Our views

Here are some exterior pictures of our house. I was going to take some inside pictures today, but I realized there were toys EVERYWHERE. It doesn't look so nice right now. Maybe I'll take some after the boys go to bed, so there is no one that can mess it up. Well, Eric can....
This picture is looking left from our house. On the right is the entrance to the neighborhood, to the left is the back part of the neighborhood. Moose was so good at staying in his yard for the first month. He is now becoming a little too free. You can see him here in the road. We just bought an underground fence, now we just have to put it in.

This is looking right from our house to the cul-de-sac. There are two empty lots there. I hope no one builds soon, because it's nice having the trees there.

And this is looking straight out from our house to Pine Lake. We have a great view. Elaine and Paul's house is right across from us, and there is a lot on the left side of the picture. Someone owns it, but the rumor is that he won't be building for a long time. Even if someone does, it shouldn't obstruct our view at all.

I will try to take some inside pictures soon. We haven't done any painting, so every wall is still white. That will probably be our winter project!

Mommy's Little Helper

When Dane is in preschool, Abel and I can usually get a lot of things done around the house. He likes to follow me around and help me do things. On Monday, I decided to empty out the shredder. He wanted to help. Do I have to say more?

He had a lot of fun, but it wasn't as fun to clean up!

The Amazing Abel

Well, here is our Amazing Abel in action. He climbs on everything and everywhere. Seriously, everything and everywhere. This kid has no fear. He will jump off anything and try to land in your arms, even if you are too far away. He just has faith that you are going to move closer and catch him. This kid will be going on all the thrill rides with Daddy...

We have a ledge around all the walls in our lower level. If he can find a way up there, he loves to sit. If there isn't an easy way, he will move something so he can get there. He'll even just climb up the bookcase, even if it wobbles. Amazing.

He loves to be naked, especially after his bath. He HATES it when I capture him and get him dressed. This is his favorite hideout....

What a stinker!

Viva Las Vegas!

About two weeks ago, Eric asked me one night "How about you and I go somewhere for a few days?". This came out of the blue - and I loved the idea, and I loved him for coming up with it! We kicked around ideas for a few different places, like Florida, Sedona, AZ - but settled on Las Vegas.

We have been there two times before, and enjoyed every minute of it. Eric said his is kind of anti-Florida, and that's ok. I can't see ourselves sitting on the beach for three days. We love walking around Vegas and seeing everything there is to see.

After checking with my Mom and Nikki, I told him that we could probably work something out for the boys. I happened to be at Nikki's that night (she was out of town), and the next morning when I checked my email, there was a confirmation for our flight and hotel. I have to admit, I was a little upset at first, because we had talked about going Thur-Sun, and the days booked were Wed-Sat. The Thur-Sun scenario would've worked out a little better for my Mom to watch the boys, but I think we can work it out. I quickly got over it when I saw that we were staying at Mandalay Bay! We have never stayed there, but when we see it and walk through it, we wish we had. It will be a great trip, and a nice little getaway after these busy months of moving and getting settled (that's for you, Nikki).

We are excited to go and we are looking at different shows that we could go see. Right now, Rodney Carrington is in the lead...

On another note, I just realized how close Christmas is getting, and I need to start making a list and shopping!

BOO!

Last week, we went shopping at Wal-Mart, and the boys had a great time in the Halloween section. I think they could've played there all day...

They picked out some masks that were $1 - I just had to say yes...

...and they each got a pirate skeleton. Dane likes to make his dance, so I've had to glue the leg back on....

Boo-lated Birthday

Dane's boolated birthday party was a success! We had great fall weather (colder than it has been, but very sunny) and a great turnout! Unfortunately, my Mom has most of the pictures on her camera. I was busy trying to run the party, so I didn't get a chance to get many pictures. Eric (aka Wolverine) got a few shots, and was trying to get some on video too. When I get the pictures from my Mom, I'll get those on here too!

The Jorgensens were going to all be superheroes, but only two actually made it. I was going to be WonderWoman, but when I got the costume, I decided it was not appropriate for a 3 year olds party. I could've tweaked it a little, but some of the red dye had rubbed off on some of the white parts of the costume, so that made my decision to not wear it easy. I was a boring witch, and Abel didn't want anything to do with his costume (his is Robin). Anyway, below is a picture of Wolverine grilling hot dogs....hold your hats...it's awesome. My Mom got a really good shot...can't wait to share that one...

