Damn It...

To quote one famous Pop Star..."Oops, I did it again!" I ruined yet another camera in another destructive manner...the dryer! After a fun afternoon of sledding at the snow covered golf course I threw all of our jackets, gloves, hats, etc. in the dryer. Well the "etc." included my camera which was zipped safely in the top pouch of my jacket. S**T!

After several curses and an evil glare from Husband who is sick of me being irresponsible with items that are over $150.00, I used my MacGyver skills to attempt to bring it back to life because TJ had his piano recital last night and I had to document.

Anywhoo's...the camera turns on for about 15 seconds before the lense pulls shut and the screen reads, "Lense Error." I was able to snap a few quick pictures of TJ plunking away on the old ivory keys, but now I can't find my adapter to download the pics...and I didn't bother asking Husband if he had seen the cord as I wasn't in the mood for another annoying SIGH regarding my less than responsible camera skills.

Almost Winter Break...

Coley and Taylor under snowball attack!

TJ, Beau, Cannon, and CJ battling with in a snowball attack!

It was perfect snow for making snowmen!

Sissy and Coley warming up with hot chocolate! Sissy loves hanging out with "Big Girls!"

Beau is glove-less...brrrr!

Martha Stewart eat your heart out! You got nothing on the Sackman's!

Sissy licked every candy before carefully placing it on the gingerbread house.

Mmmmm...sucked on green skittles

TJ reading the instructions to Beau, who simply wanted to smear frosting on everything.

A meeting of the minds...preparing to make a gingerbread house.

5 days until Winter Break, but who is counting right? ME! I'm SO READY for a nice long winter's nap, away from school, away from my classroom, computer, assignments, projects, and my lovely students. I adore my class, however it is time for a breather!

We've put up the Christmas tree and adorned the house with all our cheesy decorations. The kid's love decorations that sing, talk, light up, etc. and it just so happens that I have an 88year old grandma who has an assortment of decorations that fit the bill....that she has gifted to us over the years. We have talking fiber optic Christmas bears, stupid trees that light up and sing, a bear that reads The Night Before Christmas....I've decided when we are old and our children grown we can put up classy Christmas, but for now there is a definite sense of Cousin Eddy in the Sackman household. All we need is a man in a bathrobe emptying his pooper into the storm drain and we'd be set.

Very Thankful!

TJ right before his tonsil/adnoid removal. Not too excited!

Post surgery! He did great and slept the entire 2hrs back to Omak. What a troooper.

Beau and Harper and their cute dog Finny. The leash IS NOT wrapped around her neck (I'm a Plughoff and one of our rules of life growing up via Tibby, "Never put anything around your neck or someone elses!" Growing up my brother's version of that rule included...."when mom and dad are around."

"Oui, Oui" Frenchman Zach says as he eyes the turkey feast.

Jodi topping the sweet potato casserole with the top ingredient, mellows!

SIL, Jodi and myself, happy off a few Apple Pies and ready to feast.

We had a relaxing and delicious Thanksgiving Break! Not only did we get a much needed long weekend from school; family and friends from out of town joined together for a scrumptious meal.

The day before Thanksgiving TJ had his tonsils removed. Mean I know...however I had to calculate and plan the perfect break that would allow him to miss the least amount of school. It's taken about a week and a half to recover and he's lost almost 12lbs, but I think in the long run it will be a smart move. He is plagued by terrible allergies, ear infections, sore throats, etc.

We jokingly asked the ENT if we could save the tonsisls and bring them to school for sharing. Weird sense of humor I know...however after the procedure she came out with two tupperware-ish containers holding his tonsisls. I wanted to say, "I was KIDDING!" but she had gone through saving them, preparing them in the containers and getting the paperwork ready for us to sign that allowed us to bring them home. Yowza.

When I said, "Better not get these confused with giblets and toss them in the gravy" she didn't really laugh. Hmmmm.

So TJ spent Thanksgiving Day sleeping in Nana's comfy bed while we feasted. Uncle Ryan, Karli, Gage and Harper joined us along with our good friends the Meyers and some of their extended family from Canada and Iowa. An entirely great day with a lot to be Thankful for!

October...Where Did You Go?

Itsy Bitsy Spider...two years in a row.


The Halloween crew!


Halloween Karoke...Husband is so shy!


Toga...Toga!


What a good looking bunch!

TJ & CJ....BFF's!

After TJ's game!

Papa & G'ma Mary

Last month was a blurr....football, school, Halloween. It zipped by before I knew it and now we are almost the Thanksgiving! Some exciting news from the Sackman's...I am 100% DONE with my master's!! It feels so awesome to be done and know that I'm a certified school counselor. I told husband that I need a hobby because I have so much extra time that I no longer have to devote to homework. For now I'm content to play with the kids, watch TV, and relax!

Husband's football team is rocking their way through the state football tournament! They won their crossover game against Lakeside, beat Zillah, and now are in the quarter finals against Cashmere. It is going to be a tough game as we beat Cashmere during season play and they won't likely let Omak beat them again easily. Heading to Wenatchee on Saturday for the showdown! Husband has been the head coach for 5 years...and has made it to the state quarter finals 3 out of the 5 times! Not bad!

