What a whopper!!

9/27/10

Morgan had a soccer game on Saturday, had a hat trick and the final score was 3-0!! We are so proud and actually some of the parents were happy she showed up for the game!! Her coach said that Morgan really hustles and would like to have her on his team for next season. I would like her to find a team and grow with them over the years. She really enjoys soccer and swimming and we have found...not to do both at the same time. She needs her sleep and among other things going on in her life, one sport a season is enough. I would like to get her into piano soon...time permitting of course. She is doing well in school, has a few moments of talking too much or being silly when she's not supposed to be...NO CLUE where she gets it?? She's reading very well and is starting to figure out math...coins...they are a different story. We need to work on the different coins!

News flash...Bob is going fishing this week...

Brody loves throwing everything...doesn't matter what it is... cups, toys, blankets, food you name it--it gets thrown. And at the sitter, he loves to hit the other kids and then immediately give them a hug and say sorry....Oy the joys of having a boy! Morgan didn't do this...so this is new for me. Any suggestions on curbing the throwing/hitting would be greatly appreciated :D He just smiles we say say no hitting/throwing and continues to do so.

Garage sale went well...we now have money to spend on our cruise. Whew...many things out of the house and the basement has made quite an improvement.

Let's see what else...oh...the house was hit by lightening...No visible damage...just to electronics/breakers and such. We still need to have an electrician come to the house...oh to submit to insurance or not... if we can recover anything from the old computer, I will post pictures from the garage sale...I sure hope it can be salvaged...I have way too many videos which haven't been posted to flipshare or my flash drive...pictures I have...on snapfish...just not videos.

We have another dead tree...going to pick out another one...I swear...we have no luck with trees. In the four plus years we have lived here...I think, in the front yard alone...we have had five trees. Only two have made it. I keep hearing that these last few years have been really hard on trees...but come on!!! I just want trees for heavens sake.

My BFF and I went to see So You Think You Can Dance tour on Saturday night. Good show! We had a great time. If you can get to downtown St. Louis...there are two spots you need to hit. Triumph Grill http://www.triumphgrill.com/ they have amazing stuffed mushrooms and Expresso martinis as well as a good seafood risotto and a turkey and brie sandwich that is to die for... The restaurant centers around Triumph motorcycles...it's very cool. And we discovered Lafayette Fire Co No 1 in Lafayette Square...really good breakfast (everything is fresh) http://www.lafayettefirecompany.com/. Real firefighters work the tables and there is firefighter memorabilia everywhere...most of which is all from the St. Louis and surrounding IL area. I hear it's hopping at night for the bar scene, but family oriented during the day!

Latest happenings...

Well school is finally in full swing, routines are back in order. Morgan is enrolled in soccer and swimming. For those of you that haven't been following Facebook...Morgan was signed up for swimming in Level 2 and by the end of the class was moved to Level 4. She is doing extremely well. She's learning the different strokes and kicks and before long, she's going to be a more advanced swimmer than me!! I will have to get a video of her learning the butterfly stroke/kick. I knew this was a hard stroke but it's so amazing to watch her learn it. I personally have never done the butterfly, but it is an incredible stroke. I am just amazed and a proud mama!!Morgan is on a coed soccer team this season. So far, it's doing what I had hoped. Last season, her heart didn't seem to be in it as much because she's a competitor by nature. So in the all girl league, she couldn't race against anymore because she was fast. Now she's racing to keep up with the boys and holding her own!! There are two other girls on the team and five boys. It's an interesting dynamic. And lo and behold...Bob and I work with her coach at SAVVIS. Small world!! I hope in all of my craziness on getting two kids to the soccer field on time, that I remember to bring my cameras to record the moment!!Brody...oh my. He's such a ball of energy, going going going ALL THE TIME!! He laughs and runs like the wind around the house, either chasing one of us or just because!! Our son is 110% boy!! He's growing like a weed and starting to put more words together. And one of the cutest things he does is...after we say "God bless you" when he sneezes...he says "thank you!" I guess he's heard us say it so much, he just naturally picked it up! Anyone who knows me, knows I am a stickler for manners (or I try to be)...but this is one I didn't have to teach. His big thing right now is he is trying to jump. He squats all the way to the floor, stays there for a few seconds and then just when you think he's about to jump, he makes it to his tippy toes and then starts laughing!! His little feet never leave the ground. But he does this over and over again. Have I mentioned how much he loves his sister? Oh my...even though she's really rough on him physically, and how she mothers him, he always goes to her for a kiss or a hug and follows her everywhere. When Morgan was gone for her Friday overnight, I think that's when he realized she wasn't around. He walked around and would say Mo....Mo. All Gone. And he couldn't find her. Then on Saturday afternoon, Morgan had a birthday party to go to, so Brody and I drove her there and she got out of the car and went into the house and Brody and I started to drive off, he just burst into tears. Thankfully it wasn't a long car ride home because he cried the whole way and would say Mo....Mo. Heartbreaking yet very sweet!

