October 11, 2017

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• Wednesday morning here and Whitman did snuggle with us for a bit before leaving to go and watch a movie. He did come back briefly after Anderson didn't help him get his movie and breakfast. Usually, his brothers take pretty good care of him in the morning time but I guess Anderson was distracted today.
• I had to roll out of bed to help Whitman with his milk and then it was upstairs to wake up the sleeping girls. Reagan's first words to me were, "how did the monkey bread work?" I told her that they were just absolutely perfect. Actually, they were the prettiest monkey breads that I have ever made. I told Robby last night that they were so pretty that I could have cried!
• We had to take Robby to pick up his car this morning so there were lots of questions about exactly where we were going. My kids just love Bible study and Reagan was on cloud 9 bringing in her monkey breads for snacks. (Campbell realized that her class didn't have snack next week so she has now signed up for snack next week and then in two weeks...and she is already planning what she is going to bring. She actually wanted to make next Wednesday's snack this afternoon.)
• At Bible study this morning, Whitman saw a pile of pumpkins and wanted his picture made with them. He would not take no for an answer. Tonight, he had to have a picture by the fall fest decorations. After Bible study, we headed to the park for a bit, and it was cold to me. The kids never complained and the sun would peek through and warm us up. 
• After the park, we had our weekly Dairy Queen Blizzards. The very first time that we went to Dairy Queen for Blizzards, Whitman said he wanted M&Ms. Unfortunately, he thought he was just ordering M&Ms and not ice cream. He refused to eat it and ever since, he has not wanted any ice cream to eat there. Strangest thing ever.
• Back at home, I was so exhausted that after we unloaded the car, I went sound to sleep. The house was crazy all around me and I knew it-people were playing with sand, there were forts (multiple forts), xbox playing, people outside and the craziness just went on and on. I woke up in time to work on my garage sale a bit before making heating up supper.
• We ran to the library on our way to church and then it was church time. My job tonight was again playground duty so I came hold pretty chilled. We listened to our book on tape on the way home and are nearing the end of it. Once at home, Robby passed out a little snack and then it was bedtime for my crew!

October 10, 2017

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• Just as I was coming upstairs to wake Whitman, he was coming downstairs. His first question for me today was "what day is it?" I am not sure if he was pleased or not when I said that it was a school day. He did quickly get on his clothes and was soon at the bar.
• After herding him towards his clothes, I opened the pantry to see what today's breakfast menu was. My heart sank when I saw eggs and toast. There just doesn't seem to be much time in the morning and eggs are not as quick as a bowl of cereal or a pop tart though they are probably much healthier. 
• I was still able to cook 7 eggs and toast all of the bread in the house before Whitman had to leave for school. The rest of us finished eating and then started on our work together. I am not too sure what took so long today but we finished that a bit later than usual.
• That might be the reason that I was still working on school stuff at 12:30. School did go fairly smoothly today with Campbell the only one having a meltdown. My boys did fool around a bit and I possibly need a camera to make sure that Anderson is always working. Graham is continuing to do well at his new school desk-that is a big relief.
• We ate our lunch and then everyone started on their chores. I went to the attic to work on garage sale stuff and the boys played on the xbox some, some folks went outside for a little bit, there was some painting and of course there was the daily fort building that happens around here.
• Around 3:30, I started rushing around rounding everyone up and herding them to the car. Our first stop this evening was the library. We were on the other side of town so we went to another library. My kids acted like they had never seen another library before. My boys rarely find books that they want from our library but we checked out a basket full. The girls even spotted a cake contest coming up in November. I think that we will be returning to that library.
• Then it was to fill up my gas tank and a quick run in to Kroger. Now, it was a quick stop but since we are down to zippo food in the house, we only bought about half of the things on my list. I shoved everything in ice chests and then we headed to Grannymom's house.
• Robby was already there with supper and Whitman was thrilled to see us (not really). We ate and then headed to Mt. Holly Cemetery for Tales from the Crypt. The line was long, very long-about 2 hours long. The weather was chilly-especially for those Dennie boys who didn't take Grannymom up on the offer of a jacket. I am pretty sure that they will never pass on a coat again.
• We made it inside the gates and walked around the cemetery listening to eight different characters. One actor ended by inviting everyone back for strawberries when he picked some more. Whitman quickly asked if we could come back sometime. I guess he wasn't too worried about walking around a dark cemetery. He wasn't too concerned about using the restroom in the cemetery either (when you have to go, you just have to go-thankfully, we were able to do it discreetly.)
• The kids all seemed to enjoy it, but were happy to get back in the warm car. We left Robby's car at Grannymom's house to pick up in the morning. Then we rushed home for showers, snacks and bedtime for the kids. Laundry, 2 pans of monkey bread, unloading groceries and putting away about 50 library books for Robby and me.

