Hot Wheels and Cartwheels

Checking In...

2012-01-03T09:44:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't noticed, it has been almost a month since I blogged last. I was on a mission to update all my baby books and get my 2011 photos uploaded and organized by the end of the year. I even wanted to get photo books made for all of last year. That was my goal at the end of 2010 and I achieved it but this year I was a big fat failure!! :) The baby books are up-to-date (except Noah who has me adding stuff every week it seems) but I totally missed the mark on photo books! I only got through April of last year. Oops! And in the midst of all that, I don't have a functioning camera right now and I think pictureless posts would get a little boring.

So in an effort to get myself a little more caught up in many areas of my life, I am continuing my blogging hiatus, temporarily... I will probably start up again whenever I have a new camera. The good news is, I won't have many pictures to organize for the first part of this year - maybe I can get ahead for a little while!

Holiday Greetings

2011-12-08T07:15:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-07T07:32:00.000-05:00

Can You Do This?

2011-12-01T16:40:00.001-05:00

I have never seen anyone's toes do this, but Noah does it ALL the time with his! Kind of freakish!

Wordless Wednesday - Cousin Love

2011-11-30T23:37:00.000-05:00

Catching up with our Alabama cousins

2011-11-27T16:53:00.000-05:00

Brian and Ella were here over Thanksgiving with their 5 boys. Our kids don't spend much time together, but it is so fun to see them interacting like they are the best of friends and haven't been apart at all. We did lots of fun stuff while they were here... Common Ground Park, lego-building and playing with toys together, movie night, Palace Pizza, smore's, and a trip to Legoland for Caleb's early birthday party (which I will blog about next month). So much fun!! Why is it such a long drive to Alabama?!?

Watching the Gators lose, yet again!

Ella Turns 6

2011-11-26T15:52:00.000-05:00

Another birthday in the house and another celebration spanning over several days! Ella had her 6th birthday on Tuesday and since it was Thanksgiving break we decided to have her party on her actual birthday.

The festivities started the night before with an early birthday dinner at Bob Evans. The next morning she woke up and opened her presents from us (Twinkle Toes and a Justin Bieber t-shirt) and Uncle Austin (a La La Loopsy doll), and then we all met Grandaddy at The Brunch Box for breakfast. Jackson went with Grandaddy and I dropped Lillian and Caleb off at a friend of mine's house, where we also picked up her daughter to ride with us to Picassoz Cup, a paint-your-own pottery place where Ella wanted to have her party. She had a princess theme and all the girls had a blast painting princesses, castles, tiaras, and other theme-related pieces. We had lunch across the street at Crisper's with several of her friends from the party, and then Christina came with me to take a few to the nail place close by to get their nails painted for only $3! What a day!

Gator tutu set from Aunt Karen

A few days later when all of our family was in town for Thanksgiving, we had a sugar cookie cake from Sams (Justin Bieber by her choice - I was so not ready for that).

Oh Ella, where have the last 6 years gone? You are growing into such a sweet, responsible little lady, even though you are our pickiest eater and you somehow make it into our bed every single night without either one of us realizing it. :) You are an amazing helper to your momma, you love your siblings so much and you are the best back-scratcher in the family (don't tell your daddy I said that).

You are excelling in your schoolwork with 1st grade math curriculum and already have amazing reading skills. I can see a very creative side to you when you are working on arts and crafts projects, and you love to help Mommy decorate for the holidays or set up for parties and dinners here. Your quiet spirit and willingness to do what you are supposed to are definitely very much appreciated among the chaos! My only wish is that you could somehow convince your siblings to sleep in as late as you do! Let's work on that, okay? :) We love you so much, Ella Bella. Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T23:30:00.000-05:00

Almost 30 of our favorite friends, family and neighbors spending the day together... a perfect holiday! We hosted Thanksgiving at our (very small, at least for that many people) house again this year. It seems easier that way, especially since about a third of the guests were kids under the age of 10. I got a few pictures, though not as many as I would have liked...

I didn't get a pic of my own family, but happened to take one of our Alabama family!

He looks much better in orange and blue than orange and navy ;)

Forgot to take the food pics until after people were eating... didn't get any pictures of the desserts :(

Wordless Wednesday - Game Day Snapshot

2011-11-23T22:00:00.000-05:00

Covenant Child

2011-11-20T20:30:00.001-05:00

Also titled "Baptism, Take 5" :) We had originally planned to have Noah baptized in September when some of our neighbors were having their baby boy baptized but it didn't work out... which is probably for the better since there would have been lots of children on the stage! We reminded Jackson all morning that we would be standing on the stage in front of everyone and that he needed to be still and quiet during his baby brother's special time. He was in rare form today so I was a little nervous. Luckily we didn't have any skirt-raising incidents this time (cute when it's a child, not so cute when it's a child raising my skirt).

I snuck a few pictures of Noah afterward in the nursing mom's room. I sure wish that was our leather couch! His outfit, the same one Jackson and Caleb wore, actually belonged to my sister-in-law's brother when he was a baby and all the cousins have worn it for their baptisms.

After church we had lunch at Chili's with the grandparents. I wish every Sunday was baptism day!

My Early Christmas Gift

2011-11-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from the Sears Portrait studio that they were doing pictures with Santa for only $10 (and that price included the pictures). We hadn't done Santa pics the last couple of years so I decided we would try again. Our appointment was Thursday so I got the bright idea that since all the kids were dressed in their Christmas outfits (thanks to Mima's great clearance finds last year), I would try to do a picture for our Christmas card with all five kids together. I have never attempted that because it seemed like such an impossibility, which is why our cards usually have individual pictures or smaller group shots. Mind you, Scott was out of town when all this was happening which meant I was on my own for the whole process. Oh well, I like a challenge every now and then!

I hung a white sheet on our front porch railing and sat them on the floor. I must have snapped about 50 pictures. I was pretty pleased with the original shots, but then Uncle Austin worked his Photoshop magic and we ended up with this:

I was elated! I have never had a picture with all the kids even looking at the camera, much less smiling. I can't wait to do my thing and turn it into a fun card. I love having a creative outlet!

Any guesses who got Photoshopped? Or how many shots we used to make the final product? :)

No Shame...

2011-11-18T15:56:00.000-05:00

With Scott out of town most of the week, I was quite excited to learn of a way to feed my whole family for free at Chick-Fil-A. Their Kids' Night this week was a Pirates and Princesses theme and anyone in costume got free food, even grown-ups!

I knew we had the princess part covered, but it took a little creativity to secure pirate costumes for the boys (and their Momma). Caleb helped me make hats and t-shirts and our neighbor Christy made the eye patches. We all got free meals and the kids got to go on a horse-drawn carriage ride and eat free ice cream! Even though Caleb fell in the playplace and sprained his elbow, he agrees it was still a fun night. And it really is official that I will do anything for free food.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-16T15:41:00.000-05:00

LEGOLAND!!

2011-11-14T23:00:00.000-05:00

This has been the favorite field trip so far, hands-down! And tickets were only $5 each compared to the ridiculous amount they charge for regular admission. The oldest 2 kids did a short educational component from noon to 12:45 and we got to walk around the park the whole rest of the day (before and after). What a deal! Since we were part of a field trip, we also got to bring our own food into the park - we got subs for everyone at Subway with their BOGO before 9 AM deal. All 9 of us ate for less than $20! All we had to buy there were drinks and, of course, the infamous apple fries. Oh my yumminess!

Dundee Citrus Factory

2011-11-11T15:29:00.000-05:00

Last week we toured a citrus plant nearby. I was thinking it would be more of a juice processing plant, but this was more of a candy/jelly making spot. They have even been featured on Food Network! The kids got to learn all about their process for making candy and jams and got to try lots of samples. Grandaddy and the kids picked out some oranges and ruby reds to bring home with us!

All-Star

2011-11-09T15:23:00.003-05:00

Caleb was one of two players on his soccer team to be nominated for All-Stars at the end of their regular season. We have definitely seen his skills progress this year and we are so proud of him for his achievement! We love you, buddy - congratulations and keep playing hard!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-09T09:16:00.000-05:00

Lego Club

2011-11-05T10:25:00.002-04:00

This year the kids have been participating in a Lego Club once a month. There are 10 or 12 school-aged kids in the club, but along with moms and siblings it is quite a large group! The very brave mom who hosts it every month pulls out all her son's lego blocks and all the kids sit and build something. It's fun to watch their little brains working as they create, and even more fun at the end when each of them gets up to explain their creation. My kids definitely enjoy talking in front of people more than their Momma does!

Gatorween 2011, a Pictorial Recap

2011-11-02T16:40:00.000-04:00

In keeping with my stance on not spending any money on Halloween costumes, I tried to think of something for this Halloween using things we already had. It is a bonus when I can work everyone's costume around a theme. This might be my favorite year so far, although I am still hoping someday to dress the kids as The Jackson 5.

Mind you, this could have been a lot more fun had we not been getting our tails kicked all season, most recently by Georgia, but luckily most Gator fans are not bandwagon fans. And who can resist five cute kids dressed like this? (Yes, Lillian is the Gator mascot but she wanted to be Alberta so she wore her Gator cheerleading outfit over the alligator costume. Clever!) :) Caleb's football costume was handmade my our neighbor Christy and the best part of all was that Scott was able to get it autographed by Danny Wuerfell this past weekend in Jacksonville.

