Thanksgiving clinic

Cooper had fun at a Thanksgiving clinic this past weekend!!

Ralphie relaxing on day 2

Ralphie arrived! Friday...

Kids were wondering what Jake was barking at this morning! He came with an arrival letter and they are excited to see his return! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

So much to be thankful for this year!! God Bless! Love to all my friends and family today and everyday! 

Rainbow Loom Craze

So the newest craze among kids is the Rainbow Loom! The boys love theirs. I love it too because they will sit and work on a bracelet for hours. It gets them off those video games! 

Braedyn has become quite skilled at it. He will watch YouTube videos on how to make new ones and start working! It takes a lot of patience. I tried and quickly became frustrated. They are hard until you get the hang of it but I won't even attempt to make the ones Braedyn is making. 

His class is on an economics unit and he has to come up with an item to sell and market. So he decided he would do the bracelets... An assortment. 

What clever idea and whoever came up with it is making money!! I posted a few pictures... 

Our Elf On The Shelf Arrival Letter which will be arriving friday morning!

Braedyn, Cooper, and Jordan Jacobson

 

I’m back from the North Pole

I missed you my dear

Santa sent me again

To be his eyes and ears.

 

Every night I will fly to

Give Santa advice,

Whether you were naughty that day

Or wonderfully nice.

 

The rules are the same

And I hope you agree

I can’t talk to you

And you can’t touch me.

 

But no worries my sweet

There is fun to share

You never know when Ralphie

Will show up somewhere

 

Ralphie

Realization

Tonight was an icky, cold, rainy night. They were saying roads and driving will not be fun. I really did not want to drive to Raleigh, So I decided that I would stay home. Hockey practice was tonight for Cooper and I never miss it. It was nice of a teammate who lives close by to offer to take him. So I got him dressed at home and dropped him over at the house and had a weird feeling of seeing him go.  He hasn't been the one yet to get rides places or even have a sleepover. Having him be at practice without me was an awkward feeling. I then realized it should be- I have never missed one - I have taken him to every practice and been at every practice and game since he started at 3 years old and he's now 7 1/2. He must have thought it was weird too. 

He came home and took his shower, put on his Jammie's and came out to sit with me and said "I love you mom". "I missed having you be there tonight." So it's worth all the miles and all the stress I deal with this year. It makes me feel better! 

I also feel pretty lucky to be able to be there for my kids in whatever they do! Mom will always be there biggest fan!! 

Teacher gifts

This years teacher gifts are 31 carry caddies stuffed with bath and body lotions, soaps, lip glosses and treats of gum, chocolate, and peppermints. 

Just For Them goodies! 

What Am I Thankful For~

I have been reading on facebook the posting everyday since November 1st what people are thankful for..I enjoy reading them but I take a different approach as I am just thankful for everyday!

What I am Thankful for~

• My Health
• My Family and extended Family
• Being a stay home mommy
• My husband's great job
• The roof over my head
• Three healthy, smart, athletic, talented little boys
• that they have each other
• Jake~ our four legged son
• My Friends and Neighbors old and new
• that I was raised in a family with a loving mom and dad
• my brother and sister
• that I have wonderful grandparents who I can still call and talk to
• and that I spent my entire childhood with them
• little moments with my children that make me smile
• kisses, hugs, cuddles, and I love yous
• technology
• coffee
• hockey
• the ability to run all year long outside

the list could go on and on....
Everyday I am thankful for what God has blessed me with in my life! I have been to the depths of the ocean only to rise above it all...We all have been there or felt it at some point. I guess that's why I am so grateful for what I have been given. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. He has more planned for me...I am a lucky lady!

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!"
Psalm 107:1 (ESV)

Catching Up Today...

Where has the week gone~ is what I have been saying as of lately! Anyone else feeling the same? The holidays are quickly approaching and this stresses me out. This weather also makes it tough on me to de-stress since I cannot go running. I could but I don't think Jordan would appreciate it!
Rush, rush, rush...
I am thankful that school was delayed two hours because of freezing rain this morning (yes crazy weather in NC today in November), since I was up on the computer until midnight finishing my online shopping to take advantage of the sales that ended at midnight! I did it! I feel so much better about Christmas getting closer! See my time is limited this year with the boys being home and Jordan not in preschool, Thanksgiving break, then tracked out two weeks later and travel!
It also stresses me out because the items they ask for break the bank! It was so much easier when they liked the box and wrapping paper! The things they ask for are each around $100! I feel I have done a good job on managing their wants and needs this year. We have become overwhelmed with all these electronics that the boys keep asking for. I put my foot down. They have enough. I want things they have to actually engage with another human being and we can have fun as a family. I am not a gamer and I actually despise them. So it drives me bonkers when they sit on those games on their Dsi's, Ipad, or our Iphones, or the kindle, or their laptops and play mindless games. It is like they are in their own little world. I could carry on a whole conversation with myself! So I feel the need to disconnect for awhile and I have been trying to limit their screen time now before they are home and that's all they want to do over break. I am easing them into it...
I am thankful for this weekend as I can get ALL of it done while Cooper is at his hockey clinic this weekend in Wake Forest and dad gets to stay home with the rest of the kiddos. I should sneak in a little pedicure while I am at it:)!

