Little Miss Miyagi

Avery is a very, very talented girl.  When my sister got married a year and a half ago Avery was only four.  I was cutting ribbons a certain length for the favors and of course, "Can I help?"  So I let Avery help.  

She cut 250 feet of pink ribbon into perfect 4.5 inch lengths.  And it only took one show of "Barbie Rapunzel."  I'm sure that this violates some child labor law, but I swear this girl is the next Martha Stewart.  Now, Avery is not all girly.  Yes, she put jeans on under her dress the other day and found a matching purse so she could dress like "Sharpay" from HSM3.  And yes, she is very observant of who is wearing what, does it match and "How does she do her hair like that?"  But she also has a very quick side to her which I think she learned from Mr. Miyagi. Avery can catch flies.  With her bare hands.  While I would never choose to do this, I'm very proud of her.  She came up to me the other day with this little guy buzzing in her fingers.  "I caught him!  They have to be next to the window, that's how I catch them easy."  She has to chase them "around and around around round a round round a round" with her fingers for a while before she can get them, but get them she does!

Miller Dawg

We (the kids and I) love Miller, despite his horse-like legs and bowling ball qualities of mowing the children over constantly.  Yesterday I was looking at the dog and thinking, "Wow.  Since when did he start looking like shag carpet from my Grandma's basement?"  Being a licensed barber I thought I'd whip my clippers out and fix him up a little bit.  Anna and Jeff volunteered to help.  We drug the dog outside, grabbed the clippers and decided to start somewhere that wouldn't be very visible.  Within 2 seconds my clippers were stuck.  His fur was so thick and tangled I couldn't get through it.  "Bummer!" Anna said.  "But since you have the clippers and stuff out, can you cut mine and Jeff's hair?"  

Paul came home right as Jeff was almost done.  He surveyed the situation.  "So the dog, Jeff and Anna get haircuts before I do?"

Three haircuts later Miller still looked awful, especially now that he has a bald spot on his side from where I tried to cut his hair.  Since I love him (Paul and Miller are not on speaking terms since the "cable" incident) we're going to spend more money getting him groomed than I have ever spent on my own hair.  I will post before and after pictures this coming Tuesday... oh how exciting! 

Dumb dog.

I have never been alone in my house....

We have lived in our house for 10 years, alomost 11. Above picture is the only one I have of our house and it happens to be the day after hurricane Ike! About 5 years ago I realized I had NEVER been alone in my house without a child here with me. So I started paying attention to make sure I was correct in my assumption. I mean, I have been here with a kids sleeping or kids playing in the backyard, so it seemed like I was alone. Or with a newborn, while my husband took the other kids so I had some quiet. But I have never actually been alone in my house with NO ONE but me. In December one Saturday my bigger kids were at friends houses and my husband was going Christmas shopping, I had a bunch of housework to do so my hubby decided to take the 4 littlest with him. It was 5 minutes later that I realized I WAS ALONE IN MY HOUSE!!! FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!! I cranked the radio, texted a friend to tell her the news and wished I had something better to do than laundry to celebrate the moment....   Twenty-five minutes later my husband was home with a sleepy baby whose diaper had exploded as he walked into Target. So I cleaned up the baby and put him to bed, husband left with the other kids for a second try, and I am still daydreaming about my 25 minute home alone experience.

Scholastic Mommy Blogger Award!

I don't blog often.  I just barely started this.  In fact, I think the only people who read this blog are my family (thanks Mom!) and Kelly (thanks Kelly!).  Imagine my surprise this morning when I received an email from the editor in chief (hi Mr. Nick!) of Scholastic.  I didn't even know what to do-I thought it was spam (sorry Mr. Nick).  

So in case you don't understand what an honor this is, I was nominated for the Mommy Blogger award with about 500 other contestants.  The editors picked their favorite ten blogs and are letting the readers vote for the favorite five to be published in Scholastic Parents magazine. 

I am so flattered and thankful for the nomination and that people are interested in the fun our family has!  I had started this blog to be a journal for my kids so they can remember the cute things they do.  I can't wait to share more stories, come back and visit!!! 

And if you don't vote I'll send Rush over to your house to pull all the books off the shelves!!! 

"What are those?"

