Wednesday, December 24, 2008

The DREADED Question...

Here was the conversation last night.

Connor: "Mom, it is just so hard to believe"
Me: "Believe what?" Knowing full well what he was talking about!
Connor: "Santa"
Me: "Why?"
Connor: "Kyle said that Santa is just the parents getting the presents. Mom is it you that is doing it?"
Me: "You have to believe to get presents from Santa"
Connor: "Well, I want to believe"

I am just not good in these type of situations. It just makes me so sad that he is getting so old so quickly. I am hoping we can just get past this Christmas and then we may have to have the conversation with him about Santa and try to convince him to not tell his brothers!

We still made cookies for Santa and he wants to give the reindeer their food. It is so cute because he really does want to believe! Those darn kids at school, can't they just keep their thoughts about Santa to themselves!!!

Monday, December 22, 2008

This and That...

Wow, it has been a long time since my last post. Just the crazy time of year! I did have my birthday and it was pretty good. Just not as quite as fun as they used to be. Connor played a basketball game that night so afterwards we went to Logan's to eat. The boys enjoyed throwing the peanuts on the floor. They filled their pockets with the peanuts for the way home thinking they would eat them in to van...wrong answer!!! The van is messy enough as it is.

Last week the boys had a two hour delay so where do you go if you have a two hour delay? To Cracker Barrel, of course! Just because the roads are too bad for the buses doesn't mean they are too bad for the Odyssey!
Aunt Jami got the boys a Lego advent calendar. They are having a ball opening it each morning. They have accumulated quite a collection of little Lego people and accessories. Hard to believe that they only have a few days left to go. Thank you Aunt Jami! We are planning to do it again next year.
I have this week off which is so nice. It is making me look forward to retiring in a few months. It has been so bitter cold that we have not even left the house the past couple of days. Today the boys did a gingerbread house. We have not done one of these before and they had a fun time decorating it! I was proud of the finished product.

I have been reading the book "The Tale of Despereaux" to the boys this past week. Hopefully we can finish it up tonight or tomorrow and go watch the movie. At least get us out of the house! The boys have enjoyed the book. It has short chapters so we are taking time out here and there to read a chapter or two. I have even been reading while they eat breakfast and lunch. I want to continue even more than them sometimes!!

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season! Whew! I will try to be better at keeping up the next few weeks!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Just a bad day....

Didn't get anything done at work that I had planned.

Ordered something on line and after I paid realized that it was on back order. You're kidding me right?! It better arrive before Christmas.

Tried to bake cookies and either got the batches too done or not done enough! They took a crap load of ingredients too!

Pulled clothes out of the dryer and found mysterious yellow spots on almost all of them! I have checked every pocket and found nothing!

Going to bed...hoping tomorrow is a better day because it will be my birthday!!!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Colts Game with Carson

For the past few years, we have been fortunate to be able to split Colts season tickets with another couple. I love to go to the games. Usually Jim and I go to most of the games and then at least one game we try to take the boys. The problem is that we only have 4 tickets. This was fine until Davis decided that he wanted to go watch Peyton Manning!

Now that Connor is playing basketball, his games are on Sunday. So Jim took Connor and Davis to Connor's basketball game and I got to take Carson to the football game...Darn! :) It is always so much fun to just have one on one time with the boys. It does not happen very often, but when it does I really try to take advantage of it! In a few weeks, Jim and I are taking the other two boys to a game. They really are lucky boys!!

Thank you Carson for a fun day at Lucas Oil Stadium!!!





Saturday, December 6, 2008

Fun Friday!

The last few years Jim and I have taken a day off together to go Christmas shopping. Yesterday was the day. It is so much fun to go together to pick things out for family, the boys and each other. A day of just the two of us. Lunch together, no whining that we are taking too long, catching up on our busy lives, searching for the perfect gifts to wow the boys on Christmas morning!

