Adventures of the Little People

Baby boy fun!

2012-01-17T19:26:00.001-08:00

Thanks to a really awesome photographer (thanks Uncle Al) I ~~stole~~ borrowed these pics that were taken from my neice's baby shower. Jen, the mom to be, has decorated the little guy's bedroom in a monkey theme. We carried it over to the shower, adding a few more critters to make it a safari.The main goal was cheap,but cute! Aside from the awesome monkey & tree made from diapers and the food (lots of it of course) we kept the cost down by using a coordinating paper pack from Joann's. I used this event to justify my Cricut purchase, and I got good use out of it:)

Monkey and tree made from diapers. I think I was supposed to put it together but Sara did an awesome job:)
Thanks Sis!

Making good use of the scrapbooking papers

Aunt Sara made the cool monkey!

Our cupcake models...hoping to get a quick lick

Dollar store boxes filled with animal crackers...and a chance to use the Cricut

Still using the same paper....

Sister and hostess of the party

The mom-to-be adding up exactly how much this new bundle is gonna cost them!

Ok, I may have gone a little overboard. Look close, you can see the "L" on the rings. I just couldn't help myself.

Fill the piggy game-all guests added coins equal their ages

Congratulations! We can't wait for the new addition!

My Menu Board

2012-01-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

Perusing home dec blogs out there put me in a crafty mood. I have admired menu planner boards for a long time, but most of the projects out there are too complicated for my short attention span. I found one here at Ollibird that I thought I could work with. I of course could have made it easy and just used hers, but I recently broke down and bought a Cricut and am now obligated to use it! Hindsight I would have changed a couple of things (not in love with the border choice, and I probably could have matched borders up) but overall am a happy camper. Now I can just take a quick pic on the way to the grocery store and have my list already made out!

Thrift store frame...less that $2!

Lovin' my Cricut!

Laying out the board


Loving my handywork! (it looks wrinkled, but it was just the glare) I bought the dry erase markers have a magnet on the back. Hopefully I won't lose it!

Afternoon fun!

2012-01-07T12:40:00.001-08:00

Chore Paks

2012-01-06T15:46:00.001-08:00

Around our house the chores are hit or miss. Mostly it's because I am very forgetful (Ooh shiny syndrome) and once I have delegated the chores for the morning, I have a hard time remembering who and what have what going on. And in typical kid fashion, , no one bothers to rermind me what exactly they were supposed to do! While we enjoyed our hand chart, there are more chores for each kid than one hand can hold. Now, know that I don't come up with anything on my own, but thoroughly enjoy the search feature on my Swagbucks page. I came across these chore paks on another blog, and I made up these handy paks for the kids to wear (FYI- Garry doesn't wear his BUT it does help him to remember what to do!) in the morning when they get up. Although I still have to check up on them, I can see from what the current tag is to help them stay on track! Wanna know what the kids do in the morn?

Garry-

dressed

feed dog/medicine/spray medicine

wipe down toilets

sweep kitchen

make bed

Shelby

dressed/hair/teeth

put away pj's

wipe down sinks

sweep dining room

make bed

Bryce

dressed/hair/teeth

put away pj's

wash breakfast dishes

make bed

Aidan (pictures instead of words)

dressed/hair/teeth

put away pj's

move clothes from washer to dryer

make bed

We just changed out our paks for the new year. They will keep these chores for the next 6 months or so. Makes it easier to get into a routine when I don't change it but twice a year.Well worth the $5 spent in plastic holders! By the way, if you want to get the full experience of where it probably originated, you can read all about it in Terri Maxwell's-Managers of their Homes.

Attn: Secret birthday card person!

2011-12-27T08:44:00.001-08:00

On behalf of all the little people, thank you so much for the birthday cards! For the rest of ya: On Shelby's birthday a mysterious card arrived with no signature or return address, just a sticker where a name would be. It even had the correct birthday (8!). When Aidan's birthday rolled around, so did another card. Bryce was at grandma's when his card came so I set his aside so he could open it when he came back. And there it sat, forgotten until today, when cleaning up after Christmas, I found his card. He was very excited; we read the alligator jokes 3 times:) thank you again, they were a big hit with all the little people!!!

Look who stopped by on his way around the world!

2011-12-27T07:37:00.001-08:00

A look thru the years

2011-12-17T10:06:00.000-08:00

Make your own digital slideshow

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-29T04:54:00.001-08:00

Can you believe I forgot to get pics? I did get the kids working on the turkey craft, I suppose it will have to do:( Great company, yummy food. What more could one be thankful for?!

Legoland Fun!

2011-11-22T10:06:00.001-08:00

Two years ago for Garry's 13th birthday we seriously contemplated flying out to California to take him to Legoland. Nuts, I know! At the very same time mom found out that Legoland was coming to Sunny Florida. So we cancelled our trip and spent plenty of money at Fun spot instead!
At long last the park opened this October. With Sara and Gage we headed to Legoland
with our fellow homeschoolers. Beautiful day and short lines made for lots of fun! Aidan rode a wooden coaster for the first time -"it was a teeny tiny bit scary!" Most of the rides were kid controlled. Lol, after watching Bryce drive the Lego car we're thankful he won't be getting his license for many years!!

Pumpkins

2011-10-25T12:30:00.001-07:00

I really don't like the whole process of the fall pumpkin carving. I have no recollection of doing it as a kid, so I don't have any pleasant memories associated with them. So to me, cleaning out the pumpkin is tedious, slimy work. However, Shelby has been asking me to purchase one for days. I might have slid thru the season without one, but lucky for her we needed a vegetable to cut open for science. Two birds, one stone, right? Science and fun (at least for Shelby and Bryce, Garry and Aidan chose not to help)! I even gave them the little sawblade and let them do it all by theirselves. Only one Bandaid was used in the project...
Ps...it's a cat!

Our little Cubbie!

2011-10-16T17:35:00.001-07:00

The littlest little boy is officially an Awana Cubbie. He was so excited to be with the big kids this year...yeah Aidan! Sorry to the teacher who has 9 little boys between the ages of 4-7. He is one brave soul:)

Can you hear the theme music?

2011-10-08T15:08:00.001-07:00

Nor too shabby for a last minute costume decision for a costume party:) Indy, watch out for those snakes!!

From the mouth of Aidan.....

2011-10-08T08:52:00.001-07:00

Mom! I need a hairbrella so my spiky hair don't melt!

Last but not least, happy 7th birthday Bryce!

2011-10-03T06:57:00.001-07:00

Until this year, being the last birthday of the year has distressed Bryce. He has always been careful to explain to Aidan that although his birthday comes after Aidan's he is STILL older. This year has come with the understanding that the months are not as important of the year. So this year he has enjoyed celebrating each birthday before his and happily counting down to his own...the last in-house party of the year:)
Most of the posts about my "monkey" has been about his very boyness (do girls really strip all their clothes and hang from the fence just cause they can??); but along with that quirky smile comes a very sweet spirit. He is very sensitive to the feelings of those around him, especially children younger than him. If there is a baby/toddler around you can be sure that he is there, making them laugh; keeping them occupied with his antics. When he was 5 we took them to see "Meet the Robinsons" at the theater. I'll never forget looking over to see him crying and when I asked him what was wrong he whispered "he misses her very much" (the old man in the movie is reminiscing over his beloved wife that passed away). I said all this to get to this: because of his birthday I let all sleep in until they rolled out of bed. Bryce was up first. I fixed him cereal and gave him a little present to start the day. No sooner had he had opened it, then Shelby walked in with a sad look on her face. When I asked her what was wrong she said she missed watching Bryce open his present. Bryce, not wanting to see his sis upset (this, of course does not apply 24/7!) says quickly " Shelby! I'm will wrap it back up and we can open it together!" to which they did -thank goodness for moments like these to remind me that he's not trouble all the time!!!! Happy 7th birthday Monkey, we love you:)

Teenage mutant ninja turtles!

2011-10-01T12:28:00.001-07:00

Meet our turtles! Fun at a friends birthday celebration...Aidan wore his "costume" all day; even in the pool:)

And so ends our journey:)

2011-09-24T07:10:00.001-07:00

Our trip is now a pleasant memory. Some last pics before we move on! Taking the ferry- Civil war sites, Raleigh Natural Science (we just missed the taste testing of bugs, bummer!). Time to unpack!

Out and about Williamsburg

2011-09-20T04:56:00.001-07:00

More pics from trip. We never made it to Colonial Williamsburg, but we did spend a day each at Jamestown and Yorktown. Both locations had classes offered to homeschoolers the week we were there. The littler ones learned about Indian and colonial life as a child, and the eldest learned about the life of a private in the army.

Yummy!

2011-09-19T16:32:00.000-07:00

Shelby and I went shopping today and when we got home this was in the oven. Compliments to Chef Garry. Life is good:)

Attn:fellow bloggers

2011-09-19T06:30:00.001-07:00

For those of you who blog but have not done so recently because you CANNOT put your I-phone down: there's an app for that! Check out the app store for the big orange B(logger)! Happy blogging!

Williamsburg fun!

