blah...blah...blah

When Daegan was about 1 1/2 he started talking and I don't think he has taken a breathe since. I'm a little worried for his kindergarten teacher next year. He just talks and talks and talks. I actually am a little amazed by it sometimes (Jason is not amused). When Mollee was little she had a lot of cute phrases and I always said I should write them down, then Daegan came along and is always saying things that crack me up. I said the same thing about writing things down, but it never happened. Now I have 'blog world', maybe I'll do better.

Here are two things he said today that made me smile:

We were discussing college and if you had to go or not, how old you were when you went, did you have to live away from home, etc. Then, after much pondering, Daegan declared that he wanted to go to college and he wanted to study to be a Daddy.

Every night at bedtime I, jokinly (cough, cough) say, "And now it is time for my favorite time of the day - bedtime!" The kids don't always think it is too funny, but tonight before I could say anything, Daegan said, "And now it is time for my worst favorite time of the day!"

What a nut!

Jason turns 35!

Today my wonderful husband turned 35. Do you remember when 35 seemed old? OK, those of you older than 35 probably think it is young. Jason's response to that question is: it isn't old, but it isn't the years that matter, it's the miles.

I love to make a big deal in our home about birthdays - especially for Daddy. The kids love it also and get very excited about the preparation. Today we got steaks for dinner (thanks to Bilo for such a good sale), a Happy Birthday helium balloon and 35 regular balloons for his 35 years and Tavis and Daegan made birthday posters (hanging in the background, Tavis' had Star Wars Clones and Daegan's was just 'swirl decor'). I don't know know why I thought blowing up 35 balloons would be easy, but I did succeed -eventually. After the birthday party the kids played a game to see how many balloons they could pop by sitting on them. Therefore, no more balloons are left - all my hard work for a little bit of enjoyment. :)

For the sixth (or seventh?) year in a row Mollee has gotten Jason a coffee cup. I think at this point Daddy would be disappointed if she didn't get him one.Daegan and Mac got him handkerchiefs (because he needed them) and

Tavis and Capps got him "Fat Pants" (aka Pajama Pants, another story for another day on the new and improved title) with D.C. comic superheroes all over them. As you can see in the picture, Tavis was very proud of this gift.

Fun was had by all. I think we succeeded in making Daddy feel special. Now we are getting ready for another day.....kids are getting baths.....PJs are getting on....clothes are being laid out for the next day....8:00 is almost here!!!

The Weekend

The kids had Friday off due to a "Reading Day", but I'm ashamed to say there wasn't a lot of reading going on. Mollee did read a few chapters and worked on a Reptile report that is due Thursday so it wasn't all a flop. I decided to brave a slumber party (do you call it that for boys?) for Tavis and friends on Thursday night. Tavis' two buddies, Chase and Noah, came and spent the night. I was proud to be the first house for each of them to spend the night at. The boys played great together and never had any disagreements that I know of. I took everyone to McDonald's for lunch on Friday - I didn't know if we really could afford it, but I wanted it to be a treat and came out spending only $15 for seven kids and adult (I took Capri Suns and they all had to share a large fry). I was pleased with this 'savings' - although, Jason always reminds me you can't save money by spending. Ugh! So true!

Friday night we celebrated Jason's birthday with Jason's family.

Saturday we were supposed to go to a Parenting Conference, but we had to miss due to the fact that Jason needed to work. For five months we have been anxious for work and now he has something that the builder wants done ASAP!

Sunday, today, we celebrated Jason's birthday (one more day until the real deal) with my family. After Mac's nap we ventured home and enjoyed the end of the NASCAR Talladega race(yes, enjoyed except that Kyle Busch was in the lead and got 'bumped' and wrecked near the end of the race and then that same thing happend to Carl Edwards with 1/8 lap to go).

