Sneak Previews of May Scrapaddict Kits

I'm really excited about these kits from Scrapaddict.com and I can't wait until the first of May to show my LOs off. These first two pages have pictures from our trip to Wisconsin in 2006. We're going back for a visit this summer and I know the kids will have a blast!

These next two pages use these beautiful papers and I had to use beautiful pictures to go with them! The first one below is from our Disney trip last year. Those acrobats at the China pavilion at Epcot were amazing!

This is one of my favorite photos and pages ever! This is one of the photos that were taken at The Picture People last week. Do you see what I was talking about? You can't even tell that DS#3 was in a cranky mood that day. I just want to kiss him all over when I see this photo! :)

For some personal news, we have officially "un-registered" our kids from their present school. In other words, we didn't pay the enrollment fees for next year. We still aren't completely sure yet where they will go to school next year. We're still looking. Please continue to wish us luck in finding the right school(s).

USS Lexington trip

I thought I would post some photos that DH took during DS#2's overnight USS Lexington trip this weekend. DH was so proud of himself that he took 50 photos and most of them were pretty good. :)

The Texas State Aquarium was there in Corpus Christi, too. DH discovered that if he turned the flash off (so the flash wouldn't reflect off the glass) that the ISO automatically adjusted itself higher so that he was able to get some pretty cool photos. Here are a couple he took of some jellyfish. He took some of some turtles and frogs, too. DH was so proud of himself! :) Look at this cool photo of the sunset! I have to say that I was pretty proud of him too, plus if he enjoys taking photos, maybe he'll take more of them! ;-)



Most importantly, DS#2 had a blast! When we asked him later what his favorite part was, he said he couldn't choose because he loved all of it! He loved looking at the sea life. He loved looking at the planes, the weapons and some of the historical info about other ships. He even let DH take a bunch of photos of him and he smiled! Now, why doesn't he do that for his Mama? Here is a photo of DS#2 next to a "night flight trainer" that he thought was very cool and actually wanted a photo next to it. Even DH thought it was worth sleeping in the apparently tiny berths that they had to sleep on, the resulting lack of sleep, and the long drive to and from, etc. :)

One more thing--we finally have tooth #6!!! He finally got the upper right tooth in after months of teething!!!

Birthday Recap

Isn't this the most hilarious picture? Let me start from the beginning. On Wednesday, April 9, we celebrated, DS#3's first birthday. During the "day", DH tried so hard to do something fun for him. He took him to the park because he thought DS would have so much fun there. Well, DS really disliked being on the swing, whether it was by himself or when he was on DH's lap. DH then decided to let DS get messy, so he took off DS's shoes and put him in the sand play area. Poor DS was miserable! He was apparently trying to shake off his feet as if very upset and not knowing what that stuff was that got in between his toes! So, at home, DH unfolded one of the big play things we have that has little areas to crawl through. Finally, DS actually seemed to enjoy himself for a bit. He was just all out of sorts that day!

In the evening, we went out to dinner at "El Mirasol", one of our favorite restaurants. The older boys had decided earlier in the week that DS#3's wanted to go there for his birthday. DD thought DS#3 wanted to go to Fuddrucker's. She was outvoted by her parents. Well, I think we were right to go there. He ate a lot of his Papa's tampiquena steak, and Mama's borracho beans. He also ate a lot of tortillas--one of his favorites. He also discovered drinking water from a straw. He loved that, too!

At home, we had cupcakes. We put a candle in DS#3's cupcake. He just looked at it as if fascinated, but he didn't know what to do with it. He didn't try to reach for the flame like DS#2 had done. He didn't even reach for the cupcake once the candle was removed. DH decided to show him how to eat the cupcake by eating one in front of him. DS#3 still just stared. We then put the cupcake up to his mouth. He took a tentative bite, and then we put the cupcake back down on the high chair tray. He wouldn't touch the cupcake at first (thus the picture up above). Later, all he would do was mush up the icing and eat when we fed him cupcake. After a short while, he didn't want anymore. The next step was to give him ice cream--chocolate, of course. He LOVED that!

This weekend, my whole family came for a visit, just for DS#3's birthday. DH left with DS#2 to a Cub Scout overnight trip on the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, so they missed it. On Saturday, DD and her two cousins iced the brownie cake that my mom had made. They couldn't decide between vanilla and chocolate icing, so they used both. After that, they decorated with sprinkles. They used all the sprinkles that my sister let them have! After that, we sang "Happy Birthday" and we had brownie cake. DS#3 refused any! I let him have some of my fudge popsicle instead. :)

One Year Photos

Isn't amazing how one activity can consume your entire day? I had an appointment today at 10:30AM with The Picture People (on a strong recommendation from Jen) to get One Year Old photos of DS#3. First of all, how does he always know when I don't have to get up as early as usual? He woke me up at about 2AM! He had a very restless sleep, and therefore, so did DH and I. He was up by the time I got home from taking the other kids to school, and he wouldn't take a morning nap before the appointment. He was SO cranky! I was bracing myself for a disappointment like when I took DD to get her One Year Old photos taken. Can you see the photo on the upper right of this page where she is just bawling her eyes out? You can't see it here, but the picture of her standing shows tears in her eyes, too.