2011-09-19T05:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the multiple posts-in the ride home I discovered how to blog and post pics from my phone at same time, but I can only do 5 pics at a time!

Sand art fun at the resort

Look at me!

Candle fun at Yankee Candle

Don't forget swimming (2 little heads way off in the distance!)

Day 2

2011-09-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

Our adventure continued slowly to the north. The original plan was to go up to DC to see some of the sights, but with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 events happening, we decided last minute it might be too crazy up there so instead we just meandered up toward toward Williamsburg. As all know, our kids have an obsession for trains and I have an obsession for paying little as possible for our adventures. We found a museum in Suffolk, Va that met all of our requirements. This cute little restored train depot was filled with all kinds of goodies. The volunteers were full of info, and all were excited to board the caboose!

Williamsburg or bust!

2011-09-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

One the best perks in homeschooling is we get to go traveling anytime. And when it's off season, prices are less and the crowds are smaller-better for us all around:) This year we decided to venture into American history in and around Williamsburg, VA. Of course we needed plenty of stops along the way (driving of course) to stretch little legs. Our initial plan was to stop in St Augustine our first day, but it took us a LONG time just to get out of town and on the road. So, our first day we drove straight thru to Florence, SC. The next morning we got up and headed into Fayetteville, NC to the Airborne & Special Forces Museum. Great boy museum!

Happy birthday to Aidan!

2011-09-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

Since we are on the subject of birthdays, we can't miss our littlest little. Today is Aidan's 4th birthday. We celebrated with breakfast courtesy of Comfort Inn in Florence, SC. We are winding down from a fun week in Williamsburg. So last nite me and the hunny headed out at 10pm in search of a Target so the boy could have something to open (it's not that I forgot his birthday, it's cause the car was too full to pack gifts...yeah, I'm gonna go with that!). Anyway, a big happy 4th birthday goes out to Aidan. We love you!

Shelby's birthday take 2

2011-09-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Peanut!

2011-09-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here we are-mid September. Where did the time go! We have already celebrated Shelby's 8th birthday (according to her she is almost 9 now ) and tomorrow we celebrate Aidan's number 4. It will be a small celebration as we are still on the road heading home (that's another post!). It was a fun day for her; at her request we headed down to Gma and Papa's for a pool party. Fun friends came to celebrate with us and Aunt Sara made a awesome cake!

Pool time at papa's!

2011-08-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

Train day!

2011-07-31T18:01:00.001-07:00

If you couldn't tell, we have a love for trains in our house. While some kids pretend to be superheros, ours chug around the house pretending to be Thomas, Percy and all the crew from Thomas the Train. Our living room is usually covered in tracks, and the oldest reads everything he can get his hands on whether it be model trains or trains in history. So this weekend we headed to the Lake Mary Historical Museum for a special model train collection. Although it was a small museum, they made sure there was something for everyone to do. From model train setups (we found Garry under the exibit with the model maker examining the wiring layout), to coloring pages and crafts for the kids, each kid had a grand time. My favorite part? Free! Can't beat that for a fun day out!

Say Moo!

2011-07-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! Silly costumes and free lunches. Does it get any better?!

He won a bike!

2011-07-21T20:05:00.001-07:00

Ok, so this is old news. He won it back in June at church. But anyway....Congratulations, you no longer have to ride the pink bike!

Bible bee!

2011-07-21T12:26:00.001-07:00

Our first year participating in the Bible Bee has gotten off to a slow start. Actually, it has not moved much at all. Until this week. Realizing that this week marks the 1/2 point, we (I) decided it was time to kick it in gear. So, the above picture shows how my entire dining room looks. However, we are progressing! In order to participate, each contestant must memorize verses (Shelby about 200, Garry 400) and also be familiar enough with 1 Peter to be able to answer questions. IF we continue the pace, we just might make it! We'll keep you posted!

Sing with me! (B-I-N-G-O)

2011-07-06T02:39:00.000-07:00

Oh the summer's going fast-

and we've been very busy!

yeah-on cool field trips-

yeah-camp'n in the stix-

yeah-we're play'n with friends

Oh, we've had so much fun!

Happy Easter 2011

2011-04-29T22:58:00.001-07:00

Fun at Laport Farms! Easter egg hunt, horses, face painting and plenty of bunnies and chicks to hold and mix in some favorite family to play. What more could we ask?

Gage made the paper! Photo by Sam Wolfe-TC Palm Newspaper

Our own little bunnies:)

Aren't we cute!
Shelby's to-do list: Ride the horses, CHECK!

Say cheese (or carrots?!)

What boy can resist the mechanical bull?

I got eggs! And CANDY!

Can I take it home??!!! (NO!)

Bryce's "tennis balls with heads"

One last pet before we head home-Bye!

Happy Birthday (yet again!)

2011-03-19T11:04:00.001-07:00

Whoops....according to Jen, I forgot to finish my post. That was three weeks ago. Sorry, my bad. Since then we have celebrated another birthday! Garry turned a big one-four and Bert, well...he's a a bit older than that:)
Both were fairly quiet. If all 6 of us together can be considered quiet.
We spent a comical afternoon for Garry's birthday at the local putt-putt. Although chaotic (3 of our golfers preferred to play simultaneously), it was great fun. By about the 13th hole, Aidan designated himself the "official ball putter in the hole" guy. Totally technical term, of course. With help from dad he got all the balls in for the rest of us. However, the 18th hole was not a fun one as all the golf balls disappeared into golf ball heaven. There were a few tears and bemoaning over the lost balls, but quickly turned to smiles at the mention of food...cake and icecream! For Bert's we did nothing, but I think he preferred it that way. Oh, wait..I made him wash the van. OOPS. We did take him out for a steak dinner and the kids excitedly announced to the server about the birthday. Although Bert probably could have done without it, the kids enjoyed the entire restaurant stopping and singing exclusively to us. I do want to send a special thanks to Kevin and Sara for celebrating Bert's birthday on the boat--WITHOUT US! So not sorry you got sunburned. LOL!

Um...looks like dad is "helping"
Taking a much needed break on the 12th hole

Family love

Go Aidan!

Trying to teach Bryce how not to use club as a batHappy birthday!

WOOHOO!

2011-03-13T21:19:00.001-07:00

Oh my gosh!!! Can you hear me screaming?! I am so excited! I was surfing (wasting time) online when I stumbled on the fact that I can now blog from my handy dandy phone!!! That by no means obligates me to post more often, but at least I have the option!!! Woohoo!

I'm a Disney Princess (5ker)

2011-03-01T15:22:00.000-08:00

My favorite friend announced that she wanted her and I to participate in a 5k. I had kicked the idea around in the past, so I agreed to join her. We decided on the Disney Princess 5k (love all things Disney!) her choice, because of the medal bling at the end (turned out to be plastic from china bling, but she was still happy). So I loaded the Get Running app on my phone and headed out. I tried, I really did. However, by the 5th week I realized running was NOT for me. I know there are people that enjoy it, kudos to them. But me? I'd rather be biking...or lying on the couch eating my bonbons. I called her up and informed her I was not running-only walking (I think she was secretly happy).
Race day: we head down early to Epcot Saturday morning, revved up and ready. The race according to the info given was to be done in about 55 min or so; no problem for us-we had been walking on a regular basis and had plenty of spare time. Ha! A word to the wise, if you are in it for the time, do NOT go to Disney-unless you are running the half marathon (which is nuts!). We began in the rear of the line, as all the walkers do. There were so many people there it took us some time just to get up to the start line. From there it was a beautiful walk-meandering. The crowds were so thick that it was difficult move too fast without tripping over someone or a stroller. And to top it all off, Disney had Characters out for photo shots! So while we did not stop to meet and greet the characters, we did stop and take lots of pics. So what did I learn? That next time I will just pay the extra money (not that much more!) and actually spend the day at Disney. Same crowds, just next time I will actually be able to eat the french pastries in the World Showcase and not just smell them as we pass!

Really, the amount of pictures we took were ridiculous! Doesn't it look like we are just sightseeing?!?

The flower festival was in full bloom-the sculptures are awesome! See Mickey and Minnie in the background? Pluto is there too and his kite is caught in the tree.Almost finished! PS-can you see our time...so far 1hr 2 min! HAHA!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

2011-02-24T06:50:00.000-08:00

My niece comes over every week to play with her cousins. She loves to craft, so we made this
Hearts Butterfly Craft in honor of Valentine's day. SMILES!

Welcome to Bikini Bottom!

2011-02-09T23:00:00.000-08:00

Going thru my list of unpublished posts that Iforgot I started, I came across this one from the Bryce and his best friend's birthday last Oct. In my busyness of getting the party together, I missed taking pictures of most everything. Here's what I did get!

Welcome!

YUM! Squidward dogs, Gary's snack mix, Spongebob's Seaweed salad-we forgot the hamburger for the Crabby patties-no kid noticed:)"who lives in a pineapple under the sea?!"

Birthday cakes for EACH kid courtesy of Bryce's best friend's mom-she made 6 cakes:)LOL, Aidan got Mr. Crabs--wonder why?!?The main cake for the rest of the guests
THe Birthday boys-Bryce and his 2nd best friend (TJ still is number 1!)

