September 7, 2015

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• I had hoped that we would sleep in today but Robby's alarm on his wrist buzzed at 6:45.  Then it took me forever to go back to sleep well because I kept dreaming about how to find the area of a circle (why, I don't know!) 
• But I did go back to sleep and Whitman was the first one to wake up of the kids just as Robby had finished making cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  We enjoyed our Labor Day breakfast and then the day began.
• Grannymom and Grandpa arrived while the kids were finishing up their bit of school work.  I had given them just a bit of work and everyone got it done without too much drama.  And there was little drama upstairs as Grandpa and Robby started on bed number 1 in the toy room.
• Bed 1 seemed like it took a very long time but once it was finished, it seemed like they were almost finished with bed 2 by lunch time.  Nonna and Pops had arrived with lunch and Nonna set up shop in the kitchen cooking quesadillas for the kids and sandwiches for the rest of us.  
• At some point, I became the drawer putter together-er and that was fine so I worked on that with Pops while Robby and Grandpa took apart Keaton's crib and moved it the new boys' room for Whitman (he is not sleeping in it tonight-we are too tired to mess with that change!)
• As soon as the boys' beds were finished, they each had a grandma putting sheets on their beds.  It was quite a sight to see-my people were so excited about getting new pillowcases! (not sure why since we have always had pillowcases.)
• Bed 3 and 4 were put together very quickly but by bed 5, they had slowed considerably.  Between putting together drawers, I was filling those drawers up with clothes.  The drawers are huge and after Reagan put her clothes in her drawer, she said "I need some more clothes." 
• Bed 5 was finished and then it was clean up and time to reorganize.  Grannymom and Grandpa left and then I worked on putting lots and lots of things back in their rooms while Robby and Graham went off to buy a mattress for Keaton's new bed (hope she doesn't roll out tonight!)
• I didn't finish my job of getting all of the toys out and sorted but did pretty well and there is always tomorrow.  We then started picking up downstairs while Robby vacuumed and then it was off to walk a bit before coming home and showering the kids.  
• They were so excited to sleep in their new beds tonight and hopefully everyone will sleep well-still a few more things to get for them but their little rooms are coming together nicely.

September 6, 2015

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• My girls must have been exhausted this morning because I had to wake them all up this morning.  They were pretty groggy when I tried to wake them but finally managed to get them to get up and put their church clothes on.
• They had doughnuts for breakfast and then we loaded up and headed to church.  We were driving happily along when I realized that Whitman didn't have his shoes on so we turned around (we were just past the school) to run back and get his shoes.  The kids spent the afternoon at Grannymom's house so we knew he would need them there for sure-it is had been just church, we would have sent him shoeless.  I also used this as an opportunity to grab my sunglasses.
• This time we went a bit further when Robby looked at his phone and saw that Grannymom had text asking us to bring the kids bathing suits.  So we turned back around again-Robby grabbed the towels and floatees while I ran in to find swim suits (Reagan said that I had sent her a mis-matched suit-I guess she is lucky that I managed to grab her a top and a bottom!)
• We made it to church on time but not in enough time for Keaton and Whitman to see all the grands and this didn't sit well with Whitman.  He was kicking those feet when I passed him over the door to his teacher.  All I could think of during this exchange was the little song "I like to go to church, I like the happy songs we sing, I like to go to church"-I probably should teach that to Whitman because he sure doesn't like to go to church!
• The boys had woken up at Dana's house and went to church with them while Lilli came with us.  Robby worked in the nursery while I taught Sunday school and then we headed to Grannymom's house for lunch.  After lunch, Robby and I ran home to start on our painting.
• I had taped most everything yesterday so we were able to get started pretty soon after arriving home.  We averaged about an hour per bedroom and the hallway took about 45 minutes.  That was pretty good and we think that we did a decent job (for 2 non-painters).  I am sure there will be a few touch ups tomorrow morning but soon those bedrooms will be covered with beds!
• When we wrapped up our painting, Robby went to get the kids while I headed up some cheese dip and beans for the Wilsons to come over and eat hamburgers.  The kids ate outside and we (the adults) ate inside.  The kids spent the evening playing the xbox, wii, watching a movie, playing sardines and dancing!  Needless to say it was an exciting night-and my people didn't get in bed until 11! 
• Sleepy kids plus sleeping in my room (their room smells like paint) hopefully equals sleeping late tomorrow!

