Not A Problem!

I spent the afternoon helping out a friend and watching her two kids.  After I took all five kids to Tater's school to drop her off and then took the remaining four kids to Bruiser's school to drop him off (and lost count of how many seat belts I buckled and unbuckled!), the three little one - ages 1, 2, & 3 - headed to the basement and played there for hours!  Yes, HOURS!  It has been the best rainy afternoon with multiple children I have ever had! 

Just don't ask me if I change my mind tonight when I have to clean up the play room!

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!

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!

Spring Fling

Tater headed out tonight to our elementary school's Spring Fling.  She was so excited to get fancied up and go "dance"!  Our wonderful friend and her daughter offered to take Tater as a part of their family so I didn't have to subject myself to the chaos on my anniversary!  I love our friends!



Tree Decorating!

The pictures are sparse...but super cute! We had a bit of help with decorating this year when a neighbor needed an emergency sitter...so it was a bit of a stretch to take picture while wrangling 6 excited children decorating a Christmas tree!

All dressed in our holiday nightwear...including the purple cowgirl hat!

Bruiser posing!

Super Sassy!

Our Holiday Card Reveal (With a Twist!)

Thanks to Shutterfly and their dedication to bloggers, we were able to choose a fabulous card this year! Instead of creating a picture card and writing a family holiday letter, I opted to choose this card (with our information inserted, of course!):

So yesterday I gave the card to my school secretary and she hung it up on the office door with all the other holiday cards from the teachers in the building. And this morning I received this updated version from the other kindergarten teacher in our building...who calls herself my friend!...

Our Top 10 REAL Moments of 2010

10: Tater gets the better K teacher...YEAH!!!

9: Bruiser heads off to the ER in van...Croup!

8: Sassy falls off bunk bed...ER trip #49

7: "Kissing" Tater gets written up on the school bus

6: WOW - vacation in NJ...is that Disney for young kids?

5: Dad escapes from crazy mom and kids

4: Mom escapes from crazy dad and kids

3: Mom sets up great pm...no Tater or Bruiser and napping Sassy

2: Sassy diagnosed with sensory issues -Round 2...DING!

#1: Spending time giving the "gift" of our children to family, friends, neighbors...anyone

who wants them!

With friends like that, who needs enemies!?!?!

Thanks SO much for your creativity and humor, Leslie!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Yesterday we attended our annual neighborhood Santa party! Tater was thrilled, Bruiser was angry, and Sassy was sad...so we covered all the emotions in one shot!

We had a fun afternoon with friends and the adults enjoyed some excellent chatting time while kids played contentedly.

If only the evening had ended better...Bruiser decided last night was the night to have a croup episode. He and I made a quick trip to the ER for some steroids and fever control...and now we are spending the day at home, resting.

Glamour!

Tater went to a Glamour Party today...and love it! She was so excited to get the invitation to her new school friend's birthday...and she counted the days until it arrived! She had a BLAST with the makeup and jewels and sparkles, etc. Everything was right up her alley...or red carpet!

Manicure!

Make-up!

We may need to work on her technique a bit!

The "Princess" hairstyle!

Walking the read carpet!

The Glamour Girls!

Cake time!

Side Note: Tater got more quiet as the party went on and even more so as the night went on...we are a bit concerned she might be coming down with something. She has a few spots of eczema that she has scratched open and are looking like they might be starting to get infected...we're calling the doctor in the morning. So say a little prayer that she gets her smile and her spunk back soon!

...And Life Goes On!

Halloween ended and we shifted back into (or stayed in!) high-gear for our normal week! Here are a few dance class shots from Tater's parents' night class. We got all the recital info and can't wait to see the costumes! The theme is "America" but you'll have to wait for more details!

Such a Tater pose!

Pretty girl!

Jazz!

Classic shot of my tired girl!

Her favorite pose!

Watching Toy Story 3 with J. when we got home...super tired!

Sassy helping me with the Cool Whip!

And I just love this sense of style!

Party #2, Costume #1...

So after the party at the children's museum, we raced home to changed into the costumes (not our trick-or-treat costumes...because anyone who knows my children knows that they never would have survived!).

Tater was a bride and Bruiser was a doctor (aspirations, I know!)

Sassy was a monkey (totally appropriate!)

and loved playing with one of the birthday boys, Baby F!

The best part of the costume was that the big belly made her top-heavy and she kept tumbling! Poor little monkey!

Baby F!