Trophy Anyone?

Tonight we celebrated the end of TJs season with a dessert banquet. Every 10 year olds dream...dozens of desserts, fruit punch and a trophy.

It's been fun to watch these boys grow up and amazing to think one more year until middle school football!

On a side note, one mom made the most delicious pumpkin cheesecake cupcakes! To die for! They were so good people were taking one for the road as they left! Holiday food season you may now begin!

Winter is Here!

Aaaaaah, our first snowfall of the year! Besides the white stuff covering everything outside, this pile of snow gear laying atop our washing machine is the real indicator of winter in the Sackman house. For the next 3.5 months we'll have coats, gloves, hats, boots and wet socks strewn about our house.  

Winter means at least 10 extra minutes required each morning in order to get out the house in appropriate clothing....at least one morning a week spent looking for a lost glove...making sure we put all the boots out to dry before the next day...mopping up the trail of melted snow that ends up covering the floors...and enduring the swish of snow pants that becomes like a constant white noise in the background.

I'm excited about skiing with the kiddos and some fun ski adventures we have in the works, but beyond that I could live without the cold, wind, icy, gray that seems to set in during these months....I'm a summer gal I've decided! 

Anywhoos...I took advantage of the extra day off and headed to Spokane with my BGF's for some Xmas shopping...not the best roads to be driving in but Turner is the most experienced back roads driver and we arrived unscathed despite several cars off in the ditches. I made a decent dent in my shopping list and enjoyed a nice, relaxing girls day. 

Returned to a clean house which husband and the kids worked on all day.....Jokes! The headed to the cabin with the other husbands and children for sledding, wood chopping, and 4 wheeling. So I came home to a total wipeout! Such is life... They had a great day, all kiddos got along beautifully, and he didn't ask how much money I spent! Perfect!

A Compliment..I Think?

 

 

 

 

This picture just cracks me up and has nothing to do with anything other than I relate 110%!  Sidebar.

 

I was at Star$ today getting a nog latte (first one of the season..yum) and this lady came up behind me in line.  I immediately recognized her as the mom of a kid I went to HS with who graduated the year after me.  I said, "Hello" and she did a double take and then stumbled through a, "Hello?!?" as she tried to place me.  I asked how she was and she kept saying, "You look so different..." 

 

After hearing her tell me I look so different 3 times, I jokingly said, "Well I'm old!"  To which she responded..."Do you remember _________ (insert name of a girl from our HS), she was really homely in HS and now she's beautiful.  You remind me of her!" 

 

Speechless.  Nada. How do you respond?  I know she was giving me the most GIANT backhanded compliment without realizing it was a total diss.  Darn it...I thought I looked pretty cute in my Doc Martin's and cheer leading skirts. 

 

But apparently I look hot now!  Sizzle.

 

She then went on to ask what I was doing now and I told her I had been a teacher for 8 years and now I'm a school counselor.  "WHAT?  You are?"  Total dismay.  I grabbed my latte and headed out the door; cutting my losses before there was no self esteem left in me.

 

TGIF!

 

 

Hello Hal!

In 2008, a year after Finny was born I decided to run a 1/2 marathon...which made no sense because I was not a runner...I was the kid who skipped school on the day we ran the mile for the Presidential Fitness Challenge...looking back on my decision to run that 1/2 marathon I think it was fueled mainly by my desire to get back in shape after having 2 babies pretty close together and to challenge myself (because Husband totally chuckled at the idea when I mentioned it to him).  The really cool part of the entire experience is my mom did it with me...and that was awesome...she's so kick ass! 

 

Anywhoo's...in order to prepare for the 1/2 marathon I enlisted the help of my trusty friend Google and found Hal Higdon's web page of running plans.  I printed off the novice 1/2 marathon (nothing lower than novice existed despite the fact that I was about 5 pegs below novice) and we set out running to the plan.  In November we ran the 1/2 marathon and it was amazing!  My goal was to finish without walking and I did it! 

 

After that I did a few more runs, a couple sprint triathlons, etc. and then I hung up the old work out gear and returned to my favorite past time of drinking wine and reading People magazine...dabbbling in exercise now and then...