I love this time of year...now if I could just snap my fingers and have everything wrapped!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Sleeper Pajamas

When I was young my Grandma would buy us a new pair of pajamas to wear on Christmas morning. When we were younger a lot of the pj's would be sleepers. I remember loving them. There was just one thing I remember I did not like about them, and that was how noisy they were when you walked. The reason I did not like this was because you see, I would always try to sneak into my sister's room in the middle of the night. In order to get to her room, I would have to go by my parent's room and if they heard me they would make me go back to my room. I literally remember crawling on my knees so they did not hear the noisy bottoms of my pajamas!

Then my brother was born, and I was forced to share a room with her. Sharing a room was not near as much fun as sneaking into her room in the middle of the night!

My two younger boys found sleepers in their drawer that they wanted to wear, and it had finally gotten cold enough for them to do that. Connor was so disappointed that he did not have any. So off to Target I go, and of course they did not fail me or Connor. Thank heavens for Target!

It is fun to see the boys enjoy their sleepers as much as I did!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Daddy's Diner

Since Connor has been playing sports, dealing with dinner has gotten a little harder! The other night when he had practice I called Jim and told him to just throw in some chicken nuggets and bagel bites for the boys! Boring I know, but needed something quick since they were STARVING! So when we got home this is what Jim had done.

My husband loves to use things up and clean things out, so he got in the freezer and not only got the chicken nuggets and bagel bites, but added hash browns that would have probably stayed up there for another 6 months! He got leftovers out of the refrigerator and warmed them up and let the boys pick what items they wanted. He made up a ticket for each boy and asked them what they wanted and marked it off on the ticket. They could even have pop that night!!

Leftovers are never fun, at least for me, but when you put a little twist on them it can be fun!
Good job Jim on making it fun!!

At the end of dinner, Jim jokingly gave them a bill for a ridiculous amount. The boys got a laugh out of it.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

I Did it!

Well, I gave my notice at work this week! I am still going to work a couple of months to get them through the audit just because I feel that is the right thing to do.

I am not very good with change, so to step away from something that I had been doing for 12 years is going to be hard. I will miss hearing all the stories from co-workers about their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. I will miss doing part of my job, not all of it, but definitely some parts I will miss! I will miss not having a paycheck to deposit. I will miss running errands on my lunch hour with no children.


Now that I have made the step, I am thinking about the things I cannot wait for. I cannot wait to see the boys get off the bus at home. I cannot wait to have time to make a hot meal in the evenings for my family. I cannot wait to go on vacation with my family and not worry about things at work that need to be done. I cannot wait to not feel guilty when the boys are sick and I am home with them. I cannot wait to clean my house, like really clean my house! I cannot wait to spend a whole summer with my boys. I cannot wait for Jim to say on a Tuesday night "Let's go camping!" and we can because I do not have to worry about taking time off work. I cannot wait to maybe have time to exercise. I cannot wait to help in the classroom more.

None of this would have happened had it not been for Jim. I am thankful I have a husband that works super hard and has a great job. I am thankful that he is the one that makes me feel like it will be okay to do this. It will be an adjustment for all of us, but a positive adjustment I hope!

There will be cutbacks and that is fine. I have come to realize that the cutbacks are just things, just stuff that if we do not have them OH WELL! To spend more time with my kids will be worth way more than any possession we could own.

Quote of the day:

When I told Connor I was thinking about this he said,
"I am not sure this is a good idea because we will only be depending on Dad's money!"

Another quote from Connor while sitting at dinner Monday night after I told them I had given my notice he said,
"Davis will probably not even know his ABC's when he goes to school!"

Wow! He has a lot of confidence in me!!!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Flu Shots

Okay I am taking a quick poll today...do you get the flu shot? Do you make your kids get the flu shot?

Tomorrow at work they are giving a free shot to employees. I am hesitant to get one. I am not a big fan of needles! But I will suck one up for the team if need be.

When the boys were little, I did make them get the flu shot but last year I do not believe I ended up doing it.

I am just wondering if I am the norm by not getting it!