Local sightseeing

2011-02-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

In an effort to have fun, spend less and learn a little local history we have been scouring all the local free museums within an hour or so of us. Last month we visited Fort Christmas. Don't follow your GPS-it was wrong! By the time we found it we only had an hour and a half to play which was not enough time to explore it all. On select weekends they offer re-enactments and festivals. Kids had fun exploring the fort, and although not all are old enough to read about the history about the fort (did you know the fort was only in use for 3 months?) we (the hunny, Garry and I) found it quite interesting. It is on our list to visit again during a festival.

There is a LOT to read! Not only is there info on the fort, there is history
on our local American IndansPrior to picture Aidan hollers "no picture, no picture!"We had an extra visitor with us, our very sweet nieceGarry of course, was counting the money-think he can use it to pay for more trains?!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

Happy new year! This was the first year my hunny has been home for New Years in about 8 yrs. Not wanting to go out, we decided to have a little in-house party. To make it fun (and hopefully less asking on when it will be midnight) I put together our countdown bags. Starting at 8pm the kids were able to open one bag. I included some things we had around the house and a couple of items from the dollar store. That way each hour was filled with an activity, keeping us busy until the very end. The kids had a great time and it helped us big folks stay awake (in the end Aidan missed the ball drop by about 15 min-he was out cold). I'm sure I have started something and will probably be expected to do the same next year:)

Game time, puzzle competition and singing karaoke was some of the fun that night. I actually over packed some of the bags and we barely had time to finish what was in them before the hour was up. Guess that was a good thing!Bryce making his bean noisemaker-gotta make lots of noise at midnight, right?Our first bag!
A serious game of chess. Garry likes playing against me because I don't know how to plan ahead (lol, it applies to all aspects of my life-the goodie bags were finished about 7pm-just in time!)

December 2010

2010-12-29T21:46:00.001-08:00

Wow, looking at these pictures make me realize why I was tired in December! Enjoy some pics from some our holiday fun! This post is long, sorry!My friend and I host an annual cookie party-kids go home on with a sugar rush,moms go home with some great cookies!The balloon lady was awesome! My partner in crime, I mean cookies:)

We dropped in on the Handel's Messiah presentation at the local theater....at least the first half. Although all kids did well, I decided not to press my luck and we left during intermission.

The bells found in the foyer during the intermission were a huge hit.
All the kids played a song, with a little help!

Love the Macy's parade balloons at Universal!

LOL-as I was going thru pictures for a photo book, I came across last years pictures at Universal. Same photo, younger kids-I think Garry was wearing the same jacket!

Why do the kids insist on riding the one ride that gets wet?

It was only 50 degrees that day!

Santa's helpers!

Gma and Papa provided the kids (us) with a barrel

train and bounce house. We had a blast!

Awe, aren't they cute?

Well, they were! Uncle Jim thought it great fun to turn off the air to the house!You know we had to get in and ride, right?!
It's all good.....Until it's time to get out!Uncle Jim decided to try a different method (Charmin would
have made the ride much better, though!)We had one minor injury attributed to the bounce house. Aidan came out of the bounce house holding his hand and crying. We bandaged it up, figuring he had sprained it, but the following day we decided to have it checked out. Thankfully it was not broken, it was something called Nursemaid's elbow. A quick turn from the Dr put it back in place and he was good to go. As you can see from the picture, he needed a little Grandma help opening his presents:)
It's Christmas eve. Who should show up at our door but Old St. Nick himself?
I got lousy pictures-sorry:( No visit is complete without a present!Couldn't get the dog to turn TOWARD the camera:)Merry Christmas!

Homemade Christmas

2010-12-27T20:17:00.001-08:00

Before I go any farther in my Christmas reminisce, I want to show you my exciting ( to me) Christmas project. Shelby has been asking for a kitchen to replace the one she has outgrown. Unfortunately, most play kitchens are designed for 3 year olds, and are much too short for the girl. After admiring all the kitchens on blogs (this being one of my favorites) I set out in search of my kitchen. Scouring craigslist for a couple of weeks, I couldn't find a center that worked with my budget. I decided that I could just use an old cabinet I had available and modify it a bit, when low and behold as heading to the grocery store, there was the very cabinet that I had been looking for sitting on the curb not 10 houses down! After asking the neighbor permission to take it, I zipped back home for some extra muscles, loaded her up and headed home. Gotta love free! So it sat in the kitchen as I worked on it for the next 2 weeks. This is last year I can work on a gift right in front of kids, but happily she never guessed what it was. Checking thru my pictures I am suprised that I didn't get a before picture, but it was a typical smallish entertainment center made of particle board. I had to do some tightening and gluing, but overall it was pretty sound. It was a huge hit, although in typical Shelby fashion, she asked for some "minor" adjustments. Lol, she is her grandmother's daughter!

The only modifications I did was remove the back board-it was falling off (she asked for it to be re-applied!),cut down one of the shelves to hold the microwave, removed the doors from the bottom and rehinge the one door to make it an oven. I primed it using Zinsser 1-2-3 so I didn't have to sand. The most expensive purchase was the spray paint -Rust-oleum Painter's Touch is my best crafting friend:) She did ask for the other door to be re-attached so" she wouldn't get confused when cooking!"

I had plans to go the the Goodwill Re-store for the faucet, but couldn't seem to get that direction. So I ended up with some plumbing from the big orange store. Faucet moves side to side, and the knobs turn. I didn't get a couple of things finished before Christmas, cutting out the sink was one of them. Since it was in the dining room, I didn't think I could convince Shelby that the hole in the center was for books. So that will get done this week:)We love Ikea! Curtain rod, dishes etc. came from there. I had the curtain material already on hand. . I did splurge on a personalized apron, but all in all I spent about $80 for everything used to create and accessorize the kitchen. The colors in the picture are a little off- inside the fridge area and under the sink are a bright green. It's a very colorful kitchen-I asked her when I started what color should I paint my new "bookshelf", so the color choices are all hers!Happy chef!

Now into December!

2010-12-27T19:51:00.000-08:00

Still trying to get pictures uploaded from December. I'm trying, Ma!
Our annual tradition for the past couple of years has been to cut down our tree at a local tree farm. The kids enjoy the time spent there as there is plenty to do besides cut trees. They added a zip line this year so the big boys took a quick trip down the line. Should I mention the a couple of trees got a special watering from several small boys?!

Really, he's having fun!

A trip in the reindeer always bring lots of smiles

Giddy up

On the hay ride out to the treesI guess Garry was getting out of line?!

Say Cheese!

Little voices

2010-12-23T07:41:00.000-08:00

The conversation at the breakfast table this morning-
Bryce: Was I born before Jesus?
Shelby: No Bryce, Jesus was born before you.
Bryce: How do you know?
Shelby: Because back then both boys and girls wore dresses, and you wear pants.
Bryce: Did they have underwear?
Shelby: I don't know. I think they had little pieces of cloths that they wore there, but sometimes they didn't wear underwear.
Bryce: They didn't wear any underwear!!!! (GIGGLE!!)

Here I am!

2010-12-21T19:25:00.001-08:00

Trying to catch up-let's start with Thanksgiving, shall we? Daddy was home today, yeah! We had pancakes out on the back porch (didn't want to mess the dining table, besides it was beautiful that day) and then the Grandparents and Great-Grand came over for lunch. Filling our tummies, we enjoyed the rest of the day laying around and playing games.

Fun thanksgiving craft from 4-H! (Jazz's name made it
on both kids crafts as something they were thankful for)Pancakes!
Breakfast on the porchDinner time!Cheese!

The boys and the dog

2010-11-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

Being a good pet owner requires lots of treats and goodies for the dog (at least that's what my hunny tells me-I think I'm being bamboozled!). So, of course we picked up a box of treats along with various other dog items when we brought him home. Bryce and Aidan love to give him treats. The other morning I noticed that the half full box of treats was empty. I asked the boys if they had given Jazz treats. Bryce replied " I only gave him 3, Aidan gave him the rest!" No wonder Jazz follows Aidan around!

Dog

2010-11-05T04:55:00.000-07:00

If you know me well, you understand I am not a dog person. I'm ok with them outside, but inside? Not really my cup of tea. My hunny, however grew up with them inside his entire life. Lately, there has been a dull roar in the house over wanting a pet. It could contribute to the oldest and dad volunteering at the local pet shelter? I dunno. Anyway, there is a large furry creature living now living in my home. How large you ask? A 7 yr old German Shepard that doesn't have to stretch much to see the counter tops. Yup, insane. However, for a dog, it's ok. He is well past those puppy habits, loves the kids, and he doesn't climb the stairs so we only have to keep up with him on the 1st floor. And although I have made it very clear, I'm pretty sure dog lips have touched mine-at least indirectly thru the kids (yuck!). The kids adore him, and my hunny? He is ecstatic. Meet Jazz---

As promised...

2010-10-12T18:06:00.001-07:00

Tada! Isn't she cute?!

