Change is Afoot at the Huttons...

OK, so you 3 or so faithful readers out there have probably noticed a drop-off in our blogging over the past week or so. A few reasons for that:

We're currently back in 1985 at our house as we are without our latest addiction, AT&T U-verse, which means no TV (gasp! Lost started last night!) and more importantly, no computer. Our friend Miguel and his great crew are working at the house doing some much needed repairs and cosmetic changes (did you know there was such a color as San Francisco Bay? I didn't until earlier this week...it's blue, apparently), but that involved disconnecting the U-verse brain and thus we're without TV and the 'puter. It was funny last night trying to watch Lost on the 11 inch TV that we inherited from my parents which had its first life in my sister's room in high school!

We're also having a huge pecan removed from in front of our house today. Not the expense I wanted to have right now, but I figured that (as it's got some slow decay running into the trunk) it was probably cheaper to have it removed this way than from the top of our neighbors' house! (Hi Dennis and Erin! And Maya!)

Not that anyone will notice, but we also had a roofer (Hi Bret!) out earlier this month to fix a "gash" in the roof right above Annie's room (which necessitated Miguel's internal repairs). So we've had a busy month so far at the Hutton house--just our way of trying to jump-start the local economy!

I'll try to update as I can with pics of the developments--stay tuned!

Oh yeah, one more thing. If anyone was keeping track (Hi Kyle!) of my progress on the Rocket Resolution, you may have noticed that I didn't update the widget on the right side of the page over the past 10 days. Long story short: I hurt my shoulder, tried to rest it by slowing down but ultimately had to give myself about a week off, but am getting back in the saddle effective today. Was able to do about 50 yesterday without problems, so I'll be working my way back up to 100 per. And I hope--before the end of the year--to make up those I've missed between 1/12 and today. Kudos to Kyle who is still cranking them out...and I understand that our friend Jason T. is on the bandwagon as well. Congrats and keep it up, guys!

Resolutions...

Each year, most of us make the same resolutions...eat less, exercise more, help the world, save more money, etc. As part of our New Year's resolutions, and in our own efforts to be more budget-minded and watch our spending, Ames and I decided it was time to start really teaching our kids about money. So on the first day of this new year we sat down with the kids for a little heart to heart. Among other things, we established a new chore system, new expectations regarding those chores, and new allowances....whew! Since I have been falsely accused, on many occasions, including being ratted out to Santa himself, of not paying allowances (even tho part of the deal is doing your chores without complaining), I decided that this would be one of my new year goals, to make sure I followed thru on paying my kids for their efforts. I'm proud to say that last Sunday, after the first full week, all four kids did their part, and we were able to (and remembered to) give them their first allowance under the new system!! Way to go AJWS!

Now, all this "newness" led to a need to reorganize the children's banks, i.e. find them and find the money that was supposed to be in them. As it turns out, our kids were loaded! They had money stashed all over the place!! Gold coins here and there from the tooth fairy, baggies of coins from Big Mike, and various and sundry bits of cash from...well, I'm not sure. So, we counted, organized (into the give, save, spend categories) and decided to set some goals. Annie, Jack and Will each gave me "seed" money for a real savings account which they are all excited to open later this week. On top of that, Annie is well on her way to a savings goal for an IPod. Jack hasn't decided yet where his savings will go, but a Nintendo DS is looking very attractive. Will has his sights set on some new clothes for John his elephant to be purchased at Build-A-Bear. Not bad. All in all, I'd say the four of them were pretty excited once all was said and done. And, they were very motivated to not only keep earning (good for me) but to keep better track of their money from now on (always good).

