Well we've gone and done it again.  We lost our soccer jersey, socks and shin guards.  Who does that?  Did I mention on my blog earlier that we lost Caitlyn's tap shoes.  I'm usually pretty organized.  If you've never been in my house, I'd describe it as the opposite spectrum of the hoarders, striving to be organized even better.  My daughter has a box for all her dance stuff and a bag to transport everything on the actual day.  Brent has nothing.  Can you see the problem?  I could just kick myself.

We did the coolest project in my classroom this week (2nd grade).  We are doing habitats and my class researched the ocean.  I had 5 groups.  1) Animal research: Seagull  2) Make a robotic Lego seagull 3) Ocean research 4) Background artists for the presentation board 5) Make the PowerPoint  Ya'll they did such a great job.  Next week we get to Skye our project with another 2nd grade class in our district. Pretty cool!

We got a new fence this week and it looks amazing!  No holes or falling boards.  Only disappointed parties are the dogs.

Caitlyn lost both of her front teeth this week. Tooth fairy visited twice this week!  She looks so adorable, different and big.  Pictures coming soon.  We have been reading a LOT of Junie B Jones books.  She has wanted me to read to her and has resisted reading but she is finally started to read to me, herself and her brother.  Of course there are a lot of, "what is this word mom?" I am beyond proud of her.  I'm working so hard to enjoy every single minute, knowing that it is flying by.

Brent is in a crying phase.  He may be very happy one minute, but will break down in tears the next.  Luckily for me I can usually snuggle him (if he isn't in trouble) when he cries. Um, maybe that is supporting the problem and keeping him a baby.  Okay, okay, I will fix that.  He also kisses me and wipes it off.  Boo.  Or will check to see if I have makeup on before he will kiss me, "No, is that makeup on your face?"  Crazy boy!

Another soccer game tomorrow.  Pray that we will find our jersey or be able to buy a new one tomorrow.  Go Lions!  ROOOOAAAARRRRRRRR

A little bit of this and a little bit of that!

My oh my, I have tried and tried to get pictures of my phone for weeks.  It was working perfectly and now it won't work.  It won't upload to Picasa and won't upload through the trusty cord.  UGH with a big GRRRR!  I finally got it to work by sending lots of emails to myself.  So therefore this blog is random.

Jeff has been doing lots of upkeep on our house.  Baseboards, painting, caulking, just the basic stuff one has to do to keep the house in tip-top condition (I'm so glad he notices these things, cause I do not!). He is so good to get the little ones involved to. 

 So we got them suited up in daddy's work shirts so they wouldn't get their clothes messed up.  We really didn't need to go to all the trouble because they got side tracked pretty quickly.  You know: balls, bikes, sand, play structure, dirt, etc!

 We went to see my parents over Labor Day.  I got to take this picture while we were shopping.  Papa loves to play with his girls. And they were all having a great time, just a bad picture.

 Brent got a balloon bouquet delivery for his 4th birthday with a crocodile attached.  This is his new favorite animal to sleep with.  He loves to run up to his soccer coach, Coach Doug (whom he adores) and tell him that he is 4.  He tells  him this every time he sees him!  LOL

 I love relaxing with my kiddos on the weekend.  Usually pictures are always of something that we are doing. 

I like that in these pictures we are relaxing!  As Brent says, "Cozy!"

It's time to figure out what my sweet darlings are going to be for Halloween!  I love this picture.  Brent was almost 2 months old and went through 2 outfits in 2 hours. And the glitter that filled my house from this costume, well... you can imagine.  I remember it well. 

Brent wants to be a Candy Corn.  Hmmm.  That comes in a girl costume only, so I think we are going to push the football costume!  HA  Caitlyn wants to be Jasmine.  She just loved her at Disneyworld.  I guess that means we need a black wig!

Things are getting better at the Rickert House.  Writing works wonders.  Dishes and laundry are on the upswing and there is a plan to do meal planning this weekend.  Jeff is even on board to help with meal planning and grocery store shopping.  I pray that it lasts for a while!  He really does help me a lot (between hunting trips!!!)

He is fired up about some new tires and I'm trying my best to get on board and be excited.  YAY!  But it is just not a new pair of shoes. 

Hope things are going well at your house too!

Venting!!!!

I am apparently boycotting the grocery store, meal plans and saving money the last two weeks.  I must stop this nonsense ASAP.  I must find balance.  I'm sick of eating out but I'm not sure that I have reached my limit so badly that I will sit down and meal plan. Isn't that just the ickiest task ever?  I even have a dear friend that cooks out of her house down the street.  Her meals are fabulous and I haven't been ordering!  What is wrong with me?

To justify myself we do have soccer on Monday at 6 (dinner hour), pick up Caitlyn from dance on Wednesday at 5 (dinner hour) and this week Brent's open house on Thursday at 6:35 (dinner hour).  It seems like fast food is the way to go.  I did serve my children chicken fingers and carrots on Monday and overhead them say "this is scrumptious"  LOL! I rarely leave work before 5:15 because there is so much to do and then still I cram a ton in a bag to bring home.  I kinda feel like a walking zombie these days.

The plus side of not cooking is you don't have to empty and fill the dishwasher everyday!  And I did get a new closet.  But don't get too excited.  It is just my loveseat!

Ugh!  Life is crazy, but good!

Turning 4

 Brent Tyler is 4 now!  Caitlyn was so sweet and wrapped up presents(that she already owned) to give to him.  I loved her sweetness to give.

 She made birthday hats!

 This was our birthday boy on the eve of his big day and the only picture I could manage to get of him in his birthday crown from school.  I love how our kids love to snuggle with Cali.  In fact, Brent always gives Cali a hug each day.

 Sunday we had a party with Brent's friends.  We had a pinata!

 It was fun to see the kids take a swing at it!

 Then we let them take a whack at it without their eyes covered!

 The kids waited so patiently.

 And then they had their sweet success!

 Brent is having a great time telling everyone that he is four.  Hard to believe my sweet little baby grew up so fast!

 Happy Birthday to you!  Happy Birthday to you!  Happy Birthday dear Brent!  Happy Birthday to you!

 I love this sweet smile.

 I hope all his wishes come true.

 

They had cake and continued to play at the spray park.  I think everyone had a great time. 

A weekend with Mimi and Papa

 It always starts with pancakes!

 It was nice enough weather to eat outside on the patio also.

 Which meant Brent could start pulling the wagon around the yard in his pj's while we were still enjoying our coffee!

 He pulled it up the stairs, down the hill and everywhere!  (Sorry for the bad picture quality on this one cause the smile was to die for in this picture)

 The kids found the microphone and guitar and put on a show for us!

 It was so fun to watch them jam out!

 We went into Tulsa and went by my old middle school, (which has been torn down and rebuilt), high school and one of favorite places to eat.  We found these trains on the way and Brent had to have his picture taken by it.

 More jamming out, in fact a lot of this took place this weekend!

 I'm so thankful that my parents let me sleep in a little bit because these rockers do not sleep late.

 They do however love to get up and help cook breakfast.

And I'm pretty sure that Papa loves having little helpers around!  (More pics coming of our weekend later!)

Happy Hunting!

Folks, it is finally hunting season AGAIN!  This might not mean much to some or even most. But in my household there is one person that is always happy, even relieved when September 1st roles around each year.  He actually said to me this week, "I've been waiting all year for this weekend."

Um, really, because he just hunted in April - 5 months ago.  Oh well, he is a big kid at heart. 

Jeff took Brent with him on Thursday morning to hunt and they had a blast! Our new puppy Sadie(1 yr) is doing a great job hunting but sadly this is Cali's(13 yrs) first season not to hunt.