October 9, 2017

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• The first kiddo we saw this morning was Campbell coming in to tell us that I needed to stop Whitman from coming into their room in the morning time. I was already awake and reminded her that Whitman usually doesn't come into their room and today was just an exception. Whitman definitely caused Campbell to wake up on the wrong side of the bed.
• When I did go up to get him so he could put on his clothes, he was sitting on Keaton's bed talking to her. I rushed him downstairs to put on his clothes and when I reminded him that it was pumpkin patch day, he raced on down the steps.
• I called everyone to breakfast, and they started pouring their cereal. I read a bit and before too long, I was headed out the door with Whitman in tow. When we pulled up to the pumpkin patch, he was full of questions. "You are going to take pictures of just me?" "Do we get to do everything here?" That little boy was so excited.
• We stood in line so I could pay for myself, and then we waited for everyone else. We walked around until the first group went on the hay ride. While we waited for our turn, Whitman rode the barrel, played on the hay mound, crawled through the hay tunnel, rode the train, jumped on the bouncy, played on the swing set, looked at the animals, drove the toy tractors, and picked out his pumpkin. See, we really did do it all.
• He was actually ready to go after all of this, but we still had the hayride to go on. We loaded up with Ms. Stacy and some of his class. It was hot, but he still enjoyed it. During the hay ride, there was the shoot out part. I had made sure he knew what was going to happen. When I was telling him all about it, he said "can I hold your hand?" 
• As soon as the hay ride was over, his class had a snack and then he was ready to head home. I was ready to head home too because I knew that my others were at home working on their school work. They had been keeping me in the loop by texting-most school was finished and chores were also done.
• When we made it home, I checked everyone's school work and inspected their chores. They had all pretty much done everything with excellence. That was a huge relief. I was able to check everything, pull out school for tomorrow and make lunch by 12:15. That is pretty early for us lately-maybe I should go to the pumpkin patch every day! (nope-too hot, been on that hayride and seen the shootout way too many times. Though I did get a bit sad when I realized this was my last field trip to the pumpkin patch with Ms. Stacy.)
• We had our lunch and read a few books. The kids did a quick clean of downstairs and then I let them do whatever they would like. They vegged for a bit but also made a fort, had a soccer tournament (yes, in the house) and Campbell listened to and sang along with some of her choir songs. 
• At 4, I shooed everyone out of the house. I came out for a bit and pushed people on the swing, opened popsicles, threw the football some, blew bubbles and even rode a bike one loop around the block. Robby aired up bike tires and threw the ball as well. Then Robby and I went in along with Whitman, but the others stayed out.
• The neighbors came out and the kids then stayed outside until after 7. When they did come in, everyone cycled through the showers, and then we ate quesadillas for supper. The kids were fairly helpful tonight and helped with the dishes and clean up after supper.
• We watched a tv show and all too soon it was bedtime for the crew. Tomorrow will be more of a regular day and those regular days make my heart happy!

October 8, 2017

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• When we put Whitman to bed last night (beside my bed in the floor), he was pretty adamant that he wanted for me to sleep on the floor beside him. I was pretty sure that he would end up in bed with us sometime during the night but he was out until my alarm woke him up. Then he quickly stood up and headed to "go and see the girls." We were able to stop him by letting him watch cooking videos on my phone.
• I had planned on going upstairs to wake up the girls, but before I made it up there Reagan was asking for me to comb her hair. They were dressed and ready. I soon herded them downstairs to eat their breakfasts. It was quite the buffet this morning-pop tarts, waffles, breakfast burrito and a bagel. 
• Soon we were on the way to church. When Whitman realized where we were, he told me that he didn't want to sing. I reminded him that it was church and he would sit when we sit, stand when we stand and sing when we sing. Now, I say this but he really does none of the above-it is more like squirm when we sit, have mom hold you when we stand and stare when we sing. We survived though and were soon headed to Sunday school.
• After church today, everyone changed their clothes and we headed out to work. Today was Barnabas Project day and we headed out Booker T Washington Elementary school. With my kids, there were 12 kids there and we definitely needed their help.
• The first thing we did was to eat our lunch. The church provided lunch-chicken strips, chips, oreos and waters. Then we headed outside to work. Some people painted some things on the front, Robby went to work on one side helping to make 2 new four square squares. The kids and everyone else began repainted the US map. 
• It had been years since the map was painted and it definitely needed help. It took a while to get the kids set up but once we did, they all went to town. It was organized mass chaos and the heat probably made it take longer than usual. We were making everyone suck down water and the kids were happy to take breaks in the building or on the playground.
• Whitman did help me paint one state on the map but then I pulled out my Plan B for him. This morning in the shower, I thought of my Plan B for Whitman and it was my best thought all day long, I brought him a paint brush and filled him a bucket of water up and he went to town painting with water. Bless though, I think that he thought he was really doing some important work for us-at one point, he told one of his brothers that he couldn't finish yet because he wasn't through with his "important work." He also brought me over to see his "island" that he painted. He had heard us working on the state map and knew all about one island.
• The kids worked and worked despite being so incredibly hot. We couldn't have been any prouder of their work effort today and rewarded them with a trip to Sonic. That cooled us off some but not nearly enough.
• Once we made it home, Robby cut the boys' hair while the kids rotated through the showers and helped me pick up the house. Once the laundry and dishes were done, we snacked some on leftover pizza (Robby had brought some to our Barnabas site just in case we needed extra lunch.) 
• The kids watched some football-we were all cheering the last few seconds of the Cowboys game, some played with the dollhouse, others played their ipads, the girls crafted some and we ended by watching a Shark Tank. 
• When that show is over (at 9), it will be bedtime for all the Dennie kids and I know that they will sleep well. Their daddy has already been asleep for over an hour!