The photographer that helped us today was SO patient. His first look said, "Who are you and what do you want from me?!!" She really worked at playing with him so he would start to trust her and start playing with her--a little bit, anyway. He was still very clingy and intermittently whimpered and cried, but he did give her a few great smiles. I don't have time to scan in some of the photos, but I liked some of them enough that I bought one of their frames with the space for an 8x10 and 2 5x7's to display at home. I also decided that when the other kids have their next birthdays, I'm going to take them to The Picture People so they can each get similar frames to hang with their brother's frame. It was a bit more pricey than what I was used to (going to JCPenney's), but in this case it was very worth it. Thanks, Jen! :)

Decisions, Decisions

Don't you sometimes wish that someone would tell you what is the right thing to do? DH has talked to several schools and teachers, and we're still very unsure about whether or not to keep the kids at the same school or to switch schools or even what school to switch to. We're trying to reassure ourselves that the kids will do well at whatever school they end up, but we're still stressing about this as if our lives depend on our decision. *SIGH*

On a "happier" note, I got to play with DS#3 a whole lot today. He was mostly in a good mood, and I missed him when I was working for 24 hours straight. He started getting really tired around the time I picked the kids up from school. I spoiled them by getting shakes from Sonic on the way home. DS#2 was the first one willing to share his shake with his baby brother, but DS#3 screamed very loudly whenever DS#2 stopped to drink from his own shake! We learned one more thing--DS#3 can drink from a straw! When DD was sharing her shake, whenever she stopped to drink from HER own shake, DS#3 would try to grab her to pull her towards him! It was both funny and annoying at the same time. I told DH that we've created a monster, albeit a very cute one. ;-)

We Have Number 5!

Okay, don't panic! We're not having another baby--DS#3 has another tooth! He was SO fussy last night and all day. He was absolutely miserable at DS#2's soccer game this afternoon. Usually he'll just play or be fine with being in my lap. He whimpered or cried loudly the whole time! :( He did the same thing at church right after the game. He was miserable and DH and I were miserable trying to deal with him. :( This evening, after the ibuprofen hit, he was angel baby again. He was even dancing to the music of one of his toys. He came up to me with a smile on his face, and when I asked him if he had been dancing, he started dancing again--without music! :)

Changing It Up A Bit

I just decided that I wanted to change the look of my blog a bit. I like this new Blogger template where it's easier to add the header and links and stuff. The new header is a photo that I took when we were on vacation last week. My BIL was having trouble getting the baby to smile for photos. I took the camera out when I saw DD giving the baby some love. This was the first photo I took. Can you believe that? I had to tell my BIL that sometimes you get lucky...

We had another awards ceremony today. Both boys got Golden Arrows this time. We're so proud! DS#1 still hasn't received the Golden Arrow that he was supposed to get (instead of the Silver Arrow) during the last awards ceremony, or more importantly, his grade hasn't been changed on his transcript. DH sent an email to the teacher in question--again. He hates always being the squeaky wheel, but if that's what it takes, what can you do?

Lately, we've been stressing over whether or not to keep the kids in the school they're at, or switching to a different school. We'll be visiting other schools in the coming weeks so we can make a better informed decision. We have to be thankful that our problem is that the kids aren't being challenged rather than other reasons. They'll do well at whatever school they're at, but we really want to give them every opportunity to fulfill their potentials. Please say a little prayer and wish us luck in making the best decision for everyone!

Flat Meg

DH and I took DS#3 with us to visit the Alamo and Riverwalk today. My friend Julie's DD sent me a "flat" version of herself for a school project and I've had her for a month waiting to get pictures around San Antonio. It just seems to be a big trek just to drive downtown. We picked a good day to do it. Even though there are lots of extra visitors in San Antonio this weekend for the NCAA Final Four, it wasn't too crowded. It was humid but at least it wasn't too hot. We got the photo and the postcards first, then we went to find a restaurant to have lunch.

We stopped at this "authentic" Mexican restaurant and it was nice enough to sit outside, so we did. It was probably better that way, because we gave the baby some chips to eat and he was SO messy. The birds loved picking up his leftovers and he enjoyed watching them pick them up. I gave him some of my grilled tilapia (white fish) with Mexican type rice and he loved it. He loved it so much that when DH tried to give him some of his rice, he wouldn't take it! He would only eat from Mama! :) When DH and I were done, we packed him up to go and he still wanted some more! We knew he would love our next stop, though--Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream! :) I was surprised, but he actually didn't complain too much when we finished our ice cream. He was pretty tired, though, and he fell asleep in the van on the way home. He and DH just left to go to the store and I'm about to leave to go to work. It's been a pretty nice day so far. Wish me luck at work tonight!

April (and March) Scrapaddict Kits

It's a new month and I get to share what I worked on last month. This first Scrapaddict kit was actually for March but I didn't receive it until just a couple of weeks ago. The first page has photos from the Father-Daughter Dance that DH and DD went to in February. The second page is about DS when he mistakenly got a "Gold Arrow" instead of a "Silver Arrow" at his schools' award ceremony in January.

The second Scrapaddict kit also has papers from one manufacturer but from different lines, so this took me out of my comfort zone but I rather enjoyed it. The first page below uses a photo from last Mother's Day. The second page is from this past Valentine's Day when DD and I prepared these premade bags together for her classmates.



The third Scrapaddict kit uses these elegant papers, so it was also a bit of a challenge but I love these photos so much that I love these pages, too, especially how the baby looks in them! The latter page has my most favorite photo ever! :)

Speaking of the baby, DH said that he was actually able to take a short nap in his crib today--only 30 minutes, but it's a start. This evening, he actually wanted to lie down in bed and got a little upset when I nursed him on my nursing pillow instead. He was still awake when DH put him in his crib for the night, but he barely let out a whimper. We're on the right track--yayyy!