TJ wrapped up his football season with an awesome game against Okanogan-blew them out 26-6! He also landed the COVER of the local newspaper as he attempted to block a pass! It was a fun season and I'm so proud of him.

Upcoming exciting news...husband will soon start student teaching and be D-O-N-E slinging used cars! Waaaahooo! I'm not super excited about the non-paid student teaching part, but it's a means to an end and I'm so proud of him.

Oktoberfest

Fun times for all at the Oktoberfest Marathon in Leavenworth. We did the team marathon, each running about 4 miles. The weather was beautiful, the cabin we rented was adorable, and it was a super girl's weekend!

A bit too busy?

I tend to get really, really irritated when people blab on and on about how busy they are. I've griped about this with my good friends, especially when my theory is that people who usually aren't too busy are the ones who complain about being, "So busy!" So I try really hard not to whine about how busy I am...mainly because everything I (or we as people) do is by choice.

I didn't have to have 3 children (God knows that would exponentially lessened my busy factor), I don't have to work (This is debatable...technically I don't have to, however I also would have to wear sweats, eat Hamburger Helper, and significantly lessen the amount of fun my family has if I didn't earn some $$), I didn't have to do my master's, husband doesn't have to coach football, TJ doesn't have to take after school piano, Beau and Finley can live without gymnastics...blah blah blah. So all the things that make us, "Super Busy" are definitely choices but none the less...when they all come together they form the perfect storm of a hectic, busy life....all of which I try not to gripe about.

However, I know we reached our breaking point this week when Husband came home from football practice minus 1 child. Yes...he forgot his middle son at the football field...at 7:45pm. The really pathetic part is that as Husband and TJ were taking off their shoes I stood there chatting for a second waiting for Beau to come up the stairs. He's small and young and usually the last one out of the car and into the house. Nope...no sign of him. "Where is Beau?" Husband gives me a blank stare and then it registers and he says to me, "He's coming..." So I wait another few seconds as I peak out the window. "Where is he?" And Husband says, "I forgot him at the field!" And before I could begin my screaming tirade (Yes, it was not pretty) he was in the car racing back to the field.

I was LIVID! I was mad he forgot his child, I was mad he lied about it, and I was LIVID that he didn't seem to think this was a big deal. Thankfully husband made it to the field to grab his forgotten son and return him home safely before I had the Amber Alert called in, but it was a good lesson for us to slow down, lighten our "load" and...not forget to count the children before we leave somewhere.

I'm not sure how that Dugger family can keep all 19 kids accounted for...jeeez.

First Days of School and Football

School started last Tuesday!! TJ is happily mastering all that 3rd grade demands while Sissy and Beau are at Montessori. This is Beau's 3rd year at Montessori (one more to go!) so he is happy to boss..er, show Finley around. Every night at dinner Beau declares that, "Sissy has NO friends and I have to play with her and eat lunch with her!" He always sounds so exasperated and put-upon that his little sister requires his attention...but I've been told from my Montessori "Mommy spies" that he loves it!

Tj is also busy playing his first year of padded football. Their jamboree was a success and their first game is this Saturday in Wenatchee.

Tj is holding up 3 fingers for "3rd grade" not a gang sign! :)

He is playing center and has mastered snapping the ball!

Night out and nails!

After a night out with great friends...see above (matching shirts optional...it was a total coincidence and I totally missed the notice)
We returned home to see that Sissy's babysitter painted her adorable fingers...white with red dots. So cute and so nice that our sitter does more than sit on her bum and watch TV. Fingernails were painted, the sidewalk adorned with chalk art, and the kitchen clean. Aaaaah, an overall great night!

So cute!

Pooped...

Little Sissy, crashed out on the couch Friday night! She's been a trooper! All three of the kids have spent hours with me getting my room set up. I know they get bored (and I get irritated at the messes they make) but we still get to be together and thus...summer isn't officially over.

I think the few weeks before school are almost more hectic than the actual first week of school. Our life has been a busy whirl wind of school, dentist/dr. apts (with shots..uck), list making, shopping, organizing, classroom preparation...and let's not forget what consumes most of our time in the Fall...football. Husband started two weeks ago with double days (two practices each day + working) and so I basically say, "Good night" to him and that's the extend of our marriage during doubles.

Next week changes to only afternoon practices and thus we can resume some normalcy....however TJ started his first year of pee wee football so Husband is now coaching 2 teams....granted TJ's team is somewhat like herding cats. I had a gigantic belly laugh at last night's practice watching them do barrel rolls...and jumping jacks... forget it. There are arms and legs flying everywhere.

TJ is having a blast and despite my repeated prodding of, "Are you having fun?" he truly appears to be. I just worry that he feels obligated to play football and/or will be burned out by the time he's older. He's in the 3rd grade and wearing pads and hitting...yikes!

Soaking It Up...Before It's Over!