October 7, 2017

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• Once again it was an early morning. Whitman walked into my room before I was up and before it was light. He said "good night" but then corrected himself and said, "nevermind, I meant to say good morning." I guess the early mornings have confused him a bit.
• I had to wake up Keaton but everyone else was downstairs and ready. The only thing that really got her moving this morning was Robby promising her some doughnuts. Soon we were in two different cars-one car was headed to get doughnuts and the other dropped Whitman off.
• Whitman was spending the morning at Nonna's house while the rest of us headed to Raymar to work the concession stand for the football games today. We were there on time and there were already more than enough workers there. 
• The kids eventually pushed their way to the front and started helping take money and pass out drinks and candy. They loved it but Robby and I had nothing to do. I never even walked inside the concession area-there was no room and no need for me to be back there.
• We stayed for our allotted time slot and the kids were a bit disappointed when it was time to leave. Campbell and I headed to pick up Whitman. He was full from lots of pancake eating at Nonna's house and didn't plan on coming home.
• Once at home, Robby poured the leftover chili in the crockpot and we did pretty much nothing until it was warm. I did finish a sign to put on my fireplace. It looks pretty good. I was very proud of myself because I thought that I was using Robby's favorite verse "For I know the plans I have for you..." When I told him about it the other day, he looked at me and said that wasn't his favorite verse. His is "I can do all things..." Oh, well, maybe the next sign can be that verse. The kids were disappointed that I didn't put a razorback on my sign (but after that game today, who would want a pitiful hog to stare at you all day.)
• After lunch, Robby dropped Campbell off at Grannymom's house and picked up Kayleigh. Then we watched the game some before I left with the big boys for Barnes and Noble. They had a lego event that we went to and then walked around the toys for a bit. 
• Then I dropped them off at a birthday sleepover at Noah's house. I am sure that they had a big time tonight. Hopefully, they act decent. Then I went home for a bit before we turned around to go and eat at Chuys.
• Robby and I always say that we like to eat out but every time we do, we leave thinking that we did kill our hunger but didn't have anything outstanding. Chuy's was decent-Whitman slept through the entire meal. And for the first time, Robby and I had to switch spots because I am left handed. We didn't split our dish into two different plates and just left it on one plate. So with Whitman in my lap and trying to use the wrong hand to cut my food, he had to switch sides. Nothing exciting but just interesting that for over 20 years that we have been eating together, this was the first time that that has happened.
• After we finished supper, we came home and the girls (Regaan, Kayleigh, Keaton) and Whitman went upstairs to watch a movie. They did sent Whitman down to ask for snacks so later we took popcorn and drinks up there. I figure that after the movie, it was be bedtime for everyone. I actually think that I could go to bed right now!

October 6, 2017

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• I was up first this morning and the kids were told that they could come downstairs at 6:30. As soon as I turned on the lights in the mudroom. Anderson, Graham and Reagan all came down the stairs. They had been waiting on the clock to strike 6:30. Reagan went to the boys' room early and I think that they watched the clock and possibly moved it up a few minutes. They were dressed and ready to go.
• Then I headed upstairs to wake up the others. The girls were sound asleep until I opened their blinds-even though it was still dark outside, it was bright in the mudroom so they were awake fairly quickly. I opened the boys' blinds and it was still dark and cozy. I picked up heavy Whitman and carted him down the stairs. 
• We usually move slowly in the morning but when we have some place to go my kids can move pretty fast. I had packed one ice chest full of our food and Robby packed another one of drinks for us.
• Graham, Campbell and I toasted our bagels and then we were all out the door by 7 this morning. We listened to our book on tape most of the way down to Old Washington State Park. We stopped when we were almost there to go to the bathroom since we were earlier than we needed.
• We were early but Heather and Cate were already there and before we knew it, the Crafts were pulling up. We went in to pay and soon we were walking to sign up for our surrey ride. While we waited for the horse and buggy, then we walked through the courthouse and everyone wrote with their names with a feather pen.
• Next up was the candle shop where we dipped candles to take home. Then half of the crew took their horse ride and we then took our ride. The ride was just around the block but it was quite a bit of fun.
• Afterwards, we headed to the print shop where the kids were able to use a printing press. Then it was across the street to the gun museum. It was there that we took a picture of the girls sitting on a bench bored silly while the boys were inspecting every case. Even Whitman seemed to enjoy the guns and knives more than the girls.
• Then it was down the road to play some Indian games. The kids loved this and could have stayed there forever. By this time, it was nearing lunch so we walked back to the cars to eat our lunch. There were picnic tables nearby in the shade so our picnic was perfect.
• We walked back to the log cabin where we had a taste of cornbread. We watched a lady do some embroidering and then it was back to the man playing the Indian games. Graham loved the blacksmith shop and could have stayed in that smokey room listening to the man forever.
• From there, we hiked back to the cars. Heather and Cate followed us to the Clinton Birthplace NHS. There aren't too many national park sites in Arkansas and surprisingly, we have seen very few of those. So I was excited to add one more stamp to our park passport books
• The kids could not have been any more perfect today and during the tour of the Clinton home. This was the perfect group for the kids-they were pretty calm and things went incredibly smoothly. I was a bit worried about my crew in the Clinton home especially since there was a couple from California on our tour. I shouldn't have worried-they were incredibly attentive and respectful.
• From there, I drove on by the Clinton boyhood home. I wasn't sure if it was part of the national park system and I'm still not. But either way, that house need a bit of TLC. It is all boarded up and looks pitiful. We took the opportunity to stop and pass out drinks and snacks that would get us all of the way home.
• I talked to Robby and talked to Pops and then drove on home listening to our book on tape while the kids played their ipads. We were home before 5 and had a bit of downtime before quickly loading up to race to Menchies.
• Their ice cream was buy 1 get 1 until 7, and since the kids had some gift cards, we were sitting pretty. The kids all had some and on the way home, Robby ran into Kroger to pick up groceries to make chili. 
• Once at home, the kids started on showers and by the time they had all finished, the chili was ready. It was a late supper but everyone ate up-probably because they were pretty hungry by that time. We then watched one tv show before heading to bed! 

October 5, 2017

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• I am not sure who came in our room this morning-I do know that it was one of the kids. Not sure exactly which one. They have been all waking up earlier and earlier. I know I have said before that I want to be a morning person-I think I take that back! (Nah, not really. I do want to wake up early so I can just be quiet for a few minutes.)
• I had made batter for banana chocolate chip muffins this morning. And like most things I do around here, some people were pleased and others were not. I did say that they would eat their muffins or they wouldn't get lunch. It probably wasn't the best way for me to start the day off. 
• Robby took Whitman to school this morning and the rest of us started on school. We did our work together and that went smoothly (well, as smooth as I expect for it to go.) Then everyone started on their own work. 
• Graham and Reagan switched desks a few days ago. He is now back in the school room and she has his old desk by Robby's office. Graham wrote a paragraph today about how he couldn't wait to switch back and how he didn't like his new desk. He was already in a foul mood today so I think that might be the reason for his paragraph. 
• However, I think it just might work-Reagan does her own thing and breezes through school often distracting anyone that is around since she has plenty of time to talk. I am in my bedroom during school time (folding laundry and working individually with everyone) so Graham being right next door works well because he is much closer to me. Whitman is already asking for a desk but there isn't any room for one more. Maybe I can get someone to give up their desk and just start working at the kitchen table.
• Whitman came home and the rest of us eventually had lunch. Every single day-lunch! I did mix things up a bit today and have cheese on hot dog buns for the majority of our lunch since we were running low on bread. That did get me 5 out of 6 thumbs up. 
• Afterwards, it was chore time around here. I think that everything was completed-except possibly the potties. We did all work together and pick up the bonus room. Anderson's legos had taken them over-I am not sure how those legos multiply but they sure do. My goal is for that area to be spotless by birthdays and Christmas.
• This afternoon we went to Dairy Queen for our weekly blizzards. This was just the second time that they have flipped them upside down for us and they were made correctly. They are pretty good when they aren't liquidy. 
• We then ran home for a few minutes and turned back around to head to Nonna's house. Today we celebrated Jason's birthday. I volunteered to make the cake and then I realized that I had a few in my freezer so it was a Heath birthday cake. Jason seemed to enjoy his gifts and the kids enjoyed throwing the football and playing a few games before we came home.
• The kids had showers and a bit of downtime before bed. Tomorrow will be an early morning for everyone.