Vacation Wrap Up

I'm going to try to play catch up with photos tonight. This first photo is of the kids with DH's brother, who was visiting from Alaska. DH and I felt pretty bad that we didn't get to do too much with him while he was with us, since we were so sick. He has really turned his life around and life in general seems very good for him right now. He's a great guy and we only wish him the best! I also wish that the baby would have smiled for this photo, but I guess we can't have everything, can't we? :)

The kids had a blast skiing. They each had at least a couple of lessons. On the last day, the boys had no trouble skiing on the green runs. We didn't even try the blue runs, because I myself wasn't ready for those after not skiing for three years. Since that was my only day skiing this year, I didn't want to put any pressure on myself. I guess that means that we'll have to go on another ski vacation next year. Hopefully we won't be sick next time.

They all had fun playing in the snow, too. DH took this photo on Monday. I was too sick to take photos myself, if you can believe that. DH said I was feeling better when I started taking photos. We weren't too sure how the baby felt about the snow, until the time we went sledding and then we removed his snowsuit when we got home and he screamed. He just likes being outside anyway but in the snow he just sits there and watches everything and everyone. The other three, especially DS#2 and DD, spent hours playing in Grandma/Grandpa's snowy backyard. They made forts, had snowball fights, and really had a great time.

This final picture I had to throw in just because it's such a cute photo. DS#3 had very dry and very rosy cheeks. We were having some cheese and crackers during "cocktail hour" before dinner and he was getting into all of that. Can you see the bits of cracker on his face? The grin is the grin I see whenever I pull out the camera. He's a scrapbooking Mama's dream, isn't he? ;-)

Oh, and by the way, this week he started walking whenever someone (usually DH) holds both hands. There was one time where I was taking a video of him walking forward with his Papa walking backwards in front of him. He turned and was grinning for me, and then he caught a glimpse of DS#1 behind him with some ice cream. Let's just say that he immediately crawled over to DS#1 and started demanding some ice cream!

We had a great time in Colorado despite the sickies. Unfortunately, we may have given some of it to Grandma and Grandpa, who both had a bad Friday night before we left. We hope they felt better today with some peace and quiet. We want to be invited back, after all! ;-)

Back to Normal

We're back!!! It's so good to be at home again. The return trip was very uneventful--thank goodness! The kids didn't sleep well on the plane, but they're all sleeping now. I'll try to post pics tomorrow, but we've got a soccer game at 12:45PM. (Yes, it's back to the old bump and grind!) We actually have two games in Austin as well, but DH and I have elected to skip those two. That would just be too much for the day after returning from vacation and the day before school starts again. Hopefully, DS#2 will get over his disappointment at missing those games...

So, a short summary of our last full day on Friday (yesterday)--we actually all got to ski. Well, the baby didn't ski, but y'all know what I mean. ;-) We went to a different ski hill than where we've been in the past--a place called Ski Cooper. It's a smaller place, but cheaper and still rather nice. We were able to get a one-hour private lesson for DD for $50, a very reasonable price considering what the other places charged. It was all worth it since she was actually was able to stop and turn after this lesson (something she didn't learn with two half-day lessons at A-Basin). DH and I didn't try to ski too much, just enough to say we got to ski. I felt "back to normal" and I only wish that I had felt this way earlier in the week--then I actually might have gotten to do more things.

I got to ski with both the boys, and that was my goal for the whole trip, so I was pretty happy with that. I felt SO rusty during my first run, but I got adjusted fairly rapidly. DH also did a little skiing with DD on the bunny hill, and I did get a glimpse of that through the window. I wish I could have skiied with DD too, but I was on baby duty at the time. After we got back to my in-laws' house, I even got to do a little bit of shopping at a couple of the outlet stores then we ordered some pizza delivery and watched The Bee Movie with everyone, even the baby. It was a great end to a great day!

Easter 2008

This Easter was a little different from last year's. Last year we were anticipating the arrival of the little one. This year, I still felt his presence, but in a very different way. We got up early to go to 9AM mass. I was surprised there weren't more people there (I anticipated a packed church). At least there was plenty of room in the cry room. I went there right after arriving so I could nurse DS#3. We did that and I let him play for a bit. He just loves exploring--going in between the pews and kneelers. He was in the row behind me when I heard it--then smelled it. I grabbed him immediately and rushed off to the bathroom.

Why is it that I have children that won't hold on when you carry them? I had to press him against me just so I could balance all the things I had with me. That's when I felt the warmth against my arm. Ugh! My nice sweater soaked through enough that when I folded the sleeve over to get it off my skin, I could still feel the wet warmth. It was extremely challenging to change him without getting the stuff on anything else and not laying him down on the floor (since the changing pad that was on the changing table already had the yellow stuff on it). I managed but then I realized, was I going to go through the next 30-45 minutes with warm, wet, yellow stuff on my arm? The answer was most definitely--NO!

I went home, of course, knowing that I would have to rush back and pick everyone else up. I guess God was telling me that he wanted me to go ahead and change into comfortable traveling clothes. I tossed DS's stuff into the washer and off we went. DH said that he had looked back at the cry room and didn't see us. He didn't see us come up to the main church to get communion either. I drove up after they had gotten out of mass and he knew what had happened. I wish the rest of the day was more uneventful, but it wasn't.

