Cuteness!

Some pictures from the last few weeks :)

 Nick took Hunter to the club for pictures with Santa. We were all supposed to go, but I was sick and then ended up at urgent care with Jack b/c he broke out in welts. He was fine after they put him on antibiotics, but we missed out on seeing Santa there. It's always nice b/c you can take your own pics, it's not crowded, and it's a good Santa! 

 This kid needs a belt! They also got to decorate cookies and Hunter even made one for Jack--rare sweetness. 

 Gammy Dori and Big D came a few weeks ago to celebrate Christmas. I have a hard time taking pictures b/c they are so crazy, but managed a few cute ones! I love this one above. 

 They love making "sandwiches". Gammy is the break and they are the PB&J. They wanted me to jump on too, but I passed! ha! 

 There's the cheese again with Jack! 

 Our super-sweet nanny Julie. She gave them gifts a few days before Christmas. They got some fun toys and these hilarious sweatshirts that glow in the dark...and have orange mohawks on the top. I think Hunter wore his for 48 hours straight--even to bed! They are so funny!! I don't have many pics of Julie with the kids, so I'm glad to have these!! 

Julie's last day is Friday. I'm going to try not to cry! She has been with us for over 2 years. I can really tell she loves my kids and that is so important. She is returning to school full-time in the winter and I know she needs to do this for herself, so I fully support her, but it's still hard to see her leave and deal with change. We hired someone else recently and I think she will be great, but it takes time to build that trust when someone is taking care of your kiddos. I haven't quite known how to talk to the kids about it and the one time I brought it up Hunter was HYSTERICAL, so I let it go. I'm going to have to talk to them more this week about it, but it's hard to know what to say to them! 

 

Christmas Pictures :)

Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve and Day. I'm so disappointed in myself for not taking more pictures! It's just too hard when I have to keep after these kids constantly! Christmas Eve we went to my aunt's house (dad's sister). Their whole family was there and ours....10 adults and 4 kids. We have a lot of fun and Rhonda has tons of toys and activities for the kids to do. 

 While we got dinner ready the three littlest sat and watched part of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the computer.They were all in the zone! 

 Five Below is awesome. I got these smarties for my mom b/c she loves them :) ha! We don't exchange gifts with my family on Christmas Eve, but I got her this anyway.

 Hunter got my dad a giant whoopee cushion. It was the hit of the night. My lips were chapped from blowing it up so many times. The kids were all fighting over who got to sit on it next. Then you have Nick recording the noise and texting it to friends like he can take credit for farting that good. So mature. 

 All hanging out after eating way too much! 

 Christmas Day--we went to 9am mass with my family and then back to my mom's house. They just put a huge addition on their family room...and we needed it for all the darn presents she buys. This wasn't even all of it. She keeps saying, "I wont go crazy this year", but she always does. Nick has made two car trips home full of gifts and we still don't have them all. My parents are bringing the rest Saturday night. Next year Nick said he is renting a U-haul. It's totally ridiculous....my kids are spoiled by Nana and Pee-paw. 

 Now that Bailey is no longer alive, we brought Chopper and he got to come out of his crate. Emily was so happy that Madison had a friend over. They didn't quite "play", but "tolerated" each other. At least no dog fights! 

 Our cutie pie!! Finally a smile with his eyes open :)

My other three boys--They are so cute :) Hunter earned a dollar for every hour he behaved. He melted down at the end and only earned 7 dollars. He got a cash box with a combination lock and loved it. He carries it around home and says "I have 7 bucks. I'm rich aren't I mommy??"

Then he keeps trying to give his money to Jack! I can't leave any money sitting out b/c he's sneaky and takes it and goes running to his bank. We have to talk about what stealing means! 

Next I need to post pics of Christmas with Gammy Dori and our visit to Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village! 

 

Merry Christmas!!

We've been super busy getting ready for Christmas and doing fun things with the kids!! Hope you had a Merry Christmas!! 

Here are some favorite ornaments from our tree :)

Hunter made this at school this year. His teacher found the idea on pintrest and they are so cute!! The snowmen are his fingers....

 First ornament Hunter made in pre-school

 Nick gets me a Waterford ornament every year and I LOVE them. They are up high and away from the kiddos! 

 Love this...pre-Jack :)

Jack's first school ornament--it smells like cinnamon....yummy!! 

