TTT: Season 3, Episode 47 and 48

1. Tis true. I skipped and entire week of Three Thought Thursday. (gasp.) Granted, last Thursday was Thanksgiving. And we were in Lubbock. I'll be real honest...I wasn't really concerned much with busting out the computer to do a blog post while we were there. I was too busy chatting with family and packing on a few pounds to take home with me. So what would I have written about if I had done last week's post? I'm not even sure. I have a hard enough time thinking back over one week, let alone, two. It most likely would have involved getting lots of last minute orders sent out, trying to pack for our trip, road trips with sixteen (now seventeen) month olds, etc. Oh, there was a trip to see the last Twilight movie somewhere in there too. And with my dear, devoted hubby! I mean, really...how many gals can say that their husband agreed to go see a Twilight movie just his wife wouldn't have to go alone? He's the best. So yeah, two weeks ago was a large conglomeration of real life. Now on to our trip!

2. Thanksgiving 2012 was wonderful! We had a great time in Lubbock. It's always nice to go back; something about driving past those feed-lots on the outskirts of town just says "home." Not the curled-up-with-a-book-under-a-blanket-by-the-fireplace kind of home. Just the yep-this-is-west-Texas-and-that-scent-smells-familiar kind of home. As always, Miss Lora was such a wonderful host. The last time we went to Lubbock, Grant was just six months old so I was still getting up quite a bit throughout the night and honestly sleeping less than I did at home. But this time around, with Grant at sixteen months and sleeping like a champ, going to Lubbock finally felt like a little bit of a vacation for me. Miss Lora makes visits to her house so enjoyable with lots of food, comfort and care, and football watching. That is, football watching curled up under a blanket by the fireplace. 'Cause in Lubbock you can actually use your fireplace unlike Houston where it's almost always never necessary. The boys spent hours running around with the soccer ball in G-ma's backyard. The also spent a fun-filled night going on the Polar Express train ride with G-ma and Papa Jeep. Throughout the four days that we were there, we had plenty of time to catch up with all of Mark's cousins and aunts and uncles, as well as our good friends, Ben and Erin. Plus, we got to spend a morning with just our little family running around on campus--a place we've missed seeing so much. Sure, the eighteen plus hours spent in the car are pretty miserable, but they're well worth it. (And a special thanks to Brian and Cristi for letting us late-night crash at their house on the way there and back!)

3. But back to reality. Ugh. The week after a road trip is never fun. The boys have done just fine and fallen right back in to sync with normal life. It's me who is feeling a little out of control. And I'm most at fault. Because as soon as we got home and half the neighbors on our street already had their Christmas lights up, I immediately got the itch to kick in to full-on Christmas extravaganza mode. The tree is up, the mantle is decorated, all the knick-knacks are on display. And outside, the front door is done but we still have all the lights to go. In the meantime, they're spread out all over our entry way and dining room in various piles of what-goes-where. And upstairs, there are still piles of clothes that never quite made it through the bi-annual transfer of wardrobes. That's what gives me anxiety. Sure, most of my life is organized chaos, but all of this would be disorganized chaos. Can't we just arrive home from our trip and walk in to the pages of a magazine? On a positive note, the boys have been just over the moon excited with all of the Christmas decor making it's grand appearance. And they've been more than happy to take in a viewing or two of their favorite Christmas cartoons so that I can get things done. Now back to decking the halls...hopefully by this time next week the hot mess will be a done deal!

Hittin' the road with this handsome fella! (I guess he's saving that little piece of popcorn for later.)

New Spidey slippers from G-ma

Watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with G-ma on Aunt Cristi's iPad 

Does this not look exactly like Rudy!?! It's Mark.

We LOVED getting to see Uncle Dave!!! In fact, he came over to Miss Lora's three different times to spend time with us. And just as always, the boys took advantage of every single minute. Dave is a little kid magnet. They love him. 

Dada and his three babes.

G-ma and the boys headed to the Polar Express!

