Family Time

We had a lovely day yesterday.  We were up bright and early for 7am mass because 3 of the kids were scheduled to serve.  It was actually very nice  The early mass is about the only one that we can all go to and know that the little ones can make it thru without too much trouble.  There is no singing, it's usually a small number of people and even for Easter Sunday the crowd was pretty light.  Kenzie stayed afterwards to practice and then sing with the choir at 9am mass.  She said it was packed!  Pews were filled, people lined the walls and then spilled out into the vestibule.   

Alex was able to get someone to cover his afternoon shift at work so he was able to go with us when we headed to my in-laws mid morning.  I think my parents were a little disappointed, though, because if he'd had to work, he was going to go there for brunch and then head in.

We had lots of great food, which of course I got no pictures of, but everyone had plenty to eat.  Afterward, we trouped outside for an egg hunt.  We had to brave the soggy squishy muddy ground...amazing how saturated the ground it...and we got a ton more rain last night.  The kids all had a great time and came up with lots a goodies in their eggs.

Family Pictures

We picked up our family pictures that we have done at our local firehouse each year. They turned out much better than last years. I only have the group shots right now as they did something different with the packages this year (which totally pissed Andy off)...they decided to give other styles of prints besides just color, so some of the pics were in black & white and some were in sephia. They looked great that way except we didn't have all the kids pics in any one style...a couple were color, a couple more were in b&w and the rest in sephia...makes for an odd looking collection when you put them all together. So we ended up having to order the kids that weren't in color but here is our full family pic and one of all the kids together. Poor Adam looks likes he breaking his neck in the all kids one. Luckily he was asleep and really didn't care. LOL

Reunited

After a week apart, the entire family is finally all back together. The 3 older kids had a great time at the beach with their aunt and uncle. They all seemed to have grown some in the time they were gone and all have gotten nice suntans. Kenzie was so overcome with emotions that she burst into tears upon seeing me. I guess she missed me. ;) Connor, on the other hand, burst into tears because he wanted to go to vacation. LOL

While they were gone, the twins participated in a VBS where they got to play games...Ty picked basketball and Tay picked soccer and they both loved their individual sports. With them at school, that left Andy with just Bekah and Keari so it was a relaxing time for him. And the first 3 days of the week I was gone to Cape May with my mom. That was nice relaxing time. Mom's already planning on when to go next year.

Party Weekend

Saturday we spent the day at my SIL’s house. It was a beautiful day to hang outside…kids swam (although their pool was freezing!!), played badmitton, had scavenger hunts. Everyone thought Keari was an angel child…boy did she ever have them fooled. LOL

Sunday we had a pool party for Connor’s baseball team. It was another fun day although the weather was a little warmer/muggier than it had been on Saturday. We supplied the pool while everyone else supplied the food and there was more than enough to feed everyone…even my hungry crew. LOL Kids had a great time playing volleyball in the pool and having races to see who could swim the length of the pool the fastest. The adults sat around and chatted the afternoon away. All in all, a good day. =)

Family Time

It started out by us going to by an early family Christmas present...yes, I do know that it is only the end of June but we'd been talking about what we were going to get as our family Christmas gift this year when it dawned on us that we should by kayak's since the kids enjoy them so much and we live within walking distance to the river, and if we get them early we could use them this summer...so, this morning we went to the marine store and purchased two RTM Tango kayak's. One looks like the one below which is a fishing version...which means it includes a hole to put your fishing rod in and a built in tackle box and the standard version in blue.

After that, we headed to Sykesville to visit my aunt and family for the day. It was a beautiful day...we played outside, ate crabs, shrimp, hotdogs & hamburgers then headed home in the afternoon so we could get to church on time since the boys served...not that we don't normally make it to church on time. ;) LOL

Family Time

Yesterday was a lovely family day. It was really nice having my parents and my sister & her DH over for the day. We all ate way too much and we even forgot to put a couple of things out on the table. Oops! That just meant we got to snack on them later. LOL We cooked two turkey's yesterday...one in a roasting oven which cooked extremely fast. The turkey was done 1 1/2 hrs before we were expecting it to be. We didn't take into account that the standalone oven would cook faster than a regular oven. Oh well, we just kept it warming until everything else was done. We also deep fried a turkey. Yummy! My BIL introduced us to deep frying as that's how he's always had his turkeys done so now we have to do one that way too. We also deep fried some shrimp after the turkey was cooked. I can't imagine anything better than deep fried shrimp. The rest of the meal consisted of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, corn, rolls, gravy and cranberry sauce. The items we forgot were meatballs and watergate salad. And for dessert we had pumpkin pie, apple pie and coconut custard pie. I was soooo full last night but it was all delicious. And we've got tons of left overs so we'll be eating well today. :) I just wish I had remembered to take a picture of the everyone at the table.