But what about Sam's goals you might be wondering. Interesting. Now Sammy, who is only 4, has lost no teeth, has never earned allowance even back in the days when I was supposedly paying it, somehow has amassed a small fortune of $26.44!! None of us are quite sure how this happened, but we cracked open his piggy, and there it was. Sam considers himself the luckiest boy in the world, but not for the reasons you might think. Even though he apparently has a magic piggy bank that mints money (could be the only thing that can help our new president out of this mess), that is not why he is so excited....no, no. Sam is excited because he has decided he is lucky. And when you see him, he will tell you without hesitation, "I am a lucky boy." And when you ask him why, he'll tell you, "because I have a Chuck E. Cheezits penny." He is lucky because he is the only one who in all the counting and reconciling, plotting and planning, has found real treasure....a Chuck E. Cheese coin in his bank...a priceless commodity. So, in these rough times, when we all are looking for a little financial security, making resolutions about saving and budgets, and hoping for our future, it's nice to know some things remain steady and certain. You can rest assured that even in our current economy, the future of Chuck E. Cheezits is secure, thanks to Lucky Sam and him money-making piggy bank!

Our boys are....

.....growing up so fast!!! This week marked a couple of milestones. First, Jack lost one of his upper teeth, making him look like a prizefighter...

You should see the other guy!!!

And, Will, trying to be in all ways like his older brother (definitely in that stage of hero worship right now...too cute), tried his first cheeseburger!!

This may seem like no big deal to most of you, but for us, living in the land of chicken and french fries only, this adds a whole new dimension to the Hutton menu options! Way to go boys!!

A complete misnomer....

Sleepovers. Completely misnamed. More like, no sleep while you're over, but I guess that is just too long. We are in that season of our lives (acutally in that season of Annie's life) where sleepovers are becoming an every weekend event. I must start by saying that we are still slightly lucky. I mean, Jack hasn't really started having sleepovers yet (not because he doesn't want to but because his parents are in complete denial that he is old enough) and the little boys are a few years off. Our Jack does get asked over to his friend Jack W.'s house often, but having his friends here, just hasn't happened much yet. The Grahams don't really count, I mean, of course they count, but they are more like family. Annie, on the other hand, is all over it. Last night is a perfect example. Her sweet friend Brigitte came over after school for a playdate. This is always a slippery slope on a Friday. The girls had a fabulous time at the block party that ensued in front of Sarah's house (I think the grand total was 4 moms and 18 kids, not counting the one in Ginger's belly). And I was actually quite surprised at how long they waited before the lobbying began.
"Hey Mom, do you think we could have a sleepover?"
In a moment of weakness I responded, why not! I must say that Brigitte couldn't be a more lovely guest. I guess being the youngest of 4, and Annie being the oldest of 4, and both girls having only brothers, well, they just know to expect and embrace the craziness that comes from big families. So, the block party ended and we went home, the Grahams joined us for dinner and a movie (although I'm not sure this is ever truly enjoyable for Sarah since inevitably one of her boys leaves my house in tears...usually it is Kyle, but he was working late last night). After a couple of quick stories, the boys were out like a light. We told the girls they could stay up until 9:30 (very early by most sleepover standards, at least so I'm told by the girls) which is way past normal (my) bedtime. Ames, Annie and Brig played a fun-filled game of Monopoly, including a hilarious "I won Free Parking" dance started by Ames and perfected by Brig. Finally, at 9:50, the girls settled down on their bed and whispered until who knows when....I went to sleep! At 3:20 I woke to the sounds of more whispers (who am I kidding, I woke to a 4 year old climbing over me trying to get to the good spot in the middle of our bed...but I did hear the whispers). The girls assured me that they had just woken up and couldn't get back to sleep. Too sleepy to pursue the truth and hopeful that it was just a bad dream, I went back to bed. Only to be awakened for good at 6:30 by Jack (don't these kids know it is Saturday and they don't have to get up!!!) Low and behold....Annie and Brigitte were already awake and watching TV in the den!!!!!!!! Yikes, do they ever sleep. So, later today, after friends have gone home and 3 basketball games are played, the crash will occur. Thank goodness we already have a babysitter lined up for tonight! Good luck to her!


Beautiful girls!!! (yes, they do brush their teeth, but couldn't resist this pic after a little black frosting from a snowman cookie....may come back to haunt them someday...heh heh!)

