Tacky Luau & Bunco Good Bye

The second Thursday of the month is always a good night! That is when the Bunco Babes get together for girls' night. This month was my turn to host. It was also a special night because it was my good friend Shannon's last bunco before she moves to Hawaii. So what better way to send her off than with a tacky luau bunco! I had ugly fish earrings, a crazy Hawaiian shirt, and, of course, a coconut bra for her to wear. We had lots of yummy Hawaiian like food even ending with a fruity dessert topped with little umbrellas.


I always enjoy hanging out with the Bunco Babes. They are a wonderful bunch! I am sad that Shan is leaving us. But hope that we will end up living in the same place some time in the future. But until then... there is the awesome opportunity to take a trip to Hawaii to visit!!









Today I am thankful for Shannon. She has truly been a blessing to my life and a remarkable friend.

Growing Vocabulary

Carson has really started to expand his vocabulary these last couple of weeks. He has always been pretty verbal. Carrying on long conversations with others, but in his own language. Recently, he has decided to try out the English language. His vocab list now includes: Mommy, Daddy, ball, doggie, diaper, cup, bye-bye, night-night, trash, and our favorite.... yucky!

Most of the words are accompanied with a hand motion or funny facial expression. "Yucky" is our favorite because of the great facial expression he makes every time he says the word. Thought you might enjoy it too. And yes he is jotting down his new words with a pen and paper. ;)

Today I am thankful that I get to be a stay at home mom most of the week. I love spending time with my boys and enjoying these first few years that fly by way too quickly.

Carson on the Go!

As mentioned in an earlier post, Carson is loving preschool. I thought I would share a picture of my big guy walking into preschool toting his own lunch box. Every Tuesday he gets quite a few comments about what big boy he is and how cute he looks walking into school.

Also, today was crazy hair day at his preschool. I told the teachers last week that it was a little discriminatory since C doesn't have much hair. But we did our best today to crazify his hair. Hope you can see the faint mohawk.




Today I am thankful for a wonderful Christian preschool program that Carson can attend while I am at work on Tuesdays.

Black & Sons Lego Construction

One of Marc's favorite toys and past times as a kid was playing with Legos. He and his brother accumulated thousands of Legos over the years. A couple of years ago, Marc brought all the Legos from his childhood to our house. That's when Nolan's obsession began. Maybe it is in his DNA from his dad. He thinks and sleeps Legos. The eating part is usually Carson's contribution. Lately, Marc and Nolan set up the train table and have built an entire Lego village on it. Their town includes a church, hotel, diner, horse show/stables, two cottages, a gas mart, mechanic shop and a grocery store. There is even stadium seating for the horse show. Nolan is the project director and comes up with the building ideas that his construction worker/architect, Daddy, creates.

The other day while getting ready for school. Nolan told Marc that he could not go to school that day. Marc asked why. Nolan said, "I can't go to school because all I think about is Legos." See I wasn't kidding when I told you it was an obsession.

Today I am thankful that my husband's engineering degree is put to good use during Lego playtime.

Things are a changing...

It's official, I am the mother of a school age child. It is so hard to believe that 5 years have flown by and that Nolan is already in kindergarten. It is a weird thing to adjust to. Previously, he had only attended a 2 day preschool and on one of those days I was working. So we were together all the time. Now he is gone all day, every day to school. It is very strange to have him gone so much.

So far he really seems to enjoy school and loves his teacher. Since he is naturally an early riser, we have not had any problems getting up and going for school. However, peeling him away from the Lego table to go to school has been an issue. But that is another blog post all together.

Carson started preschool this year. He attends one day a week while I am working. He too is doing a great job and loves his teachers. He is so cute, he insists on carrying his own lunch box into school. What a big boy!!!

Today I am thankful for holidays off from school so we all get to hang out together.

I'm Back!!!

