Thanksgiving Blessings

In my last post (below) I blogged about the boys big Thanksgiving Feast at school. It led me to look at their photo's from last year to see the difference. I don't know why I do that to myself because it gets me so choked up seeing the difference. The funny part is what they picked they were thankful for. Glad I made the list for both of them this year!

This year- my big boysLast Year my little guys
2010 - Last year- the things they were thankful for:2011 -This year's things they are thankful for:

The Feast Has Began!

After battling with the boys to get out the door this morning..they put on a "Great Feast" at school to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It was so adorable and they did so much to put this together for their class. It made up for the 15 minutes of struggle getting them in the car. They have been working on it all month to surprise the parents. This school rocks! Here are a few things they did (and some good ideas for kid crafts).

They made centerpieces with colored beans/candles, made napkin rings and created a seating card with their face on a turkey. My favorite thing they made were these sweet little placemats with their hand prints and it was with a poem called "Counting our Blessings". The poem says on it:

"My hands are used for working, praying and for play. They grow and change like I do, each and everyday. Upon them there is noted the gifts' God's given me. They are the special blessings that truly makes me- ME!".

Then on each little finger is something unique about them!

Their teacher introduced each kid individually and how each child picked their own Indian name.Christian was "Chief Batman"

Nicolas was "Chief Pirate"

They sang songs for usGot to dine with Grandma, dad and all their friendsDecorate the kiddy tree- Christian very intent!It wouldn't be a feast without lounging around with your buddies after the meal! Yes, Alex (next to Christian) is holding a bible pretending he is reading it!! So cute

What Time Of Year Is It?

There is something wrong with these photos.......two days before Thanksgiving and we are still wearing shorts! Come on cold weather...COME TO SOUTH FLORIDA!!

There Goes Dinner

I was feeling pretty productive this morning and it ALL CHANGED by 8 am!!

I took 5 thick yummy steaks out to start marinating for Ken's mom birthday dinner tonight. As I happily seasoned 1 steak the boys broke out in a battle over toys. I let them go until I needed to take action. Literally within 2 minutes my 74 lb fat Rhodesian Ridgeback/Boxer dog got up on the counter and POUNDED DOWN 4 raw steaks!! I walked back into the kitchen and there he is running past me with hsi head down and the 5th steak. I was so mad because I thought he got up and took a steak down in a matter of a few minutes, then I realized the dog got ALL STEAKS in his fat belly.

There are several things wrong with this:

1.) We just spent a lot of money on his vet bill last week and they specifically said he can not eat any meat but chicken because of his stomach.

2.) I don't have dinner now and have to rearrange my day to squeeze in a trip to the grocery store which is always torture with the boys when we have a jam packed day of activities.

3.) Rocky will probably get pretty sick- resulting in another vet bill.

4.) He has THE WORSE gas whenever he gets a tiny bit of red meat that lasts for days. He ate 4 raw pieces and we are having Thanksgiving this year herenot to mention I am going to have to sleep in the same smelly room as him.

5.) I am out some cash for these delicious steaks I bought on top of having to buy more today.

Oh Rocky...you are getting so old and your behavior is getting worse than the kids!! Rocky has come a long way with the kids, tolerating alot and I think this is his way of secretly trying to show me he can have tantrums too!

Mr. Grumpball

Notice Nicolas in the photo. Doesn't that perfectly just say "Grumpball". Here's the thing with twin boys (or at least mine) if one is having a great week (meaning not cranky, stubborn, testing boundaries) it is like a tag team affect the other decides to test all boundaries. A few weeks ago Christian was really testing us with the "I don't want to go to the bathroom, I don't want to brush my teeth, hitting and ummmmm ANYTHING that describes a rebel child. We went on vacation and a switch flipped. He has since been the past two weeks easy and has really showed self control and basically a sweetheart. Within seconds of the Christian being so sweet Nicolas turned into Mr. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO" . Ken and I have always say that Nicolas is a gentle soul, but when he decides he is pissed, it will be fierce. Let me just say...FIERCE! They don't happen often but when he gets mad, watch out all hell breaks out. FOR EVERYBODY!

For example: First thing this morning at 7 a.m. he was refusing to do about anything. Mr. No was in full force and even took a swipe at me. Ken must of heard this from the other room and walked in and said very firmly, "Nicolas get to the table now and listen to your mother".

There was a pause for a brief second and then Nicolas looked at Ken and screamed in a demon voice, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"! My head wiped around so fast to look at Nicolas because I thought I would see his head spinning like the exorcist. I couldn't believe it. I quickly looked at Ken, he was in shock and Christian just smiled. It was like Christian was thinking "Your turn dude, your in big trouble". Ken just looked at me and said :"umm ..well" like he was taken back not sure what to do. Ken was in shock. Sweet Nicolas has discovered he can challenge dad. I simply had to turn around because I couldn't stop laughing. Nicolas knew he had us. Ken tried to recover but there is no recovering when you say.."umm -well" to a child during a boundary challenge.

