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Joy Plus Peace Christmas

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Our Sweet 5 Year Old - Patrick Joseph

Patrick’s 5^th birthday was momentous…I can’t believe that we have a 5 year old.  This was tough mentally because now we’ve got a “big kid,” not a little boy.  How did this happen?!

Anyway, Patrick was very excited about all the fun stuff we had planned.  He first celebrated in Mrs. Cannon’s class with a cookie cake.  He’s really into being a cowboy right now, so for this party, we did a horse.  They loved it!

Patrick celebrated his birthday with his friends at the firehouse in Alton.  They got to tour the firehouse (except they didn’t get to slide down the pole, sorry Katie B.).  The kids thought this was super cool.  We did a piñata.  Patrick went first.  Eva went last.  All the kids got to take a wack.  Fun stuff…except at the end I was left holding a headless dog.  Anyway, then we went back upstairs and opened presents and had cake and juice/milk.    Awesome party.

Finally, we celebrated Patrick’s birthday with our family and close friends.  I have to say, this is one of my favorite things we do.  Having our closest people with us to celebrate my kids is so special.  There is so much love, it makes my heart happy.  We had this party at our house.  Sam got out the bounce house -and all the yard toys.  Patrick, Casey and Eva had lots of fun playing.  All the grownups visited and played too.  We had a nacho bar…yummy!  Sam made a Buzz Lightyear cake that was a ton of work, but looked cool.

Overall, our big boy had a lovely birthday with lots of special people. 

Lots of Birthday Photos Here!

Jammies - 2nd Generation

Above is a photo of Eva wearing a pair of pajamas that I had as a little girl.  My grandparents got them for me in Hawaii.  Sissy looks so cute and sassy.  :)

One last kiss...

So tonight I kissed my pre-schooler and tucked him in one last time.  Tomorrow he will wake up a kindergartener.  How this happend, I have no idea.  He was a baby just a few months ago.  He still needs me to kiss his boo boos and needs lots of loving at night.  He was scared tonight, a little nervous.  He said, "but I don't even know how to read yet mommy."  I assured him that the other kids probably didn't know how to read either.  That's what he's there to learn.  I told him it would be a lot like Mrs. Cannon's class. 
We went to his classroom today for the first time.  Met his teacher, played with kids in his class, many of whom he already knew.  He was more comfortable afterwards.  His classroom is beautiful.
I know this is a new phase for Patrick.  I can see that he's apprehensive and a worrier, but once he gets to know people, he has so much fun.  He is smart and well spoken.  He is so sweet and compassionate.I'm so proud of him and know he'll do great. We love him so much.
While being the mom and dad of young children is hard and sometimes exhausting, I know I will miss these sweet, sweet days.  I love those two little turkeys so much.

A Day at the Park, April 27, 2011

I swear I'm working on getting caught up.  Patrick starts school next week and our summer fun is winding down.  I, Mama Hooligan, hereby swear to get our summer blogged before Halloween.  Not so ambitious sounding, but trust me, we've been busy! 
On this day, Sam and I took the kids, the human ones and the furrier ones, to Gordon Moore Park.  While Sissy is only two, she is riding a bicycle like a pro.  Patrick LOVES riding his bicycle. 

Click Here to see our afternoon of fun!

Hooligans go to The Magic House

In April, the Hooligans made their inaugural trip to The Magic House.  Lots of fun!  First, we hit the area of the "house" that was specifically meant for "the wee ones."  Age appropriate, easy to understand, not easy to break activities there.  You'll see photos of some of us standing in an authentic Blues hockey goal, Sam playing a shape game with rubberbands, the kids having loads of fun, and the water play table.

Then we visited Bob the Builder, and his cat.  Apparently we aren't avid fans of Mr. the Builder, because I didn't know he had a cat.  Anyway, the kids built and destroyed many things in this room.  Eva "drove" a bull-dozer; how appropriate, right?  They had their photo taken with Mr. the Builder and Eva was riding on the cat.  Niiiice.

