Sunday Visit

I should have posted about this earlier, but Patrick and I have had to carefully choreograph our movements this week with child activities and pickups/drop-offs--more on that later. We got to visit Grandma and Grandpa last Sunday. They are leaving for Colorado tomorrow. I'm not sure when they'll be back, but it's been nice having them in town for these last couple of months.

We did the usual and picked up Rudy's BBQ--"The Worst BBQ in Texas" for a late lunch. Eric and Natalie really like their turkey, and I love their beef brisket. This is a picture of Eric in the driver's seat of the van. Natalie was in her usual grumpy mood and not wanting to be in the car for long periods, so Patrick made her get out and help him get the food. Eric and I stayed in the car and he was a bit energetic, so I let him "play" in the driver's seat. I also let him stand up in the back of the van, and his head now touches the roof. It's nice to see evidence that this boy is growing.

When we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house, Grandpa had just gone out for a walk. Grandma, of course, had told him that we were due any time, but Grandpa does what he wants. When he got back, he was surprised that we were already there.

Grandma lamented that she didn't have any games or anything for the kids to play with when they visited her. They are usually fine with the electronics that we bring, and there are plenty of games in there, but we didn't bring any iPads or iPad minis this time.

Eric was a little restless anyway, and since it was such a beautiful day--sunny and in the 70s, he kept going outside into their backyard. Even with how energetic he was, he was still sitting down a lot, so I took this picture of him squatting in the middle of their yard, which has a little hill. That wooded area behind is a green space behind their property. He went into the tall grass and hid for a while.

Later, after lunch, Grandma took the two kids (we had dropped Alex off at lacrosse practice) for a walk in the neighborhood. Grandma said that Eric had to sit and rest a couple of times because his "legs were tired". He just cracks me up. He is all energy, but then he always complains that his legs get tired. I've told him that meant that he had to walk more.

We ended our visit when it was time to pick up Alex. Patrick saw Grandma and again on Tuesday to help her buy and set up a new computer. It's so much nicer to be able to help them in person rather than feeling helpless on the other side of the telephone line. We're not sure when they'll be back, but we'll definitely see them for Spring Break in March in Colorado.

Alex's Turn

This is the way I can get photos of Alex--when he doesn't know I'm taking them. We had just gotten home from school and he plopped himself on the arm of the living room sofa and was texting friends while listening to music. That's pretty much what he does all the time--texts and listens to music.

My mom is always afraid that Patrick and I don't spend any time with Alex. Eric is the youngest and Natalie's swim activities and now physical therapy take a lot of our time. In reality, Alex takes most of our time. He is way more social than his siblings. He always wants to go out and see his friends. Soccer practices also started after Thanksgiving at school every weekday morning. Last week, lacrosse practices started after school. We haven't figured out that schedule quite yet. Since last month, he has also been staying after school for two hours at least three days a week so he can be around his girlfriend who is moving some time soon.

Weekends are especially when he needs us to shuttle him back and forth. For example, just last Friday, Patrick picked him up right after school. I was at physical therapy with Natalie, so Eric was along for the ride while Patrick took Alex to get something to eat and then dropped him off at the local stadium so he could watch his girlfriend play soccer. He also needed to be picked up, of course.

On Saturday, I took Alex to school at 9:30am so he could travel with his soccer team to play soccer. The game wasn't until noon, but Patrick went to the stadium to watch him play. He got to play the whole game and it was a nice day, so Patrick didn't mind. He brought Alex home after the game, then Alex's friend Dylan came over and Patrick took both of them back out to go to some cheer competition. Meanwhile, the rest of us went to church and then dinner. While we were out, Alex asked if his friend Jeremy could sleep over. As it turned out, Jeremy wasn't able to come over, but that is the sort of last minute plans we have to deal with. If we don't have other plans, we try to get Alex to whatever event he wants to go to, and it usually involves Patrick driving around at night.

On Sunday, Alex didn't get up until noon. We took him to his 1:30-5pm Lacrosse practice. In the meantime, we picked up Rudy's BBQ and took it to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a late lunch since they live close to where Alex had practice, and we picked him up before heading home. So, except for Natalie taking the SAT on Saturday, our weekend was pretty centered on Alex.

This is another picture I took of Alex while he wasn't aware that I was taking a picture of him. He was helping Patrick take down the Christmas tree a couple of weeks ago. The top half of the tree now has nonfunctioning lights, so we threw it away with the heavy trash pickup. We also got rid of our rapidly deteriorating big screen TV and an extra tube TV that not even Goodwill or the Salvation Army will accept as a donation. Alex can be pretty helpful around the house when he wants to be.

This is a good time to brag a little about Alex, too. Last month or so, we found out that he is number 19 in his class. We were happy with that news. He was unhappy mostly because there were a couple of people ranked higher than him that he helped with homework, so he figured that he should be ranked higher than they were. That may change once he starts taking AP classes next year.

Last week or so, Alex found out that he made a 196 on the PSAT. He is still a sophomore, but apparently that score puts him in the 95th percentile for juniors. My nephew Nick also did well with an 206. I'm happy that both of them are within range for possibly scoring high enough to be a National Merit Scholar, like Anthony was. That opens the door to scholarships and such plus it's pretty cool.

