Merry Christmas!

I have a couple posts planned for this week, however, we are in the midst of 5 days of Christmas celebrations and I am beat (thanks to our 1AM bedtime last night due to our Santa duties!).

So instead, I am stopping by to wish you a Merry Christmas with a promise of more to come.

Thankful.

Miss me?

Hellllloooo out there! Anyone still there? My poor, neglected blog...eek, it has been over two months since I have written anything. Last month, on September 30th, I posted a quick picture in order to avoid a month where I posted absolutely nothing. In the 4+ years since Charlotte's birth, a month hasn't gone by in which I didn't post at least once entry...I couldn't start now!

Whenever I think life couldn't get crazier, it always does. I had a job opportunity kind of fall into my lap; so far, it has worked out well for my family; it has freed up my nights at home (where I used to work outside of the home multiple nights a week), as this new job allows me to work from home, mostly after the kids have gone to bed or in the early morning hours before they get up. However, it also robs me of any time I used to have to myself at night (hence the absence of blog entries)....the sacrifices we make for our children! 

In an effort to catch you up with the happenings of our lives these past two months, here is a visual (with a few captions) of what you missed. My job allows me to have "off" when the kids have off of school, so maybe look for my next blog entry around Thanksgiving?! 

Will turned 7 in September, and invited a few friends to enjoy his favorite past time to celebrate! 

"I did it Mommy, I did it!"

Getting ready to meet her new 4K teachers.  

Enjoying the waning days of summer with a zoo trip. 

Another job of mine...entertaining "B" while his mom heads back to school this year. Jack likes it :)

When did these two get so old?

Loves black beans as much as his big sister. 

Celebrating "7" with Will and his 1st grade class. 

Flower girls. 

Aunt Keri's wedding. 

Baby boy in a bow tie. 'Nough said. 

Road trip!

Biggest birthday ice cream sundae. Ever.

This kid turned 9 in October. 

This kid is where all my gray hair is going to come from....the cause of many sleepless nights and much of my days stresses. Wouldn't trade him for the world. 

Saturday morning soccer selfie. 

The fun that can be had at Target is endless. 

"9" looks good on her. 

Birthday dinner....hotdogs ("the real ones mom, like the ones from Miller park...not those turkey ones you usually buy!"), white rice, and broccoli. 

Bus ride to the pumpkin farm! 

4K field trip with her friends. 

Charlotte has been really into games lately...good thing she has good teachers (ignore the no pants, she isn't a fan of those). 

The "More brothers" asking for more food, of course.

A much welcomed night out. 

Chipotle with friends.  

We may have to try t-ball next summer...this kiddo wants to be just like her big brother. 

Daily morning walks with the "More brothers"

Happy Halloween everyone!

Gymnast

10 things I have been doing instead of blogging. Version 2.0.

Last summer my blog was severely neglected. I blamed it on an incredibly needy, reflux-y, screaming baby.

This summer my blog is severely neglected. I blame it on an incredibly needy, high maintenance, "get into everything" toddler.

I apologize. School starts in less then a month, I am hoping to find more of a routine to the madness that is my household and increase my posts. I have lots of ideas and thoughts to share, just no time to get them on written down.

So, in an effort to catch up during what could be the only ten minutes I have to myself today, like last summer, "10 things I have been doing instead of blogging. Version 2.0"

1) Childproofing my house. Jack continues to be our most challenging child to date, and it hasn't slowed down as he has gotten older. The kid gets into everything, EV-ERY.THING. You would think I would be used to this? Nope. With Charlotte, baby gates and cabinet locks were not needed. Katherine & Will, though not as easy as Charlotte, had nothing on Jack. In an attempt to find a solution to control the chaos, we moved Mike's office to our bedroom and turned the first floor space into a playroom. With gates on either side. Good thing he is cute, and makes us laugh often with his crazy antics.

2) Potty training Charlotte. I will have a post coming up about this, as I know there are many who want to know more. I have cleaned up a lot of pee in the last three weeks, and while it hasn't been as quick as it was with the older two, she has definitely shown progress. However, potty training has proven to be quite an expensive ordeal; during Charlotte's first public potty "success" I jumped up to celebrate, and threw my cell phone in the toilet. $269 later, the Apple store was able to help me out. Ugh.

3) Saying goodbye to the smartest lady I know. My grams passed away a few weeks ago. We (as in me and all four of my kids) were extremely close to her, and it has been hard for all of us. I have a post started for my grams, but haven't been able to find the right words to finish it. Grandma didn't want a funeral, but rather a party...so in a few weeks we are going to celebrate her life, with good food, drinks, music, and memories.

4) Getting things ready for my new job this fall. I am looking forward to it; it is for a local school district, and I get to work mostly from home allowing me still to be home with the kids, but dip my toes back in the public schools...it is hard to believe it has been nearly seven years since I left teaching.

5) Increasing my Milwaukee Brewer knowledge. Pretty sure Will is the biggest fan there is, and in an effort to show him I care about his interests, I know every player, their positions, and pertinent stats. All this baseball hype must be contagious, as Katherine seems to have gotten bit by the Brewer bug too...Mike has taken them to quite a few games this summer, and there is rarely a night we don't have baseball on the television.

6) I am still doing the Norwex thing, and it has picked up quite a bit this summer, keeping me busy and giving me an occasional night out away from the fam.

7) Reading lots of Katherine's writing. She wants to be an author when she grows up; she recently discovered the word processing program on our family laptop and has spent HOURS the past week writing. I told her she needs to add "printer ink" to her birthday list as her favorite part of typing up her stories is adding clip art. Lots of it.

8) Celebrating our tenth anniversary with my husband. We had a quick night away, and stuffed a whole bunch of stuff into a short amount of time. When you don't get a whole lot of time without children, you tend to really cherish the little time you have; which we did. Love that man more every day, and look forward to many, many more years to come.

9) Fun summer stuff with the kids. After our anniversary getaway, Mike took the rest of the week off and we planned a bunch of fun stuff with the kids. Noah's Ark, the zoo, a local pool...it was fun to have little structure to our day for once, and enjoy each other.

10) Shaking my head in amazement as Charlotte's speech has seemed to take off over the past month or so. Beginning sounds she used to drop, are all of a sudden there. Two word phrases have become full sentences, and lately when I ask her questions, her responses are not only appropriate, but right. A favorite lately has been, "It's mine, not YOURS! No fair!" ....apparently the result of a summer with her siblings.

There ya have it...hoping to get a least one more post in this August. No promises though ;-), I've got things to do!