Well sometimes something has to give and lately it's been this Blog. Matthew has been hounding me to post something for sometime. I was a little busy getting ready for Disney World and Halloween and then I came home to a broken computer. I have lots I wanted to share but it's just not the same without my pictures which I don't have easy access to at the moment.
The kids have been busy with school and all their other activities. The 3 younger girls are loving their dance classes and thanks to the Lego catalog I can now at least picture what it is that Rebecca does every Friday at Robotics club. We had teacher conferences the week before our trip and both girls are doing well in school. They both struggle with the same concept (spelling/ sight words) which I'm thinking must be a genetic thing. Both teachers are perfect fits for each of the girls and we feel like we've hit the teacher jack pot since we moved to this school district.
Prior to our trip I got the idea to make outfits for the girls to wear to Disney. So, much to Matthew's delight after 2 lonely years I finally pulled out the sewing machine. I've been having lots of fun with it. So far I've made each of the girls a dress for Disney and a Halloween dress and a vampire cape for Elliott. My next project is scrubs for the kids and Christmas gifts.
Papa completed the Play House and the kids are loving. Matthew has decided it's not bright enough in there so has been digging up the yard and laying cable so that it will have electricity.
Our trip to Disney was fun and exhausting. The twins had a hard time sleeping and it made for far more tantrums than we expected. Despite that we had a good time. Some of the highlights were probably getting to see the twins ride their first roller coaster, Rebecca overcoming her fears and being more adventurous in her rides (she actually road Everest), Kendall meeting Tigger and bouncing with him, having dinner with Matthew's friends, and meeting up with some of my online friends. We stayed in the Fort Wilderness cabins and we loved it. I would love to go back there for a week and spend half the time just at the campground and half the time in the parks. In fact someone told me that they've even stayed at the campgrounds and not even gone into the parks. It really was a great place to stay.
A couple of funny things. My brother Benjamin let us borrow his TomTom (GPS) for the trip. Well the kids didn't know what to think of it and Dakotta would start to argue with it. The TomTom would say "Turn Right" and she would retort "We already turned right." Then one day we got of the boat launch at the Magic Kingdom and Corinna says "Turn left and then turn left" just like the TomTom.
Also, the automatic flushers were quite the issue. Corinna and Dakotta caught on quickly that you have to hold your hand over the sensor. So we'd walk into the stall and they'd take turns holding the sensor for each other. Kendall on the other hand didn't trust them with this most important job and insisted that I was the only one responsible enough to cover the sensor for her.
Elliott got to spend the weekend with his cousins and Uncle Stephen and Aunt Shelene. He seemed to have a great time and came home barking whenever he sees a picture of an animal. And he even got to sing in church with them during the Primary program. His sisters were not happy with us for leaving him home but I think he had a great time and am pretty sure Matthew and I couldn't have handled all 5 of them without some help. I'm sure they will be sure to let Elliott know that they all begged mom and dad to take them but we were the mean ogres that didn't bring him to Disney.
Well maybe someday I'll have my computer working and will be able to update with some of the hundreds of pictures I've taken this month.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Some Odd Tuesday Update
Here's what's up with with the Hive:
Matthew is working as hard as always. When he's not working or keeping up with his fantasy football leagues he's been making plans to implement phase 2 of the backyard landscaping project. If if his estimations are correct we'll be getting twice as much dirt this go round. So if anyone likes a good mud fight give us a call.
As for me I'm living for Tuesdays thesee days. It's when I get to leave the house for 4 hours without any kids!!! The babysitter, Sara, is great and sometimes even manages to get a little housework done while I'm gone. In the past 6 weeks since she's started, I've gotten my hair done, (way overdue) started reading again, become obsessive about saving money at the grocery store, and even started a craft project. I'm also teaching the Sunbeams (3-4 class) at church. I think the Bishopric thought they were being clever when they asked me to teach that class but I'm not sure the fact that I will have 2 kids in that class come the first of the year is just a coincidence.
Rebecca got a job. Well technically I think it's an internship since she's not getting paid. Her teacher told them at the beginning of the year that anyone wanting a class job would need to apply and be interviewed for the position. Rebecca was worried because she wanted the secretary position but so did most the class. She filled out her application and had to get a letter of recommendation. The teacher's husband interviewed her and said she seemed perfect for the job. She came home beaming the day she got the news. I just hope she still has energy for her organizing projects at home after a hard days work.
Kendall is enjoying 2nd grade. Her exuberance kind of made for a rocky start to the year but her teacher is great and they came up with some helpful ways to remind her to stay on track. She's worked hard the past few weeks and ended up getting the Blue Bear award for her class for her effort. She also got a perfect score on her very first spelling test which is quite remarkable considering a family history of pour spellars.
Corinna is now daytime toilet trained and will even sometimes wake up dry in the mornings. She insists on wearing her "pretty panties" the minute she gets up. She loves being a big girl and is always volunteering to be mommy and daddy's helper. She continues to be bossy and we are working on toning her down a bit. She's also quite girly and gets upset when her curly hair dries because she prefers it long.
Dakotta has also been making progress in the toilet training, she's been wearing panties mostly with an occasional accident but I'm planing on how to spend the extra diaper money once they're completely trained. I've decided that Dakotta will either be an architect or a pro wrestler when she grows up. She can spend hours with the Legos, in the sand box or any other type of building project (cardboard boxes, couch cushions, canned vegetables). When she's not doing that she's bulldozing her family members. Apparently the 9 months of abuse she inflicted on Corinna is a lifetime addiction.
And as much as I hate to admit it Elliott is starting to be quite the little boy. He's really learning a lot of words lately and it's funny to me how much of a gender leaning there is (ball, car, (ba)nana, cracker, cookie, more, milk). Yes the boy likes to eat. There are nights that he out eats all of his sisters. I hacked his hair off yesterday but luckily his natural good looks make up for the botched hairdo. And one of the bonuses of me teaching the Sunbeams is that he got to start in the church nursery early. The teacher says he's doing really well but then a room full of other kids and toys strewn around, some singing and snacks isn't that different than home.
Matthew is working as hard as always. When he's not working or keeping up with his fantasy football leagues he's been making plans to implement phase 2 of the backyard landscaping project. If if his estimations are correct we'll be getting twice as much dirt this go round. So if anyone likes a good mud fight give us a call.
As for me I'm living for Tuesdays thesee days. It's when I get to leave the house for 4 hours without any kids!!! The babysitter, Sara, is great and sometimes even manages to get a little housework done while I'm gone. In the past 6 weeks since she's started, I've gotten my hair done, (way overdue) started reading again, become obsessive about saving money at the grocery store, and even started a craft project. I'm also teaching the Sunbeams (3-4 class) at church. I think the Bishopric thought they were being clever when they asked me to teach that class but I'm not sure the fact that I will have 2 kids in that class come the first of the year is just a coincidence.
Rebecca got a job. Well technically I think it's an internship since she's not getting paid. Her teacher told them at the beginning of the year that anyone wanting a class job would need to apply and be interviewed for the position. Rebecca was worried because she wanted the secretary position but so did most the class. She filled out her application and had to get a letter of recommendation. The teacher's husband interviewed her and said she seemed perfect for the job. She came home beaming the day she got the news. I just hope she still has energy for her organizing projects at home after a hard days work.
Kendall is enjoying 2nd grade. Her exuberance kind of made for a rocky start to the year but her teacher is great and they came up with some helpful ways to remind her to stay on track. She's worked hard the past few weeks and ended up getting the Blue Bear award for her class for her effort. She also got a perfect score on her very first spelling test which is quite remarkable considering a family history of pour spellars.
Corinna is now daytime toilet trained and will even sometimes wake up dry in the mornings. She insists on wearing her "pretty panties" the minute she gets up. She loves being a big girl and is always volunteering to be mommy and daddy's helper. She continues to be bossy and we are working on toning her down a bit. She's also quite girly and gets upset when her curly hair dries because she prefers it long.
Dakotta has also been making progress in the toilet training, she's been wearing panties mostly with an occasional accident but I'm planing on how to spend the extra diaper money once they're completely trained. I've decided that Dakotta will either be an architect or a pro wrestler when she grows up. She can spend hours with the Legos, in the sand box or any other type of building project (cardboard boxes, couch cushions, canned vegetables). When she's not doing that she's bulldozing her family members. Apparently the 9 months of abuse she inflicted on Corinna is a lifetime addiction.
And as much as I hate to admit it Elliott is starting to be quite the little boy. He's really learning a lot of words lately and it's funny to me how much of a gender leaning there is (ball, car, (ba)nana, cracker, cookie, more, milk). Yes the boy likes to eat. There are nights that he out eats all of his sisters. I hacked his hair off yesterday but luckily his natural good looks make up for the botched hairdo. And one of the bonuses of me teaching the Sunbeams is that he got to start in the church nursery early. The teacher says he's doing really well but then a room full of other kids and toys strewn around, some singing and snacks isn't that different than home.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
A Walk in the Woods
Since Saturday was such a beautiful day and the girls were getting ready to head back to school we decided to go do something fun. We ended up just a few miles from our house below the Buford Dam and took a hike on one of the trails by the Chatahoochee River. We had taken the kids on a hike on the West side of the River a few weeks ago so this time we decided to try the East side. Corinna and Dakotta were funny because they would yell "Bear" and start running. And one point Dakotta said. "Whew! We made it past the grumpy bear!" On the return trip Rebecca said she though a particular mound of dirt was what they thought was the bear. Then when we stopped on a bridge for a rest Corinna started to do arabesques using the bridge railing as a barre. She looked like a little ballerina with her hair pulled back and dressed all in pink. Rebecca dubbed her, "The Hiking Ballerina." Towards the end Rebecca was offering piggy back rides to her sisters. At first Dakotta took advantage of the offer but when she was rested Kendall decided to hop on. About that time I decided to let Elliott walk himself. He didn't understand the concept of a trail and would immediately walk right off the path. It was funny to watch him climb all sorts of obstacles just to do it HIS way instead of what everyone else was doing. When we got back to the dam the were getting ready to release water so we hydrated ourselves and headed home.
Hair Today... Gone Tomorrow
So part of our back to school preparations included getting hair cuts for Rebecca and Kendall. Both had enough that we should be able to donate. They have both donated to Locks of Love in the past but this time we've decided to give it to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths. Kendall cut off 9 inches and Rebecca's was so thick they put her's in 2 pony tails and cut 11 inches.
My House is a Circus
So the other day while my mom was visiting I was going through some old premie clothes for my brother Stepehen's foster baby. While I was looking through bags of old clothes I came across a little lion costume. I commented that it was cute but that Elliott would probably be too big for it by Halloween. Apparently Rebecca tackled him and put it on him and the next thing I know all the kids were scrounging through the dress up clothes for circus costumes.
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