Backyard Thoughts

This tree isn't changing colors but it is dropping leaves. This is our "Fall" here in South Texas. This is also the view when I look up from the lounge chair on my backyard deck. The weather was clear and cool today with a high in the upper 60s. This is the only time of year when I'm outside. A little earlier and it's too hot. A little later and it's too cold. What can I say, I'm an indoor girl.

DD wanted to play "Hotter/Colder" (at least that's what she called it) where we each took turns hiding two small balls. It's a simple game where the person that hides the balls tells the finder whether or not she is getting closer (hotter) or farther (colder) from the balls. She had a little trouble giving directions. For example, she would say, "Burning Hot" when I was still a good 5 feet from the ball. She would also say "colder" then "hotter" even though I was standing still in one spot. I have to admit that it was a little fun for me to play a silly little game with DD.

DH had gone to Academy Sports and Outdoors to buy DS#1 some new jeans. His current pair are Boys Size 18. I was going to get him another pair, since he put a hole in one knee of his only pair while playing soccer on Halloween, but I noticed that they were getting a little short. That's the largest Boys size, so that meant getting Men's jeans! I was looking at sizes online and the good thing is that now we can pick waist size AND inseam separately. I used to always get the boys the Gap brand jeans because those used to be the only brand with the adjustable waists. The Mens Gap brand jeans are twice as much as the Boys jeans! That's why DH took DS#1 to Academy to get some cheaper Levi's brand. DS#2 just went along because he wanted DH to buy him a football. They came home with a pair of Size 29 waist with a 32 length (DS#1 is about a 28 waist with a 31 length). I couldn't believe how long his legs are!

This is DD wiping her baby brother's nose for me. What a good girl! Notice how compliant he is, and he usually isn't. Poor thing has had a runny nose and low grade fever this weekend. I think it's a combination of allergies and the weather change. Either way, he has been miserable at night, which means he makes his father miserable. DH is so good about getting up for me in the middle of the night! Thanks, Sweetie! :)

This is DS#3 noticing that I have a camera pointed at him. DD is just like me in that she can't help but laugh every time she sees DS#3 with this absolutely hilarious cheesy grin. Notice his large clothing. DS#1 was born in October, so his old clothes are "off season" from DS#3, who was born in April. DS#2 was bigger at his age so he was able to wear DS#1's clothes in the appropriate season, even though he was born in June. In other words, DS#3 has a bunch of 2T hand-me-down clothes, which he gets to wear instead of the size 18 months clothes would probably fit him better.

This is DD noticing me taking another picture of her wiping her baby brother's nose. I'm a little biased, but I think she's gorgeous when she has that natural smile on her face! :)

Future Chatterbox

DS#3 has been talking a lot more lately. My mom and dad are here visiting, and he's been calling them by name. The kids have always called them "Lola" and "Lolo" for the Filipino words for "Grandma" and "Grandpa". DS#3 has been calling them "Yoya" and "Yoyo". He also says "Hi" and "Bye" frequently at the same time as doing his one-hand opening and closing-type wave. When I let him play with my flip cell phone, he'll flip it open, put it at the side of his head, and say "Heh-yo". Some other words that he can say: boo (book), eat (eat), see (sit), voo (move), beebee (beep beep), uff (off), up (up or down), no (no or yes), my mi (my milk), moo (milk). He can also say our names: Mama and Papa, of course, Ah-ee (Anthony), Ah-ye (Alex), Nah-ee (Natalie). He talks in this cute little voice and he sounds SO cute! He has also been "singing" a lot lately. It's high-pitched and sounds almost like DD's singing, but it's so much less annoying. I'm not sure why, but it may be because the pitch of his voice, although high, isn't as painful to our ears as DD's.

Reluctant Pianist

DD has recently been telling me that she wants to stop taking piano lessons. At first it was "next year", but today it became "after her recital", which is December 6. Her teacher is on maternity leave and will be back on December 1st. Her substitute teacher just told DH after her lesson last week that he's very pleased with how she is doing. She seems to have some knack for it. Sure, there are days during practice when she correctly plays her assignment pieces right away, and there are some days when we really have to work for a good 20 plus minutes and she still can't get it quite right. Usually it's related to how tired she is. I've never envisioned that she would be an award-winning pianist or anything. I just want her to play well enough that she can really enjoy it, if that makes any sense.

What I'm more worried about is whether or not she is one of those types of kids that quit activities just when they have to start working harder. I want her to be able to put some long-term effort into something so she can reap the rewards. I don't want her to be a "quitter". She loves gymnastics and dance right now, but what happens later? She says that she wants to play soccer next school year, but that means that soccer will be at a higher level than what she has played before. What if she shies away from that too? I know she's only six, but what if, what if, what if!

I spoke to DD's piano teacher after her lesson today, and he reassured me that everyone gets to a point when they don't want to work hard or to even continue lessons. She had told him that she didn't want to continue with piano lessons. He thought that because she has been working on her recital piece, maybe she is getting bored with playing that same piece over and over again. So, we'll see what happens. In the meantime, I know that I'm getting tired of hearing "Go Tell It On The Mountain."

Happy Veteran's Day!

Okay, so I know that it's not Veteran's Day anymore. That was yesterday. I started my blog entry yesterday, but then I couldn't think of anything to write, so here I am today. The kids still had school, but since it was a Federal Holiday, I was off from work. I volunteered in DD's class again. I hung around for a bit after the class went to P.E. so I got to chat with DD's teacher for a bit. She's such a nice lady and she really seems to enjoy teaching. I'm so happy that she is DD's teacher.

They were having a Veteran's Day presentation at the school in the afternoon, but I couldn't go since I had a hair appointment. Since I work with veterans almost daily, one could say that I honor them almost daily. Freedom isn't free, after all. I'm so thankful for what our military does (and has done) for us. I can live the way I do because they have sacrificed their lives fighting for my (our) freedom and way of life.

On a less serious note (I always have to have a story involving one of the kids, right?) I have to write about what happened to DH this afternoon. I'm at work tonight, so he had to take DD to her dance class (4-5PM), then go home and get ready to go out again to take DS#2 to soccer practice (6-7:30PM). DH was talking with DS#1 about his homework assignment. DS#2 was getting his soccer gear on. DD was changing from her leotard to regular clothes. Apparently, DS#3 went out the garage door, got the wagon, and was halfway into the street before a neighbor found him. What made it worse was that this neighbor is the one DH and I always talk about as being the one who lets her young children run around unsupervised outside. We were horrified!

