WHAT A WEEK...to say the least (Pictures)

Well, now that we are back in the swing of things with school starting, things just bumped up a notch. This week marked the beginning of CCD class for the kids as well as the tumbling and jazz dance season. On Tuesday, Shawn returned to work after the holiday weekend and I ran into town to fill prescriptions for Larynn and Logan. Logan's filled just fine, but every pharmacy in town was out of Larynn's ADD meds. For the time being, she is sharing Logan's meds. They are a tad lower of a dose and a bit more expensive but luckily we only pay $12 since we met our deductible for the year. Next year will be another story. On Wednesday, I took the kids to CCD class. The cost is $80.00 to attend classes. I was so fed up because last year, I would ask the kids after class what they had done in class, and the answer always seemed to be "play outside on the jungle equipment." Shit, they can do that at home for FREE! I always learned about the bible, and prayers and various things like that when I was in CCD. I expect that for $80.00, my children are doing the same. So, after Wednesday's class, I asked the same question and after receiving the same "played outside" response, I called and took them out of CCD. I stopped at Bethel Baptist Church where I attend (and so very enjoy) my  mom2 mom group where I had heard of their children's AWANA group that meets every Wednesday night and went and signed them up for that. They start next week! On Thursday, I decided to tear our closet all apart and rebuild shelves and repaint the disaster. Shawn took the kids to tumbling practice for me so I could continue my rebuild and get all the painting done. Our bed was heaped with clothes so I am pretty confident he wanted me to stay home and get finished! Larynn has decided to take 2 tumbling classes and a jazz class this year. Last year she had only been in one tumbling class. Logan has joined this year. We started him this summer and has progressed very quickly! He loves tumbling and talking about dinosaurs while doing so. He minds really well, doesn't talk out of turn, sits and waits his turn does his best, so I think it is doing him alot of good. He will be in Jumpin' J's this year with Larynn as well. Jumpin' J's is the competitive tumbling team at Judy's Dance Studio. I figure Logan might as well join since we have to drag him along to all the meets anyway. He might as well bring home a trophy, too! He will do great. Larynn has moved up from being a Beginner to Advanced Beginner competition level. She is doing really well with tumbling too. At the end of the year review show last year, she got to see all the older girls flip up in the air with no hands, and wants to do the same. That is why she has decided to take double tumbling classes.
Friday I went to the church (Bethel Baptist) and helped a few of the ladies bake cookies for the retreat next weekend in the Quad Cities. I will (gladly) be joining them for this fun-filled weekend of conversation, food, fun and games. Most of all, TIME AWAY!! Brookie missed her afternoon nap as we didn't get done at the church until after 1:00. A few times, I turned around to find her wrapped around her ducks, laying on the kitchen floor! I have posted pics of her being scooped up and rocked by one of the other ladies who had volunteered. Mom was up to her elbows in cookie dough so I couldn't come to her rescue! She's so goofy. She did, however, enjoy taste testing the various kinds of goodies! Rice Krispie treats, scotcharoos, brownie bites, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin...just to name a FEW. I was surprised that she scarfed down the taco I gave her for lunch after the cookie buffet. She was ready for a nap after that. I ran into Menard's to get some trim to finish up my closet project and we headed home to lay her down. I was surprised she slept through all my hammering. She woke up shortly after the kids came charging through the door after school. I gave quick instructions on dinner, and listen to Shawn's story about his boss quitting that afternoon. Henry, the shop manager quit GE and accepted a position with BNSF in Alliance, Nebraska. Supposedly, they will be shipping out shortly, so that position will be open.
I then left to attend the Creative Escape at the Bethel Baptist Church. It was my first time attending. It is basically one night a month where a bunch of women sit around, eat, talk, and work on their favorite hobby that they never have time to do at home with the husband and kids around. After attending, and being the only one there with nothing to work on, I need to find a hobby! More than 80% of the women scrapbook. That is just not in the least bit appealing to me. I cannot sit on my ass that long and screw around with that shit. I printed off 67 pictures a couple of weeks ago to put in Brooklyn's baby book one night, and that just about killed me! I was so bored and frustrated out of my mind I wanted to hang myself. Almost. I keep searching for hobbies on the internet, but nothing is really pulling me in. Oh well. I have a month to figure something out. Maybe return to writing again?? We'll see. Today, the kids had Jumpin' J's practice this morning. We signed up for the Kewanee meet, occurring on October 23rd, the day after Brooklyn's 2nd birthday. The kids are really psyched about that. Looks to be another great year! National competition is in West Virginia this year, so we will get to TRAVEL! Score! Well, that is if the kids qualify. Let's hope! I could use a little change of pace. Never been to the East Coast before.

Labor Day (Pictures)

We began our day with dollar menu breakfast sandwiches for breakfast. That was the substitute for not being able to bonfire twice this weekend. The kids were really looking forward to it. Afterward, we dropped Logan and Larynn off at the parade line-up location (they tumbled through the parade with their Judy's Dance Studio team) and went off to park in our regular parade parking position. Logan did some really good cartwheels as he passed by. He was so proud of himself, as were we. He had no problem showing people what he could do. Larynn, on the other hand, was in one of her moods and really did nothing but march with a sourpuss look on her face. A bag of candy, and small rain shower later, we headed home.

     The kids wanted to play outside again and took advantage of the nice weather. We began the day in jeans and long sleeves, but by afternoon, we were back to our shorts and tees. I really wish Mother Nature would make up her mind, fall, summer, fall summer...ahh!

     Shawn spent the day doing yard work, you'd think we'd have the nicest yard in the subdivision with all the time he puts into it, but we don't. I dinked around in the house, sorting clothes, checking my eBay auctions, and I fixed the Wii! Come to find out, after some searching on the Internet, the storm must have caused the adapter to shut down or something, and it needed to be unplugged for 2 minutes and plugged back in. It worked, thank goodness.

     The kids had Pizza Rolls when they came back in from outside and played downstairs for a while until Garrett and McKayla went home. I then sent Logan and Larynn to clean their room, it was looking kind of sloppy. Meanwhile, Brooklyn helped herself to a red dry erase marker and drew on their (newly painted) bedroom wall. Of course, Larynn freaked out...she always does. I told her it was not a big deal, a wet rag would take it right off. Well, I was wrong. Looks like I will be going to get some more paint tomorrow. I love the two year old "artistic" phase!

Larynn marching directly below (center).

Logan cartwheeling (below; center)!

Sunday (Pictures)

This morning we opted for cereal again, as it is church morning. After breakfast we began our search on eBay for upcoming Halloween costumes. Garrett wants to be any character from Star Wars, McKayla and Larynn are both going to be genies, Brooklyn is probably going to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, and Logan wants to be...you guessed it, a DINOSAUR. After church, we took the kids to Pizza Hut for the lunch buffet. The kids ate like three plates full each. If they keep this up I am going to be purchasing wardrobes twice in one year! We hit Farm King afterward to see if they had any baby animals and to check straight shaft weed eater prices as ours took a shit so now we are without and hope to find one on clearance somewhere, So far, no luck. Shawn wants one that isn't 50% flimsy plastic.      When we returned home Shawn took the kids outside and I attempted to put Brooklyn down for a nap. 45 minutes later, I gave up and took her outside too. Shawn mowed the lawn and I played with the kids. I pushed Brooklyn in her swing, where she sat contently for nearly an hour. The other kids at the time were losing interest in all other outside activities so I suggested they have body roll races down the hill in the backyard, followed by dump truck and skateboard races. It was pretty comical, to say the least. They had a blast, though. And, nobody ended up breaking anything, no bloody noses...bonus! See pictures and video following post!!!

     As it approached dinner time, the kids started raking the lawn and collecting logs for the bonfire/cookout we were planning on having as a family. The high winds put the kibosh on that plan, so we are hoping to get it in around lunch time tomorrow so Garrett and McKayla can partake before they head home. We ended up having bologna sandwiches and chips for dinner (followed by Strawberry Shortcake!) since it was after 8:00 when all the kids were showered and in pajamas. I set out all the ingredients and allowed the kids to build their own sandwiches and exercise the motor skills a bit. They were all psyched, and thanked me for allowing them to make their own dinner. In that case, they can make their own breakfast, too! :)

Change of Plans

We had planned to attend a cookout tonight with some friends of mine from high school, but Brooklyn is sick today, so we had to rain check.

