Week 139

Oct 26-Nov 1

Our last week of Halloween fun. :( I am pretty sad to see it go. I love Halloween decorations and themes. Jack has become obsessed with "spooky" things like ghosts and witches. He also suddenly will not sleep with his door closed...hmmm. I definitely feel like we made the most of the holiday. We watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," a few times, which is a must see. I definitely remember sitting down to watch it on TV as a kid. We love all the Charlie Brown holiday cartoons so we have the DVD box set.

Happy Halloween from the Storch Family!!

A nice picture of two little kids...impossible!

Let me quickly divert back to the beginning of the week. Ed (finally) had some of his fire fighter tests that are required as a part of the hiring process. On Monday he had a basic aptitude test. There were approximately 400+ people at the Coliseum to take this 100-question test. Ed said it was pretty much a joke and he feels like he might have missed 1 or 2. Apparently, pretty many people failed the test and were eliminated from the process (at least until next year). I'm not sure what the cut-off score is for "passing" this test, but Ed made it sound like it was pretty easy, so the ones who failed apparently aren't very bright. I wouldn't want that guy coming in to get me in a fire.

Jack actually posed and said"cheese!"

Once he found out that he passed, he was given another paper that told him to be at the training course on a certain day for the Agility Test. This test is conducted at the Academy and is pretty intense...even physically exhausting. The guys had 7 minutes to complete the test and it was composed of 5 events. First they had to complete a maze blindfolded, crawling through a small crawl space that would simulate being stuck in a small space and finding your way out. Then, they had to put on a 40 lb weight vest, helmet, and gloves, and carry 35-40 lb hose up to the fourth floor of a building. The next part of the test they have to hoist up 50 lbs of hose from the ground to the fourth floor. After that they have to run down the stairs to the outside of hte building and complete the keiser sled...click on link for further explanation of this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e76CRlikaeo). After the keiser sled they had to lift a "charged" fire hose 100 feet. Finally, they had to lift a 170 lb dummey and pull it 100 feet across a finish line. Apparently this is one of the most physically grueling tests that any fire academy has in the country. Most of them are much easier. Ed said that there were tons of guys who passed out, were throwing up, and who had to be transported by ambulance to the hospital. Some of these candidates are fire fighters in great shape, but this test is so physically exhausting that it is a challenge even for people who work out.

Cute little porker.

Love them.

Long story short...Ed passed all of his tests and is now waiting to interview with the Chiefs. I think there are quite a few interviews. We just have to wait for the call. This part is the hardest part of the process because you constantly wonder if they will call you...when they will call you. I have faith in him. He will make it through to the class in January. I know it sucks to wait for those phone calls though.

So now that we have lived here since July and have not worked, I am beginning to go insane. I cannot sit around the house all day. It was one thing when I was 9 months pregnant and felt like a big, fat blob. Baby Abel is now 6 weeks old and I am slowly starting to get back to normal. It is time to do some fun stuff! We were so busy in Florida. When I wasn't working we were going to the park, the zoo, the beach, the pool...always doing something. Obviously since we just moved here we don't know a whole lot of people so I decided to do some research online.

Jack eating lunch on his Busy Bees play date

There is this really neat website called meetup.com. It is basically a free site that facilitates different "interest" groups within a surrounding area. I checked out Columbia and typed in "moms groups" to find my new group called The Busy Bees. So cute! Once you apply and qualify for the group you are allowed access to their play calendar as well as the other members profiles. It is amazing. This particular group has over 100 members, so there is pretty much some type of activity each day. You check out the activities, RSVP, and then show up. You can even check out all of the other members who are going to see if there will be kids the same age as your kid. I have found that most of them have kids from birth-4 years old.

There are rules to keep people from just clicking on a bunch of things and not showing up. If you are a no-show more than 2 times you are kicked out. There are also certain rules about your kids...if they are consistently violent towards others or there are problems you can potentially be kicked out. I think it would have to be pretty bad in order for that to happen, all kids have their moments. So far I have gone to three events and found some really awesome people to chat with. Jack has had a BLAST!!!! I think he is so relieved to be out of the house. Just because he has a new brother, doesn't mean he has to be a prisoner in his own home.

Jack and Hailee at the "Balloons, Blues, and BBQ Festival"

The meetups vary from home play dates, to the zoo, to festivals in town. It is all very detailed and organized. I have already made some potentially awesome friends. I hope that when I go back to work I can continue to "meetup" with everyone on a consistent basis. We went to one play date at a house and we went to one community event, where we ran into Jack's girlfriend Hailee. Of course he had to just hang out with her the whole time he was there. They are so cute!

The lovebirds holding hands.

At the end of the week we had Halloween and of course Trick-or-treating!!!! We always try to come up with unique costumes for Jack and this year we wanted to incorporate both of the kids into a "theme" since they are still so little and they will let us control what they wear. We decided that Jack would be a Steelers football player...and Abel would be the football. Hahaha! Poor Abel. Luckily Jack didn't take the idea literally and attempt to punt his baby brother. The Steelers costume was pretty easy but I had to hand make the football. I got some brown soft fabric for $2.50 (score!!!) and some white knit ribbon for $2.00. I already had a sewing machine and some dark thread so I was ready.

Getting Jack dressed.

Makeup

Abel is ready

One of the few pictures with his helmet.

Love this picture!

Holding his football brother.

He picked out this bag on his own...the "gween" one

Now I have only used my sewing machine one other time and that was for Jack's first birthday. I know that is pathetic and I REALLY want to do more sewing projects, but time is so hard to find these days. I will learn how to sew one day. So I was pretty nervous since I literally had to youtube video to figure out how to thread the machine, but it all came back to me. I think the costume worked out. It was definitely very basic, but you could tell what he was...and it was also very warm so it served its purpose.

Waiting patiently.

"Trick-Treat!!!!"

Daddy thinks he is so funny!

Holding the little football!

Poor Hope had to wear her costume too.

We decided to go to Grandma's (Ed's mom) house for trick-or-treating this year. We don't really know any of our neighbors and of course Grandma wanted to see the kids in their costumes so we thought it would be fun. Everyone LOVED the boys in their costumes. Jack really got into it this year and was literally sprinting from one house to the other to fill up his bag with candy. He would ring the doorbell and when the person opened the door he would say, "Trick-Treat!!!" They thought it was hilarious. There were lots of people who would give him his candy, then notice the baby in the football costume and give Jack even more candy "for his baby brother."

Enjoying his loot!

He got more candy then he knew what to do with. We still have lots of candy left over. Great incentive for when we need him to do something. Now that I have two kids, I am not above bribing children. :) As long as the technique is not used too often.