The plane trip was uneventful enough. The baby actually slept through most of it. The landing was, however, a little too rocky for me. I felt my sensitive stomach doing flips. I tried to take it easy while we got the luggage then the rental van. DH was a bit frustrated with Dollar Rental Car because he had to go through three vans until he found one without some warning light. The two-hour ride to my in-laws' house in the mountains was not fun for me, either. I'm just glad we had plastic bags.

I felt bad that the first thing I gave my mother-in-law upon seeing her was not a hug but a bag filled with icky stuff. Unfortunately, what was initially probably motion sickness turned into altitude sickness then into a mixture of the coughing and the lower GI stuff that I must have picked up from the baby. Needless to say, I haven't had a very good week. I'll try to post later about all the fun the kids are having. Thank goodness they're having so much fun!

DD's First Soccer Tourney

I'm entering this after the fact. I've got to catch up on my posts!

Today, we left the house at 8AM and we didn't get back until 5PM. DD had her first soccer tournament today. It was a 3 vs. 3 tourney and they had FOUR games (9:15, 10:30?, 12:30, 2:55). Luckily, they only had 10 minute halves and we had six kids play, so each kid only played 10 minutes. We brought our pop-up tent and one of the other parents brought theirs, so at least we were all protected from the sun. It was an absolutely beautiful day. There was even a cool breeze that drifted through the tents.

In between games, there was a Nintendo DS "tournament" going on. Apparently, all of these five and six year olds have their own Nintendo DS consoles. For the first time I felt like I was a bit strict, waiting until my oldest was 12 to give him his. In any case, all the kids had fun. DS#2 played Nintendo with a classmate of his that was there, alternating with playing catch with the football he brought. DS#3 did pretty well, playing with all of the extra stray soccer balls. The only problem was when he threw up his lunch (which has been a problem for the past couple of days every time he starts coughing right after eating) and when he couldn't take his afternoon nap.

After the games we all congregated at a local "icehouse" where we grabbed early dinners while the kids played in the sandbox. It was a long and exhausting but very fun day for all of us, even the adults.

After we got home, I got to pack for a crop with my friend Jen. I was exhausted, but I knew I wouldn't regret getting a little creative time before going on vacation. Jen was exhausted too, so we were both out of there by 11PM. At home, I got a few more things packed then off to bed!

High School Musical On Ice

Tonight, DD and I went with her Daisy Girl Scouts troop to see High School Musical On Ice. Personally, I loved both movies (maybe even better than everyone else in my family) so I knew I would enjoy this. I just love musicals, maybe because I was raised on them. My Dad always loved the old timey-type musicals.

During the last couple of movies that DH took DD to, she apparently would start asking when the movie was going to be over...after only about 20 minutes had lapsed. When we got home tonight, DH asked if she did that during this show. When I said she didn't ask at all, then he said that she must have had a blast. During the first half, she was just mesmerized. I was watching her facial expressions and she basically looked like she was concentrating really hard. Even my little kisses and strokes on her face did not distract her.

During intermission, she seemed to come alive. She was goofing off with her friend AG who kept trying to give her big hugs. AG's mom told her to be gentle with DD, but I just said, "Are you kidding? She's got three brothers!" :) During the second half she was a little more animated. She still didn't dance to the songs, but she did clap and participate a little.

DD asked for toys and popcorn during the show, but I didn't get them for her. I remember as a kid not being able to get things like that and wishing we could. As an adult I know why we didn't get those things. They are SO overpriced! I can afford to buy her those things, but I just can't get over that waste of money. I figure that there will have a markup, but when even SeaWorld (with their own markup) sells cotton candy for $3 and this arena sells cotton candy for $10--WOW! So, I was one of those moms that went away empty-handed, but with more money in my wallet! Well, except for the $10 fee to park--OUCH!

Last Day of Daycare

Today was DS#3's last day of daycare. He was there only about four months. At the time he started daycare, DH was enjoying his time with him, but it was too difficult to get anything done with a non-napping and therefore cranky baby. DS still doesn't take long naps, and it's still usually difficult to get him down for a nap, but at least now he'll TAKE naps. He is much better at entertaining himself, too, so he doesn't require your constant presence for entertainment. Also, frankly, daycare is expensive, and when DS#3 was sick and couldn't go, that was a waste of money. Even when DS#3 went to daycare, one of the other kids was often sick or had to be taken to the doctor or orthodontist, so DH couldn't get anything done then anyway--again, a waste of money. Let's just say that this has been a very long winter for the "sickies". So, for now, DH will be at home with his little buddy. I have to admit that I'm a little jealous.

Oh, by the way, DS#3 climbed up a flight of stairs at home (to the first landing) today for the first time. Yes, that's right--all by himself when no one was looking and very quickly too, I might add. This should be interesting...

Internal Clocks

Why is it that my kids have this internal clock that tells them to always get up at the same time no matter what day it is? DS#3 has been getting us up by 5AM every morning for the last couple of weeks or so, although he usually falls back asleep when I nurse him. Today I happened to be off from work (my "comp" day for working last Saturday) so I could have "slept in" until 6AM or so when the other kids have to get up for school. Of course, the little man woke up at his usual time. He must have also known that I didn't have to go to work too, because he wouldn't go back to sleep! That meant that he fell asleep in the car on the way from the school to the gym and on the way from the gym back home. He really only napped for maybe another half hour or so in the afternoon, so he was cranky and clingy most of today. Oh well--I didn't get much done today, but at least I got to go to the gym and I got to spend some time with my youngest...

