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Halloween on a Monday

Halloween is not my favorite holiday. I don't know why. I used to love it when I was a kid, but as a parent, it's just too much. Everyone is overly excited and anxious. It is always stressful getting out the door. Today was no exception. Luckily, I prepared ahead of time with a meal in the crock pot. Chicken breasts and a jar of salsa. Cooked all day and shredded, served over rice. Best idea ever. I love having a rice cooker. It all stayed warm and I enjoyed a bowl at the end of the day.

I was surprised at the amount of candy they brought home from school. I was also thankful Four's preschool celebrated last week instead. The day is chaotic enough, a normal day of preschool was good for the kids.

We made it out the door on time and explored the neighborhood. We met up with Zinnia and crew. We trick or treated for about an hour and the headed to the school. The local grocery store put on a night of games and prizes. It was really great. The kids had a wonderful time and got a variety of prizes, not just candy. I was impressed as were other parents.

They love answering the door just as much as the rest of Halloween. They sorted their candy and the light was off before 8. Baths and in bed to come. A successful Halloween, even if it's not my favorite holiday.

Kids imaginations

Today, their imaginations impressed me. One idea led to another and they used their creativity for an entire afternoon of play. First they started out creating Peanuts characters with Lego's. Then they moved on to Halloween characters. This was followed by decorating our house with the Lego characters and then hiding them from each other. It was a Lego scavenger hunt. They had so much fun and I got so much accomplished while they were entertaining themselves. A surprise from G & G came in the mail, this included money for each child. The result: Six wanted to do chores to earn more. He was very helpful for around an hour and I rewarded him with a dollar bill. He was pleased and we continued on our merry way. What a group, what a day.

Productive Sunday

I know Sunday is supposed to be the day of rest, but after not doing anything yesterday, I had stuff to get done. N and the boys decided to walk home from church. This was an idea that blew my mind, well not completely. He only has so much time before he has to be to work. It was all good. I made a quick lunch of soup and grilled sandwiches. He was off and so was I. I organized shelves that have been staring me in the face for weeks, full of clutter and chaos. I did all the laundry, last two loads are going as I type. Cleaned the bathrooms, washed the kitchen floor, and made three saint costumes. All in a days work I guess.

The saint costumes were not as much of a challenge as I had thought. Seven will be St. Peter. Peter was a fishermen. We Googled pictures of the saints they chose then based our costume from that photo. St. Peter will be a blue tunic with an orange belt. We will use a cape for a cloak, it is neutral tones. He will be carrying a stick in the form of a fishing pole with five paper fish on the end. St. Fransis of Assisi will be tan with a brown belt. He will be carrying a basket of animals, including birds and a wolf. St. Theresa will be in black. She has a black headpiece, black leggings, and a black dress. She will have a white belt and carry a rosary and flowers.

Hope it goes well. Tomorrow will be a big day. First everyone off to school, then Halloween parties and fun.

Sorry Saturday

Reviews are out that our little blog is letting people down. Sorry to say, I was slightly under the weather. Sweet Pea will no longer be joining us. As sad as I am to see her go, our house will be much quieter. My kids are really disappointed and concerned when they will see her again.

I had high hopes for today. N had the day off and we were going to have some fun. Everyone wanted to go to the apple farm. It rained. I've had a migraine that brought me to urgent care yesterday am and did not go away today. It was rough. I feel better now, but can still feel the headache. We shall see what tomorrow brings. N took the kids for a walk into town. They were gone for quite a few hours.
Everyone came home full of energy and surprises. Amazing how much happiness $5 at the dollar store can bring. They came home with army guys, jewelry set and hand cuffs. Everyone was "under arrested." They spent the rest of the afternoon creating a game board for the soldiers to battle on. They were very creative.

We missed out on the clean up the church day as well as the bonfire. The bishop dedicated the social hall in honor of Father Larry. Wish we could have participated in all those activities. Our church is such a big part of our community. It has become a very familiar place and is set will with our routine. I pray to feel better tomorrow. Doc's told me to take it easy.

Zinnia

My apologies, this is a day late. Happy Birthday to my dear friend Zinnia!