So end of spring and summer have been incredibly busy. I took my blog offline for a while because I knew there was no hope or chance to update. Now that we are back in the swing of things this fall I am back online and hope to update regularly. Many more post and pictures to come soon.

Today I am thankful for the craziness of life settling down a bit and things getting back to normal in the Black household.

Not a Sugar Fan

Yesterday was Carson's 1st birthday. We had a little family party at our house to celebrate. He did pretty good with the gift opening. He seemed a little scared of us when we sang to him. But the biggest surprise of the day was his absolute repulsion of the cake. He didn't want to have anything to do with it. He was very upset about having the sticky stuff on his hands and he got even madder when I tried to put a little of the cake in his mouth.

Usually kids dig into the cake and have a blast chowing down on that first big chance for sugar. Well, not Mr. Carson. The only part of it that did excite him was when we gave him a fork and spoon to use to attack his cake. Even then he wasn't happy when he got cake on his "toys". A little later he managed to try a little of Angela's cake and seemed to enjoy it. So when we got him his own piece again to try he refused. It was the funniest thing.

Here are a few pictures from his big day.

The airplane smash cake and fire truck made by LB. :)

"Get that yucky stuff away from me."

"Hooray for silverware!"

"I do not like cake especially on my fingers or fork!"

Today I am thankful for Carson. He is such a blessing to our family.

Date Night!

Yay for date night!!! This week all the regular youth activites are cancelled for Easter. So that means we have a free Tuesday and Wednesday night this week. Yes mark your calendars friends.... Marc & Leah Beth have some free time. :)

So tonight we had the chance to go to dinner with two other couples. It was so much fun to hang out with friends and chat. Oh and better yet... we didn't bring the kids. We hired a couple of babysitters for all the bigger kids. Carson went to Grandma's and we had baby Gage with us. It was wonderful. I didn't have to take N to the bathroom once the food arrived OR pick up food, toys, or my silverware off the floor because of C.

Today I am thankful for great friends.... even if they are moving or have moved away. :( A good time is definitely in store when the Black/Parks/Richardson clans get together. Next BPR date night will be in Hawaii (hint, hint!!!)

Action Packed!!!!

I know, I know it has been forever since I blogged. But I assure you it is because of a good reasons. The last month and a half have been action packed for us. We have been so busy much of life seems like a blur. Here are a few things that have occurred.

Best friends and ministry partners resigned from our church which meant I planned and organized a large farewell dinner... with the help of a great committee. This also means I picked up additional responsibilities too. Say hello to the director for this year's VBS. :)

Fine Arts for my youth kids is in full swing so at least 7 hours a week I am in practices with a variety of teams like human video, drama, percussion, puppet, and youth choir. I love doing it, but boy is it tiring. Our youth group is also going on a mission's trip this summer. We are going to do community work and children's outreaches on an Indian reservation in Osage, Oklahoma. Missions trips = fundraisers. I am also trying to delegate and organize numerous fundraisers before July. Hopefully we will be able to raise all the money needed. Surely with doing everything from ice skating, spaghetti dinners, passing out pizza flyers, and ice cream socials we will be able to raise it all.

Nolan turned 5 on March 19th. I can't believe he is going to be in kindergarten in the fall. We had a superhero party for him and all his little buddies came dressed in their capes and masks. His big gift this year was a big boy bike with training wheels. He has only had it for a couple weeks now and every day he asks for the training wheels to come off so he can be like his dad. He is growing up too fast. :(

Carson has kept us busy this last month too. He has become quite the explorer and is constantly on the go. He is still a crawler, but man can he get there and get there FAST. He has also recently learned to cruise along the couch. So he is getting better at the whole walking concept. I know it is only a matter of time and he will be off. And if he is like his brother he won't just walk, he will run. Saturday is Carson's 1st birthday. I just don't know where the year has gone. I remember with Nolan that the first year was very long and I was okay with it when he turned 1. Not with Carson... this time has flown and I don't want my baby to get too big too fast.