Majorly Bummed

I had a complication in one of my patients today, so I'm majorly bummed. :-( I told my resident that in six years of working there, I had yet to present a case at Morbidity and Mortality Conference, until now, that is. ACKKK! One of my colleagues, who is board-certified in Internal Medicine with a subspecialty in Pulmonary Medicine/Critical Care AND board-certified in Anesthesiology told me (when I asked him) that he didn't see anything wrong with how I managed the case. I know that sometimes the unexpected happens in medicine, but I wanted to make sure that I did everything I could to prevent this from happening in the first place. In this way, hopefully I'll learn how to keep this from happening in the future.

This is why I didn't go into the Primary Care field, because I can get pretty wrapped up in the patient. With my chosen field I can be more detached. It sounds a little cold, I know, but I have found that this is much better for my stress level and my personal life in the end. Still, I'm going to be checking on this patient first thing tomorrow. I hope that this complication has resolved by then.

Signs of Affection

DH and I love to smother our kids with hugs and kisses. That isn't the case with some other families, I know. We just can't help show them how much we love them, and we hope that they grow up not being afraid to show affection, too.

My 8-year-old is in this "phase" right now where he still gives me hugs and kisses at night when I'm tucking him into bed, but during the day he would rather make a big show and run away from me than to let me give him a quick peck on the cheek. My 12-year-old, on the other hand, has never hesitated to let me give him a quick kiss on the cheek (or vice versa), even if it's in public. My 5-year-old, on the other hand, just "oozes" public displays of affection to family AND friends. My good friend kids me about how my DD just "hangs on" her DS all the time (they're in the same class). He himself is a "ladies' man" even at age 6, so he doesn't really mind this at all.

On Friday, I was on the floor playing with my 11-month old, when he put his forehead against mine and drooled on me. Later I asked him to "give me a kiss" and he did the same thing. He's not too gentle at this age, so I knew I had to be careful. DH and I have both gotten fat lips from him before. I just thought this was the cutest little "trick". I tried this several times this weekend, and he doesn't always do it, but when he does, it's just the best feeling! I really hope that he is affectionate when he grows up, especially since he is my baby! :)

Getting Something Done

I didn't have to take the boys to soccer today because their fields were still wet from the 1 inch rainfall we had yesterday. They were disappointed, but YAY for me! DH still had to take DD to her practice because her fields were actually still open. I spent the night scrapping my kit assignments for Scrapaddict and trying to keep the little man from eating my paper or choking on a stray mini-brad. The older boys forgot their disappointment when they got to play video and computer games instead.

Since I can't show the pages I'm working on yet, here are some pages I finished last week. These first two are from our Disney World trip last year.



The pictures on these pages are from our trip to NJ/NY two years ago. I finally finished scrapping this trip!




Tomorrow we have DD's Daisy Scouts Investiture Ceremony. I'm not even sure what that word means, but it has something to do with putting a pin on! :)

Weekend Pictures

I wanted to update everyone with pictures of all of the kids.

This is a picture of DS#1 with his braces off. I still need to find a "before" picture of him. His upper front teeth were much more prominent and crooked. Of course, he's changed so much anyway since that time. His jaw is starting to get more square, he's starting to get acne, etc. My baby is growing up!

This is DD in her Spring soccer uniform. She's all smiles because my Mom did her hair in about five different long braids and she is feeling mighty fine. :) (Just in case you were wondering, I photoshop'd out the name of her school that is on the front of her jersey.) DH said that she was playing really well at her game yesterday. She used to fall back at the back of the pack but now she is really running after that ball.


DS#2 looks so intense in this photo. I don't know if you can see it, but his shoelace is untied. This is so typical of him! He got a little too excited about the fact that his team beat the other team today 11-0 so he was doing a little bragging. We reminded him that his older brother lost 0-11 yesterday, so he needed to tone it down a bit.

Last but not least, here is a picture of DS#3 being given a yummy fudge popsicle by my mom. He was just laying there in a reclining position allowing his "slave" (aka his Lola) to feed him. He was even "allowing" the chocolate to run down his chin, which she promptly wiped up. What service! :) He ate that whole thing, by the way. Yes, he is a bit overindulged! :)

The Braces Are Off!

DS#1 got his braces off today! He looks so different now that I can actually see his teeth. His top front teeth look much less prominent than when he got his braces put on. I'll have to find a "before" photo to compare.

What was the first thing he wanted to do after he got his braces off? He wanted to eat caramel! His Papa didn't bring him any, but he did take him to his favorite sandwich shop (Schlotzky's) before taking him back to school. I brought him some candy from my stash at work--Twix, Milky Way, and some Dove Milk Chocolate with Caramel. I think I suffiiciently spoiled him. ;-) DS#2 couldn't understand why DS#1 was allowed to eat all of that candy as an afterschool snack and he kept asking if he could have some too. Sigh--I just couldn't get him to understand. I'm a big caramel fan too, so I understand completely!

It was rainy and gloomy all day here. I'll have to take a picture tomorrow when there is better lighting.

Future Ice Cream Mouse Jr.

First some background for those of you that haven't heard the story. When DH was small, maybe around 5 or 6, he would sneak into the kitchen at night, take a spoon, and eat some ice cream right from the container. Sometimes, I guess he would accidently leave the spoon in the ice cream and the next day his mom would exclaim that the "ice cream mouse" had been there. One time, his little sisters caught him. He said that he told them he would give them some ice cream too if they promised that they wouldn't tell on him. Well, I guess they promptly ratted him out the next day and he said he was SO mad!