We started off at a local church Trunk or Treat, stopped by Austin's mom's house, visited some friends of Scott's, went to Mima and Papa's, and then finished the night seeing some of our neighbors. What a whirlwind! I told the kids at the end of the night that in no way would I be responsible when all their Twix bars disappeared. Luckily they had no idea what I meant by it.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T23:00:00.000-04:00

Visiting Winter, Another Stop on the Concert Tour

2011-10-29T16:20:00.000-04:00

Friday was a very busy day! We started off with a trip to Clearwater Marine Aquarium, home of Winter the Dolphin. This was a follow-up field trip to seeing Dolphin Tale a few weeks ago at the movie theater (not in 3D, thank you very much). I snapped a couple of pictures outside and promptly afterward my camera battery died :( The nice man who volunteered there as a tour guide was kind enough to snap a picture of the kids with Winter's prosthetic tail using his cell phone and then e-mailed it to me. Aside from that, the whole trip is recorded only in our memory (heaven help us, my mom brain isn't up to par these days).

Later that afternoon, Karen picked me up and we headed to Orlando for another concert together. This time I had an extra ticket for her so I got to repay her for the Hillsong concert she took me to!

Scott had surprised me months ago with front-row tickets to the 2Friends tour with Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith... quite possibly two of my favorite Christian artists EVER! He told me when he gave the tickets to me that it was my teacher of the year gift :) Sadly, he realized about a month ago that he would be out of town and couldn't go with me.

It worked out really well because Karen's parents live literally a few minutes from the church where the concert was, so we stopped there for a quick and very delicious dinner, went to the concert and then spent the night there afterward, which is why I brought Noah. He was a trooper and slept through almost the whole concert! He started fussing when they came back for an encore and sang "Friends"... can't say I blame him for that one! The concert was amazing and I absolutely adored the songs Amy Grant performed - it was a lot of her really old stuff that I love but not the songs that always got overplayed on the radio. They performed some seperately and then did a bunch of songs together. Amazing night and what an opportunity to see them together on stage. And, seriously, how have neither of them aged AT ALL?!?

Tonight I am taking all five kids to a Halloween party put on by one of Scott's co-workers... praying we don't embarrass him since he won't be there to defend himself (or us - ha!) and then we all have to be dressed, fed and ready early for church tomorrow because I am filling in for someone in the nursery. Sometimes I wish my kids could sleep in their clothes for the next day!

Fall Fun

2011-10-27T23:00:00.000-04:00

Wednesday was the first ever fall festival at our church, put on by Student Ministries. The mosquitoes have been brutal this year, so I was glad to learn once we got there that it was being held in the fellowship hall. There were tons of games, face painting, free family photos and a game of musical chairs that Lillian almost won!

This morning after a delicious breakfast with Scott at Reececliff, we headed to the annual playgroup fall party. It is always held at someone's home instead of us meeting at a park like we usually do. We did some pumpkin crafts, ate pizza and decorated cookies. It gave Daddy some alone time to finish last-minute preparations for his trip out of town. He is going to Jacksonville for the Florida/Georgia game and a golf tournament put on by Desire Street Ministries. There will be lots of food, fellowship and fun, not to mention Danny Wuerfell! :) It took every ounce of me not to ask him to stay home... I had no problem with him leaving for four days, I was bummed about not getting to go to the football game - I have never been to a Florida/Georgia game! I told him he couldn't go again unless he took me!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T11:38:00.002-04:00

Lake Mirror Tour

2011-10-25T15:45:00.000-04:00

Today we walked to Lake Mirror and Hollis Gardens for a guided tour of both. Our group split in half to make the size more manageable. It was so neat hearing about the history of Lake Mirror and downtown Lakeland, especially since I didn't grow up here. Once a month on a Tuesday night, they conduct the tour by lantern light. I am looking forward to doing that sometime - we didn't quite make it for the duration of the tour. Jackson and Noah got a little cranky about halfway through which surprised me since we were outside, but I walked away from everyone and took them to nearby Barnett Park so they weren't such a distraction. The older kids were ready to be done after the first half of the tour, so none of us got to learn more about Hollis Gardens. Maybe next time! We enjoyed a picnic lunch together and lots of playtime on the playgrounds, then a fun walk home before naps.

Project Pumpkin 2011

2011-10-25T07:30:00.000-04:00

Last night was our annual pumpkin carving extravaganza with some of our neighbors. This year it was the girls' turn to pick and they wanted a Tangled pumpkin. I found this template online and they loved it! Scott carved away until it was time to come home and put the kids to bed, then he finished it up at our house. It turned out great, as usual. He has a gift! I could never sit still long enough to carve such an intricate design!

Wedding Whirlwind

2011-10-23T23:00:00.000-04:00

Saturday was my friend Karen's wedding. I went over to Orlando on Thursday night for a big family celebration at her parents' house, which involved lots of yummy food, dancing and music. Noah enjoyed the festivities with me, although he wasn't too excited when the drums came out! He and I stayed in our hotel room together and snuggled all night.

I woke up the next morning with a food hangover from all the carbs I ate the night before - I had a ridiculous amount of roti! I plugged through to make it to our 10 AM mani/pedi appointment (after enjoying free breakfast at the hotel with some of Karen's family who also stayed at the same hotel). I love having pretty toenails and fingernails, and Karen's mom was very kind and generous to finance the whole thing for Karen, her sister and me. What a treat!

We drove back to her parents' house to help with some last minute wedding preparations and get ready for the rehearsal. Scott met us at the church so I could get Lillian and he entertained the kids at Toys R Us while we practiced. We all met up at Mimi's Cafe for the rehearsal dinner and enjoyed a delicious meal together. Back at the hotel room we unloaded all of our bags (so much stuff just for one night) and got all the kids bathed and in their jammies. I encouraged Scott to join the groom and groomsmen for a drink and movie while I stayed back to rest up for the big day Saturday, and make sure the kids (especially Lillian) did the same. Lights were out by 8:30 and everyone was asleep by 9, even sharing beds! I was pleasantly surprised how well they did. Caleb and Ella were sharing a bed, Lillian was on a cot and Jackson was stretched out on the chair/ottoman. Scott and I slept with Noah in the other bed since there was no more room for a crib or pack n play.

I was in the lobby right at 7 the next morning with Caleb, Ella and Jackson who were so excited about the free breakfast. They would have been there even earlier if it had been open! We enjoyed our meal together and then went back upstairs so I could bring Lillian down to eat. Scott was on baby duty :)

Lillian, Noah and I left by 9:15 to head to the church. We ran into Karen in the lobby and she rode with us. Scott had to get all the other kids (and himself) dressed for the wedding and out of our room by the noon check-out time. While Lillian and I were getting prettied up in the bridal room, he was tailgating in the church parking lot with Caleb, Ella and Jackson. I took Noah to him once it was time for pictures before the ceremony.

The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was so much fun! Scott left early with the youngest 2 and the rest stayed with me and danced their fannies off the whole night! We had such a blast and I loved getting that special time just with them. We were back home by 11 PM.

I will have to post pictures later. I took a ton, but unfortunately it was with Tricia's camera and I don't have copies of them yet. Here are the few I have, more to follow!

Lillian's thank-you gift from Aunt Karen - a Gator tutu set!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T08:48:00.001-04:00

Plan B

2011-10-19T08:45:00.001-04:00

Hula Lula

Silly Lily

We were scheduled for a field trip today at the Tampa Port Authority but they cancelled it due to inclement weather. We had worked ahead on our schoolwork since I thought we would be gone, so the kids got some time to just play for a little while. They started by building a fort in the boys' room and then proceeded to try on every costume we own while performing lots of "shows" for Noah and me. Lillian and Ella even named themselves. It took about 2 hours to clean the boys' room before bed after all that playing!

Date Night!

2011-10-16T22:00:00.000-04:00

Scott and the girls had another date night at Chick-fil-A on Saturday. It is always such a sweet time for them. I am really wondering when they will start a Mommy Son date night! The best part for me was the big ol' Diet Dr. Pepper they brought home for me!! DDP and crushed ice in a styrofoam cup, it doesn't get any better than that!

Maybe Next Year, Gators!

2011-10-15T08:03:00.000-04:00

Good thing Noah doesn't know the difference between a win and a loss!

Wordless Wednesday - Watching an Ambulance

2011-10-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

2-4-6-8

2011-10-11T07:20:00.000-04:00

The other day during the Gator game, Lillian and Ella decided to do a cheerleading show at halftime. Ella picked a cheer instruction book at the library the last time we went and she has been reading through it quite a bit. Of course they both had on their Gator cheerleading outfits and after some time scheming and giggling in their room, she had produced this cute drawing - a how-to for the cheer show they were doing! The cutest part was when she checked the illustrations all off as they finished. A pictorial to-do list, I LOVE it! She gets it from me (except for the cheerleading part).