New Babysitter

Last night, we left DS#1 to babysit his three younger siblings for the first time ever. Just in case, a good neighbor friend of ours offered to be around just in case he needed anything. DH and I went to a pre-deployment party at a nearby restaurant. I didn't think it was going to take as long as it did, but we were gone for about four hours--more on that later. DS did fine, of course. He even changed a poopy diaper. After his siblings were in bed, he got to play on the Playstation 3, which is what he was doing when we returned home. That and 20 bucks--not bad for his first babysitting job, eh? :)

There has a been a lot of stress at work due to some altered interpersonal relations. I don't think I'm free to discuss it here, but it involves some rules that weren't followed and whistleblowers. The party last night was for one of the "whistleblowers". When I found out about this dinner, I knew that this subject would come up and I didn't think I wanted to hear about it any more. I thought it would just be stressful and I would rather go out to a nice dinner with just DH and me instead. There were some explanations at dinner last night, and in the end, I feel a little better just because I know a little more. I'm still a little stressed about it, though, so I hope things get resolved as quickly as possible.

On a positive note, here are some photos I took today. I took this first photo at breakfast this morning. We didn't have any bananas left, so instead of making my usual Saturday morning banana chocolate chip pancakes and turkey bacon for breakfast, I made double chocolate chip pancakes and turkey bacon. As you can see, DS#3 is enjoying his double chocolate chip pancake. He was waving around his fork because he was dancing to the music playing on TV at the time. :)

These next photos were taken at soccer today. DH and DS#1 were in Laredo, TX for a game today--about 2 1/2 to 3 hours away, so that left me with the other three kids. I took the other three to DS#2's game. It's always rather stressful dealing with the little ones at a soccer game, but this sight made me smile. At the game, DS#3 was just walking around like this, with his hands behind his back. So cute!

Trying Not to Fall Behind

I just recently started subscribing to Studio Calico's monthly kits. I used to subscribe to a few others but inevitably, I would fall behind and the kits would pile up. I have told myself that I won't let this happen this time, so pretty much since I got my October kit a couple of weeks ago, I've been trying to use it up. I've done a decent job of it, I think. I did one page already and here are three more. I'll probably do one more before I set the kit aside for making cards. I'm a little behind, because my next kit is due to arrive tomorrow, but that's not too bad for me! :)

This first page is about DS#2 and how he was very apprehensive about starting in a new school this school year. I managed to get one photo with him smiling, then he refused to smile for another one. He didn't even turn to say goodbye as he got on the school bus (for the first time ever). DH and I were relieved that he ended up loving his new school and new teachers.

This next one is about DS#1 turning 13. This photo was taken at The Picture People. He was a bit embarrassed to be sitting for his own photo shoot, but he did it because he wants to make his Mama happy. What a good boy! I also wrote some vital statistics on there, like the fact that he is 67 1/2 inches tall and 119 pounds, he wears a size 9 1/2 shoe and Boys size 16-18 clothes.

This last one is my favorite. These are photos that were taken at JCPenney's over five years ago. I've always loved how these photos turned out, especially since DD had not been cooperative with her one-year-old photos that session. You can only see it on the original, but there is still a little tear under her right eye in the left hand photo. I didn't do much journaling since I really only wanted to showcase these great photos. I did add the quote which reads, "Every child is a different kind of little flower, and all together, they make the world a beautiful garden." I love those beautiful kids--sometimes I still can't believe they came from me! :)

Give Me a Kiss

DS#3 doesn't know how to give kisses. He doesn't know how to make that "smack" sound. He doesn't even know how to put his lips up to your cheek for a kiss. When I ask him to "give me a kiss", he leans his head toward my mouth--cheek first and then waits until I give him a kiss. Sometimes he'll do that on his own. Without prompting, he'll lean his cheek or head towards my mouth and he'll wait for me to give him a kiss. Sometimes he'll do this a few times in a row, and it's just so darned cute that I can't help but giggle. I have to be careful because sometimes he bangs his head on my lip doing this. He did this tonight when he was in DD's bed and I was about to sing to the both of them. DD couldn't help but giggle too.

I'm Not an Outdoors Person

Tonight, DH dropped off DS#2 at soccer practice, and then he and DS#1 went to "Magnet Night" at one of the local middle schools where the eighth graders and their parents can explore the available Magnet high schools in our area. For those of you not familiar with that term, Magnet schools are specialized public schools. Some are designed to put kids in jobs out of high school. Some are more designed to be college preparatory programs in specific subject areas. DH and I are a little overwhelmed with all of the choices, but we're still glad we have those options.

This left me at home with DD and DS#3. It was a nice evening, especially since the sun was already going down. I don't usually go outside because it's usually too hot. The last couple of weeks have been gorgeous here, however, and even an indoor person like me has been coaxed outside. DS#3 carried his sister's old Size 3 pink and black soccer ball out to the culdesac. Most of the time he just held it there, but sometimes he dropped it and would kick it forward, chasing it and giggling as he kicked it. He was pretty adorable but alas, I didn't have a camera. Sometimes it's better to just enjoy the moment.

Speaking of adorable, I took this photo on Saturday. The sun got a little hot but it felt nice in the shade. DD of course complained about being hot, so she used one of our golf umbrellas. DD and DS#3 looked so cute under that umbrella that I got the camera out. Of course, DS#3 had to show that cheesy grin of his. He just cracks me up when he does that!

Later, DS#3 climbed onto DD's lap. I just love how he brings out the best in his siblings and that he has so much fun with them. It was so cute that of course, once again, I took out my camera. Once again, out came that cheesy grin! I just love this picture because both of them look so happy. :)

What Time Change?