Alcohol Can Tear a Family Apart

I had witnessed a sad situation this past weekend while attending a child's birthday party. We were in Raleigh and I pulled into the parking lot of the venue of where the birthday party was being held, and there were several police cars present. They were talking to a young lady and there were two children strapped in their car seats. I thought maybe there was a little fender bender or something so I just minded my business and went to the birthday party. As the kids were visiting and playing the lobby, I had been watching what was going on outside because it appeared it wasn't a fender bender they were discussing. They were cleaning out the van and the one of the workers had brought the children in to play in the office. A tow truck came and got their vehicle. The mother was taken away...I felt so bad for those young kids they have no idea what is going on. I figured it must have had to do with alcohol or drugs.Whatever it was, it wasn't good...It made me want to go and give those kids a big hug and make sure they were alright. Thank goodness someone called the authorities because she had these poor children strapped in the car seats ready to pull out of the parking lot. It's a sad situation that probably happens more often than not but I unfortunately witnesses it on Saturday and it was something I had not seen before.
It still was on my mind when I woke up that next morning. I looked it up and sure enough it had to do with alcohol and other things. These poor children probably were waiting for CPS to come and pick them up or hoping a relative.
How can a mother put their own children lives in danger...and potentially other families on the road!
Well, unfortunately, it's an addiction and they can not help themselves. Their need for that feeling is more than than they can control and it consumes their life. Alcohol can destroy families and in the end it can kill.
It's a drug that is easy accessible and consumed daily...It's about being responsible and smart. Some people are not capable of doing either. It has affected my life and more ways than one and we have lost family and friends to alcohol related accidents which could have been prevented...if someone only had made a call to come and get them or someone took it upon themselves to call local authorities like these people did on Saturday. It could have saved many lives.
If you see someone in need of that help make that call or give them a ride home. If  you see someone swerving on the road and you have your cell phone, make that call...
My husband and I have agreed if we go to a party, dinner, or concert that one person doesn't drink. He will not drink and drive! There is too much at stake to make that stupid decision~ your life, your children, your career, and everything!
When your children get to the age of driving make sure you have that conversation and that open communication so they know they can call you anytime, anywhere to come and get them and you will not be upset. Because they will be teenagers and they will be curious...we don't live in a bubble! I just hope as a a parent we have given them the tools to make correct and wise choices. As adults we need to make those correct and wise choices.
As we go into the holidays please keep that in mind! Don't drink and drive!

Happy 10 Year Anniversary!

We have made it to our 10 year anniversary...a lot has changed but one thing remains. I still love you as much as I did on that day where we stood and took our vows at Treasure Island in Las Vegas in front of family and friends. (on a day were food poisoning decided to set in and take a hold of both of us) I knew if we could make it threw that day, the way we did, we could get through anything together! Nothing was going to stop us. It just goes to show you it's not about the day, it's about what comes after! We have had and continue a joyous journey together! I love you...
So much for the trip on our 10 year anniversary like we always talked about~Maybe in 10 more!
I'll take spending it with you and the boys!

Thought for today

Being passionate can also be very tiring and exhausting....

Lunches!

So I kind of get really annoyed with packing lunches. I don't have to pack for Cooper most of the time he gets hot lunch. He eats and eats a lot! This is probably why he out weighs his big brother. 

Braedyn on the other hand will come home with the same food in his lunch box that I packed. He may have had one thing and a juice box and that one thing is not nutritional! I really don't know how he makes it threw a whole day. I asked him if he's hungry and he said he only needs a few things for lunch and I never pack the right stuff. 

Today was the last straw! Who knows what his teachers think after today! He sat at the lunch table crying because he was hungry but had a full lunch box with apparently nothing "good" in it. He told the teachers my mom never packs my lunch and just keeps sending in the same stuff! Oh wonderful! So the teacher brought him crackers to eat! Surely, I do not starve me child! Yes he is small but I can't get him to eat normal! 

So tonight I said fine, go pack your own lunch and I will inspect it and make sure there is some nutritional value inside! He did pretty well! I guess I can hand over this job now! He is getting to be such a big kid! 

Easier runs....

Jordan loves to rollerblade while I get my runs in! It makes my runs a little easier. He still is working on getting his training wheels off. Most 4 year olds would rather bike since most 4 year olds can't rollerblade. But he thinks rollerblading is much easier. I still bring my stroller as he can't do the whole trail yet only half which is still pretty good - he will go about a mile to mile 1/2. I have to say I will miss my lil buddy next year!

