Post Season (Fall!) is Here!

I have a love/hate relationship with Play-doh.  It can make me really happy when my kids find the new play-doh I bought them in the basket, and they *play* all morning (and I get to sleep in!)...yet, the mess is undeniably the most horrible ever.  I'd almost rather clean splashed oatmeal up.  It's just moist enough that I can't sweep it-it rolls, then it's dry in spots, and it won't come off the floor-especially after it's walked on!  And the tabletop?  It's a sea of crumbly bits.  I don't even care that they mix colors-that's no big deal compared to the mess.  I have learned a couple things:  1-If you wait a bit to clean the floor, the rolly bits dry enough to sweep or vacuum, and 2-use a dry paper towel to wipe the crumbs from the table, and 3-wait till the squished-into-the-fabric bits dry, then scratch them off.  Yes, all this for some sleep-in time.  But, yes, it was worth it!  (And when you come over, please don't mention the bits dried in the grout-I haven't figured that one out yet.)
We've had a ball the last few days!  I had a friend who shared her friends-n-family discount for Gymboree-50% off full-price stuff! (Woo-Hoo!), so I've been there twice, and called in an order to the outlet!  I was SO excited.  I now have ALL the gray/pink/leopard line-seriously!  I'd just gotten some with my gymbucks, so I really needed nothing.  I also got more of the Holiday Panda from the outlet, and the red poppy and Dance Rocks lines from the regular stores.  Whew-I'm done for the winter!  I even got the kids' Christmas outfits: the red plaid dress and shirts!
So, yes, there is life outside Gymboree..we had two baseball games on Saturday, swam every day, had *fun* at a World Card Making Event Saturday night, and here are a few cards I made:

A cute one with glittery candies

A birthday card with sparkly cupcake!

So glad I learned to "mask" and use the aqua painter to color these!

Today, we finally got down all our fall decorating tubs!  We had to go back up and look all over-I'd lost a couple pillows, but all's well now.  I found my pillow covers and fillers:

Then, it was getting close to the kids' bedtime, so I only did one more area-the entry:

Here's a closeup of one of my favorite pictures of Mary Claire when she was little-it's a picture of a picture, but the original is on Ches' computer.  She was always so adorable in pigtails!  I think this was the first year we were in this house:

I found this big sign-hanging thing I made last year, but it was all wrinkly from being in the attic.  I sprayed it down with water-I hope it'll lay flat again!  I don't know if I can iron paint...

And here we go into the week.  It's the first week of ticket sales for the Husky Hoedown-so I don't know how busy it'll be-I'll go in Tuesday to trade money for tickets.  Ethan will be with me, but he can play with Trevor! : )

Ok, the Phillies game is so loud, I can't think anymore.  They are doing so well, and Ches is pumped.  They are his team, and holy cow-they might go aallll the way!  They have finally beat the Reds for the third time-(including a no-hitter game at the first game!)!  He's so excited.  I'm really glad we went to watch them at spring training.  It's hard to get tickets in season, but spring was easy-and they've gotten even better!  I hope they win the world series!  It won't be that much longer. . . (and we had Philly cheese steaks yesterday just for them!)

When we can say what we think

I took my precious Sunday off (from writing, not from life!). Ethan got up at 4:44a, busy morning (lots of laundry/packing!), we went to church, lunch at home, lazy afternoon (naps for some of us!), grilled dinner, Ches swam with the boys, and then I played outside till 8:45 with the kids on the driveway. Great day!

We are gearing up for our next trip-to Philadelphia, Ocean City, PA, and Washington, DC. We leave Wednesday, so I have to get busy. I've been doing the laundry, matching up outfits for the kids, etc. I shopped a little for the trip last week. I've got new floaties/rings for the kids at the beach, new small-size play-doh for restaurants and the plane, they each got a new toy for the trip, I have new crayons and coloring books, and I got them new chapter books to read on the way. Ches also got Ethan some new Thomas the Tank Engine movies stored on his iPhone for the plane. Ethan has this tendency to kick the person sitting in front of him, so we have to distract him.

I have such great friends! : ) I watched Kendra's dog, Mady, this weekend, and she's going to watch my pool next week! I love it. Actually, maybe she got the short end of the stick. We'll be gone for longer, so I hope it doesn't get to be too much work! We are forecast to have some storms, which means she'll probably have to drain some water off the pool on Thursday. : ( I hope it even stays warm enough for her and the kids to swim!! With the temperature dropping lately (in July?!), the water temp has dropped. We were swimming in 83 degree bath water, and now it's like cold again! It might be around 77, which is okay, but I like it around 80. Picky? Yep. But not being picky is just not making decisions. I'm trying to get out of that land. I was there for too long! : )

Alrighty, gotta get more packing done. I just finished this post that I've been working for a day and a half! It's only going to get busier.

