A sweater

Yep, it's a sweater, and probably to everyone else it's just a sweater. But to me it is more.


Ben was given this sweater by a wonderful aunt when he was first born. Last fall I started putting it on him, even though it was big, because I loved it. I loved how Ben looked in it.





Look at him... So precious and adorable... But, sadly it is too small now. It just isn't long enough over his belly even though all the other parts are fine.

So, what do I do with this sweater now? I tried to give it to a friend of a friend the other day and just couldn't do it. I usually don't have this much of a problem but every so often I do.

I am sad that I won't be seeing Ben in this sweater any more but I have figured out what I am going to do with it, I think. I am looking to get a "corner doll" to wear it. Now, where am I gonna find one of them???

Three little pigs...

Dear Maggie,

Thank you for inviting me to your play at school last week. It was so wonderful and adorable. I enjoyed watching you pretend to be one of the little pigs building a stick house. What a bummer that the wolves were able to blow it down but how lucky you were to be able to run to the other house made of bricks that your pig friends made. I am glad the wolves weren't able to blow that one down. I bet those wolves were very surprised when they went down the chimney and burnt their buns on the fire!

Oh, and thank you for making pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting for us to enjoy after the show! I love you Maggie!

Love,

Mommy

Chuckie Cheese

The kids didn't have school today so I told them the other day I would take them to Chuckie Cheese for a little while. We were gonna meet my best friend and her two kids but one of them got sick so it was just me and my six.

Yep, six, my four and two friends. What? Oh, you wanna know how in the world I can take care of six children at Chuckie Cheese by myself.



It's really not that bad at all. The best tip is to go first thing in the morning, right when they open. Oh, maybe I shouldn't share that tip. I don't want everyone to realize it's the best time to go because then it won't be the best time to go any more. Well I guess I will any way. If you get there early the place is empty and you have the run of it as well as being able to easily see and keep track of all the children that came in with you.

Only give the kids one token at a time. This helps in a couple of ways. One, you will see your children constantly as they come over to get tokens from you. Two, they will spend the tokens much slower then if you give them to them up front.

It really is much easier if you bring along friends. Each of the kids had a buddy that they had to stay with. Not only did this help assure even more safety for the kids but it also teaches them patience and cooperation.
They have to be patient and wait for their buddy to be done and they have to cooperate with each other as to where and what games they will be playing.

Make sure there is a table, home base, that the kids know and report to whenever they need anything. I happen to make sure it is in the area that the younger kids play.

Bring coupons to make it affordable! I payed for 100 tokens and got 140 free.

And don't just spend the tokens just to get rid of them. Tuck them into the van and save the rest for another day. I think we have at least 75 tokens left. These left-over tokens will be enough to go another day and not even spend a cent. Food and drinks are not cheap but with coupons they are about the same you would spend on 6 happy meals from McDonald's. Most of the time we don't even eat there but today we did.

Be patient when the kids are standing at the counter trying to figure out how to use the tickets they won. They take FOREVER to pick out junk that usually doesn't even make it out of the van when we get home. That's part of the fun, for them at least, so just make sure you leave ample time for that.

Mostly though, it's just so fun to watch your children full of great excitement and having such a great time! That makes it all worth it for sure!

Football Sunday!

This past Sunday Chris went to a NFL football game so the monkeys and I were on our own for the day.
We had a great day full of adventures and fun. We started off the morning running to Kohl's to get a comforter to go on the air mattress my wonderful aunt was sleeping on so she would be a little warmer. Maggie, my aunt not my daughter, went to the football game with Chris and his buddies even though she was a fan of the opposing team. The next morning she said how excited she was to see the nice cozy comforter after being so cold at the game all day.
Yeah, when Chris goes to a game it is an all day affair. He leaves first thing in the morning to tail-gate all day and doesn't get home till very late.
But anyway, back to our adventures at home.
After Kohl's we headed to church. Yep, me and four kids, that definitely qualifies as an adventure. Ok, not really, the kids are usually pretty good at church. And they always love getting donuts and orange juice after church so we didn't miss that.
Once home, Ben went for a nap and the kids and I did some jewelry making.

I brought the jewelry "stuff" up knowing that they would want to join me even though this was more then just stringing beads like we have done in the past.

All three kids had a lot of fun creating jewelry to give to friends and family as Christmas gifts.

Oh, and Connor made some creations that he is trying to sell to people. I am not really sure what they are for but I think I may buy some to put on the Christmas tree! My little entrepreneur for sure.

I made Maggie the necklace and bracelet and she loves them!

Then we ordered dinner from a local pizza place and couldn't believe how quick they got it here. I kid you not, it was here 8 minutes after I ordered it! Yes, it was simple food and it's right around the corner but eight minutes, WOW!

And my kids that never care to watch football totally wanted to watch the game when they found out it would allow them to eat in the living room. Well Ben loves to watch football but the others don't usually.

They pretty much thought they were the coolest kids ever!

After they finished eating the three older kids went upstairs to watch a movie in my bed so I could watch the football game with Ben. It was a great game! Such a nail-biter for sure.

Then it was bed time for the monkeys and our day was done. It was a great day for the kids and I. Chris and Maggie, my aunt, said it was an awesome day of football for them!

All natural hair-do

This cute guy gave himself a cute little hair-do the other day....



It was an all natural hair product that he used too, which is great for his little body and the environment.

So if you want a cute little hair-do to match it is so easy and Ben will teach you how.

