Mawwiage Is What Bwings Us Togevah Today

So I realized I didn't have a blog name for Assistant.  She says she wants to be Anna from Frozen.  I think my family is the last in America who hasn't seen the movie yet.  I had to ask which girl that was and she said, "not the one with the powers.  The one who gets engaged to a guy she just met."

Which is funny because she just got married after a rather short engagement.  Some of us went to the wedding.  It was really pretty.

Vanellope in her fancy dress, checking out Anna's fancy dress too.

My Duchess was a junior bridesmaid and had her first updo.  So SO cute.  It was freezing cold and so she borrowed a suit jacket from Vanellope's daddy.

Merryweather and Aurora with Mama and Auntie Doll, and me and Duchess.

Friday Focus- Chip

Mr. Chip has many interests these days. Most of them still do not involve smiling for the camera, but I did manage to catch a few really cute shots of him when we were all playing the other day. We're still working with The Letters Are Lost, and so there's been a LOT of time building alphabet block towers. He was very intent on getting to stand up tall so he could knock it down.
Okay, I got this one ready....

This is the highest tower in the world! I can knock it over now!

Ooh. That was so super cool!

Oh, I love this picture. I hardly EVER get one where he's smiling *and* looking at the camera and *not* running at my face. I guess the excitement of a job well done was enough for him to be able to appease the crazy lady with the camera just this once.

He still loves to climb and has been looking for more creative and interesting things to scale rather than just the table. The other day I found him behind our L-shaped couch, stuck in the little triangular area in the corner by the wall. I suppose climbing OUT needs to be his next accomplishment. I didn't actually see how he got back there- he could have gone over the back, or just tunneled behind it, since the gate I usually have there is still not back in place after being used to corral the Christmas tree. He was happy as a clam for a few minutes, and then annoyed when he realized he needed help to get out. He would really rather not take my help with much of anything these days. In fact, I get the Great Look Of Scorn a majority of the time. He's definitely Kanga's boy. :)

It's fun to take care of the younger sibling- we have so much history with his big sister Belle. She and Duchess are still very close. Chip and Belle look so much alike to me, and sometimes they have the same mannerisms. Mostly I like to watch the way they interact with each other. Belle is pretty much devoted to getting what Chip wants before he asks for it, and cannot stand to see him get upset. I have a feeling that if the sentiment sticks around much longer, Chip is going to start milking it for ALL he can get. I mean, who wouldn't right? Why bother to get up and get your own stuff, or even have to ask for it, when big sis is so happy to do it for you? :) Duchess used to be that way with O'Malley too, but now that he's getting older she is beginning to find him annoying. I wonder if these two will follow the same path.

Introducing Chip

Our youngest member of the bunch is Chip. He is Belle's little brother. I try to keep siblings in the same movie. :) So he's the little teacup, not the Rescue Ranger, for those of you keeping track at home.

It's nice to have siblings and stay in touch with families. I love how much they look alike. It's fun to remember Belle being so small, now that she's off at school and almost finished with kindergarten already.


Chip is a laidback, cheery, smily boy. Lots of fun to have around. Kanga always says she wants to tuck him in her purse at the end of the day and take him home with her.

He did cry one time. It was noteworthy and we took pictures of it, because even while crying he's just so cute.


And I realize in these pictures he's not really smiling. How silly of me. My very favorite picture of him is already up in the header though. So just peek up there.

Thanksgiving Prep

Tomorrow we're hosting a feast. Belle will be here, since kindergarten is off for the week, and I think Tinkerbell may pop in also. All the parents are invited for lunch and we're working hard to get things ready. The mashed potatoes are done and tucked safely into the fridge, and everybody has pronounced them tasty. I stuck a bite in Ariel's mouth when she wasn't paying attention and she went, "EEEWW I don't like... hey this is yummy!" See, you gotta try things.

Everyone old enough to help did some measuring and mashing. They all had great fun.





Aurora acting as Quality Control Manager in Supervisory Capacity:

Next we're baking cornbread for dressing and chocolate cake for cakeballs. YUM.

How Time Flies!

Belle and Duchess will start kindergarten on Monday. They've been together as long as they can remember, but I think they're both excited about their new adventure. I'm feeling all nostalgic and was looking through old pictures of them. We've come so far!

When I was doing daycare with my mom, we bought coordinating shirts for the kids and had a photographer come in for a group shoot as a Christmas surprise for all the parents. Duchess is the little one in the red sitting in my lap and Belle is doing the supermodel pose across the front. All the rest of those kids are long gone, off to first or second grade at this point...

The girls took dance class together on Saturdays when they were two.

No day is complete without some princess dressup time.

Last month at Duchess' birthday party.

Silly? Us? We're never silly!

After our farm field trip last fall.

One of the earliest ones of them together I could still find- we were still at my mom's so they had to be less than two.

The first summer in my playroom.

They thought it was so funny to all climb into bed with Haylie when she was here.

More Princess fun at Halloween 2005.

One of our many birthday celebrations.

It's so exciting and strange to think of them in kindergarten. Keep in touch girls! We love you!

Miss Marie

Marie is back! She had gone home for the summer and I wasn't sure if we would get to see her anymore, but it turns out that we do. She'll be here until around October when her mama goes on maternity leave and she gets to go home with her new little sister.

She has learned about four hundred words since she left in May. It's like we got a different person back- a total conversationalist. She's told me her little sister is sleeping in Mommy's tummy, not ready to wake up yet. It's so cute. She remembers all the routines and has slipped back into the rhythm of our day very easily. No transition needed at all, which is very nice.

I need to take some new pictures of her because her hair has gotten really long too.

This week begins the season of changes that we have going on- I have eight kids just for this week, then next Monday Belle will go off to kindergarten and I'm back to seven. At the end of September I'm getting a delicious teeny squishy six week old, who is currently one week old. I'll post pictures of her once I get permission from her mama. She's so greasy and wonderful. :)

Lunchtime Discussion

Oh, the ongoing things they say... makes me tired and also makes me laugh. Such fun days we have.

I made sort of macaroni and cheese for lunch. Bowties, homemade sauce, pureed sweet potato/carrot, and then I also sauteed a vidalia onion, some corn, and turkey sausage and threw that in there too. Kind of casserole, kind of mac and cheese. I like to put veggies in whenever possible, and I can sometimes trick people who don't like corn into eating it if I hide it in same colored casseroles. OH MY the deliciousness of this dish. I did not need to eat a second helping, but I couldn't stop myself.

So I'm cooking...

Tink: Is lunch ready yet?
Me: No, babe, still cooking.
Tink: mm. What are we having?
Me: mac and cheese, with some other stuff in it.
Tink: Oh. I don't like mac and cheese. It makes my tummy hurt.
Me: Sweetie, anything will make your tummy hurt if you eat four plates of it. I think maybe last time you just got too full.
Tink: Oh. yes. I will eat that.
Belle: What are we having?
Me: mac and cheese, with sausage and corn.
Belle: I DON'T LIKE SAUSAGE!
Me: yes you do, but you don't have to eat it as long as you don't talk about it. I know you like it though.
Belle: I'm not going to eat that.
Ariel: What are we having?
(geez, do you people not LISTEN to each other?)
Me: mac and cheese.
Ariel: I don't like mac and cheese.
Me: You would, if you'd ever try it. You like spaghetti noodles, and you like cheese. I don't know why you don't want to try it.
Ariel: Can you put my cheese on the side by it?
Me: No.
Ariel: I'm not going to eat it. Are we having anything else?
Me: Peas, I think.
Ariel: I will eat peas and go to bed.
Me: okay.
O'Malley: WAFFLE! CRACKER! WAFFLE! CRACKER!
Me: O'Malley, are you hungry?
O'Malley: YAYSH.

So I finally get the stuff cooked and on the table. I give everybody a spoonful, except Ariel, who gets one noodle and a piece of sausage a little ways from it. They all hog out and ask for seconds and thirds, except of course my anti-pasta girl who ate her sausage and begged for more. The same sauce is on the noodles, which you like if they're covered in red sauce... I do not understand that girl's eating habits.

