To Ge and Granddaddy’s House We Go

A weekend trip to Granddaddy and Ge’s kicked off our travels for several weeks.  This was the first time we had traveled since Thanksgiving.  If you know us well, then you know that’s unusual for us…Mark says our family motto is “Go!  Go!  Go!”  But, God had other plans for a few months.  We were home in December trying to make sure Bryant stuck around to full term.  Then January and February brought illnesses and snow.  Finally, March has rolled around and with the pollen came a chance for us to visit family. 

Aside from the drama of a not so daring Ceili Rain having to endure a puppy yelping at her (which caused her to cry which caused the dog to yelp more), we had a great visit (and the dog and Ceili Rain got used to each other and she only fussed at the dog one time later on when the dog took a toy away from her).

Escaping…from the barking dog!
Granddaddy had the best spot to view the game.  He was also a great lap to cuddle into after playing outside all day!
This was the first time the kids really enjoyed the Wii.  Ge and Granddaddy have all the cool toys!
On the way home, Mark indulged my cravings and we ate at the number one place to eat for processed foods!  The Varsity!  Yep, I thoroughly enjoyed my fried onion rings and chili cheese dog and frosted orange.  Yummy!  Of course, we all payed for it dearly on Monday…but this was the first time we ate here since before we had kids.  Moderation people…that’s what it’s all about 🙂
We’re making her a spokesperson for yummy chili dogs!
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Welcoming Spring!

With the new warm weather and not much pollen (yet), we are heading out more and more.  We’ve discovered that Josiah is a boy’s boy!  He loves playing in the dirt and more than that getting muddy and covered in it.  This is funny because if we are eating a “finger” food, he requests a wet washcloth beside him to clean his hands every five seconds.  Not so outside though!  All bets are off when it comes to the mud and dirt.

Being that Ceili Rain is a “Spring baby” she hasn’t been outside much.  She’s just not been able to get used to being out on the grass…so we are now beginning her introduction to the outside world!  To help, she gets a walker toy so she move about on the grass and get used to the feel of it!  She enjoyed it but not when I had to divert her around the holes!

Yummm…grass!
I throw these pictures in here just for sport…you enjoy getting that neck exercise don’t you?
So, the rest of the kids enjoy playing in the dirt and mud but they use tools and are “very” careful with their hands.  Ace didn’t tell me what he was making.  Liam made a cake for me.  It was chocolate.  He has my heart.  Zoe made a house with a door.
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Reading Buddies

When Grandmere comes to visit…

I think the kids plot out and pick out just which books to read when and where and for how long.  Having one grandmother who is a librarian and the other an English teacher, our kids were destined to enjoy books and enjoy them with their grandparents.  I really think they would be happy with sitting in Grandmere’s lap reading a book the entire time she comes to visit.  She has read to them from the time they could sit still long enough to listen and they love it!

Thanks Grandmere for having a warm lap to climb in and for warm arms to love on and read to us!  And thanks for trekking up between storms (and trekking home in them) just to see grandkid #11 turn one!

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It’s War!

Actually, it’s not.  In February, when there was a warm snap (thankfully), we ventured out to a battle reenactment.  It was a Civil War battle that was fought near where we live.  We met some friends there and had a wonderful time.  I was expecting some rinky dink reenactment with not much going.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised…in fact, we didn’t get to see everything they had set up.  Tents selling Civil War memorabilia and of course, wooden swords and guns (the boys were in heaven).  Zoe and I wanted to go to all the tents selling dresses…and we did hit quite a few (to which I kept telling Zoe I could make those same dresses for her if she wanted).  The battle was pretty neat and managed to see (and feel quite a bit).  We, being our first time and arriving late, chose to sit near the cannons.  They were extremely….extremely loud.  We knew they’d be loud but we didn’t realize that we couldn’t see, for the most part, when the cannons would go off.  So when a round was fired the first shot just made you jump.  Each time.

So here’s the pics from our day:

Zoe and Laura learned out to make rag dolls out of strips of fabric.  The seamstress had an extremely old machine that she used.  It was really neat to see and made me grateful for my new digital sewing machine!

