Remember this.....

Remember how I was telling you Nicholas refuses to go to school..... Maybe I should have realized this was going to be a issue.... I was just remembering this moment when he was 22 months old..... (Remember to turn off the music player on the bottom of the blog :)

Where does time go????

So where does time go?  I just blogged about the first day of school and now we are done with the month of September.  Life has been busy adjusting to the new routines of school, after-school activities, homework, bed time routines, etc.  In addition, I finally started a class at Schoolcraft Community College.  I'm learning Photoshop Elements 8 for the next 6 weeks.  It has been fun getting to know the program better.  I'm pretty familiar with the organizing and editing features, but there are a lot of short cuts I wish I would have known about earlier.  I found a sitter who can work evenings and it has been so enjoyable returning to school.

Here is a recent picture of Miss Gabriella.  She is banging away on her keyboard.  When all else fails she loves to sit down and make music.  Last week, this innocent little girl gave us a big scare.  Steve and I were in the kitchen, he was cleaning dishes, and I was putting away leftovers.  He happened to be home early that night so we had dinner together and were cleaning while Gabby was destroying the kitchen.  I was annoyed when I looked over and saw she had dumped Cascade crystals on the floor.  When I went to grab them from her I noticed that she had put the Cascade packet in her mouth!

The crazy girl had taken a bite out of it.  I started trying to get the white powder out of her mouth and caused her to throw up in the process.  Steve called 911 and we had a nice visit with EMS and the fire dept.  By the time they arrived, Gabby was totally fine.  Her vitals were stable and I don't think she ingested any of the blue gel.  I think she bit into the packet, realized it was gross and spit it out.  They asked us if we wanted to go to the hospital and we chose to keep an eye on her at home.  We were so lucky she never ingested that awful dishwasher detergent.  Things can happen in a split second and both Steve and I were right next to her!  Needless to say.....Now the Cascade resides on top of the fridge.  I 

Life seems to revolve around a LOT of soccer lately.  There are many games to get into a short 2 month season.  Most of our time has been devoted to watching games.  Amanda plays on a larger field and plays in halves instead of quarters.  It is a good test of  her endurance.  I keep threatening to take her running with me.  She doesn't seem thrilled with that idea.  She would much rather practice jump roping than running the neighborhood.  (Did I mention she just completed a double dutch jump rope workshop?  Who knew there was even such a thing. She learned to cartwheel and jump rope.  Really.   There are classes for everything!)

Nicholas really is having a great time with soccer too.   Look how intense he is before the game starts.  He puts 100% out there on the field.  Since Nicholas favorite activity is running.... he is loving soccer.  He never takes a break and is with the ball for the entire game!

Nicholas was so excited..... this weekend he scored 4 goals....2 on Sat. and 2 on Sun.  Not bad for his 3rd soccer game EVER!  We may have a World Cup Athlete on our hands.  

This cute guy is still adjusting to his new school.  Everyday he complains he doesn't want to go to school.  It is boring, it is too long, he is sick, his nose is running, he has a stomach ache, he misses Grammie in Florida, he wishes it was summer vacation, his voice feels funny, is it Friday?  These are numerous complaints I here each and every morning.  When Nick gets off the bus in the afternoon, he is happy and tells me all about his day.... its just the mornings......that turn me into a raving, lunatic mother, telling him he is going to school in his p.j.s  & I don't care and I won't make him breakfast if he doesn't come downstairs right now.  I should be nominated for mother-of-the-year:) 

These 2 play so well together.  Nick is a bundle of energy and Gabby LOVES it!

This month we also saw my nephew being baptised.  This could be one of my favorite pictures from the service.

I offered to make the cake for Tyler's baptism.  I made marshmallow fondant to cover the cake.  It came out much better than the store bought yucky fondant.  It was a fun project to work on.

Just wanted to show you what I use to bribe three kids to go grocery shopping on a Sat. afternoon.... Doesn't it look delicious?!?  That is what they chose from the bakery dept.  UGH!

We had to take this photo because Amanda finally lost another tooth....  You really can't tell here.....

It is on the bottom row and she put it under her pillow with a note to the tooth fairy.... not to take the tooth... only leave a surprise.... but if she (being the tooth fairy) had to take the tooth to leave the surprise.... well, just don't leave the surprise.  That is the quick summary of the tooth fairy note!

Finally, Nicholas wants to show off what he has been making.  I've decided I love that Legos keep him busy, out of trouble, and teach him to build cool things all on his own.  If the soccer thing doesn't pan out.... I think we might have an engineer in the making... I mean a paleontologist engineer.... he still insists on the dinosaur thing.

Pretty cool. Huh.  Well Gabby is up from her nap so....

Finally..........

Well I think I may have finally figured out most of these design basics.  What a nightmare this has been.  I took an on-line self-paced computer class to figure out how to make my own custom blog.  It was a headache... and I'm not so sure I learned anything useful.  I worked on my photoshop skills, but I have no idea about HTML codes............ Ugh!  I'm not so sure that was money well spent.  (However, in the crazy process I did meet one of my New Year's Goals.  I took a class!)

Totally Annoyed!!

I'm totally annoyed with this blog.  I'm trying to change it and 3 hours later and lots of work this afternoon.... I can't figure out what I'm doing.  Now I can't put it back to the old way.  UGH!  I hate computers.

Back to School

So it is that time of year.... back-to-school. I'm ready, the kids were ready the first day, and we are all looking forward to a new fall schedule. Let the craziness begin again! Here are my traditional first day of school photos. The kids were so excited to get to the bus stop that we were 15 minutes early... so I had plenty of time to take pictures.

This is Amanda on her first day of Third Grade.....

Mr. Nicholas on his first day of First Grade at a brand new school...........

Amanda wanted me to make sure I captured the entire outfit... Do you see how the skirt matches the hat that matches the peace sign? Pretty cool huh? She chose this outfit especially for the first day of school.

Now the traditional back pack photo.......... leopard print and Spiderman.....

Can we leave yet? Please can we start walking to the bus stop?????

Stop taking photos... enough already....

Be a good sport Nicholas....

But this is the last one.....................

Off they go.... Gabby wanted to walk too.... Nicholas thought he was a first grade celebrity... walking backwards waving to the neighbors...

Eventually we had to corral Gabriella in the stroller... she was trying to make a run for it....

And then it was time..... Nicholas' first bus ride with his big sister...

And just like that..... a start to another school year....

I really had mixed feelings this day. I hoped Nicholas was going to like this school and make some new friends. I knew Amanda would be fine. When Nick came off the bus in the afternoon he had a big smile on his face and couldn't wait to tell me all about First grade. Both kids were excited about their teachers and new routines. I only hope this lasts..... Until later.......

New Photos!!!

So I absolutely hate when I don't blog for awhile....... then I have a ton of pictures.... a lot to say.... a lot I forget to say.... and it takes forever to post... when will I ever learn..... So let's dive in.

I'm excited for the school year to begin. I will miss summer and the great weather, but I'm ready for a new routine, new activities, new schedules, and a lot less squabbling.... Can you believe these 3 don't always get along??? They look pretty angelic; however, they say looks can be deceiving..... or maybe it is just kids being kids????


A few weeks ago Brad stopped by for an impromptu visit with Tyler. It was great to see Brad, and I can't believe how much the little guy is growing. He looks a lot like his Mama.

Probably the biggest piece of news around here is that Gabby is FINALLY WALKING. Guess what? She just decided to do it. One day she started and the next day she got better. I can't take any credit for my physical therapy intervention... Take a look at her.... she doesn't stop!

I thought this pictures was just funny. Kids like to emulate behaviors they see, so is this what I really look like at Target? Notice how she dug out the Coach bag to go shopping.....

Grammie and Amanda playing a game of Monopoly... Amanda loves anything that involves the transfer of money!

Amanda conveniently forgot to tell Grammie she could pay to get out of jail. Instead Grammie waited three turns in the slammer, while real estate mogul Amanda, purchased Boardwalk and Park Place!

We have been spending a lot of time with Mo and the kids on the weekends. The kids play well together and Maureen and I get to catch up. I captured this shot of Gabby and Mo Mo sharing some funny secret.....

Recently we have been having a lot of troubling getting Nicholas to stay in his bed at night. For the past 3 weeks he has become our new sleeping companion. Steve and I get fed up taking him back to his room 3 times a night....so eventually we let him stay. Sooooo.... this week I went back to the rewards system. He has been in love with Legos recently so I figured I would resort to Lego bribery. At this point I need a good night's sleep and so does Nick. He has been entirely too cranky in the morning. The deal is he must stay in his bed 7 nights in a row to receive the Lego prize. Well guess what.... it must be working.... Nicholas didn't come in our bed.... instead he went to Amanda's room.... what a sneaky way to get around the rules!

Just hanging out and relaxing before the beginning of school. I can't believe she will be in third grade!

Super Cute SISTERS!

Just liked this shot..............

So another issue we have at the Herdoiza household is SOCKS! I hate socks! I find them all over the house. I have even implemented the 25 cents rule for each sock I find. I should be overloaded with quarters.... I need to collect my debts better. On any day let me show you what I typically find.............. Well... on Wed. I clean and while I'm straightening up toys look what I see.....

In Gabby's toy.... when I take off the cover I discover Nick's socks, 50 cents KA-CHING

Then I vacuum the kitchen.....

Are you kidding me? That can't possibly be.... why yes it is.... Gabriella's sock.... that is 25 more cents

And what do I find in the living room..... no need to hide these... we have Steve's socks... 50 more cents.... Let me assure you Amanda usually leaves numerous pairs floating around too. UGH! Now do you see why I need to start collecting my money... That was only one day......

I've been baking a lot lately. I'm trying to bake instead of buy sweets. When I buy granola bars or cookies, the ingredients are all chemicals and corn syrup and you can't pronounce them. That is a problem. Even though treats aren't so healthy... I would like mine baked with real butter, eggs, flour, and sugar instead of dextrose, cocoa processed with alkali, and maltodextrin. Just what the heck are we putting in our bodies? Anyway... here are some homemade chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting. I found the cupcake liners at Michaels and thought they were so cute! The cupcakes tasted great too!

Just another cute shot..... This girl is always cracking up. I love it!

As loud as Gabby is...... Emmersyn is totally the opposite at our house.... such a sweet, quiet, and precious little girl!

These 2 always have a fun time together. This week they were into Lego's instead of Halloween costumes.

I hope it doesn't take me so long before I post again. However, school is beginning and soccer has started... (I'm already coming up with excuses.) Until later..........