Our weekend

I'm not exactly sure there is an adjective in the English language that could appropriately describe how the weekend went. 

It was fabulous to have everyone home ... something the kids pointed out a number of times. (By the way, there is a growing awareness of the five of us being together or not together ... the kids are meshing as a family and sincerely miss one another when they are with their other parent.) At the same time, with the rain and being cooped up inside for long periods of time, the kids were a little on the wacky side as well. It got to the point on Saturday night where we started to think that they are professionals at doing just enough to drive us absolutely nuts! 

Perfect example ... Chuck and I were sitting on the couch talking. Zack was sitting to my left and Chloe was sitting on Chuck's right. Zack had a piece of construction paper (read: a treasure map he had just finished drawing) and was rolling it up. It was a thick piece of paper and it was loud and he must have rolled it about 15 times. It got to the point where I couldn't even hear Chuck talking to me, so I asked Zack to stop. About the time we got a little silence, Chloe began slurping water out of her cup ... and noise was back! I understand that noise happens with three kids, but it was hilarious how well they did in tag-teaming us! Just about the time we'd get one settled down, another one was there with a different tactic! 

It's been cute though too ... after going to the school yesterday (mainly to let the kids run wild in the gym ... a big plus of having a dad who teaches PE!) we got all the kids in the house. The rule is that shoes have to be removed once we get in. Zack needed help getting his shoes off and his ever-helpful big sister was attempting assistance. Actually, Zack had on lace-up tennis shoes, so Chloe was doing more of pulling really hard on Zack's foot. As I walked over Chloe looked at me and said, "Can you hold him down so I can pull harder?" Gosh, thanks, honey, but I'll take it from here. :) 

Our toy pickup at night has turned into a bit of a flop. We set the timer for seven minutes and the kids have that long to get things put away. Anything that is left out when the timer goes off, gets taken away. The toys can be earned back the next night if pick-up goes better. Friday and Saturday nights saw some of the best philosophical discussions happen during this toy pick-up. Seriously, Chuck and I stood in amazement as they completely disregarded the timer and sat around and talked. Needless to say, all of them lost some pretty major toys both nights. It was weird behavior. Generally, they do a much better job. 

This morning on the way to church, I started laughing out loud. All three kids were talking at one time ... each to themselves about nothing in particular. There was nothing left to do but laugh as noise overwhelmed the confines of the car. :) 

At the same time, I wouldn't trade any of this for the world. There is something so wonderful about the noise the kids create in the house ... and it's most noticeable when no one is here and the house is quiet. 

Moving on ... we've had a few big things in the last week or so ... 

1. Gavin is the star student in his class this week. We just finished working on his poster that will hang on the wall. Some facts for you: 

* Gavin is 6 1/2 years old. 

* His favorite animal is a sabertooth.

* His favorite color is red.

* His favorite things to do are ride his bike and do Kuk Sool. 

* If he had one wish, he would wish for a pool. 

* The movies are his favorite place to go. 

* When he grows up he'd like to be a police officer. 

2. We bought a scale ... and the kids have loved weighing in. The stats: 

Chloe: 56 pounds

Gavin: 46 pounds

Zack: 36 pounds

No joke ... that's actually how much they each weighed! 

3. Zack continues to struggle with food. We've been trying to ask him to try one new thing each week. Nothing crazy ... this week was a piece of pasta. One small piece of pasta ... and he refused three nights in a row. *sigh* The reward is chocolate chips and yet he passes each time. I never thought a child of mine would refuse chocolate! 

Anyway, I think that about sums things up. Our next big events will be birthdays ... Chloe on February 1 and Gavin on March 18. Chloe turns 5 and Gavin turns 7. HOLY COW! :) 

Hoping this finds you all well. 