Guess what all the boys liked!?!  They were filthy by the time we left but they had a blast.
The Confederate General (I think).  He was basically standing around telling people to not plug their ears and close their mouths at the same time when the cannons went off.  If you did…it’d hurt…really bad.
In history, a few weeks ago, we were reading about the American Revolution and General Washington trying to train his troups.  We read about a volley but I don’t think the kids quite understood what I was talking about.  I tried to explain it but nothing beats seeing in front of your eyes.  When the infantry marched out, they got to see several volleys!  That was pretty cool.
As we were leaving, we were all thirsty (and tired) so we found a place selling…
lemonade and other cool drinks (none with alcohol) in some really fun neat bottles…did you think we were turning our kids into whinos?!
Yep, Ace in front of the Confederate flag downing some nice ice cold lemonade.  It was fun.  You can pick out your bottle and then get refills.
Start ’em early!
Taking a quick break before guzzling some more.
And this is just a fun picture of Zoe!
I know there was a lot wrong and right about the Civil War.  I don’t think History should be ignored or disregarded because it makes us feel bad.  There’s a lot about the Civil War that is not discussed much in classes and I am so grateful for a father who taught me a lot about why the Civil War started (slavery was one of the issues…and just one) and the men who fought it.  He also taught me to be appreciative and somber because this was a war where families were separated and destroyed.  Not a pleasant exciting time.  We tried to drive that point home to the kids as we left.  We didn’t want this to be just a fun event but a chance for them to understand history in a more real way.  If you get a chance to attend a battle reenactment, I hope you do and remember the sacrifices that families from both the North and South made for their beliefs and loyalties.
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Mommy’s Helpers

Getting back to normal last week brought on some much needed cooking!  Monday I had two meals (well, three really) that needed to be prepared.  One was for that night and the other two were to stick in the freezer.  They all required shredded chicken.  My volunteers eagerly pulled and tried to sample the chicken.  I have to say that Josiah was the most concentrated chicken puller I’ve seen in a while.

Focusing!
By the way, I made these Chicken Crescent Squares but time was running short and so instead of making the crescent dough into actual squares, I just put the filling in the dough and made it into a braid.  I also made my yummiest comfort food…homemade chicken potpie (no processed canned stuff here…homemade pie crusts, homemade sauce, fresh veggies…yum, yum, yum).
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These Kids Amaze Me

Some quirks from my kids the past couple of months…

***
Tuesday, we got new carpet installed in our bonus room (which is the school room, play room, library, craft room, and pile on daddy room).  After it was installed, Mark loaded up Ace for a trip to the “man” store to purchase some things to help finish off the room.  I asked him to get paint a shade darker than what was on my paint sample and handed it to him.  I needed a darker paint to paint the two steps that go down into the bonus room.  Ace and Mark came back soooo excited about this paint.  Only it’s two shades darker.  Because it was called “Cloak & Dagger.”  Not exactly how I choose paint.  I still have yet to see the color and I’m wondering if there is a reason for that.

***
When Bryant showed us he was a “he” and not a “she.”  The sonographer scanned up to his face.  He had his hand by his head and waved it back and forth to us.  No joke.  Not sure we got it on video but it was absolutely adorable.  Our kids do crazy things when they get on camera…like Ceili Rain sucking her toes on the ultrasound.  I love it when Mark gets to feel the first kicks.

***
Bryant also decided that since we got to see him, he’d also let us “feel” him.  I’ve been feeling him move for about two to three weeks now, but of course, it’s been my own little kick fest party.  Last night, as we got ready for bed, I told Mark that he was having a little dance going on and I could feel it with my hands.  Mark then was able to feel him.  I actually think he was kicking and punching.  I think his personality is going to fit very well into our little Characters.

***
As our friend, Scott, was helping us move furniture in and out of the playroom after (he also helped us before the furniture install).  Liam woke up from his nap and came down to the bonus room.

“Uh, Mr. Scott.  Did you know we have Cooties?”

Fortunately, he had the Cooties game in his hands so there was little need for explanation there.

***

Zoe’s memory is just a little scary…

Sitting at lunch discussing nutrition with her brothers (no joke) she spouts out that you need 2000 calories per day to maintain a healthy diet.

Liam’s eating part of a Three Musketeers bar (yes, I know it’s healthy) she says, “It’s a Three Musketeers bar.  A lighter way to enjoy chocolate!”

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What We’ve Been Up To: School Version

So we’re in the ends of God’s Design for Animals.  The kids are thoroughly enjoying it.  We’ve made lots of models including these:

In case you can’t tell, it’s marshmallow arachnids!  We also enjoyed a little marshmallow snack too.  Who says Science is boring??