Our school day

2010-10-11T12:25:00.001-07:00

Some days we are productive, some days; not so much! Today was a good day. Some of what happened was:
All about pears- I had some pears that were going bad. I know you are going to be surprised, but I couldn't find all that much about pears:) I did find this site - Usa Pe ars which, apparently they don't know what to say about pears either as the teacher's section just tells us to "come back soon!" They did, however have some fun sheets to color and fill out. We checked several different types of pears and where they grow at Facts about Pear Trees Needless to say, we won't be growing any here in the south!
And no study about food (at least in our house)would be complete without something yummy to eat. Spiced Pear Bread
In the end, our facination with the pear brought us to this conclusion....
1. Pears are yummy
2. We can't grow them here
3. The Asian pear is also known as and apple pear (which is a good thing because Aidan refused to believe it was a pear--"no, APPLE!")

But wait, that's not all!

We made our fire picture with marbles for our Little House on the Prairie lapbook**note to self** do NOT leave the marbles in a cup to be washed. They will be poured down the sink and you will have to dig them out of the disposal:(Shelby's rag rolling for our Little House experience. Update tomorrow!

Update on that tooth....and the other one

2010-10-08T23:26:00.000-07:00

The next day as we were heading out somewhere, I hear Bryce telling Shelby that the reason he lost the tooth and the one next to it was because he was hanging by a rope with his teeth. I asked him why he didn't mention that yesterday and he replied "I didn't feel like it!" I wonder why?!

Finally lost his first tooth!

2010-09-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

Bryce comes in today telling me his tooth was loose. I thought it might be a little loose as this was the first time he mentioned it...WRONG! He didn't want me to touch it so I used the same mommy words that all of us mommy's have used "let me check it out" (wink, wink)! One swipe with the paper towel and out it popped!He was not a happy camper here-I don't think he liked losing that tooth-Even though Shelby promised him the tooth fairy would come that nite!

Aidan and the lip gloss

2010-09-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

I'm just happy it's not red lipstick!

Latest sayings....

2010-08-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

Shelby-"Aidan was chasing me and he lost his contraction (traction) and fell on me!"

Bryce- at 9:30 last night after I got the bead he stuck up his nose out-"Remember when I put the TicTac up my nose?" If he remembered, why did he do it again??!

She's 7! (GOING ON 19!)

2010-08-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

We've been counting down the days. Or at least Shelby has. As I'm digging thru my super duper gift bag of 75% off Target toys, I realize there is only one present for the Peanut. Then I remembered, she wanted to get her ears pierced. So, after a breakfast of banana nut pancakes and sausage (Shelby's request), we borrowed Gpa's truck and headed out to the mall. And because his truck only holds 5-we made two trips. Which worked out well as I went ahead and picked up gift certificates and picked out her earrings. At dinner I gave her a bag with info about her ear piercing on the first stop on our shopping trip. When I purchased the gift certificates I had left a note at each store that the sales clerk gave her when we left explaining the next stop on the shopping route. She was one happy girl!

Thanks Mom, for passing on the last minute-good idea-stay up all night to work on it-gene:)
My hunny graciously stayed up with me til 2 so I could finish my banner:) Dear Santa, I need a Cricut Cutter; my hands hurt from using kid scissors!

We had bonus visitors for breakfast.

Cousin Sara even sang Happy Birthday to her (several times!)A Barbie cake~unfortunately had to be baked twice. I forgot to add baking soda the first time and it was very rubbery!
I won't win any awards, but she was happy:)
A nutritious dinner in the mallDo you see her sparkly ears????Thanks to brothers, Build-a-Bear was on the shopping route!Meet the newest member of the family "Hello Kitty" (it's a dog)Final stop: The movie theater to see Despicable Me (go see it-it was great!) Back home to open more presents (thanks Gma) and eat cake!

Could you spare a couple of minutes?

2010-08-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

After all, you are here. Must have LOTS of time to kill:) Anyway-if you have a moment and would like to check it out-it would be awesome!!

Surf on over to the Pepsi Good Idea and vote for our personal choice-TRC Ministries.

It's a family favorite and we would love to see them make one of the 2 who, if wins, will receive $$ to expand in what they do. In the past week, they have moved from 130 up to 74. We only have until the end of the month to move them up to the top. Take 2 seconds and vote-you can each day; and in doing so you can change someone's life for the better (come on-you don't want to feel guilty for not reaching out, now do you?!?) While you're at it, you have nine more votes for the day. Browse the site-make someone else's day too! http://www.refresheverything.com/trcministries

Ok-good job-you can pat yourself on the back for doing your good deed for the day. now on to the next...

I have a friend hosting her first giveaway at A Spiritual Thread Runs Through. It is a rather unusual giveaway-however, one that I think is pretty awesome. And although I've known her for several years, her new blog has opened a window into her life that I knew not before and I love to keep up on. Like the rest of you (hint, hint on those that are NOT updating regularly-you know who you are!) I love to peek into your windows without having to worry about the cops carting me off for being a Wee Willie Winkie:) So, you've already spent this much time aimlessly surfing, spend 5 more minutes and check her out-you might be pleasantly suprised.

Happy surfing!

Welcome to the first day of school

2010-08-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

Well, not for us. We took a break in June and came back in July. However, some of our favorite friends had their first day today. In honor of that, we (instead of school!) made these fun back-to-school baskets. And thanks to Aidan-no kid got left behind (he insisted on one for Josh-I wasn't thinking; he did start a new preschool!). A quick trip to the Dollar Tree-and off we went. The blue sky quickly turned to gray; and of course it was raining cats and dogs as we headed over to deliver our goodies. Still, it was great fun-and we can't wait to do it again for the next round of friends heading back to school next week.

Oh, the joys of homeschool-yes! we are still in our pj's at noon:)

I have no idea why, but Aidan grossly protested his picture being taken for the basket-this was the best of the 6 I took-if I hadn't asked for a pose he would have been all over it! Bryce was happy-I must have caught him between smiles-

A special thanks to Aunt Tanny-your goodie box from our trip to TX lives on!

Guess What I Am!

2010-08-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning game time fun!

Park day (with Gage)

2010-08-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Camera broke-put it away. Came across it today so I thought I'd see what was on it. Among several hundred pics were some from a somewhat recent (is June recent?) trip to Gma's. After a picnic with Auntie Becky, we headed to the park/splash park/beach for some good 'ole fun in the sun:)

It's a Boy Party!

2010-08-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

This week has been pretty laid back. Garry and Shelby are off to camp in Georgia (Shelby's first year!) so it's just been me and the boys. Several weeks ago when Bryce realized that both would be gone for the entire week, he got a little upset. We came up with a "boy party" idea which he has been excitedly counting down the days. Well, this morning was the last day before we head back up north, and I realized that today must be the BIG DAY! So, this morning we decorated and picked up Bryce's back up BFF-Jay Jay (TJ-wish you were here!). What else does a boy do at a boy party but play video games! I offered to set up a board game or something other-but Bryce just wanted to play the Wii. Yup, I probably ruined their little brains, but I let them play until they were tired of playing! And although Aidan and Gage were too little to play the games, they did enjoy the cupcakes!

No party is complete without decorations!Per Bryce: hot dogs, please!JayJay "this is the best boy party ever!"
(which is awesome until one realizes this was probably his first!)can you see their brains turning into mush?!?
Out of 12 cupcakes I think Aidan ate 5 (did I mention he also ate 3 hot dogs?)Blue icing...yummy!

Wordle

2010-08-04T07:08:00.001-07:00

Scouring the land of the blogs, I came across this cool little word site. Just enter some words, and voila- a cool printable page of your words. If you open into a new window (bottom left) you can customize by removing words, changing font, style and more. Here is one of my favorite scriptures: Psalm 112...

Click here for fun!

I am an Auntie again! (or so I've heard!)

2010-07-16T03:47:00.000-07:00

Dear newest niece or nephew,
I am so excited to hear of your arrival! You are coming into a great family, you will be well loved by all your cousins. And in spite of their failings to notify your favorite Aunt (just come visit, you will understand!) your mommy and daddy are great people and I know they will love you very much. We are praying for you every day, and cannot wait to bestow lots of kisses (sorry if you're a boy) and get the joy of baby shopping (Shelby's favorite color is purple and she likes to shop-which will be great if you are a girl), but no matter what know that you are loved even now.
So, grow healthy, and be ready-there are MANY of us-and we require a lot of amusement from you kids.
We love you, Aunt Kate, Uncle Bert and all the little people

Fun--ok, it's not

2010-07-16T02:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was rolling up the water hose so Garry could mow the grass, and I sprained my back. Poor Garry, I scared him when I fell to the ground and started crying. As he helped me it the house, I had to stop several times and reassure him that in spite of what it looked like, I was OK.
So, the rest of the eve (after hunny took me to doc to get some pain pills) was spent on the couch watching movies. Fun! And today-even though I can move around much better, will probably be much of the same, according to my loverly hunny (slave driver). I will say, he comes in pretty well in a pinch. I tried to help some around the house from my chair (not that easy, mind you) but he was very insistent he did NOT need my help, and of course he didn't:) So, I got to do what I do best; lay on the couch and eat my bonbons; actually I don't particularly care for bon-bons, but M&M's are yummy-try the pretzel ones! I guess Garry was right when he told the real estate lady visiting (several years ago when we had house on market) with a completely serious face - I'm pretty sure he was serious, that all I did was lay on the couch and he took care of the kids!