Fall Garden

2011-10-10T08:11:00.000-04:00

It's garden time again!! Daddy helped us (or should I say we helped him) plant tomatoes, beans, greens, spinach, cauliflower, zucchini, scallions and pumpkin seeds (as per Caleb's request). I'm sure there is more that I have forgotten. We still have our basil and pepper plants from the summer. Happy harvesting!

We extended the garden all the way back to the house this time. I put these pavers down so we could get to the hose to water everything. We didn't end up planting any veggies back there because it is a little too shady, but I am still hoping to put some kind of ground cover down to make it look pretty.

Will we ever finish?

2011-10-07T09:43:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I saw water dripping from this part of our ceiling in the laundry room/nursery/chalk room/closet area off our bedroom. There had been a ton of rain for a few days prior, but we have never had an issue with a leaky roof before, so something needed to be done.

When we bought our house five years ago, Scott and a group of guys re-roofed the main part of the house but decided to wait to do the laundry room (I don't remember why). Luckily we still had shingles left over so it wasn't a huge financial burden to finish the job! Scott, along with some neighbors, spent the whole day Tuesday working on it. It was hot, but luckily a little cooler than it has been lately. At the same time, Grandaddy was prepping our soil to plant the fall garden! Normally the kids and I would have been out there helping him, but with all the roofing nails in the yard it didn't seem like a good idea. We will definitely help with the actual planting. Last weekend we spent some time weeding the garden and digging grass out where we are extending it.

Unfortunately all that banging on the roof stirred up the animal life and we have had another unwelcome visitor in our house the last two nights. It seems like that always happens when a project gets worked on! We have set out traps and such but have had no success catching it (yet). They seem to be getting gutsier - it has come out to greet us with all the lights and tv on. The first night we saw it I scooped Noah up off the couch where we were playing and made a hasty exit to our neighbor's house for a little while. I'm sure it was still in the house somewhere when we came home, but at least I couldn't see it.

Maybe we should let things settle inside and make our next project an outdoor one. :)

Wordless Wednesday - Keeping Warm

2011-10-05T09:45:00.000-04:00

Good, Bad

2011-09-29T08:03:00.000-04:00

The good news is, last night I tried on the bridesmaid dress I will be wearing in a few weeks and it fit (barely)! The bad news is, I still have to wait a few more weeks to enjoy this yumminess:

(photo by Caleb)

There is a new booth at the downtown Farmer's Market that is selling beignets and chicory coffee!! They fry your order fresh as you ask for it and give them to you smothered in powdered sugar in a cute paper bag with a fleur de lis stamped on the front of it. I love little details like that, I guess it's the party planning nerd in me :)

I read about it online and we hadn't gone to the Farmer's Market in forever, so we went yesterday and had a blast. My kids ate beignets, kettle corn and home-baked triple chocolate cookies for lunch, shhhh! It had been kind of a rough week so we needed to do something fun together, even if it meant postponing school for the morning. Today we are playing catch-up - another reason I love our 4-day curriculum. Too bad we weren't studying New Orleans this week!

Wordless Wednesday - Firsts are Fun!

2011-09-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

2nd Grade Happenings

2011-09-25T16:30:00.000-04:00

Our church has a tradition of giving 2nd graders their very own Bible. They do it in the fall, once the official "move-up" date happens in all the classes. Today was the day! I can't believe I have a kid old enough to be up on the stage getting his own big kid Bible, with his name embossed on the front... in gold! They even spelled his last name correctly! Once Tim gave all the kids their Bibles, he prayed with them and then dismissed them back to their seats. Caleb has been prancing around all day long with his treasure - he is so proud of it!

Soccer!

2011-09-24T21:34:00.000-04:00

Saturday was the official start of soccer season. Caleb got to practice twice, but since the girls both have practice on Thursday, they missed the first one because of Lillian's birthday party. Then there was a torrential downpour last Thursday afternoon so the fields were closed. So Lillian, the only one with absolutely no experience playing any kind of soccer, had a verbal crash course from her Daddy on the way to the field Saturday morning. Super effective for a barely-4-year-old.

Ella's game was first at 8 AM. I was very impressed at how aggressive she was - and I don't mean that in a bad way at all. She was not afraid to go after the ball when someone else had it, or kick it when she had it. She even scored a goal! Lillian's game was next at 9:30 and it was definitely the most entertaining. They basically just ran around and took turns trying to kick a goal. She didn't get a goal but that girl was a little running machine - she never stopped until her coach told her she had to take a water break. She will very proudly tell you that she kicked the ball FOUR TIMES! At one point during her game, we were all so focused on the players that we didn't even notice Jackson out on the field going after the ball, with Scott's phone in his hand! I definitely see some soccer potential in that kid!

Caleb's game wasn't until 2 PM, so Scott and Ella took him back to the soccer field while I stayed home with the rest of the napping kids. I rushed around to get some housework done and actually got to lay on the couch and hold Noah for a little while during his siesta... so relaxing! Of course my laundry is still a little behind but it was worth it to get some time with that sweet baby asleep on my chest.

Caleb has definitely progressed in his skill level since last year. His team stomped the other team like 12 or 13 to 0 and he had a couple of goals. They put him in as goalie for a bit but he didn't get to show off his mad skills because the ball never made it to him. I guess that's a good thing!

What a Day!

2011-09-21T21:52:00.000-04:00

My neighbor Tim, who is the director of Parker Street Ministries, brought a surprise visitor to our house today. Danny Wuerfell was in town for the fundraising dinner PSM had last night and Tim knew my boy Caleb would love to meet him (and so would I)! We will happily pause our schoolwork for an interruption like that! Caleb and Ella got really shy all of a sudden when he came inside and Lillian was her usual goofy, crazy self. Jackson just begged to play Angry Birds the whole time. Caleb showed off the Gator shrine in his room (after some prompting by me). Most people probably wouldn't think twice about Danny Wuerfell being in their living room, but he has definitely achieved celebrity status in the MacDonald household!

Later on we were all playing outside and Danny (yeah we're on a first-name basis now lol) was gracious enough to take a quick picture with Caleb and Ella on his way out of town. I couldn't get our gate lock opened so that is why he is standing behind the fence.

I joked with Caleb that my only picture with Danny Wuerfell is from when I was at a Gator game many years ago and my friend Jimmy took a picture of me with him in his Gator uniform about 50 feet behind me on the football field.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-21T06:30:00.000-04:00

Road Trip

2011-09-20T17:06:00.002-04:00

This weekend I took another trip to Gainesville with my four youngest. Caleb stayed home with Scott to help him work on some things that needed to get done before Scott left to go out of town this week. Karen and Jordan rode up with us and met James, who had driven separately and gone to the Gator game. That was not my destination this time - we were going to celebrate Chris' 40th birthday at a bowling party Tricia had planned for him. Their bowling alley has a seperate room with its' own lanes that they use for parties - it was swank!

We arrived a little while after the party began so my kids didn't waste any time getting started! They were adorable - this was Jackson's first time bowling and his sisters were so helpful. They had a blast! I decided not to bowl since I was having so much fun watching them. We decided to spend the night so the kids got to spend some time with Evan and Sarah Jane. Later that night after the kids were in bed, the grown ups enjoyed some yummy food from David's BBQ. I had chopped chicken, collard greens and green beans - YUM! Lillian got her birthday present from Aunt Karen, James and Jordan - a Tangled doll! We left mid-morning and got home not long after Scott and Caleb got home from church.

Birthday Part 2

2011-09-19T16:25:00.000-04:00

After she woke up and opened her presents from us, Lillian had a full day of eating out planned on her birthday - that's my girl! Grandaddy met us at The Brunch Box that morning after Scott left for work and Lillian feasted on a good southern breakfast of eggs, sausage, toast and grits. After that was playgroup at Barnett Park where everyone shared chocolate cupcakes I baked for the occasion. Lillian left playgroup early for a lunch date at Steak and Shake with her Daddy and Mima, then back home for a nap to rest up for the celebration later that night.

Grandma and Grandpa arrived from Daytona after rest time, and not long after that it was time to head to Red Elephant for Lillian's birthday dinner. I invited friends and family and some of our neighbors so it was definitely a full house. We reserved their party room and unfortunately some people didn't even have a seat. Oops! Hopefully everyone still had fun. I know I did, and the food was great, as usual. Best wings ever!

The next night we took her for her free Cold Stone ice cream. She chose some yummy chocolate creation with a brownie in it. It certainly looked a lot better than the sugar-free ice cream Scott and I shared.

After several days she is still loving all her new gifts, even the clothes! (I keep trying to explain to my husband that girls love getting new clothes, someday he will believe me!)

Four years sure have flown by...

Better Late than Never

2011-09-14T15:54:00.001-04:00

Here is my not-so-little 3-month old sporting his first cloth diaper! My sweet husband let me purchase a bunch of cloth diapering supplies from a mom in our homeschool group - he went and picked it all up yesterday and I had to look everything up online today to figure out what to do with it. :)

I have always wanted to try cloth diapers. When my sister-in-law texted me one day a few weeks ago and told me the price of Sams diapers now (what we have always used), I almost flipped. Jackson has been potty trained for several months and we are still using diapers we received as gifts for Noah, so we haven't had to buy any disposables for a while.

We'll see how it goes! I wish I had started doing this several kids ago!

P.S. This baby couldn't be any sweeter, easier or more content!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-13T22:43:00.002-04:00

Wedding Happenings

2011-09-13T22:40:00.000-04:00

Saturday night was Karen's bridal shower at Infusion Tea in Orlando. Her sister organized everything and it was amazing! The food was incredible - they even had special kid-friendly fare for the little ones, and a dress-up corner that kept my girls entertained for hours! I got to eat my first cake pop!

We rode there with Tricia and Sarah Jane - we could all fit in one vehicle since neither one of us was bringing all of our kids. We ended up staying overnight in Orlando at Karen's mom and dad's house. Our three girls slept on an air mattress in the living room and we had visions of what a slumber party will look like when we have one - they didn't all go to sleep until 11:30! We got our shoes for the wedding and Tricia got her bridesmaid dress. Mine hasn't arrived yet. I tried hers on and realized I need to lose an impossible amount of weight.

I can't believe the wedding is only about five weeks away!

China

2011-09-09T22:50:00.000-04:00

We wrapped up our study of China this week with a family dinner out at Peking House, one of my favorite Chinese restaurants here in Lakeland. It isn't nearly as good as the one I went to as a kid back in Daytona, but that one is now out of business so this will have to do. I like that it isn't a buffet, especially now that the kids outnumber the adults in our family!

We got beef with broccoli, chicken lo mein and some kind of shrimp and chicken dish and everyone tried a little bit of everything. I really wanted the beef but unfortunately that's what the kids liked most so I ended up eating the lo mein (which was really good - and it had lots of veggies in it). They all tried my hot tea and wanted a cup of their own and everyone had fun reading their fortunes. It was a very enjoyable dinner out, which doesn't happen very often with a family of seven!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-07T07:44:00.001-04:00

Oh How We've Missed You

2011-09-05T23:23:00.000-04:00

Lunch at La Fiesta - my favorite place in Gainesville (besides the football stadium lol)

Our neighbor bought Noah these adorable Gator shoes - and she is a Florida State fan!

It's finally time for some Gator football! This is my favorite time of year even though the trade-off is we don't get to work on any house projects for a few months. It will be tricky this season working around three kids' soccer schedules - Lillian is playing for the first time and her little cleats are just the cutest thing ever. Hopefully football games will start later in the day after their soccer games end.

Scott scored some free tickets to the game on Saturday. He also got a couple of Bull Gator tickets for our eating pleasure. He didn't get enough game tickets for all of us to go, so we farmed out the older four and took Noah and Uncle Austin with us. Grandaddy kept Caleb, Mima and Papa had Jackson and we brought the girls with us to hang out at Aunt Tricia's with Sarah Jane and Evan. Since it was a night game, we decided to spend the night there.

We always try to take the kids to a game their first football season so we had to keep the tradition alive with Noah!

Birthday Part 1

2011-09-03T13:03:00.000-04:00

Lillian will be turning four next week. My neurotic planning-ahead self was getting a little anxious last week because she still hadn't decided on what she wanted to do for her party. I was a little nervous that we may not end up having one! But then I had an a-ha moment and remembered that Disney on Ice was coming to Lakeland this past weekend and when I asked her if she would like to do that instead of a party, she happily agreed. We were able to get discount tickets through Scott's work.

We have never gone to one of these shows before, and after Friday night we were all wondering why (although when I saw that a snow cone was $12, I remembered why). We decided to do the souvenir picture since it was a birthday celebration, and all the kids shared an order of cotton candy. It came with a tiara that Lillian got to keep. I was amazed at the costumes, set design and props!

She still wants to go out for breakfast on the morning of her actual birthday, and she asked to eat dinner at Red Elephant. We are going to reserve the party room and invite friends and family there for dinner and cake. More pics to come!

After all these years...

2011-09-02T09:38:00.007-04:00

...I still can't skate backwards! We got to hone our skating skills some last night at a Back to School skate bash with our homeschool group. Skate World, our local skating rink, has a Christian Skate Night the first Thursday of every month so it was nice to hear songs that don't have questionable lyrics. A little different than racing around the rink at Skate City to 80's pop and old school hip-hop in my Salty Dog t-shirt as a younger (and much thinner) me, but fun nonetheless.

Ella got to go this year since she is school age now and she was so excited! That girl has some serious determination! She wouldn't stop trying, no matter how many times she fell. She wouldn't let us hold on to her hand - she kept saying "I'm fine Mom, you can go skate," even when I told her I wanted to be with her. Caleb was a skating fool - I don't think he stopped the whole night (except when he wanted a snow cone and proceeded to lose his balance while holding it and the entire chunk of ice sailed through the air and tumbled down with him). Caleb won a stuffed animal in the crane machine and then promptly gave it to Ella - he is so thoughtful!

Before last night, none of us had skated since Caleb's birthday party in December, but I have a feeling they will be asking to go back soon. That would be fine with me!

Geography 101

2011-09-01T13:56:00.003-04:00

Today we read "How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World" as part of our Geography work for the week. I thought it would be fun to eat some apple pie to go along with the story, probably even more fun to bake an apple pie ourselves; but since that is my all-time favorite dessert and I would have eaten all the leftovers myself, I decided we would go somewhere and share a couple of slices between us all.

When I think of apple pie in Lakeland my mind immediately goes to Jimbo's or Reececliff. Reececliff won out this time, and we all loaded in the van after lunch to go there. The second we walked in, Jackson took off and started running laps around the whole restaurant. I still had the carrier and diaper bag in my hands so I asked Ella to go get him - she is usually the best at catching him. Then all the other kids decided they needed to join in the chase to be "helpful". The waitresses thought it was hilarious, the other patrons did not. They were even less amused when I got everyone settled at the table, Jackson strapped into a high chair and had to nurse Noah.

I looked at the menu and decided that since it was only a few dollars more, we would just get a whole pie instead of two slices. And then Ella didn't even like it (I'm not sure she is really mine) and Jackson hardly touched his slice. I hadn't eaten lunch yet so I decided I would have dessert instead of a meal and ordered a cup of coffee to go with it. By then I would have loved a shot of Kahlua in it! :) Just kidding, sort of...

At least I know what I am eating for breakfast tomorrow!

Side note: I can't believe they are all mine!

Wordless Wednesday - Teacher in Training

2011-08-31T22:54:00.003-04:00

First Day!

2011-08-29T14:36:00.005-04:00

Today we started school at home again. I wanted pictures of the kids so I let them make little signs showing what grade they are in this year. You may notice we are missing a child in the pictures. That's because Noah slept until 9:30 this morning! I nursed him at 8:30 last night, he was in bed by 10 and didn't wake up to feed at all during the night. I was amazed (and really uncomfortable by the time he woke up)! Too bad I was up later than I want to admit getting stuff prepared for today. I could have had a real night of sleep!

Lillian wrote her name all by herself!

Lunch on the porch

My dining room after we finished... good grief I need a school room! And none of their math is even included in the piles!

Free Ice Cream!

2011-08-27T21:41:00.000-04:00

I needed to go to Publix on Friday to pick up a few of their sale items this week (including the Emerald Cinnamon Roast almonds - my new favorite snack) and had planned on taking all the kids with me so they could have a cookie. I happened to be reading the paper online that morning and saw that Blue Bell would be there handing out free samples from 1 to 5 PM so that's exactly when we planned our shopping trip! I fed the kids lunch and we did some coloring for a little bit, then loaded up in the van a few minutes before 1:00.

Even though it was miserably hot outside, the people in the ice cream truck were extremely jovial and we all got to sample some yummy Blue Bell vanilla ice cream... so delicious! They also gave the kids hats and momma got some $1.00 off coupons! What a fun treat for a Friday afternoon!
I didn't have my camera, so I snapped this with my phone. I love how all the kids are smiling except Jackson who is focused only on his ice cream. He gets it from me.

Trip Pics

2011-08-26T09:30:00.007-04:00

These are long overdue, I know! It has been crazy around here this week with me attempting to get us all prepared for school. I am trying really hard to be more prepared this year and not fly by the seat of my pants like I did last year. That really isn't my nature and I'm not very good at it! Don't get me wrong, we had a great year and Caleb learned a TON, but with a newborn in the mix and a new kindergartner, I will definitely need to be as organized as possible. I also hope to be more intentional with my activities for Lillian and Jackson. Lillian is telling me now that she doesn't want to homeschool for Kindergarten so I have 2 years to make her enjoy learning at home and hopefully change her mind! :)

Here are some pictures my mom e-mailed me from their escapades in Daytona. I think it is safe to say Caleb had a blast, hopefully they did, too! :) One thing I didn't have a picture of yet is their trek to the top of the lighthouse, but he does have a souvenir t-shirt from it. Every time I looked at a picture she had sent, I felt like Caleb looked so much older!

We met halfway on Sunday to fetch him and worked in a trip to IKEA while we were in Orlando. I had asked the kids what they wanted to do our last couple of weeks before we started school and both girls wanted to go play in the playplace there. So we all visited over lunch in the cafe, which happened to have free kids meals that day... no minimum purchase, no limit on how many you could get! After the kids played and we shopped for a bit, Scott and I joked about taking them back there for a free dinner! But then Caleb asked if we could have a family dinner out somewhere to celebrate him coming home (that's my boy - any excuse to eat out!) and he wanted to eat at Bob Evans. Uncle Austin and Grandaddy met us at the Bob Evans in north Lakeland as we were getting back to town and we enjoyed a yummy dinner together. Their kids meals are super cheap and all my kids wanted breakfast, so we got to bring their leftovers home and finish them up the next morning.

Wordless Wednesday - Watching for the Garbage Truck

2011-08-24T07:14:00.001-04:00

Summer Days

2011-08-22T22:20:00.003-04:00

The heat has been really intense here the past few months. We just got our second utility bill this summer that was almost $450 (UGH) because the air basically never stops, even with the thermostat on 80 all the time. So with the older two at summer camp all day, we have been doing lots of hanging out indoors. Painting, coloring, play-doh and lots of reading, and of course taking in every possible moment we can with Noah who is stealing all of our hearts. Here are some pics I snapped one morning last week.

Wordless Wednesday - Sibling Love

2011-08-17T09:27:00.003-04:00

Caleb Takes a Trip

2011-08-16T15:30:00.006-04:00

Yesterday my oldest "little man" left to spend a week at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They came and got him mid-day and I miss him so much already! They have all kinds of fun things planned for the week - I joked with my mom that I wanted to come next time!

This is the longest any of our kids have been away from us. The girls are already counting down until they are old enough to make the trip! I know they will all have a blast together but I sure can't wait to see my boy again on Sunday...

Lowe's Build and Grow

2011-08-13T14:47:00.001-04:00

Scott took the oldest three to a Build and Grow clinic at Lowe's today. They made a schoolhouse picture holder. I think we may use them to display their memory verse cards somewhere where they will see them often throughout the week. I will probably add a picture of the kids together on our first day of school since it has several spots to put things. I felt bad that the kids' patches from the last Build and Grow they attended still haven't made it on their aprons - now they have another one that needs to go on! I better get busy...

I love the fact that Lowe's does these workshops and even more that Scott makes it a point to take the kids to them. I know Jackson is anxious for his turn!

Zoo Time!

2011-08-12T23:04:00.007-04:00

Talk about a scorcher. Friday was the annual zoo field trip with the kids from summer camp and it was BLAZING. We had a blast but everyone certainly slept well that night! It was strange having both Caleb and Ella with their classes instead of me - but kind of fun to have that time with the youngest three. For the first time, I remembered my zoo cups so we could get 99 cent refills on drinks. Every year I have forgotten them and had to buy a new cup, so we have quite the collection going.

We met up with all the camp kids when they were leaving to fetch Caleb and Ella so we could stick around for a few more hours. I got to ride a kiddie roller coaster with Caleb and the log flume ride with Caleb and Ella, and then the kiddie train with Jackson and Lillian. We all rode the carousel. After we saw a few more animals and played in the splash pad for a bit, we decided we had met our heat quota for the day. When I say "we", I mean my Dad and me.

We had to bribe the kids with a stop at McDonald's on the way home to get them to want to leave! By the time I nursed the baby, changed his diaper and took all the others potty, it took at least 45 minutes until we were all loaded in the car. Jackson fell asleep in about 37 seconds once we started the engine, followed by everyone else in the car except for me and CB.

I heard the heat index that day was 106, but it sure felt hotter to me!

Summer Fun with our Church Friends

2011-08-11T18:07:00.007-04:00

This has been a crazy week - we have been going to a 5-Day Bible Club in the mornings and then taking Caleb and Ella to summer camp directly from there. Then Caleb and Ella are doing an evening VBS from 6 - 8 every night.

Today was another swim day/playgroup - Trinity's Children's Ministry hosts them all summer at various homes and even provides lunch! The oldest 2 decided to go swimming today instead of summer camp. I was surprised since this is the last week of camp for them!

Tomorrow is the last field trip of the summer to Lowry Park Zoo. I am trying to talk myself into going. I have never missed, even in the midst of pregnancies and babies - it is just so stinkin' HOT this year. And then there is Jackson (anyone who has been anywhere with him knows what I mean by that). I know once I get there I will be glad we did it... I just have to get to the point of really wanting to go! And start preparing now with packing snacks and drinks and towels and changes of clothes and sunscreen and who knows what else...

Guess I better get started!

YUM!

2011-08-09T12:36:00.002-04:00

My sweet Daddy brought these back for me from a recent trip he took to Oklahoma... all foods we love that can't be found anywhere near us. There are actually several bags of beans, I just took the picture with one of them in it. Perfect timing - we are on our last box of Malt-O-Meal, the Griffins is almost gone and I used my last bag of beans for Lillian's 3rd birthday party. Thanks, Daddy!

Back to School!

2011-08-08T15:27:00.003-04:00

Saturday was the Back to School Bash at the Lakeland Center. This is the third year in a row we have gone and Ella's first time to participate as a prospective student. I can't believe my sweet little girl is old enough to be in Kindergarten!

The first year we all went (at that time, it was just Caleb, Ella and Lillian who wasn't even a year old yet). Last year, I took Caleb by myself and this year I told Scott I wasn't up for it and if he wanted to take them he was more than welcome. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity for free stuff, he happily obliged. He took the oldest two while the others spent the morning at home with me.

Whoever is in charge of planning the event has made some major improvements in making it run more smoothly. We stood in line for HOURS last year in the miserable heat. This year Scott and the kids were home within a couple of hours with all their stuff and they even had fun activities set up for the kids to do while they were in line. Caleb and Ella each got a backpack with standard Polk County school supplies (no they are not going to school, but we can still definitely use the supplies for our school). It's amazing how excited they all got over new crayons and colored pencils - they have been coloring pretty much nonstop since Saturday afternoon.

A Day in Tampa

2011-08-08T14:55:00.007-04:00

Last Friday we finally made it to MOSI! I have been wanting to take the kids literally for years, and this year the summer camp kids went on a field trip and the rest of us got to tag along. We rode over in our van with Grandaddy and then Caleb and Ella got to explore at the museum with their classes while Grandaddy and I took Lillian, Jackson and Noah all around. We started with a science show, then a 3-D movie about dinosaurs, an exhibit all about the human body from conception on, a whole floor on weather and weather-related disasters, lunch with all the PSM people, an IMAX movie about orangutans and elephants, and then it was time for all the camp kids to head home. We met them all downstairs and I got Caleb and Ella so we could stay longer and do some more exploring.

We spend the next little while in the Kids In Charge area, which is similar to the Explorations V here in Lakeland (but a lot bigger with much more stuff in it). They had TONS of hands-on stuff and I wish we could have stayed longer. Unfortunately we had to hurry back to Lakeland. My friend Karen offered me a ticket to the Hillsong concert later that night and I needed to drop off Grandaddy and the kids and head back to Tampa to meet her at her house. Her parents and sister were there with some yummy food her mom had cooked. I enjoyed a quick meal and then we rode to St. Pete for the concert.

Noah was with me - his first concert and not even 3 months old! He was so good - I was amazed! Scott was on the backside of a migraine or I would have left the baby with him (although these days it seems like the baby is the easiest one - lol). We got back to Karen's at about 11 after a quick stop for a cup of coffee to help keep me awake, and I loaded Noah in the car and headed straight home. He slept the whole way and we were back by midnight. Unfortunately I don't have any pics from the concert.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

SCORE!

2011-08-02T15:08:00.004-04:00

My bargain-hunter of a husband found a great deal on a TV for us. Ours broke a few weeks back and we had been using a spare one that is pretty small and has white lines running through it. It is fine for the kids to watch a movie but it just won't do for my episodes of Trauma Life in the ER, Hoarders or Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and soon Gator football games (September 3 can't come soon enough).

Sunday Scott texted me about halfway through my workout that he needed me to come home because someone was giving away a 37" television on Craigslist but it had to be picked up within 30 minutes. I couldn't believe it! At the time, I had no idea how big a 37"television was, but all I cared about was that a) it worked and b) it was free. Scott and Austin went right away to pick it up (in the middle of a thunderstorm). Evidently it was extremely heavy and hard to maneuver into his truck. My poor husband had to ride home in the bed of the truck, in the rain.

I was pleasantly surprised when they got it home to see just how big it was and an even better surprise, the buttons are all on the top so Jackson can't turn it off and on constantly (I am pretty sure that is what broke our other one). What a blessing!

Life on the Porch

2011-08-02T09:11:00.004-04:00

Anyone who knows me very well knows that I LOVE to sit on the front porch. The kids and I spend a lot of time out there in the mornings before the sun gets too hot and in the late afternoon and evenings when I don't have the energy to chase them around in the backyard but still want some fresh air. Noah loves it out there, too - just like Lillian and Jackson when they were itty bitty.

We have been improving the porch little by little and I have been on the hunt for a bistro set to put out there since we moved in four years ago. I really wanted a mosaic tabletop but wasn't finding one anywhere, not even on Craigslist. Last week when we were at the mall picking up pictures (the day our air died) I saw a set at Kirkland's that I really liked. It wasn't mosaic, but I liked it more than any of the others I have talked myself out of buying all along. I asked Scott to go look at it the next day on his way home from work. I told him not to buy it - I didn't want to make any impulse decisions... but, in true character for him, he surprised me and showed up with it in his car. I guess he really liked it, too!

