AJ's First Car!

The Longest Post Ever!!!

Life around the Sheridan house is never a dull moment. There's the cheer practices, hockey practices, skating lessons, hockey games, more hockey practice, oh and add in mommy getting carpul tunnel surgery and science camp and redoing Ryan's room...this is our life! Even now I am sitting with my back to a mountain of laundry that I can hear whispering my name and taunting me to fold it but no! I had carpul tunnel surgery on my left hand about 6 weeks ago. (I had the right hand done in August) It wasn't bad at all...pretty much what I knew and expected but having my left hand out of commission was a piece of cake compared to back in August when I had my right hand done since I am right handed. I managed to paint Ryan's room while he was at science camp a few weeks ago but that's because most of the labor was right handed. Ryan was supposed to leave for science camp the week prior but the roads were closed to go up to the mountain due to so much snow. This week the roads opened up and they were off! It was a nice break not having all that 5th grade homework and Ryan being his dramatic self about it plus I got to sleep in a few days. Sadly I cannot say that I am one of those parents that was crying as the buses pulled away from the school. Having 4 kids I think when one is absent, it's a huge difference. I tried to convince the teachers that Jack was a 5th grader since he's almost as big as some of them but that didn't work. :-)

Ryan's room turned out amazing! My goal was to the bunkbeds out of there because they took up so much room and Ryan hardly ever utilized the top bunk. Also I wanted to get rid of the surfer theme that he had going. He doesn't surf, he plays hockey, so I wanted to update it a bit and give it a more"big boy" feel. Jack, of course, inherited all of Ryan's bedding which matches perfectly with Jack's room and I am painting the lower half of the bunkbed espresso to go in Jack's room for his own "big boy" bed. I kept the dresser and hutch in Ryan's room but I just repainted it and distressed it a bit plus I found a simple headboard a lady wanted to sell on craigslist for $40. I painted it to match the dresser and added some hockey sticks in the middle where I punched out a panel. The most expensive part of the entire room was the bedding because I am a Pottery Barn junkie and just can't seem to like anything else once I see something there I like. I justified it by telling myself that he will have it until he moves out so we will see if that stands.

Ali had Winter Formal and went with a friend. AJ doesn't do dances but I'm hoping before he graduates next year to get him to go to at least one.

The twins turned 17 on the 17th...yes, their golden bday! We took them to Farrell's for dinner and dessert which was alot of fun since I hadn't been there in years. Being twins, the waiter made them sing to themselves and then Ryan had to sing the piggy song!

For the past few months Uncle Mark has been training with the Blue Angels about 3 hours from us so he came to visit one weekend which was great

This weekend we will go see him at the Air Show which should be lots of fun!

And lastly, even though cheer is winding down, baseball is just starting. This year Ryan stayed at the AAA level instead of moving up to Majors which was fine with me....hockey is his sport...baseball is more of a "on the side" sport to him. This year the league is naming the teams after college teams so Ryan is on the UCLA Bruins. I was a little disappointed that we weren't on the Oregon Ducks since I have some of that garb to wear being from Oregon but his team is really great. Jack has a lot of fun at the fields as well riding his scooter around and r

We are finally into March now (I can't believe it) and Ryan will soon be 11! Our plan is to have about 12 boys over for pizza and go see "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and then do a sleepover. My mom will be here so it should be manageable :-) Sorry it took me so long to post....blogger has been giving me a hard time and it's very tricky trying to download and maneuver pics ever since my little toddler stuck a paper clip in the USB port! Happy Spring!

I will post soon I swear!

So I haven't posted in almost 2 months I know! I also know that I've already blown my new year's resolution to blog more! I have a good excuse though...Jack broke our printer. Well, not the actual printer but the means to download pics anyway. He decided to jam a paper clip into the USB port where I normally insert my memory card with all the cool pictures that I post on here. So, be patient and hopefully next week I will have some amazing pictures and info to share! Just wanted to share in case some of you weren't sure I had fallen into the black hole or something. Stay tuned....

Our little skaters!

Today we had our first day of ice skating lessons! Haylee and Jack are in the "Baby Blades" and Kenzie is in her own big girl class. It was so fun to watch! Kenzie did amazing looking like a natural on the ice and Haylee and Jack did a lot of falling down!

Learning how to fall and get up correctly. I had no idea their was a right way to fall down and a right way to get up.

