Cale's pumpkin

One of the things I'm struggling with with my new phone is to find the right settings to upload photos to this blog.  If I upload from picasa, They seem to upload small, and then when I try to enlarge them, the pic is fuzzy. First world problem, I know. But, irritating.

So, let's have a go with uploading a picture of a pumpkin Cale painted for school. He's in a club called the Little Hoosier Club where they learn about Indiana history and stuff. And, I guess they also bring in decorated pumpkins. About 8 kids brought in pumpkins and they all had titles to them. I love Cale's title - "the abandon stage". I can't tell if the painted pumpkin is a stage or not. I first thought it was an abstract pumpkin face. Only Cale knows, I guess. Its a signature piece by Cale with lots of bright colors. I thought it was the most original pumpkin there.

best fall break ever!

We didn't do a lot over fall break.  Two weeks off and you think we would of had big plans.  Nope.  Marcus ended up having soccer through the first week.  And, then, 

we    got     a      dog

Meet Ponyo (pronounced "pon-yo" for those who haven't seen the movie).

The rest of the family has been wearing me down for a while.  We've had a 2 year dog holiday since Carina was put to sleep.  I've enjoyed  not having to have to feed a dog, clean up after a dog or decide what to do when with a dog when we go on vacation.  

But, the kids have been asking for a long time now. 

My first mistake was that I liked a couple local humane socieities on facebook.  Wrong.  That exposed me to lots of cute pictures of dogs looking for homes.  

That's how I saw Ponyo.  She was pretty cute.  But, I was going into a 3 day stretch at work and was not interested in the slightest to go see this dog.  I figured we would table this topic and come back to it on Monday (if the dog was still there).  

She was.

And, the boys agreed to spend their own money on Ponyo and her start-up costs:food, toys, crate.  How could I say no to that?  They had been saving the money for a new video game system.  I was happy that they were choosing to spend their money on something that would potentially be more work and not allow them to sit around and stare at the television.

It had to be fate that Ponyo was still available.  There had been an adoption event that the shelter had taken dogs to.  Ponyo was set to go, but was not in the right toom at the right time, so she got left.  

Yea for mistakes.

We met her on Tuesday morning and knew almost right away that this was a very good dog.  She did not freak out when surrounded by 8 people.  She was super happy to be with us and have new play mates.  A half hour later, she was ours and we were heading home.

It's like having a new baby.

We are working on potty training.  Ponyo will ring the bell, over half the time when she needs to go out.  We are trying very hard to monitor was she puts in her mouth (everything).  Trying to keep kid toys put up.  Trying to make sure that she does not run after the cats (who had their worlds rocked when Ponyo walked through the door) and eat the cats' food.  

It's a process.  And Ponyo's a puppy.  And, my kids haven't had this responsibility before.  

It's good for them. 

Ponyo is good for them.

She's not a little spoiled.

Liam was super-excited to have a puppy.

Yeah, Andy is happy, too.

Fall decor

Well.

It's been a while.

But, here we go.  Catch up post from the last few weeks.  I think this would be easier if I could figure out how to load photos from my phone to blogger.  Whatev.  I'm not that techie.


First, I did manage to find time to put out some fall decorations.  I have some old art from the kids, various ceramic pumpkins and other collected items.  In no way is it as intense as my snowmen that will see the light of day in a couple months.

Are these photos blurry?  I these are from my phone that I downloaded to the computer and uploaded to blogger.

I put up a pumpkin in the bathroom mirror.  The older boys got Liam to bow down to it saying, "oh great pumpkin." Hilarious.

Some of the artwork.

Some of the pumpkins chilling on a new fall runner by Grammy Pammy.  And, I got creative and use some hot plates and trays that looked fall-ish.

We also are now the proud owners of 8 pumpkins sitting outside.  I know, 8.  I couldn't pass up 99 cent pumpkins at Aldis 2 weekends in a row.  Will we carve all of them?  Only time will tell.  

We are also working on Halloween costumes.  I have no clue what anyone really wants to be, although Marcus keeps saying he wants to be a box.  I want us all to dress up like the Weasley family from Harry Potter but no one else thinks my idea is cool. 

One week of fall break in the books

We are halfway through the kids' 2 week fall break. They have been having fun with a loose schedule and lots of time to play. Can't say we've done anything amazing other than not kill each other while we have been stuck inside do to all the rain we've had. Oh my, the weather. The temps have been cool, but it seems like it rains a little bit every day. Just enough to be damp outside. In fact, one day I forced the kids outside when there was a break in the weather so they could run off some of their energy.

