Carvin' Pumpkins, Gutters and ALL!

What a week!  Sunday night my parents left...Which is always hard for me.  We see so little of each other he boys are growing and changing so fast that they miss out on so much inbetween visits.  It was a good weekend...The 3 hours of cleaning the house that night proved it :)  We let the boys carve pumpkins..Well we did the goop stuff & then Daddy did the carving!  It's funny how the boys change their thoughts on the "gutter" (as Cole calls it).  Cole was all about the "guts" of the pumpkin.  He dug right in & then helped sort the seeds out.  Hunter...NO WAY.  He wanted to use the scraper to pull the gutters out but had a tough time.  He did not want it touching him AT ALL!  Blake chewed on the pumpkin and tried out the guts which he wasn't very fond of, then took off his sock and mixed it in with the bowl of pumpking guts :)  Fun times!

Yuck Mom!  These don't taste very good :)

Cole loves the "gutters" which I have come to realize means guts of the pumpkin

Blake chewing on the side of the pumpkin

Cole picked out the dragon pattern from the book

Did you have to even look to see what kind of pumpkin

Hunter wanted?  Of course it was BATMAN!

FYI..When your computer says batttery low....

It will die & you WILL lose everything you had just typed about :)  20 minutes worth!

So, just going to say that we had an AMAZING weekend with my parents!  They boys and I tie-dyed Halloween shirts Friday night....This is a much better ADULT activity than a kid activity :)  Oh and All Purpuse Cleaner with Bleach works great to get the dye off you!

We went to Yankton, SD to Garrity's. It's a pumpkin patch and apple orchard. Cheaper priced than the ever so famous "Vala's" and less crowds...And just as goods. My boys had just as much fun here than they would have there! Cole's favorite part: The hay bale maze....Hunter's favorite part: "Riding behind the tractor with no green on it"....

The Boys at Garritys

The boys on the hay bale pyramid

Hiding in the maze

Corn Maze

Hunter checking on the kernal count :)

Hunter's pumpkin

Picking pumpkins

Gotta love big brothers

A tired boy with his sword

An overall wonderful trip!  No melt-downs or blow outs in diapers...And we managed to get all the boys back in the car at the end of the day :)

This is how we roll on my days off!  Did I mention Hunter is a genious? Ha!  Daddy asked him to take the box of wipes to the bathroom...So he used Blake's car to drive it...Needed a tow rope...He decided my bra would work well & hooked it up that way :)

It was a great weekend!  Went to a baby shower in Tripp, SD on Saturday, watched the HUSKERS game with Beau's brother Saturday night (Good thing Beau didn't stop watching when he threatened to!) and Sunday was church, and dinner at Vera's then a photo session...Nothing new and exciting... Next weekend my parents are coming up and we are going to the Pumpkin Patch & Apple Orchard in Yankton, SD!  Can't wait!

Amazing Kids

 

This makes everything worth it :)

A Day With the Boys

I love my Tuesdays & Fridays with the boys!  Some days are amazing....& some are very challenging!  I like to think they make me grow as a parent no matter what :)  I'm trying to stay positive today.  Found out I have a scratch on my cornea and am unable to wear a contact in my right eye.  I do have backup glasses but anything around my head (headbands, hats, glasses) give me a bad headache...So I wore my glasses this am until I couldn't stand it any longer & now I have switched to one contact in and one out...which is also uncomfortable...Dr. said it should be better in a few days!  Glad it's not something worse!

Last week at Cole's school was Johnny Appleseed day.  So after their morning snack (apples), they decided they should plant the apple seeds.  They went out in the "forest" (the grove of trees behind our house) and planted the seeds.  I have been trying to kick them out of the house as much as possible.  There aren't going to be many more days when they are able to spend hours outside :(

I am exhausted today!  Not sure if it has to do with my eye or my ridiculously busy schedule.  Beau is out running a grain cart while his brother combines.  I'm a little nervous because of the wind and grass fires that have been happening.

So the boys and I have decided to have a slumber party for nap time!  We've got blankets, pillows and sleeping backs covering the living room floor!  We're going to watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown...Well I'm guessing I will fall asleep & the boys will watch the movie...Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? :)

I have a ton to do, but that can all wait!  For now, I'll play with my boys & enjoy them....It won't be long before they won't want to cuddle and do slumber parties with Mommy anymore :)

Financial Freedom....What's that?

Usually I don't talk about finances...I don't worry about the Nation's debt, I have my own to worry about.  This year our family has been hit hard with one thing after another & are at a place where I don't even know what to do!!!  It's soo frustrating!

You pay $700 a month for insurance, for what?  You still have to pay out of the Wazoo!  It doesn't cover crap...A normal delivery & still $3000 out of pocket ridiculous!  Then one thing after another comes up....Fridge breaks, car goes into the shop (a total of 3 times now) the dog has to have emergency surgery that costs over $800. the tags and licence are due on the car....Will it ever stop?  Chances are no...

But what can you do about it when you are on a fixed income that barely gets you by?  You could get another job....But then you have to pay more daycare. You could do an evening job...But then you get no time with your family....You don't go out to eat, go on trips, but you still end up short-handed.

Went to the eye doctor tonight...Scratch on my cornea...Did you know a vision plan doesn't cover the medical part of vision?  There is more money to spend that we don't have.

I have read some of Dave Ramsey's books.  It's logical...It would work.  The first step is to save $1000....How do you do it when you don't have a cent left after groceries and bills?  Makes it hard.  It's a vicious cycle & how do you make it stop.  We aren't a family whose worried about material things...Garage sale clothes, and generic brand everything is fine for us...

