October Kits

I'm trying to get my November assignments done, so I'll have to hold off on more Disney pics for now. I almost forgot--it's a new month, so I can show my pages done with the new October Scrapaddict Kits.
These first two are from the Autumn Equinox Quick Fix Kit using the Daisy D's Autumn Collection papers.

The last two are from the City Slickers Quick Fix Kit and the City Slickers Overdose (OD) Kit using the Dream Street Jack Collection papers.

We're Back!!!

We're back from Disney! We all had so much fun! The older boys really enjoyed themselves on the rides. DD was in absolute heaven after meeting the princesses. The baby did very well on the plane (his first plane ride) and was so good most of the time, content to absorb the sights from his stroller. Of course, he did get carried a lot, but today he really just wanted to get out of that thing and play on the floor. We spent much of the time with another family who are really good friends of ours, so DH and I had fun being with them.

We stayed at the Polynesian Resort. DH and I usually think that the hotel room doesn't matter, since you don't spend that much time there, but we would definitely stay there again. The view from our room was spectacular (see right). I spent a couple of "early" nights with the baby there, as well as one early afternoon, so it was nice to be able to look out onto the water or see the fireworks from my window (see below). It was also very convenient to be able to either take a boat or ride the monorail straight to the Magic Kingdom. We also had an upgrade. I'm not really sure how I booked it, and I'm sure we paid for it in the long run, but we had "free" daily continental breakfast, snacks and juice during the day (beer and wine were also available for "free"), heavy appetizers at night (like barbeque pork and vegetable egg rolls) and desserts and cordials later at night. This was great for the kids, because we would get back from a long day at one of the parks, and they would head straight to the lounge for cookies.

I have so much to say but so little time to say it. I had hoped to blog daily from Disney, but internet access would have cost me $10 a day, and that just wasn't worth it for just a few minutes. I didn't even have time to watch TV or read anything while I was there. On arriving home, I told DH that a meteor could have hit the US and I wouldn't have known it. He merely said, "Isn't that great?" :)This is my favorite photo of the almost 300 that I took at Disney. Aren't these two adorable? :)

Libby Lu

DD got a gift certificate to Libby Lu for a makeover for her birthday last year. I totally forgot about this until a month or so ago. I decided that this would be the perfect time to go since she doesn't have school this week and we're leaving for Disney tomorrow. She had such a blast! The expression on her face when the makeover started was just priceless. She also had that look when she realized that she was getting glitter on her fingernails and getting makeup put on. I don't think it will be as exciting the second time, because she'll know what to expect. Still, it was a fun thing to do together.

She kept saying over and over again afterwards, "I had a lot of fun at Libby Lu." or "Libby Lu was fun, right?" Now, we've promised her that she could sleep in this (minus the makeup) tonight so she could look like this on the plane to Disney. Yes, she IS a princess. :)

Sitting Up

DS#3 is sitting up! He's still a little unstable, but he can hold this position for a minute or so, even when he's waving a toy around. I just discovered the fact that he could sit up by himself this afternoon, although DH always makes it sound like he's been doing it forever. He's been scooching already for a while, so it's just a matter of time before his siblings run away in horror!

I Am Not A Teacher

I've never thought that I was patient enough to be a teacher. Of course, as anyone who is a mom knows, you become a teacher whether or not you like it. Well, I've been trying to help DD learn how to read. She has known the sounds of all of the individual letters for a long time. Tonight, she seemed to actually be putting the sounds together correctly--for the first time for me. (I think she's been doing it at school.) While I was excited about that, some of the consonant blends have been difficult for her ("th" and "sh" for example). I got a little frustrated with her tonight because after the 30th or so time we saw the "th" combination, she still kept trying to sound the letters out individually. I feel like such a bad mom for getting frustrated with her. Of course, the baby was fussing in my lap at the same time, so that most likely added to my frustration.

Ironically, one of the interns at work who I was working with today thanked me at the end of the day for teaching him. Me, being thanked for being a "teacher"? Go figure!

Clothes Horse

I've never been big on buying a lot of nice clothes for myself, at least not when compared to my younger sister. I remember her telling me that my spending would go up when I made more money, and it certainly has. With more money came less time, though, so I tend to get clothes from the same places, and those places can get pricey. Ann Taylor Loft, for example is my favorite place to get clothes. I love it because their clothes fit me, and I love that they're not too "old" or too "young".

On Saturday, I was invited to a friend's house for one of those home parties where you buy stuff from a catalog. This time it was clothes (CAbi or "Carol Anderson by Invitation"). I was a little skeptical at first, because I'm loyal to my Ann Taylor Loft. :) I went just to be social, and I had a lot of fun. It was like going shopping with a bunch of girlfriends. I tend to buy things just because they are on sale. This is great for my wallet, but I usually don't like those clothes as much in the end, and I don't wear them. So, what I do nowadays, is look at the price tag AFTER I choose what I like. This meant that I spent much more than I had expected to at the party. When I told my sweet DH how much I spent, he didn't even bat an eyelash. He tells me when I'm spending too much money, you see. ;)

Then, on Sunday afternoon, Ann Taylor Loft was having a sale plus I had these great little "savings cards" where if I spent $50, I would get $25 off. Whenever I tell DH that I "saved a lot of money" he always jokes, "How much money did you have to spend to 'save' money?" Well, I came home to tell him that I saved so much money that I saved more than I spent. ;)

The total for both purchases makes me gasp a little, but I had a lot of fun, and I have lots of new clothes to show for it. I guess all of a sudden I'm making up for all of that time when I didn't buy a lot of clothes. :)

