We're Not Tired

These were photos I took yesterday. The photo of DS#3 was at DS#1's soccer game yesterday afternoon. He only slept through half of that game. At DS#2's game yesterday morning, he slept through the whole thing. At least it wasn't hot yesterday, because I had this warm little body on my lap the whole time.

The photo of DD was taken after we got home after DS#1's game. We had just pulled into the garage and we realized that she was "toast". I couldn't believe that she was doubled over so much. Unfortunately, she awakened when DH removed her from the car. Oh well! That girl really needs more sleep than she gets.

I'm Moving...Temporarily

I decided that I like some of the features on this new site better...for now, gentle readers, please join me at Truly Blessed on Vox for the time being, and feel free to give me feedback as to which site you like better.

He's Crawling!

Well, okay, I don't want to call it "crawling" quite yet, but this baby is moving faster and faster while on the floor by himself. Last night DH put the TV remote control on the floor about a foot from DS#3's outstretched hand. He was bending and extending his legs until he got closer and closer. Then, because he was looking up at me taking a video of this (I wish I could figure out how to resize video so I can put this on the blog), he turned over and got pretty much within reach of the remote control.

This morning, the remote control was about six inches from his outstretched hand and with one newly coordinated move of his arms and legs, he was able to reach that remote control. Darn, I guess we need to clean out all that miscellaneous stuff in the living room--like the magazine basket!

Another Computer Junkie

Here he is--another computer junkie. With six computers in the house, including the two laptops, there will be plenty to go around... :)

Two Outfits

These are some photos of DD from this weekend. The Cowgirl outfit is a hand-me-down from my niece. I actually bought this outfit last year for my niece's birthday. With only one daughter, I can justify a purchase better when I can get my niece to wear it first.

The goalie outfit was from her soccer game on Saturday--before her mood turned pouty. She looks happy, doesn't she? :)

Airport Security

I forgot to tell everyone about what happened at the airport here before we went on our trip to Disney. After we had checked in at the curbside kiosk, DH went to park the van while I went to the security checkpoint with the four kids. We also had one stroller and two carry-on backpacks, one with the Game Boys and one with the camera and my Ipod. We had to take off our shoes, of course, and I realized that DD had her light-up sandals on. I knew from previous experience that those set off the alarm, so it was just as well that she removed them. Of course this meant that she would have to go barefoot. Ick!

I went through first with the baby. DD went after me. She set off the alarm. Great! Remember how she was all made up from Libby Lu the day before? Well, I was a little aggravated that I didn't think of this sooner, but I thought it was the tiara setting off the alarm, so I removed her tiara. Well, the pouting started, even though I told her I would put it right back on. Ugh! In the meantime, I'm trying to keep an eye out for our stuff to come out the other end. DD goes through again and again the alarm goes off. Then it dawns on me. What's setting the alarm of is the gazillion bobby pins in her hair!!! There was NO WAY that:

1) I was going to take off all of those bobby pins then and there,
2) DD was going to let me take her hair down after she already had her heart set on showing up at Disney with her hair up and her tiara in place
3) I could stay calm when DD is crying and while my other kids are barely visible on the other side of a plexiglass wall with our valuables and my oldest is getting all of our valuables off the security roller thingy while carrying the baby all by himself!!!

The security guard guy obviously did not have kids or had never traveled at the airport with kids, or he would not have told me to stay calm!!!

Luckily, in the end, a couple of security people brought all of our stuff over to where DD and I were standing, waiting to be checked individually with that hand gadget. It took forever, though! We had just sat down at our gate when DH arrived from parking the car. Next time I want to park the car...except that I'm more likely to forget where I parked the car...

Nursing Gymnastics

I wish I could take pictures or heck, even video. I'm lying in bed trying to nurse this baby, and he is either trying to push off by putting his feet on my belly and straightening out his legs, or he has his up leg raised straight up in the air. The only way I can settle him down is to shake or tap his bottom with my hand.

Okay, I guess he wasn't all that hungry. He is now downstairs playing. DH and I always worry that he doesn't eat enough, but he is still growing, so he must be eating enough, right?

As the Wind Blows

DD's mood changes as quickly as the wind blows. Today, she told DH (who is her soccer coach) that she was going to run as fast as she could during the game. She did okay at first, but then she "was pushed down". She was in tears! I'm sure it wasn't on purpose. After all, those five and six-year-olds are concentrating on the ball, and not each other. Well, her mood shifted and she started crying. I had to convince her to go back out on the field so one of her teammates could have a break. She did okay for a little while, and then she started crying when her shoes got untied. As he was tying her shoes, DH asked her why she was crying. She said that it was because her shoes were untied. He asked her why this was so upsetting and she said it was because she couldn't tie her own shoes. He replied that he was tying them, so she didn't have anything to cry about. *SIGH* I am SO not looking forward to the preteen/teen years!

A Hoot

Sometimes, DD is such a hoot! Tonight, DH took her with him to DS#1's soccer practice. She apparently was chatting away the whole time they were there. She saw some "big girls" playing soccer. DH asked her if she wanted to play soccer when she got "big". She told him "Maybe", so he told her that maybe she could play another sport instead. She told him, "I love skiiing." Of course she's NEVER been skiing before. She was too young to take lessons the last time we were in Colorado visiting my in-laws. DH told her that she had never been skiing, but she could learn to ski when we go to visit my in-laws next year. She apparently went on to talk to one of the soccer moms there about how she was going to be skiing. She's my little chatterbox, that one!

