Weekend in review

I haven't posted in a couple of days. Recooping from the long week last week and just enjoying my fam.

Friday I took my nieces back home and made some lumpia w/ my niece's mom (I guess that would be niece too! LOL) They were yum!

Yesterday I took Morgan out with me to find something "Dora"ish for Sydney's birthday dessert she requested...brownies. WHATEVER! All she wants is brownies. I still don't know what we are doing next Sunday for her birthday. It's 4th of July. We said that we weren't going to host bday parties until they are about 10 (the girls) and 5 for Colton. They get expensive! When you add up all the expenses: the place to host it, the food and drinks, the cake, the presents, the goody bags...it's up there! We do have special meals thruout the day. If they want to eat out, then we will. They get their choice. I still haven't received Sydney's menu for the day and I'm anxious to find out what it'll be.

Anyways...on our way to Michael's yesterday we stopped first at the place where we got our Excursion's A/C fixed. WHY? Because it was blowing hot air AGAIN! Grrrrr

They couldn't get us in right then. We were asked to come back in 2 hours. So, we went out and during our ventures we got a call from Neal. He was cutting his little outting with the other two a little early b/c Sydney got sick in the car! HA HA HA HA and then EWWW!

They went back home to clean up and change and then meet us out at the A/C place again for them to do a thorough check while we decided to go grab some lunch. Came back and found out that a part needs to be ordered for the compressor fan (I think that's what he told Neal) and I will have a call next week to get it fixed. UGH! I am not shelling anymore $$ into that beast and I won't pay the place either since it was just fixed a month ago! Yes, it's under warrenty but still! And they know it too!

Anywho, yesterday was also date night. Before we left Neal got a call from a realtor we have been looking at houses with in our neighborhood and there is this one house that we like that we had placed a bid on 2 weeks ago. We had gone back and forth on counteroffers and last week they said that they couldn't go any lower. So we left it. Neal finally just said, fine, we'll do "xxxx" offer instead and we got written agreement as of yesterday. So...in 45 days or less we may be new home owners (barring inspection). We are going to meet w/ a construction company later today to go over what we would like to do to the house and they will come out to the site some time this week to access and let us know what the financial end would be. We hope to get an addition put on the house before we move in. Structural is more important right now than cosmetic. Cosmetic will come with time. It would be nice to have it all done before we move in but because of how much the seller was willing to go doesn't give us that much room like we had anticipated. Darn the seller! hahaha

Anyways, date night was fun. We went with another couple and ate at a local seafood resturant along the river. I had my fill of shrimp and it was YUMMY! Then we went to our marina to see what was going on in the clubhouse. Not very busy there this time. We left there and decided to go to another resturant/bar to have a few drinks and sit by the river. It was HOT! There were fireworks going on in the park nearby and we forgot all about it. DUH! That would have been a good opportunity to take the kids. Oh well...there's next week. We left there b/c of the poor service...I think we saw our waitress 3 times in the 1.5 hours we were there and I had only 1 drink. Needless to say, when we tip we usually tip good...not last night!

We then went to another place downtown and we had a better time people watching and having a night cap. Bailey's and milk tasted like an iced coffee to me last night. I had to have two! hahaha YUM!

Got home and our babysitter was sleeping and all 3 kiddos were sleeping in the same room. It was precious! Thought I'd get some sleep today but got woken up by 3 hungry and happy monsters. That's okay...they weren't screaming or crying.

Gonna do some laundry before we head out a little later and then hopefully tonite we can watch a movie. Gotta make plans for the kids this week. Dentist Monday and hopefully we can still go visit Mema and PapPap at the end of the week. Just depends on the truck's A/C.

Week with FIVE - Day 4

Day FOUR! We took it a little easier today. Here are the forts that I mentioned in my previous post. This is one that the little girls made because the older girls segregated them...Colt had to approve the fort though! LOL

Here are the older girls and their fort in my living room. They took over the ottoman and made a wrap around fort. But first they had to watch some cartoon.

Later in the morning we headed to the beach that was nearby. Here is a pretty view of the beach. That green area in the middle left...that's my neighborhood. When we arrived it was high tide so there really wasn't any sand to play with right up against the water. The girls were finding hermit crabs and trying to catch the little minnows.