Dane's cake was in the shape of a ghost, and it was made of cupcakes. He really liked it!
Below is a shot of the kids playing Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin. It was a tie between Avary(in the picture) and Dane. That's me in the witch costume. As you can see, Abel was festive in his skull shirt, but no costume!
All the kids got to pick a pumpkin from the "Graveyard" and decorate it. Here is Batman with his!
The Graveyard

These are the balloons that Abel and I got for Dane Saturday morning. He saw them at Meijers last week, and really liked them. We thought we would give him a surprise!

Dancing With the Stars

I admit that I am hooked on this show - I have been since season 1. However, maybe I am a little too much into it. This morning, Dane was coloring and he was saying something to himself, but I couldn't quite understand it. I kept listening - he was saying "Welcome back to Dancing with the Stars". Maybe Mom is watching it too much....

This is the life..

It is such a nice fall day out (a little cold and brisk, but sunny), I decided to pack a lunch and eat outside with the boys. They were having a great time, and Dane said "Mommy, this is the life". I couldn't contain my chuckles! I asked him where he heard that, and he said "Daddy says that". I must be doing something right!

Party Time...Excellent!

This weekend we are having a "boo-lated" birthday party for Dane. We were so busy in August moving, so we had a small celebration with him. We decided to have a costume party for him, and he is SO excited. He is going to be Batman, and Abel is going to be Robin (he didn't have a say in the matter, Dane told us what he was going to be). We aren't quite sure where he got this idea - we don't have any Batman toys or movies - he must've seen it somewhere! He looks absolutley adorable in his costume. Abel isn't very fond of his - I don't know if we'll get him into it tomorrow.

I have been decorating for the party all week, and every day that Eric comes home there is something new. Tonight he came home and said "I didn't think there was anything else that we could decorate with". He was wrong! I have been having a great time with it, and I hope all the kids have fun too. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

Get A Job!

Last week, when the boys and I were having dinner with Nik, Mav, and Maddox, Maverick turned to me and said "Aunt Cassy, when are you going to get a job?". Nikki and I just laughed, and I said the two blonde boys sitting at the table were my job. He just looked at us strange, and said "oh". This is a job, Mav!

Four boys...oh my!

Nikki is off today on a business trip, and I am off to get her boys from school and stay the night at her house. All four boys are very excited to see each other (well, I don't know if Abel actually knows what is going on, but he gets excited when the other ones do!). Dane and Abel are taking naps right now, and when they get up we will go pick up Mav and Maddox from school and head to Augusta. I'm sure they will have a good time together, and hopefully wear themselves out and sleep good! Nikki's got dinner all ready for us, and even the fixings for ice cream sundaes! The boys love that we are so close now.....Nikki and I love it too!

Mr. Paul

We have met quite a few people in the neighborhood, but the one I've talked to the most is Paul from across the street. He is retired, and his wife works at the Plainwell schools. He does stuff around his yard/house all day, and is always waving and smiling at us. He really is a wonderful old man, always just wanting to talk about anything.

Yesterday, the boys and I were outside, and they found a caterpillar in the driveway. They were entertained by it for quite some time, and they even got Paul over here to check it out. He was telling them what their colors meant. We ended up talking in the driveway for about an hour. We figured out that he grew up in the same town my parents did in Aurora, Illinois, went to the same high school as my Dad, among other things. Small world! He later brought over a big bag of apples and pears from their yard. Today he brought me some recipes for them! What a nice guy..

In my post yesterday about my perfect life, I didn't really say anything about Eric. He is the one that has made my life what it is today, so he deserves a lot of credit. We are lucky to have the option of me staying home with the boys, and I am lucky because that's what Eric and I want.

I guess I would just change one thing though....the amount of hours that Eric works. It is particularly bad right now (budget season), which will hopefully be over in the next few weeks. He works long and hard at his job, and there are certainly days that he comes home frustrated. But, this has been such a good job (I think Eric would agree with me), despite the frustration. It seems like he is always getting "kudos" from people at work, and that is one thing that means a lot in the corporate world. Even though it is frustrating at times, there are people that see all the hard work that he is putting in.

