April 30, 2015

Historical Person Oral Reports!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • Last night before bedtime, Graham told me that he wished we were not in the commercial.  I know that he had lots of fun filming it so I took a guess and asked "are you tired of people talking to you about it?"  He agreed and elaborated that his teacher had seen him in a magazine.  The commercial has been airing for over a year now and we get at least two comments a week.  
  • Everyone seemed to be sleeping well last night.  We had noticed that Campbell was coughing occasionally but not too badly.  About midnight or a little after, we heard the patter of some feet and a few seconds late, in burst Campbell to our room.  I guess her coughing had woken her up and she noticed the lights on in the mud room.  She thought it was time to wake up so she crawled up to Graham's bed and said "do you want to get up a clean?" (She knew that it was homeschool day today so we would all be doing some cleaning for a bit and thought she would just wake Graham up to join her.)
  • I guess that she decided that it wasn't wake up time and came to my room.  When I told her that we still had about 7 hours to sleep, she was shocked.  Since she still had her cough we let her sleep in our room.  Robby was about to have her lay on a pallet by our bed but when I started coughing too, he decided that he was going to sleep in the bonus room.
  • At 7, I heard the kids above me working on something.  I wasn't too sure what it was since the house was pretty much clean but Keaton eventually came down and told me that they had all made their beds nice and neat.  
  • Since this was homeschool day, when we woke up everyone had breakfast and then we started getting ready for the day.  Getting ready for this day took a bit of work but it was oh, so worth it.  
  • Around 10:30, our buddies started arriving and we had our Faces of History oral reports.  I had the kids sign an autograph book and those in attendance included: Queen Esther, Albert Einstein, Martha Washington, Beethoven, Galileo, Sacajawea, Elizabeth Blackwell (first woman doctor), George Washington and Laura Ingalls Wilder.  The Dennie kids were:
    • Marie Spelterini (only woman to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope) (Reagan)
    • Abraham Lincoln (Anderson)
    • Booker T. Washington (Graham)
    • Annie Edson Taylor (only woman to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel) (Campbell)
    • Katharine Wright (Orville and Wilbur's sister) (Keaton)
  • The kids all did great on their reports and it was lots of fun.  Campbell was in heaven because Laynie was here and her buddy from school, Brooklyn was here too.  As soon as the reports were over, the kids had their lunches outside and spend the rest of the time playing outside.  The day was pretty perfect and the kids were all exhausted in the afternoon.
  • After everyone left, my crew started picking up but today they picked up with a bit more gusto.  Our friends had given me a picture and them all a Sonic gift card since we have our homeschool days at our house each month.  They knew the kids do a lot of work when everyone comes over and gave them a little thank you present.
  • Once the yard and house were picked up, everyone had showers and then movie time.  Keaton went to sleep so I also had myself a nap along with Campbell.  Before we knew it, Robby was home and we had our supper.  
  • Grannymom and Grandpa are going to be gone next week, so we went over to their house and performed our reports for them.  Lilli and Cash ran over so they were able to see them too.  Once we made it home, the kids were already in their pjs and it was bedtime here at the Dennie house.

April 29, 2015

Can you spot the Dennie kid in the choir?
(click here for today's pictures)
  • Since it has been so cool lately, our heat kicked on early this morning and the first thing Keaton said when she came in our room was "it is hot in here."  And indeed it was!  It was so hot, that I pulled myself out of bed and started getting ready for the day.  
  • By the time that I could finish getting ready everyone else were working on their clothes or already dressed and playing on their kindles.  When I woke up my sweet Whitman, the others started on their chores and I worked on breakfast.
  • Breakfast was easy since we had some doughnuts left over  Everyone only ended up with 1 and a half so I had to offer up some cereal but I think they were too distracted by their kindles to eat anymore.  Usually the kindles aren't pulled out until after lunch, even on Bible study days, so this was a special treat.
  • Today was a big day in Bible study-the end of the year performance.  This time almost everyone was able to come-Robby, Nonna, Grannymom and Grandpa.  Reagan and Anderson's group sang the books of the Old Testament first.  Then came Keaton's class and she obviously was the most adorable one there and would look at all of us and smile.  Then Graham and Campbell's class joined them as well.  My Graham sang his heart out but he didn't move his hands a bit!  He is a Baptist through and through and pretty much refused to do any hand motions!  He would just look at us and smirk while singing away.
  • Of course we needed to celebrate so we headed to the park with the Heltz.  The kids played and played-the big kids moved their food to the top of a slide to all eat up there.  Whitman saw this and picked up his plate and headed that way to join them.  I helped him carry his plate up there but I am not sure how much he ate after he moved.
  • After the kids played a while, we headed home.  (Beebee is still sickly and since we are a bit sickly too, we thought we better skip today)  Once at home, Whitman and Graham washed some more rocks.  This time Whitman did fall off of his chair and seems to hit his gums pretty good-hopefully he won't lose any teeth!  They aren't loose but really, who knows with this child!
  • Then we worked on our oral reports and followed that with movie time.  My plan was to take a quick little nap this afternoon but my Keaton and Campbell talked and talked and talked to me.  It was constant and before I had answered all of their questions it was time for everyone to start picking up for church tonight.
  • I had made a deal with the kids that they could watch movies early only if they would help me with chores before supper so I had 5 cheerful workers ready to fulfill their end of our bargain (not really but we did get it all done!)  Then we had supper and did a bit of readying before heading to church.
  • Church tonight was the same for the big kids-Graham is still struggling memorizing his verses (we are going to hit them hard this week-that is going to be my mission).  But things were different for the little kids and different for Robby and me since we were actually working with kids (not sure if I am crazy about kids!-kidding, it was fine)
  • Once at home, the kids all had a quick drink before brushing their teeth and heading to bed.  Hopefully, my Whitman will continue to sleep well and my new cougher, Campbell, will sleep good also.