I would be lost in Michigan without her. Who would have ever thought our friendship would grow into what it is today. When we moved to MI, I wasn't too thrilled. Not that there is anything wrong with MI, but my time living close to my family was not as long as I had planned. It was hard to adjust and want to make friends. When we lived in MN, I had discovered the message board called Mamasource.com. I met all my MN friends through that message board. I tried it here, but didn't get as much for a response. A woman directed me to events at the park during the summer. She lived in the same town and had kids almost the same age. Desperate for a new friend, I emailed her back asking if she wanted to meet at the park. I probably would not have suggested this, meeting a stranger at the park, but I had a good experience in MN with Mamasource and didn't think there was much harm in meeting at the only park in town. Well, I never heard from the woman and didn't think too much of it.

N worked a lot of Sunday mornings when we first moved here. Church was on my own with three kids. Four was only two at the time and church could be a challenge. After mass one day, a woman walked across the pew and commented on how good my kids were. I kind brushed off their behavior as not being that good, but could have been worse. Then I explained that we just moved here. She said "From Minnesota?" That woman was Zinnia. Same woman the entire story. After we met at church, we could meet in person. Our first play date was on a school day. Seven was five at the time at in kindergarten. Turns out her oldest was in the same class. We had a play date with Four, Six and her twins. It was terrible. Four took every toy out of the twins hands. I had a migraine and almost canceled, but the Immitrex I took finally kicked in before they arrived. After, I wanted to cry. My kids were not the best behaved. I called Iris in MN and told her what happened. She sympathized and said it would get better.

With that rocky start, we met up a few times during kindergarten and really got to know each other by the end of the school year. First grade the oldest kids weren't in the same class. We managed to spend a lot of time together. Between dropping kids off at preschool and then running errands together, to Friday nights for pizza, we spend quite a few days together. We've become project crazy ladies and she is the source for making cards, pocket projects and lovies. We taught religious education together and have attended mass many weekends with our kids. We work well together. Our husbands think we are trouble together, but what do they know.

I am so thankful to have her in my life. She's been such a good friend to me. My time in MI has been great since getting to know her. She will see me through this next hurdle in my life. She has helped me keep my faith in MI. I'd be lost without her. I hope she truly had a wonderful day and look forward to many more birthdays together in the years to come.

Wednesday

Sweet Pea did have a much better day today, my prayers were answered. She slept the entire time Four was at preschool, just as she did on Monday. We were at the grocery store and in the car the entire time. Guess that is what it takes. Can't believe she can sleep through the noise in the store.

Four had a wonderful day at preschool. She wore her Snow White costume and passed out her popcorn treats. We put ringlets in her hair and I made a red headband with a red bow. She even had red shiny, sparkly shoes.

After school, the boys were full of excitement. Babies were their topic of discussion. They wanted to count all the babies we knew. Then they discussed how fun it would be to get all these babies together for a Baby Bash. N said "BYOB" bring your own baby?

I whipped up two pans of Great Auntie B's pumpkin bars tonight. Brought some over to Zinnia to celebrate her birthday tomorrow. Now she has treats to take to work. Her group will be with us in the evening. Looking forward to it. Tried to ask my group what we should have for supper, but didn't get any brilliant ideas.

Zinnia and I are almost done with some of our projects for the holidays. It's hard to fit time in for all our ideas, but we are managing. Looking forward to posting the finished product. It would blow your mind to hear the numbers of products we have created. So many cards, Lovies and pocket projects. She's keeping a tally.

Tomorrow is a new day. Not sure how I'm going to get Sweet Pea to sleep that well again, only to start her out in the car. What a girl. Just before her mom came, she was leading a pack of crazy kids. They were on all fours crawling after her. I think she knew she was special to them and enjoyed being their leader.

Tuesday complete

I am glad to check this day off on my list. Sweet Pea was really crabby all morning. She wasn't happy (you're not going to believe this) until N came home. Maybe she needed a fresh face. I couldn't get her to play or be content with anything. I fed her four times before 2 o'clock. We pushed her in a car in the basement. We pushed her in the stroller around the house. She was just unhappy. When he came home, her attitude completely changed. We fed her again. N turned on the radio and she was all smiles. She played with Four the rest of the afternoon. Her big sister was dropped off at our house just before their mom arrived. By supper time, I was kaputt. N took over and it was nice. They are almost ready for bed as am I.

Say a prayer for me that Sweet Pea is happy tomorrow. Four has to wear her Halloween costume tomorrow for a party. Hopefully it won't rain and turn out to be a nice day.