Quick Update

Not much time for blogging with the holidays right around the corner. I've also been sick since last Thursday morning :( Then Thursday night we had planned to see Santa at our club and Jack broke out with some horrible welts. Nick took Hunter to see Santa and I took my sick self and Jack to the urgent care. They put him on antibiotics and it cleared up right away. In happy news, I got a new (used car). It hardly cost us anything out of pocket and I LOVE it. It's a Yukon hybrid...much more room. Is it crazy to say I'm just super happy that the kids can't reach each other to hit and pinch each other? ha! It feels like a new car even though it's not. It has about 5k less miles than the Acadia had. Nick hated the Acadia for some reason and it just didn't seem big enough for us. The full circle car situation is another blog post in itself....had a yukon in 2001, traded it in for smaller right before Hunter was born, then two weeks after jack was born got acadia b/c said car was too small (nick drives it now). Now back to Yukon---too funny.
In other news, I didn't go to work Monday b/c I was still pretty sick. Talk about a bad day. Nick took off work early, we picked Hunter up from school early, and went to the post office for our 3pm appointment to get Hunter's passport. Nightmare!!!! You have to have an appt and they don't answer the phone, so we went in Saturday to set the appt up. Needless to say, after waiting in line for 30 minutes, the lady discovers that my license expired three weeks ago so she would not process it. Nick was fuming mad. I was honestly in tears. I felt badly b/c I just didn't know and was just so mad that I started crying! We drove to SOS to renew the license, waited 30 minutes there, and then went back to the post office thinking maybe they'd give us a break. No such luck. Waited in line again to have them tell me they could not process it after 4pm and I would have to set up yet another appointment---again taking more time off work, pull Hunter from school, etc. I cried even harder this time....so embarrassing in front of 25 people in line, but I really didn't care at that point. To make matters worse (and why I was really probably crying), is when I picked up Hunter from school the teacher wanted to talk to me. Apparently, this other kid who is Hunter's BFF and trouble making buddy has an older brother who told him all about the school shooting. We did not tell Hunter--he's five and doesn't need to know. So this boy told Hunter all about it and then told Hunter he was bringing a gun to school the next day for him and Hunter to shoot kids. I was so mad and upset. This is a Christian Montessori and I just thought this stuff would not happen--obviously I'm naive. The principal spoke to both kids--Hunter was not in trouble, but they wanted to reassure him that school is safe and that would not be happening. I then contacted the principal who said they talked to the child and parents again after school to make it clear this talk was not acceptable. I know there is no malicious intent, but it was upsetting. I want to shelter my kids from this stuff and they hear it at school anyway. I have a feeling this kid got in big trouble by his parents that night! Hunter hasn't said anything since, so I've let it go.
That has been my week and it's only Wednesday. I took Jack Christmas shopping Monday night while still under the weather. Last night I took him on a date to the mall to get a haircut and eat dinner. Tonight we have a Christmas party to attend. Tomorrow we are supposed to see Santa again so Jack has his opportunity. Jack wants  "toys" for Christmas and Hunter wants "a million piece puzzle". Gosh, I think that is it for now...This time of year is WAY to stressful!!!

 

New shoes

Yesterday after nap, Jack and I met up with my friend Amber at 12 Oaks Mall to do some shopping. The guy in the shoe area was SO SLOW, so while I was checking out, Amber took these photos....Jack in 6 inch Jessica Simpson shoes! He was modeling shoes, purses, etc. Too cute!! I came back and she was laughing so hard b/c she had a phone full of pictures like this while she was waiting :) We had a lot of fun, minus Jack wanting to push his stroller like a wild man all over the mall and into people. I also did something else rather impulsive....I can't say yet b/c I'm waiting to see how long it takes Nick to notice what I did....any guesses?? LOL. (I'm not too crazy...). 

And it's NOT a tattoo. 

 