DS#3 has already made it clear that he LOVES ice cream. He recognizes it now. He'll see me with the cup that I use for ice cream, or an ice cream cone and he comes up to me with a happy grin on his face. Tonight, it happened to be one of those fudge popsicles. He just sucked and sucked on that popsicle, pausing only to swallow. I wiped the chocolate that was trying to drip off his face during those pauses. When it was gone, he just looked surprised, like he was wondering how that happened. He actually didn't fuss today, but usually, when I feed him tiny bits from a spoon, he gets very upset when it's gone. He screeches quite loudly, in fact! Once he saw his brothers having ice cream and they had to leave the room so he would stop screaming!

Yes, I can see it now, a future ice cream mouse in the making! ;-)

Most Difficult Soccer Season

Yesterday, the kids played their first soccer games of this season. The Fall soccer season was busy enough, with some of the games being played simultaneously but at fields across town from each other. This Spring season will be the most difficult one to date. The reason is that now we have a very mobile baby that is no longer content just being held. He wants to be on the move! I took this photo yesterday. It is warm enough now that he can wear shorts, but that meant that his knees were uncovered. It was pretty hilarious watching his little butt with grass all over it bobbing atop his skinny little legs moving in a crab-like crawl. When he wasn't on the go, he was content pulling out grass and picking up rocks.

DD had her game at 11AM on the NW part of town about 30 minutes from where we live. DS#2 had his game at noon on a field NE of the city about 30 minutes from where we live but in the opposite direction from DD's game. "Luckily", DS#1 didn't have his game until 4PM and he was able to help me entertain the little man. During DS#1's game, I had a more difficult time because there were more dirt patches on his field and I really didn't want to put him down on that. He kept screaming and trying to hurl himself from DH's or my arms toward the ground to indicate that he just wanted to be put down. Luckily I found a patch of grass to put him on and he was again content to pull out grass and pick up rocks.

Today, we "only" had one game. However, it was quite windy and there was so much dust and dirt flying around at times. We were still able to set the baby down and he actually played with DH's blue soccer ball, pushing it forward and "chasing" it--very cute to watch. He also tried to get into other people's stuff, but most of the time he was again content to pull out grass and pick up rocks.

Here is a photo of DS#3 yesterday. This is the face he gives me when he sees me with the camera. Isn't he a ham already? :)

Oh, and FYI--DS#1 is up to DH's eyes (in height). It won't be long...

Feeling A Little Sick

This time it's not in the way I usually mean. I can't discuss the particulars, but we just found out that the five-year-old son of some friends was abused at his school--by two older students. We are completely shocked and horrified that something like this could happen, and we feel so powerless to help right now. At the request of his mother, we're waiting to see what will happen next. I'm sorry for the downer, but this news has preoccupied DH and my thoughts today. Please keep this poor boy in your prayers. :(

All About DD

This morning, DD and I went on a Daisy Scouts outing to the zoo. One side note: when we drove up to the zoo, she was so proud that she could read the word "ZOO". First, they put together a paper sack with a picture of a hippopotamus on it and glued another picture of a hippo onto a clothespin. The purpose was supposedly to use the clothespin to pick up trash (so they wouldn't get their fingers dirty), put it in the paper sack, and then throw it all away. DH remarked that this seemed "very girly" to make something just so they wouldn't have to get their hands dirty.

The next part was a presentation about animals in general, with an emphasis on hippos. It was actually very informative, and DD seemed very attentive, but when I quizzed DD later when we got home (the same questions that the presenter had asked at the end of her presentation), she needed a lot of prompting to get the answers right. One question was how wide a hippo could open it's mouth. DD replied, "4 inches". She always seems to get the measurements wrong. The answer, of course, is "4 feet". Another question was what hippos mainly eat. She just said she "couldn't remember". The answer was "grass". This just made me wonder if she was really listening!

After the presentation, the "teacher" took everyone on a short 30 minute tour of the zoo. I thought it was interesting that DD always tried to stick close to the teacher. Even when everyone else was trying to see the animals, she would stand right next to the teacher, as if she wanted to make sure that she didn't get lost. She never raised her hand to answer any questions, although she did say a few answers out loud with my prompting.

This evening, DH took DD to the Father-Daughter Dance at our gym. Even though we told her that she could wear one of her Disney princess dresses, she refused and instead wanted to wear the dress in this photo. She also said she wanted to wear a black bow, and she wanted to wear her pink sparkly shoes. When it was time to get ready and DH told her that they might be late. She simply stated, "We don't have to be on time." DH laughed and told her that she is becoming a "true young lady." I am assuming that this crack wasn't targeting me directly. After all, DH did grow up with two sisters. ;-)

They both had a lot of fun (DH even told DD that he only got dressed up for Mama and her). DD got to make a princess hat, she got to have nail polish and lip gloss applied, and she got to dance. She was exhausted when she got home! I was so proud of DH because he took the camera and took several pictures. He even took a video of DD dancing. At one point, he said he tried to teach her the hand motions to the song "YMCA" and then took a video, but she mostly just twirled around and moved her hands over her head nonspecifically. I'm sure she will tell me all about it tomorrow. For tonight, all she could manage was "yes" and "no" answers. :)

Hope the Weather Changes

Thank goodness it's been mild weather here recently. We'll most likely pay with a super-hot summer, but for now it's been worth it.

I have to take the baby with me to soccer practices. Last night the older boys both had practices at the same field. I usually drop them off so I can go "shopping" with the baby. It's much easier coping with the baby indoors at some store (usually a nearby Hobby Lobby or Target) than in the car for an hour and a half. We didn't do anything like that last night.