It's 1:47 and I'm hungry

I've had a hard time feeding myself lately. When I don't have an entire team to feed, it's hard to come up with something grand for myself. I fed Four and Sweet Pea. Four was the snack person today at preschool. She brought pumpkin shaped Jello jigglers, all thanks to Zinnia. Zinnia is my Jello expert. I don't know why, but I never get them right. Good thing I found such a super friend to make them for us for snack day. There are food allergies in the class. Most of the time the kids get fruit snacks and pretzels. Four really wanted to bring grapes too. Six said we should take pretzels just in case someone doesn't like grapes or Jello. It was a successful snack.

Sweet Pea slept the entire time Four was at class. We went to a few stores and she slept through all of them. 3 hour nap! She was ready to eat when we got home. After some food and a diaper change, she wanted another nap. I couldn't believe it. She slept for another 45 minutes. She's awake now. Guess my time is up. I got my kitchen floor washed, dishes put away, laundry started and the disaster from the morning is gone. Had to move fast, didn't know how long I had. Just me and the girls, they are helpful, considerate and fun.

The class monkey

First it was Mr. Bear who came home with Seven for the weekend. We did our best to have a good time. This weekend, it was Mr. Monkey aka Mr. Coco. We had nothing planned this weekend, but managed to make it look good. When we took Mr. Coco to church this morning, Father B welcomed him with open arms and even introduced him to other parishioners. We took a picture of them together. He was proud to participate. He asked where he could get a great monkey like that. Guess he needs to go to second grade. We printed out a picture to give him.

Our journey took us to Tractor Supply yesterday afternoon. There we found some things for our Christmas lists. We took pictures to make it easier for Grandpa to see.

We came home with boys full of energy. I am not sure what to do with them besides laps in the back yard. Thankfully it is beautiful outside.

Saturday Energy

Good news is I seem to have found some energy for organizing. Bad news, we leave for a play date in a half an hour. I went through the kids rooms. Just can't get the boys to part with the Lego boxes. A battle I will attempt another day. The girl room wasn't as bad as I thought. We do need to bring some dolls back to the basement, they tend to find their way upstairs. I guess the real problem is the basement. I need to get organized down there. Too much is just chaotic on the shelf in my corner. Just haven't had time. Have to lite a fire under Zinnia and we can tackle it together. I know she has ideas similar at her house. Guess we need to get our projects for the holidays done first, then work on household plans. The situation can seem frustrating though.

Disorganized and just too tired

I feel like my basement is a disaster. I pulled out the winter clothing, but did not bring all items upstairs. There they sit, in a pile in the basement. I have clothing that needs to go downstairs to storage upstairs. Toys need to be returned to bins and put away. I found the freakiest spider in the basement this past week. He was big by MI standards.

I have a basket of mismatched socks with no mates. We need a new desk. I need to create a work space in the living room. This means something has to go, just not sure what or where it should find a new home. I stayed up too late last night. A ten minute power nap and not leaving the house left me awake until N came home. I was sure this would not happen. I hear Lego's being dumped out, I only pray they are in the trundle. Four has too much junk in her room. Some of it needs to disappear. I feel like every room needs to be swept for clutter. Someday, but not today.

Fridays Chicken Enchiladas

After such a busy day yesterday, I was exhausted today. Sweet Pea seemed to be exhausted too. She took two long naps, well long for her record. I made chicken enchiladas with green sauce while she slept and N took Four to her field trip at the apple farm. It was a nice, hot lunch when they came in from the cold. I love chicken enchiladas. Haven't made them for a very long time.

We didn't leave the house all day until the boys were home. They requested movie night. We haven't had movie night for awhile. A trip to the movie store and a promise of pizza put everyone in a good mood. They were full of energy. The oldest was teasing the youngest over and over for about an hour. I think they finally have it out of their systems. The boys brought home their school pictures. I can't believe how grown up they look. I wish I had ordered more. They turned out really nice. I only got the most basic package. Four had pictures taken too, but they are not back yet. Of course hers cost much more than the boys. I look at the pictures and am still in shock to have a first and second grader. Since attending the school, the second graders seemed so big. Now I have one. He's the sweetest, most considerate boy I could ever ask for. Six has grown a lot since this summer. He's into a bigger size of clothing. He seemed to have stayed in 5's forever. This week, he branched out by wearing new pants! They weren't part of his regular favorites. There are still two pairs in the rotation that are looking a little small. He has more clothing than anyone in this house. Glad he made some wise choices and agreed to the new pants.

We have the class monkey home this weekend. Not really what I expected. What are we going to do with him? I used all my great ideas on Mr. Bear. The monkey is Mr. Coco. I guess if you get enough tickets, you can win him when everyone is done. We have no plans for the entire weekend. Great. Why do we get the animal on boring weekends? This is what happened last time. I am sure we will figure something out. We already took his picture at the movie store.

