Tuesday, October 16, 2007

A Lull in the Action

Do you hear that? It's quiet at Cotterman Chaos. OK, so not really, but there is a lull in the action. Both football and volleyball finished up this weekend. The Midget football team finally won a game this year. I am so proud of CJ and all of his hard work.

Paige's volleyball team got beat in their first game during their league tournament, , but Paige really had a great game with 5 aces and 3 saves. Probably her best game this year. I am so proud of all her hard work. She is now debating about whether to play basketball or not. We really would like her to, but she is not so sure. She has a week to figure it out. Noah is planning on wrestling this year. We are trying to find a basketball program for him around here, but so far no luck. CJ's cousin Bryan is the coach for the wrestling club here, so we will probably give in.


Emma was thrilled to take a friend to dance last week. She took her new best friend Kiah. Kiah actually dances at another studio, so she really caught on fast and seemed to have a great time. The night was topped off by a trip to McDonald's. She is trying to decide what to be for Halloween. Everyday there is a different choice. We are really going to have to narrow it down soon, or we aren't going to be anything abut a fussy three year old. Noah is going to be a skeleton.





The "player to be named later", now formally known as M&M, is really getting the hang of life here at Cotterman Chaos. Freddy and Frieda have learned the hard way that he has really sharp claws and Smokey is learning to tolerate him. Poor thing barely gets his feet on the floor most days as both Emma and Garrett carry him everywhere. He loves to sleep with just about everyone, and has become our alarm clock because he thinks it is time to play every morning at 5:30!!



Trying to get the kitchen done before the weekend. Takes a lot of time in between coats of paint on the cupboard doors. But I love the outcome!!! It is really looking so much more me! I know that sounds so weird, but I spend so much time in the kitchen, that I want it to reflect me. Next project will be the scrapbook room/toy room. We are going to have to move Emma's toys back downstairs, as her room is so small that a twin size bed and toys can't all fit at the same time. This is where the whole organizing thing comes in. We really need to pare down to those things that we really need and love. This will be a work in progress as we all have collected so many things it is hard to decide what is most special to us. I'm hoping to get my friend Jim, the very talented woodworker that made my cubbies, to make me some shelves to match, which should help considerably. To start, this weekend we will be on the lookout for a new computer desk, as ours is broken beyond repair.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Check out my Slide Show!

Happy Fall 2007

Things are as busy as ever her at Cotterman Chaos. We had an eventful summer. Chasing diamonds (baseball, softball) and was capped off by a fantastic trip to New York City. I will post pics and info on that later. Everyone really enjoyed the pool this year, and we loved having friend over to BBQ.

Emma is having a great time in Preschool. Loves riding the bus and making a lot of new friends. Not so sure that the Preschool is ready for her, as she is used to being in charge, and is a bit of a diva. But I am sure they are up to the challenge. Emma has started dancing at Becky's. LOVES wearing her "dancing dresses". In fact it is hard to get her out of them. We cut about 5 inches from her hair before school started. It made her look so grown up. (Yes, I cried.)

Paige is adjusting well to life in Junior High. We allowed her to get a cell phone, and so far she has been really responsible with it. She has begun babysitting for a few of our friends. She is building quite the reputations as a fun, yet responsible babysitter. We are very proud of her. Maybe having all of these siblings wasn't so bad after all. She still struggles a bit in school, but seems to be keeping up well, and her grades continue to climb. She liked playing volleyball this year, but has said that she "kind of misses" Cross Country. She has just started her 10th year of dance at Becky's. She too cut quite a bit from her hair. Said she was ready for a change. What I don't like is that I can now see "eye to eye" with her. I swear I'm shrinking every year.






Noah has spent the football season as the "hydration specialist" for CJ's football team. He is so excited that he will be able to play next year. He spent this fall running Cross Country for the Powell Elementary team. Really liked the competition. Once again he is doing really well in school, and seems to like every subject. Hopefully this will continue. He is following his Falcons and Buckeyes and was able to go see the Falcons win a couple of weeks ago. This boy eats, sleeps, and breathes football. I think I'm going to be in trouble.









I'm as usual very busy at the Emergency Room. We are getting busier and busier every year. We are also short staffed so a lot of extra time has been placed. Recently I decided not to work so much overtime as I was losing time at home and with my husband. While the money was nice. It can't compare with being at home. I am spending the next year organizing our home so that not so much time is spent looking for things, and more time is spent together. CJ is helping my getting some of the most beautiful "cubbies" made for the back room. Just this first step in our reorganization process. We are also painting and updating our kitchen. Not a big project right now. Just biding our time until we can knock out some walls.

Our family has grown by leaps and bound in the last couple of days. The kids now have a hamster named Pooh. And we adopted another kitten, as yet unnamed. This brings the grand total to: 2 Bassett Hounds (Freddie and Frieda), 2 cats (Smokey and the player to be named later), 1 hamster, and two fish (we had five, but something or someone keeps killing them off, Smokey perhaps?)

Well, on to do more sanding in the kitchen. It is my plan to get the cupboards sanded today so that I can start painting them tonight. Pics to follow.