Painting nails

The girls wanted to do their nails the other night.  We sent them out to the back porch for that fun.

They asked if they could do Miss A's as well, so Miss A and I joined them.  We had lots of fun.  They each did their own toes...

*Miss C

*Miss J

*Miss E

*Miss E did mine and Miss A's

Big brother is fun!

Mr. R brought Miss A to me the other day after her nap.  She had the biggest grin on her face with a look that said "I just got something super special."

Mr. R had shared his (dairy free) ice cream sandwich with her.  It was a big hit.

She loves her big brother.

A visit from Nana

My mom came for a visit.  She always does a few weeks after we move to help finish the unpacking.  I'm so blessed.  She generally shows up when we're tired of the move in process, but have a bunch of details yet to take care of.  This time she handled finding homes (on our shelves) for most of our books...no easy task.

We managed to have a bit of fun while she was here.  She took us all to see the new Planes movie and then we took her out for dinner at Red Robbin.

Since she came just days after my birthday, right before her own, and a month before Miss E's we all went out for a special girls night.  Since Miss J is a big fan of baked brie (the desired snack for the evening) she tagged along too.  We enjoyed our snack and some fun desserts as well.

Thanks for visiting Mom, and thanks for all of the help!

Happy Birthday to me!

This year my birthday took many swings.  I had a planned a fun day for the kids (I love to just enjoy my kids on my birthdays, the best way to do that is to plan a fun activity for them that I will also enjoy).  The busted tooth changed the plans.

Since the kitchen/house was still in disarray from the move I took the kids out for breakfast.  The kind woman at the next table was admiring the kids as we came in.  She heard me say something about "birthday" when we did the picture.  As she left she once again complimented the kids and paid for our breakfast!  What a blessings and encouragement that was to me.

We needed to run some errands; so we had some fun while we were at it.  At least we tried.  Everyone was tired and grumpy.  The move process is not easy on anyone and it turns out that some of us were coming down with colds too.  The mall playground ended up being a bust as well, I think we lasted 5 minutes.

We got some lunch and headed over to see the dentist.  Then on home for naps.  I was wiped out.

Rob had planned to take me out for dinner.  Dinner out with only one child and a glass of bubbly was exactly what I needed.  Ruby earrings didn't hurt any.  I felt much better by the time we got home.

Fixed that tooth!

Remember that chipped tooth?  Oh, did you want to know HOW it happened?  I bet you thought he must have been riding his bike or something like that. Nope, nothing so cool.  He was licking a plate.  Someone else thought it would be funny to smack said plate.  Everyone learned a lesson.

The dentist got him in a couple of days later.  Mr. M is an awesome patient.  The dentist was pleased with him.

Here it is.  A little rebar and putty and it is as good as new.

*Oh, and the repair was done on my birthday.  Not how I had planned to spend my day, but so glad it was done.

never a dull moment

We've been in and out of the eye doctor for over a week now.  Then on to costco for lunch and to pick out glasses.  We still have two more kids to go.

I thought I'd take a breath, work on the house a bit for a week and then start hunting around for a new dentist.  No such luck.  Mr. M's tooth got chipped tonight.  Dentist must be found, and seen, NOW.  I'm thankful to God for reconnecting us with an orthodontist at church (we knew the family last time we were stationed here).  HE knew we would need the numbers we exchanged yesterday.  A phone call tonight got us the name of a family dentist that specializes in these repairs and (most likely) even accepts our insurance!  God is good!

Conference

Miss A and I packed up and headed up to Denver for the Thirty-One Gifts Conference.

As soon as I got there Miss A made friends with my friend that I was meeting up with there.  I had a great time.  The speakers were excellent; at times I felt more like I was at a woman's retreat rather than a business conference.

Miss A hauled her baby around everywhere she went.  Just like me. ;)

Miss A made friends wherever we went.  Crawling around in the convention center.

On the bus.

*When we got on the bus/shuttle this woman said "Oh, another baby!  I'm gonna have to steal one today."  Since I ended up sitting across the isle from her I handed Miss A over to be Ohh'ed and ah'ed over while my arms took a break.  This sort of thing happened several times.  Mamas missing their little ones asked if they could kiss her head or hold her a minute.

I loved that there was a praise and worship session early on Saturday morning.  It was such a wonderful time.  Miss A even napped through it all allowing me to fully enjoy it!

I had a great time with this friend and getting to know her a bit better.  She is actually a friend of Rob's from high school and also home schools her several children. :)  We joked that we stuck together for "shock" value.  She is pregnant with #7 and I had #8 with me.  You should have seen some of the faces. I guess people are not used to families of such size?

 At one point we were in line with a woman pregnant with #6.

I'm an independent consultant with Thirty-one Gifts.  If you are interested in learning more you can visit my site www.mythirtyone.com/ShopHarder for more information.

Taking time for fun

We've been hard at work unpacking and settling into the house, but we're not forgetting to have fun too!

I'd love to stay and chat but I mustache

BassPro is having some special fun family days.  Rob took a bunch of kids to play (and a friend met him there too), while littles stayed home for much needed naps.

Much fun was had in the back yard, or so it seems.  I missed that.  Likely, a good thing. ;)

Kids are enjoying their Legos too.

splish slash!

Miss A likes taking baths, or just playing in water.  I knew she would love a water table to play with on the back porch while the older kids are playing in the yard.  I was right.  If she spies the door open she heads right over there to play.

She has brought big sister Miss C to tears with all of her splashing (Miss C does not like to get wet).  I love watching her splash and play here.  It just makes her so happy!  She would play here for hours if we let her, fear of sunburns prevents mommy from letting her though.

She even enjoys playing out there early in the morning when it is too cold and the table is empty.  Its so much more fun with water though.

War and Peace...

Daddy challenged Miss E to read War and Peace just before we moved.  There was $10 in it for her (though I think she'd have read it just because). She finished today! I think it took her just under a month to read.  

She read it on her Kindle

Next up?  The Rise and Fall of The Roman Empire. 

biting, scratching baby

*I'm writing this post because this is our family journal.  I'm not complaining about her or mad.  This has become a bit of a joke in the family.  This is how sweet Miss A is dealing with the transition of our move....

Miss A scratches me.  She does it in a kneading fashion, like a cat, while nursing.  It is a comfort thing.  It does not feel good though (yes, I keep her nails trimmed).  At some point early on in our move I realized that I had tiny little scabs all over that one place (she only does this on one of my arms).  About when we arrived in Colorado (likely the highest stress part for her) she started drawing blood.  I can tell she is doing a bit better now.  My arm is healing nicely.

She also bites.  Mostly just me.  Mostly just my arm/shoulder.  She has a big brother that used to make a habit of this same behavior.  She leaves marks and bruises.  It also seems to be comfort related, but also teething.  Sometimes she thinks about biting a certain big brother. He must stink, because she only gets within a few inches before backing off.