Family Fun Night

Tonight we took the kids to see an Arena Football team. Jeff had gotten 6 tickets from a business acquaintance. They were really good seats!!! As soon as we walked into the stadium they gave us each a gift. It was a bobble head...we had 6 but now we only have 5 one broke. Now, I will let you in on a little secret of mine...I'm not a big fan of football. But the game tonight was so fun to watch and fast paced unlike normal NFL games. Before the game started they had 4 High School football teams competing at tug-of-war one of the teams was the Pretzels, the High School I went too. The had several of these types of games through the game. At one point someone in our section was competing for some coupons. Our guy won so we all got coupons. Anyways, the things that stick out to me the most...getting on the jumbo-tron. I didn't even notice until GG started screaming, "MOM LOOK YOUR UP THERE!" Her and Monkey got on it and I went to pick up Peanut but they took it off of us before she got on. She started to cry. She was sad she didn't get to see herself on the big screen. The other thing was Red getting his arm, foot and hand stuck in the chair at different times throughout the night. After he had gotten his foot stuck I looked at him and asked, "How do you keep doing that?" Then I just couldn't contain my laughter. Seriously, how does one get so many body parts stuck in stadium chairs??? He says, "Stop making fun of me." I clarified that I'm not making fun of him, I'm laughing at him and told him he should laugh at himself. It was FUNNY. To end the night our team WON :) The kids did a pretty good job sitting there for 3 hours for this game though they did get candy and a pretzel to eat which helped. I think fun was had by all. It for sure created some family memories!!!

**I remembered another cute story. I took Peanut to the bathroom and as she was washing her hands she says Hi to the lady standing next to her. The lady asked what her name was and she told her. The lady said that is a really pretty name. Then Peanut asked her what her name was. She said, "Tonya" Peanut gave me the funniest look like "what that's my mommy's name" so I told the lady that was my name too. Then she asked Peanut how old she was and after Peanut answered she asked the lady how old she was!!! The look on that lady's face was hilarious. I told her that she opened that can of worms :) I love kids they have no idea of the rules on questions!

Baseball

Well my Monkey had his first game tonight. I was really nervous for him and his team because they were playing a team of all 4th graders. This is the first time he has played on a team like this...I know I've already said that but it's true! He played several different positions which was good for him. Early in the game a ball came right to him and he grabbed it and got it to first base to get the guy out. I was so proud of him. He did it! Then later on in the game a kid hit a fly ball and he caught it! Another out for my little man's first game. He batted twice and both times got home. We did get pictures but we all know I'm just not that good at getting them uploaded and on to the good ole blog. Anyways, when all was said and done his team won by 2 runs. I believe the final score was 7 to 5. What a great way to start the season beating a team who has older kids on it. He also had a great cheering section of grandma and grandpa M and Aunt Becky along with me and Jeff and his siblings. We actually had to tell the kids NOT to cheer for him when he got up to bat. We didn't want him to get nervous or distracted. But once he got on we let them loose! I was frozen by the end of the game but it was worth it to see him play his first game! So far my kids are rocking the organized sports :)

Menu Monday

Monday: Chicken Chili
Tuesday: Spaghetti Squash
Wednesday: Church not sure what yet!
Thursday: Beef Stroganoff
Friday: Grilled Chicken and veggies
Saturday: Veggie Stir Fry
Sunday: Breakfast foods

A day of Firsts!