April 28, 2015

It was some kind of holiday at Krispy Kreme!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • We did wake up a bit earlier today and Campbell was dressed and eating breakfast with everyone in plenty of time.  I did have my eye on the clock since at 8 I needed to call for Whitman a doctor's appointment.
  • Robby and Campbell headed to school and work and the rest of us started school.  Today school was oddly calm.  The kids worked fairly quietly and at one point, I walked by the school room and could hear all 3 of them counting out loud while working on their math.  Now even though I said that things were "oddly calm" I am still taking into account that Graham knocked Anderson and his chair over and Anderson chased Graham around the house once.  But other than that, things were calm-calm enough that I took a shower during the middle of school (yep, a shower to help clear my head of some of my stuffiness which is some better today.)
  • At 11, we did our together reading and the kids had some candy.  Then we had a few minutes to work on some of chores and then it was time to load up for Nonna's house.  Nonna had picked up Campbell and the first thing Campbell said to us when we all climbed out of the van was "you didn't bring my baby doll" and then she began to sob.  
  • I guess we interrupted Campbell's normal routine at Nonna's house because there was more sobbing when I told her that she had to eat lunch in the kitchen and not in the living room.  She wanted to watch Doc and this greatly upset her.  My Campbell always has a hard time getting back into the swing of things here and it probably doesn't help much that she is probably getting some of Whitman's cold.
  • Whitman wasn't too happy with me either when I told him that it was time for us to go.  And when we pulled into the doctor's office parking lot, he started saying "no" and I had to pull him out of the car.  I have no idea why he was acting like that since the doctor's office hasn't included shots or anything scary for him in a long time.  Today we spent our time looking at the big pictures of Graham and Campbell, dancing in the exam room and washing his hands.  Washing his hands led to water all over the floor-I spent a good 10 minutes before Martin walked in mopping up the floor with paper towels!
  • Well, yesterday I said that Whitman was being consistent about which ear he said hurt.  This morning he would point to both when I asked him but he would also point to his head, shoulders, knees and toes when I asked him about those too!  My little 2 year old was right though-the ear that he had pointed at yesterday was infected and the other was full of fluid and soon to be infected.  I sure didn't tell anyone at the doctor's office that I was there because the baby said his ears hurt-until after I was sure they were infected (I didn't want them to think that I was crazy.)
  • After picking up Whitman's medicine, we went back to Nonna's house and the kids continued to play outside for a bit more.  The kids played with Nonna's next door neighbor until I loaded up the van.  Once at home, the kids had some time to watch a movie or two while I heated up supper.
  • Robby came home and we ate supper and then we did a dress rehearsal of the kids oral reports.  They are going to be good ones-I just can't wait to see everyone!  I will tell you that two of our historical characters are Katharine Wright (sister of Wilbur and Orville) and Booker T. Washington.  You will just have to wait to learn who the others one are!
  • After such good oral reports, we needed a reward and since Krispy Kreme had a buy one get one free event, it was meant to be!  We picked up Lilli and Cash on the way and the kids devoured a dozen and a half doughnuts before I could even find napkins to pass out!  We dropped off Lilli and Cash and then headed home for bedtime!

April 27, 2015

Washing rocks?!?
(click here for today's pictures)
  • We overslept just a bit this Monday morning and poor Campbell had to practically go from her bed straight to Robby's car.  She handled this pretty well but it did help quite a bit that I was able to get Whitman up in time to run out in time to say goodbye to her.
  • The rest of us had our breakfast and even read a few books during that time-like we weren't already behind enough!  We pretty much then stayed behind for the rest of the morning and this has all resulted in a new rule for Graham: Do his math and phonics first every single day for the rest of the school year.  The rule continues with "if you forget, if you do not or even if you ask to change the order then you will lose your kindle and tv privileges for the day.  
  • I was able to work on our 5 loads of clothes during school and that did help the afternoon a bit.  My Keaton and Whitman played hard today but around lunch, I noticed that I had wiped his little nose a zillion times.  I am probably more aware of that since I have his cold now too and feel pretty rough today.  
  • I asked him if his ear hurt, pointing to his left ear.  He said "no" and then pointed to his right ear and said "this one."  I know he is 2 but his answers have been consistent all day about his right ear hurting.  If he was making it up or didn't know what I was talking about then his ear that hurt would have to change, I think.  And he uses the word "hurt" so he knows that that means.  I actually tried to make him an appointment this afternoon but by then it was too late so I will try again tomorrow.
  • Lunch time and more reading here.  Then Reagan said that she would do all of the chores so the boys could continue working on their school work in hopes that they would finish in time to watch movies with them.  I let her do this for a while but then the boys starting fooling around again and not working on their work so they were quickly removed from school work and given chores.  Reagan was thankful that the boys finally did finish their school work but she was a bit put out with me when I explained our summer school plans (reading, writing and math of the computer-that was the part that she didn't like!)
  • The afternoon went by fairly quickly especially with me and Keaton napping.  We were cold and I tried to wrap her up in my coat and she said "zip me up, Momma."  I told her that there was no way that I could zip her up in my coat.  Soon though we were warm and snuggly and both asleep for awhile.
  • Robby and Campbell came in with supper.  Campbell spent the afternoon with Grannymom and had fun at Rock Creek and even took a walk.  Robby took everyone to soccer practice and I think they were all rather well behaved.  Whitman cried for about 10 minutes when the left since he wanted to go to and Keaton cried because Whitman was banging on the window with a rock and I had to put it up.  So a bit of our evening was full of people sobbing!
  • I did calm then all down with picking up some rocks outside and then coming into the kitchen to wash them off.  Of course showers had to follow that and then we all laid on the bed watching a few movies before the others came home.
  • When they arrived, they all had showers and a bit of snack before bed.  Hopefully everyone will sleep well tonight and then wake up bright and early ready to do school work and go to school with a smile on their faces-one can dream, can't they?