Nolan and Carson's relationship has also been changing. Since Carson is constantly on the go that means he is also into all of Nolan's toys. For the most part, Nolan doesn't mind sharing with him. Until C starts touching the Legos!!! Then all bets are off and patience is lost. Let's just say this part of their relationship is still a work in progress.

So in a nutshell that has been our life since my last post. Busy, crazy, but still fun.

Today, I am thankful for spring break. I have the entire week off and I am looking forward to hanging out with my boys and RESTING!!!!

The Latest

I haven't been able to blog in a while because we have had a nasty flu bug in our home over the last week. M, C, & N were all down and out this week. So far I have been able to escape it. I'm sure now having just typed that I am doomed to get it soon.

Carson has had a difficult time getting rid of this bug. After being able to finally keep food down, he has been fighting a fever and now possible sinus infection. Poor guy has been so out of it. In fact, the other night while I was cleaning up another sick mess, he was waiting on me in the living room. I found him fast asleep partially standing leaning against N's little couch. Poor baby passed out right there. Of course, the photographer in me snapped a shot before scooping him up and putting him to bed.

Today is Valentine's Day! Last night after the boys went to bed I put up some VDay decorations and put out their gifts. I haven't really done this before for Nolan and of course Carson, but I thought this year it would be fun since Nolan is more aware of the holiday. Nolan was so cute when we woke up. He was thrilled about the surprise decorations and gift. You would have thought it was Christmas morning or something.

Today I am thankful for lazy Saturdays. A wonderful chance to chill out and spend time with my boys. Oh and also for chocolate covered strawberries my traditional Valentine's gift from Marc. YUM!!!

Funny even in his sleep!

Although, up to this point, Carson has displayed a very laid back, easy going personality he is still a funny little man. He has a very cute sense of humor and giggles all the time. Lately, he has even demonstrated that he knows how and likes to make others laugh. He will initiate peekaboo games by hiding behind something and peeking out. Or he will hold a blanket up over his face and pull it down fast to see your reaction. It is so fun to watch his little personality develop. Much to our surprise he is even comical while sleeping. These are pictures are from the last couple of days when I have checked on him while napping. In the first one, he fell asleep on his own and when I checked to make sure he was okay I saw that he had his face smushed in the rails and his arms hanging out. He was sound asleep and I didn't dare move him for fear naptime would be over. :) Who knew he would have so much personality even while in dreamland.

Today I am thankful that I have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom most of the time. I love being home to catch these little moments and watch as Carson grows and develops each day.

I <3 SnOw dAyS!

Today we went sledding again. We found the perfect hill. It was so much fun. Apparently, it had been found by many others yesterday because the snow was perfectly packed and we had ideal conditions for sledding. Here are a couple of pics and a video from our sledding adventure.

Today I am thankful for family time. We have so much fun together and I am so blessed to Marc, Nolan, & Carson in my life.

Our 2 favorite things: Lots of snow and family time!

My best friend!

So much fun!

No Carson did not sled. Just got in on the Kodak moment.

SNOW DAY!!!!!

Well, despite the fact that we had to postpone our big youth outreach because of all the snow. We are enjoying playing in the 7-8" of snow that we received last night. Nolan woke up first thing this morning and asked to get his snow clothes on. Hopefully this afternoon we can bundle C up and let him experience snow for the first time.

All bundled and can't get up!

Can you hear me now?

Carson has been discovering his voice lately. He seems to "talk" so much more these days. Actually it is more like humming or singing. He is very verbal during bath and especially meal time. N was the same way when he ate. A concert during dinner. I like to think of it as C's compliments to the chef. :)

It's been a while...

Okay, so I know it has been a while since I last posted. Life has been really crazy. We have been working hard preparing for our youth group's big outreach (which is tomorrow night). So any spare time has been used painting or practicing for that. And I have to say my computer time has been very limited because Marc has been editing lots of video footage for the outreach. But here we are only a day away and I have to say I am so excited about it. I pray that everything goes smoothly and that the tons of snow we get today won't keep people from coming out tomorrow night.

