snow??? Really??

I know it is mid November, but really??? Do we have to have snow already? I was enjoying the 60+ degree days and sunshine. I am never ready to see summer or fall end. I don't enjoy being cold, and I want to cry every time the furnace kicks on - I can just hear the people at Kansas Gas service laughing at me and rubbing their hands together menacingly. (It does not bother me when the air conditioner kicks on in the summer time however!).

Colin started wrestling practice this evening. I happened to be in Lawrence for the kids dentist appointments today and ran across a sale where I got him some shoes that had been $50 marked down to $20. I was thrilled! He said that they feel great and he had a good practice. He is pretty excited - wrestling is his thing!

NO cavities at the dentist today. That was good news. Then we stopped at Dillons where I let the kids sit in the van and run the radio, not too good of an idea because apparently our battery is on its last leg. Luckily I ran into a very nice college aged kid who was willing to stand in the snow and jumpstart my van. I think I might have to do a little battery shopping and see if I can get as good of a deal on that as I did Colin's shoes!

OOOHHH! Shiny!

If you could see my kitchen floor right now you might think I am the best housecleaner in the world...the floor is shiny and sparkling. However, if you were to try to walk on that floor you would realize that it is shiny because my Quincy sprayed it down with a can of Pam cooking spray. Its a bit on the slick side. Thanks Quincy I needed a Sunday project!

Survival!

around....around the mud and water please! We survived the week with Jim away in Wichita for his training. I was told several times how much this tribe missed their daddy - and I was told about 100 times that I am not fun like daddy. But we all survived anyhow, even though it wasn't very fun at our house apparently! Jim says that he learned a lot at the training, and he really felt it was worthwhile, so that was good. He got to spend an evening with our friend Grace and her family, including our Godson, who must be a master salesman...and I was proud of Jim because the candy that he bought actually made it home to the kids!

We are having a wild weekend as usual. Colin's football team is playing in a tournament in Emporia. Mallory and Madison have several babysitting jobs lined up and are tag-teaming that and working at the 4-H booth at the local craft fair. Quincy is extremely happy because she gets to spend the day playing with her "friends" she has been begging for somebody (anybody) to come over to play with her. This particular bunch of friends are cousins, but she is pleased anyhow! The funniest part is how she calls her 2 year old cousin Alex "baby" and he just lets her! I am not sure when Alex will stop being a baby...maybe never!

Speaking of babies, we are down to 6 weeks to go. They have scheduled a date, but much to my dismay, they did not choose to go with my chosen date. I have hit the anxious part of pregnancy - anxious to hold our new baby, anxious to see if it is a boy or a girl, anxious to see if baby is healthy, anxious - well you get the point. At least we have officially picked out names and so this baby will not have to come home with no name! We have picked out Holden Ray for a boy or Harper Joy for a girl. I am happy because we finally found 2 names that we both agree on and like! Naming babies is hard...and with each child it seems to get harder, I guess because I always feel like I used up the names I liked!

A Penny!

Q: When is a penny worth $252.16??

A: When it is lodged in the drain pump of your washing machine and creates a hole.


Note to self: do a better job of checking pockets before washing jeans.

At least it is fixed now and I can start to tackle the very large pile of disgusting and smelly laundry that has accumulated over the past week!

Another week gone

A little bit late with these photos, but Cam played his last flag football game last weekend and they got their medals. I think that the season was a great success, and they had a ton of fun! Now he will be playing basketball, but I am not sure when the season starts.

We hosted a cooking and crafts meeting for 4-H this weekend. The kids made cookie mixes in quart jars to sell next weekend. The kids worked very hard, and they did a great job! They have several different types of mixes put together to sell.

It has been another wild week with tons of stuff going on. The kids have wrapped up most of their fall activities, and we enjoyed the girls' fall band and choir concert on Friday night. I have to say (parental bragging I know) that I am blown away by their band. They are very talented! I think the really amazing part to me is how well they play when I consider that 2 years ago our girls had never played any instrument at all - now they read music and play beautifully! They have a very gifted band director, and they are very excited about band, so it is nice to watch that progress!