Random sentences

I need to get my camera out and take some pictures of our cutie pies, but this week has been nuts. I realized as I was saying something to some moms in my MOPS group and complaining about my crazy week that they both have way more kids than me and I should not be complaining to them! One mom has seven kids and the other has 5. I only have two (however Hunter should count for at least three), so it could feel more like 4? ha! Well, it got me thinking if our schedules are "normal". This is a rhetorical question in case you didn't know. Do moms who work outside the home stress out as much as me? What would I do if I had a 9-5 job with no flexibility? Our nanny was in a car accident and couldn't come Monday. Nick was already taking a 1/2 day to take the dog for some procedure on his eye (add that to the HUGE bill last month....choke me), so I had to cancel a meeting, pick Jack up from school, take him to speech therapy, bring him back to work, and wait for Nick to come get him after the dog appt so I could be here for my 3pm meeting. That was my day. I was so busy that I didn't listen to my voicemail until later that night as I was driving Jack to an appt and realized a message was from the lady who we were meeting with cancelling b/c she was sick. Ahhhh....so we went Christmas shopping instead! Jack was great in the store and was so consumed with these snowmen pj's I got him that he didn't notice all the other stuff I was buying for him for Christmas! Although I forgot to take it out of my car and Hunter saw a big box for Jack and was asking a million questions! And so it goes.....
Tonight is our huge work holiday party. It stresses me out and I'll be glad when it's done! Nick is bringing Jack for a bit while a sitter takes Hunter to soccer. Crazy. I need to make a dent in Christmas shopping ASAP and get my tree up. I know I'm rambling.
In better news, we told the kids that we booked the Disney cruise and FL. They don't care about FL, but Hunter is mad that it's FL, Mexico, and then Disney cruise instead of the cruise first. He asked about 100 questions on the way to school today.
1) Can I ride the water slide all day? no hunter, not all day
2) Can Mickey go on the water slide with me all day? probably not
3) Jack, you better not go in the ocean or a shark will eat your foot, right mom? nope, i doubt it
4) Our boat is bigger than the entire ocean, right mom? nope, not quite that big
5) Is Mickey going to talk to me? yep
6) Can we eat with the Chipmunks? probably
7) Will the Chipmunks bite and claw us? no, they are nice
8) I won't have to wear those dumb fairy costumes, right? (he saw a video on youtube with girls getting dressed up like fairies). right kiddo, i won't make you dress up like a fairy
9) How many pools are on the boat? a lot.
10) Are we leaving the country? yes
11) Are we going to be on the boat the whole time? no, we make some stops and do fun stuff.

And so on and on and on....

They are super excited and we are too!!! I think we may come home exhausted though!! For now Hunter is counting the days to Mexico (75 days) and so am I. I'm thrilled to have a staycation with Jack!

Stuff I'm happy about this week

1--Hunter started soccer on Wednesday night. He LOVED it. Nick took him and he scored 8 goals. I guess he was that obnoxious kid who was the best and just kicked butt. Hunter was so happy when he came home. He even slept in his new shin guards Wednesday night. Thursday he woke up when I was letting Chopper out and here he is. He was 1/2 awake and looking at me like "why the heck are you taking my picture!?!?". Too cute.

2---Nick is FINALLY getting his other car back. It's been gone since June...now I don't know what I'll make fun of him about. He's super excited. He's going to drive it for one week and then take it to my parents to store for the winter.

3--Nick and I are going on two dates in three days. Crazy?!?! Last night Hannah came to watch the kids--we'd had it on the calendar for a while. It started off at Home Depot picking out toilets, sinks, cabinets, tubs for our basement....we are finishing it and they are doing the bathroom first. Then we went to PF Changs to plan out vacations for 2013. I'm excited--we are going to FL in January. Nick and Hunter are going to see Nick's mom and step dad in Mexico over their winter break. It's like a vacation for me b/c I'll be home for a week with Jack! ha! I will NEVER go to Mexico again for as long as I live. I've been there three times and the last time was in the hospital afterwards, so I will not be going back and exposing myself to Montezuma's Revenge again for as long as I live. Then we are going on a Disney cruise for spring break...don't tell the kids!! Plus a few other small things (conference for nick's work, etc.).
Tomorrow night Miss Abbey who moved in across the street is coming so we can go to dinner and see Lincoln....looking forward to it!!

4--I got three canvases from our photographer this morning. They are so awesome!!! I can't wait to hang them up at home!!!!

I think that's it for now. Have a great weekend :)

The past few days :)

We had a nice Thanksgiving weekend...The best part was my mom offering to take Hunter on Wednesday night to help her bake and have a sleepover. I love my child, but it was pretty darn awesome to wake up on Thursday and have it be so quiet and peaceful. It would have been the same if Jack was gone and it was just Hunter (maybe). I worked on a puzzle that Hunter wanted to start a few days prior, Jack did his own puzzles, and Nick read the paper...it was a nice and quiet morning at the Hopwood home :) Thursday after Jack's nap we went to my parent's house---it was pretty chaotic so I didn't even take any pictures. Friday we took the kids to Jungle Java in the morning and I went to dinner with a friend Friday night (part of my make-up birthday). Saturday the kids had their sports and while Jack napped Nick and Hunter went to this event at the Michigan Theatre with another dad and kid down the street to watch the game. They had stuff set up for the kids so the adults could watch the game I guess (magician, and other stuff). Saturday night we went to our club with Nick's brother, dad, and step mom. They came to see the kids for a while and then a babysitter watched them which was nice for all involved. Sunday we drove back and forth to Caro to see Nick's mom, step dad, brother, and sister-in-law. Gammy was so happy to have both of her kids and grand kids together. We ate too much and it was a quiet car ride home--me and both kids slept just about the entire drive back. 