Speaking of the snow, I am home again today from work for an actual snow day. We have about 3 inches of snow now and are expecting another 3-4 inches today. Should be fun. I am sure I will have to bundle N up soon so that he can go out and play. Hopefully, I will be able to get good pics/video of him to post. :)

Today I am thankful for real SNOW days. I don't mind missing school when there is a bunch of white stuff to play in.

Hockey Star

Recently, we have attended a couple of high school hockey games of one of the students in our youth ministry. Nolan has been very fun to watch at the games. He cheers Aaron on and keeps his eyes glued to the rink during the entire game.

Aaron Y. playing defense!

Now that he has been bitten by the hockey bug, he constantly wants to play at home. He has created his own hockey rink in the living room. He pretends to be like Aaron and has played all day today. FYI: all you need for an indoor hockey rink is 2 laundry baskets, 1 football helmet, 1 nerf baseball bat, 1 pair of gloves, & a borrowed plastic ball from the ball popper. Oh, and a little imagination. Plus the spider man pajamas are good intimidation for your opponents. He also uses a backpack to pack up his equipment to greet his fans after the game.

Nolan with his game face on!

Today I am thankful for Nolan and his vivid imagination. He continually amazes me with what he creates out of a few simple items. Hours of playtime and fun can come from a box, a piece of rope, and a couple of laundry baskets.

Carson in Action: My 1st video post!

Here's a little clip of Big C in action.





Sweet Face! Love those eyelashes.


Silly face. Saving the upper lip snack for later. :)

Too much time around teenagers?

Okay, so I am thinking that Nolan may have spent a little too much time around teenagers. This morning he was playing with a fake cell phone and he kept making the buttons beep over and over and over again. I finally told him to stop because it was driving me crazy. He quickly replied, "Mom I'm texting!". YIKES!!! Really.... texting... how does he even know this? Most kids his age pretend to talk to mommy and daddy on their play phones. No, not my kid he is texting his buddies on his. :)

The last couple of days it has been so cold here. And by so cold I mean well below freezing... single digits with windchill in the negatives. Check out the picture to see what the temperature read Thursday morning when we got up. Anyway, cabin fever has really set in for Nolan. Everyday he has been begging to go outside to play. Finally, on Wed. I told him that it was too cold to play outside. It would hurt his skin if he went out there. That seemed to fix the problem he didn't ask to go out the rest of the afternoon. However, my genius idea back fired when it was time to go to church that evening. He said, "Mom, we can't go outside it will hurt our skin!". Oops, had to try to talk my way out of that one. Thankfully he complied after a little discussion.

Today I am thankful for something very simple.... heat. :)

Carson can talk?

The other day we were riding in the car. Nolan pipes up and says, "Mom, Carson just said I was a genius!". Funny thing is I didn't even know Carson could talk.

Yesterday morning, when I was telling the boys goodbye as I left for work, Nolan says, "Bye Mom. Love you." Then in a high pitched squeaky voice I hear. "Bye Mommy." Nolan said, "Carson said goodbye." :) (Funny thing was that squeaky voice sure sounded like Nolan.)

Well, I guess Carson has not only figured out army crawling and pulling up this week, but the fine art of speaking too.

Today I am thankful for N and his loving attitude towards his little brother. I could not ask for a more sweet, kind-hearted, loving little boy.

2 Baby Showers, 1 Birthday Party, a TBQ meet, & a Hockey Game

Today has been a whirlwind day. The morning started early preparing for a baby shower at my house for my dear friend Melissa with most of the Bunco Babes. Meanwhile, Nolan and Marc attended a Chuck E Cheese birthday party for one of Nolan's friends. We met up at church to try to catch a bit of the Teen Bible Quiz match. Marc was able to watch the kids in action, but I missed out on it. :( Then after a quick late lunch we split again and I attended another shower then met up with the boys this evening for an action packed hockey game.

