surviving six

Now my summer vacation begins...

2010-08-27T14:02:00.004-05:00

That's right. This week marks the beginning of my vacation....from the kids. (I will not get much of a break as I've signed up to be a substitute with a local parochial school and with the big school district.) They all (well all but one) went back to school this week. Mr. C will start preschool after labor day (two days a week, 9 - 12), if I can get him more reliably potty trained. And after today, that's a big "if". Grrr. I'll spare you the details and have decided not to do obligatory potty-training posts. Just know, that potty training would be a GREAT birth control program for high schoolers. Mr. C in particular would have them runnin' for the hills!

So the first up Monday morning was Mr. J. He has NEVER gone to school before. As the ADL class he goes to isn't at our home school, the bus picks him up. At 7:00 am. Ick. His nursing has been drastically reduced, but I'm fortunate to have nurses here most nights to help get him ready to go. Here's what he looked like before we put him in his wheelchair:

He starts his day at 6 am with a breathing treatment, but it's not enough to wake him completely. Once he was in his chair, he woke up...kind of. Then he got loaded up on the bus. The bus driver and aide are super sweet and I knew he'd be taken care of. I had to go up to the school later to demonstrate how to run his pump, so I knew I'd see him soon.

Mr. C had a tough go of it. He wanted to ride the bus. He was equally distressed when we took the other four to school. Once we got home, he recovered quickly. :)

After Mr. J left, we got the rest of the crew dressed and fed. Here they are ready to go: Mr. B to second grade and the girlies to Kindergarten! My oh my, how time flies!

Miss M, Miss L, Mr. B, and Miss M.

Everybody came home from school happy, except Mr. J. I think he got the tummy bug that's been running through the house this past week (that would make it 7 out of 8 who've had it so far; I was not fortunate enough to be the lucky 1-that honor goes to Miss E...so far!). It's hard to tell with Mr. J though as he can't vomit due to a procedure he had done to his stomach while in the NICU so long ago (a Nissen fundoplication--say that three times fast!). All I know, is that he was not feeling well and had to miss school the next day. He went back Wednesday and seems to enjoy going; I get big smiles when I ask him about his day. His afternoons are busy as all the therapists have to cram their visits in those few hours and he has 7 visits a week from three different therapists! He's getting healthier very quickly, though not quite at 100% yet.

Once we have Mr. J's therapy times set as well as Boy/Girls scouts and soccer practices, I'll feel more settled. Right now, I feel like I'm in a juggling act. It should get better. Right? RIGHT????

2010-08-17T21:26:00.002-05:00

Mr. J had ANOTHER dental appointment yesterday. I have no idea why we had to come back three months since the last cleaning for a child that has practically no teeth showing between losing 4 already and the swollen gums. Plus, we're right back there next month to see the periodontist about said swollen gums. Grrr.... Anyway, I had to take all the kidlets with me. Since only ONE caretaker is allowed in the exam room (and MOM wins by default), Jack's nurse kindly agreed to sit with the kiddos in the vacant waiting room.

They all brought a small bag with things they packed themselves to stay entertained, but for most of them watching Shrek The Third on the waiting room TV was entertainment enough.

Aren't they adorable? They were so good and stayed quiet and still while Mr. J had his teeth brushed. They were still like this when I came back; even Mr. C.

Oh. Did you notice Miss L's hat? I have no idea what's up with that. Miss E started the trend and the other two have followed. Miss L is the only one who's made it out of the house with her hat on. While I think it's kind of cute (in a skater girl kind of way), it was 102 degrees at the time! Miss E actually brought hers on vacation!

In all seriousness, though, my husband and I have always said we would have no problem with our kids expressing themselves. In fact, this summer, I reorganized the drawers and closet in the girls' room to allow them to choose their own clothes. No more coordinating "triplety" outfits (more of a sanity saver for me than trying to dress them alike). But if you look closely at the picture, they all match. Miss M and Miss E both have a pink polar bear shirt on and Miss L has a similar white panda bear shirt. But at least it's their choice now. :)

Our Annual Escape

2010-08-15T21:14:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the long absence. It takes a lot out of a girl to pack up a family of eight for a six day beach vacation. My parents rented a house for the fourth consecutive year and my sister and I took our families down there to enjoy the sun. So between packing, dealing with the nursing hour reduction for Mr. J, landing a job (substitute teacher - it's the flexibility I need right now), and starting half-marathon training, I'm swamped!

We had the best time. It was sooooo nice to get away. We strolled down the historic area of town, explored the aquarium, and played miniature golf (very fun, but VERY hot!). But mostly, we just hit the beach. And do you know the best part of this family vacation? The WHOLE family came along! That's right -- Mr. J made his first appearance on the gulf shores! Nurse K joined us for a couple days just to help out (Mr. J is a full time job!). Mr. J hung out at the beach and even sat in the waves. We were a little nervous about his still open stoma, but we covered it with a waterproof bandage and that did the trick. Unfortunately, his poor neck could only take two days of the adhesive before turning to hamburger. Between his poor neck and the slight sunburn he got on his legs on his second day out (two layers of sunscreen and he still got burned; he's just not used to the sun at all!), he was done. Two trips was plenty. My parents were great and sat with him with him on the days that Nurse K was not there. Mr. C had one sick day and my Mom stepped in again to help out.

Enjoy just a few pictures from our escape...

Daddy and crew working on a sand castle.

Mr. J and I enjoying the waves. Mr. J's very first time at the beach!!

Daddy taking Mr. J and stowaways (Miss L and Miss M) out for a ride. Since Mr. J couldn't go out and jump the waves, we wanted to make sure he got to experience them somehow.

The kids and cousin C in the historic downtown area. Mr. C was back at the house sick. :( The sign way above the kids' heads denotes the water line during Hurricane Ike in 2008. Crazy!

Bobs and the Clam Shell

2010-07-22T22:33:00.004-05:00

The process of getting the girls' hair ready for the day was starting to get arduous. Most days one of the girls (usually more) would end of in tears as I tried to get the tangles out. Even with the detangler spray, it was tough. The more they fussed, the more I threatened to cut their hair like Mr. J's. They always responded, "NO!" I just said, "Long hair is going to tangle. If you want long hair, you're going to have to put up with this."

Finally, one of the girls (I forget which) said they wanted short hair, like their 3-year-old cousin's. Quickly, all three of them were clamouring for haircuts. So, Tuesday after VBS we went. And they got haircuts. And you know what? I think they look super cute, if I do say so myself!

The Bobbsey Triplets. :) Mr. C couldn't help himself and had to try and get in on the action.

And the clam shell part? Mr. J got a new brace. To help with his scoliosis (curvature of the spine). We call it the clam shell. So far he only wears it in the standing frame until we can see his doctor and get a more specific wearing schedule. This is what my son now looks like for about 2-hours twice a day:

The Eeyore pillow around his neck is to keep his head up. The blanket around his arms is to keep his arms from just falling back. The clamshell is for his spine. The hole in the clamshell is for his g-button through which he is fed. And the standing frame is for his bones. Before the clamshell, he could wriggle some which helped his core muscles, but now the clamshell does the work for him. We're going to have to come up with a new plan. Despite all his "stuff", he still looks happy, doesn't he?

The Fourth

2010-07-20T21:28:00.005-05:00

Yep, it's the 20th of July and I'm just now posting about the fourth. But, two posts in a row! Gotta love me! :)

We started our fourth out on the morning of third of July with the local neighborhood parade (I ran first with my running group; I'm a running freak!). We sat in the front yard of dear friends who live along the route and met my sister and her family there. The kids had a blast and we were blessed with overcast skies due to the threat of rain, but no rain. Nice breeze, lower temps, no sun = perfect. And even better? My husband joined us as he didn't have to be at work (bar tending) until just a little later (he left directly from the parade). Unfortunately, with the threat of rain I didn't feel comfortable bringing Mr. J due to the fact that the stoma (hole) left from his tracheostomy has still not healed (grrrrr). Hole in neck plus rain is not a good combination in my book. So he stayed home with his nurse and continued his daily routine of being spoiled rotten. :) After the parade, we headed home so I could bake the goodies for the next day: cupcakes, blueberry cobbler, and peach/blueberry pie. Oh, and I made the custard for the homemade ice cream.

After Mass on the morning of the fourth, my husband went to work and I finished the goodies: I frosted the cupcakes and froze the ice cream. The cupcakes (courtesy of the July issue of Good Housekeeping) were supposed to be topped with coconut and blueberries and raspberries. Only I didn't want to pay for raspberries and the kids wouldn't eat them as well. Instead, I chopped up strawberries knowing full well the liquid would cause the frosting to run. So, if you check the photo out carefully, you can see chunks of strawberries that have dripped off the sides. No worries, though. They were still super yummy!

We soon headed over to my aunt and uncle's house to swim and eat. Perfect combo. The pool was super chilly which didn't seem to phase the kids but sure kept me out of the water. After lots of swimming, we did lots of eating. Then the kids and I went home to reorganize and head out to see fireworks.

Fortunately, we live near a country club that puts on a super fireworks show. And the lawn of the library two blocks away is a perfect vantage point. I loaded my granny cart (L.O.V.E. my granny cart!) up with blankets, chairs, and new Crayola flashlights for the kids (distractions, baby!). Oh, food and water, too. [It never fails that they get "sursty" whenever we stray from the house. Plus, you have to keep them occupied while you wait or they'll turn on you. It's ugly. Trust me.] Then we walked down for the show. Walked. WALKED! Heavenly. Oh, then get this: we WALKED home! I so love where we live!

The kids had a great time watching the fireworks and an even better time playing with the flashlights. Except for Mr. C who threw his to the ground so many times, that the bulb broke. I actually had an extra flashlight that met the same fate. Hard lessons. We had a great surprise, though. Right before the fireworks started, my husband joined us! He managed to escape the bar and join his family. The only one missing was Mr. J who was done with outtings for the day and stayed home to be pampered by his nurse.

On the fifth we repeated the previous evening's activities. Almost. You see, the city usually puts on a big fireworks show. Except they had no money, so they cancelled. Then two companies stepped in and offered to sponsor so it was back on. Only, the company hired to do the fireworks had already taken another gig (on the fourth--go figure!). Which brings us to why we had Fourth of July fireworks on the fifth.

My mom babysat Mr. J (he's at the point now that he's trach-less that I can have my mom babysit him -- thank God for small miracles) until his night nurse came. I took the rest and got a good spot. Of course, to get a good spot you have to get there early. I came prepared. The granny cart was once again loaded with food (left over cupcakes!), water, flashlights, blankets, chairs, and this time a craft: black construction paper and chalk so they could draw fireworks.

This time around, the kids were noticeably crabbier. But two late nights will do that. I also got lots of "sursty" complaints, but I was stingy with the water. I did not want to figure out how to get them to the bathroom and watch my stuff at the same time.

At one point, I was reading a magazine (UsWeekly or People -- mind expanding literature, I tell you) when the man behind us (who was there with his wife and 1-year-old child) commented that he was impressed that I could sit there and read with five small children. Then, he asked how I did it. I just smiled and said that I was just blessed with good kids (which I am). Then he said, "My wife could really use the advice." By the look on the wife's face, she was not only mortified but definitely did NOT want any such information. I can't remember what I said next, but something about how hard it is with the first (which it is). Can you say "awkward"? They didn't have anything for that kid to play with and no food or special "treats". They'll learn, though. Keep them feed and distracted. I'm not above bribing with candy. :)

All was going well. The kids were pretty good, considering their level of exhaustion. Again, it was a gorgeous night: not too hot and a great breeze with clear skies. The wood symphony performed live and sounded beautiful! William Tell Overture -- enough said! Then the fireworks started. And they didn't shoot them high enough. A big tree in front of us blocked the view, so I grabbed the kids and moved closer, praying to God that the thieves would too busy jockeying for position to notice my unattended things. But moving away from the tree didn't help much: the building (which wasn't very tall) that they had us sit in front of (in a big plaza), blocked the bottom half of most of the fireworks. Big let down. They kids were pretty bummed. Then we had to get back to the car with the other thousands of people. Oh, then there was the drunk guy. "Stay close to the cart kids. STAY CLOSE TO THE CART!"

I'll end there. Whew. That was a lot. If you're still with me, bless your heart! You want more? Well, I got nothing left. Except this slide show. Enjoy!

Sweet Sixteen

2010-07-19T14:25:00.003-05:00

As of Friday, my husband and I have officially been married 16 years. Oh my!! It's amazing how much stuff has happened in such a relatively short time!

We couldn't escape until Sunday evening, but we had a wonderful night out. Dinner and cocktails with my favorite guy. What could be finer?

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BTW: Thanks to "Anonymous" and her comment on Rain for the kick in the pants I needed to post. Yes, I know it's been a long time. I promise to do better (heard that one before?)

It's just C.R.A.Z.Y. around here. My husband was laid off at the end of February so we are trying to make do on any money he can bring in waiting tables and bar tending. I'm half-heartedly looking for something, preferably part-time with benefits close to home (a girl can dream, right?), but I'm starting to get more serious as we are dipping into our Emergency Fund (really grateful for that right now). Mr. J's nursing hours were cut by 56 hours a week, so I'm trying to adjust and figure out just when I truly need nursing help. One of his long time nurses is moving so I won't have her help after August. I also signed Mr. J up for school this year (AHHHHH!); half-days for now. He hasn't had an ARD meeting (won't happen until August--after summer school is over) so I have no idea when the bus will pick up and drop off. I HATE being in a state of limbo! The other kids have been busy with camps, VBS, swim lessons, and the playing at the pool.

Really overall, we're quite happy and having a blast. I don't like to whine as it really gets you no where. The lack of a job and the nursing hour cuts have just been big stressors. I'm hoping something will come up soon in the job market.

So with all my excuses out of the way, I will try to catch y'all up on what we've been up to in the next few posts. Stay tuned!!

Rain!

2010-06-30T00:06:00.002-05:00

Mr. B spent a long weekend away. He went with my parents to a family reunion. His brothers and sisters missed him a lot. He was due home Monday evening. So after dinner, we headed out to the front porch to eat dessert and wait. But it was raining. A good thing, though, as we are pretty behind in the rain department. The rain was not too heavy, just steady.

After trying fruitlessly to keep the kids corralled on the porch and somewhat dry, I gave up. It was pointless. Since there was no thunder or lightning (I'm a safety nut about lightning), I decided to let them have a good time and get soaking wet. And they did.

Mr. B was a little shocked when he got home to see his sister drenched, but he definitely ate up his very warm reception! We are glad he's home. :)

Bonus Baby Turns Three

2010-06-15T22:25:00.002-05:00

That's right! Our little buy-seven-get-one-free baby turned three on Wednesday! Can you believe it? Mr. C is THREE!

He had his party last Sunday. He was so excited!

After giving Daddy several cupcake choices, he chose koi. So, Mr. C got an edible Koi Pond for his birthday party.

He was so excited to blow out his candles, only getting a little help from me (without his knowledge, of course, because he "can do it by my OWN self" and insists he can with just about everything--he's three, ya know).

Happy Birthday, Little Man! We couldn't imagine our family without you!

Family Fitness Fun

2010-05-27T20:32:00.004-05:00

In my last post, I talked about how my husband and I had a date night based around a 5K run.

Well, two days later we had a family outing revolving around a 5K run (except Mr. J: he stayed home with his nurse who doesn't like to travel).

My husband and I signed up to run a 5K supporting a rare childhood disease called Batten Disease. It's organized by a lady who has two grandchildren effected by the disease. It's a small race, so some running clubs formed teams. Each team member pays an extra fee and scores are based on times at the race compared with personal records. The winning team wins the "goat trophy" and the extra money raised is donated in the winning team's name. It adds to the fun! One team is Goldilocks and the Three Bears: all the female members wear Goldilocks wigs and the men wear bear ears. :) Our team's organizer's name is Bill so we had shirts made with Mr. Bill on them.

My parents met us out there and watched the kids on the playground during the race. They LOVE it. Right by a lake. Near an airport. Lots to see and do! My husband and I both had great runs and set personal records!! I was hoping to run under 30 minutes, but ended up running a 28:27! I was thrilled! My husband ended up with 2nd in his age group. After the adults raced, there was a kid race--a 1K which is about 2/3 of a mile. Mr. B and Miss M wanted to run but the other girls said "no". Of course, when the start time came around, they both were in tears because they changed their minds, but it was too late. I ran with the kids and they did GREAT! There weren't many kids running but even so Mr. B got 2nd in the boys' category and Miss M got 3rd in the girls'! They both got trophies and the event organizer gave medals to all the kids.

As it happens, the race was very near where our boys are buried. We headed there next. The kids like to help clean off the grave stones and arrange the flowers. In previous visits, they noticed that other people leave trinkets on the other graves so this time they brought their prizes from the previous night's school carnival and each kid left two trinkets for each of their brothers. It was very sweet. On the way back to the van, the kids did their usual "tour" to see what others left their babies.

We finished off our Fun Family Fitness Outing with lunch outside on the deck of a local Mexican restaurant. (My husband and I thought it was only fair to the other patrons that we eat outside as we were pretty stinky and sweaty from our run; plus it was a beautiful day.) The kids did wonderfully, we enjoyed our food, and a customer sitting next to us complimented the kids on their behavior as we left. :)

Next year, I'll sign-up all the kids for the 1K run. It's fun to share my passion with them!

A New Kind of Date Night

2010-05-18T22:05:00.002-05:00

Thursday, my husband and I had a kind-of date night.

We ran a 5K. That's right. Our "escapes" now revolve around exercise. And we LOVE it!

My parents watched the kids while we hurried off to the race. I'll be honest: we argued most of the way there, especially as the stress of finding a parking space grew. We eventually found one; after circling a garage several times we ended up parking on a side street somewhere. Of course, by the time we parked, we only had a few minutes until the start time. So we ran. And we ran. And we ran. I looked it up later. We ran about 1 mile to get to the START! Geeze Louise.

Usually at a race where both my husband and I participate, we run separately. He takes off at his pace and I follow at mine. But since we had another 5K to run on Saturday (yes, ANOTHER!) where we wanted to go all out, we decided to take it easy. So, we ran together. Oh, and by the time we got to the start line, we were 7 minutes behind the clock! Thank goodness for chip times. It was a crowded race, so there was much dodging to go around people, but not too bad. When we were about 1/2 mile from the finish, I let him "go" and he took off. He had a decent time of 29:25 and I ran 30:15 (a 9:44 pace!). I took it "easy" and PR'ed (personal record)! Crazy.

After the race, we headed down to the food (beer) area and promptly grabbed a beer and then a margarita. We also had water and fruit and eventually a taco. It was pretty crowded, but we managed to run into a few friends. It soon got old though and the clock was ticking (I told my parents we'd be home by 9:00), so we took off, this time WALKING the 1 mile back to the car.

Still hungry, we headed up to a new location of a local burger joint. While in line, we ran into a running buddy and her husband (she didn't run the 5K). It was a wonderful coincidence. So while we enjoyed our burger (we split one--awwwww!), we had adult company. Yea!

We had such a great time and it was good to get out as a couple. Good for the marriage. Good for the body. Good for the soul. :)

Tea Time!

2010-05-11T23:26:00.002-05:00

Every year at the preschool my kids attend, the 4-year-old preschool classes and their teachers put on a Mother's Day Tea. The kids help make muffins and fruit salad as well as create gifts for their moms. The tea ends with a performance of songs they have learned including a very cute rendition of "Happy Happy Mother's Day" (they even sign parts of it!). Two years ago I went with Mr. B (I posted a picture of it here as it was right before I started Weight Watchers and I was at my heaviest). Friday I went with my daughters.

