Volleyball!!

I know, I know....more photos of my kids playing sports. This is different. This was my sport, when I was in high school. I was able to help Ally, giving her pointers and advice. It was something I knew about and didn't have to keep leaning over to the person next to me, asking questions. You'd think I'd be more knowledgeable about baseball and basketball by now, but somehow, I am NOT an expert. Anyway, Al had a lot of fun and says she wants to do it again next year!

Mavericks Football.



This year, after the regular Highland football season, the coaches all voted for 3-4 players from each team to play for an all-star team. I distinctly remember talking to a dad whose son did this last year and being very grateful we were done, while they still had 3+ weeks of football. Don't call me a bad mom just yet. I realize this is a great opportunity for Max and would never interfere.....however.......it was A LOT of football and a part of me was mourning the loss of freedom I had been dreaming of. Of course I'm being dramatic. After all was said and done, Max has a blast, Eric and I were very proud, and the kids got to swim in a hotel pool. It was all goooood.



2 weeks of practice and two tournaments. Max was able to hang with the guys he pounded heads with for 2 months.

The kids had a blast playing in the hotel pool. Eric's mom was in town, so we all headed to Troy, OH for tournament # 2.

The best part of this experience was that Max was able to play receiver, instead of QB. He isn't in love with the QB position, so when the opportunity arose for him to get back to catching and running, he went for it. He ended up with 5 TD's throughout the Mavericks play and loved every minute of it.

The boys seemed to all have a good time and will call each other friend......until next September ;)

Great action shot, right??? Eric took about a bazillion photos of the two tournaments, so trying to weed through all of the shots was excruciatingly slow. This one stood out, though.

I do a lot of grumbling about how much time, energy and money Max's sports require. I should really stop, because he may end up paying for some college with this stuff.....God help us. He's a great athlete and a great kid- a perpetual biological ball of energy. I'd much rather him be involved in sports than riding the streets getting into who knows what. So, I will vow to complain less - out loud, anyway. If you see me muttering under my breath, I am not talking back to the "voices", I am grumbling to myself. At least that's what the voices told me to do.

Oy.

I submitted my paperwork to get my LPN license transferred to Ohio. I checked the website yesterday, and I am listed as licensed. I (think) it's official. I should be getting notification in the mail within the next several weeks.

I'm excited!

I'm nervous as hell!

This is huge for me and this family. The plan is to work part-time at first, until I decided if I've made a huge mistake....or.....this rocks finally having money after 12 years of not. It's not only about the money. It's also about NOT feeling worthless. Don't get me wrong, raising a family- and some pretty awesome kids at that, it VERY worthwhile. However, as I have stated before, this is not where I thought I'd be at this point in my life. Viv needs to be around kids her own age and I need to be around other grown-ups.

So, the next step is to begin looking for a job. Easier said than done. I have a couple good leads, so we'll see. If and when I am fortunate enough to find a good fit, we'll look in to who will be competent enough to look after my baby. That may be the hardest part of all............ :)

Just a little icing on the cake - My kids will see me do something that scares the living shit out of me, but I forge ahead, anyway. Sure, it's taken me years to get to this point, but I'm doing it. I want them to see me set a good example, instead of sitting back, complaining about how I never got to do ________, I didn't have the opportunity to try__________, or I was too scared to________. No. I want them to see that it's ok to be scared (terrified is more like it). It's ok to change your mind and go after something you really want. I want to better myself, in this way........ for now. I may go back to school or find a completely different career path. Who knows? I do know, however, that it won't be quite so scary next time.

This is a freaky mother/daughter costume duo. Those masks, while very simple in their design, were probably the scariest of the night.

Out of about 50+ people, there were maybe 3 or 4, who didn't have a costume on. Everyone gets into the spirit and as the years have passed, the more people who attend. At one point in the night, I had trouble maneuvering through the crowd....and NOT because I was intoxicated ;) I spent most the night chaperoning kids. We have decided to hire a babysitter for the entire month of October next year. Any takers???