April 26, 2015

Solo Performance!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • There were enough leftover doughnuts this morning to make everyone happy and soon all the kids were sitting on the couch, fully dressed and playing their kindles waiting on us to finish getting ready.
  • When we told Whitman that we were going to church, he said "no" and then asked "Nonna? Grannymom?"  Even he has learned our Sunday morning routine of seeing everyone before taking him to class.  
  • After church we went to Grannymom's house for lunch and the kids were delighted that Lilli and Cash showed up after their weekend at Branson.  We weren't able to stay too long because choir practice was at 4 tonight-much earlier than usual.  
  • As soon as we came home this afternoon, everyone changed and the big 4 had a few minutes to watch a show and Keaton and Whitman napped.  Keaton happily napped because she knew she would get to go to big church after her nap.
  • I took the big kids to rehearsal and I sat and watched them and walked around taking pictures.  Then I sat back down in my seat to watch some more.  Campbell's choir sang first and then sat in the floor watching the big kids-she saw me behind her and came up to me.  She then asked "Where is Daddy and everyone else? Did he forget?"  My poor baby thought that no one else showed up to watch her-she had no idea that it was only rehearsal! 
  • At home, Keaton slept until the minute we left.  Then she went upstairs with Robby for a bit.  While he was in the shower, Keaton did her on hair and was very proud of doing it all by herself! 
  • Soon everyone showed up and we filled 2 rows-Campbell did good with her choir singing the first and the last song.  (We really couldn't see her thought but I am sure she did great!)  My boys stood on the back row and sang their little hearts out.  Of course, Reagan is the perfect choir member and she had her first solo.  It was great-she did so well and didn't seem the least bit nervous.
  • After a successful program, they deserved a reward so the kids got a few minutes to play on the playground and then ice cream when we finally made it home.  After putting the kids to bed, Robby and I avoided the 5 loads of laundry (3 to wash and 2 already dry) that we had to do!  

April 25, 2015

Gone Fishing!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • As I said yesterday, we weren't sure about soccer but around 6:30 Robby woke and saw an email saying that indeed the games were cancelled.  The continued rain throughout the night just didn't give the fields time to recover so no soccer for the Dennies.  Robby got out of bed to send a text to some of his soccer parents and he made sure that he moved all of the jerseys out of our room so no one could dress out before we stopped them.  
  • Everyone was pretty bummed about soccer so Robby felt like Shipleys for breakfast might help a bit.  He loaded Keaton, Campbell, Anderson and Graham in the car and they were off.  Whitman was still snoozing and Reagan was, of course, sound asleep.  In the back of my mind, I was a bit worried that Reagan would come down the stairs and find a completely silent and empty house and think that she had been left.  So I made sure that I left a light on in whatever room that I was in.  I told her about that later and she nonchalantly said "My game would have been later in the day so ya'll would have come back for me."
  • The doughnuts did cheer everyone up and after breakfast was put away, all of the boys (except Whitman) were given haircuts.  Actually, I take that back-Whitman did have a little trim.  He saw the boys taking turns sitting on the stool on the patio so when the stool was empty he climbed on it.  Robby turned on the clippers and gave him a tiny trim on one section of his hair and then Whitman quickly climbed off the stool!
  • Of course, haircutting led to showers for most everyone.  Then Robby and I started going through our huge tv cabinet in our bedroom.  This activity lasted a very, very long time but that was fine because it was a pretty big job.  (We still have a few more things to put away though.) 
  • Lunch and then we all headed outside.  The kids played for a while and then we all went on a walk around the neighborhood.  We only had a few minutes when we came home so we played a short game of soccer despite our own muddy field.  Reagan and I let the boys beat us today but we will be on our game next time!
  • Before 5, I left with Reagan, Anderson and Graham to take them to church for the evening.  Then we came back home to pick up Robby and Whitman and drove down the road to the Atwoods for supper.  
  • My little people were in a heaven-swings, a slide, a pond, a waterfall, a flying squirrel search and even some fishing.  Keaton got to reel in a fish so Campbell is determined that she wants to go back.  She did become fairly decent at casting (decent-was able to get it into the water)  Whitman loved watching the water and looking for "fishy"-of course this love of the water drew him to the water over and over and over again.  He would take off running to the water and would stop just at the edge-now, we never knew if he was really going to stop or not so we would have to go running after him.
  • Robby had to leave and get the big kids from church.  By the time they came back, it was dark and they could really only enjoy a cookie and drink which they greatly did.  Once we made it home, we did give the kids some peanut butter pie-doesn't everyone give their kids pie at bedtime?