Colton liked the water but he'd rather play with some beach toys right next to our picnic table. I was surprised that he didn't play in the playground that's nearby. That's okay, it gave me a chance to take some photos and stay close to all the kids.

And I had to get one of the girls. I took several of them on this seawall just b/c you never know if all are going to be smiling or eyes open or even if the picture was going to be blurry. Well, just noticed that Mallory has got a peace sin up. What a stinker! This is a great pix of them all...and they are looking!

It was a fun week. But Mama is tired! LOL

Week with FIVE - Day 3

Where did we go on day 3?

Well...I filled up the cooler once again. I put loads of drinks, PB&J sandwiches, grapes, oranges and chips in the cooler and we headed to the Rec Center that has 4 pools! I invited our babysitter to see if she wanted to hang out with us since she was home alone and she had mentioned that she'd love to go with us one day if we went...so I took the opportunity.

When we got to the rec center someone that works at the front desk came out and stopped us from unloading b/c the power was out. She told us that the pool was closed for now since there was a power outage and the pool pumps weren't working.

OH NO!

Lindsey, our babysitter, suggested we just go home and eat lunch and then call to see if power was back on. I thought that was perfect so we all loaded back up, sad kiddos in the back, and went home. We ate lunch and looked thru my scrapbooks. The kids loved this because they got to see themselves as babies. It brought back many memories of simplicity and less emotional/catty girls! HOLY MOLY girls can be soooo catty! One minute they are bickering and then another they are each other's best friend...it's funny!

Anywho...we were only home for another 30 minutes after we ate lunch and I called up at the pool. Power was back on! WOOHOO!

So once again we had happy kiddos in the car and I couldn't wait to get into the pool. It was so hot! All the kids had fun. They tried the big water slide that was at the pool, some dared the diving board and they all had to check out the kiddie pool. Colton wasn't scared of the water at all! He wanted to do the water slide but couldn't and he just didn't understand. He didn't have a problem getting dunked in the water. He wanted more! Crazy boy! I was afraid at first thinking he would be scared of the water and getting it on his face (especially under water) but he kept doing it to himself!! Too bad we don't have a pool b/c he would be learning to swim this year! I'll just have to work with him we go out to the sandbars when we use the boat. Just gotta remember to bring him his goggles.

After the pool we dropped Lindsey off back at her house and then we went home. I had bought some bead kit that the girls could work on. Colton was OUT! So the girls made some bracelets, anklets and necklaces. It was good timing too b/c when they were done Colton woke up! It was time for dinner so in went the pizzas and down they went their bellies! THEY WERE HUNGRY! LOL

Showers were next and I made some chocolate chip cookies! After showers it was MOVIE TIME! My one niece fell asleep during the movie. It was about bed time anyways, so I got their area ready in the bedroom and once the movie was over I brought her in there with the rest of them. The were out by 915! That just tells me that they had a good day and ate well!

Today...we are going to the beach. Right now they are coloring some pictures here at the dining table. Colt is on my lap. They made some forts this morning, gotta get those pictures uploaded and will have to post later. Glad I got those pictures earlier because just a minute ago I was wondering where Colton was because he wasn't making any noise. UH OH!

I called out for him and he made a noise. He was in the living room. Went looking for him and he was standing on what WAS one of the forts and his diaper off! YIKES! I just yelled out...'Fort days are over. Sprinkler system is on!' LOL They got a kick out of it! Gotta love boys! Now I've got to do some laundry!

Week with FIVE - Day 2

Here is a picture I took from Day 1. The girls were decorating those sun visors. I forgot to upload the pictures I took onto my computer...but it's here now. The girls had fun with this. Colton got his done too but getting him to wear it is another story!

And here is the start of Day 2. I had this wild idea to not take them to just ONE park...but FIVE! I called it....HOP A PARK. The girls had no clue what that meant. All they knew was the word HOP A PARK on my daily list that is up next to their chore chart and they got a goodie bag that was a mystery to them too! haha So I got a cooler filled with LOTS of drinks, a bag of cut up oranges, a bag of cut up watermelon and some other snacks and got that loaded into the truck along with their goodie bags and my camera.

