November is almost gone

where has this month gone? it seems as though it was just last week that I posted, but, looking at the date, I see I am once again wayyyyy behind.

hmm, major highlights of November include:

Luke has started crawling! he does an Army crawl(just like J did) and he can get to wherever he wants to, and fast! watch out for any toys that you do not want to be chewed on! he also really likes to eat. he has no teeth yet, but that has not stopped in at all. he has had spaghetti, turkey, pizza crust, and scrambled eggs.

J is doing great in karate, almost ready to test again. this time, he will get a red stripe on his yellow belt, then the orange belt is next. he made the all A/B Honor Roll for 2nd grade! and, he's doing great with his reading, he reads for 30 minutes every night, and we don't have to remind him every night anymore, which is nice:)

E is just into everything, as usual. she is loving school, and will add a 4th day to her school week after the holidays. the girl never stops talking/singing/humming/whistling. it's a little exhausting. OK, a lot exhausting. she is also very artistic these days. she has started a little gallery in our bedroom, adding a picture here and there.

as for me, I had a procedure done the week before Thanksgiving called Essure. it's a new alternative to the standard "getting your tubes tied". why did I get this done? because my husband is a chicken shit and couldn't possibly go through a vasectomy. anyways, I'm fine, procedure was relatively easy and in 3 months I will not have to take birth control pills ever again.

I also hosted Thanksgiving dinner for about 12 people. everyone else brought side dishes, so I didn't have to do a huge amount of cooking, but I did do the turkey(and it came out really yummy!). I stuffed it with sweet onions and navel oranges, then glazed it with honey and butter. thank you Food Network!

the man is doing well, too:) he is getting over a cold, so he has been a little more grouchy lately, but he is now able to breathe through his nose again, so he's getting nice again.

my son is training to be a lean, mean, fighting machine

he is taking karate. this is his 1st organized sport. he is 8 and looks so damn cute when he bows to the mat. and the little outfit is cute, too. he earned his yellow belt last week, and is very proud of himself(me, too)!

and yes, he's the only child without the outfit on...I didn't know he was supposed to wear it to the congratulations/pizza party. Momma is a newbie at this karate business.
karate is a sport of discipline...something he sometimes is lacking in. he has definitely learned a lot, and he is having fun at the same time. I wish me telling him to do something had the same impact as Sensei A....she says "give me 10 push-ups", and he drops and does them. if I said that to him, he'd look at me as if I'd grown another head.
his sister goes to the majority of classes with him, but she cannot officially take them until she turns 5. she watches and absorbs it all, then shows us what she learned when we get home. she has quite a punch and her fighting stance is perfect. I don't know if she'll still want to take karate when she turns 5 or not, but if she does, watch out! I can see her going in and taking over the class.
I'm really hoping they don't get into it with each other and decide to try to out-karate one another. I think the 4 year old would win.....

well, so much for October!

can we say October seemed to be an extra busy month? I kept meaning to update here, but I see now it has been almost a month since my last entry. what to say? I suck.
so, a recap of October.... we went to Disney's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party for the first time! it was so much fun, we really had a great time, all of us.(meaning the man admitted to having fun at Disney...this is a feat in itself as he works there and he almost NEVER goes except to work). anywho, it was fun, kids loved it! (Momma loved it too, the Headless Horseman was awesome!) E loved the fireworks, that girl would watch fireworks every night if she could see them from Disney(in our backyard, I mean, the man would not agree to seeing Disney fireworks on a nightly basis...ever.). she was dancing around, ooohing and ahhhing, she's a lot of fun. J was very much into "scary" this year. which surprises me, because he will not even ride Splash Mountain...but hey, whatever floats his boat is OK with me. L slept through the majority of the evening. guess the stroller is nice and comfy:)
trick or treating was a huge success. both J and E came home with a bulging bag of loot. I have somehow managed to convince them both that Reese's is a disgusting candy that only Momma's like to eat. I scored about 5 of them, I think. and yes, I did eat every single damn one of them Halloween night. so much for the dieting on October 31st!
OK, guess I should start on November now......