definitely a TREAT

today the boys celebrated halloween at school

unfortunately i didn't get to be with drew -
BUT ...
i did get to help quite a bit with the fun (and planning) in ben's classroom



i love when teachers give me room to help them plan the parties ;)
ben's teacher caught on to that -
and it all ended up being a lot of fun!

i ran the craft station -

they made magnetic tongue depressor picture frames and we put pictures of them wearing their costumes inside.
the kids got really excited
(well ... really, what kid doesn't get excited about sticky jewels and sticky foam pieces)

(it would be really embarassing for me to talk about who ben thinks is cute on my blog. BUT ... since italics are just my thoughts and not me really saying it outloud ... meet alison. on ben's right.)

they also played bingo -
(with m&m's)

ate cookies with juice -
and did a bean bag toss.

it's pretty safe to say that we were 'a little' outside of the school district's policy on healthy snacks in the classroom.
BUT ...
at this point ...
you can probably guess that i don't really care what they think.

SO ...
glad you had a fun afternoon, kids.
happy halloween.
just remember the other classroom ate apples this afternoon;)
and come saturday night ... if you should get any extra kit kats ...
you know where to find me ;)

when it sucks being the little guy

our school district is in the middle of some really big changes.

they made the decision to close 6 elementary schools,

and because of that -

kids are getting shifted.

thankfully,

our school wasn't closed.

we are part of a really wide spread growth spot in our area -

and the schools directly around us are actually already very full.

the problem this causes is that they feel that since they are already moving kids around,

now would be a great time to alleviate the pressure that these 'full' schools are feeling.

so, hearings have been going on for the past month or so -

boundary changes are being determined.

and our area has NEVER been brought up.

until now.

apparently they all of the sudden see our neighborhood as a growth threat.

SO ...

the meeting was thursday night -

and we found out late tuesday night that they plan to shift us.

NOT cool.

i can't even begin to express the emotions that been running rampant through my mind.

i am frustrated.

i am SO sad.

i am angry.

i am disappointed.

i am distracted.

i am nervous.

and

i am just flat out PISSED.

(sorry)

our kids JUST switched schools last year.

they are just now getting settled and feeling as if they have a place they can call theirs.

now this.

SO ...

for the past 2 days it has literally consumed me.

3 families from our small neighborhood are in mexico -

and that left just a few of us to come up with a strategy to present to the school board on why we are not 'the right pick'.

last night was the meeting and i can't even say how it went, really.

i felt good about the fact that i got up and read a letter that i spent the past 2 days writing.

everyone seemed to think that they seemed interested in what i had to say -

and they did ask for a copy of it -

so that gives me hope.

BUT ...

that doesn't calm my heart.

bottom line is ...

i don't want my kids to have to switch schools.

i don't want them to have to transition AGAIN.

i don't want them to have to make new friends AGAIN.

i don't want them to be the only kids in our big development that are bussed halfway across the city!

i don't want to be forced to decide what to do if and when this decision becomes final.

do i pull them from the district - just trying to make a point.

do i sit back and say - my kids are resilient they will do JUST fine

(which is the truth ... i just can't accept it. yet.)

do i enroll them into another school in the district that i think is better -

but then be stuck with driving them everyday???

i just don't know.

there are SO many questions i have.

there are so many things i just don't understand.

it's taking EVERYTHING in me to sit back and be the little guy.

to know that really i am not in control.

and i can't be.

it's taking EVERYTHING in me to try to be still and just trust God.

to know that there is a bigger picture somewhere in this.

and that although i don't get it -

i trust in someone who does.

*sigh*

fun all over the place

ok ... catch up time ... again.
our fun all started on friday night.

ben went to a sleepover with 14 boys.

that left the rest of us to have a little fun.
we told drew he could choose anywhere to go -
and then helped convince him that granite city would be an EXCELLENT choice ;)
he and alex LOVED it -



and i found my new favorite drink -
not the beer - ick!
which means stacey and i loved it too ;)

it was a fun night out for us.
it's amazing how dropping from 3 kids to 2 makes SUCH a difference!
and
ben had a TON of fun at the party -

BUT ... on saturday morning, ben woke up not feeling so hot
and THAT began the rest of our fun -
this is how ben spent saturday, sunday, monday, and part of tuesday.



after 3 days at 103 degrees -
and a few other 'fun' symptoms i decided to call in.
the doctor said to bring him in
so we did
he checked him out
AND
ended the appointment by telling us he believed ben had h1n1.
lovely.

thankfully ben is one of the best sick kids ever!
he bounced back really quickly and was actually able to go back to school today.

but now ... we're all holding our breath and wondering if he kept all of the fun to himself.

odds of that?
not countin' on it.

throwing it out the window

today was the big day!

it was ben's field trip to the arboretum
and i got to go along!



it was a BEAUTIFUL place
with SO many fun places to go exploring ...