I fell asleep during Grey's last night. I'm too tired in the evenings. Can't stay up late anymore. N will be home late. I usually stay up for him, but fear that won't happen tonight.

Thursday's day of rain

Trees were uprooted in Bay City. Some were on top of houses, others just broken and all over the place. What a storm we had last night. Tonight is the pumpkin festival. The children are invited to decorate a pumpkin anyway they like and submit it to a contest. Each grade is judged. They chose a winner for the grade level and also an over all winner. Tonight we are bringing pumpkins Kit Visto and Clone Trooper Rex. I will post pictures tonight. We started our creations last night and finished this morning. I think we will make a little sign with their names. Free cider donuts, apple cider and a magic show are the planned entertainment. This will be the first festival N is able to join us. Benefits to having Thursdays off. The boys Halloween costumes came in the mail today. We will see what they think of them.

Another great day with Sweet Pea. Her bottom is pretty red. Her mom warned me she may be crabby today. She was to start, but after a morning nap, we were good to go. She was very pleasant and got along great for the rest of the day. I find it surprising she doesn't put more things in her mouth. Guess it's from having a pacifier? She is gentle with paper too. Someone asked if she was Four's little brother today. Granted, she was wearing a pumpkin shirt and jeans, but how could you miss the pink pacifier and pink stroller?

The Wednesday Agenda

Four was so kind, climbing in my bed at 5:30 am. This is the second morning in a row, it cannot become a habit.Yesterday, N was up early and I thought that was the reason she was up so early. Today, I have no one to blame. She goes back to bed for another hour or more. The problem is that I am awake after her arrival. I cannot go back to sleep. Thus, I am awake an entire hour ahead of schedule.

N wants a day off. Today is the day. He wants to go fishing, but it is supposed to rain most of the day. Sorry. Tomorrow, I his assistance. The boys need to be out the door this morning, promptly followed by the girl. Sweet Pea will be with us. We need a few groceries and I have a book to return to the library. I wanted to get a haircut, but perhaps I can fit it in tomorrow morning instead.

The pumpkin festival is this week and we have yet to pick up pumpkins. Both boys want to paint pumpkins and enter them in the competition this year. This is our second year attending the pumpkin festival, but would be our first time entering pumpkins. We will see how they turn out. N has never been to the festival with us. He is usually at work. It will be fun for him to get to see what it is all about. There is the competition for best pumpkin in each grade level, followed by a magic show and cider donuts.

Cider donuts are big in MI. I have no memory of seeing or tasting them in MN. Fresh apple cider is also a big deal this time of year. Seeing everyone's pictures at pumpkin patches on FB makes me want to venture off to one sometime this week. We did not go last year, but did our first October in MI. Maybe that will be on the schedule for the weekend? Perhaps if N has a schedule change. Otherwise we will have to wait until next week. Tonight, we will be painting pumpkins.

Tuesday progress with Sweet Pea

She is asleep in the pack n play in the boy room! Twice today, I was able to lay her down in there for a nap. Success! We have been rocking this baby for all her naps. I wanted her to be comfortable with the surroundings before putting her down. She seems to be very happy at our house now and feels at home. She plays, giggles and babbles with us. My kids adore her. The napping in the boy room is be progress for all of us. It gives her the quality rest she needs and me a break.

Four had a play date this morning with a preschool classmate. Her mom, whom I will call Bluestar, watched Four last week for us. I have met Bluestar in the community and we have friends in common, but this is the first time we have gotten together on our own. As crazy as it sounds, we have lived in nearly all the same places, just at different times. She has lived near the same cities in Oklahoma, Texas, and even Minnesota! We had a great morning and I hope we will again throughout the year of preschool.

Daffodil

Happy Birthday to Daffodil! She's been a part of my life for many years. We met when our parents decided to carpool to preschool. Thrilled we were able to see her during our quick MN trip. Hoping to get another visit in at Christmas. We used to play every day during the summer together. She would come over with KO, her little brother. My mom would take us to the beach swimming or to girl scout camp. We had sleep overs playing Girl Talk and put curlers in our hair. We danced to Debi Gibson in the dark with flashlights. She always sent me a daffy gram for my birthday. I planned a surprise birthday party for her once at the local pizza place. We walked over there after church. She planned my 21st birthday during our college years. We both traveled abroad first of our group of friends in HS.

