Looky, looky we have some pics again!

These are a few pics for you from Brendan's karate tournament last Saturday. In this first one he was competing in Strongest Kick! As you can see, Dave got a great action shot!

This is B getting one of his participation medals, he got 4 in all and is so proud that he did well and we are happy he had lots of fun!

This is our little karate kid demonstrating a block for us!

And finally this is B getting ready to do the big q-tips, he's facing us. And the kid with his back to us is bending down, he's not really that short. ;)

We hope you enjoy! I will be sure to try and keep up posting about every other week and once in a while put up a couple pics. Thanks so much for not losing hope in us posting again!

Inspiration

Hi family and friends,

I went to my network group this morning for our speaker week and got inspired to check in with you all. Our speaker is a writer and was talking about blogging for our businesses. While I only have a family blog, I thought, well that's a great idea for the future however how can I even think of it for my business when I cannot even keep up for our personal blog?! I am sorry I have not been keeping up, the thought of having to catch up on pictures is what's been keeping me down. Knowing that I can quickly write to ya and catch you up on the kids is the least I can do right now.

Brendan just participated this last Sat. in his first karate tournament! He got 4 participation medals, for trying to be the strongest punch, kick, fastest to get out of holds and giant q-tips. He did well and most importantly had so much fun that when we got home all he was trying to do was an activity at the tournament he had not learned yet that he saw other kids doing! I have a little video of that I will post when I do a couple pics this weekend.

Carter has been doing amazingly well on the potty! All of a sudden we knew he was ready b/c he was using his pullups as an excuse and would do better if we had him in underwear. So right now we are in the middle of staying dry for two weeks straight so that he can get his special dragon blankie that he picked out at the store, just like big bro got to do when he did the same as well. We are already wild about the movie 'How to Train Your Dragon' and we haven't even seen it yet! We are trying to wait until the cheap theater but maybe we will see about going to the drive-in which is already open and showing it and way funner to do!

Dave is doing great with his job, nothing new really! I am amazed and blessed by how much he does and can do for our family! And I can't wait until we can have him quit the papers and neither can he, however we are putting it out indefinitely until we can sell our place and move. Hopefully asap!

I myself, you pretty much know from the last post, two businesses that I absolutely love with ups and downs but that's par for the course when they are dependent on others wanting and needing my services. I am busier and my income is greater than it has been since I've been out of school! I'm just enjoying work more now than I ever have, maybe because I'm more ready now than I ever have been to really be working! Plus I can still have time with my family and make my own schedule which has always been a big factor in my decision to do what I do. =)

I have put it down in my calendar that I will post the first few pictures this Saturday morning to you. And I will only pick out some key ones that are favorites so I don't inundate you with too much. After that I am going to do my best to set aside time every other week to update the blog and keep in touch with you all about the boys and us!

Thank you for being patient with me and still checking in once in a while so that I know at least one or two of you are still interested in what we are up to as a family! We love you all so much and hope you are having a blessed April.

Oh the lack

So sorry, I still have not posted any pics and have to admit that I don't know when I will. I hate to say I'm too busy, it just hasn't been my priority. I started a new business in January so now I have two businesses that I am learning to balance along with family life and still get a little me time in there as well. I have learned and those very close to me have learned, that if I don't get any alone time for awhile I can be very displeasing to be around. I am way more social than when I was younger but I've always been someone who has enjoyed my time alone. Maybe it's having been raised an only child and when my friends couldn't play I learned very well how to play by myself and be comfortable doing so. Probably also why I always thought it was weird in middle and high school when other girls could not go to the restroom without a friend tagging along. Anyway I'm rambling whatever comes into my head first, I took yesterday off to rest so I have a bit more on my plate today than I planned. It's all good though, I just remind myself that it will get done and I can always move things around since I do make my own schedule. Unless of course someone wants to come see our home which is for sale now. We got a call from a lady yesterday afternoon wanting to see it and only had about 10 minutes to do a quick pickup. We are selling ourselves and I certainly didn't want to lose a potential buyer by making her wait 24hours or more to see it. I'm very hopeful we can sell it on our own and when we have a buyer I have a real estate agent who will do all our legal paperwork for us for a much more affordable price than listing it. I'm so grateful I found her and we are so excited as a family to be making the change and be able to find a house hopefully asap! Well, I need to get. You all have a great week and we'll talk soon!

Things really have gotten busier with one in K and one in preschool! Plus I now have two jobs!

