Catch Up: {Curly Bear Turns 7}

Curly Bear had a great birthday. There were a TON of activities planned. The festivities started the night before with cake and some gift opening.
I was convinced by my husband that because we were leaving for the cottage the next day that buying a cake would be easier and much more practical. He had seen this cake a few days earlier at the store and thought the birthday girl would love it so I ordered it just in time. She did love it!
Curly Bear got to open a few of her gifts.
She loved what her big brother picked out for her. Ahhh...they do love each other.
The next morning it was time for the big gift.

O.K., so it is a very little "big" gift but you can tell by the face that it was a huge surprise.

I think we now own almost one of everything from the Apple store. The iPod was put to use immediately on the drive up to the cottage.
We met Uncle B and Aunt K and immediately started the joint birthday festivities. The birthday buddies of course picked House of Flavors for lunch.

We then headed to AJ's for a game of laser tag.

And to end the day Curly Bear got to have a good laugh at the Dance Revolution rematch. I can't begin to describe how hilarious this was. I think 7 is going to be a great year for Ms. Curly Bear.

Catch up: {Summer Fun List:Strawberry Picking}

Picking strawberries is always the first thing we mark off of the Summer Fun List every year. Curly Bear is definitely the one who could pick all day and never get bored. The girls made visors to wear the day before we went picking and were so excited to wear them out.
Cuddlebug filled a little box all by herself. She still is not real fond of strawberries but she did eat a few when we got home.
What goes with a big bowl of strawberries?
Fresh baked biscuits of course! Yes, we let our kids eat strawberry shortcake as dinner the day we go out and pick. If pancakes can be considered a meal then I think strawberry shortcake can be considered one as well!

I Will Catch Up!!!

So as usual, summer has gotten the best of me and I haven't been keeping up with blogging. Swimsuits have definitely been worn a TON this summer. Between going to the beach and heading down to the pool there's always a pile of suits waiting to be washed not to mention a mountain of towels. But that is exactly why we love summer!!!! Over this next week I'm determined to catch up and upload all those summer fun pictures. Well that is when we aren't at the pool or the beach!

Our Newest Family Member

Gershom Doggin

We decided to adopt another puppy......because we are absolutely insane! He really is the cutest ball full of energy I have ever seen. Thankfully the energy is short lived and he does calm down after about 15 minutes of doing circles on the main level of the house. Gershom will be two on July 10th but he still acts very much like a puppy. Mosheh is tolerating him well although when the puppy energy comes out there is still growling going on.

Sign of Summer: One Moulting Dog

This spring it has been SOOOOO nice to not be messing with Mosheh's disgusting ear like last spring!!! I know that some may think we are absolutely insane for spending that kind of money on a surgery for a pet.........but it was worth every penny!!! He is now much happier and definitely smells much better. Last spring when Mosheh started losing A TON of fur I thought it was due to the awful infection and all the antibiotics.
Nope. That was just normal spring shedding for him. Or as we say, "He's moulting." You can literally pull out handfuls of hair at a time. This week I've been spending 30 minutes a day pulling out fur in hopes that I can give him a bath soon without needing a plumber afterwards. Even though I have hairballs all over my house and I'm vacuuming at least twice a day.......I love him. And he knows it. Have you ever seen a 65lb dog think they are a lap dog? There is some upcoming news on the pet front in our house. Stay tuned..........

Preschool Training

"Mommy, can I help?" is heard in my kitchen pretty much every day. It is always followed by, "Can you please get my stool?". Cuddlebug absolutely loves to help in the kitchen. I've learned after many years of homeschooling that the kitchen is the best classroom for this age. Yes it gets messy at times. There have been many eggs dropped on the floor, much flour thrown around, and many spills but in the end it's always worth it. Cuddlebug's favorite is to make cookies. This kid is just like her daddy and LOVES to eat the cookie dough left in the mixing bowl. She has asked many times to make cookie dough and not bake it just so she could have some dough. All the other kids enjoy eating the dough as well and we now have a "rotation" of who gets to lick the beaters and who has to settle for a spoonful. It's a unanimous vote in our house that it always tastes better straight off a beater.

Here Cuddlebug is watching the rhubarb cobbler bake. Another favorite in our house. Everyone loves it....except for me. Those are my favorite desserts to make because I know that I won't have to spend extra time on the elliptical afterward!

Grey Hair

Curly Bear is and always will be the reason for every grey hair I ever get. This picture was taken AFTER she climbed down from the very top of this tree. Her girliness mixed with no fear still cracks me up.

Homeschoolers Have Talent

The kids participated in a Homeschool Talent show. There were performances and displays.
We joined the R-Crew for some handbell songs. The kids did great and they had a lot of fun.
OK so with their concentration faces on they look as though they are being forced to perform. Trust me, they loved it! They also displayed their photography projects and Curly Bear had a baking display.
As usual, the littles sat quietly and watched the older ones perform. Well, Lovebird watched as soon as her hat was off her eyes.

First Beach Day!!!!

We made it to the beach!!!!!

A few days after Mothers Day we did make it to the beach. I still wasn't feeling great but I was NOT going to miss another perfectly beautiful beach day!

Lovebird enjoyed her first trip to the dunes.

Can you tell that the kids were a tad excited?

The 2011 rock and shell collection has begun.