Eric's co-worker got in on our theme, too. She was Max, the dog. This was SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!! Have I mentioned, recently, how much I love Halloween????

Here are the boys in their perch, overlooking the party.

Vampire princess, Ally.

This is Eric and I as the Grinch and CindyLu Who. I think we'll have our photo in the Fredericktown newspaper, since a lady took our names. Either that, or our witness protection gig is up. We had about a half dozen people get our picture or stand with us for a picture while trick-or-treating. WHO knew our costumes would be such a hit? Get it? WHO???? Who-ville?? Maybe I'm just sleep-deprived.

Jeff is a zookeeper, trying to tame this lion and keep control of the cheetah. Good luck, Jeff. Although, both of these lady jungle creatures adore him.

Fredericktown is an awesome place to trick-or-treat. They have a gazebo in the middle of town, where you can get a steamy cup of cider and a donut. Kenz and Viv are doing just that.

As if she hasn't already had enough sugar.......oh well, it's once a year, right???

Wright's Halloween Party!!!

This year was the biggest ever. It's also Mark's 50th birthday, so it was quite the celebration.

Zombie Abby. Talk about freaky....I couldn't stop staring at her eyes. Love it!!

Vivian was tearing up the dance floor. She danced until she nearly dropped. Anytime she heard music, her body started to boogie. It was like she had no control over it. Hilarious.

Tirck-Or-Treating!!





This year, Kenz, Jeff's daughter, flew in from Iowa for a visit. She dressed up as a cheetah and helped us out immensely with the weekend festivities.

This decoration is up every year and as a special treat, (we) proceeded to trip over the extension cord, thereby deflating it after this picture was taken. You're welcome nice family who pretended to not see us fumble and panic, trying to get it plugged back in. Thank you for not adding to our humiliation by freaking out. Has anyone ever been banned from trick-or-treat festivities??? There's always a first.

The cutest little lion I ever did see.

Viv's first candy nugget. She said trick or treat all the time, in the days prior to the event. However, when it came time for the big show, she kinda froze. It's ok, they gave it to her, anyway.

*First of all, I want to post photos of Al's finished desk, but she hasn't been able to keep her room clean for any length of time, so my "tidy" windows of opportunity are severely limited. Maybe today. Or not.



HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!
I have said this a couple times in the last few weeks......our Halloween season is as busy, if not busier, than Christmas. It's crazy, hectic, chaotic..but fun. This year, Viv was such a trip. She really got into Halloween - wanting to see all the decorations at the stores, ,having no issue with putting on a costume, and of course, the candy.

Viv was treated to all sorts of goodies at Al and Jay's school. Here, she demonstrates the two-fisting of sugar delights.

Max,Dyl and Grant dressed up as the "Three Stooges" for their Halloween dance. I was very proud of them. Only a hand-ful of kids dressed up and the dance was for grades 6-8. I figured they'd be too embarrassed, especially being with the older kids. Of course, I did have to hear the downloaded soundbites of "Wise Guy, eh?" and "Nyuck, Nyuck, Nyuck" for days prior.

Here's Max and his "special friend", Rachel. I remember the days of wearing boy's jerseys,well. I don't remember doing it in 6th grade, but still. It seems remarkable how much the hormones seemed to have exploded upon entering the 6th grade. Will I really have to be dealing with boyfriend/girlfriend issues while enduring the terrible two's and independent threes????? Oy.

Labor of love.