Then you see people like Kim Kardashian!  She got an engagement ring that's worth 2 MILLION DOLLARS!  Really?  Are you kidding me?  I know its nice to have nice things, but it just doesn't seem fair.  Here we are....a typical family struggling to get by & then she (or her fiance) can spend her money so frivolously!  The rich get richer......

So what do I do?  I keep moving forward...I try to focus on all the things I do have.  I have an amazing husband who tries to provide for his family as best he can.  I have three amazing, energetic, HEALTHY children who make me smile every day.  I have a job that I can feel proud of...feel like I'm making a difference....  As Dorie Says, "Just Keep Swimming, Swimming, Swimming!"

And then there were three....

I've heard going from 2 to 3 kids is a big change...That's an understatement.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change it for anything, but WOW!  No more 1 on 1 anymore, we're running zone defense in the Bensen house!  Blake Rodney is a Godsend & such a good baby!

He's crawling, pulling himself up & cruising on all the furniture!  He tries to keep up with his brothers.  I had forgotten this is the age of no fear!  Not scared to try to climb on anything or do anything!  He got his first battle wound last night!  Our heating vents aren't flat against the wall, but at an angle.  Vent: 1..Blake's Head:0.  He cried for about 10 seconds and didn't complain about it again.  I'm sure I would have been a worse sport than he was.

I've also decided that the more kids you have, the  faster they grow!  I'm not sure if it's because I am so busy with the other boys I don't notice every little thing like I did with Cole....or if it's because they really do grow up faster....Blake's trying to keep up with his big brothers :)

Cowboy Up!

I've learned that about the age of 3 kids fixate on certain things....Hunter has 2: Batman & Cowboys!

I was out at a photo session and when I got home, walked into the door and found a cowboy scene :)  Bull Riding was on the TV and the boys were busy at work.  Hunter was in his Batman underwear (nothing new there) & had "chaps" on...Since he doesn't have chaps Beau folded dish towels & used a stretched out rubber band to attach them!  The tall laundry basket was out and on its side (what I would soon learn was the "bull").  Hunter would get on, into position and Beau would help simulate a bull ride counting to 8.

Hunter loves his cowboy pants, shirts, boots & spurs!  I'm pretty sure he would wear them to bed if I let him!  He has a pony named Charlie Brown & wants to ride him every night!!

His second love is Batman.  I thought we would be sending Hunter to school in diapers...until we found Batman underwear.  He came downstairs one morning, put them on & that was the end of potty training!  How lucky were we?  He HAS to have Batman underwear....and if they are all dirty & I catch him before he digs some out of the dirty laundry, he is a HOT MESS!  Meltdown City (he's got a temper like his Daddy). 

His Batman Haloween costume came in the mail & sure enough, he wears it ALL the time...With a cowboy hat!

Facebook....Yes or No

Facebook & I have a LOVE/HATE relationship....I'll be the first to admit, I check it a billion times a day.  And if I can't check it during the day?  I sit on the computer for 20 minutes going through the News Feed so I can be sure I don't miss anything.  I have 522 "friends".  Really?  Are these really friends?  Most are more like acquaintances.  I love seeing people from my past to see how they are doing & also checking out pics of them or their kiddos. I love the connection you feel to everyone on facebook.

I'm one of those that posts ALL the time & adds 8 million pics and videos.  Then I think, is this really a way for friends to keep in contact?  Or is it a place to loose yourself in other people's lives?  Where you can dwindle in others problems and not worry about yours.  I also worry about what is happening to communication.  If I saw one of these so called "friends" on the street, would I smile & say hi?  Or would we stand there and talk?  Well chances are they already know everything about my life because of my obsession on posting everything going on in my life.  So what is there to talk about?  Not a whole lot.  I also wonder, "Really?  Does my 4th grade Asian classmate (who is now gay...like we didn't know :) really cares about whether my son is constipated or if I only had to spend $15 on a package of diapers...I'm pretty sure he doesn't care :)

So, this is why I have decided to blog.  If your far away & we're not able to talk often, then you can see what's going on.  But now my 522 "friends" don't have to know EVERYTHING about me :)  Enjoy! 

I'm just learning the logistics of this whole blogging thing, so hang in there with me!

Cole's in Kindergarten? Where has time gone?

My alarm went off at 6am......Today was the day my baby was starting part time Kindergarten.  I decided we should take him to school as a family the first day.  How could this 7lb 12oz baby be old enough to go to school?  I thought about all the "firsts" I had with him...First time I had ever been pregnant...First time I'd ever been in labor...First time I held a screaming in my arms all night b/c of an ear infection and not getting a wink of sleep....First time I watched one of my children sit up, crawl, walk, talk....And now another first-First one to go to school.
That morning Cole gave me the best information anyone possibly could have.  Teasing around with him I asked, "Cole are you sure you don't want to stay home with Mommy today?"  Cole looks at me & without even skipping a beat he says, "No Mommy, I HAVE to try it."  You are right little man, you have to try it :)
A friend of mine's little boy also was starting school this year and posted a quote to facebook and it has now become one of my favorites. 

"Good parents give their children roots and wings. Roots to know where home is, wings to fly away and exercise what's been taught them"

He is loving school!  He has really gotten into soccer at recess with some of the other boys!  He is learning all his letters and is copying EVERYTHING at home. (He copied a Christmas card word for word :)  If your interested, here is a link to his Kindergarten class' blog!  You can see what they are doing & learning...You can also check out pictures :)