 

Until this past week when I was feeling so stressed out and uptight about work that even hilarious text messages from my gal pal's wasn't making me smile...the new season of RHOBH didn't even spark a tiny fire of joy in me...and I decided I needed to do something for myself to make me feel better.  So back to old Hal I went, printed off the 1/2 marathon training guide and began running. 

 

I'm already feeling a lot happier, I'm sleeping better, I have more energy, and I'm relaxed.  I've been looking at runs but the weather gets pretty bad around here soon and there aren't a lot of options.  I'm going to enlist the help of my super SIL and have a two person 10k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning...as for the 1/2 marathon, I have a small idea of what run I'm going to do early next year but in the mean time I'm just glad I'm doing something that makes me feel a bit more balanced...because it's only Nov. and mama's losing her marbles.

 

Making A List...

Last year at this time I had 90% of my holiday shopping done and I felt great...this year I have 0% done and I'm starting to panic!  The holiday season is always accompanied by a sense of urgency that begins the first time I see some sort of Christmas decoration set up in a store.  I swear that The Wal-Mart had X-mas up before Halloween, which has increased my panic/annoyance about my lack of holiday preparedness!  And then some house down the street put up one of those giant plastic yard snow globes with Santa Claus inside it...right next to their blow up lawn Turkey!  Classy!

So I've made my holiday shopping list, figured out exactly who needs/wants what, and where I'll be purchasing said items.  When you live in O-Town, holiday shopping isn't as simple as a Saturday running around to various stores...we have 1 store and I get a headache going inside it..TWM (The Wal-Mart).  So I started checking some items off my list via online shopping, am taking a girlfriends X-Mas shopping trip this upcoming weekend, and will attempt to get the rest of the small stuff done here and there...The kidlet's made their Santa List (insert eye roll from TJ) and it's all fairly predictable...dolls/Barbies/coloring stuff for Finny; WWE, Spy car for Beau; Ipod touch and XBox games for TJ.  Thankfully Beau and Finny have no clue their items cost 1/3 the price of their brother's...and I'm not sure what we'll do when all three of them are done with toys.  Waaaaaah.

As I get wrapped up and consumed by this fiasco I always try and remind myself what the holiday season is really about...and though it helps calm my manic mind, it doesn't totally erase the need I have to get everything done before the last minute. 50 days and counting...

This is not my neighbor's house...but looks equally as tacky!

Gushing!

TJ and Husband before the last road trip of the football season!

 

Definition

Husband Gusher: A wife who annoyingly brags endlessly about how great her husband is.

 

I'm not normally a husband gusher...in fact I can usually be his harshest critic, but it hit me today as I watched Husband depart on the bus for the last game of the year how PROUD I am of him!  In the last year he has done so much in terms of accomplishing goals for himself and he deserves some bragging!!!!

 

Top Ten Reasons Why I'm Gushing:

1.  He is, hands down, the hardest worker I know and never...ever complains

2.  He set a goal to get his master's and be a teacher and did it without a grumble..and in record time

3.  He doesn't let anyone drag him down...for as long as I've known him Husband doesn't care what anyone thinks of him because he knows himself and stands firm in his convictions

4.  He minds his own business and never gets worried or wrapped up in what other people are doing,thinking, or saying

5.  He cuddles with me on the couch and never complains about watching "my" shows

6.  He is my equal partner in parenting...from bedtime to ponytails..laundry and homework he is an amazingly devoted dad

7.  He is fun to be around!  Not all wives would pick their hubs to hang out with but we genuinely have fun together!

8.  He always makes me feel special and beautiful, even when I'm grossed out in sweats and ratty shirts

9.  He always makes me smile when I'm trying to argue with him

10.  He makes me a way better person!

 

 

 

 

Quantity...Not Quality!

Thursday night during the season is Team Dinner which includes husband grilling burgers and hot dogs on the most disgusting grill he keeps stored in the equally disgusting locker room..but the last few years I've done spaghetti at our house for the final team dinner of the year.

The boys are very polite and thankful and its good practice for my future years of having teenagers.

There is no way to make delicious spaghetti for 35 people...and between Pumpkin and myself we boiled enough noodles to feed 5 football teams. Leftovers anyone?