End of September

I had such grand plans last weekend. To decorate for fall. To plan the school week. To do a fun movie night on Sunday. But if you know me , you know I always say...we plan, God laughs.

On Friday evening I started feeling really achy. By Sunday I was absolutely miserable. My old friend mastitis returned for another visit. This is the 3 rd time I've had it...with each of my 3 youngest children. At least now I recognize it...when I first got it when Zane was a baby, I had no idea what it was and why I felt so utterly horrible.

I spent all day Sunday resting. If you can call it rest, I was so uncomfortable that there was no way to sit or lay down that my body didn't hurt. Scott was so great -- he took care of everything so all I had to do was nurse the baby every few hours. And Liam was amazing, too. He was happy and playful the whole day, making it very easy for Daddy and the kids to watch over him.

By Monday, I knew I was on the mend so I managed to at least drive Brenna to her babysitting job and do a little bit of schooling. Tuesday I still was not 100% but feeling so much better.

We still managed to fit in our Five in a Row for the little guys. This week's book was Madeline. We put the story disk on the map and talked about Paris. I printed out a picture of the Eiffel Tower for them to color and we also looked at a website that has a great 360 view from the tower.

I am incorporating ideas from another website called ABCJesuslovesme as well. So for Declan we worked on the number 2 and talked about what God created the 2nd day. The character trait for the week was obedience, a good one for them right now! It gave us a great way to discuss why we expect them to do what we ask the first time, every time.

Friday I took Liam to the pediatrician for his 4month check-up. He is such a little ham, he thoroughly enjoyed all the attention the doctor gave him. He did not like the shots, but recovered quickly. He is still about 50 % for weight, but 85 % for height. Still a very tall guy. The doctor said to go ahead and start him on baby food so we tried that when Scott got home from work. He took to it well, unlike Declan at that age. He hated it at first.

On Friday night we made homemade pizzas. I topped mine with fresh mozzarella and basil. Yum! The weekend brought bowling, Chase's aviation class, church and a baby shower that my bible study ladies threw for me and 2 other new mommies. It was such fun and these ladies have been a blessing in my life. And now I get to go buy some fall/winter clothes for Liam. He is quickly outgrowing all the smaller clothes a dear friend passed on to us.

And now we march on into October...

Fall begins

I'm so happy fall is here. But unhappy that I didn't find time today to put up my decorations. Hopefully I can do that this weekend. I did buy some pretty flowers for the table and picked up some fall-related books from the library to read with the kids.

This was an interesting week, and I'm glad it's over. Scott had to report for jury duty on Monday morning and ended up being picked to serve. So he was there all week long, but found out today that he was the alternate. He was bummed that after all that, he didn't get to be part of the deliberation. By the end of the day, the jury still hadn't reached a decision, so the judge said he'd call him next week to tell him the verdict. I thought that was pretty neat of him.

Conner was at a leader's retreat for our church last weekend and came home with a cold. He felt pretty crummy all week. Thankfully, he was only scheduled for one day at Chick-fil-A so he was able to rest more than usual. Declan was sick with a stomach bug last week, and now Zane seems to have it. We have been really healthy around here for awhile now, so I guess we were due.

In our preschool studies , we continued with Five in a Row. This week's book was Lentil. We talked about our senses, so we did a taste test and sampled things salty, sweet, sour and bitter. In the book, Lentil learns to play the harmonica so I found some at the dollar store for the three younger boys. They were surprised to find out that it's harder to play one than they thought.

For some reason Aiden talked me into buying a coconut while we were out shopping so Chase spent a long time opening it and then they used all parts of it. They drank the water, made coconut milk, ate the meat and even reused the shell as a cup for smoothies.

Liam is turning 4 months next week and I can hardly believe it. The newborn stage seems to disappear faster with each child. He really prefers being upright, so we brought in his activity jumper. He seems to really like it.

He must have worn himself out playing, because when Brenna took him in her room to play with him, he fell fast asleep on her bed. Right in the middle of her schoolwork, stuffed animals and the cat. Haha

I entered a giveaway on a blog a few weeks back and actually won. Today I received in the mail a "busy mom's gift basket" for the car. It's from bp and had a travel mug, insulated tumbler, first aid kit, air freshener, tire gauge, umbrella, and several other items. There were also 2 gas gift cards that I gave to Conner. It was a nice way to end the week.