Colin will be playing in a football tournament next weekend, and that will wrap up his season. He is pretty excited about it.

I am in charge of the prizes for the school carnival. I will be delighted to turn these prizes over on carnival night, as I don't have room in my bedroom to breathe now! Of course, having boxes and boxes of toys is a huge temptation for Preston and Quincy too!

We also have to start thinking about putting up the baby stuff. I have 5 weeks to go before they will take this little one. I probably better have a place for it to sleep! Although my grandma said that for years she would wake up and find babies in the dresser drawers - maybe that would be a great time saver!

Jim is spending this coming week in Wichita at a City Clerk training seminar. He should have a lot of fun, and I know a couple of kids who don't really want to see daddy leaving for the week! Apparently, I am not as much fun as he is!

Mid-week update

I should have some photos to attach to this, but I haven't gotten around to unloading them off the camera! Laziness!

Cameron played his last flag football game on Sunday. I was amazed by the weather - it was warmer on the first of November than it was during most of the games in October! Colin's football team has decided to go to a tournament, so he isn't quite finished yet!

We had wrestling sign ups this week too. Colin is really excited about a new season! I asked Cam if he wanted to wrestle and his response was "mom, I only know 2 moves and they are both illegal!" I guess he will be sticking with basketball! Preston really wants to wrestle this year, but the age thing gets him as the youngest they are taking this year looks like kindergartners. We are going to check since he is 5 if they will let him come to the practices or not. He is really excited by it!

Cameron started school at Scranton this week. So far, the adjustment has been a little bit tough on him. I think it is just getting back into a routine that has been a struggle. He is used to being home and if it took him an hour to do a math assignment, then it took him an hour! Each day seems to be getting a little bit better though, and I am sure that within a couple of weeks he will be back on schedule...probably just in time to be out on Christmas break!

I had a doctor appointment this week. #7 seems to be growing well, and had a nice strong heart rate of 156. Grandma says this is a girl's rate - last month was a boy's rate, so I am not sure that this is a reliable indicator!! The good news is that we have agreed on a date for a scheduled c-section, although it isn't finalized because the surgery scheduling nurse has yet to call me! I am getting anxious to meet our little mystery guest and to hold and rock our new baby!

Other devastating news: washer trouble. I must really be unobservant because I thought that someone had spilled ice cream beside the washer - and I admit that we haven't had any ice cream in the house for days, so it seemed weird, but I cleaned it up and put in another load. This time I realized that the white foam was soap and that there was water running out all over the floor. UUG! I am not even going to bother with calling Lowe's this time, as I am sure that Overbrook still isn't in their computer system, so I will just call the company that the service locator sent me last time. I can go without a dryer if I have to, but I cannot go without a washer. Luckily, when I am at work there is a laundromat right next door...will use it if I have to!

What's the happiest day of the Year?

HALLOWEEN!

Madison was a sorcerer

Mallory was a wicked witch

Colin as Michael Jackson

Cameron was a murdering alien

Preston was a blue Power Ranger

And Quincy was a witch in training

The whole tribe including some cousins at Grandma Shirley's house

My tribe ready to terrorize the neighborhood!!

I have always loved Halloween! I don't know of a cooler holiday- when else can you put on a weird costume and go beg your neighbors for candy and not get into trouble for it? It is the greatest! We had a great night! Colin, Cameron, Preston and Quincy and I went trick-or-treating for several hours with some friends of ours. Quincy made it for exacty 4 houses and then she was done. Preston made it quite far, and is now very excited with his 'stash' of candy. I am pretty sure that Colin and Cam would still be out knocking on doors if I hadn't made them come in!

Mallory and Madison stayed home with Jim and passed out candy. They have several of their friends upstairs giggling away for a Halloween sleepover.

The weather was great, and I can't think of anything more fun!

I hope you all had a great Halloween!!!