Mirror, Mirror on the wall...

Can you tell whos who? (and no fair going by my hairstyle!! ;)

Jaedon, Owen and Seth is last. I love these pics.

the Golden boy

I never had heard of "golden birthdays" until I married into the Howells family. So for those of you who may also have no idea what I'm talking about - a golden birthday is when you turn the age of your birthdate. This year both Jaedon and Brad had their goldens. I totally missed mine at the age of 10 (didn't know what I was missing I guess! ;) So Brad turned 29 on Monday-

We had the Gurks over on Saturday for some tacos and applecrisp (yumm!) The VERY high quality (dollar store) golden candles I got melted as soon as I put them in the crisp... so no, those are NOT pretzels on top ;)

Every year I ask Brad what he wants for his bday and every year it's the same (more or less) Games, books or music. It's probably been that way since he turned 11. So I got him another Wii game- Mario Kart and he got a second wheel- so GUESS what he and Jaedon have been having way too much fun doing lately. Ok- I'll admit it - it is pretty fun ;)

On Monday he came home feeling kinda sick so we celebrated with Theraflu, a candlelight dinner (which the boys were entirely too anxious to finish so they could blow out the candles ;) some Mario Kart, coffee and ice cream sundaes. I love birthdays!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

Two little miracles...

Happy Birthday to my two sweet nephews!!

Speaking of adorable...

Need I say more? ;)

Where did it go?

We've had a busy but not all that eventful September - if that makes any sense.
We've kinda got ourselves into our routine now - give or take ;) We even survived our first sick day this past wednesday. Let's just say- I think I rather enjoy Jaedon being in Kindergarten as a whole. ;)

Brad and Jaedon were playing Mancala and Seth wanted to play- of course. Frankly, I don't even get that game but whatever...
I think Seth is enjoying Owen a bit more now that he is more durable ;) Owen just LOVES anybody looking at him or talking to him so Seth thinks it's a hit when he talks with "NoNen".
He's going to be 4 months old next week!! I can hardly believe it! And, ok, so I'm a BIT biased but I think he's just ADORABLE!

We have a busy weekend ahead full of a Luau at school tonight, a band competition and birthday celebration on Saturday (Brad's bday is Monday) and a reunion in St. Joseph on Sunday. Stay tuned for more pics soon!

So what are some of your favorite Fall adventures?

pooey...

Well, just FYI- I didn't loose ANY extra pounds this week! Isn't that stinky!?? I am back to pre-Owen weight (yay) and hopefully it'll come off eventually. I think my 30 by 30 (30 lbs by my 30th bday in Nov) is not so realistic tho ;)
thanks for checking!

An update

So it seems like it's been awhile since I've written just some basic updates for you (Mom and Dad ;). Here ya go...

Owen Malachi- pushing 4 months old already?!?!!! I had to pack away his 0-3 month clothes yesterday and wash all the 3-6 month stuff. It was a bit weird b/c Seth did not wear a lot of Jaedon's 3-6 mon. clothes b/c of the season difference. Owen, however will be able to wear it - and with the similarities between Jaedon as a baby and Owen, it's going to be fun to see some of these sweaters and such being worn again.... I feel another "whos' who" post in the future ;)

Anywho- he's growing like crazy. I started giving him a bit of formula at night and he's lovin' his rice cereal (what's not to love right? =P ) I feel like I can just keep staring at him and SEE him change.

I think tonight we are going to move him out of his bassinet...*sigh*. Since he's still getting up at 5 am to eat he'll still stay in our room upstairs (the nursery is on the main floor) but there's just SOMETHING about them leaving the bassinet that is a bit sad.

He is a seriously happy baby- giggly and smiley and such a joy to have!

Mr. Independence IS ME-

Oh Seth, Seth, Seth! I love 2 year olds -(if they're mine ;) He is... a very creative blend of fun and frustration! (nicely put eh?) I am really enjoying the one on one time we have in the morning while Jaedon is at school. It's been fun for me to revisit the alphabet and read some stories that haven't been read in awhile. He's gabbing a LOT (altho a lot of it is still up for translation via the Mommy and Daddy dictionary). This picture of him is a bit deceiving. I'm not full blown "potty training" - but he is starting to show more interest. *disclaimer- potty story approaching* Twice yesterday he told me he had to "go rahrree" - which we hurried off to do only to discover he had JUST gone in his diaper. Oh! and since we're celebrating all thing poo- ;) he sat down on the potty last night and peed...well, NEAR the potty! ;) Does that count? Absolutely!

