Halloween 2010

 

My parents are in Spain. That made for a difficult Halloween for me. No parents over to enjoy pizza and snacks. No parents over the entertain me while I hand out candy. No parents to keep me company while Mike goes out and trick-or-treats with the kids. No parents…..it’s a sad, sad time. They don’t come back for another week. I am not sure I can make it. Might need some Prozac.

I did, however, ask Mike’s sister, mom, and Dave to come over. Little Jake wanted to go out collecting candy with his buddy Connor (which is what he calls him) and Noah. So, pizzas and snacks could still happen! Fabulous.

First, I must be a slight Debbie Downer. Pumpkin carving is quickly finding itself in the same company as gingerbread houses in the Budach home. I want to know how people get their kids to create these masterpieces? Am I just too much of a wimp? Am I not doing something correctly? Do I not have the right equipment? It is nearly impossible for my kids to help us carve pumpkins. The knives we have to use to create these carvings are so sharp. I can’t even stand to watch the kids use them, and yet I don’t want to take my eyes off them in case something happens.

Noah and Connor both picked out cool stencils that I thought would be easy to create, without too many little cut-outs. Neither one of them could work the knife. So, Mike and I end up carving and the kids sit there and watch. What fun is that? Super annoying. Finally, Noah took a smaller pumpkin, free-handed a face and was able to complete the whole thing himself….minus a tooth that got cut off but nothing a little toothpick couldn’t take care of.  He thought it was fun, so maybe the trick is doing super simple designs? I don’t know, I see pictures of kids holding up very nice pumpkins that they have carved themselves, and they are much younger than our kids. Help me! Why is everything such a challenge?!? Ha!

Noah’s Pumpkin

Connor’s Pumpkin

Noah went back and forth about going out this year. I think the fact that his cousin Jake went was the main reason he went…..I was secretly hoping he would stay back and hand out candy (this is my favorite part of Halloween, when the kids come back and can take over door duty while I go through their stash of candy. What? They don’t like Bit-O-Honeys or Almond Joys anyway.).

Connor easily picked out some horrid costume at Wal-mart, grabbed a sword from the toy room, and off they went.

Easiest picture I have ever taken.

Cousin Jake!

All-in-all, a good time was had by all. Two-hour late start tomorrow helps the wee ones be able to sleep off their sugar highs before attempting school. Good planning on someone’s part.

Did I mention my parents are in Spain. Did I mention that aren’t coming home for another week? Did I mention I don’t like it?

Okay, just checking.

 

Peace out, Ghouls.

LB

Happy Birthday Mom!

 

It’s my mom’s birthday! I thought I would highlight a few of the awesome things about my mom. These are the above-and-beyond kinds of things….

 

 

When she watches the kids, she does my laundry. All of it. I find it folded in little perfect piles on my bed. It’s a wonderful thing.

 

 

 

She used her “cash back” from her credit card to buy four tickets for her, dad, myself, and Mike to Billy Elliot in January.

 

 

 

She calls about every other week in the summer to ask if the boys can go with her to swimming after 5 at the water park. She usually can’t get the words out of her mouth before I yell, “YES!”

 

 

She always buys the kids their winter coats and she buys way nicer ones than I would.

 

 

 

Regularly she calls to invite us out for dinner or invite us over for dinner. I am not sure there is anything better than knowing I don’t have to make supper after work.

 

 

 

She’s always up for a shopping trip, lunch or movie. I always have a built in friend that doesn’t have kids, or an insecure husband. I love that.

 

 

 

I am so lucky to have her (and my dad) living so close and such a huge part of my life, of my family’s life.

 

 

Thank you mom! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you!

 

  

 

 

 

Sunday Apple Picking

 

The weather in Minnesota has been amazing. It almost like summer with the kids playing outside until bath time and the windows open. I remember cutting down our Christmas tree in sweatshirts on Thanksgiving weekend last year…..here’s hoping we continue with this amazing warmth well into November!

Due to the Vikings having a bye this past weekend and the Budachs being up and showered on Sundays due to church, we decided to trek to Faribault and do some apple picking. Both kids had birthday parties this weekend so we didn’t have a ton of time, but we were bound to make it work as I have wanted to get an orchard for the past three weekends.

 

The trees in southern MN haven’t quite peaked but there was some awesome color where we were.