Last night as I was trying to get Kearsyn to sleep, I sat down in the rocking chair and happened to look on the floor and saw what the pictures shows...apparantley Bekah has been hoarding Christmas ornaments. LOL




Today should be an easy day. Traditionally it's our day for Christmas decorating but since we did it early this year, that doesn't need to be done...although our outside lights do need a little repair work done to them after the huge wind storm we had. And since we just did a major cleaning job of the house, that also doesn't need to be done. Maybe I'll try to get some stitching time in between loads of laundry but I haven't been much in the mood for stitching lately. Most likely I will just sit back and read a book. =)

Same Stuff, Different Day

Kenzie has another early softball game today and the other kiddos have early CCD classes so that means another early morning for me. Ugh! Thankfully Andy was able to drop the kids off at their classes as he was leaving to take Kenzie to her game so at least I didn't have to have Kearsyn and Bekah ready and out of the house quite so early. That bought me about an hour so I was actually able to take a shower...something that has turned into a novelty these days. LOL Alex's class ends a half hour later than everyone elses so we ate some donuts and talked while waiting for him. Everyone had to come look at Kearsyn. They all commented on how much she looks like everyone else. There's definitely no denying that she is related to the other kids. LOL Not planning on doing much at all today other than some laundry as it seems to have multiplied here lately. Then I'm sure Connor will be watching football games this afternoon so I'll probably watch some with him. Not sure when Kenzie and Andy will be home...depends on whether her team wins or not...if they win, they keep playing...if they lose, they come home. I think they have the potential to play three games today if they win them all although the chances of that happening are pretty slim. But at least she's having fun.

Update on Kenzie's first game - they ended up losing...and by the slaughter rule, poor things...so no more games today. I'm sure Andy will give more details when he gets back. For now, he's off to take Kenzie around Salisbury and show her the places we used to hang out at while we went to college there...like the Salisbury Zoo and the city park (adjacent to the zoo).

So Far, So Good

After an extremely sleepless night thanks to my newest daughter (luv ya sweetie!!), I was actually able to get Alex, the twins, Bekah and Kearsyn all over to the park by 7:45 so Alex made it to his game on time. Yay! After dropping Alex off, I then came home so Bekah could eat breakfast and to feed Kearsyn before having to head back to the field for the twins 11am game. Things were going well until I get a frantic phone call from Alex at 9:30 saying that I needed to bring his stopwatch and whistle over to the field so he could ref his game. Grr! Now you tell me why a child that knows he's going to be ref'ing games all day couldn't remember to stick those two important items in his backpack when we left this morning. So that meant I had to pack everybody back into the van and head back to the park...luckily it's only a 10 minute drive but it's still a pita to have to load everyone in, just to come home again, unload then and then load them back up less than an hour later to head back to the field. Oh well, what are you gonna do? Even after making the unexpected extra trip, I still managed to get the twins to their game on time...then Bekah, Kearsyn and I hung out for the hour that they played. It's a beautiful day but a little chilly so I kept Kearsyn in the van while Bekah ran back and forth between the van and the volleyball courts (located right next to the field that the twins were playing on). We're back home and now I'm waiting for Kearsyn to wake up so I can feed her...hope she gets up soon cause it's starting to get a bit painful...and waiting for Alex to call to say he's done ref'ing for the day. With my luck he'll call when I'm in the middle of feeding Kearsyn. Well, turns out I was close...I was just getting ready to wake Kearsyn up to feed her when Alex called to say he was done.

Kenzie, Connor and Andy are in Salisbury now and Kenzie's second game should be starting right about now. They didn't do so well in their first game but they are a young team so it'll take some time. Final outcome of the games is 2 losses, 1 win. I haven't heard all the details yet but Kenzie did let me know that she stole home in the third game. Yay!

I've done a bit of stitching over the last couple of days. I'm currently working on PS Winter Seasons although it's not holding much appeal for me at the moment. I might switch to something else although after looking over my other wip's nothing is catching my attention right now so I guess I'll just stick with the PS one until Holly's mini rr arrives. That one should be a quick a stitch...the theme is superheros...and then it will be on it's way home. What a quick rr this one was. And for all you enablers reading out there...I'm not starting any new projects at the moment so don't even try to talk me in to one. LOL

Test Tomorrow

Tomorrow will be my first attempt to see if I can get everyone where they need to be on time since having the baby. Andy has to leave with Kenzie at 5:30am tomorrow to get her to her softball tournament in Salisbury. As you can probably guess, they have a ridiculously early first game. As a result, that leaves me home with the rest of the kiddos and their soccer games. First soccer game is at 8am for Alex. Ugh! I'm usually somewhat awake at that point but not in any shape to be up and out of the house and at a field by then. The next one is at 11am (I think) for the twins. And in between, I believe Alex has a couple of games to ref. Connor's game got cancelled, thank goodness. Now what are the chances that everyone knows where their soccer uniforms, socks, cleats, shin guards and water jugs are. Let's just pray that Kearsyn and Bekah are good girls tomorrow and that I'm able to pass the test. =)

Today is my sister's birthday. Happy birthday, sis! She's one of 4 family b'days this month. First there's Bekah, then Kearsyn, then Von and finally mine at the end of the month. And they're all very easy to remember...5th, 10th, 20th & 30th. I can see that October will not be a good dieting month. LOL

What's Most Important to Me

This is my 100th post and since I know I could never come up with 100 things about me, I thought I would post what is most important to me and who my life revolves around. Even though they drive me crazy at times, I can't imagine life without them. Luv you all bunches!

