Life as a Leach

I'm going to attempt to recap the year in one blog post.  Wish me luck! In January, Caleb turned two and we celebrated with a cars/trucks party.  We had lots of fun playing and even ate a fun bulldozer cake that Julie made!  Matt went to Snow Camp with the youth group for a long weekend and just about froze to death.  They liked it so much that they're going back this year! February and March brought more youth group ski trips for Matt and lots of snow!  In fact, we had a really late, unexpected snow storm in March that kept us out of school for several days.  It was a nice break, even if we did have to make it up at the end of the year!  Caleb didn't overly enjoy the snow, so he basically chose the cry the entire time while we required him to have fun. On April 3rd, Matt and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.  Matt's schedule forced us to wait until May to go away for the weekend, but we had a great time in the Northe...

*  I most certainly didn't give my child a lollipop to pacify him when he was distraught over getting a new "big" bed and losing his toddler bed.  I teach my child that disappointment is a fact of life and would never give him a treat to distract him while I took the toddler bed out of his room. *  In all of the craziness of the holidays, I didn't forget about a 9 a.m. chiropractor's appointment this morning.  I always write my appointments down! *  Matt didn't tell Caleb that he would get a lollipop if he was good for the dentist.  He didn't suggest to Caleb that the dentist might give him said lollipop for a treat!  Matt certainly realizes that the dentist wouldn't give sugary treats to his patients! *  When Caleb realized that he had to pedal his new tracto r that Santa brought him, he didn't say that he wanted Santa to take it back and bring him a tractor that he didn't have to pedal.  When he saw the box downstairs that Matt hadn...

Tonight is Christmas Eve.  All of the presents are wrapped and put under the tree, Caleb's big presents have been set up, the songs have been sung, the boy is asleep, and I am here taking a quiet moment to write a thoughtful blog post while Matt is stil at church.  All is well....except... ...Except that it could be really easy for my thoughts to revert back to an issue that struggles to consume me at times.  That's not what Christmas is about.  In case you haven't heard, it's supposed to be a celebration of the birth of Christ, who was sent here to save us from our sins!  SO, tonight I am choosing to be thankful for everything I do have instead of lamenting over what I don't.  Here goes: I am incredibly thankful for the gift God gave me just 2 weeks after Christmas 3 years ago.  That little boy gives me more joy than I could have imagined possible.  I love him with every ounce of my being---as is proven by the tears streaming down my fa...

The highly anticipated results of our Christmas lights prizes: Well....this was the first year that our picks for BOTH most creative and prettiest weren't home!! We didn't want to leave the award on the door step without explanation, so we went to our second choice house for most creative--on Calvert Blvd. Then, we went to the second choice for prettiest--not there. We went to the third choice--not there. We finally went to our fourth choice and someone came to the door! This house was in King's Creek II and was very tasteful with a cross on the top...just not actually the prettiest. However, his reaction was totally worth it. This guy--named Harry Trueman, I might add---was so ridiculously excited! He couldn't wait to tell his wife and daughter when they got home. It was really cute, and we never let on that he was actually our 4th choice! :) Our actual first choice for prettiest was in Cherry Lane Farms off of Maraschino.  The first choice for most creative ...

I love the smells of Christmas!  Here are some of my favorites: *  The spicy candles *  Gingerbread cookies *  Bread *  The smell of the air when it snows What are yours???

I'm pretty sure that will be a question I'll have in the future, because I'm thinking we created a memory today.  We're having a ridiculously big snow storm (blizzard, actually--it's official!) that is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.  It started around 8 p.m. last night and has snowed continuously all day.  The weather is saying it won't end until tomorrow morning...craziness! Anyway, it's way too windy and deep to go outside and play.  Plus, Caleb hates snow.  Feel free to admire these pitiful shots taken during last year's snow storm! Since we couldn't go out in the snow, I brought the snow in to us. When I first asked Caleb if he wanted to build a snowman, his instant reply was, "NO!"  Then I told him I'd bring snow inside, and his reaction was, "But Momma, it's going to make the house a mess!"  I assured him that I would keep it neat! I got a bucket and filled it with snow off of our porch, then la...

