2010-2011 School Year

I can't believe how big my boys are getting. They are growing so fast and so quickly. I think the older I get, the faster time goes by.

Ben & Will's photos were taken by Lifetouch. I'm not a fan of the blue background. I think I will have to see if there's a way we can vote on a change for next year.

I think Ben did pretty good in his photo.

My big boy is so handsome! He looks like his daddy : )



Ben, 8 years old
3rd Grade

Will actually had two pictures taken b/c I asked for re-takes. The first one was terrible. Although Will liked it, which was odd. He thought he looked really good. His eyes are closed. I was actually there helping when this was taken and I know they took about 10. Really? This was the best one?

William, 6 years old
1st take
Kindergarten

I convinced Will to let them do a re-take, so he agreed. This one came out better. I definitely should of cut his hair. And of course, I hate the blue background.


William, 6 years old
2nd take
Kindergarten

Andy's photos were taken by Teddy Bear Portraits. Love, love them! They really spent a lot of time w/each kid in hopes of getting a great shot. I love the gray background and I think Andy's pictures came out super cute.

Added bonus - they give each kid a little brush. Which Andy adored! He was so excited about that brush!


Andy, 3 years old
Preschool

Even though I am a photographer, I still buy their school pictures. I think it's part of their life and I think it's important. And let's be honest - there's no way, I can get them to sit still and smile too.

Thanks GIVING

This Thanksgiving I have so much to be thankful for and I know I am truly blessed. I have an incredible man who loves me, provides for me and our boys, 3 healthy (although a bit crazy) boys, my parents are still in love with each other after 51 years - and for that I am thankful. My life is just as it should be and I couldn't ask for anything more.

We had a Thanksgiving meal last Saturday with David's family. So tomorrow - it will be just me, David and the boys. We won't eat another Thanksgiving meal - we'll probably do something simple. My mom and dad are with my Nanny - as they should be. I am sad not to be with them - but I do understand. My dad hasn't left my Nanny's side - he needs to be with her.

Although I am truly thankful, I am sad today. My Nanny is still in the nursing home on hospice. I want to be thankful and happy today, but my heart is heavy and my mind is weary. I feel bad for being thankful and happy when my grandmother is dying. I pray for Peace and Comfort for her in these last days/weeks (hopefully years) of her life.

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!
From the Wilke's

"We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing; He chastens and hastens His will to make known; The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing, Sing praises to His Name: He forgets not His own."

Andy's Thanksgiving Feast

We had a Thanksgiving party today before school was out for the holidays. We were asked to do a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Since I am room mom - it was my responsibility to collect money, arrange party, get the food, etc. Which I don't mind at all - b/c I like making it fun for the kids.

I decided to do Black Eyed Pea. They actually do a kids version of a Thanksgiving Dinner for $3.99 - which is amazing and was a ton of food for them. Unfortunately, the kids really didn't dig it. I don't think any of them ate the turkey or the stuffing. SO ..... definitely remember for next year - no Thanksgiving Dinner.

We played a game of pin the hat on the turkey. The kids really like that. Big fun!

I missed Andy's turn. He went first. He's sitting down in the brown shirt w/yellow lion on it.

Actually, the little girl taking her turn, he says - is his girlfriend : )

Andy doing his 'party pose' : )

Andy's classmates and his two awesome teachers

Mrs. Lisa & Mrs. Tammi. Love them! Such great teachers!

Andy eating his HUGE Thanksgiving Meal.

I think all he ate was the mac-n-cheese.

The whole class enjoying their meal together, our teachers and a few parents. We have got a great group of parents in our class this year.

The party was alot of fun and the kids enjoyed themselves. It was a great way to start our Holiday w/our friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Nanny ...

I've recently found out that my Nanny (my dad's mother) is very sick. She has pancreatic cancer and a collapsed lung. There are still tests out to determine what caused the collapsed lung (cancer or the fluid they drained from her lung).

I am so overwhelming sad. She is 95 years old and I know that we can't live forever. But I am just so sad b/c I haven't been the greatest granddaughter to her. In the last 10 years (since I got my own famiy) - I haven't visited her much and I am really sad about that. Everytime I saw her I would tell her how much I missed her and would always say "I will come visit more." She would hug and kiss me and tell me to come back soon. I knew she meant it, but I was giving promises I wanted to keep - but never did.

