• Apr. 14, 2009
A Long Overdue Post

A lot has been going on since I posted last.  I can't believe it has been over a month.  I can promise there will be a lot of pics on this post.

We got moved on March 14th to my brother-in-law's house after a grueling 8 hours and not a lot of help.  The help we thought we had secured didn't show up so that made it take longer.  By the time we got it all moved, we were all exhausted and fell into bed.  It also meant that only June Bug, Legs and I went to church on Sunday and I left Little Man and Little Red home with daddy for much needed sleep. 

After church, we spent the whole day at the old house picking up little things and J started the deep cleaning.  The kids got to spend their last day there riding their bikes and using sidewalk chalk on the driveway.  When it was finally time to take the kids home, I told them to come say good-bye to the house (especially their rooms).  It was very emotional!  Little Red was crying before she got to her room and Little Man was pouting pretty hard.  I didn't see much reaction from Legs.  I even cried and once I saw the kids' reactions, it was even worse for me.  I think I even saw a tear or two from J while he was consoling Little Red.

On Monday, J took Legs with him back to the old house to finish the deep cleaning.  She loved having her daddy to herself and didn't mind helping with the cleaning.  At one point, J had been working in our old bedroom and bathroom and hadn't heard or seen Legs in awhile so he went in search of her and found her in her old bedroom with red eyes.  It was apparent that she had been crying which indicates that the move was harder on her than we thought.  I think that she is most disappointed that she won't have her own room.  I think the realization that the move was really hard on the kids hit J head-on when he saw our strong child (who hardly lets anything bother her) emotional.

March 16-20 was Spring Break for the local schools so that means that a lot of our regular activities were also on break.  Legs still had her regular gym practice this week and Little Man had one day of baseball practice.

On Wednesday, I got to take a MUCH needed "me" day.  I took all the kids to a friend's house who is like a grandma to them and loves my kids like her own.  Then I got to spend the late morning/early afternoon getting my hair highlighted and trim and my nails done.  After I was all beautified, I met three precious friends for a late lunch at Olive Garden.  That was SO yummy and much needed for my spirit.  After lunch, I ran a few quick errands to Walmart and Dollar Tree to pick up stuff for Easter Baskets.  By the time I was done, I was ready to see my precious children and I was back in a good frame of mind.

On Saturday, Little Red got to go to a birthday party for a dear friend from church.  This friend moved out of state last May but they had a party here at McDonald's since she had so many friends that she wanted to see.  I took all the kids with me and while the older two played and ate out by the playground, June Bug, Little Red and I stayed around the party area and visited with the other kids and parents.  It was great to see the four best friends from church together again.  We worked on unpacking this week also.

March 23rd-29th brought back our regular schedule minus Legs' monthly Girls Group meeting.  Legs had FAITH on Monday and gym practice only twice this week.  Little Man had his gym class on Thursday morning and baseball practice on Tuesday and Thursday.  Little Red had her dance class on Tuesday and June Bug had her first OPAT visit on Tuesday.  Around all of this we continued to work on our unpacking which was a slower process than I would have liked.  I finished up the week by leading a VBS meeting for class directors in the group I am in charge of.

On the 27th, I turned 36 and we went out to dinner at Olive Garden with J's dad.  We are so blessed that he paid for everything and I got money to spend on myself to boot.  After dinner, we stopped at Target and Payless to get the kids shoes for Easter/spring and Little Man's some slacks to wear on Easter.  I got two cute shirts at Target.  I still haven't found what I want to spend the rest of the money on.

Saturday, the 28th brought about 6-10 inches of snow in blizzard form to OK.  It was strange to see this much snow and in the spring nontheless.  The kids had a great time but I was only out in it long enough to get some pics and video.  I hate the cold so I used June Bug as my excuse to get back in the house since I didn't want her out in it for too long.  I just want everyone to know I did NOT order that snowstorm for my birthday.  It was all melted by late afternoon on Sunday.

March 30th-April 5th brought another week of regular schedule for us plus we started the baseball games.  The first game was supposed to be on Tuesday but because of rain & melting snow it was canceled which caused Little Man to be depressed the rest of the day.  He was more than excited to play his first game on Friday.  I was bummed that I had to work and miss the first game but J, his sister and brother-in-law and my parents were all there so he had his own rooting section.  It is reported that he did good and had a great time.

That Tuesday I had had enough looking at boxes that were not unpacked so I pulled an all-nighter and got all of the kitchen, office and dining room unpacked and put away.  I feel a little more normalcy.  Now onto the living room and bedrooms.

Saturday was Legs' Sectionals meet in Claremore.  The girls did their best but it was a stiff competition, especially in Legs' age group.  They were all 11 years old and some of them were making 9.75s and 9.825s on the bars and beam.  All I can say is, "Oh my gosh!".  All five of our girls qualified for State in May and our team took 5th Place overall.

Sunday was quite busy.  I had to take a breakfast casserole to church to help show appreciation to our Preschool Sunday School teachers.  Then after church we had been invited to a friend's house for Easter dinner and egg hunt.  It was very yummy food but a very cold egg hunt.  June Bug had help from her daddy and loved taking the eggs in and out of her basket.  Little Man found the 2nd most out of all the kids and won $3 cash.  He would probably have won but I stopped him from hunting so the other kids could have a chance to find some.  That evening I went to a friend's house for some fun ladies fellowship.  We had planned on playing Bunco but plans changed and we just had a good time of talking and sharing.  I am so blessed to be surrounded by Christian women.

Last week brought more of the same activities.  We even got more school work done than we had been doing in the last month since now we can find all of what we need to work.  More practice for everyone and two baseball games for Little Man.  Monday night's game was bitterly cold but Little Man played pitcher and threw out more than 3 runners at first.  He may have found the position for now.  J got to go play basketball with the men from our Sunday School class on Thursday evening.  He came home with the realization that he is getting older and the fellowships that the men have not involving lots of physical activitiy is more his speed. Hee hee.

We hosted our annual Easter family dinner on Saturday with my parents and J's dad in attendance.  We started out the day in Owasso for an Egg Drop.  A local church sponsored it and they had 10,000 eggs dropped from an helicopter for the kids to run and collect.  The kids were divided into age groups and wore arm bands that matched the flags on each of the four fields.  June Bug started first and Legs' got to help her collect a few eggs.  Then we ran down to the other three fields so as not to miss the other two get thier eggs.  Little Red's age group went first and had to wait on the helicopter to come drop eggs on her field.  After the helicopter dropped the eggs, it was a free for all and most of the kids got eggs.  Then they repeated that two more times for Little Man's age group and Legs' age group.  My kids didn't get too many eggs and Little Man was disappointed that he didn't get one of the Chick-Fil-A parachutes but we all did get a sunburn (oops, I didn't even think about sunblock) and my parents were there to share in the fun of the day.

We got back home where the kids decorated the 40 eggs I had boiled earlier in the week while my mom and I started on Easter dinner and J and dad went to get the playhouse moved over from the old house.  We had beautiful weather and good food.  It was all yummy and the small group was perfect for our celebration.  We ended the day with another egg hunt here at home where the kids had more than enough eggs to hunt.  June Bug had more help from her daddy and really got into it this time.  She was hollering and pointing to each egg she wanted to pick up so J would carry her to each one, lower her down to the ground and wait patiently for June Bug to grasp each one in her tiny hands.

Watching the snow fall with bubby.

June Bug touching snow for the first time.

Little Red making a snowball to throw at Legs.

Little Man is catching snow on his tounge.

Posing for mommy before she brought the baby into the warm house

After they played in the snow for over an hour, they were very wet and cold.  I made them strip off the wet clothes in the laundry room and as you can tell, Little Man was none too happy that mom was getting a picture.

With our move, we were given a newer recliner and we had to make the decision to get rid of our old one.  We had had it over 11 years and all four kids had been nursed and rocked in that chair.  I have pics of Legs' cuddling with J and I in that chair for the first time so I took pics of June Bug cuddling for the last time.  I think getting rid of the chair was more emotional for me than the actual move.

We had told the kids that once we got settled in the new house and starting making memories, it would feel more like home.  Little Man made his first memory on the first Monday.  J took the training wheels off his bike and away he went.




Since we have moved, June Bug has really started enjoying her baths and trys to climb in while we are running the water.  She has also starting imitating Little Red washing her body.

And the new recliner seems to be a great souce for naps with Sissy.

April 2009 Slideshow

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• Mar. 12, 2009
Funny YouTube from Tim Hawkins

I came across this YouTube earlier and it is perfect for our family, especially Little Red.  Chick-fil-a IS her favorite restaurant.

I Love Chick-fil-a

While you are at YouTube, you need to check out more from Tim Hawkins.  He is very funny.

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• Mar. 9, 2009
Our Week Mar 2nd-Mar 8th

Monday was Legs' 11th birthday.  She woke up to her bedroom door decorated with streamers.  We also took her to her choice of Wendy's for a birthday lunch.  She got another present from us that had a book light, a really cute shirt and HSM shower gel and shampoo.  While we were eating lunch, June Bug figured out how to use mommy's straw to get a drink.

We came back to brother-in-law's house after lunch to work on more packing.  Until the carpet is cleaned and dry I am not letting the baby on the floor so she has been hanging out in her stroller and watching all the action.  She does take her nap there when needed.  This is how I found her asleep on Monday afternoon.
 
Later that evening, J and Legs went to FAITH at church.  Little Man had his first day of baseball practice for the season.  They had practice inside the local church gym because it was a little chilly outside. 
Tuesday brought more packing and cleaning before and after Little Red's dance practice.  The last few weeks we have been able to go into the class and watch their routines.  This week I remembered to bring the camera.
Legs also had gymnastics practice for four hours.

Legs had to be up and ready to go by 7:20.  This was the day they were going to work in BizTown.  Legs was a file clerk at Bank of Oklahoma.  Each student had their own checkbooks and had to make deposits in their accounts, pay bills and got the opportunity to "shop" at Walmart and eat at Arby's.  Some of Legs' friends had other positions such as a property manager, audit manager at Walmart and CFO of Walmart.  The people that worked at Flintco had to spend their day acutally constructing a bench for the town.  I wish I could have been there to see the fun but with 3 little ones and the impending move, it just wasn't possible.

The rest of us spent the whole day Wednesday at brother-in-law's house except for a break for lunch.  We were there for so long and I was so exhausted that we didn't make it to church that night which was disappointing to Little Man because church was serving Goulash for dinner which he loves.  Later that evening, June Bug, Legs and I made a trip to Walmart for much needed groceries.

Thursday started at the gym so I could work and Little Man had his gymnastics class.  We went to bil's house to meet the carpet guys in hopes that they could stretch out the few little bubbles  Then onto Little Man's baseball practice and Legs gymnastics practice.  It is a good thing that Legs is old enough that I feel comfortable leaving her at practice and coming back to pick her up.  I did have the camera with me so I got some cute pics during baseball practice that evening.
Later that evening, June Bug found the stairs and tried to climb the first step.
Friday, I let the kids have a lazy morning since they had been on the go all week.  We did go to Chick-fil-a for lunch.  We had our receipt from Feb. 26th so we got all of the food for free and all I had to pay for was Legs' lunch since she wasn't with us on the 26th.  Then we turned in two fo the kids' meals toys for free ice cream, showed proof of Leg's and my birthday for free milkshakes and then paid for a 3rd ice cream so we all had dessert.  I think lunch and dessert cost me a total of $4 for the five of us.  Then we ran over to the church to prep my classroom for Sunday.  On the way back to bil's house, we stopped at the gym for about an hour so I could put in some work in the office and get the gym caught up on posted payments,etc.  Back to bil's house for final work before Saturday's meet and moving day.  Here is a pic of June Bug after going to sleep.
Saturday we had to be up bright and early (not sure how bright we were) to be at a gymnastics meet in Bartlesville.  It was not a very good meet for our girls.  They struggled on the bars and floor.  Legs didn't place at all but did get a participation tropy.  June Bug did fall asleep in J's arms during the meet.
When we got back, we left my mom with Legs and June Bug at the current house while dad, Little Man, Little Red, J and I went over to bil's house to load all his stuff for storage.  It was basically a four-hour ordeal to pack, move and unload it all into a storage unit.  Little Man and Little Red were great helpers and were filthy but had a great time.

Mom said while we were gone June Bug stood outside of her walker and was pushing it all around the house.  When she finally settled down, it didn't take her five minutes to go to sleep and she took a three and half hour nap.  Whew!  She was tired! 

Church on Sunday morning, lunch at home and then off to bil's to vaccum, dust and clean before the carpet cleaners come on Monday.  I got all of the master bedroom cleaned along with the closet.  I also got the master bathroom scrubbed down.  I finsihed up with cleaning and vaccuming the laundry room, dining room/office and then Legs wanted to help by doing the living room for me.  That was a nice break.  While the kids and I were at the house, J was off playing paintball with my best friend's son and his football team.  Z had never played before and his dad was out-of-town, so Uncle J stepped in.  J loves paintball so he was in his zone and he had his and his brother's paintball guns so J and Z had better aim and distance than anyone they were playing.  It was a great time for them!  I think J has Z hooked on paintball now.
Here is what the kids were doing while I worked in the master bedroom on Sunday, watching movies on the portable dvd players.

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• Mar. 1, 2009
Week in Review Jan. 23rd - Mar. 1st

Monday brought Girls Group and FAITH for Legs.  At Girls Group they did some jump roping
and collected can food goods for a local food bank.

While Legs and J were at FAITH, Little Man, Little Red, June Bug and I went to Chick-fil-A to get our dinner.  We are now saving that receipt and will be able to go back on another day to get the exact meal for free.

Wednesday brought in some VERY nice weather.  That morning I had Legs unload the dishwasher and June Bug thought she needed to help.  Too cute!
Thursday brought in another day of beautiful weather and Legs' final day of BizTown class.  Another homeschooling mom has been such a blessing to our family and offered to take Legs to class and bring her home each week.  I got of picture of Legs studying her FAITH book while waiting on her ride.
The weather was so nice I sent Little Man and Little Red outside to play all afternoon while I worked on packing.  I had all the windows opened and I put June Bug in her excerciser in front of the window.  She loved the breeze!  She also enjoyed watching the other two run around outside and they would take the time out to come talk to her at the window.  I caught Little Man once.
Friday, J decided that he would take the three oldest with him to his office so I could go shopping for Legs' birthday present from Papa.  It was so nice to have a couple of hours almost to myself (just had June Bug) that I forgot for a small time that I had to be at work at 4 but I got there.

Saturday was a baseball meeting for Little Man.  Practice starts on Monday so off to Academy we went to get new cleats.  I think everyone and their dog was on the cleat isle at the store.  Little Man is very proud of his new shoes and can't wait until Monday.  While in the big town, we stopped at Babies R Us so I could find a new binky holder that June Bug can't unhook and we found one.  Yeah!

Sunday we had a family birthday party for Legs her at the house.
June Bug was making my sil nervous while eating a cookie.
Legs got a new leo and HSM3 dvd from us.
My sil & bil got Legs a cute shirt and pants set.  The shirt says, "It is a Girl's World.  We just let boys live in it."  Perfect!
Papa got her lots of clothes but this shirt says, "Gymnast Rock Star"
My parents got Legs a very tiny pink MP3 player, a pink, fuzzy saucer chair and two monkeys.  One of the monkeys was a Webkinz chimpanzee and she has already named it Zee.

I wasn't ready to light 11 candles.  I tried to convince Legs that we only needed to light 10 of them but she wouldn't go for that.
Of course, June Bug had to share cake and ice cream with Grandma.

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• Feb. 23, 2009
Yeah! Free Food!

I don't know about you but I love when I don't have to cook and clean up three meals a day.  I love to plan eating out into our schedule when finances allow.  This week brings us two opportunities to get food for free.

Today was Repeat Receipt at Chick-fil-a in the next town over.  Today, only, you could buy your meal and then keep your receipt.  Then any day in March bring back your receipt and receive the exact same meal for FREE up to $25.  I was so excited because the kids and I frequent Chick-fil-a quite often for lunch.  In fact it is Little Red's favorite restaurant.  Anyways, Legs had Girls Group from 3:30-5:30 and then onto to the church for FAITH.  Legs gets to eat dinner during FAITH so I knew I would drop her off and then off to dinner with the other three kids.  It was packed inside which wasn't indicated in the parking lot.  We were met with lots of noise, lines and no available high chairs.  Luckily, we didn't have to wait long to place our order.  While we were ordering, a table came avaialable and while we were waiting for our food a high chair opened up.  Anyways, the kids and I enjoyed our dinner of chicken, fries, and fruit.  I can't wait to go back in March and get our meal again and all it will cost me is to add Legs' food choice.

Tomorrow is FREE Pancake Day at IHOP.  Every person will get a FREE shortstack (3 pancakes) from 7am to 10pm.  The website says that they will be asking for donations to the charity that they support.  I plan on taking the kids around 11:00 for an early lunch before Little Red's dance class.  For the cost of a small donation and our drinks we will all have a full tummy and a yummy lunch.

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• Feb. 23, 2009
Week in Review Feb. 15-21

This week was pretty typical for us around here.  Here is what it looks like for us...

Monday...we stay home at all costs; Legs & J go to FAITH in the evenings
Tuesday...Little Red has dance class from 12:30-1:30; Legs has gymnastics practice from 4-8
Wednesday...Usually stay at home until time for dinner at church; the kids also go to their classes while I help with check-in in the Children's Dept
Thursday...I work from 9:30-11:30 at the gym while Little Man has his gymnastics class for an hour; Legs has been attending BizTown classes from 2-3:30 (catching a ride with another family which has been a blessing); Legs has gymnastics practice from 4-8
Friday...Usually errands day with might include drs appointments, shopping, bill drop-off and a visit to the church to prep my room for Sunday

We also try to add in a library trip once a week.  This year we have been struggling with finding one that meets our needs/schedule.  Before this year we had been attending a storytime in a town 10 miles from our house on Thursday mornings.  It was perfect for Little Red because we both loved the librarian that did the group time and provided a related craft.  While Little Red and I participated in group time, Legs and Little Man got to use the computers to get on Webkinz or Playhouse Disney for an hour.  Now that I am working on Thursday mornings, we have not been able to attend this much-loved storytime.  We tried the storytime at our local library around the corner but it is on Tuesday afternoon which makes us rush after dance class, it is during June Bug's naptime and then we have to rush to get Legs to practice on time.  We have tried two other ones.  One is in another town about 15 minutes away on Tuesday mornings with enough time after to get lunch before dance class.  This librarian didn't seem to have much interaction with the kids in the group and she seem to rush through the reading of the books.  The other one is set-up for local homeschoolers and they read one or two chapters from older child's book as well as picture books and then have a related craft.  This one probably fits us best but it is during June Bug's naptime and I really like to stay home on Wednesday until church time.  We may attend this one until the end of the school year and then see what next year brings.  I may not work Thursday mornings and we will be able to go back to our treasured library.

We ended the week with a trip to Wichita for the Land of Oz Meet.  Legs had to be there at 11:15 Saturday morning so we opted to stay at a hotel the night before.  The kids know that we only let them bounce on a bed at a hotel so Little Man and Little Red had their socks and shoes off before we all got in the room.  It was a really nice hotel and room.  We stayed at the Comfort Suites Airport in Wichita and I highly recommend it.  The kids and J also got to swim for awhile in the indoor pool before bedtime.  The meet itself was not one of our better ones.  Our girls only placed on the beam with one of them getting 1st, one getting 7th and Legs getting 6th.

Hotel pool pics...

Bouning on the hotel bed...

A very pouty Little Red before the meet got started.

I found Little Man asleep one night this week with the headlamp on his head.

One day this week Little Man and June Bug played together in the laundry basket with some balls from various toys of June Bug's.

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• Feb. 17, 2009
A Week In Review

We had quite a busy week last week with a birthday, work and Valentine's Day and a gymnastics meet.  Sunday the 8th was June Bug's party day with family and friends.
The cake was made by a local lady.  This is exactly what my cake looked like at June Bug's baby shower.  It was so cute and very delicious!
Opening presents with bubby and sissies.
Enjoying her slice of the cake.  It looks like June Bug is saying "shhh" but really she was getting the cake off of her finger.  No wasting of food for June Bug.

I had to work a lot of extra hours at Legs' gym this week because of coworkers needing to being gone and we also hosted a two-day TAG Meet.  That usually means a little less fun at home but we still managed to fit in some tea parties and dress-up time around school work.
Every time June Bug went to pour her tea pot, she would tip her head to the side.
Little Man and Little Red joined June Bug in her tea party.
My little astronaut.
My little princess.

Wednesday brought June Bug's actual birthday, a Valentine Bowling Party and dinner out in honor of the birthday girl.
Decorating Valentine Boxes...Legs had lots of High School Musical and Zach Efron, Little Man had Nascar drivers Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr and Little Red used a lot of pink.
Enjoying bowling.  My kids LOVE this sport!  June Bug just relaxed and enjoyed watching everyone bowl.  We met other homeschooling friends at the alley and we exchanged Valentine's and ate many sweet things.

Wednesday night we went with J to deliver a computer to a client in the big town and then onto Cracker Barrel for dinner with the birthday girl.
June Bug's reaction to sitting in her car seat for the first time after it was turned around to face the front. 
J and Little Red while J was talking to his aunt about a computer/internet service problem.
Mommy and June Bug smiling for the camera.  Legs isn't too bad of a photographer.
June Bug enjoyed finding clothes inside her present.
A fun and musical mailbox.  June Bug really like opening and closing the mailbox.

We ended the week at a meet on Saturday evening.  Our Level 5 team took 3rd at the meet but their all-around scores weren't their best.  Lots of little details to be worked on before the next meet.

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• Jan. 22, 2009
3-Way Chili...I never knew

I guess I have never had 3-Way Chili.  The kids and I usually eat dinner at church on Wednesdays before their classes begin.  This is a way to "eat out" very inexpensively and still get a good meal.  Plus, the kids enjoy eating with their friends and loving on other members of our church family. 

Anyways, last night the church served 3-Way Chili and to my surprise it is made with noodles.  I made a comment in the serving line that I had never had chili with noodles before and another member looked at me like I had three heads and said that's 3-Way Chili.  Who knew?

The kids and I really enjoyed it, more so me than them and of course their favorite part of the meal is the dessert.  Last night it was homemade sundaes.  Mmmmm!

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• Jan. 20, 2009
Inauguration Day

Today, January 20, 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as our 44th president.  I personally had to miss the parade and ceremony due to other commitments but I hear that it was nice and obviously a moment in history that will affect our country and world.

Whether you are a Obama supporter or not, I ask that you pray for the president and his family as they adjust to the life of scrutiny and no privacy all the while trying to change things for America.

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• Jan. 13, 2009
New Law is VERY Confusing

There is a new law that goes into affect Feb. 10, 2009 and I personally think that it was not thought through before it was signed.  I have been doing my own research to figure out exactly what will be affected and the more I read, the more I see that most other Americans are confused as well.  Anything that children age 12 and under may come in contact with is affected...clothes, shoes, toys, bikes, books, etc.  Major retailers, resale shops, Goodwill, Salvation Army, small mom & pop shops, online designers, and even libraries will be affected by this law.  The way the law is written, you could even be fined and/or jailed for giving away stuff to friends and family or selling it at a garage sale.   All products deemed hazardous will be have to be thrown away and so it will end up in our landfills.

If you would like to do some of your own research, click on any of the following links.  Remember some of these links are other opinions and not fact so consider that while you read and make your own decisions about whether you feel led to contact your senators and representatives.

sixthcolumn.typepad.com/duckwalls/2009/01/the-new-law-hr-4040-will-affect-children-more-adversely-than-it-will-protect-because-of-unintended-c.html

www.homeschoolblogger.com/eclecticeducation/

www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/

www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6627969.html

nationalbankruptcyday.com/

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