The "Finnster, et al."

Well, we are moving.  Our house was listed for sale on Wednesday of last week.  On Friday of last week we started showing it.  We had 18 showings from Friday morning to Saturday afternoon.  We had 8 offers.  It all happened very fast. I am so thankful the house has sold, but I will say that it has been a little stressful.  Keeping the house spotless with two (2) young boys has been a challenge.  The biggest challenge has been keeping our carpet clean.  Fannie, for example, throws up no less than two (2) times per day.  We had the carpets professionally cleaned last weekend so Fannie has been locked in the garage for almost 10 days.  We thought we had this problem licked until Saturday morning at 12:30 a.m. when Finn came into our room and told us that he had thrown up.  Finn sleeps on the top bunk so when he throws up, it goes everywhere - including the carpet.  You know what they say about best laid plans. Well, we cleaning everything up and managed to keep the smell at bay.  We w

The tablet has been a huge hit.  Sam loves to play his "Thomas" game on it.  The only problem is that Sam is not so keen on putting it away when it is time to get ready for school.  One day this week I caught Sam playing with his tablet before school.  I asked him to put it away and go upstairs.  A few minutes later I noticed that Sam was nowhere to be seen.  I looked and looked and finally Finn told me that Sam was in the coat closet.   I went back downstairs and opened the closet door to find Sam sitting in the coat closet, naked as a jaybird, playing with his table.   On Sunday morning during breakfast we started discussing Valentines Day.  Finn, who regularly asks me about marriage, asked "how many people can you marry?"  I told him that you can only marry one person.  Finn, without missing a beat, responded, "but Jacob had to two wives."  Sam then informs me that he isn't going to get married because he doesn't like girls.  Fin

On Saturday, Dad, Emily and I participated in the Hot Chocolate Run.  Last year at this time I was in tip top shape and ran the 15K.  This year, I was lazy, pregnant and decided to walk the 5K. Emily graciously walked with me.   Despite our super slow pace, we started in Coral C - which specifically said "no walkers."  So, we ran for about the first minute and then found a nice spot on the sidewalk to start our long, cold walk to the finish.  It was really, really cold.  I think it was right at 20 degrees.  Since we weren't running I never really warmed up. Dad ran it of course - and did really well.  He finished in 28 minutes.  Em and I, on the other hand, took our time.  While all the other people around us were running their guts out, we stopped at the chocolate stops and leisurely ate chocolate while the runners dodged us.   After crossing the finish line we went over to pick up our "spoils" of victory.  So yes, I ate more chocolate.  Th

Well, Michael and I are official and Uncle and Aunt again.  James and Chelsea's baby was born on February 2, 2016.  His name is Cade Atlas Begley and he is precious! We all went up to see them later that week.  Chelsea was doing great.  After going to the hospital, we took the boys for pizza at Mellow Mushroom.

On Friday night, in celebration of his Fourth Birthday, Sam had a sleepover with Cooper and Hank.  The boys arrived at our house around 4:00.  They started the evening by playing outside, but moved upstairs once it got dark.  By the time I got home from work Nana had arrived.  Nana came up to help me with the boys.  The evening went pretty well.  We ordered pizza, watched Scooby Doo Wrestling and blew up the air mattress.  The sleeping arrangement were akin to musical chairs.  Sam, Hank and Cooper started out on the air mattress.  Finn, feeling a bit left out, opted for the corner.  By the time the night was over, Finn was in my room, Cooper was on the top bunk, Hank was on the air mattress and Sam was on the couch.  The next morning we took all the boys to Finn's basketball game.  He made a goal! Then we went to Chuck-E-Cheese for Sam's party.  He seemed to have a really good time.  Af