 

 

 

The kids flew down the path to the trees they allow people to pick their own at. There aren’t very many trees to pick from, but I am just glad they still allow us to do it. Many place don’t. I can see why with all the apples on the ground wasted, but it so fun to pick your own.

 

 

 

 

I soaked up every last minute of this trip as I could. Noah is already not wanting to do this tradition so I know my years of him doing these kinds of things are limited. He had fun once we got there and didn’t complain, but it was kind-of sad that he is already too old to want to do these kinds of things! He asked for a cell phone today?! And so it begins…..

Noah’s birthday money was burning a hole in his pocket. After trading mom and dad his gift cards for actual money he was able to pool together enough money for a very nice Lego set. It’s a Harry Potter castle one and it’s pretty amazing. Lots of detail and moving parts.

He set up shop on a long table downstairs so he could work and not have to worry about parts all over the floor and being in the way. It will be fun to see it completed. (Stacey, here is a indoor shot that I hate! I hate the washed out color and odd light. Help me make these look better!! I tried tweaking in PS but just couldn’t get it warm.)

This week we are SOOO looking forward to the Twins starting the play-offs. We have to beat the Yankees, especially after what happened last year and how terrible they have been talking about the Twins in all the papers. Wednesday and Thursday can’t come soon enough! GO TWINS!

Saturday I will go celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday and it’s Connor’s last weekend of football. No Vikings until Monday night so who knows what Sunday will bring!

Peace,

LB

 

Noah Michael is 11!

 

I can’t believe 11 years have gone so quickly. How do I have a child almost out of elementary school? It’s crazy to think about and yet, I SO enjoy what each new year brings so there is no sadness in this post!

 

 

11 THINGS ABOUT NOAH:

1. He loves McDonalds. He still only orders a happy meal (not even the mighty kids meal) and he doesn’t always finish it (how is that possible?) but he loves the cheeseburger and fries meal.  For years he ordered the chicken nuggets, but now it’s all about the cheeseburger.

 

 

2. He has mad computer skills. It’s the reason we put him in the “technology” classroom, so he could have his own computer and continue to learn more about using them. I see a LARGE purchase coming when this laptop has to be returned at the end of the year.

 

 

3. He is charming. You can’t teach that and he certainly doesn’t get it from me.

 

 

 

 

4. He loves to duel using Yu-Gi-Oh cards. The neighborhood boys all love to set up shop on our garage floor on a big piece of cardboard and duel. They aren’t as cheap as matchbox cars, but a fairly inexpensive hobby. I figure he can use them to wallpaper his dorm room in 7 years.

 

 

5. He discovered Harry Potter and has been enjoying reading the series. I think he likes the books better than the movies (we have only watched one as he’s only finished one) because he still doesn’t like things that are scary. The movies can be kinda scary. I hear #3 is the worst.

 

 

6. He likes broccoli and hates cauliflower.

 

 

7. When stopping for a treat at a gas station, he makes a bee line for the glazed doughnuts. In fact, it’s what he brought for his birthday treat this year to school.

 

 

8. His favorite singing group is Maroon Five and we got him the CD for his birthday.

 

 

 

 

9. He smacks his lips in his sleep. He is a light sleeper, he tosses and turns destroying his bed, doesn’t sleep much past 7, and loves to sleep with mom when dad is gone. All of the aforementioned make sleeping with Noah hard on the mom! Noah comes from Hebrew origin and means “rest and peace”. Kind of ironic because he doesn’t sleep restfully and this mother gets NO PEACE when I sleep with him!

 

 

10. He has never thrown “a fit”. In his whole life he has never thrown himself on the floor, never screamed and yelled, never gone limp, never flung onto the floor in the grocery store and refused to get up….none of that. (in fact neither of my kids has…ever!). I am kind-of proud of that. I think it says something about Mike and I as parents. I just haven’t figured out exactly what yet.

 

 

11. He is responsible. I never have to worry about him in school, in sports, outside playing with friends…I know I can trust him. He’s a dang good kid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Sugar Pie! We are so happy you are ours! We are so proud of the BIG kid you are becoming and so excited for the years ahead. You have promised me that one day when you are married you won’t let your wife take you away from us. You say you won’t go to your wives for every holiday and only take our grandchildren to see your in-laws. We are holding you to that promise. Well, at least I am….because I am already worried about it. Your mother is nuts.

 

We love you!