October 31...lots of things happening...

What a day! First, it's Cody's birthday today! Gavin thinks that our dog needs a cake with candles. Not going to happen today, but maybe this weekend? ;)

Then, it's a major milestone in my life...I wrote out my LAST college student loan check. I graduated May 12, 1996...and I helped my parents pay for my SMC years since actually my freshman year (1992)!!! To my family and me...this is a HUGE deal! :) I am a bit sad though...it was a connection for me to St. Michael's. At any rate, I'm proud of this accomplishment!

Ian's first class field trip was today and I just got back. I am paranoid and I wanted to go! LOL Ms. Braun's class did a GREAT job. I rode over with two other moms (it was fun!!!) and met the bus there. We waited for a bit because of all the schools there...guess which school got lost??? That's right! Ours! Oh well...they made it and I'm sure the kids had NO idea! The kids had a ball and I was stressed out on the job...I was afraid I was going to lose a kid (I was responsible for 3)!!! Try going through a corn maze with some kindergarteners who have lots and lots of energy! Anyway, hay ride was fun, watching Ian play with his friends, feeding animals, picking cotton...just a PERFECT day!

On to tonight to visit with friends and do some trick or treating!

Here's a link to the photos from Ian's field trip.

http://picasaweb.google.com/turnbull1220/IanSFieldTrip?authkey=VJT-JvT7PAA#

Aunt Sandi!

Gavin's Halloween Parade: M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

This morning was Gavin's Halloween Parade at pre-school. Aunt Sandi drove my grandparents over to the Kirk to see him. It was chilly...I don't think it was even 40 degrees! The kids did a great job...they all held onto that rope and followed Miss Sherri. After the parade, the kids got together for a class photo. Gavin didn't know which camera to look at because I think there must have been about 40 aiming at them! hahaha Cailean videotaped it and Aunt Sandi and I were snapping pictures. Mimi sat back and smiled the whole time and Pop-pop kept saying Gavin's name for him to look at OUR cameras!!!

When I got home from work today we headed over to mom's and met them all for dinner. Then, we went back to her place and carved a pumpkin! It was hard to say goodbye to Aunt Sandi. She is leaving tomorrow. Ian kept telling her he was going to miss her more all the way to outerspace and back. It was very cute! Gavin claims he is flying on Delta tomorrow. LOL

I got home and realized I left my bag at mom's. :( LOL So, I'm the lucky one who will drive Aunt Sandi to the airport tomorrow morning (more like in the middle of the night). I need my bag because I'm going with Ian's class on their first field trip!!!! We're off to the farm!!!

Time with Aunt Sandi...

Our babysitter was sick today, but it all worked out because Aunt Sandi was loving the fact she got to hang out with Master Gavin this morning. The boys and I piled into the car and headed over to mom's early this morning. I got there super early (hardly any traffic), so we made a trip to Dunkin' Donuts to surprise my grandparents and Aunt Sandi with coffee and muchkins! We stayed a few minutes, so Ian could enjoy a donut before school. Gavin was all set to hang out there with his suitcase full of books, lunchbox and soccer ball. It was very rough getting Ian back into the car to go to school. He wanted to stay there with Aunt Sandi. I dropped Ian off at Kingswood and then headed to work. Later I picked up Gavin, heard everything he did there, then headed home to put him down for a nap. I actually had to wake him up to go pick Ian up from school! He was beat! Then, back to mom's we went to meet up with Cailean, see the family and eat dinner. We were home by 7pm to sit on toilets (hahahahahaha), read some books and hit the hay!
I've got a full day of meetings tomorrow, but I will be making a quick trip over to Gavin's school for his Halloween parade at 9:30am! Cailean is in charge of taking the kids to school tomorrow. Aunt Sandi will drive my grandparents over to the Kirk to watch it as well. Then, our final dinner with Aunt Sandi tomorrow since she has to take the first flight back to New York on Friday morning. :(

Happy Anniversary to Neal and Megan! Just a day late for this message!

School Days...