First you squeeze pieces of grapefruit all over your hands, lots of it. Make sure your hands are really soaked and then rub them all over your hair. Finally you use your fingers to spike the hair up and just like that, you have a cute little hair-do and no nasty hair products!

Connor's turkey

This is Connor's turkey...

Connor came home with a project that he had to do with a blank turkey. He had to disguise him any way he wanted so that the turkey wouldn't be caught for Thanksgiving dinner.
Connor decided to do a camouflage turkey and I think he did a great job! He used fabric for the clothes and helmet and used markers for the rest.
Then he had to come up with a story pretending that it was the turkey writing it.
He wrote, "I do not want to be eaten so I went to the Navy and I am never going back again but I still got killed." all by himself and for a first grader he did a fabulous job trying to spell everything and write it.


After he was done with his turkey project he used the left over fabric to decorate his auntie....

He got a huge kick out of the fact that she let him.

All in a days work!

35!

Happy 35Th Birthday

To the man I love...
I hope your wish comes true...

The whole year through...

Soccer Tryouts

This past Saturday 32 girls showed up at the soccer field to tryout for a team of 10. Katelyn was one of these girls. We don't know yet if she made the team. She is younger than most of the girls so has less experience then them but she still did a great job.
But none of this is the reason I am writing this post really.
I am writing it because I am full of pride for this soccer playing girl! She tried out for a team which is very much out of her comfort zone. She was nervous but she did it and I am proud! (I can't believe how nervous I was too!)

So hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will find out if she made the team but regardless, Katelyn grew up a little more. Matured a little more. She was brave.
I am proud!

Family fun day at the farm

Yesterday was "Family Fun Day" at a local(ish) farm and we made reservations weeks ago. We had gone to this two years ago when I was pregnant with Ben and it was just wonderful. We had so much fun and decided to go again. This year we asked Chris' two best friends and families to join us. We were so happy they wanted to go and have anticipated this day with excitement for weeks.

So earlier this week when the stomach bug started making rounds in our house I prayed that it would stop right where it started and none of us would miss the day at the farm. Unfortunately, Chris got hit the night before and was in no shape to go. What a disappointment for us all.

Thankfully when I called Pa first thing in the morning and asked him to go he said yes. I think he was a little shocked when I said we would be leaving in 45 minutes but he took it in stride and quickly got ready.
As you can see Ben even brought one of his animals to the farm and pretty much held on to it all day.

Katelyn's best friend Ryley, who is such a sweet kid, joined us for the day.

Connor was so good at milking the cow and kept getting back in line to have another turn.

Not sure what was with the smile Maggie gave me when she was holding this lovely rabbit.

Oh, and there miss Maggie is again, this time holding a chicken. The bigger kids liked catching the chickens and holding them, although I am not sure the chickens were overly happy about it. I am pretty sure they were happy when we finally saw the sign telling us not to hold the chickens though!

I think this was my favorite animal of the day. A mama pig with all her piglets!

Thankfully Katelyn was up for going with us. She was hit with the stomach bug the morning before we went and it was a game time decision on whether she was going to join us or not. I am glad she did because she did great and seemed fully recovered from her yucky bug.

Ben loved looking at all the animals from a-far but was more than happy to get up close to this tiny baby bunny. You can't really see the bunny but take my word that it was adorable!

Watching this man shear this sheep was really neat. I couldn't believe how calm the sheep was.

And, of course, jumping in the hayloft was a definite favorite.

I looked over during the hayloft jumping and saw this.... It caught me as a beautiful picture and I was not disappointed when I clicked the camera! Pa and Ben were looking at the cows out in the field.

Katelyn jumping! She was hesitant though, the hay didn't seem to go well with her asthma.

Go Ryley!

And Connor!

This is April. She was such a sweet horse and the favorite for Katelyn and Ryley.

Horse back riding was so wonderful.

Even little Leah wanted to ride and really enjoyed it.

Katelyn was a little bummed that I had to walk with her. She keeps reminding me that next time we go visit Gorgeous and Chu-Chu Grammy told her she could ride alone!

Ryley said this was her favorite part of the day when I asked her later.

Here goes Connor, riding on Henry.

Last but not least it was Ben's turn to ride. He really wasn't sure about this but did well until we were almost done and then he wanted off.

How many farms do you know that have an indoor pool??? Not many!

But this one does and the kids were thrilled!

A few pictures outside before it was time to leave. Notice Maggie doesn't have a coat on, the weather warmed up pretty nicely in the afternoon.

I wish this picture had come out better but the kids were very tired at this point. Maybe next time I should try and get a group shot at the beginning.

Taylor had a great time but was so intent on finding a chicken egg to bring home so she could hatch a chick. No matter how many time she was told they weren't hatching eggs she wouldn't believe us. Unfortunately she never found one anyway.

Ryan's thinking about taking the tractor out for a ride.

Here is sweet little Leah who absolutely loved the farm!

These are Leah's parents, Justin and Jess, who also loved the farm. Justin and Chris have been best friends since kindergarten. Oh, and they are going to be having another little baby girl in Feb/March that I can't wait to meet and love on!

Ryan and his Daddy, Andy. Chris, Justin and Andy have been best friends since they were little boys.

I tried to get a family picture but it didn't work out so well. Leah was tired and wanted no part of a family picture.

Andy and Jenny's family however took a great picture!

It was a great day. I love that all of our kids are growing up together just like Chris, Justin and Andy did.

We all missed Chris a great deal though and really hope that next time we will all be there!