Lunch Bunch

All year I have been trying to get Connor to stay after school an extra hour for "Lunch Bunch." Lunch Bunch is a program offered at Connor's pre-school for the kids to stay, have lunch, and play a while longer. The cost of the extra hour is a donation to help with extra costs and is tax deductible. I have tried many things to get him to go...when we're out shopping and I see lunch boxes, I tell him, "I'll buy you a lunch box so you can stay for Lunch Bunch...!"

"No!"

"Jack stays for Lunch Bunch...!"

"No!"

Then one day after school Connor says to me, "Mom! I want to stay for Lunch Bunch!!!"

With Connor being my second child, I know by now that these kids do not just change their minds over night...there's always something behind it.

So I asked Connor, "Oh really! How come?"

"Tessa (Connor's 'girlfriend') stays for Lunch Bunch!"

Ahh Haa!

Well regardless of the reason, this was the moment I had been waiting for! So we hopped online, he picked out a lunch box, and today he is all set to go!

Sometimes as parents we just need a little patience for our kids to come around!

Last night he helped make his lunch.

(I don't know why I'm rushing this...I've never let Dom buy lunches at school on a regular basis, and don't plan to with the other kids...that means many more packed lunches in our future.)

He LOVED helping!

He was very excited and wanted me to take a picture of his lunch.

I explained to him how Mommy likes to write notes on the napkin. (Once in a great while on the very rare occasion that I actually make Dominic's lunch, I still write a note on his napkin. Once a Mom, always a Mom...even if I do make him make his own lunch!)

He chose a penguin lunch box "because it's winter."

I LOVE this little face! Note the scar still present between his eyebrows from this post a couple of weeks ago. Pray that it goes away!

Dominic Bond

In searching through My Pictures on my computer I came across this picture...apparently my son has been up to some "computer graphics!"

Happy Friday!

We Have Hair!

All of my babies are born bald. For my boys this was no big deal to me. When God finally blessed me with a daughter, I invisioned bows, hair clips, and braids...for these I have prayed for God to bless me with patience!

Today at Target I saw a cute little package of bows...I looked at the bows, looked at Emma Kate's hair, and thought, "Maybe..."

I tried one and it stuck!!

We had another "First" today as well...she loves the straw!

We were playing on the floor at home and I gave her a cup with water and a straw.

(She has experimented a little at restaurants.)

She was so excited that she'd take a sip, then turn scoot herself on her butt in a circle...

I seriously need to get this action on video!

I am so thankful for my children and feel so blessed to be a Mom...it is so exciting to share these

little moments with them. I pray that the Lord blesses them with Joy and happiness throughout

their lives.

Shrimp Pasta

Something you may or may not know about me...I'm not big on fish...except canned tuna...don't judge me! My dad has never liked fish, so as I was growing up my mom never prepared it for the family. Exposure is key here! So in my older years I have begun opening my mind a little here and there. My hubby happens to be a big fan of Chippino...I'm so not a fish fan that I don't even know if I spelled that correctly!

I happen to have a couple of amazing cooks in my life...my "go to's" for all things cooking! Now baking...I hear a lot of complaining how it's an exact science...I happen to be a person who loves exact science...give me a recipe and I'm good! I can bake almost anything.

The other day Heidi was telling me about her dinner she made the night before...sounded very yummy...and very healthy. So I gave it a whirl! I asked her how she made it...if you know Heidi and how she is when you ask her how to make something, she uses words like "some," handful,"

and "sprinkle a little." I prefer terms like "1/2 tsp," "1 cup," and "2 pounds." Did I mention that I like exact science?!?! But after several phone calls asking for some very specific instructions...I made it through! Thank you Heidi!

My favorite part about it...well I had lots of favorite parts about it...

Tasted fantastic!

It included fish!

Very impressive looking!

Healthy and low fat!