This morning, the kids got up oblivious to the time change. On the up side, they all got ready for church early, and they all dressed up. I didn't want to waste this opportunity to take a photo for our Christmas card. I didn't even take that many photos, but as you can see above, after only about eight or nine photos, they had had enough. DS#2was the only one that was still smiling. DH says it's because he's learned to keep smiling so it will all be over quicker. ;-)

It was a beautiful day. It got a little warm if we were standing in the sun, but it still felt fairly dry and it was definitely nice in the shade. The kids all went outside to play after lunch, and DS#3 went outside after his nap. This outfit that he is wearing was given to him by his godfather's family over a year ago. The shoes finally fit, so I had to take a picture. For once he didn't give me the cheesy smile. I still think he's cute, though. :)

DH wanted to try a little "experiment" on the grill today. He got some prepared chicken kabobs from the local grocery store plus he bought a leg of lamb to make into kabobs. He seasoned them himself after a little research on the internet. He even included the vegetables with my favorites in mind. They turned out great! Even DD enjoyed them, and she is quite the picky eater. DS#3 ate what I gave him plus seconds. I think DH is welcome to experiment like this any time! I love you, Dear! :)

Happy Halloween 2008

Every year since we moved to our neighborhood, we've gotten together with our neighbors for a little Halloween potluck party at the "entrance" to our cul-de-sac. The best part is that we set up a table and everyone sets their candy buckets on it. The kids just come and pick out what they want, and the rest of us can sit back (at least the ones that aren't trick-or-treating with the kids), enjoy each other's company, and not have to greet kids at home by ourselves.

We were out there tonight by 5-5:30PM setting up the food tables and such. Most everyone was out there by 6PM. DS#2 took forever to get ready. At first he complained that his costume was too short, even though he tried it on before he got it and knew it was going to be short (they didn't have any bigger sizes). DH convinced him to put black pants on underneath (instead of shorts). He still didn't come outside for a while. DH went to go check on him. He convinced him to wear pants with pockets, since his mask has glowing eyes that need batteries, and the pockets would give him somewhere to put the battery pack. When DS#2 finally came out of the house, at first he had his black dress socks on with his black dress shoes. I didn't want to tell him, but he looked a bit silly, like he was wearing a dress with socks. He must have figured it out or something, because he went back inside and again didn't come out for a while. When he came out, he had black sweatpants on instead. It looked much better. The length of time it took him to get ready made me think that he seemed uncomfortable in the short costume at first, but finally felt comfortable when he got the look he wanted (with the black sweatpants).

My reluctant Grim Reaper is the one on the right. I could not get him to stay still long enough to take a picture. As you can see, his whole face is covered up. What you can't see so well is that he has glowing red eyes in there. I'm just glad he found a costume he liked so that he could enjoy trick-or-treating this year. I wasn't so sure he would be going trick-or-treating a month or so ago. He mainly went around with his friend E (the "Scream" character next to him on the left) and I tried to keep up with them.

At first, DD was way ahead of us, running from house to house. DH and I followed behind with DS#3 in the wagon. We only took DS#3 up to a few houses. He seemed intrigued by people putting candy in his bag because once that bag had candy in it, he held on tightly. He looked so tired, though, and DH ended up taking him home after a couple of long blocks. The main reason was that he was poopy and had leaked, but we had planned on getting him home then anyway. DD had already asked to go home. Her bag was already getting full and she wasn't interested in walking anymore or in holding that heavy bag any longer.

This is probably the best photo of the evening. I had merely wanted a photo of DS#3 sitting in the wagon with his little basketball, but when he looked up, he would see the camera and immediately break out into this cheesy smile. He made me laugh and he made a few of the neighbors that saw this laugh too. I wanted to get a full length photo of him so I could show off his whole ensemble, but he just didn't stop moving enough. In all, I would say that he enjoyed his second Halloween much more than his first. :)

I almost forgot to mention DS#1. He was going to walk with us, but then a school friend came by and they started playing some soccer. Later, I saw the two of them walking around the neighborhood. The next time I heard anything was just a few minutes ago when DH said that DS#1 was over at a girl's house. Her mom used to be his CCD teacher way back in second grade. He was a good boy and called us from his cell phone. DH expects to be pacing around tonight until DS#1 gets home. Right now he is muttering "How did he grow up so fast?!!"

No!

Yes, DS#3 has entered that phase when everything is "No!" I think that's all he hears, so that's all he says. Yesterday, DS#2 was pulling him around in the wagon outside (it's been beautiful weather here lately). I came outside and DS#2 came up to me excitedly and said he had to show me something. Of course, his baby brother didn't perform on cue, but apparently, he had been asking DS#3 a series of questions, to which DS#3 would always reply "No!" DS#2 asked, "Do you like being in the wagon?" "No!" was the reply, although he was obviously enjoying himself in the wagon because he didn't want to get out. When DS#2 asked, "Do you like to say, 'No'?", the reply again was, "No!" Once again, that answer was obviously wrong. :)

The constant negative replies can get a bit confusing. Tonight, he did not want to let go of his Dora book when it was time to go to bed. I asked him if he wanted to put the Dora book down. I asked him if he wanted to keep the Dora book in the bed with him. The replies to both were of course, "No!" He seemed calmer when he had the book, so I guessed that to be the correct action for me to take.

Tonight, it was the Dora book. Last night, he went to bed with one of his little trucks. This morning, after a short nap (he fell asleep in the car), DH heard him singing. DH went up to the game room where his crib is and saw him happily playing with his truck that had been left in his crib from last night. He wasn't able to get a video before the little man noticed his audience, but I'm sure it was really cute.

This is a layout of DS#3 that I finished a couple of days ago. I used my new Studio Calico kit. It's a bit out of my comfort zone to use papers from different manufacturers in the same page, but I'm enjoying this kit so far. The pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago, when I snapped some pictures of DS#3 waiting for the school bus carrying his siblings. I included some journaling in there about how much he loves those juice bags. He looks so cute when he drinks those things. His pudgy little hands are wrapped around the juice bag and his little cheeks are puffing away at the straw. I know--I'm a little biased. :)

Random Facts About This Past Weekend

I took the youngest three children with me on a short trip to Houston this weekend for the purpose of attending my dear niece E's 7th birthday party. We stayed my youngest sister's house so my kids would be able to play with her kids. We left here right after DD and DS#2 got home on the bus on Friday, and we left there after church this morning. I don't have too much time, so I'm just going to list some random facts about this weekend below.

--I don't know what possessed me to take the above photo from the stairs. This just makes DS#2 look more gigantic than he really is.

--Listening to a 6-year-old and a soon-to-be 7-year-old sing High School Musical songs can be painful.

--A 9-year-old boy can read the song "Get'cha Head In The Game" and earn an "A" and a ton of points on the "Wii High School Musical Sing It" game, more points than the aforementioned 6 and 7 year old girls.

--DD cannot sit through movies at the theatre without asking to go home in the middle of it. She kept asking to go home when we were watching High School Musical 3 yesterday morning.