It's amazing how one $7 size XL black coat can make such a difference in a little boy's day. I noticed that one of my students was coming to school without a coat.  When I asked him about it, he said the only one he has was his grandfather's and it hangs down past his knees.  Having had all three of his sisters, I am familiar with this family's circumstances and knew they couldn't afford to buy him one. At Walmart that night, I stopped in the boy's clothing section and noticed that some of their coats were on clearance.  For $7, I picked up an XL black coat that I knew would keep him warm. The next day, I pulled him aside and asked if he would like to have it.  The glimmer in that boy's eyes said it all, and he nodded.  I handed it to him and said that it was his! Well, did this boy have a fabulous day!  He did all of his work, participated in class, and even did his homework for one of the few times this quarter!  In fact, he didn't have a pie...

....I wanna be sedated! That's pretty much how I'm feeling this week because it's just a tad bit crazy here right now.  However, I am maintaining control--for the most part--and trying to manage my time wisely to keep from going over the edge.  So...that doesn't leave a lot of time for blogging.  I will tell you that Caleb had a fabulous time at Dutch Wonderland with the love of his life.  They held hands pretty much whenever they were in the car, shared toys very nicely, and even had a pretend tea party at the farm house!  It was all very cute!! I promise, there are many pictures to come....let's just say that I forgot to turn off Sports Mode!  I just need to get through this weekend and I'll load them.  Until then, enjoy this quick story: We went to visit "our" calves that we fed over the summer.  We knew the numbers and found them fairly quickly.  The one we named Lucy Long-Tongue reached out its loooooong tongue to lick Cale...

Tomorrow, we'll be heading up to Lancaster for the weekend with our friends Jenn and Steven...and Caleb's girlfriend Emma!  We're going to Dutch Wonderland for their Winter Wonderland activities, AND we're staying at the same fabulous farm we were at this summer!  Caleb is beyond excited to show the love of his life the farm and amusement park. So, we're off to spend some quality time with our son's future in-laws!  I'm definitely going to need to take some frame-worthy pictures of the two of them for the wedding table!  :)

Tonight, I was giving Becky her pill and told her to sit.  Matt was washing a pan and asked me what I said.  Naturally, I replied, "I said sit." So what does my husband do? He sits, of course. He walks to the kitchen table, pulls out the chair, and sits. When I just kind of look at him, his next statement is, "Now what?" And he had no idea why I was laughing. Poor guy! But I got a good laugh out of it!

We went to Homestead Gardens the day after Thanksgiving to see the big train display that they do each year.  The decorations are all really nice and Caleb loved looking at the train.  His favorite was the "chocolate train" (the Hershey's train).  The Hospice Festival of Trees was that weekend as well, so we headed there on Saturday with Amy, Owen, and Sara.  We got some nice pictures of the three of them in their Christmas outfits and a few cute ones of Caleb as well. While walking around the craft show at the Festival of Trees, Caleb spotted Santa all lonesome sitting in his chair.  He gasped and exclaimed, "Santa!"  After we asked if he would like to sit on his lap and tell him what Caleb wanted for Christmas, he ran and jumped on his lap with barely any hesitation!  What did he tell old Santa he wanted?  The Handy Manny work bench and a tractor, of course!

As is the Leach family tradition, we decorated our house for Christmas this weekend.  The day after Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite day of the year because I finally get to pull out all of our decorations, unwrap each piece, decide which current decorations will be put away for the season...it just makes me happy!  My favorite part of my favorite day is decorating the tree.  This year was especially fun because Caleb was old enough to help hang ornaments and he loved hearing stories of their history.  He has already asked me several different times to show him the ones he made. We finished up today with Matt hanging the Christmas lights and Caleb and I putting the personalized window clings on (which thrilled him!!)  Highlights from our adventures: *  Finally figuring out how to hang the advent tree Barbara made for us last year after many failed attempts. *  Caleb playing with the nutcracker ornaments and calling them butt crackers. *...