Now the kids are ready for bed and watching America's Funniest Videos, Jason is playing Xbox and I'm getting on the treadmill - it will make me feel better about all the cake and pie and steak and spaghetti I've eaten this weekend. :)

Goodbye Weekend, Happy Monday Ahead!

Before and After Photos

For those of you who read my "It's just a number....Right?" (Moriah, you'll have to show how to add the link to this) blog entry, don't worry this isn't a before and after photo of me. I've done aerobics for two days now but I don't see a huge difference yet. :)

This is for those who saw Daegan on Sunday morning. His hair was slightly out-of-control. I thought it was cute, Jason thought is was ridiculous (that I thought it was cute), and I'm sure my mom didn't approve. My boys are getting a little more opinionated about their hair and have desired to keep it a little longer. Tonight they lost their say in it and everyone got their head shaved. Unfortunately, Mac (who has only had two minor haircuts) also was included in the 'Shaving Extravaganza'.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Now Mac is really one of the boys! Sorry for those who already had enough trouble telling our boys apart.

In hindsight, Mommy isn't sure it was such a good idea? My Baby!!!!

Chapel by the 1st Grade

This morning Tavis' class was responsible for leading chapel for the Elementary School. This year each class has had a different person to present for their chapel. Today was John Wesley. Tavis had a few narrating parts.Mollee was also getting a Super Reader certificate today (it was nice to kill two birds with one stone by being there)

And here was the Mollee and Tavis cheering section:

Hungry Hippos for One!

My boys have been asking to get the Hungry Hippos Game out and I finally said yes (I'm not a fan of the balls everywhere, plus the heads are usually in random places). I just came downstairs and they only had one hippo head. When I questioned what they were doing they said they could only find one and they were taking turns playing. I'm not sure how that works?????

At least they are taking turns!!!

Nine lollipops please!

When we got pregnant with #5 and felt that our mini-van would be too crowded, we looked at a 12-passenger van as the next option. At the time we thought there would be more than the five kiddos, but now we are happy with our family of seven and we love our van (except when gas prices are $4/gallon). Today, it was my turn to carpool. On top of picking up my sisters two school kids, I also had two of her other boys. On the way home I had to run by the bank and in the drive-thru the lady asked how many lollipops I needed. Before I could say none not nine the kids were yelling excitedly about what flavor they hoped to get. Here is a shot of my almost full van, we had room for one more kid!!

And here is a 'just for fun' photo of my youngest monkey eating a banana, I think he was trying to imitate his Grandpa's eyes or something????

Mollee survived the Allergist/Asthma Specialist

Mollee had to have a full allergy panel done and a few different asthma tests. We were at the Dr's office from 8:30-12:45. She has no allergies, but she does have mild asthma. She wanted proof of her bravery. Lower arms got 49 pricks and her upper arm got 24 shots.

The Puzzle from H-E-double hockey sticks!

I assume if Camille can post about puzzles, so can I. :)

Jason and I enjoy puzzles. Every once in awhile we take a hiatus from all T.V., start a puzzle and enjoy a week or two of evenings hanging out together working on a puzzle instead of in front of the T.V.

Well, our most recent puzzle has been anything but enjoyable (ok, the time together has been nice). The pieces are so bizarre that we thought it would make it easier to do, but it was the exact opposite. Let me give you a sample of a few pieces:

Whenever we were looking for this last one I said, look for a "Shrek" piece.

It has been sitting on our table a few months and now it is finally done:

So if you have some spare time on your hand and are looking for a challenge, you can borrow my Harley! Come on, Camille - want to give it a try?

Procrastination = Dizzy = Xbox

I have allergies. Because of some major issues last year I had another allergy test done last Fall. The doctor wanted me to come back in March so we could discuss a plan of attack before we got into the allergy season. Have I gone yet? Of course not! I have procrastinated and on Friday I had such sinus pressure that I was too dizzy to walk to the bathroom (this wasn't the first time it has happened!). I took some dizzy medicine (not the technical term) and I'm feeling a lot better now. To keep the boys distracted and not needing too much, Daddy set up the Xbox for them and this is what I came down to later that morning:Of course, Mac wanted to be included. Even though his controller wasn't connected, he thought he was playing.....