All that to say a big THANK YOU to my wonderful husband. I Love You!

One more thing...

One more thing about my shopping excursion....

I had the nerve to try to run into Old Navy after the Halloween store. I knew the kids needed to get home and have lunch, but I just wanted to run in Old Navy to see if they had some shirts for the kids' pictures. I thought I could do it quickly, and I was fairly successful. As I scanned the boys clothes, Dane and Abel were riding on the Old Navy dog. They were being kind of loud, but I could deal with it because they were being good (except for the screams from Abel when it was Dane's turn to ride - a normal occurrence in my life..). I found a few things, then we headed up to checkout. We waited in line a few minutes, and the boys had their hands on everything that they display at the checkouts. Then they saw some things on the top shelf they wanted as I was trying to checkout. Both the boys were climbing on the racks trying to get to them and I was pulling them down. But they can climb quicker. Abel started screaming because I kept getting him down. I tried to quickly scan my card, but the lady said "you have to wait until the end to do that. Besides, you may want to open an Old Navy account today. It only takes 5 minutes". Did she really ask me that? Maybe I didn't hear her correctly over all the screaming. I can only figure that she never had kids, or she would've realized that I wanted to get out of there as quick as possible. Did she think I had 5 seconds to spare, let alone 5 minutes. I know they are trained to ask everyone, but seriously.......

My perfect life....

After reading a blog entry from my friend Katy, I realized that my "perfect life" dreams had come true also. Although it may not be the perfect life that I envisioned years ago, it the perfect life for me now.

At WMU, Katy and I had weekly talks (or daily, depending on how our classes were going) about just wanting to be moms. Why on earth were we spending all this time and energy (and money) on college, when we wanted to be home anyway? We really didn't understand it sometimes. In hindsight, I wouldn't skip college (and I don't think she would either), because I have a good education and a nursing license that I'm sure I will be using in the future. Although, I asked Eric the other day if he wanted me to go back to work after the kids were in school full time. He said, "why, don't you want to?". Without skipping a beat, I said no. I have come to enjoy my time at home, and this household has become my own little business. But, I told him that I wanted to be able to spend an hour cleaning the bathroom, not 5 minutes like it gets now. He didn't have too much to say about that, but I don't think it will take much to convince him. My Mom never worked when we were young, and I loved coming home from school and having her there.

But, there are certainly days when I could use a break. I was at the Halloween store today looking for a costume for myself, and I had the boys with me. The were actually really good for the most part. Dane kept trying to get me to buy a Batgirl costume for myself. He said it was really cool, but it was actually very slutty. Hmmmm.... At the end of the excursion Abel found the jewelry section, and desperately wanted a black Goth leather bracelet with metal spikes on it. He had a meltdown when I pried it out of his little fists. We then headed up to the checkout, and the boys saw some foam tombstones to put in the ground. I decided to get some, and they each had one to carry. That was fine until Abel saw some bigger ones, and decided that he needed those as well. The tombstones went tumbling down like dominoes. Then, I think someone turned up the heat because I was sweating as I was trying to pick them up, while Abel kept knocking them down. Dane was actually being good at this point, because I told him to hold his tombstone and to not move. He listened.

Anyway, there are times like that when I just want 2 hours to myself to do some things. But, I know that sooner than I think, the boys will be off in school and there will be time for me again. These years with them I won't forget, and hopefully they won't either.

My sister does a wonderful job with her boys, while working full time. Donnie works second shift M-F, so she takes care of them every night during the week. She does amazing, and must have great time management skills to get everything done that she does. Sometimes I look at her and think that there is no way I could do that. However, sometimes I think "Well, at least she has 30 minutes every morning and evening driving in the car ALL ALONE". She probably looks at my life and says "Well, at least she has ALL DAY to throw in some laundry instead of 2 hours at night".

All of this just to say that I am living my perfect life right now. I am very happy and content, and I hope that I can make Eric, Dane, and Abel feel that way too. In my little world, things couldn't be any better.