We did Thankful 4s in reading class today.  I drew the outline of a big 4 and had the students write what they are "Thankful 4" inside the 4.  We then punched a hole in it and tied some string to it so that it could be hung on the tree.  Some students used a longer piece so that they could wear them around their neck.  They turned out really cute and the kids were so thoughtful with what they wrote.  We shared after they finished and some of them almost made me tear up!  We're going to be doing them at my house for Thanksgiving too.  :) I'm thankful 4 you!  :)

Last Friday, Caleb learned about Thanksgiving at Mom's Morning Out.  We chatted about what he'd learned on the way home.  According to the boy: *  The Indians lived in really big tents *  They helped the piglims catch fish and grow plants *  The pilgrims came over on a really big flower --------------------------------------------------------------- Tonight, Matt drove me to the chiropractor.  Caleb asked what the doctor was going to do.  I told him he was going to fix my back.  Of course, the next question was if the doctor would take all of my clothes off.  (um, no, Caleb)  When I assured him that he wouldn't, he then asked what he was going to do to my back.  I told him that he would crack my back.  His question?  "With an egg?"  :) Pretty clever, if you ask me!

If you happened to catch the AMAs last night, you know what I'm talking about.  If you were asleep (like I was), feel free to google the video and watch it.  It's pretty much everywhere because it has raised so much controversy.  WARNING:  Do NOT watch this with kids around!  It is by far the dirtiest, most vile, creepiest performance I have ever seen--male or female!  I'm not imbedding it on my blog because I don't want anyone thinking I'm condoning it.  GROSS.

Amy and I have had craft shows the last two weekends.  Last week was at St. John Vienny and today's was at Calvert High School.  We've done pretty well at both. I don't have much to report, because all of my creative energy has been poured into making necklaces!  I have been working most every night to keep up my stock! Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and this year, it's at my house!  Hopefully, I'll have something interesting to say soon! Yeah, I know this is lame .  Sorry!

This week, I did not call my husband at 6 p.m. while I was still at school to ask him to start the bread machine for me so that I would have bread to take with me for a potluck the next day.  He did not put in twice as much water as was called for.  I didn't not realize it until 9:30 when the bread suddenly collapsed.  When Caleb was cleansing before his colonoscopy, I didn't give him a lollipop to suck on only to have to dig it out of his mouth because he chewed it .  Caleb didn't bite me multiple times because he was so angry that I was stealing his lollipop. Caleb didn't scream "Not again!!!!!!  Never, never, NEVER!!!!!!!!" when I had him sit on the toilet for the 24th time yesterday.  I was not totally at my wit's end trying to stay patient with my oh-so-hungry boy.  I didn't yell at Matt simply because I was frustrated by the day's events. I didn't resort to hiding behind the cabinet door to sneak a few chips during Caleb's cle...

I'm lovin'... ...t his blog. She is such an inspiration, such a fabulous writer, and such a generous person.  I understand why she has one of the most-read blogs on the internet! ...the cuddles I get from my boy in the morning.  He is in a big "mamma" phase right now. ...sugar cookies that are cut into cute shapes.  Not decorated--I like 'em plain! ...making necklaces.  Creating a product that someone else loves really makes me happy. ...sweater weather.  I'll get tired of it soon enough, but right now it's comfy! ...hand-me-downs from friends and family.  Between Amy and Carrie, Caleb is a very well-dressed little boy! What are you lovin'???

Today is my 16 year anniversary of becoming a vegetarian.  I haven't eaten red meat or chicken in over 1/2 of my life, which is pretty crazy to think about.  Of course, just Saturday my grandmother was trying to convince me that her chicken salad sandwiches didn't have that much meat in them!  On a whole, I feel like I'm pretty healthy and work hard at getting enough protein.  Of course, it is questionable as to whether or not all the soy I ate during my pregnancy is what caused Caleb to have a birth defect.  You just can't win! In other news, today is also a bit bittersweet for me, as today it has been 4 years since my dear friend Lisa died.  I still miss her and wish she were still teaching right next door to me.  I have her picture on my wall and marvel all of the time at the fact that this picture was taken just a few days before she died.  BUT, the last thing Lisa wanted was to be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, so ...