Because the water is so cold the kids couldn't swim but it was perfect weather to climb the dunes. Now B.W. and Curly Bear are pretty much completely opposite in their attitudes. B.W. is laid back while Curly Bear is super competitive. So naturally she would make sure that she barreled down the sand with no fear of falling in hopes of beating her brother. B.W. on the other hand is more cautious and knows that if you fall you will be spitting out sand for hours.

Yes, that little sand tornado is Curly Bear. As soon as she fell I thought we may have a broken bone and for sure a mouthful of sand. She hit HARD!

No way! She was up and laughing hysterically. There was no way she was going to let go of her lead so she was off running again within seconds. I still have absolutely no idea how she didn't get even a grain of sand in her mouth! It was a great first beach night of the season.

6 Months

I feel like I just did a 5 month post and now here I am again. Lovebird is extremely strong. Her exersaucer is her favorite right now. She likes to have it all the way down so she can push up and stand on her own. She loves to talk to each of her animal friends . Whenever she comes to the pandas though she gets very serious and scolds them. Obviously the pandas have some attitude issues. Her 6 month check up went great and she made it to the 15lb mark which put her just under the 50th percentile. Again, she cried for just a second for her one immunization. She is one tough cookie! Which is kind of funny considering that the first 24 hours after she was born she would screech anytime she was moved and didn't want to.

Signs of Spring:Signs that Summer is Right Around the Corner

The swing set is being used daily.

Curly Bear is upside down even more than normal. This would be why she has a rule that if she has a dress on she also needs leggings or shorts.

Our fridge is always full of fresh veggies and fruit that don't look like they have been shipped across the country. I can't wait until they are coming from the garden!

Dishes like this are being served instead of soup.

We are loving our new patio set!

Freshly made lemonade has taken the place of hot cocoa.

Oh, and pants are optional under your tutu......as long as you stay in the house.

Not According to Plan But Still Blessed Abundantly

At the last minute we decided to split the Mothers Day festivities into two days instead of trying to cram it all into one. On Saturday we went out for lunch at Uptown Kitchen. My absolute favorite! I hadn't been since they moved to the new location and it was fabulous as always. We then did some quick errands before we had to head to church.

On Sunday I woke up to breakfast being made for me. I had been up about five times that night and I eventually ended up sleeping in the family room. I tried to pretend I was sleeping but after an hour I gave up. My family may be the noisiest chefs I have ever heard. Breakfast was lovely. We were then suppose to go to the beach for the day.......but that didn't happen. After breakfast I started not feeling well and thirty minutes later I realized that it was going to be one of my "excruciating, I'll take any pain medicine I can find, I'm not going anywhere" chronic pain sort of days. I was disappointed and the kids were disappointed. Curly Bear offered to drag me on a sled up the dunes. I told her that I didn't think that would work for more than five minutes. She tried really hard to convince me otherwise. I was so glad we had already gone out to lunch the day before! Thankfully by that night things were back down to a bearable state. A medicated state, but bearable. There was one point that my organic eating, natural living, completely against medication self was begging Prince Charming to take me to the hospital to get some "good" pain relievers. I was dreaming of a morphine drip. Even though our plans were messed up I still enjoyed Mother's Day with many cuddles, many kisses, funny songs sung for me, and an all day movie day with my family. I am abundantly blessed!

You Know You're a 4th Child

You know you're a 4th child when........you get put into a diaper box because your big sister made a crib out of it for you.
You know you're a 4th child when.........instead of your mommy rescuing you......she grabs the camera so she can get pictures first.

Mission Photoshoot: FAIL

So while we were getting ready for church on Resurrection Sunday I packed up the camera so I could get some pictures of the kids at church. Let's just say that getting ready that morning was a little chaotic. I guess we have become quite used to going to church on Saturday night instead.

While I did have good intentions.......this was the only picture that was taken. I know, it is soooo dark. My absolute favorite lens was starting to go out but we didn't realize it until just this past week. So at the end of the day we thought we would try to get a few pictures of the kids.
Again,dark! I think you can also see by Cuddlebug's face that picture taking was not going to happen. We aborted the mission rather quickly.

A little talk with daddy.....

.....along with some cuddles.....

.....followed by some kisses was all that was needed.

However, by the time Cuddlebug was calmed down it was time for Lovebird to eat so that was the end of that photo shoot.

Sacrifice

Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 1 Corinthians 5:7

We had a great time celebrating Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. The older kids were so excited about the Seder. They have always enjoyed it but this year it was counted down a week before. I guess it's a sign that they are getting older. Cuddlebug on the other hand wasn't so sure about all of it but she did make it through the entire Seder this year! It went much smoother than last years "Red Grape Juice spilled on my Curtains" fiasco.

Unleavened Bread was a tad challenging with Cuddlebug and she did get some "leaven" before it was over. This kid was pretty much a mess when she was told if she wanted a peanut butter sandwich it would have to be on Matzah. Her reply was, "But I don't like MATZAH!!!!!".

It was a wonderful time of remembering and celebrating.

5 Months

Lovebird is 5 months old and growing cuter by the minute. She has turned into the laid back, loves everyone kind of baby. She is pretty much smiling all the time unless she is hungry. So there have been a few times when she was seeming that she wasn't getting enough to eat and daddy was pushing to feed her some solids. She has been completely enthralled by everyone eating around her so we gave it a try.
She didn't hesitate to take her first bite of the Organic Brown Rice cereal.
At first I thought she was going to like it.

"This stuff is awful!"

I have mixed some banana's into the cereal which she liked better. She doesn't have solids daily yet and only gets them when it seems like she's not getting enough from nursing. But soon the baby food making will begin!