Ian is getting more comfortable with heading off to school. He has made significant improvements. No more tears in the morning...maybe a "I don't feel well" comment, but that's about it. He is talking more about what is going on at school and sometimes his favorite part of the day is "centers" instead of "going out on the playground" or "seeing you" or "going home." He draws pictures and then writes sentences about them. On one assignment he wrote, "Somr is Ian's favorite season. I like to swim in the somr. The words in bold is what he had to fill in. The document you see here is the "Writing the Room" assignment they can do in Centers. Ian thinks it's cool to get paper on a clipboard and search in the room the hidden words. Ms. Braun puts these words all over the room. Then, if there is time, they can draw a picture of the word and color it in.

Gavin is loving pre-school! Every Tuesday we hear about Miss Amy and music. We hear about earning a skittle at Bible Time. We here that you need to be quiet in the elevator and that you have to sit down. When he gets into the car at pick up time, he stops non talk and holds up the carpool line because he wants to tell me everything before he gets into his carseat! You can see the great coloring he did in part of his Apple Book!

Aunt Sandi arrived late yesterday afternoon. After school we headed over there for dinner. We'll be able to see each other each day and the boys were very excited to see Aunt Sandi!

Off to school and work...we're a bit out of our routine this week again! I'm usually in Ian's classroom Tuesday morning, but am headed to NCSU to complete some work since I am going with Ian's class on a fieldtrip this Friday!

Birthday Parties...

What a Sunday...went to church this morning and then off to Vinnie's birthday party after Gavin's nap. Yup...cupcakes for lunch and some chips. LOL Then, we left there and went to Emily's 1st birthday party and had cake for dinner (since the boys refuse hamburgers...argh). We had a great day today!!! Back-to-back birthday parties! :)

An Evening with the Reids

Tonight we met up with Rob, Leslie and the boys at Two Guys for dinner and then we all headed to the "Spook-Tacular Haunted Trail" at the Morrisville Community Park. Cailean got back from his hunting trip this afternoon, so he joined us. The kids got to wear their Halloween costumes, so that was exciting. I'm pretty excited about their Halloween costumes this year. I was all about making them since my mom did that for Matt and me. But, I've found out that sometimes it costs more to buy the items to make costumes than to just buy the costume! So now I've turned into "How can the boys be what they want to be the least expensive way??" We ended up at a second hand store near our house a few weeks ago. There was one rack of costumes. The ONLY one left that would fit Ian was Superman. The ONLY one left that would fit Gavin was Mickey Mouse. So, Ian was fine with his. Gavin didn't want to try his on. But, I told him if he wanted to go trick or treating this year...he would need to try it on. He replies, "Okay...I be Mickey Mouse for Halloween." SOLD! I bought the two costumes for $9 total!!! But, I couldn't find the ears. This morning we were at Walmart and I bought a $1 hat and made the ears out of the cardboard...safety pinned them on and VOILA!

Okay, back to tonight...so we had a great dinner with the Reids and then we headed off to the park for the haunted trail. It was cute! The kids had a blast and it was nice to catch up with Leslie and Rob. Leslie is my assistant basketball coach this season and Rob will be helping out! Yay!!!!!

Fun Run at Kingswood

Ian's school had a fundraising event today called the Fun Run. Each grade came out and ran laps on the "track" for 15 minutes. The 3 Kindergarten classes kicked it off at 11:40am. Each class was assigned a color and they were to wear their color today. Ian's class was RED. That was easy to dress him in red since he's a State fan! When they completed a lap, then they were given a rubber band. At the end of the 15 minutes, then we had to write down how many rubber bands they had since that determined the number of laps. I think Ian had eight!! He ran probably 6 1/2 laps and walked the rest. He and his class did a fantastic job! Eight NC State student athletes came to volunteer. How nice was that? When Ian's group was out there was a wrestler there. Baseball players showed up later...followed by women's track, another wrestler and football. They were so helpful and it was neat to watch them in a different setting than Case Academic Center! Ian is pretty shy asking for money (not from us, but others!!!), but if you ever want to donate to his school to help improve the Media Center...just let us know!

