Livin' the Dream

My boys had the day of all days today. It was packed with the best kind of boyish fun. First it was off to soccer. We are lucky to have a friend who volunteered to coach and organize the whole thing, we just get to go and enjoy! As an added bonus it coordinates with our scout night. Drew and Parker so far have gotten to play on the same team which they love, and tonight they won! Afterwards it was off to pack meeting for bottle rockets. Here is Parker with his finished rocket. Don't judge any design flaws, it was my first ever bottle rocket, and more importantly, his. We had fun making it.

 It was his idea to paint it white and plaster it with Halloween stickers. It was then christened the "Boo Blaster."

 The Boo Blaster worked just fine, in spite of Parker's worries that it wouldn't. The kids had a great time. Andrew was even lucky enough to participate as the boys' scout leader had made a few extra rockets just in case. Here is Parker holding it steady for Drew while he pumped it.

 And the Boo Blaster in action.

I think the funnest part for the boys was running to retrieve the rockets and crashing in a pack around the boy who managed to get it first. The girls were also excited to get to go. They hate the weeks when only Parker gets to go! Emma was so funny. Because soccer was at the church, we didn't even have to go anywhere for the rocket launch, so all during the pack meeting she kept asking when we were going to go to scouts. We kept trying to convince her that we were there, but she wasn't sure. Finally when the rockets were done, they announced treats at the pavilion. She took off running yelling, "Yay! We're going to scouts!" Except it was ''Lay!" because she still doesn't make the 'y' sound. ;) 

I have really been enjoying all of these little moments with the kids lately and feeling so grateful for them all. With a new school year starting and life just in general being so busy with 6 kids, I've got to admit I've felt overwhelmed. It's hard to see past the to-do list and the fact that it never gets done. But over the last week, every time I get feeling bogged down, one of them does something adorable that reminds me why it's all worth it, and that even if all the to-do's never get crossed off, there is joy to be had in trying.

Boys' Night

As much as I hate to see my boys grow up, it has been so much fun to hang out with them lately. Every once in a while we give them the opportunity to stay up late with Mom and Dad. Sometimes it's to watch a big kid movie; the new Karate Kid was a big hit, (and I personally can't wait to have a Back to the Future night). Other times it's to play games that the sisters just aren't big enough for yet. Their absolute favorite is Monopoly. It is a miracle that this game has made a reappearance in our house; Brandon and I played it once as newlyweds and I vowed never again! My husband is a bit cutthroat about his games. But for these two....well that's a different story. 

Yes, that is a tupperware of raw cookie dough to snack on! 

These two are hilarious!! They're sure to call out, "Chancellors!" when a chance space is landed on, to tell you that, "Things are getting hairy in here!" when the game is getting serious, to remind you that you own the "Body Odor railroad" if you have the B&O, and they each have their favorite spaces that they will always hold out for. Parker loves Boardwalk and Park Place to a fault. He'll get most of the way through a game with only a few properties holding out for the big ones. If those can't be had he loves Tennessee Ave, (pronounced tuh-KNEE-tsee, don't ya know?) and Marvin Gardens, (MAH-ven GAH-dens).  Drew loves S-T Charles place and S-T James place. He also loves to be a railroad man.

They can also be persuaded to play Apples to Apples Jr. but this game is the clear fave. They're so much fun to play with that I don't mind it too much anymore. I love that they're learning to win and lose nicely, (for the most part) and to handle tasks like being the banker. I've been thinking it would be awesome to come across the old version of the game PayDay to teach them some money management skills as well. Life skills aside, just having a good time is great too!

Busted!

I'm normally not big on telling on my children when they do something naughty....but this one was too funny.  So a few weeks ago I decided to take Parker and Drew to the library during a quiet moment at home when Claire, Emma and Noah were all asleep.  All Brandon had to do was watch Paige.  Out of six kids, it was one on one.  The odds were in his favor.  This can't go wrong, right?  To be honest, I didn't know that it hadn't.  I came home and Paige was playing quietly, and everything looked right as rain.  I should have seen that sweet little face as a warning sign that something had happened.  As it was, I didn't see the writing on the wall, if you will until the next day.

 The sneaky little artist had left her mark in a discreet location, (in the corner behind our big chair) but left her trademark drawing as the red herring removing all doubt as to whom the culprit was.  Seriously, the kid never draws anything else.  This is her self portrait.  Occasionally she gets creative and she'll add in other people, (who all look exactly the same to the untrained eye) or my personal favorite - autobots like Heatwave and Chase - but no drawing is without her infamous stick figure self.