One big bed!

This just makes me laugh! 

Charleston, SC

Cooper had two games this past weekend in Charleston, SC. It was about 4-5 hour drive. It was a fun family weekend. Charleston is a neat historical city with lots of great food and architecture!

We went down Friday, so when we got up on Saturday we could go and explore since the game was at night. 

We woke up and went downtown and had lunch at Fleet's Landing which was excellent! It was on the waterfront. You could see Ft. Sumter in the distance. We took a stroll along the waterfront and let the boys play in the park. There is a very neat market as well that we walked through.  The buildings are so old and beautiful and amazing fountains.  I enjoy looking at old architecture! We saw USS Yorktown from the bay, an aircraft carrier from WWII and was used during Vietnam as well. We didn't get to tour it this time as we did not have enough time but seeing it was neat. It was very large! They do ghost tours on it but I don't think the boys would be in to that!

 

We played Saturday night against a very talented Charleston team. We were out skilled in that game! Our kids kept fighting back and played hard but it just was not an even match up. I'm actually surprised Cooper didn't spend anytime in the penalty box. He's so passionate and competitive he was pushing kids around and slashing but never got called on it. He did get two shots on goal but the goalie was good.

 

The night ended with dinner with good friends and teammates. The boys were so cute and well behaved. I wish I could have heard what they were talking about at their table. Then ended with some knee hockey in the hallway until 11:00 at night. I'm sure there were some upset hotel guests:)! But that's also what travel hockey is about- having fun with friends! 

Sunday we played their B team and it was great! It was even match up. Our kids were passing and actually had time to set up some plays and work together. Cooper ended up in the penalty box once during that game. We ended up winning. It was our first win. I actually had tears in my eyes when we went up 2-0 because it meant so much to them and to see them so excited. They have fought so hard for so long against uneven match ups. They needed that to lift their spirits and confidence! 

So we ended the weekend in a wonderful way. It was a long quiet ride home as everyone was exhausted! 

I also found out I have a second cousin on my dads side living in Charleston, who goes to college and plays defensive line at the University of Charleston. I had been emailing with his father but they had an away football game that weekend so it didn't work out this time to meet up but maybe next time. You realize how big your family is when you live thousands of miles away and find out you have a cousin nearby:)! He looks like a big dude- wonder what the boys would've thought! 

Another fun weekend of hockey....

Sweet

We were on our way to Charleston, SC for a hockey tournament and staying Friday to Sunday. Charlie had upgraded to a large two room suite to surprise the boys. He decided to share that secret with Braedyn before leaving. He told him to keep it a secret between him and dad. 

So as we were getting closer to the hotel Braedyn was right behind us in his seat whispered very excitedly, "hey dad, do we still have the (spelling it out) s w e e t!" I started laughing and Charlie and I looked at each other and I had tears I was laughing so hard because it was such a funny and sincere moment. First off because we have a hard time with him with his spelling and he was trying so hard and he felt special because it was his secret. He couldn't understand why we were laughing so we had to tell him how it was really spelled. Then he was confused because how does that spell suite! Just kind of a funny silly moment after being in the car for 5 hours! 

Just Tired

I have been extremely exhausted lately.  More than your normal mom of three busy boys would be. It's the kind of exhaustion and weakness that I find it hard to get out of bed. I finally went to the Dr. to get some labs done. It appears my hemoglobin is low (which it always is) but they don't really have an answer to all these things that I have going on with my body. It is frustrating but I believe it is all related to an IUD that I had put in, Mirena. It's been in for 3 years and it is causing more problems now than ever. It's time to get it out! Tomorrow is the appointment. 
I pretty much have pain every day that comes and goes, headaches, mood swings (watch out), dry skin and hair, no energy, bleeding sporadically or loss of tissue vaginally especially when I run which is like every other day! Lovely! I have read some recent articles about that IUD that were not very good. 
I know I am done having babies but it also saddens me to know it's over. In taking the IUD out means it is time for me to have a tubal ligation or a total hysterectomy because of other female related issues if they continue. 

This has been a decision that has been very hard to make. It really means this part of my life is really over. No more babies. I know if I had another one you could find me in the looney bin but it is just hard to come to terms with that. I wasn't one of those that hated pregnancy, I loved it. I also love the little baby stage. Looks like I'll have to help out in the church nursery then I can hold some babies and give them back when they start crying. 

I love my boys and feel so blessed with what God has given me and I am thankful for them! I enjoyed every pregnancy and thankful for healthy boys! 

It's a stage in life that has passed and we move on to the next. Yes I still battle with exhaustion but find a mom who doesn't. It's all worth it!  I have given three best performances of my life in a hospital delivery room! 

 "When a woman is giving birth, she had sorrow because her hour has come, but when she delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world."