April 24, 2015

An Andy Warhol Prodigy!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • Friday morning and the kids were in no hurry to get up at first this morning.  I thought we were going to have a slow morning and would end up starting school a bit later than usual.  But I was wrong, as I was changing Whitman's diaper after getting him up, in walked Campbell with her reading book ready to get started.
  • I have fallen woefully behind in working on Campbell's reading book with her.  She seems to be gone so much these days and when she is home, she certainly doesn't want to do her reading book.  Though I know I should do my best to finish it before she officially starts kindergarten because that is just one more thing we will have to do during school and our time is limited as is!
  • The others all did some work while I worked with Campbell and my Graham did pull out all of the breakfast items-pancakes, waffles, milk, cups and plates.  That boy can be pretty handy!  We had our breakfast and then started back on school. 
  • Before too long it was lunch time and we all ate and then did a bit of house work.  Then we made a mess-paint and lots of it!  Today we talked briefly about Andy Warhol and did some Campbell's soup can paintings.  Not everyone is finished but Campbell did finish and of course my Campbell was tickled about painting Campbell's soup cans.
  • After we had cleaned up the painting mess, the kids watched their 2 redbox movies from yesterday.  Then it was time to load up to drop Reagan off at Cate's house for a few hours.  The rest of us drove around a bit trying to find some place to eat-we settled on Dickies and it was very good.  The kids decided they loved the place as soon as they saw the ice cream machine!
  • We then did some speed shopping at Walmart before heading home to make crumb cake cookies, peanut butter pie and put the kiddos to bed.  Robby had to leave me in the kitchen to run and pick up Reagan.  She had a big time and painted a picture frame and tshirt.  She also came home telling me that I needed to put the game Twister on someone's Christmas list.
  • After Reagan was home and snug in bed, we finished cleaning the kitchen and then went to bed wondering if we are going to play soccer or not tomorrow.  The day should be beautiful but the rain may have soaked the fields!  Here's to hoping that we get to play tomorrow!

April 23, 2015

The kids all scream for ice cream!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • So we were all sleeping soundly last night, until about 2.  Screeching and beeping woke me up and I hopped out of bed knowing that it was the alarm but not really thinking.  If I had realized it was the alarm buzzing, I would have crawled under the bed and grabbed a baseball bat, not traipse through the house alone. 
  • We are in the middle of switching over alarm systems so each door has two sensors and that means double motion sensors as well as two alarm bases.  The new one has a sound that I am not yet used to but I still walked to the old base trying to turn it off.  
  • By this time, Robby was stumbling around too.  The noise was now quiet and we both thought that one of his new alarm sensors had fallen down (as it did last week as we were going to bed-imagine our surprise when the alarm chimes and we see on our phone that the front door has opened but the sensor had just fallen off the door causing the commotion)
  • Well, last night we quickly found a fallen sensor in the kids hallway but Robby then realized that was not from the alarm that was making the screeching.  This beeping was a sound from the old alarm that I had never heard before (fire). So he went back to his phone and really read what it said "Urgent Bonus Room Fire Alarm" so up we scurry to the bonus room.    
  • All was well up there and I went back into our room just as the alarm company was calling me. Thankfully, they were able to call off the fire department so we didn't have that to deal with but we still continued to walk around for a while sniffing and looking trying to figure out what happened.  Finally we decided that it had truly just been a false alarm and settled back into bed. Since I possibly have a pretty unhealthy fear of fires, it did take me a bit to finally go back to sleep.  And that is how we started the day!
  • As usual on Thursdays, Keaton and Whitman got dressed along with Campbell to take her to school. The made it just as they were lining up to sing.  They took the long way home - Keaton reported they stopped at McD's to get Robby a sausage biscuit and then Sonic to get them both drinks. The deal was for her to share the drink when she got home but they didn't work out so well in reality.
  • School was pretty uneventful and by the time it was time to get Campbell everyone but Graham loaded up to go get her. Graham stayed back with Robby to finish his computer math and then play his Kindle.
  • Lunch was leftovers from Tuesday and then some reading before we did a few chores and finished up the last bit of school.  It was overcast and a bit rainy so limited time outside today but most of the kids did got out for a bit to ride bikes, scooters and play in the dirt long enough to get dirty.  Then it was time for afternoon movies while I ran on the treadmill.
  • I guess Robby decided he had been cooped up in his office closet because as soon as it was 5:00, he said he was headed out with the troops since I was going to Bunko tonight.  He left around 5:30 and I headed out soon after for stops at Mardel's and Michael's before heading to Sara's.  Meanwhile, Robby ventured all the way to Benton (he had itch for Mazzio's Pizza). No play place there so the kids twisted his arm to stop at Burger King on the way back for some playtime (and ice cream!).  Back home, everyone took showers and then it was bedtime!