On a serious note, we were almost kidnapped together. Strange event in our neighborhood. I never heard of it happening again. Some guy drove up next to us, patted the seat and motioned for us to get in. We turned around and ran home. Later, the police came and drove us through town looking for the car. Never saw it again.

It amazes me how we have been able to stay in touch over the years. She was in my wedding. She is Godmother to Six. She was my first best friend. I am blessed to have so many wonderful memories and years with her in my life.

Happy Birthday, Daffodil! Wishing you a fabulous day!

Sundays Mother Daughter Brunch/Boys Day

Mothers and daughters have such a treasured relationship. Today, we attended the annual mother daughter banquet at our church. Great food, great company. Zinnia and girls joined Four and I. A friend of Zinnia's came with her girls too, along with Zinnia's MIL. Four was as sweet as can be. Zinnia's Appy won a Birds of Paradise plant. We were so proud she was the winner. You should have seen her sweet face. It was a great moment to be a part of.

After, Zinnia took the girls to her house to find the boys. They were having their annual "boys day." They did this last year and had a great time. They did feel cheated on their time when the girls showed up early, but the rubber band guns made up for it. Mr. D is great. He came up with a project in the wood shop for "boys day." They drew out a design for him. Most designs were the same, but I am sure it helped in the process. They even painted their guns and personalized them. It was a great afternoon. I don't know what I would do without Zinnia and Mr. D. They let us tag along at their house. We have a great time and they have made life so much easier on me. The weekends used to be long, boring and depressing. It's hard when N works on weekends and everyone is off doing fun family activities. Sure we do fun things ourselves, but it gets lonely weekend after weekend. Each time we stay busy with Zinnia's group, it leaves me with a positive attitude. In turn, I'm a better person, better mother. Like I said, I don't know what I would do with out them. Best Michigan friends I could ever ask for.

Soccer season finalle

Today we huddled together and kept warm during the last soccer games. At first, I was disappointed that both boys games were at the same time. In the end, perhaps it was a blessing. The wind was so strong and cool, it as hard to sit still for the entire game. We traded off, Four and I watched the first half of Six's game. N went with Seven. Six scored a goal! Of course it wasn't on my watch. I was waiting all season, trying to catch him scoring on film. No such luck for this mom. He is hard to get dressed and out the door, but once he's there, he has fun and does well. I don't know if he will play next season. I imagine he will want to, but it is still frustrating getting ready. Seven almost scored a goal and loved the season. His coach was loud and they really liked him. He always gets himself dressed and is ready to go on time. No battles there. Four will be the right age to play as well. We will see if that will work. It was tough running to games and practices with two kids, I am not sure about three.

The sun finally came out. After such a cold morning, I dug out the winter clothing. We matched up all the gloves and mittens, found many hats and everyone has boots that fit. I think Seven may need a new pair half way through the year, we will see. That first snow is right around the corner. Not sure if it will happen before Halloween in MI. We will be ready when it gets here.

Smoke Detector Check

Tonight we had dinner at Zinnia's. The local Fire Department sent home slips and if you filled them out, the fire truck and firemen would come to your house to check your detectors. Zinnia had filled out the form, but it did not make it to school. Disappointed, we continued on with our evening. Some time later, we became thrilled to see the fire truck coming down her road. It stopped at her neighbors house, during the exact hours she had requested on her form that lay in the kitchen. A quick call to the neighbors and the firemen came to see us next. Many giggles and lots of running with excited children, eager to find all the detectors in the house with the three firemen. They got to climb on the truck and wear the firemen's clothing. Everyone was calm when the truck left. They flashed the lights and blew a quick siren. What a night! After, the kids made their way to the basement and played for almost 2 hours uninterrupted. Zinnia and I almost completed a project for Orchid. It was a great Friday night.

Cookies, bars, brownies, and treats; Oh my!

Today was the second grade bake sale. It was a great day to be at the school. The children's faces are priceless. Eyes as wide as can be when they come down the hall and see five tables pushed together, full of treats. Everyone gets to pick four items. The principal emailed me second grade earned $380.00 + $30.00 of items sold at the HS. The classes get to use the money towards a field trip or new books. The money stays with the class who earns it. There were many neat Halloween treats. the most unique, a glove filled with popcorn and candy corn in place of finger nails. Yikes! There were also brownies with chocolate fingers and eyes inside. Many rice krispie treats and bags of puppy chow were very popular. It was fun and the kids had a great time.