DS#3 fell asleep in the car on the way to practice. After I dropped off the boys, I kept driving since I was afraid that the little man would wake up when the car stopped. I made the excuse to get myself a mocha frappucino at the Starbucks Drive Thru. I didn't need anything at Hobby Lobby or Target, so I went to a nearby scrapbook store that I haven't been to in years and parked. I thought that when he woke up, we would go inside. Well, after a half hour, he was still snoring away.

I went ahead and went back to the boys' practice field since I thought I might as well wait there. He slept until there were only about 15 minutes left to practice. That's when I took him out of the car. I couldn't get a close parking spot and I didn't want DS#2 to think we weren't there. This is where I was glad it wasn't so cold. It was cool and breezy, but it was tolerable. I put DS#3's hooded jacket on. At first he made the motion to remove the hood from his head, but then he left it. I don't know if he was chilly or he was still tired--maybe a little of both.

I walked around with him cuddled close to me. Usually he tries to escape and crawl on the ground. He stayed huddled under my jacket. I just enjoyed these moments because I know they won't last. The poor thing probably hasn't been sleeping well. My parents always told me that I was "always sick" as a young child but then later, DH would say that I had "super human immunity". Well, this one has been congested for the last several months. He can barely nurse because he can't breathe and eat at the same time. I hope that this means that he won't be sick so much later in life. For now, DH has to torture him constantly with the suction bulb. When do babies learn how to blow their noses, anyway? Despite the mild weather, I hope the weather changes so that maybe whatever is causing this allergy-type stuff passes.

Eight More Pages Done!

I've been getting a lot of scrapping done, which makes me happy. These are some pages I did this past week. Most of them are quickies, but they still satisfied my need to be creative. The first four here are more pictures from our NJ trip in 2006. I only have a few more photos from this trip left, thank goodness!


This one is for one of Catherine's Monday Challenges at Scrapaddict.com. I was supposed to use one photo on a two page layout. I stitched together two photos I took of a double rainbow on the first day of our Disney trip last year.


This next one uses photos from DS#2's first soccer party, when he was in kindergarten. Oh, how time passes quickly and how little some things change!

This one uses some really old photos that were taken almost six years ago. Look how small my nephew, DS#1 and 2 are!

Tomorrow I'll try to get some recent photos off the camera and into this blog. I'm sure my in-laws are needing their baby fix since DS#3 isn't on any of these recent layouts!

Valentine's Day Prep

I haven't had a chance to upload photos yet of today's school festivities, but here are a couple of photos of the treat bags that DD and I made. The bag on the right was part of a set of bags that we bought from Michael's. The kit came with the bags, the foam stickers, the ribbon, and the plastic bags inside to hold the candy. As you can see DD went a little overboard with the tiny foam hearts. The first ones she did barely have any decoration because I was trying to ration the stickers so she would have enough for all of the bags. The last ones she did don't have a lot of stickers either, because she used so many on some of them. Needless to say, it took her FOREVER to finish these bags! These were for her class at school.

I made these bags myself. I figured that it would take less time, but it still took me a few hours. I used some old papers and ribbon, at least. I didn't realize until after we had given them away that I had forgotten to put her name on the bags. *SIGH* These were for her Daisy troop.

So, I got to use my scrapbooking stuff but I didn't do any scrapbooking!

Pinewood Derby 2008

DS#2 won the Pinewood Derby today!!! I didn't get to see it. :( They have a pretty high-tech system and unfortunately, they were having computer problems. After an hour of this, I had to leave for DD's Build-A-Teddy Tea party for Daisy Scouts, so I totally missed all the races! DS#2 was in the first heat and they re-ran that heat eight times before I had to leave. DD believed that DS#2 won EVERY race, because he won every race that SHE saw! :) They finally fixed the glitch but they didn't start the actual races until just after I left. :(

Yes! DH cut the block of wood, but DS#2 sanded it, painted it, and decorated it. He deserves all the credit! Oh, and the medal is for being first place in his Den. The trophy is winning first place over all!!! He told me that he lost only one heat in the whole competition, and that was to the "family winner". (They have a "just for fun" race for family members' cars.) He won the other three heats for that race! I was told by one of the other moms that he was VERY excited at winning the big trophy. I believe it! DH and I are so proud!

Overscheduled

Tomorrow we're a little overbooked. Here's what our schedule looks like:

9AM Funeral - Our neighbor's handicapped DD just passed away. :(
11AM-1PM - Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby - DS#2
2-4:30PM - Build-A-Teddy Tea Party - DD with the Daisy Scouts
4:30PM - End of Season Basketball Party - DS#2
6-9PM - Birthday Party at skating place - DS#1

At least DS#1 has decided not to go to the skating party. Apparently it's for one of the girls in the 7th grade and she only invited three boys. One boy's mom said he couldn't go. One boy didn't WANT to go. There is no way my son will enjoy being the only boy at this party. DH told him to tell this girl that he couldn't make it because of his brother's party and his mother being on backup call. I just hope I don't get called in!

NJ Vacation Pages

I'm still trying to finish off these old photos from 2006. The first two pages have photos from our day trip to New York City. We visited Toys 'R Us in Times Square and FAO Schwarz. I took lots of photos and now I'm doing lots of pages. The second three pages have photos taken at my cousin Jonathan's wedding. We'll be going back to visit in May for the wedding of another cousin. I can't wait!