What to do with a broken crib?

2010-07-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

Our last little people outgrew his crib-which is a good thing, since the crib was broken by jumping beans (kids). It's been sitting in our garage now for months, with my hunny asking when could we put in out in the trash. Knowing I could reinvent it, I would not let it out of my sight on trash day. Today he put up my favorite part of the recycling:) My closet is just one of the many things getting a facelift. And since we have done nothing to it except paint it, I'm excited as this is a colorful and fun start. And although it's hard to tell in the picture, it's hot pink (thanks, Shelby!). What better way to hang some purses and whatnot. Now all I need is an appropriate saying to go above, any ideas? Although, when looking for something to hang up, several purses were missing....Shelby????!!!!

Other ways I'm recycling the crib?Using the crib's circular rails for Papa's camp roasting sticks (compliments of Pack o' fun)
As the base of my console table (still in the makin')
ribbon organizer--only an idea in my head...wonder if I can get it out!

Shelbyism #325

2010-06-27T08:10:00.001-07:00

While getting ready to go roller skating I put Shelby's hair in ponytails, mentioning she would look cute with her hair blowing behind her.
Shelby replies: "if only a mirror could follow me around the rink as I skated!"

Thanks, hon...

2010-06-27T06:09:00.001-07:00

For my birthday this year, my hunny bought me a netbook as the home laptop is usually in use for school. When he did this, he told my mom that I could "blog every day!" So, here I am, at moms, and she reminded me of my hunny's promise (hunny-gonna help me blog?). Well, I don't know if I can catch up on all that has happened around here, but I'll try:)
This week was one of 2 VBS's for Shelby and Bryce. We also took our neighbor's daughter, and another friends son JayJay (Bryce's backup when his favorite cousin isn't around). It was a cowboy theme, and the kids had a blast. Friday night was the big finale; they sang and signed to 5 songs they learned. Sorry I can't put up video (cord mia MIA in house) but know it was cute! One of the songs was about tumbleweeds, and it's obvious the boys knew not what tumbleweeds were, for when they sang the song they giggled as they sang "tumbleWii, tumbleWii's" (reference their favorite game system!)

Sunny Days

2010-05-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

It was yet another beautiful sunny day and we took advantage of it with some friends at the beach. Our white, a/c only bodies got burnt, even with the reapplied sunblock. Still it was a great day; Aidan really enjoyed jumping in the waves. Of course, when one goes up, the shorts fall down....

Oops...I missed my birthday post!

2010-05-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to me! Ok, so it was almost 3 weeks ago. However, judging by the amount of pictures still on my camera I have NOT yet blogged about, it has been a very busy couple of weeks! We got to spend the day at one on of my favorite places-Mickeyville! It was an pleasant, uneventful day. Getting there at 9am when the park opened (something we have never done before) we stayed almost to the very end (we opted to ride the monorail instead of watching fireworks) and as always, the little people had a great time.

Me and MonkeyHer first time on the Test Track

IBryce gave me this flower picked at the Epcot flower show. When I told him he shouldn't pick the flowers on display, he informed me that "you couldn't catch me in time!"

Fairies!

Wait, the weekend isn't over yet-it's baby boy's 1st birthday!

2010-05-25T16:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday went much smoother. Thanks to Karen and Mike (Gage's other grandparents) his party was all decorated by the time we got into Palm Coast. Although I'm not sure how they got all the stuff home (Papa traded the 2 rental vehicles in for 1 after the party) it was a great afternoon and all had a great time. Baby boy, you are now ONE! We hope you enjoy many more road trips with the little people!

It's the birthday boy!

Mommy made the cake!Daddy's sharing (awe)Aidan decided Gage was not moving fast enough!Party's over and Uncle Jim found him party favor to take home!

Road trip!

2010-05-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

When we saw that the Prairie Home Companion was coming to Atlanta, Sara and Mom and I were very excited. We have been listening to the show for over 25 years (I can't believe I can say that)and although we talked about flying up to Minnesota where he broadcasts from, it probably would have never happened. We are very sentimental toward the show; listening to Garrison Keillor's mid-western humor brings back many happy memories. The men sweetly agreed to go with us and tickets purchased, 11 of us were a go for a road trip (I only bought ten tickets- I didn't realize baby boy needed a ticket, so Aunt Connie and Uncle Kirk who lives in Atlanta agreed to baby-sit him while were at the show) and this is how it was supposed to go: (click to read)
See the nice outline (which, by the way, I left on the counter at home!)
The reality? Not quite per agenda. But if ya gotta road trip with people, these are the people to travel with!Yup, my hunny is in there too-only his blond hair made it into the shot. Total? 11 happy (mostly!) faces. (mom, papa, Sara, Kevin, baby boy, Me, hunny, Garry, Shelby, Bryce and Aidan).
Day one: The plan was to all go together in the big van. Mom calls me the morning of to ask if we can bring our own van up to Valdosta. Seems that the 12 passenger van holds just that, 12. No luggage, not much else. No problem, we load up our van and head that way. With the food, bedding and toys we had alot of stuff (not to mention Baby boy's birthday was Sun and I'm sure he might receive a toy or two). The rest of the gang drops off stuff in Palm Coast (for baby boy's 1st bday) and on to our way into Valdosta.We decided to rent a house there as the trip back south would not be so long and Al, Carol and their gang meet us in Valdosta and spent the night. Our rental home had 3 floors (way cool with 8 kids) and it was a sight to see all the bed rolls lined up across the floor at bedtime!
Day 2: It started well. We wanted to meet Connie and Kirk for a couple of hrs, have lunch and drop off baby boy before going to theater so planned to meet around 3 (show started at 5:45). About 30 miles from our destination, the van decides it no longer wants to keep going. Kevin found us a good spot in the middle of the median as we scrambled around for a solution. Every phone in use, we located a tow truck and taxis. One final call to Kenny (mom's wife-in-law's hubby) gave the big boys an idea on how to get the van running. Voila! It started moving again, we jumped in the van, and headed back down the road...at least for a half a mile. Van kaput. Kevin pulled off again, the boys got out the tools, and repeated. It worked again and we headed back down the road. Not sure how long it would last, we decided to pull off at the nearest exit, re-call the taxi/tow truck, regroup and decide what to do. By this time it was after 4. Here we are, stranded at a Mc D's (it DID have a great covered picnic area and playground for our wait) spitting out ideas on what to do. Finally we decided that we had come this far, we were going to the show, we could figure out the rest later. We called Connie and asked her to meet us down at the theater. The second big decision was what to bring with us and what to leave in the van (they can't start on it til Monday and we will be back in Fla by then, so whatever is in there will have to stay until the van comes back, who knows when). Papa went with the van-we were to pick him up on the way when the taxi showed up; the taxi arrives and it is NOT big enough to hold us all (are you really surprised?!) so we left Mom and Bert behind and another taxi is called for them. Zipping downtown we arrive about 5pm. I did a quick change of some of the kids clothes as they were covered in stains, (sorry for the strip show, Atlantians); located Connie and Kirk in the very busy downtown traffic, dropped off Baby boy, Papa pulls up in one taxi, Mom and Bert pull up in another, and we make it to our seats with time to spare as music starts to play! WooHoo!
If you think it ended there, haha!! After the show, Connie and Kirk reappeared with Baby boy in tow, Kirk took the boys off to the airport to find a car where they went to EVERY car rental place to locate a van and a car (with Memorial day coming up no rental company wanted their vehicles to go out of state)before locating one at the last available stand; Connie joined us girls as all the food was left in the big van-sure it will smell lovely by Monday-had a great meal at the Broadway Diner on Peachtree street (including ice cream compliments of the owner's wife for the kids), the taxi driver bringing us a bag we didn't even realize we left behind (containing all the cables for the phones/and the GPS) and of course, for the grand finale, stopping at a Wal-mart at 12:30 am somewhere between Atlanta and Valdosta for clothing and a quick bath in the sink when Aidan threw up all over himself.
Still, I would do it all over again if we had to. And I think most all that took that ride would agree. Everything and everyone was gracious; and we laughed almost the entire time in spite of it all.
Road trip, anybody???

Rental home in Valdostathe gang

Even Scarlett and Rhett were there to welcome us to our home
in Valdosta (Scarlett was rather snooty though)

Who can sit after Aidan's been around?

Favorite cousins!Boys and their computer timeBaby boy and Auntie Katie's peanut butter cookie

Yeah for Mickey D's (waiting)!
Waiting again!Still waiting (are you spotting the trend?)We made it!Bryce was not happy that we woke him up when the show was over!Sorry for the dark picture, couldn't find the camera (in Sara's diaper bag) and my phone camera didn't like the evening sun

The day isn't over yet:)

2010-05-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

Mom's day wasn't finished yet....Garry took me to Cold Stone Creamery for an after dinner treat! Thanks, Son:)oh yeah...we brought the rest of the bunch too!