Jack getting on the ice! He was soooo excited but wondering where his hockey stick was. :-)

Practicing the falling down was key
So this is our new Mondays! We will see how long Jack lasts as he doesn't really like the falling down part. It seems like just yesterday it was AJ out there pushing around a chair and crying every time he fell down. I thought he would never get it!

Merry Christmas from the Sheridans!

I have totally neglected my blog and that is part of my New Year's resolution....to blog more! So, Thanksgiving came and went...my mom and I cooked up an awesome meal and Adam, Jenn and the girls came over.December started off with shopping and more shopping getting ready for the big day. McKenzie turned 5 and we celebrated with dinner @ Cheesecake Factory and Build-A-Bear. We tried to go see Santa but Jack wasn't having any part of him this year. My mom usually comes the day after Xmas and stays through the New Year but this year she came December 18th and stayed until December 26th. It was fun to have her here to get ready for Christmas versus after although we will miss her terribly on New Years eve. This year we did something we haven't done in about 4 years...we got a REAL tree! Since Jack is only 2, he's never known anything but our artificial tree so he was totally fascinated with it!Last week we took the little ones, aka Jack, McKenzie, and Haylee, to IrvinePark to ride the xmas train and ride the ponies. Here's where I would normally put a couple of great pics but for some reason I was unable to get them off my mom's camera. All kids rode the ponies and the train was really fun. Christmas eve we had Adam and Jenn and the girls over for prime rib dinner and the gift exchange.

After dinner we went to Saddleback for Christmas eve service and did our usual Christmas lights drive on the way home.

Christmas morning was awesome! The big gifts this year were Ipods, Uggs, Rock Band, XBox, scooters, and trains. AJ and Ali wanted cars but that wasn't happening :-)

Trying to Get to Turkey Day

I love this time of year! Our weather kinda starts to change which for us means that it's like in the 70's and 80's as opposed to the 90's and 100's, the kids are settling into their sports and I'm finally settling into the schedule that follows. This year, I think I've mentioned, is crazy! Lots going on and not enough cars or "me" to go around. Doug has taken on a new venture and is coaching a team that practices about 80 minutes away and most weekends around here are crazier than the weekdays.

This year our Thanksgiving will be hosted at our house as usual with our amazing cook...aka "Gammie" with her sidekick aka "me"! I'm hoping to try some new things along with the traditional things we have come to know and love. The Gorgonzola Broccoli dish is making my mouth water just thinking about it right now. And no Thanksgiving vacation would be complete without the hockey tournament for us to be running back and forth to which will be Ryan's this year. Unfortunately this year, Mark and Stacie and the kids will not be within driving distance to come over for the fun since moving to Florida. They will be missed!

As I type this post, I'm listening to AJ play XBox with some friends via "Live", Ali and her friend prep for a bonfire party tonight, and Ryan and Jack arguing about who knows what which always ends with Jack telling Ryan to "go away"...I'm tuning it all out to think of the things that I am thankful for this year. Here are my top 10 things that I am thankful for in no particular order:

#1: Less frequent ER visits

#2: Magic Erasers

#3: Car Insurance

#4: Red Wine

#5: Halloween candy

#6: my BFF because she gets an earful on a daily basis and comes back for more

#7: OxyClean and Bleach Pen (I love you both equally)

#8: my DVR for making my life so much more organized

#9: Target

#10: my family...if it weren't for all of you, I would have nothing to do but sit on the couch all day and eat ice cream

What are your top 10 and I hope we are one of them! Happy Thanksgiving! XOXO

Another Busy October

October started off pretty amazing with a trip up to Washington to visit Micah and family. Jack and I had a blast visiting and relaxing and enjoying the wonderful weather we miss down here in Southern CA! The second weekend in October was Ali and AJ's homecoming. AJ didn't go but Ali wouldn't miss it for the world. She went with a friend and those great purple heels didn't make it past the first hour and she ended up wearing her Vans. McKenzie and Haylee hung out with us for a whole day pretty much so I decided we needed to make some pumpkin cakes and decorate them. Messy but fun! AJ was a huge help since Ali was working....yes, she has a job now working at Aliso Viejo Ice Palace running the birthday parties.





Potty training my last child! ......not really but he will sit there and go in his diaper and read...I guess it's a start!

Today we went to the Irvine Park Pumpkin Patch with Adam, Jenn, and the girls. I had not been there since AJ, Ali and Ryan were about 7 and 2. The kids had a blast! Ali was again working (go Ali!) so for us it was just the boys.