     Shawn is on weekend duty (working from home) so he had to be up at 6:00 this morning for conference calls. He was beat tonight! During the night, Brooklyn woke up at least twice, that I can remember so it was a long one for all three of us. I slept in until just before 9:00 as I had a splitting headache and even then could have probably used a couple more hours of sleep. Shawn brought me a few aspirin and after about 10 minutes it seemed to help me roll out of the sack.

     Breakfast was easy...a round of cereal and then the kids and I went through all of their winter and summer items to decide what we were keeping, donating and listing on eBay. Man, have these kids grown! Kids normally wear the same size clothing as their age, i.e., a 5 year old wears size 5, etc. Larynn is 10 and is in size 10/12. Her pants are 12 slims. McKayla needs size 6 slim jeans and size 6/7 clothing. Their waists are so small but they need the slim for added length because their legs are so long! Garrett tried on a new pair of pants that I just bought him in a size 8 and they are too tight around the waist. I am pretty sure he is going to be in husky sizes before long. He definitely isn't going to be "slim" like the other three. Lets just hope Brookie is as lucky as those three as well.

     After the kids played downstairs for a bit, Shawn sending out a boatload of emails and myself giving myself a much needed pedicure, we ate macaroni and cheese and ring bologna for lunch, followed by my homemade Strawberry Shortcake swirled with hot fudge. Lunch was a hit, to say the least. These kids are all such good eaters all of a sudden. In fact, Miss Piggy McKayla had no problem woofing down a piece of shortcake and helping herself to Larynn's portion sitting beside her!! This was after eating her meat and TWO servings of macaroni and cheese!!

     It was such a nice day here again. Nice cool breeze, just hitting the 70's. We are all LOVING this fall weather. Getting so tired of the sticky, muggy uncomfortable days. We went outside and cleaned the garage while the kids rode their bikes and went for a walk with Brookie in her stroller. The time outside seemed to do her some good (hopefully she will sleep through the night tonight!). I made a trip into town (while Shawn reorganized the garage to his liking) to pick up some groceries to last the next two weeks until the next paycheck. When I returned, Shawn cooked hamburgers on the grill while the girls did a leaf collection and the boys showered. The cheeseburgers were excellent, like always. Shawn does such a good job grilling. He keeps getting better and better...good thing I keep him in practice. I love grill nights (less work for me)! :)

     We decided to do a Family Slumber Party night. While the girls bathed, the boys helped their dad lug all the sleeping bags upstairs while I moved the furniture in the living room to make a sleeping area. Next, we decided to play Mario Brothers on the Wii as our entertainment, only to find that our Wii game system that Shawn's dad got us for Christmas this past year is shot. Burned up, I guess. What a bummer. Shawn thinks that it was fried in the storm we had a couple of nights ago when the power cut out. I don't know. I DO know, that we definitely did not get our moneys worth out of it! I think we have only played it, MAYBE 20 times in the entire year that we have owned it. Granted it was played around 7 hours each of those times, but we LOVE that thing!!! We sent in the registration card for it, so hopefully we can get a replacement without any hassle. What's next?? Our DVD player in the Suburban is shot. Half of the screen doesn't work. We purchased that system for over $300 not even two years ago! Just so frustrating that "shit" costs so damn much money. We should have gotten at least 10 years out of both of those items. Shawn has a Nintendo 64 gaming system downstairs that he has had for longer than that, and it works just fine. We are all very disappointed. Especially Garrett. He was really looking forward to playing the Wii with his dad.

     So, all the children settled on watching a movie instead...wasn't much of an alternative. Monster House was the pick of the night. It ended about 45 minutes ago and the kids nestled in their sleeping bags. I am currently surrounded by the sounds of little snores in the darkness around me. Looks like I can finally get some shut eye myself (I sent Shawn to bed about an hour and a half ago. The kids were complaining that they couldn't hear the movie with his snoring...the common question among them was, "Mom, how do you sleep at night with all of that snoring!" Sometimes, I don't!). So, we'll see what tomorrow brings.