Mother's day-Shelby singing

2010-05-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Mommies Day!

2010-05-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

Happy mom's day to all those moms. We've had a beautiful day so far, and I am so thankful for all my little people and all the chaos that comes with it:) Here's some of my little chicks and their goodies (technically Aidan wanted to give his flowers to dad) they gave to me! Shelby sang with her group (GAK -God's Anointed Children) at church. I had to laugh, she was so excited about being on stage, she forgot most of the time what the words were:) It's hard to see her, but she is about the 5/6th kid in from the left. Video above.

This is what my hunny was up to on Mother's Day

(just kidding-he shared one glass with me!)

Scratch and Sniff

2010-04-10T07:10:00.001-07:00

No, it's not Aidan's diaper:) Although once all the colors meld together it is a rather disgusting color..
It's playdough! Kool-aid play-dough to be exact. The house smells yummy..and since I realized exactly how much sugar goes into a gallon of the colorful drink, playdough is the only form of the stuff that usually enters our doors. This is a recipe that though we've made dozens of times, it's still a favorite.

Kool-Aid Playdough

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1 pkg unsweetened Kool-aid (just the dry koolaid, don't mix it into juice)
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cream of tarter

Directions: 1. In a bowl, mix flour, salt and kool-aid. 2. Stir in water and oil 3. Knead with hands for about 5 minutes. 4. Store in ziploc bag for up to 2 months. 5. Use like playdough. 6. Smells wonderful and takes on the color of the koolaid.

Garry is MIA in these photos. He spent last night at church at a lock in. He's catching up on his sleep as he went to bed about 4am and got back up at 6. However, judging by his 3 red fingernails (he was a bit irritated), I forgot to tell him NOT to go to sleep at all at the lock-in!!!
c

Christmas pics

2010-04-09T18:29:00.001-07:00

I found these tonight as I was going thru old pics on my external drive. I forgot we had taken them! Right at Christmas I had decided to have some pictures made of the entire family. The day of, we had a wardrobe malfunction (I forgot to wash someone's underwear--obviously wasn't Bryce; he would have gone without!) and we missed our appointment. Instead, we headed down to Crane's Roost Park for some pics. Not great, but better than nothing. Um...still haven't gotten that family shot yet!

Makin' bread

2010-04-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

I was at my favorite recycle shop and came across some canape bread forms. New, still in the package, a whopping $2 is all would be needed to take them home. Knowing that the reason they probably were in the store, still unopened, would be the same reason I had donated so much to Goodwill myself. Cute ideas, good intentions, but after about 4 years one realizes after having to move said purchase again for the 40th time (still in box, unopened) that they will NEVER actually make them. I debated whether or not this would be the case with me. I did a quick search on my handy phone and found it had gotten good reviews for ease of use (comes out of the pan). So, I purchased and brought home. Not wanting these to end back up at the store; unopened, I brought them out today to bake some bread. Note that if I did NOT have my handy Kitchen Aid my hunny gave me for Christmas, I would not even have thought twice about this. But with a switch of the knob, it mixes and kneads it all for me! I followed the recipe on back and and put them in the oven. Surprise! 2 out of 3 bread loaves came out loverly. (I didn't divide it up evenly and the heart was disformed). It came out easy and the kids got a kick out of the shaped bread. So if any of the bread makes it to tomorrow (deformed heart is gone already), we will have star and flower chicken sandwiches for lunch:)

Happy birthday Gma!

2010-04-06T18:47:00.001-07:00

Love, the little people

Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

Before Aidan realizes that these are real jelly beans on the tree, I thought I would take a quick shot. Most of the little people are in bed-so these will be good until tomorrow (yummy breakfast!). The baskets are full; all the decorations are up. I always love how God makes even the little stuff work out. Garry has a friend spending the night that I didn't know was staying until about 6:30. When I went shopping the other nite for basket fillers, I ended up getting an extra boy toy (big kid). I contemplated getting it (a good deal, but how good is a deal when you are spending money??) but in the end I had this feeling I should go ahead and buy it, so I did. Yeah! Now I'm just shy one chocolate bunny (daddy is coming thru on that one--update:Thanks Corrine!) and all the baskets are filled and ready to go. Happy Easter! He is risen:)

Last minute Easter craft

2010-04-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hours of frivolous reading blogs while watching the 1st season of 24 (I'm slow, but I'm finally getting around to watching it, thanks to Netflix instant streaming!) and came across this cute Easter wreath. Since it's just me and the 2 little boys at the moment, I thought I would whip this out quickly. I already had everything needed, and several burned fingers later, it's finished! I think I could use a bow or some flowers (still undecided), but I think it looks pretty cute anyway!
Here's the tutorial: Easter egg wreath

Bryce giving the wreath a much needed hair cut!

Isn't it cute? I have one more to make to put up on my french doors--maybe after all go to bed. I want to use the last of the sunshine to finish another project!

Aidan:)

2010-04-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Aidan was sitting with me at the computer as I was blogging earlier and naming all the people on it. I found it amusing that I could not convince him that the pic of him (the 4 kids on the right) he was the baby. He kept saying "Gagie". Of course when I went to take the video he was stuck on dad and wouldn't say all the names. Sorry I didn't get more of his face in the video. I tried to redo it, but at that point he was over it! Some of the video overlaps, but I didn't know how to edit UNTIL I had uploaded it.

He is Risen!

2010-04-02T17:14:00.000-07:00

He is risen indeed! We had a great time with our friends (Counting my blessings) making the Resurrection buns. Not to mention sugary sweet! Happy Easter to all!

Patting out the biscuit It's empty!

Woo Hoo! I did it!

2010-03-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

Have you been to my favorite new blog yet? It's Anna @ knock off wood. She sees a piece of furniture on a website; draws up the plans, and makes it very user friendly! I have been itching to make something off her site, but just haven't had the time. So tonight me and the kids headed off to Lowe's. Tada! 3 1/2 hr later, a bench is born. Mind you, it's still not quite finished. I boo booed the piece in the middle (still learning about angles) so tomorrow I'm back to the depot to get some more wood and paint. ((patting self on back)) Garry also helped drill and hold-he's such a good boy to humor his mom. My hunny did laugh at me when I told him I didn't want to use the circular saw, but preferred to use the jigsaw. Too big, too noisy! Honey--I need a compound miter:)

Here's what it will look like when finished (pre-paint)My bench!

Resurrection Buns

2010-03-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

Last nite the kids were at Awana and they were so excited about this project, that I am buying some ingredients today to do it again. I thought it was a great idea and wanted to pass it along!

Each child takes a Grand (or other large ) canned biscuit. They flatten the biscuit out until it's about 5 inches across. They spread melted butter, sugar and cinnamon on it. We explain that the spices represent the spices used to anoint Jesus' body before His burial.
Then each child gets one large marshmallow. The marshmallow represents Jesus. It is white because it stands for His purity and His sinless life. They place the marshmallow in the center of the biscuit, then fold the sides around it forming a "tomb". (I help the younger children pinch the sides of their tombs closed and then we place them crease side down on a baking sheet so they will not open while cooking). Put more butter, cinnamon and sugar on the outside. We talk about the sweet taste of the spices and how Jesus gave us the sweetest gift we will ever receive. At this point you can go ahead and bake the buns. We wait and bake them (put tin foil underneath for easy cleanup!) in the morning while the kids are hunting the eggs. They need to bake following the directions on the biscuit package. Then they need a little cooling time because the marshmallow will be very hot. When the children bite into their buns they will be surprised to find the center empty. The marshmallow has melted. As each child discovers the empty tomb, we repeat : He is not here for He is risen.
- courtesy of Sharon D.

What's for dinner?

2010-03-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

This is what happens to the cute, chubby babies that come to visit....Yummy:)

He's 13!

2010-03-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

I am a bad mommy. Here it is, the 25th of March, and I never once mentioned Garry's 13th birthday. No blog, no facebook, anything. Not intentionally, of course. I meant too, really! So, I'm sorry son, I didn't forget you. And I would have brought you breakfast in bed, but you got up earlier than I did (does that mean I should have gotten breakfast in bed?)

Garry, we love you. You are such a great person and a tremendous help around here. I appreciate the way you just pitch in and help, and still wear a smile.

To celebrate Garry's special day(can you guess from the decorations what his b-day falls on?), here's the panini recipe that he requested for his big day. (Did I mention at his request he received a Panini maker? Oh, and that I forgot it was in the trunk and he found it and had a early birthday?)

Chicken Pesto:
8 1/2" thick slices Italian bread
1/2 lb chicken breast, divided into 4 servingse decoratio
4 tbsp pesto sauce
1 cup spinach
8 slices tomato
4 slices provolone cheese
olive oil
Preheat press. Spread olive oil on one side of each slice of bread. Place oil side down and place remaining ingredients in order. Cover with remaining bread, oil side up. Close press. Cook 3-5 min or until brown. Yummy!

