In Whispers and Shouts

Taters

2013-05-14T16:17:00.001-05:00

Baby girl is eating so well now. It took her a while to decide to eat baby food, but after a month or so she did better. So now I've got her eating steamed asparagus, green beans, rice, black beans and potatoes. And Collin gave her a tiny piece of cake today. But I couldn't get upset- what are awesome big brothers for it they can't sneak their baby sister a bite of cake every now and then?

Goal #1 reached!

2013-05-14T10:33:00.001-05:00

I got the pieces cut out! Now to start sewing it together!

Out of sorts

2013-05-14T09:39:00.001-05:00

My morning did not start out well. Cory was up early, so I was up early. He destroyed the playroom while I destroyed the kitchen (I did some baking for the cake auction). Then it was time to get nora up and ready for school and wait for the bus. And, of course, Jane woke up and was ready to eat... Which is almost the exact time Claire got here. Early. I was not ready! I hadn't been able to clean up our mess yet and I was trying to feed the baby and make sure Nora was watching for the bus... It was crazy! And it got even crazier... I just wanted a do over for the entire morning! Starting at 5am, when Cory woke up.

I didn't get a do over, though.

Fortunately, things got better. Nora made it to the bus stop on time, Cory and Claire colored nicely together while I cleaned up the playroom. Then Collin played nicely with Claire in the playroom while I cleaned the kitchen and Jane napped (and Cory played on Michael's computer). That's where they all are now. So I'm gonna try to finish making the dress I started for Jane. And the Independence Day bows I'm making the girls. And the wreath for our front door. Hehehe... I've got big dreams for the rest of the morning, huh? I'll be lucky to finish cutting out the dress for Jane! But a Mama's got to have goals, right?

Why so quiet?

2013-05-10T08:59:00.001-05:00

It's been so quiet in the blog lately, huh? Well, there's a few reasons why. First, the weather has been amazing, so the kids want to play outside a lot. Second, Jane is quite proficient in crawling around. Third, Cory has been needier than usual here lately. Fourth, I've been sewing like a bedlamite. (My iPad is telling me that bedlamite isn't a word. Why don't spell checkers have complete dictionaries?? Bedlamite is, of course, a word. Perhaps, being from the 17th century, it may be a bit archaic, but that doesn't mean we should discard it! I wonder if it recognizes snoutfair. Nope. Jargogle? Gorgonize? Elflock? Ugh. Useless spell checker...)

Anyway, I have taken a few pictures. Here are some of the best ones:

Random Pics

2013-04-30T21:13:00.001-05:00

... Later that evening...

2013-04-30T09:28:00.001-05:00

I meant to post this last week but, of course, forgot. This was Cory after we got Into a room at the ER. I think he was just fine...

ER

2013-04-25T16:15:00.001-05:00

Cory fell off the bed this morning and then started throwing up this afternoon. I called his doctor's office and they suggested that I take him to the ER so they can do some imaging. Or something like that. I'm sure he's fine, but we are getting him checked out anyway

Mom and dad have Jane, Michael picked the other 2 up from school and Amanda picked up Claire early. So it's just Cory and me waiting to get a CT scan. He's not too bothered, though. He's got my iPad and is watching pat-pat (little einsteins).

Spring Beach Days!

2013-04-16T11:29:00.001-05:00

I do not like winter. At all. Not even a tiny bit. I know some people adore winter with its frosty days, sweaters, scarves, hot cocoa... but not me. Bundling up to brave the outdoors is uncomfortable. Boots are uncomfortable. Hot cocoa burns my tongue. No, sir, give me sun dresses, flip flops and ice cold lemonade! And the beach!

That's probably the main reason I dislike winter so strongly. For 4 months, winter keeps me away from the sandy shore. The beach calls for me, but I refuse to answer when I know the summer breeze has turned into bitter wind. Finally, though, we were able to make it to the beach this past weekend. The wind had some traces of the cold left in it, but the sun was inviting and the water wasn't too chilly. We had to drag the kids out of it... Who am I kidding? I had to drag myself out of it!

This was, by the way, the first time that Jane dipped her toes in the gulf water!

Hitchin' a Ride

2013-04-14T23:07:00.001-05:00

To save money each month, the church bought a mower and Michael has volunteered to keep the property mowed. Collin was with Michael when the mower was bought and now wants to go for tractor rides every time Michael mows. I took the kids out there Saturday morning and let them take some rides. Jane and I, though, didn't get to ride. Maybe next time we'll get a turn!

Blue Bonnets 2013 {My Monsters and Me}

2013-04-12T17:12:00.000-05:00

Here's the last of 'em! Well, until next year, anyway.

Blue Bonnets {the kids}

2013-04-10T08:27:00.001-05:00

We were able to get all 4 kids in one picture! It helped that we Nana AND Pawpaw AND candy, but, hey! Whatever works, right?