They needed subs today desperately. I would have done it, but Sweet Pea returned to our house this morning. N and Four watched her while I was at the bake sale. I had no one to watch her later in the day. I could not have stayed anyway, I have a headache today. Hoping it will go away.

Today with Sweet Pea has been good. She played with Four and ate really well. She even drank from her sippy cup! First time! She smiled and babbled too. I think we will get along fine the rest of our time together. It was a rocky start, but will turn out great. Well, my time is up. She's starting to fuss.

The journey home

The Camry brought us back, yet again from another long trip to Minnesota. I have begun to call it the clown car. That is how I feel as we all peel ourselves out of it. With so much stuff on a road trip, it tends to feel even more full.

Kids say the darnedest things. There were many comments throughout our trip where N and I chuckled. Four's favorite thing we did was getting to pick out clothes for Baby Orchid. She wanted to be with Baby Orchid as much as possible. She even gave up rides at the MOA to shop with Baby Orchid. There was much concern with us leaving early in the morning, would we get to say goodbye to Baby Orchid? We did and everyone was happy.

Upon leaving town, Uncle DV gave us a CD to listen to. We were slowed down in some traffic through Mpls and St. Paul, but not too bad. His songs were pleasant. These are the Dave's I know has become a favorite. Six didn't enjoy a Beatles song because it mentioned Love too many times. Seven seems to be too big to sit in the middle anymore. His legs are huge and he stretched them out into the front seat many times. He serves as the peacekeeper by being in the middle. We may have to enforce new rules and put Four in the middle. We read books, played games and watched movies. Believe it or not, they were very impressed with Lonestar DVD's from Grandpa J. Well, I should say the boys were impressed, not so much for the girl. She surprised me with her skills on Angry Birds. She's pretty good. The Ipad came in handy, but I don't think we are maximizing it to its full potential. I need to learn from someone who has downloaded different games and activities. Maybe I'll get it figured out by Christmas?

We brought Daffodil cards for her birthday. Right away, she knew of two events coming up where she needed a card. So glad to help her out. I also heard some feed back on Lovies. A baby we gave one to is loving it. She wanders around the house holding on to the loops. A grandmother that bought two Lovies was so happy with them. I'm anxious to hear what the mother thinks.

Other than that, we are back to normal. Sweet Pea will join us tomorrow. It's the 2nd Grade bake sale tomorrow! Very exciting. I have to come up with treats tonight. Seven has been begging for Rice Krispie treats. Maybe we can give them a Halloween twist?

Free breakfast on Mondays!

Today we had more great adventures. In trying to get out the door, no one wanted to eat breakfast. Not wanting to shell out money for hungry kids, I did my best to get them to eat before we left the house. I was not very successful. We headed off to Ikea right on time. Upon our arrival, we discovered that we were 10 minutes early and the store did not open until 10. We then discovered on Mondays, they have free breakfast! Jack pot for those who did not eat. Eggs, bacon, potatoes, all for the right price. Vinca and Nigella met us there and we had a great morning. We were able to drop off Six and Four at the childcare center. Seven enjoyed wandering around the store with N. I found some great small bowls, perfect for kid snacks 4 for $.99. I also go something new for my table. We had a wonderful visit and were off to the Mall of America when done.

At the MOA, expectations were high. We've had many adventures there in the past. Not all experiences turn out the same based on the budget. Today we were ready to have mini corn dogs for lunch and just see what we could see. We really lucked out when a random lady gave us 5 mystery tickets. They were good either for one ride, rides all day, or rides for a year. The first ticket N had scanned was good for 100 rides! Jackpot! Orchid, Uncle T and Baby Orchid met us and enjoyed some rides. It turned out to be a fantastic visit to the MOA. Uncle T wanted to reward the kids for raking leaves yesterday. He paid them for their hard work, then they all picked out Lego's from Legoland. Talk about treats!

We are now ready to eat and waiting for Daffodil to come over. Rumor has it she is bringing pumpkin cookies. Another great end to a fabulous day.