Gavin spent most of the time playing with Norma, our neighbor. I wasn't sure if Gavin could handle being outside for that long of a time while I was helping out. He loved his time with Norma though. They even went on a fieldtrip! Yup...over to her house for lunch. I had packed his lunchbox to take with him!!!

What am I doing????

So, I've been asked to coach 5-6 year old basketball through the Town of Morrisville this winter and Ian is signed up for it. Now...I've been tossing around the idea for awhile and Cailean has been telling people I'm going to be a head coach, but I am very scared of commitment. Yes, me! I like being the assistant in soccer. But, head coach? That freaks me out. I asked a ton of questions and just decided (at 11:09pm tonight) to submit the application. UGH. Supposedly people put my name down, but I don't know exactly who they are. I just hope I'm able to get the soccer kids on my team. Leslie is my assistant! Go Leslie...Go Leslie...THANK YOU!!!!!!

Well...just another thing to add to my plate, right?! I'm sure it'll be fun and everything will go just fine. RIGHT??????

Welcome Back Karen

So our Wednesday childcare provider, Karen, has been busy the last few weeks and today was her first day back with us! She got married on the beach and then went off on a honeymoon! As a wedding gift, we had their lawn decorated from www.lawnannouncements.com and it was a surprise to them! hee hee Anyway, she brought back gifts for the boys and they LOVED them. Goggles and snorkles...as you can see in the picture...they are sporting their new gifts! Thanks Karen!

Catching up with some pictures

Here are some photos from the last few days. On Sunday we rode bikes at mom's house. Gavin is growing out of his big wheel and I think Santa mentioned something might be coming to the house on 12-25, so that should be interesting! ;) Ian is sporting a smile on his bike, too! Then, the third photo is from the fair tonight. We were supposed to go this Saturday morning, but I guess it is probably going to rain. Mom and I decided tonight would be the night again. The plan was to see the animals and see things we didn't see Monday night. The petting zoo wasn't that great and the other animals were sleeping. So, sorta a waste...but it was nice to be outside and walking around! The fair only comes once a year. Mom and I did decide that when we prebuy the tickets again...we'll plan on going just once.

NC State Fair

After school today, mom met us at the house and the four of us (Cailean went hunting) went to the NC State Fair in Raleigh. We hit up a bunch of rides...Ian wasn't too fond of the big roller coaster like he was last year, but he did go on it. We went on the little one as well and Gavin got to go on it this year! That little guy let go to do a "double wave" to Mimi as we're heading down a hill. He has no fear at all! They got to sit in a truck and jump on the bed that was in the cab. They sat in a school bus. They played on a gym. They talked to a clown. They ate cotton candy. They went on a wave runner together. We did lots and lots and lots of walking and still didn't see the horses, go on the pony ride, see the pig race or go to the petting zoo area. Oh and Ian found out that he can milk a cow for $2 and he wants to do that with my help. WHERE WILL CAILEAN BE??????????? HUNTING!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, we'll go back Saturday morning to do that. I think I'll be taking a stroller for Gavin. I had to carry him 1/3 of the way tonight. LOL LOL I can't believe I forgot the camera. ARGH!!! Sorry!!!!