Papa Jeep is ready to go too!

Playing soccer in the backyard with Uncle Dave...one happy baby!

Somehow Dave managed to get them to take this adorable picture...they definitely would not have been this compliant if I was the photographer.

While we were on campus we took a bunch of pictures of our little family. Many of them turned out great! I love this one with my babies.

And this of Rudy and Mark is just precious.

TTT: Season 3, Episode 46

1. It's been a good week around The Asmussen Abode. We kicked off a new "project" of sorts this week and it has been going really well! It's kind of hard to define the project...mission, experiment, lesson, overhaul...all of those things somewhat suffice to say. Basically, over the past few weeks...especially with all of the Christmas toys and ads out... I've noticed my kids have majorly bad cases of the "I wants" and "I'm the boss." Of course, when you get everything you want, you naturally think that you are the boss, so these two go hand in hand. I, however, have been feeling more of the I'm-not-going-to-raise-a-bunch-of-spoiled-kiddos and it's-seriously-time-for-a-"stuff"-purge-around-here. Thus, Mark and I decided it was time to go a little drastic and start a new, six-week family mission. This past Tuesday marked six weeks until Christmas. So we explained to the boys that over the six weeks, we were going to refrain from "extras" or "treats." No slurpies or pretzels at Target, no Sonic runs, no sneaking in a Hot Wheels at the grocery store. No getting to share a soda at Pinkie and Pa's house. You get the idea. Instead, we are giving those things up as we prepare for Christmas, the birth of our Lord. Furthermore, we've made it a mission to learn the Fruits of the Spirit (on a kiddie level, of course) and how they apply to our words, actions, thoughts, tone of voice, etc. They have caught on very quickly. "Kolbe, that wasn't very kind." "Mom, Rudy is not using self control! He just took Grant's toy!" (Ha!) Really, I just figure that this is the simplest way for the boys to connect the outcome of their actions with the motive of their actions. Why are they doing what they're doing? Is it something God led them to or not? You might be rolling your eyes and thinking this is way too deep for a couple of pups, but really, they're smarter than you think. They certainly still act impulsively and it's a constant process but it has been very cool to see them really start to think about motives and consider God in their actions. And let me just tell you, it's been as much of a challenge for me as it has for them! The last little element of our mission has to do with discipline, generosity, and the mandatory before Christmas purge. ('Cause when new stuff comes in, old stuff needs to go.) When poor choices are made (no, not every single time...) they have to go select one toy that they no longer use or want. Then, just before Christmas, they will all be bundled up to leave for Saint Nicholas so he can take them to other boys and girls. It's a win-win; they learn the fruits of the spirit, they learn how to apply them to their behavior, we purge toys in the process, and nothing new comes in until Christmas!!!

The boys and Dada helped me make a Fruits of the Spirit board so we can all have them memorized by Christmas!

2. It's been a long time coming, but I think we have finally turned the corner with the weather here. As in, the kids can play outside without fear of a heat stroke. And I can go outside and watch them without needing to shower immediately after. We've had about a week now of temps in the seventies and it has been so nice! The boys have spent hours out back exploring, digging, climbing, wrestling...boy stuff. And it's actually given me some time to do some much needed cleaning up while I can watch them from the porch or out of our many windows. And let's not forget the best part: by bedtime they are completely exhausted! That being said, the one total downside has to be the bi-annual switching over of wardrobes. Here, once the fall finally arrives, you do have to switch over to pants for bottoms, but then the tops are still a mix of short sleeves, long sleeves, and the occasional sweatshirt. Going through all of their clothes and deciding what needs to be stored, what needs to be donated, what needs to be replaced is one of my most loathed of all mother chores. But I have to give a huge shout out to my massive storage closet upstairs. It sure is nice to walk in, select a tub, pull out the bags and get to storing. Or pulling "new" items for Grant. And I'll also give a good horray to the fact that Kolbe and Rudy are the same size. In everything. Three drawers: pajamas/undies, pants, tops. Covers them both. And at the rate he's going, Grant may be caught up before long too!

