M&M Wedding

Lots of stuff happened yesterday, so I'm going to list the various events below, mostly so I can remember them later for one of my scrapbook pages. I'll try to post pictures later this week.

We had a "free hot breakfast" where our favorites were the french toast and waffles. The french toast was yummy enough to eat without syrup. Other favorites were mixed fruit and bacon. My Mom and Dad were already there when we got there, so my Mom was available and willing to feed DS#3. We were all able to sit at this one big table that seated 10.

After breakfast, the kids all went to my sisters' room and watched the movie Enchanted. DH took a short nap with DS#3, and I wrote in my blog. After DS#3 woke up in a good mood, I took him to visit my Mom and then my grandmother's room (who I call Lola, which is Filipino for "grandma"). My uncle B takes really good care of Lola. He also loves to feed everyone, and he had bought some jugs of milk specifically for the kids. He also brought fruit and various Filipino pastries. DS#2 was with me, and he started out eating a mango, an orange, a banana, and finally, a "mamon" which is a sponge cake (very tasty and one of my favorites). Everyone else eventually ended up in Lola's room.

For lunch, we went to the local mall because it would be quicker and everyone could choose what they wanted to eat. My aunt and uncle (my Dad's brother) met us there and we all ate together. When we left after 1PM, we just barely had enough time for all of us to get ready for the wedding, which was at 2PM. Luckily, everything was located close to each other this weekend. This is different from previous family weddings here where it seemed like we had to drive an hour between the various places.

The wedding was beautiful, of course. My younger sister (the one who just turned 40) looked amazing in her dress, and she wasn't even part of the wedding. She remarked on how all of the bridesmaids were skinny and the dresses really flattered them. I told her that after seeing her in her dress, she herself shouldn't ever complain that she is fat ever again! I will definitely try to post photos of my sister in that dress! The bride looked amazing (and very skinny) in her dress too. The "best" part of the wedding was the father of the bride and the aunt of the groom singing a duet with the father of the bride playing the guitar. That was such a sweet moment.

Poor DH stayed at the back of the church or even outside the church for almost the entire ceremony. He realized too late that he might have been more efficient if he had gone back to the hotel room and gotten DS#3 to take a nap. The wedding was smack dab in the middle of nap time. After the ceremony, we stayed for the traditional family photos, including a photo of the extended family. It's usually a very impressive photo and each time the extended family just gets bigger and bigger. Ours was the last photo, of course, and we headed back to the hotel to allow DS#3 to get a nap since the cocktails didn't start until 6PM and dinner wouldn't start until 7PM.

When we got to the reception at around 6:30ish, we had some hors d'oeuvres and sodas--we were all quite hungry. We were seated at the same table as my youngest sister and her family were seated at the same table. We had plenty of time to mingle before any food was served. My Mom took the baby for most of the night. She fed him, she played with him, and eventually he fell asleep. When she had to go to the bathroom, she would hand him off to her brother or her sister-in-law's sister.

Some highlights of the reception include the following:
--The groom and the father of the bride sang a duet for the bride--so beautiful. The groom then sang two songs that he had written himself. DH and I were amazed at his talent.
--I told the boys that if one of them caught the garter, I would give them $10. DH guess correctly that I just wanted the photo op so I could scrapbook it. He was right! ;-) Well, DS#1 almost got it but it bounced off his fingers (and off the fingers of the guy standing next to him who really seemed to want it too), it fell on the floor where I saw DS#2 dive for it, but someone else eventually claimed it.
--DD and her two cousins danced the night away. They were on the dance floor when no one else was on the dance floor. Some of the time, my cousin's 18-month-old boy was out there too, relishing all the attention from his female cousins.
--DS#1 spent most of the time talking with his second cousin Z who is around 6 months older than him. Z's mom remarked to me that she is amazed that the two of them only see each other once every two years and each time they start talking and playing like the best of friends. At least this time they exchanged email addresses so they can keep in touch.
--There was a "money dance" where people would contribute in a basket to dance with the new couple. I was with DD when she danced with the groom. He is such a sweetie anyway, and she looked happy to be dancing with him. Unbeknownst to me, my DS#1 went to dance with the bride after originally saying that he didn't want to. I asked him who gave him the money to dance with her and he said, "We were supposed to give money?" He said this with a huge sheepish grin on his face showing his newly straightened teeth. Oh well!
--No Filipino wedding reception would be complete without line dancing to include "The Electric Slide". The boys actually went out there with me and it was a lot of fun once I finally learned the steps. My aunt talked me through the steps and then I tried to talk DS#2 through the steps but he never seemed to be listening--what a surprise!