Alex also helps us with Eric and Natalie. When Natalie gets all wound up about school work, he will just tell her to chill or helps her with it. When Eric won't do as we ask (like finish his dinner), he'll present it to Eric in a different way, and Eric will often comply. Alex is my only child that likes to go shopping with me. That is pretty cool, too. He saw my work jacket that I wear in the cold operating rooms. He wanted one just like it, so I joked that he gave it his "fashion stamp of approval" so it must be a nice jacket. Patrick chats with him about sports (the other kids don't have a clue) or about video games.

If it isn't clear yet, I love my dear number two son. He is certainly not an angel and he has challenged us in ways that the other kids haven't challenged us, but he is a wonderful kid and Patrick and I love him a whole lot. Here's hoping that he will stay the course.

First Reconciliation

This past Saturday, Eric had his First Reconciliation. Alex had spent the night over at a friend's house. Natalie was still not feeling well, so we didn't make her go. Only Patrick and I went with Eric.

Mornings are usually when Eric is the most active, which is why we one reason why we usually don't like to go to mass on Sunday mornings. This morning was no different. After the Reconciliation mass, eight priests were stationed at different locations along the back of our church, which is more or less circular-ish, and which has seven aisles. There was a priest at the end of each aisle plus our pastor was in one of the small chapels. They held off foot traffic along that back area, to give the kids (and adults that chose to participate) privacy during their confessions.

At that time, we let Eric choose which priest he wanted to go to. We were sitting near the front, so Eric looked to the back all around as if he was trying to decide where to go. He then started walking towards one of the lines that was starting to form. We thought he was going to get in that line, but instead, he walked right past everyone and proceeded to go to one of the priests (I think it was Father Teddy), and walked right up to him. He then sat down and started.

I was a little embarrassed that he didn't wait in line, but then the lines were all just forming anyway. I was happy that he was not shy, though, and that he took the initiative to go ahead and just do it. There were a couple of kids that were in tears or clinging to their parents, but not Eric. This first picture is of Eric doing his little prayer after he was done.

So, the bad part about Eric being first was that then he had another hour or so to wait for everyone else to finish. He was very hyper and kept hugging on Patrick and me and being very restless. I took this photo after I found some red fluff on his shirt and put it on his nose. That entertained him for a few minutes, anyway.

I wasn't "allowed" to take any pictures of Eric sitting with the priest, although I still wish I hadn't followed directions. Anthony had his First Reconciliation in this same church and I got a picture of him. It would have been so cool to compare the pictures.

The entire experience took almost two hours, after which it was almost 11am, so we picked up Natalie at home and we went to lunch at Chick-Fil-A. The next big religious event for Eric will be his First Communion at the end of April.

January Art a la Carte

It's been a while since I posted on my blog. The Saturday before last (the 10th) I was on call for 24 hours, then I was getting stressed about a lecture I gave at the local med school on Monday the 12th. I was already getting sick by then, and so were the kids. Natalie stayed home four days from school last week, and Eric stayed home about 2 1/2 days. They both just went back to school today. Alex hasn't been home much, which is just as well, so he has not been sick. He's been spending a lot of time with his girlfriend before she moves with her family to California.

So, I never got a chance to post about volunteering at Eric's Art a la Carte class last Tuesday, the 13th. I took the day off, as usual, although I stayed home instead of exercising in the morning, since I wasn't feeling well. I brought Eric his usual lunch from Wendy's. He was happy to eat it quickly. I got some Wendy's chili this time, so I ate with him.

This month's lesson talked about Michelangelo and how he was a sculptor who was asked to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The lesson was about three dimensional art, like sculptures, versus two dimensional art, like paintings. The art tables all had animal toy figures on them. The first step was picking out one of the animal figures and sketching it out with pencil on a piece of paper.

I was amazed at how a couple of the girls had trouble even starting their sketch--they were so afraid to fail that they couldn't start. The teacher had already talked about how most of the kids were sketching for the first time and so they probably would not be any good. She talked about how if they practiced, they would get better. Those girls did not seem to have any experience drawing an object, because as soon as they saw that their drawing did not look much like the animal figure, they got upset and balked at going farther. There was another mom helping also, and she felt helpless because her daughter absolutely did not want to draw the animal because it didn't look good enough. Eventually, her daughter did get something drawn, but there was a lot of whining and dragging of feet.

Eric didn't have any trouble at all. He draws all the time. His drawings were comparable to any of the other kids, but he didn't have any hesitation at all drawing his elephant. He just did it and added a lot of details, like the elephant trunk wrinkles, and then he had enough time to color it in and everything. Some of the kids only had the basic outline of the animal, and not so much of the details.

After the drawing, they got to work with clay and make the same animal in a three dimensional form. I was amazed that the same girl that could not even start her drawing, didn't hesitate to make her animal out of clay, and she did a decent job. I would guess that she did not draw much but probably had a lot of experience with Play Doh. Eric again didn't hesitate and completed his elephant pretty quickly, even again, adding details to the trunk and body. I was so proud of him getting the job done.

Apparently, next month they get to paint their animal. That should be interesting.

2015 Title Page

It's time for the annual measurement of the kids! I started doing this a number of years ago, and documenting it all on a scrapbook page. For the past couple of years, that has been the only scrapbook page I've made that year.

Of course the first step is taking a picture of the kids standing in front of the Christmas tree, so I can see how they've grown. This is usually quite an undertaking, because the kids don't like to get their picture taken. This was compounded by the fact that I have not taken a lot of pictures with my big camera this year, so I'm a little rusty. Anthony always helps me out by rallying his siblings, and he had to convince everyone to do that again.