Miss M and her gift.

Miss M

Miss L

The girls each made me a paper plate wrist corsage, so of course I had to wear ALL three! I had to rely on Miss M to take the photo, so that explains it's tilted nature. :)

I had such a nice time with the girls and their hard work paid off. And they looked so beautiful all dressed up!

Hint, hint...

2010-05-06T21:54:00.002-05:00

While at the doctor's office (nothing serious), Mr. C grew tired of the children's reading material and grabbed one of the grown-up selections. Being the crab that he was, he would not pose with the book for me. But Miss M volunteered, after perusing the selection herself.

Do you think they are trying to tell me something?

I started reading it after I took the picture. I may have to purchase it. The next trick would be to find the time to read it, but one hurdle at a time. :)

It's Out!

2010-04-29T22:09:00.003-05:00

Mr. J and I are back home. And it's out! His tracheostomy tube is out!

Mr. J arrives at day surgery check in.

He was in such a good mood! Which was a good thing as we had to wait a LONG time.

Waiting some more in pre-op: still smiling!

I caught up with him in the PICU: totally no big deal!

Either Mr. J didn't notice or didn't care. I actually think he's happier without it: his throat is no longer irritated. In just the short time it's been out, I've noticed FAR less coughing! :) We are so thrilled to watch him progress! Way to go, Mr. J!

Make Them Laugh

2010-04-25T08:24:00.007-05:00

Well, in this case, it's "Make Mr. J Laugh". With no nurse last Sunday, the kids hung out in Mr. J's room all afternoon. And they love to make him laugh! In this video, Mr. J is in his side lyer (it helps to slow his scoliosis by keeping his spine straight) and Mr. B and I (the girls were present, but too shy to perform on camera) pull out all our tricks to get him to smile and laugh.

And in an effort to make you laugh, here's the famous number from Singing in the Rain by Mr. Donald O'Connor. Priceless!!

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And if you are the praying kind, I have a few requests:

1. For Mr. J's primary day nurse: she had emergency surgery this week. She is in the hospital still but doing MUCH better. But, she will be out for a while and will be dealing with some health issues long term. We are blessed that Mr. J's other three nurses are working together to get all the shifts covered.

2. For Mr. J's primary night nurse: she spent a long time in the hospital a few weeks ago and was diagnosed with cancer. Though she looks better now, she's much thinner and weaker. She is undergoing treatments with an oncologist.

3. For Mr. J!! On Tuesday, Mr. J goes in for an bronchoscopy and if his airway looks good, his ENT will pull his tracheostomy tube! It's very exciting as it will expand what he's able to do but also very scary as we are not sure what this will mean for his nursing hours. He will spend the night in the PICU and if all goes well, he will come home Wednesday trach-less! :)

Mommy! Look what I spelled!

2010-04-15T22:53:00.002-05:00

"I spelled 'but'! I spelled 'but'!"

Miss M ran around the house telling everyone she spelled 'but' and giggling about it. Of course, she was SURE she had just spelled 'butt' and was thrilled the Word Whammer had asked her to. :)

Good news!

2010-04-13T21:39:00.002-05:00

Yep, we got some good news. Nope, my husband hasn't found a job yet (she says with a positive angle). It's about Mr. J.

Mr. J had an appointment with his ENT this week. The ENT wants to do a bronchoscope at the end of the month to check Mr. J's airway. If all looks good, the doctor will remove the tracheostomy tube. It's not a given that the tube will definitely come out or if it comes out that it will stay out (the removal requires an overnight stay in the PICU), but the doctor said he felt good about it! I'm really psyched. If it works, it will open a whole new world for Mr. J. First of all, there's swimming. The child has never been in the pool! I would love to get him some aquatherapy and even hippotherapy! I can't believe how far this child has come.

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Monday night, Mr. B joined me in Mr. J's room. I was waiting for the night nurse to arrive and Mr. B was watching Dancing With The Stars. I just thought it was so cute how the boys were laying on Mr. J's bed together. (The room was actually quite dim, but I could not find a setting on my camera that would capture the photo! The only setting that would work made it look like daylight in there!)

Mr. B is an expert in getting Mr. J to laugh!

Mr. B is such a caring big brother. And Mr. J eats it up!

I feel it in my fingers...

2010-04-07T00:11:00.005-05:00

I started paying bills tonight. Not fun. Especially as I know that next month the cash flow dries up. My husband still hasn't found a job. He has found some extra bartending (and bar managing) gigs as well as a small contract job, but nothing permanent. He filed for unemployment, but most of that goes to paying Cobra. Argh!

As I was getting that sinking feeling in my stomach, I started thinking to myself, "I feel it in my stomach." Which led to: "I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes..." Then I'm humming/singing. Then I'm searching through YouTube to find the video.

Isn't it funny how the mind works? Then I start singing, "Christmas is all around us.." So I search for a "Love Actually" clip (I LOVE that movie!):

I still have that sinking feeling in my stomach. But now I have a smile on my face!

[Please keep us in your prayers that my husband finds a job soon! I may be dusting off that teaching certificate soon...]

Easter Fun

2010-04-05T23:11:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful Easter full of family and, of course, candy. Unfortunately, Miss L, who had been battling a sinus and/or ear infection brought on by allergies, took a turn for the worse as the day went on and ended up falling asleep at my mom's house. Poor thing had a fever! But, she pulled herself together when the time came for the egg hunt and gathered a few candies before announcing she was done. :(

I've gathered our photos into a slide show that starts last Sunday with our first egg hunt, then onto Good Friday, and finally Easter Sunday. Enjoy!

Attempts at a Group Shot

2010-03-31T22:18:00.000-05:00

Tuesday afternoon I loaded the kids up (with the help of Nurse K) and headed over to the Arboretum to try and get a group shot of the kids. I was hoping to see the tulips in full bloom and I was not disappointed! We are blessed to live so close to such a wonderful gem!

I made several attempts. It's hard to get them all to cooperate, smile, and look at the camera. I also wanted a few shots of Mr. J OUT of his chair! Let me know which group shot is your favorite!

Group Shot #1

The wind was terrible! But look at those tulips!!

Group Shot #2

Nice shady spot with misters to cool you off.

Group Shot #3

Mr. B just instinctively leaned over on Mr. J. I love it!

Group Shot #4

Somehow, the boys separated themselves from the girls. Or was it vice versa?

Group Shot #5

I couldn't get them to all look at me and there were people waiting to get by on either side. It is a beautiful overlook with the lake in the background. Mr. J thought it was funny!

Group Shot #6

One of my favorite spots in the gardens: the waterfalls!

I also got a couple shots of just "my boys" and "my girls".

The boys

The girls

Then there were some candid shots. Here are a few I really liked.

Looking at the creek

Running

Action shot of Miss M. The kids kept asking if they could "run". I had some tired kiddos by bedtime!

Excited

Mr. C had such a good time. He walked most of the gardens on his own. It was the first time I have taken him there without a stroller! He faced was so flushed we had a hard time telling if he was getting too much sun or too much fun!

And a photo shoot of the six wouldn't be complete without some outtakes!

A New Ride

Miss M took advantage of Mr. J's sunbathing to try out his wheels.

Pig Pile

It might look rough, but Mr. J LOVES all the attention! It's his way of getting to be a big brother.

Where did March go?

2010-03-28T22:26:00.002-05:00

Aside from our Spring Break Journey, March has been so busy! I can't believe April is almost here (and Easter!)!

The kids got to take their first bike ride of the year. What did we discover? Mr. C desperately needs a real tricycle (he'll make it until his birthday in June). The girls really need bikes, but until then we just moved the seats all the way back on their trikes. And not only does Mr. B need to learn how to ride a bike without training wheels, but he also needs a much bigger bike! Argh! These kids just keep growing!

This month was also Mr. B's cub/boy scout troop's pine car derby. Originally, he wanted a hamburger car which evolved into a hamburger truck. But when he and Daddy went to the dollar store to find a hamburger, they couldn't find anything that would fit the bill. But Mr. B found a packet of plastic sea turtles. So the hamburger truck became the turtle truck. Shockingly (at least to me), his cute little truck won the derby! Go figure. Which meant he got to represent his troop at the regional derby along with the 2nd and 3rd place members. I got the privilege of taking him (Mr. J tagged along - no nurse). Luckily, it was held at Mr. B's school so we could walk. Unfortunately, his "Flying Turtle" (so named because the turtles flew off in each race) didn't fair as well the second time around. But, he had fun anyway.

Waiting for his truck to come down the track.

Mr. B with the "Flying Turtle", his winner's pin, and participant ribbon.

After the derby, the kids enjoyed the beautiful spring day out in the front yard. Mr. J looked so cute when I put a ball cap on him to protect his face from the sun that I had to take his picture. Mr. B came over to help get him to laugh and I captured this gem. What sweet boys!

And finally, we had our first Easter Egg Hunt of the season with our neighborhood Early Childhood PTA (again at Mr. B's school). The kids had a good time. Mr. C made the biggest haul, but he had the least competition for eggs as he got to hunt in the little kids' area. But he willingly shared some of his eggs with his siblings with a few extra for Miss L who just had a hard time with all the chaos. They all shared an egg with Mr. J who tagged along with Nurse K. They all said "Easter Bunny" instead of "Cheese" for this picture.

We have an incredibly busy week coming up. Mr. J needs scoliosis x-rays tomorrow and gets botox injections in his hands and arms on Wednesday to relax his muscles (not looking forward to this at all). I also need to get busy collecting supplies for the Easter Bunny! I so behind this year. I still need to plan dessert for Sunday, too. Oh, and dye eggs with the kids. Ahhhh!

On a final note, please keep us in your prayers. The job hunt is not going well. No bites yet. He's picked up a few odd jobs, but nothing permanent. It's been just over a month now. We still aren't in panic mode, but we are uneasy (to say the least).

Spring Break

2010-03-21T23:16:00.001-05:00

Short post today, but a long montage. If you have about 5 1/2 minutes free, enjoy some pictures from our Spring Break!

Later!

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Cribless

2010-03-11T22:00:00.003-06:00

Mr. C is at a fun age. And by "fun age", I mean "frustrating".

It's not behavior-related, though he has earned the nickname "Grumpy Old Troll (Who Lives Under the Bridge)". When accused of being a Grumpy Troll, Mr. C's favorite responses are either: 1. "I not a Grumpy Troll. I crabby." or 2. "I not a Grumpy Troll ANY more." It's a good thing he's cute.

So back to the "fun" stuff. It's all sleep related. The thing is he really needs a nap. He likes his nap. He takes GOOOOOOD naps. But when he takes a nap, he doesn't fall asleep at night until late. Sometimes VERY late. Which makes for a Super Grumpy Troll the next day.

His sisters went through this stage shortly after he was born. I tried sitting in their room at night after nursing Mr. C. I totally got caught up with the Harry Potter series. But it made no difference. My solution with them? Move the TV with the DVD player into their room (breaking one of my rules - no TVs in bedrooms) and instituting Movie Time Rest Time. It worked like a charm. The girls got to watch a movie daily (mostly Disney) and I got an hour and a half away from them. A fair trade really. A small price to pay for my sanity.

So why not move the TV with the DVD player into Mr. C's room? Well, after hour upon hour of use, the DVD player no longer works. So all I'd have is a TV with no cable hook ups.

Ugh.

As I still think he needs quiet time to himself each day (and I KNOW I need a break from him), I've been trying to give him things to do each day during his rest so that he'll stay awake. Nothing worked. So one afternoon this week, I asked him if he wanted to take his rest in his bunk bed (he shares a room with Mr. B who sleeps on the top bunk). He was thrilled with the idea. I loaded up the bed with books, cars, and Buzz Lightyear which makes lots of noise. I also made a CD with fun music to listen to (Beatles, Raffi, Sammy Davis Jr., Julie Andrews, Carole King, etc.). Sounds good right? Well, it hasn't worked even after I added a Hot Wheels garage-thingie to the mix today.

But it has led to something else. It took a few nights. It happened tonight. "I sleep bunk bed."

I tried to distract him then put him in his crib. "I sleep bunk bed."

So I gathered up his favorite beans (we call lovies "beans"--don't remember exactly how it evolved) and tucked him in. I went through the sleep rules with him (we still do this with the girls: they don't need it anymore, but it's part of our nighttime routine) and tucked him in. When I took Mr. B to bed about 45 minutes later, Mr. C was passed out. He had managed to turn himself backwards in the bed, but he was asleep. Maybe that Hot Wheels garage-thingie worked!

I'm happy it went well, but a little sad (okay, a lot sad) to see the crib era come to an end. It's now official: he's now a preschooler. Not a baby. Not a toddler. He's a little boy!

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All this "end of an era" stuff has me Friends reminiscing. So, enjoy this clip off YouTube...

Curve Ball

2010-03-09T09:32:00.004-06:00

At this point in our lives, you'd think we'd be used to curve balls. I'm mean, there's the sextuplets and Mr. C, just to name two. Well, we're not.

The Friday before last, I'm out shopping with Mr. C and my niece when I get a text from my husband, "Laid off". Of course, it then included some wording that I will not repeat here.

Wow.

By the end of the day, we had decided that maybe it was a good thing as my husband was unhappy there. To clarify, he was unhappy with the way the office was being run (or not run), but still loved his work. It's his passion and he's very talented.

To add insult to injury, he then had jury duty the following Tuesday and was selected, putting a big crimp into the job search. But, he's looking at it positively: it's keeping him busy so there's not much time to wallow.

He's got a few irons in the fire, but there's not much out there right now. He's getting a six-week severance package, so we're not panicking yet. But if we don't get some nibbles soon, I might have to dust off the ole teaching certificate and reenter the workforce!

In the meantime, I finally downloaded a month's worth of photographs off the old camera. Now it's time to start sharing. First up, our Valentine's Day. Among other themed meals that day, the kids had pink heart-shaped pancakes with mini-chocolate chips for breakfast with glasses of pink milk! I also made cute heart-shaped sugar cookies for Mr. B's class (and you know I had to frost them, too!) as well as Rice Krispie treats (made with pink marshmallows). Enjoy!

"Valentine's Day 2010"

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Growing Up

2010-02-21T21:17:00.003-06:00

First, I have to start out by saying, "Wow, where does the time go?" The older I get, the faster time flies by. I mean February is almost over!!! Yikes! We've been very busy around here since my last post:

-We ended up with over 10" of snow! Officially it was 12" at the airport shattering the old record. We are now only 2" shy from the all time winter snowfall record. Crazy! (Although we hit 70 degrees today, we have the possibility of more snow on Tuesday!)

-Mr. B got that Friday off from school (snow day!) and joined his sisters and little brothers for a birthday party at one of those bounce house party places. They all had a blast, including Mr. C who was not going to held back by the fact that he was too little for most of it. No sirree!

-Miss L was hit hard by a fever last Sunday evening keeping her out of school Monday and Wednesday. Miss E got it Friday night. Waiting to see who will succumb next...

-Mr. C's ear tubes have fallen out AGAIN and has definite hearing loss in one ear. So Wednesday, he goes in for his THIRD set of ear tubes.

-I joined the Y and have run on a treadmill twice! I've walked on one before, but never ran. It sucks. But, I was tired of making excuses to myself for not getting up and running outside. I find it VERY hard to motivate myself to run when it's dark AND cold outside. Now I have eliminated the excuses plus I have access to an indoor pool at a different Y that's just a little further away. Yea! I love to swim. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now on to my actual post...

We signed Mr. B up for soccer but after last season's fiasco with Y soccer, we signed him up with a different league (the girls will still play with the Y). He had his first practice with his new team last Monday. Although he had technically missed the first two games, as luck would have it both were rained/snowed out so he hasn't missed a thing!

When he was about 18 months old, we signed Mr. B up for soccer with a very inexpensive league. There were no games, but parent/child group "practices" where the kids did age appropriate skills, wore cute t-shirts, and got a trophy at the end of the "season". We did this for about three seasons. Each season, it got harder and harder to get Mr. B to participate; he was painfully shy. I remember trying one season to get him to pose for a picture (both individually and for the team). He had done so well the season before, but this particular time he refused. I bribed, pleaded, threatened, and begged. It was not pretty.

His shyness extended off the soccer field. He didn't talk to anyone but the teacher (begrudgingly) the first two months in preschool. If it weren't for the rice play table, I don't think he would have gone so willingly. His second year of preschool, he had a best friend. But when invited to his birthday party, he refused to participate in any of the activities! This frustrated my husband to no end. The same behavior was unfortunately repeated at other parties and events: too shy to have any fun.

So back to soccer practice. Mr. B and I walk up to the new coach who immediately shakes hand with Mr. B and tries to engage him in conversation (bonus points to the coach for talking to my son first!). Mr. B answers each question and when sent off to play in the remaining snow with his new teammates while the coach finishes setting off, he happily obliges! I watched practice from the van while the kiddos watched Thomas the Train on the DVD player (way too cold to let them play outside) and was thrilled to seem him not only participate in the practice, but enjoy it!

My eyes well up thinking about how far he has come. Elementary school has been the biggest confidence builder for him. His teacher deserves a medal (as do his preschool teachers). He has turned into a gregarious little boy! Though his shyness is still there, he now has the ability to work through it so he doesn't miss out on the fun stuff. It's been thrilling to watch him blossom. Now he can't wait for birthday parties: as soon as we get there he's off and running, no matter how many people he knows or doesn't know! At the end of last year, he even went to an ice skating party -- a social situation where he had to learn a new skill (a previous roller skating party had not gone well) -- and he had a blast! I couldn't be a more proud mama!

Record Setting Snow

2010-02-11T21:14:00.004-06:00

I checked the weather forecast one last time before I went to bed last night. They said the snow would start falling about three in the morning and we would get about 1 - 3 inches of accumulation. Cool. I was glad I had signed up at the Y in the morning as I wouldn't have any excuses for not running.

I got up at 5:20 am and it was snowing. There was a pretty good accumulation already, but I went and ran on the treadmill for the first time (4 miles) then headed home to get the kidlets up, send Mr. B to school, shower, and get ready for my niece and nephew.

And it kept snowing.

And snowing.

And snowing.

As of the six o'clock evening news, the total accumulation at the airport was 8.7 inches. And it was still snowing.

Oh....the most snow that had ever fallen here in one day happened in 1917 (and tied in 1961). That was 7.8 inches.

And it's still snowing.

I've never seen snow like this around here. It's good snow: makes great snowballs and snowmen. So this afternoon, I let them loose outside. Oh...and me, too. Somebody had to make the snowmen!

I had a great time with the kids, but after about 20 minutes, they were D.O.N.E. The were wet, cold, and their toes and fingers were frozen. You have never heard so much whine! But warm baths, chili, and a fire changed their tune. And since school had already been cancelled for tomorrow, we had impromptu movie night: Cool Runnings. I love that movie and thought it would be appropriate for the weather and the start of the Olympics tomorrow. :)

Here are some pictures of the kids and the snow. Hope y'all stay warm!

And it's still snowing.

Our front yard.

Mr. B arriving home after the walk from school. He was thrilled with the snowfall.

The crew with the snowmen I built. They didn't help me much; too busy throwing snowballs and clearing off any surface they could.

Clearing the snow off the car; well, the snow they could reach!

Miss E: glasses had to go inside--they were covered with snow!

Miss M.

Mr. C.

Miss L.

My husband measuring the accumulation on the roof of the car.