More Soccer

I'm trying to be fair to my other children and showing a photo here of the middle two when they were actually getting along. I took this one last Saturday when we were watching DS#1 playing soccer. I think DS looks so amused because I had originally forgotten to turn on the camera. :)

If I thought last week was busy, this week was "almost" as busy. DS#1's soccer practices have been moved to Monday and Wednesdays instead of Tuesdays and Thursdays. Of course we only found out about this on Monday so they had practice on Tuesday and Wednesday this week instead. Our week shaped up like this:

Monday - nothing after school (My Mom and Dad were in town so we went out to the Outback Steakhouse)
Tuesday - DS#1 soccer practice, DS#2 goal keeper practice - same field/same time
Wednesday - DS#1 soccer practice at one field, DS#2 soccer practice at another field, DD with soccer practice at completely different field (needless to say, she missed practice on Wednesday this week)
Thursday - DD swimming lesson at 4PM
Friday - DS#2 soccer game, DS#2 Cub Scout Pack meeting (again, needless to say, he can't be at two places at once, so he's missing this meeting)

If you're still following this thread, we have two soccer games tomorrow and one birthday party. We have two birthday parties on Sunday. The only time we can go to church is Sunday evening. On the up side....WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY ON THURSDAY!!!

23 weeks

I'm a little behind with my weekly journaling about DS#3's milestones. He has definitely developed a little personality.

He gets mad when you put him down. He gets mad when you walk away from him. He gets the maddest when he is tired and you don't hold him.

He loves to play. He loves to play with his feet and hands--all in his mouth, of course. He loves to bounce in the exersaucer (see above) and looks too cute with his arms out as if to balance himself. He especially loves to play Peek-a-boo with his sister.

He does not like to lie down--he prefers to be upright. We used to put him in his bouncy chair the most often, but then he started leaning more and more forward--until his upper body is on the floor. Then he gets mad again (see above).

Last week he started rolling around--a lot. I can't keep him on his back anymore. He is always kicking up his legs and swinging them to the side so he can get on his tummy. I've stopped trying to get him to sleep on his side. This morning DH had to go to the bathroom, so he laid him on a blanket in the living room. He heard him from the bathroom suddenly start screaming at the top of his lungs. When he was able to go see what was up, he discovered DS wrapped up in the blanket with just his little legs showing. Apparently, he had been putting the blanket in his mouth or at least grabbing it with his hand, and then he rolled and rolled until he was all wrapped up. DH actually thought of taking a picture, but decided that the baby was too distressed to warrant taking the time.

I can probably go on, but I've run out of time. I'll try to post again soon.

A Little Help

Our first full weekend of soccer is here. The kids were so excited that both older boys were dressed in their uniforms by around 7:30 this morning. DD's game was scheduled for a field near us at 11:00. DH is coaching her team, so they both had to be there at 10:30. DS#1 had a game at 11:30 on a field about 15 minutes away. He had to be there at 10:30. DS#2 had a game at the same field as his big brother, but his game was at 1:30. He had to be there by 1PM. So, that meant that I was taking the boys and DH was taking DD. When he finished her game, he would come watch whatever was left of DS#1's game and stay for the next game. Confusing? Yes. Does it get more confusing in the next few weeks? Yes again.

Of course, that schedule doesn't take DS#3 or lunch into account. I got DS#2 lunch when DS#1 was warming up. I got everyone else lunch when DS#3 was warming up. Luckily, my parents are here and they stayed at home with the baby. The temperature got up into the 90s and it was humid and sunny. I was so glad I wouldn't have to take the baby out in that. I didn't have any shade for the first game, but luckily, there were trees on the field DS#2 played on. All the parents were huddled by one of the goals, where the trees were. Those weren't the best seats with the best view, but they were a whole lot cooler.

Despite all the scheduling trouble and having to be outside in the hot sun, I think we all had fun. The kids were tired but so excited to be playing soccer. Even my parents had fun. DS#3 turned on his charm for them, I guess. ;)

Busy, Busy, Busy

I feel like I've been too busy to update my blog. I love to write about all of those mundane things that happen to me on a daily basis. ;-) Since school started, or more precisely, since soccer started, we've been busy, busy, busy. We now have six soccer practices per week, and although we don't have the final schedules for the boys yet, we expect to have at least three games this weekend, maybe even more.

So far, our weekdays are as follows:
Monday--Yay! Free day for us!
Tuesday--The older boys both have soccer practice at 6-7:30PM. DS#2 just recently added this *third* practice because it's goalie practice and he wants to be a goalie.
Wednesday--DD soccer practice at 6-7PM with DH coaching (meaning he has to be there), so I take DS#2 to his soccer practice at 6-7:30PM. Tonight, I had DS#1 and #3 with me, too.
Thursday--DD swim lesson at 4-4:30PM. DS#2 with Cub Scout Pack Meeting once a month (there's one tomorrow). DS#1 soccer practice at 6-7:30PM.
Friday--DS#2 soccer practice 6-7:30PM. He also has Cub Scout Den Meetings on some Fridays 7-8PM. We haven't figured out how to do these both. He may have to miss one, but of course, he's disappointed at having to do this.

Sometimes I long for the simpler times, like when DD was just learning how to walk (see above) or when the older ones were just learning about solid food. DS#3 tried some peas this weekend. He seemed intrigued by the peas, but he enjoyed spreading it around the high chair even more. We've actually been worried that he's not eating enough. That may be because the older boys always ate so well. DD, of course, did not, but she turned out okay, right? In any case, I weighed him on Monday, and at five months old (yes, he's five months old already!), he weighs 14 lbs. 12 oz. I need to go look up what percentile that is.