I had a little chuckle to myself before going to her and asking calmly, "Paige, honey I noticed something on the wall behind the chair." She, being no dummy instantly burst into tears, "Was it a DRAWD?!" She asked with all the drama you'd expect from a four year old girl and then some.  At that point I lost all the decorum I had left and had a good laugh.  Notwithstanding the fact that this was absolutely the naughtiest thing she'd done in a while, I didn't have the heart to do anything more than give the obligatory finger wag and 'don't do it again' speech.  I will note here that she absolutely did do it again a few days later, adding to the original art.  She seemed to be going through a phase that week of just not being able to control the naughty impulses to do things she knew she shouldn't.  Lucky for me it was a short phase and she seems to have gotten it out of her system without having to have any serious intervention. ;)

I am also going to shamelessly say I TOLD YOU SO, to the man who has given me endless crap over crayon on the wall.  All in good humor my love!

To give a further example of her adorable art - and some of the hilarious things said at our house - I give you her latest math lesson.  A graph showing all the members of our family separated by gender.  Girls on the top row, boys on the bottom.  In case you're curious, from left to right it's Paige, Clarie, Emma, Mom and then on the bottom, Parker, Noah, Andrew and Dad.  

.After she drew Claire she stuck her tag on the graph and then said, "Oh no!  I forgot to give Claire eyelashes!  I almost made her look like a boy!"  Followed by peals of giggles.  Yes folks, the girl has three brothers and she still thinks eyelashes are what set us apart.

If that doesn't give you a good laugh, Andrew at one point believed that we are all born looking like his little sisters, and that eventually we will all um, grow some stuff, and become boys.  I had to explain this one so. many. times.  Even after having a baby brother I'm still not sure he has it straight. ;)

On a similar topic, Andrew asked me the other day, "Mom, when I was a baby, how did I get in your tummy?"  The gears in my head started turning, but before I let the conversation get away from us, I decided to ask him some questions to figure out what it was he really wanted to know.  I've learned that with little kids these questions are usually not asking what we think they are and that they are satisfied with broad answers on the topic.  Come to find out, he wanted to know more about the umbilical cord!  So we had a lovely little chat about how my body gave him food while he was growing and I took care of him and kept him warm until he was big enough to be born and that after that he didn't need his umbilical cord anymore and the doctor took it off and that's why he has a belly button!  Hoorah!

Seriously, never a dull moment around here.

Birthdaypalooza 2013 Part 4

Before you all get to thinking that I actually followed through on one of my threats to spank Drew and take away his birthday, (only joking folks!) I figured I better get the post up.  Here's the big 6 year old man on his birthday.  Oh, he couldn't wait to be 6!  Now that's big-boyhood.  At 5 you can still be classified as "too little", get your clothes from the toddlers department, etc.  But 6 is the real deal and he knows it!  We started the day off with red decorations and pancakes.

 Then Drew got to open a present from Grandma and Grandpa Morgan, (he also got to share a present with Parker on his birthday...a rocket building kit that they loved!) some new clothes.  Always appreciated around here.

 Then we let him open his gift from Mom and Dad.  Do you know what happens when Mom leaves the shopping entirely to Dad?  You get spoiled.  Stinky....rotten....spoiled.  Skylander's Spyro's Adventure for the Wii!  I"ll be honest, I never in a million years would have picked this out on my own; didn't even know it existed.  But lucky for Drew it was Dad's turn and Dad is a video game nut.  Dad even took the boys the next day to use their birthday money from the great grandparents to buy MORE Skylanders dudes.  Oy!

 He was thrilled.  And so was his brother.  And let's be honest, Dad was just as giddy about it all and plays frequently with them.

 Then Drew got to video chat with Grandma and Poppy to open gifts from them.  This boy is so funny!!  He specifically called to ask Poppy for presents this year.  Not something I normally encourage, but he found a moment on the phone to sneak it in!  I guess he was worried Mom and Dad weren't going to come through for him. ;)  So he asked for a fishing pole, (since he's tangled the previous ones to the point of uselessness, at least one of which was also bought...by Poppy) and......wait for it.......and ALARM CLOCK!  HA!  Anyone who knows my Drewben Von Steuben knows that he values his sleep.  Even as a toddler, if he got tired, he would ASK to go to sleep.  He hates to be dragged out of bed early, and is almost always the last one up in the house.  He takes after his Mama.  But I guess he thought he was missing out on something?  So anyway....when making his request, he also specified that both things were to be Lightning McQueen branded.  Well, Poppy passed the word on to Grandma and they came through in a big way.  This kid was so excited.  And I must say, so was Poppy.  He actually took lunch at home so he could video chat with Drew earlier in the day and keep the suspense to a minimum.  He also got the bonus of a Lego Batman Wii game.  Yes, it was the year of Wii birthdays.