We made it up to the rooftop "garden" where Patrick plucked lots of veggies and made stew for us.  Then Sam and Patrick disappeared behind a wall in the mystery area.  I'm not kidding here.  I couldn't figure out how to get the darn wall to open so I could get back there!  Eva and I were laggards because we had to make a bathroom stop.  The Magic House really made her comfortable and if I remember correctly, she pooped (in her pull-ups) 3 times.  Oh what fun!  Sorry if that's TMI, but I know the ins and outs of every bathroom at that place now!

Then we visited the governemnt section.  They had an oval office, a Senate room, and a court room.  Although my kiddos were a bit too young to appreciate much of this, Sam and I thought it was very cool.  My children both got their photos taken behind the presidential podium.  When they become POTUS, I'll get one of those two part frames and label it "at 5 years old" and "at 45 years old."  It will be a crowning jewel at my house (you know, the White House where I'm living taking care of my grandchildren).

Finally, we found the ball that makes your hair stand on end.  It was in an old closet!  Sam and I clearly remember this from our own childhood as the pinnacle attraction at The Magic House and here it was shoved in a back room. I thought that was mighty disrespectful.  Until I found out that it hasn't moved since it was placed originally.  I guess we were wee people back then and the whole experience was large, so the room was remembered that way too. 

We were exhausted by this point, and hungry too.  We found a nice patch of grass in the "backyard" of the House and enjoyed a picnic lunch.  Beautiful spring day.  We created some great memories and got some great photos to hold onto for future reference.  :)
Photos of our Day

Chalk on the House

A while back, we let the kids play out front. They enjoy "chalking" on the sidewalk and driveway. Well on this day, that was not good enough. I left them unsupervised for a few minutes...and boy did we pay for it. I'll let the pictures explain...

We laughed about the mess and tried our darndest to scold the kids in between our own giggles and smiles.  It was hilarious.  I was taking the kids out of town for the day for a baby shower the following week.  I asked Sam to have it gone by the time we returned from our day trip Although it was still pretty chilly outside, he hauled out the hose that had been put away for the winter and got all the chalk off the siding.  Surely our neighbors enjoyed our artful display for the week though...right?

Eva's Big Girl Bed

Sissy has been doing LOTS of growing up in the last few months.  She has moved from her crib to a big girl bed.  She inherited the mahogany bedroom suite I used as a girl.  It belonged to my great-grandmother.  It's beautiful, although it shows a little wear.  Eva adjusted beautifully with no troubles.  She loved it right away.  Below are a few photos of her first night.  Eva is adorable, as per usual.

Proud Eva Girl

Patrick joined her for a minute to make sure her new digs were comfy. :)

Poor Libby got the royal treatment from Eva...doesn't loook like she minded too much though!

She is also wearing big girl panties these days, but I won't share photos of that.  She is very proud of being a big girl and we're equally proud of our little turkey.

Mother's Day 2011 (The Prequel)

On the night before Mother's Day, mom made dinner for us.  Yummm...anyway, I ended up spending the night.  I stayed up in the loft.  As you'll see in the photos, the kids were so sweet to come and wake me up.  They brought me a gift and then mom made a butter braid and scrambled eggs.  The kids helped make scrambled eggs with MawMaw.  Awesome morning!

Photos  

Mother's Day 2011

This was a GREAT Mother's Day.  We celebrated with my mom on Saturday night.  We had an awesome dinner at their house: marinated chicken, roasted potatoes and carrots, and wonderful green beans...completed with a homemade blackberry pie.  Yummm.  We were having fun, so I just spent the night in the loft there and the kids stayed in their usual spots with MawMaw and Doo Dah.  Mom made a tasty pastry this morning and scrambled eggs.  Thanks for making the morning special mom!

Then we met Nana and Emily at Lowe's and the kids helped me pick out new flowers for the front landscaping.  From here, we went home and got cleaned up and gathered Sam.  We met Em, Steve, Gigi, and Nana at Julia's for a late lunch.  We had a great time and took some good photos. 

After rest time at home, Nana came over and helped me and the kids plant my new flowers.  Sissy wasn't feeling so well today, but she made it through.  Overall, lovely weather, lovely family, awesome day.  Thanks to all the "mom people" in my life.  I couldn't do this without you all.