My mom and dad are coming for another visit this weekend. My mom has a few days off early next week and she said she misses the baby. :)

Making Memories

As many of you know, scrapbooking is my obsession. I am and forever will be behind in putting my thousands of photos in my scrapbooks. This weekend has been busy, as always, but I was reminded that at least I was out "making memories" with my family. The scrapbooks will have to wait until later. :)

Lazy Post

I'm too tired to say anything worth while, so I'm posting my pages using the new September Scrapaddict.com Kits. This first one uses old photos of DD from our Disney trip in 2004. The next three use recent photos, which I think I may have posted here on my blog.

I just finished some more pages using the new October 2007 kits, but y'all will have to wait until next month to see those. :)

Little Mama

I decided to take a shower this morning while DH was out running some errands. I put the baby in his exersaucer in the bathroom so he could "play". I even put my contact lenses on just so I could keep an eye on him and actually see him from inside the shower. The rest of the kids were outside playing. Of course, as luck would have it, he "threw" most of his toys off the exersaucer and started crying--at the top of his lungs. Actually, I think he was just bored anyway. After a few minutes of this, DD came in. She had come in from playing outside and heard her brother crying. Ever the little mother, she wanted to see if she could help. She gave him back his toys, but that he didn't stop crying. I spent some hurried moments trying to finish up in the shower and then get dressed. The baby stopped crying immediately when I picked him up, as usual. That kid sure likes to be carried!

I still needed to dry my hair, so I had DD sit with DS on her lap in my bedroom. He seemed quite content there, so I went back into the bathroom. When I finished drying my hair, I heard DD singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to her baby brother. I listened to her, and when she finished, I told her what a nice song that was. She then started talking about when DS#3 asks her to read to him--that is, when he's four and he asks her to read to him, she'll say yes every time. That made me smile for two reasons. First, I realized that her big brothers must be treating her right and reading to her when she asked. Second, because I know her big brothers aren't always happy to take time from their own reading to read to her. Still, it was a sweet thought on her part. :)

I used to always think that I was going to have three children. It seems that God knew what he was doing, once again. I always knew that DD was different from her brothers, but seeing her with a younger sibling really has made me feel like we have a special bond. I feel like I'm training her to be a mother, too. I just hope I'm teaching her the right things!

(I just re-read my "Grouch" post. What a difference some sleep makes!)

Thank Yous

As promised, this is a photo of DD's face when I asked her to continue counting as part of her homework assignment earlier this week. Doesn't she look totally exhausted? She was much better today, although I didn't have to plug through homework with her today. I did, however, get her to sign some thank you cards, which she did willingly.

A friend of mine told me that she doesn't allow her kids to play with their birthday gifts until they finish their thank you notes. That would be too painful for DH and me right now, since we're still the ones that write DD's thank you notes, so we modified that rule. She just has to do a thank you note for each gift that she plays with, so we can do a few of the thank you notes at a time.

I actually sat down and made two dozen thank you cards this week. I'm crazy, I know, but it fulfilled my creative needs for the week. I was too tired to do anything else that required more thought. DD likes the cards, too, so she has fun "picking out" which thank you card to give to which friend.

Here's an update of DS#3 and solid food. He seems to be coming along with the solid food. He enjoys the oatmeal for the most part, but it does take quite a bit of time to feed him, and it seems to be causing some constipation. Instead of the frequent containment leaks, he just has one a day. Oh Joy!
This boy really needs to cut his tooth soon. He keeps biting on things and gets very cranky. He was looking longingly at the bread we were eating the other day, so we gave him a piece of it. He really went to town on that piece of bread. I know DH can't wait until DS can eat real food. It will be a lot easier and faster to feed him then.

This photo was taken today. He was in a much better mood today, probably because he slept later this morning. I hope he lets us sleep tomorrow, too. I need the extra energy to write more thank you notes! :)

Grouch

We found out last year, when DD started full-day PreK that she gets very exhausted at school and she turns into the biggest grouch as soon as we pick her up. She got adjusted to it somewhat as the year went on. This year is the same. On the first day of school, she even fell asleep in the car on the way home. She can get more sleep on the weekend sometimes, but with the excitement of her birthday party on Saturday, she got less sleep and got even more tired.

Yesterday, she argued over the simplest things. We were doing her homework worksheets. On one sheet she was supposed to write her first and last name five times. She completed that one first. Later on, she added "HAH" before each line with her name on it. I didn't know what that was for, although I wondered if it was supposed to stand for "Her Absolute Highness". ;-) She argued with me about keeping it there, but I made her erase them. On the other sheet there was a section where the instructions said to "Color more squares and then write the number down on the line below." When I read that to her, she actually told me that wasn't right. Come on--she can't read and she tries to tell me what the paper DOESN'T say! *insert rolling eyes here*

Today, she must have been mean in the car, because DH was already fed up with her when they got home from school. Then, we had to do her homework. The last part of her assignment required that she count as high as she could and then I was supposed to write down the last correct number. This is the girl who in the past has happily counted as she sat in the car during some random car trip. She started off by asking if she could stop at "21". Of course I said "No." She finally started counting and at each group of ten, she slowed down and had the saddest pout on her face, as if pleading to stop. The mean mom that I am made her keep going until she got to "109" when she flatly refused to even try to go further. I was sure that she knew what came next, but I decided to cut my losses.

She cheered up a bit later, but we still have two days to go this week! Tomorrow, I'll try to post the picture I took of her.

