EOTS: Day Three

Yesterday our family went to the local Christmas Parade. Jingle made friends with the ChickFilA Cow and they both got into the candy.  I think Jingle even has sugar on his face!

EOTS: Day Two

Jingle must have been hungry when he got home this morning.  He got into all the Froot Loops. He even showed his smarts by spelling Quinn's name with the pieces of cereal!

And I realized after I took the picture that Quinn and Jingle had the same expression on their faces!

EOTS: Day One

Getting to know our family and making that first trip home to the North Pole must have been hard for Jingle, because he only made it to Jacob's swing when he returned.

Quinn thought it was hilarious that Jingle was sleeping in Jacob's swing!

A Thanksgiving Night Visitor

Tonight we had a late visitor for Thanksgiving. We heard a knock at the door, and when we opened it, this is what we saw.

This little guy was holding a note that said:

After reading the book, Quinn decided to name his little friend Jingle.  Our book taught us that Jingle has been sent by Santa to watch out to see if Quinn and Jacob are being good boys. Each night he will return to the North Pole to give a report, but will return by the next morning. He might be in a different spot, so we will have to find him each day.  On Christmas Eve, he will return home to the North Pole and we will see him next year.

Here is Quinn and Jingle.  And the most special rule of all....NEVER TOUCH or his Elf Magic goes away.

Halloween 2012

Halloween 2012 was a lot of fun.  We were able to attend a Trunk or Treat event at our church and visited a few of our neighbors.  I had hoped Jacob would be able to wear a costume that Quinn did not get to wear. Quinn's first Halloween he was supposed to be a dragon, but outgrew this costume before he could wear it. I had to settle for him being a spider instead.  I tried the dragon costume on Jacob and it fit.....except somehow the zipper broke and we couldn't zip it up. 

So guess what Jacob ended up being.....

Quinn was a Clemson Football player.

Jacob was asleep before we were done trick or treating in the neighborhood, so he totally missed out on his first Halloween.  Maybe he didn't want to be a spider anymore than I did!

Fall is for Football

One of Buddy's sisters has moved back to live in NC, and only live about 45 minutes away from us, so when she let us know that our nephew had a home football game coming up, we decided to drive over to watch him play!  Buddy's parents came too, so it was a great way to have a little family reunion.

Tre goes to a Christian school, and his team is comprised of other Christian school and home-school kids in the area who want to play football but can't because their school doesn't offer it.  They play in a league that involves a lot of travel (one game was even in Tennessee). 

Quinn loves his cousins Ethan and Tre, and he was really excited to go see a real football game.  Either that, or he was excited to eat popcorn! 

I'm going to let these pictures speak for themselves. Tre is #32....he is easy to pick out in the group shots, as his cleats have orange laces and orange on the back. 



And although Nana enjoys a good football game, I think she enjoyed watching little Jacob sleep!  He took  a great nap, in the arms of his sweet Nana!

Although Tre's team did not win, they could not have played harder or with more heart than they did. Those boys never gave up, despite being outscored!  Good job Tre....can't wait to watch you play again next year!

My New Morning Routine

Now that school has started back and I have two boys to drop off in two different places, combined with a husband who must leave the house by 5:30am to get to his project by 7am, I have had to develop a new morning routine.  Some of the things I do at night, or I would never be ready on time.

On Sunday afternoons, we iron all the clothes for the week. It may seem a little silly to iron clothes will just get dirty since Buddy works on a construction site. Buddy says that just because he works on-site doesn't mean he will look like a slob at work. So yes, he or I will iron his clothes, my clothes and Quinn's clothes for the week on Sunday while the boys are napping.

Each evening, I make sure that Jacob's bottles have water in them and the formula is bagged up and in his "lunch bag". (When he starts eating solids, I will add that in too.) I do what I can to prep Buddy's and my lunch bags as well...bagging chips, veggies, or whatever else we want to take for lunch.

In the mornings, I get up at 4:30am, get my shower and make sandwiches for our lunch. Neither of us like sandwiches made the night before...too soggy. I also get the coffee made and make sure Buddy's out of the bed. He's a hard sleeper and never hears the alarm!  I try to get my breakfast eaten and then go wake up Jacob so I can give him a bottle before we leave. I also have Quinn up and let Dixie out. By now, Buddy has left for work. While I'm getting ready, Quinn watches Blue's Clues and eats his breakfast, and Jacob plays on the floor or takes a post-bottle power nap. Then I get the boys dressed and Dixie fed and put back in her kennel.  I load everything in the car, and down the road we go!  

The plan is to be out the door no later than 6:40am....so I can drop Quinn off at the church, get Jacob down to Susan's house, and back to the other side of town at my school by 7:30am.  My goal is 7:30 because sometimes we have faculty meetings before school and they always start at 7:30am. 

Whew...makes me tired re-living it...makes me tired doing it!

But this is my life right now....and I'm thankful for it!