Ally put "desk" on her Christmas list. We looked into some that Value City had, (employee discount!!!!!) but I didn't like any of them. I had one in mind, I just had to scour the Internet to see who had one and who had it the cheapest. However, Eric saw this beauty by the side of the road with a price of $40. We went to take a look, and I fell in love. It's almost exactly what I had envisioned. It's beautiful in my eyes. The detail, the mirror, truly one-of-a-kind. Of course, it needed a little TLC, so in my spare time, I sanded, puttied, primed, taped and painted. The only thing left to do is to find/order drawer knobs and haul it up to Ally's room. I will share the pictures once it's all done and in place.
Now, after looking at a ton of different knobs to replace the ones that were on the desk, Ally decided on some she insists she likes. I don't. There were so many pretty horse pulls, running horses, rod-iron, hand-painted, pretty drawer pulls/knobs and she picks pink and purple Pegasus knobs. *sigh* My dilemma is whether or not I lie to her and say those knobs are no longer available, or go with her choice and turn my nose up at the knobs that made my pretty desk ugly?
Oh yeah, and if the child wants to do her homework at this desk, we will supply her with a blanket to put over the mirror so she doesn't sit and stare at herself for an hour. You think I'm kidding? Nope. She'll do it. "Ally, are you done with your homework?" "Ummm............no, but I've learned that my face has 1, 042 different expressions! "

Before

Awesome fall......

My brother, SIL and nephew came for the weekend, to compliment Grandma's stay. We had planned to go to the orchard, but the weather had something else in mind, namely, rain and cold. Oh well, we still found stuff to do here.

Not sure who loved this more, Kyu or George.

I think Kyu had a good time on Vanilla. I wasn't sure he would actually get up on the saddle, but he did (without even a hesitation).

Of course he had to fight THIS one for all the riding time.

Our October is such a crazy, busy month. Football certainly takes a huge chunk out of our days and weekends. However, there is so much we WANT to do that it is difficult to squeeze it all in. There are parties, costume preparation and haunted houses. Last year we didn't get to a single one, which is a travesty. This year, we will try harder. Where does all the time go????? How is it that we only have a few weekends left in October? I don't have the answer, so if any of you know how to freeze time, please share!!

I am truly grateful for a couple of girls who seem to love watching after Vivian at football games/practices. The above picture is Viv and Rachel. Rachel is awesome, as is Kasi. Are these girls helping with Viv because she's cute and funny? Perhaps. It could also be that both these girls crushing on Max, and what better way to win his heart than to get "in" with his baby sister? No matter the reason, there are some pretty awesome girls for Max to be surrounded by. This is quite the relief for me, since I will be screening and choosing the suitable girlfriends for him soon. As I'm sure my mother can attest to, teens ALWAYS listen to their parents regarding who is best for them to date. (Ok, Mom, you can quit laughing hysterically at that comment. Breathe. )

Highland Football year 5. I am bound and determined to keep a positive spin on this season. Last year ended with drama. This year began with drama. We'll put all of that aside and focus on these teams. Jay's team (JV), has over 30 players and 13 parents offered to help/coach. Max's team (Varsity), has 18 players and the coach resorted to begging for parent volunteers. Eric offered his services as an assistant coach for Max's team. So, basically, my whole family is involved in Colt football in one way or another. (We'll get to Al, later).

Max is not a huge fan of the QB position. He'd rather be a receiver or running back. However, last year he was put in this position and it's a lot like a bad rash....once it's there, it's hard to get rid of. Oh wait, that wasn't the positive spin I was just talking about, was it? Ok, I'll try again....being quarterback is like those pretty, yellow flowers in your yard, no matter how hard you try to get rid of them, they just keep multiplying and returning. I know that wasn't much better, but I did say "pretty, yellow, flowers", so it counts. He doesn't like being quarterback, but he's good at it, so he'll get this position until he really effs it up, or, someone comes along who's better.

Eric is having a great time coaching. He takes it seriously, but realized these boys are out to learn the game and have fun, too. Two of our key players are on the injury list due to sprained ankles and broken arms. With all that, these boys came out last Sunday and played an awesome game. The other team has gone 4 seasons having had no one score on them. No kidding. They had 40 guys, we had 18. The final score was only 12-0. Not bad. There was no shame in the way they played and given that one of their players weighed in at 245, we were ecstatic we didn't have anyone else to add to the injured list!!

Here's Al cheering for her brother. She enjoys cheering for games, but is not such a fan of going to practice. Lucky for her, they will go down to only one practice a week. This will allow some more time to start volleyball at the end of the month. Al can also entertain Viv with cheer after cheer when the maniac is getting restless in the truck!

Jaybird. This kid has heart. He has been playing football for 4 years, now. Every year, he says he won't go out next time. Each year, he changes his mind. He is fast and knows the game. He doesn't have that "killer" instinct to want to rip the opponent's head off, so he's not as aggressive as some of his teammates. However, I wouldn't want it any other way. He's a sweetie, and I'm happy to keep it that way. I tell him to imagine the other team as Max at his most annoying or Ally at her whiniest. It helps.

Eric didn't want any photographic evidence of his apple eating/stealing.

If anyone did their share of eating/stealing, it was this one. I couldn't keep up with finishing off all the apples she took one bite out of. I'm not sure I could really pass it off as taste-testing, either.

We just couldn't wait until October...........
LOVE the apple orchard! We normally go in October, but this year we are going to get two visits in. Viv is slightly obsessed with picking apples off the tree, so we thought we would introduce her to a lot of apple trees. Besides, by the time we got there last year, much of the apple crop had already peaked.



Peek A Boo!



Leave it to Viv to find the small, rotten apple and attempt to eat it.

This girl was in heaven with All. Those. Apples.

Noooo, not a form of torture, he asked to do this. Of course, when he started the journey there were a total of, maybe, 5 apples in the bags.

Mutt training.....week 2

The pooches are doing really well. They have their moments when they forget where they are supposed to sit and stay, but for the most part, they are eager to please and are doing what we ask of them.

Boo, aka; the runner, is really responding to the off-leash walks. Today, I took them to the barn and Boo stayed with me the entire time. Normally, he'd have been gone within the first 30 seconds. I see the joys of this already. Sometime soon, we will be playing and enjoying the dogs' company anytime we go outside. This is good.

All the great outcomes of the training isn't without it's challenges. They need exercise, and while I wholeheartedly agree, time and upcoming Ohio winters are not on our side. Once Max starts school, he will be getting on the bus or I will be driving him to school anytime between 6:50 and 7: 20 am. Then, Jay and Al will need to be heading out to the bus between 7:50, or we'll be piling into the suburban around 8:30. All this while getting breakfasts, running after the maniac, dressing, organizing lunches, homework, etc. I get up at 6:00 to start my day and although I will gladly take the dogs for a run with me, come winter this chick will NOT be running in 20 degree weather. Do I bundle up Viv so that I can walk the dogs in freezing temperatures? No. I'm contemplating training the dogs to run on the treadmill, but I'm not sure that's the best plan, either. As much of a challenge exercising the dogs is, and will be, especially with a toddler who cannot be left alone for even a minute, I'm sure this is one of those things that will work itself out. My "planner brain" has a hard time not stressing about how I will figure this out, however. I am grateful that this is all taking place at a time when the kids are home to help out in these early stages. They have been a huge help, as usual!

And so it continues.............(Mutt training week 1)

Like I need MORE responsibility in my day. That being said, I know that the dog training will pay off. I really do. The whole family is excited for the days when the dogs are very well behaved and we can do so much more with them. However, I struggle to get through a day with just the kids and horses, so the added time and energy for dog training can be almost overwhelming.

Tuesday night, we got them home and I immediately started to work with them. Recognizing the bugs and working through them is half the battle. That night, all I wanted to do was go to bed. My day was sooooo crazy that I realized I hadn't even had time to eat or....well, use the "ladies" room all day. I wanted so bad for the day to be over. Jay is still having problems falling asleep and that is a whole other issue for another day. But, I didn't lay down in bed until 1:00 am. Then, Gracie starts barking. She's in her kennel and with the new environment, she was letting us know she wasn't happy. She barked every 30 seconds - 1 minute for a good half hour-45 minutes. I eventually fell asleep, only to be woken at 5:30 am by...............................you guessed it, Gracie. I thought, maybe, she needed to pee, so I got up and let the dogs out. I was up, so I took them on a run. That afternoon, I tried to do a little one-on-one work with the dogs, so I left Gracie in the kennel and started throwing the ball to Boo, outside. He was doing fine, until he caught sight/smell of some critter in the bean field. He took off. I started to shock him via his collar and kept turning up the heat. I'm calling, "Come!" and he's ignoring me. Soon, Ally comes out of the house and tells me that Gracie is yelping in her kennel. I had the collar turned to the WRONG DOG!!!!!!!! I immediately yelled for Max to go get Gracie out of her kennel. (He was closer, and I just wanted her OUT, so I could apologize!) I was weak in the knees. Max brought Gracie outside and I melted on her. I kept saying how sorry I was and that I was sooooo stupid. She politely agreed, but seemed to accept my love and apology. It was then, that I burst into tears. How on earth can I manage these dogs, the kids, the horses and the house every day, all by myself??!?!?! Things will continue to change around here once the kids go back to school and those left behind start to figure out how the routine works. I don't mind getting up at 6:00 am to start my day, as long as the bumps and bruises are kept to a minimum. I'm sure it will all get easier. We learn new things every day. I learned today, that Gracie cannot handle a 2 mile rollerblading/jog. She has been gimping around all afternoon. Why is it that Gracie is the sole beneficiary to all my mistakes?? It's because she is loving and merciful. She's my "grace from God", hence the name. She was given to this family to serve a purpose and she has far exceeded her mission. This whole experience reminds me of an email I got a while back. It was from a vet who had made a house call to a home where the dog was to be euthanized. I am paraphrasing in my interpretation, but it went something like this; The vet asked the young boy of the family if he understood what was happening today. The boy responded by saying that he knew that dogs were sent to earth to learn unconditional love, just like humans. But because dogs learn it so much faster, it means that they die sooner. The email is so much more poetic, but the message is so profound. Dogs know the kind of love that many humans never get. They are so happy to see you each and every day, no matter if you ignored them the day before or pissed them off 2 weeks before. They don't hold grudges and their whole purpose is to please you. This is why we are spending the money and time on our precious partners. They deserve it.
I'll keep y'all posted.

How about a summer recap? Too bad, here it goes.

We had two wonderful vacations to places that were both islands. No Bahamas or Caymans, but islands nonetheless. We did a little camping, which brought out the realization that I am not the camping kind of gal. Maybe one day we will want to pack up a small house worth's of stuff to go sit by the water, somewhere, only for me to still have to cook and clean and run after a baby. But for now, we'll stick to traveling for our getaways.

Max has a decision to make about baseball. This summer was fun because he was playing a sport, but he also missed out on quite a bit, having to attend a game, tournament, etc. He loves baseball, but doesn't LOVE baseball so much that he's willing to give up 75% of his summer for it. We'll see what happens, but he may decide the local rec ball is a better fit.

We didn't get in on any cowboy mounted shooting this summer due to above commitments. Each weekend there was a shoot, there was also a planned vacation or baseball tournament. Maybe next summer, we'll have a better schedule.

We spent a lot of time outdoors, as you can tell by Vivian's tan lines. The girl loves to pick apples off the tree, ride in the EZ-Go and run around the yard. We'll see if the snow is as much of a draw for her. What will I do with this girl all winter???

We got Boo and Gracie back from the trainer yesterday. They were there for 19 days! Why so long? They are old dogs and the trainer was attempting new tricks. The trainer has worked with Cesar Milan and Cesar's right hand..lady. He was offered a job with Cesar, but opted to stay in Ohio. He's extremely good at what he does and if anyone could get through to my two mutts, it's him. We felt we were really doing them an injustice by having to cable them when they were outside. We couldn't take them anywhere, they'd jump on people who came to the door....blah, blah.....good dogs with bad behavior. Now, we can take them outside, to the barn, for walks, all without leashes. Inside, they have their own "place" where they sit and stay so that there's no funny business going on while I'm bathing the baby or doing laundry. We have some bugs to work out, but we are confident that this will provide them with a better quality of life.

Now that school is getting closer, I am seriously considering going back to work and putting Viv in daycare part-time. We'll see how she and I do on our own without her favorite toys, Max, Jay and Ally. When the older kids were babies/toddlers, I stayed at home with them, and there was nowhere I'd rather have been.....most days. Now, I am less patient, more mournful of a life I looked forward to leading, and no longer in "mommy-only mode". Viv will be fine. She needs to be around kids her own age. Aside from one other person, I know of nobody that has a toddler. My friends, here, are either working full-time or have kids who are at least school age. So, once the Ohio Board of Nursing grants me a license and I find a daycare that I am comfortable with, things around the Schreiber home may become vastly different. I am growing more sure of this decision, but once the day arrives for me to drop my baby off at the house of a stranger, you can call me, puddle, I'm sure. This new venture may not work for our family, but we'll never know until we try. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. For now. Unless I change my mind. ;)

One of the first things on the schedule after vacation was Ally's horse camp. Our realtor Becky, has a teenage daughter who, along with a friend, put together a wonderful camp for kids. I was proud of Al, because she is cursed with a sometimes debilitating shyness. She was nervous at first, but since she was "in her element" around the horses, she did very well. The first day, she informed me that she didn't really learn anything because she already knew most of it(shocker). However, she did get first place in the horse show which was basically riding around the arena. She was the only girl to get the horse into a trot(Need for speed, that one). The next day when I picked her up, she began to cry. I knew she LOVED camp and thought she was sad to leave. Turns out, the kids were allowed to gather an egg from the chicken coop. The kids took care of the eggs the rest of the day, with Ally building it a nest inside her riding helmet. One slip of the elbow and the egg got, well, crushed. So was Al's spirit. She thought the egg would hatch if she kept it warm and safe. The hard reality was that since there weren't enough eggs for all the kids in the coop, Becky grabbed some from the fridge to set in with the hens. The eggs weren't going to hatch. Al seemed relieved that she didn't actually kill her chick, but was still very sad. Eric and I have talked about getting chickens for quite awhile, but never got around to the action of building a coop and researching how to care for chickens. Now, with the promise to feed and care for them, herself, Al may have started the ball rolling on the chicken adventure.

My brother offered up a couple design plans for a DIY coop.

LOVE this one, but since the kids have been begging for a tree-house, I think it would be unfair to build the chickens a tree-house instead.

Now THIS is more our style. Here in Morrow County, our ingenuity would be admired by all the chicken-owning rednecks.

We'll see what we come up with. Perhaps this chicken adventure will fade away as we realize we have more than enough to deal with with the dogs and horses. However, there's nothing better than farm-fresh eggs!!

"Good morning. Got any carrots?? It's ok, you go find some, I'll wait here."

Cousin love.

While my brother and SIL claim they were delighted at the influence the older cousins had on their son, I fully expect a phone call. That conversation would start something like this, "Do you know what your kid taught my son?!" Just teasing. I think he had a blast, as did all the kids - there's just nothing better than hunting hermit crabs.

We are now trying to get back to normal. We drove through the night to get home and it wasn't as bad as we thought it might be, but it still takes a toll on the (aging) body. We now dive right back in to the routine, while still savoring the last days of summer. My BIL is an awesome photographer and I look forward to seeing some of the moments he captured. With his permission, I might be sharing some of them in the near future.....the beauty of the beach!!

I mentioned the deer and crabs, but I can't forget the alligators. This was just a baby, so we approached for a better look. There were others that were much bigger. Since Viv would have been a nice little snack, we didn't attempt this proximity with the others.

This is the family on the way to get ice cream. We rented two golf carts this year. As the true men that they are, Dad, Eric and Dave tried to "soup up" the horse power, but it didn't work. We putted along as slow as molases. I guess speed isn't what vacations are all about, anyway, right?

Since the condo had wi-fi this year, the computers came ....OUT! You were hard-pressed to find an open area that there wasn't a laptop. I've heard of dueling pianos, but this is ridiculous!

Max and Nick cooking dinner. Each family had a night to cook. This year, since Max requested Toscana Soup, Uncle Nick enlisted his help in making it. I think Nick was impressed with Max's talents in the kitchen. Since Nick is a fireman, we had some pretty high standards set for him. The soup was delicious!!!