One beautiful October Sunday

Today was a gorgeous day. We celebrated the baptism of sweet Baby Orchid. She was so good through the entire service. Bonus! Daffodil and her family were at the service. The just happened to be in the MPLS area for the weekend. It was brief, but great to see them. Really special they were able to celebrate Baby Orchid's big day. Orchid's MIL made a wonderful meal we all enjoyed after mass. We visited with friends and had a great afternoon. The kids enjoyed raking leaves in the yard. Cheap labor. Orchid and Mum broke out the rootbeer floats. My kids will work for rootbear floats. We had to say goodbye to everyone early as they all must work tomorrow.
We will remain in town and enjoy seeing some friends we haven't seen for some time. A trip to Ikea is in the works for the morning. Haven't briefed N yet, but did get it out to my peeps on FB. : )

4,000

4,000 views on our blog! Amazing people have looked at this information 4,000 times.

The car is loaded, but there are many things to add. Some I will do tonight, but others will wait until morning. There is a pile by the front door ready to go.

Everything was going smoothly with my night. Zinnia came over to watch the troops while I ran to the bank and Pat's alone. It was so much faster than taking everyone with. We made a pizza for supper, simple and easy. I had a ton of things to do after watching Sweet Pea all day. I cleaned the car, finished the laundry and packed many items necessary to take three kids on a 12 hour car ride in a Toyota Camry. Yes, maybe we are crazy. I hope my family realizes how crazy we are to keep doing this. Crazy about them? Or maybe it's baby Orchid? : )

I brought the kids out to Zinnia's to run off some energy tonight. They were in bed later than I planned, but should sleep good tonight. The boys have been up coughing with some congestion lately. No fever, no runny nose, just dry cough and congestion. I hope they sleep well tonight. On my way home from Zinnia's, I discovered an entire bottle of Gatorade leaked on the front seat of the car. This is the task that awaits me yet this evening. Well, that and cleaning the bathroom. I like to come home to a clean house. It's almost 10 o'clock. I better get the rest of my jobs done. I haven't seen 10 o'clock all week!

On the third day, I see the light!

Friday is usually a great day of all of society. Things feel different on Fridays. The weekend excitement is in the air. Yesterday, I had my doubts about the situation with Sweet Pea. I wasn't sure I'd make it until 1 December. Today, I am so happy to say has been much, much better. We were out and about during preschool. She took some good stretches of naps during that time, as long as the car was moving. Once we were home, she ate a really good lunch. Still won't take a bottle from me, but I did get her to take one drink from a sippy cup. She played with Eliana in the living room on the floor the entire time I cleaned up the kitchen. I was amazed. She didn't fuss about wanting to be held! We may get through this yet. The problem is we are done now for 3 days, well 5 if you count the weekend. Our trip to MN is planned and we won't see Sweet Pea until next Thursday. I hope it won't be like starting over again. I did get a book I've been waiting for at the library today. I am so anxious to read it. I'd like to drop everything and read, but alas, I have quite a list to get done before we can head out of town tomorrow.

Fussy, Fussy

Day two with Sweet Pea. She is fussy. I don't think she is like this at home. It's rather frustrating. She was better this morning than yesterday, but still did not want to be put down. We brought out the umbrella stroller and the kids pushed her around in the house. She seemed to take comfort in being in the stroller. Maybe it made her more secure? Anyway, the kids entertained her well.

Flu shots were on the agenda for the morning. She was great during that time.

We returned the boys to school and headed to town for some necessities. The trip through Sam's was good. She rode in the stroller no problem, but I knew we were on borrowed time. Four had some attention issues when we tried to influence her on being quiet in the car. Sweet Pea fell asleep on the ride home. Of course she woke up as soon as we got here. We fed her some peas and squash. No nap was in site for her, I was only dreaming for me. We walked her around the block a few times. She fell asleep, but woke up when the ride was over. We rocked in the chair and I think she slept for about 20 minutes. I held her the rest of the afternoon. What am I thinking? I didn't even do this with my own kids. I think if and when I can get her to take a bottle, we will do better. She did get down and play a few times today. Being in the stroller helped. I think she will be better as she becomes more familiar and comfortable. Verbena had a discussion about watching other peoples kids yesterday during soccer. It is always more work than you anticipate. Maybe I'm not cut out for it after all. We will see. She ate again and is on a walk with N and Four. Time to go get the boys.

First morning with a baby in the house

Well, so far so good with Sweet Pea. She fussed a little in the morning. The kids were very excited about her. She arrived at 10 to 7 and they were already done with their breakfast. It's picture day so they left in polo shirts, not their first choice. I was surprised not to have more protest from Six.

Would you be surprised to hear that Sweet Pea seems to be really taken with N? She is a cat napper. She's taken three cat naps this morning. She fell asleep on the ride back from preschool. We fed her, changed her and now she is napping. We shall see how the afternoon goes.