Spider & Scorpion
Josiah made his all by his self…it must have fallen in the nuclear waste!
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Snow Videos

You’ve seen the pictures…and because I can’t bore you enough…here’s the videos!  Now, don’t freak and “x” me out.  There’s only three. I decided to not include the video where Mark decided to belch in the middle of my snow fight with Ace and Liam (you’ll miss Liam getting mad that I pelted him with snow and then wanting to throw snow at me).  Nor did I include the video where I was ranting about crazy drivers trying to drive fast (in our residential area) through the snow and slush when they are in the South.

Without further ado…what we look like in action when it snows!

Fowin’ Snow from justabunchofcharacters on Vimeo.

Here’s my conversation with Josiah if you can’t understand him on the video.

“Siah, whatcha doin?”
“Frowin’ Snow”  scoops up a big ol’ handful and gets pelted by Liam and then Ace.  “At Acccce!”

Zoe and Ace were practicing their business skills selling snow novelties!

Future Business Leaders from justabunchofcharacters on Vimeo.

This video is funny on at least two different levels.  First, Ceili Rain is so cute and when you say, “Yea!”  She’ll clap.  Mark got her to do it for the camera and was holding the camera and her at the same time.  Secondly, when Mark and I watched it last night, we realized how funny we sound when we talk “baby talk”  to her.  Mark is quite funny demonstrating this!  “Ahhh goo goo gaa gaa.”

Baby Talk and Clapping from justabunchofcharacters on Vimeo.

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Let it Snow!

Because this is the first snow my children have ever seen.

Because this is the first time we’ve had snow like this since we moved here (with the exception of like 1 to 2 inches when we first moved to this area…nine years ago).

I’m about to unload a lot of pictures!  Get ready to see some snow folks.  This is Zoe when it just started coming down around 2 p.m.

Mid afternoon in our backyard…the snow in our area never stopped until late that evening.
Josiah stood at the window watching it fall and stated, “Whoa.  Dat’s a lot!”
Around six o’clock at night!  The kids could not wait and frankly, we just knew it would melt before they could play in it the following day.  And yes, we made Ceili Rain get out in it too!  All through supper she was staring at the window trying to figure out why everything was changing colors(at least that’s what she said in babytalk).
The boys just had to snowball fight…they actually didn’t make snowballs but just scooped it up and threw it!
See??
The best I could do with the camera in the dark.  It was hard to get it to flash at the right focus…the snowflakes were falling pretty hard.
Yeah, I was cold, had a cold, and very wet!
The first snowman.  As stated earlier, the boys didn’t want to make a snowman…they just wanted to throw snow…so the snowman was made by Mark and Zoe.
We measured it at about 8 that night.  Almost at 4 inches.
Sunny’s first big snow too!  She wasn’t quite sure what to think.  Notice the see saw??
Insert Cei Rai cute picture break here…
She loved watching her brothers and sister in the snow.
The next morning it was still there!  All SIX inches of it!
It was beautiful too!
 

Of course, the kids had to get back out in it….

And the boys had to throw more snow.

And, after talking to Papa via Skype and seeing his Shriner’s snowman, had to try and build one bigger than his!

And we had to sit our little Snow Bunny* in the snow…

“Who you lookin’ at???”
Ceili Rain got to visit Zoe’s mini snowman that she made, “All by herself.”

*Yes, “Snow Bunny” has socks on her hands.  Being that we live in the South we don’t need to find mittens, thick coats, and thick snow clothes for our children.  This snowfall was the most our area has seen in over thirty years!  So, socks it was!  She didn’t seem to mind too much especially when the camera was pointed at her.
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Christmas with Ge & Granddaddy

The Sunday after Christmas, Ge and Granddaddy came up for the afternoon.  Of course, more gifts and Ge and Granddaddy to play with was pretty exciting for the kids.
 
Liam trying to wait patiently to open gifts.
 
Zoe was excited to have a digital clock for her room…and one that changes colors no less.  Every time I go in to the girls’ room her clock is a different color.
 
Ace got more “boy” books.  Which is good, he’s finally gotten up enough courage to attempt to read a chapter book.  He picked Robin Hood.  So far, I think he’s enjoying it.  We just need to get him a book light so he can read at night.
 
I just had to post this, because of Granddaddy’s face.  I think it’s inherited…sticking out your tongue while trying to work on something….the kids and I all do it too.
 
This is one of those squishy toys.  Ace has named it “Meme” and is his sidekick in battle.
 
Ceili Rain wanted to play with the wrapping paper more than the presents! 
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