John 17:21 ESV 

Hockey Day for the Jacobsons!

The day started off with Cooper's hockey game in Raleigh against the Charlotte Jr. Checkers Squirt team. They fought a good fight but ended up losing. Cooper hustled and made some great plays. He's always wide open out there! Hopefully today will be better!

Then it was off to get a late lunch/early dinner. We had told them we were surprising them with dinner after the game. They thought that was their only surprise! Little did they know, we had tickets to the MN Wild hockey game agaisnt the Carolina Hurricanes. They only play once here this year and we were able to great tickets. It was cute when they were asking at breakfast if we could go to the game tonight and we had said no we were too busy.

After dinner, we headed towards the stadium which is also on the way home. They caught on when we exited near PNC arena and they asked with excitement~ "are we going to the hockey game?" Cooper was so excited he said, "I finally get to see my favorite player, Zach Parise!" They all were so excited, we could hardly keep them seated. We tailgated for awhile which I also find different here as we didn't tailgate for hockey games in MN, it's too cold~you go to the bar!

We had great seats about 7 rows up from the glass. I was so exited to see them play too. I was cheering and yelling and Cooper said, "Please stop mom, why do you have to yell".

It made me wish I was watching the game the Excel Energy Center and being back in MN. It made me miss home. For at least a few hours last night, I could pretend I was back in MN. So maybe that's why I was yelling so loudly. I was actually surprised as to how many Wild fans were at the game last night. At least my crazy fan actions got the lady next to me to leave. She was not very nice and had to be very uncomfortable, she had a hard time fitting in that seat and then to have someone screaming in her ear, I am sure she found a new seat!

The best part of the game was it ended in a tie which meant they had to have a shootout! I have never seen a game ending in a shootout so that was great to experience. The Wild won the shootout and winning the game with Parise, Kouivu, and Pominville scoring on the shootout.

It was such a fun family day and thankful we got to go and see a little piece of "home".

 

So excited! Playing a little street hockey in the parking lot

Wild Fans Always!

Go Wild!

A Fun Family Day of Hockey!

Conference

Yesterday, we had a parent-teacher conference with Cooper's teacher and the school counselor. I feel confident that we can get him back on track. He has just hit a bump in the road and we need to give him the tools to get over the hump!
Like I have said previously, he needs to come up with some better coping skills. So we are going to help him with that along with the staff. The best idea is the stress ball at his desk for when he is frustrated and can't suck his thumb. That will also signal to the teacher that he may need some help. He also needs to be proactive in asking for help and recognizing that he needs it. That is something we will be working on too. She said maybe they can come up with a secret signal to let her know he is not understanding something.
Starting next week he will be meeting with the counselor once a week. I believe that made him feel better. His demeanor had changed that day after school. I think he liked talking to her about what he was feeling and she made him feel like it was normal and he wasn't the only student struggling with writing. He felt normal and also felt like someone was in his corner watching out for him at school and cared since mom and dad can't be there for him to talk to.
His teacher will be checking on him more often after giving an assignment he may not understand right away. He just likes to know he's doing it right and have that extra attention. When I sat with him while he was doing his homework he was fine. He just wanted me to glance at it to make sure he was doing it right so if it was wrong he could fix it before he did the whole assignment wrong. Then have to redo it. It's hard these days without a teacher assistant. Budget cuts are awful to education. Last year he had a T.A. in the class who could check with him on things. Cooper would hate to interrupt the teacher to get help. The budget cuts do not allow T.A.s in grades after 1st grade.

Everyday since we have been working on it, I can see an improvement. Little steps are big steps to me right now. I will take what I can get.  He needs to gain that confidence to be successful just like we all could use a little work that area, I know I do.

He Is Present!

Fall and Spring are my favorite times of the year!
These are also the seasons when you know God is present!
Fall brings change....change of colors to pretty shades of browns, reds, and orange, change in the weather, a change of clothes, and the coming of the birth of Jesus with the celebration of Christmas!
Then Spring comes and is a reminder everything is made new! The beautiful flowers are blooming, grass is turning green, the warm spring sunshine on my face, and of course Easter celebration when Christ was risen from the dead. It is a reminder he has died for us and what is more powerful than that!
I love taking long runs during those times of the year. It is where I can find my peace and serenity. When you stop to take all of that in and pause for a moment, you know God has made these changes.  He is also there during the changes in "my" seasons. I am reminded he is guiding me and helping me along. I just need to stop and pause and take him in.
I read this sentence below in my daily devotional and it reminded me of all these beautiful changes we are witness to just outside our door! I hope you can get out and enjoy the beautiful day God has placed in front of you today!

