My Mother's Day

On Sunday Myles and Carter woke me up around 9am by bringing me a cup of tea in bed. All the kids came up to give me the cards they had made for me. We went downstairs when Berkleigh announced that breakfast was ready; Bryan had made omelets and hash browns with artichokes -- yummy!
After breakfast I cut Bryan's, Myles', and Carter's hair. We got a little crazy (notice the lightning bolt in Carter's hair below). I made bread dough and went outside while it was rising.

I hung up a load of laundry (all socks and underwear!) that Bryan gathered and put in the machine.


I also mowed a little of the hill, just to mow something on Mother's Day.

I spent a couple of relaxing hours on my birthday/mother's day present from Bryan and the kids:

It was a beautiful day for knitting, of course (what day isn't?!).

I watched Bryan work on finishing our massive playset project.

The kids were so excited about the new cargo net addition that they waited in line instead of playing on the rest of the playset.

The kids and Bryan cleaned up the play yard while I took down the laundry, kneaded the bread dough, and made honey butter (with homemade butter -- more on that another day) to go with the fresh bread. Then it was off to Faye and Jerry's for a turkey dinner. When we got back I mowed the play yard while Bryan gave all four kids baths. We stayed up late watching the Survivor finale, which was a great way to end a really nice day.

Still Catching Up

Last month Chris and Tracy were in town so we went to visit them. The kids had lots of fun playing with Jaxon. He's getting so big, and he's such a cutie.

On Easter, Aunt Stacie gave the girls "jewelry", which they loved (and which prompted them to want to get their ears pierced). Braden loved the jewelry, too, and we all got a kick out of his sense of fashion, although his father didn't appreciate it.

When Carter, Bryan, and I left for Binghamton, Faye came to stay with the other kids and brought Flat Alex with her. Flat Alex is part of a school project for Faye's great nephew who lives in Indiana. Faye took Flat Alex places and kept a journal and photobook to send back to the real Alex. Carter showed him the OM backdrop before we left. Myles, Merlyn, and Berkleigh got to take a field trip to the Eisenhower Lock, and the 45th parallel as well as a sugar shack.

That weekend Faye taught Myles and Merlyn how to waltz together. I'm going to have to take a video of it, because it is really cute to watch.

One night I when I was checking on the kids on my way to bed, I found Berkleigh asleep in her bed with a crown on her head. The crown is from her "My Little Ponies" and it looked so tiny and adorable on her head that I couldn't resist taking a picture.

I found these pictures on the computer and I still have lots on the camera. I'll catch up one of these days. I've been trying to catch up on laundry, too, and it seems like I'll never get to the end of the clothes or the pictures!

Old Pictures

CJ (my longest-attending daycare kid) turned 5 on March 14th. The following weekend I took our four kids and Alison and Aleesa to his birthday party.

I loved the kids lined up according to height waiting to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey. From left to right is Carter, Myles, Aleesa, and Cole, and a little boy I don't know. Notice Myles with his hat over his face!

That night Pat and Annie were in town so we went out for St. Patrick's Day. Annie and I ended up back at her inlaws' house knitting (hooray!) while the guys went to a second bar. The kids were excited to have a babysitter for the first time in a long time. When we got home, this is how I found Merlyn, sleeping surrounded by balloons:

My parents came to visit after a cruise vacation. They brought maracas for the boys and dresses for the girls. When Berkleigh opened her dress, she got all excited and said she was going to put it in her "dress drawer". It was very cute, but surprising that she didn't want to try it on right away. A couple days later, Grandma Faye came over and the first thing the girls said was that they had new dresses from my mom. They ran upstairs and changed into them. The boys got their maracas and provided music while the girls danced. They put the red handkerchief on the floor to collect money while they played. I should have video taped it -- it was quite funny.

Those are the pictures I had on the computer. The rest are still on the camera, so I'll get around to putting them on the computer soon. "Soon", of course, means sometime today or tomorrow so I can continue catching up on blogging!

We're Off to Binghamton

I know, I know -- there's been a complete lack of blogging on my part this week. I've been not only like a single mother, but also having Odyssey of the Mind practices every day. Bryan leaves the house at 6:00am, so I have my kids and the daycare kids for breakfast and getting ready for school. OM lasts until 5:30pm (6:00 on Monday). Bryan usually doesn't get home until after the kids' bedtime. Yesterday he got home at 5:45, while I still had a daycare kid and an OM kid here, and we had to be at the Cub Scout Banquet at 6:00. We didn't get home until after 8pm. Needless to say, it's been crazy.
I've spent the last couple of days getting ready for the weekend, and I'm still not ready. Not only do I have to pack for a weekend away, I also have to pack for the competition. I have lots of different lists so I won't worry that I forgot something. I had to pack up all the costumes, props, etc. and make sure all the paperwork was together. I printed out maps, directions, and schedules for all the parents. I had to fill out forms, make copies of forms, and get checks from the school for the hotel and tournament fees. Some forms the kids need to fill out, others have to go to the registration desk, others have to go to the staging area judges. It's very complicated and time-consuming. On top of all this, I'm trying to get the house cleaned and laundry caught up and some meals put together ahead of time for Faye this weekend. No wonder I'm exhausted!
Here is a picture of the kids getting off the bus for the last OM practice yesterday. Chase is on the left end and Myles is on the right end; the seven kids between them are our team. Plus I had Merlyn, Berkleigh, and CJ waiting with me in the house. 1 adult + 12 kids = pure chaos. We have a good group of kids, though, and I do enjoy them.


Despite everything, I'm really looking forward to the weekend. It'll seem almost like a vacation with just Carter with Bryan and I. I don't remember the last time the adults outnumbered the kids in our family! The whole team is very excited about the trip. I'm going to try to videotape the performance on Saturday. Also, the Awards Ceremony is going to be streamed live online at 6:00 on Saturday night. If you want to watch it and maybe catch a glimpse of us, go to:
www.ws.binghamton.edu/live/
I'll let you know how it goes, and I promise I will catch up on blogging next week. I won't know what to do with myself with no OM practices. Also, I will try to fix the pictures from my last post. It's Bryan's fault (I think) that you can't see them, but he was trying to help so I can't complain. I have some cute pictures from the last couple of weeks.