Sick and Tired...

Of having sick and tired kids! We are fighting a virus or the flu at our house and it is nasty - the only illness it compares to is the RSV we had last winter but I think the fevers are worse this time. The boys don't feel like doing much other than watching t.v. and hanging out in the backyard a little bit and we are trying to be considerate of other people and stay at home but after 3 days of it I'm ready to get out! We will certainly be having a Sonic drive through date tomorrow just for a change of scenery! Carter started his fever on Sunday and it is finally a little lower today - maybe tomorrow it will be gone but Lincoln's (who is refusing to take his medicine) is really bad today. Fever please go away, mommy wants to go to Dallas on Saturday!

We had a good weekend & I guess this is why we picked up some cooties as Sean calls them and even though I was a bit obnoxious with the Purell we still got sick - go figure. I guess either the pumpkin patch or the fair are places that have lots of germs, likely both of them! The boys enjoyed our pumpkin patch trip on Saturday - the drive of an hour was a little longer than they would have liked but I saw parts of OKC that I hadn't ever seen so it was worth it, and unlike the patch we usually visit they got to actually pick their pumpkins this year and cut them. The liked the duck water race where you pump water to make your duck go fastest down the guttering like stuff and riding on the tire horses the best. We also checked out the fair on Sunday and saw some animals and walked through a few different exhibit type things - all of the hour and a half that we could stand as it was getting hot! We also had salt water taffy which was a delight for me and I think a first for all of the boys - including Sean.

That is about all from our house, not much new when you are stuck inside being sick. We have had many visits from the neighbors cat, Ms. Kitty which is keeping us entertained - yep we are in need of some entertainment!

Hogan Happenings

It is fall - yippee, Amen, welcome fall, welcome velour tracksuit days! It was about 60 this morning so we packed up to enjoy a lovely morning at the zoo. It was not only quiet but it was crisp and lovely there. We visited some of our favorite animals and nearly got peed on by one of the Rhinos (thankfully there was a splash guard of sorts, I'm not sure what I would have done had we gotten wet and it was SO close). After a stop at McDonald's (yes, I'm weak and gave in) they boys fell asleep in the car and I'm getting "work" done!

Carter and I had another big date this week and went to see Disney on Ice - that night I would have told you it was amazing and great but paying for it the next day with a tired little man I was reconsidering its worthiness of our time! He enjoyed it and seemed very fascinated by the characters being there "in person". This year it included Cars, Lion King, Little Mermaid & Tinker belle - lots of fun - he told Lincoln when he gets 4 he can go too (only after selling staying home with daddy to Linc - you get to stay home and have some special time with daddy while I go do something fun with mommy -I hear myself a little too often in his words!). Anyway, he chose to get a Lightening McQueen Car over the light up twirly thing that I was pushing (only because I had one similar when I was little) but it was actually cheaper than the light deal - Disney certainly has an amazing cash cow with Disney on Ice and I spent way more money that I'd intended to but it is making memories - right?

Carter has also been getting some golf lessons from his daddy which goes very well until Lincoln gets a hold of a toddler sized regular club and then the panic begins! We also just got our new battery for the hot wheels and the boys are enjoying going "wicked fast" in it around the driveway. Tomorrow is Mommy's day off - yippee, so many choices which one to choose?

My 100th Post!

I noticed that today is my 100th post - not too bad for about 15 months or so. I think we are finding our fall groove, it sure is a different schedule with school on 2 days, can't imagine what it will be like when we go 4 or 5 next year! We are trying to keep things kind of low-key on the days after school days because the boys are just more tired than normal.

We hit the Zoo this weekend and rode the tram - very exciting for the boys, not so much for me but I'll happily do it for them. Carter and I also had a little date lunch on Sunday - Sean wasn't in the mood for having lunch out and I was fearful we'd be inside all day so off we went, it is amazing how wonderful he was all by himself - he ate and we had nice conversation.

As our pictures show we've had lots of rain - it has been cool too but I love 70's-80's so I won't complain. It has also given the boys the opportunity to use their rain gauge, however, I can't really give an exact measurement from day to day since they want to dump it - a) before I can see it and b) every time there is a droplet of rain in it - so I'd tell Sean - we got 1 inch from the last time they emptied it, I guess it works and they are starting to pay attention to the numbers on it when I get to it quick enough.

The boys geared up for the Bears vs. Packers game on Sunday night - Lincoln didn't want to take off his t-shirt that was on over his jammies but Sean was able to convince him it might have been too hot. Carter was not pleased to wake up and find out that they'd lost and that Mimi's "Stinky" Packers had won, after a short conversation on that I decided I wouldn't bring it up again!