Austin put it together for us and we set it out the next morning. The kids have been eating breakfast out there a lot of mornings and I am enjoying sitting out there with them to drink my coffee. It will be neat to have that time with them in the mornings once our school starts, too - we won't have to be rushing around to get everyone out the door. I envision us hanging out there in our pj's and reading books together as part of our school day, especially when it cools off some! :) I am planning to get some kind of bench to put on the other side of the porch for more seating. We are also hoping to repair/rebuild the brickwork and stairs on the front of the porch sometime soon. We are waiting on a quote from someone and hoping it isn't going to be too high since we still have to pay some hospital bills. I just keep reminding my very impatient self that these things take time, especially on one income.

Movie Night!

2011-07-29T09:32:00.003-04:00

I left the other night to do some shopping without 5 kids in tow. While I was gone the kids had a movie night with their Daddy. I'm pretty sure they would have slept there if we would have let them... maybe that's a fun idea for another night!

Looking on the Bright Side

2011-07-26T14:10:00.006-04:00

Our air broke yesterday morning. I already had plans to go to the mall to pick up some pictures of Noah at JC Penney so fortunately we were out of the house a good part of the day. We didn't want to pay for an "emergency" visit from the AC company, but they told us they would try to work us in sometime yesterday, which they didn't. After my very sweaty children got up from their rest time, I threw them in the tub so they could cool off some (and because they needed baths).

Scott came home from work after a while, we ate dinner and then we started realizing just how miserable it was in the house. The kids were having a blast running around and playing hide and seek while Scott and I were trying to get some relief on the front porch. Yes, it was cooler outside in the triple digit Florida heat than it was in our house.

Unfortunately when we bought our money pit, I mean house, we didn't think through the fact that there are no screens on any of the windows. How did I not notice that?!? So opening the windows was out of the question. We thought about staying at my dad's but it is such an ordeal getting clothes and toothbrushes and blankies and stuffed animals together for all the kids. So we decided to tough it out.

I went to the gym to work out (and cool off) and Scott settled down to watch a movie he had rented. I came home to all the kids sleeping (or maybe just delirious from the heat). After a while I told Scott to just go to my dad's and sleep there. There was no sense in both of us being miserable! He left at about 11 and no lie, all the kids but Caleb woke up within 20 minutes of him leaving. The baby was screaming and keeping everyone awake so I texted Scott and told him we were coming there. So at almost midnight we all loaded up in the van and joined Scott. What an adventure!

The service tech came first thing this morning and fixed the problem (and also found some major unrelated damage that will need to be repaired from some rodent or varmint who has been making its home in our attic) so I am typing this in my wonderfully air-conditioned kitchen, hoping that the AC fares better than our dishwasher did after getting discovered by the rodent-of-the-month (it still isn't working right). And since my husband was holding Noah on the porch last night, I was able to get these sweet pictures. Normally I am the one on the front porch with the kids, at least in the summer. So at least something good came out of such misery!

Dreaming...

2011-07-20T15:09:00.003-04:00

Oh how I wish we were here! Ella drew this at camp a few weeks ago and I have had it hanging on the fridge ever since. I don't know if it is my long hair or my hormones, but this summer the heat is KILLING me! I am embarrassed at how little my kids have played outside (although we have been getting rain storms almost daily). Why when I am roasting myself on the beach does the sun not bother me?

Shake It Up

2011-07-20T15:00:00.003-04:00

Last week there was no neighborhood summer camp, so I signed the kids up for VBS at a church nearby. The theme was "Shake It Up Cafe - Where Kids Carry Out God's Recipe" and they actually had a class for Lillian, too; not just school-aged kids. They went every day last week from 8:30 to noon and had a fantastic time! They are still singing and dancing to the songs they learned!

Sunday as a wrap-up to the week, the church hosted a cookout for all the families and the kids performed while we ate. It was priceless! We took video on Scott's phone if I only knew how to get it on here. Lillian has asked me every day since Friday when she gets to go back to VBS!

Just Me and the Girls (and Noah)

2011-07-20T14:02:00.005-04:00

This weekend was full of girl time! Friday afternoon Tricia came over for the two of us (and Noah) to visit the bridal shop where our friend Karen was having her final dress fitting. We tried on several bridesmaids dresses and picked which one we all liked best, then afterward her mom treated us to dinner at The Elephant Bar. I ordered my dress a size smaller than my fitting, now I have no choice but to lose those last few baby pounds! I have three months...

On Saturday I invited myself along to The Cheesecake Factory where Tricia was meeting her family for lunch and I decided to take the girls with me. Mima and Madisyn also came along. Scott took Jackson and Caleb to see the new Pooh movie while we ate and window shopped at Millenia Mall. I had a side salad and very large slice of low-carb cheesecake for lunch - my kind of meal!

The girls went with Scott earlier that morning for Ella to get a haircut, and the hairdresser gave both of them a cute braid!

Lillian, Evan, Ella and Sarah Jane

He's Official! :)

2011-07-19T11:43:00.004-04:00

I've had this done for a couple of weeks but keep waiting to get a picture of him smiling. Hasn't happened yet (the picture, not the smile) so I guess I just better go with it the way it is!

A Day at the Farm

2011-07-14T10:34:00.008-04:00

Last week we visited Green Meadows Farm with our family from Arizona. It was a lot less crowded than when we usually go with playgroup in the fall and I had lots of people helping with the kids! Usually I spend the entire day chasing stray kids and miss out on the tour - this time I actually got to hear everything the tour guide told us.

Love This Boy!

2011-07-14T10:14:00.002-04:00

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

2011-07-10T15:54:00.005-04:00

Last night we had our second head injury and third trip for emergency medical care. Jackson was wrestling with Caleb and his sisters on our bed and decided to jump on Ella. Unfortunately, he landed on the footboard instead of his sister and ended up with a nasty gash by his eye. I walked in from working out at the gym right as it was all happening. We knew it wasn't as deep as the cut Caleb had on his forehead when he got stitches, but it still looked pretty bad.

Luckily we didn't have to go to the Emergency Room, but to Nite Owl Pediatrics instead. We only waited a short time to see the doctor and he ended up using Dermabond, not stitching it. Jackson sat perfectly still - I was amazed at how well he did. He picked a chocolate milkshake for his treat afterward. We are so thankful he didn't hit any closer to his eye!

Last night soon after it happened

Today in better light (with chocolate animal cracker crumbs on his mouth)

Anything for free food...

2011-07-09T15:33:00.005-04:00

...that I didn't even have to cook! Yesterday we got our moo on and dressed up like cows to get some free grub at Chick-Fil-A. Even Noah had cow spots on his sling! We figured out that we got about $30 worth of food and didn't pay a penny (except for the ice cream cone I had to have - theirs is the best)

We decided to visit the CFA inside the mall since we knew the stand-alone one would be mobbed. Our neighbors joined us and the kids got to visit the pet store and inside play area after we finished eating. And Momma got a night out of the kitchen... works for me!

Picture Time!

2011-07-03T23:01:00.004-04:00

Today we had our first photo shoot as a family of 7. Our neighbor Greg snapped a few shots of us down by Lake Mirror in front of some pillars that I L-O-V-E. Yes I realize that the middle of summer may not be the best time to take outdoor shots in Florida and it figures that today is the first time in weeks that it hasn't been overcast in the late afternoon, but I like natural lighting.

Here are a few of my favorites, unedited for now because I wanted to get them posted and don't know when I may have time to mess around in Photoshop.

Photo Credit: Greg Allen

Moving Up

2011-07-01T10:33:00.004-04:00

Caleb had his first karate test last night. He started the class in April and was testing last night to get his orange belt. We love the group he is involved with - it isn't rigid and stoic like some of the martial arts schools we checked out and the guys in charge really have fun with the kids. The main sensei has his own six sons in the class and it is really neat to see him having fun with his own kids, too.

Caleb did great last night. He was pretty nervous ahead of time so we prayed with him in the car. They started the whole group doing some warm-up exercises like jumping jacks and push-ups. The large group did a kata together and then the students were separated by skill level and did the katas specific to their current belt color. Luckily Caleb didn't have to do anything completely by himself! We have noticed that he tends to watch the kids around him instead of his sensei and mess up on occasion, but he was flawless last night. You could tell he was so proud of himself when he finished. At the end of the night, the sensei had everyone sit down and close their eyes while he and his older sons put a bottle of gatorade, snack, certificate and their new belt in front of them all. Everyone opened their eyes at the same time to see their goodies and then they got to stand up and put their new belt on in front of everyone.

Caleb, we are so impressed with how hard you are working in your karate class. Keep it up and your dedication will continue to pay off. A new belt in only a few months is definitely something to be proud of. We love you!

This is My Life :)

2011-06-30T22:58:00.005-04:00

This morning I was in the kitchen finally making my breakfast at 10:30. Lillian called me in the bathroom to help her wipe her bottom and when I got in there I saw this:

There is a down side to potty training a young (and oh so mischievous) toddler named Jackson - you have to leave the bathroom door open all the time and risk messes like this! I finished with Lillian and rushed back in the kitchen to retrieve my burning bagel thins from under the broiler and hear Lillian calling to me that "something is wrong with the potty". When I went back in there, she had put ALL the unrolled toilet paper in the toilet bowl to help clean up the mess and it wouldn't flush. The worse part was, Jackson had already been in there to go pee in the meantime. Lovely!

I knew in the back of my mind I would probably have to fish all the paper out, but I think I was in denial so I called Scott to see what I should do. He asked me first if I wanted him to come home and do it and while that was very tempting, it seemed a little ridiculous for me to be that helpless. So I did what I needed to do to get the toilet working again... unbeknownst to me, Lillian hadn't flushed before she put all the paper in so I found a little present underneath it all. Scott told me it was like Christmas in June. Ick! Luckily the baby was asleep throughout the whole ordeal. We are now down one roll of toilet paper and one soiled kitchen spoon :)

Bath Time!

2011-06-26T20:25:00.003-04:00

We have a tradition in our family that Scott always gives our babies their first bath. There isn't much else he can do with a newborn since I breastfeed, so this has been his special way of bonding with each of them, along with lots of love and snuggles :) I really wanted Noah to get a bath before Scott left for his trip and wouldn't be able to do it for another week, so Monday morning he did it before we left for the airport. Noah screamed, of course - none of them have liked their first bath! Scott had lots of help from Lillian and Jackson (the oldest 2 were at camp).

Not long after I snapped this picture (before I put his diaper on), Noah peed all over the place. At least he didn't do it in his bath water!

Summer Fun

2011-06-26T16:46:00.009-04:00

Visits from friends and cousins...
Reading books on the canopy swing...

Ice cream on the front porch...

Running through the sprinkler...

Catching frogs in the backyard after an afternoon thunderstorm...

Party of 7

2011-06-26T16:40:00.006-04:00

Here is the view from our front seat... lots of little eyes looking up our way :) And here is the view in my laundry room - just when I thought I had things under control, there are more little clothes to wash.

Actually my system is still working pretty well, I just got a little behind when Scott was out of town all this past week and I ended up getting sick right when he was leaving. We still had a fun week together, but we all missed him and were so excited to have him back home yesterday!

Another Reason to Love Chick-Fil-A

2011-06-21T15:10:00.005-04:00

Last Thursday the Chick-Fil-A at Lakeland Square Mall hosted a Daddy Daughter Date Night. Ella and Lillian got all dressed up and enjoyed a night out with their daddy. Scott had bought me flowers earlier that day and asked if he could give one to each of the girls - they were so excited to get a rose from him!

There was a preset menu for them to choose from, with ice cream for dessert! The girls got a goodie bag with a stuffed cow and free kids' meal coupon. There were even servers bringing food to the tables and refilling drinks. Lillian was thrilled that she was allowed to drink Coke - what a treat!

One activity they had was a card with questions on it for each of them to answer - my sweet husband e-mailed me all of their answers because he knew I would enjoy putting it on the blog. What a man! Here they are:

Favorite color
Lillian: pink and purple
Ella: all the colors of the rainbow
Daddy: red and blue

Favorite TV show
Lillian: Jake and the Neverland Pirates
Ella: Disney Princesses
Daddy: Criminal Minds

Favorite animal
Lillian: whale
Ella: dolphin
Daddy: elephant

Favorite food
Lillian: PB&J
Ella: Steak and cinnamon rolls (that's my girl)
Daddy: Meatloaf and chicken pot pie

Childhood memory
Lillian: Playing and relaxing
Ella: back massages, being old enough to get my toenails painted, relaxing and this date
Daddy: going to baseball games

Place you want to visit
Lillian: Mima's
Ella: Granmommy's
Daddy: Ireland

Summer vacation idea
Lillian: Disney World
Ella: Beach and hotel
Daddy: mountains

One thing you love about Daddy
Lillian: hugging him and kissing him
Ella: how I scratch his back
Daddy loves about Lillian: how crazy and silly she is
Daddy loves about Ella: how helpful and kind she is

Soccer Camp

2011-06-15T14:21:00.004-04:00

Caleb and Ella started a week-long soccer camp on Monday. It is from 8:30 until noon and several of their friends from church are going as well. My friend Callie is actually taking my kids there every day and bringing them to me afterward - Scott drops them off at her house before he goes to work. That has been a HUGE blessing not having to load the other three in the car and try to work around feeding times for Noah.

They are also doing our neighborhood summer camp which runs everyday until 3 PM. After soccer camp ends they will be there all day, not just in the afternoons. Caleb has done it the last two summers and Ella was thrilled that this summer it was finally her turn! Normally I would only send them part-time but we decided this summer with a new baby at home it would be okay for them to go everyday. Plus they see LOTS of me during the school year :) It is very odd only having three at home, especially when one of those sleeps most of the time (for now)...

They asked if they could hold hands for this picture - how sweet!

Noah's Story

2011-06-12T13:13:00.009-04:00

Over a week later, here is the story of how Noah came into the world... (note - very long and some graphic details so be forewarned!)

After being postponed from a Friday night delivery because of a personal emergency my doctor had, we were thrilled when Saturday morning arrived and it was time to head to the hospital. We had followed through with our initial plans to have the kids spend the night with various people so that Scott and I could get a decent night's sleep and it worked - we were both very well rested, although I wasn't thrilled about going to the hospital without seeing the kids first. We called the hospital an hour ahead of time and they told us someone had just arrived in triage and there was another induction scheduled ahead of us and to please call back in an hour. We did, then we got the news that three more women were in active labor and had arrived since we last spoke with the charge nurse. We were told to call again in an hour. When it was nearing the end of the hour, I got a call on my cell phone from the charge nurse asking me if we would be willing to reschedule again to Sunday morning. I was devastated!! I tried to keep my wits about me and kindly explain to her that we had four other children and had already scrambled that morning to find people to watch them (after also doing the same thing for the initial Friday night plan) and I didn't think Sunday was a possibility. She told me she thought we might want to just have our Saturday back - HELLO, I was planning to have my baby today, not make an impromptu field trip to the beach or something! And part of the reason we decided to be induced was to make arrangements ahead of time for the kids!

I think she could tell how desperate I was so she told us to call back again at noon, or she would call us in the meantime if they cleared some rooms. That was probably the longest 120 minutes of my life! Mind you, I hadn't eaten anything since 4:00 Friday afternoon because I thought we were doing this Friday night! When we talked to her at noon, she said to come in at 1:00 PM - I was elated!! We only had to wait about 20 minutes for our room. We got settled and they hooked me up to the fetal monitor, and I got the dreaded IV. The pitocin was dripping by 1:50 and we heard from several different nurses that word on the street was I would deliver pretty quickly. We are a legend - ha!

The rest of the afternoon is kind of a blur - it was basically an occasional increase in pitocin with them checking me every so often and me not making progress as quickly as I remembered in the past. I got my epidural pretty early just in case - I wasn't ready for another Lillian episode (no epidural because she came too fast after they started the pitocin). When things get a little less fuzzy is in the evening when my epidural WORE OFF. I was pretty miserable but my doctor didn't want to top off the meds because he was concerned that it would affect my ability to push. At 7:45 I was 7 cm dilated and a little while later started feeling a small tinge of pressure so I told Scott to call the nurse. No kidding, before he got the words out of his mouth I started feeling really intense pressure and felt like the baby was literally coming out of me right then. The nurses and my doctor rushed in the room, I was 10 cm at 8:10 PM and it was go time! Unfortunately the room wasn't set up yet so everyone was scurrying around and all I remember is Scott telling me I couldn't push... good luck with that! I'm sure it was only a couple of minutes, but after what seemed like an eternity, it was time to push. Baby Noah came out rather quickly at 8:21 PM with no tearing or stitching and Scott got to announce to me that we had another baby boy!!! There is no experience in life quite like meeting your baby for the first time, but this time was especially emotional for me since I didn't think we were having any more kids. They laid him on my chest right away and actually left him there to cut the cord. In the past the doctor has always been holding them for that.

Scott brought the other kids back first by themselves so we could have some family time together, then Noah got to meet his grandparents, Uncle Austin, Uncle Mark, Madisyn and McKenzee. Such a sweet time, even at 9:30 PM with kids who had been in the waiting room for about 7 hours!

It was pretty quiet at the hospital. We did have several visitors and Uncle Austin made sure I was well-fed with some Chipotle and Krispy Kreme. My doctor offered to send me home on Sunday and I told him thanks but no thanks. :) Our pediatrician was actually on call in the hospital which is a first. Noah only got down to 7.10 in the hospital, down from his birth weight of 7.14. Scott was off all last week and basically cared for the older 4 by himself - he even took them all out to Sam's one day just to get everyone out of the house (they get stir crazy like their Momma). Not to mention all the times he took them outside to play in the blazing heat.

Last year we went on vacation to the beach for a week... this year's vacation wasn't quite as restful but I would make that trade anytime!