I had them all get into the truck, buckled in and got in myself. Took this picture of them first.

Then I finally told them what we were doing. They were excited! I was crazy! hahaha Then I gave them their goodie bags and told them what were the contents. Here's what I had in them: sunblock, their sunvisors, a ziplock bag of wipes, 3 Silly Bands, a pack of gum, and 6 tickets for them to turn into me at each park (I'll discuss that in a bit). They LOVED the silly bands and talked about how many they have and what they had. I wish I thought of that craze! Then I told them to put some sunscreen on. You can see in the photo that my 2 nieces are fair skin with red hair. You know what that means...burn central! NOT ON MY WATCH!

Okay, now those tickets. I had bought some fun little prizes for the kids and I thought that after each park I'd draw a ticket out of my pocket and one lucky girl would get a prize (Colt didn't have to play this game...he had no clue what was going on anyways). Just some fun stuff like notepads, tatoos, lip gloss...stuff like that a little girl just wants to have because she does. They were also warned that someone might win ALL the prizes or a couple...that's just the luck of the draw. But I had a surprise at the end...cause what was that 6th ticket for if we were only going to go to 5 parks??

So here is the first park. Very pretty, clean. OH...my friend April gave me the idea of having the kids pick up any garbage at the park and explain to them the importance of keeping their play area clean. Well...I brought the garbage bags and well...to my surprise the first park...pristine! It was such a beautiful day out to do this. It wasn't as hot as it was going to be, still humid, but bearable. And this park was next to the Gulf! We stayed here for about 30 minutes.

There was a hill next to the playground and I thought it would be neat to get Colton running down the hill...or was that a disaster waiting to happen? He had a blast running up and down the hill.

Here is the pretty view from atop that hill...see told you...it's the GULF!

When we were done at this park the kiddos had their first snack and some drinks. I had brought squirt bottle with me that sat in the cooler and I just started spraying each child and at first they were surprised but then they wanted MORE! lol I think this helped them cool down a bit. Then it was back to putting on more sunscreen and off to the next park, which was about 5 minutes around the corner. Here's a picture I snagged.

I didn't bring my camera to the third park. Wish I did b/c the encountered their very first merry go round. They knew about them but had not been on one. WHAT? I remember these things as being much bigger than the one at the 3rd park, but nonetheless, the experienced it and had a blast. This was their favorite park! I wonder why though...all they did was get dizzy on that thing!

I was scared at first b/c it could be dangerous especially for the little guy, but he loved laying down in the center of it while the girls spun it and hopped on. FIGURES! There were a few mishaps...like getting dragged by the merry go round or trying to stop it and end up eating dirt...but they laughed it off and wanted more! Morgan did go down a slide earlier on at this park and came jumping off screaming. Don't you know silly you need to inspect the slides first in case there are any puddles of water at the end?! HAHAHA Her butt was soaked! Ewww! They all thought it was funny. I just told her to make sure her hiney was in the sunlight b/c it would dry up quick...it did!

On to the 4th park. This was a neat park. It had hiking trails, bike trails, some wildnerness (like turtles) and some cabins. We just played in the playground. This didn't last long. They were all starting to get tired and the heat was getting to them a little. They sure drank a lot! So they asked to go to the 5th park. And we did.

Here is a picture of the sweaty rats before unloading to go the final park.

I loved the 5th park b/c it looks like a fort/maze. They loved it too...but still was talking about that darn merry go round! We didn't stay that long here b/c it was already after 1 (we left at 930am) and lunch time was gone and over with. They had filled up on drinks and snacks but was ready to head home and so was I. So I told them I had a final surprise and they were ALL winners.

So we all went to BK. I asked at the drive thru if they still had their ICEEs. They said yes but the flavors were out. WHAT?! NO! That was my final surprise. So I had to disappoint the girls by telling them what it WAS going to be and that we COULDN'T get it. :( I was bummed. I actually had a taste for that since we started the Hop a Park! :( I told them that I had popsicles at the house and that we'd all get cleaned up, eat lunch and have that when outside playing in the sprinklers. They were fine with it. I think they were just hungry and hot and wanted to cleaned off too!

So here are the photos of fed, clean and cool kids enjoying the sprinklers and popsicles. That's a Hello Kitty tatoo on Sydney's face. She won that after one of the parks.

Mallory saying she was cold from the sprinklers so she decided to sit out in the sun. heehee

Oh...I had a fun little way of trying to get the girls to tell me the real flavor of jelly they liked. I'm making some PB & J for lunch on Day 3 at the pool and needed to know which flavor they REALLY liked and made it a little fun. I took the 5 jellies out of my fridge and placed them on this butterfly plate. I had them one at a time see me and do a taste test. To try and see what flavors they liked and also if they could name that flavor. The did pretty good. Not one of them guess all the flavors correctly, but I did find out what flavor to make for lunch tomorrow! ;)

Then after this I popped some popcorn and they watched a movie. I love these next photos. It shows how they buddy up and play.

Sooo into the movie right here.

And Sydney caught me and had to pose. LOL

Breakfast was for dinner. I made so many chocolate chip pancakes. These kids ate up some breakfast! Bacon and scrambled eggs along with the pancakes made for happy, stuffed and tired kiddos. They didn't go down as easily as I thought they would, but at least I didn't have to split them up like I did last night. They were out by 945 and then woke up at 7am! GRRR!

Today is Day 3 and I have water planned for their future.

Week with FIVE - Day 1

Yesterday started my first day out of five days with FIVE kids! I'm watching my 2 nieces this week and I have a lot of fun things planned. I put away the computer (well...not TOTALLY), stopped listing items in my Etsy stores, not on my message board as much and only recording my ONE soap opera. LOL

Yesterday we went to my Mother-in-law's house to meet them there and swim in her pool. My MIL is out of town but she gave me the keys knowing that the pool is a great way for the kids to have something to do and entertain them (and me) and also tire them out! I so miss our pool we had in our other house. :( But, I also have to think...no weekly cleaning and scrubbing!

So the kids did that for a few hours and then we headed back home. We did a fun and easy craft with foam sun visors and fun foamy stickers. They decorated their visors not knowing what they were for b/c I had set them aside for Tuesday's events! heehee

Dinner was a hit: Popcorn chicken, Mac n Cheese and green beans.

Shower times...I thought would be a mess b/c FOUR girls...but it wasn't thankfully. I just wrote on an index card a number, numbered them 1 to 4 and then had each girl pull a card from my hand. That meant what number in line they were to take a shower. I got no complaints and no mess!

The chore chart I have for MY girls ended up being a chore chart for ALL the girls. I just teamed them up, 'buddy system', and they did their chores...no complaints.

The only 'bad' thing that went on yesterday was between my oldest and her attitude/sassiness/bossiness...need I say more. It got her into trouble yesterday a few times and it's driving me nuts! I hope she nixes that in the bud b/c she's gonna have a hard road ahead of herself around her peers at school and ME!

Other than that...I rate yesterday an 8 out of 10. Today...well...let's see if I lost my mind by doing a Park Hop of 5 local parks this morning. I woke up at 6 when hubby left for work and I decided to take advantage of the quiet. All the kids are still asleep. WHAT WAS I THINKING?! But once I'm up, I'm up. Can't get me back into bed and sleep...never could. I'll just deal with the tired tonite. I've got so many plans for today and things to get done.

So...until tomorrow.

Happy Father's Day!

Just wanted to wish all those daddy's out there a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! I know that I have a wonderful father who is always there for me, who taught me well and I love and respect him very much! I also have a wonderful hubby who is a good father to the kiddos and is appreciated for all his hard work!

HAPPY DADDY'S DAY!

Spaghetti O's w/ Meatballs Recall

Holy Moly! The one time I get Spaghetti O's w/ Meatballs I can't serve them! I usually get the plain kind but my nieces are coming to stay with us next week and I know that they LOVE the meatballs. Morgan told me to get her some too. WHAT? Okay then. And the one time I buy them...there is a recall for them. And I have 2 cans that are on that list!

FIGURES!

Here is the recall info: Spaghetti O's w/ Meatballs

Never-ending laundry

Today has been a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG day! I've done laundry and STILL not done...hate it! Why is it that when I put a load of laundry in the washer at the same time as I do the dryer it never fails that the dryer is still running after the washing machine stops? That's why it takes forever to get any laundry done here! Grrr!