At home, I was getting her ready for bed. I was telling DS#2 how he shouldn't lock the bathroom door so we could still get in and get DD's stuff to get her washed up for bed. He said that he locked the door because DD would barge in on him without knocking. I told her not to do that and that she should knock before entering a closed room. I went on to tell her how she would demand privacy in the bathroom later. She insisted that wouldn't happen and that she would always let her brothers in. She said, "I love my brothers!" That girl is a hoot, I tell you! :)

6 months old

DS#3 is six months old today. He celebrated by getting three shots at his pediatrician's office. He was out of sorts starting last night to most of today. Here's to hoping he'll at least sleep well tonight.

We are a little worried about how small he seems and how slowly he seems to be growing (compared to his siblings), although we know he is growing. Well, he weighed in at 15 lbs. 10 oz. (20th percentile) and is 27 inches long (70th percentile). So maybe he'll be tall and skinny. I can handle that. :)

Yesterday, we didn't do a big celebration for DS#1's 12th birthday because he had school and then soccer practice in the evening. He did request a chocolate cake to snack on after school. I haven't baked a cake in a long while, but I dug out an old favorite, Coca-Cola Cake. I don't like icing, and this cake has marshmallows baked in for a nice sweet topping. Here is DS blowing out a candle on a piece of Coca-Cola Cake. (We only had one candle, so it seemed appropriate to cut a smaller piece of cake to put the candle on.) DD really seems like she wants to do the blowing, doesn't she? ;-)

Birthday #12

Tomorrow is DS#1's 12th birthday. The kids are in school tomorrow plus the boys have soccer practice tomorrow evening, so we celebrated his birthday tonight. We usually go out to eat, but he instead asked his Papa to grill some steaks and then for dessert, he asked to go to Brindles, his favorite ice cream shop. We also went ahead and opened his presents today.

He's been asking for a Nintendo DS forever, so he got a pretty red one today plus a couple of games. DS#2 picked out a Lego Bionicle to give him also. Of course, DS#2 was the first one who started playing this toy that he was giving to his older brother. DS#1 didn't seem to mind. He really is such a great big brother.

Next week will be his celebration with his friends. He and four of his friends will be going to Laser Quest and then out to dinner. I would love to go, but those boys seem more comfortable around DH. We'll get him the ice cream cake that he requested. Good choice, I think. ;-)

Yes, my baby boy is growing up. He is noticeably taller than me now. He looks like he'll be DH's height soon. What's even more important to me is that he is such a great kid. He has averages of 97-100 in all of his classes, despite skipping a grade last year. He is always asking DH and me if there is something he can do to help around the house, like folding the laundry or loading the dishwasher. He doesn't hesitate to pick up his baby brother when he gets fussy, especially at night. We don't know what we would do without his help with his siblings sometimes. Yes, he is growing up into someone I'm proud to call my son. :)

Spirit of Aloha

Tonight I'm going to describe the dinner show that we went to on our first night at Disney. The show is called The Spirit of Aloha and it is shown at the Polynesian Hotel. The show time was 8PM but even though we got there a half hour before the show, we still had to wait in this super-long line. The only thing that made it more fun was that we were in line with our friends. What was holding up the line was a "mandatory" photo. I already knew I didn't want the picture because DS#3 was asleep in his stroller and we didn't dare take him out of it. So, the family photo included the baby barely visible in his stroller.

We weren't able to sit with our friends, unfortunately, because we all had pre-assigned seating. We had made our reservations at different times. I must have made our reservation at a great time, because our table was right in front. This was great because, even though our kids were tired from the trip, they were right there in front of the action, so I think the show held their attention better. Unfortunately, DS#2 has this thing about "looking at girls". He had his back to the stage for most of the show! The only time we insisted that he look was when the act included the performer using fire as his prop. I took mostly video of this performer, but here's one I took of him twirling the stick with fire on each end.

Because we were so close to the stage, we caught DS#1 eyeing the dancing girl in her little costume. He noticed us looking at him and he smiled. We try not to tease him, but we're just trying to get used to our little boy growing up. I didn't get a great photo of him, though.

DD was being her shy self, and although she had talked about "learning how to dance" before the show started, she did NOT want to go on stage when they asked the kids to come up and learn how to do the hula. I walked with her up there, and she had the biggest frown on her face!

There was so much food--barbecue ribs and chicken. The dessert was this yummy dark chocolate mousse that was shaped like a volcano. We had a great waiter that kept the food coming. Our waiter also took one of the leis that they gave us and put it on the baby's head. He didn't seem to care, and I got this adorable photo!

The show ended past 10PM and we were all exhausted. I took the first shift back at our room and took a shower with DD while DH took the boys to the pool. DD was asleep within minutes of getting in bed, even with her brothers making noise in the room. We didn't all get into bed until almost midnight--tired but still very excited!

October Kits

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

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

We're Back!!!

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

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

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

Libby Lu

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

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

Sitting Up

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

I Am Not A Teacher

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

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

Clothes Horse

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

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

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

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

More Soccer

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

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

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

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

23 weeks

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

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

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

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

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

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