More AR Awards

I keep thinking I'm not going to post these each month, but then someone hits a milestone and I need to. :) Capps got one today!!! And Mollee finally got to 100 points!
And Daegan got a special t-shirt because he made it to 200 points.
His goal is to beat Lexi.

*Sniff*

Mac got this in the mail today from his Dolly Parton Book Club.
It has been five great years of free books!

Home Show Fun

My last entry was labeled "Home Show Madness", today "Home Show Fun" - feel free to exchange those titles as needed.

I had the crazy idea this morning to take the kids to see what Daddy has been up to lately - of course that all stems from not wanting to be stuck at home all day without back-up. I read in the paper that they would have kid activities from 11-5, so I went for it. And it did not disappoint.

Star Wars characters were walking around everywhere. And the booth for home entertainment centers was playing Star Wars VI in surround sound.
A Tuscan Raider (we all voted his costume as the best). The kids all got a yard stick (imagine trying to herd five kids through crowds while they are holding a yard stick....) and a EPB hard hat.

A balloon man was making a hundred balloon characters an hour.
My aliens with their aliensAnd just when we had bugged Daddy a few times, eaten candy at every booth and thought we were heading home, we passed a booth doing free glitter tatoos. They were advertising for birthday parties.

Tavis got an orange dragon, Daegan got a black skull with red flame hair (sorry Grandma), Mac got a blue bat, Capps got a Red/Orange snake dragon and Mollee got a blue fairy. The sign said they last a week - we will be the judge of that!
So when I do these crazy things, by the end I'm thinking, "Was this a good idea?" :) Everyone had fun and I am glad we went. The hardest part was getting back to the car. Crossing busy downtown streets with five kids, while the boys were swinging yardsticks and holding onto balloons that were trying to blow away and everyone on a sugar high.....

Yeah, it was a good idea! Another great family fun outing!

Home Show Madness

Jason decided to participate in the Home Show this year. Many carpenters say they get an entire years worth of work at the show. So, all week, Jason and his business partner, Kevin, have been working on getting everything ready. You want to have a booth that represents your business, so they built a little deck/pergola area with a stone fireplace.

I wasn't sure I was going to get to go, but I ended up getting to surprise him and show up today before picking the kids up from school. He was so excited I got to come by and I think they did a great job!Jason called me about 5:30 today and told me they absolutely underestimated the number of business cards they would need. The first of three days wasn't even over yet and they had already handed out over 300.

Apparently, you can order business cards from Staples and pick them up in a few hours. So, I ordered 1,000. Then I took the boys (Mollee is at a friend's house) to get a Redbox movie, then I let the them pick out a treat for movie night. From there we headed to get some pizza for dinner and we were going to swing by and get the business cards on the way home.

The business card cutter was given them grief and it took WAY longer than expected. We went and sat in the van and ate our pizza, and our treats and walked around the store for a long time. Then we just parked it and waited.

By the time we got home it was after 8:00, so the boys didn't get to watch their movie. Everyone was a good sport, because they were so excited that Daddy needed more cards. Plus, Jason thought he was going to have to go pick them up tomorrow morning before he headed back to the show and we picked them up for him as a surprise.

24 hours to refresh

Jason and I were given a hotel stay at the Chattanooga Choo Choo for our 15th Anniversary in October. We hadn't used it and when I realized it expired at the end of February, we decided to go this Sunday since the kids had no school Monday (it would be a lot more work for Grandma to get kids ready for school then to just have them spend the night and play).

So, after our family Sunday lunch, we talked to Ruth and Gary (which we try to do each Sunday), helped clean up lunch and then headed home to pack. Note to self: don't pack without normal lists. I forgot my contact solution/glasses, toothpaste (thankfully had mouthwash), socks, and a few other things....

For Christmas, Jason's brother and sister-in-law gave us a Chattanooga Gift Card, which we were able to use for our meals, which was awesome! It was nice to get away, especially with no charges to us. I am not the kind to go without the kids for too long, but 24 hours was a perfect amount of time.

We checked in early and then headed downtown for a late dinner at Lupi's Pizza. I couldn't convince Jason to take advantage of the heated pool, but we did enjoy cable T.V. and were able to see some movies we've wanted to see.

This morning, Monday, we were able to be lazy, something I don't do well. There was no pitter-patter of feet up and down the hall (maybe a barking dog that I don't want to talk about) and there was no one I needed to get breakfast for. I was able to get an uniterrupted bath and Jason got to sleep in (mostly). I am so bad at sleeping in that I got antsy, but a pot coffee in the room was my peace offering getting up too early.

We walked around the shops at the Choo Choo, bought a trinket for our trip and then headed back downtown to eat lunch at Sticky Fingers. From my seat I could see a new frozen yogurt shop that I decided to save room for. So, after lunch I convinced Jason to walk down to Top It Off Frozen Yogurt.

Then we headed to pick up the kids.

And *poof*, back to reality!!!

Mima's Funeral

Mima's funeral was today, Saturday. Jason went to the viewing by himself, but he didn't want me to bring the kids. He didn't want them to have people saying to them, "I'm so sorry..." and that stress them out. I took them to the graveside service, and they handled it fairly well.
It is a beautiful cemetary.

Maybe she will take a bottle?

It has been a couple of weeks, and today Mia finally took 3 oz from a bottle. Hoping she is changing her mind about bottles.