Otherwise, this is what's been going on. I would add pics but with this new phone, I can't figure out how to upload them yet.

Marcus is finishing up soccer. This last week he had his last practices with a final tourney this weekend.

Lots of building with legos.

Haircuts

Wii playing

Pants buying.  Where did all the pants the boys had go? Time to restock.

Popcorn selling for scouts

Game playing

Movie watching. I think the boys had now seen almost all of the Marvel superhero movies. They love them.

That's all. Pretty simple. A nice break, though, so far.

Three cheers for the end of the rec league season!

The last weekend in September was the last weekend of fall rec league soccer for 3 of the boys.  It was great weather-warm, sunny.  We all cooked a little bit that day.  Some extra vitamin D all around.  We actually had 5 games that day-one each for Liam, Ewan and Cale and then into a double header for Marcus.  Good times.  Grammy Linda came out to see the games and help run players to games.  

Liam played first.  I get pretty excited when he actually tries to run and kick the ball.  He did both that day.  Maybe someday I won't have to yell "Run Liam" from the sidelines.  

The team got their medals at the end of the game.

Go Eagles!

a proud boy

Cale and Ewan played next.  I watch the first part of Cale's game and the second part of Ewan's game.  Cale put up with me giving him lots of unsolicited advice  about how to play that day.  Cale played goalie for the first half and then was on offense.  He played the entire game and scored a goal to help his team win 5-4.

Ewan did great in his game and also scored a goal.  He has a lot of fun on the soccer field with his friends.

Go Panthers!

Cale's team came in second in the U10 division-the only aged division where they ranked the teams.  It was a close race between two teams for second and third place and came down to the number of goals scored in games.

Cale also got "all-conference" for the U10 players.  Each of the coaches picks 2 players who were the best players on their teams.  Well deserved.  Cale played his tail off in every game and worked hard in practice.  He got a new soccer ball from the league as a reward.

And, that's it.  I have put away the cleats and washed and put away the shin guards.  Most of the soccer socks are sorted and portioned out to their owners.  We are ready for a little bit of down time to relax and play at home without being tied to a practice schedule.

Till spring, soccer. 

Analysis of a shopping trip

We went to Wal-Mart last night. Ewan had some birthday money and gift card that were burning a hole in his pocket. Other boys had some cash, too. Kella just wanted to go along for the ride and pretty soon, it was a family affair.

I feel like the items the kids chose to get are representations of their personalities.

Kella: a fairy dress, crown and earings for the little princess (one Halloween costume down)

Liam: a little Lego kit for the boy who looks up to his brothers and wants to be included

Ewan: 3 different Lego kits, because why not? The boy loves to build.

Cale: a nerf type gun for the competitive, sometimes aggressive child. We have been under fire since then.

Marcus did not get anything. He is on a quest to save money for a Wii U. And, actually, the boys have their portion. I said we would donate $50 to their cause. I will say that Marcus is the chief investor in the new system. He is a good saver.

Kinley didn't get anything. Poor, 6th child. She got to walk around and be told she was cute by total strangers.

Thoughts from the sidelines

I finally have alone time. I am sitting on the sideline on Marcus's Sunday morning soccer game. Part of their playoff weekend, although I can't tell you how these games determine anything since each of the teams is playing each of the other teams.

Marcus is playing goalie and has been for the entirety of each game. For a boy who is playing his 3rd season of soccer, he is doing a great job. He stops most of the balls and can kick the ball with some precision to any team  member. Its tough watching your kid play a position that everyone is depending on.  I hope everyone knows that Marcus is trying hard and doing his best.

Halftime: the Red Bulls are down 0-2.  The points the other teams has scored have been legit.  Our team has had a tough time getting the ball down field to even get near to scoring = a lot of play by Marcus.

Also, I am typing this on my new phone.  I have come out of the dark ages and given up my relic iPhone 3.  When I showed a student at work my phone she asked, "How is that still working." Ha. Ha. The new phone is bigger, because most phones are now.  In fact, the cell phone pocket in my winter coat is too small to hold any current style of cell phone.

Second half:  still tough. The Red Bulls are getting outrun and cannot get the ball near enough to score.  Marcus had an awesome save where he fell and reached for the ball before it rolled into the goal.  He stopped a couple other shots as well.

Game over:  lost 0-2. The first loss of the season for the team.  Puts us out of the playoffs.  But, don't worry, we have another tournament next weekend.  The play was tough today and Marcus and the rest of the boys did well.  

Another thought I had in my head as I was watching the boys jostle each other for the ball....Cale is going to love this league.  He can play in this one with Marcus in the spring.