Five Years

2010-02-06T20:35:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it's been 10 days since I've updated! My excuse: I had four kiddos and two angels celebrate their 5th birthday! Where has the time gone?

We started off the festivities with my husband's parents arriving in town (barely ahead of a snow storm!) so they could be here for the party on Saturday! We had friends and family over for our "chilly" theme. The girls wanted all sorts of girly cakes, but I reminded them it was Mr. J's birthday, too. So, in the end they agreed to a winter theme so I made an igloo cake complete with penguins for each of the six kids. It was my first foray with fondant!

Each penguin had a scarf on that was the same color as the NICU assigned the babies when they were born. I put halos on the two angel penguins.

At the kids' request, the Mr. J penguin HAD to have a trach. So I fastened a little pink trach cap to the neck.

After the party, the kids went outside to release a balloon for their angel brothers.

I was thrilled (and a bit surprised) that not one child was upset when the balloons went up and didn't come back. They were so happy to give the balloons to their brothers.

[The story behind the balloons: In birthdays past, some and one time ALL of the balloons we bought somehow escaped. We just started blaming "the boys"--they wanted balloons, too, afterall. This year, we decided to make it part of our tradition. And guess what? We didn't lose one balloon unintentionally. :)]

After the big balloon release, we headed to Mr. J's room for a group picture.

This is the best picture of all the kids, but in subsequent shots Mr. J had a huge smile on his face. Unfortunately, most of the others kids had lost interest. Don't you love the girls new flip-flops?

Before we headed upstairs to bed, I told the kids to give Mr. J a kiss: and I actually got a shot of it! Sadly, it's a little out of focus, but cute nonetheless!

Those of you who've read our story have an inkling about how far these kids have come. It's been quite a ride for our family, but I think I can say we are finally at a point where we can relax. It's been a wild ride so far and I'm sure we'll continue having ups and downs but somehow we feel better prepared. We are enjoying the ride. :)

These girls have overcome incredible odds being born just shy of 28 weeks with a host of issues. All were ventilated for an extended time. One had a grade III brain bleed and was diagnosed (twice) with something called PVL, periventricular leukomalacia. All had feeding issues and severe reflux. Each girl has had heart surgery and three abdominal surgeries. And all have had their tonsils and adenoids removed. One has had her tongue "clipped". They've had Early Childhood Intervention therapies since they came home from the NICU after four long months until they exited the program at age three. They were fed via a feeding tube with a pump as their primary source of nutrition for the first two years of their lives. To look at these sweet little girls now, you would never know they were premature much less this extensive medical history. All they have now are the scars: their badges of honor.

And Mr. J. He's been asked to endure so much. More than his sisters. More than his brother, but only because Mr. L didn't live to keep up. But this child continues to thrive and thumb his nose at the odds. And he's HAPPY! His daily routine revolves around breathing treatments, exercises, snuggles, and laughter. And he soaks it all up! Our little angel on earth.

I couldn't let this birthday go by without thanking all the people who helped us out along the way. From prayers to donations of food, clothing, money, and supplies to our more "permanent" group of helpers: those who watched the house while Mr. B slept so my husband could visit me in the hospital and later so we could both go to the NICU; the night-night crew who later developed into the bath-night crew; the friend who brought us dinner every week for a solid year; the many who helped us remodel our attic to make room for all the kids; my husband's parents who never worked so hard just to visit; and then there's my parents. My mom spent most of every day with us that first year. My dad would be here, too, working on the remodel and helping out in between. It couldn't have been done without them. And they never complained. They put up with my crabbiness (sleep was a luxury for the first 3 1/2 years--Mr. C was part of that, too!) and kept our house running. I don't think we can ever adequately thank everyone but I hope they know they have our unending gratitude.

Happy Birthday to our Sweet Six! We couldn't imagine life without them!

Jumping in Leaves

2010-01-27T23:19:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, Mr. B and Mr. C spent the morning helping Daddy rake the leaves in the front yard. (The girls were not home; they had their first sleepover at Grandma and Papa's the night before.) Though I'm not sure how much "helping" they did - once that first pile of leaves was created, it was all over. Those boys had the best time jumping, falling, and being buried in that pile of leaves!

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Extra Tooth

2010-01-26T22:47:00.004-06:00

Mr. B had oral surgery Friday to remove an extra tooth growing in his upper jaw. The root of the tooth (which was upside down) could be felt in roof of his mouth behind his front teeth (well, those fell out, so where his teeth formerly were). We are hoping that removing it will allow his front adult teeth to move down more easily and allow his braces to do their job.

For anyone who's child has gone through an outpatient surgery knows, the first step (well, after signing and filling out paperwork) is that your child gets "goofy juice". Mr. B had some before his tonsillectomy, but this time the stuff really hit him. It was like babysitting a drunk. We were laughing so hard! It was a great way for him to go into surgery: happy!

The surgery was done within a half-hour. Mr. B was a little groggy, but otherwise fine. The nurse said he was one of the best pediatric patients she has ever dealt with! That's my boy!

After stopping for a smoothie, we went home. Mr. B spent the morning watching the first two movies in the Star Wars trilogy (well, the trilogy I grew up with) in preparation for Movie Night with Mommy and Daddy where he got to watch Return of the Jedi. The girls were in school and Mr. C spent the morning with his Grandma, Papa, and cousin.

When Mr. C got home, though, he just wanted to be with Mr. B.

Peas in a pod on the couch.

Watching movies on the floor.

Mr. B's other two front teeth were loose before surgery and apparently the surgeon just barely tugged on them and they came out. So Mr. B walked (well, he was wheeled) out of the surgeon's office with three teeth. The tooth fairy left him $5 in gold dollar coins. (Sadly, the tooth fairy only had five of those dollar coins left and must get to the bank soon to get more!) That's enough to get a smile out of even the most gapped-tooth kid!

I tried to take a picture with my cell phone of the extracted tooth, so I apologize for the quality. The top tooth is one of his "normal" baby teeth (except that it has a brace on it). The thing on the bottom is the tooth they pulled out. Weird.

Field Trip

2010-01-22T21:35:00.002-06:00

On Monday, all the kids had the day off school due to MLK day. So I decided we were in need of a field trip. We headed down the road to the Museum of Science and Nature. I hadn't been there since the science museum combined with the natural history museum and the children's museum. When we got to the ticket counter, I decided to get a membership as I'm sure we'll be back often.

First we headed to the Children's Museum. They had lots of hands-on things for the kids to do! Dress up, fun house mirrors, sand table, farm, etc. And a water table!

Mr. C (as well as the rest of the crew) loved the big rubber duckie!

Mr. B and Miss E were very busy playing in the water.

Playing nicely with the magnetic shapes.

The rest of the museum is spread over two buildings, mixing science exhibits with natural history stuff. Mr. B really liked the natural history stuff (especially the dinosaur bones). Besides his dinosaur "collection, we have recently enjoyed both Night at the Museum movies for movie night. So this museum trip was perfectly timed with our movie selections!

The fab five in front of a mammoth skull.

After the museum (and a PBJ picnic lunch in the museum cafe), we headed to Target. Yep, I had to squeeze an errand in. The plan was to go to Target, get some gelato, then go home for a rest and dinner. We ended up with different plans. As I'm finishing up in Target, the kids all of a sudden start pointing at Mr. C and saying he had blood on his face. When I checked his cheek, there's a little smeared blood around the wound but I could see the outside corner is starting to come "undone". I finished up quickly, loaded up the van with kids and merchandise, then called the doctor's office. Want to know the true miracle? I got through to the advice nurse RIGHT AWAY. No being put on hold. No leaving a call back number. But a real live person. CRAZY! She assured me we didn't need to go to the ER, but did need to come into the office in case we needed glue or a butterfly dressing. My doctor had an appointment open at 4:50. Just as I'm thinking we can still squeeze in gelato, the nurse calls me back and says there's been a cancellation: my doctor has an opening at 3:00. It was 3:00. I took it. I made it there by 3:15. Miracle #2.

Of course, we ended up waiting and waiting and waiting. We didn't see the doctor until 4:15. Such is life. Oh...and there was nothing he could do for Mr. C's wound except antibiotic cream and a band aid. It was reopening superficially: the subcutaneous stitches were holding up just fine. But, they had H1N1 vaccines in so the girls all got their boosters (the boys had theirs done at Mr. B's 7-year-old check up last week). So not a completely wasted trip...

Bad photo, but you can kind of see that it's gapping on the outer half.

The kids were really good at the doctors office and had been all day, so I took them out to dinner. It was after 5:00 after we left the doctor's office any way. We went to a tex-mex place and the kids chowed down. I didn't have to take home any food! Miracle #3. After dinner: gelato. That's right. I still got it in. And again, not one little bit was left over. But that's not a miracle. I mean, who doesn't love gelato? The kids adore that they can get two different flavors in their little cups--three for Mr. B as he gets a bigger size :).

We left the house at 10:00 am and didn't get home until 7:30 pm. What a day! But we had fun and the kids handled the whole outing so well with minimal whining (you can't go more than an hour without someone whining or complaining or fighting).

In fact the kids did so good, I took them all out the following afternoon (Mr. B had Tuesday off as well) to see The Princess and the Frog. I took the WHOLE family, including Mr. J and his nurse. The only one missing was Daddy. This was the first movie theater movie for Mr. C and Mr. J; only the second for the girls, and the third for Mr. B. So it was a big treat! The bonus: the movie was really good. I was almost in tears at the end and really enjoyed the music! Way to go Disney! Miracle #3? Mr. C sat still for the whole movie!

Is that the sun?

2010-01-16T20:23:00.004-06:00

We had a brief break this week from the frigid temperatures (only to be followed by RAIN!), so the girls finally got to go outside to try out their new scooters Santa gave them for Christmas.

All three scootin' down the street.

Miss M looking as cute as ever. Did you know her nickname is "Pinky Lee"? Hmmmm....wonder why?

Miss E sporting her new helmet and pads.

Miss L was looking good, but has so much less coordination than her sisters. She preferred to walk along side her scooter.

Mr. C didn't want to be excluded from the picture taking! His cheek is healing up nicely!

Friday, the rain continued but my energy faded. I was supposed to make chili for dinner, but didn't feel like it (can you say "pizza"?). It was also supposed to be "Movie Night", but the kids were so crabby I postponed it until Saturday. Before I made these decisions, I had looked up a recipe in my new Martha Stewart Cupcake cookbook (I nearly cried when I got it for Christmas, I was so happy) so we could have a yummy dessert. Miss M found the book open to the recipe (it has GORGEOUS photographs) and insisted we make them.

"Mint Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Buttercream" - Just sounds good, doesn't it?

The cupcakes were surprisingly easy to make. And they were beautiful when I pulled them out of the oven. But when I turned to the page for the buttercream, I found words like "double boiler" and "ice bath". There was also some nonsense about adding mint leaves to the egg yolks and having to strain. I don't know. It seemed entirely to difficult for just a Friday night treat. (Martha can be so uppity sometimes.) So I turned to my old standby: my Betty Crocker cake book. I turned to it's buttercream recipe: butter, Crisco, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. To make it a mint buttercream, I substituted half the vanilla for peppermint extract.

I frosted them as instructed by Martha (except I used a Ziploc with the corner cut off rather than a pastry bag with tip), but there was no way I was going to make chocolate leaves by painting mint leaves with chocolate. Instead, I sprinkled them with Andes candy bits. They turned out quite pretty.

My yummy cupcakes and my husband's minty alcoholic beverage.

My husband was not going to partake of my homemade goodies until I pronounced them "the best cupcakes I have ever made" (seriously). He, being a part-time bartender, proceeded to mix himself a Dirty Girl Scout (or as we like to say in front of the kids, a "Not-So-Clean Girl Scout") and enjoyed a cupcake, too. They were, in a word, sinful. :)

Dinorama

2010-01-10T22:35:00.003-06:00

Sometimes I don't know what to make of Mr. B. He can be so OCD at times: lining things up just so, not wanting to get his hands messy, insisting that the top button on his shirt be buttoned (drives me nuts!! and Mr. C insists now, too!!), etc. Other times, he can be such a mess. He has "collections" all over the house (magazines, rocks, shells ... you name it!). There are piles of stuff everywhere that we are constantly having to keep in check. With his creativity, I can often picture him in some artist's studio with stuff scattered everywhere but he'll know exactly where everything is in the chaos--his own "filing" system.

This brings me to his latest "project". Wednesday afternoon, he and his sisters disappeared upstairs to their bedrooms while I was preparing dinner. As they were getting along, I never checked in on them. Mr. B had told me he was working on a way to display his dinosaur collection earlier in the afternoon and I only advised him to use the top of his bookshelf rather than a shelf below so that the shelves would remain useful. When he came down to dinner, he said he would finish the next day as his hand was sore from all the coloring.

When I got back from my weekly run later that night, my husband told me he had definitely started on his project. He had colored a pond and started the grass with crayon directly on the bookcase! When he told Mr. B he couldn't color on the furniture, Mr. B started crying (he's very sensitive). Luckily, my husband was able to console him while praising his creativity assuring him that it could all be cleaned and he could start again with PAPER as his base. (How many years does it take before kids get it through their brains that you CANNOT color on furniture?? My husband and I (especially my husband) really want to know!)

After school the next day, I set him up with loads of colored paper, glue, tape, and foam dinosaur stickers. While I scrubbed off the previous day's work with a Magic Eraser (how did we ever cope without these little sponges?), he got busy cutting. He worked on his design for about two hours! He's just an amazing little guy. Before I turned their light off tonight, I snapped a couple pictures of his creation. It made him so proud!

Here's the first bookcase for the "real" dinosaurs. He created two ponds, a grassy area, as well as bushes, boulders (from his rock collection), and trees using an old hat rack that I never finished (we overlooked the coloring on this). I love how he put the only the pterodactyl (pteranodon?) stickers in the "sky".

On the neighboring bookshelf, he arranged the "fake" dinosaurs and books about dinosaurs. The rest of his dinosaur stickers are also on view.

Mr. B just amazes me. Maybe it's because he's my first. Maybe it's because he's gifted. Or maybe it's just because I'm his mom. Anyway you look at it, it's fun watching him grow up. Though I do wish he'd slow down sometimes!

Starting off the New Year

2010-01-03T14:46:00.002-06:00

What a morning! It started off normally, except that we had to take two cars to church as my husband had to leave right after Mass to get to the airport. (His grandfather passed away and the funeral is tomorrow.) We are all sitting quietly listening to the homily (as quietly as you can when you're two!) when Mr. C tried to slide off the pew. I guess is was slippier (that's a word!) than he thought as he went crashing face first into the back of the pew in front of us. He clocked his cheek on the "hymnal holder". I could tell before I even picked him up that it was going to leave a mark. And he started crying instantly. When I turned him around, I saw the blood. Luckily, I'm not easily scared as I know facial injuries can bleed profusely. I used some tissues from my purse (I actually had some!!) and cleaned him up a little. One look at the wound and I knew we were going to need stitches.

I grabbed him up and headed out of church. My husband followed with our stuff. The other kids stayed behind with my parents and my aunt and uncle (I'm so lucky to have all that help every Sunday!) and Mr. J was home with his nurse. Back in the vestibule, I sat down and applied pressure while we discussed what to do. Luckily, I was able to stop the bleeding so I felt comfortable taking him to the ER alone. We went out to the van and transferred four booster seats to my husband's car so that he could put them in my parents' car after services and I headed off with Mr. C.

While I was filling out paper work, Mr. C gladly went off with an aide to get his vitals: he stood on the scale like a big boy, got his temperature taken by mouth like a big boy, and held his hand still like a big boy while the pulse ox probe determined his heart rate and oxygenation. He happily chatted with the nurse while she asked how it happened. Aside from the gash on his cheek, you'd never know he'd been injured!

While waiting for the doctor, Mr. C sat happily watching cartoons and eating cookies.

Soon, the nurse came in to put numbing medication on the wound. He laid still while she dripped the medicine in the wound and continued to be cooperative as she put a cotton ball soaked in the medicine on his cheek and secured it with tagaderm. He then just laid on the bed peacefully watching cartoons while the medicine did it's thing.

When it came time to papoose him, he was again so cooperative! The aide had me remove his shirt as they "can get overheated especially when they start screaming". She said it like it was going to happen. I leaned down and told Mr. C that he would be a good boy. I got the feeling that she was rolling her eyes! He let the aide pin his arms back with a pillow case and never protested as she strapped him on the board. As the doctor did his thing, he never cried and held his head so still! Everyone was so impressed with him! The aide told me she wished every child would behave so well and gave Mr. C stickers, crayons, and a coloring book. :)

He ended up with two stitches beneath the surface and five on top. Seven stitches!

We picked up a milkshake on the way over to my parents' house to get his siblings. When we got to my parents' house, we were surprised with brunch: bacon, eggs, grapefruit, and a crumpet for me and pancakes for Mr. C. Too cool. He's been acting totally normal and the wound doesn't seem to bother him. What a trooper!

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Here's what I was going to post today...

New Year's Day, the whole family went to my parents' house for dinner. My mom had saved her noisemakers from the night before and let the kids play with them after dinner. Mr. J thought they were hilarious! He was laughing so hard that he kept blowing the cap right off his trach! We finally had to get the kids to stop using them so Mr. J could catch his breathe. I caught some of it on video (sorry for the poor lighting) but as he wouldn't keep the cap on you can't hear his sweet voice but you can definitely see how much the noise tickled him.

Computer Meltdown

2009-12-28T22:13:00.002-06:00

I've been fairly remiss in updating my blog as frequently as I would like, but the last couple months have been busy! And on top of it all, my laptop went kaput. Well, technically the screen went kaput. My husband rigged the thing to connect to an ancient monitor we had floating around the office. So now when I type, I make a literal knuckle sandwich trying to squeeze my hands on to the keyboard as I have to keep the laptop almost closed to see the screen. Grrrr... Here's hoping that we'll find some money in the new year to either fix it or, if that's too pricey, replace it. The battery hasn't functioned for about two years so it's basically a glorified desktop. As much as I love technology, it can be VERY frustrating!

Right now, we are visiting my in-laws for Christmas (well, almost: we got here on the 26th as I wanted to spend Christmas Day with Mr. J too!) so I'm using my father's-in-law laptop, which works quite well, thankyou.very.much.

My husband and I were talking last night about how this Christmas is the most "normal" Christmas we've had since having the multiples. It's been nice. Have we done everything we wanted? No. With Mr. J coming off a pretty serious illness, we didn't include him as much as I wanted Christmas Day (plus the nurse that day, although we were lucky to have coverage, was annoying me with her laziness). We also never made it to the cemetery to visit our boys, but plan on making it over the weekend. So while not perfect, it's been a lot of fun. We had a Secret Santa exchange with close friends, our local "family", Christmas Eve with my family, Christmas Day at home in our PJ's then dinner with family, and a post-Christmas Christmas with my husband's family. It's been busy, but in a good way.

Look for updates soon, including pictures, of our recent fun! :)

Christmas Crazies!

2009-12-21T23:51:00.004-06:00

Why do I do this to myself? I've left almost everything to the last minute! ARGH!

The only thing I did right was Christmas shop online! Let's hear it for free shipping! I bought a few things at Target, but everything else was done from the comfort of my own home.