--I wish I lived closer to my family. Three hours isn't bad, but it's not a short trip with three children.

--I don't like driving.

--One should not always trust the recording that tells you what time the Catholic masses are. We thought we were going to the 7:30AM mass and instead it was the 7AM mass.

--18-month-olds get very strong and very loud when you try to make them take a nap when they don't want to take a nap, so much so that you end up taking a nap too.

--My little sister makes great tortilla soup. Yum!

--DS#3 loves pumpkin bread, made by dear sis also. Yum again!

--A 13-year-old and his 42-year-old father can stay up until 12:30AM playing on the Playstation 3 when the rest of the family is out of town. The father can tell his wife that he will go to bed earlier and then end up staying up until 11PM playing with his son again.

I'm sure there are more random facts, but that's all my tired brain can remember right now. Good night! :)

All Over the Place

This afternoon, when I returned home from DD's piano lesson, I walked into the kitchen and saw DS#3 in front of the open door of the pantry. I saw him picking something up off the ground and then putting it in his mouth. As I rushed closer, I realized that it was a chocolate chip that he was putting in his mouth--and there were quite a few of them ALL OVER THE PANTRY FLOOR!!! The little stinker had pulled down the bag of chocolate chips and either opened the bag or dropped the bag, either way the chips had spilled all over the floor. I went ahead and let him eat a few, since I would have to throw all of them away anyway. Yes, the thought did cross my mind to take a photo, but I reasoned that the photo would not have been a good one, and instead I just took it all in--his cute little hands grabbing the itty bitty chips off the step stool (that was left in the pantry from when DD got herself a snack) and putting the chips into his mouth and seeing those round little cheeks chomping away.

According to DH, DS#3 had been "all over the place" today. Here is a list of some of the things DS#3 did:
--He played with his car over one of the computer keyboards and monitor.
--He opened a file drawer in the office and began removing individual files.
--When DH had moved the computer mouse farther in to keep him from playing with it, he climbed up on the chair so he could reach the mouse.
--He sprinkled baking soda inside a large box (from Costco) that he was playing with. When DH moved the box onto the counter and then turned to heat up DS's lunch, the little stinker grabbed the box and pulled it off the counter, spilling baking soda everywhere.
--He climbed up on my desk chair and reached for one of my scissors. Luckily, DS#1 was around to keep him from hurting himself. He also grabbed one of my pens.
--He opened the front door, which was unlocked.
--At the store, he would not stay in the shopping cart. He mostly followed DH, but DH had to stop and wait for him, sometimes also going around the corner and playing "peek-a-boo". Obviously, DH did not get much done.

DH just now told me that he thinks that DS#3 isn't being "bad", he is just curious. He will climb up to see what he can see, and then he will grab at things that catch his eye. I think he's living up to my nickname for him--"Mischief Managed". For you non-Harry Potter fans, this is a line from Harry Potter. When they want to put away the Marauder's Map, they would say that phrase and the map markings would disappear and it would look like a plain piece of parchment.

Fall 2008 Schedule

I don't think I've listed out our typical weekly schedule for this fall yet, so I'm going to do that today. This time I'll include the times they get on and off the bus since this is staggered. In some ways it's not as "busy" as last fall. I generally stay home while DH goes to soccer almost every weekday instead of both of us going our separate ways after dinner to different soccer practices. In other ways it's busier because I rush home so I can take DD to her various classes and then DH leaves after dinner to take one of the boys to their soccer practices. Thankfully we don't have any Sunday games this fall, so our Sundays are more like family days. We usually only have two soccer games on Saturdays instead of the three we had last year. Notice that if I'm not there because I have to work late or overnight, DH might have to leave the house before DS#1 gets home from school. It's a good thing that he's old enough to be left at home.

Sunday--Church at 9AM (if we don't go on Saturday)
Dinner out with family

Monday--7:09AM Bus picks up DD and DS#2
7:41AM Bus picks up DS#1
3:01PM Bus drops off DD and DS#2
3:15PM Leave to take DD to gymnastics
3:30 to 4:30PM DD at gymnastics
3:58PM Bus drops off DS#1
5:30PM DH and DS#2 leave for soccer practice
6-7:30PM DS#2's soccer practice
7:30PM DD and DS#3 in bed
8PM DH and DS#2 arrive at home
8:30PM DS#2 in bed
9PM DS#1 in bed

Tuesday--7:09AM Bus picks up DD and DS#2
7:41AM Bus picks up DS#1
3:01PM Bus drops off DD and DS#2
3:58PM Bus drops off DS#1
7:30PM DD and DS#3 in bed
8PM DS#2 in bed
9PM DS#1 in bed

Wednesday--7:09AM Bus picks up DD and DS#2
7:41AM Bus picks up DS#1
3:01PM Bus drops off DD and DS#2
3:45PM Leave to take DD to dance class
3:58PM Bus drops off DS#1
4-5PM DD at dance class
5:30PM DH and DS#2 leave for soccer practice
6-7:30PM DS#2's soccer practice
7:30PM DD and DS#3 in bed
8PM DH and DS#2 arrive at home
8:30PM DS#2 in bed
9PM DS#1 in bed

Thursday--7:09AM Bus picks up DD and DS#2
7:41AM Bus picks up DS#1
3:01PM Bus drops off DD and DS#2
3:30PM Leave to take DD to piano lessons
3:58PM Bus drops off DS#1
4-4:30PM DD at piano lessons
5PM DD arrives home from piano lessons
5:30PM DH and DS#1 leave for soccer practice
6-7:30PM DS#1's soccer practice
7:30PM DD and DS#3 in bed
8PM DH and DS#1 arrive at home
8PM DS#2 in bed
9PM DS#1 in bed

Friday--7:09AM Bus picks up DD and DS#2
7:41AM Bus picks up DS#1
3:01PM Bus drops off DD and DS#2
3:58PM Bus drops off DS#1
5:30PM DH and DS#1 leave for soccer practice
6-7:30PM DS#1's soccer practice
7:30PM DD and DS#3 in bed
8PM DH and DS#1 arrive at home
8PM DS#2 in bed
9PM DS#1 in bed

Saturday--DS#2 with morning soccer game
DS#1 with afternoon soccer game
5PM Church sometimes if we want to go on Saturday instead of Sunday

Pumpkin Patch Visit and Apple Orchard Facts

We went to the Pumpkin Patch today at a place called Love Creek Orchards. There were lots of activities there, including an "orchard tour" where you can learn about how the orchard operates, how they process the apples, etc. I'll be adding little facts that we learned about apples today interspersed in my narrative below. DH wants me to put a disclaimer in here about how these facts were from the lady giving the tour and so may or may not be entirely true.