OUTSIDE exploring that is ;)
AND unfortunately ...
the weather we had today was not ideal.
it was snowing/raining and in the 30's - 40's.
NOT fun weather to be 'just out exploring'.
SO ... we had to modify our plans slightly -
BUT...
thankfully the kids didn't care

we walked through the woods -
learned about leaves turning to soil -
talked about different types of trees -
and about how the use of a tree changes over time -

we EVEN got to dig in a rubbermaid bin for centipedes and roly poly bugs.
are we lucky or what?!
YUCK.



they loved it.

and i love how they are so resiliant.

they don't care if it's cold.
they don't care if it's raining.
they don't even care if they are wet from head to toe.
they STILL just have fun.

i used to be that way.
but find i don't throw myself into situations like that so willingly anymore
so ... thanks for having fun with me today, ben (and the rest of my 1G group)
it was fun to jump into your shoes and throw my complaints out the window.

(well ... almost out the window ...
thank you to those of you who 'listened' to my complaints via text
so that i could keep my conversation with the kids complaint free. ha ha ha)

it was a fun day 1G!
i look forward to another one later this year -
only THIS time ...
let's pray a little harder for sunshine.

ladies and gentlemen ...

so ...
in addition to going to the corn maze on sunday -
we ALSO went to the circus
(i know ... what crazy parent plans that ... zip it)

although it was slightly cheesy -
AND i'm fairly certain that about 1/2 of the ladies wearing the skanky outfits probably shouldn't have been wearing them -
AND that stacey and i spent a lot of time REALLY nervous that someone was going to fall and die ;) -

the kids LOVED it!

AND ...

although i laugh ... i also need to say
it was very impressive.

no one fell.

and anyone that can get an elephant to do this ...

deserves some serious props.

well done, shrine circus.
you amazed my kids for over 2 hours.
and ...
alright, i was amazed too.

if for nothing else -
for the fact that you can charge TWENTY DOLLARS for a single ride around the ring
AND
get people to pay THAT!
(SONYA!!! ... ha ha ha)

thanks for a fun night!

the problem with youtube

it's search feature just isn't set up to meet the needs of a 6 yr old ...

a little corny

so, quite a few years ago we had taken the boys (drew/ben) to severs corn maze a couple of different times.
it was fun -
but we didn't know that it was worth the drive and money, so we haven't been back since.

WELL ...
fast forward to this weekend.
even though alex wasn't feeling the best, we thought it would be good to get outside.
we looked up the corn maze -
and it's theme this year is a pirate ship.
PERFECT for the boys -
so, we decided to try it out.

ok, can i just say how much that place has changed!
it was SO much fun!

we had the boys lead us through the maze
to find the letters of the alphabet ...



we watched some pig races ...

we fed some 'exotic animals' ...
(really ... it was one of the coolest petting zoos ever)

we got excited to see and eat some of our favorite 'fair' food ...
AND
that the donuts were named after drew ....



mmmm ... roasted corn, cheese curds, french fries, mini donuts, brats, corn dogs .... mmmm
they know how to get me to come back!!

----------------

the REAL fun,
HOWEVER ...
was in
THE CORN PIT!

oh my word ...
what a FUN idea!

basically, it's a HUGE ball pit -
only IT'S solid CORN!
more than 5000 square feet and 500 tons of it!

it was the PERFECT place for 3 boys with a lot of energy!

i can honestly say that having one of these in our backyard would ROCK!

well ...
ALMOST rock ...
we all ended up with corn in various 'hidden places'
and
i am fairly certain i'll be finding it in my car and house for months!

BUT ...
aside from that ;)

we all really had a BLAST today!
there was so much to do that we ran out of time!
(serves us right for trying to do that AND the circus all in the same day)

it was TOTALLY a new fall tradition to add to our list!

and next year ...
i'm thinking donuts on the way in
AND
donuts on the way out ;)

9 years!!!

happy anniversary, babe!

9 whole years!!
way back in 7th grade
(when you know you wanted me)
did you EVER imagine that this is where we'd be??