He also has decided that naps are optional as of late...much to my chagrin. He does stay in his room for "rest time" (altho I hear him banging around in there the whole time) and will nap now and then but when he DOESN'T nap he goes to bed quicker at nights. (Like last night he fell asleep at 6:30 and slept until 8! ) Sooo... no naps are kindof nice since Jaedon goes to bed earlier these days as well... altho he's such a grouch in the evenings, I'd rather have him happy and up later!

So that's Seth- he's two and very good at it. Actually, Thursday we will "celebrate" his 2 and a HALF b-day!

My Kindergartner:
Jaedon seems to be really enjoying school. He was chosen to be "Star Student" for this week which means he got to fill out special stars that answered questions about himself. For example: "What is your future goals" (goals? really?!) Anyway, he told me to write that he 1. wanted to be a music teacher like his Dad and 2. he wanted to be able to light matches, "when I'm older." Noble. I took my little parade of men in the school today to see Jaedon's bulletin board. The baby picture up there is actually Owen and it was Jaedon's "O" object to take in to school this week. (the teacher didn't understand when Jaedon tried to explain it to her) Kinda funny.

He is very contentious is becoming very...well, first born! =) He knows all the rules of his class (and his specials) and if you ask he'll be more than willing to share who broke what rule and what their consequence was. oye.

It's a challenge at times to find out exactly what is going on in his day- I'm learning what types of questions to ask to get him talking!

I am enjoying our reading time that we do each day after Seth goes down for his "nap". I found one of the Illustrated Classic books at a goodwill for something like $.29- it was Alice in Wonderland- so I thought we'd try it. It's an easy read (maybe 100 pages but short chapters. I think they advertise them for 8-10 year olds). So okay we plowed thru Alice- has anyone else read that? WeIrD!!! But it was still fun to read together (I read mostly- he's usually just wanting to listen altho once and awhile he'll chime in and read a page). So I found 10 more books on ebay (for $10!). That should keep us busy for awhile! We're reading the story of Hans Brinker right now - never heard of him before but it's a neat story. We also have Robin Hood, Wizard of Oz, Call of the Wild, Red Badge of Courage - I don't remember them all but it's been a fun time to look forward to.

I have been contemplating exercise, eyecream and the eternal - lettme explain...
Exercise: ahh yes... hand in hand with a weigh loss goal - or so it would seem. Which, by the way, I found a blog about the South Beach Diet with lots of new recipes that I'm geeked about...http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/ I just made some yummy, flourless and sugarfree peanut butter cookies and mini egg-muffins. I really do enjoy eating this way 1. for the results! and 2. I feel like I'm cooking well for my family. The only seriously downside is how EXPENSIVE it is to eat healthy...why is that anyway?
Ok... I digress...Exercise. I like to exercise- I just FORGET about doing it! It's not a habit (other than walking with the kids which - when you mosey with a toddler anxious to explore every fallen leaf, twig and cigarette butt- can hardly qualify as exercise!) However, as my eyecream contemplation explanation comes to be- I've realized that as my 30th (gulp) bday approaches, exercise really needs to become MUCH more part of my life than just the occasional thing to do. That and after the third baby...let's just say it's NEEDING to become more of a habit ;)
So eyecream...yeah...the big 3-0 is making me feel like an adult so maybe I should start investing (which is my word for anything over $5) in skin care products! Maybe more than Covergirl, less than salons - any suggestions?

More importantly, I've started a new bible study which I am really excited to get into. I've enjoyed the study already but am anxious to see where it's going. It's the Beth Moore study called A Woman's Heart, God's dwelling place. We meet twice a month and have quite a bit of homework to do our own (which I am loving as long as I get up before the boys!) Beth is a dynamic speaker but she's passionate about getting YOU (the participant) into the word for yourself.


So that's our update. Ok, so I didn't post anything about Brad. Hmm... I'll let him do that on his own (yeah right ;)
Thanks for reading!

Week 2 weigh in...

Ok- I promise I won't bore everyone (all 2 of you who read this...) with continual weigh updates....BUT I was excited that one day short of 2 weeks (I've started the second Phase today) I've lost 11 pounds!
I told Brad we need to celebrate-- just not with indulging in pizza or ice cream ;) (altho that sure sounds good!)

Makes you wanna salute-

In Kindergarten there are jobs to do each day. Jaedon informed me that his job on Monday is to be the flag holder. I asked him if they said the pledge (for some reason I thought they stopped doing that or something!). Here's is Jaedon's pledge of Allegiance:
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the Americas states of America and to the repolike for which it stands. One nations, under God, indivikable with jukstise and america for all. Please have a seat."

Thank you, Auntie J ;)