Party For Five

DD's birthday party was today. We waited two weeks after her birthday so we could invite her new classmates. About half of them were there in addition to a few extra friends that were in "the other" kindergarten class and their siblings. The party was at a place called Pump It Up which is basically a place where they have inflatable play structures that the kids (and some adults) can jump on, slide on, and generally just play on in the comfort of air conditioning. The kids all had a blast. Better yet, they were having so much fun that most of them left their parents alone so they could talk with one another. I got to meet several "new" parents and reconnect with some "old" ones, too.

We were a little short on pizza, however. We miscalculated how many siblings were going to be there plus the kids had played so hard that they were actually hungry. We were used to kids really not eating well at parties because they are usually too busy playing. This was not the case today. We had hoped to feed everyone until they were full. Of course, I only had one pizza and in the end, I really didn't need more than that. Luckily, I made extra goodie bags and I really only missed a few siblings.

DD got lots and lots of presents. We're starting a rule that she can't play with them until she writes thank-you notes. She was actually very willing, but of course, we don't have any for her to write on right now. I guess I'd better get busy either making some or getting to the store to buy some!

Learning and Growing

I changed my own flat tire today! I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never changed my own flat tire before. Usually we had some service do it or someone like DH or my Dad did it. I got my flat tire on the way to work. I was exiting the freeway when I heard the familiar sound coming from the back of my car. Luckily, this was close to the entrance gate for work because I really did not want to stop at the side of the road. It was still dark (before 6:30AM) and there were a lot of cars around that were going very fast. I decided to risk going all the way to the parking lot and parking. That way I could drop my stuff off and enlist someone to help me.

At first I was just going to ask one of the guys at work to do it for me. There was one willing volunteer. He was retired military working there as a civilian. I don't know why I felt like sharing that, but maybe it's because that would give you an insight to why he was so helpful. We were discussing how I could call my roadside service when I decided that I wanted to try to do it myself. He said he would help me.

We got out there a little before 8AM. It was already rather hot and steamy. My helper had the foresight to bring out a blanket for us to use to kneel on. He talked me through the process as well as giving me tips, like not jacking the car up too high and using my own weight to loosen the lug nuts. He even got on the bare ground to get my full size spare tire out from under my car. He actually got rather dirty and we were both sweating.

I probably don't need to be this descriptive, but when it was all finished I had a good feeling--a sense of accomplishment. When I called DH to describe to him the whole process, his only comment was--"So is it all done?" Oh well, if he doesn't want to hear about me describing my day, then I guess I'll just type it all out on the blog and he can read it later. :)

Like Father, Like Son

Isn't this the cutest picture? It was only 10PM when I went upstairs to go to bed last night. When I found this, I nearly laughed out loud. Luckily, I was able to leave the room, get the camera, and return without waking up these two. Heck, DH never even stopped snoring!

The End of Summer

Yes, we are very happy that Papa is home! He could tell that Lola and Lolo held DS#3 a whole lot when they were here because apparently, DS#3 didn't want to be put down today. :)

Actually, the picture of DS above was not from Papa being home. My Mom bought him this outfit which included that hat. I put it on him and he actually didn't try to get it off like the other kids did with their hats at this age. He even seemed to enjoy it, as you can see from the photo. Isn't he adorable? ;-)

I took this next photo of my Mom holding DS#3 while he slept. There was a lot of that going on. It looks like both of them are enjoying the bonding time. Isn't that the most beautiful sight?

My Mom did everything for me when she was here, but I'm glad DH is back so we can try to get back to normal. For the first time, DH had to get the kids ready for school this morning by himself while getting the baby ready to take with him. When the kids got out of school in May, there were really only about three days when he had to do that himself since I was on maternity leave almost to the end of school.

The kids and I went to the pool yesterday. This was actually the first time I've gone to our neighborhood pool this year, and it's the first time I've actually had to take all four of them without DH along. I didn't bother wearing a swimsuit since I knew I would be with the baby. He didn't stay asleep as I had hoped. He actually sat in his stroller for a bit, though, playing with his hands. He only fussed a little when he wanted to be carried. I dipped his feet in the water, and he seemed to like it this time. It has been warm and humid outside after the recent rain. Despite my usual dislike of being outside in this type of weather, it was nice and relaxing to watch the kids play so well together, and it was nice to play with the baby in the pool, too.

For some reason, this felt like the real end of summer, even though the kids have been in school for a week. I think it's because, now that DH is back in town, we'll be settling into our Fall Semester routine. That means five soccer practices a week and probably at least four to five games a week. Ah, I miss those lazy days of Summer already!

He's Home!

I haven't had much time at all to post here and even less time to put up pictures. The important thing is--

HE'S HOME!!! :)

All Tied Up

I just wanted to share a page (using an old kit from Scrapaddict.com) I did of DH teaching DS#1 how to tie a "real" tie. Luckily, DH left a pre-tied tie for him, because DS hasn't attempted to do it himself this week yet. I'm going to try to get a page done this week of DH teaching DD how to tie her shoes.

Things seem to be settling in somewhat. DD and DS#2 are showing signs of exhaustion when they get home from school as evidenced by their sometimes unpleasant behavior. DS#1 seems to be dealing with the new hours fine and he's been a big help as usual. I'm indebted to my Mom. She's taking care of everything for me so I can actually get some "me" time this week.

I've been thanking her profusely, and all she says is that she worked all the time when I was young and she felt like she missed a lot of things. I'm glad she's getting lots of bonding time with DS#3, but I have to admit that I wish DH's parents were able to get some bonding time, too. DS#3 is just growing up too fast! I'm thankful for some bonding time of my own with him this week, too.