Yesterday Anna I took the three little ones and went to run a few errands. Aunt Anna came with us, and of course as soon as we got out of the car Storie Bean said "Pick me up!!! Pick me up!" So Anna was carrying her into the store when Bean pointed to her chest and said, "What are these?" I thought we were going to die laughing and then Anna shot me a look like, "Say something! She's your kid!" So I smiled, and before I could respond Bean asked, "Where'd you get them?" We started laughing harder (but to ourselves so she wouldn't be sad...) and I finally was able to get out, "Some people buy them." Anna followed up with, "Yeah, you can buy them." Bean looked at her chest again thoughtfully, "They're too big for me."

Oh kids say the darndest things.

Lemonade Stand

How could you not stop by this stand and get some lemonade from these four little girls?  You can't!  They're too cute.  We decided that it was finally time to dejunk the garage this Saturday, and while we were cleaning we had quite a few people stop and start "shopping around" what they thought was a garage sale.  Guess we had a lot of crap.
So the girls thought they'd do a lemonade stand, it's the traditional activity when Mom and Dad are cleaning the garage or having a sale.  It's perfect for two reasons: 

1.  It kept them occupied and 

2.  It kept them occupied.

Paige and Emma busied themselves getting the tables and chairs, Aunt Anna made the lemonade and I made the sign.  Soon they were out to make their first dollar.  It was so funny to watch them interact with their guests.  All in a five minute period, this is what was going on:

Emma looked like an air traffic controller waving cars in to park so they could get lemonade

Paige was doing a butt swinging dance and then pointing to the sign 

Avery was waving like Miss Texas

And Storie was licking all the straws (and putting them back) and drinking all the lemonade.

As the show went on, Storie became even more helpful-adding straws (the licked ones) to drinks, taking a sip and announcing, "Is good!!"  

I know what business I'm going into next, lemonade stands.  They made $26!!! 

Mardi Gras Parade

Last Saturday I thought we'd enjoy the Mardi Gras Parade in Galveston-even if it there was an 80% chance of rain.  So I grabbed Anna (who thought it'd be smart to bring Miller) and we headed to Galveston!  Tucker, Paul and Jeff stayed home.  Boy, they missed out.  Look how much fun Miller was having!

He loved the car ride.....

and sitting on Emma! 

The parade itself was super exciting!  We had a really good spot up front that we'd staked out before the parade started.  Of course, once it started a large group of young teenage girls decided that getting beads for themselves was more important that the little kids they were shoving out of the way.  Every time a float came by they ran in front of us!! We were SO mad!  They even took beads out of Avery's hands and ripped a cup out of Emma's.  It was crazy.  Fortunately there were enough beads to go around... and everyone else noticed them acting like that ... so we came home with more than we needed.  But still-how rude!

I was proud that our family saluted the flag!  Aren't they my little patriots!

How'd we get the rain to stop?  I bought 7 umbrellas from the dollar store.  That's how.  You come prepared and it takes the fun away from Mother Nature.  It rained the whole way home though-and all morning before the parade started.

Miller went nuts playing in the sand!  He loved it!  Good thing Shadow stayed at home or he would have thought it was the worlds best litter box.
"Hey Mister! Throw me some beads!" This wasn't even all the loot they scored!  They kept giving me the beads to hold so they could get more.  Thank you Mardi Gras!  
So maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to bring Miller.  He helped hold the necklaces, AND he was a huge hit!  Everyone wanted to pet him.  He was a mini celebrity out there.  The collar probably helped! 
Well-the parade was a success!! The kids fell asleep on the way home and Emma was very excited to hang out with the wet dog!
Paige had to help poor Rush hold his bottle up.  He would start to fall asleep and then knock it out of his mouth.. which would then wake him up... then he'd start to fall asleep.. etc...etc... 
So there ya have it!  The best way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon!  Not cuddled up with a blanket and a book, but a two hour drive in the rain with a wet dog!  

Tips for traveling with 6 kids....

When you plan on being in the car for a 19 hour trip one way you must do the following... 

- Pack everything you THINK you might need and see if your husband can fit it all in.

- Always bring very messy snacks, like sticky candy and powdered donuts.

- Never underestimate how often a 3 year old needs to pee, and never try to call her bluff.

- Pack the diapers and wipes together in the bottom of a suitcase and pack it first so it is hardest to get out. 

- #1 thing to do, forget your glasses so your husband has to do the ENTIRE drive by himself while you play on the laptop.

Tips for getting a hotel with 8 people. 

- There is a reason they charge $39.99 a room. Fork out the extra $20 for the $59.99 and you might get clean towels. 

- Always say, "It's just my wife and kids" they never could imagine you forgot to tell them about the "other" 4 kids that will be sharing the room also. 

- Get 2 queens not 1 king. The king only invites ALL the kids to sleep with you.

- Bring sleeping bags and make the big kids use those.

- Lay all 4 girls the wrong way on the bed... you can only fit 2 the correct way but if you pack them in like sardines you only have to bring in 2 sleeping bags. Hey, their small, and they still think it is fun to be uncomfortable all night.

- NEVER let the baby play with the remote. This is a hotel/motel you never know what channels they have.  The 1 year old might flip to something COMPLETELY inappropriate with all the kids watching while Mom is in the bathroom and Dad is cleaning out the car.... They also charge you for the remote when it magically disappears and you can't return it to the front.

One of these things is not like the other!

This could be a textbook example of the differences between boys and girls!!! Rush tearing it up and Abby using her fork!

Rush had a Birthday!!

Tradition says, You must give a baby an entire chocolate cake and see what happens... Rush was not shy! He handled it like a pro!

Paige's Birthday!

Paige had a great party! She got lots of cool gifts, the best being Heely's from Grandma and Grandpa!  I can hardly believe she is seven now.  She is getting to be such a beautiful girl, smart and so fun to be around.  We really are so proud of her! 

Acorn Squash (Paul's Favorite Side Dish)

This is our favorite way to prepare acorn squash. It is sooooo good on a cold night and goes with anything! 

Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. The end that has the tip or pointy part (technical term!) I cut off so that they sit flat. Cover a baking sheet with foil.  Set the squash on the tray, add a slice of butter, 1T or so of brown sugar and a piece of bacon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 375 for about 30 min. Or until the yellow flesh seems soft and pulls apart with a  fork. For some reason it won't let me add the finished picture... but they are beautiful when cooked. The kids will even love these and they are so easy! Enjoy!

Fall World Series

Tucker's Cardinals team went to the fall World Series. They were the team to beat. It was the best baseball game I have ever seen. Tucker is the catcher and is so quick to the ball, it is rare that anything gets by him. At this age there is still pitch count rules so both teams had to pull out their best pitchers in the bottom of the 5th so they can't throw too many pitches. Going into the 6th inning it was tied 0-0. We held them in the top of the 6th, our best base runner, who also had a broken wrist, made it to 2nd. Since the 4th inning people had been stopping to watch the game from other teams. It was really intense. Our pitcher came up to bat, and hit a walk-off home run!! It was so well hit, the ball went over the fence and hit the scoreboard. I can't even describe the stands reaction, I was hoarse from screaming for days, it was the first sporting even that I have ever cried at! Way to go Tucker and the Cardinals!

My New Hobby...

So I have this new "hobby" It's called saving money. A friend taught me how to coupon... the right way. I now have shelves of products in the garage, we call it my stock pile. If there was ever a tooth paste shortage, don't you worry I have enough for everyone! The above pictures are a few of my hauls. Paul is worried I am going to be arrested at some point for legally robbing CVS and Walgreens! I didn't spend more than $21 out of my pocket for ALL the items in ALL 4 pictures. I saved over $400. I learned a lot from a few web sites, mostly moneysavingmom.com and thecentsiblesawyer.blogspot.com. Oh yea, and I do buy about 6 papers a week. I might be crazy and you might think it is a waste of time, but I am saving about $600 a month on groceries, diapers and toiletries. So you all laugh, but when I am on the beach in Maui, paid for by my coupon savings...

I'm Growing Up!!

If you happen to be around a certain three year old and she utters those words it could get dangerous. Storie always says, "I'm growing up!" when she has to burp. I think that started because she thought she had to "throw up" one time, but discombobulated the words. Anyway, there was one time when she kept telling me she had to "grow up" in the grocery store.  I kept telling her "go ahead but not too fast..." Well, she turned her head and "grew up" all over Paige in one of those cool three seater kid grocery carts.  Paul and I pulled it off really well. We acted like nothing happened and managed to clean it up in front of 100 other shoppers that had no idea anyone just "grew up." Anyway tonight when we were eating dinner she was arguing about whether or not her steak was chicken and whether or not she could have ketchup on it... she scrunched her little body up and down and told us "I'm trying to grow up!" She didn't "grow up" or anything but it was hysterical.