I suppose the half-marathon threw my timing off as I postponed much of my holiday to-do list until after it was over. So now I'm scrambling. I just finished addressing the Christmas cards from pictures I took a few days ago. I was hoping for a family picture again this year, but it wasn't to be. My husband works too many hours and Mr. J got very sick this week -- he really had me worried that he'd be hospitalized (luckily, he avoided the ER thanks to a great set of nurses). So I got a pic of the girls, a pic of Mr. B and Mr. C, then one of poor Mr. J asleep and on oxygen. I threw in a shot of the kids with Santa for good measure (though Miss E looks disgruntled and is blocking Mr. C's face). I still have to stuff the envelopes and stick on the stamps (that I just bought this morning).

For the past few days, I've also been baking up a STORM! I really do love to bake and Christmas just offers so many options! So far I've made candied pecans, Mexican wedding cakes, spritz, sugar cookies (the kids had a blast decorating them today), bon-bons, muddy buddies and pfeffernuese. I still have candy cane cookies to make tomorrow. I'm holding out hope I'll get to dip some pretzels and make a peppermint log for Christmas Day. (We won't discuss the other cookies on my wish list for this year that just aren't going to happen!) I'll take a bunch of cookies with us tomorrow for a present exchange (I'm very much looking forward to this as I can somewhat relax!) then Christmas Eve we host my immediate family for our annual chili dinner. Thank goodness chili is easy!

I still have so much to do that thinking about it gives me a headache! Wrapping, assembling, visiting, baking, cooking, packing, cleaning, etc. If only there were more hours in the day. But, I guess it wouldn't be the holidays if I didn't feel somewhat overwhelmed. I'm grateful that these are my only worries this holiday season!

13.1

2009-12-15T22:03:00.003-06:00

I did it! On Sunday, I ran my first half-marathon! All my training paid off and I listened to Coach Nikki: I ran MY race. I tried to maintain a 10:30 pace for the first 9 miles or so. It dropped to 11:00 for a couple of the long hills but that's to be expected. The last four miles, I kicked it in and actually maintained a 9:35 pace for the last three miles!! I finished a minute faster than my goal at 2:18:57. I'm so thrilled!

Saturday I helped the kids make signs to cheer me and the other runners on (I may be the only one who made her OWN signs!). Sunday morning, my husband loaded the crew up and found a spot along the course where they'd be able to see me twice as we did an out-and-back on that road before heading back to the start. It was so much fun to see them on the side of the road holding their signs up! I looked for them and just smiled ear-to-ear when I spotted them (TWICE!). They were sitting about 7 miles into the run and seeing them there just charged me up!

After I passed them the second time, I saw my parents on a stretch nearby! I can't tell you how much it means to have people there just to cheer YOU on. It really gives you that strength you need to push yourself to the end.

My husband and the kids met me at the finish line and after changing out of my wet icky clothes in the van (can you say "contortionist"?), we all headed several blocks down the course to cheer on the members of my running group who were still out there for the marathon. Aside from a few crabby moments, the kids were so good: holding their signs up for the runners and posing for pictures (which I'm trying to acquire). Plus, I hadn't planned for lunch so they were just snacking on the pretzels and cereal bars I had packed the night before.

After we made our way back to the van, we decided to have a late lunch/early dinner at On The Border and again the kids were so good. I'm blessed with well-behaved children. And I truly think it's more nature than nurture! And let me tell you, never has a margarita tasted so good!

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I mentioned the press in a previous post. Well, apparently a fellow runner (who just happens to be the Executive Director of the marathon) found my story interesting--you know, mom of 6 who trains for half-marathon. So he passed my name along to the local paper and the people who do the marathon show that ran locally live during the race. We ended up working with a really nice production company who put together some footage of our family and an interview done at the house into a wonderful profile on my running. Portions ran during the Turkey Trot race on Thanksgiving, then a longer version ran on a local morning show and then again on race day. The local paper also sent a reporter and photographer out and an article ran the week of the race. Though I hesitate to link to that article, I would love to share the profile that ran on TV. Just click here to see it. I'm not sure how long they'll keep it up, though.

The race start/finish was downtown in a plaza with giant TV screens (some permanent, some just set up for the race). If it weren't for them, I would have never seen the start! They ran the marathon show on all the screens. Which means that my feature also ran on the big screens. ARGH! A friend took a picture of my face taking up the whole screen (and this was one of the bigger ones)!

Yep...that's my face taking up what looks to be three stories!

Yum!

2009-12-09T10:24:00.003-06:00

I was looking through my pictures last night, and came across my baking escapades from Thanksgiving.

I LOVE pie. No really. L.O.V.E. When baking them, I will sing to myself (okay, out loud) the Pie Song from the movie Michael (click here to listen, or better yet watch the movie). Pie, pie, me oh my. Nothing tastes wet, sweet, salty, and dry...

First up: Chocolate Cream Pie. This was fantastic. It was from America's Test Kitchen and had an Oreo crust (well, the Newman's Own version). I'm definitely making this again!

This was my first attempt at a gluten-free crust for Mr. J's nurse who joined us for dinner. It was a cherry pie.

I got this from a fellow multiples mom: Jack Daniels Chocolate Pecan Pie. Oh my. This was good!

And finally, a good ole Pumpkin Pie. It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it!

A couple weeks ago, Mr. B misplaced his wallet. In his wallet was his Build-A-Bear gift card from his grandparents. So, of course, we were searching high and low for it. Instead of finding the wallet (which later turned up in the dryer), I found my checkbook and old camera (which I have since replaced). I still had pictures on the camera, including this cake I made for my nephew's baptism (his name has been mostly erased for privacy):

After looking at all these goodies, I'm hungry! I might have to start baking Christmas cookies this afternoon!

It's almost time!

2009-12-06T22:15:00.002-06:00

The big day is almost here. A week from today I'll be running my first half-marathon! In January, I could barely run for 1 minute without being completely winded. Now, here we are 11 months later and I'm planning on running for 2 1/2 hours (hopefully less!) straight! I've turned into one of those crazy runners.

I would see these "people" on the way to church on Sunday mornings. It would be hovering around the freezing point and these "people" would go running by. Didn't they know it was cold outside? Doesn't breathing that cold air hurt their lungs? What could possibly be so important that would get you up early on a brisk morning to do something as awful as running? Crazy runners.

And now the transformation is complete. Yesterday I arrived at the lake for my run. An easy 9 miles (yes, I said "easy" - more proof of my craziness). Here's the really insane part: it was 27 degrees when we started running. TWENTY-SEVEN!!! But I had my layers on: three shirts, two pants, two pairs of socks, two pairs of gloves, and a hat. The first several miles were miserable: everything felt pretty good considering but my hands just plain HURT! I was almost in tears from the pain. It took a good four miles before the pain let up. After that, it was pretty smooth sailing. Well, except for the slippery frost on the foot bridges and the ice slicks on the path. :) I figured it could have been worse; after all, the winds were calm and the sun was shining (unlike today).

It took me 1 hour and 35 minutes to "loop the lake", almost 10 minutes faster than the last time we "just looped the lake". When I got into the car to come home, I immediately checked the temperature: 32 degrees. It took me about 10 minutes to get home. My husband took my picture:

What's that white stuff on your shirt and hat, you ask? FROZEN SWEAT! See, CRAZY! (And don't ask why I'm dressed like a cat burglar...completely unintended.)

Between the training, holiday preparations, birthday parties, the press, and just the everyday stuff, I've been so busy! When did life get so nuts?

[Did you catch it? The word "press"? More on that later! ;)]

Let it ... snow?

2009-12-02T23:06:00.003-06:00

Snow? In the South? On December 2nd?

It only snowed for an hour and within another hour all evidence had melted, but it sure was PURTY while it lasted!!

Just As I Promised

2009-11-28T22:16:00.002-06:00

Mr. B's birthday party was last weekend, but I'm just now getting to showing y'all the cake. Pitiful!

Mr. B has gotten into the pattern of having his birthday cake the same as his Halloween costume (I have no idea who started him on that, she said sarcastically). So who was he for Halloween? Why, Rodney from the movie Robots. Remember?? (crickets chirp)

With the help of my old pal Google, I did manage to find a plan for a cake of Rodney's head. I think it came out pretty good and Mr. B loved it. And, really, that's the person I was most trying to impress! :)

My big ole seven-year-old!

Regrets

2009-11-23T21:52:00.003-06:00

On Saturday, I set out with my running group to run my longest run so far and the longest run before the half marathon in December. This time, we headed out into the neighborhood away from the lake. Far away from the lake. We ended up about 5.5 miles away from the lake! We passed one of the big local hospitals, including the place Mr. J stayed for about 1.5 months after being discharge from the NICU and before coming home.

I hated that place. The whole point of him being there was for us to learn how to take care of him, ventilator and all, so he could come home. I visited him every day. I always went when the girls (and Mr. B) were settled in for their afternoon naps. So of course, most times Mr. J was sleeping, too. But, I had them arrange his breathing treatment schedule so that one occurred during my afternoon visits that way I could practice giving them. It never failed, though, that more than once a week the respiratory therapist would "forget" and run the treatment early. That always cheesed me off!

Mr. J sleeping early on in his stay. We used to call him the human "C" as that boy could arch his back!

Other reasons I hated that place (in no particular order):

1. Mr. J was (is) tube fed. At the time, he received breast milk. That's right: I found time even with four others at home to provide Mr. J with breast milk. I caught the nurses overfilling his feeding bag with precious breast milk then DUMPING the milk when the pump went off! INSANE! I was so irate, I had to call a conference with the nurse manager. He ended up with a new pump and strict orders to never wasted breast milk!

He was such a happy baby. That aspect of his personality has remained intact.

2. On Halloween, there was to be a parade where all the kids that could would be taken over to other areas of the hospital to trick-or-treat. I arranged for my mother to come early that day so that Mr. B and I could participate. We were completely ignored. No one would give us the time of day.

Mr. J adored Mr. B. Just the sight of his older brother would send him into fits of laughter. And Mr. B shone in the role of the older brother.

3. Mr. J had to share a room. A very cute little baby girl with a very nice, but very naive, young mother who spoke little English. She also had no problem silencing Mr. J's ventilator alarms. Before anyone had a chance to respond. Um...you don't touch someone else's baby's stuff!

4. I made a CD for Mr. J and his siblings that they listened to in the NICU. I brought it along to this hospital. I put the CD player on repeat play and placed it under his bed at a volume just loud enough for him to hear. After a couple days, his roommate's mom bought a CD player which she put on the shelf above her daughter's crib and proceeded to blast Enya at a deafening level.

5. The speech therapist left MUCH to be desired. She'd schedule her time in the afternoon, despite the fact that he often slept then. She insisted on trying to get him to bottle feed despite the fact that the speech therapist working with the girls at home, the same one Mr. J would be using, had moved onto solids. I eventually convinced her of the futility of her endeavor. And finally, I came in one day to find Mr. J in a bumbo being fed carrots by the same therapist while he was SLEEPING!! She was shoving food into the mouth of a sleeping baby. A baby who was trached and ventilated!

6. One of the aides who worked the night shift insisted on changing his diaper EVERY TWO HOURS, even if he was sleeping. I had the doctor write an order that he was not to be disturbed while sleeping and that she should time the diaper changes with his breathing treatments (cluster the care, people, to minimize the interruption of his sleep!). Of course, they didn't put any cream on his butt to protect his skin, so he ended up with a diaper rash. If looks could kill, she would have murdered me every time she saw me after that.

7. The nurse practitioner was a .... well, I won't type it here, but it starts with a "b" and rhymes with "witch". At one point, she had me convinced over the phone that his diarrhea was a result of my breast milk and wanted to switch him to formula. By the time I drove over there (less than five minutes), I was livid. When I tried to point out that most of his medicines had a side effect of diarrhea, she told me, "Well, I can't change THOSE." Ugh! I held firm, though. In the end, it was their feeding system. Most of the milk fat remained stuck to the feeding bag (more like a milk jug) and never made it into Mr. J. When we got him home, we never had that problem...and his weight gain improved dramatically!

Mr. J watching the boob tube. Yep, that's Mr. Rogers!

Or he could play with his hands.

Mr. J being loaded up to come home. Notice how he was entertaining himself with his hands.

So that brings me back to my run. As I'm running by that wretched place, I was suddenly overcome with sadness. Mr. J had so little time being "normal". And he spent a significant portion alone. I question if we did enough. Maybe we should have hired someone to sit with him all day. Someone who would play with him. Interact with him. I still feel we did the best we could giving the circumstances, but had I known what would happen just a few months later... I just wish we could have given him more.

But like everything else sad that pops into my mind, I popped it right back out (a survival technique I believe I may have perfected--probably not healthy, but...). I continued my run and ended up running 14.1 miles, just shy of the 15 I was aiming for. Now we are starting our "taper" where we just try to maintain our fitness level, but save energy for the big race.

I'll be running 8 miles this Thursday in my first "Turkey Trot" race. It will be a good warm up for the 13.1 miles I'll be running in December. I can't believe it's already upon us!

For my next post: pictures from Mr. B's birthday! It's only been 8 days since his party! Sheesh!

Seven

2009-11-12T21:35:00.005-06:00

After 8 years of marriage, 2 years of fertility treatments, 42 glorious weeks of pregnancy, and almost 12 hours of labor, we welcomed Mr. B into the world at 7:39 pm on November 12, 2002. Not only were we thrilled, but so were our parents. You see, Mr. B was the first grandbaby for both sets of our parents. His birth was eagerly awaited by a plethora of family and friends. And he has been blessed by their love ever since.

And we have been blessed with his.

As our first baby, he was the most difficult, terrifying, and wonderful challenge we had ever taken on. A HUGE learning curve for all three of us. This was probably the hardest time in our lives. Having four babies with multiple medical needs was hard, too, but in a different way. The leap into parenthood is truly a leap of faith. No matter what you think you know, it all gets erased when you take your bundle of joy home. You know NOTHING! Sleep deprivation on a level you can not describe. Struggles with breast feeding. And the screaming and crying!

But soon, it all settles. And the next thing you know, you have this wonderful little person. He smiles. He coos. And it just takes off from there.

How Mr. B turned out so well sometimes seems like a true miracle. He had his world turned upside down at the ripe old age of two.

But, here we are, seven years later. We have a bright, articulate, fun-loving, kind-hearted, beautiful boy of whom we couldn't be more proud.

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Just a little side note:

We took the kids (all but Mr. J) out to dinner tonight in honor of Mr. B's birthday. Mr. B chose Applebee's. While we were eating, a patron came to the table and asked about the kids (not that unusual). We told her their ages and that we were celebrating Mr. B's seventh birthday.

A while later, the manager came by the table to drop off our appetizer and told my husband that the couple behind us wanted to pay our bill. It was the same lady and her husband (boyfriend?). Unbelievable. We don't know these people at all, but they wanted to treat us to dinner. I'd like to think our little angels in heaven had something to do with this! :)

It only took him 29 years...

2009-11-08T20:59:00.002-06:00

I don't know quite why he decided he was up for the challenge again, but after discussing solving the Rubik's cube with a colleague, my husband was left feeling as if he had figured it out. So he sat down with the puzzle and started turning. And turning. And turning. And by the end of the evening he solved the fool thing! He was so proud, he even let me take his picture! I mean, he actually stood still and semi-smiled!

He left the cube on the table for Mr. B to see in the morning. Mr. B did see it and apparently didn't realize and/or appreciate that it took his daddy 29 years to figure it out because he immediately messed it up.

My husband has picked it up a few times since, but has yet to solve it again. So I'll go ahead and say it: It was a FLUKE! I'm sure he'll prove me wrong because he's stubborn like that, but I have to tease him a little! :)

Halloween Fun

2009-11-01T20:56:00.004-06:00

After two morning soccer games, we spent Halloween afternoon resting up for the neighborhood "parade" starting near my parents' house. Not so much a parade as a moving gathering. Parents and their kids meet around the corner from my parents' house then walk several blocks together. Parents and other neighbors hand out candy. It's a great way for the kids to go "trick-or-treating" without going door-to-door and I love that I get to see all the other kids' (and grown-ups') costumes! We all decided our favorite was the two- or three-year-old dressed as a policeman while his baby brother sat in a wagon dressed as a prisoner. Too cute!

My mom really loves that we meet at her house. She makes chili and cornbread and invites friends. Aside from my family and my sister's, she also invited some dear family friends: my godparents, their daughter and her husband and little one, and their daughter's in-laws. We had quite a crowd! And, of course, she had cookies waiting for the kids when they returned!

So here are what my six dressed as this year...

Mr. B chose to be Rodney from the movie "Robots". He's been asking for months. All I can say is thank goodness for e-bay! They actually had more than one! He couldn't wear this to school because it would be too difficult to use the bathroom so he wore the cowboy outfit in my previous post.

Miss M was Dorothy. She's been asking ever since a friend handed down her sparkly red shoes. Of course, by the time we needed them for the costume, she had outgrown them! Thank goodness for Target. Next to her is her cousin who was also Dorothy! Just a coincidence. My sister and I must communicate better next year. But they both seemed to love being dressed the same, so it worked out!

Mr. J was the Scarecrow. He looked awfully cute! He tolerated the costume very well and the parade mostly well. He started to fuss at the end when we were all just standing around chatting. I took him home before the others because not only was he pooped, but also I needed to get his nurse home in time for shift change. But he slept goooood last night!

Miss E was Supergirl! My dad had a field day quoting from the old Superman TV show: Faster than a speeding bullet; more powerful than a locomotive; able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's SUPERGIRL!

Miss L was Batgirl. She saw a friend's daughter dressed as Batgirl last year and decided that was the costume for her. She's already decided on Supergirl for next year. My little superhero!

Mr. C was a lion. Such a cutie!

So we had a sort of "Wizard of Oz" theme going with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Lion. And there was also the superhero theme. Mr. B didn't really fit with any theme. In my brain, he was the Tin Man since Robots are made of metal, but that's quite a stretch. Why I need a theme, I don't know.

And here's all the kids who met up at my parents' house (excluding Jack who was getting settled into his wheelchair at the time). The flower is my friend's daughter who will be one this month! The adorable spider is my nephew, all of 6 months. And of course, my niece as Dorothy. The rest are mine!!

The kids are already discussing costumes for next year. Nothing like advanced planning. I'm set if Miss L still wants to be Supergirl in a year--her sister's costume will most likely still fit. But I'm up the creek without a paddle if Miss M gets her way. Anyone know where I can get a size 5 aviatrix costume? That's right, Miss M wants to be Amelia Earhart! It would be awfully cute if I could pull it off!!

And finally, this clip is for my dad:

The fun has begun!

2009-10-30T23:50:00.003-05:00

Yesterday the kids attended a neighborhood early childhood PTA Halloween party. I'd love to share a picture, but I can't find my CAMERA!! Crazy. This morning was the annual Halloween parade at the girls' preschool. Again, no camera = no pictures. After it was over, I went to Target. I now have a camera. In my defense, the one I can't find is over six years old and needed to be replaced, but I hate replacing stuff that works. But, I needed a camera!!

Mr. B's school had their annual Fall Festival. The kids got to wear their costumes to school and got to participate in lots of fun activities. I snapped a picture of him when he got home.

The kids were all antsy this afternoon, so I pulled out some foam stickers I had been saving and let them create sticker pictures.

My niece and nephew along with Miss L, Miss M, Mr. C and Mr. B.

Working hard!

Miss E's work in progress.

We ended the day with our annual Halloween dinner:

Worms = black spaghetti (found it at Target - I LOVE Target!)
Blood sauce = marinara
Eyeballs = meatballs with green olives in the centers
Moss = Parmesan cheese with green food coloring
Slime = green colored milk

We have so much fun eating this meal!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The kids are so excited about tomorrow that they forgot tonight was supposed to be Movie Night. Probably a good thing as tomorrow is jam packed with soccer games and trick-or-treating!