A new addition

Tomorrow Baby Sweet Pea will join our household. She will be with us until the first of December. My group is so very excited. Four is eager to use whats left of our baby things. I brought home Sweet Pea's supplies from the PTO meeting tonight. She is adorable and will do well at our house. It's late and she's coming early, I better get to bed.

Almost there

We're almost to 4,000 views! Our little blog is a success with that many viewings. Thank you to all who read my stories. You motivate me to write and share what I can.

Extremely early Tuesday

What a week this has been already. What a week next week will be! We will be heading to MN this Saturday. Baby Orchid will be baptized on Sunday morning. I have been honored by being asked to be her Godmother. It is 12 hours driving time from our house to Orchids. That doesn't include stopping time.

My major obstacle is that starting tomorrow, I will be watching a 9 month old daily. I hope to have this figured out today. I will need to help her mom find someone else to watch her next week while we are gone, thus the reason I am awake before 5am on a Tuesday morning. I have a few options to look into, I pray one will work out. We shall see.

Standing out at Six

Tonight during RE class, Daisy and I asked the six year olds who or what they wanted to pray for. We handed them small squares of green paper, green because it's ordinary time. Of course, not all six year olds are completely confident with their spelling. We discussed different people they could possibly want to pray for. I wrote them down on the chalk board. The children were doing very well, coming up with all sorts of people to pray for. Six says the word "baby." Some of the other kids giggled at him. It didn't seem to bother him that they kind of teased him about wanting to pray for a baby. I believe the baby he was praying for is baby Orchid, but I am not certain. I was proud of him for speaking his mind and not feeling intimidated. Way to go Six.

Confidence at Seven years old

Tonight when we were walking out of religious ed, Fr. B was standing in the hallway talking to the kids and the parents. Seven comes right out and says to Fr. B "I've got something I want to tell you. I really liked that joke you told me this week." Fr. B laughed and asked Seven to stand up and say that after the joke he will tell next Sunday. I was really surprised that Seven spoke up in front of all these kids and parents. It was a great moment for Seven.

Mondays aren't for the weak

All three kids were out the door, clean, fed and on time. I fit in a trip to spend my Kohls cash and met Daisy at church. We made a plan for RE tonight and set up our room. It's still a slight work in progress, but the night went very well. This afternoon Zinnia and I made a big dent in our on going projects. Four played outside with the cats. I love seeing her enjoy the cats so much. Time with them is an experience I can not give her. I loved playing with cats when I was a kid. They added these kittens to their family this summer. The cats are so used to the kids cuddling and loving them. The girls carry the cats like babies. The cats don't mind, they go along with it all. She will spend a decent amount of time outside by herself with the cats. I can see her out the window. She loves that time outside with those cats by herself.

RE tonight went well. We have a new director. I am impressed with some of the changes she has made. I think it will take some of the pressure off of us. We were always trying to come up with more activities to keep the children busy. She provided us with an activity and we gathered in the chapel. It all broke up our time and we were done before we knew it.

We came home, happy, but I was left anxious to get the people to bed. They shared some online interest with their dad and were in bed on time. To my discouragement, there are two children in the kitchen having a snack. At least there are only two, something about one sleeping child upstairs makes it ok. They better be in the bed within the next 10 minutes.

Sunny Saturday

What a Saturday this turned out to be! It was cold and windy to start with, ending with beautiful sunshine rays. After our soccer games, we wandered around town. We found ourselves at a McDonald's we'd never been to before. It had a play area. We split a 20 piece McNuggets. No one else was there. They had a basketball section and air hockey table. It was all free. The kids were just as happy with that as they would have been with Chuckie Cheese. After we went to a park to play. We stopped at Sam's Club for granola bars, we have snack at soccer on Wednesday. It was free sample day. The kids were in heaven. We've only been there for free samples once with my parents over a year ago. With pleased people, we came home. Early baths and there's talk of watching Annie in the living room with a fun snack. It's great to have N home on a Saturday. Church tomorrow, more soccer and I have $20 in Kohl's cash to use up. Hopefully that will be painless as I tote all three alone with me alone.

A very windy Saturday

Seven scored at his soccer game today. It was very windy and cold, but he had a great time. He loves being a part of the team and playing. The cold slowed them down a little. We go back in 20 minutes for Six and his game today. Another game tomorrow and that will complete our weekend. N has the day off, still not sure what we will do with the rest of the day. He has no opinions. What can I come up with? We shall see.