Another example: I decided to take the boys out for a walk WITH Rocky our dog. The boys wanted to ride their scooters. I am so happy at this point because it was nice out, boys seemed happy and Ken was coming home soon. Then as we were leaving the driveway, Nicolas decided he wanted his bike. I said no because I couldn't keep up with the bike with the dog and with Christian on a scooter. As we were coming down the driveway, he decided he wanted his "Cozy Coupe" instead of scooter. I said fine. Once he was in the "coupe" and we were on our way, he started DRAGGING his legs so it wouldn't go and started crying. Meanwhile, Christian is flying ahead with his scooter and Rocky is pulling me to the side of the yard to chase a squirrel. Fast forward..I get Nicolas to go back and get his scooter. Things were great for exactly 1 block then some kids with bikes came up next to us. Nicolas looked at them and started to cry "I want my bike, I want my bike" louder.....and...louder until M.E.L.T.D.O.W.N. He was dancing on the sidewalk doing the 2-step cry, leaving his scooter in someones driveway, Christian is getting way ahead near the street corner and Rocky went PSYCHO at another dog passing, slipping his head out of the leash. Oh and the 3 kids on the bikes wouldn't move and just stared at us like freaks. I honestly didn't know what to do for a second, this hasn't happened in a long time in public or where there were so many things happening at once. Then something switched in me and I knew what to do:

1. Grab Rocky by the head and put a choke hold on him to put the leash on.



2. Sprint to grab Christian (dragging Rocky with me).



3. Leave Nicolas screaming on the sidewalk.



4. Keep my thoughts silent on wanting to tell the kids on the bikes to stop staring at us like freaks and RIDE ON...obviously they could see the bikes were causing Nicolas to keep screaming "I WANT MY BIKE".



5. Scream help to my neighbors (just kidding).

Thankfully, Christian listened and he understood why he had to turn around and we had to go home. That part makes me sad when one child is being good and you have to stop the activity because the other is not being so good. Nicolas did the 2-step scream all the way home lagging about 2 houses behind. Thank god I have cool neighbors because if you didn't know us, with that scream someone probably would of called Child Protective Services.

So....this week it is Nicolas. He is fierce and you just never know..maybe in a few minutes it will switch and maybe just maybe we will get our week of both not testing us! The funny part is that both boys say to each other after a meltdown ..."Are you mad now? Are you happy again, Mommy he is happy"! Thankfully, usually the meltdowns are limited and in the house but that one in the street definitely took the cake!!!

Happy Halloween

This year was the first year that the boys picked their own costumes. All year, literally since last year they have been telling me that they were going to be a Pirate and Astronaut. For the past 3 years, my mom has made their costumes and this year she shined again. I don't know how she does this because not only did she go back to work full time last year, but she still carpools to both of my sisters games ( 14 and 17 ), school activities, makes, does her housework, frequently is on LSU campus attending to my other sister and brothers needs (Jr/Freshman at LSU) but she somehow can take on these cool sewing projects. She also does it for my other sister who has 4 boys. This year she made my sister's son Brody a "Wizard" that came out amazing. I think my favorite were the booties she made for Christians costume. These kids were on a mission this year and totally got it! They were all so sweet and didn't eat anything until we got home. Other than the attack of the mosquito's it was a blast. They went with their girlfriends Addison, Ava and their cousin Joshua. The boys were so cute with Addison and throughout the night would hold her hand or make sure she was with them at the door. It was so sweet. A memory I definitely want to keep forever.

Fall

I can not believe it is November and we are moving right ahead with making turkeys, pilgrims...the whole Thanksgiving Theme! Only 2 1/2 weeks away- is that possible? This year since we are having Thanksgiving at The "House of Hughes", we have decided we are going to decorate for Xmas the week before (next weekend) so that we can enjoy it while our family is here. The problem is we live in a deed restricted community that is so strict (we have actually gotten a notice that we would be fined $50.00 if we didn't paint our lamp post) so I am not sure how they are going to take the early decorations since there is set dates allowed. We are also painting the house which I want to rebel and o paint "outside" the allowed colors of our community but I know we would be fined. Opps- just got off on a vent - sorry. My point is I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the holidays. WHOO HOO!!!! The holidays are here. Although, I am extremely unmotivated today and do not feel like doing my list..hence the blogging, I am finally feeling relaxed. How is that possible- not sure..maybe because we just had a mini vacation or maybe it's the magical help of my therapist but whatever it is I will take it! Lots of photos to post so here is the first fall activity we did at Hunsaders Farms before Halloween.

On a side note (unrelated) my house just got so loud. The boys both just woke up, ran downstairs and immediately started rapid fire asking me for their big robots that I hid in the garage for the past 3 months. I hate these robots but all of a sudden remember they remembered these things. Nothing like a "firing" noise going off in my house non-stop.

A hug or strangle?? Humm...you decide.