*fingers crossed*

Thoughts of Heaven

With the passing of Mima, the kids wanted to discuss Heaven at dinner. What a great, wonderful discussion to have with them.

So, we asked, who do you want to meet when you get to Heaven?:

Mollee immediately said Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (which we quickly informed her to say Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah) and ask them about the being in the fire, but not burning.

Tavis said Granddaddy Caines (which made me teary) because he has heard such good things about him. I cannot wait for Jason to meet him also!

Daegan doesn't handle saddness or stress very well and he listened to our discussion but did not join in, which is fine.

Capps said Jesus!

and Mac said, "I can't wait to get there to see if Capps makes it". Do not ask me where that came from because I have absolutely no idea - even questioned myself putting this in print.

Jason is very anxious to meet C. S. Lewis, and maybe even smoke a pipe with him.

And I always long for the day to meet our first child that we lost.

Mima's things

Jason's Mima and Granddaddy moved here to be closer to family over 10 years ago. Granddaddy passed away about eight years ago.

Mima moved in with Jason's parents about a year ago because of failing health. Up until then, she was very independent. She loved to cook and she was very spunky. In October, she turned 100! As Jason's Mom has slowly been cleaning out Mima's house, we got a few pieces of furniture.

Not sure where to put them yet, but I love them! These two chairs:
This couch is really designed for an entrance area, but our entrance area is a little slim. This is Jason's favorite item from the house.

And this beautiful chair that I am proud to put in my living room.
Last night, Mima passed away. We haven't told the children yet, but the funeral will probably be Saturday.

She will be greatly missed!

The extent of our Valentines

When the kids did their class Valentines I made them all do one for Daddy, so we could put them in his lunchbox. Thankfully, I think it was Capps' idea, they all did one for me too.

And I've left this in the shower for Jason when he gets home.

Maybe he'll bring me a card? Maybe not?

Cherishing my time

I've been feeling like I'm in a whirlwind lately. I've delayed, maybe emotionally as well as physically, getting Mac registered for kindergarten. They have assesment tests in January and again in April. Because of my delay, we are scheduled for April.

Someone asked me the other day, "Is Mac going to kindergarten or are you holding him back too?" Then it hit me, like a ton of bricks, Jason and I held back the other boys and haven't even discussed it for Mac's sake. Why? Because he turned five and we just registered him and we are both a little stressed these days.

So, I don't really have an answer for that question. We will do the assesment and go from there. Honestly, it will have to be Jason's call. I don't want him to go just yet, so my emotions might hinder that decision.

Over Christmas, my Aunt Candy and I were talking about life and fast it goes and how stressed things can get. When I said something about my job and being so busy and Mac going to kindergarten, she said, "Cherish your time you have at home with him, once he is off to school (whether it be this year or the next), you won't get that time back."

So, that is what I'm trying to do (starting now). Each week, I'm going to try to have a date with Mac. Not to spoil him, but to not let paperwork and a dirty house get in the way of what might be the last three months I have of just him and me.

Today we went to the mall playground, we haven't been there since they remodeled, and he was thrilled!
We also went and had his picture made, something I've been wanting to do for many, many months. I really wanted to get his 4-year old picture made before he turned 5, but I didn't make it.

The pictures are precious and I'm so excited I finally got them done. I've tried not to buy any special prints (collages) of the kids because if I got it for one, I'd feel bad if I didn't have the money the next time for another. But I couldn't resist this time.

He's my last one, I'm allowed. Right?

If you came to my house today, you might see

A snowflake hanging on the key rackSchool Projects on the wall (trying to hide the 1970's radio/intercom system that doesn't work)
AR Reading awards on the cabinet doors
A helium balloon and sticky hand stuck in the high ceiling of the stairwell
A never ending laundry pile
Toothbrushes never in their cup
Monkey Grass that needs to be cut back
Random ball in the bushes
A bat and big sticks in the grass
An empty birdfeeder
and some chalk on the bricks at the front door

And if you come to my house in the following months and those things are still visible, love me anyway!

My office today...

Carnival 2012

Today was the carnival at school. We let the kids have their tickets and go free a little more this year, so I don't have a lot of pictures, but this is what I do have.
Waiting to get in the bouncy house.
Mollee checking out basketball, mostly because Emma was the ticket-taker.
My two left-handed shot gun shooters.
And Daegan went to jail with cousin, Ezra.
This is how my purse looks now.
Things seemed a lot more organized and enjoyable today. The kids got to play games, I got cotton candy and Jason got some yummy hot dogs.

Jason and I also enjoyed smirking at all the girls that squealed and waved when Capps walked by.

Watching them grow..

I love finding Capps reading to Mac. Just because he can.

Organized Illness

When you have multiple kids sick, sometimes it is hard to keep track of who took what when.

We've had a rough time with sickness the past few weeks. Three of the boys are on antibiotics. They are each on different antibiotics that are taken different times a day. Plus, I'm trying to keep them on probiotics, which are taken at a separate time so it doesn't interfere with antibiotic absorption. Thankfully, we aren't dealing with fever, because the tylenol/advil juggle really adds to the confusion. So, I've decided to 'dot' my kitchen calendar. It may be hard to see, but there are dots on the date boxes. Each kid has a color for everything in the house. I've dotted the date each time they take their meds and then I don't have to question who took what when.

Just hoping the kids keep away from the calendar and don't erase any dots.....

and I still have to remember if I've taken my own medication.