It's been a while!

It has been quite a while since I have written anything, but it has been pretty crazy here. Well chaotic I guess.
Aiden has been loving school and he is doing soccer right now. He LOVES playing soccer. I hope to get pictures up once I get my computer back up and running. I am borrowing my mom's computer while I wait for yet another power cord! This time it wasn't my fault...I swear. It just stopped working and makes this beeping sound when you plug it in. I have the worst luck with power cords. Luckily it was still under warranty.
I have lots of pictures from different things that I want to get put up but can't until I get my computer back!
Right now sickness has hit the Carpenter house in full force. Calleigh started with this nasty cold with a cough and runny nose and was complaining about her ears. She had an ear infection. Then Aiden came home from school and was complaining about a headache and he was stuffy and had a bad cough. The school was concerned about it being this H1N1 Flu, and even the doctor's office said they were sure that was what he had....I wasn't convinced. The doctor said they don't even bother testing for it anymore. The next day he was really complaining about his throat and his head again and was coughing a lot. So I decided to bring him to the doctor on Saturday and they discovered it was not the H1N1 but it was strep throat. Poor guy had a really nasty throat. The doctor looked in his throat and just said..."does he take chewable or liquid medicine". They still did the strep test (which Aiden was less than thrilled about) and it came up positive. So he has been trying to rest and get better.
Riley has had the same cough and cold for a while and until Saturday night did not have a fever and his cough kept getting worse and worse. So today I brought him in thinking he probably had strep as well. To my surprise he did not have strep but had an ear infection! Another one. I was so frustrated because I thought the purpose of having the second round of tubes and having his adenoids out was to avoid more ear infections. This does not bode well for the fact that they said taking his tonsils out was the next step. Ugh, I hope to avoid that.
I am doing okay, just dealing with Life and all that it throws at me. Trying to keep busy and be creative with my time. I have picked sewing back up and I am attempting to make a bag and a hat. I am also crocheting Calleigh's blanket but I can only do little bits at a time because it hurts my hands too much. I am learning how to crochet hats. I am excited to make some for the kids this winter. I have also been cleaning a lot. Re-organizing and re-arranging things. Lots of stuff to take care of and I am so sick of the clutter!
I hope to post pics soon of the kids and all the projects I have been working on!

Bunnies!

The new baby bunnies are here! I found them for free and we have wanted rabbits again and these were just too cute to pass up to add to our little mini farm we've got going here! The tan was is named Rocket boy, the grey one is named twinkle, and the black one (the cutest little runt you will ever see!) is named superstar. The kids picked the names all by themselves.

More fair pics!

We ended up going back to the fair on Labor Day to see the animals again (and to hopefully get some more yummy fudge!) The kids had a lot of fun and the last day is the day to go, everyone was trying to get rid of things so we got good deals! There was a booth that had a lot of kids things~ hats, glow sticks, toys, etc. Everything was only a dollar because he wanted to get rid of all of it. The kids made out pretty good. Here are some pics from that day!

We had the greatest mini doughnuts at the fair! Calleigh at most of them!

Calleigh has already claimed this will be her first car!

Fair fun!

Yesterday we decided to go celebrate the first day of school with a trip to the fair (not to mention save a few bucks because admission is $4 cheaper if you go after 6pm M-Th). We usually spend all of our time with the animals and barely even go over to the ride and game side. Thankfully the kids are more interested in the animals than the other stuff! We did go over and play Fat Albert, the rat running quarter game. It's tradition and the kids each won their own prizes. Calleigh got a really cute bear wearing a pink Boston Red Sox shirt and hat! Aiden got a cheetah and Riley got a cow (no surprise there!). Then we did one of the squirt gun water games and Aiden won a tiger (and no we were not the only people playing!). And of course, no fair experience is complete without throwing the ping pong balls to try and get a fish. And of course we didn't think anyone would actually get a fish and Calleigh gets the ball into a bowl with a fish in it on the first throw......the thing went *plunk* right in! It was a great family experience and a great way to celebrate the first day of school!

This is the way the night ended, with them holding hands and truly enjoying each other's company. It made me tear up to see them holding hands un-prompted. Love it.

First day of First Grade!

Today was the first day of first grade for Aiden. He was very very excited!!! We all brought him to school this morning. Daddy, Mommy, Calleigh and Riley and Aiden got to school and walked the walk down the hall to meet his new teacher Mrs. Robinson. I was floored when I realized that she graduated high school the year AFTER I did. I thought for sure I had a couple of years before that happened. I was already feeling old for having a big first grader and that just hit it home for me! lol! I didn't shed a tear until I got into the car and went to remind Aiden to buckle up so we could go and I realized I was talking to no one! I felt a bit silly as a tear rolled down my cheek...........
All was not lost though and I was so relieved when Aiden got home and I went out to meet him getting off the bus and he ran, not just walked quickly or happily skipped across the driveway....but ran into my arms and gave me a HUGE hug and stated "It was awesome Mom, I had SO much fun!". Just knowing he was excited and happy and made it home in one piece made me very happy and the day went by so much faster than I thought it would!

Reminiscing....

Tomorrow my baby starts the first grade. How the hell did THAT happen?? Where oh where did the last six and a half years go? One minute I was holding him and staring into his beautiful blue eyes and snuggling without a care in the world. The next minute he is walking and toddling around, and then I blinked and he started Kindergarten. I blinked one more time and he seems to be in a whole new world. The days of sitting in bed and cuddling, the days of running to the door to give me a huge hug and kiss are gone. Now we have entered the days of things like arguing about putting the laundry away to making me kiss him when the bus rounds the corner instead of as the bus stops and he gets on.

It has also opened up so many new doors. He can read.....actually read books. Not just memorize the Brown bear, Brown bear that I read over a hundred times but he can actually sound out the words and read all by himself. He can write so many stories and has an imagination that leads you into worlds that you forgot about while growing into an adult. I am amazed at the wonderful being that Aiden has become. We have our moments. We butt heads and we argue and we even get angry with each other to the point where we can't be in the same room. However, at the end of the night it all melts away when I sneak into his room and I watch him sleeping......just for a moment. Just long enough to remember those days when he would make me sit on the floor just to sit in my lap and put his head on my shoulder and smile while twirling my hair.

"I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

my baby you'll be."

Love you Forever

by Robert Munsch