Car fun

2010-03-20T18:28:00.001-07:00

Today my hunny had taken the day off in order to go with the kids to the annual AWANA race day. Shelby and Bryce and painted and decorated their cars and were ready to race. We hopped into the car and although the engine turned over, the van wouldn't start. Mmm... Hunny turns to me and asks the obvious question (you know I'm forgetful!), "did you forget to put gas in?", to which I replied I had remembered-yellow dummy light very helpful! Where to go from there? He checks a few things, then calls his dad. They do a troubleshoot together over the phone and determine it's probably the fuel pump. Ok, so where's the pump? Googling, we find the spot. Of course it's in the middle of the van under the carpet (in gas tank). His brother shows up and they double check everything and come to the same conclusion. So, off they go to Auto Zone for a new pump ($100+) After some jury rigging (can't find anything online to show HOW to take the old pump out) and 2 hrs later, they replace with new pump. Steve (brother) inserts the key to start the engine. It still turns over, but does not start. He tries about 5-6 times and notices that the little green key light is blinking. We check the owners manual. It says that our key with the electronic chip is NOT recognized, and therefore not starting. ARGH! 45 min later Pop-a-lock dude confirms-key is going bad. Not that it was a bad day, but I could have found a much better way to spend the $250 we ended up spending in car. After all said and done, I checked the owner's manual troubleshooting guide, and it said to check to see if the correct key was being used. (Of course it was, I just used it that morning!). Maybe they should have mentioned that the key could possibly go bad. Or maybe we should have looked for the little green light.
Anyway, to combat the tears shed over missing race day, I had to promise a trip to Chuck-e-Cheese....a very expensive day indeed:)

Updating

2010-03-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

Well-my camera is full, so I guess it's time to update. It's seems we've not stopped in days, and the next couple of weeks is just as busy. Thank goodness we can school on the road! Did I show you my hunny's first woodworking project? I think he did pretty good. (me, not so good...see the unfinished painted wall in the back? I STILL do not have it finished!) He's in trouble now, I have lots more in the future for him to put together!

Postman

2010-03-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

This morning the door rang, and Aidan raced to the window to see who it was. I opened the door to the mailman. He had several packages in hand and gave them to me. I took them and shut the door and handed Aidan one of the packages that had his name on it. He looked at it; dropped it and wailed in his little 2 year old voice: " I wanned pizza!"

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to Home Depot we go!

2010-02-27T21:32:00.000-08:00

the loading of the car

Ok, so I would not define our trip to Home Depot as an exciting undertaking or experience, but an adventure nonetheless. Hindsight I wondered why we decided to all go, knowing that we would have to bring a fair amount of lumber back with us (Dad's workbench). Not to mention, the fun (not) of dragging all the little people back and forth thru the store, as we went by our list and not by what is in the section that we needed off the list, which meant we went from one side to the other about 5 times (don't forget bathroom breaks!). Plus, every time Daddy went ahead of the rest of the group Aidan got very upset (loudly). Still, amidst the chaos we got all that we needed to get, and it only took my hunny about 20 minutes to get all the lumber and kids in the car; with just one piece sticking out. With help from Kathy, the check-out associate, we got the string we needed to keep the wood and stroller from bouncing out down the road. Thanks to Papa for teaching knots, I got it tied down enough to get us home. It did, however, bruise my hunny's man feelings that I tied the knots, which he admitted with a grin as we were heading home (the man should do that, haha). I recently read Jim Bob and Michelle Dugger's book; The Duggers: 20 and Counting, and he had written about when there were only 8 children, but all were very young (8 and under). They were driving somewhere and Jim Bob looks back and sees the van full of car seats and little faces. He turns to Michelle and tells her "that these are the best years of our lives and we don't even know it." As I walked back to the van from the store and viewed the bobbing heads in their seats and my hunny meticulously fitting the wood into the trunk, I totally understood what he meant:)

Aidan is a big helper!

Bryce says " I can do it all by myself!"

Garry of course, is always there to help Dad:)

Sick Kiddies

2010-02-25T21:10:00.000-08:00

The thought had just come to mind that the kids hadn't really been sick in a while, when low and behold, we were hit. First it was sniffle y noses, and last week Shelby started another round when a trip to the toy store went horribly wrong.
Here's how it went: We head into the store, and as usual, the older three are all talking to me at once about what they want to see while we are in there. The 4th (littlest) is screaming because he does NOT want to go into the shopping cart, and I am trying to make him and I happy (does that happen?) with the least amount of noise, but I am determined to put him in the cart because I do not want to carry or corral him in store. At that point, I send the oldest 2 down the next aisle so they can look at Lego's; Bryce is now bouncing around the cart antagonizing Aidan (still screaming) and I realize I possibly forgotten something that I needed and am searching my small on the outside but cavernous on the inside purse. I had a fleeting moment to just pack all up and call it a day, but I had been putting off this particular store about 2 weeks and did not want to come back (kids had money to spend).Quietly (threatening) trying to calm the 2 smaller boys, Garry and Shelby came running up and STOP in front of me. Trying to comprehend what Garry is trying to tell me over the noise of the other two, Shelby demonstrates by throwing up all over the floor. So here I am, telling Garry to take Shelby outside and he just looks at me. Finally he starts moving and I tell Bryce to follow behind, he whines and says he wants to stay with me. I give him the "mommy look" and he reluctantly heads outside. I look around and it seems to be everywhere (thank goodness she missed all the toys!). The clerk sees what happens and heads over with paper towels and Clorox clean up. Another employee heads to the back to get the mop and gloves (she didn't find any gloves), so I grab the towels and get down and start cleaning up--Aidan still screaming. Garry heads back in with Shelby in tow, and I (growl)ask him to take all the kids out to the car. As always, Garry dutifully does what I ask and drags all out to the van while I finish cleaning up the mess. And I was dressed so nice that day, pink heels and all:)

Meet the latest and greatest...

2010-02-25T18:07:00.000-08:00

for the creative chaos we call school. At least for me. Let's face it, I am not the most organized person on the block. I like the idea of organization, but for whatever reason (me not being diligent?) not much is organized here. The only thing that keeps me from looking like one of those houses that are stuffed to the gills piled high with stuff is that I have no problem sending off to Goodwill when I am thru with it, or at least, tired of looking at it! This year is the first I've had more than one kid schooling to deal with, and the first part of the school year, well, um, we didn't get much done. October and November left me with a lot of time to think and pray about several problem issues around the house (ha, I have more than one!). I love it when exactly what I need just seems to fall in my lap. I really have no idea how I came across this, message board perhaps, but it is for me! May I introduce: Sue Patrick's Workbox System.
Here's what is said each day:
Garry- "Mom, how much school do I have to do?"
Shelby- "Mom, how much school do I get to do?"
To both of them, I would answer, I dunno. Why? Organization issues, of course. I didn't know what I wanted to teach them, and by the time I got my act together, the day was shot. So here how it goes. Garry's boxes have a blue number, Shelby's green. The boxes are put in numerical number and each box holds a worksheet, subject, craft, etc. The object is to go in order thru the workboxes, remove them from the shelf and work whatever is in box. From there, they empty box in the pink crate to right, and so on and so on. When they run out of boxes, their day is finished. I have a master list that shows me what subject goes in each box each day (each day is different, I generally load them before I go to bed), and overall we have been able to study more and have actually get to some of the fun things I wanted to get to but couldn't because we were struggling just to get the basics in. Now, in just a couple of hrs we get it all done, much of it can be done without me standing over them, and more importantly, it's not a huge hassle or big mess (everything has it's place). We've been using this for the past 2 months, and it is definitely a life saver in this house! And even though we have to keep the boxes in the dining room ( I tried the garage but it's just been too flipping cold to go back and forth), because it's so self contained, it doesn't get in the way. Thank you, Sue! For those who read her book, she can be a little daunting, as she feels there is only one way to use the system (her background is a challenged student). However, with a little tweaking, I found the basic information very sound. A lifesaver in this house:)

Swagbucks

2010-02-25T06:18:00.000-08:00

Have you signed up for Swagbucks yet? You earn rewards by searching thru their search engine, and often they have Swagcodes up to snag. My favorite prize is an Amazon gift certificate, redeemable with just 45 Swagbucks. I've already earned 3 of them since Christmas. Today is their birthday, so you will get double Swagbucks just for signing up:) Click on the link below to sign up today!

Literal Little strikes again:)

2010-02-18T15:21:00.001-08:00

Since we've changed our budget around to better accommodate our lifestyle (so far, budget's better but I have less play money!), it always encourages me to be a little more frugal and creative--for the moment. So this past weekend, we were in the garage with my hunny while he wired in some new plugs for his new workbench him and Garry will be building next weekend. A while back there was a puppet theater in the Family Fun magazine. Scrounging around, we found most everything needed except for knobs and hinges. And so our theater began. Began 2 wks ago, it's still not in it's finished stage, it is completely usable for fun and games. I found some cardboard props that a friend had given me for the kids to play with that were great for placing on the theater, but we didn't know exactly how we could stick them up and take them down without damaging anything. Well, good ole Google came up with the answer with magnetic paint ($20 a qt, so much for frugality!).
Today was a fairly nice day, the first we've been able to enjoy outside for the past couple of weeks. So I got out my supplies (spilled half the can before I even got the project started!) and began to paint. Note to self, READ ALL DIRECTIONS! As you can imagine, I did not read all the directions. Only the box that the can of paint came in. So after 3 coats, and still not much magnet capabilities, I finally read the can also, and it said if I didn't get it shaken at the paint store, to shake for 10 min (10 min?!?) Apparently, all the little metal pieces sink to the bottom, which is what happened with me. The 4th layer worked much better (shaken for 10 LONG min), and hopefully one more will finish it off. I said all that for this: as I am checking the paint to see if it was magnet friendly, the kids came up to see what was going on. Shelby asked why it wasn't working and I explained that it (the paint) needed shaken more for it to work. The Literal Little?? --- Bryce promptly comes up and shakes the theater...