April 22, 2015

All Grins!
(click here for today's pictures)
  •  I hit snooze a bit too many times on my phone this morning so we had to scurry a bit.  The kids were happy about rushing around since it was Bible study morning.  But in the end, we even had time for the trash cans to be emptied while I ran around cleaning the potties.  We didn't really have to hurry until breakfast time but that was fine since what was left in their bowls was taken to the car.
  • Our first stop was to pick up Graham.  He had a big time spending the night with Grannymom and Grandpa last night.  He told us all about his evening and morning on the way to Bible study.  He is a bit like Campbell when he rejoins the group (grumpy!) but today he was in a great mood.  I was glad of that but had done everything I could think of to smooth his transition...as in I made sure that his seat in the car was empty!
  • The minute we walked into Bible study, Whitman started reaching for the door and saying "that way."  He was pretty adamant that he not go to class but he didn't fuss to badly when I dropped him off.  Whitman has been getting more and more upset when I drop him off at any class the last few weeks...he has also been getting more and more upset at nap times too!
  • After Bible study, we all headed to the park.  We just have 2 more weeks after today of Bible study this year so the kids are dreading not going to Bible study and not having our weekly park time.  I knew we were going to the park so I made sure Anderson did all of his medicine this morning and then Jodee remembered Anderson's attack last time we were at that park, so she had wiped down the table for my Anderson.
  • The kids played and played until it was time to head home.  We missed seeing Beebee this afternoon-she has some type of infection that is possibly contagious.  So we headed home and did some of our school work-well, first the kids played outside in the sprinkling rain while I unloaded the car and tried to put things away.  Then we started that school work-today was our last official day of science.  
  • The afternoon went pretty quickly by.  Robby came home with supper and we demolished a whole pound of bbq meat.  We started off giving the kids a half of a sandwich at a time but they were asking for more before I could even make my own sandwich.  
  • Then it was time to head to church.  Even when my Graham was in Ms. Stacy's class, he has always had a hard time memorizing things (though he can remember every single thing that I has ever happened in his life).  So he has really struggled with his April's verse (Romans 12:1-2-Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.)  I seriously, would struggle with that verse too but he finally said it tonight and I think that he was pretty pleased with himself!
  • Once at home, we celebrated that with cookies and some milk before bedtime.  Campbell snuck in a shower while I put on Whitman's pajamas.  He heard the water and started asking "shower? shower?" and before that when we walked into the door from church tonight he started asking "ice cream?"  It was pretty hard to explain to a 2 year old that ice cream night is after church on Sunday nights and not Wednesday nights!

April 21, 2015

Thumbs Up on the Brownies!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • I do believe that all of my kiddos could have slept another hour at least this morning.  But when I started stirring everyone, my Campbell was downstairs, dressed and trying to help me get breakfast ready before I could even get my oldest and youngest out of bed.
  • Campbell was so excited because today was the day she had a playdate with Adalyn.  Pretty early this morning, Adalyn's mom called and my heart immediately sunk thinking that they were having to cancel-my Campbell would have been devastated.  But no, Adalyn's dad was sick so she was just letting me know that they were going to the park and out to eat instead.
  • As Robby was about to leave, Keaton looked at me and said "Does Daddy have his wallet?"  Robby has gotten pretty bad about misplacing his wallet around here so I guess Keaton has noticed and started to help.  
  • Robby left with Campbell and the rest of us started on school.  On the way to school, Campbell found a hershey kiss in Robby's car.  She ate it and didn't really like it.  Campbell then said "Maybe it has been in the car for like 20 years."  I believe that we have only one and a half weeks of school left here plus we will probably throw in one more to tie up all of our loose ends. But Campbell has a few more left than that.  
  • My Graham is still crazy distracted these days and Anderson continues to be distracted! I do not enforce it well enough but if my boys would do their phonics and math first then they really would just fly through the rest of school.  Today my Anderson "thought" he was finished with school and started playing his kindle while I was making lunch like Reagan.  Well, he "thought" wrong-he still had 4 more things to do!  
  • We had soup, leftover beans and mac and cheese for lunch and when you added those dishes to our yogurt for breakfast, I completely used up all of my bowls in this house..well, all of my plastic bowls.  I am thinking of changing out my glass dishes for plastic ones-they would get a lot more use!
  • After lunch, Grannymom and Grandpa came to get Graham for his night at their house.  He was beyond excited and could not wait to get out of the house.  Then a bit after that Laura came bringing home Campbell.  While she was here, the others put on their shoes and ran outside.  My Whitman found his shoes and socks and came to me.  He kept looking for something and saying "sock" but he had a pair of socks.  Later when I went in, I noticed that he had dropped another pair of socks on his way to find me-I guess he knew he needed to socks so he found 2 pairs out of his drawer to bring to me.
  • And not to long after that, Nonna swung by to bring us cantaloupe that we had left at her house on Sunday.  She stayed for a bit and then the kids continued watching their movies, I handed out snacks and put Whitman to bed for a late afternoon nap.
  • We had chicken and rice enchilada casserole for supper.  It was pretty good-just not spicy enough.  Then we had time for a few showers and a Price is Right before bedtime.

April 20, 2015

Campbell's Class Goes to the Zoo!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • After a non-productive weekend, yet a really fun one, the house was a wreck and needed a full day to catch up so it could look decent.  So I did what any good mom would do and took the kids to the zoo!  Campbell could hardly sleep last night because she was so excited about today's zoo trip.  And since her pumpkin patch class trip was rained out, she has been looking forward to this trip for months.
  • Needless to say, Campbell was the first one up and ready.  Last night she had laid out her clothes, including her purple preschool shirt.  My Graham also wore his preschool shirt from when he was in Ms. Stacy's class-those were the good old days!
  • We barely had time to have breakfast and we had to zoom out of here making it to the zoo just in time.  The weather was surprisingly cold and I was thankful that we had remembered our jackets (Robby reminded us as we were loading up the car.)
  • Once at the zoo, we did the best we could to keep up with Ms. Stacy.  She booked it through the zoo but my Keaton, who is so ready for preschool, stayed with Ms. Stacy like glue.  Campbell stayed with her buddies Brooklyn and Adalyn.  Whitman stayed in the stroller and the boys pretty much kept up with Ms. Stacy too.  That left me in the middle trying to make sure that Campbell and her straggler buddies were coming and trying to look ahead to make sure Keaton was with the group in the front.  
  • Campbell had warned us weeks ago, that she did not want us talking to her friends nor did she want us near her class.  I hope that we all behaved well enough to please her.  Graham picked up a caterpillar somewhere along our route and watched and showed it to the kids pretty much the entire trip.  I think we saw pretty much the entire zoo and after the class disbanded we spent quite a bit of time at the playground.  
  • On the way out of the zoo, we walked by the big water area and the kids picked up every single piece of fish food under at least 6 fish food dispensers.  It was pretty amazing when the fish would swim from place to place following the kids.  This was definitely Whitman's favorite part of the zoo-feeding the fish.
  • Once we made it home, I had to make lunch for everyone-and they were hungry, tired and a little put out with me that I was making them do their phonics and math!  Eventually, lunch was eaten, a tiny bit of school had been done, chores were accomplished, our together work was done and then finally it was movie time.  Of course, movie time was much delayed this afternoon and that only left them time to watch 1 and half movies before time to eat supper.
  • The kids gobbled down supper and then it was time to head to soccer practice.  This was picture day and I probably should have gotten myself a group Dennie picture-oh, well, maybe I can do that Saturday.  Everyone had a good practice and when we finally made it home, the kids were hungry again.  So after showers the kids had another supper and then it was finally bedtime!