Busy weekend

Although we didn't go anywhere, other than to the dr for Kearsyn Saturday morning (I'll get to that later), we had lots of company coming over to see Kearsyn. My SIL and her family came over Saturday and spent the afternoon with us. We don't get to see them all that often...especially my BIL because he works side jobs on the weekends...so it was nice to spend some time with them. The kids are especially happy when they come visit because that means they get to play with their two cousins. On Sunday, my sister came over, as well as, my mom, dad and good friend of the family. My sister is a hoot because you'd think after all the kiddos I've had she'd feel comfortable holding them when they're this little but they still make her nervous. LOL

We took Kearsyn in Saturday morning for a weight check. She weighed in at 7lbs 5oz which totally surprized me since she weighed 7lbs 6oz when she was discharged from the hospital on Thursday and she'd been eating a ton since then. Even the dr was a little surpised and commented that maybe their scale was measuring differently than the one in the hospital. She was also a little concerned about Kearsyn's jaundice so she sent us off the hospital to get a bili test done. Her bili #'s were 10.2 when we left the hospital on Thursday and were 13 when we had it retested on Saturday...both within normal range for her age. And don't even ask hubby how he felt about having the test done...we really won't go there. ;) I took her back to the drs for another weight check today just to make sure she was gaining weight and she is now up to 7lbs 9oz, 1oz shy of her birth weight, so she's doing great! She's still a little jaundiced but with the way she's eating and gaining weight and her alertness level going up, it's nothing to worry about. If she were to become lethargic before her next appt (which is next Monday, 10/23) and she still looks jaundiced, then I'm to call them to have her bili levels rechecked but I'm expecting to have to do that. We'll also have Bekah's 2yr checkup done that day as well. Easier to do them together than making a special trip back for Bekah.

Kearsyn is much more alert now than she was just a couple of days again. She looks up at you with the biggest blue eyes that you know can't really see you yet. She's constantly blinking as if she's trying to bring things in to focus. Here's a pic of her gorgeous wide open eyes. =)



Bekah just loves her little sister. She is constantly giving her kisses and hugs. Here's a picture of her with Kearsyn. You just can't beat that smile she has.




I haven't done any stitching since Kearsyn was born but I'm hoping to get back to it soon. I did receive my Single Theme RR in the mail today...you gotta love unexpected stitchy mail. I'd forgotten how much I liked the fabric that I chose to stitch this piece on...all the browns and blues in the piece. Thanks to all the laies that stitched on this piece. Everyone did a wonderful job.

I believe that's all the updates I have for now. I think it's going to be a long night. Everytime I go to lay Kearsyn down she wakes up fussing. Wonder if there will be ay good shows on tonight...highly doubtful.

A Relaxing Weekend

or as relaxing as it can be with 6 kiddos running around but at least they were running around at home and not between different soccer fields. My inlaws came over Saturday morning and that's always good for getting the kids wound up. Other than doing a little laundry, I basically didn't do anything this weekend. Andy, Bekah and I did take a walk along the river on Sunday while the rest of the kids were with friends. It was a beautiful day for a walk but man did my legs and hip hurt by the time we got back. Was trying to see if I could entice the little to want to come out...I think she's been in there long enough at this point. ;-) I have another drs appt tomorrow morning so we'll see if anything is going on but I'm not counting on it. She is getting incredibly uncomfortable though...has her feet wedged up under my rib cage at this point. At least I'm hoping it's feet cause if it's anything other than that we're in trouble.

Was a long night last night...started with Taylor waking me up at 1am. Took him coming down to our bedroom twice for me to figure out what was wrong with him...needless to say I wasn't very coherent at that time of the morning. Turns out he had an upset stomach. Finally got him settled down about 2 hrs later and then Bekah decides to wake up screaming. She had one of her nightmares...poor thing. So after all that, I didn't end up getting to bed until after 4am. I was a tired little puppy today...especially when I was trying to get some work done. I was just about to log off from work in the early aftenoon to go take a nap when one of my coworkers IM'd me with a problem so I had to help her figure that out. So that meant no nap, but at least I got most of my work hours in today. Let's hope that the kiddos all sleep tonight otherwise I'm going to be even grumpier than I am right now.

I've been stitching quite a bit lately. Finished up a fish mini rr. I did the two little fish towards the top in the tank on the left and also the fish in the right hand tank. This is going to be such a cute rr when it's finished. I've also been working on the Halloween Mystery GameBoard Sampler. I completed all the boxes last night...now to wait for the next installment to come out. Not sure what I'm going to work on next. I don't feel like working on Mother's Bliss right now so I'll have to dig through my other wip's to see what catches my interest.

And just for the fun of it, here's a picture of Bekah being goofy. =)