We finally left at around 10:30PM. We all had so much fun that it was actually hard for us to leave, but DS#3 had been sleeping for a while already and we really needed to get him to bed. By the way, both the bride and groom's first initials are "M", so I thought it was cute when they left personalized M & M's candies on the tables for their guests. Tomorrow, I'll talk about today's events.

Plane or Road Trip?

Yesterday, we travelled from Texas to NJ. We left the house at around 9AM and didn't get into our hotel room until almost 7PM. What a long day! Our flight was non-stop, which was convenient from the standpoint of not having to get off the plane and roam around some strange airport looking for our connecting flight with four kids in tow. Three and a half hours, however, is too long to be on a plane with at 13 month old! At first I thought it would go well. We got on the plane and after 5-10 minutes (it felt endless) of wrestling with the little man, he went to sleep. He was asleep for a little more than an hour, and he seemed happy, at first. He ate the leftovers from my Chicken Caesar Wrap from lunch. He drank his milk. Then, he started getting upset when he had trouble pulling the window shade open and closed. He got upset that he couldn't roam around the plane cabin like he wanted to. DH thought he was tired again, so he tried to get him to sleep. After an hour and a half or so of wrestling, he stopped trying. Sigh--he needed more sleep.

At the end of the flight, DD and DS#2 were feeling sick and had the barf bags poised and ready next to their faces. Luckily, although I'm prone to motion sickness also, I felt okay, so I took the baby in my lap while DH tended to the middle two. Why is it that the only child who isn't prone to motion sickness is the one who doesn't like roller coasters? The middle two love rollercoasters, but unfortunately, they inherited this little problem of motion sickness from me. So anyway, that part of the trip wasn't very fun either.

We got off the plane, picked up our checked luggage, then headed to the car rental place. Since we have so many people in our family, we have to rent a mini-van whenever we go anywhere. That really drives up the price of travel for us. The first mini-van that they gave us had the "check oil" light on, so we had to get another one. All of this just made the trip that much longer. When we got on the freeway on our way to the hotel, which was about 50 or so miles away, there was bumper-to-bumper traffic. Ah, the joys of traveling in the Northeast.

Some time during the driving part of our trip, DS#3 ran out of milk and was very unhappy about it, so we exited where one of the signs indicated that there was a McDonald's--except that after a mile or so there was still no McDonald's, so we pulled into a KFC. Did you know that KFC doesn't have milk? *SIGH* So, we pulled into the Burger King next door. We give DS#3 the milk, he takes a few big swigs of his sippy cup, and then he throws the cup to the floor. ACK! Oh well, at least we're on our way again, after the boys take their potty break and DH gets himself an iced coffee drink.

After we checked into our hotel, we went to the place where my cousin and his bride were having their rehearsal dinner. My Mom's family is close enough that whenever they have a child getting married, the whole extended family is invited to the rehearsal dinner. There were probably at least 100 people there. It was really very heartwarming to walk into that big room and immediately be greeted by all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Of course, I was carrying DS#3, so they were probably drawn by his cuteness. ;-) The rest of the night, he was being entertained by my sisters or my Mom.

DD was playing with her cousins (my sisters' girls) dancing on the dance floor (even when there wasn't any music). They also loved dancing with their 18-month old second cousin. The older boys mostly played with my nephew. The kids all sat at one table and DH and I sat at a table with my sisters, brother-in-law, and my favorite aunt and uncle with my grown cousin. Everyone at the dinner remarked on how tall DS#1 was, even his 16-year-old second cousin, who was only a couple of inches taller. Everyone remarked on how good-looking DS#2 was, and how pretty DD was, and of course, how cute DS#3 was. We left when DS#3 started screaming more frequently from being so tired. It was a very long day, and still, DS#3 fought going to sleep. This day just made us wonder if traveling by car or by plane would have been easier. We'll have to see when we make the trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa this summer.

Tomorrow--details from the wedding...

Spring Concert

This week my kids had their school Spring Concerts.  The music program at their school is really quite good.  They take non-singers and make the group sound beautiful.    Every child in the school is one of the various choirs, which makes for large audiences at their concerts.  Grades 3-12 had their concert on Tuesday night, PreK and Kindergarten had their concert on Wednesday at 11AM and Grades 1-2 had their concert on Wednesday at 1PM.  Thankfully, we only had to go to two concerts, but even those made a big dent in our week's activities.