Well...we didn't go to the beach today. We stayed indoors and the kids played. I did laundry and they colored and played dressup and such. After Colt woke up from his nap I was going to go the gym but decided since tomorrow we are going to be busy I couldn't fit going to the store to get Morgan's friend's birthday gift...so we went today. Glad I got that one done.

So now we are watching Toy Story and it's already 9:15pm. WAY past the kiddos bedtime...but hey, it's summer! :)

Help our Gulf Coast!

In JUNE when you purchase anything in my shop a $1 for each item will be donated to the NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY!! Help support NAS as they help the birds and other wildlife that are affected by the oil spill in the Gulf Coast's already-fragile ecosystem!*** http://www.audubon.org/

See...I forgot

I forgot to post something yesterday. Oh boy, this posting every day during the summer is going to be tough!

We didn't do anything really...nothing to busy. Well...the main thing we did yesterday was

GROCERY SHOP!

I haven't shopped with the 3 kiddos in a while and there is a reason for it. All those with kids knows what it's like. I decided to do something a while back to make grocery shopping a better experience with the 3 kids. I didn't want my 2 daughters fighting over who was gonna sit in the racecar cart with their brother or hearing someone complain of walking thru the grocery store while the other one sits. Sooo...

Colton is the little one, he sits in the racecar cart BY HIMSELF and the 2 girls need to put their BIG GIRL PANTIES ON and DEAL! LOL

I had bought some small flashcards last year and haven't used them yet. So what I did one day was gather all the grocery ads and coupon ads that I could find that were from old newspapers sitting in the garage. I gave them to my 2 oldest and told them to cut out the grocery items you know that mommy gets or what they see in the pantry and fridge. They were pretty creative and at times they told me that I could get certain things, as if I was getting permission to buy them! Then once I looked over them I gave them each a stack of flashcards and a glue stick and they glued them. I took the glued flashcards and laminated them, cut them out and then wrote on the backs of them what they were (more for my 5 year old since she is reading now). Then we take these cards to the grocery store, they each get a stack (girls only) and as I call out the items I need to get they go thru their stack (everyone is to get a different stack each time) they hand them to me. At the end of the trip they are to count the number of cards they have and the one with the least amount of cards wins!

What do they win?

A no-fuss, no-whine, happy grocery experience with mom! LOL

They did ask me that, "what do we win?" I simple told them that they don't 'win' a treat, they 'win' a FREE PASS to not getting in trouble when they got home. I'm so mean! heehee I did buy a pack of gum and gave them each a piece. I don't buy much gum and it's pretty scarce in our house. Well, if you see a post I did a month ago or so about Colton getting into the Easter buckets you'll now know why!

But that was the main thing we did yesterday. I did the bills, the girls did crafts (i.e. make Father's Day cards and painted) while Colton napped. Then we went to the gym. The kids love it there and I love it on Wednesday's...ZUMBA! It's definately challenging but I don't mind sweating when I'm having fun and learning dance moves. I may look like an idiot doing it but it's a room full of them! heehee

I was going to take Colton to the doctors today but I'm not sure if I should waste the trip and money. He woke up Monday with a rash on his face. It looked like little pimples and now they are on his back and his belly. Not that bad, just spread out. I tried racking my brain as to what it could be. Is it his diet? Did I change detergents? Contact dermatitis? Could it be a heat rash? I've been monitoring it and last night it dawned on me...I DID use a different soap on him Sunday evening so that would explain it! He's been eating the same foods as before so it's not his diet. I haven't changed detergents so that not it either. So I went back to his normal boring AVEENO body wash last night and this morning the bumps have gone down, they are still there, just not raised as much. I also lathered him with CETAPHIL lotion.

So, I will try it again today and see what happens. I feel a little better about it now. I'll save that appointment spot for some mom that REALLY needs it!

So what are we doing today?

MOUNDS of laundry and I don't know....you'll have to wait for that post! ;)

A day at the pool

Today was a long day but a good one. We went to my mother-in-law's house and the kids played in the pool. Colton wasn't sure about the pool thing. I went in regardless! LOL After getting dried and back into his swim trunks he felt very comfortable and didn't have a problem getting in and out of the pool and relaxing on the first two steps. He LOVED it!

