Blueberry Ranch

Prince Charming took over taking the kids to the Blueberry Ranch since I was not feeling up to it.

They came home with 20 lbs. of fresh blueberries and 10 lbs. of frozen.  Thankfully everyone loves blueberries!!!!

At the Stable

Curly Bear at an early morning riding lesson.

Swim Lessons 2012

The older kids look forward to swim lessons all winter.  They love Ms. Grace!  They also love looking for the pet tortoise that roams around their yard!  Cuddlebug took lessons this summer too and at first was not excited about it but by the end couldn't wait to go.

No, their teacher is not yelling at them.  She is cheering for them.  Listening to swim lessons always makes me smile.  I love how encouraging she is. 

B.W. has a pretty mean freestyle.  Curly Bear's favorite stroke is the breaststroke.  Both kids don't care for the backstroke because they both are worried about hitting their heads on the wall.  Ms. Grace taught them how to count their strokes but they still would always be looking back.

Lovebird joined the lessons the second week.  She fell in love with Ms. Grace's daughter, Laura.

Cuddlebug made such an improvement over the two weeks.  The first day she was terrified.  By the end she was diving to the bottom to get toys with a little help from Ms. Grace.

More importantly she became much more comfortable in the water which means it's much easier to take all the kids to the pool by myself!  The kids might take a few more weeks later in the summer or early fall.

Curly Bear is 8!!!!!!

Curly Bear's birthday turned into five days of celebration.  She started the weekend off by having a friend stay the night.  It turned into an impromptu spa night and avocado masks were sported.  Now these two L.O.V.E. their avocado so there was some eating of the facial masks going on.  Which was fine since it was just an avocado mashed.  There was pizza for dinner, movies watched, swimming, and McDonalds for lunch the next day.  

Later that evening we grilled out and then had Curly Bear's Duffy Bear cake.  This was a cake that went together in a flash with no problems.  Which was good considering I was making and decorating it a few hours before we ate it!

Curly Bear's big present was a trip to the American Girl store.  The Girl of the Year is McKenna who is a gymnast so Curly Bear was pretty excited about seeing her. 

Cuddlebug also joined us.  She loved that she got to come on a big kid trip.

We had brunch at the cafe with the girls dolls.

Lanie thoroughly enjoyed herself.

So did Curly Bear!

After brunch we made our purchases.  Curly Bear decided to use her birthday money and some she had been saving and buy the McKenna doll.  Daddy and Mommy added in the fun bar and beam set.  It was a very fun trip.  We then headed to IKEA to pick up some dressers and then it was back home.  The next day we went to Uncle B's skating party.  It seems to be a new tradition that for your 30th birthday you rent the skate rink to feel young again.  Because Curly Bear and him share a birthday she got to take a ride in the big skate and have Uncle B push her around.  They almost ran over a few people with there crazy speed but much fun was had.

Bear Hugs

 The girls have been wanting to go to Build A Bear for a really long time.  I figured with the boys gone this would be a great super special treat.  We had planned on going tomorrow but my phone was having issues and I had to go in to the Apple store for a support appointment so we moved bear making since we would be at the mall already.  They each got to pick a bear and an outfit.  I love how Lovebird was just as excited to do this for the mere fact that she knew her older sisters were excited about it so it must be cool.

We then came back home and watched Mary Poppins.  Everyone dozed on and off during the movie and got some much needed naps.  It was Mickey waffles for dinner which I made way too many of.  I keep forgetting that Prince Charming and B.W. are not eating and keep making way too much food.  But it looks like with all the leftovers I can put grocery shopping off for a few extra days!

Girls Only: Saturday

The boys are in California on an "All Guys" trip.  The girls are trying to keep busy at home.  We have a list of things to get done around the house and a list of fun things to do while they are gone.  Yesterday we did better on our fun list than we did on the To Do list.  It was extremely hot and we worked outside until about 10am and then came in.  Lovebird loved playing in the dirt while we tried to figure out what to plant where.  We did get the back deck planters done and now we just have the front planters and the container vegetable garden left.  Hopefully it cools down in the next few days so we can finish.