The boys sang on Tuesday night starting at about 7PM.  Unfortunately, the Headmaster started the concert by making a speech.  That man doesn't know how to be brief.  Also, as is the tradition at our school, our parish priest led everyone in an opening prayer.  DS#2's class was up first.  I was happy to see that he was actually singing.  In the past, he just seemed like he was trying to move his lips as little as possible. He has a decent voice--not good enough to brag about, but pleasant enough to listen to.  He's usually easy to spot since he's one of the tallest, so he's usually on the top row.

DS#1 didn't perform until closer to 8PM.  He was in the "Middle School Treble Bass Choir" specially formed this year for those boys whose voices are changing.  DS#1 used to have a decent voice, but this puberty thing has really cut down on his range.  So, Mrs. M, one of his music teachers talked about how before this choir was put together, these boys would just hum along or try to keep up with the regular Middle School choir and usually end up not really participating.  I have to say that this seemed like a good idea.  Once their voices were done changing, they would go to one of the Upper School choirs, depending on how good their voices were.  Anyway, I think they did a great job, although DS#1 looked a little uncomfortable at times being one of a small group of 12 or 15 or so boys.

After DS#1 performed, I had hoped that we could leave early.  Parents aren't really supposed to leave before the end of the concert, but really, it was getting so late that DH and I had to worry about the younger two.  I convinced him that we had to go get the younger two, who were in the babysitting room.  Unfortunately, all the kids were supposed to sing in a Finale, so we couldn't get the boys out yet, but I took the younger kids to the car.  The walk to the car killed some time and kept the two busy, especially the baby who walked almost the whole way holding onto me with one hand.

DH and the boys didn't get back to the car until 9:15ish.  When we got home, we quickly got everyone ready for bed.  The baby had fallen asleep in the car and he didn't wake up when DH changed his diaper and put him in bed.  What a long night!

Oh, and I didn't mention that DH and I were a little apprehensive at first leaving the younger two at this babysitting area that was provided.  There were only a handful of teenage boys and well, let's just say that we know how irresponsible teenage boys can be.  We were fairly satisfied, however, since one of them basically followed the baby around as he pushed one of the little chairs all around the classroom.  He even changed his diaper.  That's why DS#3 was crying when we got there to pick him up.  He couldn't believe someone had just changed his diaper! :)

A Mama's Homecoming

We met my family at 9 AM mass this morning.  We were a few minutes late because we decided that I would go get the car and pick everyone up with their luggage plus we took some last minute pictures in the hotel lobby.  DH suspected that we would be late, so he picked a pew near the back of the church.  There was an empty pew directly in front of us, and DS#3 was making his way to the empty pew as we got there.  When he saw me, he had such a big smile on his face, and he walked all the way around that long pew to the right side and then back to our pew straight to me.  He gave me a big hug and just lay there on my shoulder.  What a perfect greeting for his Mama! :) DD was sitting next to me and she gave me kisses too.  The boys just looked in my general direction, but I like to think that they had still missed me. :)

We went to brunch at La Madeleine then went home.  It was great to be home!  My sisters relaxed a bit then headed for home.  I told my dear sis that I wanted her to feel pampered and she said she was! :)

This afternoon/evening was all about end of season soccer pool parties.  DS#2 and DD had parties scheduled at about the same time.   DD's party was at the home of our good friends (and DS#3's godfather).  I spent much of my time in the hot tub with DS#3.  He hasn't enjoyed our neighborhood pool very much, we think because of the cold water.  He was still hesitant in the hot tub despite the warm temperatures, but he eventually started kicking his feet, then splashing the water with his hands while bending down, then finally, after a few hours, he started walking along the side of the hot tub.   DH and DS#2 went to this party after their party was over, so we all ended up at the same party.

It was still great weather today, and the family togetherness was a great end to my weekend!  I have to say that I had a fabulous time with my sisters, but I feel happiest when I'm with my DH and dear children. :)

Spa Day

This morning we all had pedicure appointments at 9AM. I got into my head, however, that the appointments were at 9:30, so we were almost late. This was my first pedicure, and from this experience, I would certainly have another one. First, I got a nice warm whirlpool bath for my feet. Next, she put some lotion on my feet and wrapped them up in towels. The rest of the pedicure included a foot and ankle massage and removing the dried skin from my feet. I joked about how I only got foot massages from my DH when I'm pregnant, and since I didn't plan on getting pregnant again, this was a nice treat. She finished off by putting polish on my toes. It felt so nice that someone else was doing my toenails, and doing it much better than I do, too! :) My sisters later both remarked on how I was chatty with my pedicurist. I really enjoyed talking with her and that just added to the whole experience for me. After our pedicures, we went back to our room and there we took some pictures of our feet. We were laughing so hard at one point because we thought this was silly that we were taking photos of our feet!