...Jacob a lot today.  His surgery to hopefully remove the rest of his brain tumor will be at 7 a.m. Seattle time (10 a.m. our time).  Caleb wants to send him a courage blanket so that he can be brave! ...job sharing and how badly I want the best of both world. ...MOPS and longing for a unified group of women who are similar places in life. ...Christmas and the fact that I can't find my mom's presents!  I am the kind of person that won't rest until all of my shopping is done.  I don't like it hanging over my head. ...all the germs floating around and hoping that bringing Caleb to the Fall Festival at my school tonight is not a mistake.

Tomorrow is Jacob's second big surgery to hopefully remove the rest of his tumor.  This will be a long surgery of at least 6 hours, so we'll be praying hard for him all day long tomorrow.  We love you Jacob!

*  I did not majorly hesitate before taking a piece of Communion Bread because of the possibility of major germs all over my piece.  I did not lean over and suggest to Matt that next month we need to sit up front so that we get "first pick." *  I didn't use an entire can of Lysol in my coat closets at school this week.  I am not completely grossed out with the thought that they are only cleaned twice a year.  I did not send Matt to the store tonight while I was tutoring to buy me more Lysol. *  The Grinch did not manage to steal Halloween from my candy-loving niece.  She was not so completely freaked out by a teenager dressed up like this hated cartoon character that she refused to even enter the gym where our Fall Festival was being held.  She did not cower under the table for the duration of the party.  I was not annoyed at all with the Grinch for scaring little children! *  After making a good attempt to go potty and earning a p...

At our church Fall Festival last night, one of the most talked-about costumes was The Grinch.  Who talked about it the most?  Caleb and Sara.  Here's why... Sara and Caleb were innocently playing in the toddler play area with me while Amy took Owen to some of the older kid activities.  Suddenly, Sara spots the Grinch and started FREAKING out!!!  She froze and began to scream and cry uncontrollably.  Naturally, Caleb followed suit.  I couldn't move either one of them, and we were starting to draw a crowd.  I called Amy on her cell to get her help. Once we managed to get the kids out of the gym, poor Sara refused to go back in.  In fact, every time she caught sight of the Grinch, a fresh batch of screams and tears ensued.  She wasn't the only one though; the Grinch managed to frighten several kids that night. Thankfully, Caleb settled down after I got him away from Sara.  I ended up taking Caleb and Owen around to play the games...

You may choose to agree or disagree, but these are our feelings on Halloween! Halloween in itself is not evil.  What some people choose to do on Halloween may be evil, but Halloween in itself is a harmless day where kids are given permission to dress up and stuff their faces with candy.  Some people choose to get drunk.  Some people choose to vandalize other people's houses.  Some people choose to spend time with their families.  Some people choose to go to church parties.  Whatever people choose to do is their choice.  People's choices should not deem an entire holiday evil. Now, you all probably know that Matt is the youth pastor at our church.  I'm sure some people have strong feelings about Halloween.  Do we dress up?  Yep!  Do we trick-or-treat?  Sure do!  Do we/will we dress Caleb in scary or gory costumes?  No.  We do have limits.  He can be cute or funny, but not vulgar.  This is...

We're praying for you, Jacob!

*  I do not have an insane amount of kids out every day with the same symptoms:  high fever, nasty cough, and body aches.  I do not at all assume that this is Swine Flu and that it is all over our school.  I have not been having my students take a squirt of hand sanitizer every 10 minutes in order to try to keep the germs down.  What's more, I certainly didn't have my reading kids use disinfectant wipes to wipe off all of their folders and notebooks and the inside of their desks!  That would be over the top... *  I was not secretly thankful that this Sunday was not Communion so that I didn't feel obligated to take a piece of the bread that many other not-so-clean hands had already touched.  The thought of next week being the first Sunday of the month (Communion Sunday) doesn't gross me out and cause me to shudder.  I'm not seriously considering not taking Communion. *  I did not have to give Caleb an emergency bath on Saturday b...