3. Kolbe had his last soccer game this past weekend. What a fun, fun season! When we started out, we were really debating back and forth on whether we should even do it or not. After all, he was only four. And I can't stand investing money in something that's a total flop. Would he even be interested? Needless to say, it was one of the best moves we made. Not only did he absolutely love it, but we all loved watching and taking part too. Plus, it gave us an opportunity to meet other families, gave us something to look forward to each Tuesday evening and Saturday afternoon, and burned a lot of the endless supply of energy these boys have. And though I try not to be competitive while he's at such a young age, it's safe to say that Kolb is quite the little soccer player. I'll totally admit that I had to beam a little bit when a parent from another team came over to tell us how good Kolbe was at one of his last games. That's muh boy! He says that for now he's happy that the season is over, but that he's already looking forward to playing again next year.

This was actually from very early in season but was one of the best videos we got of Kolbe playing.

Pa entertaining Grant

Of all our babies, Rudy is the cuddliest. He just curled right up with Pinkie and took a nap after the soccer game.

Two brothers hugging.

I know this is horribly blurry, but this pic is SO my life. Beautiful chaos!

Ready for a Grantness overload!?!...

Getting soooo big, but still a blankie boy.

Totally thrilled that Kolbe let him sit in the driver's seat...even though his foot can't reach the pedal.

Showing off his new Chuck Taylors! (we had to get some shoes with ties...he's in the phase where if you leave him alone with velcro shoes on, they're coming off instantly.)

TTT: Season 3, Episode 45

1. Better late than never! It's been a busy, busy week. And I have to admit, a bit of a bummer. You win some and lose some and this week was a loss on several levels! For one, the "open house" last Friday was just what I thought it was going to be just even less successful than imagined. Apparently in years past, it was held in the afternoon hours on a Saturday. You know, when ladies have time to sneak away for a bit and shop. Other than Friday nights being super busy for most people, it was also the night of The Woodlands vs. College Park: the ultimate high school football rivalry in these parts. (the two local high schools) I've always known this was a huge game...heck, Mark took the boys to it last year! But since Mark was on-call and not planning to go to the game, I didn't know it was the night of the open house. I'm going to estimate that maybe fifteen people came through, most of them being close friends or family members of someone else selling at the open house. (There were seven of us.) Everyone was interested in popping in for a few snacks and a glass of wine but no shopping. And by no shopping, I mean no shopping. I left with every single item I arrived with. I know my friend who invited me to sell felt horrible and it certainly was not her fault. The redeeming factor is that everything I had there to sell is completely sell-able in my online shop. In fact, eight of the items have already gone out this week, which has made for a much lighter workload for me and several are planned for Christmas gifts. So I guess the open house wasn't totally a bummer...I'll consider it getting ahead for the busy holiday season that looms!