After everyone was bathed and showered. We relaxed around the house for a little bit while Lovebird took a nap and then we headed out.  First stop was Panera Bread for a late lunch.  I'm not sure if the weather really was soup kind of weather but the two older girls LOVE broccoli cheddar so there was no question what they would be eating.  Then we headed to Hobby Lobby, Target, and Home Depot.

When we were finally back home we broke out the fun activities and crafts we found at Hobby Lobby.  Balloons are always a hit!

This is Cuddlebug's concentration face.  They were trying to see how many balloons they could keep up in the air at one time.

Then it was time for some crafting fun.

Lovebird joined us and well.....she mostly just threw all the pieces all over the table but she still had a good time.  With a little help she finished her craft.

Curly Bear and Cuddlebug then made another craft while I tried to keep Lovebird happy and occupied.  She is really missing B.W. when it comes to play time.  I have caught her in his room numerous times looking for him.  She also has been singing a "Dada" song every time we go anywhere in the car.  I think she is hoping we are going to pick up the boys.  We ended the night with painting toenails and then had a light dinner.  We have many more fun activities planned and hopefully the next few days will be productive and most of all fun!

At the Car Wash

 Car washing has been a favorite activity so far this summer.  I pulled in and found a car wash party going on.  I barely was out of the van before they started on it.

"Surely Daddy didn't mean to wash all my cute little finger prints off the car.  I'll go make sure they get back on before he even pulls it back in the garage."

Weird?!?!

I have absolutely no idea why homeschoolers get the reputation of being "weird".  What?  You don't read hanging upside down?

Stubborn

Lovebird is definitely winning the award for "Most Stubborn" child.  She lives up to her names meaning of Princess.  She is now 18 months old and at her well baby check up was refusing to walk.  Now we knew she could do it.  We had seen her do it.  If she felt like it or something was being offered that she really wanted.  She also wasn't using as many words as she should have been.  Why use words when shrieking at the top of your lungs and pointing always gets an immediate response from an older sibling?  He asked me if I wanted to have a First Steps consultation.  Thankfully he's the father of 5 and really was relaxed about the whole thing and trusts my judgement.  I told him if she wasn't walking or talking more by 20 months then I would consider it.  I told him I think she is just stubborn and really just chooses not to walk and talk.  To which Lovebird immediately looked straight at him, smiled big, and shook her head yes!  He looked at me and said, "I would definitely agree.  I think she is fine."  Oh and she started to choose to walk and talk a few days after that appointment.  She obviously didn't want people to think she was not living up to what those medical books say she should be accomplishing.

This is her stubborn look caught on camera.

 

I FEEL HUGE!!!!!

I'm blaming it on the summer heat.  But I'm not sure if that is completely the culprit.  This pregnancy I feel H.U.G.E!!!!  I think part of the problem is I go to my closet and see all of my cute summer clothes........and know that unless I want to be one of those women who lets the world see their huge belly those clothes will more than likely stay on those hangers for the ENTIRE summer.  Just for the record, I do not think it is ever attractive to have your big pregnant belly sticking out.  I think another problem is I did a ton of ab work before I became pregnant and am now feeling the pain from it.  I guess I should say feeling all my hard work rip apart with every movement, kick, and flip.  But I can't wait until I can start working out like normal again and I can hope that we will be heading to either Florida or California this winter so I can take those favorite summer clothes off the hangers before next summer arrives.  And that concludes this pregnancy rant.  Sometimes it's good to let those frustrations out.  At least I know that it is always worth it in the end. {smile}

Our Home: The Question

So as I look at this picture I do see what others see. What others think. What some come right out and ask and what others keep quietly to themselves. "Are you done?" And no they are not asking whether I'm done with lunch, done with the good book I am reading, or done with the chair they are wanting. No, they are asking if we are done having children. It's a question that I have many different responses to and many different attitudes about. Normally I am happy to answer that question. But there are days.......or I guess I should say people.....that I really don't want to answer for. Like the stewardess on the plane that asks as we file everyone to their seats and she acts as though we are bringing on ammunition. I smile and don't answer the question. Do you think she would want to hear that I'm not talking much because I'm praying that this flight goes well and that I don't get nauseous with morning sickness?