This year Jeff and I decided to let the two oldest kids join leagues in the sport that they want to play. We have never done this before but the kids are so excited. Monkey decided he wanted to play baseball and GG wanted to play soccer. This morning Monkey had his first baseball practice, ever! Jeff stayed and helped with the practice. When they got home Jeff said Monkey did great. The coach kept asking him if he was sure he had never played before! I think he might have some natural talent :) The league he is in is a kid pitch league and one of the requirements is that at least one inning a first time player has to pitch. The coach said that person is Monkey! I think he is a little nervous about it but I think it will be really good for him to get to try his hand at pitching. As soon as they got home we jumped in the van and headed to GG's first soccer game. I am officially a soccer mom. I have been a wanna be for several years now but now can proudly wear the label. GG was a starter today which was pretty cool since she was a late register. I was amazed at how well she did out there. She reminded me a lot of her Auntie Liz playing. At the end of the game they put her in as goalie. That is one spot that I think is the toughest to play as you are responsible for making sure the ball doesn't get past you. She actually did really well stopping the ball and kicking. I think this is a great sport for her. Her team won! It was a great first game and her grandpa M came and watched her play which was extra special. Tonight after dinner we are going to be dying our Easter eggs and then I am going to put together the kids baskets. Another first is going to be that I am going to be hiding their baskets instead of just giving them to them. We shall see how that goes!!! I hope to post the kids in their Easter attire tomorrow.
***Edited to add that my hubby put pictures of the soccer game on his blog! You can check her out in action over there. His link is on the sidebar to the right!***

We're FINALLY on Break!

I am so happy about being on break but a little nervous too as that means me and the kids for all day everyday for the next week. Today was the first day I was going to get to sleep in but Jeff worked at 7am and when he left at 6:30am the door woke Peanut up and she REFUSED to go back to sleep. UGH. By 7 o'clock Red was awake too so I sent them both downstairs to play and be quiet. They weren't quiet, so sad. I finally got myself out of bed at 8:30am. I didn't fall back asleep but I also couldn't pull myself out of bed either. Jeff was home by 9:15. Then it was getting everyone ready for when the babysitter got here. Jeff and I had our small group with church today. I felt fine until after I ate lunch. We had this really deep dish pizza. First of all my body isn't used to eating pizza and when we do have it we normally get thin crust coupled with the fact that I drank a cup of coffee. I was dragging and thought it would help but I think it did more harm than anything else. As soon as we got home Jeff went back to work and I was home alone with the kids feeling not so good. I made them dinner and tried not to puke while making it. Then I decided that I should work out and see if that helped. It didn't. But I don't feel worse so that is good. I just hope it doesn't turn into anything. We have plans this week. Monday the two oldest are having sleepovers. One is going to their friends house and the other is having a friend over. Tuesday we have a playdate for Red. Wednesday is still undecided as to what we are going to do. Thursday we are hopefully having a picnic with Aunty Liz. Friday Peanut has gymnastic in the morning and then GG has a birthday party from 11am to 6pm! Saturday we have an Easter Egg hunt at church that I'm not sure if we are going to go to or not. We haven't even talked about it. At some point I want to decorate eggs with the kids and I have to get some grocery shopping done...hmmm.

Menu Monday

Monday: Jason's Deli (we had errands to run and no time to cook)
Tuesday: Homemade Chipotle YUM
Wednesday: Beef Sandwiches at church
Thursday: Pizza Casserole (so easy to make and a big crowd pleaser)
Friday: Asparagus Soup with Sourdough bread
Saturday: Chicken Salad
Sunday: Breakfast food

I really need to get back into the habit of making menus!

Happy

Today is GORGEOUS out! It was beautiful yesterday too but today was in the 80's temp wise. Jeff decided to wash both vehicles and I thought it would be a great day to actually clean out the van of all the clutter. I lost the diamond in my wedding ring on March 2nd. We looked everywhere and it was no where. I kept thinking to my self it is probably in the van and I'll find it when I clean the van out. That was the only thing that gave me piece about loosing such an expensive thing. Well within 5 minutes of cleaning out the van I FOUND my diamond. I was in such shock. Jeff had opened the side door on the drivers side to start the cleaning process. I unbuckled Peanut's car seat as I had a feeling the diamond might have fallen off while strapping her in, but it wasn't there. The next place I looked was the drivers side foot mat. I pulled it out carefully and started to inspect it. Sure enough there sat my diamond in one of the groves. I couldn't believe it. I told Jeff I found it and he was like "let me see" because I seriously had only started cleaning the van and done two areas. I had stopped cleaning the van to find a safe place to put the diamond. Jeff thought I was done since I had accomplished my mission of finding my missing diamond! But I did come back out and finish the job. The crazy thing is that I have looked at that mat many times thinking that is where the diamond had to be and each time I didn't see it. I guess the mat had to be brought out into the light. Bringing things into the light is always the way to go even if it isn't the easiest way to go. Now I just have to find a place that will fix the ring for me!!!

