to be done:(

Brett missed 2 1/2 days of school this week!!!!

Hey:) Sorry it's been so long, but it's been crazy lately. Brett's not been feeling well:( He missed school Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, Thursday he called grandma to come pick him up. He had a really bad cough. He finished the MEAP tests he'd missed. He went to the doctor on Thursday and the doctor said he looked pretty good. It was just going to have to run it's course. He felt much better today:)

Yesterday, Jason and I celebrated our 10th anniversary:) Not much to tell other than I quit my job:) That's a long story that I will explain further on my own blog later:) This one's for the kids:) They are spending the night at grandma's since Jason and I are in Houghton/Hancock for our romantic weekend away:) Yeah, go ahead and laugh if you know the area:)

Well, we're gonna go laugh at the karoke singers in the bar:) Have a good one:)

Fallin behind:(

Sorry - it's been a busy few days and now I'll attempt to catch you up on all of it:)

Ok, we'll start with Thursday:) I've been trying to keep notes so I don't forget things;) Brett had a pretty good day:) He passed his Mad Minute and got to move onto the next one:) He got 2 wrong on his spelling test (90%). He spelled received and delicious wrong -which are hard words. I'm pretty proud of him:) He also brought home his progress report - all !s and Bs except 1 C in spelling - we are going to bring that up to at least a B by the end of the marking period:)

Lexie had her last day of MEAP testing - we will get the results in the spring, I velieve. Why does it take so long?? You don't know what the kids need to work on until it's too late:( I'm pretty sure I told you about her progress report already - all As and Bs except 1 C in math.

She's doing much better in dance:) Last week, she was...well, there are no words to say what she was!! LOL!! Uncoordinated, for sure;) She's pretty excited to be almost done with basketball:) She loves it, but she doesn't like having to get up at 7 a.m. on Saturdays to go:( She complains about only being able to sleep in on Sundays when she has to get up at 9 for church:) Poor baby, right?

Oh, if you haven't tried Chocolate Peanut Butter or Chocolate Turtle Chex Mix, you need to!! Awesome!!


Friday - not too much to say - I had to work 4-9, so I saw Brett for a couple minutes before leaving for work and I came home in time to see Lex go to bed:( I hate night shifts when my kids are in school!!

On Saturday, we went to Clintonville for my nephew's birthday party. He turns 9 on Wednesday:) He had a "friend party" this year, but Brett & Lexie were invited since they are in the same age-range. It was at the Rec Center and the kids got to go swimming. Then they ate cake and opened presents, then we went to my sister's for 1/2 hour or so. Casey had bought a pogo stick for Lexie's birthday. We got Ovid a Star Wars Trouble game and an iTunes card so he could get some new music for his mp3 player. When we left, we headed to Green Bay to Gander Mountain to pick up some shells for someone Jason knows. We stopped in Menominee at Pizza Hut for dinner and got home around 9. It was a long day, but we had fun:)

Yesterday, we went up to camp. We brought Lexie's friend, Emily, with us. She kept Lexie occupied and out of her brother's hair;) Brett and Taylor played Legos and something in the trees - I didn't ask:) We had ghoulash for dinner. Jason spilled the jar of his mom's homemade bread and butter pickles all over his lap - he sure smelled good on the way home:)

Not much to say about today - I went to town and picked up groceries - I actually had a list this time:) I made some crispy chicken for dinner - I will post the recipe on my blog later if you want it - the kids even liked it, but I think they like chicken as much as I do:) I also baked an apple pie - yep, I think I've only made one once.  Ok, well, I've gotta get ready to go to my MIL's:) If I have time later, I will try to post some pics:)

Lexie's Wednesday

Today I went to school and I MEAP tested. I also colored a big pumpkin and witch plus a haunted house. I went to the library and got 9 books. I went with my grandma. I was so happy:)

Slow day

Not the best day at work today:( Sorry, but I don't really feel like talking about it:(

Brett and Lexie didn't have any homework, but Brett has a spelling test tomorrow. We didn't get to study since he only has the words on his spelling packet which was due today and he had to turn it in. I hope he does well:)

Lexie has been working on MEAP testing which is Michigan Educational Assessment Program, I believe. She doesn't mind the testing.

I'm watching Baby Mama right now:)

The kids worked on chores today. Not too much going on.

Progress Report

Apparently, Lexie brought home a progress report on Friday and was supposed to have it signed and returned to school today, but I never saw it. She must not have given me her Friday folder!! What a brat!

Well, I am home alone. I'm not sure if it's nice or not. Sometimes it's nice when everyone is gone, but sometimes I miss the noise. I guess I'm just so used to them being around. We really didn't do much yesterday, but at least the kids and I got to go to the corn maze on Saturday:) Next time, I hope Jason can come with us.

I'm pretty excited that we've gotten to do so much with the kids this last year:) We, of course, did our Disney on Ice Green Bay trip in February. Then, in June, we took the kids down state to Mac Island and City, then the Soo Locks. In August, we had the fair and a trip to Fayette and Big Springs and now we've done the corn maze:) Plus, they were in soccer, basketball camp(s), archery, dance, etc. It's really nice to finally have the time to do some things with them! Sometimes, it's not great to only be working part-time, but it sure frees me up to do more for/with the kids:)

I'm going to sit down and try to make a Christmas plan:) I already have some ideas, but I'd like to get it all down:) Also, I've got to start thinking about Christmas cards:( Yeah, it's getting to be that time:) Maybe we'll have a nice fall picture this year:)

Oh, I finally got to at least hear about Lexie's progress report. She's got all A's and a C+ in math:( She's having trouble with subtraction. She starts MEAP testing tomorrow and she was studying for it last week.

Brett needs to practice his multiplication and cursive. We worked on multiplication for about an hour and finished up his spelling homework.

Catching up - Sunday:)

Well, not much going on today. I work 3-8 tonight, so not too much time to do anything:(

We had a pretty low-key morning. We just chilled out and did whatever we felt like. Brett played with his DS and Lexie played in her room. Jason was watching football, I think and I was watching Lethal Weapon 3 in the bedroom.

Around noon, Jason and the kids left for camp. I sat down with my book:) Lexie said camp was good. She didn't have much to say about it, though and Brett was sleeping when I gt home, so I didn't get to talk to him:(

Catching up - Saturday - Hayes Corn Maze

Lexie and Jason had to get up at 7 since Lexie had basketball at 8. Then Jason made breakfast for us:) We watched Bring It On: Fight to the Finish. Then we started on our chore list. The kid worked pretty hard:) They got their rooms clean, too:)

We are waiting to hear from Theresa and Morgan to see if they can join us at the Hayes Corn Maze today:) I've been wanting to go for a while:) My camera battery is charging. I'm looking forward to some pics:) I'm not telling the kids where we're going - I want to surprise them:)

Well, we ended up going by ourselves, but we had a great time:) We got all 10 of the stations and turned in our Maze Master cards:) It only took us 1 1/2 hour!! That's including the potty break and a visit to the farm animals. One of the chickens pecked a little girl and she was screaming:( Poor thing!! Brett and Lexie wanted to take one of the kittens home with us, but they weren't getting rid of them:( Lexie is still pretty sad about her cat:( We still haven't seen or heard from her:(

We're home now and working on dishes, laundry, and making spaghetti for dinner:)

Catching Up From the Weekend:- Friday

I put an extra 1/2 hour in at work today which was ok since I had to get Lexie to her extra tap lesson @ 4. I really wasn't looking forward to trying to find something to do in town for 2 hours. Jason worked until 5, so he picked her up when she was done at 5:30. I made Lexie a pizza at Subway before I left as she's always hungry after school. I ran into Walmart real quick to get ibuprofen, shampoo, conditioner, and dog food. Then we were off to dance. I dropped Lex off then headed to Shopko to exchange her 2 pairs of jeans ( I had accidentally gotten her slims). She tried them on when she got home and 1 still didn't fit! I think they were slims and marked wrong:( Now I gotta take them back AGAIN!!!

No word from Shopko on my table:( I checked while I was there, but there wasn't any:(

I made cola chicken and cheese ravioli for dinner:) Then we were off to Charlie and Theresa's house. We had lots of fun:_ Brett told me that he was massaging the girls' feet! Even his sister's !! He was the only boy.

Anyway, we got home late and went to bed:)

Run around!!

Brett and Lexie are working on chores right now:) They've been slacking alittle the past few days:( :(
Today was supposed to be my day off, but one of the girls were sick, so I went in for a couple of hours. I could only stay until 2 since I had to pick the kids up.I got to the middle school around quarter after and waited for Brett, but he never came:( I called Jason to see if he reminded Brett this morning about me picking him up and of course, he forgot>:( So I tried to hurry up and catch his bus before it left which I didn't:( Then Jason called me back and said that Brett's bus goes to the Holy Name school next - I was already on my way there!! Anyway, I caught up to him at Holy Name and had to go get him off of the bus.