First Day of School

Life has been rather chaotic here the past few days. I don't have too much time to post right now, so I'll keep it short. The kids all started school on Monday. As you can see from the photo, they were all very excited. I worked late that day, so I missed it all. I was also on call last night, so I felt like I was just learning about the goings on of their first day today.

DH left on a plane early this morning. This is the only time he ever leaves us for an extended period of time. My Mom and Dad are here to help me with the kids, for which I am so very thankful. DH gets back on Sunday. I hope I haven't lost my mind by then. ;-)

First Solids

We've been too busy to give the baby his first taste of solid food. Tonight was still busy with getting ready for the first day of school tomorrow, but we made the time. We used the bouncy chair on top of the dining room table instead of the high chair because the high chair just seemed to sit so straight up. I took some still photos while my sister took some video. DH did the honors of feeding DS#3 his first taste of rice cereal. He really seemed to enjoy it. Sure, some of the food ended up outside of his mouth, but most of it seemed to get in. The whole episode didn't take too long either--he was taking it in fairly quickly. It was hilarious seeing everyone gathered around, but it was nice that this was a "family" event. :)

Birthday Girl

Today is my DD's fifth birthday. I tried so hard to make this a special day for her. She requested banana pancakes for breakfast, so I made them for her. She wanted a certain Princess backpack from Target for school (which starts on Monday) so I got that for her. She loves ice cream, so my sisters (who are in town for the weekend) made her this rather cool no-bake "ice cream cake". She wanted to do crafts again at Lakeshore Learning, so we did that (see below for photo of the girls and their necklaces). Along the way, things turned ugly. You see, when the cousins come for a visit, DD doesn't sleep. She goes to bed later and wakes up earlier. Simply--she was exhausted today! If it hadn't been her birthday today, I would have sent her to bed to take a nap many, many times. *Sigh*--but I didn't. Yes, there were moments where she managed to have fun. There were moments where she was adorable. More often, however, she was a big, crabby, grouch!

We're having her party in two weeks. I hope she's much more congenial then!

Four Month Weigh-In

DS#3 had his four-month checkup today. He weighs 14 lbs. 1 oz. and is 25 1/2 inches long. Apparently he is around 50% for both length and weight. He's definitely smaller than his siblings at this age, but it's good to know that he is still growing. Poor baby had three shots today and he's been cranky since. Of course, his two containment leaks, including one in his carseat haven't helped his mood...or his Papa's.

Another Catch Up

It's been another busy few days. On Saturday, I took DD and DS#2 to Lakeshore Learning to do crafts. Their craft was making crowns. Not surprising, DD was all about the bling, especially the heart bling. DS also chose lots of bling but in more understated colors and shapes. DD chose some shimmery paint as well while DS kept his crown paintless.

Yesterday, the older boys went to the pediatrician for their school physicals. DS#1 is officially 62 1/2 inches tall and 100 pounds (although he was 62 inches according to them a few months ago, but he was still a little bit shorter than me at the time). DS#2 was 54 inches and 72 pounds. Both were around 95% for height and 50% for weight. Both are growing boys, that's for sure. DD will have her appointment later in the month.

DS#3 will have his four-month checkup on Thursday. He has been trying to sit up, despite being placed in a reclining state. He still drools a lot and still loves to stick out his tongue. He slept through the night another three times this last week. So close and yet so far... I got this photo of him today during DD's swimming lesson. I just love that I can see his dimples!



We had some kid friends over at our house plus I got to scrap with my friend Jen today. I actually got some pages done over the last couple of days. Here's a page using an awesome August kit from
Scrapaddict.com. These photos were taken five years ago when DH and DS#1 first signed up for karate. I don't have too many great photos of them taking karate at that time, so these are very precious to me. It's been a great couple of days. I'm back to work tomorrow.

New Trick

This week, DS#3 has started pulling in his lower lip and sucking on it. We've been joking about how he's been so desperate to suck on something that he found his own lower lip the most convenient. He looks so adorable like this because he puffs his cheeks up and you can see his dimples better. He has also found his thumb. He often sucks on just his thumb as opposed to his whole hand. Both create lots of drool. We still think he has to be teething because of the crankiness and the drooling. Luckily, he hasn't been biting me. We can't see any swollen gums, though, so we're afraid that we still have a long way to go. He has also been playing with his feet more and more. It's just a matter of time before he puts those in his mouth.

He slept through the night the past couple of nights. I'm working tomorrow, though, so that usually means that he gets me up at least once!

The Object of Her Affections

DD can't help herself. She is constantly touching her baby brother. She loves to kiss him, hug him, and just be around him. She sometimes calls him "cutie baby" and often says, "He's SO CUTE!!!". She often gets underfoot of whoever is carrying him because invariably she'll be holding on to his foot and we just aren't able to see her there when she does that.

Her big thing the last few days is that she wants to "carry" him. This means that we put him on her lap while she is sitting on the sofa. That's all she is allowed to do because the other day she tried to help him "stand" and she lost her balance. He ended up tummy down on the edge of the sofa, but he easily could have ended up on the floor. He wasn't hurt or even startled, and I was right there next to her on the sofa, thank goodness.

Yesterday, I took a quick shower while DS#2 and DD entertained DS#3. When I got out of the shower, I heard DS#3 making whirring sounds over and over, and I heard DD "singing" (or rather, making high-pitched noises). It was hilarious listening to that. Today, DD was playing Peek-a-Boo with him and he was laughing and laughing. I wish I could have taken a video, but that would have involved putting him down.