It took a little over an hour to get to the pumpkin patch. At least it was a nice, scenic drive--not like the drive from San Antonio to Houston. We were following a bunch of Harley riders much of the way. One of them got cut off by a truck and he retaliated by getting back in front of the truck and not allowing him to pass again. We were watching from afar since Texas has a concealed handgun law and you just never know who will be packing heat.

We got there around 10:30AM, and some of us were already hungry, so we decided to go ahead and eat our packed lunches so we wouldn't have to go back and forth to the car. After lunch we took a short hayride from the parking lot to the entrance. For the first time, because the kids' admission was only for kids up to twelve, we had to pay adult prices for DS#3. We went to the maze first. It was just a small one, but DD really seemed to enjoy it. DS#2 complained that it was "easy". DS#1 went in just to help with DS#3, who would go in a bit and then decided he wanted to come back out. Next we sat for the storytelling and then we saw a little of the Lakota Indian demonstration. The boys then went to the petting zoo. DS#3 loved just watching the animals from the fence. DD got in line for the face painting while the others went on the apple orchard tour. We didn't do too much more after that. We were only there for a couple of hours, but it seemed liked everyone had fun.

Now for some pictures--first of all, why is it that my family can't cooperate with me and dress in the appropriate "fall colors" when we go to a pumpkin patch? DS#1 insisted that he didn't have any shirts that were green, brown, or orange. He could have worn white/something neutral, but this boy cannot keep his shirts clean when he eats, so that wasn't a good option. DD wore pink, which at least is close to orange--sort of.

FACT: Granny Smith apples originated from an apple tree that grew from Granny Smith's compost pile. (I'm relying on DH's memory here, so he's not sure what the details were.) Every tree that produces Granny Smith apples uses a graft from that original tree (or from a tree that used a graft from the original tree and so on).

I was happy to get this shot of DS#2. The three pictures before had him holding that pumpkin over his face. I waited patiently until he removed the pumpkin and viola--a half-smile was behind there. :) DH said he really seemed to enjoy the orchard tour. He really seems to love knowledge for the sake of knowledge.

FACT: Washington Red Delicious apples are processed in a certain way that gives them the lobes at the bottom of the apples. They're also processed in such a way that allows them to last a really long time. In certain conditions, depending on how they're stored, they can last for up to a year. She said that if you've ever tasted a Red Delicious apple that you didn't like, it was probably because it was old. Usually they tend to be nice, sweet apples.

I missed most of the apple orchard tour because I was waiting in line to get DD's face painted. It's a nice rainbow and DD was very happy with it, but I was in line for a good 45 minutes. Most of that time was in the sun. Luckily, it was a really nice day and despite the sun, there was a cool(er) breeze that made it much more tolerable than usual. It's a shame we had to wash this off tonight during her bath.

FACT: Love Creek Orchards uses dwarf trees, which apparently can yield as much as full-size apple trees per acre (since you can fit more dwarf trees per acre) . One advantage to the dwarf trees are that you don't have to use a ladder to pick the apples. They use a graft of different types of apple trees to the dwarf roots so they can grow different types of apples. It takes 18 months to start producing fruit with these trees versus ten years for a full-size apple tree.

Aren't those "Lightning McQueen" croc-style shoes on DS#3's feet just adorable? He loves cars, and when I saw this at Payless yesterday, I just had to have them. Luckily, he loves them too. I just bought his shirt yesterday too. The basketball lights up when he moves, which is all the time, of course. He wasn't in a very good mood today. He was having that constipation problem again, plus he refused any breakfast (except for milk) and lunch today. At least he ate a decent dinner and he kept drinking fluids. He seemed to enjoy running around the pumpkin patch, even if he wasn't smiling most of the time.

All right, I'm out of facts, mostly because DH just fell asleep and he was the one who went on the orchard tour and not me (since I was waiting in that darned face painting line). I thought what he did tell me was rather interesting. I'll have to insist on going on that tour myself next year. :)

More DS#3 Stories

I remembered a few more "stories". :)

DS#3 has a new word--"voo". He uses it when he wants to get at something and one of his siblings is in his way. This afternoon, DS#2 was showing me something from across my desk. One of the laser printers is there. DS#3 told his big brother, "Vooooo! Vooooo!" All of that noise just so he could fiddle with the sliding panels on the printer's manual feed slot.

He still loves to play with my scrapbooking markers. I have a small plastic 3-drawer organizer that holds all of my ZIG Markers. He'll ask to go "up" on my lap and then he'll point to the plastic organizer. Today, when I told him to say "pens", he actually was able to say "pa". I usually pull one drawer out and put it on the floor. He'll remove the markers from the drawer, either handfuls at a time, or he'll turn the drawer upside down and dump out all the markers at once. After a minute or two, he will hand me the drawer, and he will put the markers back in it two at a time (one for each hand, of course). I used to only give him the bottom drawer because they were the markers I didn't use very much. Today he wanted a different drawer.

"Doe-wa" has become more than a picker-upper when little man is cranky. It's become a downright obsession. Every time someone turns the TV on, DS#3 will run and sit on the sofa and start saying "Doe-wa" repeatedly and very excitedly. If he doesn't get to watch "Doe-wa" then he gets very upset. There are 4 different episodes that run daily here. I've been taping them for him, but for the last two or three days, he has seen at least 3-5 "Doe-wa" episodes per day! According to DH, DS#3 will actually walk away while "Doe-wa" is on, and he'll go play in the kitchen or elsewhere, but if you turn "Doe-wa" off or turn the channel to something else, he immediately runs back and gets upset. Today when I got home from work and walked through the door, I saw the end of the "Doe-wa" show and I thought he was in the living room watching it. He suddenly came out from behind the kitchen island and pointed in the direction of the living room, and he said "Doe-wa" as if to tell me that his favorite show was on the TV.

Okay, that's all for now. I'm falling asleep as I type this, so hopefully there aren't too many typos. Tomorrow is Saturday, so I'll surely take a few photos. I'll try to post some photos tomorrow.