New school year

Last week was our first full week of school. The week before we had a slow, rolling start -- it was busy with Labor Day, my birthday, Scott's birthday and the start of Options. So we mainly worked on getting everyone back on a good wake-up schedule and I introduced the new curriculum and morning board. I had seen the idea on several blogs, and loved the idea for my preschool boys. I will try to post a pic of ours later.

I have decided to use Five in a Row for Zane and Declan and I'm also adding in some of the lessons from a site called ABCJesuslovesme. This week the book we "rowed" was The Story About Ping. The idea is to read the same story for five days in a row and take elements out of the story that are related to history, geography, math, science, art, music, etc. and teach them to your child.

We put up a big world map and marked China, where Ping lives. We talked about buoyancy and put various items into the filled bathtub to see which would float and which would sink. We counted all of Ping's many family members, and then we wrapped up the week by feeding ducks at a park.

Liam enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine.

Zane is doing a lot of work on his letters and numbers and is moving right along. He loves learning and is always asking me what's next or reminding me if I forget a step in our daily routine. :) He just started AWANA this year and is enjoying being a Cubbie.

Declan loves to listen to the books, but I usually lose him after that. :) He prefers being active to sitting and drawing or coloring. So I'm just meeting him where's he at right now, knowing he will learn more when he's ready. He also goes to a music class once a week with Zane.

Aiden is taking several classes at Options -- P.E, Hands-on History, Math Games, Art, cCreative Drama and Kitchen Classroom. He also does karate and a boys club one day a week at another homeschool program. So at home, we are expanding on the math and history from Options and doing lots of reading and writing. He does science and geography along with the younger boys.

For extracurricular activites, he is in Cub Scouts and AWANA and will be taking swim lessons again next month.

Brenna is in 7th grade this year. At Options, she is taking P.E., advanced art, drama, nutrition, international towne(world geography) and a mountain lab science class. She is doing mostly fun, creative classes there, but also science and geography. So at home, we are focusing on math, writing and literature. She just got a babysitting job for a homeschool co-op at a nearby church, so she does that once a week. It's really good for her, since she loves babies and she is able to earn her own spending money. She also attends our church's jr. high youth group once a week and loves it.

Chase is beginning high school this year. At Options, he has Biology, P.E., Advanced Art, Spanish, and another art class. He has one off period where he's a teacher's aide. At home, he is doing math, American Government, writing and a literature study. He goes to our church's high school youth group and also does archery every other week.

Conner is in his final year of high school. Just typing that makes me proud, sad, excited and anxious all at once. He is still taking a heavy load at Options -- 2 periods of physics, 2 periods of pre-calculus and a literature class. He is working, still doing competitive bowling and is a leader for the jr. high youth group at church, so he is pretty busy this year. At least he can drive himself to things now!

That's how the year looks so far. Subject to change at any time. :)

"Barbecue freaks me out"

Another week has flown by. At this week's Dr. appointment, I made slight progress -- 1 cm. dilated. Slow and steady seems to be my body's motto.

Brenna's poor cat, Jasmine, was spayed last Saturday and needed to wear the "cone of shame" for a few days. She did NOT enjoy it. She seems to be healing up well, though, so we have since released her.

Me and the 4 older kids took a kitchen tour of Chik-fil-a on Monday evening. While there, I inquired about their hiring practices. We were told they are hiring right now and Conner was offered an interview on the spot. He looked a little taken by surprise, but agreed to it. It went well, so he had a 2nd interview with a manager on Thursday. That went well, too, and now he waits to hear if he'll get a 3rd and final interview with the owner. He has been working with Scott at his company for a year now, but this would be his first "real" job that he's gotten on his own.

This was the final week at Options, so they just had award ceremonies, yearbook parties and a picnic. Brenna's awards were of course art-related. She has such talent and it definitely didn't come from me or her dad. =)

I got a few good deals at area garage sales on Friday, including a rocking horse for the little boys, a cat toy that Jasmine just loves, and new throw pillows for the couch.

Chase got to go camping for the weekend with his friend and their family. Thankfully, after such a rainy week the weather cooperated and was nice for them, although chilly. Conner spent the weekend bowling and the rest of us cleaned and organized in the garage. We were going through and finding stuff for the baby, curriculum I want to sell at a book fair, and we also hope to have a garage sale of our own soon.

On Saturday, I hit the Old Navy $1 flip-flop sale, then took Scott and Aiden with me to more garage sales, and we found some baby clothes, clothes for the little boys, and a book me and Brenna have been wanting to read together.

I wanted to record and remember a couple funny things Declan has been saying. He learned a song in his little music class and walks arounds singing, "He's got the whole world in his hands", which is adorable. But he also picked up from the Black-Eyed Peas "I got my money in my pocket". LOL

Then at dinner on Friday, somebody mentioned barbecue chips and he piped up with, "Barbecue freaks me out".

Such a turkey.

3 weeks and counting....

Today I am officially 37 weeks along. My last OB appt. showed no changes -- no dilation. That is typical of my pregnancies at this stage. Hopefully more will begin happening soon, though. I've been feeling well overall, just getting much slower at getting up and at walking. Sleeping is not easy, that's actually what usually bothers me the most at this point. I want sleep so bad, but am very uncomfortable at night and get up several times. But all of this just makes me more aware that soon - SOON - I will get to meet this precious new person. =)

In other family news, the older 3 kids had a fun night at youth group last Wednesday. It was the first night in the new student center so the leaders went all out and had a "Thrift Store Prom", complete with red carpet. The students were to dress up in prom attire -- the funnier or older the better. The boys raided Scott's closet for shirts & jackets and I picked up a couple ties from the thrift store. Also found Brenna a cute dress. They had a great time. Here's just a few of the pics:

Chase's serious look =)

Once a month or so, we try to have a family movie night. Sometimes I rent a new movie, other times we watch an old favorite. If possible I also try to have a theme. Friday night we watched "Kung Fu Panda" again, so Chase helped me make Chinese food. We used these recipes from Food Network: Sesame Chicken and Lemony Egg Soup . We also had wontons from our local Chinese restaurant and fortune cookies. Brenna helped the younger 3 boys make Chinese lanterns for decoration.

The weekend was incredibly busy. Early Saturday morning Scott dropped Brenna's cat off to be spayed, then took Aiden to his Cub Scouts rocket launch. The weather was cool and wet, but his rocket flew well and he had a lot of fun.

Meanwhile, I took Conner to an all-day state bowling tournament. He spent a total of 10 hours at the bowling alley that day. The rest of us attended a graduation party for friends of ours.

Sunday was church and Conner was busy again with bowling, a friend's birthday party and another friend's graduation party.

I keep waiting for some time to relax before baby's arrival, but this coming week isn't looking to promising either. Maybe it's good my babies don't come early? LOL

Mother's Day

I had a really nice Mother's Day. Scott let me sleep in and made me breakfast. The younger kids gave me gifts they had made at various places: church, music class, art class. They were all very creative and special to me.

Scott and the older kids got me a Kindle. I've been wanting one for awhile and was so surprised and pleased.

My parents have been in town, but left to go back to the mountains today. I really wanted to get a picture of me and my mom as I realize we don't have any recent ones of us just her and I.

I got to spend the afternoon relaxing and then Scott made a delicious steak dinner. I feel so blessed. One amazing husband and 6 3/4 amazing kids. =)

Busy week and Botanic Gardens

What a week! It felt nonstop. I am at that stage of pregnancy where most activities wear me out very quickly. And yet I keep scheduling us like I'm not. I do see a light at the end of the tunnel, though. A lot of our school-year activities are coming to an end and I see one whole week on our calendar right before the baby is due that is almost completely empty!! Let's see if I can keep it that way.

My parents have been in town for 2 weeks helping my aunt remodel her bathrooms. So Monday-Wednesday Chase worked with them. It really helped my dad out, plus earned Chase spending money for the summer. Conner also worked Monday and Tuesday with Scott.

Tuesday morning Brenna had an early dress rehearsal and her play was that evening. She was one of the main narrators and did such a great job. =) I forgot to get a picture of her with the flowers we bought her.

That day was also Zane & Declan's final Cherub Choir of the year. They have really enjoyed that music class and were sad to see it end. I also fit in a doctors appt. No changes, baby is still snug as a bug and not ready to meet the world yet.

Wednesday was Aiden's 8th birthday. He picked out his meals, and opened presents throughout the day. The gifts were heavily weighted toward Ninjago Legos. He is such a big-hearted boy. He loved everything he got and kept saying thank you.

We decided to go to the park in the morning. It was a little breezy but so nice to get out and play.

Thursday was busy with Options, bowling and swim lessons. Friday was Options for the other 2 kids. I was pretty beat by then but had planned to meet a friend at the Denver Botanic Gardens for a free day. I debated staying home and resting, but decided to go. I'm so glad I did -- the weather was perfect and the younger boys had a fun time.

That evening Scott and I took Aiden out for his birthday dinner at Chili's. Then they helped me grocery shop. That's another task that's getting difficult for me. But we've still got to eat. =)

Saturday brought a much-needed day of relaxation and fun. A friend and I spent the whole day scrapbooking. I'm still hopelessly behind in my scrapbooks, but will keep plugging along. Maybe one day when I'm a grandmother I can get caught up??

Here's hoping for a bit slower week coming up.

April

In the interest of keeping up with our activities, I'm hoping to at least get one p0st a month on here. Just to prove to future generations that we did not disappear off the face of the earth. =)

So let's see what happened in April:

The 1st was the season opener for the Rockies. We are huge fans so that's always a fun day for us. I made baseball-themed food for dinner: hot dogs, peanuts, etc. and we watched The Sandlot as our family movie. Chase bought a ticket for one of the home games and attended with 2 of his youth leaders from church.

On the 2nd, Brenna turned 12. We only do big parties for ages 1, 5, 10 and either 15 or 16. With such a big family it's really too much to have a party for each kid each year. On the other years, the birthday child gets to pick out his meals for the day and usually opens his presents throughout the day. We used to do a family meal out at a restaurant, but with so many of the children no longer eating kids meals, that isn't an option anymore. So this year we decided the birthday child will still get a meal out, but only with mom and dad. That gives them time alone with us, too.

So Brenna picked doughnuts for breakfast and Wingman wings for lunch. We waited until Saturday for her dinner and went to Red Robin. It was really nice to be able to visit with just her. She has become such a sweet and mature young woman; and a pleasure to be around.

Conner has been working approx. 2 days a week with his dad. This earns him spending money, which he uses for new bowling equipment, activities with friends and which he'll need next month for gas and insurance once he gets his driver's license! He is eagerly anticipating that. I am, too, as it will significantly cut down on my chauffering time. He is a good, conscientious driver so we're not TOO worried about him being on his own. =)

Chase made the decision to not continue with Boy Scouts. Instead, he is also trying out bowling. Conner gave him one of his bowling balls and we had it re-drilled for him. He started bowling in a junior league and will start some tournaments probably in the fall. He also is still doing archery a couple times a month. Both boys and Brenna have stayed very active in our church's youth group.

Aiden has been taking a karate class and the last week of April, he passed the test to receive his yellow belt. He was so excited! We just found out the classes will continue through the summer so he is thrilled about that. Brenna has decided she might try it out also. Aiden has also been participating in flag football at our Rec. Center as well as swimming lessons. Cub Scouts is wrapping up for the summer, so we are trying to keep him busy.

Zane and Declan attend a music class every Tuesday that they love. That is coming to an end, though, so I'll be looking at library programs for the summer.

Scott is busy at work and volunteers in the 2nd & 3rd grade room at church. I somehow ended up with 3 different bible studies this spring, but each was unique and filled a definite need. I met so many neat ladies! Only one continues through the summer and I think that will be enough as the baby will be here soon. I have about 4 1/2 weeks to go according to the doctor. But my babies are notoriously a week or so late. I'm doing well, just getting uncomfortable, but I'm trying to savor these last few weeks of what will most likely be my final pregnancy.

I can't believe I've done this 7 times! That's a total of 70 months I've been pregnant. And yet, it doesn't feel that way. I have been blessed to have fairly easy pregnancies and absolutely love some aspects, like feeling their little hiccups almost nightly, while I hate other aspects: namely, heartburn. That has been the bane of each of my pregnancies!

Whew, this was long but I feel more caught up now. Onward to May!