Let see...what else...OH!! Big shocker...Bob works!! That's what he's been up to...his ankle still hurts and he says he will have surgery next year after we quits Weekends...we shall see. I wish he would quit sooner but it falls on deaf ears...

I am getting ready for a garage sale. I am finally letting go of the mountains of bins of clothes/ that have been in the basement, growing for over six years. Between Morgan and Brody newborn jammies to the ones they just outgrew...I think I counted 47 pairs of PJs....HOLY SMOKES! And what's crazy...I have given away TONS of baby girl clothes to friends. Its a ton of work and I will be glad when it's all finished. Fingers crossed that it will be a success. My dining room looks like a bin storage area. I won't let anyone in the house because of all this mass chaos!! The weekend after Labor day is the sale date...I don't think it can get here soon enough. I have no idea what will happen when the basement is cleaned out...it's not as though we will be finishing it anytime soon. But it will be nice to have the clutter gone! I should do "before" and "after" pictures, but I think I would be too embarrassed of the "before" pictures. May I will get a shot of the garage sale!!


On Monday this past week, we all went over to Glenda's to see Andy as he is from the Afghanistan. So glad he came home in one piece. He's not a boy anymore!! A handsome young man is he! (If he would get that "chew" out of his lip would be even better!!)And on Wednesday we had dinner with Sara and Nolan for her birthday. The kids had a good time as did the adults. It's hard to believe Sara is 27. She was barely 21 when Bob and I had started dating. Where has the time gone?

Should an aunt be kissing her nephew like this...I think not!!

Random pix...

Last weekend, the kids and I went to the zoo with Olivia, Renee and Don! (I stole these first few pictures from Renee's snapfish account!!) It was a warm one, but we had a great time! So happy Olivia is BACK from the "incident" in December with E coli. Thanks for inviting us for a great day!! And we would also like to wish Morgan's cousin Brendan a very happy birthday!! He's a teenager now...look out!!

First day of 1st grade

A few family pix...

Florida Vaca 2010!!!

Another nice week in Florida with the Brown Family. Again, thank you for your hospitality and putting up with the McWhorter/Ericson clan. We were extremely fortunate in beautiful weather while we were there. It only rained once during the day! We were able to put in a great deal of time at the pool and the beach!! We did take a time out, one afternoon to take Morgan and Derek to see "Despicable Me" Cute movie, slow at times...but a cute movie nonetheless....there were some parts where even I laughed out loud.

Morgan...wow...what an improvement. She would swim in the ocean without goggles, dove under the waves and learned to float on her back. Such a huge improvement from years past!! Brody did great on the beach with all the sand sticking to him and also did well with the ocean. When the wave would roll over him, I taught him to "pphhhllltttt" to get the water out of his mouth. It was very cute. Bobby's dad came up from Tallahassee to visit with all of us. Sandy wasn't feeling up for the trip...we missed seeing you. Here are some pix of Grandpa Bob.Brody blowing a kiss...

Annie and Morgan (Derek and Annie did a great job in entertaining Morgan for the week~Thanks you two!!)Brody loves his sister...Aunt Nancy showing Brody how to make the wind chime move.

Yes Mom...I am on vacation... :)