You should have seen the look of surprise on my brother's face when he saw me shelling the shrimp! He was very impressed! And my hubby...super excited to see I made something "fishy!"

Ingredients list:

Whole wheat pasta

Fresh tomatoes

Canned tomatoes

Garlic

Onion

Spinach

Red Pepper Flakes

Fresh (this had to be specified to me) Basil

Fresh Parsley

Shrimp

(I think that was all.)

The 11th on The 11th of 2011

I only had room for 10 pictures on the 10th...well today is the 11th!

So here is my 11th picture from yesterday...

Baby Ethan was born in November and has joined us for Girls' Night twice now!

He's a very good sport.

I think we wore him out!

So precious.

10 on 10

LOVE this idea from The Larson Lingo!

Ten on Ten: 10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

This is my first 10 on 10...

(It's so hard to choose only 10 when you are actually taking delight in the little things!)

Almost 7am...alone time is over...time to get the kids rarin' to go!

This is the face I walked in on at 7:00. I can't get enough of it...I think it's my favorite time of day with her.

My new favorite scarf...and definitely needed this morning!!

Something else definitely needed this morning...!

Got to work, settled in, and started getting caught up on my reading...

If you're a mom and in your 30's, you've got to check out this blog, for other awesome moms, see blogs I follow...

My food for the day...BORING! But all packed up and ready for my day:)

Even though I brought my lunch to work, I started thinking about how I had a whole hour without much to do. So I drove home to snuggle up on my couch, eat my lunch, and watch some TV...alone...in my house...all by myself!

Side note: When it's as cold as it is today, my tire pressure light comes on.

These are a couple of the faces I came home to this evening after work.

And this was the last face I saw when I left for Girls' Night.

Ahhh! A teenager alone with a TV and a remote!

These are the faces that I spent the evening with...

Well, there was one more...but I only can do 10 pictures today :( I ran out!

See my post tomorrow to check out that little face :)

Have I mentioned I have amazing friends?!?! As if a woman is not blessed enough with one group of amazing girlfriends...I have 2!

This is my group of girls from church...we meet for Girls' Night once a month. They are also moms and an incredible support for all things "Girl" and all things "Mom"...I guess just all things!
It was so nice to have some down time in our sweats and slippers tonight.

Love you Ladies!

Celebrating Baby G

This afternoon the ladies got together for a light Sprinkle to celebrate Baby G. It was so good to see everyone...we missed you Rose and Kim!

I have included some pics, but if you want to see some REAL pics with a REAL camera... visit Heidi's post on the Sprinkle! (I covet her camera...it is my New Year's resolution to figure out a way to purchase one of these this year!)

Here is the Mom-to-Be!

Woo hoo!

Tegan hosted the get-together and with the help of Linds and Mel put together most of the food.

Yummy!

Heidi ordered the cupcakes...I could've had 3. Or 4. Or 5...you get the idea!

Tegan asked me to bring baked brie...this was my contribution...I do

have to say that I will be making this again. Definitely. I'll share the recipe soon.

A few of the ladies...

I am so blessed to be a part of such an amazing group of women...

some of the kindest, most giving women you will ever meet in your life.

Ladies, thank you for your friendship...and Baby G...we can't wait to meet you!

A Close Call

Friday night does not always = fun night at the Schwab House. But last night was different. I got home from work, Jeff and the kids had already eaten, so I grabbed some dinner and joined in on the fun. Dominic and Jeff were playing the WII, Emma Kate was crawling all over, getting into whatever fun stuff was lying around, and Connor was playing computer. It all started very tame...until we decided to start tossing around Emma Kate's soft rattling blocks. Connor was jumping off the ottomon trying to block it. Libby, our family dog, was chasing after it, barking. This transformed into "play with Libby time," which can get a little rough.

Jeff and I decided to get Emma Kate to bed, so we left Dominic and Connor downstairs playing with Libby, while we got Emma ready for bed. Just as I handed the bottle to Jeff I heard a scream from downstairs...followed by Dominic's voice saying, "Ohhhh, are you ok Connor?!?!"