Sorry Nick. My back hurt from the long drive and doing dishes, so I am glad I got to take a little nap. 

 After soccer on Saturday I asked Jack if he wanted to play and he said he wanted to re-vacuum the family room for me. I guess he thought I didn't do a good enough job the first time. Too cute. 

Hunter and Aunt Brandie at Dori's on Sunday....so cute!! She is a wonderful aunt :)

 Yesterday morning Hunter was so funny--we went in the car line which he hasn't done all year. He did it the last two years, but now that Jack is going to school there too and I have to take him to his class, we all just go in together. Jack had a check up at the dr so Hunter was super excited to do the car line. We were first in line which was even more exciting for the child who MUST be first at everything! He opened the sunroof and was saying hi to everyone who walked by. I'm amazed that he knows all the kids...even ones not in his class! I think he's Mister Popular or something (maybe class clown??). 

Jack went in for his 3 year check up and this is before he "got poked". He is so darn cute. He is in the 55th percentile for height and 70th for weight...he's not going to make it to the NBA like Hunter. Nick is banking on Hunter--he is just 5 and better than all the 7 year olds in his bball class (according to Nick). He is a very athletic child where Jack could care less if he's the slowest or last. He's way more chill...Hunter will just tell you he beat you in a race no matter what, but the kid is fast. 

Anyway, Jack kept saying "poke me" to the nurse and I was telling him if he didn't cry and was super brave he would get a treat. He was a champ and got some yummy animal crackers afterwards. I always love how you can hear some kids screaming bloody murder after they get poked and then the nurse leaves you to get your kid dressed and check out while they are hysterical. 

Hunter was at the dr this morning b/c he has an ear infection. He was up crying last night and Nick didn't get much sleep. I woke up at 6am to Jack yelling for me and couldn't find Nick and Hunter. Turns out Hunter was asleep in the sun room and Nick was on the floor next to him! I wasn't feeling very good, so I slept through most of the nighttime drama. 

Thankful

There are always reasons to complain about life, but I thought I'd take a minute to make a list of all the things I'm thankful for.

1) My kids. Yes, they are a handful. Jack LOVES to cuddle and it warms my heart.
2) Nick. He rocks. He is home, hands on, goes grocery shopping, cooks, and is all around a good guy.
3) Friends. I have several friends I feel like I can talk to about things....Amber, Jacquelyn, Hillary, Jacque, Suzanne, Erica, MOPS moms, and others I'm not even mentioning! This is so important!!!
4) My job. I have it good. I won't lie...I can come and go as needed. Everyone is awesome when I have babies, back surgery, appointments for myself and kids, etc. I will NEVER find the same job where I make the money I do and can do what needs to be done on the home front.
5) Julie. She takes good care of our kids and I know she loves them!
6) Family. My parents, sister, grandma, etc. all live nearby. They love my kids dearly!
7) God, church, and faith. I have a close relationship with our priest, love our church, and find comfort in going to church and praying.

Many times I stress, have useless anxiety, ongoing back issues, and wonder what I should be doing in life. I think things are SO hard at times, but I look around and friends can't have kids, have to work for that paycheck, stress about money, fight with their spouse, and I just know I've got it good. We are fortunate to have stable jobs in this economy, and are able to do what we want to do. Not that our life is perfect, but I know it could be worse. I am thankful for this!

Looking forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow and celebrating with family :)

 

Long weekend in iphone pictures

We had a long and busy weekend! Friday we flew home from work, picked up kids, and went to meet our friends at their house for pizza before going to the Toledo Zoo. Hunter fell asleep in the car on the way and woke up in rare form. He was very wild at the zoo--too bad we couldn't put him in a cage with the other animals!!! He was so wound up. Then within five minutes of getting in the car both kids were sound asleep! We didn't get home until 10pm, which is WAY pastt their bedtime. Both barely woke up as we took them up to bed. Our friends kids are way more calm....it's just not fair! 

Jackson and Hunter on the gorilla. Jackson is so sweet and quiet. I think he'd be better off hanging with Jack than Hunter. 

Jack by the gorilla

Friday was the first night where they turn all the Christmas lights on...it was really pretty!! I have more pictures on my camera that I'll have to upload soon :) The cell phone pic does not do it justice.

Saturday was my great-grandma's funeral (my dad's grandma). It was a LONG day. I got to church for the visitation at 9:15 am and didn't go back home until 7 pm. I took Jack to the visitation. Nick came up to church with Hunter in time for mass. It was a nice service and for being 99 years old, there were a decent amount of people there considering she outlived three of her five kids, husband, and friends! After the service, Nick took my other grandma (mom's mom) home and Jack back to the house for nap. I took Hunter to the cemetery and then to my aunt's house. Hunter was so excited to release the dove. That was so nice of him to include Hunter! The little girl below also came back to my aunt's house so they played together. They had a great time and played well together--if they got separated Hunter would say "where is my girl friend?" and she would say "where is that boy?"....too funny. 

Dove release. I guess it flies back to its farm in Belleville within 1.5 hours of being released. 

___________________________

Yesterday was my birthday...it was an OK day. However, Nick woke up SICK. I won't go into detail, but it's that nasty 24 hour bug where so much comes out that you can easily lose five pounds in one day (TMI). He didn't get out of bed all day. Lucky me. I took the kids to church by myself. Took them to the park by myself. Made them lunch by myself. Put Jack down for a nap by myself. Took Hunter to a bday party at Zap Zone by myself. Picked up Jack and went to my parents for dinner by myself. The kids were actually good all day until we went to my parents. I think Hunter was coming down from a sugar high from Zap Zone or something, but he was out of control. ALL I wanted for my birthday was to have two hours of peace. I wanted to read or watch tv (or nap) while Jack napped and have Nick take Hunter to the birthday party. That was it--- and no such luck. Then I texted him b/c I didn't want to get his germs and said, "Can I at least have my new shoes?" (I pick out my own presents in case you didn't know). He said they were in the backseat of his car, so I did get my presents from him and the kids. Not wrapped, but I have to do that myself too. The nice thing is that I get what I want. He makes no attempt to be creative. Not sure if that is good or not. I feel like I get way better stuff b/c he's willing to spend more if he doesn't have to think up something himself. I am very good at taking advantage of this too. (don't feel sorry, he asks for expensive things too). 

I wish I had my camera b/c we got some fun pics at Parker Mills when we went for a walk after church! 

This cool tree was fun to climb on and take pics. 

Handsome little man! 

   The kids ran back and forth "racing" on this bridge at least 20 times...Hunter took his coat and hat off at one point b/c he was sweating! Then Jack would say "I need break" and they'd lay down on the bench and rest for 20 seconds and then off again to race. 

Cutie pie!! 

A small glimpse into them being nice to each other--sitting together, arms around each other, and smiling. Now that is an accomplishment....and Hunter didn't even try to push Jack off the tree! Success! 

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!! 

                                                                         Hunter had so much fun at his friend's birthday party at Zap Zone. They played laser tag, bumper cars, games, etc. He was mad b/c the first game of laser tag he was with three girls and they lost. The next game he purposely sat by all boys so he would NOT be with girls...and they won!  

Bumper cars was so funny b/c he was out to get people! He was so funny when you could see him getting ready to ram someone. He's competitive like that. 

Jack wanted to wear his mask to "nana and pee-paws" so he wore it for 45 minutes in the car and refused to take it off. He had marks all over his face when we got to their house. 

I got these shoes from Nick and purse from the kids. I picked both out. I LOVE both, but the shoes are uncomfortable...I hope once I wear them for a bit they will break in and be more comfortable. I guess for now style is more important than comfort. 

 My parents are always good to me! They got me clothes for pilates, undies from VS (my dad says he picks them out for me--creepy huh?), a crystal serving dish, and these stacking tables for my sunroom from Pottery Barn. I really like them!!! Thanks mom and dad!!! My grandma gave me money to go shopping and my sister paid extra for shipping to get my gift on time and it did not arrive. She feels badly, but it's ok. I know she won't forget about me :)

I am looking forward to my make up birthday--I was trying not to be mad at Nick, but I was SOOOOOO disappointed that I didn't get my two hours. (and I waited on him by picking up pop at the store, cutting up an apple and grapes, etc). Instead I was GO GO GO from 7am till 10:30 pm last night. I need to go to the grocery store and do laundry desperately b/c I was going to have Nick do that yesterday for me! Oh well, life is not that bad when it comes down to it. Just another year older!!