April 19, 2015

Celebrating Jacob's Birthday!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • Sunday morning and one of my first thoughts was "thank you God that we all slept well" but then I thought that I didn't really know how everyone else slept so I changed it to "thank you God that everyone in my room slept well."  I do believe that the boys slept well as did the 3 girls in the bonus room.  I am not sure what time those girls finally went to sleep (they said it was around 1) but since there isn't a clock up there and I didn't see anyone with a watch, I bed they were sound asleep by then.  
  • Robby pulled out breakfast-powdered donuts and chocolate milk which seemed to make everyone happy.  Then it was time for all to get dressed.  The second time that I went upstairs to check on the girls, they were all sitting in a line combing each other's hair.  Keaton was in the front of the line, followed by Campbell and then Reagan, Kaleigh and Alyssa Kate.  
  • We drooped Robby's car off at Nonna's house and then headed to church.  My people all stayed awake during church this morning (Can't say that about tonight's service-Graham's head plopped backwards and hit the pew with a loud thunk.  He just opened his eyes and laid his head back down.)
  • After church, we had lunch at Nonna's house.  She had spaghetti and the little girls had on the cutest little dresses-the dresses partly survived without too much sauce on them.  But those weren't the only clothes that became dirty at Nonna's house.  When we went to leave, my van was parked under the tree and everyone noticed that a flock of sick birds had landed on the tree above the van.  Before Robby could get the kids loaded up, his shirt had become a victim of the birds so he just took it off right there so Nonna could work on laundry magic on it.
  • Robby headed home with everyone but Anderson.  Whitman had his nap, Reagan and Graham watched tv and Campbell and Keaton flittered around the house doing a bit of everything.  They had a fairly short afternoon because before choir they even had leftovers for supper.  Robby brought a hot dog for Anderson to eat quickly before choir.
  • Anderson had Jacob's birthday party today at D1 so that is where we headed.  Anderson knew Jacob and one other boy so that was good.  They played soccer, football, tug of war and then handball (baseball without a bat).  When we left, Anderson was soaking wet with sweat so I decided that not only did he need new clothes that I had brought but he also needed a shower.  We quickly ran by Nonna's house for him to shower and we were there for about 10 minutes before leaving again for his choir.
  • While the kids were in choir, we ran to get the van washed-we always like to have a clean car before a hailstorm.  During church, I was prepared to quickly dive under the pew but there was no need for that.  Whitman's usual class has windows so his class was moved to a big boy windowless class which he loved playing in.  
  • Once we made it home, we finished off the ice cream sundae making and then everyone headed to bed.  Robby read the Bible story book and then it was time to catch up on some sleep-hopefully!