Some DS#3 Stories

I'm feeling a bit tired tonight, but I've been meaning to post some recent photos of DS#3, so here are a few. I also want to remember a few stories of DS#3 at 18 months. I'm going to just list them below. I'm sure there are more, but like I said--I'm a bit tired, so those others will have to wait until another time.

DS#3 has discovered juice, especially the Capri Sun variety. When he sees that bag, he wants some, and goes crazy if he doesn't get some. Luckily, he does okay with not squeezing the bag and squirting juice everywhere like DD used to.

DH and I just love how DS#3 will take our hand (or usually it's our finger) and lead us to whatever he wants. He may not be able to talk yet, but at least he can communicate--much less frustrating than it could be. The other day he took DH to the refrigerator and started pointed down (he usually points up for his milk). This time he wanted a hotdog. Apparently he's been eating way too many hotdogs lately, but I guess he loves them.

We went to Brindles for ice cream last weekend. DS#2 always wants a shake, and now DS#3 seems to prefer shakes to ice cream. He complained when DS#2 took the shake away so he could have some of his own shake! I struck a happy medium by getting another straw. Of course, what did DS#3 do, but drink out of BOTH straws!

This week at his Gymboree Play class, apparently he had a new "game". He would spin around and around until he got dizzy and plopped onto the ground. He apparently found this hilarious and enjoyable, because he started laughing when he fell. What was even funnier was that a couple of the other toddlers found this behavior interesting and copied him. This meant that no one was paying attention to the "teacher" who was trying to engage the toddlers in some activity.

This photo was taken last Friday during the halftime of DS#2's night game. I love how DS#1 takes such good care of his baby brother. I also think it's adorable how DS#3 has his tongue out constantly when he's playing. This allows the drool to more efficiently escape his mouth and end up on his face and clothes. He also loves balls and looks like he has some potential as a future soccer player. Last Saturday during DS#2's game, he yelled out DS#2's name, which sounds like "Ah-ye" coming from him. He then proceeded to run out onto the field towards his big brother. He was quite PO'd when I dragged him back to the sideline.

When we first got the wood floors, he discovered that balls bounce farther on wood than on the carpet. He had lots of fun chasing bouncing balls all around the first floor. I have to admit that his joy was contagious. DH and I couldn't help but smile as we saw him running around chasing balls that were rolling quickly away from him.

DS#3 loves to climb, and he loves to figure out things--like how to unlock doors. Yup--this week, DH discovered DS#3 with the stool at the front door, trying to unlock the door. He can already open the door when it's not locked, which is why we have to keep it locked. He wasn't strong enough to turn the lock, but it's only a matter of time, I'm sure.

This last photo looks benign enough. He is pointing to the cookies that are baking in the oven. The rest of the story involves me putting the stool down about three feet away from the oven and showing him that there were cookies baking in the oven. When I put him down on the stool, he got off, moved the stool right next in front of the oven, and then got back on so he could get a better view.

Family Photo 2008

Compare this photo with the photo of DS#3 I took yesterday--the one with the BIG cheesy grin. If he looks like he's about to decompensate here, it's because he is about to. He is lucky that he is so cute. :)

5 Random Photos

Today's challenge over at Playground of Memories is to take 5 random photos and put them on a layout. I don't know when I'll have time to scrap these, but at least I took some photos today. The idea is to document what a "typical" day is like. I'm going to do a page on what one of my days off from work is like.

This was my first photo this morning (at around 8:30AM) when I first read the challenge. As you can see, the boys were on the sofa. DD was standing behind the sofa because she had just finished her breakfast muffin but she couldn't leave the table yet because she hadn't finished her milk. She got up so she could watch TV. DS#2 was playing a game on DH's PSP, DS#1 was reading a book, and DS#3 was watching cartoons. I got the camera out and as I'm waiting for DS#2 to stop hiding from the camera, I looked over at DS#3 and realized that he had this BIG cheesy grin on his face and he was looking right at me--just waiting for me to take a picture! I laughed so hard!

This next photo was taken at The Picture People, but I'm going to count it because I would have taken a photo there of the family waiting to get our photo taken, only they don't allow anyone to take photos there except for the employees. We had an 11AM appointment to get our family photo taken. I also wanted photos of DS#1 for his 13th birthday, just like the photos I got of the other kids on their birthdays this year. The first family photo went okay, but then DS#3 decided that he did NOT want to be a part of any other photos! At least we were able to get an acceptable family photo, but DS#1 still does not look happy. What a difference from the first photo I took today! (I'll try to post the family photo tomorrow.) DS#1 told he he wasn't pleased with having his photos taken, but as usual, he is a good boy and does as his Mama asks. :)

We went out to eat at PF Chang's at around 12:30PM after we got our photos. DS#3 continued to be out of sorts, but he did at least eat well. We headed straight home after lunch and it was no surprise that DS#3 fell asleep on the way home. That was about 1:30PM.

This photo was taken around 2:30PM when DS#3 had just awakened from his nap. He doesn't look happy, does he? He was stomping on the wall and rolling around the floor and everything. Unfortunately, he often wakes up cranky from his nap. DH and I have no idea why this is. Sometimes it seems as if he didn't get enough sleep, and sometimes we wonder if he's gotten too much. In any case, I thought the photo would make my scrapbook page more complete.

After wrestling with DS#3 for a while, I got him to settle down by watching TV. At about 2:45PM I sat down to practice piano with DD. She was a bit whiny today, I think because she wanted to go play outside, but when we finally finished, she had a few minutes to play, then we headed off to gymnastics class. This next photo was actually taken after class since it's too dark to take photos there. I only found out last Friday that DD can do the splits. Amazing!

We got home around 5PM, and we were waiting for the Stouffer's lasagna in the oven for dinner. What is it about that lasagna? My family prefers that to homemade, so I don't even try to make it myself anymore. DS#3 had eaten first because he demanded food early, so while we were eating, he was up to mischief in the kitchen. This is the second kitchen cabinet door that he has broken. Look at that innocent face--NOT!

Soccer practice was cancelled tonight because of rain, so we got to have a more relaxing dinner than usual. It's nice that the kids are active, but it's a really nice change of pace to step back and relax once in a while.

DS#2 and his foot

This is DS#2 at his soccer game today. DH and I are a little concerned about him. He recently decided that he didn't want to do Cub Scouts anymore, and then he didn't want to go to soccer practice this past Wednesday. Last night he had a game and he told us that he didn't want to go because his foot hurt. I guess his heel area has been hurting since early this past week. It gets worse when he runs, but (and here's the problem we have with this) he doesn't stop running at school or outside when he plays with his friends. I checked his foot out, and it doesn't seem swollen, and it seems more of a ligament or tendon injury and not a bony one. We discussed this with him, and he agreed to play last night and then today.

DH and I are just worried that his wanting to quit these things are a symptom of something more serious. He is such a sensitive boy, and we are afraid something bad is going on with kids at school or at soccer. At least he talks frequently (and without prompting) about how much he loves this new school that he is at this year. If it wasn't for that, we would be even more worried.

This is another action shot I got today, but at DS#1's game. I don't remember exactly what was going on here, but DS#1 looks like he hurt himself here. He wasn't hurt. It's cool to watch him run fast. He's got such long legs and he actually looks graceful. DH and I don't know where he got THAT at. I guess he's had phases where he as decided to quit things, like karate and art, so maybe we shouldn't worry so much about DS#2 so much. We'll keep an eye on things and hope all is well.

What I Learned in First Grade

Today I volunteered in my DD's class for about an hour. Before I went, I was telling DH that I was a little apprehensive because I felt like I wasn't "good with kids". I went and I had such a great time! DD's teacher had me doing a few little things. The class was learning about birds, so I helped the kids with an interactive activity where they taped or glued certain items on some paper--toothpicks for bird legs, some cut straws to show the hollow bones, some crushed eggshells, and a feather. The next activity involved looking in their poem books and making sure they had all four poems and if they didn't, they could glue on the missing poem(s). What I did for the rest of the time was probably the most fulfilling.

I took two of the kids individually, and helped them with a math exercise--trying to figure out patterns. One had alternating orange and black blocks. All he had to do was figure out if the question asked about an even or an odd numbered cube, but when I talked about odd and even, he just looked at me blankly. No matter which cube the question asked about, he just kept saying "orange", without even trying to figure it out. The next kid had a more difficult pattern of three alternating colors--even I had to write it out. I'm not sure in the end if those two kids would be able to figure out those patterns again without someone helping them.

I helped the next two kids individually read a book about a hen named Rosie who was taking a walk with a fox following close behind. They then had to write in the correct word (from a list) into sentences that were directly from the book. For example, the book started out by saying that Rosie walked "across the yard" and then she walked "around the pond", then she walked "over the haystack" and so on. One boy didn't even look at the words, when it said "across", he said, "Over?". When it said "around", he asked, "Over?" By the time we got to the third sentence that actually used the word "over", I joked with him that he should know it because it was his favorite word! I also asked him if he liked to jump since his "favorite" word was "over". :) The two boys both enjoyed seeing the picture that followed each sentence, because it involved something bad happening to the fox, like the fox falling "in" the pond since he didn't walk "around" the pond like Rosie did. I think that's a boy thing?

I learned a few things today. I learned that my DD really is smart because she can think and can figure out problems, and because she picks up on things quicker than these kids did. I also learned that she really does read pretty well. I learned that my DD's teacher really needs someone to help her every day, because there is no way she can teach kids like my DD if she has to teach the other kids that are a little behind. This renewed my admiration for teachers of small children and especially teachers in general. Most of all, I realized how much I enjoyed my volunteering stint, and I'm looking forward to my next one in November. :)

18 months!

My baby is 18 months old today! He went to the doctor today and he was a whopping 21 1/2 pounds (4%) and 32 1/2 inches (50%). It's not for lack of trying either. Tonight he had a whole chicken strip from Popeye's and for lunch he ate almost a whole hotdog plus a whole cheese stick. His favorite words are "up" (even when he means "down") and "no" (even when he means "yes"). I'm pretty sure he tries to say his siblings' names, but he's still too hard to understand for me to tell right away which sibling name he's trying to say. His favorite toys are either balls or wheeled vehicles, depending on his mood. The smaller the object, the more he likes it. One of his favorite balls right now is a really bouncy ball that is a little over an inch in diameter. I know--it's a choke-able object, and we try to keep it out of sight, but once he sees it, he doesn't stop crying and fussing until he has it. It can also be a good toy to distract him, though, if we want him to do something. Apparently he did okay with his shots. he didn't seem any more fussy than usual this evening.

As for DD, she went to the doctor today too. She has this rash on her left arm only. I first saw it on Monday. It was significantly worse yesterday, so DH called and made an appointment for her for today too. The doctor thought it looked like a rash from either poison oak or ivy. I'm not sure where she came in contact with that since this is the girl who says she doesn't like to get "sweaty". The school playground is apparently inspected regularly, so that doesn't seem to be where she came in contact with it. It looks kinda gross to me. I guess I have trouble with pustule looking skin lesions, or for that matter, anything remotely "fleshy". Anyway, we have a steroid cream for it. I hope it goes away quickly. Also, she is 44 1/4 inches and 43 1/2 pounds. I'm not sure where that falls on the growth curve, but it certainly isn't big.

I'm the Mother of a Teenager!

On this day 13 years ago, I became a mother for the first time. I didn't do the fancy scrapbooking then that I do now, so my scrapbook was mostly pictures and captions. I just remember how little DS#1 was and how I couldn't believe that I was a mom! You see, he was 3 1/2 weeks early, so he was a little "unexpected".

My water broke at home around 2:30AM. I called the doctor's office while DH was still sleeping, so I wouldn't wake him too early. We went in by around 4:30AM, I think, and we waited. Nothing happened with labor, but I remember getting my first enema--yuck! Finally around 8AM or so, the doctor finally arrived, and ordered the nurse to begin inducing me. When the contractions got very strong, I asked for something for pain, realizing that it was probably too early for an epidural. I got some IV medication. A little before noon, DH decided he was going to go get something to eat. He had to come right back because I started feeling like I had to push. I knew what that meant. It meant that I wasn't going to get my epidural! The hardest part (harder than the labor) was not being allowed to push when I really felt the urge to. The doctor (who was just the guy on call and wasn't my regular doctor) apparently didn't believe that I was that close to delivering and was next door with another patient. When he finally came to my room, it didn't take long at all.

The next few weeks were happy but even more traumatic for me (emotionally) than the labor and delivery. DS#1 would not nurse, but I did manage to get some liquid into him--enough that he was not dehydrated. I was an unexperienced mother and didn't realize he wasn't getting any nutrition, but I was experienced enough as a health care provider to know about dehydration. He lost 25% of his weight by day 10. There was one picture in particular that was so scary that I threw away the prints. He was that thin. I still have the negatives, so one day I might be ready to look at that picture again. Look at my big, strapping boy now!

This is a picture of him taken yesterday. We got him a couple of video games--his favorite activity. DH actually did the shopping and the wrapping this time. DS#1 was excited about one of the games because it is for the PSP (Playstation Portable) that is actually DH's handheld game system. That meant that Papa was allowing DS#1 to play on his machine. The other game is for the PS3 (Playstation 3) and DS#1 seemed excited about it because 2 players can play together. He played it with his little brother tonight. DS#2 seemed pretty excited about it too. :)

Now as promised, some pictures of the rooms with the new wood flooring. Please ignore the mess. Everything isn't quite put back where it should be yet.
DS#1's roomand his hand-me-down bed and bed linens. We'll have to make this room look a little more teen boy-like soon. ;-)

This is the formal dining room. The table is an antique that my in-laws gave us. DH removed some of the leaves to make it easier to move back and forth. The stuff on top is from my scrap area temporarily placed there until I can finish cleaning and organizing my scrap area. Wish me luck!

This is the office. DH's area is on the left, and mine is on the right. I really wish we had put doors on all of the cabinets when we got these built-ins. The doors are better for hiding the mess inside.

This is the family room/living room or whatever you want to call it. As you can see, the boys are playing DS#1's new PS3 game. These aren't the best photos, but you can get a good idea. :)

Dust Bowl

Oh the dust! I wasn't prepared for how much dust would be all over the place after the flooring was installed. DH is doing a fabulous job of cleaning up what the flooring guys didn't, but there's still so much more to do. I've decided I'm going to take a section of the office at a time, and I've resolved to using this opportunity to reorganize my scrap space. I'm telling myself that this has been worth it. The floors do look very nice. I hope I'll be able to take and post photos tomorrow. DH hasn't finished hooking up the computers again quite yet.

We went out to dinner tonight to celebrate DS#1's birthday (which is actually tomorrow). He chose a nearby restaurant called Paesano's. It was a beautiful afternoon/evening, breezy and in the low 80s, so we ate outside. This would allow us to distract DS#3 with the pond and colorful fish, at least until dinner was served.

Ever since DS#1 wanted to start ordering from the regular menu, we've required him to eat not just the entree, but the fixin's too. It used to be such a waste when he would order the most expensive dish on the menu and then only eat the meat. He told us he was interested in the $25ish salmon dish but that he probably wouldn't eat the salad. DH replied that it was his birthday, so it was okay. I had decided to order an appetizer as my entree, and I would have ordered a salad too, but I ate DS#1's salad instead. It was a really nice meal and it was even nicer that we could share it together as a family at a leisurely pace. Sometimes even if we eat together, it's a rushed meal because we're either rushing back home or rushing back out again.

Tomorrow, it's back to the rush rush. I hope I get a chance to post photos tomorrow of DS#1 on his birthday.

Brothers Blowing Bubbles

After church this morning, we spent most of the day at home. I was very tired from working last night, and it was just nice to relax at home. I enjoyed watching the kids play with each other. DS#3 is such a lucky boy. His big brothers were playing with him. They "chased" him, they tickled him, and just spent quality time with him. At one point, I sent DS#1 outside with a bubble maker gadget that I recently bought. I saw him outside, in front of the house, blowing bubbles and walking toward the culdesac. I didn't see DS#3 with him, so I stepped outside to look. DS#3 was all the way at the top of the culdesac, which made me think that DS#1 was just enjoying himself while he was blowing bubbles. I saw DS#2 out there with a different bubble blower. He wasn't anywhere near DS#3, so although he insisted that he was blowing bubbles for his baby brother, I think he was enjoying it himself too. Gotta love that!

Yesterday, the flooring guys finished installing the wood floor in DS#1's bedroom, the formal dining room, and the office, but they weren't able to finish the floor in the family room and the trim in all of the rooms mentioned. That means that we have torn up carpet and flooring still all over and the furniture is still not back where they are supposed to be. That was the drawback to having them start on Saturday, we knew that they wouldn't be working on Sunday. On the plus side, at least this means that they'll be done sooner. Hopefully we will be somewhat back to normal by tomorrow night--then we get to clean everything. Tearing up the floor is very dusty work and not good at all for our allergies!

30 in 30 Complete

I meant to post my last 2 scrapbook pages for September yesterday, but I was working on another page. I still felt so good after completing all of those pages that I felt like doing more. Here are those three pages. The first two feature my dear nephew at his third birthday party six years ago. The last one features his sister.




I've also been meaning to post some new photos from last week. This first one is of DD at her dance lesson from last Thursday. This is a hand-me-down outfit from her cousin. Doesn't she look too cute in the footless tights? Her little tap shoes are just darling too. DH and I may be a little biased, but we think she's got a beautiful smile!

This is a photo of DS#3 in the car last Saturday. He had fallen asleep in transit from DS#2's game to DS#1's game, so we stayed in the car with the A/C on for a bit. Of course, this boy can tell when you've stopped moving and wakes up immediately. We eventually went outside on the dusty field and he got very filthy, but for some brief moments, he was happy playing with DS#2's soccer ball inside the car.

This is a photo of DS#2 and DD walking back from the concession stand. I just love this because for once, they're getting along. Of course, it required a bribe (of their getting to pick their own snacks). Notice how both of them are carrying bags of chips. Notice that DS#2 is also carrying another package--which contained a honey bun. Notice how DD is carrying that huge stick of pure sugar. Whew! Talk about sugar high! In any case, it kept them quiet and content for a little while--well worth it!

Tomorrow we are getting a delivery of hardwood flooring. DH found some flooring that matches our existing hardwood flooring on the first floor, so we'll be getting rid of the carpet downstairs and getting all hardwood, except for the bathroom. This will be a time of upheaval, but hopefully well worth it. We're a little excited about it, but a little stressed at the same time. We decided to go ahead and let them start on Saturday, when I'll be on call at the hospital, and DH and the kids will be gone at soccer games almost all day anyway. We hope it will be over quickly and relatively painlessly. Until then, we're moving lots of stuff from the rooms they'll be redoing.