Zoo Trip, May 2011

So I've got lots of blogging to catch up on, but I've got to start somewhere.  I'm going to start in the present and work backwards until our fans know all the fun stuff we've been up to for the last few months!

Last week, Patrick's pre-school class went to the zoo.  Patrick and I rode the bus over to the zoo with his classmates and teachers.  This brought back lots of "fond" memories for me, but Patrick seemed to enjoy the novelty of it. 

He and I had a few hours there on our own checking out the bears, zebras, lions, tigers, and the American Wild Ass.  I made the mistake of giving Patrick the correct name of this animal...I just couldn't leave it at donkey.  He spent the rest of the day interjecting "ass" into the conversation.  :)

Anyway, my mom and dad brought Eva over and we had a picnic lunch together.  Then we saw the monkeys, gorillas, chimps, rode the carousel and the train, visited with the penguins and puffins, and spent some time looking at the flamingos, ducks, geese, etc.  We had lots of fun.  The weather and the company were great!

See photos of our day here.

Long Time, No Blog...

Ok, so I've been a very bad doggy and haven't kept up on the blogging.  Lots of goings on in the Hooligan Household.  Most significantly, I made the decision to leave real estate.  I won't use this fun space to bore you all with the details.  It was the right decision for our family right now.  Anyway, so for the time being, my days are filled with all the things I was doing before, just not quite the break neck speed.  We made it through the seemingly unending winter and are looking forward to being out of the house this spring. 
As you'll see in the photos, we had fun sledding with our neighbors/friends up the street Nick and Emma (and their moms).  The kids also made snow cones with Sam made from sleet from the back deck at our house.  The kids were made with V-8 fruit juice and Sam's was made with Tarantula tequila.  There are several miscellaneous photos: fun day at MawMaw's, Story time with Nana, Libby sleeping with Patrick, and so on.

Patrick is finishing his last weeks of preschool.  I cannot believe he is growing up so fast.  I can still remember Sam and I trying to decide if we were ready to have a baby...seems like maybe 6 months ago.  Patrick is doing well in school and we are so proud of the awesome little boy he is becoming (and he's so handsome too). 

Eva is getting sassier by the day and is already riding a bicycle (with training wheels).  She is wearing big girl underwear part of the time now...we're still working on the potty training.  She got a big girl bed a few months ago and is doing very well with it.  She is 2 and a half already.

Hooligans Turn Texan

A few weeks ago, all four of us went to Dallas to visit with Sam's friend Shawn, and his family (wife Sherry and 3 year old daughter Kiera).  We had lots of fun!  We spent a few days at Great Wolf Lodge (a kid-centric resort with an indoor water park and other fun kid stuff).  The kids also got to ride the pony at Shawn and Sherry's house. 
Eva and Patrick were great on both flights.  Patrick called the runway the "run road."  They each had their own suitcase to carry on.  Eva was so cute walking through the airport with the suitcase following behind in one had and the other hand on her hip.
Below is a link with LOTS of photos of our trip.

Click Here for photos of our trip!

Happy Valentine's Day

More Winter Fun 2011

Since Christmas, we've been having LOTS of fun.  I thought I'd catch all the Hooligans' fans up on our recent adventures.

We had a snow day last week.  The kids maxed out our house in regards to where and how they played.  Every room, every toy, every game.  They wanted to play in their playroom in the basement that Sam and I created this past summer.  However, it is VERY cold downstairs.  We put a big space heater to help, but I bundled up the kids as best I could to keep them warm.  Here are some pics of their "creative dressing."

Last Sunday, the kids got dressed up and we went to visit Gigi (Sam's Grandma) and take her out to lunch with Nana (Sam's mom), Emily and Steve.  Fun day, cute pics.

We took the kids for their first ice skating experience this past Friday.  It started out a little rocky, but by the end, Patrick had improved significantly and left wanting more.  Eva was very brave and enjoyed the experience.  She's still a little bit small, but we'll keep her going so she stays comfortable with the idea until she's big and strong enough to start skating.  For Patrick, the key seemed to be to make sure he knew it was ok to fall.  He was so tense in the beginning, so after a while, I gave him  a push to skate toward Steve, full well knowing he would probably fall.  After the first couple of falls, he was less afraid and that seemed to be the tipping point.  From there, he was flying all over the ice.  Now if only I could take my own advice.  I'm a decent skater, but have never learned to stop on the ice. 