April 18, 2015

Attaching the ball!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • This morning seems like so long ago that I am not sure that I can even remember what all happened.  I do know that this was like a mini Saturday off for us since we didn't have to be at the soccer fields until before 10 this morning.  The next few weeks it will be early, early games on Saturday mornings.  
  • Robby ran first thing in the morning and then I did a little bit on the treadmill while the cinnamon rolls were cooking.  By the time they were done, Robby served breakfast to the kids who were already dressed in their soccer uniforms.  We had a few minutes at the house before leaving but the kids were so excited that we just loaded up the car and left a bit early.
  • Once we arrived at the fields, we checked the schedule to double check what field everyone was playing on.  The boys found their field on the schedule but then we couldn't find Campbell's teams name on the 10:00 list but they were on the 8:30 section.  Um, what?  The first thoughts were that we had missed the very first game of the season.  Robby is the coach of Campbell's team and had typed up a copy of the schedule and sent it to the parents so I was beginning to think that he had just mis-typed something.  Oh my goodness, we were panicked for a bit until Robby checked and the sign was wrong!  Can you imagine thinking that you missed the first soccer game of the season?
  • Campbell's team was the first to run through the tunnel and Anderson and Graham's team was the last to run through that tunnel.  We were all there and pretty evenly divided up between the fields.  I bounced back and forth between fields trying to see as much of my kiddos playing as possible.  Whitman did really well and spent his entire time in the stroller during that game.
  • Campbell did really well-at home when we play, she will kick the ball about twice and then will chase a butterfly.  But not today, that girl ran and ran after the ball and kicked the ball quite a few times.  She really seemed to enjoy playing soccer today.  I am not really sure if her team won or not-there was some talk of it being a tie.  
  • Anderson and Graham did well too but they attacked the ball less than the do at home.  They pretty much took more of a stand offish approach but would get in the fray only when needed.  I kind of think that there game was a tie too but whatever the score was, Anderson would say that they won.  Both boys had a great time and were very pleased with their game and earning their stars (hmm, wander what I did with those stars?)
  • After that game, the boys went home with Nonna for a quick lunch.  Robby had thought about picking up a pizza for us but we just decided to run to McDonalds for a bit.  This way Whitman was able to run and play for a good while.  We ate outside there and it would sprinkle occasionally.  My Reagan was so worried that she wasn't going to get to play her first game of the season but she did.
  • The sky may have looked dark but thankfully her game went on as planned.  It did sprinkle pretty hard for just a minute but that was all.  Now let's discuss my Reagan-I don't think that I would really want to play that child in a game.  She didn't score (none of my Dennies did) but she was near the ball the entire time.  I think her favorite part of the game was when her coach said that Reagan was the "on field coach."  That made her day and she definitely fulfilled her mission of being the "on field coach."
  • On the way home from the ball game, we asked Alyssa Kate and Kaleigh to come spend the night and we made plans with the Wilsons to have burgers over here.  So after everyone's showers, Whitman slept, Robby, the boys and the little girls went to pick up a few things we needed for the evening and Reagan stayed home with me.  My Reagan made the brownies and lemonade for the evening and helped me clean some. 
  • Then everyone started arriving-first Alyssa Kate.  Then the Wilsons came and this made my boys wonderfully happy since Brett hung out with them.  And then Kaleigh came so now Reagan we had 4 big girls here-Layne, Reagan, Kaleigh and Alyssa Kate.  Then we convinced the Stattons to stay for supper and this thrilled Campbell because Emory, Alexis and Avery all were there for her.  This was a big night with 13 kiddos around!  
  • The Wilsons brought hamburgers and dip and we had hot dogs and beans.  Then for dessert, we had a brownies and ice cream sundaes!  It was a delicious mess!  Surprisingly after everyone left, the house wasn't too trashed-just the kitchen but that never takes too long to clean (especially when you use paper plates!)  
  • Keaton fell asleep when all of the kids were watching a movie upstairs so Robby moved her to our bedroom and soon after, Campbell laid down in there and was quickly asleep.  We showered the boys and put them to sleep in their bedroom.  Graham really wanted to sleep on the floor so we let them.  
  • Then I started having the big girls take showers-the had played outside some, played in the rain some, Alyssa Kate said her momma told her to take a shower (Campbell did tell her that her momma wouldn't know if she didn't) and since tomorrow is church I thought it wouldn't hurt.  It seemed to take forever to cycle those girls through the shower-maybe since it was nearing 11.
  • Finally, I got the girls to lay down and they asked to stay up late but they didn't really believe me that it was already late.  I asked if they needed a hug or a kiss and they declined and then I told them they could whisper only and it was bedtime.  I haven't heard them nor do I hope that I do!  

April 17, 2015

Tailgating in the church parking lot!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • At 6:50 this morning, Reagan started telling Graham to get back into bed.  We heard him say that he was going to the bathroom and she hollered back to him that he didn't need to take his clothes with him.  It was near 7 and the boy was doing the right thing by putting his clothes on (without even being asked). Sometimes he just has too many mommas.
  • Robby told everyone to get ready and I was getting my ready myself, Reagan came down and told me "I am a little bit excited about today but I am little bit terrified."  Today was her first experience with a standardized test. Once everyone was ready, Robby took everyone but Reagan to Nonna's house for the day and I headed with Reagan to take her test.
  • When we left the house, the neighbor down the street was pulling out of her driveway too. They are homeschoolers too and I figured they were going the same direction as us.  But she didn't turn when I turned and I started worrying if I was going the right way.  I looked on my phone and saw the name of the church that I was supposed to be going and then I started wandering if I was going to the right church.  I pulled over to turn on the GPS but it couldn't find the street so I called Candice but she didn't answer.  I was not panicked since I had plenty of time.  I finally realized that I needed to look on my phone and I quickly determined that where I was headed was in fact that right place.  Silly me-and the neighbor? She had to run to the grocery store first.
  • Reagan only had to take 3 subtest-2 reading comprehensions and 1 math subtest.  Alyssa Kate was there and she found another friend from Bible study.  They came down and saw us during their breaks and each time she said that the test was easy and she thought she had done a good job.  I guess we will see when the grades come in the mail.  We figured that a test deserved a lunch at Larry's Pizza so after the test, we celebrated there.
  • Afterwards, we went to Nonna's house to pick up the crew.  They were on their third walk of the day.  Everyone had a good day which started off with bacon for breakfast, kindle time and lots of playtime.  I think the kids were tired because Keaton was ready to go home and Whitman didn't put up too much of a fuss.  
  • Once at home, we unloaded while Campbell packed for Grannymom's house.  She was so excited and worked and worked on perfectly packing her bag.  And then I let her leave the house without taking her shin guards.  It was no big deal because we can easily bring them tomorrow but I sure didn't want for her to be upset about leaving them at home.
  • The kids watched a few movies this afternoon and before too long it was time to load up for a fellowship at church tonight.  Our class had a tailgate fellowship so we just hung out on the church parking lot.  The kids were able to play on the playground some and the boys had a game of kickball and baseball.  The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time and were pretty tired when we finally arrived back home.