There is Swine Flu all over our school.  There are 2 confirmed cases in my class alone, but a bunch of kids have been absent.  I had 5 missing this morning!  Unfortunately, my day at school was cut very short when I got a phone call at about 9:05 from my sister saying Caleb had thrown up all over her.  Lovely.  Poor Amy! I got some things together and came right home (Amy was dropping Sara off at school when it happened, which is even better!)  It wasn't totally unexpected because I thought Caleb felt a bit warm this morning but he didn't register having a fever and was acting okay.  Even now, he's sitting next to me in bed singing the Hokey Pokey and using his sick bucket as a drum (don't worry, he hasn't used the sick bucket yet!!) telling me that a little treat would make him feel better.  As long as he can sing, he must be doing okay!  :)

We have been carving pumpkins like crazy around here!  We went to the pumpkin patch last week and each chose a pumpkin that suited us.  We carved one a night and finished up on Wednesday.  Each one is very unique, and Caleb even had the grand idea of using my broken stem as my pumpkins funky nose!  They all turned out great!  Owen and Sara are spending the night tonight and we bought three small pumpkins for them to carve.  Can you believe they've never carved pumpkins before???  They thoroughly enjoyed themselves and even found the toasted seeds as tasty as Caleb and I have!  As most of you know, my cousin's son Jacob (almost exactly Caleb's age) is battling a brain tumor.  After one big surgery to remove part of the tumor and multiple smaller surgeries, Jacob will have the second surgery to hopefully remove the rest of the tumor in the beginning of November.  My cousin, his wife, and their other two children (one being a newborn!) ...

On Saturday, we went to this lame not incredibly-well planned Fall Festival at a local church.  Besides the fact that you had to pay for all of the events, there just wasn't much to do.  Plus, they gave out NO candy!!  It just wasn't quite like the Fall Festival I'm used to... One positive note is that they did have the Saint Leonard Fire Department there to do demonstrations and let the kids look in the fire truck, which Caleb enjoyed.  Now, the SLFD isn't exactly known for its speediness to calls, but it is becoming very well-known for one thing:  it's fabulous outdoor country music concerts.  They have had Alan Jackson, Little Big Town, Kellie Pickler, etc.  A lot of big names have made their way down to our teeny town that is lacking even its own grocery store. Anyway, this is how the conversation went: Fireman:  (after finishing his demonstration)   "So, that's how the fire truck works.  Any questions?" Cale...

*  Caleb did not ask me what infidelity meant this weekend in the car.  He certainly did not gain this new vocabulary word from a song Matt played on his iPod.  We are much more vigilant about what we let our son listen to and would never fill his mind with such filth.  *  My answer to Caleb's question about the definition of infidelity most definitely wasn't it's when you aren't very nice to the person you love.   I am completely honest with him and do not try to get out of awkward conversations by giving a vague and not-completely-true definition. *  In a ploy to try to get Caleb to fall asleep in the car, Matt did not convince him that he had painted pictures on the inside of our son's eyelids.  Caleb totally didn't buy it like a champ and end up falling asleep almost immediately! *  While eating apple fries at Bob Evans tonight, Matt did not try to force feed Caleb in order to get him to eat caramel.  Caleb didn't completely ...

How's that for some alliteration?!?  (I'm teaching elements of poetry right now, so I have alliteration on the brain!) Disclaimer:  This post is totally about the art of pooping and the celebrating that comes after.  If you are not interested in hearing about the potty habits of my two year old, please stop reading at this time. Caleb has really turned a corner in this pottying adventure.  Two and a half weeks ago, Matt did the same thing we've been doing since June--he put Caleb on the potty to try to poop.  For some reason, Caleb finally decided that it was time to actually go...and he did!  They called and left a message on my cell while I was at school.  Matt was so excited that he lifted Caleb over his head and ran around screaming doing what Caleb called a parade.  Well, the parade must have worked because the next day, he did it again...and again, and again!  In fact, he has only pooped once in his pants since that fateful day (w...