Although today has been very busy, it has been so much fun. Hanging out with friends and supporting our youth kids in their various activities. Below are a few pics from the shower.

Today I am thankful for my wonderful friend Melissa. I am so excited for her and her husband Sabian as they prepare to welcome their first child, Addie, into their family in March. We are already planning to prearrange a marriage between Addie and Carson. :)

The Bunco Babes

Carson enjoying some love from Melissa. :)

Caution! Carson is mobile!

Yesterday, Carson finally figured out how to army crawl. He had successfully moved himself from point A to point B before, but it was awkward and more of a scoot/roll/army crawl maneuver. Yesterday, though, he found his rhythm and was going back and forth across the living room floor retrieving toys.


This morning, however, things really changed in our world. I had left him in the middle of the living room floor with a few toys. I walked around the corner to the computer to check my email. He had gotten really quiet so I thought maybe he fell asleep since nap time was approaching. Nolan had been running around the house playing. So as he passed by, I asked him what Carson was doing. He looked into the living room and yelled, "Mom, Carson is standing up!". I ran around the corner and this is what I found.


He had army crawled his way to the end table and pulled himself to a standing position. He was trying to pull down all the stuff on the table. I couldn't believe it! Did he really only need a one day learning curve for the army crawl and now he is on to bigger and better things?????? If so, then we are in big trouble at our house. For one, he will have to be under even closer supervision. And two, Nolan and his toys are no longer safe.

Watch out here he comes Carson is on the move!

Ice Day, Music Class, Awesome Service, & Bunco

Okay, so somehow the week just flew by and I haven't made any entries. So I am going to post all the random things that have happened the past few days.

First, I had another ice day from work on Tuesday. Kind of crazy since I usually never get snow days now that I only work a couple days a week. This was actually the first time in my entire life that I didn't really want a day off. I had to convince myself to be motivated to go back after Christmas break and once I did I was ready to get the semester moving and teach. And then, I was off again after only having taught one day. I was kind of bummed. I'm sure my students weren't, but I was. I did, however, enjoy the day off with Nolan and Carson. We just stayed home, played, and I got my web album updated with lots of pictures. So check it out. There is a link to the right.

Also on Tuesday, Carson went to his first Shake, Rattle, and Roll music class. It is taught by an incredibly talented lady named Mrs. Sarah. Nolan started taking music from her when he was 9 months and just finished his last class with her in December. He has graduated out of her program and now Carson gets to enjoy her wonderful class. He was so cute during the class. He just watched her in awe and smiled the whole time. He has watched Nolan before and really enjoyed the Christmas program too. He bounced and danced through the whole thing. Now he gets to participate and I can see that we are going to have a blast. I did have to dodge the drumstick a few times. He was very enthusiastic when it came to swinging it. I am so excited that we have this special thing that we get to do together every week. I'll keep you updated on his musical progress. :)

Wednesday night was our first youth service of 2009. I have really missed having service and seeing the kids regularly over the past month. During the worship and singing time, I just had this overwhelming feeling that we needed to stop and just let God work or direct where we needed to go next. I stopped playing the piano and just told the kids. "God's presence is so overwhelming in this place I feel like we need to stop and enjoy it." We did just that. We prayed, Marc shared a part of his message, and then we just prayed and sung some more. Other than my boys' laughter, there is nothing more that I enjoy hearing than teenagers singing praise songs and praying. Those are two of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. I just wonder how much it must please God to hear them too. If it blesses me this much then how much more it must bless His heart. I wish every parent of our teenagers could be a fly on the wall to see and hear what we do each and every Wednesday night. God is doing amazing things in the hearts of our kids. And I can't wait to see what He has in store for this year.

I know this post is getting a little long, but what do you expect if I have to catch up on a week's worth of stuff. :)

The last thing I wanted to mention was my Bunco gals. Once a month, I get together with a group of girls and we play Bunco. It is really just an excuse to get together, chat, and LAUGH. We had so much fun tonight. I so appreciate each gal that is a part of our group and I am so thankful for our girls' night.