April 16, 2015

Getting soaking wet and having a blast!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • Reagan was the first one in our room this morning and she was ready to wake Whitman up.  I had her give me just a few minutes to get myself readied for the morning before letting her get him.  Once he was up, then our day was started.  I initially asked him if he wanted to go bye-bye with Daddy so when I sat him down for breakfast he wasn't too happy with me.  Poor thing just didn't understand what I meant but once he saw Keaton and Campbell eating too, he calmed down and was able to eat.
  • The three little ones went with Robby to take Campbell to school and then they ran by Grannymom's house for a bit.  Back at the house, it was school time and my crew did pretty well.  Reagan started on division with remainders so that was interesting and a bit difficult for her.  Finally I just said "work on this for 10 more minutes and then you can quit"-thankfully in 10 more minutes she had already finished it all.  
  • We finished all of school except for our together work but the reading can always be done another time.  I went to pick Campbell up today and she wasn't too happy to see me at all.  When I happily greeted her (oh, anytime Campbell joins us from somewhere else like Bible study, school, or even grandparents she is grumpy) she immediately said "I thought Daddy was picking me up."
  • I still was in my happy mode trying to cheer her up when she shouted "who changed the movie?"  The movie had in fact been changed and I knew that because each and every time I get into Robby's car, it is like the movie Groundhog Day.  The exact same movie is playing (Meet the Robinsons) and it is usually playing at the exact same spot.  Campbell glared at Graham and shouted "Did you take out Lewis?"  I tried to calm the situation down with some more cheeriness and divert her attention to my questions about her school day.
  • Once at home, I heated up mac and cheese and grilled cheese for lunch.  The kids must have liked the grilled cheese because they just devoured one after another until I put a halt to make any more sandwiches.  I divided the chores and everyone started to work.  Campbell, who was then over her grumpiness, worked and worked in the toy room.  She eventually called me up there so I could see the difference that she had made.  I looked around, seeing a little bit of difference and praised her hard work.  Then she said "I think you should pay me a dollar."
  • Soon the kids noticed that Robby was outside so out we all went.  I mowed for a little bit (yes, Dad, I mowed) and picked up a few sticks.  But I wasn't able to rake, even the dry leaves, because our pile of leaves at the bottom of the hill have made a huge lake and pit of mud near our leaf dumping grounds.  
  • At Whitman's nap time, I took him in and then I worked on changing out Keaton's clothes.  I had just finished putting up her extra clothes when Graham came in to tell me that it was soccer time.  The teams today were Robby, Graham and Campbell against Reagan, Anderson and myself.  The score was 5-3 my team but it was a pretty spirited game with a lot of trash talking by Reagan!
  • Before everyone went inside the plan was for them to play with the water guns but most of the playtime was with the water hose.  Good thing we don't have a lot of neighbors, there was more screaming and yelling than I have heard in a long time-they kids had a blast getting soaked.  Poor Graham's shorts were already big but when you became full of water, he just couldn't keep them up.
  • After everyone had their showers, I snuck off for class meeting.  Robby cooked up a feast of waffles and strawberries for supper.  After supper, Anderson picked up the whip cream and Robby said "don't squirt that in your mouth" so guess what the boy did when Robby turned his back?  Yep!  Robby asked who he had ever see do that and Anderson answered back "Mom!"  I don't even like whip cream but I am sure that is something that I have probably done!
  • After supper, the kids had some tv and kindle time before bedtime.  Since most of the day was spent outside, the kids were pretty exhausted when it was finally time to lay down and go to sleep.  Tomorrow is a big day-Reagan is taking her first standardized test in the morning.  I think she is kind of nervous.

April 15, 2015

Superheros!
(click here for today's pictures)
  • Yesterday, Robby and I both had alarm clocks going off at the same time and therefore, we woke up at a decent time.  But today, neither one of us had set those alarms so when the kids came to see us, we were pretty surprised about what time it was.  That was fine though because the kids clothes were laid out and soon everyone was dressed and ready for the day.
  • Robby served breakfast while I got myself ready and then the kids started on their chores.  Everyone was pleased because when we left the house was clean-ish and they even had some time to play their kindles. 
  • My Campbell and Keaton learned something new during Bible study today.  They learned this song "What do we do on Wednesday mornings? Wednesday mornings? What do we do on Wednesday mornings? CBS! Yes!"  I guess they are trying to encourage the moms to sign back up for next year by teaching the kiddos that song!
  • After Bible study, we headed with all of our buddies to Rock Creek.  I know that all of the other moms just roll their eyes when they see our crew of 14 kids walking in the door.  I used to be one of those moms that would see some people come in with lots of kids and want to leave!  
  • The kids ate their lunches quickly and then spent as much time playing as they could.  Then it was back to the car-when we headed to see Beebee.  Campbell asked if we could come back and visit Grannymom after seeing Beebee.  I tried to explain that they lived about 30 minutes away from each other and that was out of the question today because we needed to get ourselves home!
  • Beebee was in a good mood but was very worried that she didn't have enough candy nor money to pass out to the kids today.  I assured her that little candy and no money for my kids was just fine-Whitman didn't agree.  Once the candy bucket was empty, he went to her drawers to look for more and then he started standing on her candy bucket in protest that it was empty!  He throws the biggest little fits when we are there but then he just hugs and kisses on Beebee when it is time to leave.
  • Back at home, we had time to read just a bit, watch 2 movies and then eat supper before getting dressed back for church.  Tonight was superhero night so this involved lots of preparation for Reagan and her sisters.  She made sure that Campbell and Keaton were properly dressed and the boys just put on a shirt and grabbed a mask.  I think they were all pretty adorable.
  • Back home it was shower time for Campbell since he has school tomorrow and then a quick snack before bedtime.  
  • Yesterday, Campbell spent the afternoon at Nonna's house.  Nonna had a workerman there and this reminded Campbell about the plans for the new beds in the girls room.  She excitedly explained it to Nonna and even drew a picture to show her.  Then after thinking a bit, she told Nonna "I hope you don't go to heaven before I get my bed because I want for you to see it."