We often try to tone down DD's affections, because she can get a bit annoying, but I hope that she always feels this loving towards her baby brother--especially when he starts trying to grab her toys.... :)

Winding Up

The kids have two more weeks of summer vacation. I feel like we're not winding down, however, but we're winding up instead. DS#1 has soccer practices every day this week from 5:30-7PM. He also had an orthodontist appointment today at 4PM. I worked last night, so I was a little tired today. School hasn't even started yet and I feel overscheduled already. Of course, the baby's containment leak right before DH and DS#1 left added to the chaotic feel this afternoon.

DS#3 seems to store up his poop and then lets it go all at once. He has at least one huge poop and resulting containment leak daily. DH is usually the one that handles it, but I was the unlucky one today. What was worse was that after I gave him a bath to clean him up, I turned to get a towel, and he pooped some more--in the tub! Ugh! I'm not going to go into more detail, but I'm glad this day is over!

I'm sorry I haven't had much time to add photos to this blog lately. I'm lying in bed right now trying to feel the little man as I'm typing this. I can only upload photos from my computer downstairs. Maybe tomorrow...

New Friend

First of all, a retraction of sorts, of my last post. DH says he is NOT a "happy homemaker". He says that he was just tired of eating out all the time and tired of maids that only pretended to clean. No matter what the reason, I still feel lucky to have him do all of that work, though. :) We all did a bunch of cleaning this morning, so we could have people over this evening.

Tonight, we invited my scrapping friend Jen, who I know from the Scrapaddict.com Design Team, and her family over for dinner. Her boys played with my kids while we talked, and we also got to meet her DH. We all had a nice time, I think. I'm glad to finally have a scrapping friend here in town. Last year, I thought I had found one. She was a reservist RN who I met through work. Although she was very nice, she has grown kids and doesn't have quite the addiction to scrapbooking that I do, so we didn't have too much else other than scrapbooking in common. We do still keep in touch, however.

I was so excited when Jen moved here in June. Jen has a young family and she loves to scrap as much as I do, but the best part is that she is so easy to get along with. They've been here just a little over a month and we've met several times. I've really enjoyed her company and I hope she has enjoyed mine, too. We haven't yet scrapped together, though, but I hope that we can do that some time soon!

Happy Homemaker

I never thought I'd see the day. DH has turned into a "homemaker".

Early in our marriage, when we were both still in school/training, we barely had any free time let alone free time to clean our apartment. We decided then that we would always have a maid to clean our residence, so we could spend our precious free time having fun together instead of cleaning.

Recently, our regular maid suddenly stopped coming to our house. I found another maid that some friends used, and I gave her name and number to DH. To my surprise, he said that he would rather clean the house himself!

Ever since he started "staying at home", the kids have still gone to daycare or school. I could appreciate how difficult it was to get anything done while the kids are around, and he wanted to have time to write. The kids also enjoyed being with other kids, so daycare was a natural choice.

About a year ago, DH decided to take DD out of daycare (the boys were both already in school). She went to school with the boys this past year, but for the summer, he again decided to keep all of the kids (including the new baby) at home with him. This surprised me because he had complained of not having enough time to write this past year. He has been limited by the bad weather, but he tries to go out and "do fun things" with the kids.

DH has also never enjoyed cooking, whereas I used to love cooking. Slowly, over the years, he has learned some quick and simple recipes from me. During this last pregnancy, I never knew what I wanted to eat until I was ready to eat. So, I started cooking less and less. I also get so discouraged by DS#2 and DD being very vocal about not enjoying what I did happen to cook.

DH has thankfully picked up my slack. Recently, he even started planning meals ahead of time, going to the store and having all the ingredients ready before the day he was actually going to make that dish. Tonight, he took the next step. He actually made a couple of dishes with the express purpose of freezing them so that we can just reheat them at the appropriate time.

I couldn't believe it. I can't believe it. I'm so proud of DH, though. He's doing this all for me and for our family. I absolutely picked the right guy! :)

What's in a Name?

I don't know why, but I started calling my family members "Sweetie" around the time DS#3 was born. I think it was because he is/was such a sweet baby. I sometimes even call him "Sweetie Baby", which drives DH nuts. What really drives him nuts is that DD is trying to be like me and is starting to call DS#3 "Sweetie" also.

I remember around the time we were first married, I felt the need to call DH cutesy names like "Pookie" or "Pumpkin", but he would have none of it. He insisted (and still insists) that "Dear" and "Honey" are okay but he frowned on my using any other nicknames. I just think those sound so "old" like something our grandparents would call each other.

So, I guess I'll continue to call DH "Dear" or "Honey", but right now, I'm still going to call each of the kids "Sweetie". :)

Exciting Things

Here is the precise moment after DS#1 removed the new Harry Potter book from its packaging. Doesn't he look excited? DH and I didn't really sense his excitement until yesterday when DH suggested DS check the mail early since we sometimes get our Saturday mail earlier than on the weekdays. After that DS started asking to check the mail every few minutes. Finally, after we got back from lunch, we saw the mail carrier across the street at the other community mailbox.

DS wanted to wait outside near the mailbox since he couldn't see the mailbox from our house. We suggested that he take his soccer ball with him to pass the time. I took some photos of him playing outside, and I planned on getting a scrapbook page done by the time I posted this, but alas, real life got in the way again.

