This is what happens...

when I am away from the house for long periods of time! So glad they are at least getting a healthy meal!

Da' Bears!

Papa came to town late Saturday night....after going to the NIU/Illinois game in Champaign...just to go to the Bears game on Sunday with me at Cowboys Stadium!! Well, I suppose he wanted to see the boys too!:) We had amazing seats in the Club Section...thanks to Jon's boss! We had a got to hang out at the full bar before the game and we were pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the game. My Dad and I were both physically and mentally stressed by the end of the game....I suppose we are related!:)

Luke's First Soccer Gamre

Luke had his first game on Saturday.....he loved it for 3/4 of the game and then was DONE! This was partly because it was at 3PM and he was tired from a long day. He looked too darn cute and it is so fun to see these little guys playing! He was annoyed his shinguards kept falling down, so Mommy got him some socks for this week and some tiny little cleats(he was mad he was wearing running shoes and Evan gets cleats:)).

Evan scored his first goal of the year on Saturday at his game. I was running in a race so I didn't get a picture, but I am very proud of him!

Really?

I watch the Bears game and find myself on the verge of stroke and this is Luke and Jon at the end of the game...

And they say women are moddy people...

I am sure in the crevices of his thoughts my husband tells himself frequently that I am moody, high maintenance and have my own agenda frequently that I don't let him in on.

Some of that t is true....though in Texas I am about as far from high maintenance as you can get.;).

However ,I find it mildly amusing that his Monday mood now depends on: if Ohio State won, if the Bengals won, how the Reds are doing in pennant race, how he is doing in his fantasy leagues, how work is going and of course what I am serving for dinner(fish tonight, so he was not exactly thrilled).

Just saying...

Evan's First Soccer Game

Evan had his first game over the weekend....at 8Am on Saturday morning. Jon was less than thrilled that we were up at dawn to get ready for a 5 year old soccer game, but this is from the guy who wants more kids to transport here and there.

His team is REALLY good and I had forgotten that Catholic School parents( I had 2 so I can speak from experience;)) are very competitive early on about sports....okay, maybe just my Dad. So, I am looking into getting Evan some skill coaching....no, I am not kidding. If you think I am being uber competitive, I am on the tame side. It doesn't help that the high school that all these kids will be going to, won the state championship in soccer last year. I really love his coach, so as good as the kids are, he really focuses on being good sports and teammates.

He has another game this weekend....at 8AM again....I will be running a race so Jon will be in charge.

Luke has his first game Saturday afternoon....should be cute to watch:).

To Infinity and Beyond!

Luke received a package addressed to:

Captain Underpants

Luke Hutcheson

It was from Grandma and Papa. Grandma always promises special something when the boys finish potty training. Evan got a few Thomas cars for his train when he finished potty training and Grandma found Luke these awesome Buzz LightYear pajamas! Luke is all about Toy Story and Star Wars right now so this made his whole universe better. We got them Thursday and he has worn them to bed every.single.day since.

He requires us to address him as "Buzz" when he is wearing them.

By the way, yes that is a pink pacifier in his mouth. And no, I feel no shame. He wont be three till November and he has potty trained and moved to a big bed in the last month, so the kid still gets his binks to sleep. It looks a bit silly, but it creates some peace and harmony in my universe and really, there isn't much of it so I will take what I can get.

Luke's First Day of School

Okay, I have these pictures backwards. The first is the wake-up for school pic, the breakfast pic, the I am excited for school pic and finally the I don't want to go to school pic and this is the best you are going to get.

Luke had a love-hate relationship with school . He loves it when he is there, but hates when I drop him off. Sometimes there are tears, but mostly lots of protesting and pouting.

I didn't do a great job of pics, but in my defense this was the day that I woke up to a torrential rain...in my kitchen. The roof was leaking and there was a huge puddle of water in the middle of my kitchen.

Talk about wanting a do-over for the day!

Luke had a great day....was a little afraid of sitting on the mini preschool potty, but we have since overcome that fear. Basically, I bribed him with copious amounts of treats. Mommying 101 is not always pretty, but it gets the job done.

His teacher is Ms. Kelly, the same one from this summer, and he really does like her and all his classmates....one of his favorite girls, Sarah is in his class so that makes his life very happy!:)

You know you are raising a Texas football fan when...

they wake up in the morning on a Friday and ask about the football game that night! Seriously, we picked the right state to live in to be rabid football fans!

Sweet Lukey!

Luke and I have had lots of together time this week with Evan in school and being very close together while we are potty training.

He is pretty much done so we went in search of a Star Wars shirt for a mini-celebratory gift. We ended up at Old Navy and found several shirts. Luke was so excited he wanted to wear the shirt out of the store....really, he is in full on Star Wars obsession.

When we checked out the cashier was asking him if he was going to school and we told him that he was starting next week. He asked Luke if he was excited and Luke replied, "A little bit, but not really." When he was asked by the cashier why he wasn't excited, he said, "Because I like being with my Mama, she is my favorite person".

I mean, how can a girl not just melt on the spot...occasionally it is worth all the toils:)!

Food for Thought...

Luke and I have been hanging around the house a lot this week....he has a cold and he is potty training. Thursday is started to actually cool down so I got overzealous and did some baking. I made a few loaves of banana bread, out.of this.world chocolate chip cookies and pasta fagioli in the crock pot. My dear Auntie Lu recommended an Italian Slow Cooker cookbook and it has been fabulous!!! The chocolate chip cookies are from Dorie Greenspans Baking cookbook (also a Lu recommendation). I love the layout of the book and how every recipe is like a little story....cannot wait to use this often as the oven comes back into use after semi-retirement this summer;).

The fagioli was outstanding...one of the best I have had. It was so cheap and it was very well received by my family..even the husband who grumbles over the lack of meat.

However, I do think I am going to right a book called, "How To Know You Are NOT Married to an Italian". How does someone not know what pasta fagioli is? Really?