A note to see the Teacher!

It doesn't put fear in me now that I am a parent but it sure was upsetting to Monkey when I had to go see his teacher. I went to the cafeteria like I do every Wednesday and say hi to the two older kids before I pick up the two younger ones from school. Today Monkey was almost in tears as he told me his teacher wanted to see me TODAY! I reassured him I would go talk to her before I got the kids as I had about 10 minutes, he was relieved. It is actually a pretty funny story why I had to go see her, when I called to tell Jeff what happened he just laughed! You want to know? Okay, I'll tell you! Monkey's class gets packets of past work sent home, about every 6 weeks, so we can see his progress and then we sign it. The last one he got sent home his dad and him got in a conversation about cursive. So Jeff used the packet to show Monkey the correct way to sign your name in cursive. However, since he took his time and did it the right way it looked more like a 3rd or 4th grader signed Monkey's packet. The teacher questioned Monkey about it and he told her what happened. She didn't believe him. She showed him the other packets that his dad has signed and the handwriting didn't match. Poor kid was terrified. She told me he stood there completely wide eyed because she didn't believe him! I had to go in and confirm that in fact his dad signed his packet! The sad part about this incident is that there have been some kids in his class that don't want to get in trouble for their school work that they forge their parents signatures. I totally don't blame her for questioning the signature!

Content

If you are wanting to see pictures of the dining room construction check out my husband's blog he put all the pictures up there :) But I got on here to write about something that I sometimes struggle with but am currently not. It is contentment. I am just so happy with everything in my life right now. I am surrounded by wonderful friends and family. Though I do wish my sister-in-law Virginia lived closer so that our kids could play more. I digress. I know I have recently written about some medical stuff on here but even with all that I feel so blessed. We have a house that is safe and clean for us to live in. My kids are healthy...and I really mean SUPER healthy. Seriously I can't remember the last time one of the kids threw up in our house, such a blessing. Last night we had a thunderstorm and Peanut came in our room at, I have no idea what time, in the middle of the night scared. She says, "Mommy I'm scary can I sleep with you." Isn't that just the cutest thing ever. That is how she tells us she is scared. As I helped her into bed with my eyes closed because I was trying to stay as much asleep as possible. I felt her unclothed body. I asked her where her jammies where. To which she replies, "I was cold so I took them off." This is completely unique to her in our family that is. None of my other kids have ever confused cold/hot and hunger/thirsty like she has. I don't really want to correct her because I think it is just too stinkin cute, even though I do sometimes. She can't go to school thinking hot is cold! I am just really cherishing my kids and their little personalities lately. The two oldest kids since they are in school full time I have started giving them each an evening that we just sit on the couch the two of us and catch up with each other. I learn so much about them and I just think they are some really great kids! Once all the kids are in school full time I will have 4 nights of my week booked with each kid. Well I need to end this and get to school it is the day I work in the cafeteria which I love because I get a glimpse of the kids in a social setting with friends.