Sunday

We spent the afternoon at mom's and took the boys' bikes with us. Pop-pop was busy selling a book to a neighbor when we arrived and mom was making dinner, so Cailean, my grandmother and the kids took their bikes one street over to the poolhouse parking lot. Ian is just getting back into riding his bike the last week or so. A few months ago, he took a nasty fall and it took a very long time for Ian to get back on a bike again. So, it's like we're retraining him how to ride. But, he is getting there and he is more interested in riding around than a few months ago. Gavin still has his big wheel and he didn't mind at all this afternoon! I took photos and will post them later! We heard that Santa might get Gavin a big boy bike, but we'll see. haha My grandmother enjoyed being outside and watching the boys ride around. It was a chilly day, but it was blue sky and sunny! As they were riding by us, they were waving and yelling, "Hi Grammie, Hi Mommy, Hi Daddy" over and over and over! Cailean was able to hang some photos and a mirror for them and after dinner and dessert we headed home!
Ian's constipation issues have been resolved (some of you would probably want to throw a party while others will have no clue what I'm talking about!!!!!)! Yea, this has affected the poor kid in more ways than one. We've seen a difference in him. He goes on one potty and Gavin goes on the other potty every night after dinner for 8 minutes (I said 10, Ian said 5 and we compromised at 8). Well, the two think it's pretty funny talking through the walls to each other and knocking on the walls! What a difference this has made!!!!!! I'm sure you can picture this if you know the set up of our house!
We've got another busy week even though soccer has ended. Cailean is on vacation, so I'm working the first half of the week because he's going on a hunting trip for the end of the week. Monday night he's hunting and my mom and I are taking the boys to the NC State Fair. Tuesday afternoon we're getting together with another family to get the boys together. Thursday night we have an event at Ian's school. Next weekend includes two birthday parties and a Halloween spooky trail event and dinner with a soccer family!
The pool has reopened at the Y, so we need to plan some nights up there! Life is great in Cary...

The End of the Rockets and Ian's First Tooth

It was an odd way to end the season this morning because we had practice. Since there were seven teams in the division, each team had a "bye" and ours was the last Saturday of the season. So...Coach and I thought it would be fun to scrimmage against the parents because the kids liked that last season. Everyone enjoyed themselves and the Rockets did a great job. Oh and Nick's family made a soccer pinata, so towards the end of the scrimmage, we switched balls. Some of the kids overheard "pinata" and they caught on quickly! It didn't take long before it exploded with candy! Before we left the house for practice, Ian called up my mom and told her to make sure they (Grammie, Pop-pop and Mimi) had their cleats on to play!!!!!! After the scrimmage, we had an awards ceremony and Ian received a trophy! Coach went on about how this kid just loves being there, is a great soccer player, always wants to play, a great listener, he just loves the game of soccer, etc, etc and he was describing Ian. :)

Gavin got to play in the scrimmage for a little bit, but he was too busy keeping up with Libby. She just loves watching out for Gavin during games and practices...we sure will miss her because next year it's all boys and Libby's sister will be in the girl's division.

Tonight I tucked the kids into bed (trying to get them at a decent time because I've got another sinus infection-not as bad as the other 3, but still annoying since it's been less than 4 months!!!) and then a few minutes later...Ian came flying out of bed because his tooth finally fell out!!!!!

He said he can't wait to show Ms. Braun on Monday (will he finally be excited to go to school??????????). He took the phone and started making phone calls. hahahaha Yes, it's his first tooth!!!!

Is it Friday yet?

The boys had a good day at their schools! Cailean and I went to Ian's parent/teacher conference this afternoon and all went well. It was neat to see some of his work that we don't get to see when we're volunteering. North Carolina follows a set of objectives and Ian seems to be on track, so that's good. At times it seems like kindergarten is like college, but that's just my observation! Ms. Braun is doing a terrific job and Ian is getting more comfortable with the setting and what is expected.
I'm leading Teacher Appreciation through the PTA and I'm loving it! I have always thought that teachers are underappreciated, so just trying to show them that we care and appreciate everything they do. I've made a few calls to local businesses and have received overwhelming responses and incredible donations, so I'm sure the Kingswood staff will be loving life in the next few months!! haha
Gavin made a book today at school and got to color in the pictures! Go Gavin! He always has so much to say about what they did at the Kirk and he will even talk to Ian and share "school stories."
Oh...mom watched the boys while we were at the conference. Well, Ian got out the sidewalk chalk and drew a person bowling (holding a bowling ball and wearing bowling shoes) and then drew the rest of the bowling balls on the racks. Then, he drew a fishing pole that was 1/2 the length of the driveway with a fish on the end of it!
Gavin story...tried to fish with his long carrot stick at dinner telling us he caught a huge fish!

Two Brave Boys...

This afternoon I took the boys to get their flu shots. They were great troopers...I couldn't believe it. The nurse did it so fast that they didn't even have time to realize what was going on. They are both out like a light right now! Tired kiddos.