We went to the Cracker Barrel Restaurant for brunch/lunch. We've been to other Cracker Barrels, but I'm not sure if we'll be going back to one any time soon. We waited a short period of time before they had a table ready for us. Usually the hostess will tell the person seating you what table to seat you at, right? Well, she didn't, and the lady showing us to our table thought there was only two of us and not three, and she didn't even know what tables were even available. The table she finally took us to hadn't been cleaned yet, and my chair was sticky. I ordered milk, and our waitress brought me two 8 oz. cartons of milk and a glass. I started pouring the first carton into the glass and I was horrified when it was chunky! The expiration date was the 18th of May, but there was no way I was going to drink this milk! I opened the other carton that was dated the 27th of May. It tasted a little "off" and I'm not sure there was anything wrong with it, but I couldn't drink this milk either. I ordered orange juice instead! The rest of the meal was fairly uneventful, except for our waitress forgetting to put blueberries on my pancakes as I had requested.  Thank goodness that was all!

We went back for our afternoon spa treatments. The birthday girl got an outdoor massage. She said it was nice, but she kept thinking, "But it's outside!" It was a great weather day, at least. My youngest sister and I had facials. I had never had one of these, either. I have to say that it was a pleasant, relaxing experience, but I wasn't crazy about it. I almost felt like she was pushing the products.  I didn't like closing my eyes in a strange place.  I like knowing what is going on around me.  After our treatments, we congregated in the Women's Lounge and chatted for a bit, then we shopped in their little store.  My youngest sister and I even bought our DH's their Father's Day gifts.  I can't reveal what those are, of course. ;)

After the spa treatments, would you believe that we went shopping?  That's what the birthday girl wanted to do, after all.  We went to the big outdoor mall here in town.  We mostly shopped at Ann Taylor Loft, Ann Taylor, the Gap, and the Children's Place.  We had such great weather-- the high was in the 70s, I think, but there was a nice breeze and it was dry.  That's as good as it gets here.  Dinner was at the Kona Grill.  We split three dishes so we could get tastes of everything.  On the way back to the resort, we stopped at my favorite ice cream shoppe.  We were on our way back again and we ended up doing some more shopping at Payless Shoes and Target.  Even when we were supposed to be doing this "spa day" to pamper ourselves, we couldn't help but think of our families--and shopping for them! :)

We were pretty exhausted when we got back to our room, but we did a little scrapping before going to bed.  What a fun day!

For My Sister

My dear younger sister is turning 40 next week. She wanted to do something extra special, so she made reservations at a local spa/resort so that we could have a girls’ weekend. Originally, she had wanted to do something like a weekend in Las Vegas or New York, but decided that a weekend visiting me here would be more practical.

I have to admit that I was a little reluctant, at first. I always welcome the opportunity to spend time with my two younger sisters, but I would be away from my family. I have a lot of mommy guilt already from all the time I spend away from my family because of work, and this was additional time away from them. I have some "wife" guilt too, since DH does so much for me already, and here I am leaving him for two nights. We also have a trip over the Memorial Day weekend next week for my cousin’s New Jersey wedding. The weekends are my only extra time to get caught up with stuff at home, so this "getaway" would be cutting into that also. I've also never had any "spa" type treatments, so this was a new thing for me. Still, I love my dear sister, so what else could I do? As the time got closer, I got more excited about just spending time with my sisters.

This afternoon, my dear sisters arrived in town to pick me up at my house. DH left for DS#2's last cub scout den meeting for the school year. It was a pool party, so all of the kids were going to be swimming. I did some last minute packing of some scrap supplies. My youngest sister loves to scrap, and my younger sister had just received a scrapbook as a "prize". Anyway, after I was done, we left for the resort. As we drove up to the property, the gate guard asked my younger sister's name to put on a placard to put on the car dashboard. He had the hardest time spelling her last name (my maiden name). It took him three times--despite us telling him how to spell it. My other sister and I were the ones that got upset by this, even though we didn't have that last name anymore.

It's funny how people can be particular about what they want to pay for. We decided to self park instead of valet park. As we were walking up to the hotel, my younger sister complained that we should have valet parked. My youngest sister and I just laughed since she had wheeled luggage--I mean, how hard was it? :) After we checked in, we unpacked and went to dinner. On Friday nights they have a seafood buffet, and we were very hungry. We had such a great time at dinner. We chatted and laughed, and we indulged in the great food. We shared some of the desserts, mostly because we wanted a sampling. After dinner, we went for a nice walk on some of the nature trails. It was such beautiful weather. They had some exercise stations. We stopped at the leg lift station and my youngest sister took a goofy photo of me doing the exercise. Afterwards, we washed up and my youngest sister and I started scrapping. The birthday girl had forgotten to print any photos, so she couldn't use her scrapbook prize. We're all enjoying ourselves and we're looking forward to tomorrow's fun.