The big boys look basically the same. Anthony did gain 1 1/2 pounds since last year--148 1/2 pounds and 71 inches. Alex gained 4 1/2 pounds and is now officially taller than Anthony by half an inch--162 pounds and 71 1/2 inches. Note that last year, Patrick measured both boys at 71 1/8 inches tall each. I don't think Anthony shrunk, so that must be an error of measurement or how he was standing.

Natalie is now 105 pounds and 59 inches tall. She gained 7 pounds since last year, and as is typical of girls her age, she lamented that was too much of a weight gain. She did gain about an inch and a half, but she knows that she didn't swim as much this past year. It's all a part of how down she gets with the consequences of her back injury from early last year.

Eric gained four pounds and three inches. He is now 48 pounds and 48 inches. I joked with him that he is square. He just looked at me with a puzzled expression. ;) It doesn't seem like he grows, but now we have proof that he does grow.

Here is my finished scrapbook page. I am obviously very rusty, combining different shades of red, and maybe I shouldn't have used so many embellishments. I could go on, but it's good enough and I'm happy with it, so I'm leaving it.

I used red paint instead of ink because my ink pads have all gotten a little dry from not using them. The paint was actually easier for the kids to wash off their hands than the ink, so that was good. I also used a smaller photo this year (3"x5") because the big boys' hands are so big, and Alex refused to put his fingers together.

Also, notice that Alex signed his name as "Ali G. Baba" and Natalie signed hers as "That fabulous person, Natalie". Those signatures are part of who they are right now, so I was happy to let them sign however they wanted.

Tomorrow, it's back to school for the kids (except Anthony), and back to work for me. No rest for the weary.

Celebrating with Family

After a low-key Christmas, we had a low-key New Year's Eve. I had to work on Monday and Tuesday, and we were originally going to go out for my mother-in-law's birthday on Tuesday, December 30, so we didn't leave for Houston until New Year's Eve day. We had planned to go to the Riverwalk for her birthday, but it was drizzly and cold, and she really didn't want to go out.

This is a picture of Eric meditating or trying not to get upset or something or other like that. We had just told him that he had to wait a half hour before getting back on the iPad. I think back to when Natalie was younger--she did not do well in the car when we were traveling to Houston. Who knows if she would have been much better if we had an iPad or similar distraction for her then?

We dropped Alex off at his friend Dylan's house before leaving town. He stayed in town so he could spend some time with his friends and especially his girlfriend, who is moving out of the state in less than two weeks. We would have rather taken him with us, but we didn't want him to hate us forever by forbidding him seeing her before he might possibly not see her again.

The weather was not nice while we were in Houston, but at least we spent it with family. We went to my parents' house first. I didn't get to see my Mom at Thanksgiving, since she was in the Philippines celebrating her mom's 100th birthday, so it was good to see her again. She made Natalie and Eric some "arroz caldo" or "rice soup" as the kids call it--their favorite. Eric almost got upset at Thanksgiving when we got to her house, she wasn't there, and there was no "rice soup" for him to eat.

We had a sort of second Christmas there--really the kids just opened presents from my sisters. My mom and mailed a box to our house that got there the day after Christmas. My sisters both got Eric some Transformers toys among other things, and he spent quite a bit of time playing mostly with the Transformers over the two days we were there. He has been quite upset with Transformers. He played his new Transformers PS4 game as soon as we got back home.

We stayed at my sister Cynthia's house for the rest of the time. We snacked and watched movies into the New Year--"Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Maleficent". We barely noticed when the clock hit midnight. Patrick was upstairs when the ball dropped in NYC and he told us the time. For once we didn't celebrate midnight at Eastern Standard Time by watching the NYC ball drop. When it was midnight at Central Standard Time, we at least "celebrated" by hugging each other and saying "Happy New Year!" We were watching "Maleficent" at the time and no one really wanted to stop the movie.

Even Eric stayed up until midnight, and he did fine. He went straight to bed after the movie, though, and he was still the first one up--maybe by around 7am. He entertained my sister's dog Lucy before anyone else was up. He was always chasing Lucy (and vice versa), playing and petting Lucy. At one point, Lucy did not run after her toy when someone threw it--I think she was exhausted!

We came home today, and the weather was still icky. There is supposed to be some sun tomorrow, and we are all really looking forward to it. I miss my family already, but alas, we have to return to "real life".

Hanging Out

We haven't done anything much since Christmas. We saw the first two Night At The Museum movies at home. No one really wanted to go out, except maybe Alex, who had four boys sleep over on Saturday. Anthony did go out a few times with his friend Jake. Eric is content to sit next to Anthony and watch him play games on his computer, or play on the iPad or his new toys. He finished building The Ghost and The Phantom Star Wars Lego sets today. I'll take some pics of them tomorrow.

We went to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Sunday night for dinner. Grandma wanted to host her first dinner at her house. Patrick watched the Packers game vs. the Detroit Lions while we were there. The Packers won 30-20--yay! While there, Natalie, Alex, and Anthony all started playing against each other on an app called Trivia Crack. Eric felt a little left out, so I let him play on my phone or he would watch over his siblings' shoulders to see what they were doing.