I OPTED NOT TO GET THE SHOT!!!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Sock Monster


Seriously...I think there is a sock monster in the washer or dryer that eats just one of the boys socks! How can I have so many mismatched socks? I leave them laying on the dryer hoping that the next time I do whites maybe I can match up a few of them. Unfortunately, most of the time I do not find matches, but I end up adding to the pile! Notice that for some reason the monster must not enjoy adult socks only the boys!!! Well, I am washing whites tomorrow and going to try to wash up all that I have and whatever is not matched at that time will be thrown away.

Maybe before I do the wash, I better roam the house and I might just find a match or two. I think the sock monster may not live in the washer or dryer at all. Maybe the monster is not only one, but three monsters and maybe the monster(s) needs to learn to not just randomly take their socks off and leave them lay. Maybe if the socks would be put in the dirty clothes these poor lonely socks would meet their match!

Kids you got to love them!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Working Mom Struggle

Let me first give a little background. I have an Accounting degree from IU. I have worked for the last 14 years (wow that is hard to believe!) I started in public accounting in Fort Wayne and then moved to Indianapolis and went to corporate accounting. When I had Connor in 2000, I decided to go part-time (30 hours) not sure that is really part-time, but it is less than 40! I went to 3o hours because it was the least I could do and still keep my benefits. My current schedule is Monday-Thursday and have Fridays off. I am thankful that my employer has been so flexible. This has seemed to work pretty well. However lately I am struggling with trying to be a good employee and be a good mother! I feel like I am failing at both. I thought once the kids got in school it would be easier...boy was I wrong!



These are some random thoughts that continually go through my mind:



Could I be a stay at home mom?

Could I keep the boys occupied in the summer?

Would I miss work and adult interaction?

With the economy is disarray am I crazy to even think about not working?

Would I waste 4 years of an education I worked so darn hard for?

What would people think?

Could I handle the cutbacks?

Would it really be easier on everyone in our family, including myself?

There are many single mothers that do not have a choice but to work so maybe I should just suck it up!



I guess I will continue to pray on the matter! Hopefully, I will make the decision that will be the most beneficial to our family and myself.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Halloween Fun

Hard to believe it has been a week since Halloween. Our computer had been on the brink this week so I am a little behind on my posting! Anyways, last Friday was a fun one for me. I was able to visit Connor and Carson's classrooms and enjoy their Fall Parties with them and their classmates. It is always fun for me to be able to help at school when I can.

We came home from school and got ready for trick or treating. Since we live on a highway we do not get trick or treaters. Luckily, there is a beautiful neighborhood right behind our house for the boys to go trick or treating. Our neighbors invited us over for pizza, salad and beverages! The dad's took the kids out trick or treating while the mom's stayed at the house and drank wine and handed out candy! That is my kind of Trick or Treating. Don't let the dad's fool you, they took some beverages for themselves on their trek around the neighborhood! Seemed to be a common trend for many others!
It was fun having it on a Friday when we did not have to worry about getting up for school the next day!







Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Stitches!

The Wagoner's had their first trip to the Urgent Care for stitches last Thursday! I have been blogging about the older two boys and things that they have been doing lately, so I guess Davis was feeling a little left out! Well, here you go buddy a post for you only!!

Here is how it happened...we got home from Connor's practice and all the boys were wound up. I think they knew Friday was Halloween and they were just all excited! Davis was standing by the hallway and Carson went to chase him. Davis turned and hit the corner of his eye directly on the corner of the wall. I hear Davis scream and then see the blood streaming down his face. Thank heavens Jim was home! I do not do well with these sort of things. The site of blood makes me a little queasy or should I say a lot queasy! I got a towel with ice and we put it on the cut. It thankfully stopped bleeding pretty quickly, however, Jim informed me that I better take him to get it looked at. I was able to get into the Urgent Care in town right before they closed and the doctor said he better put a couple stitches in it.

Davis did such a good job. I had to help hold him down when they numbed it and put the stitches in. I surprised myself and held his hand and even watched a little of what was going on. It is surprising as a mom what you will do to help your little ones feel better. I must say I was pretty proud of myself for holding it together and not passing out myself! As soon as he was done he got a glove balloon, sticker and suckers. One for him and his brothers! What a thoughtful little fellow he is! We got home and he just told his Dad that it hurt weally bad!