Proud Parents

We received a letter from our kids' school yesterday. They had given all the seventh graders the Catholic High School Placement Test and apparently, our DS#1 did very well. He scored in the 99th percentile in most of the categories, with a 98th percentile in Reading and 94th percentile in Language. This is in comparison with eighth graders. So, I read this and I'm thinking that my DS has already skipped one grade and he still does better than kids one more grade up! :) That's not all. The next sheet of paper talked about how our parish is going to be celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary, and they're offering scholarships to their high school. They offered DS the largest scholarship--$10,000 for four years!

I showed DH when he got home with the kids. He wanted to play a trick and tried to sound mad at DS when he called him to tell him about the letter. He couldn't keep a straight face! :) All he could manage was to "yell" at him (while trying to hold back laughter) for getting a "low" score of 94 in one category! DS did later say that he did think DH was mad at him, although he quickly realized that wasn't the case.

We feel very privileged to have such a smart boy. At the same time, however, we're sad because we will be turning down that offer. That high school has a lot of potential, but it's still so new that DS#1 won't be going there, no matter what. We would like him to have more options for electives, and more opportunities for extracurricular activities. We also want a more experienced guidance counselor that will help us place our firstborn in whatever college he wishes to go to. These are just some of the reasons why we'll be going to a different school, next year and beyond.

Still, we're pretty proud of our boy! :)

Young Chef's Academy

Yesterday, DD went to the Young Chef's Academy with her Daisy Girl Scouts group. One of the other moms brought her there from school. I went straight there after work. When I got there they had already made the filling for their calzones. They were kneading the dough and then rolling them out with rolling pins. Then, they filled them and folded them over and put the fork pattern on the outer rim. The adult chefs did the baking then the girls all got to eat their creations. It was pretty good, except that I prefer mine with more sauce. DD's calzone also looked pretty good, if I say so myself. Some of the girls had very flat and wide calzones. :)


I realized that I forgot to take photos of DD actually eating her calzone. She really only ate about a quarter of it, then complained of a stomachache on the way home. I'm not sure if it was the calzone, or (more likely) that she has some illness since she came home from school today with a low-grade fever. All in all, it seemed like a good experience for her. She wanted to go back there again right away, of course. I guess I'd better start letting her help me in the kitchen! :)

Mother's Day 2008

This morning, DS#2 came in and said he wanted to give me something. He seemed very proud of it. It was a rosary that he made at school and they all had them blessed by our parish priest. He said that he was almost finished with the first one when the string broke. Then, DD came in with her gift bag and envelope for me. In the bag was a frame that said "Princess" that she had painted. The envelope had her card in it with a teapot shape on it, a teabag and a cute printed poem.

A cup of tea to say thank you
For all the things you have done
Enjoy, relax and have a day
Of happiness and fun

After they had presented me with their treasures, I let them both climb into bed with me. I've always let them do that, mostly because I have fond memories of climbing into my parents' bed on the weekends. DH doesn't like it, however, because he is such a light sleeper that he can't get any rest when they're there. Well, DH had gone out for his usual Sunday morning run to get donuts, so he wasn't there, so I got to cuddle with my two middle children. It was nice. :)

I got to take an afternoon nap. I slept for two hours with DH and DS#3. I guess we all needed it! Some time after I had awakened from my nap, the kids showed me the poster they had made for me. I was so tickled to receive it. I got the idea that DS#2 was the instigator, and that made it even more precious for me because he's usually the one who runs away from me when I try to kiss him.

Last night he was asking me what I wanted for Mother's Day. I told him that I just wanted them to do as I asked them to and to show me they appreciated me. He seemed to be pushing for something material, but I just repeated what I had said. I can only imagine that he took this to heart and that's why he did this. What a sweetie! As you can see from the photo, DD made me her own little note.

We also went to a nice brunch after church and for dinner, DH grilled salmon. After the kids were in bed, I got to scrap. It was a wonderful Mother's Day! :)

Looking for a Break

DS#1 had a friend from school sleep over last night. "A" is the youngest of three children and he just turned 13. I don't remember if I blogged about this before, but "A" went home after one of these sleepovers and he started asking his parents if they could have another baby. They were tickled at the thought and asked DH jokingly what sort of ideas we were feeding their child while he was staying with us. :) Well, "A" is pleasant to have around because the older boys all play video games together plus the younger two enjoy his company, too. The baby even reaches up at him asking to be carried. I guess he's like one of the family.