Not sure where the beginning of the week went. Gavin and I had the Kirk playgroup Monday morning and then he naps in the afternoon. I was able to catch up on some NCSU work, of course. Tuesday the boys had school and I volunteered in the morning with Ian's class. I enjoy my time there and Ian did great! When I picked Gavin up from school, he was exhausted!!! We arrived home and Steven, the sitter, was here to greet us. The two played for a bit before it was naptime while I went to my staff meeting.

This morning Steven was back to hang out with Gavin. They had a blast and the driveway was nicely done with sidewalk chalk! Thanks Steven!! It looks great! Ian seemed to have a great day at school...of course he was quick to remind me that tomorrow is Early Release Day...a time that Ian LOVES!!! They get out of school 3 hours early!

I woke up before the crack of dawn this morning to register Ian for basketball. It's amazing that spots get taken quickly! He's excited to try it out! Soccer ends this Saturday with a scrimmage between the parents and Rockets followed by an Awards Ceremony.

Pictures from the weekend

Here's the link to a bunch of pictures from the weekend...what a great time with everyone!!!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/turnbull1220/MattAndAlissaSTrip?authkey=8ZHjX2RMc2Y#

Uncle Matt is in town!

Matt and Alissa arrived Friday night by 8pm. Mom and my grandparents were here to greet them! This morning we were up bright and early because Ian had his soccer game. The soccer star did an outstanding job...had some wonderful passes, scored 3 goals and made an assist! Coach and I were so proud of the Rockets today because everything just came together...all the hard work during practices clearly showed this morning!

After the game, we all headed to mom's and then went to the Farmer's Market. Poor Cailean stayed back and installed a toilet for my grandparents! Hey...at least he got peace and quiet! We went home for lunch and Gavin took a nap. Then, went back to mom's to hang out for a bit. Pop-pop was pretty beat, so he stayed back to catch up on some football...but the rest of us went to Frankie's and took some go-kart rides and played some arcades. I took a picture of Mimi posing at the air hockey game!!!!

Then, we headed back to mom's for a delicious dinner and an apple pie for dessert! Oh and then the final part of the evening was watching Ian, Matt and Alissa gutting out the pumpkin to carve it and then watching Mom and Gavin take the seeds out to bake them! After we lit it and put it outside, Gavin said he didn't want the jack-o-lantern anymore. I think he thought it wasn't friendly looking!!!! Definitely a late night for the kids, but well worth it!

I'm charging up the camera battery, so I'll post the pictures later!

It's Friday!!!

Cailean is working OT dayshift today and I completed my hours for the week at NCSU, so I am home with Ian and Gavin today. It's a Teacher Workday for Ian's school, so kids have off. We've had a great day so far. We cleaned up a little bit this morning, then I took the kids to Monkey Joe's and they ran around, climbed up and over things and went down fast slides! After that we picked up lunch and surprised Mimi and Pop-pop at their place. We hung out there for about 1 hour or so and then we headed back home. Gavin is about to go down for a nap and Ian is going to do some work on the computer while I am cleaning. Matt and Alissa will be here tonight for the weekend!!!

Oh, last night we were at Cold Stone Creamery for a fundraising event (for Kingswood). The principal and asst principal were scooping ice cream, so that was neat. Lots of people were there and we actually knew most of them! Ms. Braun was there as well as the other kindergarten teachers. We think it's so neat that the teachers go and support this! Monday night we're headed to Michelangelo's for dinner. They have connections with some local restaurants and some of the proceeds from that day get donated to Ian's school!

Tuesday

What a day! Ian had another rough start as we headed off to school. Gavin was just the opposite...ready to go! On Tuesdays I'm able to volunteer in Ian's classroom while Gavin is in pre-school and I love it!!!! It gives me an opportunity to see Ian interact with his classmates, see what goes on in Kindergarten and it gives me ideas on how we can help him at home (be on the same page with the learning). He did great with me there last week, but today was a bit different. UGH! On my way out of Kingswood, I ran into the principal, Ms. Sherry. We actually had a 20 minute conversation and she was super nice! I raced over to the Kirk to pick up Gavin. Miss Brenda, the Director, brought him to my car and he was sooooo excited to show me the apple they made with a worm in it. What a cute project! On the way home, he asked me about his nap. I knew at that point he was TIRED! Since my staff meeting was pushed back 1 hour, I was able to put Gavin down for a nap. Jamie arrived and off I went to my meeting.