In a way I hate to say that we are so busy and yet at the same time it's a nice change as long as I have some time to relax! Which is why I have scheduled family time for us as well so we can relax. We have blocked out every Sunday on our calendar for family plus I won't work on Tues nights when Brendan has his Karate. As for getting to the blog, I've clearly had other things I've been focusing on. I can't believe it's been over a month and a half since I last posted, I'm so sorry for those of you who check fairly often. I'm gonna try to get better. What I want to do either tonight or tomorrow is put some more pictures up for you all, we have some from B's karate test in mid-Dec., he went from white belt to yellow and is back at it again. They started when school did and then he'll get tested again in May I believe! We had a very busy yet good Christmas! Got to see quite a bit of family in Pueblo for a few days and then came back home to spend the new year here and have Christmas and B's bday with Dave's parents on New Years Eve, that was very relaxing and we even let the boys stay up past midnight! Of course I warned them that if they wanted to make it that they would need a nap so they took good ones obviously. ;) I've also just started my own 2nd business! I am still massaging and loving it but have been thinking for quite a long time about becoming a PartyLite Consultant to supplement our income, plus get free candles which I love! Another big reason and the most important for me to finally make the decision is that I want to help Dave quit the paper routes he currently has by the time summer starts and I really believe I can do it! For those of you who helped me start by ordering from my starter show, I can't possibly thank you enough for your support, it means the world to me! Thanks to you I was able to earn my starter kit for free! They should be coming in a couple weeks, I will keep you posted and can't wait for our order to come. I also just set up my website with Partylite, so if you want, feel free to check it out and pass my info on to people you know in my area of Ft. Collins/Loveland! www.partylite.biz/alyssamccall I appreciate any and all referrals for both my businesses! Well, I need to get some work done and also relax before a couple of clients I'm working on tonight. Take care and I will post pics soon! Love and blessings to you all!

Lazy Busy Butt

Well, I may have been hard pressed to write anything but at least I've finally changed the blog layout now that it's the holiday season! I have actually been working on a Letter to send out to family and friends this Christmas with a picture included of the boys as happy brothers. I'm excited that I will be able to finally send something out again after not having done it for 3 years, when Carter was only an infant! Thanks to facebook I have a lot of people on my list and it's been the perfect tool to get updated addresses from family and friends that I have/had old ones for, some I knew of and some not. So I'm almost done with that, now that I almost have everyone I want and need on my label program which will make it easier for me and less writing. Oh and of course, the most important thing I need to make sure they get where I want them to go.....stamps!

So far this year, with the exception of me cooking the meal, it looks like I will be able to do everything I want to this season including a cookie exchange with friends from my former mothers group! Very excited to see some friends and also get a variety of cookies while only having to make ONE kind!

Brendan had his karate test to level up to a new belt last Tuesday. We should find out either this week or the next how he did, none of the parents could be in there while it was going on. They will be having an awards ceremony for the kids on the 15th, which will be his last class until the new year! And thankfully for us the location will change then too. They will be holding class at O'Dea next semester, which is great since that's his school and it's literally three minutes from home!

Anyway, that's it for now. We hope everyone is having a safe and prosperous holiday season! We're thinking of you all always!

We are alive!

Wow, I really have been more lazy about blogging lately than I thought! Can't believe it's been over a month. Sorry to leave you all hanging! Although, most of you we keep in touch with anyway, whether over the phone or through facebook. :) Just like most everyone else we have been dealing with sickness. Carter got the flu a few weeks ago, thankfully we got him into the doctor fairly shortly after he started with a fever and it didn't take him long at all to get rid of it with the meds he was prescribed! Then almost two weeks ago I took both boys back in because their coughs wouldn't go away, B had a mild ear infection that thankfully has not progressed. Apparently the boy needs to blow his nose more often, so I've been bugging him even more so to do just that! Just seems to be this year especially that the cough lingers a bit longer than normal. Through all of this my throat has been bothering me, then I came down with a cold which of course progressed into that horrible cough. I took myself to the doctor last Fri and got myself some drugs which are helping tremendously! I don't usually like to go to the doctor since normally I can shake these things naturally on my own but the night I had Thursday night was NOT good and so I went for the first time in almost three years to my regular physician. I am happy to say that I know my OB's better than my physician since that means I mostly only ever go for my yearly women well check and rarely for being sick. :)

Dave is still enjoying his job and is super busy thanks to the new regulations banks have to follow for the loans he helps with! Unfortunately we need him to keep the papers indefinitely until I can drum up more regular clients. If you have friends or family in Fort Collins, I would greatly appreciate the referrals!!!!! You can send them to my website for more info and ways to contact me. www.ahmassage.vpweb.com Dave is helping me to brainstorm more ways to get my name out there, besides my fairs, without us spending money. I'm going to find a network group to join soon, so I'm excited about that. I really want Dave to be able to quit the papers and so I've really gotta get my butt in gear! Any suggestions anybody has are GREATLY appreciated! I'm actually gonna update my website soon with some other suggestions I've gotten from friends so if you have any for that or for how I can freely/cheaply market myself please let me know.

Brendan and Carter are doing good. We are still working on potty training with Mr. C, he is a stubborn little boy! He must be mine. ;) Brendan is going to finish up his first session of karate in Dec., he takes his first test for it Dec. 1st! We are so looking forward to the holidays this year and we are so thankful for all of you friends and family that are in our lives! We hope you are all doing well!
Much Love, McCall Family

How cute is this?

Here's a pic of our karate kid for you all to finally enjoy!