And yes, Tink ate four helpings again, and Belle decided oh, she did like sausage after all- THIS is sausage? I like this. I thought you were talking about something else. Snow White chowed, of which there was never any doubt. She's my best eater. And O'Malley rubbed it in his hair, and Sebastian ate his noodles and got mad that I wouldn't let him have more when he wouldn't eat his sausage or corn. He and his sister should get together- they sometimes eat a balanced meal between the two of them.

Now they're settled for rest, and I'm trying to not eat the rest of this stuff right out of the pan.

Doh!

Play-Doh, that is... they decided it would be too hot to go outside today and asked me to get the Play-Doh down around 9:45. I had to talk them into cleaning it up at 11:30. The girls had a great time, and the boys enjoyed going back and forth. Having the playroom to themselves to run the cars around was more appealing to them than squishing spaghetti and building bugs.

It's the kind of day that I think- oh. I haven't sent home an art project in about a week. I should make them do art. But this is art, and it kept them happy and busy for almost TWO hours, and we talked about all kinds of things while they worked. It's just my hangup to think we didn't really do anything if there's not a finished project for parents to see. :)

Splashing

I remember now why I don't do water days very often- MAN they are a lot of work. :) Getting everyone changed, into swim diapers if they need it, finding towels and sunscreen, getting the equipment set up, supervising during the water play, dealing with some who hate it and want to go inside immediately while others love it and scream when it's time to come in no matter how long you've been out, tracking in mud and grass, getting everyone dried off and changed, being behind schedule on making lunch.... I was very glad my sister showed up to be an extra pair of eyes and hands. :)

We are very feast or famine with the water play- either they LOVE it or they very much do NOT. This year it's pretty much big kids vs. little kids- 3 and up love it, anybody younger would rather stand on their head in an ant pile than be wet.

Highlights from the HAVE NOTS:
(not much interesting going on when you're sitting on the sidelines... )
Sebastian stayed like this for a really long time, then gave up and tried to go sit in one of the cars. By then the yard was really wet and he got mud on his toes. He lost it. He hates to be dirty, and he was freaking out about the mud, but also about the water, and he wouldn't let me put him in the spray to clean him off. Poor kid- can't win for losing. :)

Supervising from the porch...

O'Malley gave up on us completely and left the area- he digs the sandbox.

Highlights from the HAVES:
(water! lots of water! stay in it till we're pruny and muddy!)


I had to pry them out of this pool with a crowbar when the water looked like lentil soup. They were in there FOREVER.
Showing off her cute new swimsuit.
Snow White and Ariel- I had to take four shots to finally get one with their eyes open, but didn't it turn out cute?

As far as a review of the spray park, I think it's a pretty good time for forty bucks. It took me almost two and a half HOURS to blow up all the stupid huge animals by myself- I really recommend using a pump of some sort. The only one we have is for our tires and plugs into the car lighter- so I couldn't really go out there and use it. Blowing up three ginormous toys with your own breath power is a lot of work and I had a headache the rest of the day. Also, it says you need to use the hose and put water weight in the bottom of the elephant and giraffe, which I didn't do because they were impatient to get started. The elephant did okay without it, but the giraffe really does need it. It kept falling over and we couldn't get it to work right. But that also might be because I ran out of breath and maybe didn't put enough air in it. Other than that the whole thing was awesome and worked well to keep 12 kids occupied for over an hour- that's a good time. :)

Pictures!

I can't believe it's been SO long since I posted. Lots going on around here~ and no time to document it. :)

We've been spending lots of time outside lately since the weather has been nice. I'm really enjoying this tiny window where it's not 1000 degrees yet, so we've been hanging out in the yard most mornings and sometimes in the afternoons too.

I despair of ever getting a decent sibling picture of Ariel and Sebastian.


Sweat + Sand = Nasty on Flounder



Cheesy Grin- too bad she isn't at all photogenic, right?



Our friend is back! She graduated to a new preschool last fall, but will be here through the summer before she heads off to kindergarten. I'll have to come up with a princess name for her too- I'm sure that's what she will want. I guess we'll call her Belle for now.


And here's Marie, looking annoyed that I dragged her away from what she was doing to make her look up and take a picture.

Happy Friday, and have a great long weekend!