Then we headed to the mall where we got Lexie a pretty blue sweater and denim shirt - I was looking for more jeans for her, but they mostly had skinny jeans which Lexie doesn't like. Then, Brett and I ran to Shopko and I found two pairs of jeans for Lex (and a new shirt, too!) By the way, Brett spent his allowance on a Tasty Science Kit. He can make fizzy drinks and some crystal suckers:) He's been eying it up for a while:)

Next, we went and picked Lexie up at school and ran to Wendy's for some chicken nuggets for a snack before dance. Whoops-we actually went to our chiropractor appt first:) We ate our snack, then had to run to Holiday to get gas and finally off to the dance studio where it was observation night. It was fun watching the girls and see what they had learned so far:)

Well, Lexie's pretty whiny tonight, so she's going to bed early! Brett is working on homework-he has to read aloud to one of us, so he's reading to daddy right now about volcanoes. Right up his alley:) That's all I can think of right now - I've got a headache:( and I'm super tired!

Brett loves the civic center:)

We had a pretty good day:) Both Brett and Lexie have spelling tests tomorrow, so we studied their words. They did pretty good - hopefully they'll do well on their tests:)

Brett had so much fun at the civic center yesterday that he wanted to go back today:) He even asked his friend, Aiden, to see if he could go there after school someday, too. Brett walked across the street to Northern Motors and asked Jason if he could go to the civic center today:) Even after I told him that we needed to plan it ahead of time:)

The kids received a birthday party invite today for their cousin, Ovid's, birthday party:) Hopefully, we will be going. We're planning on it, but we're not sure what time we will be able to go since Lexie has basketball that morning - I was hoping to catch one of my nephews' soccer games, but I don't think we'll be there in time:(

Well, I called and cancelled my NetZero today, so I'll only be using my netbook. I'm not sure if I'll be able to blog as much, but I sure will try:)

Well, have a good night, everyone - I'm sure I'll be talking to you more tomorrow:)

First day of archery:)

Brett's first day of Archery was great:) He loved it!! He couldn't wait to show me his target:) He did pretty well:) He also made a new friend named Tyler. He's also in 5th grade, but not in Brett's class.

Lexie was glad he wasn't home after school so she could get chores done without him! She wants to get the most checks.

We went to town after dinner to get a new kitchen table, but Shopko didn't have anymore:( We put one on raincheck:) She said they had just gotten a truck in, so they may have gotten some in tonight:) Then we ran to Menards and got a board for a small shelf above the stove and a piece of countertop for the new desk Jason is building for my new office. He's hoping to have my new room done by the end of next week:) Hooray!!

Oh, by the way, Brett told me that he could go to the civic center whenever he wanted and he could even do his homework there:) I already knew that;) So I let him know that we'd have to plan ahead and as long as it was ok with daddy to bring him there, he could go when I work til 4:)

Counting at Lemmer

This was supposed to be my blog from yesterday, but I did it using my cell phone and it came up all these letters and symbols:(  So here it is in plain English:

Hi! The kids had fun tonight:) I had to go to Lemmer school * help count fundraiser money:) They played on the playground with some other kids. Jason went with his brother to get firewood. After I was done counting, we went to my MIL's and had coconut cream pie:) Yummy! Ashley, Jason's cousin Tyler's girlfriend, made apple pie filling for us:) I'm going to have to make some soon:) Well, I think that's all for now. Have a great night, everyone:)

Sunday at Camp

I just want you to know that Brett is sad that I changed the pic - he liked the other one much better:) He's so funny:)

Anyway, yesterday, Jason took the kids to camp where they had lots of fun!! Lexie shot Brett's gun again and Jason said she's getting much better:) I wasn't too happy to hear about Lexie riding on the back of the 4-wheeler while my nephew, Taylor, drove it!!:( I told Lexie that she was absolutely not allowed to ride on the back with anyone other than an adult. Of course, she then asked me if Kylee, my niece,  was considered an adult. I told her, "No - Kylee is considered a 14-year old girl."

Jason said the leaves are beautiful up at camp:) Naturally, he didn't take the camera with him. Anyway, I'm hoping to make it up to camp and take some pics:)

A couple of kid-friendly recipes

I came across Brett's Summer Fun Book from preschool and thought that some of you might be interested in a couple of them as you have small children:) I hope you have fun:)

Apple Pinwheels

apples
cheese spread, cream cheese, or peanut butter

Core one medium apple for each child. Stuff the opening with cheese spread, cream cheese, or peanut butter. Slice cross-wise and serve.

Bagel Miniatures

1/2 c creamy peanut butter
2 T soft-style cream cheese
2 T honey
3 whole-wheat or cinnamon-raisin bagels
fresh fruits, thinly sliced
lemon, orange, or pineapple juice

In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, cream cheese, and honey; mix well. Cut each bagel in half lengthwise. Toast bagel halves in toaster at medium setting. Place bagels on cutting board; spread with peanut butter mixture. Dip fruit slices in lemon, orange, or pineapple juice to prevent darkening. Attractively arrange slices on top of bagel halves. Using a serrated knife, cut each bagel half into four equal pieces. Makes 24 servings

Flour Finger Paint

Just ran across this recipe and thought it might interest some of you:)

Mix one cup of cold water and one cup of flour. Add the mixture to 3 cups of boiling water. Continue cooking, stirring contantly until the mixture thickens. Food coloring can be added for interest.