What a LONG week!

Well, Monday found me waking up to a messy house from the weekend. Weekends are so chaotic I cannot keep up. I had five people messing, and only one person cleaning. I think it is about time for this burned out momma to declare a family meeting and demand some assistance. I spent all that day cleaning, Monday and Tuesday, when my attention wasn't being demanded from a brown haired, brown eyed baby girl. We watched the Wizard of Oz, her new favorite movie, twice. Followed by The Fox and the Hound, Disney cartoon. She loves her puppies!

     The kids were excited to head back to school, to see their friends of course. Larynn got an A+ on her Spelling test. I let her put an extra sticker on her board for a job well done. All of her classmates loved her purple colored hair. She was pretty happy about that. Logan is doing extremely well with reading. He has been a Bonus Speller two weeks in a row now. He spells all of his spelling words correctly, as well as the Bonus word, hence being deemed a Bonus Speller.

     Shawn has been busy at work getting ready for inventory. I think he has a performance review coming up pretty soon. He is frantically ridding the shop of unused stock beforehand. I guess each item their warehouse has on hand is given a dollar value. All values are then calculated and expected to remain at a certain price point. He said they have shipped out plenty of parts to other warehouses, and the rest they just throw away to recycle! We are talking $300+ valued parts. Nuts.

     Wednesday, the kids finally had their first full day of school. They have been on early release the first three weeks of classes. I went to the YMCA (for the first time since just before our Kansas trip three weeks ago) and did Zumba while Brookie played in the childcare center. Afterward, I hit the wellness center and pumped out over two miles on the machines. Then it was off to the shop to deliver Shawn's lunch. He was swamped in conference calls. I hit the tanning salon, returned movie rentals and Brooklyn and I headed across town to shop at Salvation Army. We enjoyed a little lunch together at Taco Bell before picking up the kids after school for Larynn's eye appointment. Her eyes are perfect, so she need not return for two years. Great news, seeing as how I was already in glasses by 4th grade. She's in 5th, so we may be safe!

     Thursday, Brooklyn and I did some much needed dusting. I plugged my iPod into our sound bar and danced around the house doing Zumba routines. It was absolutely hilarious watching Brooklyn imitate my every move! I went to Zumba after Shawn came home from work.

     Today, Friday, Brooklyn decided to wake us up at 4:30 this morning. She laid in bed with Shawn and I for a mere 10 minutes and Shawn shuffled her off to her bed to listen to her scream at the top of her lungs. Finally, after 10 minutes of screeching at the top of her lungs, I realized this would go on FOREVER if I let it. I brought her back into bed with me and Shawn headed off to work, leaving the little wiggle monster with me. I tried to get back to sleep. Tried. She wasn't having any of that. Toss, turn, talk, grunt, poke me, kiss me, lay on me...anything she could do to avoid sleeping, she did. It was pitch black, only 5:30 am. How could this little girl NOT be tired! The last two nights I had been up until nearly 1:00 am. Couldn't sleep as I couldn't get comfortable from every muscle in my body throbbing from all the exercising. 15 minutes before my alarm went off at 6:00 am, that little turkey fell asleep. After dragging my ass out of bed and showering, I got the kids ready for school and whipped up some Strawberry Shortcake to take to my mom2mom group. After group, I got Brooklyn from the nursery and her face was covered in snot and she was sneezing like crazy. So it begins. She was in good spirits, but is definitely at the beginning stages of a full blown cold.

     Brooklyn and I found some great deals at Goodwill. Can't wait until I can get some of this stuff listed on eBay and get it out of my way. Have to wait another month though as winter stuff is not in high demand yet. I want to make the most money possible so I need to play the cards right.

     After shopping, we headed home for her much needed  nap. She munched on some bologna and string cheese before I put her down. She only slept for an hour and was grumpy as hell for most of the evening. Shawn came home from work and took Larynn and Logan with him to the Quad Cities to pick up Garrett and McKayla so Brooklyn and I hung out and watched some tv as I am beginning to feel crappy myself.

     Garrett and McKayla are enjoying school. McKayla has her first loose tooth! Directly in the front. Maybe we will get it out before they go back home Monday evening! She is so excited!