Cookin' Day

2010-02-06T18:13:00.000-08:00

So in an effort to reduce food spending (the weekends when hubby is home is the worse!) around here, I pulled out my menu planner and pencil for some serious planning. Our current budget is $440 a month for groceries and since I usually don't go shopping until the weekends he is home, it's chaos and daily (aka expensive) shopping which blows budget big time. So yesterday I got the bright idea to do my shopping on the weekends he works. Oh, my gosh! What a difference! (Did I mention I didn't have to bring anybody with me??) I spent a little over 200 this week (I went over by $18). Although I had cash, I swiped that old debit card when I went over. There were some things I could have done without until next shopping day, so next time I won't bring card.
Here's my dinners for the next two weeks:
Mini burgers/ potatoes / baked beans
baked spinach mostocolli/salad
pork loin/spinach marie/carrots
beans and cornbread (2)
chili
chicken and rice/salad
lasagna/mixed veggies
bbq/sweet potatoes/green beans
taco salad / yellow rice
sloppy joes / sweet potatoes
creamy chicken and broccoli
Shepard's pie

Most meals will make enough for leftovers for lunch, so that helped quite a bit toward the other meals. About $4o of it went to diapers, paper towels, etc.
Then came the fun part--I think:)
Today I made chili, sloppy joes, cooked up the hamburger and chicken for the other meals, made chicken broth, tomato soup for Shepard's pie ( I was out, it came out ok!) In all it took about 4 1/2 hrs....and I had extra hamburger and chicken for future meal or two. I felt like they must have with the loaves and fishies! I have to admit I found myself fretting over what seemed to be a small amount of food after shopping. The verse that says not to worry about what you will eat or wear came to mind. So I quickly found the thankful side of it and as always, I'm taken care of:)
BTW--my feet hurt!!

Shelbyism #210

2010-02-06T18:11:00.001-08:00

As we were sitting at the breakfast table, Shelby was repeating to me some memories of last year. "Wow, Mom", she said. "I must have a big brain to have so many memories!"

Sunny days are here again (temp)

2010-01-27T05:51:00.001-08:00

So this past weekend we dropped off the kids at Gmas down south and headed to the Bahamas aboard the Monarch of the Seas. Leaving black skies and tornado warnings, we headed into somewhat beautiful (it was warmer!) weather. Since we've been to the Bahamas so many times in the past, one of our companions scoured the web in search of something new. Well, we got it! We took a walking tour of the island. As we were heading from the Queen's staircase to one of the state buildings, the area where we were walking thru looked really rough. If you've been to the Bahamas you might find that hard to believe as all of Nassau looks bad. But this was worse:) We made our way to several state buildings (all state are painted pink) and discovered they were all closed (weekend), so we headed to an art gallery of a local Bahamian of whom I cannot remember his name, which was interesting, although his works were fairly dark. As we're leaving, one of our companions spoke to one of the locals who informed us we had been walking thru the "bottoms". She said it was the worst part on the island and even she did not go there unless on her way to work. Thanks to Clint for showing us the "real island" (not to mention the 5 mile walk)!
Overall we had a great time hanging out, eating (lots) and sleeping. It was so nice to be able to head to our cabin and take a snoozer anytime, night or day.
The kids I think missed us some? When we pulled up, at least 3 came out to see us. That 4th little people (Bryce) I had to find as I think he wrote us off for being away too long:)

On our way into NassauThe infamous towel animal (we had never seen the bat before)Slightly sunburned leaving Cocoa CayWe got lost some:)Of course, no trip is complete without a visit to the local PDOn the way up the staircase
64 steps and a history lesson later!

Playin' at Disney with Jillibeth!

2010-01-15T06:05:00.000-08:00

So Uncle Jerry brought his special girl, Jillibeth to Disney this past week. Jillibeth, 4 is his only granddaughter and is obviously the first on his list. So it was no suprise so see him and her traipsing around the park for 3 days (oh, yeah, he brought mom and wife along too). So the kids and I headed on a VERY cold day to hang out at Magic Kingdom with them. Of course all know my kids don't usually meet a stranger, and in spite of probably not remembering who anybody was, it did not stop them from hugging, climbing on, and punching (Jerry's belly was too much for Aidan to resist!). Unfortunately, Jillibeth did not appreciate this. Who were we to come between her Maw and Paw?? She wouldn't even speak to Maw when Maw and Shelby held hands in line! However, after about an hour, she warmed up to the little people. Her and Shelby got some autographs from some very special characters. By mid afternoon, as we're heading to a ride, Jillibeth looks around and asks, "where's Cutie Boy?" Cutie Boy, aka Garry, from then on became her best bud:) By about 5:30 their gang had to head out for dinner reservations. My goal was to head for the gate and home, but "just one more ride" had us at the park until it closed. In spite of the cold, we had a great day.

Jillibeth had not really warmed up to us yet!

Super Paw (see the pink cape?)!

Riding the train!

Garry heard me and slowed down to take a pic, Shelby was too busy to hear me!
Poor Unca Jerry braved the one long cold line (30 min) of the day with the kids, so Shelby could chauffeur him around the track while we adults (along with Bryce and Aidan) went for warmth and hot chocolate!

Shelby really took to Cheryl:)

One last shot with Jillibeth and her "cutie boy"!

My own "Monsters of Comedy"

No trip is complete without a picture of the castle (still decorated for Christmas)

Eating our last meal of the day while waiting for the fireworks to go off. We were freezing!! Did I mention I don't own any sweatshirts nor heavy jacket???!! It was the night many parts of the Sunshine state was expecting snow. The sky was so cloudy that Disney only shot of a portion of the fireworks and what little could be seen was not that impressive.

I'm back!

2010-01-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

Hey all, sorry for the lack of postings. We're back up and at it! Hope all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Song Bird

2009-10-13T16:59:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, the kids were playing out back while a friend and I were visiting. We peeked out at them to see Shelby sitting on the monkey bar that swings. I asked her what she was doing. " Pretending to be a bird", was her reply. My friend then asked her, "what kind of bird are you?" Shelby answered, "a bird that sings!" But of course!?!

Semi-Homemade

2009-09-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

Bert and I have a couple's baby shower to go to this weekend. I did get the usual Target/Babies 'r' Us registry, but I usually prefer put something together that is a little more personal. Generally, I like to make a memory box for the mom-to-be, but this weekend I just don't have the time or the energy to put it together. I did actually go to Target (for those of you that haven't been to the one downtown, ya gotta take the kids there so they can watch the shopping cart go up it's own little escalator!) but just couldn't get my act together. So, this evening I headed to Ross to browse, and I came across this little box of goodies for $5.99: (Box, 1st curl box, 1st tooth box, announcement frame, handprint kit)

Ok, but still a little generic for my taste, so I headed down to Jo-Ann's for a little personalization. So with a little ribbon, bows (glued them over the imprinted bows), a memory box poem, and reusing the announcement frame to decorate the front, I came up with a happy medium. Total for gift? 10.00!

Meet Mom's newest brain child!

2009-09-21T14:55:00.001-07:00

Hey, Mom gets a new idea, and I get to bring it to life:) Check it out, and help someone today!
Still working on it, but you get the idea!

Update on Garry

2009-09-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Well, all I can say is that Garry's trying to be a good sitter. I was able to leave for about an hr and a half (long enough for the oil change/alignment to get finished). Of that hr and a half, I received about 15 phone calls. Aidan this, Aidan that. Poor Garry. Of all of my children, Aidan is the child who never forgets. If he's playing with something and we move it out of his way and try to distract him with something else---NO! He will not forget about the other thing for a long time! Of course crying the entire time. Stresses Garry out pretty quickly. Can't blame him, bothers me too. Where does he get that? Not me, that's for sure. I'm known as the etch-a-sketch around here. One quick shake of the head, and I've forgotten everything... I forgot my pin number one time that I had been using for 5 years; I had to get everything reprogrammed: phone, atm cards, passwords online, everything. Never remembered it. I'm gonna have to take mom's advice and design her favorite item "the Senior Stick-it". Her idea is a vest with velcro all over to put every item one might need during the day. But where can I put the kids??
BTW-as I'm writing this I had to make a mad dash for the shower. I totally forgot that I was coloring my hair and went well past the allotted time. So if you see me with a hat on, it's because all my hair has fallen out:)