Under Construction

Now that we are in the season of Spring it seems to be the home improvement time of year. At least for us anyway! Our dining room floor has been ripped out by my strong husband and now we are just waiting for his dad to come over and put the new hardwood floor in that matches the living room. I am so excited not to have that transition piece between the two rooms. As Jeff was taking the parquet flooring out I was talking about taking the pocket doors out too. It would give us like 3 more inches of room in there. I don't think that is going to happen :( Oh well. The room will be painted and a new floor and trim so that is a nice face lift. The only thing left to do in that room is get rid of the wall a/c unit but that is going to be a little more in-depth with wall patching, insulting, and replacing the siding outside (which we have in the crawl). After the dining room is done minus the a/c unit being removed we are moving on to the small bathroom downstairs. We are also waiting for nicer weather to refinish the hardwood on the stairs and upstairs hallway but we want to be able to really air out the house during that process. Once those three things are done I think we are going to need a break from having our house disheveled. But we'll see maybe it will motivate us to do the entry way floor and doors and the kids bathroom upstairs?! More than likely those will happen next year...one room at a time we are making this house OURS :)

Cancer

That is what has been on my mind lately. My grandpa has lung cancer. They tried to take the tumor out on Monday and found that it had grown and is now attached to his heart. They weren't able to do anything. It was such a let down. They are in the process of trying to figure out where to go from here. Today I had an OB/GYN appointment as a new patient. I had to fill out a sheet all about cancer and if people in my family have it. I haven't heard of anyone having cancer so I answered them all as none. Then I talked to my parents and found out that I was wrong. Both of my great grandmas had cancer one skin and the other uterine. Though they both lived a verily long time seeing as I was born when they died. It was such a shock to my world. Then I learned my dad's aunt died at a young age of cancer but I have no idea what kind or how old she was exactly. I know three people isn't a ton of people but it is still unnerving when I have thought no one has had it. You might be wondering why I'm not including my grandpa. Two reasons lung cancer wasn't on the sheet and two he technically my step grandpa but the only grandpa I ever knew on my mom's side. He and my grandma got married right before I was born and came to visit me as a new born on their honeymoon. I love my grandpa and I just want him to be better again. I do fear it isn't going to happen in this life though :( I also wanted to get on here and update that the doctor's office called me today about the cat scan I had done last week. Everything looked fine. So that is great news but I still haven't been feeling the greatest. I had the OB appointment scheduled for about 3 weeks now and when I told her about the pain she said it has nothing to do with OB. She actually told me that I have a wonderfully healthy uterus and eggs and that I should have more kids. And, yes, she knew I had four kids already! I think she was a bit on the crazy side!!! The next step would be going to the G.I. doc and I think I am done with doctors for a bit. In talking with my friend Andrea and my chiropractor I think the reason for the extra abdominal pain is that my body is finally healing! The chiropractor had a word for it that I can't remember but basically your body goes through all the pain and stress while it is getting it's self healthy again. I can deal with the little bit of discomfort if I am finally on the right path. Because we are suppose to cast our cares onto Jesus I am going to end this post with giving God all my worry over my grandpa's cancer and my pain. Wow I feel like a HUGE burden has been lifted. God is in control of both situations.

Ideas...

I am in the midst of planning a (hopefully) fun spring break for the kids but I'm wanting some ideas! I am hoping that it will be much warmer than it is right now at 35 degrees. Jeff has to work that week so things we could do during the day would be great. I have gotten the idea of making each day a theme day like un-birthday day, backwards day and so forth. I don't want to have to stick to the house the whole week though I might do one or two days like that. I am hoping that we get a nice day and can do the zoo. I was thinking of going to the library and seeing what free things are available through them too. They have Saturday through the following Monday off so 10 days but Easter is one of those days. Hit me with some ideas :)

ABC's Of ME :)

A fun little blog game I got from my friend Amber :)

1. Age: 32
2. Bed size: Queen
   
3. Chore you hate: dishes or laundry is a toss up because they are never ending
4. Dogs: none but have started thinking about getting one
   
5. Essential start to your day: Hugs from my family and a kiss from the hubs
   
6. Favorite color: Green
7. Gold or silver: I am a silver girl
8. Height: 5’ 4"
   
9. Instruments that you can play: none
10. Job title: Mom
    
11. Kids: GG 10, Monkey 8, Red 5, Peanut 3
    
12. Live: in a house
    
13. Mom’s name: Kathy
    
14. Nicknames: Mama Tona
    
15. Overnight hospital stays: 5 birth of my four kids and knee surgery when I was 10
    
16. Pet peeve: rule breakers
17. Quote from a movie: I'm so bad at quotes
18. Righty or lefty: Righty
19. Sibling: 9 Brothers and 2 sisters and that is not any of the in-laws!
    