This past Monday was Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday.  On that morning, I explained to Patrick who this man was and what he did for our country, as I knew they would be discussing it at pre-school that day.  He seemed to absorb some of it.  Later that night, at dinner, Patrick announced to the table that "today is King Arthur's Birthday."  It took us a few seconds to figure out what he meant.  Hilarious!  We got him all straightend out.

Finally, there are photos of us making brownies.  The kids got aprons for Christmas and this was their maiden voyage.  As you can see, Patrick and Eva had lots of fun. 

Sam and I are having fun watching these two little turkeys grow up.  While we may seem or sound exhausted and or exasperated sometimes, we wouldn't have it any other way.  These are the two coolest people we know.  They play well together (most of the time) and are little sponges absorbing the world.

Link to Photos of Winter Fun

Valentines Day 2011

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Christmas/Winter 2010

This year, Christmas was busy, but really great, as usual.  You'll see lots of great photos at the link below.  Amy brought over supplies for decorating gingerbread houses.  LOTS of fun for Patrick and Eva, and pretty theraputic for me.  Amy showed me how to chill out and let the kids make a big fat mess and eat lots of icing and candy.  As you'll see in the photos, both kids made beautiful gingerbread houses and were very proud.  As you'll see in the photos, Amy had a good time too!  Thanks Amy!

A week before Christmas, we made a trip to Columbia, MO to celebrate Christmas with the Hatfield side of Sam's family.  Papa Bob and some of his kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids were there.  The house was chock full of babies and little kids.  Three babies and four little kids to be exact.  Well, and then all of us adult sized kids.  The kids were great and we had a good time seeing everyone and meeting the new additions to the family. 

Christmas Eve was at Grandma and Grandpa Green's house.  It pretty much the only time of year that the ENTIRE Green family gets together anymore, so it's always a special night.  It's definitely evolved since I was a kid, but G & G never disappoint.  When we got home, we set out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.  Also, and most importantly, we put the Santa Key on the front door.  This was a new addition in our ritual this year.  Thanks to Diane Murbarger (Katie's mom) for helping us out with that.  This key was  a big hit for my son who wasn't satisfied with my explanations at just how Santa Claus gained access to Patrick's house.

 

Christmas morning at our house was great.  Patrick got the much anticipated Buzz Lightyear from Santa and Eva got an adorable neon, multi-color tutu.  Patrick was very specific with Santa about exactly which Buzz Lightyear he wanted, and Santa did not disappoint.  Eva's tutu represents her personality perfectly, girly, but with an attitude.  Our parents, and then extended family, came over to see what Santa brought and to share in the traditional Christmas breakfast casserole, made by my mom.  Gwen brought monkey bread this year...yummmm. 

 

Later in the evening on Christmas, we celebrated at Tom and Gwen's with another very tasty meal and exchanging gifts with Sam's extended family.  Even the doggies, while none were actually present, got in on the gift exchanging action on this night.  After gifts were opened, the Patrick and Eva played Zingo (little kid Bingo) with Aunt Emily, Uncle Steve and Sam.

On Sunday, the 26th, we had a lazy morning at home with the kids and some of their new toys.  After naptime, we went up to mom and dad's to finally have Christmas with them.  My brother Andrew and Grandma Huber were there too.  We couldn't wait any longer, so we opened gifts first and then had a great meal.  Mom got lots of new cookware to continue supplying her family with really awesome dishes.  :)  The kids played some more Zingo and Patrick taught Grandma Huber how to play his new video game (LeapFrog Explorer). 

(yes, that's a pouch of organic peanut butter she's so excited about!)

There are a TON of photos, but for you grandmother of the Hooligans, and maybe aunties, uncles and close friends, you'll enjoy them.  We had a full schedule again this year, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I am eternally grateful to have so much family with which to spend the holidays.  I love them so much.  If you're one of them, thanks for making this Christmas so wonderful for Patrick and Eva.  They are two very lucky little turkeys!

Hooligan Christmas and Winter Fun