....and he thought he was cool.

I'm going to see the allergist tomorrow! :)

Happy Easter!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Celebration. Ours started with a wonderful time of worship, followed by lots of family time and pictures. I am very anal about getting certain pictures every Easter.

Of course, the kids:

Jason with Mollee:

Gretchen and the Boys:

A Family Photo:

Mommy trying to convince Capps it is ok to smile :)

Mac with best cousin buddy Ezra:

Gretchen with sisters, Heather and Ruth:

Resurrection Egg Hunt

Today at church they had a Resurrection Egg Hunt. It begins with a breakfast, then they read the Resurrection Egg Story, which the kids love and ends up with an Egg Hunt. They have four different fields for different age groups. The high schoolers help out with the different fields and fun is had by all. Here are my kids afterwards.

It's just a number....Right?

I've always struggled a little with my weight - never the skinny girl in high school! :) But the number on the scale has never bothered me. Actually, I didn't own a scale until a couple of months ago. I'm not the type to weigh myself each morning, which is probably why so much extra weight has slipped up on me over time. A year after Capps (#4) was born I got my butt into gear and lost a lot of weight. I did an hour of aerobics six days a week and went out for a walk in the evening when I could. I'm not a dieter, I like food and can get moody when I have to eat a certain schedule of food. But, when I hit a plateau of weight-loss I went on the South Beach diet and got within 5 lbs. from my goal weight. Then I got pregnant. This wasn't a bad thing, we were trying, but I was sure I would continue with my healthier lifestyle and keep things under control. Unfortunately, this was my worst pregnancy. I was very sick, lots of migraines, no energy and by the end of it I had gained 65 lbs (some of my other pregnancies I had only gained 15 or 20 lbs - maybe because I was overweight when I started?). Well, my baby just turned 2 and I still haven't gotten my butt in gear and I'm not far from my "day of birth" weight. Why do I post this all? Maybe it will be good motivation. I saved my pennies for almost a year and bought a treadmill. I'm about to go get on it. It is just a number on the scale to me (right?), but now I am motivated to get that number a lot lower, maybe I can post once a month on my progress and I'll be more motivated to have good news. OK, here I go. Really I'm getting on the treadmill. No more distractions!

Stimulus Check

Last year when everyone received $300 for each person in their household, we were shorted by one kid. Our Stimulus Statement said we were getting $ for 4 kids. I tried to figure out if there was a way to remedy this, but was unable to get an answers. So I was just happy with what we got.

Tax season for us gets a little trickier each year. Jason has his own business, I have Mary Kay and this past year added Greta's Beads. I love numbers and probably would have been an accountant if I had finished school, but in my 'mommy world' I don't keep up with all the new laws. Therefore, we have an accountant do our taxes (for 3 years now). When I mentioned to him the Stimulus Check shortage he said he would check on it. To make a long story short, I was on the phone with the IRS for almost an hour yesterday. When I got done I was trying to explain to Daegan how the government gave us $300 for each kid to help us out and try to get us to spend money, etc. His eyes got as big as saucers and he said, very excitedly, "I'm getting $300!!!"

I hated to break his little heart, but, "No"

.....the IRS said they'd fix the problem, but I won't hold my breath!

Kindergarten Round Up

Last Friday (this is a few days late) was the Kindergarten Round Up at CCS. They invite the enrolled kindergarteners to come in for an afternoon and listen to a story, do a craft, eat a snack and enjoy the playground. Daegan is so excited to head to school next year that he can hardly stand it, therefore, he was very excited about going to school for a half day. They even got a t-shirt and a hat. Here he is with Mollee and Tavis after school:Cousin, Isaiah was also there: