student/teacher

Whit got a new frog potty so he can start working on getting out of diapers. Brett has been "coaching him on how to use it. Whit loves to sit on it and carry it around but would rather pee on the floor! Oh well, he will "get it" some day.

Hadley's 2nd grade celebration

Hadley's class had a little celebration to end the year. They read some poems and got to show us some of their work. The highlight was the published autobiography that they wrote and illustrated.

Belated Birthday

Carson and her kitchen "helper"

the spread

our friendly servers

Mom looking dreadful thanks to another sleepless night!

Since my birthday fell in the middle of a CRAZY week we celebrated over the weekend. Carson and Reese worked hard on a yummy Sunday morning breakfast that we all enjoyed. The menu consisted of chocolate chip scones, fruit, strawberry pastry and doughnuts! There goes the diet for another day!

Soccer finale

Carson and Reese had their last game and finished the season undefeated again! It was their last season together on the same team because they are both moving on to select soccer teams where they will be playing on different teams. I am sure it will be fun but they will miss not playing together and I will miss having to go to only 1 game instead of 2!

Brett's last game

Brett had his last game and that game is always his favorite because he gets his TROPHY!!! He had fun despite the fact that his team wasn't very good. At his age there are still a few kids who are more interested in picking daisies than actually playing soccer! Carson and Reese were once again asst. coaches- they helped keep the kids focused while they were on the bench and assisted with any cleats that needed re-tying (very important)!

Love/Hate

Brett and Hadley have a love/hate thing going on these days. One minute they are playing nicely, like in the photos above, and the next minute they are beating the jam out of one another or calling each other names. I try to stay out of it as much as possible and sometimes I just laugh because they get so annoyed over the dumbest things like someone singing the wrong lyrics to a song or sitting to close to the other one on the sofa. But the next thing you know they are snuggled into bed together reading stories or playing a game. I enjoy the love moments much more but I guess you have to take the good with the bad!

Sandy toes, Swings and Slides

Baby toes in the sand

Super B and Super W

Peek-a-boo

Hadley

Just some pics of our typical day. We spend A LOT of time outside. Whit has discovered how to swing on his belly and he and Brett pretend they are "SUPER B" and "SUPER W" and swing like they are flying. We also do lots of digging in the sand and playing on the swing set. 

Last day of Preschool

Brett and Whit had their last day of school for the year. They both had a great time at preschool and had the best teachers. Not only was it Brett's last day for the year but also his last day as a preschooler! BOO-HOO! In the fall he will be a BIG kid heading off to kindergarten. He is not too thrilled with the idea and has requested that I sign him up for 3 day kindergarten instead of the standard 5 day program. It would be nice but unfortunately it does not exist! He will be fine and do great but I will miss not having him around as much. 

1 month old

Murphy is now 1 month old. He still doesn't sleep much and is a bit fussy- especially when I am trying to tend to the needs of the other 6 kids but he is pretty cute so I guess we will keep him. Notice the double chin- we are trying hard to fatten him up so he will sleep!

Tennis Finale

Griffin's tennis season ended yesterday. He won his match but his team as a whole lost in their 3rd round playoff match. Griffin had a great season finishing with a 14-3 singles record and he was named to the All-Region team as a freshman! We are very happy for him and proud of all his hard work. Since he is on the all-region team he will play in a singles tournament at the end of the month against the other boys who made the team.

What I have learned from being a Mother

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Me & my kiddos

Ok, so I have been doing this "mother" thing for 15+ years and along the way I have learned a lot- some good, some bad, some useful some useless- but here is a list of somethings my kids have taught me over the years:

1. Shoes are optional-even in winter
2. any day is a good day to go outside
3. schedules are necessary in order to keep your sanity
4. ketchup is a vegetable
5. picky eaters seldom die from hunger or malnutrition
6. popsicles can be served for breakfast
7. where would we be without caffeine?
8. if kids do something bad it doesn't mean they are bad kids or you are a bad parent
9. youth sports are suppose to be FUN!
10. 7 year olds should NOT have cell phones
11. other people's kids can be annoying
12. tv, computers, electronics- necessary evils
13. laundry multiplies like rabbits
14. kids are blind when it comes to messes
15. ALL kids need hearing aids
16. nagging gets you nowhere
17. putting clean kids to bed is heavenly because you know they will stay that way for at least 8 hours
18. boredom is good
19. if you really want to torture yourself- have a sleepover
20. kids can be brutally honest- especially when it comes to counting the wrinkles on your face or your weight
21. grandparents have it made- I can't wait to be one!
22. preteen girls- now I know why some mother's eat their young!
23. teenagers get a bad rap
24. kids need to learn to solve their own disputes unless blood is involved
25. kids need to do their own schoolwork
26. it is great to have friends but not at the expense of family
27. if you wouldn't do it at someone else's house, don't do it at home- jumping on the sofa, standing on the coffee table, burping at the table, saying bad words etc.
28. school fundraisers should be banned
29. MOTHER'S NEVER GET A DAY OFF
30. getting to spend 18+ years raising your kids and making them productive members of society (hopefully)- PRICELESS

"Strawbees"

Gram and Grandpa took Brett and Whit to pick strawberries. Apparently, Brett did all of the picking and Whit did all of the eating. He loves his "strawbees" as he calls them!

1st bath

Murphy got to take his first tub bath once his cord fell off. He had an quite an audience for the grand event and he didn't even make a peep. Oh, the smell of a clean baby-heavenly!!!

"Ability" Cord

Murphy's Belly Button

Murphy finally lost his umbilical cord. The funny thing was that Brett continued to call it an "Ability" cord no matter how many times we told him that it was an umbilical cord. We gave up and we all just started saying "ability" cord. I think it sounds better anyway- kind-of like it has some super power or something like that!

Sprinkler Fun

We got a little sprinkler at the store to cool off on the already very HOT days of spring/summer. It is a good way for the kids to burn off some of that afternoon energy!

3 weeks old

Murphy is 3 weeks old. He still wants to wake up and eat every 3 hours so I am still very sleep deprived but here's hoping it will get better soon. He loves to be held and has started to give a few smiles. He goes through diapers at an alarming rate and goes through at least 3 outfits a day. Thankfully his clothes are small so they haven't added to the 2-3 loads of laundry that I already do each day.

3 little girls/3 little boys- DEJA VU

Carson (4), Reese (2) and Hadley (1month)- 2002

Brett (5), Whit (2) and Murphy (3 weeks)- 2010

Life is funny. I feel like it is "Ground Hogs Day". 7-8 years ago my days were filled with 3 little girls (plus Griffin). There was a lot of pink, princesses, baby dolls, Polly Pockets and "beautiful" dress-up gowns that were worn everywhere. Now, some 8 years later my girls are off at school for a good portion of the day and my days are filled tending to 3 little boys! Lots of dirt, trucks, action figures, tools and balls. How lucky I am to be their MOM!

"Family Fun Night"

Hadley had the idea to have a Family Fun Night. See posted a sign on the bulletin board inviting everyone to come and play games and have snacks. The night started with a game of wiffle ball in the front yard. It was Boys vs. Girls which isn't exactly fair but it was just easiest to divide it that way. Griffin alone could probably beat the girls but with Mom's help we were able to make it respectable. The boys did win but for the most part it was a successful game. After the game we did relays. Not such a good idea. A lot of complaining and a forced end to "Family Fun" by Mom due to all the bickering. Poppy took pity on the offenders and let them come back out to compete in some basketball games and a little trampoline fun before the night was over. I think will try it again but next time while Whit and Murphy are napping to limit the interruptions.

Money

Ok, enough already! Those are my hard-earned dollars flying out of my wallet! I just "LOVE" the end of the school year. It is like Christmas all over again with all of the gifts and end-of year "things" you get hit up for. Here is a breakdown of the monetary requests I have received just this week:

• $20 for tennis coach
• $20 for gymnastics coach
• $10 for 2nd grade teacher gift
• $9 for "special" 4th grade rocket launch
• $30 for preschool teachers (and that doesn't include the other preschool class)
• $20 for 4th grade teacher gift

I think I better start buying some lottery tickets so i can pay for all of these things! 

2 weeks old

Murphy is 2 weeks old. It seems like he has been here longer than 2 weeks and I feel like I have a million diapers in the last 2 weeks. I also feel like I haven't slept in a year and I have the VERY dark circles under my eyes to prove it. Why is it that newborns want to be up and active when everyone else is asleep? Oh well, this to shall pass!