Busy, Sick, and Wet

2009-10-26T21:12:00.003-05:00

I can not believe it has been 10 days since I've updated! I've never gone that long. All I can say is "illness". Not just one, but two!

We had a mild tummy bug run through the house (one at a time) that really only lasted about 24 hours at a time (it really was mild, as far as tummy bugs go, but it sure did fatigue all of us!). We all had it plus one, maybe two, of the nurses. All except Mr. J. I don't think he had it. Of course, he can't tell me if his tummy hurts or if he feels sick. But we saw no other signs, so I'm thinking he skirted by.

Overlapping the tummy bug has been colds. My husband was the first, then the kids (who are on the tail end of it now), and finally Mr. J and me. I'm not thrilled. Neither is Mr. J. He had to miss his swine flu vaccine today because of it! He's on the short list of children in most need, but since he has a cold he can't get it...yet. We have to wait a week after he's all better and then we won't be guaranteed the vaccine. Grrr... Oh well. He's the only one to get the seasonal flu vaccine! I had an appointment for the rest of the crew, but the pediatrician's office ran out and we are now on a waiting list. More grrrr... OK: done complaining!

Aside from the never ending sickness (at least it seems that way), we have been dealing with never ending rain! I had a friend say she'd like to move to Seattle so she could see the sun! It's been bad. Fortunately, we've had a couple nice weekends despite all the wetness and it's kept our temperatures down. Unfortunately, it's meant a lot of cancelled practices and games for Mr. B and the girls' first season of soccer. We have a lot of making up to do, and not a lot of time to do it in!

Running has also kept me busy. My long runs on Saturdays are anywhere from 9 miles to 13 miles. I still can't believe I can run that far or for that long! It's surreal sometimes. I'm in the best shape of my life! The half-marathon is fast approaching. I'm looking forward to it and training hard. I feel like I'm really committing to the training. I'm eating better and feeling better.

We've also been crazy busy. I guess this is life with six kids!! This past Saturday, I had to get a 13 mile run in and still make the girls' 8am soccer game. So I did what any "committed" runner would do: I got up at 4 am to fix breakfast for the kids then met up with a fellow runner at the lake at 5 am. It was gawd-awful early. But I did it and made the 8 am game. Mr. B had a 1 pm game with pictures beforehand, so we got a little time at home in between. After the game, my husband left for work and I took the kids home to regroup. About 30 minutes later, we headed to Target to buy a present for the birthday party that started at 4. The kids had a blast! They ran around on a new-to-them playground and ate cupcakes and ice cream. At 6, we left and, after a pit stop to change yet another diaper for Mr. C, we headed to a Halloween Party thrown by the family of one of Mr. B's classmates. Again the kids had so much fun. Lots of junk food, last minute pizza, ghost pinata, and bobbing for apples. Who wouldn't have fun?! I finally got them all in bed at 10! And if you know anything about our family, that's soooo late! I was tired, too, and crawled into bed shortly afterwards. And if you know anything about me, that's soooo early! But, it's been that way all week.

So in short, we are busy, sick, and wet. And I'm exhausted! My alarm went off at 5 am this morning as I have a run on Mondays at 6. I immediately opened my phone and checked the radar: it was still raining and I felt like I had been run over (stupid sinuses!). I actually managed to talk myself out of going. I figured I didn't want to make myself any sicker. I still can't believe I skipped. I feel so guilty! I plan on making up for it tomorrow morning and at least getting a few miles under my feet before getting the kids up for the day!

I'm sure I'll have more to post this week as we have another extraordinarily busy week ahead with Halloween and all. I can't wait for Daylight Savings Time to end--I need that extra hour of sleep!

A Morning of Freedom

2009-10-16T22:57:00.002-05:00

On Wednesdays, my parents have taken one or two of my children for years now. It started when Mr. B was about 1 1/2 and it allowed me to clean my house. He only stayed half the day and then I picked him up for his nap. The girls go, too, starting when they were 2. They rotate turns so only get to go every third week. Now that they are in school on Wednesdays, they only get 1/2 a day at Grandma's, but they love every minute. It's the one-on-one time they need and a chance to be separate from the "pack", even if they do share time with their cousin (or big brother who still goes when he's on a school break).

Mr. C has been two since June. I mentioned to my mom that I'd like to start bringing him on Wednesdays, but when it came down to it, I didn't. He's my baby, ya know. So finally, this past Wednesday, I did it. When he got up, I asked him if he wanted to go to Grandma's. "Yesss." He was so excited to go SOMEWHERE. He sees Mr. B and his sisters leave him almost daily to go somewhere, and finally it was his turn.

After I dropped the girls at school, I took him to Grandma's. He practically ran in. I chit-chatted with my mom a bit. When I was ready to leave, Mr. C had made his way to the piano with his cousin (who will be 3 in less than two months!!). Luckily, my mother considers their playing "music" and apparently hears something that I do not. Or maybe that's what she tells herself to make the sound bearable. So, I tell Mr. C that I'm going to leave. "Bye," and he goes back to banging the keys. That's all I get. No tantrum (thank goodness), no tears, not even eye contact. Basically, just a "don't let the door hit you on the way out" kind of goodbye. Oh well.

And what did I do with my morning of freedom? Grocery shopped. Wednesday is the day I go to Newflower Market (Sunflower elsewhere in the country) for their "Double Ad Wednesday" specials on produce then over to Whole Foods for milk and super yummy cheese puffs. All of that and I was still home by 10 am. After I put the food away, I played around on the Internet some (sadly, I'm addicted to Facebook) and toyed with the idea of updating my blog - in.the.middle.of.the.day. - but ended up heading to my favorite mecca with a newly found gift card in hand: Target.

Before I knew it, though, my freedom came to a screeching halt as I had to pick up the girls from school and exchange Miss M for Mr. C at Grandma's. But it was nice while it lasted. I think I'll send Mr. C to mom's again next week!

Attacked by Ants

2009-10-09T22:25:00.003-05:00

The kids were all playing outside yesterday afternoon. It was a little warm, but nice to escape the house after all the rain we've had.

In the South, though, lurks danger in the grass: Fire Ants. I noticed two mounds while we were outside: one on the side of the main path and one in the yard. I pointed them out to the kids and told them to avoid them - "Owies!" I wasn't too worried as they were playing with strollers on the sidewalk and not even going into the grass.

While I was trying to make some headway with the weeds, I heard Mr. C crying. It was a pain cry, but I just assumed he had fallen. I finished the weed I was working on, then looked up to find Mr. C LAYING in the fire ant mound. On. His. Back. AAAARGH! I picked him up and drug him to another part of the yard and started brushing the ants off of him. I turned him around to get them off his back only to find that the back of his shirt was entirely covered in ants!! It was really gross. So I just started stripping him. Right there in the front yard. And the whole time he's screaming and they're starting to bite me.

I drug him inside and put him in the shower under some cold water. Only then did he stop crying. And he's been fine ever since. But I gave him some Benedryl. More for me than him. He was covered in red bites!

Of course, today, (and if you've ever been bitten by fire ants, you'll know) they had turned into puss filled bumps. Ick. And they still don't bother him.

Here's an idea of what he looks like:

Bad picture, but you can kind of see some bites on his arm.

Better shot: his arm was covered.

Yep, they got his back, too.

And his feet. (My feet, too!)

Of course, I have to try to draw some sympathy my way. ;) I got about 10 bites on my hands (nothing compared to Mr. C), but this one is the worst one I ever got!! My hand is swollen around the bite and it's turned into a huge blister! Not fun! I have no idea how Mr. C went through the day covered in bites.

Artist in Residence

2009-10-07T23:11:00.002-05:00

Mr. B is really enjoying his art lately. He's brought back some really nice stuff from school, including a still life. How cute is that? He's also discovered an art kit that he got a couple years ago (definitely too young for it then) that's not only full of colored pencils and markers, but also oil pastels. Ooooooo, aaahhhhh. He's been having a great time experimenting.

I put together a slide show of some of his latest work. The picture of the giraffe is one he made for Miss E and the one of the two striped cats was done for Miss L (because she's obsessed with cats!). Enjoy!

"Mr. B's Artwork"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

It's State Fair Time!

2009-10-03T21:26:00.003-05:00

The State Fair around these parts is a BIG DEAL! All the local school districts give the kids the day off school once during it's run, including a ticket! Some of the biggest districts in the state participate! We happen to live about 2 miles from the fair grounds. Before we bought the house, my husband and I lived in a loft 1 block from the grounds! We went almost every night!

While we can't go every night, we try to go at least twice. We went Tuesday evening this week (reduced price admission and midway rides!!) and then again on Friday (the official "fair day" for Mr. B and the girls). Tuesday was all about the rides while on Friday we roamed the barns and took in some shows with Grandma, Papa, and my niece. For both days, the weather was...well...PERFECT!! We had a great time!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

GOAL!

2009-09-29T22:38:00.003-05:00

It's begun. Soccer. They are all in soccer. YMCA soccer. Well, except Mr. C, but only because he's 2. And they all had their first games this past Saturday. I ran in the morning (11 miles -- egad!!) and met my husband and kids at field number one. Half-way through Mr. B's 10 o'clock game, my husband left with the girls for their 11 o'clock game at field number two. Luckily, neither field is that far from each other, or our house. Let the great Saturday shuffle begin!!

The girls have a fairly big team which is a good thing because four 10-minute quarters is a LOOOONNNNGGGG time for a bunch of four-year-olds. Who's the coach, you ask? Why, their daddy!! They did pretty good. It was pretty wild watching 8 four-year-olds chase down one soccer ball. A couple times, all three girls were in at once. Not good. They feed off of each other's apathy. Separated or in pairs they do pretty good. But never all together. By the fourth quarter, they were done. Ugh! Miss L was in tears because she "didn't get a turn to kick the ball" despite running after it for 20 minutes. Miss E told me that she "didn't want to play soccer anymore". By the end, they were sweaty and exhausted. And they all had to pee.

The only picture I took of just my kids. I don't know what's wrong with me. But this is Miss L and Miss E waiting behind Coach Daddy.

Mr. B is on a very small team. Seven kids. And how many play on the field at this age? SEVEN! And, of course, two of them were AWOL for the first game. Did I mention that they only had one practice before this game?? And that most of the kids had never played soccer before?? The game was ugly. Luckily, they don't keep score. Well, not officially anyway. Poor boys. But, the five of them hustled the whole game and never got discouraged. Oh, who's the coach? NOT ME! And not my husband, either, though he toyed with the idea as the team sat coach-less for the longest time. The coach is a really nice young lady doing it out of the kindness of her heart (and as a favor for her friend, the new athletic director at the Y). She's got her hands full with this group! The highlight was when Mr. B played goalie for a quarter: he actually made a few nice saves. After the game, I asked him what his favorite part was. He told me playing goalie because he "got the ball a lot of times"! I won't burst his bubble quite yet...

Mr. B as goalie.

Kitties and Krispies

2009-09-24T22:46:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday afternoon, I got some two-on-one time with Miss M and Miss L. Mr. J and Mr. C were napping, Mr. B was at school, and Miss E was at Grandma's (Wednesdays at Grandma's - it's a way for one or two of the kids to spend a little time away from the pack and get a lot spoiled).

Upon Mr. B's suggestion, Miss L's kitty was washed. Apparently, kitty was stinky. Though, Miss L didn't mind--she's always holding kitty to her nose and sniffing (I never smelled my blankie as a child--nope; not me; no siree). Miss L has many kitties--all Beanie Babies--which she loves. Her latest, also known as "soft kitty", is her current favorite. We have to hear about her constantly! "Kitty likes to eat fish." "Kitty is riding on the car." "Where is my soft kitty?" "Kitty is flying!" "I love my soft kitty." It's endless. Unfortunately, "soft kitty" was the offending party. So into the washer she went. Miss L was then constantly asking if kitty was clean yet. "No, honey, she's still in the washer."

After answering for the umpteenth time, I sent her over to the machine to watch her get washed.

Miss M and Miss L looking for kitty in the washing machine.

Of course, with the washer so full of Jack's stuff, they couldn't locate the kitty. Miss L wasn't entirely convinced the kitty was even in the machine. "I don't see my soft kitty." "Is soft kitty in the washing machine, Mommy?" "I still don't see her!"

In an effort to get her mind off kitty, I called the girls over to the kitchen to help me make Rice Krispie Treats. Having the kids help you in the kitchen always sounds like a fun, wholesome activity. Right. "I want a turn to stir!" "I can't reach." "I can't see." "She's been stirring a lot of times." "I didn't get a turn!" AAAHHHH!!!!!

But, we got them made and the girls helped me pat them into the pan.

They look so angelic, don't they??

As of tonight, the treats are all gone. The kids really enjoyed them! Okay, okay...I really enjoyed them, too. I really, REALLY enjoyed them. Too much. Way too much. ;)

I don't like the 19th

2009-09-19T20:22:00.005-05:00

We had a pretty good day today! I woke up at the long before dawn to head to the Arboretum for a 10K run. I was sitting in the garden at 6am playing sudoku on my phone. Sad. The race didn't start until 7:30 am. Have I ever mentioned that I HATE being late?! And, yes, I'm running my first 10K after having already raced a 15K. I don't know why; it just worked out that way.

While I raced, my husband woke the kids up early and also headed to the Arboretum for an 8 am "Walk in the Garden". [Both the races and the walk were fundraisers for the gardens, themselves, which we LOVE!] Along the walk were stations where the kids could do an activity like decorate a cookie, make a craft, get their faces painted, or blow bubbles:

Isn't it cute that they all got race bibs, too?! Oh, and hats! They had a good time. In fact, they were getting their faces painted while I crossed the finish line! No mini cheering section. Sniff, sniff. But, I rocked the 10K, if I do say so myself! I have one of those Garmin watches that will tell you your distance and pace in real time! A blessing and a curse. I used it to slow myself for the first half of the race so I wouldn't go out too fast knowing that two killer hill were right after the turn-around. Once I got to the hills, I never looked at the thing again! I ended up with an unofficial 1 hr 5 min time! That's a 10:29 pace!! CRAZY! My last three miles were at a 10:19, 9:40, and 9:29! I ran the last 0.2 miles (it was a 6.2 mile race) at 8:42! Who knew??! I love that I can go back and see how I did: another cool feature of the Garmin. ;)

After the race, there were food and massages to be had. I wandered around gathering food while I headed toward my family. Once we were all together, we headed over to the Beer Garden! That's right, my husband had a beer at 8:45 am!! OK...I took a few swigs, too! As we were leaving, most of the food tables had shut down: they were out of goodies! Which was a little sad because there was still one more race to finish--the 20K racers hadn't come in yet! They had to run farther and got none of the freebies! I felt a little sorry for them as we passed them in our air conditioned van on the way home. :)

In the afternoon, I took the kids to our church's annual carnival (Daddy had to work). They had a good time playing games and "winning" prizes (not much skill required to win at the preschool games!). They loaded up on the junk, though! They had lollipops and cotton candy (though Mr. B opted for a snow cone) before I convinced them to eat some "real" food--hamburgers and fries! Oh well, all for a good cause!

Miss E enjoying her cotton candy. All three girls devoured it!

As we were getting ready to leave, I tried for a group picture. As none came out good, I thought I'd share all of them in the order I took them.

Miss E does NOT want to be photographed, Mr. C wants up, and Miss L is pulling a face...literally!

This is probably the best one but Mr. C has made more progress out of the stroller, causing Mr. B to hold on more strongly. You see, Mr. C is the ballast as the backpack hanging on the back of the stroller is loaded down with the kids' prizes and bottles of water.

Now I'm losing them. Mr. C's crying and the rest have lost focus. Well, except for Miss M who is trying to show off her loot.

Yep, they're DONE!

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All in all not a bad day. So why don't I like September 19th? Four years ago today we lost our sweet boy. Mr. L's heart just couldn't take the added stress done to his body after emergency bowel surgery. Tomorrow we will take the kids to the cemetery to put flowers on his grave and his brother's, who died in utero. Here's my favorite picture of my sweet boy:

He was a beautiful, sweet little boy who his nurses said reminded them of the Gerber baby..he even had the curls! We miss him so much!

I've decided to post the eulogy my sister wrote. If you would like to read it, you can find it here.

Monkey see ...

2009-09-16T23:11:00.002-05:00

Mr. C is at a phase where he wants to do WHATEVER his brothers and sisters are doing. He's been throwing lots of fits lately because he doesn't get to go to school or be dropped off at grandmas like his brother and sisters. So when he wants to do something like put a bow in his hair like his sister, who am I to argue?? At least it was leopard print!!! :)

Running (on empty)

2009-09-12T21:12:00.003-05:00

Despite the rain this morning, I met my running group and ran 9 miles, which is just long enough to loop a nearby lake. At least it was cooler than Monday when I ran a 10K (9.3 miles) in the heat and humidity! Still a lot of training to go until I'm ready for my first half marathon in December. EEEK!

This is just the north end of the lake I ran around this morning!

I got home from my run (dripping wet!!) to find Mr. B curled up on the sofa under my afghan. Not normal 6-year-old behavior. I grabbed the thermometer--101.3. I'm not usually one to call the pediatrician--you gotta be pretty ill before I'll call. But with all this swine flu stuff, I'm not sure of the "rules" this season. I figured I'd better call as I knew the office had Saturday morning hours and wouldn't be open until Monday again. And I HATE the after-hours clinic! We ended up going in to be screened for the flu. Luckily, our pediatrician was working. Though Mr. B's test came back negative, our doctor told us the test has a high false negative rate and since Ben's symptoms couldn't be attributed to another illness (ear infection, strep, etc.), he would go ahead and treat him AND Mr. J. Our pedi really gets our family and appreciates that these illnesses can really hit Mr. J hard. And I definitely do not want anymore ICU trips anytime soon! So both kids are on Tamiflu. Mr. J has a refill on his so if (when!) the other kids get ill, he'll have the ability to start taking it immediately. Did I mention I love our doctor?! :)

While I was there, I got the kids scheduled for their seasonal flu shots--they are already filled up until the end of October! I may end up taking them somewhere else before then. The swine flu vaccine isn't available for another month or so, but I'll get them in for that one, too!

As of this evening, Mr. B's fever (after a nice nap!) was down to 99.8 so I'm hopeful this was just your run of the mill virus. With Mr. J around, though, you just can't be too careful! Mr. B will miss his first Sunday school class tomorrow though! I'm a little bummed by that, but hopefully he'll be fever free in the morning so he can go back to school on Monday.

Starting Soccer and Preschool

2009-09-09T22:15:00.004-05:00

It's a done deal. We've signed the girls up for soccer. And guess who's the coach? NOT ME. It will be cold day before I coach again. But the next best thing is heading up the talented bunch of 3- and 4-year-olds: my husband! (We signed Mr. B up, too, but as he was the only first grader from his school to sign-up, he's been assigned to a hodgepodge team with no coach. They have a game on Saturday, but have never met. No uniforms. No nothin'. Grrr. So unorganized. But I digress...)

Practices started last week and the girls seem to be enjoying it, though I think Miss M is in it for the t-shirt! All the parents have been fairly impressed with the group as almost all are participating in the drills and seem to be actually listening!

Here's the picture I should have posted last week!! The girls are all ready for their first practice!! And Mr. B is ready to "help". Mr. C just has to be in on the action. Notice his bare feet--I mistakenly thought he and I would spend a quiet time together while the rest were gone! WRONG! He ended up at the practice sans shoes.

The kids walking to practice. See that parking lot? That's the school. We are so lucky to live so close!!