20. Time you wake up: 7am on week days and 8/9am on weekends, yes I have my kids trained well ;)
21. Underwear: bikini
22. Vegetables you dislike: corn is pretty much it I LOVE my veggies!
    
23. What makes you run late: Getting side tracked by the computer *grin*
    
24. X-rays: I'm sure I've had some but drawing a blank other than dental ones, ha!
    
25. Yummy food you make: I like all the food I make but my fave...chipotle
26. Zoo favorite animal: monkeys or polar bears
    

Double Edge Sword

I woke up this morning sore and in pain. So I made a doctor's appointment for myself. Peanut doesn't have school so she came with me. I feel bad because we weren't suppose to go to the Children's Museum but her friends weren't feeling good and I wasn't feeling good so we are rescheduling. Before my doctor appointment I got a call from Peanut's with the test results of her c4a levels they went from 7281 in Dec of 2009 to 17200 taken a few weeks ago. I was in shock and scared. While I was at my doctor I figured I would ask if he had gotten my back too. Good news!!! Mine went from 22,804 to 14,583, do remember that the normal range is 0-2830, so I've got a ways to go but am finally making progress!!! I was so excited for me but not sure where to go for Peanut. I still need to get the other three kids in to get there levels rechecked. The doctor wants to do a cat scan on my abdomen because it was really tender. Jeff thinks it is because I have been working out but this pain has come and gone for awhile now. I just don't like feeling blah all the time. I am hoping this will reveal some answers but not holding my breath. I have to wake up at 6am to drink this bottle of stuff and then drink half a bottle at 9am and I can't eat anything. Should be interesting, I hope to update you when I get those results back.

Ugh

I didn't get much sleep last night as Peanut woke up in the middle of the night about the same time Jeff got home to use the bathroom. Yes I am very thankful that she got up and went in the potty but then she started yelling, "Daddy can you come wipe me?" He didn't move. So she yelled again. Still nothing so up I went to wipe her little bottom. He worked until 3something am and was dead to the world. I would be too! Then Murphy's law went into affect and the kids woke up before they ever do when it is an actually school day. They didn't get to bed last night until 11pm because of JAM. What is wrong with them? UGH. So I was tired and they got up super early and proceeded to yell and scream and fight with each other until I dragged myself out of bed around 8:30am. Why can I never sleep in? Tomorrow we are going to need to be up and out the door by a certain time and these kids will sleep in and we will be rushing to leave on time. Anyway, I had forgotten that Jeff had to work this morning so it was just me and these hoodlums until about 1pm today. SO thankful it was nice outside and they were able to play outside for a good length of time. I hated the way I was feeling especially towards the kids because really all they were doing was being *ahem* KIDS. Jeff got home and he started putting the kids to work cleaning the house. I decided it was as good a time as any to start our seeds for the garden! Some of the seeds need to be started inside and some can go just into the ground. I am hopeful to get someone out here to till the garden in the next week or so and then I will be able to plant the other seeds. Other than that I really need a new food processor. I have had my eye on a blendtec for quite some time but now I am hearing about the vitamix. I need help which would you buy? The blendtec or the vitamix??? Ok tell me what you think! please :)

Bank Drama and a Recipe!