Welcome to Our World

2011-06-07T11:37:00.004-04:00

Noah Charles MacDonald
6/4/2011
8:21 PM
7 lbs. 14 oz.
20.25 inches long

More details to come, for now I am still readjusting to life back home from my 2 day babymoon :)

Baby Update

2011-06-04T12:32:00.004-04:00

We are headed to the hospital in about 15 minutes to meet our newest little one! I was supposed to be induced last night but my doctor had a personal emergency; then this morning, they delayed us because several women showed up already in labor. We have been calling every few hours and finally the last time we called they told us to come at 1 PM! We are so excited and would love your prayers for an easy, safe delivery and a healthy baby. And that the siblings will behave in the waiting room - ha!

Praise God for another miracle to love...

Lake Miriam Publix Tour

2011-05-21T19:16:00.005-04:00

Last Thursday was our annual playgroup tour of a local Publix store. It is pretty much the same tour year after year, but the kids always seem to enjoy it so we keep going back! They take you behind the scenes in all the different departments and then give you cookies and juice afterward. They also let your group take home the cake they decorated with the kids. We all met up at a park afterward for lunch and yummy pieces of cake (although I am not a huge cake eater, at least not with butter creme icing.

Garden Update

2011-05-21T17:53:00.004-04:00

We are having much more success with our garden this year. We picked a mess of beans yesterday and ate them for dinner tonight. We have TONS of tomatoes and blooms on the watermelon, zucchini and cucumber plants. The herbs are growing really well - I need to do something with them soon. The kids are enjoying seeing the fruits of their labor. I am enjoying some free produce!

Tea Time

2011-05-21T17:31:00.008-04:00

This morning we went to a Victorian Tea at Homeland Heritage Park with some of our neighbors. The event was put on by the county and it was their first time hosting something like this. It was so much fun and I loved having some one-on-one time with my girls.

We all dressed up this morning and the girls each got to pick a hat or bonnet to wear once we got there. Each place setting had its own china tea cup and saucer and a plate full of scones and cookies. Once we were all seated, they came around and let us choose the flavor of tea we wanted and gave us a plate with finger sandwiches on it. They also had punch for the little ones, but both of my girls wanted to try the hot tea - Lillian had peach mango and Ella had vanilla caramel. After the tea party ended, we got to wander around the park and check out all the old buildings - including a school house, church and old barn.

I am amazed that they were able to offer an event like this for free - such a fun experience and very well-organized. We will definitely go back if they do it again!

Twirling

2011-05-16T13:58:00.002-04:00

Ella had her first baton recital on Saturday. She has only taken 2 sessions of classes at Kelly Rec and only the last few lessons have included practice for their routine, but I think it was a good experience for her and definitely great for her to see all the other girls perform their routines.

She did really well for only having twirled about 2 months, and she is the youngest girl in her class. The teacher spared me the expense of a costume because sessions will be ending for the summer and she was afraid Ella may have a growth spurt and I would have to buy something bigger for the fall anyway.

Room Update, Girl Version

2011-05-16T13:16:00.003-04:00

Aside from the perpetual work in progress that this room will ALWAYS be, here are some updated pics of the girls' room now that Scott got their bunk beds set up. What a blessing that they were just given to us by someone at church! Pardon the random door propped up behind the beds - I am hoping someday to use it in place of one of the doors already hung in there. Also pardon the orange wall that doesn't match AT ALL - it is left there from when Caleb and Ella shared that room and we painted his part of the room to match his Gator bedding.

We have added another armoire that matches the one we already had from IKEA (also a gift from someone) and I did some toy organizing (and purging - shhh) a few weeks ago. I got the cute rug at our church yard sale for $3 and it matches their colors really well. There is also a new floor lamp in the corner that was $1 at the same yard sale and I am pretty sure it hadn't been used at all before we got it.

The girls LOVE their new beds - they kept telling us over and over again last night how excited they were to have them and were thrilled to get to sleep in them.

3 to go!

2011-05-15T21:03:00.005-04:00

I had a check-up on Friday and everything still looks good. My belly actually measured 32 cm, smaller than last time so I have probably dropped some. I am not dilated AT ALL (no surprise there) so I am not expecting anything to start happening anytime soon. But I am still feeling good and my blood pressure has stayed low so I am in no rush.

Still contemplating if I want to induce to have my doctor deliver since he has delivered all my others. If so, he is on call on my due date. There is still a small part of me that would love to experience going into labor on my own, but I don't know if it is worth the gamble of seeing another doctor. Speaking of my doctor, he snuck in a quick (free) sonogram on Friday and he said he caught a glimpse of between baby's legs, so I am pretty sure he knows what we are having (although he didn't know yet when he filled out our baby pool poster).

Finally...

2011-05-15T20:59:00.002-04:00

One of our kids is writing left-handed like their daddy!! Scott couldn't be happier. I am holding out hope that maybe #5 will actually look like me - what are my odds?

Shower Time!

2011-05-11T08:41:00.009-04:00

Last night was my Friendship Shower for Baby M. I decided to have it at Red Elephant because I love their food (I have mentioned their hummus on here before) and they have a nifty little room you can reserve for free to use for parties. My neighbor Christy organized the shower and paid for my dinner!

We all had a great time chatting and eating together, and I got a ton of gifts! I thought about bringing my girls but decided at the last minute not to - now I kind of wish I had. They would have enjoyed hanging out with the big girls!

Scott registered for this play gym because he liked the elephants and it is what his mom and aunt ended up getting us.HUGE basket of goodies from my very creative neighbor Christy who is the queen of cute packaging.Food pics - what I ate for dinner and dessert (the dessert was shared among all the ladies). Gotta have a record of that!Me with my neighbors minus Christy who had left already. I can't believe I didn't remember to take the pic until after she was gone!Here's all the loot - amazing and so appreciated since we had gotten rid of EVERYTHING. The three Gator onesies laying on the table are yet another creation by Christy - she took old kids' Gator clothes I was getting rid of and repurposed parts of them to sew onto new onesies. So creative and so fun to remember who wore them in their former life!

A Nice Surprise

2011-05-09T12:02:00.005-04:00

This little cutie has taken a sudden interest in using the potty. About a week and a half ago he started wanting to climb up and sit on it (with his clothes on) so I let him. Then he progressed to wanting his diaper off first. Saturday he peed on the potty for the first time and today he pooped! It was a little bit traumatic because he is still having some constipation issues (sorry if that is TMI) but it was his idea to sit there and I wasn't forcing him to stay so hopefully he will want to try again. He is getting m & m's as his reward and is walking around singing the silly potty song I made up a long time ago and have sung with all of the kids.

I am trying not to get my hopes up, but how great would it be if he would potty train before baby comes and we are only buying diapers for one kid! I wish I hadn't just bought diapers the other day; I would try some pull-ups for him.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T17:06:00.005-04:00

This year I have had more like a Mother's Weekend than just a Mother's Day! Friday night I got a night out with Scott. We ate at an Indian restaurant in town that we had a Groupon for. I have been there once before and fell in love with the food - it was his first time and he liked it a lot, too. After dinner we went shopping and he bought me a new Vera bag for Mother's Day. I adore this pattern and I am excited to have a bag larger than any of my others for overnight and/or weekend trips. This will most definitely be my hospital bag when baby comes!

Saturday morning I got to sleep in since we always have to get up early for church on Mother's Day. I awoke to breakfast in bed cooked by my kiddos (with Daddy's help, of course) - scrambled eggs, english muffin and freshly brewed coffee. After I finished eating, Scott took the older three kids to Lowe's for a Build and Grow clinic. This time they made a little bud vase holder with a heart on the front. This was Lillian's first time participating in one and she loved it! There were two other dads from church that took their kids - here is a picture of all of them together. Next up was more shopping - Scott came back home to pick up Jackson and I sent everyone on their way with their lunchboxes. Earlier in the week, Caleb decided that he wanted to spend his own money on a present for his Momma, and then everyone wanted to contribute. More later on what they got me! Last night after I got dinner ready and the kids bathed (Scott was outside putting together our new swing set), I got to go eat dinner at Chipotle with Austin and his mom. He even bought our food in honor of Mother's Day!

Sunday morning this is what I woke up to on our dining room table. Quite an impressive gift wrapping job! Unfortunately I didn't get to open it right away because we were rushing around to get ready as early as we could and go out to breakfast somewhere. We made the mistake one year of trying dinner out on Mother's Day and it was a nightmare, so I decided that we could try breakfast instead and maybe it wouldn't be so crowded. Breakfast with my family at Mimi's Cafe - YUM!! I splurged on eggs benedict and it was so good. We got to the restaurant just after 8:00 and didn't have to wait at all. By the time we left, the lobby was full and it was only an hour later.Back at home and we had enough time for me to open cards and my present before church. This is what the kids got me. I saw this print last summer when we were at the beach and fell in love with it. Scott and I were browsing in a shop at St. Armand's Circle in Sarasota and I remember at the time I almost teared up reading it because it was so sweet. And I was still mourning the fact that I didn't think we were having any more babies (ha!)... and I thought it would look PERFECT in our house because we have almost those same exact colors on our walls - yellow in the kitchen, sage green in the dining room and a cranberry in the living room. Anyway, Scott and the kids found it at the Hallmark store in the mall and got it for me. What a perfect Mother's Day gift!

After church we took lunch to Mima and Papa's house and shortly we will be enjoying a cook-out next door with a bunch of our neighbors. What a fun, relaxing and perfect weekend. I am so blessed!