This week I was better prepared. But Mr. C is making his opinions known. As I was putting shin guards on the rest, he sat down for his. I had none. The others changed their clothes, so Mr. C tried to strip out of his. I ended up feeling sorry for him, so I found his Manchester United outfit and Mr. B's old shin guards. We borrowed shoes and socks from Mr. J. He was so excited to be included!

My "after practice" shot. All smiles!

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Today, the girls had their first day of preschool! This will be their second and last year to attend. They are going three days a week from nine 'til noon. They had a wonderful time. My husband dropped them off and said while the other parents were teary (and some of the kids, too), the girls went right in and started playing. When the teacher suggested they tell their daddy "goodbye", they barely looked up!

The girls insisted on wearing their official preschool t-shirts. Unfortunately, they were size M (8-10). They were HUGE! So, we paired them with leggings and accessorized with pink belts. Our tribute to the 80s. And, of course, Mr. C had to be in on the action.

Jumping for joy!

Mr. C was NOT happy that he didn't get to go, too. This lasted for a solid 20 minutes, then on and off for another 10. My feelings were starting to get hurt! What about me?? ;)

How I Spent My Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-07T20:59:00.004-05:00

I can't believe I let a week go by again! My Labor Day Resolution (yes, there is such a thing...well, not really) is to start posting more frequently!!

Here's how my Labor Day Weekend went:

1. BAKING

I agreed to bake cupcakes for friends of the family. They even paid me! Bonus! So Saturday, I baked up a storm. I ended up with about 3 dozen cupcakes in my freezer as well as several more "just for us". I did end up with about 60 tasty and nice looking cupcakes--30 vanilla and 30 chocolate. I also made little candy discs as decoration that said "60". Sunday, I decorated: frosting and rolling the edges in sprinkles. Then I arranged the chocolate ones in the shape of a "6" and the white ones in the shape of a "0". I think it all came out pretty good and the kids definitely enjoyed my "mistakes".

Here's the final result:

2. RUNNING

I ran my usual times (Saturday and Monday mornings), but instead of a long run on Saturday, I "only" ran 5 and this morning I ran a 15K race. That's 9.3 MILES! Crazy. I wouldn't say I raced as I've only run 9 miles once before, but I concentrated on improving my time and just finishing!

3. SORGHUM FESTIVAL

After my race, I quickly came home, showered, and loaded the family up, including Mr. J and his nurse (though I ended up with no photographic proof), and headed about 1 1/2 hours south to a Sorghum Festival on a homestead. We go every labor day as some of the people who live on the homestead are related--4th cousins or something like that. My dad is WAY into genealogy and would roll his eyes if he were reading this.

The kids watched mules (donkeys?) run the press that extracts the juice from the sorghum reeds then saw how the boiled it into syrup. They also saw a blacksmith and a working mill. And don't forget the barbecue brisket lunch with homemade bread and sides. Oh, and the homemade sorghum ice cream with pecans. YUM! The favorite part for the kids was the hay ride and getting to meet some barnyard animals up close and personal. The only drawback of the day was the heat--96 degrees! We were sweating buckets. Mr. J and his nurse faded fast, skipping the hay ride for the AC in one of the main buildings.

Here's a few photos of our fun:

It's cooling off

2009-09-01T23:52:00.004-05:00

The temperatures are definitely on the downswing (it's all relative--upper 80s are "cool" around here). The kids are noticing. The girls insisted on playing outside Monday while I rearranged the living room (as if I don't have enough to do!). When lunch time came around, they suggested a picnic outside. So out came the blanket, chairs, and table.

And then I scrambled to think of something to serve! Turkey sandwiches and grapes! Yum!

They had a great time. After Mr. C was in his crib for his nap, the girls continued to "rest" outside. It was just too pretty!

Adjusting

2009-08-30T21:35:00.003-05:00

Sorry it's been a while. I'm having trouble adjusting. To school that is. You'd think it would make things easier, right? But adding the running in this year is apparently putting a crimp in my style.

On Monday, I totally overslept and missed my morning run. After waking my husband up with several choice four letter words, I decided it was probably for the best as it was Mr. B's first day of school. So, I got his lunch made and prepared breakfast before getting the troops up. After we dropped Mr. B off at school (and visited with the other parents), I ran my 5 miles while my husband took a shower.

Thursday morning, I got up long before dawn and was running by 5:50 am. Ick. When I got home, I had to immediately go upstairs and get the kids up. I was so sweaty! I left sweaty butt prints on the chair! EEWWWW! Then back downstairs to throw food at the kids (well, not really, but you get the picture). I'm just about to start the dishes that I had neglected the night before, when I remembered I needed to make Mr. B a lunch. Argh! So, I get that task done and get him out the door and start in on the dishes. Oh, I also start in on my second cup of coffee! Just as I'm washing the last pan, I hear, "Mommy, I pooped!" Ugh. It's not even 9 am and I'm pooped!

So, I'm hoping this week goes better. I'm hoping I can get back into the routine. I'm hoping for lots of things. But, this week is when homework starts. One more kink to deal with! By the time I figure out how to balance all of this, it will be summer again!

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I got the results from Mr. J's sleep study. I'll quote from the e-mail I got from the pulmonologist's nurse practitioner:

I just reviewed Mr. J's sleep study with Dr. G. He did great! No
obstructions. No apnea. No desats. Dr. G said that from a respiratory standpoint he can be decannulated. The next step will be seeing ent for decannulation.

Yea! I've already contacted his ENT and we are trying to schedule a bronchoscopy a.s.a.p. to make sure that his airway is clear. Then, hopefully we'll put a plan in place to decannulate! I'm almost giddy. I can't wait to take him to a pool. Maybe get him involved in hippotherapy. I feel like a whole world will open for him. The only drawback: we'll probably lose nursing hours.

Obligiatory First Day of School Photo

2009-08-25T00:04:00.003-05:00

Mr. B started first grade today. No shyness. No apprehension. Confident and happy, despite the metal mouth! He only started to cry once: when I told him it was too hot to "stay and play" after school. (But, I quickly changed his tune when I mentioned I picked up some stuff at Home Depot today.) I'm proud of my brave boy! He's growing up!

Punky Girls and Silly Boys

2009-08-22T21:03:00.002-05:00

The girls were digging around their dress-up basket and found these at the bottom. They wore them most of the day on Friday, including a good hour in the front yard. Subtle, aren't they.

And what do you do while wearing pink hair?

Play with Play Doh, of course! (Mr. B wanted to "sneak" into several of my pictures, silly boy!)

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We took Mr. J for an upper GI this week. He has a hernia and we wanted to make sure it's not interfering in any way with his lungs (think reflux and aspiration). I had three of the other five kids with us (two were with grandma), so I had to wait with them while Nurse K took him back for the procedure. Was Mr. J scared? Worried? Stressed? Take a look and tell me what you think:

According to Nurse K, he laughed the entire time. Thought the whole thing was hilarious. Now that's a silly boy!

He's only six!

2009-08-18T21:41:00.002-05:00

Mr. B saw the orthodontist today. That's right. He's six and in need of an orthodontist due to a severe overbite. Originally, he was supposed to have a butterfly device on the roof of his mouth and would need to wear some sort of head gear at night. But, back in June he had the frenulum under his tongue clipped (along with the removal of his tonsils and adenoids) at the request of the orthodontist. Apparently, being "tongue tied" can effect your teeth. There was some improvement in the alignment after only six weeks or so. On to Plan B.

I haven't decided whether Plan B is better or not. I guess there's no head gear, so that's good. What is Plan B? Braces. On his baby teeth. So aside from two permanent molars, all of his upper teeth (his baby teeth!!) are covered in braces. HE'S ONLY SIX! AND he has to wear what is essentially a mouth guard over his lower teeth at all times. He's only allowed to take it off to clean it. He has to eat with it and sleep with it.

Though not thrilled, Mr. B is handling it like a trooper. He's been brushing his teeth three times a day and is taking the food restrictions to heart, even when I give him permission to "bend" the rules.

The good news is that the treatment should be complete in nine months. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I tried to get him smile for a picture when we got home, but this was I got:

I told him to give me a "quick smile". He did. Except that it was too quick. I missed it.

Missed it again.

Sensing he was not going to smile for more than a split second, I then asked him to growl. You can see some of his braces. The guard over his lower teeth is visible, but since it's clear it's hard to see.

One more growl. My little metal mouth.

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I actually had two comments on my last post. It's a record! Not really, but that's pretty good for me. And "Mary" requested the recipe for the Porcupine Meatballs. :) Of course, when I picked the cookbook up, I realized it was a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, not a Betty Crocker one like I posted. Ooops! I tried to find the recipe on the BHG site with no luck. So here it is from the classic red plaid cookbook (I couldn't find the year mine was from, but it says "Updated for the '90s" on the back):

Porcupine Meatballs

1 beaten egg
1 10 3/4-ounce can condensed tomato soup
1/4 cup long grain rice
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed

Combine eff, 1/4 cup of the soup, uncooked rice, onion powder, and pepper. Add beef; mix well. Shape into 20 meatballs. Place in a large skillet. Mix the remaining soup with Worcestershire sauce, oregano, and 1/2 cup water; pour over meatballs. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer, stirring often, about 20 minutes or till no pink remains in meat and rice is tender. Skim fat. Pass Parmesan cheese, if desired. Serves 4 or 5.

* I used 85% lean beef and did not need to skim fat. I also never stirred the meatballs will cooking (totally did not see that part until right now) with no ill effects. :)

It doesn't take much

2009-08-15T23:20:00.005-05:00

That's right. It doesn't take much...to make me happy! Last Saturday, I took the crew to Target (have I ever confessed my absolute love of Target?) and found the cutest plates on clearance!! They used to be $2.99 each but were marked down to $1.48. I bought five: three pink and two blue. What makes them so great? They are sectioned. When I bought them, I just thought it would be a fun alternative to the massive amounts of paper plates I go through (bad mommy, I know, but I'm working on it), but as I started to use them, my love grew. Not only are they a great way to control portions (either too much or too little), but it makes the dinner look so pretty!

Here's a picture of what I whipped up for dinner tonight--porcupine meatballs (gotta love the ole ~~Betty Crocker~~ (oops!) Better Homes and Gardens cookbook), salad, and garlic bread. Nothing stellar. But when I plated it up (yep, I plate their food--much easier with this many), it looked so nice!

That's Parmesan cheese in the section on the right--have to fill all the sections, you know, or someone in the peanut gallery would complain. Any guesses on what part of the meal the kids had the hardest time finishing? The bread. Go figure. Beautiful bread from Whole Foods. Which was probably the problem--it had a great chewy crust. I'm still in the process of convincing the kids that you can actually EAT crust. What's cool, though, is that my kids actually like salad so I load them up with things like carrots, cabbage, celery, onion, radishes, and tomatoes. The kids especially liked the tomatoes as they were from our tomato plant!

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In other news:

I ran seven miles (that's right, I said, "SEVEN MILES") this morning, having never run more than five. I even finished with a little sprint. Not bad! Not a great pace, but I finished! Yea me! In two weeks, I'll be running NINE! YIKES!

And finally, here's a picture of Mr. J. He had a sleep study Thursday night (though, sleep didn't seem like a priority for either the staff or Mr. J) and was hooked up to a ton of sensors.

How are you supposed to sleep with all of that stuck to your head?!! My "favorite" part? Having them come in the room at 5 am to disconnect him and kick us out. Sooo not right.

It's Official

2009-08-12T22:46:00.004-05:00

Well I did it--I officially signed up for a half-marathon in December! AAAARGH!! My husband has nicknamed me psycho-runner as I made him run with me in Galveston--I HAD to get my training runs in!! :) Training is actually in full swing and I'm running four times a week. The group does long runs on Saturdays, and this Saturday will be a true test: 7 miles. I've never run much farther than 5, so this could be interesting. We did speed work tonight. Half mile sprints! Four of them!! Tough, but I actually got faster each time. It's crazy what I'm able to do. Last year this time, I was at the beginning of my weight loss journey and starting to think about exercise. Now, I'm a...well...psycho-runner!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news...

Mr. J had two appointments on Tuesday at two different hospitals. And I took EVERYBODY! Lots of fun (said with only a little sarcasm). The kids did remarkably and were treated to a little Steak 'N Shake for lunch between appointments. Nothing major to report--just routine Neurology and ENT appointments. Tomorrow, Mr. J has a sleep study: we get to spend the night in the hospital with Mr. J hooked up to a plethora of monitors while I act as nurse administering his breathing treatments, meds, and food. Not anticipating much sleep. Mr. J will get to sleep all night with his tracheostomy tube capped. If the tests come back good, we will be one step closer to getting rid of the trache! I'm cautiously optimistic. Trache removal will be mixed blessing: Mr. J will be able to participate in many more things (think swimming) but will most likely lose some nursing hours. But, my little man continues to amaze me and we will continue to follow his lead and see where he takes us!

Here's some pictures of the kids on our 6 hour appointment adventure:

The whole group enthralled by "Clifford" while I was checking out after appointment #1.

Mr. B hyper after 1 1/2 junior shakes at Steak 'N Shake.

Miss L (hiding) and Miss M.

Miss E and Mr. C, who spent most of the day on a food strike, only eating apples or applesauce.

Mr. J thought Steak 'N Shake was the perfect place for a nap...so he promptly fell asleep.

The kidlets all playing on the faux carousel after appointment #2.

Too short

2009-08-07T21:51:00.004-05:00

We are now home. And it seems like we arrived at the beach yesterday. Our time flew by. Isn't that how it always is on vacation?

We went to the beach every day (twice the first day) and the kids had so much fun. Mr. B and Miss M loved riding waves on the boogie board. All of them loved to dig in the sand, pour wet sand on their legs, and sit in the water letting the waves splash them.

Yesterday, my sister and her family left for home in the morning. So rather than two trips to the beach (our original plan), we ate an early lunch and decided on a longer afternoon on the shore. Of course, this meant we should have re-applied the sunscreen while we were there! Unfortunately, Mr. C, who hadn't been feeling well, fell asleep on me while I was sitting in a chair in the water. He had on a rash guard, so I just made sure he was shaded from the sun using my hat and arms. I had my husband put another layer of sunscreen on the faces of the kids, but not their bodies. He applied more sunscreen to himself. But I didn't make him spray me for fear of waking up a sleeping Mr. C. MISTAKE! My legs and arms are so red and sore! Not a terrible sunburn, but bad enough. Miss M has a pink face and pink legs, as well. Everyone else fared pretty good, except for a small strip across Mr. C's lower back: apparently his shirt rose up a little exposing his skin (that I hadn't put sunscreen on as he was wearing his rash guard). I really HATE that we made it this far with no sunburn (well, except for my husband, but that's a different story) only to screw it up on our last day! I'm well aware of the long term risks sunburns impose and I don't like them. Grrrr!! I'm just glad they weren't worse.

Anyway, here's a family picture my brother-in-law took Wednesday afternoon. All we were missing was Mr. J! Maybe one day, he'll not only be free of his trach, but also tolerant of long car rides so he can join us.

Thursday, before we packed it in for good, I had my husband take a picture of just me and the kids. I have a similar one from last year (which I posted, too!). It came out cute, but you can definitely tell that Mr. C was not feeling good. Poor baby!

August 2009

August 2008

Yes, those are the same swim suits on the girls. Size 2T and they still fit!

Wild, Wild Life

2009-08-04T23:41:00.003-05:00

While at the beach this morning, some boys next to us pulled their trap in to find two crabs inside. When they set them free, I quickly called the kids over to see one of the little guys up close and personal.

Lucky crab.

The kids staring at the crab. Miss E was so excited that it didn't "pinch" her. Mr. C was in the water, desperate to get a closer look.

This afternoon, we took a ferry boat ride (FREE!) and we got to see several dolphins. I think I was more thrilled than the kids. Great day for wildlife! :)

Here are just a few more pictures of our beach fun.

Mr. B throwing a "sandball".

Mr. C trying to tell me his hand was dirty. What you don't see is me pointing to the infinite amount of water behind him in which to wash his hand. ;)

Miss L thrilled to have found the Dora doll at the bottom of the toy basket.

Daddy's creation. The kids love seeing him build!

We have arrived!

2009-08-01T21:33:00.002-05:00

We have officially started our annual beach vacation in Galveston, TX. It's a family affair: my parents rent the house and prepare breakfasts, my sister and her husband deal with lunch, and my family is on for dinners. It's a relaxing week full of sea and sand!

Mr. B enjoying the ocean with his boogie board.

Miss E and Miss L running away from the waves.

Daddy and Miss M walking out so they could jump over the waves.

Miss L playing in the sand.

Sadly, though, there are lots of reminders of the devastation Hurricane Ike left less than a year ago. We are on the west side of the island, which was spared the brunt of it's force. Tomorrow, we will get to see more of the east side which was hit much harder.

Just some of the damage we could see from our "spot" on the beach.

Hot days, cool fun

2009-07-31T22:13:00.002-05:00

Fun in the summer!

Miss M enjoying an ice cream cone.

Playing in the backyard pool.

Movie Night! The kids get dinner in their PJs while watching a movie.

Movie of choice? The hills are alive...

Committed

2009-07-27T22:55:00.005-05:00

I've committed. That's right. It's over now, I've signed on the dotted line, the check is in the mail.

It was time to sign up for another series with my running group and I found myself with a decision to make: continue with "finding my pace" or challenge myself to "run my race". I've been finding my pace now for a while, so I chose the latter. So what's my race, you may ask? Well, I'm going to run a local half-marathon in December. That's 13.1 miles!! I perused the training regimen my coach prepared and, well, HOLY COW!! I'll be running a lot in the next 4.5 months. I figure I'll just show up to run and see what happens!

Maybe I should be committed...

My kids are so cool!

2009-07-22T22:12:00.004-05:00

I took the crew with me on Tuesday to Mr. J's doctor's appointment. It is usually a very long appointment and we can sometimes be there for four hours! [The appointment was with his pulmonologist and it's in a clinic setting so they do all the vitals and x-rays first, then you sit and wait for the doctor and his team to come around, which can take a while since the doctor usually has rounds at a different hospital.] But, I didn't want to bug my mom (who would have gladly babysat) so I packed a few things (ha!) and brought them along.

The first thing I did, was hold off feeding them lunch (I'm mean like that) so that I could feed them there. That kept them busy for over 30 minutes! First, they had to eat their sandwiches (PBJ-yum!), then I brought out the strawberries (and, btw, they devoured two containers within minutes), then the watermelon, and finally the Sun Chips. Lunch lasts a lot longer when it's served in "courses". And the whole time they're eating, they're watching PBS. Our local station has kids' programming on all day. YAY!

The "big" kids: watching TV, eating chips, and playing with their toys. Nurse K's feet are in the corner.

After lunch, they watched TV and played with the toys that they brought (well, except Miss L who missed that memo). When they got restless, I pulled out crayons and paper. Mr. C has been really into Thomas the Train (as is his big brother Mr. B), so I packed some small Thomas toys to play with. It was so cute! He drives them along and makes woooo-woooo-woooo noises. Loud, but cute! ;)

Mr. C in Mr. J's chair. He sat there for the longest time, just watching the TV, snacking, and playing with his Thomas the Train. He did extraordinarily well considering the appointment fell smack dab in the middle of nap time.

Luckily, the doctor et al came in as the interest in coloring was waning. They were all shocked to see the whole crew there! They had no idea until they pulled back the curtain. That's right--the only thing separating us from the rest of the clinic was a curtain! My kids are so cool! Of course, Mr. C started pitching a fit right about then so what did I do? Pulled out the dessert course--lollipops all around!