Sam's 4th Birthday!

It snowed on Sam's actual birthday, and typical Texas weather, 3 days later at his party, we played duck-duck-goose in the front yard in our jammies! Happy Birthday Sammy!

First, a little pizza picnic with friends watching Snoopy...




..then a little duck-duck-goose



...red rover for the over 4 crowd!



Followed by delicious cake!! Thanks Casa Linda!

Yea Sammy!! Happy Birthday my little monkey man! We love you!

It's been such a long time....

...but, I'm back!! Happy New Year!! It has been such a long time since I last blogged, and so much has happened, that I don't really know where to start. So the highlights are as follows: We spent the week between Christmas and back to school enjoying time with friends from other places (not necessarily low places, but then again...) as well as good friends from right here in the hood (thanks Grahams for a great NYE and Bertas for a fun-filled NYD). First, Uncle Sambo and Aunt Kendra came all the way from North Carolina to Big D and that, my friends, is a present to my children (and to us) all by itself.
They are such amazing folks and will, someday, make unbelievable parents. I hope time with the Buttons doesn't provide too much birth control. Bring on the cousins!! But sweet Jack, especially, is always very sad to say goodbye and wants to know when we will see our favorite Asheville residents again. February, my sweet little man, February!! Yea!!

Then, we got a chance to visit with our favorite Houstonians (and that is saying a lot for Ames who hates all things Houston). Aunt Valerie (a born and bred Houstonian but we love her so much we overlook that terrible distinction), Dr. Matt (an HP Scot like us who made the ultimate sacrifice for love) and their 3 precious children, Mary Shannon, Rachel and baby Will (he is going to hate it, but he just might be Baby Will all his life). Got no pics to share..so sad....really need a new camera. Thanks for the vino, Christmas goodies and time spent laughing and talking (and maybe there was a little drinking, but I'm not too sure.....).

Last but certainly not least, a brief, but fabulous, visit from the Knippas....minus K-Dawg, the Grand PooBa (woof woof).


...beautiful children, with a gorgeous mother (unfortunately not in any pics). Brad, how did you manage to marry so far up!! Next time, it is all Huttons and all Knippas...let the fun begin.







So, after pick-up soccer games, movies at the mall, sleepovers, playdates and good old-fashioned hang out in your jammies until noon days, our vacation has come to a close. And, as always, it was so much fun to spend our time with all these incredible families. We are truly blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people! Thanks for sharing your holiday with the Huttons!

Nothing like the last minute...

Hook 'em Horns! Congrats on the last minute win!

More on the Rocket Resolution

So a few days ago I teased with announcing my grand new year's Rocket Resolution of doing 100 pushups per day for 2009. Brief update: I've "successfully" done 400 pushups (total) in the first 4 days of the year. So long as you're quantifying "success" in terms of pain.

The real purpose of this post is to give the back story for the inspiration for this resolution. So subject to future factual correction, here goes: We have a friend whose father is a Marine veteran (ooh-rah). Several years after passing his 50th birthday, he (the father, or "Rocket") decided that he would do 100 pushups a day, and he kept very meticulous records of his progress. After getting into his program, he added rules for special days: extra pushups for anniversaries, birthdays of family members, etc. In about 1997, he realized that if he upped his total to 400 per day, he could hit 1,000,000--that's one million pushups--by the turn of the millennium. So he did.

In any event, by the end of 2007, Rocket had pumped out over 1.7 million pushups. (Just ask and he'll give you the exact total!) Somehow, I've known Rocket for over 4 years and I just heard about his pushups last month. So I decided that I'd emulate Rocket in 2009 with 100 pushups a day. I have no intention of making this list, I do want to see if I can do it. My own personal quest, as it were. And I've roped Kyle in to keep me accountable. I'll do my best to update my daily, monthly and yearly progress in the box over on the right. And as I said a few days ago, your positive reinforcement is appreciated!