*Just for fun:
I had an interesting conversation with my mother-in-law yesterday. We were talking about getting ready to go on the trip, and I was telling her all I was doing, and I was stressed, as usual. (I think I operate well in High Stress mode.) Anyway, she said what was that called, and I said, I know OCD. And she said that I could probably "see someone" for that, who could help me. I said, I know, but I kinda like me like this; I like my stuff all organized and clean (referring to my almost daily vacuuming...). So, she didn't say anything else. #1: Bravery on her part to say it. #2: Bravery on my part for saying I like myself how I am. What a great world when you can say what you think!! : )

Hiring Babysitters, No Hair Cutting Required

Did you miss me yesterday? Cause I can ‘xplain. Cleaned three messy kids’ rooms (took pix, but may be too embarrassed to post), vacuumed all upstairs, stairs, half of downstairs, washed/changed all bedding, reconciled my bank account with Quicken (on the day the statement came-go me!), and Vanessa came to visit us. We ran to Harp’s to get more dinner ingredients, made Philly cheese steaks (Ches is VeRy good at making!), homemade fries, and strawberries. Yum! Then we cleaned up, Vanessa left, and the kids jammied and got ready for bed. I vegged for at least 20 minutes on the couch, before moving to the bedroom to Wii for a little bit, then laid in bed reading my new Storage (I know, but I LoVE it! By Better Homes & Gardens), then knew I was headed south. I brought Lexi down, washed my face, and crashed. I was so very tired. Cleaning is draining. And when I was wii’ing (three i's in a row just look wrong), the Wii lady voice/trainer said, “I bet you’ll sleep well tonight,” and it was Suggestive Psychological Babble (that worked).

So today, guess what? Yep, busy! I had an appointment for the kids’ haircuts at ten, so I got ready, then we pulled it together and left. We were on time, but she was still busy. We waited a minute, and the kids were really very good (small cheer!). Mary Claire was first, and was fine. Clay was second, and was a little fussy-he doesn’t like even ONE hair on him! He had some hair on his face and kept using the(incredibly hairy) cape to wipe his face, thus making it Worse. Ethan was last, and The Worst!! He screamed, yelled (not the same thing), fought me, kicked, snotted up, teared up, swung his arms, yelled some more, and generally wore me out! When he was done (or when we just quit), he looked at me and said, “Night, night”. He was equally tired! On the way home, I called Ches, and my hand was shaking from muscle fatigue! My body was so sore, I can’t even imagine little Ethan’s.

Next was a quick lunch together, then Mary Claire and I were off to Kiersten’s birthday party. It was very cute-a rocker/karaoke/guitar theme. She had fun, got a blow-up guitar, worried about a few things, but thanked me for taking her(!). We didn’t really have time to run home before church so I called Ches, and we Made Plans. Sis and I ran into Fabric Gallery and bought some fabric for new insulin pump pouches (I wanted her to pick some fabrics/colors), then we hurried off to church. Our bishop, Anthony Taylor, was there, so it was CroWdeD! There were lots of extra chairs around the sanctuary, and they were full! It was an extra long Mass. And she complained about her shoes hurting, and her tummy hurt (she was 127, then 220 just 30 minutes later!), and how many more songs…

Afterwards, we went back to the house, picked up Ches and the boys, and went to eat, which I was not looking forward to at all (for good reason-I am psychic). We went to Jose’s, which was an okay choice. We got there, they didn’t take our order for forever (10 minutes with children is toooo long), then Ethan started his “Get Down” stuff. He got out, was screaming, trying to climb over our booth, etc. Ches took him to the car, and I called him when the food came out (only about 4 minutes later). Then before we were done, he started it again. It’s just a big ol’ waste of $45. Yep, it’s not cheap to eat out with 3 ordering kids anymore. We have made a Decision. From now on, we will save the $21 it takes to buy their kid menu items, and use the $21 to pay a babysitter once a week so we can go out alone for 3 hours ($7 an hour-wanna take a turn??) and eat slowly so we can digest our food before we leave (and maybe order dessert and have meaningful conversation?).

So then Ches dropped me off at Hobby Lobby (more fabric pieces), ran to get gas and a Dt. Coke at McDonald’s (his second favorite hobby), and then back to get me. Then home, kids jammied, and into bed. Well, Mary Claire was 336, so I had to change her site really quick. Then I had to prewash the fabrics to start pump pouches (I predict sewing is in my future…).

Now that I’ve had a few minutes to catch you up, I have to get ready for tomorrow! Agenda follows:
11:15am Lunch together, clean up
12pm Ethan down for nap
1-2:30 JDRF Family Event at Fast Lane (bowling & games)
3-4:30 Nora’s Bday Party
4:55-5:05pm Eat dinner together
5:15-6:15pm Ches and Clay to Church
6:30-7:30 Kids bathed and to bed, and we get ready for another day: make lunches, pack backpacks, lay out clothes

My new blog title will henceforth be: So you wanna be a mom?

We had a discussion about only children (no siblings). They must never argue with their siblings, never fight about who got more jell-o with Cool Whip (tonight’s snack), who got to go to a party today/who didn’t, they want sibling (which one changes day-to-day) to get out of their room, someone touched them, they want different crayons (at Jose’s), who drew better, how realistic (or Not) the other person’s drawing was, who got more reading time (just guess). Is it quiet at your house? Then you need more kids! You haven’t experienced full-on parenting! (ok, sometimes we’re jealous)
Maybe you could try rent-a-sibling for a day. Or we do a three-for-one deal for three hours for $21. Have you heard about it?