Today I am thankful for Carson's smiles, the sweet sound of teenagers praying and singing to God, and friends that you can let your hair down with and laugh so hard that you may even pee a little..... (not mentioning anyone in particular!)

Back to the Real World

Today was my first day back to school in over 2 1/2 weeks. I was already dreading the early morning alarm buzz yesterday. But I hated to hear it even more after a sleepless night. Carson must have a 6th sense about when I am going back to work because each time that I have to go back after a break he has a sleepless night the night before. Crazy how he gets me everytime. And by the way, being a tired zombie doesn't mix too well with teaching gifted kids. I kinda need my brain to do that.

At about 3:30 am this morning Carson was talking and whining in his bed. We were trying to let him work it out and go back to sleep on his own. After about 15 minutes of listening to him we hear Nolan yell from his room, "Carson is HUNGRY!". In a tone that clearly indicated he wanted us to do something about it. All I could do was laugh. Apparently he did not appreciate Carson's early morning concert.

It was a good day back at school. Most of my kids seemed excited about being there and we had a lot of fun. It's just the getting up and getting out of the house part that is hard. :)

Today I am thankful for my perfect two day a week job that allows me to teach such wonderful kids, but still be a stay at home mommy most of the week. This job is most definitely a blessing from God.

Long list of to do's

Mission accomplished! The tree is down and the Christmas decorations are all stored away. Now to just find a home for all the new toys. I had recently reorganized Nolan's room and all his toys prior to Christmas. But with the way my living room looks right now, I am going to have to do it again.

The other big task that we have been trying to complete is finding a new dresser for Carson. I sold the baby dresser and toy chest because it wasn't working out for us. Now I am on the great search for a dresser that will work for C to grow into, but also work with N's furniture when we decide to move the boys in the same room. Easier than done let me tell you.

The company that we bought N's big boy furniture from is now out of business so we are trying to find something that will work with it. I have gone to every furniture store in our area and then some and have searched and searched the web. Any suggestions? :) The great hunt is on. In the meantime, poor C's clothes are being stored in a laundry basket and his changing pad is being used on the floor. Maybe I should just get him a tent and his room can be a "camping" theme.

I can't believe how quickly the Christmas break has flown by. I had grand ideas of all the things I was going to accomplish while home during the break. Some of them have been checked off the list, but far too many still remain. Oh well, one thing is for sure is that we have had some great time together hanging out as a family. And that is far more valuable to me than a completed to do list.

Well, back to the web for more dresser searches....

Today I am thankful for spa gift cards that I received for Christmas. I was able to use one this morning for a great 30 minute massage. :)

2009 Already?

How is it that 2008 is already over? Where has the time gone?

We had a great time ushering in the New Year. We hung out with 3 other couples and their kids. We had a wonderful time laughing, playing games, and keeping our super hero costumed kids semi under control as they stayed up and played well past midnight.

Our first day of 2009 has been pretty laid back and very enjoyable. Nothing is better than when you want to sleep in and your boys cooperate and sleep in too. Peace and quiet..... the best.

I had the pleasure of having lunch today with a dear friend that I rarely get to see because she lives very far away. But whenever we get the chance we love to chat, catch up, and enjoy time together. Wonderful friends can sometimes be so hard to find, but I have been so blessed to have many.

Tomorrow's task is taking down the tree and undecorating the house. :( This is the longest that I have ever left Christmas decorations up. I'm not sure why either. I just haven't wanted to do it maybe because I am not ready for Christmas break to end. I must subconsciously think if the tree is up surely there are more days of break left... right? ;) Well, I will come to grips with reality tomorrow and down goes the tree.

Today I am thankful for my husband that allows me to escape from the house and the boys to enjoy a 3 hour "lunch" with a girlfriend.