Anyway, back to the alarm clock.  How is it working?  Well.....he has YET to wake up to it even once!  He keeps asking me about it, and you can see he's upset but trying not to show it in fear that if he admits he thinks it's broken I'll take it away, (I must be meaner than I look - or look meaner than I am, take your pick).  It is so funny.  I hear it every morning.  Several times.  And then the automatic function kicks in and turns it off.  He keeps right on snoozin' and misses the whole thing every day.  But he still loves it!  Every night he asks me to check it for him and see that it's set.  I LOVE THIS CUTE BOY.

Drew was the only kid to request a themed cake this year.  Sonic the Hedgehog!  The kids found a bunch of throwback cartoons on Netflix that they love and this was one of them.  Even the girls love it.  Paige pretends to be Sonic, and Claire pretends to be Tails and they zoom all over the house.  Adorable.  At first I was intimidated by the thought of making a Sonic the Hedgehog cake, but a quick google search assured me it was doable.  It actually turned out super easy.  In case you're wondering, it was chocolate on the inside.  Drew is a creature of habit and will probably be asking for chocolate cake for the rest of his life.  ;)

 If it wasn't so easy, I'd say this cake right here ought to earn me Mom of the Year.  Isn't it fabulous?!

And of course the number 6 candle on the cake.  Anything for you Drewbie!!

What can I tell you about Drew right now?  I just love this kid.  He says the funniest things.  He really thinks deeply, and speaks his mind in such a straight forward way.  He gives the best hugs!  He isn't afraid of much.  Parker and the other kids always run to get Drew when there's a bug to kill.  He is loving being big enough to do things with Dad and their bond has grown leaps and bounds over the last few years.  He's very particular and likes to have things "just so."  For example, when he makes a mistake practicing his piano, he starts over from the very beginning.  He lines up all of his bedtime things, (his blanket, his pillow pet, his stuffed McQueen) just right before climbing in bed and will not be rushed in this ritual.  He has a great mind for math, hates to be teased but loves to tell jokes, still hates vegetables of any sort, but will tolerate them as a means to an end for dessert, likes to sing, loves to have fun and is a VERY special member of our family.

WE LOVE YOU ANDREW JAMES!!!

Baseball

The boys have been playing baseball this summer with Daddy as their coach.  It has been a hoot to say the least.  Drew is technically not old enough to play, but because Daddy's coaching, and because the t-ball team and the machine pitch team game schedules would have made it a near impossibility to do both, we put him on the older team.  He has done so great to keep up with those bigger boys!  I've been so proud.

 The first game both boys got hits and got on base.  It was so fun to see!  Ever since Parker has been a consistent hitter and is also fast to boot, and gets on base the most often.  He's the lead-off hitter for the team most games.

 Drew struggled a little more with the machine pitch, but was a great fielder, and has gotten a few great hits here and there.  The best was last night.  Final inning, we're down 4-0.  One runner on base, but 2 outs, and Drew at the bottom of the order is up to bat.  He gave it all he had and got a base hit!  Then Parker got up and hit a triple to drive in two runs!  I was so excited and so proud!!  Sadly, the next hit was an out, so we didn't get a chance to come back for the win, but I was so excited to see our boys play that way.

Isn't Drew adorable in that giant batting helmet?  I'll need to update the post with a few more pictures of him before the season is over.  It's a little crazy when I'm left to manage the other four alone.  A ring pop from the concession stand only keeps them occupied for so long. ;)

Needless to say, I never thought I'd be such a big baseball fan before I had boys of my own to watch.  I'm looking forward to many more summers of it!

Post Edit: The very next game Drew got his own triple hit!  Sadly, I didn't get any more pictures but it was a great season.  We're now on to swimming lessons but once in a while Drew will stop me and say, "Mom, you remember that time I hit a triple in baseball?!"  I sure do Drewbie!!

A Good Day for Drew

Remember this almost a year ago?  Well, number two is at it now!  Drew officially lost his first tooth tonight. And like his older brother, he delayed the process until the next tooth was already starting to grow in and Mom and Dad decided it was time to take matters into Dad's own hands.

 Don't worry.....it wasn't as bad as this picture looks.  ;)  He took a lot less convincing than his older brother actually.  He was just worried about what tool Dad might use to be extracting the object in question.

 In the end he submitted quite easily, and when all was said and done....

 woila!  Then he promptly handed the tooth over to me and said, "Here you go Mom.  Throw this in the trash!  I don't need it anymore."

