Hollister Todd Hodges BOOTS

I have been trying to film Hollister saying his name for our NM family. I will tell you this has NOT been an easy task. As most 2 year olds are, he is super distractable and I made the mistake of showing him some cards from the new Shrek movie he just got today. This is actually our 4th take and he has already gone through many of the character cards. This time he is into Donkey and Boots as you will see. He is totally focused on these stinking cards, but hopefully you get the point.

Enjoy!

Turkey Day Run

Well, I did it! I ran in the Turkey Trot downtown yesterday morning, 5 miles to be exact! It was really fun. There were over 12,000 people there. It was insane! At first I was worried that Trevor would be frustrated with so many people and that we wouldn't find each other. I ended up getting out of the car at the start area while they went and parked. As the race got closer and closer there was no way to find them and I didn't have a phone. I was a little panicked.

The race started, finally.... and off I went. Little did I know, my family was right there the whole time. They had found a spot near the start and were waiting for me. This race was great because at every mile marker there was a time clock. I was able to keep a steady pace the whole time. I have officially taken a minute off my mile. I run slow, but I am getting faster.

The course was downtown and there were some serious hills. Those were really tough. I was stunned with all the strollers and thought, no way could I push Hollister up these hills. I would die!
Then near the end I turn my head and see the capitol. I am running right past it. It was pretty cool. I took it in and then pushed on towards the end. One more steep hill and then finally when I made the last turn I saw the finish and TREVOR!!! what was he doing? Talking on the phone!!!! I was kind of hoping he'd have the camera ready. I saw the time and had about 8 seconds to get there in exactly 55 minutes so I booked it. That was my time, 5 miles, 55 minutes. I know, a slow 11 minute mile, but I don't care, I DID IT!!!

I was also happy to hear that Trevor was not bothered by the crowds and he said, "we should all do this next year!" CJ said he'd opt for the 1 mile run. Later in the day Trevor said he was proud of me for my run and that made it sooo worth it! I'm looking forward to next year and the continuation of my running journey.

This is me right after the race. I crossed the finish line and went straight to the boys. CJ said, and I quote. "you look like crap Mom" I think he is right. But who cares? I just ran 5 freaking miles!







































This is actually the backside of the capitol on the way to the car. I thought it was a pretty picture and I had to have a memory of running past the capitol building. At the top of that hill with all the people, is the start! I was up there somewhere, I swear! The other is a quick picture of the crowd in the park after the race. It doesn't do justice to how many people were there. It was crazy!

I'm thankful for...

I debated about making a list of all I am thankful for, but it just seemed too cliche'. So, instead, I thought you all might enjoy this! I think this is hysterical!





She'll survive with us, we are eating steak and baked potatoes. Why? Just cuz we can!

Have a great day with whomever you spend it with!
The Hodges Family....

One is smart enough to be a Dr. and one IS a doctor!

My boys!!!! 
CJ made all A's for the 2nd 6 weeks this year! WAY TO GO SON!!!!









Trevor got hurt at work today, pretty badly I might add. Don't worry Tammy, he is fine.

he had the help of Dr. H.T. Hodges to care for his injuries.

Trevor was cleaning his wound and Hollister was "helping". Then he had his own sympathy cut and cleaned that. He has such a good bedside manner.























He even helped Daddy with the cleaning. I know Dr.'s who have nurses do the "dirty work" Not my professional. He's a real hands on Doc! 

Ladies Night

This weekend, I did something I rarely do... went out to a Ladies Night party!!! It was a Murder Mystery Dinner. We were given "roles" to play and instructed to dress up like our character. It was with some ladies I work with. We all brought food and our best acting abilities to find who killed poor Pepi Roni... an Italian restuarant owner from New York City.











The characters:
Mama Rosa... widow of the late Pepi. Chris did a FANTASTIC job as the grieving widow.















Tara Misu.. finance' of Rocco, Pepi's identical twin. She's quite a looker.

Father Alfredo: Italain Priest and long time family friend of the Roni's. He was a little taken aback by our outfits

julie was also the host, THANKS JULIE!!! What fun!

Angel Roni: daughter of Pepi and Mama Rosa, 21 year old HOT thing!!! hee hee it was fun to play that role! Trevor was also taken back by how I was dressed!



Angel and her love interest, Bo Jalais. A frechman whom Pepi did NOT approve of.


















Rocco, pepi's identical twin. They had a falling out in Italy 25 years ago. Rocco was in NY to make peace... or get even? and of course, Tara Misu. A PERFECT match!

















Marco Roni, Pepi's son. Marco wants to be a professinal soccer player. Pepi wanted him to run the family business.

Clair Voyant, Mama's close friend and astrology advisor.

Tara Misu is quite the camera hog. hee hee













The party is centered around dinner at the family restaurant. During the dinner lots of accusations fly and surprises come out. The whole time you are trying to prove your own innocence and find the true killer.


















At different points there are even challenges to be completed. This is Mama Rosa showing that she doesn't even know how to hold a gun, how could she kill her beloved Pepi.
















The whole night was a blast. There were many twists and turns throughout the game. We all had motive, but in the end it was discovered that Bo Jalias killed Pepi, by accident! He thought it was Rocco. He wanted Rocco dead to take his business from him in Italy!!!

I definitely recommend this type of party. It was something different and unique. Trevor and I can't wait to have our own soon. All we need is some couple friends to invite. :)

Does this kid look sick to you?

Of course he doesn't. He is playing and eating and pooping (thank God!). But, he woke us up 2 times last night vomiting!!!! He was in our bed already which actually made it better. The first time he woke up choking. What a scary sound. It was pretty bad. He did make it to the toilet before an even bigger mess was made. it was 1:45am by the way. He was given a bath, sheets and comforter put in the washer and we were all back in bed fast asleep.

At 3:45am, he woke up again and was trying to vomit. He had nothing in his system though, only some water that he had after the first episode. This was much less dramatic. But, now he had a fever. So, after cleaning up and taking some Motrin, we were back in bed. He wanted to watch Mickey of course. He made it through about 5 minutes before he was back fast asleep. He slept until 8:30!!! Poor kid.

We all slept late. CJ woke up at 6:45 freaking out! He is normally woke up at 6:15. He was smart though. He got up, dressed and got his backpack ready. Then he quietly walked in to our bedroom, shook me awake and said, "Mom, what is going on?" I let him know Hollister was sick and that I'd take him to school. He was thrilled not to ride the bus!

So, Hollister and I home together today. He has no fever right now and is extremely playful, as you can tell by the photos with "Dog and Mickey" Maybe it is just a small something or other. Who knows? Just one request Hollister, no vomiting, especially while Daddy is gone. Not sure I can do it on my own!

HAPPY HUMP DAY!

Are you ready for some football?

Hollister is!

Fall Choir

CJ had a fall choir concert on Monday. Elgin is a small district so the choir director works at the middle school half day AND the high school the other half of the day. Because of this, the choir concerts are combined. I have a few pictures, but some of them may be blurry. I apologize for that, I don't know why I can't take good pictures at his choir events. I'll work on it before the Christmas concert in Dec. The one with all the kids in ALL kids 6th-12th in choir. CJ is on the front row, far right, 2nd from the end. The others are just of the 6th graders. There were about 15 of them, only 3 boys though. They sang two songs on their own, with choreography too. CJ hated that part, but he did very well.
ENJOY my little songbird!

Familes that work together stay together

So, its Saturday and we decided to put the kids to work. Trevor is demolishing a building within a strip mall and needed some "clean-up" help. We woke up early, ate breakfast at McDonald's and then off to work!
We do not believe in child labor laws!
Trevor had torn down several walls. Our job was to pick up all the pieces and put them in the dumpster.



After the initial cleaning, Daddy thought it would be fun to let the boys actually demo. They LOVED it. They took the whole wall down. I was a bad mom and forgot to take an after picture, sorry. Trust me, that crazy purple wall is GONE! CJ had an exceptionally good time with the sledge hammer. He actually told Trevor, "I had fun today" If you don't know, THAT IS HUGE! CJ HATES when we take him to work. He'd rather eat nails I think. But give him a sledge hammer and it's "cool".

Now, do not be fooled. We do "pay" our kids when they work. We went to opening night of Madagascar 2. We decided to go before they actually "earned" it because we wanted one day to veg at home and not wake up early. We choose to do that Sunday. The movie was super cute and yes, CJ went too, but its not cool for an 11 year old to take a picture at the movies. :) Ready with his kids pack!
He is set, candy, popcorn and even a diet coke! He loved the movie too, he watched the entire thing with only 1 potty break.

The rest of our weekend will consist of college football, professional football, grilling steaks, laundry and cleaning toilets. Hey, it can't all be glamorous!

Picture not included

Here's a Hollister funny. The other day, Trevor and I were sitting on the couch watching football. Hollister was upstairs watching Mickey. He came down stairs and said, Here Mom" here Mom" I said, "what?" He proceeds to show me his finger and yes, there's a bogger on it!!!! he brought me a booger? why? why not give it to his Daddy? Wow, I feel loved.

We asked if he was picking his nose and he very clearly said no. he wiped his nose which he does like a bad habit and poof, a booger appeared and he felt it necessary to bring it to me.
What a sweet boy.

See why no picture is included? that could turn your stomach!

HEE HEE!

Halloween Hullabaloo

Halloween was pretty fun. We carved our jack o latern on Wednesday. The boys enjoyed this a lot. But Dad did most the work. Hollister lost interest, but loved the end product.

For Halloween Hollister was Goofy. so super cute! We went to the oulet mall in RR like we have the past 2 years. He wasn't in to the treating part though. He loves the kiddie rides and the toy store! You'll be able to tell by the pictures. When Hollister got a piece of candy, he would eat it right away. That is what you're supposed to do right?
CJ was in Belton. He passed out candy and says that he ate lots of it too! Surprised? no, not really.

We also went to visit our old neighbors the Gomez's which they loved. They made sure Hollister's pumpkin was full of candy before we left! Thanks

I have lots of photos of course, so I made a slide show. I tried a different one, when the picture comes up, move your mouse to it and you can read the captions.

ENJOY!