I tried to put some 4T jeans on Carter this morning - what was I thinking when I bought a normal cut pair of jeans for him - they are super cute and from Gymboree but I'm thinking that my skinny little men might never be able to wear them, although they have the adjustable waist they need an adjustable butt - he needs at least another 7 pound to even start to fill that out!

I had too many t.v. tears last night between the poor lady who lost her family on The Biggest Loser (who I'll be rooting for all year, I think) and Patrick Swayze's last interview I had some serious tears - between that and The Time Traveler's Wife I think I've had my crying quota!

Carter is so proud of himself when he helps push Lincoln on the swing

Lincoln's first day of school

More fun with the kid's shaving cream

Carter's very own Handy Manny tool belt & gloves!

Dinner at the picnic table - thanks to daddy, Grandpa & Papa for putting it all together

Eating apples instead of fishing!

Bass Pro Shop adventure - what cheap entertainment!

We've had yet another round of birthday fun - Mimi and Papa visited last weekend and as you might guess I've been busy so I haven't gotten the blog updated. The boys finished their 2nd week of school this week and did pretty well, Lincoln still has some tears (on and off, his note says) but I know he'll be fine and get used to being at school. Carter's teachers are just awesome this year - I'm sure that it helps that we see them more than his teachers in the past but they are very reassuring of how well he is doing at school which helps me a lot! I cleaned cupboards yesterday - all alone, it was FABULOUS! I know, cupboards? Yes, cupboards - now I wouldn't mind anyone checking out the laundry room cupboards! The boys are also really tired after a day at school and have been taking some decent naps so I think our new schedule is going to work for us!

Sean and my dad finished the details of the swing set (or tree house as Carter calls it) last weekend so we are fully up and running with it - now they can have snacks outside on the little picnic table (Sean even added an extra board so that Lincoln couldn't kick Carter while eating!). We also did some fishing last weekend and took a few walks around the pond and made a trip to Bass Pro Shop - what a good, cheap thing to entertain my boys - they love to crawl on all that stuff and pretend to drive and had fun looking at the fish - guess it is time to go back to the Zoo we haven't been in a while as we were avoiding the warm weather. The boys also got a rain gauge from GG'Ma and Don and have enjoyed checking it - we had a half inch last night and I didn't even have to call and ask Sean how much rain we got - it was great!

Sean and I went to see Jerry Seinfeld last night - it was great! The boys stayed with Meghan without tears and off we went - woohoo - we've got to do that more often. Anyway Seinfeld was very funny - the whole cast from the show will be on Curb Your Enthusiasm this year and I am feeling serious guilt about taking HBO away from Sean! Maybe we will have it before it premieres in a few weeks. We are going to take it easy this weekend and hope to watch the Hawks go down to the Clones tomorrow - since UNI didn't get it done last weekend we are SO hopeful that ISU will! I won't make any comments on the other game this weekend since as my dad said - either my mom or my husband will have heartache about it on Monday morning - not sure which is worse living with the disappointed or having to talk to the disappointed on the phone when your husband's team has defeated hers? Guess time will tell.

A Big Day for the Big Boy!

What a big day Carter had - not only did he turn 4, he also started preschool today. He was really excited about school until we got there and then had a few sad moments - he said "it was really good, but when you left I missed you!" He had some funny comments, on our way to school he was concerned about the fact that some of his friends wouldn't know that he was 4 already. He was also concerned about which of his friends from last year would be there. After school he kept talking about his friend, Zach, from last year whom he'd never mentioned - anyway they played alligators when the were supposed to be resting (guess there won't be any resting this year, either) and he also said that Zach's cubbie is next to his. He was upset because we took cupcakes for his birthday and one boy said that they "were stinky" (they were orange flavored) and asked him if he brought them because they "were stinky" - I kind of doubt he was trying to hurt C's feelings but he did! He was so cute standing in line for the carpool with his little birthday crown on, he couldn't recall his teachers names' but was super pleased that they'd given him some candy for his birthday!

We came home and played some - mommy washing the car and Carter spraying her - I was in a mood by the time Sean came home but got a little breather and felt better. Carter requested fried ham and rolls for dinner so that is what we had - with some veggies for the big people, fruit for the little ones. He also asked daddy to take him fishing after dinner and Sean's response was something I've never heard before - "whatever makes you happy, Carter" so a fishin' we went. They got about 4 fish - I swear the fish in our pond are smart, however, and often get the food before they get reeled in! I made some cupcakes so Carter could have a little cake today - not that he cared a bit but I hated the thought of no cake on his birthday - they didn't really eat it but did take time to sneak the icing off the cupcakes!