We had our usual banana pancakes (some with chocolate chips) and turkey bacon for breakfast this morning. DH loves this meal and I enjoy the fact that the kids actually ask for it (unlike anything else I usually cook). I was wondering today, though--why is it that I've been making this for Saturday morning breakfast every week for probably a couple of months now and I can remember the ingredients, but I can never remember how much without looking at the recipe. I guess it may just be something that I don't have to commit to memory, so I don't. I've got to save room in my head for all of those important things like what activity to take the kids to, when they have to be there, and where to take them.

Speaking of places to be, I'm looking forward to a little break from soccer. Today was the last game of the Spring season, and it was DD's game. All of the parents were relieved when the game ended, and not just because it was the last game. It was blistering hot and humid today, especially at 2PM when her game was played. DS#3 finished his milk lickety split. We filled his sippy cup with Gatorade and he finished that too. I took this photo this morning when everyone was still fresh and clean. The baby was playing with a box that I no longer needed. DD was just trying to get in every photo.

DS#1 still has two practices a week until the end of the month and DS#2 still has practice this week. I just want to not have to be somewhere every day of the week. We also only have one more Daisy Scouts meeting--yay! I'm secretly hoping that DD won't want to be in the Brownie Girl Scouts next year. I'd like to get her into some sort of dance class or maybe even piano lessons. The only way we'll have time is if she trades one activity for another.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. We'll be going to a brunch after church and then DH says he will take the kids out somewhere while I stay home and relax, if that's what I want, that is. I'm not sure. I would love to have time to play with my scrapbooking supplies, but I rather enjoy going out and doing something fun with the kids. I guess it's a good thing that I do enjoy being with the kids, since I have to spend so much time at all of their activities, huh? :) I'll have more time when their activities slow down for the summer anyway.

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and my DH's Mom! We love you! Oh, and this is a photo I took earlier in the week so I could show off DS#3's haircut. Isn't he handsome? ;)

National Scrapbook Day 2008

National Scrapbook Day (NSD) was actually last Saturday, May 5th. There is an ongoing NSD crop for this whole week at Scrapaddict.com's NSD Forum. I've been scrapping instead of blogging. ;) Here are some pages I've done so far:

These pages were done using photos from 2004. In the first page, DD had been desperate to get into the tub with her brothers, but when she managed to get herself in there, she wasn't happy about getting wet!
This page has some of my favorite photos on it. This was taken at my uncle's house in NJ, and I love how this turned out.This page is a "just because" page. DD was playing with rocks at the neighborhood park while wearing her pink dress and pink frilly socks.


These pages were done using photos from 2005. This first page talks about my mother-in-law's sister and brother who live in Wisconsin and her nieces and their families, too.
This page is about the chair and parasol that DH got for DD at Walmart just because it was too pink to pass up. She LOVED it!


On DS#3 news--he's getting close to walking! This week, he's been taking a few steps without holding onto anything. He's been a handful, as usual, but DH and I still have fun with him. :)

Tomorrow is the last soccer game of the season for us! DS#1 actually has a tournament during the Memorial Day weekend, but we'll be out of town for my cousin's wedding then. Woohoo! Free time!

First Haircut

DS#3's hair has been getting a bit long in places. I wasn't in a hurry to get it cut because he really doesn't have too much hair anyway. I knew my mom was going to visit this weekend, so she volunteered to cut his hair. That was probably our first mistake. We should have probably just gone to the hair salon or barbershop and just paid someone to cut his hair. If nothing else, they probably would have been quicker. On the other hand, he probably wouldn't have allowed a stranger to cut his hair. Our second mistake was doing this near his afternoon nap time. Still, he did well for the first five to six minutes or so. Oh, and we forgot to get a "before" picture, but these pics were taken just after the first few snips in the very back.

The following time line was reconstructed using the time stamp on my digital camera.

About 1:00PM--My mom and I take DS#3 outside. My dear sis comes with us at my request so she can take some pictures. He does okay at first. He gets a toy to distract him, and my mom starts to use a comb/scissor combo that she uses when cutting my dad's hair.



















1:02:38--DS#3 starts losing his patience with us. He starts to screech whenever he feels that comb at the back of his neck. Since his hair is so fine and "flyaway", some time in the next couple of minutes we decide to wet his hair to make it lay flatter.