Nice title huh? Well last night as Jeff and I were making dinner we got a phone call from our second mortgage bank. They called to tell us that they LOST our check. They knew the number of the check and how much it was for they just didn't have it to process. I have never had this happen before, so strange. Jeff gave me the phone since I do the bills. I was a little freaked out by the whole situation and I asked the guy if I could call him back tomorrow. I wanted to check our bank account and make sure that it hadn't gotten cashed and go to our bank and get the check canceled. About 10 minutes after I left my bank this morning our second mortgage bank called. I was at school and was planning on calling them after I gave the kids lunch. Well the guy again was asking for my checking account number. I told him I didn't feel comfortable giving that to him and asked if I could use credit card. Fast forward a couple of hours. I have two voicemails on my cell phone. The first is from my bank's freud department. The second is from the second mortgage bank needing me to call them back. My heart sank. I thought it was a scam and I'm so glad I didn't give them my checking account! After a few calls I found out it wasn't a scam and that they had just entered the wrong numbers so it didn't go through. All is right in the world now, phew!

This morning I noticed on the kids crispy rice cereal there was a recipe for a no bake rice crispy snack. After further investigation I realized that I could make it just substituting a few ingredients. Here is the recipe I used...it is in the freezer now getting firm :)

1 cup honey
1/2 to 3/4 cups shredded coconut flakes
mix them together
1 cup almond butter mixed well and then add to the other ingredients
7 cups of rice crispy and mix well.
Grease 9 x 13 and spread out mixture and freeze for an hour or refrigerate for several hours.

Can't wait for the kids to get home to try it. It was so easy!!!

Girlfriends

They are the best medicine for winter time. On Thursday, three friends and I packed up and headed to a moms conference called Hearts at Home. Thursday we settled into our hotel room and then met my brother for dinner at Flat Top. I had never eaten there before and it was SO yummy! Very happy with the choice of dinner Thursday night. We had to be at the conference Friday morning between 7:30 and 8:15am. This would of been fine if we hadn't received a 4:30am WAKE up call that night. Two of the girls weren't able to fall back asleep, I felt bad for them. After attending my first workshop on Friday morning I knew this was going to be a great few days. I absolutely LOVED the first speaker. She did two sessions one called Getting R.E.A.L. in your marriage and the other Getting R.E.A.L. in your parenting. Loved her! I got to go to both of her workshops, score! I learned so many wonderful tools and ideas on how to raise great kids and be the best mom and wife I can be. It was just such a time of rejuvenating myself. There was only one session that I wasn't all that flipped out about but still learned some good tricks, so it wasn't a complete waste. When we weren't at the conference we were in our room laughing so hard sometimes we cried! Let's just say I can't wait to go back next year. Though I am thinking of maybe just doing one day and getting to shop and relax the second?! We'll see but I am for sure going to go back. Oh yeah so the first day of the conference after the main opening session I turn around and behind me sat a girl I went to H.S. and youth group with, crazy. The second day after the sessions my friends and I were figuring out what we should do next. I see a girl that I was positive I knew. After 5 minutes I finally walked up to her and she greeted me with TONYA! She was from college, which is where I thought I knew her. I also got to see my friend Amber who I knew was working this conference. I highly recommend this conference to any stay at home mom or working mom!!! All moms need to GO :) I will leave you with a picture from our girl time in the hotel. This was the ONLY approved picture that was taken...
Just want to let you know that you should NOT laugh while wearing a mask it will deepen your wrinkles! This is from experience. Though it was really hard not to laugh when we all sounded like robots talking to each other.

Hello Blog it's been awhile!