Jeff and I looked at eachother in panic for a split second before I ran down the stairs to find Connor holding his forehead and crying while Dominic was looking for the bag of frozen veggies in the freezer. (In case you've never heard this trick...we keep a sandwhich bag of frozen mixed veggies, peas, whatever...in the freezer to act as an ice pack. It's not as cold as ice and has some give...it just forms to whatever part of the body you need it for.) A side note: if you do this, you may want to switch them out once in a while...Jeff reminded me that these may or may not have been the same veggies that were used for his vasectomy last September...oops!

Unlike my friend, Heidi, and her family, we have had our share of trips to the ER over the years.

I really try not to panic when injuries occur. When I first saw the cut right in between Connor's eyebrows, I didn't overreact. We got veggies on it right away (Dominic reacted just as a big brother should!) A few minutes later I pulled away the veggies to inspect the damage. I put my thumbs on either side of the cut and gently pulled it apart to see how bad it was. This is where some panic shot through my body! It was DEEP!!!

So I was faced with one of those Mom Decisions...to run to the ER or not...is this cut bad enough for stitches?

I did the calm-responsible-non-overreacting-mom-thing and called the advice nurse. She asked all the usual Your Kid's Not Dying Right? questions and proceeded to look for appointments in the MIC (Minor Injury Clinic.) She didn't have any appointments until 9:45am today. She also gave me the alternative of going to the ER right away...hmmmm...what to do...

Thoughts that ran through my head...

Not gushing blood.

Don't overreact.

Please God, don't let my son have a Harry Potter scar for the rest of his life!

Don't overreact.

I have to work in the morning.

Don't overreact.

She did tell me that on a facial wound, I have 24 hours to get it stitched up if necessary. So I took the morning appointment, put a bandage on it, and told him we'd check it out when he woke up. (Why can't I have the luxury of being a dad, like Jeff, and be able to say, "Whatever you think honey..." on decisions like this?!)

Clearly Connor was not traumatized...

This is my little buddy lying in bed, reading with his head-lamp on before going to sleep.

Notice the "Cars" Band-Aid right smack between the eyes! He was very excited about needing a Band-Aid!

And this morning, after another assessment, I decided that stitches would not be necessary. It still looks pretty nasty but the deep part of the cut closed up over night. Children are so resilient.

So we covered it back up with Mater this time, and off we went to start our day!

I am still wondering if I made the right decision, but this face gives me some peace!

I just pray that he is not to scarred, literally...if so, I hope that someday some lady will like his sexy scar! We have to think of a good story for him to tell to accompany it...got any ideas?

We Have Fruit!

5 years ago when we moved into our house we planted an orange tree.

Not one single piece of fruit...for the past 5 years!

This tree is special to Jeff...a good friend moved out of state years ago and gave it to him.

It was in a barrel for a long time, bearing fruit.

Ever since we transplanted it in our backyard, Jeff has babied it...too much water, not enough water, citrus steaks in the ground...all but praying over it!

The past several months, with all the craziness in our lives, he has neglected his baby.

...And we have fruit!! 5 of them!!

See what happens when you just leave it alone?!?!

We are planning an orange eating party with the kids!

Connor, Connor, Connor!!!

This morning was our first day back to the normal routine...both boys back to school and back to work for Jeff and I.
As I was dropping Connor off, we were just walking from the parking lot to the sidewalk when we heard 2 little girl voices yelling, "Connor, Connor!!!"
We turned around to see Connor's "girlfriend" and her little sister jumping out of their van with huge smiles on their faces! They couldn't wait to cross the parking lot and get to Connor. They ran up to him yelling his name and giving him a huge hug.
I think it was the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life! Not to mention that I was a little impressed that my son in attracting the girls already!!!
Oh boy...here we go!