1:06:30--We've switched to me cutting his hair because Mom seems a bit more hesitant. She doesn't like to hear DS#3 when he is unhappy...and he is certainly not happy by this point.

1:07:49--Some time before this, we switch back to Mom cutting his hair because now I have to hold his head to keep him from getting poked with the scissors.


1:11:46--DH comes outside. After watching from inside, he has to get closer to observe up close how the baby is being tortured. He tries to distract DS#3 but then he starts trying to help by holding the baby's head. Soon after this, I start cutting DS's hair again, because my mom gets too afraid to cut DS's hair and I just want to get this over with.


1:13:52--We decide that the haircut is as good as it's going to get. After all, DS#3 still did have a slight bald spot at the back of his head anyway from when he was about three months old and always lying on his back.


1:18--DS#3 is now "safe and sound" in DS#1's lap. DS#1 is very good at comforting his baby brother.

We'll see what happens when it's time for the second haircut...

I'll have to take some "after" photos tomorrow. :)

Infrequent Visitors

My youngest sister and her family don't get to visit us too often. They are always running around with various activities just like we are. Below, I'll just recap some little things that happened during their visit here this weekend:

Yesterday my brother-in-law (BIL) saw DS#1 for the first time since about Christmas. We knew DS#1 was getting pretty close in height to him. When I asked my BIL if we could put them side-by-side to see who was taller, he went from standing on the floor to standing on the first step of the stairs before he said, "Okay." He is too funny! When we put them back-to-back, my BIL was maybe about an inch taller than DS#1, so DH said, You've got about another month!

This morning, my niece asked me if she could borrow a few Magic Tree House books to read. She seemed so excited about it and I couldn't say "No" of course. I remember when DS#1 couldn't wait to get the next Magic Tree House book. That was the first series that he really got into, and DS#2 followed him in that. DD isn't ready for them yet, but her cousin, who is only 5 months older than her, is certainly ready. Another proud Auntie moment!

This afternoon, my DS#2 was telling us how happy he was that his uncle (who was playing in a soccer tournament in town this weekend) and his team were progressing to the finals. His reasoning? He was excited because now he would get to play with his cousin longer! :)

I actually get to see my younger sister a little more than the rest of her family. She'll be in town in a couple of weeks again. My other sister is turning the "big 4-0" and wants to come have a "Girls' Spa Weekend". That's going to be so fun!

Proud Auntie Moment

My nephew (and godson) tried out for a Select soccer club this week. They came for a visit this weekend and I guess things look good. Although they haven't received a formal offer yet, one of the trainers came up to my brother-in-law and told him that he had a "ringer". I've never actually seen him play any sports since he is usually playing when MY kids are playing, but knowing that someone thinks that highly of him gave me a proud Auntie moment. :)

School Visit

I'm sorry I haven't had time to post about how the school visit went. The kids all enjoyed it and they seemed excited to be going to that school, although we're not certain that we'll be sending them there. DH and I were a little disappointed that the boys felt that they already knew a lot of what they were teaching in Math and, for DS#2, English. DS#1 didn't get a good glimpse of some of the classes, though, since those classes were working on projects at the time. Overall, the school just didn't seem that much different academically from the school we're leaving. Of course, there are other reasons why we're leaving that school they're at now besides academics. Now DH and I have to weigh the pros and cons of this school versus public school. I was going to go into a long pros and cons list here, but I think most of you are tired of me talking about this already. ;)

DS#3 is doing much better. He still has an icky cough, but he doesn't have a fever. He's been having nasty poops, though, so who knows--maybe he's teething again? Anyway, he gave me a big smile today when I got home from work and crawled to me without the whining cry that he's been greeting me with earlier in the week, so I think he's doing great. Of course, my mom and dad just got here today for their monthly visit and he's getting very spoiled. :)

School Visit Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the day when the kids are visiting the school that we potentially want them to attend. The boys are going there for the whole day while DD is only going for the last hour of the school day. The school parent handbook says that they don't allow eighth graders to transfer in, which is the grade that DS#1 will be in--unless it's a special circumstance. We're hoping that he qualifies as a special circumstance. If he can get in, we feel confident that they'll allow the other two to go there. They already have "waiting pools" for the grades that DS#2 and DD will be in, so since it's not a "list" then there's a chance we will get in ahead of others that are already waiting. Wish us luck! DH and I would really like to be able to rest easily about this soon!