In any case, DS#1 got his book. He started reading it right away, of course. We made him take a break for church and dinner then he read until around 9:30ish last night. DH started reading a little then, but DS#3 kept him from reading more. DS#1 picked the book up again this morning and finished it by lunch time.

Speaking of exciting things, here is DD with DS#3 in her lap. Every morning, she wants to hug and kiss him right away, and she just cannot keep from touching him. She kisses and hugs him quite often, and sometimes it can get a little annoying, especially if you're trying to calm him down and she's hanging on his foot. Still, it's nice that she cares for him so much. Everyone says they look so much alike. What do y'all think? I think they both look adorable, but then, I'm a little biased. ;-)

Harry Potter Mania

As I type this, I'm at home with my two youngest children who are sleeping. DH is out and about with the two older boys trying to find a good Harry Potter party. They started out at Borders, but they didn't have any magic shows, which is what the boys really wanted to see. DH called a while ago to tell me that they were headed to Barnes and Noble to see what they had there. We ordered the book from Amazon, so they won't be picking up a book at either of those locations. I was secretly hoping that the book would arrive a little early, but instead we probably won't get it until tomorrow afternoon when UPS usually delivers packages here.

DH and DS#1 will be duking it out to see who gets to read the new book first. Actually, they'll probably handle it like they did when the last book was released. DS#1 will read it during the day--ALL day. DH takes it at night when DS#1 goes to bed. Of course, the problem is that this time, DS#2 is interested in reading it, too. Of course, he still has to read the last four or so... I'm not sure when I'll have time to read it myself, but I wish I had enough time to re-read the first six. I would love to remember the little details. There's a review of the book in our local paper today, with a "spoiler alert" warning. I was SO tempted to read it.

DH and the boys just got home. I guess there wasn't much in the way of "activities" at both stores. There was a photo op with someone dressed up as Harry Potter and apparently, DS#1 looks more like Harry Potter than that person did. Too funny! Okay, I'm starting to ramble. Happy reading to all!

Another Free Day

I wish people would stop hurting each other. I got called in to work again last night when some guys got shot and had to come to the operating room. I got to go home after my case was done, and it was a good thing, because I was exhausted! I slept most of the day, but I did manage to make some dinner. I haven't cooked very much since I got pregnant last year, so this was unusual for me. Luckily, DH has taken up my slack. He actually cooks now--I'm so proud of him, and thankful that he doesn't mind doing that. I also managed to complete a couple of pages in DS#3's baby book. I've completed up to "7 weeks old", so I'm a little behind since he is now 14 weeks old. The most important thing is that I got to spend a little time with the kids, so that always makes it a great day!

Rolling Along

Apparently, my little man rolled from his tummy to his back twice today. He also rolled from his back to his side, but his arm got in the way. I missed it, but I'm sure he'll have more in store for me very soon. :)

Beach Photos

Here are the photos I promised I would display. I changed my header above with some closeups of the older kids. Doesn't DD look like she is modeling those seashells for some gameshow? The boys really look like they're having fun. Even DH got in on the action and was helping DS#2 build his little fort/sand castle. DS#2 really gets into building and was upset when we had to leave his creation on the beach.
DS#3, on the other hand, was sleeping most of the time. In the photo on the left, he was perched inside the back of the van. In the photo on the right, I was holding him and trying to get a photo of him looking very peaceful. This leads me to a list of things that made me smile during this beach trip. Most involve me observing my family since I was pretty much stuck sitting on a chair holding DS#3 during Day 2 of our trip:

1. My kids really getting excited about building sand structures
2. DD asking if she can take home the various "cool-looking" shells she found on the beach
3. DH digging in the sand, helping DS#2 build a castle/fort
4. DH and DD walking along the beach with her running alongside him
5. DD holding hands with DS#1 as they stepped into the crashing waves
6. DS#2, who was upset about having to leave his sand creation at the beach, being appeased when I told him we would take a picture so he could remember it forever
7. Digging my own toes under the sand so that my feet would be covered completely with sand
8. Trying to make a tunnel with DS#1 and finally figuring out that we should make a big mound first and then making a hole through it, rather than trying to make an arch that kept collapsing
9. Hearing DS#1 explain that DD wanted to make her drawing "evil" so he had instructed her to give him "fangs"--she is such a "boy"!
10. Hearing all three kids tell us that they want to go to the beach again! :)

Impromptu Beach Trip

DH and I are planners. We decide to do something only after much research and planning. This week, we decided that, since I had Friday and the weekend off from work, we would go to the beach about three hours from here. To be more exact, DH made the hotel reservation on Wednesday for Friday night. Actually, he tried to make a reservation for Thursday night, but he couldn't find a hotel that we wanted to stay at that had rooms left. So we left yesterday after 11AM and got back this evening.

Yesterday we got there in time to check into the hotel first. We didn't know exactly where to go to find a beach, so we just started driving and looking for signs. Once we got to one beach, we were able to drive right up. It was very windy but it was around 4PM so it wasn't too hot or too sunny. Still, we were able to lift up the back hatch on the van and leave DS#3 there in his carseat for most of the time (he was sleeping). The kids had so much fun making sand "castles" that they barely went into the water. They also wanted to go back to the beach today instead of visiting some of the tourist type spots we had planned.

Today, we stopped at the Visitor's Information Center and got directions to a beach that had restrooms and showers. It was very sunny and hot, but there was still a nice breeze. Shielding DS#3 from the sun was a bit more challenging, since we didn't bring any kind of umbrella or covering and we weren't able to drive right up at this beach. Luckily, he again slept for most of the time. I had to hold him wrapped in a towel to shield him from the sun. The price was that I didn't really participate in any of the sandcastle building this time. I just watched. It was very relaxing to watch my family play and interact with each other, however. All in all, it was a very disorganized and stressful trip, but we all had fun in the end.