We were supposed to take Grandma out to dinner tonight for her birthday. She wanted to see the Christmas lights on the Riverwalk, so we had planned to go there for dinner. The weather was chilly (40s) today, drizzly and cloudy, and she didn't want to go out in it, so she decided we would have to do that another time. Instead, Anthony went to dinner and a movie with his friend Jake. Alex was going to a movie with friends, but those plans fell through also. Because everything was cancelled, Natalie decided to go to swim practice tonight. She swam yesterday as well and seems to be on the mend.

This is pretty much a nothing post, but I just wanted to share a few details about our low-key days after Christmas. I'm so much more relaxed now that the Christmas activities are over!

Merry Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas, Everyone! I was really tired yesterday due to having to work on Christmas Eve night. I got home around 7:30am, and I was quickly greeted by Eric. We had told him the day before to not to get up until I got home, but of course he got up earlier and was reading quietly. He was very patient about waiting for his brothers to get up. He tried to be quiet in his room because Anthony is sleeping there in the top bunk right now--he didn't even notice his Christmas stocking, at least not until we asked him if he had opened it. In the last few years, we've been leaving their stockings by their beds on Christmas Eve. It makes for a more peaceful Christmas morning.

Natalie was already up when I got home also. Anthony got up surprisingly early, maybe around 9, and Alex after that. Alex is recovering from being sick. He had a fever for a day or so before Christmas, and he's been coughing. As you can see in this photo above, he was not up to smiling for the photo. I waited a little before taking the photo, but it wasn't fair for the other kids, so I gave up. I think he was afraid that if he moved his face too much, he would have to go blow his nose.

We ended up opening presents around 10:30 am. The kids separated their gifts into piles for each person. Eric remarked on how he had the biggest gift from Santa--a Star Wars Rebels Inquisitor Lightsaber. It's a fact that the presents get smaller (and more expensive) as the kids get older.

Eric also received a Guardians of the Galaxy movie and Nerf gun from his godfather. The gun is like the one I got him for his Star Lord Halloween costume. He didn't mind having two, because, "Star Lord had two". I really wish he could spend some time with his godfather, because Elmer is such a great guy and wonderful with kids.

Eric received two Star Wars Rebels Lego sets, one from us (The Phantom), and the Ghost set from my Uncle Nany. He also got a Star Wars Corporate Alliance Tank Droid from his Aunt Lisa. Grandma got him a Minion poster to hang on his wall, a Transformers Strafe toy, and a Minion shirt.

I couldn't believe that Natalie actually wanted to pose for the camera. I'm a little biased, but I think she looks really pretty in this photo. She has been wearing her father's Green Bay Packers sweatshirt to bed. I've offered to get her one of her own, but she says she wants to wear his because it's bigger and just because it's his. I think Patrick appreciates that she still shows him some affection, which could go away tomorrow.

Natalie got a Godchild ornament from her godfather, something she gets every year and looks forward to every year. She got Amazon gift certificates from her Aunt Lisa, Aunt Linda, and Grandma. Grandma thought Natalie would like to pick out her own books instead of having her Grandma pick some from her wish list. Grandma also got her some ear pods (so she can give me back mine) and a Simon game. She got an iPad Mini 3 from us--I love that she squealed when she opened it. We didn't get her anything for her birthday in August except several hours in a car traveling across the country, so this was sort of a combined gift.

I could not get Alex to look at the camera. He wanted to do this indifferent sort of pose. Again, I let it go. It's all part of the story this Christmas, after all. He got a nice Ralph Lauren orange jacket from my Uncle Nany. He's been wearing it often since then.

Grandma gave both big boys an AMC movie gift card and Grandpa gave them his usual "art folio"--i.e. 2015 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar. He and Anthony love reading what Grandpa writes about the calendars every year.

I initially made all the kids wear Santa hats for the first group photo, but Anthony ended up wearing his hat all day. We got him two PS4 games--The Shadow of Mordor and Infamous: Second Son, as well as a skeleton watch that Alex helped us pick out. He loved all of them, although he probably suspected the PS4 games. For that reason, he seemed most surprised/excited about the watch.

He got his siblings presents again this year--picked out and paid for all on his own. He got a Batman watch for Alex. Natalie got shark earrings, and Eric got yet another Star Wars Lego set--General Grievous Wheel Bike.

Those were only some of their gifts. The kids are so lucky that their family (immediate and extended) are so generous. We go to Houston next week and there we'll exchange gifts with my sisters and parents. Patrick grilled our traditional steak for lunch and we spent the rest of the day playing, and in my case, sleeping. We had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope all of our family and friends out there did also!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Eric has been saying "Merry Christmas Eve" all day today. He is just a little bit excited. He has been counting down to Christmas all month, thanks in part to his Star Wars Advent Calendar. His siblings seem less excited, but still happily anticipating tomorrow.

Anthony stated when he got home, that he had not gotten any presents for his siblings. Yesterday, when I got home from work, I saw these packages under the tree. Anthony said he had gotten presents for his siblings, and that he had intentionally wrapped them very badly. I was amused by that and the how he had labeled the packages. On his present to Eric, he had put "To Cheric From Chanthony". He does sometimes call Eric "Cheric" because, as he says, "It rhymes." Regardless of the reason, Eric was tickled when he read the label. Anthony labeled his present to Natalie with "To Little Shark From Chair Potato", their nicknames for each other.