My heart breaks now - that the end is near for her and I haven't been as great to her as I feel I should be and as she was to me. Several years ago, she had a stroke and has been unable to talk clearly. It's very difficult to understand her and then she gets frustrated and it breaks my heart. That's the reason I have stayed away in the last few years. I feel so guilty for not being able to understand her. When really, I just should of gone and just sat w/her.

She has always been the greatest Nanny. I have the greatest memories of her and all she did for me. She was so kind and loving. I wish I would of given that to her in return.

I pray she lives longer - that this isn't the end for her. I pray peace and comfort for her and for her to know how much I truly love her.

This photo was taken at my wedding, January 11, 2003.

Playtime outside = Camera Time

Sometimes - I like to take the camera outside and try and shoot a moving target. Why, you ask? Well - I'm hoping to get one great shot that I can actually hang on my wall or put on my blog.

Did I get anything this time, you ask?

Andy - sat still for half a second. This is the only one almost in focus of him : )

And my neighbors daughter - she smiles for me typically. She likes for me to take photos of her. Or ... at least I hope she does : )

And my sweet girl ....... KUMA!

Not a real successful photographic day - but there usually aren't many when it comes to my kids. However - I will keep trying : )

Happy Day Everyone!

In honor of Veteran's Day and our OPA!

I was going through Ben's papers from school and came across this. Ben never had the honor to meet his OPA (Lt. Col. Robert G. Wilke), but he loves him so much and respects him for what he sacrificed for his family and his country! I think this is a great tribute to him!



My Big Boy ...

I have been sick all weekend with the flu or a virus like the flu and have been in bed most of the weekend. We are out of a few essentials (diapers, eggs, etc) and so I asked David to go to the store and I told him I would get up and take care of the boys. Ben came in my room and said "You can stay in bed mom - I will take care of my brothers." I said "Really? In exchange for what?" He said "Nothing. I know you are sick." I told him thank you and how proud I was of him. So - David left and Will and Andy came into my room. Ben came and got them and said "Boys, Mommuy is off-limits to you. If you need something - ask me. And if you are good - you get a ring pop when daddy comes home."

Sweet boy!

William .....

I always dread this time of year because of the viruses and germs that are going around.  William's got a bad cough and some congestion that isn't getting better. He almost had an attack a week ago on the way to school. And because of that - we are a week into breathing treatments 3x a week for him. He has to take one before school, one during school, and the last before bed.

It's always so tough when we have to give him treatments like this. I don't sleep because I worry about him constantly. He worries because he's now aware of why he needs the treatments and he freaks out when he starts coughing really hard or is having a hard time. If I am busy - he will give himself his treatment.

And on top of that - he's been having stomach issues for probably the past 6 months. We've done every test there is to try and figure it out, but the doctors haven't found an answer. Although - today, I think I found it. I think (and of course, I'm not a doctor), it's anxiety induced? Is that possible? Of course - I'll do a ton of research to see if I can find anything to back up my motherly intuition. The reason I think this, is because Ben missed school today. He's not feeling well. And with that, means Will had to go to school "alone". He was so upset, so worried, so scared about going "alone" that his stomach started hurting him pretty bad. I got him to calm down and he started feeling somewhat better.

I really just disklike this time of year for sickness. I spend most of my time worrying about Will because I'm so scared he's going to have an attack and I won't be able to control it with the medication. The doctors have said he's getting better - he's hopefully growing out of it. And last winter, was actually not too bad - but it's barely November and he's already had an attack (almost). I hope that's not what's in store for us to come.

I pray for my sweet boy that his lungs will get stronger and that he will outgrow this forever. In the meantime - we will start washing hands alot more than we already do and be more cautious about staying healthy.

Load of CANDY!

We did the trick-or-treating and boy was that fun. The boys LOVED it! Now ..... we are left w/buckets and buckets of candy. What to do with it? Our school is having a carnival this weekend and they are taking candy donations. So - we'll give it to them. But how do we get the boys to relinguish all that candy? It's simple .... well - at least I hope it is.