I-SO-MISS-OUR-POOL!!!

And of course...did I bring my camera...NOPE!

DUH! I wish I did because I had plenty of opportunity for photos. There was one time when Colton sat on the pool deck between Morgan and Sydney, who were in the pool leaning on the pool wall, and the 3 had their backs to me. That's okay...it will forever be a picture in my mind. :)

Well...tomorrow's agenda isn't very exciting. Groceries, bills, chores, gym. WOOHOO!

Till tomorrow!

Day 1, week 1

Today is the first full week of summer break. I have my calendar that I made for the girls to see what activites we are doing, meals we are eating and places we are going to in the week. I made this 2 weeks ago, laminated it so I can just use my dry-erase markers and now it's hanging on the wall under their chore chart. They like this!

Today we went out to get my hubby part of his Father's Day gift, then went to a park, grocery store to get milk and then back home for lunch. Colton went down for a nap and then the girls just colored and did paper crafts while I made dinner...chicken cacciatore. Once Colt woke up from his nap we went to the gym. LOVED my workout. Definately needed! So glad that I already made dinner before we left b/c we didn't get home from the gym until 7:10pm! I was there for almost 1.5 hours. Dinner was yummy and the kids are asleep now...so day 1 of this week was an accomplishment...kids happy and tired!

Tomorrow we are going to my mother-in-laws house. My sister-in-laws will be there and my nieces. The pool is going to be full of kids. I'm going to take a dip b/c it's been so hot out! What was I thinking taking the kids to the park today! haha

Hopefully I remember to bring my camera and take photos. Till tomorrow.

Quick trip

Today we did nothing AGAIN! Actually, Back to the Future series was on! I wanted to watch these with the kids eventually and what a great day to do so. Morgan LOVED them! Sydney didn't last much...not a big movie watcher. She gets so distracted with other things in her head! LOL Colton loved it only when the car was in the picture or he saw motorcycles and trains! Such a boy!

Around 4 we decided that the boat needed to go back to the marina so we all got changed quick for the 94 degree weather...ugh...and took the boat back. I made sure to bring my camera and took a quick shot of everyone.

and we brought the pug too!

Managed to get us centered first try too!

And that was Sunday!

WHOOPS! Forgot to blog!

Well...I guess this summer blog thing is like New Year's resolutions b/c I didn't post anything yesterday. Already breaking what I was supposed to do! hahaha

Actually I was going to post something last night but hubby got me off the computer so we could watch a movie. What movie?

It wasn't as scary as I anticipated. I guess b/c I know when a scary moment was going to come about. A bit gruesome at times but it was okay. I love Sir Anthony Hopkins and I guess the lead actor Benicio Del Toro isn't too bad either. Then we thought we could watch another movie after it's already 1230am. We started watching The Book of Eli but we just couldn't stay awake. NOT because of the movie, but because it was LATE! So, that will most likely be tonite.

Anywho...yesterday was filled with loads of laundry again. Not much going on. Just a layed back day. Nothing wrong with that. NOPE...not done with laundry b/c I took breaks in between to watch

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!!! The US may have gotten a 'cheesy' goal, but it was a goal! LOL I still hear the sound of bees. Have you watched any footage of World Cup? The arena sounds like a swarm of bees during the game! LOL

Well...the kids managed to go out in the back and play in the sprinklers. Colton didn't take a nap so he enjoyed some fun out in them too. He wasn't sure what to do with all that water flayling all over the place though. Morgan had to show him to just RUN! Got some good pix of them all playing.

Here is Colt trying to figure out what these hoses are:

And big sis trying to help him:

And here's Colton being a BOY! The girls wanted to play 'train' and what does Colton do? He takes a peak at Sydney's behind! LOL Well...I didn't get the snapshot of what happens after this shot, but it basically is Sydney landing on her bottom laughing and Morgan and Colton just cracking up!

At one point during all the fun, a certain someone got in trouble. Time out!

And here's another picture of Colton playing.

And this was our Saturday. Hopefully I can take pictures of something today and remember to blog about it later!