This morning, Natalie decided not to go to swim practice. She went yesterday morning for only 15 minutes due to her back still being sore. She was still sore this morning, but she still wanted to go to Starbucks. After we ate, we decided to go to Target. For some reason, I can finish most of my Christmas shopping super early, but I always have to shop for stocking stuffers late. She was actually helpful during our shopping trip, giving me ideas and generally entertaining me with her chattiness.

When we got home, I stuffed the stockings early with Patrick, since I'm working tonight and won't be home until tomorrow morning. I also took a photo of the stockings and finally wrapped our gifts to Patrick. Patrick went to church with the kids this afternoon, and I'm planning on going to the Catholic mass tonight at the chapel here in the hospital.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas Eve! I'll probably post some Christmas photos by tomorrow night.

Birthday Lunch

Since we didn't get to go out to dinner on my actual birthday, we went on Sunday instead. I like to stay home on Sunday nights, because I have to get up early for work the next day, so we went out for lunch instead of dinner. Going out for lunch also means that my in-laws won't have to drive around in the dark.

I spent the whole week trying to decide where to go for lunch. I finally settled on The Cheesecake Factory because there are a variety of dishes there for everyone to choose from. I also really like their Miso Salmon dish and although we just had salmon on Wednesday, I can never have too much salmon.

Patrick let our waiter (whose name was "Eric") know that it was my birthday, so Eric the Waiter presented me with a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream, sprinkles, and a candle. He also announced that it was my 21st birthday before singing "Happy Birthday" with a group of other waitstaff.

The singing was fun, and the food was great, but the best part for me was that Anthony was home. He got home on Saturday night after midnight. I couldn't stay up that late, and neither could Natalie. We both went to bed earlier, and Patrick woke us up when Anthony got home. Alex was supposed to go with Patrick to the airport to pick up Anthony, but Alex fell asleep and Patrick didn't have the heart to wake him up. He did wake up Alex after they got home, and Alex insisted that Patrick should have awakened him. Alex and Anthony stayed up a bit longer chatting.

Eric didn't see Anthony until Sunday morning. He gave him lots of hugs, of course. I took this photo at The Cheesecake Factory and to me it really shows how much Anthony loves his little brother and how much he missed him. This also shows how much Eric loves Anthony and thinks Anthony is such a fun brother.

Now my birthday celebrations are officially over--on to Christmas!

Happy Birthday to Me

My birthday blog post disappeared, so I have to rewrite the whole thing--ugh!

My morning started perfectly with Eric coming into my room to give me a hug and to wish me a "Happy Birthday". That boy gives the best hugs! Natalie and Alex also gave me birthday wishes and hugs later as well. Patrick may have reminded them, but it's nicer to think that they wanted to give me a birthday greeting on their own. Anthony actually forgot until the next day, but I had expected that to be the case since he was in the middle of final exams. He is coming home tonight!!!

Patrick let me stay home while he took Alex to school. We usually go together and then go straight to the gym to exercise. I decided that I would rather go to breakfast at Magnolia Pancake Haus instead of going to lunch somewhere, even though that meant missing out on exercising. Grandma and Grandpa met us at our house, and we were at breakfast by around 9:30am. Natalie seemed a little sad when she found out that she would not see Grandma and Grandpa that day, since they were just having breakfast with us and then going home. She seemed happy that she has "seen them more in the last month than in the last year."

Patrick and I didn't even plan on having lunch because we anticipated being very full after breakfast. By about 2pm, we decided to pick up some fried pork dumpling appetizers at the PF Chang's at La Cantera Mall. We had to get Barnes and Noble gift cards for a couple of Eric's teachers anyway, so it was a good excuse to go.

The rest of the day I got to do some scrapbooking/crafting. It felt great to play with paper and glue for the first time in a year or so. I haven't scrapbooked regularly for probably two years or more, and I'm a little rusty, so I got a December Daily kit this year to give me a starting off point. I'll hopefully be able to share some pages when I actually complete them. I sent some photos/pages to Costco, but they are busy with Christmas card orders this time of year, so I had to wait more than the usual one day to get them printed.

I continued the crafting the next day, Friday, by packaging up gifts for Eric's teachers. Our kids have way too many teachers combined to get anything big for anyone, but we did get those Barnes and Noble gift cards for Eric's homeroom teacher and GT teacher along with our usual gift, Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark candies. Natalie didn't feel especially close to any of her teachers, so they all just got the candy and no gift cards. She also gave out candy canes to her classmates. Alex wanted Terry's Chocolate Oranges to give out instead. Neither Natalie nor Alex wanted their teacher gifts wrapped, so I was off the hook with those.

Patrick grilled some salmon that night for dinner. Alex stayed after school to help a friend with math. Natalie had some basketball games to attend as the team manager, so we couldn't go out to eat, in fact, it was almost 8pm by the time Natalie got home and got to eat some salmon. Patrick was very good about spoiling me on my birthday.

So that was my low-key birthday. We're planning on having a birthday dinner tomorrow with the grandparents and with Anthony. I'm sure I'll have more photos to share then.

New House

Patrick's Mom and Dad closed on their house here in town on December 1st. The following weekend, we went to check it out. Alex was off with some friends, but the rest of us went. We picked up some Rudy's BBQ for lunch on the way there. Rudy's is one of Patrick's favorite places, so I joked that he would probably stop off there whenever he went to visit his parents.