I told the boys they could each pick 20 pieces of candy to keep. What's magic about 20? I don't know. Maybe b/c I, myself, can eat 5 in one sitting. Ha! Anyways ... so - they pick 20 pieces of candy they want to keep and then they give the rest of it in trade for a treat. This treat can be anything w/a $20 limit.

I told the boys about my deal. Ben was totally into it. After trick-or-treating - he went straight to his room, counted out 20 pieces and gave me the rest. Now - that's my boy! Luckily for him he isn't a candy junkie. What does he want as his treat? Dragon Ball-Z DS Game. The best $20 I ever spent.

Will was reluctant to agree at first. Candy is definitely is drug of choice (sorry for the comparison - couldn't think of anything else). He finally agreed though. He counted out 20, gave me the rest and asked if I would keep it around if he wanted some later. I explained to him that wasn't how the deal worked. He agreed - finally : ) His treat: A Spiderman DS Game. 2 down .... 1 more to go!

Andy isn't quite on board. Although these days he's obsessed with Buzz Lightyear. So - my plan is to take him to the toy section at Target and show him all the cool Buzz Lightyear toys. Dirty trick, I know. But whatever works, right? And I bet soon he will be on board......

So .... hopefully in a few days - I will have all this extra candy out of my house. I love candy too much to have it here.

I am proud of myself for such a great idea to get rid of the candy (patting myself on the back now). Even David (who isn't much into spending money) .... thought it was a good idea - to get rid of the candy. It's either a $20 treat, or a $200 trip to the dentist. Take your pick!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Today, if my grandmother, Loretta "Charlotte" Degloria Hays, was with us - she would be celebrating her birthday. Sadly, she died a few months ago. I know she is in Heaven celebrating with her daughters (my wonderful aunts): Bonnie, Judy, and Eldred.  She and my Aunts will be forever missed!

Happy Birthday Grandma! I love you!

Hall-o-wee-n!

The boys were so excited about going trick-or-treating. They couldn't wait. Our tradition is to trick-or-treat with our neighbors, the Guidry's. It's always fun to go with them. The girls take the boys trick-or-treating and the husbands stay behind to pass out candy.

Here's our neighbor, Dave, and David waiting for the trick-or-treaters. And Will going through the Guidry's stash. They typically start out outside and then move inside and just leave the candy out. They wanted to watch the Rangers game and of course, there was beer to drink : )

Nice garage, huh? We did some remodeling on our house and haven't cleaned up the wood and mess from it  yet. I guess it's time to do that. Except we're about to start working on replacing our fence now. 

Here's our little trick-or-treaters.

Andy - as Buzz Lightyear - of course. He's completely obsessed with him these days.

Will - as a werewolf. He went through probably 5 costumes before he decided to be the werewolf.

Our neighbors son, Jacob - as a zombie. So cute! His mom made it for him.

Ben - as a Ninja. He's not real picky about his costume. He at first wanted to be a Grim Reaper - but chose this from Target.

Buzz Lightyear 

Ninja

Our neighbors always have this "BOO" sign up. So we traditionally take a photo in front of it every year.

Jacob, Will, Ben & Andy

There's a family at the end of the street whose son was dressed as Woody. They asked for a photo w/Buzz. He's so cute and only a few months younger than Andy. So cute!

Andy asked to take a picture (as he always does). He loves using the camera. So we let him take one of David & I. Although a bad picture of me - I am glad he did ..... since it's the only one of me in the evening.



All in all, it was a great evening. The kids got a truck load of candy and really enjoyed themselves. I was really impressed with our neighborhood this year. At least half of the houses passed out candy. So fun for the kids : )

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Some Quirks about the boys...

Ben (8 years, 4 months)

• He loves basketball and loves playing with the neighborhood kids.
• He's not picky about his clothes. He'll wear whatever.
• He has 2 huge pillows and a soft white blanket that he sleeps with.
  
  William (6 years, 3 months)
  
  • He prefers to be called William, not Will.
  • He likes wearing long-sleeve pants and shirts all year round.
  • He loves costumes.
  • His clothes must match and be 'cool'.
  • He likes to always be playing with someone or to play at a neighbors house.
  