Sometimes life seems so crazy and busy and then it stops and you look back and think, what in the world have I been doing lately? Yeah well that is how I feel. Let's see what are the highlights or low lights since the last time I updated...
* organized the family room closet and now the kids toys have a place to go and be concealed, love that!
*we got our taxes done and have received the refund.
*we can now start the bath remodel with said funds.
*GlamorGirl got a new dresser and Peanut is now using her old one minus the top broken drawer. It will have to do until we can afford to get her a new one too. Red doesn't even have a dresser he has the elfa drawers in the closet. It works for now.
*picked the kids teachers for next year. Monkey doesn't have any of his best buds in his class but I think he will still have a wonderful year. He will have a male teacher. GG has her best friend in her class next year. Red has one of my favorite teachers so I'm really excited about that.
*Red made the Sparks-A-Rama team for the Awana Games, he is super excited about that as am I.
*the diamond in my wedding ring fell out. We can't find it and it isn't insured. UGH!
*took Peanut and myself to get a blood draw a recheck on the c4a levels. Poor girl had to get stuck twice because the first vein burst. So sad.
*Monkey had a friend over after school to play. I am really enjoying having play dates because I get to know his friends better.
*my tummy didn't feel the greatest at dinner and I decided not to go to JAM just in case.
*my dad came to watch the kids and they scratched his head, with a purpose, of donating their earnings (yes he pays them to scratch his head) to help pay for a clean water well in Africa.

Our church is doing a fund raiser and there are three levels. I was going to try and type this all out but I think this video would do a better job explaining the levels and how you can contribute even if you don't attend our church or know me in person.

This LINK should take you right to the giving page for Bethel or you can type in The Water Project in google, once you get to the page click the fundraiser tab, click find a friend then type in Bethel Community Church. All donations are tax deductible and you receive an email immediately after donating. I would love to see us reach our goal and then surpass it immeasurably. There are also other video clips on the fund raising page and the guy talking in this video is our youth pastor at our church, my kids love him!

Home Sweet Home...

a few days ago GlamorGirl was getting her clothes out of her dresser and the top drawer fell out. I didn't have time to investigate until I came home after dropping them off at school. The middle wood piece that holds the drawer on cracked and broke off. Now anytime she opens her top drawer she has to be super careful not to let it fall to the ground. It has fallen more times than I would like on the hardwood floor. We have set out to find a good quality yet affordable new dresser. I did a little research online and then today I stopped at a few stores I got as suggestions from friends. Let's just say...furniture isn't made very well nowadays. I did find one store that had quality dressers but they were a bit high in price. This evening we headed over to the mall for some Disney apparel, our junior highers are having a Disney night tomorrow. Since we were out we hopped on over to IKEA. Looked at the one dresser we liked online and the construction of it wasn't not very good. But since we were there and the kids were playing we walked around and ended up buying a new entertainment center. I am so excited to get rid of the table. We also got a pot for the plant in the living room. We are classing it up in here ;) I will put up some before and after pictures but the after isn't ready yet!

BEFORE!

AFTER!

Sleepover

The two oldest each had a friend spend the night on Friday night. I figured this would be the perfect weekend to do it since it was a 3 day weekend! The only thing I regret is not taking any pictures of the kids. Oh well. They all seemed to have a good time and the two little ones didn't feel completely excluded from the other ones. After school on Friday I took all 6 kids to the library and let them pick out some movies to watch. I thought they could watch a movie before they went to bed to help get them in the relaxed bedtime mood. I feel like it worked as they were all asleep by 11:30pm. The only downside is that the 3 boys all were up by 7am! Was NOT expecting that. I thought maybe Red and Peanut would wake up early since they went to bed about an hour and a half before the other kids. Not so. But I am very thankful that when Red got down off the top bunk in the girls room he didn't wake up Peanut. She actually slept until 8:20 this morning. The kids did a lot of running (I had to retype that word because I typed funning, haha) around and playing games and what not. I just think it is so funny my kids personalities. GG and her friend sat in the living room reading books for about an hour. Too funny. I can tell that I am worn out from the excitement too. Tonight GG and I got the movie Letters to Juliet and I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I am actually amazed that I am still awake. The movie was over about an hour ago. All in all I think we will let the kids have friends over again. Though not sure I want to do two at once?! Maybe one kid comes and one kid goes to some one else's house...