Prince Charming often jokes that something may be wrong with us. We can not begin to imagine having the last baby and not wanting just one more. The Bible says that children are a blessing and we want to be blessed I guess!!! The Lord has blessed us more than we could have ever imagined. I have been diagnosed with so many problems that should make it difficult or maybe even impossible to have children but that has never been the case. We have suffered the heartache of miscarriage but never because of any of these problems. We feel that it is a testimony to the Lords goodness that we are going on #5. So I will now put to rest the comments and questions we've heard in the last few months.

1. Do you know how that happens? This would be one of those questions I smile and don't answer because I think it's a ridiculous thing to ask so....{smile}

2. You are done right? If the Lord says we are done then we are done......but we sure hope not!

3. Are you trying to compete with the Duggars? Last I checked there was a pretty big difference between 5 and 19 but Prince Charming and I are very competitive people......so bring on the challenge if that makes you feel better. {smile}

4. Are you going to buy a bus? Well we don't know. Right now we can still fit in our Odyssey but as far as traveling in it goes it is going to be a little tight. We've been looking for down the road and yes to the chagrin of Prince Charming we see a Sprinter van in our future. This weekend he is actually going and getting his sports car that he's been wanting to help ease the pain of being a bus driver. I'm pretty sure he'll make it through this crisis when it arrives....or should I say docks.

5. What do your kids think about baby #5? They are as excited as ever! B.W. is of course really hoping it's a boy. He loves all his sisters but still really wants a brother.

6. And our most favorite question and objection to having more than the "normal" amount of children.........How are you going to pay for all that college education?!?! Ummm, we probably won't pay for all of the college education. {Enter gasp here} Even if a child's parents can afford to pay for them to have a free ride we think children should work for their education. I'm not saying that we are cutting them off and they are on their own but we want our children to learn that education is a privilege and not an entitlement. We have quite a few years to sort this subject out and I know that when we come to that bridge the Lord will lead us over it in the right direction.

I personally think it's kind of funny that people act like we have a large family because I don't feel like we have a large family. Yes there are days when I feel like I need four hands but what mom doesn't. All I know is that if the Lord wants to bless we are all for it!!!!!

Cuddlebug is 4!!!

The last week in March is always packed full with birthday celebrations for Prince Charming and Cuddlebug. This year was even crazier with Prince Charming and I leaving for California the day after Cuddlebug's birthday.
Despite the craziness Cuddlebug had a very fun day. It started with her breakfast choice of doughnuts and then she opened gifts.
She then got to be the only kid to get to come to the ultrasound to see the baby. A trip to the mall for a little clothes shopping was also included.

The night before we rented the roller rink and Cuddlebug had a ride in the big skate. This was something she wasn't sure about but when she was told that daddy could be the one to push her she jumped right in.

Skating with friends is always fun.

Skating with Daddy and friends is even better!

On the night of Cuddlebugs's birthday we took all the kids over to Grandma and Grandpa's to get settled in for the week that mommy and daddy would be gone and then we had cake. She went to Meijer and designed her cake herself. This girl knew what she wanted! Cuddlebug also wanted to go to Chuckee-Cheese but we just ran out of time. She was so understanding and agreed to go after we got back from California. Happy Birthday to our sweet and hilarious Cuddlebug!

I'm Not Complaining

So for weeks I've tried to get back to blogging. I feel like I go straight from fall to spring. And partly that's because we did! The winter was so mild and we really didn't have much snow or cold. Being a hot weather person I am definitely not complaining. I must admit though that I just feel like my body can't figure out this new Midwest climate. I'm sure pregnancy isn't helping. My daffodils were up be the middle of March. Right now we are enjoying the colorful tulips.

On March 18th we were out playing mini golf........... with no jackets on.


Yes, on March 20th we had our first Family Beach Night. This is absurd! We normally are ecstatic if it is warm enough to start these by the middle of May! It was beautiful and the kids couldn't get enough sun, sand, and waves. It has cooled down in the past few weeks but most days still seem warmer than usual. I'll take this nice weather! I suppose if this is the new Midwest winter I may be able to handle it.