Girl's Day Out

Our shopping trip went well:) First, we stopped at Walmart because Lexie wanted to check out the clearance aisle. She didn't find anything that she wanted to buy, but I found a bundt pan for $7. We had to get laundry soap and a few things Brett needed for school for art class. Lexie found an art set that she really wanted for $10, so she decided to buy it:) Also, I got her 2 belts on clearance:) Then we checked out the toys, but nothing caught her eye.

Next, we went to the mall. Our first stop was Claire's where Lexie bought some more fake glasses and I got her a belt, bracelet, and sunglasses:) 

Then, we were off to JC Penney were we decided to get Lexie a new pair of pjs.

Next, we went to Bath & Body Works for some scent bugs, hand soap, and lip gloss:) We really love that store!!

Finally, we went to Super One for some groceries. We decided to have cheeseburgers and waffle fries for dinner and we needed eggs, milk, and bread. Lexie talked me into letting her get a Reese's PB Cup:)

When we got home, she pulled my computer desk chair into the kitchen so she could do some artwork:)

This is one of Lexie's new belts:)

Esky Homecoming

Well, first of all, we lost 14-28:( Bummer! It's always sad when they lose their homecoming game!! Anyway, it was raining off and on, so we skipped the parade & game:( I'm kinda bummed since we (Esky) only has 3 home games this year, the first one we missed as I had to work, the second was last night (rainy), and the last one is on the 22nd which we are going out of town for our anniversary which is the 21st. I'd really like to go to the game, but we are celebrating our 10-year anniversary, so it's kinda important. Oh, well, there's always next year's games, right?? We ended up staying at our friends house and visiting for the night which was fun:)  Lexie was all decked out in her orange and black:) She made a GO ESKYMOS sign:) She's got spirit!! Brett was also in orange & black, but not intentionally:) I should've taken a picture - he was wearing his camo pants with a orange, black, and turquoise plaid shirt. Yep, he's a real fashion statement:) I tried to tell him that it didn't go together, but he said he didn't care - he likes his camo pants and he likes his plaid shirts:)

Well, so far this morning, the kids have been working on their chores - cleaning their rooms is their #1 priority!! They are looking pretty good now:) Brett's friend, Mikhail, is having a birthday party today at 3, so Brett needs to get as much as possible done by then:) It sounds like most of the kids from Lemmer are invited to his party-girls and all, but only 4 were invited to spend the night at the Comfort Inn & Suites - Brett, Brett B, Aiden, and Zack, Brett's best friends:) He's gonna have a ball!! I'm pretty sure I already blogged about this, so sorry:(

Lexie's doing pretty well - she doesn't mind doing chores:) She's filling in the chore list right now. She's even offering to vacuum:) Brett, on the other hand, doesn't always like to do chores - it depends on his mood.

Lexie wants to take another walk down the trail:) I told her we'd see as it's a weekend and there will probably be some 4-wheeler traffic down the trail which makes it dusty and hard to walk the dogs:(

Well, Lexie keeps talking to me, so it's hard to remember what I'm trying to type, so I guess I'll shout at ya later:)

What?!?

So, I was just looking at the blog and I noticed that the picture of the deer is huge!! I'm not sure how that happened!! It was supposed to be the same as the others - now the deer is blurry:( Well, I guess I'll just leave it.

Apple Cheese Wraps

Ingredients:

1T butter
1/4 c packed brown sugar
3 c thinly sliced peeled tart apples
1/4 c golden raisins
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/8 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t vanilla extract
5 flour tortillas (8'), warmed
1/3 c shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Topping:

1/2 t sugar
dash ground cinnamon
10 T reduced-fat whipped cream

Directions:

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat; stir in brown sugar until dissolved. Add the apples, raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook and stir over medium heat until apples are tender. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Cool slightly.

Place each tortilla on a 12" square piece of foil. Top with about 1/4 c apple mixture; sprinkle with cheese. Fold in sides of tortilla and roll up. Wrap in foil.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until heated through. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over wraps. Serve warm with whipped topping. Yield: 5 servings

Nutrition: 302 calories, 8 g fat, 9 mg cholesterol, 313 mg sodium, 54 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 6 g protein

I thought this sounded like a good snack for the kids - I'm just wondering about the cheese??? Oh, well, I'm gonna give it a whirl:)