"God intended that we become witnesses of his beauty, design, color and pleasure so that we could gain a more intimate, real, and personal knowledge of him"

Quick Update on Coop

Today he met with the school counselor and was able to talk with her. At first he thought he was in trouble but she explained she just was checking in to see how  second grade is going. I think we are off to a start in figuring this out! I am meeting with her and the teacher on Friday to come up with some plans. It sounds like this problem is stemming from school and how different second grade is from what he is used to. We can solve this and bring his confidence level back up which will improve his self esteem. Yesterday he had a melt down in the morning and then was down about it. The thing that brings him joy and makes him laugh and smile is hockey -so last night at practice that was great to see! 

Today he has had a good day and was proud that he did his math all by himself! 

So I praised him for that! 

I am very hopeful we will get him back on the right track. 

Give me coffee IV for mornings...

This is how I feel most mornings! 

I wish I was a morning person! 

How can I change this... Oh wait maybe if I went to bed before midnight! 

Emotions and Boys-Hard Stuff

As I sit down this morning with my coffee I have thoughts on my mind regarding my children. How each one of them has different emotional needs and trying to remember the 5 love languages. I decided to pour out  my heart on my blog in hopes of working through this in my head and come up with a solution and also get it off my mind. It has been weighing heavy on my heart and my mind. I can't stop thinking about Cooper....I think about him and I get tears in my eyes...his smile has somewhat disappeared lately. I miss his dimples!
When your child is hurting it makes your heart heart. It is a cycle that will continue to evolve and change over time with each child. I used to worry about Braedyn because he is so tender-hearted and kind and he could easily get his feelings hurt. This has changed over time as he has gotten a little older and his skin has gotten a little thicker. He has become mentally more tough. He understands his surroundings and people. He understand that it doesn't need to affect the way he is going to react or feel. We helped him through his worries and fears. He is a child who will talk about his feelings or just want to sit down and talk about his day and that makes him feel better. This has also taken awhile to get there but I treasure that and encourage it. My worries about him have changed to other things such as schoolwork, friends and peer influences. Not so much of the emotional things that are out of my "control".
I am now faced with a child who seems down in the dumps a lot lately. This I cannot "control" or seem to understand. I noticed a change in his behavior around the start of the school year. I equated it to a change of scheduling and he was just tired or adjusting to the routine of school again. It seems to have progressed and his behavior at home has gotten worse. He is a child who has an explosive personality and he is an all or nothing kind of kid. He has been all over the place with his emotions. He can't control them and doesn't seem to have the coping skills. The only thing he does to calm himself down is to go and suck his thumb. Which being 7 really isn't socially acceptable! He can't do that at school. As I struggle with this, I need to dig in my mom toolbox and figure out what tools I need to come up with to help him figure this thing out. It can be a dangerous situation when he is upset and he lashes out in anger against his brothers or at school when he has a melt down and his teacher's are at a stand still not knowing what to do because this isn't his typical behavior.
This is new experience for me and my husband, so we are trying to figure this out as we go. It is really hard. Yesterday getting a note from the teacher telling me that Cooper had a melt down at school and started crying because he wasn't able to pick out a book in the allotted time given and that he has been very emotional at school lately made me realize this has gone beyond home and something is going on with him beside his brothers just antagonizing him. It's hard being the middle child!
So, I sit here and reflect at his behaviors over the past couple months and they have been all over the place. As of lately his eating habits have changed as well. He is not eating like he used to. He says things like I am stupid and I can't think...it all starts with I can't. He gets very negative about things in general and himself. He doesn't want to go to school anymore and he used to love school. So I have talked to the school counselor to see if she could see if something is going on at school with another child.  At first I have to say, I was not so empathetic towards this kind of behavior. Hitting your brothers, screaming at them, and fighting with them is not acceptable behavior so he was punished and I have lost my cool more than once. In the heat of the situations you don't know what to do. So I am guilty of this too, as I am sure we all have done this with our children. You get so frustrated...Then I think I am to blame. Did I do this to him. Did I make him depressed. Have I crushed his spirit in some way. Have I passed down this predisposition to depression that I had to struggle with growing up. It worries me to know end. I know what it's like and it took me a long time to figure out how to deal with it. Physical hurt is easy to fix. Emotional hurt is not easy. I can't put a band aid on it and kiss it to make him feel better. What I can do is be positive for things he has done and not be so hard on him for things he has done wrong. Give him lots of hugs and walk away if I am frustrated so I don't repeat the behavior that he did just did to get in trouble, right back at him by me yelling. I have to work on this too.
I know second grade brings more responsibilities, more homework, harder work, more focus. So maybe he is struggling with that as well. He is a kid who plays sports at a level 2-3 years older because of his skill level...athletically the kid has been gifted so on the playground he has difficulties I see because he wants to play the way he knows not the way a 7 year old typically would or he beats them and they don't want to play with him...but yet then he will want to play batman or imaginative games which is great still but some kids don't want to, so then he takes that as they don't want to be his friend. I wonder if he is struggling to figure out where he fits in. He struggles with that at home being the middle child. I know they love each other but it's a push pull kind of situation. This particular year he doesn't have a lot of his friends in his class so that is also making it hard on him. Having to navigate around new people.
I was not the middle child, so I try to put myself in his shoes to understand what that must feel like. It's got to be hard. I need to do a better job of being sympathetic towards that.
I laid with him last night at bedtime and just reassuring him if something is bothering him he can tell us. That we love him and we are here anytime and he can tell us anything! We can figure it out and talk it thru. I rubbed his blonde soft hair and his chubby little cheeks as he dozed off to sleep and hugged him real tight and said a prayer for him before I left his room.
This parenting thing gets harder and harder every year. I thought it was hard when they were babies but guess what ~~I will take that any day to do over again! It is true what your parents  tell you ~It only gets harder!
But we figure it out and keep on going! Every day there may be a new challenge ahead but we meet it and try our best to tackle it! I am thankful this is my challenge today as I know people who have different daily challenges to deal with that our far worse than mine. I will end on that thought and I know Cooper our tough kid will come out on top of his hill he is currently working on climbing! Those Dimples Will Reappear!
Love,
Allie

Shredded Beef Burritos (from leftover crockpot dinner)

Saturday nights you can usually find us at our usual dinner location these past couple months! They usually have a table for us! Fiesta Grill a little Mexican country restaurant located out by us, that has won 5 Indy awards, is Charlie's favorite place. I will even make dinner and have to put it away, as he wants to go to Fiesta Grill yet again! It is the best Mexican in Chapel Hill!

Well once again,m I made dinner in the crock pot and had to put it in fridge for today. I came up with this recipe by the seat of my pants while trying to figure out what I was going to do with a leftover roast..

Here it is from the beginning starting with the crock pot recipe!

1 beef chuck roast
3-4 onions chopped
1-2 green peppers, sliced
1 can of Rotel either regular or hot
1 can of cream of celery soup
and a little bit of water
handful of Italian seasonings
seasoned salt
garlic powder
black pepper

Let that cook in the crock pot all day on low or I had it on about 6 hours high...

I let it cool for a good three to four hours after unplugging it. scooped out beef and shredded it off bone and threw away bone and fat...scooped out all the good veggies just leaving broth in pot. Threw that away. Put in fridge...

Morning mixed up the beef, green peppers, rotel, and onions with a can of black beans and about a cup of salsa verde (green sauce). Spread the mixture on Tortillas and rolled up into Burritos. Made about 8-9. Put back in fridge for later...Spread the enchilada sauce on top and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes. Add shredded Cheddar cheese and put back in oven to melt.

Enjoy!

Never Slowing Down

Cooper also celebrated his birthday over the summer. He turned 7 in July. Our little butterball!
He has never really seemed his age. Someone once told me, he is an old soul. I believe that...
Now remember, he came out practically a toddler!
He has not slowed in his growth. He has now surpassed Braedyn in weight, height, and shoe size. It does make it kind of nice on the pocketbook as they can share clothes. Not so sure how long that will last! I will take it while I can.
He enjoys antagonizing his brothers and loving them too...it's the middle child syndrome!
He is in the middle and never knows where the punches or hugs might come from!
Between all the boys he definitely is the one who can test my patience the most but when he gives me a big old bear hug and says I love you out of the blue, all those anxieties and frustration disappear

He still has a love of hockey which will be taking us all over North Carolina this year as well as Philadelphia and Annapolis!  

 

 

A Big 4!

Jordan turned 4 in June and I still can't believe how fast the time has gone...Our NC born baby!

He marches to a beat of his own. He definitely looks up to his big brothers! They have a special friendship and bond! He follows closely behind and watches every move and listens to everything they have to say. Sometimes he shouldn't...
He has a personality of his own that is hard to contain! He is a tender hearted kind kid who has a heart of gold. He cracks me up every day! He wakes up and has to pick out his own clothes and is VERY particular about what he is going to wear. He must get this from his older fashion forward brother Braedyn! Cooper would come downstairs in Purple shorts and Red shirt and they might just be a size to little and be completely fine with it...that is if I can get him to wear anything at all.
I love being able to spend this last year with him before my baby starts kindergarten!
I am treasuring this opportunity to watch him learn new things.  It's almost like when he was a baby and with every mile stone reached is a joy. He is mastering his ABC's with phonics and recognition and doing simple math. He gets so excited when he masters a new level. As a mom sometimes I wonder am I doing enough.  These lessons prove to me, at least I did something great today and it gives me a sense of accomplishment as well as it does him. It gives us some quality time together too because it would be just as easy for me to sit him in front of the TV or give him the Ipad while I clean, do laundry or other tasks.
I sure am going to miss him when he starts kindergarten! Someone is going to have to keep my busy that day and have plenty of Kleenex at hand!

Sometimes I Wonder

One day I opened Cooper's lunch box and this nice little note was inside. Now that makes packing those annoying lunch boxes every morning a little more bearable!!

How Sweet!

Sometimes I wonder!

Nice to get those kind of surprises!!!

So it made me think it probably makes them just as happy to get notes from me when they open their lunch boxes at the lunch table!

 

Halloween 2013

Now that brings us to Halloween....Cooper was a devil...Jordan a pirate...and Braedyn he didn't find an outfit until that night. He decided to be Joe Mauer...thanks to grandma he had a Mauer Jersey! I think my attitude towards Halloween might have rubbed off on him.
It is not a holiday I find enjoyable...as a kid we would get dressed up in a costume that no one would ever see because we would have a snowsuit and moon boots on and we would freeze our butts off! So I have never really gotten into Halloween. I guess he doesn't care for it as much either. I couldn't even get him to wear baseball pants...to complete the look!
It was a fun night of trick or treating with new friends in a new neighborhood that we had never been to just down the road out in the country near our house.

Getting Back To This Blogging and Some updates ~It's Been Awhile!

Halloween just passed and I can't believe I have not written anything since May!! So warning this maybe get long...but if you want some updates on our family...enjoy!

Where shall I start? It's been a whirlwind like always!

celebrating at Applebees end of year

end of quarter awards

I guess I will start out with school ending in June 2013! We finished up 3rd and 1st grade with ease! Another year has gone by at HES. They had wonderful school year with great teachers. Now onto 2nd and 4th...Really??? Jordan finished up preschool in the 3's class. I am sad to say that he will not return to preschool and I have conflicting thoughts on this, but I wish to keep my baby home one last year before he goes off to everyday kindergarten. It may be selfish but we do alot of things at home and socially, the kid thinks he is 8. He enjoys being home with mom and we are so busy that he was never at home to play like 3-4 year old should. He has to chase his brother's around to different after school activities.  I am sure he will be just fine starting Kindergarten in July...wait did I just say that! Amazing how time flies by. I want to treasure this last year because it just goes by to fast. I am realizing this as they keep getting older. I want to hold onto these young stages...
We had a great summer break. It was short but just long enough for the boys.

June included a visit from my parents for a week. We had a little excitement on their last evening as we had a really bad storm which took down the biggest tree on our property taking out two power lines with it and many other trees in the area. We were without power for about four days. Luckily, a neighbor came over and gave us a small generator to keep our deep freeze and other fridges working. I have now learned how to flush toilets when you are on a well and your power goes out! ICK!! Let's just say that was not a pleasant smell!  Otherwise, we had a wonderful visit when they were here. It just goes by too fast!

they are here

celebrating Jordan turning 4

fallen tree

a really big tree
 

Very Proud!

Cooper had a fun experience in June playing in the North Carolina State Powerade Games in Charlotte, NC. He played on a U8 Hockey team.  They participated in the Parade of Athletes which was at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. It was a fun time and it was the first time playing on a full sheet of ice. The RYHA program he was in at the Jr. Hurricanes followed the ADM model which is cross ice games for U8 level. So the kids were wore out! They did wonderful and we were all very proud of them. There were 5 teams. They were all travel teams that normally play full ice except us and one other RYHA team. We placed 3rd. They all received a 3rd place bronze medal. They all played their hearts out. I think he wore it to bed when we got home.

Checker's mascot

Awe!!

Very Happy Third Place Team!

 

Parade of Athletes

We won!

We then went to South Dakota in July for a trip back to see Charlie's family. We had not been back in three years. It was so different flying this year then the last time we were on a airplane or going through security! We have passed the diaper bag stage, stroller stage, car seats to haul, and any other "baby" items...It was amazing! They all did wonderful! We were there over the 4th of July and it was great to be back. We enjoyed the time back in SD being with his family and friends. It is a slow country way of life! I like it! We also got to go up to his family's place at the lake and the boys had so much fun tubing, fishing and just playing with their cousins. We got to see his grandpa who bless his heart is 97 and still is quick witted! It went by too quick and it was hard leaving as always. It's true what they say "home is where the heart is" because half of Charlie's is in SD and the other here.

Farm Boy

A boy and his fishing pole

cousins and their toys at the lake

Braedyn and Cooper on tube for the first time, they loved it!!

and Jordan's first time!
 

4th and 2nd graders

Then school started in July. We have a 4th grader and a 2nd grader! So far so good! The first 9 weeks flew by all getting perfect attendance and a end of quarter awards. I also had the privilege of chaperoning the 4th grade field trip to the outer banks. A trip we won't forget! It was wonderful memories made with Braedyn! What an experience! I didn't have anything like this growing up! I didn't even see an ocean until I was almost 16! I will detail that in another post. It was a weekend trip leaving on a friday morning at 5 am on 2 charter buses with 80 4th graders and chaperones from Walmart parking lot and returning Saturday at midnight. We were exhausted!