The baby has awakened with a fever for the past couple of days. He actually took a three hour nap this afternoon in addition to a 45 minute nap in the morning. I had gone to take DS#2 to get his hair cut. When I got back, DS#3 had awakened in a great mood--he often wakes up rather grumpy. I sat down on the floor near him. When he saw me, he gave me a big smile and crawled over to where I was. He came up to me to give me a hug! What a precious boy! That totally made my day! Now, if he would just get over whatever it is that he has, that would really make my day!

Transitions

Tonight, I was walking with DS#3 and holding both his hands to stabilize him. Suddenly, I saw him let one hand go and walk while holding on with just one hand. At one point, he let go of that one hand and did a controlled drop or sit to the floor. He's so close to walking! It's just amazing to see the subtle "steps" forward in his development!

Today, DH made arrangements for our kids to go to class one day at the school we'd like our children to go to next year. I'm a little anxious about this because I know that this might be an "interview" to see if they'll accept our kids. I know there is a "waiting pool" for at least two of the grades. We have a better chance with a "pool" than a "list" since if they want to accept one of our kids, it will be more likely that they accept all of them. Still, this will be our kids' first look at this school and we hope that they love this one also.

Those of you with children know that sometimes it's better to warn them ahead of when things will happen, so they can mentally prepare for a change. Tonight, I didn't give DD much warning before taking her home from her Daisy Scouts meeting. She really loves these meetings because she gets to play with her friends, but I didn't have a watch on and when I realized the time, it was already 7:30 PM (her usual bedtime). She started crying, of course, and it took a little bit to calm her down.

I hope she and the other kids take the upcoming transitions better than that. It has been a very stressful last couple of weeks with the usual kid activities, some atypical stressors at work, and then this added stress of finding a new school. I'm sorry that I keep dwelling on this school thing, but it's consuming our thoughts and lives right now! Despite the stress of changes, we're looking forward to this one more transition or change in our lives.

Awesomeness

On Sunday, the older boys and I were playing Scrabble when DS#1 started frequently using the phrase "my awesomeness". I can't remember the exact instances, but he would say something like, "I was able to use that word because of my awesomeness" and this would be accompanied by a big toothy smile. He said it often enough that all of us started talking about his "awesomeness." Later, I told DH that I loved DS using that phrase because he showed confidence in saying it (even if he was actually joking) and that when he smiled he looked so much older with his big grin and squarish jaw. He can be a little jokester too, that one... :)

Speaking of jokester, here is a picture of the oldest three at Fiesta Texas this past weekend. I wanted to take a photo of them in front of this measurement sign. DD was tall enough to ride in the "regular" bumper car ride this year, with an "adult", which was DS#1, in this case. DS#2 was big enough to ride all by himself. You can see DS#1 on his tiptoes in back of the sign--he isn't really that tall without being on his tiptoes, although he is close...

DS#3 rode on a carousel for the first time. He was so tired that he really didn't seem impressed. He did, however, look around the carousel and seemed to just be taking it all in. He did manage a little smile here as if to humor his picture-taking Mama. :)

As you can see, his mood was much different last Saturday. We dressed him in his new soccer outfit that my dear sister gave him for his birthday. He looked so adorable and looked ready to play! The good mood lasted, thank goodness, and also luckily for me, I was able to keep him busy during DS#2's soccer game by feeding him Goldfish crackers. He is also getting quite good at drinking from his sippy cup. Unfortunately, because of the partially liquefied Goldfish crackers, this outfit promptly went into the laundry.

DH was at DS#1's soccer game across town and that was followed by DD's soccer game at the same field. I missed those games again, of course. Next week, we'll actually be able to go to all the games as a family. We had a pretty awesome weekend with awesome weather overall and hopefully next weekend will be too!

Things Happen For A Reason

I'm a strong believer that things really do happen for a reason. During our search for a new school for our kids, I've often felt that maybe DH and I made a "mistake" a few years ago when we pulled our oldest son from public school and put him in the school he's in now. DH has found some really good schools here in town and I can't help wondering what would have happened if we had started out at one of those schools instead. I realized today, though, that it is because of our past experience at this school that we are where we are now. If we hadn't switched to this school, DS#1 might not have skipped a grade. When we were approached about this a couple of years ago we were ready for that change, but not before. If we hadn't switched to this school, we might not have found the good friends that we did, or we wouldn't have become such good friends. Most importantly, we might not have appreciated what these other schools have to offer. I hope this all makes sense!

We're much closer to choosing a school. Now, we have to figure out if they have room for all three kids...

Here are three LOs that I started last month at a crop for Jen that I finally put the finishing touches on. The first one uses photos from 2002 when we were still a family of four! The second one is from 2006, and the last one (using a sketch from Scrapaddict) was just last year with DS#1 turned 12. :)

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! :)