September 5, 2015

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• Before falling asleep last night, I did set my alarm clock for 9 this morning, knowing full well that there would be no reason to set that alarm.  Around 7, Anderson quietly snuck into our room to snatch Robby's ipad.  And we had at least 2 people in our bed before we finally climbed out and started our day.
• Keaton was the one who could not wait to begin the day-she had a birthday party to go to.  But before we left, Robby made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then Keaton and I left.  I had to whisper for her to go and put on her shoes and then walk out a different door so Whitman would not notice that we were leaving.
• The birthday party was a swimming party and Keaton loved every minute of it.  She was so proud to show her friends that she could swim without her floatees.  I didn't let her swim to long without them since I did not have on my bathing suit.  Keaton was a perfect little angel-which didn't last too long once we made it home.
• Back at home, Robby worked in the yard and everyone else came outside.  My Campbell dressed Whitman and she even put him in a Razorback shirt.  The kids played outside some and even did a bit of work.
• After the party, we came home and everyone had a quick lunch before heading back out to work a bit before coming in to work some more.  I had the kids pick up downstairs and then we went to town upstairs moving furniture and throwing everything left into a box.
• When the kids heard the ball game on downstairs, I lost all of my helpers.  We all watched the first half of the game downstairs and then we all split up for the second half-the boys upstairs on the xbox, the girls watching a movie in my bedroom, Whitman napping in the school room and Robby and I still in the living room.
• After the game, we loaded up and picked up a pizza.  We let the kids play at a park while we ate and then dropped the boys off at Dana's house and picked up Lilli.  The next stop was to Target to buy sheets for the girls-and we did!  It took quite a bit of negotiating for Reagan to convince Keaton and Campbell to pick the sheets that she wanted for them to pick (I was like sure, we can get the sheets with the butterflies, sure, we can get the ones with the owls.  But Reagan was trying to tell them that they needed to get sheets that they would still like when they were 18-I know that we keep things for a while around here, but that is a bit extreme!)
• Once back at home, the girls played and watched a movie before we put them in bed.  I do think that they are finally asleep so now it is time for us to eat a cookie!  

September 4, 2015

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• I guess I jinxed the kids because they were all up right at 7 this morning and I am sure that they will be in the morning too.  Breakfast this morning is supposed to be "Mom's choice" but I sure couldn't come up with anything today so it was just left over banana bread and Pops Tarts.  
• I didn't make it to the treadmill today though I certainly should have gotten up because I was having another crazy dream-I was driving my old car and it kept stalling on us.  Reagan and I were inside and were trying to get to a race to run.  I woke up and we only had 3 minutes left to get to the race and I couldn't find a parking spot and we still had to get our race numbers before the race started.
• Back to reality, we didn't do much school today-just worked on our projects for next week and then did a bit of other stuff.  The kids were all finished with school by 10 this morning which left me time to work on some garage sale stuff (4 boxes priced).
• We had lunch and then everyone helped me work upstairs some.  I tell you, I haul box after box of toys out of that room and when I walk back in the room, it seems like what is left in that room has just multiplied.  The kids tried to help but really, Reagan is the only one who is able to help.  Anderson will try to do something but will instantly become engrossed in playing and will forget what he is doing and Graham will do whatever I have asked so insanely fast that it was adequate.  Campbell will do one job and then hide from me so I will forget to give her another job.  And unless I am right beside Keaton telling her what to do then she isn't all that much help either.  We still managed to make a difference!
• After Robby came home, we loaded up to head to the Salt Bowl tailgate.  We skipped the game and just went for the good part-free hot dogs, free chips, free drinks, free snow cones along with free pencils, free candy, free necklaces, free balls, free foam fingers-my kids were in heaven!  Reagan even remembered that she was going to need a bag for all of her loot and found bags for all of the kids to carry.  By the end of the night, I swear that Keaton's backpack weighed 10 pounds!
• After the tailgate, we went right over to the Wilson's house to walk for a bit.  We even stayed and chatted for awhile after our walk and Whitman was as happy as he could be since they turned Thomas on for him to watch.  He will probably ask to go back over there!
• Once at home, it was snack and bedtime for my people-they were tired!

September 3, 2015

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• Again I had to wake up all the kids today-maybe Robby and I should start sleeping up in the room as well.  I was again having a bad dream (about Reagan on a hay ride) when my alarm went off so I got on up to have my early morning meeting with the treadmill.
• I wish that I could run on that silly thing but I just can not make myself move faster than my swift walk.  I did run a bit on some days but really, I just feel lucky that I can get myself up the stairs and on that thing at any time of the day and much less at the crack of dawn!
• Today was Reagan's day to take Keaton to school and she was up and ready in a flash which is highly unusual for her.  While her and Whitman were gone, the boys, Campbell and I put our heads down and got to work.  We were moving along very well and the boys finished really early today.  Reagan also did well despite her early morning ride to church and to a gas station where Robby got a "jacuzzi"-yep, that is what I asked too, a jacuzzi?  Turns out it was a drink coozie.
• For lunch, Robby grilled hot dogs and the first of four trucks arrived at the house today-Fed Ex (boy's bedding), garbage truck (taking trash-not delivering it), Staples (paper towels-In a conversation about our toilet paper incident (ordering close to zillion rolls two months in a row) I kidded that we were about out of paper towels and Robby took me seriously-we will never, ever run out of paper towels), and finally the truck with the kids new beds arrived.
• My kiddos were so excited about the beds that I had to take multiple pictures of them with the boxes.  They also keep telling Whitman about his new bed and that poor child is so confused since there are no need beds and at one time, he even ran into the school room just to make sure that his bed was still there.
• The afternoon was spent pretty much the same-Nonna did bring Keaton home and they had spent the afternoon working on fresh banana bread so we were all happy to try a sample. 
• When they left, Robby went to work on a huge wasp nest in the front of our house.  This involved him climbing to the top of a huge ladder and using a broom handle to poke, poke the wasp nest through a hole in the siding.  I tried to help hold the ladder but I do believe that he was to fall and I was to try to catch him, we would both end up dead.  Thankfully, he made it down safely and without being stung-at one point he saw a wasp and loudly shouted "I'm coming down."  This caught me off guard because I wasn't sure if he was coming down the right way or if he was coming down as in falling.  The lone wasp left him alone and all was well!
• We had supper out and then went to Walmart to pick up some paint supplies and even found the boys sheets.  Graham had wanted orange and Anderson had wanted red but when they saw some Razorback sheets they changed their mind.  That was fine with me because their red sheets will work well with their navy bedspreads.  The girls sheets will be a little harder to find but at the end of the shopping trip I was reminded that Walmart and my kids do not mix.  They are perfect in restaurants but whoo-ie Walmart is another story!

September 2, 2015

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• When my alarm rang this morning, I didn't know what it was, when it was or even where I was.  I had been having a nightmare about Bible study coming up and probably should have gotten out of bed but it was so much nicer to hit snooze for just a bit longer.  
• I still was up before 7 and was able to accomplish a few things before having to go and wake up my people.  This was the second day in a row that I went to their room and they were all sound asleep-since they are all sleeping so well, we are now cancelling the bed shipment and are going to have the kids sleep on mattress on the floor forever.
• Pancakes and waffles were for breakfast today and that always calls for a busy morning (yes, they are from boxes but still it is pretty hectic.)  We still were able to start school a bit after 8 and things were much, much better than yesterday.  Graham knocked his work out pretty quickly and spent the last hour of the morning upstairs hanging out with Campbell and Keaton.
• As I made lunch, Grannymom came in and started working on prepping the walls upstairs for paint.  When she was finished, she played and helped straighten the toy room while I completed the girls' closet.  Grannymom also helped me move some drawers-we moved them here, we moved them there, we moved them back over here until we finally found a pretty good spot for them.  
• After Grannymom left, we did a bit of reading and then the kids had movie time while I finished up a few things.  Then it was quickly time for supper followed by rushing to the car for church.  I was able to go to all of the groups and saw Campbell in another class and I know that she had a great time.  
• Everyone must have had lots of fun at church, eaten lots of candy or something because they are going strong upstairs.  Robby has been up there once, I have been up there once-when I went up there, Reagan had made everyone give Keaton all of their pillows so she would be happy.  Gracious!  If this continues, I do believe that people will be sleeping in the bonus room or possibly the shed!  

September 1, 2015

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• I guess sleeping on just mattresses was exceptionally comfortable for the kids or the trampoline olympics went on for far too long because I had to wake everyone up after 7 this morning.
• We had our breakfast, saw Keaton off to school and then started on school work-or that is what I would have liked to have happened.  Those silly kids!  My Reagan is as much of a staller as the boys but at least she does worthwhile things-like helping Campbell with math, organizing my desk or making Whitman a train track.  
• Anderson did better than his brother but if I am not in the room then there is always at least one person fooling around.  Graham is supposed to do his math first thing in the morning but today he was still working on math after lunch.  Makes me crazy!  I hope someday that they all have children just like them! (I know my parents didn't say that about me because I was a perfect child.)
• Shannon came over for lunch so that did get my mind off finding a new home for my children for a few minutes.  She brought over a few recipes that she is trying out this week and after they rate them, we might try them as well-remember how I am working on being better about having food around here.
• This afternoon we did our work together work and then I had a video for the kids to watch that went along with our science right now (creation).  We watched a little bit of it and then I finally turned it off and told the kids that I had no idea it would be so boring and that didn't have to watch it all!  I might should do a better job at screening my movies-it was definitely a yawner!
• At 4, we picked Keaton up from Grannymom's house and then went to the pool.  When we pulled up, no one was there.  I finally made Anderson check the gate just in case and sure enough it was open and a life guard was there waiting on us.  The Kamps showed up so we had the pool to ourselves for a while.
• After 2 adult swims, we headed home.  Robby teased me on the way home saying that he would have thought we would have eaten but he already had a lasagna in the oven and corn bread ready for us.  I should have been a grown up and planned ahead but there is always another day.
• After supper, we went to walk at the Wilson's neighborhood for a little bit (over 3 miles) before sampling some of their brownies.  Then we went home and debated making a pan of brownies after tucking the kids in.  (We did not but probably should have-they would have been better than the oreos we ate!)