3 crazy kids
1 unruly dog
and
9 years under our belts?!?!?!

i love you
and
i am having so much fun living my life with you

here's to another incredible year!
(one that is hopefully a bit less eventful than year #8)

alex's new system

as most kids do,
our kids often times get scared at night,
have a bad dream,
or are just plain lonely.

we've always told them that they can ALWAYS come into our room when they feel that way.
HOWEVER ...
they cannot sleep in our bed with us.
we make a bed out of blankets on the floor and they can sleep right next to us.
this way, they feel secure -
but don't get TOO comfortable ;)
AND more importantly we don't end up with feet in our face ;)

SO ...
for the past few months alex has pretty consistently wandered into our room around 4 a.m.
so consistent in fact that we just left the blankets out for him
he never complained -
he would just lay down and cover up.
half the time we didn't even know he had come in.

WELL ...
about a week ago alex got REALLY smart.

he realized that
we won't let him into our bed -
BUT
drew has space
AND
drew will let him in.

so every morning we now wake up to find this ...



he doesn't even come into our room anymore.
he just goes and climbs in with drew

and what's funny is that being in drew's bed isn't enough
he has to be close to drew

REAL close

the other night, i watched alex go crawl in with drew.
he crawled in,
got right up next to drew,
put his arm around him,
and rubbed drew's back while he fell back asleep.
it was one of those moments where i stood there and smiled,
and all of the frustrations of my day just melted away.

SO ...
where does that leave us ??
other than at the point where we say
WHY did we need a new house with 4 bedrooms upstairs when 2 would probably have done just fine :)

as of right now,
alex's new system is working just fine.
drew hasn't complained.
he even seems to like the fact that alex feels so secure when he is with him.
alex has found a way to deal with being scared.
AND ...
stacey and i are sleeping all night long.

it's all good.

well, until drew reconsiders.
because really ...

you can only take so many nights like this ...

what we need right about now

we could REALLY use a little global warming ...



i do love the first real snow we get.
i love how sticky it is.
i love how the boys are excited for a snowball fight
(which we had after dinner tonight)
and
i love how we can play in it and then it melts and dries up.

BUT ...

october 12th ???

really ???

are these REALLY my kids?

just in case you were wondering ...

do the barnett boys REALLY wake up THAT early?

yes they do.
this morning they were up and playing before 7.
and if you don't believe me that they always wake up that early - just ask my neighbor, jen ;)

do the barnett boys REALLY like living in minnesota?

yes they do.
although they love being outside and love summer -
they LOVE playing on the ice and in the snow

SO ...
what happens when it snows on october 9th and these early-rising, cold-loving freaks wake up to find that out?



you guessed it!
it wasn't even 8 am and they were dressed and out playing in it.

nice.

SO ...
that leads me to end with my REAL question.
if they LOVE cold and LOVE waking up before 7 ...

who in the world are their REAL parents
and
where in the world did they get these genes?!

excuses

ok ... stop complaining.
i'm back ;)
just want you to know
we are still fully alive, functioning,
and crazy as ever.

it's just been a busy week

with lots of this ...



and lots of this ...

one being MUCH warmer and cozier than the other

this morning in fact we woke up to 30 degrees and snow
BUT ...that didn't stop football
drew had a game first thing
and then this afternoon it was ben's last 2 football games of the season

so we bundled up ...
and did our best to cheer them on



makes you want to be there, doesn't it?!

these girls were DEFINITELY the smart ones -

nice job, ben.
you did a great job this season!
it was SO fun to watch you learn how to play football
and to have fun at the same time ;)

spoiled perhaps?

'take chewy for a walk'
just took on a whole new meaning



last night katherine and ben set chewy in the doll stroller -
and HE ACTUALLY STAYED!
he let them push him all around in the rain and never moved!

crazy dog.

my own look back

with the twins playing their final games in the metrodome,
there have been many commemorative things that have been done.
from bringing old players back to fan recognition weekend

WELL ...
i figured i couldn't let the season close without putting together my own look back ...

SO ...

i give you ...

the barnetts and the metrodome over the past 8 years.
(i didn't include pics of this year since i did a post with all of those pictures a week ago)




see you in 2010, twins!

remember this ...

i am starting to think that although he is only 8 ...

drew has already picked up on some things that will make him a great catch.

he and i were talking -

i was reminding him how something that we talked about a few days earlier was something that was kind of between us and to be careful that he didn't say it to anyone else

his instant response was ...

'ya ... i know ... because girls are sensitive and they can take anything and turn it into an insult ...'

EXACTLY, drew ...

NOW ...

if you can just remember that 10 years from now.