When we picked up Ian from school, we went to mom's to drop off some stuff for Cailean who was doing some stuff there. Off to soccer practice that I ran since the head coach was on vacation and then home to BED! Busy...busy...never a dull moment around here!

We're looking forward to this weekend!!!!! Uncle Muck and Alissa are visiting and will get to cheer on Ian and the Rockets in their FINAL game of the season. Ian does not want the season to come to an end! I don't either actually.

Gavin's Playgroup at the Park

After we dropped off Ian at school (he is still sad in the morning, but no tears now...it'll get better I hope!!!!) and took care of a few PTA things, Gavin and I headed off to Dad's Park to meet up with some of his classmates. We were there for close to two hours and it didn't seem like that at all! Will's older sister, Lindy, entertained the boys for most of the morning. It was nice to catch up with the two moms who were able to make it! You can see in the photo that Gavin was liking the fact his friend was chasing him. Do you think he ended up sharing his soccer ball?????

I helped Cailean stain the fence for a bit late this afternoon. I told mom on the phone as I'm standing next to Cailean, "I'm going to the stain the fence before the kids and I head over to your place. You know...if you want something done right, then you have to do it yourself!" hee hee Cailean got a chuckle over that one!!!

We went to mom's this evening for a few hours and hung out on their back patio. Ian and Gavin were looking around collecting things outside. That didn't last long because Ian came running down the little hill (mound I guess you could call it) screaming. I thought he got stung, but didn't see a bee. He ended up walking into a spider web!!!! Poor kid. Gavin was stuck at the top of the mound telling us he couldn't get down (he was just being lazy!!!). The kids were full of it tonight...hysterically funny to everyone! They had mom and my grandparents laughing sooooo hard.

Picture

Here's the picture I told you I would post!!!! Two handsome boys!!! ;)

GGGOOOAAALLLLLL!!!!!

Ian and the Rockets had quite a game today and it was a close one! Ian scored another goal, too. I would have to say he played his best defensive game! In the last four minutes, coach put him on defense and he just kept kicking that ball right up the field and that is what he has been told to do when playing defense. One game left of the season...next Saturday. Uncle Matt and Alyssa will be added to his cheering team for the season finale!

I'm still recovering from my annoying barking cough. After the game I didn't have much of a voice either, but I'm getting better. Ian spent time with mom while Gavin took a nice nap.

At dinner tonight, the boys were too cute! They put their arms around each other...looked at Cailean and me and said, "Cheese!" So, of course, we got our cameras out and took a few pictures. I'll post them next time.

Update

Becky called tonight and Luke was released from the hospital and is home! So, that's great news! Nothing else going on to report. The boys had school today and got their haircuts with their dad. Cailean came back early this morning from Miami, so that was good. I had a regular work schedule, which was meeting after meeting. Looking forward to the weekend as we have a soccer game Saturday morning! Go Rockets!

Wednesday

Not too much going on today. I've got another sinus infection (3rd one in 3 months), so I'm grumpy. Cailean has been in Miami for work and I'm really hoping he makes it back tonight since he is in charge of the kids while I am at work. Last night I stubbed my toe and I'm pretty sure I broke it (I stubbed it twice actually), so I can barely walk. Then to top it all off, Becky called me and Luke is in Albany at the hospital. The poor little guy...hope he bounces back to his old self real soon!

I did make lots of cookies last night for the teachers at Kingswood. I felt that it needed to be done on behalf of the PTA! Gavin and I took them in this morning and as we were headed to the teacher's room, Gavin saw Ms. Sherry (principal) and told her that he had cookies and that mommy made them all. I think he told her at least 10 times!

Looking forward to the weekend since Ian has another soccer game! I'm also liking this fall weather...70's!