Here are a few stories to make you chuckle... *  On the way home from Isaac's birthday party on Friday night, we were trying to get Caleb to fall asleep.  Matt convinced him that he had painted pictures on the inside of Caleb's eye lids, but the only way to see them was to close his eyes.  When Caleb obeyed, he shouted, "I see them!" with glee...and then fell asleep pretty soon after that!! :) * Yesterday Caleb and I went to a few yard sales.  I've started having him take some of his money from his piggy bank to encourage coin recognition and understanding of a value of a dollar (or quarter, as the case may be!)  He found a set of stacking cars for 10 cents that are made for young children and wanted to buy them, but I told him that he was too old for them.  He immediately decided that Emma really wanted them, so he bought them for her with his own money!  I'm not sure that Emma will really want a set of boyish-looking cars, but it was a nic...

A year ago today, the wife of a friend of mine from college gave birth to a sweet little boy named Isaac.  Isaac lived for 16 wonderful minutes and most definitely knew the love of his parents in that short time he was on this side of heaven.  Stacy and Spencer knew beforehand that Isaac was a sick baby, but they prayed for a miracle right up until the day of the C-section.  Spencer and Stacy have been really open about their experience, and Stacy wrote a heartfelt blog today sharing about how she is dealing with the emotions of the day.  They are an amazingly strong couple.  Check it out and maybe leave them a little love!

Playing in the bucket at Emma's birthday party Silly string fun at Uncle Ronnie's party                                                                 Trying on his halloween costume--HEEHAW cowboy! Playing at the church's anniversary celebration A year later, he still loves this pumpkin. "If you smile nicely, I'll let you take a picture with my camera!" Giving his pumpkin a kiss. I love the colors in this picture. Roasting marshmallows for Paw Paw's birthday.

It's all I could think of that was alliterative...it technically should be Friday Funnies, but it's not Friday...so we're going with this one! Caleb:  Mommy, do you have a penis? Me:  No. Caleb:  I want to see it.  Where is it? Me:  Well, you're going to be looking a long time because it's not there.  I don't have one. Caleb:  (sadly) Ooooh.  You need to go to the store and buy one. ------------------------------------ Caleb:  (on the way to his room for nap time)  I'm taking my girls to bed with me. Matt:  WHAT???? Caleb:  (holding up his 2 stuffed toys) I'm taking my girls to bed with me! ------------------------------------ Caleb:  (randomly in the car)  Emma is my favorite baby. ------------------------------------ Caleb:  Do you like my farmer truck, Momma? Me:  You're what? Caleb:  (holding up his armored truck) My farmer truck! ------------------------------------...

I haven't done this in a few weeks.  I've started one each week, but deleted what I'd written because I didn't have anything really great to include.  This week, I have a few! *  No, I definitely was not asked by my son if I had a fuzzy butt this morning.  That would be totally weird.  (FYI:  no, I do not!) *  Caleb did not decide out of the blue that he would start going poop on the potty.  He didn't very willingly just go on Wednesday morning with Matt and then act like he'd been doing it all his life.  He hasn't turned a major corner in potty training and made our lives very happy! *  We certainly don't do a parade whenever Caleb goes poop.  Matt hasn't carried him over his head each time running through the house screaming WOOOOOOOO---HOOOOOOOOO every time he does the deed.  That would be a little over the top. *  Caleb doesn't ask us if we're going to do the parade each time he goes to sit on the potty! *...

Caleb is officially a preschooler!  He is attending a program called Mom's Morning Out at our church on Fridays and is loving it.  He adores his teacher and my sister is the assistant, so he is in very good hands! The anti-social boy has been a little slow to join the group and actively participate, but he did join everyone else during Circle Time last week.  He didn't actually participate , but we're doing baby steps! Apparently, he didn't care for the lunch I packed him on his first day.  He kept trying to steal the other kids' chips.  That next week, Caleb and I went to the grocery store and picked out some lunch choices for him.  He now has a basket of healthy (but tasty!) snacks from which he can choose!

I admit it.  I absolutely LOVE this new show Glee on Fox.  It is hysterical, and I'm not one to laugh out loud at television. The most I normally do is chuckle a bit, but I can either identify with or connect someone I know to every character on that show.  If you haven't become a Gleek yet, take the plunge!