The tooth next to it is loose as well, but he decided to give that one another day of wiggling before letting Dad have a crack at it.  Parker also has another loose on top.  We'll see how that one goes!

It was a step into big-boyhood today for Drew!  First baby tooth gone AND his first real baseball practice all in one day.  I think the boy is gonna sleep good tonight.

We Are Soccer Monsters!

Anyone else as big a fan of the Backyardigans as me?  No?  Well let me treat you to one of our my favorite songs.  "We are soccer monsters, we have a soccer ball!  We'd rather play soccer than do anything at all!"  That's been our theme song for the last several weeks.  Two to three soccer practices a week between two different teams and games alllll day on Saturday.  One of the joys of being in such a small town is that there are only enough kids to form one to two teams per age group.  So that means we have to meet up with the other small towns for games, driving up to an hour away.  Might as well make a day of it, hmm?  The nice part is, to entice the kids to play there was no fee to join the team.  We'll take it!  The boys were so excited for soccer this year.  It was their first season of it.  Here they are trying on their new shorts, shin guards, socks and shoes.  By the way, normally I think Parker looks more like his Mama, but in this shot, he is SO his Daddy's boy.

 Both of our boys surprised us a bit.  After one game day Brandon and I came home laughing that we should never label our kids because they will always surprise us. Our usual mama's boy/daddy's boy ideals were reversed.  We usually think Parker acts SO much like his Dad, and that Andrew acts SO much like his Mom.  But this threw that completely out the window.  Andrew was upset when the coaches asked him to take a turn rotating out so everyone could play.  And he came off the field in tears after one game, "We LOST!" he sobbed.  Andrew was aggressive and not at all intimidated by the other team.  He got right into the scrum and handled the ball right down to the goal over and over and over.

 His little team was adorable and the coaches did a fantastic job.  They taught them good sportmanship and that the most important part was to have fun. Something we're still trying to reinforce with Drew.

 The team shot.

 Parker did a fantastic job.  But, he surprised us by being much less aggressive and more unsure than we've ever seen him.  To be fair, this was his first year playing, and the other kids had all had one or two under their belts.  I think he was a bit intimidated.  It was also his first time playing with a group of kids who have grown up playing every sport together.  He's shy like his Mama.  The coach was great though and played to everyone's strengths. Parker played defender in the backfield and did a great job.  He understood his role really well, and not having to be attacking all the time really boosted his confidence.  By the last few games he was ready to take a turn on the front end and almost scored a goal or two.  Next year Drew and Parker will be on the same team and I think we'll have a fantastic duo in them.

Team shot.

I have to say......all those years I whined and complained about watching my brothers teams, I had no idea how much I'd relish the role of soccer mom.  I absolutely loved every minute of watching my boys play.  My heart hurt when they had overlapping games and I had to choose to watch one or the other.  For now, I'll gladly take the role of their biggest fan and cheerleader.  They are some fantastic boys and I am so proud of them!

Transformers

Parker recently discovered the old Transformers on Netflix. Needless to say the boys are hooked. They can even sing the entire opening theme song. ;)  They've also for some reason been getting really excited about Halloween for over a month now.  So when we saw some Transformers costumes on sale online?  Forget about it.  You all know I can't resist my online shopping!  Parker insisted that his Bumblebee costume be from "Transformers Prime."  He wasn't even willing to look and see what the others were like after he saw that line.  So if you need help fighting decepticons, give us a call!  Optimus and Bumblebee would be glad to help out!  I know I feel safer already.

Swimming Lessons

Parker and Andrew have been waiting and WAITING and waiting for their very first swim lesson.  Let's be honest, so have I.  It's almost not even fun to take 5 non-swimmers to the pool.  We were so excited that we took a trip to Target to get new goggles and towels to match their swimsuits.  On the way home, before I even knew the packages were open, I looked up in the rearview to find this:

Here they are all ready to go!

As you can tell.....someone was  a bit nervous not quite knowing what to expect that first lesson.

Someone else dove right in. ;)

Parker was taken over to a smaller pool to get more comfortable with the water for a few minutes.  But it wasn't long before he was ready to come back and get wet!

They practiced floating.

And kicking.....

And jumping right in.

After all their hard work they were rewarded with a trip down the big blue slide.

This boy wasn't quite sure it was a reward at first, but I'm so proud of him for doing it anyway without fussing!  He did make a long trip of it but I think he's ready to do it again.

This boy loved every second of it.

They're excited to come back again!!

Side note: these goggles are also great fun in the tub.  Sister was way jealous that she didn't get a pink pair all to herself, but Andrew was gracious enough to share his for a few minutes.  ;)