2. The second "bummer" is a whole conglomeration of issues. Mainly revolving a big little fella commonly referred to around here as "Sir." That would be Sir Grantness. (He picked up the "Sir" during the Olympics when it was decided that he should be a royal.) Ooooooohhhh Sir. Let me just start by saying that the whole "extra hour of sleep" that's celebrated nation wide when "fall back" occurs is an event only celebrated by people without children. Or people with teenagers. Not people with one-year-olds. Kolbe and Rudy used to get up around seven-ish, I'd get breakfast ready, and then go get Grant. So now, it's Kolbe and Rudy getting up around six-ish with the same routine. "So put them to bed a little later so they'll sleep a littler later," you're thinking. It doesn't work that way, my friends. If you put them to bed later, they still wake up at the same time. You could put them to bed at midnight and they'd still wake up at the same time. Their bodies just know. But the problem with Grant revolves around the naps. He just recently...about a month or so ago...officially gave up his morning nap. But since he's been waking up at six instead of seven, he's completely exhausted and ready to crash by ten. Instead of making it to the afternoon nap he's been taking around noon. (Yes, he gets sleepy by eleven but we do lunch and stretch it to noon.) Anyhow, I don't want to go back to two naps because it makes things really "off" for everyone else but man, he's just miserable in the mornings! And adding to his misery are the four teeth that have decided to come in at the same time. Two bottom molars that have broken through and two eye teeth that are in the process. When he's on Motrin or Tylenol, he's his normal happy self. But as soon as it wears off, Lord, help us all! I feel so sorry for him because it looks so painful and miserable, but I hate the idea of keeping him on medicine non-stop too. And other "remedies" have done nothing. Poor little fella. I've decided his fictional counterpart is Animal from The Muppets. But back to the sleep issues. The smart person would just go to bed earlier so that getting up earlier wouldn't be so bad. And I have done that a few nights. But then others I've stayed up until midnight...such as the night of the election...just to encounter another bummer. I could write a whole post about that one. And probably should. But there's so much to digest about that and so many different thoughts I've had about it that it's all just jumbled thoughts in my head right now. There were so many elements that went in to this election. And I can honestly see why certain people and groups feel and believe the way they do about certain issues. The same way I feel so strongly about certain issues too. It's what makes America America. But overall, especially when it comes to the economy and the overwhelming dependence on government that has developed in our nation, it's just hard for me to see how the majority of American voters can think that the best path for our nation is to continue down the same road we are on. I've always been so proud to be an American. And I still am. I love and respect the rights and freedoms we have here and I just hope and pray that my children...and all children...will have the same. I love all of my Republican friends, Democratic friends and everyone in between, and my prayer now is just that we can start to bridge the massive gap between the two parties and start to truly do what's best for our nation. Okay, getting long winded and totally not on the same topic that I started out on. Stopping. At least for now. *Must figure out way to process and publish deeper thoughts instead of just weekly ramblings.*

3. I have to end the week on a positive note. Today was my Kolbe's fifth birthday. Five. Five. How can it be that five years have passed since I first lay eyes on that precious boy? It's amazing the boy he has turned into in just five short years and even more amazing how he's changed me. I love being Kolbe's mom. He's so smart and so talented. A typical oldest child. Every bit as bull-headed as his mother; evidence that God most definitely has a sense of humor. I love this little guy oh so much. That little face and precious smile never hesitate to make my heart skip a beat. God loves me enough to let me be Kolbe's mama. May I always cherish it as much as I do today.

Happy Birthday, my Kolbe!!!

What's a birthday without a cherry donut!?! (he insisted on wearing his hat from pre-school on Thursday to the donut shop this morning)

Enjoying the sunshine! (it's still shorts and t-shirts weather here...)

Cutest little spider man ever!

My three little monkeys! Keeping Dada busy while Mama was at the open house.

Grant goes so hard that when he crashes, it's over!

Last night we went to a pizza place with Kolbe's soccer team for an end of the season party. They all got their medals! This is Kolbe with his coach, Miss Erica, who is a local high school senior who was kind enough to couch the kiddos as volunteer work.

Mark's grandpa, "Grandpa Selso" is a phenomenal artist! He sends us cards for every single holiday. And not just one....one for each kid! The boys love getting his cards and Kolbe is determined to be able to draw like Grandpa Selso some day. And that would be quite the achievement!