Update on my sick children--DS#2 still had a fever tonight. He'll be going on day 4 of this illness. DS#3 is going to daycare tomorrow. He's still not nursing like he used to, but he's still eating solid food and he has no fever and seems to be doing okay otherwise.

Day Off?

At work, they sometimes call the day after you take in-house call a "day off". Unfortunately, if you are very busy that night then your whole next day is spent sleeping and generally recovering. That was my day today--I was exhausted! DS#2 and DS#3 were both home today, which complicated things more. Usually DS#3 is in daycare on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He didn't have a fever anymore today, but he was still not drinking/nursing very well, so he stayed home. That just meant that I would try to feed him, struggle with that, and then end up having to pump anyway. DS#2 did have a fever and he was miserable, unlike DS#1 and DD last week. Let's just say that my day finally got a little better when I was able to take a short afternoon nap.

Tonight DS#1 and DD both had soccer practices on fields that were a good half hour apart--at least. So DH took DD while I took all the boys. When I dropped off DS#1, I went to Michael's craft store because it's easier to deal with the baby in a store than in a car for an hour and a half.

One interesting thing to note was that I had taped a bunch of scrapbooking shows from QVC yesterday, and since I couldn't really do anything else anyway (especially with the baby being so clingy), I was just sitting in the living room watching that all day. DS#2 even started looking at one of my scrapbooks while we were watching. So, when we were at Michael's, DS#2 kept pointing out products that he had seen on the taped QVC shows. I kept hearing, "Look Mama--there's that (fill-in-the-blank)." I thought this was hilarious. He even expressed interest in doing his own scrapbook pages. I love this hobby so much that I would definitely love sharing it with him.

We were only at Michael's for about 15 minutes (still had another 45 minutes to go before picking up DS#1) when I noticed that DS#2 really started to "slow down". I knew I had to get him home to get him some more medication. He looked absolutely miserable and I realized--wait, why am I taking this sick boy driving around? Luckily, DH was able to leave DD's practice early to pick up DS#1 and I just took the two younger boys home. DS#2 took some ibuprofen and went straight to bed. I keep hoping that his illness will go away after a day or so (it's already been two days) like his siblings. Let's hope that getting some extra sleep (he did nap today also) will make him at least feel a lot better tomorrow.

Baby with a Fever

My poor baby! He's being hit harder with this fever than the other kids. He got up to 104 today and he was just burning up! :( Luckily, the fever finally broke some time this afternoon and he was playing this evening, but we hope it stays down tonight. We had a bad experience with DS#1 having a febrile seizure at 16 months of age when his fever got up to 106, so we get a little nervous (especially DH who was with DS#1 when he had the seizure). DS#3 hasn't been nursing as much so that's something we're watching, too.

On a lighter note, we were watching the halftime show at the Super Bowl tonight. The baby started bouncing to the beat--very cute! I tried to take some video, but of course he would stop doing it then.

DH made some chili even though the weather was warm today. He started making chili for the Super Bowl a few years back when we lived in Illinois and we had a Super Bowl Party. It was just us today. We agreed to not have people over until we can redo our living room. We were going to look at flooring tomorrow, but that depends on the baby. I really hope he gets better soon!

The Sickies

After being so good at blog updates at the beginning of last month, I have been so bad recently. One reason is that this week has been full of sick children. On Tuesday (1/29) DS#1 came home from school with a fever of 102. He "didn't feel well" and aside from looking like he didn't feel well, he ate normally and acted normally after he had some ibuprofen. Still, we couldn't let him go to soccer practice that night. Besides, it was cold and windy out and we didn't want to make whatever was causing the fever worse. He didn't have a fever on Wednesday morning, so he went back to school.

On Wednesday afternoon after school, DD started lying down on the sofa all covered up in a blanket saying that she felt really cold. She didn't even want to get up to eat, although she did eventually. She had a fever of 102 also. We were supposed to go to a Daisy Girl Scouts meeting--really only the fourth one since we decided to join. Well, this is the second of the four meetings that we've missed. She was SO disappointed, but what else could we do? She still had a fever on Thursday morning so she stayed home from school. She acted normally otherwise.

On Thursday evening, DS#1 again had a fever, to 101 this time. He missed soccer practice again. Everyone seemed to be better on Friday. Today, DS#3 had a fever to 103! We think he is teething too, so he is following in big brother's footsteps. DS#1 used to always teeth and have something else simultaneously so that he would have fevers to 103 almost routinely! *SIGH* That is not an experience we want to repeat with this one.

Today was also busy, but in a different way. It has become a Saturday morning routine for me to make banana pancakes and turkey bacon for breakfast. DH and the kids all love it, so what else is a mother who wants to spoil her family to do except oblige? This morning I was experimenting and added some cocoa powder to the batter since they all seem to enjoy getting chocolate pancakes when we go to IHOP for breakfast. I guess I shouldn't have bothered, because they either said that there was too much banana or they said that they preferred it when I just added chocolate chips to the batter.

After breakfast we headed to DS#2's last basketball game of the season! Woohoo! Can you tell that I'm happy that we don't have to have Monday evening practices from 7:30 to 8:30 anymore, especially when DS#2 usually goes to bed by 8PM? After the game I started making cupcakes for DS#2's "Blue and Gold" Dinner (Cub Scouts). I didn't have too much time after that and then we had to go to the Dinner. When we got back we had to get everyone ready for bed. I can't believe that the weekend is supposed to be restful?!!

Okay, that was a rather long blog entry. I'd better stop there. I'll try to upload some new photos in the next couple of days and update here again. :)