I guess I should feel pretty lucky to have 3 boys and this is the first run for stitches we have had to make! We went last night and got the stitches out. That was much easier than putting them in! I am sure he will have a little scar, but for a boy a few battle wounds seems to be a cool thing!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Perler Beads

Have you heard of them...? Connor discovered them at his after school program a couple years ago. It is an easy process. You have a peg board that you put plastic beads on. Once the creation is completed, you put a parchment like paper over the beads and iron them on a low setting to melt the beads together. Then you take your creation off the peg board.

The boys were home with their dad yesterday for Fall break and since it was pretty cold they were looking for things to do inside. This was the activity of choice! I went home at lunch and they had just started. When I returned home at 5 they were still doing it!! They took a little break in there to do a few things outside, but returned to their creations once they came back inside.

They really are good for hand eye coordination and also patience! You have to be careful not to bump the peg board or the beads will fall off! We have different peg board shapes and books that show different designs. This was the first year that Carson really got into it and followed the pictures in the book to make his creations. Davis just took a fish and turtle and put the pegs in randomly which still looked cute and it was his own! It takes quite a bit of time so I was really impressed with his patience. Connor was excited about the KEEP OUT sign to hang on his bedroom door!

In a house of three boys, there tends to be a lot of wrestling, running, throwing things etc. so to find a quiet activity that keeps them occupied and away from the TV...I am for it!!



Even dad got in on the action!


These were their favorite creations.


These are the items that kept them occupied for hours yesterday!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Trip to Michigan

This weekend the boys and I traveled north to Michigan to see my sister, Heidi. It took us 5 hours to travel up there. Thankfully, the boys did a great job traveling. Not sure what we did prior to DVD players!

My sister has two dogs, a cat and a bird. Needless to say, the Wagoner boys that only have a guinea pig, were in animal heaven at their Aunt Heidi's.

On Saturday, we went to Greenfield Villiage. It was a chilly day, but the boys had a great time. They got to ride a caurosel, Model T car and steam engine train. I think those were the highlights of their day! All of the historical buildings and homes were very interesting to the adults.

On Sunday, we got up and went to the cider mill for cider and donuts. Wow, was it ever good. It was the perfect fall day for a warm cup of apple cider and a spice donut. Probably a good thing I do not live in Michigan...I would probably be a regular at the mill!

It was a great start for the boys and their Fall Break, now they get to spend a couple of days with Dad!

Thank you Heidi for a great weekend!



Monday, October 20, 2008

Field Trips

This fall I have been able to go on field trips with the two older boys. I went to the Stuckey Farm with Carson. It is a pumpkin patch and apple orchard. They got to pick a pumpkin for their classroom, try different apples, watch cider being made, and learn about honey bees. It was a great day and great weather.

For Connor's field trip we went to the zoo. In third grade, they pick a specialty animal that they will research the entire year. The trip helps them choose an animal that they would be interested in! Connor has picked the Leopard Gecko. He likes to learn about reptiles! Such a boy thing, I was thinking more in the line of a cuddly koala. We did see the otters and they sure are cute little critters, but he is super excited about studying the leopard gecko. Guess that is all that matters. It was also a nice day for his field trip. A little cool but no rain. The animals were actually pretty active.

I love to share their field trips with them. I figure I better go while they still think it is "cool" to have their mom tag along!

I had to include the picture of the zebras. I just thought it was super sweet!




Superbowl Champs!!

Well, Connor's team pulled it off. They won their Superbowl game on Saturday! They got to play at the Colt's practice facility. They even had a loud speaker that had a play by play announcer. Connor was so excited that they called his name a few times. He had one of his best games all year. He got to play quite a bit and even had in Connor's words "a touchdown saving tackle"

He had his own cheering section. My dad, mom, sister,aunt, Vanessa and Jim's mom were all there cheering him on! It was fun to watch! Great job Connor on a great football season. I was proud of the effort you put forth this year.

No rest for the weary...we are now into basketball!






Friday, October 17, 2008

Happy Anniversary

Today Jim and I are celebrating our ten year anniversary. It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since we were married at First Church in Columbia City with a limited amount of lighting!! We were engaged for almost 2 years before we got married and at the time contemplated not having a wedding so we could get a house...well we had the wedding, in 3 months bought a house and a little over a year later our first son was born! It has been a wonderful and crazy ride. I could not think of anyone else I would want to do this with!

Jim, thank you for a wonderful 10 years, hopefully the next 10 with be even better!

Love You
Tara

Crazy Hat Day

Today at school the boys had Crazy Hat and Hair Day. They chose to do the Crazy Hat day! We went to a Halloween shop last night to check out a wig for Connor's halloween costume and this is what we left with!!

This morning Connor was a little hesitant to wear his, but Carson could not wait. Hopefully, once Connor gets to school he will see a bunch of others with crazy hats and will be okay with it. I think it is fun!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Go Packers!!!

Not the Green Bay Packers, but the ZYFL Packers! Connor's tackle football team has made it to the Superbowl game this Saturday. They are undefeated this season! Connor continued to play center all year. It is not his favorite position, but we try to emphasis to him how important of a job he has as the center! Honestly, I do not blame him...not sure how much I would like to hike the ball and wait for a huge nose guard to come barreling my way!! I kept those thoughts to myself and only shared with him the positive things on playing center. He also is the first substitute in on defense. He really likes to play defense. We are super proud of him and the team! They really have worked hard this year.

Let's just hope they do not pull a New England Patriots and choke in the Superbowl! Sorry Trent... We will be doing a lot of cheering on Saturday. They get to play at the Colts practice field. How exciting for 8 year old boys...I am so excited and I am just watching. Guess that is the sports nut in me!
Good Luck Connor and the Packers!!!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

B - I - N - G - O

Games are an essential part of the Wagoner household. We really like to play games and all sorts of them. Last year for Christmas the boys got a Disney DVD Bingo game. They love to play it and I love that it is a game appropriate for all age levels. They can all play together without any disadvantage to Davis only being 3. The game shows the image of a Disney character on the TV so even Davis, who does not know his numbers, can look on the TV and try to find the Disney character on the card. I even like to play with them, but I also like it that if I am busy I can put the DVD in for them and they are occupied at least for awhile!

Hopefully they will have good memories of playing games together with their brothers and as a family!


Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Go CUBS Go!

Hey Chicago, what do you say

The Cubs are gonna win today.

Go, Cubs, Go

Go, Cubs, Go

chorus of song played after a victory at Wrigley Field

If you have heard this song, you are singing it right now!

Our friend Pedro turned 40 this last weekend, so a group of friends got together and celebrated at Wrigley field. Our seats were on the rooftop of a building across the street from the field, but as you can see the view was fine. Plus we had free food and drinks! It really was a great day at the ball field. I love going to the ball field to watch a game. The group of us then went out in Chicago and pretended like we were 20 again. Needless to say, we are not 20 anymore!

It really was a fun weekend. For all of us to get away without kids does not happen too often!










Monday, September 22, 2008

Never fear....the Wagoner boys are here!

The boys have never really been into dressing up, but the other night they put together these superhero outfits. Of course it was when they should have been in bed, but I was laughing out loud as I was taking the pictures! These are going to be the ones that when they are teenagers and I pull them out they may not think they are quite so funny, but I will! Connor did not want to feel left out so he just put on the hat.










Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Soccer Star

Well, Carson got his opportunity to shine this weekend in his fall soccer season debut. He had a soccer game on Saturday and Sunday and did a great job both days. He loves soccer and the reason I think he loves it is because he is pretty quick and can out run quite a few of the other kids! He scored 3 goals on Saturday and 2 goals on Sunday. He also likes to play goalie and was able to save a few goals. One time he even sacrificed his face doing so. The goalie position is new this year. He has only played 3 on 3 with no goalie in previous years. This year he plays 6 on 6 including the goalie. It is a bigger field and a lot of running. Once again, we are so proud of him and his determination when he is out there on the soccer field. He cannot wait to get out there and do it again this weekend.

Keep up the good work, buddy!