Much love,

--M

A rainy day

Hello friends, 

After a couple weeks of fabulous weather we now find ourselves in the middle of more January-like weather. It's rainy and foggy. It's the kind of weather that makes you want to curl up with a good book, a warm blanket and a cup of hot chocolate. It's the kind of weather that makes you want to stay snuggled up in bed with a massive heap of cozy covers on top of you. 

And then you come back to reality. It's 6 a.m. and a munchkin is in the room excitedly sharing that it's 6 a.m. and it's time to get up. And then another muchkin joins in the excited discussion. After gently telling the muchkins to find something quiet to play with for a few minutes ... the third munchkin joins the crew and, well, he's hungry for cereal. Go ahead, try to hit the snooze button on the muchkins, but there just isn't one to be found. Darn. It's Saturday morning at 6 a.m. and so the day begins ... *sigh* 

:) 

We started the morning with a Kuk Sool class for Gavin and Chuck this morning. Chloe, Zack and I joined the expedition and sat and watched (and played with stickers, of course) while the class went on.  We've had a quick snack, enjoyed a showing of Star Wars. Lunch (grilled cheese sandwiches) will follow, quiet time and then we'll head over to the school gym for some running around. 

I hope this finds all of you enjoying your weekend. I have pictures to post and more stories to share, but I will post it all as soon as I get a minute. 

Much love, 

--M

Here's a quarter ...

Hi friends, 

Allow me a moment to share you with my latest, "I feel old" moment. 

The scene: It's Friday afternoon around lunch time and the yearbook club is meeting. It's a great group of kids (yearbook is a club where students miss their lunch break on Fridays to put together the book ... so you can imagine the group of kids who would be attracted to that. Awesome group!) 

One of my students, Mikey, is downloading about 250 pictures to my computer. Sydney is standing next to Mikey and I'm sitting at my computer watching the photos. Sydney pulls a quarter out of her pocket and makes a statement like, "Wow, here's a quarter ..." Sydney has a great sense of humor so I follow up her statement with "... call someone who cares!" I was joking, of course and then I started laughing. It wasn't long before I realized no one else was laughing. 

It had nothing to do with the fact that the statement wasn't funny (although I suppose that was the case, t00) Instead, I got blank stares from both Mikey and Sydney. Why? THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE PHRASE MEANT! In fact, they'd never used a pay phone before. In a world with cell phones, why would anyone need a pay phone? 

I had to take a step back and laugh again ... not at a joke, but at the way things have changed. I can remember the 8-track tapes my parents played when I was a kid, the VHS and BETA tapes that were available at the video store and the first VCR we owned that (gasp!) had a remote control. (The remote had to plug into the VCR and the cord was rather short, but still ...) My high school students have probably never seen at 8-track, heard of BETA or lived in a world without a remote. Heck, even our kids (at 6, 4 and 4) ask to hear the iPod or to send an email or a text message! 

I know I'm not old and I know that everyone has stories like this to share, but the quarter story certainly made me take a step back. 

Happy Monday. :) 

--M 

Little long cheese

Do you find the title of this blog intriguing? The truth is, little long cheese is sweeping our house. Zack has a knack for making up words to explain things. He sometimes has a hard time with the actual word, so he makes up something else to describe it. 

Little long cheese has become the word for shredded cheese. Yes, that's the right ... the boy who won't eat much has fallen in love with shredded cheese and asks for it with every meal. Gavin and Chloe caught on quickly and now everybody is asking for little long cheese with their meals. It's just too cute. 

Other cute phrases uttered this week ... 

Gavin likes to take off his pajama top when he gets in bed. 

"It's appropriate for big boys."

Chloe was talking about the distance between our house and her school ... 

"It's far, far away near our house."

After watching Madagascar 2 and the near sacrafice of Melman in a volcano, Zack continues to tell me, "Mama, I won't throw you in a volcano." 

Well, thank goodness for that! 

Much love, 

--M

Our first Christmas

What an amazing day Christmas was! The following pictures should help tell the story of the day's events ... Santa was very good to us all. :) 

Here's hoping your holidays were just as happy. 

Much love,

--M

The Christmas tree and stockings after Santa stopped by. By the way, I think the stockings were one of my favorites this year. We all sat on the floor and unwrapped our stocking gifts together. It was a lot of fun! 

Here you can see the circle of stockings on the floor. The box you see Gavin holding was something new we're trying. Here's how it works ... each kid has a box and any toys that are kept in the box can't be touched by the other kids ... unless you ask permission first. Gavin jumped on the idea ... especially after he unwrapped his new Star Wars action figures. Zack and Chloe, on the other hand, really don't get the idea at all. Neither one of them can consistently remember to put their new toys in the box. Whatever. :) 

Zack's big gift from Santa was a Craftsman workbench. He was so excited ... and safe. Here you can see him trying on the safety goggles. :) 

Santa brought Gavin the original Star Wars trilogy. He was VERY happy about this and we've enjoyed the movies several times. All the kids have been walking about saying, "Luke, I am your father ..." Hahaha! 

Playing with the new toys ... do you see the big car in the background? That was Gavin's big gift from Santa. It's huge. :) He's been having a lot of fun ... actually, Daddy has been enjoying it just as much! Turns out the car goes through the snow quite nicely! 

Speaking of snow ... we had some pretty good snow falling on Christmas day! It changed our plans a little. Without four-wheel drive, my parents couldn't make it to our house ... so we packed up the family and headed to their house. My sister and her husband and Chuck's parents joined us as well. It was the perfect mid-day gathering! 

Nana (something Zack calls Amanda) and Chloe had some snuggle time on the couch! 

And poor Zack ... suffering from a cold ... crashed in the middle of the gathering. Poor little guy slept from more than an hour. 

And meanwhile, the big boys ... played with their new remote control helicopters. 

And at the end of the day, Daddy got the chance to play Barbie with his daughter. Now, that's cute! 

Christmas Eve

If there is one thing I have learned about Chuck, it's that he is extremely impatient when it comes to giving gifts. He has a problem waiting until Christmas day for the gifts to be opened. I had been strong for the last few days, telling him we'd wait until Christmas. But, I had a moment of weakness and gave in. So, we decided to exchange one stocking gift that morning. I received a new calendar (YIPEE!!) and he got the shirt ... 

Later in the day we picked up Zack and a few hours later we rounded out the family when we picked up Gavin and Chloe. Then it was straight to church! As a side note, I have to admit that I was rather nervous about what state the kids would be in. All the kids had a "Christmas morning" with their other parent on the 24th and I had no idea what to expect ... but I was thinking exhaustion would rank rather high. Turns out, the kids ... although tired ... were ready for their big parts in the reenactment of the nativity scene at church.  

Before the evening got started, Chloe took a moment to hang out with Papa Clint and strum on the guitar. It's been fun listening to the kids adjust to having new grandparents in their life. Chuck's parents are called, Nana and Papa and my parents go by Grammy and Papa. The Papa's get rather confusing though ... Gavin suggested calling my dad Step-Papa Clint, but that's quite a mouthful! I'm sure the names will continue to evolve, but every so often Chloe stops and asks, "Wait, what's your name again?" It's no wonder! :) 


After a little warming up, it was time to get the party started ... 

Chloe decided to be an angel and Gavin elected to play Joseph. Of course, after he volunteered for the part he immediately wanted to know who was going to play the baby. :) 

Zack chose to play one of the wise men. 

And then there was Chuck ... who graciously agreed to play the third wise man since we were a little short of kids. He walked in on his knees to a roar of laughter from the church crowd. What a good sport! 


A few more pictures before things got started ... 

And then it was time for the play to begin. Here are Mary and Joseph  ... 

And here sits Zack. I guess he decided he'd had enough of the nativity scene and sat and watched the piano player instead. He got some good laughs from the crowd, too! 

Isn't it cute!? 
Following the service we headed home. We enjoyed some hot chocolate, left cookies and carrots for Santa and Rudolph and then headed to bed. Surprisingly, the kids were all asleep by 8 p.m. :) 

Phone call to Santa

Yup, that's right ... we called the big man himself! While skimming the pages of our local newspaper, Chuck noticed that Santa was taking calls tonight from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. So, after everyone had completed their dinner we sat down with the phone. 

A very nice elf answered the phone at Santa's Workshop and then got each of the kids names and their ages. Santa was out feeding the reindeer so we had to wait a few minutes. It wasn't too long before Santa was there chatting with each of the kids. 

Chloe asked for a Barbie, Gavin asked for a remote control truck or car and Zack asked for a Bob Builder cup. (All very different things from the letters they sent Santa earlier this month ... ???!!) Before we said goodbye, the kids sang, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to Santa. He said it was the best version he'd ever heard. (I would have to agree ... it was stinkin' adorable!) 

Much love, 

-- M

PS -- Bravo to the company that put this all together ... it was a local real estate company fielding the calls. It's all part of a tradition dating back more than 20 years. VERY COOL! :) 

Series of posts, part 3: Making cookies

December 13: Cooking making at the Dickson's! We had a great time rolling dough, cutting out cookies, decorating (read: eating the candy) and playing with the grandparents. Enjoy the pictures ... we sure enjoyed our day!

Much love,

--M

Series of posts, part 2: All things Christmas

The day after Thanksgiving we decided to buy our Christmas tree. We loaded everyone into our new Toyota Land Cruiser ... well, new to us, but it's actually a 1996. (We ended up selling the Honda Civic and buying the Toyota. Sign of the times: we sold the Honda for more than we paid for the Land Cruiser. Sweet!)   

Anyway, we headed out to a local tree farm and picked out our tree. It was quite the adventure. The kids enjoyed running from tree to tree and inspecting it. We finally decided on a Noble Fir. 

And there's our new car with the tree loaded on top! 

The picture below is probably one of my favorites. I love that all three kids are looking up at Daddy putting the angel on top of the tree!

After we decorated the tree, it was time to hang the stockings! 

And you can't very well have Christmas without a little snow! Monday (yesterday) was a snow day!!! For a household with two teachers, that was a nice break. We had Gavin and Chloe with us in the morning ... and we were without power most of the day. No worries ... lots of layers help everyone to stay warm. We had a great time sledding, making snow angels and throwing snow at each other. Who needs to drive to Tahoe? We had plenty of the fresh stuff right in our front yard! Sunday night dumped about six inches and then in continued snowing on and off the rest of the day. 

Although Zack wasn't with us to play in the snow, we do have an adorable picture of the little man. Gotta love that smile! :) 

What's Christmas time without a gingerbread house?! Here's the one Gavin made at school. 

Merry Christmas! 

Much love,

--M

Series of posts, part 1: Fun times with the camera

Gotta love the kisses! :) 

To my daughter ...

Dear Chloe, 

I just wanted to write you a note and let you know how much I enjoyed spending time with you this weekend. I know that it's been a bit of a roller coaster in the last few months ... what with me and Zack moving in, your Dad and I getting married and all the other adjustments you've had to undergo. We've seen flashes of your frustrations in the ever-changing environment, but overall I think you've handled it all with amazing grace ... for a four-year old! 

Anyway, this weekend there was a moment on Sunday afternoon when we found ourselves hanging out together. We laid on the bed and watched the snow falling outside. We talked ... about your boyfriend (!!!!???) Ethan, school, life in general and then sang, "Nick Nack Pattywhack" about 52 times.  Our time only lasted about 15 minutes, but in those few minutes I found myself completely overjoyed. So happy in fact, that I was forcing back some of those happy tears. 

Chloe, I hope you know how much I enjoy being a part of your life, how much I enjoy working in your classroom, and how much I love (aka melt) when you ask for a "huggie" or a "kissie." You are an independent soul and you walk to the beat of your own drum ... much more than I ever have and probably ever will ... but I see a great relationship in our future. I know we still have some adjusting to do, but I am so happy to be a part of your life. Thank you for those 15 minutes ... it meant more to me than you'll ever know. :) 

I love you ... 

Love, 

Mommy Megan

Letters to Santa

In the last couple of weeks, I have learned one very important lesson about having young kids ... better to write the letters to Santa BEFORE all the Christmas shopping gets done. Let me explain, starting in October I began shopping for presents ... I'm a planner, so shopping early is the kind of thing I like to do. It spreads the cost of gifts over a few months and also allows for great deals before the holiday season arrives. There is also some sense of satisfaction in being done with your shopping before Thanksgiving arrives!

In early December, when the kids wrote their letters to Santa I realized that the things we had purchased (although toys they will love) are not the things on their list to Santa. Hmmm ... For example, the Bob Builder toys that Zack asked for aren't even available any more. Well, they are if you're willing to have them shipped from Great Britain! As an aside, why in the world would they stop making Bob toys but continue to sell the movies and have the cartoon on TV? Grrr ... Gavin asked Santa for a remote control helicopter, but we purchased a HUGE remote control car. And Chloe, well, Chloe asked for a soft bunny and a kitten ... sorry, sweetheart, Santa is definitely out of those this year! :)

Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Friends,

Wishing you the very best this Thanksgiving! Here's hoping you find some time to enjoy all the things you are thankful for. Chuck and I spent some time this morning reflecting on all the things we're thankful for ... three healthy, happy kids, a house, cars, jobs, money to pay our bills, etc. Basically, it was all those things we sometimes take for granted. We also took a moment to reflect on how thankful we are for each other. Cliche perhaps, but the truth is ... after the last few years, "each other" is something we will never take for granted. Having someone in your life who cares for you and about you is always something to appreciate. :) 

Last Thanksgiving Chuck and the kids were on a cruise celebrating Grandma Jean's birthday.  There is no cell service on a cruise ship (instant communication: another thing we sometimes take for granted, methinks!), so Chuck and I relied on email to stay in touch. In that week we exchanged A LOT of emails ... keep in mind that we'd been dating for a little over a month ... and when he got back to town it wasn't too much longer that we decided this relationship was going to be more than just dating. I am thankful that we had the patience to make it through the custody battle and the long distance romance. It's been well worth the wait. 

Happy Thanksgiving ...

... and let the Christmas shopping begin! Yes, I will be one of "those" people hitting the stores early tomorrow morning. Mom and I will start at 6 a.m. ... actually, one of our later starts ... but I'm very much looking forward to it. 

Much love, 

--M

A bit of irony

Hi friends, 

I find myself laughing at our latest undertaking and thought I'd share the irony with you. We find ourselves in a bit of a conundrum. We have a great commuter car ... a 2004 Honda Civic. The car gets 38 mpg and is in great shape, although carrying over 103,000 miles. The problem is that the car doesn't fit three car seats and it's not a four-wheel drive ... something we'll need this winter to get through the snow.  

So we are in the process of selling our fuel efficient car in exchange for a larger SUV type car that will guzzle gas at a much quicker rate. The trade off, however, is that we will be able to fit everyone in both cars. The Saturn Vue, our other vehicle, holds everyone ... but the gymnastics that Chuck and I have to go through in order to buckle all the seat belts is exhausting! Once the seats are in, there is absolutely no room between the seats. 

On a side note, it's been amazing, and rather sad, to be a part of the car industry these days. Along the highway in Auburn, there have been several car dealerships along the roadside. So many dealerships use to line the road that I often wondered how they could all stay open. Are there really that many cars sold in Auburn?! However, the roadside has now changed. Many of the dealerships have gone under and have left behind large, vacant lots. 

Perhaps the most startling for us, was a dealership in Grass Valley. We'd found a Ford Expedition that we liked for a great price. We talked with a sales person and then set out to sell the Honda before purchasing the new car. Chuck had driven by early last week to see if the car was still there ... and it was. Over the weekend we went to the dealership and not only was the car gone, but the entire dealership had closed up shop. There wasn't a thing left. It took my breath away and brought reality to the entire economic situation. It's sad. The place was up and running early in the week and completely cleared out by the weekend. Wow. 

Anyway, just some interesting things I've noticed in the last few weeks ... 

Hope this finds you doing well. 

Much love,

--M

A monster blog

Greetings from the Ross household! :)

So sorry for the delay in updates ... it's been busy around here! A fourth birthday party (Zack), Halloween, jobs, school, etc etc etc. Anyway, I have included a large number of pictures ... yes, they are a bit out of order, but at least you'll get a pretty good idea of what we've been up to lately.

Enjoy!

First, we start with Zack's fourth birthday on October 16. At school he got to wear his birthday crown and it just so happened that his birthday was also my normal day for working in his classroom. It was a lot of fun to see all the festivities. We made cupcakes to share with the class and Zack enjoyed passing them out, but refused to eat one himself. Seriously, what's wrong with this kid?! Just kidding. Anyway, Zack also did some finger painting on his big day.

Here, Zack and his best friend Zander stand in front of the class with Miss Debbie. The class sang "Happy Birthday" to Zack. He wouldn't go up without having Zander stand with him.

See, I told you they were best buds! These two are so cute together and it's been a lot of fun watching them in class.
Gotta love that smile! :)
No, he's not hurt. This is the face we get when we ask Zack to say, "Cheese!" Sorta funny, but awfully cute, too!
A few weeks ago, Gavin earned his first stripe (yellow) in Kuk Sool. Way to go, Gavin! :)

Ah, yes! Halloween. What an event! I made Gavin's Air Force costume and Chloe's witch costume. Zack wanted to be Bob the Builder. The kids looked adorable! Here I'm putting some of the finishing touches on Zack's costume.

Gavin shows off his Air Force costume. He said he wanted to be an army guy, but I couldn't very well let that happen! (Having been born at the Air Force Academy and raised in an AF family!) Anyway, Papa Clint bought and donated the patches for Gavin's costume. The other side actually has a "Ross" patch. He looked great, if I do say so myself!

Playing dress up before Halloween! Chloe's costume came with fur around the collar of her cape. The same purple fur was also around the top of her hat.

Like I said, the pictures are a little out of order here ... This little guy standing with Zack is Riley ... a friend since Zack was born. Actually, these two were born 21 hours apart in hospital rooms next door to one another. A couple of weeks ago Chuck, Zack and I drove to the Bay Area to celebrate the boy's birthdays. Here, the two of them check out one of the toys Riley had just opened. Just below the picture is the first ever picture of these boys. It was taken just a few hours after Riley was born, but among my favorites! By the way, Zack is the one not wearing the hat ... his head was too big for the hats ... :D

I know this picture hadn't made it on the blog yet and it was taken in the last few weeks. It made me laugh so I had to share!

On Thursday, Oct. 16 we hosted a family party to help celebrate Z's big day. Here everybody checks out the Cars race track that he opened. It's a fun toy that races Doc and McQueen around he track. For the record, no matter how things get set up, Doc is the faster car!

When we sang to Zack and brought out his cake (Bob the Builder, of course) he screamed! Can you see the fear in his face!? I guess we scared him. It didn't take long for his mood to change though ... it's amazing what a little chocolate ice cream will do!

See?!
And long before the costumes and birthday party, I was lucky enough to accompany Chloe's class on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. This has quickly become one of my favorite photos. We had a great time picking out a pumpkin and spending time together!

Chloe was very excited about finding feathers and sunflower seeds, in addition to the pumpkin she got to choose!

The end!

Whew!

Much love,

--M