TTT: Season 3, Episode 44

1. Tomorrow is the highly procrastinated anticipated open house that I'm selling at. Yay! And that's a "yay" as in "Yay. Glad it's here. Note to self: Don't sign up to do any in-person events ever again unless you're way ahead on everything else." Eek. I know that probably sounds so rude and unprofessional. But I've come to a realization about the whole self-owned business thingy. In-person sales are fantastic for selling items that can easily be made in bulk, items that involve designing and outside production (such making a graphic design and then having ten copies of it printed...only took time to make one!), or items where the seller is a sales rep for a larger company. (jewelry, make-up, etc.) Or, I suppose, handmade businesses that are starting out and don't have an internet presence yet. It's definitely a way of getting business/orders. But the reality of my business right now is that since I've spent several years building the internet side of things, I don't have to do anything to get business. Just sit here and wait for the ding to go off on my phone. And the orders I receive dictate what I make. Whereas with in-person sales, you have to pre-make a bunch of things that may or may not sell. (By the way, let me pause for just a moment. The Christmas shopping season is just around the corner. 'Sell' and 'sale' are two different words. One is a verb and one is a noun. The poor misuse of these two is driving me crazy lately.) Back to what I was saying. I think I've been drawn to the whole in-person handmade market thing because I've seen photos and blog posts of so many and they just look oh-so-pretty and fun. Time to see other handmade products, time to be "all in" with my business, and heck, a break from the kids to spend sipping wine and chatting with other ladies! But I think the idyllic view I had of it all changes a bit when I think of what I've put myself through over the past week to try and squeeze everything in. Sure, I have several baskets of products to sell, a cool new handmade "catalog" for in-person orders to be placed, order forms, pricing sheets, the whole nine yards. But what am I going to do with all of this stuff after tomorrow!?! If the products don't sell, I'll essentially have to sit on them until I receive an order for each color/design online. And create individual online listings for the custom blankets I made. The other stuff? Who knows. I suppose it will sit in a bin in my sewing world until I agree to do another one of these someday. Please, don't listen to me ramble on and on about this. I'm obviously exhausted from staying up until at least midnight every night this week. Who knows...I'll probably come back next week raving about how well it went, how much fun I had, and how I can't wait to do it again. It's the lack of sleep talking here!

2. Among the personal madness mentioned above, my gig as mom has continued on as normal. Yes, the boys do know that I sew during nap time and sometimes after bed, but I'm pretty sure they're totally unaware of some of the insanity I put myself through. Anyhow, we had a blast doing Halloween festivities yesterday and carving pumpkins on Monday. Rudy, especially, is a huge fan of Halloween. Several of my parent's neighbors go all out with decorating their houses and giving out all kinds of gifts and goodies so we headed over there early last night. While living there for a few months when we first moved down, we became friends with many of their neighbors too so it's nice to meet up with everyone again. Then we headed back to our own street and had fun visiting with all of our current neighbors. Mark, unfortunately, got stuck in a long surgery and didn't make it home until all of the trick-or-treating was over but he still got to see the boys in their suits and help them rifle through all their goodies. The excitement was so high that they were very late to bed last night and then up early this morning so we could go to mass for All Saints Day. The older two and I had deep discussions about how the saints became saints and Kolbe informed me that he didn't know if he'd ever be able to be one because he didn't know if he could be that good all the time. Ha! While it's certainly my utmost goal to raise little saints, I appreciate his honesty! And, of course, I told him that many of the saints were the biggest sinners before they dedicated their lives to serving Christ. His response was, "Ok, well I'll try." That's my Kolb.

3. As I mentioned earlier, my brother Pat has been here off and on for the past few weeks. It has been great to spend some quality time with him! The boys love Uncle P. Unfortunately, my grandmother and aunt didn't get to come because of the hurricane, but hopefully they'll be able to reschedule soon. Despite the crazy busyness, I love this time of the year most especially for the time with family. (certainly not for the Houston weather) Next week we have tons of "events" surrounding Kolbe's birthday, the end of the soccer season, etc, but it won't be long until we are headed to Lubbock to celebrate Thanksgiving. We haven't been to Lubbock since last Christmas. It has been way too long and we can't wait! ...Maybe it won't be in the 80s when we get there...

Mama and her super heroes!

Kolbe's new favorite quiet time activity: scavenger hunt. He has to read the word and go find the object somewhere in the game room all by himself.

Carving pumpkins!

This is how our Halloween morning started. Someone found a mud puddle. It's hard to see in the picture, but knees to toes were completely submerged. 

Uncle P teaching Grant how to play with Power Rangers!