Blue Bonnets {the boys}

2013-04-08T18:27:00.002-05:00

The red blue bonnets, by the way, are called Alamo Fire. And, yes, they are red blue bonnets. There are also white blue bonnets. I know this because I googled it and google doesn't lie.

Blue Bonnets 2013 {the girls}

2013-04-06T19:18:00.002-05:00

Mom, Dad, the kids and I went on our annual Blue Bonnet trip to Brenham this morning. As usual, Dad took a lot of pictures. Like, a LOT, a lot. 299 a lot. I picked out a handful of favorites and will post those. These first few are of the girls together:

Siblings

2013-04-04T19:37:00.002-05:00

All 4 of them! In one picture! It's a miracle!

Bonnets

2013-04-02T10:53:00.001-05:00

Here are the bonnets I told you about, Gran. I need a lot more practice!

Easter, part deux

2013-04-02T09:21:00.001-05:00

These are the pictures that Michael took with his phone (Nora is in the robin-egg blue, frilly dress).

Easter

2013-04-01T08:22:00.001-05:00

I convinced Nora to take a few pictures with me, but the boys were too busy with their candy. And poor Jane doesn't have a choice! She has to stay where I put her!

Michael took some pictures of the egg hunt but they are on his phone. They might have transferred to his computer, but I can't check right now... Collin is on the computer! I'll post them later.

Say Cheese!

2013-03-21T07:52:00.001-05:00

It is so difficult to get all four kids in one photo! Even when they want to have their picture taken, it's tough! It was only three of them at first but then Cory sauntered over and wanted in the action. I told him to go over there and say cheese. He, of course, thought it would be best to stand right in front of the camera and say cheese. I mean, why would I want a picture that included his siblings? I finally got him to move but, well, the pictures still weren't all that put together!

Oh, well. At least they were all there trying!

5 Months

2013-03-20T10:16:00.001-05:00

Jane had her 5 month check up yesterday. She is 25 inches long and almost 16 pounds, which puts her in the 50-75th percentile. She's got some congestion that the PA didn't seem too concerned about, but she woke up with a fever this morning. And, now, she demands to be held and will only fall asleep if she is being held upright. I'm more than happy to hold Little Missy all day... and hopefully the family won't mind having a messy house with unfinished laundry and unwashed dishes. It may be a bit irresponsible of me but, tell me true, would you want to put this little girl down to go do chores?? I didn't think so!

iPhone

2013-03-20T10:07:00.001-05:00

Sometime last fall my old cell phone broke and Michael's mom, Linda, kindly mailed me her old iPhone 3. Then, last month, my friend Lisa bought the new iPhone 5 and gave me her old iPhone 4. I have some awesome people in my life, huh? Anyway, the iPhone 3 became the kids' device to play on. It has games, videos and music to keep them entertained in the van, the grocery store and church. Even Jane has gotten into playing on Grandma's old phone! She was being super fussy the other day so I turned on a Baby Einstein video and handed it over to her. I didn't think she'd really watch it, but I was wrong! She watched it for about 10 minutes and then plopped her little head down for a good nap that she was trying to avoid taking. Thank goodness for grandma's iPhone

Chuck E Cheese

2013-03-19T08:55:00.001-05:00

I've had these pictures since Tyler's birthday party but I keep forgetting to post them. the kids have a serious good time at this place!

Spring Break

2013-03-17T13:37:00.001-05:00

You already saw that we took the kids to NASA for some spring break fun, but we did a few other things, too. My folks took Nora to lunch and a movie (they were going to take Collin, too, but he got strep throat... along with Cory and Michael), we did a lot of playing and gardening outside, we went to the park, did some laundry, read some books and I made some more flowers and bows (who knew I'd get so addicted to making those things?). It was a fun, lazy week!!

Angry birds space

2013-03-15T11:58:00.001-05:00

The kids love to play angry birds- including Cory. They play the app on my iPad and iPhone but they also have some if the actual angry birds toys. So when I saw that NASA space center has a big angry birds thing we decided to take the kids. We were able to get the whole family annual passes for a few bucks more than the regular price so now we can take the kids whenever we want. Or, at least, whenever we have time.

The lighting was weird in the building so the pictures aren't great. The pics taken outside were taken while we were waiting for a show to start. The show sounded like it was going to be awesome but it was less than stellar. I think we've been spoiled by Disney world shows. The kids though it was cool, though.

Finally!

2013-03-12T20:44:00.001-05:00

Little Missy finally decided that she'd take a binky. Sometimes. But sometimes is better than never!

Open house

2013-03-10T09:56:00.001-05:00

The kids' school had an open house this past Thursday. We got to see their classrooms, desks and some school work. They were proud to show us what they'd done.