After lunch, the kids settled into the sunroom right away and started playing on their electronics while the adults chatted. We also got a tour of the house, and Patrick helped his dad bring in their new TV. The sunroom will be nice this time of year, but not so much in the summer. They don't anticipate being here in the summer anyway.

They moved to a 55 plus community so they could participate in group activities in order to meet new people. They want their own friends, and not just hang out with us, which sounds great for future happiness for themselves. Their neighborhood is right next to a golf course, and they have a gate guard at the entrance. It looks like a nice neighborhood.

The kids seemed pretty excited to be visiting Grandma and Grandpa so close to where we live. They're used to traveling for hours on a plane and then driving to their place--not anymore. We still wished they lived a little closer, so it will be easier if they need something, but they did move to a nice area. Several people that I know from work live near there, since it's pretty much a straight shot up I-35 from where I work to this area.

We've already taken advantage of their proximity to us when they came to babysit Natalie and Eric last Saturday. Last week, Patrick had lunch with them at Panera Bread. Tomorrow, Patrick and I are planning to have breakfast with them at Magnolia Pancake Haus. I really miss having family in the same city, and I really love that the kids get to see their grandparents every week if they want to.

Party Party

This is a picture of Alex trying on his tux on Friday afternoon. We went straight to the bridal shop to pick up the tux after I picked him up from school. It felt weird going to a bridal shop with my son.

Alex took part in a Quinceanera on Saturday night. One of his best friends, Jeremy, had a sister that was turning 15, and a Quinceanera is a big celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday in parts of Latin America. Interestingly, our friends, who are from Mexico, say that it isn't a big deal there. Alex has been to several (like maybe 8-10) practices in the last couple of months. Most were on school nights, but some were on the weekends. They were practicing a group dance for the party.

The bridal shop was on the south side of town, and that time of day, it took a good half hour to get there. Once there, he had to try on the tux to make sure it fit. I laughed about the fact that it took him longer to get dressed than the girl trying on Quinceanera dresses in the room next to his. Of course, his tux had many more parts to it. When he saw this picture that I took of him, he said that it wasn't a complete picture because he had not yet put on the cufflinks, he didn't have his watch on, and his tie was only hurriedly put on to make sure it fit. It took him a while to figure out how to put it on. One of the bridal shop employees had to help him with it. A friend of mine saw this picture and said that Alex looked good, but that in this picture, he "looks like he thinks he looks good". I laughed at that comment because I thought he was right--that Alex thought he looked good. After all, he let me take a picture.

I was so happy when Alex texted me this picture. He almost never lets me take pictures, and he keeps "forgetting" to send me pictures of him dressed up for parties like this. The girl in the picture with him is his "girlfriend" or rather, the "girl he hangs out with who isn't allowed to date until she is sixteen".

The party was an all day event for Alex. Patrick dropped him off for the mass at 1pm. The party wasn't starting until 6pm and lasting until around midnight. He stayed over at his friend Jeremy's house after the party, since it was going to last so late. Patrick was glad he didn't have to be driving around town with all the drunk people and the crazies at midnight on a Saturday night.

Patrick did drive around at about 10pm on Saturday, though. We had my department Christmas party at a local restaurant, the Scenic Loop Cafe. I got someone to take a picture of us near one of the trees. My friend Tripp put together the party and he did a fantastic job. We had good food, great conversation, and a wonderful time.

We didn't realize until a couple of weeks ago that the party that Alex had been preparing for with all of those practices over the last couple of months, was on the same exact night as my department Christmas party. We are so lucky that Patrick's parents are now in town and his mom didn't hesitate to babysit Natalie and Eric. They came over in the afternoon and stayed the night so they wouldn't have to drive home so late at night. We are so thankful that they are here in town and we've been able to spend a lot of time with them. We went to church together on Sunday morning, and then they went home. Later this week, I'll have to post some photos of their house and our visit with them last week.

Busy Week

We've had a really busy week. It's a mixed blessing that Natalie is not going to swim practice right now. She felt good enough that she wanted to swim this week, but with Patrick's birthday on Monday, her band concert on Tuesday, a basketball scrimmage for her (as team manager, not as a player) on Wednesday, and some of the events listed in this post today, there was no time to go to swim practice.

On Thursday, I came straight home from work, because Alex stayed after school to help a friend with Math. I wasn't home more than a half hour before I had to leave again. Patrick had gone with Eric to get a birthday present for his friend, then I took Eric to the party at the local Laser Quest.

This was my first time actually going into the Laser Quest. I've dropped off the older boys at parties there, and Patrick himself has taken the boys and their friends there before. Eric and his friends got to go in twice. I'm not sure what his stats were for the second game, but for the first game, he finished with a score that was third from last, 21st out of 23 people (mostly seven and eight year olds). That didn't matter, though. He had a lot of fun and was running around a lot.

We had to leave a little early, so we could do our weekly routine of going to Costco to get gas, and then go to Eric's piano lesson. Eric got a bath as soon as we got home, and then he went to bed. I took my shower and went straight to bed, which was around 9pm or before.

On Friday, I didn't get home until about 6:45pm with Alex--more on that story in my next blog post. I was so exhausted that I didn't even bother to eat dinner. I washed up and went straight to bed. That meant that I pretty much missed Natalie dressing up for her friend Margot's Christmas party at our neighborhood club house on Friday night. Patrick was kind enough to take some photos of Natalie for me. I chose this photo because she has the biggest smile. She was goofing off with the toy gun that Eric had gotten as a party favor. I miss that smile.