I don't have time to post photos tonight, but I'll try to post some tomorrow!

Free Day

I got called back into work this morning at around 1AM. Two trauma cases came in at the same time, and another was possibly on its way. I felt surprisingly awake at 3AM this morning. In any case, I was sent home at around 5AM after my case ended. I was very tired, but excited that I was going to get the rest of the day off. DS#3 was good to DH and did not wake him up while I was gone. Yes, this is the second night in a row that DS#3 slept from about 10PM to 530AM. We're keeping our fingers crossed that this continues.

Everyone let me sleep for most of the morning then the whole family went to the gym. Our gym starts taking kids at 3 months old, and DH wanted to check out the whole system so he can make use of it. The whole thing requires some pre-planning, as spots for infants have to be reserved 48 hours in advance. They'll feed and play with the babies, but they won't change their diapers. The older kids enjoy the "daycare" too because they get to play on the big play gym and other areas AND they can play on one of the many computers. Guess which area my older kids played in--computers, of course!

Anyway, I was able to get about 30 minutes on the elliptical machine before they paged me. DS#3 was apparently very hysterical, but he stopped right before I got there. He was quietly sucking on his fist when I saw him. We went home while DH took the other kids to the outdoor pool and water slides there at the gym. He was in a good enough mood to let me take some photos of him with the chair I used to take photos of DD in. I want to be able to see how he's grown relative to the chair.

This afternoon, after they all got back home, I took the older boys to see the new Harry Potter movie. It was a great movie, but then, we're all HP fans. It made me want to re-read that whole 900-page book again. The movie just capped off a really nice day with the family. :)

13 at 13

Today, DS#3 is 13 weeks old!!! He also happens to be 3 months old. I didn't get to take a photo of him in the chair I wanted to, so I hope I can do that tomorrow. We've been wondering how much he weighs, so today, I weighed him at the Lactation Consultant place that we used to go to. He weighed 13 pounds! That means he is almost out of the Size 1 diapers and soon we will be using Size 2 diapers. He has had quite a few containment leaks recently, and DH thinks that's partly because he's running out of room in his diaper.

I took the above photos of him yesterday. He really has been smiling a lot lately, especially when he is supposed to be eating. He also has been sticking out his tongue pretty often. On Saturday, when I was at work, DH put the phone up to his ear so I could talk to him, and he ended up licking the phone. I just heard a "Gross!" and giggles over the phone from the kids. He has also begun to grab toys, like one of the hanging toys on his play arch. His favorite seems to be the one of a smiling sun with ribbons hanging down. He loves to grab the ribbons and put them in his mouth. In fact, he usually has something in his mouth, and it's usually either his fist, or a burp cloth.

Happy Three Months Old, Little Man!

Catch Up

I'm trying to catch up on posting our activities of the past week or so. DS#2 was supposed to be at Cub Scout Camp for four days last week, but because of the constant rain we've been getting, he only went for 2 1/2 days. He had lots of fun swimming, doing crafts and other activities. He even got a prize for being the best at Archery. Here is a photo that DH took when DS#2's pack was in charge of bringing down the flag. His smile says it all--camp was fun!

As I stated previously, my family was here earlier this week. DD got attached to this pair of sunglasses owned by her cousin E. E is the most girly girl I've ever seen--except for her mother, that is. She is 10 months older than my DD and my DD just follows her around and wants to do everything with her. I thought DD was hilarious when she pretended to talk on the phone with these very grown-up looking sunglasses on.

Finally, everyone keeps pointing out how DS#1 is just a hair shorter than me, and how it will only take another good meal for his height to surpass mine. Well, DS#1 already has bigger feet than I do, and DS#2 is catching up fast. Here is a photo of our feet. DS#2's foot is on the left, my foot is in the middle, and DS#1's foot is on the right. DH's feet are only a toe longer than DS#1's, and my feet are only a toe longer than DS#2's.

Happy 4th!

We had a pretty sedate holiday today. It was raining this morning, so no one really felt like leaving the house. My Mom and Dad and dear sis and her DD were here for a couple of days. Dear sis took my DD and her DD to Sea World on Monday. DH took the kids and dear sis and her DD to Sea World on Tuesday. They got lucky both days as far as not getting caught in the rain. Mom and Dad stayed home and got to bond with the baby. He really is very interactive now. He'll often stop eating just so he can stare at you. When you look back at him, he starts to smile. It really makes it all worth the effort.

DH tried to take the boys to see the new Transformers movie but it was sold out of the showing they were going to see, and after being told that they should line up an hour before the next showing just to get a seat, they decided to postpone it for another day. DH was also going to take the older boys to see fireworks tonight, but they're now just setting off fireworks with the neighbors. At least they're having fun.

The only other "holiday activity" we did today was grill burgers. Like I said, we had a pretty sedate holiday, but being with family is always a good thing. I really should post every day, but I just don't have time some days. I'll try to catch up on photos in the next few days. For now, here's a cute photo of DS#3 smiling and wearing his 4th of July outfit courtesy of my dear sis. :)

Whoosh!

That's the sound of money being sucked away by Disney. I just booked a vacation to Disney World at the end of September when the kids have a week off from school!!! I'm EXCITED!!! Can you tell?!!! Am I crazy for wanting to take a 5 1/2-month old to Disney?!!!

I think that means that I have 88 days to scrap the photos from our last Disney vacation three years ago...