Happy Memorial Day!

We headed out to our town's annual Memorial Day Parade today.

It's a "big" event - full of scouts, police, dance schools, exactly 3 school bands, and tons of baseball teams!

We love to meet up with friends (even though we see them all the time!) and see all the students who know "Mrs. Sprout"!

This year had new twist...Tater marched in the parade with her Daisy troop...and LOVED it!

Sassy doesn't take a good picture, does she?!?

Waiting for the police motorcycles to start the parade.

Visiting with friends!

The dads...looking oh, so excited!

Finn trying to join the parade...it was the first of many attempts! 

And there's Tater!

Our friend, Sienna, who marched with her Brownie troop.

Sassy had 2 lollipops going, one on reserve in the other hand, and then a fireman handed her a fourth!

SASSY!

And I Lived To Blog About It...

We went camping this weekend...in a tent...with no flush toilets...and with 6 children, ages 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 & 9...and we made it home...alive...and somewhat sane!

Of course, we were 30 minutes into our trip when I realized I forgot my camera...luckily the mother of the family we went with is a professional photographer...so pictures will follow!

Tonight I just want to bullet a few of the memories so that they can be saved forever...especially for when we decide to attempt this again!  So, here are a few of the best moments!

• Listening to my husband scream about me bringing inappropriate gear for camping...when he discovered my hair straightener in the car...before we even left our street!

• Telling Bruiser we were in New Hampshire and him asking repetitively to see the "hamster"!

• Discovering that our rustic campsite had newish showers with hot water...and electricity for my hair straightener!

• Listening to the rain hit our tent all night long...while laying awake with Sassy who kept saying "I can't sleep!"...and waking up to the rain being over!

• Cheering on our friends as they completed a 5K trail run...BAREFOOT!...and watching Tater help them run the finish line!

• Losing Bruiser for 15 minutes in the crowd of the race goers and having him cling to me forever after a wonderful racer found him and helped him get back to us.

• Using every flush toilet I could find every time we left the campsite!

• Laughing about how we had a cooler full of alcohol...when we never drink all that much...and then buying more at a cute little country store...just because we liked the kinds we found...and then bringing home an almost-full cooler!  Even camping with 6 kids didn't drive us to drink...all that much!

• Painting my toenails by the campfire (which was deemed to be another inappropriate piece of camping gear!)

• Watching 9 people try to keep one one-year-old in a campsite...when all he wanted to do was walk in the woods!

• Watching my six-year-old make "vacation friends"!

• Waking up to Bruiser yelling "cock-a-doodle-doo!" this morning!

• Hiking with Bruiser and having him out-hike me!  He has Boy Scout potential, Papa!

• Watching my children get dirtier by the hour...and not caring a single bit about it!

• Creating a mental "Next Time" journal...and making plans to do this all again this summer...on the beach!

Catch-Up!

Love this of Sassy eating spaghetti!

Sassy and Bruiser's therapy school had a Family Fun Fair...and it was amazing!

Everything was free and well presented.  The kids received lots of goodies and enjoyed numerous exhibits.

Oh, and there was tons of free food...including ice cream!!

Above, Bruiser was brave and touched a huge snake!

Bruiser (and the girls!) got their faces painted.

And then last night Tater had her Young Authors' Night at school.

She wrote and illustrated a book about horses...no big surprise there!

Photo Recap!

We had guests for lunch!

We hugged some friends!

Sassy snuck some food at a picnic!

Sassy had her very first "spa day"...

...with Tater and a friend!

What Happened to Summer? (And Other Random Complaints!)

Prepare yourself...this is a bulleted list of complaints!

• First of all, where on Earth is summer?  It has been basically raining for 2 weeks here...and mostly chilly!  It's amazing how my mood lifts the minute the sun peeks through the clouds...but then it hides again and crushed for a few more days.  Oh, and to top it all off?  We are going tent camping in Maine this weekend...with six kids ages 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, & 8...and they are calling for thunderstorms ALL weekend! 

• We have been going NON-STOP for days!  It's appointments and meetings and picnics and parties and therapies and work.  I would give anything for time to just do chores...really!  The kids are burnt out, Mommy's burnt out, and I'm guessing (without asking him) Daddy is too.  We need a vacation...and I don't think camping in a tent with 6 six kids with no flush toilet and thunderstorms is the vacation we need!

• I'm feeling more than a bit burnt out.  I haven't mentioned it before but I have been struggling with blood pressure issues and had to start medication to help.  I'm supposed to make lifestyle changes...like reducing my stress.  When the doctor mentioned this, I offered to loan her my children for a while.  I don't think she thought it was as funny as I did! 

• So add to all that, Sassy just her EI (early intervention) yearly re-eval.  Cognitively, she was well advanced (she gets that from her mother!) but she showed delays in other areas such as speech and gross motor as well as a significant delay in fine motor.  Her articulation for speech is terrible, with less than 50% of her communication understood.  No one can figure out what is going on with her gross motor issues that are involving swinging legs and knee pain.  And overall the therapists have noticed a weakness on her left side.  So the result of all this?  I have spent the entire afternoon scheduling (or attempting to!) a second opinion with a pediatric orthopedist and a consult with a pediatric neurologist.  Let me just say that the whole thing of checking my baby's brain is not sitting well with me! 

• Then Bruiser needs to start his appointments with his social worker...and we've been playing phone tag for the past two months!

• Oh, and Tater's kidneys are relapsing and her allergy related things are off the charts...and we're playing phone tag with her doctor!

• Does ANY doctor answer the phone??????

Okay...deep yoga breath...lowering my blood pressure...

I'm now going to go try and call another doctor and then go dig out all the camping stuff before the little ones descend home from school!  Don't worry...I'll this all happier in a bit when I post pictures from the weekend!

While The Cats Away...

...Mommy's friend lets the little ones splash in mud puddles and documents the fun!

And her punishment?

I left all the wet, muddy clothes behind for her to wash!

Superheros Having A Tea Party!!

A Mothers' Day Tea

Bruiser's class held a Mothers' Day Tea this past Thursday afternoon.  They sang two songs for us and then served us muffins and apple juice.  Bruiser, who used to avoid music because of sensory issues, sang all the words (maybe not at the right times!) in a nice loud voice!  It was a great belated Mother's Day gift!

Then we enjoyed our snack!

I also got a sweet hand print poem and a flower.

It was great to be honored and even more special to spend that time with Bruiser and watch his face glowing with pride!

I love being his mommy!

My Little Dancer(s)!

This week was parents' week at Tater's dance class.

I love getting to see all that she has learned and how much she has grown.

They did a bit of tap!

Sassy, who refuses to dance during her Mommy & Me class, jumped right in during Tater's class...and knew all the moves!!!

Then there was a bit of ballet...

...all wrapped up with some jazz (which I think is Tater's favorite...are you surprised?).

Hanging Out!

Sassy is revisiting her baby days!

And Bruiser?

He just wanted Mommy to leave him alone so he could watch television!

Siblings!

I love the matching outfits!