Natalie picked out this dress all by herself a few weeks ago, and she paid for it with her own money. She was shopping with her friend Margot before Thanksgiving. I was working and didn't go with her. She chose this lacy green dress because she thought it would be a nice dress to wear for Christmas. Of course, she pairs it with the obligatory sweater.

More about our busy week tomorrow.

Winter Band Concert

Natalie's band concert was this past Tuesday, December 9th, part of our busy week. So far, she still seems to enjoy being in band. At her last band concert, she complained bitterly about her band uniform. She didn't complain so much today, except for her tie. She tried to lose it at her school book fair by almost leaving it behind.

"Family Night" at her school book fair was on the same night as the band concert, so we went there early and shopped for books. Eric got a Star Wars themed book, and it was a wonderful thing to have, as we had to wait quite a bit before Natalie's band performed. She is in the "Honors Band", and they performed last. Natalie got a couple of books for herself, and one for a Christmas present for a friend. I was surprised, but there was no one else in the library, where the book fair was held, for the whole half hour or so that we were there.

I don't even bother bringing my big camera to Natalie's concerts any more. She won't let me take pictures. In desperation, I decided to wait for her outside of their Band Hall and snap away whenever she walked by. The percussionists have to put away all of the percussion equipment at the end of the concert, and there are quite a few instruments. As you can see in this picture, she found a way to always have her back turned or to have a music stand in front of her face. I found it a little humorous, thus the reason why I still snapped away despite not being able to see her face.

Interestingly, on the way home, she told me that it was "creepy" that I was staring at her during the whole band concert. She stands way in the back, so I positioned myself so I could see what she was up to during their performance. Obviously, I don't actually care about the music they play. I came because I wanted to see my daughter play. I'm not even sure why she thought it was "creepy" except that sometimes she does talk just to talk.

December Art a la Carte

Eric's monthly art class was today. He was so excited about my bringing him lunch today (the usual spicy chicken nuggets and vanilla Frosty) that Patrick said he was talking about it when he got off the bus yesterday. I didn't even see him this morning before school because I was already out of the house to take Alex to soccer practice at 6:45am. Natalie didn't go to basketball practice this morning because she had a physical therapy appointment, so at least I didn't have to take her at 6:15am also.

In any case, Eric's art class was about the abstract three-dimensional art work by Louise Nevelson. As you can see from the teacher's example bulletin board, the kids were going to use various found objects to make a collage on a heavy piece of cardboard. She will later paint the collages in the colors that the kids choose--blue, green, red, or yellow.

Several of the kids put gobs of stuff on their collages, but Eric's was rather spare. I tried to get him to fill up all that space, but he wanted it just the way it was. I am a space filler when it comes to art work. I'm sure it will look great once it's all painted the same color.

It's hard to appreciate in this photo, but the circular shapes in the middle are plastic pieces with a small bead in the middle. There are popsicle sticks next to different-shaped pieces of corrugated paper. I was also hoping he would add more texture, but once again, he really has a set idea of what he wants and doesn't want, and was not open to suggestions.

I really enjoyed volunteering for Eric's art class today. I look forward to these every month, and thankfully, he seems to also--my only child that likes seeing me at his school. He still greets me with a hug every time. That makes it all worth it.

Happy 49th!

I've been living life more than recording it, lately, which is good, but I have to document a little something today. Today is Patrick's 49th birthday.

We went out for dinner at his favorite restaurant, El Mirasol. What was really cool this year was that his parents got to go out with us and celebrate his birthday ON his birthday. We also invited our good friends Alicia and Al, along with their daughter Anna.

After dinner, we went home and Patrick opened his presents. Anthony called on Face Time, and I had Alex hold up the phone while Patrick opened his presents so that Anthony could be a part of it. Patrick's parents got him a bottle of single malt scotch. I got him a new case for his phone, a PS4 game (Dragon Age: Inquisition), a Tardis mug where the Tardis disappears then reappears at another location when the mug has hot liquid in it, and a D20 die that lights up when you roll a 20--mostly geeky gifts, but perfect for my favorite geek. :)

Now, Patrick gets to watch his Green Bay Packers team (notice the T-shirt he is wearing) on Monday Night Football on his birthday. Al came over for a little to watch with him. The only thing that would be better is that if the Packers win. Happy Birthday, sweetie!

So It Begins

Today is the first day of December. Because I'm planning on doing a "December Daily" album this year, that means I plan on documenting/scrapbooking each day in December in an album. I haven't scrapbooked in a while, so wish me luck!

Today I also let Eric open his new Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar. He was so excited about this when I bought it for him, but he was more excited about getting on the iPad after he opened this--more on that later.

He needed just a little help putting together the toy for the day, but he did seem to have fun once he got that toy. He had a very early and busy start to his day.

Today is also the first day after the Thanksgiving Holiday from school. That means that soccer season officially starts for Alex, with practices every morning at 6:45am. That also means that basketball season officially starts for Natalie, with practices every morning at 6:15am. That meant that Alex and Natalie were already up when I left for work a little after 5am. Patrick had to get Eric up a half hour earlier than usual, at 5:40am, so he could get dressed and then be taken along while Patrick dropped Natalie off at school first, and then Alex. Patrick then took Eric to Starbucks for breakfast, then took Eric to school. Starbucks won't be a daily occurrence, but Eric being driven around before school will be.