I'm truly blessed with well-behaved children. For the most part, they do so well out in public. I can take them to dinner by myself. I can take them two states away by myself. My kids are cool.

*********But, they are still kids. Just today, while at the swimming pool, the girls were a whiny mess! "I want out!" "I'm tired." "I want to lay down." Whine, whine, whine!! Not much else can really get on my nerves so quickly as whining!!*************

15 years!

2009-07-18T23:23:00.003-05:00

Thursday was my wedding anniversary. 15 years ago, two very young, just-graduated-from-college, crazy people decided it would be a good idea to get married, despite having no jobs, and no prospects, for that matter. Yet here we are, 8 kids and 15 years later, still going strong. Not bad! Later this year, my husband's parents will celebrate their 40th anniversary and my parents will celebrate 38 years of marriage. And both my husband and I have a set of grandparents who were married for well over 50 years. So some very high standards have been set! :)

To celebrate, we went out Friday to a local chef-fy (it's a word!) type place for yummy, expensive food and drinks. It was sooo good! Tomato salad, prawns, beef medallions, upside-down blueberry cake---mmmm! And don't forget the Cosmo, wine, and spiked coffee! We love to drop a small fortune on a great meal. It's a good thing we only go out like this twice a year (Valentine's and anniversary), or we'd truly be in the poor house. But, we don't ever buy presents for each other; we gave up on that long ago. So this was our present. And it was DELICIOUS!

And now to reminisce:

Our engagement party, July 1993. Oh, the innocence! To be 21 again...

Wedded bliss then...

...and 15 years later. Though my husband claims the last five years count double! ;)

******I just noticed that my hair is the same as it was when I was 21!! Well, except for the color and all the grays! I take solace in the fact that my dress is 6 sizes smaller now. I may be getting older, but I can go down fighting!******

Home Again

2009-07-14T21:51:00.010-05:00

Well, we made it home!

We had a great time at the family reunion on Saturday. I saw lots of relatives that I haven't seen in years. And many of them met my kids for the first time. Here what we were up to:

Games!

Merry-Go-Round! Only one kid bit the dust (Miss L) and Mr. C never really got that you had to hold on and sit down.

Teeter Totter! We couldn't quite convince the girls that they needed to ask for help on and off. No one was injured, though. :)

Cupcakes! Grandma needed to be hosed off after this!

Crafts! The all got to decorate visors and design their own puzzle.

We also swam at the nearby pool where Mr. B went off the diving board for the first time!! Go B! No pictures as I didn't remember I brought my camera with me until we were leaving. :(

After lunch at my grandmother's house Sunday, we headed home. We didn't get out of there until 2! But, my kids rock!! They were so good on the drive home. I got a few pictures of what Mr. C did during the long car ride.

Sleep.

Look out the window: cows!

Eat--mmmmm...chicken nuggets. It was Mr. C's first time with nuggets; he ate them all as well as the bag of apples! I think my days of cutting up food are numbered!!

The cookie dessert that came with the kids' meals on Friday. Those cookies were HUGE! They were half sugar cookie and half chocolate chip.

Watching movies. Note the cookie crumbs.

Playing games.

We didn't get home until about 10:30pm! But, again, my kids were troopers. Plus, I got a bonus nap out of the girls the next day! :) All in all, a great vacation.

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As I couldn't get the slide show of the zoo working, it occurred to me that the slide show I posted of the kids swimming in the lake probably didn't go through either. Sure enough. So here's the slide show of their fun in the lake:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And here's one of us at the zoo:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Lions and Tigers and Bears

2009-07-10T22:23:00.006-05:00

Another busy day! First, here are the kids when they woke up this morning:

Mr. B and Miss L shared a bed...and Mr. B did nothing but fuss at Miss L about the covers! Ugh! It prompted Mr. B to uninvite her to stay with him at his great grandmother's house tonight. He's been talking for MONTHS about them sharing a room there this summer. Grrr!

Miss E and Miss M shared, too.

That's Mr. C's pack-n-play around the corner. Of course it's hard to see around the big honking TV!

After we got up and dressed, we headed downstairs for the free continental breakfast (rather lame, but free), then off we went to the zoo. It was a small zoo, but very well maintained and quite pretty. The kids had a good time. We ate lunch there and surprisingly, they didn't offer kids' meals. The hot dogs and burgers were huge!! I wish the lady, who could clearly see the size/ages of my kids when I ordered, had given me a heads up. I hate wasting food! Oh well...

After the zoo, we rode on the mini train around the park then played in AnimaLand. This playground has been here forever! I played on it as a little girl when we visited my grandparents. I loved it then and my kids love it now. Unfortunately, just as we made our way to another playground (there are TONS at Gage Park), the weather didn't cooperate. The rain, though not heavy, came our way. Just enough to spoil our fun. We headed back to the hotel to play a few board games that I brought along.

I was also hoping Mr. C would nap a little. Who was I kidding? Of course, on our way to meet my parents and grandmother for dinner at 5:30, he fell asleep. I let him sleep a little more in my arms, but woke him up after we ordered. Surprisingly, he was in a good mood after his little siesta. We ended the evening at my grandma's house with some banana pudding--YUM!

So I'm a little lonely here tonight as I'm short one kid: Mr. B spent the night (without his Miss L) at his great grandmother's, where my parents are also staying. He was so excited about it! We'll meet up with him and tons of other relatives tomorrow!

I had a slide show for you all but I'm having techinal difficulties. Grrrr. I'll post it when I can figure it all out!

Road Trip

2009-07-09T22:32:00.005-05:00

Well, I did it.

Packed the five kids up (Mr. J stayed home with his nurses) and hit the highway. By.My.Self. My husband has a business trip on Sunday and has to work Saturday, so he couldn't join us.

We travelled about 4 hours Wednesday and stayed the night in a 2-bedroom cabin at a state park. It was right on a lake. Pretty nice, as far as cabins in state parks go. As soon as we arrived, we changed into our swimsuits and headed to the swim beach.

The kids had a blast! Miss E was the only one who didn't get completely wet. And the weather couldn't have been better. It rained for the last two hours of our journey, but when we arrived, it was pleasant and sunny! I've posted a slide show of their fun. I'll point out these two things. First, Miss L is not wearing a swimsuit similar to her sisters. Why? Because, although she had a swimsuit at the cabin and said she was going to change, she apparently lost track, and only put on her cover-up. When I went to put her float on lakeside, she only had underwear on. So, I had Mr. C donate his swim shirt to the cause and she swam in a make shift suit of undies and a size 2T shirt that sadly fit her perfectly. Second, the kids were fascinated with rocks! Big, little, flat, round, you name it. They also loved that they could hurl the rocks without getting into too much trouble ("Don't throw them towards people!).

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

After about an hour, we headed back to the cabin to eat. I dumped quick-light charcoal in the fire pit and quickly (relatively) grilled up some hot dogs. While they ate, I cut up watermelon. The kids love watermelon! Then it was s'mores for dessert. Yum!

Miss M posing with her s'more.

Miss L roasting her marshmallow.

Group shot: I love how Miss M has her legs crossed! Miss Priss!

In the morning, we headed out for a walk on the paved nature trail.

All the pony tails were just a-swinging!

Mr. C rode in the backpack for about 90% of the walk and then my shoulders just couldn't take it anymore! He's heavy!

Group shot. Har har.

My little loonie toons. They were enthralled with all the informational signs--they stopped at every one!

Mr. C enjoying some time out of the backpack.

We had a really nice time during our brief visit. Mr. B announced that it was the "funnest place he had ever been to".

After the nature walk, we were back on the road again to our final destination: Topeka! That's right folks: capital of Kansas and childhood home of my father. We are here to attend a family reunion. Many of my father's relatives have never met the last 5 members of my family as the last time we were here, Mr. B wasn't even two. It will be nice for the girls and Mr. C to meet their extended family.

But the reunion isn't until Saturday, so tomorrow we are going to the zoo before we meet up with my parents who arrive tomorrow evening. Mr. B, who went to the reunion last year with my parents, is going to give us the grand tour of the zoo being the only one of us whose been there before. He's very excited. He LOVES maps. He brought his zoo map home with him last year and spent days (weeks?) recounting what he saw. Should be fun! ;)

Americana

2009-07-05T22:01:00.009-05:00

We had a wonderful, all-American, 4th of July. We started off at a neighborhood parade. We have good friends along the route who share not only their lawn, but also their driveway making it really easy to bring Mr. J along! The kids love this parade. It's nothing fancy, but full-on patriotic. Of course, the kids are just their for the candy. :)

Group shot: Miss E managed to block out Mr. J and Nurse K was included, too!

Miss L and her kitty.

Mr. J had a good time.

Mr. B was surly until the parade, and candy catching, began.

Miss M.

Mr. C just plopped down with his sisters waiting for the parade to start--CUTE!

Miss E in tears...there's always tears at some point with this many!

Miss E and Miss L checking out the candy collection.

Miss M showing off her stash of candy.

After the parade, we headed home so the kids could rest and nap. I had lots of baking to do. Friday night, I made a cake for the Cake Wheel for the Knights of Columbus (the 4th is a big fundraiser for them), a peach/blueberry pie, and the custard for homemade ice cream. So, "all" I had left to do was make the key lime pie and churn the ice cream. Not too bad!

In the afternoon, we headed to my aunt and uncle's house for swimming and dinner. The kids had a ton of fun, but no pictures from me! Too busy keeping track of the kids as my husband had to work. Others took some, so I'm hoping to get copies soon. Suffice it to say, the kids had a blast swimming and ate like little pigs at dinner. They were worn out!! We headed home around 8 so I could give Mr. J his breathing treatments (we were nurse-less as of 7) and head for fireworks!

Luckily, there's a country club nearby and you can see their fireworks show from the library lawn just two blocks from our house. So, we walked there. Well, Mr. J got a ride in his chair and Mr. C ended up in a backpack. Mr. J had never been before! Although super tired, the kids had a great time watching the show.

Finally, here's little video of the fireworks. At the very beginning, you can hear Mr. C saying "bang, bang!". His speech is really coming along since his surgery! YAY!

It's all over now...

2009-07-02T22:02:00.004-05:00

Mr. C discovered the big slide at the pool tonight. Daddy took him down. He immediately said, "Mo" which for him means "more" (all of his ear problems have delayed his speech; he can say the first part of many words, though). He went down several times on Daddy's lap, but soon was insisting on doing it by himself, displaying an independent personality trait much like big sister, Miss M.

So, Daddy let him go by himself, leaving me to do the catching. He LOVED it. "Mo!" The first few times down, he'd lose his balance at the end and roll on his side or belly, but he soon got the hang of it and was staying in a sitting position the whole time. He really liked watching Daddy come down the slide after him. Too cute. Of course, from then on he just wanted to go down the slide over and over and over again. "Mo! Mo!"

It'll be rough on me next time I go to the pool as Daddy won't be there. I'm going to have to figure out how to both let him go by himself and catch him.

Now if only Miss L would enjoy the slide. She's gone down twice this year and hated every moment. Did I mention she was the only girl to go down the slide by herself last year? She loved it. Now she loves jumping in off the side.

I'm having such a great time swimming with them this year. Mr B is swimming pretty good and the girls can get around independently with just vests (well, they're like vests) on. And the girls are really little fish this year. Jumping in, sliding, swimming with their heads under the water, wanting to be thrown and flipped--just having FUN!

Of course, I can't wait for the day when they can all swim on their own while I sit on my lounge chair, margarita in hand, reading. Ahhhh....

Here's picture of the pool we go to. The slide is off to the right: pretty big. I really love the covered baby pool, but we aren't using it that much this year!

My Litte Artist

2009-06-29T20:21:00.003-05:00

Mr. C was walking around with his paper and crayon. A BLACK crayon. He'd walk around some, then stop and scribble. Walk, stop, scribble. I was sitting on the couch reading a magazine, taking a much needed break (except when someone "needed" something, which was every 2 minutes!). The other kids were watching yet another movie (Mr. B is still recovering from his tonsillectomy and not allowed out of the house).

After a while, I could hear that Mr. C had wandered into the foyer. He was knocking on the front door. I was thinking how cute that was until I remembered -- the last time I saw him, he was holding a BLACK crayon! I jumped up and ran to the front door. I was too late. Mr. C had left his mark all over it!

ARGH!! I reminded him that he was to draw on PAPER then grabbed my magic eraser (whoever invented those things deserves a medal) and scrubbed the door. Surprisingly, most of it came off!

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BONUS PIC

Yesterday, the upstairs AC unit stopped working, leaving the temperature in the kids' rooms at 90 degrees. HOT! Too hot to sleep. So, we gave the kids our room and my husband and I took the futon in the office. We put the girls sideways across the bed, Mr. B took a kid's inflatable bed, and Mr. C slept in the pack-n-play. When I went to get them up this morning, this is how the girls looked:

It reminded me of when they used to share a crib when they first came home. Precious girls!

And then there was one...

2009-06-26T22:24:00.003-05:00

...one set of tonsils, that is. Mr. C is now the only kid in the house with tonsils. And there are no kids with adenoids. And three of the six have had their tongues clipped!

Mr. B and Mr. C did really well with their surgeries today. They both came out of the anesthesia well and seem to be tolerating the pain well. I'm proud of my brave little men!

Mr. B and his bear on the way to the surgery center.

Mr. C and his puppy on the way to the surgery center.

Mr. B and Mr. C watching "Milo and Otis" in pre-op.

Mr. B feeling the effects of the "happy juice" (versed).

Home again! Watching movies and eating fudgsicles.

We had a really busy day yesterday...busy having FUN! Kind of a last hoorah before our big surgery day. Here's a slide show of our outings:

Ear tubes and tonsils and adenoids, Oh my!

2009-06-26T00:18:00.002-05:00

Please keep my little guys in your prayers. Mr. C is having his ear tubes replaced and his adenoids removed in the hopes that the tubes last a little longer this time. And Mr. B is having his tonsils and adenoids removed as well as having his tongue clipped. Though this is not our first rodeo so to speak (think surgeries #25 and 26! eeek!), it's still very hard to have your kids anesthetized and be in pain.

I'm really most worried about Mr. B. - this will be his first surgery. So far, most people have told me that at his age (6), he'll recover quickly. If any of you have some advice on how to comfort him and help in his recovery, I'm open to it!! Comment away! :)

Summertime Fun

2009-06-24T22:50:00.002-05:00

We've had a very busy June so far. What have we been up to? Lots of fun summertime stuff!

Playing in the backyard pool:

Eating fresh corn on the cob:

Ice cream cones:

Playing in water fountains:

We've also been swimming, to the splash park, and attended evening concerts at the Arboretum. We've been staying up late (well, relatively) and sleeping in (again, it's all relative). My husband and I raced in a 5K (it was HOT and HUMID) and Mr. B and I saw the musical "The Wizard of Oz". Mr. B also attended a week long day camp (the girls get their turn in July). It's been such a fun summer so far and I hope I'm creating fun memories for the kids. :)

My latest project

2009-06-19T23:58:00.003-05:00

I was put in charge of making the dessert (imagine that!) for tomorrow's Sip 'n See in honor of my 2-month-old nephew. (A Sip 'n' See is basically a baby shower thrown after the baby is born; you go to the new mom's house, sip a drink, and see the baby.) Well, I decided to make petit fours. Never made them before...it was fun! And for the first time in a long time I made the cake from scratch, too. I think they came out very pretty.

I originally meant to do blue lettering on the white cakes, but screwed up. Oh well.

The chocolate glaze is very tasty, but I thinned it out a little too much and only hardens when refrigerated. It was my FIRST attempt so I'm cutting myself some slack. :)

Mr. C's Cake

2009-06-13T14:26:00.002-05:00

My in-laws read my blog, saw my lost camera cord dilemma, and e-mailed me some pictures of Mr. C's cake. So now I can share! :)

The crocodile (alligator?) came out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

My big two-year-old!

Where has the time gone??

2009-06-12T22:14:00.002-05:00

I had no idea it had been this long since my last post!! Argh!!

Getting Mr. J settled back at home after his hospital visit was an ordeal. In my quest to get him out of the hospital quickly, I did not read over the orders he was sent home with carefully. The thing said "Resume home orders" then went on to list all his medicines, many of them wrong! My nurses can't legally give him medicines without an order. So I had to make many phone calls to get that straightened out, plus a few more to get some of his extra breathing treatments and medicines reduced, then stopped. There's just one more medicine I haven't fixed yet; turning into more of a project than I anticipated.

Also, this past weekend, we celebrated Mr. C's 2nd birthday!! I can't believe my baby is so big! We had a family party at the house. We ate yummy barbecue and I made him a crocodile cupcake cake. It was so cute! Where are the pictures, you ask? Well, I can't find the cord that connects my camera to the computer. It got misplaced somewhere between Mr. J's hospital room and the house.

I'm not happy about it at all. I was going to drag the kids to Target on Thursday to buy a new one, but it stormed all night Wednesday and all day Thursday. The storms were so bad, that our power got knocked out Thursday morning about 9:15 am and did not get turned back on until almost 4:30 pm today!! We ended up spending the day at my parents' house (thanks, mom and dad!) today partly to avoid the heat but mostly because most of Mr. J's medical equipment needed recharging! The batteries can only last so long. I felt so bad for his nurse Thursday night for trying to function with only candlelight and then for having to entertain herself with only her cell phone. No TV. No reading. Poor lady!

Our neighbor's dead tree that WAS behind their garage at the alley fell over as well and landed on our power line in our backyard. I called repeatedly, but either ended up in an automated system or spoke to someone who was less than sympathetic. The tree remained there through today with the threat of more storms! It was only a matter of time until the lines broke under the weight of the tree, so my dad came over and got it off the lines for us while I was bathing and bedding the kids. I never even saw him do it! Thanks, dad!! (My husband was away on business today: a one-day trip for some sort of meeting which just meant he had to get up at 4 am and won't get home until very late tonight...on a Friday!!)

So, now I'm hoping life just slows down some, but I know it probably won't. I promise, I will try to get some pictures up soon!!

He's Home!!

2009-06-03T22:44:00.002-05:00

Mr. J arrived back at the house yesterday afternoon. He came home on increased breathing treatments and oxygen. He settled right in and was soooo happy to see his nurses. He slept very lightly for the first couple of hours as if he was just making sure he was staying put and there wouldn't be an onslaught of strangers in and out all night. He finally gave in to the sleep though and by morning was weaned off his oxygen. He spent most of the day with the cap on his trache as if he had never been sick! It's so nice to have him home, so nice not to be running back and forth from the hospital, and... Well, I'm just exhausted and glad to be sleeping at home. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support.

If you've ever had a child in the hospital while others are at home, you will understand what I have gone through these last several days. It really IS impossible to be in two places at once. As I felt my place was with Mr. J, I have to thank my parents for holding down the fort that first week. They also sat with Mr. J a few times at the hospital. Over the weekend, I had help from my aunt and uncle. As of Monday my in-laws, who where scheduled to arrive Thursday for Mr. C's birthday but moved their trip up, took over at the house. It's really been a family effort. And then there's Mr. J's home day nurse who filled in at the hospital when I had to come home to be with the other kids. It was such a comfort to know she was with him. We are blessed with an army of family and friends!!

Still here

2009-05-31T23:50:00.003-05:00

Mr. J is still in the hospital. As of Friday, he was stable enough to move out of the ICU and onto the pulmonary floor. He scared us some in the ICU, but rallied like he always does. :) My family and friends have rallied around us helping me here at the hospital (as I REFUSE to leave him alone while he's on the floor) and at home with the other kids. My poor mom has had the brunt of the kid load and told me on Friday that she has no idea how people her age have young children. She said she was exhausted after leaving each day! I said, "Now you understand why I never have the energy after the kids are in bed to do the housework! I'm drained!"

Speaking of drained: I'm so ready for him to be home. I'm back and forth from this hospital so much each day. Worried about Mr. J when I'm not here and worried about his siblings when I am. How did I do this four years ago?? But for the grace of God...

I brought the kids up to visit him this weekend and I think Mr. J enjoyed it: he fell asleep today while they were here. Ahhhh...the chaos of home! :)

I'm going to ask for your continued prayers and positive thoughts for Mr. J--he could sure use them!

Mr. J

2009-05-25T23:03:00.002-05:00

Please keep Mr. J in your prayers. He was admitted today to the ICU for respiratory distress. It's been a tough weekend for him and a rough day. He's doing somewhat better tonight and I'm optimistic he'll be moved to the floor tomorrow or Wednesday. I'll have to do some begging after that to get him home. ;)

Thanks!

I love my...

2009-05-23T20:00:00.000-05:00

PICNICS!

The kids begged me last weekend to go to a certain local park, so Monday, after we picked Mr. B up from school, we headed to the park. The kids played, ate, and played some more. Perfect weather! They all had a good time. :)

Our first dinner together

2009-05-21T23:56:00.003-05:00

Sunday evening, after walking around a neighborhood music festival, we loaded in the van and headed to a local Mexican restaurant to celebrate my birthday (albeit belated). What made the evening even more special is that it was the first time we went out to dinner with the whole gang, no help, no nurse. It was so nice! The weather was gorgeous, so we opted to eat outside on the patio. And, of course, I was a dork and took a picture. :)

Starting with Mr. J and going clockwise: Mr. J, Miss L, Dad, Mr. B, Miss M, Miss E, and Mr. C.

Bonus pic!

Mr. J at the festival holding his siblings stuff while they jumped in the bounce house. He has been so good lately and really seems to enjoy getting out of the house and hanging out with the family. :)

Best seats in the house

2009-05-16T21:44:00.001-05:00

A couple weeks ago, Mr. J got a special delivery: a new wheelchair!! Yea!!!! We are SO very excited by this as his old wheelchair was a piece of junk not designed for a child with his severe limitations. His new chair is a Zippie, it's black, and has his name embroidered on the seat. Too cool. What I like best, besides the fact that it actually fits him, are the head pieces that hold his head centered rather than letting it fall to the side (Mr. J's natural reflex). He actually needs a few more pieces for his head, but those are on order. Here's a pic of my little man chillin' in his new ride:

I also got my boy a big ole bean bag. Also black. Also embroidered with his name. What's nice about a bean bag is that it's very supportive and I can adjust it to sit him in a variety of positions. His siblings also love the chair. Last week Miss L took a nap in it:

Sunday, his sisters and Mr. C decided to join him on his new throne. At one point, Mr. C even sat on his big brother's lap. Mr. J LOVED all the attention!

Mother's Day

2009-05-15T21:27:00.001-05:00

Mother's Day came and went in my house. It started out not much different than any other day. I still had to get all the kids ready for church, feed them, take care of all Mr. J's needs (no nurse on Sunday), etc. But, there was plenty of fun stuff, too.

We went to my mom's house for brunch including a birthday cake for me! And, of course, there were also presents. :) Since the kids were still in their church clothes, I wanted to get a group picture. My brother-in-law volunteered to take a family picture. :) Here's the best of the many shots he took (special thanks to my BIL for the tweeking!). He took lots of other great shots, so I'm including some bonus pics, too.

The whole crew: Miss E, me, Mr. J, Mr. B, Miss M, Mr. C, Daddy, and Miss L.

Miss M and her new cousin.

Mr. C--too cute!

Later Sunday evening, my husband and I went to see one of our all time favorite musicals: RENT! I love, love, love Rent. What made it even sweeter, was that the main two characters, Roger and Mark, were performed by the original Broadway actors, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp (who were also in the movie version). We went with another couple and sat in the center 10 rows from the stage!! It was AWESOME! My favorite scene is La Vie Boheme. (I hesitate to include it here due to some, shall we say, "adult" themes.) Of course, seeing it on video is not nearly the same as seeing it live 10 ROWS AWAY!! I will share with you Seasons of Love, which opens the movie version. It's a beautiful song!! Ignore Roger's (Adam Pascal) hair: I don't know why he had such bad hair in the movie version. Much better blond and spiky! :)

Mini Picassos

2009-05-14T21:16:00.000-05:00

Saturday afternoon, I put the kids out on the back deck with paper, crayons, and, despite some hesitation, markers (WASHABLE, of course!). I wanted them to draw pictures as Mother's Day presents for their grandmas and aunts. They gladly agreed as they absolutely love to draw! Even Mr. C. I tried to keep Mr. C from the markers, but he's determined to do what the big kids are doing, so it didn't take long for me to cave. At least we were outside! My little artists worked hard creating one-of-a-kind artwork for their family. Too cute!

Mr. J didn't get to color, but I had to include him in the collage. One of these days, I might let him draw, though. He has some control of one of his legs and can activate toys with his knee. I'm going to have to get creative in how he will hold the crayon... :)

I love my...

2009-05-13T20:57:00.000-05:00

MELON!

My kids absolutely love to eat fruit. After picking Mr. B up from school last week, I cut up a honeydew for snack. The five of them managed quickly to devour it.

Mr. C enjoying his snack.

Mr. B ~~hamming~~ dewing it up!

Saturday evening, after a stellar dinner of summer sausage and mozzarella cheese (which followed the even better lunch of What-a-burgers and fries--yum!), I cut up half of one of those smallish seedless watermelons for the kids. Less than five minutes later I hear, "More watermelon!" Luckily I had another whole one. They proceeded to eat half of that! But you won't hear me complaining! I love that my kids love fruit (and veggies, too!).

Mr. B.

Miss M.

Miss E.

Miss L.

Mr. C.

More Running!

2009-05-12T20:48:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning I ran my second 5K. Despite the cooler temperatures (think low 70's), the humidity was very high. I struggled with the run. I'd like to completely blame the humidity, but my diet the day before was less than stellar. I let myself eat whatever I wanted on Friday since it was my birthday (37, thankyouverymuch). My stomach felt like it was full of lead during the run, which couldn't have helped. During the last mile, I had to stop several times to walk. Despite that, I still came in faster than my last race! My pace was 10:38 a mile, so I can only imagine what pace I was running for the first two miles. That probably also had something to do with me running out of steam! Oh well.

Here's a picture of me crossing the finish line:

In hind sight, the hat was a dumb idea. I was thinking it would keep any rain off my face, but it only served to trap the heat. Lesson learned.

Carnival

2009-05-11T20:18:00.005-05:00

Sorry for the lapse in posting! Busy doesn't even seem enough to describe last week! I'm going to be better this week, though, so watch out! :)

Friday was Mr. B's school carnival, the big fundraiser for the PTA. The kids had a great time. Lots of food, games, and play time. I even "won" something in the silent auction! What I'll remember most is how much Mr. B has changed in a year. Most of the shyness has gone away. He actually ventured from my side this year with a stack of tickets all his own and played games, ran around with his friends, bought food, and just enjoyed some independence. Utterly amazing. I'm having a hard time grasping that he'll be in first grade in just a few months!! The boy is READING! What a difference a year makes. If I ever had a doubt about choosing public school for my son, it is no longer there. I'm thrilled that he is turning into a confident, brave, intelligent, and handsome boy. Proud Mama here! :)

Here's some highlights from the evening:

The kids watching a police officer and his K9 partner. The police and fire departments were there with demos and materials for the kids. They really liked getting to go inside the fire engine!

Miss L taking a turn on the motorcycle. Don't you love her red hair?

Group shot: Mr. C was D.O.N.E. being in the stroller!

This is the kids racing at one of the carnival games. I just thought it was too funny!

Yep, my kid said that

2009-05-05T23:57:00.002-05:00

I just had to share a couple of "gems" from my children this week.

Saturday
We were watching the Kentucky Derby at the bar where my husband works (I was picking up Mr. C and Mr. B: two birthday parties and no nurse for Mr. J; we were juggling). As the horses were led to the track, I read the kids their names. (Personally, I wanted Chocolate Candy to win just because I loved the name.) Towards the end, there was a horse name Flying Private (I think - memory's not so good).

Me: Isn't that a funny name?

Mr. B: Yeah. Maybe someone touched his privates and he just ran away really fast.
(Said with much animation and complete with hand gestures.)

Wednesday (Today!)
I am on a kick of making homemade bread. Today I made honey wheat bread I intend to use for sandwiches. The dough had risen, so I called the girls over to help me punch it down. After it sank down into the bowl, one of the girls remarked, "Now it looks like mommy's belly." *sigh*

She's got a ticket to dance!

2009-05-01T22:15:00.002-05:00

Thursday marked the start of the summer concert series at the arboretum. We love this concert series! The season kicked off with a Beatles cover band and they were awesome! We stayed up way too late, especially for a school night, but we all had fun hanging out on the lawn, eating yummy food, and listening to great music. Unfortunately, we won't be able to go to as many this year due to school and money. :( But we'll make the most of the ones we go to!

Here's a slide show of our fun and below that is a video of Miss L and Miss E groovin' to the music.

More Easter

2009-04-28T23:01:00.004-05:00

Yep. I know Easter was weeks ago. But I just got around to making a slide show of the second half of our day! Things have been crazy-busy around here. I don't think I've gotten more than 5 1/2 hours of sleep for more than a week. I'm so EXHAUSTED!

Easter Sunday afternoon, we headed over to my parents house for our annual "picnic". Back in the day, we'd have an actual picnic at a nearby park. Unfortunately, about a million other people discovered our good spot so several years ago we just moved the party to my parent's backyard. Totally casual: hot dogs, potato salad, etc. And of course, another Easter Egg Hunt!! We had a really good time and the weather cleared up nicely from the rain earlier in the day. Enjoy the slide show!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

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I just wanted to share that this past Saturday I made Lifetime in Weight Watchers! I'm so excited. If you had told me last April that I was going to be a size 6 in a year, I'd would have thought you were completely off your rocker! What a difference a year makes!!

Exercise Routine

2009-04-24T20:54:00.002-05:00

I had a comment a while back asking about my exercise routine and how I get it done with so many little ones. I'm a little giddy that someone asked about my routine! And I actually have a routine! Go figure. Well, sort of.

The most routine thing about my routine is the running group I joined. And I love that the group actually takes in middle-aged moms of eight who hate to run and turns them into runners. I was actually called a "veteran" at our run Wednesday night, where I ran a mile in less than 10 minutes for the first time!! Crazy! Now if only I could keep that up for more than a mile...

So, anyway... The group meets three times a week. I can only go Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. My husband works the other evening they meet. Wednesdays used to involve a run on a nice, relatively flat, trail but with the warmer weather, said trail is packed! So, for the new series we are alternating track work and hill work. On Saturdays, we typically run the trails around a local lake. I have to take a moment here to thank my husband for taking over at home Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings!! He's the best! What about the cost, you ask? Well, I find it reasonably priced at $60 for a series, which lasts about three months. I believe it's more if you're training for a half or full marathon, but I don't think I'll have to worry about that for a while. The only other big expense involved was the shoes. Running is all about the shoes.

Since I miss the Monday workout, I have to squeeze in a run on my own Monday or Tuesday so I get a total of three runs each week. Mondays are tough as that's my grocery shopping day and I'm usually up late the night before working on my lists, clipping and organizing coupons, and making a meal plan. I prefer to run on my own, usually Tuesday mornings after my husband has taken Mr. B to school but before he has to take the girls to school. Though, sometimes I have to pop Mr. C in the stroller and drag him along while his sisters and Mr. B are in school. Nothing like a 30-lb toddler in a 30-lb jogging stroller to put a crimp in your pace! Since I've started running in January, I've only missed three runs on my own and one practice. Not bad! Having what is essentially an appointment with the training group really helps me.

Running only does so much. So to tone the rest without taking up too much time, I've been using the 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels. I'm still on Level 1. I tried Level 2. Once. It was tough. Maybe again if I ever have more than 20 square feet to workout in . The workout is less than 25 minutes, includes a warm-up, cool down stretches, and a fairly comprehensive workout. She does three cycles of strength (3 minutes), cardio (2 minutes), and abs (1 minute). I try to do this at least three times a week. Sometimes I'll workout before the kids are up for the day, but usually I do it while they are in the next room ~~plugged into the TV~~ playing nicely with their toys or at night when they are all in bed. It's particularly fun when Mr. C wanders in during the workout and gets underfoot while I'm doing jumping jacks or tries to sit on my stomach while I do sit-ups! :) The past two weeks I've been lax though. I let 9 days go by between workouts and I. AM. SORE! I won't be letting that happen again.

I do have a Wii Fit. I got it back in December. I really think it got the whole ball rolling. I need to get back to it. I love the daily body checks. The yoga stuff is good, too. My husband and I played some other game on it once, but haven't since. It was fun, but now we just sit in the office on our computers. I'm on Facebook and checking e-mails (and shopping) while he's over on FB playing Mafia Wars!!

There are other ways I get some fitness into my life. I love taking the kids to a place where walking is essential, like the zoo or the arboretum (or the State Fair!). I will also plop some in a stroller and walk them down to a nearby park just to get some walking in.

That's about it. Nothing too crazy. I just got to the point where I needed to make myself a priority. And the kids were at a point where it was possible.

First Ball Game

2009-04-20T20:31:00.003-05:00

On Sunday, we took ALL six kids to the ball park to see a major league baseball game. The kids had never been. I got tickets for all of us plus Mr. J's nurse, who was unable to join us. Mr. J ended up having to sit behind us in the wheelchair area leaving us two extra seats (I'm not sure why the guy on the phone sold me a seat for the "child in a wheelchair"--grrrr), but it was a nice buffer... and escape route.

The kids had a great time. They also ate like pigs! I brought water for them, but as soon as we got there, they were "hungry". And, YES, I fed them lunch before we left. My husband bought them peanuts first. After going through those before the first inning was over, they wanted something else. We held them off until the third inning when my husband bought them nachos. Those were devoured! It was if we had never fed them. A little while later, Mr. B says, "I want a hot dog." Soon, a trio of little girls were echoing the same thing so daddy bought them all hot dogs. Mr. J sat behind us snoozing. When we first got there, he was laughing! He loved all the music and clapping. But, he had very little sleep the night before (and consequently, so did I) so I guess he decided all that noise made for a perfect nap. The free gift at the game was a ball cap, so I put it on his head to block the sun. He did get a sunburn on part of his face (and I feel AWFUL) as I didn't take into account the setting sun. As he was sitting behind me, I couldn't see the other side of his face so couldn't see that the cap was no longer adequately covering him! Argh!

As we were leaving, a lady from the group sitting in our row came up to me and told me how well behaved my kids were adding, "And I don't really like kids." I thanked her and she again emphasized how good they all were. She also told me that Mr. C had wandered down to them while I took the girls to the bathroom and shared their nachos. I apologized but she said, "We loved it!" Leave it to Mr. C to make friends! I am so proud of my kids! But, although I think they were well behaved, I could see room for improvement. It just makes me wonder what these other kids are doing to make mine seem so stellar in comparison.

I remembered everything, even sunscreen (which I unfortunately didn't use), but forgot the camera! So, my cell phone had to suffice.

Mr. C was clapping and raising his arms in the air with the rest of the crowd as the were announcing the players.

Mr. B enjoying the game.

*********I also took a picture of Mr. J and one of the girls, but my stupid cell phone insists on resizing them before I could send them leaving them the size of a postage stamp!! I can't wait until I can get a new phone!! ***********

More Bath Antics

2009-04-15T22:57:00.003-05:00

I abandoned my family yet again this evening. Yesterday, I had a PTA meeting. I was home in time to help my husband finish up the bedtime stuff, but The Biggest Loser was on and it was the makeover episode. So, I hid out in the kitchen and watched my show, keeping an ear out for any yelling signalling that I might need to intervene. I didn't have to. :) Tonight was my running group (sprints - ick!), so I escaped again. If I had been home, I may of had to intervene. In addition to dealing with Miss L peeing on the floor and 6-year-old attitude from Mr. B, my husband walked into the bathroom to find this:

It's very reminiscent of this incident from last August. What can I say? He loves a bath! My husband earned bonus points for remembering to grab the camera so I'd have something fun to blog about tonight!

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I hope everyone had a blessed Easter. Despite the rain, we had a good day. I baked up a storm leading up to Sunday with some help from the kids. ;) Here's what I knocked out (I started Thursday evening): hot cross buns, sugar cookies, frosting, gluten-free brownies (from a mix--for Mr. J's nurse), and a yummy Strawberry-Rhubarb Trifle with Amaretto Custard which called for frozen pound cake but I, of course, had to make that, too. Oh, yeah, we also dyed some eggs!

Here's a picture of the girls and Mr. C "helping" me make the sugar cookie dough:

I later cut out egg shaped cookies from the dough which the kids helped me decorate. Saturday night, I attached the cookies to cupcakes (I froze the leftovers from the batch I made April Fool's Day) and used green tinted frosting for the grass. FYI: I'm not that creative. My inspiration is my beloved Hello, Cupcake! cookbook. :)

Here's the finished product:

I could kick myself for not taking a picture of the trifle. That was not only pretty, but was super delicious!!

And, finally, here's a slide show of our Easter morning. The kids had fun finding all the goodies the Easter bunny left them in their baskets as well as hunting eggs (inside this year due to the rain). I'm so mad that I didn't remember to take a group picture when they were all dressed up! I'll hopefully remember on Mother's Day.

I'm definitely wearing THAT again

2009-04-14T21:43:00.004-05:00

After I went for a run with Mr. C in tow (pushing a 30lb toddler really slows your pace), I quickly showered and threw on some khaki shorts and my Tide Loads of Hope shirt. Mr. C and I picked the girls up from school and headed to CVS to pick up some bargains. As I was checking out, the clerk asked, "Are they all the same age?". "Yes." Then she asks, "Are they yours?" "Yes." And here's the part I really like: she says, "But you're so skinny!" Hee hee! You can never hear that enough!

After CVS, we walked over to a KFC/Long John's combo place for some lunch. As I'm ordering, the clerk there asks, "Are they triplets?" "Yes." Then she asks, "Where did they all fit?" More smiles from me!! She continues to question me and I end up spilling that I have two more boys at home, the girls are really quads (okay, so not REALLY), and that I've lost almost 90lbs. And the whole time she's translating my answers into spanish for the staff. I have no idea what possesses me sometimes!

When I got dressed today, I thought the shorts hung too low on my waist letting too much of my saggy skin show through the shirt. But, I don't think that anymore. I'm definitely wearing that again!

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Yesterday, Miss E was playing nicely by herself in the backyard (of course, she was wearing her tutu with no pants since she PEED on them -- grrrr...). She comes running in and tells me to get my camera because she's found a lizard. I was busy doing dishes so I tried to put her off, but she was persistent so I apprehensively (not a big fan of lizards, especially of unknown size) grabbed my camera and followed. Sure enough, there was a cute (well, as far as lizards go) little green lizard sunbathing on our cast iron plant. So I snapped several shots of the little guy, wishing the whole time I had a much better camera. But, most of the shots came out okay. Here's the best of the bunch: