Hello... It's me.

Hello? It's me. I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet. To go over...everything...

That seems like a pretty good way to make my re-entry into Blog Vegas! And since life in the last few months has been kind of heavy in the Acres, I think I'm gonna re-enter with a recap of some good times.

Sound good? Good.

November.
My little Fu-Man-Choo was cast as Augustus Gloop in the 5th grade play. He was absolutely perfect! And it couldn't have been a more fun production if they tried. It was some greatly welcomed comic relief after that darn election!







The highlight, according to Fulton, was getting to wear a fat suit!

Excuse the heads. And when will I ever learn to turn the phone the right way?

October.
In case you didn't hear me screaming and crying from the mountain top, my long awaited 2015 Christmas surprise became a reality. I FINALLY GOT TO SEE ADELE!!! And it was quite possibly the greatest night of my life. Ever.

I went a little crazy and may have streamed it live on FB for my mom and sweet friend, Renata because they might be almost as obsessed. Unbelievable. That was Friday.

Shan and I don't get away very often so Saturday, we.slept.all.day. And that, was a very close second to the concert. We got a late dinner at the famous Pitty Pat's Porch - which is ridonkulously good. After dinner, our high school friend, Matt treated us to a night at his improv called Dad's Garage. If you're in the ATL and have time for a good laugh, please pay them a visit. Outstanding!

And the only way to really capture what a great weekend it was, is to make a cheesy video of course. (And thanks to youtube the even cheesier song got muted. darn copyright laws.)

Early in October, we spent a fabulous weekend in Brevard with friends. We couldn't have asked for better company or weather.









And we celebrated no.14 for this guy! Whaaaat?

And 5 days later we celebrated no.42 for moi! Whaaaaaaaaaat?

How does a 42 year old celebrate, you ask? At the SC State Fair. With an elephant ear as a cake. And then if she's blessed with great friends, they take her out to dinner.









And October wouldn't be complete with me mentioning my favorite holiday, Halloween!

This year was weird. It was on a Monday and I have one trick or treater down. This momma is sad. I don't like this getting older thing. Not one bit.

This year we had "just Sam", some scary characters - a creepy jester and some kind of black phantom- and a superhero duo...Batman and Robin.







Oh and I can't forget...our hurricane party for hurricane Matthew - so fun -and Oliver's head injury on a natural disaster weekend with no power (only "good" because it wasn't serious and it was highly comical and ironic the way it all happened. And it gives us something to laugh about.).







September.
September was a total blur. Total.blur. The only thing I really remember was this cool kid celebrating no.11, the Beautycounter for Target launch, and an AC Flora cheer reunion.









Any who. November is over halfway done and I'm absolutely giving thanks for all the things...big and small. Life is hard sometimes and I have recently been clinging to the good to keep perspective. And trust me, it has pulled me through every single time!

It was good to do a catch-up dump on this-here space on the interweb. I've missed it!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

October!

What?!? October 2014? Where has this year gone?

Seriously, September flew by so quickly. We had a great month. It was super busy though. Shan continues to travel all the time, but I seem to manage as a single mom - someway, somehow.

Any who... I'm hoping to get back to blogging regularly this month because I feel like I have so much I need document for my boys. I may re-attempt the 31 days of writing challenge. I attempted it last year and failed miserably. So I may give it a go again.

Here's a little peek at our September...

We started off with Ver getting stitches. It was only a few, but pitiful nonetheless. I guess that's to be expected when you're gettin' down and dirty with your big brothers playing football.

It happened on the night that we were supposed to go to the Casting Crowns concert...and then this happened...

We were so star struck and flattered!



We celebrated number NINE for sweet Fulton. NINE?!?! I have mixed emotions about the fact that he didn't want a birthday party. Lawd knows I love throwing one. He opted for family time and a good buddy from school sleeping over and being his guest at the MARVEL Live show.

 

We also celebrated Shan's 40th Birthday "Better Late Than Never...This is 40" party. With all his traveling we couldn't swing it in August, so to say he was truly surprised is an understatement. His reaction was priceless. I'll post details later.

The Greek Festival! Need I say more?

The Gamecocks are in full swing this football season. Their performance has been kinda patchy. A few good wins and a couple of questionable losses. But my most favorite part of it all is tailgating, of course. So many fun friends and so much good food.

I finally took the time to paint the picture to go over Oliver's bed. It only took me a year and a half. Love his heart. He saw what I was doing and wanted to help. How could I say no? It turned out so cute and looks great over his bed. That's a blog post for later too!

While Fulton and Oliver are taking the fall off and saving their energy for a little tennis and basketball, Sambo is on a roll playing fall soccer. He did beautifully at goalie last weekend. And we all just love his new team!

All in all, looking back at our September, it was quite nice!

Stay tuned for my 31 Days of Writing... See Day 2 for more on how and why I'm finding the excitement in life!

{Day 1}

Find links to Days 1-31 here!

New-found Lego Love

Legos.

Legos. Legos. Legos.

You know 'em. The little plastic blocks with sharp edges that feel oh so great to step on in the dark? Yeah. Those things. It'll make you say words that would make a sailor blush! Or how about the bottomless pit somewhere that's full of all the missing pieces to sets? And if I had a penny for every one that has clinked into my vacuum...whoops, I'd be a millionaire for sure. 

I've never been a fan. I'm too ADD to follow the plans. I'd also rather make something that's in my head with all those tiny bricks, than follow "the plan".

With three boys, my house has been littered with Legos for about 5 or 6 years now. Sam has not been a huge fan, but liked them ok. But then there's Fulton,  The Lego Master Builder. Obsessed. And now there's Oliver, who likes {me or Fulton} to put together the sets, but would really rather play with the mini figures. He's obsessed too!

At any rate, they are on my kitchen table and counters, in my car, in Shan's car, in the bathtub, down in my sofa, on the stairs, on every surface in Fulton's room, on Sam's dresser, on Oliver's floor, and even on the front porch from time to time. I've tried organizing systems, but none have worked. To say that we are a Lego family would be an understatement. So I've just embraced the mess. And I can say they were not my favorite things until...

 

The Lego Movie! 

 

During the wintery weather, I took the boys along with a few friends and their mommas to see the movie. I was excited for them, but not super thrilled to watch a movie about the things I pick up 50 times a day. Fulton and Oliver literally counted down the days to Friday - the big day. So excited!

Well I was pleasantly surprised, because it is super cute! It's packed with age appropriate action and suspense for the kids and great adult humor. Kind of a Toy Story for Legos. 

It's funny how I see them differently now. Some moms and I were laughing about all the Legos we've "lost" or sucked up over the years and how guilty we feel after seeing the movie. Ha! It will change the way you think, mommas!

So if you have a little Lego lover in your house, it is a must see! I can't wait for it to come out on DVD.

Precious.

FFF...Forced Family Fun

A friend of mine gave my mom and me these napkins a few years ago. I love them. And every time we have a big family hoopla I think of them.

Forced Family Fun {FFF}. I've seen it be fun and I've seen it turnout no-so-fun. We've all been there. But nonetheless, we crave it sometimes. It's all about establishing traditions and creating memories.

While we were suffering from cabin fever during the winter storm, we were participating in LOTS of FFF.

We like to do game night, but it's gotten a little more challenging to accommodate different interest levels and skill levels. There's a big difference in an 11 year-old and 5 year-old!

So last week I pulled out an old favorite that I used to play with my students in therapy sessions, Rainbow Tower. It's like the colored version of Jenga.

It goes quickly enough to not lose anyone's attention and it also presents enough of a challenge for the tween boy in my house {who actually bowed out with a belly ache and watched from the sofa}.

We played two rounds and it was just enough.

1. The Daddy takes his turn (Puny, sweet, Sambo made a cameo appearance on the sofa). 2. The baby bird takes a very steady turn. 3. He said "I can't watch!" as Fulton pulled one from the bottom.

I like the added bonus that it encourages dexterity and coordination, as well as recognizing and following a pattern when you restack the tower.

Who knew a classroom favorite would be a family favorite 12 years later.

In other FFF news...

We also force our children to try on the Baby Bjorn periodically to test the weight limit. Usually, after church on Sundays. HA!

What do you do for FFF? Do y'all have any favorite games?

A Fondue Valentine's Dinner

Just a quick post to share our Valentine's day celebration...

As if we hadn't already spent enough time together during the snow/ice storm - we celebrated Valentine's day all together too.

Shan and I haven't celebrated Valentine's together in...oh say...11 years. But that's ok. We will again someday. Besides, we love our little turkeys and they enjoy the extra special time with us too. {Plus, a dear boy-mom friend of mine with the exact same set up - 3 boys all 3 years apart - is now dealing with the competition of her 15 year-old's girlfriend. *GASP*SIGH* So I'll take my boys on Valentine's while I can. Kinda puts things into perspective.} I digress.

So what do not-so-mushy-gushy people do for a family Valentine's celebration?

Why you Fondue, of course!

That's right. I dragged out my fondue pot and recipes and we had the most fun!

It's been years since we've used it and I always enjoy it. I've just kinda waited for everyone to be big enough to man their own skewer and not get injured. We have arrived, folks. It was a hit!

The boys "dressed up", we set a pretty table, and exchanged valentines with the boys. Our first course was classic cheese fondue. We dipped Italian bread and granny smith apples. I, personally, could have eaten the entire pot of cheese without any help. It was so good! I think they were bigger fans of the bread with cheese and just ate the apples plain. Not quite ready for the whole fruit and cheese deal.

Our next course was the meat and vegetables. We did chicken and steak and for veggies we had zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and potatoes cooked in seasoned bullion. That was tasty too, but took a {long} while. We had fun while we waited though.

 

And just FYI...any leftover meat and veggies can be thrown into the crock pot for vegetable beef/chicken soup!

 

After we finished our main course it was time for everyone's favorite. Chocolate fondue! We were all in heaven! So, so yummy! We fondued (?) strawberries, bananas, angel food cake, and marshmallows. Oh-my-goodness.

 

 



 

If you've never had a fondue experience, at home or a restaurant like The Melting Pot, I highly recommend it. I'm not sure a couple of mine are ready for a public fondue dining experience, but I am so glad we did it at home. It will definitely be on our family fun list!

 

Any who, here are a couple of pics from the rest of our Vday...

 Our traditional Valentine's donut breakfast wasn't spoiled by the ice and snow! Daddy saved the day!

 

 

 Oliver's cow tail valentines and his decorated box. LOVE it!

You know you're a boy mom when...you get a Buzz Lightyear card. My heart melted.

 

How 'bout y'all? Do you celebrate with or with out children? What are your Valentine's traditions?