  Andy (3 years, 6 months)
  
  
  • He must wear pants (instead of shorts) and they have to have a button. "button pants" he calls them.
  • He loves milk, but only if it's chocolate.
  • He still drinks out of a sippy cup. "baby cup" he calls it.
  • He loves all things Buzz Lightyear
  • He prefers to sleep without a pillow

Creepy Crawlees

Andy had his "Harvest Party" at school today and the theme was Creepy Crawlees. Total Fun! Since I am the room mom - I was in charge of the party. Which was alot of fun getting all the 'party decor' for the classroom to surprise the kids. And the pizza for lunch.

A Creepy Crawlee theme also meant he needed a costume. I mentioned to our wonderful director that Andy would probably wear his Buzz Lightyear costume (because he loves LOVES all things Buzz) and she said "oh - you gotta make something Creepy Crawlee." I guess that's what I get for giving her my Christmas cards every year. She thinks I'm creative. Ha! Well - I took it as a challenge and decided to try and make something. I searched the internet for ideas and came up with an easy costume to make "A Fly."

I got a pair of black pants and a hoodie from Walmart. I got one large sytrofoam ball from Hobby Lobby, cut it in half and painted it red for the eyes. I got white nylon and fabric stiffener to make the wings. I enlisted David to help me. I made the eyes, and he made the wings.

Here's David making a pattern for the wings. You can see the eyes are finished and on the hoodie.

Never any pictures of mommy in action : )

Here's David drying the fabric stiffener and the wings so they'll be nice and stiff.

Well, actually he's drying Will here - but he did dry the wings :)

And here's our little Fly.

Andy loved his costume and was so proud of it. He woke up the morning of his party and said "I'm so excited to wear my fly." It made it all worth it : )

Of course he loved it so much that he wore it all of 10 minutes. Well - at least he got to show it off alittle : )

Cute sign made by the ladies in the office to show off our theme.

I got to the classroom early while the kids were in music so I could decorate. I went with green, black, white and red. I got little bugs in those colors to put on the tables. The kids loved them. It made it so much fun.

Our awesome teachers (Mrs. Lisa and Mrs. Tammi)



The kids eating their pizza. Andy's in the front on the right, in the red shirt : )

I got the Pizza from Cosco. It was $10 for a large pizza and they cooked it. Totally a great deal and yummy pizza!

He loved the buggies :)

and he loved his pizza :)

he was excited to use the plastic knife to cut his pizza. good thing the teachers didn't see that : )

yes, i know ... we do let him cut his food at home w/a knife. It's a kids knife - it's okay.

It was a great party and the kids really enjoyed it. I think the decorations turned out great and the party was a success! We have great mom's in our classroom that love to help out : )

Boys ....

I have wanted to and needed to take photos of the boys for quite sometime. I have lots of frames to fill around the house with updated photos. But as you know - getting 3 kids (especially boys) to cooperate for a photo - is quite a challenge.

I managed to bribe the guys to get them to let me 'try' and take some photos. And even a bribe didn't guarantee me a long attention span. Benjamin would not smile and there was a father and son fishing in the pond next to us and they were much more interested in that instead of having their picture taken. They would give me this cheesy "cheeeezzzzz" while looking at the father/son fishing.

I am not 100% happy with these - but they'll do. They can fill the blog and I'll try again later to fill my wall frames.

Will, Andy and Ben

Ben, Andy and Will

David thought this would be cute. Didn't totally work - but it is cute : )

Andy, Will and Ben

David's arm is in this one. He's holding the light meter. My settings weren't quite adjusted yet - but they were all sitting together - so I snapped the photo. Not great exposure - but all 3 of my boys looking at me : )

Andy, Ben and Will

Andy

Ben

Will

Ben and Andy

Sweet boys!

Will, Ben and Andy
Remember the cheesy "Cheeeezzzzz" I mentioned? Will and Andy have it down : )

Andy

Andy and Ben

Ben
My boy is 8! I can't believe how big he is. I wish for time to slow down .....

I don't like the shadow on this one - but Ben looks sweet : )

Will

Andy

Will

Andy, Will and Ben



I am alittle worried about my Christmas card I will have to soon make. I hope to catch them in a much more cooperative state or it may be bribe time again : )