We thought Alex would also have afternoon soccer practice, but apparently it will only be morning practices. He didn't tell me this until I was already taking me time to get him after work, because I had expected to have to pick him up at 5:30pm after practice instead of right after school at 4:15pm. We didn't get home until after 5pm.

Meanwhile, Patrick was already at gymnastics with Eric from 5-6pm. No wonder Eric couldn't wait to get on the iPad. Natalie still has physical therapy twice a week, so that will be an additional place for Patrick to drive tomorrow and Thursday. She also has a doctor's appointment this Friday. By the way, Natalie signed up to be the team manager for basketball, so she could participate and see her friends. She would rather play than watch, but at least she feels a little more involved this way.

Lastly, Grandma and Grandpa closed on their house today. Yay! It's official! Their furniture gets delivered tomorrow.

Welcome to SA

My in-laws arrived in town yesterday. They are closing on their house tomorrow. They've been shopping for furniture as they got rid of some of their stuff when they sold their house in California. We met them at the Longhorn Steakhouse out by the hotel that they are staying at, a bit more north than where their house is. It took over an hour to get there, including dropping off Alex at a friend's house.

The kids seemed excited about their grandparents being in town. I know I'm excited about it. I've always wished that my kids could grow up with their grandparents around, and though it's a little late for Anthony and maybe Alex, it'll be nice for Natalie and Eric. They'll probably stay at our house on Monday night, since their furniture won't be delivered yet.

Patrick has been going to a "Packers bar" nearby, for the Packers games this football season. They had a tailgate party outside the bar today, and I brought Natalie and Eric to it. They served hotdogs, burgers, and brats, played music, and had games for everyone to enjoy.

They played this one game that involved tossing balls held together by a string. I love Natalie's face here, after she totally missed the target. Her expression is probably similar to the one I made when I totally missed the target when I first tried to play. I almost hit someone, it was so off target.

Eric was a little intense during his turns. He did at least as well as Natalie and definitely better than me. They also played some other bean bag tossing games. There was face painting and a bouncy house, and there was someone making balloon animals, but we didn't participate in those.

Grandma and Grandpa called when we had been there around an hour, saying that they were on their way. The temperatures were in the 70s and sunny, and the kids were hot and wanted to go home, so we didn't get to see Grandma and Grandpa. They got to meet some other Packers fans, though, and it was still cool that they were so close by that they could just drop by and see us. We're so glad they will be here, at least part of the year. Welcome to San Antonio, Grandma and Grandpa!

No Water

I snapped this photo last night when we went to Willie's Icehouse for the "Willie's Night" fundraiser for Eric's school. His school gets a small percentage of the profits from "Willie's Night" once a month. I saw what looked like a hug between Natalie and Eric, and I said I wanted a picture. Natalie, of course, said that she didn't want a picture, which is why it looks like she's trying to get away from Eric. Eric obliged as always--I love my Eric hugs!

It was a nice family dinner, even though we had to meet there. I brought Alex after I picked him up at school. Patrick brought Eric and Natalie after Natalie's physical therapy appointment. Natalie is now going to be fitted for a support belt for her hips. The physical therapist isn't sure if it will work, and she doesn't know what else to try, so we'll try using a loaner. We'll buy one specifically for Natalie if the loaner works for her. This is week four of Natalie not swimming after her latest injury on October 19. It was nice to see her smiling, even for a little while.

It was also nice for everyone to have a little smile, because the rest of the night was not that great. We did not have running water at our house last night. Patrick explained it to me earlier today, when the plumbers were installing the new water softener, the new water heater, and the pressure regulator. Yes, we just spent around $5000, but now we have water.

We didn't have a pressure regulator, so the water pressure was very high going into our house. The pressure wasn't so high in the past, so we didn't need the pressure regulator, but apparently it's high now. It's high enough that it basically pushed the resin that is in the water softener into our water lines and plugged them up--hence no water. Patrick suspected that our water heater was going to need to be replaced soon, so he had the plumbers inspect that also, and sure enough, it needed to be replaced, so he went ahead and told them to replace that too.

When it happened, Natalie was in the shower. She complained that the water was yellow-colored and that there was something in the water that looked like beads that got in her hair, so she stopped the water and got out. Poor thing was wrapped in a towel in her room waiting for a resolution. Thankfully, I had texted my friend Alicia, who lives around the corner, and she offered up her bathroom for showers. I took Natalie over there so she could finish up her shower. I washed my face and brushed my teeth while I was over there with her, and we used bottled water until the plumbers came this morning. I took a shower at the gym this morning.

I'm on call tonight, and I arrived at work early. I joked with some people at work that I came early since I had to go to the bathroom and since we didn't have running water at home, it was just as well that I came to work. Poor Patrick has been cleaning up since the plumbers left. It's a great start to our Thanksgiving holiday. We're just thankful that the water heater didn't explode as it did for our neighbors, especially because our water heater is in our attic. I'm thankful that our friend let us use her bathroom. We're also thankful that the plumbers were able to fix the problem today. Last but certainly not least, I'm thankful that Patrick figured out what was happening, because I had no idea about resin in the water softener until he explained all of this to me today.