I don't even know where to begin. My life has gone in a different direction - I have officially left my job of 17 years and am an independent contractor working 9:30am - 3 every day - I LOVE the hours. I'm able to drop my oldest off and pick both of the boys up each day. I'm doing part of my old job and it's bizarre to me to only work on one project day after day and not be interupted constantly with different projects. This agreement lasts till mid-May - I'll either re-negotiate or look for new opportunities - I feel spoiled right now because it's truly ideal for me right now.
My boys are now 6 and 4. Ethan loves first grade and his teacher. Andy is in the pre-school program at Kindercare. Not sure if he's ready for kindergarten but he makes the cut-off and I've registered him. I suppose come August I can change my mind. They are both in gymnastics right now - we took a break from swim lessons - Andy doesn't like swim lessons since he let go of the wall and almost drowned (can't blame him, huh?!).
This photo was taken at my Uncle's funeral in May last year - I just love it!We had a brilliant moment and did something most parents probably do when their kids are younger but we made Ethan's first "Chore Chart!" He woke up this morning and without asking, made his bed, got dressed on his own and brushed his teeth. Holy cow!! Guess a chore chart works!!! We're stealing my brother & sister in-laws method for allowance: $3 a week where $1 goes to savings, $1 to charity and $1 for fun money. Ethan seems quite motivated right now. He wants new games for his Nintendo 3DS that he received from Santa. (Still can't believe we got a 6 year old that present but oh well! He definitely loves it!) - Perhaps we'll start Andy on a chore chart sooner rather than later!!!
So a quick summary of 2011: I travelled to NC in Jan (business and pleasure), Tahoe in July (Stefanie's wedding), and Dallas in September (Girls' weekend); Ethan graduated Kindergarten; my Uncle died playing racquetball so our entire family went to LaCrosse, WI for the funeral - so sad he died because he was quite an influence on me! - great to see the family though and we did go to Mall of America for a day; Greg traveled to Sweden for five weeks and then Canada for two; my sweet dog, Maddie of almost 14 years died; had Greg's family in town - had a fun trip to Estes Park; hiked up Hanging Lake near Glenwood Springs with my neighbor, Abby; went camping for the first time and got on a boat at Horsetooth Reservoir; Ethan started first grade; had a ton o' fun during Halloween - boys were Harry Potter and Green Lantern; my other Uncle died and we got to get together with that side of the family in December right after Christmas. Our Christmas celebration was low key but real nice.
And there's more! My brother brought his kids to our homes at separate times. Rachel came in February - we were able to go sledding at the Rocky Mountain National Forest! We had a blast here's a picture of my niece:
He brought his son in October and it was just so fun to spend time with them!
We got lots of use out of these costumes this year: Kindercare party, Cubscout "Trick or Trunk", school parade and party, neighborhood party, "Trick or Treat Street", and of course the actual trick or treating on Halloween!
We have our new puppy that we got in October! Her name is Kasey and she's a doll! She's not house broken yet and that drives us crazy but she's great with the boys and everybody loves her!
Lastly, my Mom had her birthday on 11-11-11 - we did 11 things that day - it was a blast. A memory I'll always treasure!
Phew! Lots to update and I will try to do it more often so it doesn't turn into a novel like this one! Thanks to all for reading!
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