First day of school year 2013-14

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse with Bradyn on feild trip to Outer Banks

Wright Brothers Memorial in Nags Head

Braedyn has decided he didn't want to play fall baseball and he wanted to take a break this year which was fine with me as Cooper was getting started with his new travel hockey team this year I knew we would be busy. Jordan is still playing hockey too. Braedyn and Jordan do the "Learn to Play" on Sunday nights together which has worked great. Cooper has hockey practice once a week and then games or practices on Saturdays/Sundays. So the weeknights have been rather nice around here for a change. Yes, travel hockey is a little stressful but so far this program has worked better for us with the scheduling and location of it. Cooper loves it. He is now playing for the Carolina Stars which is a U10 travel team out of Raleigh. He is always playing tough as nails and with a heart of gold! It's a new team and so far he has learned a lot from the coach and he really likes it. Our travel season is getting ready to start shortly and we will have games every weekend now til at least February! I do enjoy watching all three of them out there on the rink together when they go play for fun! They love it!

Rink Rats!

Cooper A Carolina Star!

I ran another 1/2 marathon in October. It was the Bull City Race Fest in Durham, NC. It was exactly the same course as I ran last October and I was able to get a PR beating my previous time by 5 whole minutes. I ran it in 1 hour and 51 minutes. I felt great and it was a nice cool fall day. I was worried because my training had been slim with the kids fall break but I rarely took days off. I would just get it some shorter runs when they could go with me. I ran again with my girlfriend Amy. She did wonderful considering she couldn't train until a couple weeks before the marathon because she had a cast on most of August and September because she had a broken arm. She was a trooper! I can officially say I am not running anything longer than maybe a 4 mile race until April of 2015 as I have my eyes set on the Nashville Music City Rock n Roll Marathon. I will finally have time to train as all of the kiddos will be in school! My body needs a break! I need the break.

Getting ready for the race to start ~it was a little chilly...notice my sweatshirt my warm up from H.S.!

I have been busy helping with Cooper's hockey team doing hockey mom stuff! Jordan and I do a preschool curriculum at home and that has given me enjoyment seeing him learn and grow. I have patience to do this but appreciate those homeschool moms! I don't know how they do it! I have not done anything with my music lately because our schedules have not allowed that. At some point, I will get back to it. I'm going to be an auntie again as my sister and her husband are having another child in early 2014. Hopefully I will get to see him or her before they start kindergarten!

Charlie has been busy with work and very happy at Cree. It has been a wonderful move and a wonderful company to work for. He still hasn't quite figured out how to come home early but at least he doesn't have to work on weekends and I finally was able to talk him into getting a lawn service! Now that he has it, he loves it and has commented how he doesn't know he got that all done by himself when they bring about 4-5 guys and it's done in an hour tops. It would take him a whole Saturday and Sunday! We also got a vacuum for the pool so it seems his job as pool boy and lawn boy have been replaced. It is better spent with us! I told him he works too hard during the week to come home and then work all weekend long. The boys sports are also preventing that from happening. That will only get worse. They love throwing around the football or baseball with dad!

Our fall break found us again in Gainseville, FL! We drove down to University of Florida again for a football weekend! They played Tennessee! It was a lot of fun and tailgating to the extremes! They won the game so that is always great. We took in the Museum of Natural Science as well that was located on campus. It wasn't as hot as last year and it was a late afternoon game which was great. Braedyn also met someone who he was excited to see by surprise walking in the hotel...

Coach Donovan ~the UF Men's basketball coach. While there we met up with Charlie's advisor from grad school and went to dinner. He and his wife are Korean so they chose a Korean restaurant. That was an experience! The boys shocked me as they tried everything and ate a lot of the food! Who knew! It's always great to see them too!

Gator Basketball!!

Football game!



Bull Gator at Ben Hill Griffen stadium

We also stayed in Savannah again on the way home for a couple of nights. This time we surprised the boys with a fishing charter trip! We got up at 6 am and told them we had a surprise. Not sure they liked the waking up part! They were excited and so thrilled to go fishing, we could have caught anything I knew they would be happy! They have been wanting to go fishing for a long time. So instead of just taking them around here~dad spoiled them and got a charter on the Savannah river. Which is a beautiful place! They caught all sorts of hammerhead sharks and stingrays that we had to toss back but we also caught about 10 trout we were able to keep and bring home. That was 4 hours they won't forget! We enjoy going out to eat on the riverfront and watching the big merchant marine ships coming into port.

Cooper's first catch

Hammerhead

just heading out, it was beautiful

Trouble x 3

e have some exciting things coming on our way in the next few months so hoping to keep up with this, so stay tuned for more fun Jacobson excursions!
The hockey mommy will be on the road!
With Love,
Allie